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Meeka and I dared not walk too far ahead lest we risk something else catching us by surprise. On top of that, I wanted to know more of what this transformation meant for Nadalo. And if it could be reversed. Meeka's book at least seemed to have some information on the topic.

I stopped Meeka by putting a hand on her shoulder before she reached the next bend that would have taken use around to the windier side of the spire again. "Meeka, I didn't know that someone could turn into a Vildekin. What happens to Nadalo now? Is there a way to turn her back?"

Meeka turned back around to face me, but she didn't seem eager to search her book. In fact, she closed it and hugged it to her chest, staring up at me with an expression that looked somewhere between shy and wary.

I pulled my hand away. "Meeka? What is it?"

Her eyes left my face and went to the ground. She hesitated for a long moment before she spoke. "You and... Sidik. And the Athra," she added before pressing her lips together and becoming silent.

I blushed and turned my head away. "Y-Yes. Yes, I know, Meeka. It wasn't... exactly what I expected."

"But you did it," she quickly added. "You and Sidik just... just... did it."

I sighed, looking back at Meeka again. "I know, Meeka. I know I did. I'm just..." I started to explain, but caught myself. I drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "I think I did the right thing, at the time, but do you think we could have done something else? I listened to Sidik because I had no idea what to do, and she seemed to. Do you think there was anything else we could have done?"

Meeka looked up at me for a moment, then looked back down again. "I don't know," she answered. She looked up at me once more. "Do you like Nadalo, Delvara?"

That question caught me off guard. I hesitated for a second before I guessed at why she might be asking. Regardless of her reason, though, I quickly expelled what was true for me.

"Nadalo is interesting and pretty, Meeka, and I get the feeling that I'd be quicker friends with her than with Sidik," I offered. "But if you mean 'Am I attracted to her', then the answer is no." I felt my face reddening again and looked out over the forest. "I'd be lying to say I didn't sort of enjoy what happened back there, but I'm also a little wary of Nadalo and Sidik." I folded my arms. "There's something there. I'm just not sure what."

Meeka lowered her head and nibbled on the edge of her book. It actually startled me a little bit. Her posture, youth, and manner were all very cute. Nibbling on her book just made the young woman look adorable. If it weren't for where we were, I might have wanted to squeeze her then and there.

I cleared my throat a little more loudly than I really meant to then looked back down the road. "Put that aside for now, Meeka. It's important that we know what can be done about the Athra's condition."

Meeka lowered her book from her chest and lifted one hand. The book popped open and floated in front of her as though attached to her fingers by strings. Then, the book simply floated independently as she turned pages in it. "I don't think there is a cure for the Vildekin Curse if it's inflicted by a bite, but Nadalo had to have been turned by a spell of some kind after... uhrm." Her face reddened.

"Yes, after that." I tapped the book, wanting to bring her out of the thoughts that were apparent by her cheeks. "Is there a way to reverse the curse born from that method?"

Meeka studied the page she was on, then turned to the next. She turned several of them before a familiar voice came from behind me.

"She's calm," Sidik stated. She had Nadalo wrapped in my cloak again, though her condition as a Vildekin was unchanged.

Nadalo didn't speak while she looked down at the path. She didn't look ashamed or embarrassed by what had happened. She looked pensive and contemplative. I could see that she was thinking about something. That was encouraging. I preferred her thinking rather than trying to claw at us or having to be practically sexually assaulted to be in control.

She looked toward Meeka. Walking past me, the Vildekin Athra touched Meeka's book to get her attention, then lifted her hand and pinched her fingers as though manipulating a quill.

Meeka was startled by Nadalo's sudden appearance and threw her hands up. Her book flipped over in the air and landed on top of Nadalo's head, covering her face. She calmly removed it and held it out for Meeka to take back. The young Suplicyte did so with a hint of reluctance, stepping back from the Athra.

Nadalo's furry eyebrow twitched, and the feline Vildekin instead just knelt down. She unsheathed a claw and started scratching in the dirt. When she finished, Sidik and I looked down at the writing Nadalo had produced.

'Turn back. Can't speak. Can't protect. Very serious.'

Sidik straightened, looking at Nadalo with shock. "Whaaaat? When did you start drinking Meeka's tea?" She gestured at the Suplicyte. "When she wanted to turn back earlier, you were so determined to press on. I know you got turned into a Vildekin, Nadalo, but you didn't grow feathers and a pair useless wings."

Nadalo glared at Sidik.

