No sooner had Oren finished her dry words of lecture, Clifton wrenched open the door (the second hardest anyone had seen a door burst open today, after Amity of course; hard to follow that) and let himself into the room.

An actual out of place hair brushed his forehead, a sure sign that he had scurried from his office to hallway to gymnasium in a tremendous hurry. More worrisome, however, he didn't even bother to smooth it back. Something was tremendously wrong.

But you wouldn't know it from the quick but businesslike manner in which he began to deliver his message:

[Color=6FFFFB]"Hello again, rune bearers. I hope your training has been going well. I'm afraid I have a rather urgent request. The wall on the north side of the city has been breached, and we have a...a somewhat dire Jotun situation. I have report of one fatality so far." [/color]

He cleared his throat, his mouth twisting at the corner as if he was trying to prepare himself to lick the inside of a dumpster. Clearly, he didn't like the orders he was about to give.

But he had orders too.

He spoke very quickly, both to convey a lot of information in a short time, and to get it over with.

[Color=6FFFFB]"We have people to deal with these situations, but our usual strike teams are out of the city on other business. Those of us remaining are only the minimal level of security.  Normally I wouldn't--The organization wouldn't put anyone in the field without adequate combat training, but many of you have some background, and you know what they say about desperate times. If you would please bring any weapons you wish and follow me." [/color]

A large, slick, black SUV-like vehicle awaited them outside, gutted of its middle and back seats and lined with inward-facing bench seats to make room for more passengers, giving the impression of a SWAT van with a much more inconspicuous exterior. Clifton popped open the back and gestured the rune bearers inside before climbing into the passenger's seat. Madison was driving.

Clifton gave Maddie a sidelong glance, silently conveying his thoughts on this matter.

He was in no hurry to find out whether the rune bearers being "chosen" meant they could or could not die until they fulfilled their ultimate mission. This was absolutely the worst idea he could think of.