The next few days passed in a mix of merry-making and magical training. Aria was delighted to see the statues of Castle Elid again, her companions for so many centuries, and spent many hours in joyful conversation with them. She told the statues of her adventures with Emily, and they told her of all that had happened since the two had departed the castle—the rescue of their drowned brethren, and the long trek to Paja Abbey.

  For their part, the monks were welcoming, and incredibly curious. Living statues, as Emily had come to appreciate, were not much more common in Thesson than back on Earth. And each one was different from the next—marble, granite, sandstone, bronze, all materials were represented. Many, like Jivaro, possessed exaggerated features and proportions seldom seen in flesh-and-blood humans—this had been a side-effect of petrification.

  "Did you look much different as a human?" Talyndra asked Aria.

  Aria put a thoughtful hand to her chin. "I think I was slightly taller."

  Emily's eyes widened at this—she had known few woman as tall as Aria even in her statue form.

  "You will soon be able to verify this cim, Emily," Aria said gently, noticing Emily's expression.

  That just made Emily feel worse, but she smiled bravely. The way Aria could speak with such complete trust and confidence in her made her wonder what she had done to deserve it. Moreover, it made her think of how she might unwittingly betray that trust and confidence. Could she really restore all of these statues to human form?

  The day soon came for Emily and Talyndra to leave for G Abbey. Emily had quickly mastered teleportation, but had proven quite unable to manifest clothing again, the way she'd inadvertently done in front of the monks, after her first teleportation. About the best she'd managed to do in that regard was get good at very quickly teleporting behind cover.

  She'd asked the monks if there was an fabric which might resist the Stoneshell's fme, and they'd suggested some possibilities, but everything she'd tested thus far had been destroyed just as thoroughly as the outfit she'd first teleported in. In the end, she resigned herself to appearing naked in the firepce of G Abbey. At least Talyndra would be in the same boat. Anyway, shouldn't she be used to arriving in strange pces without any clothes on by now? It appeared to be prophesied...

  Emily didn't think it was possible to get used to such a thing. But she would do it for Aria. And to get back home.

  "Shimmerwood is a pce of illusions," Althea warned her one night over dinner, the fire casting ominous shadows over her wizened features. "It takes a strong mind to resist its influence. Many have been lost to the forest's spell."

  "How can I resist it?" asked Emily.

  "Know yourself."

  To Emily's chagrin, no further or more practical advice was forthcoming. But such was her resolve that when the appointed day arrived, she stood in the courtyard of Paja Abbey, arms wrapped around Talyndra, ready to disappear. She had on a simple peasant's dress made from single piece of fabric, which no one would miss much when it was burned up, and was barefoot.

  Talyndra wore her leaf dress. "It's getting a bit stale, so this is good timing," she said to Emily, doing her best to act nonchant. "I'm just upset I can't bring my swords."

  Monks and statues gathered around to watch the disappearance, though they would see little more than an ascending column of fme. The real show was going to take pce on the other side.

  Emily cast her gaze over the crowd, meeting Dorian's eyes. He smiled and saluted, mouthing a wish for good luck. She smiled back, and then passed her gaze to Aria, who wore a small, reserved smile that nonetheless signaled total confidence in her student and friend.

  "Give my regards to Abbess Loren," said Althea, who was standing next to Aria. The two had found a lot to talk about with each other. "She'll tell you all you need to know about finding the Shard of True Reflection."

  "Thank you," said Emily.

  "We'll see you back in a few days' time," Althea continued. "The Stoneshell fire will be kept well-stoked for your return."

  "Please have a cloaks for us as well! And a much smaller audience!"

  "Boo!" shouted Jivaro.

  Emily giggled, despite herself. "Goodbye, everyone!" she said.

  "See ya ter!" shouted Talyndra.

  Emily and Talyndra looked each other in the eye and decided it was time. Emily took a deep breath in, and then, in a calm, clear voice, said the words, "G Abbey."

