[center]
[h2][color=00aeef]T E A M : I[/color][/h2]
([@Moonshadow], [@Epsir], [@OwO], [@Psyker Landshark])[/center]
	
	As Vera charged forward, a hand emerged from the robe. Spindly fingers ending in black talons made an arcane gesture and a shadow-cloaked blade fired towards where the elf had just been standing, splitting the trunk of a sapling in two. It seemed her initiative had caught her opponent off guard, and in a flash she closed the distance. Her fist found its mark and shattered the mask, revealing the avian features of the harpy beneath. The harpy staggered in surprise, then with a beat of her wings leapt back several feet.


[i]Faster than I thought,[/i] The voice was quiet, but came from all around her. [i]But that's okay, you don't need to die just yet.[/i]
[center][h2]...[/h2][/center]

	"Wait! You don't know what's out there!" Kiska called behind them, her concerned voice fading as the three initiates disappeared into the halls of the manor.

	The magic of the paper dog gently tugged Sheri in the same direction Vera had gone. Guards that had been stationed in the hall gave little thought to the initiate as they rushed to Astor's study. As she rounded the corner the garden opened up before her, but the foliage was not dense enough to hide the object of her pursuit. She could see Vera, the harpy and the downed guard through the faint distortion of the silence spell that surrounded them. Curiously enough, the dog was drawing her to the guard rather than the cloaked figure.

	Vera's assailant didn't seem to note her arrival, and as Mathias and Petra arrived in the garden behind her the harpy began to cast another spell. Spectral blades rose around her, two assuming defensive positions and the third launching towards Vera.

[center]
[h2][color=00aeef]T E A M : II[/color][/h2]
([@Aerandir], [@Rune_Alchemist], [@ERode], [@Asuras])[/center]

	"By the time it's worked out, it'll be too expe-" 

	Blood spurted from the elf's neck, coating the table with a fresh red sheen. The second elf when for his blade, likely faster than Sera had given him credit for, but not fast enough as her blade sunk into his side beneath the breastplate. He staggered back, the frost sapping the strength from his limbs. In one hand he held a short sword with a shaky grip, the other was open, palm facing the ground where smoke began to gather.
[center][h2]...[/h2][/center]

	The half-orc seemed unfazed. He drew a curved sabre from beneath his cloak and, in a single motion, shattered the frozen projectiles. To either side of him, the goblins were pierced by Vela's magic and collapsed. His eyes darted to the two beside Vela who had yet to move, and he reevaluated his odds.

	"From the guild, right?" He took a few wary steps to the side, moving so Vela was between Finn and him. "Everyone likes gold, you take bribes?" His continued to flit back and forth, looking for any movements from the two initiates and one adept. His second hand disappeared into the shadows of his robe.

	
[center]
[h2][color=00aeef]T E A M : IV[/color][/h2]
([@Haha], [@PrankFox], [@Dark Cloud])[/center]

	The tree-blight seemed prepared to continue its rampage. Its towering legs dragged through the earth as it [i]lumbered[/i] towards the group, but the enraged Koth hurtled towards its legs with an eruption of fire, stopping it in its tracks. As the dwarf's axe sunk into blight's leg it lodged in place after only a few inches, but as the heat built and Koth continued to push the limits of his magic the axe seared a path through the wood and emerged from the other side.

	Burning splinters scattered on the forest floor as Khol rose from the soil where he'd been laying. The battered spectral wolf appeared before the party a final time as the giant-blooded warrior sprung off its back and soared to the top of the blight, coming down with a brutal stroke that sheared away the thinner appendages that acted as the creatures arms, but he didn't escape unscathed as the branches lashed and pierced him on the way down. Half of the tree-blights arms fell to the forest floor, and beside them landed Khol, his body ravaged by wounds once again.

	As Tati'yana's magic brought new life to the forest floor, the spirits of the forest hungrily answered her call. As a a full tree grew before the initiates, the lesser blights appeared to be completely extinguished as its quickly spreading roots grappled and crushed them, returning their nutrients to the soil and feeding off of them in much the same way the blight had. Then the tree burst, its magic expended, with enough concusive force to send the weakened tree-blight toppling over. It continued to thrash as it tried to right itself, but now it was finally in the reach of Koth's burning axe.