The Only Way to Fly

[HorizonsDream]

Imani eats some of the food that has been provided. "He has agreed to my terms, and is letting the rest of the group go. What use could I possibly be?" she asks. She was mostly asking herself.

[JadedDM]

The party consumes the meal they were provided, uncertainty in the air and the ogre guards watching their every move.

After awhile, Eridan returns from upstairs and sits in his throne, awaiting them to finish eating.

[HorizonsDream]

Imani eats what she can before she turns to face Eridan. She wasn't sure what to say, so all she really could do was wait to see what he had to say.

[Breila]

Babushka finishes eating and watches Imani, to model her moves on hers.

[JadedDM]

Finished with their meal, the party gathers again before Eridan's throne.

"Enjoy the meal, Princess Mehmet?" Eridan asks slyly. Imani had only told him her first name, and certainly never mentioned her noble title.

"Do not look so surprised. Divination is just another school of magic, and I am a master wizard after all. It was easy enough to do some background checks," he explains.

[Breila]

"Well. your Grace, if you did that, you certainly know that we mean no harm" Babushka can't stop herself from saying.

[HorizonsDream]

Imani glances at the others for a moment before she looks back to Eridan. "What do you plan to do with that information?" she asks. Was she surprised? Yes. Was she terrified now? Yes, very much so.

[JadedDM]

Eridan slightly bares his teeth at the gnome, but then seems to change his mind and smiles instead. "Perhaps so, perhaps so," he replies.

He stands up. "And as a consequence, I have decided--once again--to be generous. I'll release the kender and the wheel into your custody. But understand, there are two conditions. First, should any of you be seen in my territory again, you will be taken, no questions asked. Even my diplomacy has its limits. Second, the good princess here will remain with me...as my queen."

[Breila]

Babushka looks at Imani, at a loss for words. Imani had risked so much to be free from enslavement as a wife, and now she gave herself to the same fate again. "Imani, you mustn't do that" she whispers. "Better let us all be slaves."

[HorizonsDream]

Imani paled upon hearing the conditions, but in a way she wasn't surprised that this was going to be his condition. She was a princess, and he considered himself a high lord. It would make sense that he would want a princess to be his wife. She had to think back to her marriage with her previous husband. While her husband was a tyrant towards most everyone, she did have some respect by the subjects of the kingdom. His guards and army treated her well enough, and provided that she did as she was told she was hardly ever punished unless he decided that she was the wife that he wanted to sleep with that night. Just the thought of having that disgusting man upon her made her shiver. Though, she managed to get through it all due to the fact she had her son to think about. It was a matter of just turning herself off, letting the man do what he wanted, and praying it was over quickly.

In this case, she was the only wife. She would be the main focus, and she didn't quite know how she would be treated by the ogres. Though, she assumed that the ogres wouldn't cross their master by trying to do anything with her. Despite the fact that she would be the main focus, it was the same situation that she was in when she was with her previous husband. She knew how to act to avoid punishment. The only problem that she had was that there was no real way for her to communicate to the others had they could possibly get her out of this situation because she didn't know if Eridan was listening or not. If she was left here by herself, it was going to be up to her and perhaps Lucas to get them out.

There were obvious downsides to this whole situation, but the only other choice they had was to fight. With a sigh, she looks upon Eridan. "I agree to the terms," she says finally.

[Breila]

Baushka drops her head and whispers "no". This was not what Imani should do. She remembers how useless she was, trtying to free her friends in the elven village in the forest. Then she lifts up her head again and looks at Eridan. "Your Grace, am I allowed to stay as her servant?" she asks.

[JadedDM]

"I agree to the terms."

"Excellent, then we have a deal," Eridan says.

"Your Grace, am I allowed to stay as her servant?"

"You?" Eridan asks, incredulously. "The one I caught trying to steal from me in the first place? I admit, she will need a handmaiden, but I'm sure one of my other female slaves will do just fine."

"Wait a minute," Ulster objects, looking around in confusion. "What do you need with a queen anyway?"

"Isn't that obvious?" asks Eridan. "For one, it adds legitimacy to my own throne. Secondly, it gives me a claim to the Mehmet throne."

"But how?" asks Jerrard. "She cannot produce you an heir. Humans and draconians cannot...breed."

"True enough," Eridan admits. "At least, not through conventional means. But I've been research some spells that should allow us to, shall we say, 'modify' the rules of nature."

[HorizonsDream]

"I'm your experiment," Imani says finally. She was all ready shutting herself down, preparing herself for what was to come.

[Breila]

"Your Grace, I did not try to steal" Babushka says with dignity. "We knew that ogres had taken what belonged to the gnomes and what they need to get back home. My goal was to find out if the flywheel was really here, and then come back and negotiate for its return. I would not have been able to take the flywhel back on my own all alone anyway" she points out.

[JadedDM]

Eridan stands up, growling. "So you are saying my ogres are the thieves here? And by association, you are thereby calling me a thief, as well. But finding something on the ground in my territory is hardly stealing, gnome. Do not lay the blame on me because your people can't build anything that doesn't fall apart of explode. I have the right to salvage anything that falls in my land, even from the sky."