Working into the wee hours of the morning does have it's benefits – you get to sleep in! And the beds in the girl's quarters are actually heated. You love to lay in bed in that half-awake state for hours on end in the morning.

This morning you are in for a rude awakening.

The previous night had been a rather fun one. You already have a small group of "loyal patrons" who request you every chance they get. One of them is a half-elf who you feel somewhat attracted to. You're not sure why. It's kind of like the way you feel about Matar, but at the same time you feel some element of danger with him. It's kind of exciting. You spent several hours with him last night, and you are always tired after a night like that.

You are dreaming of home. You are in cat form, curled up in front of the warm fire. Then Granny starts ringing her cursed dinner bell. Dinner? It's morning, why would you have dinner now? And the bell sounds wrong - deeper and slower.

Your eyes snap open and you sit up. You're still in bipedal form, so your ears swivel around. You can still hear the bell... only now you realize what it is - it's the town's warning bell! You also faintly hear another sound - a buzzing. You jump out of bed, landing in front of your wardrobe. Flinging the heavy wood doors open you start rifling through your pockets. You find the source of the buzzing - the coin Tessalynne gave you is vibrating next to a few other loose coins in one of your pockets.

Looking out the window you see people running down the street, the locals carrying the swords and spears issued to them by the City Watch. Running over to another window you look down into the private courtyard that Midnight owns. You see Kaj assembling his Turmish warriors in the snow.

After considering your options for a moment you decide that Tessalynne will probably be at the City Hall, coordinating the defense of the town. You slip into some clothes, gather your gear, and run over. Upon entering you see Sane and Sigurd talking with Tessalynne. As you approach Sigurd salutes and strides out the back way. Sane tells you that Matar has already been here, and that he is now out helping to get the militia companies organized. When you ask what you can do Sane shrugs his wings. <I guess we can act as a reserve force, unless you have somewhere else you wish to go.>

So, do you wait at the City Hall to see where you might be needed or head out now to go join up with one of the groups?

"Yes," Kat will reply. "Place for archers or I'll help Laila's Retreat." Katrina wonders if Ari is doing all right. The cool air reminds her that fur is just a shift away. Yet, she does not want to become a target. Not enough people know about her shape-shifting. "Laila's Retreat needs defense. I go there. Ari should be there. Yes?"

Sane shakes his head. <Well, I think they are going to keep a company or two back here in town to act as a reserve force. They will have a few archers attached. The Turmish at the far end of town are good crossbowmen. As for Laila's place, from what Ari has told me it is guarded by magical wards. Healers from there were supposed to join up with the militia companies as they went out. So you are welcome to go there, but you might find the place deserted. I overheard Tessalynne telling Matar that he would be in charge of the city's defenses since she was heading towards the fighting outside of town. Maybe we should report to him?>

(Another note of explanation. Katrina is hengenkoi, a type of oriental shape-shifter. She is a hengenkoi cat. As a result when she first met the party she was fascinated by Matar since he was wearing a Girdle of Lions. At the time this turn was written we were trying to determine whether or not Kat had figured out that her infatuation with Matar was due to the girdle or not. As it turns out she did find that out.)

Leaving Matar and the others at the watch HQ you head towards the eastern edge of town. If they want to stay cooped up in a building the entire day that's their business. You want to be out and fighting!

Arriving at the east end of town you look around. You see that the Sembians are lining the road on both sides, defending their compounds. This leaves the job of blocking the street to Kaj and his Turmish soldiers, along with a few others from the Kiss like Illyara. You report to Kaj, letting him know that forces are approaching from the east. He nods his thanks and sends a runner off to inform the Sembians. When you are still there when he turns back around he looks a little surprised. "Uh, thank you for the message. You can go back now. I don't have any messages to send to anybody."

You bristle as you realize he thinks you're just a messenger. "I no come for words only," you reply in low tones "I come to fight!"

Kaj raises an eyebrow in obvious disbelief. After all, he knows you as one of the pleasure girls. "You are very brave, little one, but this is a job for warriors."

