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Faruja The Royal Akademy for Magickal Arts, more commonly known as the Gariland Magical Academy, is located in the simply named Magick City of Gariland. As the foremost Academy in training not just magic to sages and would-be battlefield soldiers, but almost every type of soldier used in Order of the Northern Sky's ranks. Many heroes during the Fifty Years War trained here, and every Temple Wizard of the Church holds at least one degree from the Akademy.

Thus when Sister Iria, a promising young White Mage, is found stabbed to death in her dorm room the Akademy seemed to come to a halt. There's no local hand-wringing, no trying to invoke local authority, the Inquisition has been called in with haste. With so many powerful hands in the pot, no one wants this to stain the honor of such an institution.

With a warp gate not minutes away from the town itself, the Elites invited to the investigation are lead in by a pair of squires wearing Order colors. A few of those have also been discretely given false identities as local students, and mage or squire uniforms of the Akademy as appropriate.

The Akademy's grounds look more at home in a 19th century College on Earth: large well-groomed grounds, columns and high buildings everywhere with names carved into them. But it's military nature is clear by a well-plodded drilling grounds and an area to the west of the place where the sounds of destructive spells, guns, and arrows can be heard.

Every now and then there's an explosion or sound of magical mishap in the aptly name Experiments Building.

But it's to the dorms where most of the group will be led. Sister Iria's room is guarded by a red-clad Church Knight that ushers them in. The entire hall of the dorm has been cleared out, and so those on the Student Team can safely enter to get the rundown. The Investigation Team has been given Black-and-Red Crosses to wear. No one stops them as they enter.

Faruja's voice can be heard, low last rights being given to the deceased. There's also the sound of a camera going off at the same time and very careful shuffling about by someone light on their feet. Eventually, Faruja's voice can be heard.

"Right then, I think I hear our Investigators. Keep any foolish squires out, I do not care if you have to break a noble's nose to do it, Berry. No blood please, some of the Union may well be able to assist us if we keep this place 'clean' as it were."

There's a subdued agreement from Berry, not at all her chipper self, given the circumstances.

Faruja exits the room to greet the Elites gathered. "Ah, thank you for coming everyone. Allow me to give you all the basics. The deceased's name is Sister Iria, bastard child of one of the local minor nobility. Her record is clean, her grades are excellent, pious girl, and frankly I met her once. A rare talent for white magic, I had planned on scouting her for my service." His jaw tightens a bit. Fury, for once not born of zealotry, sits in his gaze. Something about her death has sparked the rat's ire, moreso than usual.

"We know of no enemies she had, and...well, I shall let the Investigation Team see the body, but suicide is unlikely. What we /do/ know is that the good Sister has been spending unhealthy amounts of time working in her dorm room. Our task is simple: investigate both the crime scene and the student body for any information about Iria, who may have had reason to harm her, and what exactly she has been up to in her room all these days."

"Questions? Some of you obviously have appropriate clothing, and a dossier on how to act as a student here. The names will be at the top of your papers."

All of those on the Student Team have been given information both on how to play the part of their chosen role and background. The Investigation Team have a paper copy of what is known about Iria that Faruja just stated.
Eve     While Eve is technically a magical girl of sorts, she probably can't do the sort of magic even an apprentice is supposed to be able to do here. She's therefore a squire. While she can't do magic she CAN hold her own with most melee weapons, so at least she'll fit in with that.

    This means of course that Eve is dressed up as a squire. Which puts her as a member of a noble house. That is to say, she's a fashionable pretty child rather than a poor, competent scholarship student. If she's a bit small for a warrior, well, some squires start young. And in fact, she's probably dressed in an outfit intended for one of the youngest squires. Someone 11 or even 10 years old. It's bound to be precious and adorable.

    Eve peers over her dossier, having scanned it quickly. "Just... act like a student and try to get people to tell us what she's been doing? Won't they get suspicious of us newcomers?"
Kazuko Kawakami In any other school, Kazuko probably wouldn't look too out of place in her own Kawakami Academy uniform. She's the right age, she's got the right look on her face, and she's even got a long naginata strapped to her back that wouldn't look too out of place for an aspiring Dragoon, maybe!

     Unlike a conventional exchange student, however, the martial artist isn't here today to inspect the school grounds for a potential new home away from home. No, she's here tonight for BUSINESS. She's heard the call for assistance in investigating the grisly murder of one of the school's own, and Kazuko actually has enough sense to keep herself from asking too many (or any, even) questions before she's even led with the rest of the group to the site.

     She's even keeping to an inside voice. "Mm... If we find something, should we call someone in to touch it, or can we touch it ourselves?" Kazuko's watched a few crime dramas, it seems. Not a lot, but enough to know that her naginata should probably be left outside (and she removes it in preparation for just that), clues sometimes have other delicate clues lingering nearby, and police cameras have an unlimited zoom function!

     She'll probably be disappointed about at least one of those.
Rebecca Chambers So someone killed Sister Iria. And an investigation is needed at once! Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters ain't gonna help, but there's always Rebecca Chambers!

Upon her arrival and gathering with the others, Rebecca stands at attention and listens to the explanation of what happened and the circumstances leading up to the murder. The only movement, if one looked close enough, is the occasional blinking of her eyes, which happens so fast it's near impossible to even make out. Apparently, Rebecca takes this very seriously.

Once everything is explained and Rebecca has received her paper, she nods to Faruja with a salute. "We'll take care of this, don't worry!" She says with a tone full of discipline and determination.
Ainsley     Ainsley is wearing a squire uniform so neatly maintained that it's clear she had gone to extra trouble to look presentable. It's also a unisex uniform, making it absurdly unclear about what gender she's supposed to be, which may actually not be that rare in a world like this, especially for someone wanting to be a knight that also happens to be a lizard. Knights are soldiers first, after all. She has a mellow look to her face that suggests she knows the full gravity of a student being killed on school grounds. She has a sword with her at her hip, though it's currently bound as per school rules so it is merely a part of her uniform.

    She listens to Faruja calmly and quietly while he explains what their tasks are. By the time he's done, she presents him a brisk salute of understanding, able to look as official as a properly trained squire with the help of a bit of enchantment placed on herself. It's a mild deception, and she doesn't anticipate having to use her magic for anything strenuous, so the effect is nearly seemless.

    It's almost as if she's always wanted to train to be a knight... Hardly a surprise to anyone that really knows her. Faruja would know better than anyone.
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna finishes getting her robe arranged properly about her form; she likely had to pull some of it and drape the 'slack' over her belt like a kimono or a yukata. Thankfully she doesn't have to wear actual armor in most of her classes. Elner is somewhere in the general area, but the robo-faerie is staying outdoors as long as its sensors aren't needed for anything up close. "Sounds straightforward enough," she replies to Faruja, reaching up and back to gather her ponytail up into something more manageable ... and more martial-looking. A temple knight isn't going to have hair long enough that somebody could swing her around by it, even if she *should* be (and perhaps actually is) good enough to keep it from being used against her.

She double-checks a few details in her dossier, and grimaces slightly. This will take a bit of work, but she can think of it as acting practice. Acting practice where lives might be on the line, but acting practice nonetheless. "Is it practical for us to be recent transfers or something? You made it sound like we should have been studying for a while ..."
Faruja Eve, ever intelligent, gets a smile from the rat. "An astute question, and indeed, it would be a concern normally. However, given the ongoing clashes with Alexandria and the conflict over the Throne, the Akademy has been recruiting heavily and even sending those as young as yourself into battle. To be quite blunt, new faces are common enough that most won't question it."

As for Kazuko's question? Faruja pulls out a box of medical gloves from one of his robe pockets.

