Open [Sunberth] Pay Your Debt In Blood

[Twister]

Streets of Sunberth - Spring 5th, 513 AV

Winter had torn away at the city's morale. It was more harsh than usual and the already difficult lives of the populace were hardly made any easier. There'd been frustration and fear bubbling together underneath the surface, just waiting to pop off the lid and spring into action. You could see it in peoples' eyes as they lumbered on along down the streets, trying to keep themselves together while picking up the pieces scattered about of their regular, daily lives. The snow had thawed away for the most part and everything hidden underneath it was soon to come to light -- bodies and filth, littering the streets. It wasn't like you'd expect it to be, these days. Finding a body in the street here in Sunberth was hardly unusual and not something you'd bat an eye over. You'd look away and move on, knowing full well that these sorts of things happen at a regular basis in this city.

But not this time. The bodies had started catching attention. Everyone knew why, but only a select few would actually dare say it out loud and call the populace into action. Enough is enough. It didn't take much for the lid to pop once proof of last Winter's monstrosities stared people right in the eyes. Your common street thug, shop clerk, small-time merchant, housewife and rag-tag thief picked up arms as mobs of people rallied in the streets. Today was a chaotic day in Sunberth and it was only about to get worse. So very, very much worse.

"Bring us the vultures!", they called out as they chased unfortunately desperate survivalists down the streets. It has been a mildly common occurrence last season that, with the shortage of food, people turned on one another in order survive. Sunberh had always been a city where the fittest and the strongest were the most likely to survive. If you had a good head on your shoulders or muscles and arms to back you up, you could live many years without running into trouble. You were always at the mercy of the guy next to you and you better hope you kept yourself on top when comparing your assets. Last season, the snow clogged the streets and made the transportation of food and stocks between various parts of the city nigh on impossible, and people starved and froze to death as they were locked inside their homes or buried underneath the snow, closed off from the other parts of Sunberth's questionable civilization.

That's when the so-called vultures started showing themselves. Desperate times call for desperate means, and some resorted to turning on the people near them in order to not starve. Crazed with hunger and the will to survive, they slew even their own family so that they might survive the Winter on their own. It was not a foreign concept to the Sunberthian population that you'd resort to killing in order to survive, but cannibalism was a whole other matter. It was foreign and it was morbid in so many ways that the rest of the populace couldn't bring themselves to accept or endorse. Coming out of a harsh season, they found themselves needing someone to blame for the misery of their fellows, and the vultures were all easily justified targets.

In just a few hours following Syna's rise on the heavenly valve, mobs had formed in all parts of the city and many of the known vultures had been seized and captured, some even stampeded to death in the midst of the chaos. Kicking and screaming, dozens of men and women were dragged out of their homes and hiding places. Swallowed up by the mobs and transported down the streets, the captured "vultures" were proudly paraded and displayed to the population so that everyone would know who they were and, consequently, what was about to happen to them as the parade slowly but surely directed their steps west and out of the city of Sunberth, into the fields beyond where makeshift gallows were already being prepared for the morrow's execution.

This was only the beginning.
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OOC :

Hello everyone! This is a post relevant to a Sunberth calendar event for the Spring of 513 AV. Feel free to post your character's reactions to the chaos spreading in the streets on this day and I will post the "next day" update either sometime later tonight or tomorrow, depending on whether people respond here or not. I may also post responses from NPCs in the city if your actions provoke any. This thread will be graded once it is finished and the participants will receive appropriate skill points and lores for their participation and actions in-thread.

[Nemanjak]

Nemanjak has just came back to Sunberth yesterday and already does he see all the good ol' Sunberth culture, also known as, murder, pickpocketing, thievery etc.. He kind of, missed that while he was in the Wildlands. He decided to rest in The Tent City with his one man tent when he heard all of the rabble and the parade. He didn't know what was going on, but it was a parade, and people were there, so he decides to take a look at it.

Once arriving he asks a man what is going on. The man said: "Don't you know? These are the vultures!" Vultures, Nemanjak had no idea what that was so he asked him to explain. The man said again: "The cannibals, the men who relied on other men and their flesh to survive possibly the harshest winter yet!"

Now up to date, Nemanjak was kind of relived he wasn't going to have to worry about these cannibals and grabbed a rock throwing it at one of them. He decided to join the parade and see where this will go, but first, he hid his gear in a old hole he dug up last season before he ventured off into the Wildlands and sealed it, marking it with his symbol. A some-what picture of his family's legend monster. The monster's name was Nemanjak really, and that's why his (the PC's) name is Nemanjak.

