“Of course,” he smiled. They still had a huge array of time and had no need to rush matters as he took her about the streets and showed her some of the fantastic sites that existed along the way. He did not delay too much but there were places along the way that he showed off. Museums, art galleries and while they would not have time to hit everything there were a few things that he pointed out though it was mostly buildings that had been pointed out to her.

He did not mind that closeness as they walked and if the city was not shrunk where everyone knew one another then people may have thought she was a granddaughter though she was much too close, something may have been off in that assumption though neither had been approached about it and neither seemed to feel that it had matter.

“It should be easy to determine what door is the portal once I get into the restricted areas. I didn't want to tip Renee off in the event that she had any defenses in place that would give us one shot at this matte until we are ready to move,” Whitney explained.

“Before we make our move I'll use an Arcane Eye to scry the places we can't easily get to though.”

Spencer heard the question. “Hm ...” he was distracted with a thought, the question slow to catch up as he grinned, hovering in place. “Oh … well as you know Faerie Dragons often dwell with Pixies and we both are great pranksters. Each of use is born with a few innate magical abilities and we Faerie Dragons gain a few as we mature too. Granted each of our species can become dedicated spell casters too but at the basic level a hatchling has command over visual illusions and our command of illusions increase over time, that and our ability over lights … Hypnotic Patterns, Color Sprays that can blind or knock someone out, that sort of thing.

“Over all a mature Faerie Dragon is pretty good, an elder outstanding and even a hatchling is pretty good so we can hold our own for the most part.”

Spencer supplied the information, though it was an answer his age category was still hard to determine. Though he seemed to display some minor magic such as arresting falls that were real basic so he could have had some training too and he was able to impersonate a Goblin, either through a spell or item.

Stealth had been fairly important considering that nearly half the town observed the mayor himself with the charming red head nestled up against him and causing any disturbance in the meantime which could be traced back to her and her travelling companions might reflect poorly on him, especially during the day when the slightest mishap on their part could potentially alarm Renee and compel her to either let the key vanish before they had any chance to obtain it or enhance whichever security measures were already in place. She was unaware of anything that went on inside her head and dealing with an unforeseen threat amongst people who were supposed to be on the same side shed little light on the matter.

Abdul had to be saved one way or another, they could worry about dealing with Renee later on unless any revelation he offered explained the circumstances he wound up in, but possibly housing a traitor in the midst of the City Within the City certainly spelled trouble for everyone involved.

Listening intently Flame happened to recall that younglings were beautifully colorful whereas elders tended to appear pitch black. He'd shown off the Featherfall effect several times in their battle against the demons although she had to wonder how much more the playful prankster had hidden beneath his scales.

His coloration seemed to indicate that he was roughly an entire decade of age although Flame never asked him in the past, unconcerned with counting the days to his inevitable demise seeing the small number of friends and acquaintances she had managed to accumulate after having her memories suppressed. He might not have shown how powerful he truly was since they first met which had been another possibility, of course.

"Is that so?" She smiled at him delightedly. "I've spoken to Whitney about your theatrical performance which I had the pleasure of indulging in back on Brindel and merely wondered whether you could possibly combine the two in a staggering display of showmanship. I'm already aware that you're quite an exceptional performer, but after skimming through the scriptures I suppose I have yet to see the entire range of your talents."

Flame hadn't forgotten about the lighthearted offer made back in the woods upon dealing with the Satyr who offered up vital information after being interrogated by a far more intimidating Spencer than the one she'd known and hoped to lure his hidden abilities into prominence by bringing the notion back up without arousing too much suspicion here even though the young sorceress neglected to fill Whitney in on her plans.

"Would you care for a demonstration? I mean, we have plenty of time before making our move on Renee and I'd love to see how good you really are on stage." Her warm smile beamed at the Faerie Dragon in ravishing delight given the lack of falsehood in her advances on Spencer. Now they didn't have to observe him in public either and heading back to Whitney's residence was always an option to consider though for a Fae to boast didn't seem to be an unreasonable thought.

Matters with Renee … Abdul did not say why he was imprisoned and this could also be a personal matter between the two as much as it was a betrayal or something as nefarious of Renee being a spy. The fact that she was able to surprise her father, Flame could assume that in a contest against one another either deception was involved or great assistance had to be employed to beat him, after all he had once been the greatest of the Elemental Fire sorcerers until he passed the torch along though really he still had such a title even without the ability to call forth the Flame Serpent.

