In a bed, inside the hut.

Daylight shone through the window as Gilly opened her eyes. It took her a while to understand where she was. In a bed - but not her own. She could hear the croaking of frogs outside. The bed was soft but simple and long feathers hung from the wall, alongside of strange wooden masks. This was clearly not her room.

Then she remembered. She jolted upright, just at the moment when the dark haired young woman came through a curtain of beads, fir cones and shells into her room. She carried a tray with steamy water and a towel.

"You're awake," she stated, and set the tray on the floor. "Good. You had a nasty fever and something else that is eating your strength..." Her dark eyes studied Gilly.

"Who are you?" Gilly asked.

"People call me The Witch Of The Moor," the woman replied. "And other names. You may call me Eszge. In fact, I prefer if you call me Eszge."

"I've heard of you," Gilly said and tried to remember. "You lure men into the swamp and drown them in the ponds. And you collect herbs and poisons to curse and kill people who hurt the Mist swamp."

Eszge snorted. "I wish I could. And I have no interest to lure any men here. I am not particularily interested in men, I must say. The part about herbs is true, though. Some people from the surrounding villages come and see me for trade. I've never seen you though. Did someone send you to trade with me?"

Gilly shook her head and wanted to answer, but her tongue felt heavy. She still felt incredibly tired. Eszge watched her thoughtfully. "As I said," she finally told her, thoughtfully, "there is something inside you. Something that fights inside you and tires your body. I have a suspicion, but..." She frowned. "You allow that I touch you?"

Gilly shrugged, but only before she realized where it was that Eszge wanted to touch her. A slender hand lifted Gilly's blanket and reached straight for her crotch, two fingers starting to massage the sensitive place right next to her nether lips. Gilly tensed and pressed her legs together. "No!" she protested.

"I am afraid this is necessary," Eszge said, and her fingers continued her massage. Gilly was about to rise from the bed and push the dark haired women away, but the witch raised her left hand, snapped her fingers, and Gilly found herself unable to move a muscle. She stared at the other women in disbelief.

"I am sorry, girl, but I fear this is important." Eszge watched her intently while massaging her clit. Soon, Gilly felt her abdomen tingle and her body heating up. Still unable to move, there was nothing else she could do but to close her eyes and ... enjoy the strange treatment. Eszges hand deftly fingered her, carressing her nether lips, slowly pushing inwards and then back to her clit.

Gilly felt the need to move, to toss and to turn, to open her legs wider, to ... do ... something!

Sparks flew from her fingers. And suddenly she could move. She opened her legs, reached with her hands for her full breasts and moaned - just as Eszge withdraw her fingers. Gilly blinked, confused.

"Just as I thought," the witch said.
"Wha-what?"
"There is magic inside you."
"What?!"

Eszge nodded and pursed her lips. "We call it 'lust magic', but I am not really sure that's what it is. It could be the normal magic that people like me use, but somehow it was dormant inside you. Probably because of your upbringing. Nobody ever tested you for magic, nobody ever taught you magic, so it was buried deep inside. Did you recently walk through one of the lust storms?"

Gilly nodded, still not really sure what Eszge was telling her. "I am not surprised," the young witch said. "From all we know, the lust storms seem to trigger dormant magic. It is very rare, but it happens. There is something unnatural about the lust storms. They are not really magical, but there is a strange power in them. And somehow that power woke up the magic inside you and tied itself to your magical powers. There's no better way for me to describe this. Maybe you'll find out more once you learn to master it."

"Master it?" Gilly's eyes widened. "I don't even know what it is. How can you so sure about it? I don't feel any magic. I haven't done anything magical!"
"You did," Eszge said. "Your magic broke my immobilization spell. A weak one, granted, but you just shattered it. The problem is..." The witch chewed at her lower lip and studied Gilly again.
"The problem is what?"
"That from all we know, you can only invoke your magic if you are aroused."
Gilly blinked. "I... I am not sure I can follow you," she finally said slowly.
"You can only do magic if you are in a state of arousal. As you were when I fingered you. That did set your magic free. You will have to learn how to control both: Your arousal and your magic. And I know that's tricky. Because from all we know, magic needs concentration and a celar mind. People cannot cast magic spells if they can't concentrate. So, if you are too aroused your magic will not work. If you orgasm, your magic will not work for a while. If someone or something manages to get you into a state of high arousal, you won't be able to cast magic. That's the tricky thing. You need to be aroused - but not too much. Also, you'll need to figure out how to arouse yourself on demand, because otherwise your magic will be pretty useless."

Gilly gaped at the young woman with her mouth open.

And only then did she remember her friends.
"How long did I sleep?" Gilly asked.