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The mages and the governor took the lift downstairs and the mages retrieved their belongings from their cars. They went across the street and got in the a black car owned by Alex, he was driving. He began to drive towards the temple.

"So, how do you think we should go about this?" Alex asked as they stopped at traffic lights, querying about the approach and strategy they wanted to take for getting to the heart of this temple.

Elisa

"Some of us can convince people to forget stuff. Some can set fire to stuff. Some can mimic voices. So, i think a small fire could be created to act as distraction and if someone could use Howard's voice, it could buy us some time." Elisa suggested whilst checking her revolver. "I'm no tatical person though." Any suggestions? Preferably ones that don't involve murder?

"Use that dynamite your friend has to blow a big hole in the roof and drop right in. Then all you'd have to do is hold the position." said Elisa's demon to her, advising her on what approach they should take.

Elisa

"Or use the dynamite to blow a hole in the roof. We drop in and hold the position." Elisa suggested to the group. Thanks. After this is done, could you teach me to be a leader and fighter? No need for a washed out stock broker and I feel that someone will need to help the dumps. Fighting is a last resort. Don't want to be violent but if push comes to shove, i will shove back.

"That's what I've been trying to do but it's good to know you actually want to listen." said Elisa's demon.

"That's what you can do?" Guo asked of Elisa, curious of her powers.

"And what will you be doing, Governor? Staying in the car, or coming with us? Even if you do not have such powers, I'm certain you have other useful capabilities."

Elisa

"We all have past lives and I just have this feeling that we can pull it off." Elisa told Guo and didn't want to flat out state that it was the idea of her demon. It's hard not to when a demon is inside you. Elisa joked to the nameless one. "We have guns, powers and the element of surprise." She informed Guo. "It's more or less just buying time for the cube holder to get it in place and poof! Everyone is uplifted to magedom. That sounded bad even in my head." She looked out of the window. "But we will need someone to get it into place. Tobias is not to be trusted on account of his shady actions earlier and I'm not willing to risk everyone's lives just so he runs away with it and sells it back to Howard."

Guo looked Elisa in the eyes, and then turned to face Tobias. "He made his mistakes, and I believe he owns them. ...He wasn't the one who pulled the trigger, so while he had aggravated the situation..." She turned back to Elisa. "It behooves us to trust one another. Those with strictly selfish intentions have already left. That we remain, each of us, should tell you enough."

She stroked her chin as she thought on Elisa's plan. "We can find specific positions for each of us when we get to the temple and survey it, but I believe you three can effectively breach and clear the temple, yes? Our fair Governor should be okay waiting in the car--as for myself, I can disable the cars of Howard's men; if any should get past you three, and get past me, they won't easily be able to return to Howard. ...I have no training with weapons, and no powers I feel would be very useful for such an engagement. But I will provide support from the rear, and do what I can. I believe we can succeed."

Elisa

"True but Tobias has shown himself to be questionable. Just don't want to do this then find out that we were betrayed." Elisa told Guo. "I only have fire although, if i can get my hands on some spray, i could extend my fire and turn into a flame thrower. I think, I am immune to fire as well so burning an entire area could be possible for me. Can use my voice to trick people and force them to forget but it is not really useful for our plan." She informed Guo. "I think, I have a short range with my flames but I do feel that i can keep them at bay. I'm decent with a gun so i can take the offensive. Assuming that there are 4 positions, I will take the right and see if i can use fire to create a border between them and us. It may buy us more time and make it harder for them to hit us but it could backfire on us and affect our aim." She told the group. "We could be a man short but if the fourth position is destroyed, we could hold our own. But once we do commit our plan, we can't go back."

Tobias rolled his eyes at Elisa's repeated accusation.
"I told you that I haven't got any interest in giving the cube to Howard! I couldn't give a toss about that rich kid. He has zero loyalty from me, and we're already getting 35,000 for this job, so I'm one hundred percent in the game. The more people that become mages, the less of a freak I'll be. That's a bonus in my book." He informed Elisa, hoping she would finally get the picture.

He turned to Guo when she spoke.
"Ja, thank you. The person that was actually there speaks the truth." Tobias nodded and gave a satisfactory smile.

"I disagree." The Baumbergian replied in regards to Elisa's comments on their plan of action.
"Plans are not set in stone. Action is all about being able to adapt to the situation. You can have a great plan in mind, sure, but [&@%!] can hit the fan, things can go South, and then you might very well need to deviate from that plan. Hell, we might have to make [&@%!] up as we go along, if need be."
He looked out of the car window and rubbed his beard.