If he had not mentioned this sort of matter then Renee must have trapped him rather than Abdul discovering some nefarious plan. Though the question was for who did she trap him if not for herself? There was an equal chance that she had betrayed him and had been during over Abdul as a sign of loyalty.

It was complicated …

Spencer glanced to Whitney a clawed forelimb stroking his chin as he considered. One matter with Fae was that they were suspicious creatures given how often others tried to prank them. Being a Faerie Dragon living among Pixies there was a lot of trickery in their day to day lives. But Flame was human and not Fae so he tended not to be too suspicious.

“You desire to see me act again?” He contemplated the matter in his head as he thought things over. “Well, here is no good. And a human audience … I do not know if that humor translates over well … ah, I have just the thing. Is there a theater that we can use or an empty room not so cluttered as your home?”

Whitney considered though not for long before he had touched upon a solution. “City Hall, there’s a room there that we use to give speeches before fellow council members and some of the general public.”

“Good, book it or whatever you humans do. Nicodemus will have to pay me for this one,” the diminutive one chuckled as Whitney lead them on.

“Was there anything in particular you were aiming for this time around, Flame?”

Flame had been caught red handed by the Faerie Dragon with another male in the intimacy of their own bedroom and figured that after everything they've discussed and implied while without the Dwarf would have him hold a grudge against the nubile sorceress while feeling less inclined to give in to her desires, but thankfully that wasn't the case here even though these thoughts were birthed from her own suspicion. Perhaps he simply loathed enduring negative emotions for too long given their limited lifespan, but either way she had been grateful that he would provide them with the show they needed.

How exactly his humor wouldn't translate over well the young woman hadn't fully understood, but hopefully he didn't plan on drawing upon mostly sexual fabrications here. He appeared to welcome or at least accept the proposal to perform in front of a small audience, certainly a stepping stone from Flame alone as his audience and if he turned out to be as good as she recalled, then he might earn further praise and confidence in his acting.

Getting seated had her think of most recent events and wondered whether or not his handiwork allowed her to even remotely do anything aside from standing for a while, but she would simply have to try regardless.

Crimson eyes glanced skyward for a moment in thought as they pressed on toward City Hall before looking back at the colorful Fae. "What about two people interacting with each other in a minor scenario you've created? Can you do that?" Her understanding on illusions and how draining they might be had been fairly limited although Flame ended up recommending exactly what they needed to know about him once his personal suspicion had faded away.

She smiled softly at that. "I don't mind either humor or drama, or whatever else you might choose to portray, I'm absolutely thrilled to see you act once again."

Three humans and while sex was a big part of the Fae culture knowing your audience was key too so he had to consider what would amuse such sensibilities too. He began leaning towards a Pixie drama though and while Flame had considered why he was still easy going she was partially correct in her assumptions.

Fae expressed a wide range of emotions. They were chaotic loving individual freedom and hated to have that oppressed by laws or actual slavery that they tended to vehemently oppose. They hated evil, a Faerie Dragon did not have the luxury of time though and what upset them one day often didn't the next. Holding onto negative emotions went against their nature, in part they were tricksters as were the Pixies they lived with and so they were a jovial species, simply put, one in a bad mood became an easy target from their families and peers until they dealt with the matter. It may have seemed cruel or taking advantage of someone down in the dumps but it also told them that regardless of how bad things were life went on.

It was rare that one was upset longer than a day and if so no more than a week. Unlike most Fae though they didn't hold onto grudges made against them or their families centuries ago even though they had a rich and detailed history, specific Faerie Dragons of a bloodline recorded all the great deeds or all the good jokes and humor (which was more import to them than the reign of this king or conquest of such and such a kingdom).

On the way to City Hall though Spencer had to consider. He had the tale in mind though it was brief, no longer than an hour and improv had been a specialty of Pixies and Faerie Dragons since they had to act in the spur of the moment.

“Hm,” he rubbed his chin. Her acting skills weren't to great from what he recalled and he had pondered why she was asking … he watched her closely, dawning hitting him only because the Fae mind was wired differently. Still, he would hate to cast her in the lead but he could read between the lines. Her other traveling companions save for Gale may not have picked up on it only because what other species dismissed the Fae did not and vice versa.

