Will You Follow Me?

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    Will You Follow Me?



    The town square bustled with activity. A harvest festival was going on. The people had had good crops this year. Yet it was no time to rejoice if you knew the ways of the world.


    It was a dangerous place. A place that exiled many who rebelled against the corrupted government. Oh and that's just what I'm planning to do. Well I've already been exiled once, but that couldn't keep me out. No it didn't. That's for sure. Now it's time to return and set things right.


    A hood figure moved swiftly into the crowd not really caring if people were shoved about. They pushed their way to the middle and stood on the well in the center of the square. Eyes quickly turned to the mysterious hooded figure whose face wasn't visible. In a low voice four words rang out through the now quiet streets. "Will you follow me?"



    I surveyed the people looking up at me. They all looked terrified. Ha! and yet I couldn't blame them. A strange cloaked man walking in then asking a very generic question. Well what could I say? I can't fight this on my own. I need them. I need them to follow me. I need soldiers. I'm glad I'm standing on this well. People cant see my true height. Let's just say I'm not tall.... ok short. Height doesnt matter, but people seem to think it does. They wouldnt follow a short leader who is incompetent by their standards. Incompetent. Hmph. I'm very well capable of leading. Well I couldn't expect too much anyways. Best not to get my hopes to high. Maybe a few would though. I needed answers quick though. Government soldiers would be coming once they heard of a strange man rousing trouble. They wouldn't banish me this time. Oh no. This time they'd kill me.

    //IC\\
    A bespectacled man turned to see what the commotion was about. A person, with a hood on. He could not see their face. Their gender was unfathomable from their words, but he was pretty sure it was a man. With a large, tawny-binded book in the crook of his arm, he moved through the crowd and stopped in front of the hooded figure, surprised at how he was almost the same size as this man, although he was standing on a well. Then again, he was quite tall...
    "Excuse me," he began slowly. "If your intent is gaining followers for a church, or a religion, I humbly apologize, but as a priest I must preserve the holiness of this land and ask you to leave." His eyes, before so soft and gentle, had changed immediately to a determined steeliness once he began to speak about his religion.


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    //OOC\\
    Hello! This sounds cool. May I join?



    [hr]



    OOC go straight ahead! I love when people join.



    I could barely contain a laugh as I heard the man speak. Religion. That was the least of my thoughts at the moment. I hoped I wouldn't laugh. That wouldn't help my chances of gaining followers. I calmed myself enough to speak. "Oh no my friend," I said keeping my voice low and even. "I have a different plan in kind. A More dangerous plan. I seek one thing. To over throw the government." Ah. It felt good to speak aloud my plans. It was dangerous though. I knew the government would get word soon and send troops after me to kill me. I had to get followers and leave quickly.

    //IC\\
    And now, the passion of the priest diminished from his eyes and he looked up at the strange hooded man with confusion. "Why would you...?"
    There was no need to finish that question. The answer was quite clear. This man had noticed the corruption of the government and was beginning to gather people to follow him. To retaliate. And whatever the cost, the long-haired priest would help.
    "Come with me." He instructed. Without another word, using the hand that did not hold the holy book, he grabbed the wrist of the hooded man, tugged him off the well and began to swiftly make his way back to the church. He with his blessed hearing had begun to hear the shouting of the guards long before they were here. Soon they'd be here, but they would not catch anyone...


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    //OOC\\



    [hr]



    Startled by the suddenness of the man I had no choice but to be dragged along. Thoughts raced through my mind as we weaves through a crowd. I didn't know where he was taking me, but all I could hope for is that this wasn't a trap. I mean I should be able to trust a priest right? But in this age you couldn't trust anyone. You had to be very careful. It was rather foolish just to ask anyone to join me, but I was desperate. But now this. I don't even know where I'm being led. "Where are you taking me?" I asked trying with little prevail to keep my voice from raising to its normal pitch not my low calm speaking voice.

    //IC\\
    Said priest jumped back as he heard more footsteps coming their way. Guards, from the sound of it. Not the best there was, since they had been deployed earlier. These were trainees eager to get a move on. He scowled, gripping tighter on the man's wrist. "We're going to the church..." a worried expression flitted across his face. "...but I can hear guards. They're coming after us. And I don't see any way out of this. If we go back, we'll be caught. If we go forward, we'll run into those trainee squads. If we stay here we'll just get caught by both."
    He let go of the man's wrist and sighed. "Okay, okay, it's come to this." Turning around, he held out his book to the man. "If you are willing to trust me with your life, take my book." A strange request, but the priest looked dead serious.