  Her world was consumed by fire, and then darkness.

  Every previous teleportation had felt instantaneous, but this time Emily was conscious of the moments between her departure and arrival. Her body was spinning in all directions, with nothing but around her. She clung tight to Talyndra, and felt as the sensation of leaves was repced with that of flesh. Ethereal winds whipped at her own exposed skin.

  Then the spinning stopped, and Emily felt warm stone beneath her feet. Darkness was repced by walls of weathered stone, animated by dancing shadows. A roaring fire warmed the skin of Emily's back. The smell of damp earth filled her nostrils, and a cloying sweetness tickled the back of her throat.

  Emily swayed, releasing her grip on Talyndra and fighting back a wave of nausea. Talyndra let out a low groan, her hand flying to her mouth.

  "Ugh," she muttered. "That was worse than usual."

  "It must be... the distance," Emily wheezed, bent over and staring at the cracked stone floor, overgrown with moss. "Is this... G Abbey?"

  Once sufficiently recovered, Emily and Talyndra surveyed the chamber. The walls, floor and ceiling were cobbled together from rough-hewn rocks, many of which had fallen down and were lying in piles. Green moss grew in every crevice. The room's single feature was the hearth behind them, burning with Stoneshell fire. A narrow opening across from them showed dense foliage.

  Talyndra stepped closer to the opening and scanned the area outside. "This must be Shimmerwood. I didn't realize the abbey was actually inside the forest."

  "Perhaps the mages here are wood elves, like you," Emily suggested.

  Talyndra shook her head. "This is no wood elf forest. The magical energy here feels twisted, wrong somehow. It's giving me a headache, and we've barely been here five minutes."

  Despite the warmth of the fire, a chill spread through Emily's bones. The sight of Talyndra's bare butt as she peered into the forest reminded her of her own nudity, and she wrapped her arms across her body.

  Talyndra gnced back at Emily. "I'd better get us something to wear. There's a tree just outside with nice big leaves that'll make excellent outfits."

  "Thank you," said Emily, "I knew you were the right person to bring along!"

  "Just try not to burn this outfit up, okay. Not every tree has suitable leaves, especially in a strange forest like this one."

  "Hey!" But before Emily could finish her retort, Talyndra had slipped through the chamber's entrance, disappearing into the shimmering, mist-wreathed forest beyond.

  Left alone in the strange, silent chamber, Emily shivered. The fire crackled merrily in the hearth, but it did little to dispel her growing unease. Cautiously, and with her hands firmly covering herself, she took a few steps towards the entrance and peered out.

  The forest was impossibly dense, with barely any clear ground between the entrance to her ruin and the thicket of trees. A rolling mist suffused the pce, further hurting visibility. Though Talyndra could be no more than a few yards from the entrance, Emily could not see her.

  The air was thick with honeyed-green mist, and what little sunlight permeated the trees had a sickly green tinge. The whole pce was suffused with a smell that made Emily feel light-headed. A cloying sweetness, so strong that she could taste it, but not quite like anything she'd ever smelled before.

  A scream, sharp and sudden, sliced through the stillness of the forest. Emily's heart leaped into her throat. "Talyndra!" she whispered, blood pounding in her ears.

  Fear overriding apprehension, Emily scrambled through the narrow opening, her bare feet sinking into the soft, mossy earth. The cloying sweetness of the mist intensified, making her head spin. "Talyndra!" she called again, panic cracking her voice.

  The mist swirled around her, obscuring her vision, making the trees seem to shift and sway like ghostly figures. Then, through the swirling green, she saw a spsh of vibrant color. As she drew closer, the scene that unfolded before her was not what she had expected. Not a scene of danger or struggle, but... a tea party.

