It was dark outside, so much so that ordinary people still walking around would wish for even a semblance of a moon or some stars.
Yet, some people weren't that ordinary as two people could be seen running as fast as they could through the streets of the town of Garen, as easily as if it was daytime.
"We're going to be late and it's all your fault," Trisha complained as she blamed her partner even while running as fast as she could to the already pre-arranged meeting site,
Ahmati threw a single glance at her at his side, before raising his head to continue looking forward, concentrating all his energy on beating her and getting to the meeting place first or he wouldn't hear the end of it.
"And now he's ignoring me," she thought speeding up, regardless of the fact that she was sure they would make it on time, and mostly because she wanted to get there before most of the other teams did.
They ran fast, fast enough for the black cloaks on their backs to blur into strips of black behind them as they blended easily with the darkness around them, since Nightguards could never be said to be a problem for them.
On getting to an isolated house, in the lower part of the town, Ahmati and Trisha came to a stop in front of it, immediately becoming alert and wary of their surroundings to make sure that the coast was clear, and there were no Pure Mages, the dogs of the Hall of mages lurking around to arrest them.
Even going as far as to murmur spells underneath their breath as the tattooed circle on both their left palms lit up, making them stick out like a bright candle in a dark room.
However, they didn't have to wait long before the door suddenly swung open from inside as they both quickly entered.
"Welcome, for a second I thought you both were no longer coming since you usually arrived much earlier than this," a prim and formal male voice said opening the door for Trisha and Ahmati to enter before closing it behind them.
The inside of the house was bright and well kept compared to how the outside of it looked. A few people were already inside sitting around a table waiting for the meeting to start as food was being served in front of them by two maids dressed in two short maid outfits.
"We apologize for the delay, Magistrate," Trisha replied in an even more formal tone with a tiny bow to the man standing in front of them,
"We got held up for longer than we hoped for," she continued following behind him as he led both her and her partner to their seats.
"It's fine. As long as you're here safely," The man referred to as the magistrate replied, seating Ahmati and Trisha in a set of seats placed beside each other with enough space and distance from another set of seats.
The moment the Magistrate was gone, and they were seated, Trisha wiped the cute and gentle smile she had on her face replacing it with an annoyed expression as she turned to see two people on her right whose presence alone was enough to piss her off.
"Hera and Aphrodite are here," she whispered to her partner, the second she spotted them.
"So is Fate and Time," Ahmati replied already filling the plate in front of him with food as he wondered what made some of their members choose such ridiculous names to be known by.
He thought about them before glancing at Trisha, thankful for her as a partner regardless of how many quirks she had right before turning his attention back to the food he was trying to eat, going as far as to prepare something for Trisha.
"Here," he said placing the plate of food in front of her,
"Relax...and eat a little. The war doesn't start until Master gets here and we'll need enough energy just to get through this meeting in peace," Ahmati whispered underneath his breath, glad to see her nod back in acceptance, stretching out her hand to collect the plate from him.
They ate in silence as they listened to whispers from the other partners around them even they watched the Magistrate move back and forth as more and more people arrived to sit at the table.
Time passed slowly, yet not a single person complained as everyone sat together in twos with their partner, with everyone accounted for but a single chair which everyone couldn't help but glance at every now and then.
Still, the sudden flickering off and on of the bulb was enough to elicit silence from every corner of the room, as the sudden tension in the air became palpable the moment the light came back on only for them to discover that the single-seat in their midst had been filled.
"Welcome Master Rani," they all chorused getting on their feet before offering a low and deep bow in the direction of a middle-aged man with a caring smile on his face, the thick and suffocating aura around him being the only thing that made them feel anything less than safe.
"Sit. I won't be here long," he responded waving them down with his heavily inscribed palms in a gentle manner.
"Without any delay, We'll start from Rose and Bowan," he announced turning to the first set of two people on his right, as Trisha who sat two seats to the left of their master at the round table sighed seeing one of them begin to shake in fear,
"Yes, master. Like everyone else, twenty people were given to us and we've been able to get ten so far," Bowan replied, getting on his feet as he did, trying to ignore his partner who he knew was doing her best to stand upright since the quota they had met was so low, and everyone at the table had seen horrible things happen to people that couldn't get the minimum of whatever was asked of them.