Plot 009: Let’s Start a Riot

Little Bird | Vagabond | Vindicator

Little Bird could practically feel her heart wanting to beat out of her chest as the small group of Vindicators waiting for the bombs to detonate. It felt as though it was taking forever which left her only to her thoughts. Would everyone be okay? Would Aodhians and Vindicators get injured in the blast? Would she even make it out of this to see her love again in Breim? The roan mare fought the urge to shake her head but instead quickly snapped herself out of her worrying thoughts by biting her tongue. She didn't need to be thinking like that. They would be triumphant. After all, what could go wrong when you had the Paladin herself on your side?

The small group had spent their time blending in with the crowd, dawning cloaks to cover their pelts and faces as they silently waited for their plans to go into action. She had to admit that this was probably the biggest mission she had ever been on. Rescuing slaves from their masters and the pits would have been uplifting enough, but to help capture the child king? Now that was a task worthy of even her father's praise. Maybe he was looking down on her now and seeing that she had become the Vindicator he had trained her to be.

Little Bird's ears perked up at the hushed sound of the Paladin's voice as she reminded them of their task. Bird's brows narrowed in determination as she gave the mare a quick nod of her head.

BOOM

Chaos spilled into the streets as panicked horses scurried away from the explosions and the crumbling Crucible, and flicking her cloak off of her wings, Little Bird surged forward, her heart racing in her chest as a small smile turned up the corners of her lips for a split second. This was the stuff that she lived for: the adrenaline and knowing that her actions were going to do good for horses everywhere in Aodh. "Right behind you." She said to Dinah as they took off in search of the Aodhian king.

Word Count: 350

Ithran twitched his skin, adjusting the heavy wool cloak he wore with a sigh that was lost in the noise of the celebrating crowds that covered the city, laughing and shouting. Their horrible games were about to begin, he could hear the roar of the crowd as the youngling who led them gave a speech. He couldn’t hear what the boy said, but whatever it was the crowd liked it. Well, those slave-owning murderers would get their comeuppance tonight. The thought gave him a glimmer of pleasure, but it was only momentary.

This waiting was going to drive him mad. This was his first raid in the Aodh capitol and while he’d participated in quite a lot of other raids in smaller cities, he was, frankly, terrified. If he made a mistake, if he failed, it wouldn’t just be fellow Vindicators who would suffer. The Paladin herself led them tonight, and he couldn’t bear it if he let anything harm her. At least, if that anything was his fault. He was sure she was capable of getting into trouble without his help, and he was not going to be responsible for that.

He glanced around at the Vindicators the Paladin had chosen to accompany them. Little Bird, a colorful pegasus with a stunning set of wings. Godric, a scarred black stallion who virtually oozed confidence, or at least capability. Freya, a mare with stunning white markings and a regal air. And, of course, the Paladin herself. An appaloosa with an air of authority and experience that trumped even Godric’s, and who for some reason had chosen Ithran to help with this vitally important part of the plan. He shivered.

BOOM

He jumped at the suddenness of the noise and the shouts and screams that followed, waves of icy fear turning his mind sluggish. For one panicked instant he stood frozen as the Paladin gave her orders and ran out of the alley. One thought shoved its way to the front of his mind as he finally began to move.

What have we done?

Dinah | Paladin

At first Dinah had been keeping her pace to an easy jog, her ears constantly flicking back and forth as she kept tabs on her environment.

Which, she noticed, was quickly going to hell.

Excellent.

Already she could hear an increase in the panic; it sounded as if the rest of the Vindicators had penetrated the Crucible itself. Equines were pouring into the market now, fleeing in all directions, and Dinah adjusted her visibility again; she had no wish to be bowled over by a panicked noble. Her lip curled in disdain. She could hear, feel her team behind her, and she increased her pace into a rocking canter while reviewing the plan in her head, making minute adjustments as new information continually flooded her senses.

The Monarch’s Box only has one entrance, she had told her team as they went over the plan for the last time earlier in the day. And the bombs are set to crumble it. The Chevaliers will be taken care of- so it should only be a matter of getting to the box, subduing the advisers that remain with him -if any- and they had all shared a chuckle over the cowardice of those pampered horses they didn’t know but none the less disdained -and getting him out.

