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Subject: {ASSM} Conclave of Conspiracy 11/33 (MF Mf mf Ff ff Mdom Fdom toys bd rom magic oral 1st spank)
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<1st attachment, "Chapter11.txt" begin>

WARNING: This is a work of erotic fiction. It contains depictions of
nudity and graphic sex.

Author: A Strange Geek
Title: Conclave of Conspiracy
Universe: Narlass Chronicles
Summary: Roquan hosts a Conclave to rally support against the Emperor;
Amanda's training is not what she expected, even less so when the
Conclave commences. And there is the mysterious foreign merchant ...

Part: 11 of 33
Keywords: MF, Mf, mf, Ff, ff, Mdom, Fdom, toys, bd, rom, magic, oral,
1st, spank

Copyright A Strange Geek, 2006

Feedback welcome! Please email me at astraYOURngegeek@comMINDcast.net
( lose YOUR MIND to email me )

Or to send anonymous feedback, use the form at bottom of HTML version:

/~A_Strange_Geek/novels/Conclave/Chapter11.html



---------------

It seemed to Amanda to be the strangest day of her new life on Narlass.

If Marisa's surprise had not been enough, Sirinna had another for her
when the afternoon session started. It was the first time in weeks
where Amanda would not be having sex with any of the other slaves.
Instead, it was a lesson on pleasuring herself.

There was a difference, she learned quickly, between masturbating for
oneself and masturbating for an audience. An audience expects a
performance.

It had not been hard for her to learn. In fact, she took to it more
easily than any of her other sexual skills. She understood more of what
Sirinna meant when she said that Amanda was a very sensual girl. All
she had to do to comply with what her mistress wanted was to let
herself go. All the little sighs and moans that someone watching her
would expect came easily after that. Then it was just a matter of
teaching her how to spread herself properly and allow for a complete
view of her pussy, and how to vary her ministrations to make it
interesting.

But the strangest part of the day by far came as dusk turned towards
night.

The Manor was quiet as she walked along the path towards Roquan's
quarters under a velvet sky. The air was finally cooling, but the
breeze carried a hint of moisture. Overhead, the silvery rays of the
moon faded in and out as clouds blew across the sky from the west.

Amanda had a brief flashback to her first day. She remembered how
scared she had been along this very same path. It was a little
different now. She was no longer frightened, at least not at the
prospect of sex with the Overlord. If her training had accomplished
anything, it gave her the sense that sex was something perfectly normal
to her. Having so many partners in the span of a single afternoon was
no longer given a second thought.

Amanda heaved a small sigh. For the first time she was forced to admit
that her training had indeed changed her. She was not the same person
she had been when she had first arrived on Narlass. She could not begin
to think about how she might cope were she to suddenly be sent back to
Earth for whatever reason.

If Amanda felt anything that evening, it was anxiety.

No one had said as much, but she knew this was a test. Yes, the
Overlord had the right to call upon any of his non-contracted slaves --
even the Trainees -- to please him sexually. But Roquan was so
interested in her training that testing her only made sense.

She wondered what would happen if she "failed".

Not a word was spoken as they arrived at the Overlord's quarters.
Sirinna did not bother waiting for permission to enter, as they were
expected. Indeed, Roquan was already seated in his chair near the inner
chamber entrance, wrapped in his satin robe.

Sirinna remained completely silent as she snapped the chain to bring
Amanda to a stop in the center of the room. Amanda felt her heart race
as the Overlord regarded her with a cool, even gaze. Her restraints
were removed, and then the chain. As soon as her mistress backed away
from her, she lowered her head and carefully dropped herself to her
knees and took on the submissive posture that was expected of her.

Again, without a word, Sirinna quickly exited and left her alone with
the Overlord.

Roquan regarded Amanda for a long moment before rising to his feet. He
was rather surprised at himself. He was already quite aroused just by
the girl's presence. Normally it took him a short while to arrive at
that point. He was already engorged, and it tented the robe when he
stood.

Roquan walked a slow circle around Amanda. He could hear her breathing
hard. Yet it was not fear this time. Nor was it sexual excitement. She
had not yet reached that point, where anticipation of her master's
desires being made known to her was arousing in and of itself.

