Chapter 6: Steps to the Dance

Setting: Autumn 1992: The Realm of Dungeons & Dragons

Summary: Getting past the Valley of the Dancing Boulders isn't child's play.

xxx

November 8, 1992: (09:20 AM)

Behind the group, another sliding boulder smashed into a standing one, the earth reverberating in the wake.

Sheila, thrown to the ground, looked up, fear across her features. "I guess it's not light that makes them move?" Her voice shook as another boulder danced behind them.

Hank reached over to scoop Dara into his arms, ignoring Presto's sudden protests about spinal injuries. "If we stay out here, she'll have more than a spinal injury, Presto. Let's get to camp. Sheila, grab our bags." He lifted the weight of the woman, Eric's still glowing shield on his right arm, and turned towards the worried pair still in the firelit camp. Hank ran as quickly as his burden allowed.

Nodding, the Thief scooped up their rosemary collection bags and followed the Ranger, the others hurrying to follow as well.

Very carefully Hank laid Dara onto her bedroll and stepped out of Presto's way, letting him check over their fallen guide. The blond man looked over the solemn faces of his group and sighed. "How much rosemary did we manage to get?"

Pooling their lots together, Sheila said, "a bag full." She looked up from the small bag of herbs. "Is it enough? We can't go back out there while the boulders are moving, Hank."

"The edges."

Everyone, even Presto, looked to Diana.

She smiled and pointed out, gesturing with one fine-boned hand, "the boulders move too often for the stuff to grow properly iin/i the field. Everything we've collected was at the edges. If we're careful, we can still get the rosemary." She pulled the javelin from her belt and said, "C'mon. Let Presto tend Dara. We need to finish what we started here."

Nodding, Sheila stood. "I can take the shield, Hank. Come on, Bobby. And keep an eye out for snakes." Hank gave over the shield readily enough, and Sheila raised the shield in front of her. It began to glow softly. As had been apparent during the battle at the Wall of Souls, the Champions could swap their weapons to a lesser effect.

Hank turned to Terri and took the bow from her shaking fingers. "Presto's lit his hat, Terri. Stay by him and help Dara." The Ranger turned to join the other three in their dangerous quest, four energy glows lighting two sides of the vast field as they slowly moved out in pairs: Hank with Diana and the O'Neil siblings together. No one bothered to hide their magic from Dara.

Eric rose to his feet, unsteady and slow, drawing Terri's attention as Presto painstakingly worked on Dara's numerous bloody injuries. The unicorn picked his way over to the trio and touched his soft nose to Terri's cheek, blowing out warm breath. He let out a very soft wicker.

The teenaged woman leaned into her friend's strength and turned her face to his neck, sobbing in relief and fear. "I saved her," she murmured, over and over.

A soft hand on her shoulder drew the Dreamer's attention to Uni, who had approached without sound. The former unicorn gave a wan smile. "You saved Diana when we first met you, Terri. I have faith in you." The former unicorn turned to Presto and Dara, the folded magical net in her pale hands. She knelt beside the woman's limp body and spread the net over her.

Long minutes creeped by as the magical net knit bone and flesh, slowly healing the heavily injured woman. As the net's energy glow faded, those in camp became aware that daylight had begun once more. The eclipse had ended.

Hank's voice called out from the field, "enough! It's over. I hope we got enough." He turned back towards camp, leading the strung-out, exhausted foursome back over the lighting edges of the boulder field, he and Diana keeping well away from the massive shifting rocks on their side while Sheila and Bobby did the same on theirs. New grooves raked the center of the mud flats, denoting the ever present danger of the shifting boulders.

As the four traipsed wearily back into camp, Uni slowly folded the net to return to the saddlebag.

Presto sat back on his feet and watched as Dara's baby blue eyes fluttered open, a look of wonder and fear on the guide's face. She blinked slowly and sat up, Presto gripping her arm to aid her with his strength. "Dara hurt?" she asked, wonder in her voice beginning to chase away the remembered fear of the boulder falling over her.

"Not any more," Presto offered, his tone reassuring and soft. "Terri stopped the boulder and Uni healed you. Rest. Recover your strength, Dara. The eclipse is over." He watched as the words sank in and Dara turned wondering eyes first towards Terri then towards Uni.

"Terri Uni save?" Dara sounded surprised and uncertain. Neither woman had shown much partiality to their guide and it apparently hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Yeah, cause we're a team, Dara. Can you help us mix the tincture so we can get it curing?" Presto used the back of his wrist to push his glasses up his nose. "I sure hope we got enough." Blood and mud mixed on his skin, a ghastly sight in any light.

"Dara help," the guide nodded, looking determined. She rose to her feet, once more not using her hands, proving that she had recovered from her ordeal quickly thanks to the net. "Dara help," she firmly stated, looking down at Presto but not offering him her hand or any assistance.

