False Rightousness - RPLOG
Participants
Date
3/6/477
Log
The air was hot and muggy around the shanties, a light rain pouring down upon any whom entered as piles of trash covered in burning tar block off side streets to force any travelers down waste avenue... All the while, the normally packed area void of residents it seems as doors are locked and shut... If one thing was certain, it was more than likely shit had finally hit the fan in the district, and no signs pointed to any good resolution. A few signs are hung up along the balconies, spelling out in barely legible letters for intruders to turn back...
Not often one sees Jera in heavy armor. The kit fox seems to be wearing something with the Lightbringer's badge proudly displayed on his chest, heavy pauldrons slung over his shoulders and his usual fletching gloves replaced by gauntlets. He kept his cloak about him though, looking at the signs and frowning, slowing his pace and waiting for backup first.
Cassidy drops from the sky, landing next to Jera with little fanfare. Tugging at the hem of her hood for a moment and turns to give a soft nod to the fellow Lightbringer before reaching up to adjust her mask. "Not how I planned my evening, certainly," she muses, eyeing the signs and the fire blocking the path.
Surabhi shakes her head slowly as she reads over those scrawled warnings, those big bovine eyes seeming like deep wells of pity. "Fail to help 'em and they blame you. Try to help 'em and they lash out." She gives a weary sigh. "I know it's always good to do good...but...well, doin' good here feels like planting seeds in Drytongue."
Elroar raises his massive sword up to his pauldron'd shoulder, walking behind the group with heavy steps. The massive Dragon just huffs. More Fires in Shanty town, when will they learn? "Right, Guards went quiet. Captain doesn't like it. Where are we going and Who do I have to knock to Thera'dor to get awnsers?" He doesn't seem to be in very good mood. It could be because MIA guardsmen never end well.
Fenris lopes along the mismatched rooftops of shanty town, keeping pace with his enormous golem Behemoth. He has decided not to be directly in the line of fire this time around, especially since this looks like it had already gotten extremely ugly. He wears his normal dark coat, but glints of bronze sparkle underneath in the light of the fires. He keeps an eye on Behemoth as the golem meets the other Lightbringers while he himself keeps his vantage point.
The city keeps that almost eery quiet as the group gathers, a few shutters opening up to peer out at the group before slamming shut... As it seemed the residents hadn't -fully- abandoned yet. The burning piles are thankfully maintained enough that they're not in danger of setting the buildings on fire, and judging from the way the ones farther out were begining to smolder, they had been set awhile ago...
From his position upon the roof Fenris would most certainly be able to see farther down the street, noting a few barricades set up in curiously effective defensive positions just around the corner... THough he can't tell if there are people manning them, there does seem to be a being ina guard uniform laid out face down upon the ground before them!
"This is bad. I wonder if this is linked to the riot from before..." Jera growls as he pulls out his bow and nocks an arrow just in case, shield slung on his free hand. He looks around at who the squad comprises of, leadership tactics and the like already playing out in his head from his soul before he points to Surabhi and Elroar. "You two head in front with the golem. Cass and I'll cover you with fire, and Fenris'll watch all our backs. Let's find any guards still alive."
Cassidy folds her arms and nods. "I would bet that it is related to the riots before." She frowns a bit at the prospect of being in the back, but after last time she doesn't argue. "However we wish to do this, we should do this quickly. The more time we take, the more time and chance there is for people to lose their lives."
Surabhi nods, pulling the modified scythe off her back with a snort and advancing at Jera's command. She moves slowly but steadily towards the downed guard for a closer look--her head is up, looking for trouble, but every so often she glances down at the fallen form, looking and listening for signs of life.
Elroar stomps toward the front of the group, keeping his sword drawn and on his shoulder. First problem is the fires. "Right." He looks over the scene, A guard in the middle of the road and big mess in their way. "Anyone Have water Magic? We're not going anywhere with flaming Rubble in the way."
Fenris waves understanding to those below and urges his huge golem forward with some silent math. Using just a touch of air math, he sends his words down to his fellow lightbringers and Freeswords. "Barracades ahead," he says quietly, "One downed being in a guard uniform, and I cannot see if the barricade is manned."
