Private Tales Something Amiss

[Lia]

She frowned for a brief moment.

Was she really going to take this so far as to dig up a dead man to steal his ancestral sword? Lia thought about it for a few seconds, and then confirmed that yes she would...but only if they could confirm that the sword had actually been buried with him in the first place.

Without that the endeavor would be pointless. "There's also another choice."

There were few things that Lia remembered from the more scholarly aspects of her training, but one or two things had stuck in her mind. Mostly only because they had been of interest to her.

"During the Templar Wars we confiscated many of their weapons." A fact that was well known to most Rangers. "Perhaps some of them were holy?"

It might be best to ask before they went digging up corpses. "If not..."

She trailed off.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska stood up from her crouch, considering this as she stretched out her jammed back. "That... is an option. But there's the matter of how do we know if they are holy or not? Can you imagine going to stab him through the chest and-..."

She grimaced, realizing she had done just that.

She was still missing her sword, too.

"No," she dismissed the thought, keeping herself on task. "I suppose the weapons' keeper might know, or there's a test or something that can be preformed, maybe with the runes? Though I'd have to look it up, I haven't thought of it since I first learned it..." These were rare events indeed.

She pulled out of her thoughts, her expressing growing serious as considered Lia. "There's... also the issue of deciding whether or not to report our idea at all." The implication, still left unsaid, weighed heavily between them. Something was off with the chain of command. Something that... left a wedge of mistrust Kaska couldn't shake.

 

[Lia]

"We don't report it." Lia answered simply.

There was an edge to her tone, her lips thinning for a brief second as she shook her head. There was no point, not when they had already ignored the Lich once. This was her mission, and that meant she got to decide what to do on it. Afterwards...well she would deal with the consequences.

"There are weapons records in the ancient armory." The Ranger continued. "If a weapon was significant it was noted down, even back then."

She ran a hand through her hair. "I can search through those while you find Ser...Roberts grave."

No need for both of them to tackle one problem. Not when they could split their focus.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska snorted in amusement. "Rodger," she mocked softly, closing up the books and tuuuugging them into a pile. "No problem. It shouldn't take me more than... a night." She paused, her expression faltering for a moment.

Ex nay on that plan then.

"I'll come find you after dinner," she amended, her face more contained as she loaded a stack of books into her arms.

"And, uh. If you need help weaseling it out. Send note."

 

[Lia]

She nodded. Lia knew that Ared'hol was one of the places that Rangers stored the numerous weapons and artifacts that they had taken over the years, after all there was a reason that she and Kaska had brought the bracelet here in the first place.

If they could find a holy weapon anywhere...it was here. "I'll be in the vaults then."

Tapping the book one last time, almost as if for luck, the young woman pushed herself back from the table and turned on her heel. She wore no armor today, but the sword-breaker still sat at her hip. It rattled slightly against her leg as she moved, her rather determined walk brisker than it ordinarily was.

She had a goal in mind now.

 

[Kaska]

"You're suppose to put these baaack," Kaska called out to her retreating form.

She sighed and looked at the mess they had gathered over the days. "...Phiiiiiilip~"



It was a simple matter to get the info she needed, it only required she tapped into her connections and chat up an old family friend. From there, she had access to a much more private set of archives and all it took was a little bit of digging. It helped to know what she was looking for this time.

Dusk had descended upon the courtyard inside the keep as Kaska briskly made her way to weapons vault. She clutched a scrap of paper inside her hands, hoping finding Lia would be as easy as gaining access inside.

 

[Lia]

The vault had been surprisingly useless for the first few hours.

As it turned out most of the magical items that the Rangers confiscated were not just open to anyone that stepped inside. There were plenty of weapons of course, swords, bow, daggers, and even a few warhammers, but none of them had even a hint of what a Holy Weapon were described as.

It was only an hour in when she'd asked the curator that she learned there was another vault.

Getting there had been an adventure of it's own, and had seen her batting her eyelashes like a lovestruck little fool in order to get the curator to give her access. He'd given her plenty of warning before letting her in of course, telling her about cursed swords and hammers that could set themselves on fire, but Lia didn't care about any of that. She was searching for one thing and one thing alone. The record books were clearer within this vault, and eventually she found a section of weapons that had been taken from Just the Templar during the wars.

Apparently not all were magical, but the Rangers at the time had thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

That was where Kaska would find her.

 

[Kaska]

Man what Kaska would have paid to see the eye batting in action. Regardless, she arrived unaware, glancing around with contained expression as she stepped up to Lia.

"Exactly how many death glares did it take for you to weasel your way in this deep?" She mused, walking carefully around a jagged looking sword in a case. She was aware of danger of these weapons and that made them all the more fascinating to her.

"You find anything?"

 

[Lia]

Lia pointed to the weapons rack just in front of her. "These are Templar weapons."

