The group stood before the quivering gate debating on their next move. 

“I think we should leave our large weapons here,” said Erae. He motioned toward Roquewei, “Your sword drew too much attention before.”

“But what is the point of having trained with them if we don’t bring them across?” asked Sofia, gripping her bow and quiver.

“Erae’s right,” replied Roquewei. “We don’t know where on Talamh the gate will take us and even with our camouflaging abilities we still stuck out before because of this.” The blue haired elf stepped towards Kalokim and strapped the weapon to her saddle.

“Besides, mo cuishle, ” said Erae with a confident grin as he wrapped his arm around Sofia’s waist, “you’ll have me there to protect you.” 

Sofia crossed her arms. “I think what gave us away were our clothes. You heard what the miners said – we looked like misplaced cosplayers!”

“What does that mean, again?” Harton asked from beside her.

Sofia began to explain when Roquewei interrupted her. “Could we discuss that later? We need to decide how we want to travel across the gate. These tears continue to be unpredictable – who knows how long it will stay open.”

The blonde elf turned to his animal companion. “I’m afraid we’ll have to ask you to stay behind again, Kalokim. There’s no knowing how a magnificent creature such as yourself would be received.”

The Ghyrz snorted in mock annoyance. “As long as you promise to bring me back a treat.” 

Erae chuckled, then began to take off the packs on Kalokim’s back. “No need to have you wear this for hours again. Keep an eye on the little one?”

The Ghyrz smiled at the little fawn and nodded. 

“You should stay as well, Porgi,” said Roquewei. The Aslavu was taken aback. 

“Roquewei, are you sure?”

“I have a feeling you’ll be needed more here,” the blue-haired elf replied. Porgi looked at him quizzically, but conceded and flew to perch on Kalokim’s saddle.

“Harton comes with us,” Sofia announced. Sofia felt more confident having the Dlam by her side. Besides…what if this gate took her home? She didn’t want to lose her chance of saying a final goodbye.

The men agreed to her request. Relieved, Sofia went to strap her weapon next to the others and noticed her pack. Reaching down to pick it up, Sofia inspected its contents and then discreetly slipped the pouch with her earrings into the bag before swinging it over her shoulder.

Gripping the straps, she looked down at Harton and smiled melancholically. Then, summoning her courage, Sofia raised her gaze to the gate.

“The first thing we do is buy some local clothes, alright?” she stated.

Erae chuckled again, and reached out to grip her hand. Together, they stepped into the gate. The pull into Talamh still set Sofia off balance and she would have fallen again if it weren’t for Erae holding her up. 

I really need to figure out how to not fall every single time… Sofia thought to herself. Roquewei and Harton soon appeared, after which the quivering stilled, closing them off from the world of Lyfay.

Looking around, they realized they were in an empty alleyway, with a noisy street nearby. We’re in a city!

“Does any of this look familiar?” Harton asked.

Sofia looked around. “Not really… Maybe if we walked toward the street?”

The group walked to the edge of the alleyway, their senses were immediately overwhelmed.

The sounds, which had already been loud, bombarded their ear drums. Powerful natural and manmade odors invaded their nostrils. Some of the smells brought to mind mouthwatering dishes that made their stomach growl in hunger. Despite the all encompassing thick, yellowish haze, there were bright colors everywhere. 

Are we… Sofia thought to herself. Are we in India??

“Did you get the information you needed?” Harton asked quietly as Sofia and Erae stepped out of a cyber cafe. He had been waiting together outside with Roquewei, who was struggling to fight back yet another coughing fit.

“Yes! So, we’re in Delhi, the capital of India,” replied Sofia. Handing Roquewei a mask, she continued, “Everyone is getting ready to celebrate Diwali. It is going to be gorgeous,” she put on her own mask, “but the cyber cafe owner said it is also when the air quality is at its worst.”

Roquewei took the mask gratefully, feeling slightly better after putting it on. 

Sofia looked down at Harton. “Sorry, there weren’t any masks that fit you…” 

Harton scrunched his snout and sneezed. “Let’s just hope we find a way back to Lyfay soon.”

Erae, already wearing his mask, joined the conversation. “The owner also told us that there is a famous bazaar not far from here where we can buy local outfits and anything else we need.”

“Then let’s go!” Harton jumped to his feet. Looking to Erae and Sofia he said, “Lead the way!”

The blonde elf started forward, with Harton at his heels. Sofia followed, with Roquewei taking the rear. The group earned several bewildered stares from locals as they walked through the streets. 

