The Ashkuban's Fury

[Ayzek]

Though the majority of the brigadiers and their handlers did manage to slip through the police, a handful did fall into the hands of the authorities, coincidental casualties of the riot police's advance. It didn't help that the handlers were in no position to guide their lambs through the rout at their leisure. It was difficult to keep track of anyone between the tear gas, the acoustic cannons, and the frenzied crowd, let alone issues commands. To make matters worse for the handlers, the officers were zealous and trained to go after leaders. If the handlers were too obvious or too well-equipped, they quickly found themselves targeted.

Nonetheless, the crowd of an estimated two-thousand was dispersed within minutes. Dozens lay on the streets, however--some victims of the stampede, most of an officer's baton, and a few of the tear gas. Systematically, they were cuffed and dragged to police trucks and buses. They would be processed soon enough.

While the protest at the embassy was dispersed as a response to the attack, the other, smaller, protests were left alone. The protests at other locations were less intensive, however. It was the minorities that suffered the most, after all. The majority of ethnic Cynessians were content to work in foreign-funded factories and warehouses, and had little interest in losing what income they had. Still, it was possible to stir the crowd into action. But it would take and, in the smaller crowds, carry more risks--especially after resources freed from the embassy were redeployed.

It was also likely outside the scope of the mission. The Mandate was payed by an Ishnalli national to harass the Pythian embassy, after all, not to stir chaos in the Kingdom.