Jasalina and Juliet had been traveling for days following their escape from Camelot. They stuck to back-roads and the wilderness to avoid patrols, but their progress towards the glistening peaks of Snowdonia and freedom was slow. During the day they would sleep in abandoned structures and caves, oftentimes needing to evict the monstrous occupants before they could rest. Jasalina would hold vigil as long as she could before waking Juliet for her watch. At dusk, they would emerge, consume a few of their meager supplies, and continue their journey. Sometimes, the would come upon small villages and outposts and would have to go miles out of their way to avoid contact.
Although stripped of her divine clerical powers when she was excommunicated, Jasalina still had her hammer and her heavy chain armor and used both to good effect. Juliet, on the other hand, still wielded powerful cabalist magics and the pair relied heavily on her spells and her summoned simulacrum to keep them safe. Despite their continued success at evading capture, Jasalina knew that the bounty hunters were closing in on them, hungry to claim the reward for bringing the traitorous pair to Constantine's Justice.
Just outside of Swanton Keep, with their goal so tantalizingly close, their luck finally ran out. They had found a small rocky outcropping on a hill that was out of sight from the road in the valley below. Setting Juliets simulacrum pet to watch, Jasalina hoped that it would look like one of the various boulderlings that they had seen wandering about in the hills. At dusk, as they lay sleeping in each other's arms, the hunters came. They had watched the pair from the secluded woods below. Knowing that they wouldn't move until evening, they picked their moment to move up the hill and surrounded the outcropping. Juliets ever-present amber bodyguard was not alerted until, with a hue and cry, the hunters attacked.
The Simulacrum once alerted to the danger, plunged into the fray and felled a few of the hunters with savage blows from its fists, but without Juliet to control its actions precisely, it was quickly disabled by snare traps placed by the hunters and heavy bludgeoning blows. Its sacrifice bought the pair a few precious moments to prepare. Jasalina sprung up, snatching her hammer from the ground. There was no time for her to heft her shield before the first hunter lunged at her. Juliet was faster still and had her staff ready and swung it down hard on the unarmored head of the man. At the same time, she began chanting the words of a potent attack spell as three more hunters came into view, weapons drawn and leering.
Jasalina threw herself at the men, wielding her hammer in both hands. Her first swing went wide as the hunter dodged away, but she twirled nimbly and the hammer found a mark on the second hunter as he stepped forward, sensing an advantage. Before she could ready her hammer for a second blow, she felt something whiz by her head from above, and then another something. Alarmed, she turned to see two dark-feathered arrows sticking out of Juliet's chest. She still held her staff aloft, crackling with arcane magics, but she staggered and swayed, and the magic spell fizzled into a wisp of smoke.
"Juliet!" Jasalina screamed, her hammer falling to the floor as she sprang back toward her to catch her. Before she could reach her, a heavy cudgel swung down from behind her and Jasalina fell senseless to the ground.
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When Jasalina finally awoke, she found her hands bound tightly behind her back and a heavy cloth hood over her head, blinding her. Her head still hurt and she had the coppery taste of blood in her mouth. She felt a gentle jostling and surmised that she was in the back of a wagon, but whose wagon? And where were they taking her? She felt another body in the wagon next to her and her mind immediately went to Juliet. She tried to say her name, but her tongue felt like it was made of cotton, and all she could produce was a grunting yelp.
"Did you 'ear that, Cap? Sounds like the traitor is awake", said a gruff voice.
"Yeah? Well not for long she ain't", came the reply.
"Careful, mate, we only get paid if she is alive!"
Something blunt and heavy struck Jasalina in the head and her world was again plunged into darkness.
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The next time she came to her senses, she felt hands on her and felt herself being lifted and carried. There were voices, but she could only barely hear them. She felt herself being laid on something soft and feathery. A mattress? After a few minutes, someone untied her hands and removed the hood.
Bright sunlight immediately assailed her eyes and she squinted and blinked until the image came into focus and her eyes could adjust.
