The Legend Of Rah And The Muggles: Chapter Eight - Doctor! Doctor!
ZeldaQueen: Well this chapter is...confuzzling.
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter Eight: Doctor! Doctor!
We start off immediately with Bumper sobbing his little eyes out, because a cat named Wuskers scared off his lovebirds (Mick and May) and now he can't find them. Incidentally, I'm still confused as to how animal life here works. So we've got made-up stuff like the Snoutfish, but also lovebirds and cats? Whatever. Rah apparently has some idea of where they are and runs off to find them while Zyn stays behind to calm down Bumper.
Rah, who is now a "strapping young man", wanders through the forest and finds Wuskers. He picks him up by the nape of the neck, which I'm fairly sure you're not supposed to do with adult cats. He sends Wuskers off after a pointless scolding and then finds the two birds conveniently hidden in a treetop. It must be a very short tree, since we were just told how the forest was full of evergreens "one hundred and fifty feet tall". Rah is, of course, able to emulate every Disney protagonist and gets them to fly to his "broad" shoulders with a little coaxing. Wow, he's like a male Snow White. Rah then finds Bumper in a meadow and returns the lovebirds, while Bumper hugs Rah and kisses him and calls him George worships the ground he walks on thanks him profusely.
Bumper returns to the village, where everyone is playing croquet. So they also still have croquet after five hundred years of nuclear radiation and all? Fascinating. Incidentally, this is yet another one of the stupid "plagiarisms" of Harry Potter, specifically that in this, Muggles play a "croquet-like sport" and in Harry Potter they play a "soccer-like" sport. I'm not sure what Stouffer was referring to with "soccer-like sport", since one would think of Quidditch first but Muggles don't play it. Either she was mistaken (very likely, as she admitted to only quickly scanning the first book), or she was referring to Dean Thomas being a West Ham fan in which case it's not "soccer-like", it is soccer.
Erm, sorry for the rant there.
Anyway, everyone is playing croquet and we get some stupid "humor" in which the Muggle named Bluster whacks his croquet ball into a tree and a blue jay mistakes it for an egg and sits on it. Because blue jay in the future are all blind and stupid, clearly. We get about three or so paragraphs dedicated to everyone laughing and making really bad jokes about the incident, before Rah gets around to taking his turn hitting the ball. Wait, wasn't he also in the woods with Bumper? Yet he somehow got back before Bumper to join the game? Stouffer, do you think about what you write? Or think at all, for that matter?
And then we get a lot of really stupid drivel from Rah and Zyn. Basically what happens is Rah starts saying how Zyn isn't playing fair by making him laugh (because he apparently can't wait until he's done laughing before hitting the ball). Ultimately, Rah completely misses the hoops and Zyn goes off laughing about how amazing it is that the "mighty Rah" actually failed at anything. I'm starting to like Zyn. Rah replies with "what a brother you are, Zyn" and Zyn asks if Rah can't stand failure that much. Rah replies that he doesn't mind failing, just so long as everything is fair. Gag me. We're told that Zyn doesn't leave off teasing Rah the entire game, but of course Rah is so saintly that he is able to block it out. Jesus Stouffer, I think Stephenie Meyer is better at foreshadowing than this!
We're then told that Rah manages an extremely difficult shot, getting the croquet ball through all of the hoops in one shot. Apparently no one has succeeded in doing this since Yur managed it when he was nineteen. I'm not very impressed, considering that Rah is a lot bigger and most likely more muscular than your average Muggle, so no freaking duh he can hit farther than them! My logic goes unnoticed though, and everyone starts to lavish congratulations and attention on Rah for the wonderful skill of being able to hit a ball through a hoop. Seriously folks, it's croquet. It's not the be-all and end-all of the world. My logic is still ignored as Yur takes a big medallion that he originally won for that brilliant shot and gives it to Rah.
Zyn, meanwhile, is standing in the background and is all quiet and jealous and disappointed and if I'm supposed to dislike him for being a sore loser, Stouffer did a terrible job. Seriously, they're making a huge fuss over Rah doing something cool but trivial and all but ignoring Zyn. I'd be a big annoyed if it were me. Yur actually notices Zyn's disappointment and reads to him from the Ancient Book of Tales, "The Year Of The Gilded Cage". What? Basically, the story is about how a group of pirates stopped temporarily on Aura many years ago and left behind a number of birds and animals that weren't native. It's explained that the animals were kept in golden cages by their previous owners (traders who captured the animals as pets for royalty) and the pirates were more interested in the golden cages than the actual animals. Yur sums this tale up by explaining to Zyn that "the pirates and their misfortunes have given us some of the animals we enjoy every day...They wouldn't be here if it weren't for the storm that washed the pirates ashore that night".
