Freeing Baideng

[Marquis Black]

Rui glared as he heard the death cry go up in the air. Of course. Everything they had done thus far had all been for this one moment. The battle, and victories...all distractions made to lure them away from the real prize, and it was possible that they were now too late to stop it.

"I believe we'll find the answers we're looking for if we investigate that cry," he said calmly, though he felt no calm within. "Come on, let's go."

With that said, he led his companions towards the house, making sure to point out several of their recruited warriors on the way to follow them as well.

[Chou Yu]

As Yu and Bai Rui were walking, they met one Pan Shaozu, the warrior in their so called volunteer army, and the two filled them in on their findings. A fierce scowl appeared on his face as he heard what Pan Shaozu did to his prisoner, and his mouth opened ready to tell him of his foolishness. Before any words came out however, a death cry could be heard from one direction, and Yu cursed. Immediately, he pointed to one soldier and said, "You! Tell the rest of the army to patrol the town for any suspicious activity and they have orders to protect the townsfolk with their lives if they need to!" Yu did not know what was going on, but he did not want to take any chances. He wondered if his order to protect the townsfolk was a way of appeasing the guilt he felt for being one of the commander that led the ill fated campaign, but he had no time to ponder it.

To the rest of the soldiers he said, "To me!" Not really looking if anyone followed, Yu started to sprint through the street, charging into the mansion, finding that Bai Rui did not move with enough haste. The death cry could be the answer to the questions and confusions that now torrents his mind, and he was not going to risk it getting away.

[ShamsTron]

From perhaps 7 or 8 buildings away, a death cry came. The house almost looked like a mansion, like it would belong to...

OOC: I know this is not everyone, but it's a big enough group to continue forth. ANY OF THE OTHERS NOT MENTIONED may continue on their own RP or come to the same conclusions and RP their 'fated' arrival to this event. I need short RPs from all those that wish to participate as well as what they do. The people are already riled up, it might be a good idea to have a few of you try to appease them now

OOC: I am assuming that since I was looking around the rich neibourhood of the town I would be close enough to hear the cry. Sorry if this assumption is incorrect.

Zheng Nu was having no luck finding any noble to talk to. He thought that all was lost and was about to head back to camp until he heard a loud death cry. Once hearing this he quickly ran in the direction of the cry and began looking for his fellow companions to regroup.

[BJR]

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Shaozu replied as both Yu and Rui ran towards the mansion... He quickly followed them to the source of the screaming.

[Meia]

"Liao Teng? Very well, I shall-" her response was interrupted by the commotion involving the Shangguan Wei's prisoner. She seemed to realise the situation fully when the little girls hugged their father 'bandit'; the bandits were in fact merely townsfolk of the town her army were 'defending' against..

Soon after the scream was heard, Ding gently pat the boy's mother on the shoulder, nudging it as if telling her she was free to move away to safety. Then Ding Yi gingerly retreated to stand beside Shangguan Wei.

Noticing that quite a few of her comrades had gone to investigate the cry, she whispered to Shangguan Wei "Please stand your ground." There was a slight quiver to her voice, for the possibility of her standing alone to face this crowd made her nervous.

As the townfolk began to show themselves, Ding tried to speak to them. "We came by the order of one named Jinshouzhuang Jue; he claimed to be the magistrate of Baideng. It seems evident that this is not true. Does anyone know of a man by that name? Was your town ever harassed by real bandits in the first place?"

[NightForever]

Wei and a few guards escorted the man towards the house he indicated when he saw Ding Yi before a woman and child, her face distraught by what she was told. At the same time as the distraction took place, two children, both little girls of maybe 7 and 9 years old, rushed Wei's prisoner without a second thought to all the guards, weapons and mean faces around. A wail could be heard from the open window as surely the mother realized what her children were doing.

"Papa!" they both exclaimed as they grasped their father by the thighs, his bonds preventing him from hugging them back.

The look he shot Wei had no venom, no signs of victory that he was telling the truth, it simply held a defeated look and plea for his children's safety.

The mother rushed out towards what all would assume was her husband and people started to come out of their hiding place, moved by the scene. This could actually get ugly quite quickly, yet everyone remained silent.

At the same time, as if by fate, Yang Yu and Bai Rui had just met up with Pan Shaozu and were walking towards the scene, discussing their findings.

From perhaps 7 or 8 buildings away, a death cry came. The house almost looked like a mansion, like it would belong to...

"Liao Teng? Very well, I shall-" her response was interrupted by the commotion involving the Shangguan Wei's prisoner. She seemed to realise the situation fully when the little girls hugged their father 'bandit'; the bandits were in fact merely townsfolk of the town her army were 'defending' against..

Soon after the scream was heard, Ding gently pat the boy's mother on the shoulder, nudging it as if telling her she was free to move away to safety. Then Ding Yi gingerly retreated to stand beside Shangguan Wei.

Noticing that quite a few of her comrades had gone to investigate the cry, she whispered to Shangguan Wei "Please stand your ground." There was a slight quiver to her voice, for the possibility of her standing alone to face this crowd made her nervous.

