Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 3.3 Bannihar
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 3.3
Bannihar The Moonless Night
Even with three party members near death the Banniharian Caravan must keep moving... fortunately it appears that Iskiy, Elias, and Elesin may yet pull through.
After the destruction of the wraith the haunted section of road grew quiet. The caravan quickly collected their casualties, gathering up the bodies of the slain scouts, and saw to the transportation of their fallen comrades. Iskiy and Elias were moved to the temple's carriages at Priestess Delier's request while Lord Raes had the still-unconscious Elesin manacled and caged in a wagon. Once everyone was ready, the caravan moved quickly; nobody wanted to stay in the area if there was any chance of something else rising up.
The travelers continued on in near-silence, little more than an occasional cough or sigh escaping anyone. It was as if there was an unspoken agreement of silence, everyone straining their ears, listening for the sound of anything that might indicate that the undead were once again stalking the living. The caravan proceeded forward throughout the dark hours, their weariness a distant second to their fear of what could have been lurking in the shadows. The caravan traveled through the entire night, not stopping until first light. It wasn't until the sun started rising, in fact, that people started speaking again. The first discussion was quite a reintroduction.
"I understand your concerns, Priestess..." Lord Raes noted, not bothering to look at her as he checked his sword, "but she stays in the cage."
"It wasn't her fault, Raes." Kayte declared, not bothering with formality.
"All the more reason for her to stay locked up... Kayte." the big dog responded, switching over to her common name as she used with him.
"She may need healing." the wolf argued.
"I think she got all the healing she needed right out of the Geomancer's abdomen." the champion contested, "If anything, she's exhausted... which is of benefit to us."
"And how is that?" Kayte put her paws on her hips.
"As long as she remains unconscious she won't turn into that... thing again." he explained, turning to face her, "And that means that she can't cause trouble, and she won't have to be put down."
"Put down?" Kayte inquired, ears going up, "You're acting like she's some kind of wild animal."
"I am unaccustomed to an ally trying to kill me and our fellows." Lord Raes responded in monotone, "Forgive me if I don't know how to classify the situation."
"She needs help, just like anyone else here." Kayte argued.
"Priestess..." Lord Raes noted, letting out a sigh as he leaned back against the wagon nearest him, "You were with the High Priest when the Council was assigning the caravan guards, weren't you?"
Kayte flicked an ear, "What does that have to do with--"
"How can someone miss a Moon Crazed soldier?" he questioned.
The priestess, about to say something else, was stopped in her tracks. It was HER turn to let out the sigh and she stepped over beside the armored dog and leaned against the wagon with him, "She wasn't an oversight."
Raes' ears went up, "You mean....?"
Kayte nodded, "The High Priest and the city's soldiers knew of her condition."
"Why in Tah'aveen's name would they think it was a good idea to--"
"I can't speak for the Council, Raes." her use of his name came less aggressive and more familiar, "All I know is that she came highly recommended despite her... malady." the priestess ran a finger along the wagon, tracing the grain of the wood, "Apparently it hadn't overtaken her in awhile, so I assume they thought she would be able to handle the trip."
The big dog sighed again, taking off his helmet and setting it aside on the flat bed of the wagon. He wiped his forehead with the back of his forearm and reached for a water skin. Offering it first to Kayte, who declined, Lord Raes took a long drink before setting it to the side, "They must plan to cure her." he said at length.
"Cure her?" Kayte glanced to the champion.
He turned and nodded, running a gauntleted paw through the fur on his head, "The Templars that I studied beneath often spoke of the Moonspring at the great temple of Zion... did the priests ever talk about it?"
It took a moment for the comment to register with the priestess, but once it did, her response was sudden, "The Moonspring? No..." she paused, "I mean... no?" she faltered, "Really? Do you..." she paused, "Would that even work?" she didn't wait for his response, "I'm not sure if it would on a Moon Crazed supplicant... would it?" she continued rambling, "I mean, it might... it could... couldn't it?" Lord Raes didn't even bother opening his muzzle as she continued, "I..." she glanced at him, "what I mean to say is... if it COULD... then... and... it would make sense... right?"
The dog's stoic expression slowly caved to a faint smirk, "More sense than whatever you just said." He got an open-pawed smack on his armored shoulder for his trouble... and that left Kayte rubbing her bruised paw.
"Either way," Kayte argued, "If the High Priest and the Council chose her to join the Caravan then it was for a reason."
The champion sighed in response and nodded, "Alright... she stays in the cage until we know she's able to function normally--"
"She's fine, Lord Raes! She's not even in her altered state." Kayte objected.
"Until we know for SURE, and have a chance to talk to her, you MUST understand that I can't chance that, Priestess." the dog noted, picking up his helm, as he stood up, "I'm sorry, Kayte... but I have an entire caravan to worry about. I'll make sure she's taken care of, okay? She won't be mistreated. I promise."
Kayte let out a sigh and nodded slowly before stepping away from the wagon to follow Raes, "I have to see to everyone." she said quietly, "I have so much healing to do..."
"You are not alone." the armored dog offered, smiling under his helm, and he held out a paw, "Come... we'll see to the caravan together." Kayte offered a smile in return and set her paw in his. The two walked the camp, administering prayer and aid as needed. Together, the two closed wounds and eased fatigue. They offered a boost in morale and helped to calm those travelers who were still wide-eyed-and fearful from the encounter that night. In the end, even the most fearful finally succumbed to sleep, and the camp quieted down before noon.
Roarg and Sebastian kept watch throughout most of the day, the badger on the ground and the gryphon by air. In the early afternoon the shift changed and several of the caravan guards came to take over for them. Waving up to the circling gryphon, Roarg made his way toward the largest cluster of wagons, waiting for Sebastian to land before moving to the cluttered area.
