As the Two Sisters Watched(into the breech)
- Thread starter alsih2o
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alsih2o
First Post
Every sound in the chamber took on monumental proportions making every footfall seem weighted with importance. The four reached their appointed spot before the large council table in time with 2 other groups, one from the south and one from the east.
The head of the council let a heavily silent moment pass before speaking.
“Who comes to represent Vaunth-on-the-lake?”
Rinney did not hesitate in answering.
“I come, Rinney sent by Mackson. I bring with me Kolindra, Finn and Ry.”
The minister let a stern look pass over the group- “And who amongst you represents the stars? Who amongst you is the healer?”
“None of us is a priest sir”
The minister flapped his arms and in his robes and let out a dismissive snort.
“No priest, and no sign of an experienced guide? Mackson is trying to make a fool of me. But I will not let that happen.”
The minister let his eyes pass over the members of the council and eventually come to rest on the scribe behind Minister Tobal.
“You, girl, step up Go and take your place with this….group”
The young priestess looked up and snapped quickly to their side. Everyone but Kolindra managed to hide their surprise to see the priestess that had presided over Ry’s freedom ceremony again.
The minister looked about the room as if the proper answers were hidden somewhere on the floor.
“When you head west, at the border there will be an appropriate guide waiting for you, I will arrange it. No old fool from lake country is going to have your blood on my hands because you were ill prepared.”
The minister finished by guiding them through a short series of loyalty oaths, then moved on to the other groups before him. One form Tawgor’s Ferry and one form Gurnst. The group from Tawgor’s Ferry carried the air of welth with them, each looked ot be a purebred founder. They dressed in fine leathers and thir weapons boire as much decoration as threat. The band from Gurnst lacked this level of showmanship but lacked none for muscle.
The ceremony was moved into the feast hall for a last dinner and as the party moved in behond the ministers they could hear the taunts from the Tawgor’s Ferry crew under their breath.
The head of the council let a heavily silent moment pass before speaking.
“Who comes to represent Vaunth-on-the-lake?”
Rinney did not hesitate in answering.
“I come, Rinney sent by Mackson. I bring with me Kolindra, Finn and Ry.”
The minister let a stern look pass over the group- “And who amongst you represents the stars? Who amongst you is the healer?”
“None of us is a priest sir”
The minister flapped his arms and in his robes and let out a dismissive snort.
“No priest, and no sign of an experienced guide? Mackson is trying to make a fool of me. But I will not let that happen.”
The minister let his eyes pass over the members of the council and eventually come to rest on the scribe behind Minister Tobal.
“You, girl, step up Go and take your place with this….group”
The young priestess looked up and snapped quickly to their side. Everyone but Kolindra managed to hide their surprise to see the priestess that had presided over Ry’s freedom ceremony again.
The minister looked about the room as if the proper answers were hidden somewhere on the floor.
“When you head west, at the border there will be an appropriate guide waiting for you, I will arrange it. No old fool from lake country is going to have your blood on my hands because you were ill prepared.”
The minister finished by guiding them through a short series of loyalty oaths, then moved on to the other groups before him. One form Tawgor’s Ferry and one form Gurnst. The group from Tawgor’s Ferry carried the air of welth with them, each looked ot be a purebred founder. They dressed in fine leathers and thir weapons boire as much decoration as threat. The band from Gurnst lacked this level of showmanship but lacked none for muscle.
The ceremony was moved into the feast hall for a last dinner and as the party moved in behond the ministers they could hear the taunts from the Tawgor’s Ferry crew under their breath.
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alsih2o
First Post
If our heroes had known just how long they would be in the wastes beyond they would have spent more time studying the faces of the throngs bidding them farewell at the city gates. A short study of these faces would find the eager envy of young people, wishing for their chance to prove themselves in the name of the state, and weeping women sure they were seeing innocence die, sure they were seeing the bravest the world had to offer marching blindly into a battle of no return.
Anyone who doubted the importance of the procession need only to look to it’s head, where two horsemen led the way. Horses had been exceedingly rare in Maissen since the founding. Few had survived the shipwreck and most of these had perished from hoof rickets in the 4th year of the founding. Now their tall lean presence at the fore made a stark contrast against the increasingly flat landscape before them.
