Didiana did not recognize the spell rushing towards her, but then she didn't have to to know that meeting it head-on wasn't going to be pleasant. What shower of fire and sparks was? Instinctively, she raised her arm to shield herself, even as the more rational part of her brain realized the futility in the act. She couldn't hold back fire without getting burned any more than she could cup water without getting wet. Cue her rational brain's surprise when that was exactly what she did.
Or at least partially so. There was a split-second in the moment of impact where, perhaps in her state of hyper-aware battle readiness, time seemed to slow down for the sorcerer. She couldn't explain how, but she could see it, actually see the instant where the fiery missile struck her outstretched hand. And somehow it didn't feel so bad. The flames that should have scorched her fingertips only caressed them, gently, feeling almost comforting, their heat no more than that of her old family cat's fur, Jack, after he'd been napping in the sun. Boy, that was oddly specific. It was the strangest sensation Didiana had ever experienced. Then, cruelly, the instant passed and the full weight of the spell bore down her. And all turned to pain.
"Argh!"
The fire struck with the roar that only flames possess and engulfed the armiger in an instant. The brightest flames do indeed burn out the quickest, however, and with their harm done they immediately faded to sparks. In their wake they left nothing but a canvass of charred skin: Didiana's arm, now exposed due to the absent sleeve the fire had devoured, was nothing but second-degree burns. Almost nothing, anyway. Surveying the damage, she noted that while her fingers were red and already blistering, the palm was pale and completely untouched.
What the hell was that? she thought, not realizing how accurate the expletive was.
It would have to wait. The strix had proven herself dangerous, very dangerous at that, and clearly wielded more power than herself. Didiana glared up at the gang leader. With no regard for the skin that cracked and bled with the action, she thrust out her hand and with it yet another spell. The white-glowing orbs sparked with more intensity than her last volley, perhaps in vengeful retribution, perhaps to compensate for the power-gap between the two magic wielders.
Caught off-guard by the tieflings willingness to cross the gap by jumping, Matiscio regrets his decision to rush forward. But in combat, there's no time to think on any such things. The brawler shifts his weight onto his right leg and lowers his exotic shield so that it rests on his thigh, assuming a more defensive stance since he might very well be surrounded soon enough.
"Pigeon! Ha! I like it!"
Gilda tried to remember whatever bird Lia had assigned to him, but for the life of her she couldn't remember it. Pigeon worked though, noble birds those and representin' the common bird everywhere.
Gilda's nose wrinkled as she found a thug breathin' on her.
"Ugh, you guys gots the worst breath..."
"Augh, damned bird-lady."
Glancing upwards at the strix, Gilda curses but nonetheless cackles at her effort to thwart her fire magic .
Stepping back, Gilda hoped she could get enough time to work her guard-trick as Gregor had suggested.
Emboldened by the city, her city, Gilda did what she did best - tried to get into the minds of those who opposed her.
"Hey! You gonna try to stab me or what!?"
Gregor tries to roll with the attack as best he can, sidling just a step away as he does. He performs an odd dance of staying ready on his toes, while still focusing his aim at the main enemy. He fires a single shot with violent accuracy. "Ummm... Pigeon... Dave... You! They're bunched up, can you treat them like the door guards on the rescue mission?" For the life of him, quite possibly literally, he can't think of Gilda's codename. Gregor’s arrow hits, piercing into Scarplume’s leg.
Matiscio, caught off-guard by the tieflings willingness to cross the gap by jumping, regrets his decision to rush forward. But in combat, there's no time to think on any such things. The brawler shifts his weight onto his right leg and lowers his exotic shield so that it rests on his thigh, assuming a more defensive stance since he might very well be surrounded soon enough. The tiefling dodges out of the way of Matiscio’s blow.
Gilda, glancing upwards at the strix, curses but nonetheless cackles at her effort to thwart her fire magic.
Stepping back, Gilda hoped she could get enough time to work her guard-trick as Gregor had suggested.
Emboldened by the city, her city, Gilda did what she did best - tried to get into the minds of those who opposed her.
"Hey! You gonna try to stab me or what!?"
The effects of Gilda’s hex take hold.
Didiana glared up at the gang leader. With no regard for the skin that cracked and bled with the action, she thrust out her hand and with it yet another spell. The white-glowing orbs sparked with more intensity than her last volley, perhaps in vengeful retribution, perhaps to compensate for the power-gap between the two magic wielders. Didiana’s missiles collide with the flying strix and something snaps. Scarplume’s wings go limp and the strix plummets down onto the rooftop of the Humbright House. A collective gasp can be heard from her tiefling thugs.
Evander, with Scarplume definitively out of range, decides he needs to keep the Tieflings off Gregor's back. He steps up and says, "I was hoping you would choose to sit this one out. I didn't want to fight with you, but you aren't leaving me much choice." Evander’s rapier misses its mark as Ilio deftly dodges the blow.
