A Riot for Hire (Samheen 26th, TT)

[Niccolo]

In the heart of the SouthBridge borough lies this large, circular park. At almost five hundred paces in diameter, the gardens are ringed with one of the many canals that thread through the city, with several bridges offering access to them from all angles. The park is unlit at night, but it is patrolled regularly, and vagrants are moved on immediately leaving the lovely facility free of unwelcome guests. Numerous fountains, ponds, glades, and lawns are collected within the gardens, allowing them to service even a great number of people at once with relative privacy.

At the heart of the park lies it's namesake, the old alter of the One used in very distant times before World's Mouth grew to manage a proper temple. The shrine is unused today for normal religious functions, but a priest remains nearby, and many weddings, funerals, and special events are often conducted at the Shrine even today. Many that pass by often leave a small offering to the One at the alter, preferring the humble and private surroundings over the massive austerity of the Prodesse Dominicus Cathedral in Highton.<hr>Stomping along with carefully-controlled excitement, Niccolo Amadicci Alvero paced into the Shrine Gardens. Excited he was, but he was also terrified. What if no one came? What if there isn't enough? What if nothing happens?[/i]

It was all idle, of course. Niccolo hadn't had the time to consider these reservations in the last couple days, for after the Sheep Shit Heist, he'd been rather occupied with his friends...or at least, the people with whom he most commonly associated. It seemed rather silly to refer to Finley Ward or Emilianna Medicci as his friends, since the former would sell his own mother for a keg of beer and the latter would happily see Niccolo face down in the Vedicus. But they were of some concern to Nico, and he spent much of the day after the Heist with them. After that, he had been busy with his recruiting...and while the recruiting had not gone as well as he'd hoped, it had gone, and was behind him. Now the time had come...the result of all his preparations...and strangely, it was only now, as he approached the rally point, that he really had the time to feel nervous.

Mio Deus, let me through this day, thought Nico, checking around himself to see who from Southbridge had followed him this far. Nico had already warned the local authorities that the riot would happen...well, he lied and said it would begin two marks later than it would, hoping to catch them unawares...and so he already knew entering the gardens that all the rioters would be arrested. Indeed, that was his plan...and everything hung on the ULT being incarcerated in Caer Doom...at least for one night. And when we get out...IF we get out...then we'll be stronger than ever, thought Nico, imagining just what kind of stories would be told about the Union of Laborers and Teamsters if indeed his plan met with success.

[Maeve]

Nico noticed that nearly all people that signed up in Southbridge had followed him, and in fact some of the people that signed up the day before started filing in. It wasn't much yet, but already it looked like a group of people that couldn't be denied.

Nico couldn't fail to notice that form the enterance of the Punts Den a large burly Orc entered the fray, looking with interest at the Riot.

[Niccolo]

He should have been nervous, but the moment Nico spotted the large collection of laborers, he couldn't help but feel...relieved. After all, the hard part was done, and now came the moment in which he needn't be too careful or hasty. No, indeed: now he need only unleash the mob, and relax as he landed in Caer Dumnare...assuming he would be arrested, which seemed rather likely given that he himself had warned the constabulary (even if he had deliberately misplaced the actual time of the riot).

Today he carried his hatchet. His hatchet was quickly becoming one of the items he relied upon for his day-to-day activity, and while he had made a mental note to purchase a crow bar, he hadn't yet found one suitable for his purposes (not that his purposes were so easily predicted). His hatchet, tucked into his belt behind his back and under his coat, was at the very least a cool comfort to him, and while his slowly mending hand couldn't quite wield the hatchet effectively, it did offer enough intimidation to insure that Nico wouldn't have to wield it in anger.

What I really need is a bodyguard, he thought, certain that he might soon earn all kinds of attention the moment the Union Members were released from jail. Someone like...THAT ugly bastard, he added, catching sight of the orc. Nico held orcs on the same standard as adhiel, gnomes, halflings, or anything else that wasn't human (or dwarven). They were...not human, and unlike dwarves, they really didn't have a fit place in any society beyond menial labor. Thankfully, that left most non-human people directly within Nico's influence, and so he would accept them with open, albeit quietly racist, arms.

