Dominus - The Queensrest has started at Arx - Ward of the Crown - Queensrest Inn - Main Room.


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It happens all at once. The keen-eyed may notice runners moving through the usual crowds of Crimson Square, heading to certain groups. Groups which are remarkable only for being composed almost entirely of men - but even as the reforms have stretched across the Isles, that's not terribly uncommon. What is uncommon, however, is when those groups - at least ten of them, distributed outside the estates of known progressive sympathizers, shrug their spring cloaks aside, flipping the shoulders back to reveal the colors of Helianthus stitched into the interiors of the fabric, and baring their weapons. There is a roar, rehearsed, from at least two hundred throats, "FREE THE ISLES! KILL THE USURPER! DEFEND OUR TRADITIONS!"

The riot begins with the men flinging themselves at the surprised guards outside several estates. Some guards manage to call out before having to fight for their lives. Others are struck down by cudgel and steel in that one bewildered moment.
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A cool, clear afternoon without a cloud in the sky is soon interrupted by shouts ringing through the streets near where the Shrines are located as smoke begins to fill the air, creating billowing clouds of smoke where none had been before.

The Great Cathedral of the Pantheon in on fire and surrounded by white-robed figures, screaming for the resignation of the current Dominus and the recognition of the Compact's true King: Alaric III.
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Kit, the grey fox, Primus, First of Monique's Assistants, 1 Greenmarch Guard, Tertius, Third of Monique's Assistants arrive, following Monique.

Spontaneous applause erupts in the Queensrest Inn for the wildly famous visitor.

Spontaneous applause erupts in the Queensrest Inn for the wildly famous visitor.

1 Saik Guard, Fortescue, a snooty and disinterested Lycene coxcomb, Fluffy, the wary wildcat arrive, following Medeia.

2 Keaton Huntsmen, Marie, chef of Keaton Hall, Sir Pupsalot, a polite, tri-color corgi, Oaken, an Oakhaven bloodhound, Fidelity, a white-tailed eagle, 1 Healer Guardian, Gigi, an apprentice physician with attitude problems, Medeia arrive, following Reigna.

Keso, a totally legit assistant, Peanut, an oversized mountain dog arrive, following Aleksei.

Sir Floppington the Soulful Hound arrives, following Rowenova.

Bonehilda, the prettiest-colored spider, Rowenova arrive, following Felicia.

After having heard about the recent ruckus, Scout Rowenova strapped on her diamondplate gauntlets (and matching footwear). Sir Floppington beside her, they show up within a few blocks of the Queensrest Inn, within building shade and not being overly visible just yet (ultimately assessing everything).

A few ugly murmurs are heard with something about 'riff-raff', and iron guardsmen look expectantly at the visitor as if they are sure to be a troublemaker.

Dom, an unassuming assistant, Saymore, the parrot that just won't stop, Raymesin, Tanith arrive, following Austen.

Sirra, a very quiet maid, an indeterminate number of cats, 3 House Mazetti Guardians, Lance, a rebellious swan that likes to headbutt arrive, following Alessia.

Spontaneous applause erupts in the Queensrest Inn for the wildly famous visitor.

Finn the large Northern hunting dog with icy blue eyes, Rocco, the rascally assistant arrive, following Thea.

Alessia wields Requiem - an ancient glaive with an iridescite handle.

Staff greet the newest guest to the Queensrest with sniffs of disdain, then pointedly ignore them.

Medeia takes rubicund vambraces with gilding, elaborate rubicund headpiece with gilding, feminine rubicund cuirass with gilding, black sharkskin side-laced leather leggings, black sharkskin sleeved and hooded cape, black sharkskin gloves and modest aeterna dress with laced bishop sleeves from a healer's belt with a variety of bottles, vials, and pouches.

Felicia wields Wheelspinner - the Blade of Souls.

1 Culler Boatswain, 2 Culler Midshipman arrive, following Samira.

Austen wields Austen's Claymore, an alaricite two-handed weapon.

Michael wields a honed alaricite longsword with lion handguard.

Sirra, a very quiet maid, an indeterminate number of cats, 3 House Mazetti Guardians, Lance, a rebellious swan that likes to headbutt leave, following Alessia.

Raymesin wields The Wheel's Edge, a diamondplate dagger.

1 Grayson House Guards, Rosalie, a lady in waiting, Peaches, a lovely white war filly with a peach saddle, Deliverance, an albino falcon, Stormy, a silvery gray hunting hound, Rascal, a hyper terrier arrive, following Reese.

Kritr wields Skycleaver, diamondplate axe.

Dom, an unassuming assistant have been dismissed.

Saymore, the parrot that just won't stop have been dismissed.

Peanut, an oversized mountain dog have been dismissed.

Keso, a totally legit assistant have been dismissed.

The street in front of the Queensrest is absolute chaos. People are running in all directions, both to and from the establishment, while others are milling about in apparent shock. Not a few are sporting injuries, though none visible are terribly serious. The door leading into the Queensrest itself is shut tight, but there's muffled shouting from inside. "DEATH TO HERETICS!" "How dare you!" "Oh, you idiot, what did you DO?" "What are--" "SHUT UP."

Fluffy, the wary wildcat have been dismissed.

Kit, the grey fox have been dismissed.

Primus, First of Monique's Assistants have been dismissed.

1 Greenmarch Guard have been dismissed.

Tertius, Third of Monique's Assistants have been dismissed.

Thea wields Skystrike, the finely crafted diamondplate kopis.

Reese seems confused about what is going as she arrives near the end. She reaches for her slivery pink sword, drawing such and seemingly getting ready to act and defend. She leaves the Grayson sword sheathed for now, maybe wanting to know more before drawing such.

Sirra, a very quiet maid, an indeterminate number of cats, 3 House Mazetti Guardians, Lance, a rebellious swan that likes to headbutt arrive, following Alessia.

Staff greet the newest guest to the Queensrest with sniffs of disdain, then pointedly ignore them.

A few ugly murmurs are heard with something about 'riff-raff', and iron guardsmen look expectantly at the visitor as if they are sure to be a troublemaker.

A certain King's Own knight is storming by, Austen heading to the palace with Raymesin and Tanith in tow. He's fully armoured, claymore by his side. The commotion at the Queensrest grabs his attention, the knight turning towards it with a frown on his features. Heading for the door he pauses, and grabs the closest person. "What in the Abyss is going on?" he demands to know from probably some poor noble.

Following the shouts and chaos, Reigna comes jogging in from the direction of Sovereign Bridge. She has her medical kit slung over her shoulder and is flushed from her brisk pace. She takes a moment to assess the scene and immediately moves into a position behind Reese. Because Reese. "I see a lot of injuries already. Was there something about the Dominus?" OCncern makes Reigna's voice tight as she looks for the nearest injured person she can reach while staying safely near Reese.

Kritr is armed and armored, patrolling the Crownsward with an axe over his shoulder. He greets each stranger with a shouted: "For the FOURTH!" Just to check that they aren't a supporter of Alaric the Third.

Tanith stalks in Austen's wake but she's also twisting now and then to walk backwards, checking who follows and who leaves the building. "I don't come here often, don't know anyone local enough," she's half-grumbling to herself, eyes casting about as her fingers flex around her axe.

Felicia was heading in the direction of the palace, but with the noise and people streaming from the Queensrest she turns towards the inn. It's not often that Wheelspinner is removed from it's peacebinding, but this is apparently one of those occasions. The Harrow might be heard to call as she approaches the scene of chaos,"Mother... let me come to you in the fullness of time with love in my heart." the barricaded doors bringing her to lower a shoulder and try simply charging into it full tilt. The Wrecking Ball not content to hesitate.

Medeia is right behind Reigns, having been with her at the time of the eruption of chaos. Her own medic equipment handy, she falls in behind Reese, also, eyes darting around.

