---

It would seem that behind every well-thought out plan there seemed to be a constant presence of a blond celestial mage to screw it up, and a hammer-wielding child to help them see it through.

As the carriages erupted into a fiery inferno, dragging the nearby bandits into a fate of ash and bone, the sniper refused to flinch or even show any emotion as the figures he saw in the distance began their grim approach. One of the trio sped towards them, knocking out Sara's Taurus which told tales of the woman's magical ability. Soon, Jean Vali, the speedster of the trio, reached them and began to let loose his demands. This brief moment of silence allowed Vali to pat himself on the back: a few moments ago, Dame and Trixie had wanted to charge in, and if it weren't for him telling them to hold their horses, they may have been seared by the trap. There was always merit in tactics and safe-play, and he hoped his allies would see the importance of thinking with a rational mind.

When Argus replied against their detractor, the sniper had to agree that it was incredibly stupid for these bandits to sacrifice their numbers advantage for... an intimidating introduction? It wasn't even scary to begin with, just senseless loss of life. There was no honor, no valor in it, and the marksman felt his spine tingle in what seemed like fury.

However, it was also senseless for him to reveal his location and presence. Trixie's outburst as well as Argus' display would play into his new tactic. Valishin knew that Jean was expecting to fight four mages, not five. If he could just get to a new vantage point, he could definitely flank them. Vali decided to retreat quietly, steps landing on the soil without a sound as the chameleon cloak shrouded the sniper's presence to the enemy. He had to be careful to maneuver around the wheat stocks, taking critical consideration of moving through only when the wind blew as he crouched. As he created distance away from them, Vali made sure to stay silent and to avoid talking. Even his breaths uttered no voice whilst he traversed crouched through the stocks.

Upon looking through his sights, observing the two individuals calmly walking towards them, the sniper recognized their confidence as anything but a bluff. If this was any normal mission, he would drop those two without a second thought. However, the mere fact that they could afford to incinerate their own meant that their powers bordered on B or even A-ranked. Shooting them now would give away his location and presence; he could not afford that kind of mistake. His eyes widened upon seeing a Clown and a tanned woman, their very visage growing tendrils of dread to strike at Vali's heart.

Strategy was really like playing chess. You never knew how the opponent would move his own pieces to counter your tactics, and the only thing you can do is try to always think three steps ahead as well as pray that your enemy was dumber than you.

Considering the scenario, they had the advantage in both numbers and surprises. Jean himself was also isolated from his allies while Vali's tactics allowed his team to still be close-knit. Both sides had no idea what the other was capable of, and Vali wanted to capitalize on that. If anything, it would be bad to let the three work together. Obstruct their vision of each other, separate one from the rest, and restrain one of them without revealing Dragon Heart's capabilities to the other two. The winds were also blowing towards their enemy's direction as well.

Now, the pieces move.

The tip of the rifle's barrel crawled out from the cloak's caress as Vali peered at the approaching duo. "May the gods deliver us from evil."

Four quick clicks and shots howled through the air, and in a split second, four large emerald fogs burst out a few meters around the Clown and the Tanned Woman, effectively obstructing their path and vision to Jean. Vali knew that he had removed most of the poison's strength and it would never be enough to stop mages of their caliber. Thus, he had his next move. No sooner did the wind start fanning the poison cloud towards the two, a glint of an ominous orange glow refracted from Vali's hiding spot.

A last click, and a whistling sound followed suit. And, before anyone could be breathe, a violent explosion took place in front of Jean's allies as the emerald fog caught fire. The flames, fanned by the wind, licked at the sickly wheat as it created a ring of searing flames around the Clown and the woman.

Vali huffed, feeling as though someone had punched him in the gut with the amount of magic he used with that last shot. He could still move, though, but definitely, he could never do that magic again during this fight. However, relentless, the sniper aimed down at Jean, loading one more bullet into his rifle as the cartridge glowed red.

"Choke on this," Vali whispered as a red bullet flew towards the Jean. After shooting, Vali hid his rifle beneath the cloak once more, his visage shrouded as he slowly crept towards another vantage point, this time closer to his team.

---

Glory nodded at what the woman said while she sat rather uncomfortably on the overpadded couch. Blinking a few times at the map to memorize the location, Glory nodded at them and said. "We'll get the cat back." Before she stood and left the building. Outside, she gathered the group close and spoke quickly and simply. "Alright. We know where it is, we just have to be quick. Preferably also quiet. We don't want to tip them off that we're here any earlier than we have to. Let's go."

With that, Glory began to run towards the factory. For someone so heavy, her footfalls were dangerously quiet.

If all went according to plan, they should be able to subdue the mages present and get the cat back in a matter of minutes, but as Glory knew: There was no such thing as a simple mission.

Damian was quite appalled by the explosion that had completely obliterated the numbers advantage that their foe had, not only did it surprise him but it also triggered him a bit as well. Sure his idea was to draw out the enemy but he didn't think that they'd blow up their men along with the supplies meant for the village. Once the damage had been done a man emerged from the stalks of wheat who seemed to have taken great pleasure from the suffering of the men that were wasted behind him. With a impressive display of agility, the man made light work of Sara's celestial spirit, sending the cow back to the spirit realm with ease.

The man introduced himself as Jean Vali and urged the wizards to surrender but there wasn't a slim chance that they would even consider throwing in the towel without a fight. Damian simply replied to the man by unsheathing his sword though as he was about to charge in it seemed as though the impulsive wizard named Trixie had beat him too it. Rushing in with her large hammer she attempted to bash him with her hammer but after the display of speed he just put on he knew that Trixie wouldn't have a chance at striking him head on, her hammer was to heavy and slow to be used in combat against someone as speedy as Jean. With one hit the man made light work of Trixie's weapon, severing the hammer in two with relative ease.

After witnessing Trixie's attack fail he noticed four blasts of poison gas go off, seperating Jean from his two allies, this coudld have only been done by Vali wherever he might be at the moment. Damian took notice of what Vali was planning and wasted no time, the boy firmly planted his left foot into the ground and began setting the playing field for his Great arc of trees. The blonde began to further strengthen and expand the network of roots within the wheat field."I trust that you guys will have my back!" the blonde said directly to Sara, Argus, and Trixie though this actually a hidden message for Vali that said Cover me. A yellow magic circle appeared below Damian as he began citing an incantation.

"Grant those I choose with power that rivals the divine! Heavenly Strength and Speed!"

Soon enough a few roots would make slight contact with Argus and Trixie, shortly after the roots made contact a green magical aura surrounded both Dragon heart members delivering them a noticeable boost in magical power.

Muko was silent through the meeting. He didn't have much to say. Since it was pretty much just a quick briefing on a mysterious mage. The problem? Well, he was mysterious. Usually there was more info on these Dark Mages and their magic. Could this guy be sneaky? Did he use puppets? If he managed to completely avoid identification then it must be something with a trick to it. Maybe he WAS THE GUILD!? No, that sounded completely ridiculous. Maybe he shouldn't over think things. It usually ended up causing more trouble than it was worth. He didn't have long to ponder just what that might be, before the world shifted. Sending them spinning and tumbling, and Muko landed right on his face. Clearly lacking grace on that kind of situation.

Wiping dust and dirt from his clothing, Muko raised a hand through his hair, and brushed it back into the messiest possible way he could. Fire danced into a flat surface in his hand, creating a makeshift mirror in his grip. At the very least he could control that mess of a hairdo, because he had a particular brand of frizzled wild boy he had to attend to.

