[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/597506252599328805/1088678313150644284/Ingrids_Header.png[/img][/center] [color=8882be][b]Event:[/b][/color] Metropolis but in the Mountains [hr] ngrid had naïvely thought that they would see Yin's action as good. She objectively did a good thing. She saved not only Ingrid but that boulder would have continued. It could of ran over them as well. But some don't seem to care. And to top it they wanted [i]Ingrid[/i] to take care of Yin? [color=8882be][i]How dare they,[/i][/color] Ingrid thought before remembering that they were [i]Retanese.[/i] They live under the same rules and value those rules. They have no reason to change them. [color=8882be][i]Now wasn't time for anger,[/i][/color] Ingrid spoke up, [color=8882be]"I will not [i]deal[/i] with her"[/color] Ingrid stepped forward, [color=8882be]"What person would I be if I detain the person who saved my life and potentially yours as well."[/color] Ingrid looked to the crowd, [color=8882be]"She saved me with magic and you want her punished for saving a noble's life. Would you follow the same rules if it meant letting your friend or family die. Would you just sit idly as they drag them away for healing another?"[/color] Ingrid didn't hope to convince all of them but to maybe soften them to letting this instance go. She hoped that then they could maybe pay some off. [color=8882be]"And I know that just asking you to let this slide wouldn't be enough, so how about some compensation from the offending party?"[/color] Ingrid in no way thought what they did was wrong, but it mattered that some of them did. She tried to acknowledge by agreeing they were the offenders and to hopefully put this situation away with compensation. Some of the group would fall into letting it go and hopefully give the swing to them. [b]"Noble,"[/b] one woman was heard to scoff quietly to her partner, [b]"as if that matters in Retan."[/b] The offer of bribes, however, went over quite well. More than one answered in the affirmative, and many others nodded. Captain Zhu, meanwhile, was deep in conversation with Yin. Then, something happened a good deal further up the slope there was... an avalanche. A moving wall of snow, ice, and rock roared down the mountainside and a disagreement about the use of magic began to seem petty and inconsequential. The captain was back. [color=0072bc]"Ingri!"[/color] he called, [color=0072bc]"We make three lines of defense. I'll be up top and try to deflect the fall. You a bit further down: grab the people who can't get out of the way. Yin..."[/color] He glanced apologetically at her. [color=0072bc]"Anything further down that escapes us, maybe somebody could deflect it away from people. I will be up there and I won't see anything, but I hope it can happen."[/color] There was no time for further talk. He was already moving and, before long, he was a good way up the mountainside, strategically halting boulders or blasting back snow and ice. And then the sky tore. Based off the sound it was a massive explosion. She looked towards the higher part of the mountain. All the potential energy of the mountain had started to fall down. An Avalanche. She knew how to save herself, she was Eskandish mage after all. But these people... Ingrid leapt into action and began to draw from her surroundings. She had to act quickly. A platform of Ice and stone formed and she looked to Yin and Zhu for support for what comes next. She moved the Commoners on the platform whether they wanted to or not, they couldn't out run the avalanche and Ingrid had a suspicion it was one of her colleagues that caused this. She pulled out her wand to start lifting the platform, She had practiced with ships in the port but it was still hard to do. She called out to Zhu and Yin to help hold it a loft and slow the avalanche for the people much further down. Even if it would only help a little, Ingrid was putting it all out there to help the way she could. The idea Ingrid came up with to send the people onto a large floating platform had one real flaw and that was Ingrid's own ability with Kinetic. Captain Zhu took the initiative and leapt further ahead to stop or divert whatever was coming and Ingrid was responsible for keeping the platform afloat with and grabbing people as they came close enough. Yin was hopefully meant to stay on the down low, but things started to spiral from the start. Ingrid was unaccustomed to such an odd situation and had whiffed her pull on the man that had a boulder coming directly at him. From the start it seemed they were deemed to have fatalities. But Yin saved him and got him to the platform. Ingrid let out a sigh of relief as she redid her efforts. No one was going to die on her watch today. There was a sudden lull in the avalanche, not many people appeared and there wasn't much to guard against. Having little to immediately do, she picks up the people not in danger and checks in on the people present. She missed on one person, but she signaled to Yin to not intervene. They had some leeway here. Like a bad omen 4 people appeared and 4 boulders came with it. 1 heading to the place next to her and one the furthest away they could be. Ingrid strained as she moved from one side to the next, trying to save. She had to leave the one next to her to Yin as much as it pained her to put her in a worst position. Luckily Yin managed it with ease and saved Little Ling. Ingrid had focused on an old man who seemed to had used up his luck in life, shoving 2 boulders out of the way to save him and get him on the platform. [color=8882be][i]Alright, that was hectic, but I think I can see...