The adventure continues! Hope is nothing more than just a weak light, barely visible by the horizon. But Gary seems to have more secret cards up his sleeves, that may or may not prove useful. Will Wesley and his friends manage to escape Jibanon, or will this chaos mark the end of their long journey? There's only one way to find out. Hope you'll all enjoy the newest chapter of "Medieval Cohesion! I certainly enjoyed writing it ^.^

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Chapter 47 - Sacrilegious trespassing

The end was drawing nigh, and we would all be met by certain doom, if we failed to remain one step ahead of it at all times. The pesky Lord Edward put up much more of a challenge than any of us expected, but after having endured a cruel demonstration of Raksasha's might, the noble combatant had finally been defeated. But it turned out to become an intense battle, that left severe injuries on both sides. We were still located in the central square of Jibanon, along with Edward that was barely conscious. Unfortunate for us, the loud noise that occurred during combat, had alarmed all the last guards to our location. And they were approaching us at high speed. The knife stuck in my chest made it challenging for me to stand up straight, and I felt sparks of strong pain pass through my body, every time I turned my torso. I was quite convinced, that if we engaged in combat with the approaching reinforcements, then I'd be wiped out as an easy target. That knife had to be removed, for me to stand any chance in combat again, but it'd take me lots of time and concentration to do it right. The serrated blade of the knife made it extremely painful to jerk it loose. And since the wound was so fresh, I also suspected that it would bleed even more if the knife was pulled out. Within a very short time, it became apparent to me that my breathing was growing increasingly obstructed, so there was no time to lose. Raksasha, Gary and I all turned to looked at eachother. I could see it in their eyes, that we were all thinking the same. Gary sighed and shook his head. We had all expected to last longer in combat, and defeat a larger number of the hostile reinforcements, but our efforts were clearly insufficient. Even if our captured allies found a way to escape, they wouldn't make it far, through this tight security. The guilt was eating me up from the inside. It seemed like there was only one option left for us.

Gary: We've done what we could. It'd be suicide to stay any longer. Now we must make haste and secure our own escape.
Raksasha: You and Wesley, go! I will stay here and delay the enemies as long as I can. Don't make me die in vain.
Wesley: No! We are escaping together, or staying here to die together. I refuse to leave anyone else behind.
Gary: Your intention is noble, my lady, but Wesley has a point. Only our combined strength can break through this tight security. And besides, I wouldn't be so ready to throw my life away just yet.
Wesley: Why, do you have a plan or something?
Gary: Perhaps. The front gate is guaranteed to be tightly barricaded and heavily guarded. But there is one remaining escape route, that neither Edward or the commander of the town security knows about.
Raksasha: Where is it?
Gary: I suspect it would make things less complicated, if I didn't attempt to explain the location, but just showed you myself.
Wesley: Agreed. Lead the way!
Gary: As you wish. But don't fall behind.

Yeah, easy for him to say. After having sheathed his blood-stained daggers, he dashed swiftly down the street, with his black cloak catching wind with every step. Raksasha and I did our best to keep up, but despite how much effort we put into running, Gary's speed pushed him further and further ahead of us. It was first when we left the central square, that I realized Gary was leading us down the very same street, from which the reinforcements were approaching. Had he gone mad? From that point, our best option was to follow him without questioning, and hope that there was a reason behind this reckless move. But it didn't take long before it became painfully obvious to me, that I was slowing down gradually, falling behind because of the knife stuck in my chest. Every step taken send a strong spark of agony through my chest, as the serrated knife caused further damage to my inner organs, and I found myself wheezing. But to my relief, a strong arm suddenly rested on my shoulder for support, as Raksasha had returned to assist her wounded comrade. We proceeded down the street, side by side, but it didn't take long before Gary was out of our sight. He was simply too fast for us. This almost made me panic for a moment, because now Raksasha and I had no one to guide us. And it felt like my heart completely stopped beating, once I noticed intimidating shadows appear on the walls further ahead of us, from people coming around the next corner. It was the armored reinforcements that I thought we were supposed to avoid. They were heading right towards us. But before we were discovered, a low whistling noise was heard from a nearby alley. We turned our heads towards the sound and found Gary hiding in the shadows, with only his feline eyes showing in the dark. He had once again put on his black hood, to effectively complete his stealthy camouflage in the darkness of night.