Her lips turned to a frown as she looked at the large wooden construct in front of her, every inch of it lined with all sorts of different weapons. Swords, pole-arms, daggers, hammers, and even a crossbow sat on the rack. Some had scabbards, some were wrapped in thick leather.

"The records don't name any of them." She frowned. "Or say if they're holy."

Unfortunate. "But...there's a good chance at least one is. The books mention that high ranking Templars almost always have blessed weapons."

Glancing at Kaska she frowned.

"I guess look for the nicest one?" Seemed about as good a lead as any.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska crinkled her nose. "And have a repeat of last time? I told you, my sword did nothing to him." She stepped froward to the rack, a frown building. "We just have to... find a way to figure it out," she stated, lacking confidence. She... wan't entirely sure how to even start there, and she was weary to ask questions, aware that there were probably eyes on the two now that Lia's mission was official and stated.

They were already walking in blind, she didn't want to give anyone a further upper hand on them.

"Or... We could just use this." She held up the slip of paper. "Unless you wanna play sword roulette." She glanced back, giving LIa a flat look.

 

[Lia]

For a few seconds Lia simply ignored Kaska. Despite everything that had happened between them over the last few weeks, she had oddly come to think of her as a...friend.

As strange as that seemed. Still, she had a tendency of running her mouth beyond what was good for her, and at the moment Lia wasn't in the mood for pessimism. She frowned slightly, her lips thinning as she looked up at the weapons rack. Her eyes darted over the different swords, and then one caught her eye.

It was plain enough on the outside, it's cross guard simple steal, it's scabbard worn leather, and it's hilt wrapped in falling string.

She grabbed it, pulling it from the rack and then turning it over so she could grab the hand and a half hilt. A frown touched her lips, Kaska saying something as she bared an inch of the blade.

Her eyes popped open slightly as she saw the steel, her lips thinning as she drew the sword from it's scabbard entirely. Steel gleamed as it pulled free from it's leathery prison, Golden silvery runes etched deep into the metal in an intricate pattern that ran the length of the entire sword. They seemed to glisten and gleam, reflecting the bare light in the room.

The sword almost seemed to sing, ringing quietly with an energy that Lia couldn't quite describe. A smile touched her lips, and she looked up at Kaska. "Think this is it?"

She couldn't keep the slight smugness from her tone.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska blinked, double taking between the sword and it's plan sheath. Well that was an unexpected reveal. "It- well you know- maybe but. I don't know, I never took you one to back yourself on maybes," she backpedaled.

She reached for another worn down scabbard and pulled the weapon out to reveal an equally discrepant and worn down blade. Definitely no sword singing occurred. Kaska huffed, putting it back on the rack.

"Well I would still like one for myself," she leveled, no small amount of haughtiness in her tone as she refused to admit the sword Lia found would suffice.

 

[Lia]

A smile touched Lia's face as she returned the blade to it's scabbard, satisfied that they at least had one weapon that they would need. "Unlikely we'll get lucky again."

The Sergeant admitted with a slight frown, glancing at some of the other weapons for just a few seconds before she turned to Kaska and glanced at the small slip of paper that she held. Grave digging felt like it was beneath her, but if they were going to kill the Lich...

"Wouldn't you rather have some arrows?" Lia asked quietly, bundling the sword she'd taken off the rack in her coat. "Maybe we can find a priest or something to bless them."

From what she knew Kaska wasn't exactly the greatest swordsman.

Then again, maybe she was also trying to keep Kaska from sinning...and forcing her into that same sin. Even though she'd been the one to suggest it.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska bristled, catching the ever so slight insinuation. "I would have been able to handle him just fine if the sword was blessed. I've been holding one my whole life. I'm not inept. ... But maybe I should," she amended, snuffing a little, unable to take any criticism well at all.

"To make up for where you lack." She snatched up a quiver from a nearby table, careless to their history or potential for danger.

"These will do."

She turned to walk away, then threatened over her shoulder. "But a sword to match isn't a bad idea!"

 

[Lia]

Lia smiled slightly, though her expression returned to that stoic marble after a few seconds.

They still had to get out of the vault without being seen, or asked questions. Her coat covered most of the sword, but it didn't seem like Kaska was making the same effort. She let out a muted curse and quickly rushed after Kaska, her hand settling on the girls arm to stop her. "Shh."

She quieted her, frowning and pointing towards the end of the hall where the curator was sitting at his tiny little wooden desk. He was absorbed in his work now, but undoubtedly he wouldn't be when they walked past him.

"He's not just going to let us walk out of here with these." She motioned to the weapons. "Specifically without telling the Majors."

Which would undoubtedly end in disaster.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska stopped short, Lia point taken. She considered for a moment, stepping back to keep them out of sight. "Oh, for fuck's sake." She opened up Lia's jacket and shoved the quiver inside, then reached out for a very large sword on a rack and stormed forward. "Wait for it," she grumbled, going straight for the desk.

