Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 3.2 Bannihar
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 3.2
Bannihar The Moonless Night
Raes, Elesin, and Iskiy will engage in melee combat while attempting a fighting retreat while the rest of the party covers their retreat with pinpoint spell and missile fire.
The sound of Raes' war-cry was heard well before the group could crest the hill separating the caravan from the scouting party. "Sweet merciful goddess!" Kayte gasped, gazing down at the scene below. A mass of writhing, stumbling bodies were limping and shuffling their way toward Raes, Iskiy, and Elesin... of the half dozen scouts, only those three remained. Shifting their way through the mass of Corpses, two Ghouls stalked them as well.
"No..." Elias' eyes went wide once he caught up with the rest of the party, freezing in place as he gazed down at the dozens of undead, "no..." he repeated, mind apparently caught in idle at the sight.
Kayte's paw reached out, her fingers gently entwining with the armadillo's, causing Elias to snap out of it, "You're safe, Elias... Tah'aveen is with us."
The comment was enough to bring the Geomancer to the present and he glanced down anew at the rapidly evolving battlefield. Raes and Iskiy were falling back while Elesin, laughing gleefully, was sending half-decomposed bodies high into the air... some burning, some frozen solid. "Even at a moment like this..." the armadillo hissed, eyes squinting.
"Elias?" Roarg questioned from the Geomancer's other side.
"I'm fine... let's just go get them." Elias scowled.
Sebastian came in for a landing next to Roarg, "Did you see it?"
"See THEM?" Roarg corrected, "Yes."
"No... not those... the other undead." the gryphon expounded without any real clarification.
"What other undead?" Kayte asked of him, "There are a LOT of undead down there."
"The wraith." Sebastian finally explained. A half-second later it was impossible to miss.
Iskiy's screaming howl caught the attention of every living soul in sight. A dark, malevolent pool of inky blackness, vaguely reminiscent of a humanoid had what looked like shrouded arms held out toward the antlered wolf. Iskiy, still screaming, was suspended in the air a few inches off the ground as his fur began to lose its coloration and his life was siphoned away by the soul-chilling figure.
"In the name of Tah'Aveen," Kayte intoned, then paused, and held a single paw up, choosing an arcane incantation instead. Thin threads of light, looking like finely spun ephemeral yarn extended from her finger tips and launched the distance between her and Iskiy, not unlike a spider spinning a web. The scout was encased in a glowing cocoon of sorts, sealing in his vitality and cutting off the wraith's access to his life force.
"Elias..." Roarg motioned to the rapidly approaching Corpses. Roarg, Elesin, and Iskiy were already surrounded by undead and the rest rushed up the hill toward the caravan.
"I see." the armadillo confirmed and quickly swept his paws to either side, bringing them together in front of him, raising a large collection of stone spikes jutting out from the ground, making passage up the hill difficult, if not impossible, "The wagons are safe... now we just need those three... if they survive long enough for us to get them."
"They'll survive." Roarg acknowledged, "They have to." and the badger readied his war hammer, "Besides, it's not li--" but his voice was taken from him as a stirring mass of glowing clouds began to manifest in the night's sky, "What in the name of--?"
Elesin, located directly beneath the swirling clouds stumbled backwards as three corpses overpowered her and drug her to the ground; her sword went spinning away from her in the air from the force of the impact. "NOOOOOOOO!!!" the kangaroo exclaimed as the three undead bit into her arm, shoulder, and thigh. A powerful shaft of light emerged from the swirling clouds overhead and shot through the Corpses into the kangaroo beneath them. Elesin screamed again, only the second time it came out more as a roar.
An enormous explosion sent the three Corpses flying, a collection of smoldering body parts. Elesin rose up into the air, floating over the ground, her entire body wreathed in blue flame that danced and crackled without burning her.
