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Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 4-4, Reversal of Fortunes

Leaving the scholars with Grange wasn't exactly the most ideal situation for anyone but Sada realized that she was short on options. With few possibilities open to her she chose to leave them all in the alley, hoping that the Order of Blades would be so busy with the catacombs of the underground Church that they wouldn't go so far as to patrol the surrounding city blocks. It was a long-shot but, then again, she had to reach Wiesen, Inigo, and Brother Jessen to warn them about the attack.

Although she parted ways with the rest of the non-combatants, she didn't stop thinking about them... and they became more prominent in her mind when, barely four blocks from where they were treating Grange she encountered the first set of Order of Blades scouts going through the back streets in what looked like a grid pattern; she remembered that search technique acutely back from when she had to make an escape from-- well... it really wasn't time to wax nostalgic, so she struck the thought from her mind.

The otter woman stayed to the shadows, skipping any alley that looked attractive to the searching swordsmen. She continued at a quick but prudent pace, cloth shoes padding silently along the street until she arrived at her favorite path to the rooftops: a small, squat dust sweeper depot with a metal tower leading up to its broad second level. From there she was able to hoist herself up onto the adjacent building's roof, which had long-since been her preferred highway through town that permitted her the freedom of travel without onlookers.

Sada moved from roof to roof at a much faster pace. Having had the unpleasant experience of accidentally falling through a rotting roof, she slowed only for the older buildings, carefully picking her footing before continuing onward in her quest to locate the rest of her group. She continued to hope that she wasn't too late and that she would find them before they alerted the Order of Blades to their presence.

The street lights shone down below on the night time boulevards, but the illumination did little to the path she took. While the otter usually preferred the cover of darkness as she moved about, she suddenly realized how it could turn to her disadvantage as a previously unseen figure lashed out and knocked her to the ground as she ran by. The thin, black cat separated from the shadows, his paw going to his sword as he gazed down at Sada, who was prone on her back, "Chose a bad night to be out and about... ma'am."

The otter opened her muzzle to speak, but the feline simply raised a boot. It was obvious in that second that he had the intention of bringing it down... probably on her throat or her head-- Sada liked neither option. Bracing one foot against a steam pipe and the other on the lip of the rooftop she swung her muscular tail in an arc parallel to the ground. The sweeping strike caught her attacker in the back of leg on which he stood, folding it and sending him collapsing to the ground. From there, she rolled over, grabbing his wrist before he could reach for the sword on his belt. Sada gripped his forearm tightly, pinning it to the rooftop, "Who are you? What do you want?"

He responded by bringing his other paw up and around, catching her on the side of the head in a punch and knocking her off him. The cat stood up, dusting himself off, "You're from that Love Church... so you're what I want." As he reached for his sword, the back of his paw caught enough moonlight to show a fur brand identifying him as a member of the Order of Blades. When he didn't find his sword, however, he suffered from just enough hesitation that the otter woman was able to give it back to him... point first.

It was a light weapon... more a foil than a true blade, but Sada knew precisely where to strike him to the greatest effect, and his paws fell directly to his groin and the long length of metal emerging from between his legs. Unwilling to surrender the advantage, the otter woman managed to get her feet under her, paw still on the weapon's hilt, and she slowly began to push it forward. The expression on the cat's face read of pure agony, and he had just enough wherewithal to retreat away from the advancing sharpened point... causing him to back up right off the edge of the building's rooftop.

Panting, Sada got back to her feet and took the several steps to the lip of the roof and gazed down at the mess two stories below her. Only after she did so did the otter realize that her silhouette was visible against the stars... and that's when a powerful light illuminated her clearly from across the street. The blazingly bright glow lasted only a second, but it was enough to completely destroy her night vision. Dropping prone, she blinked several times until her eyesight cleared enough for her to make out three figures emerging from the alley.

"Sada?" The voice calling her name was immediately recognizable.

The otter raised her head slightly, looking at Wiesen, who was at the front of the party. The group was approaching the building where she hid and the dragon had just slid a large, metal tube back into his carrying pack. Brother Jessen was still armed and armored, but his sword was back in its scabbard, while Inigio still had his own weapons out and at the ready. With all three of the men present, she hailed them, albeit in a low tone, "Stay right there, all of you... I'm coming down."

The trio did as was requested, and Sada climbed onto the structure's fire escape. The ladder, balanced evenly by a counterweight descended to the ground smoothly once she was on it; she only had to climb down the final three rungs and, once she let go, it rose back to its original position. Emerging onto the street, Sada was direct, and to the point, "The Order of Blades attacked the Church... they're there right now."

Brother Jessen's ears were covered by his helm, but the narrowing of his eyes told the otter everything she needed to know, "We need to help them!" He glanced around the immediate area, "Where is everyone else?"

"I left the scholars in an alley several blocks from the East Entrance."

Inigo let out a sigh, lowering his head, "That explains why we were able to get in and out so easy... they all left to come attack US."

Wiesen grunted, kneeling down so he could balance his large, leather bag on one knee as he began rooting around inside, "There's a chance that they may not realize what has become of their base... if that's the case we can use that realization to our benefit when they find out... and it could provide us the distraction we need."

