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[color=d3d3d3]The remains of the warehouse still smouldered, its charred timbers poking up from the ground like cruelly amputated reminders of the encounter's violence, ashy smoke boiling off into the night air, and a severed support beam glowing with residual heat. Yet, thanks to the last-second intervention of Seviin, Xiuyang, Johann, and others, the damage to the surrounding neighbourhood was virtually nonexistent. Locals who had run and hid in terror began to come out of the woodwork. As a soft rain began to coat the ground and wreckage, they gathered in curiosity, hovering nearby until the much-feared interlopers from the White-Walled City were gone. They soon progressed to poking around, and then looting and cleaning. 

Some longer-term residents spoke of Moli's Emporium, the previous year: a local business and success story that had been ruthlessly attacked and obliterated by invaders from Ersand'Enise. The academy had later claimed the mission to be both humanitarian and focused on preventing the creation of dangerous and illegal weapons, and some of the locals had believed them, but most knew better. It was more of the same; someone in Mudville started to get big, to make their own way, to provide gainful employment, and the mages came out to crush them, for it was in the name: a place called 'Mudville' must never outshine the White-Walled City. However, the situation had changed since the arrival, in droves, of refugees from yasoi lands. While their people had always been a noticeable minority, they now made up solidly half of the town: impoverished, seething, burgeoning, and in increasing tension with their human neighbours. 

Yet, if feelings were mixed, there [i]was[/i] some gratitude for the forced departure of the Colas. Even if they were homegrown, they had been thugs and gangsters. They had blackmailed, extorted, beaten, humiliated, and even murdered their fellow Mudvillians. If the two sides - criminals and colonists - had not destroyed each other, as some might've hoped, at least [i]one[/i] was gone. At least the cruelty, arrogance, and recklessness of the academy's students was well marked. Most of the swelling slum's residents had developed strategies for not being caught in it and maimed or killed. That Ersand'Enise demanded the occasional blood sacrifice in return for the opportunities it provided was almost a fact of life at this point: resented but dully accepted. The Cola Brothers had been uniquely awful, and now they were gone. Now, thought some - particularly the human, eeaiko, and helegan residents, particularly the Tarlonese supporters - if the mages' rampage ended with the Resistance crushed as well, they might be free of [i]two[/i] unique evils.

This, then, was what swirled through the sideroads, alleys, and tenements of the town renamed 'Belleville' that night, and into the next day. Only Seviin had hung around, compelled by her nature and duties to help clean up the disaster site. Once the rain stopped, she'd found a dry place and caught a few hours of sleep. She'd woken early and met her peers at the Seagate, only her fine - though slightly sullied - priestess' robes and familiarity with the guards preventing her from being barred or questioned. They filtered through, some holding a brief discussion on what should be done next. The clock was ticking and the Colas had proven to be a false lead: opportunists who'd overplayed their hand and been dealt with.

They had only two worthwhile pieces of information - hardly leads - at this point, and so the group divided itself up so as to best use their strengths. Most of the others were immensely wary of Dorothea after her display of dark magic and sadism the previous day, and ill-disposed to working with her. Despite their regard for each other, Ashon was insistent upon meeting the Resistance and Seviin equally insistent that her Tarlonese accent would set them on edge. Hence, they parted ways. Hence, Seviin found herself searching for the one-legged woman who'd been sighted with Jaxan slightly before his disappearance. She found herself with Xiuyang, Oksana, and Dory. The former pair quickly separated themselves from Dory, who was quick to become tangled up in a tense racial standoff. Oksana pursued her own leads through a ghastly hostel and these eventually led her to reunite with her allies. At a Red Pentact hospital, they learned what remained. The puzzle came together. They made haste for a row house in Miller's Hook, their goal in sight and a secondary one presenting itself.

The remaining five sought out the Resistance. Ashon decided to investigate the relatively new Cryin' Cyan: a bar not far from the Searoad where some whispered that Resistance members could be found. Niallus and Lunara followed a separate trail and soon found themselves tangled up in a contentious brawl by the docks where a Resistance agent looking to collect donations had drawn the ire of workers. Johann made his way through the market stalls along the great boulevard, generously splashing his money around in search of leads. Finally, Abdel hung back, keeping tabs on all of the others as a tethered is uniquely capable of doing. It wasn't long before Ashon had navigated his way to the heart of the freedom fighters' hideout - or were they gangsters? Niallus, through his well-intentioned meddling, soon found himself at the Cryin' Cyan as well, Abdel and Johann following a separate set of leads. While the Eskandishman failed a trustworthiness test and was pulled away by the spectre of revenge against Cherii'cola, Ashon, Johann, and Abdel learned what they needed and linked up for a final push.

Dory and Lunara were the only others who appeared cast adrift, having both been tangled up in the aftermath of a potentially-deadly and racially charged brawl. As that played out, the clock continued to tick. Their peers, who'd both taken disparate routes to what was - surely! - the final scenario of this wild goose chase, were without their vital support. Was this it? Was it all to play for? Was Jaxan even okay - [i]alive[/i]!?

Only one thing was certain: they would soon find out![/color]  

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