Author note: Okay, so...I could not leave poor Edwin in his, ahem, 'changed' state for too long, or he'd Fireball me to a crisp in retaliation, so here comes the new chapter! *turns to look at Edwin* There, happy now, sweeetheart?

oxoxoxoxoxo

The following day was quite a handful for Meg: she not only had to listen to the Red Wizard-ess' constant whining about that 'horrible and disgusting condition', but she also had to keep an eye on the others to prevent them from teasing her friend. Despite her vigilance, though, Yoshimo managed to fall into step with the Thayan, a smirk on his lips.

"Tell me, Edwina, would you like me to let out the seams on your robe? I'm quite handy with a needle. You do, after all, have more...Bulk...At the moment". 'Edwina' was livid with rage, "How dare you, you chauvinist pig! (Wait, what in the Nine Hells am I saying?) I meant miserable simian!". The bounty hunter shrugged, "It was merely an offer to a comrade, my pretty lady. There is no need to get angry".

"What, you, you...", 'she' clenched and unclenched her fists as if preparing to Fireball him, then she turned on her heels and went straight to the Ilmatari, "Meg! Meg! That insipid lock-picking chimpanzee is making fun of me! (And I can't even kill him...She would get angry if I did)". Margaret Dawn sighed, "Oh, Gods...Yoshimo, come here". The Kara-Turan obeyed, his smirk vanished, "Yes, sekai no hikari?". "What did I tell you last night?".

He had at least the good grace of looking ashamed, "I...I am sorry, my friend, I was just trying to make light of this situation". "Well, please refrain from doing it again, will you? And now apologize to Edwin". He bowed to the Thayan, "You have my humblest apologies. I will not make fun of you again", he promised.

"That's better. Now shake hands and leave this behind ourselves, okay?", the young priestess said and the Red Wizard-ess pouted. "But he disrespected me!". "Come on, just accept his apology like a grown ma...Grown wizard", Meg smiled and leaned in closer to whisper to her, "I'll share my secret reserve of chocolate with you, if you do".

"Apology accepted!", 'Edwina' quickly took Yoshimo's hand and shook it, "Now can I have my prize? (Mmmhhh, chocolate...)". "Sure, here you are", the Painbearer took a chunk of dark chocolate out of her pack and passed a piece of it to her friend, then shared it with all of the others as well when confronted with Aerie's puppy eyes.

They were enjoying their sweets, when they spotted a figure on the path, a few metres ahead of them: it was a man, clad in Red Wizard robes and his face was twisted in a contemptuous sneer. As soon as he saw them, he moved to block their path, "You there, you worthless peasants! I need some of your time, much as I hate having to talk to such inferior beings".

Wow, quite a charming fellow, this one, the Human priestess thought, but nodded, while secretly gesturing for Minsc and Anomen to place themselves before 'Edwina', "Fine, who are you and what do you want?".

He sniffed disdainfully, "My name is Degardan, not that it's any of your business. I am a Red Wizard and my superiors and I are interested in finding a man named Edwin, an arrogant windbag. Our magic shows that this could be a place for the vulture to hide. He's a renegade, a coward and a traitor, he never pays his dues and he's a gutless and selfish worm. There is a reward worthy of a king for the compassionate soul who turns him in", he added, trying his best to smile friendly.

She shrugged, "Pity, then, for I don't know anyone by that name who matches your description", she answered and Degardan scowled. "Uhm. Well, this renegade is worthless also as a mage: his ability is limited to circus tricks, nothing useful to an adventuress like yourself, truly. Did I already mention the fabulous reward?".

"You did, yes. But my answer is still the same as before", she replied imperturbably. He looked at her for a moment, then snorted, "All right, then. But should you find him, I expect you to turn him in", he snapped, then vanished into a Dimension Door. 'Edwina' was stunned, "Meg, you...You've just lied for me. I've never heard you lying, since we first met (I didn't even know she could lie!)".

