Nelson stared glumly into his goblet of wine. His elation and enthusiasm for getting out of the academy alive faded rather quickly as the reality of his situation settled in on him. He had nowhere to live and possessed only what he wore and the contents of his backpack. Now, to be fair, some of the contents of that backpack were valuable enough for someone to try to kill him to get them if anyone knew what was in there. So, he was by no means destitute. However, he needed a place to stay and a place to store things. He took the good advice he was given and converted a few of the gems to gold in the market prior to trying to find a place to call home.

He was of a mind to stay at the boarding house he lived at before getting into the academy. As fate would have it, the path led past The Hungry Rust Monster, a tavern/eatery that he frequented. It was also favored by adventurers and more importantly, halfling adventurers, of which he knew several. In fact, they even had halfling sized tables for halfling and gnome customers. Feeling the need for food and company, he detoured inside. As it happened, his friend Richard Hills was already there trying to drown his sorrows that were apparently made out of cork. Richard was average in about every way for a halfling. The only things that might make him stand out was his curly brown hair under his kettle helm and broad shoulders (for a halfling). As usual for adventures he wore his brigandine armor even when not on a mission. He was also armed with two rapiers, which he duel wielded. Richard had been a scout for the army and was usually sent to find the enemy and see what they were doing at their camp and as often as not, they were doing horrible things to innocent people. Nelson had asked about it once and Richard told him of some of the things he had seen. Nelson did not sleep well for two days and never asked again.

Now, as an adventurer when not on a mission he tried to drink away memories that would not go away. He spent most of his time drunk, depressed, and remorseful. In spite of that he and Nelson just clicked and they shared many an ale pot together. After Nelson explained what had happened, relating just the high points, Richard took a long pull from his mug and said, "That sucks, but I'll have you know that being screwed over by those in command is nothing new in any profession. I'm proof." Nelson just gave his friend a rueful smile. He wasn't really expecting sympathy from him.

The third halfling seated at the table was a paladin named Gordon Stillbrook. As you would expect for a paladin, he was handsome and very personable. Shoulder length blond hair brushed the top of his shoulders and he also wore brigandine armor. His easy smile and cleft chin made him quite attractive to the ladies, which was something he indulged in. When he answered the call to become a paladin he searched far and wide to find an order that had no restrictions on either drinking or having sex. He truly wanted to rid the world of evil but felt no need to do so either sober or celibate. "Nothing for it then. We need to get you over to the guild hall and get you signed up as an adventurer and then start looking for a party that needs a mage. You're well stocked on combat spells I hope?"

Nelson didn't answer right away but instead drained his goblet first. That done he sighed heavily, "Becoming an adventurer was never a possibility that I ever considered when choosing which spells to learn." He stared into his empty goblet for a moment and then cast unseen servant. "Nedda, go fetch another round." Soon behind the bar drinks were being filled seemingly by themselves. When Orloft, the barkeep for the Hungry Rust Monster noticed, his only reaction was to look over to Nelson's table and then Nelson signaled that it was him. He had done this many times before and Orloft didn't mind as it left the barmaids free to serve other customers. The drinks were added to Nelson's tab. The unseen servant returned and set the drinks down at the table. He gave another command to it. "Thank you. Now go to the kitchen and wash dishes." This is the main reason he got his drinks at a discount and was allowed to run a tab.

Gordon frowned, "I know this is a very personal question to ask wizard, but just what are you able to cast?" It was indeed a personal question. Spell casters in general did not like for non-casters to know their limits, both upper and lower. It speaks well of his measure of trust of the two of them that he only hesitated long enough to look around to see if anyone else would be able to hear what he said before he answered that question. When he was done, Gordon let out a puff of air, "Well, you really weren't planning on becoming an adventurer were you? Only one spell that would do any damage to anyone and it's not a cantrip?"

"I'm not too enthused about killing people with magic. If I want someone dead, I'll skewer them." And he slapped the pommel of his rapier for emphasis.

