Zion: Light of the New Moon, Pre-Milestone 2
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Pre-Milestone
Bannihar & Myre
"Something's wrong." the two simple words were not what the collection of travelers had hoped to hear, but the words were left open to the world the moment they left Elias' muzzle. The armadillo had stopped in the middle of the Highway, scarcely an arrow's flight from the walls.
"You're just being paranoid." Sebastian offered casually, languidly padding alongside the group with an elated lion cub on his back, "The weeks in the Wild Land turned you jumpy."
"I'm telling you," the Geomancer repeated, running a hand along the back of his head right above where it met his plating, "there's something wrong."
"What is it?" Priestess Delier questioned, sliding a paw into his hand. Once she stopped the rest of the lead group came to a halt as well.
"There are usually fires lit on the walls at each gate." the armadillo noted, pointing to two large, black iron braziers situated atop the crenelated stone, "But they aren't."
"What does that mean?" Jules questioned, impatiently rubbing the pommel of one of her sheathed blades.
"It means someone's gonna get in trouble when their superiors discover they let the fires go out." Liam offered flatly, "Come on." and he motioned forward toward the gate, "The portcullis is up and this wasn't a good morning to skip breakfast." he stuck his paw into one of his pockets indignantly.
"Hold." Keeland directed to the fox,"Do you see the men on the walls?" the shepherd made an inconspicuous motion with the bridge of his muzzle, indicating the figures just visible between the stone blocks at the top of the wall.
"They look like sentries." Leijh offered, then paused, "wait..."
"They aren't moving." Lord Raes spoke up, "No guardsman, no matter how well trained can make NO movement."
"I have a bad feeling about this." Iskiy murmured.
"An' for good reason." Dana spoke up to his side. The Moon Pelted shaman gestured to the ground, "Ye see?" and, with the motion of her paw, a faint glow appeared across the Highway less than ten feet ahead of the party.
"What is that effect?" Lady Marion questioned the female wolf.
"It be a glow..." Dana answered, "granting ye vision a somethin ye cannae see without it."
"It's a magic sensor." Josh spoke up, leaning forward from his perch on Sebastian's back to gaze at the glow, "Someone wants to know if there are travelers on the road."
"Hmmm..." Keeland rubbed his chin, "This doesn't feel very welcoming."
"We can't jump to conclusions yet." Leijh spoke up, "We just know that a magus wants to know when travelers approach Zion."
"I fear that any such magic could also have sinister implications." Cymbeline offered, and then turned to regard Elias, "Mr. Hewen, are you familiar of magics used within Zion to this effect? Is this normal?"
The armadillo shook his head immediately, "This is not normal."
"Never trust city dwellers..." Jules mumbled at barely a whisper, "not even in Zion."
"So we just stand out here all day, or what?" Liam questioned, "Forward? Backward? Sit here and be a target?"
"Sometimes in a choice between A, B, and C," Roarg grinned, "go for D." and, with that, he moved to whisper quietly with Elias.
The armadillo's ears went up at the quiet conversation, and his eyes glanced toward Iskiy then back to the badger, "No... the walls can't be affected like that." he answered flatly.
"Then what about the ground in front of the gate?" Roarg winked.
"I--" Elias stopped mid-objection, "well... yes... I suppose it would."
"What are you discussing?" Lady Marion requested, "If we are traveling together it does no good to hide your plans."
"Well..." Roarg turned to regard her, "Lady Marion..." he offered a winning smile, "The way I see it, that magic spell lets people know we're here. Without knowing WHY they want to know we have to figure out whether we WANT THEM to know."
"Without knowing what they want with us, I'm tempted to say no." Liam commented simply, eying Roarg critically.
"Right..." the badger acknowledged, "So we could travel OFF of the highway--"
"The ward goes on a LONG ways in both ways." Josh offered.
Roarg continued, taking the comment in stride, "--or we could see what happens if they find out we're here."
"That could be bad." Leijh noted.
"Or it might not matter at all." Kayte offered with a comforting smile.
"But if it IS bad--" Liam pressed.
"Then we have a plan to give us some time to get away." Elias answered for the badger, cracking his knuckles as he said it.
"Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind elaborating so we can all be on the same page." Keeland offered.
"Just be ready to get moving." the armadillo answered curtly, "You'll get the idea soon enough."
Josh blinked at that, gazing down at Sebastian, "Wow... for being Full Moon people they really don't do that 'everybody is included' thing I always heard about."
Sebastian chuckled at the young lion's comment, "Welcome to the club, cub." He had no time to offer any further words; Elias passed over the glowing line.