Before I was given the time to react myself, Raksasha grabbed my arm with her strong hand, and pulled me with her into the alley where Gary was waiting. The following moment, the two of us joined our feline ally in the shadows, and leaned against the wall to become as inconspicuous as possible. Raksasha nearly knocked the breath out of me, as she placed her large hand on my chest, pushing me back against the wall to make sure I wouldn't be noticed. The many footsteps were becoming louder, and I was so nervous that I could barely find the courage to breath. No more than half a minute later, we watched as a smaller army of guards ran right past us, obviously heading towards the central square. We were all standing completely still inside the dark alley, waiting for the guards to leave. Just as I estimated, there were definitely more than twenty strong warriors among these guards, but I gave up counting since they passed by so fast. My eyes closed for a brief moment, as I attempted to fill my mind with peaceful thoughts, to avoid panicking or passing out from fear. One wrong move would lead to the death of us all. After a short while, the final guard finally ran past our alley, and followed the others to the central square. I exhaled by relief as I heard their many footsteps slowly fade away in the distance. This was way too close for comfort. Once they were gone, Raksasha removed her hand from my chest, and she felt it was once again safe for me to walk on my own.

We avoided the overwhelming reinforcements for now, but it was just a matter of time before they would return. Assuming that he was still conscious, Edward would most likely inform them about which way we headed. So it was about time for us to move on. Taking the lead as expected, Gary turned around and advanced into the dark alley, sneaking through the narrow passage silently. Raksasha and I followed, knowing that our greatest option at hand, was to remain quiet and stay hidden in the shadows. We found ourselves walking slowly past the houses of local residents. All the doors were blocked and barricaded. But it caught my attention that people inside the houses, were staring at us from the closed windows, with a strong hint of disgust in their eyes. Despite being so isolated inside their barricaded homes, I was still able to hear the cry of an infant, held by his mother having a sharp eye on us from a window. The poor child was scared, because of the chaos caused by us. By that moment, I was grazed by a sudden touch of shame, for sneaking around these streets like a dishonorable thief. But sometimes, fate drops you off in these odd situations, where you're bound to give people a twisted impression of yourself. Even though we were clearly not welcome, none of the residents seemed interested in confronting us. They had all locked themselves up inside their homes, to stay clear of combat and remain safe until the chaos had settled down. And yet, the emotionless faces and stern gazes, send a cold shiver down my spine. Gary and Raksasha were a couple of meters ahead of me, as I was forced to limb behind, due to the injury. But we were all walking so slow and silently, that I was in no risk of being left behind. The agony had unfortunately become disturbingly nauseating. I was fighting back to resist an approaching urge to puke.

About half an hour went by. Everything had gone quiet. The only noises I could pick up, was the sound of rainfall and homeless cats moaning in the dark alleys. By this moment, I would've expected the reinforcements to have caught up with us. But perhaps they lost track of us in this maze of dark alleys, and were currently searching the other side of Jibanon, hopefully far away from our location. With no warning at all, Gary suddenly stopped moving, almost causing Raksasha to bump into him from behind. He remained silent until I had caught up with them. Was it time to rest? No, it seemed like we had reached our destination. I raised my head, attempting to gaze through the falling rain, but then I instantly dropped my jaw. This just made no sense at all. We were standing right in front of the old and rusty gate, leading into the bleak cemetery of Jibanon, surrounded by a sturdy brick wall. The iron gate was blocked by chains and a padlock, with an unusually large keyhole. There was no way that we could possible get in there. But then again, why would we? That is not the way out. If we entered the cemetery, we'd be completely stuck, with enemies barging through the one and only exit. Even if they weren't sacrilegious enough to start a fight on holy grounds, they could simply guard the exit until we were left with no other choice but to surrender. Because there was nowhere else to go. Besides that Gary had seemingly lead us to a dead-end, it also puzzled me how he expected us to get inside, without having the key required. The cemetery was obviously locked at this late hour, and the only person who could possibly possess the key to that padlock, would be the local priest or something. By that point, I could only come up with two reasons to why Gary had lead us to this dreadful place. He was either insane, or had grazed an early stage of dementia. But while gazing through the bars of the gate, Gary spoke.

Gary: We're going in there.
Wesley: Have you lost your damn mind? We’ll get trapped in there!
Gary: Trust me, we will be fine. I know what I am doing.
Wesley: I sure hope that you are. If we head in there, we're definitely not coming out through the same gate. But do you have the key?
Gary: Nope.
Wesley: Well, that's brilliant. So I guess we're just wasting our precious time here. Come on, Raksasha, we're leaving.
Gary: Hold your horses, fox. Have patience.

