Even with the cobblestones of Argent Avenue and the foliage of Aria Park still wet from the morning’s light rain, dozens of Kintargans have gathered along the facade of the opera house to protest the city’s new lord-mayor, Paracount Barzillai Thrune. The city’s new leader was appointed by Her Infernal Majestrix, Queen Abrogail II, in the wake of the previous lord-mayor’s sudden flight from the city— an event that still has local rumormongers whispering furiously. In a scant seven days, Paracount Thrune has instituted martial law, a curfew, and seven outlandish and polarizing proclamations. These actions and more have called many of Kintargo’s dissatisfied citizens here on this overcast morn. There’s been no sign yet of Barzillai Thrune himself, and the opera house’s doors remain tightly closed—as they have since the man chose the landmark as his new home—but judging by the growing sound of the protesters, he surely can’t ignore the scene on the streets below much longer.
Although it is still early, each of you know that you are in for a long day. And yet, there is already so much to do!
Listen For Rumours: Diplomacy or Perception check to learn more about Kintargo’s Political Landscape.
Pilfer: Sleight of hand check to make the most of the crowds distractions.
Rabble Rouse: Diplomacy or Perform to better organize the protest.
Search for Contact: Perception check to try and spot amongst the crowd your contact.
Silence Undesirable Elements: Bluff or Intimidate check to try and silence or outshout members of the crowd you disagree with.
Watch the Crowd: Perception or Sense Motive check to observe the situation and the crowd.
Metronicus sits cross-legged on the ground underneath a park tree, looking out into the crowd gathering for the protest. The vagrant scratches his chin, trying to discern what portents Kintargo has for it's trusted servant today, seeing it's attempting to manifest it's will through these protesters.
Zakli comes with a chip on his shoulder. My beautiful opera house... closed! This cannot stand! The people must be allowed to witness my performances!"
Aram strolls through the crowd, a small black shadow moving through the legs of the dissatisfied and angry rabble. One hand grips a gnarled staff, polished with age to a dark luster, the other a long stemmed pipe that sends wreaths of smoke billowing out from the depths of his cowl, causing his face to flash red with fire, with every draw he takes. His cloak billows behind him as he moved between the tall folk, his eyes searching the hands of his people, searching for the man with the single glove.
"Come to me friend, I need the damn Ravens now, more than ever!"
Killian stands under a tree, leaning against the trunk. He scans the crowd warily, his plague doctors mask hiding his avian features. He's looking for a man, a man he's never met.
'I didn't expect quite so many people here...' He muses to himself.
Aram strolled through the crowd, towards the center of the area, hopping up on to the stone rim of the fountain, his bare feet gripping the slick stone tightly. He strolled around the lip, glancing around him, searching for any sight of his contact.
Aram strains up on his toes, using his staff to balance, as he casts around him for any sign of the man, or woman, he was supposed to meet.
'Just show yourself you bloody wretch...' He frowned, taking another draw from his pipe, before pulling it from his lips and exhaling a slow string of smoke rings.
'Come to Aram!'
As you all settle in amongst the crowd, a trickle of people continues to wander into the park. A few noticeable bundles of people are already forming. The largest of the groups is positioned between the fountain and the opera house. They are crowded around a tall, thin elven man. He appears to be reading some form of economic treaty on the adverse effects of unjust taxation and business policies upon the merchant class, with the listeners occasionally throwing in their support. “…and the third proclamation compounds this issue! The necessity for additional taxes levied from the business community to maintain an artificial industry of the capture and care of canines is entirely contrary to free market thinking! It distorts business and will lead to a bubble, much like Galt Tulip situation that occurred in…”
The doors to the opera house are guarded by a number of Dottari – hellknights serving as local town guards. They are forming a loose arch around the entrance and whilst they are watchful of the protests, they do directly engage any of the citizens.
The guards seem noticeably edgy, until the door behind them briefly opens. A scowling woman steps out and takes place right behind the foremost pair of dottari. She seems almost cavalier in her distain for the crowds. Seeing her presence, the guards seem to relax a little.
The loud voices catch Killian's attention. He watches the interaction, distracted for the moment from his goal of finding the man with the single glove.
