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Nero	RAMUH - The Continent Spanning City      Truly a hallmark of a people who have risen up and conquered adversity. And yet, it is also a place where something...strange has been happening. A year back, a young boy went missing after coming back from school. His family, his friends, the authorities, they all searched as much of Ramuh as they could. But in the end, nothing was found. Not even a trace.      People had reluctantly given up and filed the case away to the unsolved pile, and sporadic efforts were made now and then. Most had given up. The year passed, and then suddenly, around the same time as the last disappearance a year back. Presently, two months ago. Two children vanished from their bedrooms. No one saw them outside. Another complete mystery. What happened? The case was opened up again and the authorities began to investigate with renewed fervor.      ...And yet, they did not find anything.      Two months passed, and Ramuh appeared to be moving on yet again. But then, another disappearance. How? Why? Who? Here in Ramuh of all places? And yet, this disappearance was just as strange and mysterious as the three before it. By this point, the authorities have been entirely confounded. What manner of person could whisk away four children and never be seen? Where could they have been taken? There was literally nowhere to hide in this continent spanning urban jungle. So where?      There are no answers.      Time passed, and then eventually...a grim fog began to roll in on a certain corner of the megacity. Amid a stormy night, a seemingly abandoned penthouse in a damaged section of the city begins to emit a strange fog and an eerie presence... Feeling the lingering effects of Magecraft, Red Saber put out a warning on the appropriate channels. After all, this was her Praetor's homeworld. It would be remiss of her to ignore it.      ....But nonetheless, those who would come to arrive in the described area, would find...no Saber. Just a lone penthouse, looking a bit better for the wear than the other buildings around in the area. But there were no lights at all. No power was being used. And yet, those with magical senses could feel a certain oddity emanating from this place. Nevertheless, those with eyes to see with could obviously spot the fog subtly billowing out from here in a slow, slow manner...      Something was definitely up.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason had thoughts on what could be going on yet that would dive right off into tales of myth and legend. She could still be off base and knew this as well, yet here she is. She's got the message from Res Saber, and had come to help. The Levitani was creeped out either wya maybe it was something from off world? She didn't know but was here to find out what she could. She looked up at the playhouse and narrowed her eyes a bit as she looked the building. "This can't be right." While she was a machinist she was also a Geomancer and she wondered just what might be the nature of this strange fog. "I don't like this." She mutter adjusts her long blue braid a little bit and then makes for the playhouse. She pulls her mPhone however to one make a note of where she is and what she's up to before she contiunes to enter.
Dominic Masoch	Despite having not had the chance to meet her yet, Dominic wouldn't turn down a warning request from Kyra's 'Servant'. He also just so happened to be back on Ramuh for a brief hiatus in his work for Alexander as a Dungeon Surveyor. He actually hadn't been too far from the meeting site, in a nearby cell phone store arguing with a clerk.     "Yeah, a monster bit the screen. I need to get a replacement, it should be covered under my warranty."     "Sir, Masoch Communications doesn't cover incidental monster damage unless you're paying for the extra coverage."     "Yeah, I know, but I only had this one for fifty-five days when it broke, that means that it should have been under the sixty days 'No Questions' warranty, right?"     "Yes, but this is day sixty-two, and so we have no idea if you just broke this today."     "You caught me. I bit through the screen of my phone t-"     "Sir, please calm down. Now we're going to release the mPhone Active, perfect for dungeon divers, later this week. for a 1000 gil upgrade fee, you can have your service transferred to that phone when it comes out."     "Ugh. What a ripoff. Fine, here's the expense department at Alexander. Bill it there and they'll figure out how much I have to pay."     "Have a good day sir."     Being on the out end and not one of the owners of the company had made such a thing a total hassle for him. And he's still using that cracked phone in one hand as he trudges up to the area, a hat covering his head to deal with the perpetual rainfall in Ramuh.     "Hrm. Too empty for comfort, I think."     His free hand fell to his sword, looking around warily.
Lancer of Black	The cities of Ramuh are larger than anything Lancer of Black had ever seen during his lifetime. The sweeping skylines, the flashing screens, the constant lightning, the racing cars - the Grail may have given him knowledge of the modern world, but Lancer does not care for it. Give him a secluded, airy stone castle on a mountaintop over this iron-glass fortress of human overindulgence! Give him the peace of a ruler who watches over his people, not a hive of humanity where the folk scuttle in tubes and chariots without pause like worker-bees swarming around their Queen!      Still, it is not by his hand that he is once again come forth.      The black-clad Lancer may not *like* Ramuh, but he fits in with it very well. He carries his spear like one of the many spear-wielding Warriors who make their way through the streets, wears a long black coat trimmed in gold and fineries, and has hair as white as the King and Prince. He radiates magic, not of his own accord, but by his existence as a Servant. All in all, Lancer probably could simply fade into the background, were it not for that overwhelming aura that surrounds him. It is not a magical aura - it is merely his glance, his demeanor, the way he moves and walks. All of it says the same thing:      This creature is very very dangerous.      Lancer is not bothered by the grim fog. He is no stranger to strange fogs. Wallachia swelled with fog in the rainy season, mists rolling through the hills to hide away much. The fog is, indeed, friend to Kazikili Voyvoda. And, as he did not bring his Master along, he should not be in danger from anything but a direct attack.      That said, anything that could incapacitate, or kill, a Saber-class Servant was well worth keeping an eye open for, and outside his own territory...      Well.      He would simply have to trust that Thomas was prepared to part with a great deal of prana tonight, if necessary.      Lancer stops at the edge of the mists. His golden eyes look over the site carefully, thoughtfully. He doesn't volunteer his own thoughts yet, for reasons known only to the pale-skinned Servant.      The Lord of Execution taps his wicked-looking spear on his shoulder. "I am told that nature abhors a vacuum. Perhaps, with luck, we will be drawn to the source of that emptiness."      Mysteriously, Lancer chooses not to volunteer that a Lancer-class Servant relying on Luck is just a bad, bad idea.      Maybe this time...?
Riva Banari	RIVA IS ON THE CASE! The Templaress immediately rolled out when Nero put out the request for help, obviously fretting that Kyra got herself into trouble of the Magical Highlander Death Game type. However, as she stands with the others near this Ramuhan penthouse, she rubs her chin speculatively, looking upwards int othe stormy sky. "Nice place." She comments, before looking to the others. "So, We're going to just roll on in?" She asks. "Should probably do that before the fog gets here, tripping off of this street could be hell."
August Kohler	Did somebody say MAGICAL DEATH GAMES? August Kohler has been thrown into a 'magical death game'! And now he's heard about a mystery about 'missing children', something that /definitely/ resonates with him. As the German teenager arrives, he takes a glance at the penthouse, and then quietly examines the rest of the investigators gathered up. It takes him a minute before he actually speaks, a bit quietly. "Guten abend. Kohler. Do we have any information so far...?" And there's definite nervousness around all these people he doesn't know!
Kyra Hyral	Now Kyra doesn't want to blame Magical Highlander Death Game for this-in particular, she doesn't want to blame the one Red Saber's involved in. Which is why she gives Dominic a wary look when she finally arrives-quite unlikely not alone either since it was Saber that alerted everyone to the presence of Magecraft. "It could be a thing from the Senator's world." Kyra suggests as she arrives, shouldering the CURE-ALL onto her back. She's come with extra equipment...of the analysis type that those native to Galandia would recognize as magical particle analyzers.     She also has a white rubber rain poncho over her. The usual moogle ears and bobble are hidden underneath it. "This place is a dead zone. The power's been cut somewhere I bet. But..."     She casts a Scan spell to get a better idea on the strange magical fluxuations everyone is sensing. "Oh, hey! You seem...familiar...?" Kyra hadn't been at the front lines with August the other day though she might have spotted him before everyone split to deal with the Devouring Earth problem in Paragon.
Scarlet Everille	Missing children isn't the kind of thing that Scarlet usually interests herself with. Growing up in an urban metropolis beset by social issues and civil unrest in the near-22nd century era means that she's grown so used to hearing about missing persons, children and otherwise, in the news that she's long ago completely stopped paying attention. Even in the borderline panopticon of London, it's far from unheard of for the police to find absolutely nothing, and to subsequently give up after a short period of time.     What is unusual in this circumstance is that both so many had disappeared under the same circumstances in an exponentially larger city, and that it had happened on a world where every single member of the populace is trivially capable of at least routine magic. Of additional (or possibly primary) interest is that Kyra, her Servant, and her world of origin are involved, and besides that paranormal investigation is technically the schtick of the place she had signed on for outreach with.     This is her first time properly visiting Galianda, but thankfully the adjustments necessary to get used to somewhere where magic is quite literally everywhere have already been learned by trips to Hydaelyn, and so she seems to be managing just fine, especially since giant, ultramodern cities with perpetually miserable weather are basically the story of her life. The usual preparations for outings like these, and the dichotomy shared between her world and Kyra's, mostly go without saying at this point. To anyone who cares to look, she appears to have a metric boatload of MP to spare, but is apparently using none of it, despite how patently untrue the latter is.     It's even in effect as she looks towards the Penthouse upon arriving with Riva, immediately taking the initiative in trying to compare the nature of the fog and the building's unsettling aura against the ordinary magic all around it, distinguishing whether it belongs to this world or not. The analysis, concealment and counteraction of magic are her world's specialties compared to how direct and convenient Galianda's is, and so she can try to get most of the picture just by eye, via the sight magic she's been using so long that it's as natural as breathing to her. "Like it or not, it's still right here, and we're definitely going to have to go inside. It's better for us if it's really empty, isn't it?" She says offhandedly to the two other natives. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to be Kyra's classmates, would you?" She needs to gauge how much to care about Dominic's and Lyria's presence.     If she finds no reason not to, she'll likely be the first to at least try the doors. After all, she didn't come here to stand around and gawk.
