Roen tugged on the cowl of her hooded cloak as she ducked out of The Gold Court, her eyes warily looking about as she began to make her way toward the Gate of Thal. Her meeting with Broken Nose was a quiet one, shared over a sandwich under the fountain, the quiet babble of the water masking much of their muted conversation.
Her thoughts were a whirl with some of the updates she had received, both from the Roegadyn Brass Blade and from an earlier meeting with Mister North. The Hellsguard confirmed what she was already expecting to hear. There were rumors about that since the three Monetarist warehouses were raided, that the security had been heightened and blame had been eagerly dispensed to any and all who could have been responsible. Broken Nose counted himself fortunate that suspicion had not been cast his way as yet, and even though the Roegadyn put up a brave front, Roen could tell there was wariness behind his dark eyes.
But the Monetarists were starting to founder, starting to suspect each other in who was betraying whom--so much so that there was another agent from Lolorito that was sent to “clean up†the mess. Mister North had been privy to the meeting between someone he referred to as Master Zuka and the noble Jameson Taeros. He had noted that Taeros sounded almost deferential in his conversation with the Lalafell, and that this Lalafell Enforcer seemed to be very well informed. The two Monetarists spoke of her and Nero, but also had discussed nearly all of her allies, including her brother, and even Qaeli Varily, a friend to both her and Gharen.
While this meant that her plan was working--to throw more chaos and disorder into the ranks of the Monetarists and turn their focus towards their own troubles in Ul’dah--it also meant that her efforts here were started to get noticed, and the list of enemies was growing. If only this opportunity unveiled more weaknesses that she could capitalize on...
Her thoughts and her steps froze when a distant crack rang out from the far end of Pearl Lane. At first, her thought was to look up at the sky, as if to expect rain. But it was not the sound of lightning she had heard. That was a gunshot.
Roen instinctively reached behind her back to draw out her shield, her fingers sliding into the grooved handle even as her pace quickened down Pearl Lane. She had heard shots from pistols and rifles before, but it was mostly in Vylbrand and her homeland Garlemald. But here? In Ul’dah? Before drawing her sword, her free hand reached into her pouch and withdrew a pearl that she inserted into her right ear.
“Broken Nose, shot fired. Pearl Lane. Relay to Brass Blades...and the Immortal Flames if you can.†She knew she could have used the pearl that sergeant Melkire had given her, but she was not exactly sure who else was on that shell. She had hoped that Broken Nose could contact whatever law enforcement was nearby. He had access to the linkshell that the Blades, Sworns, and the Immortal Flames all shared. She hurried down the street, even as she passed panicked refugees running away from the scene.
The paladin skidded to a stop at a turn, hearing voices. She gave a glance around the corner and spotted a showdown between two groups. One man was bleeding on the ground, motionless. The larger group of men was looking up; she followed their gaze to the open windows above them. Roen thought she spotted at least one rifle poking out. A robed Elezen stood amongst the smaller group of men, in his hand an ornate pistol.
Roen’s eyes narrowed. She had never before seen the firearm's like outside of Vylbrand. She ducked back out of sight and summoned aether with a quick, practiced cast, and a thin layer of stone began to form from her fingertips, wrapping around her gloved hand, then her armored limb. A layer made of hardened earth began to coil around her entire form, but fading and ultimately disappearing as soon as it came. The paladin knew enough of pistols and guns, after all; gunblades were a well used weapons in Garlemald. Any unarmored body would be vulnerable to a single well placed shot. One had to close the distance on the shooter before that shot was fired, else any blade held in hand was useless.
With multiple rifles atop buildings and another pistol wielder at ground level, this was not something Roen could rush into and expect to survive. But she could not wait either--there could be more shots fired and more violence erupting before others could arrive. Perhaps she could end the face-off before it turned into something more bloody.
The paladin took a deep breath and called out, “Cease and desist! Brass Blades and the Flames have been alerted! Drop your weapons before this ends even worse for all of you!â€
Her thoughts were a whirl with some of the updates she had received, both from the Roegadyn Brass Blade and from an earlier meeting with Mister North. The Hellsguard confirmed what she was already expecting to hear. There were rumors about that since the three Monetarist warehouses were raided, that the security had been heightened and blame had been eagerly dispensed to any and all who could have been responsible. Broken Nose counted himself fortunate that suspicion had not been cast his way as yet, and even though the Roegadyn put up a brave front, Roen could tell there was wariness behind his dark eyes.
But the Monetarists were starting to founder, starting to suspect each other in who was betraying whom--so much so that there was another agent from Lolorito that was sent to “clean up†the mess. Mister North had been privy to the meeting between someone he referred to as Master Zuka and the noble Jameson Taeros. He had noted that Taeros sounded almost deferential in his conversation with the Lalafell, and that this Lalafell Enforcer seemed to be very well informed. The two Monetarists spoke of her and Nero, but also had discussed nearly all of her allies, including her brother, and even Qaeli Varily, a friend to both her and Gharen.
While this meant that her plan was working--to throw more chaos and disorder into the ranks of the Monetarists and turn their focus towards their own troubles in Ul’dah--it also meant that her efforts here were started to get noticed, and the list of enemies was growing. If only this opportunity unveiled more weaknesses that she could capitalize on...
Her thoughts and her steps froze when a distant crack rang out from the far end of Pearl Lane. At first, her thought was to look up at the sky, as if to expect rain. But it was not the sound of lightning she had heard. That was a gunshot.
Roen instinctively reached behind her back to draw out her shield, her fingers sliding into the grooved handle even as her pace quickened down Pearl Lane. She had heard shots from pistols and rifles before, but it was mostly in Vylbrand and her homeland Garlemald. But here? In Ul’dah? Before drawing her sword, her free hand reached into her pouch and withdrew a pearl that she inserted into her right ear.
“Broken Nose, shot fired. Pearl Lane. Relay to Brass Blades...and the Immortal Flames if you can.†She knew she could have used the pearl that sergeant Melkire had given her, but she was not exactly sure who else was on that shell. She had hoped that Broken Nose could contact whatever law enforcement was nearby. He had access to the linkshell that the Blades, Sworns, and the Immortal Flames all shared. She hurried down the street, even as she passed panicked refugees running away from the scene.
The paladin skidded to a stop at a turn, hearing voices. She gave a glance around the corner and spotted a showdown between two groups. One man was bleeding on the ground, motionless. The larger group of men was looking up; she followed their gaze to the open windows above them. Roen thought she spotted at least one rifle poking out. A robed Elezen stood amongst the smaller group of men, in his hand an ornate pistol.
Roen’s eyes narrowed. She had never before seen the firearm's like outside of Vylbrand. She ducked back out of sight and summoned aether with a quick, practiced cast, and a thin layer of stone began to form from her fingertips, wrapping around her gloved hand, then her armored limb. A layer made of hardened earth began to coil around her entire form, but fading and ultimately disappearing as soon as it came. The paladin knew enough of pistols and guns, after all; gunblades were a well used weapons in Garlemald. Any unarmored body would be vulnerable to a single well placed shot. One had to close the distance on the shooter before that shot was fired, else any blade held in hand was useless.
With multiple rifles atop buildings and another pistol wielder at ground level, this was not something Roen could rush into and expect to survive. But she could not wait either--there could be more shots fired and more violence erupting before others could arrive. Perhaps she could end the face-off before it turned into something more bloody.
The paladin took a deep breath and called out, “Cease and desist! Brass Blades and the Flames have been alerted! Drop your weapons before this ends even worse for all of you!â€
