Atticus will sheath his sword and gently pick up Paige from the ground. He steps away from the Orphanage, making room for those already inside to do their work.
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"A Vigilante, eh? The help's welcome," he says as the Silver Ghost joins him at the top of the stairs. He studies the door for a moment as the masked woman has a go at it. If it was barricaded from the inside, it'd take a pretty serious blow to get it open. "Back up kids, coming through!" he says, getting a running start at the door. Attempting to budge it up close was unlikely to get anywhere, but between his armor and his own mass, charging the door was more than likely to get it open. Holding his shield in front of him, he crashes into the door at a full tilt, using the shield to spread the force of the impact across the door more effectively.
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”Paige!” the dwarf yells out as the half-orc drops into a heap. The dwarf steps back as the guard treats Paige’s wounds, but reacts badly when the foppish stranger not dressed as a guard attempts to pick her up.
”Hey, back off!” the rather mangy-looking dwarf snarls at Atticus, preventing her from picking his friend up.
"Step aside vagrant" replies Atticus calmly. "This street fight of your has already caused enough damage, this girls life need not go with it."
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"Vagrant!?" the dwarf smiles, showing off his decayed teeth, "You say that like your mother hasn't rid herself of the itch that she picked up from her nights spent with us. Now, if you don't mind, put down the Sarenrite sister and help me put out the fire caused by 'my' street fight."
Mackeson doesn't seem to step aside.
"No. I have allowed you this much only because your cause seemed right, but interfere further with business of the Korvosan guard and you will be arrested. Sir Darius is inside dealing the fire, therefore I will see to the situation out here. That means keeping you from causing any further harm to property or life."
Inside the building, Darius smashes through the barricades that the kids have set up. As soon as he does so, they begin to stream out and down the stairs like a tide of children. They run past the fire, coughing and holding cloths over their mouths, and out of the door. Darius and the Ghost stay begin just long enough to usher everyone out before they rush out of the building as well.
Reconvening in the alleyway, the head cleric nods at Darius and the Ghost. "Thank you for your help," he says. "We should get the little ones somewhere safe."
Grau walks up to Mackeson and Atticus, a frown twitching on his face. "Can you guys just shut up?" he says. "We still have a job to do."
Startled up from the verge fo death and unconsciousness, Paige gasps a tense, fiery, "Bastard"! and swings an arm about in panic, unclear where she is and what's happening, and thankfully doesn't hit Atticus or Mackeson in the process of her confused flailing. "Where is he?" she screamed, head twisting wildly around in an attempt to find where Lamm is. It takes a moment to even realize what's happening and for her last few seconds of memory and thoughts to come back to her. The fire, the Half-Orc, the children. "The fire! F@#!, we don't have time for this, we need to--" Stumbling her way up to her feet as she remains dizzy and still very hurt, only just barely back into health again, Paige fumbles in her attempts to climb up to her feet to try and run into the building, only to see the children starting to rush out of it, relief sending her collapsing back down to the ground again as she wheezes.
"He escaped, didn't he?" she asks, looking up at Mackeson, deeply demoralized. "The gutter rat came to hurt these children, and still, he got away. Again." She looks up at Atticus, taking a moment to regard the stranger, who doesn't offer her the same comfort and relief that seeing a friend does. "And you helped me? You and your friends, they... Thank you. Clearly, we needed the help." Bitterness stains her voice a little bit at the end; she's thankful, but it's hard to keep from the harsh reminders that she had been cut down by one of Lamm's thugs so easily, and that she wasn't able to help the children in need.
The Silver Ghost carries the children down the stairs that appear to be going too slowly, though as soon as she drops one off outside she is back inside and up the stairs in a flash, helping the next few pass through. Once everyone is out, she moves out into the road and kneels over Paige, concerned for her well-being. "Hey... you okay?" she asks, paling slightly at her wounds. Once she realizes she's doing okay, she stands up straight, brushing off her suit.
"I'm glad you were here to help," she says, acknowledging Darius first, then Grau second. "I go by the Silver Ghost," she says, flashing a grin and a quick salute. Her smile vanishes when she continues more seriously, wanting to have a better grasp on the situation. "That creep, the leader of them, he got away. Who was that guy? Why was he trying to hurt a bunch of kids?"
