"Keep moving," you tell Altria in an undertone. "Keep your guard up, but don't make it too obvious. We don't want to attract attention."

"Attention from whom?" Altria asks, even as she heeds your warning and shifts from a relaxed walk to something a bit more combat-ready.

"I'm not sure," you reply, "but something is messing with the lights."

The blonde frowns and glances about. "I see nothing unusual, Alexander."

You consider that for a moment. "Does that Dragon give you night vision, by any chance? Because from my perspective, those lights are only putting out about half as much illumination as they ought to - less, even."

"I have been told that I have abnormally keen eyesight in low-light and dark conditions," the English girl admits. "That said, I am still perfectly able to distinguish areas of shadow and darkness. I see nothing unusual here."

"And if the girl with magic resistance doesn't notice something, it's a good bet that what she isn't seeing is magic," you muse aloud.

"Do you believe we are walking into danger?"

"I don't know. The shadow effect isn't as intense as I'd expect it to be if it was intended as the lead-up to an attack or some sort of intimidation gambit. I'm not picking up any kind of obvious threat, either, although I haven't tried to probe it; even if it is just a passive or accidental effect, I'm not too keen on poking whatever's causing it."

Having said that, you may not have much choice in the matter; whatever its origin and purpose, the shadow is getting deeper as you proceed forward. As you come up to an intersection in the hallways, a quick glance to either side and then back over your shoulder shows that the shadow visibly lessens just a few steps in any other direction except the one you're currently headed. You could take a different route to the stands, and potentially avoid the source of the shadow.