Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 3.1 Bannihar
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 3.1
Bannihar The Moonless Night
The Banniharians did well with avoiding Draconids... now let's see how well they do with a swarm of undead!
"I'm telling you, it's a stupid idea." Priestess Delier folded her arms across her chest.
"And I repeat that it is pivotal to the safety of the caravan, Priestess." Lord Raes responded calmly, "I would not chance it if I did not think the rewards would be worthwhile."
The two had been arguing for nearly an hour. Although the camp was set and the traveling day was done, Lord Raes had made a case about the importance of scouting ahead. At first, the priestess was hesitant to agree with him but, as the dog pressed further for approval she became more and more reluctant to provide it. "You're too important to the safety of the people here to risk you to the Wild Lands without more protection. You could take more guards." she suggested.
The champion shook his head, "No... it would detract from the safety of the wagons here and, besides... a smaller group would be less likely seen. I have been very specific in my selection." Lord Raes had selected a half dozen men and women to accompany him on the scouting of the road. Although the dog had always been known to pay only casual heed to the words of Wild Landers, the four that passed the caravan on the road earlier in the day had been quite specific: a section of the Highway was haunted.
"You'll keep your Divine Shield with you?" the priestess inquired, her voice losing the authoritative edge, signaling her resignation to the argument.
"I will... and Corporal Iskiy will be there with me to provide guidance." Lord Raes nodded.
"Oh Raes..." the priestess sighed, "What am I going to do here without you?"
"You are good with the people, Priestess. You are devout, and well-received by your peers." the dog complimented formally, "You stand for Bannihar, and as long as you do that you will have followers regardless of whether I am by your side or scouting ahead." he rested a gauntleted paw on her shoulder, "I have faith in you, and you should have faith in yourself."
Kayte nodded thoughtfully, then stood on her tiptoes and embraced the armored dog, "Tah'aveen keep you safe, Lord Raes. You've been like a brother to me all these years, and I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."
The champion chuckled at that, glancing down at the wolf and returned the hug softly, "Well then, Tah'aveen had best answer your prayers because it would be quite unlike me to cause my little sister any pain."
She looked up at him as he gazed down at her. His ears reddened and she kissed him on the cheek, "You're a good man, Raes... but we both know you're my little brother." she smiled chidingly.
It was the dog's turn to grin playfully,"Just because I was barely learning to swing a sword while you were mastering the hymnal has nothing to do with size, Kayte... you may be older, but I still think of you as my little sister." he winked, and grinned wider, especially when she scowled. He quickly added in "By the Goddess!... are you shrinking? I could have sworn you used to be taller." for good measure.
"You're just growing bigger every week, you weed." the priestess countered, giving him a playful punch in the gut, followed by an 'ow', and pulling her paw back, rubbing the bruised knuckles from where they hit the armor, "When you're ten, a teenager would seem massive." and they shared a grin.
The smile slowly drained from his muzzle as he returned to the seriousness of the situation, "Iskiy will help make certain that we do not run afoul of any beasts. In the event of any serious problems I'll have Elesin along to-"
"Are you sure that's wise?" Kayte spoke up quickly.
"She is a competent Battle Mage." the dog confirmed.
"I'm just worried that she'll do something...." the priestess paused, obvious searching for the right word, "excessive."
"Without a whole caravan to look after I'll be able to devote more of my attention to keeping her in line." Lord Raes noted patiently, "Don't worry... we'll return if there's any danger... that IS the whole point, Kayte."
"I've heard stories about you, Raes..." the priestess pointed out, "like the Battle of Silver Hinge."
"That was a different situation entirely, I assure you." the dog noted formally, "You have my word: we'll return at the first sign of danger so you can be warned by something other than the sound of battle."
Kayte sighed, "Alright... I can't stop you so I won't try." she nodded, "But hurry back." she added with conviction.
"If there's no trouble then we'll return in due course." he nodded, "if there IS trouble, then we'll be back as fast as a big dog in full plate can ride." he smiled pleasantly and added a wink. With nothing more to be said, he offered a formal salute, and proceeded into the camp to gather up his chosen party.
