The woman nods, and after taking down her name hands her a ticket with a number on it, 57. "If you win, we'll call that number, and you can come by to pick up your prize. Now, head on in whenever you think you're ready hun. And remember, if anything comes off, you get disqualified."
(In order to save time, you can just have her go in after preparing. You've got to describe whatever dance you're going to do in character, so I'll give you a basic description of the room to go on. It looks sort of like a strip club main stage, with a raised platform and a pole in the center, which you're supposed to stand on. Otherwise, the tent's empty except for the table with the three judges, who are an older gentleman in expensive clothes, the dean of the school, and a portly fellow with a long black beard and mustache, but no hair on top of his head. The room is about thirty feet in any direction, but you only have about ten feet of table space to dance on. If you need any other questions answered, PM them to me.)
(Exposition! Also, I lied, since the dance hasn't concluded yet due to PC involvement.)
"Awwww, but the bonfire hasn't even started yet! We have to stay for that! And the public dancing is right after that! C'mon, we've got all weekend!" Jenn replied, in complete contradiction of her initial resistance to leaving the library to go to the fair. Ashley was about to respond when Jenn blurted out; "Hey! There's that boy! He's heading for the wrestling! We should go watch him fight!" She said, looking at Ashley hopefully, almost dancing around in excitement. I was at this point that Ashley knew she was in for a difficult battle if she really wanted to get back to the Academy before dark, as when Jennifer got into one of these moods, in which she was almost unstoppably excited, she was very nearly impossible to argue with.
Ashley looked curiously at her friend, wondering just what had gotten into her. Of course there was nothing wrong with staying in the festival a little longer, it just didn't seem like the kind of thing Jenn would normally be quite so enthusiastic about, unless she had some secondary motive. Still, no use trying to budge her.
"Well, we can't exactly leave until the dance contest is over with anyway, so I suppose we might as well spend the time watching some of our fellow students compete."
"Aw Chloe what have you gotten yourself into this time" She stood at the entrance of the tent taking a few moments to clear her head and ready herself. Well no going back now best to just get it done and over with. "Invoco potestatem tribuere in gracia et viribus" she chanted under breath that should help me not fall on my face she thought grimly. (Attempts to cast Greater magic might body) With that out of the way she entered the tent.
Chloe walked towards the center stage letting her hips sway as she walked. She had set aside her Leather armor and cloak so they wouldn't hinder her as she danced. Her eyes focused on the pole to avoid making eye contact with the judges for fear of losing her nerve.
As Chloe reached the pole at center stage she let her body have a little more control and let her mind sit back a little as she had a feeling that to win this she would need to rely on instinct and emotion more than plans and analytical thinking.
Chloe moved up to the pole and let her right hand grab high up on the pole and gave a little bow letting her left hand glide over her breasts to draw attention to them. After her little bow she brought her left hand up to join the right and began to sway her butt back and forth while slowly descending. When her knees could bend no further she brought her hands down over her chest down her belly and over her hips and began to rise to her standing position again still swaying her butt and caressing her ass and hips up to her bust to give them a little jiggle before turning around the pole to face the judges.
Jenn jumped up and down in excitement at Ashleys reply, causing her bussom to jiggle and bounce slightly beneath her clothes. Taking her hand, she led Ashley back over to the wrestling arena, and the two found spots to watch the event just as a shirtless Charles was entering the ring, his tunic left to dangle around his back so as to leave his muscled form free to move. And muscled he was, like no man Ashley had ever seen before, though she probably ought to not be admiring his body so much. His opponent was the girl she'd seen earlier, apparently the reigning champion up until now, as Ashley could see on the score board that she currently had all of the stars. the way the contest worked was, the two competitors bet any number of stars, as each started with two, and then entered the ring, with the winner taking all of the stars that had been bet. If anyone got a total of forty stars, they were declared the winner, though if no one managed to get that many by the end of the night, whoever had the most took home the prize, with a match between the two deciding the winner. Charles seemed to have just entered, as he only had two stars, while the girl already had 39, meaning she was one away from victory.
