11 Ashan 718
Trials of talk in the Four in Hand had drawn an impressive collection of disgruntled individuals together, and quite frankly, the feat was something that Max didn't exactly do single-handedly. Her re-telling of the Elements' transgressions against the people of Scalvoris had certainly helped of course. A present survivor to verify what started as hearsay in Scalvoris Town was always important in steering the narration of an event. What the kidnapped women had gone through was undoubtedly atrocious. It should've riled their fellow citizens up and made them question the soundness of their military. Yet it wasn't the plight of strangers that had stuck the growing crowd together like glue. It was the fact that each and everyone one of them had been affected by the wrongdoings of the Element cultists.
Mothers, sisters, and daughters had been wounded or killed below ground. Those casualties were small compared to the number of citizens that fell victim to the collapse of the docks. Homes and businesses alike had come tumbling down in the wake of uncontrolled magic and alchemical creations. That killing had been entirely indiscriminate, sparing none on the basis of gender. Legs had been crushed beneath the weight of rooftops. Heads had been knocked nearly senseless. Some injuries were the type that would never be recovered from.
Those lucky enough to escape physical harm had lost things of material and sentimental value. Childhood homes were no more, and assets had been crushed beyond repair. Some of the people in that area had been left with absolutely nothing. Their lives had been practically destroyed, and the most rotten of luck was saved for those who lost both people and things. They were more akin to shells of what they once were than the Rusalka herself would come to be. The crimes against these suffering people had to be answered for. The Elements had to pay and take responsibility for what had happened in this town. Its people would make sure of it. So would Max.
"This is sodding horse shite!" a patron finally announce with a slam of his mug down upon the bar counter. "House arrest! For all the shite they've done, they're put on house arrest! It's been eleven sodding trials, and we've yet to see a man hanged!"
"Aye!" another voice rose in agreement. "It ain't right!"
"Oi!" the third speaker shouted over the lull of murmurs. "Don'tcha lads get it? Them boys are protected! They ain't gonna give us right justice. If we can't trust our Elements, who are they to police us, eh?" Several mugs banged encouragingly upon counter tops and against the sides of structural posts. "What say you, Max?" All eyes moved to the dark-haired woman sitting silently on the outskirts of the gathering. Normally she was the one that spoke the most, especially when conversation moved to the treachery of the Elements. Per usual, she didn't stay silent long.
"It's true," she admitted with a nod. "There were at least a hundred Elements traitors down below. If there were that many cultist members, how many others do you really think had no idea what was going on?" Her eyes swirled with a deep-seeded anger that was just beginning to become fully realized. "They can't expect us to just believe so many low ranking soldiers didn't know what others in their unit were a part of, that superiors hadn't a clue they had rogues under their thumbs. There were powerful men that tried to kill us. Very powerful men. The sort that must've enjoyed a high rank. The Militant is full of shit if he thinks he can look us in the eyes and claim ignorance."
Murmurs erupted throughout the bar section of the Four in Hand. No doubt the crowd was assessing her opinion, evaluating it was what they believed it was worth by conferring with one another. The conversations didn't last long. Her statement seemed to have an almost immediate effect as others rushed to take the metaphorical stage.
"My brother's house went down at the docks!" a red-haired man shared, his freckled face contorting with barely restrained grief. "His daughter, Helena, was playing with her dolls when it happened. The people that came to clear away the rubble told me there was little of my seven arcs old niece to find. My brother's spine was snapped when he was trapped for two trials until we dug him out! He had been a laborer. Now his legs hang limp, and he's no hope of supporting his son and wife who managed to survive!" His voice shook toward the end of his testimony, but anger quickly took the place of the grief welling in his eyes. "And still I see the Elements patrolling our streets!"
"My best friend's carpentry shop was all she had!" a blonde woman with a gap in her front teeth added. "She was on a delivery when it happened. She lost everything. Everything she owned, all the money she had had went into that place. Her parents lived in the rubble next door. The most she does now is stare at the sodding walls. The Elements have no right to control Scalvoris! Not anymore!"
Max sat back while one citizen after another rose to tell their story. Emotions built with each injustice confessed, and with it came the momentum of the Rusalka's cause. She could feel the animosity growing like a thick cloud in the tavern. They were feeding off one another's sorrow and fury. Their emotions could only be contained within peaceful bodies for so long. Soon it would rise to a violent crescendo, and as talk of mutiny began as a whisper, a dark satisfaction filled her. Promises made to The Raven weren't so empty after it. From where she was seated, the people of Scalvoris Town were very ready to shed the Elements like a wretched, corrupt skin.
"We all know something has to be done," Maxine growled with arms crossed. "The more we wait, the more time they have to regroup. They have to be hit while they're weak. Soon."
