Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 1.2 Shrad
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 1.2
Shrad When the Going Gets Tough
The party has elected with a vote of 3:1 to continue along the Shradian Highway rather than choose an alternate course.
The weather continued to cause minor problems for the caravan over the course of the next two days. Wheels and axles had to be broken free from a layer of ice in the morning and several wagon canopies caved in during a particularly nasty snowfall. All of this, however, was nothing compared to what hit the travelers on their third day of choosing to continue along the Shradian Highway.
Majh could hardly hear the report shouted to her by her guardsmen as the powerful arctic storm raged across the landscape. It was spring, that much was true, but the far north often refused to believe the first signs and often clung tenaciously to the cold for several months longer than elsewhere. All around her, the hyena could barely make out the silhouettes of men scarcely 10 feet away; the white out was getting even worse.
She never particularly liked the cold but considered it part of her life in Shrad. Having to abandon her carriage didn't suit her well but it made little difference since the winds had torn the top right off of it. Trudging through the two feet of snow covering the highway, Majh was thankful that she wasn't at the head of the caravan-- they were the ones who were creating the trail for the rest of the wagons to follow. She idly wondered how many beasts of burden would die before the storm ended. A few seconds later she had more to worry about.
Guardsman Doyren slammed into Majh from the left, knocking her to the ground with his body atop her. She felt a heavy weight drive his body more firmly against her as the carriage that had been on the road moments before was carried into the air, impacting against the rat before flying further off out of view; the single feral horse attached to it was hurled like a rag-doll, long past the stage of having enough life to whinny out its fear.
Guardsman Sten kicked the unmoving body of Doyren off of the priestess and offered her his paw. She waved it away and stood up on her own. The otter moved closer and had to yell next to her ear for her to hear, "It looks like he was finally of use."
Majh nodded and slapped Sten on the back, "You'll help me honor him tonight." she yelled back at the otter. If he heard her he did not react-- he was busy looking at the silhouettes of wagons and carriages taking to the air much like the one that barely missed them. Somewhere up ahead in the line a warning was being shouted, but it was drowned out by the howling wind.
The hyena pounded the otter on the shoulder twice to get his attention and pointed toward the side of the highway. The land was flat-- no cover; no protection; no way to hide from the fury of the storm. She cursed the wagon leaders and their foolish decision to risk a level-ground crossing. It was risky in the summer and certainly nowhere near safe so early in the spring. Keeping close to Majh, Guardsman Sten began moving forward, providing a trail for her to follow through the snow.
After passing several shattered wagons and a fair share of shattered bodies the priestess followed her guard to where the wind's force was significantly lessened; the caravan's mages were doing what they could against the unyielding force of the storm. Majh and Sten were helped through the magical barrier by Nori; the ferret was still covered in snow.
"High Priest Tenge and the mages are doing what they can." Tolen announced, moving quickly to Majh's side, "Are you injured, Priestess?"
Majh shook her head, motioning the fox away. Looking to the wavering protective field she realized fairly quickly that no amount of effort on the bear's part would be able to keep up the defense for much longer. Using Shrad's Divine Shield to keep wild beasts at bay was one thing, but weather was something else entirely. The hyena stood casually, watching as several more travelers entered into the dome seeking safety. She calmly observed the protective wall start to fray as it was picked apart by the storm; safety wasn't something they were going to find.
All around her, people began to panic. Some took cover behind wagons... a silly effort considering what the storm was capable of. She watched as others huddled together in fear, feebly murmuring prayers to Tah'aveen. Loric was shouting orders to his retainers, trying to board-up sections of his wagon. Majh's attention was drawn to the back of the arctic fox's transport where his family crest flag sat torn and frayed. She casually considered how alike it match its owner. Her eyes passed from scene to scene, stopping only when they met those of Gaerid of the Fang.
Like her, he stood casually in the open, calmly, without fear. At that moment, she felt that same sense of unease and disquiet she always felt when their eyes met but, this time, she also felt something else... a strange, otherworldly kinship. She nodded to him. He nodded to her. The protective ward gave way and the fury of the storm washed over them. Majh almost swore she could hear the rottweiler laughing... she knew she was.
Majh didn't know how far she'd been thrown from where she stood or even if she was facing up or down. Snow covered her and, though she was not afraid, the confusion as to her status gave her a sense of disquiet. Slowly and methodically working her body to move in every way possible she managed to hollow out a section of snow around her. Moments later, just as she was contemplating a way to get her bearings a small collapse of snow caught her in her face. ~Well... I know I'm facing up.~ she thought to herself as a pair of white paws and a pair of brown paws pulled her out of the snow.
She was freed from the snowy tomb by Loric Kriabnish and Guardsmen Sten. The three of them were sheltered from the worst of the storm by what appeared to be a section of berms. As Majh gained her bearings she realized that the earth wasn't actually piled on either side of them, rather, they were in a small ditch. Despite her casual disregard of their worries, both of her rescuers weren't about to let her out of their sight.
