Banishment PV Professors

Action: Agree to split up with a other selection. Climb stairs and conjure staff to help him walk.

The invisibility field Ivar had manifesting was fading out of existence. The old man Lear’s spell had indeed been effective in rooting him out of his hiding place. First Ivars torso, then an arm, then a leg, then the top of his head, then the whole of him became visible again to the other professors as his dome flickered out. Spells like this were so fleeting once someone already assumed you were there.
Unfortunately for the old ingrate of a headmaster though, Ivar had already assumed the spell would fail, and flung one of his own.

As Ivars face appeared from behind the invisibility field, a wide gleeful grin was plastered across his face, but nothing except menace and indignation radiated from his eyes as he looked at the headmaster in front of him. Stopped in place in his attempted charge Ivar found the headmaster quite sorry looking, old and haggard, looking much more like a office rat that holed himself away with his research than someone Ivar would expect to see on the frontlines.

Ivar chuckled childishly as he closed in on the stiff headmaster. “I am a HE, not a SHE…” The Care of Magical Creature professor said as he pushed Lear in the head with the flat end of his axe, trying to tip the motionless headmaster over effortlessly.

Having finally gotten more control over his predicament, Ivar took the time to catch up with his surroundings. The only one of the professors he had any contact with before seemed to have been badly injured by something, some others looked to be bruised, and one had already left the dungeon. Ivar clicked his tongue, a smile still on his face. They really did seem like a rag-tag group of uselessness when faced with a smidge of danger.

Ivar tilted his head to the side as he watched a spindly mustached man he had never been introduced to run, wand first, deeper into the darkness in front of them. Ivar gave off a light chuckle as he wondered when self preservation had stopped being a valued trait, showing no sign of following after the man.

Actions:
1.Tip Solomon Lear to the ground.

Stats:
Stamina: 12 | Evasion: 15 | Strength: 13 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 10 | Accuracy: 13

Abilities:
Cats's Grace
Fearless
Keen Eye
Evasive Maneuvers x2

Her scolding was perhaps far more intense than it was meant to be. It was highly successfully, it would appear. But it was driven by worry that was not going away or getting any better when the fool continued to make things worse. Nonetheless, she quickly reached out and supported the fool as he attempted to stand - a frown appearing on her eyebrows. His pain was evident. He could barely stand, it would seem... he should not be here. Though it seemed that he had other plans. Plans of staying. Sigh. She had expected as much but that did not mean she had to like it. Helping him back onto both feet, she looked around the room.

Some sort of resemblance of a plan was beginning to be formed. It was not much but it was more than what they had so far. It was a start, at the very least. Gargott looked to be in a worse condition than he had moments earlier. Was the nurse actually healing or harming him?! What transpired between Lear and a few others was lost on her. She had missed most of it, focusing on what was around her instead. A whisper reached her ears, saying the words that she feared. It could very well be the thing he was considering, if it was what she thought it was.

But if it was true, that was precisely why she intended on staying with Lear. He trusted her. That... that was the best they were going to get, at this time. Of course, he likely trusted a few others too but there were a few new faces in the group and... she had no idea if Lear would trust them or not. His paranoia could easily be the death of them all. She probably had a chance of convincing him if he turned against her, at the very least. It was a risk she was going to have to take. Besides, she had grown to care for the older man, in particular over camp.

Besides... She had her own theory. One that she dared not to voice, not even to those closest to her. Because the mere thought of it was terrifying. Every fibre of her being hoped she was wrong. If it was true, it was perhaps the worst possible thing she could imagine. If her theory was true... A tiny shudder ran down her spine at the mere thought of it. Anything but that. Anything was better than... that.

Wait - what?

Her eyes snapped towards Dupont, who made some sort of apology and declaration. He... ran INTO the dungeon?! What was with this guy?! First he fails at healing and then he runs into danger. Was he trying to get them all killed? Wait was he secretly working with the hags? Because so far, he was doing a lot more harm than help. She had to stop him. She ha-

Caradoc grabbed her arm. Damnit, Dupont! She disagreed with his team selection. He should leave and she should take the team to the runes. The others could go with Dupont. Her mind raced as she gripped her wand in her hand. There was no choice. She had no idea who was going to go after the nurse and right now, they had no better plans - nor was there any further opportunity to make one. Of the two of them, she was the only one who had a chance of catching up. This was ridiculously foolish of her to even consider but... if there was one thing she had learned over the past years, it was that sometimes you just had to trust those around you.