Presto hadn't expected any help from the blonde woman. He stood and sighed, knowing he needed yet another bath. Wanting to get the tincture curing as soon as possible, the Wizard settled for washing the worst of the gunk from his hands before turning back to Dara and giving her a grim smile. "Okay, how can I help?"

Studying Presto for a long moment, Dara finally said, "cook." She looked at the bags of rosemary offered to her by the others, delight in her eyes.

As the others worked on the tincture, Uni leaned into Eric's soft, strong shoulder. The pair slowly walked from the main campsite towards the stream. Eyes down, still recovering from the poisoning of the night before, the pair moved step by plodding step. It was, perhaps, the only reason either of them noticed the bones in the sparse vegetation.

Rearing back in surprise, Eric let out a soft whinny as Uni straightened, maroon eyes widening. She placed a calming hand on her companion's nose and whispered, "shhh . . . Airk." Their eyes locked and Uni nodded. "Let me see."

The redheaded elf dropped to her knees and pushed away caked mud and vegetation. As she worked, she revealed more bones, rotted leather, and a piece of pitted, curved wood. No metal buckles or fastenings remained, thorough normally those would have been the last to deteriorate in the hot suns. Uni looked up. "He was robbed. Someone took his belt and knife, if he had one." She continued looking through the remains, not even certain this had been a male in life. "I think he was murdered," she finally determined.

Eric softly bumped the side of Uni's head with his nose, sweeping his right forehoof in the dried mud.

She seemed to understand because Uni moved slightly to reveal that the skeleton's head had a crack and dent in it. "Weapon," she confirmed in her soft voice. "Someone killed him and robbed him of his metal and probably any valuables. No sign of a water skin, though it could have rotted." She looked around at the site. "But I think he'd been left in just this leather jerkin. There is no sign of boots."

The dark-maned unicorn nickered softly, his eyes and tone worried. Drawing Uni's gaze upward with his response, Eric nickered again.

Sighing, Uni said, "maybe a year, Eric. I do not think the robber would have stayed around. This is not a good place to wait to rob people."

"You understand him without the alicorn?" Terri's soft voice came from just behind the pair, startling both and causing them to jump, Eric letting out a louder near-neigh of shock.

Flushing, the eighteen year old brunette held up her hands. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Was told to get cleaned up. Sheila, Diana, and Dara will be along in a few minutes then the guys will get their turn while we make lunch." Terri squatted down by the bones and sighed. "I wonder who this is . . ."

Instead of discussing the gruesome find, Uni answered Terri's former question. "Sometimes Airk and I think the same things. I do not hear him, but I know what he means."

With a nod, Terri stood and said, "yeah, I get it. Sometimes I can tell what Bobby's thinking, too. Come on, Uni, let's get bathed. Tomorrow we'll be moving on." She offered her friend a hand up, smiling at the elf and the unicorn. A sudden thought came to the young human woman: if Eric had been a natural unicorn, none of the women would have worried about bathing with him. After all, when Uni had been a unicorn, the boys had let her play in the water as they bathed. Now, knowing that unicorns, and many other creatures, weren't just dumb animals, Terri felt she'd think twice before bathing around a non-humanoid of the opposite gender.

Shaking her head, Terri offered her friends another smile and turned to head towards the water nearby. Instead, as her eyes and locket lit up bright gold, the woman fell backward. Eric's quick step in the way saved Terri from a bad fall, but did nothing to prevent her slipping down his side and to the ground.

A sound of music, soft and indistinct, filled the air as thick leaves draped over the many branches, dipping into the undergrowth to form a nearly impenetrable wall of greens. A scream, filled with pain, wrent the air and the sound of many fear and worry filled voices blocked out the gentler music. "She's bleeding!" a male baritone called, voice overrun by a female alto, "what happened?" Another baritone called, "how'd she get hurt?" A loud whinny broke through the voices and a firm, this time distinguishable, voice broke through the cacophony. Uni called, "Airk says he will carry her!" The group rushed to try to shift their fallen comrade onto the unicorn's back.

"She's convulsing!" Presto's voice washed over Terri as she regained consciousness. "Step back! I need room!" The Wizard unfastened Terri's belt and pulled it off in one swift yank, her trousers falling loosely open around her waist and hips. He pulled her shirt over her head and unfastened the chest binding underneath, allowing her room to breathe and move. The ginger-haired man turned the brunette teen onto her side and lightly kept his hands on her shoulder and hip, preventing her from turning back over. He kept his eyes firmly on her mouth.

