Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 1.2 Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 1.2
Doen Fairview
The party has elected to press on after the short time resting and restocking in Fairview. Let's see how this plays out, shall we? Currently, the Doenians will be receiving +++ Delay and + Luck for this event arc, though it may be modified by further choices as the chapter continues.
Once we got back to the boarding house the party broke down into smaller groups. Haldyn mentioned that he was going to go through his forms (a swordsmanship term, I'd come to understand). Dillan headed back out to the streets, mentioning something about 'getting a few more things'. Jasper and Zeke joined one another in the bathing chamber; despite the thick walls it was not hard to overhear that they were doing far more than just washing.
Considering the prolonged occupation of the southern bathing room, Lord Rust and Narissa invited themselves to use the northern one, which was fine, because I didn't plan on bathing until the evening and Taggart seemed to have more interest in spending time in his room than anything else. Just as with Jasper and Zeke, the northern bathing room was also in use for quite some time, and they were not much quieter. The group's intimacy brought a smile to my muzzle; originally I was concerned that certain people within the caravan would create conflict, and I was pleasantly surprised to see so much camaraderie develop during the journey.
Just before dinner and after Dillan returned I gathered everyone together in the commons. We all spent the early part of the evening there enjoying the hospitality of our hosts. The serving staff went out of their way to make us feel welcome, probably because we were the only guests. Drinks were served freely and the meal they prepared was as good as anything I could have found on the streets of Doen. I think the day of safety within the Wayside did wonders for the party.
The party gathered around our table in good spirits. Lord Rust told several humorous anecdotes that had everyone laughing; Goddess, it's like he's a different person after a few drinks. Lady Hearthsinger, much to our appreciation, played several songs for the group and our hosts. Jasper remained fairly quiet, but he seemed to enjoy spending time in the commons with the rest of us, and even Zeke looked to be a little more relaxed.
Dillan and Haldyn appeared to be getting along well, sharing a good-hearted debate about the importance of taxation and levies. Smiles and laughs all around, it was a festive and invigorating evening. In all, it felt like a miniature celebration and I would like to have said that everyone enjoyed themselves, but, unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case for Taggart; he sat two tables away quietly staring at his reflection in a tankard of ale.
Excusing myself from the gathering I left my empty goblet to be carried away by an observant scullion; I had a matter of more importance to address. "Hi." I noted, taking a seat next to Taggart, folding my paws in front of myself on the table. It was a simple greeting, but it seemed suitable considering the dog's apparent delicate frame of mind.
"Hmm?" he noted, ears swiveling toward me, but he didn't bother looking up from his mostly-full mug.
"I said 'hello'." I repeated, offering a smile as well, not that he could see it.
"Oh..." he finally looked up, ears slowly splaying out as he smiled back; I felt warmed by the fact that it appeared my mere presence made such a difference, "Hi." and I smiled wider when his free paw slid into mine.
"You're worried about your family in Doen?" I asked, not that I didn't already realize the answer.
"A lot of things, actually." he said, slowly drawing his paw back.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I offered.
"Can we talk?" he asked, his voice suddenly becoming more assured and less tentative.
"We can always talk, Taggart." I acknowledged, somehow switching to my more formal priestly tone. It didn't sit too well with him.
"This isn't a confession." he stated, his voice losing some of its warmth, and he quickly drew back, ears falling, "I'm sorry." he apologized quickly, "I didn't mean to snap."
I managed to maintain my composure, not because of the coldness to his initial comment, but because of how quickly chastised he became at his own tone. The calm smile I responded with didn't need to be forced; he was under stress and concerned, and yet he was still worried about my feelings... it was flattering in ways I could never possibly explain, "You don't have to apologize... I understand you're stressed." I glanced around, "Would you like to talk here, or--"
"Somewhere else." he requested and, not five minutes later, we were in his room.
Once the door was closed, Taggart sat down on the lone, simple wooden chair and let out a sigh. When he saw I waited patiently by the door he mumbled out a short apology and motioned toward the bed. I took a seat patiently and waited for him, letting him take his time without saying a word. Finally, after several minutes, he summoned up the courage to say what he wanted to say and, I have to admit, it caught me a little by surprise, "I wish you wouldn't spend time with Haldyn..."
I really was stunned and I didn't know exactly how to respond to it. Did he know something I didn't? Was there a reason that ministering to the lordling was wrong? Had Taggart uncovered a secret about him that could be detrimental? "Why?" the single word had to ask all the questions I was unable to voice.
"I already told you our first night together..." Taggart admitted, lowering his head again, "I don't like knowing he's with you that way."
"What way?" I asked, "as a supplicant?"
He sighed, wringing his paws together, "...intimately."
"He's with me as a supplicant." I reiterated.
"The two of you... have... sex." he choked the words out; I could tell it bothered him greatly saying it.
"We enact the Prayer of Unity." I clarified.
"Which involves... sex." he noted.
"Yes, it does." I agreed, "Why does that bother you?"
"I..." Taggart looked like he was about to explode as he battled between wanting to speak and not wanting to speak, "I already said I was selfish..." he whined softly, "I don't want to share you with anyone else." he looked up at me, eyes tearing, "Is that so wrong?"
"Yes." I acknowledged without hesitation, "I'm a Priest of Doen... this is one of my duties."
