The moon hung in the sky, casting an eerie light over the land. It was a couple hours before dawn, but the safety of day seemed eons away. Marina growled. It was too early. She didn't care who they had to save, the bugger deserved to die for getting his pathetic royal behind kidnapped by a bunch of raving lunatics.
"You awake Marina?" Vanora asked, sticking her head through the tent flap
"Yes. Others?"
"We're waiting for you. Couldn't you hear us moving around?"
Marina had heard some movement, but hoped it was robbers stealing their supplies, not her friends preparing for the day.
Marina climbed out of her tent and stumbled in the dark toward the campfire, well, where there would be a campfire if the dared to light one.
"I say," she declared, "we all go back to bed, and tell the king we over slept, so sorry, His Highness died bravely, you would have been proud, won't let I happen again…"
"Yes, and then he'll pat us on the back and say, 'Thank you so much for trying. Won't you come by and have a cup of tea one day?'" Vanora replied.
"Wait I think Marina is onto something here, the Crown Prince is a bit of twit anyhow, he won't be missed too much," Kita said.
"Tea with the king!" a sleepy eyed woman exclaimed.
"I thought you said they were both awake?' Marina glared accusingly at Vanora.
"Its Chandi, that's about as awake as she'll get for a while. You know that. Now, back to the subject at hand. How are we going to rescue the prince? He's supposed to be executed in a couple of hours; we are running out of time here."
"Na, we still have a couple of hours. Let's just show up and wing it," Kita yawned.
Vanora shook her head and sighed. "Why me? Remember what happened the last time we 'winged it'? We nearly took out half of our own army."
"Yes, but we still won the battle and received metals of honor from the King's own hand," Kita pointed out smugly.
"Through sheer dumb luck-"
"Ok, enough, we need a plan, now," Marina interrupted. "I do not like my cousin in the slightest, but if we want our jobs and all the wonderful benefits that go along with it, we need to save the royal arse."
"Methinks we should start planning earlier on in our rescue operations…"Vanora pondered when no one said anything.
"What!? And-"
"I've got it!" Chandi exclaimed cutting Kita off. The other three stared at her in shock. She sounded awake.
Chandi grinned wickedly. "Do you remember the briefing we got on the cult?"
The others nodded at her slowly.
"Remember how the priests have to spend the night in the forest to be ritually purified before they sacrifice the victim?" The others nodded, and Chandi pointed off in the distance, toward a small light which hadn't been there moments before. All four of them began to grin.
From a short distance, the guards spied on the three priests who were stumbling around a small but smoky fire, moaning like demons were eating their brains out.
"All right," Vanora began, " we could--"
Before Vanora could finish, Marina strode confidently into the campsite.
"Good morning!" Marina gleefully shouted. "How are your Holinesses this morning?"
The priests groaned as they went for their swords.
"Tsk tsk," Marina scolded, gently whacking the closest priest in the back of head. The unfortunate creature clutched his head howling in agony. "Is that anyway to treat one of the faithful?"
As all three priests were blearily focused on Marina, Vanora casually walked up behind one of the other priests, absentmindedly swiping his feet out from under him and the booting him in the head just enough to send him back to sleep. Kita on the other hand, decided to play with her victim. Kita, sword unsheathed, circled the cleric, prodding him occasionally. The priest attempted to swipe back, but Kita simply danced out of his way. Finally, when the priest was trying to dodge one of Kita's nicks, he dizzily stumbled backwards into Vanora, who flipped him over so he landed on his head, and joined his fellow cleric in oblivion.
During this time, Marina had loudly and maliciously been scolding her cleric before finally clubbing him over the head with the hilt of her sword.
"Where is Chandi?" she asked as the priest thudded beside her.
Before Vanora and Kita could respond, a retching sound punctuated by a thud answered Marina's query. A robed body suddenly came flying into the campsite, landing at Marina's feet, followed by a meandering Chandi,
"He apparently can't hold his liquor," Chandi responded to Marina's arched eyebrow.
"Apparently the purification ritual requires a consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol," Vanora remarked, eyeing the empty liquor bottles scattered about.
"They were painfully hung over," Marina grinned. "It's a good thing we came along and put them out of their misery."
