Gathering at the Gates (Open)

[Claire]

The sun was beginning to rise down onto the reflected white marble and atop the heads of the assembled crowd. All gathered, listening for what events were about to come. It wasn’t often there was a trial of this magnitude, much less this much intrigue- Captain Roland had touched the lives of most people of the commonwealth in some form or fashion, some for good and most for ill. But this was a curiosity besides that- public officials were rarely prosecuted this publicly. There was excitement in the crowds that there might even be a public execution. True details were scarce but rumors abounded- that the former Captain was a traitor stealing secrets, that he had bewitched a woman into marriage, that he had vanished to aid an enemy force far away- but all were hoping for some sort of truth.

Including a woman near the back of the crowd, dressed in a plain, belted brown shift and cloak to protect her from the chill that still hung in the air despite the rising sun. Claire wrinkled her nose, tugging the hood of her cloak further over her head as the sun rose, knowing that further illumination here could spell trouble for her, even with her hidden short sword. Recent events had pulled her attention away from this evolving spectacle but now that it was resolving itself Claire found her interest returning in full to her plan, to the destruction of the crown. But despite her hopes, it appeared as if the Crown was doing that on it’s own. She remembered the accused man, that dark and uncaring statue of man, during her imprisonment.

Captain Walker, a man of precious few words and even less kindness. But despite her loathing and frank surprise at his survival, she found herself inherently suspicious of the charges levied against the man now. While she couldn’t claim to know him, only that she loathed him, the charges seemed out of character from what she had seen. But people, she had to admit, had the capacity to surprise her.

The primly dressed herald scampered out to the crowds, leaning over the massive wall separating the gathered rabble and the castle, and shouted down to the assembled mob-

“His Majesty has arrived and the trial is due to begin presently!”

The herald dashed back out of sight, leaving the crowd to begin their murmurings again, waiting. Claire leaned back, arms folding under her cloak, eyes narrowed up at the top of the wall under the shadows of her hood. They would all learn some kind of truth in this.

(Open commoners thread for characters not involved in the trial! Receive your hot in character updates here!)

[Deleted]

Gabriel woke up this morning and began his normal routine of walking around the city to find people who was in need of help, as he was leaving the inn he noticed Amiee in the front again cleaning a table, “ Hey Amiee, I was going to walk around the city and see if anyone needed help. If you were free did you want to join me?” Gabriel asked, realizing that he probably been spending more and more time with Amiee lately he wondered why for a few seconds before brushing it off. Whether or not if Amiee joined him or not was up to her, for the most part it would not affect the path gabriel had in mind today as he would walk to the first district and back looking for people to help.



As he left the Inn he started walking around the area and noticed that the streets seemed to be full of chatter though and everyone seemed to be heading towards the same direction. Stopping some people for a quick chat he asked them what all the commotion was about. After taking some time to hear what they said it seemed that someone fairly important was standing trial and someone in the castle would be telling everyone who didn’t have access to hear what was happening. Following the crowd after some time he ended up at the castle and sure enough a herald was there shouting out everything that was happening, finding a spot to stand at gabriel stood there and began listening to what was about to happen.

[Deleted]

Seeing Gabriel Amiee waved at him before nodding her head but she wanted to finish cleaning the tables. Quickly finishing up her morning work before leaving after informing her Papa that she was going to taking a walk with Gabriel. Once done she left with Gabriel, she was a little surprise that he was going to the first district since they wasn't any shops in that area just rich merchants and nobility.



As they reach higher up she notices a crowd around the castle gate, looking at Gabriel while he asked what was happening. Hearing that it was a trial for a captain of the guards or an old one made her a bit curious. Following Gabriel to a spot to stand in her kept looking up at the wall and the gate wondering who was being put on trial and based on the excitement of the crowd if an execution was really going to happen cause if so she knew that she would need to get back home because it meant that the Inn would be a lot more busy that afternoon.

[Deleted]

Deidric wanders to the gates and looks around confused about the large crowd until he hears the criers. He was wearing a long silk coat that blows dramatically in a wind. As he looks around for someone who seems to know what is going on he notices a familiar face and walks over to Claire.

"Good day, friend, can you please tell me what is going on?" He asks his shining smile remaining bright.