"Woah." Roarg whispered upon seeing the kangaroo, "she changed." Elesin had been an imposing figure before, but whatever had happened added another two feet to her height. The battle mage's body fur had all but fallen off, replaced with thick, leathery hide. As she extended her arms, it was readily apparent that membranes had grown from her torso extending the length of her arms, not unlike a bat's, and her ears had likewise grown larger, more pronounced. Two sets of small horn nubs emerged between them on her forehead, one set almost directly between her ears, the others just above her eyebrows. The kangaroo-creature roared again, her bottom jaw unhinging as thick, bony mandibles spread apart, separating her chin into two separate, distinct jaws, each lined with long rows of teeth.
"That can't be good." Sebastian remarked.
"Just focus on the undead." Roarg announced, quickly hopping the stone barricade. Sebastian grabbed a good sized boulder in his talons and took to the air as the badger charged.
"Come on!" the gryphon called to everyone as he gained altitude, "We have some scouts to save." Though everyone was quick to join the charge they stopped in their tracks once a nova-like explosion rippled out from the changed battle-mage, decimating the battlefield.
"NO!" Kayte screamed, focused on Raes and Iskiy, both caught within the rippling wave of fire that burned everything in its path. The Champion turned at the sound of the loud explosion and threw his shield up, shouting out a prayer to the Goddess. His body was encased in a cooling blue glow and the fire passed by him without effect... but Iskiy had no such divine protection. The wolf threw himself prostrate to the ground, covering his head with his paws. The wraith, so very close to him simply winked out of existence. As the fire passed over the exposed scout he had to roll over several times to smother the burning embers of what had once been the fur on his back.
"What is she DOING?!?!" Elias roared, "She'll kill them all!"
"Fight through the undead." Roarg suggested, picking up a large rock, "get them to safety." He rushed forward, throwing the rock into the air, and quickly whipping his war hammer around, connecting solidly with the stone and sending it straight into the chest of a rushing Corpse. The undead body sent sailing over the battlefield, impacting in a spray of decayed meat when it hit a boulder.
Iskiy, who got shakily to his feet, looked around frantically, spinning at the last moment as the Wraith rematerialized and lashed out at him with two black-as-night claw-like voids at the end of its cowled 'arms'. The wolf quickly raised his sword to defend, but the attacks passed right through the weapon. The wolf howled out as the fur on his arms withered and shriveled... palsey almost making him drop his weapon. Iskiy somehow managed to keep his feet, but his entire body shivered. He swung his sword several times at the Wraith, attempting to fend it off, but the incorporeal undead paid the attacks no mind, and followed, reaching hungrily for the wolf.
The scout had no time to rest, unfortunately, as two Corpses came at him from either side. Although the wolf was fast, he was not quick enough to protect himself from both attackers; he fended off the undead to his right, but the one coming at him from the left gripped him tightly from behind, and Iskiy yelped as he forced himself free, huge clumps of his fur coming away in the Corpse's talons; blood oozed from the antlered wolf's hide.
Alexander, who had quickly vaulted over the stone barrier had a knife in his paw in an instant. He flipped it up, holding it by the blade, and let it fly at a charging Corpse, catching it right in the eye. Although the undead creature paused, the weapon didn't truly appear to cause any lasting injury, and it regained its quickened, shuffling gait. A Ghoul singled the cat out from the side, and began to charge him until a powerful, commanding voice intoned, "You face me first!" as if by magic, the Ghoul spun in place and launched itself at the speaker: Lord Raes.
Ready for the leap, the champion quickly brought his shield to bear, bashing the shriveled, dessicated face of the Ghoul before slashing down on its shoulder with his sword. The broadsword shattered the Ghoul's shoulder blade and cut down into its torso, but it didn't seem to care; the Ghoul began lashing out at Lord Raes and he was forced to go on the defensive, hiding behind his shield as the creature struck again and again, still stuck to his sword.
Elias quickly drew a stone from the ground and, molding and shaping it into a twisted spike, quickly raised it into the air and loosed it, sending the projectile at rapid speed straight into the Ghoul on Lord Raes's shield, knocking it clear of the dog and bowling over two Corpses in the process... none of the three undead remained down for long, but it freed Raes up and gave him a moment to regain his stance. The champion tilted his sword in the Geomancer's direction in thanks, and waded right back into combat.