Nero	Indeed, the place is just odd in every sense of the word. Which of course means that they should stroll right on in! In fact, from Kyra's side, there is a shimmer of white magic particles and there's Saber after all. She rests her hands on her hips and stares up at the structure. Dead in electricity, yet the feeling of magic was palpable. "Yes, indeed, it is about the same as I recall. Perhaps a bit worse." She glances aside at Kyra. "Do be careful, Praetor. I do not like the looks of this." And with a nod, the Servant vanished again, electing to stay in spirit form for now.      The front of the building was fairly nondescript. A pair of large, sliding glass doors could be seen, but since the power was cut, they didn't function. One could very likely make use of them if they zapped it with lightning magic. Another manually operated door was off to the side as well. Testing the handle would reveal that it was unlocked. A careless mistake? Hard to tell at this juncture.      Kyra's and Scarlet's scan of the fog would reveal to them that it was definitely not of Galiandan origin. This was offworld magic. And it certainly didn't seem positive. But nonetheless, nothing immediately bad stuck out about it. It was just strange and uncomfortable. And strange and uncomfortable was very likely untrustworthy.      Past the doors and inside, they would find that yes, like the outside, the lights were assuredly off. A big lobby, or perhaps a foyer. Darkened and obscuring the view further in. Staircases on both sides lead up to the second floor, and likely the third floor as well. Hallways on the east and west lead further into the ground floor, and there was dilapidated furniture all around. Whoever owned this place didn't get to cleaning it up, perhaps?      Suddenly, a faint giggle could be heard. Two of them. Dim lights and a distant patter of bare feet running against a marble floor of the western halleay and another up the stairs to the second floor separately could be heard. It sounded like a children for sure. But as soon as it was heard, it was gone.      What would they do now? Split up? Stay together and choose one way to go? It was up to them.
Dominic Masoch	"Could be. Though that world has been quiet for months, last I heard," Dominic remarks to Kyra, giving her a brief smile upon her appearance. It had been a while since he went on a mission with her. His new job kept him busy and travelling fairly consistently.     But he was here now! And it seemed like quite the intensive mystery was on their hands. He fishes a small flashlight from the pocket of his jacket, one of the only off-world toys he regularly has on Galianda, and shakes it a couple times to get the batteries going. Then he shines the light around carefully.     "This is almost certainly a trap. But I am unsure if it is a spider's web or an ambush," He muses. A concerned look is given towards Kyra (and a curious one towards Red Saber, whom he is seeing for the first time).     And then it seems to occur to him that he should introduce himself, "Greetings, all. I am, before we go much further, Dominic Masoch. Student and Dungeon Surveyor for Alexander Academy, as well as a Fencer. It is a pleasure to meet you all, though I wish it were under better circumstances."     He slowly begins to walk forward, intent to take point with Lancer of Black. That guy seems adult and fairly competant.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason has not come without some extra gear she pulls out a heavy duty looking flashlight commonly called a MogLight as she's got a feeling she might need it's use botha s a way to protect herself given how heavy duty it was, also to see around. She doesn't trust the power to be on here after all. She also will soon find she's not alone either. She catches sight that so,e others are arrival and she spots Dominic's arrival and it seems that there's someone els in the mist as well she looks LAncer over not sure about who this man is but soon Riva is spotted as well. "I'm happy to see I'm not the only one here. She knews Dominic well and Riva was pretty known to her however Lancer? He was a unknown to her save for some radio chatter and then comes someone she's never seen before. "Ahoy, and some but not much, about a year ago a child vanished without trace, then two months ago more did in the same way and now we have another who has vanished in the same way as the others." Then Scarlet arrives it's been a long time she's she arrived her skill wiuth magic would be useful she thinks. "I am one of her classmates, yes." She'll leave Dominic to say what he wishes to on the whole affair. She's also clealry happy to see Kyra, she's glad to have her feiend here even if there might be the odd bit of mishaps. She flicks on her Moglight on but tha't shwn she hears the giggle of children. "I have to agree this is a trap I'll follow you and Lancer up then." One hand goes to pull a pistol from her hip holster and make ready to do as she said.
Lancer of Black	"I am Lancer of Black, Knight of the Dragon, administrator of the town of Doncaster. It is a pleasure to fight alongside you all."      Oh there's Saber.      And there she goes. Ostentatious. Lancer sighs, shakes his head, and enters, without further thought. Why not? He might as well trust in his innate Magic Resistance to protect him from any of the immediate effects of the fog, and trust in his finely-honed senses and ambush tactics to protect him from more physical violence.      The sound of children draws his attention. A brief conversation over the radio, and Lancer, like the true knight he claims to be, takes point alongside Dominic. Children, entering this place searching for yet more children! It would be laughable. But these children held themselves like warriors. They wielded weapons like soldiers. What sort of world produces children who move like adults? Children, runs Lancer's mind, should not be fighting. Children should be carefree. Children should be exploring youth, not...as he was.      Then again, he had been that same age, had he not? What had he been doing at that age?      Oh, yes. Learning from the damnable Ottomans how to speak and how to read and how to kill in their tongues.      With Radu.      Damn Radu.      The thought brought heated anger to the long-dead man, at the thought of other long-dead men, as he walks through the fog.      It didn't help that they were in closed quarters. Lancer didn't like closed quarters. He never had, and never would. They were unfamiliar closed quarters, crowding in from all sides, and they made the long-dead Lord of Wallachia nervous in a way that little else did. The enemy could come from 'round the corner! The enemy could come from window or dresser or curtain or suit of armor! And the walls...      They, too, reminded him of Radu. Of Radu, and...      Damnable Radu. Lancer's pale knuckles go white with tension and anger.
Riva Banari	"Ah, right, nice to meet you guys. Riva Banari, Knights Templar. Everything is /totally/ cool. Really. No panicking." Is she reassuring them, or herself? Riva heads inside with the others, looking over the entryway, squinting into the darkness. "Huh. This is definately a little spooky. If this keeps up we might have to elevate." She says with a sort of wan smile. Trying to joke her way out of the spookiness is a thing sometimes. When the patter of feet becomes audible, Riva starts and looks in the direction of the noise, pointing, "It went that way! Let's check it out!" Riva calls, leading the way after the noises. This is probably a terrible idea.
Scarlet Everille	Scarlet is fairly glad to find that one of the doors is a perfectly ordinary one, and apparently not covered in wards like she might have suspected. While she could potentially do it, lightning bolts aren't really her thing, and a big waste of magic just to get in. Before turning on the hands-free, and surprisingly intense, wide beam from her collar's diode to provide some forward illumination, she spares a moment to look Saber up and down as she appears to the naked eye, expertly neutralizing her reaction to that outfit, though probably approving of Lancer's manner of dress much more, as flashy as it still may be.     "Oh, Dominic! We've spoken before! Pleased to meet you in person~" are her first words upon entering the dark and spooky abandoned house, bizarrely kind of charming in her enthusiasm to meet new friends even in such inappropriate circumstances. "Scarlet Everille. I'm a student as well, and one of Kyra's coworkers, slash fans~" she says to Lyria, having not heard her name yet. She makes no motions to arm herself. Fighting isn't something she really does, leaving the task up to her entourage of beings from beyond when self-defence becomes necessary, and even then not on humans if she can help it.     Scarlet's first impulse is to call cliche on the sounds of eerily giggling children in an abandoned, mysterious building, but she catches herself when she quickly remembers that they are actually here specifically to find actual children. "I sincerely suggest against doing the typical thing and splitting up here. We'll find them one by one if necessary. Dominic, Sir Tepes, could you please..." she is forced to cut off as Riva bolts into the hallway. "...follow Riva, I suppose." She'll be more than happy to stand behind the men (young and otherwise) with weapons, though for someone who is clearly not a combatant, she follows Riva with an unusual amount of upright confidence.
Kyra Hyral	"Of course I will, Saber. I'm not alone, after all. Between Dominic, Lyria and Riva, we're definitely covered. That Lancer's pretty solid too. Kohler over there...uh, you were doing stuff in Paragon so you're probably an Elite?" Kyra gives Saber a thumbs up before she reviews the results of the Scan.     "Definitely foreign magic." Kyra agrees. "Though I don't recognize it at all it gives off a sort of bad-touchy feeling."     Kyra will NOT be one of the first ones to enter the building. She'll wait until others have gone inside before following, hanging behind everyone since it both offers her a good view of the entire party for support purposes, it also puts several walls of meat between her and anything that might pop up to kill them. "It definitely could be a trap, especially if it is the work of some Grail Wars magus. That it's being set up /here/ is probably a very bad sign. Though at the same time...hmmm..."     Kyra grows distracted, lost in thought as she mentally speculates Prana-MP compatibility. Pulling out of her thoughts she very quickly adds, "I know I'm pretty sure I just heard two different creepy children giggling and running off but, as Scarlet says, I /strongly suggest/ that we all stick together." She seems perfectly okay with Riva leading the way. As long as they're not splitting up.
August Kohler	August enters last, a blue spark around him as a piece of burned metal, a heavily marked spoon, appears in his hand. He begins to twirl it between his fingers. "I'll watch the back. Good luck, everyone." As they enter inside, he continues to trail the others, as he continues to just twirl the spoon, taking some sort of odd comfort in it. "So, people keep talking about magic. If this is indeed some sort of magician's haven, what are we looking for, and how do we stop it?" The giggling of children makes him shudder, as he definitely tries to let it escape his mind. Gotta focus on /finding/ the children to save them!
