The Warlord and The Priestess

[4Chiri]

"Priestess," he began, "the only thing you bring into my life in purpose."


after a moment he gave a small smile.


"...I've had plenty of jobs harder than this one trust me." he said pointing to his left small finger, it was a bit crooked.


"There was a skirmish in Agrith a few years ago. Nheir and I were tasked with rescuing the countess. We succeeded but was pushed from the third floor balcony."


He chuckled to himself. "I'm afraid to say, my finger took most of my weight."


He felt a bit more relaxed now that she was visibly feeling better.

 

[Morigan]

"Oh!" Melia exclaimed as she looked closer at his finger. "That sounds very dangerous. I am glad your injuries were not more severe. But was that truly worse than being shot with a poisoned arrow?" she asked curiously. She remembered the night she had walked in on him with his shirt off, his scars...they must all be from similar incidents. He had probably always been brave, rescuing and defending people. Melia wondered what it would be like to live like that.

 

[4Chiri]

"Well," he started and leaned against the wooden rear wall of the stables. "You heard about the war correct? The city had suffered treason; someone was selling information from within the palace, allowing the enemy to attempt an assassination on the Emperor. We had to sneak out of the palace,but there were complications along the hidden mine." he breathed, staring off at some memory.


"Anyway, the mines had a few unsavoury inhabitants, most of them were no problem. Except for a troll...large...unorthodox beasts..." he shuddered. "It was my job to protect the Emperor at all costs, I allowed he and Nheir to escape while I stayed behind to, well, not to kill it...I was already exhausted by that point.."


He released a long sigh, "Long story short, the thing nearly killed me, had we not fallen into a ravine and been washed into the Magyan lakes, I doubt I would've survived."


He stared for a moment, "ah, I don't mean to ramble...my point is, this - danger- is my job. Just as you feel natural in the basilica, I do on the field. You needn't worry about what hazards I put myself through..."


Reaching over to one of the stationary, leather bridles, he fiddled with it for a moment between his fingers and looked back up at her.


"I can imagine you must be tired...I shan't keep you up longer."

 

[Morigan]

Melia listened intently, absorbed in Moganthe's story. "I don't really feel natural there more than anywhere else. I've just never been allowed to be anywhere outside. It sounds exciting. Do you know I've never even been allowed to gallop on a horse? Only a slow, proper walk for Oracles and now especially since I'm Priestess. I feel as though people forget I'm not seventy years old..."


When he mentioned her going back, she realized he might be tired and she was rudely keeping him out here. "Oh, forgive me. I will go now."

 

[4Chiri]

Never allowed to gallop? He couldn't imagine...though he knew some of the native horses were quite stubborn. Perhaps it was a safety protocol as well as proper etiquette for those of religion. He wouldn't know. Simply raised in military school his entire life - every aspect of his existence was around something that had to do with killing. Quite the opposite of herself...


"Actually," he began to stop her, "...I mean....goodni- .." he stopped and straightened himself. "I will be here in the morning should you need anything, milady."


His voice once again harbored it's distant tone and he bowed, staring towards the hard ground.

 

[Morigan]

Melia sighed and nodded. She walked the short distance back to her rooms, lost in thought. Every time she felt that she was near to breaking through the barrier of protocol with Moganthe he turned distant again. She wondered why she cared so much...did she just want a friend? Was she feeling guilty for the pain he'd suffered for her sake? Both of those things were true, but there was something more...something she wasn't even allowed to want.


Melia found her bed, and fell into it easily, sleep stealing over her quickly. Her last thought before she fell asleep was wishing that she could look at him and have him look at her, truly, without her cowl hiding her face and adding to the distance between them.

 

[4Chiri]

In the morning Ithet had already ironed and lay out the Priestess' red robes on the foot of the bed.


"Wake up Milady, it's morning...and there seems to be an issue down at the Temple." she said. "People are gathering around the statue, demanding someone face charges and execution for vandalizing the altar...either that or someone go into the graves and find the missing pieces." she shuddered.


"There's one other thing..." she fiddled with her fingers after bringing a platter of breakfast over. "a knight returned from the graves...he says he saw hostile creatures in the graves...all the soldiers refuse to go in."

 

[Morigan]

Melia stirred and rose from the bed. After dressing quickly she turned to Ithet. "Please find Warlord Moganthe and have some arrange for us to meet with this knight. After we speak with him, we will go to the Temple and see what can be done. Rioting is unacceptable; we need to prevent anything like that from happening."