He stopped and let his gaze fall on her hair. Early in Amanda's
training, he had suggested to Sirinna that it no longer be cut. It had
not had time to grow out very much yet, but what she already had looked
very lovely. In a year's time, she would have a long, beautiful fall of
raven tresses. He decided that long hair would look very good on her.
He wondered briefly if it would smell as nice as Sirinna's did after a
light rain.

Amanda's body had changed as well.

The girl had been very pretty when she first arrived, but when Roquan
first saw her naked, his trained eye could see the vestiges of baby fat
on her body. Now, after spending almost two moons in the tropical heat,
much of it had melted away. It had smoothed the curves on her body, and
transformed her. Before, she could be described as beautiful. Now she
was a step beyond that. Now she was truly sexy.

"Stand."

Amanda swiftly rose to her feet. Roquan watched her take a deep breath
and let it go. She was nervous. He could see her wanting to flick her
eyes over to him where he stood by her side, just out of her vision. He
could see her body trembling just a bit. He leaned to one side and
dropped his eyes to her pussy.

"Legs apart."

Amanda swallowed and slid her feet outward. Her breath quickened a bit.
Yet the Overlord saw no telltale glisten of moisture on her mound.
Would she moisten if he touched her? Or if he made her recall her
deflowering? She likely would. But he decided to take the opportunity
to try something else.

"Remain as you are, and keep looking straight ahead."

Amanda heard the Overlord step away from her. It took all her willpower
not to turn her gaze towards him. Her eyes widened briefly when she
heard a noise over by the wall, where the implements of bondage and
discipline were kept. Her heart leapt into her throat, but she remained
still.

Roquan noticed her reaction. She was extraordinarily perceptive. Now as
he returned to her, he tapped the flat of the small paddle against his
palm, and observed her reaction. Yes, she knew what he held, and her
body was quivering now.

He stood to her side, and touched the paddle to one cheek of her ass.
She flinched, and let her breath go as a ragged sigh. He slid the
paddle over her skin, caressing it with the smooth wood. Amanda closed
her eyes briefly, and took more deep breaths.

He stopped, then drew the paddle back and gave her a single stroke.

It was light. Not enough to cause even so much as a sting. There was no
real pain associated with it. It barely made an audible slap against
her soft skin. Yet Amanda's reaction was noticeable. She was panting.

He gave her several more of these light strokes, five in all. None were
any harder than the first. They left only the barest shading of pink on
her cheek. Yet when he looked again, he saw that her pussy was now
quite damp.

"So it is not the pain, is it?" the Overlord said softly.

Amanda blushed. She had no idea why she was responding to this. She
couldn't give him an answer.

Suddenly Roquan gave her another stroke, this time harder. She yelped
softly before she could catch herself. Now her ass burned lightly with
pain, though it was already fading. Several more strokes followed,
until she let out a small moan. Her pussy ached, and her blush
deepened.

Five more strokes followed, back to the light, painless ones. Her pussy
throbbed dully.

"No, definitely not the pain," Roquan said. He slapped her backside
with his bare hand a few times. She moaned again. "Perhaps it is the
vulnerability. Or the anticipation of reward afterward. What do you
think, Amanda?"

Amanda shuddered. She had not expected him to ask her directly, but now
that he had, she was compelled to answer him. "I-I don't know, master,"
she said in a shaky voice.

"You are excited?"

"Y-yes, master."

"Are you expecting reward from me, Amanda?"

She swallowed hard. "I ... you give me what you wish to, master."

Roquan smiled. "Yes, that was the 'correct' answer, were I your
contracted client. You do not need to be such with your Overlord. You
may answer me honestly. So I ask again: are you expecting reward from
me?"

"I'm expecting you will do with me as you please."

"And are you hoping for anything in particular?"

He tapped her on her buttock with the paddle again. For a very brief
moment, she hated him for taking advantage of her like this. She did
not understand what happened to her. She never felt anything like this
after Roquan had spanked her that time before she became a slave. What
had changed inside her to make her grow aroused at this? What had they
done to her during training that made her like this?

