Chapter 3: The Fallen Angel

Unsheathed

High Priestess ascends

from dull dagger to sharp Blade

Dark Hero, I'm yours

-From the memoir of Emi Hallowedblade

High Ebonblade Priestess

Emi Hallowedblade was busy making preparations.

At midday, she had been approached by a breathless, disheveled junior monk who came bearing most troubling news. During his morning perimeter check, he happened upon the cooling body of another of his fellows. The body bore the distinguishing marks of a goblin attack. Worse, the junior Ebonblade priestess he was escorting had gone missing. The ceremonial wooden water bucket the pair was transporting was discovered a short distance away, pointing in the direction of a nearby goblin camp.

Ordinarily, the Black Weald goblin tribe was a mere nuisance to the Ebonblade Order, and rarely displayed any overt signs of outward aggression. And why would they? These were relatively weak, low-level creatures, however unfriendly. It would be foolish to disrupt the tenuous nonaggression pact that had been in place for the last few years.

The Ebonblade Order respected their hunting grounds, and the goblins left the shrine in peace. In lean times there might be the occasional stolen shipment of goods, but nothing more. Until now.

This aggression would not be tolerated and would be returned in kind. It was a capital charge to lay hands on a woman. Laying hands on a priestess was unheard of, a damning offense.

Emi gathered the Order in the main chamber and gave her orders:

* A party of four monks was to be formed immediately, with High Ebonblade Priestess Emi Hallowedblade spearheading the campaign.

* The junior priestess, Chloe, was to be reclaimed at any cost.

* Retribution would be sought; the deaths of the perpetrators would be swift.

* The party was to depart within the hour.

A party of five was complete overkill, naturally. Emi could easily raze the goblin camp along with two bodyguards; after all, the Ebonblade Order was a highly trained and specialized organization of combat monks and priestesses. This command was given to set an example.

Emi closed the heavy wooden door to her personal quarters and let out the breath she had been holding. As High Priestess, she was expected to always command utmost authority and lead the adherents of the God of Justice with strong conviction; however, while she thrived in a position of leadership and a highly regimented routine, she often felt like a fraud having to project an image that contradicted her true self. Emi didn't truly want to lead – anyone, or anything, for that matter. She wanted only to follow.

One of the three Life Quests she received when she was born was (!) True Devotion, a quest to find the Dark Hero. Alive. That qualifier was particularly significant, considering that the last known Dark Hero had passed at least a thousand years previous. In fact, the Ebonblade Shrine she had been assigned to was erected as a monument to the fallen hero.

Emi had faith, yes, but her whole motivation for becoming a priestess was to find the new Dark Hero. If she received the quest, he was surely destined to appear in her lifetime, she reasoned. The Life Quests one received were difficult, but not impossible.

Emi stepped out of the ceremonial silks and pulled on her dusky padded leggings. She shrugged on the matching padded vest then stepped into her knee-high leather boots and laced them tightly, tucking the laces into the boots. The boots were soft and supple from years of wear and, despite the hassle of lacing, were her favorite things to wear in the entire world. She shoved a short dagger down the side of her right boot. Finally, she clumsily donned her reinforced leather armguards. They were essential to her combat gear, especially given that this particular goblin tribe was known for their crude but wicked shivs.

She turned toward the small mirror she kept in her desk drawer and carefully tied her chin-length black hair into a half ponytail with a short length of cord. Perfect. She took great pains to care for the small hand mirror, as such things were a luxury and frowned upon within the organization.

Finally, Emi grabbed her odachi, a massive yet lightweight curved longsword approximately twice the length of a katana, and equipped it as she left to rendezvous with her party. The blade served as a mark of her office; the technique to forge this blade was a close-kept secret of the Ebonblade Order's swordsmiths.

Four monks stood waiting on the wide stone slab stairs outside the shrine. The men were tall and hulking, each of them clad in similar dark padded clothing and carrying an array of different weapons. The tallest, with close-cropped brown hair and a black band tied at his bicep, playfully cuffed the shoulder of the shorter, ponytailed monk. Two blonde-haired, brown-clad monks stood opposite of the pair, pointing and snickering. They looked similar enough to be brothers but weren't. Uproarious laughter could be heard across the courtyard.

“Look, Ogagi, all I'm saying is that if you lost the ponytail, maybe you'd look a little less like my sister,” the tallest monk teased, flipping at his partner's hair.

“Feel sorry for your sister, then. No man in his right mind would marry that,” Ogagi grunted in reply. His eyes were nearly hidden under his heavy brow.

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More laughter.

“Nimoto, Ogagi, enough,” Emi barked as she approached. Nimoto had the decorum to look suitably chastened.

The group stood at attention, anticipating their orders.

“Listen well,” she continued. “The targeted camp is comprised of five main structures: leader's den, three sleeping huts, storage, and animal pen. I anticipate Chloe will most likely be held in the animal pen. Yusai, Tatan!”

Both brown-clad monks stepped forward, bowing their heads and raising their right fists to their breasts in salute. Yusai wielded a long wooden bo staff. His sparring partner, Tatan, preferred a bare-fisted fighting style and was thus unarmed save for his regulation boot knife.

“Both of you are to cover from the rear. Circle the camp. Ensure that not one goblin escapes.”

Yusai and Tatan nodded acknowledgment and stepped back.

“Nimoto! Ogagi!”

Both stepped forward and struck their breasts in the same fashion. Ogagi wielded twin daggers, while his partner, Nimoto, wielded a katana.

“You two will be acting as our vanguard. Raze the caravan using any means available to you. Slaughter every single goblin. Leave nothing standing.” Dismissed, they returned to their places.