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    //OOC\\



    [hr]



    "What?" I asked suprise evident in my tone. How could a book save me? I would have better luck taken them on with my sword. I hesitated a second the slowly reached out and took the strange book. Either I was stupid or desperate. Eh... Probably both. "You better be right about this," I growled through clenched teeth. Maybe the priest was crazy too. How could a booth protect us? Oh well looks like I've started a group of crazy people. Well then again. Crazy people are the only ones who dare stand up against the government.

    //IC\\
    The priest smiled gratefully. "Alright. Now make sure not to drop it."
    Surprisingly quickly, and showing that he was much younger than he looked, the priest hefted the hooded man onto his shoulder and began to scale the wall swiftly with only his feet and a single hand to aid him. The other hand was used to keep the hooded man secure, and also, keep his book secure. With a surprising amount of strength for a tall and thin man as such, he hefted himself onto the rooftop and looked around, spotting the church not too far away.
    With a grin, he let the hooded man down, with still a hand on his shoulder to support him, and asked, "Are you steady? You won't fall if I let go, right?"


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    //OOC\\



    [hr]



    Surprised at suddenly getting picked up I let out a very quiet cry of fear and suprise which I greatly regretted. It did nothing to help my dignity. I let a tight grasp on the book though. When he set me down I tried to steady myself quickly. "Yes I'm fine." I shook myself off then. "Ugh," I said trying to still seem calm and collected. "Was that really necessary?"

    //IC\\
    Inclining his head slightly, the priest smiled apologetically. "That was the fastest way. We were running out of time and I couldn't find a quick way to explain. I am sorry."
    He chuckled softly and took his book from the iron grip of the man. "Thank you for keeping this safe. We're pretty safe now. Follow me to the church, and try not to lose your footing." Stepping forward, the priest tucked the book safely away into the bend of his elbow again and jumped with agility to the next rooftop, landing and looking back as he waited for the hooded man, who had somehow become his friend in the short amount of time that they had from the meeting until now. Well, the man trusted him with his life, and that was definitely more than he could say for most of his acquaintances.


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    //OOC\\



    [hr]



    I shook my head slowly and gave a short laugh to slightly hide my embarrassment. It was embarrassing to be carried. Especially against your will. Get over it will again. It's not like anyone saw bit you and him. Ok. Lets just get out of here. I took a bit of a runnin start then leapt to join him on the other rooftop. I landed a little wobbly, but quickly regaining my footing not wanting any help. I preferred to do things myself to show I could. Help just well let's just say I don't like when I need and have to accept help, which is more often then is like to admit. I have problems with myself that often make me need help. Ugh. Oh well I can at least accomplish this small task by myself.

    It was supposed to be a normal day for her, just get supplies from the market and head home again. No trouble and no investigating, the most deviation that would probably be accepted was to pick some flowers. But that was obviously impossible for her, since she was extremely curious and had almost no self control. She'd been distracted by a book stall and was talking a while to get home even though she left the market a while ago.
    Unfortunately, there was another reason that she would be late home, and that was the two men, or she assumed men since they seemed to have that sort of build, that she had seen jumping across some roofs. She knew that it would be unwise to follow them, on ground of the roofs, but she wanted to know what was happening. Against her better judgement, she followed, walking beside the buildings they were running across and glancing every now and then to make sure she was going the right way.

    //IC\\
    The priest saw the girl out of the corner of his eye. He had a knack for sensing such, being so spiritually connected with the world in many strange ways. He ignored her, though, thinking that she couldn't cause much trouble if she found them out. They were going to the church. Using a weird way to get there, maybe, but they were going to the church. There was always an explanation for trying to get closer to God...
    The priest continued on, his robes flowing out behind him as he jumped from building to building, until he found himself on the first home just outside the church. Breathing in the soft smells of the grass and the laughter of the happy people who had been here not too long ago, seemed to relax and comfort him quite some.