[Gia]

Gia trembled in the still chilly air of very early spring. Winter was technically over, but the day’s happenings were a grim reminder that the season just past would remain a haunting, ghoulish memory for many years in the minds and spirits of the residents of this cesspool of a town. She hadn’t meant to be out, really. But Mercedes had been in need of a tonic for her painful monthly cycle, and Gia could not refuse to help out a friend in need. So she had ventured out into the streets, cautious but with the self-assurance that she would come to no harm born and bred from a lifetime of dealing with whatever Sunberth had to throw at her. But on this day, the city was troubled, beyond anything that Gia had seen since the awful storm of a year ago. Roving crowds – nay, mobs – of its denizens milled and rolled and surged about her. She thought to go back, but she knew how much Mercedes needed the apothecary’s syrup. So she pressed on, having to elbow her way through some of the streets, getting shoved and jostled in return. It was all about the vultures – they were to be hung this very day – a fitting payment for their gruesome deeds. The very thought of their abominable acts turned Gia’s stomach, so she tried very hard not to think about it, or them. People about her shouted and yelled and cursed, and from a distance she could hear a roar go up – she could only assume one of the miscreants had been caught, perhaps torn to pieces by the infuriated mass of humanity. Finally, Gia made it to the particular place that was her destination, only to find that it was locked tight. Apparently the apothecary too wished to make a day of it and was joined in the frenzied murderous glee of the town somewhere. Or perhaps he cowered behind his locked door and prayed that no-one broke in to help themselves to some of the more potent tonics that he carried – those consisting primarily of alcohol. In any case, there was nothing to be done now but to try to shove her way back home and tell Mercedes the bad news. Stepping back into the swirling mass of people, Gia seemed to be headed in the opposite direction of everyone else, like a salmon swimming upstream against a swift and forceful current. Somehow, she got turned around, and hemmed in on all sides. She couldn’t see beyond the nearest back and set of shoulders, and something poked her hard in the ribs. Turning her head to protest, in vain, she felt another knock coming from the other side, and she stumbled. The crowd was moving, people were yelling and cursing and raining imprecations down on some poor soul’s head. Gia was pushed along, caught in a riptide against which she had no power to stay herself. Shoved tight, wedged in, she felt like she could hardly breathe, but still they moved forward – though where ‘forward’ was, she had no idea, now totally disoriented. Someone behind shoved her hard, and once again she stumbled and would have gone down except that she was packed in so tightly with the others, like sardines in a can. Then another to her right stepped a bit to the side, another shove… and she went down on her hands and knees. Gia screamed but the sound was nothing compared to the tumult surrounding her. She barely heard her own voice, as she felt a crushing boot landing on her calf. She tried desperately to rise, feeling another heel crunching her fingers, pinning her hand down. She managed to get her feet under her, yanking her hand away, and then she was pushed one last time and fell flat to the ground…. OOCFeel free to help Gia up or go ahead and trample her a bit - please just don't kill her. A sprained ankle or some broken fingers would seriously interfere with her performing and might be interesting to play around

[Sarik]

Sarik was glad to be out of the house, glad winter was now over. It had certainly not been an easy one. The aching hunger that persisted even now was reminder enough of that. But the warming sun and melting snow were enough to distract him even from the ugliness they exposed. The worst was over, the world seemed to be saying. His reflection was interrupted by a roar from up ahead. Sarik hurried quickly toward it, curious as to what was drawing such a crowd. The street ahead was lined with people, shouting and jeering at the captives being paraded out of town. This was interesting. Sarik made his way through the crowd, straining for a better look. Unable to get much of anywhere, he turned to the woman next to him. "What'd these guys do?" "Vultures!" She spat the word out. "Ate their neighbors. Kin, some of 'em". Sarik shuddered slightly, peering at the captives. He had heard rumors of such things whisperer in the dark, but had no idea such acts were so widespread. So many... Well, they were getting what was coming to them now, that's for sure. Some lines you just didn't cross, even here. Momentary distracted from his own hunger, Sarik followed the mob along, adding his shouts to the roar of the crowd. He was distracted when he a girl off to his right go down under the crowd. When, after a moment, she failed to rise, he began to worry. Tramplings were not unheard of in the heat of a mob. Concerned, he managed to push his way though to where he had seen here fall. Someone shouted from behind him, but most were glued to the spectacle. She was still there, struggling without much success to get back up. Still more or less in on piece, though. That was good. Sarik braced himself, against the jostling crowd, squatted down, and dragged the girl to her feet as best he could manage.

OOCI didn't know if you wanted to be hurt, so I tried to leave it somewhat ambiguous.

