To Nero's surprise, Erratus was no longer by his side. He was making a beeline for the door the man named Gaston had come through and was already halfway across the room. He wove his way deftly through the current of people who were making a break for the exit. Not surprisingly, a good many people hadn't budged either. It didn't take a genius to realize that something was amiss, and the nomad's curiosity wouldn't allow him to depart until he knew what it was. He shoved a protesting Gaston aside as he passed through the doorway, smearing his hand with the red substance in the process.

Talaitha, confused by the recent turn of events, stepped toward some of the gypsies, merging with the group as she did earlier with the crowd.

"What's going on?" she inquired to one of the gypsies.

Over taken by protest from all those around him Gaston nervously place his hand upon his forehead, holding his brown hair from off his face he began to attempt once more to clear the room. "It doesn't matter what's happening!" Gaston shouted as he prepared himself for more hollering. "Just leave, it does not concern-" cutting himself off, Gaston's face grew pale as he noticed only a single guard leave the group. "L-listen now please!" he tried to continue but was shoved out of the way by a man who without even a hint of caution stormed through the door and down the stairway. Turning round' to the stairway Gaston shouted ceaselessly after him, but was unable to find words of actual warning. "Sir! Sir! Come back at once!"

The Gypsies who had given up on trying to reason with the man gave Talaitha a slight bow before returning to their table in an attempt to collect all their works and vacant the premise.

Meanwhile Nero had quickly approached the door from which Gaston was now fruitlessly calling the renegade Erratus from. He dared not enter the door, but was quite frankly interested in Erratus' stupidity. Before long though Nero noticed that one of the guards had gone missing from the room, and the rest had begun to close in on the doorway, each of them staying silent and waiting for an actual explanation.

Erratus, who had made haste in solving the mystery himself was only able to make it down to the first landing in the claustrophobic stairway before coming face to face with what appeared to be a balded, completely pale, figure who was obviously suffering from severe malnutrition. The figure stared blankly into Erratus for a moment, its eyes appeared to be hollowed out by a terrible void and its teeth seemed permanently bared, though in reality the figure simply had no lips or real facial structure. The creature remained silent until its hand gingerly reached out of Erratus' shoulder, and in an low mumble it let out a terrible moan.

The nomad's eyes widened at the horrible sight. He had a very good idea of what this was, and it wasn't good. These subhuman beings had made venturing into the west side of the nation a perilous undertaking, especially for a lone traveler. Despite Harengoth's most diligent efforts and precautions, the plague had reached them.
Erratus smacked the creature's hand away with his cane and knocked it back down the staircase with a good swing. He didn't want that thing following him up until the door was sealed. Quickly, he turned around and bolted back up the stairs. He would need to think of a quick lie to get everyone to clear the room without revealing the truth and causing a panic. He remembered what Nero had told him about the water in the fountain.
"Everyone, we need to do as he says!" He addressed everyone in the room as loudly as possible. "There's been a large chemical spill on the floor below. We need to clear out before the toxic fumes reach this floor!" He shouted urgently between fits of feigned coughing and wheezing. After his little act was through, he turned to Nero.
"Well, let's get going." He said in an inappropriately nonchalant manner.

"Wait!" Talaitha called out to the gypsies. "It's been so long, don't leave me! Where are you going to be later? I want to talk."
She glanced around the room, looking for someone who had some idea of what was going on. She should have known better than to enter the guild hall. Nothing good ever happened upon her when it had to do with the guilds.

Lucia payed close attention to the man who bounded down the stairs and then within what seemed like a matter of seconds bounded back up the stairs. He was coughing severely stating that a plume of toxic fumes was floating upwards towards their location. However, she had noticed the micro-expression that the man conveyed before he had begun his act; he looked frightened, as though he had seen a ghost. It was then that the realization that something far more sinister was lurking below.

