Chapter Two: Bilal's Menagerie

[Purr]

"Hey, hobbit-face!" Powerpaw yells as he jumps onto the side of the Grand Wagon and scales it in the practiced fashion of cats. "You haz Bria?"


From the front of the Grand Wagon, Kitrin's reply seems to relax Bria a bit, "'I'm driving the horses, fuzzy! Oh, everyone's safe! Thanks, Kitrin!" She continues to listen, keeping her eyes on the road. "Really bad?' But what I'm feeling doesn't feel bad... it just is..."





Inside the Grand Wagon, Stewart smiles with Otiorin. "My lad, when you put it that way, how can I resist?" Stewart rises to his feet and shuffles over to the throne. For the first time, he stands beside it a free man. His stature, though bloodied, is tall. "So the hydra nearly got you? Well," he takes the bottle with a nod of thanks between drinking men, "I think it was better you saw the hydra than the frost giant..."


At the rear of the Grand Caravan, a series of shrieks from the few remaining creatures there go up into the night. The tremendous moaning you heard earlier resumes and is joined by the equally-tremendous sight of a towering, barbaric-looking giant rising to his feet as if from a great slumber. There is a black metal manacle about his wrist. The frost giant bristles with horrible might. His naturally-foul grimace speaks of evils performed and enjoyed. He stares down at the hydra who continues munching with great content. The two great monsters watch each other without wariness before turning to the red orb in the sky.


'That one," Stewart concludes with a swig, "liked to pull his opponents apart limb from limb."

Spoiler

To those outside the wagons watching, the red light is growing in size like some terrible flame. It is growing rapidly without any sign of stopping. A moment later, there appears a small black shape above the burning red.


It resembles an unmoving tail.

 

[Sherwood]

Luna shields her eyes from the sunlight in an attempt to better see what is causing the strange glow in the sky. "Sparkle, are my eyes deceiving me, or is that a very large tail? Could that be a dragon? If so, it is a very good thing that we are making tracks away from there. Mr. Bronze, perhaps a bit more speed is in order, if you would be so kind."

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

"Blood for the blood god..." Wolf mumbles, then offers an explanation: "Just recalling something that I read once, in some story, somewhere... Unimportant."


He leans against the railing next to Luna and observes their progress while gently petting his falcon. "There's a number of disturbing things going on back there, and none of them are natural. Whatever it is, with each fleeting moment it becomes less and less our concern. Agree?"

 

[killfire]

Nods to Luna, "That is a very good idea!" Gently clucks at the horses to make the cart move faster, doing his best to keep from jostling the wounded. "Mr, and Miss Meadowsweets have you seen that strange glow before?" Bronze watches the effect in the sky and can't really feel any details from it. While moving right along, tries to look at everything and everyone to get a general idea of what we all have left if we need to do something like combat again.

 

[Purr]

"Blood for the blood god..." Wolf mumbles, then offers an explanation: "Just recalling something that I read once, in some story, somewhere... Unimportant."

Wolf remembers.


The forest protector remembers the tales of the druidess who spoke to him of the gnolls and their blood-loving lord. They are tales that chill and disgust, for the gnolls love Erythnul, the God of Slaughter. Erythnul - he who delights in the slow killing of his victims. The screams of the dying and the cries of the terrified are a thrilling symphony to the dire lesser god of torment and panic. Bugbears crave his favor. Ogres and trolls shred the flesh of the living while moaning his name. His name is chaos and evil to all things.


Erythnul is a name that causes sadness in the woods, especially those north around Highwind. Those incredible woods, dubbed Shandra's Evergreen, belong to the loving and youthful goddess of the forest, Mielikki. It was in her tender side that Erythnul buried his dagger. So deep was the wound that it nearly cost the goddess her life.


It was kind-hearted Frigga, wife of Odin, mother of Thor, who ultimately removed the dagger from Mielikki and cleaned her wound in such a way that it would eventually heal. Frigga, with the help of mortals, saved Mielikki from the evil works of Erythnul. He had plotted Mielikki's demise with Loviatar, the maiden of pain, who hates Mielikki. These happenings took place but two seasons ago in the spring. They began around Highwind and ended in the home of the Norse gods, Asgard. Some in Highwind must know even more about the tale.


Yes, these things Wolf remembers well.

Spoiler

Sparkle's reply to Luna is immediate. "That is no dragon. Dragons know each other and their kind by sight. Wait. Is it growing?" Sparkle cranes her neck. Her tiny claws dig into the top of the wagon deeper than necessary for holding onto an accelerating wagon.