[/i][/color] There was a large boulder coming. So large that it would hit the platform. Ingrid was underprepared. Zhu pulled his strength out to knock the smaller ones away but Ingrid just wasn't prepared. She picked up a pair of twins, Yang Yang and Yang Yin, and a one of a cute couple, Mr. Xu. The boulder came and she left Mrs. Xu behind. She didn't know how to deal with it. There wasn't enough Kinetic energy in the platform to dodge so she Thermally shocked the icy boulder in hopes of breaking it into many pieces. She succeeded in reducing its direct impact, but it still struck with enough force to send 2 people off, one of them to the farthest reaches she could still impact. Of course, the children were hurt the worst. The twins were sent off, Yang Yang with Mrs. Xu and Yang Yin luckily saved by Yin before he impacted the rocky snow. Little Ling however screamed out, [color=Blue]"I can't feel my legs![/color] Many got hurt by the broken stone. Many panicked as they watched children. But of course it never ends with just one disaster. Another terrifyingly large boulder was coming and this time she now had to manage 3 duties. Ingrid tried to grab Mrs. Xu and Yang Yang but failed and left them. She felt cruel as she could hear her sister yelling out for her and Mr. Xu begging to grab his wife. She made it over to Mr. Tang and lifted him with ease as she turned her efforts to healing Ling. Another disaster like the one before will be the end of her and potentially others here. She tried and tried but nothing. The panic of a little girl dying in front of her had stripped what mediocre skills she had. [color=8882be][i]What was the point of me learning if I can't heal someone when I need to![/i][/color] Ingrid thought as frustration sat in from her own inabilities. Another large boulder came and there was no immediate energy in the platform for a quick maneuver. All she had left was to blow it up again but luckily it didn't come to that. Yin lifted the platform the feet it needed to prevent what could be the death of many people. The time was hectic but there wasn't the impending doom of a giant boulder. Ingrid picked up who she could and tried to position herself well for the whatever was coming. It gave her time to heal Ling she hoped. She tried to drown out Yang Yin's cries for her sister or the man who was shoving a coin in her hand. She tried to wholly focus but she was stretched thin. All she could do was push back death; she couldn't save her. That is when Yin saved the day, this time healing the girl for and seemingly reconnecting her spine. Luckily the others conflated her actions with Ingrid's healing. Things started looking better. The mood shifted slightly. There was hope again. And where there is hope, there is a large rock to crush it. A lot of people appeared who were running from the avalanche and with it came a lot of boulders and another large one that could destroy the platform. But Ingrid could see it. This was the last thing they needed to do. They could do it! They could save everyone! Ingrid shifted the platform to where she needed to go, she missed Yang Yang on the first pass and saved Mrs. Hui only to turn it around to grab Yang Yang. Ingrid needed to do it this way. 3 boulders came for a man named Wei and they seemed almost drawn to him. Ingrid spent some of the kinetic energy to blast 2 of the boulders away. It wasn't enough to save him, but he continued to run, Yin blasted the third one off without being noticed and they saved him this time. Now it was the boulder, Ingrid was ready, having saved some energy to lift the platform and Yin pulled it up with her, allowing them to dodge the larges boulder yet. The platform was set down, and people cheered with the energy they had left, Captain Zhu came down and helped mend the people who were injured. This incident was terrifying, but everyone was going home. No one died no one was maimed for life. She handled this with help. It filled her with relief and she wiped some of the tears out of her eyes and looked at Zhu, [color=8882be]"We still have the rest of your wards up there, I worry they may not have been so lucky."[/color] === In the event, there was little to fear. It wasn't long before they could see Trypano and Rikard headed down the mountain with Dai and... [i]Wu Long?[/i] Nobody had died. Somehow, some way, nobody had died. Even the woman who had loudly claimed, some five minutes prior, that she had lost loved ones to unregulated magic use, seemed willing to look the other way. She humbly thanked Ingrid and nodded towards Yin. Yet, the issue wasn't finished. [color=0072bc]"Yin,"[/color] said Captain Zhu quietly, glancing over at Ingrid as well. [color=a2d39c]"Captain,"[/color] she replied properly. [color=0072bc]"They are happy right now - celebrating our success and their own safety - but they will not remain so. Either because they need the money they'll get from tipoffs, because they're two-faced, or simply because they will hold one of your friends up there responsible for this disaster in the first place, one of those people - and likely more - will say something."