Victoriana - Exodus

The sun set on Jill's Place and it was the last time those walls would see sunlight. You would never know from looking at the modest brick building, but inside the place was abuzz with activity. In London, the halfling enchantress created a home. A home for the wayward revolutionary, the ostracised genius and the devilishly deviant. Looking inside the windows, you'd never know they had been enchanted to hide the true face of Jill's Place from the world. Many passed by not thinking a second thought about it. A few would stay for a pint and think it was a fine place; a humble hotel catering to the traveling peoples come to see a jewel of the world.
Those people would have their pint and head home, or just walk on by. The sun would go down, just as it had before and in the stark electric lights of the city; London became an entirely different beast. There was truer at Jill's Place more than anywhere. The halfling Jillani reveled in it. Now that the rest of London was asleep, the ideas of freedom, women's liberation, social uprising were so freely discussed. If you couldn't find a place anywhere else, you found it here and it was how Jill's Place thrived. This would continue to the dead of night. More and more people would trickle in until the bar was packed to the brim. Drinks would flow as captains and crewmen of ships docked in small, isolated ports would come in to sell their wares. A courtesan or two might trickle in last, at least those who needed to be gone until a client's wife or husband came home.

It was the way it had been for years, and that warm night in June 1868 appeared no different. Until it started, but it started small. Small enough to creep up on the patrons of Jill's Place until it was time to strike at its throat. It was the product of years, isolating the source of dissent in London, making contacts, and knowing exactly when so many would be in such a small place. There was enough commotion in the bar to ignore the sound of boots gathering outside the front door. Shadows cast on the windows, blotting out the electric light on the streets. Maybe a particularly nervous revolutionary whose commitment to his cause was not as strong as most believed. In the early hours of the morning, when all of the bar's regulars would be in house; the halfling could feel the tension rising. It was becoming quiet outside, the sound of boots had silenced and there was a hush on the streets. Not a flicker of light, and not a moving shadow of the worker arriving home late from work.
Jillani couldn't put her finger on it, but she wasn't the only one who felt something was wrong. A courtesan moved in close to her, and whispered in her ear. "Second table to your right, look into the man's eyes, who has been nursing the same pint all night." The man at the second table to the right would baerly take a sip, look around, maybe subtly look at his watch. "He looks at his watch more and more each hour, now it is nearly every half-minute."
Jillani could see it. "If he moves follow him."
"It is not my work to spy on others..."
Jillani looked at the woman, "You have knives and it is your job to use them."
"What about yourself?"
"It's too soon to tell, but I'll make some arrangements just in case..."

The man nursing the pint would look at his watch more and more, he was not skilled at subtly. The courtesan sat behind him, watching him quietly while she socialized, spoke with patrons casually but never took her eyes off him. Jillani called a few of the bar's patrons into the basement, loosing themselves in the crowd and slipping away without being noticed. Men and women who were more than regulars, they were close partners of the halfling enchantress; the lifeblood of her passions and agendas. It wasn't until they had all slipped away that the man at the table took notice, and the courtesan saw sweat drip from his brow. With one final look to his watch, he nearly knocked his chair over getting up. Anyone else would consider him drunk, but the courtesan knew better. He turned and headed to the back of the bar, through the maze of hallways and back rooms. The courtesan followed, her hands on the hiding place of two sheathed daggers.

The man knew the back rooms and hallways better than most, he was headed for the back door. The courtesan had learned how to pursue a target, she followed him silently and swiftly. Always staying just far enough behind not to be noticed. The man looked back one more time as the courtesan ducked into a side room, out of sight, just a few feet away from the back door adorned with several heavy locks. The man reached up and started to unlock them one by one. The chains rattled, the locks clicked open with a sound which echoed through the hallways. It was enough that the courtesan could slip behind him quickly, unsheathe her daggers without being noticed. The man was too hurried, too busy to look into the darkened window on the door or else he would have seen it coming in time. The chain on the last lock fell to the side as he reached down to open the door, only then looking up to see his reflection; and the reflection of the woman behind him with a dagger at his neck.
He cried out in pain for a split second before being silenced. Blood splattered against the door as his body was tossed aside. Still, in the courtesan's haste to lock the door once more, the cry had alerted the police outside. The courtesan was knocked back when the raiding party kicked open the door, she had to run when they took aim at her and barely evaded the first bullets to be fired that night.

