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"Uh, you're welcome," Cleo says to the strange woman with an accent that begins to speak to her out of nowhere. "I'm Cleo, and who are you?" She says quizzically. "You sound like you're from Imardin, is that true?"

At Geral's remarks she turns her attention to the man instead. "You are worried about them finding us, yet you want to track them down? If we are already going to go after them, I see no reason in helping ourselves to their stash of gold," Cleo says, standing up, keeping the cat in her arms. "Besides, what good does it do to show that the High Priest was corrupt when he is already dead, hm?"

With the news that there is alternative evidence against the high priest, Eoli calm somewhat. "The least you could have done was make sure we had alternative evidence before killing them all." He says in response to Juliette and Cleo's dismissal of his worries, before answering Cleo's question. "There could be others in this temple that were in league with the high priest."

Geral nods at Eoli's words.
"I mean, it's not like they weren't incredibly obvious in being bandits. Likely there's more of them out there. Maybe some of the other priests are in on it. That, and if word got around that a Fuller was hunting down Ex-Malachites in the region, they'd go underground before we could get to them. I'm saying let's track them down, but let's make sure they don't know we're coming until they have our blades in their guts, if that makes sense. But enough bickering, let's move before the fire gets too noticeable. I'd rather not have to answer questions in a cell tonight..."

Suddenly there is a thunderous crash and debris from the upper floor of the temple goes flying in all directions. Luckily the larger pieces of stone and wood don't make it as far as the party, but the courtyard is now strewn with rubble and burning planks of wood.

Cleo jerks her head towards the temple as the top floor explodes and sends debris flying in every direction. Her eyes widen, both out of fear and excitement. That was so cool! Her thoughts quickly turn to those who may have been inside, though, and her feelings become mixed. She continues to stroke the cat, before finally saying, "we should probably get further from here."

"Juliette Lemaire," the Imardanian says. "And oui, I am from Imardin, though I'm stranded here for the time being."

As the temple roof explodes, Juliette jumps, frightened by the loud crash. At Cleo's suggestion, Juliette adds, "Yes, a fine idea. It's much too dangerous to stay here." These embers could land in my hair! I just can't have that happen.

Startled by the explosion from the temple, Eoli quickly begins to back out of the courtyard. "Yes. Let's get out of here. I don't want to deal with any more fire right now." Shuddering, he realizes there might have been other caught in the explosion. As much as I want to help, those flames are too much for me. Forgive me!

Shira'stasa cringes at the sound and sight of the temple's floor collapsing. "We'll come back later for the gold," she says. "We can decide then what we'll do with it. For now, let's get a safe distance away so that we don't end up like these poor sods here," she suggests and begins stepping away from the temple toward the street alongside the orc. At least this time it wasn't be causing the structure-fires, she jests to herself. Not funny -- there are people dead, maybe innocents.

As the party steps into the street you hear the sound again, this time more distant. The dark street is suddenly bathed in orange and looking up you see several balls of fire streaking across the sky. Most headed straight for the Fort in the centre of the city. As you watch, a couple barrel into the walls of the Fort, sending debris crashing down to the ground.

"Well I guess that war, or whatever, has caught up to us. Maybe it would be a good time to try to head to the capital, now," Cleo says, as the Fort comes under assault from afar. She continues moving away from the temple and the fort, headed more towards the docks in hopes that there will be people attempting to flee. Why can't we just have a peaceful day for once? Ugh. How am I supposed to research with all this chaos?

"We need to leave this place, and now," Shira'stasa says, agreeing with her fellow Tenant as she steps alongside her. "This chaos with the Rakh... we should probably find out which cities and roads are safe. This civil war will have everyone on edge and I'd rather not become an Azkahirian slave in this madness."

"War? I certainly picked the wrong time to tour the cities of Serran," Juliette says, a look of terror on her face from the sudden explosions that erupted from within the city. "Imardin is much more stable than this!"

"Perhaps Imardin is peaceful now," Shira'stasa says in response. "But not two centuries ago. Maybe this revolt is a good thing for the Kingdom. Then again, maybe not. We'll have to survive this attack to find that out, I guess. Come on!"