"Humph, first off I have to say that that's a very unusual attitude for a wizard. Most mages want to be as far as possible from anything that can hurt them and then kill those things from as far away as possible with magic. Secondly, it's not hopeless. You'll just have to make sure that when you go searching for a party to join that they understand that you're a support wizard, not a combat wizard. Believe me, I've been on some missions where it really would've been really handy to have someone along that could cast Detect Magic and Identify for us to let us know if what we found was magical and what it was before hauling around heavy useless junk. Let alone paying someone to cast those spells once we got back to town. That can be worth a lot to a party." He thought for a moment, "You're good with that rapier. That means that they won't have to have to assign someone to protect you, you can protect yourself. Have any other non-magic combat skills?"

"I grew up putting extra food on the table with a crossbow and Ma liked squirrel stew. I intend to pick a new bow up once I get settled. Ma and Da both taught me how to knife fight and when I sparred with Da and got a touch, he pronounced me better than most." He chuckled, "There are some would be thieves that can back that up for me. Hmm, oh, I can also put a sling bullet through a helmet's visor slot at 40 paces. About 20 human paces that is."

"If you could pick locks I'd send you over to thieves guild."

Richard looked up from his ale long enough to say, "You have more fighting ability than any recruit I've ever met. Join the army and you'd be a sergeant in no time. If you weren't a halfling that is." He took another drink. "No one will take orders from a halfling no matter what your rank is.

"Not really a bad idea. Not joining the army I mean, but you could get some armor and sell yourself off as a fighter that can do magic. You'd have more opportunities that way."

"No." Nelson shook his head firmly, "Being a fighter type is too much work and I'll freely admit I'm far too lazy for that. No, I'm a wizard that's not afraid to, or incapable of, defending himself with sword and dagger if the situation calls for it. Regularly going nose to nose with big bad nasties is something I'll happily leave to the likes of you two. I'll fight when needed to but if I billed myself as a fighter that can do magic I'd be expected to fight every time something looked at the party cross-eyed. Not for me I'm afraid."

They were all lost in their own thoughts and staring into their drinks when Nelson noticed another halfling approaching their table. His mood instantly improved. Gypsy Rose was a young female halfling wizard like him and he flirted outrageously with her. Initially she was cold to him but she has warmed up over time and he had hopes for a closer relationship in the future. She had shoulder length fiery red hair that matched both her temperament and favored attack spells. Instead of a wizard's robes, she also dressed non-standard for her occupation. Her hair was held back by a warrior's circuit just like Nelson's was (which caused much speculation from other people when the two of them were together). She wore pants tucked into low boots just like any man but what made her distinctive was what else she wore, or didn't wear as it were. She wore a trench coat that was open from top to bottom and wore nothing underneath displaying chin to belt buckle cleavage. The coat never flapped open to reveal the rest of her ample (for a halfling) bosom and the reason for that was the subject of much speculation among the male halflings she associated with.

As soon as she drew near Nelson summoned a mage hand and sent it in her direction. As it got near her it opened as if to grab something. Gypsy glared at it and then looked at Nelson, "If that thing touches me I'll set you on fire." The hand smoothly glided past her and when it reached the bar it picked up a cup and then tapped it against a bottle.

Orloft looked up at the sound and then looked towards Nelson who nodded. He nodded in return and filled the cup with a generous portion of amber liquid from the bottle. He decided not to add this one to the tab as the dishes in the kitchen were still washing themselves. Nelson and his friends were good customers. They never caused trouble, never skipped out on their bill and the free kitchen help was really appreciated.

As she got next to the table, Nelson leaned forward on his elbows and put his chin in his hands and gave her his best puppy dog eyes, "Too late darlin, you set me on fire just by walking in the room and smiling at me." She fought to control her face but a small smile escaped anyway. Nelson was sure it was a trick of the light but he could have sworn she blushed a bit.

"Ugh, what am I going to do with you?"

