2352/Low Hanging Fruit

Low Hanging Fruit
Date of Scene:	31 May 2015
Location:	Urbania
Synopsis:	Scarlet Everille and several members of Heaven or Hell follow up on the prior investigation into the former's home break-in.
Cast of Characters:	Maya, Arthur Lowell, 253, 342, 626, 720, 747, 789
Tinyplot:	Scarlet's Pseudoplot Thing!

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Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    There's no need for anyone to make their way to the job site on their own. Simply showing up at the warpgate presents them with a ride ready and waiting for them. A privately owned limo sized for small parties or VIP entourages. It makes a flashy statement, but was probably chosen simply for the fact that it can comfortably hold a dozen people rather than simply to show off. It's mid afternoon in the greater London area, but decades of new construction has rendered the city almost unrecognizable as its early 21st century incarnation, save for the heart of the city where most buildings have been preserved for historic value and familiar old Big Ben sticks out to anyone who's seen a postcard. The after work rush has concluded half an hour ago, leaving the roads relatively silent compared to the pedestrian traffic, reflecting the state of relaxation that occurs after the 9-5 ends

    Scarlet awaits the group in the larger cabin rather than riding up front with the chauffeur, her bag open next to her and what appears to be a deck of black cards in her hands which she shuffles through idly. The table that once occupied the center has been removed to give Taiga just enough space to curl up in rather than taking up the road. She waits until everyone is aboard and the doors have been closed, at which point it becomes apparent that the car is soundproofed, simply by the way the quiet hum of the electric engine is the only noise audible inside.

    "Thank you all for coming." Is her formal, yet sincere opening. She somehow affects the intagible suggestion of being happy to see so many people despite wearing an entirely professional face. "For those of you unfamiliar, I've hired you for a followup examination to a previous case I had contracted to Heaven or Hell. It involved an attempted theft of a large quantity of extremely valuable reagents from my home, accomplished by the process of binding familiars into the seeds of a climbing ivy plant, and allowing it to grow over the wall and through the defensive wards over the course of a year to allow them inside. There are only two Families in the city I expect to possess the means to develop this kind of magic, and after some investigation on my part, I've narrowed down the most likely of them."

    Her smartcollar responds by projecting a fully visible, three dimensional image into the cabin of the car where everyone can see, showing off a grid of photographs of a man in his late 50s with close cut hair, thick classes, and a salt and pepper mustache, along with a petite blonde woman of similar age, and a girl who can't be any older than sixteen in what is unmistakably a school uniform of some kind, clearly the child of the two judging by her shared features. "Eli Aldwood, his wife Patricia, and their daughter Abigail, all of them mages, ranks 6, 6 and 5 respectively. Eli is a senior professor at Tower Silbermond, one of the 13 private magus academies in the country, which Abigail attends, and his wife is a government worker within the house of Lords. Together they own controlling shares in B. Braun Melsungen and Merck Serono, out of country pharmeceuticals, and various other stakes in domestic media and medical companies."

    Leaving the data up for anyone to peruse, Scarlet begins handing out cards, each one etched with an extroardinarily complicated magic circle in some material that is invisible until the light catches it at the right angle. "I've managed to arrange a meeting with them under the pretense of attempting to allow a multiversal exchange program with Silbermond. For that, I need one or more people of schoolgoing age to play the part of a prospective student. One of them ideally I would like to be Kyra or Maya by virtue of the fact that their overpowering auras will drown out all magic used within the immediate area. It would be beneficial, but not crucial, to have someone pose as their chaperone to play "bad cop bouncer" for me."

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    "While this is going on, I'll need the rest of you to investigate the house for Eli's sanctum. Either you'll need to break in from outside, or come in with us and find a way to split up to tour around the house later, but you're likely going to need to use these. Each one of them is a single use, complex abjuration spell that should de-phase any familiars or wards you come across, allowing you to neutralize them. I have the activation circle on my person, so you'll need to radio me with a signal when you need me to use them. Keep in mind I don't have enough Nothing to activate all of these, so please use them sparingly. Someone on the second team able to disguise magic or else simply drown out the signature would be ideal, as anyone capable of disposing of familiars without gunfire or loud magic, in addition to the obvious benefit of anyone with investigative or extrasensory abilities." She daintily clears her throat as the last cards are handed out. "That should be everything. We'll be going off the seat of our pants here, so please radio me with any updates or questions."

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    Taiga riding in a limo probably makes for an amusing sight; it also probably ends up being a slightly cramped arrangement for anyone immediately around him, as he insists on lying on the seats immediately next to Nozomi rather than the floor (and his method of 'insistence' is quite literally to simply plop down there, and refuse to be moved). He does, at least, seem alert the entire time, however. Mostly because he's sweeping the area with his sensors, taking a baseline scan of Scarlet's world and the ambient magical fields therein purely for his own information. Nozomi looks... well, slightly less nervous than she'd ordinarily be, mostly because she's not used to riding in limos. So she's a bit wide-eyed.

    But at the very least, she's attentive! Listening to the briefing, and even finding herself quietly impressed at the means of theft. That takes some patience. It is Taiga, however, who speaks up as regards the briefing. "My primary question is what the ranks of magus indicate in your world. Aside from that, I will insist upon being within protective distance of my user at all times; it would be best if we were to join the investigation into Aldwood's sanctum. I am equipped with a very advanced suite of magical sensors, and my claws and cannons both are designed as anti-supernatural weapons. I should be able to damage both familiars and wards which I can physically access with equal ease."

Maya has posed:
Maya had been more than willing to help out a new ally of the Union, she'd sproken briefly with Scarlet on the radio and when this requst had come out? She was more than willing to lend a hand. She'd known some iterations of England but this was not a version of London she knew at all. Other than a few things such as Big Ben she'd might have thought it a different city, really.

Maya listens to Scarlet as she cplains the mission details and she listeng.

"I look young enough to pass for college age or maybe late highschool maybe. So with my ahem issues of my aura I'm find with that. I can also take a few steps to alter my appterance. As for who will be a chaperone? Hummm."

Maya's done this sort of thing before, it's better than posing as a slave girl tribute to be certain she muses.

"So play the small talk bit say a lot without saying anything, right and geerally keep our hosts distracted? I should be able keep my spell cards on me and a few other things should It be needed."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    A limo? Shit /yes/. Arthur has arrived in his full irreverently-casual way, swaggering right on into it and drinking whatever non-alcoholic things they have on there to drink the whole way over. When Scarlet thanks him for coming again, he gives that usual double-fingerguns grin, which manages to gleam despite the lack of major light sources. "Ain't nothin'." He says, humbly, before sitting back to listen. "Yeah." He says. "Thinkin' my name's MAYBE a bit TOO BIG to pose somethin' like a STUDENT, plus the MAD FLOW I be droppin' up in that shit would get HELLA ROUGH on NEGOTIATIONS." He could, actually, be easily motivated to drop the whole coolkid act and be a polite young student, he does fit the highschool age, but that's merely an option.

    "MEANTIME, sounds like we gotta be gettin' our STEALTH on, in the OTHER one." He grins, and winks. "Not my STYLE, but I can DO IT. GATES oughta let us get AROUND some places. GRAVITY MAGIC'S pretty QUIET, yeah? In terms of SENSOR STUFF? I'll stick to THAT, instead of the whole FUSION THING. So, here's the BETTER QUESTION, what's the plan once we got this DONE? If we get some PROOF these chumps did the PLANT SCHEMES?" Then a brief laugh at Taiga! "Shit yeah, K-9000, let's do it. You got SILENCERS for that HEAT you're packin'?"

    He also will be immediately leaving the limo as soon as it's time to jump into action and head for a stealth approach to assess the structure from the outside. He has one way to split off from the tour group, but... He thinks maybe trying time travel inside someone's heavily sensor-saturated house would be a bad idea.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    This marks the first time that Kyra's been given the VIP treatment in anything. She kind of likes it even if the limo is crammed with a large number of Heaven or Hell members (and then some). In a way it makes her even more excited for the follow-on case from Scarlet.

    Quietly, Kyra listens to the briefing of the family that they're looking to investigate, lifting a hand to interject a question: "Sorry, what do the ratings mean? What's the scale on? One to six?"

    This later turns to frantic handwaving, "Ooh! I will play a prospective student! It works 'cause I'm still in school anyway! Seventeen isn't too old for school here, is it? Even better all the questions asked will be probably be genuine. Probably."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber, having been hired for the original parts of these missions by Scarlet, is happily here. He steps out of the warp gate dressed distinctly formally, but it's more of an intimidating sort of formal. Crisp, ink-black suit with a pressed white shirt and a red tie. A long coat over it all and a briefcase clutched in one hand. Everille had proved a lucrative client before, so Psyber was more than happy to show up personally for a second mission from her.

