A white horse stood at the top of a high hill, overlooking the spires and turrets of the great city of Lirethel, the center of commerce and trade for all Thessolan. The horse's rider smiled softly, thinking back over the long and difficult journey that had brought her here. She was a striking sight, hazel eyes alert, and a long braid of chestnut hair falling down her back. Her skin was light, with an even tan, stretched over taut muscles and criss-crossed by intricate patterns in faded blue paint. She was entirely naked, with a gray pendant in the shape of a seashell upon her chest, gently moving with her breath. She was known as Emily, the Stoneshell Bearer.
The journey from Paja Abbey had taken much longer than three weeks. The night after the ritual, they gathered all the supplies they could carry, the Shard of True Reflection and every last drop of Azure Essence. The Heartflame had been consumed by the ritual, and the magic purple rug was nowhere to be found, much to Emily's chagrin.
Being unable to carry all their supplies on foot, Emily and her companions had taken horses from the Paja Abbey stables and fled under the cover of darkness. They had grown mistrustful of the abbess, who had done nothing to save Emily from the Nightmoss, and were eager to leave the abbey before Lady Elara's promised return.
The party had been six strong—Emily, Aria, Talyndra, Dorian, Sigrid, and Bromberht. The latter two had parted ways with the group before Lirethel, expressing their distaste for cities. Being of like mind and temperament, they had decided to embark on their own quest for riches and glory in battle.
"Hope to see less of you when we meet again, Em," Sigrid had said, before patting her painted back goodbye.
"I think the paint suits 'er," Brom had added, winking. "Wish there was more I could do to ta thank ya for breaking me out of the stone prison."
The Nightmoss's influence on the Stoneshell was constant, burning up anything that Emily attempted to wear. She had tried different fabrics and different leaves, even armor, but to no avail. The Nightmoss was a jealous parasite, constantly whispering its promises of safety and dignity against Emily's plight as it caused the Azure Essence protecting her skin to slowly fade.
To keep the Nightmoss from possessing Emily again, it was necessary to reapply the Essence constantly. A coat of Essence applied indiscriminately, as it had been on the night of the ritual, would last only a few hours. If the Essence was applied according to the patterns shown in Emily's true reflection, it would last up to three days. These patterns were ever-shifting and seldom did much to obscure Emily's nudity—if anything, they highlighted it, drawing the eyes to parts of the body other women kept under wraps.
As the Essence slipped off brushes and rags, it had to be applied by hand. Aria and Talyndra took turns at this, redoing the patterns whenever they began to look faded.
Though their travel had been greatly eased by the horses, they had encountered many diversions on the road to Lirethel. They'd passed through villages both friendly and distrustful, undertaken errands for farmers, escaped bandits and bloodthirsty beasts, and passed through strange and mystical places. All the while, their supply of Azure Essence had dwindled, while the Nightmoss remained a constant threat, nestled within the Stoneshell pendant, contained only by the Essence and Emily's constant vigilance.
Emily had learned to live this way as well as she could. Although finding adequate covering had often been surprisingly difficult during her time in Thessolan, it was now an impossibility. At least until they could find a remedy for her current affliction. That was the hope Lirethel represented.
Lirethel, with its towering buildings and winding streets, teemed with throngs of people who would no doubt find the painted lady to be an unusual and interesting sight. Of course, there had been no shortage of commotion and consternation surrounding Emily's presence in the weeks since the ritual and the emergence of the Nightmoss. Though they had kept mostly to the wilderness and studiously avoided larger population centers, the course of fate had brought them into encounters with travelers, farmers, and even villages. Emily's legend had begun to precede her.
They had done their share of good for this world, Emily thought. Taking one last look at Lirethel, she turned her horse and headed down the hill, towards the campsite her companions had been preparing. The horse, whom Emily had named Snowflake, whinnied softly and complied.
At the base of the hill, Emily heard the sound of merry chatter. The voices belonged to Aria and Talyndra, and were emanating from behind a copse of trees. She dismounted Snowflake and gave her an affectionate pat on the nose before venturing between the trees.