A sound tactical decision might have been to bet only one star, therefore exposing her to minimal risk even if she lost, since the contest ended at dusk and that was only about three hours away at this point. But, she was apparently either very proud, or very sporting, because she placed her bet as all of her stars against Charles measly 2 stars. The two squared off in the dirt ring, the crowd silent as they eyed each other up, and then Charles caught Ashleys eye, meeting her gaze for about a half-second. Then, the two combatants bowed to one another, just before the bell to start went off. The woman rushed toward Charles and jumped into a kick, and the crowds previous silence was replaced by a cacophony of shouts and cheers as the combat was joined. Charles ducked under the kick, and swept out the girls legs from under her as she landed. She fell on her back, but rolled aside just as Charles went to tackle her, and jumped to her feet only to dive onto his back, trying to drag his arms around behind his back. Charles quickly twisted out of that, however, and the foreign girl jumped up and away as he turned toward her, obviously not wanting to test brute strength against a man who was almost twice her size.
Charles quickly got to his feet, and the two began circling the ring, staring at each other. That lasted for almost a minute as the crowd hollered on, until Charles suddenly rushed forward, trying to tackle her in the same way that the farm boy from before had. The girl tried the same counter, but Charles move had been a feint, so when she tried to trip him, he reversed direction, and slammed her to the ground. There on the ground, where her agility counted for less, she wasn't nearly so fierce, and so in a moment it was over, the girls face in the dirt and her arms pulled behind her back while his knee put most of his weight onto her back. After she'd been counted out, Charles let her go, and helped her to her feat, even as the crowd howled around them. The girl gave him another bow, and the two spoke briefly before exiting the ring, where Charles was beset by a hoard of people trying to shake his hands for finally bringing down the "Tyrant Witch of the Ring" as they had apparently taken to calling the foreign girl. He collected his prize, and then threw another glance her way, this time trying to catch her eye, searching for some sign of emotion. Meanwhile, the girl had come over to them, though Ashley hadn't noticed, and was now standing beside Jenn.
Ashley surveyed the situation before the match began. There was still plenty of time before the contest ended by default. That made the girl one of three things.
Irrational - or at least not someone who cared about winning - was one possibility. "Sporting" would have been finding the person with the highest number of stars other then herself and challenging them. Cautious would have been betting one star. Betting them all against someone on his first match was just crazy - if you cared about winning.
Ashley considered overconfidence far more likely. There was no lack of that at the Academy, for certain. If she was sure she would win, betting 39 stars was just a good way to find a quick match. It might even be a decent strategy, in that someone who wasn't very good would be more likely to challenge her if he knew victory would mean first prize then if they just knew that she was amazingly good.
A change in the sound of the crowd brought Ashley back to reality to see Charles's gaze on her, and she realized she'd been staring. She felt herself begin to blush, but the match had started and she was sure he didn't have time to see. She carefully kept her eyes on the match, in part to keep Jenn from seeing her face. He wasn't that good looking. At least she hadn't sighed.
Ashley watched the fight itself with mild interest, not completely sure who she wanted to win. Either way had its bright sides. If the girl won, well, that was a nice change in such a physical contest and more power to her. On the other hand...
But the reality of the contest made the question academic. The girl had lost, and everyone wanted to talk to Charles. And he looked at her again. After a brief moment of panic as she realized she'd let her eyes wander again, she gave him a smile for long enough that he would have to know it was intended for him, then turned to Jenn and the deposed favorite. Hopefully he'd take the hint and come over when he could break away from the mob.
In the mean time she was hardly going to be seen to be waiting on him, and a thought had occurred to her with regards to the woman he had beaten. The seed of it had been there at the start of the match, but her thoughts had been interrupted before she could form a complete picture about the third reason she might bet 39 stars against someone with only 2. She might have deliberately thrown the match.
Of course it hadn't looked thrown, and there was the question of just how much one would be willing to pay for the prestige alone, but it was something to consider. But of course she was standing right there.
"Why did you bet everything against someone with only two stars to cover the wager, if I might ask?"
HP = 51, PP = 42, EP = 47/53, Status = Fine, +15 Body
Rolls
Casting: Success.
Chloe gets + 3x5 = +15 Body.
Body Check: 14 + 15 + 14 = 43 vs ???
Her magic flowed through Chloe, doing exactly what she'd required: Making her more agile. Stepping inside and pulling her armor off, leaving her in nothing but her underwear in front of three strangers, one of whom was the dean of the Academy, might have been embarrassing if Chloe wasn't pushing out of her mind as she mounted the stage. The three men looked at her almost nude form appreciatively, and one of them, the man with the beard, nodded for her to begin. The three men sat spellbound as she began dancing, instinctively using the beat of the music filtering in from outside, taking in her every motion as her sensual motions highlight her figure. The three men give appreciative gasps as she slowly stands up, caressing her body along the way, and when she turns to look at them, all three are leaned forward against the table, watching her without looking away, and barely blinking so as to take in as much of her lewd display as possible.
