We stumbled out of the Slumber of the Gods into the midmorning sunlight.
"What day is it?" I asked, squinting at the sky. My head hurt, which was never a good sign. It usually took about three days of drinking to get me drunk enough for a hangover. Some of my favorite spells sometimes left me with a headache the next mornig, but I couldn't remember if I had used any the night before.
"Damned if I know," said my new companion. His name was Tom, and he was on his way to Everhome with Davey. We'd decided to travel to Everhome together. Actually, I don't remember if we ever actually made the decision to travel together, or if it was just a mutual understanding that we both reached sometime during our stay in the Slumber of the Gods.
"Well, I suppose we should be off," I said, trying to force a sense of purpose and perhaps even urgency into my voice. I knew there was a terribly good reason for me to get to Everhome.
We stood in the street for a few moments. I surveyed it with urgency.
"Hey, didn't you say you had a cart that we could use?" Tom asked me.
"Did I say that?" I looked at Tom, my sense of purpose starting to ebb.
"I think so, man. I mean, I don't mind walking, but if you've got a cart, we might as well use it."
"Too right!" I agreed.
I thought for a moment, then turned to Mr. Baggins.
"Do you remember a cart, Mr. Baggins?" I inquired airily.
Mr. Baggins was looking curiously up at Davey, who was staring right back at him. Davey, although he had consumed as much ale as the rest of us, didn't seem to have the same throbbing headache that Tom, Baggins, and myself were suffering from. He also had these eyes that were ... strange. There was nothing abnormal about them, but if I looked at them too long I started to feel light-headed. Perhaps that's why Tom kept him around. A sort of walking drug.
"You remind me of the baby," Davey said to Mr. Baggins. It was the first thing I'd heard him say.
"What baby?" Mr. Baggins replied, confused.
"The baby with the power," Davey said, with the hint of a grin on his face.
"What power?"
"The power of voodoo."
"Who do?"
"You do."
"Do what?"
"Remind me of the baby."
Mr. Baggins's eyes crossed and he fell over backwards.
"Oh, damn. Now you've done it," I chided Davey. Davey raised his eyebrow at me and met my glare. I had to look away after a moment to stop myself from passing out.
"Right," I said, starting off down the street. "Wait here, I'll go find a cart."
I was irritated about something as I stamped down the street. I tried to concentrate on the task at hand, but I just couldn't. It was hovering just outside my grasp, taunting me.
Someone started to beat a drum in time to my footsteps. It thumped solidly, and it started to turn my fould mood around. Then someone started to strum simple cords on a lute nearby. I thought to myself what a pleasant village we were in. The townsfolk were playing music to help the day pass.
Suddenly, I saw something up ahead. It was purple and moving at me very fast. I panicked and shied away in fear, but it quickly overcame my field of vision, and I was suddenly floating in a purple landcape. Abstract shapes formed and melted into new shapes. A purple river ran into a purple sea. When I followed the sea to the horizon it was a cloud, and purple lightning stabbed out. The lightning bombarded a field of purple sheep and suddenly everything started to fade. The lightning had got me, and I was dying, lost in purple infinity...
A sliver of light broke the darknes that clouded my vision. I opened my eyes and beheld a flat, blue field, somewhere beyond my reach. It was pleasant and warm, and I had just decided that it would be a nice place to spend forever when it was suddenly marred by a terribly sharp and real image. I focused, and realised it was Davy's face, hanging over me.
"Dammit, man!" I shouted as I jumped to my feet. "You nearly scared me to death! Don't EVER come that close to me again."
Davy stared back at me blankly. He didn't even have the courtesy to look insolent.
"Hey, chill man," Tom said as he walked up to me. "He was just making sure you were ok. You were passed out in the middle of the street."
"Was I?" I said testily. "Well, I'm fine now."
"Is that you're cart over there?" Tom asked, pointing across the street.
"I don't know, let's have a look, shall we?"
I walked cautiously over to the cart and peered into the back. I was instantly greeted by a slew of dwarven profanity.
"Why, yes, it is our cart," I said, turning back to Tom. The cart had been a sudden catalyst for my thought process, and I was suddenly back on top of things.
"Why don't Davy and Mr. Baggins climb into the back with the dwarves, and you can ride with me, Tom. Oh, Mr. Baggins, you'd best give the dwarves some bread and ale. I fear they're looking a bit malnourished."
"But don't untie them!" I added. The last thing we wanted was one of those two maniacs playing with his axe while I was driving. "Let them store up their anger. If some monster molests us while we're on the road, they can get some exercise then."
I hoisted myself onto the cart and slapped the reins. The horses responded quickly; apparently someone had been kind enough to look after them while we were occupied. As we moved off down the street, I shifted my backside some to get settled in.
Tom leaned over and whispered to me, "Uh, Everhome is the other way."
I gave him a blank look.
"Well of course it is. I'm just giving the horses a warm-up lap around the village. Have a care, man."
I sighed. Our stay in the quaint little village had been pleasant, but it felt good to be back on the road. I lit up my pipe and leaned back to take a restful nap.
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