She was in a room with a single-window, through which the daylight poured in. There were two people in the room with her, one wore the dark green garb of a forest hunter. The other was wearing royal purple chain armor, red locks hanging down her back. The two were talking and Jasalina could finally make out what was being said.
"Thank you, Geoff. Your services, as always, are appreciated. How are your men? I was told that some were injured during the capture."
"Yer welcome, ma'am, and your payment is always appreciated as well! A few broken bones, nothing that you churchy healers can't fix up."
Jasalina recognized the voice of the hunter as the one from earlier, the one who had clubbed her in the head.
"Send your injured to the infirmary, our healers will tend to them. Oh, and Geoff, I trust that we have complete discretion with this delivery?"
"My mates and me are professionals. It wounds me, Tam, that you would question that. What you do with traitors to the Hospitalers, or even to Albion, is not my business."
"We are friends, Geoff, but this delivery is personal. Thank you for your continued friendship and your understanding."
Jasalinas' heart sank as recognized who the armored woman was. It was Tamlan the Tenderhearted, the leader of the Knights of the Hospital and Jasalinas Order Commander.
Geoff turned and walked out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Jasalina's mind raced as she tried to think of what to say. Tamlan faced her and walked to the bedside. Her face and her words were gentle, as they always were, but they hit Jasalina like a hammer.
"I see that you are awake. Good. Let me look at those wounds, Jas." She knelt and tenderly brushed the hair away from her bruised scalp. Invoking divine healing magics, a soothing blue light pulsed in the room and Jasalina's pain immediately subsided.
Tamlan brought a chair to the bedside and sat down.
"Mistress Tamlan, I.. I don't..." she stammered.
Tamlan held a finger gently to her lips, "Shhh. I did not ask, Jas. I know why you did it."
"I failed you, I failed the Order. I failed Albion."
Tamlan thought for a moment and then leveled her eyes at Jasalina.
"Yes. Yes, you did fail me. I thought my Knights could trust me. I thought you could confide in me. I am disappointed that you did not come to me sooner before things had gotten this far."
A slight frown played at the corner of Tamlans mouth, "The Order will survive this. I have assigned Tamera to take your post in Thidranki. She will ensure that the Hospitalers are well represented there. As for Albion..." she began, "You have been ex-communicated from the Church, and you have been cut-off from the Arthurs Light, but you knew this already. You can never again wield the holy powers of a Cleric."
Tamlans frown deepened, "Constantine himself has branded you a traitor and would see you rotting in a cell, or worse." she paused a moment to let the final point sink in.
"Finally, you will never again find sanctuary in Albion, and even the Order cannot protect you. Not an unjust ruling considering that you did throw your lot in with a real traitor."
Jasalina's thoughts immediately turned to Juliet and she bolted upright in bed.
"Where is Juliet?!", she blurted out, panic rising in her voice.
Tamlan face flashed a hint of surprise, then softened into a gentle smile.
"Calm yourself, sister. Wait here", Tamlan said as she rose and left the room. A few moments later, Tamlan entered the room with Juliet at her side. Her hands were loosely bound in front of her, and her dirty and road-worn clothes had been replaced with clean, white linens. As soon as Juliet saw Jasalina, she ran toward her and flung herself on her, slipping her bound hands over Jasalinas' head and crushing her into a warm hug.
"Juliet! Beloved? How is this possible? I saw you... I saw you... with arrows."
Juliet giggled and moved in for a passionate kiss, a kiss which Jasalina eagerly returned. After a few long moments, their lips parted and Jasalina cupped Juliets face in her hands. Tears of joy streaming down each of their faces as Juliet rested her face on Jasalinas' chest. Jasalina offered Tamlan a look of complete gratitude.
"I said I knew why you did it, Jas. You made a choice. A choice too few in this world would make. Perhaps if more were to think with their hearts, instead of with blind obedience and unearned loyalties...", her voice trailed away. Something stirred in her, a memory, long suppressed or perhaps forgotten, now came back to her. A memory of her as a young cleric, a long time ago, and a battle in a faraway tower, in a land lost in time. She remembered that she, too, had made a choice. She could have chosen to follow her heart, but she did not. A memory of Kaosfury came flooding back to her.
