[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/xFBpMDc.png[/img] [color=aba000][h2]Chiron [Lily][/h2][/color][i][h3]Zipping Around, Miyama Town[/h3][/i] [@Cu Chulainn] [/center] Troublesome. Incredibly, indescribably troublesome. That garbage niece had the audacity to try and pull another Athens on him, just like she did with that poor sod Ares. Well, old Chiron wasn't going to be caught with his pants down. Not like the time with those nymphs. Ah, those nymphs... No, no, focus. He had to focus on determining where to establish his cave. That was the decision that could make or break his war. Let's see. Open the mind's eye, factor in farsight, astrological attributes, connection to nature, Donnie who was still yelling at him, aaand... [color=aba000]"Wha..."[/color] Impossible. That was impossible. The third Age of Gods had ended. The Age of Heroes was reaching its death knell. Humanity knows too much and has culled too much of the world’s mystery as a result. This is the turning point into the age of merely mundane men, so something like that should have been impossible. Then, how was it there? How was it that something so impossible was there? Skidding to a halt after returning to the safe house that he had been summoned in, Archer moved to set his Master down, but now with a caution that was at complete odds with how he'd treated the magus since being summoned. His head turned up and down, looking at the magus...or rather, looking [i]through[/i] him. As if there was something the man before him could bring about, something enough to jar even one of Archer's temperament to action. Yes, if [i]that[/i] could come to pass, then he could not take this as trivially as he had planned. He had planned to merely drink the week away and then fade back into nothingness, but if the promise of something like that laid out of reach... ...well, putting some effort into winning wouldn't hurt. [color=aba000]"Alright, kid. Rally ya boys, do what ya gotta do. Don't botha makin' ya workshop till my cave's up though, it'll be a waste. When ya ready, then we'll get back ta searchin'."[/color] A feral glint appeared in his eyes, a demonstration of that bestial nature that laid at the core of Divine Spirit Chiron. [color=aba000]"We'll be combin' this city for the best spot. An' if there's this bridge ya were talkin' about, it'll be the first stop."[/color] [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ILmLCSt.png[/img] [color=7ea7d8][h2]Evan Strauss[/h2][/color][i][h3]Strauss Workshop, Shinto[/h3][/i] [@Art of Fun] [/center] [color=7ea7d8]"Really? Planning and preparing this much feels pretty standard. If the enemy Masters haven't done around this much, then that's all the better. Just means we're not dealing with competitors so much as 'targets'."[/color] The thickening haze of smoke in the room was admittedly harder to deal with by the minute. Evan himself had never been much for smoking, not seeing it as worth the monetary tradeoff, which made dealing with it in this closed expanse a bit of a hindrance. At the same time, it simply wasn't worth the effort of putting up a shield to protect him from the smoke, so the result was his visible efforts to keep himself from breaking into a coughing fit every minute or so. Well, regardless, evaluating the situation did undoubtedly put this pair at a disadvantage. Evan was likely in the bottom half of magi in this war where ranks were concerned, and on top of that, he'd summoned an Assassin, and moreover a "monster", something particularly vulnerable to "heroes". At least on paper, then, the pair could be considered underdogs, at an absolute disadvantage. Ah well, who didn't like an underdog anyway? The magus froze up for a moment as the Assassin offered him some strands of her hair, recovering from his surprise an instant later and taking the offering with a nod. Truth be told, he'd considered the idea from the moment that Assassin had given her name, but hadn't expected her to offer that up so quickly. Well, he wasn't about to complain. [color=7ea7d8]"Yeah, got it. I don't want to risk sending you out into those areas just yet, though. Better to deal with that first bit of preparation I mentioned first, just to shore everything up here. That shouldn't take long, though, and once it's wrapped up we can get to surveillance." "Those three families I mentioned are the obvious picks, and there are a good amount of workshops that have been set up over the past week, so we can talk about priority targets when we get there. There are a couple of place I'm a bit wary of that might be better to avoid until we're more prepared, as well."[/color] After speaking, he gave a halfhearted shrug that contrasted horribly with the rest of his tone and posture. "Of course, if you've got any suggestions, let me know."