"So, what do you think they have to eat around here?" the gryphon inquired, folding his wings as he padded into step with the badger.
"I think nobody plans on eating until supper." Roarg responded, "And no, you can't raid the supply wagon."
"I wasn't going to." Sebastian offered innocently, "But I DID see a sickly wikor near the back of the wagon train."
The badger glanced to the gryphon, "Why would you want to eat a wikor? Those things smell horrible and, besides, they're mostly fur and gristle."
"When was the last time you saw a humanoid wikor?" questioned Sebastian
"Never." the badger replied.
"Well... considering how I'm a gryphon and all, I don't want people thinking that I'd eat anything resembling someone in the group and, since I've seen horses, cows, and oxen among the laborers and guards, I think any of the feral beasts are probably not the best choice." the gryphon pointed out.
"Oh, the sacrifices we make for civility." Roarg grinned.
"We?" Sebastian countered, "When was the last time YOU were civil, dirt-rat?"
Roarg was just about to counter with a quip of his own, but he fell silent when he glanced across the way to the wagon carrying Elesin's cage; Priestess Kayte and Alexander were standing beside it. "We'll continue this later." the badger promised, and hurried over to the wolf and cat.
"...and come get me, or anyone really, if she wakes up." Kayte said to Alexander, who nodded. "Thank you." the priestess said to him, and he simply nodded again casually and hopped up atop the cage with as much ease as if he were climbing a ladder. She turned around and inclined her head when she saw Roarg. She glanced back to the cage, then to the badger again, "I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle this."
"Some people think she should be left by the roadside." Roarg noted.
"Is that what you think?" the wolf asked.
"I'm not most people." the badger responded, resting a paw on Sebastian's back, "Most people would do the same with a gryphon, remember?" he winked.
"You tried three times before you realized I could track your stink for miles." Sebastian countered.
The priestess giggled, but just a little before her neutral expression took over once again, "Thank you, both of you."
"For?" they asked in unison.
"I needed a smile." she answered, letting out a sigh as she headed back toward the temple's wagons. Roarg quickly changed his direction to match hers, and Sebastian did likewise.
"Is everything alright, Priestess?" the gryphon inquired.
"Out of the seven, only Lord Raes is still standing... three of the seven no longer even draw breath."
"Thank the Goddess that the others will recover." Roarg offered encouragingly.
Priestess Delier nodded, "I know... the Moon Goddess blesses us with their lives, but it still feels hard to stay optimistic when something like that happened."
"This is the Wild Lands, Priestess." Sebastian responded, "People ARE going to die."
The wolf sighed in frustration, "I know.... but I don't have to like it." she slowed to a stop, "And I feel so powerless." she admitted.
Roarg reached out and took hold of one of the Kayte's paws, "The Goddess is behind you, Priestess. No matter how much you worry about your power, trust in hers."
Priestess Delier's ears lowered and flushed. Her tail curled around her leg slightly as she offered a demure smile, "You should have been a priest, Roarg... you have that way about you."
"You haven't seen anything yet." Sebastian rolled his eyes, "He still has his loincloth on."
Roarg patted the wolf's paw as he slowly release it, "Go see to Iskiy and Elias, Priestess." he glanced at Sebastian, then back to Kayte, "I will take my leave as I have noticed a gryphon that will require some maiming." he glanced to the gryphon, "Come here, feather-head..."
Sebastian squawked gleefully and bound/flapped off into the trees, laughing. Before Roarg could follow, Kayte had reached out a paw and rested it on his shoulder, leaning down to kiss his cheek, "Go easy on him, Mr Stoneclan... I don't want to have to add ANOTHER patient to my list."
Roarg grinned, pivoting at the hip as he slid an arm around the priestess' waist and turned, pulling her off her feet and into his arms. He lowered her almost parallel to the ground as if he had dipped her during a dance, "He's my friend... I'd never hurt him seriously, but the threat of it is usually good enough to get him to give me some space."
"You two are quite a pair." she offered, looking away from his intent gaze, blushing even more.
The badger grinned wider, "Maybe... but I've seen better pairs in my time." his eyes were focused down her blouse. After a pause, he finally straightened back up and set the priestess on her feet, "Go take care of your patients, Priestess... I don't want to disrupt your night and you have more important things to do than spend some time with the likes of me." And, with that, she was released, and the badger took off like a shot into the trees after the gryphon, leaving Kayte surprised, off-balance, a little embarrassed, and wagging like crazy.
* * * * * *
The Banniharian Group has completed Chapter 3.
Combat was particularly gruesome, but it looks like there were enough votes to save everyone!
Iskiy and Elias are going to be healing and Elesin (in a cage) will hvae to recoup her stamina. Kayte will remove 1 Lethal wound from Elias while Raes will remove 1 from Iskiy. Since Elesin is unconscious she cannot provide healing aid to anyone. Kayte and Raes each lose their 1 Minor Wound. Injuries remain as follows: Iskiy and Elias have 1 Lethal Wound.
All characters also lose 1 Major Fatigue and all Minor Fatigue. Fatigue remains as follows: Iskiy has 2 Major fatigue, Elesin has 5, Kayte has 2 and Raes has 1.
Contributing readers may elect to spend 1 Willpower per point of Major Fatigue they'd like to have removed.
This chapter marked matured due to inuendos and crude activities undertaken by Roarg.
Please watch for upcoming contribution opportunities as Chapter 4 will soon begin. Congratulations to the Bannihar party for surviving Chapter 3!