Several people held their breath as they waited for something to happen... anything... and, ultimately, after nearly a minute, nothing did. "Well... that was anti-climactic." Roarg noted.
"Movement." Cymbeline quickly spoke up, and everyone followed his gaze to the top of the walls. Several men and women quickly took position.
"This was NOT a good idea." Liam scowled.
"HAIL!" Elias shouted, though the party was scarcely within a reasonable talking distance.
"WE ARE TRAVELERS FROM BANNIHAR AND MYRE!" Kayte shouted, and went to take a step forward, but Roarg quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She turned to regard him, but he simply shook his head.
The human priestess took a half step forward to draw even with Kayte, "I AM LADY MARION, OF MYRE!" she hailed, "WE ARE HERE TO SPEAK WITH THE ASSEMBLY!"
"Where are their helms?" Elias murmured.
"Helms?" Iskiy asked, moving to stand beside the armadillo.
"All sentries on the outer walls wear helmets." the Geomancer stated with finality.
"Maybe someone changed the--" Sebastian began, but the words trailed off as the sentries atop the walls drew their bow strings taut, "--rules."
"Goddess..." Kayte and Marion said in unison, and both were quickly pulled further back by other party members; it was a needless gesture however as Elias and Iskiy, who were at the front of the party, were the targets. The arrows shot down from the city walls and, though the aim was true, none of them struck their mark; they bounced harmlessly away off of a stone berm raised by a simple motion of Elias' hands.
"Get back!" Roarg shouted to everyone, reaching down to help Lady Marion to her feet. Lord Raes, beside him, aided Priestess Delier.
Keeland, Jules, Liam, and Leijh and all drew their weapons but Cymbeline spoke up even as he moved back, "Fall back... we can do nothing against bowmen on higher ground."
"Why are Zion guards attacking us?" Josh gasped, eyes wide in horror.
"Because they are not Zionese guardsmen." Elias answered, moving back under the cover of his raised stone wall. The archers atop the city walls continued firing at different angles but it didn't help them get any closer to hitting someone.
"They're going to send out ground troops if we get out of bow range." Keeland pointed out.
"No... they're not." Roarg grinned and, a moment later, Elias stone wall shot forward toward the gate of the city, impacting against it with a resounding CRUNCH, firmly sealing off the opening.
"That will resolve the immediate issue of being followed." Cymbeline agreed, "But we should fall back and think of what we will do before they simply use a different gate."
The group retreated several hundred yards, not stopping until they were under the cover of a collection of trees. Most eyes remained on the city, but several others huddled close together to begin planning.
"Attacked by Zion's guards..." Leijh shook her head, "...I just don't get it."
"I already said..." Elias frowned, squeezing his fingers around a circular, black rock repeatedly, "Those weren't Zionese guards."
"Well they were on Zion's city walls..." Leijh countered.
"I could jump into the ocean but that doesn't make me a fish." the armadillo stated flatly.
"Enough!" Lady Marion spoke up, and she looked around at the assembly, "We must find a way into town and figure out what is happening... there is too much amiss for there to be any easy explanation."
"How, oh wise Priestess, would you propose we do that?" Jules asked with a sardonic tone.
"All cities have more than once entrance." Keeland spoke, "We just won't be able to use that one."
"Any other gate'll probably be just as much of a problem." Liam stated flatly.
Dana gently slid a finger across the leaf of waist-high sapling beside her, "Many ways th' tree doth grow above th'earth an' down below th' roots dig deep in darkness spread while high th' boughs branch o'erhead." she spoke the words softly, as if saying them to herself.
"Come again?" Iskiy asked, looking at her with ears up.
"A city be like a tree." Dana raised her voice, "Th' larger it gets above ground the larger it needs t'be under it."
"Go on." Lady Marion offered.
"We have a Geomancer..." Lord Raes noted, "If we can get into one of the catacombs beneath the city..."
"No thanks... not a fan of the undead." Josh objected.
"Good thing you didn't come here with us then." Sebastian flicked his tail.
"Focus please." Keeland interjected, then looked to Raes, "There's likely a draining tunnel for the city's sewage system..."
"Like Lord Raes said... we have a Geomancer... we can create our OWN tunnel." Leijh suggested.
Iskiy fidgeted, "What about you, Dana?" he asked the shaman.
Dana turned back to Iskiy, "Aye? What about me?"
"You could... um... couldn't you use your magic to fly us over the walls?" the scout offered.
"Not a fan of flying, thanks." Liam spoke up, "Spent enough of this trip dangling over a long fall-to-my-death already."
"Plus we become targets for the archers." Lord Raes added.
"Not if we had a way to become invisible..." Josh murmured.