Terri blinked, her body shaking; her limbs felt like dead weights and she couldn't seem to breathe; something blocked her throat. Two fingers forced their way into her mouth and something pulled from her airway. She drew in a gasp of air, her lungs filling and her head swimming in dizzy nausea. Terri let her eyes slam shut and blackness enveloped her.

Presto looked up, his wet fingers hovering close to Terri's mouth, hoping she didn't swallow her own tongue again. "What happened? Did she hit her head?"

"No, she had a dream," Uni answered, terror on her face, reflected by those of the group. Even Dara looked shaken, standing furthest away from the Dreamer next to Diana. Uni looked over the others then back at Presto. "She fell against Airk and slid to the ground. Then she started shaking."

"This has taken a very bad turn," Hank grimly stated. He squatted close to Presto and Terri but still out of the way. "She's had screaming dreams before but nothing that sent her into convulsions."

Sheila, hugging herself, teal eyes wide in horror, whispered, "was it because she changed the last one? She dreamed Dara would be crushed and saved her instead."

Dara perked up, eyes widening as much as Sheila's. "Terri dream Dara?"

With a shake of her head, Uni said, "no, she saved Diana before with a dream. Remember? When we first met her. She never had convulsions after that."

"Something she ate?" Bobby asked. He seemed to want to get closer, but Hank blocked the younger man from approaching his girlfriend. "Hank, let me go to her!"

"No, Bobby," Hank ordered, firmly. He shook his head, meeting Presto's eyes. "I had a set of twin brothers who were epileptics. They need space and time to rest. Convulsions mix up the brain signals and can cause memory problems among other things. Let Presto handle Terri until she's fully awake. Unless," Hank held out a hand to his once foster brother. "You aren't familiar with convulsions? I am."

"I am, too," Presto offered an appreciative nod to Hank. "Ayesha's cousin, Jasbelle, has them. She hit her head as a child and has convulsions ever since."

"Presto, I'm coming closer. I'll keep her from choking if you check for other injuries," Hank said. He moved up in front of Terri, quickly slipping into Presto's hastily abandoned place. Hearing Bobby's soft growl of frustration, followed by Dara's frightened yelp, Hank looked up and sighed. "Okay, Bobby, come here. Sit behind me, don't crowd her, and I'll show you how to help, okay?"

Bobby eagerly did as ordered, staying behind Hank, not crowding him or Terri. He paid close attention to Hank's movements and instructions. Everyone listened, actually; no one knew if this would happen again and who would be close enough to help. Presto ran his hands over Terri's head then spine, checking her carefully for any injuries.

As the Wizard sat back on his heels, Dara broke the near-silence. "Baby shake?"

"What?" Diana turned to the woman by her side.

"Baby shake?" Dara looked at Diana. "Terri sick baby?"

Bobby moaned at the idea that his girlfriend could be hurt because of her unexpected pregnancy.

"No, I don't think so," Presto said. He looked up and used the back of his wrist to push his glasses back in place, still having not got that thorough bath he needed. "It's in all probably related to her power, actually. In history, there've been many people with visions that had other ailments, including epilepsy. We'll have to keep a close eye on her. We never leave her alone."

Sheila shook her head and sank to the ground still hugging herself. "But Terri never showed any signs before today. How could she suddenly have epilepsy?"

"That's what we need to find out. But it's probably not epilepsy, Sheila. It just acts like it. Convulsions are one of the least understood neurological ailments in the human body." Presto sighed. "I wish I knew more, but we came here before I could look into medicine."

"You were fourteen, Presto. No one expected you to study medicine until you were at least fifteen," Hank quipped softly. It worked and a weak chuckle went around the group, except Dara who didn't seem to understand the joke. Hank held out a hand to Presto and said, "look, we need to clean up and get packed for tomorrow. We need food and a plan to get past those boulders."

"No, we need a plan to move out tonight," Diana corrected firmly. "The boulders don't move at night, so we do. Look, between us women, we can watch Terri then help her clean up. We all heard your pointers, Hank. You and the guys go get clean. Take Eric with you. When you come back, we'll clean up Terri and ourselves. Dara."

The sudden inclusion of the guide drew the blonde's attention with a worried frown. "Do you know anything about convulsions?" As Dara opened her mouth, Diana held up a hand. She met Dara's eyes and willed her to remain silent until Bobby left.

Dara seemed to understand because she closed her mouth once more and shook her head, once.

Bobby reluctantly followed Hank and Presto, Eric slowly plodding behind, still exhausted.

Diana waited a few more minutes before saying, "what do you know, Dara?"

Frowning, Dara shook her head. "Shake sick kill."

Sheila put a hand to her mouth, ignoring the mud there.

With a sigh, Diana looked over the young woman on the ground. "Yes, it can if not treated properly. Do you know anything else?"

"Plant shake?" Dara offered, her tone worried. She'd already been accused of using plants to poison Uni and Eric.

