Stasolya stands playing as the fish men close in on her. As she is busy with the pipes, she does not respond, but she switches her mouthpiece to another pipe attached to the bagpipe, this one having a higher, more eerie tone, still backed by the other drone pipes. The regal tune, with barely a pause, continues against the wind and the rain. The Pipes of Haunting the centaur has built into her instrument add a note of doom. To all who would befoul goodness and order! Will the advancing fish men take fright? Stasolya meets their gaze solidly.

She thinks a reply to the strange thought in her head, with a touch of melancholy. The city is taken. The Princess condescends to her persecutors. We cannot win this fight, but the war will not be lost. And she stays standing there, playing, head tilted up into the rain, as if in silent supplication.

Pag turns to the fighters around him, "There! The centaur! She's surrounded... and two more approach. I don't think she can get out of there alone. If we sneak through the crowd, we might be able to get the jump on a couple of the fishmen and free her from their little trap. Whose with me? Let's go..." Pag sneaks behind the closest fishman who is not looking in Pag's direction in the hope of getting in a sneak attack. [Pag has expertise in Stealth and with his Rapier of Warning, he and his companions with 30 feet cannot be surprised] Stealth 27

Cinder follows after Pag, though she doesn't have much hope for successfully sneaking up on the group. She stays a bit further back as she follows, not staying right behind the rogue. She watches the fish creatures closely, ready to release a salvo of flames if things looked to be going wrong. 

Stealth: 14

Malenia curves around the building she is tucked beside, cursing under her breath as the Centaur begins to play their instrument and refusing to retreat. Not one to leave a person in need, She creeps to the side of the advancing fishmen; Leaving herself plenty of space to fall back if needed and being sure not to be in a position where she could be pincered by them. 
Advancing toward a fish creature with her hilt in hand, Her Heterochromia eye's fixed on what is her target. She creeps to within 10 feet of the creatures back, ready to ignite her saber and strike if a hostile action is taken towards the Centaur or anyone else.
Sending a message to the Drow she had met before, not knowing if they are within range. "We cannot win this fight, the city is lost; Our best option is to retreat and live to fight another day."

The fish creatures cease slinking forward as Stasolya plays her pipes. The dreadful noise turns all but one of them back, sending them back stepping away from her again.  The one that remains looks at the Centaur, then up the street, directly at Cinder, before deciding that this is a fight it does not want to partake in.  

"Come.  These peasants are of no concern to us.  To the advance, in case they're rallying for an attack."  Therian says as he leads the group off toward the caravan.  

Stasolya continues playing the haunting dirge, sadly watching the fish men make their retreat. As she finishes the tune, she slings the bagpipes onto her back, and turns back towards the fleeing refugees. Only then does she see Cinder standing there. The others remain unnoticed by her. She nods to Cinder. "Let us help those remaining to get to safety." And, head bent now against the storm, she trots off towards the people huddled at the church, and fleeing uphill. She looks for those who are struggling who might need help.

Perception: 12 

Malenia watches as the creatures leave while moving back towards a building, once they have left her vision she will stand and move towards the group. Ushering people to the church. "That could've been bad, what were you thinking?" She addresses the Centaur directly, she looks around at all the people still frightened. "Causing a scene like that, Nearly starting a battle with all of these innocents close by"

Pag holds up his hands, “No time for recriminations or debriefing. With the monster in the harbor tearing up whole buildings and throwing them this way, I don’t recommend people stay in the church. They should keep moving farther in land. But let’s find someone else to lead them. Those of us with some experience in a fight should try to figure out what in the hell is going on. Could we kidnap a fish man for questioning or spy on some of them? Do any of you know why they are after the Princess What do we know about her anyway? Or Therian?” History Check 18

"I think our priority needs to be getting everyone and ourselves out of the city. We have no chance against... That..." She gestured vaguely at the coast and the creature in the distance. "It has an army, and we have five. We may have to deal with them though" she says indicating the group of fish men. "If they go after the people their going to have a problem."

Pag, "Fine. I'll push my way to the front to lead them further in land and out of the city, protect the rear flank."

There seems to be a commotion that begins a few streets over. It starts like the lull in a storm, a calming in the city as the fish men begin to follow Therian.  The bizarre fish creatures pass the assembled group as they follow in the Priest's steps, and it becomes clear to anyone paying attention that it isn't a localized thing.  They're all going.  The thing on the beach has calmed and is leaning in, peering with intent at the goings on of the approaching party.