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    //OOC\\



    [hr]



    Joining him on the final roof I came to a bit of a gasping halt. "I still don't see why we had to take that route," I said rubbing my left leg where it was sore from the pressure. I wasn't a bit fan of heights so I was attempting to hide my uncertainty praying he wouldn't notice I was quite uncomfortable up here. I looked off the roof and spotted the church. Ahh. We made it. Well that was good. It should be safe there, unless this whole thing was a trap. Then I'm safe no where. Well I really am safe no where. I'm a fugitive.

    //IC\\
    The priest turned around and smiled at the man, his smile holding a gentle reassurance that looked completely genuine. He gestured toward the church. "We went that way so the guards wouldn't catch us, mostly. But... well, I also really like the view of the church from up here." Smiling sheepishly, he jumped down from the building and stepped toward the church, already feeling the gentle breeze from the church grounds that always seemed present no matter how still the air was.
    The breeze suddenly disappeared when he was grabbed suddenly by a guard. Ah! They must've been coming after us... but I didn't notice! That girl took up most of my attention... they started to shout, asking him why he had been on the roof and if he had noticed a hooded person causing trouble. "I am a priest. I would not know anything about this. Please unhand me." He shot a quick look at said hooded man up still on the roof, his eyes alight with worry, but quickly looked away in case the guards followed his gaze.


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    //OOC\\



    [hr]



    The post was edited 1 time, last by ℰʀɪsᴍᴀ (Inactive) ().

    A church? The girl thought to herself, walking round a corner and the men came to a stop. She watched, picking through her basket while watching them. There wasn't much going on, as they were stood there talking, then the un-hooded one climbed down off the roof they were on. A guard who was on the ground grabbed him and started asking him questions, though he didn't seem to see the hooded man. She walked over, feeling the need to help and instantly regretting it.
    "Excuse my cousin, sir, he's a little...odd. I'm sorry he worried you." She told the guard, putting on a serene smile.

    //IC\\
    The priest looked as if he were about to sigh in relief, then he realized he was supposed to be... "odd". "I am not odd! Standing on the ground makes me feel so far away from Him, our God, is that odd? I prefer to walk places where I can stay close to Him."
    Truth to be told, that was in the back of his mind when he got up on the roof, but he hadn't really realized until he had scented the dew-flecked grass on the church grounds. Now, it was like a divine blessing, an escape from these guards. They knew he was a priest. It was obvious from his attire and the book he had dropped. As they let him go, he quickly scooped the book back up into his arms. They apologized, saying that yes, God was important to stay near, and no, they shouldn't have asked such harsh questions. The priest nodded slightly and smiled again. "It is alright. You are forgiven. You are always forgiven under the light of God..."
    And goodness gracious, as if He himself had heard the priest, a ray of sunlight burst through the clouds behind him, illuminating the man for a while. The guards scurried away quickly before the priest let out a sigh. Turning to the girl, he smiled brightly. "Thank you!"


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    //OOC\\



    [hr]



    The girl barely managed to contain her giggles as the ray of sunlight lit the priest from behind. She indulged herself for a second or two after the guards left. She then looked at the priest and gave a nod.
    "I have a knack for meddling." She told him, with a little shame in her voice. At the House they always told her not to meddle, so she'd learnt that it was a bad trait, but she couldn't stop. She knew that one day, it would get her into a lot of trouble. The House would be very angry if she ever got into trouble, and you don't want that. "What were you doing on the roof?" She asked, glancing up.

    I watched silently for a while as the guards had a bit if a scuffle with the priest. Then the girl appeared. Had she been trailing is this whole time? Ugh. Oh well I wanted down from this roof. I jumped and landed kinda heavily wincing at the impact on my left leg. Ouch. Why did that have to keep bothering me? I tried not to let them notice my pain as I walked over to stand beside them. "The roof was not my idea, but it kelt us away from the guards," I said simply.

    //IC\\
    Nodding, the priest waved them toward the church. "Now let's get in before someone else finds you." He said, stepping quickly toward the church. He opened the doors and watched as the light from the outside flooded into the now-empty church. "Reverend Hassen! I'm back!" He yelled cheerfully.
    A man, only a little older than the priest, stepped out from the back room. "My, that was quick. Did you get the herbs I wanted?" They seemed to be good friends. The priest handed the man a small bag that had been tucked away in his belt under the robe he wore. "Yep. Drove a hard bargain for it, but it went really well and I actually got a pretty good deal. And... I brought some friends..." looking over at the two people.


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    //OOC\\



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