Uni stroked Terri's hair, her hand at the ready in case she needed to guide Terri's tongue again. "She was fine all morning and she didn't eat anything. I don't . . . the snake?" Uni looked around, "didn't Sheila see a big snake earlier?"

"Oh, God!" Sheila moaned. She began checking Terri's legs, since Presto had been most concerned with head and spine. "Oh, God," the Thief repeated then screamed out, "I think she was bitten by a snake!"

"Maybe she fell on it when she had her vision?" Uni offered, feeling for Terri's breath and glad it remained strong.

The guys came running back down the path, Presto in only his skivvies, soaking wet. Bobby had his trousers on still and Hank had his unfastened, holding them up as he ran. Eric moved much slower than the other three, looking a bit frustrated by his continued weakness.

Sheila revealed the small twin marks on the back of Terri's calf.

Presto's quick mind leapt to a possibility he prayed turned out true. "Uni, which way did Terri fall into Eric? Front or back?"

"Back," Uni promptly answered. As she fell, Airk stepped over."

"Then let's hope he stepped on that snake, too," Presto declared. "Everyone look around, but be careful. We don't need more bites." he shook his head as he glanced around the sparse vegetation. "How'd a snake hide here?"

"Maybe it was under the bones?" Uni asked as she began looking for anything resembling a snake or even a rope.

"Bones?" Sheila yelped. She wasn't as terrified of things any more, but the idea of interfering with a corpse, undead or not, still bothered the gentle young woman.

"Yes, we found a body," Uni said. "I think I found the snake." Uni gestured towards a thick black and green mottled snake, about two or more feet long. It had been unlucky enough to be crushed in the skull by Eric's unwitting hoof.

"Ah, good," Presto breathed out. "Now I can do something." He ignored his state of undress to inspect the creature who'd apparently hurt Terri. "I hope it's one I'm familiar with," he muttered.

After several long, intense minutes, Presto sat back on his heels and frowned, eyes narrowing. Enough of the skull and mouth had been undamaged to reveal what he sought: fangs. Looking up from the long, needle-sharp fang in his fingers, Presto shook his head. "I don't think the snake did this to her, guys."

"What do you mean?" Diana frowned just as fiercely. "The snake bit her and its venom caused her to convulse."

"No venom," Presto responded. "The fangs aren't hollow, so no venom." He looked up at those around him. "Terri's convulsion came from something else. Not the snake."

xxx

November 8, 1992 (late afternoon):

Terri opened her eyes, the pounding in her head finally gone. She laid with her head in Bobby's lap, his calloused fingers stroking through her damp, tangled hair. Watching Bobby, his face etched in worry, his eyes closed in apparent exhaustion, Terri felt her heart constrict. The suns no longer hung low in the east; they all but faded in the west. She softly said, "what happened?"

"Terr?" Bobby's eyes shot open and he looked down at her incredulously. His call brought the others running. "Terri! You're awake! We were so worried!"

Presto knelt down and stopped Bobby with a wave of his hand. He checked her eyes and then her mouth, confusing Terri. She didn't protest, though. She knew she must have been unconscious all day after that last horrible vision. When the Wizard finished checking her over, he sat back on his heels and pushed his glasses up his nose. "How's your head?"

She blinked and said, "it hurt a lot until now. I kept waking up but it hurt so bad, I just went back to sleep." Her denim eyes shifted to meet Bobby's summer blue ones. "I didn't mean to scare anyone. I had such a horrible vision and then my head seemed to explode and everything went dark."

"That's new? Or has that happened before with your visions?" Presto asked, "even once before?"

"No, it's new. And I don't like it," Terri let out a soft whimper at the remembered pain. "The vision was horrible, but that pain was worse. I'll take just the visions any day! I can cope with those."

Nodding, Presto glanced at Bobby. "We're gonna help you sit up, Terri. Tell us if you get the pain back or get dizzy or sick or anything."

The pair of men helped the woman sit up, letting her lean on Bobby's broad chest. She took a deep, shaky breath, then said, "no pain. No sick. Just thirsty."

Diana's hand flashed out with a bowl of water. "Here, Terri. Bobby, help her drink this. She's been out all day."

Thankful no one pressed about her vision just yet, Terri obediently drank what Bobby carefully offered. Finally, she lifted her eyes, the bowl empty in her boyfriend's hand. "The vision," she began, only to be cut off by Hank.

"When you're ready, Terri. Do you realize you didn't just black out? You went into convulsions for several seconds." Hank watched Terri for any signs she might have been aware of a previous seizure disorder.

The shock on the young woman's face relieved him and worried him simultaneously.

"Seizures? I . . . but I'm not epileptic!" Terri looked desperately around, her manner as agitated as her voice.