"Feel free to touch, unless it looks to be bloodied. Just wear these, please, and don't move anything too far that looks suspicious."

Rebecca's salute is returned with a cross of his chest and a bow. "I have every confidence. Any 'advanced' insight you might bring into the investigation is welcome." After all, given the medieval level technology, forensics isn't exactly much of a thing in Ivalice.

The salute from Ainsley gets a small nod of approval. /Excellent/. It's amazing to see her in such form, and only the situation keeps him from grinning like a schoolboy.

Yuna gets a nod. "Practical enough, given the political circumstances. Temple Knights are at a premium these days, between the war and the usual rise of Heresy during these troubled times."

Then, the rat nods to the group. "Unless anyone has questions, please begin your investigations."

INVESTIGATION GROUP

The Inquisitor opens the door for those staying here, letting them into the room itself. "Please, look for yourselves first. I want your opinions without my input before I offer my own thoughts."

The room is large, befitting a Church member. Directly past the door is a bed, covered with a black sheet. There's a human form beneath, and at the foot of the bed, lay a dagger coated in dried blood.

Nearby, there's a dresser with a small book sitting atop it. In the eastern corner of the room, two very large bookshelves of solid, ornate oak are filled with books ranging from history, Church lore and religious tracts, to tomes on white magic and defensive techniques. At the center of the room, a heavy, scarred metal table shows signs of heavy magical work. It reeks of potions and medicine and burning holy magic. Papers are scattered everywhere, some on the floor, and a beaker of Potion is cracked, laying on its side. Not a foot away, towards the bed, is a slipper. The underside is coated in blood. Slick red seems to have soaked from the sheets to the floor, a single foot print leading from bed to that slipper can be seen.
Rebecca Chambers As soon as Rebecca makes her way into the room, she gasps in disbelief at the awful sight. She's used to seeing murder scenes, but seeing something like this in a holy place like this feels almost like an insult to the sanctity of this place. She closes her eyes and places her hand over her heart briefly, before opening her eyes and looking into the room again.

The first thing Rebecca does is look at the dagger after donning a pair of gloves, and after giving it a good looking over, makes a note of what she's found. "The blood's definitely dry, although it's impossible to tell just how long without a more detailed analysis."

Then Rebecca notices the slipper and the foot print. Immediately, she kneels down to look at the slipper and the foot print, attempting to compare the two to see if she can find a match of any kind. "There's something about this I think," Rebecca comments to herself as she turns it over to look at the sole of the slipper, attempting to compare it to the foot print.
Eve     Eve eyes Yuna, still her primary guide to social acceptability, as she fixes her hair into something more suiting a warrior. Eve being a 'squire' now too, she growns and follows suit. It's unlikely anyone here has actually seen Eve making her hair go prehensile. Blades and stuff, yeah, but she's always used her hands rather than her head, ironically enough.

    The small blonde nanogirl clearly has to focus hard to do it, but her long hair begins to coil and twist. It weaves into a long flat braid which then coils around itself into a rather elegant hairbun clinging to the back of her head. Suitable enough for a warrior girl, yes.

    With that, Eve makes her way off to find some students who are willing to help a poor young first-year girl. Or, perhaps, a noble young first-year girl. She certainly looks the part at least!
Kazuko Kawakami Gloves! That's what Kazuko was missing. Setting her weapon aside, she takes a pair of the gloves and slips them on, then gives Faruja a quick salute as that serious look comes back to the girl's face. "We won't let you down." And then the same gesture is offered to the rest of the gathered group. "Let's find out what happened, who did it, and then..."

     A pause. What /would/ they be doing to them, anyway? Well, that's probably best left figured out for later once they catch the culprit first. It's time to investigate!

     The scent of blood and potion ingredients hits Kazuko before she even enters the room, and she wrinkles her nose before pinching it shut instinctively. She does relent and let go a moment later, however, since she'll have to get used to that if she wants to help at all with this investigation. Following Rebecca, she peers at the dagger and slipper as they're pointed out.

     It's the book that draws Kazuko's attention first, though. She checks the book carefully, flipping through it to see what's inside and glancing over the scattered papers without touching the sheets. "Maybe... These had something to do with whatever she was working on?" She even sniffs the dresser book a few times to see if there's any distinct smells in there beyond what's already in the room!
Faruja STUDENT TEAM

Each member of the team has a campus map with a little information about each area of the school. There are three buildings worth investigating.

The EXPERIMENTS BUILDING is a center for magical experimentation and general practical application where things aren't likely to destroy the building. Sister Iria is a White Mage, and so there's an entire wing dedicated to mundane surgery, white magic, potion making and similar topics. One could either interrogate LOCAL STUDENTS or meet the DEAN OF WHITE MAGIC.

The second building is the AKADEMY MESS HALL. It's where most of the students get their meals, though some of the nobility have their in-dorm maids to take care of that. Sister Iria has been seen in the Mess before, and so one might be able to find STAFF or STUDENTS that knew her, though perhaps not as closely.

The final building is the LOCAL CHURCH. A sizable church that's older than the Akademy itself, it's staffed by multiple members of the Clergy, both Nuns and various laymen. As an acting Sister, Iria often spends time there, and is on the Choir. One could interrogate NUNS, the head PRIEST, or perhaps members of the CHOIR. They should be finishing up recital not too long from now.
Ainsley     Ainsley doesn't spend much time agonizing over which place to pick. Once she had a choice of placed to look for people who could know Iria closely, she made her way briskly toward the LOCAL CHURCH. She moved with a confident stride that said 'I am here to learn how to be a knight' and didn't even pause to look at her map once she knew the basic layout. She didn't look like someone on a mission, though, keeping her pace mellow enough to suggest she's just wandering to find a conversation. Best not to draw too much attention.

    'Squire' Ainsley would try to track down the CHOIR first. Seeing as they would've worked rather closely alongside Iria but not in the work-like capacity of the other places Iria studied at. She plans to speak to them in a casual basis and try to gather information without being overly obvious about it. It would be easy for her to do, because she rather liked singing even as a child, even if it wasn't really allowed where she grew up. She may not be a pro but she's read enough to know terminology and she can keep up with a STUDENT choir without any issue.
Yuna Kagurazaka The church seems like the most appropriate place for Yuna to go, and given her actual singing ability (or at least, the amount of practice she puts into it), investigating the Choir seems to be in order - not to mention that with Sister Iria's unfortunate and untimely death, they may need to fill a seat again.

.... which is, really, the worst possible reason for Yuna to show up there, so she really can't show up and ask about the choir directly. Better to try and manage things so that somebody else breaches the subject to her. If there's an evening service, she may be able to join in a couple of hymns ...
Faruja INVESTIGATION TEAM

Rebecca picks up the slipper, and matches against the footprint. The print is a little smudged, but it's definitely coming from the slipper itself. But whether it belongs to the victim or to the culprit would require EXAMINING THE BODY. The slipper looks slightly wide.

Kazuko picks up the book. As she looks over it, she would soon discover that it's something of a diary. It seems fairly benign, showing a young woman struggling with finding many friends despite great academic progress. A quick read will glean Iria has been spending lots of time with the DEAN OF WHITE MAGIC as of late, as well as with the CHOIR. The last few entries are increasingly strange, however.

Three Weeks Ago

'I find myself drawn. These sinful feelings...are they granted by Holy Faram, or am I tainted? Oh Ajora help me. But I must see them once again. Forgive this young girl her foolish heart!'

Two Weeks Ago

'We met once again. I've been invited. My heart leaps! Oh thank you Ajora, that I may keep my vows, and yet follow my heart. Truly Faram is great! We meet on the eve of next week! My songbird's voice is so sweet..."

