A sea of confusion momentarily overcame the height-disadvantaged warden, arms still flailing to clear himself of the debris of it and free his movement. From somewhere he heard a voice call his name, once and then twice, and then someone knocked into his shoulder and ruined his line of sight again. Finally, the waves parted for a moment and Rhocanth could see Constans and one of his brothers near the bar. Constans looked as though he'd make it surely enough, and his brother had a hold of him. What shall we do? he asked, and Rhocanth held up one hand to indicate a moment for him to think. He wanted to speak to this kinsman of his, even briefly, and now Thais had gone up the stairs? He'd have to fetch her.
But not before ducking from the tsunami of people heading for him.
The first indication was the tingle of mana — the natural resistance roiling through his veins. He was fortunate to not be blown back himself, or unfortunate that he was left standing when a radius he was on the edge of was thrown to the floor like so much dust puffed into the air. A larger man was stumbling toward him, haphazardly tripping over his own ankles and gripping the head of a chair with one hand. There was no way to deflect him by his own means, and instinct took over in the face of being crushed. Rhocanth sidled his shield, which he still carried just in case, onto his arm and braced himself, holding it tight and feeling the hardy THUMP! as the body hit the metal and then rolled away. The fat man was shocked to have hit something hard in his path, having fallen to one knee, and he swallowed a bit as he noticed what he had struck.
Well, fabulous. Now Rhocanth was standing there with a very obvious recruit shield bearing a big griffin insignia. And there was an unidentified mage somewhere in the crowd. At least it had not been Thais, as she had run away, but... Mages and Wardens and what next? Oh my. This situation was growing worse by the minute in a public relations sense. Heaving a deep breath, Rhocanth quickly replaced the shield and covered it with his cloak. Who was at the center of all this? The dwarf... and the girl. Was it her? If only he knew the truth...
They were on the floor a moment, and with the chaos around them managed to get up and start away. Rhocanth had been lucky that his attention had been so rapt upon his fellow, or else he might have never noticed. The girl had done the dwarf a bit of kindness by clearing the way, and good on them to get out of the fray. Perhaps he too could help them somehow, and at the same time unravel a little of this mystery.
Singleminded, the younger dwarf went after them, pausing next to the Ledaals. He spoke in a rapid hiss above the din. "Please, just one moment. It's too much for us here. Find Miss Thais, and I will meet you by the doors in two minutes."
He hoped they could see the importance of this... another dwarf, and a helpful one. Had they noticed the girl? Nevertheless, he was off, and in another moment was near the dwarf's seat.
"I beg your pardon," he murmured in one big breath as he came to the bar. "Are you well, Miss? Kinsman?"