The door leading to Viconia's room slowly creaked open, and all the persons waiting in the main entrance hall of Laska's home locked her eyes on the person emerging from it.

"She's awa..."Viconia tried to whisper softly, but was silenced by the hulking ranger who had been standing next to the door, brandishing Lilarcor.

"You will not enter the room of fair Dynaheir!" Minsc announced. "Please tell me your intent and check your weapons with the nice hamster on my shoulder!"

"OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES! Errr, please suffer the consequences! I've been dying for a fight!" Lilarcor stressed.

"I just came from the inside of the room, you big oaf!" Viconia spoke with annoyance in her voice. "And will you keep quiet?! She's trying to rest!"

"Err, excuse me," Minsc replied apologetically.

"What I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted," Viconia sighed, "is that Dynaheir is awake, and she would like to see you..."

"How is she?" Laska asked.

"I have not spoken long enough with her to determine that," Viconia replied. "So perhaps you should judge for yourself..."

As Laska and her friends approached the room, Minsc held up a beefy hand. "Halt! Know fear, all ye how enter the abode of fair Dynaheir, for Minsc and Boo shall..."

"Minsc!" Laska replied. "Snap out of it!"

"Err, what's that Boo?" Minsc asked as the hamster turned his head to the ear of the hulking ranger. "Ah, yes... Sorry. Friends of Dynaheir may enter!"

During the long wait, morning had changed to evening. The abundant rain slammed against the windowpanes, the sound of which was clear in the dimly lit room. Viconia was standing at the side of the bed, the bags under her tired eyes revealed she hadn't slept for at least a whole day. On the bed, lay the prone and only slightly breathing Dynaheir, seemingly undergoing some sort of strange fever. Sweat drenched the bed as Viconia took a small wet cloth and gently laid it on Dynaheir's forehead. The dark-skinned woman looked slightly pale, and very, very weak and frail at the moment.

"It... It is good to see thee," Dynaheir spoke in a tired and ragged voice as she locked tired eyes on her friends.

"Don't speak to much yet, Dynaheir," Viconia said. "Your body could barely stand the strain of having life returned to it. If you push things too hard, we might still lose you... Your body needs time to root your life-force."

"I... understand," Dynaheir replied, coughing slightly.

"Hey, there Dyna," Laska smiled. "Welcome back to the land of the living..."

"The last thing I remember... Those rogues... And... a mask of leather?" Dynaheir replied.

"Never mind that now," Laska added and squeezed Dynaheir's hand. "Concentrate on getting better instead."

"I see thou hast made several... new friends," Dynaheir managed a weak smile. "Wouldst thou introduce me?"

"Ah, yes," Laska smiled. "Party, this is Dynaheir. Dynaheir, this is the party..."

"Korgan Bloodaxe be me name," Korgan chuckled. "Buryin' me axe in the skull of the blokes who be gettin' in me way, be me game! HAR HAR! So, ye be one a'those bag o'tricks, aren't ye?"

"I am... well versed in the Arts Magica, good Korgan," Dynaheir replied.

"Och, ye sure ye nay thirst fer dwarven blood?" Korgan chuckled. "If so, I be 'avin' an axe with yer name on it."

"I'm uncertain if I ever drank dwarven blood," Dynaheir replied solemnly.

"I am Sir Keldorn Firecam, my Lady," Keldorn greeted with a curt bow. "Inquisitor and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart. At your service..."

"A knight?" Dynaheir coughed again. "And a paladin. Laska, thy taste in companions has slightly improved..." she said, managing a brief smile.

"Ah," Jan said, "missy, quite an impression you've made on use a few weeks ago, with all the blood-sucking, breaking necks and et cetera. Mind you, you're not the first person I know who has returned from the Dark Side. My cousin Abner was quite a barmy fellow, you see. Aside from the fact that he ate his turnips with ketchup and parsley, he went around wearing a black suit with a strange helmet and changed his name to Dark Invader. That wouldn't be so bad but he had this terrible weapon : The Death Sitar! And with one 'twang' he could destroy a planet! Or, that's what he told the Paladins as they dragged him into the insane asylum... He was going around telling everyone that he was their father, you see?"