As the group makes their way down the street to the corner, the barricades Fenris warned them of become obvious... Set about eighty feet infront of them, it consists of two walls of wood and stone made with just a small break for bassage between them, forcing individuals to file through one by one...
Yet, before the barricade, near the corner is the downed guard, the male Swallow barely breathing, a muddy trail of his blood being washed through the streets as he was barely even breathing... Although, it seems they didn't wait to strip him of any valuables! His weapons missing, along with some of the more valuable portions of his armor, and his guards crest as well! Though that does leave the peculiar question of why nobody bothered to finish him off...
Jera watches Elroar and Surabhi approach the guard, fearing the worse. He grumbles, pulling his drawstring and narrowing his eyes at the barricades. "There has to be a trap behind this. We can turn it against them if we fire over the barricades and force them to stream out." He looks at Cassidy and readies a few arrows, scattering them in a shot if she decides to follow his plan.
Cassidy rubs the chin of her mask and frowns. "Or there could be non-aggressors on the other side we'd be hitting. We could just try to go over it, maybe? Send one person over to scout?" She looks towards the guard and scoots a little closer, kneeling down by him as she reaches out to rest a hand on his back. "What happened here, exactly? Can you speak?"
At the front of the gang, Surabhi spots a downed figure and clutches the scythe tightly, rushing towards him--by the Creators, is he still breathing? Planting the butt in the ground and the blade against the barricade, she kneels beside the figure, checking him over for wounds and trying to see whether she can save him, or merely ease his suffering. She lays a large, gentle hand on Cassidy's shoulder. "Keep watch. I'll tend to him, but he could be bait." That said, she prepares for the worst...
Elroar is already standing guard, looking about with the rest of the crew. Nothing seems to have come up yet, but the wounded guardsmen was something of a worry. If he was bait, they at least have a massive scaly shield to stop any attack.
Fenris keeps to the high road, watching the action below and keeping an eye out for trouble. He focuses on a tricky bit of magic, and Behemoth's iron jaw begins to move! Fenris's voice booming from somwhere within. "This looks like a distraction and a trap!" the tiger's voice echoes from within the massive bull golem, "But there are likely to be shanty thugs disguised as wounded guardsmen headed somewhere right now." The automaton's mouth clanks shut and it begins an inexhorable advance on the baracades, prepared to spring a trap or at least draw away fire from more vulnerable targets.
%t Fenris himself scans the area for any sign of activity, especially if that activity is accompanied by a certain shady frog. He extends what awareness he has acquired for Old One activity, but comes up blank. Nothing to indicate a Spirit. . . yet.
The guard wheezes some as the group approaches, the swallow barely managing to lift his head as he speaks in a hoarse voice. "N-Not th-thugs..." The swallows words barely audiable, as Surabhi would be able to quickly notice he had already lost far too much blood...
Sure enough, and true to the suspicions, as Fenris' golem approaches the barricades, four beings pop out. All dressed in their regular shanty town outfits, weilding rickety crossbows that three fire at the Golem in a panic, the fourth firing at Surabhi as he closes his eyes! Meanwhile, up on the roof Fenris has his own issues as a more well armored lynx slides out from the shadows of a opposite building, sending a wave of wind scythes at the tiger that miss just close enough to crash into the area around him... The shanty structure creaking from the sudden shock, but remains stable! "Get out!" The Lynx growls out lowly...
Elroar Brings down his massive sword in front of Sturbahi, making sure the bolt hits the massive slab of metal and not the poor Zebu. He picks is sword back up taking a defensive stance with it, crushing the bolt underneath a heavy plated boot. "Ay! Get over here you Craven Cowards! You Filth are barely worth the wood you're shooting!"
Jera was sold into Cassidy's idea, but now he regrets this immediately. He finally shows his bow, a heavily reinforced compound bow, making use of his fighter bulk to fire larger arrows with more force. Lining up his arrows, he steps to the side to try to get a little more clearance before taking his shot.