Zeke remains prone on the far side of the bell tower.
Scarplume’s body lies limp on the rooftop, her limbs at awkward angles from the fall. She is most certainly dead.
Ilio looks over at Scarplume’s body in shock. He throws down the silver bloodstone dagger and slides down the side of the roof before leaping over the side.
The other tieflings quickly follow suit, scattering in every direction.
With Scarplume dead and the tieflings scattered, the battle has been won, swiftly and definitively.
"Is anyone hurt?" yells Matiscio. His heart's pounding can be felt in the back of his throat and now, in this moment where the storm simply disappeared within a few seconds of time, he's painfully aware of it.
"I'm alright. Gregor got stabbed, though, and I think Didiana was burned." Evander lets the Tieflings go. The Red Jills were finished - Scarplume was dead. Even if one of them managed to reform the gang, they would remember how easily Scarplume had been defeated. Perhaps they would even turn from such crime. Of course, they might decide to retaliate. Things had not gotten any easier, he suspected.
Evander picks up the dagger and slides it back into its sheath before walking over to Scarplume and saying, "You should have negotiated." He then begins looking her over for any items she may have on her - perhaps something from Barzillai that could be used to embarrass and incriminate him.
Gregor calls after the retreating gang members, As soon as it's clear that they have all made their escape, he breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Alloco, for holding the bridge. I too thought it was a bold gesture to slow their advance. I have a cut, but it's not unbearable." Turning to Gilda he asks, "So, seriously, what is your codename? I know seagull was among them, but I believe that was for the Lady. Everyone else committed to one, but I do not remember you doing so. We must maintain them, even now, as there is still young Zeke to deal with." He points in the direction of Scarplume's seat of power.
Stowing his bow, he wanders over to stand between Didiana and Scarplume. There he begins to tend the Armiger's wound while looking over the body of their enemy.
Evander picks up the dagger and slides it back into its sheath before walking over to Scarplume and saying, "You should have negotiated."
Yeah, that's right. Run, you cowards. Back to the Nursery with the rest of the scum, where you belong. Don't even have enough decency between all six of you to fight for your fallen leader but then what can you expect from a bunch of filthy oh HELLS, this arm hurts!
The sorcerer was distracted from viewing the fleeing tieflings by her toasted appendage, who kindly reminded her of current priorities via searing pain. With the endorphins of battle slowly exiting her system now, Didiana was left with nothing but the dull insistent ache of burns in their place. Her arm was quickly turning into a raw mass of blisters. It was frankly excruciating.
"Is anyone hurt?" yelled Matiscio.
"I'm fine!" came the insistent, vaguely aggressive, answer.
Even Didiana had to ask why she did this to herself, as she bit her own tongue in discomfort. Was she really so proud that she couldn't express pain? Or were the Torrent's tenets of stoicism and resilience in the face of adversity simply too ingrained in her? Whatever the case, she didn't have to wonder for long as Gregor soon came to her aid with curative magic, perhaps knowing the armiger too well to be fooled.
Feeble protests that the ex-dottari should heal himself first soon made way for a relieved sigh as the pain faded. "Thank you, Ward," she said as red rind quickly turned back into healthy skin. She spoke his name lowly so as not to be heard.
"That's much better... Wait, when did you learn magic?"
Perhaps a question for another time. Fights had a way of attracting attention, rooftop battles doubly so, and who knew if the dottari were already on their way. It was time for the Silver Ravens to make their exit. But there was one thing that needed to be settled first.
"Zeke Crus, stop wasting everyone's time and get down here."
The authority had returned to her voice and it was perfectly clear that she would be very dissapointed if young Zaccheus made her climb up there after him.
Neither Evander nor Gregor find anything that connects Scarplume with Barzillai. They do find her loot stash, however, which contains 2,000 gp and 500 gp worth of miscellaneous jewelry and keepsakes.
The tieflings don’t look back as Gregor shouts at them, but there’s no way they could have missed his words.
As soon as the tieflings climbed off the roof, they began running. In less than a minute, all of them were out of sight.
After Didiana calls out to Zeke, the young man fails to materialize for the better part of a minute. Finally, a head slowly pokes out over the the bell tower’s ledge. It’s none other than Zaccheus Crus. He looks over at Scarplume’s body then quickly looks back and forth between the five of you.
“You… killed her?”
Zeke shakes his head as if to reassure himself he isn’t dreaming. He stays at the edge of the bell tower, giving no indication that he’s going to come down.
“What… what are you going to do to me?”
Before anyone has a chance to respond, he continues, “Just leave now and I’ll leave a few minutes later. Nobody needs to know we met. I’m of no use to you. And keep that one away from me,” he finishes, pointing at Didiana.