Legend started and ended at this border, if you could call it a border. Maissen didn’t come to a stop so much as it faded from existence, swallowed by the seemingly endless and perfectly flat prairie beyond. One small group of shanties marked the last steps in a protected state and at their rim stood a small group of mixbreeds, proud and sad. The calvarymen pulled to ahlt before the small group and nodded their goodbyes to the heroes, trying to fix forever in their memories the faces of these 5.
The eldest of the group stepped forward.
“Who amongst you is Rinney?”
Rinney acknowledged the stooped man and met eyes with the dark woman behind him. She was slight of appearance and here eyes were rimmed with the lines of a person who has faced the strong winds blowing in from the nothingness for too long.
“I bring you Tavania. She is trained in the ways of our people from before the Founding, she has prepared for this moment from before the gods planned it, and will serve you well.”
Tavania and the heroes tried to keep the meeting casual, as casual as introductions can be for those bound for the unknown, ready to lean on strangers for support. As they spoke the leather clad group spirited immediately into the grasslands, singing the songs of heroes who did not return, and mocking each name as it was called. The third group checked their supplies and headed north, each squatting unconsciously, seeking to gain some cover from the high grasses.
The dry, brittle grasses swayed in the breeze, hiding the soft footing beneath where the spring rains ad begun to saturate the soil.
Tavania gave them her last warning, the one she had practiced for this moment.
“At the small clump of trees just fore Masieen ends, beyond that we are on our own, prepare as you must now, for this is the last we shall see of good people and safe sleep for a season”
Once she felt that everyone was listening she spoke more solemnly.
“Watch always for the Shokta, you will know them when you see them. They roam these plains freely upon their great mounts, black bison who reek of death and can kill a man with their breath alone”
Rinney stared back at his faithful bearer cow, Ichiopa, and wonder how big a bison could be. Thabyra stopped and studied 3 men cooking fish paste in an iron pot over an open fire as the rest scanned the village for any last useful thing they had forgotten.
As they took their first steps into the open plain their air of confidence was betrayed by their weapons at the ready, even here in the shadow of the great state.
Anyone who doubted the importance of the procession need only to look to it’s head, where two horsemen led the way. Horses had been exceedingly rare in Maissen since the founding. Few had survived the shipwreck and most of these had perished from hoof rickets in the 4th year of the founding. Now their tall lean presence at the fore made a stark contrast against the increasingly flat landscape before them.
Legend started and ended at this border, if you could call it a border. Maissen didn’t come to a stop so much as it faded from existence, swallowed by the seemingly endless and perfectly flat prairie beyond. One small group of shanties marked the last steps in a protected state and at their rim stood a small group of mixbreeds, proud and sad. The calvarymen pulled to ahlt before the small group and nodded their goodbyes to the heroes, trying to fix forever in their memories the faces of these 5.
The eldest of the group stepped forward.
“Who amongst you is Rinney?”
Rinney acknowledged the stooped man and met eyes with the dark woman behind him. She was slight of appearance and here eyes were rimmed with the lines of a person who has faced the strong winds blowing in from the nothingness for too long.
“I bring you Tavania. She is trained in the ways of our people from before the Founding, she has prepared for this moment from before the gods planned it, and will serve you well.”
Tavania and the heroes tried to keep the meeting casual, as casual as introductions can be for those bound for the unknown, ready to lean on strangers for support. As they spoke the leather clad group spirited immediately into the grasslands, singing the songs of heroes who did not return, and mocking each name as it was called. The third group checked their supplies and headed north, each squatting unconsciously, seeking to gain some cover from the high grasses.
The dry, brittle grasses swayed in the breeze, hiding the soft footing beneath where the spring rains ad begun to saturate the soil.
Tavania gave them her last warning, the one she had practiced for this moment.
“At the small clump of trees just fore Masieen ends, beyond that we are on our own, prepare as you must now, for this is the last we shall see of good people and safe sleep for a season”
Once she felt that everyone was listening she spoke more solemnly.
“Watch always for the Shokta, you will know them when you see them. They roam these plains freely upon their great mounts, black bison who reek of death and can kill a man with their breath alone”
Rinney stared back at his faithful bearer cow, Ichiopa, and wonder how big a bison could be. Thabyra stopped and studied 3 men cooking fish paste in an iron pot over an open fire as the rest scanned the village for any last useful thing they had forgotten.