  A group of the most peculiar creatures Emily had ever encountered were gathered around a low, moss-covered table, sipping tea from delicate porcein cups. There was a plump, pink dwarf woman in a frilly dress with a wide-brimmed hat perched jauntily on its head, its tiny arms gesticuting wildly as she recounted a story. A sleek, bck snake with emerald eyes coiled gracefully around a teapot, its forked tongue flicking out occasionally to sample the steaming brew. A small bipedal creature, that looked like a cross between a man and a bird, covered in feathers and wearing a vest made of leaves, crouched near a pte of miniature cakes, dipping its long beak into the frosting.

  They all looked up as Emily approached, their expressions ranging from mild curiosity to outright delight.

  "Welcome, welcome!" chirped the bird-man, his voice surprisingly deep and resonant. "We were just about to pour another cup. Do join us!"

  Emily stared at them, her mouth agape. She had been prepared to face monstrous beasts, cunning traps, perhaps even the wrath of the forest itself. But a tea party? It was so utterly unexpected, so incongruous with the eerie atmosphere of the Shimmerwood, that for a moment, she was speechless.

  The pink dy, noticing her hesitation, gestured towards an empty seat at the table. "Don't be shy, dear," it said, its voice warm and inviting. "There's plenty of tea to go around."

  Now that her panic had subsided, Emily was once again keenly aware of her nudity, and clung to her body. She managed a weak smile. "I, uh... thank you," she stammered, her gaze darting between the strange creatures and her own bare form. The situation was beyond awkward, yet there was something oddly disarming about their cheerful hospitality.

  She cautiously approached the table, her cheeks burning. The bck snake poured her a cup of steaming tea, its emerald eyes twinkling with amusement. "Milk or sugar?" it hissed, its voice surprisingly gentle.

  "Just... just tea is fine," Emily mumbled, taking the offered cup with trembling hands, still not quite believing what was happening to her. She sat down on the low-slung branch of a nearby tree, squeezing her thighs together.

  As she sipped the tea, a blend of fragrant herbs and sweet berries, she couldn't help but feel a sense of surreal amusement creeping in. Here she was, naked and stranded in a magical forest, having tea with a snake, a dwarf and a bird-person. This was not quite how she had envisioned her quest for the Shard of True Reflection unfolding. And where was Talyndra?

  The tea went down smooth and made Emily feel better. Her eyes darted between the dwarf dy's dress and the bird-man's leafy vest. Even the snake, she now noticed, was wearing a red bowtie just under his diamond-shaped head. Gathering her courage, she cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she began, voice trembling slightly. "This tea is quite lovely, thank you. But, um, as I guess you can see, I'm feeling a little, uh, underdessed for this occasion. Would anyone happen to have a spare cloak or something?"

  The three party-goers exchanged gnces. Then, eyes lighting up, the pink dy tottered over to a nearby bush, plucked a handful of brightly colored flowers, and wove them into a delicate crown. Smiling, she walked over to Emily and bade her to lower her head. Emily did so, and the dy pced the crown gently on Emily's head.

  "There you go, dear," she said. "That's much better! Would you like some more tea?"

  Emily managed a weak smile, feeling more self-conscious than ever. "It's... lovely," she said, "But I'm still, uh... I mean, I don't want to be a bother... but..."

  "Oh of course!" the dy excimed, spping her forehead. "How silly of me! I forgot the most important part! Charles, hold still, would you?" With this, the dy leaned over to her side and deftly plucked a handful of feathers from the birdman's head.

  The bird-man shrieked in pain, his cry something between a human scream and a bird call, so loud and shrill that Emily physically winced at it.

  "Oh, quit fussing," said the pink dy. "We must show our guest the proper hospitality."

  The pink dy deftly wove the feathers into Emily's flower crown before stepping back to admire her handiwork. "Beautiful," she said. "You're quite ready for the tea party now, love."

  Emily could only smile weakly. Clearly, these people were insane.

  The snake poured her a fresh cup of tea, and the pink dy whispered something in the ear of the bird-man, who nodded gravely, looking in Emily's direction. Perhaps... perhaps they thought she was the insane one? After all, she was the one wandering around a strange forest in the nude. Even the snake wore a bowtie.