Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 2.1 Shrad
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 2.1
Shrad On The Road Again
The readers selected some training for the Shradian caravan... apparently the general consensus is that it will do them some good.
The inside of Armenius' Pavillion was dark; although there were candles spread out about the interior there were far too few to provide anything but a faint, flickering, shadowy light. Tollie moved nimbly through the chamber despite the numerous bodies in various positions asleep on the floor. He'd never had much trouble navigating dark passage ways; most people attributed it to his affinity for divination magic, but he never bothered providing them an explanation. Did the sparrow have to explain how it flew, or the fish explain how it could swim?
The hyena stopped when a single source of light, an oil lamp, was turned up by a white furred paw. The polar bear priest was illuminated in its stable glow. His wide body was mostly wrapped in a silken robe, the front left open for all the world to see; Tollie didn't miss the fact that the bear had one leg draped over the arm of the padded chair upon which he reclined, but he knew better than to say anything.
"You wanted to see me, Your Eminence?" Tollie dropped to his knees, resting his palms on the ground and looking down at them.
"Sometimes it's hard to imagine that you are Majh are even related." the bear stated casually.
"I have heard those words on many occasions, my Lord." the hyena acknowledged.
"You are thinner than she... much more... slight... delicate... you're more... accommodating." the priest explained letting the last word roll out of his muzzle, "I like you, Tollie." the polar bear stated casually.
"Thank you, your Grace." Tollie acknowledged without looking up.
"More than Majh." the bear added.
"As I have heard."
"In many specific ways." the rumbling suggestiveness was not missed by the hyena.
"You told Majh that I would not have to do--"
"Of course." the polar bear laughed easily, "Look around you... I've had my fun for the night, Tollie... I'm just speaking of anecdotes... times long past."
The hyena didn't bother looking around having seen the obvious remnants of the bear's entertainment; he kept his eyes facing the floor, "Of course, my Lord."
"You're wondering why I DID summon you then."
"You do not need a reason, my Lord. You are Armenius Tenge, the High Priest of Shrad. Your will is law."
"By the Goddess, such wonderful things come out of your lips." Tollie shuddered when he heard the audible sound of the bear licking his broad muzzle.
"The truth is a wonderful thing, your Grace." the hyena spoke. The icy silence that followed caused Tollie to close his eyes and let out a breath, "Did I misspeak, your Excellency?"
"Stand." the bear stated curtly.
"As you command." and Tollie complied.
"I have need of your skills, Tollie." the polar bear stared him down.
Tollie obediently lowered his gaze once more, "My skills are your skills, my Lord."
"The initial leg of this journey has gone...." the bear idly nibbled on one of the broad black nails at the end of a finger, "hmmm... how best to put it..."
"Poorly, your Grace?" Tollie offered.
"I can accept that, yes, Tollie... things have gone poorly." the priest confirmed.
"Majh thinks--"
"I don't give two dead Stab-Bills what Majh thinks!" the bear's voice was just short of a roar, but he quickly calmed, and spoke with sugary sweetness, "which is why I called YOU here instead of her."
"I am here to serve, my Lord." Tollie confirmed, unshaken by the outburst; he was used to the bear's temper tantrums. He'd also learned a long time ago that the bear's twelve guardians would be much more ready to administer punishment if the city's ruler were truly angry and their casual stance and only general awareness gave away no such hints. His eyes raised so that he looked in the general direction of the High Priest.
"I wish to know the best way to proceed, Tollie." the bear explained, finally composing himself upon the chair, sitting more normally as he folded his robe closed, "My followers must know that I will not continue to listen to bad advice... which is why I want yours."
Tollie's ears went up and he looked at the silver disc on the table in front of the bear, "You desire my Sight." he suggested.
"Even without your magic you are a perceptive fellow." the bear chided.
"What do you wish for me to See, your Grace?" the hyena inquired obediently.
The priest chuckled, holding the disc up for him, "There are several individuals within the caravan that did not approve of traveling on the road before the storm. I wish to know why they didn't."
