Take full advantage of this, Qatu, and make sure that you are kind to my Nature Walker, for I will know if you are not.
He blinked and then nodded at her, still puzzled. “Now, be off, both of you, the time draws nigh. I will send you part of the way, but the signature of my magic should not be felt by Omerith. It should not be known that I have sent you, do you understand?”
Gin knelt before the goddess. “As you will, Mother.”
The Qatu loves you, my Nature Walker. Let him.
I will, Mother. I love him more than my own life.
Perhaps not that far, Ginolwenye of the Trees. Not that far.
Sephine raised her arms, and before their eyes, she resumed her normal size. Their packs, the gear they had thought lost in the Void, appeared before them, and they scrambled to put it on. She opened her hands, palms out, and beautiful light streamed from her willowy fingers, surrounding Gin and Sath. It was as though one hundred druids were all casting transportation magic around them, and Gin instinctively moved closer to Sath. He wrapped an arm around her, grinning, as the ring of fire formed. “Be well, and love each other, my children,” Sephine said. “La’al Drygyr.”
Twenty-Four
Sephine’s Gift
“You can open your eyes now,” Sath said to Gin, who had pressed her face into the fur on his arm. She did so slowly, scanning the area to see where they were. The landscape was similar to where they had been—before Sephine altered it, of course—but there were more trees and grass and low, rolling hills. Clearly, the All-Mother had transported them further inland, but the faint smell of salt air was still present. They had landed in the middle of a path, and a few feet up the road was a signpost. The words on it were written in Eldyr.
“We’re…somewhere…” she whispered. “Thank you, Mother. Sath, can you read that signpost?”
“Um, let me see—we are headed in the right direction, I think. This path says La’al Drygyr, straight ahead and Ma'anar to the south. Your goddess has put us behind enemy lines, Gin.” He scowled and then remembered the potion that she had given him. “Perhaps that is what this is for,” he said, removing it from his pack.
“Which one of us is supposed to take it?” Gin asked. “I know that Mother gave it to you, but if you are afraid to take it…”
Sath chuckled. “I’m only afraid it will make me look like that wizard again, or worse,” he said, happy that she smiled at him. He took the stopper out of it and sniffed, grimacing. “You’d think a potion made by a goddess would taste a bit better than one made by a gnome.” Gin giggled at him. “Well, here goes,” he said, and drank the vial’s contents in one swig. “See, that wasn’t so…” His face froze into a mask of agony just before he bent over double, gripping his midsection.
“Sath!” Gin shouted as she ran to him, unsure of what to do to help him. He waved her away as he crumpled to the ground. “I don’t know how to help you -” Gin’s voice died away in response to what she saw before her.
A curtain of blinding light surrounded the Rajah of Qatu’anari, driving Gin back a few steps. She shielded her eyes from the glare, closing them for a moment against the pain of the light. When she re-opened her eyes, she gasped at what she saw. Standing before her wearing stained black leather armor that seemed about three sizes too large was a wood elf male. His blonde hair was short and stood on end in places. He stared at his arms in wonder and then began turning around in a circle, trying to look at his own backside. He looked back at her, and when his teal gaze met hers, she felt her heart jump into her throat. She had seen this before, long ago in the Great Forest, when they were hunting for Khujann.
“Sath?” she whispered.
“Aye,” he said, his rumbling voice sounding strange coming out of the wood elf’s mouth. “Gin, I’m…I’m…” Without waiting another moment, Gin closed the distance between them and threw her arms around his neck. Her lips met his, and she kissed him deeply and a bit roughly. He pushed her back for a moment, stroking the side of her face with his tiny, oaken-tinged hands. He stared at his fingers for a moment, leaving them resting lightly against her cheeks. “No claws—I don’t have to be careful -” His voice was barely audible but filled with awe. “I can’t scratch you now.” He pulled her back to him, this time matching the roughness and intensity in her kiss. His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling free the