As they took their first steps into the open plain their air of confidence was betrayed by their weapons at the ready, even here in the shadow of the great state.
alsih2o
First Post
It takes less than an hour of walking to feel completely lost in the plains. As soon as the last 3 trees at the last outpost disappeared on the horizon it was almost impossible to tell if they were making any progress. All the tales of lost souls circling in on themselves till they starved began to make sense. Balcla rises in the north on waning days and south for the waxing, confuse yourself about which day it is and you could wander through his land for years without direction.
As the incredible monotony started to set in Tavania, who had been walking 50 steps ahead of the party disappeared into the grass. The party stood frozen, unsure of how to react. As they began to gather themselves they could make out her squatted form moving through the grass, barely disturbing its natural rhythms in the wind as she moved.
“Down, down, get down….Shokta raiders!” she urged them thru clenched teeth.
Rinney dragged Ichiopa onto her side and Kolindra silently ordered Ryssa, her loyal wolf, to lie down. They poked their heads as high as they dared to catch a glimpse, curiosity posing as bravery.
The 40 men and their terrible black bison mounts sinewed south in single file. None of them made the effort to look at the horizon, but Tavania knew form her grandparents and parents that little if anything would escape their notice. What the bronzed men did not immediately spot with their sharp eyes the hulking bison would smell before it approached close enough to threaten them.
Tavania felt a surge of blood to her face, her rage toward her sworn nemesis battling with awe of their abilities and might. She kept the party on its bellies and knees for nearly half an hour, just to be sure they had passed. When they felt brave enough to look back to their path they finally noticed the thin column of white smoke ahead of them.
Moving as quietly as possible they approached the source, a blackened area of earth some 45 feet wide. Small flames were still licking at the edges of the circle. Within lay familiar bodies.
The men from Gurnst, who had looked so powerful just 2 days ago in the cavernous rooms of the Shields palace, were sprawled at odd angles on the blackened earth. The blunt weapons used to pummel them until their end had left little to identify them from but their shoddy clothes and their heroes’ necklaces. Finn wondered why someone would go to all the trouble of killing them without taking their valuables.
Rinney spoke first. “We should collect their necklaces, someone will want them back home, and someone may be comforted by at least knowing what happened to them”
The party collected their necklaces, noticing that the Shokta had stolen everything from the corpses that could possibly be useful. Thabyra slipped out of her shock and remembered her duties.
“We should start a pyre, leaving them here like this cannot be good.”
The party gathered the dry grasses and stacked the bodies, dumping oil over all of it and immolating the mass, conscious the whole while of how short the mission had been for these brave and strong men. The air still roiled with the heat of the grassfire as the party headed out along their path, quieter and more somber than before.
Camp came easy. Without choices on shelter levels or proximity to any kind of path the party simply threw themselves on the ground and waited for sleep. Coyotes could be heard calling in the far distance and occasionally Ichiopa would low.
As Balcla rose in the north and Thabyra prayed for his blessing the party gathered themselves under the cold dew. Ryssa shook herself awake and chased mice at the outskirts of camp as the various members discussed their possibilities.
Rinney began to explain “Well, there was a fellow back in Vaunth-on-the-Lake that urged me for a favor.” He produced a 2-gallon terra cotta jar form his pack. “He says if I can fill this with honey from giant bees he will reward us by filling it with gold and returning it”
“Honey?” responded Kolindra, revealing her suspicion
“Yeah, it seems odd to me too. But he said that back before the founding men had domesticated giant bees, and that a sauce made form their honey was a favorite of the royal line. He is expecting a lengthy visit from members of the Council and he wants to gain their favor by returning this rare delicacy to the palettes of the wealthy.”
Kolindra rolled her eyes over the standards of these ‘civilized’ people.
Tavania pointed definitively at a section of the horizon indistinguishable from any other. “Legend says that giant bees have a hive northwest of here, near the Blue Spring. It is just a children’s tale though, giant bees and curbles.”
“Curbles?” proffered Ry, in his stilted tone.
“Curbles, smelly, big, pig-bear-men. Matted hair and wild eyes, my mother used to tell us that they would eat children who wandered to far from home.” She chuckled.
“pig….bear….man” Ry shook his head and gripped his greatclub a little tighter.
Rinney said what everyone was thinking. “Well, we have been walking without seeing anything at all, we might as well keep going, there has to be something out here.”
As the incredible monotony started to set in Tavania, who had been walking 50 steps ahead of the party disappeared into the grass. The party stood frozen, unsure of how to react. As they began to gather themselves they could make out her squatted form moving through the grass, barely disturbing its natural rhythms in the wind as she moved.