“It might be a stretch … you can't have the lead and it goes against your nature but that is the beauty of acting. Alright we will see what you can do and you will see that a great actor can make anyone around them shine.” He winked at her, he knew …

When they got to City Hall Whitney got the requested room and he and Typhoon took their seats in the otherwise empty hall. For a stage crew Spencer did not need much and he could use magic for what he needed. Mage Hand to lift and lower the curtains, Dancing Lights for lighting effects, Ventriloquism to project his voice.

Behind the curtain Spencer hovered before Flame. “Can't sit …” he waved a tiny claw. “You will be mean, as mean as you can be with your pranks to the lead and inventive is good. Now, let's get you into custom ...”

He concentrated covering her in the illusion he had generated. Similar to invisibility he hide her then projected what he wished to be seen in her space, in this case a chest nut haired Pixie with large pointed ears and shining green eyes. Pixies were naturally invisible but seeing how the audience had been human he made the Pixies visible, though they could become visible at their leisure.

“Let's place a tree here, and here and here ...” the illusions of full grown trees, grass and flowers appeared straight down to fluttering butterflies. There were to men father and son that were back to back with a pack of wolves surrounding them …

“OK, those two are your targets now go make something up.” He prompted her forth as the curtains game up and he adjusted the lighting effect a little.

"You want me to be on stage?" He knew something, alright.

"I .. um .. Sure. I've never actually performed in front of anyone, but I guess it might be fun without more than three pairs of eyes on me at the same time." Personally Flame thought that he did not have any ulterior motives by including the buxom beauty in the performance. He merely implied that he already knew something wasn't truly the way it seemed and had the timidly flushed woman participate on equal terms as payment for his deeds hence there hadn't been any protest on her behalf although she feared potentially failing in her assigned position in front of Whitney and Typhoon though even then the whole procedure may wind up being fairly amusing.

Any suitable seat would not allow for the red haired vixen to rest, not even when they finally reached City Hall and the recent memory of what tremendous spire had been stuffing her completely returned at once in her initial and final attempt considering the distinct painful sensation shooting throughout her ample backside then and there.

Both Fae and Flame vanished behind the curtains whereupon Spencer prepared the stage for the coming performance, his preparations astounding to say the least although duration and potency alone would matter by the end of their little intermission, but promptly covered in an illusion of admirable quality had the nubile temptress ponder on what further evidence they needed in regards to his talents.

She watched on, lush ruby lips mildly agape in observation of his handiwork although the thought of being mean seeped into the back of her skull. "Oh .. alright. I suppose I can do that." Unlike him the story here would be an unknown for her, leaving little motivation to disturb the peace other than his spoken command, but then again that was more than enough to go on though the utter lack of direction nearly petrified the woman by his side.

"Make something up?" Flame attempted to ascertain her role in his fabricated play through her muttered inquiry, but her endeavors fell upon silent ears and the grandiose performer ushered the hesitating young woman on stage instead. It had been the lack of guidance he drew upon which the human female had a profound aversion to, embarrassment and excitement pouring forth into her veins in their purest form in an incredibly intimidating mixture of stage fright.

Heat rushed to her ravishing features, likewise the blood induced blush which rapidly swarmed the obscured actress underneath the shell Spencer had created, not knowing whether even the slightest change on her own self would reflect in much the same way in the eyes of her audience which, even though they were familiar to the passionate sorceress and not higher than two in numbers, certainly had an effect on the young woman. Regardless of her unwarranted concerns the lovely chest nut haired Pixie smiled mischievously at both venerable male and elementalist, winking at them deviously before guiding her attention to the entrapped illusionary men in front of her.

Malice most certainly wasn't amongst her favorite activities, at least nothing beyond playful teasing and lighthearted pleasantries, not to mention that most men in her presence all by themselves never truly put any unreasonable degree of pressure upon her and her overall performance. But without spoiling the fun Flame sought to make the most of that opportunity even though her acting wasn't the greatest and the details of the chosen play were far beyond her understanding.

With slightly more flamboyant gestures than necessary the lively young Pixie tried to manipulate these illusions like she would have in reality, drawing upon artistic license here in order to enhance the experience or simply in an attempt to cause mischief on a far grander scale than Air Magic alone might have made feasible. She begun by setting the Earth ablaze in an extensive ring of dancing fires whereas their bodies would be heaved into the air without anyone touching them directly, swaying well outside of the lethal range unless Spencer somehow forbid any interaction of the sort.

