Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 5.4 Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 5.4 Doen The Midnight Sun
We've watched over the past three posts on this chapter as the Doenian Caravan has quickly fallen under the control of the Sun Cultists. At this point, it's time to find out just what the Delani and their followers have planned. Whatever it is, of course, it can't be good.
Zachary groaned as he sat up; it felt like the ground was heaving and rolling beneath him. The rabbit took a moment to steady himself, moving a paw to the back of his head where his fingers encountered fur, crusty with dried blood. "Ow..." he mumbled.
"We really need to invest in a helm for you, Brother Zachary." Jasper offered from the side. As the priest's vision cleared he could see that the rat was several feet from him, seated on the ground with his back resting against a series of metal bars. For a moment the rabbit was left wondering what Jasper was doing in a cage but, several seconds later, Zachary realized that he was in the cage with him.
"What... is happening?" the rabbit asked with a wince; speaking only made his headache worse.
"Sun Cultists." Zeke interjected. The priest turned to regard the fox, who was covered in dirt, clothing half-torn; his paws were lashed behind his back with metal cord.
"Why are you tied up?" was the first thing Zachary could think to ask.
"The two of us were 'lucky' enough to get our candles snuffed by a quick blow to the head." Jasper noted, "Zeke put up a fight."
Zachary moved to a kneeling position, trying to shift himself over to the bloodied fox, but he ended back on the ground, feeling sick to his stomach as the world started spinning again. "Are you alright?" he asked once he was confident he wouldn't throw up.
"Better than the first cultist to get within biting range." Zeke answered numbly.
"Haldyn?" Zachary asked. From where he had fallen back to the ground the priest was able to see the unmoving form of the lion, "Haldyn... can you hear me?" he repeated. Again, the lion did not respond. The rabbit remained where he was while his senses settled, but he raised his voice to ask, "Was he sapped too?"
"Drugged, I think." Jasper answered, "He should live..." the rat paused, "Well... at least until they kill him... er... us." he fumbled with the words.
"Where is..." Zachary paused, "Is... is everyone here?" he slowly tried getting up again, managing to raise himself to a seated position.
"The four of us." Jasper replied.
"Have you seen anyone else?" the rabbit inquired.
"Dillan and Hearthsinger." Zeke answered with disgust.
"Are they alright?" Zachary asked, confused by the fox's tone.
"Unfortunately." Jasper answered with a sigh, "They both sold us out."
"No..." the priest shook his head, "They wouldn't do that... I mean..." he paused, "you can't be sure of that." his paw went to the wound on his head again, "Why would you think...?" he looked at each of his fellow prisoners, no lack of certainty on either's expressions, "how do you know?"
"Look for yourself?" Jasper responded, pointing. Zachary followed the rat's finger, and his muzzle dropped open when he saw the ferret laughing casually with a three mail wearing soldiers proudly displaying the golden symbol of Tah'Alia on their tabards. Dillan was serving them food and wine by the campfire, chatting with them as if he were a waiter in a pub.
"Are... you sure they didn't enslave him?" the rabbit offered feebly. Zachary knew the ferret was socially easygoing, but he could tell without having to wait for an answer that he was acting far too casual for someone who was being coerced into service.
"We think he's the one who drugged Haldyn." Zeke answered with a faint growl in his voice.
"And slaves aren't showed around camp by the priests." Jasper added, moving behind Zeke. The rat began pulling and tugging at the metal cord restraining the fox's paws, "Nah... he's an opportunist, and from the look of things he thinks there's more opportunity as a heretic."
"He'll outlive us, at least." Zeke answered blandly.
"And damn his soul in the process." Zachary replied, letting out a sigh as he reclined against the bars of the cage, "I can't believe this..." he noted, lowering his head, "What about everyone else?"
Jasper and Zeke exchanged glances, their ears lowering as they murmured to one another in low tones.
"Tell me what?" the priest asked, large ears trained in on their muted discussion.
"They've been sacrificing people since the sun came up." Jasper responded with a sigh, looking away from Zachary.
