The woman was rushed into the adventurer’s guild. The woman who had found her smiled gently and guided her to a nearby table. “Sit down,” she said. “You need to rest.”

“Do you know me?” the woman asked.

“Of course, you are Piggy.”

“Maya…”

“Yes, good, you remembered something,” Maya said, waving her hand at Max and Boorg to come over.

Boorg looked up, his red eyes locked onto Piggy. Relief, confusion, guilt, so many emotions flashed across his face. He jumped and rushed over.

“Piggy,” Max said. “You’re safe. Thank god!”

“Max…” Piggy said, the name feeling strange on her tongue. “What happened?”

Max glanced at Maya, who nodded. He took a deep breath and started to explain.

“Last night, we… well, we found out you were under a curse,” Max said. “You weren’t always… you. I mean, you weren’t always a woman. I mean a pig, you were first a woman, then a pig, then a woman again now…”

“Max,” Maya interrupted. “Take it easy, you are confusing her.”

“My bad, I’ll start again.” Max cleared his throat. “You,” he pointed his finger at Piggy. “You born woman, you cursed turned into a pig, we figure it out, you woman again.” He looked victorious. “I nailed that, didn’t I? I used the Boorg technique!”

Piggy’s eyes widened. “I was cursed?”

“The curse was powerful, old magic. We didn’t know it until Agoseris, the bard,” he pointed his finger at the stage where someone was lying in his own vomit, “started singing this old song about a hero who was cursed to live as someone they weren’t. You can see a curse if you use a flower of triumph, which of course Maya had. Then, we used it on you as a joke, which turned out wasn’t a joke because there were some traces of magic on you.”

“So you lifted the curse?” Piggy asked.

“Yes,” Max continued. “We tried to figure out some ways to break it. It was… difficult. We couldn’t really do it on our own, it was X who lifted the curse. Then you became who you were meant to be. A woman, and not a pig.”

“And after that?”

Max’s lips twitched into a small smile. “Well, we were happy, so we decided to celebrate. Just a little bit. But we might have over-celebrated a bit. There was a lot of drinking, and you… well, you drank a lot too. We all did.”

“That’s why I can’t remember anything. I drank so much that I… forgot?”

“Exactly,” Max said. “But you’re safe now. And you’re not alone!”

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“Piggy!!” Boorg screamed and ran to hug her, trapping her in a massive, bone-crushing hug. “Boorg so worried!”

“Thank you,” Piggy said, as she took a deep breath.

“Let’s get some food,” Maya suggested. “You’ll feel better after eating something.”

As they sat down, Max pulled up a chair next to her, a playful smirk on his face. He leaned back in his chair, grinning. “So, do you remember anything else? Maybe how I totally saved the day? Or night?”

Maya rolled her eyes. “Max now’s not the time.”

Boorg laughed, and a deep, rumbling sound filled the room. “Max always talking!”

“No, I don’t remember that part,” Piggy couldn’t help but smile.

“Well,” Max started. “It all started, last night…”

----------------------------------------

“So, there were we,” Max began, “right in the middle of celebrating like there was no tomorrow. Everyone was feeling good, especially Piggy. I couldn’t believe that you were a woman and I almost ate you so many times.”

“You what!?” Maya interrupted.

“Details, details,” Max waved her off. “Anyways, we were deep into our cups when Piggy here decided that she needed to try EVERYTHING she’d missed out on while she was, you know, a pig.”

Boorg snorted. “Piggy tried ale. Then wine. Then something Boorg not know.”

Max laughed. “Exactly! She was on a mission! And of course, being the supportive friends we are, we decided to join her. It was great like it was really going great, until someone - I won’t name names - decided it would be a fantastic idea to start a drinking contest.”

Maya raised an eyebrow. “You mean you?”

Max ignored her. “So there we were, drinking like it was some sort of heroic quest. Things got a little hazy after that, I think I’ve won. At some point, Piggy decided she wanted to dance. And not just any dance, no no no! She wanted to do the “Dancing Pig.”

Piggy blinked in surprise. “The what?”

“Exactly,” Max nodded. “None of us knew what it was either, but apparently, it involved a lot of hopping, spinning, jumping, and something that looked like trying to walk on two legs while wearing shoes three sizes too big. Boorg helped with that part.”

Boorg burst into laughter, remembering the scene. “Piggy spin, spin, then fall on Boorg. Both fall.”

“Yes!” Max said, clapping his hands together. “And that’s when the shit really happened. Because, as you can imagine, a bunch of tipsy adventurers jumping around in a crowded tavern could only lead to one thing: a massive chain reaction.”

Maya took in a deep breath, trying not to laugh. “You knocked over an entire table of drinks.”

“Correction,” Max said, holding up a finger. “I caught the table before it completely tipped over. But the drinks - well, let us just say that they went flying. All over the place. It was chaos!! People slipping, shouting, drinks spilling everywhere. And in the center of all that, Boorg was laughing so hard he could barely stand.”

Boorg nodded. “Boorg almost fall again. Max catch.”

“That is right,” Max said proudly. “I was the only one still on my feet, somehow. And when I saw Piggy about to slip on a puddle of ale, I knew it was my time to shine. I dived, and I caught her just before she hit the ground. Fast like a cat, I tell you.”

Maya laughed. “More like a clumsy bear.”

Max ignored her again, grinning. “So there I was, holding you up like a hero in some romantic ballad. And what did you do? You looked up at me, gave me the biggest smile, and said: “Max, you are my hero!” And then you passed out. Actually, you puked on me first and then you passed out. But once again, details are not that important.”

“I said that? And I did that?” Piggy laughed.

“Max hero. But not let him drink too much,” Boorg said.

Maya patted Max on the back. "You might have saved the night, but I’m still the one who had to drag you both back to the inn."

Max shrugged. "Details, Maya. Details. The important thing is, I saved the night, and we all had a great time doing it!"

The group burst into laughter, Piggy still connecting her memories. “Oink!” a sound escaped between her lips.

“Yeah, you kept doing that all night, you can’t stop it it seems,” they all started laughing.

Piggy laughed too. Despite the chaos, she knew she was surrounded by people who cared for her, and that was the most important part.

“You won’t escape me…” a silent voice made its way between the group, but because of the laughter, no one could hear it.