(Another collab brought to you by Dusk, Forsythe, and myself)
It all seemed a bit too easy. She expected some struggling and the more senior members hogging the good jobs. But alas her comrade candidate picked the two jobs she has been looking at herself. She wasn't certain what kind of magic he possessed, but he wouldn't pick them if he didn't think he could contribute or do them himself, right?
It didn't take a genius to see which job would be easier - Protecting a caravan sounded like actual work that would last for several days. Maho wasn't thrilled by that idea. Humming as if she was thinking about her choice, she pointed to the poster wanting Jack the Ripper. She was about to speak, but another stranger approached, asking to get in on the action. "Hello to you. Well, I can be a bait." Maho said, and vanished. She reappeared behind the two of them without any sound of footsteps. "I can escape if push comes to shove, but I'd need backup actually catching him. Either of you can help?" she asked, not really minding if they all went. If her plan to be a bait caught their eye, she wouldn’t mind having a small army behind her back, and split three ways, the money was still good.
Astaroth was visibly unfazed by Maho’s antics, replying only with a curt nod. He returned the caravan mission to the board, and then turned to the two girls that seemed to join him. “So it’s us three, then?” he asked evenly, double-checking if they were with him or not. He had seen Elize in the guild before. She was a B-class mage if Astaroth remembered correctly, so he shouldn’t have to do too much protecting. Maho he’d never seen before, so the blue robed mage didn’t know how she’d fare in a fight. She had also volunteered to be bait for this mission, so Astaroth had to watch out for the inevitable ambush this Jack the Ripper would attempt.
Elize chuckled at Maho’s little disappearing act, but something at the bottom of her stomach warned her that it was a dangerous position to be bait for this guy. She didn’t really doubt their ability to handle the situation, but the risks were there, and a good wizard had to keep those in mind. Then again, even if they were faced with nigh impossible odds, Elize would most likely still go. She turned to Astaroth, “It looks like it. That jerk’ll be off the streets in no time!” She affirmed, giving an excited fist-pump to show her enthusiasm. It came to mind that she didn’t actually know what Astaroth could do, but hey, he looked like he could hold his own.
Maho smiled for real this time, her mood up. The other woman’s cheerful attitude was rubbing off on her. Picking the job was hardly time to celebrate though. It still needed to be done. “Umm, my apologies, but I am still new here. Would you mind if I ask what is it you do?” she asked shyly, and switched to her mental voice, ”I already shown you my cards, I am skilled in concealment magic and a telepath. And the name is Maho.”* her voice said in Astaroth’s and Elize’s heads.
“Telepathy and invisibility, huh?” Astaroth parroted Maho’s explanation back to her, “Neat. Sound’s useful, Maho.” He already knew what Elize did, so he needed no explanation from her. Astaroth turned his attention to the other guildmembers in the hall with an eyebrow raised. It was an all-out brawl for the sake of brawling, it seems. “I’ll…” he eyed the crowd, feeling obligated to break up the fighting, “meet you outside.” With guildmaster Jaime now fully involved, things could get… rowdy.
Without another word, Astaroth starting to make his way out of the guild hall. As he left, he whistled a jaunty tune louder than your average whistle. In fact, he didn’t even really need a trigger; all the mages were plenty distracted already. With that in mind, he simply reached out with his magic to seize the minds of all the guildmages, sans his team and Jaime. Anyone ensnared by the blue robed mage’s Perception Magic would suddenly find themselves completely exhausted and sore from all the fighting, and with their reserves of magic power all but depleted.