[i][b][center]Caravan Mission[/center][/b][/i]

Like a bolt of lightning, the situation at the camp turned bad for the bandits. Just as the robed mage managed to get a group together to come with him, Alaira struck. He didn't even see what hit him. One moment he was about to bark out the marching order, and the next moment the searching heat energy of Alaira's magic surged through his body. At first it was simply numbing, as if he had fell asleep with a heavy weight on his body. But than came the burning. It was like his body was thrown into a furnace. And than the boiling. His flesh did not even have time to burn before it began to liquify from the flash of pure electrical power. But even the boiling state did not last too long; from burning to boiling to simply vaporizing. Thanks to the unfiltered power of Alaira's batteries, the robed man went from a standing, healthy humanoid form to a gooey, semi-liquid pile of slag. Kind of like a jam, but it solidified in the air, turning it into a crystalline substance that shortly than shattered into the much more familiar looking ash that everyone could see.

The robed man was not the only victim of Alaira's attack, though he took the full brunt of it. Two of the bandits who were standing near by, while not vaporized like the robed man, still were caught by the uncontrollable shockwave that fried their bodies and even caused them (Or at least some of their possessions) to burst into flames. They suffered for the extent of Alaira's initial strike, and fell when she challenged the other bandits. 

When Alaira spoke her challenge, the most of the other six bandits were still confused as to what was going on. It was an attack to be certain, but no mere raid. If Alaira had simply come in and strike the Robed Man down, there would be no doubt that the other bandits would converge on her and attack. But they were still trying to comprehend if that was indeed what happened. Due to their inebriated state most were trying to make sense if Alaira was actually a hallucination of their minds and what had actually happened was that the Robed Man was simply struck by lightning, or if they were actually under attack. And if she was real and she had actually disintegrated the Robed Man and killed another two in the resulting shockwave, would it be smart of them to attack? The best most of those bandits could do was just draw their weapons and try to make sense of what happened. A state of fear and confusion took most of them.

Except the big one and those with crossbows. The big bandit had enough sense to know exactly what had happened and took charge appropriately. "Attack you fools! Kill the mage before she casts another spell!" This bandit drew his weapon, dual wielding his flail in his right hand and his axe in the left. The bandit in the tower and one on the ground, somewhat more sober than the ones on the ground, took aim at Alaira and fired their crossbows at her. They focused solely on Alaira as she was the only one who revealed herself, as well as being the biggest threat.

[i][b][center][color=a187be]Annabeth Gulch[/color][/center][/b][/i]

It was time. The Extraction Crew (Auriel, Aramir, and Liam) had already left the wagon to go sneak towards the nest. That means the Bait Team (Annabeth, Colette, Arcadius, and Eural) needed to draw the Roc's attention away from it's nest for about... Thirty minutes. Or so Annabeth hoped. Thirty minutes for the Extraction Crew to at least get to the nest. If they had wagons and horses they could make it to the college... Perhaps without the Bait Team. But Annabeth wasn't about to consider throwing their lives away. She was going to bring everyone home. She promised that much to them.

Annabeth's plan with the bait team was simple. Since Colette was the only one who could reliably see in the darkness, she would serve as the bait. It's not that Annabeth wanted this to happen, but currently she was the only one who knew how to operate the balista, and if the roc saw it first it might destroy the only weapon they had to fight against it. Colette at least had her bat demon to help distract the roc, and since it could fly it was much more reliable at fighting the roc in the air than Annabeth would trying to shoot it down. And soon they would see if that's true.

The roc arrived, zeroing in on Colette quickly. Her bat was sent out to hold it off, just long enough for Annabeth to get into position. [color=a187be]"Now, let's move!"[/color] Bursting from the forest Annabeth and Eural headed strait towards the roc. It wasn't long however before Colette's bat was knocked away, allowing the giant bird monstrosity to go back to attacking Colette. She tried to run, but couldn't make it far before the roc landed before her. She was frozen in fear and Annabeth had to act quickly. She aimed the balista the best she could, as she was unfamiliar with using such a weapon. So she relied on her knowledge of archery and horse-back riding. She got into the rhythm of the wagon jolting up and down, the movement and speed of the vehicle in relation to the location of her target. Taking a deep breath, Annabeth fired the balista bolt right as she exhaled. 

Unlike a regular bolt, she needed to fire this one close. The wagon was barely over thirty feet away from the roc when it was shot. And while a regular bolt fired in a semi-strait path, this one quickly split into two separate directions once it was shot about ten feet out. The two bolts would completely miss the roc, but the rope tied between them would catch the roc right around the neck. If Annabeth was lucky, the bolt may even go far enough to wrap around one of the roc's wings or legs, tangling it. Either way however, she needed to do one more thing: Save Colette.

[color=a187be]"Colette grab my hand!"[/color]

As the wagon was about to go right on by the vampire Annabeth extended her hand out to her friend. Now that they had the roc's attention Annabeth needed Colette to stay with them, for her own protection. While a more pragmatic person would take this time to load another bolt, Annabeth was more concerned about securing Colette before taking down the roc.

[i][b][center]Lobster Hunt[/center][/b][/i]

Practically right after giving them their mission briefing the two students followed Tyrael back to the forge. Baulder wanted a polearm to cut off the lobster's legs, as if he didn't listen to the whole "Bring them back alive" part. The demon would hit Baulder for his foolishness, but he did at least consider that they might run into trouble along the way. It wouldn't make sense to send a mage who doesn't know any magic without some sort of weapon. Still, Tyrael wanted those lobsters alive, which meant they would need their legs. So moving from the forge to the armory Tyrael came back and gave Baulder a [url=http://rautaportti.fi/images/large/Images%20Other%20Weapons/600664%20BecDeCorbin_04_LRG.jpg]bec de corbin[/url]; a sort of warpick on a eight-foot long wooden shaft. cutting off a Lobster's leg would prove difficult for such a weapon, but more practical for breathing through their armored shell if it came to that. 

[b]"Bring them to me [i]alive[/i], mortal. If they are dead when you return, you will join them in the pit."[/b]

The other student, Myrn, asked for a set of bow and arrows, as well as something to contain the lobsters. Tyrael returned with a bow carved from stout iron wood and a quiver of arrows, tipped with steel. He also came back with a wooden crate with metal bindings meant to keep water inside. [b]"Remember this well: I only require one live lobster. This crate has enough room to hold at least five of decent size. I have a wagon pulled by an ox which should be able to get you to the coast of Tidehome within the day. Now leave."[/b]

Tyrael ushered the hunters out of his forge so that he may resume his work. Their time was dwindling down, so they would be sent off to Tidehome immediately after. However in the wagon which would take them to the location of the hunt was a box containing fuzzy strips of leather and sheets of tin foil. There was a piece of paper within instructing their purpose. "Don the foil as a hat and use the mustaches to disguise yourself. This would make it easier for you to attract lobsters." The penmanship was elegant and dainty. 

It would take about a day before the wagon would arrive to the coast of Tidehome, but sure enough they would arrive just as day broke. There was little to harass the hunters aside from bad weather, and even than it was simply cold. It was low tide and the waves were largely calm. There was no immediate signs of any lobsters.