*raises hand* Um, Stouffer, I have a question - how the heck does that story relate to what Zyn was upset about? I assume that the point of Yur reading him a story was to cheer him up, in which case it would make sense that the story chosen would pertain to what he was upset about. Wouldn't some sort of Cain and Abel story about the dangers of letting jealousy get the better of one be better? Or a story teaching Zyn that he'll have his fortunes same as Rah? Or one teaching Zyn that he's still loved even if he isn't getting the same amount of attention as his brother? Huh? Instead we get this. Seriously, my first thought was that the story would be about how something looking good on the outside (the gilded cages) didn't necessarily indicate happiness on the inside (the animals being imprisoned), which would show how just because Rah looks like he has it good, he's still got to pretend to be a great guy all of the time. No such luck. I can only assume that Stouffer's intended application of the moral was that misfortune can still bring good things, though that doesn't seem much of a comfort for Zyn, who's problem is that Rah is the Designated Hero.
I'm also kind of confused as to what "misfortunes" the pirates had. Seriously, they just robbed some traders of a lot of gold and treasure. Yeah there was the storm, but they didn't lose anything.
Opps, turns out that the story is actually meant to be something to push the plot along! My mistake! Zyn, instead of pondering the meaning of the tale, instead starts to wonder if the pirates left anything else besides the animals behind and goes off to look. You know, considering that Rah was previously described as a "strapping young man", I got the feeling that they were actually grown up now. Seems to be kind of childish just running off like this, though. Gah.
Zyn tells Rah about his thought and the two set off the next day to find hidden pirate treasure. They spot some overgrowth at Limestone Cliff and find a cave which they climb into. Incidentally, we get this lovely sentence from Stouffer, right after she establishes that there are bamboo torches in the cave - "Zyn reached into the spider-infested webs, and wrapped both of his muscular hands around the torches, removing the torches from the dirt floor".
They start walking through the cave, which has all sorts of secret passages and turns and twists. Rah gets progressively more frightened as they go on and keeps begging for Zyn to turn around and leave with him. Zyn tells Rah "don't spoil the fun like you always do", which is funny because I never got the impression that Rah did that. I guess it's because Stouffer didn' t give him any proper characterization! After awhile, we come to a dead end of rocks. Zyn starts to dig through the rocks and nearly brains Rah with one, because he's the Designated Villain and we're supposed to dislike him.
Zyn finally gets a hole in the pile of stones and crawls through it. Rah is, of course, saintly and decides to follow him to keep his brother out of trouble. We are told that there is loud music being played from the other side of the rocks, which at first appears to be coming from a "monstrous pipe organ" but is actually a rock formation with lots of stalagmites and five cracks in the ceiling, through which the wind blew and caused the "music" to play. Okay...I really can't think of much to say for that one, especially given how pointless it is.
They also find an old wooden box in the corner and Zyn starts jabbering on about how it's his treasure, thank you very much. Rah starts snapping back and saying that they probably should leave the treasure alone because it most likely belongs to someone. Zyn replies "yeah, you're right. It belongs to me". You know, I think we're supposed to think that Rah is Good and Zyn is Bad. I'm not sure though, this is all so subtle.
Zyn leans forward to examine the box and we find out that there is an emblem in gold embedded on the lid. This emblem "had spiral designs along the outside edge of the circle, and two crossed swords behind a dove in the center". Hooray for generic symbolism. For the first time, we're informed that there is the exact same emblem on Rah's medallion (the one that he just won, if you recall), and that Yur never knew where the medallion came from. You know, Stouffer, if you want to set up reveals like this, it helps to actually set them up!
Zyn tells Rah that no one is allowed to know about the treasure because it's his and he says so. Rah is saddened by this because "[h]e felt like he was losing the closeness he and Zyn had always shared". *rubs head* Stouffer? Show, don't tell! I have no idea how close Rah and Zyn are because you've only shown Rah as being Good while Zyn is jealous at the best. I have no sense, whatsoever, of them having ever been close. If you want to invoke emotional responses from the tragedy of two brothers splitting up, you have to show your readers what is being lost!