But even now Flame wondered what else could be done. Surely the wolves weren't exactly allied with either side of the spectrum and given her aforementioned targets the two men would suffer a little bit more. Selected and telepathically elevated to their level they were almost eye to eye with the two creatures she had chosen, letting them float in circles around the two and just out of reach although her abilities in Air Magic weren't nearly as efficient as her reign over Fire.

There was little guidance here, there didn't have to be much after all and other illusions of other Pixies and Faerie Dragons joined in to the play assisting her. The general gist of the tale made little sense, save for the two humans being pranked ant tormented, the father growing more and more pissed and the son taking things in stride.

Some times the torment was direct such as the wolves or fire or being tossed about, often it was interact. The wolves were illusions after all directed by the Fae though by the end of it The old man was chastised by the Fae where as the young man was given a magical flute for enduring the teasing and pranks as Pixies so often did. They enjoyed targeting those that did not like being teased or joke with, as pranksters they were drawn to these people though at the end of the day when people took their humor well they were often rewarded for enduring the pranks and more often than not the Fae would provide something that was either very valuable or something magical that they could benefit from.

That seemed to be the morale of the story though, to take things in good stride and good things were likely to result regardless of how bad they got. A morale that held up in their society.

Spencer never took the stage and Typhoon had even been impressed by the illusionary abilities of the Fae. He would not say who he was doing the play, nor who Flame was though the strong belief remained as the male and female leads, the Pixie woman for Flame and either the father or son for Spencer.

Detecting Magic had only allowed Typhoon to know what types of magic had been used though glamor effects would detect as illusion too.

“I trust that short improv on a classic theme amongst my people was adequate in displaying my skills.” Of course, Flame was the only one amongst the three that realized that he had not performed at all yet directed matters allowing her to even get absorbed into matters readily enough allowing her to manipulate the illusions that he had set up and even offering her suggestions when she seemed stumped as what to do given the supporting cast of Faerie Dragons and Pixies that had several asides as far as their schemes went, during which they were spelled out as to what was to happen.

“I think he'd be perfect.”

“Perfect?” Typhoon added as he caught this, his eyes flickering amongst the three as he tried to figure what was going on. If Flame wasn't quick on the draw then Whitney would be, it was his mistake after all ...

Flame valiantly performed before their precious audience and endured the attentive eyes which were following their every maneuver, embarrassment bleeding over into excitement alone throughout the scene which allowed her to ease into scenario at hand far more easily than before, bestowing unto her a sort of lighthearted feeling of comfort which was often relished in thought but seldom granted her the pleasure of basking in the illusion of freedom. They had yet to free Abdul, deal with the Forgotten Four and inevitably oppose the witch before things went sour and taking one's mind off all that had proven fairly challenging.

Despite having the knowledge that they were little more than fabricated images the concealed woman rarely enjoyed tormenting anyone given her kind and warm hearted nature although a certain playfulness certainly came to her naturally, whether through her dalliances with men or else though at some point in time she lost herself to the flow of her fellow Pixies.

In the end making a nuisance of herself rewarded her with the revealed morale of the story, another sentiment Flame had trouble deeming suitable in her current state, but treasuring the experience in the near future may potentially change her mindset in that regard.

"I never thought you'd be as proficient as you were today. I'm impressed." Returned to her former appearance the still mildly blushing sorceress complemented him after joining up with the remainder of their little group, thankful that Spencer hadn't mentioned her role to anyone lest she would feel judged by every single attendee. Naturally when he first displayed any talent in acting he barely covered more than speech and his grandiose inflection, but setting matters up as he did certainly was beyond satisfactory.

When Whitney suddenly chimed in even Flame lacked any adequate response to Typhoon. She had an explanation at hand yet wanted to keep it a secret, how she and Spencer would venture across the world upon dealing with their foremost hardships though their plans in that regard didn't seem set in stone since their most recent talk. Still, one with his talents could undoubtedly make a comfortable living in the theatre.

Flame allowed Whitney to respond without interruption rather than try to construct lies that weren't truly believable or full of holes which would attract attention further down the line unless filled in by anyone else.

“Why thank you, Flame, it was nothing that no other Faerie Dragon could pull off.”

