Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 1.3. Myrh
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 1.3
Myrh Some Bite Back
The party engages the Biteleaf to save as many laborers as possible. They will have to do enough damage to get to the Biteleaf's central stalk.
I watched as the battle was joined. All around the clearing large clumps of vines were sprouting from the ground. At first, it seemed like they were growing rapidly but, as I continued to watch I realized that what Captain Rakken had mentioned before was true: though they looked like individual plants they were each actually just a small part of the greater whole. Observing the movements of the plant and the soldiers that rushed in to combat it I was able to see that it was amazingly observant, able to reposition portions of itself to keep the attackers away from what must have been its central stalk-- the part of it that everyone wanted to get at.
As the caravan guards began to cut a swath through the brambles, Priest Farstrider raised his eyes toward the heavens; though I couldn't hear what he was saying it was obviously a prayer, and, judging from the renewed vigor with which everyone fought, it was obvious that the caravan drew strength from his words. Focusing back on the task ahead of him, the priest made ready for combat, accepting a hatchet provided to him by one of the guards. It wasn't much if a weapon but, judging from the grave look on the wolf's face he planned to make it work.
In stark contrast to the impassioned Brother Fastrider, Priestess Anya, a shorter distance from me than he was, had her scythe held to the side, head lowered, and free paw clenched against her chest, just beneath her chin. The jackal was whispering something, the specifics were far too quiet to make out, but her prayers were obviously heard as huge swaths of the Biteleaf spontaneously browned and shriveled; for the dozenth time during the trip I realized that she was not someone I wanted as a foe.
The vines began to creep closer, emerging from the soil around those already engaged in combat. Two large sections of thorny bramble lashed out at Brother Farstrider and the two mages near him. Jerard was the first to respond, swiping with vicious, dagger-like claws. He cut through a collection of the vines with a single swipe, then howled as another length of the bramble wrapped tightly around his leg, squeezing and grinding back and forth, not unlike a timber warden's razor chain. The large Moon Blessed wolf reached out with his second paw. At first I thought he planned to claw at the plants around his leg but, a moment later, a crackling blast of electricity arced from his fingers to the coils of vegetation, charring it in seconds.
Off to the other side, Beo's eyes had finally left the large white wolf and were more focused on his own protection. Considering his somewhat childish demeanor and laid back attitude, it surprised me when he barked out several words of power and a massive gout of flame emerged from his paw, completely disintegrating a collection of vines that were preparing to lash out at him. The force of the blast was so strong that the ground where they'd been actually glassed over.
Despite the powers of his magic, however, it was readily apparent that his powers of observation were not as great, and he was oblivious to the wriggling vine that came at him from behind. With a yelp of surprise, Beo was pulled to the ground as thorny lengths of bramble began whipping at him, scourging him with strike after strike. Beo tried to defend himself with a hastily drawn short blade, but he was unable to do so much as swing it as he was flayed by the whip-like tendrils.
Priest Farstrider came to the black husky's rescue quickly, hacking at the plants pinning Beo to the ground. His first two hits were true, completely severing the largest tendril, but he was forced back as the thorned vines turned on him, lashing through his clothing and drawing large lines of red across his otherwise impeccable fur. Between Jerard's injuries, Priest Farstrider's wounds, and Beo still prone on the ground, things did not look so great for the three. Artemisia was nearby, but she had her own problems.
The dragoness was keeping three different patches of the vines at bay, swinging in wide arcs and lopping off anything that came too close. After a particularly good lash with her left-hand blade the dragoness took a step closer to the central stalk, and that's when the Biteleaf made its move. A large collection of spiked roots, thorny vines, and serrated bramble wrapped its way up her leg. Artemisia glared down at it, as if the fury of her anger would be enough to ignite it in a burst of flame... this, of course, was a fruitless gesture.
I felt sick to my stomach as I watched the entire mass of plant-life rotate and squirm against her calf, bits of scale, flesh, and a torrent of blood seeping out from its tendrils... it was about that time that the dragoness belted out a loud roar... though, reflecting back on it, I think the sound was far more anger than it was pain. I couldn't bear to watch any longer, which was just as well since I heard Captain Rakken shouting orders.
I watched as Yearl and Anya came under attack by a large clump of Biteleaf brambles. As expected, the lion, being a master of combat, had a quick escape route planned. He pulled the priestess up atop a large boulder, eliminating the possibility of the Biteleaf grabbing at their legs from beneath the ground. Their position forced its tendrils to rise up further out of the earth, making it an easier target. Between the two of them, the Captain and the Priestess managed to keep the vines at bay, though they made little progress at cutting through closer to the central stalk, "GO!" Captain Rakken shouted, "We'll distract it." and, at that point, his plan made much more sense.
Kell made his first official appearance at that point. Rushing the field, the shadowy assassin faked left, then jumped to the right as a large blossom of vines emerged where he would have been. He spun quickly to the left and, with a spinning slash of both hand blades, cut through an entire section of vines, freeing a captured laborer. Without even slowing his spin, Kell had the rope dropped down into the chipmunk's grasp, "PULL!" he shouted, and I didn't need to think twice about who the order was shouted to. I began reeling the laborer in as quickly as I could. Though I'm not the strongest person out there, the fact that the laborer made it to his feet a few moments later made the job far easier, even if he spent half the time stumbling.
