Every step away from home is a chance for an adventure and Darcy is on her first one. She's been dreaming of finding her father for as long as she can remember. He's out there and she's got a list of clues and a crappy map, but it'll do. Less than a...
Getting to Mooncross on foot would take nearly a week, slightly less if they found a boat to take them down Starfall River. Even getting to Steepglenn which was built half on the river wouldn't be a short enough journey to catch the troupe. They'd spent much of the morning debating strategy while Darcy tested her arm's strength.
"We can convince them to give us a boat at Bellmare. You're sure you got Danny enough time to run from them?" Everything hinged on whether Captain Danny would see Percy's last minute act of mercy as worth helping them again. Without him they'd be thrown into prison the second they stepped into Bellmare. Unless they didn't have a prison. What if they held them down in the water the way Krea had forced the pirates?
If Darcy could help it she'd never step foot in another river for the rest of her life.
"Stop worrying, he got away just fine. Plus we have the horse so even if they get down the river they won't be taking the cart to Mooncross," Percy explained again. He'd brought up the horse at every opportunity. That part at least had physical evidence to support his theft. It was a bit difficult to pretend to have stolen an entire horse and they had the gray mare slowly pacing nervously while she eyed Katta.
Still, it was hard not to be worried when Darcy considered the state of them both. A long night of trying to heal Darcy's arm left them both pale and tired. The arm itself was still far from fully healed but the bleeding had entirely stopped. Any sort of fluid movement was out of the question even with her bow which Percy had grabbed on his way out. The big showdown she had planned with the troupe would be done with her on the sidelines.
"Let's just go, they already have a huge head start," Darcy muttered. Two steps forward and she stopped.
The Moonstone Dunes divided the southern continent in half and few ever tried to cross it on their own. Plenty of trade routes existed, each arguing that their way was the best way through. The animals that lived there were wiry beasts like the desert nouyip and the coyotes that stalked the sands. Large hares sometimes darted across their paths to test their luck and speed.
Large black bunnies with thick fluffy fur were not the normal inhabitants. It stopped to stare at Darcy and took a tentative step towards her. When she made a move to do the same it shifted and sprinted a few feet away towards the endless sands. Darcy followed like a fish being dragged forward on a hook.
Percy must have called for her but she only walked faster to keep up with the black shadow running across the ground. Sand shifted under her feet as if to trip her. Now and then it left her sight only to reappear when she felt lost. Suddenly she realized how people must feel entering the Verosen woods for the first time and finding themselves surrounded by identical trees. Every dune that surrounded her for miles looked the same.
"Darcy, stop," Percy snapped, finally grabbing hold of her hand.
She tried to shake him off, pulling when that didn't work. "We have to go this way, Percy." The bunny was gone again. Anxiety threatened to overwhelm her. "I need you to trust me." She slipped free of the hand that had loosened on her arm.
That was how they found themselves racing through the desert and nearly into the side of a stone wall that rose high above their heads. The white walls should have stood out like a sore thumb but they hadn't seen it until it was in their faces, almost literally. At the front were a pair of large blue stone doors that formed an arch together at the top. Above that, an image of a harp and an hourglass was carved into the stone.
The black bunny waited for them on the white steps that led up to the doors. In an instant it was gone as if it had been a mirage the entire time. One of the blue doors opened and a rush of cool air brushed over them.
"Don't," Percy warned before Darcy could step forward. The thief's eyes were fixed in the harp and hourglass above the door. Fresh sweat dripped down the bridge of his nose.
From inside the temple came soft music and that was all it took for Darcy to realize where she stood.
The Moonstone Dunes were well known for their heat, but there was one other calling card they called theirs. According to legends, Zegazi, the god of deserts and wanderers, had taken a handful of his carefully crafted desert sand to trap in an hourglass for his beloved. She used the ticking of the white sand to count the beats of the songs she would sing him.
Every year they both returned to the arid desert to refill any sand that had gone astray. Together they built a modest home with every corner measured so precisely not even the greatest mathematicians could hope for such perfect calculations. The space was designed to have acoustics to make the gods cry. Zegazi filled the home with fountains to remind his love of her island home and to fill the air with the trickling music of water when she was not there. That was how people said the great lost temple of Azmerah came to be.
Only it wasn't lost.
Darcy pushed the doors open so they could all step inside. Without the sun to warm things the stones were ice cold. A bowl of cold clean water waited in the entry hall on a table made of dark wood. The music seemed to push them forward towards the water. Darcy hesitated but reached out to plunge her hands in, up to the elbows.
It was not as cold as the stones that had already started to leach the warmth from her feet despite the leather boots. This water was like a summer rain after a heatwave. When Darcy looked down she saw that Katta's bite on her arm was fully healed and even the clothes had mended themselves. She took a long drink next and felt every remaining bit of sleep drain away.
"It's safe," she said to Percy, encouraging him to do the same.
They all drank, even Katta and the horse. Years of aches and pains faded away to be replaced with new energy. A soft thump pulled their attention to the end of the hall where the black bunny was waiting for them once again. No one hesitated this time.
The entry hall curved to the right without a single true corner to interrupt the flow along the way. Small sconces along the wall gave plenty of light to see by. It opened up into a spacious room with high arched ceilings. Two modest fountains stood on either side of the entry, filled with more of the cool water they'd seen in the entry. Several other arches led out of the room.
At the center of the room was a woman. An hourglass rested at her feet. The sand trickled down one grain at a time in equal beats. Somewhere nearby a drum followed the tempo set by the sands. Though music filled the room not a single other person of instrument could be seen.
The bunny waited patiently in the woman's lap. It blinked and when its eyes reopened, so did a third in the middle of its forehead.
"I dreamed about you," Darcy whispered. Her knees started to give out and she leaned against Percy for support.
"I've been waiting for you, Darcy," Azmerah replied.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
