Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 3.4 Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 3.4
Doen A Wave of Crimson
It's been decided; whatever the deal was with that humanoid blood beast, it MUST be found. There's no telling just what it is or why it is cavorting with Blood Beasts, but whatever the answer, it can't be good.. If the group continues to survive this Event Arc they will gain the following modifiers: + Delay, + Favor, + Willpower, + Treasure, and something... special. If they fail, however, the other possibility is: -Luck, - Willpower, +++ Delay, and +++ Danger.
Although Mr Flynn and Zeke both objected to our decision to follow after that strange figure, neither considered it wise to stay alone with the wagons, so we moved as a group. Even as the moon continued to rise, Tah'aveen's silver disc didn't grant the same light as if we had torches lit, but, considering the threats we knew to be close by, nobody suggested it. Jasper followed the trail while the rest of us kept our eyes open and alert, ever wary that more Blood Beasts could be close by.
We continued following after the creature well past the time the moon left the horizon and began its journey up into the sky. It must have been nearly two hours by the time Jasper called us to a halt. Without saying a word, the rat motioned down into a small ravine, pointing out a large overhang with a veritable sea of Blood Beasts coming close to filling the canyon. Was it two hundred? Three hundred? Goddess... I had no idea, but there were more of the creatures than I knew existed.
"Blood Beasts don't gather in packs that large." Zeke whispered gravely.
"Apparently they do." Dillan countered, "And now that we've satisfied our curiosity, I think it's time to--"
"We need to collapse the ravine." Haldyn announced. The comment caught more than one of our group by surprise; that included me.
"Lordling Rakken," I offered plaintively, "We need to avoid drawing attention to ourselves and get away from this place with all due speed."
"I agree." Zeke nodded vigorously.
"No." the lion countered, "They'll keep following us." he peered over the lip of the ravine again, "We may have killed five or six dozen, but that's barely a scratch in that number." he motioned to the living carpet of red fur down below us, "If this is a battle of attrition they are going to win, and the Goddess only knows how long they'll follow us... we might not get beyond their hunting range."
"So what do we do?" I asked him.
"We bring down the walls of the ravine on them." the lion's answer was full of a confidence that I found myself lacking.
"If we go about this the wrong way then we'll have every last one of them coming after us in a matter of minutes." Rust advised.
"Then we'll do it right." Haldyn vowed. All around me a few heads were nodding in agreement... but not all.
"If the two-legged blood beast really is leading them then perhaps we could try reasoning with it." Narissa spoke up softly.
"Some how I have a feeling that a wild beast isn't exactly the ideal choice for a diplomatic parley." Dillan offered with a wry smirk, "Nah... I think Haldyn is right... if they're all ground into meatloaf beneath an avalanche then we won't have to worry about seeing eye-to-eye."
"We need to understand their motivation." the tigress pressed, "Everything, no matter how base, has a reason for what it does." she glanced over the edge and down at the army of Blood Beasts, "If we knew why they gathered in a group this large and why they've been attacking then we may have a way to resolve this without bloodshed."
"Blood Beasts hate city dwellers, Hearthsinger." Jasper spoke up, patting Zeke on the shoulder as the fox took over watch of the enormous pack. The rat wandered back toward the rest of the party, "If you're from the city then they can smell the Moon Goddess on you.... that's enough reason to attack."
"Then maybe YOU could talk to the two legged one on our behalf." Narissa offered, "That's the one that seems to lead... isn't it?"
"I wouldn't want to bet my life on it, no." the rat countered.
"We cannot bet anyone's life on it." Dillan answered, "Unless we have more to gain than to lose... and right now I just don't see it."
"There could be a middle-ground." Rust spoke up and several eyes went to him.
"Such as?" Jasper questioned, his tail curling in a way that almost made me think of a question mark.
"Ready the avalanche, and try diplomacy from sword point." the echidna responded, "Look..." he motioned to the far end of the ravine, "There's only really one way out from down there... if we block it off that should get their attention... and then if they turn out to NOT be capable of diplomacy we turn the entire place into a grave. If they DO understand reason they'll be all the more interested in listening to what we have to say."
"Good point..." Dillan offered, rubbing the end of his muzzle in thought, "But if there are more Blood Beasts up here then we'll just get THEIR attention too... we're giving up the element of surprise for undetermined benefits."
"Isn't that what investing is, my dear Mr Flynn?" Narissa glanced his way, "And I thought all business men are always looking for the opportunity to invest."
"Invest WISELY, yes." he acknowledged, "but I'm still hazy on what kind of return to expect from this one."
"Then maybe we should just settle on trapping them." Taggart spoke up, "Lord Rust is right... if we collapse the entrance to the ravine then they'll have to dig their way out. If they're capable of reason, then any of the ones not down in the ravine will probably be too worried about rescuing the majority of their pack to bother with us."
"And if they're REALLY smart, then they'll be REALLY angry at us for doing it." Zeke added with a frown.
"Assuming they knew it was us that did it." the dog countered.
"They're Blood Beasts... they'll smell the guilt on us." the fox explained.
"Isn't that exaggerating just a little?" I came to Taggart's defense.
The "No." as spoken by Jasper and Zeke at the same time kind of ruined that line of thinking.
"Well, I for one don't think staying here all night is doing us any favors." Rust spoke up, putting an end to the discussion, "Whatever we do we have to decide on it before we use up any more time or call attention to ourselves."
"We don't have time to complicate things." Haldyn stated with certainty, "We bring the ravine down on them and get back to the wagons. We might not get all of them but I doubt they'll be quite as brave with the majority of their number under the ground."
"We don't have to kill them, Lordling Rakken." Narissa insisted, "If we can figure out a way to talk to the two legged Blood Beast then maybe we can establish an understanding and end this without bloodshed."
"That's a big IF." Dillan countered, "I still think if you're obsessed with this idea of taming the wild beast and being an activist for Blood Beast rights then we need to do it the right way and follow Rust's plan. We're wasting our time thinking that these animals have any ABILITY to talk with us, let alone the inclination... so if we even bother trying then we have to hve the upper hand, so collapsing their escape seems to be the smartest option."
"Thank you, Dillan." the echidna nodded his head.
"It's still a stupid plan though." the ferret added, gaining a scowl from Rust.
"Then what do YOU suggest, Mr Flinn?" looking back, I think my voice revealed just a little bit of my displeasure at the abrasive tone the merchant had taken, "What's YOUR plan?"
"It's Zeke's plan, actually..." the ferret motioned to the fox, "I think we should just get the fuck out of here." The comment gained an appreciative tail swish from the Wild Lander.
"What about you, Brother Zachary?" Taggart asked, "What do you think we should do?"
"I...." There really wasn't any option in my mind on how to respond-- so that meant my response could be only one thing: "...need some time to think." I received more than one frown in response, but I knew a decision of that sort just couldn't be rushed.
"Well..." Haldyn responded, "Think quickly before they make up our mind for us. We can't stay up here all night and expect that they won't find us out sooner or later."
"Probably sooner." Zeke answered, gazing down into the ravine, "The wind is picking up and they'll scent us if we wait much longer."
"Alright..." I nodded, not liking any of the options. Praying to the Goddess that I was making the right decision, I looked back to everyone, and decided that the time for indecisiveness was over, "This is what we'll do..."