"Oh?" Jules asked, "Do we?" the scout looked intently at the cub.
"Um..." he glanced around, "Maybe?"
"I might be able to provide a distraction." an ethereal figure slowly coalesced into existence beside the young lion and the gryphon; he appeared to be a pre-middle-aged coy-wolf dressed in conservative-but-fashionable traveling clothing.
"Anor-Roc?" Keeland spoke.
"A wraith!" Iskiy gasped, falling off the rock he was on as he immediately tried to scramble back with nowhere to go.
"I'm NOT a wraith." the coy-wolf stated indignantly.
"Yea!" Josh acknowledged, "He's my friend!"
Shivering, the wolf slowly peeked up from behind the rock, "Are you sure?"
"Very sure." the apparition acknowledged, "I have a few ideas and Josh was kind enough to let me manifest."
"You're not gonna try and steal our life force... right?" Iskiy pressed.
Anor-Roc sighed, covering his face with a paw, "Goddess help us..."
Sebastian snickered slightly and tilted his head back, gazing up at Josh, "See? I told you we've had problems with undead."
"Looks more like a problem with your scout." Leijh smiled good naturedly, and went to help Iskiy up, "His name is Anor-Roc, and he sacrificed himself to help save the rest of us."
"So he IS undead?" the Wild Lander gasped.
"Nay." Dana noted, "He be a spirit... far different thing, boyo." and she estended a paw toward the ghostly figure in welcome, "Greetins t'ye... Anor-Roc be ye name, aye?"
The coy-wolf glanced down at the offered paw, "I'm not physical, ma'am... I can't--" and his muzzle clicked shut audibly when she took his paw in hers and gave it a firm clasp. Anor-Roc's eyes went wide as color and substance suddenly flooded into his form, and he took a deep breath as he fell to his knees with a very weighty THUMP.
"I nay know much about th'undead... but Spirits... aye... Spirits I can work with." she winked, and helped Anor-Roc to his feet, "Now... ye nay be whole for more'n an hour... so best make this quick."
The coy-wolf stood there, looking at his seemingly-living paws, then to the shaman, "...how?"
"A question never more fitting of an answer, Anor-Roc..." Cymbeline spoke up, "But let us save it for after we have completed our task." Nobody was able to object to the white shepherd's reasoning.
Doen
Zeke did not much like the look in Rust's eye as the echidna started off toward the Moonlight Pool, but the realized nothing that he could say would be able to change the mind of the iron-fisted warrior so he remained silent. Thankfully, however, Haldyn did not. Gently transferring Narissa to Taggart, the lion stood and followed after Rust.
"Rust. Stop." the lordling requested, but the echidna didn't relent. "Now." Haldyn ordered, reaching out and grabbed Rust by the shoulder.
The echidna shrugged the grip off, "I'm going to save Narissa."
"You're going to get yourself killed, Rust." the lion noted with certainty, "Then you'll both be dead."
"I have to try." Rust slowed to a stop, "I have to try."
"You have to be HERE." Haldyn spoke with certainty and then, in a softer tone he added, "For her."
"Dillan went off to his wagon." Taggart offered, "I'm sure he's getting something that will help."
"Are you sure he's not catching an extra hour of sleep?" the echidna growled, "I'm sure he'd consider this a good opportunity."
"Why, Lord Rust," Dillan hailed, calmly approaching the group from the direction of his wagon, "I'm hurt..." the comment held an obviously over-acted tone of pain and the ferret smirked as he said it, "Truly."
"It's RUST..." the echidna growled, slamming his iron fist into the tree next to him, "just RUST." and he scowled as he fought against the wood to extricate his embedded hammer-hand.
"By the goddess, man..." Dillan tsked shaking his head, "you need to meditate... center yourself..." the ferret held a medium sized silk bag in the crook of his arm. He strode toward where Taggart held Narissa, "How are you supposed to be here for Narissa when you're off getting yourself eaten by a dragon?"
Jasper turned to regard Dillan, "How did you know there was a dragon?" he asked, "You were rummaging around in your wagon when Zeke got back."
Dillan set the cloth sack down on the Highway next to Narissa and Taggart, "I saw it fly overhead."
Rust bristled visibly at Dillan. It was a remarkable sight as far as Zeke was concerned; he'd never seen anyone without fur pull it off effectively. "If you knew there was a dragon--" the echidna began.
"I did know." the ferret acknowledged, kneeling down beside Narissa as he pulled a tiny paper envelope out of his satchel.
"And you didn't think to say anything?" Taggart asked, his large ears raised in surprise as he watched the merchant dump a reddish, sparkling powder into a small water skin.
