The twenty-two doors wreathing the outer wall of the auditorium simultaneously closed of their own accord precisely as the clock struck the designated time, the sudden gloom betrothed upon the chamber quickly distilled by the ignition of candles circling the parameter. If, for whatever reason, a selected pupil was too inept to arrive before the elected commencement, they would find the doors sealed, with no means of entry possible.

Four dozen rows formed a tapered ring around the center stage, offering those who occupied the massive room an excellent vantage point to witness the teachings and lectures that often took place thereupon. Seats were plush and covered with burgundy velvet, the rows spaced with enough room to accommodate even those students who had numerous appendages. Apart from for the dim linger of the surrounding candlelight the room was bathed in shadow throughout its bowl shaped construction, though the central dais was illuminated by a lavender luminosity that descended from an untraceable spot up high.

It was ominously fascinating.

A low tumble of whispers and murmurs wafted along the assembled body, the natural unease born of the grave chamber opposed by nervous chatter. Such pointless prattle ended as the robed figure ascended the steps of the stage and took his place upon it, and though his features may have been hidden by the shroud of wizardly vestments that enveloped his body and concealed his face, there was no denying the power that exuded from the Mastema of the Institute, Arkon Daraul.

Once silence had strangled out the volume of the anxious crowd, the Dark Mage lifted his hands waist high and expelled a dose of magic, beginning a staid drift upward. He levitated easily, offering no other movement save for the mindless drift of his robes as he floated through the air, and hung suspended without aid more than thirty feet off the ground, his fixture as the centerpiece of the assembly suddenly timeless and undeniable.

"Students." He began, his antiquated tone magically amplified to ensure that his even volume was heard by all in attendance. "You have been chosen to participate in this semesters opening Excavation Challenge. Through the course of the year there shall be several competitions that you are encouraged to participate in, this being the preliminary one. I wish you luck and success.

"The pamphlets you received at the door breakdown the rules and regulations involved in this particular challenge, ranging from base equipment to more advanced items if they are available. I highly recommend you study this literature as you may find a number of its suggestions immensely helpful. If you have any questions, I would urge you to seek out your unit overseer and request assistance. As with all magic, knowledge and understanding are the keys to power and success.

"Students have been divided into units, or squadrons, and these units have been broken into teams. As you can see, there are more than a dozen different units that encompass the challenge, so make sure that you are aware of which team you are a part of. There is also a breakdown of both units and teams near the back of the pamphlet. I advise you to remember that while you are separated into teams, it is the unit's success that will determine your triumph. For example, the members of the Viper Fang unit may wish to pit themselves against one another naturally, but that needs to subside for this challenge, as the team members of Shatter Stone, Storm Sabre, and Gorgon Horn will only benefit from their infighting."

Arkon paused and let the droll permeate lightly through the crowd, feeling the excitement starting to simmer within all of those gathered. He permitted their energized murmurs momentarily before raising his hand and silencing them once more.

"As I call each unit's name, Overseers shall proceed to the dais so that they may acquire their observation Orb. These orbs are to be embedded near or around one of the populated structures you find along the way. They will activate automatically. All that is required of you is to bury them."

Names were called, and one by one those who were the Overseers of their respective units descended to acquire their Observation Orbs; each team making up the unit awarded one.

Storm Sabres' Overseer, Fleur Rousseau, was one of them.

First through the gate is Damien or the *Prince* as Mystriana so kindly dubbed him. He was prepared to deal with the beings on the other side, but he had to wonder at the preparedness of the rest of the team, Especially Mercedes and Ivinia.

Stepping into Mungoth sent an infusion of infernal energies through, causing the demon to come to the fore. It was a form he did not like revealing. His finger elongated into claws and crimson wings erupted from his back. The human seeming dropped as his eyes became reptilian in nature and glowed an almost brilliant shade of Tourquoise.

Could see where he was the offspring of the Head Mistress...

He came to a halt as those serpents erupted from the ground and spoke something that was not discernible. The words seemed guttural and harsh coming from his lips. He put a hand out to stop the others from rushing head-long into the maws of the serpents.

This was minotaur-shit. She had no interest in playing Quest Keeper for the Institute. She'd managed to make it through the majority of her classes so far through a careful manipulation of students and some faculty alike. There was always someone willing to do something for her and it rarely took the payment that others always suspected.

Here though. Here it looked like she really could find herself having to rely on her own abilities. It didn't help that Damien Tanner, the sinfully gorgeous son of the Headmistress, seemed rather focused on the task. And Uziya was so busy worrying about Tiatari that she was fairly certain that he wouldn't even notice if she fell into a pit of ice and froze to death.