"To be honest, I think I should go, and you should stay." Muko said, rather defensively. Sure he wasn't the best in crowded spaces, but he wasn't about to take orders from an underling. "Imagine how they'd feel seeing a mage hunter show up asking questions? I doubt everybody is fully aware of how you came to work for Dragon Heart yet." He dropped the make-shift mirror, letting it shatter into littler particles of ice. Despite clearly doing it out of spite, it was clear he had a point too. Didn't help that everything about Vega was pretty evil looking. Evil scythe? Check. Evil outfit? Check. The only not immediately dark mage-ish thing about him was probably his underwear. Which Muko was pretty sure was puppies and rainbow printed.

Muko walked alongside, making his way to the guild hall. At the very least he could ask to speak to the Guild Master. That would be a lot more comfortable for him. "Right now, we're just tourists. That's the cover story."

---

“Ceri, don’t head off just yet! Help me get these up to my room and then I’ll come with you!”

Stopping, Ceri quickly turned around and waved her hands in a mildly comical manner.

"O-oh uhm, I-it's alright..." She quickly stuttered out. "I-i'm just going to be in the library I'm not going anywhere..." Wait, that wasn't the point of what Mis was even asking her. "I-I mean s-sure I'll help if _{you want me too...}" The small demon walked back over to Mis in a nervous fashion. "W-what am I helping with...?"

Mis chuckled at her friend’s adorable bafflement before replying.

“Of course I want you to! Just accompany me up to my room where I will unload my cart. You can be another pair of eyes to make sure nobody runs off with anything.”

"O-okay...!" Ceri quietly followed behind Illedrith, silently agreeing. It was nice, being this close to Illedirth - even if she completely forgot the strawberries once more.

Turning back to the cart, Mis once again began hauling it forwards, finally getting out of the ruckus of the main hall as things once again began to heat up after the guild master disappeared. Her plans for a nice quiet afternoon and evening to catch up with Ceri were dashed the moment she got to her room however, as even as she pulled the cart up the corridor, she could see a very prominent figure standing outside her door patiently.

At 6’6”, Davido certainly cut an imposing figure, tall and well-built as he was, but the most worrying thing was not his stature nor his magics, but that he was a trusted mouthpiece of the guildmaster, and so trials and tribulations followed in his wake. Still, as a faithful and dedicated member of the guild, he certainly had Illedrith’s respect, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. As Mis came up the corridor and he noticed her approach, Davido smiled at her and came towards her.

“Sorry to bother you after you just came back from your last trip, Ms Adrasia, but the Guild Master said he wished to see you as soon as you got back, and that the matter was urgent.”

Nodding to Mis’ companion close by, he continued without leaving room for Mis to interrupt.

“And it is good to see you again, Miss Ceri, I do hope you are in good health? In any case, I believe you would also be welcome to accompany Ms Adrasia to the Guild Master’s office, as I believe you would likely be involved in the circumstances to come from what I understand.”

_{"...Hi davido..."} Not that he would probably hear her reply. Ceri couldn't help but to hide behind Illedrith.

“And Ms Adrasia, do not worry about your belongings or your cart. If you leave them with me I will ensure they are safely stowed correctly in your room, you need not worry about any light fingered ruffians with me around.”

Illedrith turned to Ceri after Davido had finished talking and chuckled.

“Looks like you might have inherited a little more than you bargained for? Still up for coming with me to see Kukan?”

Her? Involved? Well, if Mis wanted her to tag along, she would. She wanted to get out of here and do something anyways. Having someone else around so she didn't accidentally get lost for the umpteenth time in town was good, too.

"...Uhm...sure." Ceri replied to Illedirth's question. It'd be nice seeing the guild master again, though she couldn't be herself since Illedrith was also there. Well, it shouldn't be too bad.

“Excellent! Well then, I shall leave my things in your care Davy, and you’re most generous to have offered to help. Off we go Ceri, Kukan awaits us I’m sure!”

With that, Mis turned and walked back the way she came, down the path that led to the main hall and the staircase which led up to the higher levels. On her way, she turned and smiled at Ceri.

“So what did you get up to while I was gone? Anything interesting?”

"N-not really." Ceri hurried after Mis. "I, u-uhm, spent most of the time reading..." A fairly standard answer. That was mostly what Ceri did in her free time unless she decided to go out on occasion. Rarely happened.

"...u-uhm...but well..." Ceri cast her gaze to the ground. _{"L-ladon took a book from me..."} She stuttered quietly. "H-he held it over my head just out of reach..."

“Ladon again?!? That boy has it in for himself! Surely he knows after however many times that messing with you is a bad idea and is just going to earn him a talking-to, so I don’t know why he’s so persistent about it! Did you end up getting your book back or do we need to hunt him down later?”

"H-he ran off with it when he saw you..." Ceri dejectedly replied. What was this feeling? Satisfaction from incoming revenge, that's what, hah! Though she did kind of feel bad for panicking so much earlier because of what he said was a joke, but still.

“Oooh, I’m going to get him good for this. Don’t you worry Ceri, we’ll get your book back as soon as this meeting with Kukan is over.”

With this, the pair had reached the bottom of the staircase up to the higher levels, and began their winding ascent up towards the office of the Guild Master. Things seemed to be settling down in the guild hall, and so the pair passed with little stress up into the higher levels, finally arriving at the large ornate door with their guild’s mark etched into it which served as the entrance to Kukan’s offices and living space. Reaching up, Mis knocked firmly on the door and waited for a response.

”Come in.”

Kukan looked up from his studies once again, eyeing the door. He closed the book on his desk, instead pulling out a pile of parchments from a drawer. ”We have much to discuss.”

On hearing the Guildmaster call them in, Mis pushed open the door and entered into Kukan’s office. The contents of the office never seemed to really change from year to year, other than the mountain of paperwork ebbing and flowing depending on how active the guild was at any one time. Stepping forward and then waiting for Ceri before closing the door, Mis took a seat in front of the guildmaster on one of the visitor’s seats.

“I heard from Davido you had an urgent matter for me, Guildmaster, and was assured Ceri’s presence wouldn’t go amiss. What’s happened?”

The guild master watched the powerful mage and the timid Etherious enter the room, studying them from behind his spectacles. ”Dark guilds happened.” He opened up a large map of Rosa Blanca. ”Arthur informed me that a smuggling ring has been operating in Rosa Blanca. Stolen goods, robbery, the whole nine yards. But as they've increased in size, they've increased in power, and they've hired a Dark Guild called Major Torture to protect their assets. The council wants to hire us to eliminate them for us, in exchange for some leniency for almost destroying the town multiple times.” Kukan sighed. ”I hate caving to their demands, but this is a great chance to help our record,and plus, it's a good cause. I figured I'd ask you first, Mis. You're reliable.” He looked at the Mirror Mage.

”What do you say?”

“I don’t mind at all, I’d be more than happy to lead a team to deal with this! Protecting our town should be our first priority anyway, and it will be a good chance to deal with something important but not have to travel too far. I do have some questions though, firstly, do I have free choice for my team or was there someone you had in mind to otherwise include, and secondly, what further information is there? Searching the whole city would take far too much time, so I assume you’ve got a lead for us?”

”Wise questions. Firstly, yes, select whoever you see fit. But more importantly, the information from the Council comes from two sources, where criminal activity may be centered- a large townhouse just off the main street and a small farm just outside the town walls. I'd like for you to investigate them.”

