"Is it temple work?" Florian inquires
Basil's face turns serious "You know I don't trust the temple. I need you to do something for me personally."
She nods her head, understanding how the relationship with the temple means he's not always free to move in the way he wants. "I feel it's a mission very suited to your talents." Basil explains
"Is it dangerous?"
"Very. It will almost certainly result in death if you fail."
Florian shudders at the thought of taking on something so dangerous. "Well if you do nothing you'll probably still die anyway."
"Thanks for the reassurance" She replies sarcastically to his prodding.
She lowers her head to think and organize her thoughts. Basil's all knowing and always cryptic in his instruction. The things he says still baffle her on occasion, and for as long as she could remember he had always been this way. Even if he knew the full answer, for whatever reason he would never say it. Florian couldn't exactly refuse since this is the premise of her relationship to Basil.
Basil is her benefactor and as such she took on the dirty work when necessary.
"Is this really a mission for me? Or is the temple trying to get rid of a troublemaker and using you to do so?"
"Killing two birds with one stone. That said, I can't deny it's not the case. I truly think your disposition is suited for this."
Knowing what Basil meant by disposition Florian silently glared at him. "You already know I'm going to accept this job anyway, there's not point in convincing me further."
A smug smile sits on his lips, he pulls a tattered notebook and some other papers from the rucksack sitting at his feet. He hands them over, and Florian pages through quickly without reading too much. He sets another small pouch on the table. Florian suspected it to be money which means she would be traveling.
"I'm leaving it to you to find them, I'm out of time and have to leave again." Basil stands, dusting all the crumbs from his clothing. Gathering all of his things and scurries towards the back door.
"You stupid Sage I still had questions-" Florian grumbled to an empty room, gritting her teeth and sighing. Leaving without a proper explanation and expecting her to complete tasks with only the bare minimum information is an annoying habit of his.
Florian is startled by the sudden knock on the door. It's pushed open and the high priest greets her again.
"According to the Sage, arrangements will be made for you to leave the temple tomorrow morning."
Florian nods and goes back to her room. She struggled to sleep not knowing what to expect and having to anticipate unknown danger.
On cue, the morning repeats with the disciples being woken up by the nagging sound of bells ringing up and down the annex halls. Everyone wakes, gets ready and leaves the room for their morning duties.
Out of habit, Florian makes her bed and proceeds to her wooden chest to pull out a battered satchel. She places the pouch, papers and notebook that Basil had given her along with the only change of casual clothing she owns. She changes her clothes into the temple attire and leaves her hair down. No one would nag about her messy hair if she isn't present in the temple so there's no point in wasting time or effort on an uncomfortable hairstyle.
She pulls on a worn out pair of shoes and makes her way to the annex entrance. To Florian's surprise she finds the head priest waiting to see her off. He constantly acted indifferent, and yet, when compared to most, he has shown her the most kindness over the last eight years of her being in the temple.
The courtyard mostly looked like a well kept garden with few shrubbery, flowers and a clean paved path that led down to the outskirts of the temple. She gazes upon this place with nostalgia, it is the first place she saw when she was brought to the temple and walked the same path into the annex.
The head priest walks ahead of her, leading the way to the end of the garden and opens the gate for Florian. She's never been a fan of the head priest's pitied stares and sympathetic tendencies. Basil once explained that kindness without consideration could be harmful. Florian knew he felt pity for her, and as a result acted lenient.
"Thank you for everything." She bows respectfully. With the faint idea in mind, that she will never return and this is her goodbye. Not one to expect anything from the uncompromising man, her steps drifted further from the temple gate.
"Be careful Florian." For once a genuine sincerity lay in his voice, a simple sentence that made her smile with gratitude. It's a pleasant goodbye.
She traveled down the long road, a dirt pathway that seemed to stretch on endlessly. The trees along the sides provided a relatively shady walk. Occasionally having to move out of the way of carriages and feeling a twinge of envy with every increasing ache in her legs. Florian left the shaded cover of the trees, spotting a half brick wall sectioning off an area further up the road. A wooden sign perched outside, three planks with arrows pointed to the three different villages the roads lead to. Florian reads the signs, when a farming wagon stops at the diverging paths.
"Miss, ya from the temple aren't ya?" the man spoke with a chipper voice
"Ah, yes I am sir" she replied with the same friendlies he greeted her with.
"Where are ya headed?" Florian looked at the sign and having never been to any of the villages, it would be easier just to give a reply now and figure it out after she arrives at the village. "The next village over."
"Great! I'm headed to Hayle village, it's the village further down this road here." the farmer points down the middle path "If ya want ya can hop on the back of the wagon. It's not the most comfortable though."
"Thank you for your kindness sir" Florian takes the opportunity, sitting on the hard wood of the wagon and nestles between some crates. The man cracks a stick on the side of the wagon, a loud whistle and the mule shakes its head and steadily trudges down the path.
'Luckily enough the wagon is headed to the next village.' she hums enjoying the scenery and decides to sort through all the information that Basil had given her. The papers and notebook should have contained something useful, though creeping doubt that Basil had been the one to collect and pen these pieces of information made her question the viability. Florian pulls the satchel to her lap and takes out the small pouch; curious to see what it held. She had been sure it was funds for her travels, low and behold, it is not. She pulls out a circular silver brooch with an embellished cat design. Basil did have a fondness for cats, and clearly enough love of felines to give her a bag of eight silver cat brooches.
"What am I supposed to do with these?"
The notebook and papers are what attracts her attention, it reveals some partial sketches of strangers' faces along with posters and a single painted portrait.
"Are these the people I have to find?"
The loose pages held the faces and the notebook contained their names and corresponding information.