Darius follows the children out quickly. When he gets outside, he checks to see that everyone is alright. "Thought you seemed familiar..." he says to the woman, getting a better look at her once they're downstairs out of the smoke. "Right, seems like everyone's alright then?" he asks the group assembled.
Turning to Grau after looking at the fallen thugs, he says, "Need to check and see if any of them are alive. If so we should escort them back to the nearest guard post before resuming our patrol." He makes a quick once over of any thugs who've fallen to see if they are still breathing.
Anguela bows to Paige as she stands, "Anguela, of the Korvosa Guard." She pauses as if uncomfortable with this simple title for some reason, but then continues. "My apologies for laying hands upon you, miss, but it looked like you were in some danger of bleeding out. Who is this 'gutter rat'? It seemed like he was responsible for the arson, and gave orders to this barbaric creature as we arrived on the scene. As a keeper of the peace, I would like to have some, words with him." She smiles menacingly as she flips her hair back casually. Then she looks at the others to whom she has not introduced herself and continues to bow cordially to each in turn.
"I-I am okay, thank you," Paige says to the Silver Ghost, looking in surprise at her. Not a look of recognition, although she doesn't realize there was any other way her contemplative stare may have been taken; she had simply never seen the Silver Ghost before, operating in the daylight and startled to suddenly be facing the vigilante. Still, she's quick to compose herself and turn toward Anguela. "No, you have my thanks, it is okay." She tries to offer a weak smile to everyone, but she is still not entirely there, and the healing magic hasn't quite dealt with the pain of it all. Or the emotional pain of having let him escape. Paige should have stopped him. Paige should have been stronger. Smarter. Should have pushed through and driven her blade right into his gut; if she had died afterward, so be it. At least Lamm could no longer hurt anyone.
"Now then, the man who was... N-no, not a man. His name is Gaedran Lamm, and he is the lowliest scum in the city of Korvosa. A criminal whose favored method of getting the job done involves kidnapping poor, scared children off the street, forcing them into lives of crime, and beating them whenever they fail, or when he simply feels like hurting someone too weak to fight back." Paige lifts up the sleeve of her coat, beyond the tattoo work she's had done to cover up all the scars he's given her. The scar tissue stands pale white and raised against her brown skin, obvious in anything but utter darkness. "And my body is covered with his 'handiwork' from my own time under his heel. He attacked the orphanage. I had not seen him at first; I thought they were mere rioters, and I came out with the protection of my friend to try and reason them away from the orphanage." She motions toward Mackeson, not wanting to make any introductions for him. "Then I saw him with them, and realized his real intention. I fear the fire he set was only a contingency plan, and that he wished to take children from the arms of Sarenrae to force into his line of work."
While the three thugs may have been alive a few moments ago, the wounds inflicted by Atticus and Mackeson were severe. Giggles and the two hires bled out on the street. The other three thugs got away, during the chaos.
One of the clerics, a younger woman called Angel, approaches the group. "Hey," she says, "I think we can get the children to safety. We just have to walk to the Church of Sarenrae, it's not too far."
She bites her lip. "If I heal you, will you escort us?"
The Silver Ghost raises a gloved hand to her face as if she were going to be sick, as if nauseous from the sight of Paige's scars. But really, her mind was reeling. Kids? Gods, what if he's grabbed Markus? she thinks to herself.
"Shit... I had no idea. At least... at least he wasn't able to get any of yours," she says, finally, looking at the kids. She then glances at the burning orphanage. That's their home, she thinks to herself. And now it's all gone... She feels a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Finally, when Angel speaks up, she nods. "Of course... it's way too dangerous out here tonight to be going alone."
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Mackeson reaches for Paige as she attempts to rush into the burning building. Seeing the children come safely out, he knows she’ll stop, and indeed she does.
”He escaped, didn’t he?”
”Now jess you hush yer mouth there, Paige. He paid a pretty penny fur his attempts,” the dwarf tilts his head at the dead half-orc on the ground, ”an’ he left with nuthin’ so don’t beat yerself up—-“
”—-he got away. Again.”
Damnit. She’s right.
”Yeah, darlin’. That bastard did. We’ll git ‘um next time.”
Mackeson sheathes his kukri, staring disapprovingly at the noble mixing with the guards. He opens his mouth to say something, but then sees a ghost.
