It seemed that everyone was in agreement, Lumen beamed a smile at his comrades. The sight of Roland and Circe together was rather ominous to him, to be frank. The icy cold personality she displayed had seemed to have entirely melted away. Perhaps that's what relationships do to you. Lumen narrowed his eyes at the thought, something itched at the back of his mind, but he decided to ignore as it warranted no attention at the moment. And to be honest, what she suggest just now kind of threw off his stomach a bit. Maybe it was best not to search ALL the secrets out there. "If that's it then let us proceed, then." Without further delay the team had finally gathered together, in unison they directed their paths to their teachers, and respectively told them of their preparation. While perhaps Yurius was wholly skeptical of such, he mere assumed his duty as the guide along with Mako who was unsurprisingly serene about this. Lumen certainly felt something was brewing in the midst, but he didn't much care for it at the moment since adventure was at the horizon. This is were it all began, a boiling sense of anxiety and excitement meshed together at the perfect blend. Lumen's power radiates with glory, Roland at the front as this team continued to the Industrial Zone.



Lumen wasn't sure what to believe, but something was certain about this place. It felt different, the ominous loom and sense of silence only bellowed warning signs. Nothing here herald any sense of security, just mystery upon mystery. To Lumen, this was like a dream come true, his sense were heighten and every single grain of dust and stone was a remnant of a story that hasn't been told. The scent of engine oil and rust lingered across this plagued grounds of gloom and doom. "Certainly a place for someone who is akin to killing, or at least comfortable with the idea." Murmured the silver haired poltergeist. Eyes scanning every individual spot he could get his interest in. "Considering what the mission said, it basically told us little to nothing of actual worth concerning who we are looking for. But for what little it did detail, it seems more than likely to be raiders or gangsters." He turned to witnessed an amalgamation of object that had been vandalized, destroyed, painted and misplaced. Broken glass, bottles for liquor and rum, doors, knobs, screws and nails, cars and oil drums. You can name it, if it was here it would more likely than not be either destroyed, or graffiti'd. Crossed armed he continued "Anything to get the pretty penny, huh? We shouldn't abide by the idea that there's only people here, either. Living in the type of environment I've been exposed to tell me that anything form man to creature can come up from here, so we should keep our eyes and ears as focused as possible."

He winced at the realization of what he was saying and doing, he turned to his peers and smiled at them. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to make it seems like I'm giving orders... I just wanted to let you guys know what I was thinking. Sorry about that, Ronald." He rubbed the back of his head, waving his hand in front of him as if to ward any confusion that might have been triggered by his mumbles. However he proceeded to direct a question towards his teachers. "Since you assigned us this mission, could you guys perhaps elaborate on the specifics of the area though? Anything particular about the layout? The more we know, the less we have to walk aimlessly and we can formulate some kind of plan."

Duncan didn't answer Kromric back, but neither did he look particularly sorry. If he had come to check with them first, there definitely wouldn't have been enough time. Plus, how was he to know that Lotte had packed things? Even if he had an inkling that she was going to do that, even if he was fairly sure, he still wouldn't have taken the slim chance of going in unarmed. Add to that the fact that Tholl, the one who'd called the deadline, hadn't expected them to all actually meet it, and Duncan gave the other teacher as smug a grin as he thought he could get away with.

---

Duncan stood at the lip of the manhole, affronted that Tholl had just insinuated his hesitation was because he was grossed out. "Oh, that's how you want to play it, huh?" he answered from above. "Clear the landing area!" with that brief warning, and as soon as he could see it was clear, he fell into the hole, landing on his side against the slime covered concrete. He got back to his hooves, face contorted in pain. "Nailed it..."

Looking back, it was quite short-sighted to expect a Centaur to descend a ladder.

Despite being half-horse, Duncan's eyes and nose were human. Thus, he only had human senses in that regard. The smell was disgusting but nothing to lose his lunch over, the benefits of a horse's digestive system. He couldn't see crap, though, until Sonia spoke up and assigned roles to them all, putting Duncan beside her due to his long range capabilities. Maybe he could see in the dark after all. Yes, he was sure he was starting to see the way ahead! Don't let me down now, eyes!

"Alright, Team Leader. Just call me Hawke-"

He stopped there, because Sonia had pulled a spellbook out, and was touching his hooves. Duncan looked away and tried to pull his cap over his face, though he only succeeded in covering his eyes, not his blush. When she was finished, he coughed awkwardly.

