5. The Town Guard

Currently

Alice is attempting to call upon divine aid to protect Traci from the presence that followed her out of the ruin. They are then stopped leaving the tavern by the Town Guard. This follows on directly from the session entitled The Next Morning.

Alice, being an experienced cleric has no trouble calling upon her deity. She asks for divine protection for Traci and binds the two of them together in a holy pact that may not be broken without the promise Traci made being fulfilled. This is a sacred undertaking and it's import is explained to Traci and accepted by both parties. Upon leaving the tavern with the others they're stopped by a small but well-equipped contingent of the town guard. There have been accusations made regarding Traci and the 'foul things' that she brought with her out of the ruin. 

What are the options?

• First thought is to lie. I mean, how does anyone know that the presence is connected to Traci in the first place? Traci herself barely sees anything, just shadows at the edge of vision really. Even if they're convinced of it, how is making an enemy of Traci and friends going to solve anything? If they're arrested or held in confinement wouldn't that simply ensure the presence remains in the town? And what if they banish them from the town, are they sure it'd leave with them? 
• They could try to fight. But the town guard are composed of more than just these four[2d6=4] they face here, and they'd have to be ready for a fierce, ongoing battle if they started anything now. 
• Melisa's magic might help, but there's enough attention from the townsfolk as it is without attracting more, and besides, it might just convince the onlookers here that the town guard were right about them all along, then what would happen? There's a lot of townsfolk looking on, many of whom look ready to step in if things turn nasty.
• Maybe the simple truth could help everyone, if only because having the town guard to back them up if things turn nasty in some way wouldn't be a bad thing. Then again, if the town guard choose to disbelieve them anyway then they'd likely end up in the same situation as if they'd decided to lie their way out of it in the first place. 

The decision and reasoning behind it

The Flame Princess, acting unilaterally, draws her sword and steps forward, adopting a clearly aggressive stance. Traci and Alice reluctantly take up positions either side of her and Melissa steps back behind them palming a dose of quicksilver in the event she needs to use magic.

• The Princess was always quick to anger and is fiercely loyal to her friends. She has also led from the front for a while now and even though there's no official acknowledgement from the others of any sort of leadership, she is a natural leader and this is entirely in character for her. The others won't be happy about it, but they immediately move to support her anyway since they have always recognised and acted upon any decisions or move she's made in the past.
• The town guards are well aware of the potential forces a magic user such as Melissa might be able to call forth and would likely be very reluctant to risk any actual aggressive moves on their part. They would have seen her palm 'something', and even if they didn't see what it was they're not stupid and will know now if they didn't already that she's prepared to cast. There's a chance they might have even seen quicksilver used before and be aware of it's dangers and it's terrible potential.
• If they view Alice as less of an immediate threat to them, then the same can't be said of Traci. She's pointing a flintlock pistol at them and has her other hand resting on the hilt of her cutlass. The four of them make a formidable sight and the guards may actually be wondering how they're going to defuse this situation before it escalates. 

What happens next

The guards are clearly taken aback by this aggressive turn of events. It can be assumed they will have drawn weapons before approaching the girls too I think. Even if the Captain orders an undignified retreat, the townsfolk, who've been happy enough watching so far are probably going to fancy their chances against four women. There is of course the distinct possibility that if they do back away, the townsfolk will simply wander off, but it seems unlikely, and they may very well remain and attempt to overpower the girls with sheer force of numbers. 

The Flame Princess's actions may have initially been intended to force the guards to back-off, but all she's really achieved is an uncomfortable standoff with both the guards and the townsfolk.