Sapphire Skies

"Come here, let's get you clean up and dressed, and then I can bring you to the governor, you can tell him what happen. Ok Sara?" He seemed so sweet, anyone who wasn't a dragon bent on taking this town over may actually feel like he could be a friend.

She practically threw herself at the guard, clinging to him and shuddering. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"Thank you..." She followed him into the town, still looking back out the gate as if she expected a horde of angry gnolls to appear at any minute.

The gate was closed and a number of men gathered as if to patrol the gates and walls and Silus brought her over to a few women near the temple. "Sisters! This women was held captive by Gnolls, get her clothes and cleaned up please."

One of the women, a middle aged woman with green eyes and wrinkles on her face showing a long life of smiles and laughing, but not without it's fair share of tears. "Come with us sweetie, let's get you clean up in the temple."

She would not recognize the temple at all, it looked like it had a statue, but it was so old any truly distinguishing features had worn away.

'Sara' followed along obediently, still seeming paranoid and disoriented. She took note of her surroundings, but was careful not to appear any more observant than someone in her situation might actually be.

"What is this place?"

"Let me get you to the bath, and I'll answer any of your questions alright?" She said with smile as she led her to the back of the temple, were a warm steaming bath waited for her "Undress, and enter the water please." Once she did so, the woman began to gently clean her off. "This is the temple of Ashian, the Goddess of Hospitality and healing. You were lucky to find this place, your aches and pains should all be relieved by these waters."

Goddess of Hospitality, Caeriadne thought. Good.

Sara did as she was bid, trying to scrub away at the remnants of the dirt. She had wondered if these people would be welcoming, or would simply turn away a lone straggler. The more they accepted her and believed her, the easier her job would be. Gullible humans...

"Thank you...oh, thank you. I thought...I thought I would die out there..."

"It was lucky you did not, my child. Why did the Gnolls keep you alive? I've never heard of Gnolls keeping humans alive, not for the last century at least in these parts. You must have been important, are you worth ransom to them?" She seemed more worried than curious at this point.

Sara looked up at the woman blankly, her dark hair now wet from the warm water and streaked back across her face. Tears welled up, and then she stared down at the pile of torn rags clumped on the floor nearby. She looked away in shame and humiliation, saying nothing as she self-consciously tucked her legs up and crossed her arms across her chest to cover herself.

((oh jesus XD))

The woman assumed the worst and looked horrified "Oh by the gods, you poor thing! I am so sorry, I won't bring those little monsters up again. Your safe now, here in the town of Brighton. With the town guard to protect us the Gnolls won't be able to get in. You are safe here my child."

Shuddering a little bit, Sara remained quiet, trying to wash away the gnoll filth. She seemed silent, brooding, perhaps even in shock...in reality, she was planning exactly what she would say to this town's governor...

After a while of leaving her to clean herself, so she could have a moment alone, the cleric woman walking back in and said "If you would like to get dressed, we have a few dresses waiting for you, you may pick from them. After that you will need to come with me back to the main area of the temple, the governor is waiting for you my dear."

"F-for...for what?" She acted confused. A common girl, after all, would not bee used to being afforded an audience with the governor.

She rose out of the bath, still covering herself, and stepped out to get dried off and choose from the dresses that were offered to her.

The dresses were very pretty, any common girl would be lucky to own one. They were sundresses, or at least looked like sun dresses. One was green, one was a light blue, and the other was a lighter red yet not quite pink.

The priestess explained "He want to know where the Gnolls are, so the militia can march out and destroy them. He seems to think you can lead them to the Gnoll camp. Though you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. As long as your under my protection, no one outside the temple can command you to do anything."

Sara clasped the blue one in her hands and lightly pulled it over herself, tucking her hair back and tying it loosely so it hung over one shoulder.

"O-oh...they want me to...to go back?!" She seemed terrified. "I don't know if I can do that..."

"And you don't have to my dear, but if you can even just give them directions I'm sure he would appreciate it." She smiled and looked at her with a clap of her hands "You look wonderful in that, it used to belong to my daughter before she moved into the big city over in Briar Hill."

Nodding hesitantly, Sara's voice softened. "Thank you..." She looked up at the woman for a moment, catching her eyes and studying her.

She would see the face of a kind old woman who wanted nothing more in this world to serve her goddess and help people. She had no ulterior motives, she didn't seem to have a mean bone in her body. She was truly a harmless old, nice woman.

There was a little sparkle in Caeriadne's eyes as she held the woman's gaze. It had been so long since she had done this, but she tried to focus the energy...tried to will it into reality, to alter the woman's train of thought. Her voice took a slightly commanding undertone that carried a sense of power 'Sara' hadn't shown before.

"You need to leave this place. It's not safe. Go to Briar Hill, with your daughter." She locked her eyes onto the woman, guiding soft wisps of psionic energy towards her.

It worked, rather well actually, and the woman nodded "Yes I think you're right...though I'm afraid of what will happen to this temple. I've spent so long here, I have this irrational fear that if I leave it'll cease to be a place of healing for travelers. I know it's silly...maybe it's just I won't know what to do with myself without this place."

Sara tilted her head slightly, listening to what the old woman said, but not wavering at all. She looked her dead in the eyes.

"Maybe one day you could come back. But, you don't want to be here now..."

The old woman nodded "Completely taken in by the psionic power "Once I bring you to the governor I will be leaving town to go to Briar Hill. I wish you the best of luck my dear, I hope you are well." She gestures for her to follow to the main worship space, where a rather portly man in noble's finery sat waiting for them.

"Thank you." She nodded, feeling some bit of relief - she was unsure if that was because she got the old woman to leave before things got dangerous, or if it was because she had still maintained some semblance of her former psionic abilities.

Sara strode out into the main hall, clasping her hands in front of her and bowing her head slightly as if she was some unremarkable peasant girl. She waited until he addressed her to speak.

Everything about this man was pompous, his clothes, the way he carried himself, his hair, his voice, it reeked of opulence. "Why hello my dear, your name is Sara yes? I wish to speak to you about your ordeal."

She nodded, looking up at him shyly. "I'll tell you anything I can...thank you for taking me in...I'm...just so scared." She looked around nervously.

She knew this type of man well just from his sickening presence, and she had no concern for the well-being of such petty creatures. She would take him for everything he was worth.

He said in a very aristocratic and posh sounding voice "Oh my dear I understand that completely, you must have been terrified! Such a horrible ordeal I have to say. But uh...I must ask you, do you think you could lead my militiamen to go and kill these beasts before they get too close to our walls?"