The collected crowds of Union Members seemed far greater in person than they had in his head when he initially made his plans. There must have been perhaps three hundred names in his books, if that...somewhere around three hundred...and while that was easily a third of what he had wanted initially, Nico was instantly convinced that he had been in error. A thousand Union members, all collected in the Shrine Gardens, would have been a nightmare to coordinate, and easily too big to leave just the right impact on the city. With three hundred, he could throw around a lot of weight and begin the day's riots...and when the dust settled, this three hundred would be released to take their story back to their friends, family, and neighbors. The rest of the rioters...the non-union rioters...would be left to rot in Caer Doom, having nothing to protect them. It was, in a word, ideal.

"Alright, lads! Today is the day we show 'em in Highton what we're about!" shouted Nico, moving towards the faded shrine rocks at the heart of the Shrine Gardens. Leaping up upon one of them such that he could be seen by all, he reached back and took up his hatchet to hold it out over the crowd. "So the royals want to tell us what we're about, do they?" he shouted. "So the royals got plans fer you Workers, do they? Well let's show 'em what we think o' their business, an let's show 'em what for! Fer those of you that haven't joined the Union, come an see me first, an I'll sign you in right here and now. For the rest of ya, keep your badges on you always! First we'll go visit Lord Gaylocke, and when we're done there, we'll visit all the nobles in 'is precious Noble Council!" Nico's expression turned a little malevolent. "Take what you can. Burn what you can't take. We'll Put Em Out On The Street!"

[Maeve]

The gathered men cheered even louder as Nico encouraged them to loot the nobles. Now they not only were standing up for their rights and their livelihoods... greet and lust entered the minds of the men, for no women had joined this parade. Nico had created a monster that would be difficult to contain once it broke loose.

The march was already well on their way, and they passed several taverns, where people came looking what was up, even picking up one or two extra rioteers. People in Southbridge did have a nose for easy profit.

Nico found himself in the front end of the march, but easily passed left and right by angry young men, loosing himself in the crowd.

[Niccolo]

Their blood was up, and it certainly wouldn't take much for the mob to go violent. Having issued what badges he needed to long since, once the crowd was on the move, Nico didn't bother with any more. After all, the seed had been planted. By the time he reached Lord Gaylocke's manse, it was likely that the mob would double in size...perhaps even more...and that was perfect. After all, some of the rioters must stay in prison to show the great influence of the Union.

Shit! I'm going to be arrested! I DID THIS... panicked Nico for a moment, the monster around him growing to even higher levels of fury. And I'm going to be arrested...

All his preparations aside, there was still a hint of concern lingering in the Merchant Lord's mind when he thought about his coming incarceration. After all, it was Caer Dumnare...or Caer Doom, as the locals took to calling it. And the stories of what could happen in there were rampant and horrifying, and while Nico often blew them off as just idle talk and legend, they still held a grip upon his heart like a cold hand squeezing the energy right out of him. And I'm going to see it first-hand in about...two or three marks. [i]Focus, Nico! Keep them focused, too...don't blow the deal...

"Lord Gaylocke!" he shouted, directing those that could hear him in the direction of the notorious nobleman's manse, "this way!". He had to keep the bulk of the crowd together at least until they reached the manse, though in truth it really didn't matter so much. After all, when the legionnaires come out, they'd all end up at the same place together.

With this...strangely comforting thought in mind, Nico charged ahead towards the Silver District...and the home of the only nobleman he actually knew. "Take it all and leave him Nothing!"

[Maeve]

The estate appeared in the distance, surrounded by the lush gardens that once a year were filled with the Granda Balla of the Greylocks. Being one of the most formidable nobles, one of the most outspoken, there was not a merchant who hadn't heard of this nemesis.

There were no legionaires in sight as the crowd arrived at the estate in the rich street. The gardens were lush, and the houses big. They arm of the law could be behind every bush, every tree, every little fontain.

[Darug Sorghat]

Darug couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something interesting about this event. For days he had been sitting in the tavern, drinking one beer after another. The days had been long and dull, not to mention expensive. Even the beer was expensive these days!

The Orc didn't figure our straight away what the meaning of the riot was, but he decided to come along anyway. Pushing away the irritating humans in front of him, he made his way to the center of the crowd.
As they were walking down the streets, Darug listened to what the people were shouting, but more importantly, to whom they were listening.