A Silver Ghost.
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"I go by the Silver Ghost."
"We've met," Mackeson says bluntly, staring at the masked figure. "I have something of yours, I think." Mackeson fumbles in his pocket, producing a flat silver coin stamped with 'SG'. He stares awkwardly at the vigilante.
"That creep, the leader of them, he got away. Who was that guy? Why was he trying to hurt a bunch of kids?"
"You with these folks?" Mackeson asks of the Silver Ghost, motioning at the guardsmen. "Or with this guy?" he says, dropping his voice to a lower tone to denote his disapproval as he motions at Atticus.
Rovagug's balls; she's dressed in similarly fine clothing to him. They're probably together.
Mackeson comes back to the conversation after glaring further at Atticus at the end of Paige's explanation.
"I fear the fire he set was only a contingency plan, and that he wished to take children from the arms of Sarenrae to force into his line of work."
"Bleedin' bastard is what he is. Enslavin' children and pushin' shiver on the streets. He deserves a pair of yer silver coins over his eyes, Miss Ghost, or my name ain't Mackeson Slatethorne!"
The dwarf peers at the gathered group. "Now, afore I git drawn into more street fights of my own making," Mackeson says with a glare at Atticus, "I'll need to git my scale mail from the Pantheon of the Many. It's jus' across into South Korvosa - it'd be a closer place fur the orphans too, I reckon, than the temple of Sarenrae. 'Specially with the mess gittin' out of hand right now."
Mackeson looks at Paige and the Silver Ghost. "Y'all comin'?"
The Silver Ghost's eyes light up on receipt of the coin. She smiles kindly at him, not seeming to mind or notice his unkempt condition. "Ah, I remember you. You helped save that sick man. For that, I am grateful." She smiles and bows.
She glances up at the others and shakes her head. "No, I work alone. But I'm glad they were here. I don't know if we could have driven those... slavers... away and saved all of the children without them."
"Would taking the children there be alright with you, um, what was your name again?" she asks Paige, remembering that this is the first time they should have met. The Silver Ghost waits until she is certain that Angel, Paige, and the children will follow Mackeson to the Pantheon of the Many. Their safety was her primary concern. Once she gets her answer, she pauses.
"One moment. This man worked with Lamm. I want to find out where he is hidden away, and there could be a clue towards that on his body."
The Silver Ghost pushes Giggles' body over and checks for anything interesting - a note, pamphlet, any sort of clue that could possibly lead her to Lamm. She takes care to avoid the pool of blood, conscious of getting anything on her clothes.
Anguela's expression darkens as Paige describes Lamm's modus operandi, and having noticed her scars earlier, she slightly averts her gaze when she shows them again. By the pit and gallows, that creature certainly deserves his sovereign's justice, she thought. A pity he escaped.
As the group is joined by The Silver Ghost, Anguela bows again. "Any friend of Darius," she says with a smile, leaving the thought teasingly unfinished. "Anguela, a pleasure," she says ambiguously, offering the vigilante her hand to shake. "Sounds like we're all lucky to have your help tonight."
Giving Atticus a sidelong look, she smiles and gives Mackeson a half-bow. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Slatethorne-- or do you prefer Mackeson? Our associate, can be ah, a bit quick to judgment during a crisis, but give him a chance and I am sure he will recognize your quality." She studies the man and the dwarf coolly, trying to guess what might smooth their ruffled feathers. "Perhaps you would allow Atticus here to buy you a drink or three by way of apology?"
When Angel proposes they accompany the children, Anguela starts to respond and then remembers her superior officer is present. She turns to Grau to see what he says, and adds in encouragement, "Sir, I would like very much to see this business to its conclusion, if it is all right with you."
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Mackeson responds brightly to Anguela’s suggestion. ”By Cayden, almost everything that has ever been apologised for properly has been done over a pint or three, and I know just the place: Cayden’s shrine at the Pantheon!”
After a pause of disbelief, Mackeson clarifies. ”It doubles as a tap house. All shrines to Cayden double as a tap house; if you can’t get a drink at one, then you’re praying wrong!”
He laughs as the group exits the scene, the conflagration roaring behind them.
