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Bronn lay awake, staring out the latticed window at the moons hanging heavy over the city's skyline. It was still weird to consider that only two nights before she had still been a proper dwarf, still had her glorious full beard... She grumbled and turned over, staring into the small inn bedroom instead. Across from her, a large and muscular female orc was sleeping soundly, snoring a bit. Nidwin had been a pixie before their collective accident, and was no more comfortable in her new body than bronn was, but right now exhaustion had taken its toll and she was sleeping soundly.

 

Bronn sighed and flopped over on her back, staring up at the beams holding up the ceiling. . She had been born a dwarf... a male dwarf... and had never had even the slightest idea she might one day find herself a winsome dryad. Her skin had the appearance of light, supple bark, but was still sensitive and pliant. Her hair appeared to be a full mass of fresh green leaves. Her features were elegant, with long pointed ears and faintly luminescent eyes. And then there were the "other" changes. Her vision was inexorably drawn to the mounds on her chest, covered by the bed sheet. Looking over to Nidwin to ensure she was full asleep, Bronn gently grabbed and hefted the soft breasts, releasing a small tinge of pleasure. She quickly pulled her hands away, cursing herself silently. This was such a mess.

 

There was a slight creak outside the door.

 

Bronn perked up, rising from her bed. The muffled sound of a door closing came from the corridor, and the dwarf-turned-dryad found her curiosity peaked. Tiptoeing over, she slid the door open and peeked into the darkened corridor of the inn. A distinctly feminine shape was moving in the dim light cast by the moons, a figure with dark skin and pale silver hair.

 

"Lianan!" Bronn hissed, slipping through the door entirely and closing it behind her.

 

The figure froze and spun around quietly, revealing a buxom drow girl with a cute face holding a bundle of clothes in her arms. "Bronn? Why aren't you sleeping?"

 

"What in the Abyss have you been doing?" Bronn asked her traveling companion. Like herself, Lianan had been a male before the disaster which saw them all dead and reincarnated by the party druid. Lianan had gone from a thin, sneaky-looking male elf to a quite stunning drow lass, and was evidently not very bothered by it, if her behavior since was any indication.

 

"Just went for a bit of a walk" Lianan shrugged, with a hint of amusement to her voice.

 

"...went for a walk in the middle of the night stark naked?" Bronn retorted.

 

"Maybe?" Lianan grinned. "And you're one to talk." Bronn clutched the bedsheet tighter around her body.

 

Bronn suddenly realized that Lianan had come from the corridor leading to stairs, but as she had distinctly heard a door opening and shutting, the drow must have emerged from a room. And the only one rooming in that direction (barring total strangers) was...

 

"Lianan!" she yelped. "Did you just... did you... with Herevor?"

 

The drow rolled her eyes, lowering the bundle of clothes a little as she straightened up. "And if I did? He's a good friend you know, and we're both young." Her large breasts drew Bronn's attention as moonlight played across their silky black surface.

 

"Herevor is a man! You're a ma-" Bronn began, but Lianan waved at her panicky.

 

"Keep it down! Do you want to wake the whole inn?" she hissed.

 

"I don't believe you, Lia. I really don't. Less than 48 hours as a woman and you're already spreading your legs for a man? I thought  you were better than that" Bronn sighed.

 

"First off, he's not just any man. He's Herevor, our companion and friend. Second, you seem to assume that this is some spur of the moment thing. Maybe I have thought about this for a long time? Maybe this was actually a blessing and not a curse, but you three are too stuck in the past to-" Lianan broke off, as if she had let her tongue slip. She stared silently at Bronn for a moment as the dryad realized what she had meant. "...I'm going to go to bed." Lianan mumbled after what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence. "I can feel myself getting sober." And with that she turned and headed back towards her and Harmak's room.

 

Bronn stared after her wordlessly for a few moments. She tried to turn the situation over in her head again. Lianan and Herevor had had sex, and Lianan had confessed she had been attracted to Herevor. It was too much for Bronn's tired mind to handle and she decided she should just try sleep again herself. As she turned back to her room, she quietly thought that Lianan was definitely an exception. Neither Harmak, Nidwin or her had any attention to have sex with men, even while they were stuck like this.