Your eyes narrow dangerously as your temper flares. You briefly consider raking him across the face a time or two as a demonstration but you manage to resist that impulse. Then something else comes to mind. "When my grandma teach me to write she say important to always put dot on top of i."

Your words confuse Kaj until you demonstrate what you mean. With one fluid and rapid motion you spin around while readying your bow, notch an arrow and fire. Without pausing you loose a second arrow. Before either of the arrows hit their target you have spun around again and are facing Kaj. The solid <thunk - thunk> sound of your arrows hitting home reaches your ears.

"Dot the i" you say again, confident enough in your own skills that you don't even look at your target.

Kaj, however, does look and his eyes widen as he finally understands. About 30' behind you hangs the sign for the Maiden's Kiss. Below the picture of a well-endowed maiden with her lips puckered are the words "Welcome to the Maiden's Kiss". There is an arrow sticking out of the dot on top of each of the two "i"s in the sign. The sign squeaks softly as it rocks back and forth from the impact of the arrows.

From behind your back you hear a few exclamations of surprise and a few laughs as well. Kaj glares at the soldiers and they grow quiet.

"If you think she's good with the bow you should see what she can do with her hands" a new voice says. Looking over you see Dac Boppet standing on the sidewalk running a whetting stone up and down his katana. He has watched the whole scene.

Kaj grunts. "OK, then, you can help. But I don't want you down here in the melee. Midnight would skin me alive if I lost her newest girl. How about you climb up onto one of the buildings and provide cover fire?"

While you would prefer to fight hand-to-hand, you agree to Kaj's suggestion. Securing your bow over your back you walk over to the wall of the Kiss and, without thinking that most people would have a fairly hard time climbing up the stone wall, you shimmy up it with ease. This raises more than a few eyebrows in the street below.

Up on top you position yourself in the north-east corner of the building, right behind the parapet. With no little amusement you realize you are standing right over the spot where you work as a cook. Looking down you see Kaj continue with his inspection, checking the gear of the Turmish warriors. All of them have curved swords and crossbows. Those in the rear rank also have long pole-arms.

Now comes the hard part. Waiting. About half an hour later you see the signs of a large force moving up the road. You call a warning to those below and they get ready. As the force approaches you realize you are going to need a lot more arrows. Acting quickly you climb back down the wall and run over to Jondon's place. The front door is locked and nobody is there. You pause, trying to decide what to do. "Town more important" you tell yourself as you pull out your set of magical lock picks. The lock proves more difficult to pick than expected, but you manage to defeat it. After opening the door slowly and stepping inside you look around and find what you wanted - several quivers of arrows over along a wall. You hurry over and grab four full quivers and then head back to your perch on top of the roof. "I pay back later" you tell the air as you walk back out of the trading post, locking the door behind you.

By the time you get back the enemy forces are approaching the outer defenses. You see that the humanoids are mostly orcs and ogres, with squads from a few other races mingled here and there. Strange figures in heavy cloaks seem to be commanding the different companies. As you watch the humanoids come into contact with the mercenaries guarding the Sembian compounds. Several fireballs erupt along the monster's front line.

As the battle unfolds you see that the monsters are using fairly good tactics. Rather than being drawn down into the "U" defensive formation they are holding back, attacking the edges before moving in. But Kaj anticipated this and as you watch the Turmish warriors put down their blades and pick up their large crossbows. At Kaj's command the first rank fires. The heavy bolts fly further than you could hope to reach with your short bow and even from this distance they tear into the front line of the humanoids. As the first rank reloads the second rank fires. Under Kaj's expert command the Turmish keep up this murderous cycle for almost a minute before the discipline of the orcs finally snaps and they charge forward, breaking ranks. Kaj calmly keeps his soldiers firing crossbows until the last minute and another score of orcs is slain before they hit the Turmish defensive line.