"I... see..." Dynaheir replied with a weak smile. "Dost thou always talk so much?"

"Hey, they call me the Magic Mouthed Gnome. I'd be a hero, if I could fly!" Jan chuckled. "I'd collapse small building with my mighty roar and blast griffins to the ground with a single line of poetry!"

"Minsc," Dynaheir asked. "What is his fate? Is he alive and well?"

"Yes, he is..." Laska chuckled. "He's outside guarding the door and making sure that you are not disturbed."

"I... I am happy my guardian Minsc is alive and well," Dynaheir smiled. "Imoen," she suddenly gasped. "Where is Imoen?"

"I will tell you later," Viconia interrupted. "Extra stress is something you cannot use now."

"But... where am I?" Dynaheir asked.

"My house," Laska chuckled. "Gods, I love saying that. You are currently in a first class room in my fine Estate!"

"An estate?" Dynaheir chuckled, but coughed halfway through. "I seems thou hast managed to conquer a home at last..."

"Can you tell me... How much you remember... About being a vampire?" Laska asked, thinking of the many questions she might be able to answer : What is the connection between Irenicus and the vampires that have been plaguing the Shadow thieves? Where is Irenicus? Are Irenicus and the vampires still in communication? What are the vampiress Bodhi's plans?

"I... remember almost nothing of my time as a vampire..." Dynaheir replied sharply. "I am sorry, but I cannot answer thy questions yet. Perhaps later, my memories will... return to me. I shallt tell thou what thou wishes to know." In the background, Keldorn raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"You must rest now," Viconia said, ending all discussions. "And so should I," Viconia yawned. "I am exhausted to the point of dropping..."

"Hey, take my room for a while," Laska offered. "I'll bunk in Minsc's room. There's no way he's leaving the doorway anyway..."

"I shall watch over Lady Dynaheir," Keldorn said.

"Thank you," Viconia told her friends. After sharing a smile with Dynaheir, Viconia silently left the room, with her other friends in tow.

As the room fell silent, save for the rain trinkling over the windows, Keldorn stepped over to the prone wizard woman and sat on the chair beside her bed. Replacing the wet cloth, Keldorn sighed and decided to ask his question. He loathed doing so, since the woman had already gone through a lot, but it was his job to track down practitioners of evil magics, and to find out the truth in all things.

"My Lady," Keldorn finally asked. "How much do you truly remember of your... dark times?"

Dynaheir's eyes brimmed with tears as she made a tremendous physical effort to roll to her side, to turn her back to the paladin. Facing the windows, she spoke softly : "Everything..."

Laska, wearing her two-piece swimsuit, gently lowered herself in the lukewarm water of the pool on the upper floor of her house. Having made (damn) sure she had closed the shades in front of the windows, she felt free to close her eyes and eased herself deeper into the clear water. She felt the warm morning sun on her face, while her sensitive elven ears only picked up the tweeting of the birds who were currently defecating on the statue of Talos, the slow breathing of her friends and the enthusiastic counting of early-bird Risa in the other room. Now, if only Korgan wouldn't snore so loudly, the experience would have been perfect, but nevertheless, her usual morning dip made her more content and at peace than anything else in the world could.

"Laska, Laska, Laska, Laska, Laska, Laska, Laska!" Risa suddenly came running into the pool-room.

"What?" Laska started, interrupted from her reverie by the brown-hair half-elven girl she had adopted. "What's going on?"

"It's that dark-skinned lady!" Risa said. "I was just sitting on the patio looking at the rainbow, when she suddenly appeared out of nowhere! 'Twas magic, I'm sure of it!"

"Dammit," Laska said, wondering why Dynaheir would suddenly dimension door herself out of her room. Jumping from the pool, she ran out of the room and headed for the patio with Risa in tail. And there she stood. Dynaheir, wearing her old tattered purple robes, was standing on the wide brick railing of the patio, looking intently upon the ground below.

