Author note: Heya everyone, directly from Italy, I'm still here, alive, healthy (for now at least) and with a brand new chapter for you! Enjoy! ^-^

Warning: it's likely that the last part of this chapter will make some of you uncomfortable, so I offer you my apologies in advance for the inconvenience. Also, there's a bit of coarse language. It's just a single word, but I put the warning all the same, better safe than sorry.

oxoxoxoxoxo

While the paladins went back to Garren's cabin, Margaret Dawn and her party went East in search of the Dryads' Grove to give freedom to the captive Dryads who still languished in Irenicus' dungeon. The Grove was breathtakingly beautiful, with tall luxuriant trees and multicolored flowers surrounding a huge circular lake, the crystal clear waters of which murmured gently and invitingly.

"This place is so... ", Jaheira trailed off, founding herself speechless before such beauty and her ward smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But now we must find the Fairy Queen, we will rest later", the Painbearer said.

"Why are you looking for me?", a melodious voice came from the trees and a figure seemed to emerge directly from the bark of a large poplar: it was an unearthly attractive female, similar to a Human, but her skin was a light blue and her grass-green hair was decorated with fresh leaves and multicolored blooms, like her luxurious green dress.

"Are you lady Vaelasa, the Fairy Queen?", Meg asked and the creature nodded. "I am she. What brings you to my realm, my dear child? Are you here to join us in eternal fun?". The young priestess took the acorns out of her pack and handed them to Vaelasa, "Well, no, I'm here on behalf of three Dryads we met in a dungeon. These acorns belong to them. They are captive and...".

The queen exulted, "You brought the acorns! Now the trees of Ulene, Cania and Elyme can be reborn!", she carefully buried the acorns in the soft ground and three slender willows sprouted at once, their barks opened and out of them came the three beaming Dryads, safe and sound.

Ulene threw her arms around Margaret Dawn's neck happily, "You freed us! Thank you, kind godchild, thank you so much!", the Dryad exclaimed, placing an enthusiastic kiss on the Human girl's cheek. Cania and Elyme followed suit, hugging and kissing the embarrassed Ilmatari and praising her kindness, then all of them left to restore their connection to the Grove.

Vaelasa looked at the leaving Dryads with affection, then turned to the adventurers, "I can never thank you enough for freeing my sisters. Will you stay for a while? It will be a great pleasure to have you as my honoured guests", she said, shooting a sultry gaze at the men of the party and especially at Anomen.

Meg gritted her teeth, her temper flaring and her eyes flashing golden, "Thank you for your kind offer, but we are on a tight schedule, so we can't linger. Farewell, queen Vaelasa", she replied in a low growl, clutching the squire's hand in her own in a vice-like grip and practically dragging him along as she left.

Well, well, well, the Slayer chuckled, You're jealous, aren't you, little Goddess?

You can bet your ugly snout that I am!, she shot back, seething, How dare that blue-skinned slut look at him like that? I should gouge her eyes out and rip her throat off for her insolence! I should tear her to shreds so small, that only the ants could see them!

Yes, she deserves to be punished with extreme severity for her lack of respect. Her fate should work as an example for all of the women out there and I would be most honored to assist you in dealing out the punishment, mistress, the creature said, its tone unusually humble, Just say the word and I will gladly put my strength, my claws and my fangs at your service. Together we will make sure that nobody will dare to try and steal what is yours ever again.

She couldn't deny that the Slayer's offer sounded extremely tempting, but before she could answer, Anomen's voice snapped her back to reality. "Please, my lady, could you slow down a bit?", the young man pleaded, his heavy pack making it hard for him to keep such a quick pace.

The Ilmatari stopped and suddenly realized that she was still gripping his hand in hers, "Oh! Sorry", she hastily let go, blushing, "It's just that I...Well, I, uhm...". "She wanted to make sure that Taar is fine", Jaheira came to her rescue, "Even if Ajantis is a paladin now, he was alone and these lands are infested by Ankhegs".

Meg nodded, smiling gratefully to her, "Yeah, those horrible stinking beasts...I remember the first time we faced one of them: it was terrifying, that monster seemed invincible". "And now we've managed to kill a red Dragon".

"We did, but without the help from Castalia's group, I doubt that we could have come out of the fight alive...We barely made it even with their support. I thank Ilmater that we had them fighting at our side", the Painbearer replied, then put her pack down, "Tell you what, we rest here for a while and then we'll resume our trip, but at a slower pace, okay?".

oxoxoxoxoxo

When they reached the cabin, they found out that Taar and all the five paladins were safe and sound and they couldn't help chuckling at the sight of the boy fawning over a very embarrassed Alybeth. "Ah, here they are!", the black-haired female paladin exclaimed as she saw the adventurers, grateful for the diversion, "Now we can take our leave. You will go back to Athkatla , I guess?". "We're headed there, yes", Margaret Dawn confirmed.

Taar pouted, "You're leaving so soon?", he whined, but then his eyes brightened and he took Alybeth's hand in his, "My lady, my Bringer of Light, I will always think of you while we're apart. This distance will make our love even more epic and tragic and I will be happy, knowing that you're out there doing heroic deeds in my name". She forced herself to smile, gently freeing her hand from his, "I am flattered by your words and I don't want to hurt your feelings, my young lord, but there is no love bond between us, so...".

