This is the reason why Shaula decided not to go towards the area of the fire where Ajax is dealing with something on his own. The guards will likely try to surround the crowds, specifically to form a perimeter around where Barden is standing. There might be a fight, or, in the worst case, a massacre.
That high pitched noise was probably a signal to the undercovers to start agitating. As far as I know, they don’t have those telephone cord style ear pieces here… Ha, that was always a dead giveaway for undercover cops back home.
Shaula does trust Ajax to deal with things in that apartment complex, though she may be letting her current emotions get in the way of viewing reality as clearly as possible. Perhaps if she knew the depth of tragedy occurring in that area she would not remain here. But, then Barden might be defenseless.
Shaula isn't going to let that man die. Regardless of anything else, she's not going to let that happen. Shaula had heard the conversation Angelidis had with Barden.
Previously.
"Sir. Hello." Angelidis bows her head politely towards the old draconid man.
"Ah! Another draconid! There are so few of us within this city, nice to see my kin out here!" The old man laughs heartily. Angelidis joins him as well. This man's laugh reminds her so much of her own father. She’s noticed that she’s been thinking a lot about her father today.
She starts with the most pressing question on her mind today.
"Sir, I want to know… Are you certain you're going to be safe today? I've seen the guards out here in the square. My friend, Shaula, and I have been watching them. They're keeping an eye on you in particular."
Angelidis and Barden turn towards the guards in the distance around the diamond statue. Barden despises them. He only wished he could figure out some way to destroy that statue of theirs, but even ten draconids throwing hard punches would not be enough to fill that magically crafted and reinforced diamond surface with cracks.
The only thing that comes to mind is some kind of powerful fire magic. Though diamond is incredibly resilient to physical impact, if it's heated up too much, it will evaporate, leaving nothing behind. Barden had researched the material after learning about this city's new noble, the Tritol barony's successor.
Though the physics of diamonds didn't prove useful out here today, it did help him sharpen his rhetoric against the Baron while delivering private sermons to his congregation.
"Ha, they really do try to watch me. They can try all they like." Barden sneers. "They're all just afraid of their women being taken by demihuman men. Such insecure individuals. Well, I suppose you can’t even think of becoming a city guard unless you have some kind of deep insecurity, something to fuel that gross need for power over their fellow humanoid.”
Angelidis feels the same way about the guards. She hasn’t seen too many interactions between guards and the people living in the city since she avoids even their shadows with an obsession. The few interactions that she has seen, even the ones that don’t end in violence, made her see the guards as people who need to be honored and feared as long as they live and breathe.
Even though they do nothing to help anyone but themselves… and maybe the rich people they’re actually meant to protect.
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Barden continues after noticing Angelidis’ cold face towards them. He was hoping this fellow draconid would share some of his views.
“Out where people can see, the city guards strut around, their heads held high, demanding subservience, while at home they beat their wives and children into submission. The nerve of them, trying to appear respectable. They're no better than any of the humans and demihumans who run the syndicates, except the government pays them!"
The man's tail snaps like a whip alarming those nearby for a brief moment. Angelidis smiles wildly hearing his words of provocation. For all she knows, the guards could have a mage listening in on this conversation. He could be igniting their anger, daring them to walk over and try to arrest him.
He is somewhat more of a macho man, now that she thinks about it, unlike her own father who was more the stoic, strong and silent type.
Though she considers again that if the guards do try to arrest anyone else, it's going to be him first. He's much more likely to die while being interrogated by them too. She starts sweating at the mere thought.
Things like this are why I prefer my men to be strong and silent rather than loud and suicidal.
Barden subtly looks at the crystal mage as well. He's seen the guards listening to that man while having seemingly deferential expressions. His confidants in the crowd, the members of his church, have confirmed the same.
That man is most likely a noble.
From Barden’s information gathering, only the Baron, Liri Tritol, and his brother, Quinn, have any aptitude for crystal magic. Either of them could be behind that mask. He almost feels respected that the Baron could be staring directly at him, wishing he were dead.
“Sir… I’m worried for your safety. I have a feeling you know what you’re doing, but something else is telling me that your actions are inherently dangerous.” Angelidis’ jaw clenches.
The old draconid man sighs and looks down at the worried draconid girl. He's about a head taller than her.
"It's alright, child. I came out here understanding the risk."
"Then… why do you go so obediently to your death…" Angelidis asked, her voice quieting down to a whisper. Realizing the ominous way she was putting it, she becomes flustered. "A-Ah, I mean, you know, how you're–"
"You've lost someone important to you… Who was it?" The man's face becomes solemn but nonjudgmental.
Angelidis stares at his face for a few seconds.
"...I don't know what–"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dig too deeply. My brother always used to tell me that I did that to people. But…" The man sighs with a small sigh. "To answer your earlier question, well… honestly, I'm not that important. Sure, I might look like a leader, I might speak like one. But the real leaders are not in my generation."
He gestures towards the crowd around him. If Angelidis is understanding it correctly, the man is referring to the young people around the two of them. Most of the demihumans and humans among the protesting crowd are of a young age, late teens to late thirties for the most part. In contrast, the statue marchers and their sympathizers are always older than middle age.
"I'm 63 this year." He comments. "I've been through a lot. When I grew up, there were many of my family still alive who remember the horror of our bondage over a century ago."
"Even my father had family members like that. He used to tell me about his grandparents, even his great grandfather." Angelidis smiles warmly. The way her father had talked about them, they were like heroes out of fairy tales. They fought for their rights and were the first generation to ever win their battle.
The old draconid man doesn't want them to be the last generation to achieve victory against the Federation.
"These children around us, you as well, you experience life in a different kind of way than many in previous generations. You've grown up without a human master. Yet, you are not free. These children here are not free either. This is how it is for many human commoners as well.”
The man ponders the city and country he lives in. Though it has a deep history of evil, there are many who he respects living in it, both human and demihuman alike.