It seemed that this human walking almost in front of the crowd direct the way. The man even went as far as shouting they should loot and pillage the noble houses. Suddenly Darug knew that this was one great opportunity to have some fun and earn some cash. Roaring with anger, holding his mace up into the air, Darug pushed his way thought the crowd until he was walking next to the leader.

"With the mace in hand, ready for action, Darug grunted at the man. "I want in on this."

[Niccolo]

The Gaylockes. There were precious few moments quite like this, moments in which irony met with circumstance to leave something very intriguing in their wake. Niccolo Amadicci Alvero had never met Lord Gaylocke, and despite his lordship's best efforts, Nico simply didn't care. Oh, the man was certainly some great hold-over from a long dead era of the city...and certainly any proper Merchant Lord should consider the Gaylocke family to be the very antithesis of World's Mouth...but for Nico, he was...a scapegoat.

In the past few yahren, perhaps Lord Gaylocke had worked hard to compromise the system of the Mouth? Perhaps he had exerted what influence he had...and no small amount was that...to leverage landowners and possibly even the Prodesse itself in his grim, desperate bid to break the power of the Magisters. Like any Merchant Lord, Nico could only grimace at his efforts with almost sympathetic pity. Tremble and despair, aristocrat, but your day is done, he would think, certain that the system of World's Mouth was the only sensible system anywhere.

And so today Nico would kill them all. The entire Gaylocke family would perish accidentally, slain in a sudden riot that resulted from the Royal Decree that so offended the 'sophisticated, enlightened' citizens of World's Mouth. While Nico should have had every reason to hate and oppose Lord Gaylocke, in truth the poor man was only convenient. If it weren't you, it'd be someone else. Either way, SOMEONE pays our taxes today...

So onward marched the Tax Collector. When the estate came into sight, Nico pointed his hatchet towards the complex. "THERE IT IS!" he shouted, less from any need to lead and more from excitement of the coming moment. Indeed, when all the Merchant Lords spoke tomorrow, Lord Gaylocke's death would be on all their lips...and they would ask how...and they would then ask about the riot...and they would then ask about the ULT...and they would then learn about Niccolo Amadicci Alvero. And they, too, would smile with sympathetic pity as the new overcame the old one...more...time.

Just near him was yet another of the sophisticated, enlightened citizens of World's Mouth. An orc, no less...and as such, very large and very formidable. And absolutely perfect! thought Nico, fully aware that in his condition, he himself could scarcely defend himself what with his broken hand. "Hey, mate...you're in. Hold with me a flick..." shot Nico, quickly taking out a group of guild badges and requesting the creature's name. "Now you can't read this..." it was common knowledge to Nico that an orc was utterly incapable of reading or writing...some kind of imperfection in the brain, no doubt "...but keep it on you, mate. And when the guards come...just surrender. Trust me..." Trust me. I've told that to three people, and I think two of them are dead. "...don't worry about an arrest..."

That was all he could say. Maybe he could go into detail for the orc, at the very least...someone such as him risked a great deal more than any proper, native, human Mouthie...but there simply wasn't the time. After all, Lord Gaylocke's estate was just at hand...

...and his taxes were long overdue.

[Darug Sorghat]

The human was quick with his response and way to quick with his agreement. Unfortunately Darug was way to dumb to figure that part out. With a deep and thunderous voice he said his name "Darug Sorghat." Due to the excitement it almost sounded as if the orc was just grunting. Without any questions he accepted the badge and pinned it on.
As Nicco gave him further instructions, Darug turned around, swinging his mace around, grunting loud, making sure everyone could see the badge.
Now those filthy humans would know that he was with the leader.
Unfortunately due to this action, he hadn't listened very well to Nicco and with his already bad understanding of the human language he had no idea what the human had said. The orc just smiled and nodded to the man. Loot and pillage...soon it would begin..

[Maeve]

The crowd was clearly out of control now, and there was no way that Nico could have stopped them if he wanted to. However, as long as he was still working with them, shouting his encouragements, providing leadership, the head still moved to his drum. There was an eagerness in the air, a bloodlust, that was akin to war.

Darug made an impressive sight, and as he gleared at the humans nearby, they hastily made more room, so that Nico, who had been pushed forward at an alarming rate, regained a measure of control over his own movements.