"It's them" she said her voice barely above a whisper "Those creatures that devoured the west" She doubted whether the simple sealing of a door would do much beyond give them more time. She backed away from the door warily, what she had once believed to be an opportunity of a lifetime had led her into the core of a death trap. She truly wished she had never met Alexander, she could've left the town, and lived a simple life as she had hoped. If there was one thing she knew though, was that if there was one, then there were probably more waiting to eventually plague the town.

"Fumes! Terribly deadly" Gaston added quickly has he turned about to seal the door. "An assistant down in the lab spilled from Tentracide and it's a mess!" Closing the door as quickly as he could Gaston placed a wooden bar in front of the passage before closing a lock over it. The guards in the room seemed annoyed by the whole spectacle, but even worse, they appeared to not be buying anything Gaston was spouting. Approaching the door one of the guardsmen drew his sword and began to threaten Gaston. "Open the damn thing!" he ordered as he turned his head to watch the area. He had noticed that the gypsies were beginning to pack up their belongings and with a sharp tongued yell he ordered the group about. "None are to leave this room, if you're carrying a weapon on your person remove it and place it upon the ground!" Gaston began to nervously fumble about with the lock, he was trying to buy time but as he continued to fumble a troupe of about 15 guards began to poor in from the main entrance. They quickly blocked off all exits in the museum and even barged through the hall that lead to Master Wess' office, most likely to protect him. Gaston's
perpetual fumbling eventually provoked one of the guards into shoving him to the ground, and with what appeared to be a great amount of strength he busted away the lock from the door with his hammer. Kicking the door in the guards were greeted with the same sight that Erratus had stumbled upon just moments before. The group of five guards cleared the way immediately as one of the armoured troupe members impaled the creature with a pike, pushing it through to the stone wall that sat along the stairway. The creature remained alive though, it reached out and groaned a deathly noise as it struggled violently against the pike that kept him in place. Gaston laid strewn out on his back upon the floor. He attempted to crawl away but one of the guards grabbed him effortlessly and tossed him against the wall before picking him up again. "What the hell is that thing doing here? Well?" he continued to yell as Gaston continued to cower and stutter helplessly. "By order of The Eighth Council and the royal court I place all those in this room under my custody as potential threats to Harengoth, Aestaria, and The Throne!" the lead guard billowed this command out as the guards began to swarm on each individual in the room.

______

The Gypsies who had given up reasoning continued to pack as they heard Talaitha's cry. "I'm sorry, we're going to the study which is off limits to outsiders." a man noted as he headed for an exit, "But... I suppose we could meet out in the hall for a bit of a chat." a female gypsy added before another shouting match erupted across the room. "Come quickly." the female gypsy whispered as she pulled Talaitha over to the main entrance of the museum, but before even taking a step through the archway she was pushed away by a surge of guards who eventually blocked off her exit. Seeing that her fellow gypsies had already exited the hall she attempted to pull Talaitha with her towards the study but was cut off by two guards whom, when the order for arrest had been placed, immediately encircle the older gypsy woman. At first the gypsy struggled against the two men who grabbed at her, but after having her arms twisted behind her and tied she dropped to her knees and desperately looked up at Talaitha who the two men were beginning to close in on.


______
"None are to leave this room, if you're carrying a weapon on your person remove it and place it upon the ground!" Nero hated every word this man spoke, he would not be told to just stay and would not be told to lay down his arms. He was keen to taking the advice of Erratus' in buggering off but was unable to as the initial number of guards in the room immediately blocked his way and echoed the commands the main officer had made just moments ago. "Place your weapon on the ground, sir." once again Nero cringed in disgust as he reached for his weapon and gently placed it upon the ground. He had no choice in the manner, killing a guard would solve nothing, especially since the issue was almost certainly reported by the lone guard who had left earlier. Taking a seat on a bench Nero sighed softly as he waited for permission to leave, keeping his eye on Erratus who he was sure would do something irrational Nero was taken completely off foot when more troops charged the room. The sheer number of men who flooded the room made Nero feel sick, but what really churned his stomach was the sight of the creature that eventually was revealed to everyone, not because of its appearance but because Nero was almost certain of what was about to happen. Standing up quickly he searched frantically for an exit before the lead guard shouted out for all in the room to be arrested. Immediately a guard approached Nero and asked him to place his hands behind his back, the thought crossed his mind to resist, in fact he NEEDED to resist he knew he needed to resist... But he was unable to bring himself to do so, the guard grabbed him by his arm and forced him to the ground, tying his hands in the process. Nero looked up after the guard moved away from him, only to find Erratus who was being surrounded by three or four guards.