It's not far from the Queenrest to Legate Row, and panic spreads even faster than a man by foot. Aleksei pushes through the crowd, nimble and fleet of foot, but there's something stark on his face. Not just the confusion of sudden disaster, but a desperation and near-panic that is something different from just the impact of sudden violence. He shoves through, growing even more desperate as he gets nearer to the Queensrest. "Orazio!"

Monique was only a street over, working on the preparations for her latest venture when the commotion in the direction of the Queensrest caught her attention. And of course, since one Prince Damik'uhl'daja is in residence there, it's with all due haste that the Minx of the Marches rushes to the Inn. But she's not heading for the front entrance. No. She's climbed these walls before, entered these windows with lock picking ease. So it's to the side that Monique heads.

Raymesin is indeed moving in Austen's wake, and for once in life he's wearing good armour - even if it is all black. He stops when Austen does, moving to cover the knight's left shoulder, just in case. He's a trained bodyguard, and this is the sort of moment that it shows.

Jogging close behind the others comes Thea. One could hear the commontion miles away. She too has her supplies ready. And blade ready. "What is going on,"she can be heard shouting. She's already taking in the place, like she's taking an inventory.

Scout Rowenova does recon on the building and circles her way to the back, doing so as stealthily as possible, and so does Sir Floppington do the same.

Michael is not in common Iron Guard Get-up. He is dressed for battle at least, having taken to wearing armor every single damn day. "Guardsmen! Here!" Because theres probably some roaming around and someone needs to gather a force to get that door open.

How the Ulbran found his way to the locale of the Queensrest Inn is unknown. Yet there he is, Sigismund holding a bottle of beer in one hand, looking rather curious as to the events unfolding nearby. "Oh, there you are." he says when he catches sight of Raymesin, Tanith, Felicia, Austen and Kritr. He takes another drink from his beer, watching. "I do think there are more inside." he supplies helpfully, yet does not immediately make a move to head in.

Reese takes a protective stance over Reigna when she notices her staying near, intending t protect the healer if needed. She gives her a thoughtful look. "I have no clue what is happening right now. She also takes a protective stance inf ront of Medeia. "Lady Medeia." She then looks over to Michael, giving him a nod.

Kastelon comes at a run at the hearing of those in his house having taken to action, and comes in from without, sword already unsheathed with the flood of people rushing from the Queensrest. "What is going on?" Keen hazel eyes look about the room, as if trying to ascertain where he needs be going first in the heat of the moment.

Rushing into the Queensrest, in what appears to be clothes put together haphazardly in protection, Alessia glances around in search of someone. "Mo!" She calls, clearly having missed her heading to the windows. Her eyes narrow as she studies the chaos of the in..

The commotion has captured the attention of one passing Culler. Samira elbows her way through the crowd milling about, rising on tiptoes as she attempts to understand what has unfolded. Her hand strays to the hilt of her small blade, alert tension in each movement she makes.

Michael checks strength and athletics at hard. Michael is marginally successful.

Felicia checks strength and athletics at hard. Felicia is successful.

Aleksei checks strength and athletics at hard. Aleksei is successful.

Rushing to the Queensrest, in what appears to be clothes put together haphazardly in protection, Alessia glances around in search of someone. "Mo!" She calls, clearly having missed her heading to the windows. Her eyes narrow as she studies the chaos outside the inn, before she finally notes the woman heading off t o the side.

Monique checks dexterity and athletics at hard. Monique is marginally successful.

Thea checks dexterity and athletics at hard. Thea marginally fails.

Alessia checks dexterity and athletics at hard. Alessia marginally fails.

Kastelon checks strength and athletics at hard. Kastelon is marginally successful.

Reese starts toward the inn. She peeks back to Regina and Mediea to see if they follow or not.

Reese checks strength and atheltics at hard. Reese is marginally successful.

Reigna follows behind Reese, giving the woman plenty of room to move and do what she needs to, while trying to stay hyper aware of any potential threats from those nearby.

Medeia stays near to Reese and Reigna, while pulling a few pieces of protective gear from her pack to quickly don.

Spotting a familiar face in the crowd, Samira hastens toward Medeia with a look that seems to beg the question 'What the hell is going on?'. The trio of Cullers that so often accompany the artist follow alertly near her since Samira's clearly resolute on staying to help with whatever chaos unfolds.

It's a solid door, very well made, neatly carved and perfectly fitted to the frame. It's also just one door, which works against those piling in to smash it open, as they can't all reach it at the same time (or comfortably). Taking turns, on the other hand, is enough to start splintering the thing. There's an affronted cry from inside, "What are you DOING?" which is nearly drowned out by more confused shouting. Whoever's in there (and it would seem to be quite a few), have barricaded the door with several tables stacked against each other. It will take some work, but it's not enough to stop this group for terribly long.

Meanwhile, attempts to scale the building are mixed. The Queensrest, after all, was not built to be easily climbed by passing riffraff. It's slow going, and Thea and Alessia don't even get very far off the ground before slipping; fortunate, since that means they don't really have any space to fall.

As for those in the street, most of them continue to mill about, wide eyed and gawking now that there's a small army between them and danger. Those that are injured appear to be suffering from a variety of injuries, though most of them look to have been inflicted by blades.

Strapping her glaive to her back, Alessia makes an attempt to follow after the Greenmarch, though alas it fails. She seems to give up on the prospect after the slip, turning to Thea with rising frustration. "Fuck!" She looks up to see how Monique is doing, pursing her lips in worry. "We should help them." She nods to those working on the door. The injured around the inn only seem to get the briefest glances.

Austen lets go of whoever he's trying to shake down for information as he spots others going for the door. He nods to Raymesin and Tanith and heads to the others to help them break down the door.

It's very slow going. If it weren't for having done it before, the Greenmarch would probably be tumbling down to the ground. As it is, Monique manages to inch her way toward the window of the Pyre Suite, hampered by the fact that she's trying to do it /very/ discreetly.

"Protect the king and the Dominus!" Felicia roars as more people come to throw themselves against that door, the splintering only encourages her to dig deeper, determined to force that door open. She elects to remain in the front lines, eager to be first through the breach when it comes.

"For the FOURTH!" Kritr roars again, intimidating anyone that might try to interfere with the work of breaking down the door.

Thea really does give it her best shot to get climbing, but damnit! Her boot slips and down she goes! "Shites sakes,"Thea shouts. Hearing Alessia too, she turns her head. "Yeah, lets go do that. Maybe we'd be better at that than we are at climbing,"her eyes trailing over to the door.

Kastelon takes his turn at the hard, ugly work of trying to batter their way into the inn, putting his broad shoulders to the task with the others to gain entry to the interior. There's a brief - very brief - glance at those scaling the building, and his eyes narrow as he redoubles his contribution to the effort to get through.

Tanith lets the large, metal-clad man that is Austen do what he needs to to get the door open, not inclined to get in the way of all that, but does her best to keep the space clear for the group of muscle to get at the door.

"Open this door!" Michael will shout at said door because the door can talk. "In the name of the Iron Guard, the defenders of the Crown and all that is holy!" Because those words are certainly things that sound right. Then his shoulder thuds into the door once more before letting someone else fling themselves against said door.

"OPEN THIS GODS-DAMNED /DOOR/!" Aleksei is among those taking turns ramming at the door, throwing his shoulder into it with brutal desperation. Every moment that he has to cede to someone else is a terror of impotence, his sword now drawn, his grip clenching and loosening. He spots Austen there on the approach, and there's a moment that the stark fear on his face must be entirely visible to Austen. And then he tears his gaze back to the door, throwing himself at it again. "Oh holy gods, please," he whispers.

Alessia checks strength and athletics at hard. Alessia is successful.

Aleksei checks strength and athletics at hard. Aleksei is successful.

Felicia checks strength and athletics at hard. Felicia is marginally successful.

Reese is trying to get through the door. She tries to keep in front of Reigna and Medeia as well.