Atticus regards the Dwarf and the girl both with a dutiful gaze. "Citizens should not be participating in street brawls" he says "Leave the job of protecting the people to the guard, vigilantism helps no one. Speaking of, you should disperse to your respective homes. It is not a good time to be walking the streets."
As the conversation is carried away by everyone making fast friends he falls silent and follows along. He held no ill will towards the dwarf or the girl, but he was a guard and his duty lay in maintaining some sense of calm - now more than ever. Open fights by concerned citizens was to be avoided, regardless of their cause. The so called "Silver Ghost" on the other hand, he cared little for. However, it appeared that the Captain had no intention of arresting her outright so he stayed his tongue further.
When the talk turns to drink he finally speaks up "We have duties remaining to the guard that take priority. I appreciate the offer, but I cannot expect to have the time to partake given the state of the city."
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”Yeah, I’m a vagrant, remember?” Mackeson fires back. ”The temple to Cayden is a good a home to me as any, and Paige belongs to the Sarenrites who just lost a home, so she’ll be coming with me as well as the orphans.”
The dwarf shakes his head at Anguela.
”I guess I’ll be waiting for that apology. Nice to meet you, at least. And yeah, Mackeson is jus’ fine. Evenin’, all.”
Mackeson leaves with Paige.
Grau nods. "Seems as good a duty as anything to keep a bunch of children safe." he says, following along with Paige, Mackeson, and the Sarenrite clerics. Though the Sarenrites would rather go to their own temple, they acquiesce to Mackeson's desire for his armor, and agree that a place among a refuge for the faithful is better than no refuge at all.
The assembled group - about 30 in total, with the orphans included, heads out into the city streets and south towards the Pantheon of Many at Southshore. Beforehand, of course, the cleric Angel expends some of her goddess' blessings to heal the group.
The streets are a mess at the moment, with protestors quickly turning into rioters in the face of guardsman interference. You can see trash being thrown at guardsmen trying to contain a protest. However, being quick and clever, you are able to avoid the worst of the trouble and head through the wall into South Shore. The gatehouse separating the two portions of the city is closed, but with Grau's go-ahead it's opened for the group to pass through, and the whole group safely makes it to the Pantheon of Many.
Arriving at the large dome-shaped interdenominational cathedral, the group finds that many other faithful, especially the homeless populations of nearby neighborhoods, have taken refuge in the cathedral and in the wide grassy yard that surrounds it. The Sarenrites gladly take leave of the group, and Mackeson is able to find and don his scale mail and pick up any equipment that he might have left behind here.
Shortly afterwards, Grau pushes the group to head out again (obviously Mackeson, the Ghost, and Paige aren't under any obligation, but he asks nicely) and the scene outside of the Pantheon takes an ugly turn. A wing of Sable Company Marines flies overhead, rushing towards a different area of the city, when suddenly a bolas flies from a nearby alleyway and catches one of the hippogriffs in the rear legs. Disoriented, the creature loses enough altitude that it smashes into a statue on a boulevard within sight. Screaming, the rider and mount fall the rest of the way to the streets below.
From an upper-story window on an adjacent street, you see a young man leaning out and pumping his fists in the air, and a nearby alleyway spits out half a dozen young Korvosans, sprinting for the prone and stunned Marine.
"Paige," she says to the Silver Ghost, smiling faintly. "I didn't introduce myself in that haze, did I? Gods. My name is Paige Ward, I work in service to the Church of Sarenrae. I suppose the robes give it away a little bit."
Already very worn down and frustrated after what's happening, Paige does not take kindly to Atticus's words, clicking her tongue as she regards him, straightening herself out at last and finding something to grasp onto and steady herself with. "There were children in danger, and I sought to reason before I swung my blade with men attacking private property I owe a responsibility to. I will stand in defense of myself, of those this church relies on, and any who need help. Were Mackeson and I not poised to prevent them from entering you may have missed the peril altogether." She's curt and swift with her words, partly due to the severity of the issue, partly because the sorts of guards that strongly warn against her intervention in helping people tend to be the sorts of guards eager to hurt the innocent and not want a troublemaker in the way of that. She has no way of knowing if he is, but the words do not start things off well. "So long as people are in danger, my blade will shine bright in these streets, that is all there is to matters." With that matter settled and her words spoken, she hsifts toward the others and looks around.