Geral doesn't flinch when the fort is hit. If anything he just sighs and looks about, thinking.
"As much as a war is good for someone like me, usually it's only good when there are a lot of people like me around to sell our services and this is not one of those times. Hasty retreat is indeed the best option here. Follow me, I should know the way to the docks."

He waves the group on as he tries to remember the path he took earlier to get to the docks, realizing it is a good distance away given that path, but it's better than trying to find it by bumbling about.

Unsettled by the ferocity of the attack going on around them, Eoli watches as fireballs rain down on the city. Why, dammit! There's too much damn burning happening today!

"While I agree that we should get out of this place quickly, we should attempt to help those that we cross paths with." he says, attempting to ignore the sounds of explosions in the background. "There area a lot of otherwise peaceful people in this place. It would be terrible for them to fall in this attack."

Cleo somewhat unwillingly lets Geral take the lead, figuring it will be fastest to let the only of them who has actually been to the docks take point. It's not like it would be hard to find, but whatever.

"Help them do what, exactly?" she calls back to Eoli as she continues on, not really liking the idea of slowing down for random strangers. "To run faster? I am sure they can do that on their own. In fact, they probably already are." She holds the cat tightly to her chest as she continues on, not wanting to drop it.

"It would be terrible for us to fall in this attack while trying to help people. My own safety triumphs ahead of a person I've never met. They can take care of themselves," Juliette chimes in, not keen on the orc's idea.

Geral leads the groups on a twisting and turning route through the streets. Almost empty minutes ago, the streets are now filled with people, patrols of legionnaires rush towards the walls while citizens can be seen carrying as many of their possessions as possible. You pass a few men looting however not even the passing soldiers pay them any attention, the explosions and rhythmic drumming echoing over the walls of the city, a more pressing concern for them.

Eventually the docks come into sight, however Geral's long path meant it took you much longer than it would have taken any of the locals who knew the streets. Most of the boats appear to have already left or are in the process of leaving, people flooding on board.

A frown graces Cleo's face as she sees the state of the docks, though she isn't particularly surprised. Ugh, why did we let that oaf lead us? I could have probably gotten here way faster. "What are we going to do now?" she thinks aloud, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Well, unless we find a boat with enough room for our group, we'll have to buckle down in the city or try and escape from the other end of town. That is, unless this army has us surrounded," Shira'stasa suggests. This is a disaster, she thinks. At least it was a convenient escape for the mess at the temple.

Geral sighs as he looks about the docks. He was afraid of this.
"We might be able to squeeze into something. Once it gets down to the last few boats this dock will probably turn into a brawl with people jockeying for position. come on, there's no point standing here, let's at least try and get on board."

He moves to the crowd of people trying to evacuate, hoping he can push his way forward fast enough for the group to get a spot.

"What docks are you looking at?" Cleo asks sarcastically. "They are already down to only a few boats, and it is already like that. It's a mess down there." She follows behind him anyway, hoping that he is right about being able to squeeze in. I am so sick of this town, ugh. If I get trapped here I might just have to burn it down myself.

"We may not all be able to fit on the same vessel," Shira'stasa says as she follows Geral and Cleo in the mob of people. "Of course, I could always persuade some citizens to make room for us," she says, gripping her codex closely.

The party manages to make its way close to the end of a jetty where a large river barge is preparing to cast off, already almost full of people. "Get outta my way!" A man says as he barges passed Geral. As he does so, his clothes catch on the Mercenary's armour revealing a burned tattoo on his upper arm.

Seeing the man's tattoo, Geral can almost grin with his fortune. Whatever fates are watching him, they sure make it easy to find his targets, that's for sure. He reaches out and grabs the mans arm, stepping forward and pressing his blade tot he man's side as he pushes him along.
"If you're in such a hurry, then by all means, let's go together. After all, it will be a long boat ride, and I have oh so very many things I want to talk to you about. Traitor."
Geral's voice almost seethes with magical hatred as he smiles to the man, making it clear the man is in a now even worse situation.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Intimidate the ex-malachite using Arcane mutterings: 16(1d20) +13 = 29

Combat Block

[SHOW]

"And this is where I would put my combat block, had I not forgotten it"

love, GROM

"You!" The man says as he faces Geral, clearly intimidated by the mercenary. "And you!" He says noticing Shira'stasa, growing noticeably more scared.

