Zion: Light of the New Moon, Myre's Milestone 1b
Zion - Light of the New Moon Milestone One
Myre Unbalanced, Part 2
A plot is in the works to eradicate the Myrenese Caravan... but it's apparent that forces are in motion to keep that scheme from coming to fruition. It's obvious that not everyone will be able to escape and, even with one member of the group sacrificing himself there's a good chance that several others still won't make it out alive... so who will?
It took time to rouse the heads of the caravan... time the party did not have. Between Cornelius and Keeland, they split up, one going down the hall to the right and the other to the left. Keeland roused Lady Marion and Josh, and came back to the central hall just as Cornelius returned, "I woke Anor-Roc, the Priestess and her acolyte, but Private Telone was not in her room."
"I found her." the white shepherd confirmed, "Liam, Leijh, Valda, and Bahrla will meet us down in the entryway shortly." With that, Cornelius motioned and began walking; Keeland followed.
"You haven't told me yet what will be attacking the Wayside..." the brown furred dog noted, "or why you're so convinced it can't hold out."
"I am sorry, Sergeant," Cornelius apologized, "but I am afraid you will have to take my word for it because I cannot explain it in a way that you will accept or understand at this time."
"You can try." Keeland offered, keeping pace with him.
"I can... but I ask that you not request me to." the Moon Pelted shepherd noted.
"You're asking me to take a lot on faith." the sergeant countered.
"I know." Cornelius acknowledged, but said nothing more.
The two walked in silence after that, Keeland following the Captain down the spiral staircase as the enigmatic shepherd maintained a quickened pace without rushing. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Cornelius opened the door, holding it for Keeland, who nodded his thanks and walked into the main hall. Torches were already lit, illuminating the dark chamber.
"Why does the Keep have torches lit at this hour?" Keeland asked.
"My men have gone ahead and lit the route for you and your fellows." Cornelius answered, "Please believe me when I say that my calmness belies my concern over the timeliness of your escape."
"You mean our escape..." the brown shepherd looked to the white one, "...right?"
"Of course." Cornelius nodded, "You and your companions."
"You're not coming with us?" the sergeant questioned.
"No." the Captain replied, "I will stay here with my men."
Keeland would have objected but, at that time, the first of the caravan descended the stairs, "What's going on, Sergeant?" questioned Anor-Roc, "I had just turned-in for the night when you--" he paused, looking at Cornelius and the lit torches, "I have to admit... I'm a little concerned at the moment.
"As you should be." Cornelius acknowledged, "In a score of minutes the Wayside is going to be attacked."
The coy-wolf's fur stood up at that, "What?!?" he demanded incredulously, "We have to gather up the guards and prepare a--"
"It will not make a difference..." the white shepherd interrupted, "I am sorry."
Anor-Roc looked back and forth between Keeland and Cornelius, "I don't believe that." he stated with certainty, "We have to be able to do SOMETHING."
"You can." the captain acknowledged, "I will lead you to the Silver Gate and you can escape."
The coy-wolf paused at that, "With less than twenty minutes there's no way we can assemble the whole of the caravan."
"You are correct." Cornelius agreed, "Sergeant Reilly and I have gathered as many people as we can."
"How many is that?" Anor-Roc questioned, "Fifty? Sixty?" he slammed a paw into the wall, "That's barely 20% of the caravan."
"Including you and the Sergeant?" the white shepherd offered, "Ten."
"Ten what?" questioned Lady Marion as she came down the stairs, interrupting the explosive response from Anor-Roc. Josh followed right after her with Valda behind him.
"Good evening, Priestess." Cornelius bowed in a courtly fashion, "I apologize that your sleep was interrupted."
"What in the name of the Goddess is WRONG with you?!?" Anor-Roc demanded, raising his voice, facing the Captain.
"Calm down please." the white shepherd requested, "We do not wish to cause alarm."
"This is a perfectly GOOD reason for alarm!" the coy-wolf barked, "The wayside is under attack!"
"What?" Lady Marion inquired, freezing at the words.