A single tear rolled down Tamlans cheek as she wrenched herself back into this moment, and the ghost of her lost love faded. Seeing that Jasalina and Juliet had returned to their amorous reunion, she smiled, turned, and walked out of the room.
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The next day, Jasalina and Juliet were given new clothes and provisions, and a pair of mules to carry them. Jasalina returned her armor to the Quartermaster Zama.
Zama accepted the bundle reverently saying, "The sister who wore this armor served with distinction, and earned many battle accolades. It will be handed down, with honor, to those sisters who serve after her. Requiescat in pace, Jasalina."
Tamlan approached Juliet to remove her bonds but found that the lithe woman had already done so during the night. She smiled mischievously and handed the loosed cords to Tamlan. The other hospitalers within earshot erupted in laughter, and Juliet faced them and offered a formal curtsey.
Quartermaster Zama produced a lean staff and offered it to Juliet saying, "The hunters that brought you in said your staff was destroyed in the fight, and this is the only spare staff we have in the supplies. A crafty girl like you will probably be able to trade up this trimmed branch for a Staff of Perfect Incantations by days' end!" The hospitalers again erupted in laughter. Juliet pouted and stuck her tongue out, but then accepted the staff and smiled at Jasalina.
As the laughter quieted, Tamlan smiled and spoke directly to the couple, "There is a frontier caravan forming at Snowdonia fortress. To everyone you meet, you are a Hospitaler resupply unit. I have sent Geoff to plant false tracks in the hills south of here, that should keep Constantine's hunters busy long enough for you to slip into the frontier. Where you go after that, I cannot say, nor should I know. Perhaps Juliet's Hibernian friends will offer you safety, or perhaps you will choose to live apart from them all. Your fate will be yours to choose."
Tamlan hugged each of them, holding Jasalina close for a long moment and whispered in her ear, "I love you, dear sister. Take care of yourself and Juliet. Know that you have shown more courage than I because you chose to follow your heart; you chose Love."
And with their final goodbyes spoken, and hugs both given and received from the assembled Brother and Sister Knights, Jasalina and Juliet shared a final kiss among friends, and walked out of the Hospitaler camp, hand-in-hand toward the glistening mountains of Snowdonia and an unknown, but hopeful future.
Although stripped of her divine clerical powers when she was excommunicated, Jasalina still had her hammer and her heavy chain armor and used both to good effect. Juliet, on the other hand, still wielded powerful cabalist magics and the pair relied heavily on her spells and her summoned simulacrum to keep them safe. Despite their continued success at evading capture, Jasalina knew that the bounty hunters were closing in on them, hungry to claim the reward for bringing the traitorous pair to Constantine's Justice.
Just outside of Swanton Keep, with their goal so tantalizingly close, their luck finally ran out. They had found a small rocky outcropping on a hill that was out of sight from the road in the valley below. Setting Juliets simulacrum pet to watch, Jasalina hoped that it would look like one of the various boulderlings that they had seen wandering about in the hills. At dusk, as they lay sleeping in each other's arms, the hunters came. They had watched the pair from the secluded woods below. Knowing that they wouldn't move until evening, they picked their moment to move up the hill and surrounded the outcropping. Juliets ever-present amber bodyguard was not alerted until, with a hue and cry, the hunters attacked.
The Simulacrum once alerted to the danger, plunged into the fray and felled a few of the hunters with savage blows from its fists, but without Juliet to control its actions precisely, it was quickly disabled by snare traps placed by the hunters and heavy bludgeoning blows. Its sacrifice bought the pair a few precious moments to prepare. Jasalina sprung up, snatching her hammer from the ground. There was no time for her to heft her shield before the first hunter lunged at her. Juliet was faster still and had her staff ready and swung it down hard on the unarmored head of the man. At the same time, she began chanting the words of a potent attack spell as three more hunters came into view, weapons drawn and leering.
