Chapter the Second, The Road to Canagadi — Legacy Forums

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#41

Iskander forced himself to relax despite the tension he found rising. He was a tired pilgrim, not a threat. A pilgrim mentally charting the path his tulwar would take should the worse happen.

The merchant seemed rather interesting in the trade, more so then Iskander would have thought for a mere distraction. The bodyguards indeed seemed to be preparing for threats from outside the camp, and not a slaughter within. Perhaps there was nothing there, but something was setting Iskander's nerves alight.

Relax...

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#42

Anquetiti

She had dreamed that last night in Zamorza... dreamed of a thing wearing her as a glove, holding her close to an abominable compound visage made of a thousand depraved faces, a fly's eye made of every possible negative emotion.
"Thanks, I will pass."

Looking back, the vision was not half as horrid as seeing the dervishes taken apart by those repulsive pests. 'Scare-crows' she heard someone call them, and what a fitting name it was. Certainly, she was scared well and proper.

"Good riddance" she thought. Her skin was safe, the birds sated and none in pursuit, and she owed the dervishes nothing. No gain, but no pain, an acceptable equation, given the circumstances.
She strode towards the campfire; it might be a dwelling, and she could get stew for a tale and song, or a caravan, and hitch a ride. A far better equation right ahead.
Why did she feel restless, glancing behind?
It was not fear, for she'd spent all her fear as the flock descended.
That nagging stream of 'what if' and 'how' and 'perhaps'...

Curiosity.

The dervishes were full of rare, delicious secrets, and Inan had almost cracked the eve before, seeming amenable to the thought of teaching her a trick or two. Learning always filled her with pure unadulterated bliss, and having this opportunity slip away was akin to the proverbial carrot, dangling just out of reach on a string of fate.

***

The night rested upon the land, tired from incessantly being chased by the day, as Anna made her way towards the fires. Voices of haggle, of banter, of argument filled her ears - t'was not one caravan but two!
With a lost "hello?" akin to that of a stray cat she called, then announced herself louder, naively calling: "Is anyone there? Please help!"
Eyed by the guards and the travelers, she stumbled into the light of the fires, out of breath, theatrically falling on her knees and hands, then looking up at the seated men, parting the raven tresses with one dusty hand.
"Good sirs, effendi, gentiles, my master's caravan was attacked, not far, a mile! I alone escaped, but others may live! Please help, he will not be ungracious!"

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#43

"Good sirs, effendi, gentiles, my master's caravan was attacked, not far, a mile! I alone escaped, but others may live! Please help, he will not be ungracious!"

"Oh dear, what's this?" Bulvan sputtered, sticking his meaty head from out his tent...

A half-hour had passed since the transaction of Rashuli Carpet for Zamorzan mask and nag for mare was completed.

Most had retired (or at least bedded down) for the night. Before crawling into his tent, Bulvan assured Nisher he truly knew little else of the spellwriters disappearance, and told him to keep his coin. The last place the spellwriters were seen or heard from, Bulvan added, was some giant stone keep of holy women,"very distasteful" he added scrunching his fleshy nose.

.....

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#44

Iskander's eyes opened with a start. He had not drifted off yet, though the danger had been there.

And there was danger here too, thought Iskander as he saw the newcomer in the light.

"Quickly then, tell us all that happened."

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#45

"Up between the hills - we left the road for rumors of lurking bandits eager for prey... we were attacked, but he is in the cave, perhaps alive!"

Perhaps a little less coherence, girl? She started breaking up.

"Take all wealth you find - but save him!" Glittering teears rolled from her large eyes, gazing up at the gathering men.
"He is just a wise man, what did he do to deserve this?"

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#46

Nisher stryne had not taken long to fall asleep. He was dreaming of Moadi-birds and snoring - loudly - when the newcomer stumbled into the camp and fell to her knees. With a snort, the spellwriter was awakened by the commotion and rolled over to stand up groggily. He said nothing while Iskander and the woman interacted, his eyes not on the girl, but rather peering to the sky, distractedly. The air tingled tonight... As though filled with electricity, though perhaps it was only in Nish's head. Nevertheless, he had not felt this way for some time.

