[IRP] A Fall From Grace: The Escape from Laus

[Lavi]

"Step one or step ten, it makes no difference. I didn't ask for your input, Sister," Cecily answered Renata, waving away the cleric.

Truth be told, Cecily was improvising everything ever since she had left the castle, but she wouldn't dare tell anyone that. The fact that it looked like she knew what she was doing is good enough for the time being: even Theodore isn't insightful enough to tell exactly what the lady was thinking. But then the cleric mentioned a horse, which immediately piqued her interest.

"Ah yes: the good Sister wouldn't be able to travel from Thria to Laus in a day without a horse," she smiled. The very impromptu plan she created within the moment morphed into something ingenious to her mind, especially as the Sir Knight offered his horse (presumably not to be outdone by one of the Church, no less). No matter: the fact that they had any horse to begin with is a major step up from their previous state. The lady tapped the road with her parasol, getting Theodore's attention.

"Be sure to pack extra and make sure there is a large blanket and rope included. Have it all prepared on a wagon with hitch. Dismissed," she directed.

"Yes, milady," he answered, delivering a final kowtow before taking off into the urban mess of buildings.

"Come along now, we haven't the time to waste idling," Cecily gestured the others to follow her as she began a brisk walk back towards the city center. "We have horses to collect and supplies to pick up. The castle guard will arrive here shortly."

If Cecily had to guess, the city guardsmen sent a courier ahead to inform the castle guard of her capture. The castle guard would then rendezvous with her entourage on horseback to hastily bring her back within the confines of the castle-fortress. They would arrive at this section of street within minutes if they were quick. Marquess Laus would demand that they handle the situation before Cecily conjures her next move, though he grossly underestimated Cecily's resourcefulness within her home city.

As she predicted, the sound of horseshoe on stone echoed behind her. At least she did not have to have Theodore detain any of them: it would have wasted even more time to deal with a tussle. The Sir Knight and Rugged-Big-Guy both seemed like able combatants too; thankfully, their gesture of assistance would make the trip easier (at least, for the Sir Knight, whom Cecily vaguely remembered from a sparring tournament several years ago).

As for the mercenary, Cecily of course had reservations about his real reason for coming along. He would be paid handsomely for her capture, after all; his aggression against a city guardsman would also be overlooked for his service to the march. Out of her three acquaintances, Kethen was the one she would keep the closest eye on.

Although Laus was indeed her home, Cecily did not spend nearly enough time on the streets to memorize the layout of the city. But she had a general idea of where everything was, given the proper landmarks. The castle guard would be stopping to investigate the sleeping city guardsmen, which should give them an extra minute to at least collect the cleric's horse.

"The nearby inn you mentioned is the Icewind Den, correct?" she asked Renata.

It was a middle-class inn, far better than the shady ones near the gates, but still an economical choice for one without a surplus of gold in one's pocket. In short, it was a safe choice to stay the night for one of the clergy.