['Lement]

I'm reminded a bit of how Sha'shana died. 1 Stab, 1 counterattack, 2 pages + sendoff and done.

Ash'waren is even less of a main character than Quain was.

Well, drama dictates that next page will not be what we expect.

So I shall expect that Faen pushes away/blocks the blow, then Ash is stabbed from behind by a different, previously unseen statue.

....Wait.

PS: Also that ninja obviously is a statue/summon too; red eyes, three empaths and none noticed it when Faen normally is disquieted by the merely feeling the taint moving in the bodies of infested.

[Smokehammer]

So... Ash went up there to fight one of the most powerful summoners in the known universe and she has no way to counter summons?

To hell with cardio, the old gal needed to be doing crosswords and Sudoku to keep her brain cells firing.

[sunhawk]

So... Ash went up there to fight one of the most powerful summoners in the known universe and she has no way to counter summons?

To hell with cardio, the old gal needed to be doing crosswords and Sudoku to keep her brain cells firing.

Ash spends a lot of brain power making everyone think she is a drow.

[Kalirren]

So... Ash went up there to fight one of the most powerful summoners in the known universe and she has no way to counter summons?

Yeah, this^ Drowtales is like a Bond movie, in that you deserve to be eaten by a trap if you step into one.

[alkaizer87]

So... Ash went up there to fight one of the most powerful summoners in the known universe and she has no way to counter summons?

To hell with cardio, the old gal needed to be doing crosswords and Sudoku to keep her brain cells firing.

Ash spends a lot of brain power making everyone think she is a drow.

Yeah pretty much, Also I'm still alive! Just not active in the forums. My English Teaching job keeps me very busy on weekdays. But yeah I hope Ash doesn't die, but gets wounded heavily so it makes the little bear snap and just straight out wipes the others. Ash is outo f commision for the rest fo the journey, spending time to recover.

[Basileus_Ioannis]

When Ariel got her arm amputated by Kalki the last time she was here in Felde, Faen was right there with them when Snad used Floor Dragon to restrain Kalki. It's excusable if the barely conscious Ariel couldn't recall that, but kinda ironic (to put it mildly) that Faen, who was concerned with keeping Snadhya from touching Ariel, wouldn't remember Floor Dragon and let her own mother know that 'pssst hey Mom, Snads has summons'. Then again, I suppose Faen and Ash exchanged all of what, four sentences or so, in the story (not including Kite's adorable chibi page, which had as much if not more dialogue than mother and daughter shared in canon). And the most recent one was in the third person, at Machike. Still, that's kinda important intel that I'm sure Kel'noz would have gleaned from anyone who survived that misadventure, to make sure everyone going back into this dragon's den would be made aware of. I might have missed that exposition, in the intervening pages. If not, onus is on Kel for not passing that analysis along when announcing this mission...

Kel'noz: "Okay, our target for today is...FELDE." / (insert map emoji here)
Crowd: (gasps ensue, including one requisite spewing of a beverage being drunk)
Kel'noz: "Now, we know that Snadhya'rune may be there, but we're gonna go in there and mess them up! Any questions?"
An Inquisitive Fellow: "Uh sir, can you clarify what exactly our mission will involve?" /
Kel'noz: (irritated) "Weren't you listening? We're going into Felde and we're going to mess them up! Okay, let's go!"
An Inquisitive Fellow: "Uh, wait..." (gets drowned out by all the wolf howls, swept away by the Crowd)

I mean, didn't they notice the Floor Dragon t-shirts and plushies at the Felde gift shop? (insert facepalm emoji here)

edit - w/b Alk o/

[Moric]

Um... Didn't Kyo have this very basic intel?

[Kalirren]

I do like how Snadhya has contingencies not really for situations, but for -people-. That's a BBEG lesson to learn.

I'll bet that summon's sole purpose was to off Ash'waren if she ever showed up.

[Moric]

I do like how Snadhya has contingencies not really for situations, but for -people-. That's a BBEG lesson to learn.

I'll bet that summon's sole purpose was to off Ash'waren if she ever showed up.

Ash per se? I think it was probably more for any empath that dared oppose Snadhya. Remember, Snadhya has absolutely no reason not to have contingencies against a coup by the Three Sisters at the very least.

[Junglefowl26]

So... Ash went up there to fight one of the most powerful summoners in the known universe and she has no way to counter summons?

To hell with cardio, the old gal needed to be doing crosswords and Sudoku to keep her brain cells firing.

She did bring bodyguards, presumably for the purpose of dealing what she couldn't.

They just got distracted by an attack from another direction and then a statue they already passed by attacked.

(Come to think of it, it is pretty impressive that the summon was programed to wait for a good time to strike rather than attacking immediately when intruders were detected.)

[alkaizer87]

So... Ash went up there to fight one of the most powerful summoners in the known universe and she has no way to counter summons?

To hell with cardio, the old gal needed to be doing crosswords and Sudoku to keep her brain cells firing.

She did bring bodyguards, presumably for the purpose of dealing what she couldn't.

They just got distracted by an attack from another direction and then a statue they already passed by attacked.

(Come to think of it, it is pretty impressive that the summon was programed to wait for a good time to strike rather than attacking immediately when intruders were detected.)

But aren't all summons able to think the most basic thought, and so ablet o calculate at least a strategy? i mean that one teacher that was suposed to be dead, but wound up getting eaten by a certain Glutton we know of did talk.EDIT: And so it shouldnt' be a surprise really.

['Lement]

Nah, that was really exceptional case, as showed by the princess of clan of summoners being wowed by it, or by Kiel'inda not returning her mom as someone able to talk since they still had her aura in a gem. That event it known by Sharen and Beld, maybe, but not by Sargh and Sul.

Your basic non-nether summons always have required a summoner to draw them out, give them energy and give them some measure of direction. Not all of it, clearly - Kharla had never been a turtle, but used one well enough - but nobody expected the turtle of doom to start acting on its own, for example.

I'd speculate on empaths sensing summons by aura, but since the ninja wasn't sensed it is a wash whether it is because this is a non-nether summon or because it is protected in the same way (or whether they sensed it, saw it was immobile, and concluded it was no threat and also not something whose emotions they can manipulate). Either way, Snadhya'rune demonstrated on previous gathering that no dragons in the sharess-damned walls are purely decorative.

[Whizzard]

Quick, Ash, what would have Quain done in your place? PUUUUUUUUNCH!!!

[wolfdancer95]

So... Ash went up there to fight one of the most powerful summoners in the known universe and she has no way to counter summons?

To hell with cardio, the old gal needed to be doing crosswords and Sudoku to keep her brain cells firing.

Ash spends a lot of brain power making everyone think she is a drow.

Yeah pretty much, Also I'm still alive! Just not active in the forums. My English Teaching job keeps me very busy on weekdays. But yeah I hope Ash doesn't die, but gets wounded heavily so it makes the little bear snap and just straight out wipes the others. Ash is outo f commision for the rest fo the journey, spending time to recover.

ALK!

It's quite possible that Ash intended to fry her brain when she was in range and the entourage that was with them would be dealing with the summons, the plans all gone to shit.

This is why you don't put all your experience points into only psychic attacks, you need some melee in there. Even Faen with her shield is the more useful cause as we've seen, can pummel someone to death with one.