Nisan Cathedral, Main Room

This is the first room to the Cathedral, so broad and wide that one could feel quite tiny when dwelling within these walls. The room is strangely shadowed, lit only by faint torchlight and brief sunlight, silent spare the songs of the nuns and sisters of the Church. A single bright light stands in the center of the room, the impression of the huge and quite lovely stained glass window which stands towards the noon sun. An altar stands at the back of this room- led up to by a large flight of well kept, fine stone steps. Sphereical designs of features, and designs of the Nisan Cross, stand at either side of the altar. Two huge statues stand on either side of you, but from where you stand you can not see anything of them in full. A huge set of double doors serves as the <exit> to this Cathedral- and a single <doorway> leads off to the east, to more of the Cathdedral.

Contents:

Yui



He's home free! For now. Bart is currently crawling through the tunnel, which is a lot more tight a fit than he remembers. He really hopes Gabriel's alright out there, but right now he's sure Gabri'd want Bart to make sure Margie's alright before Bart starts worrying about him. Upon finally reaching the panel that should lead into the main room of the cathedral, Bart grits his teeth and takes a deep breath. Here goes nothing. And the panel starts to move.



Unto what scene does the panel open to? Some ominous scene of betrayal, of underhanded plotting and ill intent? A Cathedral held by such malicious powers that, indeed it would require sneaking into through a back doorway?

Of course not. But the Cathedral still does not by any stretch of the imagination seem /right/.

After all, the Catherdral of Nisan is never quite so empty, free of the presence of nun, pilgram or citizen and the sounds and noises that the faithful and the hoi polloi brought with them. There is silence entirely without trace of how it came to be: It is like everyone simply got up and left, leaving behind the building barren. The dull light only seems to worsen such an effect. For it has been a busy day, has it not? And the sun outside is leaning towards its setting. Besides the golden-orange of the sun, pouring through the windows high there is nothing.. But darkness.

As if it were all unused.

The Holy Mother is elsewhere, as is the ambassador of the mysterious other country. And this room itself, while deceptively silent, is not quite free at all: Guards are here, in unmarked uniforms, minding the stairways up. But they are over by the stairway, now partially covered in darkness. And the faintest murmers of their speech are not enough to carry the distance of the vast and empty main room. At best, they are whispers of sound, impressions of life, in a place which is so strangely barren of it.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, Bart moves the panel over to the side and climbs out, just next to the large Nisan statue in the middle of the cathedral. He hears people, but he can't place what they're saying, and can't see where they are at this rate. Hrm. Looking around, he slowly comes to a stand. Now to try sneaking to the stairs...

Such a task is certainly not impossible: The Guards aren't expecting someone to sneak in through a passage that they weren't aware of in the first place. As far as they are concerned, no one has come through the front doors and there has been no sign or sound of unrest upstairs, where the ambassador and the Holy Mother.. 'Discuss peace'. For this reason, neither are terribly attentive on keeping watch on the room itself. Instead, they talk softly with each other, little murmers of sound, idly standing around the stairway. Unattentive, but certainly up to the job: Unmarked uniforms, but obviously well armed.

Despite how it is strange for them to be so. There are three here on this floor, standing by the stairs. A little much for one person to take on by himself. But right now they seem more bored than set for a fight.



Not only would it be unlikely for Bart to take down three people, he doesen't want a fight. He just wants to see if the Holy Mother is alright. He frowns a bit, before ducking behind the statue. Now, how could he get past them without drawing any attention to himself? Think, Bart, think! He looks back to the panel, and picks up one of the small rocks that are scattered about the tunnel. It hits him! Well, not the rock, but the rock's gonna be hitting someone. He'll distract the guards, and sneak around the statue from behind, heading up the stairs. Bart, you're a genius! But enough ego stroking. He rises a little bit, and pulls back his arm. Off, goes the rock towards one of the guards.

A short, mostly surprised 'Ow!' rings out through the Cathedral at that. Not that it was all /that/ loud but that the Main room is very large and open and is conducive to echoes.

One of the guards turns around swiftly, looking just as surprised as he is suddenly annoyed. The other two simply look dazed, questioning in a rather baffled tone as to whether the hit guard is letting noise get to him. But no, none of that! Something hit him, and that something was obviously intentional. And soldiers are not a happy sort when they're caught really off guard. Egos, after all.