Dillan capped the water skin with his thumb and gave it several vigorous shakes before pausing to look at the dog, "Oh, I thought to say something, yea..." he reached down and tilted Narissa's head up slightly as he cradled the water skin in his other paw, "but, then again, shouting out so everyone could hear and calling attention to the dragon would have called its attention to the group." and he began to slowly squeeze the bag, spurting a little of the concoction onto and into the tigress' muzzle.
She didn't react at first, but after several drops had made it into Narissa's lips, Zeke saw immediately that the soft, pinkish color of life began to return to her nose and, within a matter of moments, she was actively drinking for herself out of the waterskin, "She'll live." Dillan announced, his eyes gazing straight at Rust, who had stopped, "But you won't if you plan on going near that cesspool."
"What did you give her?" the echidna asked.
"A stimulant." the ferret responded, "It will keep her alive until we can get to a healer." he slowly stood, leaving her in Taggart's grasp, "I still don't know how much she took, but I assume it will cause some damage unless we seek aid." he brushed some remnants of the glittering dust off of his fingers, "Someone will cover her expenses, I assume?"
"Of COURSE." Rust growled, "As soon as we get to Zion I'll find the BEST healer..."
"Good." Dillan nodded, "And you can reimburse me for my wares too." the ferret patted Taggart on the shoulder before looking up to the echidna, "These chemicals are NOT cheap, and--" but the merchant didn't get a chance to finish his statement; Rust's non-iron fist met him square in the nose.
The arguments started immediately, but Zeke slipped quietly away into the undergrowth, not the least interested in the complaints on either side; Dillan had said that Narissa still needed healing, and the fox wasn't about to trust a priest with so important a cure. Although the tigress was a city dweller, Zeke hadn't found her difficult to be around. As one of the few people in the group who could smile at him without provocation, be kind to him for no reason other than to think of his needs, and the pure fact she was, by his measure, a truly GOOD person, Zeke knew that she HAD to live.
Doing something he had never expected himself capable of, the fox swallowed his fear and stepped forward silently through the brush, willing to attempt the life-threatening task of sneaking past a dragon. Gripping his necklace until it practically bit into his paw pads, Zeke all but held his breath, hunkering close to the ground as he pressed through the last bit of cover and rose up toward the Moonlight Pool. The breath escaped him as he encountered... nothing-- the dragon was there no longer.
Unwilling to give up the shadows, Zeke crept closer to the pool. His ears swiveled this way and that as his eyes kept a constant vigil. It seemed beyond even his good fortune that the dragon had left before the fox arrived; he moved to the water, fur standing on end, expecting any moment to hear the horrific sound of a life-ending roar... to feel the ground shudder beneath his feet from the powerful pounce of a dragon... the split-second agony of being snapped in half by teeth larger than swords... and yet... none of it came to be.
Kneeling down, Zeke unstopped his canteen and slowly lowered it into the murky pool. "You must be exceedingly thirsty." a calm, refined voice spoke up from the side, "That is hardly the finest of drinking water, now is it?"
"It..." Zeke faltered, turning to regard the human; he had neither seen, heard, not scented the man's approach, "This is the Moonlight Pool... its waters are--"
The human laughed. The tone held no spite or malice to it, rather, it seemed good natured and open, as if he had just heard a joke. "No, my friend... you are mistaken." he offered calmly, "That is not the Moonlight Pool."
Zeke did not respond to the comment, rather, he critically assessed the human before him. The middle aged man was handsome in a way that Zeke did not find common among humans. Despite the man's apparent age, Zeke could feel a palpable vitality flowing from him that seemed more befitting a child at play. Suddenly the fox couldn't help but think that perhaps the man WAS playing. "It isn't?" was all he could reply.
"No..." the man shook his head, long, fiery red hair ruffled with the motion. The human reached up and tugged lightly at his curly beard, then gazed down at the pool, "Nothing so precious and pristine as a healing spring could possibly survive in the Wild Lands--"
"But it has to be real! It HAS to still exist!" Zeke caught himself surprised at his own outburst, but the strange, red-robed human did not seem the least bit unbalanced by it and continued speaking as if he hadn't been interrupted.
"--without some kind of protection." the human finished, gazing straight at Zeke. The fox faltered, his breath squeezed from his lungs when he saw each of the human's eyes suddenly glimmer, a reptilian pupil like black pools of nothing slitted between each glowing, lavender iris.
"You... you..." Zeke felt his heart jump up into his throat, threatening to strangle him to death with his own organ as his fear gripped him as tightly as it ever had. "You're... a... a..." He thought he would be able to be a hero... he thought that he could have made a difference. All of it fled him, leaving him with a powerful, unrestrained emptiness that gave way to the purest terror he could ever have imagined, "...dragon."