Bria and Bronze spur their horses to top speed and eventually, the Wardens are rushing toward Highwind as fast as the draft horses can pull the immense wagons. This, of course, is nowhere near as fast as a single rider on a riding horse, but being carried along is far better than straining your own bodies, especially when fleeing the unknown in the middle of the night.


The red orb glows like some cosmic eye watching all things under a starlit sky. As you race along, the orb grows much larger and it seems to descend out of the heavens. As it descends, it seems to gain in speed. Those outside watching barely see the blackness fuming behind the orb, illuminated by the light of the orb and the glow of the gibbous moon. You come to realize the 'tail' is a trail. A trail of smoke.


And the red orb? It becomes large enough that you see it for what it is - some massive object completely immersed in red-orange flames. It as if a god shot fire from a catapult on the moon. Its impact can now be measured in seconds and it seems to be heading straight at the glowing blood of the battlefield behind you. The six burning wagons there do not move, yet the living things there begin to scream and shout save for the frost giant who watches like a man in a dream.


In moments, it will strike the battlefield...

 

[Kaerri]

"Hey, Bria, it's some kind of really big thing on fire - lots of fire! - heading down, with smoke trailing behind...uh-oh!" On her wagon-roof perch, Kitrin grabs secure holds with both hands and finds a crevice or two to wedge her feet into. Once more her hobbity voice rises high to be heard by all her friends: "Hang on, it's going to hit the ground back there - any moment now!"

 

[killfire]

"Brace for Impact!" Gives the hobbits a hug using himself as a living seat-belt.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

"Erythnul." Wolf says in a half whisper, then speaks louder: "God of Slaughter, a bloody deity that exists solely to bring death to the world. I remember now." When the young ranger looks at Dina, his face is marred by worry and dread, but there is also contempt and quiet wrath. "The druids seldom speak of him, and even then rarely ever utter his name, but I was present in their number at one such occasion. It was years back, before I met you and the others."


He shifts his gaze back at the battlefield, mere moments before impact. "This is bad, Luna. Really bad. You've done well to marshal us out of that place. For what is about to unfold there... is death incarnate."

 

[Purr]

With a powerful spring of his mighty legs, Powerpaw leaps over Kitrin and bounds over to the front of the Grand Wagon. He disappears over the front where Bria drives the horses to their fullest.


"Bria! It's gonna hit any second! You gotta see it! Gimme da reins!"


"Fuzzy warrior! You're O.K.!" Bria's cheers and hugs his arm. "See it for yourself! I can't drive and watch at the same time."


"Um, I kin hold da reins while you watch?"


"But you'll miss it!"


"Uh!"


"Ummmm..."


A moment later, Kitrin might see an unusual sight if she turns around. Back and above the drivers seat, Bria appears as if levitating over the front of the wagon, her long brown hair flowing in the breeze as you gallop along. She is clearly able to see south now, but her hands are occupied as if she is balancing on something. Underneath her, up comes a big, furry Powerpaw face, his blood-red eyes looking south too. Kitrin might see that the Ko monk is carefully perched on Powerpaw's head, holding onto his horns, while he must be standing at his fullest height (perhaps on his tip-toes), the horses' reins in his paws.


And they have a clear view to the south.


"OOOOOH!" they say together.

Spoiler

The light from the oncoming blazing orb illuminates the night, and for a few moments, it is as if it were daytime. The object dives straight at the battlefield, hurtling in an unstoppable manner. Bronze shields the Meadowsweets who hug him and pray, though Bronze feels the coming of the object moreso than his small companions.


The closer the fire gets, the hotter the fires inside Luna's spirit rise until the feeling of power within her is higher than it has ever been in her life.


And Bria? She sits wide-eyed and child-like atop Powerpaw unable to look away.


The brightest light any of you have ever seen at night plows into the earth with a terrific and tremendous explosion that shakes the earth and rocks the heavens. Wagons fly. Creatures vanish. The forest burns bright. All things at the battlefield are consumed by the great smoking object. The incredible sound of the impact drowns out all other sounds, leaving behind a reverberating ringing in your ears, as your eyes see a smoke cloud launch into the air. The gargantuan plume rises into the sky as thousands of pieces of debris fly out in all directions. Nowhere is safe there. Either one is away from it or one is dead.