The second Ghoul wound its way through the mass of Corpses and aligned itself for an attack on the still-glowing, monstrous form of Elesin. With a raspy battle-cry, the Ghoul sprang forward, mouth wide open, claws at the ready... and the glowing, massive kangaroo-creature casually knocked it aside with a powerful gust of air summoned with little more than the flick of a paw.
Letting out a shrill screech, Sebastian came diving down out of the air, aiming straight at a Corpse. He quickly unfurled his wings less than twenty feet from the ground and let go of the large rock he carried, sending it shooting down into the undead beneath him. The small boulder indented into the ground several feet; a few still-twitching limbs emerging at different angles from beneath it. They stilled a few seconds later.
Several yards from the impact site, Raes backed away from two Corpses closing to attack. They jumped at him in unison and the Champion quickly backpedaled, shield-bashing the first to the side with his curved heater while he met the second corpse with his sword. Twisting his blade and planting his feet firmly on the ground, the dog shifted with his hip and threw the impaled Corpse to the side, freeing his sword and redirecting the undead's momentum in one motion.
Another set of Corpses pressed the attack on attack Elesin but they fared no better than the Ghoul; gripping the air with her taloned claws, the kangaroo-beast's entire body shook, and the earth beneath the Corpses shuddered and quaked, knocking them over. The localized quake continued, making it virtually impossible for them to stand. She pointed a clawed digit down at the flailing Corpse nearest her and it blackened within seconds, and turned to ash.
"Raes!" Kayte shouted, "WRAITH!" she called the Champion's attention to the foreboding presence as it manifested before Iskiy, dark power materializing as it readied to steal more of the wolf's life force. Her voice lowered as she murmured her prayer to the Goddess, "Tah'Aveen, I beseech you, protect him." and a blazing aura of light surrounded the scout, causing all undead near him to hiss, covering their eyes and eye sockets in response to the holy illumination.
"You!" Lord Raes shouted, motioning with his sword straight at the Wraith, "You are called to atone for your transgressions! Show yourself, and be brought into this world." the holy command caught the incorporeal undead with divine providence. The near-invisible presence was suddenly forced to take a physical form, black cowl fluttering in the night's air. All around it, plants withered and insects churned the soil as they writhed in their death throes.
The Wraith glanced to Raes, the to Isky and a half-second lapsed before it made its decision; with a blood-curdling, warbling howl, it extended black, skeletal claws and dark energy crackled between it and the wolf. Iskiy screamed as his entire body was consumed in the hungry black aura of energy stealing every heartbeat... every breath... every last second of life. The wolf collapsed.
"NO!" Kayte declared, and repeated her earlier spell, surrounding Iskiy's life force with a protective cage of glowing silver, "You cannot have him!" The Wraith's cowl turned to regard Kayte, deep pools of glowing red hatred boring into her from beneath it. Still somehow managed to find her breath, Kayte shouted, "Raes! Get to Iskiy!"
The champion glanced to the fallen wolf, but was unable to do anything as Elesin unleashed another spell. Lord Raes was distracted enough that he didn't see the swirling orb of ice that grew around the kangaroo-monster and was unable to defend himself when it shattered into thousands of miniature razor-like frozen knives. Dozens of the icy blades struck into the dog; the worst of the damage was absorbed by his armor, but it left him bleeding nonetheless... though he was in far better a condition than the two Corpses between him and Elesin... they were little more than mounds of meat. The Ghoul with the stone spike in its chest was up once again, and had just been about to charge, but was delayed by the whirling mass of ice.
Despite the icy explosions, however, the Corpses kept coming... and it was obvious that they weren't content to leave Iskiy unconscious. Two moved quickly toward him, teeth glinting within their slavering mouths... but they didn't get a chance to have at him as Elias quickly raised a circle of stalagmites around the prone wolf, impaling one of the Corpses several times and forcing the second back.