Or worse: was it simply something that was always there, and the
training had nothing to do with it, other than to bring it out? No, it
couldn't be that. She refused to believe she had that particular
fetish.

Whatever the reason, she could not deny the fact that it had made her
very horny. And he was going to force her to admit it.

Her cheeks deepened to scarlet. "I need relief," she said in a tiny,
breathless voice. She felt both excited and mortified to reveal this so
openly to him.

Roquan stepped in front of her. She lifted her gaze to him. Her eyes
shimmered, and uncertainty briefly flickered across her face. "Kneel."

Her heart beating rapidly, she dropped back down to her knees. The
tented bulge in his robe greeted her as she leveled her gaze.

"I will give you relief," said Roquan as he opened his robe. "But first
I wish you to show me what you have learned."

Amanda actually felt some of her anxiety fade. This was something she
could do, and do well.

His manhood was larger than she had remembered it. It was not overly
long, but wide in girth, and the head was swollen and nearly as hard as
the rest of him. She reached up and curled her fingers around it and
began stroking him very lightly, just a teasing, soft touch. She was in
no hurry. If he truly wanted to see what she had learned, she intended
to show him. If he had ever believed her untrainable, she wanted to do
well if for no other reason than to prove him wrong.

Even if it meant acting like a "good slave" should.

She leaned forward and gave the plump head of his cock furtive licks
with her tongue. Her fingers slid back down the shaft, gripping him
more firmly. She pumped him slowly, keeping clear of his more sensitive
spot so as not to drive him upwards too quickly. Carefully, sensuously,
she deepened her tongue strokes, sliding it sinuously down and up the
underside of his shaft. She paused to tease him with the very tip of
her tongue just under the head.

She returned her mouth to the head, and pressed her lips to the crown
in a gentle kiss. She held this for a few moments as her fingers
deepened their strokes of his shaft. She leaned forward, urging his
cock teasingly past her lips. Her fingers slid back to the base of his
cock and down to his sack as she let more of him past her lips. She
fondled his balls lightly with her fingers as her head bobbed back and
forth in a very slow, deliberate rhythm, her tongue and lips clamped
around him tightly.

/Great gods,/ Roquan thought with some amazement. /I should never have
doubted Sirinna's skills as a Trainer./

The Overlord was impressed. What Amanda was doing was worthy of a slave
with much more experience. It was remarkable. Submissiveness and
discipline were difficult for her, yet sexual skills came easy.
Whenever he had a problem slave, it was usually the other way around.
He had a few slaves that were very loyal, very obedient, and very
willing, but were unimaginative in their sexual skills.

Amanda quickened the pace. Her fingers pumped at the base of his cock
as she used her mouth for the rest. She made him rise now, though still
in a very controlled manner. She never let herself get impatient or too
eager. When she first heard him utter a very low and soft moan, she
simply drew a deep breath through her nose to keep her calm and steady
despite the renewed heat in her sex.

That was something she knew had now been trained into her. Sirinna had
managed it without Amanda realizing it. When her partner grew excited,
so did she. It wasn't limited to just those she liked anymore.

She began drawing him deeper into her mouth. She squeezed her tongue
against his shaft, stroking him hard. Her fingers found his balls
drawing upwards. Carefully, she teased them back, and closed her
fingers around him to prevent them from moving upwards any further.

Roquan had thought of stopping Amanda as soon as he was aware of her
skill level at this, but he was enjoying it far to much to want her to
stop. His rise was as it should be: slow at first, then a little faster
as the pressure built, then briefly leveling off to enjoy the
sensations at the heightened stimulation. Now she was letting him
continue unimpeded.

His breath grew short. His muscles clenched. Amanda's mouth and fingers
now pumped his cock furiously to bring him to the final crescendo.
Roquan's head tilted back and he uttered one long groan, his manhood
straining for a last moment before letting go inside Amanda's mouth.

He panted hard as his cock pulsed, spurting his seed copiously inside
Amanda's mouth. She was ready for him, letting his cum pool against her
tongue as he throbbed, lips milking him and drawing out his orgasm for
a few more seconds. His climax was slow to fade, and she let the last
of his seed dribble over her lips as she paused to swallow. Quickly she
licked her lips and then the head of his manhood, spilling not a single
drop. She gave it one last small kiss before leaning back from him.