Gilda's interest in Zeke was fleeting as she spent most of her time shaking her hand at the fleeing thugs.
"Yeah! That's right! Run home to yer mommies and tell 'em don't even think 'bout startin' no gangs!"
Turning back around, she sensed some unfinished business between Zeke and a few of her allies, so she crossed her arms and simply appeared both patient and impatient at the same time.
"So glad that you remember me, Zeke..." Didiana muttered at the anxious finger leveled at her.
Crus still harbored some fear for the armiger from their last encounter, clearly. What wasn't immediately obvious, however, was that underneath her helmet Didiana was feeling rather fearful herself. What was she to do about the kid? What could she do about him? Didiana had a soft spot for the young, as most do; a soft spot that her strict code of conduct mercifully allowed for in the form of the softer laws for juvenile crime. Hellknights did not believe in mercy. Mercy held back justice. Mercy was a mere byproduct of arrogance; it existed only to inflate the would-be judge's sense of self, to let one feel virtuous and good. It was selfish. Law and order came before something so petty as the individual's ego.
This was why the sorcerer so appreciated Kintargo's laxer crime laws regarding minors; it allowed for her morality and hellknight training to coexist. She could give a second chance to a kid like Zeke Crus because the law she was sworn to enforce allowed for simple reprimands for first-time juvenile offenders. She had utilized this whenever possible, using the fearsome reputation of the hellknigths to scare kids onto the straight and narrow over more drastic measures. Didiana was no machine. Seeing the young having their lives ruined by a harsh sentencing affected her. Having to be the one to bring them in made it all the worse. It was feelings like these the Order prescribed reckonings were supposed to eliminate. Emotion really was weakness, as the Measure & the Chain described.
But Didiana was still weak. She wanted to help Zeke. But he had already failed the one chance she had given him in joining the Red Jills. Considering this, she knew that she should be handing him over to the dottari, little career criminal that he was. No second chances. But with the city in its current state, this was also unacceptable. She worked within the law, and Barzillai Thrune was not that. The man had proven himself corrupt to the core; why would his courts be any different?Bringing his guards one petty thief served no law; at best she would be abandoning the kid to torture. There was nothing she could do for Zeke. More importantly, there was nothing she could do to him. After all, he now had leverage over her.
Didiana stared up at Zeke, trying not to let her anxiety show in her eyes.
Zeke knows I'm a Silver Raven.
The thought was alarming. The kid had plenty of reason to resent her and armed with the knowledge that she was a member of an illegal faction of revolutionaries (Thank you for that, Gregor and Evander. Must you always announce our arrival from the figurative and very literal rooftops?), he had the means of hurting her. Not just just her either; no, that was the worst of it. It was possible he didn't know her name, but he did know her as 'that red-haired Torrent armiger'. Easily recognized thanks to that damnable hair. Should he inform the government in trying to hurt her, the repercussions for the Torrent would be severe. And from there, Thrune could easily find her name and with it her mother. It had been some time since Didiana had felt this powerless against someone. She did not want to let Zeke go. Her ethics and code both forbade it, whether to help or to punish him. But the danger the kid represented to her was too great. The armiger was a loyal beast. She was not willing to endanger her family, neither that by blood or vocation, for anything.
"... fine.", she finally said to Zeke Crus's plea.
And with that she turned and made to leave.
As Evander calls out the names among them that were injured, Gregor stares mouth agape. "Codenames! We have them for a reason." Even worse when Didiana made it worse by adding his last name to the first one already given by Evander, even if it was quieter. "Seriously? Codenames."
Bothered as he was, he mostly missed her magic comment, "What? I guess I have a knack in administering first aid, but magic is a bit a frivolous comparison that I wouldn't expect from you of all people." He brushes off her comment as nothing more than an exaggerated compliment, and nothing more.
After the ministrations, he addresses the young man, "Yes, we killed her, and doing so will strengthen a community tortured under corrupt and unjust rule. I will do the same to anyone or anything that works to tear down the bonds of this city. From the lowliest petty thief," He raises an eyebrow at the boy, "all the way to the topmost position of Lord-mayor, without pause or question."
He stares steely-eyed at the young man who just so recently shared what he knew of them to a gang leader, "You have very few options in this situation we find ourselves in. You can work to redeem yourself of your mounting list of crimes, or you can get added to the list of those that stand in our way. You just may find that we can be forgiving to those that work with us for the greatness of fair Kintargo. Out with it boy, what will it be?"
Evander has the sense to look embarrassed as he’s reminded of the code names.
He studies Zeke as the boy makes his request, then raises an eyebrow at Gregor and his mentioning a growing list of crimes. ”What crimes? Far as I can tell, he made a bad judgement call in being desperate to belong to something bigger than himself.”
Evander looks up at Zeke and says, ”Why don’t you come down here. We can talk about it.”