"Uh...thanks! Good thinking."

@Awesomoman64@Lonewolf685@Ryonara

---

Mako smiled at Lumen, but shook her head.

"Yare yare! Surely you can't need our guidance already. You only just arrived! We're here to make sure you stay safe. We're not supposed to think for you, or make the plans or give orders for you. You do want to be fully independent Dawnslayers one day, right? If, and only if, you get truly stuck, or truly need our help, will I intervene.

Believe it or not, you won't always have maps or layouts readily available when you grow up. You could make acquiring them a priority, or use magic or some other means to get a read on the building, or just explore the old fashioned way and keep your eyes and ears open. Which path you take, however, is up to you."

@Conscripts@Awesomoman64@Cerces22@Sync@Strange Rodent

---

Once everybody had gathered, the trip began, with the vampire and Mako acting as their guide. It was a quiet trip, as the vampire did not engage in much chat. He did have a few exchange with Mako, but that was it. The Industrial Zone was in sight within a short period of time. The place was pretty much desolated, abandoned. The presence of men were fleeting. It was definitely a sign that the creatures were ravaging the area. Dusts were beginning to collect on objects, a gentle reminder of Dawn Slayer's adventure out there. And a weak reminder of how savage this world was. Yurius simply just curved his lips as the students walked. But then a student suddenly asked him directly a question.

"Like Ms Mako said, you gotta figure it out on your own. For your own live experience, I will not help you. Until you get your ass kicked." He smirked a little at his own joke. "Still, I will give you one warning. My centuries old senses are picking up something. Those creatures are here. That we are here at the right time." He said, seriously, yet there was a subtle bloodthirsty tone to his voice. The vampire was definitely up to a fight if there need be. There had rarely been a worthy opponent to him ever since he clashed with Alister, so he was eager. Definitely so.

@Silver Carrot@Awesomoman64@Cerces22@Sync@Strange Rodent

---

An area of poor efficiency, it's concrete and asphalt cracked and worn from the oppression of daily monotony. An infernal racket and the fumes of exhaust had belched forth without end until the troubles began.

Thefts. Everything from clocks hanging loosely from walls to entire sections of conveyor belt would disappear the second someone eyes were off it, and that spoke nothing of the losses incurred after the work day ended. There was no rhyme or reason to be seen, no pattern for investigators to follow, and neither the level of security or the cumbersome nature of the purloined items could mitigate the damage.

As the Dawn Slayers arrived they'd find a skeleton of the once bustling environment, empty parking lots and silent buildings telling them all rather plainly that there wasn't likely to be any witnesses to question the further they got in. In all likelihood the only source of information gleamed beyond their own musings was to be from the perpetrators mouth.

The clanging of metal shutters slamming closed against the bay doors would resonate with jarring clarity from a nearby warehouse, the door in question still undulating from the force of it's fall and warbling a keening wail that was not solely brought from gravity's force alone. Two sister doors were already shut on either side, and the service door visible on this side of the building was blocked off by the splinter ridden remains of smashed pallets. There were windows two stories up and just beneath the line of the roof, too high to climb towards and blotted out with black paint to keep out the light.

Clearly the invitation was not being given to them with the best of intentions.

---

Ceiran studied his surroundings while the others chatted. Only, he didn't study them with his eyes. He breathed in, and felt his energy rise from its dormancy. He held his hands about 15 centimeters apart, and allows his energy to flow from his gut into this empty space. To the others it would look like a marbled grey plasma, shifting in the air to form a sphere. He poured his desires into it, giving it purpose, and it began to float gently up, before rapidly expanding. It covers everything, filling all orifices with its chilling dominion.

As it swelled Ceiran felt his perception expanding. He could feel the surrounding area very similarly to how you feel what is in your personal space. In an instant, Ceiran felt everything he'd expected to. The others, the surrounding buildings, myriad insects. He felt something strange too. It was coming from a nearby building, and felt like a looming danger. His concentration broke, and his sensory bubble popped, leaving no trace. "Uh, guys? There's someth--"

CLANG

It seems he didn't have to finish his sentence, so he started a new one, "Yeah, it's in there. I really don't think that going in through the front door is a good idea. We don't know what we're up against." He looks to Roland, then to Circe, and continues with slightly more careful words, "Maybe Circe can find out? Shift into some kind of mouse or something?"

