h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A bit late, but I fell asleep and slept for a solid 7 hours in a row, felt good. Maybe it's still Monday somewhere on ?

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Omens of Oblivion: The Reluctant Courier

As the assassin approached her, Freya realised that she must not allow him to get his hands on the pendant the Emperor had given her. Instead of fighting, she turned around and fled in the direction the guards had gone. She feared she would not be able to rid herself of this fiend single handedly. Screaming for help, Freya was relieved to see one of the guards running towards her. She stopped, turned around, and together they finally managed to kill the assassin. The guard then rushed off towards the dead end where she and the Emperor had been waiting.

Freya looked around her. There were several dead assassins littering the floor around her. As she searched their bodies for potions or other valuables, she came across the body of one of the guards. As she bent down to pick up the guard's sword, she heared an anguished exclamation and, taking a deep breath to steady herself, Freya walked back to where the Emperor had been slain, to find the one remaining guard examining the body.

Hearing her approach, the guard aimed an accusing stare at Freya:

'The Amulet of Kings - where is it? It wasn't on the Emperor's body!'

Freya didn't know how or where to start. Would the guard even believe her if she told him the Emperor himself had given it to her? What if he thought she had picked it up herself once the Emperor had been killed? Hesitatingly, Freya tried to recount for everything that had transpired and, to her relief, the guard did not seem to be very surprised. It seemed that you learnt to expect the unexpected when working for the Emperor.

The guard stressed how important it was that she immediately deliver the Amulet to Jauffre, the Grandmaster of the Blades. Freya started protesting, she did not even know which way to head for Chorrol and the priory, and had he not noticed they were still stuck in the dungeons?

'Take it easy. You'll be fine. I know this is a lot to take in all at once. No one's more surprised than me that I'm sending an escaped prisoner off with the Amulet of Kings!'

He started describing the mission in detail. it turned out the guard's name was Baurus, and that he could actually be quite nice. Baurus pulled out a piece of parchment and sketched a rough map, and handed her a key. Pointing into the narrow doorway from where the assassin that killed the Emperor had come, he explained to Freya that she would probably be able to find an entrance to the sewers, that would lead her out of the city.

'By the way, thank you for recovering my comrades's swords - I'll make sure that they are given a place of honor in the halls of the Blades.'

Frustrated, Freya handed him the swords. She had planned on selling at least one of them to buy supplies, and possibly keep one for herself - they were good blades; sharp and well balanced. Ah well, good thing she had picked up as many weapons as she could carry while she trawled through the tunnels, even though they were pretty rusty.

Taking farewell of Baurus, Freya headed for the sewers. It wasn't as far as she had expected, and only inhabited by a few rats and goblins that she quickly took down with her bow and arrow. Fairly soon, she thought she could see daylight ahead and started running. Freedom, fresh air, maybe even sunshine!

http://a-picture-per-day.blogspot.com/2011/11/omens-of-oblivion-reluctant-courier.html

Still Monday where I am, but just barely.

[-B4-]