Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 1.4 Bannihar
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 1.4
Bannihar The Long Road Ahead
With only two out of four votes in for this group, the result ends in a tie, it's left up to the Author Contributed Characters to weigh in. After votes are tallied, it appears that the party will be doing what they can for the injured traveler and dropping him off at a Wayside. The current count on modifiers for this chapter is ++++ Delay based on group decisions thus far. Since Elesin and Elias did not have votes tallied for them again, they each lose another 1 Willpower and Bannihar takes another painful loss of 2 Favor.
Once the party had the opportunity to move the survivor to 'The Risen', Priestess Delier and Lord Raes got to work inspecting his injuries and providing mundane healing. Although the thylacine's wounds were severe, the priestess and champion together were able to stabilize him without having to resort to divine intervention... a thought that left Jules gritting her teeth as she scouted ahead of the wagon with Iskiy.
"It makes no sense." Jules commented, moving otherwise quietly along the side of the Highway, "We were several-hundred strong when we left Bannihar, and now we're less than ten." The leather-clad Wild Lander kicked a rock, "I thought City Dwellers like to travel in armies, not groups less than a dozen... that's why they invented caravans. We should have him along."
"Normally, yes... but we don't know anything about him." Iskiy offered calmly, "They're just being prudent."
"I don't know about you, but I've never been to this 'Cliffholm' place the dog was talking about. How do we know they won't skin us alive and wear our pelts as coats?"
Iskiy stopped dead in his tracks and looked over at Jules, ears up, with a shiver running from his nose to his tail, "What? No.... people don't do that kind of thing."
"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't happen." Jules replied, passing by him, "And personally, I think we're better off continuing our trip toward Zion. Lord Raes said it best: 'the less detours the better.'."
"They're not going to skin us." Iskiy commented, jogging to catch up.
"Are you STILL obsessed about that?" the other Wild Lander inquired, "No, of course not... but we have no way of knowing if they even have a priest that can see to the traveler's wounds."
"Priestess Delier and Lord Raes are doing well enough without healing prayers." the antlered wolf offered encouragingly.
"That's beside the point." Jules countered, "He needs help, and we can offer it."
Iskiy shrugged in response, "I suppose you could push the issue with Kayte or Raes... but I can't do anything about it... I just take orders."
"You know, Iskiy... sometimes it's hard to remember that you're a Wild Lander..." Jules offered casually, "I think you've been under the temple's thumb too long."
The antlered wolf paused in stride, one ear going sideways as he stared straight ahead, "Maybe..." he added at length, moving forward once again, "But it's home for now, and you have to know the Laws of Survival whether you're in the Wild Lands or in a Temple City... and the Laws of Survival in Bannihar means listening to orders."
Jules laughed at that, and followed up with a stiff slap to Iskiy's back, "Laws of Survival... HA! Maybe you DO have the Wild Lander spirit after all..."
Iskiy reached up to twist the golden chain of his necklace with two fingers, "...maybe."
Opposite the two Wild Landers, Elias and Elesin were walking a fair distance behind 'The Risen'. Elesin moved lightly on her feet, the long march seeming to have done nothing to slow her down. In contrast, Elias had crafted a long, stone pole out of the small black rock he carried with him, using it as a walking stick. Miles had passed without them saying as much as a word to one another... but Elesin changed that.
"So..." she called his attention to her, "several days later we're still alive."
"Some of us." Elias noted flatly, "You must have missed the part where we lost most of the caravan."
"Oh, I don't mean them... and I don't mean the whole Corpse-thing..." she waved the thought away as if it were unimportant, "I mean the fact that the Caravan is still on its way--"
"What's left of it." the armadillo interjected.
"What's left of the Caravan," Elesin corrected herself amiably, "is still on its way to Zion."
"Is this your attempt at small-talk?" the Geomancer questioned in a bored tone.
"Nah..." Elesin waved the comment away in a good-natured manner, "My small-talk would involve you and Kayte and lots of gossip."
"Then don't start any small-talk." Elias growled.
"It really shouldn't be such a touchy topic, you know." the kangaroo commented casually, "It's easy to tell she's crazy about you."
The armadillo glanced her way, ears fully raised. After a few moments of indecision crossing his face it was replaced with resignation mixed with curiosity, "How can you tell?"
