You know that point in a roller coaster ride when you reach the top of the first drop and it levels out and the track in front of you disappears, that tipping point where gravity commits you to the course you've chosen and makes you pay for that choice? That's what this is.

As a side note, the rest of the story is pretty much plotted out now. Coming chapters shouldn't be nearly as difficult to write as they have been. I'm not about to say future chapters will come quickly. Doing that would just invite disaster. But no more delays for plotting, at the least.