With Geral's sword drawn, some of the crowd parts to let the party through, not wanting to start a fight. Eventually you all make it onto the fairly crowded barge, finding space to sit down on some crates of whatever good the barge was meant to be ferrying.

"Hey, is he one of the ones that ran way?" Cleo asks, as she steps aboard the ship, glad for the good fortune. She takes a seat one one of the crates as the loudmouth threatens the man, only semi-interested. "There, one you can interrogate," she says, turning her attention to Eoli. "Happy now?" She gives a big, fake smile, before turning back to face the two mercenaries. This should be interesting.

"Geral seems to have a pretty good handle on the interrogation part, already. And the attitude is not appreciated." Eoli says to Cleo's back. "But, yes. I am happy that we have a source of information now."

Looking back to the masses still on the docks, his heart falls. "I hope those that don't get a place manage to survive." It's not likely, but I know I can do nothing about that for now. This situation seems familiar to me.

Shira'stasa smirks at the humorous coincedence of bumping into one of the cowards she frightened off earlier. She sidles up next to Geral, speaking in a low tone. "Throw him off the boat when you're done with him. He and his kind murdered that priest out-right."

Juliette smiles smugly at Cleo's sass towards Eoli, pleased that the orc can't nag anymore. As the moment passes, she says, "So where are you all headed after this anyways? And would you mind if I tagged along? I've got some unfinished business in Serran, not to mention that I'm stuck here."

Cleo sticks her tongue out at Eoli, before turning to respond to the newcomer with a smile. "Well, I've been trying to get to Crescent Bluff - the capital - so I can visit their temple to Sek-bas. I hear it is quite magnificent, and she is the primary focus of my studies, so I am currently on a sabbatical from the Library to study up on her."

Her smile turns to a grimace as she thinks about the events of the past few days. "All the fighting here has made it slow-moving, though. First I - we - get ambushed, and saved by some guy who makes us all take a stupid piece of paper to Thesus, where we run into those thugs and now I guess attacked by someone. Very annoying, I am sick of it all. I just want to quietly read up on the gods in a grand temple, is that too much to ask?"

Geral looks the man up and down, then shakes his head and clucks his tongue. What a waste. Couldn't be helped though, he got himself in this situation after all.
"So. Anything you want to tell me now? Or do I have to make with the stabbing and the throwing overboard? On the other hand, I could hand you off to Juliette here and we could see what she has to say on the matter of men like you killing her family. I'm sure she has plenty to ask as well."
He motions to Juliette, who he remembers using the scythe to rather great effect.

"Oh, do I have a lot to say," she says, pulling out her still-bloody sickle. Smiling maliciously at the mercenary, she brings the sickle closer to the man, lightly grazing his neck with the dull end. "So, do you and your chums get a sick kick out of killing children? Does the blood of a child running through your hands give you pleasure? What the hell is wrong with you people? Killing a mother's child? Of all the low things someone could do." Frowning angrily at the man, she calmly adds, "Je trancher la gorge dès maintenant si vous n'avez pas eu l'information potentielle."

Imardanian Translation

[SHOW]

"I would slit your throat right now if you didn't have potential information."

Shira'stasa narrows her eyes at the man, staring straight into his. "What were you and your coward friends doing at the temple?" she asks, letting Geral do most of the interrogation. All I have to do is a puff of smoke, a flash of flame. Then he'll talk, the Tenant thinks to herself, haughtily.

Cleo watches as the others interrogate, mostly uninterested in the situation. He's going to talk, no need for everyone to get so in his face about it. She already terrified him once, I am sure that fear is still there. She looks around the boat, taking a seat for herself, and observes the others on board, specifically their reactions to the interrogation at hand. All the while she continues to stroke the cat. I wonder what its name is. I'll have to ask later.

Eoli sighs in relief, sitting down on a nearby crate. At least we're relatively safe here. Hopefully the river is still clear. He watches Geral and Shira'stasa interrogate the man with half-lidded eyes, mildly interested in the talking, but feeling the effects of the last few minutes start to set in. He peeks over at the cat Cleo picked up. "A new pet? I'm not sure how that'll work out."

