Ra'jorr shook his head. "Without knowing what mechanism the gate uses, it is difficult to say. Though, we could, perhaps, find a general solution. Champion, this one is familiar with spells that can paralyze a person, as if they were stone. Is it possible for a spell to do the same to something non-living?"

Initially, Meesei's response was not encouraging. "Unfortunately, paralysis is not a spell that works on objects. I know there is other magic that can achieve that effect, but those are enchantments, not spells. You would need a soul gem, and the knowledge to apply it. But...there may be another way for us to attain the same effect. We could simply freeze the mechanism. We would likely only need a quick, concentrated burst of frost magic on the mechanism to render it immobile, for a time, at least. It would not last too long, but we do not need it to. As long as it lasts until we can get our warriors through the gate, it will be sufficient. We can give several scrolls to the werevultures to ensure they can sabotage it. As for our werevultures themselves, we could make all of them invisible if we needed to. However, if there are too many flying together, even invisibility may not keep them hidden. The sound of their wings could give them away."

---

Ahnasha's skepticism of Irenya had not diminished, and with Fendros' description of their own past, Ahnasha saw a way to give her a sort of test. She was being kind and polite, but Ahnasha was curious to see if that would hold true once she learned that they were not so perfect. "That is...mostly what happened, except for the part where we were both very drunk and he impregnated me essentially on the day we met. That inspired pretty well to get to know each other, I think."

Irenya's expression was, as Ahnasha expected, obviously surprised. However, she returned to normal fairly quickly. "Oh, well, I would imagine so. I think there is a reason I do not tend to drink. Regardless, it is good everything is still going well now."