Straightening herself out, Paige doesn't for a moment consider not following the group and seeing these people, especially the children, to safety. Some healing helps straighten her out and relieve her wounds, she's able to steady her posture and accompany the group. As she walks, her eyes glance around furiously, her usually sharp sense for scouting and streetwise wits giving way to the single-minded fixation with Lamm in ways she hasn't known for quite some time. A troll could have stumbled out of the alley hurling explosives and she would have likely missed it for the lack of any indication he has a connection that fetid bastard.
But there is no missing the broader story of it, and Paige finds it impossible to ignore the chaos and the riots, the noise that follows. She holds herself steady and tries to keep her attention on what matters, but her eyes try to pick him or anyone she recognizes as associated with him out amid the crowd, if only to know he's not there and that she can rest easy. In pracrice, it is only when she arrives at the Pantheon of Many that she takes a calming breath and her shoulders ease down from her jaw. For a moment, she's able to know calm and relief, even as she lays her eyes on all the people taking refuge from the chaos.
Priorities, she chides herself. You are no good to anyone being obsessed with him. The city is in danger, and things look ready to break out into total chaos. You need to calm yourself and be ready to take care of things properly.
It's as she considers these thoughts that the hippogriff crashes down into the statue and then into the street. "This city is losing its mind!" It has already been a trying night in short order, but Paige tries to keep from giving in to despair, staying resolute and firm as she looks at the senseless violence, and she doesn't even for a moment consider warning or reprimand from the guards that she has come here with, beginning to wade toward the chaos confidently. Paige has already failed once, but now she's so eager to rush out into danger that she doesn't even consider a look over her shoulder to ask if anyone else is coming: she needs to set things right, even if that 'thing' is just her own self-worth.
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"There were children in danger, and I sought to reason before I swung my blade with men attacking private property I owe a responsibility to. I will stand in defense of myself, of those this church relies on, and any who need help. Were Mackeson and I not poised to prevent them from entering you may have missed the peril altogether."
"Then prove the merit of your words - join the guard. Become the agent of lawful action that the city needs now most of all. I've already had my fill of seeing the would-heroes running rampant on the cobblestones today."
He leans his head this way and that as he thinks of something more to say. "Actions must be leavened with duty and consequence lest they spiral out of control. No one person has to take on the responsibility of dispensing justice on their own, such a weight is too great to bear. I know that men have died today because the choices I have made, though they need not have. Had they been properly tried they likely would have found themselves in the stockade - miserable, but alive. This sits heavily upon my conscious." He trails of as he becomes further lost in his own musings.
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Atticus moves without hesitation, placing himself between the marine and the group of youth. His sword is drawn, but not raised. He shouts to be heard over the crowd. "All peoples are hereby ordered to disperse and return to their homes by the authority of the Korvosan Guard!"
Darius isn't terribly surprised to find the thugs all dead. In this situation most people didn't have the skill to fight to incapacitate, and given a choice between the criminal's lives and the lives of those who fought to protect the orphanage, the choice was clear. Still, it would have been good if they'd been able to take the half-orc in for questioning. Perhaps they'd have gotten a lead on where this Lamm was hiding out.
"Calm down Atticus," he says as the man and dwarf nearly start a fight again. Putting a hand on the knight's shoulder, he continues "I've kept my eye on him for a while now. Haven't seen him do anything but good for the community in the time I've been watching, and it's clear he was on the right side here."
When the introductions go out, he simply adds "Name's Darius. I'm a freelancer, just helping out tonight at the request of the guard."
"Ahh shit," Darius says as the hippogriff crashes to the streets. "We've gotta get over there now, before they tear that marine limb from limb," he says as he takes off in what passes for a sprint in his armor. "Paige, you're a healer, yes? Can you get the marine up?" he calls to her as they close on the fallen man and his mount.
"What the hell is wrong with you people, STAND DOWN!" he shouts as he plows his way through the people. Pushing his way to the marine's side as quickly as possible, he draws his scimitar and holds his faded shield up. "Gonna kill a fallen man? That's mighty brave of you all. You should all be ashamed, stop behaving like animals and come to your senses or you'll be burning your own homes down and killing your own neighbors. Snap the hell out of it!" Honestly he'd just as soon have knocked them all out and dragged the lot to jail, but there were just too many. In a fight it was distinctly possible they'd be overwhelmed, and violence would just inflame the rioters even further, so talking was the only logical choice here.
