The grave was a shallow one, with a large rock placed as its tombstone. A name was awkwardly scrawled on the rock, the person who wrote it probably used a sharp pebble.
The end of a white staff tapped the rock. "Brinneck.. Trailblazer..", read Sister Shadowlife with a slight frown. Behind the priestess, her skeletons stood around and stared impassively at the surrounding trees. Another two priestesses searched the clearing for signs of recent passings.
One of them approached Sister Shadowlife. "A ranger's name," she muttered as she too read the tombstone. "Why does the girl make graves like that?"
Sister Shadowlife bowed her head in thought. "More intriguingly, how did she know the ranger's name?"
"Perhaps the ranger traveled with them just before he was killed," suggested the second priestess.
Sister Shadowlife shook her head slightly. "No, I can sense the traces of Reanimation. And the remains feel several weeks old. The girl raised the ranger's skeleton and somehow found out his name." She turned to the second priestess. "More likely one of his items bore his name."
"Do you want me to raise this?" inquired the second priestess gesturing to the grave.
"No, leave it. There is no nee-"
A tree trunk smashed down on one of the skeletons with such force that shook the ground and reduced the skeleton into a pile of broken bone shards. The priestesses gasped in shock as a huge daemonwood stepped into the clearing and stared down at them.
The dryad appeared from behind the monstrosity. "Dispel your hideous skeletons and surrender yourselves!" she demanded to the priestesses.
Sister ShadowLife narrowed her eyes. "You are a fool if you wish to deal with us," she replied in an icy tone. "I am more powerful than whatever pets you have. Leave us now before I lose my patience."
"Deceiving humans," spat the dryad angrily. "Just like the ones which tricked us and escaped."
Sister ShadowLife sucked in her breath. "What did you say? There were others you captured?"
"Three," said the dryad proudly. "But now I will have more." She spoke a command and the daemonwood advanced towards the priestesses and their skeletons.
The priestesses raised their staffs. "So-See-Var!" Three globes of Kryptian magic blasted into the daemonwood. The monster slowed but still continued it's pace. It took a swipe at one of the skeletons which nimbly dodged out of the way. The other skeletons started slashing at the creature causing wood chips to fly in all directions.
The daemonwood brought a huge branch crashing into one of its skeletal attackers, smashing it into bits. Another blast of Kryptian magic hit one of the creature's branches, causing it to wither and disintegrate like rotten wood. The creature roared in demonic anger and hate as more parts of it fell away.
"Concentrate on the legs," said Sister ShadowLife through gritted teeth as she raised her staff for another blast. The other sisters complied and threw their own life-draining globes.
A dreadful creaking and snapping sound filled the air as the tree trunk legs of the daemonwood gave way and the creature fell backwards, smashing down smaller trees and flattening bushes as it hit the ground.
The dryad gaped at her fallen daemonwood and turned to flee just as a life-draining globe hit her. The woodland creature fell to the ground and tried to get up, only to find Sister ShadowLife already standing beside her. The priestess grabbed the dryad's arm, fingernails digging painfully into the green skin.
"You shall tell me where they went," hissed the priestess in a deadly voice to the wide-eyed dryad. "Or, by Krypta, I will ensure that things will get most unpleasant."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lydith found herself standing in a cavern shrouded in darkness. No matter how loudly she called, no one answered her back. She then heard a low, buzzing sound, like from the bee-hive behind her house in ThistleWood. She turned to see a red, glowing web stretched across the length of the cavern wall behind her. The web strands shimmered and buzzed with unknown energies. In the middle of the web, there was a figure hanging there, like a fly caught in the strands of the web. Lydith's eyes widened as the figure lifted its head and when she saw it's face. "Aunt Daedra," she mouthed in silent horror.
"Help.. me..," called Aunt Daedra weakly. Lydith could see that the strands from the web not only were stuck to her skin, but had gruesomely pierced it in some places. A red glow emitted from Aunt Daedra's eyes as she called to Lydith. "Help.. me."
Lydith started out of her sleep. It was already near dawn and the Convent's morning bell would begin tolling soon. She rubbed her eyes and found that her hands were sweating. She wiped them on the sleeves of her nightclothes and took a deep breath. This was not the first time she had had this dream. The dream had started coming about a few weeks ago. It was faint at first, she could barely remember it the first time she had it, but it came back repeatedly, the details of the dream getting more vivid each time.
"It's definitely something important," Karyn said ponderingly when Lydith told her about it that afternoon. They both were in a small corner of the library, hidden behind a barricade of books. "You've been getting this dream for about two weeks now. Have you tried telling the priestesses about it?"
