Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 3.1, Myre
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 3.1
Myre Graceless
Bahrla gets the Moonstone Torque. The Vinewoven Sandals are given to Anor-Roc. Keeland receives the Helm of the Earth Lord. The Moonlight is handed over to Liam while Josh is given possession of the Midnight Breeze Cordial.
Dearest Miri,
Although the failure of crossing the pass as an entire caravan was a tragic one, and even with the unforeseen loss of life in the ruins, the overall event is what suppose Lord Dalton would call a 'net gain'. With magical artifacts in our possession, we set out this morning after closing up our small camp and saying a prayer for those we lost. Joining back up with the caravan would take most of the day... and that was assuming no more problems arose. In fact, all-in-all, today started much better than I thought it would.
There were fourteen of us total. Sergeant Keeland, myself, and two other guardsmen who I didn't personally know were the main protection for our group. Bahrla and Liam were there as well, ensuring that we had some extra blades if the need arose. We lost a cheetah acolyte when the passage beneath the ground opened, so that left only Lady Marion and the young lion Josh as our spiritual guidance.
Anor-Roc was thankfully able to help look out for Josh and helped Valda keep an eye on the little girl. The girl's father was still alive, as were two of the laborers on his work crew; he was part of a ten person group that was split during the fall at the pass and three more of them met their end in the ruins. I know I don't want to feel at least partially responsible for it, Miri... it helps that nobody blames me, but I still feel bad.
We were a much smaller group, and hardly an ideal size, according to Bahrla anyway. She said that we were too large to get by undetected and too small to mount a reasonable defense. I didn't like the way she described the situation but I realized that she knew more about the Wild Lands than any of us. Once we got the single wagon up and out of the ravine we stopped for a short break to discuss our options. Bahrla was more than willing to present them.
"There are too many of us to move quietly and too few of us for any real protection. " she explained, "Our best option is to split up into two smaller groups." she pointed, "Several guards, "she motioned to Sergeant Reilly and the two guards I didn't know, "Along with the laborers." she motioned to the men who were readjusting the rigging for the mounts, "and the wagon." she then gestured toward the Highway, about a hundred yards to our left, "They'll take the Highway to reduce the risk of any Wild Land beasts attacking."
"And the rest of us?" Anor-Roc inquired.
"With me." she stated. "We're going the direct route." she pointed north.
"Agnes needs a wagon. You can't expect her to travel through the Wild Lands on foot." Valda quickly objected, motioning to the little girl at her side. I hadn't recalled hearing her name before that moment but, if I had I'd forgotten, so I decided to commit it to memory (and this journal, since it'll be useful for reference).
"I wanna be with my daddy." the little girl confirmed, looking to her father among the work crew.
"Then she'll go with the wagon." Bahrla stated in a casual tone. It was interesting to watch the minotaur woman in a position of leadership-- she had no problem addressing objections and the thought of an argument didn't even seem to cross her mind. I suppose it was unfortunate that Valda was the one she was speaking with.
"Then I'm going with her too." the squirrel stated, "It's my job to protect her."
Interestingly enough it didn't even slow Bahrla down, "Alright, then you," she pointed at the Sergeant, "Will come with us, and the squirrel will take your place as a caravan guard."
"But... I'm not a guard." the squirrel objected.
"If it's your job to protect her then you'd better be." the Wild Lander stated casually, "Because that's what she'll need in the Wild Lands." she turned to face Valda, "So... if you're going with her you're a guard... if you're staying here then she'll have the guards looking after her."
"And her father." Anor-Roc offered calmingly, resting a paw on Valda's shoulder, "I'm sure he'll keep her safe."
"He'll be busy working." Valda objected, but it was a weak one.
"I'll keep her safe, Ms. Corwin." Sergeant Reilly acknowledged, "Don't worry."
"Thank you." the squirrel noted, but it was emotionless. She glanced at Lady Marion, who was watching her, "What?"
The priestess spoke up at that, "We have Bahrla with us for good reason, Valda... her advice is sound, and this will be safest for everyone."
"You put me in charge of Agnes, Priestess... you should be reinforcing your decision by making sure she stays with me." Valda challenged.
Lady Marion shook her head, "You made a good point in that she would not do well walking through the Wild Lands. Unless you'd like to retract that statement, which was well made, then we've already chosen the best plan possible. Whether you can be with her or not, your advice of moving her to the wagon was sound; she'll be safest there."
"Trust in the guards." I made the mistake of suggesting, resting a hand on her shoulder, "They'll make sure nothing bad happens."
"I don't trust guards." Valda countered quickly, pulling her shoulder free of me.
"We don't have time for the drama." Bahrla interjected, "She stays with you or she goes in the wagon... those are your two choices, squirrel."