"Aeos." the man spoke softly. It was a word Zeke didn't know, and yet he could somehow understand it... the word itself MADE him understand it. The soul-crushing terror that had gripped him was gone in a moment, soothed by that single, otherworldly word. "I mean you no harm." the dragon-in-human-form spoke words that could very well have been a lie, yet Zeke somehow realized that he spoke the truth.
"What do you want?" it was a forward question, one that the fox should never have been able to speak considering how weak with fear he had been a split second before, and yet he spoke as if he had the authority of a watchman demanding the reason a traveler sought entry into a wayside.
"I desire many things, Mr Sarnash," the man smiled in a way that made Zeke realize that it was useless to bother wondering how the dragon knew his name, "but we both know that you do not have time for so long a discussion."
"Why are you here?" the fox tried again.
"First... to provide aid." he motioned across the water with a wave of his hand and, following the gesture, the Moonlight Pool became immediately clear, clean, and pristine. The water glimmered with the reflection of the moon even though it was not visible in the sky, "Gather what you need to aid Narissa... she will be well for it."
Zeke did as the dragon-in-human form bade him, paying attention to his task. When he looked up, the man had drawn closer, and laid a hand on his shoulder, "Second... I am here to provide a warning." At that, the dragon said nothing more, and yet, by the time the man had let go of his shoulder, the fox knew what the warning was about.
"Zion isn't safe." Zeke put into words the sensation provided by the man's contact. The fox gazed down into the pure water which was already glossing over with its putrid 'disguise'.
"It could not have been spoken more true." the dragon acknowledged. Zeke turned to regard him... but the man was gone. With nothing more to be said, the fox headed back toward the group, curative waters at the ready.
Myrh
Yearl was the first of the party to suggest against heading for the gates. He reasoned that, if what the dragon had said was true, the cultists would surely have locked down any and every obvious entrance to Zion, which meant that choosing a road would only lead them to an easy capture. As they approached the city under cover of dusk, it became very apparent that he was right.
"Merciful Goddess! Look at all those torches!" Beo announced, hunkered close to the ground. He pointed to the sea of lights creating a flickering trail across the battlements of the city wall. "They weren't kidding when they decided to call themselves the Sun's Legion!"
"It's sloppy planning." Jerard stated, "The torches ruin their night vision and the light barely extends to the ground." he shook his head, "All they're doing are creating arrow fodder."
"I assume that would be the point." Yearl noted, "Those aren't cultists."
"If they're manning the walls for the sun cultists I'd hardly call them patriots." Kell countered.
"They are civilians." Artemisia remarked, seated on the dirt. She had regained consciousness earlier in the day, but it was readily obvious that she was still fatigued, "The cultists are using them as shields."
"Just so." Yearl agreed with the dragoness, "The cultists are probably watching the civilians watching the walls... if one of them falls then the cultists have received their warning."
"That's... sick!" Beo objected, "...and kinda smart."
"What it does show is that the dragon was telling the truth." Kell scowled, "at least partly."
"It means the cultists have enough control over the town that they can press townsfolk into service... and that troubles me." Anya rubbed the end of her muzzle, her voice offering no true sense of concern or worry, "But how effective is an unwilling garrison?"
"Effective enough if you take family members hostage." Kell answered.
"Agreed." Yearl nodded, "We have to assume that every one of the men and women keeping watch would do what they are told. To assume otherwise could be deadly... not just for us, but for them and their loved ones."
"Well that doesn't exactly make getting inside very easy, does it?" Beo sighed.
"Compliance without will does not create morale." Artemisia snorted. She went to stand, but had two false starts. Kell moved to assist her but she shrugged him off and had more success on the third attempt.
"So you're saying you're not impressed with their conscripts?" Kell stood casually, watching Artemisia.
"She's right." Yearl acknowledged, "A true soldier, whether trained or militia will fight with all their heart for a cause in which they believe. If you force someone to fight for something they don't believe in, regardless of how you obtain their service they cannot and will not give it their all."
"I disagree." Anya interjected. A faint, smile tugged at the corner of her lips, "With the right incentive anyone's will can be turned to a cause." she motioned to Kell, "As the assassin says, most parents will do anything for a child... the sun cultists may very well have gained the will of the people who stand watch."
"Service freely given will never be matched by force, Priestess Fanewatcher." Yearl stated tersely, "If the cultists are recruiting by force then their conscripts will do whatever they're told but they aren't going to go out of their way to help... they'll do the bare minimum required for their safety and the safety of their loved ones."
