"My friends," Keldorn began, "I am glad that you have all joined us on this happy occasion."

Keldorn Firecam had invited all his companions to his estate to celebrate both his impending retirement, as well as his reunion with his family. Strangely enough, the aging paladin seemed not at all glum at the prospect of leaving the battle against evil to his younger peers. In fact, Laska had never seen Keldorn more alive since their first meeting in the Beholder dungeon. He truly seemed to be looking forward to finally being able to fulfill his long overdue role as a father and a husband. Right now, however, Laska and her friends had accepted Keldorn's offer to have dinner at his estate, with his family. Peony had cooked a grand meal, consisting of cooked geese, delicate soups, freshly baked bread, fine cheeses and even finer wine. All gathered were certain this would be a feast no one would forget soon.

Even nicer than the banquet was Keldorn's estate. A nice fire burned in the corner of the room, which was lavishly decorated with artworks, decorative weapons and paintings, persumably of Keldorn's ancestors.

Keldorn, as the host, sat at the head of the table, flanked by his wife on the left side and his two daughters on the right side. Viconia sat next to Maria Firecam, much to Keldorn's unease, but Maria had insisted on it. Every so often, little Vesper and Viconia shared a brief look and a wink.

Next to Viconia sat Laska, impatiently fidgiting with one of the many forks lying next to her plate. The tattooed elf briefly wondered why so many different utensils were laid out in front of her. One knife, one fork and one spoon should be enough, shouldn't it? she wondered.

Facing Laska was Korgan, looking bored and ready to dig in. Unlike Laska, Korgan did know what to do with all those utensils. He scooped them all up and unceremoniously dropped them to the floor. The only thing left next to his plate, was his meatknife. Korgan glared viciously to all those who gave him an odd look and wore a 'this be all I be needin''-expression on his face.

Sitting next to Korgan was Jan Jansen. The gnome was twiddling his thumbs, often glancing to the kitchen in an idle hope that a stack of steamed turnips would be brought into the room at the very last moment.

Minsc was facing Jan and had put Boo on the table. Minsc was constantly feeding Boo some of the bread, but was instructing the hamster 'not to fill up on bread, while there was all that delicious foodstuffs just waiting to be eaten by goodly heroes.'

"Glad to be 'ere, longlimb," Korgan chuckled anxiously. "Now let's eat!"

"Oh, yeah!" Laska practically shouted.

"Pass the turnipsauce!" Jan yelled.

"HOLD IT!" Keldorn shouted. By this time, Minsc had already grabbed a bowl of soup, while Jan had his fingers in the cheese. Laska and Korgan had their eyes set on the same goose as well. Laska had both her hands around the cooked bird, while Korgan had one stubby hand around the leg and his knife slammed into the bird's midriff and the goose was about to be ripped in two, when Keldorn's voice froze the scene. Apparently, Vesper and Leona were quite amused at the spectacle.

"OY!" Korgan was the first to speak up. "What be the bloody hold-up!?"

"Don't you think we should thank the gods first? I had something to say to all of you, too," Keldorn said.

"Thank the gods, ey?" Korgan chuckled. "Okay, how about... Rubba-Dub-Dub-Thanks for da Grub! Now, let's eat!" The dwarf immediately started to tug on the bird again.

Viconia sighed deeply. "Show some repect, hargluk," she snarled. "Hey," she said when she noticed Keldorn and Korgan were staring at her, "I am a cleric!"

Korgan sighed as well, "Alright, darky, we'll be hearin' the daft old longlimb out..."

"Thank you..." Keldorn said. "Seeing some of us are impatient, I'll make this short. I owe a debt of gratitude to those sitting at the table, and in particular to Korgan and Viconia for helping me through a difficult decision as well as reuniting me with my family." Viconia nodded once when Lady Maria and her daughters glanced at her and Korgan with gratitude. Korgan merely seemed bored and was wistfully staring at the goose in front of him. "And that is the reason I have invited all of you to this fine meal. For gratitude and celebration, I thank the Gods for our companionship and the graces of love..." Keldorn finished and raised his cup once. For Korgan this was the sign to continue eating...