One Week Ago

'Invited. The bird's voice forever silenced. I go to meet them. Touch the spine of the Old Lord Beoulve's valiant passing. You will know.'

It almost sounds like a RIDDLE. Perhaps Kazuko should INVESTIGATE FURTHER in the room, or perhaps ASK FARUJA FOR HELP.
Faruja STUDENT TEAM

The Student Team seems to settle on investigating the LOCAL CHURCH and the Choir specifically. Eve is intercepted by a local student. A rather enthusiastic young woman with red hair in a nun's habit. She's all but being dragged to the Local Church, the young nun blabbering on about how good the Choir is, and how sad they've all been with the passing of one of their number. Unless she stops the redhead, she'll end up with Ainsley and Yuna!

Ainsley and Yuna both would find the Choir in the last hymn of a song sung to commemorate the dead. More than one student has tears in their eyes. Faces are downcast almost as a whole, and the Church has an air of mourning about it. One notable Student, a young woman in white mage robes, has a black veil over her face. She could easily be Iria's age.

Another with a veil is a young Squire. He looks much older, nearing the end of his teenage years, already with the stubble of a goatee and a scarr over his right eye. His jaw is set, his mournful expression betrayed by something approaching zealous rage. The last person to question would be the Nun leading the choir, an older woman also with a mourning veil. Hunched over, she leans on a cane, but her eyes shine brightly with grief. Her face is tightly controlled, as if trying to bear the pain of those she looks over.
Kazuko Kawakami Kazuko squints slightly as she pores through that diary, taking in what at first seems like regular entries in a diary before it starts turning into... A girl in love? Or is it something more sinister? A CULT, even?

     No, no. There has to be some kind of reasonable explanation for this. Like hell she can figure out what that explanation is on her own, though, what with not being familiar with whoever these Faram or Ajora people are. "Hey, Rebecca? Uh.. Mister Faruja? I found her diary. She's talking a lot about getting invited to see someone and being super excited over it. And she's seen the Dean of White Magic a lot, so maybe..."

     She trails off and shakes her head, then holds out the book to let them both take a look at it themselves. Perhaps it'll be better not to give her own conclusions just yet. Kazuko could easily be off the mark entirely, and she doesn't want to muddle things up in her first investigation!
Rebecca Chambers Rebecca takes a good look at the slipper and finds that it's a match like she suspected. Of course whether it belongs to the murderer or not is uncertain unless...

"I don't want to have to do this, but I really have no choice."

Rebecca walks over to the bed, and stares at the figure under the sheet. Taking a deep breath, she makes the cross on her chest before saying, "I'm sorry to do this, but this is for your own good." She lifts the sheet slowly, moving primarily for the legs and feet area. Her goal is to see if the slipper fits Sister Iria's foot, or if it even belongs to her or not. "After I'm done here, we'll be one step closer to finding your killer... I hope."
Ainsley Ainsley notes the other two getting to the Church with roughly the same plan in mind, for different reasons. She only spares them a glance so that it doesn't look like she's part of a group of people. The more they appear like investigators, the less the students will actually want to say. She cases the crowd as the mournful song plays to its conclusion, her expression somber but carefully measured since she didn't know Sister Iria at all. She calmly crosses the room once she finds someone to speak to. Once she is near the squire, she tries to make eye contact, to see if he's in any state to talk to her. Anger can make people irrational, but it can also make them say things they would otherwise keep to themselves. She's trying to make sure he isn't going to explode at her.

    "Hello," she speaks in her decidedly pleasant voice. "I don't believe we've met," she says, "You can call me Kami. Are you going to be alright?" Her voice is soft and kind, and her eyes consistently search for an opening so she can empathize with him.
Faruja INVESTIGATION TEAM

Faruja enters the room upon being called on. Gently, he'll take the diary from Kazuko as she explains. The rat's tail lashes lightly as he considers. Slowly he thumbs through the diary, skim-reading.

"How...curious. I'm inclined to believe that our dear Sister may have found herself a lover. Strange. Her particular Order of Sisters does not frown upon their members taking lovers or being wed. Encouraged, in fact. Yet she speaks as though 'tis a sin." The rat frowns.

"We may wish to discover the identity of this young man. This 'invited' is more worrisome. Perhaps a connection."

As for the RIDDLE, the rat taps his chin. "The Lord Beoulve could be none other than Balbanes Beoulve. He was a distinguished member of the Hokuten and pious member of the Church that helped end the Fifty Years War. A true hero by any's regard. And no member of the Church would dig up his grave to touch his spine. Mmm. His passing. His death was...four years ago, if memory serves?" He offers to Kazu.

Rebecca pulls up the sheet. It's simple to match it: the slipper is too wide for this young woman's dainty foot, and too short besides. Unlikely to be hers.

She would also discover the extent of her wounds. Even down to her legs, she's severely stabbed, and they only seem to continue up from there. Whoever hurt this woman, did so far beyond necessity.

In the process of looking, something glints just on the hem of the white mage's robes. A tiny chain is sticking out from a robe pocket.
Kazuko Kawakami "So it was a lover!" Kazuko sounds pleased for all of two seconds, then slumps just a bit and rubs the back of her neck with an apologetic frown. "Sorry. Ah... So it was that. But why would she think that's wrong by the rules? I mean, if she had all those good grades and was so into the sister-y stuff... Did someone teach her wrong or something?"

     Another question to throw onto the pile of things. Still, a lead is a lead! "Yeah, this thing about invitations sounds kinda like... Like one of those groups that make everyone drink really fake fruit juice and eat poisoned brownies or something."

     She's mixing up signals, isn't she? Oh well.

     The explanation of BEOULVE and his impact don't go wasted, at least, as the martial artist listens to the Inquisitor intently once more. "If it was only four years ago... Well, she woulda known about him, too. But the most recent part sounds super weird. The style's all different, the bird with the nice voice got 'silenced', and..."

     Soemthing clicks, and she looks back over at the diary again. "... Who's the 'you'? Is that us? Or... Her?"
Yuna Kagurazaka Just missing the hymn means that Yuna's first intended approach isn't going to work very well, but she adapts smoothly enough. The young white mage student with the veil, the one who looks about the same age as Sister Iria was supposed to be, seems like a likely person to speak with.

Rather than approaching her, though, Yuna sidles into one of the aisles, bowing her head and bringing her hands up and together as though in prayer, then adjusting her position and actions to mesh with what the others in the church are doing. She's trying to keep an eye on the white mage student, though - she's hoping and planning to intercept her, preferably on her way out or somewhere convenient to being tugged aside for a longer and more private chat ...
Rebecca Chambers As Rebecca gets a better look at how badly hurt this girl was, her eyes glisten with tears a little. Whoever did this was obviously trying to do a lot of harm to Sister Iria. She closes her eyes for a moment and blinks the tears away. "Stay focused, Becky," She says to herself sternly. "You've got a killer to catch!" She double-checks and confirms that the shoe is too big for Sister Iria to be wearing. "Looks like our killer left something behind in their haste," She says with a slight frown.

Rebecca is about to draw the sheet over Sister Iria again, when she notices something in her robe glistening. A chain or something? Knowing every little bit is important, Rebecca reaches to take it and examine it as evidence, but not before drawing the sheet over Sister Iria again. "Rest in peace, Sister. We will find justice for you!"
Faruja STUDENT TEAM

'Kami' would find the SQUIRE to be quite on edge. He pauses at the question, teeth almost audibly grind, and suddenly he grips a pew with enough force to cause it to crack.

"OF COURSE NO..." He starts, only to be glared down by the Nun leading the Choir. Eyes close, and he lets out a sigh. "Forgive me, Dame Kami. Well, there's nothing for it. Come with me. We've ill met, but I fear I will lash violently without someone to talk to." He walks over near a confession booth, conveniently free of students.