"Beautiful discussion on morals, sociology, and all of the other studies in tongue-wagging," Jerard interjected, "but that doesn't help us get inside."
"Quite the contrary." Kell replied, his predatory grin glinting in the starlight, "Captain Rakken has a very good point."
"A point good enough to get us over the walls?" Jerard asked.
"We're not going over the walls." the leopard-wolf countered, "Unless you feel like killing some Zionese townsfolk and letting the sun cultists know we're here."
"Then maybe you can translate for the rest of us?" Beo asked, "So far it sounds like we're talking about the guys on the walls holding torches."
"That IS who we're talking about." Yearl acknowledged, "And my point is that they were probably told to look out for anyone hostile to the cult... but there are too many people in Zion for the cultists to force everyone into service; it just wouldn't be practical."
"So once we get past the conscripts on the walls we won't have to worry about the civilians giving us up to the cultists?" Artemisia took leap of logic, but it was obvious in her tone that she wasn't convinced by the line of thinking.
"Maybe... maybe not." Yearl answered, "We'll still have to be on guard, but we're already at a tactical disadvantage so we have to hope that our luck is going to hold."
"It will." Anya stated, "We have the favor of Tah'aveen and they do not."
"Yea? Well I'd feel better about that if the moon were in the sky." Beo looked up into the moonless night, "I never liked the New Moon time."
"You should learn to like it." Kell proposed, "Less light... more shadows." he offered a sardonic wink, "best time to break into a city under cover of darkness."
"That still doesn't answer the question of how we get into the city." the black husky pointed out.
"The crypt." Anya spoke up. The priestess blurted the words suddenly, as if they had just occurred to her. The jackal stood straight, both ears twitching slightly, eyes seeming to gaze far off, almost as if in a trance, "We can use the underground tunnels of the crypt." the faint glint of saliva appeared on her chin, "The Zionese Crypts... they lead out of the city beneath the ground."
"And I suppose you can just walk right in, huh?" Beo raised an eyebrow.
"As long as you are a priest or priestess, and have a Divine Shield." the priestess responded, "The crypts are sealed from both sides so the sun cultists will not have a presence there." and, in a quieter tone, she murmured, "I have always wanted to see them..."
"I don't really care for being around the dead." Artemisia scowled, "If we're talking about the underground we can just use the sewage ducts."
"Assuming Zion has em." Beo spoke, "Not every city does."
"It does." Jerard patted the black furred magus on the shoulder, "I heard the cultists talk about throwing some captives down there... we just need to see where it exits the city."
"and hopefully avoid getting diseased while we trudge through em?" Beo made a disgusted face, tongue sticking out of the end of his muzzle.
"We need to think of something." Yearl murmured, "If Maria took Thera into Zion then she could be in danger."
"And so could we." Artemisia stated flatly to the lion, "We need options if we're going to get anything done."
"What about a distraction?" Kell suggested, "If we get enough attention away from the gates we should be able to get past. It's like Yearl said: they aren't professionals. It should be easy to get by with the right..." the assassin pulled a pouch off of his belt, "...disturbance."
Artemisia's nose scrunched up at the pouch and she covered her nostrils with a talon, "Is that... blasting powder?"
The leopard-wolf's muzzle pulled back into a sadistic grin, "Perhaps."
"That can draw more attention than we want." Yearl shook his head, "It's a possibility, I suppose, but it's a dangerous one."
"I bet it could get results." Beo wagged vigorously, "Come on... this siege needs more 'blam'!"
"This 'siege' needs a good survival rate." the lion countered, "We won't exclude it as an option, but I'd rather think this through first."
"What happened to Thera being in danger?" the black husky asked, "I thought you were gonna do the knight-in-shining-armor thing and rush in headlong heedless of the danger?"
"That's a good way to get everyone killed." Yearl spoke, fatigue evident in his voice, "We cannot allow Thera to come to harm... but all of us dying won't help her."
"We have many options." Kell pointed out, "Surely we can find one."
Yearl brushed some loose strands of mane out of his eyes as he looked to the wall and contemplated, "Or more than one."
Shrad
"Tell me again what happened?" Tolen asked plaintively as he mixed a collection of herbs together with a mortar and pestle. The fox's back was to Nori, but the ferret still felt like he was being observed.
"Like I said," Nori stated flatly, looking down his leg at the hastily wrapped stump where his ankle had once been, "Gerard and I were out scouting and a Snap-Jaw got me."
"You're lucky all it got was your foot..." the fox answered, tail flicking with a hint of disbelief, "They usually take entire legs."
