[@Guess Who]

[b]Dayime, at the Library:[/b]

"Very well, then I'll look up what I can about local customs and traditions, I think." Charme said, after hearing about what Kath wanted to read. In truth, Charme herself had originally planned to read about the history as well, but having two heads dedicated to the same field would be a waste of time.

She slightly smirked at the dragonoid's muttering about the disorganization of the library, when she had found a book placed in the wrong order. Granted, if Kath ever laid eyes on Charme's own bookcases or shelves, she'd probably have a heartattack, since there was no rhyme or reason to them at all. Then again, most of them were just records, recipes or notes, rather than actual [i]books[/i] in the traditional sense. Still, the thought was amusing.

Wandering about the musty locale, Charme perused the shelves until she could find some texts that mentioned local customs, traditions and folklore. If they were going to do business and be ijn this country, it would certainly help to know what the people were like, what they did and didn't like, and what they believed and so on and so forth. Really, she had no interest in these things herself, but she had no choice in the matter - so after gathering a few books of her own, she took a seat at one of the tables, on a creaky chair, and began to read, casually flipping the pages one after another... The slog had begun.

[b]Later at night, at the inn:[/b]

"Stop that." Charme said, shooting Kath a glance from the corner of her eye. "Milling around like a headless chicken won't do them, or us, any good." The homunculus said dryly and severely. She understood that Kath was nervous, but she also knew that nothing threre was nothing they could do to change anything going on at the Chateau at this point in time, and needlessly stressing and doing futile things wasn't going to do anyone any favors.

"Take a deep breath, sit down, close your eyes and count to ten." Charme half-instructed, half-ordered the librarian. "After you calm down, try and think of some way you can suggest something that'll help them. Prayers and well-wishing isn't going to turn the tides in a fight."  Charme said bitterly, leaning back in her uncomfortable chair, letting out a long sigh as she rubbed her tmeple.

She could've lent potions and items to the others if she was back at the Chateau. But as it were, she had set the Wishing Well to a 'blank' room before she left, meaning there was currently nothing there, and only she and PowderPlaguePuff had the administrative priveleges to set and change the rooms, meaning that even if Rodias went down there, he wouldn't be able to access the storeroom. Her mudmen wouldn't be much use either, they only acrivated if you answered the Black Door wrong, and they stayed in the hallway, unable to leave. She hadn't left any familiars or other creatures behind either... How frustrating, there was just nothing she could do to help at the moment.

Hopefully, the others would manage to eek out a victory, somehow, and hopefully Rodias would remember how Bandersnatch fought - even if he was technically the only [i]actual[/i] member around.
[hr][@The Irish Tree],[@Stern Algorithm],[@IceHeart],[@Lugubrious]

As Rodias arrived, looking worse for wear, a single member of the Shadowtower Shrine began to approach him, once he had sent Light off to fetch the guild's treasure, and once he was done thanking Talim. The golden-haired Mikoto approached her lord, placing her hands up towards his chest, as she stood right infront of him, closing her eyes and speaking gently.

"[b][Lion's Heart].[/b]"

A warm, reassuring light emerged from her open palms, seemingly flowing into the dhampir. The tall, green-skinned half-vampire could hear the courageous roar of a lion in his mind's ear, and some - though by no means all - of his fears and misgivings were alleviated and lessened. Once the glow vanished, Mikoto opened her ruby-red eyes and looked at the Sable Lord with a smile.

"Please don't look so distraught, Master Rodias. We're all here to lend you our strenght." She said with a brave smile, as she put one hand over her heart.

"Okay ladies! Let's get started!" Mikoto called, turning her head to lpok back over her own shoulder at the other shrine maidens gathered.

Then, bowing quickly, she hurried back to the other miko, who had all gathered in the Climax Hour along with the rest of the Chateau's majority. The other miko formed a half-circle around Mikoto, and her three tails slowly swayed from side to side in perfect unison. With a sudden clap, her hands came together infront of her, in a prayer-like stance. The other priestesses followed suit, mimicking the action perfectly. Each and every one of them closed their eyes and slightly lowered their heads, as Mikoto spoke once more.

"[Communal Prayer: Circle of Benevolence]"

At once, a large azure hexagram spread from underneath Mikoto's feet, expending outwards and soon covering most of the Climax Hour's floor. A circle, filled with intricate patterns and letters surrounded the six-pointed star, as it slowly rotated in a clockwise fashion along the ground. The soft glow it gave off illuminated the entire room, and those standing it could feel a sort of strange but pleasant energy slowly begin to seep into them. However, one after another, the miko began to speak and utter words, starting with the oldest at one end of the semi-circle, and then moving to the next girl over. Nobody spoke out of turn, nobody stumbled over their words. It was a rehearsed and well-disciplined act.

"[Communal Prayer: Mikoto, I participate.]" They each said, in turn and order.

With each one adding their support, the glow of the circle slightly increased. This skill, called Communal prayer, was an YGGDRASIL skill belonging to the miko-class. It allowed for multiple people to participate in a large-scale ritual spell, which increased in strength by one level per additional participajnt. Of course, speaking from a practical standpoint, this ability was only useful in defense, as the priestesses had to stand still, maintain focus on the Communal Prayer and channel their MP into it.

The benefits were quite good though. Even though the ritual drained each partaker's MP, the more that joined in, the slower the MP-drain on each individual was. Of course, eventually, once someone ran out of MP, the drain would increase until the next one ran dry, and so on and so forth. With Mikpto being a level 35, and there being roughly twenty other shrine maidens joining in her ritual, the spell had an effective level to that of a spell cast by a level 50~ character. The Circle of Benevolence itself offered a slight boon to allies within the field of effect, increasing their magicc and physical defenses by a bit, as well as placing a constant buff of lesser regeneration. By no means was this group-ritaul going to be a game-changer or the deal-breaker that tipped the scales in their favor, but it was all that the shrine maidens could do to help.

With the rest of them being only between levels 10 to 20, and Mikoto being at 35, there was no way they could feasibly do anything to Morgan, except die inglorious deaths if they tried. Hopefully, by allowing their stronger comrades to fight, and supporting them with what they had, they could at least be somewhat useful.