Help at last

After a quick consultation they decided that the two initiates would look less out of place in the gardens than the Templar Captain. Adam was secreted with the Oracle in his care while Mika and Winlay worked their way up toward the convent buildings through the gardens. Winlay saw a couple initiates working in the beds but none of them seemed like someone the Oracle would even know, not to mention trust.

Keeping away from the other garden workers Winlay and Mika passed through yet another walled garden, this one was planted with rows of what looked like pepper plants, but Winlay couldn't understand how even in this southern city peppers could be this mature in the springtime. Some of the plants even had small flowers and they'd be bearing fruit in less than a month at this rate. The next building explained much of the convent garden's success. the walls and roof of the building were made from great sheets of glass, and the beds inside were filled with seedlings of all sorts of plants. Mika took the time to open the glasshouse door, and even from several feet away Winlay could feel a wave of tropical warmth flow out into the gardens.

"No sign of Sister Margaret." Said Mika as she carefully closed the door behind her. If we don't have any luck soon we'll have to go back and ask someone where we can find her. Winlay could see that Mika was not happy about the prospect of involving anyone else in their mad escape.

Luckily as they reached the next level of the terraced gardens Winlay saw what she immediately recognized as a herb garden and next to a healthy rosemary bush was a small stone building with a well worn paved path leading to a small door. The building might well have belonged to a dwarf of Old Earth legend, the stonework was covered with climbing roses that crept up and around the door and windows, and was almost halfway up the chimney that puffed small plumes of smoke from its top.

"Yes?" Asked Winlay. and Mika nodded her head in agreement. If this wasn't Sister Margaret's workshop, the girls couldn't imagine where else they could even look. As they approached the door, Winlay realized that the house was not quite as small as she first thought. The paved path had four steps that dropped to meet the level of the floor inside, the cottage appeared to be half buried; probably to keep the interior warmer in the winter and cool during the summer months. Winlay raised he hand to knock on the sturdy wooden door and glanced at Mika before she started.

"Ready?" She asked wishing that her robes did not stink from their adventure.

"Ready." Mika responded, and then added quietly under her breath: "May our actions be detected and guided by Xelta's console." Winlay nodded and knocked quietly on the door.

"Come in? Is that you Shanlynn" The voice seemed cheerful and confident. "Have you finished weeding the radishes already?" Winlay did not know what to say, but just then the door opened and a grey haired woman in her fifties opened the door. She was clearly surprised by the unexpected appearance of the two women but something in their worried expression cut through many of the normal formalities and without a word the two girls were gestured into the workshop, and the door closed quickly behind them.

"Get those robes off dears, and then you can explain why you were wading in the cesspool." And so for the third time in just an hour Winlay saw Mika unfasten her belt and slip from her robes. Winlay too was only too eager to shed the robes, although no longer soaking wet, the damp robes were chafing the soft skin of her thighs and calves.

"Are you Sister Margaret?" Asked Mika before trying to explain their odd appearance.

"I have been for 33 years now." Was the woman's reply as she bundled their soiled robes into a bag. "That's better" she said and tossed the pair a a pair of oversized shirts that hung halfway to their knees once they put them on.
"Now, are you going to explain why you are here?"

"The Oracle said we should trust you." Winlay began slowly and Mika interrupted her letting the urgency of their position override Winlay's tendency to make everything into a story.

"We need your help Sister. We have just rescued the Oracle from the Templar prison and escaped through the sewers, but ..." her voice trailed off as she realized just how implausible that sounded.

"Then I guess we'd better get him somewhere safe before the Templars start looking for him" Sister Margaret seemed to accept Mika's words at face value and then after a sharp glance in their direction added "and you too." Winlay and Mika could only nod at the kind Sister.

"Where is the Oracle?" Sister Margaret asked calmly, "I'll go get him and bring him here for now. Then we'll have to find a better place to keep you three."

"Four" Corrected Mika, "One of the Templar helped us, his name is Adam." After a slight hesitation Mika continued "He is a Chevalier." Winlay could see Mika watching Sister Margaret carefully for any sign of recognition, but then she continued with her explaination. "We left him waiting with the Oracle." It took very little time for the two initiates to describe where Adam and the Oracle were hiding and as soon as she had that information Sister Margaret went back into action.

"OK, hiding place for four refugees." Margaret muttered to herself, “and then we'll have to work on getting you away from here as well." As she headed for the door Sister Margaret paused to pull a ceramic jar off the shelves and added. “There is water and soap in the back sink, wash as much of that raw sewage as possible and then put a generous layer of this over any scrapes or cuts you might have.” With that Margaret headed out the door and the girls heard the sound of the lock securing the door.

No sooner than the door was locked than Mika started to fret. "What if she locked us in here so she can go get the Templar?" Winlay considered her question for only a moment before deciding that if the Oracle sent them to Sister Margaret that they were better off trusting her than not. Mika was less trusting in the Oracle's judgement. "Maybe I should follow her just to be sure?"