Thea checks strength and athletics at hard. Thea fails.

Reigna signals to Medeia and Gigi after the former whispers to her and the healers get to work. Reigna attempts to stay close to the door, and thankfully, most of the injuries are just cuts and bruises. The Marquessa keeps within close proximity to the door.

Reese checks strength and athletics at hard. Reese is marginally successful.

Michael checks strength and athletics at hard. Michael is marginally successful.

Austen checks strength and athletics at hard. Austen fails.

Kastelon checks strength and athletics at hard. Kastelon is marginally successful.

Monique checks strength and athletics at hard. Monique fails.

Monique checks dexterity and stealth at daunting. Monique is marginally successful.

Quickly, Medeia begins to seek out the injured and starts to attend to the various cuts as best she can, staying within proximity of anyone big and carrying a weapon who seems to be on her side. She's focusing as best she can, but the concern for her uncle is clear.

Raymesin keeps moving with Austen and Tanith, watching their backs and generally acting like a bodyguard. "Ulbran for the Queen!"

Sigismund checks strength and athletics at hard. Sigismund is marginally successful.

Tanith checks strength and athletics at hard. Tanith fails.

Dom, an unassuming assistant have been dismissed.

Saymore, the parrot that just won't stop have been dismissed.

As more grow desperate at breaking through the door, the large Ulbran finally moves to action. Or perhaps it was Raymesin's cry for the Queen. "If you insist." Sigismund says, taking his turn at the door.

A quiet exchange with Medeia has brought a glint of steely determination to Samira's eyes. Lacking the strength and muscle to be of much help with gaining entry to the inn, she stays back to give room to those working to break down the door. Her dark gaze is fastened to their attempts, her blade drawn and at the ready.

Tanith tries to help break the door down but alas. "The Abyss made this damned door, fuck-" she grits out.

After skirting the fringes and realizing that there is not much to be seen behind the actual building, Scout Nova and Sir Flop orbit their way back to front side, a bit down the street a ways before scanning around the area and seeking out any weird happenings that might not be here so much as elsewhere.

Kritr takes up position with Rowenova and acts as a second pair of eyes.

The door splinters more and more as the group take turns smashing it down. They can see inside now, although not well; it's a chaotic scramble in there, with armed men trying to shove more furniture up against the door, others drawing swords, and still others doing.../something/ behind all of that. They're dressed well, if not elaborately; the sort of people you'd expect to frequent the Queensrest, just not quite in that number. "HOW DARE YOU!" comes the affronted voice again, followed by a heavy smack and a different voice, "SHUT YOUR MOUTH." There are a few scattered screams, and then the men nearest the door bellow back. "DEATH TO HERETICS!" "Death to your pretender king!"

Monique's luck in getting to the window almost holds. Almost. Her fingers grip the window sill itself for a moment, before one hand slips, and she loses her tenuous balance on the sheer walls. Down she goes, and fortunately not over the cliff's edge, though it's a very near thing.

50 inflicted and Monique is harmed for minor damage.

Kastelon wields an Oakhaven-style longbow.

Austen meets Aleksei's look, worry sparking in his eyes before he redoubles his attempt on the door. Fairly uselessly as it turns out, stepping aside so someone else can have a go. However, the shouting from the inside gets his blood up. "In the name of the true King, Alaric Grayson IV, open this door!" he demands. "And if you come *near* him I will end every last one of you."

Kastelon steps back briefly when the door's starting to splinter, when it's not his turn to be battering away at it to gain entrance. From the corner of his eye, he catches sight of Samira, and there's a huff as he's considering the openings in his door and swapping to his longbow instead, briefly, just in case there's the chance to fire through an opening. "Hey, Samira!" He yells over to her. "Don't you wish you'd started those archery lessons we talked about?"

Reese hears the talk of defending the king and she switches out swords, going for the green sword of Grayson.

Tanith does a double take at the cluster fuck waiting for them inside the inn. "What is going on... who barricades themselves inside an -inn-?" she asks of no one, hands flexing around the handle of her weapon. Austen starts shouting, and Tanith darts a look over to Raymesin at her side.

"Together!" Felicia implores the gathering taking turns at the door,"On the count of three! One! Two! THREE!" the black clad Harrow backing up to slam into the door again with renewed fire at the shout of the men inside.

Reese wields House Grayson Elvesbane Longsword.

"Instead of trying to get through the barricaded door, maybe try breaking through a window?" Reigna calls over, "Maybe several windows all at the same time?" She finishes a patch job on a young woman and looks over her shoulder. "We need to get in there!"

Intent to bash the door down, Alessia throws her strength against it at every count Felicia gives, not letting up even as the door begins to splinter.

Kritr shrugs his shoulders and hefts his axe in both hands, there are too many people in the way for him to help at the door.

"Archers to windows!"

Reese looks to Reigna. "Good idea. Any low enough for us to us to reach?" She says, looking between her and Medeia. She now as the sword of Grayson wielded.

So close. So very close. There's a moment where Monique's smile flashes as she grabs the window ledge. And then her fingers slip and there's no purchase to grab and down she goes, tucking her body into a roll, using her shoulder and sides to absorb the impact of the ground. And moments later, she's getting up. And she's looking for a quiet first-story window to break into.

Thea isn't winning awards here. Nope. She hears Felicia though and gives it all she has, which isn't much. When Reigna shouts, she straightens. "That's a fantastaic idea actually,"as she too is looking for a window.

Thea claims that!

Raymesin checks command and intimidation at daunting. Raymesin is successful.

Michael checks strength and athletics at hard. Michael is marginally successful.

Aleksei checks strength and athletics at hard. Aleksei is marginally successful.

Austen checks strength and athletics at hard. Austen marginally fails.

Alessia checks strength and athletics at hard. Alessia is successful.

Sigismund checks strength and athletics at hard. Sigismund marginally fails.

Reese checks strength and ahtletics at hard. Reese is successful.

Felicia checks strength and athletics at hard. Felicia is successful.

Thea checks strength and athletics at hard. Thea is successful.

Kastelon checks dexterity and archery at daunting. Kastelon fails.

Michael checks luck at hard. Michael is marginally successful.

Aleksei checks luck at hard. Aleksei is successful.

Austen checks luck at hard. Austen is marginally successful.

Reese checks luck at hard. Reese marginally fails.

Alessia checks luck at hard. Alessia is marginally successful.

Thea checks luck at hard. Thea fails.

Nova nods back to Kritr and then at the shout of Michael, Nova moves up with a gauntlet-clad fist to break out the glass before smashing a diamondplate boot into the table behind the glass.

Felicia checks luck at hard. Felicia fails.

Rowenova checks strength and athletics at hard. Rowenova is successful.

Tanith checks strength and athletics at hard. Tanith fails.

Samira checks strength and athletics at hard. Samira is marginally successful.

Raymesin may be Lowers scum in this life, but apparently in his last life he was either a drill sergeant, a general, or a foghorn. "IN THE NAME OF THE TRUE KING, ALARIC GRAYON THE FOURTH, OPEN THIS DOOR!"

Kastelon checks luck at daunting. Kastelon catastrophically fails.

Samira glances Kastelon's way as she hears her name called. She makes a face, an emphatic nod given in response. "Very much," she yells with a scowl. She's intent on finding some way of making herself useful, so she stooped to snatch up a rock with the intent of smashing one of the windows.

It's possible that Aleksei is simply -- too fixed and focused on that door, the progress they've made, that he can't peel himself away. He can see them almost there, almost able to force their way in, and he just -- can't. "OPEN!" He slams his shoulder into the door. "THIS!" /Again/. "DOOR!" It's something -- beyond furious. "YOU FUCKING TRAITORS! I'LL RIP THIS WHOLE THING APART UNTIL I FIND HIM!"