    "Miss Everille, think nothing of it," Psyber says officially, a cigarette still in his mouth despite his fancy outfit. He takes a slow drag and then exhales some whispy grey smoke. Psyber says to her flatly, "I can fulfill whatever roll you so see fit to place me into. If they are going to confiscate weapons, I have prepared at least one decoy handgun for them to take that will not impede my actual arsenal."

    Setting down his briefcase, Psyber clicks it open and removes a pair of gloves, which he pulls onto his hands. Then he snaps it shut and picks it up again, "Direct me where you'd like. You're the client, after all," Psyber says to Scarlet seriously.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Madoka seems fairly chipper when she comes up beside the limo. Really, she can't get over how much this city reminds her of Mitakihara: the modern buildings, the obvious affluence of the populace, then those few traces of classical architecture to top everything off... geez! That should probably make her a bit wistful, but this time it can only make her happy. It's as though she's been swept up in a dream from years ago, and she's finally being allowed to be the sort of magical girl she wished she could've been before. Or at the very least, some closer approximation -- one where the city hasn't been destroyed, and where her friends are still alive.

    Madoka waits to slide into the cabin until Psyber has already entered, or if he insists that she go first, she makes every effort to hint that she wants to sit next to him. This includes flustered gestures, furtive glances, and anything else she's able to accomplish in a matter of seconds, but she does not -dare- to actually request that he sit next to her. That would be rude! There are other people whom he might want to sit beside, after all, and she doesn't want to be an inconvenience. It's just, there are all these other people that she -doesn't- know that well... and... she's still kind of nervous. Around anyone, really.

    Wherever she ends up, though, she's equally cautious in not letting her feelings on her placement show. Instead, she quickly shakes her head to Scarlet. "You never have to thank me, Scarlet! I'm just happy if I can help at all." That, at least, is perfectly honest. She listens to her explanation as carefully as she can -- polite though she may be, she's prone to distraction -- and is even about to volunteer as one of the school-aged envoys, but Scarlet calls Maya's and Kyra's names first. Madoka's hand, already partly risen, lowers back to her lap. Her expression calms slightly, but as always, she makes no audible or visible protest.

    When Scarlet actually does get around to describing her part of the mission, though, her pupils may contract slightly. That was... a lot of big words! She's not about to hold things up by asking for a clarification, though, so she'll... follow along with the others and hope for the best. "O-Okay!" is all that she says for now. A small thumbs-up and a radiant smile do their utmost to mask her confusion.

    ... fingers crossed. Metaphorically. And maybe more concretely, too, behind her back.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Sarah is here. She wouldn't have alerted Team Chaos Theory about the opportunity if Psyber didn't happen to extend the offer personally. And when the Redeemer hooks you up with ADVENTURE, /you take the adventure/.

The car is a nice touch, and Scarlet hands out counter-mojo devices. Sarah holds it and looks it over, not saying much. As far as auras go, she doesn't have much to work with, so...

"I'll snoop around." Sarah says. "And stick with the group. Maybe we'll find something if things don't fall apart immediately. I don't have any cool magical powers, so I wouldn't really fit in as trying to become a magical student." She pauses. "Just let me know where I can help out." She says. "If anywhere." The presence of Arthur Lowell as well just seems to make her even more nervous. This is kind of like a Viking having Odin and Thor hanging out in the car with them and talking about helping out on the next shore raid.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    Scarlet obliges Taiga's and Kyra's question by exchanging windows on her AR display with deft swipes of her fingers, replacing the less important information on the Aldwood Family with basic documentation on the fundamentals of globally accepted magus grading, explaining the layman's terms overtop of it. "Mages act as an anchor point to Nowhere when they cast magic, drawing on its wildly diverging laws of existence to accomplish things that our physics don't normally allow. Between here and Nowhere, there are 7 roughly defined boundary territories that exist as half-realities, referred to as Phase Spaces. Each Phase is a discrete layer over the ones below it, in that something from a higher Phase can look in, but something from a lower Phase can't look out. This means that anything in Phase 1 or higher is invisible and more or less intangible to humans and our inventions without the use of magic. Only mages have the ability to see into Phase, where they will almost always keep their familiars and wards to prevent them from being seen and accessed."

    "How far into Phase a mage can perceive and act is a general milestone of their overall quality as a magus. Though the standards differ from country to country, it is an internationally accepted scale to grade mages by their highest level of available Phase. It's important for several reasons, since a rank 5 mage can only work up to Phase 5, and so can't ward a government building against a more powerful mage who can send a spy familiar in Phase 6. Needless to say, the Aldwoods occupy the upper echelon of power, within the top 2% of the magic using population. The fact that all of their home's defenses will be occupying these higher states is what makes this investigation difficult. If you're going to stick with Nozomi, I recommend doing so discretely. Having a robot touring around their house is something Eli is unlikely to accept. I'm already pushing my luck by gambling on the fact that he'll try and use this opportunity to pressure me into something to get in."

    Taiga's scans of the city come back with somewhat surprising results. The vast majority is completely devoid of any kind of supernatural activity, with great amounts of it clustered around government owned buildings, and several dozen points of extremely concentrated, extremely powerful magic existing around the edges of the urban sprawl. "The spell cards might be useful to demonstrate your eligibility, since you'd be hypothetically starting the program very late." Scarlet remarks to Maya. "If both you and Kyra were to sit in at the same time, it'd certainly accomplish the objective of drowning Eli out, though someone else will be required to mask what's going on elsewhere."

    "Lucky for you, I sincerely doubt they will." she says to Psyber. "Abigail is currently on outreach hours at her mother's workplace, and so Eli will feel confident in handling anything necessary by force, being on his home turf and on top of a nexus of converging Roads. He'll think of an armed bodyguard as trivially non-threatening after he applies a bulletproof ward beforehand." She tellingly makes no suggestion that such a thing would actually stop Psyber from being threatening. She smiles knowingly to Madoka, subvocally suggesting that she make up her mind quickly, as she isn't going to force her. She has no response to Arthur however. She has no idea what his powers actually are, so she'll trust these "gates" will be useful. To Sarah, she simply says "I trust your discretion. You don't seem like the type who lacks common sense." Is she serious or...?

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    Before too long, the limo arrives at the gates surrounding a much more archetypal private property than Scarlet's own abode. The plot is clearly an extremely old one, and the giant manor inhabited by a whopping 3 people and house staff is of old construction that wouldn't appear out of place in the early 1900s, restored and upkept for authentic, old-money cred. The car stops off a little ways down the street to let out anyone who would rather go forward in secret to act with impunity rather than trying to bluff and excuse their way around the house. Anyone with the correct senses can feel the intense warping of space and a swarm of movement and activity as they pass the outer wall and go up the lengthy driveway. It's a huge magical hotspot, both natural and man-made.

    The mansion is exactly what one would expect from looking at the outside, almost as if deliberately playing to a favourite stereotype. Old paintings, giant chandeliers, old wood flooring, engraving on every banister, the works. A small group of house staff have been lined up by the doors to greet the entourage and guide them into the reception room, but there is the distinct feeling of many more eyes following them than are visible. Eli is, as the intel suggested, the only one waiting, by an unnecessarily lit fireplace purely for effect. He bows formally, but not deeply, as Scarlet and co. enter the room, prompting a similar rigamarole of courtesy from the younger magus in return.

    "Miss Everille! Right on time! I see you've already managed to make some friends with your unusual choice of posting!" Eli laughs with a deep tenor, but the backhanded tone is still apparent, clearly looking down on the very idea of bringing multiversals into magus society to begin with, as if it shames her by association. Scarlet is either completely unbothered, or unbelievably good at hiding it however, because she's all smiles. "A pleasure to meet you mister Aldwood! I haven't seen you in...three years now? Not since Abigail applied for Heliosanctus. How have you been~?" Judging by Eli's subtle change expression, this is clearly a cutting reference to some business he is still sore over. "Well enough, well enough. Please, take a seat. I'm sure miss Everille has already told you of me, but allow me to introduce myself regardless. I am Eli Aldwood, senior professor of adjuration at Tower Silbermond, et cetera. May I please know your names?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Oh good. If he default regards me as non-threatening, that will make it much easier if force becomes necessary. That's very convenient," Psyber replies with a gentle smile as he flexes his gloved hands. Of course, the intimidating demeanor breaks for a few moments because Madoka looks like she needs some reassurance.