As they arrived at the wonderful estate of Graylockes there was not a legionaire in sight, even though from Nico's warning they would have had plenty of time to arrive. In all likelihood they were hiding out somewhere close, biding their time.

For one moment everybody held their breath, observing the richness of the manor before them.. a wealth none of the poor laborers could afford and into which the family which currently was hiding within was simply born into.

Suddenly, without warning, the crowd streamed into the lush gardens with a big roar. Glass splintered. Bushes were unrooted. Flowers and marble crushed alike. The first wood went up in flames.

Nico and Darug found themselves in the head of the crowd still, being pushed into the manor as the beast that the ULT was destroyed the manor, sniffing for the stench of fear and finding a young man holding a sword on top of the stairs, fearful women in enormous large gowns in colorful fabrics hiding behind him. The old Gaylocke had died over a year ago, and Chanton had taken his seat, being ever so vocal about the rights of Nobles to rule the Mouth. He was ambitious and traditional, well trained in all the things a gentleman should be trained in, such as the use of a sword. "STAND DOWN" he demanded imperiously "OR YOU WILL ALL BE ARRESTED AND EXECUTED FOR YOUR CRIMES."

[Niccolo]

In another life, it would have been cute to steal the Gaylocke women. They would make fitting servants at the Pannini estate, washing and fixing and driving out rats...and maybe even fitting whores, women fit for a Merchant Lord to parade around town, her family broken and ruined as completely as her own pride. Niccolo would have loved to do that very breaking, but...that was another life.

Today, they were...collateral damage. There was no way Nico could steal them away, and while he might convince one of the Union men to do it...maybe the orc...it was most likely that they would be raped at least a dozen times between here and the estate, and in the case of the orc, it was also likely they might be eaten. And so, it would be better if the Gaylockes met their fate right here, defending their own home...because that was the right the royals would deny those that were drafted...

Hey, now THAT's a good thought...

Turning, Nico caught sight of the orc...Darug. Motioning to the massive creature, he pointed up the stairs. "Have fun," he said, only two words...two very simple words that all but opened the door for the massive man to unleash all his fury upon the brave aristocrat that would fortunately be dead long before the ladies behind him were ravished and torn apart by the mob that Nico knew he could no longer control.

Waiting to see if the orc did indeed lead the charge against Lord Gaylocke, Nico merely watched the carnage around him. He didn't know how long it would take for the guards to actually arrive, but he began to hope it was sooner rather than later. After all, he didn't want his mob to dwindle as their pockets filled up with loot.

Loot!

Now that was a good thought, too! Glancing around, Nico decided that the best possibility for real cash might lie upstairs, beyond Lord Gaylocke and into whatever passed for a study in his manse. Indeed, there might be a safe or a lock box or even a purse lying around...untraceable, usable coin that he could keep to at least show some hard profit from the event. With this in mind, he would follow the orc up the stairs along with those union men just nearby, and once his lordship was engaged with Darug and the Union, Nico would slip by and get a first crack at the office.

After all, he might just manage to keep any coins on his person.

[Darug Sorghat]

As soon as the pillaging began, Darug's heart started pounding. It was the excitement before battle, before the killing started. Blood and guts. Much better than sex. He had waited long for this...too long.

Ruining the gardens or the buildings however didn't cut it for the orc. He wanted more excitement. Destroying inanimate objects was no fun. Oh, if nothing else was available, it would do. But seeing the nobleman with his sword shouting on top of the stairs, Darug knew he had found his target.

Niccolo didn't even have to tell him to go after Gaylocke, the orc was already moving up the stairs. He switched the mace from his left to his right hand and grabbed the axe from his belt. Running up the stairs he grunted at first, but as he reached the top of the stairs, he was roaring.

His tactic, the only thinking function his orc-mind could handle, was to run up to the human, try to scare him with his roar and when he was close, just outside of the reach of the sword, he would throw the axe at the human, then switch the mace from the left to the right hand and hit the man hard as they clashed. Yup..that was the tactic..Brute Force..Better Than Sex..

