Zion: Light of the New Moon, Bannihar's Milestone 1b
Zion - Light of the New Moon Milestone One
Bannihar Awaiting Word, Part 2
The votes are in. Most of the named members of the caravan have survived to see another day... but most is not all. Let us take a moment to see who meets their end here, and how this encounter concludes.
"Hold them steady!" Lord Raes ordered, moving to aid a guard who was restraining a feverish meerkat. The guard, a powerfully built wolf, had her paws on the meerkat's chest, forcing him flat against the ground as Lord Raes knelt down beside them. The champion placed his paw atop the patient's forehead, "In the name of Tah'aveen I free you from this burden and cast it back into the darkness!" he proclaimed.
The meerkat convulsed and his entire body spasmed. Letting out a feral cry, the patient squirmed, moaning as a powerful pulse of energy swept through him. Greenish-black ichor bubbled out of the meerkat's forearm where he had been bitten by one of the Corpses... and he calmly slumped back to the ground, his breathing normalized. "Get him ready to move." Lord Raes directed to the wolf, "We don't have long." and, with that, the dog moved to the next patient.
Not far from Lord Raes, Kayte was seeing to other casualties. She focused on easing pain and healing the wounded. The priestess often glanced up and over toward Lord Raes, "Curse it all..." she whispered under her breath, nobody but her patient and Alexander around to hear it, "I should be over there helping him exorcise the taint from the wounded."
"Lord Raes is concerned for your safety, m'lady..." responded the sow, holding her arm steady as the priestess provided healing, "And you're doing a lot of good here." she reassured Kayte, "More than just cuts and bruises." the portly woman offered, flexing her arm which, until that moment, had been broken.
"I know..." Kayte sighed, "I understand too... I just..."
"Everybody has their part in the Goddess' plan." the sow smiled warmly, resting her hand on Kayte's paw, "That IS what the temple teaches, is it not?"
"It is." Kayte acknowledged, "You're right."
"Then let the champion see to those at the front line... you do a fine job doing her will right here." the pig patted her paw again softly and went immediately to go help a young jackrabbit who was using a notched branch as a crutch in an attempt to join the rest of the survivors up the road at the sole wagon they had been able to recover. Kayte's attention went back to those who needed healing... but she couldn't stop glancing toward the constantly crumbling wall of stone that appeared to be inching closer and closer by the minute.
Elias maintained his control over the barrier between the survivors and the undead, but he had no time to brace and strengthen it; even with his control over Geomancy it was all he could do to shore up new lines of earth as the wall was picked apart at the other side by the swarm of Corpses pushing, clawing, and digging against it. He growled to himself, "At this point I'd almost be willing to let Elesin help me out." he grunted, taking another step back as he rose a new section of rock, earth, and soil.
"I'm ready." Iskiy noted from the side. Elias nodded and, between readjustments of the wall, pushed a stone pillar up into the air from beneath the antlered wolf's feet. The scout aimed his bow, and began launching arrows down onto the undead mob. He maintained his perch, firing over a dozen shots into the mob by the time Elias' wall brushing up against the bottom of the pillar; Iskiy quickly climbed down the notched stone to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the barrier. "Hurry!" the antlered wolf called over his shoulder toward Roarg and Sebastian, who were a short distance behind him.
The badger and gryphon were hastily gathering anything and everything they could to construct a makeshift barricade to separate the injured from the encroaching horde. While it would hardly stand any prolonged assault, Roarg had reasoned that it might slow the Corpses down just enough to save a few more of the wounded. With all of the effort Elias was putting into maintaining his stone wall, the barrier of mixed debris would give them perhaps a dozen seconds more... but hopefully it would make a difference.
The Geomancer was panting by the time he was pushed back within a stone's throw of the ad hoc wall of trash. Iskiy had fallen back to where Roarg and Sebastian were working and managed to set a ladder against a collection of hastily-piled pieces of furniture. The scout clamored up to the top and balanced himself carefully atop a wardrobe as he took aim over the stone wall, and continued pelting the Corpses beyond with arrows.
"All fighters to the front!" Lord Raes shouted, resting his paws on a convulsing mouse. He spoke his prayer quickly, forcing the hint of undeath from the young rodent's body before it could snuff out the boy's life, "Everyone else... move whomever you can. GO!" and the champion stood, readying his sword and shield. Two of the guards beside him readied their weapons, and a human laborer came to collect the mouse. "Wait." the dog stated, and the human paused, "He can make it himself... help the priestess evacuate everyone else." and he motioned with his shield to Kayte, who was still praying.