"It's talk of the campus. Iria...Sister Iria, I mean...oh, sod it. I fancied her. Greatly. Asked her to join me out in the yard a few times, we had dinner. Nothing inappropriate, mind! But I made my feelings known a few weeks ago. Seems I was too late. Passing strange, she refused to name the lad that stole her heart. Just blushed and looked away. Shy girl. Always was. But something seemed off. I never saw her with anyone. Maybe she was just trying to put me down nice and gentle. And now she ends up dead. Between you and me, it smells foul. Lord smite the filthy bastard that struck her down!"

The Young White Mage that Yuna approaches makes her way towards one of the further pews, slightly shaded by a nearby column and not in front of one of the stained glass windows. She sighs, sitting, gripping the pew weakly. Should Yuna approach, she'll notice that she seems extremely pale, almost ashen. There's also a scarf around her neck. The weather is rather warm this time of year. Strange. Her hair is a dirty blonde in a braid. Maybe more striking, is that her right hand seems to be missing at the wrist judging by how her robe sleeve flops where her hand should be.

The young woman frowns. "...Faram forgive my sins." She mutters quietly.
Yuna Kagurazaka "Is Faram not all-merciful and all-compassionate, Sister?" Yuna asks gently, crouching next to the white mage's seat. "I'm sure that whatever sins may weigh upon your heart, real or imagined, sins of commission or of omission, Faram will indeed forgive you if your regret for those sins is genuine and solemnly held."

A faintly rueful smile crosses Yuna's face, "That was why Ajora was born, to teach us all of Faram's mercy and forgiveness, wasn't it? I may not be empowered to grant forgiveness or absolution in His name, but if a friendly ear that won't judge you is of use, I would hear your story. If there is anything else I might do to assist or support you, I entreat you to name it. If it lies within my power, I shall do what I may."

She does have one or two guesses about what might have the young white mage so troubled - and the combination of that scarf and her pale appearance make their own suggestion about what could have happened to her.
Faruja INVESTIGATION TEAM

Kazuko manages a weak chuckle from the rat. Subdued, but the young woman's attitude is uplifting. As is her respect, awkward as it is. "That well could be the case. The nobility have...differing values than common blooded folk or Church-borne. At the risk of being crass, there are two possibilities. The first, that she is having an affair with a member of the staff. The second...that she may possess /alternative/ leanings if you understand. Not necessary against the Church's creed, but it is a thing of high debate, and highly frowned upon by more pious members of the nobility. 'Twould be a scandal."

"Quite. I pray that this is mere children playing at secrets, but the Sister's words are quite worrisome."

The rat frowns. "I heard of the man's exploits when I was in a monastery in far-flung Burmecia. The man is a legend, his passing sparked parades of remembrance and a Church-sanctioned holiday. He's like to be canonized. No one is ignorant of the man's death. Methinks there's something more to this. Mayhaps the Sister hides secrets she wishes to share?"

Before Faruja can speculate further, the tall viera pipes up as she peers at the eastern most book shelf. "I hate to interrupt, Kazuko, Faruja. But there's a mechanism here. And I smell magic." A heeled foot taps the side of the shelf.

Faruja walks over, kneeling. He casts a quick spell. The shelf shines, but otherwise doesn't react. "'Tis not Time Magic. Beyond my own abilities to read, and peering into time is dangerous near the violently deceased. We cannot afford to risk tainting the magical aura of this room anyroad."

The rat crosses his fingers as Rebecca offers the Sister the Lord's peace. "How careless. Only one slipper, hmm? We find the match..." He trails off.

Rebecca finds an Important Item! The chain, as it turns out, is attached to a Locket. Silver, ornate, and it opens easily. Notably, it's a very large locket almost the size of a pocket watch and far heavier than even its size might otherwise indicate. Inside is a miniature portrait, hand painted. It shows both the deceased Sister, as well as a fellow White Mage. The Sister has her arms joyously around the arm of the other Mage. She's a dirty blonde, with skin that's pale but not overly so. Most striking, however, is the fact that her right arm's hand is missing at the wrist.

The picture is slightly loose, as though a knife or a pen could easily prise it free.
Faruja ~Student Team~

The young Sister looks to Yuna. She hesitates. Her eyes close, her forehead tight as she thinks. Then, she gets up, and quietly motions for Yuna to follow. She walks out behind the Church, and then just collapses against the back wall. Already, she's crying.

"I...I'm scared! Iria...Sister Iria is dead! We were...close and...and..." She bawls, soon just shutting down. A few minutes later, and she can finally speak again.

"Can...can I trust you?" She offers tentatively before sighing. "I've always been sick, and after I was attacked by bandits...I was getting worse. But I got to meet Iria! She was so kind to me...and she was studying to help me get better. But then..." She gulps.

"The Dean of White Magic, she offered to let us join a 'special group' of students. There's a hidden basement in the experiments building. At first I thought it was just a place for dangerous experiments, and it seemed normal at first...but then we had to wear robes, and chant strange hymns. And the Dean's magic. It didn't feel right."

Nnngh. She suddenly clutches her throat. "I...I think we went to talk to the Dean. I don't remember...remember what happened after that..."
Eve     Eve has been doing her best to fit in among other young squires and nuns-in-training. This might actually go better than one might expect. She's read the literature after all, and can say the right pious phrases at the right times. She knows all the facts at least as well as any new student can be expected to. And of course she's pretty clever, and has a moderately good chance to realize just what another girl might be looking to hear in a conversation.

    She's also, however, not a particularly religious girl. She never bothers asking the Gods to do things for her. She'd much rather put her faith in herself and her friends. So while she knows all the properly pious things to say... well, she delivers them in a dry deadpan which is anything but full of religious fervor. One which probably has the old nun looking at her in bemusement.

    Oh well. At least it isn't a child Eve's age she's speaking with. They're almost always interested in the silliest of things. Take this Iria girl. She was having a romance that wasn't forbidden, yet felt the need to hide it, and it presumably is what got her killed. Eve is SO glad she hasn't the slightest interest in romances, because she has no desire to be that silly. Ever.

    For the most part she's been speaking with the old nun, trying to find out what's going on. If there's been any... recent openings in the choir, that sort of thing. Why everyone looks so upset. Trying to get an explanation of some kind. She might not be having the best success, considering how abrupt and no-nonsense she tends to be. When she doesn't act like a kid her age, some adults tend to get a little discomfited around her.
Kazuko Kawakami An affair is something even Kazuko's capable of understanding. It's the sort of thing that happens all the time in... Well, everything! Not that she's supposed to be watching some of those things, but... Well. Her caretakers can't watch her all the time, and being in the Multiverse has just made that even less practical.

     It's the second possibility Faruja brings up that gets her eyebrow raising. "Alternative lean...? Like on the... Left side?" She starts teetering to the left, and it's only the tall viera's interjection that draws her away from that train of thought. When she mentions smelling magic, though...

     Of course Kazuko's going to start sniffing the air near the bookcase. She's paying especially careful attention when it starts shining, too. "What if it's not magic at all? Maybe... Uhh. Maybe there's a battery or something powering a weird little doohickey under the shelf?"

     It's a shot in the dark, but at least technology is marginally easier for her to understand! At least that has a smell.
Ainsley     Ainsley patiently listens to the Squire with a look of deep interest. She doesn't seem to brush off even a second of what he's saying. But by the time he's done, her brow thoughtfully furrows, as if she wasn't sure what he perceived as the problem really was what it is. She coils her tail behind her while she deeply considers what the boy has said. "You hadn't seen her with... /anyone/?" she wonders, scrutinizing those words not out of distrust but out of disbelief. That someone so passionate for her wouldn't notice someone is unlikely at best.

