On the way back to the shop, Maya undergoes a rollercoaster of anxiety and guilt for leaving her son be. Though appearing stoic on the outside, inside she's having an existential crisis that is constricting her chest all the way to her stomach; If it weren't for her disguise, Alek and Liivi could see her fox ears and tail stiffening to no end. And then Alek and Liivi notice something faster than she can pick it up on her own... wait.

Her instincts were right. The unnerving thought of her son, Shugo and Mira getting up to no go... she was somehow right. And just as the trio were spotted dashing away from... wait... who are those people?! And why... who is that being carried on Shugo's back?! What have they gotten themselves into?! "GYAAH!" She lets out a scream of panic that immediately alerts Alek and Liivi to the other three's location, her panic causing an emotional overload on what to do next... at least until she realised her son is also involved in whatever they're up to. She's praying that he didn't commit a vicious crime right now, but with that stranger person on Shugo's back, her doubts have risen, to the point where her anxiety suddenly morphs into something worse... Gritting her now sharpened teeth, Maya's frightfulness immediately converts into absolute rage at the thought of them injuring the person she trusts the most at the moment. Without even hesitating or consulting Alek or Liivi, she bolts and moves 60ft after the trio even if they're heading for the shop and away from their current location, hoping to catch up to their location before the situation exacerbates.

Knowing he's been spotted, Shugo picks up speed rapidly, racing almost blindly through the crowd. He cannot let those people catch him. As he runs, he hopes and prays he'll either loose them or help will arrive.

"Not happening!" Shugo yells back actually trying to draw attention to himself and his pursuers, "I may be a coward but that's better than a CRIMINAL! It doesn't matter what your motives are, kidnapping people for any reason is EVIL! You all should rethink your lives!"

Persuasion: 17 (had inspiration from something so I just used it)

(Genasi and Triton both have a dash speed of 60 ft, Shugo has a dash speed of 80 so he will be able to stay way ahead of his pursuers.)

"What's going on!!!" Alex gasps when he catches sight of Shugo running from a group of thugs. "W...." he trails off as Maya rushes towards the group. "Oh... this can't be good," Alex glances at Liivi, then back towards Shugo. Why is the elf carrying a goblin woman? And why is she unconscious?! 

"Hold on Shugo, we're coming!" Alex calls out, his etherial wings sprouting from his shoulders as he rushes forward. The glowing white feathers propel him upward and then towards the oncoming group. 

"Who are you carrying?" Alex asks loudly. "Should I take her from you?" 

Even though Shugo more than likely can continue to outrun his pursuer's, Alex can fly... at least for a while. More than likely he can get the unconscious woman out of the enemy's reach. 

Mira

Hearing the capturers catch Shugo, Mira again curses in Lancean as she too hops away with all of her might. Along the way she finally spots Alek and Maya and waves at them in distress instead of enjoyment.

"GYAH! ALEK! MAYA! LIIVI! NO TIME TO TALK!" Mira screams out loud as she reflexively rebound of a wall before hopping towards Alek and Maya who are apparently running towards them. And then she had this crazy but stupid idea pop up in her head before she can even hold herself back...

"Shugo... you wanna toss her over to one of us?! Like a relay?!" Mira abruptly yells at him before she yells at Alek. "Hey! Watch out holy boy! I don't want them targeting you instead! Focus on grabbing that lady that Shugo's holding onto and get her to safety! She's our priority!"

 Renar

"Damn it! Keep running both of you!" I scream out loud when Shugo gets caught red handed. Surely we all should be fast enough to outrun them to our original starting point. "Look, if you can't handle the load, pass our victim to one of us!" And then I hear Mira calling to... wait... they're here?! Okaa-san and... Alek?! "Wait what-?!" I suddenly skidded to a halt when Mira mentions Alek and Okaa-san. They're here! Our reinforcements have arrived sort of... but first we need to get to them before we change stances...! "Also why would you want to toss someone unconscious?! Didn't you say you- oh my- Are you insane?!" 

Noticing Mira quickly turn in the direction to them, I follow suit. "Shugo! Change directions and run to them! Don't waste your breath!" I yell at him before I backflip off a wall after almost colliding into and head straight for the others who are apparently coming to our direction. Also why the hell is Shugo trying to badmouth them?! There's no way those guys can be persuaded that easily!