Aram frowns, watching the shifting patterns of people before him. He scratched his chin in thought, as he began to take notice of all the minute signals that these people were giving off. There was something not right with these 'rioters' and he was going to figure it out. He paid little heed to the man talking, but nodded when the Hellknights relaxed.
"Ah, so you are in charge are you? It is good to know the enemy!"
Now who is she, and why aren't they reopening the opera house?
Zakli steps up on the edge of the fountain, and says, in a loud voice "Who here demands the arts? Don't you deserve to be entertained? Don't you wish the talented could perform their arts for your enjoyment? Why is the "man" keeping us down?"
Zakli then starts singing a loud, rousing melody to get the people motivated to protest loudly to reopen the opera.
The group of protestors closest to the opera house doors all pick up on Zakli's tune, and begin to chant it passionately at the guards. A few gesture for the gnome to join them on the front lines. All dressed in respectable clothing, the group carry the song well:
"Barzillai Thrune, what a great buffoon:"
"Has to hold the opera 'cause he cannot hold a tune."
"Barzillai Thrune, and his Thrunish goons"
"Better leave the opera, 'cause we're coming in soon."
Crady sees things are brewing, so he walks over to the fountain to get a better look. Feeling a bit parched, Metronicus bends down and dunks his head into the fountain, talking a few quick gulps, and immerses feeling refreshed. Crady notices a halfling wielding a nice shiny staff, with his entire head dripping with water, smiles and remarks, "Oh! Hello, little master. Nice day." Metronicus sits down next to the halfling, looking up toward the protest.
[dice=Perception]1d20+7
Now who is she, and why aren't they reopening the opera house?Zakli steps up on the edge of the fountain, and says, in a loud voice "Who here demands the arts? Don't you deserve to be entertained? Don't you wish the talented could perform their arts for your enjoyment? Why is the "man" keeping us down?"
Metronicus moves out of the way of the gnome, and claps his hands to the sound of the song, enjoying the rhythm.
What a mess!
Ariella surveys the area and is surprised by the lack of organization from the crowd. As she watches the groups throw various verbal insults towards the guards she shakes her head in frustration. She is about to step up and help lead the effort when she takes note of a gnome doing that very thing. Grinning she nods along with him as he seems to take control of the situation with ease. There we go, much better.
In the rear of the crowd a burly man with short brown hair tries to talk over the gnome and disrupt what he's trying to accomplish. Ariella quickly moves between he and the gnome and begins to explain to him that while his ideas are important and will be heard, acting together under a unified voice such as the gnome's is more effective.
Although the man talking over the gnome at first seems like a protestor stirring up support, Ariela quickly realises that he is a homeless person, possibly mentally afflicted, shouting random phrases at the towns people who have interrupted his space. "“That bodyguard of Thrune’s, that woman Nox, is half devil. She’s too ugly to be just human, that’s for sure! And the hell knight took me at night and experimented on me. The bells chime late, that says it all! It's all part of the silver mountain conspiracy, Aroden told me so!!!”
A loud splash, and an accompanying spray of water, draws Aram from his study of the crowd, as he turns to find a disheveled young man attempting to drown himself in the fountain. He opens his mouth to chastise the man, taking a deep breath to let his displeasure be known, when he is assaulted by an ungodly stench. Spluttering softly to himself Aram takes another puff off of his pipe, exhaling the smoke through his nostrils to clean them out thoroughly.
'You can not just go around looking and smelling like that, that is absurd. I'll give him what for now, I'll just breathe through my mouth.'
"Listen here..."
"Oh! Hello, little master. Nice day." The bright, open smile the young man flashed at him, coupled with his pleasant tone, cause Arams anger and sharp words to die on his lips, before he coughs softly and smiles back, sticking his pipe back between his teeth.
"A fine day indeed my young friend!" He turned back to stare at the crowd, standing beside the man in a comfortable silence.
"This is shaping up to..."
Aram was jostled softly from the side, little more than a brush really, as a boisterous gnome leaps up on to the fountain.
'Jumping around like a wild hare. Some people have no regard. Taste the rough side of my tongue you Cad!'
"The nerve..."
"Who here demands the arts? Don't you deserve to be entertained? Don't you wish the talented could perform their arts for your enjoyment? Why is the "man" keeping us down?"
Aram bulled ahead, not to be turned by the Gnomes words, "Listen here..."