"Dynaheir?" Laska asked as gently as she could.

"Ah, Laska," she said without turning around. "And child. I apologize for startling thee..."

"That's okay," Risa said. "It was a pretty neat trick, though..."

"What do you think you are doing?" Laska asked. "After all the trouble Vico and I went through to get you back, you're going to..."

"I've done a lot of thinking this night," she spoke in an even tone, appearing a lot healthier than before. "And I have come to a conclusion. One I hope thou willt respect..."

"WHAT?!" Laska shouted. "No way I shall respect it! Suicide is not the answer, Dyna! And if you jump, so I swear I will have Viconia raise you again if only to knock some sense in your daft skull!"

"What?!" Dynaheir laughed. "Suicide? On the contrary, dear friend! I want too experience life! I want to LIVE! Life's to short to fuss about silliness such as etiquette, nobility and self-discipline!"

"Huh," Laska said, staring at her mage friend with open mouth. Then, Dynaheir looked over her shoulder and shot the tattooed elf a wicked smile. Then... she jumped... Flinging herself forward with her powerful legs.

"NO!" Laska shouted and rushed to the railing... just in time to hear the splash. The elf let out a breath she never knew she was holding in, but surprise made way for astonishment as she saw Dynaheir swimming in the aqueduct below. She was... whooping, giggling and splashing water... Laska had NEVER seen her whoop, giggle OR splash water before.

"Who is she, and what has she done to Dynaheir?" Laska muttered to herself.

"WOW!" Risa raved. "Can I jump into the water like that too?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Anomen Delryn strolled to Laska's estate with a very nervous feeling eating away at him from the pit of his stomach. His boots moved as if lined with lead and felt heavier with every step. The estate of his soon to be lover loomed in the distance... A beacon as a lighthouse to errant ships in the fog... A few moments later, he was standing in front of the window which belonged to Laska's room.

He sighed as he took a small piece of crumpled paper in his sweaty hands. 'Yes', he thought, 'this is how knights address their suitors. Reciting a love-poem to her, while she listens from the window...' Being glad it had stopped raining so the ink would not smudge, he started to recite the poem... It wasn't until he had finished reciting it that he noticed the window was still closed.

Cursing under his breath, he realized he had yet to attract the elven beauty's attention first. Taking a small pebble he tossed it against the window-pane. A few moments of waiting past and it was apparent that she had not heard it. Taking a second pebble, he threw it against the window-pane... and another... and another... and another...

His heart was suddenly aflutter as the curtains were roughly shoved aside. Smiling Anomen turned to face the woman of his dreams...

"WILL YOU KEEP IT DOWN!!!" was shouted from the window as a Drow female threw them open. "THERE ARE DROW HERE WHO ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!!!"

"Ah, errr, emmm," Anomen stammered. "Is... is this the wrong room? Is fair Laska not in, per'chance?"

"Oh, it's you," Viconia told him icily. "Well, Laska is still in bed," Viconia smirked. "Recovering from our long night of passionate and torrid lovemaking. Apparently, I really wore her out..."

"Err, wha.. wha... did... you..." Anomen stammered while all the blood in his body rushed to his face.

"Oh, quit your blushing jaluk!" Viconia laughed. "We merely switched rooms for the night. But now, I'm still very tired and would like to sleep a few more hours. Now LEAVE! Before I through this decanter of water over your head!"

"Well, err," Anomen replied. "I have this poem for her, ahum, 'Oh, dream of my life, fair Laska...'," Anomen managed to say before the water splashed in his face. He ended up staring at a closed window... a defeated look crossing his features.

