“Come one, come all to see the most mystical wares in all of Altis Point! For only the most reasonable price, one of my charms could be yours!” An old lady with graying hair cried out to passersby from a rickety stool that she balanced on. Her hands cupped around her mouth to project her voice. Then, to dismount, she flourished her arms up and leaped from the stool with grace belonging to a woman far younger than her years.

At once, Val could not help but feel disappointed. Those with divine blood were immortal. Appropriately, they possessed eternal youth so demigods and gods could most often be observed in the prime of their life. Of course, different immortals possessed different levels of ability to morph their physical appearance, but few would choose to take the form of that wild, old woman.

When Lady Margus was not making a circus of herself to attract attention to her shop, she raced about her wares to answer questions, accept payments, and deter thefts. While she worked, Ross shadowed her throughout her place of business and tried to gain an opportunity to speak with her. Once she finished with yet another lovey-dovey couple with starry eyes from their romantic vacation, Ross waved her down.

“Hello, Lady Margus!” he called. “By any chance could you help me decide on a souvenir?”

“Why, of course, my lad! What sort of treasure does your heart desire?” With a wave of her hand in a circle, Lady Margus stooped into a dramatized bow. “Whatever tickles your fancy, I am sure that I can oblige.”

“Perhaps a trinket that will ward away bad dreams?” A tremor of uncertain hope crept into Ross’s voice.

“I ought to give you one that causes nightmares for the way that you just called my crafts a mere trinket!” Scratchy offense took over Lady Margus’s voice. Her wrinkly face skewed up in anger too. This hostility dominated her personality in such a way that Val’s entire view of the woman necessitated a change.

Rather than an eccentric salesperson with her colored skirt and shawl, Lady Margus appeared more witch-like, now. At the very least, her long, haphazard hair with a colorful hair scarf made her look the part of a chaotic yet benevolent witch. How did this old lady sell anything if she exploded with that short of a fuse at her customers?”

Ross shrunk back against the elderly woman’s outburst, elbow raised halfway up in self-defense. “I-I’m sorry. I meant no offense to you nor your work.”

“No worries, kiddo.” A small, quick, jab of her elbow attempted to bring Ross along with her good spirits. “I was only pulling your leg, you know. That sort of attitude would scare away business.” Lady Margus winked. This, she followed up with a cackling laugh.

Ross seemed to force himself to laugh along. His laughter sounded so awkward that it pained Val from here, in another whole different time.

Her own humor tickled around her consciousness. Surely, this feeling would be the source of laughter if only Val had a physical body within her vision in which to release her jolly reaction. For her, it would be easier to laugh along with Lady Margus since Ross served as the butt of the joke, after all.

“You had said that you want something to drive away the demons of your dreams…” Lady Margus resumed. She spun around, and with a flourish, she displayed a feathered ornament in two hands. “Your mind shall never know imagined fear so long as you keep this little guy near.”

“Hey, that rhymed.”

“That it sure did. My rhymes are quite fine. Do they entice you to purchase for $29.99?” Lady Margus pushed the trinket closer to Ross’s hands.

With a laugh, he pulled out his wallet and handed over the money that she asked for—more than that in fact. Ross being older than Val and having worked a real job and all, it made sense that he had more money than her. Val only wished that he would have left some funds to help her out. Already, her mind had started to dwell on her dwindling reserve of money that awaited her once she went back to her time.

The fact that Ross had actually come all of this way to Altis Point to buy a talisman made Val wonder. Did Ross actually suffer from nightmares that compelled him to make such a purchase?

Dealing with the future supposedly had certain risks associated with it, all of the drawbacks taking a toll on one’s mental wellness. Countless demigods and demigoddess descended into either madness or a vegetative state from messing around with their understanding of time, fate, and destiny, or so they said. The last person that Val wanted that to happen to was her only brother.

With the trinket in hand, Ross said, “Thank you, for this.” His fingers pinched against the thin leather strip while his hand cupped around the feathers. “I am not quite sure where to put this, though.”

“Here.” Lady Margus snatched it back and continued to tie the feathered ornament at the front of Ross’s hair. “The dark blue tones in these feathers compliment your eyes. Your hair is longer than most boys, so trust me, it looks quite snazzy there in your locks. Let’s pretend that my trinket is also enchanted to attract the ladies.” At that, Lady Margus gave him another wink along with a sly smile.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Ross said, chuckling in a lowered voice.

Val would sneer if she could. Much like herself, Ross had no love life to speak of--or at the very least, he did not have any experience in the romance department that she had ever known. Even if he did, that would be the last thing that she wanted to know about her brother.

Nevertheless, she found it funny that Ross allowed Lady Margus, this colorful, eccentric, old woman, to give him advice on what younger and more attractive women might like. Whether Ross would tear that feather from his hair, Val would have yet to see.

With their transaction done, conversation shifted into a more idle topic.

“Might a little, old lady ask where are you headed next?” Lady Margus stared on at him. Her eyes, wise and large like those of an owl’s face bore into him.

The mood between them changed completely in that instant. A line of dire seriousness had drawn taught in their conversation.

With tightened lips, clearly trying to conceal a smile, Ross said, “I am headed for home, as I am weary of this world.”

While Ross had been developing that accursed habit of fortune tellers to speak in cryptic riddles, this broke a new record for him. Aside from that, this particular phrase sounded uncharacteristically depressive for him, as well. This caused even more worry to stir within Val. Had Ross truly been struggling with his Future Sight before he had left, only she had never noticed nor had done anything to help him?

If this were the case, Val could do nothing for Ross now, except make haste to join him at the Summit of Ascension. To bring her closer to this goal, her vision continued to play on.

“You are a fellow wanderer amongst the simple folk, I see.” Lady Margus lowered her voice to a whisper. Quite obviously, she, too, struggled to conceal a wily smile. “I will give you the passage that you seek." A hand with her long, narrow fingers and longer yet nails pressed against Ross’s chest. Lady Margus closed her eyes, and the happy expression on her face plus her upturned wrinkles all slackened. She appeared to focus, and with that concentration, a dull emission of energy could be sensed. Beneath her palm, the tinges of a golden light glowed.

With the two of them hidden within the crowd of rowdy customers, no mortal would notice either of these subtle signs of magic.

“Tonight, go to the Old First Pier, the one that has collapsed and laid in disrepair for a many of decades. Best of luck to you, young friend.” Lady Margus gave another bow to Ross, this one solemn and respectful.

In return, Ross bowed as well. His mouth opened to give thanks, but by the time that he lifted himself from his bow, Lady Margus had already returned to bustling about the many customers interested in her wares.

With a broad smile on his face and a gentle touch to the feathers dangling in his hair, Ross turned and left the shaded area of the gazebo.

By that old lady who Val had wanted to dismiss as a con artist, it seemed that Ross had gained passage to the Summit of Ascension. She watched the back of his head in awe as she allowed him to disappear into the crowd. With her much-needed knowledge now obtained, Val let her consciousness drift back to her own time.

As if Val had not felt exhausted enough from the gravity of leaving her home and her mother, the excitement of her first dog, the exertion of walking all day beneath the sun, now too, Val felt mentally exhausted from witnessing such a vibrant moment of Ross’s past.

Foofy continued to lay at the foot of the bed, unaware of everything that Val had just witnessed. Tomorrow, they would have to find a way to recreate that path for themselves.

For the time being, Val closed her eyes. As she drifted off to sleep, she let out a gentle wave of Keep the Peace to keep the many insects at bay that she could sense throughout the room, hungry with their intentions to bite on Val and Foofy. With that last release of energy, Val was truly spent and she slept soundly.