Anyway, Rah has wandered off to the stalagmite organ thing and Zyn calls for him to help out with the box. Rah doesn't respond, so Zyn assumes he's still angry and hastily apologizes for being a jerk. Still no response, so Zyn turns and sees Rah lying on the ground behind the stone organ thing. He freaks out and starts shouting at Rah, but his brother doesn't respond at all. Zyn freaks the heck out and runs like mad for a doctor. Stouffer attempts to make this bit all tense by telling how Greeblies latch on to him and how he vainly wishes for his pet Nardle (which he apparently named "Broozer", what the heck?), except that again we have no idea how dangerous Greeblies are or any history of them being threats. I was under the idea that they were simple pests, in which case their latching on to him would be no more than a minor annoyance. Anyway, he finds Doctor Dibbs and screams about how there's no time to lose and adds that it will save time if they bring the doctor's pet Nardle, who is named "Medimut". STOUFFER, WILL YOU STOP GOING ON ABOUT THE GREEBLIES AND THE NARDLES? I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM! AND STOP MAKING UP IDIOTIC NAMES FOR THINGS!!!
Incidentally, Stouffer unintentionally gives us some hilarious imagery for Zyn, the doctor, and the Nardle. It seems that to speed things along, Zyn is dragging the Nardle by the leash while the doctor hangs around Zyn's neck. HA!
They reach the cave and the doctor scolds Zyn for the trouble and I still don't think he's naughty, I feel sorry for the guy. Leave him alone! Oh, and the reason Rah fell unconscious? He's allergic to the moss in the cave. Moss which was never mentioned being there before. At all. And the doctor figures this out after about two seconds, tops. And I'm fairly certain that moss allergies don't cause one to pass out. To be fair, apparently some do cause trouble breathing and this is a fantasy moss called "Bordonian Moss", so I guess I can let it slide, even though I find it hard to believe that Rah would pass right out without gasping or choking or calling out to Zyn first.
*reads ahead* No, I don't think I'll let it slide. Zyn asks Dr. Dibbs about the moss and this is the explanation for it that we get.
"[It can be recognized by] its lime green and purple tipped curly flowers...It was once used by the Indians to make a medicine that helped people sleep when they were in pain.
Sometimes it worked and other times it didn't, so they stopped using it because they just couldn't trust it. It seems the moss would decide who would sleep and who wouldn't. You just have to touch it to know if you will be affected"
ZeldaQueen: Oh my head. So I guess the implication here is that Rah technically isn't allergic, the moss is just picky about who it knocks out. Because if Stouffer is trying to suggest that people used to deliberately induce allergic reactions as a knock-out gas, well that's just stupid. Allergies, for those who don't know, are when our bodies mistaken something harmless for a dangerous substance and reacts accordingly. This can be very dangerous, especially when it involves screwing up one's breathing or makes one go into shock. Now again, one could say "but it's a fantasy world, so how do you know that moss there doesn't work like that?" Well here's the rub - that quote up there? See the name of the people Stouffer says used the moss? Indians. A group of real people who exist here and now. And I'm not sure if she means the actual Indians in India or is being too ignorant to use "Native Americans" (question, by the way - if most of the history of the world was forgotten, how in the blazes do Muggles remember about Indians?) Either way, they apparently used this stuff, even though it's not a real plant. The fact that Stouffer is insisting that they did use it though basically says that it existed here and now. There is no moss, here and now, that cleanly and neatly knocks someone out like surgery gas. Like I said, there are a lot of side affects, really nasty ones. The Indians wouldn't stop using it because it randomly did or didn't work for people, they'd stop using it because the people they used it on would possibly start choking to death! Oy, Stouffer, this isn't so hard!!!
*sigh* Moving on, the doctor scolds Zyn again and warns him and Rah to stay out of caves. Apparently the spores are poisonous and could possibly make Rah "sleep, maybe forever". And this was apparently the potentially killing properties didn't factor in to why the Indians stopped using it. Oh, and it only takes a few minutes away from the moss and no sort of medication before Rah wakes up. He apologizes to Zyn for ruining the treasure hunt and Zyn says that it's cool, he can go back later and get the wooden box.
And...that's it. Oh, spoilers everyone! That wooden box? It never shows up again! Never! So the entire point of it is apparently nil. To be fair, we'll find out in a few chapters that not all of the hunt was completely useless, but still...
