The House of Sept

Chapter 14

When the mist around them abruptly cleared, Sacha wasn't sure what she expected to find, but the towering pinnacle of rock rising high enough to pierce a dull grey sky wasn't even part of her thinking.

     Gaping at the spear of rough-weathered stone that formed just one side of an impressive natural gateway, Sacha gradually brought her gaze down to find the opening that led into a vast courtyard.

     The horses clattered across brushed stone and into the partial shade of what looked to be a sheer sided mountain. Sacha gripped the cloth of her companions tunic a little harder than necessary.

     'You want to quit trying to goug out my damn kidneys,'  Valera grumbled, shifting in an attempt to disconnect herself from Sacha's death grip.

     Sitting higher in the sadle, Sacha murmured, 'Sorry.' Her attention quickly wandering as she took in the silken banners fluttering stiffly in the cool breeze that filtered through gaps in the rock.

     Sacha stiffened as Valera led her horse further into the shadow of the pass. A large temple-like structure dominated the far end of the courtyard, only slighter smaller than the pinnacles themselves. Carved directly from the mountain, the building was polished to a smooth sheen of silver-grey like so much of the worked stone and their companions armor and tack. Sacha grimaced, it appeared they had an obsession with grey, alleviated by occassional splashes white and the harsher tone of black.

     The horses came to a standstill outside the main and what looked to be the only building there and waited along with their riders. Baird turned his head, and smiled, but there was a slight waver to his expression and Sacha realised he was more nervous about this whole thing than she was. In a way, she supposed, it was harder for him, being the only normal. She made a point to talk with him later.

     A dull thud jerked her head in reaction to the reverberating echo.

     Looking around Velera, Sacha caught the second door to the temple swing wide to match its twin,  cracking the side of the wall with an emphatic whack of wood against stone. 

     A solemn procession of hooded figures exited the inner chamber and slowly made their way down the wron central steps into the courtyard. There was one for each of the horses. In perfect unison they each took hold of the reins of their allocated animal. In response, the riders dismounted, helping their passangers down as well. Despite not remembering if she'd ever ridden a horse before, Sacha found the short time they were in the saddle didn't affect her at all. Baird on the other hand grimaced a little and took to pacing like he was trying to regain feeling in his legs. Andrelisa was still with Harrow and so far hadn't acknowledged their existence since she mounted up behid the heavily battered warrior.

     Absently, Sacha ran a hand down the side of her face where the age-smoothed scars were just a few extra bumps under her skin. Harrow must have been in one hell of a fight to end up like that.

     A clang made her jump and Sacha scowled, wondering if their new friends enjoyed surprising their guests, or maybe they killed intruders with shock alone. 

     She let her hand drop from her face when a second group emerged from the temple. This lot were nothing like the others. The hooded figures in plain white cassocks were already on their way, leading the horses down a tunnel just wide enough for them and the animals in their wake. 

     This new group wore a selection of silk, velvet and in one case soft wool, all grey, of course, but well made and also, in the case of the only woman, quite lovely.

     The embroidered beads on her dress rasped against the steps as she approached, hands tucked into the overflowing sleeves. Sacha tensed, debating whether or not they were about to be attacked.