General disclaimer: I own nothing, even Maiyn generally decides her own path.

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Wild Magic

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Dynaheir's shriek echoed around them, causing most of the others to flinch, and Minsc to jump in surprise, swinging his sword around dangerously as he looked for the foe assaulting his witch.

"Minsc! Be careful!" hissed Jaheira as the berserker's weapon narrowly missed cleaving her arm. "Dynaheir, what is wrong?" The druid turned to see the Rashemani witch sitting amongst the sludge, having slipped and fallen in a most ungraceful fashion. Maiyn and Imoen were trying not to laugh, and mainly succeeding. Alora's giggles, however, could be heard quite clearly. Kivan extended a hand and pulled Dynaheir to her feet. The witch looked as if she was about to cry as Khalid and Yeslick offered her comforting words. Xan sighed loudly, stalking past the scene in frustration at being held up in the surroundings.

"It's just some dirt," said Coran soothingly to the upset female mage. "When we return to the inn, you can always change."

"I shall bathe as well!" she snorted indignantly. "Thy should also consider taking one, for this traipsing around in the bowels of the earth are of no good to anyone."

"Bowels, eh?" said Imoen with a chuckle. "No pun intended, I guess?" Dynaheir's glare immediately hushed the young thief, and the companions slowly made their way to a nearby grate. Coran quickly climbed up, and nodded down to Maiyn. Silently, the companions clambered out of the sewer, into a small alleyway opposite the Iron Throne building.

Kivan quickly looked for any sign of guardsmen, but the way appeared clear. The group quickly crossed the street, ignoring the disgusted looks they got from passing merchants, and darted into the open doors of the compound. They pushed their way past the arguing traders, heading straight for the stairs, Minsc and Jaheira leading the way.

They climbed the stairs to the bar, puzzled by the lack of guards. Before they could ascend further, a voice called out behind them.

"There's not much left up there, if you're here to loot!" A small man in a mask waved cheerily at them. "I think all the best stuff has been taken, but you're more than welcome to try. Might face some resistance now that one of the officials is back though, we all thought they were dead!"

Maiyn looked to Jaheira as the strange thief ran down the other set of stairs. "It must be her," she said quietly. The druid nodded in return, and the group swiftly climbed up the stairs, a quick scan of the room showing no signs of any other presence. Kivan moved on, heading for a narrow corridor that led down to private rooms, and he signalled for the others to follow. As Maiyn caught up with him she could see a figure ahead of them; a tall human woman, with beautiful golden hair, softly falling around her face in ringlets. Her skin was pale, her expression cold, and her dark blue robe was embroidered with mystical sigils that Maiyn didn't recognise.

"Mmmmm," she said deliciously, her soft voice sounding almost child-like and nasal. "So you've come back. If you were smart, you would have left well alone. I don't know how you escaped my Lord's trap at Candlekeep, but you won't be getting any further than here."

Jaheira snorted, and the woman's gaze fell to her. It was contemptuous, taking in the druid's filthy clothing and disarrayed hair with a slight sneer. Almost subconsciously, Cythandria patted her own perfect head of curls, and looked back to Maiyn. The ranger was possibly in an even worse state than Jaheira - her hair was tangled and knotted, and her face was splashed with the mud and excrement they'd waded through. Her cloak and boots were now severely showing signs of their age, and the rest of her clothing was too tattered and dirty to remark upon. She clenched her bow in her hand, resisting the urge to throw it hard at the mage.

"Why did you come back here?" purred Cythandria. "Why not go after Sarevok directly?" The group maintained their stony silence, but the woman just smiled. "Tamoko... it was Tamoko, wasn't it? I always knew her to be a traitorous whore. Well, it matters little if she did or didn't - all that matters is that you will die."

A flash came from Cythandria's hands, and two massive ogres appeared between her and the companions. Minsc was immediately in beside them, roaring with delight as he battled. Khalid and Jaheira joined him as Coran managed to duck beyond them, running straight for the mage. Maiyn's arrow reached her first, but bounced off the protective shell she cast quickly around herself, causing the ranger to swear loudly. Kivan and Imoen's arrows did likewise, and together the three readied their melee weapons, and slipped past the distracted ogres.

Xan and Dynaheir were muttering behind them, and Yeslick prayed quickly to Clangeddin, receiving the gift of a dispel magic, which the dwarf instantly cast at the woman. The faint purple glow around her immediately disappeared, and Alora's arrow pierced her thigh squarely, causing her to flinch in pain. Her wince caused her spell to miscast, and a surge of energy seemed to surround those nearest her, pulling at them and fighting with their very essences.