I then yell to Alek although my held actions are still inactivated since we're not in combat: "Look if you're gonna carry her make it quick! Or tell Maya-san to do it and bring her back to where you came from if you can! She's already injured enough!"

(Like Shugo, Renar's dash is 80ft so he'd have no problem getting away. Not sure why his current speed is 45ft prior to this)

Liivi manages to spot the other 3 companions fleeing as Maya takes off after them.  The tabaxi follows after Maya, trying to make some sort of sense out of what they might have been doing. 'Where did that goblin come from? And who in the world is chasing them?' she wonders.  She tries to keep pace with the woman, dashing with her if necessary but not pushing it more. "Let's be cautious with this. Probably best to help make sure we all escape these pursuers!" 

Seeing Alex flying towards the group is a little of a surprise to Liivi. She hadn't really realized he could do that.  It will certainly be helpful for him to escape.  Ah, and then she notes that perhaps he can take the goblin that Shugo was carrying.  That might be the best path, assuming Alex can manage it.  

18

Round 1

All activity on the street stops as people stare at a bunch of people running. Even Janina, who's reading a newspaper in her stall, glances up to look at you and smiles. 

"Damn it, why is he so fast!?" The triton groans in annoyance, "Do we have someone with a horse? Do we have a Druid with us?"

"You two!" The satyr looks to the two cloaked figures, "Find a horse... or steal one, I don't care! We need to get faster!" He looks forward, "Norvalda, Ahti, keep chasing them, don't let them get out of your sight! And get that bunny first, she seems to be the slowest." He points at Mira, it's ironic how a rabbit person is the slowest in the group (Her speed is 30 ft).

So far, there is no interruption... yet. The two groups are about halfway from each other right now, and they'll join each other in the next turn. The pursuing group is still around 30 ft behind the slowest member, Mira, this time without the two hooded figures.

OOC Note:

Renar

Things were going smoothly somewhat. Me, Shugo and Mira-san ... but then my heart wrenches when Mira isn't with us at the moment. Wasn't she here a moment ago?! "Wait... Shugo... where is...?!" I turn my head back and completely forgot that Mira-san is nowhere close to our location; Those goons are close to catching her. I want to help her so bad but I'm scared to lose momentum if I do... I grit my teeth as my anxiety heightens whilst I kept running. "Damn it!" I curse to myself as I notice Mira-san losing her footing. "Can't you like... like... a-a-at least teleport yourself to safety?! What's gotten into you?! Don't tell me you've already exhausted your stamina have you?!" I don't know what happens next but... almost as if it became a blur, I suddenly notice a green aura enveloping around Shugo... and then he's gone. What?!

"WHA-?! Oh my..." I gasp in disbelief as Mira teleports not only herself, but Shugo too, whilst leaving me in the dust. Peering towards the corner... they teleported closer to Alek without even confirming with me?! Wha-?! My eyes widen in anger and shock. That wasn't even my intention; Who said I wanted to draw the attention on my- what the heck! "Bakas! So much for teamwork...!" I groan as I continue to dash (twice; another 160ft) where Alek, Mira and Shugo have suddenly met whilst my paws crackle in a brighter electric yellow than before... if they're even close!

Mira

Mira gasps in disbelief when she instantly takes note of how fast Shugo and Renar are when they sped off effortlessly. What the heck?! How are they blitzing away... GAH! My legs! She groans as the fatigue overwhelms her powerful but tiny hopping muscles. There's no way a queen like her . In fact, she's already losing stamina fast; The thoughts of being captured by those thugs (Again) are one thing, but not having the stamina to keep up with those lightning fast boys is another, and it's overwhelming her fast. She has never been in a scenario that's forcing her to push this hard. Never in her life had she been this close to fading out of existence... That is until Renar's angry voice snaps her back to her senses and reminds her of the sorcery points she saved up for an occasion like this. He's right. Luckily for the group, when Renar screams at her and brings her to her senses she is able to use vortex warp on herself again. This time she can also teleport Shugo to Alek too. 