"Goddess, no!" the rabbit rose to his feet, gripping the bars for support. He turned, facing outside the cage and tried rattling the metal, but to no avail. He looked around quickly, trying to figure out what was keeping the metal bars affixed to the ground, mind moving a mile a minute until he froze. Not bothering to look back at his fellow prisoners, Zachary asked in a quiet voice, "Lord Rust?... Taggart...?"
"Still alive." Zeke answered, "Taggart is in your carriage and Rust is in Narissa's... that's how we know she's helping the sun cultists... I saw the two of them go in, but the cultists brought her back out without him."
"That doesn't mean she was helping them..." Zachary countered, still gazing out of the cage.
"I think they have him imprisoned in there." Zeke continued, as if he didn't hear the rabbit's objection, "They brought Narissa toward the center of camp."
"Oh Goddess..." Zachary breathed, "She must be in trouble."
"Zach..." Zeke snarled, "she's working with them... she betrayed us too."
"You can't be sure of that." the rabbit contested.
"She saw us in this cage and didn't even stop..." the fox stated, "Someone like Narissa doesn't avoid eye contact unless she's guiltier than--"
"Stop it!" Zachary shouted, "Just stop!" he noted, falling to the ground and holding his head, "We... need to find a way out..." he mumbled, "...save everyone we can..." and he slowly regained his composure, reaching into his robe to grasp his-- "Where's my pendant?" he choked out in surprise.
"The sun cultists took them." Jasper answered, finally getting Zeke free from his bonds, "They knew we couldn't call upon the Goddess without foci." Jasper raised his right arm, revealing an empty spot in his leather bracer where his own holy symbol once rested.
Zachary slowly rose to his feet, a little steadier. He pulled a leather cord from his pocket and pulled back his ears, tying them together as he let them drape down the back of his head. He moved over to where Haldyn lay and knelt down beside him, resting his paws on the lion's arm, "A holy symbol is just a show of craftsman's skill and a faithful's devotion, and it isn't the Goddess..." he stated, and lowered his head as he began whispering a prayer.
"He cracked..." Jasper murmured, sitting back onto the ground, "he's mad with grief and failure." the rat shook his head, "Priests don't channel Tah'Aveen's power without a holy--" and he jumped in surprise "shit!" A muted glow spread out from Zachary's paws, disappearing as it was absorbed into the lion... the Haldyn slowly sat up.
Zachary wasted no time filling the lion in on the events, pausing only when Haldyn let out a deep growl, claws drawing grooves in the dirt at the mention of Dillan's betrayal, "I'll pop his conniving head off with my bare paws."
"Later." Zachary noted with conviction, "First we have to get out of--" but the words stuck in his throat when a collection of Sun Cultists came into view, a profane hymn sung in chorus. The words were alien, but they left a chill down Zachary's spine. The procession passed a fair distance from the cage, moving across the camp toward-- "What are they doing?" he asked, eyes focused on the torches they carried as the cultists moved toward his wagon.
"They've sung that same song every time there was a sacrifice." Zeke answered, rubbing his wrists where the metal restraints had bit into his flesh.
"They won't be able to get into the wagon easily..." Zachary noted, but his voice held more fear than certainty, "There's a lock, and I'm sure Tag--" the words trailed off as he watched them secure the door from the outside, and hold the torches against the wooden paneling, "NO!" he shouted, jumping up immediately to start rattling the bars, "NO!"
Haldyn stood quickly and grabbed hold of Zachary, pulling him away from the bars, "Calm down, Brother... It's just a wagon. We don't need any more of their attention than--"
"Taggart is in there!" Zachary squirmed and kicked to free himself from the lion's grasp.
"And you can't do anything from in here." Haldyn noted with conviction, "Save your strength."
"I have to do SOMETHING!" the rabbit argued, still fighting to escape the lion... until he saw Narissa.
The tigress was walking across the camp, flanked by two men dressed in the robes of Tah'Alia, one of them a hairless human, golden skin gleaming in the morning light, "A Delani?" the rabbit whimpered, finally ceasing his struggling, "Narissa..." he breathed, "She's... not..."
