The night time was always her favorite time. Mainly, because it could provide so many tacticle advantages. And when one wanted to sneak off campus for reasons that most likely would not go over too well with the folks in charge, well it just made sense to Cass for such transactions to occur while there was the least possible chance to meet with those people she wished to avoid.
On this particular night, Cass was looking to "diversify" her collection of armaments. Now, in such a remote location as they were in, she needed to consort with perhaps some unsavory fellows. But, as her mother had taught her, it was possible for someone who was determined enough to pick the kinds of equipment that they might need.
However, there would always be variables. Things that occur that no ammount of planning can anticipate. Things such as a classmate's cry of pain. A blonde eyebrow arched upwards in curiosity. She scanned her surroundings. In the distance a shaped moved. It wasn't clear who it was, or what the problem was...all Cass could figure, was that it was bad.
'Allright...you don't need to get involved. Just go to the meet and get this thing done.' the witch thought to herself. She turned, but didn't move. Then another sharp cry. She heaved a heavy sigh, before looking back at the figure, "Ah, hell...I'll do the 'right' thing."
Quickly she jogged over to her fellow night owl in need, "Hey! You OK?" she asked, although the answer was immediately apprant, "Lemme give ya a hand, where ya goin'? Nurses office still open?"
Somehow Seven managed to fight her way back to her hands and knees. The girl could not afford to tarry any longer. She must push onward. But her body refused to listen; pain coursed through every cell of her being, paralyzing her.
The Mage never even heard Cassarah's first words - she stared intently at the ground, trying to block out all the torment she felt and everything else to focus on her task. She managed to crawl forward a few more feet before staggering once more.
"Nurses," she mumbled, grimacing as she spoke, as if that word broke through the mind-numbing pain that screamed through her body. "N-no," she then managed to voice in a voice as weak and trembling as the arms she barely held herself aloft with. "No....no, nurses....can't let them know, can't let them find out...."
Tears began to spill out as words tripped over themselves in an attempt to escape. Hopelessnes begun to set in. Seven knew that even if she made it to the laboratory she'd never be able to break into the building and slip past both magical and mundane means of security. She would die, here on this cold sidewalk, this late summer night.
"No...no, nurses....can't let them know, can't let them find out...."
This was something that Cass could wrap her head around. Maybe not the reasons behind it all, but certainly the desire for discretion. She put an arm around Seven and hauled the girl up to her feet.
"OK, I gotcha..." she said, "So, where do ya need to go? I'll get ya in an' out, no questions asked."
While Seven was experiencing hopelessness, Cass' words carried a cheerful optimism. A bit odd given the stark contrast that she was currently supporting. But, now Cassarah truely wanted to help the mage. All the attention that been placed on her meeting had now been diverted to the situation at hand. By contrast, it appeared to be much more important.
Some unknown benefactor put their arm around her shoulder. Someone else was here, helping her up. Her own arms wrapped tightly around her own chest, crossing over one another as if trying to clucth something close to her. Despite Cass and her best efforts, the Mage could not fully stand upright against the body's natural tendencies to curl into a ball with in such agony.
Her eyes still clenched shut, she looked away nevertheless. She wanted no one to find out about her...condition...but if anyone was to do so a complete stranger would have been her preference. Only her desperation kept her from questioning what a stranger was doing here, why anyone other than her would be out so late or why anyone would be willing to aid her in her time of need.
"Po, potions lab," said the trembling girl, though she doubted she could do much more than just shuffle along. She gritted her teeth, trying to keep herself from screaming. "Need to break in. Need, need to make....need...."
"Break in, eh?" she said, her lips quirking upwards in the prospect. She had done a little work with the buildings on campus, but nothing particularly big aside from lockpicking.
"Consider this the luckiest night of your life!" she said in an excited, yet hushed tone, "Now then, let's see what we got here."
She took a quick look around, to see where they were. After determining that, she started to head towards the lab. It was a good thing she had familiarized herself with the campus...her new aquaintance did seem to be in much condition to give detailed directions.
"OK, so when we get there...what's it ya need to make? I don't think you're gonna be mixin' any potions..."
"Luck, lucky..." Seven repeated that word, the irony of it's use not lost upon her.
It did not require nearly as much thought to rattle off the various alchemical components she would need to create the life-saving elixir that would halt this attack. She spoke plainly and clinically as if reading a textbook as she well knew exactly what she had to have."So-Sodium penenthol, 30mg. Auric hydroxide, 12 mL. Caustic...caustic volatile alkali, 4 oz..."
The list of ingredients was then broken by another painful cry. She clutched herself even tighter, as if trying to keep her body from splitting apart at the seams. "Nitrum glammans," she hurriedly continued. "Spirit of vitriol, added until...until consistency is...thick, but fluid. Like..." Her addled mind fought to think of a comparable liquid. "Like, drain cleaner..."