Roquan needed a moment to calm down before he could speak in his usual,
even voice. "That was quite excellent."

"Thank you, master." Amanda's voice was slightly husky. Without him to
concentrate on, she was keenly aware of her own need again.

The Overlord bid her to stand, and he took her hand once she was on her
feet. Amanda's heart raced again as Roquan led her into his bedchamber.
She was actually excited. There was no fear, and very little anxiety.
It was as if she had already proven herself, and now all she needed to
do was reap her reward.

/Like a good little slave,/ she thought, and it was greeted by mixed
feelings in her mind.

Within the inner chamber, Roquan stepped to one side and gestured
silently towards his bed.

Amanda hesitated when she looked at it. She realized that this would be
the first time she would have ever actually had sex in a "traditional"
setting like this, with the exception of her trysts with Sirinna. In a
way, it suddenly felt very different to her, and a little daunting as
well. Some of her confidence waned.

"Is there something wrong, Amanda?" asked Roquan. His voice was not
unkind.

Amanda shook her head. "No, master."

"If you are concerned about your performance, there is no need. You
have done what I asked of you. I wish now to pleasure you in return."

Amanda looked at the Overlord. He sounded very sincere. There was an
oddly subdued look in his eyes. It was not just the softness that he
showed to a slave that he liked. There was something else to it.

She turned away from him and approached his bed. She heard the soft
sound of satin against skin as Roquan shed his robe behind her. She
climbed onto the bed and rolled onto her back.

The Overlord approached her. She swallowed once, her eyes widening.
Like before, everything about him now seemed larger than life. It was
very different from her deflowering. She doubted she would have managed
to quell her fear had he chosen to deflower her like this.

Her eyes flicked down to his crotch. He was still spent from Amanda's
skillful oral play. Yet when he climbed onto the bed, his hands played
along her thighs. Her breath quickening, she obeyed his unspoken
command and spread her legs. Despite her need, her cheeks flushed at
exposing her naked pussy to him.

He descended on her, her breath catching in her throat as she realized
what he was going to do.

The moment his tongue touched her, she threw her head back and
shuddered. For that one moment she lost her composure and control and
cried out. "Uhhhn!"

She caught herself the next second and fell silent, but it was
difficult. His tongue swirled around her swollen and slick womanhood,
initially driving her upwards quickly. She panted heavily as she
soared. Roquan sensed her sharp rise and relented. He touched just the
tip of his tongue to her, and licked slowly and methodically down her
slot, probing the entrance to her tunnel.

/She still has much to learn, however,/ Roquan thought with amusement
to himself. He would be most interested when Sirinna started her on
muscle control.

Amanda felt herself level off. She quivered with desire as he kept her
at that heightened level, teasing her very lightly with furtive licks
or light strokes. She moaned deeply and writhed on the bed, her hands
clenching and unclenching.

It was not at all the same as what Marisa did to her. This was
different. Marisa would drive her to the excruciating edge and then
back. Roquan held her steady, and not at such an intense level.

Yet the need for release became greater as time passed. Her pussy ached
for relief.

She felt him ease a finger into her cunt. It was all she could do not
to raise her hips and impale herself on it. A second finger followed,
teasing its way into her tunnel. It squeezed around his fingers as he
licked at her once more, sending her upwards again.

Roquan noted how tight Amanda was. She had been back at her
deflowering, but she was even more so now. Even though she had not had
formal muscle control training, having sex multiple times every day had
strengthened some of the muscles naturally.

Roquan smoothly slid his fingers in and out of her, his tongue moving
faster against her clitoris. Amanda rose faster, her moans rising in
kind. She strained, uttering a single, strident cry as her cunt spasmed
hard around the Overlord's fingers. She crested, her pussy throbbing
intensely, making her utter a staccato "uh! uh! uh!"

Her noises dissolved into pants as she descended. Roquan slowly
withdrew his fingers and his mouth from her still wet pussy. Amanda
moaned, her head lolling to one side. She was forced to turn her head
back towards him when his body slid over hers.