The old lynx approached the large iron gate, and then his gloved hand dug into the pocket of his pants, before pulling out a small bendable wire of steel. Then he inserted the thin tip of the wire into the keyhole, and twisted it until we all heard a satisfactory clicking noise. The large padlock fell heavily unto the ground, along with the metallic chains, and the gate to the cemetery was unlocked. Wasting no further time, Gary raised his foot and kicked the gate open. But then he grabbed onto the chains laying on the ground, and dragged the padlock with him inside the cemetery. Once Raksasha and I had joined him inside, he asked us to close the gate again. My theory was that he removed the chains and padlock, because it then wouldn't seem too obvious, that we were hiding in the cemetery. But good gracious, what a horrible place he had lead us to. Truth be told, I've always done my best to avoid gloomy graveyards like this, because I find it highly unappealing to be surrounded by death. It instantly drags me down into a deep depression, and brings me back in touch with memories that fills my heart with sorrow. No matter how you look at it, cemeteries play the role as the final chapter in every persons life. Some die young, while others are fortunate enough to survive through many cold winters. But regardless of how long their lives are extended, this is where it all comes to and end. Having become no more than a name carved into a tombstone, the fallen are remnants of the forgotten past, only remembered by loved ones left behind in sorrow.

Once the large gate of iron was closed, we moved deeper into the graveyard, without leaving the rough road keeping us off the grass. As I was walking in the back, staying close to Gary that was leading the way, my eyes scrolled to examine the graves located on both sides of us. Each grave was marked with a tombstone, but some of them had grown so old, that the letters were almost worn off or covered by grime. Who ever was in charge of keeping this graveyard in good shape, had definitely been neglecting his responsibility for years. The intense rain had made the ground so wet, that the earth covering the graves had sunk down, resting heavily upon the coffins underneath. All the flowers and plants left by relatives had withered away. The few trees that had grown within this area were long dead. Further disappointments awaited me, once I noticed that the road we traversed, lead directly to the church that was left in ruins. Large cracks arched across the walls, the windows of stained glass were shattered, and the clock tower was about to fall apart. The church had clearly not been used for ages, because the building was downright lethal now, for any person foolish enough to venture inside. When examining the graves within the cemetery, it was easy to tell which of these lost souls had most luck in life. Some of the less fortunate peasants, that probably lived a harsh life in poverty, could afford no more than two wooden boards patched together to form a cross. People of importance, however, were buried in underground crypts. Nobles have always found it disgraceful for respectable men, to be buried in the same soil as common peasants. It's a ridiculous tradition that has spread throughout every region in our country, and has affected our society for a century. But once we had entered the cemetery properly and spend a couple of minutes on the path, an unfamiliar voice was suddenly heard in a shout.

??? : Hey, you! What are you doing here? This area is off limits!

When we all turned towards where the voice was heard, we saw a somewhat chubby man walking slowly towards us, with a rusty spade resting on his shoulder. He was an aged wild boar, and what little hair was left on his head, was soaked by rain and hanging down. A sinister odor met my nostrils as he approached, convincing me that this man probably didn't wash himself very often. His clothes were lightly torn, and the shirt he wore, was a bit too short to hide his round belly. Great white tusks were exposed on his face, but it seemed like the tips had grown dull with time. They were not useful for much more than display anymore. There was no doubt - this was the graveyards undertaker. But despite that he was annoyed by our presence, he didn't seem hostile. It really irked me, that not even this torrential rain was enough to remove that foul stench of sweat, clinging to his disturbingly obese body. Once he was standing no more than a few meters away from us, I noticed there were visible marks of moisture under his armpits, and I'd really wish that was just rainwater. He stood still for a moment, examining us very closely. It seemed obvious that the old boar had a pretty bad eyesight.

Undertaker: Hmm, you're an odd bunch. How did you get in here? I am pretty sure that I remembered to lock up the gate.
Gary: That cheap padlock was no challenge to pick.
Undertaker: What, are you some sort of criminals?
Wesley: No! Of course n...
Gary: Yes, we are the notorious villains that escaped from the prison. And unfortunate for you, we are armed to the teeth.

Facing the smelly old boar, Gary drew his daggers and struck an intimidating pose, causing the undertaker to gasp and step back.

Undertaker: By Shévolin's grace, please spare me! Don't kill ol' Bobo. I’m just a harmless and lonely man, trying to make a living here.
Gary: If you think that I am tough and deadly, check out this impressive woman behind me. She is known as the ferocious butcher of the southern deserts, and she chops fat pork like you for a living.
Raksasha: Uhm, excuse me?
Undertaker: Please, say no more! I'm begging you, just let me go. I've been working in this graveyard for the last 21 years, because only the dead can tolerate my... hygienic issues. Or at the very least, they're in no position to complain. I want no trouble with anybody!
Gary: I see. Well, maybe we can be persuaded to let you live, if you're willing to part with a little bit of information.
Undertaker: Is that all? Why, sure! Ask anything you wish.
Gary: Good. What is the easiest way for us to access Jibanon's shipyard?
Undertaker: Uhh, I'm not really sure why you would want to go there. Our shipyard was burned down to the ground only a couple of days ago, and every ship moored in the harbor was either torched or sunk.
Wesley: What!? You're lying!
Undertaker: Am not! Look for yourself.

