"The only healers we currently have are mages," Beleth offers, from under her several layers of clothing. "If you want one of the nonmages who've gone to a university, you'll have to wait until we get back." She glances around at the people gathered, eyebrows up. It's the first time they've managed to rescue rifters without having to wade through a pile of demons and worse, which almost makes up for the bonechilling cold.

Leaving the rifters to deal with the demons themselves is not a very solid plan for the future, though.

"We truly are sorry about your wait, though." She dips her head a little. "We're usually able to arrive around the time of the rift. We'll be sure to investigate what happened to the first team." Or, more like what killed them. Because, let's face it, the odds that it was just a hilarious misunderstanding and they were all alive and well were pretty low.