As the townfolk began to show themselves, Ding tried to speak to them. "We came by the order of one named Jinshouzhuang Jue; he claimed to be the magistrate of Baideng. It seems evident that this is not true. Does anyone know of a man by that name? Was your town ever harassed by real bandits in the first place?"

Once met with Lady Ding Yi and saw all the situation unravelled, Shangguan Wei felt like he was impaled by thousands of needles all over his body. His head went blank and numb. The look from Hua Ren, his presumed prisoner, to him showed no sign of anger or malice, but that look was enough to imprint in Wei's mind for the remaining of his life. Wei became wordless for a while, until he regained his sense. He then approached towards Hua Ren and released the man's bond. Overwhelmed with guilt, Wei spoke to Hua Ren.

"You are right all along, man. My friend and I are stupid fools who mistook you guys for bandits and helped the real bandit attack your town. We sacrificed our lives for nothing more than causing more losses and pain. I am very sorry, and I know I could not do anything to give the lives of your townspeople and my soldiers back. From now on, please go back to your wife and daughters."

He then stepped beside Lady Ding Yi. Hearing her inquiry to the surrounding townspeople, Wei knew that everything became clear to her as well. After finishing her words, Wei decided to speak to the crowd.

"Look, people of Baideng. We came here with the intention to free this town from bandits. We came here with the hope to help you. However, it seems like we were tricked by a man named Jinshouzhuang Jue. Unknowingly, we attacked your town, causing the losses of many lives from both your side and our side. We know that it is impossible to ask you to forgive us, as we cannot forgive ourselves for our foolishness as well. However, I beg you to give us a chance to apprehend the man named Jinshouzhuang Jue, the mastermind of all these attacks. He might be hiding somewhere, tricking more warriors to help him, and scheming for further attacks to this town. We promise to find him and bring him back here for explanation and justice. If anyone know a man by that name, please let us know and let us go find him."

He then stopped speaking and looked at Ding Yi as if to apologize her in case he spoke too much.

[Phailak]

Mansion

Liang Zhuwen and Tai Ju Li arrived barely after Pan Shaozu, Bai Rui and Yang Yu did at the entrance. With a quick glance around as they approached, they quickly figured there was three ways into the place, front entrance through a gate as well as a side servant entrance and without being sure, certainly a back entrance. After the scream died, there was silence from within. No evidence of guards anywhere.

OOC: I need tactics from all five of you as well as positions if you take them OR how and where you enter the mansion.

Crowd Control

It was as if walking against waves of water of an approaching storm. While in some areas, the more pacific people turned away or quickly accepted the explanation, some were goading each other and the duo could quickly notice people bending to pick up objects or whistling to others for attention.

A young man appeared to Wei's side, to Wei's credit he caught him before he got too close. He was maybe sixteen years old, maybe.

"Quite the pickle you got yerselves into huh? There's an alley there, follow me if you want to avoid trouble, I've got a distraction ready."

The situation might not appear to be so dire yet, there were only a few in the crowd that seemed ready to act, but that scream had set everyone on edge. Why would this kid offer to help, just another thing that made no sense in this guilty adventure.

OOC: Same here, need tactics. There is no right answer here, there will be rolls should you decide to take the kid's lead or face the crowd. You really only have three choices though. Stare down the ruffians from the crowd and risk angering the mob, flee or follow the boy. No time for questions or talking between you.

[Marquis Black]

Mansion

Liang Zhuwen and Tai Ju Li arrived barely after Pan Shaozu, Bai Rui and Yang Yu did at the entrance. With a quick glance around as they approached, they quickly figured there was three ways into the place, front entrance through a gate as well as a side servant entrance and without being sure, certainly a back entrance. After the scream died, there was silence from within. No evidence of guards anywhere.

OOC: I need tactics from all five of you as well as positions if you take them OR how and where you enter the mansion.

Crowd Control

It was as if walking against waves of water of an approaching storm. While in some areas, the more pacific people turned away or quickly accepted the explanation, some were goading each other and the duo could quickly notice people bending to pick up objects or whistling to others for attention.

A young man appeared to Wei's side, to Wei's credit he caught him before he got too close. He was maybe sixteen years old, maybe.

"Quite the pickle you got yerselves into huh? There's an alley there, follow me if you want to avoid trouble, I've got a distraction ready."

The situation might not appear to be so dire yet, there were only a few in the crowd that seemed ready to act, but that scream had set everyone on edge. Why would this kid offer to help, just another thing that made no sense in this guilty adventure.

OOC: Same here, need tactics. There is no right answer here, there will be rolls should you decide to take the kid's lead or face the crowd. You really only have three choices though. Stare down the ruffians from the crowd and risk angering the mob, flee or follow the boy. No time for questions or talking between you.

It took Rui maybe seconds to determine the group's overall capacity, and he didn't like it one bit. For one part, they were too few to adequately surround the house, and for the other, there seemed to be only two people who were good at fighting present--though perhaps General Tai could help a bit. Yan Yu and himself, however, would be practically useless in close combat.

