The Rights of All (Open)

[111]

The Elezen juts an accusatory finger at the fiery haired woman,

 

"Here we have ourselves a slave. So accustomed to the whip and collar she praises its virtues." She adjusts her glasses slightly, "Even more so, you speak of our governance being heavenly ordained. So the twelve stand for corruption? Filth? Cruelty and ignorance?" She laughs bitterly, "I think we believe in a different twelve, dog. No gods worthy of the name would be happy with the state of affairs in this city, and do not insult their names by suggesting as much." She glares at, "Go back to sucking at Nanamo's teat, if you are so fond of her rule. If rule it can be called, she is little more than a trained parrot, repeating the lines of the syndicate."

[Antain]

At the mention of 'whip and collar', Vaughn shrank back, clinging to Jaques's arm. Be was clearly uncomfortable, and this woman's yelling about slavery within what is supposed to be law and order just made it worse. He no longer looked at her, keeping eyes to the ground and at Jaques's feet, enclosing himself in his own mind bubble, waiting until Jaques wished to leave.

[DreamedReality]

He'd been about to ask followup questions of the raving elezen when the crimson robed miqo'te had beaten him to it. So he lapsed to silence, instead listening to the words spoken by the gathering crowd.

 

He'd been about to speak again when the red-haired midlander had spoken up and again he held his silence, eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the gleaming official armour the woman wore.

 

Instead of further talk he decided to meld back into the crowd, dragging Vaughn with him. Easy enough to do since all eyes were now drawn the the Sultana's private guard and the loud elezen on her box. Let them think he was just there for the spectacle. Which was mostly true. He wasn't quite sure what would be done to a woman spouting such things on a crowded street. Especially with the recent riots. 

 

As he leans back against the far wall he catches sight of the wrapped Sounsyy. She hadn't noticed him yet and he watched her finger the pommel of her weapon. It was difficult to tell what the miqo'te was thinking, so wrapped in fabric, but he could tell she was very focus on the spectacle before them. He immediately is on full alert as he starts scanning the shadows and other recesses of the busy street from his taller vantage. Making certain he was between the covered miqo'te and Vaughn and looking for similarly dressed and weaponed figures. This -would- make a very public ambush and statement for this 'Republic of Ul'dah' ...

[Coatleque]

As the Blade moved forward towards the woman, the Knight's arm snapped outward and caught him by the chest to keep him back for a few moments longer.

 

"Dog am I? Slave even? You know not whom you speak with to level such accusations. Tell me why it is so horrible to know one's place in the order of the world? You place venomous words in my mouth with one breath and malign the Twelve with the next. I wouldst think more carefully on such heresy lest someone less understanding mistake your heritage for that of our less than friendly neighbor.

 

Of course the gods look upon us and weep at the current state of affairs. It is our responsibility to purge the corruption, not to wipe the slate entirely. Even so, if you believe the city so removed from saving, why do you remain?"

[111]

The Elezen flicks a fringe of hair from her eyes, laughing loudly, "How limited is your viewpoint, though little more can be expected from a dog of the state." She seems oblivious to the gathering tension as more blades approach.

 

"I know who I speak, I speak to a murderer in the guise of a hero, of a trained dog in the attire of a knight. You have spent your entire life on your master's floor, content to eat her scraps, and you have convinced yourself it is your place in life." She stomps a heeled boot onto the crate, "Do not assume it is the way of the world, nor the will of the twelve. I assume you threaten me now with a connection to Garlemald? Such is simply the sad state of Ul'dah, that any dissension must be treason."

 

"My only master is myself, and the struggle for equality. And do not equate the city with the Sultanate, dog, one may perish yet the other will remain. Do you have any more questions, you subservient bitch? Or do you need to return to your master, so she can continue whoring herself to the Syndicate's will?"

[Coatleque]

Coatleque furrowed her brows with narrowed eyes.

 

"The end of dissension is treason, Miss. Lest you have a separate definition of the word. Though I should have expected no less from manners of an uneducated elbst. You claim I know not the machinations of the Twelve, yet you demand that we presume you do?"

 

She shook her head.

 

"I'll stand here and bandy insults no longer. Wouldst that you were raging only against the Monetarists I may have been persuaded to try and stay the course of your judgement. However I shall brook no threats to the sovereignty of my liege. I pray the Twelve show you mercy as I am sure the Blades will not."

 

With that she removed her hand from the Blade next to her, turned, and walked away.

[ProvaDiServo]

Platinum Starr had stood amongst the crowd, listening to the poisonous exchange between the two women. The brunette had scraps of what was once a flyer clenched tightly in her velveteen gloves

[111]

She paused a moment, watching the Paladin leave, "Yes, run back to your master, you cur! Perhaps serve her a few delicacies as the people starve!"

 

"I like that one." She muses to herself briefly, before pulling back a leg to avoid the grab of a rust colored gauntlet. She clears her throat and looks at the grim-faced thugs approaching her makeshift perch. "Well then, it seems today's lesson is over."

