[center][img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjY2LmE4YThhOC5SMjlzWlcwbmN5QklZVzVrLjAA/more-news-from.again.png[/img][/center]

Striding into The Keep, the S-Class only building at the center of the Rock, Angela Lozelle grabbed the nearest layabout and hauled them to their feet. 

"Get me the Number One Special Squad, I want them front and center in ten minutes if they're in the Keep."

Nodding meekly to the diminutive lady, the younger mage scurried off to hustle up his fellow S-Class mages. It might seem like an odd scene, but anyone who knew Angela's history and prowess, not to mention her place in the guild as second only to Delsin, it was a reasonably common occurrence. As the person who dealt with job hunts and revenue distribution, being on her bad side was an exceptionally poor idea for anyone in the guild, so much so that sometimes her word would count for more than Delsin's when it came to public guild matters; a fact she ribbed him for endlessly.

Sighing and breaking from her train of thought, she walked to the panel on the wall and activated it with a spark of magic. Clearing her throat to get the attention of anyone listening, her voice was carried throughout the Rock to magical emitters in most major locations.

"Continue listening for details of a C-rank search mission. Deliver the location of Vega Ashworth to the Number One Special Squad or Angela Lozelle within 20 minutes for payment. Scaling payment depending on time taken for information. Authorized by Delsin's authority under the Vega clause."

Turning around, Angela faced the three people who had arrived behind her while she was talking. What could very accurately be described as a wall of flesh is what greeted her. Put together by Delsin to be a roundup team for whenever Vega went rogue (fortunately less common these days she was forced to admit), this group very quickly picked up a comedic name in the guild, since it was made of three powerful mages, each of which were physically focused, and so offered very little for Vega to use to his advantage. Now known across the town as the 'Number One Special Squad', basically everyone knew what it meant when these three were working together.

"Alright boys, let's go. Delsin wants to talk with Vega before the announcement, and it sounded like it was pretty important, so let's leave nothing up to chance. I'm sure someone knows where he is, so we'll get our destination on our way out."

Sure enough, they'd barely gone two rooms before someone filled them in on where Vega was enjoying his presumably unlawfully acquired goods...

- - - - - - - - - -

Walking into the park, it didn't take the group of four long to spot Vega, lounging as he was with a whole pile of food. Her brow wrinkling in distaste, Angela waved her three S-Class brothers out into a wide fan just in case Vega decided to make an uncharacteristic run for it. Weapons were still sheathed, but as always, the team was fully ready for a fight if it came to it. Reasonably unlikely this time around, but one never knew with Vega, and Angela was always happy to err on the side of caution if it brought pause to their notorious troublemaker.

"Delsin wants a word with you, Vega. Not a clue what it's about but apparently it's important. You're coming back with us: easy way or the hard way?"

[hr]

[center][color=fff79a][h1]Illedrith Adrasia[/h1][/color][/center]

Turning away from her trainees for a moment to search for her team, Illedrith spotted a familiar face coming towards her instead. Alexandria was making her way down the hill, and waved as she approached. Waving back, Illedrith waited as she made her way down to the training area. Any thoughts about why she had come to visit were dispelled when she delivered her message.

“Greetings Illedrith. How do you fair? The guild master made an announcement just now, and I don’t know if you were informed or not: We’re combining rank up tests with Golem’s Hand. As a strict rule, no scraps between guild members. If it’s not clear who started it, everyone involved will be disqualified from the upcoming event. I figured I would make sure you knew since you’re out here training the younglings.”

A frown developed swiftly on Illedrith's face as she heard the news, and stayed firmly plastered there while she considered the ramifications of the announcement. On one hand, it would lead to less brawls in the streets for the duration of the trials, as many of the instigators would be interested in being chosen for the trials. It could also lead to a closer bond between the divided guilds if the task was appropriate, which could hardly be seen as a bad thing. But on the other hand, there were many who would be concerned or worried about going up against or working with the Golems, not least of whom would be...

[color=0072bc]"M-mis...!"[/color]

...Ceri.

[color=0072bc]"H-hi...Alex-alexandria..."[/color]

Illedrith sighed softly as she turned around to face her closest friend who had, as always, seemingly appeared out of thin air. Grasping her hand firmly in return after she tugged on her hand, Illedrith took a step back to wordlessly invite her ever shy friend into the conversation. She'd been so very proud of her teammate when she had put her name forward for the S-Class trials. Ever pushing her to grow and improve herself, even though there wasn't a great chance of her being chosen, let alone winning and being ranked, just the act of stepping forward was a really important one. This announcement was, in that sense, a massive spanner in the works. Skittish at the best of times, this trial would no longer be simply be between people she trusted, and would potentially include people who had teased and bullied her before.

Turning back to Alexandria, Illedrith replied to the question she'd left hanging for a moment.

[color=fff79a]"I must say, I fared better before you gave me the news, but thank you very much for taking the time to make your way all the way out here to tell me, I appreciate it. I doubt it's made much of an impact on your plans though; I presume you're entering?"[/color]

Turning back to face Ceri, she smiled and patted her on the head softly with her free hand as she kept talking.

[color=fff79a]"My lovely smoke knight here and I were going to wait on the rest of our team to show up before heading off into town for the announcement. Would you care to join us, or did you have other plans for the afternoon?"[/color]