 

***

 

"Oy, Bronn. Wake up!"

 

The dryad woke up being shaken around roughly and opened her eyes to see the room flooded un sunlight, with the sounds of morning in the city trickling in through the open window. Nidwin released her, already dressed in her skimpy sorceress outfit, consisting mostly of a skimpy vest and bikini bottom with a skirt attached to the rear.

 

"Did I oversleep?" Bronn mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she got up and slipped into her leaf-styled two-piece.

 

"Looked like you could use it" Nidwin said gruffly "but we really should get going. Since we're not dead and all we need to report back to our employer."

 

"I thought we didn't have much to report about" Bronn yawned, stretching a bit and peering out the window at the early morning bustle on the street below.

 

"Apparently Herevor isn't as addled as we thought and had enough presence of mind to grab Theodred's circlet out of the treasure chamber after we all got killed triggering the traps" Nidwin shrugged. The pixie-turned-orc had never had much respect for the party druid and the reincarnation mess had not changed that, evidently.

 

"Explaining why we look like this might be a bigger problem then" said Bronn, turning the situation over in her head as they gathered the last of their possessions and left the room. In the corridor they were met by Lianan, exiting her room.

 

"Morning" said the drow, looking a bit miserable with her hair standing on end and her skimpy one-piece outfit still ruffled. "I really need a drink" she groaned, holding her head as she followed Bronn and Nidwin down into the taproom.

 

They soon spotted their remaining two colleagues, sitting at a table and arguing loudly. Herevor was a tall, leanly muscular half-elf with a deep tan and spiky hair who always looked like he had just emerged from a week in the forest. He was also a skilled druid and the one who had brought the others back (albeit not as they had hoped) after they had died. Harmak had been a towering, broad-shouldered orc male but was now a small, slender and deceptively cute gnome female with pale blonde hair arranged in a bob and a leather and fur outfit which showed off her cute body while not being quite as revealing as that of the other three girls. Harmak had been quite adamant against letting the adventurer stylist they had visited dressing her up in a metal bikini, regardless of how much the salesgirl claimed it was the current fashion.

 

"...I'm supposed to wield a two-hander? My strength is my pride! If I cannot defeat my enemies with my strength, what good am I?" Harmak shouted.

 

"Not everyone makes their way in the world through breaking anything in their path" Herevor growled back "Surely there are ways for you to compensate."

 

"I don't -want- to compensate!" the gnome retorted. "I want you to turn me back, as I've said many..."

 

"And I've replied just as many times that there's no way for me to do that!" the druid responded.

 

The argument abated quickly as Bronn and the others walked over to sit down. Lianan was soon ordering a large stein of dark ale as the others regarded eachother somewhat awkwardly.

 

"So, we can visit the count Hansen and hand over the circlet for our reward?" Bronn offered to break the silence.

 

"Don't see what good it'll do" said Nidwin, chomping down on her breakfast. "There's nobody that can perform the kind of magic we need to get changed back anywhere near, and even if there was that kind of magic does not come cheaply. Definitely not at a few hundred measly gold pieces."

 

"Always so cheerful, Nid" Lianan chuckled as she downed another large swig of strong brew, a slight slur to her voice indicating that the drow was reaching her desired state of inebriation quickly.

 

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to not become too obsessed with that right now" Bronn offered diplomatically. "Of course it will be our long-term goal, but as we all know there are several practical problems that need to be overcome first. And I don't think any of us want to risk permanent death just so Herevor can try reincarnating us again." There was a murmur of ascent. "So in light of that, I think it would be prudent to adopt a cover story while this lasts." Bronn added.

 

"And some new names" Lianan grinned. "Harmak is such a terrible name for a girl."

