Hiranno, seeing the threat presented to her quickly brings her sword to bare. Lashing out, she hits the militiamen with a deadly swipe.
"There he is!" Tiel follows Irisa's pointing finger and sees a man with one black glove talking to the woman she met earlier. Maybe it was a code... Wait! What's going on now? This isn't good.
Tiel moves to put herself between the attackers and fleeing citizens, locking eyes with her attacker. As she does so, she puts on her spiked gauntlet,(I really didn't want to have to use this) and readies herself for the the incoming attack.
Sholti is not as practiced in the flat of the blade especially not in a crowd so large and her strike goes wide.
Irisa begins casting a spell as Tiel prepares to do battle with two foes coming towards her and her newfound friend.
Hiranno scores a grievous hit on the Thug attacking her
The Thugs strike back.
Thug 1 vs. Hiranno Will Save .. Damage
Thug 1 vs. Tiel . Damage
Thug 1 vs. Irisa Will save . . Damage
Thug 1 vs. Zeldana . Damage
Sholti takes a hard hot to the forearm
Hiranno's foe almost breaks after seeing the sight of his own blood but hangs in there and strike back
The Thug seeking to strike Irisa flees at her command while the one whoa approaches Tiel scores a hit to her hip.
Zeldana's Thug manages to and a solid hit to her temple.
Zeldana cried out as the blow connects to the side of her head. She stumbles back, holding the side of her head. "Did you forget I tried to stop this?!" She snapped as she stepped away from the thug as she drew out a card, The Paladin, using it to cast protective armor upon herself. She knew she couldn't take another hit like that.
We do not want to hurt them, they are just doing their jobs tweets Usiu. In agreement, Tiel punches for the gut instead of the face.
"Get that one, too!" Tiel sticks her arm out to clothesline the running attacker.
non-lethal
Hiranno shaking herself a bit from the attack, quickly tries to do another attack before making a getaway, again slashing at just the right spot for her blade to hit well enough.
The goon before Zeldana grins, "Pretty girl, you aren't wearing our colors so you're fair game!" he replies.
The Chelish Thug that Irisa forced to flee via her magic is struck in the back of the shoulder by the Paladin and continues to run.
The one still standing before the two women though seems emboldened by Tiel's miss, "Easier to hit a man from behind then from the front eh?" he asks brandishing his weapon for another strike at the tall blonde.
Hiranno's attack slices through the defenses of the Chelish Thug, he falls over dead. The sight of his blood splashing over the cobblestones sends the crowd into a bigger panic.
Sholti flinches under the thug's blow to her arm. He isn't holding back! If that had hit my head or ribs he could have broken bone or killed me! I must concentrate. The dance will center me.
She draws up to her full height, standing on her right leg with her left drawn up so the sole of her foot nearly touches her knee. Her right arm holds the scimitar over her head, pointed at the man, while her left arm extends forward to give balance and defend her torso. (Falcon Ascendent Pose)
Sholti immediately steps left and swings the scimitar down in a circling arc at the thug, flicking her wrist at the last moment so the flat of the blade connects.
Tiel looks at the man mocking her, "I'm trying not to hurt anyone, but it seems that makes one of us." She takes a quick glance behind her to make sure that people are getting out of harm's way. She squares up on her opponent again and takes another swing, this time more forcefully.
Keep you eyes on your opponent, Usiu twitters. Maybe I should have brought my stuff, after all, she thinks.
Irisa hopes the goon she sent into the crowd will be hit down by some helpful people or otherwise get occupied elsewhere. While she would prefer that no one got hurt, she needs to take care of herself as well. Speaking of helping others, she doesn't want the man to hurt the girl she just met again. She steps behind the other girl and says. "Get out of here! Attacking people participating in a peaceful protest like this is so vile." As she does so, she fishes out her crossbow. She doesn't want to use it, but it's better than getting beaten to death.
Sholti's attack misses as the thug dodges backwards wary of her fancy footwork.
Tiel's desire to pull punches seems to be working against her ability to fight effectively as she misses her opponent once again.
The surging crowds manage not to step in-between active combatants leaving you all to fend for yourselves.
Thug 2 vs. Tiel & Irisa Will Save .
Thug 3 vs. Zeldana . Damage .
Dalth . Greatsword Damage .
Sholti's foe is clearly intimidated with the display if not the effect as he is off balance and misses his own strike.
