A job.

[bringmethatnpc]

On the banks of the Singapore River, a small bamboo-and-stone structure stands out as being one of the newest, and best cared for buildings in the area; a temple for a religion the Western world only hears of in stories from disreputable sailors. Inside, the acolytes sleep soundly on minimalist pallets, biding the time before midnight rituals.

The stillness within is a strange departure from the all-night activity in the town without, and stands apart as a silent haven. The silence is broken only by the movement of unwelcome boots sneaking across bamboo floors designed for bare feet only.

Comments

[turned_captain]

Will glances at Mal to check for some sort of acknoweldgement they don't seen to be returning, and stands slowly, pushing the lid up above them.

"Did you understand that?"

[badinlatin]

"Yes -- complainin' about chores. Sounds like my crew at home."

Home.

There's less humor in Mal's expression and just a touch more determination. "Figure we can get robes or somethin' in these trunks at all? We need to check the chambers for the temple elders and we'll be givin' ourselves away with hair longer 'n a close shave."

Said all while trying to crack the kink from hiding in the trunk out of his neck.

[turned_captain]

"Nothing in there," Will says, standing firm in a very unkinked posture then comes of being that much shorter than Mal.

"If we need robes..."

He looks past Mal, in the direction the footsteps had disappeared into, and tiptoes quickly and urgently in that direction, beckoning to Mal to follow him.

[badinlatin]

This should be fun.

The two novices -- at least, they better be novices, the way they were complaining -- are about twenty-five paces ahead of Will and Mal, turning left when the main walkway butt-ends at a recessed alcove and wooden gate leading off the property.

Mal hasn't drawn his pistol at all; he shouldn't need it yet.

[turned_captain]

Will pauses, glances at Mal and gestures to him urgently to follow him to the alcove, where they take different sides in the shadows. Will pulls his own pistol out, but holds the barrel, letting the butt hang from his fingers.

Then he draws his sword with his other hand, leaning forward to use the point to prod at the gate, until it swings open, protesting quietly against its hinges.

With a jerk, Will pushes it forward and retreats back into the shadows, as the gate swings back suddenly, thumping against its posts.

[badinlatin]

"[What was that?]" that same baritone voice asked to his partner.

The second man doesn't answer, but the footsteps stopped fading, reversing course toward the wooden gate.

Mal tenses at his position, right fist balling up and he's completely incapable of stopping a growing smile on his face.

[turned_captain]

Will is just about capable of not smiling, but there is a flash of enjoyment on his face in the dark as he readies himself, and focuses on the footsteps. He doesn't have time to sheathe his sword, but holds it loos at his side until the two men have reached the closest point to tha alcove.

Then he steps forward sharply, past the nearest to bring his pistol butt down sharply on the back of the head of the farthest novice.

[badinlatin]

There's just enough time for the taller of the two's eyes to go wide in recognition before they cross trying to follow the path of Mal's fist to the man's face.

Mal grabs the man's robes to stop him from thumping to the ground and attracting more attention, all the while stripping them off the prone body.

"How do I look?" he asks offhandedly, raising the dark orange-red hood over his head.

[turned_captain]

Will had caught his victim under the arm and lowered him to the ground before stripping him of his robes.

He looks up just as he has them in his arms, and gives Mal a thoughtful look as he replaces his gun and his sword.

"They're too small for you," he remarks, before pulling his on.

[badinlatin]

"Everyone's a critic. C'mon, this way."

Mal waits for Will to be dressed, and the pair of hooded men now are walking quickly and as silently as they can in leather boots toward the rear chambers of the temple.

"We need to find the head priest."

[turned_captain]

Will pulls his hood up and follows Mal, after a while quickening so he's walking with him instead.

Will's had enough of following people by now.

"Where would he be?"

[badinlatin]

As soon as Mal hears Will's question, the series of doorways they'd been passing -- brown, brown, some more brown -- change into gold leaf and more gold leaf.

"He with the most decorations, wins?" Mal finally stops in front of the only door with a placard over the door-frame. He presses an ear to the door, but no sound is heard through the heavy wood, and Mal reaches for the lever to open the door.

