<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="background-color:#353535; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;">It was quiet in the temple. As rambunctious as the people of Aershire and the surrounding countryside were, they knew how to stay their tongues in front of an altar. Most of the ceiling was covered by a pair of enormous painted wings that stretched from the statue of Anu at the far end, symbolizing his embrace and control of the world. It had been recently renewed at a great expense. Alexis entered from the private side entrance behind the Guard-Captain and (to her pleasure) ahead of her sister. Alexa's light sigh echoed around the otherwise deadly quiet dome as she tried to fit the entirety of the god's wingspan within her field of vision; an impossible feat. The corners of Alexis' mouth curled upwards so slightly it was barely visible. Good to know that the inevitable comments about the amount of money spent on decoration would be quite a bit less haughty.<br/><br/>A hooded priest, one of many, entered from a door opposite them, carrying a wide, shallow silver bowl. Behind him followed another with a hooded eagle perched on his leather-clad left arm, so the people gathered could see the sacrifice in all its living glory. A sussuration went through the air. The eagle twitched restlessly on the man's arm. A look from Alexis sent Guard-Captain Kellin and Alexa a bit off to the side while Alexis herself went slowly towards the altar where the priest who had been carrying the eagle was struggling to get it to jump off of his arm. Even as she raised the crescent dagger she had worn as deliberately and gracefully as she was supposed to, Alexis hesitated. Jormund had never had even a lick of trouble with any eagle before. She reached the altar, embarrassed that he hadn't already loosened the eagle's hood for her to quickly snatch off. They had practiced; they had <span style="font-style: italic">timed</span> it. How could he fail her like thi-<br/><br/>The man she had thought was Jormund lunged forward with a snarl, his hood falling off to reveal a pock-scarred face beneath that she didn't recognize. She screamed, her voice prompting a cacophony of panicked shouts in return. Alexis slashed blindly upward. A spray of red and a howl of pain told her she had hit <span style="font-style: italic">something</span>, and she didn't pause to see where it was before turning on her heel and running back to the Guard-Captain as fast as her gown would allow. She thanked her lucky stars that the tight-fitting skirts of ten years ago had gone out of fashion, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to manage more than a speedy hop back to safety.<br/><br/>The Guard-Captain stood protectively in front of Alexa, the other hooded pretend-priest lying dead at his feet. The silver offering bowl was doing a mad dash across the floor. Alexis stared wide-eyed at the scene unraveling before her eyes. There were men fighting everywhere, some wearing stolen grey priest robes, others garbed in black. A pair of the black-clad men saw their chance to escape the general chaos and went straight for the women and the Guard-Captain. Neither of them screamed. They hadn't been raised to show fear. Kellin swiftly blocked the scimitar of one, but was held in a swordlock as the other raised his blade high above his head, his eyes glowing. Alexis closed her own for an instant. She liked knowing for sure that she was going to die, but she didn't want to see it.<br/><br/>The wet sound of flesh being pierced never came, however, instead a <span style="font-style: italic">thwack</span> and a grunt made her eyes pop open again. One of their assailants staggered backwards, a bolt sticking out from his shoulder, and it was all the distraction Kellin needed as he swiped down, cutting both the men deeply. He raised his sword immediately again. Another two men had approached them, but they didn't move to attack. The temple was a ruin. Blood ran between the tiles in the floor, drawing a gruesome pattern. Gasps of pain occasionally erupted from some of the twitching bodies that were strewn wildly about. This did not faze Kellin. His job wasn't done.<br/><br/>"Who sent you?"<br/><br/>The taller of the two newcomers looked decidedly offended, and his shorter companion - a dwarf, Alexis realized with a jolt - even more so.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"What do you mean 'who sent us'? Did we not just save you?"<br/><br/>"Aye, we saved you, and we slew four more of the bastards outside. Your guards barely put up a fight against them, but luckily we were passing by. So spare us the suspicion and extend us some gratitude, for if it wasn't for us you'd be dead, and those women would be wishing they were so lucky."</span><br/><br/>Kellin didn't move his sword, for which Alexis was grateful, but she still took a step ahead, earning a warning look from the Guard-Captain.<br/><br/>"The royal guards are among the finest warriors," she said, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity and order of the completely ruined ceremony.  She folded her hands neatly together under the sweeping sleeves. "These men did help us, and we owe them our thanks," she said, mostly to Kellin who slowly lowered his scimitar, but who was clearly still ready to gut the strangers at a moment's notice. Alexis nodded lightly to the two men. Even if this was a complete disaster, at least Alexa was staying back and recognizing her authority in Aershire. She cast a look around the temple. It would have to get cleaned up.<br/><br/>"I suppose the festivities for today are over. I wish you good luck on your travels. Now, go. The Great Temple of Anu is no place to be at the moment." She looked expectantly at the men. Etiquette demanded that they leave before the two nobles and their guard did after such a dismissal.</div></div>