At that moment, the whole stone wall shook. Elias, sinking down to one knee, lowered his head, gasping for breath as his shoulders heaved with exertion. It took all the armadillo had to get up to his feet and he stumbled backward, eyes still on the cracking wall. Lord Raes was by his side in an instant. The champion rested a paw on Elias' shoulder, "You've done what you could... we'll take over." The armadillo made to object, but Raes shook his head, "This is not up for debate... get everyone to safety." Elias paused for only a moment, but it was obvious that he had no energy with which to argue, and he made his way back behind the wall of junk.
Lord Raes quickly gathered up the caravan's last warriors, situating them on and behind the hastily constructed fortifications. In all, just over a dozen guards joined Lord Raes, Iskiy, and Roarg. Iskiy and two other guards had bows at the ready. Once holes began appearing in the rapidly-crumbling eathern wall, they started firing whenever a shot presented itself. Those without bows waited; claws, paws, talons, and hands gripped their weapons in anticipation of combat.
Sebastian landed beside Roarg and helped the badger push a broken-down wagon into place, cutting off the only opening in their barricade, "Lots of gargoyles on the roof overhead." the gryphon offered with a smirk.
"No..." Roarg answered back, "We'll hold out here... help get everyone else to safety."
"Don't get yourself killed." Sebastian suggested.
"Never crossed my mind." the badger answered, and turned to face the mob of undead as the stone wall finally gave way, "Oh! Sebastian..." he shouted.
The gryphon paused and glanced back questioningly.
"Get the priestess to safety." Roarg stated grimly. Sebastian nodded in confirmation and took to wing.
Kayte was already doing what she could to get the wounded moving. Her time was spent in a combination of prayers and motivation, working double-time get people up and running. The priestess closed a gaping wound in a guard's head, helping him to his feet, "Get to the wagon and keep everyone calm." she directed.
The guard looked to the lone wagon a good distance off down the Highway then looked back to the fortifications and the guards pushing back against the undead onslaught, "I'm needed on the front, Priestess."
"And the people need you by the wagon." Kayte responded.
"I'm sorry, Priestess... my place is up there." the man responded, and moved past her.
"PLEASE!" she pleaded, "Those people need help!"
"So do my brothers." he answered, and continued on his way.
Kayte took a step after him, but was forced to stop by the sound of rushing wings and a blast of air, "You're facing the wrong way, Priestess." Sebastian offered, folding his wings as he trotted over to her, "I think you're supposed to be going that way." and he motioned with his beak toward the surviving wagon.
"There's not enough time." the priestess stated softly, a faint, lupine whine coming out with the words, "We can't save everyone."
"Then we save the ones we can." Sebastian offered, leaning sideways against her, "I'll help... just tell me what you need."
"I can't move all these people... or get them moving." the wolf answered, resting a paw on Sebastian's back, "Can you?"
Sebastian nodded, straightening up as he removed his weight from Kayte's thigh, "Yes." he answered without hesitation, "Just keep doing what you can."
"I will." she confirmed, "Thank you."
"Priestess...?" the gryphon noted, trotting over to the closest unconscious patient, a wild lander that had been guiding the caravan.
"Yes?" Kayte asked.
"Roarg asked me to make sure you get out safely." Sebastian stated.
"I'll join the others after I help here." she promised.
"Good... because I swear to the Goddess that I'll swoop and snatch you out of here if you don't." he offered a reassuring smile. It was a simple expression; Kayte managed to return it. The gryphon gathered up two sides of the cloth wrapped around the unconscious thylacine and took to the air, carrying the patient towards safety. She continued working for another three minutes before a dirt-covered hand grabbed her by the wrist. Kayte almost let out a scream before she realized the hand belonged to Elias.
"We need to go." he stated flatly.
"I have to help these people." Kayte answered, "They need me."
"You can't help, Priestess... we're out of time." he glanced toward the barrier and Kayte's eyes followed. The majority of the hastily erected fortification had toppled. Two bowmen had already been pulled from the walls and had been torn apart; Iskiy was backpedaling quickly, firing arrows at the Corpses who were alerady swarming forward. The antlered wolf was moving at a fast pace but was still barely making any gain against the horde of undead.
Roarg had fallen back to the edge of the wounded fighting with his metal axe in one paw and his stone axe in the other; he couldn't swing fast enough to keep up with the flow of Corpses. The Priestess' heart stopped when she saw Lord Raes still fighting by the toppled wall of garbage. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, and the wolf let out a scream of desperation when she watched the champion as he fell beneath a wave of the Corpses. "NO!" she howled, and pushed past Elias.