Cursing her luck, she turned her attention to Quinnon, always so blithely unaware of her surroundings and Mercedes, the studious young woman didn't appear to be able to recognize a person unless they were a textbook she could study.

Minotaur-shit. No, this was moving up the chain into Troll-shit.

Pissed, she stepped through the portal ready to gripe about their surroundings only to be immediately confronted by a drastically changed Damian and the pretty luminosity of the terrain. "Oh.." She murmured only to have the sound startled into a full-throated scream at the explosion of the ground to reveal their welcoming party.

"Somebody do something!"

As far as battle cries go it might need a little work.




(Edited to fix the censor erasing the oh-so-important rating of the level of shit we're talking about here)

QUINNON slid seamlessly through the portal with the same distracted air she used to navigate the hallways of the school. Immediately she took note of the terrain, leaving the others to deal with the serpents and their pressing concern.

"Acid snow." She murmured. Turning in a slow circle along the icy remnants of the terrain. "We will need shelter of some kind immediately."

If turning her back upon the serpents bothered her it didn't show as she drew her aquatic hued gaze downward and hummed a soft sound, "If we are to survive we need to head toward the core. There should be a chasm of protection in that direction and the Giantess that is said to rule these parts is not unwilling to offer protection to travelers."

As she looked back up, she noted that the serpents seemed less inclined to tangle with whatever illusion Uziya was casting and they weaved in hesitation.

She looked to Damien for direction.

...You are only as good as your Threat.

His mother's words seemed to ring true in this case. The young prince of Phoenica looked out at the path ahead and nodded. He looked over his unit and made his decisions.

"Ivinia, I'm placing you in charge of the Observation orb." It was an important task to be sure.

He looked to Mercedes, Uziya and Quinnon. He nodded in agreement to Quinnon's words. "We're going to be her protection on this mission. The denizens of the infernal realms tend to be cowards. They will withdraw until they sense they have an advantage."

He pointed to the fortress, "We might as well head on in. Bold as brass and sure of yourselves. Illusions to add to the sense we are stronger. The denizens will pounce on the slightest weakness they sense." Meaningful look to Ivinia, "Do not show them you are afraid."

She narrowed violet eyes on their leader. Irritation a blossom of pink on her cheeks. The orb was taken and safely tucked away...between the soft warm globes of her breasts.

At least he had a plan. She looked at Mercedes and waved an irritated hand toward Damien, "What did he just say?"

A toss of her champagne hair before she clarified, "The plan is simple. Keep me alive."

And with that she moved up between Damien and the others.

QUINNON

With Uziya's illusion hung about her she moved toward the Fortress with the rest of the others.

There was no need for a huge showdown. In fact, she was betting if they played to their strengths they might even be able to slip through this realm and accomplish their tasks without ever having to rely upon offensive magic.

Well, maybe to cut off the creature's arms, she giggled at the thought. Eyelids closing vertically as she twittered. They'd need a good blade of some kind, but then again, a glance toward Damien revealing his claws, maybe not.

Within the shadow of the fortress she paused, hooking Ivinia over to her side to kneel in the darkness, unmindful of the cold that permeated her knees as the icy wetness soaked through her leggings. "This looks close enough?"

A glance to Damien to confirm her assessment even as she drew her hands in delicate circles before her, increasing their speed in fluttering, twirling waves meant to induce her magic. There between her palms grew a small ball of blue that only increased with each pass of her fingers, larger it grew, first the size of a coin, then a ball, and finally a sphere the diameter of her head floated before her and within its depths cascaded a vicious maelstrom of water, lashing violently against the edges of the sphere.

She was ready to release it against the snow packed ground, knowing that it would burrow deep and blast a hole in which to sink the orb.

Of all the Yugoloth's to have to face, the Nycaloth was the one least likely to parlay.

The young prince of Pheonica manifested his daggers and moved into position to face the behemoth. He frowned and called out to the others.

"Protect Ivinia! All of you, make sure she is protected!" There was no mistaking that order.

He took a dive to avoid the lightning, and extended a hand to throw back an old fashioned fireball to the behemoth.

Mercedes nod, a tightening her grip with her sword. And one hand pointed at the ground, she begin a spell. Slowly but surely the dirt was beginning to fall in form of a circle. Something came close to her and Ivina. She slashed at it, she kept the spell through trying to keep the beast off of Ivina. She staggers at the weight of the spell, like she was drunk from it.