Bobby stroked her loose hair. "Hey, Terr, calm down. We'll figure this out. No seizures before now, right?" He looked as worried as everyone else seemed.

"No," Terri answered firmly. "No seizures ever, unless my parents didn't tell me about any from before I can remember. You know, baby years?"

Nodding, Presto said, "did you eat anything different today?"

Realizing the questions would help them figure out what happened to her, Terri answered promptly, "I had breakfast with Uni and Eric. The same as what they ate. I don't think I hit my head when I blacked out."

Hank jumped in, "did you black out before you fell into Eric or after?"

"I fell into Eric?" Terri asked, surprised.

"Her eyes started glowing before she fell," Uni added, "but they did not stop until a few minutes later. Then she started shaking."

Terri worried her bottom lip between her teeth, never one of her traditional habits. Finally, she asked, "do you think it's a new part of the visions?"

Bobby sighed, his hand stilling in her long brunette hair. "Terr, you said this was a bad one. Maybe if you told us?"

Closing her denim blue eyes, Terri let out a shudder then began to talk in a frightened voice. "We were walking into a forest. Or maybe we were already in one. Suddenly, someone screamed, then everyone was shouting at once. I couldn't tell who said what. Something about bleeding and getting hurt. Then Uni said Eric would carry whoever got hurt." Terri opened her eyes, pain washed through the dark orbs. "And I blacked out. Then, every time I woke up, my head pounded."

With a single nod, Hank gestured for everyone to get comfortable. "Okay, that's at least two about a forest, isn't it? Was the other one this bad?"

"No," Terri slowly sat up away from Bobby's warm strength. "That one was the really confusing one. It had Eric meeting himself as a unicorn."

"Why don't we go over all of the visions?" Sheila suggested. "Maybe we can figure something out? Was there any as bad as this last one?"

"Yes," Terri confirmed, her eyes shooting to Dara. "The one before it. When I saw Dara crushed."

"Terri dream Dara," Dara said in a voice of awe. "Save Dara." It seemed the more she hung around with the group, the better her Basic became. At least the order of her words made more sense to the overall meaning now.

The Dreamer swallowed and nodded slowly. She broke eye contact and said, "there was the one about the maze, where a tree tries to stalk Eric."

"Wait a minute," Diana straightened, shock on her face, "Terri, you've had three visions about Eric?"

"Well, I had more earlier, but I don't really think they were about Eric specifically, except the vampire one. But, yeah, The two in the forest and the one in the maze. The only other one I had recently was the one with Dara." Terri turned to look at first Diana then Eric then back to Diana.

Slowly, Sheila asked, "Terri? How many visions that haven't yet happened have you had before? I mean, like storing them up before they happen?"

Thinking, Terri answered just as thoughtfully, "this is the most. I mean, it's still the same as when I had yesterday's vision. Still three." She sat forward, an intent look to her eyes. "But, I've never had one so quickly after another happened before. This one was right after I helped Dara."

"Your waking visions always get triggered by a word or phrase, don't they?" Presto asked, studying the girl.

Understanding dawned in Terri's eyes. "Not this time! Uni mentioned understanding Eric, but it was a long moment between her talking and me having the vision. This time, I'm not sure words triggered it at all!"

"Calm down, Terri," Bobby advised and reached to ease her against his chest once more. "Maybe that's why it hit you so hard?"

"These are possibilities," Diana sighed. "But not certainties. All I can think is that we continue with our plans. Don't leave Terri alone until we're sure it was a one off or we all know the symptoms, including her. We need to make plans for another seizure."

"Great," moaned Terri, suddenly miserable. "I'm a liability again!"

"When did the snake bite you," Hank suddenly interrupted, drawing a wince from Terri.

"Was that what I felt? Right before I had the vision, I felt pain in my leg. Wait, did I get venom . . . oh, God! The baby!" Terri bolted straight, both hands going to cover her only slightly rounded abdomen.

Presto shook his head and helped ease her back against Bobby. "No venom. It was a constrictor, not a python. The baby is fine as far as we can tell."

Bobby stroked his girlfriend's hair yet again. "Yeah, Presto and Hank checked you all over. And they checked the snake. You didn't fall hard and you didn't get envenomated. As long as the seizure didn't hurt the baby, everyone's okay."

Before Terri could latch onto that fear, Hank reassured her, "the baby should be fine, Terri. I've had epileptic brothers. I know what to look for and how to help. We take it easy, that's all. We've never moved at too hard a pace, so we keep that up. If you get another seizure, we make new plans." He patted Terri's knee. "You are inot/i a liability. You're a valuable ally who can save lives with what you see."

"Dara think." Dara spoke up, drawing all attention. "Snake dream Terri shake." She meshed her hands together, as if combining two things.