He strongly disliked endangering one of their lives like that, but it was all he felt he could contribute at the moment. Apart from burning the warehouse down, but he doubted that anyone else would be in favour of such a drastic action. Ceiran felt that in this case the ends did justify the means though.

The cold air began to chisel at his fingertips, so he buttoned his coat up in a mildly effective ploy to warm himself up. The desolate surroundings were the kind of places he loved. He reached into his bag and pulled out a muesli bar, eating out of habit. Also it'd be rather unfortunate to Twitch uncontrollably in a fight. He could manage himself if he initiated the Twitching, but it was much less easy to control if he'd forgotten to eat. He mentally poked the Demon, asking for information but only receiving chuckles. Of course it wouldn't give something for nothing, but Ceiran continues to give nothing.

Circe stayed close to Roland the whole trip to the industrial complex to maintain appearence. She thought of what could be causing such a disturbance, her and Roland had exhausted every creature book in the library trying to track down the murderer. Hopefully that knowledge could come into play here.

As they arrived at the derelict complex Yurius mentioned that what they were hunting was indeed here.Ceiran spoke up mentioning that Circe should shift to scout ahead, which were her thoughts exactly. Not waiting for their captains go ahead she shrunk down to a hummingbird. She flitted around getting her bearings straight and darted towards a broken window of the building.

When she entered the first thing she noticed was the stench, the smell of decay and droppings gagged the place. She shifted back to normal on a beam by the window. She concentrated a bit and her nose shifted into seemingly flat surface.

"From hot babe, to Lord Voldemort." She said to herself, she didn't see the target any where nearby, but saw that the front door was booby trapped. She began searching quietly for a more suitable way in.

---

The host of the Twitch demon would find his efforts to permeate the particularly noisy warehouse were rebuked, but that in and of itself was informative for Ceiran. A force had already permeated it, and like one pouring water into overflowing container, the force Ceiran expelled into the area merely washed of the already filled building. Perhaps the familiarity of the force would offer some general knowledge of their target.

As for Circe, she found the interior of the warehouse to be engulfed in darkness, the broken window offering only a narrow beam of light which was quickly snuffed out against a floor to ceiling shelf. The entire warehouse floor was dominated by row upon row of such colossal shelving, each packed tight with boxes and plastic wrapped commodities. A few looked to have been torn open, some by rats closer to the bottom of the shelves, and others more keenly looking to be sliced open with a blade of some sort. What foul odor existed likely came from industrial chemicals dripping down to the floors and lingering droppings.

And the Shifter's assessment of the door was indeed correct, as it was encumbered with the most devious trap imaginable; A paint bucket propped over the door, ready to pump neon pink on the first person who lifted the bay door. It would be literally child's play to disarm and safely enter, or she could call the others in and leave someone with a brighter wardrobe.

There was no sign of the target, but the darkness was all consuming past the window she entered and the rows stretched back beyond sight, proving ample concealment for anyone to lay in wait. Perhaps they were waiting for a more formal entrance.

Lotte followed the group silently. It wasn't as if she was trying to avoid socialization but the smallish fox was never a conversationalist either. If someone had talked to her she would have replied, naturally, but she didn't feel the need to break the silence when no one else did.

Once they arrived in the sewers, she was one of the last ones to get into the underground gallery. Lotte waited for both Sonia and Duncan to fit their larger frames through the entrance, in case they would need any assistance, before descending the ladder. As soon as she arrived at the bottom, Lotte produced a waterproof tablet from her backpack and began to draw a rough map of their surroundings while she listened to the instructions being handled by Tholl and Sonia.

"Understood, Young Mistress," Lotte replied with her typical deadpan voice once the briefing had been made. She walked to the front of the group lighting the way for those who didn't see in the darkness—which would likely be Trey and Duncan.

The expedition in the sewers was going swimmingly, aside from the smell. Permeating all other scents, it was a perfect mask to any sort of monster the group would be encountering in these dark parts. Indeed, aside from the usual muckage of the area, there was very thin layer of something salty. It came from just the bare surface of the water running in the sewer ways. It certainly didn’t look that deep and there was nothing of suspicion about it.