    "I doubt she would have spurned you like that," she assures him.

    Then she steps away from him with a respectful nod, as squires of similar rank give to each other, and a murmured prayer. She doesn't believe in Ajora or Faram or any of this, but it's a simple matter to convince herself 'this is how they give well-wishes here.' It still doesn't seem entirely genuine, but maybe that in itself makes her seem more like a real squire. She had cast a bit of a spell so she could keep tabs on what others were saying to each other elsewhere in the Church, so she caught the tail end of what the girl had said.

    "If we're done here, we need to get back to Faruja," she urges Yuna at the very least, "We have what we need, we mustn't disturb these people more than they already have been."
Yuna Kagurazaka Of course Yuna follows behind the young white mage and Sister, not questioning nor delaying; if she feels the need to divulge what she knows more privately, Yuna certainly can't fault her - and confession *is* usually taken in private, isn't it? (Even though Yuna isn't actually a student here, or a nun anywhere, she does know a fair amount about several religions.)

When the Sister collapses and starts crying, Yuna instinctively reaches out to support her - to give her a shoulder to lean on, or to cry on, if nothing else; if she needs a hug, Yuna silently and gently offers it, but doesn't force it. And as she hears what the pale girl has to say ... well, pulling away from an unsolicited hug would make sense, kind of.

Experiments ... so to speak. But rituals and unfamiliar hymns - well, Yuna has seen plenty of others use music that's outright magical, and while *her* songs don't contain magic, she puts her heart into her singing and that's been known to carry its own kind of power. As to where these 'rituals' are being done ... well, if Yuna were actually a student here, she'd know which building that is, right? And a hidden basement -

Yuna glances briefly, away and upwards, silently conveying the query to Elner; once they confirm where the experiments building is, the robo-faerie can start doing a full archaeological scan. Then she looks back to the Sister, giving her a gentle and hopefully-reassuring smile. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this," she says softly. "What you've told me may yet save many lives, although I grieve for Sister Iria's death as much as you do." Her expression turns serious. "Who at this Academy do you trust the most, not including the Dean? Go to them, say nothing of this for now, and remain safe and alert."

She'll see the white mage student on her way to someone she trusts - hopefully, somebody who's genuinely trustworthy - and rejoin the others. Ainsley's right, there's no reason to disturb things further - and time is likely of the essence.
Faruja ~Student Team~

The SQUIRE nods. "It's the strangest thing. I can't explain it, lass." He admits with a sigh to Ainsley. Seems the lizard-squire isn't likely to get much more out of the man. With a sigh, he departs after a bow.

The NUN scowls at Eve. Her ways are increasingly annoying the old woman. Eventually, she's even taking out a ruler! She /does/ get a little information. Aside from the dead sister, there's been no Choir openings. Mostly the murder of Iria has everyone on edge.

The young Sister takes the hug, sobbing for several minutes before explaining. She wipes her eyes, and nods. "O...okay. I know someone. Thank you, M'Lady!" Then, she goes running off.

The team is now ready to meet up with the Investigation Team!
Faruja Yuna's geological scan is rather fuzzy, oweing to a haze of magic thanks to the building's purpose. It /does/ show a lower area. Oddly, it seems to then extend lower in a tunnel-like fashion. It doesn't seem to stop.
Eve     Eve eyes the ruler balefully and with a certain lack of respect that nuns and rulers generally command. This shouldn't be terribly odd, of course. Noble squires who were raised without sufficient discipline are all too likely to come here needing a solid taste of it. But yeah, Eve's looking at it in a challenging way, like she expects she'll need to take it away from the old woman.

    So it's probably for the best, then, that Eve realizes some things. One, smacking this woman with her own ruler isn't going to get any useful information out of her no matter how satisfying. Two, she's not getting any useful information anyways. And three, Yuna's wandered off somewhere. Eve shrugs, turns away from the nun dismissively, and pads off to where Yuna was. From there it's not hard for her to find the nearest exit, to pad out that door, and be there observing at least a small part of the whole teary scene. Watching it with a flat, unemotional gaze that's nonetheless not outright judgmental.
Faruja Kazuko's nose wins, it seems! There's the smell of oil coming from the easternmost bookshelf that the duo have been inspecting. Definitely some sort of mechanism as well, though not possible to get to from here. It seems to reach up the second 'shelf' of books. There's multiple titles. 'White Magic for Alexandrians', 'Ser Aaron's Guide To Purging Heretics', 'Tales of the Saints', 'Lord Geoffrey's Account of the Lord of House Beoulve', 'How To Make Potions Effective and Tasty', 'The Many Nobles Houses of Ivalice', 'The 50 Year's War Volume XIXXXI', 'A Bard's Journey'.

Meanwhile, the Locket has been inspected, and the small painting is taken out. Faruja examines it, then when the group gathers he offers it to Yuna. It's indeed the very same Sister that Yuna spoke to, though looking far less pale and overall more healthy.

"Tell me, have you seen this girl, Lady Yuna?" he offers.

A key falls out of the locket. Berry walks over, and picks it up. "Found something!"

KEY is in hand.
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna takes one look at the picture, and nods. "Yeah, she's the girl who told me about the Dean's ... 'special sessions,'" she answers, a distinct note of distaste coloring the last two words. "She was paler than that just now, though ... how old is that painting? It has to be fairly recent." She would take a bit of a look at the locket herself, too - and then Elner flits in to join them.

"Yuna asked me to try and confirm the hidden chamber which she was told of," says the robo-faerie. "Something is obscuring my scans of the experiments building, so I couldn't get much detail, but there *is* something, presumably not part of the originally intended architecture."
Ainsley     Ainsley meets back up with everyone else, seeming a little unhappy with her stay here so far. Death does not make for a pleasant atmosphere. She makes a quick path for the book shelf, and gets to inspecting each of the books. She doesn't dare touch any of them. She had glanced at the diary just long enough to get the information it contains so she could gather the right context. Once she hears that his death not a part of the war, it narrowed it down to what Eve said. A look of mild approval is given, and she steps aside so her ally can do the honors of trying the book. "Be prepared," she warns, "If it is the wrong book, we could have a good amount of trouble on our hands."
Eve     Eve nods. It does seem like this book fits. And if they're wrong, if the riddle isn't talking about a book at all? Well, she'll just read about the old lord to find if there's any statues. Won't take her more than a few minutes!

    She peers up at the shelf. She's not as tall as Kazuko or Yuna, but this doesn't exactly call for rocket science! She reaches up, and reverentially tugs at the book, seeing if it's loose or if it needs some real effort. And if it does, she can probably do that too. She'll just end up glowering a bit at the stubborn book.
Kazuko Kawakami Who needs magic powers when you have inhuman smelling ability? Kazuko's looking mighty curious about something as she follows that smell of oil to the bookshelf, pausing briefly to wave at the others as they come back from the Church. "Hi, everyone! There's a weird oily smell here, so.. Uh. Cover your nose if you're bad with that kind of thing." She gestures at the bookcase and sniffs again, feeling around where the smell's at its strongest to try and get a hold of whatever's causing itdirectly.

     "The weird thing... I know it's over here. Come ooon..." Grab. Grab grab grab. It's gotta be around there somewhere! As she keeps grasping at straws, her attention's also drifting towards the titles of the books themselves. A lot of them don't look particularly interesting, but a few do catch her eye...

     "Do potions usually taste bad?" Dammit, Kazuko. Now's not the time to be checking out the book on potions! She's not touching any of the books, at least, since Eve's got that covered. Besides, her own hands are busy trying to find the source of the oily smell!
Faruja The news that Yuna gives Faruja has rat and bunny alike frowning. "How...odd. The journal made mention of a songbird silenced. And yet...presuming this girl and she are the same..." The rat looks utterly disturbed.