“Down, down, get down….Shokta raiders!” she urged them thru clenched teeth.
Rinney dragged Ichiopa onto her side and Kolindra silently ordered Ryssa, her loyal wolf, to lie down. They poked their heads as high as they dared to catch a glimpse, curiosity posing as bravery.
The 40 men and their terrible black bison mounts sinewed south in single file. None of them made the effort to look at the horizon, but Tavania knew form her grandparents and parents that little if anything would escape their notice. What the bronzed men did not immediately spot with their sharp eyes the hulking bison would smell before it approached close enough to threaten them.
Tavania felt a surge of blood to her face, her rage toward her sworn nemesis battling with awe of their abilities and might. She kept the party on its bellies and knees for nearly half an hour, just to be sure they had passed. When they felt brave enough to look back to their path they finally noticed the thin column of white smoke ahead of them.
Moving as quietly as possible they approached the source, a blackened area of earth some 45 feet wide. Small flames were still licking at the edges of the circle. Within lay familiar bodies.
The men from Gurnst, who had looked so powerful just 2 days ago in the cavernous rooms of the Shields palace, were sprawled at odd angles on the blackened earth. The blunt weapons used to pummel them until their end had left little to identify them from but their shoddy clothes and their heroes’ necklaces. Finn wondered why someone would go to all the trouble of killing them without taking their valuables.
Rinney spoke first. “We should collect their necklaces, someone will want them back home, and someone may be comforted by at least knowing what happened to them”
The party collected their necklaces, noticing that the Shokta had stolen everything from the corpses that could possibly be useful. Thabyra slipped out of her shock and remembered her duties.
“We should start a pyre, leaving them here like this cannot be good.”
The party gathered the dry grasses and stacked the bodies, dumping oil over all of it and immolating the mass, conscious the whole while of how short the mission had been for these brave and strong men. The air still roiled with the heat of the grassfire as the party headed out along their path, quieter and more somber than before.
Camp came easy. Without choices on shelter levels or proximity to any kind of path the party simply threw themselves on the ground and waited for sleep. Coyotes could be heard calling in the far distance and occasionally Ichiopa would low.
As Balcla rose in the north and Thabyra prayed for his blessing the party gathered themselves under the cold dew. Ryssa shook herself awake and chased mice at the outskirts of camp as the various members discussed their possibilities.
Rinney began to explain “Well, there was a fellow back in Vaunth-on-the-Lake that urged me for a favor.” He produced a 2-gallon terra cotta jar form his pack. “He says if I can fill this with honey from giant bees he will reward us by filling it with gold and returning it”
“Honey?” responded Kolindra, revealing her suspicion
“Yeah, it seems odd to me too. But he said that back before the founding men had domesticated giant bees, and that a sauce made form their honey was a favorite of the royal line. He is expecting a lengthy visit from members of the Council and he wants to gain their favor by returning this rare delicacy to the palettes of the wealthy.”
Kolindra rolled her eyes over the standards of these ‘civilized’ people.
Tavania pointed definitively at a section of the horizon indistinguishable from any other. “Legend says that giant bees have a hive northwest of here, near the Blue Spring. It is just a children’s tale though, giant bees and curbles.”
“Curbles?” proffered Ry, in his stilted tone.
“Curbles, smelly, big, pig-bear-men. Matted hair and wild eyes, my mother used to tell us that they would eat children who wandered to far from home.” She chuckled.
“pig….bear….man” Ry shook his head and gripped his greatclub a little tighter.
Rinney said what everyone was thinking. “Well, we have been walking without seeing anything at all, we might as well keep going, there has to be something out here.”
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alsih2o
First Post
The wind rushed from Finns lungs as Ry tackled him. Thabyra puts her hands together in front of her in what would have been a desperate defensive posture in anyone else. Thabyra invoke Balcla’s name and flames shot from her fingertips. The whole of the prairie took on the rank odor of burning spider fuzz. As Thabyras eyes adjust from the bright flame she saw Rinneys dagger sticking from the huge spiders back. All day staring at the endless horizon worried about what might be waiting for them and now this thing, smoking and reeking in the tall grass. Fin looked back to the hulking corpse lying right where had been standing.
