Dorian was still unconscious when Leoric turned to the young woman.
"I think I should get him out of here," he said. The woman nodded.
"What are you going to do now?" Leoric asked.
"I don't know. Perhaps I should take my brother to the herbalist," she replied, glancing at him.
"Yes, that might be best."
She looked towards Dorian. "But what about him? Why do you think he passed out? Could it have something to do with—"
"I don't know," Leoric interrupted gently. "Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll find out what happened once he wakes up."
"But what if he doesn't? What if he ends up like my brother?"
"Don't think like that. Dorian will be fine. He has to be."
Leoric spoke with determination, though he couldn't explain why Dorian had suddenly collapsed.
He carefully lifted Dorian and carried him out of the forest, back to the stream. Once there, he knelt beside him and began splashing water onto his face.
"Dorian! Wake up!"
He called his name repeatedly. Before long, Dorian began to regain consciousness. The first thing he saw was Leoric staring down at him, his face filled with concern.
"Come on, sit up," Leoric urged, helping him rise.
Dorian wiped the water from his face and rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his blurred vision.
"What happened?" Leoric asked anxiously. "Why did you suddenly collapse? You frightened me. I thought something terrible had happened to you."
Dorian stared at him, still trying to gather his thoughts.
Then he remembered the young woman's cries for help and the dizziness that had come over him. But there was something else, too. He had remembered something earlier, yet now, the harder he tried to recall it, the more it seemed to slip away.
But the most important question was, why had he become dizzy in the first place? There had to be an explanation, but for now, his thoughts remained scattered.
"Dorian?" Leoric called, studying his face. "Did you hear what I asked you?"
"Yes, I heard you."
"Then what happened?"
"How am I supposed to tell you when I don't even understand it myself?"
Leoric stared at him for a moment, searching his face for an answer, but Dorian had nothing more to offer.
Before either of them could speak again, familiar voices came from behind them.
"What happened here?"
Dorian turned towards the sound.
Aldric and Evander were approaching. Their expressions changed when they saw him sitting on the ground beside Leoric.
"What happened to you?" Aldric asked, hurrying over.
"That's what I've been trying to find out," Leoric replied.
Evander crouched beside Dorian. "Are you feeling better?"
"I'm fine," Dorian answered, though he still felt a little weak.
"You don't look fine," Evander muttered.
"I can still speak for myself, can't I?"
"Barely," Leoric said, shaking his head. "You just collapsed without warning. Do you expect us to pretend nothing happened?"
Dorian said nothing.
Aldric and Evander exchanged confused glances before looking back at him.
Dorian lowered his gaze towards the stream.
He acted as though he couldn't remember what had happened, as though everything were still a blur. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered the woman's words.
He was tired and thirsty.
Dorian closed his eyes.
So he drank some of the water, and then he suddenly fell.
His eyes opened.
He looked away from the stream, unwilling to consider what the memory might mean.
Whatever had happened to him, he wasn't ready to speak of it. Not until he understood it himself.
Meanwhile, Leoric motioned for Aldric and Evander to follow him a short distance away, far enough that Dorian wouldn't hear their conversation.
"What happened?" Evander asked quietly. "And don't tell me you don't know. You were with him."
"I know that," Leoric replied, glancing towards Dorian before continuing. "We came to this stream, and then we heard a woman crying out for help. We went to see what was wrong, and she told us her brother had drunk some water from the stream. He suddenly became weak and fell unconscious. He was lying there with his eyes shut while she repeatedly called his name. As we were trying to figure out what to do, Dorian suddenly became dizzy and collapsed."
Aldric frowned. "Wait. Her brother drank from this stream and fell unconscious, and then Dorian collapsed?"
"That's right. The woman also wondered whether Dorian's collapse had something to do with what happened to her brother. I told her we shouldn't jump to conclusions and that I'd find out what happened when Dorian woke up."
Evander glanced towards the stream.
"Do you think the water has something to do with it?"
"I'm not sure," Leoric admitted. "But we can't deny that both incidents happened at the same stream. I don't know if there's a connection between them, but I think we should keep it in mind."
Aldric frowned. "Then what do you suggest we do?"
"For now, nothing," Leoric replied. "We don't have enough information to draw any conclusions. We should find out what happened to the woman's brother first. Perhaps that will help us understand what happened to Dorian."
Evander sighed. "So we're supposed to sit around and wait for him to tell us?"
"No. We're supposed to give him time without making him feel as though we're questioning him at every turn. For now, let's act as normal as ever. We can keep an eye on him without letting him suspect anything."
"And if it happens again?" Aldric asked.
Leoric fell silent for a moment.
"Then we'll deal with it. But until we know what is happening, there's no point in frightening him with suspicions we can't prove."
The others nodded, though none of them seemed entirely satisfied with the plan.
Leoric turned towards Dorian, who was still sitting beside the stream, lost in his thoughts.
"Come on," he called to Dorian. "Let's get you home before you collapse again."
Dorian shot him an irritated look.
"Very funny, little one."
"At least you haven't lost your tongue."
Evander chuckled as Aldric helped Dorian to his feet.