"It's under attack?" Valda asked incredulously.
"It doesn't look like it's under attack." Josh offered, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"Please... remain calm." Cornelius requested, "Alarm causes chaos and chaos will interfere with your escape."
"Our escape?" questioned Baharla Splithoof, emerging from the stairway.
"I had hoped to wait until everyone had arrived." Cornelius noted, "Constant interruptions and having to repeat myself several times will cost us precious minutes.
"So will waiting for everyone, but we have to do it anyway." Bahrla stated flatly, "So start talking... what are we escaping from?"
"The Wayside is going to be attacked tonight." Anor-Roc stated.
"The walls are thick enough." Bahrla pointed out, "We should have time to post a defense and cover any retreat necessary..." she paused, "unless the attack comes from--"
"From within." Keeland finished for her and then turned to regard the white shepherd, "Captain... is someone within the Wayside going to betray us?"
"In a manner of speaking." Cornelius acknowledged.
"Is it Lord Belarius?" Lady Marion asked, face unreadable.
"No, Priestess." the Captain bowed, "No one from the Wayside would wish any harm to come to their home."
"But you said that someone from the Keep is going to betray us..." Josh pointed out.
"Someone within it, young man." Cornelius clarified, "But, as you can see," he motioned around at the walls, "at the moment, we are all within it."
"One of our number?" Keeland asked, ears up, muzzle open in surprise, "It can't be. Everyone in the caravan is loyal to the temple."
"Indeed they are." the white shepherd nodded in agreement.
"Stop talking in riddles." Bahrla ordered.
"Everything will be explained faster than you would like... but not right now." the Captain stated, and glanced behind the group, "Mr. Mail... Private Telone... please join us-- we are very short on time." before anybody else could ask another question, Cornelius about-faced and began walking down the main hall at a quick pace.
"If we're in such a hurry then why aren't we running?" Josh asked Lady Marion as he hustled to keep up.
"There is such thing as 'too fast', Joshua." Lady Marion answered, "Temperance in all things... even haste."
"Oh..." the lion cub nodded, "right."
The party followed Cornelius through the ground floor and to a new staircase leading further down into the keep's basement. Leijh caught up to the shepherd before he could start down the stairs and she grabbed him by the arm, "Nobody from our caravan is going to hurt anyone in this Keep."
"I understand that you believe that to be true, Miss..." Cornelius responded with a level tone, looking at her with something reminiscent of pity, "but unfortunately you are mistaken."
Leijh scowled in response, releasing his arm, "Who is it then? Who's going to cause a problem? If you know then why don't we just deal with them?"
"I already have." Cornelius explained, "Unfortunately that does not resolve the problem."
"Cut the theatrics." Liam spoke up, stepping beside Leijh, "Tell it to us straight; why are we running away with our tails between our legs instead of staying and fighting?"
"You cannot fight Death Mist, Mr. Mail." the white shepherd stated simply, and proceeded down the stairs while everyone stayed stunned in the hall.
"An entire shipment of it went missing a week before the caravan left..." Keeland stated, eyes widening with concern.
"Apparently it's been found." Bahrla noted, following Cornelius down the steps with haste.
"Wait..." Valda spoke up, looking around, "Where's everyone else?"
"This is it." Anor-Roc scowled, "Apparently there's 'not enough time' to save everyone."
"To the Eternal Flame with that!" Valda cursed and grabbed hold of Anor-Roc's robe, "Keep that gate open." Before the coy-wolf had a chance to inquire what she was up to the squirrel about-faced and raced off down the hallway.
"Valda!" Anor-Roc called after her, and was about to follow but Josh reached up and grabbed hold of the coy-wolf's tunic.
"Mr Anor-Roc..." the young lion spoke up, "Everyone's supposed to go down there after Mr Cymbeline."
"I know, Josh." the coy-wolf acknowledged, glancing from the stairway to the hall. The cub gave another light tug at his robe and Anor-Roc reached down to gently detached him, "Follow the priestess... I'll be there in a minute." He took hold of the cub's paw and slid the glided charm bracelet into Josh's grasp, "Keep this safe for me... okay?"
