Kurt awoke in a daze; he was floating on some water. Where am I?, he thought. What happened? Did I die?
"Ohh are you awake?" Said Layla, a familiar voice close to him.
He started to move in the water and realized the pool was shallow enough to sit up in, turning towards Layla, "I'm yeah," rubbing his head, "what happened I won right?"
Layla giggled, "Yes, yes you won. You did really well actually" Kurt finally could look at Layla fully she was, older, or seemed older. She was normal human sized and looked ethereal. Kurt was not going to mistake this Layla for a child but a young women, dignified even.
"What happened to you?"
"What do you mean…ohh, yes I made my well, we are in its center, or heart."
"So we won, won. But you look."
"Did you think it was a just a small thing for me to make a well, of course it changed me."
"I wasn't expecting you to be like ten years older."
"Ten years is not a long time though."
"Depends on who you are. But you look good, I'm just surprised."
"Yes of course," Layla said, " don't worry everything is safe as planned, the gnomes have started to fortify the whole place but you…." She paused for a moment, "almost died though. But my well can heal you. so I had to basically rush the process to ensure you survived."
"Well thank you I guess."
"Ohh you don't have to thank me, I got you into this mess right?" said Layla.
"I guess you did. So what can you send me home now."
"Well, about that," said Layla
"What about that?, said Kurt.
"It's a little different now. What happened, it's been a week."
"A week?"
"Yeah, so we have some food, and your clothes I'll get them. I think maybe you should take a bit of time. How do you feel."
Kurt felt amazing, light, strong, completely different than anything before. "Amazing actually."
"That's…good," Layla smiled. "There's a bit of a hiccup, I can explain once you're dressed, and we can eat, I think the gnomes are going to want to celebrate, as much as they do anyway."
"So grumpy those gnomes."
Layla coughed, "Yes they are very grumpy"
"And a bit of a hiccup, if I've been here a week I'm probably fired, what is everyone going to think?"
"Fired?"
"From my job."
"Job?"
"Like I'm a cook, I cook food for people, I don't own the place."
"Ohh, I see sorry, yes, that…ummm" turning away, "sorry again. Is that really bad?"
"Sort of, I mean…I don't know, maybe you're right."
"About what?"
"That I need a few moments to collect myself together."
"Ohh of course, someone will be right out the door here and show you some food or whatever."
"I just have one question."
"And what's that?"
"Why is the water pink?"
"That is," tilting her head, "…a bit strange isn't it?"
Kurt never got an answer to that question, he was alone and had a chance to think about what happened. And his body was supposed to be cut up, almost dying. But Kurt couldn't find a scar, in fact an old scar he had wasn't there either. Not only that he was feeling energetic, like there was all this power within that wanted to go out. What really happened? What was that poison? Was it poison?
The pool was very strange, resembling more of a huge fountain but the structure in the middle was beautiful. It's form was hard to determine because it was slowly moving in an odd way, like blossoming inside and outside it self. There was a basin at the broom where Kurt had been in the waters. Looking around he realized he was actually in a different room he had killed that cat in. It definitely seemed new, was this the well? After getting dressed he found himself walking to another room that had a hole that acted like a large window or balcony (minus the railings), Layla was sitting off it. Kurt could hear some hammer and sawing in the distance, the gnomes must be hard at work.
Walking to the ledge, he found out where he was, still inside the pillar looking out over the canyon, it was breathtaking in its natural beauty. From what he remembered the whole place was supposed to be barren, but he could definitely see some patches of plant life all around him. The Canyon seemed to stretch forever going past the horizon, straight ahead of him.
"It's beautiful isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess it is," said Kurt, "I thought the whole place was barren but from up here I can see it's got some life to it."
"Yeah my well is starting to give some back already"
"Huh."
"Those patches there and there", pointing all around "they weren't there a week ago."
"I thought, the well was that pool I was in."
"Well it is, like the heart of it, sort of, the fountain. I think of it as more of a pump."
"I guess all fountains need something."
"Yeah, and about that.."
"What about it?"
"There is no use hiding it, the well is also a part of you now.."
"What?"
"Well, you were dying and I didn't know what to do," Kurt was giving her a piercing stare, "and well technically I made you the champion of the well, that allowed me to heal you a lot better and faster, or really at all."
"So what does that mean?"
"Basically, you are bound to the well as well, you must feel it empowering you. That part of the healing you are just stronger because of the connection."
Kurt could though, is that what Jacob dad did? Was the champion title this? So, participate in the ritual. "What if I don't want to be?"
"Umm, that would be difficult but not impossible," said Layla.
"What do you mean?"
"The process is simple: you destroy the pump. The problem is that the parts of you and me would also be destroyed. It's not going to kill either of us the first time."
"Are you saying it would break my soul apart?"
"Your soul?" Looking at Kurt with a puzzled look, "I'm sorry I'm not familiar with that word."
Kurt did his best to explain what a soul was, Layla's questions about it were weird. Like how do you control and manipulate your soul? What kind of question is that?
"Well, I don't think your soul is really exactly what I mean but, we can use it as a substitute for it I guess."
"So, I feel this power as this champion, how does it work?"
"Hmm, well if you look down here." Kurt looked over the ledge and below him was a similar smaller opening out of it was a tiny but flowing waterfall, "since I'm trying to focus on water here. It should be easy for you to, I guess, use some water magic."
"How?"
"I guess you got to concentrate, here try to manifest like a water drop off the ledge. Kurt thought and concentrated, well it has to do with this mama let's try to focus on using that. After a minute or two of concentration, he finally felt it. And it was like opening a valve, he saw a drop of water form in front of him.
"See that's wonderful for your first try, magic is harder than just your physical enhancement, you naturally know how to use your arms and legs."
"Okay but how do I stop it?" The water drop was getting bigger, a lot bigger, and Kurt had opened the valve and lost track of how to close it. The massive water ball soon was taller than him, continuing to expand. Layla looked at him, and came closer. And it was like she guided his power, showing him how to close it. The water ball then immediately stopped flying and fell, hitting the basin at the bottom, the small pool formed from the waterfall, got a bit bigger. Kurt started breathing heavily and wanted to take a seat. "Wow, that takes a lot out of you."
"Well when you make a massive waterball like that on the first try, of course it's gonna cost some energy."