After what feels like a very long moment later, you see a growing wave of dust and debris coming straight at you.


Your wagons are struck by an irresistible blast of invisible force. Everyone inside or out of the wagons is knocked down. The horses neigh and cry out as one as your movement comes to a stop. All is madness.


Once the dust settles, each of you appears blessedly unharmed if a tad dusty. The great draft horses continue neighing and straining at their harnesses, nearly-crazed with the excitement and confusion of the moment. The long trail in the sky can hardly be seen. As the moonlight pours down around you, you see the column of smoke rising higher than any tower into the night sky. The silence is as great as you have ever known.


And as for Luna, Bronze, and Bria? The feeling remains.


Luna feels as if a part of her is ablaze with energy, so close is her nature to fire. She trembles uncontrollably, every nerve in her awake and alive. The feeling of power rises through Bronze in a different way - though the descent of the object has ceased, it is the object itself that pulls at him more than any other person present. Bria fell off Powerpaw's head at the moment of impact. When the peaceful monk looks up, she finds Powerpaw on the floor of the wagon, covering her protectively. Each of these three feel a pull of sorts from the plume of smoke, from the battlefield, or perhaps... from the object back there that caused it all.


In everyone alive and present, there is a great feeling of having shared an incredible moment together and survived it - an experience likely not to happen twice in the same lifetime. You know without a doubt that you are now all witnesses to a cosmic event like none other.


Meanwhile, inside the Grand Wagon, the sitting places are knocked on their sides and the water in the pool is rocking back and forth. Stewart is flat on his backside, his eyes wide with surprise and horror for the upteenth time tonight. Something inside of him seems to snap. He picks himself up off the floor, walks unhurriedly over to a wine rack, and reaches for another bottle of wine, this one wrapped unlike the others.


"That's it. To hell with this," the old man says as he pops the cork with authority, snatches two glasses, and strides with purpose right back to Otiorin. "I do not know what just happened, but Boccob as my witness, if I am destined to perish tonight, I am having a bottle of this stuff before I go!"

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Wolf stumbles to his feet and quickly locates Luna next to him. Being the first of them to recover, he then kneels down and gently but firmly grabs hold of her by the shoulders.


"Are you alright? Luna?" he asks, glancing back and forth between the girl and the smoking crater. "I'm not sure what happened, but I think something just changed. Possibly on a world scale..."


"Luna?"

 

[Sherwood]

Luna sits up, holding her head from where she conked her noggin as she fell. "Ow! That hurts!" She shakes her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, but all she can think about is the fire. So much fire. It fills her senses, nearly overwhelming everything else. "Great Boccob! I have read tales about people claiming to have seen stars that have fallen from the sky, but I never thought that I would ever see it for myself! This is amazing!" She stands up, stretching her neck out to try and get a better look at the burning crater. The fire is calling to her. "I have to investigate. Stay here, and I'll be right back!"


Luna hops down from the top of the wagon and pulls out her Protection From Energy scroll, casting it to keep her safe from the flames and heat coming up from the crater. She then starts into the middle of the destruction, hoping to find what it is that is calling to her.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Otiorin scrabbled out from under the avalanche of cushions that had engulfed him as the shockwave rocked the grand wagon like a cork in a stormy sea. He giggled childishly, then groaned as he withdrew the wine bottle to discover it's contents were now happily soaking into a plush silken pillow he'd last seen cradling the shapely hip of one of Bilal's serpentine maidens.


"Oh, it looks like the wines got away from me. What a world, what a world...", he sighed, tossing the bottle into the pool where it sank with a plop.


His despair was short-lived as Stewart withdrew the rare vintage from Bilal's prized cellar.


"Huzzah! All blessings be upon you, Stewart, and upon this fine fancy you've unearthed."

 

[Kaerri]

Forethought pays off as Kitrin is able to stay in place atop the Grand Wagon. She shakes her head sharply, sending up clouds of dust, and pries her fingers loose from their grip on the wagon roof. "Wow, that was something, huh? You okay down there, Bria? Kitty-face?" She cautiously stands and looks back to the other wagon to see how the rest of the group fared. "Hey, where's Luna going?" She raises her voice. "Oy, Luna, don't go alone! Wait up!" She rolls off the wagon with a metallic *thump* and bounds after the investigating sorceress.

 

[killfire]

Bronze squints his eyes against the dust, checks the Meadowsweets to make sure they are ok, wraps a rag over his mouth, and determinedly heads toward the strange feeling. "Does anyone else feel that?"