The Corpse was caught in Sebastian's talons as it stumbled backwards. The dive-bombing gryphon quickly rose up, letting go of the undead at the top of his trajectory, sending it flying into the air, cartwheeling off into the woods. Though it went far beyond visibility, the sounds of it impacting with branches, tree trunks, and finally something especially hard confirmed that it would not be reentering the fray.
As Roarg and Alexander moved closer to combat, Raes turned to face the impaled Ghoul, which had regained its footing and was ready to attack anew. He charged it, swinging with his broad sword but, despite its injuries, the Ghoul was not slowed in the least and it nimbly dodged. Elias remained behind the fortifications and launched another stone into the Ghoul before it could attack Lord Raes. A second spike emerged from its chest next to the first, but it was still not deterred.
A short distance from Raes, Elesin was combating a Ghoul as well. The undead quickly dodged a blast of force and slipped past a rumbling section of earth. It jumped forward, claws outstretched toward the transformed Kangaroo, who, without blinking, quickly backhanded it out of the air. The Ghoul landed in a crumpled pile, but quickly got back to its feet, sneering at her with half of a face... the other half had a two-inch deep imprint of Elesin's paw.
Kayte extended a new prayer to the Goddess, willing the same protection for the party as she had gained for Iskiy. Though not as concentrated, she, Sebastian, and Roarg were bathed in subdued silvery light. Raes' prayers were much less subtle, and much more to the point, "Your existence is at an end, creature." he scowled from beneath his helm at the twice-impaled Ghoul, "Tah'Aveen... I call upon you deny this abomination." the champion brandished his shield, which began to glow with a searing white light, "Your servant requests your aid, Goddess." and his prayer was answered. A beam of energy struck the Ghoul and, though it shone for only a second, when the light disappeared nothing remained of the undead creature.
"That spirit is still going after Iskiy." Elias warned. The cloaked form knelt down and extended its clawed, skeletal digits toward to the unconscious antlered wolf, pulling even more life directly from him. The armadillo glanced to Roarg, who was recovering from his fight with the Ghoul, and to Kayte, who was forcing a collection of Corpses back with a divine glowing ward, "Alright..." he resolved, and raised two segmented walls out of the earth, smashing them together directly over Iskiy and catching the wraith within. Semi-solid in form, the undead spirit released a chilling howl, and its quasi-physical body seeped out from between the sheets of stone like pudding through the fingers of an excited child.
"She's at it again!" Roarg shouted, stepping back as Elesin errupted into a column of whirling flame. The badger covered his face, his fur sizzling as the fire seared him even from that distance. Kayte turned at the last moment, engulfed in a cooling aura of protection. Raes threw his shield up to protect himself, diverting all of the flame. The ghoul adjacent to Elesin left no trace as it was burned away to dust. "Iskiy!" Roarg shouted, but the scout was unconscious and too far into the flames for anything more to be said. Sebastian landed on the ground beside the badger.
As the flames died down, the wraith emerged anew from the burned husk that became of its physical manifestation. It paid no heed to the charred form of the antlered wolf before it, and rapidly closed the distance between itself and Roarg. Sebastian quickly interposed himself and the Wraith let out a spine-chilling, empty howl, talons glowing black as it prepared to attack... but never got the chance.
"In Tah'Aveen's name, BEGONE!" Kayte bellowed.
Looking to the evaporating whisps of dark energy, the priestess rested the censure on the ground and released her breath, "It is done..." She lowered her head, speaking a quiet prayer of thanks to the Goddess.
"KAYTE!" Roarg barked, slamming his shoulder against the priestess, carrying her to the ground as a crackling bolt of lighting seared through the spot she had last occupied.
"What in the name of the Goddess?!?!" demanded Lord Raes, turning to regard Elesin; the kangaroo woman was still monstrous in appearance, and her eyes glowed balefully with white fire, "Elesin! STOP!" he ordered.