Of course, no plan ever went off perfectly. In fact it usually only lasted until the moment in was enacted; once battle was joined, the rules were in flux. Dinah’s heart was beating faster as they neared the walls of the Crucible- which were smoking. This was it.

She headed south, towards the exit that, according to their most recent plans and intel, the King was most likely to be ushered out of. The plan was for him to still be in the Monarch’s Box- but, like she had said: it was best to prepare for all contingencies. And based on the sounds of fighting and continuing explosions- this well might be turning into an exercise in improvisation.

And as they rounded the bend, another explosion- small, but only small in the scale that explosions are judged, which is to say not small at all- rocked the wall next to her, which according to her internal map was a passage leading to their targeted exit. Sure enough, a full scale brawl was going on at the exit as panicked Aodhian’s clogged the passage, attempting to flee over a pile-up of bodies and interfering with what must be Chevaliers attempting to corral escaping slaves.

Dinah bared her teeth in what might have, in different circumstances, passed for a grin.

She would not get distracted helping the slaves… but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to crack the skull of any Aodhian citizen blocking the entrance. Dinah melted into invisibility once more, then launched herself in to the thick of the flighting, hooves lashing, shoulder shoving as she fought to get to the door.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a Chevalier rear up, hooves flashing towards an injured slave.

“Oh no you DON’T-” Dinah snarled, and she slammed into the unsuspecting Aodhian with her full force.

Ithran kept pace with the Paladin, his eyes darting back and forth and his hooves drumming a tattoo on the stone floor. This day was going to live in the minds of Aodhians and Vindicators alike for years to come. The Crucible was in chaos. Civilians ran, changing direction every time they saw a Vindicator, often only to nearly run into another. He’d never expected to see their ranks massed like this for a single attack, but Dinah clearly meant this raid to deal a serious blow to the slavers.

Still, was this level of violence really necessary? Ithran paused for an instant as a child was knocked away from its mother, crying out as it fell. Its father caught it, but in that instant he remembered that the guilty were not the only ones who would suffer today. That was war. The acrid tang of blood and smoke mingled in the air, and in front of him he saw Godric tangle with a Chevalier. All around him horses fought, soldier against Vindicator, slave, and even the occasional terrified commoner. The Vindicators were more organized, but the soldiers were rallying. He was inexperienced, but to him the tide of battle seemed to be turning against them. That could change in an instant, though.

A dull thud and the sharp pain of hooves connecting with his ribs brought him back to reality. One of the Chevaliers had attacked him. The mare was taller than he was by nearly a hand, her ears flat against her skull and eyes wild with rage. Ithran screamed a battle cry and launched himself at her, knocking her aside. He’d fallen behind the group and now scrambled to catch up as the battle roared wildly around him. The second explosion had driven the civilians into true panic now. Hopefully that would be enough to allow the more coolheaded slaves to get out.

The Chevalier he had shoved past was shouting something at him, but he ignored her, driving forward to catch up to Dinah and the team. From the maps he’d seen they were nearing the place where they would find the Aodhian king. If their plan had worked he would be unguarded, with only his favored advisors and nobles as protection. With luck, they would have little trouble taking the boy. Of course, luck was not something to rely on, and it could favor the other side just as easily.

Little Bird | Vagabond | Vindicator

Little Bird grunted as a fleeing slave accidentally ran into her side, knocking the wind out of her lungs for a moment before Freya appeared at her side. The pegasus glanced around at the others in their group to see if they needed help while she took a moment to gather her breath, but it appeared that Godric and Ithran were dealing with the situation fine, aside from a gash on Godric's head that she noticed when the stallion called out to them. The roan mare nodded, turning her ears toward the Paladin as she confirmed her thoughts. "They're right, Freya. We need to keep moving as quickly as we can. We can end all of this if we fulfill our mission." She told the other mare with a determined glint to her eyes before galloping toward the entrance where Dinah stood.

The smoke was streaming out of the entrance, filling the air around them with its suffocating thickness, and Little Bird coughed slightly as she sucked in a mouthful of it.

The roan mare snorted at the smoke, glancing over to their leader for any signal of what they should do. It appeared Dinah was deep in thought, probably running over ideas and plans in her head to think of if they would work. Little Bird's russet feathers ruffled slightly at the sounds around them, of all the panic and tears of the citizens and the slaves as the Chevaliers tried to corral them only, and it pained her not to be able to physically help them right now. 'What I'm doing right now is helping. If the slaves aren't freed tonight, then they will be very soon.'

