Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 3.2 Shrad
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 3.2
Shrad The Killing Fields
The Shradian Pilgrims are set upon by an entire plague of Stab-Bills. Let's see how well they handle their first major active obstacle: hungry, aggressive birds.
Majh was one of the first to raise the alarm as the massive swarm of Stab-Bills gathered overhead, nearly blocking out the sky with the sheer size of their numbers. Pulling the watchman's horn from its sling at her shoulder, the hyena pressed it to her muzzle and issued out a loud, clear tone. The caravan guards quickly picked up on the warning and the laborers were directed to circle the wagons.
"What is it?" Tolen asked Majh. She had kept him near her since Shadow had gone off on his own into the snowy landscape.
"Stab-Bills." she pointed to the sky.
"Oh Goddess..." the arctic fox gasped, "That's a LOT of birds."
"And they're hungry." Majh added with a grin.
"Do they.... eat.... people?" Tolen inquired.
"If people let them, yes." responded a powerful voice casually. The large polar bear nade his way through the snow to them, his twelve retainers in quick pursuit.
"High Priest." Majh bowed her head casually.
"Your Eminence." Tolen bowed deeply.
"So this is your pet fox, Majh?" the bear asked, reaching down to grab hold of the end of Tolen's muzzle, raising it up and turning it from side to side so he could inspect the healer's face, "Not much to look at, is he?"
"Things aren't always what they appear to be." the hyena responded, quickly adding, "And you know that as well as I, High Priest."
The bear gave her an appraising glare, "So it would seem..." and he let go of the fox's face, turning back to his guards, "Hardly worth my time... but I'll address it." he stated. His followers nodded in unison and gathered around him protectively, eyes on the birds.
Majh looked skyward as well, blocking the faint circle of the sun where its light flowed weakly through the clouds. Her eyes followed the fox as the bear began to chant in his deep voice, praying to Tah'aveen. She didn't know precisely what he had in mind, but she had a very good indication why several birds began to fall out of the air.
"What's going on?" Tolen asked quietly.
"The High Priest is visiting the Goddess' wrath upon our enemies... if beseeched she is more than willing to smite the foes of the faithful."
"I always thought she was benevolent and loving." the fox whispered, astounded.
"She is." Majh responded with a quirky grin, "And so is a mother bear... just not to anyone who's bothering her cubs." and she followed it up with a cackling laugh as another dozen of the birds fell from the sky.
His prayer complete, the High Priest turned to Majh, "The Goddess is with us today."
Majh, who had been following his prayer quietly in her head, smiled to herself as she intoned, "The same for me please, Goddess." and her grin widened even more when a half dozen of the Stab-Bills were struck dead. "Well how about that..." the hyena observed the deaths, "I suppose she just MIGHT prefer long-winded oratory after-all." The bear scowled. Majh's ability to channel the power of the Moon Goddess was nowhere near his, but she still found ways to mess with his mind and she treasured each and every one of them.
"It's a start... but it'll take more than a few requests to smite the birds to break off the flock's attack." Loric spoke up, approaching the priest and priestess, "Can anyone here support the war effort with magic?" No sooner had the noble spoken up than a massive fireball launched skyward and exploded amidst the swirling mass of wings. Numerous scorched corpses rained down on the wagons.
Majh glanced that direction, "The Wild Lander can." she smiled, waving to the ferret. He glanced their way, ears going up when he saw the hyena's friendly gesture, and slowly raised his own paw, confused, and offered a short wave back. She glanced to Tolen, "Do you have anything in mind?"
The healer nodded and motioned to the snow-covered ground, "I can raise ice walls."
"Good." Majh nodded in decisive agreement, "East and west sides... I'd like to channel their attacks in a nice line." she motioned north and south as she said so.
Tolen nodded his compliance again and began intoning arcane words, reaching to the snow on either side of the caravan, and it began to slowly seep upward off the ground. Hearing his call, the snow started compact into hard ice, freeing the land from its grip as it was siphoned vertically to create two tall, thick walls of frost.
"There are many ways his magic could be put to more offensive uses." the High Priest noted to Majh.
She shrugged in response, "He has a 'thing' against inflicting violence. He's a healer."
"What a shame... anyone not capable of inflicting violence usually becomes a target of it." the polar bear noted. Raising his paws towards the heavens, he spoke out a series of words as his paws made several somatic motions. He closed both fists and rapidly stretched his arms to either side. A number of Stab-Bills swerved off from the main flock, roughly following the trajectory of his paws, and collided with the walls the healer had created, "Congratulations, healer... now you're a killer."
Majh would have said something, but she suddenly paused, "Fayte Magic..." and she glanced to the side. The High Priest did so at the same time, and they both gazed toward a rise in the land. There, amidst the snow, a dark form was barreling down toward the caravan, bluish-silver runes on his fur lit up against the white hillside. "Shadow Darkfang is a Fayte Wizard?" Majh inquired, rubbing her muzzle thoughtfully, "Intriguing..." and she chuckled quietly.
"More to worry about right now than Fayte magic, my dear." Loric noted condescendingly, motioning with his drawn sword toward a large flock of Stab-Bills descending upon the caravan. Numerous guards took up spots behind, to-the-side-of, and on-top-of the wagons, unleashing a hail of arrows at the birds.
