Silver Insanity

Oh, just for completeness sake, since I already said this on IM: once I get rid of her, I wrap myself in a blanket and bed down at the bottom of the tree, facing away from the oncoming group, and trying as much as possible to look like a petite girl fast asleep.

"Oh, like you'd be any better off after a week of being attacked by nightmares every time you tried to sleep!" she mutters acidly.

"Wait. I'm sorry, that was... uncalled for. You're right, of course; I must be more tired than I thought if I'm snapping at someone who's given me no cause to do anything but thank him. Still, if you think I'm just going to walk away and leave you to face four men on your own-!"

Lauren reaches into her backpack, and extracts what appears to be a large, rolled up, fluffy blue-green carpet. Unrolled, it measures 5' by 10', and it has a pattern reminiscent of ocean waves.
"But I should, indeed, stay out of the way. Think thirty feet straight up and invisible will do? I'll even promise to stay out of the fight unless you actually need help."

Two quick spells, and both Lauren and the carpet have vanished.

"Oh, and here: my magic may not lend itself much to protection, but I do have a few useful wardings I can give you."
She puts a hand on your arm and casts a few more spells on you, none of them with any obvious effect, and then adds "And please, try not to get yourself hurt too badly."

A moment later, "Carpet, up thirty feet." And then you are, to all visible and audible indications, alone.

It takes another fifteen minutes for the four men in white cloaks to arrive. Marcus is still leading the way, and still slowly searching every step of the way for traps. A bit paranoid, perhaps, but if you hadn't intervened they would certainly have had the time for some paranoia.

The other three stop at about thirty feet away, while Marcus continues forward, circling around you. He studies you carefully for a few moments, and then, somehow still oblivious to the fact that you're not even the same race as the person they're after, he draws a sap and signals to his companions. You can hear, behind you, the chanting of Tamin and Alfred each starting to cast some spell.

I roll so that I am facing them and out of the blanket.

"Excuse me, do you mind? I'm trying to sleep here, and that infernal chanting is not helping."

Unfortunately, probably from the point of view of all concerned, spellcasting is fast, and difficult to abort mid-spell unless you're an expert (or a rank amatuer.) Tamin and Albert do not fall into either of those extremes. Two thin green rays shoot out towards you. One goes wide, but the second one still hits. You (and the tree behind you) are now outlined in a faint green glow. Aside from that, the spell doesn't seem to have done anything at all.

The one with the greatsword steps forward and holds up a hand in the universal symbol of somebody in charge telling his minions to stop before they make (even greater) fools of themselves.

"My apologies, good sir; we seem to have both been played foul by illusion magic. My band has been tracking a dangerous criminal for several days now. She must have placed an illusion on you as you slept in hopes of causing a fight." He frowns. "And somehow misdirected our scrying spell onto you as well. That worries me."

I stand and gesture at the green. "What's this? And how long will it last? As for this criminal of yours, I have not met anyone who seemed such, but perhaps I have misjudged or failed to notice someone. Tell me of her! What does she look like? Who is she? What is her crime?"

Tamin answers your first questions: "Locks you into the physical plane. Eleven minutes." And then he shuts up again.

The group's leader answers the rest of your questions.
"Her name is Lauren Greywind, and she is a sorcerer of considerable power. Her crimes are, in the official order of severity, treason, grand theft arcana, twelve counts of destruction of royal property, and seven counts of murder - two old wizards, and five guards."

From his tone of voice, it's clear that he thinks the murder charges are the most important thing on the list. It's also the only thing that rings false. Not from anything he's said - he obviously believes what he's saying - but because you actually met Lauren. And, having over the years met more than your fair share of murderers, it's quite clear she doesn't belong in that category. In fact, you find yourself hard pressed to imagine her killing anyone, even in self defense.

He continues with a physical description, along with the note that, as far as they are aware, she does not have access to shapeshifting or personal illusion magic. But, then again, they hadn't known she had any illusion magic at all, and that's been clearly demonstrated to be false.

"That sounds vaguely dirty, but it hasn't seemed to hurt me so far. I suppose I can survive eleven minutes of it. As for this Greywind person, she sounds most memorable, even for a hairless. I have not encountered anyone of that description -- indeed, since that woodcutter on the edge of the forest I have seen only squirrels and birds. I assure you, if I do see someone who looks like her, I shall immediately move very quickly in the opposite direction. I have no interest in encountering magic-wielding murderers, however attractive in appearance." I pause to see if they react to anything I said.

"Again, we are very sorry to have disturbed you." His companions don't seem particularly sorry, but their leader seems sincere enough. "Tamin, I know you prepared a few dispels today. Would you be so kind as to remove that dimensional anchor from our friend here before we continue on our way?"

Tamin looks somewhat cross, and mutters the incantions with a definite sullen air. It takes him two tries, but he does manage to remove the green glow in rather less than the eleven minutes he had originally specified. The tree, however, continues to glow.

"Well, if you do happen to see her, we would appreciate any information you might be able to get to us. In addition to the simple knowledge that you helped bring a murderer to justice, we are authorized to grant a monetary reward to anyone who aids our mission. You seem competent enough; I'm sure if you actually want to get in contact with us again you'll find a way. I am Sir Arthur of Catian, and I hope that we will meet again under pleasanter circumstances." He holds out a hand to you, as if expecting you to shake his hand.

"Good to meet you, Sir Arthur. Best of luck in your search. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a nap to finish." I bow low, then bed down at the base of the tree again.