Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 2.4 Myre
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 2.4
Myre Left, By the Wayside
The first search party had their turn last post... now it's time for Liam, Leijh, and Bahrla. The current modifiers for the chapter are as follows: + Favor, + Luck, + Treasure if successful or -- Luck, - Favor if they fail, but these modifiers are still subject to change based on the events of this chapter. Let's take a look!
While Lady Marion took Josh, Keeland, and Cornelius to explore the center of town, Bahrla volunteered us to check out the catacombs beneath Byrn's Reach. Though the catacombs included everything ranging from underground passageways for emergencies, storage cellars, and the sewers, they also held the crypt, and that was the way Bahrla wanted to enter. The Wayside was blessed, which meant we wouldn't have to worry about undead, but it didn't help me feel any better; I never liked being underground.
I kept hold of Liam's paw as we stood back, letting Bahrla inspect the passage leading down into the catacombs. The Wild Lander ran one huge finger around the enormous carved stone blocking the path. Though they don't have crypts in Myre like what we faced there I'm sure you could imagine it... just think of a large block of stone hollowed out with a door-sized entrance blocked by another large hunk of rock. That was pretty much it. I could imagine that it'd take at least two people to move it if they were going to inter someone, so I was sure there was no way Bahrla was going to open it herself-- I really should have learned by then not to underestimate the minotaur woman.
With a calm heave, Bahrla had the stone several inches off the ground. Adjusting her grip she hefted it up over her head and casually walked it aside, setting it down against the graveyard wall, "Torches, spells, or candles." she stated calmly, "Whatever you have we'll probably need." and, with that, she yanked a section of dried creeper off of the side of a mausoleum and pulled out her flint and steel.
Liam nodded and, letting go of my hand, he reached into his backpack and pulled out two torches. Moving over to the Wild Lander's lit vine, he waited until both light sources caught and handed one to me, "I'll take front." and he moved to enter, but the cow halted him by blocking the doorway with an arm. "What?" he demanded.
"I'm going first... I don't want my vision ruined by your torches." she stated with a snort, and gave him a light shove back. I steadied Liam and joined him in glaring at her.
"You're so big we won't be able to fight around you if there's trouble." he countered.
"That's fine..." Bahrla noted with a tone that suggested she wasn't about to argue the issue, "it means that anything that finds us from the front won't be able to fight past me either." she ducked her head, still almost hitting her horns on the stone, "besides," she added, glancing back at us, "you can keep an eye out for whatever wants to come up from behind us."
Liam motioned forward, "After you, my dear." and he offered a debonair smile that ALMOST made me willing to go without putting up a fight.
"Who says YOU get to guard the rear?" I demanded.
"I do." the fox noted confidently, "I outrank you, Private."
I rolled my eyes in response and did as I was told. Liam and I both knew that I wouldn't stand for the rank game if I didn't want to but, at that point I couldn't help but feel just a little more comfortable knowing that someone separated me from the blackness that was going to surround us. I gave him a light shove if for no other reason than to let Bahrla know I wasn't a push-over; I realized pretty quickly into our journey that she didn't respect easy-going people. It wasn't that I cared what she thought about me personally, but if she held my life in her rough, unclean paws, I wanted to make sure she wasn't going to drop it.
Miri, if you've ever heard those rumors about Minotaurs being really good at mazes and laughed at the silliness of the stereotype than you would be as surprised as me when I realized how true it was. There was no way Bahrla could have ever been in the catacombs beneath Byrn's Reach before but she never had to so much as slow down whenever we came to a cross-road and she led us unerringly to what we didn't even realize we were seeking.
"This is what we're seeking." she couldn't have been any clearer; we faced a large metal door.
"All the other doors have been wooden." Liam pointed out.
"And the only metal barriers we saw were the grates separating the catacombs from the sewer." I acknowledged, "Where is this exactly, Bahrla?"
"We're underneath the northern wall." she explained, reaching a paw out to examine the etchings on the door. No sooner had she touched the metal than a large blast of lightning shot into her fingers and lit up the tunnel. The initial surge was not the end of it, however, and the crackling arc continued... and continued... and continued.
"Stand back, Leijh." Liam suggested, and drew his sword, "The door must be trapped... I'm going to pry her fingers off of it."
"Goddess damn it, Liam!" I objected, "If that's lightning then it'll go straight up your sword." I gave him a shove back and grabbed his torch. Folding my cloak around the lit cloth I smothered it, and turned it around to grab the blackened tip in a gauntleted hand. Praying that I wasn't doing something incredibly stupid, I shoved the butt of the torch against the door and yanked back. The lightning didn't get to me and, with that one motion I had the Wild Lander free of the trap.