Zeke looks unmoved by Evander’s words, but actually looks quite frightened by Gregor. He shrinks back, peering over the edge of the bell tower just enough so you can see his eyes looking down at you. His knuckles turn white as he tightly grips the ledge.
“You… you actually think I can be redeemed? You don’t know what I’ve done. None of you do. I… I don’t think you mean that. At least, you wouldn’t if you knew what I’d done.”
Zeke glances over at Didiana. He seems surprised that she would turn away so quickly.
Looking back at Gregor and the rest of the group, he says, “I’ll… I’ll tell you what I did if you promise… if you give me your word… that you won’t hurt me. And that she won’t hurt me. I… I have to look out for myself.”
The young man pauses, expecting an answer from all of you, except, perhaps, from Didiana.
Words. So many words! The poor boy in front of Matiscio was visibly shaken by those entrapping words and its choking narrative. Zeke truly well was caught between a rock and a hard place. All Matiscio could do was give a nod to his companions to let them know he was fine with giving the boy some leeway in return for information.
You're no master yet, Matiscio. You're still seeking answers by approaching situations and thoughts that might pose you a question, dip you in uncertainty. With that thought, Matiscio knew it wasn't up to him to pass judgment on Zeke. A judge could do that, or even better yet, the Gods in due time.
Evander shrugs. "I see no problem with that, Zeke. It would be nice if you would come down, though." Evander will put his rapier away to show his sincerity.
Didiana did not speak up as Evander and Gregor attempted to converse with the street rat turned gang member. She did not even turn towards them. The armiger instead merely looked into the distance from one corner of the rooftop, watching for any approaching danger whilst looking like the world's surliest rendition of the Statue of Liberty.
Gilda smiles up at the frightened Zeke.
"Can't say you got much of a choice, hon! Ya gotta come down sometime and we got the magic to compel ya, if you know what I mean!"
As she sees her blunt statement of the truth is insufficient.
"I'm not gonna hurt ya!"
Gilda omits the fact that Didiana or other members of her group might not be so accommodating. She does keep an eye trained on the surprisingly taciturn Didiana, finding that somewhat alarming after her short time knowing the armiger.
Zeke still looks quite uncertain about this entire situation. For a few more moments, he lingers on the bell tower and it seems as if he’ll never come down. Eventually, slowly and painstakingly, he climbs down from the bell tower onto the roof of the Humbright House. He clasps and unclasps his hands and taps his foot as he looks at all of you.
He gulps, then says, “Just a reminder that you said you wouldn’t hurt me or let her hurt me. I… I only managed to make things worse for myself, and probably for all of Kintargo. You see, when I first joined this gang, I wanted to belong. I wanted to feel a part of something. It quickly became apparent that Scarplume hated humans. Not just a little, but in a ‘I want to kill all of them’ kind of way. It turned out she only let me join so I could be her pet. So she could study me to try and figure out how humans acted.
“I was stupid and thought I could still get her to accept me as an actual gang member. I heard about this other group… I thought it was another gang at the time. They called themselves the Silver Ravens. Some tiefling woman was acting like they were the best thing since sliced bread. I thought I could win Scarplume’s favor by doing something about that tiefling.
“Earlier today, I gathered a group of Chellish Citizens’ Group thugs and led them to her. She tried to get away, but there were too many of us. They took her. I asked what they were going to do with her. They said that they had to make an example of her. They didn’t even bother taking her to the dottari or the hellknights. I think… I think they’re going to doghouse her in Aria Park. I heard one of them mention something about it and they were heading toward the Park when I last saw them.
“I told Scarplume what I did and she only hated me more. She was mad I turned in a tiefling. Apparently she considered any non-human a potential ally. Or maybe she just thought she was oppressed in much the same way as tieflings are. When I saw you approaching this place, I thought I might have one last chance to win her favor by telling her about you. That obviously failed as well.”
Zeke pauses to take a breath and to measure your reactions before finishing, “I’m sorry. I only made things worse. You might be able to save her still, if you hurry.”
Zea, Evander immediately thinks, knowing exactly who Zeke is talking about. His first instinct is to berate the youth. But then, he thinks back to his own childhood, and the things he'd done because he desperately wanted to be part of a gang. Was what Zeke had done any worse than what he had done?
He looks at the youth, anger and concern warring on his face. Zeke wasn't all that dissimilar from himself at that age, and wonders what his fate would have been had it not been for Wilhelm. Would he have fallen into a cycle of crime like Zeke.
Finally, Evander makes a decision, his voice hard. "I gave you my word I wouldn't hurt you, or let her do so, and I won't. Now you have a choice. You can look out for yourself, leave here, and continue the path you've set yourself on - and that path likely will result in your death one way or the other. Your other choice is to leave here with us now, and help us rescue the Tiefling you doomed earlier. You don't have to go it alone - but you have to show you're willing to do more with your life than you've done to this point. This is the fork in the road before you, and only you can choose which path to walk."