Jasalina threw herself at the men, wielding her hammer in both hands. Her first swing went wide as the hunter dodged away, but she twirled nimbly and the hammer found a mark on the second hunter as he stepped forward, sensing an advantage. Before she could ready her hammer for a second blow, she felt something whiz by her head from above, and then another something. Alarmed, she turned to see two dark-feathered arrows sticking out of Juliet's chest. She still held her staff aloft, crackling with arcane magics, but she staggered and swayed, and the magic spell fizzled into a wisp of smoke.
"Juliet!" Jasalina screamed, her hammer falling to the floor as she sprang back toward her to catch her. Before she could reach her, a heavy cudgel swung down from behind her and Jasalina fell senseless to the ground.
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When Jasalina finally awoke, she found her hands bound tightly behind her back and a heavy cloth hood over her head, blinding her. Her head still hurt and she had the coppery taste of blood in her mouth. She felt a gentle jostling and surmised that she was in the back of a wagon, but whose wagon? And where were they taking her? She felt another body in the wagon next to her and her mind immediately went to Juliet. She tried to say her name, but her tongue felt like it was made of cotton, and all she could produce was a grunting yelp.
"Did you 'ear that, Cap? Sounds like the traitor is awake", said a gruff voice.
"Yeah? Well not for long she ain't", came the reply.
"Careful, mate, we only get paid if she is alive!"
Something blunt and heavy struck Jasalina in the head and her world was again plunged into darkness.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next time she came to her senses, she felt hands on her and felt herself being lifted and carried. There were voices, but she could only barely hear them. She felt herself being laid on something soft and feathery. A mattress? After a few minutes, someone untied her hands and removed the hood.
Bright sunlight immediately assailed her eyes and she squinted and blinked until the image came into focus and her eyes could adjust.
She was in a room with a single-window, through which the daylight poured in. There were two people in the room with her, one wore the dark green garb of a forest hunter. The other was wearing royal purple chain armor, red locks hanging down her back. The two were talking and Jasalina could finally make out what was being said.
"Thank you, Geoff. Your services, as always, are appreciated. How are your men? I was told that some were injured during the capture."
"Yer welcome, ma'am, and your payment is always appreciated as well! A few broken bones, nothing that you churchy healers can't fix up."
Jasalina recognized the voice of the hunter as the one from earlier, the one who had clubbed her in the head.
"Send your injured to the infirmary, our healers will tend to them. Oh, and Geoff, I trust that we have complete discretion with this delivery?"
"My mates and me are professionals. It wounds me, Tam, that you would question that. What you do with traitors to the Hospitalers, or even to Albion, is not my business."
"We are friends, Geoff, but this delivery is personal. Thank you for your continued friendship and your understanding."
Jasalinas' heart sank as recognized who the armored woman was. It was Tamlan the Tenderhearted, the leader of the Knights of the Hospital and Jasalinas Order Commander.
Geoff turned and walked out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Jasalina's mind raced as she tried to think of what to say. Tamlan faced her and walked to the bedside. Her face and her words were gentle, as they always were, but they hit Jasalina like a hammer.
"I see that you are awake. Good. Let me look at those wounds, Jas." She knelt and tenderly brushed the hair away from her bruised scalp. Invoking divine healing magics, a soothing blue light pulsed in the room and Jasalina's pain immediately subsided.
Tamlan brought a chair to the bedside and sat down.
"Mistress Tamlan, I.. I don't..." she stammered.
Tamlan held a finger gently to her lips, "Shhh. I did not ask, Jas. I know why you did it."
"I failed you, I failed the Order. I failed Albion."
Tamlan thought for a moment and then leveled her eyes at Jasalina.
"Yes. Yes, you did fail me. I thought my Knights could trust me. I thought you could confide in me. I am disappointed that you did not come to me sooner before things had gotten this far."
A slight frown played at the corner of Tamlans mouth, "The Order will survive this. I have assigned Tamera to take your post in Thidranki. She will ensure that the Hospitalers are well represented there. As for Albion..." she began, "You have been ex-communicated from the Church, and you have been cut-off from the Arthurs Light, but you knew this already. You can never again wield the holy powers of a Cleric."
