--- Courtyard ---

[color=7ea7d8]"Of course your highness."[/color] He gave a small nod to the young girl. [color=7ea7d8]"My name is Kazudain, one who has long traveled this world. This is Maldur, my ally and ever constant companion."[/color] If she knew the reputation behind his name it would help save some explanations but if not there was no worry. At the mention of its name, Maldur strode forward to greet the Princess. His large head dove into her personal space, sniffing about her a moment. With a mewling groan he then rubbed his head against her, taking a liking to her. The Princess could see the small smirk on his face from his hood. 

[color=7ea7d8]"You'll have to forgive him, for all his power and ferocity he has a large soft spot for young-lings."[/color] Removing his bow the man then sat beside the princess, opposite Maldur. 

[color=7ea7d8]"The last few days have certainly been interesting have they not? Though you seem quite troubled, possibly to do with the young man who recently left?"[/color] He spoke with a warm tone, inquiring but not demanding. If she was willing to share her troubles he would do what he could. If not he wouldn't force the girl, regardless of station.

--- Meeting Hall ---

It seemed to be decided that the noble was the new target. It was for the best, Tibrus supposed. Having the city guard on hand to help would be both boon and detriment however.

[color=a2d39c]"You're right about the city guard, any element of surprise would be lost with them walking with them. We may have some alchemic cloaks but we don't have enough to conceal an entire regiment. If we wanted their help we would need a way to bring them there instant...ly..."[/color] Tibrus slowed with the last few words, a thought coming to him suddenly. Suddenly he drank the rest of the elixir. He would have a slight headache the next morning but he would be alright. He turned to Athos.

[color=a2d39c]"You remember that failed project a few years ago? The Inter-Kingdom Travel Grid? How we never got that to work properly outside the smaller prototypes?"[/color] The KTG as it had been called at the time, was to be a teleportation grid that spanned the entire kingdom. Keystone altars would dot the kingdom, making a magical web-way connecting all sectors.

It was theorized to allow users, regardless of magical aptitude or stamina, to travel to any designated keystone location within a meter's accuracy. It was meant primarily as quick travel for the city guard to traverse the kingdom when needed but, in emergencies, would allow the civilian masses to vacate to safety. 

Ultimately, the program was deemed a failure. The process itself taking over a month for a single pair of keystones to be made, which by itself wouldn't be an issue if not for the cost. The amount of rare materials required would have bankrupted the kingdom after making enough keystones to cover only a third of its area. Part of that cost was due to the costly and complicated location designation spell system that needed to be crafted. Another issue was power, the keystones greedily devoured mana like nothing else. While groups of people could use it without adverse effects, the amount of power needed climbed exponentially for each person added.

With no source capable of constantly providing the mana requirements, the project was deemed unfeasible. That isn't to say there wasn't anything useful from it. Only a single pair was currently in use, it had been set aside for the royal family for the direst of emergencies. Tibrus rubbed his chin

[color=a2d39c]"With limited use we could get a small group of the city guard to their location when needed. With a few of our mages and some mana booster elixirs we could get-" [/color]he took a moment to calculate. [color=a2d39c]"-12 guardsmen there within seconds if they go in 3 at a time. All they would need to do is drop the keystone in a close area with enough space."[/color] While there was a slight risk to using them, limiting such use to only a few seconds would be safe enough. 

[color=a2d39c]"It would also mean we would have a quick escape route to take Juan back with us to a designated location."[/color]