"Back off!" one of the knights barked, his voice cutting through the noise like a blade.
Another knight swung his arm in a wide arc, pushing a few adventurers stumbling backward as he glared at the crowd. "You're not them, and you sure as hell aren't getting through here!"
The sheer force and discipline with which the knights moved caused the crowd to hesitate. It quickly became clear that while Cyrus and Athena might have been able to slip by with their power and presence, the average adventurer stood no chance against the church's well-trained soldiers.
Seeing the cold resolve in the knights' eyes, the crowd began to quiet, murmurs of frustration replacing the earlier shouting. No one dared step forward again. The knights had made their point clear—Cyrus and Athena were in a different league entirely, and there would be no more exceptions.