The air here was warm, with earth-scented steam rising in billowing clouds. Aria and Talyndra were sitting half-submerged in the waters of a natural hot spring ringed by smooth, moss-covered stones. "Look what we found, Emily!" exclaimed Talyndra, sinking into the steaming water with a contented sigh.
"Join us," Aria said, smiling blissfully. Her only adornment was the Bronzeband on her upper arm, glinting in the late afternoon light. As she no longer had the strength or invulnerability of a living statue, Emily had insisted that she keep the artifact for the sake of her own defense. Retaining a special kinship with stone, she had quickly grown quite proficient with it.
Both women's clothes were folded neatly at the side of the pool. Having no need to disrobe, Emily stepped at once into the blissfully hot water and sank slowly, luxuriously, until it enveloped her up to her shoulders. Already, she could feel the aches and pains in her muscles from weeks in the saddle begin to dissolve.
"I can't remember when last I felt such warmth," Aria said. She ran a hand through the water, watching the ripples spread.
"You said it," Talyndra sighed happily, kicking her feet and sending a small splash in Emily's direction. "Beats washing in a half-frozen stream, watching out for klipperfish."
Emily chuckled, scooping up a handful of the warm water and letting it run over her shoulders. In this misty spring, her nudity was natural, unremarkable. "Tell me about it. I thought I'd never be clean again after Soggy Bottom Marsh."
"We must reapply the Essence soon," Aria said, her expression turning more serious as she glanced at Emily's skin. The blue outlines were growing fainter by the moment. "But sparingly. We do not have much left."
"Maybe four more full applications," Talyndra conjectured, her cheerful mood souring slightly. "We need to find this Olenius character, and fast. Before we have to start watering it down."
Emily sighed, the brief feeling of peace punctured by the familiar anxiety. "And before Elara finds us. I can't believe she hasn't caught up to us yet."
"Dorian's counter-wards have been effective," Aria noted. "As has Talyndra's wilderness knowledge. But it is only a matter of time before we must face Elara again. Surely she has already heard the rumors of a painted lady and her companions."
Emily blushed. "We had to help that family in Wenster. I couldn't just let them be run out for a crime they hadn't committed."
"And the wood elves of Turtree were great allies," Talyndra added.
"I won't soon forget the village of Un," Aria said.
Emily chuckled. "I'll never forget the looks on your faces when they made you all strip in the middle of the village square! For once, I was the decent one. My life would be a lot easier if there were more villages like Un."
"You were a real trendsetter there!" Talyndra added. "Everyone was painting themselves by the time we left. I was just glad to put my leaves back on."
"Sounds nice," Emily retorted, unable to keep the hint of bitterness from her voice. Their brief stop in the nudist village of Un had been the only time when Emily had not envied Talyndra's leaves, or Aria's dresses.
They fell into a thoughtful silence, listening to the gentle burbling of the spring and the rustle of leaves in the breeze.
"I hope that Olenius will be able to help me," Emily said, tracing a pattern on the water's surface. "From everything Dorian's told me, I think he will, but..." She trailed off as she recalled her conversation with Evangeline in the strange place between life and death. The original Stoneshell Bearer had been convinced that the only way to stop the Nightmoss was for Emily to leave Thessolan. Would Olenius tell her the same thing?
"Neither Zephyr's journal nor Althea's quests can provide us with guidance, now that the Elid curse has been broken," Aria mused. "But if Olenius cannot help us, there will be another who can. Lirethel is full of great mages and scholars, in this age just as it was in my time. Why, Lirethel was our first destination, Emily. After we find a way to destroy the Nightmoss, the mages will surely be able to show you how to return to your home world."
"If it's even possible," Emily murmured.
"It is," Talyndra said. She sat up in the water, her dark eyes flashing. "If you came here, you can go back. Simple."
"Yes," Aria affirmed. "I don't know how, but we will find a way. I, most of all, will help you find a way." She looked at Emily, a soft, grateful smile on her face. "Every time I look at you, Emily, I remember what you've sacrificed for me."
Emily looked at her friends—the fierce, loyal wood elf and the wise, elegant woman who had once been a statue. If there were a way to cure her, they would find it. If there were a way for her to return home, they would find it.
Emily leaned back against the warm, smooth stone, closing her eyes and letting the water support her.