"I prefer Guo's way of thinking. We do a bit of recon first - see what our best plan of action is. And I'd say a good idea would be to come up with a reason why we're there in the first place. Don't want to get caught sneaking around as soon as we get there, and then have to resort to snap violence to force our way through."

"I have some rope and flashlights in the boot, might be useful. But I can take care of myself, I'm not staying in the car." said Alex. The light turned green and he started driving again. "Alright, decide now. Will we go to the road north of the temple so we can plant the dynamite and repel down or go to the southern entrance you took last time?"

"South." Tobias said surely.

"I don't know about Randolf, but I'm pretty sure that the ladies don't have any experience with explosions and abseiling into a hostile environment. Let's not be bolder than our abilities, hmm."

21:00

The mages arrived in a disused lot to the south of the temple ruins and waited for nightfall. The group were standing in front of their car, they each used a pair of binoculars in turn to look at the site. On the other side of the street was the dig site. Most of the site was just grass, small rocks and dirt all of which was covered in darkness. But by the cave were a pair of cars much like the one they came in. There was also a set of floodlights tied up to generator illuminating the entrance. Only a single guard was outside the cave, he was an aboriginal Tollan resident in his 30s, clean shaven with short brown hair and was wearing a white shirt, black coat, black trousers and black shoes. He no doubt had a pistol under the coat but wasn't holding anything in his hands.

"Light security, Howard can't move an army without attracting attention. And he doesn't expect us to come back." said Alex, he was carrying the rucksack on his back and holding a .45 semi-auto pistol he had kept in the bag. He looked at the mages. "Any of you necromancers? Because if we kill him, we'd have another gun in there. And he wouldn't be able to sneak up behind us if we got caught."

Guo silently surveyed the entrance before voicing her own thoughts. "Can any of you take him down quietly? Perhaps disabling the floodlights would distract him." She eyed the rest of the scene in front of them. "My thoughts; someone incapacitates that guard. Elisa, Randolph, and Tobias, advance slowly--if we can avoid alerting them and find out where exactly they are before we engage them, it'll be that much easier. I will disable their cars, if our Governor would be so kind as to watch my back while I do so. When that is done, we will join you, and we'll secure the site."

Her face looked grim as she watched the guard. "We cannot allow ourselves to be discovered. If so much as a single one of their number escapes, we will have the Order pursuing us."

Alex nodded, he seemed convinced for Guo's plan. "Good point, don't know how long it will take to open the portal. Last thing we need is them driving to a phone and calling for backup." said Alex.

With the others, Tobias scanned the area around the temple, planning what their best course of action would be.
He was about to voice his thoughts, when Guo spoke as if she was reading his mind.
Hmm, can she read minds?

He nodded.
"I agree. We go in quiet. If someone can take the generator out - eliminate the lights, I can go in. I'll be able to see in the dark...somehow, I know. Take out the guard quietly before he can alert his friends. I can signal the all clear -you two can follow." Tobias gestured to Randolf and Elisa.

"I can scout ahead a bit - see if I can pick up any heat signals of more of Howard's men."

"Okay, sounds fine," Randolph said in an even tone. Meanwhile, he took this chance to solicit one more opinion on this whole situation; one that he had not sought at all thus far. He felt a bit uneasy about doing it, but reasoned that at this point, it probably wouldn't make things worse in any way. So you've been quiet since the haunted house, what do you think about all this? he asked his demon. I'm guessing you want me to help them go through with it, right?

"So, we take out the generator and then knock off the guard once the lights go out?" said Alex wanting to be sure they understood Tobias's plan. "Then Guo and I disable the cars while the rest of you head into the darkened caves?"
---
"I think you must choose your own path in life Randolph. But know I learnt much of your world the last time I came here and since then have begun to follow the path of harmony which your philosophers teach. I do think there is much our peoples can learn from one another." said Randolph's Harmonist demon. "But I don't know what will happen if you open that portal. It is difficult to decide when one should intervene and when it best to just leave things be, you'll have doubts either way."

Tobias nodded at Alex.
"Ya."

"I'm ready." He checked his weapons were all where they were supposed to be, then looked back over across the road.

Alex seemed to be done waiting for somebody else to make the first move and so he snuck across the road and hide behind one of the cars, out of the guard's sight.

Elisa thinks a lot. That's quite a lot of thinking.


Elisa was deep in thought during the conversation and was the first to follow Alex. She kept low and relied on her instincts as a thief in the past life to guide her to the car. Would setting it on fire work as a good distraction? She pondered.

"Watch for my signal."
Tobias said to the others, before he too shuffled quietly across the road and over towards the generator.

Yes, this is happening...okay, fingers crossed. Guo attempted to sneak into position beside Alex.