While speaking to Baba on the second day after their arrival from the road, Herald felt like he became rejuvenated, for some odd reason. He had talked to Baba many, many times before but such a thing had never happened previously. While they walked back to the centre of the village, Baba had looked oddly… saddened. Their conversation had not been of a depressing nature. He tried to think about it, but his thoughts came up with zero ideas to why it might be so.

Herald could not find a valid explanation why he felt so new. He realised that this was nothing he usually focused on, but the feeling felt so wrong. No, not wrong, out-of-place. This second realisation made him wonder when he had felt so before. If he thought it was out of place then he must have felt it before, or at least when and where it should be felt.

Herald ate dinner at the tavern with Baba. He pitied her a little. You could really see that she tried to be nice, but her words just did not want to bend that way. After some casual conversation they left the tavern and split up. Herald did not head home, though. He headed back to the clinic where he was earlier that day before speaking with Baba. He illogically reasoned with himself that he would remember if he visited the place he was before. Similar to when one forgets where one is heading only to remember when one walked back. Such a thing must work now too, he reasoned. He also had nothing else to do that day so Herald did not have anything to stop him from searching for the origin of the out-of-place feeling.

The physician was still in his office, he looked a little better than before, and a little bit tipsy. A bottle and an empty glass stood on his desk where before it had been a trey with… The thought eluded him as soon as it came and his mind was washed over with a sense of dread.

Herald knew he had stepped too far. He had not forgotten anything, for it had been removed and that which was left was the feeling one gets on the receiving end of a whisper. He froze. He did not know what to do. He should, he was obliged to go visit Baba again. To get out the last of whatever it was he was not supposed to remember. His heart held the loyalty and in his gut was the action. His mind, though, it did not want to follow the reasonable path. It said to him that if he did not tell anybody, nobody would know. Not even a whisper, for all knew Baba had control over all the whispers in the world. He was torn between his loyalty and stupid brain.

“You look worse than me, sit down.” The physician ordered and, unconsciously, Herald did as ordered. However, the physician did not do anything more than observe the vice leader of the earliest expedition. His eyes held a tiny amount of fear in them, for he knew Herald had been there earlier then gone to Baba. The physician was not daft and he had seen this occurrence before even though they were rare, unfortunately, Herald would not be the last. He thought that Baba must have been feeling ill since she had been careless and not done it correctly. The physician shrugged. If the vice leader wasn’t going to Baba and get mended, then he would tell her.

Herald did not notice this at all, too busy with his own thoughts and conflicting feelings. He did not know how long he sat there with his thoughts in a mess. Too many things were messing with his reasoning, thus he could no longer think clearly. The waves of dread were not stopping, his loyal heart was aching, and his mind refused his instinct to take control. His mind and body felt separate. Then it stopped and he felt somewhat whole again. He shook his head, rose up and left the clinic without ever uttering a word to the physician. The physician only followed him out with his eyes.

Herald did not go to visit Baba, his senseless mind had won over the others convincing them what he did was right and justified. He would not utter a word to anyone, he would remain loyal to Baba no matter what happened, and he would not lie if she brought the subject up. He had no dreams that night.