[Maeve]

Whatever lord Gaylock had been expecting it had not been a large green ORC. Behind him he could hear his sisters and cousins scream. A loud thud indicated Hyiacynth just fainted, crashing to the floor. In a flash the young lord considered whether he should turn and kill his female relatives, as a measure of mercy before the crowd would dig into them. "Back," he shouted instead, without turning to watch their state of despair "Back the way I told you, and take Hyiacynth with you." There was no more time. He HAD take advantage of his position before everything was lost.

"GAYLOCKE" he cried defiantly and cut straight into the beast before him, while he was still able to do so in a downward angle. His though leathery skin acted as an armor for Dargut, but in his despair Chanton did manage to cut him severly in the arm, overextending however and exposing his right side.

[Darug Sorghat]

As always, the tactic changed pretty quickly and all that was left was fighting on instinct. Darug had no problem with that, it was the orc at best. The pain of the cut shot through his body arousing a deeper rage inside of him. His roar was even louder than before.

Now the human had done it..now Darug was going to return the favour, blood and guts..the idea alone made him hungry. Unable to have thrown his axe, he dropped the mace from his left hand and looked at the wide open right side of the human. There, right above the hip was a perfect entry spot for the axe.

The orc swung his arm from the back to the front, making sure the axe would enter from the bottom and work it's way through the top of the body in a diagonal line. If he aimed right, he knew he could almost lift up the human. It was a bit of a sport for him to be able to do that, always looked so funny to have a human screaming in agony as he was dangling on the axe.

[Niccolo]

They're playing my song! Tu tu-tu tu-tuuuuu...

Nico slipped up the stairs just behind Darug, his own little hatchet to hand. Oh, it wasn't a weapon, his little hatchet...but then, Nico was hardly a warrior, either. Despite this, he knew a good situation when he saw one...and clamoring up behind a massive orc was definitely a good situation. Humming a pleasant tune in his mind, the young Merchant Lord managed to dispell the sounds of carnage around him in favor of focusing upon his own goals.

Not that he really had too many complex goals for today. After all, the real work was already behind him. Today was just the result of that effort...the orgasm to follow the lengthy courtship and foreplay...and while a strong core of fear and reservation continued to linger within his heart, Niccolo Amadicci Alvero overcame this with the little song he half-whistled to himself, a collection of notes that gave him some measure of focus despite the chaos all around.

Darug was tall. Indeed, Nico wasn't accustomed to looking up at many people, being a very tall man himself...but he looked up to the orc, and with the creature several steps ahead on the stairs, Nico found himself perfectly obscured from the desperate swordsman above. Oh, it would have been nice to slip beside the orc to help out...maybe give Lord Graylocke a little push, or perhaps toss one of his women down to him...but Nico was rather concerned for the orc's weapons, and did not want to be in the way of it's strike.

With this in mind, he awaited his chance...waited for the two to join in combat...

Clink! Thunk!

They were in battle, the rich scent of spilled blood faint upon the air already. And this was adequate for Nico, who would use the opportunity to slip by and gain the upper landing, his body crouched low such that he could better defend it as well as to avoid fouling Darug's attack. And even if the worst should happen and his lordship should attempt to strike out at Nico, then he would only sacrifice himself to the orc. Indeed, poor Lord Graylocke was in a very difficult, unavoidable bind.

Death and Taxes. Nothin' else in life is so very certain, you know.

[Maeve]

Fighting with orcs is a very straighforward thing, and not at all what Chanton Gaylocke was used to. He favored the rapier, but for this occassion had taken down his grandfather's broadsword, that usually hung above the chimney in full display. He had imagined himself in the heroic role of defending his sisters with fancy swordwork on top of the stairs, only to be swept away swiftly.

Dargut's axed locked itself into the body of the young lord, hitting him straight in the gut, and getting itself entangled with the soft insides. Thankfully for Chanton it was a very quick way to die, as Dargut cut through his spleen, while blood and yellow stuff spread around, and the white flesh of the guts spilled out of the wide gash. "Deus," he gasped before his eyes rolled away and the last male heir of this branch of the Gaylocke family embraced his gods arms, leaving mortal life.

The air was filled with the screams of women, scrambling away, horrified. As Nico passed Dargut, he caught part of the spray of blood, and the stairs were slippery, forcing him to grab a hold of something before continuing. He was the first to reach the top of the stairs, and could see the rush of colorful cloth, the wide bustle filled gowns of the rich ladies, as they turned a corner further down the hallway in an attempt to get away from the horrible scene. Clearly this was the level of the mansion where most of the bedrooms were located with doors left and right.