[Kel Ehmry]

Kel stood propped against a wall in the cool air. His arms were crossed and his head was bowed. If there was one thing he learned from living in Sunberth it was to stay low and keep it moving. The wrong eye contact had the potential to land you with a sword in your gut. Instead Kel continued peering towards the ground, minding his own business. It was the same as usual, just waiting for something, anything. A piece of information passed between voices, or a note falling from a pocket. Anything that might lead him towards his goals, whatever those were. Wealth, knowledge, and more wealth... Kel repeated in his mind. However there was something off about today. There was commotion. There was unrest. Something was happening, and this caused Kel to look up and search for an answer. The answer he was looking for became apparent rather quick. First there was yelling coming from armed men. Something about vultures. Kel didn't catch the whole thing. The armed men were parading around some sort...hostages it seemed. Maybe these were the "vultures" Kel thought, although he wondered why they were called that. Vultures...why are they being called vultures? Ok what's a vulture? A bird. No beyond that. A scavenger? Aye, that's it. So maybe these guys were scavenger's or something? Then Kel cought a disturbing piece of information exchanged between the people standing near him. "Ate their neighbors. Kin, some of 'em." A woman had said. Kel grimaced. I'm gonna be sick. Petchers! Kel decided to follow the mob and see where it led. At first he followed at distance, scanning the mob with his limited auristics. He was a mere amateur, sure, but even he could detect the anger and hate coming from those within the mob. It didn't really take an aurist to detect such a thing. Hell, it was a stupid move on Kel's part to use the it. He had forgotten that Sunberth hated magic users. Kel immediately halted his magic use as soon as he realized it, and quickly glanced around. No one should know that he used it. That was the good thing about auristics; he really couldn't be found out unless someone else had detected it using magic. Kel walked along side of the mob, being sure not to get too close. He had no intention of getting trampled by a mob today. If things did manage to get out of hand...well there is no better time to learn how to fight than right now Kel thought to himself.

[Thundiirn]

The parade marched right past Thundiirn as he did one of his daily walks around the city, and had he still had a working heart it probably would have skipped a beat. He wasn't AFRAID of them, per se, but they severely unnerved him. Being captured by them, forced to watch from a cage with no reprieve in sleep as they chopped the arms off living breathing (or rather, screaming) people and roasted them, they didn't evoke pretty memories in his head. He stepped outside as they passed, and looked at the faces of the crowd. Sympathy was present, but only trace amounts. It likely stemmed from the more kind-hearted living under the belief that these 'vultures' had done this to survive, but Thundiirn knew better. He had seen their glee in feasting first hand. Perhaps that was how it started, but it ended as a group of serial killers, pure and simple, and there was no reason they would stop when the food supplies returned. Most of the crowd, in fact, looked as crazed as the cannibals had that night he spent in a cage, which was somewhat disconcerting. However, Thundiirn would go home with relative ease that night knowing that the few's deaths would lead to the sanity of the many, and saving those few from the insane clutches of this Mob would only serve to ruin the tenuous order this city maintained. He pressed up against the edges of the street, trying his best and failing miserably to stay completely out of the Mob as it passed by. There had been 9 of them that he encountered, if he recalled correctly, and as the Mob jostled by he counted their prisoners. Definitely more than 9, as is common in inquisitions such as this, but ONE face was not present, and of that he was certain. The key-man, the ringleader of their little cult, was not present. Their leader was still out there! A flash of anger coursed through him, and he stormed off. Want something done right ya gotta do it yourself, he thought grimly as he stormed off away from the out of control mass of people to find a quieter part of the city. Not that there really was one, now that the majority of the town had declared war on the Syndicates. Every street he passed looked to be a battlefield, either ones currently ongoing or ones that had been recently vacated. He'd catch the Petcher. Vermin such as that didn't belong on the street, it was his duty to help uphold justice in this land in which Gods refused to tread.

[Xadel]

His day had started much like any other, rising from bed and thanking the gods above that he was alive and had a roof over his head. The good news was that he had survived another winter, although the cold really had no affect on him due to his Vantha heritage. He had no real worry for food, what he couldn't afford he would manage to steal and he always shared his spoils with Gia. He lived a relatively comfortable life and as long as he had those few things and he and Gia were safe he was happy. He woke on this particular day and performed his normal routine of stretching, pushing himself to limber up and increase his flexibility. After a little while e realized that Gia still hadn't appeared and that worried him. He could hear the rabble of the mob outside which wasn't out of he ordinary but today they seemed even more enraged than usual. He had heard word about the 'Vultures' and now he could hear them being called out in the street. He quickly donned his clothing before rushing outside. He scanned the crowds for a sign of the young beauty. He knew she would never support the cause but there was a good chance that she would be stuck or blocked by it. He saw no sign of her and so he forced himself into the sea of people. He shoved and elbowed and at times kicked his way through the crowds. After a little while a small motion caught his attention. He saw the flash of light catching her silky hair. As soon as she hit the ground he panicked and started to brawl his way toward her. "Gia!" He shouted as he pushed aside the nearest person. He fought his way to her and caught sight of another man pulling her up. Still the crowd surged as if no one cared. He hit a man that was about to trample them square in the face, blood flowing freely from his nose after it crunched. "Back the hell off!" He shouted, ready to take on anyone that threatened to harm them. He flashed a look to the other man that had picked her up to make sure he didn't have some other agenda, if he tried anything funny Xadel was prepared to end him. If he couldn't do it all it would take would be to label him a Vulture and the mob would do the rest. He hoped he didn't have to do that though.