 

"What?" the gnome sputtered, jumping on top of her chair so quickly that she almost scattered food all over the table. "My name was given to me by my father as a sign of my place in the clan. Are you suggesting I just throw that away to-"

 

"No no no. Harmak, listen, Lianan is right. Once we get ourselves changed back, I assume we'll all want to put this thing behind us, and that will be very difficult if we go around talking about what happened and give out our real names to those that know us." Bronn sighed, not liking the situation herself. "So far the only ones who know what happened are us five, I vote we keep it that way."

 

"Agreed" Nidwin nodded.

 

"Aye" Lianan agreed between dips into her stein.

 

Harmak looked very unhappy, but unable to solve the situation with brute force she finally shrugged. "Whatever."

 

"I don't want to sound presumptous" Herevor said, raising his hand "but I think we already have a good cover story. We claim that you four all departed to do some extremely dangerous mission, and that I recruited replacement adventurers."

 

"You mean concubines" Lianan giggled, making the others roll their eyes.

 

"Well, in a way" the druid continued, seemingly unaware of the deadly glares cast by Harmak and Nidwin. "That would give you all an ironclad defense against any fumbling flirtations, like the one last night. Just say you're all Herevor's women and..."

 

"It's just a story, Harmak" Bronn added quickly. "Besides, it is a handy excuse." She found her glance flickering over to Lianan, who was oblivious. Bronn wondered if the concubine story had already become a reality when it came to the monk and druid.

 

"Anyway" Lianan broke in, her voice now its normal, somewhat slurry confident tone "I'm gonna be Niala Etaine while this is still going on" She gestured over her bosom, a drop of ale balancing tantalizingly between her  soft breasts. "Bronn, I think you look like a Salicia. Don't think dryads have surnames." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Nidwin... definitely a Mogra. Mogra Fireweaver." She turned from the unhappy-looking orc to Harmak. "Harm... Harm... hmm. Teagan! Teagan... Duergarsbane."

 

"I am -not- a 'Teagan'" Harmak growled, jabbing a hand still holding a chicken drumstick at the drow. "Duergarsbane? That's just insulting, I..."

 

"Duergar are traditional enemies of gnomes!" Lianan snapped. "Oh, wait, I'm naive to think a musclehead like you could ever be clever enough to stay undercover, even if you lost most of those muscles."

 

Before the argument could go any further, Bronn raised her hands. "Enough! We may not like the plan much, but at least it's a good plan. See it as just another mission to undertake. But until then, please try and remember and use your code names and cover story." She gave each of them a comforting smile.

 

"Alright. But the reward better be worth it." grumped Harmak, and dug into the last scraps of chicken.

 

***

 

The rest of the day passed in a blur as the group met with their employer (a far removed descendant of old king Theodred) and reported their success. He showed some confusion as to why only Herevor seemingly returned of the group he hired, but their explanation was eventually accepted, and the reward paid. After that they spent some time eating well, and resupplying, and in the early afternoon they set off on freshly purchased horses. The bounty on the renegade grand warlock of Dreadmist Tower had been raised by no less than a thousand gold pieces, making their current reward seem like change. No doubt the warlock was a dangerous and wily foe, but the party had agreed they were hopefully more than a match for him. However, other matters were currently causing more concern.

 

"I can't believe it. I still can't believe it" Teagan chafed as she strolled along on her pony, her equipment safely fastened behind her. "He purchased us all legally? Here are the contracts? That is an INSULT! And why was Ni-  Mogra the one he had to 'defeat in combat to win her respect'? It should have been me!" The gnome had been complaining more or less non-stop since they had left the Count's mansion.

 

"We want a good, believable story, don't we?" Herevor grinned. "Why would I be traveling with an orc and a drow woman unless I somehow own their fealty? The contracts were Niala's idea anyway" He quickly added, smoothly shifting the focus to the drow girl.

 

"Oh relax, Teag" Niala chuckled. "It's like you never played dressup as a child. It's just like pretending to be sir Tariel the Bright in the battle of the Mourning Plains, except this time you have to stay in character longer..."

 

"At least sir Tariel wasn't a tiny slip of a girl" Teagan muttered. "I can barely cleave a tree now."