Nico might have been the first, but he certainly was not the last. All around him hungry, angry people filled up the slippery, blood and gut covered stairs. The stench of stale blood mixed with the acid of the spleen filled the air.

[Niccolo]

"MERDE!" spat Nico, the crimson spray utterly ruining his coat. He didn't pause for it, though...the bright, warm evidence that represented the end of the Gaylocke legacy cooling upon the floor, walls, his clothes, and Darug's rather nasty axe. Go with the One, mio amico, thought Nico as he topped the stairs and turned to give chase to the ladies. Oh, it wasn't an absolute certainty that the ladies would lead him to Lord Graylocke's private stash of cash in the building, but...it was least possible.

Strangely, that was not what drew Nico after them. What drew him was the very cold truth that his name would be on every man's lips in the city tomorrow. He would be the Man that killed the Graylocke family, and while that reputation would be a positive one among the Councilors and Merchant Lords, it would be...a liability among the nobility. Especially the Graylock clan, who just fled to the back rooms of the mansion. They needed to be killed, or at the very least managed...or they would carry their vendetta for however long it might take.

It is a curious thing that they should come to such a fate, thought Nico as he sped down the halls in pursuit of the ladies, his hatchet in hand. They will forever remember it as the day their clan was destroyed and their world ended to become something horrible and dark...the beginnings of their own private hell. And yet for me, it is...Rasday...

They would try to lock him out when they reached the room they sought, and Nico would prepare for this. He would keep his speed upon him and, when they did throw the door closed, he would hammer at it with his foot first, applying his large frame to the wood to hopefully thwart them from bolting it tight. He did have the hatchet, if he should be forced to cut his way in...but if he were fast enough, he might just reach them before they could engage the lock.

[Maeve]

The ladies disappeared just around the corner, dragging an older fat lady with them, who was out cold, which slowed their progress. Quickly Nico ran through the hallway and without a doubt found the large oaken door where they had withdrawn. It must have been the masterbedroom. Sounds indicated that not only did they bolt the door, but things were being put against it, amidst loud sobs. Apparantly some of the girls had better things to do than faint.

The door was of a solid oak, and despite considerable strength, aided by the excitement that ran through his system, Nico could not kick it in. The hatchet was next, leading to another series of high pitched screams of despair, and the shattering blow of glass.

Others turned up behind Nico, faces he did not recognize, though some were vaguely familiar, and they started to hack at the door too, just as Nico brought out his hatchet.

[Darug Sorghat]

Darug's eyes glittered of joy when he saw and felt the blood gushing out of the human's body. Those moments of fear and surprise, when they know they only have one more flicker to live, those moments are always too short.

Dropping the body onto the floor, the orc checked out the wound on his arm. He ripped some clothing from the dead human and started to wrap that around the wound. He needed a quick stopper, something that would keep him up and running until the party was over. When he had done all he could do, he chopped off the right arm of the human with his axe and started chewing on the fresh meat which was still a bit warm.

With his mouth full of the meat, he walked into the mansion, following the men to the closed door. If it had not been opened yet, Darug would shout in barely understandable language that they should make room. "Back Way."
Once cleared, the orc would run up to the door roaring and smash into it with his right shoulder.

[Maeve]

Dargut ran into the door and wood splintered. His full weight clearly shifted something beyond the door with lots of groaning of the wood. Beyond the door had been a wardrobe, a bench and several chairs, piled up to keep the invaders from violating this last bedroom.

The scent of smoke tickled their nostrils, coming from downstairs. A thick, heavy smell. They were probably burning the curtains. It would not be long before much of the mansion would be covered in deep sooth.. before flames would take it all.

At the glass doors to the balcony, which were shattered, the glass spread both inside and outside, stood the collection of girls, five in all, with a fat matron sprawled over the floor but now clearly abandoned. Their hairdo's were undone, their eyes wild.

