"Protect Absinthe first, avoid harming the people, and then protect the leader. Damn the law." Seren speaks quickly and decisively, chaos being his welcome state.
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Seren casts a minor image, hiding his somatic gestures. He will create an image of the Maidens quarry running out of the globe of darkness and to the west, dodging around folks.
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Seren casts a discreet illusion, his magic use covered by the noise and confusion. His image of the mob leader bursts from the darkness, sprinting through the crowd and down the avenue west. Several of the guards notice and point, but as a couple start to break ranks, the lead Gray Maiden orders, "Stay in formation, and move with me!"
Chaos reigns as the majority of the mob collides within itself, some trying to flee, others moving to confront the guards, and yet more being fighting amongst themselves. A hail of projectiles, rotted food, broken cobbles, and worse fly from the mob towards the guards (and you).
Cherias manages to duck a cobblestone, though a head of rotten cabbage hits him in the back of the head, causing more damage to his dignity than his body.
Damnit, this is exactly what I was hoping to avoid!
Segang fails to move as the debris smashes against his body, but he hardly seems to notice. He pulls his spear and, swinging it about him to discourage anyone, guard or crowd approaching too close to his group. [ooc]His intimidate action above should go off for sure now. [/b] And he 5' steps towards the darkness.
Melianthe dodges the worst of the trash thrown her way. [i]Well, this was inevitable,"[/b] she thinks.
She makes mystic gestures and vanishes.
Seren will move to the right to get cover from the mob, but maintain visibility on his illusion, trying to keep it out there ahead of the guard.
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[dice=Reflex]1d20 + 2
Melianthe dodges the worst of the trash thrown her way. [i]Well, this was inevitable,"[/b] she thinks.
She makes mystic gestures and vanishes.
Absinthe starts to move, headed for the alley. If she passes any of the other party-members on the way, she hisses: "Get in here!"
Melianthe turns herself invisible.
Absinthe takes advantage of the darkness she summoned, grabbing the mob leader and shoving north through the crowd. Against the thrashing mob, the pace is slow.
Segang steps towards the mob, swinging his maul impressively.
Several in the mob try to get away from the fray, pushing and colliding with the crowd and causing more chaos.
Cherias tries to follow Absinthe as best he can, and establishes a lifelink to the man she is trying to protect, while thinking I had everything under control, but now...
Melianthe turns herself invisible.
Absinthe takes advantage of the darkness she summoned, grabbing the mob leader and shoving north through the crowd. Against the thrashing mob, the pace is slow.
Segang steps towards the mob, swinging his maul impressively.
[/ooc]
Absinthe keeps moving, growling under her breath.
"You had better be worth this," she tells the mob leader. "If you are not, then I encourage you to acquire worth at speed!"
Cherias moves after Absinthe, shoving through the mob. Most of them ignore him, but one drunk belligerent takes a swing with a heavy club. He ducks under it and takes refuge in the crowd.
The lead gray maiden hollers orders to the guards. "You four, with me! Kayless, you have command... clear this mob!" She breaks off with four men, chasing after Seren's illusion. As they round the corner, they meet some ragged resistance. The maiden cuts down the first with a precise attack, spilling the first real blood.
Behind the other two gray maidens, the guards maintain a tight formation as they march forward. They make it as far as Segang's position before the rushing mob hits them, many of them stumbling through the darkness.
;
; ;
Using the blunt shaft of his spear, Segang slams one of the charging mob to the ground. The second nearest sneaks through his guard, stabbing low and landing a lucky hit with a short blade.
Melianthe casts Ventriloquism and whispers to the crowd.
[i]"Leave...it's not safe here. Leave while you can."
Seren curses under his breath as the Maiden cuts down the innocent ... "Oppressors"
"Segang! Don't hurt the people, they don't know better!"
He will move along behind the wall of guards keeping an eye on his illusion as long as he can ... it will maintain for a few rounds after he loses concentration if that comes to pass.
As soon as she manages to get to the alley, Absinthe shoves the mob leader in, cursing like a dock worker.
"Be gone with thee!" she snarls. "Hide in the sewers, hide thy appearance, try to get out of the city. Thou hast not given proper service to thy people... and neither have I."
Turning, the tiefling searches for her comrades...
Seren sidles along the wall, keeping sight and concentration on his illusion for a few more seconds. The escalating melee and distance make it increasingly difficult.
Confusion and chaos still reign in the crowd. Many attack other citizens, or the guards, or cower in place. Melianthe tries to nudge some of them to flee, but amid the din of battle, it is hard to say if her whispers get through.
Absinthe and the man shove through the crowd of fleeing and confused at the outskirts, reaching the corner of an alleyway. "Thanks!" the man says with a smile. "That darkness trick worked better than anything I could have said!" He turns and sprints down the alley.
Unsure of what the plan is and unable to calm the situation further he tries to reason with the lead gray maiden, calling You can do no good here. Fall back and let the crowd disperse. They only stand here to oppose you. He then moves into the mass of people, going defensive and raging to increase his dex as he does so.
Absinthe stands frozen for a moment -- then charges after the man, growling, gets past him with an acrobatic manoeuvre - - and threatens him with her scimitar!
"You wanted this? This?" she snarls. "Who are you? Who is your master? Speak, you DOG!"
Segang ignores the melee and shoves through blindly through the darkness, relying on his street-born instincts and thick hide to get through unscathed. When he breaks out on the far side, he sees the chaos continues, with most of the crowd fleeing in the same direction. Through the mass, he can see Absinthe and the mob leader duck into a side alley.
Cherias is confused and overwhelmed, and stays close to Segang as he makes his way through the darkness, which of course he can see in.
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Cherias moves through the darkness, trailing Segang on the far side.
The guardsmen and rioters continue to fight, and the Gray Maidens ignore or do not hear Segang's advice. Their leader continues to press her detachment down the street, chasing Seren's illusion. A few more of the rioters fall, adding their blood to the cobbles. One guardsman is concussed by a thrown rock, and another is stabbed with a dirk, but their formation holds.
If Cherias passes by people who are injured, he will channel to catch as many of them in a burst of healing as he can.
Seren attempts to marshall the people he knows together and follow Absinthe and Mel through the darkness. He'll let the illusion continue on for a few more rounds beyond his lapse of concentration
Melianthe continues to fly invisibly above the fray, and uses her Ventriloquism to filter her voice through the crowd, including the Grey Maidens.
"Disperse now. We will be dropping gas in this area. It will make anyone affected by it sick and unable to fight. It will not harm you in any other way. Leave NOW."
Seren follows after Cherias and Segang.
Some of the fighters look around at hearing Melianthe's voice, trying to identify the source, but enough continue the melee forcing those few to respond. The fleeing crowd disperse further, and some of the confused start to back away.
Melianthe observes from her vantage point.
"LEAVE NOW," intones Melianthe one more time, waiting to see if the crowd disperses.
Melianthe's shout goes unheeded once again.
Segang and Cherias manage to break through the crowd's outskirts and find Absinthe and the mob leader in the first alleyway. Absinthe does not appear pleased. Seren is a little ways behind.
Melianthe drops the Stinking Cloud on the crowd and immediately flies out of range of the angry mob.
As Melianthe finishes her casting, the street battle is engulfed in a thick mist of odious vapor. Almost instantly, the melee ceases as the combatants are overcome by the powerful stink. The rioters retreat, joining those already fleeing. The guards and Gray Maidens withdraw with only slightly more composure. A few stragglers brawl for a few more moments, but by-and-large the fight is done.
In the alley, Absinthe flips and vaults ahead of the man. He stops in his tracks, holding up his hands. "Whoa! What's gotten into you?"