Nanowrimo days 14 and 15: outline section... actually this part isn't in the outline, but it'd be between 12 and 13

It was [number of/the following] day[/s following.] The storm had ended, and Moone and Pontifex were on their way to the Fountain of Youth once again... though Moone feared they had lost precious time irretrievably. [Wasn't there that pocketwatch, where had it gone, but no, not even to go back in time would prevent the storm's occurrence. [Casual time travel is TOO DARN POWERFUL. Moving on.]]

Every continent had a [fountain], or spring with a connection to the underworld. The North American [fountain], dubbed the Waters of Beniny or the Fountain of Youth, was located in the Bahamas, just off the coast of Florida; it was said to have been searched for by Ponce de Leon, though this was a fabrication by later historians.

At the Waters of Beniny, or any of the seven [fountains] around the globe, the recently reanimated could be contacted using the latent psychic link to the underworld they still possessed. Descent into the Underworld, coming back up with new knowledge and secrets gained; the water from these pools remained in someone's unconscious mind when they were brought back to life. These waters could also rectify deadly illness or injury, of course, but only on-site, and that wasn't what Moone was seeking such a pool for, of course. Not this time.

Moone planned on using the Fountain to regain contact with Cloud, banking on his theory out of all theories that she truly had been killed but then magicked back to life in time. Using this fountain he would hopefully be able to circumvent the tight control Moone knew MacBeth would have on directing the search for Moone, tell Cloud the truth using their special Bond of Truth, and from there Cloud would be able to... presumably, work behind MacBeth's back, or oust him publicly; undo him however best Cloud would see fit, being on-ground with the situation where and as it unfolded. 

MacBeth had some powerful allies, so whatever she did she would need to be careful about it- possibly expose them as well, at the same time as she did MacBeth. Moone wasn't sure how deep MacBeth's conspiracy went, but no conspiracy can survive direct sunlight. That was the idea of course, and true by definition either way; it would cease to be a conspiracy.

Contacting Cloud and setting the dominoes for that empire's toppling from afar... it would all prove to be a groundless point if Cloud had been revived too long ago, her link back to the afterlife faded by this point. The storm had delayed them a concerning amount of time, but on top of that, Moone wasn't sure when Cloud had been brought back to life. Not that Moone was an expert by any stretch of the imagination on what he had taken to call "the afterlife lifeline half-life," though he [hoped] the effect was lingering.

Finding the Fountain of Youth was a dim hope.

But it was the only hope they had.

[Mention somewhere/how the theological difference between resuscitation and resurrection: theologically speaking, Christ was the firstfruits of those that slept, even though He himself had brought at least three back from the dead, if not more. Resuscitation gives you another shot, like Cloud's phylactery from months back absconding with the Pontifex. Resurrection brings you back permanently, as an immortal.] Moone thought on the phylactery-- was that how she'd been brought back? But no, that was a little bit possessed by a demon, at the moment. How had she been brought back? The death had been at one of the most magically endowed locations on the planet, so her being brought back would be not only conceivable, but also the most likely option of how she could have been at the summit.

Even if Moone had spoken with Cloud before she died, they could have changed her memories while she was dead. Was it possible to lift the contract off of between the two? Did the words of the contract have any clause about the contract ending at death? [maybe FLASHBACK in here to give backstory an' stuff!]

When they arrived at the location of the Fountain, they found it gone. Well, not gone, the Fountain was still there-- but completely waterlogged, the floodwaters from the storm mixed with the enchanted waters of the spring, to nullify any power that they would otherwise possess, bestowal of health or otherwise.

"Well ****," Moone observed. "That was like my only plan this time; I know I usually have backups and stuff, but... I guess we could go to the South American fountain; do you happen to know off of the top of your head where it's located?"

The Pontifex, ambling up beside Moone and assessing the situation, shrugged. "Machu Picchu? Cuzco? The Nazca Lines? Ooh, probably along the Amazon or something, that thing's supposed to be longer than the Nile."

Moone pulled the edges of his lips down hard. "I thought you were supposed to be an expert on this sort of thing. Magic stuff, and all that."

"Well event experts've got gaps in their knowledge. It's, it's probably along the Amazon somewhere. 80, 90%, at its source. Does the, does the Amazon flow from an underground, spring?"

"I always just figured from mountains, man."

"Well that would make sense. Mountains are representative in basically every folklore system in the world as being an Axis Mundi, a pillar between the mundane and fantastical realities. Mountains have caves, hence, the underworld, so that symbolism would make sense. Yep, yep, definitely one of the mountains."

"But which mountain? Does your extensive knowledge of folklore have--"

"No, man. I just figured that we'd, I don't know. Swim through this one. All the fountains are connected, right? One big... portal-pool?"

"You would know," Moone pointed out. "Still, whatever it is we do quickly, because I'm not sure how long the life-life-life is going to hold."

"Maybe we just wait for the floodwaters to recede from this one."

"Waiting is not quick. Did you not here what I said, we need to do this, quickly."

"Perhaps we could just get a leafblower in here, or something."

"A leafblower!?"

"You were the one suggesting we go to South America. It'd be a lot quicker to stay at this one, floodwaters or no. Maybe one of those industrial flood-vacs?"

Moone grimaced again. "Well, that one's not half bad..."

At that moment, a twig snapped in the [jungle??] behind them. Moone was alert instantly, and in a defensive position oriented toward the location of the sound. It was a product of instinct and conditioning combined together, and it probably would have occurred even if the threat did not turn out to be supernatural.

Which it did.

Standing in front of Moone, one foot on a broken branch and a look of shock on his face, was Himsters Keepses.