"Renar... I'm so sorry... We'll leave the chasing to you." She whispers to herself; She dashes twice (120ft) before closing the gap with Shugo; If not enough, she uses her rabbit hop to leap another 10ft towards them before her tiny paws light up in bright green again as she chants... and then jumps high in the air whilst her emerald glow shines brighter than before. "SHUGO! BRACE YOURSELF!" Mira yells before a gust of wind envelopes her and the hasty Elf... minus the hoodie guy of course. (She twins vortex warp on herself and Shugo, all the way closer to where Alek is flying towards, where hopefully he can be in better distance of throwing the goblin to safety, or be able to grab onto her if better.)

Shugo's breath catches as Mira suddenly teleports him towards Alex. When the young Aasimar offers to take the injured woman, he hurriedly hands her to him. "Quick! This is the judge for our trial! Those idiots are trying to delay the trial so that they can break Cezars out!" Without stopping he glances back at his pursuers. They seriously think they have time to steal a horse? And then run it through crowded streets? How do they expect not to get caught? "Get her somewhere they won't go! Maybe the church? Or a prison or something!"

He draws his sword realizing that Mira had left Renar behind. "I'll try to delay them farther, I don't like that Renar is alone."

He then waits for Renar to catch up before running alongside the shifter. "I'm sorry I blew this!" He gasps, "I haven't felt like myself lately." He adds under his breath.

Then he yells at the people in the street as he runs. "Someone bring the guards! These people tried to kidnap the judge and are trying to attack us!"

Alex quickly takes the judge, a look of pure dismay on his face, "WHAT! They kidnapped the JUDGE!" Knowing he needs to get out of here, he quickly gains altitude, hoping that none of their pursuers have anything that will allow them to follow his flight. "I...I'll take her somewhere safe! Don't let them get the better of you!"

He turns towards the church, hopefully Valijs will be able to help them out. Surely these thugs won't follow him there... 

As he flies off, he shouts at the bystanders, "Don't just let this happen in front of your faces! Someone call the guards! Help subdue those criminals! Those thugs are harming innocent people and trying to disrupt the justice system! Just because it isn't your problem doesn't mean you shouldn't do the right thing and help how you can!" 

Persuasion (to get the crowd to help): 17

The people on the street, after hearing Shugo and Alex's shout, immediately turn their heads toward the three assailants.

Ronaldo, Norvalda, and Ahti stop in their tracks as a crowd forms around them. 

Persuasion check passed

"What the- What are you doing? Get out of the way!" Ahti panics, his hands hovering over his dagger. "We're trying to do our job here!"

"Why don't you get a job that doesn't involve hurting other people instead!" A man in the crowd calls out. "Get them!" 

"Fireball!"

A second later, you see a ball of flame appear in the satyr's hand, and then the crowd that previously gathered around the assailants explodes. Five people get ragdolled into the air and fall to the ground, unconscious... somehow. Thankfully, none of the buildings catch fire, but some of the bystander's clothes are. People panic, most scream like a chicken without a head, and some of the more composed ones grab a bucket of water and try to extinguish anyone on fire.

The three of them stand there in shock. "Well... that's what they deserved for getting in our way." The satyr speaks..., and then he slaps Ahti on the back of his head. "Get going, you two, we aren't done yet!" 

Good news: the church is around 60 ft away, and according to Shepherdist laws, you can claim sanctuary by entering the church. The law grants anyone who's inside the church asylum, meaning they cannot be prosecuted or arrested by law (Which is a real thing IRL).

Bad news: the mercenaries can just wait outside the church and prevent you from leaving. Thankfully, you've successfully convinced the crowd to pay attention, so you the guards might arrive soon enough. Then again, this is a big city, it could take a few hours for the guards to arrive, and who knows what they'll try to do in order to get their target back.

Mira

"GAAH!" Once Mira somehow teleports herself and Shugo closer to Alek's relative position, she loses her footing and tumbles about violently before grinding to a rather painful halt on the asphalt, lying front first in both exhaustion and defeat. Thankfully, Alek was able to acquire their victim on time... "Alek... Go... t... take her... to..." She wheezes heavily before she was forced to draw in oxygen and cough out constantly, not even taking a moment to congratulate him on successfully getting the crowd to their sense; The only thing that jolted her back to her senses was the unpleasant kaboom of a fireball that could've singed her attire had she not teleported out of the place.