Loric and Sten took a moment to inspect her; she wasn't injured and she knew it. Sten looked well enough despite a nasty gash along his shoulder guard and Loric didn't appear to have any significant harm come to him aside from a cut on his eyebrow. "That will turn into a flattering scar, Lord Kriabnish." she offered with a casual smirk.
"A carriage wheel came flying at my head." the arctic fox announced, "I was fast enough to keep my head, but not fast enough to avoid it all together."
"Hmm." Majh shrugged, "pity."
The fox scowled, "It hit you first." he announced.
"Oh?" the priestess inquired, "I must have missed it hitting me... other things on my mind you know... hyenas aren't meant to fly, after all."
"Well you weathered it well enough." the arctic fox noted flatly, "...never mind... I'm really not up for your shit... Priestess."
"And where is everyone else?" she inquired, holding back everything except for the faintest hint of a smirk; she didn't mind getting under the skin of a nobleman.
"Nori Bahn, that ferret boy managed to find an old Wild Lander burrow..." Loric announced, "most of the caravan met up there."
"Most?" Majh asked.
"Right." Sten nodded, "The rest of the caravan is probably strewn out across the tundra from here to the Dragoncrest."
"Mmm." the hyena nodded thoughtfully, "I bet they look lovely this time of year."
"We can consider site seeing later, Priestess." Lord Kriabnish bristled faintly, "First, we should plan on meeting up with the caravan."
The three were able to trudge through the ditch in the direction indicated by Loric but still had to emerge from it and take a few dozen steps through the horrible storm. Remaining close to one another, they pushed their way through the winds and into the protective shelter of a dug-out rock cave.
The caravan survivors were greater in number than Majh had first suspected. On her preliminary count it appeared that perhaps a fourth of the wagons were missing, and probably no more than 100 of the travelers. "I've seen worse." she commented.
The hyena went further into the cave, pausing when she saw the High Priest's wagon in good order. The bear was standing by it with his dozen attendants; she was certainly not surprised to see all of them alive. Off to the side, under the cover of a half-broken temple wagon was Shadow; he was tending to a bundle of furs which, upon closer inspection, was revealed to be Tolen Lerum.
"What happened to my fox, Darkfang?" Majh asked with a scowl.
"He was kicked by a pack animal, Priestess." Shadow responded, securing a bandage around the fox's head.
"What was he doing close to one?" she asked.
"The wid carried it by him, Priestess." the bodyguard explained.
"Ah... I see." was all she could think to come up with, "Carry on then, Darkfang."
"By your leave." the wolf acknowledged, and returned to caring for the stricken fox.
Majh nodded, and continued through the cave system. The cavern appeared to be just large enough to house the caravan, which was fortunate because there was no telling how long the storm would last. The hyena was just about to finish her walk-around when she came upon a scene that forced her to stop: Gaerid was kneeling on the floor of the cave gazing down at the broken and shattered body of his feral rottweiler.
The bounty hunter was covered in blood; it was obvious that he brought his fallen pet the entire way into the cavern. Wyse was not breathing... which wasn't surprising considering the fact that he was practically in two halves, his abdomen apparently crushed, probably by a flying wagon.
"I hear you lost one of your personal guards, Lady Blackpaw." Gaerid spoke, not bothering to look up at her.
"Apparently we have both lost someone." Majh responded flatly, "Fortunately for me, I did not have quite the same emotional attachment to my pet."
Gaerid chuckled... the sound wormed its way into Majh's mind, a haunting, almost taunting sound. The rottweiler ran his hands across the body of his dog; its ribs quickly rebounded back into position as its abdomen looked as if it was re inflating. With a wet, almost bubbly wheeze, Wyse took breath, and slowly got to his feet, shaking his body out as if he were doing nothing more than climbing out of a river. Wyse turned to Gaerid and licked him on his cheek. Majh knew the feral dog had died... and yet, he was up once more.
Gaerid's eyes locked with hers again, "I'm sorry for your loss, Lady Blackpaw... apparently even if you did not care for your pet you have more reason to grieve than I."
Majh walked away from the rottweiler, highly disturbed by what she had seen.
* * * * *
The Shradians have failed at their attempt to safely navigate the Shradian Highway and are, for the time being, forced to take shelter. The caravan loses 1 luck. Reader contribution is not required at this time unless someone would like to spend a Willpower point to be the focus of 1.3, otherwise it will be a general character development post to provide more background into everyone and how they interact.
At this point, a Contributing Character may also spend a Willpower point to influence the direction part three of chapter 1 takes. If a Contributing Reader would like to further build a character relationship that is in the process of developing or provide a motive or direction for their character, they may spend a Willpower point toward this goal as well. Only 1 Willpower may be spent at this time.
Contributing Readers, make sure you make your announcement of Willpower usage before midnight (pst) on Friday, June 10th.