Indeed, the entire area seemed quiet save for the constant flow of sewage and waste. What then, could have been possibly keeping construction from occurring down here? Whatever it may be, these thoughts and more would be interrupted by loud splashing coming from directly in front of Tholl’s group. The combined ocular prowess of the spider’s eyes, both her and Sonia’s would reveal the truth easily enough.

But the splashing, which came from the running river of sewage, was too violent and frantic to make out a shape of form. Even so, it was distinctly human by the words it was shrieking. “Help, somebody help! It’s dragging me down-” Another manic dunk under the dirty waves silenced the pleas, the voice ringing as female in vocal cords. It wouldn’t be long before the victim would become nothing more than choked bubbles beneath the waves.

As Sonia and the others were moving deeper into the sewers her kind began to wander to her doubts. They came into this mission with no intel to work off of; no maps of the area, no knowledge of the threat, only a vague idea of where the threat is and the great sense of urgency that made them skip over any prior preparation. Secretly Sonia was furious; this sort of recklessness is expected from complete novices, kids who have more power then sense. So what were their teachers thinking, making everyone go in without even a moment to gather their things? To have their “equipment” packed and taken from their rooms before the students themselves could decide what they need? Frankly it felt condescending. As if the school was justs pretending to give the students a sense of freedom with their actions, when in truth they’re playing right into the school’s hands.

Not that Sonia thought they had any ill intentions for the kids. Just that maybe they’re trying too hard to prove a point. Sonia was going to be pissed if they get a “you could have prepared better” lecture after this was all over. Her thoughts were distracted when she heard a scream down the tunnel. Sonia’s first instinct told her it was a trap; who in the right mind would be down here already? It wasn’t as if they were given any information about missing people. And the roads were that bad that people should be accidentally falling into the sewers. However one cannot stop stupidity; Sonia second instinct told her that this person may have been a concerned friend or family who was down here looking for someone or something. Again, not enough information to make certain. But Sonia needed to act soon.

First she focused her eyes onto the source of the splashing itself. Immediately her sight zoomed in on the drowning victim and she noticed two things: some sort of mysterious salty substance on the surface of the water, and that these sewers weren’t deep. Sonia couldn’t think of anything salty that should be in a sewer, though she doesn’t know much about sewer monsters either. Still her mind analyzed and checked everything she has read or seen before that could be living down here and leave this sort of residue.

Second Sonia casted a spell: Portent. Her eyes flashed blue as she saw all possible timelines within the next thirty seconds. She’ll use this to figure out if this was really a trap or a legitimate victim. So Sonia ran two different simulations: one where she tries to save the victim and another where Sonia attacks the victim.

In the first simulation Sonia reaches into her bag and grabs the spider silk from it. She hands one end of the rope to the vanguard group. She would need their strength. Then she had Owldin carry another end; it had a loop perfect for going around and tightening around someone or something. ”Go and try to put this around the person, or whatever monster has her!” Sonia ordered her familiar. She understood that this might be a trap and Owldin may be in danger, but he understood these risks. Better him then the others.

If nothing stopped Owldin this simulation diverges in two more different paths: either he looped the rope around the victim, or he would try to loop it around the monster if there was one. The goal was the same: the Vanguard would pull whoever or whatever was out of the water and co front it.

Then the second simulation was ran. This time Sonia would attack. She had Owldin move forward while she channeled a Shocking Grasp through his body. While it was a bit naive to think that a single shocking grasp could kill anything in the water, it would help determine what was in the water. Once more the paths diverged: Owldin would attack either the drowning victim, if she truly was a trap, and then the water itself, electrocuting anything within a ten foot radius of Owldin inside the water. Just in case there was a big monster or the monster and the voice were both in cahoots. In either simulation the Shocking Grasp was set to a lethal voltage. This was all a simulation so Sonia wasn’t too concerned about the danger.

And just as quickly as it started the Portent ended, and Sonia would have new information to work with. Hopefully something which will make sure they all get out of this alive and minimal injuries.

@TheWindel

Lotte's lighting the way allowed Duncan to see, though his range still wasn't great. He still had human eyes, and lighting up a dark area will only get you so far. If anything came at them, he'd be ready, but that's not what happened. Outside of his visible range, there was a person seemingly splashing around and calling for help. It could be a trap, but on the other hand, if somebody needed their help, he couldn't just leave them. Duncan approached Lotte.

