I remembered drinking a single glass of wine. Then… nothing for a while. Suddenly, we were walking away from the faire, that much I was sure of. However, I couldn’t decide exactly why we were doing so. We were heading towards a nearby mountain peak. I glanced at Nora occasionally, but for the life of me, I didn’t know what to ask her.

A small voice in the back of my head was trying to get me to… do something, but I couldn’t understand it. Instead, I just settled on watching my feet march up the side of the mountain, pleasantly surprised with how easy it was. Usually, such a steep grade would have tired me, but I felt like I could do this all day. Nora was matching me step for step, which had me bemused since it meant her stride was comically exaggerated. Eura was in front of us, her gold sash fluttering behind her.

The peak was covered in dense pines, though here and there, the rocky terrain became exposed to sunlight that streamed in from above. Nestled in a small grove was an ancient stone archway bathed in a broad sunbeam. We headed toward the archway at a synchronous pace. The small voice in my head was becoming more shrill with each step. I still couldn’t distinguish any intelligible words, so I ignored it.

“My place is just through here,” Eura said brightly, gesturing at the archway. Something was strange about that statement, but I wasn’t sure what.

Eura held out her hands. “Let me take your bags.” Nora and I wordlessly handed her the backpacks we had brought for our day trip. Eura took them and set them aside. Then she looked me up and down one last time. “The hair will eventually fix itself, but I don’t like those glasses. You’ll be better off without them.” She reached up and took a hold of them at my temples. Her warm fingers briefly brushed the sides of my face as she pulled them off.

“Much better!” she remarked. I looked at her questioningly but again said nothing.

She then turned to Nora. “I guess you’ll be useful too, seeing as how you memorized the whole thing. I hate to admit it, but the old man was right.” She momentarily pressed her right index finger to the center of Nora’s forehead.

“Understand now?” Eura asked her. Nora simply nodded, getting a better grip on her staff.

“Oh, you two should probably hold hands,” Eura continued. “You might get separated if you don’t.” Nora held out her hand, and I took it. We exchanged glances with one another. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t even formulate a simple thought of my own.

“I wish I could come with you, but it seems I will have to wait until things get back on track. See if you can do something about all the animus in the air. I’m sure it’s all his fault.” Eura locked eyes with me. “Do whatever you need to do to make things right.” All I could do was nod back.

Nora and I turned and headed towards the gate. The small voice in my head screamed, and I halted instinctively. Eura, however, was right behind us.

“Sometimes taking the first step is the hardest, so I’ll give you a little push.” I felt Eura’s hand on my back as she hurled me forward through the archway with incredible force.

She called after us, “Remember, don’t let go!”