[/color] He shook his head regretfully as the trio walked. [color=0072bc]"It will not be safe."[/color] Yin's eyes snapped his way. The snapped to her feet and the ground and she took a few calming breaths. Her fists curled and uncurled. [color=a2d39c]"I..."[/color] she trailed off and glanced back down the mountain at them. [color=0072bc]"Do not feel anger, hard though it may be."[/color] Zhu Kai shook his head. [color=0072bc]"All are grateful in the moment. Most are good people and it is not so easy to sort them."[/color] Yin's gaze flew his way. A half-dozen emotions flickered across her face in rapid succession. She swallowed and nodded. [color=a2d39c]"It is... unjust,"[/color] she murmured, barely audible. [color=0072bc]"It is,"[/color] he agreed quietly, eyes finding Ingrid, who had already made her thoughts on the matter amply clear. [color=0072bc]"Every day, we are told that we must live with many small injustices in service of a greater good. Few of us bat an eyelash at that, for the most part."[/color] [color=a2d39c]"Until it affects us."[/color] Yin was shaking with anxiety. [color=a2d39c]"What have I done!?"[/color] She twisted to Zhu Kai and then to Ingrid. [color=a2d39c]"I've put my family in danger. Haven't I?"[/color] The captain nodded sadly. [color=a2d39c]"I..."[/color] she cleared her throat against the panic rising in it. [color=a2d39c]"I do not ask this lightly and I do not wish to impose, for this is a colossal request and the consequences of acting upon it may be dire. You may refuse it and I will bear you no grudge, truly, but... Is there... anything you can [i]do?[/i] You are a captain of the Goldcloaks, are you not?"[/color] The captain nodded sadly. [color=0072bc]"I could fail to report this,"[/color] he agreed. [color=0072bc]"Your actions were noble and you are..."[/color] He smiled, faintly. [color=0072bc]"Wonderful."[/color] Up ahead, their allies grew larger, nearly within sensing range. [color=0072bc]"I can buy you a couple of days. I can survive the mark upon my record. It is of no consequence."[/color] Zhu Kai was good at card games. His voice never betrayed his true feelings. The mask of his face never cracked. [color=a2d39c]"Truly!?"[/color] Yin's face lit up. Then, however, he continued. [color=0072bc]"But that is all I can get you."[/color] He glanced away and seemed to sigh. His eyes met Ingrid's for a brief, pained second, before they found Yin's. [color=0072bc]"Your inn was not chosen randomly,"[/color] he admitted. [color=0072bc]"Already, you were under dire suspicion of unauthorized magic use."[/color] Face and voice alike grew pinched. [color=0072bc]"I was sent to spy on you under the guise of being these students' escort."[/color] She drew back, regarding him as if he might be poisonous. [color=0072bc]"I have said nothing, Wei Yin. I promise this, but they will take my word to the counter as a sign that I am compromised. They are not wrong, and I am glad of it."[/color] Yin's eyes darted between his and Ingrid's. Their team members were fast approaching: Trypano, Dai, and Rikard, along with... it [i]was[/i] Wu Long! [color=0072bc]"Tomorrow,"[/color] said the captain, [color=0072bc]"You must flee, and take your brother and father with you. Burn the inn and make it look like an accident. Claim the insurance money and move somewhere far away under a new name. I will do what I can but it may not be much."[/color] He bowed his head. [color=0072bc]"Now, we play as normal. Your friends are here. I am sorry, Ingrid. I am sorry, Yin."[/color] Ingrid still rode the high of their success, but the weight of the situation was evident. She kept quiet for the most part, believing that even if she had something to say, she could save it for a little later. There was no surprise on Ingrid's face, only a look of worry for Yin. They had talked the night before and Ingrid was suspicious since then. [color=8882be][i]Oh what a disaster,[/i][/color] Ingrid grimaced. It was the worst time for this to happen. Ingrid took note of her team minus her lover and couldn't help but want to believe that Wu Long might be able to help in some way for some kind of trade but that could be a long shot. [color=8882be]"Yin,"[/color] Ingrid finally spoke out, [color=8882be]"I... Can't offer you much. I can't imagine the pain you are having but if you need help of any kind and I can do so I will, you have my word, Yin. I might be a little [i]accident[/i] prone though,"[/color] Ingrid tried to make clear that if it was an accident they needed, she could handle that, she was an expert at them. [color=8882be]"If you ever visit the twin continents, send a letter and I will make your visit more pleasant."[/color] She looked to the others and waved, smiling like she had done something impressive. Especially to her fellow tall girl Trypano.