Two figures stand at the entrance to the temple, one a human and the other some sort of lizard person. Both are wearing what appear to be the priestly robes of Neptus worship, deep blue garments with extensions on the back in the shape of small fins. Both are holding crossbows, and both have the same frantic, adamant look in their eyes.

  “Stay back, don’t go any further,” the human priest tells them.

  “That’s right,” the lizard priest says, “we’re not letting any secret were-monsters in our temple today, no sir. Not us priests here.”

  “Most definitely not. Not us priests.”

  Marco, Leylin, and Emmitt are still standing several yards away from the entrance to the temple. They have not dropped any of their weapons, but they keep them lowered, trying not to offend. Emmitt, already technically unarmed, raises his hands up in front of him with open palms. “We don’t mean any harm. We’re sorry if it looked that way.”

  “Yeah, uh, what he said.” Marco has a firm grip on both of his swords, though both are currently sheathed. The priests do not seem particularly reassured by anything they have said, waving around their crossbows with questionable care.

  “That’s right, huh?” the human priest says. “You don’t mean us any harm until we let you inside, and you reveal your big werewolf fangs.”

  His compatriot nods in agreement. “Bite us right up.”

  Emmitt exchanges uncertain glances with Marco and Leylin, unable to communicate much through the masks. They look back at the priests, still unsure what to do. Leylin slowly raises her shield over her torso, trying not to move too much at once. Emmitt tries for a bit of a smile, but all it does is contort the mask over his face. “Would it help if we said we werewolves?”

  “That’s exactly what a secret werewolf would say to a pair of innocent priests like us!”

  The lizard person points at the shallow ditch that has been dug around the perimeter of the inner temple. Given the rocky terrain, at no point is it deeper than a few inches. Nevertheless, it does appear to be filled with water. “See that right there? That’s our secret weapon. We made a moat and filled it up with holy water.”

  “You did what now?” Marco asks.

  A wave strikes against the side of the cliff, and a torrent of water splashes across the ground, mixing with the water in the moat. Already it all seems to be diffusing into the dirt, forming a murky sludge.

  “We filled a moat with holy water,” the human explains. “Any of those were-creatures try to cross over, and they’re burnt to a crisp.”

  “A damned crisp. Actually wait, crap.” The lizard priest crosses himself in an unusual fashion to atone for his blasphemous language, touching his forehead, then his lips, then both shoulders.

  Emmitt takes a chance by taking a step forward, keeping his hands up in the air facing the priests. With a glance up at the top of the roof above him, he pulls back his mask to reveal his ordinary, human face. From there, he tries his best to speak in a calm, even tone. “We’re actually the were-creatures. And we think it might be helpful if we could take a quick look around the temple, just to see if a friend of ours left anything behind.”

  “No friends here,” the hooded reptilian assures him. Both priests keep their crossbows raised, swinging them around with minimal caution. Whatever else they may be compensating for, the fear in their eyes is genuine.

     “

  “Yes, praise be Neptus, he’s… he’s just the best. He’s a great god. A real solid one.”

  “Yup, agreed. A strong agreement from me over here.”

  Something shifts in the sky. The stars move overhead as one cohesive sheet, and moonlight is no longer so radiant around them. Nevertheless Emmitt keeps his eyes on the two priest in the doorway, carefully watching their crossbows. He keeps his hands raised. “Well in that case, would you mind if I just ask a few questions? To help some fellow non-were-creatures on their journey? If you don’t want us in there, we’re not going to force our way into your holy place.”

  “We’re not?” Leylin asks.

  “Leylin shut up.”

  The priests look at each other, indecisive. For a moment they step back into the temple, whispering something to each other like they’re forming a game plan. Then they step back out, crossbows still pointed with frantic resolve. The human man clears his throat and does his best to speak in a firm, business-like tone. “We’re willing to hear your questions.”

     “

  The priests look at each other, then back at the party, both shaking their heads. The human turns back first. “Nope, no Gabriels here.”

     “

  The man shakes his head, resolute. “

  The lizard person quickly whispers something into his ear. He corrects himself.

  “Except for the crossbows. We got those somewhere else. We’re priests, and we have crossbows. That’ll all there is to it.”

  Marco, no longer looking very concerned, removes his grip from his swords and raises a hand to ask a question. “Is this still productive? Are we getting anything out of this? Or can we move on to the warehouse?”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He indicates to the warehouse, which is currently about forty yards away from the roof of the temple structure. From this angle, all they can really see is a stone wall with a single window on each story.

  Emmitt turns back to Marco and nods his head. “Yeah, we should probably get moving. Unless there’s anything else we want to ask these people?”

  Marco and Leylin are already walking away, moving towards the side of the gazebo-cover closest to the warehouse.

  Emmitt turns back to the priests at the door and gives an uncertain nod. “Well uh, thank you for your help. I hope you stay safe.”

  “Oh we’ll stay safe alright,” the lizard person says, waving his crossbow. “We’re not letting any giant evil moon or any of his minions get in here, not a chance.”

  “Splendid.” Emmitt pulls his mask back down and walks over to Leylin and Marco, no longer very keen to make conversation with the priests. They are now all standing by the side of the cliff, looking over at the warehouse.

  “You know, it looked much closer on the map,” Marco says.

  Emmitt gives a faint laugh as he shakes his head, surveying the distance between their current source of shelter and the next. He gives a glance up at the sky, trying to see where the moon is now located. “Anyone have a clue if Skarann is still watching us?”

  Marco shakes his head. “He’s been awfully quiet for a god of his character, but he could just be waiting for us to step out. If there’s moonlight, we got to assume we’re still vulnerable.”