"What's happening?" shouted Maiyn as she reeled back, feeling as if her body was being torn asunder.

"A wild surge!" replied Xan with disbelief. "I've never experienced anything like it before, but I've heard the tales..."

Dynaheir's magic missiles managed to knock the mage to the ground, rendering her unconscious as Minsc and the Harpers finally brought down the ogres with Yeslick's help. Maiyn, Kivan, Imoen and Coran all slumped to the floor, unable to speak further and Xan warned the others to keep back, away from the source of the energy.

The companions gasped in horror as one by one the affected members polymorphed into different forms: Kivan melted into the shape of a wolf, Maiyn suddenly turned into a squirrel, Imoen took on the form of a deer and a cat appeared in place of Coran. It didn't take long for the wolf to notice the others, causing the squirrel to flee into one of the rooms, scampering up one of the bookcases in fear. The cat hissed violently, bushing itself up in terror as the wolf snarled in its direction, and it rushed over to the group, leaping up into Minsc's arms for protection. The party watched as the wolf then proceeded to chase the deer past them, Khalid and Yeslick throwing themselves at the canine, and struggling to keep it still while avoiding its snapping jaws. The doe stopped nervously at the top of the stairs, trembling skittishly as Jaheira approached it slowly with soothing words.

"Ah, bad cat! Leave Boo alone!" cried Minsc suddenly, dropping the feline to the floor, where it landed gracefully, giving the ranger an evil stare. Minsc scowled back down at it, cradling Boo in his hands, checking the hamster's tail for signs of injury after the cat's rather vicious bite.

The cat slunk off sulkily, targeting Alora, and jumping up into the halfling's arms, purring magnificently as she absent-mindedly stroked its head. "What's happened?" she asked in a small voice, her eyes still wide with fright.

"They have polymorphed," sighed Xan. "It should only be temporary, and we have no option other than to sit it out."

"What caused it?" asked Jaheira, her hand soothingly rubbing the neck of the deer who had once been Imoen.

"The mage miscasting," replied Xan simply. "I have only ever read of wild magic before, but some it seems have been driven to study it."

"Wild m-magic?" asked Khalid, trying to sit on the wolf as Yeslick pinned down its head.

"Many say it was caused by the Time of Troubles," explained Xan. "It is magic which has powerful and dangerous surges and unpredictable effects. There are said to be spells which can prevent the user from such effects, but alas, some will believe they don't need them apparently."

"Can we not dispel this effect?" asked Dynaheir.

"I doubt it would do much," remarked Xan. "The way in which it occurred has probably rendered the effect of the polymorph resistant to standard spells."

A scream and a crash from one of the side rooms caused them to jump, and Dynaheir and Xan rushed to the doorway to find Maiyn lying on the floor, slightly dazed. A bookshelf lay on its side, having toppled over when the light squirrel disappeared, only to be replaced with a somewhat heavier elf.

"Maiyn has returned," called Xan, and Minsc immediately appeared, helping the girl to her feet and leading her back to the others. Next to revert was Imoen, who also appeared quite dazed, but was soon concerned by Jaheira's continued and preoccupied stroking of her neck.

Yeslick and Khalid quickly stood up as Kivan appeared beneath them, muttering apologies to the elf who just glanced at them strangely. None of them could remember being in the bodies of the animals they'd been in, and were quite aghast when Xan explained what had happened.

All eyes turned to Alora as she still stroked the rather smug-looking cat.

"Erm," said Maiyn dazedly. "If there was no warning about us changing back into our proper forms, maybe you should drop the cat before-"

"Aieeee!" squeaked Alora as Coran appeared in her arms, causing her to topple over. The elf looked around dazedly before the halfling shoved him off and clambered back to her feet, muttering darkly.

"Ah, never mind," sighed Maiyn, turning to face the wakening woman. The ranger shook her head slightly, and walked over to the mage with Minsc and Khalid by her side, the fighters lifting her roughly to her feet to face the elf.

"Wait, wait!" exclaimed Cythandria weakly. "Please don't kill me!"

Maiyn stared at her for a few minutes. "Why shouldn't we?"

"I... I can tell you where my Lord is!"

The elf shook her head slowly. "We already know," she said quietly. "We know more than you can possibly imagine."

Cythandria spat at her, her eyes glistening with anger. "I am shamed by my lack of courage," she hissed. "You will fall to him, just like the bitch Tamoko shall when he learns of her disloyalty."