    Psyber had made no overture or gesture to stop her from sitting next to him. On the contrary, he's more than content to have her there. It also lets him reach over and plant a gloved hand on her shoulder, asking her, "You going to be okay? I'm sure you can be a big help here, Madoka." He inquires seriously, narrowing his eyes a bit and smiling at her out of concern.

    Sarah, too, gets a piece of his attention. He reaches out to pat the girl on the shoulder as well and says, "Hey. Deep breath, yeah? You feeling okay?" He asks Sarah seriously. He gives her a thumbs up and adds, "Sometimes you can help out in ways you never predicted. Just look at your skillset and find the niche. It all fits together."

    And FINALLY TO KYRA, Psyber says, "You can introduce me as Paul Syber, a private contractor from the States. Any more than that, if they ask, and I can fill in my own backstory, Lady Hyral," Psyber says, slipping back into the bodyguard character.

    True to this, when the vehicle comes to a stop, Psyber grips his briefcase in one hand and puts a pair of sunglasses on with the other. As he exits the vehicle, he follows behind Kyra like a large, looming, slightly intimidating spectre. He does not introduce himself, as that would be out of character. He lets Kyra do that for him, instead just staring at Eli from behind his sunglasses silently.

    Sometimes silence can be far more intimidating than anything a person could say.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    The stare that Taiga gives Arthur lasts several seconds. It is the kind of stare that only a cat can give, the kind which somehow manages to perfectly convey, 'You know what you did.'

    Nozomi, meanwhile, of all things... actually seems to notice Madoka's nerves before anything else. But it's not that surprising; she sees them in the mirror all the time, after all. She even tries to offer the magical girl an encouraging smile, but it's somewhat tempered by her own flighty, introverted nature. At least Madoka's not /alone/ in being uneasy here!

    Taiga listens quietly to the explanation of ranks, before making a soft noise that almost seems thoughtful. "If I cannot be by Nozomi's side openly, then we would be better served not joining the team which will meet with Eli Aldwood," he declares simply, before... stretching, much as a cat would. His arms even go right over Nozomi's legs. The look on her face seems to say that she's used to this.

    And then it's time to hop out of the car; as surprising as it may be (or perhaps, given her timid nature, not so much), she steps out of the car before they enter the manor grounds, joined immediately by Taiga. She climbs onto his back without hesitation, and from there the two wait for others to disembark.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Old money: Kyra can recognize old money and the estate of this guy just screams it. Already she's making assumptions about Eli's type, which is only reinforced by the tone this man is taking with her. Right away, Kyra looks rather nonplussed for a brief few moments.

    "My name is Kyra Hyral. This is my bodyguard, Paul Syber, whom I recently hired out of the States. The multiverse can be a very dangerous place, yes." No need to disguise her own name, she feels, since she hadn't achieved the level of multiversal reknown that the likes of Psyber has in the last few months since her world Unified. "Currently I am a student of Galianda's Alexander Academy however I am always looking for opportunities for enrichment and expansion. Specifically, I am interested in adopting further magic systems which-" she puts a hand to her chest, clearly bragging, "-I am quite capable of."

    She lowers her hand and then folds her fingers together. "So my friend and I were wondering." she nods to Maya, "What does the Tower Silbermond have to offer?"

Maya has posed:
Maya seems young enough to be be college age, well she looks it at they very least. Shje grins a bit as she looks over to Kyra and nods in agreemnt with her she does notice Madoka and gives her a sympathic look however. Arthur is not someone she's had a lot of contact with since Afterus was formed but he's always solid backup.

"I do have some more suitable clothing on hand thankfully."

She doesn't seem to be carrying anything however.

Sarah is new to her, she's not encounted hef before and lacks any major Syndicate ties as of this time. However if she was tapped it must be for good reason right?

She takes mental notes about mages in this world, she listens and nods.

"It would also serve as an interesting bit for converstation as well."

BEfore they leave the car Maya will tap a hair clip she's wearing there's a visual light show much like a magical girl's henshin or a kamen rider's transformation. Maya's shortly now in something far more suited to the event she'll be going too. Once they arrive she'll get up and out with the others.

She's takken note that Paul Syber is what she should calll Psyber int his case.

"Also let me introduce myself."

Once she reaches the others she bows a little bit.

"I am Selena Campbell."

A quick use of two different friend's surnames, given if her real idenity came out a net search would reveal certain things poentially.

"Indeed I am from the Chosen's Magic Academy."

Her stance is different than normal and she's clearly carrying her self far more like someone who thinks they are better than someone else.

"I must wonder as well, what do you have to offer us?"

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    What Arthur can glean from the outside isn't too much, but helped a lot by having some idea from having seen the Everille manor in Phase view. The property is a little smaller, but not by much, and is contained within city limits, if only just barely. It seems a bit wasteful, considering someone could easily build a small college campus with all of the valuable space it takes up with most of it given to outdoor luxuries. His intuitive sense of space tells him that there are multiple layers of distortion in a hemisphere around and over the walls serving as the perimeter, some of which appears to repulse outwards, and some of which links to "somewhere else". They seem to be barriers rather than a full volume however, like the surface of a hollow globe. There's almost definitely familiars on the grounds, but it's too difficult to pinpoint their locations. Minor wards are on all the doors and windows, but nothing quite so impressive. The building itself is a blocky horeshoe shape with a large attached garage, a groundskeeping supply building, a smaller structure for the power main, and a couple more miscellaneous buildings Arthur can't immediately discern the purpose of. It's a pretty old style, so there aren't a lot of entrances, and the walls are high and sheer, with a steeply peaked roof. The rear grounds are very clear, meant for outdoor activities rather than natural landscaping.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    While the others may be enraptured by Scarlet's explanation of 'phases' and their relavance to magecraft, Madoka's mind wanders somewhat. She means no disrespect to Scarlet, really, but she really can't seem to focus! Again and again her eyes wander to the window. She watches buildings, both ornate and plain, magical and mundane, scroll by the aperture. Her thoughts meander to more idle pursuits. What sort of people live there? What are they doing right now? What is a normal day like in this world for the people who -don't- live in the gigantic mansions that she's been privy to so far? In the course of her thoughts, her mouth might open just far enough to form a tiny 'o' shape.

    ... though to her credit, she closes her mouth again the instant she takes notice of this. She shakes her head and pat-pats her cheeks as though that gesture may usher in some new alertness. Get it together, Madoka! You're on a mission here! Though she really may have to visit Scarlet some day when things aren't terribly urgent, too; go out to eat with her or something to see a bit more of the world. She has to admit, the closeness she feels to her past while she's here... it's intoxicating. And that feeling doesn't wane no matter how long she stays. Every now and then, though, a feeling of dread creeps in with that sweet nostalgia. Something that reminds her of a certain duality between beauty and darkness.

    ... is this world like that, too? Does it have something dark, something awful lying beneath its surface?

    If it is, she would really prefer not to think about it right now. Better to ask Scarlet herself about what that 'darkness' even constitutes, if they ever get to know one another better.

    Again, the girl is so lost in her thoughts for the duration of the taxi ride that it takes her a moment to even acknowledge the group's arrival. One moment she was staring at something average, probably a streelight, and the next, her eyes are trained on the curtained window on the second or third story of one of the mightiest estates she has ever laid her eyes upon. Her eyes widen for a moment or two, but not... quite as much as they had when she saw Scarlet's own home. Fickle as it may seem to say so, she's already gotten used to the grandeur of the atmosphere. Well... mostly.

    The thing that ultimately calls her back to reality proper, though, is that pat on the shoulder. The girl jolts into awareness with a small sound, her gaze turning at once to Psyber. "O-Oh!" She returns with a nodding gesture, as though it were so ingrained as to be automatic. "I'm fine, yeah! Don't worry!" Her look of awe works itself back into a little grin. And when he asserts that she has plenty to offer, she gives one of her equally rote, patterned giggles. "Ehehe... I hope so! I really do..." She trails off after that, though, sliding just as thoughtlessly back out of the limo. She continues to study her surroundings throughout the walk, only occasionally looking back at the half angel. Whenever she does, though, she's sure to show her best smile. She might even wave, here and there!

    Then they're inside. Another blast of color comes, and again it seems like the entire world transforms before her very eyes. Naturally, even after so many years of growth, she's still not one to easily ascertain the nuances hiding behind the more obvious facade of conversation. She's blissfully unaware of any condescension with which the professor's words may be laced, and responds with unreserved mirth when her name is requested: "Like Scarlet said, it's nice to meet you, Mister Aldwood!" She joins her hands at her waist and gives a warm little bow. "My name is Kaname Madoka. Just let me know if I can help somehow!"