"Okay." the cub nodded, "You're gonna come soon, right?"
"Yes." Anor-Roc did his best to smile as he lied.
"Promise?" the young lion asked.
The coy-wolf paused, a similar scene playing through his mind involving himself and his own father, smiling through the bitterness on his lips, "I promise." He wasn't the first to make a promise he couldn't keep.
Josh descended the stairs quickly, looking at the charm bracelet Anor-Roc had given him. The cub had seen it on numerous occasions but he didn't recall the coy-wolf ever having taken it off. Keeping one paw on the rail, the little lion inspected the twisted metal wires; he found it strange that there were far fewer charms on it than he remembered seeing. Shrugging, the cub slid it into one of the pockets of his trousers and hurried down the steps. By the time he reached the bottom everybody was already up in arms.
"This is Siyh." Lady Marion said accusingly up at Cornelius, "He was a loyal aide of the temple."
"Very loyal. The same as the rest of them who will be trying to stop us." confirmed Cornelius, taking a small disc out of his pouch, "This belonged to him... I saw him using it to contact the individual who planned all of this."
"He wouldn't go against the temple!" Lady Marion objected.
"Indeed... he would not." the white shepherd nodded, pressing the disc against the enormous silver arch. The inside of the archway glowed faintly, and began to scintillate in numerous colors as ghostly voices emerged from it.
"The Caravan is at Attood Keep." said a male voice.
"That's Siyh's voice." Josh noted, joining everyone else in front of the arch.
"And how are things progressing, Siyh?" a female voice inquired.
"...the Great Matron..." Lady Marion whispered.
"As planned." the lizard's voice spoke up.
"Except that you are behind schedule." the Great Matron's voice came through clearly.
"My apologies... I would have worked faster, but these things cannot be rushed." the lizard's voice answered.
"And the wagons are inside the keep?" the Great Matron questioned.
"They are... all of them." Siyh replied.
"And the seals will break at midnight?" the voice of the Great Matron asked.
"They will." the lizard acknowledged, "The keep will be flooded with Death Mist."
"Make certain that no one survives." the woman's voice directed.
"Not a soul will live." Siyh promised.
"Good."
"It will go as you had planned." the lizard added and, with that, Cornelius removed the disc from the metal.
"It can't be..." Lady Marion slumped to the ground, looking at the now empty archway.
"I am sorry, Lady Marion." the white shepherd offered, stowing the disc back into his pack, "There was no way I could have explained in a way that I could be believed unless I provided proof."
"The Temple hasn't made Death Mist in decades..." Keeland murmured, "I thought it seemed strange that the first batch they prepared was stolen out from under their noses..."
"The Great Matron wouldn't do something like that!" Josh challenged.
Lady Marion, head still lowered, shook it, "Yes... she would." The priestess slowly raised her gaze, glancing around at the party, "We have many influential families represented here..." she sighed, "I should have seen it before. The Great Matron would not send a priestess unless she were a Matron at least... I was blinded by my own vanity." she put her hand to her head, "Ms Telone would never have been permitted to come along considering her--" Lady Marion froze when several eyes glanced her way, "...condition." She slowly stood, "She plans on starting a war."
"Continuing a war." Liam corrected, "I've heard it often enough... there are plenty of priests in the temple that don't think there should be peace."
"So we're all expendable in their search for war?" Leijh demanded.
"Yes." Lady Marion acknowledged.
Bahrla snorted, "So now you are going to be a good little girl, sit down, and wait to be killed because mommy ordered it?" she challenged the priestess.
"No." Lady Marion noted, pulling her holy symbol off her neck, "I'm going to open this damned archway, pass through, get to Zion, complete my duty, then go back to Myre and give that bitch a piece of my mind."
"You will need help." Cornelius noted, "It takes three priests and a magus to open a Silver Gate."
"Joshua..." Lady Marion turned to the cub.
"Do they really wanna let us die?" Josh asked softly.
"They do..." the priestess noted, "But I won't let that happen."