“Not an issue at all, I’ll get right on it. Ceri, will you join me?”

"U-uhm, sure!" Oh, this sounded dangerous. Really dangerous. Criminals were dangerous in general. This sounded...really kinda terrifying, really. She didn't do many jobs where she had to hunt down or engage in battles...but if Mis was with her, it should be easy. "I-I'll go...I wanted to...get out a bit anyways."

“Excellent! I’ll be with you every step of the way, so you needn’t worry. Maybe we can test out our coordination in an actual fight, just like we’ve practised!”

Mis turned back and briefly spoke to Kukan as she rose from her seat.

“Well, with that I think I’m happy to say we’ve formally accepted this job. If there’s anything else we need in relation to it, I’m sure we’ll be back to bother you. If you wouldn’t mind, could we have those physical copies of the reports please?”

Kukan slid them across his desk towards the Mage, giving her a single nod, before returning back to his book. Picking the sheets off the table, Mis turned and held the door open for Ceri as she headed out of the office.

“Alright, let’s go find Ladon and your book, see if we can’t find some idle hands along the way to take with us to the job. Any chance he might have returned to the Library to return the book?”

"Uhm," Bowing respectfully to the Guild master, Ceri followed Mis out of the office. "He ran out of the guildhall when you were...uhm, roughhousing with the others..."

“Hmmm, well I guess it can’t hurt to just stick our head into the Library to see if he put the book back there. If he’s not there we’ll go hunt for him in town instead.”

Heading back down the main staircase by a level, the pair made the short trip down to the library without incident. As Mis stepped through the door of the library and the sounds of the guild faded away to the quiet of the library, she breathed a sigh of contentment. Much as she loved the guild and everyone in it, sometimes being thrown straight back into the chaos after a trip by herself was a little much, and so despite her general dislike for long periods of study, she had spent many an afternoon here with Ceri just relaxing.

As they headed into the main section of the room, Mis saw a familiar figure bent over a desk, surrounded by neat piles of papers and books. Flavia’s constant devotion to self improvement, even when unsuccessful, had always made Mis both proud of her young guild member, and yet sad for her lack of progress. She certainly deserved better, given how hard she tried. Coming up behind her, Mis ruffled her hair before speaking.

“Hey Flavia! How’s the study going...oh...whoops...”

It was at that point that Mis noticed that Flavia had not, in fact, been studying, but had instead been sleeping peacefully. She hadn’t noticed because she had approached from behind, but it seemed unlikely that she’d remain asleep after Mis’ intrusion...

Coming out of a strange, but good dream, Flavia groggily lifted her head and looked around with a slack expression. A piece of paper was stuck to the side of her face, and a bit of droll lingered from the corner of her mouth. What had she been dreaming about…? As dreams tend to do, the details faded and only the impressions remained. She was sure it had been a happy, comforting dream. Leaving her her feeling well-rested and much more confident than before. ...Supposedly.

Her gold eyes slowly focused on the figure beside her. “Huh…?” She said, her brain still booting up.

As the sleepy mage awoke, another entered the room obviously a little downtrodden. Annalyse really had hoped that something interesting would happen today. Especially after that sad excuse for a birthday party. If she couldn’t enjoy the real thing then why not settle for the best alternative.

Annalyse went towards the location of the newest book in the library which she had yet to finish. However, it was gone. Seems someone else wanted to go on an adventure of the mind. Not realizing anyone else was even in the vicinity the young woman let out an audible groan. ”Geez, what is with my luck today.” To any that knew Anna though that may draw a slight giggle as she was jokingly considered one of the unluckiest members of the guild. Well, ever since she got Eclipse at least.

"Flavia...!" Ceri almost ran out from behind Mis, intent on greeting Flavia. They were friends, right? She liked to think they were, but before she could greet the other girl the door to the Library opened and in walked Annalyse. Taking a sharp breath, she peered out from behind Mis.

"S-sorry to wake you...b-but uhm...have you seen Ladon?" Ceri moved a little towards Flavia, occasionally glancing in Annalyse's direction.

Flavia blinked. Too much too fast too soon. “Huh?” She repeated, dumbly. Then things began to slowly line up, beginning with the realization that she had fallen asleep. “Oh. Hey, Ceri. A-and Miss Adrasia too.” She added, looking up to see the beautiful red-haired mage towering over her. These two were her favorite people in the whole guild, and the only ones she felt even slightly comfortable with.

She wiped at the corner of her mouth with a sleeve, yet, in her surprise, somehow failed to notice the paper that clung to her face. ”I saw, er, that is to say, he was, um, wasn’t he looking for, er, or with you?” She stuttered, the words tumbling out over each other in a semi-incoherent mess, with young girl becoming more flustered with every word. Gods, she was making a mess of things. All that new confidence was rapidly draining away.

"O-oh..." Ceri deflated a bit. Didn't seem like Flavia knew where Ladon was. "He...must be outside somewhere..." Agh, making things harder, wasn't he? He probably was just running on purpose to just make this more annoying for her. How were they supposed to find him in this town?

Mis giggled at Flavia’s confused state, it was both adorable and endearing, even though it was probably at least partially her fault. Taking pity on Flavia’s bleary state, she reached forward and gently plucked the paper from her face, placing it back on top of the stack of notes she’d been leaning on.

“Sorry for waking you Flavia - and how many times must I tell you that you can call me Illedrith like everyone else?! Anyway, I see you’ve been working hard, what with all these notes. If you’re up for a bit of a break and some fresh air, you’re welcome to come have a walk with us to find Ladon. I think it’d be a nice change for you after being cooped up in the library!”

“I’d like that.” She responded sheepishly, looking after the paper that now rested atop the scattered remains of the others. She remembered the dark mood she had been in, and figured spending some time outside, with friends, would be good for her.

“Glad to hear it. Maybe Ceri and I will convince you to join us on our newest job from Kukan; it’d be a good opportunity to practically test what you’ve been learning!”

From behind her Annalyse heard an easily recognizable voice. She turned around and saw the trio. How in the world had she not noticed them. At first she was embarrassed even though she had no reason to be, but then she realized Ceri was among the group.

She remembered seeing Ceri reading the same book she was looking for at one time or another. Maybe she knew where it was. ”Hi. Sorry to bother you three. But Miss Ceri, do you happen to know where the copy of Merlin McCullum’s ‘Mystic Mysteries of Modern Macrocosm Magic’ is? Today’s not going great and I just want to curl up with a nice cup of chocolate milk and read til the sun sets.”

"...Oh." Ceri fidgeted lightly at Annalyse's question. That was the same book she was looking for. The same one Ladon had taken. Heh. Now he had angered two people! Wonderful! More ammo against him. Ugh, actually wait, that meant she'd have to take it from Annalyse herself.

"W-well...L-ladon took it..." Ceri replied, not meeting the other girls gaze. "...B-but uhm, Mis and I are going to go find him! I-if uhm, youwanttotagalongthatis!" She stuttered out, moving a little closer to Mis. Whew, okay! Asked in a totally socially acceptable manner! More help hunting down Ladon was nice.

Mis absentmindedly reached down and patted Ceri’s hood as she cozied up next to her, smiling kindly at Annalyse as she did so.

“As Ceri has said, we’re off to find Ladon and give him a stern talking to. If that book isn’t here, and neither is he, I think it’s a pretty fair assumption that he has it! Come walk with us if you’ve nothing better to do, the more the merrier!”

