Title: Not the Expected Result

Authors: Stana and Kit

Date: 4/15/01


"Then we have no reason to keep you alive at all, do we?" Kal asked, drawing his dagger. "Say the word Ambassador"

"Bind him." she repeated "at the least, we will use him to find the slaves he has." 
 
Kal muttered and strode forward, as the Captain also advanced.
 
"Where is Finn?" Stana asked, expression stony. She had come a long way to find the slave. And at this point, she was ready to take no further distractions in her quest. She did not turn to acknowledge Audion stepping beside her, nor the Unicorn on her right. Her attention was completely forward. Which is how she noticed it.
 
There was a moment's disorientation as the elementalist drew equal to her side. One they both seemed to feel. The very air wavered before them and she took a step back hastily.
 
"What-?" she began, looking quickly to the other, who seemed as nonplussed as she. The others in the group descending on the wizard, Stana noted, did not react at all, still playing out this pathetic drama.
 
"Something is wrong." Audion frowned, his rings flashing with sudden life.

Clip concurred with a snort.

Stana reached out not knowing what she expected, until her fingers met an invisible and hard edged surface. Cold.
 
She snatched her hand back quickly, eyebrows rising.
 
"Sorcery?" she asked.
 
"Neigh." the Unicorn answered, form shifting to utter those words. "I felt no betrayal of magic. This...is something else."
 
Stana locked her gaze on the other group. Her head was cocked in a quizzical angle, although her eyes remained jaded. Noone seemed to have noted their sudden plight, and although she could see them...she could not hear them.
 
Audion tapped on the glass tentatively, feeling nothing reflecting back from the globe. There was no sense about it to indicate a clue.   His brow creased slightly, but he could remeber no lessons or legends off hand that spoke of occurrences like this.  :::This is inconvenient, and dangerous....::: He checked briefly down at his rings, specifically the glass band adorned with a black star-sapphire.  They still had time if it came to attempting  his celestial magic.  If magic worked here....

"Look-" Stana began, and he turned, seeing that behind them was not the door they entered, but a grey, misty path.
 
Clip shimmered briefly, snorting in amazement.  "This would not be possible..." he began.
 
"-but apparently it was." replied the elementalist. "Since we stand here."
 
"They-" Stana said "They don't even see we aren't there."
 
"Perhaps to their eyes we still are." Audion answered. "They appear to be reflected to our sight...the same may hold true there.  More unpleasant a situation for them, once they realize our strength is not with them."
 
"It's as if we stand on the edge of the lake." Clip commented "and see images in the water. They lack substance in shadow, but retain their image."
 
"Are you saying we are on the edge of something then?" she asked.
 
He hesitated, then shrugged.
 
"What should we do?" she asked, gaze turning from the other two, back to the group that were still in the castle.
 
"We cannot go back that way." Audion said. "We can go forward, or attempt our own magic with the risk of untold repercussions."  He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes indicating distrust for the second option.
 
"I know not what power this is." the Unicorn repeated uneasily "I would not have believed such was possible."
 
::Great:: Stana thought. Having come all this way, now to be denied the very reason for this whole damned trip.
 
"Well then the choices are 1: we can sit here and talk...or 2: we could move." she finally said, seeing both waiting patiently.

She threw a hesitating glance over her shoulder, but
then nodded and walked off. She didn't wait to see that the others were following, she knew they were.