Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 0.2
Zion - Path of the Moon Mother Chapter 0 Conclusion Bannihar - Blinding Light (Part 2)
"Stay on your guard," Lord Raes suggested as the rest of the party filtered into the large room after him, "They may have chosen this building for a reason."
The group looked around the ground floor. The building appeared to have been hollowed out. Large sections of wall had been removed to provide a clear view around the entire first level but a single wall remained undisturbed toward the center of the building. "Why didn't they move that one too?" Priestess Delier asked quietly, motioning to the unaltered stone wall with her muzzle.
It's load-bearing." both Roarg and Elias said at the same time. They each grinned at the other's response.
"Keep close together." Lord Raes suggested, "It looks like they have murder holes." he motioned toward the ceiling, which was full of large sections of broken wood providing glimpses of the floor above. Elesin was already half way across the room, but almost everyone else gathered close together, all eyes going to the holes in the ceiling. Alexander separated further from the party, slinking into the darkness.
"There." Iskiy announced quietly, motioning with his sword to a shadow that moved monetarily across one of the breaks in the ceiling.
"Corporal... long range." Lord Raes directed, and Iskiy complied, sheathing his blade before drawing out his bow once again.
"Priestess..." Roarg spoke up, glancing to Kayte, "Can you ask the Goddess for protection?" he requested. The wolf nodded, whispering quietly as she brought her paws together. Roarg drew his double-headed battle hammer, gripping it tightly with both paws. The leather grip creaked beneath his firm grasp, but the more prominent sound was the creaking of floor boards from above.
Roarg and Elias looked to one another and Roarg nodded toward the remaining stone wall in the middle of the room; the armadillo got the picture immediately. Elias knelt to the ground and placed his palms against the stone. He twisted his fingers into the floor as if it were clay, gripping the rock and gave it a firm shake as one might with a sheet on a bed. A powerful ripple flowed across the floor and into the central wall; a moment later the entire floor above the group began shaking. Several shouts from above signaled that the cultists were no longer interested in stealth.
"Kill them!" came the call from behind the stone wall at the center of the room, and five cultists emerged from hiding, wicked-looking jagged knives in their grasp. Several crossbows peeked through the holes in the ceiling.
"Protect us in our time of need." Kayte's voice picked up volume as her prayer concluded. A cool, silverly blue light rippled through the party, encasing Kayte, Iskiy, and Elias in a protective aura. A wavering beam of light crept across the floor, seeking out Elesin to keep her safe from harm as well.
Lord Raes raised his shield, "IN TAH'AVEEN'S NAME!" his entire body became a beacon of the same illumination, enveloping both Roarg and himself in the holy defense.
"Battle isn't won with pretty words and bright lights, kids." Elesin announced, "Here... I'll show ya how to do it." The kangaroo shifted her sword to her left paw and reached into her satchel with her right. Black sand leaked out between her fingers as she began intoning the words of power.
"Ah... miss?" Elias spoke up, "I'm not certain that kind of spell is the right one to use in an enclosed--" but the warning fell on deaf ears... and as the kangaroo's spell was completed the remaining sand in her grasp erupted into a roaring ball of flame.
"You worship a big ball of fire, eh?" Elesin's grin was truly frightening illuminated by the crackling orb. She lobbed the blistering globe upward into the ceiling, "You're welcome."
Lord Raes raised his shield, a silvery barrier of light spreading out around the group to protect them from the flames. Standing amidst the swirling mass of cinders Elesin simply laughed, unharmed by her own magic. She slid her blade back to her main paw as several cultists from the floor above fell to the ground, charred, dead already before hitting the floor.
A single cultists remained on the weakened second floor, flames licking at his robe. The man brushed the fire off with the back of his hand, drawing the burns and blisters from his body with the same gesture. Scowling, he raised his crossbow, taking aim at Elesin... but an arrow sprouted from his chest a split second after Iskiy's bow string twanged.
The cultists on the ground floor each quickly spoke a word of warding and motioned with their free hands, their own divine energy granting them protection against any future magic thrown their way and, thus protected, they stalked toward the kangaroo.
"I'll handle these wackos if you all still want to stay in your huddle..." the kangaroo called over her shoulder, "But I don't think it's going to be a very fair fight... there's only five of em."
"You will die for your vanity." declared the lead cultist, a coyote with gold embroidery on his robe. "Kill her." he announced to two cultists nearest him. They rushed her immediately upon the order, both coming at her from the front. Without a pause, Elesin returned the favor, closing the distance. She skidded to a halt and leapt to the side at the last minute, drawing her blade across the abdomen of the cultist on the right. He collapsed mid-stride, innards falling out of the opening. The kangaroo spun around with a back-arm swing at neck height, but the second cultist was able to block it with his blade.
Another cultist rushed Elesin from behind, blade at the ready. Elias was quick to respond, placing himself between the cultist and the kangaroo.
"An armadillo?" the raccoon cultist sneered, "I'll spill your blood in Her name!" and he stabbed. Elias spun to the side, relying on his rock armor and his shell to protect him from the blow; it did. He pushed back further, knocking the raccoon off balance. Continuing his spin, the armadillo held his arm out. The stone covering his flesh extended past the point of his claws, thinning and broadening out into a rock blade. The raccoon, however, nimbly ducked.