After several moments, he snapped back to attention and turned to face the woman, speaking distractedly, "So you left the road to avoid the bandits, hm? And you ran into some? You did say it was bandits that ambushed you, yes? How many?"
Nishers reaction to the situation was odd; he paid no mind to the allure of treasure and had yet to indicate a reluctance to help. The greasy spellwrite scratched at his face absently and then pulled his arcane tome from beneath his cloak, flipping through the pages from one spell to another, before he tentatively paused, then turned the page once more - to a blank page. Nisher Stryne smiled faintly at something unseen and snapped the book shut. Something greater than greed was calling to him this night, and he was eager to heed the call.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#47

Iskanders eyes narrowed. "She did not say. What attacked? How many?" Information was life.

Iskander realized his demeanor shifted from that of a simple pilgrim, but the time for that particular deception had passed.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#48

Acha Rongg, the devil's stare, Inan felt his conscious mind slip away from his body, away from the fleshly concerns of being slowly and sadistically devoured by the flock of Moadi birds. His talisman was not far away, but so beyond his ability to reach that it might as well have been on the other side of the Endless Desert. He knew that if this persisted long enough he would perish, or at least his flesh and bone body would. Then he would discover if the training imparted to him by his long absent master Kumyr was truth or trickery. The first step of Acha Rongg was stepping out of the mind, excusing oneself from the constant fleshly desires of hunger, pain, arousal, and greed. The next step was to leave the body as a spirit wanderer, like the ghosts of the dunes, or the flickerlings that darted up from the desert canyons that never saw sun and only saw rain once in a century. The last, or the first great step was to leave the physical body entirely and become ephemeral, spirit stuff as the djinn were.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#49

... they wouldn't cut a panicked girl some slack? 'Oh well' she sighed internally, 'the bad news is, they have some brains. Alas, the good news is, they have some brains.'

She stood up, and approached Iskander, grasped the straps of his armor for support, looking at him intensely.

"Drawn by the sight of a shiny ring
there descended, death on the wing
drawn by the scent of a vibrant soul
flesh and meat scented, a most foul fowl!
Frozen men stood still
Ravens eating their will
with beaks sharp as nails that the Carpenter kill..."

She sighed.
"Before you help, you must know - it was the Scare-crows, the Moadi, the Ravens of Murder."
She bowed her head.
"You must judge for yourself whether you are strong and brave enough to help."

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#50

Nisher Stryne stood, silent, mesmerised by the prose which Anquetiti ominously uttered to Iskander. About halfway through the recital, the spellwriter realized what was being discribed, and a dread chill ran down his back. "Not bandits after all..." the man muttered - the words described the beastly Moadi-birds which Nish had been weaving fables about not more than a couple of hours prior. The spellwriter unconsciously ran a finger along the edge of his arcane tome in a nervous gesture.
Without bothering to watch Iskander's reaction to the words, Nish peered around the campsite, "Saano! Zuan! Come now, ye faithful warriors of virtue! Evil awaits in the night!" His voice dripped with cynicism, but nonetheless a wide, near-manic grin was spread upon Nish's face, and he turned to Bulvan, "You! How about sparing a couple of your guard to help us out here? Surely you don't need all five to guard your rump?"

Truly, it was as though Nisher Stryne was touched with the fever or something as odd - in the four days travel with the party, this was the first time he not only didn't grumble at doing work, but was actively encouraging the group to engage in a potentially fatal activity with him! "Surely there's no time to waste! Lead us the way, mystery-woman!"
Nish made a quick, subconscious check; making sure his essentials were on him still; his dagger, his tome, his sacrificial vellum hanging nonchalantly from his belt. Other odds and ends - and importantly, his travelling quill and ink-set. Without allowing anyone time for hesitation, he began striding in the direction he best guessed Anquetiti came from, "This way, yes? Come now; you can tell us more details on the way; and your name, girl!"

Within Nisher Stryne's twisted mind, runic incantations and eldrich etchings teased him; a taste of magic was in the air and Nish rubbed his teeth absently - they itched! A smile was growing wider still on his face and for once he seemed happy; he was touched by the draw of inspiration.

Those travelling near Nisher Stryne will hear him muttering words over and over under his breath - some unintelligable, but others recognisable as a child's song; "Moadi-bird, Moadi-bird, You must seek not the Moadi-bird. Screams be heard, screams be heard, if you seek the Moadi-bird! Wings of Steel, Wings of steel, hear the scare-crow's wilting peal; beaks will gore, beaks will gore, spear you till you bleed no more..."