"Yea?" the ferret countered, trying to hide his poor lying skills with mock indignation, "Well you're probably used to dealing with City Dwellers... even if I WAS caught by surprise I still had a chance to jump back... it probably WOULD have taken my leg if I hadn't." he rubbed his knee for show, not that the fox was looking at him.
"And Gerard killed it and rescued you?" Tolen inquired, up-ending the contents of the stone bowl onto a clean strip of damp linen.
"Everything except my foot." Nori acknowledged, "That got eaten." the final part was a half truth.
The ferret shuddered as he recalled the feel of his fingers sliding through flesh, muscle, sinew, and bone. He had painlessly removed his foot and, at the request of Gaerid and his Lady, he offered up the flesh to Wyse. The Rottweiler had snapped it out of his paw and swallowed it with a single gulp. There had been no blood on what had once been Nori's ankle, and so Gaerid had killed a small, furry animal Nori hadn't had the time to identify and hastily put together the ferret's bloody bandages.
Tolen came over holding several strips of treated poultices, "Alright... let's take a look at that injury." he noted, and set the fresh, herbal bandages to one side.
"We should wait." Nori hastily spoke up, "Taking them off might make it start bleeding again."
"Leaving them on will almost guarantee that it'll start to fester." the fox objected, and reached for the bloody cloth.
"Ow!" Nori objected, pulling his leg back.
"I didn't even touch you!" Tolen countered, exasperated.
"I don't want your help!" the ferret shouted, "City Dweller healing is... dumb!"
The fox took a steadying breath, "And here I defended you when everyone thought you were a kid!" Tolen huffed, and stormed out of the wagon. The objection the healer had made would have stung Nori more if he weren't so relieved as to have the fox gone. Somewhere outside in the camp site, Tolen was talking angrily to someone.
The door to the healer's wagon opened and Gaerid showed himself in, Wyse a step behind. "Apparently things went well." the bounty hunter noted flatly.
"He wanted to help." Nori snorted, "He was gonna undo my bandage and see that I hadn't been attacked."
"Hmmm..." Gaerid acknowledged, and pulled a finger-thick stick out from his pouch, "That would have been unfortunate." and the rottweiler began undoing the bandages, "I told Tolen that I would see to it that your poultice was changed."
"So... he's gonna let you be my healer from now on?" Nori asked, "Good... that'll solve the problem."
Gaerid shook his head, "No... there are far too many issues that could arise." and he glanced to Wyse.
"Like what?" the ferret questioned, his eyes slowly migrating away from Gaerid's work to where Wyse sat beside the cot. The feral rottweiler did not change as Nori had suspected; all of his paws looked exactly as they had before he had consumed the ferret's foot. Wyse stared right back at Nori.
"Here." Gaerid directed, and surprised the young ferret by sliding the stick into his muzzle.
"Whaff iff for?" Nori questioned, pushing the stick to the side of his mouth with his tongue.
"To bite down." Gaerid noted, "It would be bad to have you scream." With no more warning, the bounty hunter bared his teeth, and clamped his muzzle down on the end of Nori's leg; despite the stick the ferret screamed anyway.
* * * * * *
Guardsman Sten approached Shadow, who sat at the edge of a small cliff, legs dangling over the edge as he gazed toward the open plains beyond. "What'd you find out?" the wolf asked without bothering to turn around.
"Tollie says it's dangerous." Sten replied, taking a seat next to Shadow, "He couldn't explain why."
The dark-furred wolf scowled deeply in response but continued gazing off toward the horizon, "Couldn't... or wouldn't?" When Sten didn't respond, Shadow continued, "Loric won't let me see him anymore."
"He says it's for Tollie's protection." the otter spoke, "Loric thinks you're a danger to him."
The wolf snorted, "To Loric, maybe... but not to Tollie." then paused and let out a sigh, "Never mind..." he shook his head, "Why couldn't Tollie say more?"
Sten let out a sigh of his own at the question, "Because Loric told him not to stress himself."
Shadow punched the ground solidly then paused, cleared his throat, and composed himself, "We can't let Loric take control... he doesn't have Tollie's best interests in mind."
The guardsman stood slowly, "We?"
The wolf's eyes widened slightly at the reproach and he turned to regard Sten, "You're on Loric's side?" his eyes narrowed.
"No." the otter responded, "But it doesn't mean I'm on your side either."
"What do you mean by--"
Sten interrupted Shadow, "You have an agenda... Loric has an agenda." the otter shook his head, "I'm more willing to bet that Loric means far worse than you do, but Tollie isn't an item to be used for your own benefit. I'm not going to help either of you if the end result is turning Majh's brother into a trophy."
