“Mm. I suppose, not that different from my people. We have been given long life and age slow, but I imagine our ancestors must have lived thousands of years longer.” She listened to him talk about what he might have in common with her Wyvernling friend, nodding along to his hypothetical scenario when acquiring a similar gift. She huffed a laugh at his question. “Pah. I have seen what being Empress has done to my friend. I became part of the crew to find some purpose in adventuring until I feel like settling down and taking over my father’s fiefdom. Powerful magic or no, ruling does not have much appeal to me. But then again, one never knows what will happen when you acquire such a power. Perhaps I might become a tyrant. Eat my way through the empire.” She scoffed at the thought. “I’d like to think I’d do what Kire is doing. End evil where I can. Right wrongs. But so much good intentions have been spoiled by too much power.” She paused in thought, leaning back. “A quiet life, though. When no more battles need be fought. Traveling around the world. Or sitting down and smoking a pipe, enjoying company. The times I’ve had that luxury, makes me think it won’t be so bad to have that often. Like the other day, when I was sitting down smoking with Envy.” She grinned at that. “Charming fellow, that.” -- Ed smiled briefly in apology. “I wasn’t entirely polite when I first came in, but I quickly had to put on that front when I have fifteen other stranded Amrians to watch out for,” he put in. He looked on, an amused smile on his lips as he watched Ysaryn try to mime the animal she was talking about, feeling a little cheeky about not giving her the answer right away, given how he knew the translation. He pondered on her question and nodded, sighing. “Most likely. Warped bodies of Amrians.” Myka frowned. “What?” Ed gave a more detailed account of what had happened prior to their coming here. The women looked furious after his story, and Myka’s hands closed into fists. “Bastards,” she muttered under her breath. “You’re lucky then, Ed. At least you came back as yourself.” The Wyvern captain let out a deep breath. “I know. And the odds of me coming back here, I’m lucky to be alive. I was afraid, when we went back to that mutated wood and saw the Amrian armor lying around, I thought I’d find Ern there.” He swallowed, his brow furrowed before he rubbed his face, willing away the thought. “It’s a terrible thing to wish for, but I would be infinitely relieved to be certain that he’d died in battle, rather than get twisted into one of those things.” Myka placed a gentle hand on his back. “He was a good kid. A Wyvern through and through, up till the end, I’ve been told.” Ed nodded, patting her back, then cleared his throat and straightened up again, turning back to Ysaryn. “I trust today will be quite a busy day for everyone, and afterwards I will have to see my family and let them know I’m alive, but nevertheless the invitation is still open for me to show you around sometime. I promise, [i]no crocodiles[/i].” Myka blinked. “Did you just speak her language? Did you learn a whole new language while you were stranded?” She chuckled, shaking her head. “You really are an overachiever. Stop making the rest of us feel bad, you sly dragon.” Ed smiled, shrugging a shoulder, then looked in the direction of the healer’s tent. “All things considered, I hadn’t thought Kire would even think twice about their temporary truce. I was ready for her to break the table in half earlier. Not that I blame her if she did.” -- Kire frowned in thought as she listened to Ruli. “I suspect they would be lying somehow. And yeah, that makes sense. We already know natural anomalies from errant gates have happened before. Whatever they’re playing at, it’s not good. Either they want to rip a bigger hole between worlds or they plan on harnessing all that destruction for something else, having no intention to really stop it.” She didn’t immediately answer when he asked, thinking over their options. “Alright. Here’s the thing about my own portals. I’ve never used them for anything else other than transporting myself, and whatever or whoever else I have in tow.” She was gesturing as she spoke, thinking out loud. “But if I can siphon that gate with my own portals and redirect it, while I stay put on one side, maybe that could work. There’s only that aforementioned problem that I’ve never [i]not[/i] gone through a portal I’ve opened. It’s always,” she snapped her finger, “I open the portal and a second later I disappear through it. And with that much energy pulling at me, that gate might suck me in again. Unless something’s keeping me tethered to the ground here.” She steepled her fingers again. “So. A ward to secure the area and keep me safe and anchored here, while I open a portal and siphon it away. Maybe far above us, in the sky. I think I can do that, I’ve opened portals in mid-air before, like that one time I dropped that Kartaian hunter in Ziad.”