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Onward to: Chapter Nine: An Attitude
Back to: Chapter Seven: A Special Place And A Stone
Back to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter Eight: Doctor! Doctor!
We start off immediately with Bumper sobbing his little eyes out, because a cat named Wuskers scared off his lovebirds (Mick and May) and now he can't find them. Incidentally, I'm still confused as to how animal life here works. So we've got made-up stuff like the Snoutfish, but also lovebirds and cats? Whatever. Rah apparently has some idea of where they are and runs off to find them while Zyn stays behind to calm down Bumper.
Rah, who is now a "strapping young man", wanders through the forest and finds Wuskers. He picks him up by the nape of the neck, which I'm fairly sure you're not supposed to do with adult cats. He sends Wuskers off after a pointless scolding and then finds the two birds conveniently hidden in a treetop. It must be a very short tree, since we were just told how the forest was full of evergreens "one hundred and fifty feet tall". Rah is, of course, able to emulate every Disney protagonist and gets them to fly to his "broad" shoulders with a little coaxing. Wow, he's like a male Snow White. Rah then finds Bumper in a meadow and returns the lovebirds, while Bumper hugs Rah and kisses him and calls him George worships the ground he walks on thanks him profusely.
Bumper returns to the village, where everyone is playing croquet. So they also still have croquet after five hundred years of nuclear radiation and all? Fascinating. Incidentally, this is yet another one of the stupid "plagiarisms" of Harry Potter, specifically that in this, Muggles play a "croquet-like sport" and in Harry Potter they play a "soccer-like" sport. I'm not sure what Stouffer was referring to with "soccer-like sport", since one would think of Quidditch first but Muggles don't play it. Either she was mistaken (very likely, as she admitted to only quickly scanning the first book), or she was referring to Dean Thomas being a West Ham fan in which case it's not "soccer-like", it is soccer.
Erm, sorry for the rant there.
Anyway, everyone is playing croquet and we get some stupid "humor" in which the Muggle named Bluster whacks his croquet ball into a tree and a blue jay mistakes it for an egg and sits on it. Because blue jay in the future are all blind and stupid, clearly. We get about three or so paragraphs dedicated to everyone laughing and making really bad jokes about the incident, before Rah gets around to taking his turn hitting the ball. Wait, wasn't he also in the woods with Bumper? Yet he somehow got back before Bumper to join the game? Stouffer, do you think about what you write? Or think at all, for that matter?
And then we get a lot of really stupid drivel from Rah and Zyn. Basically what happens is Rah starts saying how Zyn isn't playing fair by making him laugh (because he apparently can't wait until he's done laughing before hitting the ball). Ultimately, Rah completely misses the hoops and Zyn goes off laughing about how amazing it is that the "mighty Rah" actually failed at anything. I'm starting to like Zyn. Rah replies with "what a brother you are, Zyn" and Zyn asks if Rah can't stand failure that much. Rah replies that he doesn't mind failing, just so long as everything is fair. Gag me. We're told that Zyn doesn't leave off teasing Rah the entire game, but of course Rah is so saintly that he is able to block it out. Jesus Stouffer, I think Stephenie Meyer is better at foreshadowing than this!
We're then told that Rah manages an extremely difficult shot, getting the croquet ball through all of the hoops in one shot. Apparently no one has succeeded in doing this since Yur managed it when he was nineteen. I'm not very impressed, considering that Rah is a lot bigger and most likely more muscular than your average Muggle, so no freaking duh he can hit farther than them! My logic goes unnoticed though, and everyone starts to lavish congratulations and attention on Rah for the wonderful skill of being able to hit a ball through a hoop. Seriously folks, it's croquet. It's not the be-all and end-all of the world. My logic is still ignored as Yur takes a big medallion that he originally won for that brilliant shot and gives it to Rah.
Zyn, meanwhile, is standing in the background and is all quiet and jealous and disappointed and if I'm supposed to dislike him for being a sore loser, Stouffer did a terrible job. Seriously, they're making a huge fuss over Rah doing something cool but trivial and all but ignoring Zyn. I'd be a big annoyed if it were me. Yur actually notices Zyn's disappointment and reads to him from the Ancient Book of Tales, "The Year Of The Gilded Cage". What? Basically, the story is about how a group of pirates stopped temporarily on Aura many years ago and left behind a number of birds and animals that weren't native. It's explained that the animals were kept in golden cages by their previous owners (traders who captured the animals as pets for royalty) and the pirates were more interested in the golden cages than the actual animals. Yur sums this tale up by explaining to Zyn that "the pirates and their misfortunes have given us some of the animals we enjoy every day...They wouldn't be here if it weren't for the storm that washed the pirates ashore that night".