The hyena drew out her two-handed sword and hopped up onto the back of a wagon, "Well then... by all means, Lord Kriabnish, I'm eager to see what training your clan has provided on combating Stab-Bills."
"Shut up, both of you." the High Priest ordered, "I want to be able to hear this." and, once they grew quiet, the polar bear pulled a spare wagon wheel out from the bed of a wagon and spun around like a discus thrower, hurling the heavy metal wheel into the air. The projectile kept going after hitting the first bird, slammed into a second, and lost its forward momentum, falling out of the sky, slamming down atop a third that was unable to evade it. With each impact, the bear's grin widened, "Feel free to argue amongst one another again." he chided.
Nori, who had been apart from the group, hustled back toward them as the Stab-Bills descended. The lead fliers of the flock targeted Majh, who was atop a wagon. Two aimed directly at her and she stood her ground. The birds rose up, and then dove straight down, nasty-looking beaks leading the way. The hyena did a complete spin, stepping to the side. As part of the move, her sword rose up from having its tip pointed at the wagon bed until it was held skyward, dripping blood. The two birds impacted into the snow, followed a moment later by their heads.
"Impressive." the High priest acknowledged, and casually held out a paw. The Stab-Bill aiming at him ricocheted off of a faint bluish barrier emerging from his palm. It recovered quickly, and latched onto the field, pecking at it with its bladed beak until *WHOMP!* a snowball knocked it free.
Majh glanced to Tolen, who was scooping up another pawful of snow, "Really?!?" she demanded. The fox's ears reddened in a blush, but he loosed another snowball knocking a new Stab-Bill off of its perch on the wagon near Majh.
Nori lept up onto the wagon beside her, dealing a wide, side-armed sweep with his hammer just as a Stab-Bill descended on a swooping attack of Tolen. A loud metallic clang later, and a mist of red accompanied by several feathers was all that was left of the bird.
"And they warned that the Wild Lands are dangerous..." the High Priest chuckled.
"We're lucky." Nori challenged, "If we had a--" but he didn't have a chance to finish his sentence as a Stab-Bill impacted into his shoulder, beak digging into his flesh. The ferret yelped, grabbing at the bird. He managed to pull it free, and it bit at his paw. He threw it onto the wagon bed and stepped on it with a foot.
"Pay attention, Wild Lander... that's what you're here for, isn't it?" Loric directed, and got an evil eye for his trouble. The fox only laughed as he quickly swiped his sword through the air, slicing into one that had been hurtling toward him. The fox nimbly evaded a second swooping Stab-Bill, "See? No trouble." his smug grin lasted for only a moment until one of the birds landed on his outstretched arm, drove its sharp, pointed beak into his bicep, and quickly took to wing, all in the time Loric needed to shout, "Burn-it-all!"
"I'm glad I was paying attention..." Nori countered, "It was worth it."
"Tolen..." Majh spoke up, watching as two more Stab-Bills aligned themselves for a sweeping attack. She didn't miss that they had the healer in their sights, "Tolen!" she shouted, and the fox looked up, eyes training in on the swooping birds. he took a step back, holding his paws up as he barked out two quick syllables. A blast of air shot forth from his finger-tips, driving the two birds apart and in either direction; they each impacted into the ice walls, leaving red smears as they slid down to the ground. The fox's ears lowered and his tail tucked.
The High Priest issued out a deep belly-laugh, "You didn't even need my help on that one... excellent work... healer."
A rock sailed overhead at a swooping Stab-Bill, taking it out of the air. Shadow loped up to the caravan. "Nice of you to join us." Majh noted flatly.
"Why is Gaerid outside the defenses?" was all the wolf responded, motioning to the distance.
Six set of eyes turned to the rottweiler, who was seated in the snow with his feral dog next to him. The two were facing sideways, gazing out across the snow as if they were on break. The strangest thing was that none of the birds were bothering them.
"Apparently the stab-bills don't want to get any closer to him than we do." Nori stated. Despite the severity of the situation, several laughs still rose up from the gathering.
"I will discipline him later." the High Priest declared, "But, for now, these birds are forcing us to waste travel time." he glanced to his dozen guards, "Protect me... I am going to finish this."
Majh attacked another Stab-Bill as it swooped in; she didn't hit, but her blade caught its tail feathers and it quickly flew off, thinking better of attacking. Shadow joined her on the wagon, drawing his sword as Armenius began his chant; it was in a language Majh didn't know... and that bothered her... a lot.
The caravan guards continued to draw beads on the birds, firing up into the air with their arrows, but a few moments later it became a worthless gesture; as one, all of the Stab-Bills suddenly condensed, each of their avian bodies compacting as if squeezed by an unseen force-- a hundred invisible hands crushing them in mid-air. The crumpled bodies rained down on the caravan as Armenius Tenge held a single paw up, a shield of glowing energy covering his head from the falling bird carcasses, "What are you waiting for?" he demanded of the stunned gathering, "We've waisted enough time here as it is... MOVE!" Needless to say, no one denied the order.