From within a throng of home rule protesters, Jep tries to inspire a chant of "Home rule now!" to encourage them in putting pressure on the Thrune-appointed lord mayor.
Bub pulls out his sap, knowing that things are imminently due to turn ugly.
Amid the shouting of the protesters, the bells of the great Cathedral of Asmodeus ring out three peals, easily audible over the din of the crowd -- peals which have nothing to do with the time, as the Devil's Bells are wont to ring.
The roar of the crowd seems to hush as the brazen sound washes across the park.
The pushers and the shovers pause, suddenly apprehensive.
The park stands silent for a moment, frozen, until...
A huge handful of brown muck flies up from the front of the crowd and strikes the wall near the smirking nobleman. He flinches away lest his finery be sullied... and the sudden motion spills the dark wine in his left hand down the front of his noble garb. Suddenly furious, he shrieks down to the guard, "Enough of this! Nox, run them off, arrest them, or kill them. I don't care which!" Red-faced, he steps back through the window and slams it shut, jerking the curtains across as he does. The filth slides wetly down the wall, leaving a brown smear in its wake.
A woman's voice yells a command, and the dottari unsling their heavy maces, holding them at the ready.
Throughout the crowd, "citizens" throw back their cloaks to reveal matching armbands. They take out wicked-looking truncheons and begin yelling, "Disperse, in the name of the Chelish Citizens' Group!", moving to enforce their suggestions with savage blows.
Conditions:
- Bub: +4 to initiative for suspecting the presence of infiltrators or other subversive elements in the crowd.
- Jep: You still have the +1 to CHA checks.
- Bub: is armed with a sap.
- The entire blue section of the map is difficult terrain as it is filled with confused and struggling people. You must get clear of the park to get clear of the crowd.
Order (anyone bolded may act):
Jep
Bub
Grun
Chelish Citizens
Dottari
Amadeo
Nox
"We outnumber them," Jep repeats to many of the protesters as he makes his way through the throng. "They must yield to our demands!"
Jep tries to keep the crowd worked up while he makes his way to the edge of the throng.
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Amadeo notices the commotion. He tosses back his fish wine and returns the mug
"Methinks it is time for me to attend to some pressing business elsewhere."
Checking on Zeb, and making sure the small monkey is well situated in his coat pocket, Amadeo hurries through the crowd as fast as he can eastwards
As Jep moves past the fountain, one of the red-and-black leather-clad toughs steps forward. "Yer goin' the wrong way. Clear the park!" he orders, enforcing the suggestion with a swing of his truncheon, which connects with bruising force.
Initiative:
Order (anyone bolded may act):
Jep
Bub
Grun
Chelish Citizens
Dottari
Amadeo
Nox
Just as I suspected... trouble, Bub thinks as he slips through the crowd towards the nearest street. He stops near a dwarf who looks like he can handle himself and gets ready to wallop the first person who offers him violence. The dwarf seems to be of like mind and draws his weapon as well.
Chelish Citizen's Group:
1: already acted, attacked Jep
2: Moves shouting towards the crowd at the fish wine cart and takes a warning swing at Amadeo, missing the tiefling and his tiny companion.
3: Whacks a few nearby fleeing citizens and decides to include Grun in his victim list. Grun is prepared. The thug is not.
The thug's swing at the armored dwarf turns vicious after the dwarven waraxe shears through his armor and produces a spray of blood.
A second later, the man glances down and watches the blood sluicing down his legs in stunned horror.
4: Moves to clear Bub, who objects to physical violence with... physical violence.
Neither combatant manages to strike the other. "Move along!" the Citizen shouts, clearly hoping Bub will not do so.
Amadeo withdraws towards the edge of the park, but is blocked by combat. Skirting the battle will only bring him within range of more thugs, so he waits to see the outcome of the fray.
Jep, reeling back from the thug's truncheon, happens to glance towards the opera house just as a thrown knife from the crowd makes an amazing beeline straight into the throat of the ugly woman captaining the guards there. She pulls it out in a spray of blood and annoyance and orders the dottari forward. As the gash in her neck closes with frightening rapidity, she opens the door to the opera house and enters, leaving the guard at the door.
Initiative Order (anyone bolded may act):
Jep
Bub
Grun
Chelish Citizens
Dottari
Amadeo
Nox
Clutching his battered head, Jep retreats from the belligerent guard.
Jeb prudently withdraws from the overenthusaistic and self-appointed guardian of the peace.
Bub takes another feeble whack at the Chelish Citizen Guard he's facing and scooches a bit closer to the edge of the park. "Let's get out of here!" he suggests to the dwarf.
Grun looks at the bleeding man's little mace, yells "Boo!", and shoves towards the guard between himself and the edge of the park. "Out of here's a dandy idea. Let's clear a path for those who follow." The bloodied guard (3) is too shocked to take a swing at Grun. Grun is not too shocked to take a swing at the guy between him and getting clear of the crush of the park (11):
The man barely has time to clutch at his own guts before he drops to the ground in merciful unconsciousness.
Citizen 3 staggers away towards the river, trying to stanch his wounds.
Citizen 4 takes another whack at Bub, who has the audacity to fight him, this time a serious cut.
The dottari press forward against the crowd.
Jep
Bub
Grun
Chelish Citizens
Dottari
Amadeo
Nox