When the man began to sing, Aram slowly began tapping his foot to the beat, before a slow smile spread across his face. 'Alright that was kinda smart!'
He turned back to the crowd, shaking his head softly and laughing. "I don't fancy being the Chelaxian government today!"
Spotting his old friend, and the potential trouble he's getting himself in, Metronicus quickly excuses himself from the people gathered at the fountain, to quickly attempt to extricate his friend from draw swords Metronicus is sure to come.
"Oi! Heey, Vicci! How's it going? You wanna get some soup of at the Tooth and Nail after the protest?", asks Crady with his arm around his old friend, attempting to steer toward the fountain, away from the protesters.
"Metronicus, they're all dying. The Devil's Nursery will all be silent soon, and it's because of this damn Barzillai! Not thrice damned, but quarce damned! All the little red-breasted birdies have stopped singing their tunes. Why won't they listen to me Metronicus, they're all dying!" The burly man has started twitching, apparently shaking himself into a frenzy now that he has an audience to his missives. He lets Crady lead him away from the crowd, but is no less passionate in his please. "One by one by one by one! They're coming for the grin, and the blood is just collateral."
Killian has been eyeing the crowd, looking for his contact. Unfortunately, since he's had no luck, he decides to change tactics. He moves into the crowd, slowly walking in and out of clusters of folks speaking about their dissatisfaction. He pauses, and eavesdrops near a particularly heated argument between what appear to be brothers.
One, probably the elder, is arguing that while the methods used aren't ideal, he argues Thrune has the city's best interests at heart. The younger brother is passionately against anything resembling House Thrune, the Church of Asmodeous, or anything associated with the Hellknights.
'This should be interesting...' Killian thinks to himself. 'Maybe I'll stay a while, and listen.'
Ariella realizes that violence here would be working against their goal. She does her best to make space around the homeless man and mark off his territory so that other's don't bother him. She nods along in agreement with him as she does so, trying to keep him calm and quiet. "Yes, thank you. I'll be sure to watch out for Nox. Certainly the silver mountain conspiracy is absolutely right. Aroden you say? Amazing!" Once she adequatuely secured the man she moves off back into the ground.
As she sees Killian move through the crowd an air of familiarity washes over her. I know him. She follows him through the crowd and approaches him from behind. She reaches out to touch his shoulder and asks, "Deckard? Is that you?"
When he spins around however she takes a step backward, shocked. "Oh. I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. My apologies."
"It's alright, I get that a lot. It's mah nose, isn't it? People never expect th' feathers neither."
He rubs the back of his head awkwardly.
"Uh...have we met before? You seem familiar to me, somehow..."
Ariella is chuckles and nods. "Most likely. You do look familiar, I know I've seen you around somewhere before but I can't place it. Are you from-". She puts her hands on her hips and begins to look around absently while she searches her mind. It is during this search that her eyes fall upon Kessa in the distance. Her face lights up with a bright smile and she says, "-Kessa!" more to herself than Killian.
She is about to explain what From-Kessa means to the tengu when it suddenly hits Ariella where she's seen this long nosed, feathered lookalike before. Her mind makes the mental leap from Kessa to Killian and without looking at the tengu she tilts her head slightly to the right and asks curiously, "You know, I think I've placed you now. We haven't met formally, but I visited a beautiful garden of roses not too long ago and swore I saw you in attendance." Swinging her gaze back to the ranger she locks eyes and asks curiously, "Do you like roses Mr...." and lets the question hang in the air.
Killian chuckles at Ariela's self-interruption.
At the mention of the garden, Killian's demeanor changes. His expression sobers, and his back straightens, slightly. Even his speaking voice becomes more proper, and he enunciates properly.
"Why, yes. I do recall visiting that garden. That must be why you are so familiar to me."
He bows low, his winged right arm brushing the ground.
"My name is Killian, of the Shaburn flock. Not a lot of Tengu in the city. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss...."
His voice trails off, not actually because he doesn't know Ariela's name, which he doesn't, but because the conversation he was eavesdropping on just got very interesting....