[turned_captain]

Will stands back as Mal does so, one hand reaching into his robes just in case, eyes open and alert for any surprises.

[badinlatin]

For once in Mal's entire thieving history, the door does not creak open.

It does however reveal a large pile of fabric swaths on one side of the opulent room, and it takes Mal a moment to figure out that it's a man sleeping.

Exhaling, Mal goes immediately for the desk on the opposite end of the chambers, starting his search for, if not the map, then at least anything of use.

[turned_captain]

Will hangs back for a second, leaving Mal to the deck, and homes in on a low chest at the other side of the room.

He has to move a small statue off the chest and place it on the floor, before he lifts the lid off and starts lifting up the sheets he finds within.

[badinlatin]

Most of the papers on the priest's desk are boring -- affairs of the temple, orders and texts --

To my most noble and worthy uncle: I look forward to my visit... Mal finds at the top of a folded and refolded letter, and he scans quickly to the bottom.

Your humble nephew, Sao Feng.

Mal's eyes open wide, and he mouths to Will while pointing at the still sleeping pile of clothes -- Sao Feng is coming!

[turned_captain]

Will, meanwhile, has found a very promising and heavy roll of what appear to be bamboo mats. His eyes go wide and he looks over to Mal just in time to see Mal point at the sleeping man and mouth something.

Will's not very good at lip reading.

What? he mouths back.

[badinlatin]

Another glance at the sleeping man, who's started snoring, and Mal rolls his eyes in frustration -- how to explain?

Exaggerated mouth movement and miming!

"SOW" is first, then Mal holds up his two index fingers to each corner of his mouth.

"FANG"

Close enough, right?

[turned_captain]

Will lifts up the roll - he can see ink on the exposed edge which hints at navigational chart - and then at Mal, who's behaving very oddly.

He scans the desk for an empty rum bottle.

"What?" he hisses.

[badinlatin]

The paper under Mal's hands on the desk crinkle when his fingers curl, and Mal steps closer to Will.

He doesn't see the statue Will moved by the trunk until he's already tripped over it.

The pile of cloths has stopped snoring, but he's rolling over now, and the mutter of Chinese at the noise in the room is raised to a shout.

"[Intruders!]"

Weakly: "It's Sao Feng's uncle."

[turned_captain]

Will's eyes snap wide and he stares at the waking bundle.

He moves quickly, tossing the bamboo rolls to Mal and scooping up the statue in the next move. That comes down hard on the head of the man he assumes to be Sao Feng's uncle.

"We'll have to fight our way out."

That's Will's preferred method anyway.

[badinlatin]

Mal straightens, catching the roll in his left hand and unholstering his pistol in his right.

"Figured as much. Was getting bored with all the sneaking. After you?" Mal opens the door for Will to walk out first.

[turned_captain]

Leaving the unconscious man... well, unconscious, Will pulls his pistol out and checks its readiness before stepping to the edge of the room and looking around and heading out into the hallway.

The first men to heed their boss's cry are apparently unarmed acolytes, and Will shoulders his way past them, knocking them in the head and neck where possible to knock them out completely.

[badinlatin]

Mal happy enough not to have to shoot unarmed men and they're running fast enough through the hallways of the temple that it's harder than usual for Mal to keep track of whether or not they are retracing their steps.

The pair stops, though when two novices are a little more than unarmed. 'Little more', here, meaning showing off an intricate series of martial arts moves the likes of which Mal has never seen.

He shoots the first one in the kneecap and he goes down with a curse and a scream. Mal adjusts his sights on the second.

"We done?" Mal asks in English.

There's a firm nodding from the second novice as he lets Mal and Will pass him by while attending to his friend.

[turned_captain]

Will meanwhile has his sword out in the other hand. His pistol only has one shot, and he's not going to waste it while Mal has that strange multi-shooter from the far future.

He rounds a corner and runs into a much larger group of men, this time clearly not monks at all, but recognisable pirates, with swords drawn.

They don't help much, because Will launches into them quickly and cuts through two in one swing.