Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 2.3 Bannihar
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 2.3
Bannihar RIFT
It is time for the party to hit the first of several hurdles in this chapter. Thanks to the reader contributions on last week's survival trivia, the group gets a +3 bonus to their rolls in overcoming this challenge. The modifiers to Bannihar for this chapter are currently + Willpower and - Delay if successful or ++ Delay and - Luck if a failure. These can still be modified.
The valley claimed by the Sylvans and the caldera of Cliffholm were just hints at the altitude changes the party would face over the course of the next few days. The lands far to the south east of Bannihar were filled with the awkward transition from mountains to plains. The Highway cut through the most gradual of the shifts between the vertical walls of sheer cliffs and a more commonly flat horizon. Despite the optimal path, however, the group came across more than one place where, were they to leave the Highway, they would be faced with a sudden, very terminal drop.
The Highway remained relatively narrow, but it was also flat, with only a slight downward grade. The party alternated between using Iskiy, Jules, and Sebastian as scouts, traveling throughout the day time, and managing half-speed after dark. The travelers made good progress through the mountain passes, making up time lost during their detour around the Sylvan valley and the stop at Cliffholm. Despite the separate shifts and several days and nights of constant travel, however the group still hadn't caught up with the schedule as set by Lord Raes... and things were not about to become any easier.
Iskiy returned from scouting out the Highway ahead with a decidedly slow pace to his gait. His head was down and his tail drooped; it was enough of a sign that Kayte called 'The Risen' to a halt; Lord Raes, Sebastian, and Roarg went out to meet him. "What's up, pup?" the gryphon inquired, getting a set of looks from everyone involved, "What?" he demanded innocently.
"What'd you find?" Roarg asked calmly.
"Priestess Delier said that there's supposed to be a large stone arch spanning a deep chasm up ahead..." the Wild Lander began.
"The Moon's Bridge." Lord Raes acknowledged.
"Supposed to?" Roarg repeated Iskiy's observation.
"It's not there." the wolf stated.
"Not there?" Roarg repeated.
"It's... gone." Iskiy confirmed.
"It's gone?" Sebastian quickly interjected, repeating the wolf, and getting an elbow from Roarg in response.
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Lord Raes questioned, "As in, we aren't at the right crossing?"
"No, Lord Raes," Iskiy shook his head, "This's the right crossing, but the stone archway is in pieces at the bottom of the chasm."
"At the bottom of the--" Sebastian began, and got elbowed again, "Hey!"
"Quiet, feather-brain." Roarg demanded, then looked to Iskiy, "You mean it collapsed?"
"What collapsed?" Kayte asked, approaching the group with Elias following right behind her.
"The Moon's Bridge." Lord Raes answered, arms crossed over his chest, muzzle drawn tightly in a soured expression.
The priestess took a step back, ears going up, "No... that can't be." she murmured, "The Moon's Bridge doesn't just 'collapse'..."
"If it was a stone archway that helped settlers found Bannihar then it's old enough to." Iskiy commented calmly, "I mean... that would make it REALLY old." and he began to slowly walk further ahead down the Highway; everyone followed.
"It's more than just a stone archway, Iskiy..." Kayte noted as she walked faster to catch up to the Wild Lander, "The Moon's Bridge was created by Tah'Aveen herself to aid her followers in reaching the Eastern Mountains. Before Bannihar even became a Temple City the faithful came to see the Moon's Bridge... it's a holy site."
The group crested a ridge, and Iskiy turned back around to regard everyone as they took in the sight of an enormous chasm. On the near lip and on the far lip of the gap there was evidence that a large land-bridge once connected the two sides, but less then ten feet from either side the stone ended in an uneven break, "It WAS a holy site." Elesin offered with a smirk, looking out over the fissure. She glanced back to the sea of frowns and scowls from the group, "What?" she asked innocently.
"It might take a few days for us to find a way around." Iskiy offered, "But if enough of us scout out our options we might not fall too far behind schedule."
"There isn't another way around." Lord Raes objected, "There aren't any foothills to these mountains... there's the chasm," he motioned to the enormous gap, "or there's a sheer cliff..." he motioned northward, "or the Badlands." he motioned southward.
"The Badlands don't sound so bad." Elesin noted, only to receive another round of scowls.
"What are the Badlands?" Sebastian questioned.
"The Sun's Rest." Jules spoke up from behind the group. The Wild Lander kicked a boot against a nearby rock to dislodge a stubborn piece of mud from the bottom before looking back to everyone, "It's not an option." the comment held no indication that there was any room for argument.
"Then what about just repairing the stupid stone arch thing?" Elesin suggested.
"FIRST," Lord Raes turned to regard the kangaroo, "It is The Moon's Bridge... it is a holy site and it was gifted to the Faithful by Tah'Aveen herself..."
"And second," Kayte spoke up, resting a paw on Lord Raes' shoulder to calm him, "The divine power that crafted The Moon's Bridge should not have allowed for the stone to fall in the first place."