She could feel the smooth pole squash her breasts as she drew close to it like a lost lover. She began to slide down the pole letting her feet and legs spread out as she did the splits to the ground. She rose to her knees the pole still facing her. She could feel the sweat on her body tasted it on her lips as she began her ascent from the floor. By the gods she was almost enjoying this.
Chloe felt great almost liberated as she continued to dance. Using the pole as leverage she began to stand to her feet letting her breast slide their way back up the pole. She could have ended it their but something inside pushed her for one last display before calling it quits. She made her way to the front of the pole and pressed it against her back and began grinding her ass against it while moving her hands from her hips across her breasts and to her hair where she gave it a wild toss which stung a bit but had the additional effect of throwing back her head back and sticking out her chest to add a nice little flare to the end of her dance.
Thats enough Chloe don't get carried away with this she scolded herself. With that in mind she gave a deep bow her long black hair flowing over her shoulders and slightly obscuring her face which was now nearly crimson with her efforts and embarrassment. She turned back to her discarded armor and cloak only throwing the judges a look to see her score. Well whats done is done I just hope I win for this embarrassment I don't think Ill ever be able to look at the Dean again at lest not in the eyes. As she finished dressing her face flushes crimson again. Well if I did the job right I doubt he even saw my face let alone remembers it. With that thought done she pulled the hood over her head to hide her features till she calmed down a bit and let her magic fade as she exited the tent. "Nope never again she said to herself."
The girls gaze flashed to Ashley as she spoke, her eyes the shape and color of almonds. Judging by her looks, and by her martial abilities, Ashley guessed that she was from the Eastern Amazon. When she spoke, her accent reinforced that idea; "Without risk, would it have been as enjoyable? We would have had to fight as many as a dozen more times for the contest to be own decisively if I were to bet as few as possible each time. It is better that I gaze my opponent the dignity and respect of an equal, than to have striven merely for an assured victory. Besides, he and I were the only ones left in the contest, to my knowledge. Others might have entered, perhaps, but it is unlikely that they would have had much of an impact. This way was quicker."
Then, she bowed to Ashley, and to Jenn who had turned to watch her as she spoke, and said; "My name is Tesnya. What is yours?" Jenn promptly replied; "I'm Jennifer! Where did you learn to move like that? If I could have done that for the dance contest.... Er, I mean.... Nice to meet you?" Now that she was closer, Ashley could get a look at the girl, particularly her garb, which she had at first thought was some sort of robe. Now, however, Ashley could tell that it wasn't a robe, or at least not one she'd ever seen, instead being formed of cloth that folded over itself repeatedly. It was red with green trim, and covered her from her shoulders to her lower thighs. Her legs were covered in a thin black mesh, which reminded Ashley of some of the garb she'd seen on prostitutes in a red light district once, though she thought that might be something to keep to herself. Her hair was black, and done up in a pony tail.
Ashley shrugged at the girl's explanation. Even considering the stated reasons, she couldn't see herself wagering more then 18 in that situation - enough to put the score at 20/21. That would limit the game to two rounds in the event that her opponent was better. But it would also hedge against freak accidents, cheap tricks, and low probability strategies that might let someone less skilled win a single match. Still, it didn't seem like it would have mattered in this case, and it wasn't like the girl was going to admit to throwing the match if she'd been paid to do it, which Ashley considered unlikely.
"Ashley. Pleased to meet you."
Ashley realized she was staring at the other girl's unusual outfit, and glanced down at her own clothing, today a dark blue dress. She had spent most of her life in trousers, running with a street gang or living on the road, and she still sometimes felt awkward in one especially if she had to run. But it was also nice to be in a position where that consideration happened so seldom that she didn't even consider it when dressing.
She turned slightly, allowing her to keep an eye on the crowd as the conversation continued, not wanting to be surprised if the new champion should decide to come over. Immediately she realized that the move was probably a little bit transparent to Jenn, but also that going back to not looking would be even worse.
The three men were completely enraptured by Chloes performance, and when she gave a few covert glances their way, she could see that all of them had a hand under the table. When she completed her dance, all three men began clapping, the portly man even cheering her as she descended from the stage, blushing brightly. All three of them held up scores displaying a near-perfect 9, and handed her a card with the number 37 on it, which they told her would be the number called when the contest was over and the winner was decided, so she could come claim her prize if she won. Exiting the tent, the festival was as boisterous as before, and she had some time to relax before the winner of the dance contest was decided.
