[@Eviledd1984]

"But, didn't you say your mother left your family years ago?" Kara didn't know how to give him what he wanted. "She-she can't be here, my love. I'm sorry."

"I may be able to help" Vespion interjected, quickly turning to an apprentice cleric. "Apuleius, get me a scrying bowl." The young dracon male nodded and returned not even two minutes later with a large brown bowl in his hands, filled with water up to its brim. Vespion knelt down and took Smith's hand. "Now Smith, I need you to concentrate on your mother. I'll cast a spell and it will reveal her location. Then I can cast a sending spell to contact her and then we can work on opening a portal for her to take to reach you."

[@LordofthePies][@bloonewb]

"Very good. Let us open the negotiations, then" Ternoc announced. "Rebat, please feel free to open these accords by stating what Xigyll's requests are. We need to know what you want before we can even begin to find a way to accommodate you. I have already prepared Hekaga's requirements. Just know that there will be concessions to be made on both sides. And please be aware that Hekaga is the senior partner in this. We cannot pretend to be dealing with a kingdom of equal power, as that is simply not the case."

Mazdak nodded as he followed the diplomacy. Try as Ternoc may, the fact remained that this was going to be a tricky negotiation. Hekaga needed to benefit from this arrangement, and Xigyll had little to offer which Hekaga wanted. On the other hand, Xigyll's needs were great, and Hekaga could meet them if it wanted to, but doing so would likely create resentment among the kobold population, as it could easily render Xigyll into a protectorate, possibly even a province of Hekaga's kingdom. That simply wouldn't fly.