"What's that going to get you? Well, what's your answer?" He stares down the people, making eye contact with as many as he can. They had to see him as a person, the marine as a person. It was either that or the group'd be fighting for the marine's life--as well as their own lives--very shortly.
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Mackeson followed without a word, quaffing a pint from the shrine to Cayden in a hurried gulp as he left the Pantheon. He didn't care much for the Sable Company - glitz and snobbery - but he wasn't about to let an angry mob maul a lone fallen soldier into a bloody paste. He threw on his helm and waded out behind Darius and the company, considering his options at handling a crowd.
"What the hell is wrong with you people, STAND DOWN!"
Mackeson was impressed at the force of Darius' words. It was going to be interesting running the streets with a drinking buddy, especially since Mackeson had never not seen him off his face. Still, he had a way with words, and diplomacy did seem to be the name of the game. The dwarf knew that he wasn't fit to roll those dice but he could help those who could.
"Paige, I'm gonna bless yer with Cayden's grace aginn, like back at the orphanage. Maybe it'll work better this time, yeah?"
The dwarf mutters a prayer and touches Paige briefly on the shoulder.
"Go git 'em," he winks.
The Silver Ghost stands up from Giggles' body, disappointed that she didn't find anything useful in his pockets. She wrinkles her nose at the flowery guard's 'orders', then rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, and you're welcome, too, buttercup," she says sarcastically. "No trouble at all, y'know, fighting off two of them and saving a bunch of kids. No siree."
She silently stands by as the others talk, but after Atticus brings up his tortured conscience, she points at the three dead bodies with her rapier. "Killing someone is always a choice," she responds to Atticus, more seriously, sheathing her blade. "If you regret it, then make a different choice, next time. I bring aid to those who need and a voice to those who have none, but I am no executioner."
She smiles at Paige, Mackeson, Anguela and Darius in turn, giving a dramatic bow with a flourish of her cape. "Paige. Mackeson. Anguela. Darius. The pleasure is mine."
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The Silver Ghost follows the others out to the Pantheon of Many. Along the way she tries to help keep the children calm amidst the chaos, asking them their names and striking up simple conversations with them about their hobbies and favorites. If asked, she simply says, "I'm the Silver Ghost!. My job is to kick the bad guys' butts when the priests here need help," with a wink and a grin.
Once they arrive at the Pantheon, she hugs the kids goodbye. Her face falls at the chaos outside, though when she sees the marine crash into the nearby building, she reacts instantaneously, without thought. She takes off at a sprint towards where she saw him fall. Her blood turns cold when she realizes exactly how far the angry mob was willing to take this, but when Darius stands up to try and talk down the rioters, she quickly darts to his side.
"Hey! You know what, he's right! Whatever it is you're angry about, whatever you're feeling about what has happened today - it has nothing to do with this man. This man has sworn his life in duty to us, and our city, and this is how we repay him?" she calls out. "I get that you're pissed, and scared, and confused about what's going to happen tomorrow. But that doesn't mean we should tear down our city because of it."
Anguela proudly accompanies the children to the temple, watching the clash of the various personalities who have been thrown together by tonight's events with an ironic curl of her lip. She looks surprised when The Silver Ghost attempts to strike up a conversation with her, but makes an effort to be friendly. She puzzles over the question of her hobbies and favorites, and after deflecting the question back to the masked vigilante, grins broadly and says "It sounds like we have similar vocational and avocational interests. I would love to see the city as it appears through your eye-holes. Figuratively speaking, of course."
When Darius and The Silver Ghost charge towards the fallen marine, Anguela is right behind them. "Attend!" she shouts, after The Silver Ghost has spoken. "If your cause is just, you must act justly! This man is not the reason you gather, and I urge you to focus your efforts on actions that will strengthen your position, rather than weakening it! The Korvosan Guard is here, and we will see to his injuries. Please, disperse!"
Paige has already failed once today at convincing people to stop, and she hopes this time things may hold better as she lends her own words to this cause and to the hope that things calm down. "Whatever fears for this city you protest, this violence will only make it worse! Please, understand that lashing out like this will only make this city a more dangerous place. Your issue is not with this man in particular, so stay your anger and realize you are being consumed by senelseess violence."