Nelson sat up and appeared lost in serious thought and after moment leered at her, "Can I make you a list?"

Gordon chipped in, "I can help you with that. That's my area of expertise after all."

Richard just shook his head, "I prefer my skin to not resemble over cooked bacon so I'm out of this conversation." And he went back to his drink.

Before things could spiral out of control, Nelson offered her the seat next to him as he usually did. And as she usually did, she took the seat across from him. He really didn't mind as that meant he would be spending the evening appreciating the view. She took her seat just as her drink arrived and the three men at the table went back to staring into their drinks. She looked at them curiously as this was not typical behavior for them. Also, she was not used to being ignored. Leaning forward on the table she asked, "Ok, what's up?"

Nelson looked up and saw the way her breasts were straining against the gap in her coat and his goblet of wine was complete forgotten. He was about to tell her exactly what was up when she leaned forward like that but responded with the second thought that entered his head, "Do you want the short, sarcastic version or the lengthy, in-detail version?"

"Sarcasm first, it's always more entertaining."

"That senile kobold fart known as our Headmaster smuggled a wight on to the campus to give a 'special' class on undead. It got lose, he abandoned the students and ran like a scalded cat. I happen to be passing by, fought and killed the wight, and saved a student's life. My reward for such brave heroic gallantry was to be expelled for bad-mouthing the Headmaster, which I can assure you I most certainly did do, and lying about killing the wight because it was flatly impossible for a 9th ranked student who is 'just a halfling' to have done it. Oh, and I got off campus only a few steps ahead of a tragic, but fatal accident that would keep me from telling anyone what happened and therefore blemishing the academy's glorious and shining reputation. So here I sit, homeless and owning no more than the clothes on my back and the contents of my backpack under the table."

She stared blankly at him for a moment. "Ok, do that again, but this time give me everything."

He leered at her again, "I love it when you tell me that."

Gordon choked on his ale and backed up a bit so as to not be in the blast zone. Instead of answering with avenging fire, Gypsy responded in a very unusual way for her. Concern was showing on her face. "I'm serious you idiot. Tell me what really happened and don't spare the details." Her change in attitude did not go unnoticed by Nelson so he obliged and told the story just as it happened, leaving out only the rewards he was given. That was no one's business, not even hers.

Gordon was the first to speak up when he was done, "Whoa, you got to watch an elf maiden have sex!"

"I don't think 'maiden' is the right term at this point."

Gypsy gave Gordon an annoyed look, "And that's why I ignore almost everything you say. All that he went through and that's the first thing to comes to your mind? You think with your cock so much why don't you just wear your codpiece on your forehead?" She picked up her drink and moved to the other side of the table and sat next to Nelson and leaned lightly up against him. Everyone was dumbfounded. "Don't get used to it or read anything into it. I'm actually being selfish. You can use some sympathy and I've been feeling a bit lonely lately. I'm picking you because unlike some people," glaring directly at Gordon, "I can trust you to not touch anything I tell you not to."

It was not Nelson's first goblet of wine and since she had not yet said what it was that he could not touch, he decided to immediately test his limits and slid his arm around her waist. She tensed up briefly but then relaxed and leaned a little closer to him. Nelson decided that even if this was as far as things would go, he would declare this to be a very good evening indeed.

Gordon was speechless and Richard just muttered into his mug, "About time you two." And then he drained his mug and passed out. Gordon found his voice, "Hey! I'm pretty upset about what happened too."

"Yeah but I'm sure you'll be able to find someone that will console you in a way that I won't even consider."

He grumbled to himself as he acknowledged she was right. Although he really enjoyed the company of the ladies, he was a paladin and never took advantage of women. He made sure it was always a clear choice on their part. Gypsy made it clear early on that she liked him but had no desire whatsoever to have sex with him. The only way that might ever happen is if she was dead drunk and he just wouldn't take advantage of her like that. He looked around the tavern not really looking for anything but did happen to spot a female gnome that was checking him out. When she noticed he was looking back at her, she smiled. "You know, you just might have a point there. Excuse me." And he left the table to see if he could make a new close personal friend.

