Things began to get worse within the village. It started with just a cough, but even that began to grow into something more. Villagers caught in the snow seemed to fall asleep and not wake up no matter how much the other villagers shook them.The chief looked on in horror, struggling to stay on his feet as his villagers dropped one by one, seemingly for no reason. They were not sick. They had gone about their business as usual before the snowfall.But now they lay there, unresponsive. As half of the villagers lay on the snowy ground unresponsive, the chief called for the remaining villagers to carry the weak and unconscious off of the snowy half of the village to the houses on the untouched portion of the land before he walked off. The chief knew exactly who was responsible; it didn't take long to put two and two together.

"We’ll help you," Chief Po said, motioning in two guards and a healer when they came to the couple’s camp site. Maryanne, still holding on to the shallow-breathing Leslie, looked on in terror as they approached.

"Have you come to finish him off? Me too?" She said, trying to keep her voice calm while she trembled about the idea of her love passing on right there.

"No. We were wrong," he said, motioning the guards towards Leslie’s unresponsive body. The healer stood by Maryanne for emotional support.

"No," Maryanne said, gripping her husband closer. "You can’t attack us and expect me to allow you to help him."

"Please miss," the healer said, almost whispering in her ear. "The chief and the villagers have been punished for their actions towards your partner. All we ask is to reverse the process before it is too late."

"What do you mean you have been punished? What process needs to be reversed?" Maryanne said, looking at them in a mixture of confusion and worry. She didn't want to trust them after what they had done to Leslie, but at the same time, she didn't want him to die. She didn't have any way of healing him, so if they could, even if it prolonged his life a little while longer, she wanted to take that chance.

"We’ll discuss more when we make it to the village," Chief Po said. With few options, Maryanne allowed the guards to carry her husband to the village, the healer rubbing her back in comfort and whispering useless advice in her ear. It was then, when they got to the village, that Maryanne understood. A clean line separated the snowy,cool area of the village from the humid, untouched area. She looked at the huts that the villagers called home. Hearing the screaming and wailing of villagers that were happily enjoying their day just hours before made her stomach sink deep within her. She didn't understand it, but as Cheif Po led the way towards the healing hut, he knew. They had unknowingly activated Altua’s Curse. And healing Leslie was the only way that they could stop it.