 

"I'd trade you if I could" Mogra offered, bobbing along on a powerfully-built white horse. "I've had to practice for hours to try and get my casting movements right again. This form is so thick and clumsy..." She noted Teagan's glare and shrugged. "As I said, I'd trade you in a second."

 

"Maybe you should consider changing professions" Niala offered, taking a swig from her hipflask. "Mogra could learn to be a fighter, with all those muscles, and Teag could learn to be a sneak thief or something... Or you could both become dancers, you're both quite attractive now."

 

"I am not a sneak thief!" Teagan growled, but Niala simply laughed and rode ahead a bit to catch up with Salicia.

 

The dryad was riding along on a slender palomino, thoroughly enjoying the journey. She had discovered a newfound fondness for the sun on her skin and the wind in her hair, although she still missed her beard constantly. She would still rub her hand over her chin quite often, and then recoil when she realized there was no bushy red mass there to stroke.

 

"Still no luck with growing moss there?" Niala suggested as she rode up alongside the dryad.

 

"Not yet" Salicia chuckled. "How are H- Teagan and Mogra holding up?"

 

"Oh, they'll get around to it. Mogra is clever, she just hates being put in a position she didn't choose. I think she has already gotten over the worst shock though, and is now plotting on how to turn this to her advantage." They shared a knowing look. "Teagan of course will not be placated until she's proven she can still kill a monster with her axe. Or bare hands."

 

"And Herevor?" Salicia asked, casting a glance at the druid, who was bringing up the rear. Herevore looked as scruffy and unkempt as always, but he appeared to be smiling mysteriously a lot these days.

 

"He loves it" Niala said plainly. "And you know he would. He may be a druid, but he's not good at the whole neutral detachment thing. And given how he stares at my ass, I think he's decided this is all the will of nature." There were other things, of course, but Niala had not yet shared those suspicions with any of the others.

 

"Yeah, I thought so" Salicia nodded. She lowered her voice a bit further. "So have you and Here... you know... since...?"

 

Niala enjoyed tormenting the dryad for a few moments by smiling mysteriously, then shook her head. "Nah. Honestly, I mostly just felt passion for him. Wanted to see what it was like. Now that I have... I'm not that interested in him clinging all over me. Free spirit and all that?" She giggled.

 

"I don't understand you. I really don't" the dryad chuckled, shrugging.

 

"You can't say you haven't been curious yourself" Niala said slyly. "I've seen you peek at people we've passed... and peeking at us. You're curious, and you're unwilling to admit it."

 

Salicia felt a flush rise to her cheeks, and was unsure if it was noticeable on her bark-like complexion. "M-maybe. But it is hardly proper for a son of the mountains to have such thoughts. Bad alone I am stuck as a girl who looks like a tree. Why couldn't it have been a ... a... rock dryad or something?"

 

"Not sure that is a thing that exists" Niala laughed, but dropped the topic. Salicia gripped the reins tighter as they rode on, however, occasionally finding her thoughts wandering into very un-dwarf-like regions.

 

***

 

"It's her, look!" Niala giggled, sipping from a large tankard as the group enjoyed a quiet evening meal at a small inn. They had discussed camping out, but with how much money they currently had, the ladies had quickly outvoted Herevor's suggestion.

 

"Who?" Salicia looked over from her evening meal, and saw an attractive human girl with her red hair set up in a pair of buns. She was somewhat stoutly built (though not overweight) and had a light spray of freckles over her face and shoulders. "Moradin's beard!" the dryad yelped.

 

"Who?" Teagan asked, chewing into a large steak with all the ferocity of a starved dragon whelp.

 

"Some barmaid that Br- Sali was sweet on in the past" Mogra noted with a slight hint of amusement at the dryad's sudden awkwardness. "But from what I remember, that lass shut our dwarven friend down quickly."

 

"So what?" Salicia huffed. "Just because I'm a bard doesn't mean I get all the girls. Or even most of them." She sighed. "She didn't like the beard. I just cannot respect a woman who doesn't respect a good dwarven heritage."