Her gaze stared intently at him, secretly hoping that her own theory never came to light. But... knowing what she knew... there was a chance that today... Today would be the day that it did. Hjørdis swallowed, "Wait -" She caught his arm before he turned away as though she suddenly remembered something, "Be careful..." Her voice dropped into a whisper, pausing for a moment as she stared at him. It was barely audible, except perhaps the few right next to them. Even then, most of her words made little sense to people. She told him to be careful and then... there was something about a ditch - in reference to the pit he mentioned or ditching someone? Or... another type of ditch? Something about remembering something, brown or Browne perhaps and raw? What even? Was this even English?

Hell, she had no idea if Caradoc would even understood her words nor did she have time to repeat them. Swallowing, she nodded, let go and turned, "Let's go," She said to no one in particular but hoping at least a few followed suit. There were more pressing matters to attend to. She would have told him to take care of Lear but... she did not need to. At the very least, that was one thing she could rely on him for. If anything, he was more likely to forget to take care of himself. She probably should have told him not to come back more for the collection or to stay alive but... he was not one to listen to her. She did what she could. It was not a lot but if he understood her words, it was a start. It was probably not enough but... it was the best she could offer right now.

They had their orders. It was time to move out.

"Lumos duo!" She muttered the incantation as she ran down the corridor towards Dupont - who, at the very least - seemed to have the sense to try and fight the dark. In an attempt not to blind him or others near her with her light, she went with a slightly less powerful one. It would have to be enough. At least, with theirs around.

Jemari was dashing towards Dupont too. With a broom in his hand. Why was he not... just flying? Wouldn't he be faster? Admittedly, she was not one for flying or encouraging that indoors but he was the Professor of Flying. He ought to be somewhat capable enough to navigate through the hallways, right? "Fly, you fool!" She did not mean to scold him - but hey, we all know she's excellent at that, apparently. However, that was where he excelled right? Do what you excel at doing!

ACTION: Cast Lumos Duo, running after JP

Stamina: 15 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 20 | Arcane Power: 10 | Accuracy: 14
Abilities: Sixth Sense | Evasive Maneuvers | Perfectionist | Poison Resistance [others pending]

Outfit of the day

Action: Casting Verdimillious in the hopes of finding something shrouded or hidden by dark magic.

A couple of her colleagues seemed to start formulating a plan. Kateri nodded along as she listened to each suggestion. Unfortunately splitting up did indeed seem to be one of the better options with the recent in-fighting that had happened. It made her uneasy to think of them all having to break into two groups instead of going in full force as one team... but if this was the way it had to be. There wasn't anyone in the party that Kateri felt she couldn't trust though she hadn't had a lot of interactions with her fellow professors.

"Truthfully," Kateri began to murmur to Professor Ostrowski as she followed his cautious steps forward before giving a concerned look towards their headmaster. "I don't believe some of us should go much deeper." Her voice lowered not wanting to spark another fit from the older man or cast suspicion upon herself. Another voice, the Charms professor, spoke up soon after and proposed another possibility for a split in staff. A noticeable grimace fell upon the woman's face, more out of concern than anything else. With the state Lear was in she knew no matter who he went with there might be more trouble but indeed splitting up the two was a smart decision. More voice and more varied approaches to splitting up... they needed to be reasonable about who went with who. Kateri looked to her peers but without knowing them she wasn't sure what they could or couldn't handle. Who was best to go with who. Maybe a part of that was the bond they all seemed to share already and her being new- well... Crossing her arms over her chest she could feel herself getting a bit impatient. If a child really was down there standing here trying to talk among themselves was only going to prolong whatever suffering they were going through. A yell from Caradoc drew her attention.

'What is he thinking??' Holding back a groan as she realized their new nurse had taken off by himself. Kateri's muscles tensed. Hadn't he just seen what the darkness had done to the Head of House?! River wasn't far behind calling out to the man as he went after him.

"Jemari!" Kateri yelled but the professor was already gone along with Nora. What were they thinking?! Her legs ached to run after them but she knew it was just a reaction fueled by adrenaline. Sure, she wanted to help protect the others and do what she could... but rushing in like this? Giving a quick once over of the other faces still around her she knew she had to make a decision. Stay here with everyone else or try to catch up to the others. If she hesitated any longer she would either find herself fallen behind or regret not trying to follow and help those that went on ahead.