Cassidy quickly stands and looks towards the shanty town assailants, grimacing. "Hey now. Wait! What's the deal here? Can you guys explain what's going on? We don't have to fight right now, you know?" Likely a fight would ensue either way, but she wanted answers first! "Why the hostility? What's going on?"
Fenris rolls aside as whipping wind scythes slam into the place he had just occupied. He spins back to his feet, pulling a kerchief over his face as he faces his attacker, pulling a short staff from within his long, dark coat. "It really complicates my life when I don't know if I am facing an enemy or a friend," he says casually, "but friends rarely attack me from behind. Who are you?" The tiger spares a glance toward his golem, blocking the entrance to the barricaded area. (GUARD!) he commands mentally before facing his own assailant, staff at the ready.
It's all over for the poor guard but to draw his last breath. Surabhi sighs and unslings her kit bag--which she then drops in fright as a small gang of bandits pop up and the great Dragon stands between them, deflecting a crossbow bolt. She lays a hand on her chest to gather herself for a moment--she'd have to thank him when he wasn't bellowing out threats--before pulling a homebrew out and unstoppering it. Bottle open, she lifts the Sparrow's head up a bit and pours some of it into the Sparrow's mouth. "Drink this, lad. It'll help take away the pain," she says, trying to imbue her voice with a calm she doesn't feel at all.
"W-We won't fight if you leave! We just want you all -out-! Just get out of our homes!" The four manning the barricade crying out and ducking as Jera's shots fly close to them, shaking for a moment before one pops back up to fire a quick pot shot at Jera with his crossbow, managing a lucky shot that manages to puncture the plate in his right thigh... Thankfully the bolt was cheap, and the wound isn't severe, just painful. All the while the others keep their crossbows trained between the golem and the rest of the group.
Meanwhile, above the main group the Lynx growls as he whips up another flurry of air math in his hands. "You fight the innocent! We evict you from our homes, we evict the guards, we evict the soldiers, we evict the king himself!" The lynx moving with surprising grace as he lashes out another set of wind scythes, the blows hitting fenris hard to send him realing, though his armor manages to absorb most of the damage.
The Sparrow gives a dull nod of his head as Surabhi tends to him, drinking the liquid down with difficulty, but managing it none the less. "T-Thank you..." His voice trailing off as his eyes soon get a glassy look to them, and he's left breathless and still once more.
"Crap." Thankfully the bolt missed anything serious, but he can't extract it, and it's making it difficult to walk right now. Jera stumbles on using his bow carefully as a crutch, using his free hand to get a tunnel of wind going...and then he calls forth a stream of cleansing fire, trying to brute force through the hole in the barricade!
Cassidy folds her hands in front of her and heaves a sigh. "This isn't what you want, is it? Who put you up to this? We cannot leave til we get to the bottom of this. Shanty Town is part of the kingdom. You cannot just become your own little thing. Lay down your arms and flee, please. You know you cannot stop us. So just stay out of our way and we shall deal with the one behind it all. You are quickly becoming less the innocent and more the guilty. So I say again. Get out now while you can. Go to your homes and shutter the doors. My friends will not likely stop, and you know this won't end well for you. Please see reason."
Surabhi shuts the poor guard's eyelids. Not that any of the residents here cared about kindness to the guards, but anyway. Using the knobs on the scythe, she pushes herself back to her hooves, picking it up again and holding it crossbody once she's done.
"Y'all killed a guard--there's not much turning back from that--but if y'all stop this and explain yourselves, we may be able to plead for clemency on your behalves!" she calls out. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Jera hobbling towards the barricade, and waves him over with a wry grin. Medics never wanted for work around here, that was for sure.
Elroar phehs, keeping his sword hefted. "You're also all complete idiots. You REALLY think this is going to work? Killing random guards is only gonna bring MORE Guards and Lemmie Tell you one thing. You think One Dragon is bad? Try having an entire Regiment bearing down your twig thin necks. You want to try and kill a guard? Try to kill me I DARE YOU!" The massive Dragon Steps Forward Slamming his foot down on the dirt. Moving forward like a massive walking tank.