Tollie reached out and accepted the flattened silver, "As you wish, my Lord." and he held the disc up in front of himself with one paw, tracing ancient marks of magic across the surface, leaving blue sparks in the shape of symbols wherever his claws touched. Upon the completion of his incantations, the hyena gazed into the flat disc, which quickly dropped out of existence, leaving Tollie with a window to wherever and whenever he pleased. It was a lost incantation, far out of use of the world, but he knew it as intricately as he knew how to use his body.
"Tell me..." the bear pressed, "who do you see first?"
* * * * * *
Nori Bahn moved between the wagons, complaints streaming out of him faster than the wind blew. "You stupid people! There's a storm coming, can't you see it? Blind City Dwellers! You're walking into a blizzard!" His shouts went unheeded. When he finally got a response, it wasn't the one he was looking for.
"Silly little ferret... of COURSE there's a storm coming... this is the north! What... you come from the paradise hills of Doen?" the hippo laughed at his expense. Nori's paw inched closer to the handle of his war hammer, but in the end he knew that the hippo was going to be one of the first to die. Incidentally, Tollie realized that the ferret had been right.
* * * * * *
"Nori Bahn, you Grace." the hyena announced.
"Who?" the bear asked.
"The Wild Lander ferret, my Lord." Tollie offered, "the one hired to act as a guide for the caravan."
"Ha!" the priest scoffed, "Apparently not the best guide if this was his doing."
"In actuality, your Eminence, he had attempted to turn the caravan aside. Other than his small stature, it appears he has a dislike of being ignored."
"They didn't listen, so he chose to let them die." the priest chuckled, "No wonder he ended up in Shrad."
"He chose to find safety himself, and then came back for survivors of the initial... ah... fallout."
The bear nodded thoughtfully, "Good... good..." he rubbed his chin in thought, "Who else?"
"I shall see, my Lord." and Tollie went back to his task.
* * * * * *
Shadow Darkfang quickly backstepped and the beast's attack swept through the vacated space. Rapidly changing the direction of his momentum, the wolf nimbly bounded over the creature, swinging his sword in a wide, double-pawed arc. The bluish lines of his fur glowed visibly as he landed in a crouch; the beast made to turn but, instead, its two halves fell cleanly apart. As a second creature rushed him it was readily apparent that Shadow was far from done.
Taking the beast's first attack on the shoulder, the black wolf ducked under its defenses and drove his sword straight up into its exposed underside. It let out a raspy sound and collapsed. Shadow extracaded himself from it, panting, but relatively unharmed. Sliding his weapon back into its scabbard with all the casual regard of a parading soldier sheathing his weapon after a drill, the wolf tore a piece of the beast free with his bare claws and casually chewed on it as he returned to the wagons.
* * * * * *
"And?" the bear asked once Tollie looked up from the disc.
"One of the temple guard... Shadow Darkfang, my Lord." the hyena responded.
"Darkfang... yes... I know him." the priest nodded in thought, "And he did not wish to follow the caravan across the Highway?"
"I do not know." the hyena admitted, "That is not what my Sight showed me, your Grace."
"Then what did it show you, Tollie?" the bear inquired with the patience of one who knew he'd get the answers he wanted.
"He knew how to fight the wild beasts." the hyena answered.
"What wild beasts?" demanded the priest, "We haven't fought any wild beasts yet."
The hyena nodded, "Correct, my Lord... but we will... and he will do very well."
"I see..." the polar bear noted, a smirk starting to form on his muzzle. "You have a way of providing me nothing I ask for but everything I need, Tollie. Thank you."
"Am I done, your Grace?" the hyena inquired.
"No... continue."
"As you will." Tollie confirmed, and looked back to the glowing portal in his paws.
* * * * * *
Gaerid of the Fang ducked down against the chill of the weather, pulling his fur cape tighter around himself, "The blizzard is growing, Wyse."
The rottweiler trudging through the snow beside the bounty hunter had his head down as well, stocky frame plowing through the snow that came up to his chest. Without missing a step, the feral dog released an affirmative "Woof.".
"When we get to cover remind me to boil some Wart-Root Tea... I don't plan on getting frostbite."
"Woof." the dog responded. It was as if it seemed to know what he was saying.
"I have some Anise to mix with it so it won't be as bitter." Garid added. Wyse's little tail nub wagged excitedly. Apparently the dog liked anise.