The boar raised his arm and pointed behind us, and as we turned around to look, we saw a thick column of smoke rise from the other end of town. Even days after having been burned down, the charred remains were apparently still releasing smoke. The wind was carrying the smoke in the opposite direction, however, so we didn't realize it until now. Despite how much I'd like this to be a lie, the old man seemed to speak the truth.

Wesley: No way... This just can't be happening.
Undertaker: Jibanon experienced a sudden raid of undead the other day, and they seemed determined to destroy our shipyard for some reason. They left everything else unharmed, and after having wrecked every ship at the harbor, they were cornered and eliminated by our local guards.
Gary: That proves it - they know about our quest, Wesley. And it seems like they are one step ahead of us.
Wesley: They cut off our most convenient opportunity to access the sea...
Raksasha: So what do we do now?
Gary: We're left with no choice but to alter our plans, and improvise as we move along. If you do prayers, I'll suggest that you get started now.
Undertaker: What is this quest that you're rambling about?
Gary: Shut your trap, you malodorous swine, that is none of your concern! Now listen carefully - We're leaving now, and if you know what is best for you, you'll go home and stay quiet till things have calmed down. Do we understand eachother?
Undertaker: Y-yes! Crystal clear. I won't tell anyone about what has happened here. Bobo wants no trouble! You can...
Gary: Are you still here? Alright, I will give you ten seconds to get the hell out of here. One...Two...

Having realized that Gary's patience was wearing thin, the repulsive boar dropped his spade on the ground, and fled towards the gate as fast as his chubby little legs could carry him. Gary didn't even bother to count any further, once Bobo made it clear that he got the point. None of us suspected that he would give us any trouble, but we all agreed to not take any chances. So now that we were once again alone at the cemetery, Gary took the lead and directed us through the rough passages, covered with dirty gravel. Weed was growing on the passages, in between the small stones. Taken into consideration that this graveyard was left in such a poor state, I was actually surprised that an undertaker was working here. Perhaps the recent assaults of the undead, has left him too occupied with burying the dead. Within no more than a couple of minutes, Gary suddenly stopped in front of an old but fancy crypt, marked by a symbolic crest above the entrance. Raksasha and I remained behind the cloaked thief, examining the crypt thoroughly, until a chill went down our spines. We were all so soaked at this point, that none of us were in a hurry, when it came to getting indoors. The wooden door leading into the crypt was broken. But judged by the damages, it seemed like the door had been smashed open from the outside. Someone had clearly been here, with the intention to vandalize this noble family tomb, and that could explain why the cemetery was locked. Some say that rebellious gangs of peasantry, occasionally invades the cemeteries at night, and desecrates the family tombs of the nobles, to protest against the lacking equality. It has often been said, that wealth shouldn’t possess the power to determine, whether or not we can offer the dead a proper burial. But of course, the word of a peasant is seldom heard among the arrogant nobles.

Gary: This is it. We’re going in there.
Wesley: Are you serious!? We have no authorization to enter that crypt.
Gary: We don’t need one.
Wesley: This is a family tomb, belonging to the rich nobles. It would be sacrilegious and dishonorable to enter those sacred catacombs.
Gary: Fair enough. If you wish to stay out here, and accept being hung or decapitated by dawn, be my guest. But I’m getting out of here.

The door was jammed, because of the broken boards of wood, dragging across the high threshold. So Gary decided to raise his foot, and destroy the already wrecked door with a strong kick. Raksasha and I remained outside in the rain, watching Gary disappear into the dark shadows of the tomb, with his black cloak flowing gracefully. She turned her head and looked at me, as if she awaited a response. Once she realized that I couldn’t make up my mind, she just looked away and sighed, before heading into the crypt as well. Her mighty foot grinded the pathetic remains of the door into the ground, leaving the entrance as open as it could possibly be. So what was stalling me? I was confused, and had no idea what was going on. Escaping into a crypt seemed absolutely pointless. There is only the same way out. Gary was leading us directly into a dead-end, and his goal was becoming increasingly mysterious. I lowered my head and sighed, feeling raindrops slide down across my face. Years back, I would never have been able to imagine myself, trespassing into the family tomb of a noble. Fate seems desperate to rob me of all honor and dignity. But no matter if I liked it or not, there was only one way for me to go from here. So I entered the crypt to pursue my allies, and was met by a disturbingly chilly breeze by the entrance...