The Geomancer reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, spinning her around, "You can't do anything, to help him, Kayte... we can't lose you too!"
"I have to do something!" Kayte cried, still trying to push past the armadillo.
"You have to help keep everyone else alive." Elias countered, blocking her. The priestess looked away, raising her paw to her muzzle and biting down on her finger. Her body shook as she began to cry... but paused. She removed her paw from her muzzle and looked back to the armadillo, eyes still wet but her jaw was set with determination. The priestess said nothing, but gave a faint nod. The Geomancer grabbed her by the wrist, and they ran.
Ahead of them, at the wagon, Sebastian swooped in low. He spread his wings, sending out a wall of wind in front of himself to slow his forward momentum and set the unconscious thylacine on the ground before touching down himself, "Everyone better get ready to go... we don't have long." he warned the assembled survivors.
"What are you doing with him?" questioned one of the workers, a broad-shouldered peccary demanded.
"I'm helping Priestess Delier move survivors." the gryphon answered, "Which also includes you people... now move!"
"He ain't a survivor." worker countered, "We saw the way he looked when they hauled him outta the woods... been snarling and snapping the whole time."
"Lord Raes cured him." Sebastian answered, "Why are we even arguing about this?" he questioned flatly.
"I'm not takin' chances." noted the peccary, picking up a large pick.
"And I'm not letting you kill him." the gryphon countered.
"Outta the way." the worker demanded, kicking at Sebastian.
The gryphon spread his wings, opening his beak and letting out a powerful hiss, "The priestess says he lives."
"Well, the priestess ain't here right now and I'm not takin' any chances." the peccary countered, "And I'm not gonna have him here risking my life or my wife's." he motioned back toward a woman wrapped in a blanket, cowering and shivering beside the wagon.
"Then you'll have to go thro--" Sebastian's retort was countered by the flat side of the pick catching him on the side of his head. The gryphon was knocked to the side and landed with a thump.
"Looks like I'm plain' the hero then." the peccary stated, lifting the pick high over his head. His body tensed, and his shoulders arched as he put his weight into the swing-- but the attack never came down; Sebastian collided into him from the side. The peccary squealed... but the cry was cut short with the sound of a loud snap; the gryphon came up from the jumble of limbs with blood dripping from his beak. The worker lay on his back, staring up at the sky with blank eyes, blood seeping out of his neck with pieces of his snapped vertebrae poking up out of the opening.
"The... the gryphon just killed that man!" shouted one of the survivors.
Sebastian sighed, stepping back as a number of survivors began gathering, facing him with makeshift weapons, "Come on, people... I'm not a wild animal... an angry mob is NOT called for."
"It killed Nau!" came a shout from the group.
"It?" Sebastian asked, "I'm not an IT... he attacked me and was going to-- oh sunfire and coal!" he cursed, then faced the mob and issued out another loud screech, raising his wings and extending them. The gathered survivors quickly backed up, "And you people call ME the beast!" he accused.
"STOP!" Kayte shouted, "ALL OF YOU!" The chaos halted immediately as all eyes went to the priestess, "what in the name of the Goddess is going on?!?" she demanded.
"That gryphon killed one of the workers." a pilgrim noted, pointing at Sebastian.
Kayte turned to the gryphon, "What happened?" she asked.
"That man was going to kill the man you told me to save." Sebastian explained, "He wouldn't stop... and attacked me."
"So now you're going to have us deal with more than Corpses, is that it?" Elias questioned the survivors scornfully, "Fucking brilliant... as if we don't already have enough trouble as it is..."
"Calm down, Elias," Kayte stated, "These people are just afraid."
"And now Dani is a widow!" one of the survivors called, "The gryphon killed her husband!"
"ENOUGH!" Kayte roared suddenly, her entire body shaking with rage as her calm demeanor snapped, "I swear to the Goddess that I will place a divine bane on the next person who does not heed these words: 'We do not fight amongst ourselves.'!"
"But... Dani lost--" that same survivor spoke up. Kayte turned to regard the young opossum and was just about to speak, but the wrapped-up peccary woman next to her acted first. Letting out a shrill squeal, the widow collided with the opossum, digging her tusks into the woman's neck. Only once the blanket was gone could the claw marks on the peccary woman's arm be seen.
"CORPSE!" the survivors screamed, breaking ranks as they fled from the undead, who seemed more intent with tearing into the fallen opossum than dealing with the runners.