 

She hikes up her skirt, as numerous small spheres drop out from under it, rattling off the box and rolling into the crowd. "The Struggle goes ever onward!" She shouts as she kicks the Brass Blade back, and the spheres erupt into clouds of blinding smoke.

[Sounsyy]

Sounsyy stifled a laugh as the Elezen rained verbal abuse down upon the one Sultansworn who had spoken up. Seems the girl wasn't as daft as she let on. She enjoyed the exchange while it lasted, but then the Sultansworn let go of the leash holding the Brass Blades back. Suddenly the humor was gone.

 

The moment the Brass Blade grabbed the Elezen girl's leg, Sounsyy's shortsword was already drawn and the Miqo'te was already a third of the distance to the makeshift stage, but the Elezen had come prepared. One sphere rolled in front of Sounsyy, and in nearly the same second that she noticed it, the sphere sparked to life and spewed a cloud of smoke into her face. She reeled away with a surprised yelp and lost sight of the Elezen.

 

At least yer more than words.

 

Knowing the Elezen would be making her escape, Sounsyy sheathed her sword and ducked into one of the many side alleys the Elezen could've used as an exit.

[Telluride]

The broad-shouldered bard sucked the inside of his cheek as the exchange between the armored Hyur and the Elezen heated; he tapped his foot as if some unknown rhythm were playing itself in his head. As the armored form withdrew, and the city authority stepped in, he clucked his tongue, and said, mostly to himself. "Bit of a waste there..."

 

And then, with a clatter and a shout, the street became a smoky chaos. He simply stood there for a moment, his face scrunched up as if he'd tasted something sour.

 

Then he laughed, for longer than he had any real need to, trying to catch his breath, less for the smoke but for the performance.

[FreelanceWizard]

L'yhta's first indication that she wasn't going to be able to leave quite so easily was when she bumped right into a Roegadyn's chest, the fellow having turned around to watch the heated exchange between the Sultansworn and the crier. "Ah, sorry," she mumbled as she tried to work her away around him, only to find the crowd rather more dense as the Brass Blades closed in. "Byregot's bollocks," she groused as she took a hard right, trying to squeeze through the crowd to a more open area.

 

And then, with rapid fire pops, the smoke bombs went off.

 

As the smoke started to fill the road and the crowd began its predictable and predictably chaotic reaction, the mage reached into her robes to grasp hold of her small "holdout" rod and crouched down, taking advantage of the confusion to make her way towards a nearby alley.

 

"Thal's balls! I understand making a quick exit, but! This's likely to get people hurt," she commented to herself, then looked around to regain her bearings and, perhaps, catch sight of the speaker or anyone in need of aid.

[Coatleque]

The Paladin stopped with a half-duck for a moment when she heard the pops behind her. Turning back toward the crowd. "Bloody hells." She made her way back towards the area, being careful not to be in peoples' way.

 

As more Blades began to arrive she handed out orders as quickly as she could. "You three, keep that crowd back. We don't need more to start gathering. You and you, help those others out of the smoke. Keep them from trampling each other." She only stopped briefly to scan the road beyond the crowd and see if she could catch a glimpse of the fleeing woman. "And here I thought the city was growing dull."

 

The rest of her time was spent directing Blades and trying to keep the crowd under control till they could all safely disperse.

[DreamedReality]

Jaques narrows his eyes as the Blades advanced and the fabric clad miqo'te had drawn her weapon. Things were about to get ugly... Which he was right but ugly in a different sort of way than he initially feared. He noticed the small object rolling to a stop in front of Sounsyy and erupt into a plume of blinding dark smoke. Then he lost sight of her.

 

He tries to put himself in front of Vaughn, keeping them both pressed back against the far wall as he attempted to keep them out of the line of any panicked city-dwellers or overly sensitive adventurer. "You all right, love?"

 

His sensitive hearing trying to pick up what was going on amidst the chaos as he waited for a reply from Vaughn. He could hear someone laughing, plenty of coughing and scared or angry cries. A few yelps of pain. He could hear but not understand the voice of the red-haired sultansworn and other commanding tones of the Blades.

 

Presently a terrified lalafell stumbled out of the haze and ran face first into the wall. Pawing at it desperately once she found her way blocked and then crouching and trembling. As he shifted slightly to stand in front both Vaughn and this lalafell as best he could while he decided it was best just to stay put for the moment and let the fog lift.

[T'shina]

The miqo'te watched the exchange. Her blue eyes narrowed as the insults came rolling in. Shina held respect for the Sultana and knew the reputation of the Lady Knight. Only tension came and soon things got heated and the Brass Blades started their way in. Quickly eyes scanned the crowd and she looked to a Hyur child, a refugee by her clothes had gotten his way through. She shifts and presses a hand to the boy's shoulder. His green eyes looking up at her in awe before the escape was implemented. Smoke filled and many grew disoriented. The tension causing violence. Shina curled herself over the boy to keep him from being jostled. Shouts erupting and she lifted him up and used her small size to help her through the crowd. Once the smoke had thinned she coughed out for the boy to run and he did so without hesitation. She straightened up and turned to look to where chaos ensued. "Twelve watch over us... I need to tell Mister Locke."