  Leylin eyes the terrain that lies before them, mostly rock with a few patches of grass throughout. A solitary tree has managed to eke out a life attached to the peak of the cliff, its roots clasping onto the rock like tentacles. There are several puddles as well, a reminder of the additional danger posed by the coastline.

  “What are the odds if we just run for it?” Leylin asks. “One in four? One in five?”

  “I think we can aim for a little better than that.” Emmitt says. “At least until we’ve exhausted all our ideas. Speaking of which…” He turns to Marco. “You got any smoke bombs left over?”

  Marco shakes his head. “Used them all up to get to this place. If we’d known better we should have just skipped the temple and gone right to the warehouse.”

  Regretful nods all around. Leylin walks over to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the water below. The drop is at least forty feet, if not more. Still she stands there looking over, thinking. Then she turns back to the others. “Why don’t we just run along behind the cliff? Emmitt, you can make a platform for us, can’t you?”

  Emmitt is apprehensive, looking out at the massive waves cresting in the distance. “That would put us in a rather vulnerable position, wouldn’t it?”

  “Wouldn’t anything?”

  “I guess.” He doesn’t look so sure, still hanging back from the water, pacing around in his little space.

  “You can just make a barrier for the waves, like last time.” Leylin looks like she’s ready to dive right into the water.

  “Like last time, uh huh.” He looks out at the waves crashing against the cliffs. The weight of the ocean is not something he is especially eager to face once again. “A platform and a barrier, that’s a lot to focus on at once. Plus if I lose concentration, we’re all falling to our deaths anyway.”

  “You’re not wrong,” Marco says, “but if Skarann sees us, we’re probably dying regardless.”

  Marco is currently holding the grappling crossbow in his hands, pointing it towards the tree halfway across the cliff. After taking a few seconds to line up his shot, he pulls the trigger, sending the hook soaring across the open space. It bounces off one branch, then another, and another, every angle carefully calculated. By the time it has stopped, the rope is firmly wrapped in place.

  The rope casts a thin shadow across the moonlight terrain. The three of them wait in anxious silence, watching the stars for any sign of movement. After it is apparent Skarann is not going to react, Marco places the crossbow down on the ground beside him. “Here. You use the rope to move yourself along, and Emmitt can create all the barriers he likes.”

  Emmitt and Leylin look at the setup Marco has created, then back at each other. They give reluctant nods as they accept his plan.

  “Suppose that works,” Emmitt says.

  “Excellent.” Marco places both feet on the edge of the cliff, facing inwards. Both of his hands are free, the crossbow still sitting on the ground.

  Emmitt gives him an uncertain look. “Shouldn’t you be taking the crossbow then?”

  “Oh, that isn’t for me.” The creases of a smile form under Marco’s mask as he shakes his head. He hops over the edge of the cliff, disappearing out of view. For a moment, the others are shocked, running to look over the edge. Once they see what he is doing, their worry quickly fades away. Marco clammers across the rock face with remarkable ease, no need for ropes or any other assistance. In less than a minute he has climbed up onto the other side, waving over at them from behind the warehouse.

  “Well, that would do it then,” Emmitt says.

  Leylin is less than impressed. “Couldn’t resist an opportunity to show off.”

  Emmitt steps to the side and indicates towards the grappling crossbow hooked to the pillar. “You go ahead, I’ll spot you.”

  “Sounds good to me.” With minimal hesitation Leylin walks up to the crossbow and takes the handle in both hands. Replicating Marco’s previous stunt, she points both feet on the edge of the cliff and hops off out of sight. The rope tightens all at once as she drops twenty feet and swings to the middle of the cliff. Failing to take advantage of the momentum, she finds herself hanging from beneath the tree. She sighs. “Salt the damned earth, Marco.”

  From the other side, Marco is standing crouched in the shadow of the warehouse, making a swinging motion with his hand. Leylin gives a rude gesture with one hand then slowly retracts herself up the cliff, shortening the rope on the grappling hook. A sizable wave smashes against an invisible wall behind her as Emmitt watches intently. From that point she is able to shuffle herself along the rock face, retracting the rope as needed to bring her to the top of the cliff.

  “Something tells me we could have thought of a better plan,” she says.

  Marco shrugs. “I didn’t see you coming up with anything better.”

  Once Leylin is standing on solid ground, Marco takes the crossbow and chucks it over to the temple. Emmitt is able to grab it off of the ledge and use it to swing himself across the cliff and stumble over the rest of the way.

  Marco takes the crossbow from Emmitt once he is over the ledge. With a savvy flick of the wrist, he is able to dislodge the hook from the tree and retract the entire rope back to them. He returns the crossbow to its place slung over his back and draws both of his swords from his waist. As the others sit against the wall and wait, he peers around the corner to watch for anything coming down the road. So far, nothing. The shape of the moon is obscured behind the trees, not currently watching.

  Marco indicates to the back of the warehouse. “Good now, we’re going to climb in through the window right there. You’ll be under the moonlight for just a second.”

  Leylin and Emmitt both nod to indicate their understanding. Leylin is the first to go, running across the rocks before heaving herself through the window. Marco waits with his swords ready, prepared to throw them at any second. No movement in the sky. Emmitt is next, darting through the moonlight with haste and climbing into the warehouse.

  Just before Marco is ready to go ahead, something is walking out of the woods. What appears to be a (normal-sized) wolf is creeping across the road and towards the front of the warehouse. Marco raises his sword for a second, but then lowers it as the wolf gets closer to the building and disappears from his view. “Folks? Folks?”

  No response. Both Emmitt and Leylin are fully inside the warehouse. Marco shoves both swords back into their sheaths and runs over to the side of the building. He transitions into a jump and soars through the window in one fluid movement. When he lands, he finds that they are accompanied by more than a single animal.