That left Nelson and Gypsy alone as they could be in a public tavern. She had something planned for Nelson but had been reluctant to set it in motion. After all, she actually did like him. However, she doubted she would ever have better circumstances than now to put it into action. She took a healthy gulp of her whiskey, grimaced as it burned its way down, and snuggled a little closer to Nelson. "So, would it make you feel better if I told you a secret?"

"Depends on the secret. If you're going to tell me you're a vampire I'd rather not know. Werewolf, I could probably handle."

She chuckled, "Not even close. Have you ever wondered why my coat doesn't fly open?" She chuckled again as she saw that she suddenly had his complete, undivided attention. "Admit it, as much time as you spend staring at my cleavage, I'm sure the question crossed you mind once or twice."

Hundreds, if she really wanted to know the truth. "Well now that you mention it, I am kinda curious. I never asked because first, I thought it would be a little rude to ask. And second I never thought I'd have a chance make use of that information." He was making a good attempt to keep his expression neutral but his mind was already racing.

"Well, yes to the first and let's not get ahead of ourselves for the second. I don't know if I feel that sorry for you." She didn't have to fake being nervous as she gulped another drink. She was surprised to look down and find her cup empty.

Nelson cast mage hand again, picked up her cup and sent it to the bar for a refill. While that was happening, "Darlin, I appreciate that you seem to be wanting to get closer to me, but I can also tell this is unfamiliar territory for you. You got no reason to believe me but I do know what 'no' means and I won't ever lie to you. Just thought I should get that out before we got too drunk."

She paused before answering, "I believe you. The reason we're sitting like this is that you've never yet lied to me, that I know of at any rate, and you've always backed off when I said you were going too far." She wondered if the plan might not be necessary. No. She had trusted without reservations once before and the memory of it still hurt. She needed a guarantee. Her cup arrived and she took a sip. She was torn between the need to keep her mind clear to pull the plan off and the need for the liquid courage to be able to do it.

She sat up and faced Nelson, "Take your finger and run it down the length of my cleavage. Do NOT stray."

If there was ever an instruction that he was given that he was determined and delighted to follow to the letter, this was it. She had closed her eyes as if bracing herself so he decided to be a bit playful. He gently touched her lips first and then let his finger slide over her chin and down her throat. She expected him to start at her collarbone but enjoyed the sensation much more than she thought a simple touch would be. His finger continued slowly down her chest until he reached a point between her breasts. His finger caught on something. He rolled the something between his thumb and forefinger.

"Ah! An invisible chain. Very clever. Now, how does it hook on?"

"That's a different secret for another time. There is another chain about where my belly button is."

"Oh really?" He put his finger back on her chest but below the invisible chain and slowly started down once more. Just above her navel he encountered the second chain. He stopped only long enough to move over it and continued down.

Just above her belt she grabbed his hand, "Stop." No doubt about it, this time she was blushing and had started to fidget in her seat. She turned away to face the table again.

Nelson immediately took his hand away and picked up his goblet for another drink. "Thank you darlin." He took a drink of his wine. "I meant what I said, you set the pace for what happens or doesn't happen." He did though, assertively put his arm around her waist again and pulled her closer so she was leaning on him again. She did not resist but instead sighed and settled in.

Gypsy took a healthy gulp from her cup and grimaced once more as the fiery liquid burned its way down. It burned much less now that she was on her second cup. Nelson noticed her expression and asked her, "If you don't mind my asking, if you don't like the stuff, why do you keep drinking it?"

She hesitated before answering, unsure if she should share with him. "I come from a family of distillers. I grew up drinking whiskey at every meal. This stuff is terrible but it's all they have. I'd have to drink a bathtub of wine to get the same effect."

Nelson leaned back and stared up at the rafters at something only he could see. "Hmmm."