She listened very carefully, creating a mental checklist as Seven gave her the ingridiants and instructions. Even as the mage clutched herself tighter and cried out once more, Cass didn't slow down, or stop. She made sure that the girl would keep moving. It seemed to her that stopping would only make things worse.
"OK...here we go." she said as she rested Seven against the building, "I'll just get past this door right here...."
She reached into her everpresent messenger bag and dug out her lockpicking equipment and then dropped to a knee. She examined the door closely and then got started.
If one were to inspect the door carefully, they would find that the lock on the door appears to have been changed recently.
All classrooms had nearly the same sort of lock, though the Potions Lab and certain other rooms with expensive...and often dangerous...contents had a deadbolt as well. However, there were additional holes recently drilled into this door, and the locks did not match the others from elsewhere on campus. These were quality locks - easily enough to keep out a novice, but with tools and training a skilled thief could pop them open in time.
Another more devious and far less noticeable security measure lie in wait just on the other side. The first row of tiles behind the door had recently been pried up, magical runes cast on the undersides of them. These runes, once triggered, cast a gravitation spell that would hold any would-be thief in place immediately upon stepping on those tiles. It would also make them pay for attempting to steal school property, as it would feel as if the unbelievably high field of gravity might pull their brains out through their feet.
Preparedness was something Cassarah had always prided herself on. While time was certainly not on her side, she wasn't about to botch things up in haste. Her fingers manipulated her tools and she worked the lock...it was a level of such greater difficulty, then elsewhere on campus. If she didn't have an actual purpose for this little break in, she would have savored the moment.
But, the mage was in dire need of the lab's contents. And so, she worked as quickly as the lock's difficulty allowed her to. With her success, the door opened and granted them enterance. She turned to Seven.
"Now, you guys got some nasty little tricks here...." she said, "They got any other surprises for us here?"
She knew the school had back-ups to all the locks. Back-ups that could cause major problems. Of course, finding the specific security protocls was something she had not come across quite as of yet.
No longer supported by the kind stranger, Seven's back slid downward against the wall until she sank to her knees. "Spells," she mumbled as her head limply drooped down towards her chest. "Spells. Traps. They change sometimes; it's not the first time I've broken in."
Her breaths were becoming shorter and more ragged, and it was hard for her to concentrate through all the pain. There wasn't more she could offer, as there was no telling what may be different this time. She would assume that there wouldn't be anything physically dangerous, as they would be surrounded on all sides by vials of combustible chemicals, but traps to slow or immobilize people were almost guaranteed. "Watch out," she managed to say, "where you step."
With the door open, Cass slowly nodded her head and scratched at her chin. Spell traps. Ones that were changed with a great deal of frequency. And...from what Seven had just told her...they were located on the ground. That posed a problem.
She pulled a flashlight out of her bag and clicked it on, scanning the tiled floor in front of her. There was nothing that seemed immediately problematic. And that's what really bothered her.
Taking another quick look around, Cassarah spotted a few rocks. Not particularly large ones, but they had some weight to them. She took a few and one by one started toss them down the hallway.
Again, nothing looked out of the ordinary. She frowned and glanced down. There was one that did not make it very far. She tried to kick the troublesome stone...and found that it was there to stay. And her toe was stubbed quite nicely.
She winced slightly and looked back to Seven, "OK, my sickly chum, I think I know what the deal here, is..." she said and crouched down infront of her, "Hope up on m'back and we'll get on down to what ya need."
When Cass looked back at Seven...something did not look right at all. Her condition was rapidly worsening. She still appeared to be in as much pain as before, but these seemed to be an odd haze about her like heat radiating off a parking lot in late July.
Too weak to argue, the Mage did as she was asked. She gripped onto Cassarah's back as best she was able. Oddly, Seven did not seem to weigh nearly as much as she would have appeared. "Please hurry," came a desperate whisper.
Cass went back up to her feet. She wasn't the strongest person...but even she was surprised how easy it was to lift the mage off the ground. Wrapping an arm around both of Seven's legs, she made sure they stayed relatively level with her own waist so they wouldn't drag against the ground.
Taking a few breaths, she backed a couple of steps before getting into a quick little sprint. As the two neared the door, Cass leapt into the air. Clearing the dangerous first row of tiles, she found her self not being dragged down to the ground with a dying girl on her back. That would have been decidedly bad.
"OK....we're in!" she said, hoping that fact would cheer her up a bit, "Now...where should I drop you off while I get this thing potion of yours together?"
"Just....aaaah!" She squirmed in Cassarah's arms, thrashing about from the pain. "Just...set me down....please...." Twisting, she reached out for one of the large, flat tables used by the students in their lab exercises.
