Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 2.1 Myre
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 2.1
Myre Left, By the Wayside
Based on votes from the end of 1.5, Myre receives + Favor but, sadly there were not enough votes to give any specific character a bonus experience point. The current modifiers for the chapter are as follows: + Favor, + Luck, + Treasure if successful or -- Luck, - Favor if they fail.
Dearest Miri,
Like some kind of magical mastermind, Captain Cymbeline led us through the criss-crossing pathways of at least a half-dozen Torments. Goddess, Miri... after finally having made it out of that valley, I never EVER want to go back. We haven't actually been inside of one of those magical vortexes yet but from the eerie feeling being within even a mile of one gives me, I hope to the Goddess than I never will. They feel... hungry.
The travel has been rough and I think it's taken its toll on all of us. Without any roads we've been relying on a combination of Cornelius' reassurances and Bahrla's sense of direction. Josh has helped keep us on the right track by Divining alongside Cornelius, which I suppose makes me feel a little more comfortable that we're not relying ONLY on the shepherd, but I'm not ready to trust the Captain... not by a long shot.
Lady Marion, thank the Goddess, has been consulting Bahrla more than Cornelius lately, which I consider to be a good change. The Priestess and the Wild Lander have been going over the maps we have available; thanks to Cornelius we aren't on the Highway, which means we have no ambient divine protection. I never realized until now just how important the Highway was to our ability to travel; aside from it being nice and level, it meant that we didn't have to rely on Lady Marion's divine shield as much as we do now-- the constant strain of focus on protection is taking its toll on our priestess.
Josh has been helping out now and again; in fact, he's switched his schedule around so he could carry the Divine Shield while Lady Marion slept. Now, the cub is sleeping during most of the day, carried over Bahrla's shoulder, and up all night; he doesn't seem to mind though, and constantly parrots a comment Lady Marion made, "I can do it because I'm still young.". I laughed the first few times he said it, but I'm starting to worry about him too-- he's not as bubbly and he doesn't have the same spring in his step. I don't care how old someone is... four hours of sleep being carried like a sack of potatoes just isn't enough.
I guess the stress of the situation might just be getting to me too. It's been over a week since we took the Silver Gate here and it feels like we aren't any closer to Zion. Cornelius swears he knows the best way to get us back to the Highway but I'm starting to doubt that... and I don't think I'm the only one. The more time Liam and I spend together the more I think he's inclined to agree with me.
We've stayed up late some nights talking about the white shepherd and how things have not exactly been ideal since we took his advice and entered into the Silver Gate. Liam has done an amazing job presenting both sides of each argument and I thank the Goddess he's been here to help keep me grounded in reality-- It might just be paranoia, but I'm actually starting to FEAR Cornelius Cymbeline.
Keeland has been spending more and more time with the captain, which concerns me because the Sergeant is one of our best warriors and I was hoping to have him on our side if, or, rather, WHEN the white shepherd stabs us in the back. Not having been here I'm sure you would probably call my concerns overreacting-- Goddess knows I've done that enough in the past... but you haven't had a chance to see what he does... and how he does it. There's something about him I really don't like, but with recent events I know it's not just me.
After having spent eight days in the Wild Lands of this valley, Cornelius identified an end to our suffering; two large mountains, ones he called "The Sentinels", were the sign that our exit was close at hand. "The valley opens up beyond them, and we'll be out onto the plains." he was so confident that I think everyone's mood improved, "And a mile beyond The Sentinels is a Wayside." that comment may as well have been a declaration that we had arrived at Zion by the way everyone reacted; I think by that point we were all ready to find a safe place to rest and recover.
Whether it was accident or design, Cornelius screwed up big time when he told us there was a safe harbor past The Sentinels. Considering how deliberate and specific he is in everything he does, I'm more than willing to bet that it was no accident. If he really DID lead us astray then everything I've been thinking about him isn't just in my head. If that's the case, then his misinformation was the least of our worries. My only hope is that enough of the rest of the party isn't caught by his easy-going, polite charms. See... there was no safe Wayside.
A simple, overgrown dirt pathway led out of the valley. When we discovered it everyone picked up the pace as we moved onward toward an oasis of safety in the middle of our little desert of harrowing, life-threatening danger. We hustled for almost a mile until Cornelius, a few dozen yards ahead of us, came to a stop.
"What is it?" Keeland asked, peering toward the horizon in the direction the other dog gazed.
"Nothing." Cornelius replied.
"And that's a problem why?" Bahrla asked flatly.
"There should be lines of chimney smoke." he motioned to the distance.
"Chimney smoke?" Liam asked from my right.
"Byrn's Reach is not a small wayside." Cornelius explained, continuing on at a hastened pace.
"It isn't that cold." Josh offered, "Maybe they don't have any fires going."
"They have a smoke house and a blacksmith and a beacon... there's no reason all three would be extinguished." I heard an edge of fear in his voice regardless of how even he tried to make his words.
"So what could it be?" Lady Marion asked.
"Nothing good." the shepherd replied.
Byrn's Reach, as it turned out, was impossibly large for a Wayside town. From an overlook, we were able to gaze down into the city from an elevated vantage point. It had somewhere around sixty or seventy buildings and was surrounded by a large stone wall. Other than its unusually large size, the most noticeable thing about it was that, as Cornelius had noted from the lack of chimney smoke, the town was completely empty. Not only that, but it looked as though it was in the process of being retaken by the Wild Lands; moss had spread across the roofs, grasses were punching up through the streets, and bushes that were probably well kept at one time were left to grow unchecked.