    Always quick to offer that 'help' to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Given her distraction, it takes Madoka quite some time to actually -notice- Nozomi's reassurance, let alone respond to it. Luckily, though, she does end up in the puella magi's line of sight shortly after she has finished a wave to Psyber. So Madoka flashes another smile to her, mouthing the words 'I'll be fine' in understanding, before turning back toward the door and linking her hands cheerily behind her back.

    One does not need to be terribly observant to notice little reassurances like that... especially when they come from someone who is kinda flighty themselves. The familiar dispositions establish an almost supernatural wavelength! They don't even need telepathy, hya~!

    ... okay, well. The telepathy still helps, but.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur accepts Taiga's stare with a grin, knowing entirely what he did and just generally being obnoxious about it. What a jerk! He'll wait for the limo to pull away, slipping out some distance beyond the estate, once he can be confident that there aren't familiars watching. "Alright newbie, time to get your ass schooled. Follow my lead, eyes and ears open. You're lookin' for agricultural samples an' shit." He says, his tone abruptly a bit more serious. "Let's get this party right the fuck started." Arthur Lowell himself lacks the ability to see and identify Familiars, but he has some experience with working beyond phase, and he has an intimate understanding of space.

    It's unlikely that he can PERCEIVE the Familiars, but more likely that his tremendous mage intelligence will make it easier for him to pass through zones that most entities would not typically be looking at, and he recalls they do move through physical space in a way not unfamiliar to humans. This is their 'day job', after all; they're not going to be /that/ thorough on a search at all times, as long as it's not clear there's an intruder. He can instantly generate Gates in line of sight, or short ranges. Using his SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE, he examines the property, feeling out its physical layout, and attempts to map the routes taken by walking, flying, and crawling creatures, finding their probable lines of sight at any given time, and any spaces safely away from them. He CAN sense the barriers and wards, which makes this a little easier too.

    He's going to go in with a strategy: Short-range low-energy Gate-hopping between areas likely to not be looked at by any given Familiars, gracefully moving from one portal-pair to the next with fluid, stylish motions, sometimes acrobatic when necessary! He'll keep the Gates open long enough for Sarah to get through as well. He's going to use this strategy until he encounters any wards, barriers, or similar obstacles proofed against his Gate bypassing, or presumably until his mapping fails or he gets caught by a Familiar straying from his predicted paths.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
The reassurance from Psyber seems to have a limited effect on Sarah. For people who know her, this is more than most people do. She stops fidgeting so much. "All right. I'll look for something." She says shortly, staring forward.

Sarah disembarks apart from the others, going with TEAM STEALTH ARTHUR. One would think this would be an oxymoron with the boisterous divinity, but Sarah doesn't seem to care. She follows along, looking over the area and examining plants as she passes by them. If there's anything unusual, she'll CAPTCHALOGUE it into her ENGIMA MODUS, unless it's particularly notable in which case she'll poke Arthur about it. She sticks behind Arthur like glue, jumping through as soon as he does.

She doesn't yoink anything once she's inside. The line between theft and looting/salvage is a fine one, but it's one Sarah will respect for now.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    Nozomi looks at least a little reassured herself by Madoka's unspoken words. That's heartening, at least.

    "From a certain perspective," Taiga replies, "I have been hunting supernatural entities for more of my life than you have of yours." He seems more amused than anything else. But it's business time, and he's built for this business. Even with Nozomi on his back, Taiga is capable of impressive speed and agility; she hardly seems to slow him down at all, in fact, and she knows how to flatten herself against him such that she presents a minimal profile. They've both done this more than once, and it shows. It's easy enough for him to dart into the gates Arthur opens alongside Sarah, and he doesn't have trouble keeping up. While they leap and vault, however, his ears quirk this way and that, the robot tiger sweeping their surroundings with his magical sensors just in case.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    "A bodyguard?" is Eli's first response rather than a typical "pleased to meet you", looking to Psyber almost immediately. His eyes are a startling, deep violet, which establishes a pattern with Scarlet's vivid red, considering none of the house staff had anything unusual. "Oh you'll find no need of that here miss Hyral. This is one of the safest countries in the world! You really needn't have gone through the trouble." Rather than seeming intimidated by Psyber's presence, he acts exactly to Scarlet's expectations by quickly putting him out of mind, only briefly put off by the man's size and presence. Scarlet gives off a chiming little laugh, taking a seat and folding one leg over the other, hands on her knee. "Oh don't worry about it mister Aldwood. Her world doesn't have the convenience of Phase familiars. It's the same insurance as we all take." True to her word, Psyber's eyes can spot the difficult to place suggestions of movement around both of the mages present, as if their invisible cohorts are sizing each other up. Eli's eyes narrow ever so slightly, perhaps perceiving some kind of mockery.

    He seems much more interested in the young girls though. "At any rate, pleased to make your acquaintances, miss Hyral, Campbell and Kaname." Surprisingly, he seems to be aware of the way Japanese given names and surnames relate, which speaks of some level of internationally focused education. He stares at them very intently for a moment, before abruptly blinking as if a spotlight had just been shone on him, his features wrinkling slightly in discomfort. "Well, first and foremost, Tower Silbermond is the 3rd ranked private academy in the entire country, ranked in the top 20 in the entire world, and considered one of the best places on the globe for an international student to receive and education. We've been operating since the 1600s, and have some of the most qualified instructors available, all of which have 30 years of experience or more." He recites the facts as if he's done so a million times before. Truth be told, he seems uninterested in actually trying to convince anyone, only going through the motions.

    Scarlet calls on it immediately. "You'll find that the tuition is no obstacle to these young ladies. Rest assured, they haven't come here to petition a scholarship. Their interests are in auditing the program." Eli's reaction is a little odd. He seems as if he really had assumed Kyra was putting on airs to make it seem like the three of them weren't about to essentially beg for the opportunity, and yet he appears to believe Scarlet more than readily, subtly shifting his countenance to be more attentive. "My apologies. This is our first time discussing a transfer from outside of the world. I can clearly tell these three fine young women have the gift, and having a preexisting general education would help them catch up much more easily by simply doubling up on magical studies, but this is still an unusual case. What precisely is it about our magic that has caught your eyes?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber doesn't smile. Instead, he keeps both hands folded in front of himself and looks immensely serious as he stares at Eli Aldwood from behind his sunglasses, those red eyes watching him like a hawk. Running through his mind for what a professional would say in this situation, Psyber replies simply, "In my line of work, I find that it is the places where people feel safest that complacency occurs. And when complacency occurs, the most dangerous events are not far behind," His tone is stern, and while his words are a simple appraisal, they carry an undertone.

    Psyber is trying to get a rise out of Eli. He disguised an incredibly barbed and insulting sentiment behind some calm and well-intentioned-sounding words. The half-angel has just told Eli that he believes the security is sub-par. This is emphasized by his next words, "I have yet to see any particularly noteworthy positive deviations in your security. It seems rather..." He pauses, as if searching for the right euphamism. The right phrasing that will just absolutely insult Eli, "... standard."

    Psyber is challenging Eli to posture. To make a show of Kyra and Maya being here. More accurately, Psyber is trying to goad Eli into re-ordering security to prove a point, making the lives of those infiltrating a bit easier.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    Nozomi is fairly well equipped for this mission in particular, as Taiga's sensors appear to be decently well tuned to this world's type of magical entities. He is able to pick up large numbers of weaker entities fairly easily, occupying lower Phases, but the more powerful ones are fairly vague, as if tracking something deep in the water by the ripples it leaves behind rather than a distinct view of its silhouette from above. The smaller ones are either seemingly affixed to the walls or patrol in small swarms both through the air and across the ground, filling the wider spaces with sheer volume, clearly meant to spread as many eyes and ears as possible to spot and hamper intruders until the bigger ones arrive to eliminate them. There are quite a lot of them, and their patterns are fairly comprehensive, so it will require constant tracking and updates to the rest of the group to steer clear of them.

    Arthur finds that laying the very first gate is in fact monumentally difficult. The other barriers have been proofed to block out local forms of translocation magic, preventing people from warping anything onto the property. Were he not the God Tier he is, such resistance might very well be an insurmountable obstacle, but he possesses more power overall than the wards meant to be erected as a passive defense, and so is able to break past them. Once actually on the grounds, he is able to gate around freely until approaching the house itself, at which he again meets resistance from the web of smaller, more powerful wards from each possible physical entrance. Being much more concentrated, gating through them individually would be prohibitively difficult.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Perhaps here, but what about outside? I do have my own enemies to worry about, after all." Kyra waves dismissively, as if haulting around a high-priced bodyguard was nothing of an issue to her. The added explanation is quickly capitalized on: "Those familiars are fascinating. I hope it is one of the many things studied at this Tower."