"We need to get closer, and fast. I can't see what's going on from here.

@TheWindel@Awesomoman64@Lonewolf685@Ryonara@KoL

---

With a shield on his arm and sword on his hip, Roland readily took point as he and the others searched the industrial district. As they approached a suspicious building, Lumen spoke up expressing his concerns about what they were facing and suggesting they stay on guard. Lumen then quickly apologized for potentially giving orders while Roland was the one in charge. It hadn’t actually bothered the paladin who had taken what Lumen said as more of a suggestion than anything.

What did bother him was that immediately after, the white haired mage started asking for help from the teachers. Really? They hadn’t even been here ten minutes and he was already asking for help? Roland had a few choice things to say about that, but strangely enough, the teachers said it for him. It wasn’t everyday he and the staff agreed on something, but today must have been one of those days.

Refocusing on the mission, Roland turned back to the warehouse after hearing metal shutters slam shut. Looking over the front of the building, he too came to the same conclusion as everyone else; the front door was not to be trusted. The windows, however, could be accessed by Circe if she shifted. They could have her scout and if the front door was indeed a trap, they could remove the wood panels blocking the side entrance with a controlled burn and enter through there.

As he opened his mouth to explain his plan, Ceiran instead piped up and told Circe exactly what he was about to. He didn’t even get a chance to confirm to Circe if that was the plan they were indeed going with or not.

“I guess 'team captain' is mostly a symbolic title.” Roland said a bit disgruntled shaking his head. On the brightside, at least the plan they were going with was the same as his.

---

---

The cramped darkness of the sewers reminded Kromric of home, all but the rank smell of sewage that dominated the air. Once they had all piled in, Tholl went over their assignment one more time before turning it over to the students. Without much hesitation, it was Sonia who quickly took charge. She ordered the group to split up, giving them room to work while giving them specific tasks to focus on. Not bad for a first year.

Kromric was placed on the vanguard team. While Lotte took the front with a lantern, Kromric brought up the rear. He mainly wanted stand back and observe the students as this was their mission. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t keep an eye on their backs. The last thing they needed was a sewer monster sneaking up on them.

They didn’t get very far before a scream echoed through sewer. The students acted fast. Sonia casted a Portent spell to see what her options were while Duncan ushered Lotte forward so they could get a better view of the situation. Not bad, but they would need to act faster if they wanted to save this person. Kromric placed his hand on his hammer as he continued to watch the students work. Should things take a bad turn he would be ready, though he trusted they had things under control.

---

And with his suggestion, Circe transformed into a hummingbird and just flew away. This made him wonder if she will always be this much of a pain to work with, especially for Roland. Something about how she took off into what was potentially her death without so much as a glance in Roland's direction planted a seed of doubt in him, even if he wasn't conscious of it yet. He balled up the muesli bar wrapper, shoved it into his bag, and pulled his wand out of the purpose sewn pocket on the inside of his jacket.

Ceiran turned to face Roland as he spoke up about how team captain was only a symbolic role. He raised an eyebrow, and said, "Sorry, it was just a suggestion. Didn't mean for her to just take off without asking anybody. What's your plan now?". He was about to say something along the lines of "You can't exactly lead the team of problem students", but thought the better of it. It's something Roland would've considered in the past.

But a thought wandered into his head, and changed his outlook on the mission quite significantly. What if the so-called monster was really just a group of people? "So, Roland. What if this isn't a monster at all? We could be dealing with humans here. Or humans who have tamed a monster. I don't have an extensive knowledge of monsters, but from what I know, they wouldn't bother painting the windows black.". He pointed at the blotted windows to illustrate his point. "Plus, I don't see why large monsters would be stealing stuff. It would just attack everyone and take it after they'd left. I bet it's either small, or some humans. Maybe...", his train of thought trailed off vocally, but his thoughts were still screaming past in his head.

The room was very dark, but she caught the bucket over the door. Her eyes were straining in the silence, trying to pick up any sound. She did her best, picking her way across the scaffolding. Sneaking through warehouses was nothing new to the young shifter. With this past week and Yurius's training she's only gotten leaner and quieter. He focused her more towards speed in training, complementing her ability and fighting style.

