Once the attackers were subdued and the crowd cheered, an explosion erupts in a separate location. From below the crowd. The pillar of red flames rise above the heads of the knights on their horses. While it isn’t large, a few residences in the center of it are burned to crisp. With screams, the crowd part.
Then, black smoke gushes out immediately. It couldn’t have possibly been from the burning victims or their clothes. The stinging stench reaches all the way to the front of the parade. The fleeing people collapse left and right. The street is now chaotic, and many flee to the waterways nearby.
It is difficult for the parade crowd to notice bags left behind on the street. Explosives and a gas contraption must have been left in one of them. That much, the knights on guard immediately understand. But dealing with the catastrophe is another story. They expect the parade to be ambushed, and they are on alert for it, but they don’t expect the citizens to be under attack. Besides, there is only so much they could prepare for.
The explosion occurred in the territory the knights of House of Valois were guarding. They left a few of them to guard the carriage, and the rest moved to create a barricade so the panicking crowd wouldn’t rush the parade. Some went to evacuate the crowd, but only a few.
She knows that she should be heading there to protect the people. But right now, she has her duty of guarding the king and top nobles. She has to stand her ground. Lyla the Knight grits her teeth.
Atop the stage, Margrave Blare is looking around frantically. King Cailan Theirin and Loghain Mac Tir standing next to him, are taking in their surroundings calmly. Even though they must have understood that they are the ones under attack, they seem ready. Lyla admires this decision, and she feels like she sees the true essence of Ferelden for the first time.
A subtle smile appears on her face. The people were still screaming, but it isn’t a complete panic, probably thanks to the speedy response. The explosion and smoke must have been planted to cause a panic in the crowd. And so, the parade has stopped, with the soldiers and knights running around to contain the situation. One wrong move, and the moveable stage could be swallowed up by the crowd. If she was the assassin, she wouldn’t let such a prime opportunity slip. If anyone approaching them now is unnaturally calm, they were the assassin. Lyla glares all around her.
***
(Back Alley in Abram City)
They spot a small figure in rags and go into high alert.
"We were being watched. Clearly, that figure is watching us."
The man in rags makes a move before they could be ready.
The man right before landing on the carriage, checking the location of the Sekrit and Clementine as he considers how to efficiently take care of them. Normally, he would take care of his main target, the heir, first, but it was hard to give up on seeing women desperate expression. It would be easy for him to flee through the chaos. He could afford to take some liberty in the job.
Clementine throws away her robe as the man claws at her then jumps towards Sekrit.
Sekrit dances away and rotates. Her attacks penetrate the assassin in rags. The rag is empty.
The man escapes are slithering towards her.
Sekrit dances again.
He veered away from Sekrit, and turns its head toward Clementine. Clementine's metal gauntlet curls into a fist, and smashes the man squarely in the mouth. As Sekrit watches, Clementine holds down the man and put it out of its misery by stabbing it again with her dirk.
All of this takes place within a few moments from the man in rags lunging toward them.
***
"Hiro-sama. It’s not good! The church window is open, and someone inside with a bow!"
The communication from Kurotsuchi has confirmed my worst suspicion. Someone in the Church is colluding with the enemy, and they have provided a sniping spot. Not that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but I could still feel my stomach tightening.
I have always kept my eye on the church as an effective sniping spot. I purposefully had Kurotsuchi lurking around that area for that very reason. I just don’t have enough hands to cover everywhere. While I have given her a little heat, Kurotsuchi couldn’t stop them alone. Sekrit, Ivanna, and Clementine, whom I had stationed near the church at first, are all on a different mission. Jill is too weak, so I couldn’t send her out on the street. Jill and Suzy are monitoring certain parts near the parade.
Then, an explosion and screams. They made their move. From where?
They must have planted gas or something in the parade crowd.
Cause a panic and halt the parade. They must have considered the bonus of peeling the guards away from the carriage, and they had actually accomplished that. Sniping from afar in this kind of situation is only natural.
***
(Back Alley in Abram City)
Soraya Zoen, the housekeeper of Lambert emerges from the carriage. The coachman and guards were already killed, but Soraya seems unaffected.
Sekrit and Clementine separates themselves towards two different position.
Suddenly, there are sounds of something moving through the air. Both of them dodge the darts.
Someone emerges from behind Soraya, and starts glaring around them from atop the roof of the carriage.
Someone is watching this unfold from above. Not as high as up in the sky, but above the roof… No, the wall. It flies out without a sound, and approaches them with gravity on its side. The mysterious guard tries to dodge it without looking up. It isn’t the wrong move, but all too late.
The one who dives down with the grappling hook she uses with her powers of a ninja as a lifeline is Mirai.
She put her weight into the kodachi already gaining momentum from the drop. Her target reacts, but not in time. A completely backasswards unforeseen attack from above. He is sliced open from his neck down to the gut. As Mirai retracts her grappling hook and pulls herself back to the wall, Soraya’s magical arrow whizzes past her face covered by mask, but Mirai pulls herself up the grappling hook, and kicks off the wall to disappear on top of the roof. With a tiny sound, numerous holes open up on the walls. Mirai escapes skillfully without her teleportation ability.
"Is she the intruder from that day?"
Soraya's expression changes a little. Her magical powers aren’t bottomless, and she isn’t completely aware of the powers that her enemies possess.
A woman in a bard’s clothing, Sekrit walks slowly towards her. Her mask hides most of her face, but one could imagine her attractive appearance from her mouth peeking out of the bottom. Soraya instinctively understands.
The standoff has begun.
***