"Hmm." Bahrla noted casually, clenching and unclenching her paw. "That wasn't expected." she watched as steam and smoke rose from her fur.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"Fine." the minotaur woman replied, "Just embarrassed." she growled, staring down the door. I took the opportunity to relight Liam's torch and returned it to him.
"I'm not sure we're getting through that way." the fox offered, accepting his torch back.
"I don't like being embarrassed." Bahrla answered.
"You're still standing." I pointed out, "After that much lightning that's nothing to be embarrassed--" but my words fell on deaf ears as the Wild Lander lowered her head... and charged the barrier. There was a thunderous collision, the sound even deafening out the thunder-clap of the magic discharging anew... but the lightning ended the moment the stone door frame gave way and the entire metal portal, minotaur included went tumbling down into the next chamber. "--about." the word came out before I had a chance to end my sentence prematurely.
"I don't know a lot about magic..." Liam admitted, rubbing the back of his head, "but I have a feeling that was a pretty stupid move."
Bahrla stood up, dusting stone powder and a little gravel off of herself, "We're in, aren't we?" she countered, and gave a snort, looking around, "Hmm..."
Liam and I followed suit, entering through the sundered doorway and likewise took a moment to inspect the room. Unlike the catacombs, the room was large, and I finally received a break from the faint feeling of claustrophobia. Here and there were support pillars rising up to the ceiling, which was so far overhead that the torchlight barely reached it.
Liam moved off quickly to a nearby wall and ran his paw across a bronze plaque, "A name, and inscription." he noted, and moved down a few feet to look at the next one, "And another..." he acknowledged, glancing back toward me, "It looks like a burial vault."
Bahrla began walking straight toward the center of the room while I glanced around the doorway; it only took a few moments of searching before I found a brazier. A handful of seconds later I had it lit, which gave me enough light to find another. Within two minutes the entire room was lit. It wasn't perfect lighting but it was good enough to allow us to see much better than with just torches.
"Here." Liam called calmly, drawing my attention from the small copper statuette I was examining on a tiny ledge between one of the bronze plaques.
Bahrla reached him first, blocking my view of whatever he had noticed, "It's a hole." she stated flatly. I glanced past her and I could confirm that yes, it was indeed a rather big hole. The stone wall was broken open leaving an uneven, almost rectangular hole in its otherwise smooth surface.
"Not just any hole." the fox acknowledged, leaning down to pick up a bronze plaque that rested beneath it amidst some stone rubble, "I think someone was laid to rest here."
Running my fingers across the break, I couldn't help but gasp,"Goddess... it looks like somebody broke into it." I glanced into it, seeing an open area more than large enough for a body. "In Myre people interred in burial vaults are cremated first." I pointed out, "This is... strange."
"It's about to get even stranger." Liam noted, holding the plaque to me.
I accepted it and looked down at the imprint, "Cornelius Byrn." I read, then paused, "Wait..."
Liam said what I didn't need to, "If Byrn was the name of Captain Cymbeline's brother shouldn't it be Byrn Cymbeline? They should share a clan name and not a first name."
"Not all cultures are the same." Bahrla answered simply, taking the bronze plaque out of my hand, "A greater issue is that." she motioned to the broken wall, "It looks like someone stole the body."
Liam shook his head, "Oh... if only." he ran a paw across the broken stone, "No... this break came from the other side."
"The other side?" I asked, looking at the fox.
He nodded in response, "This stone broke outward, not inward."
"But that would mean--" I started.
"Whoever or whatever was inside wanted to come out." Bahrla finished my thought.
"I think we need to have a little talk with Cornelius." Liam stated. Neither Bahrla nor I objected and, with that, we headed back into the catacombs; it was time to get out; it was time to get to the inn; it was time to get answers.
* * * * * *
Welcome to post 4 of Chapter 2 for the Myrenese.
Since the last post was about Group A this is Group B and WOW, did they find out some interesting information in the catacombs!
So, in light of that, it's time for the Contributing Readers to decide on how to proceed from here. Anor-Roc will still be considered active for this post, so his Contributing Reader may also vote:
1) Both groups share information neutrally and conclude the investigation in the inn. (reader opportunity at the end of the next post for bonus info, but this event arc is considered failed) 2) Group A takes center stage and discusses the implications of Death's Mist being used in Byrn's Reach. (+ Favor, - Luck) 3) Group B is quite vocal about what they found in the catacombs and demand answers. (+++ Danger, + Treasure. + bonus info. yes... that is pretty uneven). 4) The party resolves to find out more in the morning, and is willing to humor Cornelius' continued request for "just a little more time". (++ Delay, + Danger, + Luck, + Favor, + bonus info).
Votes are due before midnight on Thursday, December 29th.