A neverending field

[Corwin]

Seira relies on her experience with making pseudo-layers in her divine realm to try and tell whether Dispater had done something similar here.

Also, any changes in the paranoid magical detection/prevention scheme that I've seen upon arrival to the Tower?

[Anastasia]

There is not.

Near as you can tell, it's just plain magic that did this - strong magic for sure, but magic.

[Corwin]

"Is it two-way?" Seira asks the erinyes.

So the same plane, but a forced teleport? Something like Alicia's spatial spell?

Also sense motive 110 on his answer.

[Anastasia]

Spatial manipulation, very skillful.

"It just does, and yes, you can go back until you can't," Is the answer, "I think you could go back from a long ways."

[Corwin]

Seira nods her understanding, and tries to see where the effect ends on this side. If they need to return along the same path, it would be best if she already had such details rather than needing to look for another guide.

[Anastasia]

I'm not entirely clear - you mean the spatial warping effect?

[Corwin]

I asked if it's two-way, ie whether I can step back and end up near the inn. He said you can go back until you can't, which means to me that you could step back to the inn from here, and perhaps from a short while down the path, but there will come a certain point in the path from which you couldn't step over to the inn. Thus, you'd need to go past it to be able to use the spatial compression effect.

I'm trying to find where it lasts.

[Anastasia]

Okay, I'll keep it in mind.

You begin to walk - and it's not far from there when you notice the effect recede - in a few more steps you won't easily be able to go backwards.

[Corwin]

Seira marks the area in her mind, and casts a glance back to see whether one might keep on walking past the effect if a traveler doesn't know where it occurs and travels a bit to the left or right.

[Anastasia]

No, it spreads so you can't miss it like that, at least to your gaze.

[Corwin]

Strange. Why would you need a guide if you literally can't miss it? With a mental shrug, Seira just keeps having a dedicated avatar back at the Cauldron draw a map of what she's perceived in the Iron Tower within a 6 mile radius of herself.

[Anastasia]

After about a half hour of walking, your guide abruptly stops. He holds up a hand and goes completely still.

Amaryl looks like she's about ready to say something, but pauses.

For a moment later they emerge from the trees. They look like robins and similar small birds made of metal. They swoop down a few paces ahead of you and claw, swipe and bite, all in vain. After about thirty seconds of this they relent and return to whence they came.

"No danger now," Valjan-Red declares lightly, "Just keep your eyes open."

[Corwin]

Did he have better perception than me, btw?

Seira nods, asking him, "Do they appear at regular intervals?"

[Anastasia]

No way to know that, but it's highly unlikely some random devil is more perceptive thanyou.

"Yes," Is the answer, "But not so random once you understand them. They come from nowhere as near as I can figure it, they aren't in the trees until they strike."

[Corwin]

Seira nods again, intending to spend a bit of time watching their guide unobtrusively. If she can figure out obscure numerology, she can surely discern this sort of pattern after watching enough examples! And nine hours of travel should provide enough of that.