"Wow! Look at this one," she breathed, catching the curators attention and holding it out. "What do these symbols mean? Do you know?" She pushed past the desk, stumbling behind it and blocking his view with her body and that very long sword she brandished haphazardly.

"Oh- I mean-"

"Fuck!" Kaska yelped, letting the sharp edge graze her hand. She full out dropped the sword, letting it and it's dangerous edge go clattering to the ground in the small space between them.

 

[Lia]

The Curator immediately jumped forward and began to fumble...no, more like dote on Kaska.

To him the weapon apparently wasn't even a concern, either some ancient thing that nobody cared about or an artpiece that had been thrown here by some lord. Either way the man didn't seem too concerned, and instead he rushed to Kaska's side as though she were a porcelain doll that had been dropped.

Rolling her eyes Lia darted forward. The quiver of arrows and the sword clanked slightly, the leather coat not doing a good job at concealing the sound. She cringed as she slipped past Kaska and the curator, though she spared a disapproving glance towards the other Ranger as she headed out the door.

As soon as she was past she let out a muted whistle, signalling to the other woman that she was through.

The armory lay before the vault, though it was open to everyone. Shifting slightly she pulled the blade from beneath her coat and strapped it to her hip.

Anyone walking by now would simply assume it was her sword.

 

[Kaska]

A few minutes later Kaska managed to break off, lots of bashful apologizing and reassurances that she was ok given to the curator. Bless him.

She slipped out and shut the door behind her with a sigh, shaking her head as she stretched out her now bandaged hand and turned to Lia.

"That is the last time I hurt myself to give you a go with a sword." She pushed past Lia, her stomach grumbling. "You better not die on that trip now."

 

[Lia]

"It's fine. He would have probably kissed it better if you'd asked him to." Lia commented dryly as she heaved the quiver of arrows, glancing down at them for a few seconds.

She wondered why they had been in the Vault. Was it simply because they were confiscated during the Templar wars or had there been another reason too? A frown briefly touched the Sergeant's lips, her head shaking for a few seconds as she fell into step behind Kaska.

The blade felt oddly heavy at her hip, Lia not quite used to carrying anything besides her sword-breaker there.

"Take your arrows." She told Kaska, not wanting to carry them throughout the entire fortress.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska took them, shouldering them without complaint. "How did you manage to get past him, anyway? He had of had questions."

She glanced over her shoulder at Lia, a brow raised.

 

[Lia]

"I smiled at him." That was all Lia said as she pushed past Kaska and headed up the stairs back to the courtyard of the Keep.

They still had three days before the week that she had been given was up, and she knew that Kaska would want to spend it digging up a corpse. She wasn't entirely sure if she supported the idea...but no doubt the girl would insist. She supposed it would be alright as long as they didn't desecrate the corpse.

It was for a good purpose after all. She couldn't help but think that any Ranger would have been okay with it, she would have been.

Still, they would have to be careful.

Get caught and they would likely be sent to the hangman.

 

[Kaska]

"Riiiight..." Kaska sped up, putting them side to side now. "Midnight at the back gate then? S'not far. Can go on foot." She fully intended to get that sword regardless, utterly uncomfortable with the thought of facing the lich again without guaranteed protection.

She shook her head hard, banishing his laugh from her thoughts.

 

[Lia]

Lia nodded. "I need to switch out this sword with my own."

The blade that she carried was nothing special, issued to her when she'd joined the Rangers and ascended from the rank of Recruit. There was some sentimental value to it she supposed, but that wasn't worth carrying it over a weapon that would let her kill a lich.

"Bring some torches." She told Kaska with a frown. "I'll grab shovels."

They would likely be digging up the grave for some time, most corpses were buried at least six feet beneath the earth. Rangers at times also had trees planet upon their graves, though she hoped that would not be the case with this one.

She was in no mood to chop down a tree.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska departed with a pep in her step, eager to have a chance at a new weapon.

Midnight came and Kaska would be found pressed against a shadowed support beam at the back gate. She was dressed in black cloth, a long bundle of cloth resting against her legs as she waited almost impatiently. She buzzed with energy.

 

[Lia]

Lia for once, did not wear her armor, though she did carry the sword on her back as well as her other weapon on her hip. She was draped in the same dark cloak as Kaska, her hands filled with two shovels which she had procured from one of the outposts along the rim of the Fortress.

Her expression was not as enthused as Kaska, and she walked up to the other girl without much glee or spring to her step. Instead she imply stared at her. "Ready?"

She asked, her voice still holding that same even keel.

It was clear that Lia wasn't entirely enthused about this, even if she was the one who had thought it up. In her mind it had been a passing fancy, something that would solve their problem. Now though...now it seemed foolish.