“However,” she spat, “you will leave their leader to me. Once all threats have been neutralized, I will move in and secure Chloe. I will ensure her well-being and return her to the shrine for care immediately. Understood?”

“YES, HIGH PRIESTESS!” the group bellowed in unison.

“Expect the unexpected. Should there be any surprises, consult with me. Let's move.”

The party advanced upon the encampment from the west. Emi raised her hand in a HALT gesture and the party spread out, using the surrounding trees and brush for cover to assess the encampment. The leader's den was situated prominently in the center rear of the camp. It was a meager hut but decked out in many skins and pelts. The leader sat on a low wicker stool, tearing flesh from a steaming haunch of meat in his clawed hands and cackling.

There were a few huts scattered about closer to the group, with the storage shelter located to the immediate right of the leader's den. A crude enclosure made of scavenged and discarded wooden planks was partially hidden by one of the sleeping huts on the far left. There were more than a few gaps in the wall, and it appeared that there were multiple bodies held within. By Emi's estimation, there were fewer than a dozen goblins in total, mostly milling around a small feast near the fire pit.

Emi signaled Yusai and Tatan to move from the group. Both split up, disappearing into the shadows on opposite sides of the camp to hunt down any goblins foolish enough to flee. She gathered Nimoto and Ogagi to lay out their plan of attack. Nimoto was to take the left; Ogagi, the right. Emi would cut a central path to the leader, slay him, and the raid would be complete. Emi drew her odachi and, with a piercing war cry, charged into the camp. Nimoto and Ogagi answered in kind, their guttural yells echoing in the small clearing, and charged in behind her.

It was a massacre.

There was no time for even a token resistance. The fire pit was kicked over; flames spread from the dry grass to a nearby shelter. Screeches could be heard throughout the camp. No fewer than four goblins fled into the forest where they were immediately felled. There was an unholy squeal from the right; Ogagi was positioned between a group of three goblins. He sunk his twin blades into two of the bodies, eviscerating the pair simultaneously. The third ran. Ogagi threw the two dying goblins off him, raised his arm toward the runner, and yelled “Earth Spike”!

A sharp column of rock and dirt violently erupted from the ground and impaled the runner, killing him before he could even make a noise.

More shouts now from the left.

“Cyclone!”

“Whipping Wind!”

Emi reached the leader's den and brought her odachi down in a slashing arc, crushing the goblin lackey's collarbone instantly and rending his flesh in a mortal blow. She briefly registered at the corner of her vision that he had a torn ear. The leader turned, eyes wide, spit-roasted haunch still in his mouth. He opened his mouth to scream but only managed a wet-sounding gurgle as his throat was cut with surgical precision.

The drumstick fell to the ground and rolled away. Blood spurted from his mouth and the slice in his throat. He fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. The raid was complete. Emi bent to take one of the pelts to clean her weapon and turned back to survey the aftermath.

Yusai had extinguished the blaze with his water magic to prevent the forest from burning down around them and Tatan was dragging the goblin corpses to the fire pit two at a time. Nimoto, clearly in high spirits, joined Emi in the leader's den. He picked up the slobbery, partially eaten haunch from the ground and sunk his teeth into the meat. Ogagi appeared behind him and whacked him in the back of the head, forcing Nimoto to spit out the food.

“You clod, you don't eat food from off the ground. It's filthy!”

“Oh, come on!”

Ignoring the pair, Emi carefully began to wipe the blood from her blade. Tatan, having finished with his grim task, moved toward the animal pen. A low, weak moan could be heard from within the enclosure. He turned back to the High Priestess, requesting permission to investigate. She nodded her approval, and he disappeared behind the hut, moving toward the voice.

“Chloe?” Tatan called out. “Can you hear me?”

The footsteps suddenly stopped. All was silent save for the whimpers coming from the pen.

Tatan's voice was tight but measured as he called out again. “High Priestess? Best come quickly, ma'am. There's another captive here. Male, unconscious.”

Emi cast aside the ruined pelt and returned her blade to its holster. Upon reaching the pen she was greeted by the sight of Tatan gently cutting away Chloe's restraints. She wept quietly into his broad chest. She was filthy and traumatized of course but was physically unharmed.

The second captive was lying on his side a few steps away, facing away from Emi with his wrists bound behind his back in thick rope. He had short black hair and was clad in worn work clothes customarily worn by impoverished farmers. He was barefoot. She bent down on one knee and rolled him onto his back to check his condition.

She was immediately struck by the sight of the short, sleek black horns jutting upward from his temples. She made a small, involuntary squeak and quickly clamped her hands to her mouth, stifling the sound. Her heart leaped to her throat, and she flushed from the base of her throat to the tips of her now burning ears. Her eyes darted back to Tatan's expressionless face. He hadn't noticed. Phew.

An angel! He's... beautiful.

Emi bit her bottom lip. She reached out with a trembling finger to touch one of the horns. It was cold and smooth to the touch. The horns were astonishingly beautiful. Narrow, but wider at the base and tapering gently to their pointed tip. They were very regular and attractive.

She felt a tingle at the base of her skull, suddenly remembering that she was being observed. Emi felt very warm now, indeed. How embarrassing! She pressed two fingers to the side of his neck, just below his fine pointed jaw. His heartbeat was slow and steady. Stable. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath to regain her composure.

“Change of plans, gentlemen,” Emi said, straightening up and brushing the dust from her leggings.

She moved over to Chloe and helped her to her feet, supporting her waist with one hand and draping one of her arms over her neck.

“Tatan, fetch Yusai,” Emi spoke in a low, measured tone. “We must take our dark angel with us.”