Templar Training Grounds (With Mika)

After finishing their meal, the two girls left the dining area together to explore. They viewed the beautiful garden and the library, all of which Winlay found interesting. Mika on the other hand just seemed to be taking it all in with mild curiousity.

"Awww there's nothing fun here Winlay! We need something more exciting than this."

Winlay giggled at the look of boredom Mika had adopted and took her by the hand.

"Well then lets explore some of the other buildings. Maybe we'll find something interesting for you!"

The girls made their way outside where they saw three young men walking towards a stone building not far off. These men were not dressed in initiate robes or the robes of the Brothers that the girls had seen. These men were wearing chain mail armor and had weapons strapped to their backs. The leader of the group had both a sword and shield while the other two had large broadswords.

Mika leaned in close to Winlay and whispered in her ear. "Those are men are part of the Church's armed forces. They act as guards, internal police, and heretic hunters. They are the Templar. I've heard some bad stories about them."

Winlay turned her head to look at her friend and saw that her eyes were wide and fearful.

"Are you ok Mika? They can't be bad people if they work for the Church. Surely the stories were wrong or made up to scare people! The Church of Xelta was formed to help people, even at the risk of our own lives!"

Mika shook her head, not as convinced as Winlay. "Alright then lets follow them and see."

Before Winlay could protest, Mika tightened her grip on Winlay's hand and began following the men. The building they went to was different than the rest of the convent. It was large and walled off from the rest of the area. Once they got closer, the girls could hear the sound of swords hitting together and men moving about. The three men they were following entered the area through a small door that lead into an open aired training ground. After checking to see that the men had gone on, Mika dragged Winlay in after them.

"That's odd. The door can be bolted but they just left it hanging open."

"What do you mean Mika?"

The girl shook her head "Its probably nothing."

Looking around, Winlay noticed several men, some armored while others were in more casual attire, were all training. Most of the men carried broadswords but a few also had shields and some even trained with two swords. Mika pointed to some bushes nearby and the girls hid behind them to watch.

The three men from earlier walked over to a large man who was wearing an eyepatch and shouting orders at two young Templar who were fighting in the middle of a ring painted on the ground.

They were close enough for Winlay to make out some of the conversation.

"Lord Raistlor, still giving the newest recruits a hard time I see."

"Didn't do you any harm when I was training you did it Adam? Kept you alive all these years when I thought you would be the first of your generation to die out there."

The young Templar with the sword and shield removed his helmet, revealing shoulder length red hair. "You're right there. Though there were some close calls. Any news from the Fostler's Nesting branch about that thing we were looking for?"

The old drill seargent shook his head. "Bad news is all we've got. High Templar Valten sent word that nearly half of our branch at Fostler's Nesting were killed by pirates who were also after the information. Worst still is that the Seeker was amoung them."

Adam cursed loudly, drawing the attention of some of the other Templar. "Rufus was with them? He's with Pirates?"

Raistlor nodded, his face grim. "Yes, he's joined a ship called the Peregrine. Its captain is a man named Roland Carlin. The one that took my left eye was a man under him several years ago. Went by the name Craig Anglar."

Winlay glanced over to Mika who was focusing on the conversation. "What's a Seeker?"

Mika didn't take her eyes off the men as she answer "People who are contracted by the Church to find the Vaults. They are usually outsiders who have no real affiliation with the Church so that any actions they take to find one will not reflect badly upon the church. There are usually only about ten of them at a time and I'm guessing this one went rogue."

Suddenly there was a noise behind them and the two girls turned to see two men behind them, weapons drawn.

"What have we here mate?" The larger of the two men was glaring at the two girls as his companion took a step towards them.

"A couple of little squirrels who wanted to see some real men with their shirts off as they train perhaps? Maybe we should show them to Raistlor?"

The larger one chuckled softly. "Or maybe we should show them what men look like with their shirts off like they wanted? We could use some fun. Some of the others might want to join in too."

Winlay didn't know what they meant, but she was getting scared. "Please sirs, we are just initiates for the Church. We didn't mean any harm, we just wanted to explore the grounds a bit!"

Mika put a hand on Winlay's shoulder. "Don't worry. It will be okay."

The larger Templar smiled at them. "Oh sure it will be fine. Now what do you say to coming with us little squirrels?"