Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 4.5 Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 4.5
Doen The Path Diverges
The Doenians will be parting ways with the Highway; this close to Zion there's no telling if the expected approach might bring about more danger than the protective road will prevent. In addition, since the Wild Landers apparently have knowledge of an interesting spot for 'sight-seeing', the group decides it's worth a look. Hopefully it won't delay them too long.
Numerous tales told of the Moonlight Pool, what it looked like, and what its origin could have been. For as varied as the stories were, the one consistent thing was the involvement of the moon, hence the water's name. Although each story had its own appeal to the different people telling them, the origins, perhaps, were the most numerous by far.
Some hinted that it was water from the melted Moon itself. It fell to earth as a great rain into the mountains. Others said that it was a collection of the tears of Tah'aveen as she wept for her fallen brother. She gathered them up and gave them to the mountains as a reminder of his influence in the earth. Still other stories spoke of a time when the silvery rays of the moon were caught in a giant's crystalline chalice and turned by long lost magics into liquid, that he would be able to drink of them. He found out too late that it was poisonous to non-believers, thus the chalice fell to the ground, creating the pool.
Despite the different possible myths surrounding the Moonlight Pool's creation, one thing for certain was that none of the stories of its appearance were accurate. Most of the tales said that the water was surrounded by verdant beauty. The pool's water was of purest silver, completely translucent, and in possession of a flowery-sweet scent. What the party found at the site indicated by Jasper and Zeke was nothing like what they were led to believe.
Cradled in nothing more than an indent amidst cracked rock, the pool they encountered was dank and murky. If vision was to be trusted then it was scarcely a foot deep, but thought may have been misleading because the water was full of mud and muck, appearing grimy even by casual glance. The entire basin was ringed with weeds, grasses, and sickly-looking mushrooms, and gave off the same strong, pungent aroma of a forest's floor after a heavy rain.
"That's not the Moonlight Pool." Rust objected, crossing his arms in defiance to the Wild Landers' insistence.
"How can you be so sure?" Jasper challenged him.
"Just LOOK at it." the echidna motioned to the trough, "It's more like a cesspool."
"Haven't you ever heard that looks can be deceiving?" the rat questioned.
"And smell too?" Rust demanded, "at the same time?"
"Yes." Zeke answered, moving to the water. The fox knelt down beside it and dipped a paw into it; the oily gleam on the surface swirled around his fingers where it was disturbed and the water looked as though it oozed more than dripped down the fur from his elbow.
"Oh Goddess..." Dillan scowled, "Don't tell me you're gonna dri--" he fell silent when Zeke lifted his paw up and let the water trickle down into his open muzzle. "That's disgusting." the ferret observed.
"If it were obvious then it would not survive." Zeke explained, wiping his muzzle dry with the back of his other arm.
"I'm not going anywhere near it." Dillan objected, and would have continued if not for an exclamation from the wagons.
The four of them raced to Narissa's wagon, where Haldyn stood with the tigress in his arms. "She's barely breathing!" he warned.
"Oh Goddess!" Rust gasped, pushing everyone else out of the way and taking her from the lion, "Narissa... Narissa..." he began to look her over, resting a paw on her forehead, "She's with fever.." he shook his head, "Goddess, no..."
"Keep her still." Dillan announced quickly, "I'll be right back." and he raced off out of view.
Rust lowered her to the ground and she cracked open an eye, "Samuel...?" she murmured.
"I'm right here..." he spoke, grabbing one of her paws, "I'm here."
"Did we...." she glanced up past him, looking up at the trees overhead, "Did we find the Moonlight Pool?"
"Yes." Jasper spoke before Rust could.
"It hurt so bad, Sammy... it hurt so bad..." Narissa murmured.
"We're getting you cured, love." Rust murmured, wiping at his wet cheeks with the back of one hand, "The pool is so close... so close... you won't be hurting much longer."
The tigress shook her head, "I'm not..." she smiled faintly, "I'm not hurting now."
A moment of silence went through the party, and Rust spoke up hesitantly, "I thought..." he glanced around at everyone else, then back to the tigress; her addiction had become common knowledge to the party, but he still didn't feel right talking about it, "You aren't in pain?"
"I... found something in Dillan's wagon..." she spoke, the fur around her ears dampening, "The pain was so much, Sammy... it hurt so much..." she wheezed.
"What did you take?" Rust asked, his body quivering as he fought the urge to resist shaking her, "How much?"
"It was..." she rasped, pausing to force a big breath, "too much... I think."
"What WAS it?" he demanded, tears streaming down his cheeks, "What did you take?"
"Something she shouldn't have." Dillan noted, returning with an opened pouch, "It could take away the pain, yes... but it kills in large doses."
"Get her to the water!" Zeke spoke.
"Moving her might kill her at this point." Haldyn announced; Zeke didn't bother responding, he simply turned, grabbed a cup, and sprinted for the pool.
"Samuel?" Narissa took another raspy breath, "Will you.... will... you...?"
"I'm here, love." he squeezed her paw, "What? What is it?"
"Do you remember?" she asked, her eyes focusing in on him for a moment before becoming unfocused. She let out a breath and closed her eyes.
"Stay awake... please... don't go to sleep!" he spoke, cradling her in his lap, "Stay awake." he pleaded, "What should I remember?" he asked, "What do you want me to remember?"
"Do you... remember the song?" she asked, "The song I sang after... after the cultists?"
"The one you wrote for your own fu--" Jasper cut the last word short, "The song you wrote for yourself?"
"The one I wrote... for myself..." she acknowledged, "There's... sheet music." she paused, closing her eyes again for a moment before opening them wide and taking a deep, burbling breath, "...it's... in my carriage..."
"Oh Goddess..." Rust murmured, closing his eyes tight, "Why did you do it?" he shivered, "Why? We were so close... we ARE so close?"
"It hurt... everything hurt... so... much." her tears were streaming out of her eyes, "I... just wanted the pain... to stop." she tried swallowing, but it was obvious her throat seized.
Rust became even more frantic, glancing back toward the rise to the pool, "ZEKE!" he roared.
The fox was running down the rise as fast as his feel could carry him, but his speed didn't seem to be just concern-- the cup he carried was empty and there was fear in his eyes.
"Where's the water?" Jasper demanded.
The fox's voice was strangely calm despite the obvious fear in his eyes, "There's... a dragon... a red dragon... at the pool."
Rust's shaking stopped and he slowly looked up to Haldyn, "Here... take her." he announced. Standing slowly, the echidna turned about and marched off toward the pool, "I don't know if that Goddess-damned sewage really can heal, but I'm gonna find out."
"What about the dragon?" Haldyn called.
Rust's voice was ice cold, "Either I get the water easy, or we're having dragon steak for dinner."