The night wasn't really pleasant, but after a day like that I would take anything I could get. We had all moved close to the fire in the hearth, lying close to each other to keep warm. We hadn't even bothered to set up a watch rotation for the night. None of us were in a state where they would have managed anyway. Instead we had blocked up the door some more. That way we would at least have some warning should our enemies attack us. Despite being exhausted like never before in my life I had tried to stay awake, at least for a while anyway. Mostly, to put some more wood on the fire. Some time during the night I must have dozed off into a state of half sleep though. I felt as if I had been packed in cotton. A sure sign that I was getting sick.

The fire had gone out as well. The glowing coals still spread some warmth though. Maybe it was for the better. Once the sun rose the smoke would have given away our refuge. I looked up at the stars. They had always fascinated me, even if I couldn't really tell why. Well, they sure were pretty to look at. As I blinked fuzzy memories flooded my consciousness. Except they weren't my memories. Or at least they weren't memories of this life. It was almost like after that fateful fight against my brother not too long ago. Had that really been just a few days ago? They weren't the same memories though. I blinked up at the stars. They weren't the same stars I had just been looking at.

My surroundings were strange yet familiar at the same time. I felt a pang of nostalgia without really knowing why. I was at a campsite as far as I could tell. There was a number of curious, very colorful and almost hemispherical tents. The spot must have been on some mountain, even if it probably was not a terribly tall one, judging by the trees growing around the campsite. I was surrounded by a group of young people, some girls and a few boys. Light skinned humans of all things. Why would I surround myself with them? I felt so out of place and yet at the same time right at home. Then a particular memory fragment surfaced. They were my students. The members of the school's astronomy club. I was their adviser and we were here to do some star gazing of sorts.

I handed out sheets of paper to some of them. Assignments they had to complete during our short excursion. Others were already crowding around a strange contraption. A telescope! How had we gotten that thing up a mountain? I had trouble wrapping my mind around these memory fragments, but at the same time I felt at ease. My past self sure seemed to know what she was doing. And why would I not be at ease. I had always been when looking at the stars. It was a pretty peaceful pastime after all. I watched the students work on their assignments as I sat down on a camping chair to gaze at the stars for a while myself, while they were busy. What was a camping chair again? I had no clue, but it sounded intriguing.

Now if only there weren't so much light pollution from the nearby city. It was kind of sad, that even on a mountain, away from civilization I had trouble making out all but the brightest of stars. That was another puzzling thought. How big did a city have to be to light up the night sky like this. What a crazy idea! And as I sat there gazing at the sky, tracing only barely visible constellations that were now foreign to me, the memories started to fade again. I blinked again, staring out through the skylight above the hearth into the much more familiar night sky once more. I felt dizzy. I tried to grasp some of those strange memories, but they slipped from my mind despite my best efforts.

I groaned and had to catch myself. Otherwise I might have fallen face first into the still hot ashes in the fire place. Now that would have been an awful start for a new day. I winced. Those strange memories were eluding me, like a dream I knew I had had, but couldn't remember despite my best efforts. With a final sigh I let go and as I did so my head finally cleared up. I blinked. Even the headache I had felt coming was gone. Well, that was a nice surprise. I was certain that I would need a clear head in the hours to come. The sky was already turning blue ever so slightly, the stars that had captivated me only moments ago, already fading.

As I looked down at the others I looked into Kaele's eyes. She seemed worried. Well, she had every reason to be. I tried to reassure her anyway. “Don't worry about me sis. I just had a weird dream.” I nodded in Khuzan's direction. “How is he?” I could hear his breathing. It wasn't as labored as it had been. I was no healer though, so I could only assume that this was a good development. My words eased the worry in my sister's eyes though. Or at least they shifted the target of that worry. She checked his temperature and nodded with relief visible on her face. He was really getting better then. It wasn't just my imagination. He was still ashen gray though. That wasn't a healthy color. Not for me and not for a Darkelf either. He probably would need more rest to properly recover.

“Ssh!” That had come from Eld'tide. I hadn't even noticed that she was awake as well. Her hair looked like a mess. She pointed in the direction of the door. “Someone is out there.” We fell silent and listened. Her ears were better than mine or my sister's. Khuzan's would have been even better, but he was still out like a light. It took me a while, but finally I could hear it as well. Whispering voices? I got up and moved a little closer to one of the barricaded window slits to listen a little closer. Yes, indeed, whispering voices. Two of them. They weren't speaking the human language either. No they definitely spoke in the local dialect and they sounded young.

I acted before I could think better of it. “Move around to the front. Duck low and be quiet.” I didn't dare raise my voice to high, but the two shutting up all of a sudden let me know that they had heard and probably understood me anyway. I moved towards the blocked entrance. It took me a while but finally I manged to open the stuck door at least a little. “Can you get in?” I didn't get an answer but the next moment two tiny figures slipped through the door crack. I waited a moment but no one else came. The two had been alone after all. I closed the door again, trying not to make too much noise. I barricaded it again as well for good measure.

Finally I got a chance to look at the two. They were Gorgons like Eld'tide except younger. Much younger. They looked terrible. Soot and dirt marred their faces. Their clothes were torn. They looked scared. They looked like they had been crying a lot as well. It was enough to break my heart. I got down and pulled them into a hug. I let them bawl against my shoulders for a moment, crying myself as well, before lifting them up and carrying them deeper into the house to the hearth. Eld'tide had gotten up as well and took them off me. Her slightly frazzled hair tentacles rubbing across the children's backs as she whispered reassurances into their ears. I gathered some more pieces of broken furniture to restart the fire, trying to hold back my own tears and failing.