It seems that the consequences of what happened will be more serious than expected...

As it soon turned out, the problems were not limited to the morning report of a large group of prisoners escaping from one of the local prisons at night.

Several worried (and barely hiding the fear in their eyes) court dignitaries came to the banquet hall of the Azure Palace.

They dared to interrupt the meal of the king and his family.

"Your Majesty, I ask you to forgive me for my impudence, but the night escape involved many more vile thugs than we initially assumed... There are many victims among the guards. In the darkness of the night, many of them were simply stabbed or strangled... And now we are faced with mass riots in the outskirts of the city..." - one of the dignitaries timidly said in a quiet voice, nervously stroking his gray mustache.

"How dare you bring the situation to such a disgrace?! I order that the culprits be found and severely punished! Mass riots? What do you mean?!" - King James II throws down his cutlery in irritation and rises from the table without finishing his meal.

"Your Majesty... It seems that only a part of the escaped criminals left the city by ship... The remaining criminals began to kill the guards and seized many weapons... Then these unholy cutthroats escaped to the outskirts of the city and began to provoke mass riots... The looting of the property of the nobles began... Among the aggressive armed criminals there are many ghouls... The escaped criminals were joined by crowds of paupers-plebs... And we are receiving news that the forces of law and order are unable to suppress this large-scale riot..." - the second dignitary, who looks younger than the first, reports to the king, slightly stuttering.

"This is simply absurd! You are all incompetent! I demand that the nearest combat-ready units of the city guard and units of the knights of the royal guard be concentrated as quickly as possible in the square near the Azure Palace... If you are unable to eliminate the manifestation of the unholy instincts of the crowds of pathetic serfs, then I will personally lead the nobles who are faithful to their duty to God and the Crown! While you are seized with shameful fear, I will show you how a pious nobleman should act! " - the king quickly gets up from the table and goes to the exit of the banquet hall, giving orders regarding the safety of his family.

Queen Cynthia tries to say something to her husband, but he simply brushes her off with phrases about the urgent need to restore order in the city.

Princess Amethyst looks worried, she hugs her young daughter, who, not understanding what happened, begins to be capricious.

Princess Sapphire looks puzzled. You can tell from her look that events are starting to unfold at a pace that doesn't quite match her secret plans.

The attack on New Rotterdam happened much earlier than expected...

And this attack was carried out from within the city - the law enforcement forces attacked not by the pirates of Noseless Pete, but the local inhabitants.

It seems that the level of social tension has been increasing in this community for a long time - and recent events have become the "trigger" that started the "chain reaction".

You leave the banquet hall...

Your gaze manages to notice how a group of armed soldiers leads away members of the royal family somewhere.

You quickly walk through the corridors, hurrying to see your companions.

Elijah runs towards you. In his hands is a weapon and a bag with his things and supplies. It seems that he knows something about what is happening...

"Professor, act quickly! Take all the necessary things! We need to get to the port as soon as possible! I've seen what's going on in the outskirts of the city! It's just hell!" - the loud words of ghoul do not allow for any objections.

You take your things from your room (including your weapon).

However, when you approach the rooms of your other companions, you notice that the doors are open - and there is no one inside!

Brittany, Rain Blue, Valeria Stella...

Their rooms are empty, and they themselves have disappeared somewhere!

Suddenly, you remember that yesterday one of them mentioned wanting to visit the clothing stores in the town's market square...

"There's some kind of bloodbath going on in the streets of the town... crowds are looting shops and nobles' mansions! We need to leave this town quickly if we want to stay alive!" Elijah tells you grimly.

"The girls... We must try to find them... I have an idea of ​​where exactly they might have gone..." you say bitterly.

Ghoul curses, but then nods at you and agrees. You tell him where you think he should go.

The two of you leave the Azure Palace.

In the square, you see lines of soldiers armed with rifles. Each small detachment is led by a noble knight, clad in an exoskeleton (the local equivalent of "knight's armor").

You remember that in the pre-war years, exoskeleton technology was increasingly used in industry and other areas.

A superficial look at these "knights" allows you to understand that their "armor" is a legacy of ancient technology. Rusty exoskeletons, equipped with many dubious "additions" in the form of metal parts secured with primitive welding. Cloaks with noble heraldic symbols.

From your personal point of view, this looks somehow absurd ...

Some of these exoskeletons were used in the pre-war USA by loaders, garbage collectors or workers in car repair shops ...

And now the inhabitants of this post-apocalyptic world have made a semblance of knightly armor out of these technical objects ...

"Enough thinking, professor, run after me faster!" - the ghoul follows the area of ​​​​the city that you told him about.

"Damn! I had a premonition of trouble! It seems I trusted too much in someone else's plans... Princess Sapphire's words may sound convincing - but perhaps she did not take something into account... Or perhaps she was manipulating me from the start, hiding her true motives..." you think.

As you move away from the Azure Palace, you and your companion notice that the streets of the city are quite restless.

In some shops, the doors have been smashed...

Robbers are taking out valuables and running away...

Some frightened citizens are hiding inside houses or trying to hide in winding and dark alleys.

On the pavement, you notice a couple of motionless bodies, wearing the uniform of city guards...

Vast pools of blood are spreading under these bodies...

"These streets are not so dangerous yet... But if you go further west - there is a real horror happening!" - Elijah tells you, continuing to walk and pointing the barrel of his pump-action shotgun towards suspicious silhouettes that quickly disappear into the darkness of one of the alleys.

You notice flashes of flame visible from the windows of one rich house...

You understand that you need to hurry so that you have at least some chance of finding your companions-girls.

At that moment, on the next street you hear a loud volley (as if many rifles were fired at once).

Ghoul grins cynically: "Probably, His Majesty King James II decided to simply order the soldiers to walk along the streets in battle formation and fire volleys at everyone they meet... Onlookers, frightened townspeople, petty thieves, robbers, armed rebels, stupid curious children, travelers from other towns... None of this matters! The volleys will sweep everyone away!"

Your mind is filled with the most disturbing premonitions...

You and Elijah continue to walk forward through the streets of the city, which is engulfed in mass riots...