Reese is tries to break through the window. She as much as possible, tries to be aware of both Reigna and Medeia. The Sword of Grayson seems intent on getting through as quickly as possible. For the moment she is quiet with a serious expression and a subtle worried pallor to her cheeks.

The door splinters. Cracks. And then it gives way with enough force that the table barricading it is shoved back several feet. That's when several things happen at once. Four of the armed men are right at the door, and those at the front of the charge have little time to react to being caught in the sudden bottleneck. Aleksei somehow, miraculously avoids a sword swing so close it may as well tried to shave him, but Felicia is less fortunate, as she takes a sharp stab to the ribs. Reese also catches a swing, though far less severe. And Thea? Poor Thea. She gets caught in the front, but then Kastelon's ill fated arrow sails right into her back.

Beyond, Raymesin can spot two of the armed men peeling off and making a dash for the stairs. One of the others shouts curses at them, but they don't even slow down. The barest glances anyone can catch of the interior beyond that are blood, smashed furniture, and bodies.

150 inflicted and Thea is harmed for grievous damage.

Thea checked stamina, willpower + survival at difficulty 46, rolling 17 higher.

Thea remains capable of fighting.

50 inflicted and Felicia is unharmed.

25 inflicted and Reese is unharmed.

The person who stabbed Felicia clearly miscalculated, given the way the blow skitters across her armor and causes the Harrow's green eyes to turn their way with a blaze of fury. The bearing of her teeth might be intended as a smile, but is definitely garish in its delight as she brings Wheelspinner up to try and cut them down,"Hold the breach! Find them and protect them!" she cajols the rest of the assault force.

Finding none of the windows without a barricade, Monique is looking to the walls again, her face a grim mask. And then she's reaching for the first hand-hold, ready to try one more time.

Once they knock down the door, sending the table back across the floor, Alessia quickly remains on alert for any blows that may come her way. Distracted as the guards by the door are, she manages to avoid harm for now, though she doesn't hesitate before she grips her iridescent glaive to slice through them.

"Two headed upstairs," calls Raymesin, having spotted them over the heads of the crowd. Some days it really does pay to be ludicrously tall. "Two headed upstairs! Stop them! In the name of the true king, Alaric Grayson the Fourth!" And that said, he'll be sticking to Austen and Tanith's flanks and rear again.

"CAREFUL!" Kritr roars at Kastelon, too late and impotent to intervene. He moves to put his body between Thea's and any further injury.

Reigna hisses as she sees Kastelon's arrow strike Thea in the back. Without thinking it through, Reigna darts over to try to catch Thea and gingerly get her out of the way of the others likely to charge into the Inn. "Kas! Never shoot into melee!" She carefully tries to get Thea into a position where she can work on extracting the arrow.

Reese has the sword of grayson drawn as the Inn is breached. She charges inside, intent on rescuing those of Grayson and Compact who might be inside. She is attacked, but her armor seems to protect her and Reese doesn't slow down. "In the name of King Alaric Grayson, the Fourth!" She says, starting in the direction fo the stairs, but she will fight as she goes if needed.

Luck isn't on Thea's luck tonight. Nope! Damage in the front and--"FUCK,"she shouts and winces in pain when something pierces her back. She stumbles forward, kneeling there to catch her breath.

The cracking of door draws Medeia's attention away from the injured man she had just finished binding a wound on. She looks up just in time to see Thea take the arrow to the back and fall. "Theeeeaaaaa"! Her voice is pulled from her body in a startling scream as she springs up, bag around her body and dashes toward her friend to pull her away from the crush of bodies and try to tend her wounds.

Austen storms through the door with the others. He heads straight into the Queensrest, sword out and alert for any attack. He'll focus on the closest armed enemies first, clearing the way to the stairs for the others.

Tanith glances up at her husband and his excellent natural vantage, frowning. "They're trapped in there, yeah? Is there a way out?" She peers at the door, then gasps, ducking, as an arrow shoots back into the crowd. As Austen muscles his way through the door, she hefts her axe, ready to follow him. "Ray!" she shouts, likely without need.

Michael Bisland managed not to get struck in the initial conflict at the busted down door. His sword swings outwards to deflect what comes his way. "Form ranks! Shields forward! Together!" Then everyone doesn't and Michael moves with Felicia instead.

Swiftly the red fox, 1 Greenmarch Guard arrive, following Neve.

Kastelon looks quite aggrieved at himself when the shot goes astray, and there's a hot hiss, and the motion of this lips as if he's berating himself as much as anyone else is angry with him. The bow's not out of his hands, but he's certainly being more cautious about selecting his am as he's trying to look for an opening through the windows.

He's always been lucky that way. Aleksei rushes, /springs/, into the Queensrest as soon as there's an opening, barely missing the shave of that sword. And then he's /in/, Chainbreaker in hand for any who would stop him, looking about in desperate panic as he tries to find -- something. Someone. "Orazio?!" The table by the fire. He was always there.

A yell of warning is caught in Samira's throat as she watches Thea suffer multiple blows. She sends a concerned glance toward the woman, but as soon as the medics are rushing to assist her, the Culler's attention refocuses upon the task at hand. Knife in hand, she hastens forward to join the ranks of the others rushing into the inn.

Michael checks dex and dodge at hard. Critical Success! Michael is spectacularly successful.

Raymesin checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Raymesin is successful.

Reese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Reese is marginally successful.

Kritr checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Kritr is marginally successful.

Alessia checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Alessia is successful.

Austen checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Austen is marginally successful.

Alessia checks dexterity and huge wpn at normal. Alessia is successful.

Tanith checks strength and dodge at hard. Tanith is successful.

Sigismund checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Sigismund marginally fails.

Samira checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Samira is marginally successful.

Felicia checks strength and medium wpn at normal. Felicia is marginally successful.

Kastelon checks dexterity and archery at hard. Kastelon is marginally successful.

Kastelon checks luck at normal. Kastelon marginally fails.

Michael checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Michael fails.

Aleksei checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Aleksei marginally fails.

Aleksei checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Aleksei is marginally successful.

Thea is kneeling still next to Reigna. Her breathing is labaored, teeth gritting. "Get this damn thing out,"watching as everyone is going in. No one can say she isn't stubborn and determined. Though Thea does appreciate Reigna and Deia.

Reese checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Reese is successful.

Valerius comes around the corner as a call was put out for the Inquisition and is surveying the issue.

Valerius checks composure at normal. Valerius is successful.

Neve checks dexterity and archery at hard. Neve marginally fails.

Neve checks luck at normal. Critical Success! Neve is spectacularly successful.

Neve checks composure at hard. Neve fails.


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The wave of attackers buckles under the new aid coming from Wash and Domonico, and in particular Ian's assault, but they still press on. Some of the Kennex guardsmen are giving ground, and the fires are getting alarming on the ground, but have not spread from the Main Hall yet.

OOC: Okay, roll wits or dexterity at normal for intiative, and then can say what you're doing in that order.))
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Kritr checks dexterity at normal. Kritr is successful.

Reigna works on Thea's wound, gauging how deeply embedded the arrowhead is. "Medeia, I need you to tightly roll about three inches of cotton into a cylinder for me please. I am going to need to use it to plug the hole." Taking hold of the arrow shaft, Reigna says, Thea, brace yourself. On the count of three, one, tw--" Before she finishes 'two' she's sharply tugging the arrow out of the woman's back.

Rowenova checks dexterity and archery at hard. Rowenova is marginally successful.

Grabbing the cotton, Medeia does as Reigna asks, focusing fully on the act to get it done quickly and not let the chaos distract her.

Neve runs in, luckily for her she /always/ has her patented Ida-made Greenwood bow, and Greenwood made arrows on her. "I told you it wasn't bacon we smelled cooking!" she yells at her fox Swiftly. "This way Switftly!" When she skidders to a stop at the chaos going on her mouth drops. "AAAAHHH! Firey Firebottom! L..Look at that!" Pulling an arrow she and trying a shot through the window she yells "Try not to die too much okay???" is her battlecry.