"This is... delicious!" Dynaheir said as she ripped another bite from a leg of turkey. After her brief swim in the aqueduct, Dynaheir had climbed out and had run inside the house to change her clothing. Some of the old wardrobe belonging to the slaver-mage Ketta was still stored in one of the upper rooms and the Rashemani Wychlaran had spent the better part of the morning exploring Ketta's former belongings. When she descended down the stairway, she was wearing one of Ketta's more colorful robes. The majority of the robe was in a soft-blue color, with several patches of light-brown suede covering most of the shoulders and back... But the most eye catching new detail were the thin streaks of multi-colored dyes through her long auburn hair, one green, one red and one blue. Right now, Lasalla has prepared a grand meal for her, consisting of turkey, chocolate mousse, baked potatoes and fried rice, among other things...

"We can tell by the way you're inhaling that food," Laska said as she was carefully peering through the small window beside front door. "I think that tin-can has finally left. It seems the coast is clear..."

"Thy cooking skills art most impressive, Lasalla," Dynaheir said, with her mouth full. "I apologize for waking thee at this hour..."

"'Tis no problem, my Lady," Lasalla beamed. "I always like to hear my services are appreciated."

"What ever happened to those virtues of 'moderation' and your sense of 'only taking what you need and not a single bit more'," Laska asked.

"Wouldst thou give me a break?" Dynaheir asked and ripped another piece of meat from the bone. "I have not eaten any solid sustenance for nearly a year... And... I want to taste everything! I gather adventuring will keep my body in perfect shape well enough..."

"I gathered that from your change of hairstyle," Laska chuckled, but had to admit Dynaheir was in a more than fine shape. The rashemani Wychlaran was shorter than Laska, and only slightly taller than Viconia, but she was about as lean as both elves were, and her vampiric transformation had certainly left some physical changes within her. The cut of her robe revealed that her long legs had gotten significantly more muscular than they were when Laska had previously travelled with her. The same went for her bare arms. Though the mage still lean, Laska noticed Dynaheir's strength and physical power had increased significantly.

"Oh, Thou might be interested to know," Dynaheir said as she popped a baked potato in her mouth, "that I have reviewed my spellbook thou hast recovered from my... sarcophagus... It seems I have continued my studies of the Arts during my... transformation and that my specialization now lies with spells of Divination..."

"Interesting," Laska said. "I wonder why..."

"From what I remember," Dynaheir said as she took another bite. "I was ordered to..."

"No one shall give you orders again!" Minsc shouted from the background. "I shall see to that, and so shall Boo!"

"I'll..." Laska said, deciding to give Dynaheir some time with her protector, "finish my morning dip... Errr, even though it's noon..."

"Minsc, sit thyself down, please," Dynaheir smiled as Laska left the room.

"I... I... Boo says I must be strong, but I can not be any longer," Minsc said as tears ran over his cheeks. "I... I am happy to have you back, as friend and companion but... I cannot be your protector any more. I have failed you... I am not a man, and Boo is not a hamster..."

"Minsc, no," Dynaheir spoke gently. "Thou shouldst not speak as such..."

"But I should... I am not worthy of being your protector!" Minsc sniffed. "I tried to hard to save you from the leather-man, but... the bars would not bend, not even to Minsc's mighty strength! I heard you scream, but I could not reach you... I tried so hard..."

"Minsc," Dynaheir said, grasping Minsc's huge hand. "Thou couldst not have helped. Thou wouldst have been slaughtered by the vampires and then we would both have been dead."

"But..." Minsc said.

"All worked out for the best," Dynaheir spoke. "Thou hast helped Laska, and now the both of us should help to find our friend Imoen. Minsc, 'twould be my great honor to once again have you as my protector and guardian. Though I would prefer it if thou wouldst not mother me so much," she smiled.

"It's a deal!" Minsc shouted and pulled Dynaheir into a fierce embrace across the table. "Minsc and Boo shall be the best protectors there are! We shall watch over your safety like a hawk watches a cute bunny-rabbit!"

"Minsc," Dynaheir chuckled. "I told thee not to mother me..."

"Ah, I am sorry, but I am very serious about protecting my friends, yessir!"

Dynaheir smiled and continued her meal.