Fenris staggers back to the edge of the roof, grateful for his strategically placed plates of armor. "Creators!" the tiger cries, grinning a bit behind his mask, in spite of these two close calls, "What are you attacking us for? I don't think you quite know what 'evict' means!" The tiger directs a quick thought toward his massive golem, (ROAR!) he commands! Best to get all hostile eyes somewhere they can't do much harm. "I hate to leave those folks high and dry," he says to the lynx, "But if it is what you want, you can try this. It won't work, but I believe in letting people make their own mistakes." Suddenly, as Behemoth roars, there is a puff of smoke and a flash of light and Fenris has found a new roof to stand on. These beings are not the enemy, there has to be more to this mess. The tiger scans the area, hoping to catch sight of anything that might help the situation!
As Elroar begins to advance upon them, another of the twitchy guards releases a bolt at him. "J-Just get back! We're done with all of you! Just get out of here!" The group turning and fleeing when the golem roars, and Jera's spell rips through the center of the barricade to give them a nice wide path. "THEY'RE COMING! INTRUDERS!"
The Lynx growls as he watches those below flee, and his target disapeer into a puff of smoke before his eyes. "Hrngh... Damn cowards..." The feline slipping back into his shadows as he moves on... Fenris' gaze from his new vantage point reveals a nice bit of information for him, as it seems in the center of one of the squares, they've errected a make shift fort of sorts... Even more important, was that they appeared to still be organizing, and at least three of the guards were still alive! The three tied together in the center of the camp, kept safe behind the reinforced barricades the group had yet to reach.
Jera has greater priorities despite the fight and the commotions still going on. He limps over to Surabhi as beckoned and then just crumples into a pile of fox and metal, too much pain in the leg with that arrow. "I...I need that out."
Cassidy scowls softly and leaves her arms folded as she starts to stride forward. With them having fled, she hoped the path would be left open for her advance. She remains quiet, ears alert under her food as she listened for any sounds that might give away an ambush.
Surabhi kneels beside the supine Fox, once again resting her scythe on the barricade and fishing through her kit bag. She sets the draught she gave to the dead guard in Jera's hand. "If it hurts, drink. If it still hurts, keep drinking," she says with a nervous chuckle. That taken care of, she slides down to his leg. Blood isn't gushing out, and it looks to be through a muscly calf--unpleasant, yes, but not bone. She hisses through her teeth. "Alright, just a moment--" she dips a strip of cloth into a puddle and twists it into a cord, wraps it tight above the wound, and ties it tight as she can, hoping to staunch some of the blood.
"Get ready to drink," she calls to Jera, one hand braced low on his leg, the other on the arrow--and with a murmured prayer, she gives it a pull.
Elroar thrusts the side of his sword forward, snapping the incoming bolt as it hits the massive slab of metal. The Dragon keeps going untill he hits the barricade. Which... is just a barricade Flaming or not, he jumps, flapping his massive wings, just flying a good distance over it. He folds his wings against his back, once he's over, plummeting to the ground, his massive sword's tip pointed down at the ground, less hoping that he hits someone and more hoping he cuts them off.
(COME!) Fenris sends to his golem, loping along the rooftops toward the square where all the action seems to be happening, swapping his soul gems as he runs. The others will have to take care of themselves, there was stupidity to stop! The tiger stops in the shadow of a rickety chimney to focus his energy, altering his appearance and changing into his favorite Shanty Town denizen, Amos Longtooth. If Amos can't talk these people out of whatever bad Idea they have in their heads, no one can!
The wound seems relativly easy for Surabhi to fix thankfully, the fleeing beings easily cut off as Elroar suddenly comes slamming down! The four left to spread, jumping through windows and dashing into the homes that line the street as they make a more -private- escape it seems!
Cassidy finds the pass rather open, though the more she travels down the road, the more she can hear the sound of construction and shouting... Whatever was happening, people were getting into a big work up about it! Whatever was down this road, was probably relativly prepared for the group...