Her brown eyes glanced behind her to make sure the rest of her teammates were right behind her before plunging further into the madness after Dinah. She kept her head relatively lower than usual, to keep the smoke out of her lungs until they were past the worst of the black, smoldering smoke. As they traveled further, she kept her eyes peeled for any signs of the child king or any of his advisers. With all of this chaos, he probably hadn't been able to get out of the Crucible, which left him trapped in his own structure.

Word Count: 378

Dinah | Paladin

One ear kept tabs on the situation with Ithran while the other was constantly swiveling, noting the changing environment around them. This was not a good place for Ithran to be lamed- not at all. Dinah mentally began preparing for the event that he could not continue. Was it worth it to spare one of their team to assist him to safety? Or was it better to leave him? Harsh thoughts, but the life of Vindicators was not the sentimental; the needs of many surpassed the needs of the individual. If it were she that fell, she would not hesitate to urge them to leave her. However, it seemed that the decision need not be made yet; Ithran was up, and the leg was weight baring. Dinah squelched the relief she wanted to feel; there was no time.

"I do not doubt we may need to divide soon," she agreed tersely with Freya, eyes sweeping the dark, smoky corridors. "And we should keep moving." The stones were rumbling beneath her hooves almost inaudibly, a deep sort of sensation that worried her. She had the distinct impression that staying in one place for long would be a bad choice indeed. 

With those words Dinah set off again, weaving through the press of bodies. This was taking too long, and although she did not voice it, the appaloosa was starting to worry that the situation had gotten out of control. The amount of chaos, the crumbling structure- she had not planned on this much disarray, and as a consequence she now worried they would miss the King entirely. Ears flattened at the thought; this day would NOT be a waste!

She slowed; they were approaching what should be the entrance to the stairs leading up to the Monarch's Box. She ticked off the paces in her mind. Should be right... about... here. Dinah paused, let her glittering eyes take in the sight. Collapsed rubble blocked the stairs, totally and completely.

"Damn," she hissed through her teeth. Damn, damn, damn!

So the question was, was it likely the King was still trapped in the box? Dinah did not think so. It had been too long. But she could not be sure, and that frustrated her. Not knowing was dangerous.

Shouts echoed down the corridor, and Dinah whipped her head around, squinting. Had they been seen? It did not matter; they needed to keep moving.

"If we can get eyes on the Monarch's Box, we will," Dinah informed her group in a steady voice, pitched no louder than necessary. "But I think it most likely he's in the interior with us, now. We must find him, and fast." With those words, she was off again. The window was closing; she could feel it nipping at her hooves.

    To Ithran’s surprise, Godric came back to help, and s he leaned on the dark stallion’s shoulder he voiced his thanks. They were able to catch up to the others fairly quickly, to Ithran’s great relief. Once they reached the others, Freya bound his leg. In the seconds it took for her to finish trying off the bandages Ithran glanced over at the Paladin, who was quietly cursing their luck. It looked as if the corridor to the Monarch’s box had been blocked by falling stone. In the name of all that’s holy, can’t we have any luck? As he thought, Freya finished with her work. He gave her a small smile, though it felt stiff on his face.
    “Thank you.” Gingerly he tested the leg and found the pain greatly lessened, the support of the bandages helping take some of the pressure off. Freya was apparently more skilled in the healing arts than he’d known. He was able to take his weight of Godric and stand on his own without too much effort, and as long as he didn’t have to stand and fight or run long distances he was fairly sure he would be alright.
    The problem now was how they were going to find a young boy in the maze of the Crucible? They were at a distinct disadvantage here; the King and his entourage would have spend huge amounts of time in this place, while he and his team were largely unfamiliar with the layout. Memorizing a map was all well and good, but it took real skill to apply it in a situation like this.
    “Could it be possible that there are passageways not shown on the maps we have? Perhaps a secret one for a situation like this?" He wasn’t sure if it was best for him to speak up, and he didn’t know how the question would help, but perhaps the Paladin knew something he didn’t. He glanced at her again, shifting his weight slightly to keep it evenly balanced and off his injured leg. 


ooc: lease forgive Ithran for being an idiot and getting himself injured cx I’ll try and keep him out of the way he’s such a n00b

Dinah | Paladin

But was King hustled out the the Box before or after the wall collapsed? Or... was he buried in there? Now there was a thought that changed the whole flavor of this mission. Dinah put it out of her mind; it was irrelevant without new information.