Only one girl held her calm and right now she was holding a large knife, pushing the other girls behind her and urging them to go on towards the balcony. She was petite, with dark chestnut curls streaming down her back, giving up any semblance of order. Her eyes were the color of amber flashing angrily and her lush red lips set in a determined grimace. Her gown was already torn, ripped at the edges of the hem and missing several pieces of the skirt, revealing the lacy underwear underneath. "Scarlet," one of the girls urged, "Please... Scarlet!" "Go on," gnarled the darkhaired lady, whose olive skin undeniably marked her of the Mouth, "Move Violet, or they will kill you all. I will hold them. Go to my uncle's house." She did not turn, not daring to turn her back on what was presented before her... a large burly Orc and a streetwise guy who had a rugged charm that right at this moment she had no eye for. "You go NO FURTHER!" she challenged desperately as her cousins jumped down the balcony.

[Niccolo]

Staggering back against the opposite wall...Nico had been in a hurry to get out of Darug's way, like any sane person...he caught sight of the room beyond and, with only a passing, brief glance at the defiant woman, recognized the chamber as being something other than Lord Graylocke's study. Well, merde, smiled Nico slightly, accepting the misdirection with equanimity. After all, he would have some time...and at least this way, the angry, violent mob would be drawn away from the prize that interested Nico most.

Not that desperate, defiant, spirited women didn't in the slightest inspire him, but this was hardly a time to focus upon anything beyond the immediate situation at hand. "There they go...No One Survives!" he bellowed, motioning into the room to direct whatever rioters might have joined along up the stairs. "GET EM!" he finished, watching to be sure that indeed the orc and the rioters did charge after the women...including the poor dear that had no idea how bad her day was about to become. If you're lucky, sweety, the orc will just kill you...

Nico, on the other hand, did not give chase. Instead, he would turn to pace back down the hallway and push each door open as he went with the head of his hatchet, searching for the room that would be Chanton's little study. That was the best bet for a quick drop of cash, and only hard, minted metal had any chance of remaining in Nico's possession throughout his coming tour of the legal system in World's Mouth.

Strangely empty from the Merchant Lord was some sense of...humanity. Never for a moment did he heed or even feel some measure of compassion for the Graylocke family or the family friend caught up in the attack, and never for a moment did he really consider upon what was about to happen to all those ladies. After all, it was just business, and everyone lost out eventually. Stealing a quick glance at the sprawling, destroyed form of Chanton Graylocke himself, Nico's cold, hard, passionless gaze lingered only long enough to check the deceased lordling for any valuables upon his fingers or neck before he moved on.

[Darug Sorghat]

Seeing what was behind the now smashed door, the Orc was a bit disappointed to see only these women. And only one of them was clumsily holding a knife. No challenge here at all. Oh, he was sure their flesh would be tasty, but flesh that you really had to fight for was always much better.

Darug's first instinct was to leave the room and to go searching for a better challenge, but when he heard the boss say that no one should survive, he changed his mind. With a grunt he accepted that they had to be killed. But there wouldn't be much joy, so he decided to do it quickly.

With the axe in his hand he stepped up tot he girl with the knife, making feint movements, scaring her with his roar. He figured she would soon extend the arm with the knife a bit to keep him at bay. And that was the moment he would take the advantage and chop off her hand with the axe. Quickly he would use the pain the woman would feel to make his next move and chop off her head, roaring loud.

Then finally, and this was the best part of his plan he believed, he would push the body of the woman out of the window onto the balcony. That had to give the other girls suck a shock that he would have plenty if time to make his next move and kill them.

[Maeve]

Scarlet faced the Orc with strange bravery, having already accepted her death. Yet honor demanded she make a stand so the others could escape. Perhaps I should have listened to my uncle before I married a Graylocke, but I could never live like that. Damn those Merchants to the Nether.

Pain made all further thought impossible. Darug used her desperate attack, mercilessly hacking of her hand and all she could do was scream at a high pitch as blood sprouted forth, pumped into the air with considerable strength by her still functional heart, and spraying all over the Orc's face. The green beast rose his axe and the scream was forever scratched on her face as her head rolled away into the bedroom, nearly making some of the rioters trip. The body collapsed to the floor but Darug picked it up and threw it through the broken glass doors, causing more high pitched screams of horror and desperation. Two girls had already tried to jump down, but eager men had grabbed for their dresses and they kicked and screamed as they were being brought in like fish in a net. There was a hunger in their faces that the Orc recognized, but it was not for food. Soon the air was filled with sobs and the grunts of men relishing feelings of immeasurable power and sadism. No virtue was left, and it was unlikely that they would even escape with their lives.