 

[4Chiri]

"At once, milady." she said and rushed off. There was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, kicking up as she ran into the stables, meeting with Moganthe who was fully armored with weapons.


"Warlord," she started. "The Priestess wants to meet with the knight who survived the graves," she said. He nodded


"I will bring him to the foyer," he said and walked off.


Turning Ithet ran back to manor and up to the Priestess' room.


"When you are ready, Moganthe and the knight will be in the foyer ready to speak with you." she said.

 

[Morigan]

"Very good, thank you Ithet. Let us meet them."


Melia quickly made her way to the foyer and saw the two men waiting nearby. "Warlord Moganthe," she nodded in greeting. "And this is the man with tales of monsters?" she asked.

 

[4Chiri]

The Knight bowed, "y-yes milady, I'm honored you would have me," he bowed. "I am Ser Ric." he took in a few breaths.


"I was tasked with locating the hands of Karamina, a thief had taken them to Hurnathus' Graves" he shivered.

Hurnathus' Graves is a large underground catacomb of family plots and century old sarcophaguses. The people no longer use this place as it is hazardous and supposedly haunted.



​

He took in another breath.


"I took two others with me, but from nowhere there was a large shadow, it attacked, with stone claws and....it looked like a demon. It killed my men easily..I....had to get out of there. It's too dangerous, the statue will forever be incomplete." he said, defeated.


Ithet took in an uneasy breath, however Moganthe stood still, thinking.

 

[Morigan]

"A clawed shadow?" Melia said, unnerved. "This is an ill omen. We cannot leave the statute incomplete though, it's blasphemous." She glanced at Moganthe who appeared to be thinking.

 

[4Chiri]

"I'll get it." Moganthe stated plainly. Both the Knight and Ithet looked up at him in surprise.


"Sir?" Sir Ric fumbled. "..but....warlord, it's too dangerous! That monster destroyed us quite easily...surely you can't--


Moganthe raised his hand, and as the commander of every soldier in the country, Sir Ric immediately hushed.


"I'll get it." he repeated.

 

[Morigan]

Melia wanted to shout out, to stop him, but she couldn't; not here in public with all eyes on them.


"You do this city and the gods a great service Warlord," Melia said with a small bow. "What do you require to accomplish this test?" she kept her voice neutral but fear for Moganthe was nearly choking her.

 

[4Chiri]

"Just a torch." he said. Sir Ric nodded.


"There's a scone of torches just outside the entrance Sir, but....are you certain?"


Moganthe looked down at his hand for a moment, eying his scarred palms, then nodded. "I'm certain,"


Sir Ric then lead them all towards the edge of town, outside the gates and a few yards away was a large stone door leading down under the cold ground..


Once they reached it, Moganthe grabbed one of the torches from the wall sconce and removed his red cape. Ithet took it and folded it up for him when he returned..should he.


The voices then began to mumble, whisper and call to Melia's mind, but just ticking the lobes of her ears..just barely understandable.


Sir Ric opened the large stone door and an immediate dark made it only possible to see a few feet in. Moganthe brandished his sword and took in a breath.


"If I don't return by this evening, then lock the doors behind me." he said and stepped inside, shutting himself in.

 

[Morigan]

Melia fell to her knees immediately, motioning the others to do the same. "Come, we will pray until he returns," she said, allowing no debate. As she knelt outside the entrance, she prayed for the voices to come clear to her, and for Moganthe's safety.


Hours passed and she did not move, the cold stone beneath her knees did not matter, the chill of the air did not register.

 

[4Chiri]

Ithet shivered and so did Ric...they had a hard time keeping concentrated. But the voices came in waves, in whispers...in urgency then calm. But still...not clear...then they subsided to silence...


The sun neared the middle of the sky...


Ric respectively stood to his feet.


"Milady, I mean not to interrupt...how much longer should we--


There was a bang against the inside of the door. Then another.


All of a sudden the voices went wild in her mind like a noise of screams and blood curdling yells of pain.


"open the door!" Moganthe yelled, his voice muffled behind the stone. There was also some type of gurgling screech, or a roar from some dark sounding beast. The sound of sword against stone clanged, echoing through the rock that separated him and the outside. "Hurry!"

 

[Morigan]

"Quickly! Do as he says!" Melia commanded, rising to her feet instantly. The voices still were unclear, but Moganthe's wasn't. He was back and she needed to make sure he was alright.


The voices screeched in her mind, wracking her with headaches in waves. "Warlord!" she called as the knight opened the door in front of her.