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#51

Saano

Sleep had just claimed the Guardian, and was loathe to release him from her thrall. But release him she did when Anquetiti's cry was heard, and Saano left his tent about the same time that Nisher called out to wake both Zuan and he. Nothing good could be happening with such volume, vehemence and suddenness this late in the evening, so he had taken the extra bit of time to grab the tools of his trade. "Evil always awaits in the night. Just think of how many jobs would be lost if it wasn't."

He paused, taking in the distressed newcomer. She was certainly pretty, with a bit of exotic appeal, but the image that came to mind was that of a bush viper rather than a delicate bird.

"Did I hear the name 'Moadi' a moment ago? As in, 'Moadi-Birds'?"

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#52

Anquetiti

"Yes, sadly yes. Come, quickly, before they eat them all!"
She fell in along with Nisher, then turned back, wiping her tears and putting on the visage of a truculent teen: "I'm going, for sure!"
... aaaaand skipping out on the runt if the rest of you don't follow.

She brandished a knife for emphasis of her determination, all nine inches of the blade a mockery of the arsenal carried by the armed men.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#53

Iskander cursed inwardly, even as he stood up. "Come on Tagu, lets go."
He hoped some of the bodyguard would accompany them, thoug he had his suspicions. He scooped up his pack and quickly followed. "Might want to slow down a bit," he said as he ran, for the armour he wore was holding him back. He had not been planning on a midnight sprinting. "How many of the damn things did you see- rather important detail.."

He was not sure why he was coming. This newcomer meant even less to him then the company at the camp, but she was interesting at least.

And so far the rescue planned appeared to be storming the camp like some crazed dervishes. I suppose there are worse plans, he thought.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#54

Tagu followed obediently, but not before grabbing a branch from the fire to use as a torch.

As Anquetiti led Nisher, Iskander, Saano, and Tagu through the scrublands, the bright half-moon was the only other light afforded them. Luckily, this wilderness of cracked red earth and shrubbery, proved easily navigable.

It did not take them long…

Anquetiti spied the lone boulder she had earlier used for cover and slowed, the others on her heels, Nisher chanting maniacally, Saano silent and focused, Iskander likewise stoic.

Anna gestured ahead and the companions could now see the outlines of some chimney-like natural structure, a misshapen specter of darkness against the sky, a hundred or so yards away.

http://www.skianything.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/5242011-Capitol-Reef-Chimney-Rock-Trail-Tower-Web.jpg

As the companions slowed they could only hear their own breath and the now-distant sounds of grunting camels and neighing horses from their camp. The scrublands were otherwise silent. Even the cackling jackals had quieted.

“Some cave?” Tagu postulated and then tensed, awaiting Iskander’s further instruction, as he lofted his make-shift torch and stared at the sinister rock-formation ahead.

------------------
“We will make for the crossroads, get everything ready.” Bulvan muttered to one of his bodyguard.
“You noticed the Midnigh--?”
“Yes, of course. And he noticed me. No, I sense nothing of true value is for sale here. And now, they chase monsters in the desert night! No, this is not for Bulvan. That—woman—was no woman.” He summarized with distaste in his mouth. “We depart!”

Moments later, the soul-merchant’s wagon shuddered and began its roll.

“Farewell, Zuan Coursi! Next time we meet mayhaps I will buy from you again!” Bulvan shouted as his caravan caterpillar-ed its way south in the near-darkness, pole-lanterns bobbing.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#55

At the sight of the domineering natural structure ahead, Nish ceased his mutterings; sense was beginning to take control over his body. He glanced backwards towards the dim light of their camp; was that the sound of wagons wheeling away? No matter. Though he would never admit it aloud, he did wish Zuan would catch up and join them - much as Nish hated to admit it, the stuffy priest -did- have some useful tools at his disposal.