Fin was quick to his feet and drawing his bow while the rest stared in disgust at the beast. He fired and brought everyone’s attention back to the present as they heard the sickening thump of his arrow penetrating another spider chitinous shell. His arrow pierced through the vile arachnid and pinned it to the turf. Each face whirled forward as several erupted from the ground, each springing from a tunnel well hidden in the tall grass by a woven mat lid.
Ryssa leapt forward to defend her master and felt yelped in pain as the awesome speed of the spiders strike left her reeling, green viscous fluid draining from the wound and trailing back to the canids leg. Thabyra was hit too; her pale chubby leg swelled with the oozing liquid, she felt her stomach turn and her legs buckled slightly.
Chaos ensued….the dodgy spider moved with amazing speed, always a few inches ahead of Ry’s club, always just leaving where crossbow bolts struck the muddy earth. Sling stones pushed the fine dust into the air as they bounced off the spiders thick shells, then Thabyra struck deep and hard, driving her spear thru another spider with one of Rinney’s daggers in its back. It slumped lifelessly with its 4 front feet just inside the entrance to its hidden tunnel. Ryssa lashed out, wounded but undeterred, biting deep through a spiders hard shell, crunching it to splinters and strewing its stringy innards around her head and the open field.
Once everyone felt safe that all of the spiders were dead attention turned to healing the injured, and talk of what effect might still yet come form their bites. Thabyra healed those she could in Balcla’s name and Tavania was still gathering for a poultice when Rinney mentioned that someone should see what was down one of the tunnels.
Thabyra pried back the lightweight lid with her spear and threw a stone lit by Balcla into the pit. The cool air inside the tunnel brushed their faces as the looked inside. Some 7 feet deep and 3 feet around, the hole was smooth-walled and ended somewhere beneath the thick coating of bones on the bottom. Tavania hesitantly stepped into the whole, bracing herself on the sides as the bones beneath her feet crumbled and settled. The ridges furrows of their brows marked them as Shokta. A few small animal skeletons were interspersed. She filtered through the bones with her spear, finding a small leather thing with a polished river rock hanging from it. It bore a symbol she had never seen, a raven on a bison’s back, and she threw it out, following close behind.
“I don’t think there is much here to see, and I think it best we move on, predators bring scavengers on this country, and I don’t want to be here when something else shows up”
Poultices were placed on the bitten, who continued to feel weak stomached and frail and the walking continued.
Approaching dusk the party was drawn to a stop. Slowly appearing before them, not visible form more than 80 feet away, was a sprawling rift valley. Here in this ocean of grasses was a 300 foot deep chasm in the earth. The valley spread for 3 miles in front of them and out of sight on either direction. Looking down into the valley the tops of the mature hardwoods formed a nearly perfect green carpet, and as Balcla set in the southern sky behind them, slowly stealing his light form the valley floor, they could make out bees.
At least 100 enormous, goat sized honeybees were converging on a single tall oak less than a mile away, and 150 feet below. They decided to make camp and deal with this problem by the light of the next day.
Fin was quick to his feet and drawing his bow while the rest stared in disgust at the beast. He fired and brought everyone’s attention back to the present as they heard the sickening thump of his arrow penetrating another spider chitinous shell. His arrow pierced through the vile arachnid and pinned it to the turf. Each face whirled forward as several erupted from the ground, each springing from a tunnel well hidden in the tall grass by a woven mat lid.
Ryssa leapt forward to defend her master and felt yelped in pain as the awesome speed of the spiders strike left her reeling, green viscous fluid draining from the wound and trailing back to the canids leg. Thabyra was hit too; her pale chubby leg swelled with the oozing liquid, she felt her stomach turn and her legs buckled slightly.
Chaos ensued….the dodgy spider moved with amazing speed, always a few inches ahead of Ry’s club, always just leaving where crossbow bolts struck the muddy earth. Sling stones pushed the fine dust into the air as they bounced off the spiders thick shells, then Thabyra struck deep and hard, driving her spear thru another spider with one of Rinney’s daggers in its back. It slumped lifelessly with its 4 front feet just inside the entrance to its hidden tunnel. Ryssa lashed out, wounded but undeterred, biting deep through a spiders hard shell, crunching it to splinters and strewing its stringy innards around her head and the open field.
Once everyone felt safe that all of the spiders were dead attention turned to healing the injured, and talk of what effect might still yet come form their bites. Thabyra healed those she could in Balcla’s name and Tavania was still gathering for a poultice when Rinney mentioned that someone should see what was down one of the tunnels.