"What?"

"Oh, just savoring the image of you in a bathtub of wine and me beside you with a goblet. Ooph!"

She elbowed him in the ribs, but it was a playful hit. That is to say nothing broke or stared to smolder. They both chuckled and the evening got rather blurry after that.

Consciousness returned slowly and painfully, very slowly and painfully. From the pain in his head, he knew he was going to have the grandmother of all hangovers and his stomach was just daring him to move. He moved his hand; he touched cloth and realized he was lying flat under a sheet and he was not uncomfortable. He also realized he was naked. Ok, he was naked in a bed. It slowly penetrated his brain that he did not have a room anywhere when he started drinking. Questions. So many questions. Questions that were starting to abuse his already hurting brain. Whose bed? How did he get here? Where was here? Why am I naked? Did a zombie wash its feet in my mouth? Could I just please just die and get it over with? All of these questions he could have delt with in turn had he had the time and leisure to address them slowly. However, an arm slid across his chest hugging him close and a bare breast pressed up against his side, then a voice whispered in his ear, "So, did you have a good time?" It was Gypsy's voice.

He sat up bolt right and looked to his right. He had just enough time to register that Gypsy was lying beside him naked before his brain, which was apparently still lying down, tried to catch up and right itself and the resulting pain felt like a dull lumber saw was trying to cut his skull in half. The sudden movement also caused his stomach to violently clench as if it was being squeezed and pulled on by the cold hand of a wight. The two combined resulted in a vertigo caused him to fall off the bed and start to heave up loudly and violently. Although helpless with convulsions and total lack of equilibrium it still got through to him that Gypsy was yelling at him.

"FRUCK! Dammitdammitdammitdammit! You didn't have to do that! I know I'm repulsive but you could have, have, I don't know! But to jump out of bed and vomit?" Much softer, "And I really liked you a lot." She then broke down into uncontrollable sobbing.

Nelson's head was spinning and not just due to the hangover. Waking up naked with Gypsy was a shock. A pleasant one, but still a shock. And then a very unpleasant shock. Did they really have sex and he didn't remember? That thought horrified him. And what in the nine-hells did she mean by repulsive? More than anything else though, she was crying her heart out and apparently he was responsible so he had to find out why and try to fix it. His stomach was empty by now but he still was having dry heaves. Regardless, he dragged himself up the side of the bed and once his hands cleared the top one of them started frantically slapping the mattress while the other one was holding up the index finger and was just as frantically waving it around. Below the level of the mattress Nelson continued to heave but it was easing off. Eventually the spasms stopped and he was able to try to catch his breath.

(gasp) "Ok darlin, I'm gonna pull myself up. (gasp) Please don't blast my head off until I've (gasp) had a change to say some things." He pulled himself up until his head and shoulders were above the edge of the mattress and clung there like a man about to fall off a cliff, which under the circumstances was an exceptionally good simile. She was sitting up and had the sheet pulled up to her chin. The dampness where she was holding it gave proof as to hard she was crying. He was able to stop gasping and catch his breath somewhat. "First, I did not leap out of bed, I fell out. I sat up so fast my brain was not able to keep up and when it did catch up it couldn't decide which way was up so over the side I went. Second, I threw up because of the hangover, not anything I saw. I would not be surprised to look down and see that I hacked up a small angry kobold. Third, what is this nonsense about being hideous? You're the prettiest girl I know. Fourth and last, please tell me I was too drunk to have sex. I think I would have to kill myself if we did and I don't remember. It's something I've been fantasizing about for months."

Sadly, she said, "No, we didn't. You were too drunk. And now that you're sober and its daylight, you won't want to."

"Darlin, you didn't have to get me drunk. All you needed to do was smile and say you had a wonderful idea. And as for not wanting to? You are vastly, vastly mistaken about that."

"You don't understand! I'm hideous! Getting you drunk and insensible was the only way you'd go through with it. Now the whole plan is ruined!" She started sobbing again.