With that Evander turns and begins moving quickly towards the exit, saying, "We have to get to Aria Park as soon as possible. Let's move."
Matiscio sighs and shakes his head upon Zeke's words. Would it ever end? "We are supposed to be climbing a mountain to facilitate freedom and liberty yet here we are, feeling like we're tumbling down the rabbit hole ever deeper. Let's go."
Gilda waves off Zeke, finding the boy to be no more than a nuisance to the group while she pivots on her heel like a woman half her age.
"Off with you! We don't have much time!"
She quickly springs ahead to catch up with Bottles and Muscles en route to Aria Park.
"We are supposed to be climbing a mountain to facilitate freedom and liberty yet here we are, feeling like we're tumbling down the rabbit hole ever deeper. Let's go."
"We're not tumbling anywhere. A bunch of junior-jingoists drunk on power are performing torture in broad daylight with the blessing of the lord-mayor. We're going to stop them. Even if the victim is just a tiefling..."
Didiana was looking grim as ever and was ready to go. She might not have any love for the horned ones but she did have principles and the idea of state sanctioned public torture disgusted her to the core. Some might have called her a hypocrite for this; not so few hellknight orders employed similar methods for both punishment and deterrence. Mayhap they were even right. But this armiger wanted the power to mete such punishments in qualified hands. Barzillai Thrune did not fit the bill. And some random louts getting off to the power this nonsense militia gave them certainly didn't.
With a nod to Evander she was ready to leave. But something compelled her to pause and finally look back. It was the guilt in Zeke's voice. The kid really felt remorse for his actions, both as a Red Jill and for turning in Zea. Remorse was less than cheap, of course; in the eyes of a hellknight it was worthless, doubly so for Didiana what with Zea being a tiefling. And yet she found herself unable to continue stonewalling the kid. She knew first hand what guilt did to a person. Ever since her meltdown with Matiscio she'd been rather mindful of it; thoughts of Morgar Manthai briefly flashed before her. If not given an outlet, in her case allowed an outlet, these things broke a person. The sorcerer was still averse to aiding what her code told her was a criminal. But perhaps she could help him help himself.
"Crus," she started.
"I stand by what I said back then. You're nothing but a street brat. You're a pathetic piece of filth and a blot upon this city. Since I saw you last, you have done nothing but prove that. But my... associate is right."
She indicated the writer with a nod of the head.
"You say you want somewhere to belong? I say you want someone to validate you. You want someone to validate you because you know I'm right. You're a thief and a punk and everyone who has ever known you is lesser for it. But you can choose to fix this one mistake. You can choose to take some responsibility for your actions. Now, understand this; it won't earn you redemption or any of that other horse s$@*. No, you still deserve a jail cell and a beating too. But do this and you will never need validation from others again. You will never feel lonely again. Because you'll have a g@@~%*n spine and some self-respect to keep you company. Fix this one mistake and at least you'll be able to sleep tonight."
Zeke listens to each of you in turn. He seems a bit surprised that one of you didn’t decide to attack anyway after what he said. He looks like he’s on the verge of saying something after Evander speaks, but he hesitates at the last second.
The young man looks confused at Matiscio’s words, like they don’t quite make sense. Or, more likely, Zeke just doesn’t have any context by which to properly understand the Iroran’s words.
Zeke takes a couple steps back when Gilda tells him to leave.
Then Didiana speaks. Zeke’s jaw drops as he listens to the armiger’s words. He looks directly at her, seeming to study her for a few moments. His face is a blank slate. Crus seems to be purposefully avoiding showing emotion.
The few moments pass and he takes a step forward. He blinks a few times in Didiana’s direction before following after the rest of you. He doesn’t say a word, but it seems something Didiana said left an impression on the youth.
The six of you leave the Humbright House and head toward Aria Park. You arrive in southern Aria Park and quickly spot what you’re looking for. The Chelish Citizens’ Group have set up their doghousing operation in the middle of a pagoda in the southern part of the park. A small crowd of a couple dozen Kintargans have gathered to watch the proceedings.
In the middle of the pagoda, chained around the neck to a wooden doghouse filled with nails, is Zea. She looks like she’s sustained at least a couple bites from the mastiffs that are chained to poles nearby. Zea has retreated inside the nail-filled doghouse - the only place safe from the mastiffs. It looks as though she’s shaking, perhaps from fear or shock.
Zeke stays a few steps behind you as he looks on at the sight. He looks frightened by what he sees.
One of the Citizens’ Group members takes a step forward as you and a few others arrive at the pagoda. He’s dressed in the same attire as the thugs you fought before in Aria Park and at the Salt Works.