The fight soon dissolves into a chaotic melee. But now you can start having fun too. Positioning yourself right at the edge of the Kiss you start firing into the melee. At first you are afraid of hitting the Turmish warriors, but as shaft after shaft sinks into an orc or ogre your confidence grows. You even take a few shots right between two defenders to take out an opponent. More than once a soldier turns and looks up at you when a shaft buzzes right by his ear, but inevitably that same shaft catches an orc that was just about to hit him. Over the course of the next several minutes you have only one shot go awry. But of all your shots why did it have to be that one? Kaj is fighting a large ogre. You see what you think is a good shot but your aim is slightly off, and as the arrow is in the air Kaj makes an unexpected move. Instead of taking out the ogre's knee the missile embeds itself in Kaj's posterior. It's not a serious wound, but after the battle you take more than a little teasing about it from the Turmish warriors.

Kaj, however, never mentions the incident. No doubt this is due to something that happens a few minutes later. A large ettin strolls up towards the defenders line, surrounded by a detachment of armored ogres. Kaj recognizes the seriousness of the attack and he and Dac move to intercept the ettin. Backed up by several of the Turmish warriors the two engage the ettin, but the ogres do their job well and soon Kaj finds himself isolated from the others, battling the two-headed giant alone. Well, not quite alone. When you see this you start pulling your magical arrows out, launching them in a steady barrage at the ettin. By the time the huge beast finally falls more than a dozen of your arrows are embedded in its face and chest. After Kaj makes sure the thing is dead he looks up towards you on the roof and salutes.

You go back to sniping, picking off and orc here, a goblin there. As your focus moves from the main line to the edges of the battle you notice something strange. Every once and a while a humanoid standing alone will suddenly go down, clutching at its back or neck. You never see any indication of what is causing this, although it usually happens when they are close to one of the alleys leading away from the main street. Every once and a while you also catch glimpses of other you know in the melee below. Illyara is down in the thick of things, commanding a small detachment of soldiers sealing one of the side streets. You never see her with anything in her hands other than daggers, but ogres as well as orcs fall before her flashing blades. With a little surprise you see Zidji, one of Midnight's clerks, blast an ogre with a lightning bolt.

Arrow after arrow speeds from your bow down into the battle below. With a start you realize that you are down to your last quiver of normal arrows and only a few magical missiles. And the battle still rages. As you are considering returning to Jondon's to search for more arrows a strange, cold feeling washes over you. Without knowing why you feel apprehensive and even a little afraid. You look around, wondering if there is a spellcaster nearby. But when you find the source of your feeling it is much worse than a simple mage.

Coming in low and from the south you see three winged figures. Very large winged figures. You cry out a warning to those below but they can't hear you over the melee. With morbid fascination you watch as the huge fliers approach. Soon you can make out what they are - dragons! As they near the edge of town one peels off and heads directly into the center of town, towards the Glowing Helm. The other two head towards you. You duck down into the shadow of the parapet as they fly over. Watching them fly by you realize that only one of them is a true dragon, the other is a wyvern. But the true dragon is a red one, the most dangerous kind.

Standing back up but staying low you watch as the wyvern lands in the center of the main Sembian compound, pulling dozens of defenders away from the main battle to deal with it. The red then circles over the battle, spreading its magical dragon-fear among the defenders below.

Just as the tide seems to be turning against the defenders the dragon inexplicably changes tactics. It flies down rather close to the battle and then hovers over it. It is not more than forty feet away from you and only a little higher. As it swings its serpentine neck back and forth you have enough wits left to duck down when it looks your way.

"Rats infesting this slum you call Jurgenville, hear me!" the dragon booms out. The sounds fighting below slowly stops. Risking another look you ease yourself up once again. The dragon is still hovering there, but now all eyes are upon it. Well, perhaps not all eyes. Out of the corner of your eye you see another hobgoblin mysteriously go down clutching at its stomach.

"Your pitiful city stands now on the brink of disaster! This is just the first of many attacks which will descend upon you today! Your fate is sealed. You are doomed if you fight against my forces. But, there is hope for you. I come not to destroy your city, but for revenge. Yes, vengeance will be mine - or your city will be destroyed! It is your choice. Know that I am Akran duth Pernawalnothar, son of Fuetharniac bic Raskillatun, who you short-lived creatures called Flamewing. Bring me the slayers of my brood mother or I will burn your entire town to the ground! Flamewing will be avenged, one way or the other!"