Lydith nodded glumly. "I've tried telling Sister Shadowlife about it and all she says is that it could be because I miss Aunt Daedra. And none of them will tell me where she's gone."
"Do you think it might have something to do with the things you've been practicing?" asked Karyn worriedly. Since the night of undead baker, Lydith and Karyn had been trying out her newfound ability in other aspects of Krypta's power. Lydith now found that she could, with much concentration at first, wither a plant or a piece of wood. She never tried raising another undead again, though – she felt that it was too risky, with all the priestesses around. Karyn had dug through a whole pile of historical text for references of priestesses who could speak to the undead, like what Lydith had done. There were not many.
"Look at this one," she said while handing Lydith an open book. "Her name was Sister BlackBlood and she was said to have talked to the paladin Angela the Valiant after the paladin was killed by the evil dragon Braxtarius."
Lydith read the text. "But she conversed with Angela's ghost which lingered on the world, not as an undead."
They had both tested this before. A trip to the city's Mortuary, which was located in the Temple grounds and administrated by the priestesses, had revealed that Lydith could not hear or speak to the dead at rest. However, a visit to the priestesses' wing of the Temple proved traumatic. Lydith swore she could hear maddened screams and wails from the skeletons as they lurched after their priestesses. They did not go back there again.
Lydith sighed and closed the book. "I don't know. Perhaps this ability I have is giving me a link to the people I love. If that is so, then I'm so afraid for Aunt Daedra. She was in such pain, Karyn. Such pain."
"So what are you going to do, Lydith?" asked Karyn as she took the book back and re-opened it.
Lydith looked up with tired eyes. "I must find out for myself."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The servant's entrance to the Convent of Krypta was a well-secluded door that opened into a street which was busy by day and silent by night. After the day servants left through the door in the evenings, the door was locked with a secure bolt and a large iron lock. The matron kept the only key to the door and after firmly locking it, she went straight to bed and snored loud enough to wake the dead.
So it was a curious thing to see the door being unlocked and quietly opened in the middle of the night. A cautious head peeked out before disappearing inside again. The door opened wider and a small figure in a dark cloak stepped outside into the street. It turned towards another person within the doorway and whispered, "Thank you, Keera."
The person in the doorway whispered back. "I still think you have gone completely mad, miss Lydith. The priestesses are going to discover your absence in a few hours and by this afternoon, you'll be back here facing the wrath of Mother Darkfriend."
Lydith ignored the gloomy portent. "We'll see about that, Keera. But thank you so very much for your help, taking the key from the matron's room is no mean feat."
Keera snorted. "Madam Gronstraut wouldn't wake up for anything short of an invasion of screaming barbarians. And it is you I must thank for giving me poor Uncle Steffern's message. My aunt and I are both indebted to you for helping us find the deeds to his store – the governor's men would have taken the place from us within days."
"I was only carrying out his last request," replied Lydith. "I am glad that it was timely." She turned to leave. "You better put the key back before someone sees you."
Keera waved goodbye and shut the door. Lydith listened to the sound of the bolt sliding into place and the iron lock snapping shut before walking off. By the time she reached the junction at end of the street, she was already confronted with her first problem. She wanted to find Gameth but she did not know where the Warrior's Guild was and there was no one on the streets at this time of the night to help her. She looked down both ways of the junction. "Krypta guide me," she muttered while she picked the left one by random and started walking.
After walking for what felt like fifteen minutes and taking several turns, Lydith found herself completely lost. She could not even retrace her steps back to the street where she first started out. Each dark street seemed exactly the same as the other one. Lydith looked in vain for signposts and street names and cursed whoever it was who designed the layout of the city.
"Lost, missy?" came a voice from a dark alley. Lydith turned to see two men saunter out of the alleyway. One of them had an eye-patch over his right eye while the other was short and grubby.
Lydith instinctively knew that she was in trouble. She had heard about the rogues on the streets and about what they were capable of. "My friends from the Warrior's Guild are expecting me," she said. "They would find me here soon enough."
The rogues sniggered. "The Warrior's Guild is a fair distance from here, missy," grinned the one with the eye-patch. "I bet they won't even hear you scream from here."
Lydith spun around and broke into a wild run down one of the streets. Behind her, she could hear the rapid footsteps of the rogues as they chased her. She ran into what seemed to be a small, square junction and ducked into an alleyway. Her breath was fast and panicked as she watched the rogues run into the square and look around the streets. Suddenly, there was a noise beside her. Lydith turned her head and found herself staring face-to-face with a hideous, grinning fox-head.
"Help, you need?" asked the fox-head to which Lydith screamed. The rogues immediately started running to her alleyway. The fox-head jumped back and Lydith saw that it was really a wooden mask being worn by a small man scantily dressed in animal skins and a tattered loin-cloth. "Follow me!" hooted the man as he too turned and ran. Lydith stared at the retreating figure for a split second before making up her mind and running after him.