The sword was in the woman's abdomen before anyone could react. Something inside Maiyn took offence to the woman's disparaging tone regarding Tamoko, and she acted on impulse - on instinct. "Search her body," she said quietly, ignoring looks of her companions. She turned and walked away, sitting down by the stairs with her head in one hand. She was feeling a lot of emotions that she couldn't place, and urges were coming and going from her conscious thought; not least of all was a craving for nuts.

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Maiyn checked to make sure the book was still in her pack. Sarevok's diary had proven to be an interesting read, as had the note they had found on the body of Cythandria.

Sarevok,

I have received your letter and I am quite overjoyed by your proposition. I have told my wife, and she is as excited as I. We accept your mission, and think your payment is very adequate. This shall be our greatest feat yet, our involvement in the deaths of not one, but three powerful figures! We will be taking up our regular residence at the Undercellar when we arrive at the city; if you require to contact us, you know how to.

Joyfully yours,

Slythe

Maiyn drummed her fingers on the pipe running along the sewer wall. Coran had led them back to through the sewers to the entrance near the palace. There were no signs of any doppelgangers, but Jaheira had pointed out that it was getting quite late and in all likelihood, the shapeshifters had already moved into place.

Maiyn's temper was frayed; the encounter with the giant spiders midway along their route had done nothing to improve her temparement and the companions were standing around in the sewage waiting for her to explain what she intended to do next. They had but one invitation to the ceremony, which was unlikely to grant all eleven of them access; and not only that, but the fact they were all covered in filth was also serving as a worrying factor.

The ranger sighed. They were so close to him; but now, of all things, they were likely to be stopped due to excessive untidiness and a lack of paperwork. She felt as if she would start crying in frustration at any point - this sort of thing shouldn't happen to adventurers.

"There's an inn around the corner," said Coran suddenly.

"We don't have time for a drink!" exclaimed Alora. Coran rolled his eyes.

"I meant, that a couple of us could go around and clean ourselves up a little perhaps, be a bit more presentable to gain entry with the invitation."

Maiyn nodded slowly, and looked around at her companions. Imoen had managed to pick her way along the dryer ledges of the sewers and had managed to avoid being dirtied as much as the others. "Take Imoen," she said quietly to Coran. "You can both wash, and use any coin you need to pick up anything else you need there to make yourselves look neat."

Coran nodded, and turned to take Imoen's hand, giving her some help to clamber up to the grate.

"What about the rest of us?" asked Jaheira. Maiyn thought for a minute, then grinned and turned to Xan and Dynaheir.

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Imoen walked along beside Coran as daintily as she could manage. The elf had dragged her through the crowds of people and into a dimly lit shop, quickly grabbing a pretty pink dress; he'd initially reached out for a green one until he saw the thief's scowl. It fit her quite well, and she'd washed her hair, casting a quick - but risky - fire spell to dry it off, allowing it to flow naturally down and around her shoulders. Coran had scrubbed himself clean, shrugging slightly at the grubbiness of his tunic, 'borrowing' a jacket they found in the tavern as they left.

Coran quietly called down into the sewer, and Imoen heard a faint murmur of acknowledgement. The elf held out his arm, and grinned at Imoen as she took it awkwardly. The sound of squelching footsteps marked the presence of their companions, but none were visible.

"All here?" Coran said aloud, seemingly asking thin air. "I assume that was Maiyn pinching me."

"Keep your voice down!" came Jaheira's irritated tone.

"Y-yes."

"Yep."

"Thy have both turned out quite well." Dynaheir sounded surprised.

"Minsc and Boo stand ready!"

"Aye."

Coran assumed the sigh came from Xan. "Kivan?"

"I'm here."

"Right then!" exclaimed Coran merrily. "Off we go to the ball!"

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"Invitation please," said the guard sternly. Coran held out the parchment and the guard studied it intently. "Okay, go inside. Follow the path to the main doors, then go straight through the double doors to get to the hall."

The guard herded them off, looking at them curiously. Their invitation was genuine enough, their clothes were of decent quality and they held themselves with the air of those with noble blood. But the guard couldn't understand why the lady wore a pair of sturdy leather boots beneath her trailing dress, rather than the delicate slip-on shoes most noblewomen tended to favour. He shrugged to himself, wondering if they were perhaps from out of town, and it was just a strange trend from some other region. He was too distracted by these thoughts to notice the other footprints appearing behind Imoen and Coran as they sauntered towards the castle's door; all muddy and dirty, appearing from nowhere in the wake of the last arriving guests.