Flamewing, that name sounds familiar. Oh yes, that was the name of the dragon that used to live in Dragonspeak, the one slain by the adventuring group that founded this town. The one killed by Detee's brother, Jurgen.

As you are thinking of Detee she appears on the scene. Stepping out of an alley behind the forward edge of battle she slowly walks to the center of the street. You almost don't recognize her. She is dressed in leather armor that is so black your eyes slip off it when you try and look directly at it. Akran sees her as well and he swings his huge head towards her. Standing up a little higher you hear Detee shout out "Akran duth Per-whatever your bloody name is! Know that I am Detee McGuyver of the clan Bitterwater, daughter of Kuran Silverback, and proud sister of Jurgen Silverback, slayer of the cowardly Flamewing!"

As Detee speaks Akran grows very still, hovering above the small figure of the brave dwarf. You are so wrapped up in the drama of the moment that you almost miss your opportunity. Akran is so intent on Detee's words that he has stopped moving back and forth. Very slowly and carefully you reach back and pull one of the last magical arrows out of your quiver. Still moving slowly you notch the arrow. But what can one arrow do against a dragon? A story your father used to tell you comes to mind. Something about an ancient human warrior who seemed to be invincible, but who had one fatal weakness. You don't remember much of the story, but you do remember the moral of it - everything has a weak spot, and to defeat an opponent you have to find and strike at its weak spot. Your gaze moves along the dragon, wondering if perhaps a scale as recently come loose or there is some soft spot you could hit. When your gaze moves to the dragon's head your target is suddenly clear - one of the dragon's huge eyes is only about thirty feet away from you.

Without another thought you stand fully upright and take the shot. The movement catches the dragon's attention and you see the eye roll back to look at you just before your arrow disappears into it. The dragon roars out in pain, the sound so loud it almost knocks you off your feet. Staggering back you keep your balance but see the dragon's head whip towards you and it's chest suddenly expand. You feel the blood drain out of your face as you realize what is about to happen. You dive towards the parapet, curling into a ball as your world explodes into flame. The pain is so intense your mind immediately blocks it out. You can feel your skin cracking and burning under the intense heat. You try take a breath but the super-heated air burns your lungs. Your last conscious thought comes when the burning roof beneath you gives way and you wonder if you'll hit the stove as you fall.

-----------------------

Midnight couldn't believe it. What did that foolish girl think she was going to accomplish plunking an arrow into the dragon's eye? Didn't she know you had to attack from head-on in order to reach a dragon's brain from the eye? Probably not. The slender moon elf shook her invisible head as the red dragon flamed the corner of her Inn. Well, that was to be expected. She would be rebuilding... again.

"Basam! Quickly! Go see if you can rescue that archer!"

"Sayida," a voice replied from the air nearby, "she was just flamed at point blank range by..."

"I know what happened, just GO!"

"By your command, Sayida."

Midnight cursed as Basam moved away. Sometimes he could be so stubborn. Trusting to her invisibility to keep her safe she looked back into the street and saw that Saeros and another figure were attacking the red with missile fire. Athena willing they might be able to drive it off.

<I have found her Sayida.... she is badly burned and has fallen through the roof.... I don't think she is alive.>

<Bring her to me immediately!>

Midnight felt the genie's mental sigh but ignored it. She had more important things to do. Slipping her backpack off she rummaged through it, her hands knowing exactly where to feel inside the invisible pack. Pulling out several vials and jars she prepared for Basam's return. As she did so she heard a loud thunderclap from out in the street. She smiled grimly. It had been several years since she had last heard the sound of Jurgen's Hammer of Thunderbolts used in battle. Angus must have finally taken it up.

Midnight quickly pushed the memories of Jurgen and the other members of her old company to the side as Basam returned carrying a smoking figure. The beautiful elf's heart sank as she saw how badly Katrina had been burned. All of her clothing and hair was gone except for a pair of slippers on her feet. All that was left of Katrina was cracked and blackened flesh. With little hope Midnight reached down where Laila had taught her to feel for the pulse of life. She was surprised to find a pulse there. It was weak and fading rapidly, but it was there.

"Basam! Quickly! Spread this salve over her burns!"