Are they fucking children?? This is either a joke, the crappiest alarm system, or they knew we were coming. She thought to herself. She took the bucket full of paint and carefully set it on a walkway. Than she leaned out the doorway and motioned to the others that the door was safe. She used two minutes on her shift getting, so she knew she still had plenty of time left. She was going to scout ahead for a moment and regroup when the others got inside.

Once again she was airborne, but this time her nose was flat taking in a mirriad of scents, her big pointed ears listened to her new sonar ability, as her leathery wings silently kept her in the sky. Her bats echo location reverberated all around as she took in all the information that was offered.

After one too many drops of sludge got in the way of Lotte's way as she was drawing in her tablet—she knew it wasn't a good idea to try out this new gear in a place like this— she swapped her gear for a conventional notebook, and a led flashlight that she could hold safely even if she needed her hand for something else.

The range of illumination was far greater than before as well, even though a turn in the tunnel, thirty-or-so meters away, blocked the line of sight. The splashing sound and screams were obviously coming from that direction. However, the students were unable to react on time—whatever magic Sonia used didn't look like it was meant to help directly, Duncan was all but panicking because he couldn't see far enough, and Trey had gone back to the Academy before even getting down in the sewers— and at least Kromric seemed to be content with the possibility of someone dying, since he didn't so much as move a muscle or said a word.

With how bad the situation was, it was up to Lotte to act as fast as she could. The smallish fox took the lead as she was asked to, dashing ahead of the others. A few meters after the turn, Lotte saw a slightly open manhole cover and, not long after it, a partially flooded crossroads. The pool of stale rainwater was calm by the time she arrived but Lotte was certain the cries came from around here.

She decided to investigate a bit more as she waited for the others, shedding light at all visible corner, before throwing a small rock at the water to check whether or not there was something hiding there.

---

As it seems, the group located in the sewers felt fine at standing around and doing nothing. While Duncan was proving to be useless for his lack of sight into the darkened depths, Sonia’s divination magic had forced the entire group to be put on hold. Diverging paths from multiple possibilities had spread out before the spider girl, and it almost seemed like an answer would yield itself for her. Just a little more and-

But Hikari’s staff had other plans in mind. While Tholl and Kromric continued to monitor the student’s actions, Lotte made the first move. Technically the maid wasn’t part of the teacher’s list, making this just as much as her mission as the students’. It was due to her affirmative action that Sonia would only be able to see the first simulation play all the way through, Owldin pulling a dark shape out of the water.

Fiction was soon to become reality as Lotte shined her light into the murky stream, tossing a stone in for good measure. A wet thud was heard as the rock met contact with something; in fact, it was the same dark mass seen in Sonia’s vision. Almost immediately the cries for help were silenced, leaving the sewers devoid of noise save for the breathing of those involved and the sound of running mush around them.

The rock slid off the dark, round surface of the mysterious creature before two beady eyes flicked open. The creature did not howl or shout, nor did it attempt to lure them closer with its false voice. Instead, all the monster did was stare with an unblinking gaze right back at the group; specifically, at Lotte. She threw the rock after all.

---

Circe was right on all accounts.

They were young in body and behavior. It was certainly a joke, for it amused the ones who placed it. The can was an awful security measure because they required little more then that. And above all that she so flippantly deduced, was that they knew they were coming.

The better question to ask, however, would have been: Who plans an ambush in complete darkness? The obvious answer is one that can see without issue in it. For all of the shifter's finally attuned senses they failed to pierce the veil of magic which concealed a figure standing upon the shelves, her body making not a sound as she leaned forward and scooped the transformed youth into a plastic container and slapped a lid atop it quick as a flash.

"Oh ho, thought you were a sneaky one, didn't ya?" The glamour parted with the snarky declaration, revealing rows of pointed teeth belonging to what would obviously be an Imp to Circe, with her many hours of study under her belt. The imp's pointed nails had carved hasty symbols into the typically flimsy plastic that pulsed with a demonic power. "Come on, try to change back. I'd love to see a whole person fit into this."

In response to the Imp's attack, three peels of laughter rose from the dark, and were quickly joined by the revving of three motors. Three pairs of blinding high beams would blink to life along the middle lane of isles and rumble closer with the grumble of thickset tires burning across the warehouse floor. The Imp carrying a trapped Circe dropped down and landed atop the passing light as it thundered towards the doorway.