She looked at him in puzzlement at first. Her heart beat rapidly as she
felt his weight upon her, pinning her down under him. She wasn't sure
what he was going to do until his fingers sought her breast. They
closed around it, gently squeezing her orb in his strong fingers. Her
soft and pliant flesh yielded easily to him.

Roquan descended on her breast, and closed his lips around it.

Amanda gasped loudly. Her nipples was still tender from earlier in the
day, and the touch of his tongue to it sent a shock wave through her
body. He suckled at it gently and skillfully, drawing it into his mouth
a little at a time. Amanda moaned, softly at first and then inexorably
louder as her body quivered in renewed desire.

His body shifted atop her. Her legs were nudged apart. She willingly
spread them further, and was rewarded by his fingers in her cunt.
Amanda was panting again as he suckled at her other breast, twirling
his tongue around her nipple in a way that drove her mad with lust.

Roquan lifted his head from her bosom. She looked up at him with dark,
sultry eyes. He smiled down at her, surprising her with a look of
genuine affection in his face. His body slid up and more fully over
hers, and soon she drew in her breath at the touch of his hardness
against her pussy.

As skilled a lover as Roquan was, he did not even need to reach down to
position himself. Seconds later, she felt the swollen head of his
renewed erection against her tunnel. Shortly, she felt it push into her
and slide tightly inside her.

"/Uhhhnnn!/"

Amanda did not remember him being this thick! She had no way of knowing
that part of it was her own muscles that were tighter this time. The
fullness inside her was incredible. Yet as wet as he had made her
again, he slid into her like oil.

His hips rocked against hers. Amanda closed her eyes and moaned, her
legs spreading as wide as she could for him. He slipped into her more
deeply with each thrust forward, his girth enough that his shaft
stroked the tip of her still-sensitive nub as it slid back and forth.

Amanda rose like a rocket. She wanted desperately to slow it down, but
she had no idea how. She soared up and over, cumming hard, her hips
threatening to buck under him. He pressed his body down to hers a
little more to hold her steady. She wrapped her arms around him,
clutching at him as he pumped his hips faster against her.

She heard him groan, much more urgently than when she had his cock in
her mouth. It only made her all the more excited, and her hips rose to
his. He slapped against her harder, sending her climbing upwards again.
She heard him pant in her ear.

Amanda rose and hovered, straining. Roquan shuddered suddenly, and his
cock pulsed hard against the walls of her tunnel. She let out a cry as
she crested, each throb making her body jerk, intensified by the
fullness inside her.

He withdrew when his manhood began to flag, a few lingering pulses
reverberating through Amanda's pussy. When Roquan embraced her, she
accepted it gratefully, hugging him back tightly.

"Hopefully that was sufficient relief for you, Amanda," Roquan said
softly, still a little breathless.

Amanda was still panting lightly. "Yes, thank you, master," she gushed
in a sighing voice. She had enjoyed that very much. She understood now
why Sirinna was always so happy when Roquan summoned her to his
quarters in the evenings.

Roquan gently rolled onto his back, taking Amanda with him, so that he
lay atop his body. Amanda went limp against him, lying with her head
tucked under his chin, his chest rising and falling steadily under her.
She could hear the powerful beat of his heart. She felt Roquan stroke
her hair and found that she enjoyed that simple, affectionate touch.
She snuggled against him contentedly.

Amanda was quite surprised at this turn of events. She had never seen
herself becoming this comfortable with the Overlord, or seek his
presence like this, or find it anything other than intimidating and
cool. Like the day of her deflowering, she had seen another side of
him, one that was less the Overlord and more the man. She wished he
would show this side more often. It would have made dealing with him so
much easier.

Amanda closed her eyes. She felt at ease, and even began to drift off
to sleep. It was only when Roquan's voice rumbled in his chest that she
was jolted back to full alertness.

"Amanda, there is something I need to discuss with you."

Her eyes blinked back open. She started to rise, but his arm tightened
around her. She relaxed and remained lying against him. "Yes, master?"

"It concerns the Conclave."

Amanda tried to ignore the small twinge of anxiety in her stomach.
"Mistress Sirinna has told me I am to be Presented."