*raises hand* Um, Stouffer, I have a question - how the heck does that story relate to what Zyn was upset about? I assume that the point of Yur reading him a story was to cheer him up, in which case it would make sense that the story chosen would pertain to what he was upset about. Wouldn't some sort of Cain and Abel story about the dangers of letting jealousy get the better of one be better? Or a story teaching Zyn that he'll have his fortunes same as Rah? Or one teaching Zyn that he's still loved even if he isn't getting the same amount of attention as his brother? Huh? Instead we get this. Seriously, my first thought was that the story would be about how something looking good on the outside (the gilded cages) didn't necessarily indicate happiness on the inside (the animals being imprisoned), which would show how just because Rah looks like he has it good, he's still got to pretend to be a great guy all of the time. No such luck. I can only assume that Stouffer's intended application of the moral was that misfortune can still bring good things, though that doesn't seem much of a comfort for Zyn, who's problem is that Rah is the Designated Hero.
I'm also kind of confused as to what "misfortunes" the pirates had. Seriously, they just robbed some traders of a lot of gold and treasure. Yeah there was the storm, but they didn't lose anything.
Opps, turns out that the story is actually meant to be something to push the plot along! My mistake! Zyn, instead of pondering the meaning of the tale, instead starts to wonder if the pirates left anything else besides the animals behind and goes off to look. You know, considering that Rah was previously described as a "strapping young man", I got the feeling that they were actually grown up now. Seems to be kind of childish just running off like this, though. Gah.
Zyn tells Rah about his thought and the two set off the next day to find hidden pirate treasure. They spot some overgrowth at Limestone Cliff and find a cave which they climb into. Incidentally, we get this lovely sentence from Stouffer, right after she establishes that there are bamboo torches in the cave - "Zyn reached into the spider-infested webs, and wrapped both of his muscular hands around the torches, removing the torches from the dirt floor".
They start walking through the cave, which has all sorts of secret passages and turns and twists. Rah gets progressively more frightened as they go on and keeps begging for Zyn to turn around and leave with him. Zyn tells Rah "don't spoil the fun like you always do", which is funny because I never got the impression that Rah did that. I guess it's because Stouffer didn' t give him any proper characterization! After awhile, we come to a dead end of rocks. Zyn starts to dig through the rocks and nearly brains Rah with one, because he's the Designated Villain and we're supposed to dislike him.
Zyn finally gets a hole in the pile of stones and crawls through it. Rah is, of course, saintly and decides to follow him to keep his brother out of trouble. We are told that there is loud music being played from the other side of the rocks, which at first appears to be coming from a "monstrous pipe organ" but is actually a rock formation with lots of stalagmites and five cracks in the ceiling, through which the wind blew and caused the "music" to play. Okay...I really can't think of much to say for that one, especially given how pointless it is.
They also find an old wooden box in the corner and Zyn starts jabbering on about how it's his treasure, thank you very much. Rah starts snapping back and saying that they probably should leave the treasure alone because it most likely belongs to someone. Zyn replies "yeah, you're right. It belongs to me". You know, I think we're supposed to think that Rah is Good and Zyn is Bad. I'm not sure though, this is all so subtle.
Zyn leans forward to examine the box and we find out that there is an emblem in gold embedded on the lid. This emblem "had spiral designs along the outside edge of the circle, and two crossed swords behind a dove in the center". Hooray for generic symbolism. For the first time, we're informed that there is the exact same emblem on Rah's medallion (the one that he just won, if you recall), and that Yur never knew where the medallion came from. You know, Stouffer, if you want to set up reveals like this, it helps to actually set them up!
Zyn tells Rah that no one is allowed to know about the treasure because it's his and he says so. Rah is saddened by this because "[h]e felt like he was losing the closeness he and Zyn had always shared". *rubs head* Stouffer? Show, don't tell! I have no idea how close Rah and Zyn are because you've only shown Rah as being Good while Zyn is jealous at the best. I have no sense, whatsoever, of them having ever been close. If you want to invoke emotional responses from the tragedy of two brothers splitting up, you have to show your readers what is being lost!
