He hears some thumping from around a corner as he speaks, the words echoing off a labyrinth of bookshelves. The source of the thumping is revealed as an old crone, with a pair of spectacles on her face. "What's that, dear?" She looks at Ard and Abigail. "Say, I don't remember you coming in."
Varrin nodded and followed silently, hand on sword, just in case.
"The back's locked." She sighs. "Fine, you're in Calpurnia's Book Emporium." As she speaks, Ard feels the sphere begin to jostle and move.
@Regin34 Boris shrugs and leads the group down a manhole and into the sewers. Dodging dead ends and ne'er-do-wells, he leads them to a passage hidden behind a false wall. "Alright, careful now." Heading down the passage, Isabella casts a light spell, illuminating the faces of five drowners, growling as they look at Trista and Varrin.
Trista didn't waiting only take her silver sword and attack downers with fast swing of blade.
Gunther heads to discuss business with Saria. In the main room, she finds Ashton, Danielle and the mage making their last preparations. "Alright." The mage looks up. "Without their ward, the vault is undefended. Danielle's led on one of Reuven's lieutenants and can get close to the vault. When he thinks he has my wife to himself, that's when you'll strike, Mirellia."
The woman gives a strange look, but points to the front door, as the sphere nearly pulls the elf around. Heading outside, Ard finds that he's in a bustling, vibrant city, filled with people. Abigail chuckles at the sight. "Where the hell are we?" Her reverie is interrupted by the sound of an explosion in the distance, from the same direction the sphere is pulling.
Isabella raises her hand and incinerates the first drowner that leaps at Varrin, but the second one gets past her magic, jumping at him with claws and fangs extended to do some damage.
Trista moves as fast as ever, rapid slashes of her blade bisecting a drowner, and decapitating another, while Gustav impales one on his own sword. Trista has barely recovered, however, when a new drowner approaches, rapidly sprinting down the tunnel. It slashes at Trista, and though it doesn't touch her flesh, its claws manage to make a small cut into her armour, clearly extremely sharp and strong.
She feels the magic leave her palm, and sees the drowner's eyes go wide, before going in for the kill. Unfortunately for Trista, however, the beast proves smarter than most of its kind, moving back in time to avoid her blade going through its neck, though it does instinctively raise a hand to try and block, which gets cut off.
The drowner falls to the ground as the silver slashes through bone and tendons, and though it tries vainly to claw at her, is helpless to stop the witcher from impaling it. Looking up, she sees a swarm of more drowners entering the light of Isabella's spell, at the end of the tunnel.
"As a friend." The mage responds. "Danielle's cover is that she's a...courtesan, so she's gotten this gangster to bring her to his place, using the prospect of fun with her and a beautiful friend as bait. Once you've dealt with him, you'll help me get inside, and we'll head to the vault." He points out a side entrance that Danielle can use to let him in, that should be lightly defended.