Reacting quickly, the group dashes across the open ground of the Pantheon's yard to intercept the crowd rushing for the prone Sable Marine. In between the group and their quarry, the group of rioters is forced to come to a stop.
In general, they look like dirty common people. They likely hold jobs like being a porter, a dockworker, a carpenter, or a fisherman. They hold weapons like clubs, pitchforks, fishing spears, and other common items. They look a little shamed by the group's overall attempts at calming them down, but then one of them pushes to the front - a young boy. "You'd rather have Korvosa be in the hands of a foreign teenager than in the hands of a Korvosan? I don't want a spoiled brat to be my Queen!" He throws up a hand holding a dagger, and the rest of the assemblage behind him shouts, "Yeah!"
When diplomacy fails them, the Silver Ghost draws herself up and pushes her cloak aside with one elegant motion. "And who exactly do you think I am? I am the Silver Ghost. I am the shadow that watches this city at night, the silent avenger for those in harm's way - and tonight that means this wounded man. Stand. The Hell. Down. Go back to your homes, or we will be forced to make you," she snaps, drawing her rapier.
"Hurting this man doesn't change anything about what's going on at Castle Korvosa. Each and every one of you has a choice to make tonight. Will you be part of the problem or part of the solution? Decide quickly."
Atticus watches the youth, carefully scrutinizing their movements. Where they really so committed to their cause that they would spill blood or were having they just frustrated and looking for an outlet?
Ignorance is a powerful weapon, and Paige is certain someone has whipped them into this frenzy, even if it's someone in their ranks and through 'well meaning' intentions'. But Paige can use ignorance too, as she takes another step forward and tries a new angle. "So you murder Sable Marines to lash out at her? You fools, do you realize that it will not endear your cause any more, and in fact only give her or anyone in her ear the excuse to tighten up the noose around this whole city? Something needs to be done, but that something cannot be destruction and murder like this. You are not attacking the teenage queen, you're attacking your own kin. Another Korvosan, doing what they're told. And what they're told could well turn to tyranny and oppression if you force their hand."
As she speaks, Paige tries to gesture to the guards among her as best she can without 'giving it away' that she's not being entirely sincere with these remarks, lest she end up insulting her erstwhile allies in trying to quell the mob.
Anguela steps up next to The Silver Ghost, in her guard uniform. "And I assure you, once the dust settles the rightful monarch will emerge, and the heads of those who have acted rashly and illegally in the meantime will certainly roll."
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”Cayden Cailean sez ‘Live and let Live’,” the dwarf growls from the shadows. ”He don’t really say much ‘bout the alternative, so I’m afraid it’s left up to my interpretation.”
After a few moments, the small mob realizes who it's face-to-face with. Multiple members of the Korvosan guard, a vigilante, and two armed individuals. They consider their own options - lengths of spare wood as clubs, cleavers, cow hammers... They back off, grumbling. A few of them appear genuinely shamed by their own fervor and appear to slink back home, but the majority simply leave by a main road and head off to some other protest.
Behind the group, the fallen Sable Marine lies. His hippogriff is obviously dead, a broken neck and blood pooling on the ground as obvious signs. The marine, however, is breathing but unconscious.
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Mackeson whirls about and clinks his tankard into the fallen marine’s armour.
”Pretty lucky thing, them decidin’ to leave.”
”Hunh.” The dwarf seems surprised at how well that went. ”As good a time as any,” he exclaims, muttering another Caydenite prayer.
He toasts the others. ”Long live the Queen?” he says without conviction, and quaffs the tankard in one drain.
Anguela nods absently to Mackeson. "We should get this man to safety before the crowd changes its mind-- or another mob happens along," she says with concern.
Atticus steps up to assist
"We should move him to the guard barracks - he will be safer there"
"Arguing will do us no good," she says, more concerned with trying to ease down the contention than making one or another see the merits of their options. "Whatever we do, it is best if we do it fast, and that we steel ourselves. I fear this city will only continue to grow worse and worse as the night goes on."
"The citizens of Korvosa should not be put in any unnecessary danger, should the mob return out for blood they may attempt to storm the temple and no doubt innocent lives will be caught up in the conflict."