"Plan? What plan?" More of brain cells were returning to their proper function but he felt he was still being a bit slow on the uptake.

She brought her sobbing under control again, "I needed someone I could trust. Someone that will tend to any wounds I take and keep my secret. Because I'm so hideous I can't just make a good friend or," she paused and actually blushed and said softly, "a lover. So I decided to find a good person, get him drunk, seduce them, and then emotionally blackmail them for getting drunk and taking my virginity."

He just stared at her blankly for a moment. "I, um, what? Trust, secrets, blackmail, virginity." He sighed heavily, "I'm not sober enough for this. Please, don't say another word until I get myself sorted and can think straight." Not bothering to put anything on, he stood up and moved to the center of the room (he did not feel any need for modesty given the circumstances) and cast unseen servant. "Nedda, go fetch 2 buckets of water please." The door opened and closed by itself. While he waited Nelson looked around the room for his clothes and backpack. His backpack was beside a chest at the foot of the bed and he gave out a sigh of relief. His clothes were neatly folded on the top of the chest, right beside Gypsy's. There were shouts beyond the door a short distance away. Apparently they were not used to buckets filling themselves and wandering around.

A woman's shrill voice was heard above the other shouts. "Missy! I know yur a wizard and all but ya have ta warn us when ya do things like this! And I know you have a man in there. We talked about this!

Momentarily, the door opened and two buckets floated in and set themselves down in front of Nelson. He fetched his new amulet from his clothes and decided this was an excellent time to test it. He dipped the amulet in one bucket and said the activation word for hot and then dipped it in the other on and said the activation word for cold. He got down on his knees and braced himself, and then plunged his head in the hot bucket and then the cold bucket and back and forth until he had dunked his head four times in each one. He sat on his heels and sighed contentedly, the hangover was mostly gone and he was feeling like a halfling again. "Nedda, get a towel and clean up the spilled water and then use the hot bucket to clean up the puke from the side of the bed." As the unseen servant got to work he went to his backpack and brought out the jug of tea, the bowl of porridge and a spoon. There were two cups on the nightstand so he filled one for Gypsy and one for himself. He sat down on the edge of the bed and handed her a cup. She accepted it but still kept the sheet pulled up high. He downed two cups himself and then capped the jug and opened the lid for the porridge bowl. Several spoonful's later he offered it to Gypsy but she shook her head no so he had a few more.

"Right, now that we're feeling almost halfling again, let's sort this out. What is this nonsense about you being hideous? I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're the prettiest halfling I know."

"That's just because you haven't seen all of me."

His normal sense of humor was returning, he smiled at her, "It's certainly not for the lack of wanting to."

"So you say now. But after," She slid out of bed still clutching the sheet and stood in front of him. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, tossed aside the sheet and put her hands on her hips. "Now what do you think?"

What he was actually thinking was what a lucky halfling he was to have such a beautiful woman standing naked in front of him. Most of his brain cells had caught up by now and he realized that this was not a time to be glib. He was seeing everything she had and really liked the view but he was also not seeing something. And that something was whatever it was that made her think she was hideous. She had no scars that he could see, no unusual birthmarks, no odd growths, and no tattoos. He asked her to slowly turn in a circle and she did so. When he got his first good look at her well-shaped bare bottom he nearly forgot what he was supposed to be doing, but still nothing unusual. She had an odd tan but that was about it. It was nice and coppery and started at her armpits and went down her sides, covered part of her breasts on the outside, went down over her hips and then converged to cover her private parts, which he idly noticed were hairless. He had heard that some women shaved there but had never encountered it before. The rest of his brain cells finally woke up and it hit him like a hammer. You don't get a tan in those places wearing the clothes she did and now that he focused, the 'tan' appeared to have a dull sheen. They looked like they were scales.