By that time, Roarg had lumbered into the fray. With a simple, no-nonsense downward swing the badger collapsed the raccoon's head. He sidestepped, winding his weapon around for another strike, bringing it to aim against a bear cultist who moved to intercept him. The bear stepped to the side at the last minute, taking the hammer as a glancing blow to the shoulder at the last minute. Though the attack dealt no real damage, it did knock the bear off balance, making his own attack come up short, blocked easily by the badger's hammer.
Alexander emerged from the shadows, blade held in reserve as he stamped his foot down against the bear's shin, forcing the large cultist back, and right into Lord Raes' charge. The large dog led his rush with his sword, impaling the bear straight through, pushing the corpse off his blade with a bash from his shield. Another cultist rushed him from behind, and Lord Raes spun about, knocking the knife aside with his shield and driving his sword right into the attacker's throat. By that time, only the cultist with the embroidered robe still survived.
"You... champion of Tah'aveen..." the last cultist stated. The coyote pointed his blade at Lord Raes, "You will die."
"Everyone will die... but he will not be felled by your hand." Priestess Delier announced, stepping to the front of the group, "No one here shall. You lost your flock, Pretender. Now submit."
"Kayte Delier..." the cultist sneered, "I'm surprised they let an initiate leave the temple."
"Priestess." the wolf corrected.
"Either way, you live a lie. Tah'aveen is NOTHING!" he sneered, changing his grip in his blade as he raised his arm to hold it in a stabbing position. Lord Raes quickly stepped to interpose himself between the Priestess and the Cultist.
"DIE!" the coyote bellowed, bringing the knife down with all his might. Lord Raes dropped his shield and casually reached up and intercepted the arm, paw grabbing the cultist's wrist in a vice-like grip. Wild-eyed, the coyote added his second paw to the first, trying to force the dagger down into the dog. His whole body shook with effort, "My... Lady.... will not--" Lord Raes casually brought the pommel of his sword across from the right to collide with the cultist's head. The coyote collapsed, leaving Raes holding both a sword and the cultist's dagger.
"Your 'Lady' is an illusion." Priestess Delier announced, "You're defeated... now yield."
The coyte slumped to the floor, falling to his paws and knees. He hung his head, a drop of blood falling to the stone from the cut on the side of his face. He began sobbing, "Why have you abandoned me?" he asked softly.
"She was never with you..." Lord Raes announced, tossing the cultist's blade to the side, "you were deceived." he reached down to pick the man up, but the cultist suddenly sprung at him.
Pulling a hidden blade from his robe the cultist screamed, "MY LIFE FOR TAH'ALIA!"
Shieldless, Lord Raes moved his left arm to intercept the blade and a pulse of silvery blue energy repelled the attack before it reached his flesh. The cultist pressed the attack, placing his foot behind Lord Raes' and body-checked him with his full weight. It wasn't enough to push the dog off balance, but it did open up his defenses. The cultist, sadistic grin flashing in victory, readied his blade for another strike, but he stopped, eyes open wide.
The coyote's paw opened and his blade fell to the ground. He took a half step forward, and fell face first to the floor, a knife stuck cleanly in his back between his shoulder blades. Alexander stood there, looking down at the fallen cultist. Quietly kneeling down, the cat pulled his blade free and wiped it off on the man's robes. Fur still standing on end, the silent feline numbly replaced the weapon into a sheath within his vest and turned, walking right out of the building. One by one the party followed. The cult was defeated, but the trip hadn't even begun.
* * * * * *
Welcome back to Zion: Light of the New Moon. Unlike the other groups, Bannihar has a follow-up post to finish off Chapter 0.
Due to their Story Arc, Group 1 engages in combat for their very first Chapter. Victorious, the party from Bannihar gains 1 Experience (an amount equal to the Complexity of their Story Arc).
Since combat was involved in this post, all characters also gain 1 Minor Fatigue. Nobody is at 5 Minor Fatigue so no checks are required to avoid a Major Fatigue point.
Elias, Elesin, Kayte, and Raes are all required to check against the power of their magic/faith to see if they gain a Minor Fatigue or a Major Fatigue. All of the characters succeed on their check and gain an additional Minor Fatigue. Due to the power of magic used by Elesin she automatically gains a Major Fatigue as well, putting her at a total of 1 Major and 2 Minor; if she gains 1 more Major Fatigue she will be inhibited by them due to it exceeding her Mettle rating of 1.
Now that combat is over, readers have the opportunity to vote for their favorite character. "Favorite" can mean any number of things depending on how readers choose to define the term. You might consider your "favorite" the character that contributed the most, perhaps one that accomplished the most, or maybe someone that just gives you "the right vibe". You do not need to define why the character is your favorite, you just need to vote! Contributing Readers and Non-Contributing readers are both welcome to vote. This vote will only be available until 11:50pm (pst) on Sunday the 29th.
The group from Bannihar certainly got started off with a blast!
Stay tuned for the beginning of Chapter 1, coming up this weekend!