13 – Ashke – The Riot
Runners spread word of
the disruption at the Hall of Disputes.
A group of Protectors
form up, not bothering to dress in uniforms but simply respond to the
emergency.
They check the Hall which
is empty by the time they arrive. The dwaven doors are sealed. The statues of
Durn and Bruna are intact, but the Loom of Peace is gone. Graffiti covers the
walls:
“Durn’s Blessing on us
all,”
“Durn’s Silent Hammers
strike in the Deep,”
“Durn will punish Zhul-rakkaz.”
Ashke shakes his head,
“How did this get so bad?” He asks aloud.
Another Protector walks
up, “There are no injured here, nor any bodies to recover. Let’s do as the
dwarves did and seal our side. When peace is restored, we can reopen the Hall.”
Ashke nods and leaves.
Pressing firmly against the door, metal spikes are driven into the stone floor,
sealing it. Then the handles are tied closed with spider silk ties.
A runner comes up
“Trouble in the Grand Market! All Protectors are to go there.” They shout as
they continue down another tunnel back into the goblin communities.
Without question or
comment, they rush to the Grand Market. The tunnel from the Hall of Disputes
opens to the cart staging area outside of the market. Screams and crashing are
heard from the market area. “They steal our gold.” “They kill our people.”
“Death to the Silent Killers.”
Shouts in Durask echo
through the area.
As the Protectors try to
get in, fearful goblins and Bimkor push out.
“Leave room for the
little ones,” Ashke tries to direct, but he might as well be yelling for a
cave-in to stop. He motions for the youngest to come towards him and out of the
way.
But screams from the
market get louder and closer.
“This one is impure and
cheated us.”
Ashke has to get in there
to help. He hears a loud Peacekeeper’s whistle.
“There will be Order!” a Durask
voice says using a sound horn.
The shouts die down.
“Evacuate the Grand
Market. It is closed for the meantime under Unified Guild Law.”
Ashke has never heard of
such a thing. He knows Dwarf Law and
Guild Law, but it’s the first time he’s heard Unified Guild law.
The fleeing crowds slow
their push, and it seems the panic is over. But he still needs to find out what
is happening, so he makes his way against the tide of people while other
Protectors continue working to safely clear the area.
Inside the Grand Market's
huge chamber, Ashke sees overturned tables and smashed merchandise. He worries
about the friends he’s known over the years, but he wants to talk to the
Peacekeepers first. Making his way over to the Guard Post, there’s a crowd of
those who were on duty at the time giving their statements to the Senior
Peacekeeper, with a speaking horn dangling from his wrist by a lanyard, as he
records their statements on a slate.
“They were screaming and
running.”
“We tried to make a
barrier.”
“They pushed and went
around.”
When he gets to where
they usually were, they seem unoccupied. No tables, no chests or boxes, no
items on the walls. “Maybe they stayed in the School,” He mutters to himself.
“They weren’t here
today.” A Protector says in Mishikwe.
He looks at her. “Have
you seen Mosek? Was he here today?”
She shakes her head. “I
haven’t seen him today. But I was helping my Peacekeeper keep things calm, so I
might have missed him.”
He places a reassuring
hand on her shoulder, “You did the best you could.”
She gives him a sad
smile. “No, we didn’t. We failed him,” nodding towards the dead merchant. She
then comments “You might want to try Two Forges. This week, Mosek was spending
a lot of time talking to the Masters. Or at least that is what was shared.”
trying to give Ashke hope.
“Thank you, I’ll check
there. Do you need help cleaning up?”
“Freely offered hands are
never refused….”
“And the Blessings of
Bruna upon all of us.” Ashke finishes.
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