It took only seconds for the upscale dinner to turn into a battlefield.

Korgan threw himself on the goose and pulled the entire bird on his plate. Laska, who had been twirling a fork in her hair, reacted too late to stop him.

"HEY!" the tattooed elf protested, the fork still hanging from her auburn locks.

"Get yer own bird, lassie!" Korgan chuckled and stuffed an abundant amount of meat in his mouth.

Meanwhile, Jan jammed his fork into a large hunk of cheese and dipped it in his soup before sliding it in his mouth. "You know, some turnipsauce would make this party complete! I remember my aunt Petunia and I were trekking through the woods looking for wild forest-turnips. We had a trained boar to sniff them out, you see? Well, it wasn't really a boar, but simply a pig we dressed up to look like a boar... Maybe that's the reason why we never found any wild turnips... Anyway, we were travelling around the Coast Way when we came across this weird human fellah. He was wearing this painfully yellow shirt, which was ripped at many places, and the fellah didn't even remember his own name! And to make matters worse, he...kept...talking...like...he...was...gasping...for...air...between...every...word. So, we decided to take him home with us to figure out who he was. Come to think of it, we had some strange adventures getting back home, but I won't go into those right now. We kept having to fight off these brown orcs with ridges on their foreheads, you see? But strange facial ridges is a clear sign of not having eaten enough Vitamin-T, I can tell you that! Anyways, we got him home and Ma decided to fix him a good meal : Fried turnips with a second of mashed turnips, richly laced with turnipsauce. Suddenly, just after finishing off his meal, the strange man jumped upright and said : 'I... remember...who...I...am! My...name...is...' Sadly, he never got to finish his words, since the poor chap suddenly disintegrated in a yellow flash of light right before our very eyes, I kid you not! The moral of this story is : Turnipsauce is good for the body, but bad for your continued existance... I'll give Peony the recipe after dessert!"

"Gnome," Viconia snarled. "You're putting me off dinner with...your...fanciful...tales..."

Minsc was loudly slurping down his soup, not having heard a word of Jan's tale.

In the meantime, Keldorn was surveying the 'battlefield'. He noticed the only one besides himself and his family, having any tablemanners at all, was Viconia. She held her knife and cut her meat like a lady, betraying her former status as a member of the Drow nobility. Laska sitting next to her, however, was still trying to figure out which spoon to use to eat her soup with. Eventually she seemed to shrug and simply grabbed the bowl to drink the soup from it directly.

Then, almost relucantly, Keldorn's gaze moved towards Korgan. It was a painful thing to watch. Korgan was scuffing down his goose with the speed of a flying arrow. Gravy and pieces of meat which were not flying around were clinging in his beard. Suddenly, Korgan seemed to cough once. His eating speed came to a grinding halt as he grabbed his throat with stubby hands and made choking noises.

"Hey, Korgan is choking," Jan announced to the world.

"Worry not, my little friend!" Minsc yelled and stood up from his seat. "Minsc is coming to the rescue!"

"This should be good," Viconia whispered to Vesper, who was giggling at all the funny people around the table.

While Korgan was leaning against the table, Minsc drew his sword and, with all his strength, hit the dwarf on the back with the flat end. The bone that was lodged into Korgan's throat was launched with great force, ricoche-ed off the wall and landed squarely into Laska's soup.

"Hey!" Laska sneered and wiped the soup from her face. "I was eating that!" she added, fished the bone from her bowl and tossed it aside before continuing her dinner.

But as soon as one crisis was solved, the next began. A loud scream came from the kitchen, followed by Peony jumping through the door in a hysteric fashion. "There's a GIANT SPIDER in the kitchen..."

"Oh, that's just Khittix," Viconia simply stated and put another piece of meat in her mouth.

"You let a giant spider inside my estate?" Keldorn thundered.

"Spiders need to eat too!" Viconia replied.

"How do spiders eat, miss DeVir?" Vesper asked. "Do they have sharp teeth?"