"May I touch?" Gypsy nodded curtly, as tears were starting to form in her eyes. As much as he wanted to touch her breast, he touched her side, just above her hips. Yes, they were scales. Tears were now trickling down Gypsy's cheeks. He picked up the sheet and put it around her shoulders to cover her and sat her back down on the bed. She pulled the sheet tightly around her. He then sat down beside her. "Ok, you've got scales. I'm guessing that means you're a sorceress, not a mage if I'm correct. So then, what's the problem?"

Gypsy's eyes snapped open and she gaped at him, "I have SCALES!"

"Yes, so I saw and I could happily spend hours counting them if you would let me."

"I have SCALES!"

"Yes, so what?"

"What do you mean, so what? I have scales! I'm hideous!"

He looked down at his penis and then back up at her, "Darlin, it is only by sheer willpower that I'm not showing you just how NOT repulsed I am. In fact its rather enticing." She looked down at his penis and quickly looked away. She blushed so hard it almost matched her scales. "I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that the last guy you showed your scales to wasn't as easy going about it?"

She barked out a harsh laugh and then the laugh turned bitter and lastly she broke down into sobbing tears. Nelson pulled her close, held her, and let her cry herself out. She kept the sheet tightly wrapped around herself but did not resist his embrace. She eventually stopped crying and pulled away from him. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Sorry, I thought I was done wasting tears on that."

"Do you want to tell me about it? Talking sometimes helps. Maby I can help you get this behind you."

She was silent for a minute and then started to tell her story, "I had a perfectly normal childhood. I was the only daughter out of three children and my parents were distillers. I learned the arts of the trade and everything was wonderful. Until I hit puberty. Where other girls were growing hair, I grew scales. My parents were horrified. I was told I could never let anyone know. They said that when I found someone I wanted to marry, insist on waiting until the honeymoon before having sex and get him really drunk first. That way in the morning it would be too late to object and he would have to keep quiet about it. Well I found someone several years later and fell in love. He said he would love me no matter what and I was tired of waiting." She closed her eyes against the memory, "He literally screamed like a little girl at the top of his lungs and then ran through the town shouting that I was a monster and some kind of a daemon. Needless to say, I had to leave town shortly after that. The rage and shame of that unlocked my powers. I wandered aimlessly for a while until I could control my magic. Then I came here and passed myself off as a wizard."

"And that is why you dress the way you do, 'look! I have nothing to hide!" She nodded. "Well then, we have several things to go over. First, you are beautiful, scales and all. Don't let some shallow moron make you think different. Next, and I don't believe I'm having to explain this, but blackmailing someone is not exactly the best way to build a trusting relationship. One thing that totally mystifies me is that, here you are in a city that is a trade center for many lands and races and a member of an adventuring guild that also has just about at least one of every race as members. Every day you're around people with horns, claws, wings, tails, chicken legs, wolf legs and yes, scales. How can you possibly think of yourself as unusual and hideous?"

"That's because it natural for them! There is nothing natural about me having scales."

Nelson could only shake his head, "Darlin, you are a sorceress. We had a class on different types of magic users at the academy. It is perfectly natural for you to have scales. Sorcerers get their powers through either their dragon lineage or wild magic. When it's dragon blood, you get scales. Obviously, there's some dragon buried deep in your family history. It's also obvious that there was never anyone around that could tell you what was happening to you. It's that simple and it's the truth. You are not hideous or unnatural. You are just as you are supposed to be and you are a wonderful person."

It was so simple and such a shock that she could barely comprehend it. She was NORMAL! She just wouldn't believe it until someone told her. She sprang to him and clutched him so hard he thought his ribs would crack. She sobbed some more but he could tell these were happy tears. When she let go, "Thank you." Was all she said. She was also suddenly and acutely aware that he was naked and so was she under the sheet. To cover her awkwardness, "So, was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"

Nelson smiled mischievously, "Well, you did mention something early on about losing your virginity to me."

She did not say anything but just smiled, let the sheet fall from her and embraced him.

Nelson smiled back and his last rational thought for the next hour and a half was, 'To Adventure'.