"Sure, but none of them are smart enough to get it, they're just loading up on nightmare classes and when they're snowed under they get their enclave's homework minions to save them."

"Ah. Poor minions."

"They get compensated," she shrugs. "But not amazingly, yeah."

Maybe the enclaves will have to pay their minions better with Kareen handing out food and mana and every kind of material possession she can think of so people are less desperate. Probably better not to say that out loud, though. 

"If there's anyone else who'd like to come down to the shop with us, you're welcome to invite them."

"Sure, we can have a little party."

"Sounds wonderful."

"I will go alert relevant people that there is a mal butchering party for afters." Off she goes.

Kareen exchanges friendly amounts of small talk with El and Bella and Nia when they show up for lunch, and leaves her table to kill a mal in a vent at one point, but eventually lunch is over and Kareen goes to find Aadhya to go down for the Shop Party together. 

Aadhya has pulled together an eclectic bunch of fellow artificers who may be able to use miscellaneous mal parts or will be of use in harvesting them. There are a few kids already in the shop, working on their midterm projects or Christmas presents or personal equipment they want, but not so many that the shop party can't colonize a chunk of the room and several clear workbenches.

What's the protective gear situation, is there enough to go around or is Kareen going to have to produce some?

Most of the kids have gloves, some of which even match or are of the appropriate size or couldn't be a better material. Two kids have goggles. Most have some kind of apron. They have spells to compensate though!

Okay well Kareen has nothing against their spells but everyone can have the gloves and goggles they use in Artifact Storage at the Institute. 

Score!

And they all have tools, some enchanted, but if she does happen to have on file a hacksaw or any of these other things...

She has some but not all of the other things. Not a hacksaw, though. She has things that could reasonably be kept around a house for minor repairs, like screwdrivers. 

"Does the shop not provide these things? Is this a problem I can solve by killing things that make them dangerous to access, or something?"

"It sometimes does but not so everybody has one outside class hours," Aadhya explains.

"Well, if I can get my hands on one, everybody can have one."

"I worked hard on this," one kid mumbles about his enchanted drill.

“Sorry, I should have been clearer, I just want to know where to look for the ones the school provides.”

"Over there," Aadhya says, "watch for mals, they love it in there."

“Thanks.” Okay. Mal-detecting spell?

Yes there are mals in there, where did you think this was, an Ace Hardware?

Can she get more details than that please. She gets that she is shopping at the (mal)l but she would still like to look in the windows.

Yeah there's a big gelatious thing over there and six little flying guys in that corner.

Okay, good, she can squish the gelatinous guy and stab the flying things.

Who could possibly have predicted this.

Inside there's lots of nice swag, there's a collective gasp of awe from her onlookers.