They ran out the other end of the alleyway into another street. The small man turned left and ducked into another alleyway. Lydith followed him and almost collided into his back.
"Wait! Stop here!" The small man jerked Lydith to a halt and pushed her against the wall of the alleyway. He then placed both his hands on the wall at both sides of the girl. "What are you doing!?" Lydith demanded in a harsh whisper.
"Shh!" hissed the man as he suddenly changed colour before her eyes. Lydith almost gasped at the transformation, the man's skin seemed to blend into the same dark gray colour as the wall behind her. Sounds of running echoed from around the corner and the two rogues appeared. They looked around and did not see the camouflaged man or the girl behind him. "That way!" ordered the rogue with the eye-patch and they both ran past the hidden pair and down another alleyway.
The small man waited until he could no longer hear the sounds of pursuit. Then he grinned at Lydith and changed back to his normal skin colour. "Nice friends, you got," he quipped.
"If you don't remove your hands this instant, I'll introduce my knee to your loin cloth," said Lydith through gritted teeth. The small man snatched his hands off the wall and jumped back in mock fear.
"Heh heh, and nice humour, you got too," he said with a wide grin. "Yellow Sky is my name. What's yours?"
"Lydith," answered Lydith without thinking. She then silently cursed herself for not being careful.
"Hello, Lydith. Yellow Sky's from the Temple of Fervus. Where's Lydith from?"
"Not for you to know," replied Lydith sharply.
The little cultist snickered at her defensive response. "Fine with Yellow Sky. Yellow Sky likes puzzles. Let's see, you don't know where you are; that means.. you don't go round this city much. And, Yellow Sky saw you come out from the Convent of Krypta. So Yellow Sky guesses that you are runaway convent girl trying to get to gates of the city to run back home. Is Yellow Sky right? Does he win a prize?" The grinning cultist widened his eyes in anticipation.
Lydith stiffened at the cultist's deductions. The cultist had guessed a little too correctly for her liking. "Thank you for your help, and good bye." She started off down the alleyway.
"Heh heh, don't worry about Yellow Sky returning you back to Convent, Lydith," called the cultist after the girl, "Nothing in it for him, and the priestesses don't like cultists very much, especially Yellow Sky. Bad priestesses probably drain poor Yellow Sky dead instead and raise him as undead servant. Yellow Sky just doesn't like seeing silly people blundering around city at night and getting killed. Just tell him where you need to go, and he'll gladly help you get there." He grinned reassuringly at Lydith.
Lydith paused. The cultist was right about the blundering part; she had absolutely no idea how to get to the Warrior's Guild to find Gameth. And she needed to get there as fast as possible before the priestesses discover her absence.
"Very well," she said as she turned to face the cultist. "I might need your help again."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lydith and Yellow Sky were greeted at the door of the Warrior's Guild by a warrior of discord wearing a woman's lacy nightgown. "Ooo lookie what we have here?" giggled the insane warrior.
Lydith tried not to laugh at the ridiculous sight while Yellow Sky bawled over in an uncontrollable laughing fit. "I'm looking for Gameth", she said, trying to distract the warrior from the cultist rolling on the floor.
"Ooo Gameth!" The warrior of discord turned around and started calling out the warrior's name in a shrill voice. "Gaaameth! Gameth? There's a giiirrrl here to see you!"
After a while, the cultist finally got himself under control and Gameth appeared at the door, thankfully wearing normal clothing and armour. "Lydith?" he said in a startled voice. "What are you doing here?"
"Gameth!", Lydith let out a breath of relief at the sight of the aged warrior. "Thank Krypta you're here! Aunt Daedra needs our help!"
"Good heavens, girl! How did you get out of the Convent?"
"Ooooo I see that your taste is for convent girls, hmmm?" The warrior of discord's head appeared from the side of the doorway.
Gameth grimaced. "Shut up, Damious. And go away."
Damious raised his hand to his chest in seeming shock. "I'm deeply offended, Gameth! I thought we had something special between us!"
Lydith broke in. "Don't ask how, but I know that Aunt Daedra is in trouble. And we have to get to her before it is too late."
Gameth nodded. The warrior was apparently used to emergencies like these. "Let me get my things."
"You need things to get yourself started, Gameth?" The warrior of discord hooted in laughter like a deranged hyena.
Gameth winced and faced the giggling warrior. "Oh look, Damious! You've hurt your head again!"
Damious squinted upwards. "Where?" Gameth punched the warrior of discord across the side of the head with his gauntlet fist. Damious looked back, crossed his eyes, and fell unconscious on the floor.