The caravan stops a few hundred yards from the beach, and there are cries as some of the locals nearby begin to offer up protestations.  Soldiers, escorts for the caravan, yell and demand and push back on civilians and fish people alike with halberds while a small group in the center of the caravan steps forward.  One voice, beautiful and calm, reaches up into the heavens in defiance of the beast on the beach...

Seeing the movement of the crowd towards the voice, Pag obviously changes course. He then tries to find something tall enough to stand on where he can see what is going on.

Ventris turns towards the voice and begins to move towards it.

Cinder sighs then turns and starts to follow the others. So much for getting out of the city...

Stasolya, returning towards the refugees after the fish men departed from her, shakes her head to Malenia's chastisement. "The battle is already here." In answer to Pag, she says, "I do not know the Princess, but I know that she is of noble heart, or the forces of evil would not seek her with such violence, knowing that their own character will not stand before her grace and purity. Even now..."

The lull in the storm seems to punctuate her words and she turns toward the calm, and the caravan addressing the beast on the beach. "We must stand in support of her!" The centaur immediately brings her pipes back under her arm, and, playing another melancholy, regal tune, trots down towards the small caravan to stand at attention nearby. The poignancy of the tune she plays seems to echo the protesting cries of the locals.

Malenia lets out a soft sigh at the Centaur's retort, Unwilling to accept their justification of putting civilians in harms way. She turns towards the voice carrying even in the maelstorm assaulting the city, Running to get a better view of what the source of it is. She leaps off a broken cart, landing firmly onto a wall and pushing upwards, scrambling to a nearby rooftop.

Even as he makes his way to closer to the voice on the beach, Pag turns to Cinder, "Can you see what is going on? This is ridiculous. If it is Princess Andromeda, she's pretty, but out of my league. Gathering near that monster could get everyone killed. We need to be ready to escape this trap if it comes to that." And Pag looks for an escape route through the crowd and destruction. Perception 19

Then to Stastolya he says, "So you're one of those- "Let's all die for the royal family!" types? I prefer the open sea, where I'm free of kings and queens, aside from the wind and waves. My sailors live and die by my side because I pay them a fair wage and show them respect. Any person who does that is higher than a princess in my book." Persuasion 5

Stasolya finishes her tune sadly and turns to look at Pag. "So many of the quiet and simple folk of the world take for granted the rising of the sun, the falling of the rain, the green growing of the earth, the joy of new children, the sadness of elders passing. But what holds the order and goodness of these things together, against the evil and chaos which seeks to destroy them? It is that very order, embodied by the love of the Childlike Empress, and those royals who stand at juncture in the joints of the fragile and delicate order of the world against the chaos. Many people forget these things, but my people have kept the stories for centuries. We have seen the magic that holds order together. We remember the heroes and kings who have held the deeper magic in their hearts and scepters that kept evil at bay, kept the world safe in peace for all your kind and all the peoples. Is there a great beast and a horrid fish army buffeting the shores for you? No, they come for the Princess, they come for one who they know holds the key to the preservation of what they wish to destroy. That is not you nor I. That is the Empress and the Princess. If chaos takes her down, the world goes with her. This is the battle we fight. That is why they come for her---not for us. That is why we stand to protect her---without her, we all fall. Better that some of us fall, who matter little, than one whose fall dooms us all."

It is easy to see what is happening as the group draws nearer and turns their eyes upon the spectacle.  They watch as the soldiers force the crowd back, watch as three individuals form the vanguard of the on foot procession.  There are two women and a man, all humans, with the youngest woman leading.  The man walks solemnly to one side.  The older woman isn't so gathered; she is openly weeping, begging out loud, even though she's too far away to discern exactly what she's saying.  She seems to be parlaying with the younger woman, who is trying to keep her head up and her eyes turned toward the beach.

All three of these individuals are dressed regally, in fine attire and fine jewelry, and the two elders wear crowns.  

The girl raises her arms as they near the beach, and calls out loudly to the looming monster, who leans in as if listening.  The soldiers, steely of heart, are nonetheless intimidated by its presence, even as they keep up their sworn duty and push the gathering crowd back.  

-= Andromeda. =- The mighty, ethereal voice booms in everyone's minds.  -= Surrender yourself willingly, and your people shall be spared.  Do you answer the summons? =-

The people around the growing throng begin to scream in surprise and horror as the piscine creatures close in around them.  

Pag ignores Stasolya's fascism and idolatry. But he is motivated by the destruction to his ship, the presumed loss of many of his sailors, and seeing the destruction of the city. He readies his sword and sneaks through the crowd, ready to shank one of the fishmen the moment any of them harm the crowd or the princess. [Pag has "expertise" in stealth. I'll have him roll with advantage, if that is ok.] Stealth w/adv 15