Great. Of all people it had to be one of the creepier members of the guild who had possession of the book. Well, at the very least Mis would be there to deal with him so she might as well join the little party. ”Sure. I’ll come along. It’d be a good excuse to get to hang out with you all a bit more. Has anyone tried checking his home?”

Home? Why would Ladon head home of all places? That seemed like a stupid move to make. Was he really that stupid? That was the first place anyone would look. Couldn't hurt to check she supposed.

"U-uhm, no..." Ceri replied. "But we could look..."

---

“Achoo” Ladon quickly covered his nose with a hand as he spontaneously sneezed, completely unaware of being the subject of the group's constant attention - read that as hate - and obviously not about to learn of their nefarious planning to disrupt his peace. Naturally, he was already back to his home, having made his way there after managing to sneak his way out from the messy guild hall and was already back to expending his day exactly as he planned from the very beginning: Cooking his Brisket while reading the recently acquired Mystic Mysteries of Modern Macrocosm Magic.

The sheer tranquility of the situation left it pretty clear that he was more than entertained enough by his hobbies to forget the whole sequence of events that lead him into borrowing this specific book.

---

The chair scraped as Flavia stood and stretched, knees and joints popping autably from sitting still so long. Another person? “If it’s okay with Miss--er Illedrith I’m fine with it.” She mumbled into her shoes, quiet enough to be easily missed. Who was she to say no?

“Alright then, let’s head off. I guess his home is as good a place to start as any!”

Mis helped Flavia collect her papers together and then led the group to the foot of the staircase while they waited for Flavia to put everything away. With the whole group together, she ran the two new additions through the mission that she and Ceri had been given, and gave them the documents from the guildmaster to peruse. As they arrived at the street where Ladon’s house was, she turned to Annalyse and Flavia.

“So, are you interested in extending our adventure a little longer and doing something for the town? It may be quite dangerous, so I won’t think anything of it if you decide not to come with us.”

”I feel bad about saying this but it sounds fun. Are you sure you’d want me though? I’m not a good fighter.” Annalyse read over the information. It didn’t really sound THAT bad, and she needed experience. Hopefully, everyone would be fine with her joining.

Mis chuckled a little at Annalyse’s response, it was very much what she had expected from the young mage, and exactly the kind of attitude she hoped to help break over time. Only missions which had stakes would actually make these mages grow in confidence, and Mis was much happier to have that happen under her watchful eye then out in the middle of nowhere.

“Of course we want you! I’ll never say no to having another sword at my side, and this will be a good chance for you to work with us; after all, we’ve barely had the chance to fight together before!”

She then turned to Flavia who had yet to voice her thoughts.

“What about you Flav, are you in as well?”

Flavia gulped nervously. “I’m not sure if I’ll be any help. My magic still is so weak… I’ll probably just get in your way.” She slumped visibly at the last statement.

"U-uhm..." Flavia seemed depressed. That was bad. Ceri fidgeted for a few seconds. She could sympathize. She was only...somewhat confident. Obviously since she used curses, she was immediately superior to magic, but compared to strong mages like Mis she did leave much to be desired.

"Y-you not weak! I-I mean...not as weak as me..." Ceri looked up at the other mage from under her robes, walking over a bit. "Y-you'll do fine! At least erm, _{you are actually kind of tall and...}" Ceri's voice trailed off, gazing at the floor. "U-uhmw-well anyways I'll be going and, uhm, I'd f-feel more comfortable if you did also and uhm, but I mean ifyoudon'twanttoothat's fine too..." She hurriedly finished speaking, words running slightly together. She was trying her best to cheer Flavia up, but she didn't know if she was doing it right. Probably not. Damn it why was this so hard.

Aww. Even if her words weren’t perfect, Flavia understand what Ceri was trying to say. Her heart melted at seeing her friend’s pleading face. “Oh...alright.” She relented. “If Miss Adrasia is with us, I’m sure everything will be all right.” She looked to Mis with hope in her eyes.

“I’ll be with you every step of the way, never fear!”

She stepped forwards and pulled her newest teammates into a hug, gushing at them as she did so.

“I’m so glad you two have decided to come with us! We’ll make this Dark Guild regret messing with our town!”

Straightening back up, Mis turned around and looked at the house behind them with a dangerous look in her eyes.

“Speaking of villains, let’s go apprehend our favorite villain who is currently keeping a book from not one but two of you. I can smell something cooking from inside, so I’d say whoever suggested his house was right on the money...”

Heading up the steps to Ladon’s front door, Mis wasted no time before hammering on the front door while calling out loudly through the front window.

“I know you’re in there Ladon, I can smell your cooking! Get out here and give us that book before I kick down your front door!!”

Ladon couldn’t help but feel an instant headache as Illedrith’s particularly loud voice echoed through his house, directly triggering his previously fairly good mood into plummeting as he made his way towards the front door.

“What the fuck do you want, woman?” He said, his annoyance fully demonstrated in his voice as he checked the crowd that gathered in front of his house. It only took him a couple seconds to realize the answer of his own question, though, as Ceri’s hateful little presence quickly revealed the reason behind the commotion.

“Are you legit coming to my house to force me to give you the book I borrowed from the library?” He said, clearly not very amused by the situation. “I mean, I get that you’re a bossy little shit, but don’t you think that extorting a book out of me because your pet wants to read it is a bit too much?” He continued, the annoyance about being interrupted in the middle of his leisure temporarily suppressing the unwillingness to pick a fight with a mage as strong as himself.

Illedrith’s mood, too, changed rapidly for the worse as Ladon answered the door, her enthusiasm for helping her friend quickly giving way to a growing desire to see Ladon get his comeuppance.

“Yes, Ladon, I am ‘legit’ coming to your house to force you to give back the book. From what I hear you weren’t the first to lay claim to it, and I’m pretty sure if we check with the library staff, you won’t have formally checked it out either. On top of that, wouldn’t you rather we resolved the issue of you bullying Ceri without dealing with Kukan again? I’m sure he’d love to hear all about it…”

Mis took a step forward so the two of them were now very close and on the same level, meaning her height difference had her looking down at Ladon.

“So unless you want me to take it off you personally, or want to take the matter to the Guild Master’s office, I’d suggest giving it back…”

“Not the first one to lay a claim to it? For real?” The devil slayer mocked, quite obviously not very intimidated by the other mage's attitude. “First of all, what century do you think we're living in? No one has laid a claim on shit for the last few decades.” He growled, quite obviously ridiculing the other mage's speech.

“I was the first one to take this book out of the shelf, not anyone else. Didn't take it from your resident lil pushover or anything like that.” He continued, stopping for a second to throw a glare towards Ceri. “You can ask her if you're doubting it. Or even the librarian if you do feel like going all the way back there. Ain't losing my time accompanying you though. I have better ways to spend my day.”

Illedrith’s eyebrows furrowed heavily as Ladon laid into Ceri, her grip on her halberd growing tighter as she held herself back from starting anything, taking a step sideways to position herself between Ladon and Ceri.

“Don’t you dare look down on Ceri for this, Ladon. The fact you’re willing to try and weasel your way out of this by blaming her is utterly typical! Whether or not you think the rules apply to you or not, you still haven’t answered me. Are you going...to give the book back...or not?”

“I am the one who thinks the rules don't apply to me? Seriously?” The devil slayer laughed, the chilliness in his voice letting it pretty clear that the only intention of this chuckle was ridiculing Illedrith. “Do I have to remind you who is the one threatening to invade the other's house for a book who doesn't even belong to her? I'm not going to give you anything, oh defender of the weak. Go find another lost cause to fight for.” He finished by attempting to directly close the door, the sarcasm in his voice more than evident.