After mashing diamondplate gauntlets and footgear through one of the windows, then Nova hops back and brings around her bow with an crimson arrow which is nocked before it is aimed and then let to fly through glassless opening!

Meanwhile, Sir Floppington has her back, just in case anyone tries anything.

From his inital survey of the land, Valerius spots Rowenova. "Scout Nova, point me to where I can help!" He shouts out over everyone.

Reigna checks perception and medicine at hard. Reigna is successful.

Pure chaos. Pure and utter chaos. There are already too many people in here for comfortable fighting - though, thankfully, the main room of the Queensrest is nicely sizable - and adding more, all coming through the door itself, only adds to things. The men at the door put up a valiant effort, but it's also a very brief effort. Bottleneck or no, they can't hold back that rush of people, and it's wild enough that only a few blows actually land before they're cut down. There are others behind, but these are less organized, and another breaks for the stairs rather than face what's coming. "STOP!" snarls a man near the back, and, at first, he seems to be addressing the newest deserter, but no, he's looking toward the people coming in. He has one arm wrapped around the shoulders of a man Queensrest patrons would recognize as Francois, a rather prickly if entirely well-to-do manager of this fine establishment. And he's red faced, quite ignorant of the knife at his throat. "HOW DARE YOU!" No, he's shouting at the people coming in too. "Do you KNOW how hard it is to get splinters out of - do you know how EXPENSIVE that door was! You're tracking dirt all ov--" "SHUT UP!" The man holding him stares wild eyed at everyone entering. "Stop or I slice him from ear to ear."

Three arrows fly through the broken window. Rowenova's finds its mark in an attacker's throat, Kastelon's only just misses another, but happily misses anyone from his side as well. And in theory, in /theory/ Neve also misses. Well. She misses who she was aiming at. She misses anyone she was aiming at. Her arrow sails too high, too far, too fast, and strikes the hostage-holder right in the eye.

25 inflicted and Sigismund is harmed for moderate damage.

25 inflicted and Aleksei is harmed for moderate damage.

Orazio's table is here. It's easy to find, even if it's toppled, and splintered, and covered in blood. There must be at least a dozen dead attackers or more around that table, but in the moment, it's hard to tell the difference between assassin and templar, all lying where they fell. There's blood everywhere, but aeterna doesn't much care about blood.

Orazio probably doesn't care about it much either. There's a sword still in his hand, and it's sticking through the ribs of the man who almost certainly killed him.

Reigna takes the offered cotton and stuffs the clean fibers into the wound, teeth clenching in empathy. "I will bandage this for now, but as SOON as the fighting is over you will need to have the packing removed and have that wound sewn shut." Reigna splashes some astringent herb juice on it and covers the wound with a bandage, gathering her things now that there is a path into the Inn. "Are you good to stand, Thea?"

Dom, an unassuming assistant have been dismissed.

Saymore, the parrot that just won't stop have been dismissed.

Kastelon looks a little more satisfied - or at least not as gruntled as he had a few moments earlier, when he's firing another arrow through the window at the copious quantity of targets inside, though there's a distinctly displeased expression when he misses again. "Gods damn it and them," he can be heard to mutter to himself, shaking his head as he's getting another arrow notched, but isn't looking quite as quick to fire into the interior with others surging through the door.

Deftly dodging swings of blades, Alessia slashes the combatant in front of her, almost slicing him in half with the weapon. She doesn't spare him a look, her gaze shifting to the hostage taker for a moment. Before the arrow pierces him through the eye. "You're pathetic." She finds herself saying, through the fabric of her halfmask - to the poor hostage. "Be grateful your miserable life is extended." She murmurs as she brushes past to keep a look out for any other hostiles.

After Nova's arrow sinks into the throat of an attacker (which is one of those anatomical parts for which the scout often aims more than just today, hilariously enough)... she shouts out, "Marquis! With your axe: bust inside! Help in melee!"

Kritr backs out of the Queensrest for now, there is nothing more to be done here. He watches the upstairs windows for signs of those retreating attempting to escape that direction.

There are a lot of people crowding in through the door. And an arrow's just taken out the hostage-taker. Austen heads for the stairs at speed, going after the fleeing attackers Raymesin's pointed out. "In the name of the King, Alaric Grayson IV, stop!"

Valerius checks composure at hard. Valerius fails.

Michael moves fast, fierce and true! These would-be fiends get cut down by Michael's blade as he works to clear the inn of hostile heretics. Francois will not fall today! Even if Arx-Pope has.

Reese has the sword of Grayson drawn. She heads in the direction of the stairs, but fights as she goes. The warrior princess looks to Orazio, sucking in a shard breath. Still she tries to keep going. "I am Princess Reese Grayson, Sword and General of Grayson. I demand you surrender immediately!"

Thea grits her teeth as Reigna starts splashing her medicine on the wound. "Yeah,"she replies. "But--I want to get in there,"her words coming ragged breaths. Grand idea Thea! Thea climbs to her feet with help, her lips thin.

Valerius takes his axe in hand and barrels through the door, once inside a quick scan to find where the easiest route, though he is having a time keeping his calm in the fray and is starting to look around to find space either up to those that deserve his axe or away from those that don't

The threat of the hostage taker did give Felicia pause, momentarily. A moment wherein an arrow suddenly whistled out of nowhere and struck him in the eye. Her eyes go to the table that Orazio usually occupies with a sudden horrified grimace,"Surrender or die! Kneel and place your hands on your head and you will be spared!" she shouts to those still left standing before moving to strike those who seem to be set to commit violence still with a methodical skill.

There's only so many ways Sigismund can dodge, with so many pressing inside, before getting hit by a blade. Still, the older Ulbran moves forward, unsheathing his own greatsword. He glances at Reese when she makes her declaration, shrugs... and sets about to hunting down and killing as many of the attackers as he can.

Neve winces as she missed, just barely..twice and then..whammo. Whaaaaat? When she somehow inadvertantly hits the person she wasn't even aiming at possibly saving a life? She shouts "No Refunds!" Then her eyes widen as she peers through the window squinting as she sees where the arrow lands. "I..I said try /not/ to die! That..that's not dying the wrong way!" There's a moment of decision. "I think I just killed a man Swiftly.." she looks down at her confused red fox. "I didn't mean to..well..I meant to kill another guy, not that guy. Um..do you think that if we tiptoed away, noone would notice we were here? You're just giving me 'I'm just a fox' look. That's not helping. I think we'd better help. There's bleedy-people in there." She reaches into her quiver to find apothecary supplies she stores in there. Approaching the entrance, bow and arrow at the ready, holding onto the bag with a hand. "Oh, Thea, Reigna..um..do you need help? I killed a guy..um..it was an accident. Sort of. Maybe."

Raymesin moves in Austen's wake, a dagger in each fist. He's used to ducking to avoid the ceiling, and his weapons - unlike many of the others - are very much suited to this sort of extreme close quarters. And yet he's mostly interested in keeping Austen's back clear of attackers, trusting Tanith to do what she needs to.

Tanith muscles in past the splintered door, taking in the chaos, landing a blow or two or three with a grunt as she shoves over a table and swings her axe. She does her best to aim at legs, shoulders, openly tripping someone that tries to run past her. And there are people fleeing, and...

A table knocked over, a body, several others around it. Tanith lifts her head, eyes darting around as some of the attackers head for the stairs. "Ray!" she shouts, pointing.