It didn't matter how full the bar was, you couldn't fire a gun at Jill's Place without some people noticing. Much less, you couldn't ignore the sudden movement of shadows outside those enchanted windows. The gunshot was the signal, a little soon, but enough to call the rest of the police to smash open those windows and begin to flood into the bar area. In the basement, with her most trusted partners, Jillani heard the screams, the cries, the destruction above. It had started, the police were closing their grip and soon the entire building would be swarming with them. She knew there would still be a fight, but suspected that this was inevitable. London had become paranoid, its nobility ever more powerful and determined to maintain their positions. She had gathered her partners in the lowest reaches of the basement, before a stone wall with a inconspicous marking. The hurried click of heels and the stampede of patrons in the know were right behind her. The courtesan, and others who Jillani had let in on the escape plan had immediately fled to the room Jillani stood in. As many as could come flooded in, but they were not the only ones coming. The heavy boots were in pursuit, and above the sound of bottles being smashed and booze flowing over the hardwood was heard.
"A little quiet, please..." Jillani held her hand to the mark, concentrating. She had consealed this passage well, it would require a moment to undo the seal.
They heard the sound of flames erupt in an explosion, the police weren't here to take prisoners. The heat followed the police, but it wasn't the only reason so many began to sweat. The stamping of boots was becoming closer, and Jillani still had a job to do. "It'll look like an accidennt, won't it?" One man in the crowd remarked.
"If they do not care to martyr us..." The courtesan mused. "They would purge us and still be called heroes."
"Shh!" Jillani could hear the boots too, but the seal was nearly open. A few men in the crowd readied revolvers, pointing them at the corner the police would have to turn around. They could hear them, the police were on the same level of the basement now.
The marked stone collapsed the moment gunfire rang out. Jillani yelled above it all, "Move!" She motioned the newly revealed passage as more bullets flew. The police were not expecting the ambush, it bought the escaping patrons enough time and the oppertunity to take the first shots. The crowd flooded the passageway, it was cramped and dirty but it was a way out. Jillani stayed, holding her hand up to the incoming police. "Hurry!" She commanded the men firing their pistos to rush into the passage, they did. All light was suddenly snuffed out of the room, and only the misguided muzzle flashes of the police's weapons lit it. It was all the time Jillani needed as she took a step back and concentrated once more. In an instant the lights returned, and the police were left in an empty room with a stone wall inconspiciously marked.
In the tunnel, Jillani turned to a beastman. "Your ship had better be prepared."
"Always is... You're certain this will get us to port?"
"Leave that to me. Are you certain the new property is welcoming?"
"Do you have enough coin to afford it?"
"Money is no concern, can you get us there?"
"Yes."
"Then we have nothing to worry about."
The courtesan piped up as they ran through the claustrophobic passage. "Optimistic, I like that. Still, they will be looking for us."
The beastman shook his head, "They won't find us, they won't realize where we've gone until we're way on their horizon."
"Horizon? Going where?"
Jillani replied, "We're in trouble with the English, where else would we be welcome?"
The courtesan smiled, "I have always wanted to see Paris! What of the English navy in pursuit?"
The beastman shrugged it off, "Fastest ship in port and an enchantress to cover our tracks, nothing we can't handle."
They hoped.

The tunnel exit was buried in a hillside, covered by a similar stone door which Jillani opened quickly. Sunlight blinded them as Jillani and the bastman led the escaping patrons down to the small port just a mile away. They could not see London, nor the chaos in its streets. Jill's Place had burned down, and now the police had locked down its surrounding streets. There were ships in the water, far off the coast flying the British flag. They didn't see the tiny port until each person had boarded the beastman's ship. The crew had been alerted by the chaos in the city, the ship raised its sails and pushed away from port the instant the last boot was on its deck. Only Jillani and the beastman stayed above deck, the rest hid in the crew's quarters and the galley; pouring themselves a stiff drinking and hoping those above deck knew what they were doing.