"Pressure plate, under the al, alkaki component." This was the key ingredient and was guarded the most closely. Two of the others were under a simple lock and key and the rest clearly marked and easily accessible on shelves. Seven hurriedly gave as much instruction as she could for feat that she would soon pass out from the pain. "Mix, mix well," she cried out. "Over medium heat."
Cass set Seven down and hurried around, fetching the required ingrediates, was not all together difficult, although some if the more secure items were a little annoying. A couple of glances back at Seven showed the witch that time was of the essence.
Following Seven's instruction to the T, Cass mixed the ingredients together. Although under pressure, Cass was very steady-handed. But her nerves were were starting to pick up. After all, it wasn't often you were asked to save someone's life...or at least that wasn't something she had encountered before.
Now that she was here...now that she had someone to unlock the doors and pour the chemicals without dropping beakers and shattering vials, Seven knew that she would survive this day. But that did not lessen the agony she now felt, nor did it do anything to reverse the damage that had already been done to her body.
Awkwardly she fumbled with a small case that she pulled from a pocket. A hypodermic needle was produced and quickly put together. The rest of the case was accidentally dropped with small parts scattering about once hitting the floor.
Immediately once the concoction was finished Seven filled the tube up, not bothering to measure out any precise dosage. Fearing the worst she also avoided administering the sickening green fluid into her arm as would normally be the case. Instead she thrust the needle into her throat, gagging as the long needle pierced the skin.
On this particular night, Cass was looking to "diversify" her collection of armaments. Now, in such a remote location as they were in, she needed to consort with perhaps some unsavory fellows. But, as her mother had taught her, it was possible for someone who was determined enough to pick the kinds of equipment that they might need.
However, there would always be variables. Things that occur that no ammount of planning can anticipate. Things such as a classmate's cry of pain. A blonde eyebrow arched upwards in curiosity. She scanned her surroundings. In the distance a shaped moved. It wasn't clear who it was, or what the problem was...all Cass could figure, was that it was bad.
'Allright...you don't need to get involved. Just go to the meet and get this thing done.' the witch thought to herself. She turned, but didn't move. Then another sharp cry. She heaved a heavy sigh, before looking back at the figure, "Ah, hell...I'll do the 'right' thing."
Quickly she jogged over to her fellow night owl in need, "Hey! You OK?" she asked, although the answer was immediately apprant, "Lemme give ya a hand, where ya goin'? Nurses office still open?"
Reply
The Mage never even heard Cassarah's first words - she stared intently at the ground, trying to block out all the torment she felt and everything else to focus on her task. She managed to crawl forward a few more feet before staggering once more.
"Nurses," she mumbled, grimacing as she spoke, as if that word broke through the mind-numbing pain that screamed through her body. "N-no," she then managed to voice in a voice as weak and trembling as the arms she barely held herself aloft with. "No....no, nurses....can't let them know, can't let them find out...."
Tears began to spill out as words tripped over themselves in an attempt to escape. Hopelessnes begun to set in. Seven knew that even if she made it to the laboratory she'd never be able to break into the building and slip past both magical and mundane means of security. She would die, here on this cold sidewalk, this late summer night.
Reply
This was something that Cass could wrap her head around. Maybe not the reasons behind it all, but certainly the desire for discretion. She put an arm around Seven and hauled the girl up to her feet.
"OK, I gotcha..." she said, "So, where do ya need to go? I'll get ya in an' out, no questions asked."
While Seven was experiencing hopelessness, Cass' words carried a cheerful optimism. A bit odd given the stark contrast that she was currently supporting. But, now Cassarah truely wanted to help the mage. All the attention that been placed on her meeting had now been diverted to the situation at hand. By contrast, it appeared to be much more important.
Reply
Her eyes still clenched shut, she looked away nevertheless. She wanted no one to find out about her...condition...but if anyone was to do so a complete stranger would have been her preference. Only her desperation kept her from questioning what a stranger was doing here, why anyone other than her would be out so late or why anyone would be willing to aid her in her time of need.
"Po, potions lab," said the trembling girl, though she doubted she could do much more than just shuffle along. She gritted her teeth, trying to keep herself from screaming. "Need to break in. Need, need to make....need...."
Reply
"Consider this the luckiest night of your life!" she said in an excited, yet hushed tone, "Now then, let's see what we got here."
She took a quick look around, to see where they were. After determining that, she started to head towards the lab. It was a good thing she had familiarized herself with the campus...her new aquaintance did seem to be in much condition to give detailed directions.
"OK, so when we get there...what's it ya need to make? I don't think you're gonna be mixin' any potions..."