"Metronicus, they're all dying. The Devil's Nursery will all be silent soon, and it's because of this damn Barzillai! Not thrice damned, but quarce damned! All the little red-breasted birdies have stopped singing their tunes. Why won't they listen to me Metronicus, they're all dying!" The burly man has started twitching, apparently shaking himself into a frenzy now that he has an audience to his missives. He lets Crady lead him away from the crowd, but is no less passionate in his please. "One by one by one by one! They're coming for the grin, and the blood is just collateral."
Crady gets the idea that Ol' Vic might be having an episode of 'divine madness': that Kintargo is trying to speak through his old friend.
A serious expression comes over Metronicus's face as he walks his friend to the fountain.
"Vic. You stay here. Out of the way. I wanna talk to you about the Devil's Nursery, and all that other business when this protest is over. Okay, buddy?"
At Crady's suggest, Vic settles down a little but continues to preach to the open air around him.
Suddenly, the bells of the Cathedral of Asmodeus chime once with a deafening clang. The whole crowd seems to pause as the note hangs in the air, but as the resonance fades away the chanting and jeering of the crowd resume.
However, in the last few minutes one of the groups seems to have swelled, and the pause seems to have given them the opportunity they needed. A short gnome steps forward and starts yelling towards the singing protestors.
"Under house Thrune, our great and noble nation has grown to be the empire that is today! How dare any of you want to challenge the infernally ordained, rightful rule of Mayor Thrune. There is no doubt in my mind that our town is in for an exciting new time of prosperity."
Prosperity? Without the arts, what good is prosperity?
I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss...."
Ariella nods and opens her mouth to respond when the bell chimes. He attention turns to the gnome. She tilts her head slightly out of curiosity. Truly? No doubt in his mind, hmmm?
Her hands go to her hips as she stares in that direction, trying to remember if she can place him.
The Gnome doesn't seem to be anyone of particular importance. Ariela does notice however that the group he is surrounded by seems to be all dressed in similar shades of red, and quite a few of them - including the gnome - appear to be wearing bronze necklaces around their necks.
Killian's gaze follows Ariela's, and he can't help but notice the gnome speaking in favor of House Thrune is wearing their necklace.
"Go figure..." He mutters to himself.
Additionally, as you scan the crowd, you notice some movement from above. Through a window on the third floor of the opera house, you notice a shadowy figure moving behind the thick curtains. They appear to be watching the crowd gathering below.
You can tell that the infiltrators are clearly moving as part of a deliberate plan. Once in a group they appear to be waiting for some kind of signal.
Ariela looks at the crowd but fails to take note of anything significant. She shakes her head, causing some of her long brown hair to fall over her face. Shrugging she turns back to face Killian, "Sorry, got distracted there. I'm Ariela." She moves her hair to the side and then extends her hand with a slight smile. "Pleasure."
Killian takes Ariela's offered hand in his, and gives it a friendly shake.
"Truly, I'm pleased to meet you. I have a feeling today is going to be an exciting day. If things...get interesting, stay close to me, okay?"
His pleasure at making a new friend is obviously overshadowed by concern in his voice.
Killian starts examining the crowd, and subtly adjusts how his facing Ariela in order to be able to take in more of the crowd.
The human-looking aasimar smirks, "Hmmm. Expecting trouble or is that your usual pickup line?" She raises an eyebrow and doesn't wait for a response. "I caught sight of a friend of mine, I'm going to say hello. Stay out of trouble Killian."
Ariela makes her way through the crowd and over to Kessa. She sneaks up behind her and jabs her index finger into her back. In a gruff voice she whispers, "Drop your coin purse to the ground and walk away slowly and no one gets hurt."
Ariela throws up a mischievous grin, "Aw, lighten up Kessa! Just having a little fun is all. You looked a little tense over here, thought I'd come over and try and work a smile out of you. It's not like I was trying to come on to you or anything!"
Which reminds me.
Ariela leans overtop of Kessa's shoulder and nods in the direction of Killian. "The tengu over there. Know him? Doesn't he look familiar? Name's Killian and I think we have some joint interests."
Shrugging and changing the subject she remarks, "So. What do you think of this whole thing? Hmmm?
Metronicus, making sure Ol' Vic was sitting comfortably, lifts his head to two new people gather at the fountain. A poorly-disguised tengu Oh! He looks familiar! and a sweet-faced human Wow! She's pretty! Ehh. Too pretty for Ol'Crady. Metronicus attempts to get the attention of the tengu, nodding if he does.