Letting out a deep breath, the priestess looked up at the glinting eyes of the cat seated on her wagon; he was watching her, "I don't suppose you could keep an eye on them? Just in case, maybe?" she asked. Not exactly expecting a response, Kayte's ears when up when Alexander nodded simply and moved a piece of wood from his paw to the roof of the carriage, and noiselessly hopped down to the ground, padding after the armored dog without a sound.
"He's a Champion of Bannihar, Priestess..." said a gruff, but comforting voice from behind Kayte. She turned around and looked down to meet the gaze of Roarg, "They'll all be fine." the badger offered.
Priestess Delier paused for a moment, and they stood gazing at one another, the gears turning in the wolf's head as the expression on her face made it blatantly obvious that she was trying to figure out the best way to respond, until she chose the less-divine, more mundane way, "I'm still going to worry no matter what."
"I have Sebastian trailing them from the air." Roarg countered, holding his paw out. She placed hers in his grasp and he began walking back toward the wagons, taking her with him, "He'll be back in no time... and if there's anything wrong you can be as sure as Tah'aveen has a nice ass that we can have a rescue party gathered together like that." he snapped the fingers on his free paw for emphasis.
"Be sure as what?" Kayte asked, her ears up. The expression hinted at being one of the displeased authoritarian, but she failed to wear it well; a smile kept threatening to break through.
"Just an expression, 'Your Worship'." Roarg smirked, nodding his head to Kayte, "I always envisioned Tah'aveen as being a lady of extreme beauty, both physically as well as in presence. I kinda figured she'd have an ass a lot like yours."
Kayte froze in her tracks, and her expression vaporized into one of sudden surprise, ears up, lips taut, one eyebrow up as she turned to regard him, "Pardon?"
"Sorry. I can be a little forward at times." he offered pleasantly, flicking an ear, "but I don't say anything that isn't true. Any time I think of Tah'aveen, she'll have your shapely tail-stand."
"Tail-stand?" she asked, perplexed.
"You know... what a tail is attached to... your butt, Priestess."
"That's...." Kayte paused, "sweet..." she blinked, "I think."
"Thank you." he noted with a nod of his muzzle, "Come on... I was just about to join Elias for a soak, and I think you could use one too."
"A soak?" the priestess asked.
"Well... you know how he's a master of earth? Apparently he has a few tricks when it comes to water too." the badger grinned, "That sneaky armadillo kept his men from mutiny on more than one occasion by bribing em."
"Bribing them?" the wolf flicked an ear.
"Take a look." Roarg offered, pulling a section of brush aside to reveal a large depression in the earth, almost perfectly circular, filled with water that was steaming away in the night air. A subdued, mellow bluish glow came from nowhere, suffusing the water with light, "Hang out if you want, or go back to the wagons and start worrying about Lord Raes... but I wouldn't object one bit if you decided to join us." he winked, a rakish grin on his muzzle.
With that, he trotted into the clearing, unabashedly undoing his loincloth and dropping it at the edge of the pool. "CATAPAULT!!!" he warned Elias; the armadillo was quietly relaxing on the other side of the water... until a tsunami of badger-like proportions swamped him.
Elias came up sputtering, "What in the name of the seven types of crystalline formati--" but the words froze in his throat the moment Kayte's giggle reached the pool.
"I thought I told you to keep your bandages dry?" the priestess inquired, slowly making her way over to the edge of the water.
"They're... um... dry." Elias confirmed, one paw pointing to a small pile of carefully folded cloth while the other inconspicuously drifted down to the spot between his legs, covering himself underwater.
"You're still wearin' your undershorts, Hewen so it's not like she can see much anyway." Roarg chided, elbowing him, "Relax."
The armadillo blushed immediately, paw not moving from its place despite the suggestion, "Priestess Delier..." he raised his voice, and cleared his throat before continuing, "Roarg and I were just... I was showing him how I..." Elias' nervous swallow was obvious.