[hr][/hr]

Meanwhile down the hallway Nico discovered that door after door revealed more bedrooms and some walk in closets and even a elegantly decorated bathroom with a large ironcast bathtub that would take ages to fill. There was of course the possibility that some of the ladies' rooms would contain a jewelry box. Other than that it was just fresh flowers and a lot of large, billowing out gowns and corsets.

Stopping next to the body formerly known as Chanton Graylocke it was clear that other rioters had already quickly scouted it for valuables. The recently deceased corpse had been wearing several signet rings, and his pockets were turned inside out. What the looters left however was a golden medaillon around the young lordlings neck, probably because it was hidden under a flow of blood, the body hanging upside down over the stairs, dripping fluids on the steps. If it was not for all the gore of blood, spleen and guts, the young man could have been asleep after a drunken night, a strange smile on his face, which could have been a last grimace of pain.

Nico could see that downstairs the pillaging continued as planned, with some rooms already thick with dark smoke as the velvet curtains caught fire. There were several doors downstairs that opened into the marble hallway, and by now all of them were opened, revealing such things as a dining room, the parlor, the library which was catching fire rather enthusiastically, and inevitably... the study. For a moment the similarity to the floorplan with the Panini estate was striking. There was very little variation in how any estate in the Mouth was built, with nobles being a rather traditional lot. The only difference appeared to be the size and luxury of materials. Materials that were going up in flame right now. Several rioters were already walking away from the scene, their arms filled with silver spoons, wonderful cloth, and pieces of porcelain.

[Niccolo]

And what have we here? smiled Nico, crouching down over Chanton Graylocke's corpse to take up the bloody medallion in his palm. Come to Nico, my precious... thought Nico, though it was likely the medallion was far too traceable to be easily fenced. But that doesn't make it useless, he smiled, tucking it into his belt blood and all. Lifting his eyes from the corpse, Nico spied the rooms downstairs.

Ack, Merde! thought Nico once again, rolling his eyes skyward as he finally noticed where the study actually was in the building. Indeed, it was downstairs...a sensible place for it, really...and indeed, it was on fire. Or at least it was quickly catching on fire, which wasn't entirely bad...it was always nice to obscure this great tragedy under the guise of smoke and flame...but like any good library, it would burn far too quickly to allow Nico to make any kind of decent search of the nearby office.

I can still try, non? he thought, darting down half the stairs and leaping down the rest to charge for the study as quickly as he could. He was not going to see himself injured or burned over this...there was nothing he needed to find here...but the lupine, savage cunning that hid just within Niccolo Amadicci Alvero saw an opportunity to gather up a few documents and coin in the study before it went up, documents and coin that everyone else would think had been destroyed in the fire.

And maybe a few that never were? smiled Nico as he burst into the study and took a quick evaluation of the room to gauge how much time he would have. He also looked for a tablecloth, handkerchief, or some other piece of fabric that he could wrap around his mouth and nose to protect him from the smoke that was certain to come soon. If I were to recover samples of Lord Graylocke's hand, I might remake them...and who knows what kind of documents I might...fabricate?

Indeed, any documents written by or to Chanton Graylocke could, in some way, be valuable in the future...but what Nico would really value would be the documents kept in some type of hidden cache or locked box in or around the desk. For this reason alone, Nico's search would be conducted not just by pulling drawers out and flinging them to the floor but also checking behind for hidden places as well as chopping into each side with his hatchet to look for compartments.

[Darug Sorghat]

Darug grinned as he saw that his plan had worked. The other humans were now taking care of the rest of the girls so the orc now had time for other stuff.

He picked up the chopped off hand and bit off the thumb. It was like eating spareribs, not much flesh, but pretty tasty. Hearing a crunching sound between his teeth, he spat. Nails..not tasty at all and these women always had those long ones. Bitches.

With the hand still in his hand, now chewing on the middle finger, the orc started walking through the different rooms. Maybe there was some loot to be found before all these humans took everything. While searching the room for glittery things or just cold hard cash, the orc did keep an eye out for what the other humans were doing. If he saw one with great loot, then that person would probably be in an unfortunate accident pretty quick.