    As Eli speaks, Kyra withdraws her mPad and starts making notes on it, typing on the screen as if it were a keyboard present. She's clearly taking notes. "I hate to repeat myself, but I find the familiars the most fascinating. Such constructs do not exist on my world."

Maya has posed:
Selena listens for a moment as she considers her worlds next. She seems to be taking a measure of Eli for the moment, nothing hostile just one whose curious about a person when they have first met before.

"I do think I'd be curious to see some nature of your security however. My families enemies are quite creative after all."

Selena does not seem to be bothered by anything. She'll move to follow and she notices though he does seem more interesting in the younger two here. That makes her wonder deeply about it. However it's time to continue being the good guest.

"England is one of the oldest nations in the western world of earth. It quite telling it has a strong magical tradition to go with that."

She does seem interested in what he has to say but she does see he's going through the motions on this.

"No my family has the means to handle such. I'd not be here otherwise or perhaps taking what was intended for someone with talent who had a mistake of birth. The nature of your magic is quite different than the fate magic used upon my world. There we tap the very life energy of the world and direct to our use."

She has Tarot card out now which she's just flipping in her hand on one side there is a angel with ornate body tattoos upon it.

"We generally use foci to weave our spells My friend also brings up another subject of interest to me. We do not have anything akin to familiars on my world either."

If their hosts are sensing magic of anyone in their security forces are? Maya's like a ley line or nexus point in terms of magical aura.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Wait.

    Wait wait.

    -This- is why Scarlet wanted girls of schoolgoing age to come along? ... right. Right, she knew that. Seriously! Madoka balls her fists in determination without thinking, which may ironically make her look the part of 'aspiring student' all the more. Still, when it comes to fabricating some reason for going to school here, she's... a bit of a deer in headlights. She bats her lashes a few times, and though she does open her mouth, she remains in an awkward silence. Here's hoping that the others are covering for her, because she may be a while! And in the process, she can't help but think: magic sorta found /her/. She would rather be an art student!

    But -today-. Today, she wants to be a magic student here with all of her heart! Or that's how it should look, at least. So in the most bold, exuberant voice she can conjure, she proclaims: "The city!"

    ... that just sort of slipped out. But hey, that's what she's been thinking about since she came here! Still, she can salvage this. C'mon, c'mon...

    ... got it.

    "I've always wanted to know how magic has changed the world! People wouldn't be able to create things nearly as beautiful without magic, right?"

    ... don't got it. But luckily, she has another idea now: "O-Oh, and also. In my world, magic isn't something you can just use out in the open! There are only certain times you can use it, and you have to be really careful not to scare people when you do. If I came here, I would have more opportunities to practice, and learn. And that would help me to help other people! Then I would be able to help this school, and the people on my world, and everyone!" Phew. At least she ended on a good note.

    She heaves a sigh in the most subtle manner that she's able to before glancing to the other two girls as if fretfully. Thankfully, all of this could be mistaken for the nervousness one would naturally have in an interview, though she may still seem a biiiit more animated than most applicants. In this case, though, she's not nervous because she thinks the others might be more convincing than her -- she's just hoping that she didn't blow their cover!

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur had some difficulty setting up those Gates to get through the first barrier, and the next major ward... Well, this one he's not getting through. At least, not in any way near a stealthy way. For now, he remains completely silent, at least in terms of his voice. How is he talking over the radio?! It's a mystery. He makes a motion to Taiga -- no funny name this time -- telling him to keep watch, and then one of those classic grins and winks to Nozomi when he does the same to her.

    He's headed around to areas that might be "work areas", which is to say, anywhere that might be closest to an interior research area or storage area for magical agriculture products, before stopping and doing all this. He tried to force his way past the door with some Gate magic, but unfortunately, it's stonewalling him. He tries several more times before giving up on a stealthy bypass; instead, using his magically-received data from Taiga, and his own extensive magical senses related to how the wards were blocking him, he begins projecting the gentle green light of a web of networked wards, visualizing their structure for Sarah and letting her take a crack at manipulating his magic from an external control interface as if it were a touchscreen, so she can feel out the nodes in need of "hacking". This should let them channel that magical card's energy into the web of wards at their absolute weakpoint, if Sarah's expertise is up to snuff!

    If his scheme works, he'll be gating inside and immediately exploring for agricultural development centers with the same stealthy methods he was using before.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    Taiga does indeed keep watch, though that's more a matter of course for him. He's very good about silently relaying a constant stream of telemetry on the location, count and relative strength or 'depth' of given contacts over the local band, ensuring that Arthur's got plenty of information on where is and isn't safe to go. Nozomi, on the other hand, takes this grin and wink as a /solemn duty/ and is now doubly on guard for anything she can see.

    Naturally, once they reach the wards, he begins uploading sensor data on them as well, analyzing them in-depth for any particular gaps, weak points, or possibly even flaws where one small 'tug' might cause them to come apart. Anything and everything he can detect about them - without sacrificing his constant watch for familiars - he will.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    Eli's expression hardens visibly at Psyber. He's clearly displeased that a mere bodyguard would have the nerve to sass him on matters of being a magus. For an instant, he seems to consider something, which Scarlet instantly picks up on, like reading his mind from just his expression. "I'm sorry mister Syber, but could you please take your sunglasses off for a moment?" She turns back to Eli. "Our friend here has a little bit of training. Rank 3. He's pretty familiar with security though, so he's extrapolating from what he can see." It's pure BS based on the simple fact that Psyber's eyes are red, indicating someone with naturally brown eyes using Phase sight. A ploy to get Eli to believe he's simply undercover.

    He seems ready to believe Scarlet, despite strong evidence to the contrary. "Ah, I always forget how bold our American friends are! No offense taken!" Yeah right. "How about I kill two birds with one stone then?" he says in response to Kyras and Maya's prompting at the subject of familiars. Clearly he isn't exactly prime poker night material, and not all that socially savvy, probably the reason he's a professor rather than a politician like his wife. That said, he's not stupid. He knows enough to not play his whole hand at once, whether he believes he's being played or not, so rather than calling as much security into the room as possible as overkill, he asserts his dominance in retaliation by calling the most powerful level of asset he can spare.

    A brief, dizzying wave of sensation that makes skin crawl and hearts seize washes over those present as something materializes, suddenly filling Eli's side of the room behind his chair. The creature is enormous. Large enough that it can touch both walls, the floor and the ceiling at the same time, and yet lacks any discernable central anatomy whatsoever. It looks like little more than a gargantuan jumble of freakishly human limbs radiating outwards in all directions, pale and fleshy and with too many elbows and finger joints for their unnaturally long proportions. Its weight is supported by hundreds of spindly fingers, some tapping or drumming on the walls and floor as if psychotically impatient or nervous, making a constant, unsettling racket. Despite lacking any obviously threatening appendages, the thing gives off the intense, alarming feeling of being incredibly threatening, on some kind of primal level that is understood instinctively rather than subconsciously. It's probably the most dangerous thing in the house, not on the level of one of the 66, but powerful enough that Psyber would be hard pressed to protect all four girls at once.

    Eli smiles with intense self satisfaction. "As they saw, a skillful hawk hides its talons. Rest assured, we understand quite well the necessities of a secure existence. One can never be sure they have no enemies, after all." Scarlet seems to be hiding a smile behind her hand, probably an intentional jab judging by the tic of irritation that crosses Eli's face. He seems to have crossed some boundary of taste. "That said, an exchange program would fly much better past the headmaster and board of directors if you had something to show in return. Would you be willing to submit demonstration of this fate magic, and perhaps something out of Alexander?" He pauses a minute at hearing Madoka blurt out her answer, but ultimately laughs with actual sincere good nature. "Oh my, someone is certainly motivated! I will temper those motivations by saying that magic isn't something you should flaunt to the public out of a matter of dignity, but I can certainly see the applicability of our school if that's your issue."

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    He leans back in his chair slightly, regarding Maya favourably. "Of course! The United Kingdom is the foremost nation of magic in the world! Not in Turkey, Israel, Japan or Germany will you find more sophistication of the art! A population of 75 million, and yet thirteen private academies, universal magical education for those with the gift, 4 of the 66 accounted for, and the greatest economical hub of reagent trade in the world! International students fly from all over to get here."

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Subvocal microphones are a thing. Sarah doesn't have them but she knows about them. Maybe she'll get a set with the cash Psyber provided for those GRIMOIRES OF ILL INTENT she offloaded.