Nero	Deciding that sticking together in a Magus' domain would be smart, and rightfully so, the group stays together and moves forward. With Riva haphazardly choosing where they were going, it was down the western hallway they went. It was deathly silent, with antique paintings lining the walls and doors leading into different rooms as they moved down the hall.      Errant Crusader aside, Lancer and Dominic took point, with Lyria close by. The others were behind. A good setup.      Their prudent would have to be rewarded. Rewarded in the form of a spike of Prana assaulting the senses. From the floor, black smoke billowed outwards, made visible by Lyria's MogLight. It rose upwards, followed by...blackened skeletons. As if coming from a portal, they clawed their way out of the smoke, standing and wielding all manner of misshapen weapons.      Dragon Tooth Warriors; an expendable form of combat familiar, typical of Magus. It would seem that they were onto 'something', if these were appearing. There were a large number of them, and they were only growing more numerous. About thirty or forty in all, crowding a hallway that was about fifteen feet wide.      Vaguely, between the shambling of these skeletal servants, one might have been able to see the etherial form of a boy standing far behind them. He stares as the Dragon Tooth Warriors rise. ...And then he turns and walks into a nearby room. The door closing with an audible shut.      Saber materialized at this point, Aestus Estus flashing into her grasp. "Disgusting. How ugly. How unsightly! Praetor, I will protect you, so stay back!"      As if taking some invisible cue, that horde of skeletal familars charged forward, swords, daggers, spears, and axes poised to strike against those taking point. ...Oh and Riva. She DID run ahead of them, didn't she?      ...This would classify as Spooky, wouldn't it?
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason is glad to have some very heavy duty fighters like Domonic and Lancer up front, she's not weak. She's just not able to take hits like they might be able to do after all. She sees Lancer is a bit tenses. She's not sure why but she does know this isn't the place to ask about it. She does belateldy introduce herself to Scarlet. "Lyria Mason, forgive me for the delayed introduction." She's a bit on on edge given what's gong on here. She does go over ther party with everyone here they got some good fighting ability, experiance looking into things like this ans heavy duty magic ability. Yet for all that she's on edge she doesn't want to split up that's one of the first rules they drive into Dungeon Crawling. Then Riva runs off? Oh dear this could end very badly for her. There's not much they can do as she sees something ahead she looks t the skeletons and sets the elemental properties on her pistol to ice, she wants to avoid setting this place on fire ash moved to line up a shot or two on the skeletons. She will pick her targets carefully as she provides covering fire to those who will be fighting up close.
Scarlet Everille	"Any number of things." Scarlet says to August while the group walks. Disguising their presence here is going to be impossible anyways. "The obvious thing would be to look for the children themselves, though one of them has been gone for over a year by now, so the chances of finding all four of them together are sadly pretty slim. Second would the the magus themself, or themselves if there are a few of them working together. They'll be immediately obvious no matter what though. Other than that, just about anything that doesn't belong in a modern home. Weird rocks or plants, overly complicated stitching, etching or carving on things, decorative items with no clear purpose, that sort of thing." It's a very general description, but it fits what she's heard of Grail War mages.     Given all that, a horde of summoned skeletons seems more than a little crude to her. Unrefined. Lazy, even. Probably ill-advised too in a world where practically everyone seems to be capable of fighting wild monsters. Given that blasting minions isn't really in her job description, and she'd prefer to keep her own familiars in reserve for now, Scarlet sticks to her carefully appointed position at the middle-rear of the pack and sets to work on something else. Seeing that so many were summoned at once, she imagines the skeletal warriors aren't extremely advanced or powerful magic, and so she can take a certain level of shortcut.     Her smartcollar's laser diode goes from high beam mode to a proper projection, stenciling excessively elaborate, fractally repeating geometric shapes in a circle of pale blue light beneath the enemy horde's feet, isolating the magical signature of their deployment within it and providing her a direct link to analyze it, exchanging some potency for quickness of use. As long as the front-line fighters do an adequate job of holding them off, she'll be deconstructing the fine details of the Dragon's Tooth spell and picking up fine quirks that could individualize the caster, and if successful, producing one of her pre-drawn cards from her messenger bag and partially burning it up with a sweeping, wide-area search to find identical irregularities in the house, potentially pointing towards similar spells, or even a recent location of the magus. Hopefully the distinctly uneasy sensation her magic generates won't be much of a distraction to the combatants.
Dominic Masoch	As he can feel the magic in the air start to spike, Dominic reaches for his hip and draws his rapier in a flash of mithril. It puts the field in an unoptimal situation, with Riva at the front of it all, between him, Lancer, and the skeletons.     With blade in hand, Dominic charges forward towards the line of Skeletons. He hasn't experienced any quite like these, and undead have something of a stigma, but he doesn't seem fully afraid of them. They have melee weapons, so does he, and in his head that means he had the advantage, potentially.     The tip and edge of that razor sharp blade glint and flash as he rapidly steps inward, trying to slide through the bone and turn aside the weapons of the skeletons, aiming to sever their heads and weapon arms where possible, carefully weaving to narrowly avoid weapon strikes.
Kyra Hyral	"That's a good question, Kohler. If I'm not mistaken, these types of Magi use materials a lot like they do in Scarlet's world in order to cast complex spells. If, and that's a big, unhappy if, these disappearances are the fault of a magus, they might be in preparation for a ritual of some kind. So signs of materials or spell circles being drawn in rooms would be primo targets for /destruction/. Or theft. Or liberation if those kids are still alive. I'm all for repurposing and redistributing magical materials. But yeah, basically everything that Scarlet said. I'll be scanning for magical sources that don't belong."     Kyra brushes back the hood of her raincoat now that they're inside as an afterthought. "I'm making a lot of assumptions about what's going on, though. We won't know for sure until we-" The other end of the hallway fills with a ridiculously large number of skeletons. She definitely does not charge into them, letting Saber handle that. Instead, she remains back and throws her own Scan spell down, specifically targeting the mysterious ghost child in the back that disappears through a door moments later.     "If you wanted to do that support thing-" she says to Kohler, appearing to keep a close eye on Dominic, "Now would be the time!"
Lancer of Black	The more they journey inwards, the more nervous Lancer gets. His dangerous aura remains, as does the sense of cool and collected attitude, but it's the little things - the way his eyes dance between cabinets and curtains, looking for secret attackers or the telltale stance of a person or little rattlings of furniture.      Imagine his surprise when they emerge from the *ground*.      Around him. Around his companions.      Lancer's overreaction is instantaneous. A hastily-shouted "Kazikli Bey: Lord of Execution!" and a massive surge of magical energy are all the mark the moment, but they are enough.      There is no shaking. The windows don't rattle. The floor doesn't quake. It is almost eerie, then, how the stakes rip upwards out of the floor, sideways out of the walls, downwards out of the ceiling. They tear through glass, shattering it and sending it spraying through the room. They rip apart curtains on their way through, covering themselves in the macabre remains of the ancient cloth. They pierce into the Dragon-Tooth Warriors in an instant, filling the hallway with spears - almost all the way through, except for a very narrow, and probably *very creepy*, path through the middle. The path is, of course, accompanied by speared skeletons, pinning them in spears *emerging from other spears*, wrapping around ribcages and stabbing out of eye sockets and hooking between hips.      A chunk of those spears emerge directly around Riva, like a protective wall. They're only wood, but the fact that Lancer could think of that while *also* targetting eyesockets and ribs is...probably kind of impressive?      Granted, it may not have been intentional.      On the upside, Lancer sure did raise the Spooky Level!      Lancer is standing well outside the skewering nightmare path. He might be breathing heavily? It's hard to tell with him. He *seems* really controlled, but...was it really worth blowing a Noble Phantasm to kill *these* pitiful things?
Riva Banari	Riva leads the way! Mainly because she has a habit of making snap decisions and throwing herself headfirst into problematic situations. The paintings are a thing with Riva as she glances between them, possibly looking for some kind of theme besides 'spooooooky'. She probably isn't going to find one at this rate, because the arrival of Dragon-Tooth Warriors are a thing. The disposable minions start appearing, and Riva yelps, drawing a big two-handed hammer out of her Agartha Conduit. "WE HAVE SKELETONS! I REPEAT, WE HAVE SKELETONS! ELEVATION OF SPOOKY LEVEL IS CONFIRMED." She whips the hammer upwards, holding the Ajoran holy symbol in her hands as gleaming Anima circuits burn red-gold in preparation for combat. "WAAAAGH!" Riva yells as she charges into the horde, smashing her hammer forward in a wide arc at the skeletal beasts, joined by the other frontline fighters. She's good, but there's a /lot/ of these guys. Just as she turns to try to stop what would probably be a killshot... A massive wave of magic pulses through the air. Too late, she suddenly understands what Lancer is saying. With a sudden shriek of surprise and fear, Riva is protected by spears, the erupting weapons causing her to suddenly shrink back, ducking down in the middle of the stakes as the legendary weapon of the Lancer of Black begins efficiently executing every enemy in the hallway. ".... Meep." Riva quietly emits from in the middle of the horrifying circle of spears.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason while focused mostly on the fight, Lyria is paying attention to her allies and what they might be doing. Scarlet's not fighting but she's got the idea she is doing something that is going to help them in some fashion. She just knows she's doing magic of some sort, she will have to ask her later. Dominic has charged in and she lays down more fire trying to keep him covered while still giving them light to see. She could get both pistols out but that would cost them a light source they really can't afford. Lancer is now also getting some fire to cover him. She doesn't know much about Earth as she'd like but Lancer is certainly making an impression as he starts summong stakes to impale the monsters with. It should help but this man's magic is strange aliena nd /very/ powerful. He just conjured up enough Mass it would make Mr. Greene stare in shock. For now she's going to keep on fighting but she does make out that Riva is okay, and that shows the level of control Lancer has over his power.