The girl bowed again as Ashley introduced herself, and said; "I came to study, of course. There are many texts at the Academy on those who possess my abilities, and so I was sent here to try and learn to control them. I only just arrived here two days ago, and other than the dean and a few of the teachers, you are the first people I've spoken to."
Then, Ashley spotted Charles as he approached them, carrying an ornate wooden cup filled with coins, which looked to be a little bit larger than than 200 denarii prize for winning the contest. He had apparently opted to put his shirt back on, and was once more fully dressed in his dark blue tunic. Jenn hid behind Ashley, stifling her giggles as he approached them, his expression flitting between a nervous grin and completely blank. When he got close, but not close enough to invade Ashleys personal space, he stopped and said; "Hello.... We haven't really been formally introduced, but, my name is Charles, Charles Avadon. I've seen you a couple of times around, we have a few classes together right? The teachers say you're one of the best students at the school."
As the tent flap closed behind her Chloe looked at the piece of paper staring intently at it. 37 huh she thought to her self at lest she wasn't the only girl to fall for this trap of a contest. Though to her own dismay she had a very high score. I might not have been the only one but I could very well be the best one. She shuddered a little the image of the men with their hands under the table came to mind, but in a way she was slightly pleased to. Gods what am I thinking what I did back there made me barely better than a whore in a red lantern district. "I need a drink" with that she headed to one of the food vendors maybe they had something with a little kick.
"Ah, I thought you looked a little more... exotic then the farmers who show up just for the festival."
Ashley spotted the new champion approaching and suddenly realized just how awkward this might be. She would have to hastily end her conversation with the girl he had just beat in a wrestling competition, talk to the boy who she had thus far only exchanged looks with, and suffer through Jenn's giggling. Simultaneously.
She couldn't exactly blame Jenn. After all, Ashley had gone out of her way to ensure that the other girl was present. A request to walk with her back to the Academy would offer a graceful way out if things didn't go well, and there would be a price for that service. Ashley quickly tried to salvage the situation as best she could, speaking to Tesnya again before Charles arrived.
"If it's the library you're interested in, it's Jenn you want to talk to."
There. That was better then nothing, and it might at least make Jenn a little less embarrassing for a minute. Then it was too late, he was already introducing himself. Awkwardly, but that wasn't necessarily bad, if it meant he wasn't assuming she'd go along with him. By dint of some effort, Ashley managed to keep herself from blushing at the complement.
"Ah, thank you. I'm Ashley."
She hesitated for a moment. As far as she knew, she didn't actually have a last name. After all, she didn't know who her father was, and it wasn't like she'd ever been enrolled in a school before the Academy, which dealt with enough different cultures that it hadn't been an issue. So she'd never really given it serious thought. But Charles had a father with a title, and that kind of person might care about such things. Of course, there were ways that a person could gain a last name... Ashley moved on, hoping he didn't notice the omission, or at least was graceful enough not to comment.
"And yes, I think we have a couple classes together.
Congratulations on your victory, by the way. You're an impressive fighter."
Ashley paused again, unsure how to continue. Bringing up her own victory wouldn't be very modest, and emphasizing his own wasn't exactly tactful with his opponent mere feet away. She felt herself begin to color.
Chloe headed toward the bandstand after leaving the dancing contest tent. The tavern keeper had rolled out his drink in a large bar right next to it, and if she wanted something with a kick, that was where she had to go. When she got there, the bar had a half dozen people behind it, and they were still swamped with people demanding drink. The bar was packed, and even after she found a spot, she still had to wait fifteen minutes before one of the people tending the bar, a young girl who couldn't be any older than 16 by the look of her, asked her in a rather impolite and harassed tone; "What'll you be having?" Having had plenty of time to examine the menu available, Chloe could now take her pick.
Menu
Mug of Ale: 1 denar
Glass of Wine: 2 denarii
Shot of Whiskey: 3 denarii
Glass of Brandy: 4 denarii
Her ploy seemed to work better than she'd thought, as the girl engaged Jenn in conversation, before dragging the giggling girl off a ways, leaving Ashley alone with Charles. If he'd noticed her omission of her last name in her reply, he didn't show it, as he said; "Thank you! You'd be surprised what you pick up over the years, if you watch and listen to the right people. Besides, I think she underestimated me, after all the other men she trounced from the village. Anyway, old Vartath told me you won the shooting contest, so I suppose congratulations to yourself as well. So what are yo......" Charles was unable to continue his sentence, however, because a series of shouts and gasps signaled to them that something wasn't quite right.