In the meantime, Sarah putters along, an almost visible gloomy funk of depression trailing along behind her. Even so, she tries to keep on task, watching for options. The look of Arthur getting stymied elicits a confused expression from Sarah. He's a God. How can this be happening?

But it is. It's totally happening. Nevertheless, when the WARD NETWORK 'LOCKPICK' INTERFACE lights up, Sarah steps forward, eyes wide as she takes in the complexity of the wards. THIS REMINDS HER OF A PUZZLE.

Well, when you get down to it, code cracking and solving puzzles are the same thing but that's beside the point. She reaches out, a hand trembling as she gets entrusted to help make this thing happen.

But then she stops, closing her eyes. "What will be, will be." She says, simply, and then her hands dive forward, beginning to tap on the INTERFACE as she begins gently working the wards with soft touches, attempting to find a way to thread through it. A nudge here, a twist there, a slight rotation in order to attempt to gain an opening without triggering them.

As soon as she's gone as far as she can, she stops, looking to the other two, and points at a specific spot. "There. Hit it." She says, simply, and steps back.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Another one of the most noticeable similarities between Madoka's world and this one is that the familiars in both places are absolutely -horrifying-. Sure, they may be so for different reasons; where she hails from, familiars are a more artsy, symbolic variety of scary. But these ones? These are just... gory. Where is that thing's face? Is it really just a bunch of arms? ... legs? Regardless, the appearance of the creature summoned by Eli makes Madoka freeze in place. The only instant in which she actually muses on what attending a school in this world would be like is spent fretting over what it would be like to see those things wandering through the halls in the middle of changing classes.

    ... she shakes her head at the thought. N-Nope! That sounds awful, -completely- awful. She couldn't eat, let alone sleep knowing that she was sharing a building with one of those things. And if she had a roomate who summoned them... noooooope.

    But she keeps that to herself for the time being. She swallows hard and balls her fists again, this time for the sake of comfort more than anything. As Eli's gaze scrools to her and considers her answer, time slows. Her heartbeat quickens. Her cheeks flush, and her face becomes warm. Only when she hears his laugh does she release the breath she hadn't even noticed herself holding to respond. At first, all she can do is laugh in kind. She progresses from a nervous giggle to a more earnest, hearty chuckle. When he speaks his last, she repeats her bow, a wiiiide grin capturing her countenance. She did good! And she even 'convinced' him without lying! Thank goodness.

    She allows for a short silence afterwards, but with the confidence afforded her by the success of that exchange, she attempts to carry on the conversation. Maybe she can buy the others' time! "Uhm. This may be a silly question, but are there... specific /kinds/ of magic here? Like, is summoning familiars its own 'school'? I'm just trying to figure out where my powers would fit in if I was allowed to come." Oh, and this guy is a professor, right? Maybe if she could bring up some subject he would like lecturing about that could keep him occupied even longer! So... so...

    "And, and -- is there any kind of magic that you like..." Wait. "Uh. Respect the most? I'm curious to hear what you think, Mister Aldwood!"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber nods his head to Scarlet, "As you wish, Miss Everille," Psyber states, reaching up and pulling off his sunglasses, revealing those ruby red eyes as he folds them up and places them in the breast pocket of his jacket, "A minimalist ability, but one I conceal because any obfuscation is better than total transparency," he calmly states, looking towards Eli.

    When the creature is revealed, Psyber has to force himself to express worry. Not because he isn't worried, but because there's a specific kind of worry one has to convey, and it takes a careful actor. Psyber has to walk the line of 'worried, but trying to pretend not to be worried', which is a very careful mask to wear. It exists in the most subtle of motions. A man's hand moving an inch towards his belt, a foot sliding a quarter inch back to brace, but then both stopping. Controlled, feigned anxiety is an exhausting emotion to fake.

    As the feeling passes, Psyber reaches up and adjusts his tie, looking to Eli. A hawk may hide its talons, but an eagle knows to fly unnoticed until ready to strike at the hawk. As Eli croons the United Kingdom, Psyber comments wryly, "And yet you still have the worst food and have had to ask for help to win two world wars." Whether Psyber is feigning his jab or actually defending America will remain up to interpretation.

    "I am going to leave my briefcase here. Do not open it," Psyber says simply, setting the briefcase down on a chair as he moves to follow after the group and keep his hands folded behind his back like a good security officer.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    An ill look passes over Kyra's face as the familiar is summoned, first from the magical signature it produces, which she can feel come to pass. Her green-eyed gaze remains affixed on the familiar once it is visible. "No." she says with a wry smile, "One can never be too sure about what enemies they harbor. I didn't anticipate any trouble here but I can never be too sure." Perhaps to flatter Eli, she does manage to look a little intimidated by his familiar.

    She composes herself. "Oh, a demonstration of Alexander Academy's magic? Absolutely. My own specialties are white magic-that is healing of a magical nature in case your terminology is different-and biochemistry. That is a more specialized form of alchemy. I would be more than pleased to provide a demonstration of either if it would convince the headmasters and board of directors to entertain the thought of an exchange program."

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    There are quite a few doors to approach from, but one seems rather obvious as the group rounds the other side of the building, where space has been cleared out for the size of greenhouse only a business should be able to afford, thankfully with no gardeners currently on duty after 6. Old stone stairs lead down to a doorway that has been filled with something set with frosted glass rather than the old iron it probably originally was. Taiga immediately senses something "big" moving through the wall, patrolling past them on the way to the front of the house, able to feel the disturbance swelling in its wake.

    To anyone looking, the ward network looks like a hopelessly overcomplicated mess. Every ward connects to every other ward, creating an incomprehensible cluster of crisscrossing lines that are maddeningly difficult to pick out. What Sarah can tell however, is that approximately half of them have been placed in a subtly different pattern than the others, as if done by two separate people with slightly different habits. Working backwards, she can find the original two wards that were placed from which the rest radiated out from, at which lies the weakpoint in the way the two don't quite fit together uniformly.

    By design, nobody in the room will notice when Scarlet slips one hand into her pocket and lays fingers on the top card at Arthur's prompting over the radio, causing its companion to burst into...something. It looks as if it were thrown into a fast moving jet of turbulent water, with spots of black and violet popping in and out of existence like bubbling embers, corroding the shape of the card. The one holding it is subject to the sudden, alarming feeling of something watching them, and a kind of sickening pressure somewhere within their head, as if being pushed and probed. The feeling thankfully vanishes swiftly, leaving them a clear way in.

    The floor is objectively a basement, but looks pretty much the same as every other level except darker. Taiga can pick up a greater number of familiars down there, requiring them to hurry along or be seen. The destination seems fairly obvious when Arthur passes it, being a pair of double doors overlayed with all the same wards as the external barrier in miniature. His perception of space however, alerts him to a single clear zone inside, which is strangely trivial to gate to.

    Said space turns out to be a roughly person sized circle drawn on a grey marble plinth raised slightly above the floor, etched in with some kind of glimmering, almost liquid looking metal. It appears to be a translocation circle meant to receive secure dropoffs from somewhere else, judging by all the opened, hermetically sealed canisters and crates, and a fat stack of messages on a desk beside it, all of which are written in unintelligible lettering for secrecy. If he was still expecting everyone to find something to do with agriculture, they'd be wrong. Though there are a handful of plants growing in tubes under lamplight on the other side of the spacious, darkened laboratory, the majority of it is taken up by cluttered piles of books, unidentifiable instruments, and cases upon cases filled with the frozen or submerged remains of what appear to be animal parts, though unnaturally twisted in shape. Oddly enough, where the largest concentration of tools is sat at the site of a recent circle, there is only a small pile of mundane rocks.

    It would all be very ordinary were it not for the immediate, subconscious sensation of whispering. The impression of a voice they can't quite here, repeating "Dark." and "Cold." over and over again.

Maya has posed:
Selena is making a decent show of it as she listens she won't press things harder and then something happens. She feels dread almost like the sort that she feels when she sets foot upon the cursed soil of shell three. She looks at the creature with no small amount of shock at it. She's seen some horrors in her day but this was a new one. She gets the idea they have some heavy security here now and it shows on her face.

"Yes, forgive any rudeness on my part. Things can be tense back home, as for fate magic? I would be happy to. I think of a few things that would catch your interest. I admit fate magic may seem focused compared to some schools? It is however very potent at what it does do. S"

She nods approvingly.

"Good, I see those who use magic are not wasted."

Selena is clearly trying to not focus upon the guard creature. Still she seems to get it's not trying to man handle her with them. So focusing on the idea of giving them a bit of a show, if it would help for their cover great. It should certainly distract them for a bit from things, right?

