Erok nodded, his mood brightened slightly by Masaru's cooperation. They might have a fighting chance left, he thought.

Gesturing again to his Earth companion, Erok began walking with her towards the building Mai and Masaru pointed out. Together the group waded through the rapidly increasing crowd, up a small flight of stairs and in through the front doors. It appeared mostly deserted, although a few stragglers were frantically sweeping their books and other belongings into bags, or haphazardly stacking scrolls and leather bound books back into their places, lest they incur the wrath of a bookkeeper. Once the place had emptied some more, Erok began memorizing the layout of the building within eyesight, making note of a cellar door, stairs leading to a second floor, and high windows, through which light cast rays through the slightly dusty air.

Erok turned to the group.

'We might want to get up to the second floor if we intend to escape via roof access, otherwise the cellar could be an effective place to hide, and possibly set an ambush or bend a tunnel out,' he looked to Mai quickly, 'but that depends on what Masaru's objectives are. What do you want to do? If it came down to it, with our abilities in tandem we might stand a chance of direct confrontation.'