"You think that the bite and the dream shocked Terri into a seizure?" Sheila translated.

Presto looked thoughtful as Dara nodded her head. With a sigh, he said, "not impossible. Sometimes, though, women who are pregnant have odd symptoms they never had before the pregnancy. It's possible the pregnancy caused the seizures. I've seen it in two women in the caravan. It went away with delivery."

Grasping onto any possible solution, Terri asked "How do we treat this if it's the pregnancy?"

"Lower your stress," Presto sighed, knowing that would be impossible on the quest. He met Terri's worried eyes. "We'll all keep an eye out for you, Terri. And you keep telling us your dreams. Okay?"

Swallowing, Terri nodded and whispered, "deal."

A firm neigh brought everyone's surprised attention to Eric. Uni stroked his mane then walked over to their packs, hand dipping into the saddlebag to grip the alicorn. Without withdrawing her hand and revealing the magical horn, Uni said, "Airk says to ride him if you get too stressed. He says he is strong, Terri."

Terri threw her arms around Eric in gratitude and whispered into his soft neck, "you bet, Eric. Thank you!"

xxx

November 8, 1992 (evening):

Making a last check on the fit of Eric's saddle bags, using Hank's bow for light, Uni turned to the rest of the party. She watched as Bobby did one last check on the doused fire pit, stirring the ashes to make sure no more embers glowed in the pit of muddy waste. Her eyes roved over the rest of their party, Terri leaning into Eric, her eyes wide and haunted, not yet showing any tiredness.

Hank, beside Uni, asked, "all set?"

"Myeah," Uni replied absently, softly.

Hank let the arrow dissipate, unfired. He patted Uni's hand then reached into the saddle bag. Pulling out the alicorn, Hank thrust it into Uni's hand and whispered, " I think Eric is lonely for conversation. Usually he doesn't shut up. Why don't you talk with him a bit. I'll keep Dara up front."

She turned up grateful eyes and leaned into her longtime companion. "Thanks."

With a nod, Hank turned and walked towards the front of their party. "Dara, would you like to walk up front with Sheila?"

The Thief looked surprised, the suns setting rapidly but not so far that her expression was unreadable. Without questioning Hank, though, Sheila headed up to walk beside Dara, rather than in her customary spot next to Hank. "How are you feeling, Dara? We can stay an extra day if you still need rest?" she asked politely, fully aware that Dara had been crushed under tons of stone that very morning.

Dara looked at Sheila and offered a smile, apparently deciding that Sheila wanted to walk with her that night. "Not sick. Dara good."

Smiling widely at the other woman, Sheila nodded and said, "that's great, Dara." Racking her brains for something to talk about, Sheila decided to start with herself and maybe the other woman would open up a bit. "I have only one sibling. My brother, Bobby. No sisters. I would have liked a sister. Do you have brothers or sisters, Dara?"

"No other," Dara said, her voice light, untroubled. "Dara alone."

"Even before you became a hunter and guide? No family back where you came from?" Sheila asked, sympathy in her voice for the lonely upbringing Dara must have had.

With an uninterested shrug, Dara claimed, "Dara alone." She looked at Sheila then back at Bobby and Terri a few feet behind them. "Why? Why no alone?" Dara's position made her miss the instant fear in Sheila's eyes.

Bringing herself back under control, wiping away her fear before Dara could see it, Sheila said, "my parents had me then Bobby. Kids don't usually get a choice, but I don't mind. I love Bobby. I can't imagine life without my brother in it." She had already lived six years without him and hoped not to have to go through that separation again.

Dara shook her head, her attention back on Sheila. "Dara alone. Like alone."

Slowly, Sheila murmured, "some people do like being on their own, i guess."

"Light bow big magic," Dara said suddenly, startling Sheila, Bobby, and Terri.

"Uh," Sheila snapped her eyes to Dara's curious face and nodded, swallowing. "Yes, it is. It's Hank's weapon, even if he uses it to help light things up sometimes."

With a big smile and an enthusiastic node, Dara said, "Presto hat. Bobby stick. Diana stick." Her voice rose higher as she got more excited, until everyone could hear her list, "Terri glow. Dara not know. Uni shield."

Opening her mouth to correct Dara that the shield was Eric's, not Uni's, Sheila stopped herself. She decided to go with what Dara had incorrectly guessed instead of giving things away "Yes, Bobby's club and Diana's stick glow, too. Bobby's club is a weapon. Presto can make his hat glow. And Terri has an old chain that glows, too, when she dreams the future. But it doesn't work for the rest of us. And Uni has her shield and her unicorn friend."

Dara snorted and corrected, "Eric not unicorn. Eric elf. Curse elf."