"I think what he's saying is, 'There's plenty of water here if you want to join us, Priestess.'." the badger offered with a wide grin.
Kayte smiled at that and slowly moved around to the edge of the pool. Quickly, with ears back, visible skin on his face flushing, the armadillo made a motion with his paw and the water ceased issuing its light. The wolf smiled wider, and slowly took off her cloak, setting it across a branch adjacent to the pool. She turned around, sliding out of her robes, revealing silk wraps around her chest and a fine loincloth at her waist.
"Beautiful moon out tonight." Roarg noted aside to Elias, eyes NOT focused on the sky... which held no moon.
"You have no shame." Elias responded, raising a paw to shield his eyes from wandering toward the priestess, who was bending over to unlace her sandals.
"Shame? No." the badger confirmed, "Decency? You bet." he leaned back against the edge of the pool and motioned to his groin with one paw, "I'm keeping it underwater..." he paused, looking at a change in the pool's current as a portion emerged, "Well... almost all of it... can't rightly keep it entirely down, what with the show and everything." he winked at the armadillo, who just blushed all the more.
Kayte turned back around to regard the two men, sliding into the pool after her loincloth found its way to some rocks beside the water. She let out a sigh, leaning back against the shore and closed her eyes, "I never thought I'd find something this wonderful out here... this is divine."
"It is..." Roarg nodded, then glanced to Elias, "It is... isn't it, Elias?"
"It? Um... yes... it is." the armadillo fidgeted, "Um... Priestess?"
"Yes, Elias?" the wolf inquired, slowly sinking lower into the water, sliding the silk from around her chest as her feminine form disappeared into the pool. Her head remained rested against the bank, eyes closed, face raised skyward.
"Is... do... are you..." Elias failed to formulate a series of words, both paws now covering his groin.
"They have hot tubs like this in the temple, Priestess?" Roarg asked casually, arms spread out freely along the rocky bank.
"Not PRECISELY like this, no, Roarg." the wolf replied, opening her eyes to look at him in the half-light, "We have bathing chambers, and we also have some magically crafted springs... I love them, of course."
"Must be nice to have something like this whenever you want it." the badger noted, apparently quite comfortable with the situation; he was having no trouble with the small-talk that obviously eluded the still tongue-tied armadillo.
"I'm just astounded at how wonderful this is to have right now." Kayte acknowledged, scooting just a little closer to Elias, "Did you really make this just now?"
Elias' posture snapped to attention as the question finally gave him something to focus on, "Well, it's not difficult, but it wasn't made precisely 'just now'. All in all, the basin took approximately six minutes. Calling up the water from below... now THAT was significantly more com--" the priestess settled onto the submerged ledge of stone directly next to the armadillo, and she set her paw on his thigh, "--plex."
"Is something wrong, Elias?" she asked softly, "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"
"I..." the armadillo faltered, "To be honest..." he let out a deep breath, "I'm not really used to bathing with women..."
"If it's a problem, I can go." the priestess offered understandingly, "I don't want to be a burden." she slowly disengaged. Kayte stood, and waded smoothly through the water toward her things.
"He's just a little shy, that's all, Priestess." the badger smirked, eyes focused on the wolf's shapely rump as she reached for her robe.
Elias turned even redder, raising his paw up to block the view, "I just wouldn't feel right about--"
"Oh come off it." the badger interrupted, playfully splashing water at the armadillo. He looked to the Priestess, "Kayte?"
"Yes?" she asked, her tail kinking at the tip slightly at the recognition of him using her casual name.
"Do you mind if I call you Kayte?" he asked her with a smile, shooting a wink at Elias.
"We're all friends here, Roarg." she responded warmly, "As long as you address me by my title at the appropriate time you're welcome to call me by my name in private." she turned to regard Elias, "You too, Elias. I don't mind."
"It... that..." the armadillo squirmed, one paw latching onto the stone bench, the other rubbing absently at his newly-healed eye, "Thank you for healing me." he said, out of nowhere.