"That was too easy," Kita pouted slightly, slipping on a coarse brown cowl. "We didn't even have to kill any of them, or actually run them thru even,"
"Good thing too, they don't seem to have any extra robes on them," Vanora said, rummaging through the fanatics belongings, she picked up a heavy sack of coins, and looked at them wistfully. "By the way, whose followers am I searching?"
"Oh go on and take it. Its not actually robbing," Marina commented looking mischievously at Vanora as she ate some bacon. The four guards had apparently interrupted breakfast. "Consider it a fine. They took something that didn't belong to them, now they need to pay back their debt to society, namely us."
"Anywho," Chandi remarked as she adjusted her robe, "They don't actually have a clear deity, they had a leader who went on about a sun god and prophecies, I think, but since he died a year ago, they kind of just go around killing people."
These remarks were all Vanora needed to take the bag of gold, and anything else she found.
"And the king let them get away with this?" Kita frowned, grabbing a muffin.
Marina snorted and Chandi just shrugged. They'd both grown up in the capital city whereas Kita had lived off in the country, sheltered .
"So, now what?" Vanora asked.
"Well, see the horses tied up over there," Chandi pointed to four pure white stallions tied up, "We get to ride those to the center of their little village where they have the sacrificial alter, the prince already strapped down ready for slaughter, cut him loose, and somehow escape a murderous mob of blood thirsty peasants."
"Sounds like fun," Kita exclaimed hopping onto one of the horses.
"How on earth do you know all this?" Vanora asked Chandi.
"Don't you listen at the briefings?" She replied.
Vanora frowned, her mind did usually wander at meetings, but she didn't think it wandered that much. "But you snore your way through those!"
Chandi shrugged.
"Does anyone else find it odd that there are four of us, and four priests?'?" Kita wondered aloud.
"The Gods smile upon us," Marina quipped. "Probably has something to do with my winning personality. Can we go now?"
"Well, we are supposed to enter the city at dawn, "Chandi mused, "We should probably get going."
"Just a sec, let me see if I understand our entire plan. We ride up to the sacrificial alter all stately like, cut him free, and run like hell, all the while praying that the mob is stunned by this all into complete stupidity so we have a chance at surviving this?" Vanora asked.
Marina grinned, "Remember, the Gods love us." She set her horse moving.
Vanora snorted as she followed. "Well, it was a good life while I had it."
"You awake Marina?" Vanora asked, sticking her head through the tent flap
"Yes. Others?"
"We're waiting for you. Couldn't you hear us moving around?"
Marina had heard some movement, but hoped it was robbers stealing their supplies, not her friends preparing for the day.
Marina climbed out of her tent and stumbled in the dark toward the campfire, well, where there would be a campfire if the dared to light one.
"I say," she declared, "we all go back to bed, and tell the king we over slept, so sorry, His Highness died bravely, you would have been proud, won't let I happen again…"
"Yes, and then he'll pat us on the back and say, 'Thank you so much for trying. Won't you come by and have a cup of tea one day?'" Vanora replied.
"Wait I think Marina is onto something here, the Crown Prince is a bit of twit anyhow, he won't be missed too much," Kita said.
"Tea with the king!" a sleepy eyed woman exclaimed.
"I thought you said they were both awake?' Marina glared accusingly at Vanora.
"Its Chandi, that's about as awake as she'll get for a while. You know that. Now, back to the subject at hand. How are we going to rescue the prince? He's supposed to be executed in a couple of hours; we are running out of time here."
"Na, we still have a couple of hours. Let's just show up and wing it," Kita yawned.
Vanora shook her head and sighed. "Why me? Remember what happened the last time we 'winged it'? We nearly took out half of our own army."
"Yes, but we still won the battle and received metals of honor from the King's own hand," Kita pointed out smugly.
"Through sheer dumb luck-"
"Ok, enough, we need a plan, now," Marina interrupted. "I do not like my cousin in the slightest, but if we want our jobs and all the wonderful benefits that go along with it, we need to save the royal arse."
"Methinks we should start planning earlier on in our rescue operations…"Vanora pondered when no one said anything.
"What!? And-"
"I've got it!" Chandi exclaimed cutting Kita off. The other three stared at her in shock. She sounded awake.
Chandi grinned wickedly. "Do you remember the briefing we got on the cult?"
The others nodded at her slowly.