"Something is amiss."

A slow nod to Elner. "My thanks, Ser. Given the magical activity, not unsurprising."

The rat nods to the book-lizard. With quiet words, there's a flash, and Shiva appears. The summon manages to both look haughty (not unusual) and nervous (highly unusual).

Wince. "L...Lady Kazuko, please be careful." Yeah, this isn't going to end well. Strawberry reaches to grab Kzuko by the scruff, and haul her back! "We don't want anyone getting hurt." The bunny gives poor wanko a few pats on the head.

And then, Eve touches the book. Lord Geoffrey's account doesn't move at first, and then it seems to press in of it's own accord. There's a grinding sound, a flash of magic, and the bookshelf slides aside. It seems Eve choose correctly!

The oily smell is in fact a small tube that splits off, with black oil inside. A small rune nearby is very much fire elemental, and the squares attached to the back of the mechanism seem slightly damp. A sniff will reveal a combination of pure alcohol and pitch. A low grade, effective firebomb. They're attach to every other book on the shelf.

There's a hole in the wall, and it leads downwards with just a few steps. There's a very large lab in here, even messier and abused than the one in the room. The smell of old potions is enough to knock one off their feet.

Aside from various tracts on advanced potion making, there's far more worrying signs: unlabeled books that speak of magic able to change the very body through the use of blood. Healing techniques requiring the death of animals. Feverish scribbles recently made, of failed experiments to help the wounded Sister, and hidden poetry speaking of her love's painful beauty, exoting love and despair at her worsening condition.

All laid out neatly, with a single page left there. It looks torn from a diary.

Faruja walks in, picking it up. He reads it aloud.

"If you are reading this, then my secrets are bared to you. I, Sister Iria, have dabbled knowingly and willingly in Heretical magicks. Not out of spite of Faram and His Son, but for the sake of the woman I love. If I still live, contact the Inquisition, and I will pay. My lover lay dead, slain by the hand of this School's Dean of Magic and foul magicks cast upon her. She leads a foul coven of twisted magic-users, and for the sake of Sister Greene, I allowed myself to join into this cult. I expect no forgiveness for myself. I only ask that my love be avenged."

The rat offers the entry to those interested, and starts reading the books. From his face, they're about as Heretical as they sound.

"I do believe you were quite right, Lady Yuna. We should see about finding the Dean."

~Inside Iria's Room~

The sound of metal hits the floor just outside the room, weak groans able to be heard. The whisper of words in a low tone. Over on the bed, the black sheet rustles more and more. A cold hand grips a knife, and slowly shambles to its feet.
Eve     It's a pretty good thing Eve's not an actual sister, or squire, or apprentice or anything. She peers about the room with ... well, not quite fascination. Unholy curiousity perhaps.

    She takes in all the details quite quickly, and could describe things well enough to count as an investigative witness. She's no Sherlock Holmes, able to spot the smallest relevant details in an instant, but her visual acuity and memory are both well above human normal.

    So as Faruja reads the diary page aloud, Eve's already started in on a few scrolls. Faruja might be forgiven for not noticing. At the speed Eve reads, she doesn't seem to be actually reading them at all. Just glancing them, skimming them. Certainly not studying them and incidentally learning masses of heretical knowledge. Not that Eve's much of a magic user. She only collects theory, not practice. There's likely no harm in any of this. But still, it's heresy and she's a layperson. Perhaps Faruja might notice once Eve starts in on a weightier tome, flipping pages at a steady rhythm even as he begins to read a few books in his own quest for understanding.
Kazuko Kawakami That was a close one, even if Kazuko doesn't immediately realize just how close she came to becoming a crispy-fried-doggo! She does settle down at Berry's patting, though, and when she does eventually realize what the reason for that smell is?

     She's even settling down and behaving. A good thing, too, since there's a lot of information to start processing. A cult? A lover? Murder committed by the school's own Dean of Magic? The strong stench of potions certainly doesn't make it any easier to concentrate, and Kazuko's actually forced to cover her nose just to avoid gagigng too much.

     "So... Iria joined the Dean's cult to find out who killed Greene? That's... Why would she do that? Wouldn't it make more sense to report the whole thing to other people instead of getting involved with them?" As odd as it all sounds to her, maybe there's another reason she's no catching yet. Taking Eve's lead, Kazuko too starts poking through those tomes at a considerably slower rate. The martial artist's expression is much less restrained, though, and she's already grimacing three pages into the first one.

     And yet, she's still turning pages! Just... REally slowly.
Ainsley     Ainsley gives a cursory examination of the trap mechanisms in place in the bookshelf. She sighs lightly to herself, imagining what it would have been like with one of the pushier impulsive sorts, and rubs at the feathers atop her head. She doesn't wander into the lab with the others, though, she waits for them to handle the things. She frowns mildly to herself when she hears a noise outside ... the groans make her brow furrow. She can recognize the intonations of dark magic, at the very least, and when she hears that, she is already reaching for her longsword.

    She draws the longsword and makes a vicious overhead chop for where the cold body just rose up nearby. There is no hesitation in her swing of her sword, Mercy, and the follow through is even more skillful than most squires would be capable of. She is hardly a master warrior, but it's clear she's no pushover either. She is aiming for the arm holding the weapon it just picked up, trying to minimize the danger...!
Yuna Kagurazaka The tubes and such prompt a very wary look from Yuna; she may be from a world that doesn't use petroleum products to fuel most vehicles, but she DOES know the smell from other worlds she's been in. The way those tidbits are arranged has her decidedly worried, and while she's tempted to join the investigation, the oil array and the runes have her too wary to actually set foot over the threshhold.

And then there's the sound of metal hitting the floor.

"Eep?!" Yuna squeaks, actually jumping a bit and whirling around to look ... and not looking in the RIGHT direction, at least not until Elner speaks up, "Yuna!" - and Yuna's robe is replaced by the sleek, shining lines and curves of her Light Suit. That's where Yuna turns to see where the noise came from ...

"SHUGOSEIHEKI!!"

Her kite shield, the Wall of the Guardian Star, materializes as Yuna looks at the moving corpse; her invocation was nearly loud and high enough to act as a call of alarm in its own right, but she still says, "Guys? Corpses aren't supposed to move on their own, right ... ?"

A short discussion confirms for her that no, they aren't, and Ainsley confirms where the magic originated. That's all Yuna needs to hurry out to the hallway - not quite running, but faster than a walk - and attempting to tackle whomever is out there - particularly if he or she has anything resembling a spellcasting implement, wand or staff or scroll or amulet or anything.
Faruja Faruja definitely doesn't notice, given his own reading, up until Eve slows down. The Inquisitor gives Eve a very dissapproving look.

"Lady Eve, do not delve too deeply. Such things risk the soul of even the most pious of men." One aught question the hipocracy here, given he's reading too.

This /is/ the Church of Glabados, though, so that's par for the course.

The rat turns to Kazuko, his peer far less hostile. She's at least being cautious and reacting properly! "Mmm. From what I gather, it may well be that she joined in order to find a cure for her love's illness. That and perhaps to find acceptance of their union." He offers to the martial arts student.

But then, there's talk of a living corpse, and the departed Sister's mortal shell rises. Luckily, Ainsley acts fast: a deft swing, and soon the deceased's weapon arm is hanging on by mere scraps of tissue and half-slashed bone. Her sword does dig a little too much, though, getting caught in muscle and bone! There's no danger from the knife now, but Iria's corpse is made of sturn stuff in its unlife.