Tamlans frown deepened, "Constantine himself has branded you a traitor and would see you rotting in a cell, or worse." she paused a moment to let the final point sink in.
"Finally, you will never again find sanctuary in Albion, and even the Order cannot protect you. Not an unjust ruling considering that you did throw your lot in with a real traitor."
Jasalina's thoughts immediately turned to Juliet and she bolted upright in bed.
"Where is Juliet?!", she blurted out, panic rising in her voice.
Tamlan face flashed a hint of surprise, then softened into a gentle smile.
"Calm yourself, sister. Wait here", Tamlan said as she rose and left the room. A few moments later, Tamlan entered the room with Juliet at her side. Her hands were loosely bound in front of her, and her dirty and road-worn clothes had been replaced with clean, white linens. As soon as Juliet saw Jasalina, she ran toward her and flung herself on her, slipping her bound hands over Jasalinas' head and crushing her into a warm hug.
"Juliet! Beloved? How is this possible? I saw you... I saw you... with arrows."
Juliet giggled and moved in for a passionate kiss, a kiss which Jasalina eagerly returned. After a few long moments, their lips parted and Jasalina cupped Juliets face in her hands. Tears of joy streaming down each of their faces as Juliet rested her face on Jasalinas' chest. Jasalina offered Tamlan a look of complete gratitude.
"I said I knew why you did it, Jas. You made a choice. A choice too few in this world would make. Perhaps if more were to think with their hearts, instead of with blind obedience and unearned loyalties...", her voice trailed away. Something stirred in her, a memory, long suppressed or perhaps forgotten, now came back to her. A memory of her as a young cleric, a long time ago, and a battle in a faraway tower, in a land lost in time. She remembered that she, too, had made a choice. She could have chosen to follow her heart, but she did not. A memory of Kaosfury came flooding back to her.
A single tear rolled down Tamlans cheek as she wrenched herself back into this moment, and the ghost of her lost love faded. Seeing that Jasalina and Juliet had returned to their amorous reunion, she smiled, turned, and walked out of the room.
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The next day, Jasalina and Juliet were given new clothes and provisions, and a pair of mules to carry them. Jasalina returned her armor to the Quartermaster Zama.
Zama accepted the bundle reverently saying, "The sister who wore this armor served with distinction, and earned many battle accolades. It will be handed down, with honor, to those sisters who serve after her. Requiescat in pace, Jasalina."
Tamlan approached Juliet to remove her bonds but found that the lithe woman had already done so during the night. She smiled mischievously and handed the loosed cords to Tamlan. The other hospitalers within earshot erupted in laughter, and Juliet faced them and offered a formal curtsey.
Quartermaster Zama produced a lean staff and offered it to Juliet saying, "The hunters that brought you in said your staff was destroyed in the fight, and this is the only spare staff we have in the supplies. A crafty girl like you will probably be able to trade up this trimmed branch for a Staff of Perfect Incantations by days' end!" The hospitalers again erupted in laughter. Juliet pouted and stuck her tongue out, but then accepted the staff and smiled at Jasalina.
As the laughter quieted, Tamlan smiled and spoke directly to the couple, "There is a frontier caravan forming at Snowdonia fortress. To everyone you meet, you are a Hospitaler resupply unit. I have sent Geoff to plant false tracks in the hills south of here, that should keep Constantine's hunters busy long enough for you to slip into the frontier. Where you go after that, I cannot say, nor should I know. Perhaps Juliet's Hibernian friends will offer you safety, or perhaps you will choose to live apart from them all. Your fate will be yours to choose."
Tamlan hugged each of them, holding Jasalina close for a long moment and whispered in her ear, "I love you, dear sister. Take care of yourself and Juliet. Know that you have shown more courage than I because you chose to follow your heart; you chose Love."
And with their final goodbyes spoken, and hugs both given and received from the assembled Brother and Sister Knights, Jasalina and Juliet shared a final kiss among friends, and walked out of the Hospitaler camp, hand-in-hand toward the glistening mountains of Snowdonia and an unknown, but hopeful future.