"We have to hit them hard," a platinum blond man with stone-grey eyes decided, his voice silky with charm. "It must be bold. Don't you think, my dear?" The Rusalka carefully watched the man, noting the subtle drunkeness that tainted his demeanor although she'd been sure he'd only arrived a half break ago. He ran his fingers through his curious hair thoughtfully. "The Elements have failed us. Like the woman they sacrificed, they deserve only to burn." The stranger moved over to place a boot on a nearby chair. With a wide grin he raised his mug toward his captivated audience. "Let's see that they do, shall we?"
Hands clapped, feet stomped upon the worn floor, and mug rattled against one another as the Four in Hand stirred. Light chants of "Cassius", the apparent name of this white-haired revolutionary, briefly filled the room before Cassius silenced it with a wave of his hand. Max's brow furrowed. She never planned to be the face of this movement against the military. However, there was something...off about the leader who seemed eager to take up the mantle. There was no grief in his stare. In fact, he'd hardly seemed moved by the earlier testimonies at all. Her lips pressed into a line. Cassius was no bleeding heart. Rather he seemed to be little more than an eager opportunist. In the end she supposed it didn't rightly matter what his motives were. The ends would justify the means. If he could help her deliver on her half of the deal she'd made, Max hadn't a real reason to care much about the man at all. He'd serve as a tool and nothing more.
"Don't worry, Max," Cassius suddenly addressed her before the crowd. "Given your current, well, status," he gestured toward her injured foot, "we expect you to sit this out." The Rusalka's brow rose. Her fingers tightened around the cane in her grasp. Cassius took a quick drink of his ale. "We'll do something just as you suggested though. Something big. Something bold. Something very, very soon. I, for one, have an idea that I can't wait for you to see."
Cassius then began moving through the crowd that hung on his every word. One-by-one he knelt down, his lips moving close to their ears. No doubt he was organizing a time and place for the renegades to meet to discuss whatever plan he had in mind. It would be late at night in the dark. They'd discuss their plots over brews and low-burning candles. Together they'd all settle on their plot and execute it as one united front. She could practically see the process in her head, and she expected to be told just those details. When he got to Max though, he didn't tell her the same thing he'd told the others. Instead he murmured in her ear the gist of the destruction he planned to execute. Her lips twitched upwards. What a blow it would be to the Elements indeed.
Trials of talk in the Four in Hand had drawn an impressive collection of disgruntled individuals together, and quite frankly, the feat was something that Max didn't exactly do single-handedly. Her re-telling of the Elements' transgressions against the people of Scalvoris had certainly helped of course. A present survivor to verify what started as hearsay in Scalvoris Town was always important in steering the narration of an event. What the kidnapped women had gone through was undoubtedly atrocious. It should've riled their fellow citizens up and made them question the soundness of their military. Yet it wasn't the plight of strangers that had stuck the growing crowd together like glue. It was the fact that each and everyone one of them had been affected by the wrongdoings of the Element cultists.
Mothers, sisters, and daughters had been wounded or killed below ground. Those casualties were small compared to the number of citizens that fell victim to the collapse of the docks. Homes and businesses alike had come tumbling down in the wake of uncontrolled magic and alchemical creations. That killing had been entirely indiscriminate, sparing none on the basis of gender. Legs had been crushed beneath the weight of rooftops. Heads had been knocked nearly senseless. Some injuries were the type that would never be recovered from.
Those lucky enough to escape physical harm had lost things of material and sentimental value. Childhood homes were no more, and assets had been crushed beyond repair. Some of the people in that area had been left with absolutely nothing. Their lives had been practically destroyed, and the most rotten of luck was saved for those who lost both people and things. They were more akin to shells of what they once were than the Rusalka herself would come to be. The crimes against these suffering people had to be answered for. The Elements had to pay and take responsibility for what had happened in this town. Its people would make sure of it. So would Max.
"This is sodding horse shite!" a patron finally announce with a slam of his mug down upon the bar counter. "House arrest! For all the shite they've done, they're put on house arrest! It's been eleven sodding trials, and we've yet to see a man hanged!"
"Aye!" another voice rose in agreement. "It ain't right!"
"Oi!" the third speaker shouted over the lull of murmurs. "Don'tcha lads get it? Them boys are protected! They ain't gonna give us right justice. If we can't trust our Elements, who are they to police us, eh?" Several mugs banged encouragingly upon counter tops and against the sides of structural posts. "What say you, Max?" All eyes moved to the dark-haired woman sitting silently on the outskirts of the gathering. Normally she was the one that spoke the most, especially when conversation moved to the treachery of the Elements. Per usual, she didn't stay silent long.