"Okay, you got me there. Eric's been cursed to be a unicorn," Sheila agreed, glancing back at the others, all who listened without interruption. The group had tightened their ranks, as well, all moving in closer to the lead pair.

"Uni curse," Dara added, proving she remembered Hank telling her that information. "Uni not elf?"

Surprised, Sheila asked, "if Uni's not an elf, what would she be, Dara?" She knew the answer, but wanted to see what Dara thought.

The guide shook her head with another snort. "Dara not know. Dara not worry. Uni friend." She walked along in silence for a long moment as Sheila tried to think of another topic. Suddenly, Dara surprised everyone by saying, "kill curse."

"What?" Sheila stiffened instantly, horror in her eyes. "You want to kill Eric?"

Eric neighed in protest and Uni laid a hand on his withers to calm him.

"No," disgust laced Dara's voice as she shot a glare at Sheila. "Kill curse. Bad curse man. Kill. Stop curse." She looked satisfied with her solution to Eric's problem.

Everyone glanced back at the gold-flecked cream-skinned unicorn with black mane and tail.

Sheila sighed, looking at Dara once more. She shook her head, sadly. "Kalek was already killed, Dara. It didn't stop any of his curses. It's why we travel. We need to find the cure for Eric and other friends."

Eyes rounding in shock, Dara harshly whispered, "not kill curse? Magic big!"

"Well, I hope Heart's Unity has powerful magic, too. Or this whole trip was for nothing," Bobby grumbled from behind the lead pair. He frowned as Dara shot him a quizzical look but didn't apologize for his attitude. He felt he had a right to be on edge with Terri's health on the line . . . and the baby's. 'Baby!' Bobby still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Terri was going to have a baby - - his baby. He would be a father. Swallowing, Bobby ran a hand over his face and tried to keep his breathing even. He didn't feel anywhere near ready to be having kids, especially in the Realm. But, he and Terri had created one, even without intending, and he would stick by both Terri and their baby. He might not be ready, but Bobby intended to try hard to be a good father and husband.

As the last sun set and the moons began to rise, Diana called out, "did we ever figure out how big this mudflat is?"

"Hour many," Dara called back without looking. "Moon fall."

"Moon fall?" Bobby asked Terri, puzzled.

Behind him, Diana answered, "they're on the rise now. When they start to fall, it'll be closer to morning. We'll be walking this thing most of the night."

"Great," Bobby complained, the mud suddenly grabbing at his boot. "Just don't tell Mom I was playing in mud all night. She'll ground me."

Sheila couldn't help the small chuckle that burst forth, covering her mouth. She missed her parents, but not as much as she'd missed Bobby during the past six years. The Thief couldn't help the feeling of relief that he'd returned once more - - even if it was dangerous. Very dangerous.

Ten minutes of relative silence passed, the group carefully trudging through the sucking mud, weaving around towering boulders that would begin moving all too soon with daybreak. Even Sheila gave up on conversation as she walked, not noticing Dara's look of surprise and her constant checking behind them.

If Sheila hadn't noticed, however, Terri had. She finally broke the stillness to ask, "Dara? What's the matter? You won't lose us. We're right here."

Flushing, Dara shook her head and kept her eyes forward, not answering Terri's question.

Terri exchanged a look with Bobby, neither verbally pointing out what both of them saw: only Dara made tracks in the mud. Sheila's boots smoothly slid from the mire without any trace of having been there. Dara must have noticed the oddity but to keep it to herself - - that worried the younger pair. What other things had Dara noticed that she kept secret, and why?

Exchanging another look with Terri, Bobby called out, "okay. If no one else is sayin' it, I am. What the hell was with those bones? Uni found a decomposing body right near our campsite and I wanna know why the guy was there."

Dara jumped and turned a glare on Bobby but modulated her look into mere annoyed confusion. "Not know," she claimed.

Meeting her eyes directly, almost in challenge, Bobby said, "yeah? Makes two of us. Any idea who put him there and why? And if the other guy is coming back?"

Terri lifted a hand to forestall the building ire she noticed in Dara, wondering at the annoyed reaction. "I think he may have been attacked by the hordes going to war."

That apparently shut Bobby up and caused Dara to fall into deep thought. Relief washed over Terri and she reached out to scoop up her boyfriend's hand. The action earned her a surprised look, which she returned with a shy smile. Bobby slowly smiled back and the pair continued on, hand in hand, for several minutes - - until the next time one of them needed help getting a stuck foot from too deep mud.

"Man, we shoulda just gone along the edge!" Bobby complained, causing everyone to stop short.

Hank lifted his bow, lighting the entire area around them. He turned in a complete circle and said, softly, "Bobby, we lost the edge some time ago. This thing opened up as far as I can see. I think we'd camped at a narrow place."

Bobby looked around and sighed, feeling defeated, his shoulders slumping. "Damn."

