The crypt of Fishgrove’s church was shrouded in complete darkness. Alicja was unsure how long both she and Christian had been trapped but she knew it had been a couple of days at the very least. Though their water skins had kept them alive for now, their water levels were starting to run low.  Despite their best efforts to escape from the crypt, the debris that was covering the entrance was too heavy for them to move. Though she dare not admit it Alicja was afraid. She did not want to be buried alive in this terrible place; no one would even know what had happened to her. Though the burning pain was now less severe than before, she could still feel the pain radiating through her face. Alicja was currently sat upright against what she believed to be one of the stone coffins. Neither she nor Christian had spoken much since they failed to get out and the silence was torture. However the deathly silence was soon broken from voices outside. The voices were nothing more than murmuring and Alicja couldn’t make out what they were saying. Alicja then heard the sound of creaking wood followed by loud crashing sounds. Someone was trying to remove the debris from the entrance. Relief filled Alicja as she realised that she would not die down here as she had feared. However a new sense of dread soon emerged as she realised that whoever was trying to get into the crypt was unlikely to be an ally. 

“Christian”? She whispered as the first rays of sunlight broke through into the crypt.

“I know I can hear them” Christian replied “Be on-guard whoever they are, it is likely they are with the Greensworth army”

“What should we do” replied Alicja as she started to stand up.

“I have a plan. When they come down I need you to distract them” Whispered Christian

“What do you mean ‘distract them’” snapped Alicja. She waited for a response and yet no answer came. As more light started to illuminate the room she realised that she couldn’t even see where Christian was. “Christian where are you?” said Alicja, though she tried to keep her voice down panic caused her to speak louder than she intended

“I think I heard something” came a woman’s voice from above

“You’re hearing things” a man’s voice replied “help me move this would you” he said as the last wooden beam was lifted out of the way. As they moved it small pieces of wood and ash collapsed into the crypt. Alicja quickly hid behind one of the stone tombs. The tomb was that of her great grandmother, a woman whom had ruled Ralda over a hundred years before Alicja was born. As she peaked out over the tomb she could see two people making their way down into the tomb. The first one to come down was the woman. She was of medium height and had short black hair. She was wearing leather armour and had a longsword sheathed at her side. The second person to come down was the man. Unlike the woman he was wearing chainmail and a metal breastplate. Alicja couldn’t see his head as it was covered with a metal helm. Both of them bore the Anjervine crest.

“Should we tell the others” The woman said as she walked into the center of the room

“Are you mad? I have been scrounging around this ash heap of a town for days and found next to nothing” the man said gruffly “If I find anything down here I’m not sharing it with any of those Greensworth cunts”. Alicja was at a loss of what to do. She knew that she would be captured once they inevitable found her. The only thing she could do was follow through with Christians plan, whatever it was. Alicja stepped out from her hiding spot, startling both soldiers and causing the man to immediately draw his weapon.

“Who the hell are you?!” He demanded as he pointed his sword at Alicja and started to approach her. Before he could get any closer however, Christian leaped out from behind one of the tombs closest to the stairs. Before the man even knew what had happened Christian had stabbed him in the back of the neck, right between his helm and breastplate. As the woman turned round she started to draw her weapon as Christian ran at her, knife in hand. By the time she had drawn her weapon it was too late as Christian thrusted his knife into her heart causing both of them to collapse to the floor. Alicja watched in horror as the ordeal played out in front of her; she had just watched her closest friend murder two people right in front of her. It had happened so quickly that Alicja was having difficulty coming to terms with what had just happened.

“What did you do” cried Alicja

“Keep your voice down” Said Christian sharply as he quickly stood up “There may be more outside”

“You just killed them” Alicja exclaimed

“And what other choice did I have. If they found us you would be captured and I would probably be killed” Christian paused for a moment as he calmed himself “Alicja I need to listen to me, we need to get out of Fishgrove now. The fact that they were here means that Fishgrove is still surrounded by enemy soldiers and if we don’t leave now they are bound to find us” Christian spoke more softly than he had done before. He knew Alicja was still in shock, but he also knew that they needed to leave now.

“And how are we supposed get out of Fishgrove, like you said it’s still surrounded by house Greensworth and Anjervine”. Alicja said. Christian nodded at the two soldiers that he had just killed.

“We take their armour and disguise ourselves. Hopefully no one will acknowledge a couple of Anjervine soldiers wandering through Fishgrove. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Both Alicja and Christian had finally finished putting on the Anjervine soldiers gear. Neither of them had ever put on armour before and the process of doing so had taken longer than expected. Alicja was wearing the man’s chain and plate armour. Though she found it heavy and uncomfortable she couldn’t risk being identified, and the helmet provided the best way to cover her face. They were finally ready to leave the crypt.

“Are you sure this will work” Asked Alicja “If they find out who we are then they will kill you for what you did to the Anjervine soldiers”

“I can’t know for certain, either way we don’t have much of a choice” Christian said. Alicja and Christian briefly looked at each other before walking out of the tomb into the ruins that Alicja once called her home.