Elias stepped between Kayte and the Corpse, bringing both his hands together. The dirt around the peccary's hooves rose up and pulled her down into the ground up to her knees. The Corpse let out a squealing howl and immediately began to reach toward Elias... right until Alexander landed on her shoulders, his twin blades sticking into the back of her skull, their tips emerging through her eye sockets. The newly dead peccary fell to the ground, unmoving. The cat calmly stood back up and moved over to the slain opossum, pausing only long enough to hurl one of his blades into the body's skull. "We have to go." he noted.
"We still have people left behind." Kayte offered.
"Roarg." Sebastian spoke up, turning around to face back toward those still fighting the plague of undead further down the road. Before anybody had a chance to speak up, the gryphon took flight, "Roarg!" he called, swooping in low over the battlefield.
"Here!" shouted the badger, just behind the rapidly moving battle front. The mason was trying to get the injured moving, but it was failing; almost a hundred injured and dying were unable to flee and it was only a matter of time until they would be overtaken.
Iskiy, further away from combat than Roarg, shouted, "Come on! We can't do anything else!"
"Get as many people to safety as you can!" the badger directed, readying his bloody weapons as the Corpses closed in.
Iskiy ran to him and grabbed hold of his shoulder, "I am.... now come on."
Roarg looked to the wounded around him, and then to the Corpses. He looked to the prone travelers again and then to the distant wagon perched on the Highway. He looked back to the Corpses... cursed... and followed Iskiy. The two paused once, looking back to where Lord Raes had fallen to the onslaught... right in time to see a vibrant pulse of silver light blow a dozen undead into the sky.
Sebastian, swooping over the battlefield, quickly did a wing-over, changing his direction. He dive-bombed the opening in the mob, aiming for a tangible field of energy within which stood Lord Raes, his Divine Shield blazing fiercely. The gryphon's aim was true and Sebastian collided with the dog, launching back into the air with the bloodied champion held firmly in his talons.
"Having to keep saving you self-sacrificing morons is gonna get me into trouble one of these days... I just know it." Sebastian mumbled to himself before calling down to Iskiy and Roarg, "Find an updraft, people! Get a move on!"
The gryphon came in for a landing, having a much harder time of it with the bulk of the armored dog weighing him down. He managed to cushion their landing, but still ended up skidding to a stop on his shoulder; Kayte and Elias moved over immediately. The priestess knelt down next to the bloodied dog, "Oh Goddess..."
"It isn't... as bad as it looks." Lord Raes announced weakly.
"That's good... because it looks really bad." Elias noted flatly, looking over the wolf's shoulder.
Kayte closed her eyes and whispered her words of prayer, paws resting on Lord Raes's forehead and his chest. The champion grit his teeth, gauntleted paws digging grooves in the dirt where he lay as he growled, black fluid and dribbling ichor pulled from his wounds by the divine powers. Kayte's prayer came to a close and Lord Raes let out a rasp, body going slack as he slipped into unconsciousness.
"He'll live..." the priestess murmured, "he just needs rest."
"We all need rest." Elias answered, resting a paw on her shoulder, "But we can't... not yet." he motioned to the sea of stumbling, lurching bodies making their way up the hill behind Iskiy and Roarg. The badger and wolf were in full retreat, keeping ahead of the undead, but the Corpses showed no sign of slowing.
"Oh Goddess..." Kayte murmured, gazing at the scene in front of her.
"We have to get moving." Sebastian warned.
"I wonder how long they'll follow us..." Elias whispered.
"Until they catch us." Kayte responded, "We have to rest... they don't."
"Then we'll have to end it now." came a definitive answer. All eyes turned to Elesin, who stood atop the wagon, one paw gripping a short sword, the other holding Lizzy above the ground by her ears. The little bunny's legs kicked at the air, her paws gripping Elesin by her wrist.
"The the name of the Goddess, what in the Eternal Flame are you DOING?!?!" demanded Elias.
"You haven't figured it out yet?" the kangaroo questioned, "I spent half our visit unconscious and I put two and two together already..." she tapped the tip of her blade against the rabbit's chest, "She's the cause of all of this."
"WHAT?!?!" more than one voice demanded.
"Her mother was half elven." Elesin explained, "The amulet... the love note... the apology... her father was a scholar. I bet the clergy found out about and did something... well... stupid."
"Ow! Stop!" Lizzy cried, squirming in Elesin's grasp.