He shouts in the direction of the crowd while gesturing toward Zea, “Observe what happens to those who stir sedition against our great Lord-Mayor Barzillai and Her Infernal Majestrix Queen Abrogail II! This tiefling woman spread rumors of a long dead rebellious group. Like them, she must learn that Cheliax will never fall to such miserable attempts at rebellion. Long live Her Infernal Majestrix Queen Abrogail II! And long live Lord-Mayor Barzillai!”
Gregor was locked in memories of the few doghousings he had witnessed in the past, one of the very few things done by Dottari that had made him balk. As everyone rushes off to the aid of the tiefling woman, he only spares a quick retort at the boy, "Earn your existence, don't just take it undeservedly."
Chasing after the group, especially Evander, who darted off without out a moment to plan, he calls out. "Remember to use our codenames... and cover your faces... and hair." He adds the last knowing that Didiana's has revealed who they were at least once if not more.
Gregor blanches at what's about to come, and holds back his revulsion as best he can. Now was the time for action. "The terrain is to our advantage to pincer them from three sides. Pigeon, target left, they are grouped tight enough to put a few to sleep, yes? Alloco, lead her up, draw their attacks away from her. Reverend and Robin, same formation but to the right. I have the best shots from the open here across the water. Those dogs won't wait long, and it won't be pretty when they move."
Deciding to try a distraction, Gregor calls out to buy them time after the others start moving, while trying to mix with the crowd.
Evander does the same as Gregor, using the hood of his cloak and his scarf to hide his face.
Once at the park, he hears the CCG's announcement. He merely nods at Gregor's instructions, his eyes smoldering. That they called this justice made a farce of the concept. Their deaths would be no loss, and Kintargo, no, the world would be better for it.
As he moved into position with Didiana, he heard Gregor attempt to distract, and then got an idea. He pulled out his silver raven wondrous figurine, activated it, and then said to it, "Fly around in a circle above the pagoda." Once it took wing, he continued getting into position, an evil grin hidden by his scarf. Long dead, is it? We are far more alive than you realize.
Were anyone to look at his eyes, they would see them glowing red with his anger at the Chelish Citizens' Group and Barzillai Thrune.
With her entire head already secreted away beneath her helmet, Didiana took no further steps to hide her identity. Instead she merely walked to the forefront of the growing crowd with the others and retrieved her mace. Discretion was not a concern here. If this was to be the first public appearance of the new Silver Ravens, then they might as well make it a memorable one. And so she followed the example of Evander, the undisputed master of showmanship in the group, and let loose her own raven statuette to fly over the battlefield to be, its gleaming silver wings heralding a new dawn for Kintargo. She did not fail to cringe at the melodrama of the gesture, of course.
She briefly turned towards young Zeke.
"Stand back and don't do anything stupid. If you see an opportunity to lead the tiefling back to the slum in the commotion, take it."
With this done, the armiger was ready for action.
"Long live Her Infernal Majestrix Queen Abrogail II! And long live Lord-Mayor Barzillai!"
"The lord-mayor is not long for this world. And neither are his dogs."
Despite the aggressive message, Didiana hoped to end this without too much bloodshed. And not just for her own conscience either. If this was to be Kintargo's introduction to the new Silver Ravens, she'd rather that they be seen as something more sympathetic than remorseless murderers. It was a hassle, but the support of the public would either make or break this rebellion.
Sigh. Now if only we were saving someone other than a tiefling...
Gilda smirks as Gregor and Didiana quickly prove adept at providing her an ample distraction.
As she circles the pagoda, she pats Sprinkles Too as she pulls sand from one of her pockets, allowing it to fall from her open hand to the ground while reciting some choice words as discretely as distance will allow.
Gregor and Didiana’s words stir up the crowd and many of them begin to look angrily toward the thugs and their operation. A few gasps can be heard from the gathering as the pair of silver ravens take flight.
Zeke merely nods at Didiana when she speaks to him.
The man who spoke before shouts back at Gregor and Didiana, [larger]“Away with you, you who would challenge the leadership of Kintargo’s rightful ruler! Lord-mayor Barzillai will bring Kintargo in line with the rest of Cheliax. We will stop anyone who would dare oppose his commands.”[/larger]
When you begin approaching the actual pagoda, the man turns to you and actually growls along with the mastiffs as he says, “Leave now or we’ll come to blows.”
Zea pokes her head out a bit to see who's approaching, but quickly retreats back into the doghouse when one of the mastiffs tries to bite her.
As Evander moves forward on the path, he says, "The rightful ruler of Kintargo is Lord-Mayor Jilia Bainilus, who was elected by the people of Kintargo, as the Lord-Mayor has been since House Thrune ascended the Chelish throne. Boarzilla is a usurper who's appointment spits in the face of the people of Kintargo. His proclamations serve no purpose - what business is it of his that people eat mint? His most recent proclamation regarding ship's captains will cripple the city's trade, bringing poverty and hunger."