Valda gazed daggers at the Wild Lander and simply stared at her in rage. When it was obvious that no amount of silent fury was going to change Bahrla's mind, the squirrel scowled and looked away, "The wagon."
"Good choice." Liam stated flatly, "Now can we get going?" It was a rather callous remark, and it turned several heads, but everyone let it slide as we prepared to leave. It took a few moments before the fox realized how the comment came across and he casually tried to mask his own concern at what he said. I wasn't surprised at all, especially when I saw Liam stuff his paws into his pockets to hide the shakiness in his fingers; he was starting to go through withdrawals.
We waited and watched as the guards and laborers took the wagon back toward the road, leaving Bahrla, Lady Marion, Josh, Anor-Roc, Liam, Valda, and myself to our own devices amidst the treacherous miles between us and the caravan's (hopeful) location. Once there was a good distance between us and the second party Bahrla spoke up, "We move. Keep up." and, with that, she practically sprinted off into the brush.
I was amazed at how fast she was, not just because of the weight of her armor, but also from her sheer size; I hadn't met many women as enormous as the minotaur, but she apparently had little trouble staying light on her hoofs. Everyone in the group followed in hot pursuit and, though I knew I could keep up thanks to the endurance training required to become a guard, I couldn't help but wonder how everyone else would fare. After almost an hour of the double-time march, I got my answer.
Anor-Roc began to slow, looking back constantly at Josh, who was struggling to keep up, panting as he did so. "Lady Split--" the coy-dog paused, "Bahrla!" he called.
The Wild Lander slowed to a halt and turned around; she was barely breathing hard at all. Everyone else came to a rest as well, varying levels of fatigue on everyone's faces. Out of everyone, I think only Valda seemed as unconcerned about the run as Bahrla was, but I didn't have time to focus on everyone's relative stamina as Anor-Roc called attention to Josh, who was JUST catching up with the group.
"I don't think we can all maintain this pace." the coy-wolf proposed.
"He'll have to." the minotaur woman stated neutrally.
"It's really really fast." Josh panted, lowering his head toward the ground as he rested his paws on his knees, gasping for breath.
"If you don't keep up, you get left behind." Bahrla told him simply.
"What?!?" Valda exclaimed.
The minotaur turned to the squirrel, "In the Wild Lands, ten year olds are expected to keep pace with the group. He is older than ten, so he will have to show more effort. We can NOT afford to be slowed." and, with that, she turned, and continued onward as if she had never paused. More than one set of eyes went to the Wild Lander, then back to Josh.
"Don't worry, Josh..." noted Anor-Roc, pulling at one of the charms on his bracelet, "You'll be fine. You can keep up no problem." and he pulled a small charm free from the band; it looked like an otter. "Hold this in your paw... and give it back to me when we get there... alright?"
Josh, still out of breath nodded, and, with a groan, straightened back up and began stumbling after the rest of the group. I waited behind several more moments as I watched Anor-Roc quietly intone a chant, softly caressing his bracelet as he did so. My eyes went to Josh at that point, who slowly smoothed out his run and began to keep pace with the rest of the group without as much strain. When I looked back to Anor-Roc he was looking at me with a smile.
"I'm not very familiar with magic..." I admitted as I began to start jogging, "but I know that isn't something I've seen before."
The coy-wolf grinned, jogging past me to catch up with the group, but not before adding, "Keep watching... I'm full of surprises."
I increased my pace to catch up, mindful of the fact that I was weighed down by my armor. I'm not sure if I ever told you about endurance training at the barracks, but they made us run for miles in our field armor... and if you didn't learn how to pace yourself you'd usually be laying on the cobblestones gasping for breath, suffering from heat exhaustion, and feeling lucky if you didn't throw up. During training, that happened to me at least three times... vomit included. Needless to say, I'd become pretty good about knowing my limits, and I managed to draw even with everyone else after twenty minutes and only two or three little sprints.
Liam wasn't looking very good by the time I caught up with him. His tongue was hanging out of the side of his muzzle, fur matted against his brow. To anyone who knew what they were looking for the signs of withdraws were obvious, getting worse by the minute as he was forced to exert himself. He was starting to look around, watching everyone closely; the paranoia was starting too... he was wondering if anyone noticed him acting abnormally. I did, but I didn't let him see me watching him.
Josh was near the front of the group, holding his own now that the enchantment from Anor-Roc had taken effect. The lion cub was half-jogging, half-skipping, much to the surprising amusement of Bahrla (I honestly didn't think she was capable of smiling). She reached down to ruffle his mane before adding, "You're doing better, Josh... but don't waste all of your energy." He complied, slowing long enough that he was able to let Anor-Roc and Lady Marion catch up to him. From there, he traveled between the two, talking about everything and nothing... I wasn't able to hear the specifics because my attention was more on Liam.
