Chapter One: Outbreak

"Sorry doctor, it's the best we can do. Come on!"

Before she quite gets out of the building she spots a large figure dressed in armour, upon hearing her voice they respond. Balara? Aren't you a sight for sore eyes. Quick lets help this man then.

Wynn cursed internally. This is not how he wanted his first meeting with the local authority to go, but if his plans were to work, honesty may be the best policy. He only wished there weren't so big a crowd.
Dropping the facade of exhaustion, he meets the eyes of the Lord. "You're right. That was no street magic. That was the work of great spirits who have long laid dormant in this world. I simply asked them for help, and guided their hands."
He keeps his voice low, so that only the Lord, the Guards, and his companions can hear him. "I fear if I had not intervened, these people would be facing much greater peril. I am new to these parts, so I am sorry if I have broken some rule that I was not made aware of."

The speed with which the situation had spun wildly out of control left Elendin slightly dizzied. Not only had her new companion just undercut her conjuring trick gambit and revealed her to be lying about the whole thing - in front of a substantial crowd and a sinister dandy with an armed entourage - but an additional stranger had seen fit to step forward to praise them both lavishly for their "heroic" use of unnatural powers. It was as if the entire city had gone insane, and were hellbent on taking Elendin with them.

El thought back to the moment she'd snuffed out the fire around the doorway. How many people had seen that? How many of them had realized that it was her doing? She might have been able to feign ignorance that anything unnatural was amiss, even in the face of her companion's sudden confession ("I don't know what you mean! He told me he was a street conjurer. He does card tricks, makes coins appear from children's ears!"), but now that this other fool had branded her a hero, even people who hadn't actually seen her work the magic would probably "remember" her doing it.

And of course, if anyone in the crowd recognized her, they would likely have heard that she'd been expelled from Master Leonin's mentorship for causing some sort of destruction in his studio. Whether they'd heard rumors about the nature of that destruction or not, their imaginations would certainly be set alight by this public accusation of using "magical" powers. She could feel rage building inside her again. To give in to it would mean almost certain death, to her and these two idiots with whom she'd become entwined, but she could at least channel it into making the best of this situation.

Tears welled in Elendin's eyes. Her lower lip trembled, then she cast her gaze to the ground and let her shoulders droop. "It's true," she whispered hoarsely. "I don't know how I did it or where it came from. I didn't ask for this wretched power, don't even want it. But when I saw the fire and heard the screams of the innocents trapped inside it, I couldn't let them die if I was able to help save them." Then, realizing that she needed to explain her earlier flagrant lying, she added, "I assumed this man was similarly afflicted, so I tried to help him pass off his actions as street magic to appease the crowd. People sometimes do terrible things when they're afraid."

She turned her tearful countenance back to the man with the red feathered hat, all her energy pouring into the effort to seem sad, remorseful, and resigned to her fate.

Balara is taken by surprise at the sight before her, the night becoming more unexpected. "Creature of stone?...Venture! Whatever are you doing here? Doesn't matter, make haste!" Yanking his hand she pulls him down the stairs. "Afterwards there are fascinating symbols you simply must see, hopefully we have enough time for proper study and make a retreat." Her excitement is obvious, under less stressful circumstances she would consider this a fantastic day.

Venture resists the gnomes pull just long enough to secure a rope to a sturdy looking banister. In case these stairs also fail under their weight. Then they head down the stairs, this time trying to be coutios of structural weak points.

Hallion is taken aback by the menace of the guards, their foppish leader, and Elendin's seeming horror at her gifts. Suddenly unsure of himself, he wilts before the guards. "Sir, I mean no offence. I simply offer myself as witness to the good of these assembled here."

"It's wonderful to see you again, Doctor, though I wish it were under better circumstances. My parents are well, and would love you to call on them when you're able. I imagine you will have your hands full sorting out this mess! Do you have any idea how the fire might have started?"

Lara attach this fellow to the rope, I’ll record the runes in case we can’t come back here... Venture takes out a sheaf of paper and sets about hastily recording the runes.

"Very well. I will go to this Magistrate. I will not leave your custody until such time as I am released." He gives Elendin a small, hopeful smile and offers her his arm so that she may accompany him. "Everything will be alright, my friend."

El marveled at the man's optimism. If she was sure of anything, it was that there was no telling what was about to happen. Still, his calm was helping her to keep her inner heat in check, so she took his arm and, with her free hand, wiped some of the tears from her face.

"I won't resist," she promised the foppish guard leader.

Returning her companion's smile, she murmured, "I'm Elendin."

"Wynn. It's a pleasure to be arrested with you." He chuckles.

She laughed, surprising herself, because it was genuine. She began to entertain the possibility that they would all live through this bizarre experience.

Sensing that all the fires have been extinguished Conner looks around the square at all the people milling around. His attention is caught by a couple who seem to be in an animated discussion with a foppishly dressed man who carries a firearm. His curiosity grows quickly enough that he makes his way closer to see what the excitement it about.

"Agreed." Balara starts looping the rope around the fellow with a pattern similar to a fishnet, but much less sophisticated given their situation. While his weight makes the process difficult, at least she won't be carrying him solo.

With the doctor and family taken care of, Margaret turned her attention back to the rest of the operation. The fire was seemingly dealt with, and everyone was safe... but a group of guards were leading two civilians away, while the crowd looked on.

"What's happened?" she asked a bystander.
"Dunno," the man whispered. "One of 'em sang a song and made it rain, or summat. T'other one told a story 'bout it bein' a magic trick. Cap'n's taking 'em to the magistrate to sort it all out."

At the word "magic", Margaret's heart skipped a beat. The fire had been suspiciously easy to deal with, considering. Was it possible that there was actual magic involved? Regardless, it didn't sound like these people had done anything to warrant their arrest, and that offended her sense of justice.

Buoyed by a mix of excitement and righteous anger, she ran to intercept the foppish guard leader. "Captain! What's the meaning of this? Who are your prisoners, and what is their crime?"