Pointing the fairly monstrous Unreasonjably Big Gun in Quital's general direct, as she did not want to know how dangerous he was, Miselle moved out as quietly as she could.
The dwarf follows after, holding his musket and gear in a tight grip to keep it from jangling around.
Ellena takes a moment, looking over the doctor with a critical eye. She fastens a few loose buckles and tucks scraps of cloth (torn from a hankerchief - a gift from a boy who turned out not to like losing) in between bits of medal and the doctor's equipment. That done, she sends him out ahead before going herself.
Ellena's caution proves wise as Doctor Wolfgang stumbles on a bit of lose stone and almost drops his bag. Fortunately, nothing jingles.
They were always there with her, the entourage of spirits that surrounded her, some helpful or beneficial, others less so, holding onto resentment of their deaths, or just plain bored. That was when things tended to get....difficult.
Taking a deep breath, she tries to stealthily follow her companions through.
Spirits are incredibly useful at times - especially when you need answers from one who's deceased. Other times, spirits can get you in quite a bit of trouble. This is one of those times.... As Corynne exits the tunnel, there's an audible chuckle that sounds suspiciously like the Shadow Man. That's all it takes to attract the attention of Quital. His brow briefly furrows in annoyance before he regains control of his emotions. "It appears that my informants left out a rather important piece of information about this place. That will be rectified shortly." Gesturing to his minions, he continues, "Please relieve these constables of their doctor." Immediately, the cloaked figure begin to rush toward you.
A round iron sphere shoots from Alice's position, exploding against the first of the assassins. "Hi there, Quital! Guess who has the documents!"
Well, not me. But hopefully he'll think so.
Miselle swore heavily and pointed her gun at the moving...shadow...thing. Hopefully this would be enough to discourage it.
Glad to still have his musket loaded with ghost salt ammunition, since even a living target would likely be stunned by the impact of it, Az fires a shot at the Shadow as the group begins the fighting withdrawal
Miselle and Azaghal blow away the closest of the (thankfully corporeal) shadowy minions but the others keep coming. You're clearly heavily outnumbered. Alice's missile, meanwhile, explodes in the middle of another group of assassins, sending caltrops everywhere. That'll slow them down ... until Quital casually waves his hand and sends the metal hurtling back in her direction like a swarm of flechettes.
Dodging some of the nails, Alice arches her back and tenses her legs, jumping and cartwheeling out of the threatened area. As she dashes to her companions, she grabs a tanglefoot bag from her belt, quickly assessing the situation.
Quital's power makes it clear that a fighting retreat is in your best interests. You promptly proceed to book it back toward the village, hoping that proximity to the population will discourage pursuit.
"Pass me the documents and keep the doctor safe!"
The fencing and running training keeps Alice going at a runner's pace as she takes off towards town, unwilling to be targeted again by her own caltrops.
"Time to run, Mr. Doctor!" Ellena shouts, giving Dr. Wolfgang a hopefully not too hard shove in the direction of town before following quick on his heels.
The dwarf takes off in the direction of the village, trying to make it back to the settlement before the horses can overtake him.
For once regretting that she carried so much stuff, Miselle tried to follow.
Taking a deep breath, Corynne quickly grabs a scroll, activating the magic within it and feeling the magic settle around her. Then she runs, trying to keep up with her far fitter companions.
You've reached the town. Now you just need to lose your pursuers. Up ahead is a jam of rubble caused by a recently-fallen building. Those earthquakes really did a number here, it seems.
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Your defensive spell will help protect you from your pursuers, but casting it ate up precious time. You're close to the town, but one of the carriages (faster than the others) is almost upon you!
With a curse, Alice notices that Corynne has fallen behind. "Go!" she yells at the others. "I'll get her! You run!"
Sprinting back towards the spirit medium, she tosses a tanglefoot bag at the closest carriage, her aim off-balance because of the unsteady footing. "With me, Spooky!"
Waiting by the entrance with her weapon - and it's unpleasantly long effective range - Miselle laid down covering fire. Mostly she wished to spook the horses into fleeing, but if she got a driver and knocked him out...
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Miselle's shot slams into a carriage driver, knocking him unconscious. At the same time, Alice's tanglefoot bag narrowly misses one the shadow horses, causing it to rear. The chaos gives Corynne time to reach the town.
Miselle waved to the pursuers cheerfully as Alice and Corynne arrived, and then fell back with the others. "I think we should be safe now. Alas, I fear they will bolt, but we should be able to track them down later." That telekinetic spellcaster had been...unpleasant.
"Let's get to a watch-house for now, and make sure the Good Doctor is safe."
Ellena nods quickly, staying close to the Doctor as she starts walking.
"We have a name, at least. We'll ask around as soon as we are safe."
Alice starts crawling through the rubble, squeezing through an opening in the ruined walls, snarling as her rapier gets stuck between two rocks.
"Thanks." Corynne says breathessly. "Never been that great in a chase.....on either side of it."