"The Highway passed over the Moon's Bridge." Lord Raes added, "Which should have further guaranteed its continued existence."
"Should have... but didn't." the kangaroo pointed out, "So now we're left with a wide open stretch of nothing... but, between me and Elias, I bet--"
"Try again." the armadillo quickly spoke up, "A job like this would take more than one Geomancer."
"And there's two of us." Elesin pointed out.
"No," Elias corrected, "There's ONE Geomancer, and a battle mage that has a knack for blowing up whatever she uses her magic on."
Elesin rolled her yes, "That's being just a LITTLE melodramatic, don't you think?"
"If anything, it's an understatement" Elias mumbled, then spoke in earnest, "Either way," the armadillo crossed his arms over his chest, "We'd need a work crew to rebuild a structurally sound stone bridge... maybe Tah'aveen could do it, but none of us here are gods, so let's stick with understanding our limitations, hmm?"
"Geomancy might actually work..." Kayte suddenly spoke up, drawing a pained, almost betrayed look from the armadillo.
"Kayte," Elias sighed, reaching out to take hold of her paw, "Please... believe me. Anything short of a goddess won't get you the right result." he offered patiently,"No matter what kind of bridge we're going to build, if we want it to stand for any real length of time it requires extensive engineering preparation and a large work crew."
"It doesn't have to stand past getting us across the gap." she smiled encouragingly.
The armadillo's muzzle scrunched up distastefully, "Stone is eternal... it isn't a 'quick fix'... besides, you said it yourself: the Moon's Bridge is a sacred site." he motioned out across the gap, "Do you want us to deface a holy site with some classless mockery of a structure?"
"You already said it wouldn't last that long." Elesin chided, "So that means it'll only be an eyesore for what... a few days?" and cracked her knuckles, "So... where do we want to get started?"
"We're still brainstorming." Kayte spoke up quickly to Elesin, "Nobody's decided on anything yet." and she turned and offered a soft smile to Elias in response to his thankful squeeze of her paw. The priestess looked around, "Besides... if we do decide to make a temporary path we're best served by waiting until night time."
"What's so special about night time?" Jules asked, "Aside from making it harder to see what we're doing?"
"The Highway's blessing will be strongest at night time when the moon is in the sky." Lord Raes explained.
"Which will be great if we're walking across the bottom of the chasm." Elesin noted, glancing down at the rubble far below.
"The Blessing is not physical in nature, Elesin." Kayte offered with a patient smile, and she motioned across the chasm, drawing an invisible line with a finger, "It will help keep us safe and aid us in our time of need no matter how we decide to make use of it."
"Then we can use the time to consider our options." Roarg offered, "Sebastian--"
"Scouting?" the gryphon inquired.
"Scouting." the badger nodded.
"Isn't that what scouts are for?" Sebastian offered a beaky grin, swatting first Iskiy then Jules with his tail.
"Yet you're the one with wings." Roarg pointed out.
"You know... that's always your excuse." the gryphon circled around and trotted to the middle of the Highway.
"It's a good one." the badger shrugged.
"Well... one of these days the rest of you need to grow wings and help share some of the responsibility."
"Right." Elesin acknowledged, "We'll get right on that."
"And now you're just mocking me." Sebastian stuck his tongue out of the end of his beak at the kangaroo.
"You'll be done a lot faster if you stop complaining." Roarg suggested.
"What am I even looking for?" the gryphon asked, stretching his wings as he waited for an answer.
"A wide path leading down and up the chasm..." Lord Raes suggested.
"A narrow place we could throw a line across or something." Iskiy proposed.
"Large rocks we can fuse together to build a pathway across." Elesin ordered.
"Hefflys." Elias suggested, rolling his eyes, "enough to knock someone out."
"For you or for her?" the gryphon responded with a beaky grin.
"I don't care." the armadillo stated flatly, "The headache's cured either way."
* * * * * *
Part three of Chapter 2 for the Bannihar group consists of their first real challenge in this chapter: figuring out the best way to get past a collapsed land bridge. Thanks to their +3 bonus from the trivia questions last week they receive several options to go by, and a little information pertaining to each one. Contributing readers, please vote on the options below:
1) Shape a temporary bridge at night and use the remaining energy from the fallen Highway to reinforce the group's safety. (- Favor, - Delay with successful rolls) 2) Have Sebastian, Iskiy, and Jules scout around for a way down and a way back up the fissure. (- Luck, - Delay with successful rolls) 3) The Badlands don't seem like that bad a choice-- off to the Sun's Rest. (you heathens) 4) Caulk the wagon and float across. (and hopefully you have spare oxen just in case)
Contributing Readers have until midnight on Thursday the 22nd to vote. Please note that option 4 is a placeholder for an as-of-yet unexplained option that will ONLY be chosen if it wins the majority of votes (or if the group would had got 4/4 and the bonus question right on the trivia).