_______

Two guards approached Lucia and presented a long rope to her as one ordered her to turn. "Don't make this hard yourself, just turn round' and give me your hands." one of the guards attempted to persuade Lucia as the other prepared to wrestle her to the ground if she attempted to make a move.

Her eyes darting between her elder and the approaching guards, Talaitha attempted to step back and dart around the guards. Her lithe frame gave her a bit more speed than the guards who were bogged by by their armor and she was able to get around them for the time being. Immediately she pulled the gypsy woman from her knees and unsheathed her jambiya to cut the ropes binding her wrists.

"If anything goes wrong, tell me where our people meet," she whispered to the woman are she began to cut the rope.

Erratus was appalled by the guards' ignorance almost as much as he was by the fact that they hadn't bought his stellar performance. These overbearing cretins obviously didn't know a good act when they saw it. Speaking of which, it would probably be best to put on the frail old man act as well. Going along with his better judgement for once, the traveler decided to cooperate with the guards for the time being. He emptied the contents of his belt, which amounted to three daggers. One of the guards confiscated them, but noticed something else he was carrying. It was the flask which he had filled with fountain "water". The lawman reached out a hand to take it, but Erratus gently rapped it with his staff. He took care to pretend stagger a bit until he was once again supported by the cane.
"Don't take that!" He exclaimed. "That's my drinking water."
"Oh? Then I don't suppose it would be a problem if I asked you to take a sip." The guard was obviously suspicious as to the contents of the flask, perhaps thinking it to contain, say, poison. Without hesitation, the nomad took a nice, long swig of the flammable substance, which thoroughly satisfied the disgruntled guardsman.
When Erratus was sure nobody was looking, he handed the flask over to a stunned Gaston.
"Here, use this and start a fire if things get out of hand." He instructed as if what he was proposing was not completely ludicrous.
Before the mousy man could protest, Erratus vanished into the crowd. Almost immediately, he was singled out by the guards as the man who had fabricated the toxic spill. As the guards closed in on him, he began to become anxious. If he was arrested, he would be spending who-knows-how-long in a cramped cell with no freedom to move about. That simply wasn't an option. As the guardsmen took up positions around the nomad, he prepared to do something reckless. However, he was able to calm himself and think clearly.
If anyone tried to resist in a confined space, they would quickly be cut off from the exit and subdued. Better to make a break for it once they were out in the open. Rather than fight, Erratus went into another fit of hacking. He supported as much weight as possible on the staff and did his best to appear frail. With his emaciated frame and ragged appearance, it wasn't difficult. With any luck, the guards would have to find an alternative way of restraining him while allowing him to keep his cane.
"I yield, I yield already." He grumbled, irritated. "No need to hastle. Just take me to my son over there. He is my caretaker." He wheezed, slowly raising a finger toward where Nero was standing.

Lucia's eyes widened and she stepped back away from the guards and watched as the scene unfolded. Gaston was knocked to the ground, and the man's feeble attempt to keep the door locked had failed as the guard wrenched open the door to reveal what she had been expecting. It was then that things got worse everyone in the room was commanded to place their weapons on the ground. She obediently placed her bow and quiver on the ground, while keeping her eye on the creature that thrashed about while it remained impaled against the wall.