Using his bandolier to put another shot into his musket, Az had been about to take a running shot at the horses to try and spook them and give Corynne a chance to get away when Alice, true to form, steals his thunder. Mumbling under his breath, he turns his attention back to the pile of rubble before him, hoping his dwarven stature makes it easier for him to wriggle through the mess.
...And the dwarf successfully makes his way to the other side of the pile of rocks and pebbles!
Once safely on the other side, he quickly takes up a defensive position that allows him to see if the other carriages advance any farther.
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Ellena drops to her stomach and squeezes under a fallen hardwood beam, exhaling deeply and giving silent thanks to all the old spirits who'd turned their heads when teenaged Ellena had wished for a more, erm, 'prominent' figure.
Once she's through, she turns and guides the Doctor down through the splinters.
Now able to take her time, Corynne takes a few moments, focusing on quelling the spirits around her before beginning to crawl through the collapse as carefully as possible.
Like Alice, Miselle finds herself experiencing difficulty getting through the rubble. That's the problem with massive firearms: they're not too useful in tight spaces. Fortunately, carriages are significantly larger than guns, so there's no way for them to get to you. Unfortunately, the carriages are full of Quital's minions, who pull up and begin to disembark.
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Miselle swore at the rubble in her usual vicious way, trying once more to get through.
"Merde!" was heard at some volume.
Cold iron flashes in Alice's hand as she brings one of her hidden daggers against the leather scabbard. Cutting the belt, she draws the rapier and springs forward, leaving the sheath stuck between the rocks.
Torn between wanting to help Miselle and not wanting to leave the Doctor's side, Ellena settles for crying out "Breathe out and hold it! You'll buy a few inches!"
Corynne turns, ready to aid Miselle's escape she calls upon the power of the spirit world, the ability of the dead to sap the living of vitality.
Alice easily slithers through the rubble - at the cost of her scabbard. It takes Miselle slightly longer, but with the help of Ellena, she barely manages to wriggle through. Based on the difficulty you had, you know it'll take some time for your enemies to get to you, and by then, you should be long gone. You're safe. For now....
"Back to headquarters?" Ellena asks. "Please?" She gestures to her bandaged arm, "I want to make sure this isn't going to get any worse, and I imagine the Doctor would appreciate being surrounded by RHCP. Plus I really want to start reading through those papers."
"Sounds smart to me. He'll be safest there." Miselle agreed.
Alice does her best to fasten her rapier to her belt. "Seconded. We need to report on several things as well as sift through these documents. Maybe read them before reporting, so that we have more time before giving them to LeBrix."
The documents will take a team of people several hours to read through. Making sense of what's inside will take quite a bit longer - at least a few days, more than likely. This means you have a bit of a decision on your hands: return to the safety of Headquarters, report in to Delft, and start the process of returning the documents to LeBrix ... or try to decipher the documents yourselves and risk being found by Quital and his minions.
"I vote to return to Delft," Miselle said simply. "Let those better skilled to it sift through the records."
"I, um-um-" Ellena stammers, not sure at all how to phrase this without it sounding like... well, treason. "If... if we give the documents back... I mean, we're - the government, that is, not us personally - but we're trying to be nice to Danor right now, right? So we might have to give the documents back, without reading them I mean? To avoid an incident? But..." She swallows. "Something really bad is happening with this. Bad enough for Gale to offer her help. Bad enough for someone to try to kill Nevard. So... maybe we should read them first? Just, you know, to not make the Chief Inspector have to choose between solutions and politics?"
"...and I really want to know what they say."
Alice flashes a smile. "These documents caused harm and danger to Risuri citizens. Which means they are clearly dangerous enough to cause even more trouble for us. Let's give 'em a look in out office."
"She makes a point that once our superiors know the documents are there, the decision to read them may not be up to us. "Corynne chimes in.
Alice bites her lip, pondering Corynne and Ellena's words. "I don't want to hide things from Delft, but if Saxby and politics get in the way... Does anyone know of a safe place where we can spend some time reading?"
"The family home would do," Miselle suggested. "It would not be abnormal for me to house guests there, after all, and few would be willing to evoke the wrath of the Fitelle's. Upsetting a family of gunsmiths and inventors sees your enemies better armed at a bargain price."
"I think is good idea for us to check them out first, too. Miselle's family is sounding like good place to lay low while we are examining the documents." Azaghal chimes in.
"We should take indirect way to get there, though. We have to do all we can to make sure we aren't followed by Quital or his goons."
"Ah, where is your home? Because I may have a good way to travel. And, Doctor, does this sound all right with you?" Ellena asks.
Doctor Wolfgang is willing to go along with whatever you think is the best - and safest - option. He's been on the run for several days and is distrustful of almost everybody except his school friend and yourselves.
"Ayres," Miselle replied. It was the noble area of the city, and thus where the House was. "My sister is in charge of the place, but she will welcome anyone who does not care for manners or which fork is important."
Rich Danorans. This day just keeps getting better. At least they're not obsessed with etiquette.
"Sounds like our best option, then. Let's go."