"This undead curse starts and stops with this girl." Elesin claimed, aiming the sword for the bunny's heart.
"That's insane!" Elias shouted, moving around slightly as he stretched his hands, the ground vibrating as it awaited his orders.
"She's just a little girl, Elesin!" Kayte shouted, "Stop! You don't know what you're doing!"
"I know exactly what I'm doing." Elesin countered.
"STOP!" Lizzy shouted, and the kangaroo convulsed, black energy crackling up her arm and through her body. The bunny landed on her feet on the tailgate of the wagon as Elesin fell into a collection of supplies, steam rising up from her unmoving body.
"Oh my Goddess..." Kayte whispered..
"I didn't do anything!" Lizzy cried, "Stop it! Just stop it!"
"Curses don't work that way..." Elias murmured, glancing to Kayte, "What's going on?"
Kayte continued to watch Lizzy, eyes wide, "No... they couldn't have..."
"What's goign on, Kayte?" the Geomancer requested, little spikes rising and lowering around him as the mana flowed through him in his uncertainty.
"They made her a focus for a divine curse..." Kayte continued staring at the crying bunny, "the priests did this..."
"They WHAT?" demanded Elias.
"If her mother really was half elven then they called the wrath of the curse down on their town when they turned her to stone." the priestess noted, taking a step back, "Lizzy is a beacon of vengeance..."
"Am not!" the girl shouted, and the wagon broke into hundreds of fragments, black energy sending debris in all directions. Elias turned his back to the explosion, wrapping his arms around Kayte until the debris had passed, boucing harmlessly off his shell. The other survivors were not as lucky.
"I can't kill a child..." the priestess murmured.
"Then I will." Elias noted grimly, turning around and directing the ripples in the earth toward their target.
A field of black energy formed around Lizzy and the emerging spikes crumbled to dust upon entering it, "I miss my mommy! I miss my daddy!" the girl cried, "The bad men took them away! Stop it! Stop it! I didn't do anything wrong!" her eyes became pools of blackness, "STOP IT!" she shouted, and Elias was blown off of his feet by a tangible wall of force.
"Oh shit." Roarg slid to a stop as he crested the hill, Lizzy coming into view for the first time.
"She..." Elesin sat up amidst the crumpled remnants of supplies, "She's.. the curse... focus."
Without a moment's pause, Iskiy reached back to his quiver, pulling out his last arrow. "Sorry." he said softly, and let it fly. The black field of energy around Lizzy shimmered, and the arrow disintegrated in midair... but not fast enough. A spot of red slowly began to bleed through her white blouse.
The little girl looked down at the hole in her shirt... and her flesh, "I... didn't do anything wrong..." she whimpered softly, and fell to her knees. She touched the wound with her paw, fingers coming back covered in blood. "MMMMOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM-MMMMMEEEEEEEEEE!" she wailed; the sound coming out of her was otherworldly.
Hair, feathers, fur, and scales all stood on end as every last leaf on the trees nearby shriveled and fell from the branches. As one, the undead horde paused... and then... one second later, let out a bone-chilling, collective roar and broke into a run, charging right at the party.
"We're dead..." Iskiy whispered... but then everything changed.
Alexander gripped Lizzy's shoulder as he held her up, his other paw gripping his blade tightly as it found its way into her back. The little girl's eyes were wide open, muzzle open in a noiseless scream. The cat closed his eyes, ears falling as he shivered, mouthing something quietly. He slowly lowered the bunny back to the ground, her body still quivering as he pulled the blade back out. "Sorry..." the cat spoke a little louder, "I'm so sorry..."
A huge blast of magical energy detonated where Alexander stood over the unmoving Lizzy. Everyone was blown off of their feet but, more powerful than just the physical reaction, a wave of mystic force rolled across the landscape causing each Corpse it reached to collapse. By the time the ringing in everyone's ears lowered down to manageable levels, not a single undead was left standing... but, neither were Lizzy nor Alexander. None of them ever stood again.
* * * * * *
And now Bannihar's Milestone concludes.
The votes are in, and it appears that everyone in the party was saved, with the exception of Alexander and Lizzy.
Stay tuned for an intermediary post next week. Would you like influence over what that intermediary post is? All readers may vote below:
1) Kyate and/or Elias and/or Roarg spend some intimate time together. 2) Raes and Iskiy discuss what happens next. 3) Elesin's apparent 'insanity' is explored.
Here's the clencher: you have until midnight PST of Tuesday, October 4th... that's about 48 hrs. The default choice is #1.