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Wolf was staring at the sorceress that just jumped off the wagon that was clearly heading towards safety, and was just about to follow suite when something small flies down past him and rolls after the girl. Widening his eyes, he spots a hobbit.


"Kittrin! Madness! Wait for me!" he shouts, vaulting over the railing and running to quickly catch up and participate in whatever foolishness was taking place. A bad feeling filled the ranger as the umber hulk's words echoed in his mind.


Leave this place. And soon.

 

[Purr]

Stewart serves two glasses of some of, if not the, finest wine outside the Elven lands Otiorin has ever tasted.


Stewart pauses and retrieves the golden cat idol upon the floor. This he returns to its bag and he handles it with great care. Then he grins and pulls up some cushions beside his new drinking companion. A thought makes him chuckle. "Is that all I had to do to win your favor? Just bring a bottle of the good stuff to the prison wagon and all would be forgiven? Had I known that, I would have put it first!" He puts one wrinkled finger to his chin. "Of course, I thought the chances of you all being dead were fifty-fifty. Just because I knew Powerpaw was intelligent didn't mean I didn't think he was hungry enough to eat all of you. And me for dessert after I opened the cage. I have certainly done wiser things..." He rolls his eyes at the memory of his own actions.


Then he glances at his wine glass. Without further delay, he smells it. His smile returns at the experience. Then he rolls it around in the glass and watches it for a moment. "Good legs, I say." His first drink seems to instill him with new life. "Ahhhh! Now I can die content. Well, after I have seen Bernice and shared something like this with her." He points heavenward. "Then I will allow her to kill me. Heh, heh."


Bria peeks her head in through the purple mist surrounding the front door. "Oh, just look at you two boys. You're O.K. after all. Get out here, will you? Something extraordinary has happened and we're going back to investigate! Come on!" Then she disappears through the smoke.


Stewart, unable to believe anything would surprise him after a night like this, grasps his chest above his heart and looks at Bria in utter shock. "Did I just hear you say... we are returning?" Stewart walks reluctantly to the front door and then he looks back to Otiorin. "All the effort we spent in fleeing and now... Oh my." His feet continue to carry him to what he apparently feels is his duty.


The great column of smoke rises into the blackness of the night...

...creating an otherworldly scene in what was suitable just an hour ago. With the horses of both wagons in a near panic, Bria and Powerpaw run with their enchanted footwear at a swift speed. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear horsies! I wish I had that spell memorized for you!"


"Bria, why iz we goin' back? Ain't nothin' ta fight no moar!"


"I think I'm running back because- Look! Luna and Bronze feel it too! It's... it's calling us!" Bria and Powerpaw see Wolf as they pass the prison wagon. "Wolf! Come on! Hurry!"


Powerpaw bounds along, slowing his pace to match Kitrin as he runs beside the hobbit. Without asking permission, he plucks her up and places her on his back. Then he shoots off down the road at about twice Kitrin's speed to catch up to Bria, and Luna who is ahead of the entire group.


Whittle and Bonny work on calming the horses. "Do be careful, love!' Whittle shouts down the road to Bronze. "Stars don't fall every night, you know!"


Bonny uses quiet words and slow movements to get the attention of the agitated team of draft horses. "Shhh, there there, dear. We are all right." Hearing what Whittle just said, he turns to her with an exasperated look. "We just nearly had a star fall on us!" He looks to the heavens, quite thankful to be alive. "We'll have the best tale in the whole region to share once we reach Highwind! No one will be able to top this!"


"That's for sure! I'm off to calm the horses of the Grand Wagon, lest they go running off!"


"What? You're going to leave me at a time like this?"


Whittle pauses and looks back to him. "But the horses, love!"


"They have Stewart and Otiorin!"


"So they do..."


Bonny turns about and watches the glowing fire in the distance. "I just want to share this moment with you, love! Let the rest of the world collapse for all I care - I just don't want us to be apart."


Whittle comes rushing back and plows into his arms. "Oh, my Bonny!" She plants a huge kiss on his cheek, and they hold hands as they watch the Wardens running off.


"Quite right, love. Not even falling stars can separate the likes of us."

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Otiorin paused with the wine glass to his lips, watching and listening to Bria. As she disappeared and Stewart give his incredulous exclamation, the Half-Elf simply sighed and picked himself up, placing his untouched glass down gently.