“I have not met with any other Faerie Dragons but I'm going to say that is an understatement after what we witnessed here today.” Whitney added. His spells were pretty basic, mostly of the elemental variety seeing how Janni used a ton of such magic.

“Perfect for my granddaughter. She's been insisting on entering the theater with a traveling troupe but well … she's horrid at acting and needs more than a few lessons. After witnessing this show here today I know she could benefit from your tutor-ledge Spencer.”

He did not miss a beat and while Typhoon may not have believed this he had a question of greater concern that he had been debating again and again in his mind.

“Illusions are a tricky matter and require concentration in all but the strongest of them, the programmed and permanent illusions which I know are well outside the typical Faerie Dragon spells so how did you act and pull off the illusions at the same time?”

Spencer just wiggled a clawed finger back and forth. “It's easy … there are talents that you know of that are so innate or you learn them so well that you can do them without thinking. Illusions are already easy for us Fae and if we put our minds to them we can do them in our sleep. Pure visual illusions are the simplest and easiest to pull off.”

It had seemed as if Typhoon accepted this though. He seemed to be thinking about something though before Whitney caught him off guard. “You are an Elemental Sorcerer of water? Sirocco is a desert for the most part, a quick word if you wouldn't mind.”

“Of course,” and Whitney made a gesture so they could step aside to speak further leaving Flame and Spencer alone for the moment. The Faerie Dragon wasting little time.

“OK, what's really up?”

Honestly Flame never even considered that Whitney had any family in the local premises, let alone anywhere else on the great many Shadows out there although any less suspicious mind might not have seen through the fabricated tale though it would have been a fascinating detail the young sorceress would have thought of as quite fascinating, especially since the feisty woman potentially wasn't much older than his supposed granddaughter.

But thankfully the situation appeared to resolve itself from that moment onward and the matter of discussion bled over into another matter entirely as the charming old man detached himself and her travelling companion from the group, leaving the other two in relative privacy as they stepped aside for the time being.

She smiled mildly at his sudden inquisitive nature. They tried to trick a prankster and evidently failed to hide their intentions fully although Flame leaned in closer and kept her voice down while descending further into the details of their plan. "Whitney and I have found a means of potentially delaying Bryne in his negotiations with the witch and we need your help to achieve that goal."

"In the library he went on to show me a hidden compartment which leads into another structure he referred to as 'the Vault'. It literally creates copies of every single written record in existence and after exploring the place for a short while we've come across one of Bryne's personal scriptures. A Fire Memphit resides within the tome and it is he you must trick into thinking that the scene you'll fabricate for us is real so that he may later relay that kind of information to Bryne."

Naturally they had to work out the kinks of that particular detail further down the line, but setting the foundation for the next step had priority. "We think leading him to believe that another one of the Forgotten Four works against him might throw their plans off a fair bit, at least long enough for us to retrieve Abdul and make our move before they make theirs. We simply had to know how efficient your illusions are before going through with it although I admired the scenery nonetheless."

He truly surpassed any of her expectations here. Flame smiled softly at the diminutive Fae, her expression and tone each reflecting the reality of the matter at hand seeing how poorly the human female tended to lie. "That's the honest truth."

Briefly glancing over shoulder the nubile temptress confirmed that they would be left undisturbed for a little while longer before these shimmering crimson eyes settled back on his, even the smile vanished from her lush ruby lips. "Nobody else must know where we're going and what we're doing because the Vault is meant to be kept secret. Not even everyone in town knows about it. I dislike asking for favors, but can I rely on your discretion on this one as well?"

It was a lie though a believable one or so Whitney thought. When dealing with Typhoon one had to be careful considering that he often picked up on things both large and small that others may have missed. Now grand children were likely out there though he had no relatives here in this city. Of course, Whitney never said that they were here either letting Typhoon draw his own conclusions.

Orange eyes flew to the large breasts out of habit, he was male and Fae at that though to his credit they had not lingered on those succulent orbs for long before he redirected his attention to those lovely crimson eyes of her's.

“Delay Bryne, is that so?” He allowed her to continue on.

“A Fire Memphit! Oh, please I could fool one of them in my sleep. The bigger issue I have is if you two had sex before your search or after, just curious. I'd say after since if it were before you wouldn't be looking at books later … well if it were bad I guess ...” he smirked, expecting no answer to that though teasing her of that fact a little. He wouldn't have minded, despite his earlier protests about being different species and all which was more a show for Roc's sake. Fae, after all and there were few taboos that repulsed them.

