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Eight of them carefully perform the ritual and another eight keep a ward, their backs resting against the walls of the former library.
They let the magical energies flow and weave through into a coherent effect that reaches out and plucks someone from another universe. There is light and then there is a person in the middle of the runic octagon. Hopefully, the cushions will stop their fall.
"Please don't take actions that are likely to lead down that path. That sound disastrous. Before letting you out to wonder about we will assign you an escort that should be immune to this sort of thing. Hmmm... do you have other offensive capabilities?"
She's not sure if she should tell them that doing that won't per se kill her, and telling someone later is doable and untelling isn't so much so she's going with no.
She gives an affirmative sign.
"Yes."
"I'd like to settle the 'you don't mean us harm' a bit further before I hand that out. Why do you ask?"
"It influences who gets to keep watch on you, who interacts with you and how much freedom of movement you would have outside the circle. Though, we would be willing to get the information after your confirmation."
Then she brings Genea out of it.
You ok?
Wasn't sure if I should bring you out and ask about the punching thing.
Yeah, she says to the first.
...It's different with people watching.
But this - is important. And she is ok and will be fine.
Don't think it would have mattered much.
She wants the two who've been doing most of the talking (points to Pherikles and Phelix) and one of the random people around the room she doesn't know yet (she picks one at random).
Pherikles, Phelix, Dalfelins, Dalfereon and the random person (a woman with scaly skin) are bound with stone-restraints and the winged Dalfelins and Dalfereon are knocked out unconscious.
Fortunately she has at least kind of seen telepathic connections without magical enslavement before, if differently, so she has some reference for what she's looking at.
(Non-magically, she looks for signs (consults Genea for more) that any of them really actually don't want to do this.)
"Ready?" she asks, if that checks out.
"Ready."
No one is thrilled, specially the snake person, but they are proffering to fulfill this condition.
As long as it looks like 'not thrilled' and not 'desperate not to' or anything, she'll go ahead.
It feels like distance inside, and an odd sort of focus, and time stretching like sticky candy. And Aye backlit, highlighted, extra note if she speaks.
(If they really need saving, and they've been taking people without asking for it, then - she doesn't disagree on 'not thrilled' and treatment of it, with that.
If they're lying, then.)
She can't say that's her favorite feeling but at least probably useful just now.
Then she will ask them every question she can think of or Genea can help her think of on the themes of are you (plural, as concerns the group) telling the truth in general, do you have any intentions to do not that, have you done something bad in this world, do you have any plans to do anything bad in worlds you make or have made contact with, do you know of anyone else who might, and so on.
The ones under the effect have not lied to them and don't want to, though the larger group might have divergent opinions on the matter of how they are approaching the summons, as many wanted to be more aggressive about it. If too long pass without the summons yielding progress, the group will likely decide that their survival outweighs diplomacy and honesty. They are not at that turning point yet. The four-armed giants are hoping to counter such attempts by denying access to the summoning magic. They are confident that they can...
Many outside the octagon shift uncomfortably upon hearing all that.
"Please don't ask them how they are planning to do that." Says one a dark-skinned horned person.
They have neglected to use their powers for the sake of rest and entertainment. They continue explaining that they have consorted with pirates to get transportation and supplies. They also have helped escaped slaves, which is a crime. They have killed in self-defense, specially after the end of the world. They have collaborated with keeping the fact that the moon fixes the world's infertility problem a secret for several years(they had a infertility problem before the end), thus denying ten of thousands the ability to have children, because they prioritized making the moon defensible against a war over it. They expect that even the most diplomatically successful contact will result in some friction and are willing to accept that cost, with the possibility of waiting until groups have enough food and shelter, then locking them into different dimensions until they are not foolish enough to cause trouble again. They are planning to build themselves up and use magic to go back to previously visited dimensions and do things like steal slaves and some criminals (like people that have committed homosexual sex where that is illegal) which is likely very disruptive and hostile, though their man goal is figuring out how to provide safety and well-being to the multiverse...
They can name several political figures that might try conquer other worlds, but they (again) are not planning to give them the chance. Here are their names and countries. None are on the moon, and most are in this specific besieged city...
...should have considered that they might have things it wouldn't be great for others to hear.
Well, even she can't turn back time, so, not much to be done for that at this point. Except possibly not-asking-them-how-they're-planning-to-do-that; she'll find out what's up with that later and in fact refrain from asking for now.
...There's some senses in which this is really more reassuring than a 'nope no bad things' would have been. Including that it's actually far far less likely this is a planted-story-because-they-anticipated-some-kind-of-mental-magic, or something like that.
Well. Definitely convinced we're not leaving at this point. In fact, she's going to take several more magical efforts intended toward hopefully being able to jump back here herself, if she needs to. Not that she's ever done that before, or has any idea how it might work. But she can make some attempts.
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