Kolath


He was not at all sure what plan, if any, they had decided upon.

"Yes, but this time, more... wizardry or psychic manipulation than technical weaponry, Nir-Urileyr Kavarluis."

He glanced at the others and then continued.

"Our next step, obviously, must be to track down the individual or the group which spirited Guruinath away from us."

Hollis folded her arms. "For purposes of argument, suppose it was some sort of off-premises machine that could be focused on this place, and then ... sort of ... 'suck' Guruinath out of here. Wouldn't such a machine have a signature of some sort? Some noise or emanation we could detect? I mean, if I sneak into the Karazthan to look for something like that, I would like to have some idea what it would look like. And I am still going to need some way to block them from detecting me with the machine, or some loaner from the Academy."

<Marlith>

"If a machine was involved, there =should= have be a ... 'residue' or a 'teltale' mechanical signature."

Hollis

"Sure," Hollis said. "But would that be *here*, or wherever the machine was? You guys will have to tell me; I'm no Karazthani wannabe. I have no idea how such a thing would work."

<Marlith>

"Actually there =would= be 'residue' in both locations", he offered. "But since we do not know the second location, that will not be much help. The key is whether we have access to someone who has the sensitivity", he looked to the priest, "=and= the training to discriminate between human and mechanical signatures."

Jorlak

"Let us be certain that we are all talking about the same things. This device recorded three indications that I can perceive. First was that of a human, which seems to match Hollis's test of the device. Next was an unknown kandar, which seems to match Marlith's report of seeing the device react when a prisoner vanished. And most recently, the Way of the World was used by what seems to be a machine."

"I guess I'm getting the incidents confused," Hollis [ooc: and Nicki] said. What incident matched this machine residue?"

[[ Marlith =and= I were thinking the same thing ... but didn't wanna seem 'out of it' by mentioning it first and being wrong :-/ ]]

From what Jorlak could tell, the "machine" residue matches the timing of Guruinath's diappearance.

[[ OK ... got that one, but what is the third ... non-Hollis, non-machine reading? I only remembered the two events ... not a third. That is what has some of us confused. ]]

[Same with me ... only I thought the non-Hollis reading was not the machine one but the other person one. (holding her head between both hands and wagging it back and forth, speaking in a very high voice)

"I am so confused!" <g>]

[Just to recap]

There were three readings
First one was a human (now identified as Hollis when she tested the machine.
Second one was the (as yet unknown) kandar.
Third one (by far the strongest) was the machine.

[[ ok ... now is there any way to get a time line on those three readings? Specifically, did two and three happen close to each other? That might explain our confusion of the two readings as one 'event' if they were so close together. ]]

The second and third readings are pretty close together.

<Marlith>

The pieces finally fit together in a meaningful way. "I =think= I now have an idea of what happened. Do you know how lightning works? There is a very small 'discharge' that creates a 'path' along which the powerful bolts we see travel along. It looks as though this second reading ... which happened just before the big one that took the prisoner, ... might have been the one that established the path, or maybe verified the target, perhaps both, for the machine that did all of the 'heavy lifting'."

Hollis

"So the machine did the job? The first one was a ranging shot and then the second one was the actual transfer?"

Hollis looked at him admiringly. "You're so smart."

Kolath


The Kandar Legionnaire looked from one of them to the other, frowning in confusion, glad that apparently they had figured something out, but not sure himself just what it was.

"And direction? Is there any record or indication of the direction these... discharges came from?"

<Marlith>

He nodded at Hollis, "Yes. Apparently it was a mechanism that did the actual transfer once the guiding mind established the link."

To Kolath he said, "Well, we have the second impression in the scanner that can be used to confirm the person behind the transfer. But, sadly, =finding= that mind is not something I will be able help with."

Jorlak

"If this device recorded a direction, I can not find any sign of it."

Hollis

Hollis asked, "What about inside the Karazthan? IS there any way for me to take some device or person that could spot the machine, maybe by detecting this residue you say there should be? Assuming the machine originated the transfer?"

<Marlith>

He bit his lip.

Gurnyla might not want him to discuss this, but she was not here and so he could not ask her. Not for the first time, he wished he was back in the stacks putting books away. But it was clear that no one else here had the necessary information.

He sighed.

He cleared his throat.

"Ummm, perhaps the priest can compare the 'residue' on a certain small boat down by the river entrance to the barracks and see if it matches the non-machine signature."

Jorlak

"I can check, although my time here may be getting short."

Hollis jumped on the suggestion. "Marlith. Explain why you made that suggestion. What about this small boat made you bring this up. Who do you expect to find matching up non-machine residues?"

<Marlith>

He looked a bit like a deer in the headlights. "I am not sure how much of this I should reveal", he said, uncertainly in his voice as well. "I was given the job to follow this individual and saw him propelling the boat I mentioned. If we confirm that he =is= the person we are seeking, revealing his name will be reasonable. But I do not want to divulge that information if he is not the person we are seeking."

Hollis Hunter

"Aha! So you *do* have someone in mind for this," Hollis said. "How about you tell us his name, and while Jorlak runs the appropriate tests, we track him down. That way, if he turns out to be the one, we waste no time in gathering him in. If he turns out to be innocent, nothing more need be said."