"Remember how the priests have to spend the night in the forest to be ritually purified before they sacrifice the victim?" The others nodded, and Chandi pointed off in the distance, toward a small light which hadn't been there moments before. All four of them began to grin.
From a short distance, the guards spied on the three priests who were stumbling around a small but smoky fire, moaning like demons were eating their brains out.
"All right," Vanora began, " we could--"
Before Vanora could finish, Marina strode confidently into the campsite.
"Good morning!" Marina gleefully shouted. "How are your Holinesses this morning?"
The priests groaned as they went for their swords.
"Tsk tsk," Marina scolded, gently whacking the closest priest in the back of head. The unfortunate creature clutched his head howling in agony. "Is that anyway to treat one of the faithful?"
As all three priests were blearily focused on Marina, Vanora casually walked up behind one of the other priests, absentmindedly swiping his feet out from under him and the booting him in the head just enough to send him back to sleep. Kita on the other hand, decided to play with her victim. Kita, sword unsheathed, circled the cleric, prodding him occasionally. The priest attempted to swipe back, but Kita simply danced out of his way. Finally, when the priest was trying to dodge one of Kita's nicks, he dizzily stumbled backwards into Vanora, who flipped him over so he landed on his head, and joined his fellow cleric in oblivion.
During this time, Marina had loudly and maliciously been scolding her cleric before finally clubbing him over the head with the hilt of her sword.
"Where is Chandi?" she asked as the priest thudded beside her.
Before Vanora and Kita could respond, a retching sound punctuated by a thud answered Marina's query. A robed body suddenly came flying into the campsite, landing at Marina's feet, followed by a meandering Chandi,
"He apparently can't hold his liquor," Chandi responded to Marina's arched eyebrow.
"Apparently the purification ritual requires a consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol," Vanora remarked, eyeing the empty liquor bottles scattered about.
"They were painfully hung over," Marina grinned. "It's a good thing we came along and put them out of their misery."
"That was too easy," Kita pouted slightly, slipping on a coarse brown cowl. "We didn't even have to kill any of them, or actually run them thru even,"
"Good thing too, they don't seem to have any extra robes on them," Vanora said, rummaging through the fanatics belongings, she picked up a heavy sack of coins, and looked at them wistfully. "By the way, whose followers am I searching?"
"Oh go on and take it. Its not actually robbing," Marina commented looking mischievously at Vanora as she ate some bacon. The four guards had apparently interrupted breakfast. "Consider it a fine. They took something that didn't belong to them, now they need to pay back their debt to society, namely us."
"Anywho," Chandi remarked as she adjusted her robe, "They don't actually have a clear deity, they had a leader who went on about a sun god and prophecies, I think, but since he died a year ago, they kind of just go around killing people."
These remarks were all Vanora needed to take the bag of gold, and anything else she found.
"And the king let them get away with this?" Kita frowned, grabbing a muffin.
Marina snorted and Chandi just shrugged. They'd both grown up in the capital city whereas Kita had lived off in the country, sheltered .
"So, now what?" Vanora asked.
"Well, see the horses tied up over there," Chandi pointed to four pure white stallions tied up, "We get to ride those to the center of their little village where they have the sacrificial alter, the prince already strapped down ready for slaughter, cut him loose, and somehow escape a murderous mob of blood thirsty peasants."
"Sounds like fun," Kita exclaimed hopping onto one of the horses.
"How on earth do you know all this?" Vanora asked Chandi.
"Don't you listen at the briefings?" She replied.
Vanora frowned, her mind did usually wander at meetings, but she didn't think it wandered that much. "But you snore your way through those!"
Chandi shrugged.
"Does anyone else find it odd that there are four of us, and four priests?'?" Kita wondered aloud.
"The Gods smile upon us," Marina quipped. "Probably has something to do with my winning personality. Can we go now?"
"Well, we are supposed to enter the city at dawn, "Chandi mused, "We should probably get going."
"Just a sec, let me see if I understand our entire plan. We ride up to the sacrificial alter all stately like, cut him free, and run like hell, all the while praying that the mob is stunned by this all into complete stupidity so we have a chance at surviving this?" Vanora asked.
Marina grinned, "Remember, the Gods love us." She set her horse moving.
Vanora snorted as she followed. "Well, it was a good life while I had it."