Chapter 3.b.: Distraction

As you listen at the bottom of the stairs, you can hear that the storm has blown through during the time you developed your plan of attack. Froak has already taken a peek outside and verifies that as far as he can tell, there is no longer any danger. It appears to have passed overhead to the south (incidentally, not the direction Willitan's pony was left in; he might be okay).

It doesn't appear that anyone from the citadel has ventured outside just yet; it might be a good time to sneak out and find your way to a safe spot to start your distraction from. In speaking with Greybeard, you have memorized a rough map of where convenient tunnel entrances are located. The plan, as you have discussed so far, is to use the tunnels as a getaway route when needed, to pop up at different places around town to create as much of a disruption as possible.

"Who the bleedin' hell are you? You must be eighteen kinds of stupid to be out on a morning like this!" comes a deep, drawling male voice from behind the gate. Ember is still a good forty feet from the gate when the voice is heard. "Ain't you never seen a storm before, girl?"

There's a pause before he continues. "But I can't let you in. Boss's orders."

Another short pause, and he adds, "Hang on."

There's a bit of a scuffling sound behind the gate, and one side of it creaks open. A young, wiry fellow with long blond hair pokes his head and shoulders out around the edge and looks to see if anyone's about to ambush him. Seeing only the poor, bedraggled girl, he comes the rest of the way out, leaving the gate cracked just a bit. "I... I can't do nothin' for ya. The storms, they're permanent," he says with a sympathetic look on his face. "This one, I hear it got one of ours too. Not a bleedin' thing we can do."

Sympathetic or not, he stays a safe distance away from Ember.

The blonde young man, who can't be much older than Ember, looks over his shoulder at the gate.

"I... can't leave the gate. They'll... well, you don't wanna know what they'll do. Just that I don't want it to happen to me," he says. "Is... your ma in the tunnels? They always told us to leave the tunnels alone, leave you all be."

He takes another couple of steps toward Ember. "Ain't there an entrance just a couple of buildings down from here?" he says, pointing off in completely the wrong direction. You know from Greybeard that there are no tunnel entrances in that direction.

"Are you... new here? I thought all the townies had gone below ground," says the blonde, his eyes narrowing as he studies Ember. The moment of suspicion passes. "Well, it ain't safe 'round here anyway. Other places lots more friendly on down the road. At least, they used to be."

He puts his hand on the hilt of the shortsword at his waist. "Ain't no place for a girl and her ma, here, anyway. You'd best be movin' along. I hope you find her, but I can't be helpin'. Got too much packin' up to do."

He starts to edge back toward the citadel gates.

The blonde lets out a yelp, staggering back against the gate as Ember seemingly explodes into a column of meteoric fire.

"Orien's beard!" he stammers out. He opens the gate and yells out to someone (or someones) unseen inside. "Hey... um... I think we've got one out here! One of... them! She just BLEW UP! Boom! Go get Jacira, she's going to want to see this!"

From the utterly flummoxed look on the poor guard's face, he is completely at a loss as to how to take this newest twist in what's become a very stressful morning.

"What the..." he stammers, and tentatively draws his shortsword. He calls back to his comrades inside again, "Okay, everyone get out here... there's... well. I think you're going to just need to see it for yourself."

He advances away from the gate, and starts toward Yelnar. "Hey! You... you leave her alone! She ain't done nothin' to you!"

He looks down at his weapon, back at Yelnar's weapon, and decides holding his ground a safe distance away is the better part of valor while he waits for reinforcements.

Two other mercenary types come out from the gates, neither of them familiar, neither of them particularly intimidating. They come on to the scene right as Ember launches into her desperate pleas. One shouts, "Hey! Leave her alone, yeah? Or we’ll make you!"

Tough words, but the uncertainty in his voice makes it far less intimidating than he’d probably like. Still, he nudges his two partners and they head as a group toward Yelnar, advancing carefully but with purpose.