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Father Jonathan looked out a window. The blizzard that had picked up last night was in full force. "Hmmm...we may be getting travelers in tonight." He called to all the monks in the monastery. "Prepare some food and accommodations, we want to make sure anybody who has to wait out the blizzard here is taken care of." And with that, all the monks, including father Jonathan himself, started making preparations. They weren't expecting more than 5 or so people, as their Monastery was quite secluded.

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Father Jonathan had been in the room where they stored their sheets and other materials for makeshift beds for guests. He heard the door open and close, and the woman who entered call out. "One moment, I'll be right there!" After gathering a few sheets, he walked back out into the main room for prayer, which was right past the entryway. "Ah, welcome. I had noticed the blizzard, and have had some of us prepare for a few guests, so it's perfectly alright." He set the linens he had gathered on a table by the entrance to the room. "If you would wait a moment, I will go fetch a few thicker quilts for you and any other guests that might arrive."

Alene Heartly held her head down low as she stepped onto the front steps of the monastery. She carried a small basket that held some herbs. Alene also wore a dark brown hooded cape that protected her from most of the snow, though most of it covered the cape itself.

"I am glad to be out of that!" she announced as she took the hood of her head and looked around with a bright smile, "Imagine I am out gathering wild winter herbs and this storm comes out of nowhere. I am so lucky that I was able to find this place so easily. The monks sure are wise to place their homes out in the middle of nowhere. They sure do help in times like this."

With that she removed her cape and started to shake it off of the snow. She had rather long brown hair that went to the middle of her back and chocolate brown eyes. She had an overall friendly appearance despite the bad weather.

Nell smiled at the Father as she lowered her hood, revealing white-blonde hair that, once fluffed out of the cloak, reached the tops of her shoulder blades, and green eyes that would make healthy grass jealous. "Ah, thank you so much, Father." She gave him a small curtsy, parting her worn cloak to reveal her traveling dress, which was thick and sturdy, definitely not the epitomy of fashion.

The traveler looked at the newcomer, another female, and bowed her head at the girl. Apparently, Nell wasn't the only one that was out in the snow. That didn't make her feel as stupid as she had before.

A lone figure trudged through the snow, ice hurtling against her thick cloak like Crusaders against the armies of enemy Muslims. With the sun hidden behind massive clouds, a dark pallor was cast over the land. The hood of the figure moved as she looked up and into the foreboding face of the monastery in front of her.

With no one around to see, she spat at the foot of it.

Still, it was all she had at the moment, and it would be very silly of her to turn away this gift from God. Although, martyrdom was starting to look more preferable the longer she stared at the thing that had taken away her home, destroyed her whole world, and ruined the empire.

No. She tried to calm herself. I should not be so hateful. A monastery is the perfect place to demonstrate my piety. I must endure whatever trials God has sent my way and prove myself worthy of his favor. Besides, these are peasants, not warriors, and they have committed no injustice towards me. With that, she took the final steps to the door and went inside. It felt instantly warmer, although she knew that, once she got used to it, the air would be chilly enough again in these stone walls. The woman shook off the snow from her cloak and lowered her hood. She had dark brown hair done up in elaborate coiffures, only slightly mussed due to the harsh winds. Her face had a slightly hard look to it, as if it had seen too many times of heartbreak and trial. Looking to the side, she saw two other women, also fairly wet and looking like battled travelers. She nodded at them in greeting, and made sure to switch to Latin. (Mentally, she thanked her old tutor, may God rest his soul. She thought the Latin might have been useless for the rest of her life.) "Good-day to you, fellow wanderers. Do you know if this monastery is receiving supplicants?"


(Historical references will be explained in subsequent dialogue.)

The second door was kicked in and at the entrance stood Innokentii Maloyaroslavtseva, a stout little man with a big Ushanka and a large fur coat of what looked like to be a skinned grizzly bear.

"h-Hello everybohdy!" chimed the little man in a heavy Russian accent. "I had to kiel thies bear for food and skienn iet for its wrarm fur. Then I yoosed it's mating parrtner wife lady for cavalry to get here. I do hope that I am not intrruding. That wood be very bad. But, as they say in Rrussia, "YOU! You boy! Fetch me my slippers for I am noble man! Then you will noht git flogged!"

The little man burst into laughter and had tears in his eyes out of his own wit.

"Ohhhh, those were good tiymes..."

He wiped away the tear from his eyes and slammed the door shut with his large forearm.

((All posts for the sake of argument will be typed out regularily as phonetic typing takes too much effort if the purpose is merely to find the culprits))

"Keep your voice down and have some respect. You are on holy ground."

Behind the strange woman (QD's character), Richard, and the Russian, strolled a heavily cloaked man, covered head to toe in black cloth. He carried with him a rather elongated body-scepter, carved from fine wood; most of the upper portion was gilded in fine metals, and a clear, glass sphere was snugly lodged into the top between four prongs. As he entered through the doorway, he pulled down the hood of his robes, revealing a man with somewhat pale skin, dark-brown straight hair that fell down to his shoulders, and cerulean blue eyes.

"Father Jonathan?" the man asked aloud as he walked forward into the monastery, his stride revealing that he had come here for a purpose.