Chapter 6: The Hunter and the Prey

Yelnar takes a place where he judges his strength will provide the most leverage and yells out "Could the strongest among you assist with raising this bar so we may leave?"

He nods at Uelten, knowing he’ll be able to broadcast the message more widely with his skills.

Naucans

As the crowd passes through the square, Verrian notices that the door to the simple building the city guard was taking people -- including Wil -- to lies with its door wide open, no guards in sight. While the fire is advancing, there might be time to investigate a bit.

Then again, in the distance, the giant fire elemental still rages, slamming its fists here and there as though trying to squash an irritating bug. The flames wreathing its form waver in intensity, flashing brightly one moment, flickering the next. It roars thunderously once more.

At the gate, the vanguard of the fleeing crowd starts moving through, leaving the burning city behind. In a few minutes, the rest of the group should be through.

Swan comes forward and puts the bird cage down. He nods at Yelnar, then turns and yells at the crowd. " COULD THE STRONGEST AMONG YOU ASSIST WITH RAISING THIS BAR SO WE MAY LEAVE!? "

Once the strongest among them help to raise the bar so we may leave, Wil directs people through the gate.

Yelnar, Yulen, do we have gear stored close by? Maybe we can arm some of these people, if they are interested.

"They're way over there," he says hoarsely, waving toward the east side of the city.

The polite mob of halfings is moving well through the square now, and Verrian isn't worried that they won't make it through the gate now. When she notices the open door on the building, she weighs the risks versus the potential for finding useful intelligence and opts for the risks.

@Coreene: I'm going to take a quick look at this building where the guard was taking magic users. I'll be out soon.

She uses the general chaos in the square as cover to make her way toward the door. When she arrives, she glances around and into the interior before ducking inside.

The entry room of the building is abandoned -- as Wil learned earlier, it appears to have once been an alchemical supply shop, though it's in significant disarray. The formerly glass-fronted cabinets are shattered, shelves have been pulled off the walls, bottles strewn about the room.

There's a corridor that leads toward the back of the building, and as Verrian looks carefully about, she can hear the faint sound of someone crying.

Naturally, Verrian thinks.

Verrian follows the corridor toward the sound of crying, keeping her senses open for any other visual or audible signs of danger.

Party People

Livia, from Eanala's resistance cell, and a few other people come forward and help Yelnar lift the heavy wooden beam that bars the gates. People start pushing forward, waiting for the gate to open. With everyone's help, the bar is lifted and set aside. The gates are pushed open with a heavy creaking noise, and the way forward out of the city proper is clear. Beyond the walls are a few settlements, but like those around the main city gate, these are apparently completely abandoned.

Verrian

Verrian reaches the back room of the shop, the former office, the crying growing louder. The sight there is enough to make her catch her breath.

Bodies, perhaps a half-dozen or more, litter the floor of the room, some unmarked, but others clearly the result of serious violence. Blood dots the walls and heavy desk that occupies the center of the room, and the grisly remains of some of the bodies are best left undescribed. Sitting -- collapsed, really -- with his back against the desk, cradling the dead body of a young woman with a bloodied face, is Anders, the resistance traitor. He is the one crying, sobbing mindlessly with his head bowed. At a glance, he seems untouched.

Swan hands the bird cage to a young man unburdened by fortitude or children and says, "This is old man Grat's. Her name is Chloe and she likes to be told she's a pretty bird."

He then goes to find Wil. "Wil, we can't leave them inside. Can you check with them? I'll hide you with my cloak so no one sees the stone."

Verrian's horror at the sight of the carnage is overcome by the rage that ignites when she realizes that she's looking at the traitor who caused this whole bloody mess. The only thing stopping her from yanking him up to his feet and challenging him to draw a weapon is the fact that he's clearly paying for his misdeeds with the loss of a loved one.

It doesn't lessen her rage, you understand. It merely stops her from acting on it immediately.

Stepping into the room, she says curtly, "What happened here, Anders?"

Seeing what Uelten and Wil are doing, Yelnar decides to provide a distraction.

He calls out in his best drill instructor voice "Anyone here know how to use a weapon? We may need to arm ourselves in case some of those things come after us."

Verrian

Anders is inconsolable, his sobs wracking his entire body as he gasps for air. Verrian's voice makes only the briefest of impacts, but it is enough to make him raise his head. His tears aren't nearly enough to hide the fact that his eyes are completely white, as though the pupils and irises have been not just clouded over, but entirely erased.

"Who... who is it? Have you come back to kill me? Please, please say you have? All I wanted was my sis... my sis..."

He can't complete his thought, breaking out in a new bout of sobbing. He babbles, stroking at the young woman's hair with a gentle hand. "I had to do it, Kasia. They wouldn't let you go if I didn't. I had to give them up. For you. All for you. They... they still wouldn't let you go. I'm so sorry, Kasia... forgive me."

When the woman in his arms won't answer, he shakes her lifeless form. "Forgive me, Kasia! Why won't you forgive me!" he says, his voice rising in register as he continues to shake her, repeating his command over and over.

Verrian's gut twists as her rage is forced into slight redirection. Turning her attention away from the now-pathetic traitor, she turns back into the corridor. She stands outside and listens for signs of occupation in the rooms behind the doors.

OK I will see how they are doing.

Wil takes out the disc.

Hello? Verrian? This is Wil. We are just checking in to see how things are going. Some of the strongest among the refugees helped us open the Silver Gate. We are outside the city. Do you need us to loop around to the main gate, or should we go to where are gear us and meet you there?

Wil is afraid to ask the next question, but hesitantly does.

Did you find my aunt? Is she OK?

Verrian listens carefully at each of the doors, but hears nothing. If she was hoping to sneak up on anyone, though, the sudden voice from the disc might just give her away.

Verrian jumps at the sound of Wil's voice from the whitestone disc. She pulls it from her pocket and, holding it close to her mouth, hisses, "Quiet."

She moves quietly down the corridor just enough so that neither doorway is between her and the exit from the building and waits to see if anyone shows up.

The only thing that happens is the sound of Anders’ wailing turns to yelling. Down the hall, Verrian can hear the sound of breaking glass — possibly something smashing through the large window behind the desk in the office — and Anders howling in rage.

Reacting to the fresh chaos, Verrian remembers that she'd left Wil in suspense. As she starts back toward the office, she says into the disc, "We found the little girl and your family members. Coreene led a crowd of halflings out of the main gate. I'm investigating the building they first took you to. I'll be along shortly."

Then she runs the rest of the way to the office, drawing her rapier.