"This is what I wish to speak to you about."

"I can do it, master."

Roquan paused. He had not expected that response. "Do you truly believe
you can, Amanda?"

Amanda nodded, then thought better of it and said, "Yes, master."

"Can you act properly submissive? Can you do what you are told without
question and with the proper attitude? Can you properly please those
you are given to?"

Amanda could not suppress the tiny smile that came to her lips. "I
thought I pleased you rather well," she said in as unassuming a tone as
she could muster.

It worked. Roquan did not see her smile and could not quite tell if she
were trying to be cheeky with him or not. "Yes, you did indeed please
me."

"I tried very hard. I always do."

"Yes, I know you try. It is succeeding that concerns me."

Amanda felt the need to defend herself, but she chose her words and her
tone of voice carefully. "I have been doing better. Mistress Sirinna
tells me this. You have seen me for yourself at the Circle, master."

"Careful, Amanda. Do not assume too much about what I am thinking
towards you."

"I'm sorry, master."

A pause. "I will trust that you will handle yourself properly at the
Conclave. I can do no less at this point."

Amanda let go a relieved sigh. "Thank you, master."

"But there is one thing I need you to do. It concerns the Draught."

"The Infertility Draught?"

"No. The Draught of Forgetfulness. You have not had it."

Amanda's mouth fell open. Roquan felt her tense against his body. "You
told me that it is too late for me to have it, master."

"Indeed it is. That has not changed."

Amanda slowly relaxed.

"Have you ever told anyone you never had the Draught?"

"Um ... no, master. Well, Tanyee knows. And Master Vanlo."

"But you have told no one else since you were collared?"

"No, master."

Amanda had not purposely suppressed the information. It simply never
came up in conversation with the other slaves. No one had ever asked
her about it, so she had never volunteered the information. She had
never heard Sirinna speak of it, either.

"You must continue this," Roquan said, urgency edging his voice. "You
must not reveal you never had the Draught. If you are asked about it
directly ... you will tell them that you have indeed had it."

Amanda blinked. He was ordering her to lie?

Not that it was difficult for her to remember or carry out. It was the
easiest thing she had been asked to do. Yet she was very curious as to
why he wanted her to keep this secret. And why he was so adamant about
it. It was almost as if he were worried about this.

"Do you understand this, Amanda?" Roquan asked when she did not respond
immediately.

"Um, yes, master. I understand."

"It is very important that you do. You must obey me in this."

"Yes, master, I will."

She waited, hoping he would reveal why. She silently cursed when he did
not.

It was obvious to her from whom he wished to keep this information. He
would not have prefaced this command by mentioning the Conclave if he
had not intended her to keep this secret from the other Overlords.
Would he get into trouble over it if it were revealed?

Now she was now growing more curious about the Conclave and exactly
what it was all about.



Emperor Z'haas stepped out into the cool night air, flanked by his
honor guard. Next to him, a distinguished-looking man with a thin frame
and graying hair stood in flowing Mage robes, awaiting his sovereign's
order. Before them, the rich expanse of the gardens of the Imperial
Palace stretched across the massive courtyard, illuminated by both
flickering torchlight and silvery moonlight.

The Emperor lifted his hand and held it before him. Balanced on his
palm was a blue pearl, glowing faintly.

"Lower the wards," Z'haas said.

His wizard nodded once and lifted his arms. He uttered a short but loud
incantation. The moment he uttered the last syllable, the pearl burst
into near blinding light.

A bolt of lightning was summoned from the skies and struck the ground a
short distance before them. As it reformed itself into a large glowing
sphere of coruscating energy, the guards took up a defensive stance,
swords unsheathed, as was standard protocol for an arrival by Portal.

The Emperor looked on calmly as the orb appeared to fall back upon
itself and turn inside-out, a whirling tunnel opening up into the
distance. There was a blur of impossibly swift motion from the
distance, and the next moment the Mage Q'yros was stepping onto the
Imperial grounds.

The guards retained their stance until the Portal endpoint fell in on
itself and disappeared with a deep, resonating boom. Satisfied that no
unexpected visitors would show up along with the wizard, the guards
resheathed their weapons and resumed their normal vigil.