"Damnit..." Kateri cursed softly as she took off at a full sprint after the others, wand held pointed slightly down at the ground in front of her hoping to light the way. Her mind bringing forth the incantation she hoped would cut through the darkness ahead.

Action: Agreeing to Caradoc's request and waiting for his group to move.

OOC: I don't know if she failed to walk up the steps or something in the last round, but Beatrice is no longer in the dungeons with us. Her last post stated that she left the thread.

Abilities: Perfectionist - Fearless- Evasive Maneuvers- Non-Verbal Magic - Wandless Magic

Stats: Stamina: 12 ~ Strength: 6 ~ Evasion: 8 ~ Wisdom: 20 ~ Arcane Power: 12 ~ Accuracy:12

Elaine watched half the group run straight into the darkness further ahead of them, their newly appointed school nurse in the lead. The others were huddled around Caradoc Browne, who was out of commission, at least when it came to (again) running into what could amount to certain death if nobody would stop him in time. It was bad enough that this darkness had almost snatched him away from them once, they shouldn't give it the chance to get anyone else.

In her mind, Elena cursed the Frenchman in colorful language and wondered when the majority of the professors had taken to make decisions that she expected from students – decisions she considered monumentally stupid. At least they had light. For now. She had no delusions about for how long that would last.

There was still a disillusionment charm about her person, which suited her well at the moment, though she still couldn't be certain if it would work against their ominous opponent.

"I will go with them, as Professor Ostrowski suggested," she told the group as her eyes followed her niece run into the darkness. There wasn't much else to do than run along and hope that everything would turn out for the better. "Please be safe. If we aren't back in a reasonable time..."

She left the last sentence unfinished.

The place where the eagle had dug its claws into her forearm still hurt. Her husband's dying face flickered in front of her eyes for a second. As far as omens went, this was a horrible day, Elena thought to herself.

"Caeruleus Inflamarae," she whispered, raising her wand with the intention of casting a sphere of cold flames to float beside her. Just as a precaution.

Action: Go further down with the group, cast Bluebell Flames.

Reducio

Stats: ♠ Stamina: 12 ♠ Evasion: 10 ♠ Strength: 4 ♠ Wisdom: 20 ♠ Arcane Power: 12 ♠ Accuracy: 12

Abilities: Fearless ♠ Perfectionist ♠ Sixth Sense ♠ Non-Human Enthusiast ♠

When he had asked for a strategy but a moment ago, he had hoped for more than “we'll split up in two groups.” and “Group A will recklessly charge ahead and hope for... who even knows what.” The urge to facepalm like an adolescent was strong. He supposed he would stay with the second group then, in the hopes that they would finalise a bit more of a plan of action before rushing off.

“Splitting up it is. Are we going to go for anything specific or …?” He squinted at the wall as he trailed off. Was that- ? But no, it seemed merely a speck of dust, nothing more. He sighed. He was not made for such an endeavour, his talents definitely lay elsewhere. Still, now that they were in this mess...

“Should we move in a formation, so that people at the front and back are free to attack or defend if we come across something in the Darkness, with someone in the middle providing light and support?” He racked his brains if he could draw any inspiration from any of the adventure or horror movies he'd seen over the years but none of the scenarios really seemed applicable here. His main take-away from recalling those was that he wished they'd hired professionals to deal with this. Aurors or Curse-Breakers maybe...

Action(s): (Since I assumed he wouldn't have heard Caradoc's words to Nora,) waiting to confer on a plan and checking the walls for any runes in the mean time.

Action: Follow JP

Racial Abilities: Werewolf Form (Rend, Bite, +10% damage) | Heightened Senses (tell familiar people by smell) | Track Hidden People (within 24 hours) | Wolf's Cry | Predatory Abilities (+25% chance to enter hidden, +2 stealth) | Intimidation (uneasiness, -1 acc, +1 crit fail to all around)
Chosen Abilities: Obnoxiously Strong (+10% strength) | Martial Artist

Stats: Stamina: 15 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 20 (22) | Wisdom: 4 | Arcane Power: 4 | Accuracy: 15