"There isn't enough of this stuff to cover her whole body, Sayida."

"The cover the worst parts, just HURRY!"

As Basam began to apply the magical ointment to Katrina's burns Midnight uncorked the first of her potions of extra healing. She went to give it to Katrina but found that the girl's face was so badly burned that her lips had fused together. Midnight paled slightly but grabbed a small dagger and carefully sliced Katrina’s fused lips apart. Tossing the dagger aside she held the vial to Katrina's mouth and began to stroke her neck, trying to get the girl to swallow. Somehow Kat's body responded and swallowed the burning liquid. Once Midnight got her swallowing regularly she keep the liquid flowing, pouring four potions into the burned girl in rapid succession. All the while Basam continued to apply the salve to her body.

The massive amount of healing magic inside and outside of Katrina finally took hold. Midnight watched in amazement as the blackened flesh began to flake off, revealing bright pink skin underneath. At first only small patches of new skin appeared, but they began to slowly grow. Taking the salve from Basam Midnight began applying it to Katrina's face, hoping that if she put enough on there would be no scaring. While Katrina wasn't the prettiest of her girls Midnight knew how traumatic facial scars could be to a woman.

With growing satisfaction Midnight watched the healing patches of skin grow until most of the cat-girl's flesh was pink rather than black. It was about that time that she moaned and her eyelids finally fluttered open.

---------------------------------

<What's going on?>

The entity feels very confused. It is dark and cold... no, dark and hot... or.... what? It feels very detached and has a hard time thinking straight. What is going on?

Slowly the entity becomes aware of a new sensation, a terrible itching sensation. Eventually it becomes aware that the itching sensation is coming from its body. This is somewhat of a revelation since it had forgotten that it... no, she had a body. The itching becomes so intense, so terrible that it begins to pull at the entity, to draw it forward. The entity resists, but it is futile. It feels her surroundings start to grow brighter.

<Katrina. My name is Katrina> you think as your consciousness returns to your body. It is good to remember, but consciousness comes with a price. Your body itches so! You moan in frustration. You know that you should scratch the itching, but you haven't remembered how to control your arms yet. You try to open her eyes but find them stuck together. You moan again, now more confused than ever.

Finally whatever was holding your eyes together gives way and you open them. Blue. Lots of blue and... black stuff. Black stuff... smoke. Smoke and fire. THE DRAGON! THE FIRE!

You try to sit up but feel yourself being held down. This really confuses you since you can't see anything nearby. You look around and find yourself in a small alley, alone. The sight of your body catches your eye. What had happened? You are naked and your skin is all bright pink and somewhat shiny, and it itches like mad! Looking between your legs you notice something else. Reaching up you confirm your suspicion - you have no hair anywhere on your body, not even eyelashes.

"What...?" you finally manage to say, although it comes out more like a croak than a word.

"Be calm, Katrina Hunter" a voice says out of the thin air, "You are safe now."

The voice sounds familiar, although in your confused state you can't nail down who it belongs to. "What happened?" you ask the air.

"Do you remember the dragon?"

You nod.

"Do you remember shooting the dragon?"

Another nod.

"Do you remember the dragon flaming you?"

You moan at the memory of the pain. "And... I fall. What happened?"

"I had Basam rescue you" the voice replies. "He brought you here and we used magic to heal you. You were very lucky. You should have died, you know."

As the voice speaks you realize who it is. "Midnight?"

"Yes?"

"Is you, yes? Why you here?"

"This is my town too, love. Even more than most people imagine. I'm not about to let a pack of dirty orcs overrun it, even if they are backed up by a dragon."

You shake your head. This is all too much for you.

"I scratch all over.... no, itch all over!"

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do for that, love. That's the healing magic. It's either that or blackened skin."

"I have no clothes."

"Well, yes that's true too" Midnight replies, trying not to laugh. "Here, try this on."

A loose fitting black outfit appears on the ground near you. Moving slowly and painfully you pick it up. It looks small, but at least it is clothing. As you pull it on Midnight speaks.

"Katrina, it sounds like the fighting isn't over. I'm going to head back out there and see what I can do to help. You should go back to the mansion and rest. I'll see if I can get somebody to help you with the hair thing.