"Is he alright?" asked Lydith with slight concern.
"Was he alright to begin with?" growled Gameth. "Come on, let's move before someone else sees you."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The garden of the Temple to Krypta was quieter than graveyard in the middle of the night, with even the absence of chirping night insects one might normally expect. There was a slight scuffle as a dark figure dropped down from the ten-foot high garden walls. Peering around carefully, the figure treaded its way slowly towards the temple building and entered an open archway. It glanced left and right, as if deciding which way to go, before moving down the left corridor.
Suddenly, there was a squeak of a rusty hinge as a door further down the corridor opened. The figure swiftly stepped behind stone pillar and watched as Keera exited from the door and carefully closed it behind her. As the door shut, the figure could hear the resounding snores of someone in the room. The servant then proceeded further down the corridor before disappearing into another room.
Breathing out in relief, the figure started to move out of its hiding place, just as a leather gloved hand clamped over its mouth. The figure gave a muffled shriek and tried to turn to face its assailant, but the point of a dagger into the small of its back made a edged suggestion to stop struggling.
"Who are you and what is your business here?" a voice growled into the figure's ear. The hand released its grip on the figure's mouth, but the dagger remained.
"I.. I'm not here to hurt anyone," stuttered the figure. "My name is Kievan and.. and.. I wasn't going to hurt anyone, I swear!"
"Not so loud!" hissed the voice into Kievan's ear. "There are a few who do not sleep in this place." Kievan could feel his captor look around to see if anyone had heard them. "If you are here to steal, Kievan, you are a fool for not finding out more about the layout of the temple grounds. The temple vaults were on the right at the archway."
"Oh.. really?," stammered Kievan, a little wide-eyed.
"Fifty meters straight and then down the second stairs guarded by half a dozen skeletal guards," continued the person behind him. "There's probably more wards or guards within the vault itself. The priestesses always like to surround their valuables with little undead surprises." The dagger point eased back a little. "Perhaps you were a lucky fool to have taken the wrong turn at the archway after all."
He let Kievan go and the thief turned around to face him. It was hard to see, but he could make out a lean man standing next to the pillar. The man was dressed in dark leather, with a hood that shadowed the top portion of his face. Kievan then saw that it was not a dagger that had been pressed against his back, but a sleek, black crossbow.
Kievan raised his hands in submission. "I apologise for bumbling into you, sir. There was no word at the guild that someone was attempting a job in the Temple."
The crossbow pointed itself to Kievan's head. "You part of the Guild?"
Kievan cursed himself inwardly. He should have guessed that this man was an independant. The guild treated non-member thieves harshly whenever they found one. "Please, sir – I am new in the guild and I won't tell a soul that I saw you here."
"Only a fool would trust a rogue's word."
Kievan closed his eyes, fully expecting to feel the cold metal shaft pierce through his skull. However, he heard the rustling sound of robes instead. Immediately, the leather-gloved hand grabbed Kievan by the front of his tunic and pulled him into the shadows.
Both of them watched as a robed priestess walked down the corridor, accompanied by two skeletons. The priestess stopped in front of a door that was opened by someone from the inside. She did not enter the room, but stood where she was. "The girl has left, favoured one," she said reverently to someone in the room.
A raspy voice replied, so cold and lifeless that it made Kievan shudder, "Very good. You have done well, sister. Give yourself some excuse to leave the temple and make your way to the caverns in time for the ritual."
The priestess bowed her head in affirmation. "I will offer to go after the girl when her absence is discovered." The priestess looked up. "What of her father?"
"Our useless allies in Centuria have failed to locate him. He knows not who we are, but he is surely coming after his daughter. However, by the time he finds her, it would be too late." The voice suddenly stopped. "Wait,.. I sense.. someone here.."
The priestess immediately spun around, her staff at ready. With a deft flick of her hand, she ordered her two skeletons to search the pillars. The pair of gaunt cadavers moved swiftly, one armed with a sword and the other with a dull metal mace.
We're going to die, thought Kievan just as the figure beside him stepped out of the shadows, crossbow held up. The skeletons immediately started towards him, just as a fiery bolt left the crossbow to hit the sword-wielding one in the skull. The undead gaped as it burst into flames.
"Kill him!" shrieked the priestess as she raised her staff to blast a life-draining globe at the leather-clad figure. However, the man was quicker as he leapt forward and kicked the burning skeleton back into the priestess. In one fluid motion, he turned and ducked as a mace swung harmlessly over him, its undead wielder snarling silently.
Kievan gaped unbelievingly as the man ran back. "Run if you want to live," the man shot at the thief as he passed the pillar. That brought Kievan's senses back as he too turned and sped off after the man.