"He was the High Priest's," Cleo responds to the orc, not quite as annoyed with him as before. "I couldn't let him stay in there, you know? I can take care of a cat, it should be fine."

"Ah, the high priest's." Eoli says, leaning back and watching the fireballs fall on the city. "I've no issues with you keeping it, and gods know it would have died in the fire had you left it there. I was just wondering how it will hold out if we're to be encountering things like this attack, or going after that Vor-kaleth."

He sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. "I used to have a... well, I called it a pet horse, but it was really just a pack mule that I cared for. That was many years ago."

"Well what do you want to know?" The man asks Geral, clearly still scared of the Mercenary. "I never did anything like that!" He says, his eyes growing wide with yet more fear, this time directed at Juliette's threats. "We've been using it as a safe house recently," he replies quickly to Shira'stasa, his head darting from person to person as they interrogate him.

"Well I could just set him down," Cleo says, shooting the man an odd look. "It's not like I'd carry him into a fight, you know. I am not cruel." She rolls her eyes to herself at the mention of the mule, though hopes he didn't see. Why all the touchy-feely-ness? Is he trying to bond with me? What a weird old man.

"And what happened to the mule?" she asks, purely for the purpose of moving the conversation along. I bet he ate it, I heard orcs love the taste.

Geral looks at the others and shrugs.
"Well, let's see. How many people have you robbed recently. Why did the high priest let you stay there... Know of any other places that the bandits are staying at... Hm, what else... How many people have you killed recently as it would be nice to let the authorities know that before they lock you up, really makes a difference you see."

"Oh, no no. I never expected you to take it into a fight. Just, what happens if we're surprised by something? You really think a cat will stick around while you're off punching bandits?" Eoli says, chuckling slightly at the thought of the small Tenant wading into battle with a cat on her shoulders. How majestic.

At Cleo's question, though, his face falls. He pauses for a long moment, before finally speaking quietly. "It was killed and burned, much like the rest of the village I was raised in."

"Ah," is all Cleo can initially muster, not really sure how to respond. Well that got heavy. She continues to pet the cat, looking around the boat for a moment in an attempt to think of a follow-up.

After some moments of thought, she finally adds, "was it bandits? Why would someone burn down a whole village? Even I wouldn't do that, and I love burning things."

"He let us stay there as we was bribing him, and I don't know about any places other than our main camp, near Bravais," the bandit replies to Geral. "I don't know, how many people have you killed recently?"

"Slavers." Eoli says simply, before turning to watch Geral interrogate the bandit. "Not much of a difference in the long run, but... bandits, at least, usually have standards."

"Hm, no wonder that annoying elf was so negative all the time," she thinks aloud. "If we run into them, want me to set them on fire?" She shoots the orc a devious smirk, proud of the suggestion.

Geral raises an eyebrow at the man, surprised he made the jab.
"Really. No, really, you're being serious. You're asking me how many I've killed. Right now, when we outnumber you and have you at our mercy, you're making jabs. This... This is funny. Stupid funny, but funny. You have one weird fear response, anyone tell you that?"

"I don't exactly have much to lose now do I?" the bandit replies to Geral. "If you've got a map or something I can show you where our main camp is. That's what you want right? But you will have to let me go."

The barge soon passes beyond the city's walls, revealing what stands before them. Uncountable men stand in perfect formations, their shields raised blocking arrows from the city's defenders. Behind them, siege weapons loose volley after volley sending yet more fire streaking across the night sky, illuminating the battlefield.

Cleo jolts her head towards the shore as they pass outside of the city, the sight of the army somewhat of a shock despite that it was almost certain there'd be one. She watches in conflicted awe as the balls of fire streak through the sky, admiring their use but still angry that it was to her inconvenience. "I thought the war would take a little longer to spread," she says quietly, to no one in particular. Hopefully it doesn't reach Crescent Bluff.

"Yes, right here," Shira'stasa replies to the man's words, cracking open her tome. She leafs through the pages for a moment, flipping it toward him carefully, revealing a detailed map of the Serran Empire. "Point to it. I won't have you sully my codex, mind you." She momentarily loses focus as she turns in awe to look at the scene of the war unfold before her. Many will die, and for what? Power? Ego? Foolish.