 

Herevor opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly winced as Niala stomped on his toes under the table. "You know" said the drow conspiratorially "You don't have a beard anymore." She winked to Salicia, who blinked and coughed.

 

"She's got a point" Herevor nodded, still wincing in pain. "Maybe she just doesn't like... you know. She may play for the opposing team. Like the fairer sex. Want to engage in some long, swea-" he yelped again. "OW!" Niala smiled innocently.

 

"We have to stay the night anyway" the drow winked to Salicia. "Give it a try. You'll kick yourself otherwise."

 

"What do you have to lose, really?" Mogra shrugged. Teagan offered no advice, or at least nothing Salicia could make out through the massive slab of steak.

 

Salicia swallowed again, and looked down into her almost-finished supper. She was not normally bashful, quite the opposite. But since the change, she had not felt as self-assured as before, especially not around other women. She seemed to attract a few stares, smirks and derisive comments ever since becoming a dryad, and it made her uneasy, especially coupled with the still-aching loss of her dwarven identity. Gritting her pearly white teeth, she took a quick swig of ale and stood up, walking over towards the bar where the serving girl was unloading a plate filled with dirty dishes. The dryad girl walked up softly and elegantly, and cleared her throat.

 

"E-excuse me?" she said, making a last-minute check to see if her leaf-like garment was adjusted.

 

"Yes?" The servant girl turned around, and Salicia was aware of many eyes in the room being fixed on her, both those of her friends and some strangers. The dryad tried to gauge the reaction of the other girl, but she seemed quite neutral.

 

"I... I was just wondering if I... could offer you something to drink after you're done working? Perhaps something to eat?"

 

"Oh. Thank you miss." The other woman blushed a little. "But I get plenty of food and drink as part of the job and-"

 

"A song then? Or a dance?" Salicia blurted.

 

"W-what?" it was the serving girl's turn to seem surprised and taken aback.

 

"I'm a bard. Your beauty... it has inspired me. I want to write a song about you."

 

"Milady, you have the wrong girl. I'm nobody, I'm nothing compared to your beauty." The serving girl was blushing deeply now, and seeming like she wanted to run away.

 

"Nonsense" Salicia said brightly. "Shall we say at ten, then. I'll wait for you outside the inn, under the large fruit tree?"

 

The girl nodded mutely, and Salicia felt sure she regarded the dryad with a whole different kind of interest now, in addition to the embarrasment. As the dryad returned to the table, she was met with some very unladylike congratulations and pats on the back. She sunk into her chair, Niala and Mogra grinning like mad at her.

 

"Smooth. Reaaaaaal smooth." Mogra chuckled.

 

"You still have it" Niala nodded.

 

"I wish I was half as self-confident as you think" the dryad laughed, sitting back and swigging from her ale mug again. The party continued their supper, with Salicia keeping a close track of the time. It seemed time had slowed down to a crawl, but as her friends said their goodnights and retreated upstairs, she looked around the now dark and mostly abandoned room, and then headed out into the night air.

 

The moons were illuminating the yard in front of the inn with their silvery and golden glow, and some additional light patches from the inn building helped chase the deep shadows away. Across the dirt road was the ancient, gnarled pear tree, and the dryad padded quietly over, looking around. Ever since the change she had experienced odd moments where she could understand the rustling in the trees, the wind in the grass and the creaks of ancient wood. It was a primal understanding, not any form of coherent language, but it still unnerved her. She was still a dwarf at heart, born and raised deep beneath the mountains, and the open forests that now considered her a friend were still something of an alien world for her.

 

"Milady?" came a voice from behind her. She turned around to see the barmaid, her simple, cute face illuminated in the pale moonlight. She had dressed in a simple linen dress, not soiled by many years of waitering tables. Salicia's heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful.

 

"Salicia. Please, call me Salicia." She smiled, trying to put the weirdness of the situation behind her and focus on the now.

 

The barmaid nodded. "I'm Erin" she replied. "And really, this is... I'm not sure if you're joking with me. You travel the land with three beautiful companions and one handsome man, and yet you notice a simple wench like me..."