The Emperor's Mage reestablished the wards with a wave of a hand as
Z'haas put the Portal focus away and stepped forward. Q'yros dipped his
head respectfully. "Good evening to you, my Emperor."

"There is little that qualifies as 'good' these days," Z'haas said
stiffly. Without taking his eyes off the old Mage, he made a quick
gesture with his hand. His wizard and guards swiftly departed, leaving
them alone in the courtyard.

Q'yros' crinkly eyes shifted to one side and the other as he watched
the others being summarily dismissed. "How much longer do you believe
can you retain the veil of secrecy?" he asked with a sly smile.

"As long as is necessary. The ability of the Imperium to keep sensitive
information quiet is vastly underestimated."

The Mage sincerely doubted this, but kept silent on the matter. "Have
you learned anything new about our little problem?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing, Q'yros. My intelligence is now
limited, thanks to that infernal Overlord Gronnus. I am sure now he has
alerted the other Overlords to my spying."

The Mage's mouth drew to a thin line. "I have little to tell you,
either, my Emperor. I have learned only that there was at least one
Portal opened to the island of Roquan's Manor, and possibly another
one, earlier, on a nearby island."

"And that is all?"

"Sadly, yes."

Z'haas' face took on an indignant look. "Surely, Q'yros, you can do
better than that!"

Q'yros frowned. "And what would have me do? Attempt to search every
being on those islands for a focus? I have told you before, we do not
have control over such things. It is impossible to track every person
who owns a focus."

"Where were the Portals opened to?"

"The one on Roquan's island was somewhere in the forest just off the
main road. The earlier one we're not sure. Possibly near Lord K'laarn's
Keep."

"Then perhaps he is the cause of this," said the Emperor. "He is the
only one on the islands of sufficient means to purchase such a thing."

The Mage was already shaking his head. "I highly doubt he is the
culprit. He would need to purchase it through the Guild, and there is
no record of such a transaction."

"But you just stated yourself you have no control over such things.
Could he not have obtained it by other means?"

Mage Q'yros sighed. He hated explaining these things, even to his
Emperor. Like with the Overlord, he again wished that his statements
would simply be taken as truth. "He would not risk such a thing. The
Guild frowns on Nobility that attempt to import magical goods of any
type from outside Guild auspices. He would risk being blacklisted by
the Guild if he did such a thing."

"Unless he were sufficiently motivated."

Q'yros grinned with amusement. "Ah, you mean to support Overlord
Roquan's foolish notions?"

"Do not treat this lightly, Q'yros," Z'haas said in a warning tone of
voice.

"If you knew the Overlord as well as I did, my Emperor, you would not
be half as worried as you are. The man is a buffoon. It is surprising
that he has lasted as Overlord for as long as he has."

The Emperor's voice rose. "You say this, yet someone is opening Portals
into Oceanus territory without your knowledge or control!"

"I wish an answer as much as you do!" Q'yros thundered, shaking his
staff at his sovereign. "But I have none to give!"

"This could be an attempt by the enemy to infiltrate. For all we know,
it could be a means for them to transport their horrible new weapon
into our very midst. You cannot tell me that the Mage Guild has no
answer to this."

Q'yros sighed. He hated having an Emperor on the throne that believed
everything could be made to happen through sheer force of will. At the
same time, he was just as deeply concerned. The Guild could sense
things that the Imperium could not. They understood the gravity of the
situation perhaps more than the Emperor did.

In fact, had the Mage been able to explain to the Emperor exactly what
they had sensed so that he could understand it given his very limited
knowledge of magic, he would likely be even more worried than he was
now.

The Mage Guild knew of the odd perturbations in the natural flow of
magical energies that circulated over the face of Narlass. They were
subtle and frustratingly fleeting, but they were there. They were very
small and, taken just by themselves, harmless. Yet they were not
supposed to be there, and the patterns that were emerging from
observation of these energies were alarming.