The sun was on the way to setting, but there was still enough daylight left for Ashley to see what had Arrived above the Academy. It was titanic, easily the size of a small mountain, and had hundreds of tentacles swaying and writhing around it. It was round, though not completely spherical, its shape more akin to an egg or perhaps a piece of pottery. The sun hitting its slimy gray skin caused it to shine, like some sort of titanic floating slug, and as she watched pieces of the massive object began to fall off of it. They fell down onto the Academy grounds, too far off for her to make out what they might be, but the young mage knew that it couldn't possibly be good. While it had been two years since Artmirst, and since she'd last seen the daemon Matthias, the same sense of vast, undeniable power that he'd emitted was coming off of the floating creature as it hovered above her new home. She didn't notice Jenn or Tesnya as they came over to stand beside Ashley and Charles once more, staring at the sudden apparition. It was Jenn who spoke first among the group; "What in the hell is that?" And, a moment later, both Charles and Tesnya replied at the same time; "Not good."
Ashley felt the presence of the thing instantly. It seemed to ooze power, and she could further feel it as a giant hole in the local weather, like a mountain but lifted completely off the ground. For a moment all she could do was stare at it in awe, amazed that something so large could even exist, much what sit there above the world, unmoving.
Then she heard the others say that it was "not good". And they were right. It wasn't just powerful, it was wrong. The tentacles suggested just how wrong it might be. She quickly tried to count the number of pods falling to the academy grounds, but it was no good. The only conclusion could be "too many". Even in a place with as much concentrated magical power as the Academy, only so many could be fought at a time. And more were coming out. If someone was going to do anything about this, to stop it, the only hope would be to attack now. For another blink of an eye she just watched, expecting tongues of power to lash out from the teachers and other elders of the Academy. But that was foolish. Even the most powerful mage couldn't throw enough lightning or fire to do more then singe the thing. Of course, there were other methods of attack, and there was nobody in the world better suited to one of them then Ashley herself.
Ashley threw back her sleeves in the traditional sign of someone about to preform magic without trickery, planted her feet shoulder width apart and lashed out with both hands. Locally the effects were immediate, a rush of air that made her hair stream out and her dress flutter dramatically. The wider effects would take time to become obvious, but when they did they would be dramatic. Clouds sprang into being - not the slow drawing in from the horizons that had marked her major weather spells before her tuition at the Academy, and not the magical "pop" into existence, but from tiny seeds they billowed into being as if over a great warm sea. And the winds grew to match. Ashley had seen a storm in the tropics, once, one that was even then coming off such a warm sea, and even to her the wind had seemed excessive. Remembering that vast stormfront now, she shifted the balance of pressure to add a little rotation, hoping that she might again see the funnel clouds that had dipped from the sky to tear apart the land when storm had met shore.
The sky had already darkened, and in the back of her mind Ashley spared a moment for the rest of the world as the storm grew and moved towards its target. This wasn't something that would vanish the moment she let go, it had momentum, building on the winds that always came in spring, and the play between the last cold of winter and the first heat of summer. It had been such a nice day. Now that this thing had come, it seemed only fitting that the rest of the day not be quite so nice. The storm would sow confusion among the residents, but they were already confused, and it would hurt the invaders as bad. At least as bad. Some of them were still airborne, and Ashley didn't envy anyone trying to come calmly to the ground in the quickly-building storm. But some would make it through. Maybe lots.
The wind tried to steal the words from her mouth as she continued gesturing at the sky. "Jenn, get ready to run when I let this go!"
It occurred to her that the others might want to come as well. It hardly mattered now. It had been so long since she had really let herself stretch her magical talents to the breaking point, but she was doing so now. Her breath let out in a sigh as the last shred of control shifted from herself to the storm, and ragged clouds sprang into existence around her, spiraling up into the growing storm with the growing wind, leaving a trail fifty yards into the air before they dissipated. And with that she knew she was at her limit. Her eyes reflected the chaos of the sky above and flash as if lit by lightning that shone nowhere else. She spoke a word of command that resonated with her very bones, and released the building storm on the vast floating craft.