 

"Not a wench" the dryad frowned "but a natural beauty. Our lives aren't just about appearances, Erin."

 

"I guess that's true" the girl nodded. "So you said something about a song...?"

 

Salicia smiled and nodded, and then felt a slight twinge of embarrassment, realizing she had forgotten to pick up an instrument from her packs in her urgency to meet the girl. Still, a true bard was never stumped. She quickly racked her brain for her vast memory of songs and poems, and quickly dismissed most of her traditional dwarven ones. While she saw no problem at all with comparing a woman with a precious slab of stratified shale, her travels with her friends had taught here that not every race appreciated that sort of thing. And regardless, she was trying to present a veneer of being a gentle, forest-loving dryad. Quickly, she found a song which fit, an old elven one she'd picked up from a friend of Lianan's a few years ago. With a few mental alterations, she finished it in her head, then carefully found the right tune, took Erin's hands in hers and began singing.

 

Being a dryad did have an advantage in terms of singing. Salicia found herself easily and quickly mastering a much wider range than she ever had before, and the song came out clear and melodious, drifting serenely over the meadows and the forest beyond their little area of light. She sang of how Erin's beauty had shone through the darkness, of how her fiery hair reminded the dawn, and of many other virtues. The song echoed so strongly and clearly that the dryad was vaguely aware that several people were crowding the windows of the inn's two floors, trying to get a glimpse of the source of the sound. Erin, for her part, looked quite enthralled, and even in the dim light the bard could see her blush profusely. Finally the song finished, and Salicia cleared her throat and nervously brushed a hand over her chin.

 

"That was... Nobody has ever made a song... about me." Erin stammered. Salicia felt a quick moment of sadness, because she had indeed offered to perform a song for the same girl a year past, but been politely rebuffed. "Thank you" Erin smiled. The quick feeling of regret vanished.

 

Still aware that they were being watched by many quiet spectators, the dryad leaned in closer. "I would love to sing more for you... maybe show you a dance or two. But in private. There are people watching."

 

Erin cast a glance over her shoulder and pulled a face at the barkeep, who quickly ducked behind a curtain in the kitchen window. She turned back to Salicia. "No problem. There's nobody down at the pond now. We could...?" The bard smiled and nodded, and the two made their way down the slope, away from the very disappointed silent audience.

 

***

 

They had lost track of time, sitting together down by the silvery pond. They had laughed, exchanged stories both bawdy and romantic, watched the fish leap in the night air, and Salicia had shown Erin a few dance steps the barmaid had never heard about before. It had quickly become obvious that the spark between them in the dining room of the inn was not just a fluke, and slowly they were becoming more comfortable, more affectionate. Their hands began to entwine, they hugged, and soon they kissed. Salicia offered to show Erin another dance, and quietly shed her clothes, revealing her slender body. As she danced naked in the moonlight the human girl began removing her garments as well. As the dryad's dance ended, she sat down next to Erin and they kissed, and embraced tightly.

 

"This... this is my first time" Salicia whispered, biting her lip slightly. Quite true too, she had never been with a woman while a woman herself.

 

"Don't worry" Erin said, putting a finger to the dryad's lips. "It's not mine." She fell silent for a moment, regarding Salicia's features in the moonlight. "You know, I never thought I would be this lucky, to attract the attention of such a creature as you."

 

"Same" Salicia whispered, making the barmaid's eyes widen.

 

"W-what?" she stammered.

 

"I never thought I would attract the attention of a lovely creature like you. In fact when I approached you in the inn, I was sure you would turn me down."

 

"Why would I...?" Erin began, but the dryad shrugged.

 

"It's not important now. Can... can we...?"

 

Erin nodded, and pulled her down into the soft grass. Soon their forms were locked in the throes ecstasy, both experiencing something entirely new and exhilirating. And as Salicia let her momentary doubts about the situation wash away in waves of passion, the moons cast their soft light on the two women, and for that night everything was right in the world.