Reply
It did not require nearly as much thought to rattle off the various alchemical components she would need to create the life-saving elixir that would halt this attack. She spoke plainly and clinically as if reading a textbook as she well knew exactly what she had to have."So-Sodium penenthol, 30mg. Auric hydroxide, 12 mL. Caustic...caustic volatile alkali, 4 oz..."
The list of ingredients was then broken by another painful cry. She clutched herself even tighter, as if trying to keep her body from splitting apart at the seams. "Nitrum glammans," she hurriedly continued. "Spirit of vitriol, added until...until consistency is...thick, but fluid. Like..." Her addled mind fought to think of a comparable liquid. "Like, drain cleaner..."
Reply
"OK...here we go." she said as she rested Seven against the building, "I'll just get past this door right here...."
She reached into her everpresent messenger bag and dug out her lockpicking equipment and then dropped to a knee. She examined the door closely and then got started.
Reply
All classrooms had nearly the same sort of lock, though the Potions Lab and certain other rooms with expensive...and often dangerous...contents had a deadbolt as well. However, there were additional holes recently drilled into this door, and the locks did not match the others from elsewhere on campus. These were quality locks - easily enough to keep out a novice, but with tools and training a skilled thief could pop them open in time.
Another more devious and far less noticeable security measure lie in wait just on the other side. The first row of tiles behind the door had recently been pried up, magical runes cast on the undersides of them. These runes, once triggered, cast a gravitation spell that would hold any would-be thief in place immediately upon stepping on those tiles. It would also make them pay for attempting to steal school property, as it would feel as if the unbelievably high field of gravity might pull their brains out through their feet.
Reply
But, the mage was in dire need of the lab's contents. And so, she worked as quickly as the lock's difficulty allowed her to. With her success, the door opened and granted them enterance. She turned to Seven.
"Now, you guys got some nasty little tricks here...." she said, "They got any other surprises for us here?"
She knew the school had back-ups to all the locks. Back-ups that could cause major problems. Of course, finding the specific security protocls was something she had not come across quite as of yet.
Reply
Her breaths were becoming shorter and more ragged, and it was hard for her to concentrate through all the pain. There wasn't more she could offer, as there was no telling what may be different this time. She would assume that there wouldn't be anything physically dangerous, as they would be surrounded on all sides by vials of combustible chemicals, but traps to slow or immobilize people were almost guaranteed. "Watch out," she managed to say, "where you step."
Reply
She pulled a flashlight out of her bag and clicked it on, scanning the tiled floor in front of her. There was nothing that seemed immediately problematic. And that's what really bothered her.
Taking another quick look around, Cassarah spotted a few rocks. Not particularly large ones, but they had some weight to them. She took a few and one by one started toss them down the hallway.
Again, nothing looked out of the ordinary. She frowned and glanced down. There was one that did not make it very far. She tried to kick the troublesome stone...and found that it was there to stay. And her toe was stubbed quite nicely.
She winced slightly and looked back to Seven, "OK, my sickly chum, I think I know what the deal here, is..." she said and crouched down infront of her, "Hope up on m'back and we'll get on down to what ya need."
Reply
Too weak to argue, the Mage did as she was asked. She gripped onto Cassarah's back as best she was able. Oddly, Seven did not seem to weigh nearly as much as she would have appeared. "Please hurry," came a desperate whisper.
Reply
Taking a few breaths, she backed a couple of steps before getting into a quick little sprint. As the two neared the door, Cass leapt into the air. Clearing the dangerous first row of tiles, she found her self not being dragged down to the ground with a dying girl on her back. That would have been decidedly bad.
"OK....we're in!" she said, hoping that fact would cheer her up a bit, "Now...where should I drop you off while I get this thing potion of yours together?"
Reply
"Pressure plate, under the al, alkaki component." This was the key ingredient and was guarded the most closely. Two of the others were under a simple lock and key and the rest clearly marked and easily accessible on shelves. Seven hurriedly gave as much instruction as she could for feat that she would soon pass out from the pain. "Mix, mix well," she cried out. "Over medium heat."
Reply
Following Seven's instruction to the T, Cass mixed the ingredients together. Although under pressure, Cass was very steady-handed. But her nerves were were starting to pick up. After all, it wasn't often you were asked to save someone's life...or at least that wasn't something she had encountered before.
Reply
Awkwardly she fumbled with a small case that she pulled from a pocket. A hypodermic needle was produced and quickly put together. The rest of the case was accidentally dropped with small parts scattering about once hitting the floor.
Immediately once the concoction was finished Seven filled the tube up, not bothering to measure out any precise dosage. Fearing the worst she also avoided administering the sickening green fluid into her arm as would normally be the case. Instead she thrust the needle into her throat, gagging as the long needle pierced the skin.
Reply
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