"Not exactly, tiny jalil," Viconia smiled, "some spiders spin their prey in a web, like Khittix does. Then they use their pincers to inject a poison which liquifies the prey's insides. After that, it's a simple matter for the spider to extract that liquid and... feast."

"WOW!" Vesper said.

"Oh, do you mind, Viconia?" Laska said sharply. "Some of us are trying to EAT here!"

"Oh, is that what you were doing?" Viconia chuckled. "I thought I was witnessing a small group of pigs who are being fed after a week of starvation!"

"Aw, Vicky!" Jan said. "That little story of yours put me right off thinking about turnips!"

"And thank Shar for that..." Viconia muttered.

"AAAHHH!" Minsc suddenly shouted. "BOO FELL IN THE WINEBOTTLE!"

"Let'm drink 'is way out!" Korgan answered with his mouth full.

Minsc held up a bottle, in which a hamster was paddling for dear life.

"How'd he get through that narrow bottleneck?" Laska asked.

"Boo must be double-jointed!" Jan said. "I have a funny story about that, actually... My cousin Ryker Jansen was..."

Keldorn observed the 'battlefield' once more. The formal dinner had turned into a farce, but he wasn't upset. He noticed his wife was smiling and laughing at the antics of his companions. Oh, and it seemed Vesper and Viconia were about to engage in a friendly pea-shooting contest. Keldorn considered this simply was a wonderful moment between friends and family...

"I like your new friends, dad," Keldorn heard Leona say. "They're not as stuffy and boring like your friends from the Order..."

'No,' Keldorn grimaced inwardly. 'They certainly are not.'

"Careful!" Viconia yelled to Keldorn as they were carrying a passed-out Laska upstairs. "Don't knock her head against the wall..."

"Next room?" Keldorn asked.

"Better," Viconia replied. "Jan, Korgan and Minsc are having a snoring contest in there..."

"How did she get drunk on this wine?" Keldorn wondered. "These are supposed to be low on alcohol!"

"That flag doesn't fly when you drink a whole case!" Viconia chuckled as they dragged the unconscious elf into the bedroom. "Let's put her on the bed..."

"Why is there a fork in her hair?" Keldorn asked. "Perhaps I should remove it..."

Viconia chuckled while hoisting up the unconscious elf to a bed. "I'll be sharing this room with her...". The room was small, but neatly adorned and had two beds. It was on the second floor of Keldorn's estate and had a nice view overlooking the plaza below. A small bench was put before the french doors leading to a small balcony.

Keldorn's mood suddenly darkened. "Do not go wandering about in the night, Drow. I am grateful for your help saving my family, but my tolerance of your presence only streches so far..."

"Oh, come now!" Viconia chuckled again. "What do you think I'm going to do? Sneak about the house and slit everyone's throat in the night?" Then all the humor vanished from Viconia's ebony face as her mood darkened as well. "That's exactly what you think I'm going to do, isn't it?"

Keldorn didn't answer with words, but his expression told more than mere words could.

"Oh, this is just marvellous!" Viconia said with a touch of sardonic humor. "I don't know what you've been told about Drow society, but even we are not random and wanton murderers, suliss."

"HAH!" Keldorn replied. "How many innocent beings have you sacrificed in the name of your evil demon goddess!"

"FORMER goddess!" Viconia snarled. "I have lost EVERYTHING by leaving Menzoberranzan! MY home, my life, my goddess, my power, my House, my br..." Viconia paused a moment. "I don't know why you rivvin think I have some insidious double motive to serve a gluttonous goddess or my people! I don't know why you rivvin are so insistant upon making a scapegoat out of me! I don't know why so-called good people hunt me down without remorse! I don't know why religious fanatics try to burn me at the stake, simply because of my race! I don't know why three farmers would see the need to violently capture and rape me on their dirty floor, BUT I WANT IT ALL TO STOP!!!!"

Keldorn was taken aback by both her words and her strong reaction to his accusation. The Inquisitor's senses were honed to the detection of even the most craftly of lies and Keldorn regarded the Drow in front of him to try to detect any. He saw she was shaking with rage, but in her face, behind the mask of anger and strength, Keldorn saw no two-faced demon, but simply a woman... a woman in deep pain.