Nish surveyed his surroundings, cursing softly beneath his breath before turning to Saano, Tagu and Iskander, "Not much in the way of cover to sneak up. I don't know how smart those moadi-birds are but i'm sure it will only take one to summon the rest. I could make my way up first and take a look around if you like. I have a... er, knack for not being noticed. Thoughts?" Nish unclipped the latch of his sturdy tome and flicked his book to the page which held his scrawlings to become unseen. In the darkness, the page of the tome beheld a soft, eerie blue light which danced and twisted alongside Tagu's firelight. On the luminous page, runic inkings were slowly being edged onto the page as though by an unseen hand - the spell was only about halfway rejuvenated. With a faint 'tsk', the Spellwriter unclipped his quill from the small cylinder of ink on his belt and raised it to the pages, making deft strokes and lines as he re-inked the page manually. Between strokes, Nish glanced between Iskander and Saano, the question still on his face.

((OOC: Recharging the spell 'Sight Unseen'. Halfway recharged, so will takes up one round instead of two.))

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#56

Inan

Most of the bleeding had stopped now. He sat, lost inside the Devil-Stare, then opened his eyes suddenly and let his pupils adjust to the dark. Ah, it was night now. How longhad he been here? Their caravan had been ambushed near sundown. The half-woman...Inan briefly wondered if she was dead as well...no matter now...

He looked around the cave. His tormentors were nowhere to be seen. Bits of flesh and even a few semi-whole monks sat or lay there motionless strewn about the cavernous natural chamber, many with their eyes still agape, some with only empty sockets where eyes once were. Inan surveyed the scene as best he could, with only a sliver of a moon shining in from somewhere without, keeping the cavern from being engulfed in darkness. And somewhere overhead as well, he thought, but could not lift his head to see.

Ah, there it was. The talisman. It lay a mere six centimeters from his chewed up boot (and partially chewed-up foot.) Six centimeters. It would not be impossible, but the strain of it could kill him.

Inan began to focus all of his inner energies on his big toe. (cue kill bill scene)

(ooc: Inan currently is down to 2 hp's. With a d20 wisdom save roll with a -3 penalty, Inan can momentarily break the Moadi-Bird hypnosis/paralyzation enough to move his toe enough to reach the talisman. With a successful dexterity d20 check on top of that, he can snag it.)

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#57

A wizard was certainly most valuable to Anquetiti - brawny cutthroats were easy enough to get.

"Do not wake them, and do not let them see you" she whispered and placed her arm on his shoulder, slightly twisting his fate, making him less noticeable by the Reaper, less tempting for sword tips, a little more elsewhere when dangerous magic was concerned.

(Foul is Fair! Nish gets +2 to "not getting chewed up" until something bad happens to him)

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#58

"Sounds good," said Iskander. In fact he was quite happy with this idea. The blind rushing seemed to him somewhat sucidal.
"Tagu, it might be too late, but use the boulder to shade the light. No need to make it easier for the birds."

The faint moon would provide little light, so the toarch was a necessary evil, beacon as it was for the birds.

He unslung his bow and scanned both earth and skies for birds,

"Silly question, but do the damned things fly? And how many did you see? A handful, a dozen or some great abysmal horde?"

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#59

Saano

Saano listened to Nishers suggestion as he scanned their surroundings. "No, you probably shouldn't go up first. I'm familiar with the ways of the hunt, I can scout the way first." He nocked an arrow to his bow, ready to be drawn and fired at a moments notice.

"As for numbers, I think we must assume the worst. The longer it takes before they notice us, the better, regardless of the size of their swarm. I'd suggest picking off the outliers first, as quietly as possible."

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#60

Nisher felt a faint tingle dance it's way along his spine at Anna's touch; an almost unpleasant feeling, except accompanying it was a feeling of great... luck? The shrewd man had a sudden urge to play the dice in Kings Bounty in the nearest tavern, but he shook it off and gave the new girl a menacing stare - there was far more to her than she was letting on, and Nish did not like being led.

Nevertheless, he shook off his thoughts and turned to Saano - now was not the time to be giving the woman twenty-questions. The Spellwriter regarded the Midnight Guard for a moment, then with a shrug, snapped his book shut with one hand, the added light it gave off extinguished by the action, "No complaints here. Off you go! We'll follow your trail in, oh, three or four minutes? We'd best make it quick and thorough if a life is at stake, yes?" Nish all but patted the man's back to urge Saano to go on his scouting trek. After all, why risk your own life if someone else volunteers to do it for you?

