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.

The heat nearly did him in.

From the moment he stepped through the portal it was oppressive and unbearable, stealing the air around him and almost dropping him to his knees. His throat tightened instantly, the glaze of saliva that lined it evaporating with the fist breath, choking him with a thick clout of intense swelter.

He barely managed the incantation that enveloped the area just outside the gate with a globe of salvation, its magical effect bathing all those inside of it with a resistance to such harshly torrid climate. The spell would last for hours, which, in his mind, was long enough to do their required job.

As each member of his team ? Faetha, Ozalynne, Esteban, and Akemi ? stepped through, he checked to ensure that they were receptive to the bounty of his magic, and once it seemed they were, he turned his dark eyes skyward along the slope of the mountain to examine the base of the city.

?We?ll have to climb.? He instructed. Brais was aware that several of them probably had a simple fly spell tucked into their robes, ready to use, but he also knew that there were many predators that traveled the fiery skies of Gehenna, waiting to find something tasty drifting about it. He glanced to Esteban. ?You have the orb. Before we crest the ridge to the gate make sure to implant it near the base.?

There wasn?t much left to say. He took a quick survey, examining for danger ? or potential danger, at that ? and started for the charred slope.

Merde, just what he needed. Something responsible to do. He glanced upward, noting the structure, and the consistency of the ground between there and where they stood.

"Gracias por la punta obvia. ?Alguien olvidado encender el aire acondicionado para cuando llegamos aqu??" He muttered under his breath. Heat wasn't a new thing, but sweltering oppressive oven-like baking on this level... why, he would've had to been born in the Sahara to come anywhere close to enjoying something like this.

"Does anyone have any ideas on how to speed this climb along?"

With the benefit of Akemi's spider climb spell, the ascent along the burning slope was quick and nearly trouble-free. There were small forms of assistance from jutting rocks formed of idle magma deposits, though over all there were not nearly enough handholds and fissures to have made such an endeavor enjoyable without the aid of the spell. Had they been forced to climb with strictly mundane mechanics, the trip would have taken three times as long.

Once over the final lip, the city grafted into the mountain side expanded before them, rising more upward than deep due to the range, and yet even from where they stood they could see that its width extended well into the adjoining slope. The city was an amalgam of surface and subsurface living, the size comparable to multiple kingdoms on the Material Realm.

Any sense of relief came to a crashing end quickly as a squadron of creatures rounded the protruding embankment of a rock berm. At first it might appear as though they were Lycanthropic cats in their hybrid form as they stood upon two legs and swung two arms, yet were covered with fur and adorned with a swishing tail and a feral head. There was something in their large saucer eyes, though, that denounced such a common beast. Whatever these creatures were they were beyond that familiar mortal scope.

"Wanderers." One of them said in the common tongue, though the inflection was sung with a feline purr. "Kill them."
Swords were torn from scabbards and the cluster of them, eight in total, exploded into motion aimed directly at you.

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Blade wielding tiger-men. Simplemente maravilloso. As the stench of ozone and blackened flesh spread, he stepped to the side, keeping his eyes upon two of the felinoid creatures. In particular, their physique.

Humanoid. Two legs, two arms, two eyes.

Two ears.

Lifting his wand, he took in quite the deep breath, and sang a rising note into the sonic enhancing effect. Octave after octave it climbed, as the focus drew into a tighter and tighter cone. Once past the infrasonic range, the cone could almost be seen by the naked eye. Much to the short-lived chagrin of his two targets.

First, the sound waves played merry cob with the inner ear, throwing off the creatures' balance. Second, cellular walls would begin to deteriorate beneath the auditory barrage.

Before the bard had to take another breath, his pair were prone on the ground and twitching, a hint of foam around their muzzles, and a grayish-ochre substance oozing from their ears.

"Gatitos agradables. Jugar muertos."

AKEMI stood to the side as the battle unfolded, careful to maintain distance that insured his safety.

He licked his lips at the sight of Brais' battle form and cast a new appraising eye on Esteban after that demonstration of strength.

Admittedly he hadn't expected much from Ozalynne and was left admiring her viciousness even as he noted that the one Faetha had dispatched had only knocked its comrade down. It was even now tightening muscles to explode upward.

An illusion exploded before its eyes, what it saw remained unseen by anybody else but the cat creature began to whimper, cringing down.

While it was distracted, AKEMI calmly strolled forward and carefully, quite deliberately slit its throat with his dagger.

Brais was bathed in a palpable tide of fear, the steeling of his will nearly undone by the raw energy of it. Attention diverted from the Feral Warrior, though he was not ignored in case he sought to ambush them while distracted by the arrival of the Nycaloth.

There, before him, was the treasure they sought. Surely none of the other groups had found their prey so quickly. It was his team who would be the first to appear with their prize in hand, and wait on the mortal side of the gate as the others returned to find their ambitions of success crushed beneath his boot.

He drew his wand from its belt sheath and took aim at the creature lurking above. "Faetha and Ozalynne with me. Esteban and Akemi, work to keep the creature's senses off balance - both sight and sound."

He couldn't function with the lone feline wandering about and tilted the tip of his wand downward a few grades, gifting the beast with a dark bolt of energy that impacted it squarely in the chest. The cat slammed backwards into the rocky face and then crumpled to the ground, smoke oozing out from its fatal wound.

"Now, let's get those arms."

First things first, a burst of sonic waves from his wand plowing a hole in the ground for the orb, before humming a song to inspire courage in the face of that fear.

Next, his thoughts raced, before finally settling on a risky course of action. Something he hadn't done before, but he'd worked on a time or two.

Pointing his wand up against the buffeting wind, he sang first one note, then another at an opposing octave. The wand caught both, and held them, broadcasting them into a sphere surrounding the creature's head. It wouldn't affect the eyes, but he was certain it could do a number on the creature's ears.

Almond shaped eyes narrowed as he watched his team explode into motion, quietly impressed with how quickly they synchronized their attacks. Ozalynne's close proximity offered time for him to target the beast from afar with evocation spells while Esteban and Akemi deadened and dulled its senses, though the Enchanter's sudden departure apparently left that role solely upon the shoulders of the Bard.

Energy rode the length of his wand as he held it aloof, angled at the raging creature that engaged with Ozalynne. He knew the beast would be resistant to magic, knew that only spells of the highest impact would have the best chance of causing damage, and sought to conjured such a fierce barrage with his foci. Words spilled from his lips, infusing the artifact he held, and with a violent lash energy exploded from its tip and slammed into the Nycaloth. He waited a moment and watched, and while the creature did appear a bit staggered it was not the reaction Brais had expected. That spell could dispatch a young dragon, and yet here this Yugoloth stood, still fighting.

"We need more." He hissed. "Destroy the beast!"

FAETHA clawed across the barren floor as Ozalynne took its attention from her, blood pouring from the punctures in her stomach. She winced and snarled, much like a wounded animal, and once she was out of range of the Daemon she turned back and pointed her thin finger at it, launching half a dozen spheres of frost that, upon impact, detonated and enclosed whatever they touched within their arctic sheath. She sought to slow the beast down to keep from defending against the coming attacks.