"Oh... she shows all the signs..." Elesin smiled playfully, "She's smitten... I can tell."
"How?" Elias pressed.
"You know, Elias... I'm never going to be as good at Geomancy as you... it just doesn't come naturally to me." the kangaroo sighed.
"What does that have to do with Kayte?" the armadillo demanded, then shrank in on himself, ears reddening as he realized he almost yelled the words out.
"It means, my dear Mr Hewen, that no matter how much you explain your knowledge of Geomancy to me, I might never really understand... and that, is exactly what I've come to realize about you-- no matter how hard I try to explain how women work, you will never really understand us."
Elias had taken three steps before he came to a complete stop, and glanced over at the kangaroo, "This is a thinly veiled attempt to get me to teach you more about Geomancy, isn't it?"
"If you show me how to do some of that really spiffy earth blasting I might just give you some insight into the female way..." she grinned evilly, "fair?"
"Giving you the key to really causing damage with your careless ways in exchange to some likely inane hints about women?" Elias questioned with a scowl.
"I'd call that a fair trade, wouldn't you?" Elesin winked.
"Well, I think Jules seemed pretty pissed." Sebastian noted casually, trotting along the road beside Roarg as the two walked next to the wagon.
"Some guides aren't used to having their suggestions turned down." Roarg commented quietly, eyes focused on the road ahead.
"Yea, well even if Jules is a Wild Lander I think any decision we make as a group should still take everyone's thoughts into account." the gryphon offered, slowly closing the small gap between himself and the badger.
Roarg shrugged casually, "We don't vote... we listen to the Priestess and the Champion."
Sebastian inched even closer, appraising the distracted badger, "You thought we should take him with... why didn't you speak up?"
"It isn't my decision." Roarg noted, resting a paw on the side of the wagon as he continued watching the road ahead.
Walking almost right next to the badger, Sebastian waited until Roarg had his right foot off the ground, at which time the gryphon stopped and casually leaned all of his bodyweight left, falling right into the stone-cutter. Roarg flailed for a moment as he fought to maintain his balance, reaching out to grab the edge of the carriage with his other paw, "What in the--?"
"Oh good... you're awake." Sebastian grinned, "I just wanted to make sure You weren't falling into one of your 'special moments'."
"I'm just thinking, feather-brain..." Roarg snorted, "You should try it some time."
"Well don't start getting all indignant on me, dirt-rat." Sebastian countered playfully, "I'm just trying to have a conversation with my favorite traveling companion but he's about as talkative as a constipated Snap-Jaw with laryngitis... if anyone has a right to be indignant it's ME." and, on the last word, he followed up with another body-check to Roarg's side.
The badger grabbed hold of the carriage for support once again and thrust his foot out in a lazy kick at the gryphon, who nimbly evaded, "Cliffholm is less than a day away." he stated.
"So?" Sebastian questioned, "It's a Wayside... seen one and you've seen em all, right?"
"This one's different." Roarg noted, getting back into his travel gait, "I didn't think we'd end up passing through this way on the route to Zion."
"Yea?" the gryphon asked, "What's so important about this town?"
"The last time I was in Cliffholm was when I was just a little kit..." Roarg noted, staring forward, "...it was the last time I saw my parents."
"...oh." Sebastian didn't have a snappy comeback. The two walked on in silence.
* * * * * *
Chapter 1 continues for the travelers from Bannihar. Having elected to drop the wounded traveler in Cliffholm, the party can certainly take this time to rest up and prepare for the rest of their journey.
While each character is going to have something to handle on their own, it's up to the readers to decide on what is going to be the focus of this next post. This decision is purely for character background and will not affect the Story Seeds or group info in any way:
1) More info about Roarg's history as he wanders the streets of Cliffholm. (character background) 2) Iskiy encounters Dana. (foreshadowing and new character introduction) 3) Elias and Kayte "spend time together" (character development and red border) 4) Jules follows after the unconscious traveler and is there when he awakens (character background and plot opportunities) 5) Elesin spends time alone to sort her thoughts (character background) 6) Sebastian takes to the air to reflect on his thoughts (character development)
Contributing Readers have until Thursday, November 24th at midnight to vote. Happy Turkey Day!