Saturday 28 May 2022

3 Klarmont - I predict a riot

 His head ached after his trip to the wharf front where the taverns selling the wine had been. There was no way he could have sat in them without drinking and it had got a little out of hand in the fifth one. Fortunately, no one had taken exception to his presence or tried to mug him, so that was positive, if nothing else was.

One thing disturbed him. There had been ugly words said about Stephanos Torenescu. The commons seemed to be blaming Stephanos despite the Watch stating unequivocally that he was not even a suspect. Broneslav suspected that the Veiled Society might be stoking the fires here. This would bear investigating which meant more time down in the wharfside taverns. Broneslav headed for the kitchens to fortify himself with the greasiest fry-up he could persuade cook to prepare.

Filled with food guaranteed to prevent any ill effects from beer, Broneslav headed back to the wharfside taverns. He instantly noticed that the mood there was ugly. Tempers were frayed and arguments were frequent. Lucia Vorloi and Stephanos Torenescu were hot topics of discussion with many opining that he must have murdered her or had her murdered.

As the day wore on, people began gathering in the streets. Broneslav observed from the sidelines. It seemed to him that there must be people circulating and stirring things up, but he could not spot them. It got clearer when a man stood on a wagon back and started shouting to the crowd about the murder. The crowd turned and paid attention to him. A hush spread out over it as people focused on the speaker. There were occasional shouts of agreement. The man's speech laid the blame for Lucia's murder firmly at the feet of the Torenescu. Furthermore, he claimed that the Torenescu were behind the Veiled Society too.

Broneslav wandered the district and heard similar speeches in various places. Clearly, the Veiled Society was aiming to stir things up. It could be no coincidence that peopler were making the same speech in different places. By late afternoon, he had heard enough, but had not found the man he was seeking. He wondered if he might speak to one of the speechifiers in private a bit later. With that in mind, he decided to head home and return a bit later. No doubt there would be more of this sort of thing going on then.

His route home took him through a marketplace. The stalls were closed or closing down but there were still a lot of people here. They were listening to a man standing on a cart in the middle of the marketplace.

"And I tell you these Torenescu are dangerous," the man shouted to the crowd, " Do they care for you? No! Do they care for the safety of the common workers? No! They do not pay their share of taxes and they steal the food from your children's mouths to fatten themselves in luxury!"

There were shouts of agreement and the crowd was clearly ready for a fight. Broneslav edged towards the exit of the marketplace, trying not to draw attention to himself. As he did so, he heard a clatter of horses' hooves. The Duke's cavalry had arrived, ringing the marketplace.

Silence descended.

Despite the large crowd of people around him, Broneslav suddenly felt very alone when the cavalry turned up!

Three riders rode towards the centre of the marketplace.

The leader shouted, "In the name of the Duke disperse now!"

He got no further. A rock thrown from within the crowd struck the side of his helmet and knocked him out. As his body hit the floor, more rocks followed, another cavalryman fell, and then the remaining cavalry charged with naked swords. What followed was carnage. Cavalrymen and their horses were dragged to the ground by members of the crowd. Members of the crowd were trampled or cut down by the cavalry. The screams of the injured and dying quickly filled the place.

The orator jumped down from the cart and moved as quickly as he could through the crowd. Broneslav raced after him. A mounted member of the watch saw him and tried to ride him down. Broneslav ducked around the horse and was pushing his way through the brawl before the rider could turn and pursue him. The orator had a good lead now and it was hard to see him, but Broneslav still managed to keep an eye on the man.

Ahead, halberdiers from the Duke's garrison were closing off the streets leading into the marketplace. It looked like the area was going to become a killing ground.

The orator had reached the edge of the market place, and Broneslav saw him open the door to a small house and duck inside. The door closed and Broneslav was hard pressed to reach it, but he managed. It was locked by the time he got there though. Cursing, he stepped back and looked. The windows were shuttered on the inside. They would be easier to open than breaking down the door. He wedged his dagger in the gap between the two shutters and lifted it. The bar across the window held a moment, but then Broneslav's strength told and it shifted. The judicious application of one broad shoulder to the shutter, combined with moving the bar saw Broneslav tumbling through the newly opened window just as the shouts and screams of the combatants in the marketplace reached a new high.

The young warrior leapt lithely to his feet, ready to face the orator.

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