"She's not tied up." Jasper mentioned, "She's not putting up a fight."
"She's with them." Zeke answered.
"I'll kill you!" Zachary screamed at the top of his lungs, "I'll kill you all!" he shrieked, breaking away from Haldyn and leaping for the bars; he threw threw himself against them like a man possessed. "TAGGART!" he roared, eyes going back to his carriage, which was awash with flame. The rabbit beat his paws against the metal cage until blood dripped down the bars. Sinking to his knees, Zachary lowered his head, "Taggart..." and he sobbed.
After the rabbit's outburst, nobody said a word. Everyone sat in silence, the ominous popping and crackling of Zachary's burning wagon the only sound accompanying the sun cultists' death chant. After a time, the priest slumped down to lay on his side, pulling his knees up to his chest as he stared at the burning carriage. After a few minutes the bonfire began collapsing in on itself, sending sparks and cinders up into the sky. After several more minutes the cultists slowly disbursed; nobody inside could have escaped.
The camp was quiet for almost ten minutes save for an occasional muted sob from Zachary but then, suddenly, the door to Narissa's wagon opened, and two sun cultists emerged, without Narissa. They descended the three steps to ground level and closed the door behind themselves. The two talked casually, though the conversation was too distant to be clearly heard.
Zeke's ears perked, "They're passing time." he noted.
"How can you tell?" Jasper asked.
"The way they're standing... the tones of their voice." the fox answered, "I heard it often enough from temple guards."
Jasper cocked his head to the side, observing the guards, "What are they waiting for?"
"Maybe they're having her finish Rust off." Haldyn offered. He held up his paws in defense as three sets of eyes glared at him, "Sorry... but it makes sense... a test of her loyalty, probably."
"She wouldn't." Zachary stated in a croak, his throat hoarse.
"Just like she wouldn't betray us..." Zeke noted.
"All I'm saying is--" the lion spoke, but his words were interrupted by a loud crunch, and the side of Narissa's wagon exploded outward as the tigress went sailing through the air.
Narissa landed in a crumpled heap, half-covered in broken wood. She lay unmoving, blood pooling around her. The cultists standing at the base of the stairs spun to face the broken wagon just in time to encounter an enraged echidna. Lord Rust barely paused as he passed them, his iron hammer caving in one skull while his fist, wrapped tightly with a chain, pulverized the other's face. He let out a battle cry as the three heathen soldiers by the campfire rose from their seats and their breakfast to face off against him.
"Where did Dillan go?" Jasper demanded, gazing out at the table where the ferret had been just several minutes prior.
"We'll handle him later." Haldyn responded with a growl, "Rust!" he shouted, banging against the bars of the cage with the metal that had been tied around Zeke's wrists, "Over here!"
The echidna was engaged in combat, unable to get to the prisoners, but he did glance once in their direction before looking back to the soldiers facing him down. With a growl, Lord Rust reached back and, with a firm yank and a sickening pop, pulled one of his spines loose. He charged the three armored men, hurling the spine ahead of him. It didn't have enough weight on its own to create an effective thrown weapon, but it did cause one of the cultists to focus more on it than him, and, with that opportunity, Rust straight-armed the soldier in the throat, hurling him into the fire.
Without stopping, the echidna brought his hammer down on the second's head. The armored human raised his sword up to deflect the blow, but Rust powered through, pulverising the man's shoulder instead; the guard collapsed like a scarecrow that lots its stuffing. Spinning at the last moment, the enraged echidna changed his direction and launched himself into the air, jumping backwards against the last guard. The man let out a scream as a wall of quills collided with him; when the guard hit the ground, and once Rust landed atop him, the screaming stopped.
The echidna had to roll once, then again to dislodge himself from the unmoving cultist but, once he got to his feet, he was far from pacified. Lord Rust reached down to pick up one of the guards' swords, and he began stalking his way toward the captives. "I'm gonna get you out..." he called from across the camp, "And then we're going to slaughter every last one of these assholes." Rust barely bothered looking at a robe-wearing cultist until the man started praying. With a quick swing of his arm, the echidna loosed the sword he held, which streaked unerringly to its target, catching the priest in the throat, and burying itself to the hilt.