You shake your head. "I no rest. I fight!"

"Katrina, you almost died! Do you understand that? You were so close we were lucky - very lucky to have saved you! And now you want to run out again and keep fighting?"

You nod your head, wondering why Midnight is making such a big deal over this. OK, you almost died. Now you're better. You want to fight now. It must be an elf thing.

Midnight sighs deeply. "Well, I'm not going to send you out unarmed. Can you use daggers?"

You shake your head. "I no need little knives. I have these!"

Concentrating you perform your transformation into cat form, unaware that the invisible Midnight is watching the whole thing curiously. When you are done you look down and scream. Fending off hordes of orcs? No biggie. Attacking a dragon? No biggie. Almost dying from the dragon's breath? No biggie. Being a naked bald human? No biggie. Finding that you are also a bald cat? AARRRGGHH!

"Uh, Kat, what's wrong?"

"No fur! No fur! Fur all gone! AARRRRGGGHHH!"

"Uh, Katrina, settle down. I know there is some simple magical spell that will grow your fur back. Unfortunately I don't know it. So just be patient and I'll get you fixed up and taken care of, OK? Do you want to go rest in the mansion now?"

The hope in Midnight's voice that you'll finally back down and not fight gets your attention. "No. I OK now. Not like being bald cat, but still want to fight! Uh, you have mask or something I can wear? Or you make me invisible like you?"

"Sorry, love, but I can't make you invisible. Here, try this."

Now a hat appears on your head. "Concentrate about somebody else, somebody you know well."

You think about Ariessus and you hear Midnight laugh. "Well, that's not exactly what I would call subtle, but it will work."

Looking down you see that your skin is all black now. "I look like Ari?"

"Well, other than being bald, yes. Here, pull up the hood on the outfit. There, now you could pass for Ariessus, yes."

"Can I go fight now?"

Midnight laughs. "I'm not your mother, love, just your employer. You don't need to ask permission from me. If you want to..."

Midnight trails off as you hear sound from the mouth of the alley. Looking that way you see three orcs and a hobgoblin enter the alley and begin to move down it. They spot you standing in the middle of the alley. Thinking you to be easy prey they grin and move forward, blades at the ready.

You loosen your muscles and prepare to meet them. They are about twenty feet away when one of them suddenly goes down, blood shooting from his neck. The others see this and get spooked. One starts flailing around madly with his sword while the other two charge you. Before the two get to within striking range you see the one flailing around with his sword suddenly fly up into the sky at a high rate of speed, screaming all the way. But then you have to concentrate on the two ahead of you. You unsheathe your claws and go into a deadly combat routine. It only takes a few seconds before both orcs lay dead at your feet.

"Very impressive" you hear Midnight's voice from further down in the alley. "Dac had mentioned to me that you were good at the martial arts. I thought he was exaggerating. I had better go now. When this is all over meet me at the mansion and we'll take care of that embarrassing hair loss problem you have."

You nod your understanding and that is the last you hear from Midnight. You stand there for a moment, wondering what to do. Sounds of fighting from behind you draws you attention and you head in that direction. You find six goblins trying to break into a house. The inhabitants inside are trying to keep them out using chairs and brooms. Well, you'll just have to do something about this.

You spend the next hour or so wandering the back streets of town, keeping for the most part near the Maiden's Kiss, in the area that you know. Dozens of humanoids have escaped from the main fighting and are wandering the streets, trying to steal a little loot and rape a few women before slinking back into their caves under the mountains. You have different ideas as to what they should be doing. In all you take out over two dozen of the beasts before the pickings become so slim you decide that the fight must be over. You are exhausted - mentally and emotionally as well as physically. Remembering Midnight's words you make you way towards the mansion she lives in. She isn't there, but Zidji is. After you remove the hat and convince her you are who you say you are she casts the cantrip that Midnight mentioned. With no little relief you find yourself properly covered in fur once more.

Your physical exhaustion finally catches up with you. After all, you had been up all night working. You find a comfortable couch outside of Midnight's office and curl up on it. Although you only wanted to rest for a moment you are soon fast asleep.