Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 4.4 Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2
Chapter 4.4
Doen
The Path Diverges
With only 3 readers commenting (and only 2 voting) there appears to be a tie. Jasper's contributing reader didn't vote (or at least comment), resulting in -1 Willpower for Jasper and -1 Favor for Doen. With a focus on either Zachary or Narissa being the main character for this next update, we turn to the option that has been the center of attention less often; Narissa is the focus for this post.
Narissa Hearthsinger rarely had an opportunity to be alone with her scrolls. For as long as the tigress could remember, ink and parchment had been her finest friends. When it came to recalling tales of epic exploits, stories of grand adventures and hazardous journeys, the performer often turned to her notes, with which she recorded the most exciting aspects of her life... and she had produced more pages in the last few weeks than she had in a long time.
Despite the deadly nature of the group's travel and the tragedy of losses they had experienced, Narissa couldn't deny that the capacity for stories to come of the trip were second to none. The countless exploits of the party were epic events; their trials and tribulations a story for the ages... if only told in the the right tone, by the right storyteller... by Narissa. She thought long and hard about how many stories could be created from their adventure. Would she make poems of them? Songs? Perhaps books? She considered some of each... using a broad canvas upon which to relate such an epic tale.
She paused in her musing as her paws began to twitch; her heart beat increased, pounding in her chest when she realized what was happening. Setting her quill down, Narissa closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing as her claws extended and contracted; moments later her fingers began to cramp up, and she bit her lip against the pain of her curved nails biting into the tender flesh of her paw pads. Numerous times in her life, the tigress would have pleaded with Tah'aveen to stop what she felt was coming, but, for some reason, all Narissa could do at that moment was to realize that nothing would delay the inevitable... she simply prayed that nobody would encounter her while she suffered it.
Her wrists began to itch; it wasn't anything great... merely a faint tickle at the back of her paw and along its underside where her pads ended and her arm fur began. The sensation trailed up through her fur, making her skin tick as the itch found its way up to her elbows... then shoulders. Her arms began to burn, especially at each joint. By then her paws had cramped fully and blood was leaking out of her clenched fingers.
It had been weeks, she reminded herself. Life was moving forward and everything had been happening so fast she almost forgot how much Hefflys meant to her. She wondered at the fact that it had been so long since she had suffered withdrawal, but all that wondering was past her by that point-- her need was back, and it was possibly the worst it had ever been.
She managed to get to her feet, stumbling at first when her ankles locked up, then one of her knees. She limped her way to her cot... to the one she shared with Rust, "Goddess..." she pleaded, "Please don't let him see me like this..." and she collapsed onto it. The moment she touched down she felt a searing pain jolt through her from the toes on her left foot all the way up, across her body, to the base of her right shoulder; the agony was so severe it stole her breath, making it impossible for her to even cry out.
Narissa was a storyteller, which meant that she knew far more about everything than anyone else... at least, as far as it related to gossip. During her countless years on the road she had taken in more than her fair share of stories about addicts, and they always said that Hefflys withdrawal was not deadly... at least, not as bad as Grace or Blackroot, or even Night's Breath, but it was certainly one of the most painful. In the three stories the tigress had heard about the death of a Hefflys addict they had always been suicides.
She was not about to end herself... not Narissa... not Hearthsinger. That kind of coward's death was something that would not befit her name. She continued to tell herself those same words, using them like a mantra as the muscles across her spine began to twitch and spasm. The pain that was spreading across her body was nothing compared to what it would become-- it was the harbinger of a much worse agony that awaited her, and all she could do was lay helplessly where she was, hoping that it would pass before Rust found her.
"Three days." she thought to herself, unable to talk through her clenched jaw. The stories said that anyone unfortunate enough to be without Hefflys would suffer the worst of the withdrawals for three entire days before they began to abate enough to even allow for sleep. It was only a matter of time until she was discovered, and then Rust, who she had made aware of her addiction, would see just what it could do to her. It wasn't worth praying at that point... it would take a miracle to save her.
Oddly enough, unbeknownst to Narissa Hearthsinger the possibility of such a miracle presented itself.