The black fox had slowed further. Usually, most Grace junkies knew to avoid physical exertion when they were starting to suffer from withdrawal but, whether out of a desire to go unnoticed or a desperation to try and work through his limitations, Liam had not slowed in the least. His eyes fell on me as I glanced a little too long, "What?" he demanded.
"Are you alright, Liam? You look like crap." it was an honest answer, but it was a measured risk; if he was too paranoid it could cause problems, but if he was more exhausted than he was on-edge then it would help to distract him.
"I..." he paused, and I saw a slight disconnect behind his eyes as if his mind were trying to grasp for any kind of excuse. His paranoia was strong, and if I wasn't careful it was possible that he could have turned violent, "I'm not used to this kind of march."
I nodded, "Yea... me neither... not since the days back in the barracks, anyway."
"I should have packed lighter armor." he added, despite the fact that his armor was half the weight of mine, but to his addled mind it probably sounded like a reasonable excuse.
"You won't say that if we get attacked." I offered jokingly.
"I don't think I slept all that great last night." he added, mind still throwing out excuses.
"I was too tired to stay awake." I confirmed, "I probably got more sleep than you... that must be it." the comment was pathetically inaccurate for any coherent person to accept, but at that point I could have told Liam the sky was pink and he would have been fine with it.
"Is that the caravan up ahead?" he asked almost missing the placement of a foot; he stumbled. Glancing ahead all I saw was more of our party continuing on ahead of us. That was my cue.
"It is... thank the Goddess." I slowed to a stop and, like magic, he did as well. I knew I didn't have very long if I was going to catch back up with the party, so I took a chance, "You look tired... why don't you take a nap and I'll let everyone know we--" but I didn't get a chance to finish my piece; he fell flat on his face.
Working quickly, I managed to roll him over. I pulled his stash from my belt pouch and quickly readied a syringe. Carefully drawing a measured amount into the needle I found a readily available vein. Miri... it's a horrible feeling giving someone else a dose of Grace when you can tell they're still pretty new to it. When I was at my worst all the veins in my arms had practically collapsed... I was just starting to have to learn how to find other places on my body to inject it when I was caught. Goddess... while I watched the fluid seep into that fox's easy-to-find arm veins I wasn't sure whether I was jealous or disgusted.
"Now that the fun part's over..." I told Liam, "I'm going to kill myself saving you." I put the 'supplies' away and grabbed hold of the unconscious fox. Lifting him up and onto my shoulder I couldn't help but grunt at how much he weighed; it made sense I guess... no matter how light a fox is, if they're in armor you're pulling double duty... triple duty if you're wearing armor yourself. Steeling myself for a very sore morning, I ran off after everyone else as quickly as I could.
I spent maybe ten minutes catching up, but it felt like an eternity. Things could have been better... an even path would have been nice... not having an armored fox on my shoulder would have been wonderful... weather a few degrees cooler would have been divine... but at least it wasn't worse. Despite Liam's sweating and exertion he didn't have as horrible a stench as some of the guards I'd had to travel with and, despite the fact that he was unconscious and recovering from withdrawals, he didn't throw up once... thank Tah'aveen for small favors.
The best part, of course, is that by time time I caught up with everyone we only had a few hundred yards to go-- the caravan was camped at the edge of a river. I was done at that point, though; Anor-Roc and Bahrla had to help me with Liam because there was no way I was going to take one more step. "If someone falls behind, there is no shame in leaving them." Baharla told me flatly.
"Maybe for a Wild Lander," I challenged, "but he's saved my life." and, I added under my breath, "a few times." Without another word, Liam and I were helped down to the caravan for some much needed rest. It would have been nice if we'd have been able to get it, but things don't always work out. The Wild Lands are funny that way.
* * * * * *
The Myrean Caravan is going to have to deal with a Wild Lander attack.
Readers will need to decide on how best to proceed:
1) No mercy, no quarter. If the Wild Landers are going to attack the faithful of Tah'aveen then they deserve their fate. (the party gains +1 offense).
2) Fight aggressively to put an end to the Wild Lander threat. Kill any who attack but let them flee if they retreat.
3) Combat the Wild Landers conservatively. Attempt to incapacitate, wound, and harry but avoid killing if at all possible-- something obviously has them riled up and they are not true foes. (party gets -2 attack, -1 defense).
4) Try negotiating with them, for all the good it will do. (party is at a big negative for the first round of combat if negotiations fail and automatically proceed with option 3 thereafter).
Champions of Myre, 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.