The end of a white staff tapped the rock. "Brinneck.. Trailblazer..", read Sister Shadowlife with a slight frown. Behind the priestess, her skeletons stood around and stared impassively at the surrounding trees. Another two priestesses searched the clearing for signs of recent passings.
One of them approached Sister Shadowlife. "A ranger's name," she muttered as she too read the tombstone. "Why does the girl make graves like that?"
Sister Shadowlife bowed her head in thought. "More intriguingly, how did she know the ranger's name?"
"Perhaps the ranger traveled with them just before he was killed," suggested the second priestess.
Sister Shadowlife shook her head slightly. "No, I can sense the traces of Reanimation. And the remains feel several weeks old. The girl raised the ranger's skeleton and somehow found out his name." She turned to the second priestess. "More likely one of his items bore his name."
"Do you want me to raise this?" inquired the second priestess gesturing to the grave.
"No, leave it. There is no nee-"
A tree trunk smashed down on one of the skeletons with such force that shook the ground and reduced the skeleton into a pile of broken bone shards. The priestesses gasped in shock as a huge daemonwood stepped into the clearing and stared down at them.
The dryad appeared from behind the monstrosity. "Dispel your hideous skeletons and surrender yourselves!" she demanded to the priestesses.
Sister ShadowLife narrowed her eyes. "You are a fool if you wish to deal with us," she replied in an icy tone. "I am more powerful than whatever pets you have. Leave us now before I lose my patience."
"Deceiving humans," spat the dryad angrily. "Just like the ones which tricked us and escaped."
Sister ShadowLife sucked in her breath. "What did you say? There were others you captured?"
"Three," said the dryad proudly. "But now I will have more." She spoke a command and the daemonwood advanced towards the priestesses and their skeletons.
The priestesses raised their staffs. "So-See-Var!" Three globes of Kryptian magic blasted into the daemonwood. The monster slowed but still continued it's pace. It took a swipe at one of the skeletons which nimbly dodged out of the way. The other skeletons started slashing at the creature causing wood chips to fly in all directions.
The daemonwood brought a huge branch crashing into one of its skeletal attackers, smashing it into bits. Another blast of Kryptian magic hit one of the creature's branches, causing it to wither and disintegrate like rotten wood. The creature roared in demonic anger and hate as more parts of it fell away.
"Concentrate on the legs," said Sister ShadowLife through gritted teeth as she raised her staff for another blast. The other sisters complied and threw their own life-draining globes.
A dreadful creaking and snapping sound filled the air as the tree trunk legs of the daemonwood gave way and the creature fell backwards, smashing down smaller trees and flattening bushes as it hit the ground.
The dryad gaped at her fallen daemonwood and turned to flee just as a life-draining globe hit her. The woodland creature fell to the ground and tried to get up, only to find Sister ShadowLife already standing beside her. The priestess grabbed the dryad's arm, fingernails digging painfully into the green skin.
"You shall tell me where they went," hissed the priestess in a deadly voice to the wide-eyed dryad. "Or, by Krypta, I will ensure that things will get most unpleasant."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lydith found herself standing in a cavern shrouded in darkness. No matter how loudly she called, no one answered her back. She then heard a low, buzzing sound, like from the bee-hive behind her house in ThistleWood. She turned to see a red, glowing web stretched across the length of the cavern wall behind her. The web strands shimmered and buzzed with unknown energies. In the middle of the web, there was a figure hanging there, like a fly caught in the strands of the web. Lydith's eyes widened as the figure lifted its head and when she saw it's face. "Aunt Daedra," she mouthed in silent horror.
"Help.. me..," called Aunt Daedra weakly. Lydith could see that the strands from the web not only were stuck to her skin, but had gruesomely pierced it in some places. A red glow emitted from Aunt Daedra's eyes as she called to Lydith. "Help.. me."
Lydith started out of her sleep. It was already near dawn and the Convent's morning bell would begin tolling soon. She rubbed her eyes and found that her hands were sweating. She wiped them on the sleeves of her nightclothes and took a deep breath. This was not the first time she had had this dream. The dream had started coming about a few weeks ago. It was faint at first, she could barely remember it the first time she had it, but it came back repeatedly, the details of the dream getting more vivid each time.
"It's definitely something important," Karyn said ponderingly when Lydith told her about it that afternoon. They both were in a small corner of the library, hidden behind a barricade of books. "You've been getting this dream for about two weeks now. Have you tried telling the priestesses about it?"
Lydith nodded glumly. "I've tried telling Sister Shadowlife about it and all she says is that it could be because I miss Aunt Daedra. And none of them will tell me where she's gone."