I wasn't ready to be so quickly critical of the idea and rose. It had concerned me that Nadalo had been turned into a Vildekin, but it further concerned me that she couldn't speak. I didn't know much about magic, but I did know that it required speech to be wielded. If Nadalo couldn't protect us from the Sorceress's magic, we would be at a grave disadvantage.

Yet I wasn't certain what was mandated in our mission. Yes, Tanaleer Ivok had drawn the attention of the Orders of Espara, but we were told only to 'deal' with the Sorceress. I had assumed that meant for us to kill, capture, or pacify her in some way. The possibility existed that we might simply need to negotiate with her. And, in truth, I wanted to know more about the Sorceress in general. It was puzzling to me that Meeka and Nadalo could have been killed earlier, yet they'd been allowed to live with little more than molestation and... well, it wasn't exactly 'little' more than that. But they had been relatively unharmed, aside from a sore throat.

There was the ensuing curse, of course.

I rested my hand on the hilt of my blade and looked back at Nadalo. "This is a serious situation, Athra, but I think we should move forward. We need to confront The Sorceress and at least find out what she wants."

Sidik paused and looked back at me. "Eh? What she wants?"

I gestured at Sidik with an armored hand. "We were sent here to deal with Tanaleer Ivok. What do you think that means?"

Sidik folded her arms. "Knock her off. What else?"

I shook my head. "I don't know if that's what we're here for. And if the Orders of Espara wanted this Tanaleer Ivok simply killed, why not send a group of the Wings of Espara to assault Jo'rhun directly?"

"The wind," Sidik replied as though I was stupid.

I felt a little stupid for asking that particular question. "Okay, that makes sense, but my point is valid." I put my hand on my chest. "I do not know what experience the two of you had, but I am still an inexperienced Dakra, and Meeka is clearly still a young Suplicyte." I gestured at Nadalo. "And Nadalo, an Athra, is still in a form of training." I folded my arms, looking at Sidik. "Even you seem young to be coming on a mission to deal with a Sorceress able to summon creatures of the Deep World and manipulate the weather."

Sidik put her hands on the hilts of her short swords. "What is your point, Delvara?"

I held my hand up, gesturing toward Jo'rhun above us. "We go to Tanaleer and see if she will turn Nadalo back into a human. Approach her amicably and see if we can't discover who she really is right now." I set my hand back down on my hip. "There is evidence to support the idea that she is controlling the Vildekin, but what do we really know about what she wants?" I folded my arms against my breastplate. "For all I can see thus far, she seems to like playing perverted games more than anything else. If that's her game, we can deal with it as we see necessary. But until then, I think we should act on the assumption that we aren't just here as assassins."

Sidik snorted. "Even if she is just a pervert playing games with us, she has power beyond that which even the Orders can control, and she should be answering for the attacks of the Vildekin on the border towns."

I held my hands up. "I can understanding being wary about someone who has such great power, but even the Vildekin who raided the southern towns only claimed that Tanaleer aided them."

Sidik sucked on her teeth. "Tch. Are you really that naïve?"

I shook my head. "I don't think it's as simple as that. All I'm suggesting is that we find out the truth before we take any daring leaps and draw swords on The Sorceress."

Sidik stared at me for a long moment. The question she followed with made me think that she was at least considering my words. "And if we do approach her amicably and she turns out to be just playing perverted jokes on us? That's not something we should simply let slide either." She thrust a hand out at Nadalo. "She turned the Athra into a Vildekin."

"And might possibly be willing to turn her back," I added. "For all we know, Tanaleer Ivok only knows as much of the Orders of Espara as we know of her." I lowered my hands. "Let's find out what we need to know before we act."

Sidik curled the corner of her mouth, pressing the inside of her cheek against the teeth. She let out another 'tch' before simply falling silent.

I was glad she offered no further argument, but looked to the Athra then. "What do you have to say about this, Athra?"

Nadalo stared back at me briefly, then leaned down and scratched in the dirt. When she straightened up, she simply let the cloak cover her black-furred body.

'If Meeka cannot, Sorceress must turn me back. But I agree.'

I looked up from the words and nodded, then looked back at Meeka. "Were you able to find anything, Meeka?"

Meeka lifted her head, blinking before she shook it. "N-No. I'm sorry. My book doesn't tell how to turn Nadalo back. But it suggests that there could be a way, as long as she's not bitten."

I nodded again. "Good enough. Let's get to Jo'Rhun, then." I walked up next to her and ushered her to face the path ahead. "Let's go."

Sidik followed behind with Nadalo. I didn't have to look at her to know that she was shaking her head. Clearly, she didn't think that I was going to be right.

And I had no clue as to how wrong I really was about everything.