Ready for Action

Lysa anxiously waits for Aaron's rescue mission to begin.

12.

Ready for Action

 

Five days never seemed as long as those before the rescue plan was put into motion.    Finally, it was the night before they left on the mission.    Lysa tried her best to focus entirely on preparing for her role, but she could not keep herself from worrying and wondering about what Aaron was experiencing.

It wasn’t what she was supposed to do, for she was in training as a Paladin and so she should have acted calm and professional.

But that was all out the window now, for Lysa honestly did not care at all if she became a full-fledged Paladin, if Aaron was not alive to train her.

She could not just sit still and wait.    Since she had no equipment to worry about, she just went outside and stared up at the night sky like she had done each night since she had awoke from her coma.

It calmed her, to look up at the silent stars while going over her upcoming role, preparing herself as best as she could.

Lysa paced back and forth in the garden of the Sylvan palace, softly speaking the Hutcaiah words that (they hoped) Kuyomi-Chia would speak.    What if she stammered over the words, or pronounced them the wrong way?    What if they had already killed Aaron?    What if the Hutcaiah were spying on them here in Tarmard and knew about the plan?   Were they about to teleport into a trap?

 

“Merciful Yesh, I am so scared!”   She said aloud to the stars.

“Lysa?”  A female voice behind her made her jump in surprise.   She turned to find the kind red eyes of Reverend Mother Zeatt, glowing in the dark.

“Oh Reverend Zeatt, I am so glad that you are here!”   She suddenly found herself weeping and in spite of herself she ran like a frightened child to the Drow cleric.   Zeatt embraced her like a daughter and let the girl cry for a few moments, comforting her gently.

“Child, it will be alright.”   Zeatt said to her soothingly.

“I know I’m not supposed to be afraid, Reverend Mother, but I am!”

“Who told you that you can’t be afraid?”

“I’m a Paladin in training - we are supposed to be fearless.”

“Preposterous, child!    Anyone would be apprehensive in this situation.”

“Well I’m just glad you are here now.   Did you just arrive?”

“About half an hour ago - I’m keeping it low-key, as we are very sure there are Hutcaiah spies in Westmark.   They came in with some of the refugees last fall.    So we had to be sneaky, but I can assure you that the King and Queen are as anxious as you are.    They both really wanted to join your mission, but obviously we can’t risk everyone.”

“I understand.”

“Lysa, I feel this mission will be successful.”

“Did this feeling come from Yesh, Reverend Mother?”

Zeatt hesitated, “Well, no, child, this is just a premonition, I guess. But Yesh gives those too, you know.”

“I should have more faith, but I am so worried!     I do want to thank you for what you did for me when I was unconscious.    They tell me that if it hadn’t been for your spells, I may have died.”

“I’m very glad to see you awake.    Your metamorphosis is complete.    You are quite stunning.”

“Thanks… I just see the face of the enemy when I look in the mirror.”

“Child, the Hutcaiah aren’t our enemies.   Our enemy is their leaders and their false religion.    But even those enemies can be redeemed by the mercy of Yesh.”

“I doubt that they would listen even if we did tell them, Reverend Mother.”

“They’re deceived, Lysa.    It is a common aliment of Elven kings… and human emperors as well.    The Southern Empire and the Faesidhe Kingdom were not very different in ideologies.    The Hutcaiah Empire has the same sickness.    But the common people probably yearn for peace and freedom.     There are many slaves in their culture, and even those who are freemen are under the bondage of their leader’s iron fist.”

“Thankfully King Eleazar isn’t like that.”

“No,” Zeatt smiled, “Eleazar understands the danger of that culture.    The Drow were like that as well.    Sadly, many Elves think they are better than all other races.     Though you are physically an Elf now, Lysa, you hopefully won’t have that temptation to be arrogant.    In fact I know that you won’t, for you have the gentle kindness of your great grandmother Siris.”    

 “Thanks, Reverend Mother.”  Lysa smiled.

“Remember, Lysa, tomorrow Aaron’s life depends on your portrayal of the Hutcaiah moon goddess, and you must feel confident in this role.    You can’t hesitate or look reluctant, Lysa.    The Hutcaiah are an extremely confident people, and their leaders are aggressively arrogant.    They will expect their goddess to possess that same aloof confidence that their leaders possess.    So if you are in a situation tomorrow where you are unsure of what to do, you will just have to make a quick decision and go forward with it without hesitation.”