Nero	Scarlet proves to be more than prudent yet again. Choosing not to fight and instead analyze the structure of the spell, it would appear that these combat familiars, crude and unsightly as they were, were being created from the result of dragon teeth being planted into the floor, and then infused with Prana. The catalyst was likely a Galiandan ingredient. These Dragon Tooth Warriors were weak to most any Elite, but their strength lie in their potentially ludicrous numbers.      The makeup of the spell aside, Scarlet would be able to trace oddities all over the place, quite frankly. But there were three chief points. The room the boy went in ahead , some point off on the eastern end, and then another point upstairs. What did it mean? Who knew. The methods of these spells were quite generic really. Whoever was managing them clearly wasn't an amazing combat Magus. He seemed to be quite good at hiding his presence however. There was no immediately discernible 'living presence' to be sensed just yet...      Kyra's scan would reveal to her eyes that the boy she saw, in the scant moments she saw him, was definitely not...well, alive. A lingering spirit? An apparition? He didn't seem to be hostile, but it was hard to tell from just those few seconds. The room ahead of these familiars seemed like it held something though.      Several skeletal warriors fall to Lyria's ice shots with ease. They seem to be rather brittle, don't they? But there was a lot of them, and they were charging ahead fast. Dominic and Saber stepped in soon after, narrowly weaving through a flurry of wild swings and countering in seeming tandem, taking out all who opposed them in short order. However, more were beginning to rise up from the depths.      Not to mention Riva was still in dang-Oh. .....Oh.      The moment Lancer utters the name of his Noble Phantasm, the effect is instantaneous. Spears. Spears everywhere. The Dragon Tooth Warriors stand no chance, they are torn apart mercilessly, and the spell sustaining them is damaged from the sheer, ludicrous amount of piercing weaponry appearing from the floor and all about.      "......." Saber paused, and then creakily looked back at Lancer. "....Well! That was quite something." She smiled, clearly impressed and or entertained. "Hardly beautiful, but I will forgive it for the fact that it was quite speedy and effective, Sir Lancer! Mm!" Approaching the tall, pale, man in black, she reached up and pat his shoulder with a huge smile on her face, and then turned to Kyra, nodding. "I will be on standby." And then she vanished again, returning to spirit form.      ...Glass was all over the floor, portraits were shredded, and the ceiling was expelling debris in places. Overreaction much? Well, it did the job.      The left the hallway clear for them to move forward without opposition. Should they enter the room that the boy from earlier had entered, they would find...      ...Some manner of study. Or maybe a guest room. It was modest. Furnished in a rather old fashioned manner, despite the modern architecture of the building. A small bed, a wooden desk, a window that was warded off magically, and several shelves filled with all manner of books pertaining to magic and theory. Of particular note seemed to be a weathered looking journal atop the desk. It was bound in leather and loosely tied with string...
Lancer of Black	The pat on his shoulder gets Lancer to look over his shoulder for a moment. He offers a very restrained smile to the Red Saber. "I appreciate it, both the modesty of your praise and the praise itself."      When was the last time someone had done something like *that*? He simply couldn't remember. Thinking about the pat of approval takes his mind off the close-knit room, though, so he fixates on that as he simply passes through the tree of stakes like a ghost. The forest of impalement doesn't stop him or limit him in any way, giving the weird impression that he's sort of bending space to walk *around* the little corridor his spears created instead of through it. There are a couple points where he certainly shouldn't've been able to get through, but he does.      Walking through the stakes, and thinking about the pat, calms him immensely. As much as he hated small, enclosed spaces, being inside Kazikli Bey left him satisfied. It left him more or less happy, which counteracted the unpleasantness of the atmosphere. Ironic, that he found such solace among the tools that granted him fame. Ironic that such hellish, gruesome tools gave him such peace.      He emerges on the other side, glancing around the study. His first action is to check the window, like a practiced soldier, and he checks it from the side in case of archers (or Archers). He taps the glass checks the lock with his spear as other people go about observing the spooky, scary books and the spooky, scary magic theory books. None of that was of interest to the Lancer, after all, or his Master. Thomas was his Master *precisely* because Thomas was no good at conventional magecraft despite his overwhelming prana. Had he any talent...      Lancer thought it terribly ironic. Once he's checked the window, he checks the bed, and then under it.      It probably looks a bit ridiculous, like someone's older, rich, well-armed uncle checking under the bed for monsters.      At least this uncle can skewer them into oblivion if they're down there, though.
Kyra Hyral	Before Lancer's lances vanish (because she's pretty sure they will at some point), Kyra pulls out her mPhone and takes several pictures. It's a little gruesome to look at but at the same time...still pretty cool. Speared eye sockets, whoaaaah!     She points out the door the child vanished into, "There." Though she's pretty sure the others also saw the child and little encouragement is required to get everyone to pile into the room. She's one of the last ones in, of course, and enters just as Lancer bends down to peer under the bed.     Kyra sneaks a picture of this too.     "Hmm, yeah, does look like a mage of some kind was holed up here." Her eyes fall upon the journal. "Well, let's see what they've been up to."     Casually, Kyra steps over to the desk and picks up the journal, untying the string so she can leaf through it. As she looks, however, she holds up her phone in one hand so she can photograph the pages. You never know when you'll lose a book, RIGHT MARISA?
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason is able to thin the horde of skeletons out a little bit, tjhat's good but there's still a lot more to worry about. Like who put these things here and why? The rest of the fighting portion of the party cleans house very well. she lowers her weapon but keeps her Moglight ready and she looks at the carnage either way they are safe, the monsters have been handled for the moment. It was also good to see they were getting support from Red Saber too. Seeing Lancer just walk throug his stakes is also quite the sight to see and with Scarlets wise advice she's not going to pess on after the kid but she does shift to stand watch while others go to look tht curious journal. She does look about the room however seeing if there's anything she might sport, hopefully Kyra will have some luck with that book.
Dominic Masoch	In suitable Final Fantasy fashion, as the battle concludes, Dominic flourishes his blade once, sheaths it, and then promptly says his usual phrase: "For someone of my skill, I saw their moves three steps in advance," He comments as he adjusts the jacket and places his hands in his pockets.     "You've got a lot of skill with that sword. I guess that explains why you're called Saber," He muses to Red Saber, his own minor form of praise for her ability to cut down skeletons alongside him.     After this, he's fairly content to place his hand on the hilt of his sword and continue onward. Though he takes a bit less point this time, instead hanging back around Kyra and the support line in case they wind up flanked as they explode. His flashlight shines around carefully, trying to keep an eye on the hallway they just came from.     He is, for the moment, letting others investigate while he carefully makes sure there's no sneak attack coming.
August Kohler	There's a thing about summoning a Persona: unless you're in true actual danger, and your instinct calls it up, it requires an act of will. And, for someone who hasn't done it much, it's a bit intimidating. Noticing the others have it taken care of, August...decides not to do it yet, continuing to twirl the spoon. He feels useless right now, but he just can't bring himself to summon it. Luckily, Lancer takes care of most of the skeletons, so he's going to anxiously move through the path of spikes. He follows Kyra into the study, moving to the side of the door to keep watch. "What does it say? Anything about what's going on in here? Magical notes? Victim's diary?" August is tossing out all the possible answers, because he does want to be helpful in some way!
Riva Banari	It takes a little bit, but Riva finally moves, pulling one of the lances up out of the floor and pushing it aside in order to get some room. Even in this hellscape it seems she's not trying to damage Lancer's magical doom spears. It's not like she has a lot of experience with Noble Phantasms, despite meddling in multiple Magical Highlander Death Games. She picks her way forward, working past the skewered skeletons and kind of boggling at the weird ways a spear can shred through something when powered by magic. "Well... This is safer, I guess...." She says, and looks over her shoulder to Scarlet. "Still looking around at things?" She asks, a little nervously. This place has Riva on edge, clearly. But then, she wears her emotions on her sleeve right under her Templar rank insignia, so it is what it is. She does, however, seem caught between following Lancer and doing what Scarlet said. "Ummmm... Okay, but we should hurry. Maybe?" Looks like this series of events has completely taken Riva out of Leading With Facechecking mode.