There are moments that a person's world simply -- stops. If there were more attackers left in the room, if they weren't fleeing up the stairs, Aleksei might have been in true danger. Because when he finally finds Orazio, when his eyes finally land upon his broken and bloodied body, he can't do anything else. He stands there, staring, his breath stuck fast in his throat. And then he moves, stumbles, shoving his way past everything else, the bodies and the splintered chairs and tables. He falls to his knees among the bloodied floor and reaches, grabs him, pulls him in. "No," he whispers, and something in him is trembling. About to break. "No, please--"

"Thea, you can't,

Reigna selects a vial and shakes it before handing it to Thea, "Drink." With that last advice given, Reigna gathers her things and runs into the Inn. It is there that she sees Orazio. Or rather she sees Orazio's body and the color drains from her cheeks, her eyes widen and for a moment she freezes, staring. "No." The sound of her voice seems to compel her into motion and she darts towards Orazio, kneeling in the blood and viscera uncaring, only looking at Orazio and trying to staunch all of his wounds as if he were not already dead.

"/Well/, you are BANNED from this establishment!" Francois declares, pointing after Alessia. He seems ruffled, but otherwise unharmed. There are other patrons in here, only a handful, alive but cowering against the wall. They were probably also meant to be hostages, but it's very clear whatever plan there was for that fell right apart.

Now that the first floor is clear, Nova slings her bow and arrow back over her shoulder and then she peeks in through the door and speaks in caring tones to those who are cowering but otherwise hale. "Let's get you guys out of here, yeah?" On the other side of the door, they can see Sir Flop peek in, too, with those soulful eyes so kind.

In such close quarters, Samira finds herself feeling grateful for her small frame. She attempts to duck and dodge the fighting around her in the hopes of making her way further into the room. When her gaze falls upon Orazio, she freezes, a string of breathless curses escaping her. Fury builds in her expression as she turns, her eyes flashing warning as she readies to stab at a nearby opponent.

"Thea, you can't," Medeia tells her friend, helping Reigna with the final things that need doing before standing and starting to move behind the crowd, looking to see where her attention is needed most. She's able to make it into the Inn, eyes scanning, before she spots... The thing she feared the most since arriving. She rushes forward toward her uncle's body, a keening, terrible sound wrenched from her throat that might've started as a 'no' devolved into something barely human by the time she landed on her knees next to him. "Uncle Razi. Uncle Razi!" And then she's sobbing, clutching at his arm.

There's a brief look of confusion as Thea watches Reigna take off. But it's brief because she sees Orazio's body and she--what color the Malvici had has slowly drained from her face. "That--no,"Thea shouts, trying to hurry her way over to help Reigna. And a hurry is really just a snails pace. "Reigna,"she murmurs quietly as she too starts trying to stop the bleeding. Like she herself isn't a mess. "What--,"pausing to hear Medeia. "Nono..we have to help him,"Thea insists.

"Unfortunate." Alessia says faintly, before she studies the dominus for a moment, with a brief narrowing of her eyes. Then she's turning to the stairs. "The prince is upstairs." She says to those around her.

Reese nods to Alessia and keeps pressing to try and get up the stairs.

Whether or not they had other ideas beforehand, every assassin on the main floor dies fighting, and dies quickly at that, entirely overwhelmed. That leaves only the three that ran upstairs. "We don't recognize your authority!" one of them declares, albeit a little shakily. "Your king is weak, and the false Dominus has fallen! LONG LIVE THE TRUE DOMINUS!"

"Then you will fall," Austen declares flatly in response to the upstairs assassins. The shouts from below have him glancing towards the fallen Dominus. "You..." he starts, flushing angrily before his words fail him and he attempts to back up his words with the sharp edge of his sword instead.

Staff greet the newest guest to the Queensrest with sniffs of disdain, then pointedly ignore them.

Reigna checks composure at hard. Reigna is successful.

In case anyone escapes out the windows above, Kritr stands ready with an axe to greet them.

"Whos the 'True Dominus' your shoe?" Michael yells after the fleeing assassins as he follows them. An absolutely drivel chirp but effective enough as he charges up the stairs after the remaining assassins.

Kastelon checks composure at hard. Kastelon is successful.

Raymesin moves with Austen, his longer reach and more weapons making up for his shorter blades to at least some degree. This sort of close-quarters fighting is where Raymesin excels, similar as it is to the back alleys he grew up and usually operates in; the tight confines of the inn don't hamper his knives nearly as much as they do longer weapons. "Alaric the Fourth! Alaric the Fourth!"

Kastelon wields a rubicund longsword in Oathlands style.

When she sees the mess of Templars as well as the Dominus on the floor there, Nova quietly sighs with briefest forlorn. Then, she focuses anew upon those mobile clientel who are still alive. With a reassuring expression (she hopes), she beckons out the terrified folk if any of them do decide that they might actually follow her (to get out of the way), she tries to get all their names and those of anyone else they knew were there and full accounts written down.

Tanith follows Austen and Raymesin up the stares after sparing one more glance at the crowd gathering around who she now understands to be Orazio, the Dominus. She hefts her axe, on the heels of knight and knifeman.

Reese has the sword of Grayson drawn and blood stained as she tries to charge up the stairs.

"You'll save him," Aleksei says to Reigna, his eyes desperate on her. He has Orazio's head and shoulders pulled up against him, cradling him in his arms. "Reigna. You'll save him. You have to--" His voice breaks, and there's such an awful, indescribable well of grief in his eyes. "She can't take him yet. Reigna. I'm not ready--"

Medeia checks composure at hard. Medeia is marginally successful.

Aeterna does not stain. The body of the Dominus is a beacon of white in a chaotic mess of red and splintered furniture and anger. It is a beacon that is soon surrounded by the disbelieving, the grieving, the vengeful and the confused, but Orazio is beyond care or ken. The body shifts in Aleksei's grasp, and the remains of a broken vial on a chain tumble out the neck of the Aeterna robe. From it, a thin line of blood drifts down the collar...sinking into the white fabric in a tiny red river.

The bow comes away, when there's there's the sound of battle within quieting down, but Kastelon's not letting down his guard - the sword comes out instead, standing by and standing guard in case one of the attackers gets past those inside and back out onto the streets.

Felicia musters the lingering Iron Guard, not that she isn't the same rank as them, but still she orders,"You, go and find Blessed Hamish. You two hold the door, and you lot help the mercies with the living. His majesty isn't here, so we must press on to the palace and insure his safety." she insists, casting a final look over the room before she heads towards the door.

There's a wild look to all three of the remaining assassins now, though they're in varying states of bravery, with overwhelming force in front of them, and nothing but an entire, elaborate collection of walls behind. "--For the Mourning Isles!" one of them screams, loud enough that he seems to startle himself. "For the /Faith/!"

"No, no, no, no...." Reigna clamps down on her tongue, pulling herself together with a fierce determination that leaves the tendons in her jaw quivering. Aleksei's faith in her is met with a sharp nod. She presses the flat of her hand against Orazio's chest, leans her head down to see if she can hear him breathing. The answer is no, given the look of utter sorrow contorting her features. Her grief is plain on her face, but she does not cry. Instead she works, drawing a small bellows from her medical kit and slipping it between Orazio's cooling lips. She presses the bellows for a series of beats and then puts the heel of her palms on his chest, starting to do chest compressions. It's fairly evident from the start that Orazio is already dead. But she tries.

Medeia's hands are gripping Orazio's arm so tight her knuckles are white, but Aleksei's plea to Reigna shakes the Harlequin. She looks up at Aleksei, her sobbing ceasing and expression devestatingly grim. She shaes her head and begins to whisper a prayer to the Queen. Once she finishes, however, she just notices the river of red on Orazio's aeterna as she leans down and clings to his arm, sobbing anew.

"One last chance to surrender.." Reese says to the three remaining assaisins before she lifts the sword of Grayson and attempts to attack as soon as she is in range to do such. Her expression is hard and her cheeks are pale. Despite all the pink, Reese is clearly a woman of physical strength. She winces upon hearing the sounds of sorrow.