It was the wrong thing to say. "Why can't you pray some other way? You don't HAVE TO have sex with him! Don't I mean anything to you?!?" it was the loudest I'd ever heard him speak with heartfelt emotion, and I have to acknowledge I felt a little intimidated by the surprise outburst.
"Of course you mean something to me." I acknowledged. "You mean a lot to me, but I don't understand." I admitted, "Why is this such a problem for you?"
"Why ISN'T it a problem for YOU?" he countered, standing up, tail out, tuft bristling.
I took a steadying breath; his agitation was starting to transfer to me, but I knew that he didn't mean for it to happen. "Taggart," I offered softly, "I understand you are under a lot of stress right now and that you miss your family at the pub. I think perhaps the best thing tonight is to give you space and let you center yourself before we continue this conversation. I'm certain that we can both approach this in the morning and--"
"It won't change anything, Zachary." he pressed the issue, "I don't want someone I love to sleep around." the words came out with a matter-of-fact certainty that offered no objection. Unfortunately, it was also unclear.
"I don't understand." I offered helplessly, "What do you mean 'sleeping around'?"
"Having sex with anyone who asks to pray with you." he growled faintly through clenched teeth, fur raising.
"I don't always have sex with them. Sometimes it's just listening to their woes and other times it's--"
"That's not the point!" Taggart interrupted.
"It's late, and I believe we're both tired." I explained, standing, "We can continue this discussion in the morning."
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, staring right at me, one ear up, the other sideways. We locked gazes for a moment and I could clearly see a strange tapestry of pain, hurt, anger, sorrow, frustration, confusion, indignation, and helplessness in his eyes.
The sense of empathy that stirred within me in that moment overpowered my years of training, and I couldn't stop what I said next. "What's wrong with YOU?" I regretted saying it immediately, and could do nothing but leave as quickly as possible; in all my years as a priest I'd never lost my composure... never. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well.
As with the previous day, I woke that morning in bed alone and, yes, it felt even worse. For all my training I had no idea on how to proceed, all I knew is that I didn't want to go anywhere or do anything. The elder priests at the temple said that everyone has moments of depression and lack of motivation, and that has always been a big reason why our supplicants visited the temple. From time to time I'd heard that the same sorrow could overtake a priest or priestess, but with so many of our peers around it would not last long. At that moment, I had no peers and the only person I could feel comfortable talking to about my troubles was, unfortunately, the cause of them.
I realized, of course, that I would not be able to stay there all day; we were set to leave Fairview and I was not about to be the one to slow down our plans, not when I was the priest in charge of leading the caravan to Zion. Having slept in my robe, I decided that my first goal was to change. Once I had my new traveling robe on I gathered my belongings and made my way out of my room; the rest of the doors in the hall were open, a sure sign that the group would probably already be eating in the common room. Wasting no more time, I proceeded down the hall, but stopped when I saw the scene laid out before me.
Jasper and Zeke, closest to my position, were slumped over in their chairs; the rat was half on the chair and half on the ground while the fox was muzzle-down with his head resting on the table, nose stuck in what appeared to be some kind of fruit pastry. Lord Rust was a step from from a fallen chair, hand still holding onto it where he fell, laying on his side; Narissa was slumped in her chair an arm's length from him. Haldyn, Dillan, and Taggart were also at the table, chins down, heads lolling. Thank the Goddess that I saw them all still breathing.
"What is this?" I questioned no one in particular.
"Good morning, Brother Zachary." announced one of the proprietors of the boarding house, a short, aging hedge hog woman who I originally identified as a gentle, pleasant lady, "Don't worry, Brother... they're just sleeping."
"I don't understand..." in retrospect, I realize that it was a fairly cliche comment from a naive priest introduced to desperation for the first time.
"I'm terribly sorry, Brother Zachary," the woman's husband announced, coming out from behind the inn's counter, "We know that you planned to leave this morning, but we can't let you."
"Why not?" I demanded, "What did you do to them?"
"They're just sleeping." the woman repeated her earlier statement, "It was a simple bog berry potion." she offered an apologetic smile, "Please... don't worry."
"Why are you doing this?" I demanded, feeling my paws twitch in concern; too many things had happened on the road at that point to simply take her advice and not worry.
"We can't let you leave, Brother..." the male hedgehog noted, "having you here is too important."
I gazed around the room at all of my unconscious friends and traveling companions. Somewhere in the back of my mind I pondered at the uniqueness of the situation that, for once, I was the only one still awake while everyone else was unconscious. The humor lost to me at that moment, I realized that it was my decision, and my decision alone that would resolve this situation. Considering my upbringing, considering my post, considering everything we'd faced up to that point, the next words out of my muzzle couldn't have surprised anyone more than they surprised me.
* * * * *
The Doenian party continues their adventure in this, the second post of Chapter 1.
The story continues as the group finds out that Fairview isn't quite the pleasant little town they thought.
At this point it is the Contributing Readers' vote on just what it is that Brother Zachary says. The options are as follows:
1) "By the Goddess, we are leaving, and if you so much as move an inch to stop me then I swear to Tah'Aveen I will wipe this town clean off of this world." (Intimidation check) 2) "My friends are unharmed and you have my attention. You could have just asked. What is the problem and how can I help?" (leadership check) 3) "I seem to be at a loss. Very well, awaken my friends and you have our help." (manipulation, because he's lying his tail off).
Contributing Readers have until Thursday, November 10th at midnight to vote.