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 Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:50 pm
Cerri stopped, pleasantly surprised, and took a cup for herself. "Thank you love." she murmured, then looked to the map, sipping as she examined it critically for wrinkles, smoothing out any that she encountered.
"Ooh, thank you Guan!" Lily chirped, more cheerful than she'd been since Arlen had left. She took the tea and gulped it, ears quivering in anticipation. "Cerri, is it ready yet?" she asked, fairly dancing with impatience.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:54 pm
"You are most welcome," Guan said to both of them, setting the tray aside and standing to the side with his own. He waited quietly and out of the way, but ready to act if it came to it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:57 pm
"Lily," Cerri began in a long-suffering tone of voice. "You need to calm down, or this won't work." she warned, giving the map a final looking over. At last, she nodded and finished her tea, then took the book from Lily. "I hope you've managed to memorize it by now." she murmured, arching a brow.
Then teen nodded eagerly, setting her own cup aside. "I have. It's all memorized... so please can we do it now?" she asked, carefully taking the vial Arlen had given her from around her neck, taking comfort from the flickering green flame inside.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:05 pm
Guan sat in a nearby chair, sipping his tea and watching the two make their preparations.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:13 pm
"Yes... we'll start." Cerri told her, smiling a bit and putting the book aside. The women clasped hands, the crystal vial dangling from their entwined fingers. Slowly, then began to chant, speaking in unison, though Cerri's voice was pitched lower, and a had a huskier, more experienced tone while Lily's held more raw power with a lesser degree of control. On finishing, the vial began to glow softly, and they stepped on the map carefully, walking it slowly, waiting for any reaction.
For the longest time, there was nothing, and Lily began to look discouraged. Finally however, a small light shot from the crystal, heading for the map... but it didn't reach the surface, instead seeming to follow some smooth, curved surface for quite some distance and landing in another area completely. Then, like a but trying to climb a glass bowl, the light continued to attempt to reach it's goal, but was thwarted each time. While they now had a general idea where Arlen could be found, pinpointing his exact location looked to be impossible.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:18 pm
Guan remained quiet where he sat, waiting for some inclination that they were indeed finished with their spell before he said anything. Still he was pretty sure that was not what they had meant to happen.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:20 pm
Cerri frowned deeply and opened her mouth, preparing to add another layer to the spell, hoping to break the defenses. At that moment, however, Lily gave a soft cry of dismay and pulled away, breaking the spell. "It didn't work!" she wailed, then fell to her knees, clutching the vial to her chest. The older woman, shocked by the sudden breaking of magic, looked to be a bit winded, and didn't answer, trying to get her bearings again.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:28 pm
Guan frowned and walked over to place a hand on Lily's shoulder, giving a sorrowful glance to Cerri.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:32 pm
Lily pulled away from his hand, then slumped forward, weeping quietly, tears falling on the map. She'd placed all her hopes in this spell, and it hadn't worked... she paid no attention at all to the others for the moment, too lost in her grief.
Cerri sighed, then shot a slightly disdainful look to Lily before turning her attention to Guan. "Well. I'd hoped, but..." she shrugged and shook her head. "At least we know about where he is..." Using her magic, she drew a sparkling emerald circle over the area of the map that had been protected against scrying. "Now we'll just have to get creative..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:37 pm
"Very creative," Guan said, checking the size of the circle against the map's key. "That's around," he paused to do some mental math. "300 square miles of ground, much of which is mountains."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:39 pm
Cerri nodded and frowned, walking to Guan, slipping an arm around his waist. "Very creative indeed, but I think we can figure something out." she murmured, giving a bit of a sigh. "There has to be something... I don't look forward to searching the large an area on foot, though I'll do it if I need to."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:47 pm
"I shouldn't have to say that I'll be right beside you," Guan said, wrapping an arm around Cerri.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:52 pm
"Oh, I'd planned on it." Cerri answered, giving him a smile, though it was tinged with weariness. Then she looked to Lily, who'd stopped crying, but was still huddled in a ball on the floor, trembling. "Well... will you be coming too, or are you going to stay here and mope because magic didn't make it easy enough for you?" she asked, tone rather biting; the kid gloves were off, apparently. It was time for some tough love.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:55 pm
Guan leaned in close to Cerri and carefully whispered. "You want me to get my thwakking stick?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:00 pm
When Lily didn't answer, only gave a whimper, Cerri growled, then nodded. "You might have to." she murmured back to Guan, then kissed him before pulling gently away, hauling Lily bodily to her feet. "I know that you're young, but pull yourself together." she told the teen, looking rather annoyed with her. "The man you love is in danger, for goodness sake. You should have been the one to suggest a search on foot if that's what it takes."
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