Terrestrial Undead

Chapter 43

Without their king, Terrestria was in a state of disarray.
After the demand had been made for the release of the vampires, every sewer in every sect had been ordered excavated should some vampires remain and be holding the king down there. The air brigade was constantly circling, but had found nothing from their birds' eye view. The Gaze were constantly present in the streets, trying to quash the circulation of the King's crimes.
As Pax wandered the streets incognito, they could feel the public tension, and for the first time, discontent was bubbling towards the surface. With the increased presence of the Gaze, Pax had guessed that the citizens of Terrestria would be even more frightened into silence; they had guessed wrong. On every corner, there was a scuffle and usually an arrest. The prison roared with voices— it sounded like it was full to bursting. The Gaze literally ruled with iron fists, but with every net shot, it seemed more outrage burst forth.
Whoever was in government now was clearly desperate for the return of the King, because once the sewers had been turned up and nothing found, the Vampires had been gathered and publicly released as the priest cried, "His Majesty in His supreme mercy has ordered the vampires be released, as they have repented! Such is the mercy of His Majesty!"
It hadn't gone down well. Everyone knew the king wasn't calling the shots any more, and they had been raised to be terrified of the vampires. A riot had broken out on the spot, and the Priest had been killed in the crossfire. The vampires had all survived, and had found the clues Pax had left them in the city at night; they were now either back at Airship 11 or prowling the streets like them. The chaos in the Sect was so great that they managed to walk the streets unnoticed. Pax was here to assess the situation and report back, and although the unrest they had caused worried them, what they had to report was positive; the attitude towards His Majesty was plummeting. Pax guessed that they had seen him as more than a man, beyond the clutches of anyone else, and his kidnapping had shattered that illusion. Now, with accusations and rumours on every civilian's lips, his image was crumbling, and Pax supposed that even grounds folk had been hurt by the regime in some way. After all, as they moved through the city, there were poor and sick everywhere, being moved on by Gazers. The sewers had not been fixed, and the entire town was mouldering in its own filth. If Sect 1 was anything to go off, the entirety of Terrestria was going to decay. Although the unrest was bringing down the King's reign, Pax couldn't help feeling guilty. Crime was growing, living conditions were terrible, and there was sickness to be found in every household. Somehow, they would have to act. As they set out on the last leg of their patrol, Pax was blocked by more commotion. This wasn't unusual anymore, and they began to push through when they noticed what the crowd had gathered for.
A woman stood on a soapbox, dressed in rags and almost as pale as Orla. She held up a paper; the first of their articles denouncing the King.
"The King murdered his wife to get to the throne," she cried, "and the child was taken! generations of children have been taken onto airships at the hands of His Majesty. But by our law, shouldn't this child be the rightful ascendent to the throne? Where are they now? We must right the King's wrongs, and demand them returned to their rightful place!"
A raucous cheer of agreement filled Pax's ears, and the throng moved towards the palace. Keeping an eye on them, they followed at a distance. They began throwing rocks at the crumbling building, calling:
"Where's the child? Where's the King's child?"
The Gaze fell on them, and they soon scattered; but the damage had been done. Curious faces were appearing in windows and doors, having heard the angry mob. It dawned on Pax that this was a city desperate for change, and yet desperate for the monarch they had been conditioned to live with. Frowning, Pax set out on the journey home. They would have to keep an eye on how this progressed.

It only grew. All across Terrestria, people were crying out for the child the King abandoned. Protests had broken out and the unrest ballooned every day. The people wanted answers, and they saw had decided their answers lay in Orla.
She wasn't thrilled. She rarely left her bunk, and only talked to Tesla and the cat family. Tesla was becoming more gaunt with worry every time she exited the Orla's manhole with another plate of uneaten food. Pax was torn; they hated to see Orla thrown into the centre of it all, but at the same time, they hated to see how many people were falling into poverty or prison because of their disturbance. For a moment, Pax nearly fell into despair— how could they have not foreseen the violence, sickness and death they would cause with crumbling Terrestria? How could they have planned so poorly?
But that didn't sit right. They wouldn't have been able to get this far with poor planning, and besides, they had Faith on their side. Faith made her mistakes, but if there was one thing she wouldn't stand for, it was poor planning. Hoisting themselves up, Pax headed for the Captain's quarters.