Jillani looked through a parascope at the British ships. "They are..." The beastman was at the helm and wouldn't take his eye off them either. "Coming."
"Best get to work." He yelled down to the crew. "Give the halfling space! Clear the deck."
The Britsh navy noticed the small ship rocketing across the English channel, they were positioning themselves and their cannons to head the escaping halfling and her partners off. Jillani rushed down to the center of the deck and reached into her dress, pulling out a vial of sea water and marked the wood in a very specific pattern which she stood in the dead center of. She called up to the beastman, "We will need to be traveling quickly! Once it's over I won't have the strength for another!"
The small ship was headed right for the blockade. The beastman called down, they were moments away from the range of those cannons. "Do it! Do it!"
Jillani began to channel a spell, something unlike the simple illusions and enchantments she had performed before. Her hands tingled, she began to grasp at the air, then the energy which made up the air and finally she grasped and held the energy everywhere around her. She faced the mast and raised her hands up. She began to push forward, and with her motions, a small wave began to form running just in front of their ship. Jillani began to sweat, pushing against the energies of the water, making that wave a little larger. They were nearly in range of the cannons which had been loaded, British soldiers stood ready to ignite the fuses. Still, Jillani had grasped the water, pushing it forward ever more. The beastman looked to see a rising tide right in front of his ship, it raised above the mast and to a height more than sixty feet tall and climbing. Soon the British officers on the decks of their ships lost sight of the tiny ship behind a tidal wave of water.
"Just a trick! Hold positions and prepare to fire, a few more second should do i-" The officer barking commands paused when he saw the tidal wave pick up a discarded barrel in the water and toss it clear over their heads. This was no illusion. He turned to his crew, "Move us out of the way, NOW!"
Jillani was holding the tidal wave with all her strength, she couldn't for much longer. The British ships began to disperse, trying to move out of the way of the incoming tidal wave which was imminent to hit them. Jillani faultered slightly, only moments from the tidal wave colliding. It lost some of its strength, dipping a few feet in height. She planted her feet firmly on the ground, pushing it forward as the small ship rode on its tail end. "I can't hold it!!"
The beastman shook his head, "That's good! Good! Just a second more!!"
Jillani could feel how close they were, with the final ounce of strength she brought her hands down. She brought the wave down, it smashed into the sides of the British ships, wrecking the masts, washing over them but not able to sink them. It did not matter, she had done her job. The small ship shot past the opening made by the British ship's escape as the tidal wave fell back into the sea. Jillani collapsed on the deck, but looked back to see a good number of the blockade's ships disabled. The tiny ship had picked up speed, before the British could organize another pursuit they would vanish into horizon.

In the late morning, they arrived at port. Jillani had regained enough strength to walk, and wanted to lead her partners to the train station. She had brought all the money she stashed in her hotel, it was enough for train tickets and for the piece of property which awaited them. The rest threw in whatever money they had, it would be enough to start over. Most of them slept in their seats. Jillani sat watching the French countryside fly past, relieved but wondering what was in store for all of them.
The courtesan was the first to step onto the Parisian streets, she smelled the air and smiled wider than she ever had. "Paris! It is an honour to call you home!" Not a single eye wasn't red, the entire party had barely managed to sleep. It didn't matter, they were safe knowing that the French government wouldn't give a damn about the problems of the English. For now they had a home at least. The beastman ushed them into cabs, hurried them along the Seien river and into the heart of Paris. There, Jillani found a small hotel on a street corner, just before the river with a notice of sale. She pushed its doors open and left money for the owners, everything the party had left. It was enough to buy a place to stay and a new place to do business. It wasn't the old Jill's Place, the lobby and bar area was more open, more light came in through the windows and the ceilings were high but beautiful. Still, it was welcoming.
The courtesan and others went to find rooms to stay in, but found they would need to order everything from alcohol to mattresses. The beastman went to arrange those things, as Jillani took a moment to survey her new establishment. It was quiet, and she finally felt as if she could exhale. It had been a long night, but poetically the sun rose to its highest peak in the sky then.
Jillani walked out onto the stone steps of the building and looked around the Parisian streets. She smiled faintly and went back indoors.

The sun set that evening on Le Lieu de Jillani, and would rise upon it for many times to come.