Samira's breath catches in her throat as she hears Medeia's heartbreaking sobs, joined with the disbelieving cries of others amidst the chaos. She turns, a mournful gaze cast over her shoulder toward her friend before she rushes to join those barreling up the stairs. "They will pay," she mutters aloud, tightening her grip on the hilt of her knife.

Austen checks strength and huge wpn at hard. Austen is marginally successful.

Thea eyes one of the assassins then flicks her eyes toward her dagger, picturing it in one of their guts. "Shut up,"she shouts as she tries to help Reigna. She then looks to Medeia, frowning even more at her friends cries.

Kritr follows Felicia when she turns her attention to the Palace. "I will join you Dame Harrow, if that is acceptable." The screams from above tell him that no assassins are escaping that building alive.

Alessia checks dexterity and huge wpn at hard. Alessia is marginally successful.

Reese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Reese is marginally successful.

Raymesin checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Botch! Raymesin catastrophically fails.

Michael checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Michael is marginally successful.

Neve puts her arrow back, her bow over her arm and begins checking on people. Dead...dead...another dead one.. Well. This isn't going well. Her fox stays outside. All that blood and screaming..no. Not for Swiftly the fox. She moves over to Orazio, looking down. She reaches down to touch Thea on the shoulder "He is heading to the wheel now. The goddess, she will guide him. His time is done, and there is no longer any pain or remorse. That is for those that are left behind." She kneels on one knee, to say a short prayer herself for the man.

Samira checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Samira marginally fails.

Thea checks strength and small wpn at hard. Thea is marginally successful.

Felicia gives Kritr a firm nod, starting to head towards the palace to check the situation there.

Bonehilda, the prettiest-colored spider leaves, following Felicia.

The cry from the first assassin seems to stir the other two. "For the Faith," one of them says, repeatedly, over and over like a mantra, barely above a normal speaking volume. The other starts shouting. "For the Faith! For the /Faith/! For the--" And the first one, startled again by his comrades taking up the cry, starts screaming it again. They raise weapons as they're charged at.

There's no mystery as to how this will end, and no surprises except one. One of the assassins gets lucky. He just gets lucky. A single blow that makes its way past Raymesin's defenses.

And then they die. All three of them.

100 inflicted and Raymesin is harmed for minor damage.

Sigismund lingers just long enough to watch the last of the assassins die, and Raymesin survive the blow against him, before sheathing his blade. With nothing more to do, the eldest Ulbran takes his leave, taking a forgotten bottle of fine wine on his way out.

Reese sucks in a sharp breath. She then tries to do a quick search of the upstairs, wanting to assure that nobody is hiding up here.

Even close quarters, and with a dagger strapped to her thigh, Alessia seems intent to keep using her glaive. She shifts the handle to make it easier for herself to manoeuvre. It takes a bit of effort but she manages to slash through the assassin closest to the Pyre Suite. She tries to get through the door to ensure Damik is either not within or inside but unharmed.

"Reigna, please." Aleksei's voice is little more than a whisper now as he watches her. She may not be weeping, but his face is streaked with tears. His gaze only drops back to Orazio, trembling, when he catches the motion of that vial. It all happens in an instant: the recognition, the reach. He doesn't clasp it, but holds it pressed warm to Orazio's chest. Right over his heart. But his hand is shaking. "Please."

Raymesin takes a blow to the torso, and it's a blow that would have cleaved him in twain if he weren't wearing armour. The assassin's blade strikes but does not penetrate deeply, leaving Raymesin snarling. If anything, the pain's just made him angrier, and he goes through the assassin who hit him like a knife through ribs. And flesh. And tendons. And arteries. And anything else soft, squishy and important to people who want to stay alive.

Tanith checks strength and medium wpn at hard. Botch! Tanith is simply outclassed. This is monumentally beyond them and the result is ruinous.

The assassins dealt with, the deed done, Austen steps back, breathing heavily. He takes another suspicious look around before he wipes his sword off on a fallen cloak, eyes scanning Raymesin to check that he's okay. He takes another breath, the noise from below has him pausing. He moves quickly down the stairs, taking in the scene for a long moment before he moves towards those surrounding the fallen Orazio. He crouches there, reaching to rest his hand on Aleksei's shoulder.

It is the tremor in Aleksei's voice, the sinking, depressing knowledge that there is only failure to be found in this effort, as tears well up and begin to spill down Reigna's cheeks. Sweat beads at her brow as she continues the cycle of compressions, then pumps of the bellows. But the longer she goes, the lack of response gets as heavy -- heavier than her tiring arms and her rhythm falters. She keeps trying, unwilling to give up, even as all logic points to this being over. Reigna's tears drip down her chin, though she does not -- maybe cannot give voice to her grief.

Tanith's swing goes amiss during the fight with the assassins, she yelps as she misjudges, her axe going flying, and embeds in the ceiling. "Shit!" she hisses, but it's fine. THIS IS FINE. Everyone gets taken out that needs it and while there's injuries, Tanith isn't one of them. Her pride, well. Yeah, alright, that's wounded a bit.

Samira is not likely to be much help in this final fight against the assassins, unable to gain the same reach as those with longer limbs and bigger weapons. When the last one finally falls, no satisfaction gleams in her expression, only solemnity. She glances sidelong to Raymesin, a silent check to ensure that he remains in one piece despite the blow dealt.


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There's word of combat raging in the Queensrest, as a large number of citizens and guards storm the inn, but it doesn't last long. Rumors are far more interested in what the group found, and they spread like horrified wildfire throughout the city. Assassins have struck at the very heart of the Faith, and while cut down to a man, their mission appears to have been accomplished before any help could reach them. Despite the valiant efforts of the templars, and the final bravery of the man they were guarding, the assassins have succeeded. .

Dominus Orazio is dead.
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Aleksei feels that weight on his shoulder. Does he look back to see Austen? Somehow he just knows, maybe. "No, it's--" His breath hitches, but he just -- keeps watching Reigna. "It's okay. He's okay. Reigna is going to--" And then another hitch, his breath trembling in his chest as his grip tightens on Orazio's body. "I'm fine. He's going to be fine. He's going to be--" And the next catch of his breath is a sob.

Reese is still searching up stairs, checking out every room in the inn with the sword of grayson drawn, the Queen's own weapon. She looks pale and upset.

The compressions stop, and Reigna leans down and puts her head on Orazio's chest, listening, eyes closed. There is a shudder of her shoulders, and several thick swallows before she says, "He is gone. I -- I am so sorry. I tried." Her voice is a thick whisper, her tears beading on her lashes and spilling down her face. "I am so so sorry..."

It is good that Nova is a messenger/scribe who brings paper wherever she goes, along with her quill in a vial on her belt, too. She writes as much about the situation as she can gather and helps the Iron Guard with those reports, too.

There's no one else to find. No assassins, in any case. And it would seem the Prince and his retinue are currently out.

Michael turns back from the upstairs room to instead head down into the main room once more. Michael has no place there now. He returns to secure the scene around the inn, setting guardsmen to guard.

Rowenova says, "Lord Michael! I have a list of names and accounts for you!"

Raymesin moves when Austen does, gathered up by the Knight-Lieutenant. He looms behind Austen's shoulder, his bared teeth and pale eyes visible through the open T at the front of his helm. Blood drips from the knives in his hands, sprays of red spattered across his black armour, and he doesn't seem to notice or care.

She may not know the man cradling her uncle's body, but she is right there in that pain. One hand pulls from Orazio's arm to seek out Aleksei's hand, resting over it. Somehow, she has just enough left in her for that much compassion as another long, keening sound escapes from her and she buries her face against the arm she contineues to hold tightly.

"I'm sorry," Austen says to Aleksei, the knight's voice surprisingly gentle. He shifts a little, settling his weight carefully on his heels. "I'm sorry," he says again. "He's gone," he echoes Reigna.

Reese eventually returns from upstairs, but only after she assures it is clear. She looks over to Reigna, Alekesei and the fallen Orazio, sucking in a sharp breath, but she doesn't draw near to them. Still she seems to be in a protective, guarding stance.