"If we followed the edge, we'd have been thrown off track, maybe even doubled back at some point. Straight through, I think, might be sloppy and annoying, but it's the best way." Diana sounded determined if tired.

Turning to look behind him at the Acrobat, the Barbarian deliberately put a whine in his voice when he asked, "how much further, Papa Smurf?"

Confusion crossed Diana's face then she laughed, breaking into a large grin. "Oh, man, I'd forgotten that cartoon!"

"Papa Smurf?" Dara asked, utterly lost and apparently not liking it.

Diana laughed again. "A stupid . . . kids story from back home. It was about tiny blue people who sang all day. A mean wizard kept trying to catch and eat them. Right, Bobby?"

With a shrug, Bobby grimaced. "Like I watched that show after the first month? It was baby stuff."

"Well," Terri giggled, "I watched it for three years. And it was silly baby stuff, but it was fun to watch."

Bobby turned a half-incredulous, half-disgusted look on his girlfriend. "Baby stuff. And they didn't have any words to their song!"

Laughing outright, Terri nodded. "Sure they did. We just don't speak Smurf so don't know it."

The others chuckled at the good-natured arguing and even Dara relaxed as she realized how stupid the conversation was. She listened without question as the Champions traded information about apparent children's stories she'd never heard: from small blue people to bears in the clouds to a bear that flew in some aerial ship. Spirits lifted more and more as the group relived these childhood tales.

Finally, Dara broke the silliness by saying, "moon fall."

The chatting and laughter ebbed as everyone looked around, noticing the creeping darkness that came with the setting of the moons pre-dawn. Hank lifted his bow, lighting the area, and gasped, followed by several whistles, soft cheers and one, "hallelujah!" from Bobby.

They stood only a few hundred feet from what seemed a very solid looking ground lined with large boulders. Determination rose to a new height as the group sludged their way closer and closer to the oddly near-straight line across their path, passing single-file between the tight fitting boulders.

Diana frowned and looked up and around. She glanced behind her then in front, shooting her hand out to stop Hank from once more lighting the sky. "No," the Acrobat whispered. She shook her head for emphasis, though she could hardly be seen. Instead, a soft green glow came from the shortened javelin at her belt, her fingers lightly stroking the smooth wood. Her breath caught and she whispered, "everyone be very quiet." Half expecting Bobby to finish a famous quote from back home, Diana felt relieved when he, instead, obeyed the stricture and remained silent as he carefully slopped his way onto solid ground then did a near comical double-take, almost falling back into the muck.

Before the bedraggled, muddy group lay the enormous form of a giant, snoring as it slept beside the road.

As one, the rag-tag group made their way past the large being, careful not to breathe too heavily or step too harshly. Presto's hat lit with a soft purple glow as the Wizard fell further back to light the end of the group. Diana moved forward to walk in front of Sheila. It seemed to take longer to pass the giant than it had to slog through the mire behind them; and it certainly felt less jolly.

When they had gone far enough in Diana's estimation, she stopped and tapped each member to pass her, indicating they should sit down and take a break. Worried eyes traced Terri's strained features, looking for signs of possible stress-induced seizures. Terri, however, seemed merely exhausted and relieved, sinking down at the side of the track beside an equally tired Bobby. Presto, the last in the line, slipped to his butt without a complaint for the small rocks he'd landed on. Diana finally sat, too, nodding silently and merely trying to release the tension of the end of that part of the journey.

This time when the rest break ended, no one spoke, all moving under silent gestures by Diana. They once more began to walk, this time across the steadier ground, and into a field off the main road. The going became more difficult, and yet, no one complained. No one spoke at all until the first sun started cresting the horizon.

"Giants? How many more?" Sheila broke the stillness.

With a blow of frustration, Uni asked, "and did you know, Dara?"

Dara blinked wide baby-blue eyes, nodding, surprising the others. "Dance Rock game. Giant game."

Presto groaned and put his head in his hands. "And I thought Amber loved dramatic reveals!"

"Water," Dara interrupted. "Bath." She headed further into the field towards a small trickling brook.

Hank frowned as the woman moved off alone, apparently not yet noticing that no one followed her. He put out a hand to stop Sheila, whispering, "she said she didn't know."

"What?" Sheila blinked in confusion.

"When we asked why the rocks hadn't moved for the first two days we were there. She said she didn't know. I was going to bathe but I was close enough to hear."

"If we confront her, she'll try to convince us that she didn't know why the giant wasn't playing with his marbles those two days," Presto growled softly. "I officially don't trust her. If we'd have known it was a giant playing with his toys, we'd have handled this a lot differently. No more sharing secrets with her."

No one disputed the order and all turned to go to the brook, intent on getting as clean as they could in the small trickle of water.