"Oh shoot...!" She gasps when the crowd that Alek roused suddenly gets blasted out of thin air. What the heck! That was so unnecessary! At this point time froze around her... until Renar violently ragdoll shakes her. "OWOWOW! What the heck!" She yelp painfully when Renar does snap her back to reality and scoffs. "Well then... what's Step 3 of our plan, Mr Oddball- WHAT THE- WAIT UP!" She irritatedly grumbles and shrieks when the two of them almost leave her in the dust again. Instinctively, she continues to leap alongside Shugo and Renar, at least until she notices Maya and Liivi coming too. Finally, some hope? However, she was taken aback when Renar finally stops running. Why the sudden pause, she thinks. And that's when she analyzes his body language in full detail whilst time slowly saps away...

She recognises his mood. The way he's slowly arching his neck towards their targets. And his current expression... the yellow aura he's emitting... it's clearly hostile. She knows what's coming up; The final phase of their ridiculous plan... She blinks slowly as she too, changes her mood without shifting the atmosphere around her...

"Hey ladies. You're just in time, by the way. I hope you two and Shugo are ready to fight..." The Queen of Platone sourly remarks as her green spectral clock reappears behind her back; Awaiting for their final phase of this rather lucid plan to unfold, Mira braces herself, either to propel closer to their targets, or to stand firm and play long range, hoping she won't miss a single attack this time.

Initiative: 13

Renar

As much as I want to throttle Mira-san for ditching me, my anxiety worsen when Shugo, out of all people, decided to needlessly stay behind just so he assist me... and apologize to me for what?! "What are you apologizing for?! And why now out of all timings?!" I couldn't help but snap at his pathetic response as he picks up the pace alongside me. I can handle the situation just fine even I was outnumbered. And of course I knew someone would stuff up! I was already bracing for it! So why the poorly timed apology especially from him! Ugh... regardless, I then turn to Alek if he's still dawdling with our captive, my sharp teeth barred in response to both my anxiety and aggression.

"Go! Get out of here! Don't even come back until you've made sure she's fine! And where are the ladies that you've taken on your lovely honeymoon to?!" I yell furiously at Alek whilst the ensuing chaos continues to unfold before our very eyes... starting with a fireball to the crowd's face?! What the heck was that for?!

"CRAP! Did they just-?!" I shudder before noticing Mira-san's half fainted posture and stop for a moment; I violently shook her whilst she stood half-dazed. "Mira-san! Snap out of it! Our retreat isn't over yet!" Without even thinking twice, I bolted again, hoping that the duo can at least continue to pick up the pace when I needed them to. As I ran, flashes of how this would play out would end up failing before my eyes... and then... I hear a scream. A lady's scream, calling out for my name, bringing me back to reality. I tilted my head up, and saw them.

Other than Alek, our reinforcements are arriving. They're still far off, but they're coming to us. And we're coming to them. "Liivi-san! Oka- I mean Maya-san!" I wave towards them; Our final two reinforcements are approaching... which means that... for once, what my plan hoped to be... it's coming together. I can see everything piecing together slowly. From the retrieval, to our escape... and now... the final phase: The assault, further fuelled by our hatred for them igniting a passive crowd into flames... However, when Leopard lady and Okaa-san inch closer to our current spots, I suddenly grind to a halt as their confused stares meet my sullen gaze; I said nothing as I then look behind me whilst my paws shift to where they should be going to on my weapon...

"Step 3, now that we've all reunited..." I snarl as I instantly activate my defenses, my katana sheath crackling with a flash of electric yellow lightning as my grip on Inazuma tightens tenfold and I turn my head back towards my behind with my most hostile glare ever... "Enough retreating. Pick a target and tear them down; The satyr cannot do melee combat."

Initiative: 7 (Bladesinger and Mirror Image activated on Round 1)

Liivi runs trying to keep pace with Maya primarily, and hopefully with Alex and the others that have teleported up to him. She's a bit surprised as Mira and Renar seem to have suddenly decided to fight almost as of one mind. "Not falling back to the church?" she asks, though it seems the time for decisions has passed. "At least spread out so our fates aren't connected by one of those fireballs."  

Having said that, the tabaxi puts what distance she can from the others. She's only now really been able to take stock of their assailants. Three it seems.  If possible, she closes the distance to one while moving.  