"It's true," she admitted with a nod. "There were at least a hundred Elements traitors down below. If there were that many cultist members, how many others do you really think had no idea what was going on?" Her eyes swirled with a deep-seeded anger that was just beginning to become fully realized. "They can't expect us to just believe so many low ranking soldiers didn't know what others in their unit were a part of, that superiors hadn't a clue they had rogues under their thumbs. There were powerful men that tried to kill us. Very powerful men. The sort that must've enjoyed a high rank. The Militant is full of shit if he thinks he can look us in the eyes and claim ignorance."
Murmurs erupted throughout the bar section of the Four in Hand. No doubt the crowd was assessing her opinion, evaluating it was what they believed it was worth by conferring with one another. The conversations didn't last long. Her statement seemed to have an almost immediate effect as others rushed to take the metaphorical stage.
"My brother's house went down at the docks!" a red-haired man shared, his freckled face contorting with barely restrained grief. "His daughter, Helena, was playing with her dolls when it happened. The people that came to clear away the rubble told me there was little of my seven arcs old niece to find. My brother's spine was snapped when he was trapped for two trials until we dug him out! He had been a laborer. Now his legs hang limp, and he's no hope of supporting his son and wife who managed to survive!" His voice shook toward the end of his testimony, but anger quickly took the place of the grief welling in his eyes. "And still I see the Elements patrolling our streets!"
"My best friend's carpentry shop was all she had!" a blonde woman with a gap in her front teeth added. "She was on a delivery when it happened. She lost everything. Everything she owned, all the money she had had went into that place. Her parents lived in the rubble next door. The most she does now is stare at the sodding walls. The Elements have no right to control Scalvoris! Not anymore!"
Max sat back while one citizen after another rose to tell their story. Emotions built with each injustice confessed, and with it came the momentum of the Rusalka's cause. She could feel the animosity growing like a thick cloud in the tavern. They were feeding off one another's sorrow and fury. Their emotions could only be contained within peaceful bodies for so long. Soon it would rise to a violent crescendo, and as talk of mutiny began as a whisper, a dark satisfaction filled her. Promises made to The Raven weren't so empty after it. From where she was seated, the people of Scalvoris Town were very ready to shed the Elements like a wretched, corrupt skin.
"We all know something has to be done," Maxine growled with arms crossed. "The more we wait, the more time they have to regroup. They have to be hit while they're weak. Soon."
"We have to hit them hard," a platinum blond man with stone-grey eyes decided, his voice silky with charm. "It must be bold. Don't you think, my dear?" The Rusalka carefully watched the man, noting the subtle drunkeness that tainted his demeanor although she'd been sure he'd only arrived a half break ago. He ran his fingers through his curious hair thoughtfully. "The Elements have failed us. Like the woman they sacrificed, they deserve only to burn." The stranger moved over to place a boot on a nearby chair. With a wide grin he raised his mug toward his captivated audience. "Let's see that they do, shall we?"
Hands clapped, feet stomped upon the worn floor, and mug rattled against one another as the Four in Hand stirred. Light chants of "Cassius", the apparent name of this white-haired revolutionary, briefly filled the room before Cassius silenced it with a wave of his hand. Max's brow furrowed. She never planned to be the face of this movement against the military. However, there was something...off about the leader who seemed eager to take up the mantle. There was no grief in his stare. In fact, he'd hardly seemed moved by the earlier testimonies at all. Her lips pressed into a line. Cassius was no bleeding heart. Rather he seemed to be little more than an eager opportunist. In the end she supposed it didn't rightly matter what his motives were. The ends would justify the means. If he could help her deliver on her half of the deal she'd made, Max hadn't a real reason to care much about the man at all. He'd serve as a tool and nothing more.
"Don't worry, Max," Cassius suddenly addressed her before the crowd. "Given your current, well, status," he gestured toward her injured foot, "we expect you to sit this out." The Rusalka's brow rose. Her fingers tightened around the cane in her grasp. Cassius took a quick drink of his ale. "We'll do something just as you suggested though. Something big. Something bold. Something very, very soon. I, for one, have an idea that I can't wait for you to see."
Cassius then began moving through the crowd that hung on his every word. One-by-one he knelt down, his lips moving close to their ears. No doubt he was organizing a time and place for the renegades to meet to discuss whatever plan he had in mind. It would be late at night in the dark. They'd discuss their plots over brews and low-burning candles. Together they'd all settle on their plot and execute it as one united front. She could practically see the process in her head, and she expected to be told just those details. When he got to Max though, he didn't tell her the same thing he'd told the others. Instead he murmured in her ear the gist of the destruction he planned to execute. Her lips twitched upwards. What a blow it would be to the Elements indeed.