And thus Roland, Ceiran, and the Teachers would be confronted by a trio a forklifts launching themselves out the bay door and barreling towards them with the loading forks raised to chest level, leaving their demonic drivers bare to see behind the wheel of their mechanical steeds. Atop the middle forklift's roof was hooded Imp who clutched Circe's container close to her chest, guarding her with all the zeal of tuna fish lunch. "Let's get ready to joust!"

---

Roland shrugged at Ceiran’s comment about Circe, “Eh, don’t sweat it. She’s not exactly one to ask permission for anything.” Roland said. Ceiran continued asking the paladin’s thoughts on what they were up against considering some of the evidence before them. The white haired boy did have a good point. Blocking all but one entrance and using paint to obscure any outside vision was not something wild monsters could do. However, not even the best thieves could steal such large items without being noticed.

Thinking back to his studies, Roland tried to piece together what creature this could be. He walked past Ceiran to get a closer look at the building. They had to be small to go unnoticed, intelligent enough to carry out simple plans, and able to work in teams. His first thought was goblins, but they weren’t exactly the most subtle in their dealings. It could be boggarts, but those usually stuck to one building rather than a whole district. What about imps? They certainly fit the criteria, but they usually stuck to cheap trickery than outright theft.

“I doubt any of this is human.” Roland stated turning back to the others. “I’ve got some ideas, but I can’t say anything for sure.” As he finished talking, Circe appeared in the doorway and motioned for them to come. “I guess we’re gonna find out.” Roland stated drawing his sword.

As he approached the door, the rumbling of engines suddenly filled the air. “What the-” Roland took a step back giving him barely enough room to jump out of the way as three forklifts driven by imps barged through. The middle lift was the odd one out as it had another imp on top of it, no doubt she was their leader. Though he noticed she was holding a container of sorts, he had no idea what, or who, was inside.

While it was certainly not expected, the shock of seeing the road raging imps passed and Roland quickly began thinking of a plan. They imps themselves weren’t really threat, but the forklifts were. All they had to do was disable them, or commandeer them.

“HEY! YOU MISSED ME!” He yelled to the imps bangging his sword against his shield attempting to get their attention. His idea was extremely risky, but if it worked it would make things a lot easier.

Circe flew a few laps around the derelict building. Her bat radar not picking up anything at all. She turned and began to return to the others, as she flew past some broken shelving something came out of thin air and snatched her up. Caught completely off guard she didn't have time to react. A disheveled imp slammed her into a small container and sealed it. She tried fruitlessly to get out but in her current form she had no strength to break free.

Trying not panic she tried thinking ways out of the little box before she suffocated. If the box was magiced she very well couldn't break free, and if she shifted, her group would very well be taking home a doggy bag of her.

Come on!! You and Roland have been in the library every day for the past week. No student in the school knows creatures better than you two do!! She thought angrily to herself. And slowly all the hard work starting returning to her. Imps only had simple illusion magic!! No books said anything that they were capable of keeping her sealed inside the box.

Circe got ready to shift to her normal shape, she was pissed, and the others were still standing there not really moving. Oh she was going to deal with them after she got out this little box and got ahold of her swords again. She screamed out in anger as she began shifting back to her regular form.

@Lonewolf685

Duncan stepped in front of Lotte when the creature glared at her, and placed an arrow into the notch on his bow, but not stretching it back just yet. He glanced around at the others in his party, as if looking for assurance, or somebody to catch on and stop him. Sadly finding neither, he advanced toward the creepy alien-looking thing.

"H-hello," he gingerly greeted, taking tentative steps towards the creature. "We're not going to hurt you."

@TheWindel@KoL@Ryonara@Awesomoman64

---

There was a dangerous glint in Mako's eye as she started to walk towards the centre forklift, her hand outstretched as if she were threatening to shoot an energy beam from her palm. She was muttering incantations as she deliberately and confidently strode forwards. She was willing to let the students work things out themselves unless it actually put them in danger, and she felt it was her duty as a teacher and a supervisor to free Circe from the enemy's grasp as soon as possible. The dangerous glint remaining in her eyes, she smiled a sickly, twisted smile.

"Are you imp enough to play chicken with a Witch?" she asked in a mocking tone.

@Conscripts@Awesomoman64@Cerces22@Strange Rodent