Focusing on my task I lost track of the combat, but when I next looked up I saw that things were going far better than I thought they might; almost everyone had gathered around the largest collection of Biteleaf. While several groups of guards were still engaged with small clumps of vines and briars, the greatest amount of damage was being dealt at the center of the clearing. Bits of Biteleaf were flying this way and that as weapons were brought to bear at what looked like a central stalk: an enormous, trunk-like section of plant-life sticking out of the ground beneath massive amounts of briar.
Priest Fastrider, back a short distance from the combat, saw to Jerard and Beo, calling upon the divine prayer to aid his companions with their wounds. Although Beo's wounds were severe it was evident that the husky was in much less pain; Jerard, on the other hand, had no trace of injury once the prayer was complete. Priest Farstrider stood and moved to administer aid to some of the fallen guards.
What happened next still isn't entirely clear even though I do have my opinion on the matter. Priestess Fanewatcher had just finished latching onto a section of vine with a paw, draining away every last bit of animating life to it when a dark cloud descended across the battlefield, slowly roiling inward toward the center portion where the Biteleaf's trunk was located. A powerful vibration caused sections of the ground to start tearing up as huge root systems curled back in on one another.
As the strange, otherworldy fog cleared, the only thing left at the center of the battlefield was Artemisia, talons clutched around the feeble, rapidly decaying trunk of the plant. I'm still not exactly sure what happened, but I couldn't miss the fact that the dragoness' leg was no longer torn to the bone. Disengaging from the husk of the plant, Artemisia picked up her discarded weapons and, with a quick snap and a click, they had reattached together, returning to the form of the polearm with which she had begun.
She didn't say a word as she returned to the wagons, acknowledging nobody but Captain Rakken, with whom she exchanged a knowing glance. One day I hope to get in on the information that they kept quiet... it was something I would very much like to comprehend. Did they know one another, or did she simply realize that he had a way with uncovering answers to pointed mysteries? Climbing down from the tree, I relaized that I would soon have more in my mind than the interaction between a hot-headed dragoness and an all-too-knowing leonine commander.
Jerard knelt down and pulled Beo to his feet as I made my way to the center of the battlefield. The husky, ears drooped a little in embarrassment, said something to the enormous wolf, who just stared at him for several seconds; desipte the amount of white to his fur, I knew what to look for, and could tell that whatever the husky had said made him blush. Looking after the still limping dog, Jerard licked his muzzle. My focus,however, was more on the remnants of the plant; I knew I'd seen something sharing the hole with the shriveled husk and I've never been one to idly pass up on a chance to satisfy my curiosity.
Priestess Anya was already there, along with Kell and Yearl. The three were picking through the bones of the plant's past victims. The Priestess was saying rites over the remains while Kell and Yearl were looking for any of the caravan's fallen-- they would be given proper rites, of course. What they found, however, was a little bit of a surprise, and the first bit of good news from the encounter. "The Moon Goddess blesses us this day..." Priestess Anya noted simply, accepting the finely spun, bluish-white tunic, "...it's Moonweave."
"An invaluable find." Captain Rakken noted. They continued their discussion, but I quickly turned the other way and made my way back to the caravan. Though I was interested in knowing more, I didn't want to risk too much attention for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. Somehow sensing the noiseless step that fell in beside me, I realized I already had far too much of it as it was.
"You did well." Kell complimented me. I wasn't sure if he was being genuine or if it was just a ploy to stay on amiable terms-- I was usually so good at reading people, but apparently I had too much on my mind, "Someone was saved with your help."
"It was a good plan." I answered. Mine was a statement of non-commitment, and it would serve just fine.
"The execution can be just as important as the plan." he answered. The words held a double meaning, I could tell... and, for some reason, I couldn't help but let my eyes drift to the dwarven sword on the assasin's back as he walked off.
"Execution..." I chuckled to myself-- it was never a good word to hear from an assassin no matter the context.
* * * * *
The Myrhenese Group has completed Chapter 1.
The end results of the Story Arc show some injuries and fatigue among the party,
The healing undertaken by Priest Farstrider removed a good amount of injury from most of the group, but some damage remains, as does some fatigue.
Since this is the end of the Event Arc, all minor wounds are removed. Ryan Farstrider still has 1 Serious Wound, and Beo Kyr has 2. Since Ryan only has 1 wound he is able to spend a Willpower point and remove it. With Priest Farstrider's care, Beo is able to remove all of his Serious Wounds (2) at the same cost. The party is free of injury.
Considering the level of success obtained by the group, all minor fatigue may be removed. Artemisia is the only character with any Major Fatigue, but she is able to remove her single point with the expenditure of a Willpower. The entire group is fresh and ready to continue.
At this point, the contributing readers of Myre get to select who will receive the Moonweave Tunic; it adds +1 Defense to a character.
Please watch for upcoming contribution opportunities as Chapter 2 will soon begin. Congratulations to the Myrhenese party for surviving Chapter 1!