Walks All Paths: 4/20/97 - Part 2
"Chaos in the Cold"
We awoke in a snow drift. Oddly enough, everyone was wearing fur clothing to protect them from the bitter weather. I was actually quite happy as I was still in lupus and warm enough in my own fur, not to mention the fact that I am quite used to this kind of environment. The others did not seem to be quite as happy with the situation, though. Kasee, of course, was griping about the sudden change of temperature and Cab was yet again trying to explain the fact that the Umbral realms could be anything at any time. Oh, well - humans.
Eric and I noticed that there was noise coming from the top of the ridge next to us. Looking up, we saw what looked like an army on the march. Eric quickly created an invisibility shield to hide us from the soldiers. Unfortunately, some of the members of our group are just too loud for anyone’s good, and we were noticed. Two soldiers came down from the ridge to investigate, and we realized that they would walk right through the shield and then see all of us. I shifted to glabro and told the rest to stay put, then walked out to meet the men. I had my sword drawn to show strength, and they slowed when they saw me. They asked who I was and what I was doing. I said that I was a visitor from a far-off land and that I was in the middle of my journey. I asked them what they were doing and they responded that their army was off to fight the great chaos. At that point, stupidity itself manifested as Kasee hoped out of the shield and asked "What’s wrong with chaos?" His answer came in the form of a blow to the head which sent her flying.
I quickly intervened, explaining that she did not understand the term and that she was indeed stupid. The soldiers looked at me and demanded to know who I served. Noticing that they were becoming increasingly uneasy as Eric dropped the shield, I explained that in our land we served the forces of balance. Noting that balance was good, the young man then said that if were not going to join the army that we must be agents of Chaos. I reassured him that we were not by sheathing my sword, instructing the others to do the same, and telling him that we would be glad to join the army.
We marched with them for several hours until nightfall, then set up camp for the evening. In the morning, we awoke to the sound of muster and preparation, and got in line for a tasteless but filling "gruel," as Renee called it. The march resumed quickly and without much comment. The army came to a halt about midday, and the leaders seemed to be preparing for battle. Our group separated from the right - midsection of the army and went to the crest of a nearby hill. We arrived as the army began to charge. Their targets were three individuals, A young girl that looked like Mary, an old man that Seemed very sure of his power, and a dead body at their feet. As the army closed, the lines of soldiers began to fall, twisting and dying in hideous ways, as if the Wyld itself had begun to transform them. When about half of them had fallen in about a minute’s time, the girl looked up at us, smiled, and disappeared. The army quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered the old man.
As Reuben and Renee descended to heal the wounded, Kasee noticed the black tendril snaking off in the distance. We did not have much time to consider our options though, because the first soldier that they tried to heal was horrified at what they did, and started screaming that they were damning his soul. Naturally, this roused the rest of the army from their hastily assembled victory celebration, who started eyeing our party, scattered though we were, suspiciously. Eric quickly erected another invisibility shield to cover himself, Renee, Reuben, Dog and myself. Cab and Kevin were still up on the hill talking, and Kasee was standing in plain sight. Therefore the army, about 250 strong, began to chase Kasee. Kasee, of course, ran away. Since she had not done anything to warrant being killed by an army, I decided to follow. Unfortunately I could not get around them to her, so I decided to go through them. I stepped sideways and quickly advanced toward the glacier that was her destination. As I neared I stepped back and, now in front of the army, called for Kasee, who had disappeared into a crack in the glacier, to step sideways and meet me. She did and we headed back only to discover that the others had been following us and, as we were no longer available, the army had turned on them. I instructed Kasee to go keep an eye on them from the safety of the umbra, but to be careful because the gauntlet felt as though it was thickening. I then stepped sideways and taunted the army, which quickly split, with some chasing me and the rest staying to hound the others. Eric tried a magickal effect by making a circle, chanting and stomping. What he got was a chasm in the tundra - impressive. Some of the soldiers tried to jump the chasm, but only one made it. Unfortunately he subdued Eric quickly. Then the world stopped.
It seemed as if everything became two-dimensional. I saw the others and went towards them, and arrived in one step. The same applied to all of the others except for Eric, who seemed to be frozen in the scene, which now appeared to be a tapestry on a wall. Kasee found a door and opened it, finding Eric lying on a cot on the other side. The room that he occupied was small and featureless, so we went through the next door and once again found ourselves in the book-lined room of the old man by the fireplace.
©1997 by Thomas Martin
Tom Brady <tabrady@mindspring.com>
Last modified: Sun 3 Aug 12:06:00 1997 by tabrady