The struck guard peers into the ill lit Cathedral, a hand snapping to his sword as he turns. But stupid, stupid lack of light! It's hard to tell if anyone's there at all. And so, resisting the urge to raise his other hand up to rub the back of his head- These uniforms didn't come with helmets- He instead reserves the pride that he has left and calls out, "Reveal yourself at once! Those who threaten the peace of Nisan shall not be tolerated!"

Oh, this is for Nisan's good. Of course.



Bart has the overwhelming need to mock these guards. Hee, dorks. But as much as he's got the urge to, he decides it's best to instead attract them to this spot then sneak around the statue now. Knock, knock, goes his hand on the side of the statue, before he starts sneaking around it. Unfortunately, if the guards are more resourceful than he's giving them credit for, you'll have to feel bad for poor Bart as he puts himself in a position to be trapped on both sides o_o. This isn't efficient planning, but how about we point out a time when Bart was an efficient planner?

If the other guards thought that the first was just overreacting before, they are certainly put on their guard when the poorly worded cry is met with.. Knocking? A baffled look crosses between the guards at that. Although that is perhaps not a good thing: This means that there /is/ someone there. Or there is a high chance of it.

But they're not paid to stand around and look confused, believe it or not. And one very quickly takes the initiative with a simple: "You. Go over there and check it out." It's not quite as bad as it could be, as they aren't aiming to trap him, having little clue where he exactly is or if he's even a threat. But they /are/ intending to flush him out. One goes to look, the other two remain standing at the stairway. On their guard.

While the one that steps forward into the dull light is only more on his guard, his sword unsheated and in hand as he cautiously moves towards the statues, trying to find whoever is there. Calling out yet another weak threat of, "If someone's there, step out immediately. This is for your own safety."

Psh, like Bart'll comply with that. What he -doesen't- expect is for the other two guards to be there as he emerges from the other side of the statue. And this acocunts for a sweatdrop the size of the Eiffel Tower. Now he's completely out in the open, and unless the guards are REALLY stupid, they probably see him. "...Er...you know, you were supposed to be over there," he points out, before putting a hand to his whip.

Nice try. But Bart's leaping forward and comically anticlimatic comment are met with nothing but the sound of a pair of swords being drawn in responce. And with the attention of the other guard dragged back here... Bart /is/ rather pinned between them all now, isn't he?

Unamused is a wonderful way to describe them. Such especially goes for the one who speaks: While his outfit is no different from that of the other two, he seems to be taking more authority in general, this being the one who sent the other one out before. So we'll consider him the leader of this small group, in action if not in title.

"Stop right there, sir. Are you not aware that this site is off-limits until the conclusion of the peace talks?" Most likely yes, or he wouldn't be making such a blatant effort to distract them and get past. But the guard is still nothing but serious and formal. Mostly because he is well aware that it is three against one. And a whip versus swords was never a good bet.

Bart sweatdrops again, "Well...yeah. Yeah! I was, and that's why i'm trying to get in!" Bart, this isn't the time to be justifying your entrance. You're caught, and you need to get OUT of here. So his eyes roll over towards the statue. He could try climbing it, but that'd be a long shot. Damn, some situation he got himself into, "...what're you afraid of, anyway? Obviously SOME guards are allowed in here, huh?" maybe he can talk them out of it? He can try, anyway.



"This has nothing to do with being 'afraid'." Serious, calm and collected. This guard was obviously hand chosen as one of the few Shevvites brought down here for a reason: He may be dressed as generically as the others, but there is a certain sort of.. Knowledgeable serenity that surrounds him. As if he were very experienced in his job and not surprised or distraught in the least to have to deal with this. He is stern. Short. As if addressing a child. "We are here for the safety of the Holy Mother and the ambassador. If you wish to know of the outcomes of it, you are welcome to wait outside." Back to square one, apparently. "As no. No one is permitted, not us, not you. To guarentee that the talks go without complication, it is being kept closed. Is that quite understandable?"

Bart hrms, it's hard to Bart to argue with that. He didn't come in here just to be thrown out like this, though, and he's convinced that everything going on here isn't what it seems...even if his better judgement is telling him that he should leave while he still can. So much for his better judgement, "Well, you know what? I don't think I want to wait for the outcome. I've got to interrupt for a reason of my own. And I think you should get out of my way," he takes out a coin. "But I wont make you, how much is it to you?" he flips it up into the air, whistling.