[Gia]

Her cheek had hit the filthy paving stones hard, and Gia felt a warm, coppery gush inside her mouth, tasting the blood from where she had bitten her tongue. Her ears were ringing from the impact, and all along her body little wavelets of half realized pain were rippling. But her mind was in a panic, and all she knew was that she had to get back on her feet! She had to get up – now – or risk being trampled into the muck by the uncaring boots of the infuriated mob. Already, someone had tripped over her and regained their balance by crushing their foot down on her lower back. Desperately, she scrambled, trying to get her hands under her to push. But once again, with the crowd so tightly packed in around her, another person’s legs shoved against her and repaid her for this with a kick. Luckily they weren’t able to put much into it, for lack of room, and it landed relatively harmlessly on her thigh. Adrenalin surging, Gia got to her hands and knees, and felt a hand on her waist, and then another. Not knowing if they belonged to friend or foe, she struggled and felt herself lifting. Friend then – at least for the moment! Half turning towards whoever it was that was willing to risk their own injury to help her rise, she clutched blindly at their clothing, clenched fingers twisting into whatever she could grasp as she righted herself with their hands still on her, helping her to get back on her feet. She gasped and looked and in her near hysteria she caught only a pale face and brown hair, and she held on for dear life, terrified of being swept back under this living sea of humanity. The crowd still pressed about them, and even if she had wanted to let go of her rescuer she could not have moved more than a few inches. But then, as these things do, those around them seemed to ebb away, just a bit – just enough. For into her field of vision leapt that most dear and familiar face, and form. Xadel! Her own face crumpled, and she knew she was crying, and she might have called out his name or it might have been no more than a whisper. With one hand still entwined in the stranger’s shirtfront, in a deathgrip that her most primitive instinct refused to let her let go of, she stretched out her other hand, in mute appeal, towards the one and only constant in her unpredictable existence.

[Nemanjak]

Nemanjak was sick of being pushed around by the damn mob and pulled a knife ready to stab the next person that even touches him. An older man saw him and grabbed his hand and told him: "You do that, and they kill you." Nemanjak instantly put his knife back, but was still annoyed by the pushing. He decided to ignore it and began to daydream about the recent events in the Wildlands.

He was running away from a bear, hunting, gazing, sleeping under and on the tree. That was the life, the peace and the quiet. Not this bowl of crap, he forgot how he could even stand all the noise. He remembered a pair of people, Kayle and Jaai, but he forgot both how they look and where he met them. He was on the seventh cloud as they would say now, not connected to the happenings. Those were the days, especially the Winter days, not this crap of vultures. He starts to cough and his nose is kind of full. It appears that he has caught a cold! He ignored it, as it was nothing deadly and kept pushing in the crowds of people.

[Gad]

The rabble roared and jostled about Gad as he made his way through the streets. He found himself watching a procession of people in stockades getting marched by the mob down the streets. Some of them he was familiar with, people he'd seen around the slums. A few of the familiar faces he wasn't so surprised they were there, but others he doubted highly that they had committed what they were accused of, and even if they did he thought they had good reason. He decided not to speak up, as tossing in with this lot would be more trouble than it was worth. He felt bad, but such was justice in Sunberth. Still, there was another group who caught his eye even more. They weren't the ones who ate for survival, but for the thrill, the ones who liked the taste of man flesh. Their faces drew Gad's eyes and he counted "Mm five...seven...where is- ah, eight....hm.."

The cool air nipped at Gads most recent wound; a slash on the left of his face, from his forehead to his chin. Last season had been rough on Gad. Early on he'd received a nasty shoulder wound in a alleyway confrontation, and he didn't make it away from the cannibals entirely unscathed either- hence the new face scar he'd have when the cut healed. Just as the young wizard was scanning the crowd he caught glimpse of a more friendly familiar face. He pushed through the tightly packed bodies of the riotous mob.

"Thundiirn! Thundiirn, hey." He caught up with the Nuit, who was walking quickly away from the thick of the mob. The two shared a look and Gad said aloud what he knew they were both thinking. "No, I didn't see him either." Gad said grimly; if the expression on his face didn't give away how he felt, the serration contouring down his cheek did. "I wanna find him before the crowd does. I'm not in the sharing mood if you catch my meaning."