Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 1.1 Doen (The Correct One)
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 1.1 (REWRITE)
Doen Fairview
Due to a major oversight on my part I presented the events of the story as if the Doenian travelers chose option 3 (Spend time praying for the departed) while, in fact, they actually voted for option 1 (have Jasper lead the party to a Wayside). As this is a significant decision it would be unfair for me to override their votes, thus I post this rewrite. This isn't an entirely bad thing, as I consider it a great opportunity to show readers how the story can change based on reader votes. See if you can spot the differences! The party will be receiving +++ Delay and + Luck for this decision, though it may be modified by further choices as the chapter continues. As with Part 1 of Zion, Part 2 will be narrated by Zachary.
Having decided to take Jasper up on his suggestion of visiting a nearby Wayside, we wasted no time in packing up the camp the following morning and we headed out. The trip to Fairview was not a quick one; with constant wagon trouble it took us three days to make the one day trip that Jasper had planned. The travel wasn't all bad, of course... it was quiet and, except for the continual need for repairs, uneventful. Jasper and Zeke kept constant lookout for any dangers and once, thank Tah'aveen, they were able to help us time our journey to avoid a small herd of Blood Beasts as they crossed the Highway.
Fairview was about a league from the Highway, marked only by a single sign and a simple gravel pathway. The town was situated atop a rounded hill and had four city blocks gathered up around a central square where their Divine Shield, a granite statue of Tah'aveen stood. It was getting on toward dusk when the town came into view, and we made it a point to be at the gate before they closed it for the night. We were welcomed quite readily by the guards, who, despite my low rank, were still pleased to see a traveling priest.
The temple coins I had managed to save were meager in comparison to the total funds the caravan had brought but the single building used to house travelers was vastly cheaper than I would have imagined; a single Doenian Lunar purchased a room for each of us, complete with two private bathing chambers. The ten rooms filled an entire wing of the building and allowed me to divide the group evenly: Taggart, Dillan, Haldyn, and myself on the left side of the hallway with Lord Rust, Zeke, Narissa, and Jasper on the right.
I selected the room closest to the main body of the building; it gave me easier access to the common room and the innkeep. Taggart chose the room next to mine while Mr Flynn jumped on the opportunity to select the room adjacent to our mutual bathing room. Haldyn, far from picky, selected the room between Taggart and Dillan. I didn't see the room selection for the others, but I did see that all of the men were courteous enough to let Lady Hearthsinger have the first bath.
Dillan claimed our bath house first, which was fine with me as I had far too many things to arrange in my room. A quiet knock at the door brought with it Taggart, who wanted to check on me and make sure everything was alright. I'm not exactly sure why, but I discovered it feels very good having someone care enough to show it in such simple, every-day ways. He noted that he was going to look around the common room and talk with some of the servers; having been a waiter himself, he figured it would be easy for him to get any information from them that they might be willing to share. Before he left, he asked if he could kiss me; I certainly didn't turn him down.
By the time I was done arranging my things, Dillan had provided a courteous announcement that he was done with the bath. Having little else to organize, I disrobed and carefully folded it. Taking one of the towels provided by the staff of the inn, I wrapped it around my waist and made my way down the hall, running into Haldyn as I did so; he was likewise wearing a towel and little else.
"I apologize, Lordling Rakken." I offered, "I thought the bath was open."
"I had a chance to see it earlier... it could fit four if it had to." he noted then turned, "Join me." he offered. I followed him to the bathing chamber, which exhaled a breath of warm, humid air the moment the lion opened the door. Upon entering, I saw that Haldyn was very accurate in his description; the bath was actually a small pool set into the ground. A circle of glyphs surrounding it was undoubtedly the source of the heat that kept the water steaming.
Warm water... oh Goddess... it had been so long since I was able to enjoy a hot bath. Laying my towel on a wooden shelf a good distance from the water, I placed one foot into the pool, and then the other, letting the heat in my lower paws travel up my legs, through my hips, and bring a giddy tingle to the lowest part of my ribs. Delaying no longer, I descended the two steps within the bath and sat down, letting the water embrace me up to my chest. Lordling Rakken chuckled at my happy groan.
"Not used to so much travel, are you, Brother?' he asked, setting his own towel aside. For not the first time, I had to admire how well toned the lion was. He had to have had a hard life, body lean and fit, as was probably the norm for most who were able to survive in the Wild Lands. As with anyone, I found his form visually appealing in a number of ways.
