The dwarf begins the short process of reloading his musket, his practicing hand ramming the bullet and powder charge down the length of the barrel, ready to fire again in a few seconds.
Miselle readied to fire, her eyes hunting the darkness in the hope of spotting...something.
Since Az is able to see in the darkness, he calls out the location of the nearest enemy to them for the others.
One of the attackers quickly drops, felled by blasts from Miselle and Azaghal.
Ellena stumbles backwards a step, the cut on her arm cold like winter lead, and fetches up against the doorway with a hiss of pain. She rallies with a shake of her head; a short half-step takes her close enough to the assassin and her sword darts in between his legs and slides hissing along his thigh on the way out.
She'd missed the artery, but that was still going to smart.
If that attack hits, the assassin is taking 1 Bleed damage and a further -1 to his attack rolls.
The other (now wounded) attacker slashes at Ellena before beginning to cautiously back away. He's heavily outnumbered by you, and without the cover of darkness, he's much less of a threat. However, the shadow creature behind it continues forward. It passes through the floor debris effortlessly, phases through the wall before you, and stalks calmly toward the doctor.
Suddenly, you hear the sound of grating metal, and enormous bars of steel begin floating from somewhere outside and melding with the rocks around the entrance to the church. You're being blocked in.
Miselle focusing on the target attacking the civilian. She'd deal with being blocked in later.
"Spooky! Ghost!" With a growl, Alice chases after the shadowy creature. As she hurries forward, she reaches for a flask on her belt. As much as the Old Faith might be having a vocational crisis, there is something to be said about their experience in dealing with these abominations. Popping the cork with her thumb, she splashes the monster with holy water. "As I said."
Corynne focuses, calling forth a local ghost to rise out of the ground grabbing the creature around the waist.
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"Alice, wait!" Ellena shouts, as the elder Inspector runs after the shadow creature... and takes their light with her. "...damn."
Fumbling about in the dark, trying not to stab anyone else in here with Fabian, Ellena feels her way further into the church. All in a moment she finds herself back in the light, and she blinks furiously as her vision adjusts and she runs to try and get ahead of the creature.
"One of these days, Az is springing for rifle!" the dwarf says in frustration as he begins the process of reloading his musket (with ghost salt, just in case), the darkness not bothering his vision in the least.
Miselle's ghost salted bullet catches the shadow completely off-guard. It reels in pain, and then Alice comes in with a flask of holy water. Interestingly, the blessed liquid not only burns the creature, but also shifts it to corporeality. That's when Corynne's ghost holds it in place.
"Ha! That'll teach you to ignore us!"
Drawing another flask, Alice thrusts the rapier at the creature's side, hoping to catch a vulnerable spot.
With the others up close and personal, Miselle swung her gun back around to the one escaping, and tried to line up a shot.
"Doctor!" Ellena shouted, trying to keep herself between the shadow and the Doctor and Fabian between her and the shadow, "Stay away from the walls! Your traps won't hurt it!"
She stabs at the shadow-slick, hoping for... well, anything, really.
Incisive Strike: (+1 if Beat hits)
Now once again plunged into darkness, Corynne downs the potion in her hand, her eyes rapidly adapting to the darkness, as she thrusts a hand toward the remaining thug, volatile spirit energy tearing through him.
Having already loaded his musket with the ghost salt, and not wanting to take the time to put a standard ball into the weapon, Az fires it at the enemy remaining in front of him.
With your opponent dazed and pinned in place by Corynne's ghostly ally, it's a simple task to lay it low. As Miselle takes out the remaining fleeing assassin, the "shadow man's" form shifts to that of a member of the Risuri police force. Then it shifts again to that of a well-dressed blond gentleman. Then it shifts to a man with a rather nasty facial scar. Then it fades into nothingness.
You feel dark energy drift toward Cauldron Hill, where there's bound to be a new addition to the host of tortured ghosts.
"That one is going to haunt The Hill for centuries." Corynne mutters softly watching something only she can perceive head off in the direction of where they'd had their recent harrowing experience. The air around her rustles in....something that almost feels like approval as the shadowman's absence has the effect of fresh air in the area.
Calmly she turns to face the Doctor. "Now do you trust that we're here to help?"
The doctor gives you a crisp nod. "Well, you're definitely not working with the people I've been hiding from, so I see no reason not to trust you."
"Oh, thank the deep, you did see all that..." Ellena sighs. Wincing, she rolls up her sleeve to check the cut on her arm. "I, *ow*, does anyone have some antitoxin, *ow*? Their swords were, *ow*, poisoned."
Alice pokes the spot where the ghost had vanished with her sword. "No, sorry. But we should get some."
After reaching for her dropped gun and placing it on the floor, she pats down the fallen assassins, in the remote chance there are clues. "So, this was the Shadowman from the Bleak Gate, a-k-a Roger Porter, a-k-a Scarface. There's one large question standing now: why was he at the Embassy, threatening LeBrix? By the way, Doctor, if you could give us those documents. I'd like to make sense of this whole mess."
The doctor nods and disappears around a corner. After a minute or so, he reappears holding a surgeon's bag. When he hands it over, it's surprisingly heavy - which makes sense once you open it. Packed inside are several folders and notebooks completely filled with writing. Sifting through them will take multiple people and hours of work.
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The assassins have no identifying information on them. Whoever they were, they were true professionals.