Drawing out his rapier and advancing a few steps, Evander stops, rapier raised. "The Silver Ravens protected Kintargo after the death of Aroden and when Cheliax was in chaos - and we will do so again now, to save this city from the depredations of a madman."
Evander, drawing out his rapier and advancing a few steps, stops, rapier raised. "The Silver Ravens protected Kintargo after the death of Aroden and when Cheliax was in chaos - and we will do so again now, to save this city from the depredations of a madman." Evander readies to attack should someone approach.
Yellow Thug moves to attack Evander. He draws his mace and starts to swing at the investigator. Evander’s readied rapier attack occurs and he lands a solid blow against the thug. The thug grits his teeth and says, "Die, usurper," before finally swinging at Evander. The man misses.
The rest of the thugs move to block both entrances to the pagoda.
The mastiffs remain near Zea, growling menacingly.
Didiana raised her open hand towards the CCG thug waiting for a chance to get at Evander. A pale light began glowing beneath the skin of the palm. That got his attention.
"Stand down. This is your first and only warning."
She was still an agent of the law. And the CCG was still just a militia, nothing but foolish civilians fighting for an erroneous cause. She wasn't about to murder citizens without fair warning.
The soft light immediately jumped from Didiana's hand, turning into a furiously glinting little comet in the process. The missile struck the thug square in the chest.
"I told you to stand down."
Gregor actually finds the imagery of the two silver ravens flying above to help cement their first public appearance. He draws his own raven, prepared to release it, but not without calling out to his allies and the crowd.
There simply was too much ground to be covered for Matiscio to waste any of his breath on words. Like a bear, the brawler's heavy torso bursts into motion and dashes forward until he finds himself in combat with the thugs. The heel of the man's right foot digs into the ground as the brawler pivots his entire weight on that leg, reaching out with his exotic shield to deflect any incoming blows and leaning left and right to dodge anything that might get past it, standing tall like a tree that's being blown from side to side by hard winds yet unwilling to bend and break.
”I usurp nothing - I merely seek to protect this city from tyrants and their lapdogs.” Evander thrusts his rapier towards the CCG thug.
Gilda continues chanting, working her spell and hoping to coax the canines into a deep slumber.
Matiscio had simply too much ground to be covered to waste any of his breath on words. Like a bear, the brawler's heavy torso bursts into motion and dashes forward until he finds himself in combat with the thugs. The heel of the man's right foot digs into the ground as the brawler pivots his entire weight on that leg, reaching out with his exotic shield to deflect any incoming blows and leaning left and right to dodge anything that might get past it, standing tall like a tree that's being blown from side to side by hard winds yet unwilling to bend and break.
Didiana raised her open hand towards the CCG thug waiting for a chance to get at Evander. A pale light began glowing beneath the skin of the palm. That got his attention.
"Stand down. This is your first and only warning."
She was still an agent of the law. And the CCG was still just a militia, nothing but foolish civilians fighting for an erroneous cause. She wasn't about to murder citizens without fair warning.
The purple thug that Didiana spoke to spits in her direction… The soft light immediately jumped from Didiana's hand, turning into a furiously glinting little comet in the process. The missile struck the thug square in the chest. He grunts as he takes a savage beating from the missiles.
Gregor actually finds the imagery of the two silver ravens flying above to help cement their first public appearance. He draws his own raven, prepared to release it, but not without calling out to his allies and the crowd.
Gilda continues chanting, working her spell and hoping to coax the canines into a deep slumber.
All of Gilda’s intended targets fall asleep except for the red thug. They immediately fall prone and the pair of thugs begin snoring loudly.
Evander says, “I usurp nothing - I merely seek to protect this city from tyrants and their lapdogs.” Evander thrusts his rapier towards the CCG thug and lands a killing blow.
Zeke looks troubled by what’s happening but remains frozen in place. He doesn’t do anything, for better or for worse.
Yellow thug is dead.
Purple thug looks badly injured by Didiana’s spell. He glances over at Evander and his fallen companion before backing up and shouting to the green dog, “Take him down! Take him down!”
Green thug is asleep.
Red thug looks stunned by the fact that all of his companions have fallen asleep. He draws his mace before taking a step back and shaking his blue companion awake. Then he looks over at Gilda before saying, “You would dare defy your Lord-Mayor, street rat? Go back to the slums where you belong.”
Blue thug is disoriented from the sleep, but manages to stand up and draw his weapon, pointing it menacingly in Matiscio’s direction.
Red dog is asleep.
Blue dog is asleep.
Green dog heeds the purple thug’s words and runs at Evander before trying to bite him. Evander easily dodges out of the way.