Scarlet Everille	It appears Scarlet has made the right choice in assumed the assembled Elites would be more than capable left to their own devices. "Very impressive, Sir Vlad." She remarks honestly, looking slowly across the field of impaled remains, though they were technically corpses before being killed. "But if I may be so bold, perhaps a little overkill. I've seen Riva and a couple of Alexander students in action before. It might be best if you were to let Dominic and Lyria shoulder more of the work and to conserve your Master's energy." It's sound tactical advice on its own, but motivated partly by the fact that she had keenly felt the absurd amount of magic being exercised for the use of the Noble Phantasm. Previous discussions on the topic gain additional context.     She directs her attention to the group at large as they proceed into the study, the magus herself moving no further than the window. "I advise against following the boy further for now. Give me a moment." Scarlet had pinned down magic in this room, and she's not careless enough to just assume it's only the window. So far her opinion of the magus at large is of either someone without any real talent, or someone deliberately obscuring their identity with cheap and generic, off-the-shelf spells, so she doesn't waste any further cards, projecting another laser circle on the back of her hand as an additional focus to offload some of the work from her eyes, now reflecting more red light than should actually be in the room.     "I've pinned down our mage's signature, but he's either not here, or hiding very well. He's also either exceptionally mediocre, or deliberately trying not to tip his hand with this store bought tripe. He's cast something in this room, something on the eastern approach, in the place we've just been, and at another point upstairs. It's not a very tight net, but one that a phantom child could easily lead us through in sequence." Her search is thorough this time, flipping through 5 of 6 possible tiers of concealment by scanning the room just as many times, attempting to pinpoint the precise locations of dormant spells in the room, as well as their general nature and strength.     If it really is just protection on the window, she'll finally enter the room properly, picking out any titles of note and literally just flipping through them. The live feed camera in her collar will do speech recognition on each page as it is exposed for a fraction of a second and save it as text and image files, allowing her to take advantage of the way her world's mages have embraced technology by running searches on terms related to human physical or spiritual alteration, experimentation, augmentation, or sacrifice. Those seem like the most obvious reasons to abduct children.     "If it matters, he's using local reagents. Nothing identifying. Probably bought them in Ramuh even. Cheap. We're not going to catch what are probably fake children, so I suggest we head upstairs instead of following them around. Now that I know where it is, I can probably dispell whatever he's got up there." Kyra's comparison isn't without validity. Scarlet seems to be keying into this magic cloak and dagger thing far more quickly than anyone normally should.
Nero	Lancer's spot check tells him...There are no snipers waiting to riddle them with bullets, arrows, magical bullets, or magical arrows. Very good. The bed is clear, it's still a bit warm though. Someone must have slept it in and got out today even. Maybe even not too long ago? Under the bed is a small, black box. It doesn't have a lock on it, but attempting to open it would be met with a kind of otherworldly resistance. It doesn't budge casually. It was locked with magic.      To Dominic, Saber's voice emanates from Kyra's general direction. "Mhmhm! Of course I have a lot of skill! I /am/ the mighiest of Servants after all!" ...So she says. She doesn't materialize however, content to bask in her own satisfaction for now.      Kyra's cursory glance of the journal would reveal that it's seen quite a lot of wear and tear. It's been through the wringer, and has seen endless use. The leather is beaten and smudged, the string is worn and aged. But...upon opening it, she would discover that...well, a lot of the pages have been shredded up, as if someone were angry and simply did it in a flurry of emotion.      Despite that, there were several intact pages that miraculously survived the likely self inflicted vandalism. They looked like diary entries.      12/3/2002 - 'Those fools at the Clock Tower understand nothing. They see fit in wallow in their 'tradition' and 'values', turning her eyes away from anything that could be seen as true advancement. Ridiculous. I still believe though. I will continue my research.'      5/14/2013 - 'What will it take for me to reach 'That Place'? The origin point. The beginning of everything. I will reach out and grasp it. I know that salvation for all my misdeeds, all of the world's knowledge will be granted to me if I find That Place...'      7/23/2014 - 'I have moved my operations to another world. This 'Multiverse' truly is liberating. I would like to see the Association send their Enforcers after me now. I can finally take great strides. No one here, in this strange, continent-wide cityscape will have any idea what is happening.'      8/10/2014 - 'I have acquired my first subject. It took quite some effort to do so without drawing attention to myself. The people of this world are strange. As if everyone is a Magus. Truly strange. And yet, it should not affect my research.'      4/2/2015 - 'I have made progress. The child's soul has manifested. The very embodiment of one's pure virtue, untouched by the world's evils. Fascinating. Truly, 'That Place' is not far out of reach now. And yet, I must wonder...will I be able to reach 'That Place' on another world entirely? Will the Multiverse allow me to find it, even if I am no on my home world? ...I suppose I will find out.'      ...The rest of the journal is too torn up to make out any more entries past that. Aside from the black box that Lancer located, nothing else of note seems to be here.      Out in the hallway, the boy previously seen entering the room fades into sight, leaning against a wall by the room's door. He teeter back and forth, as if waiting for them to finish up inside. He was small, no older than fourth or fifth grade perhaps. And he had a smile on his face despite everything. It didn't seem like he was going to go anywhere just yet. ...Did he lead them to this room?
Lancer of Black	The box gains Lancer's attention for a moment. He scoops it out with his lance, poking it curiously, as though it might be a bomb. When it proves NOT to be a bomb, he picks it up, examining it curiously. A little application of Servant strength tells him that, no, this isn't going to open. That's alright. Lancer stows it away in his coat for later fiddling. If he drops it, somebody else can pick it up, and he's fairly sure that even with Dominic present he had the most physical resistance of everyone (being a Servant). He reports on the box, because he's not a shady thief, and then turns.      And there's the boy.      Spectral. Visible. A young child.      A part of his heart aches at the boy. It's another reminder, like so many things in the modern world are. Is that really all he was summoned for? To burn away a black stain on his reputation, and until then dwell in melancholy?      Lancer presses his hand over his chest. He doesn't speak. He simply watches the child, guarding the box as he presses his fingers against the place where his heart would be. It's a lordly gesture, because Lancer cannot help being lordly, but...      Well.
Dominic Masoch	Dominic is curious about that spectral boy, watching him as he reappears. The Fencer tilts his head to the side and then slowly elects to try to speak to the boy, "Hello?" He asks curiously, starting out with just a basic greeting.     "Are you able to speak, or simply to manifest? Do you have a... name?" He adds as a follow-up inquiry. He doesn't move to step towards the boy, but he watches him warily.
Kyra Hyral	"Some notes, it looks like. Whoever's they were it seems some of them were destroyed." Kyra points out the shredded pages to August and then sets the journal down on the table so he can read along with her.     Slowly, Kyra frowns, a hard look overcoming her eyes. "Ugh, unauthorized human experimentation. It makes us /real/ scientists look so bad when people come in and pull this kind of crap." Kyra's still taking pictures of each page since there will be need for evidence of guilt later.     She also straight up takes the journal. It disappears into her backpack. Kyra browses the bookshelf next but unless something really out of place catches her eye, she moves on in investigating the room for further things. She'll even pull out random books in case this room has one of those 'hallways blocked by a bookshelf' deals even though it makes no sense to have that in a penthouse.
Riva Banari	Riva continues to mosey around while the others poke at things. She doesn't crowd them, leaning up on the doorjamb. She seems to just be waiting for a sign that something needs to be done or killed or poked at... The hair on the back of her neck prickles, and slowly, she looks to one side, her eyes focusing on the ghostly boy. "Um... Hi there." She says to the boy, putting on a smile she doesn't really feel. This place's high Spookium Interference is causing problems with her Riva Particle output. She might not be able to engage the Hug Driver, it's that bad. Dominic asks the questions she thought of first, so she simply hunches down a bit on her letgs, putting herself at the boy's level as she comments, "Anything we can do to help you?"
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason sees Domonic move to fall in to help keep watch over things. She does take note of August who seems liek a fairly strange person she does try to get a better look at the young man to have an idea about it. She does have an idel moment so she does reach out to the elements of this place trying to get a feel if anything on that level might be twited, it wont' be much but if something's wrong enough or unatural she might be able to help those looking into things. She also feels a flattered by Scarlet's comment, the information she seems to have used her magic to get her hadns on proves to be very useful and helping in figured out where else they might need to dig. Her own visual search tuned up nothing but it seems Kyra's found some useful but horrible information, if this someone behind it is using children for experiments? She leaves Dominic to talk to the ghost? While she tries to get a feel for anything else that might have been done to the land or elements of this place. The look on her face as she focuse is a serious one given she now is aware that some one is doing magical experiments on children. They have no limits, there have been monsters some who would not go so far as to do something like this to a child.
Scarlet Everille	Scarlet snaps shut the last of several volumes and deposits it back on the shelf, finding nothing pertinent to the objective, and nothing she couldn't find at her own library. "Hmm, nothing dangerous, and nothing interesting in the books. It's less likely that the boy is a puppet illusion if that's the case." She does pay special attention to the box that Lancer digs out, but after a brief exchange over the radio, it seems that he would rather hold onto it himself until they leave. That kind of gesture might be a little bit offensive if she weren't aware of his general leanings towards noblesse oblige and predisposition towards self-sacrifice for the sake of others, so instead she writes it off as something to do with trying to set a knightly example. Having some extra time means she can prepare a more thorough abjuration anyways.     More pertinently, her enhanced stare goes over to the seemingly illusory child, utterly uninterested in his age or appearance or demeanor, and entirely focused on what is projecting him into the room, and where it comes from. She'd originally assumed he was a mechanism meant to lead investigators through a string of traps, but he'd instead taken them to a harmless room after only one, making that hypothesis less likely. She seems to be about to say something to test it, but she stops short as Kyra divulges the broad concept of the journal, letting Dominic go first instead.     "Well, I'm sure most of us were thinking it. At least in some corner of our minds. Think of it as just making our approach towards this magus more black and white, alright?" She says to the white mage in concerned tones. If the ghost child really does turn out to be a human spirit, she can work with it. Otherwise, she'll completely ignore it and leave the room.
August Kohler	August doesn't do much until the spirit appears. When it appears...he watches it. And he approaches it. Raising a hand, he speaks to him as well as well, waiting until the others speak. He's entirely repulsed by what he assumes happened to this child, and while he's quite about it, it's affecting him. "Hey...are you alright, there? The big mean magician isn't here. Do you have a name? We're here to help you, don't worry. We're going to take you home." August smiles, if faint. He knows that's likely not going to happen. But...the boy is still a child, even if he's dead, even if he's malicious. It's best to be kind to him and treat him like one, instead of approaching him completely like he's a monster. August has never seen a ghost before, but he /feels/ this is the right thing to do. "Nobody's going to hurt you anymore."
