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Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 5-3, Convergence

While Aodhan had been through Vallara on several occasions he had never found a reason to enter the Civic Center of the town. For as large a difference that existed between the Residential District and the Commerce Quarter there was just as great a one between the section of the city devoted to business and the part dedicated to its ruling class. Aodhan wasn't ever particularly at ease in the Commerce Quarter but that feeling was only enhanced as they passed through the simple wooden gateway that separated the two.

While elsewhere in town the cobblestones were saved for only the main thoroughfares, every last one of the Civic Center's roads were finished. Every building within view was decorated with concrete or stone and had artistically placed siding, finishing, painting, and relief sculptures. The beauty of the surroundings brought back memories of his time at the Sisters' cathedral. Sister Aurelie squeezed his paw; apparently he was not the only one.

The lamp men were out in force on either side of the road, working diligently to snuff the oil street lamps posted at each intersection, using large copper and brass poles to extinguish the lights. While the other sections of town had occasional oil lamps, the Civic Center put them to shame with the luminosity provided by the burning lights every fifteen or twenty strides-- an obvious show of opulence, if not class distinction.

Brody, the Doberman that had been accompanying Umberto met them as they passed the third intersection; he had a quick pace to his stride and hailed the group from several yards, "They're gathered in the fountain square... and it's looking... tense."

Sandoval gave a half-hearted 'ha' before noting, "It involves the Church... of course things will be tense."

Umberto shot the Human a glance, but said nothing to him. Instead, the Wolverine looked to Aodhan, "We should hurry unless we risk things escalating before we get there."

The Wolf nodded simply and looked back to the party, "We need to move faster... I cannot imagine things are going well."

There were no real objections among the group, and Sister Aurelie's concerned expression made the urgency seem all the more acute; Aodhan increased his speed accordingly. Brother Rhys and Runs-on-Air redistributed a small sack of supplies between themselves before jogging to catch up, the latter glancing behind the party every so often before pressing forward to inquire of the Wolf in the Tribal tongue, "If the Men of Symbol choose to attack this village will our friends be safe where we left them?"

Aodhan glanced first to Aurelie and then to the Buck, "Dr. Brownell would not be a target of the Church... healers among the Stone Tribe are treated as a valuable resource."

The young Deer did not seem very convinced, "Children and the Elders are both valuable, but the Men of Symbol did not treat them as such when they attacked the Yew Tribe..."

The Wolf didn't have a reply for that, so he simply nodded, "They will be fine, Friend Runs-on-Air... for now we must focus on what is ahead of us, not behind."

Although the buck appeared far from consoled he surrendered the conversation and returned to Brother Rhys' side. The two remained at the back of the group but the still kept up. Even at the faster pace, it took several minutes to get to where Brody led them.

Once they arrived, however, it was readily obvious that getting anywhere near the delegation would take a lot of effort: the entire plaza was filled with a crowd of onlookers. Closer toward the base of the city's capital building a large number of Church soldiers had assembled while Prince Malcom and one of their officers spoke on the steps.

Aodhan walked to the edge of the crowd then turned to regard his companions, "We will need to be ready if something goes wrong. Prince Malcom is a good man, and Vallara does not need this fight with the Church."

Sir Umberto nodded definitively, "I will work my way through the crowd and try to reason with the crusaders."

Brody reached up to tug slightly at the Wolverine's traveling cloak, pulling it around his right shoulder so it hung down the front of the Templar's body, "Considering the way the crowd looks like it's out for blood you might want to hide your holy symbol, Sir Marino."

The Templar let out a dejected grunt, but he obviously understood the wisdom of the suggestion as he reached up and pulled the edge of the cloak down over his left shoulder. With little more to be said, he gave a quick motion with his muzzle in the direction of the Church's forces; Brody followed him into the crowd and out of sight.

Aodhan looked to Brother Rhys next, "Find a safe place to stay out of the way in the event that things turned sour.

The Priest immediately objected, "If events transpire that cause people harm I cannot stand idly by, Aodhan."

Sighing, the Wolf looked to Runs-on-Air before speaking again in the Tribal Tongue, "Stay with Brother Rhys. If someone comes to harm he will want to help them, and he will need your protection."

The young buck nodded, "He will have it."

Brother Rhys did not miss the exchange, "I pray that you are not asking him to stop me from helping those in need."

Aodhan smiled calmingly, "Peace, Brother. No... I told him that you may need his protection if you are to help those in need."