Irisa's spells though are working effectively enough, the final goon confronting the two statuesque blondes retreats compelled by the Oracle's magic.
Irisa with a moment to spare sees a way out through the throng.
Zeldana sees the mace coming directly at her head, she shields her eyes fro the impact knowing that her spell will not be strong enough to deflect the blow. That blow does come but the impact is accompanied by a splash of blood onto her face. As she opens her eyes Zeldana sees that the blood is not her own. Dalth stands behind the man having driven his sword right through him.
"Time to go my dear", he searches the crowd quickly then points to two women "look, those two are leaving! Go with them there is strength in numbers hurry!"
One of the Dottari, noting Hiranno's handiwork with the blade, approaches her grinning, "A real warrior..."
Zeldana looks at Dalth, still some what in shock. "So much for walking me home." She smiled weakly as she staggered a bit before looking at the two he pointed at. She looked at him a bit worried. "What about you?"
Sholti is worried. She's just not getting the hand of this combat thing. This is dragging on! What if I get left alone and isolated as the crowd flees?
"A pity, rather unfortunate, however it was in defense," she says flicking the blood off the sword. Still with her sword drawn, she eyes the dottari. "Is there something you'd like before I make my leave of this event?"
Irisa is glad too see the men run off, though it's not with completely clear conscience. "I hope they don't harm anyone else" She says worried. "I see a way out of here." She points. "But I want to find the man with the black glove. This might be our best chance of finding him."
"You cannot find him if you are dead," chirps Usiu. Tiel looks around and then in the direction the other woman is pointing. "Yes. Let's get out of here before real guards with real weapons come after us."
Irisa is a bit shocked to see the bird talking. She hadn't really expected it, even if she had seen talking birds before. After making wide eyes she recovers quickly and heads after where she pointed. "You are right, let's focus on getting out alive of this mayhem first."
As they start moving quickly away from the throng, hopefully after the black-gloved guy Irisa can now longer hold back her curiosity. She looks briefly back at the other blond girl. "Is that your familiar? My father got a talking raven familiar."
"I will be fine, now go!" he almost leans into you but hesitates and instead pushes you gently in the direction of the two women.
You spot the woman you had mistaken for Shensen with another tall blonde, they appear to have found a way out of the area as the crowds are parting before them!
You two find your way to a side street clear!
"Yer under arrest fer murder! Come quietly er else..." responds the human.
A stray dagger thrown at the building lodges in Nox (the head of the Dottari's) throat! She snarls viciously and yanks the dagger out, she and a number of the Dottari duck back in through the Opera House front door as a result of the strike.
The crowd which was dissipating seems emboldened by her withdrawal from the field and either intensify their attacks or surge back into the square to attack the Chelish loyalists
Chelish Goons v. Sholti
Dottari v. Hiranno
Zeldana
I have to end this quickly. It will be too easy for him to follow me with the crowd slowing me down.
Sholti makes a quick note of the direction the two blond women are traveling in and simply swings her blade backhanded straight back the way it came.
"Sorry but I cannot oblige," she says as she makes a bolt for it throught the crowd, attempting to make her escape through the them.
"I guess you could call him that," Tiel says once they are out of the park. "I think he's more like a guide, really. He showed up one morning and told me that I have a destiny. She glares at Usiu saying "and now I'm running from armed thugs."
"I never said it would be easy," chirps the bird.
Irisa looks curiously at the bird, but soon enough shifts her focus. "A guide eh? I wish I had one. What happened back there makes me want to find the gloved man more than ever. Let's go and see if we can do that." Irisa is worried about what happened.
Hiranno slips through the crowd like quicksilver, he fleet feet bring her right into...
Irisa and Tiel who are making a break for it through a small break in the crowd.
As they move forward, a swordswoman accidentally bumps into you both, her naked blade covered in fresh blood.
If the Dottari was able to force his way through the crowd he has not caught up yet!
Reflex Thug
Meanwhile Sholti's attacker brings his weapon to bear but before he can get a swing off, the crowd surges into both of you pushing you to the right side of the Opera House!
Flicking the blood off her sword Hiranno sheathes her sword, "Fancy seeing you again, who's your friend?"
Zeldana gave Dalth a soft smile before she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "You know where the shop is." She told him before she ran off towards the people he had pointed at.
Need to get them away from here...
As she got closer Zeldana did her best to waved down the small group of women, while mouth the words 'Over here'.