Ladon’s blunt statement had barely left his mouth before Illedrith reacted, her open hand snapping forward to grab Ladon’s shirt when he turned to shut the door, drawing herself extremely close as her other hand readied her halberd. Her final ultimatum was icy and cold, with none of her usual warmth present.

“Don’t push me Ladon, I’m not afraid of you.”

Ladon didn't even try to dodge or fight Illedrith's grip, letting the taller female approach him without any hint of struggle as he directly stared back at her, his blood red eyes seemingly gleaming as the purple mark representing his magic creeped up his neck, being now visible to the knight.

“Not a wise decision, “Mis”. You should be.”

”STOP FIGHTING!” Annalyse yelled out closing her eyes. She took a few deep breaths before opening them and looking at the others. Instantly her face began to redden. ”S-s-sorry for ye-yelling. B-But arguing back and forth will get us n-nowhere. No matter what anyone says we know that neither of you will relent on the idea of who grabbed the book first. But Ladon. It’s no secret that you do bully Ceri. And that is NOT okay.”

Annalyse paused for a moment to gauge everyone’s reactions and then continued because if someone else butted in she knew she wouldn’t be able to get her thoughts out there. ”Come on guys. Aren’t we all members of Dragon Heart? Like a big family and sure families fight, but it shouldn’t be like this. We merely came to see if you would be willing to hand the book over. _{Andtoaskyoutostopbeingabully. Please.} I came because I was hoping to read it a little but if you don’t want to then that’s fine. No need to break up a family over a book. Right, Ceri?”

"Eep!?" Was what Ceri immediately replied with. Eh? Someone was asking her input? What? Why was there no fighting? She expected fighting. That was good. Not fighting was good, but why did Anna have to call her out?! Ceri visibly shivered as she was spoken too, obviously not keen on wanting to get involved more than she had too.

"U-uhm, _{w-well I wanted to read it...}" She quietly replied, withdrawing more behind Flavia. Honestly, she'd really like to see Ladon get his face beaten in. That'd be hilarious.

Illedrith visibly deflated as Ceri spoke, sighing deeply as she finally broke eye contact with Ladon. She’d been fully ready to throw him when Anna had first interjected, and the tension between the two had stayed just as strong through the whole speech. Letting go of his shirt, she took a step backwards and lowered her guard. Anna was right, this book was simply not worth the effort of a fight, and she had been too zealous.

“Anna is right, Ladon, and I was out of line. My apologies for threatening you and your house, it was unreasonable of me; I hope you will forgive me. Please stop bullying Ceri though, you know she doesn’t appreciate it, and I really would hate to make a big thing of it to Kukan…”

“Whatever. Just don't ever come to my house again.” Ladon said as he walked back in, seemingly just as grumpy as before - though visibly less hostile, as the coldness in his voice wasn't present anymore.

Surprisingly, though, he didn't close the door and simply went back to his cooking without giving a fuck for his unwanted visitors and actually came back a couple seconds later while holding the book, directly throwing it towards Annalyse. “Here, take it. It's a boring book anyway.”

”EEEP!” Annalyse let out a short cry as the book flew towards her. Thankfully she reacted quick enough to catch it. ”Uhh, thank you. And I apologize for bothering you.” She turned to walk away but an idea popped into her mind. ”Hey, we’re about to go on a mission to fight a Dark Guild protecting a smuggling ring in town. You can come with us if you want. It may be a good way to get some anger and frustration out.”

Looking to Mis with a slightly pleading grin, ”And I’m certain Miss Illedrith won’t mention the bullying to Guild Master Teki if you helped.” Annalyse was really hoping this would work. If they all worked together as a team then maybe, just maybe the bullying and infighting would cease.

“Yeah, whatever.” Ladon waved his left hand dismissively as he started to close the door, quite obviously not really interested in what Annalyse was saying. Before he could fully close it, though, a part of the girl's speech managed to land on his ears, triggering him into pushing the half closed door back as he turned to yet again glare at Illedrith.

“Dark mages? Seriously?” He said, displeasure clear in his voice. “You're honestly planning to take a bunch of greens with you after a dark guild? Are you suicidal or just planning to murder your teammates?” He continued, the anger in his voice letting it pretty clear that he wasn't happy at all with the idea, dismissively labeling the other members of the Knight's group as newbies who couldn't pull their own weight. Surprisingly, though, behind the harsh words his stance seemed to demonstrate actual worry for the weaker members of the group - though that could be easily missed simply because no one would expect that coming from the ever-so-hostile Ladon.

“Hah! Ladon? Helping the Guild? That’s a riot. I certainly wouldn’t mention the bullying to Kukan if he helped us voluntarily, but I don’t think he has it in him.”

Illedrith’s words were still very harsh as she walked back down the steps of Ladon’s house and onto the street.

“And I’ll thank you not to cast any aspersions on my teammates. Someone has to deal with this smuggling ring, and I don’t hear you volunteering. Does that say more about these guild members, or yourself? I’d tell you to think on that, but I’m well aware you won’t.”

Sending one last withering glare at Ladon, Mis turned back to the rest of the team and waved them back down the street.

“Alright, that’s quite enough of that unpleasantness, let’s leave our good friend Ladon to his cooking. I think the townhouse is between us and the other location, so it would seem to make sense to start there. Shall we be off?”

---

---

Argus didn't dare tear his eyes from Jean as Vali suddenly burst into action, ignoring the sounds of explosions as he waited for any shot of an opening to try and strike this bastard. Luckily, the marksman opened one up as the swordsman swiftly dodged a bullet. The moment Argus noticed this move, he launched a knife straight at the pretty boy's face while he was mid-sentence, not expecting it to hit but hoping it drew the man's attention enough to keep him focused on Argus. As the knife flew, so to did two smoke bombs from those the red-haired mage had summoned, these ones aimed at Jean's feet in order to create a thick cloud of cloying smoke around him, cutting off his vision as Argus summoned 3 more daggers and prepped to throw, a small grunt escaping him as he heard Sara tell her spirit to prepare.

"The only thing that's 'insane', Sunshine, is that you're still fucking standing there!" Argus said as he prepped to throw only to be cut off as he suddenly felt something touch his ankle, followed soon by a burst of power flowing through his body as a green aura surrounded him. He glanced towards Damian and offered a brief nod before turning his attention back to the cloud of smoke, his De-obfuscator goggles appearing on his head as let the brace of knives fly towards it. Only one of the daggers was actually heading towards the swordsman, however, the other two appearing to go wide at first, only to turn around in the smoke cloud and attempt to get the fucker from behind, aiming for his back.

Meanwhile, Argus summoned forth another dagger, as well as two pepper bombs, planning a rather nasty surprise for his opponent if he ever decided to close the gap. He also decided to lecture Sara a bit, because she obviously lacked the wherewithal to understand the amount of danger she was in. "Sunshine, if you want my advice, you and whatever the hell you summoned should take a second to back away from Warlock Weekly before you both end up like that idiotic cow. Not knocking your skills, but last I checked, summoner types like yourself do better when you're not right in the thick of things!!"