Anyway, Rah has wandered off to the stalagmite organ thing and Zyn calls for him to help out with the box. Rah doesn't respond, so Zyn assumes he's still angry and hastily apologizes for being a jerk. Still no response, so Zyn turns and sees Rah lying on the ground behind the stone organ thing. He freaks out and starts shouting at Rah, but his brother doesn't respond at all. Zyn freaks the heck out and runs like mad for a doctor. Stouffer attempts to make this bit all tense by telling how Greeblies latch on to him and how he vainly wishes for his pet Nardle (which he apparently named "Broozer", what the heck?), except that again we have no idea how dangerous Greeblies are or any history of them being threats. I was under the idea that they were simple pests, in which case their latching on to him would be no more than a minor annoyance. Anyway, he finds Doctor Dibbs and screams about how there's no time to lose and adds that it will save time if they bring the doctor's pet Nardle, who is named "Medimut". STOUFFER, WILL YOU STOP GOING ON ABOUT THE GREEBLIES AND THE NARDLES? I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM! AND STOP MAKING UP IDIOTIC NAMES FOR THINGS!!!
Incidentally, Stouffer unintentionally gives us some hilarious imagery for Zyn, the doctor, and the Nardle. It seems that to speed things along, Zyn is dragging the Nardle by the leash while the doctor hangs around Zyn's neck. HA!
They reach the cave and the doctor scolds Zyn for the trouble and I still don't think he's naughty, I feel sorry for the guy. Leave him alone! Oh, and the reason Rah fell unconscious? He's allergic to the moss in the cave. Moss which was never mentioned being there before. At all. And the doctor figures this out after about two seconds, tops. And I'm fairly certain that moss allergies don't cause one to pass out. To be fair, apparently some do cause trouble breathing and this is a fantasy moss called "Bordonian Moss", so I guess I can let it slide, even though I find it hard to believe that Rah would pass right out without gasping or choking or calling out to Zyn first.
*reads ahead* No, I don't think I'll let it slide. Zyn asks Dr. Dibbs about the moss and this is the explanation for it that we get.
"[It can be recognized by] its lime green and purple tipped curly flowers...It was once used by the Indians to make a medicine that helped people sleep when they were in pain.
Sometimes it worked and other times it didn't, so they stopped using it because they just couldn't trust it. It seems the moss would decide who would sleep and who wouldn't. You just have to touch it to know if you will be affected"
ZeldaQueen: Oh my head. So I guess the implication here is that Rah technically isn't allergic, the moss is just picky about who it knocks out. Because if Stouffer is trying to suggest that people used to deliberately induce allergic reactions as a knock-out gas, well that's just stupid. Allergies, for those who don't know, are when our bodies mistaken something harmless for a dangerous substance and reacts accordingly. This can be very dangerous, especially when it involves screwing up one's breathing or makes one go into shock. Now again, one could say "but it's a fantasy world, so how do you know that moss there doesn't work like that?" Well here's the rub - that quote up there? See the name of the people Stouffer says used the moss? Indians. A group of real people who exist here and now. And I'm not sure if she means the actual Indians in India or is being too ignorant to use "Native Americans" (question, by the way - if most of the history of the world was forgotten, how in the blazes do Muggles remember about Indians?) Either way, they apparently used this stuff, even though it's not a real plant. The fact that Stouffer is insisting that they did use it though basically says that it existed here and now. There is no moss, here and now, that cleanly and neatly knocks someone out like surgery gas. Like I said, there are a lot of side affects, really nasty ones. The Indians wouldn't stop using it because it randomly did or didn't work for people, they'd stop using it because the people they used it on would possibly start choking to death! Oy, Stouffer, this isn't so hard!!!
*sigh* Moving on, the doctor scolds Zyn again and warns him and Rah to stay out of caves. Apparently the spores are poisonous and could possibly make Rah "sleep, maybe forever". And this was apparently the potentially killing properties didn't factor in to why the Indians stopped using it. Oh, and it only takes a few minutes away from the moss and no sort of medication before Rah wakes up. He apologizes to Zyn for ruining the treasure hunt and Zyn says that it's cool, he can go back later and get the wooden box.
And...that's it. Oh, spoilers everyone! That wooden box? It never shows up again! Never! So the entire point of it is apparently nil. To be fair, we'll find out in a few chapters that not all of the hunt was completely useless, but still...
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Onward to: Chapter Nine: An Attitude
Back to: Chapter Seven: A Special Place And A Stone
Back to: Table of Contents