Yuna is fast. The two knights are on the ground, bodies still smoking and smelling of sulfur. There's a single figure in black robes with a wide hat obscuring their features already running down the hallway at a good clip. More words, and the two knights are already shuddering and gripping weapons, their eyes glowing with unholy light.

Meanwhile, the Undead Sister's mouth moves, her voice like that of a serpent as something /else/ speaks through her. "Aurora, exhale bloody air! Dark Holy!"

Pitch-black darkness wreathed in Abyssal power lashes out into the room just as Faruja enters. The Burmecian orders Shiva forward, the Esper taking the blow for him, and seeming to melt slightly from the searing unholy void, the mockery of a Holy spell powerful thanks to the living Sister's faith and the thing inside her's power. Ainsley, unfortunately, is just /right there/. Anyone else entering the room will have to contend with the blast as well as the room is scorched with evil magic!
Eve     Eve gives Faruja a look as if to say, don't be stupid'. She's not going to actually DO anything listed in the book. There's nothing wrong with knowledge though, so she sees no harm in reading it. Still she can recognize the priest's good intentions and so she nods reluctant acceptance.
    When in Ivalice, Eve will do her best to act as an Ivalician. In this case as the alarm goes up, she sets her current book aside. Gently. It's not the book's fault its subject matter is disturbing and what some might consider evil. Then she moves out. She's not as quick to react as Ainsley or Yuna, having been distracted. Still she's small and very quick once actually moving. As she dashes to follow Yuna, she extends her hands to form a thick bar of silver metal between them. The bar extends, thins, and continues extending further until it's longer than Eve is tall. Held in both hands, the silvery quarterstaff appears to be a rather formidable weapon. If a quarterstaff made of metal could be wielded with speed at least, the power of its strikes should be unquestionable.

    Fortunately for Eve she's not sticking around to deal with revenant Iria, instead following Yuna at speed. She really doesn't want to fight the risen knights either of course, for much the same reason. It's not their fault, not their choice to fight. She can act to prevent damage perhaps, but has no particular interest in (re)harming them.

    Eve charges at one, leaving the other to Yuna. At the last second she jabs the end of her staff into the ground. It bends slightly, coiling and then uncoiling, launching Eve upwards and over the knight. Either Eve's a natural Lancer or she's practiced this maneuver before. Either way she kicks backwards, trying to knock the knight to the ground once again. It can't be easy or fast to rise from the ground in armor right? Especially when dead. If she can get clear and chase after the necromancer... well, it kind of reminds her of the recent situation among Yunomi's people. Why is it mages seem to be rubbing Eve the wrong way lately?
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna's first thought, between the fleeing necromancer and the fresh-killed-but-now-undead knights, is that she's going to need help. Fortunately, she doesn't need to get it from inside the room - where it sounds like they're having problems of their own.

For the time being, Yuna whips around to slam Shugoseiheki as hard as she can into one of the rising knights, then the other; a couple of kicks should help keep them off their feet long enough for help to arrive: specifically, help in the form of the rest of the Matrix of Light.

Three blinks of light herald the materialization of Jiina, Erina, and Marina; it's Jiina and Marina who move to pin down the knights, not trying to injure or re-kill them but just to immobilize them. Yuna and Erina, take off after the fleeing necromancer - on foot, in Yuna's case, but Erina's flying, taking advantage of her superior airborne maneuverability to take whatever corners may impede travel through the hallway. Once they get outside, Yuna will shift to Flight Form - but she doesn't want to lose the necromancer's trail.
Kazuko Kawakami "That makes sense, yeah... Hhnn. That sucks, though. Not being able to find it before she died, and then this whole mess..." Kazuko lets out a sympathetic sigh before closing up the tome she's poking through, giving up on trying to process all of that and sift through all the grisly details. Just in time, too, what with the news of necromancers showing up to put a damper in their investigation effort. Inwardly, Kazuko's cursing just a bit at having left her naginata outside, but she's still got her fists to do the figurative talking for her.

     If anyone asks, she's totally a monk in training or... Something. Running out of that room, Kazuko's met with a faceful of dark magic, and she brings her arms up to shield herself from the blast as best she can! It threatens to push her back into the hidden room she and Eve had just come out of, but once it lets up, she moves forward to begin the counterattack! Instead of going for the necromancer, however, Kazuko focuses on the knights, aiming a flurry of rapid kicks at their legs to try and keep them from getting too far or impeding the investigators' progress further.
Ainsley     Ainsley is far too close to Iria when that spell begins. She sees it coming the moment that the words begin, and she tries to slow the flow of magic by disrupting the vocal incantation with nonsense magical sounds of her own. While she does this, she makes damn sure she has a proper shield ready to take the blast, drawing her book up to her face--

    A flash of blue light shines in the room as the dark energy slams into a mirror-like shield, with Ainsley trying her best NOT to deflect dark energies back to a reanimated corpse, lest the corpse just regenerate from the damage she just did to it. When she does this, she is physically blown back out of the room. An odd thing also occurs, where the manifestation of an eight foot tall turtle man seems to almost physically catch Ainsley with one of his hands and brace himself against the floor, cracking grooves into the ground as he does.

    Ainsley lands, having pulled her sword free, but dropped her book, in the confusion. She cringes from having taken a hit from so close, staggering for a second, but at the very least it didn't hit her hard enough to take her out of the fight. She points her sword down the hallway, toward Yuna as she pursues the necromancer, and calls out a spell that is garbled by all the chaos. The spell sparks from Urashima Taro's eye, the dust-enshrouded figure creating a glow of blue light through the smoke from one of his eyes, and a wash of Good Feelings pulses through the air, trying to bolster Yuna's physical abilities with pure magical good emotions.
Faruja Eve goes flying as she flees the room. Though diminutive in comparison to a well-trained knight, she nevertheless hits the man like a sack of bricks. He goes down, sword skittering out of his hand. One knight is currently disabled! The undead aren't coordinated, unlike in life where he'd easily be back to his feet. Instead, he mostly flails with greaved hands towards Eve's ankles!

Yuna's kicks keep the other knight down, and then the heralds arrive! Both of them manage to hold down the struggling zombies! Then, Eve and Yuna are off after the necromancer!

Kazuko's attacks manage to break their legs even through the armor, and soon the undead are mostly useless floppy bits of flesh what with the Heralds keeping the one with a sword down.

Back in the room, the Burmecian has Shiva cast a spell, ice rising up to hold the undead Sister's legs in place! Then the blast of darkness turns on her, and as it turns out, she has little immunity to it. Darkness pummels her to the ground. Taking the opportunity, the Burmecian pulls the trigger of his weapon, and holy fire erupts. Soon, the Sister is turned to ash.

"May you find forgiveness in the next life, Sister."

Outside, the necromancer stops as they note their pursuit! A feminine voice calls out! "Fire 3!" A blast of pure fire lances down the hallway at the girls pursuing her! She's gasping though, from all the magic use, and if the trio survive they could tackle the necromancer!
Ainsley     Ainsley curses under her breath at the sheer exhaustion put upon her by the use of her magic and her Persona in such a short time. She drops her sword to the ground and grimaces as she hears the sound of another spell being case down the way in the hallway, and makes very little attempt to do anything to stop it. After all, if she were to reflect the spell, it would combust the Necromancer, and they needed the fiend alive. For some reason. The reptile girl crouched with a quick though and grabbed the door that had since been knocked down by all the violence.

    She holds up the door as a makeshift shield, bracing behind it, so that any incoming blasts from spells do not immediately kill her. It's all she can really do at this point, knowing she's exhausted her viable options just for the moment.
Yuna Kagurazaka So the necromancer can cast more than death magic? Useful to know; knowing sooner might have been handy, but at the moment it's more a matter of surviving it.