@Hitman@pkken@Quincy@Esran

---

Pox had taken to the streets, encouraging others to get into their homes, as if the explosion wouldn't do that all by itself. Initially Pox had figured that the Dragon Heart Guild saw the 'bandits' and opened things up with a bang. Pox knew that it was a stupid idea to have them fight, at the village. An ambush in surrounding marshlands or among the open field could play to their strengths, particularly if they had prepared the field before hand, but after Pox sent out the message, they must have moved in to start to harass the weakened town and take other shipments as they arrived. Maybe something else was going on. It was hard to tell these days.

Pox had moved the crowd aside and heard the inevitable sounds of battle and magic. Gun magic, bombs. It was like a warzone. The guilds must be going all out with eachother. As Pox turned the corner, he was horrified as his keen mind picked up on what was going and what happened. The smoldering crater that was a wagon was surrounded with the groaning injured bodies of robed men, Spider Legs uniforms, worn to intimidate and hide their identities. The explosion wiped away near an entire crop of plants. Such devastation for something that was mostly hidden.

Did Dragon Heart do this? He mentioned the wagons containing the medicine and yet, it was a secured location. Some of the bodies seemed to be strewn with bits of food, mugs. These men weren't in battle. Was it a preemptive strike, using the wagon as a central location for an attack to remove the majority of the opposition?

The other option filled Pox with a feeling of rage and disgust. It was a tactic he's seen before. Using prospects and foot soldiers as your holding force for an enemy, and then have them swept up in the collateral damage. It was a foolish and needlessly cruel tactic. But thats why they are called dark guilds...

Still Pox couldn't let this stand. He went from the safety of a corner of a building and made the dash to the remains of the wheat field, ducking low and keeping his head down. The bulk of the battle, explosions, rocks, hammers, swords clashing against eachother ringed less than fifty meters away. He attempted to get to the body of a fallen Spider closest to him. His dark leather robed uniform and odd mask would no doubt peg him as one of the Dark Guilds members at a distance. His mask would be recognizable as Apothecary, but they weren't in that country.

Regardless, he accepted the risk. "Flash Heal." He used a weaker one of his spells, his hand sparking with bits of light and a bright glow shining from underneath the poor Spider.

"Wh-wha happened?" The magic was enough to alleviate some of the pain and heal over some of the scratches, letting the man regain some of his faculties.

Pox gave him no time to recover as he got his hands under the mans arms to drag him out of harms way. "You'll be alright, just keep your head down and stay quiet." This would be the doctor's routine until the injured was out of danger. He had to focus on the battle while tending the casualties, less a stray spell make things... difficult.

---

Interacting With:: ???
Location:: Abandoned Townhouse, Albero

---

Striding down a side avenue with a swagger in his, a rather rugged behemoth of a man who looked to be in his early 40's twirled a cigarette in his mouth, while a hilted sword bounced in place with each step he took. While ashes did appear on the tip of it, there was a distinct lack of smoke in the air as the man took a fresh breath of air. Even with his serious appearance, there was an underlying amount of cruel whimsy faintly dancing in his coal-like, dark brown eyes.

Today was going to be a wonderful day was not exactly something he could convey with a solemn, wolf-like stare as he "appraised" certain passersby. Most seemed to give the imposing man massive leeway, as the few who took this route awkwardly swerved to the sides and out of sight, intimidated by the overwhelming aura and dominance he was exuding from him.

Not surprising; even he knew the radiating power that he was aglow with, driving off these impudent, minute primitives. Such as their place in society! Although... one dared to even bask in the glory that was... Maestro Lyric! Even though they passed on by, the great and mighty Lyric was able to give them such a hardhearted, analytical stare that caused the unfortunate imbecile to sheepishly scuttle away!

Pahaha! Guess there was some silver-lining to watching some schmuck flee upon eye contact, for like, what, a second or so? Even though he was on business, it was the small things, such as scaring the piss out of a passerby that helped make this grueling walk even better...

... of course, having a little bit of muscle never hurt either with the intimidation factor, as the great Maestro Lyric was flanked by an individual that was nearly about his size, yet, somewhat shorter in stature. They appeared heavily armed, with the armor and helm concealing the persons identity, gender, and so on; their gear appeared ornate in nature, the midday's sun shining on it... yet something seemed to be off. Other than the noticeable fur lining the neck-guard, the sun didn't exactly refract off the armor, as it also had small, nearly imperceivable bristles...

But enough about his broken slave and their pieces of armor! It was time to come back to the highly adored (by those he trained) Maestro of the hour! Whilst the his "companion" trailed behind him, always keeping their eyesight forward, the Grand Maestro always kept his eyes peeled, always rolling his head behind him every couple of seconds just to keep an eye on his back; never know whats going on behind the stage of a scene, especially any sort of... pyrotechnics.

While he was (close to) perfect, he couldn't manage everything on this theater of a world, after all. He had his part to play, and so did many, many others.

Regardless, it wasn't much longer before the duo reached their destination - a rather plain abode, a townhouse. It was three stories high, and whilst overshadowed some other buildings surrounding it, the sun still managed to beat down on the nearly bleached, burgundy roof. The outside display from the front didn't look any better, as it had a singular, faded color.

While the superficial aspects of the house seemed to make it look abandoned, the almighty Maestro knew better than to be dissuaded by such an insipid display as he traipsed steadily towards the front door, his guard always staying close, until the Maestro barked an order for them to stand guard a couple of feet away from him.

Taking a few steps closer to the door, he rapped it in a cadence that could be comparable to a person with arrhythmia. Afterwards, he paused, waiting for a few seconds. It was considerably rude to keep a man such as he on hold! The Maestro Lyric was on quite the schedule here!

Despite the pretenses of "standing guard" Lyric always leered back, strangely eyeing a specific alleyway across the street. It wasn't until the front door shifted slightly that his piercing gaze was brought back to attend the opener of doors!

"... who are ya, and whaddya want?"

"Moi? I am the one, the only, Maestro Lyric," god, he was not going to get tired of saying that. It was finely tuned, a somber yet lovingly crafted orchestra of a name that rolled off his tongue. Maestro Lyric, Maestro Lyric, Maestro Ly-Ly-Ly-Lyric! Pfft, ha, ha!

"I'm on business here, mon ami... I was hoping to... purvey some property in Albero for some friends of mi-"

"I ain't interested in renting this place out t'ya." Just before the semi-hostile person could completely close the door, Maestro Lyric, in a grand display of powerful, unrivaled force, latched one hand on to it, slightly prying it open to where it was previously and leaving it there.

"A cesura? And so early into the verse!... Non, non, non, you must let me have this place! I'll pay anything for it!... though it could use some sprucing up."

Hah, he knew those words would get the landlord to pause to reconsider what they were turning down! His offer was just as tempting as he was when making certain suggestions to those he... trained.

"Liiiiike," an immediate response? Hah, glad to see that they didn't keep him waiting! With a smug, almost snake like grin, he let his grip on the door slip, and snapped a finger gun at the man in question.

"Some of my own precious gems! Topaz, Rubies, Amethysts, Diamonds, hell, maybe even throw in some Emeralds while we are at it," and of course, even with such charms, his expression was still displayed with some hints of intimidation as an arm ejected from the door, pointing to the wayside path leading to the gardens out back.

"... they'll handle the rest out in the back; good day... Maestro Lyric..." And with that, the door instantly slammed shut. That attempt at an... "affable" visage suddenly deteriorated into a much more sinister gaze, that smile becoming more twisted, more foul as he pivoted around and raised an arm towards the alleyway he eyed a few moments ago.