The Yew Tribe messenger looked to the Rat and spoke tentatively in the Common Tongue, "I will... help you."

Unsurprisingly, Sister Aurelie likewise spoke up, "I want to help too."

The Wolf was reluctant to agree; the cat was small enough that there was an element of danger being involved with so many people around--it was very likely that his Eyara risked getting trampled underfoot. In the end, however, Aodhan realized that there would be no stopping Sister Aurelie once the Cat's mind was made up. He instead directed his Eyara's zeal in a productive direction, "If a fight breaks out help get the townsfolk away from it."

The Cat nodded, eyes glinting with a mix of apprehension and excitement. Aodhan was ready to provide more words of encouragement but, just then, a loud exclamation came from the crowd as a stone was thrown and someone shouted, "YOU'RE ALL VANN SEHN!!!"

The rock bounced harmlessly off of a footman's shield. Considering the reaction the leonine Church offier on the stairway had to it, the attack may as well have been the first catapult salvo in the opening of a siege. He pushed Prince Malcom back with a gauntleted paw and reached for his sword-- but his grasp was intercepted by Umberto, who grabbed the lion by his wrist. The two locked gazes and Aodhan was too far away to hear the words they exchanged... but whatever the Wolverine had said it was enough for the Captain to release the hilt of his weapon.

Aodhan kept his eyes on the Prince, the Crusader, and the Templar as the talk continued even as the offending onlooker was excluded from the crowd and led away by two members of the town militia. Sister Aurelie showed up at his side a moment later, offering softly, "Friar Arlowe has arrived with Mr. Severna and Dr. Brownell."

The Wolf glanced in the direction the Cat pointed, looking toward the fountain, where Tobias and Dr. Brownell were standing on the raised steps to get a better look at the proceedings. Aodhan raised a paw as Friar Arlowe, who was mixed in with the crowd to stay out of view of the Crusaders glanced toward him; the Raccoon Dog provided a nod, indicating that he was acknowledging Aodhan's presence, and all eyes once more returned to the negotiations taking place on the steps of the capital building.

Nearly twenty minutes passed with the three men remaining where they were. The conversation continued before a ram emerged from the building to join them. The man wore a simple brown robe with a yellow sash Aodhan recognized as an indication that he was a speaker for the city council. He moved to stand beside Malcom, and the conversation continued. Aodhan was pleased that things had calmed down since the thrown stone... but that reassurance did not last long as a crossbow quarrel whistled through the air.

With almost surreal speed, Umberto intercepted the shot with his shoulder-pauldron, knocking it aside from the Crusader, which had been the intended target. Everything dissolved into chaos thereafter and Aodhan lost track of the big picture, pushed and shoved through the crowd, only able to catch snippets of the goings-on around him. Although he fought to maintain his placement he was awash in the tide of people moving to find safety.

When he finally turned to work with the mob instead of against it he caught a glimpse of Sister Aurelie leading a group of families with small children off the main street and away from the press of the crowd. Further down the street, Sandoval shouldered a door open and ran into a building. Glancing behind himself as the press of people finally thinned out, Aodhan watched as the Church's bowmen fired wildly at a group of townsfolk who had surged forward with wooden clubs and carving knives.

One of the arrows flew wide and shot straight for the fountain. Still standing on its lip, Tobias grabbed Dr. Brownell and dove into the water a split second before the shot cleaved the air where they had just been; it bounced harmlessly off of a stone water spout shaped like a fish. The two emerged from the fountain soaked, but otherwise unharmed. Friar Arlowe quickly gathered them up and began leading them back away from the conflict.

The voice of the Officer atop the steps boomed across the square with the aid of a projection device, "Crusaders! If you have ANY love of our Lord God then lower your weapons!"

A split second later, after receiving the projection device from the Lion, the Ram shouted through it, "Citizens of Vallara-- any strike against one of the Church's soldiers will be returned to you two fold. Put down your arms!"

Suddenly, as quickly as it had begun, the altercation was at an end. In a matter of seconds silence prevailed... it was so quiet, in fact, that the sound of a body landing on the street after a three story fall was audible at each corner of the square.

As with the rest of those assembled, Aodhan's gaze went to the crumpled body of a man laying on the cobblestones beneath an open window at the top of the building into which Sandoval had forced his way. The Human stood in the window with an arm raised, "He was decidedly not of the Church-- honest!"

The swordsman held something in his hand he was presenting to the sight of the onlookers but it was hard to make out at a distance... a piece of jewelery... a ring perhaps?