Two good fighters led Rui to a simple, yet disappointing conclusion: two groups. "Generals Pan and Yan, as well as myself, should take the front entrance," he suggested to the group. "General Liang, General Tai, please take care of the side entrance and work your way towards the main entrance. That way, if there's any trouble on either end, we can help each other by flanking the enemy. Once together, we'll investigate the house more thoroughly," he proposed.

[Kakirot83]

Mansion

Liang Zhuwen and Tai Ju Li arrived barely after Pan Shaozu, Bai Rui and Yang Yu did at the entrance. With a quick glance around as they approached, they quickly figured there was three ways into the place, front entrance through a gate as well as a side servant entrance and without being sure, certainly a back entrance. After the scream died, there was silence from within. No evidence of guards anywhere.

OOC: I need tactics from all five of you as well as positions if you take them OR how and where you enter the mansion.

Crowd Control

It was as if walking against waves of water of an approaching storm. While in some areas, the more pacific people turned away or quickly accepted the explanation, some were goading each other and the duo could quickly notice people bending to pick up objects or whistling to others for attention.

A young man appeared to Wei's side, to Wei's credit he caught him before he got too close. He was maybe sixteen years old, maybe.

"Quite the pickle you got yerselves into huh? There's an alley there, follow me if you want to avoid trouble, I've got a distraction ready."

The situation might not appear to be so dire yet, there were only a few in the crowd that seemed ready to act, but that scream had set everyone on edge. Why would this kid offer to help, just another thing that made no sense in this guilty adventure.

OOC: Same here, need tactics. There is no right answer here, there will be rolls should you decide to take the kid's lead or face the crowd. You really only have three choices though. Stare down the ruffians from the crowd and risk angering the mob, flee or follow the boy. No time for questions or talking between you.

It took Rui maybe seconds to determine the group's overall capacity, and he didn't like it one bit. For one part, they were too few to adequately surround the house, and for the other, there seemed to be only two people who were good at fighting present--though perhaps General Tai could help a bit. Yan Yu and himself, however, would be practically useless in close combat.

Two good fighters led Rui to a simple, yet disappointing conclusion: two groups. "Generals Pan and Yan, as well as myself, should take the front entrance," he suggested to the group. "General Liang, General Tai, please take care of the side entrance and work your way towards the main entrance. That way, if there's any trouble on either end, we can help each other by flanking the enemy. Once together, we'll investigate the house more thoroughly," he proposed.

Tai didn't like it one bit. She knew the odds weren't good; with only five of them and two entrances, it would be hard to cover. They all weren't that good at fighting, herself included, but this was something she felt she had to see through to the end, it called to her.

She looked to Zhuwen, knowing how it should go, and how she would have it go. the idea bugged her, a lot. That any entrance might allow someone to leave unhindered, without explaination, it just wouldn't do. She understood the man's idea; two strong groups to hold two outlets, to try and guess. Tai wasn't into guessing, into letting the man get away.

"No. there are three doors, we'll need three groups." She looked around at the people, knowing how she was going to handle it. "Pan and Bai take the front door. Zhuwen and Yang take the side entrance. I'll take the back entrance. I claim no real ability to fight, but I imagine I can perhaps offer slightly more than Bai or Yang, and at the very least, perhaps I could stall if it came to that."

She wouldn't allow an arguement; she would not allow them, herself to be used. She would hold the third entrance if need be, it was what she felt she had to do. Quickly she gave a peck on the cheek to Zhuwen, and before he could even try to interject, she placed a finger over his lips, to signify this was something she had to do, something she would do, no matter the objection. She went on her way, alone, despite the ideas of others.

Tai Ju Li heads towards the back entrance alone, as long as the other 4 cover the other two entrances.

[NightForever]

Crowd Control

It was as if walking against waves of water of an approaching storm. While in some areas, the more pacific people turned away or quickly accepted the explanation, some were goading each other and the duo could quickly notice people bending to pick up objects or whistling to others for attention.

A young man appeared to Wei's side, to Wei's credit he caught him before he got too close. He was maybe sixteen years old, maybe.

"Quite the pickle you got yerselves into huh? There's an alley there, follow me if you want to avoid trouble, I've got a distraction ready."

The situation might not appear to be so dire yet, there were only a few in the crowd that seemed ready to act, but that scream had set everyone on edge. Why would this kid offer to help, just another thing that made no sense in this guilty adventure.

OOC: Same here, need tactics. There is no right answer here, there will be rolls should you decide to take the kid's lead or face the crowd. You really only have three choices though. Stare down the ruffians from the crowd and risk angering the mob, flee or follow the boy. No time for questions or talking between you.

Wei listened to the boy carefully. He had a little doubt in the boy who came out of nowhere to help the ones who just destroyed his village. Maybe he indeed accepted the apology and offered a way out of here. Maybe he was still angry and set up a trap for revenge. In any case, there was no time to think, as Wei saw some villagers preparing some weapons already. He looked at lady Ding Yi one more time and then turned to the boy.

"Alright, kid. Our lives depend on you now. Please, lead the way."

(OOC: Assuming no objection from Ding Yi, Shangguan Wei and Ding Yi along with all the guards presented there will follow the kid with caution.)