She was loathe to split the small group up in here; it'd be nigh impossible to communicate. But they did have their established rendezvous point... perhaps, it might be best. She gritted her teeth, swerving down a new corridor, one that she knew ran along the wall of the Pit itself. She needed no map for this information; as her strides took her deeper down the hall, and she began to pass empty cells, Dinah felt memories rise up, run insidious fingers against her resolve. And worse, worse was the emotion that followed the memories in a rising swell. She snarled, shaking her head. It did not matter! It did not-

Another explosion rumbled from somewhere deep within the structure. Dinah slowed for a moment, hooves sliding on the sand floor. She did not have the blessing of tremor sense, but she found she did not need it as the floor, the walls, the ceiling were all visibly, viscerally vibrating.

"We have to-" her words, however, were lost, swallowed in to the all encompassing chaos of stone grinding against stone as the corridor behind them began to collapse. Quickly.

Hells. Well, forward it was, then. But even as the thought floated through her, Dinah caught, in the bend ahead, a flash of purest cremello and wings, then it was gone. Could it have been him-

She slowed again, looking over her withers to shout to her team. This sudden pause, this twist of her head, was all that saved the Paladin's life as with a protesting crack, a section of the ceiling half as large as Dinah herself plummeted within a hair's breadth of her front hooves. Before Dinah could act, more rocks began to fall. The tunnel was collapsing.

The moment seemed to slow, stretch, taking on a gelid, languid sort of quality that Dinah would remember in the days to come. It was one of those bright, surreal sort of experiences that resonate within the body, in the absence of heart beat, of breath. For Dinah knew, knew in this moment that there was only one option now available to her team, yet considering it in that infinite space between heartbeats, Dinah felt despair wash her body, a numbing sensation that started in her hooves and surged upwards, suffusing her cheeks, her lips, her eyes.

For the only way out... was in to the Pit itself.

One heartbeat, one infinite moment. Then she was back.

"MOVE!" Dinah screamed as the rubble continued to fall. Even as the words were torn from her lips, a chasm split the floor in front of her and the appaloosa leaped, surging towards the exit, towards safety. Towards her past.

Emerging in a billowing, acrid cloud of dust, soot and blood, Dinah's hooves once more dug in to the Crucible's sand, the walls casting familiar shadows across her pelt as they had so often in her past, and her dreams.

She allowed herself one moment, one heartbeat in which to close her eyes and process this. Then citrine eyes had slid open once more as the weak, unworthy emotions were mercilessly squashed.

It was a scene of chaos, that they had emerged to. Dinah took in the sights rapidly, as best she could in the smoggy, magic-strewn air. The Monarch's Box was empty, good, at least they knew.

"We need to get out of here and fast," she said to her team. There was nothing waiting in this pit for them but violence and death, or worse-capture and slavery. "That breach in the wall is our way out but-" Dinah broke off. She was going to point out the obvious, that the breach was being defended by a grey stallion she knew had to be the Adviser Isador. But her attention was caught instead by a vicious scream, and Dinah looked out across the sand to see a large dark Noble going berserk, slashing and mutilating any fleeing slave, any vagabond, that he could find. Dinah saw red, rage surging up in her chest with an alacrity that left her breathless.

But they had- they had to find the King, there was still time-

No. There wasn't. Dinah finally faced the fact that they had failed; events had gotten out of control and they had lost their window. There would be hell to pay, later- but first they had to get out. But maybe, on the way...

"Abort mission," she shouted to her team, ears flat. "New objective; escape and regroup. If opportunity arises to take our original target we will, but as of now our new objective is to escape." She paused, then added, "This is a controlled retreat. I repeat, this is a controlled retreat." She allowed a small twist to her lips. Then she leaped in to motion, trusting her team to assume the roles they felt would suit them best. For her part, Dinah intended to take down the unicorn Noble that was slaughtering her Vindicators. She faded in to invisibility.