It is no secret that I find bodies beautiful; they are, in my opinion, one of the greatest works of art presented to us by the Moon Mother. Large bodies, built for lifting heavy objects... small bodies, gifted with grace and speed for surety of movement... fat bodies, rich in their opulence... thin bodies, lean, delicate, and efficient... they are all things of beauty. Haldyn Rakken was no exception to my appreciation of the physical form and anyone would probably consider him traditionally handsome.
The lion smiled when he saw my gaze, and slowly lowered himself into the water, making no move to hide the fact that my watching him left him piqued. "I'm glad we decided to spend a day restocking and recovering." he noted, laying his head back, arms draped out along the cool stone ringing the pool, "You can't overestimate the importance of restful times like this."
I ran my paw through the fur of my arm, reveling in the feel of the dirt getting carried away by the water; I had almost turned a yellow-brown from my time on the road, and I must admit, I prefer cleanliness to any alternative. "Mmm..." I agreed, letting out a happy breath as the lion slid closer.
"Tell me, Brother..." the lion hailed, "What are your plans tonight?" his words were spoken with genuine curiosity in the same courtly tone he always seemed to use when hiding behind the official nature of his station... but the faint, much less formal, feral rumble to his tone hinted at what he was really looking for.
"Before I sleep?" I answered, "I will pray... as I do every night."
"Alone?" the lion asked. I could see beneath the water, and he made no move to hide his growing excitement, which told me that he was hoping for a specific answer.
"I suppose not." I answered; that was precisely what he wanted to hear.
I awoke that morning morning in bed alone. It's something I'd experienced before, but it somehow felt a little more empty today. The sky outside the window was already lit by the golden rays of the sun; I'd slept in, but not excessively. Looking to the simple wooden chair beside my bed, I saw that Haldyn had set my holy symbol on its edge, the traditional sign that I had brought him peace of mind and spirit. I smiled to myself at that, and got dressed, arching my back as I worked out the stiffness and soreness from the prior night; the lion had certainly needed his release.
I opened the door to my room and paused; Taggart was seated in the hallway beside it on a chair, "Good morning." I offered with a smile.
"I saw Haldyn leave your room last night." he noted simply.
"You were up late." I acknowledged, "He was with me until some time early this morning."
"I know." the dog stated, gazing across the hall to the bare wall.
"I something wrong?" I asked, "You look troubled, Taggart."
"No..." he crossed his arms, "I just..." he took a steadying breath, "I was hoping to spend the night with you last night."
"I stayed awake for a short while after he left." I offered, reaching out to rest a paw on his shoulder, "I would have enjoyed your company."
"I--" Taggart paused, and shrugged my paw off, "I... it didn't feel right."
"I didn't mean to cause you distress." I explained, "Let me know next time and I'll plan on being with you instead." I smiled reassuringly. The dog finally looked my way and smiled back, but I wasn't convinced that all of his issues were resolved. I was about to press the discussion, but he quickly began speaking again.
"I've been thinking about everyone back at the tavern in Doen..." Taggart explained, still seated in the chair, " I promised I'd look up a message sender when I got to Zion... we're going to be late getting there, so that means they're going to worry."
The concern Taggart had over the mental welfare of his adopted family made me smile... but, I felt bad at the same time. Would my family be worried? Would they be angry once they found out what I had done? I knew my father was never one to be preoccupied with anything but his duty to the temple, but what of my brothers and sisters? I shook the thoughts out of my head; the discussion wasn't about me.
"We'll do what we can do, and leave the rest up to Tah'aveen." I offered, "You obviously don't want them worrying about you so it's safe to say they wouldn't want you worrying about them." I patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him to stand, "Come on... we only have one day to get what supplies we can purchase and I'm sure anyone would love an extra set of paws to carry things."
He stood and followed me to the common room, "What about you?"
"The people of the town will expect prayers from me, and I'll be called to bless their Divine Shield." I stopped, and turned to look at him, resting one of my paws on either of his shoulders, "See what you can do to help everyone else, and I'll see you back here this evening." The rest of our group met us in the commons and, after I provided everyone with some of our remaining coin, we agreed to meet up in the town square near the Divine Shield when the sun touched the horizon.