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#61

(roll roll: 6. -3 for a 3, total fail, Inan doesn't snap from the Moadi hypnosis)

Inan shuddered as the Devil Stare faded from him, and he slipped his consciousness back into his battered and blood splattered body. He felt all the agony and the weakness from exposure and dehydration. He tried to force all of his will into moving his half big toe to hook the loop of his talisman. The inches were greater than the distance between the shimmering sands and the cool face of the moon and his concentration failed. The birds had him. The others were dead, but many of them had been inexperienced, they had not danced in the desert, or beaten a fell goat at black riddles. He did not see the body of the woman among his brethren, so there was a chance she was free and alive. There was also a chance that she was not inside the cave, or had been eaten first.

If death was to come to him, he decided he was going to meet it and fight Death like a black djinn.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#62

Saano began making his way toward the irregular mount moving quickly and quietly, bow notched.
After a hundred feet he slowed taking in the dark protuberance. Peering into the moonlit darkness he could now spy what he thought was a darker shape against the giant rock…a cave opening.

Then he suddenly turned to his left as he heard a single, plaintive, lonely shriek.
A raven, by the looks of it, sat on a shrub twenty feet away. Even in the dark, Saano could tell this was no ordinary crow. The moonlight glinted off its body, as if its feathers were metallic.
The bird stared at Saano.

A hundred feet or so behind him, the rest of the companions slowly made their way…

---------------------------

Back at camp, Zuan Coursi checked on his camels and stoked the fire. Someone had to stay back to guard their mounts and supplies after all and Zuan was not one for running blindly through the wilderness battling creatures of the night. As he sat there and waited, sleep now forgotten, he wished momentarily, that he had purchased one of those kinjals from Bulvan after all.

A sudden shriek from somewhere, not close, but close enough to send a shiver down the trade-priest’s spine. What was that?

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#63

Saano

Saano twitched ever so slightly as the bird shrieked. He slowly turned his head to look at it, raising his bow and drawing back the arrow on the string. If it cried again, it could bring down the entire swarm right on their heads.

Gently...gently...Don't spook it...

The darkness of night muffled the soft twang as the hunter loosed his arrow.

[OOC: Bow-strike on the bird. Center-of-mass.]

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#64

The loosed arrow whistled centimeters from the ebon bird as it sailed past.

The bird cocked its head toward Saano as if committing him to memory, a single black eyeball reflecting the moonlight, then took off quickly and silently into the night, toward the rocky hilltop.

All was silent.

As the others advanced Tagu suddenly stumbled over something. Shining his improvised torch toward his feet, they spotted a chewed-up, severed human head, with a lipless grin and empty eye sockets. Nisher noticed tiny yellow ants using the nasal cavities as a two-lane thoroughfare.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#65

A faint frown plastered across Nisher Stryne's face. He was not particularly disturbed by the sight of bone and gore; his sorry early life had desensitised him to the sight of death, as it had desensitised him largely of empathy. The spellwriter kneeled down and peered with morbid curiousity the ants using the nasal cavity as a highway to the nutritious organ inside.

Using a stick, Nish nudged the skull, toppling it over and disturbing the ant trail with childlike cruelty. He then stood and glanced at anquetiti with a wry smile and a callous comment, "Friend of yours?" without awaiting a reply Nish started off again, walking at a fast pace - did he just hear a bird call? "Lets go see what trouble Saano has gotten himself into!"

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#66

Minutes later they had caught up to Saano, who stood almost at the pitch-black cave entrance of the rock formation. Close up, they could tell it reached at least a hundred feet into the air, and was nearly the same in width.

The cave yawned its foul breath. The unmistakable smell of an Abbatoir. Yet no birds.

Pebbles cascaded down the red-rock suddenly then stopped.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#67

Nish - wisely towards the back of the group - peered upwards along the face of the rock wall, above the cave entrance, "What was that...?" He spoke softly. A faint shiver rolled down the back of his spine. His magic-induced fervor was well and truly dampened by now, and visions of sharpened beaks and wicked spiny wings tearing through his flesh ran rampant through his mind. "Okay, if these birds are as smart as the stories say, they will know that at least one man is lurking out here. I say we get into the cave as quick as possible before they realize how many of us there are! Less room to fly in there anyway, i'd say!"
Nish nervously nudged the person in front of him - Iskander - in the back to usher him and the group into the yawning maw of the cave hurriedly.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#68

Anquetiti heard the whistling arrow, and prepared her composite bow - worse for demonstration of determination, but far better suited for killing birds.
She was taut, ready to fire at any Moadi to appear - or to sprint as soon as things went badly.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#69

Iskander snarled at Nish as he drew his talwar, looking him in the eye with a malevolent stare. He opened his mouth to say something, stopped, and redirected his attention about.