The Ilmatari pretended to be offended, "You wound me! Poor, sweet, innocent little me, a liar? Never!". "But you said...". "I said the pure and simple truth: Degardan is looking for an Edwin who is an arrogant windbag, a renegade, a coward, a traitor, a gutless and selfish worm and whose magical ability is limited to circus tricks. But since the only Edwin I know is nothing like that, it must be a case of homonymy".

There was a moment of stunned silence, then Yoshimo burst out laughing. "Oh, I love the way you play with words, sekai no hikari! You would truly make a wonderful swindler", he commented and she bowed. "I am flattered by your kind praise, sensei", she said, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

Minsc frowned, confused, "Minsc does not understand: swindling is a bad thing, so that is not a nice thing to say to a friend, right Boo? Then why is little Meg not angry at the little man?". Margaret Dawn patted his big arm affectionately, "Because it was meant as a compliment, Minsc". "Oh. All right", the Rashemi nodded with a smile, "Thank you for explaining it to Boo and myself". "Anytime, my friend. Let's go now".

While walking, Anomen quickened his pace to fall into step with his leader, "My lady, isn't it weird that the Red Wizards are hunting one of their number? Maybe our resident Red Wizard is withholding information from us". 'Edwina' glared at him, "I am right here, you brainless simian! And I am withholding nothing! (Could he know? No, of course not, how could he?)".

The Painbearer shrugged, "I don't care what the Red Wizards' problem with him is: Edwin is my friend and I will protect him from anyone who wants to harm him. And just to make things clear, I trust him completely and I won't accept any insinuation about his good faith". The Thayan smirked smugly, "In your face, you scale-plated monkey!", she hissed, but Meg immediately rebuked her. "And you don't be childish!".

oxoxoxoxoxo

The next day, Degardan showed up again, still in the middle of the street, "Greetings, friends of Edwin", he said, his eyes then fixing on the Red Wizard-ess, "Turning yourself into a woman only to escape your punishment is really a pitiful trick, Edwin. Your attempt at hiding has failed and now you'll face the consequences of your treason".

'Edwina' took a step back, caught off guard, "I, er, I'm not this Edwin you're looking for (Why is this useless ape babbling at me?) My name is, uh...Ce...".

"Celisa Aleconnor from Athkatla", Aerie intervened without missing a beat, "She is the daughter of Kurdall Aleconnor, former owner of the Den of the Seven Dales tavern". The Red Wizard-ess nodded gratefully, "Yes, that's me, thank you. See, mister Degardan? There is no Edwin here, only Celisa Aleconnor".

Degardan snorted, "And you expect me to believe this sorry excuse for a story? ", he shook his head, "In your own way, you're amazing, Edwin...As a liar. Certainly not as a mage". "I am not Edwin, as I said. But this Edwin must truly be a formidable wizard and man and I'm surely looking forward to meeting him someday".

"Gods! This imaginary world you live in must be glorious, Edwin. But in our world, this arcane dweomer will suffice to dispel your illusion and reveal your true nature", he quickly intoned a spell and after a blinding flash of orange light, the effect of the Nether Scroll was removed.

Edwin was back to his normal shape and he couldn't help patting himself, incredulous but overjoyed, "Yes! YES! I am myself again!", he smiled evilly at the other Red Wizard, "Thank you for freeing me from that horrible disease. Of course, as you can surely understand, I can't allow you to leave peacefully and spread the tale of my shameful previous condition, so...".

The Ilmatari placed herself by her friend's side, her staff at the ready and her own smile chilling like the Slayer's, "So farewell, Degardan", she concluded, just before an arrow sizzled past her shoulder and imbedded itself in the enemy's throat without even giving him time to realize it.

Yoshimo slung his enchanted bow back on his shoulder and grinned, coming to stand beside her, "It was too easy, wasn't it?", he said, but his grin was replaced by a worried frown when he saw her expression, "Meg? Meg, what's wrong?". Margaret Dawn was frozen in place, her eyes were fixed on the arrow with a mixture of horror and desperation and her entire body was trembling like a leaf.