“Why did you want to go to a… cyber cafe, again?” Roquewei asked Sofia as they walked. “We could have asked for directions to the bazaar from anyone.”

“I wanted to send my friend an email,” Sofia replied over her shoulder. “It’ll drive her crazy trying to figure out how yesterday I was in the United States and now I’m in India… But I wanted to keep her in the loop. I’m so glad the owner spoke English…”

“Have you and this person been friends for a long time?”

“No, not really. We met a couple of years ago when I started my job at the company. Autumn is the only one who welcomed me.” Sofia gripped the straps of her pack.

Turning to Roquewei, she said, “If I’m being honest, Autumn and an old family friend are my only friends back home.” Despite her mask, the blue-haired elf could sense her sad smile. 

“What about family?” Roquewei asked. To himself he said, Why am I asking all this?

Her eyes on the ground, Sofia scoffed. “Ha, sure. I have family, parents and a brother but… I haven’t really been in contact with them for a while.”

Roquewei fell silent. He knew better than to ask anymore questions.

“But now you have us,” said Erae with a smile, reaching back to offer his hand. Sofia took it and nodded.

Harton, who had walked ahead, barked to get their attention. Looking up past the crowds, the trio suddenly faced a grand staircase. The stairs led to a gate which allowed entrance to an elevated, walled-in area that instantly drew the attention of the eye. Behind the wall and through the haze, they could make out rounded domes and tall, spire-like structures. 

“That must be the Jama Masjid,” Sofia said softly, in awe of the sheer magnitude of the structure. 

“Then the bazaar should be nearby?” questioned Roquewei, clearly not as taken with the building as Sofia was. 

Erae nodded. “He said it was straight out of the second gate of the Jama Masjid.”

“How do we know which is the second gate?” asked Roquewei.

Erae shrugged, then felt Sofia pull his hand. “Let’s go inside and find out!”

After precariously crossing the extremely busy road before them, the group walked through metal detectors, climbed the stairs to the gate, and entered into a large courtyard filled with people. A cloud of thick smog made the movements of the visitors appear spectral.

To their left was the shadowy figure of the majestic mosque, one of the largest in India. Through the haze, Sofia could just make out its three white rounded dome-capped brick red towers. Before the towers were several archways, the central one opening wide to welcome the visitors from around the world who found themselves in its courtyard. On either end of the structure proudly stood the minarets. 

Sofia noticed that many of the people they were passing were carrying prayer rugs, organizing themselves into rows before the mosque. The elves were more occupied with the glares they were receiving from those gathering. 

A man came up to the group and started speaking quickly, pointing at them, Harton, and the people lining up to pray. He pointed back to the gate they had come from. Erae placed a hand on his chest with an apologetic look and pointed at another gate to their right. He asked a question to the surprised man, who seemed to agree to the elf’s request and ushered them towards the other gate. 

Sofia, also surprised, looked to Erae with a furrowed brow. “What’s going on?”

Erae bowed his head towards the man in gratitude, and grabbed Sofia’s hand. “We need to leave. Visitors aren’t allowed during their prayers, and I think he’s uncomfortable with Harton.”

As they hurried over to the other gate, Sofia became aware of the amount of eyes following their movements. The sooner we get new outfits, the better.

The group walked down a set of stairs even larger than the ones they had entered, passed another set of metal detectors, and found themselves immediately in a sea of people. A plaintive cry from the mosque’s minarets joined the mixture of sounds from thousands of people and automobile horns.

Just across from the staircase, they found vendor stands filled with anything they could imagine: food, cookware, live poultry, shoes, electronics, clothing, and more. Overhead, cloths of various colors were strung across the narrow streets to provide protection from the hot sun. They created an almost stained glass-like effect on the wares beneath them. 

“I think we found the bazaar,” Roquewei said in an elevated voice to be heard over the din.

Suddenly, a frantic beeping sounded from behind them. A man on a small motorcycle came precariously close to Harton before slowing down. Roquewei grabbed the Dlam out of the way and Sofia shouted at the driver as he passed.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” The driver didn’t look back.

Another man pulling a rickshaw with his bicycle passed the group before they were able to catch a breath. Erae pulled Sofia out of the way and held her close. Roquewei and the Dlam drew near as well.

Sofia knelt down to look into Harton’s eyes. “Stay close, ok?”

Slowly, the group weaved their way through the crowded streets, being more attentive to other small vehicles parting the flowing foot traffic to pass through. Vendors, noting that they were obviously foreigners, would shout and wave at them, inviting them to stop by their stalls. 