Nero	The boy looks up towards Riva and Dominic...and grins. "Hi!" So he can talk. He folds his arms behind himself, stopping his distracting teetering. "We were playing hide and seek when...uh...well, you guys came in." He leaned side, looking out towards the destroyed hallway past them. "And um...blew up the hall. Mr. Ashcraft is going to be upset."      Who was Mr. Ashcraft? The Magus running things here? And who was this boy? What was he even? Scarlet's observation of the boy would tell her, if she were searching for it, that this was not a puppet or an illusion. He seemed to be an actual human spirit, and he still had his mental resources in check. Apparently.      August's approach is met with a look and a curious tilt of the head. "...Huh? Big mean magician? You mean Mr. Ashcraft? He's not mean! He's awesome! Plus, I don't want to go home!" The boy exclaimed, perhaps ignorantly. He spread his arms and spun in place. "Look at this awesome body I have! I can do all sorts of cool things! It's amazing!" ...Did he not understand that he was dead? Or was he told that being a spirit was a good thing?      Who knew.      "Mr. Ashcraft said that we can do whatever we want if we see you, because he knew that one day, people would come here." That said, the boy casually leaned off the wall, and began to walk around Riva, August, and Dominic, proceeding to amble off down the destroyed hallway. "Well, see ya! I've got a game to get back to! You guys, uh....um....well, Mr. Ashcraft said not to hold you up too much. Busy grown ups or something. Eh whatever. So bye!"      Kyra's attempt to find a HIDDEN PASSAGE fails. There is no hidden passage here. Just a lot of books on the floor now. Good job. But she may have been onto something. Lyria's geomancy check reveals to her that there /is/ something underground. Not where they stand however. To the east, there seems to be something. That was also where Scarlet sensed one of those magical signatures.      ...Speaking of which, where was the one here? Apparently it was coming from the box in Lancer's possession.      With the boy leaving them behind, and nothing left to do here, perhaps it was time to go.
Scarlet Everille	Oddly, Scarlet doesn't need to conceal much surprise at finding out that her assumed illusion is, in fact, a fully intact, fully lucid, human child's soul. A similar kind of thing has been done in her world, though never without the use of either a medium or a vessel, so while seeing a dead child manifest something so close to their corporeal form to make footsteps, especially all on their own, is something entirely new, conversing with the cognizant dead isn't too unduly startling.     "Well, that doesn't meet the typical definition of a ghost from either of your worlds." she addresses to the mainstay of the group at large, since this case seems to be a shared instance between it being a Galiandan child. and an accomplishment achieved with magic originating from an Earth with a Holy Grail. "So Ashcraft is on to something entirely new. We can confirm that at least the latest two children are presently safe... for being dead anyways. I'd like to confirm that the others haven't had something done to them before leaving though. If all of them are in this kind of state, then doing something about it shouldn't be beyond possibility." Is she always this calm about everything? It's beginning to seem like it.     "It's possible that he won't come back at all, and has left everything behind this way as validation of his ideas, but it's also possible he will, so ideally I'd also like to place a few spells of my own to alert us to when he does. He's got a lot of empty space here and the local territory isn't terribly well established. Let's finish looking around, and once we either catch him or see nothing from him for a week or two, we'll see about bringing in specialists to try retrieving their souls. Fair?"
Kyra Hyral	Kyra looks surprised when she hears the ghost actually speaking to Dominic. She was always taught that ghosts only talk to necromancers but her parents had been wrong about how a lot of things worked.     "Looks like we should move on. Scarlet, you said that there were other places in the building that registered as magically suspicious to you? Where else?"     "As for the boy..." Kyra looks thoughtful, "It would be good to get a necromancer in here or someone familiar with death magic to speak to him. Help him or any other spirits that might have been left behind pass on-that's usually how I've heard it done." The white mage exits the room entirely, slipping into the hallway with everyone else, though staying in close proximity with Dominic.
Dominic Masoch	Dominic isn't too sure what to make of all the information. And of the revelation that this boy, and perhaps others, have been bound to this place in their soul. And are trapped from moving on. This causes a deep frown to crease his face and he paces a bit. His skills as a Fencer are poorly suited for a situation like this, and his detective skills are more keen to an active situation, meaning he can't pry too deep into Ashcroft quite yet.     So instead, he somewhat slowly mills his way around, frowning heavily, "Troubling to imagine this happened unnoticed. I am of mixed feelings on if we should alert local authorities, especially considering ongoing political problems on this world. It could cause undue panic."
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason readyes out with her powers and she gets lucky she picks up a portion of the earth that has been altered. Likely recently by feels of it, well in terms of the age of the plate anyway. She's quick to report this find over the radio. She ceases using thier powers as they seem to have another lead to go after. She looks sadly as the boy depart but there's no stopping him at this point. It also starts to sink in this kid's soul has been removed and yet he's lucid not screaming for revenge upon the living. "Bug the area? A solid idea." She looks around again and starts to think on what has happened. "Given the early fear of off worlders? We don't need to flare up extraveral mage, rips children's souls out of bodies."
Riva Banari	Riva seems surprised that the ghost child is not only pretty active and precocious, but apparently /likes/ being a ghost. She blinks in surprise at the response from the kid, but doesn't call after him. She just smiles, a haunted look in her eyes as she looks away. "We have an idea of where we need to be next. Let's get there." Riva says. "Scarlet, can you point us where to go?" She asks.
Lancer of Black	He had been a father, once.      The boy's casual delight at his own existence leads Lancer of Black to cast his eyes away, staring hard at the door. He volunteers nothing of his thoughts, nothing to the people around him. None of them were old enough to come close to understanding. They were revolted, angered, because of the morality of the common man. It was correct, it was righteous, to be incensed when a child was killed. It was /justice/ to bring the one responsible for vengeance.      But they were but children themselves. How would they feel if they saw not the child before them, but they own son or daughter, imposed upon the child? How would they feel if they felt not fury but fear, not revulsion but terror?      It was foolish. Mihnea had been dead for over five hundred years. Vlad IV and Mircea, too. They had lived full lives without their father, full lives where they had become adults and strived for their own goals.      But to Lancer, they would always be boys. They would always be boys with wooden swords.      And now, in the child's ghost, he saw those boys all over again.      Volunteering none of this, Lancer simply moves into the hallway, a silent figure. The dangerous aura around him has amplified, perhaps with his fear, perhaps with his dedication.      A parent is a dangerous thing to provoke. Lancer of Black had been one of the most frightening men alive in his own life.      Ashcraft, were he wise, had best flee, or fall to his knees and pray for mercy - the mercy Lancer surely would not grant.
Nero	Everything was going well.      Too well.      Scarlet and any others may have sensed this ahead of time, but as the group made their way back down the western hallway and to the lobby, they find something new waiting for them. In the center, stood a large, musclebound creature hefting a huge club onto it's shoulder. It was furred and had the head of a canine. ...A werewolf perhaps? This did not seem like something one conjured up from nothing. It must have been a contracted familiar. But it was a monster of this world for fact.      However unrefined this 'Ashcraft's' raw magecraft was, he was a resourceful one. Taking advantage of the materials and beings inhabiting this world to his own ends, while continuing his own off world research. The monster, the werewolf, growled menacingly, and lifted the club off of it's shoulder, setting it end first into the ground, with both hands palmed atop the pommel. It was a stance that seemed to suggest; 'You shall not pass.'.      Several smaller, dog sized, hounds of pure black with eyes of pure red came stepping out of the eastern hallway to reinforce the werewolf's ranks. ...They were mounting a firm defense. More organized than the skeletal horde of previous.      From Kyra's side, Saber materialized, unarmed, but ready to move at a moment's notice. "It would appear that this Magus has other plans for us intruders." She noted plainly, a smirk growing on her face. "I do not believe these ones will simply allow anything past." She held an arm to the side, manifesting Aestus Estus before taking a stance.      "Let us strike these creatures down where they stand!"
Lancer of Black	The anger of the Impaler is great. Kazikli Bey is of course still active, though the flow of mana is much less than it was before. Lancer could probably rip through them with a thought-      But Scarlet was correct. That was a waste of power. He wasn't alone, fighting the Star-and-Crescent Empire. He stood alongside powerful soldiers, generals, competent people. His anger, focused, was a speartip waiting to be unleashed - but not on these pitiful creatures. Not on these beasts. These were but symptoms of the sickness. They were but *minions*, and Lancer is no longer on edge. Claustrophobia has been burned away - pierced through - by white-hot rage and the fear of a parent.      Lancer takes up a stance behind Red Saber. "I will concentrate on defense," he informs the party aloud, "Attack, unrestrained, without mercy. We will carve up these miserable creatures as but an overture to the Master's well-deserved symphony of pain."      Lancer sets his spear next to Red Saber.      This is merely for effect. The dogs, as they approach, will get blocked by those stakes, emerging from the ground at ridiculous speed. Lancer does not explode the hallway into stakes - rather, when a dog threatens someone, a stake appears to impede its progress, and allow the threatened to attack without restraint. Minimal prana use, maximum effect. Lancer is a defense-type Servant, after all, best at holding his ground and ambushing enemies. Spending as little prana as he can, Lancer coordinates to defend, to allow the party to do what they please!