The cub nodded resolutely, "Kay... then I won't either." and he pulled his holy symbol free.
"Let me help." Keeland offered, drawing his small shield from his back, brandishing the divine symbol of the half-moon on its front. Lady Marion nodded, and motioned for him to take his spot. The Priestess and cub gathered on the left side of the gate and Keeland moved to the right, joining Cornelius, "Josh is the only magus we have, but we need his prayer." he explained to Cornelius.
"That is where I come in." the white furred dog replied, mana pooling in his paws tangibly, pouring out between his fingers like lines of fine sand. The floor seeped with energy, flowing toward the silver supports when Cornelius spoke the first syllable, and a powerful glow crackled into existence within the archway. The ritual had begun... but they would need time to complete it. Unfortunately, time was running short.
Back at the top of the stairway Anor-Roc was walking back and forth in a measured beat. Beside him, a faint ghostly visage paced with him, "Don't do this, 'Roc... you need to be down there."
"No... I need to be up here." the coy-wolf countered, turning the numerous charms between his fingers.
"There's nothing you can do up here that you couldn't accomplish down there." the armored apparition stated, "You're putting yourself in danger."
"I'm protecting people." Anor-Roc countered, "you should understand that."
"You don't know what you're up against." the ghostly image stated.
"We never do, Father... we never do." the coy-wolf paused, turning to face the spirit, "You asked me earlier what I'd do when the time came... now here's your answer."
"You're going to die tonight, 'Roc..." the spirit spoke up, slowly taking off his spectral helmet, "I don't want that to happen."
"And I didn't want you to die..." the coy-wolf answered, turning to look toward the sound of footsteps approaching down the hall, "...but we don't always get what we want."
"Don't do this to spite me, 'Roc." the spirit pleaded.
"This has nothing to do with you." Anor-Roc stated, letting the charms loose from his paws, "This is about me, and about everyone else I promised to protect."
"What about the promise you made to Yrena? To Nazaal? The young cub down there waiting for you?" the spirit wolf asked.
"What about the promise you made to mother? What about the promise you made to me?" Anor-Roc demanded, "You have no right to lecture anyone about keeping promises. This is about DUTY." the magus released his summoning magic, calling the spirits to him. Jaguar, bat, bear, and otter manifested, all facing the sound as it approached, knowing exactly what was required of them.
"Call me." the ghostly soldier demanded, "Let me fight beside you."
"I'm sorry, father... I can't." Anor-Roc stated, "This is my fight."
"You can." the wolf asserted.
"I don't have your charm." the coy-wolf answered, and began running toward the sounds of combat, pausing only long enough to glance toward the stairway. If things were going to be as bad as the Moon Pelt shepherd said then Anor-Roc had to buy them some time.
Down within the gate room the magical energies were forming rapidly. A powerful wind ripped through the basement, originating from nowhere before swirling around like a hurricane, disappearing into the large rift that began to manifest within the archway. The entire room rumbled, but the sound was overshadowed by a second, larger quake... and the whole tower shuddered as the stairway collapsed in upon itself.
Many of the observers had time to shout, scream, and yell... but those taking part in the ritual to open the Silver Gate could not give it any of their attention. Josh of the Blessed Choir could not do anything but focus on his prayers. He didn't pay any attention to the stairs; he ignored the screams and shouts from those around him; he paid no attention to the silverly glow from the single charm on the bracelet in his pocket. All he knew as that the gateway had to open... finally... it did.
* * * * *
And now Myre's Milestone concludes.
The votes are in, and it appears that everyone in the party was saved, with the exception of Anor-Roc, Valda, and Agnes.
Stay tuned for an intermediary post next week. Would you like influence over what that intermediary post is? All readers may vote below:
1) Anor-Roc's last stand and what becomes of him, Valda, and Agnes. 2) What part did Cornelius' men play in the party's escape? 3) Plotless smut narrative of what happened between Liam and Leijh.
Here's the clencher: you have until midnight PST of Tuesday, October 4th... that's about 48 hrs. The default choice is #1.