"She's Moon Crazed..." Kayte murmured, "She can't stop..."
"Fantastic." Roarg acknowledge sarcastically, rising up from atop Kayte. He helped her up and readied himself in a combat stance, war hammer at the ready, "Now what?" Elesin raised her paw, a large ball of flame sprouting to life. "That wasn't the answer I was looking for." the badger stated flatly.
"Elesin... stop this." Lord Raes moved to interpose himself between the crazed kangaroo and the rest of the party, "Do you understand?"
The only response she gave was the flexing of her lower jaws, spreading and contrcating them, not unlike the mandibles on an ant. She brought her paw forward to unleash the fireball... and that's when Alexander descended on her from behind.
The cat landed squarely on Elesin's back, two blades sinking into either of her shoulders at the base of her neck. The changed kangaroo released a howl, accentuated by screams from everyone gathered as they covered their ears; the sound was a combination of a high pitched whine, a bone-grating, deep tone, and a fluttering, clicking, raspy drone of a thousand insects all at once. Unable to keep his purchase and protect his ears at the same time, Alexander fell from Elesin's back. The kangaroo's tail arched up, and the tip of it dripped slimy fluid of sorts as a hidden scorpion-like stinger slipped free of its flesh and struck down at the prone cat; it didn't hit.
Alexander was pulled back across the ground by his shirt, the collar caught by a stone spike which quickly retreated away from the kangaroo-beast. Elesin raised her talons and began to hurl flame, blast after blast at the cat, but small discs of stone launched up from the ground, intercepting each one even as a large ring of stone began to rise up around her, trapping her in an enormous walled enclosure. Elesin released another wordless howl, but it was cut short as her attention was drawn to Elias, who rose up from the ground a short distance from her.
"I think it's time for that promised punishment." the armadillo stated with a scowl, ears back. Loose stones on the ground vibrated around him as his ire caused the earth to shake. The moon crazed kangaroo had just enough time to roar before Elias motioned toward her with one arm, and a swirling mass of earth rocketed through the ground at her. Large stone spikes began to jut out at every-which-direction, slowly turning to aim at Elesin as the earthen attack drew closer. The Kangaroo creature sneered and walked right through it, her mere presence turning the attack aside, "What?!?" the Geomancer demanded.
The kangaroo-beast took that opportunity to launch her attack. As if throwing a ball, Elesin hucked a searing spear of flame right at the armadillo. Elias quickly took a step back and planted his feet firmly into the earth, raising a large stone shield in front of himself. He gaped as a hole appeared in it and, through the hole, Elias could clearly see Elesin with one paw open, disrupting his shield... and then his vision was completely blotted out by the streaking flame as it shot straight at him through the opening. Turning at the last second, Elias took the bolt of flame on the shoulder. Though his shell diverted a large amount of the blast, he could still smell the distinctive scent of burning flesh and he almost gagged.
Dropping the earth shield, Elias kicked at the ground, causing several small slivers of stone to rise up at his command. He motioned to Elesin, and punched forward, sending them right at her. The Kangaroo beast causally slapped at the air, and Elias' eyes widened as his own projectiles were sent right at him. He spun around, deflecting the worst of them with his shell, but two managed to find weak points and he felt the tell-tale pain of a breech in his defenses. He groaned, falling to one knee.
Elesin moved forward with surreal speed, bringing one of her wicked-looking talons straight down at the armadillo, flames licking off of them. With pure reflex, Elias raised his hand up with a special stone held in his palm. At the very last moment the stone extended out either side of his grasp, forming a long stone staff. He successfully stopped the claws in mid-air, though the impact felt like he just tried to catch a falling elephant. Breath knocked from him, it took Elias a moment to realize that the flame from her claws had dribbled right down onto his head and shoulders. He launched himself up to his feet, using the earth as a springboard as he pushed himself away from the beast before him.