Kyra Hyral	"Yeah, well, too bad for Ashcraft. He's going to be very disappointed that his minions couldn't keep us in." Threading her fingers together, Kyra flexes her hands outwards and gets ready to start laying down the sick buffs. Protect comes to mind at first since the big bad wolf over there has a big bad club on him. Anything to lessen the physical damage of getting hit by that would be ideal!     She lingers in the back as she starts to access her magic, the 'aura' around her intensifying as if it is going to work. Suddenly, there is a spark around her and a flash of yellow light. "Ack! No, not now-" she can tell it's happening and frantically directs her hands away from everyone, clamping them together at chest level as her magic surges dangerously. Scarlet, having witnessed one of these incidents before, would easily be able to identify that her magic has gone Wild. So would Riva, Lyria, and Dominic of course.     That same yellow light flickers in her eyes before she is possessed by the urge to push her way to the front of the group so she can dangerously stare down the werewolf.     "Heel." she commands, her voice brimming, in that second, with a very unkyralike authority.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason is heading out, it's about time to get going there likely won't be anything else to dind here. She was wrong as there seems to be a welcoming comittie here she looks the creature and it's companions over for a moment as she goes to pull one pistol and her cutlass. She's taking aim to try and hobble the best when Kyra's magic goes bad. "Oh deep six me!" But then something really /strange/ happens. When did Kyra go beastmaster?! She turns her aim and snaps off a shot at one of the hounds still in ice mode trying to keep them at bay the last thing they want to do is get swarmed. This also may call for some Geomacy but she'd need a little more breathing space to attempt it.
August Kohler	August is very worried about the ghost child. Words have trouble explaining all the anger he feels, that this child has been robbed of life, even if he is currently happy. However, that's not the worst he'll get emtionally tonight. As they enter the lobby, his eyes train on the werewolf...and he freezes. His teeth grit, as he stares at the beast. It reminds him of something recent, and horrible. In August's mind, he can only remember his trial. A great monstrous wolf, chasing him. Taking the form of his nightmares, letting August know constantly that if he doesn't stop running, he'll die. And now, less than a month later, he's reminded of it. And it makes him furious. With a quick, rapid movement, the spoon begins floating, as August steps forward and stares at the beast. "...This time, I am prepared, wolf. Persona." The spoon twirls in mid air, blue energy crackling around the teenager. His eyes shut close, briefly, as above him, manifests a spiritual being, the embodiment of his ego, the mask he wears during hardships. And it's going to protect him, kill this beast, rend it from his nightmares. A man of metal, in a military dress uniform and cap, covered in burns all over his body, prominently in the shape of a heart on his chest. Its leg is gone, replaced by a long rifle. It has no eyes, but empty sockets, and in a way, it could be considered both terrifying /and/ beautiful. As it manifests, it stares the wolf dead straight. And then, with a toss of an arm, ignoring whatever Kyra is doing, infact, ignoring /everything/, August sends the Tin Soldier flying. It charges straight at the wolfman, as its leg begins spewing fire. August moves forward, step by step, attempting to incinerate the beast. "Die. /Die/. Can you feel this, beast? BURN. FEEL EVERY NERVE IN YOUR BODY SCREAM FROM THE PAIN, AS THEY'RE MELTED OFF YOUR FLESH! YOU DESERVE NOTHING LESS!"
Dominic Masoch	Dominic can't help much with a highly technical Wizard Investigation. That's not his forte.     But a lobby full of monsters? THAT absolutely is his forte.     His rapier is out in an instant and he's dashing past the Lancer while the Saber readies her weapon. He shows no hesitation despite the number of creatures that are out there.     He has a moment's hesitation when Kyra's magic goes wild, but, she seems to be trying something that may ultimately work out for the good of the group. So he appends his plan to go right for the werewolf and instead aims for one of its lackeys. >Fencing     >Checkmate     As he lunges forward, the edges and tip of his rapier ignite in a lethal sort of mana. If he makes contact with one of the wolves, it tries to push a lethal current of mana into its body and stop its heart directly.
Riva Banari	Riva quietly heads out to the main lobby only to find that their way is blocked with hellhounds and a WrWolf. Er, Werewolf. Riva gasps as she sees Kyra and Kohler simultaneously flip out in different ways. Kyra using abilities Riva has never seen before thanks to her powers going haywire, and Kohler... Manifesting a soldier of tin, a projection of spirit and will to attack. She is taken aback for a moment, but the eruption of spears to protect others causes her to squint. This is something she knows. This is somethign she understands. She has to keep people safe. Fear is drowned out by anger adrenaline, and Riva leaps from the overlooking balcony with a scream. "BAAAAAD DOGGIES!" She yells, hitting the ground with the hammerlike holy symbol. A spiderweb wave of red-gold cracks radiate outwards from Riva's landing point, moments before the energy explodes upwards in a magical detonation. With a yell, she spins, hammering at any beast close enough to strike with waves of rolling Anima. She isn't nearly as efficient as some, but... she doesn't seem to /need/ to be efficient.
Scarlet Everille	Scarlet "Hmmm"s pensively at Lyria's description of the sub-level she's found through geomancy. "That's where another one of his wards is. The one in the eastern wing. I assumed it was just to block of the approach, but..." she offers. "Well, I'm not about to complain. I'm in my element here after all." is the conclusion. As strange as the sights that greet her are, Scarlet is more than confident in the existence of a wide gulf in class between herself and this Ashcraft, and with this many able-bodied fighters around, she has more than enough magic to spare for tracking down and cracking all this makeshift security. She may even be a little eager to get to the bottom of it, hoping perhaps for something worthwhile to add to her own repertoire.     It seems she may have spoken too soon, as the lobby seems to have been reinforced while they were gone, this time not with magical apparitions, but local beasts. "Clever." she admits, though she still doesn't sound truly impressed. "He's exceptionally scrappy for an outcast, fringe researcher of modest talent. I'll give him that." Being flesh and blood creatures, there likely isn't much worth trying to counterspell about them, and Scarlet won't risk setting up what she plans to leave behind while she's unsure if one of the wolves could escape and report her doing it back to her master before he returns.     Additionally, Kyra's second instance of wild magic, confirming her initial suspicions, put together with the German teenager she's never met until today having some kind of psychotic episode, make this seem like a bad place to be standing in the middle of. She trails off the back of the group as the first sparks of magic start flying, slipping out from behind the others and idly heading up the western central staircase instead, casually ducking out of the fight.     It'd seem bizarrely callous from her to not even play support, and yet at the same time it's really difficult to care, or even specifically notice. Scarlet's form traipsing up the steps seems about as interesting as whatever kind of wood the railings are made out of, incredibly likely to easily slip under anyone's radar with the much more pressing matter of life or death combat in their face. Even when she comes back down the eastern stairs, around the emerging battleground entirely, it's difficult to be consciously aware that she's even moved.
Nero	Lancer's strategic use of his Noble Phantasm is noted. Saber nods to him and then lowers her stance, prepared to take action. Her sword bursts to life and flames begin to radiate from it. She's preparing to use signature attack...      While that was happening, the others engaged in battle. These foes were smarter than the previous Dragon Tooth Warriors. The smaller hounds weaved in and out, attempting to confuse and get the drop on various people about. To attempt to pass the vanguard and attack any who seemed like they were attempting to support.      A sound strategy, were it not for the fact that Lancer's conjured spears constantly blocked them at the most inopportune moment, throwing off their battle rhythm. This in turn allowed Dominic to freely land an expertly executed strike on a wolf that had chosen poorly whom to target. Mana runs through it's body, and then it simply collapses, then dissipates. The support also would allow Lyria to get off a shot, freezing another wolf over, and allowing her to back off. For now, she can take the time she needs to use her magic. But she'd better hurry.      Kyra's sudden use of Beastmaster abilities earns her the attention of the main Werewolf, who had not yet deigned to move. He locked eyes with Kyra, silent for several long moments as the chaos erupted around him. "......" It was hard to tell whether he would obey or not. It almost seemed like it could work! ...But then he is enveloped by a brief pulse of blue. Something magical has interfered. The werewolf shakes his head and growls, lifting his club and aiming to smash it down into Kyra's side.      Riva's stunt earns her the attention of a number of shadow wolves, and they attempt to surroun her, only to find themselves blown back by sheer magical force. Several go splat against the walls, others are caught up in August's flames...      Speaking of that, there is a problem. A huge problem. Augus has apparently gone /mad/. His Persona is summoned, and immediately, fire is being sprayed /everywhere/. The floor, the walls, the lobby is catching on fire, and various hounds are caught in the blaze.      At that same moment, Saber flared to action. "Here I go!" She dove into the fray, flaming sword reared back, going straight for the leader, she then swung. "Rosa Ichty-"      But then she felt an odd pang inside of her. Something went wrong. Something totally went wro-      MINI      Saber suddenly found herself shrinking...shrinking...shrinking...PLINK! Her blade bounced off the werewolf, who was now like a giant to her even more than before. "........."      Pause.      "PRAETOR! YOU DID IT AGAIN! BWAH!" And then came August's fire. This was getting fast out of hand. There was no way to properly fight wheen A) One was MINI'd, an B) AN ALLY IS SETTING EVERYTHING ON FIRE!      Even the werewolf and the remaining hounds, which were few now, were forced to back off as the fires in the lobby quickly began to ramp up.      Did anyone have water magic?