With Ainsley's reinforcing spell suffusing her, the Light Suit shining brighter as the magic interacts with its aura, Yuna puts on a burst of speed, leading with Shugoseiheki - keeping the kite shield up almost as though she was pushing it ahead of her. The extra speed should mean that the spell hits the Wall of the Guardian Star, rather than letting the spell detonate to engulf both of the blonde girls; beyond that, Yuna is actively trying to take the full brunt of the spell *herself* rather than letting Eve get scorched or singed.

She does still have a protective streak towards Eve, after all - even though she knows full well that Eve is more durable than your average not-yet-teenaged girl.
Eve     Eve lags behind Yuna for only a few moments, but in a fight those moments are an eternity. More than enough time for Yuna to take the lead and intercept the monstrous Fire blast. In the meantime the little blonde has a few things to straighten out. Namely the undead knight's fingers. She kicks at them, then selectively bashes them with one end of her metal staff. Once free, helped in part by her own efforts and partly by Yuna's manifestations, Eve once again takes off after Yuna.

    This also takes a few moments. The result, however, should be something of a surprise. The metal staff folds in half, bending back around Eve's shoulders, then spreading and thickening into great gleaming wings. She's been working on them for quite some time, having noted Yuna's flight abilities and having studied various means available to her. Practice and much trial and error, done in secret, taught her to fly by means of nanometal wings... and she'd meant to surprise Yuna with them at some point. Just not quite like this, ideally.

    While Yuna intercepts the firebolt, Eve whips around and past her in a silvery blur, barreling headlong towards the necromancer. She no longer has weapons, but that's okay. Right now she IS a weapon. A tiny homing missile of righteous fury. She doesn't need to take a swing at a foe. A flying tackle, at her current speed, ought to suffice nicely. Convenient that the necromancer doesn't actually have a weapon to make Eve think twice about her literal headlong charge.
Kazuko Kawakami Take that, mobility! Once those legs are taken out, Kazuko's breaking into a run again to catch up with her allies... Just in time for FIRE. What is with her timing today? Thankfully, Yuna and Ainsley are more than prepared to take the brunt of the flames in her and Eve's place, although she does feel just a small pang of guilt for actually relying on that cover.

     "Thanks, Yuna! Thanks, Ainsley! Alright, you catm... Necromancer. Give up now or...!" She doesn't have anything to really follow that thought up, instead waiting for the flames to die down before hurling herself forward once more along with Eve who is... Flying. Somehow.

     Note to self: Learn how to do that. Channeling ki into her limbs to give herself an even bigger boost of speed, the martial artist practically exudes yellow energy as she leaps forward into a slide aimed to take her right under the necromancer before...

     "Kawakami Style: Scorpion Strike!" Punching upwards at her gut with all her might!
Faruja Ainsley and Yuna provide a very convenient shieldwall between them. the Kite Shield takes half of the blast before zooming past Yuna, only for Ainsley's Door Shield to take the rest of it! Poor Ainsley's shield is now crispy and a Slightly On Fire Greatshield.

Faruja is more than happy to hide behind Ainsley's shield. He's relatively squishy after all.

The remaining two girls take to the sky and leap at the necromancer respectively! A hard, ki-filled punch to the gut has the woman keeling over and hacking up phlem, eyes bugging out beneath the ridiculous mage hat. Then Eve crashes right into her, flattening her out. By the time the dust clears, the necromancer is out like a light. Faruja is quickly over. He roughly kicks the spellcaster in the side. She doesn't react. Yanking off the hat, it reveals a young woman hardly more than Yuna's age. Far too young to be the Dean.

"Hmph. Curses, I was hoping to interrogate her on the spot. Alright! Someone find some rope, and tie up this Heretic. She and I must become acquainted soon. For now, I shall deal with the Undead and get reinforcements here. The Dean of White Magic will not be leaving here. Well done, all. We shall be certain to destroy this taint!" Then, the rat's making calls over a linkshell as he starts burning up the two deceased knights.
Yuna Kagurazaka It's over?

Yuna grounds the kite shield, its bottom corner digging into the ground a little bit, and the Savior of Light probably presents a slightly comical figure as she leans to one side, peering cautiously around the edge of her own shield to see what shape the necromancer is in.

Yep, it's over.

She doesn't actually have rope or she'd be glad to tie up the unconscious necromancer. For the time being, Elner flits over to hover above the unconscious form, monitoring her brain activity very closely in the event that she's more conscious than she seems to be, or starts to recover before she's been safely restrained.

"We should probably gag her when we don't need her voice to answer questions," Yuna suggests, dismissing her shield and standing up straight again. "Is everyone else all right?" She's fine - her knees are shaky and her hair's been singed, but between her shield, the Light Suit itself, and Ainsley's magical support, she's not actually injured.
Kazuko Kawakami Kazuko's still working off the adrenaline as she hops back onto her feet, looking almost disappointed that the fight's over as quickly as it began. "Eheh... Good job, everyone! So it's the Dean of White Magic, then... But isn't that supposed to be the healing type?" Is... Is Kazuko actually retaining things she's hearing? She looks over at Yuna and gives her a quick nod, then hurries over to the taller blonde to give her a quick once-over just in case. "I'm fine. You and Ainsley did really good with all the protective stuff. Between the five of us, we could probably take down this Dean once we find her! And..."

     She pauses, then grunts with a thoughtful frown crossing her face. "... We're gonna have to be ready to fight a bunch of people if the Dean's involved in a cult, aren't we? I gotta be more prepared for next time, then..." She turns towards Eve slowly, a determined look crossing her face. It just might be time for more training soon!
Ainsley     Ainsley heaves the door over and lets it collapse on the burning side to smother the flames on it. She breathes a shaky sigh as the adrenaline starts to wear off, realizing that she was as tense as a statue until that very second. The headache starts to roll in from her Persona soaking a hit like that, and her feathers floof up. She picks up her sword and puts it in its scabbard, then closes the distance to get a look at the necromancer that attack all of them. One of her eyes closed, a frown developing on her face.

    "I hate cults," she mutters to no one in particular, as she seeks out Faruja's arm to hang off of for a minute. Stress requires rat hugs.
Eve     Eve doesn't actually even consider protecting the necromancer from Faruja's brutal kick. If he'd bent over her with a knife that'd be one thing, but the woman deserves some pain for the way she used those people. Killed them and then used them. One such desecration would be bad enough but both of them together really offends Eve quite a lot.

    Her metal wings fold and tuck away, vanishing discreetly once Eve's turned her back away from curious eyes. Should someone happen to see them regardless of the girl's discretion, the wings eventually just shatter into dust which sparkles electric-blue and vanishes. To truly see what happened to it, one would need microscopic-level vision.

    "I'm fine." Eve says, self-consciously dusting at her fancy academy uniform skirts. She seems okay at least, a bit scuffed up but no blood in evidence. She's okay mostly through speed and having others take blows on shields rather than suffering any direct attacks. She'll be aching a bit from the flying tackle but that's okay, she's not anywhere near as frail as she appears.

    Eve looks back at Kazuko, blinking in surprise at her friend's expression. Then Eve blushes, just a little, and looks down. She wasn't trying to show off! She rarely shows off... she just does what she needs to in a fight. Not her fault it's sometimes pretty badass. "Er... I don't think that was the Dean." she murmurs. Probably another student, judging by her looks and apparent age. Besides, the Dean was a man right? Not that women can't be Deans if they want to be! But... yeah, not THIS person. Probably. Not unless some seriously warped magic was involved.
Yuna Kagurazaka "We don't know if it's a 'cult' or just unauthorized studies," Yuna points out.

"... but it does sound a lot like a cult."