"All your weapons" repeated a guard nearest to her with extra emphasis, and she nearly forgot that her staff could very well be a weapon. She may have a rudimentary grasp on how to bludgeon someone with it, but she primarily used it as a walking stick. Lucia dropped it like it was on fire, and the staff clattered to the ground; she did not wish for the conflict to escalate.

However, contrary to her hopes, everyone in the room was placed under arrest. She watched as individuals were bound with rope, and she began to panic. The guards were planning on restraining them while in the presence of one of those beasts? Though there was not much she could do without it getting much worse and possibly violent. The guards didn't seem like they were one for reasoning. Nevertheless she cried out desperately: "Wait! This is a mistake!" she said "I was invited here by a Mister Alexander Menteshure, I only wanted to show my weaving to Master Wess" The thought of being bound frightened her, it reminded her of the demise of her parents who were bound to a wooden stake and then set on fire.

Being freed from her bindings the gypsy woman stood and attempted to make a break for freedom. But before doing so she whispered back to Talaitha- "If we can get out, meet me on the outskirts of Harengoth, near-" her body instantly became limp as she was pushed away and onto the ground by a man catcher. Another individual rushed Talaitha and used the same tactic to sub due her, he rammed against her lower abdomen with the open mouth of the man catcher, and eventually Talaitha found herself pinned to the ground beside her fellow Gypsy who had let out a hard gasp for breath as she was recovering from her dive. At once a man with a set of shackles grabbed at Talaitha's hands and latched them, along with her feet together. The same was done for the elder gypsy. After their shackling was complete the men removed the man catchers from the pairs body's but stood watch to make sure no such further action could be taken.

___

The guards stared blankly at Erratus for a moment, well, all but one. One man stood irritated, no, infuriated. Pulling his sword from his side, sheath and all, he struck Erratus off his feet with a crushing blow to his ribs. "I damn well watched you run across this room not more than a moment ago! Tie this lying old bastard up, tie em' tight." the guards wasted no time picking Erratus off the ground, binding not only his hands, but his arms as well. After they were finished they shoved him off against a wall, leaving a guard with a spear to watch over him.

Nero gently shook his head as he watched, Erratus must have realized that one of the men in the room saw him make his move earlier. It seemed almost childish that he tried to weasel his way out of captivity like that.

____

"I'm sorry, but there is no mistake in this issue." the guard reassured Lucia as he pointed to the creature still pinned against the wall, writhing and moaning. "This place is contaminated, any one of you could end up like that thing. I don't like having to do this, no one here does. But for your sake, allow me to secure you." Making a motion with his head he indicated the outcome of all the others attempts. "It will end up painful if you fight." he warned in a semi-sympathetic voice. "I swear to you, you will not be harmed if you just allow me to secure you."

The guards seemed to be buying it. However, one of them became irritated, no, infuriated with his blatant deceitfulness. He removed his sheathed blade from his side, striking him firmly in the ribs. Honestly, it seemed like a lot of trouble to go to when he could have just drawn the sword and struck him with the pommel. Also it hurt. Erratus was beginning to wonder if perhaps he wasn't as good an actor as he had thought.
"I damn well watched you run across this room not more than a moment ago!" The indignant guard bellowed. The traveler was genuinely surprised by this. He had made his way to the door under the cover of a very thick crowd. Obviously this man was both very observant and very good at his job.
"Oh well, you can't blame a guy for trying." Erratus wheezed, for real this time. He let out a few coughs too, also real. Damn did it hurt to talk.
"Tie up this lying old bastard up,"
"Not old." The nomad interjected.
"Tie em' tight." The guard finished. The others quickly went to work, binding his hands and arms. They even left an armed guard behind to watch him. He was quite flattered by the special treatment, but it seemed rather unwarranted. After all, he had shown no signs of resistance. He had complied and given up all of his weapons. He quite possibly had a broken rib or two. Surely there must be someone more threatening than him worth keeping an eye on.
Fortunately, any second, his plan would spring into action as fire engulfed the room, forcing the guards to rush everyone out into the open where they could easily escape. Any second. He looked over at Gaston to see the man tied up as well, the flask discarded on the floor. Forget about the fire then.
So it was checkmate. Erratus had exhausted all of his contingency plans and now had little to do but wait for an opportunity. He was just glad the guards had had the sense to seal the door once they knew what was behind it. At least, he assumed that's what they did. After all, they couldn't possibly be stupid enough to leave it open.