 

[4Chiri]

Moganthe tumbled out of the door, tackled by some sort of large lizard-like beast, but it's skin was hard like stone, everyone jumped back; Ithet grabbing Melia's arms to keep her at bay.


The thing stood on all fours over Moganthe as he used his hands to keep the thing's jaws from clamping on his head. Sir Ric stood unsure what to do with his sword. The voices raging, crazily, bashing against the inside of her head, just as Moganthe was able to reach his sword with a yell and stabbed into the thing's mouth and down it's throat.


The lizard wriggled crazily on the groung, hacking and choking until Moganthe regained his bearings, and stepped to it with his dagger. The beast, almost nine feet in length and clearly weighing no less than six hundred pounds - being made of stone.


He breathed, heaves of painful breaths as he was sure at least a rib had broken.


The voices began to quiet and he knelt down, grabbing the beasts jaw, stabbing it in the eye until it ceased.


Ithet nearly fainted.


Moganthe then pulled his sword from the thing's throat and stuck his hand down inside to the monster's stomach, pulling out two stone hands.


"...a....Basilisk?" Sir Ric chuckled in disbelief, his hand clinging shakily to his sword.


"A young Basilisk..." Moganthe sat down in the slow, surely his blood and some of the basilisk's coating the ground. He held his side. "I think....I broke a rib or two."

 

[Morigan]

Melia struggled against Ithet's hold, surprisingly strong for a woman near her own age and height. After a terrifying struggle, Moganthe prevailed and Ithet released her, nearly fainting. Melia ran to his side, shouting commands at the knight.


"Go! Get help- the guard and healers!" He nodded and ran off quickly.


She glanced at Ithet, "Ithet, sit down before you fall, please." She reached out to Moganthe instinctively before remembering herself and pulling them back to her side. "Don't move," she said softly. "Help is coming."

 

[4Chiri]

Ithet sat down roughly staring at the dead monster in complete shock. Moganthe raised his hand to quell her, taking slow, shallow breaths.


"I'm fine...priestess...as I've said...I've been hurt worse." he chuckled lightly.


"Milady..the hands...." Ithet pointed shakily at the two marble, cupped hands, coated in bile and other gore.. "how did you know the hands were...i-inside..." she choked.


Moganthe took in a breath.


"Stone Basilisk....they eat stone."


"Priestess!" called a healer who ran back with sir Ric. He kneeled down next to Moganthe and removed his armor. Moganthe seethed with movement as the healer laid a wool blanket on the ground and helped Moganthe onto it.


"Lie on your back milord," said the healer.


Moganthe's torso was horribly bruised...

 

[Morigan]

"Ithet, we will need an Oracle to come cleanse the hands, so they may be reattached. Will you send for one?" she asked her.


She turned back to watch the healer hover over Moganthe. She winced as she saw the dark bruises blooming along his ribs. The healer began the same process as when her dislocated shoulder had been healed, though this would undoubtedly take longer for more severe injuries.

 

[4Chiri]

The healer was able to mend most of Moganthe's wounds...but he stood and huffed.


"well, warlord..you're going to have to be more careful. You're wounds will be fine...but give your bones some time to rest...the magic can only help if you're alive to receive treatment." the healer shook his head.


Moganthe sat up, his chest wrapped tightly. He looked up at the doctor with irritation.


"I know my own limits."


"Don't be stubborn Warlord, you may be a master on the field, but that doesn't mean you're invincible...lay down for the next day or so, keep warm too." The healer cleaned up some of his things. "I'll go get a wagon to help you back to the manor to rest..."


"I can walk," Moganthe said and slowly stood up, "it's my job to keep aware, I don't have time to lie down."

 

[Morigan]

"Won't you please take the Healer's advice?" Melia asked softly. "He surely knows what he is talking about."


Knowing he was likely going to refuse, she turned to Ithet and threw her hands up. "Men! So stubborn!" she huffed. "Let us go back, the Warlord needs to rest and we need to see about restoring the temple."

 

[4Chiri]

((large picture here))


Moganthe chuckled as he walked slowly back with the healer. An oracle carrying the hands.


Moganthe, much to his discontent was shuffled into the manor into a small room on the first floor to lie down and rest while a handful of knights were assigned to walk with the Priestess to the temple.


A large statue of Karamina stood tall, casting a long shadow against everyone who stood underneath her temple. Everyone bowed. The oracle ; having cleaned the hands, graciously gave them to the Priestess. the statue, with it's missing hands, from the wrist protruded to small inserts for where the hands could fit.


People gathered slowly.