"That isn't what this is about!" Shadow objected, "He's a Treasure and I'm supposed to have him!" In retrospect, the wolf realized that was a poor way to offer an explanation.
Sten paused and regarded Shadow for just a moment, one small, round ear up and the other splayed out, "I see..." and he left Shadow alone.
Shadow growled faintly to himself, gazing once again far out into the plains. The darkening sky held no moon, which meant that it would be dark indeed. Nobody would be interested in traveling through the night despite the fact that the faint glow of Zion was already visible on the horizon.
Time was short and Shadow realized that his chance to wrestle Tollie away from Loric's control was quickly passing him by. "Tomorrow." he promised himself, and tried to clear his mind and center himself-- it felt like it had been far too long since he was last at ease.
* * * * * *
The group sat and listened to Allin's report the following morning. Having had no trouble navigating the grassland between the party and the walled city of Zion, the Blade Slave had returned in the early morning hours to provide them an assessment of the city; Tollie's concern had been well founded. Although every piece of information seemed worse than the last, the one that everyone clung to was the first thing the Tamaskan had said.
"Sun Cultists in Zion?" Guardsman Sten puzzled, "Why?... How?..."
"Ours is not the place to make guesses." Loric answered, using a belt knife to cut a thick slice off of the meat roasting over the fire. He slid the meat onto Tollie's plate, "We will have to get into Zion and find out to be sure."
"They will permit us entry." Tollie explained, ignoring the food, "Being able to exit when we wish will be the problem."
"I don't think we're ready." Shadow shook his head, "I don't have everything I need."
"Pessimism is my job." Nori stated, limping over to the campfire with the support of a makeshift crutch, "I'm the Wild Lander, remember? You're supposed to trust in Tah'Aveen to solve all your problems."
"How's the leg?" Shadow asked invitingly.
"Hurts like a bitch..." Nori answered gruffly, "...and not the good kind."
"If you would have let me see it sooner it would have had more time to heal." Tolen commented calmly, more a casual remark than a complaint.
"Were all of the gates guarded, Allin?" Shadow asked of the Blade Slave.
"The walls were manned." the Tamaskan replied, "But most did not look like warriors."
"They probably recruited people from the city to be their eyes and ears." Loric commented, cutting off another slice of meat, "I know I would." and he slid that onto Tollie's plate as well.
"I doubt faithful worshipers of Tah'aveen would willingly aid the Sun Cult." Guardsman Sten challenged.
"Who said anything about willingly?" Loric grinned, "The right incentive can get any response desired."
"That's despicable." Tolen murmured.
"Well... we ARE dealing with Sun Cultists." the noble smirked, putting a tack roll onto Tollie's plate beside the meat and then spoke calmly to the hyena, "Eat, my Lord... you need your strength."
"Thank you, Loric." Tollie responded, but set the dish down instead, "Allin... please tell us about the passages you found." The rest of the group paused; the Blade Slave hadn't said anything about any passages.
Allin looked to Tolen, who nodded. "There is a cistern near a holding pond a short distance from the walls. A culvert next to it leads to a tunnel... I believe it is a sewer of some kind."
"How do you know it's a sewer?" Nori asked.
"The smell, obviously." Loric snorted, "I'm more surprised a slave knows a word like 'culvert'."
"Slaves don't have to be stupid, Lord Kriabnish." Shadow countered, his voice almost edged on a growl, "Focus on the task at hand."
"If it is a sewer it should lead us past the walls." Sten offered.
"Assuming we aren't overcome by the fumes or disease." Loric scowled.
"There is another passage." Allin volunteered the information, "But it is divinely sealed."
"The city's crypt." Tollen offered, "It cannot be entered without the aid of the divine."
"Well.. we have that covered then, your Grace." Loric smiled, softly stroking the hyena's arm fur.
"A crypt?" Nori scowled, "That's where they keep dead people."
"Dead BODIES... there's a difference." Lord Kriabnish offered amiably.
"Gaerid has a plan, do you not?" Tollie looked to the bounty hunter.
"We have a number of ways to create a distraction." Gaerid pointed out, glancing around the group, "If the men and women on the walls are not trained lookouts it should be easy to fool them."
"Great..." Loric acknowledged condescendingly, "So then we only have a 20' thick moonstone wall holding us back... that'll be NO problem."
"Correct." Gaerid acknowledged.
"That was sarcasm." the fox countered.
"And my plan is not." the rottweiler answered.
"Sounds like we're leaving a lot to chance that way." the noble pressed the argument.
Gaerid shrugged, "There's always the sewers." That simple comment brought a deep frown to Lord Kriabnish's muzzle.