[111]

The Elezen slides a handkerchief over her mouth and slides into the crowd like a fish into water. As she flows throw the agitated masses with suspiciously practiced movements, she removes both the bands from her hair, letting it flow behind her, and slips her glasses into a pocket. She reaches the edge of safety, and, shrugging off her coat, heads into a nearby alley. She had worn a chain shirt underneath for insurance, and had she been any slower in escaping, it would have been needed.

 

 

She darts down the alley, before slowly coming to a stop, an unfamiliar miqo'te before her, "Hello there Sister..." She says slowly, taking up a pose that belies her unease, "Mind letting me pass?"

[Antain]

Vaughn nodded at Jaques's question, clinging to him as much as he was pressed against the wall. "Yes, love, of course," he whispered. He couldn't see what was going on at this point, no matter how much he tried. Attempting to not pay attention before was certainly not helping his current situation. A hand slipped under his open shirt, slipping past the cloth that kept his bandolier hidden, gripping the handle of one of his rose-engraved silver daggers. Of all the times to leave the bow at home... Bows were too clunky for city streets, however. Perhaps this was for the best.

 

As the lalafell joined him behind Jaques, he taps the tall Duskwight on the shoulder with his free hand. He knew the bearded man was poised to move. "Lead on. I'm right behind you."

[DreamedReality]

Jaques shakes his head, hazarding a glance down to the lalafell, crouched down into a small a ball as she could get. One hand pressed to her bleeding nose and the other over her head as tho to lessen a blow and trembling all over.

 

"No... We should be safe enough here against the wall while the smoke lifts more... and I don't think she's fit to move."

[Melodia]

In the ensuing chaos and the smoke Melodia covered her mouth and backed off, eyes narrowing as she scanned the crowd that she could see, but unable to locate the Elezen woman. She cursed under breath.

 

"Gods damn it....."

 

She took a breath and closed her eyes, ensuring she remembered that face....etched in her mind.

 

She hoped she would see this woman again, only next time in a set of shackles.

[Steel Wolf]

The Roegadyn, being taller than most of the crowd, was able to react perhaps slightly faster than most at the smoke bombs going off.  Regardless, she wasn't exactly expecting explosives to pour out of the woman's bodice, and she was caught up in the confusion as much as anyone else.

 

Steel took a few steps back and away from the billowing smoke cloud, letting her gain a few moments before the smoke would also envelop her vision.  She curled her arm over her mouth and nose as a shield in case the smoke was caustic, but otherwise her reaction was not as swift as anyone else's.

 

She thought she had seen the figure of the Elezen dart through the crowd, but the milling people in surprise and panic made her unsure.  She heard the voice of the Sultansworn woman barking orders and decided to make her life easier by withdrawing away from the chaos.

 

Never a dull moment in Ul'dah...

[Telluride]

The bard's laughter gave way to coughs s the lingering smoke particles began drifting his way, and he wiped a watering eye with the back of his right hand, which made it a little worse.

 

"Smoke pellets. Overdramatic, flashy, prone to make the audience cough when they should be applauding... but rather perfect, in this case."

 

He rubbed the back of his neck, and, dodging the scattering townies as best he could, he started scanning the ground, talking lowly to himself.

 

"Now, if those smoky little devils were the sort that leave casings, we might see how to set up an act two."

[Sounsyy]

Sounsyy wheeled around at the sound of the voice behind her. An Elezen met her gaze, one Sounsyy didn't immediately recognize. So with an apparently embarrassed stammer, she pressed herself to one side to allow the Elezen passage. Then it struck her, as she looked upon the Elezen from the side, that this one and the last held strikingly similar countenances. But if any recognition had shown on the Miqo'te's face, it could not be seen beneath the layers of fabric she had used to cloak her face and torso.

 

But she stayed pressed against the wall and gestured with her hand to indicate the way through was open to the Elezen should she decide to take it. Her other hand rested on her hip, mere ilms from the pommel of her shortsword.

 

"Aye, lass, you can pass."

 

Sounsyy's usually vapid eyes studied the Elezen intently. Was it really the same person? She had to be sure. Her mind still racing to decide whether it was worth aiding this girl's cause or ending it before it began. And if this wasn't the right Elezen, the real doppelganger was getting away...

[Antain]

Vaughn stayed pressed against the wall, relaxing a bit but doesn't take his had off the dagger. He tried to keep his eyes open and alert to any additional oncoming danger, taking a step to shield the lalafell with his leg, which was all the movement he could accomplish. Not that he minded. Just so long as he could move if and when he had to.

 

As the smoke started to become unbearable, he lifted the scarf that covered his bandolier over his nose and mouth. Better to show off a trick than to pass out from suffocation and be useless in a fight.

[111]

"Many thanks Sister."

 

Her eyes flit over to the naked threat of the Miqo'tes hand hovering near the weapon. She pauses for a moment, "Stab me if you wish, or else meet me in the refugee camp if you wish to speak further." She looks behind her briefly, then moves to hustle past the Miqo'te, unless she is stopped.