Matiscio leans forward and just when he is about to strike the thug in front of him, the man drops to the floor like a sack of turnips. Somewhat confused, but not entirely out of the loop of what Gilda can and cannot do, the brawler plants his left foot down next to the man's face and unleashes hell upon the still-standing thugs behind the now sleeping man.
Then, there, for a brief moment in time, Matiscio feels as once with the world around him.
"Ha! That's what ya get for being thugs, ya... thugs!"
Gilda takes a couple mock swings at the air in front of her, trying to time them with Matiscio's while she searches for the next target of her ire.
"Pfft! Street rat? Ya act like that's some sorta insult!"
Gilda allows her taunts to ply at the man's confidence.
Ah, good - attack dogs. Something she didn't feel conflicted in killing. How strange the group's circumstances, that Didiana was genuinely relieved at the opportunity to get mauled. At least the one CCG member had backed off after her missiles had painted his abdomen black and blue. She hoped he'd stay put. The armiger vastly preferred killing the guilty to the stupid.
But right now the mutt was the issue at hand, and Evander was first in line for a mauling, not her. The sorcerer conjured forth yet another glowing projectile and sent it straight ahead towards the combatants. For just a moment, the missile seemed certain to crash into the writer's back rather than the beast, but with a flash of light the projectile split into two, veering off to either side of Evander. Once past him the bright bolts darted at the dog and thundered into its rib-cage, one to the left, the other to the right, surely crushing something in the process.
Gregor is confident that most of the situation is under control, so he focuses on the message that needs to be sent. Tossing the figurine on the ground while speaking the command word, he is rewarded with the thing converting to an actual raven, albeit still silver in color. He commands it to circle with the others, and return to him if he leaves the area.
Though he had downed the CCG thug, Evander knew the dog would be much more difficult to handle. If it managed to get ahold of him and take him down, it could easily maul him.
Fortunately, Didiana seemed perfectly willing to back him up, with another of her magic missiles hurtling from her hands to the dog, slamming into its ribcage. Evander took advantage to hopefully finish the beast.
Matiscio leans forward and just when he is about to strike the thug in front of him, the man drops to the floor like a sack of turnips. Somewhat confused, but not entirely out of the loop of what Gilda can and cannot do, the brawler plants his left foot down next to the man's face and unleashes hell upon the still-standing thugs behind the now sleeping man.
Then, there, for a brief moment in time, Matiscio feels as one with the world around him. His first blow hits, nearly felling the blue thug and the man dies with Matiscio’s second strike.
Didiana conjured forth yet another glowing projectile and sent it straight ahead towards the combatants. For just a moment, the missile seemed certain to crash into the writer's back rather than the beast, but with a flash of light the projectile split into two, veering off to either side of Evander. Once past him the bright bolts darted at the dog and thundered into its rib-cage, one to the left, the other to the right, surely crushing something in the process. The dog lets out a yelp as both missiles strike him, but he remains standing.
Gregor is confident that most of the situation is under control, so he focuses on the message that needs to be sent. Tossing the figurine on the ground while speaking the command word, he is rewarded with the thing converting to an actual raven, albeit still silver in color. He commands it to circle with the others, and return to him if he leaves the area. Several members of the crowd oooh and aaah at the sight. It only seems to infuriate the thugs even more.
Gilda takes a couple mock swings at the air in front of her, trying to time them with Matiscio's while she searches for the next target of her ire. "Pfft! Street rat? Ya act like that's some sorta insult!" Gilda allows her taunts to ply at the man's confidence. Her plying succeeds.
Evander, though he had downed the CCG thug, knew the dog would be much more difficult to handle. If it managed to get ahold of him and take him down, it could easily maul him.
Fortunately, Didiana seemed perfectly willing to back him up, with another of her magic missiles hurtling from her hands to the dog, slamming into its ribcage. Evander took advantage to hopefully finish the beast. His blow lands and the dog crumples to the ground.
Zeke remains transfixed in place.
Blue thug is dead.
Red dog is asleep.
Blue dog is asleep.
Green dog is dead.
Purple thug looks at his fallen companions and at the fallen and sleeping dogs. He appears to be in shock. After a moment’s hesitation, the man jumps off the side of the pagoda and begins wading through the shallow waters in an attempt to escape.
Green thug is still asleep.
Red thug backs away from Matiscio after watching his companion fall right beside him. He moves to the middle of the pagoda before dropping his mace and saying, “Please stop! We just wanted to show our loyalty to Cheliax and the Lord-mayor. I don’t want to die.”
"And you chose to do that by picking a random citizen and setting her to be tortured by dogs in public? I'm sure the bards will write songs about your heroism and loyalty to Cheliax," Evander says, scorn in his voice. He steps over the dog and the CCG thug and moves up to the remaining one, rapier still in hand. He stops within striking distance before sticking his empty hand out and saying, "The key?"
He would leave the speechifying to Gregor and Didiana - who, surprisingly, seemed to have a knack for it.