As the crowd pushes into them, Sholti trips and goes down under the wave of people!
, the surging crowd brings you closer not farther away from the door! Luckily, the goon who initiated an attack on you fared worse and is pulled down by the people who recognize him as a sympathizer to the Thrune.
However, due to your nimble feet, you are able to keep your balance and not fall down, trampled by the surging crowd.
Your group manages to converge at the westernmost edge of the lawn where the crowds have either surged forward or fled into the streets.
From this vantage point you see the protest had degenerated into chaos, pockets of different groups are having fist fights or out and out weapon wielding melees. By the look of Hiranno's sword, she was involved in one of them.
"My name is Zeldana, and this isn't the best place to be right now. Why don't you follow me? I have a shop with a back room you all can lay low in for a bit." She tells the group before her.
Sholti manages to recover her balance well enough to stay on her feet. But try as she might to free herself from the crowd, it continues to carry her along.
"Thank you, we need to get out of here with haste."
As Sholti looks about for a way through the crowd, she notices some windows on he second floor of the Opera House have just been opened.
I can't imagine those are open for air. There must be archers in those rooms.
She had been frightened, but now she is beginning to feel panic creeping in.
"This is getting way out of hand," Tiel says to the group. "Look," she says, pointing to second floor, "those windows have opened. I don't think anything good is coming out of them."
As much as Tiel wants things to cool down, she realizes she is powerless to stop the chaos. Discretion overcomes valor and she follows Zeldana.
"Wait!" Irisa calls out before the group can get far. "There is someone I have to meet. We can intercept him if we head down this alley." She points towards the side street. "It'll still keep us out of the riots, but there is still safety in numbers. You wanted to see him as well right?" She nods towards Tiel. "I'm Irisa"
"Then let us be quick of it."
"Even the streets are going to be dangerous for a while after this! We need to get off them now, else the Dottari or Hell Knights come after us." Zeldana said, her tone carrying with it the worried feelings she herself had. Her hand touched the side of her head which was bleeding slightly. "If he is smart, he's doing the same thing."
Sholti's worst fears are realized when out from the windows poke crossbows which are quickly fired into the crowd!
Shot #1 % Chance to hit Sholti
Shot #2 % Chance to hit Sholti
Shot #3 % Chance to hit Sholti
Shot #4 % Chance to hit Sholti
Shot #5 % Chance to hit Sholti
The crossbows rain death on the crowd in Sholti's immediate vicinity. Fortunately for her but unfortunately for him, the man next to her is struck giving Sholti some breathing space, Sholti sees the light go out in the man's eyes as he hits the pavement.
Despite her attempt to stay calm in the frenzied crowd, Sholti screams when the man next to her falls down dead. A push from behind sends her stumbling over the man, which gives her some room to move.
Sholti fights her way through and clear of the crowd, but only just barely. She has to pause for a moment to reorient herself on the street and look for a way off it.
Sholti manages to get out from the thickest parts of the crowd but is staled by the surging crowds and the fights taking place around her.
90% chance one strikes near Sholti, no more than 1 may strike her in a given round.
Shot #1 % Chance to hit Sholti
Shot #2 % Chance to hit Sholti
Shot #3 % Chance to hit Sholti
Shot #4 % Chance to hit Sholti
Shot #5 % Chance to hit Sholti
More shots are fired, still in the area closest to the windows, thankfully away from where the bruised and exhausted Sholti is still trying to force her way out of the crowd.
Sholti FINALLY frees herself from the crowd and immediately runs full out for cover from the crossbows.
"I'm Tiel," she says in response to Irisa. She turns to the others and says "This man knows where my brother is. I have to talk to him." She follows Irisa down the side street.
Zeldana, do you follow the other three women?
----------------
Sholti manages to break free of the crowd and flees down the side street!
Hiranno looks around herself for any new danger, "Choices everyone."
"Guys, wait... Stop." Zeldana said as she followed after the group. My head won't stop spinning... She did her best not to think to hard to thanks to her headache.
"Be careful..." She told them.
Once Sholti has made out of danger from the crossbows she slows her pace to a slow jog.
I need to figure out where I am and where this street goes. If I go running off in some random direction I may find myself no better off than before.
As her fight or flight response ebbs, Sholti is increasingly angry. The entire protest was a setup from the start. Thrune orchestrated everything to lead to a slaughter. He wants an example to cow the city.