The Arena Riots ( open, gamewide )

[civilobedience]

Who: The Militia, the city, and you.
What: The Arena Riots.
Where: The Arena, Griss Twist.
When: Newdi, Eliaderen 1. (Monday Oct 1st)
Notes: Companion post for questions and plotting is here.
Warnings: Violence, police brutality, disturbing content and imagery, graphic death.

It's apparent even before dawn that something out of the ordinary is happening. Canton sheriffs are roused from their sleep or pulled away from their work to be told that on no uncertain terms, today will be a day that they do not leave their neat lines on the map. That their individual offices will be responsible for all crime and unrest within their jurisdictions, with no help; the powers that be offer no details, but the creeping feeling in their presence suggests no questions would be tolerated anyway – the implication that they'll all be watched is a strong one. In Mog Hill, Sheriff Norrington proceeds as he always does under such orders. In Mafaton, leadership is stoic but one deputy laughs, sharp and bitter, while the Emissary of the Council merely checks his watch, unseen underground. Sir Hellsing is pulled away from her dinner in the Guild Hall, a Sobek Croix deputy anxiously relaying the news. The sound of shattered glass disturbs the pre-dawn silence in Flyside, a brick hurled by some faceless figure into the front window of Thames – and nothing else.

From the Spire, hooded Militiamen move quietly and uniformly south, to Griss Twist. They are followed by wagons, full of prisoners.

Comments

[goodsoldier]

He doesn't directly shadow her steps, but he's always within sight, moving around various obstacles, taking out attackers when necessary. As much as he prefers lone wolfing it, a large part of his first life was spent training with a partner, and there are an entire set of leftover instincts he can still use once he starts working with someone else. Plus, he doesn't want to form a two person brigade which would attract attention from those they're approaching. A person with a bird's eye view might be able to track their progress and see that he's following her lead, but at this point of the night, that must be nearly impossible.

[agrat]

Her use of telekinesis increases subtly as they keep moving, as her room for magic builds. Some of the other mages have realized that it's happening and are beginning to cast spells, which means, inevitably, something will be on fire, and God only knows how much damage that will cause. Lea isn't concerned about that, frankly; she's focused on her target, that ceremonies box.

When she finally slips into a stairwell that should ostensibly lead her upwards, its roof shrouding her from any views from above, she finds a blockade in the form of a cluster of young militia agents kettling a group of rioters into one corner. Lea rocks back on her feet and waits a beat for Jason, so that he can get a glimpse of what the hold-up is. She peers around the corner, conscious of the fact that the element of surprise will be fairly important here, even with her arcane power gradually blossoming back into full form.

[goodsoldier]

Her pause tells him a lot already, but he takes a look for the sake of numbers. One of the most annoying things about this city is the difficulty in obtaining and general ineffectiveness of projectile weapons that aren't, like, crossbows. They have their own problems with range, portability, and ease of reloading; Jason's never really been a fan. He doesn't love guns, he only likes what they can do for them, namely killing people both more quickly and from farther away. In this context, magic is the long range weapon, and he waits for her cue — something, he's guessing, like before, that scatters or immobilizes or maims, and then he'll have a better chance of killing people before they can kill him.

[agrat]

She takes a moment to gauge whether or not she's strong enough to do what immediately comes to mind as most effective. It's important to hit the militia agents while avoiding the other rioters, who are not necessarily good people--in a circumstance like this you'll find a lot of individuals simply taking advantage of the chaos--but still not anyone she wants to harm. Although Lea advised the people she brought tonight that some of them would be hurt and possibly die, in the interests of full disclosure, she didn't mean by her.

Maybe eventually she'll become comfortable with collateral damage. But not yet.

Her telekinesis is a precise but invisible weapon that splits the groups into two via a second blockade formed between them. Then it shifts, becomes more precise, razor-sharp, and cuts across the ankles of the militia agents. Several of them quite literally lose their feet, still alive afterwards and prone on the ground, and when those towards the back realize what's happened, they splinter out and flatten back toward the wall, away from the rioters.

Giving Lea and Jason both an opening. She'd prefer to use more hands-on methods as they progress through the stairwell, though, because that prior effort let her know just how many nullifiers there are left. (Too many.)

[goodsoldier]

The blockade goes up, invisible in itself but not in its effects, and then it cuts low across their legs, at which point Jason is already moving. He's still pretty fast considering his size and the sustained level of activity, but as before, he's more concerned about proper timing and strategy, both of which can compensate or prepare him for combatants that are physically faster. Some of the agents are almost certainly like that, but they aren't ready for him even if they didn't lose their feet.

Closing the distance between them is what takes the most time. Once he's there, it's one-two-three-four strikes to as many agents in just under two seconds. Those agents go down, one with a cut throat, one with a crushed throat, one kicked into the still standing group, the last stabbed under the armpit where the armor doesn't cover. Jason wrenches the machete back out, ready to deal with the others who only got knocked over.