There's a frown from Thea as she just---watches. She watches the man in front of her, unknown tears streaming down her face. His blood is now mixed with his, the color blending in with the red of her leathers. Thea weakly and very tiredly leans against Medeia, murmuring to her friend,"I'm so very sorry..."

Reese tense and on edge like she wants to fight someone even. She paces in front of the group around Orazio with her sword drawn as if meaning to guard, although she likely realizes she is too late. She tries to stay alert though, wanting to make sure that nobody here is attacked while they are grieving.

Neve stands as she sees Reese come down, then reaches over to touch Reese on the shoulder "You should probably make sure there isn't anything else happening like this in the city, and make sure it's secure Princess. If..that seems like a good idea? Others may need your strength more than we need it here now."

Tanith leaves her axe where it is right now and turns to look at Raymesin and Austen, trying to catch her breath. She watches the others gather and grieve.

Samira makes her way back downstairs, her movement slow and careful. Most of her fury has receded, replaced by the deep weight of sadness. She steps forward to rest a hand on Medeia's shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze, a silent gesture of sympathy and support.

"HE'S NOT GONE!" It comes sudden and sharp and just a bit wild as Aleksei's fingers grip tight to the aeterna Orazio was wearing. "He's not. He's not gone. Get -- get the Nox, get //Lorelai//, she wouldn't let him die--" It's a terrible thing, watching someone try to bargain with death; it all tumbles out of him with desperate rapidity. "Skald can heal, he's not Lagoma, but he healed me once, he knows how we work--" His breath drags in ragged hiccups, and his eyes finally find Medeia, staring at her as if he's unable to really see her as she clasps a hand over his. But he can recognize the grief. "He's not gone."

Kastelon lingers at the fringes, watching through a window into the interior of the inn, as if he's hanging back somewhat and keeping an eye on what's going on within. HIs expression is stoic, but it's clear from his eyes that the huntsman is as shaken up as many of the others.

Even though there is a lot going on, Nova never stops operating and does the streamlining things, like brining papers to Michael as well as getting whatever the guard might need and making sure they have it right away, so things are smooth as butter (or better).

Kit, the grey fox, Primus, First of Monique's Assistants, 1 Greenmarch Guard, Tertius, Third of Monique's Assistants leave, following Monique.

Reese looks to Neve and she seems torn, but she gives her a nod. It is hard to tell what the princess will do, because she even she isnt sure. She looks over to Aleksei and being eager to help, she nods. "I can go run and see if Skald is at the choice temple?" She doesn't even know the right term for it.

"Well." Alessia says, seeing that the prince and his retinue are safe. She shuts the door, turning back, past the bodies to return to the main room. That's when she's face to face with the distressing scene on the main floor. "We got some vengeance." She glances around the room, shifting her mask down, her lips staring at the bodies in distaste. "At least." Then she's heading out of the inn, blood still dripping from the glaive.

Sirra, a very quiet maid, an indeterminate number of cats, 3 House Mazetti Guardians, Lance, a rebellious swan that likes to headbutt leave, following Alessia.

Tanith looks up at her axe buried in the ceiling. She looks at her very tall husband, clears her throat, and tugs on his belt. "Ah. Love?"

Even Sir Floppington helps by being supportive to the survivors as needed.

Raymesin turns on Tanith with raw speed, bringing up the knives in his hands - and then he realises who it is, and stops dead, before lowering his knives. When he gets pointed at the axe, he switches both knives into one hand and pulls the axe down, offering it over a few moments later.

Reese hmms softly. "Maybe Sir Floppington could find Skald?" She says, seemingly grasping at straws.

Neve reaches out to try and squeeze Reese's arm "You know that won't help. He is already on his way. Princess..you know what your looking at here. Your a warrior, you know what you are looking at. Make sure your people are safe, Grayson."

The feeling of Samira and Thea attempting to support her does little to ease the horrific grief that has gripped Medeia. She is now clutching both Orazio and Aleksei. She has quieted, though, a silent scream caught in her throat.

Austen glances around carefully, taking in who's left behind. There's a long pause from the knight before he looks over at Raymesin and Tanith. "When you've got that sorted, can the two of you go tell the rest of the Harlequins please? They'll need to know," he says softly. He moves a little behind Aleksei, shifting so that he's a warm - if armoured and probably blood-splattered - presence behind the other man. "Aleksei. He's gone," he repeats quietly. "I'm sorry."

Nova looks over to Sir Floppington, "Well, he has been around Prism twice. Mayhaps, he can find her, and you could ask her? If anyone would know where Skald is, then it would be her." After leaving items with the Iron Guard, Rowenova steps inside to take a peek at the Dominus a bit more as Sir Flop steps closer to Reese.

The Iron Guardsmen duties now are a few guard to hold this location while the rest stream of to deal with other things throughout the city. "Hold this location. I'm moving to the Barracks."

Reese looks to Neve, nodding in response to her words. "Yeah." She says, the one word heavy. She then looks to Michael, nodding to him. "Send word if you need help, Lord Michael."

Tanith isn't offended by Raymesin, calm and still. "Thank you," she says quietly.

Rocco helps Thea to her feet, having her lean against him. The Malvici says quietly,"I--need to get these looked at. I'm sure Eirene is about while you all,"her gold-flecked green eyes turning to the body of Orazio. She frowns, not bothering to wipe her eyes. "to tend to the Dominus." That said, Rocco helps lead Thea out the door, her footing slow and dragging.

Neve eyes Reese a few moments "Alright. It seems this is the extent of what your capable of Grayson. I guess it will have to do. I'm going to go and make sure that the City is okay. If they attacked like this, they may have hostages elsewhere or some greater plan of escape where they didn't make it to. Just make sure that everyone here is okay. And Thea is hurt, make sure she is seen to. I'll notify Lady Eirene." She turns to make her way out

Reigna checks mana at daunting. Reigna is marginally successful.

Aleksei stares at Reigna, an ache in his eyes as if he might accept something she has quietly offered him. And then he just says in a quiet voice, "He wasn't 'the Dominus.'" It's not the end of the thought, but it takes him a moment, for his breath to work. For the words to work. "He was just Orazio." And then he hears, and feels, Austen behind him. He hears those quiet words. And he breaks. He bends over Orazio's body, his shoulders shaking as he sobs into that shoulder he clutches so very fiercely.

Thea glances briefly at Aleksei, smiling faintly,"No. My family knew him as Razi,"before she steps out.

Finn the large Northern hunting dog with icy blue eyes, Rocco, the rascally assistant leave, following Thea.

Medeia doesn't even notice Thea leaving, she doesn't really hear the words spoken around her. There is only pressure and heat and the hard 'whoosh' of her own fast-pumping blood in her ears. On instinct alone, she is able to stretch her arms to encompass some of Aleksei with Orazio, seeking out the man like he might be a raft on the sea, but her eyes are bleary and unseeing, and she's fallen eerily quiet.

Austen takes a breath as Aleksei breaks, the knight's eyes closing as he struggles with his composure. There's another intake of breath from him before he glances up towards Raymesin looming behind him, his eyes searching for Tanith next. "Tan. Can you get the two of you somewhere safe, please? Thank you both for having my back." There's something quietly commanding in his voice, the knight settling down to sit on the floor next to Aleksei now. He slides off his gauntlets, carefully placing them to the side before he resumes his previous watch behind the man, one hand on his shoulder again.

Reigna has gone very still and quiet, a look on her face of intense concentration, of focus as she makes slow, graceful motions with her hands. There is that prickle in the air, that sense of unnatural... something. Reigna's cheeks grow dull red, her hands shake a little, her eyes glassy almost feverish... and then she sags and whatever that air tension was is gone. And Orazio is the same. She covers her face in her hands and bows her head in defeat.