The storm was a powerful thing, and would briefly grow even now that she had unleashed it, and even if it wasn't as powerful as what nature could deliver along tropical coasts it was not a thing to be ignored. What most people forgot about weather was that it was only two dimensional when it was on the ground. Far in the sky, the storm took all its vast power and pointed it DOWN from above the ship. When the wind hit the ground it would spread out in every direction with a force great enough to knock down buildings - but what it would do to the ship was impossible to judge. What it would do when its power started slowly fading was anybody's guess, but Ashley felt sure that it would stay as she had pointed it for at least a minute.
Her magic done for the moment, Ashley felt her knees buckle and her skin grow cold and damp. The last few wisps of cloud pulled themselves back into her skin, and by the time she opened her eyes they looked their normal grey, no longer lit by an ethereal light. She held out her hand for help to her feet, but she could feel her strength returning quickly.
She took a look at the storm, and shuddered. Normally big weather was something she liked, but this was a little too focused on destruction for her tastes. And hell, if she was going all out she considered that she might have spared some effort for lightning, just for the look of the thing. But that had never been her forte, she knew she would get more destruction for the same cost with wind. And it wasn't like someone else couldn't add lightning if they were paying attention and were more skilled in lightning then she. Then she realized that she had probably just lit a mile-high neon arrow pointing at herself for any of the invaders who were magically gifted.
"Well, that was fun. We should probably... move. Now."
Level 5+ wind spell on the mothership. Razor wind if I've got to pick one. Here goes nothing!
Chloe pursed her lips together thinking over her choices. The Brandy and Whiskey where eliminated immediately both being a little to strong for her liking. Which left the Wine and Ale. The Ale seemed the most promising most likely being watered down for the festival. She could have some and not worry about stumbling home. However the wine would be a reminder of home and have a nice kick to boot. She pondered a moment longer before letting the barmaid know that she would be having a glass of wine.
After what seemed an eternity waiting Chloe gratefully accepted her drink and slowly sipped it while listing to the Satyr play his pipes and just relaxing staring off into the horizon.
The wind slowly began to howl as Ashley worked her magic upon the very sky above them, and several people glanced at her, wondering what the young mage was doing. The winds speed picked up rapidly, until the the storm raged against the massive object that had appeared above the Academy. The many small objects that were falling from it were hurled off course, away from their apparent destination. The wind continued to pick up even as Ashley collapsed in exhaustion, the only reason she didn't hit the ground being that Charles and Jennifer both caught her and held her up. The storm raged above them, and the massive object began to lurch and shift as the wind pushed down on it, but it still remained in the air. The storm would last a while yet, and the titanic thing couldn't drop any more pods down while it did, but many had landed before she had completed her spell and unleashed the storm upon it.
When Ashley moved and spoke, signaling her recovery, she Jenn said; "To where?" Charles remained silent, but Tesnya spoke before Ashley could; "To the academy, of course. That... Thing, most definitely is not friendly, and while your friends magic may have slowed it, I doubt that it is finished just yet."
(Not sure how I'd follow that with anything half as good. So, short post is short.)
Ashley stared for another moment at the vast ship, somewhat disappointed that she hadn't managed to bring it down, but aware that she should be glad to have done anything at all to it. How long would the storm last? A few minutes at least, maybe a few hours if she was lucky and conditions remained favorable. She could take hold of it again, but she knew she couldn't really add to its power, only guide its course. And after the effort she'd spent making it in the first place it'd probably knock her out as effectively as a blow to the head. In her semi-dazed state, thinking was hard, so she spoke aloud.
"Nothing more is getting out of that thing until the storm dies down a bit. But that won't be more then a few hours at most. Maybe only a few minutes, if things go poorly. But... it came so suddenly, obviously intended to be a surprise attack, and now we have a little time to get organized before the rest can come. Except it looked like so many were already down when the storm hit."
Ashley looked back up at the storm. She always felt the most alive in storms, and just looking at it seemed to bring the color back to her face. Beads of sweat formed on skin that had previously been too cold, and she knew the shock was over. Of course, that didn't erase the tiredness, but she was no longer afraid of falling over without help. She gently pulled free of Jenn and Charles.
"Tesnya is right, we should head for the Academy. We should find the administration, or even a group of teachers. If we can fight our way through to them we might stand a chance of having enough defenses in place when the storm dies enough for more to come down to hold, and break their assault. I'm not sure where they would be right now, but I think we should assume that they'd head for a defensible spot in any case. Maybe the great hall, or the library?"
In the mean time, Ashley starts walking towards the main academy buildings, aware that they don't exactly have time to spare discussing things.
(No XP for all the invaders that were still in the air when the storm hit? )
)