"Do you think it might have something to do with the things you've been practicing?" asked Karyn worriedly. Since the night of undead baker, Lydith and Karyn had been trying out her newfound ability in other aspects of Krypta's power. Lydith now found that she could, with much concentration at first, wither a plant or a piece of wood. She never tried raising another undead again, though – she felt that it was too risky, with all the priestesses around. Karyn had dug through a whole pile of historical text for references of priestesses who could speak to the undead, like what Lydith had done. There were not many.
"Look at this one," she said while handing Lydith an open book. "Her name was Sister BlackBlood and she was said to have talked to the paladin Angela the Valiant after the paladin was killed by the evil dragon Braxtarius."
Lydith read the text. "But she conversed with Angela's ghost which lingered on the world, not as an undead."
They had both tested this before. A trip to the city's Mortuary, which was located in the Temple grounds and administrated by the priestesses, had revealed that Lydith could not hear or speak to the dead at rest. However, a visit to the priestesses' wing of the Temple proved traumatic. Lydith swore she could hear maddened screams and wails from the skeletons as they lurched after their priestesses. They did not go back there again.
Lydith sighed and closed the book. "I don't know. Perhaps this ability I have is giving me a link to the people I love. If that is so, then I'm so afraid for Aunt Daedra. She was in such pain, Karyn. Such pain."
"So what are you going to do, Lydith?" asked Karyn as she took the book back and re-opened it.
Lydith looked up with tired eyes. "I must find out for myself."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The servant's entrance to the Convent of Krypta was a well-secluded door that opened into a street which was busy by day and silent by night. After the day servants left through the door in the evenings, the door was locked with a secure bolt and a large iron lock. The matron kept the only key to the door and after firmly locking it, she went straight to bed and snored loud enough to wake the dead.
So it was a curious thing to see the door being unlocked and quietly opened in the middle of the night. A cautious head peeked out before disappearing inside again. The door opened wider and a small figure in a dark cloak stepped outside into the street. It turned towards another person within the doorway and whispered, "Thank you, Keera."
The person in the doorway whispered back. "I still think you have gone completely mad, miss Lydith. The priestesses are going to discover your absence in a few hours and by this afternoon, you'll be back here facing the wrath of Mother Darkfriend."
Lydith ignored the gloomy portent. "We'll see about that, Keera. But thank you so very much for your help, taking the key from the matron's room is no mean feat."
Keera snorted. "Madam Gronstraut wouldn't wake up for anything short of an invasion of screaming barbarians. And it is you I must thank for giving me poor Uncle Steffern's message. My aunt and I are both indebted to you for helping us find the deeds to his store – the governor's men would have taken the place from us within days."
"I was only carrying out his last request," replied Lydith. "I am glad that it was timely." She turned to leave. "You better put the key back before someone sees you."
Keera waved goodbye and shut the door. Lydith listened to the sound of the bolt sliding into place and the iron lock snapping shut before walking off. By the time she reached the junction at end of the street, she was already confronted with her first problem. She wanted to find Gameth but she did not know where the Warrior's Guild was and there was no one on the streets at this time of the night to help her. She looked down both ways of the junction. "Krypta guide me," she muttered while she picked the left one by random and started walking.
After walking for what felt like fifteen minutes and taking several turns, Lydith found herself completely lost. She could not even retrace her steps back to the street where she first started out. Each dark street seemed exactly the same as the other one. Lydith looked in vain for signposts and street names and cursed whoever it was who designed the layout of the city.
"Lost, missy?" came a voice from a dark alley. Lydith turned to see two men saunter out of the alleyway. One of them had an eye-patch over his right eye while the other was short and grubby.
Lydith instinctively knew that she was in trouble. She had heard about the rogues on the streets and about what they were capable of. "My friends from the Warrior's Guild are expecting me," she said. "They would find me here soon enough."
The rogues sniggered. "The Warrior's Guild is a fair distance from here, missy," grinned the one with the eye-patch. "I bet they won't even hear you scream from here."
Lydith spun around and broke into a wild run down one of the streets. Behind her, she could hear the rapid footsteps of the rogues as they chased her. She ran into what seemed to be a small, square junction and ducked into an alleyway. Her breath was fast and panicked as she watched the rogues run into the square and look around the streets. Suddenly, there was a noise beside her. Lydith turned her head and found herself staring face-to-face with a hideous, grinning fox-head.
"Help, you need?" asked the fox-head to which Lydith screamed. The rogues immediately started running to her alleyway. The fox-head jumped back and Lydith saw that it was really a wooden mask being worn by a small man scantily dressed in animal skins and a tattered loin-cloth. "Follow me!" hooted the man as he too turned and ran. Lydith stared at the retreating figure for a split second before making up her mind and running after him.