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From outside the church's entrance, you hear a cultured voice calmly call out to you. "Excuse me, constables. I don't mean to bother you, but instead of fighting more of my men, perhaps you'd be amenable to parley? Senseless bloodshed is so uncouth, don't you agree?"
"And here we apparently have an answer to who's the actor behind it all." sighs Alice, rolling her eyes. This place is pretty fortified, if it comes to fighting.
"Eh, I wouldn't know" she answers the voice, just as calmly, reaching for a sling and loading it with a steel bead. "Senseless bloodshed can lead to great results. But let's hear what you have to say. Starting with your name and affiliation, thanks."
"That seems only fair, considering I know who you and your companions are, Constable Kildare. I'm Leone Quital. I'm just here to get the doctor and the documents he has in his possession."
Outside, you see three carriages drawn by horse-shaped shadows and can hear numerous people shuffling around somewhere outside your sightline. There's also a folding steel chair about 60ft from the bars. Seated atop it is a well-dressed man snacking on wine and cheese.
Ignoring the documents for the moment - as much as she'd love to start pouring over them - Ellena approaches the doctor. "Erm, doctor? Could you help me with this?" She holds up her arm.
Alice peeks towards the entrance, staying in the relative safety of the church."And why exactly do you want them? For whom?"
Miselle raised an eyebrow at Alice dealing with the man, but nodded approval. The more information they had the better. She kept herher gun ready in case the man tried something untoward.
Az immediately begins examining the back of the church while the others are talking, hoping that his natural gift for finding hidden paths in stonework might reveal something that other races may miss.
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The doctor examines Ellena's wound with a clinical eye before retrieving a poultice and expertly bandaging her up.
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Leone gives an evil chuckle. "I really don't see why you need to know that. All you need to know is that my men have a large amount of explosives. If the doctor and his documents aren't in my possession within the hour ... they'll do some remodeling of the hillside."
"Not the greatest conversationalist, are you? See you in a while." is Alice's last quip to the man before returning to the room. "I'd suggest using that bracelet to contact Gale and aim her at her friend's killers. Once and if she comes, well, the thing about explosives gives me several ideas. But first, let's see if perchance there's another way out."
"Rescued by a terrorist," Miselle murmured as she hunted. "We are going to be the butt of many jokes for a while, I fear."
The idea of being the punchline for work jokes motivated her, at least, and she hunted with diligence, checking the side rooms as well.
"The alternative is being the martyrs that launch a war between the RHC and whoever this charming fellow is." Corynne says calmly.
Alice notices a chimney that's blocked by some fallen rubble. If it was cleared out, you might be able to squeeze through and climb to the next elevation level of the hillside.
Miselle, meanwhile, discovers a hidden passage behind a ruined wall hanging in the privy.
"Or perhaps we have a third choice," Miselle replied, smiling as she revealed the secret exit. She really didn't feel like being the butt of more jokes. "If we go quickly, perhaps we can hide the good doctor and apprehend the one outside?"
"My sentiments exactly. This chimney should lead outwards too, if we clear it. Once we're out, it's a simple matter of shock and awe, area denial, and placing a large amount of bullets in Quital's body."
"Let us gather everything and prepare," Miselle agreed, eyeing the chimney. "Who amongst us is the finest climber?"
"It's not me." Ellena says, shaking her head.
"I have a grappling hook." adds Alice, starting to clear the rubble. "Should make the ascent much easier if we can anchor it to something."
"Giving up the doctor is not an option, of course, but...Az is not sure we have much choice other than Gale. Enemy of my enemy is my friend, yes? But if we wish to try to do this by ourselves, Az will go along."
"Let us check the situation once we are free," Miselle said with a shrug, and started trying to climb.
"I'd take the hidden passage over the chimney honestly. If whoever is out there is twisted enough he might just have someone on the roof ready to drop something down to smoke us out." Corynne comments. "Besides, which I far form the best climber."
"Um, yeah, I think I agree with Corynne... Ellena murmurs.
"If there is hidden passage, let us take it! Is obvious choice! Whatever is behind it, it cannot be worse than waiting for what's outside!"
"Fine, then, we can check the chimney later, as a Plan B of sorts."
Alice checks her pocket watch, keeping track of their remaining time.
Miselle stops climbing and heads down the passage as well.
The hidden passage is a tight squeeze, but you're able to fit without too much difficulty - with the exception of Miselle, who's forced to carry her enormous firearm at a rather uncomfortable angle that prevents effective use. The passageway appears to have once been a waste chute, although it's been unused for centuries. The tunnel ends behind some bushes approximately twenty yards to the east of the church's main entrance. Looking toward the main entrance, you see eleven more of the cloth-swaddled assassins congregating around a trio of phantom-drawn carriages. Quital remains seated calmly in his chair watching the entrance while daintily eating cheese from a plate that levitates in front of him. He occasionally glances at a pocket watch but appears unconcerned.
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Ellena shimmied back from the tunnel's exit and whispered at the others, "Um, okay, there's that. I... yeah, I think it's worth it to try that climb - all it would take is one wrong look, and we'd be out in the open. And they have mages. So... I guess I'll go first, if no-one objects?"
"Not too much time, and we'd still be in the open. I can be a distraction as you slip away. Anyone has some oil of silence?"
Alice is the first to leave the passage, taking a wide berth to avoid Quital and his sentries. As soon as she spots a convenient route away from the Church, she stands watch, her gun at the ready, loaded with entangling shot, and motions the other agents.