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    Though Taiga has no stealth systems to speak of, he has the speed, grace and quiet movements of a true feline predator, making his way along with impressive speed once the path down into the basement is clear. And it's a good thing he can be quiet, at that; the increased familiar count down here is problematic. But they can find their way well enough, and Arthur is able to get them into a room where... where...

    Well, where Nozomi shuts down just a little.

    The poor girl visibly shudders and clings down tighter against Taiga, and it becomes obvious after a moment or two that she's no longer actively engaging with her surroundings... or, well, passively engaging, anyway. She's been very aware up until now, but her eyes sort of lose focus a little, and she starts to visibly shiver. The noise Taiga makes upon noticing this is not happy. It sounds, in fact, very like a tiger's growl. "C-cold..." she murmurs, before Taiga speaks up, "Nozomi. I am here. It cannot hurt you."

    The robotiger turns his sensors to the tools, getting as much analysis done as he can, but his attention remains at least partially on the girl clinging to his back.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur breaches fast at Tiger's urging. SOMETHING BIG IS MOVING. He's gotta get in here FAST. As soon as that door's breached, he's diving through, making his way towards the relevant area at the speed of way-too-quick, doing more gate-hopping to let the others get there ASAP. He can't quite hear that voice, but it's enough to set him on edge. Something big, something big...!! That feeling of being watched hit him, and he's eager to get in and out as fast as he can.

    Okay, the TRANSLOCATION CIRCLE is his focus here, and the products received from it. He's no Seer, and he can't perceive Familiars, but he is a Space Mage, and so he attempts to run a full analysis of the circle itself, to determine the structure of its reception, and data that might incriminate them in other crimes, such as links to sites near other Families that have been victims of the theft, or its identifiable, traceable link to Familiars offsite that could be followed up on. He also very thoroughly analyzes -- but does not touch! -- the reagents being stocked here, which appear to have been received via the translocation spell. He's examining them to see if they're part of the stock from other families, as well as trying to analyze the effect of translocation magic on them, to determine if there's any consistent "fingerprint" of translocation residual effect to the process.

    And he's gotta do it FAST, FAST, FAST, because he wants to get out ASAP! "Keep it cool, girl." He mutters to Nozomi. "In and out like a ghost's fart, trust me. I'm gonna try to get a recall Gate going, get us outta here quick. You keep it cool, we'll all get outta here safe." His voice sounds tense, so he might be reassuring himself to ease his own anxiety about a stealth mission. If nothing else, he's going to try to extract the data for the AUTHENTICATION MECHANISM used by the translocation circle to bypass the barriers outside, and have a Gate ready to take them right back out of here if they need to.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Once everything breaks down Sarah is on the move. She doesn't waste time gawking because she, like Arthur, knows some big crap is going down thanks to Taiga.

They drop into the unusual area and she looks around, pondering what the hell she is looking at. The whispering causes her to pause, her hands coming up to her ears as she futilely tries to block out the sounds. "Quiet..." She hisses...

It doesn't help. Arthur puts her on task though, and she scurries to the coded messages, trying to keep focused and not let the environment get to her. She only takes a moment to look one over before she gives in to instinct and CAPTCHALOGUES the CODED CLANDESTINE COMMUNIQUES, the messages getting locked up in her own coded inventory-vault as the card seals with code-wheels and the image (and resultant code) scrambles.

She turns to look at the rest of the area, and pauses. "This doesn't look right." She says, gesturing at the pile of normal rocks. "There was something here. Something big. It's gone now. The room doesn't line up now." She'll let the others look into it.

She does, however, turn to Taiga and Nozomi, and Sarah steps forward to pap her on the shoulder. "Keep focused. If you keep on top of things you can keep some things from going wrong." This is... her version of comfort, I guess?

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    "How very American to bring up something 150 years old." Eli responds to Psyber with the tone of a teacher who does not tolerate sass from his students. "Of course it would make sense to remember those wars fondly after losing the next 14." The disadvantage Psyber is at here becomes obvious. In his world, America hasn't fought nearly that many wars since WWII. "I would hope you plan to settle down soon and focus on the fact that you're on economic life support from Canada and try to sort out your little plutocracy outsourcing everything to the east. Of course that might be difficult considering every worthwhile magus in the country goes somewhere else to study." Oh Psyber's definitely getting to him alright. Even in the future, the yanks and the brits refuse to get along. Unfortunately it sounds like the states have succumbed to the most cynical predictions of the early 2000s, but Scarlet would know the inherit hypocrisy expressed by Eli championing a country which has just as abysmal a wealth disparity and civil rights situation as feared in the same time period. At least the stupid argument is keeping his attention off the fact that one of his wards has failed, if he can even perceive it with all the magical noise the girls are making.

    He clears his throat as he addresses Madoka, trying to demonstrate washing his hands of the nationalistic squabbling. "I can provide you with the essential elementary information on the seven fundamental schools at any time. Summoning Nobodies would be of the translocation school, displacing things from Nowhere into reality and vice versa, but binding them into familiars would be adjuration, which is my specialty and the subject I teach. Adjuration is the noble art of magical contract, imposing one's will on the supernatural, and consecrating the word of one's fellow man with magic. It's an absolutely vital school if you intend to be successful in the real world."

     He seems somewhat pleased with Kyra's high brow demeanor, and the fact that mages like to measure their importance by how many enemies they have."White magic is an old term we seldom use anymore here, but the connotations are similar." He seems even more pleased at the reactions he gets from the others, so much that he actually smiles at Maya, even with the horrific thing in the room looming behind him. How early would you have to start learning magic to be so desensitized to the presence of things like that? "I'll see if I can schedule something with the board for the next month. I expect you'll be able to have something ready. Something practical of course, not a stage routine. This won't be a talent show after all, assuming they decide to humour you."

    Scarlet takes the opportunity to smile all too happily, resting her hands in her lap. "No need to worry~ I've already contacted the board myself. They want to see a recommendation from a professor, and I thought you'd be the most interested, if only due to you know what with Chairman Webber." Eli's response marks the third time that he has taken her word for something completely at face value. Is someone still in school herself really this influential? Unusual. "Oh. Excellent, I expect. On that subject however, this is still going through the board on your name. The board will expect collateral from Heliosanctus. I'm not about to sign off on it without-" She is quick to cut him off, having already anticipated some kind of attempt at social maneuvering. "You'll have it in writing by next week. If you don't, put it through to Sir Elde." It's anyone's guess what that actually means. Who are any of these people anyways? How far is she faking this? It's difficult to tell what she's making up and what she's prepared to actually do. She obviously has a lot of information on this guy and his associates. "Would one of you girls be so kind as to show mister Aldwood what he'll be missing?" It's a prompt to cast something. Anything. She's about to time the display with a spell of her own to conceal it.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Frankly, I'm surprised the United Kingdom's entire economy didn't shit itself and die when the Queen did. How'd you guys manage to survive the mandatory nation-wide shutdown, as required by British law when royalty dies? I've always wondered," He asks curiously, placing his hands in his pockets and walking along, "Or is she still secretly kicking around behind closed doors, waiting for Charles' line to finally die out and lose its claim to the throne so she can sit back, heave one last sigh, and crumble to so much dust on the wind with her duty to crown and country finished?"

    Psyber asks this question casually, dismissing the shots from the man about how America turned out. He shrugs his shoulders and then smiles a bit, "You live by Reaganomics, you die by Reaganomics. Dunno what to tell you. Gotta play the ball where it lands." His position has become more casual, though he still walks with a formal gait behind Kyra. If Eli has a problem with arrogant Americans, Psyber will play that to the hilt to get a reaction.

    "Besides, I think we can agree that Canada owes America after all those decades it spent being little more than a maple syrup and poutine producing hat for one of the world's super powers. It's like America's child is supporting it in old age and doing its duty, really." The half-angel smiles a bit, giving a charming sort of grin as he antagonizes their host and keeps him preoccupied with a pissing contest.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    The circle in the room with Arthur, Nozomi and Sarah seems to be keyed to only a single point, like a two way teleporter. It's somewhere well inside of the city, underground, though the specific coordinates are currently useless to him without a map. Most likely some sort of dead drop. It seems unlikely that the familiars themselves are transporting goods all the way across the city like that, which would imply human participation at some point along a multi-stage line. A worrying prospect. The circle isn't really made to connect to anywhere else, but the eye of the storm it presents would hypothetically allow Arthur a clear shot to anywhere off of the mansion grounds, though teleporting somewhere inside would be just as difficult. Unfortunately there appears to be no identifiable tag on the items themselves. They could be from anywhere.

