Lylia’s Summery of Mob Scene in Landing during Fun With The Zealot Night

Lylia’s IC and OOC summary of Friday night’s mob scene in the Landing is at the Forums:

http://bit.ly/2bPyDqk

Category: Towns
Topic: Wehnimer’s Landing

Date: 08/27/2016 03:40 PM CDT

From: UBERWENCH

Subj: Last night's riot, both IC and OOC

Just a quick OOC summary for anyone who missed last night’s chaos or was busy hunting up bloodrunes:

A street preacher appeared in front of Moot Hall to inveigh against the wickedness and waywardness of the Landing, promising that Koar’s Light would cleanse all during the Atonement. The crowd listened and made jokes about giving townspeople up for Atonement or offered snide comments about where Chaston Griffin can stick Koar’s light, and a few advocated ignoring him. I got an idea that may or may not have had to do with the sangria I’d had after dinner: “Hey, I wonder if this is an attackable NPC or if he’s warded as Chaston always is? Why would my character stand here and listen to this guy tell her she’s unclean, anyway? Should I leave? Or wait…what would happen if I just — ” So I ventured a little Bloodburst. Rozy finished the job emphatically and atomized him with an Implosion, and then all hell began to break loose with the townsfolk, both PC and NPC. There were some monsterbold messages about the townspeople casting horrified glances at Lylia and Rozy, which I thought was great and Lylia thought was ominous. 🙂

Around this time, Lylia got arrested, so I didn’t get to see a lot of the resulting riots, but I did see angry townspeople and harried militia moving through the streets later and heard there were a few deaths. After I got sprung from the jail, I got on the amulet from my undisclosed location and made some noise about “Maybe NOW you’ll see this stuff’s serious business!” while finishing off the last of the fig and walnut biscotti and thinking about how this all fit into Lylia’s larger plans (because even though I rarely have one, Lylia always has a larger plan). I also sent a couple of PMs to folks so they knew it was meant in fun and purely roleplayed, which I hope made it through the screen scroll.

Thadston offered to help quash the violence in town, but Pup told him it was in hand, and everything simmered down — at least, it did until tonight. DUN DUN DUNNN, the Atonement’s coming!

— Lauren, Lylia’s player

Now, from an IC perspective:

Quin Telaren may send roltons away from the gates, but he is powerless to stop the rising tide of zealotry within the town’s own walls. It seems no one cares to stop it despite the waves of murderous behavior such hateful rhetoric has incited. We cannot even walk the streets without being accosted by mad Koarites proclaiming our incipient doom and frothing at the mouth about this Atonement, and that is if we are lucky. The unlucky ones, those of mixed heritage, get a crossbow bolt or a knife in the dark.

A white-robed priest occupied a place in front of Moot Hall itself and was not chased away; instead, he was welcomed to whip the crowd into a frenzy, giving courage and purpose to those very murderers who kill our own citizenry. While our own mayor stood before this zealot and made jests about handing over a citizen — no, not just a citizen, but a former political rival of his, which I believe is no coincidence — for their monstrous Atonement, I believed it was time to take action.

My original intent was simply to open a vein in the man’s neck and choke off his words, proving to the assembled townsfolk that Koar could not save this man from the merest expression of sorcerous displeasure. I soon realized, though, that this was an opportunity to make a greater point: This is no laughing matter. While our human leadership jokes about handing over one of the town’s most prominent non-human, agnostic citizens to Chaston Griffin’s Atonement, I felt the need to end such jests — no, to drench them with the blood such cavalier disregard demands. I was clearly not the only listener in that crowd who shared this sense of outrage. How fitting, then, that the one who ended the priest’s miserable life is also not human, also a sorceress, also with something more to lose.

Some may deplore the violence that occurred last night. I am with you in condemning it. What many do not see, though, is that the priest’s speech would have ended in blood regardless — only if he had not died, it would have been the blood of our half-elven citizens, our Lornon worshippers, our non-believers, our Aelotoi and Faendryl and Dhe’nar. These zealots will not stop until they see a world that mirrors them. We cannot treat it as a jest. We cannot afford to indulge this hatred under the guise of free worship even if the Liabo-loving humans among us fail to perceive the enormity of the threat this warped faith represents.

We do not have the luxury of laughter. Now perhaps you see this clearly.

— Lylia Rashere Faendryl