Though everyone sat down to eat breakfast, everyone did so at different speeds. Rust and Narissa were the first to leave. They have been spending a lot of time together. Despite everything that's been going on, Lord Rust seems much more at ease... more comfortable and, I swear to Tah'aveen, more willing to smile. Father Wesley, one of my old instructors, once explained that a man who was willing to smile was less 'less' and more 'more'. I never truly understood the saying until I saw the difference that had come over the echidna. All things considered, they compliment one another very well; it only made sense that they'd work together on gathering up supplies.
My meal was simple, and I bid everyone else luck in their purchases. With that, I went off to meet with the townsfolk. The day passed quickly, as I expected it to. The people of Fairview were overjoyed to have a temple priest in their midst and, after the dawn blessing of their Divine Shield, I spent the majority of the day completing simple prayers and blessings. It had been weeks since I last had to act in a fully official priest capacity which, I suppose is the main reason I didn't want Taggart helping me-- something about being with him felt cheapened when I had to be a priest, and I couldn't shake the feeling that he somehow looked down on the duties I performed. I wish I knew what I could do to help him, but perhaps that's something he'll have to sort out on his own.
When the group met back up that evening I saw Jasper and Zeke first; they carried large satchels of supplies between them and had also recruited Taggart to help carry the rest. It appeared that they had found traveling rations and two dozen good water skins. In addition, they also managed to procure a satchel of healing supplies. "We also have some feed for the animals on reserve at the stables." Jasper noted, "We can pick it up on our way out of town tomorrow." As far as I could tell, it appeared that they thought of everything. I am thankful that we have not one, but two travelers familiar with the Wild Lands; Tah'Aveen surely does smile down upon us.
If I had to guess, I would have suspected that everyone thought as I did when it came to Mr Flynn. I certainly suspected that he would meet up with us leading a long train of pack animals, saddle bags filled to overflowing with the unbelievably good deals he was surely going to have made during the day in Fairview... but I was wrong. Returning to us with nothing more than a single knapsack, the ferret had a decidedly unhappy look to him.
"That's it?" Rust asked, motioning to the bag, "I'm surprised you didn't find a way to buy the whole town."
"I'm not in the mood for your humor, Rust." Dillan answered with a scowl, "Can you believe that they don't have a single mercenary contractor in this backwater dirt pile?"
"We wouldn't have the coin for any worthwhile soldiers anyway." Haldyn shrugged, "We don't have the luxury of having others fight for us. When the time comes, we may all be combatants."
The ferret huffed and rolled his eyes, "If the time ever comes that everyone is depending on ME to fight off an attacker then it's already a lost cause." and, with that, he he walked back toward the boarding house, "I've got more to get done before we leave." Haldyn didn't bother stopping him.
Despite his negativity, I couldn't fault the merchant. While more than one of us had fully expected the ferret to try and take advantage of our situation, nothing could be further from the truth. As it turned out, the merchant has gone out of his way to make certain that we have all been properly stocked and prepared for the next portion of our journey. The single pack he brought back with him was incredibly well stocked and had some thoughtful, though expensive purchases. He HAS made it quite clear that we're all insane... on a number of occasions, but it's readily apparent that he plans on continuing with us.
Rust has noted that it's because the ferret doesn't stand a chance getting back to Doen alone, but I like to think that he's just like the rest of us and wanting all of us to succeed. Regardless of Mr. Flynn's motives, he has been incredibly industrious, working very hard and sometimes with little help in his attempts to keep the wagons moving. He has been doing more than his fair share to keep us going and, for that, I am thankful. His efforts will be put to good use, I'm sure, in the coming weeks ahead.
Tomorrow morning, I expect that we'll be back on the road. Between the time spent purchasing supplies and the hours of rest within Fairview, I'm feeling confident that we'll be able to handle the next few days without any real trouble. With a little luck, and the Moon Mother's blessing, we will find our way safely to Zion with no great mishap... certainly, I pray for no further intervention on behalf of the sun cultists... that is something we cannot afford.
* * * * *
Welcome to Chapter 1, Post 1 for the Doenian Caravan in this, Part 2 of Zion: Light of the New Moon.
The story continues with the travelers electing to visit the nearby Wayside town of Fairview in an attempt to restock, resupply, and rest.
At this point, it's time to decide the path they choose:
1) Dillan might be onto something... spend some more time looking for recruits! 2) There's been enough delay; stop by the stables in the morning then get moving. 3) Fairview seems like a nice place... why not spend another day resting there?
Contributing Readers have until Thursday, November 3rd at midnight.