Quietly, Iskander spoke, though obviously measuring his words, "Rushing into dark caves is not something I have done before, nor intend to start doing. If you wish to charge in boldly again, please indulge yourself. The smell of trap seems stronger here then the smell of the corpses," Or you, Iskander thought, but left unsaid.

He stepped back to take a good look up where the pebbles had fallen. A rockfall would quite nicely tenderize the group for the birds.

"If he's being eaten alive, why no screams? If he's dead, little need to rush. " Iskander then fell silent again, intently listening and trying to make out any details on the cliffside.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#70

"That's the thing with Death-on-the-Wing - they freeze your limbs with fear, until you are even too scared to scream, and only then they eat you. Why, are you afraid?"

She gazed left, right, on the lookout for any treacherous scaled bird, and when nobody was watching, she eyed the way back.
No shame in running, girl. That merchant looked rich enough to afford you around, and no one ever blames a girl for being scared.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#71

"Only a fool would not be, given the circumstances. Corpses, darkness, unknown threats. Yes, fear is a logical response, more logical in fact then us being here. But here we are, and trying to help. We can go back, if that is your preference."

Iskander was starting to get a little impatient with those who mistook caution for cowardliness, and his tone of voice showed it.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#72

Zuan's eyes bulged, his body instinctively frozen. He was accustomed to sounds in the city - wails of street urchins, the drunken threats of night gangs shouted to one another - and he was hardly a stranger to the roads. But there was a tone in this cry that struck him.

He had hoped to stay away from the danger by staying with the camels, not invite it to his fire.

The priest reached into one of the camel bags and produced a small crossbow. He fitted the bolt case onto his belt and loaded one into the weapon. "O Director of all Goods, guard my property and flesh this night," he murmured. "Let not thief's blade nor beast's claw defile my goods, for the sake of Thine own glorious revenue." He peered out into the night by the waning light of the fire, praying to see nothing.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#73

Saano

Two minds were in complete unison as the arrow whistled by the watching avian, missing by mere inches.

Oh...crap. The bird flew off, leaving a mentally-cursing Saano in its wake.

How long do you think we have?

Not a clue. If rumors are true, those things are rather intelligent. It could ignore us entirely, or bring the flock in for an ambush.

Rather embarrassing to get eaten by a bird after beating all the things you've encountered before.

Oh come now, you really think a flock of measly birds can take me down?

The hunter boldly continued forward toward the cave, another arrow ready to be loosed at a moments notice. Once was a fluke. He wouldn't miss again.

[Time Skip]

"They know we're here. They're hiding for an ambush. They wouldn't just run away from a few people after taking this many victims. Even scavengers will fight to keep a hard-earned prize." Saano gestured to the cave. "The important question to be answered is, 'Is the trap in there, or out here?'"

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#74

Nish sighed heavily at Iskanders' stern words and stopped nudging his way forward. "Very well then, lets take a quick look; but I do not want to stand on the doorstep all night waiting for them to come to us!" The spellwruter edged around Iskander and took a step towards the entrance, peering in and around the foul smelling cave. "Say Iskander; how about we light one of Saanos arrows and get him to loose it in there light? Is that pleasing to you?" he glanced back to the fixer with a raised brow.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#75

"Nothing would please me more then bringing all the flames of hell to this cursed place, and if our friend here is carrying fire arrows, then I am all for it. Does anyone have cloth and oil if he is not?"

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#76

(because I want to do something)

Inan felt a sigh escape his parched lips. Sounds pricked at his ears, and it wasn't the squabbling of the moadi birds, it was the shifting of rock, pebbles. Footsteps. His mind whirled, he was in no position to fend off an attack, but sometimes mercy could be found in the company of strangers. The desert is always harshest just before reaching the oasis. He drew up his strength, and did the only thing he could do.