They ran out the other end of the alleyway into another street. The small man turned left and ducked into another alleyway. Lydith followed him and almost collided into his back.
"Wait! Stop here!" The small man jerked Lydith to a halt and pushed her against the wall of the alleyway. He then placed both his hands on the wall at both sides of the girl. "What are you doing!?" Lydith demanded in a harsh whisper.
"Shh!" hissed the man as he suddenly changed colour before her eyes. Lydith almost gasped at the transformation, the man's skin seemed to blend into the same dark gray colour as the wall behind her. Sounds of running echoed from around the corner and the two rogues appeared. They looked around and did not see the camouflaged man or the girl behind him. "That way!" ordered the rogue with the eye-patch and they both ran past the hidden pair and down another alleyway.
The small man waited until he could no longer hear the sounds of pursuit. Then he grinned at Lydith and changed back to his normal skin colour. "Nice friends, you got," he quipped.
"If you don't remove your hands this instant, I'll introduce my knee to your loin cloth," said Lydith through gritted teeth. The small man snatched his hands off the wall and jumped back in mock fear.
"Heh heh, and nice humour, you got too," he said with a wide grin. "Yellow Sky is my name. What's yours?"
"Lydith," answered Lydith without thinking. She then silently cursed herself for not being careful.
"Hello, Lydith. Yellow Sky's from the Temple of Fervus. Where's Lydith from?"
"Not for you to know," replied Lydith sharply.
The little cultist snickered at her defensive response. "Fine with Yellow Sky. Yellow Sky likes puzzles. Let's see, you don't know where you are; that means.. you don't go round this city much. And, Yellow Sky saw you come out from the Convent of Krypta. So Yellow Sky guesses that you are runaway convent girl trying to get to gates of the city to run back home. Is Yellow Sky right? Does he win a prize?" The grinning cultist widened his eyes in anticipation.
Lydith stiffened at the cultist's deductions. The cultist had guessed a little too correctly for her liking. "Thank you for your help, and good bye." She started off down the alleyway.
"Heh heh, don't worry about Yellow Sky returning you back to Convent, Lydith," called the cultist after the girl, "Nothing in it for him, and the priestesses don't like cultists very much, especially Yellow Sky. Bad priestesses probably drain poor Yellow Sky dead instead and raise him as undead servant. Yellow Sky just doesn't like seeing silly people blundering around city at night and getting killed. Just tell him where you need to go, and he'll gladly help you get there." He grinned reassuringly at Lydith.
Lydith paused. The cultist was right about the blundering part; she had absolutely no idea how to get to the Warrior's Guild to find Gameth. And she needed to get there as fast as possible before the priestesses discover her absence.
"Very well," she said as she turned to face the cultist. "I might need your help again."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lydith and Yellow Sky were greeted at the door of the Warrior's Guild by a warrior of discord wearing a woman's lacy nightgown. "Ooo lookie what we have here?" giggled the insane warrior.
Lydith tried not to laugh at the ridiculous sight while Yellow Sky bawled over in an uncontrollable laughing fit. "I'm looking for Gameth", she said, trying to distract the warrior from the cultist rolling on the floor.
"Ooo Gameth!" The warrior of discord turned around and started calling out the warrior's name in a shrill voice. "Gaaameth! Gameth? There's a giiirrrl here to see you!"
After a while, the cultist finally got himself under control and Gameth appeared at the door, thankfully wearing normal clothing and armour. "Lydith?" he said in a startled voice. "What are you doing here?"
"Gameth!", Lydith let out a breath of relief at the sight of the aged warrior. "Thank Krypta you're here! Aunt Daedra needs our help!"
"Good heavens, girl! How did you get out of the Convent?"
"Ooooo I see that your taste is for convent girls, hmmm?" The warrior of discord's head appeared from the side of the doorway.
Gameth grimaced. "Shut up, Damious. And go away."
Damious raised his hand to his chest in seeming shock. "I'm deeply offended, Gameth! I thought we had something special between us!"
Lydith broke in. "Don't ask how, but I know that Aunt Daedra is in trouble. And we have to get to her before it is too late."
Gameth nodded. The warrior was apparently used to emergencies like these. "Let me get my things."
"You need things to get yourself started, Gameth?" The warrior of discord hooted in laughter like a deranged hyena.
Gameth winced and faced the giggling warrior. "Oh look, Damious! You've hurt your head again!"
Damious squinted upwards. "Where?" Gameth punched the warrior of discord across the side of the head with his gauntlet fist. Damious looked back, crossed his eyes, and fell unconscious on the floor.