“I understand.     I just want to have this all over with.   I can’t stand waiting any longer.   I want to move and act.”

“But you need to control that energy tomorrow.   Your team will be vastly outnumbered.    So think ahead before you act… but then act with confidence.”

 

They talked for a while longer, and then the Drow cleric suggested that Lysa try to get some sleep, which she consented to, though it evaded her for most of the night.

 

***

 

Then, suddenly it was the dreaded day.    She rose at sunrise and the day passed quickly, a flurry of meetings, pouring over vague maps of the Hutcaiah city (from accounts given by the captured Hutcaiah guards) and, shortly before it was time to depart, a fitting for her ‘costume’.   

“I feel utterly ridiculous.”   She told the ladies who helped her don the outfit.    It looked like something a sorceress would wear, or perhaps a belly dancer or a favored wife of an exotic ruler.    It was all deep blue and black and it revealed far more of her new form then Lysa wanted to show.   

The Sylvan ladies-in-waiting had somehow managed to craft a blue lipstick that did make her look as if she had just come from some other place.     Then they painted her eyelids a shade of blue and bound up her hair (which had continued to grow supernaturally fast since her change of form) with rich blue ties.    

Lysa looked at herself in the mirror and experienced the oddest feeling of not recognizing who she was viewing.   

They told her that she looked exactly like they envisioned that the Hutcaiah goddess would appear, yet that was no comfort to her, for she felt almost vulgar in the skimpy garments.

I’m doing this for Aaron, she told herself when she joined the others in her team.    They raved about how great she looked, but Lysa could hardly stand to hear it.    She just wanted to run and hide in a closet somewhere.

 

“Alright, we are about ready to leave.”   Aedric told everyone as the sun prepared to set in the west, “Now remember our goal is to rescue Aaron and stay as low-key as we can.     If something happens and Lysa and Bruce are killed or taken captive, then we need to abort the mission.    We won’t know exactly where we will appear, for we have very limited knowledge of the city, as Zeatt only saw what Aaron’s eyes saw, before they neutralized the magic.”

“Stay concealed until the festival begins.”   Zeatt told them, “I suspect that they will bring Aaron to the place of sacrifice and then chant some prayer or ritual to their goddess.    Wait and listen to it, then move when it seems best.”

Carn touched Lysa on the arm, “I have two spells that will help you.    They will last about 4 hours, but I need to cast them now.   They are actually spells that Bards use to help them in their craft.    The first spell is a linguistic spell.    You will know what the Hutcaiah are saying, and when you speak, it will seem to all those that hear you that you are speaking flawlessly in their native tongue.”

“What about the second spell?” Lysa asked, “What does it do?”

“It is an amplification spell that we Bards use to make our voices carry.    I will cast it so that your voice will sound like thunder, and it will certainly sound like the voice of a deity.   Just remember that you can’t whisper or mumble without every word being projected loudly, so don’t say anything that you don’t want the Hutcaiah to hear.”

“So with both of them cast on me, they will hear me speak in Hutcaiah and it will echo for miles around?”

“Absolutely!     When you free Aaron, don’t say anything to him that would reveal who you really are or about this mission, or everyone around you will hear it.”

“I understand.”  Lysa replied nervously.

 

Minutes later, Carn sang the spells upon her, they all gathered their equipment together, and Zeatt began chanting the teleportation spell to send them far across the world.   They all stood by anxiously as she chanted the spell for many minutes.     Then, with a bright flash of blue light, they vanished.

“The mission begins.”   Zeatt told those remaining behind, “May Yesh have mercy upon them.”

 

Reviews

[Elina]

"It is a common aliment of Elven kings..." I think you were looking for "ailment," here.

Oh, golly! I can hardly wait to see what happens! ^^

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you.

[Barbara Tennyson]

Punctuation needs tweaking. Consult _Eats Shoots and Leaves_ or a similar work.
The dialogue is too similar and too informal for the story. Each character sounds too alike and too undereducated. Good luck with this.

[Eddie Davis]

Thanks for your critique.