(Initiative: 16)

Shugo is shocked into silence when Renar snaps at him...though that quickly fades as he knows that's just how Renar is.

The elf spins around taking on a ready stance with his sword poised just as Renar and Mira do the same. "Alright you wanted to fight me so badly before, now that my hands are free come at me."

He notes Renar's statement about the Satyr though he'd already figured that out as well. Hopefully once Alex get's the judge to safety within the church, he comes back to join them quickly. He's confident that they can hold their own even without Alex, but with this many people around...he'd rather end this as quickly as possible.

Even when Liivi chooses to run besides the disguised kitsune, Maya doesn't change her terrified expression and hold off from saying a word of thanks. A sudden blast stings the tips of her hidden fox ears, and with it, a couple of screams of panic coming from her direction, except it wasn't coming from the trio. "N-Nani...?!" Was that a fireball? The blaze that radiated in front of her shut eyes?! She then notices Mira, Shugo and Renar dashing towards the two ladies at full speed... "Mira-san?! Shugo-kun?! Renar-kun?! Dai- Uh I mean- What happened?!" Maya, only for them to come to a complete halt all of sudden before they slowly charge up their attacks. "Renar-kun?!" Maya calls out again when she notices his hell-bent intentions on holding them off whilst Alek escapes to the church; She wants to retreat back woth Alek, but if those three are hell bent on repelling them... actually first off what have they gotten themselves into? They rescued a judge? But why? "Hey! Can't we-" And then Liivi decides to join in too... She doesn't get a say? Fine... After a moment of internal complaining, Maya decides to ready herself as her claws lengthen and glow a radiant white in response. "So much ... spurit up...; So much for splitting up..." She quietly complains to herself.

In the midst of her silence though, if Alek or Shugo hasn't rolled for initiative yet, whoever rolls first gets advantage (Vigilant Blessing)

Initiative: 20

Alex flies to the church feeling more than a little guilty about getting those civilians involved. Yet, at the same time it is everyone's duty to step in where they can. Those people chose to step up, fully knowing the danger, and did their best. Alex will personally make sure they recieve whatever healing possible after this is all said and done.

He flies faster than he ever has before, rushing the injured judge inside and shouting for Vaijs. "H..Hey! We've got an emergency!!!" 

Hopefully his mentor is still there, and hopefully he has an idea of what to do. 

After whatever happens there happens, he rushes out to help his comrades. 

Initiative: 7

Initiative: 

Right now, you're about 40 feet away from the church. Mira, Renar, and Shugo is 60 ft away from the enemy and Maya, Alex, and Liivi are 80 ft away from the enemies and 20 ft away from the church.

"Get one of them, doesn't matter who, just grab one and run for it!" Ronaldo yells... and that's when you realise they're talking about you, not the goblin judge. He waves his hand in the air, summons five magical darts, and hurls them at Liivi. "Take that, furball! Magic Missile!"

Meanwhile, the Triton and the fire genasi pulls their dagger out and rushes toward the closest person to them—which are Mira, Renar, and Shugo. They stand face to face with you, ready to fight in the next turn.

Eyeing the three allies that have stopped running, Maya then shifts her shut eyes to the trio that are attempting to charge at the six of them for something she doesn't even know. And then Liivi gets struck by magic missiles?! She gasps in horror before she quickly bandages her wounds (Healing word: Liivi regains 5 HP) Nonetheless, she's convinced that peace isn't going to be an option, judging by their hostility plus the fact that her son, Mira and Shugo have now changed stances; They're not going to budge. But kidnapping a judge? That to her is way too far.  But still, she had gone for a stroll to the church with Alek and Liivi only for the other three to get into what? She needs to know the details of everything once this scuffle is over. Minna... Atode nani ga okotte iru no ka kichinto setsumei shita hō ga īdesu... (みんな... 後で何が起こっているのかきちんと説明したほうがいいです..., Everyone, you better give me a good explanation of what's going on later...) The kitsune lady frowns before she instinctively switches to defense mode, just like the previous fight.

Action - Her palms glow white whilst she chants inaudibly in Japanese: Tasogare no seiiki (黄昏の聖域)

(Everyone within 30ft of Maya's Twilight Sanctuary gains 9 Temp HP which resets at the start of each round)