[Claire]

Claire is still watching the gates when she hears a voice beside her. She gives a start, looking over to the man with wide eyes, not remembering who he was until it hits her. That rich man! She couldn’t recall his name but he seemed to remember her. Her eyes flicker over his billowing cloak before she looks back to his face, a smile plastering over her face.

“Trial. The former Captain is on trial for…” she frowns as she thinks over the charges. “...various things. It’s about to start, I’m suprised you haven’t heard.”

[Deleted]

Gabriel looked at where all the noise was trying to see if he could find out more information as more and more people start to appear. Looking at the crowd that continued to form it seemed that whatever trial this was it was pretty major. Gabriel took a look at Amiee to make sure she was still next to him and whispered to her “ Can you find out anything else? A name or the reason why a trial was being held?” Hoping that Amiee could probably hear something he couldn’t or overlooked. He tried to move slightly but with the crowd trying to pull Amiee with him would be difficult as he stood there continuing to ask the people around them if any new information was arising.

[Deleted]

Amiee stuck pretty close to Gabriel the whole time was the crowd pushed and pulled. Hearing his question she took a moment listening to what was happening around her and hearing the whispers of people. "Roland. Roland Walker is standing trial today. He was a Captain of the guards." Trying to pick up the reason for the trial was she was pushed towards where a brown haired woman was standing with a guy with blond hair. Hearing them talk about what was happening she decided to stand near them until Gabriel found her.

[Deleted]

The crowds at the gate were massive; even for such an early morning trail. Lord Breton had predicted that there would be a large gathering, and had certainly prepared for it. One of the servants motioned to others to open the gates. Guards were posted at the gates to keep people from entering, at first there was some confusion as to why the gates were being open. Whatever was going on the servants looked jumpy and nervous. It was not long until a devise was slowly being wheeled into sight. The guards walked forward motioning for the crowd to step back.

A guard then stepped out and spoke to the crowd; making his voice loud enough to be heard over the nervous chatter. ”Lord Breton thanks you for gathering for this occasion! He has requested that this gallow of his own invention be brought out before you today….” The guard trailed off, really not sure what to say after that. After all the outcome had not been announced, yet the gallows was already being brought out to the public. As the guard pondered, a large circular platform was wheeled into site and placed in front of the gates. The large circular platform had three levels; the bottom half had three layers to the center, the outer layer which hid the innards from public eye was painted a deep blue, with gold filigree decorating the edges. In pretty ornate letters on the outside spelled out the word ‘The Daisy’. The second inner layer hidden from view held the nightmarish part of the device, this little joy was also hidden from view by a lambskin tarp. So even if a curious person were to look in the ‘surprise’ would be well hidden. The last layer in the center was a solid platform, with restraints. On the outer edge a second circular wooden piece was held up by wooden planks, creating an open ceiling of sorts to the lovely device. Colorful ropes, dyed in jeweled tones attached to the top circle. The bunch threaded through a metal circle, one end falling loose to the outside of the device; while the other end plunging down past the lambskin platform and into the bowels of the device. No one was quite sure what it was supposed to do, but it was one of Bretons toys….a fact by itself would make them wary.

Guards posted themselves around the device, protecting it from anyone coming to close. Breton had given strict orders that it would remain a surprise. But its presence was already beginning to make a stir…considering it confirmed there might very well be an execution that day. No one knew what the results would be for Captain Walker; however the presence of the device would indicate it was probably not in the former guards favor. The guards whom had served under Roland looked at the device worryingly… emotions varying from individual to individual.

[Jeon]

The wind was full of voices. They circled around Jeon's ears as he approached the gates to the castle. Sweat lingered. He had to push his way through the crowd. The bodies were thick, and he couldn't get far. The device just pulled out of the gate caught his eye and the voices got louder. It was a commotion that he didn't understand. His eyes were confused, moving around the scene. He kept getting knocked back and forth in the crowd.

He continued to push through the crowd until he was able to reach the gates. He approached the closest guard and. The guard bowed in his presence, Jeon slightly blushed because he had forgotten his status after his long trip away. The guard informed Jeon with the trial of Roland and the possible execution. Without speaking a word, Jeon turned from the guard and headed the other way.

He wanted to go talk to Roland, but the other guards told him to wait. His heart raced. He closed his eye and stepped back into the crowd. 