Gesturing with two fingers, a new figure emerged from the shadows, almost like a looming stalker, with a similar appearance to his own silent guard... with the main difference being that it was carrying bristled chains as well. Following that, there were large cuffs constraining the individuals that trailed closely behind.

They seemed to be in tatters of clothes, with one having a bag over their face, whilst another was blinded and gagged... and the final one, well, he was only gagged and could see where he was, though the latter did toil against the threads of fate. He was a tall lad with ebony hair and piercing red eyes, looking to be no more than in his early 20's. The mans clothes that could be worn proudly due to the wonderful craftsmanship were left in the same, sorry state as the other fools ragged, tattered mess they could once call clothes.

And with that, all the pieces moved forward, inching towards the back of the house, before disappearing into the back of the townhouses garden.

And so, the deal was struck.

... and with that "deal," he could say Act 1 was coming along quite swimmingly... and now, all he had to do was wait... wait for the other actors to play their role in the theater deemed life...

---

---

Way to blow my ability to provide cover, Argus.

Vali hissed softly as a sudden smoke bomb blocked his line of sight towards his allies. While he understood the necessity, he still felt uneasy that his ability to watch over his teammates was hampered by Argus' strategy. To be fair, the lad boasted a tactical mind, but his naivety and inexperience poked its head visibly over the horizon. The sniper bit his lip in frustration, knowing full well that to shoot blindly into the smoke screen might injure his own allies. So, he quickly weighed his options: four of them were currently close to Jean, and if anything, Vali was confident that his comrades could take him. Thus, the marksman set his sights once more on the woman and the clown, his brows furrowing in thought as to his next few actions.

Having crept around the field, Vali now found himself good meters away from the clash, having a clear view of the duo who repelled his initial fire attack.

But, Valishin grinned at the thought that he got a few bits of information from his first attack. As a tactician, the sniper made sure to always think three steps ahead. First, he already knew what the woman was capable of: earthen magic. In this case, his group already had an idea of what the female could do while Argus' smoke bomb, more or less, covered Dragon Heart's abilities from Jean's allies. They already had a huge advantage from that. Secondly, the marksman also gathered how their enemies would react defensively to attacks. In this case, the woman tended to take advantage of her magic's strong defensive capabilities by summoning a wall or a shield of earth. The fluid and almost split-second decision she made as the poison fog caught fire solidified the fact that she was good at both offense and defense. Thus, Vali assessed that the earth mage would always use her earthen shield re-actively to attacks. And, lastly, he evaluated that these people were overconfident of their own abilities as evidenced when they continued trudging towards Jean instead of looking for their would-be assassin.

The enemy's pieces were continuing a careless approach, and Vali didn't find it in him to be kind and overlook their mistake at underestimating him.

His barrel peeked out from the cloak once more, firing jaded rounds which burst in poison fogs around the two before they could complete their dreaded march towards Jean.

"I can't have them memorizing the colors of my bullets." Valishin reasoned with himself as his rifle glowed blue. "I predict that the woman will instinctively cover the two of them with that same shield of earth, out of fear that I might use my explosive rounds again. But,"

Cerulean projectiles soared towards the two, landing indiscriminately around the area of the fog as Valishin tried to cover as much as area as possible with his shots. Upon impact, the blue bullets slammed like a sledgehammer, echoing off clacking and thunking sounds which allowed the sniper to determine whether or not they were successful.

"Now," A smile curved the marksman's lips as his rifle now emanated a soft purple light. "Let's see you shield your way out of this."

Immediately, five piercing purple bullets soared through the air-- powerful shots that could go through even steel. He hypothesized that the since the duo had not yet seen this shot or color, they would have no idea what the shot could do until it began piercing through her shields, and hopefully, land a solid hit through a limb or two. As the last shot vanished inside the emerald haze of poison, the marksman slid back into the cloak, feeling the fatigue creeping up on him as he slowly moved through the fields again-- this time, settling nearer to the destroyed carriages. The best he could do was to keep the woman and the clown busy, to keep isolating Jean from his allies until Damian and the others could wipe the floor with him.

However, a disturbing sight greeted Vali as he noticed another figure patching up the injured bandits by the obliterated carriages. He raised his rifle, peering at the jet-black figure with a bird-shaped mask. He certainly looked like one of the bandits, and Vali began to panic that this medic might heal up their enemies. His finger itched upon the trigger, crosshairs hovering over the medic's head as the barrel peeked out from the cloak. He knew that the bandit would begin to feel as though a rifle was pointed at him, and the marksman accepted that he had only this few precious seconds to take the shot.

But, he couldn't find it in himself to kill a medic.

There was no honor in it, even if the medic was an enemy.

"Besides," Vali thought to himself. "If I'm not mistaken, if we do heal these injured bandits, they may turn against their masters for attempting to kill them." The sniper remarked, figuring that the food products strewn about in an ashen heap around the carriages meant that the bandits were not prepared to fight at all. They were slaughtered mercilessly, and the sniper decided to make use of that. They may even be able to question some of these brigands later.

In a second, two yellow bullets soared through the wheat stocks as they fizzled against two bandits whose wounds began to close up as their body began to flood with cells. He would help this medic for now, if only gambling that these bandits would realize that they were just being used as tools and fodder for the real villains. It was a risk worth taking.

Vali took one last gaze at the medic, deciding once more if he should shoot or not. However, his honor triumphed, prompting Vali to gaze back at the emerald fog and continue monitoring the woman and the clown.

He could only hope that Damian and the others have already dealt with Jean already. He couldn't keep stall

---

---

Victoria held her tongue as the woman invited them inside and explained where to go. She found it interesting that a Dark guild would get away with such a feat as bribing city guards to look the other way to their activity. It is one thing just to not make a noise loud enough to being the executioner's axe down on your neck. It was another to get the Executioner to turn off his alarm clock and intentionally oversleep. Victoria was lost along this train of thought when the rest of the team left the room. Not wanting to stand out quite yet, Victoria followed after the group.

Victoria nodded as Glory explained that she wanted to arrive at the factory quickly and quietly, but was then startled when the large woman took off running. Yes, time was important but the illusion of stealth could be more easily maintained if they walked. Plus, as an added bonus, they would not arrive at the factory winded. Victoria sighed then took a deep breath. No point in staying out of the fire if you want to get warm. Victoria took off running after Glory. With a red flash, Victoria's more casual travel armor morphed into a more knightly suit of silvery steel armor. It was just an illusion but she could harden it when she needed to. While the illusion armor was still illusion, it made no sound as she ran.

As Victoria ran after Glory, she called out to the Group, "Oy! I am all for a frontal assault, but we really should have a group flank around the back of the factory to cut off anyone trying to make an escape. Or at least, to draw some fire away from one direction. Volunteers?"

@Reflection@Hitman

---

Vega stopped in his tracks and looked back at Muko incredulously. Seriously? That's the best he can think of? Give the two of them a glance, and you can tell they're not tourists, hell they're both big names as far as some guilds were concerned. He just wanted to get this job over and done with,

"The hell makes you think they'll buy that? Look at yourself, look at both of us", he pointed out. Given Vega himself looked fairly normal without his cloak, which was formed from his magic, same with his scythe, but Muko with the armor... No one was going to buy 'tourist' from seeing that, more like... Mercenary, or you know, mage, like most people would. Why would it be strange if a mage hunter came asking questions anyhow? Isn't that their problem right? He gave it a bit more thought...