Inigo finally put his blades away, "What? For more revenge?" he let his arms hang limply from his shoulders, "That sure has done us a lot of good so far."

Sada flicked an ear, "Destroying their base of operations in this district was not revenge... it was prudent self-defense."

The bat shook his head, "In that case it really didn't work that great either... no matter what you call it, I wouldn't call it a success."

Brother Jessen shifted his weight from one metal boot to the other, "The longer we delay the worse the result. We need to help the Church!"

Wiesen nodded definitively, rising back to his feet after pulling a collection of what looked like spare parts from his bag, "We will... but first we need to see to our friends in the alley..."

The coyote nodded with certainty, "We gather them, and proceed to the Church."

Inigo looked at the armored canine with a dull stare, "So all of us can be killed alongside everyone else?"

Brother Jessen snorted, "No... it's so we can save lives."

It looked to Sada as if the bat was about to start more objections so she quickly approached him and put an arm around his shoulder, "We'll see if we can do any good, and figure out our next move when we get there."

Inigo glanced to her and nodded mutely. Even after they'd been separated for so long, Sada recognized the bat's dark mood; she'd seen it almost every single time she had encountered him at the brothel. He wasn't suited to the mournful brooding of a man without hope, but she realized that there was little she could do for him save to keep him moving. The otter had saved him once; she had to have faith that she could do it again.

Wiesen raised a small metal cube up to his snout and faced a street light; the movement caught everyone's attention. The Dragon exhaled slowly, and then drew in a big, deep breath. Sada took an involuntary step back, surprised as the lit street lamps extinguished one after another. The dragon glanced back at the three of them. When he realized six eyes were staring in his direction he simply shrugged, "This will be easier in the dark."

Sada brought the group back through the many side streets and alleys. Despite contemplating the rooftop path, she realized that the easiest way up onto it would have taken them far out of their way and so, instead, she chose the most direct route. She realized that she was courting danger by throwing caution to th wind in exchange for expedience, but speed is what they needed. In the end, her luck held and they encountered no more members of the Order of Blades. None, that was, until they arrived at the scholars.

"Put the sword down and nobody's gotta get hurt." The human was one of four swordsmen blocking off the alley where Sada had left them.

Three of the Order were facing into the dead end while one maintained a vigil looking out, which meant that it was impossible to catch them by surprise. To that end, the fourth, a raccoon, did his job by calling attention to Sada and her group with the simple announcement of, "Looks like we got some more company."

The human aggressor remained facing into the alley, raising the point of his sword, "Take care of them."

Sada didn't recall who among the scholars had a weapon and she couldn't see past the Order of Blades to see who was armed, but she didn't have faith that any of them would be able to defeat a real swordsman in combat. Grange had SOME skill with knives, but she had no doubt that the rat would be hard pressed in a fair fight even if he wasn't injured. It really came down to one thing, which she quickly spoke aloud to her companions, "We need to get past these three and deal with him."

Inigo's blades were out in a moment, "Alright. I'll handle him." Without waiting for confirmation the bat charged.

Wiesen took a step forward, calling after the bat, "Inigo!"

His shout changed nothing; Inigo rushed the three swordsmen as they each drew their weapon. The bat ducked down, causing the lot of them to hunch low into a position more befitting a knife fight, but he immediately launched himself into the air, doing a complete flip and landing behind them, not even missing a stride as he charged the human.

Before the primary line of the Order could turn to address the bat, Brother Jessen stepped in, shield up, sword at the ready. Wiesen pulled a small metal handle out of his bag and gave it a shake; a rod extended from his grip and he likewise approached the men. The dragon moved his thumb against the handle and a few rhythmic pops accompanied the arc of electricity at the end of the weapon.

One of the three men took a step back, calling over his shoulder, "Hey... it's the mark-- it's Crook."

The human, who had already turned to face Inigo, glanced past the bat, "Take him alive if you can... just get rid of the--" he was forced to cut his orders short as Inigo rushed him, both blades flashing in the moonlight.

Sada remained back for a time, watching Brother Jessen and Wiesen fight the three Order of Blades. While she had originally feared that the two would be outmatched in addition to out-numbered, she was pleasantly surprised at how much difference a shield made for the coyote, and how incredibly effective the dragon's electric rod turned out to be against metal swords... especially ones without insulated hilts. One man was down, and the remaining two were hard pressed to keep Weisen and Jessen back until Inigo's fight turned against him.

The bat had done well at pressing the offensive, but the swordsman ended all of that as their weapons were locked. Inigo had the man's sword caught in a cross-block of his blades when the human pushed forward and delivered a headbutt to the bat's face. As Inigo was recovering, the human raised his sword, ready to deliver a killing blow, but his body shook and he froze when the tip of a sword emerged from his sternum.

A figure manifested from the darkness of the alley, pushing the man forward on his tiptoes. The dragon and the coyote dispatched their final two swordsmen and looked up just in time to join Sada in watching Inigo's expression as Alarice emerged into the light and shoved the man's corpse aside, the scholars emerging tentatively from behind her. She dusted her gloved hands off against one another, "Thanks for the assist."