As Fenris approaches closer to the square, he'd begin to notice that the residents hadn't failed to bring forth almost every piece of stolen and looted gear they could find! Muskets a plenty, with plenty of ammunition, armor being made out of the remains of some homes as they were working in full force it seemed. All the while, a group of more experienced bandits manned the outside of the encampment, readying their weapons for whatever comes down the way as they heard the shouts... Soon enough though, he'd notice a familiar ram emerge from a shack, barking orders to a large group of residents, and two older cannons are uncovered and wheeled into position facing the groups path! How ever they managed to get a hold of that type of weapon is unknown, but as they begin to fill it with silverwear, and other scraps it can only be assumed they don't have proper munitions still!
Jera chugs the drink, and then gives Surabhi a grin. "I owe you one now." He tries to yell out orders the best he can through the pain. He does hear the commotion starting though, growling. "Shit. Startled the whole crowd now." He kneels down to help his injured thigh as he props up his bow and loads a whole cluster of arrows out, listening intently to the direction of the crowd and then letting loose his signature flurry of lightweight arrows that split into a few more, blotting out the sky like a rain of pests.
Cassidy rounds the corner leading into the square herself, eyeing Fenris, though she doesn't recognize him, and the ram in the distance. What a pity. She had trusted him, and now this? What a pity indeed. She decided not to go that way, though, and instead cut around, hoping to circle to the back of the makeshift fort. She didn't much feel like tangling with cannons, if she could help it.
A grin makes its way across Surabhi's broad face. "Let's survive this, and you can reward me however ya like." She ties a wad of cotton over the dribbling wound and pats him on the outer thigh, before making it back up to her feet leaning against the scythe. "They know we're here and they're not rushing out to attack us...I don't know if I should be thankful or terrified" she says, peering around the tattered edge of the barricade--at which point the weary grin runs fades from her face.
"You--Dragon--get back here! I've patched up enough poor souls--soulless--good Beings tonight, damn it!"
Elroar draws back into a defensive stance, walking backwards this time. He's pissed, not stupid. "For the lova... WHERE IN THE BURNING HELLS DID THEY GET CANNONS?" He jumps back over the barricade with a mighty flap of his wings, keeping his sword held in front of him defensively. Seemed to be working so far.
"Gregor!" rasps Fenris in his Amos voice. The scarred old alley cat settles himself carefully on the edge of a roof. "What in seven hells do you think you are doin' there!?" he cries, carefully lowering himself from the low eaves and walking toward the ram and his crew with his empty hands held where they are visible. "Are you tryin' to get yerself and ALL these folks killed!?" He looks around at the militarized people of Shanty Town, many of them his friends after all of the work he had done here. "There was a REASON we didn't do it this way, Gregor!" he rasps, "This isn't gonna help my friends live better lives! Only shorter ones! What are you thinkin!?" Outside, he can just hear the sounds of Behemoth's heavy steps as the golem stomps his way slowly through and arround the barricades, following him, as ordered.
A musket cracks to life as Cassidy makes herself seen, the ball hitting the ground right by her feet as the bandit calls out. "GET OUT! This is your last warning! If you lot continue forward, we -will- fire everything we have at you! Just walk on home, this is your last chance!"
The Ram looks up as Amos makes himself known, and begins to walk over. Gregor turning on a hoof as he meets him half way and lowers his voice slowly. "Are you a fool Amos? We gave it a chance! They've given it a chance for -years- going about the civil route! What we are rewarded with, is nobles that won't look down their noses at us, and see more than fit to hide us under a rug... And a working class above this town, that sees fit to block everyone out of fear! we're cutting out the middle man... Shanty Town will be it's own. It will be independant like the camps up north. We'll govern ourselves, and care for each other as it seems we cannot stretch hands out too far without getting them cut off!" The group around him giving solemn nods as they continue to work at making everything ready for a fight...
Jera grumbles as he looks at Surabhi. Take care of the group. Make sure nobody else gets hurt. He crawls onto all fours and then shifts into his form...a quadruped, dragon like beast as he charges off to go get reinforcements. Not feeling all too confident right now with all that has happened.