Inan whistled. His lips twitched and he moved his tongue as best he could despite the damned devil bird's foul enchantment. It wasn't a shrill sound, but rather a weedy creaky sound that fluttered from him, a bird with a broken wing. He whistled slowly, the opening movement of the priest's call to prayer.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#77

He stepped back to take a good look up where the pebbles had fallen. A rockfall would quite nicely tenderize the group for the birds.

"If he's being eaten alive, why no screams? If he's dead, little need to rush. " Iskander then fell silent again, intently listening and trying to make out any details on the cliffside.

Iskander glanced above, peering into the darkness, but in the moonlight (Tagu's make-shift torch was almost burnt down), all he could see were darkened angles of jutting rock-face and various ledges, and dark shapes. He followed the path of what seemed to be the last of the falling pebbles. Silence again.

Meanwhile the cave-mouth continued yawning its invite. Though shapes and perhaps even some movement could be gauged from where they stood, the cave was too dark to see anything inside clearly. The stench of rotting meat however was over-whelming

He peered out into the night by the waning light of the fire, praying to see nothing.

Yet even as he did, he saw--something. Two birds, though ones not born of nature, somehow had landed silently a mere two dozen feet from Zuan. In the campfire light, their scaled hides glowed and almost shimmered. Soulless black motes for eyes, cocked sideways, began studying Zuan. One opened its bizarre, quartered beak, as if to yawn, a horrid sight. The other began cawing ever so gently, with a sound unlike that of any bird Zuan had ever heard. It seemed to be cooing a lullaby.

The hunter boldly continued forward toward the cave, another arrow ready to be loosed at a moments notice. Once was a fluke. He wouldn't miss again.

And that is when they heard a sound coming from somewhere inside. A-a-whistle? They could all hear it now...a weedy creaky sound that escaped from the cave like a wounded moth, and briefly fluttered upon the night's light breeze.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#78

Iskander shrugged. There was only so much fear he would let birds instill. "Okay, lets get this done."

With that he signaled to Tagu and entered the cave, talwar and shield at the ready.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#79

Tagu followed obediently...within seconds the others could hear the sound of Tagu retching his evening meal.

The cave was huge, Iskander had seen cathedrals in Abodroc with lower ceilings, and the the main problem was now, as before, the lack of light. Tagu's improvised fire stick was little more than a glowing ember now, but the light it gave allowed them to at least make out some things. One--the floor of the vast cave was littered with human forms in various states of death and near-death. A dozen or more bodies, some whole, some in parts...lone arms, legs and heads strewn about haphazardly. Two--flies, some rather large, buzzed above and over the feast of flesh in small swarms. Rats (or gods knew what) slithered here and there, occasionally emerging from body cavities.

Corpses corpses everywhere...but no sign of birds.

The stench was an almost physical thing lurking within the cave. Lowering his torch, Tagu could see his boots were slick with black blood and viscera. Tagu retched again, this time dry heaving, and glanced at Iskander sheepishly

Inan, sitting against a wall, noticed the movement and could plainly see the two night-time intruders enter, though there was little he could do about it. The whistle had taken a lot of his energy, and he now lapsed from his Devil's Stare, his unmoving pupils now focused on the two strangers, unable to warn them...to put out their light.

Re: The Road to Canagadi

#80

Zuan's eyes widened. The moadi-birds! They were supposed to be but legend! Divine Broker, forgive my uncunning doubt!

As sweat poured down his brow, Zuan's mind hurried to find some way to rid himself of the birds. He studied them, much as their sight roiled his quivering stomach, trying to look for some chink in their black-scaled hides. The one yawned its toothed maw again, the other nudging up against it, almost as if...

Coursi blinked in surprise at his own genius. Of course! They need sleep! Moadi-birds, after all, are no different from any other creature, he reasoned. Now only to provide them their rest.

Slowly, with one hand still training the crossbow on the beasts, Zuan reached into his coin purse with the other and pulled out a cobre. Whispering a prayer to the Divine Broker, he dropped the coin into his gilded coffer, echoing impossibly beyond the walls of the small box. Drawing sweat from his brow, he cast his hand over the fire, issuing a flow of water to cast down over the flames, extinguishing them.

(OOC: Cast Create Water)