"Well how about this wise guy, you go on in ahead of me, you play good cop, I play bad cop, works out right? That's what we basically are anyway, between us two, huh? We're here to hunt some troublesome mage bothering this guild anyways, what difference does it make if they know we're here hunting a mage or not, if anything they'll probably spill it gladly if it means their problem will go away", to Vega this seemed a good idea, at least he didn't have to act halfway nice to get some words, and just let Muko do the talking, and step in if things get a bit fuzzy. Still... That should not be a problem, if the job is everything the old man had described it as, or if this guild hasn't done anything or have some troublesome people in it. Though as that thought passes through his head it's not as if he can say much if there is someone like that, but one man's problem is another man's opportunity so it goes.

---

Mis sighed as she and the group headed away from Ladon's house. It had been a thoroughly unpleasant experience, and a lesson well learned about interactions with the Poisons master. Still, the thought of a good fight, and getting to work with three cute members of her guild lifted her spirits somewhat as the group made their way down the main promenade.

The two locations that the Guildmaster had given her were both in the same direction, so it made sense to check the nearer one first. From what she could gather, the townhouse was backing onto the buildings the made up the promenade, but in a more quiet part of the town; close to the action, but out of sight. Turning to chat with her team, Mis did her best to lighten the mood a little.

"So my dears, let's not let Ladon ruin our day, and instead start thinking about the job ahead. Either of you newcomers have any quirks or information about your fighting style that might help us work as a group? I assume you've all seen the majority of my arsenal, so I trust I don't need to sing my own praises on that account!"

Hopefully it would get the girls thinking about actually working as a team, which would make her job a lot easier. She had faith in Ceri since they'd worked together before, but other than a vague idea of their skills and general aptitude from training together on occasion, she didn't really have an in-depth knowledge of her team's skills.

A little while after that, the group turned a corner and first got a view of the location, which seemed incredibly unassuming - its only interesting feature being that it almost seemed actively unassuming, there was nothing remotely interesting or unique about the place at all. Mis stopped walking and observed the place for a while before making an observation.

"Well, if that is a smuggler's den, it sure seems like they like natural light. I count eleven windows on these two faces of the house alone! What do you guys think of it?"

---

For the most part, Ceri kept quiet as she usually did, content to follow along behind Mis as she posed the question of the other peoples abilities. That was indeed something to think about. She wasn't too sure about the others herself, either. She had worked with Mis a lot before, so she was confident she could work with her well enough, but as much as she liked Flavia and Anna she wasn't sure how well she could work with them.

"...uhm, uhm." Ceri stuttered quietly. This was actually a pretty good job suited to her, wasn't it? "I could...sneak in and take a look...?" Aside from her generally quiet and unassuming nature, her robe helped protect her from magical detection as well. It certainly wasn't perfect, but she was confident in herself enough to not get seen...and her running abilities should she be seen.

_{@Lord Sawsaw2, @Rune_Alchemist, @alexfangtalon}

Flavia ruminated on the Ladon incident, feeling like they had missed an important opportunity. Perhaps if Miss Adrasia had been a little less...aggressive in her approach? Having the Poison Slayer on their side would be a great asset to their team.

Then again, considering his volatile temper...

No use focusing on the past. Keep moving forward. Miss Adrasia had just asked a question. "Well...we train together often so you probably know more about what I can and can't do more then I, myself, know. But you two..." She turned her head toward Ceri and Anna. "I know a bit about your magic, Ceri. I've seen you disappear in a puff of smoke more then once." She smiled at the small girl. "But, uh, Anna was it? I know nothing about your abilities, sorry." She muttered, for some reason apologetically, all the while avoiding looking directly at the blue-haired girl.

Engrossed in conversation, Flavia didn't realize they had arrived until Illedrith pointed it out. Then, Ceri suggested to scout. "I think that's a good idea." The young girl added in encouragement.

---

"I could...sneak in and take a look...?"

Illedrith smiled, this was exactly the kind of proactive approach she was looking for! Of course, Ceri was well suited to the task, and in fact reasonably skilled at the process, having done reconnaissance for Mis on more than one of their previous jobs where necessary.

"I think that's a good idea."

"I agree. As normal, take these. [Mirrors of the World]!"

Mis nodded with agreement with Flavia and held her hands out towards Ceri, a small handheld mirror shimmering into existence on each hand, and each showing the field of view of the other.

"Remember, no sound through these, only light and any objects you can push through them. If you need help, let us know."

---

---

Inside the townhouse, a quartet of identically dressed and well-built men met their newest guest and his...wares...on the first floor. One of them split off to lead the procession of hooded figures down into the basement, while the others bowed their heads as their leader spoke.

"Mr Lyric, do forgive my colleague earlier, you can surely understand that we can't do business out on the street. Please, follow us up to the meeting room on the floor above and we can get acquainted."

The man gestured at the staircase, clearly indicating that he would show him up if he was interested.

"I take it this won't be the last time we'll be doing business with your esteemed self."

---

Thanks to his leviathan form, Dreadlin was able to swim across the muddy wetlands while transporting his teammates to their destination completely dry. He always felt a grain of satisfaction whenever he became the guild's local mode of transformation and not simply a one-trick pony for battle usages. Once they arrived, the beast transformed back into his lizardman form as they approached the house.

Once inside the cozy little house - where Dreadlin simply admired the comfy sofas - they were debriefed at the situation at hand. And once it's complete, the lizardman was ready to get started on the quest. Glory had instructed that they should be quiet and quick about as they ran towards the factory where the guild was held up. Victoria however quickly called out for volunteers to flank the building to keep the guild members from escaping the compound.

"Oi, I'll-a go 'round back!" the lizardman volunteered assuringly as he diverged from the group and sneakily went to the back of the factory and wait for the others to engage in combat.

---

"...Okay...!" Ceri did her best to give an enthusiastic reply to her teammates, but it was obvious she was still hesitating as a pale hand took the mirror from Mis. Visual and small items only, right. Well, she wouldn't need any help. Wasn't her first time sneaking into some place. Wouldn't be the last, either.

"I'll...be back soon...!" Turning towards the building, Ceri walked up to it, quickly taking in the outside of it. Three stories. Several windows, all looked locked. All would be difficult to get into without at least some noise. She could go in through the front door, but that was probably the bad choice. Guards probably were in the place, if it was indeed run by a dark guild or dark mages running some smuggling operation. That left the roof.

Inhaling, Ceri jumped. A small movement followed, a trail of smoke curling from the bottom of her foot from the ground where she had previously been standing as she launched herself into the air. She landed silently on the roof, quickly checking her surroundings and fighting an easy target - A skylight. Bah, pathetic. If they had a base for something, they shouldn't make entries so easily found. Get rid of windows, even. Served very little purposes, and were structural weaknesses.

Ahem.

Ceri moved over to the Skylight in a flash, quickly and silently pulling it open. Not big enough for a human to normally fit in, but she wasn't exactly barred by normal body limitations. Her body dissolved into a heavy, smoky substance and slipped easily through the opening in the skylight.

She hit the floor below silently, not making a single sound as she landed in a corridor. A quick look around - no one was present. All was silent, even, except the sounds of a conversation coming from the floor below. None of the five doors were open. All closed, and a cursory examination proved there didn't seem to be any sounds coming from them. No time to thoroughly clear them out. Too much time and too risky. That left the second floor.

Heading for the stairs, Ceri descended, keeping her ears out for any sort of movement ahead of her. If it sounded like someone was heading up the stairs or near her, it'd be easy enough to avoid them.