"See if you can get these bars open." Haldyn noted, moving to meet Rust as the echidna approached, "Once we're out--"
"Brother Bronderson..." a heavily accented voice called from the side, "...you appear to have made a mess of things." the echidna's spines started vibrating audibly as Lord Rust grit his teeth, turning to regard a hairless gold-skinned human. The Delani's emerald green eyes held a hint of humor, but it did a poor job of hiding the deep pool of disdain, "And you've cost me a very valuable resource in Narissa..."
"I'm going to cost you more than that." the echidna growled, brandishing his hammer-hand.
"For your trouble, you will earn yourself the privilege of being the last to die." the gold skinned human promised, "So you may be blessed with watching all of your friends as they are given over to the Light Bringer."
"Not if I send you to the Eternal Flame first." Rust growled... and charged.
The Delani man raised a hand casually, and announced, "Proa."
Lord Rust's eyes went wide as his feet, legs, body, and arms suddenly seized up, and he fell to the ground, as still as a statue.
"You may have spines, my friend..." the golden cultist's smile was a frightening one as he approached the paralyzed echidna, "but I am not without my own defenses."
* * * * * *
Welcome, Zion fans, to the last post of Chapter 5 for the Doenian Caravan. This also happens to be the last post before the Milestone.
At this point, I feel obligated to note that the group has sustained some fairly hefty losses and, since we're not yet moving to the next chapter, these injuries and the fatigue will remain... this means that the group is hardly fighting-fit.
That being said, it is up to the Contributing Readers to decide just how they will enter the Milestone. Please keep in mind that the theme of Milestone 1 is "Loss", which is to say, this is a very VERY dangerous Milestone. That being said, Contributing Readers are encouraged to look at the following options and choose the one they find most fitting.
Unlike prior voting opportunities, the Milestone vote also includes pros and cons of each option along with different ways to view it. As always, the highest number of votes win.
1) Get out of the cage and get gone!! Positive Viewpoint: The Sun Cultists are still busy dealing with sacrifices... if the group can escape they might just make it. Negative Viewpoint: Are you really THAT cowardly? Pro: This option provides the greatest opportunity out of the first three choices for the party's immediate survival. Con: Racing off into the Wild Lands is a recipe for disaster, and that leaves the rest of the caravan to get slaughtered.
2) Get out of the cage and get revenge! Positive Viewpoint: Hit the Sun Cultists hard and with indignation, slaughtering them as quickly as you can before the mount a defense. Negative Viewpoint: The party is going to throw itself into harm's way, poorly equipped and alreadyinjured. Pro: This option maximizes the chance to retain some degree of support from what is left of the caravan. Con: This option is the riskiest of the defined plans.
3) The caravan is doomed... get out of the cage, save the other party members if possible, and get away while possible and head to Zion. Positive Viewpoint: The group is injured enough already and won't be that much help, but at least they can complete the pilgrimage and make it to Zion. Negative Viewpoint: Are you really going to leave the caravan to its own devices? Pro: Out of the three defined options, this one is the safest for the group. Con: Leaving the laborers and wagon masters of the caravan to die is NOT heroic... and it leaves the party without any support.
4) Sit tight and trust in Tah'Aveen's will to see the party through safely. Positive Viewpoint: The Moon Goddess is all powerful, and it should be her will for the party to survive! Pray... and pray well. Negative Viewpoint: Tah'Aveen helps those who help themselves... do you really want to sit idly by and hope for divine intervention? Pro: There is a slim possibility that this single action may turn the tide and allow the caravan to survive. Con: Failure to come up with the resolution pretty much spells disaster for the caravan and the group.
Contributing Readers will have until midnight on Saturday, September 17th to place their vote. A unanimous vote will result in a minor benefit to the party. Any non-participation by a Contributing Reader will result in double the normal penalization.