“I am honored that you enjoy my acting. To trick a Memphit is simple, to trick the Master is another so it does look like this will be fun after all … and coming up with a rift between the Forgotten Four ...”

He smirked, thinking over his options here. He had a caste of three to select from and would consider the matter carefully before coming up with something. Now he concluded that this Memphit existed in a book both at the Vault and in Bryne's presence so it seemed he was bound to it … a sizable challenge but one that he could accomplish … he gave that a bit of thought too.

He raised the muscles over his left eye at her, if he had an eyebrow he would be lifting that instead. “Ohhh, Flame, Flame, Flame … Fae cannot brake promises, you should have had made me promise first then told me and not the other way around. Either your memory has been impaired or you trust me that much not to say anything … I can do whatever I wish with that information … maybe I should blackmail the two of you … I am kidding of course, the secret is safe. Promise.” He sealed himself into that agreement just so she would not worry about it.

“Now, when do I start? Should I come up with this while you and Typhoon proceed on though coming up with a viable excuse may be difficult. After we rescue Abdul? That could be better, I can make some sort of pretext about having to stick with him for some reason, perhaps as a guide to you and the others if we can get him in on the lie … he might ask why though … hmm … or, well I can consider something else though we may need Whitney's help too.”

Flame had been rather content with him mentally unsheathing the voluminous blessings of her ample bust due to the highly sexual nature of the Faerie Dragon, the deliciously plump albeit concealed heaps of flesh most certainly reminiscent of their nightly endeavors where he'd gotten the slightest sliver of their heavenly texture and divine softness. But that drunken state was beyond her now and with their earlier discussion hopefully resolved once and for all although the notion of having had sex with Whitney most assuredly threw the busty red head off guard, her gorgeous features immediately turning bright red though an answer never came for what more would he need to know?

He wasn't even terrible in bed, his performance far from poor though in that regard the human female would keep her diminutive companion guessing as to how well the old man fared earlier. However, she would have bowed down further if not for the sharp stinging sensation he had left behind to remember their lovemaking by.

Her trust in him went beyond pressuring him into an agreement by making him promise not to tell anyone although in that instance the nubile sorceress had completely forgotten about this particular safety measure. Surprisingly enough he brought himself under the constraint of his promise to her, not that Flame suspected he would ever try to blackmail either of them. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind the next time I ask anything of you." She smiled at that, grateful not to have been despised for her outburst the other night.

Now the matter of timing had to be adressed. "Whenever you have something in mind which you deem appropriate, I suppose, although sooner might be better in the long run should we hope to keep them away from the Blue Shrine until we're ready to move against them before they can move against us."

Nicodemus tasked them with freeing Abdul in order for them to capture the Forgotten Four and deny Tori an alternative to her escaped prisoners. When they would strike, nobody knew, but they'd already left half of their available assets behind to prevent their enemies access to the Blue Shrine and any further delay in manipulating them might be a mistake. "We believe that anyone of the other three daring enough to move against Bryne in some fashion would disrupt their already quite volatile alliance and prolong negotiations at least a little while longer before they manage to resolve matters amongst themselves, but I'll leave the scene entirely up to you. I'm sure Whitney would be more than willing to help should you need him for anything."

Another thought struck her in that moment, not necessarily anything he could change either although certainly worth mentioning. "We have not yet decided on how to actually compel Bryne to read his copy of the book once you're finished, but I'm sure we'll find something along the way. We have a few hours left to spend, after all."

He rubbed his chin. Keeping this place secret meant that he could not get paid by Nicodemus not that he wanted payment or had been doing any of this for money. It had started as a favor, favors were greater then currency to the Fae who preferred them to cash. Now though he was somewhat attached to the band but had to keep up appearances.

Of course he might have to bring this awkward situation up to Flame, maybe get to watch her bath or something. He stroked his chin as he thought, the biggest issue here was dealing with Typhoon to keep him in the dark about matters. He was smart, real smart, after all.

“Timing … the sooner the better I suppose. I cannot detect magical portals. I can tell if something is enspelled through magic. Whether a magical trap is on it or it's a portal is tough for me to determine but there is a low level Illusion that can mask magical auras or give false auras so that something non-magical radiates as magic. It would be easy for me to alter the magic of the portal so that when analysis is made it registers as only allowing Efreeti and human to pass through, it conveniently leaves me here and I can work on my acting.