* * * * * *
"The bounty hunter, Gaerid of the Fang." Tollie announced.
"I wouldn't put it past him if he could read the clouds," the polar bear smoothed out some of the fur on his head, "Damn rottweiler gives me the creeps."
"The bounty hunter, or his feral companion, your Grace?" the hyena inquired.
"Both of em." the bear answered, "There's something strange there..." he sat up, "Why did you see them?"
"My Sight tells me that Gaerid knows the truth of herbs... he must have a vast knowledge of the plants in the Wild Lands.
"Good... very good." acknowledged the bear, "And are there any others?"
Tollie put down the disc, "One, your Eminennce." the hyena answered without looking at it.
"And, that is?" the bear asked, motioning to the disc, "Aren't you going to look?"
"I do not need the disc to see you, your Grace." Tollie responded.
"What?"
"The visions showed me those who would be capable of bringing confidence and renewed morale to the caravan... I can see that now. You could certainly do such a thing." the hyena offered.
"Explain." the bear proposed.
"Nori Bahn... he is a Wild Lander. If you were to seek information from him and then have him provide that information to the caravan they would feel more comfortable knowing that they were more prepared for what may lie ahead."
"Even though you can't learn how to survive in the Wild Lands with a few hours of general lecture?" the bear challenged.
"Perception, my Lord. The truth need not factor into things if people have belief." the hyena explained, then quickly closed his muzzle, instantly realizing his tongue may have strayed into dangerous territory... but he was relieved to see that the priest was too busy contemplating the suggestion to catch the inadvertent slip in word choice.
"And knowing that they have a skilled slayer of Wild Land beasts in Darkfang?" the bear asked.
"Have him instruct the guards, and have the travelers see him doing it." Tollie suggested.
"What about..." the priest grunted the name, "Gaerid?"
"Just one single description of a poisonous or dangerous herb and the pilgrims will be relieved to know that they have learned something that will keep them safe." the hyena answered calmly.
The bear laughed, "You have a way with words, Tollie... and you are infinitely more useful than your sister."
"You treat me with courtesy and expose me to your good will, your Grace... it would only make sense that I have nothing but the same for you." it was a lie, and it came out well, but Tollie knew he wasn't fooling anyone.
The priest chuckled in response, the humor not lost to him, "And I suppose my place in this grand scheme of yours is to just be myself?"
"No, your Grace." the hyena responded.
"No what, Tollie?"
"No, it is not my plan, your Eminence." Tollie noted and, just as the bear's ears started to raise, the hyena explained, "It is YOUR plan." The comment even got an appreciative chuckle from some of the High Priest's otherwise stoic black guardians.
* * * * * *
The Shrad Caravan is almost ready to continue the journey to Zion.
The first part of Chapter 2 presents an important decision to be made.
Contributing readers now get to choose the way the party will face this situation. Shradian Contributing Readers each get 1 vote on how to proceed. Anyone may spend 1 Willpower to get a second vote (with a successful social roll, Target number of 20). The following options are available:
1) Let Nori Bahn talk about Wild Lands survival techniques. This may have certain unexpected results. SUCCESS
2) Have Shadow Darkfang disuss fighting Wild Land Beasts. The results may be varied. SUCCESS
3) Ask Gaerid to discuss Wild Land flora and herbs. There is no telling what this information might do to/for the caravan. SUCCESS
4) Have Armenius Tenge discuss wards, gestures, and prayers to keep a traveler safe. Obviously this will help reinforce the High Priest's position within the caravan, and that's good for everyone! SUCCESS
Contributing readers may spend a Willpower point to get a chance to understand the significance of the paths. A description of each will be added to the choices above. A roll of Skill + Survival is made (target 20). Failure expends the Willpower with no information provided. One successful roll is needed to reveal information on the above options.
Please remember that you cannot change your vote once it is made... so a combination of patience, trust, and attention must be exercised.
Contributing Readers, make sure you make your vote before midnight (pst) on Friday, June 24th.
This chapter marked adult due to Armenius Tenge's continued 'antics'.
Sadly, no characters in this group received reader preferential votes sufficient enough for a chapter bonus. Bummer!