Lancer of Black	The boy's power is out of control, and so is the girl's, and so is Saber's! All that crap about having great allies evaporates in Lancer's head as a glorious stand becomes absolute, firey chaos. The stakes, being mundne wood, begin to catch fire as well, adding to the tumultuous blaze. If Lancer was the sort of man to lose his cool and start swearing, now would be the time, but he never has.      The regal Impaler Prince instead dances forward, using Servant agility to dart through the flames. He slides in front of Saber. He had said he would concentrate on defense, but...he hadn't expected...      Well, nevermind.      Lancer takes a blow from the werewolf, sending him tumbling. In the process, he snags Saber up from the ground, letting the force of impact carry him and absorb the blow. A stake emerges directly under next to his feet, and he presses against it, 'double jumping' *horizontally* out of the fire.      He sets Saber down, stands, and nurses his arm. It's already healing, of course - he's a Servant, after all - but he doesn't exactly have power here.      Nonetheless, Lancer of Black is a true Christian knight. There are children in trouble.      Lancer tears one of the curtains off and rips off his coat in an instant. With Servant strength, he begins beating at small areas of the fire, the ones closest to the support mages. Dominic and Riva can probably take some fire. Kyra? Not so sure about.      -and where did Scarlet go? Blast again!
August Kohler	August's reaction causes an inferno to rampage, as he attempts to just burn the wolf to death. However, despite the reactions of his allies, the fire pouring around him, he just doesn't care. He's too angry, too hurt, to care. It's not until, chasing after the wolf, that the Tin Soldier is caught in its own flames, that he cares. The fire burns roughly against the steel, a powerful inferno of his own making, and it's /excruciating/. August drops to his knees, feeling the burning, the pain, as his hands reach to his head, and he screams. Screams as if the flames were touching him themselves. The Tin Soldier's flame generation stops completely, yet it does not fade away, the burning too focused on it. It instead rushes towards August, trying to get the fire to fade. August isn't going to be moving right now, if any time soon. And when he does start moving again, he's going to feel very, very awful about all of this.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason chills out a wolf but there's still a lot more to do. Kyra was trying to assume command but that looks like it failed and then there's Augus whose using some strange form of magic she's not seen before. That's not too hard the Multiverse is a huge place. Then Red Saber gets hit with mini, she'd laugh at the insanity of it but well they are all in danger and now given thier ally is setitng eveyrthing on fire. "By the Serpent's coils! He's lost it!" As quickly as that started it ends up stopping she watches her back and attemps to clean out the remaining wolves with more ice shots she's also firing some trying to keep the flames under control if she can.
Kyra Hyral	For a few brief moments, there is a tense stare-off between Kyra and the werewolf. It, at least, does provide a distraction. However...     Kyra is no Beastmaster. She cannot hold the werewolf in her thrall. When she realizes that it's not working, she snaps out of the intense stare-off, several things happening at once. Firstly, August's persona appears and suddenly there is fire everywhere. Secondly, Saber has become tiny thanks to the effects of her Wild Magic. Kyra can recognize a Mini when she sees and hears one. Mini Saber is kind of...cute though, with that squeaky little voice.     Kyra yelps and dives backwards, narrowly missing being pounded into paste by the werewolf's club. She rolls along the ground, then turns with her back to the enenmy as she scrambles into the back lines, dodging errant fires as she does. "Wah! Sorry! Sorry, Saber! I can fix that! Don't worry!" she calls out before slipping far behind Lancer. Once she has her barings, she focuses on the moved Saber, concentrating on getting together an esuna to /hopefully/ end the mini'd pain.
Scarlet Everille	It seems Scarlet was right yet again. Where she had just been was, in fact, a terrible place to be standing, and the battle had abruptly dissolved into a disaster all on its own. Fortunately, she is not even close to the line of fire, literally and otherwise, due to her own foresight and prudent action.     The magus herself has slipped somewhere out of sight into the eastern hallway, deliberately obscuring herself from the werewolf or its pack should any of them happen to turn around, where she can go through the process of quickly stenciling her own, much more subtle wards under rugs or on the closing surface of window frames, purposefully leaving out any use of reagent with its own magical signature and keeping the passive operation of each spell restricted to phase space. They're nothing fancy, just remote awareness circles meant to provide notice that people have entered the building and where, as well as providing visual and audio feed of the hallway itself, but they should be near-impossible to detect.     Let it not be said that she's done nothing to help her allies though. One of the two familiars she'd brought today, familiar to some as little more than the vague impression of an ominous shadow, swimming through the air like the dark silhouette of a shark barely visible below the surface of the water, silently rolls into the lobby from behind. Where it edges closer to being visible, giving off the unnerving sensation of sinuous undulation, the flames fizzle out as if they'd been very abruptly choked by a complete lack of air, or smothered under an immense weight of water. The safe path it cuts through the fire however, is incidental to reaching the back of the werewolf's head, where there is an indescribable frenzy of violent motion that instantly calls to mind thoughts of teeth and asphyxiation. As always, involvement of a Nobody in combat is very far from comfortable, but then it's easy enough for anyone to send a monster off to kill a monster while they're not even looking.
Nero	With all the confusion, the battle calms as the fires are put out, due to a combined effort of Lyria's ice shots and Scarlet's shadow familiar. And with that, the rest of the hounds are also picked off with the interim, by Lyria firing upon them as they retreated back. Opportunistic, but smart.      The lead werewolf had no idea what hit him when suddenly, he found himself assault from around the neck. It felt like something between being choked and being bitten into. The beast grasped at his neck and clawed at first in surprise and anger, but then it became more and more frantic as the second wents by. It's vision blurred and it lost the strength the grip it's club, clattering to the floor with a loud thud.      Then it lost consciousness and went slack.      Very sneaky, but also very smart, again. If you're going to finish off an unconscious monster, now would be the time.      Saber meanwhile yelped as Lancer grabbed her and leapt back with her. "Ah! Wh-" And suddenly, she was safe. "........" WELL THAT WAS EMBARRASSING. She was supposed to show off how cool she was, but instead, she became EVEN MORE of a midget than she already was, and needed to be saved! The Servant wound up puffing up her cheeks in an expression of displeasure to hide her embarrassment. "W-Well! Thank you, Sir Lancer. You have my heartfelt gratitude." Pause. "Of course, I could have handled that beast nonetheless! After all, I *am* the mightiest Servant!"      Yes, let's save face.      Kyra's Esuna thankfully worked, and Saber returned to normal size. Once everything was cleared up, in one manner or another, silence fell.      ...Somehow, they made it through that minor disaster. The eastern wing awaited.      Saber spoke up at this point however. "As loathe as I am to suggest such a thing; perhaps we should fall back and regroup? After this foolishness, I believe we may need to."
Lancer of Black	Lancer says nothing. He's not a very talkative person when he's not talking about specific things, evidently. The cool-headed Servant instead just reaches out and pats Saber, returning the pat from earlier.      He pats her on the head, because he's *really freaking tall* and she's not, but the point is basically the same - 'it's okay, you did fine.' He offers no other opinion on the subject.      With that, Lancer shoulders his spear and nods. "I agree. Someone should keep watch over the area regardless, in case the coward tries to flee."      "Not that it matters. At this point I will hunt him to the ends of the Earth. The Lord would permit me do no less."
August Kohler	Eventually, the fire burning August and the Tin Soldier will go out. As this happens, the Tin Soldier will fade, August no longer capable of maintaining it. He remains on his knees, hands on his head, unmoving. He may not have been physically burned, but he felt all of it, and it crtainly affected him, even if only metaphysically. "...Hospital...", is all he capable of making out, as he sits there, unwilling to move. It just hurts too much, and he just wants this night to be over. He screwed up.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason makes sure the fires are out for good you can't be too careful with this the wereolf's fate is up to others at this point. She nods to Lancer for a moment. While monotheist are confusing to her there's no doubting the faith behind Lancer's words to her. she looks to him for a moment. "I'll see what I can to about that I could wire something up to keep an eye on things here if we need it." She looks to August for a mment with a mix of concern and caution but goes to help him and will do what she can to get him out of here.
Scarlet Everille	"That might be a good idea." says Scarlet, stepping over the fire-blackened tiles as if she'd only just edged a few meters out of the way and had otherwise been there the entire time. The disturbing shadow drifts towards her, circling about her person in a fashion that at first calls to mind an aquatic predator, but quickly begins to resemble a cat coiling around it's owner's legs instead. Her fingers lightly run along where someone could guess the dorsal area to be as it passes in front of her one more time, before finally fading from sight completely.     "We've made a bit of a show of things today, so it may only be a matter of time until somebody comes to look. I've already wired the place up a little while multitasking, so..." she pauses briefly to hold her hand straight up over her head and loudly snap her fingers, a puff of what appear to be dandelion seeds dispersing from up above her, where they begin to withe like tiny amalgamations of insect wings rather than plant fluff, and shoot off into the shadowy corners of the house.     Garbage Nobodies barely better than flies, but trivially cheap and easy to summon and hide, and still possessed of reasonable senses to hijack with remote viewing. "...I'd prefer to be somewhere other than here when do." She then extends her hand towards Vlad, as politely as can be. "I'll work on that box in the meantime, and keep you updated."
Riva Banari	It was good. Instead of the crackling, encroashing horror and tension, it was simply the wild, uncontrolled adrenaline rush and latent terror of being locked in mortal combat, something she's becoming much more familiar with. However, the rampant chaos quickly dies down, leaving Riva gasping in the middle of an inferno which slowly dies out. "... Wow." Riva says, looking around, frowning to herself. "This was messed up." She shakes her head. However, she comment from Kohler causes Riva to pop up, stashing her hammer as she heads up to the fallen teen. "Whoa, hold together man. We'll get you to medical." She says, looking down to the others. "Kyra! Can he be moved?" She calls. She's a medic, SHE'LL KNOW.