Jaheira, recognizing the sings, quickly wrapped an arm around her waist, her voice soothing and calm, "It's not him, child. It's not him, that is all in the past. Listen to my voice, Meg, come back to us", she murmured and slowly, very slowly, the Painbearer turned to the Half-Elf, looking like a terrified three-year-old waking up from a nightmare. "Mommy?".

"I'm here, child. It's all right", the druidess hugged her charge and stroked her back comfortingly, until Meg gently freed herself from her arms. "Thank you, Jae, now I'm fine. Sorry for...For that show. It's all right now". "Are you sure?". "Yes. Yoshimo, please check if this scumbag had something useful in his pockets and pack".

The bounty hunter hesitated, "Sekai no hikari, did I do something wrong?". She smiled, "No, it's not your fault at all. It's just...That scene brought back an unpleasant memory, nothing to worry about". He accepted her explanation and looted both Degardan's corpse and his belongings, deciding not to pry further. Not to her, at least, but he made a mental note to ask Jaheira for information as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Minsc approached the young woman carrying Boo in his large hands, "Little Meg, do you want to hold Boo for a while? He will help you kick the bad memories in the backside", he offered and she accepted the hamster with a grateful smile. "Thank you so much, Minsc", she said, then stroked Boo's head affectionately, "And thank you too, Boo, my sweet furry friend". The hamster squeaked and twitched his whiskers, enjoying her cuddles.

Edwin snorted, "Bah! I am finally back to my wonderful self and all she cares about is that rodent! (Tasteless girl)". Meg chuckled and returned Boo to the Rashemi, "Oh, come on Edwin, you know I am happy for you. By the way, I suppose you might want to change your clothes", she said to the Thayan, who gave a quick look at himself and nodded.

"I think I will, at that", he hastily took his robe and usual clothes out of his pack and went behind a large oak to dress himself and when he came back, he was positively beaming, "Ah, now I feel better! Tremble, world, the great Edwin Odesseiron is back!".

Anomen snickered, "Alas, what a great pain it is to see the fair lady Edwina gone for good! I guess we'll have to resign ourselves to the company of the same old Edwin as always", he joked and the Red Wizard glared at him. "What? How dare you call me old, you scale-plated monkey! I'll have you know that I am only twenty-five, thank you very much! (Disrespectful insipid tin-can, I should Fireball him for that)".

"I didn't think you were so sensitive to the age issue", the Helmite replied with an impish grin, "It must be a lingering effect of your transformation...". "Don't you dare mention it! (I swear, if he keeps this up, I won't be blamed if he gets a Fireball up his nethers in the next fight)".

Margaret Dawn intervened, trying to suppress her laughter, "Come on, Anomen, leave him be, or I'll put you to laundry duty for the whole party for a month. And Edwin, you will definitely be held responsible for any Fireball of yours which should end up in the wrong place in the next fight, is that clear?".

"Yes (There, I knew she would defend him! Just because he's always making puppy eyes at her...)", Edwin muttered sulkily. That was enough to make the squire's grin vanish and be replaced by a brilliant scarlet blush, "I don't make puppy eyes at her!", he protested and it was the Thayan's turn to grin. "So you're saying you don't like her?".

"Of course I like her, but...Well, I...", poor Anomen didn't know what to say, as afraid as he was to inadvertently insult his leader while trying to avoid admitting his feelings for her so soon: after all, he was nothing but a simple squire, so he didn't have any right to court her openly yet and he would get that right only after achieving knighthood. That was the way it worked in the Order and the only way he had ever known about such things.

Luckily for him, Minsc put an end to the discussion in his own unique way, "Boo is becoming restless, little Meg", he announced, "See how his whiskers twitch? He wants to reach the city and to have a nice bath and some beauty sleep. Can we go, please? It's not good to have an annoyed hamster on our hands: he may decide to bite us in hard to reach places!". She let out a laugh, "Let's hurry then: I don't want our little hero to use his mighty teeth against us".