"Oh, I know! But in every book I read, the hero or heroine always has a distant love, in whose name they joust and thoughts of whom give them strength. I just thought it would be very noble and paladin-like for me to offer myself as your distant love", he replied adamantly, "And I know I'm too young for you now...But maybe you will wait for me?", he asked hopefully, making his best puppy dog eyes at her.

"Er...Forgive me, but I can't make this promise", Alybeth said softly, "But you will always have my respect and my esteem". The poor kid was floored, "Oh. All right", he muttered, "So...Goodbye, my Bringer of Light". "Goodbye, my young lord".

Both the paladins and the adventurers bid Taar and Garren farewell and exited the cabin, destination: Athkatla.

oxoxoxoxoxo

The day after leaving the Windspear Hills, the paladins decided to part ways with the adventurers, mostly because of Ajantis' hostility towards the Ilmatari, so he and his four comrades took a different path to the city, much to everyone's relief. After another long day of travel, the party was peacefully resting around the campfire, having enjoyed a hearty dinner, when Edwin startled them all by jumping to his feet, a wide smile on his lips.

"HA! Another revelation in my...Our Nether Scroll! (At last!) A spell of transformation, both simple and sophisticated", the Thayan muttered, "It's not like the transition from mage to Lich...But it must be more. Much more! I've been waiting for this moment for all my life and my previous lives! Prepare to bow before me! I will have eternal life and unlimited power!".

Meg grabbed him by the arm, her face twisted with worry and fear, "Edwin, for Ilmater's sake, don't! You haven't completed the translation yet, it could be dangerous! Please, please, just wait another couple of days, check it again...", she begged, but he freed himself brusquely from her grasp. "I won't wait a second longer! This is my chance for greatness!", he shot back, then he cast the spell before she could stop him.

A strange greenish glow surrounded him for a handful of seconds, so bright that his companions had to shield their eyes and when it faded, they saw that Edwin had turned...Into a woman!

As soon as the Thayan realized it, he...Or rather, she screamed in pure horror, "No. NO! It can't be! This is blasphemy! This is outrageous and disgusting!", she glared at the others, "And just what are you insignificant simians looking at, with those cow eyes of yours? This is treason!".

The Ilmatari sighed and put an arm around her friend's shoulders, "Easy, now, calm down". "Meg, help me! I'll do everything you ask, if you free me from this disease! (I'm not risking anything with her...She would never take advantage of my promise)". "I'll try. This was caused by a spell, right? So we'll use all the counter-spells we have, okay? Everything will be fine". "Okay".

One by one, Margaret Dawn, Jaheira, Anomen and Aerie cast their counter-spells, they even tried casting Remove Curse, but to no avail: the magic of the Nether Scroll refused to be dispelled so easily and 'Edwina' wailed, sagging on the ground. "It's not fair! It wasn't supposed to go like this! (Stupid, useless, mouldy scroll!)", she sniffed.

The Painbearer sat down at her side and hugged her again, "Sssh, don't worry, we'll fix this, I promise", she said soothingly, trying not to stare in shock at the changes in the Red Wizard. He had shortened, going from his natural one point seventy-five metres to one point fifty-seven, his once slim body was now quite plump, his hair had grown well past his shoulders and even his voice, once so velvety and smooth, sounded now like the squawk of a wild goose.

"Promise?". "On my honour. Now go and get some rest, you are free from guard duty for tonight. And take this", the young priestess took a long and large cotton blue dress from her pack, "It should fit you better than your robe". "What is it?". "It should have been my new nightgown, but you can keep it". 'Edwina' frowned, hesitant, "But...If I keep it, what will you wear? (Don't tell me she intends to sleep naked. Not that it would be a bad sight...)".

She chuckled, "Nah, I will wear something else. Come on, go to sleep already". "All right. Goodnight and...Thank you, Meg", the Thayan slipped into her own tent, closing the flaps with tight knots. Meanwhile, the Painbearer glared at Yoshimo and Anomen, who were nearly chocking in their attempt to muffle their laughter.

"Don't you even think of making fun of him!", she hissed, "He feels awful and I don't want you to make it worse with your teasing, is that clear?". The bounty hunter chuckled, "You have to admit, sekai no hikari, that the situation is quite...What is that word? Ah, yes, it's quite amusing".

"You wouldn't think so, if you were in his shoes. Anyway, I suggest we all go to sleep: Athkatla is still far and we need to be fresh", Meg said, taking a bundle of light brown cloth from her Bag of Holding and the Helmite couldn't suppress his curiosity at seeing it again. "Forgive me, my lady, but what is that? I seem to recall that your nightgown is yellow. Did you buy two spares?".

She smiled, shaking her head, "Amber, not yellow. And no, this is...Well, it's one of my brother's tunics. I took it from his room in Baldur's Gate", she explained, showing him the large cotton tunic, "I will use it as my new nightgown". "I see. Forgive my curiosity, but I always see you holding it while sleeping and...".

"Actually, the one I hold to sleep is this one", she showed him a second tunic, nearly identical to the first one, but with a wide stain of dried blood on the front, "Sarry was wearing this when he...When I lost him. It still has his scent. It's all I have left of him", she said softly, then turned a searching gaze on him, as if fearing his reaction.

Anomen was stunned, but he merely nodded, "I...I see. Thank you for indulging me, my lady". "You're welcome. Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen", the Ilmatari waved a hand and disappeared into her tent, leaving the squire to watch into the campfire with a mixture of uneasiness and jealousy.