As they walked, Sofia noticed that there was a large variety of outfits being worn by the locals. Jeans or khakis and shirts were common for men, but so were more traditional looking items. Women seemed to prefer more traditional clothing, most wearing some sort of scarf head covering and displaying a wide variety of colors.

An outfit hanging high above their heads at one clothing stall caught her eye. She squeezed Erae’s hand. 

“Do you think we could trade for that one?”

Erae looked to where she pointed. “We could definitely buy that one.”

“We have local money?” Sofia questioned. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Roquewei chimed in. 

Choosing to accept it, Sofia turned again to Erae. “You’re going to have to explain to me later how you speak Hindi, but for now… Could you ask him to bring that down?”

The vendor, delighted with the attention from the foreigners, pulled down a dusty gold and red salwar kameez. He then motioned for her to step around to the back of the stall.

“He says he’s one of the few vendors with a changing space. Go try it on,” Erae translated for her. 

Sofia smiled at the vendor and walked back to the changing space. It had been a while since she had worn anything other than the elven garments, and it was exciting to try on new clothes. The salwar kameez fit snugly, especially around her hips, but not uncomfortably tight. Without a mirror, she was unable to see herself so she stuffed her elven clothes into her pack and came back out.

“Wow, beautiful,” the vendor said in English, shaking his head side to side in approval. Erae agreed, and then in Hindi asked the vendor for a pair of shoes. The vendor obliged, also pulling a red scarf to match the pants part of the outfit. Turning her around, he placed the scarf lightly around her neck.

“Thank you,” said Sofia, smiling with her eyes. “I love it.”

“And the gentlemen?” The vendor turned to Erae and Roquewei, indicating on the other side of his stall the men’s outfits. 

Erae looked around as he placed Sofia’s elven shoes in a cloth bag he had requested from the vendor. He pointed to a blue and white kurta pajama. While he was trying it on, the vendor looked at Roquewei. 

The elf shrugged. [“Whatever you think best,”] he said in Hindi.

Sofia swung her head around. “You, too?”

Just then, Erae reappeared. The deep blue top of the outfit brought out the elf’s eyes, and the white pants gave him a clean, fresh look. Matching blue ethnic loafers brought the entire ensemble together perfectly.

“Hello, handsome!” said Sofia. Harton barked in agreement. 

Blushing, Erae rubbed his hand behind his head. “Thanks, it’s strange wearing different clothes, but… I do like them.” He handed his elven outfit to Sofia to put in her pack. 

“Would you like me to carry it?” Erae offered. 

“Thanks, but I got it,” said Sofia confidently. 

The vendor motioned Erae over and signaled for him to bend down. Erae did so, and the vendor reached out to touch the elf’s hair. Taken aback, Erae quickly stood back up. The vendor said he meant no harm, and handed Erae a hair tie, motioning that he should put his hair up. 

Erae took the hair tie and fumbled around until he had a messy man bun. Sofia felt the blood rushing again to her face. Wowza!

The elf caught her expression and grinned.

[“Thank you, friend. You have helped me make a good impression.”]

The vendor smiled with a wink. [“I think these would also go well with the lady’s outfit.”]

He held up a couple of red and gold bangles. Erae looked at Sofia to gauge interest. She seemed enamored with them, so the elf took them from the vendor and placed them on her wrist. They smiled at each other for a moment before Erae turned again to the vendor.

[“How much for everything?”]

As Erae haggled with the vendor, Roquewei appeared from the back carrying his folded elven clothes. He also was wearing a kurta pajama with white pants, but the top was a brilliant yellow. The color was in stark contrast with his long, loose blue hair. Hand-beaded detail around the neckline came down the front and also decorated the cuffs of the sleeves. On his feet were a kind of t-strap sandal with a loop around his big toes.

“That color really suits you,” Sofia said with a grin.

“I don’t know,” Roquewei muttered as he handed his eleven garments to her. “I prefer green…”

Sofia placed his clothing in her pack and swung it back over one shoulder. Suddenly, she was shoved from behind. Roquewei caught Sofia and then shouted in Hindi, [“Hey, watch it!] 

A young woman in a pink salwar kameez bowed apologetically, looking fearfully at the Dlam, and kept walking. Roquewei helped Sofia stand back up as Erae rushed over.

“Are you alright?”

Rubbing her shoulder, Sofia replied, “Yeah, I’m ok.” 

Suddenly her eyes flew open. Whirling around, she noticed the young woman in pink shouldering a familiar bag as she moved quickly through the crowd. 

“THIEF!”