* * * * * *
Haldyn sat by the campfire, poking at the dying embers with a stick. The journey had not been an easy one, not that he had expected it to be. The road was full of dangers, many of which he had anticipated and some, as always, he had failed to expect. That realization gave the lion a sense of humility that he both appreciated and detested. His self-reflection was put on hold when Taggart took a seat across from him at the fire. "Evening." Lordling Rakken offered simply.
"Evening." Taggart replied. The dog had never been entirely welcoming of Haldyn, and only in the last week or two had the lion come to understand why.
"How's Zachary?" the Lordling inquired. The question caused Taggart to tense up, just a little. It wasn't an unexpected response.
"Pretty much the same." the dog responded, gazing into the fire. Haldyn didn't need to be a Diviner to realize that Taggart had been working hard on building a relationship with the young priest. As far as the lion was concerned, asking to be a Priest of Doen's exclusive lover was like trying to build a castle on quick sand.
The Lordling, however, was willing to respect the attempt, and had no plans of creating any earthquakes between the two, so he had stepped back from the rabbit. "The Blood Beasts were not kind to him." it was small talk, and, the lion realized in retrospect, not a particularly kind line of discussion. He quickly changed topics, "We should leave the Highway after we get through the hills."
"What?" the dog's large ears raised up as he regarded the Lordling.
"We should leave the Highway once we reach Zion's Periphery." Haldyn clarified, "We should come at the city from the east."
"Why?" Taggart questioned, "It makes no sense... why leave the Highway at all?"
"BECAUSE it makes no sense." the lion responded, "If someone's out to stop us then they might be watching the Highway."
"Why would someone want to stop us?" questioned the dog.
"There could be any number of problems we'll have to face. If the Doenian ambassadors didn't return from the meeting it's possible they never made it." Haldyn proposed, "Which means we have to assume that there might be someone, somewhere, that doesn't WANT us to succeed." he glanced appraisingly at Taggart, "If we are afraid of what unexpected dangers might be awaiting us then the last thing we can afford for ourselves is to do the expected."
"In my experience, Taggart murmured, "going against the grain is dangerous." he ran a paw across the scar on his muzzle.
"It's a far cry better than what the Wild Landers were suggesting." the lion offered casually, stoking the fire anew.
"You mean the mountain pass?" the dog questioned, "I heard them talking about it with Dillan."
Haldyn nodded in confirmation, "They said that it would get us to Zion faster, and take us by the Moonlight Pool."
Taggart paused at that, the same way the lion had when he first heard, "You mean..." the dog glanced at him appraisingly, "THE Moonlight Pool?"
"The one from the stories... yea." Haldyn confirmed, tossing his poking-stick into the fire with the rest of the wood, "Rust told them earlier he was worried about Zachary and that's when they brought it up..." he ran a paw through his mane, "Apparently it's not that big of a secret among the Wild Landers, and they seem to think they know where it is."
"I still don't like the idea of leaving the Highway... especially in the mountains." Taggart murmured, but the look in the dog's eyes made it abundantly clear that he was considering it.
"Dillan seems to like the idea." the Lordling scoffed, "I think he plans on bottling some water if the pool turns up..." he rolled his eyes, "Trust a merchant like Dillan to take every opportunity to market a mystical cure-all."
Taggart shook his head, apparently dismissing the idea for a moment, "How does taking a mountain pass help us?"
Haldyn smiled at the dog's clear judgment; despite his eagerness to help his lover, Taggart was still thinking logically, "If we take the pass it will let us out in Zion's Periphery and we can approach it from the south." It was a simple explanation, but it had a profound impact on the dog; Haldyn could tell he was mulling it over.
Despite the surety of his own words, the Lordling still had yet to convince himself of any one plan. He saw the pros and cons of all of them. Somehow having another mind working on the proposed options made the lion feel better. He was willing to set a course for the party, but he felt better knowing that the group would be able to decide as a whole. "We can bring it up in the morning." he finally added.
"In the morning." Taggart confirmed, and that was the end of it.