[Claire]

“...sorry, I-” Claire pushed herself away from Dedric and forward into the crowd as the device was wheeled out, risking pushing herself into the crowd with growing dread. They weren’t planning a beheading? Or a hanging? Of course not, and she felt foolish for believing that it would be the case. These people were barbarians, after all. But when she pushed forward enough to see it, what she saw made her blood run cold.

Upon seeing that device she was back in an instant to that place, to the dungeons far underneath her feet. Back to the blackness there, to the scars on her skin that dug down to her muscles, that still had not healed and still ached at times like this. Back to being poked and prodded, to questions she didn’t have answers to, to blackness, to loneliness, to that man, her interrogator with the strange familiarity in his bright green eyes. Her legs shook under her skirt and her hand scrambled to her hip under her cloak, fingers curling around the hilt in her sword. Core was no longer there, but for an instant it felt like he was, and she could come back down to earth. This had to be that green-eyed man’s doing. Breton. In that instant a rush of pity came over her for her former captor- he must have done something terrible in their eyes to deserve this. And the judgement of that man the King was clear- the former Captain would be found guilty. They would not bring out this… this thing otherwise.

Out of the corner of her eye Claire could spy red hair and a face that looked familiar- she’d seen enough Norus at this point to catch the familiar profile before recognition strikes her. The young mage, related to the King. He must have returned. When the man ventures close enough Claire ducks to the side, out of sight of the guards, and catches Jeon’s robe with a tug. “Hey-” she peers at him curiously. “Why aren’t you in the castle with the rest of them?”

[Jeon]

Jeon jumped. He was not expecting someone to try to talk to him and the tug on his robe caught him off guard. He looked back at the woman's face. He had only seen it a couple of times, but he knew who it was, "I just returned to the city." He frankly said. After looking at Claire for a second, a sudden thought came to his mind. His face twitched into curiosity and a slight smirk appeared. The guard was only able to give him small detailed and it was fairly biased,"Do you know what is really going on here?" He reached for both of her shoulders with his hands and looked square into her eyes. While squinting he said "I do not trust my source. I've known Roland for a long time and--unless he became a crazed maniac in my absence--there would be no action he would take to injure the kingdom. What is the real truth?" Jeon imagined this series of questioning would seem weird from nobility, who are probably on the side against Roland, but he didn't care much for his relatives.

[Claire]

Claire blinks at Jeon as he takes her shoulders, looking over his head to the door. “All I know-” she looks back to him, frowning. “Is the propaganda. What news there has been seems out of character for your friend.” she chews her lip before grasping his arm, pulling him back through the crowd. “Come on, follow me.”

“It’s very dramatic.” Claire continues as she pulls Jeon along. “He’s not loved out here, you know. But they’ve- they’ve said he’s kidnapped and seduced a noble woman. That he’s sold secrets to other countries and that he abandoned the siege. So either he’s a rapist and a fiend or a coward, which doesn’t strike me as particularly true.” she pauses. “Except for the coward bit.” she remarks, lips twitching in a frown before she looks back to Jeon. “It sounds like they want him out of the way and they finally found a story that sticks to him.”

Claire’s eyes rise to the gates, where three heralds have begun arguing. She squints up at them- something must be happening inside. They had gone a while without news and the crowd was beginning to grow restless. Until, finally, with a dramatic creak, the doors to the castle swung forth. From where she was, she couldn’t see inside and she grasped Jeon’s arm again. “Come with me. We need to get to higher ground and you’re not getting inside at this point.” she moved back to a building, tucking an alley and starting to scale up from boxes and piles of rubbish and windows to the roof. When secure she looks down to Jeon, extending her hand down to him.

“Come on. If something happens, I may be able to help your friend from here.” Or put him out of his misery, whichever was more appropriate.

[Jeon]

He was surprised by her strength. Even if he wanted to resist, it would have been quite a struggle as she pulled him through the crowd. It was surprising how smoothly they got through the crowd. He didn't have a lot of time to take in what she was saying as they went through the alley. He was tripping over random objects. He climbed up the rubbish, following Claire right behind. When she extended out her hand, he looked at curiously, and then grasped her forearm with his and she was able to lift him up. Her strength was yet again surprising. He knew little about this woman: they had interacted such a small amount.