Right, taunt the soldiers. That does quite a lot of good, doesn't it? Although all it really seems to do is give the guard that went out searching the statues to come back and position himself neatly behind Bart. Not close enough to be an active threat.. Simply standing a few feet back. A safety in case anything goes violent. While the guard apparently in charge of this simply raises an eyebrow.

And try as he might to hide it, this guard has a rather distinct accent: He's doing quite a job of blurring it into something more neutral, but it's still there. A foreign, distant lilt that is Shevvite while trying to sound anything but. Quiet enough to be easily missed, but obvious enough to draw a double take. Thankfully, he's not talking enough to draw it out blatantly. "Is that right? Well.." There is a note of mocking in the soldier's voice. Obviously, he's not taking this very seriously. "Since you went to all the effort to sneak your way in here, I'll humor you. What is this reason you need to interrupt the talks so badly?"

Believe it or not, there is method to this apparent madness Bart is exhibiting right now, as he crosses his arms while the coin flies higher and higher into the air. Noticing the hint of an accent, he can't help but notice he's heard that before. But where? Think later, you're already making the odds close enough with your afterthoughts. When he gets out of this corner, he can think all he wants. Uncrossing his arms, he smirks. "You know, i'd tell you...but I think it's your nap time right now, buddy!" it'd be interesting to note a sparkle from mid air, and apparently a bright neon colored meteor of a coin is now flying towards that guard's head.

There's a purpose to this silliness? Surprise, surprise! That guard, who was so smug until a moment ago, is now facing a rather unique ether spell. Dazed, he glances up at the coin just a moment too late, being struck with it full on. He stumbles back a little, dropping his sword to the ground with an echoing metallic clatter, more stunned than anything else. That has to be the first time he's ever been attacked with a, ummm.... coin. Stepping back, he raises his hands to his face, disoriented to the point that he doesn't have a chance to respond in the least.

But the problem with this is that there are two other guards, and Bart only aimed at one. And they're quite quick to deploy. And while the one besides the fallen one draws his sword quickly into a readied position, it is the one situated behind the pirate that speaks. Seeming far too close all of a sudden, and a great deal more threatening now that there is open hostility in his tone. Although it's obvious enough why the first one was doing the talking now: This one has a much stronger accent.

"Stop /right there/. In the name of the City of Peace, I will not allow any terrorists to threaten the Holy Mother or the peace of this fair city!"

...These guys are just /full/ of silly lines like this, aren't they?

Pause. Replay. Pause. Replay. WHAT?! "Uh...er...you have me all wrong here...," he came to PROTECT the Holy Mother AND Nisan. Oh, CRAP. "Uh...I think...," he thinks...he'd better get out of here. NOW. So he doesen't miss a beat before charging towards the stunned guard, ready to brush past him on his way out the front door as fast as he possibly can. What the hell did Bart get himself into now?!

Of course the guards have it wrong. They /intentionally/ have it wrong. And while they don't know who they're dealing with, obviously, they're trained to perfection to spurt out all of these charming, if not rather innanely silly lines about being here for the glory and good of Nisan. Even and especially if that's not /exactly/ the case here. At all.

But that poor dazed guard.. he really didn't have a chance. He was and is too out of it to really do a thing but stumble and only manage to keep his balance at the last second as Bart barrels past him running. And the guards were not quite expecting the pirate to turn and run towards the entrance, after putting up such a fuss trying to get upstairs. So much so that only one guard chases after- The other makes sure that the stunned one is alright.

Even the one giving chase is something of a unique situation. He's not likely to keep chace long, once Bart's outside of the Cathedral. His job is guarding the Cathedral. And as much as an annoyance as Bart was, despite what the guards said, he's not exactly a threat worth serious effort. They'll catch him or give up and return. Likely the latter, for all that they're unwilling to stray far from where the ambassador is.

Who stands, a pale form in Shevvite design and delicate tan and white, looking down on them all from the walkway above. Calm, undisturbed she is as she watches the Fatima Prince flee, her quiet brown gaze so quiet, unbetraying of any emotion at all but eternal calm. She had exited to take a look at what the noise was below, and yet.. Seems unsurprised at all to see Bart had snuck in. And speaks but one thing, softly to herself, before she turns and returns to her duties.

"Tsh. Noisy. How distracting."