Thabyra pried back the lightweight lid with her spear and threw a stone lit by Balcla into the pit. The cool air inside the tunnel brushed their faces as the looked inside. Some 7 feet deep and 3 feet around, the hole was smooth-walled and ended somewhere beneath the thick coating of bones on the bottom. Tavania hesitantly stepped into the whole, bracing herself on the sides as the bones beneath her feet crumbled and settled. The ridges furrows of their brows marked them as Shokta. A few small animal skeletons were interspersed. She filtered through the bones with her spear, finding a small leather thing with a polished river rock hanging from it. It bore a symbol she had never seen, a raven on a bison’s back, and she threw it out, following close behind.
“I don’t think there is much here to see, and I think it best we move on, predators bring scavengers on this country, and I don’t want to be here when something else shows up”
Poultices were placed on the bitten, who continued to feel weak stomached and frail and the walking continued.
Approaching dusk the party was drawn to a stop. Slowly appearing before them, not visible form more than 80 feet away, was a sprawling rift valley. Here in this ocean of grasses was a 300 foot deep chasm in the earth. The valley spread for 3 miles in front of them and out of sight on either direction. Looking down into the valley the tops of the mature hardwoods formed a nearly perfect green carpet, and as Balcla set in the southern sky behind them, slowly stealing his light form the valley floor, they could make out bees.
At least 100 enormous, goat sized honeybees were converging on a single tall oak less than a mile away, and 150 feet below. They decided to make camp and deal with this problem by the light of the next day.
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alsih2o
First Post
Thabyra stretched her arms wide and soaked up Balcla’s light. She had been facing south waiting for this moment and ended her morning prayers just as the holy sun was fully over the horizon. With her last sharp tones to her fiery god she awoke Finn, who stumbled to his feet, tasting his mouth and wiping his eyes.
Only Kolindra was fully engaged, she had been at the cliffs edge overlooking the rift valley since before dawn and was now seeing the fruit of her wait.
Slowly the light seeped into the valley…slowly it lit the top of the trees…..slowly it dried the morning dew off the backs of the giant bees gathered in the trees below and they beat their wings, testing them against the air. After a few moments that made the bees seem almost unsure their bulbous frames lifted from the perch in the mature trees and they set out over the valley.
Kolindra stared deeply, and began to shake. Intense vibrations shook her body, starting at her head and moving incrementally down her spine, ending with a quiver in her limbs that drew everyone’s full attention. She folded her hands into her armpits and squatted, thrusting her neck forward and shaking her rump, first on one leg, then another the vibrations came again and again. She jerked sharply to her left, her staccato movements describing a half circle thru the tall grass, then a jerk to the right, completing another arc.
The small group on the cliff stared, and began to approach Kolindra, but took a healthy space back from her when they saw the bees approaching quickly. The small druid had a thin blade of grass in her mouth that she blew against, creating a strained, high-pitched sound that broke the air over the valley. Five of the giant bees were now rushing headlong at the cliff making a line for the lady of the land.
“By Balcla’s calloused feet!” cried the priestess and gestured, throwing the blessings of the sun on her traveling companion.
Tavania drew her bow and waited, the taut string biting into her fingers, Ryssa the wolf backed away from her master and growled a deep, rumbling warning to the bees.
The small space between Kolindra and cliff was completely full of the 5 bees. They had landed and formed a semicircle around Kolindra, their massive compound eyes reflecting Kolindras odd dance back to the party, as she completed her second figure in the grass the largest of the group charged her at full speed. It’s head lowered it cam within inches of the nervous druids nose and stopped as suddenly as it had begun, emitting a high pitched buzz that matched Kolindras note for note.
It backed away with the same startling speed and began to mimic the druid, hauling its deceptively light body over the grass in a mirror image of her dance. Soon the 5 were drawn into a frenzy, climbing over one another repeating the druids steps in 5 different rhythms, each matching her tones in their own time.
The party held its breathe as the bees stopped simultaneously and shook themselves with a strength and speed that inspired awe. Then they each resumed their spot in the half circle and turned away from the druid. Each stood on only its front four legs and shook in unison spreading a thick spray of sticky pollen into the air.
The bees took flight again and left the party standing in awed silence behind Kolindra, almost unrecognizable under a thick layer of sticky-sweet pollen. She was coated nearly entirely, 2 inches of the tar-like yellow solids clinging to her skin and clothes.