"Not exactly what we were hoping for." I noted.
"Nor I." Cornelius acknowledged, and he turned to the side and made his way down a footpath that I hadn't previously noticed. One by one we followed him down the hundred-something-foot cliff and then onward to the walls of Byrn's reach. I don't think any of us missed the fact that the gates were wide open.
"So..." Josh spoke up, his voice sounding incredibly small and unsure, "Is that why they call it Burn's Reach?" he inquired, motioning to an enormous stretch of blackened land on the other side of the city.
"No." Cornelius explained, even as he walked into the town, "Byrn is the name of my brother... he protected this place like I protected Atood Keep."
"Well, I can see the family resemblance." Liam stated, looking around at the empty streets. I know it was a mean thing to say, Miri, but you have to understand that we'd spent over a week constantly in fear for our lives, and, at that point, we realized that there wasn't any safe harbor to be had. Liam paused as if acknowledging that his words were more than a little spiteful. I knew I would have felt badly if Cornelius had shown any pain at the comment, but I think it was all the worse that he acknowledged it in stride.
"No one is infallible, Mr Mail. While it would have taken great force to overcome Byrn, I do admit that it is possible."
"You obviously think highly of your brother." Keeland acknowledged.
"He is the eldest of my siblings." Cornelius explained.
"Or 'was'." Bahrla stated flatly, even less tactful than Liam, going so far as to add, "Unless he escaped like you did." Several eyes turned to regard her but she didn't seem to care.
The white shepherd turned to face the group, "I wish to discover the cause of this decline." he announced, "I understand your journey to Zion is important, but I cannot help but feel that something has been happening that may be more than it first appears."
"No." I objected. I knew it wasn't my place to choose our course of action, but I knew that whatever he had planned wouldn't be helpful in the way we needed, "If you want to go chasing after what's-happening-and-why that's fine... but from my point of view we're only running around in circles doing whatever it is you want... I thought YOU joined US, and not the other way around."
"While I respect your point of view, Private Telone," Keeland spoke up calmly, "This isn't your decision." Even though I was screaming on the inside I managed to keep my face neutral, but it became harder when the Sergeant turned to Cornelius, "This city will take some time to investigate, Captain... are you sure?"
"Time constraints and judgments based on personal values aside, Sergeant--" Lady Marion interjected, "This is as much Lady Telone's decision as it is yours."
"Priestess?" the shepherd inquired, ears up. If I'd have had ears like his, they'd have been up too; was Lady Marion defending me?
"At this point, all I know is that we are in an unprecedented situation, and this means that a new set of rules apply." Lady Marion stepped forward. "We are continuing onward to Zion because we NEED to be there... it is our duty."
"In case you forgot, Priestess," Liam quickly insisted, "our duty almost got us killed when the Temple decided that we're expendable."
"Our duty is to more than the temple, Mr Mail." Lady Marion explained, "We few here are the only ones who can count on one another... we have a duty to our group and to one another's safety. Greater than that, however, we have a duty to Tah'Aveen." Bahrla snorted at the pious comment, but the priestess continued anyway, "And, if that is the case, then we should all have an equal say in what happens."
"My brother protected this Wayside, and it has been emptied." Cornelius noted, then motioned to the group, "Other than us few here, the Wayside I protected was similarly attacked."
"Do you think Death Mist was used here as well?" Josh asked meekly.
"I honestly do not know." Cornelius admitted, "But I feel that this begs an investigation."
"It's a waste of time." Bahrla stated flatly, "There's no safety for us here so we should move on."
"If there IS a connection between what happened here and what happened at Attood Keep--" Keeland began, but Liam cut him off.
"That's a big IF... besides," he glanced to me, "Leijh is right... this place isn't what we were looking for when we got here. Taking a few hours to scout around and see if there's anything we can salvage is one thing, but I don't think committing ourselves to a full investigation of a place THIS BIG would be worth the time."
"Be that as it may," Cornelius acknowledged, "This, I would ask of you regardless..." and he glanced to Liam and myself, "...all of you... please."
Despite of how much personal dislike or distrust I have of Cornelius Cymbelline, the simple 'please' he added made it very hard to say no. Was it some kind of mind effect? Maybe... but it didn't make it any easier to deny him the favor. Looking around the rest of the group, I saw that I was probably not the only one thinking it too.
* * * * * *
Welcome to Chapter 2, Post 1 for the Myrenese Caravan in this, Part 2 of Zion: Light of the New Moon.
Leijh has quite a few observations in her journal today, and she covers the party's next move of visiting the Wayside of Byrn's Reach.
It's time for the party to decide what comes next.. Contributing readers get to vote on just what it is! So... pick your poison:
1) It's not worth it... just keep going. (Event Arc fails, but the rest of the chapter is spent in character development). 2) Raid the Wayside for whatever provisions are to be found. (+ Delay, - Favor, + Luck, + Treasure). 3) Spend a little time checking around the Wayside for any information that could be helpful (modifiers based on character rolls). 4) Do a complete search of the Wayside for clues that may be pertinent to what happened (modifiers based on character rolls).
Contributing Readers have until Thursday, December 8th at midnight.