After being on the roof, he looked around. Heights never scared him; he scanned the area casually next to the edges. There were other people scattered along the roofs of nearby buildings. They were all peering at the crowds and muttering among themselves. This was a huge event. How could he have missed all of this. He was only gone for six months. Deep breathe. "How-how...what can we do? This is insatiable! The crowd wants his head. What-wha-what...can we do?" he looked perilously down the roof while ruffling his hair with his right hand and then bringing it down to rub his neck. The sun was beating down on them.

[Deleted]

Garza was not in the best of moods as he walked out of the castle shortly after the device was being revealed, his normal scowl being much deeper then usual as he made his way to the stage, standing near the device. His eyes scanned the crowd with a squint, surveying not just any potential threats, but also the reactions that people were having to the whole event. He himself was feeling fairly conflicted about the whole affair. He had been a guard for a very long time, and those was not his first execution. But This WAS the first execution he had attended where someone so high ranking was accused of crimes as serious as espionage, potential rape, and abandonment of duty. The old man wasn't really sure what to believe at this point, but though he knew that Roland had indeed abandoned his post, the rest of the charges seemed very suspicious. He was sworn to uphold the law, no matter what....but it seemed to him that the law was being abused. He had no proof that this was the case...but he intended to find out. Until then, he had a job to do. Garza walked up to a small group of his guards, who stood at attention in respect of the older man's rank.

"Keep an extra lookout today. This is a large crowd, and anything can happen. If there's an incident, deal with it accordingly, but fairly. Last thing we need is the people calling for our blood."

[Louie Kanto]

The morning had brought no happiness to the drunken fool who awoke to a bed full of naked bodies; women from the Black Lotus, far too wasted from the night before to even stir when Louie’s went to get up. He gathered his clothes and things quietly before getting dressed and sneaking out the door. Though he probably didn’t have to sneak, from how much lunar dust they had ingested that following night. The sly devil grinned, making his way through his establishment down to the bar. Empty….


The FUCK MAN?! Where was everyone?! Louie thought, shocked that no one was at the Lotus other than himself and the Bartender who slipped in the information about the trial. ‘ A trial? ‘ Louie pondered, listening to what juicy gossip the old barman had about what was currently going on. Which wasn’t very much from what he was slowly beginning to gather. With scrunched disappointed features, Louie stepped back from the bar and gathered his equipment. Dressed in a actual rather normal peasantry attire. Other than the leather boiled vest and leather booths and shin guards. He looked just like a hunter that probably smelled like he just crawled out of the woods.


Louie made his way to the trial, stopping before the large crowd of people that gathered were visible. He could hear them from cheering in the streets, which gave him opportunity to use the distraction to climb/ scale the building onto the roof tops. There he silently made his way by rooftop, taking advantage point by ‘purposely’ missing his last jump and fell right into some clothes lines. Thank the heavens for a closed window! Can we say praise the almighty Allfather for such a mighty butt fuckery! Louie screamed in his head while he dangled within the very high up clothesline.


He dangled there for a moment, before wiggling his way into a sloth crawl position on the wires. Then swung his body out to bust into the window and dropped into the room. Thankfully, no one was home! Or at least it looked like no one was home because no one screamed. So Louie wobbled his way to the nearest window to get a better view of what was going on.


From the window he chose, he could see the mass amount of people gathered around a device that a woman was being dragged up on. His ruby gaze widened in horror at what the old lady looked like. Damn the courts were savage and now a public execution? Louie turned his gaze to see if he could see inside the courtroom from where he stood. Sadly, he could only see half of the room, where the all too familiar guard captain stood along with a unfamiliar female noble figure from behind. “ The fuck is going on here… Did I miss something? I thought that the rumor was pussy whipped Walker was gonna be offed, Now this is certainly a twist of events. “ Louie mumbled to himself, rather sure he had heard for a few days that Roland Walker had been thrown in prison. It would be only a matter of weeks for a trial, now here it is and he is walking free from the looks of it? Or perhaps he was missing something. Louie thought watching the trial a bit more, rather curious to see what was to happen. When he heard some of the villagers below mention that roland was to be released, Louie’s blood boiled. Well shit, that’s another problem he was gonna have to deal with in the long run. He grumbled, while unlatching the window letting it slowly swing open. He stood out of sight, watching the trial while listening to the commotion.