\u201cCalm down, Kessler!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, I will not calm down, Kaluna -\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A bit disoriented Ariel stepped outside the door of one of the barracks. She had not had much sleep. To her delight, one barrack had been assigned for the female part of the party. That meant she had bunked with Abalone while sister Freya had preferred a room to herself. Abalone had not minded at all answering all of Ariel\u2019s questions. The older woman had turned out to be just as nice in real life as she had seemed on television and they had ended up talking most of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kessler, Kaluna, sister Freya and one of the clerics from this side was arguing. Seemed weird in Ariel\u2019s mind. She had not known that Kessler had a temperament but it was obviously that he was agitated the way that he waved his skateboard around. Kaluna tried to catch the arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c- What do you mean, your\u2019e not going? You\u2019re the freaking party leader!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is where you are wrong, kid\u201d. Sister Freya was sounding very condescending. Ariel tried to inch closer. \u201cI\u2019m not risking my life going into some Lord\u2019s ruin. Besides, me being here was just for show. This is not Church sanctioned\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot Church sanctioned? You\u2019re a priest. The show on the plaza, you being our leader. My ass. Of course this is a Church sanctioned expedition, why else would we be here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomebody has to keep an eye on the portal. Stay here to secure the perimeter\u201d, the cleric said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChurch opened the portals, Church has a base camp on the Other Side, portals are on Church property, party leader is a priest accompanied by clerics! Please spell it out for me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe base camp was sanctioned to protect our side from anything from the Other Side. We need sister Freya here to establish more faith. Besides she is not equipped to handle combat. That is why you have clerics with you. On loan from the Church\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you mean by \u2018on loan from the Church\u2019? We were hired by the Church. To assist in anyway we can in the event of unforeseen circumstances, so you wouldn\u2019t be dependent on the mages opening the portals from our side\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now Kaluna had stopped trying to calm Kessler. Instead he took out a document and started reading it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo what does it say?\u201d Kessler asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Church hired us. It says here black on white\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, this could be interpreted as unforeseen circumstances\u201d, the cleric said with wide arms, \u201cI mean, you\u2019re here now right, thinking you were hired by the Church only to find out that you\u2019re not\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnforeseen circumstances usually implies \u2018things that happens from the outside\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s twisting the words, Kaluna. They are out of their minds!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCalm down, Kessler. Freya is there any truth in this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ariel was not the only one noticing the honorary title was missing, because the priest looked annoyed now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs I said before, I\u2019m not going anywhere. I stay in the base camp. I don\u2019t know what your contract says, but brother Samuel could be right. If you interpret this as an unforeseen event, you are still obligated to fulfil your contract\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cContract, my Lord!\u201d Kessler said with a raised skateboard. It was humming with power now, and Kaluna had to restrain him with a hand once more. \u201cThat contract is null and void. You are no better than the Ministry when it comes to worming your way out. What do you expect us to work for free? Is this what this is about? No wonder I got those bad vibes from you, yesterday\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was court ordered to join the party. By his Holiness\u201d, Ariel said not able to keep her mouth shut anymore. All this did not make any sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWow, you were?\u201d Kessler\u2019s sympathetic look would have felt nice if not for current discussion. \u201cThey really didn\u2019t want you to say no, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWitches are not as greedy as mages\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKessler!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah yeah, Kaluna, Relax. I\u2019m not about to do anything to provoke a holy war. Doesn\u2019t change the fact that she was also hired by the Church. Which brings me back to my first point. Church sanctioned!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo what does all this mean?\u201d Ariel looked around. \u201cWhy are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hero and one of the soldiers approached them. \u201cAre you ready to go? Day\u2019s not getting any longer\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTell me, Abalone, who hired you?\u201d Kaluna asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI did\u201d, the soldier said. Ariel was not sure if it was Alegra or Stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abalone nodded and looked them over. There was a confused expression on her face. She gripped her sword and shield. \u201cIs this what you have been arguing about? When we are about to go on adventure?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome of us are\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou got that right, Kessler\u201d. The priest crossed her arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI see, you still haven\u2019t changed your mind Sister Freya?\u201d, the soldier said. \u201cToo bad, we could have used your skills\u201d. He shrugged and said to the others: \u201cLet\u2019s get going\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWait\u201d, Kaluna said. \u201cYou have to clarify this for us. Is this a Church sanctioned mission or nor?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Church sanctioned, of course\u201d, the soldier said matter of factly. Kessler gloated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd Ministry sanctioned\u201d, the soldier continued. \u201cOtherwise we wouldn\u2019t be here. I\u2019m in charge. Stone is my second. You all do what we say. For your own safety\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut-\u201c started Kaluna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alegra smiled patiently. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in forcing people. But you are here now, however you ended up here. And I could use your help. We don\u2019t know what we will encounter. We are going into uncharted territory. The only thing we know is that there is a temple. A temple his Holiness, because of sister Freya, wants investigated. So to be frank. I don\u2019t care which of the two agencies recruited you or how. You\u2019re here because you fit my specifications. Don\u2019t be a coward like sister Freya\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The priest grimaced and looked angry but kept quiet. Kessler smirked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course we are no cowards! And of course we are coming, right Kaluna? Ariel? This is so cool! To boldly go where no-one has gone before! This is gonna be so much fun!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ariel could not help but be smitten by his enthusiasm. The air reflected the lighter mood around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, sure\u201d. She knew she would regret it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cCalm down, Kessler!\u201d \u201cNo, I will not calm down, Kaluna -\u201c A bit disoriented Ariel stepped outside the door of one of the barracks. She had not had much sleep. To her delight, one barrack had been assigned for the female part of the party. That meant she had bunked with Abalone while sister Freya … <\/p>\n