Quote Originally Posted by MrSandman View Post
"Hopefully it won't come to that...I don't wish my first request to the counsel end with a fight. Besides, the situation is grave...I'm sure we..can...." Etrina tilted her head, letting her gaze shift to the side and take in the hallway behind Asha'rah. After a moment of staring, she shook her head slowly in disbelief. ".........Your ability to track dirt all over my floor is truly on the scale of the divine. I...don't think even Erosa can compete with this.....and I don't even have time to clean. Blast it, this will be bothering me all day now."

The mage let out a loud sigh, but nonetheless she motioned to the others. "Well, no use sitting around anymore. I'm pretty sure this is as varied a group as any for tackle our goal....and preparations should be complete in any event." Etrina shuffled over to the corner of the room, where she did a quick examination of the wall. The mage muttered something about needed to purchase another bucket of paint on her next trip out, then pulled a piece of green chalk from her robe and tracing a door shaped outline on her wall. "Bloody counsel mages...I swear....Can't just put in the means for a teleportation spell, have to make due with the most archaic forms of spacial travel....next to walking I mean."

Pulling an envelope from her robe, she extracted a document and placed it at the center of the drawn doorframe before giving it a push. The wall seemed to slide backwards, disintegrating into nothing and leaving a hole that led....somewhere.

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Etrina ushered the gathered group through the minor gateway, which had temporarily connected her home to somewhere they could only imagine was more then a fair distance away from their original position. The destination was a large, well lit chamber that seemed to double as something of a reception area. Several men and women, mages from the look of them, conversed quietly but fired curious side glances towards the group as each arrived. They made no obvious attempts to gawk, though they seemed interested enough with the less human members.

A rather stoic mage sitting near the doorway motioned the group towards him, he held a quill in his hand and has scratching something on a large tome. "Etrina Stoltengarde and Company, I presume?" The man glanced each other, then returned to scratching something in his tome. "Yes, the counsel has been expecting you. The chamber is still being prepared however....if you would kindly wait a few more minutes they will be ready to take you."

"....Of course." Etrina smiled, but it faded quickly back to her neutral frown once she turned away. "My apologies....it seems we need to wait a bit longer....hopefully the stares of a few mages won't be too uncomfort..."

"Etrina Stoltengarde!" A loud voice boomed, and immediately Etrina cringed as if she had heard nails on a chalkboard. The voice had originated from a blue haired young man who was peeking at them from the chamber door. The figure pushed his way into the room, stomped past the now slightly annoyed receptionist and arrived in time for Etrina to wipe the aggravation from her face and attempt a smile. "Ahh, Tomas, what....to what do I owe for such a timely appearance."

"Heard you were putting in an access request for the archive. Came to watch it crash and burn.....no personal offense of course." Tomas raised his hands in a disarming motion. "You know how it is....might as well be the most entertaining thing that happens around here. That being said I wish you the very best of luck."

"As do I....and I actually mean it." A purple haired girl joined the two, a much more positive aura surrounding her the the blue haired man. "Ugh...Could you hold the obnoxiousness for once in your life Tomas. I think Etrina has more then earned it considered she saved your life."

"What? Feh...Fine Fine! I didn't mean it like that at all." Tomas retorted with a sigh. Nonetheless the new girl stepped in front of him and greeted Etrina with a smile. "Charmed as usual. So.....are these the ones you plan on bringing? I think an introduction is in order?"

"Ahhh yes...right." Etrina turned back to the group. "Tomas Hubbard, Helena Blavatsky. Two mages I've had personal dealings with in the past. One of them is an incredibly talented mage....the other....."

Etrina quietly turns to stare at Tomas, who eyes her look before shrugging. "Now Now.......Helena is standing right there. No need to be snide..."
After more conversation, they finally departed for this so-called mage council. When Sarada stepped through the portal provided by Etrina, she wasn't sure what to expect. She had in her head the image of several shadowy figures sitting behind a long table, faces obscured by shadows in the back of a dimly lit room. Perhaps not exactly accurate, but it was what she decided to go with, as that would give her much more to think on than what she had a feeling it was all about: several stuffy old men in ridiculous clothing prattling on and on about the sanctity of magic, blah blah blah.

Why Etrina felt the need to subjugate herself to such a nonsensical thing was beyond the Saiyan. If there was something she needed to know, she should have been allowed access to it. Knowledge was a free thing, after all. Regardless of how 'sacred' or how 'secret' that knowledge was. A vetting process was all that should have been necessary, which shouldn't have require all this pomp and circumstance.

She stepped through to the other side and found herself in the midst of what looked like a reception area. People conversed quietly with each other, and shot the incoming group curious looks. Specifically her and Ishtar. She supposed it was because they were obviously not human. It was like they had never seen someone not of this world before. Likely not, which boded ill for her in regards the amulet she wanted to learn more about. She doubted already they had seen anything like it; seeing these curious glances only solidified that doubt.

Ignoring the looks, she stood arms folded over her chest while Etrina, she assumed, signed them in or whatever she was talking about with that man. She raised an eyebrow at his writing implement. A...bird's feather? And he was writing on an expansive... what the hell was that? "Why is this guy writing on a giant roll of toilet paper?"

One more piece of evidence on her ever-growing list of proof that humans were strange creatures.

Two more humans walked up; one loud and obnoxious and the other much more harming and pleasant. Sarada cut them both a glance, and committed their names to memory. Tomas and Helena, respectively. It seemed Etrina was much more fond of the latter than the former; no surprise. One second and Sarada was itching to rip his tongue out and feed it to him. There was nothing worse than pretentious worms like him.