Nodding hesitantly, Lucia turned around, though still making sure to pay attention to the creature that was in the room with them. Her gaze then turned to Gaston, wondering if he too was also infected. She whimpered slightly as the guards put the rope around her wrists, even though they were gentle with her. All she wanted was to leave this place.

Talaitha glared at the guards, but realizing that there was little more she could do without being harmed further or killed. Glancing around the room, she noticed that a few others who she entered with were subdued as well. Looking over to the elder gypsy to make sure she was fine, Talaitha continued their conversation.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Taking a quick glance around the room the guard captain turned towards his fellow soldier who at the moment was keeping the monster in place. "Keep it there until we get all of these people out of here." he whispered softly as he turned around and grabbed the now tied up Gaston up onto his feet. "Round everyone up and take them out front." he ordered as he pulled Gaston, who seemed almost unconscious at this point, along and up the stairs to the main hall. Each of the soldiers followed suit, each man took hold of one prisoner by their arms and, very carefully, marched each prisoner up the stairs single file. Once in the main hall the prisoners were marched outside and into the square which was once again bustling with people. Thereupon, at the bottom of the stairway that lead to the hall was a team of four horses pulling an iron wagon which rode upon reenforced iron wheels. The wagon itself was larger than a typical wagon, it seemed to be able to fit about 20 prisoners arm to arm and it sported three windows, two long barred windows on the side and one small window on the back door. Each prisoner was marched to the wagon and forced inside the narrow passage until all six prisoners were in. Behind the prisoners the door let out a terrible creak until it was shut viciously. This was the prisoner's new residence for the next few hours. The floor on the inside was made of wood, but it was likely only about a centimeter of wood placed on top of the iron shell of the wagon. The walls were cold and made the noises of the outside world seem dank and muted, and as they began to ride the whole wagon shook and vibrated terribly making it clear that even on civilized roads the chassis was not built for comfort.

____

Nero, who was the first prisoner to enter the wagon hastily made for the front end of the body to avoid further altercations. Taking a seat on the hanging benches which sat attached to the iron wall he began to rotate his wrist in an attempt to loosen his bonds, if only to make himself more comfortable. One after another he watched as each of the prisoners entered the wagon after him until the captain placed Gaston's limp body onto the floor and slammed the door. Letting out a sigh of disgust he moved to make sure the man was at least still alive, but was rocked to his knees when the wagon had begun to move. After a few seconds he rose from his knees, turned around so that his hands could make contact with the body, and after a moment of fidgeting he made for the man's throat to feel for a pulse. His heart rate felt accelerated but his breathing was quite typical, Nero drew the conclusion that he must have fainted due to stress not because of injury. Moving onwards towards his seat he stopped for a moment to inspect Erratus as well. "You took quite a hit." he spoke softly as not to bother anyone else. "Are you alright?"

_____

The gypsy laid silent as she watched the guard in front of her. It made her feel sick that all of this was happening, but even worse was the fact that she could have avoided the whole thing had she just left the room with her kin. "I'm fine." she answered indignantly before she was pulled to her feet by the guards who marched her and Talaitha up the stairs. It was embarrassing for her to be forced through what was essentially her home as a prisoner, and even though the hall was fairly empty she felt as if a thousand eyes were watching her and judging her actions. To make matters worst as they approached the main door she came to the realization that they were taking herself and the others outside where thousands WOULD be watching her. "I.. I did nothing." she whispered to herself a few times over as she was forced down the stairway and into the wagon.