"You'll find, my friend, if you are around us for any period of time, that running back to things we just fled from is something of a trait of ours. 'Grey Wardens'? I still think we should have gone with 'Suicidal Idiots'.", he chuckled as he followed out through the mist and loped off after the rest of his comrades.

 

[Purr]

Stewart watches Otiorin set down the glass and he replies, "Given what I have seen in just one night, I cannot argue with you!" Then he adds, "And if you fail to return, know that I will drink that glass in your honor. Now let me see to the horses." Stewart steps outside, sits down on the driver's seat, pats the trumpet beside it, and begins to calm the horses.


The battlefield is clear and clean...

...devoid of the living. Only the tracks in the ground and the blood on the earth show that anything ever happened here. There are no wagons, no hydra, no frost giant, no gnolls, or men. Not even their corpses or weaponry exists near the crater. All has been blasted away like the wave of a god's hand.


Luna reaches the fiery edge of the crater first and finds the smoke nearly unbearable. While her Protection from Energy spell completely wards her from the heat of the flames, they do nothing to protect her lungs from the blackness. Yet inside that blackness, at the very center of a crater some 10 meters wide and about 3 meters deep, a great power calls. Bronze is the next to join her, then Wolf and Bria.


"I feel it too, Bronze. There, at the heart!" The Ko monk points there. Despite the raging heat emanating from the black crater, she stands resolute, staring at the center of it all. "Such energy! So very natural! Is it a living thing?"


Bronze has only to look at Luna to see that the wizard is affected by it too. Only Wolf is able to look away from it freely, while on his arm, Pecker flaps and flaps his wings, eager to be away from the smoke and destruction. Then Powerpaw and Kitrin arrive, followed lastly by Otiorin. There at the edge, the Wardens stand together.


At the bottom of the crater, a golden glow can be seen, faint as the smoke obscures much of it, but it is there for the taking...

 

[Sherwood]

Luna, while somewhat overwhelmed by the feeling that is calling to her, still has enough presence of mind to use some restraint. "Be careful. Other eyes than ours have seen this, and we should expect someone to investigate. Now, with that in mind, what do we have here?" She slowly walks down into the crater towards the mysterious object in the middle.

 

[Purr]

As Luna descends into the crater, the orange flames lick at her feet, but cause no discomfort. However, the thick black smoke pouring from the crater is another matter. After but a few steps, Luna is unable to see. Her eyes sting and begin to water. Her lungs burn as the caustic smoke makes all attempts at breathing difficult, and soon Luna is coughing harshly.


"Miss Luna, come back!" Bria points at the wet rag over Bronze's mouth. "How can we help you see to get to the object? And why aren't you being burned by the fire?"

 

[Sherwood]

She comes stumbling back up out of the crater, coughing. After taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, she manages to mutter, "I have a spell that is protecting me from the fire, but it doesn't help me with the smoke. If it weren't for that, I could get to the center of the mess and see what it is that is calling to me so much! There is still a fire burning, so don't try to go down there. You'll just get burned. We need to put the fire out somehow, or find a way to get to the middle without choking to death."

 

[Purr]

"Um," Powerpaw scratches behind his ears with the claws of one paw. "We kin ties you wif a rope, I kin throws you at da thing, you kin grabs it, an' I kin yanks you back up?"


"That sounds painful," Bria shakes her head. "I think Luna is right though; time might not be on our side right now. Does anyone else have any good ideas? Preferably quick ones?"

 

[Kaerri]

Kitrin stares into the smoke thoughtfully. "Plus the rope might burn, and that would be bad. It isn't all that far. Can you just hold your breath and run really fast? Although you'd still have smoke in the eyes...maybe we could call out directions if you wander off course..." She trails off, still trying to come up with something.

 

[Sherwood]

Luna taps her chin with a finger, deep in thought. "I have a Mage Hand spell ready to go, and so long as the object is under five pounds, I can lift it out from here. Lets give it a try." She focuses her will upon the spell, and directs it out towards the shiny in the middle of the crater.

 

[Purr]

The Mage Hand spell blossoms forth like a willing force ready to interact with the world. However, the cantrip fails to move the object.


Seeing this, Bria closes her eyes and says, "Let me try Detect Magic." She softly casts a spell of her own. The peaceful monk opens her eyes and looks at both the object and the crater. "Wow! The object is definitely magical!" Bria turns to the rest of the Wardens. "Now what?"