Kayte and Roarg laughed in unison, the badger quieting before the wolf. She slowly slid back into the water, almost oozing through it over to the Geomancer, "I can see why you wanted to spend some time in a hot spring." she spoke softly, easing herself up onto his thighs, her breasts rising out of the water almost in front of his face, fur dripping.
"You... do?" he asked, the first word coming out as a wheeze, the second issued a few octaves too high.
"You're tense." she answered, wet paws softly rubbing either shoulder. Elias bit back an inadvertent churl of pleasure. Behind Kayte, Roarg grinned, and gave a thumbs-up to the armadillo, kicking back and obviously enjoying the show.
"Prieste--" Elias began, but was cut off.
"Kayte." she corrected, leaning forward until her body rested against his, muzzle a half-an-inch from touching his nose, "You can call me Kayte." and she smiled wider as her hips brushed against the front of his undergarments; Elias' eyes went wide in shame, surprise.... and other emotions. The wolf caressed the back of his head, pulling it closer as their noses touched, and she licked her muzzle expectantly
"GHOULS!" Sebastian screeched from above, startling all three, "Lord Raes' party found ghouls!"
"Oh, Goddess!" Kayte exclaimed, leaping up from her position on Elias in a spray of water. She ran for her robe and sped back toward the wagons, donning it as she went.
"Oh, Goddess..." Roarg scowled, snorting as he reached for his loincloth on the bank and climbed out of the pool. He grumbled, grabbing his warhammer off a rock and followed after the priestess.
"Oh, Goddess..." Elias' voice wavered somewhere between prudent relief and abject disappointment. He got to his feet, legs slightly bowed, and looked around for the rest of his clothes, "...oh Goddess..."
* * * * * *
The Bannihar Caravan is going to have to deal with a huge swath of undead.
Readers will need to decide on how best to proceed: 1) Rush to the aid Lord Raes, Iskiy, and Elesin (Iskiy and Elesin stand their ground). 2) Remain at distance and help Lord Raes, Iskiy, and Elesin fall back to a more defensible position, possibly risking damage to the caravan in the process (Iskiy and Elesin choose to fall back and engage at the same time). 3) With that many undead? Call in the heavy artillery and hope that those engaged with the walking dead make it through okay. (Lord Raes, Iskiy, and Elesin will do what they can to protect themselves from the barrage). 4) Everyone get the heck out of there! (Caravan mobilizes and flees and hopefully the scouts can get away too).
Champions of Bannihar, since you may end up in combat based on how the votes go I will require a Stance from each of you. Stance is given on a rating of 0-5 where 5 is full offense, 4 is aggressive, 3 is neutral, 2 is conservative, and 1 is reserved, A rating of 0 indicates that the character will NOT be taking part in combat (not even in a support role). Please bear in mind that these ratings will increase your Offense the higher your Stance number and increase your Defense the lower your Stance number (or, in the case of 0, have the character try to avoid combat altogether)-- the opposite sub-trait decreases conversely (Defense goes down if the number is high; Offense goes down if the number is low).
I will also require a Utilization number for those characters that have an 11 or higher in combined Magic + Sub-Trait or Faith + Sub-Trait. Like Stance, Utilization ranges from 0-5. Utilization is a numerical equivalent of how free your contributed character is with their magic and/or prayers-- a charater with a higher Utilization is more inclined to use their abilities often and more powerfully while a character that elects a lower Utilization is less likely to depend on them (Utilization of 0 will result in the character foregoing any such abilities). Bear in mind that the higher the level of Utilization the more likely a character is to suffer from fatigue. Characters with higher Attribute + Sub-Skill totals are able less likely to be affected by fatigue unless they use a higher score of Utilization.
For an example of how to declare Stance and Utilization, please view the actions taken by the Author-Contributed characters below.
Contributing Readers, make sure you make your stance and utilization selections before midnight (pst) on Thursday, July 14th.
This chapter marked Adult due to a straight-forward badger, a seductive priestess, and a very uncomfortable but eager armadillo.