“I believe I have something in mind … as for getting Bryne the message I might have a means of doing that. Worse case scenario it fails and I have to travel to the tower myself to open the book on his end releasing the Memphit to deliver it.

“If you could point out that portal to me ahead of time … tonight is fine, you can look for the portal and I will take Typhoon to secure the key, maybe generating an illusion that Renee is near it and so his skills may be necessary. Altering the aura only takes a few seconds so timing maybe crucial … then again ...”

Spencer paused as he flew about her then hovered in place. “If you just say that you found the portal and after a quick study encountered that problem I'm pretty sure that he would not double check and analyze the matter for himself. What do you think?”

"Why? What do you have in mind?" Beneath her voice there was a certain measure of concern her honesty failed to hide, pondering on how feasible any alternatives may be that wouldn't force him to travel to Bryne's domain himself.

Flame mulled over the matter in the back of her mind and promptly dismissed minor sources of concern, her being a Construct for one which certainly factored into their lie although the elementalist, like Gale and Nicodemus, knew nothing of her more or less fabricated physical self. "Hmm .. I imagine it might work considering that he remains unaware of my true nature."

Her acting would be more than sufficient for their undertaking, especially with more than enough time to prepare for the few lines Spencer needed her to say in order to slip away with as little suspicion as humanly possible. She was given an insight into the past of the young man and promised to keep any transpired events under lock and key, surely that sign of mutual trust would aid them in that regard.

Now finding the portal on the other hand might be the toughtest detail of their plan here tonight, but nothing impossible to achieve. With the key somewhere on the upper floor Flame would have ample opportunity to explore the basement away from her two travelling companions should Renee no longer reside therein at the time. "Alright, we'll stick to your plan. Typhoon and I will set out to the Shadow of Nod while you follow Whitney along to the library and work on disrupting the peace within the Forgotten Four."

Hopefully they wouldn't think of heading to the Blue Shrine before they were done. Abdul had been vital to the success of their mission even though the truth regarding his imprisonment on Nod had yet to be elaborated on, but Flame remained aware of their priorities here and placed getting things done ahead of anything else, especially after her most thrilling deviation from the path with Whitney by her side.

“I might be able to hitch a ride … use the book like a portal though the only dimensional magic I know is walking the Shadows. Perhaps I can find something at the Vault that gives me some insight, I have a few ideas … once inside the book I could use the Knock enchantment to open it up, Knock is pretty basic, a bit more complicated then Feather Fall but something I picked up. Since it unlocks and opens containers getting the book to open shouldn't be hard. A well place illusion on the other side could trick the Memphit into thinking that the book was handled remotely, such as through the basic Mage Hand incantation and accidentally opened … hmm ...”

Spencer rubbed his chin as he considered the problem and the options of how to handle it.

“If I can't figure it out I'll just have to travel to Bryne's tower and open it there, covered with a viable illusion of course … maybe even as a 'fuck you' to Bryne so he realizes that someone is disgruntle with him ...”

Spencer was considering, he thought he had a pretty good story in mind and that was part of weaving a good illusion. Leave enough information and clues but leave it vague enough for the tricked party to reach the conclusions you want though by letting them come to think that they were coming to their own conclusions.

“Sounds like we have a plan then,” it should work, certainly Typhoon would not think anything of the lie. If they said the portal only worked for humans he may have wondered how Abdul used it and seeing that Abdul was suppose to be an ally then it was safe to reason that they made the portal so that he could use it.

With all the logistics settled they reabsorbed with the others, Whitney speaking in detail about magical fountains that tapped the water supply beneath the mound of earth that had been taken with the shrunken city. How to tap into it, how best to use it … these seemed like genuine plans that he was proposing, trying to get his opinion about matters before beginning anything and with his mastery over water Typhoon's involvement was an asset once they worked out what was and wasn't possible.

Lunch had been in order and Whitney took the group out. And once more for dinner. He was well connected in the city and the two meals were free, he did not take advantage of individuals too much. Though at show time they had gone to the bar. An apartment sat over it and the bar was still open for another half hour at least.

It was Typhoon's idea for them to scope out the place once more before they committed themselves.

“So, Spencer goes after the key and we locate the portal?” Typhoon asked before they went inside, of course they would have to regroup after the bar closed so that could be subject to change ...