"Is he alright?" asked Lydith with slight concern.
"Was he alright to begin with?" growled Gameth. "Come on, let's move before someone else sees you."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The garden of the Temple to Krypta was quieter than graveyard in the middle of the night, with even the absence of chirping night insects one might normally expect. There was a slight scuffle as a dark figure dropped down from the ten-foot high garden walls. Peering around carefully, the figure treaded its way slowly towards the temple building and entered an open archway. It glanced left and right, as if deciding which way to go, before moving down the left corridor.
Suddenly, there was a squeak of a rusty hinge as a door further down the corridor opened. The figure swiftly stepped behind stone pillar and watched as Keera exited from the door and carefully closed it behind her. As the door shut, the figure could hear the resounding snores of someone in the room. The servant then proceeded further down the corridor before disappearing into another room.
Breathing out in relief, the figure started to move out of its hiding place, just as a leather gloved hand clamped over its mouth. The figure gave a muffled shriek and tried to turn to face its assailant, but the point of a dagger into the small of its back made a edged suggestion to stop struggling.
"Who are you and what is your business here?" a voice growled into the figure's ear. The hand released its grip on the figure's mouth, but the dagger remained.
"I.. I'm not here to hurt anyone," stuttered the figure. "My name is Kievan and.. and.. I wasn't going to hurt anyone, I swear!"
"Not so loud!" hissed the voice into Kievan's ear. "There are a few who do not sleep in this place." Kievan could feel his captor look around to see if anyone had heard them. "If you are here to steal, Kievan, you are a fool for not finding out more about the layout of the temple grounds. The temple vaults were on the right at the archway."
"Oh.. really?," stammered Kievan, a little wide-eyed.
"Fifty meters straight and then down the second stairs guarded by half a dozen skeletal guards," continued the person behind him. "There's probably more wards or guards within the vault itself. The priestesses always like to surround their valuables with little undead surprises." The dagger point eased back a little. "Perhaps you were a lucky fool to have taken the wrong turn at the archway after all."
He let Kievan go and the thief turned around to face him. It was hard to see, but he could make out a lean man standing next to the pillar. The man was dressed in dark leather, with a hood that shadowed the top portion of his face. Kievan then saw that it was not a dagger that had been pressed against his back, but a sleek, black crossbow.
Kievan raised his hands in submission. "I apologise for bumbling into you, sir. There was no word at the guild that someone was attempting a job in the Temple."
The crossbow pointed itself to Kievan's head. "You part of the Guild?"
Kievan cursed himself inwardly. He should have guessed that this man was an independant. The guild treated non-member thieves harshly whenever they found one. "Please, sir – I am new in the guild and I won't tell a soul that I saw you here."
"Only a fool would trust a rogue's word."
Kievan closed his eyes, fully expecting to feel the cold metal shaft pierce through his skull. However, he heard the rustling sound of robes instead. Immediately, the leather-gloved hand grabbed Kievan by the front of his tunic and pulled him into the shadows.
Both of them watched as a robed priestess walked down the corridor, accompanied by two skeletons. The priestess stopped in front of a door that was opened by someone from the inside. She did not enter the room, but stood where she was. "The girl has left, favoured one," she said reverently to someone in the room.
A raspy voice replied, so cold and lifeless that it made Kievan shudder, "Very good. You have done well, sister. Give yourself some excuse to leave the temple and make your way to the caverns in time for the ritual."
The priestess bowed her head in affirmation. "I will offer to go after the girl when her absence is discovered." The priestess looked up. "What of her father?"
"Our useless allies in Centuria have failed to locate him. He knows not who we are, but he is surely coming after his daughter. However, by the time he finds her, it would be too late." The voice suddenly stopped. "Wait,.. I sense.. someone here.."
The priestess immediately spun around, her staff at ready. With a deft flick of her hand, she ordered her two skeletons to search the pillars. The pair of gaunt cadavers moved swiftly, one armed with a sword and the other with a dull metal mace.
We're going to die, thought Kievan just as the figure beside him stepped out of the shadows, crossbow held up. The skeletons immediately started towards him, just as a fiery bolt left the crossbow to hit the sword-wielding one in the skull. The undead gaped as it burst into flames.
"Kill him!" shrieked the priestess as she raised her staff to blast a life-draining globe at the leather-clad figure. However, the man was quicker as he leapt forward and kicked the burning skeleton back into the priestess. In one fluid motion, he turned and ducked as a mace swung harmlessly over him, its undead wielder snarling silently.
Kievan gaped unbelievingly as the man ran back. "Run if you want to live," the man shot at the thief as he passed the pillar. That brought Kievan's senses back as he too turned and sped off after the man.