Something of great power had been engineered to the Far West, well past
Colos and the ocean beyond. He had confirmed the Emperor's suspicions
that far. Yet he was dismayed at Z'haas' obsession over Roquan. He felt
this was a distraction. Roquan did not, in his view, possess the
intelligence to deal with an enemy of the state.

"We hope to have answers soon, my Emperor," said Q'yros in a voice of
forced calm. "We will be watching the island very carefully now. If
another Portal opens, we will learn of it."

The Emperor cast a hard look at the Mage and folded his arms. "Can you
trust the Guild, Q'yros?"

The Mage's eyebrows shot upwards. "I /beg/ your pardon?"

"Are you quite sure everyone in the Guild can indeed be trusted to
remain loyal to their Emperor? Do you have a united front in this?"

"I should be insulted, my Emperor, to hear such things," the Mage said
loftily.

"That does not answer the question."

Damn this man! He is not satisfied unless he has control of everything!

Q'yros allowed himself a small feeling of triumph, however. He was
aware that the Emperor believed himself to have "tamed" the great Mage
Guild of Oceanus. Nothing of the sort had happened. The Guild simply
believed it was currently in their best interest to remain loyal to the
Imperium for the time being. Truly, the Mages were much like the
Overlords, in that they operated by their own agenda.

In fact, it had taken some convincing on Q'yros' part to persuade the
current Guild Master to accept this collusion with the Emperor in the
first place. It was this which had resulted in the failed attempt to
bring Roquan's best Trainer into the palace. Now, it was only these
disturbances of the magical weave that kept their lot thrown in with
the Emperor.

"No one in the Guild would actively work against the Imperium," Q'yros
declared loudly. "To do so would be to work against the Guild. They
would be no better than Rogue Mages, and I need not tell you what we do
to them when we find them!"

Rogue Mages were an anathema to the Guild. When found, they were
immediately "stilled", which was a process by which the Mage was cut
off from access to the magical energies. Unfortunately, this often had
the side effect of causing brain damage. The Guild had little sympathy
in this regard.

"Yet it would be well within the resources of the Guild to do such a
thing."

"You would suggest that a Guild member has turned Rogue?"

"Not necessarily. Simply that he would see an opportunity for himself
in supporting a Noble or Overlord against the Imperium."

Q'yros seethed quietly, but admitted to himself that the Emperor had a
point. The political maneuvering in a Guild to achieve the ultimate
post of Guild Master was far more ruthless than anything that happened
at the Imperial Palace. Yet he would find it hard to believe that
anyone would go to this length.

And certainly Z'haas would understand how supporting someone of
influence against the current sovereign would operate. After all, it
was how Z'haas himself came to power.

"I shall keep my eyes open for anything unusual back at the Guild,"
Q'yros rumbled in annoyance. "But I expect I will find nothing!"

The Emperor nodded once. "If another Portal does indeed open, Q'yros,
what are we to do about it?"

"Watch and wait."

Z'haas frowned. "Wait? For what? For them to bring their weapon into
Oceanus and turn it upon us?"

Q'yros was quite at his wits end. Foolish man! Magic does not work that
way!

The Mage took a moment to calm himself so he would not snap at the
Emperor. "If they have developed something of sufficient power, my
Emperor, and they intend to use it at such a distance as the islands to
usurp the throne, there will be sufficient time to sense the buildup of
magical energies. It is a myth that a Mage, no matter how powerful he
is, can simply wave his hand and cast spells of great power, regardless
of what dewomers he may possess. Such magicks require days, sometimes a
/full moon/, of avid concentration."

"I hope you are indeed correct in that assessment, Q'yros."

"As sure as you are that Roquan is in league with the enemy, my
Emperor," the Mage said smoothly.

"He is, Q'yros! The signs are there! I daresay I can predict that we
will indeed detect a Portal being opened to the D'ronstaq Manor in the
days to follow."

Q'yros sincerely doubted this, but held his tongue.

"Now, if you have nothing else for me, I will have a servant show you
to some quarters for the night."

"Most kind of you, my Emperor," the Mage said in a largely perfunctory
manner. "I am weary from all this travel. We can discuss the
strengthening of your wards in the morning."

Though against what, the Mage wondered, they were warding was yet an
unanswered question.
<1st attachment end>


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