Ry spoke first "Paswen...are...you....all..right?"
Kolindra finally spoke “I….I am not sure, that didn’t work out exactly like I thought it would”
Thabyra broke in “It seems almost like they were being… friendly.”
“Bees,,…Make babies… with Paswen?” proffered RY
Thabyra lost her stomach at that thought, letting loose early breakfast on Finns shoes.
“Gather what rope we have” ordered Kolindra “ I want to try something”
The group tied a long section of hemp rope around Kolindra’s midsection, being careful to avoid getting the stickysweet pollen on themselves, and lowered her over the side of the cliff. She dangled there, nearly 45 feet down and waited.
The bees ignored her completely, they passed to and fro in their usual industrious way without even a glance in the dangling, yellow druids direction. She yanked the rope and called to be drawn up.
“I think we may just be on to something” she said, her smile barely evident beneath the hardening layer of caked yellow pollen that covered her.
Only Kolindra was fully engaged, she had been at the cliffs edge overlooking the rift valley since before dawn and was now seeing the fruit of her wait.
Slowly the light seeped into the valley…slowly it lit the top of the trees…..slowly it dried the morning dew off the backs of the giant bees gathered in the trees below and they beat their wings, testing them against the air. After a few moments that made the bees seem almost unsure their bulbous frames lifted from the perch in the mature trees and they set out over the valley.
Kolindra stared deeply, and began to shake. Intense vibrations shook her body, starting at her head and moving incrementally down her spine, ending with a quiver in her limbs that drew everyone’s full attention. She folded her hands into her armpits and squatted, thrusting her neck forward and shaking her rump, first on one leg, then another the vibrations came again and again. She jerked sharply to her left, her staccato movements describing a half circle thru the tall grass, then a jerk to the right, completing another arc.
The small group on the cliff stared, and began to approach Kolindra, but took a healthy space back from her when they saw the bees approaching quickly. The small druid had a thin blade of grass in her mouth that she blew against, creating a strained, high-pitched sound that broke the air over the valley. Five of the giant bees were now rushing headlong at the cliff making a line for the lady of the land.
“By Balcla’s calloused feet!” cried the priestess and gestured, throwing the blessings of the sun on her traveling companion.
Tavania drew her bow and waited, the taut string biting into her fingers, Ryssa the wolf backed away from her master and growled a deep, rumbling warning to the bees.
The small space between Kolindra and cliff was completely full of the 5 bees. They had landed and formed a semicircle around Kolindra, their massive compound eyes reflecting Kolindras odd dance back to the party, as she completed her second figure in the grass the largest of the group charged her at full speed. It’s head lowered it cam within inches of the nervous druids nose and stopped as suddenly as it had begun, emitting a high pitched buzz that matched Kolindras note for note.
It backed away with the same startling speed and began to mimic the druid, hauling its deceptively light body over the grass in a mirror image of her dance. Soon the 5 were drawn into a frenzy, climbing over one another repeating the druids steps in 5 different rhythms, each matching her tones in their own time.
The party held its breathe as the bees stopped simultaneously and shook themselves with a strength and speed that inspired awe. Then they each resumed their spot in the half circle and turned away from the druid. Each stood on only its front four legs and shook in unison spreading a thick spray of sticky pollen into the air.
The bees took flight again and left the party standing in awed silence behind Kolindra, almost unrecognizable under a thick layer of sticky-sweet pollen. She was coated nearly entirely, 2 inches of the tar-like yellow solids clinging to her skin and clothes.
Ry spoke first "Paswen...are...you....all..right?"
Kolindra finally spoke “I….I am not sure, that didn’t work out exactly like I thought it would”
Thabyra broke in “It seems almost like they were being… friendly.”
“Bees,,…Make babies… with Paswen?” proffered RY
Thabyra lost her stomach at that thought, letting loose early breakfast on Finns shoes.
“Gather what rope we have” ordered Kolindra “ I want to try something”
The group tied a long section of hemp rope around Kolindra’s midsection, being careful to avoid getting the stickysweet pollen on themselves, and lowered her over the side of the cliff. She dangled there, nearly 45 feet down and waited.
The bees ignored her completely, they passed to and fro in their usual industrious way without even a glance in the dangling, yellow druids direction. She yanked the rope and called to be drawn up.
“I think we may just be on to something” she said, her smile barely evident beneath the hardening layer of caked yellow pollen that covered her.