"The change took all the bad parts of you and made them worse." the Geomancer scowled. Unable to any longer deny what he would have to do, the armadillo called deep into the earth and began the incantation that would finish the duel once and for all... but he didn't expect the kangaroo's next move.
Elesin stepped back and the aura of elemental magic faded into nothingness. Elias paused, stunned by the sudden stance change... but he realized what had happened a moment later... a moment too late. The kangaroo beast held a paw out, infused with the same hungry blackness as the wraith had used on Iskiy. The armadillo tried to call out but he found his voice torn away at the same time as his breath. Exhaustion overtook him as he felt his body begin to surrender to the overpowering force of oblivion... but he was not about to give up!
Forcing air back into his lungs, Elias stamped his foot and a large wall of earth punched up from the ground, blocking Elesin's line of sight. Reaching out to the pillar, Elias stepped forward, walking into it. While most of the stone sank back into the ground, much of it stuck the armadillo, surrounding him like a constantly shifting suit of armor made completely from the earth itself. He turned his senses to Elesin; Elias didn't miss the fact that the dagger wounds in her shoulders had closed. "Damn." he said calmly... and charged.
The Geomancer forced the stone gauntlet around his right paw into the form of an earthen blade and thrust it straight at Elesin's abdomen... but she had already vacated that spot and he felt her vice-like grip on his shoulder even through his armor. He had a single moment of soul-wrenching fear as he felt her force his stone armor apart. He willed it closed and the two engaged in a powerful duel for control of the element. Elias was going to win, of course... he had never been bested in the art of Geomancy. His eyes went wide when he felt Elesin's electrically charged claws slide into his abdomen-- he realized that Elesin had no interest in art... she was content to tear through anything he was willing to build.
"No..." Elias murmured, the confined space within his earthen helm quickly filling with blood he was breathing out into it. He began to feel numb as Elesin continued to push more and more electricity into his body even as her claws dug deeper into his gut. Her muzzle was inches from him, mandibles working excitedly, drooling, and her eyes bore into his, pure, unadulterated blood lust. A voice spoke somewhere behind him, and only then did he realize that the stone walls he built to protect the rest of the party had given way, returning to the ground. Despite the looming threat of his impending demise, the armadillo berated himself; he'd never unwillingly let one of his walls return to the earth before.
Suddenly, the electricity stopped and the armadillo fell backwards onto the ground. Elesin collapsed next to him in her normal form once again, naked and weak. The Geomancer called for the earth, realizing that now was his one and only chance to end her... to consumer her with rock and banish her forever into the blackness of the underground so that she wouldn't cause any more harm... but, before he could, blackness found him first.
* * * * *
The poor Banniharians got torn apart this post.
Although they're victorious, Elesin's Moon Crazed transformation took its toll on the group. At this point, three party members are on death's door and will require the aid of the group to survive.
Iskiy is now in danger of dying due to having his life syphoned from him.
Elias is in danger of dying due to the immense amount of damage he took from Elesin's berserking rage.
Elesin is in danger of dying due to her body burning itself up post transformation, having used far too much energy for her meager mundane form to continue functioning.
Non-contributing readers may elect to spend the Group's Luck to save these poor souls. Each character will require 1 Luck to save.
The first Non-Contributing reader to speak up guarantees their choice is saved. The second nominated character will require two Non-Contributing reader votes to be saved, and the third nominated character requires three votes.
Any reader, contributing or otherwise may vote that a character NOT be saved. If this is the case, then another vote will be added on to the requirement to have a Luck point spent on that character's behalf.
Contributing Readers, if your character has 11 or more points in Magic + Focus, Religion + Full Moon, and/or Religion + Crescent Moon you may speak now to provide magical/spiritual healing to those in need. It will cost an undisclosed amount of fatigue and/or willpower depending on how well the dice rolls go and the amount of injuries are attempted to be removed.
There is still one more post on this Event Arc...anything might still happen. Votes must be posted by Thursday, July 21st.
Congratulations on those Banniharians who survived, and good luck to those of you who still might!