    Sarah's cursory examination of the messages indicates that they're coded alright, but it's unlikely there's a cipher just lying around somewhere. She'll probably need to break them on her own time. Her method of storage is extremely convenient for the moment, as Eli would certainly, immediately notice them missing and likely risk a great deal to recover them should they be incriminating. Taiga can tell which tools have been recently used by the residual energy lingering on them, all of which feels offputting and "wrong", like pretty much all magic in this world does. He can tell that a great deal of it is vaguely alchemical in nature, but great portions seem to be broadcasters or emitters of some sort, or perhaps even beacons. The equipment around the pile of rocks has been used very recently, and still teems with the impression of something recently alive, as if soaked in fresh blood. It isn't long before he can sense something approaching the room from outside.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Wow. Even if Madoka had no idea what to expect when she asked whether there were magical schools, she certainly hadn't expected them to be so... broad. From what she's seen in movies and read in manga, she had assumed that the seven groups would be elements or something -- fire, water, lightning, things like that. What she got in response baffles her enough to put her on the verge of blushing. She's had her magic for two years now (or more!), and yet she doesn't get this stuff at all! Is magic really that different in this world, or does she really have that little of an idea of how her own powers work? Maybe... maybe it's a little bit of both, but still. Even if she won't be coming to school -here-, she's starting to think that a little studying might not be a bad idea.

    Though, uh. Adjuration, right? -That's- something she can avoid. Sorry, Mister Eli!

    She nods with rapt attention throughout the explanation, though, and all the other explanations that come in reply to the others' questions. It's only taken an hour or so, but it seems like she's finally, finally found some focus! Too bad it's only now, when the mission is almost over. Still, it sounds like there's ooonneee more thing she can do, and this sounds a /lot/ more simple than navigating a bunch of conversational mazes. Just cast something, right? That she can totally do! Buuuut she does have to transform first. Or maybe she could just transform and let that be her little demonstration? That might be enough, especially since they're inside.

    So that's what she does. Madoka gingerly taps the small, glowing pink gem mounted atop the ring on her right hand, and her body is enveloped in a brilliant, fuschia cocoon. When she emerges, she's holding her bow, the rose at its tip shimmering with color and scales of a light bright enough to make people turn away until they have had time to adjust. At this point, she probably doesn't have to do anything else: anyone with the ability to sense magic would feel energy pouring off of her in waves. Her 'level' may not be clear, but the presence of power within her is undeniable.

    She transforms back shortly after. She gives an unusually confident smile and a brandishes a small 'victory' symbol with a pair of fingers, though this bold display does not last long before her cheeks erupt in pink again themselves. Her gaze meanders shyly to the ground shortly after, her hands joining together as she begins to sway bashfully in place.

    Phew. Seriously though, who knew sitting and talking in a superposh mansion could be this tiring?

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    ... some time later, Madoka's gaze wanders back to Psyber. She can only tilt her head at the ongoing clash of patriots, really; she wouldn't dream of mentioning how silly it all sounds to her. This is already heated enough as it is without the two of them lapsing into some discourse of the relevance of politics! But, uh. Still, she's kiiiinda glad that she's not from either one of those places. Can't really pick a side! Though a quiet, teeny, tiny voice in the back of her head might still echo, 'Yaaay, Japan!' Gotta love the place where you grew up, after all!

    ... another, equally silent voice in her mind begs the question of how Japan is doing in this world, today, but she'll save that question for another time. There's already enough going on without her piping up.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur has data, Sarah's records, and information gathered by Taiga's sensor suite. "Save the data, get the pics, let's book it Zoid." He whispers, tersely, to Taiga, and then pops his Gate right at the central circle. "Newbie, we ollies outie." Hopefully she's taken one -- JUST one -- of the stones. Unless they jump with him, he'll be grabbing some arms and YANKING his companions through the Gate, his nerves are stressed and it feels THAT urgent! This can ideally get them to a safe distance away before something dangerously observant might catch them in the act of what they're doing, if Arthur can get through the gate quick enough; it will close immediately behind the trio-and-a-half with a quiet "blip" and no flash at all. They couldn't confirm any guilt on-site, but this ought to be enough to get a solid lead!

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    Encouragement from both Arthur and Sarah finally snaps Nozomi out of it, and the reassurance from Taiga himself manages to bolster her enough that it doesn't seem like she'll have any further problems. Which is good, because shortly after concluding his scans, Taiga's shoulder-mounted cannons turn to face the door, quickly followed by the robotiger himself. He waits in wary silence, utter stillness, the predator waiting to pounce. It lasts as long as is necessary for Arthur to open a gate, at which point he says simply, "Agreed," and turns to launch himself right through it full speed.

Maya has posed:
Maya is just playing the entire off worlder at this point. Which she really just politely says nothing on the American poltical issues. She focused on the task at hand, right? Trying to get to school here. She's also noticed just how happy he was with her reaction about it. She has to wonder how long? Still Magic is something inante to the natives of her world so she might not think so hard on it.

"Oh I understand such, it would be a way to give them a better idea of it's applications."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Right before the portal closes (after Sarah's through!), Arthur slips his hand through, flicking the card Scarlet told him to with inhuman dexterity to swirl around and settle just below the Gate. He totally didn't jump through and forget to do that, no, not in the least. His hand pulls right back.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
They want one stone, they get one MYSTERIOUS STONE, which gets stored in another CAPTHALOGUE CARD. The ENIGMA MODUS would be spacious and useful if it wasn't for the absurd behavior it has.

She pays attention to the radio and keeps on task. As soon as she has the MYSTERIOUS STONE, she bails out of the Gate with Arthur, Taiga, and Nozomi, leaving Arthur to leave the final calling card.

Figuratively.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    The flash of Madoka's bow igniting causes Eli to throw his hand up in front of his eyes, squinting not just against the visible light, but against the metaphysical that surely washes off of it in all the spaces he can perceive. The familiar grows restless, every one of its fingers and rapping and rattling against the floor and ceiling, its myriad limbs twitching and shuddering, as if making hundreds of micro-movements as part of a series of attempts to lunge forward over and over again before thinking better of it each time. Clearly demonstrating the fact that it is straining against its contract, Eli dismisses the thing back into the aether, lowering his hand as the bow disappears with a look of shock on his face. Scarlet seems completely unmoved however. Knowing it was coming, she'd shut off her own vision for an instant and remotely activated the card left by Arthur while the Puella Magi was drowning it out. At that level of output, she could probably summon an entire familiar without Eli knowing.

    The cogs are pretty clearly working in his head before Psyber ruins it all, instantly souring his mood. "I'm sorry miss Hyral, but I believe you've made a misjudgement in contacting whoever you did to hire this...person. I'll not think poorly of you of course, but I think it would be best if you were to leave now." Scarlet is doing an incredible job of hiding a smirk, both out of seeing Eli getting angry, and at having him dancing to her tune the entire time. It's worth asking if she has something against this guy in particular. "My apologies mister Aldwood. I'll be having a little talk after this." She shoots Psyber a "be contrite and intimidated" look, clearly and nakedly visible. "I'll be in contact next week, most likely Sunday. Tell Abigail I said hi~" She then performs the task of shooing the group out the door, wanting to get some distance from the mansion.

    Only the second group will be privy to why, as the last glimpse they have of the room has the whispering rise to a full, echoing scream of "FOUND YOU!" before it erupts into a tangle of lashing pseudopods and the portal closes.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber raises his hands at Scarlet and puts on his best 'fine, fine, boss. I'm shutting up' sort of look as he immediately falls silent. In accordance with the look from Scarlet, he also simply elects to take point when shooed out the door. He makes sure to look the proper mix of both scolded and indignant over being scolded, as well as a good peppering of arrogant from having left Eli with no further recourse than to kick him out.

    He's in such a hurry to leave that the briefcase is even left behind in the lobby. When someone inevitably tries to open it, it's empty except for a BLT and a can of coke.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Fantastic, I will look forward to it." Kyra asides at the earlier confirmation that the board of directors will entertain a demonstration of their 'foreign' magic. She's not sure if this is going to be the case but she is certainly prepared to step in and demonstrate later. This would be something that Kyra brings up with Scarlet in the future in case another in for investigation or sabatoge is needed.

    Gradually, she frowns and looks to Psyber with that same sad (albiet fake) frown. "That is a shame, he came highly recommended for his skills...though in retrospect, there was very little said about attitude. Perhaps our future interactions will be under more pleasant circumstances." Alas, she looks innocently dismayed, as if she could not have forseen the level of rudeness from her American higher. Inwardly, she is laughing as the snooty man squirms.