Investigate the guards' barracks (high alert)

You managed to give the guardsmen the slip, but it meant ditching the cart and hitting the alleys by foot. {if Belit = True}Belit was no stranger to evading the law and her expertise came in especially useful at a time like this, as she helped you avoid the patrols and stick to the shadows.{endif} The process took a little longer than you would have liked, but ultimately, you found your way to the guards' barracks.

All you had on this false saintess at the moment was some vague connection between the local authorities and her activity, so you were staking your bet on the fact that some hard evidence at the station would lead you to her and give you leverage in your dealings. The problem, of course, was that the soldiers at the front gate had long since blown a horn, signalling the others to alert. The guards inside the over-staffed barracks might not know exactly who they were looking for, but if some unfamiliar squire in livery tried to stroll in, they'd know he didn't belong there.

If you were spotted, it would be a toss-up as to whether they'd arrest you or execute you on the spot, after what you'd done to Mertz. You couldn't afford a direct engagement with them. Until this whole conspiracy was unraveled, they were the law and you were the outsiders. You couldn't defend yourself in a way that involved drawing steel.

With the whole barracks buzzing, typical stealth was out. You needed something that could **** them all to look another way.{if Bangaal}

As if sensing your thoughts (and perhaps literally doing so), the smiling djinn materialized nearby, sticking her head down from an open window. "Bangaal is ever-so distracting! She hears this all the time, you know? Who better to create a distraction than Bangaal? She will draw all the guards from the barracks to a place inconsequential! This calls for chaos magic, yes?" Her veil fell down, away from her broad grin. "Wish it to be so!"{endif}{if Amulette}

"Kehehehe... A precarious pinch, hmmm? A devilish devotee of the dark arts could devise a distraction the hard-headed highwaymen we call guards would be hard pressed not to pay heed to!" Amulette offered, already spinning one finger with a strange, dark mist trailing it. "Two wrongs make a right, wouldn't you wager?" It could be risky, but the dark arts applied in such a populated place would be nothing if not distracting.{endif}