Cassidy pauses when the shot lands by her feet, slowly turning her masked gaze up towards the bandit that had fired. "I don't think that's how this will go down. I don't want to fight, but this cannot be allowed to happen. But you realize that if you fight me, I cannot hold back. And if I cannot hold back, everything will burn." Her voice carries little tonation of humour as she holds up a hand, a small flame flicking into existence in the palm of her glove. "If you give me everything you've got, I will give it back. Do you really want to be the catalyst for that?" She looks over the structure, noting the wood parts as she lets out a low whistle. "And I thought I was crazy," she muses. "Just as we warned the first. You know that an encounter with our group would be most disastrous. You know it. Deep in your heart and in the back of your mind you know it, don't you?" Narrowing her eyes, she looks back towards the bandit and lets her hand drop. "So please. Before we come to bloodshed, stand down. The others did, and they were alright because of it." She folds her arms again and shakes her head. "So please. Let's not get nasty about this. I know you're reluctant to fight as well."
Surabhi watches Jera beat a hasty retreat, leaving her alone behind the barricade. She defended the homestead and handled hunting parties well enough, and she did her stint in the militia, same as everyone else, but fighting never had been her strong suit. With nothing else for it, she emerges from around the barricades, taking her place beside Elroar. "Cannons?--" This was getting worse by the minute. "I maybe should've asked before we came out, but--what in Promise is goin' on here? I thought this was another riot-quelling!" she asks to Elroar, though more in a rising fear than in expectation of any sort of response.
Elroar grunts "If I knew lass, I'd be stopping it right now. These idiots seem to have gotten it into their thick skulls that murder and attempting to turn into bandits is going to solve all their problems..." he growls. "You Idiots know this is only going to get you killed?! This isn't helping yourselves! This is suicide! THE MOMENT YOU DECLARE YOUR 'INDEPENDENCE' YOU ALL DIE! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK FUCKING SKULLS!" He roars at the fortress. This was getting out of hand. "Think you can torch a few key points from this range lass?" He growls at Cassidy.
"Sure!" Amos cries, "We get spit on and ignored. Life is hard and things have gotta change. But those high and mighties? They ain't never had any reason to be SCARED of us before!" He looks desperately around at the beings at work in the makeshift fort. "You do this and those rotten apples that want us gone will have a reason to burn this town to the ground!" he rasps, "All it would take is one motivated magician to bring this place down around our ears!" The alleycat points to his own milky eye and shouts again, "I'm half blind and I can see this is mad! Please! Stop this!" He turns desperately back to Gregor. "They will call it Gregor's purge!" he hisses, "And today will become a holiday where children burn stuffed rams in blue armor to commemorate the day that they were saved from Gregor the Mad and his band of thugs! Is that what you want?" He draws the other freesword in closer. "What do I have to do to make you abandon this!?" he rasps in despair.
The guards along the front keep their muskets trained upon cassidy, as the folks manning the cannons seem just as equalily twitchy as Cassidy begins to show flames... "... You're mad! If you started a fire here, you'd kill hundreds of innocents! Women and children would be burned alive because of you!" The group's tension thick enough to cut with a dull knife, but the guards keep their fire held.
Within the 'fortress' the shanty town residents listen to the livid speach by 'Amos', the massess fidgeting and slowing in their work as they begin to mutter amongst each other, Gregor gritting his teeth as he draws his sabre and points it at the vocal feline! "I AM NOT MAD! Madness is letting others rule you just because of their birth! Madness is letting this continue! We can bring change, force it even! Even if we all die here, what happens will be told and the future shall know to throw off their shackles should we fail!" The Ram glancing around at the massess that seem more and more often to be placing weapons down, as one older looking wolf with a missing hand looks to the ram. "... Gregor, it... I don't want to leave my family just for the future." A murmer of approval flowing through the crowd, save for the bandits that served in the Ram's employ whom grimace and avert their gaze.
The Ram seems stunned for a moment, just blinking as he looks at all the plans he had dreamed for freedom crumbling around him... And all because of -this- man! "I... Was promised change... It only needs a spark... And if you have to be that spark Amos, than so be it... I am sorry friend." The Ram readying himself in a fighting stance, as the shanty town residents begin to back away... And sure enough, the group still at the barricade can soon enough hear the shouting of what must be dozens of guards making their way closer to the scene...