Sensing she might want to vent her feelings, he decided to guide her to the next room, away from the sleeping elf. Besides privacy, Keldorn knew he could find a hidden weapon there, should the enraged Drow go over the edge.

He led Viconia into the next room and motioned her to sit down on a lavish bench next to the window. Keldorn kept standing, and leant against one of the wooden walls. Viconia directed her eyes to the ground as she began to speak.

"It happened about two months ago," she began. "Xan had left for Evereska, and the rest of my friends had mysteriously disappeared. Lord Belt offered to let me stay at the ducal palace a while longer, but I know human gratitude is fleeting, so I took my meager belongings and left for Beregost. I remained hooded at all times and negotiated a deal with one of the local landowners to sell me a small stretch of land on the ourskirts of the town. I had to give up my share of the earnings, and I had to sell my weapons and armor to pay for it, but... it was worth it."

"I wasn't interested in farming, you see," Viconia looked up briefly before bowing her head again, "but I only wanted a place all of my own, where no one would bother me. Where I, perhaps, could find an inkling of peace. And it was... nice, for as long as it lasted. I only went to market in town once a week to get some supplies... and then I began the arduous task of building myself a home."

Viconia chuckled wryly for a moment and looked Keldorn in the eye. "I am no carpenter, and believe me, it showed... But it was nice... having that little place of my own to live... If only for my neighbor, it might have lasted longer..." Viconia gazed about the window, watching the rain trickling down the glass.

"His name was Roran Midfallow, a stout, sunburned farmer. We spoke at times and I allowed him to bring me supplies that I needed but could not find myself. Over time, we formed an awkward friendship. He did not ask why I wore my hood and I slowly began to trust him. He wondered, though...that was obvious. And one day, I made the foolish mistake to remove my hood. It was a warm day. The sun was dappling along the south quarter of his farmland and I pulled down my hood. Then he smiled a warm inviting smile... I should have noticed the fierceness in that grin, but I didn't. Perhaps I didn't even want to see it..." Viconia grimaced and continued. "He mentioned that his oldest son, Jiscanan, was busy making a feast to burst the first button and that I was invited. I was delighted at the time. I thought I finally had found someone who would accept me as I was," Viconia shook her head.

"We walked to his farmhouse, where his other son, a surly oaf named Funnard, was sickling quackgrass in the front yard, but when... we reached his farmhouse, I learned his true intentions. Somebody hit me in the back of my skull and the ground rushed up to meet me. I had grown weak in my trust. They chortled as I lost consciousness, saying how easy it had been and congratulating each other on a fine...a-a fine catch," Viconia continued. "But I had my revenge... I had my revenge... I could no longer live in Beregost, of course... The memory of their abuses still fills me with bile."

Viconia raised her head again took look at Keldorn. Human and Drow regarded each other. Keldorn stared in her eyes, his years of experience noticing the many unshed tears behind her facade of unwavering strength... It took Keldorn a long time to deal with his inner turmoil as well. Either he was to condemn Viconia simply because of her race and her past, or he was to take a deeper look at the person Viconia sitting in front of him, telling this horrible tale. But he had the feeling it was not the violation of her body, but rather the violation of her trust, which was bothering her so. It was a long time of soul-searching before Keldorn suddenly spoke...

"I'm sorry..." was his simple reply to to Viconia's words.

"Pity, Keldorn?" Viconia snarled. "I do not require your pity! I am strong... I am strong because I am Drow! Because I am steel, honed to the sharpest of blades. I have tried to adjust to the surface-life, but that is now over with! I know now, that if I ever want to be left alone, to find my peace, I must have the POWER to be able to force it!" Viconia said sharply.

"I'm tired of trying to adjust," Viconia continued. "You Rivvin are incomprehensible to me. There's this odd dualilty in almost all the surface-races which puzzles me to no degree. Among the Drow I knew what I could expect. If someone wished to advance their station at my cost, they'd do it. And then I'd prepare and defend against those measures. But here... So called good people chased me away for no other reason than the reputation of my race, while almost all of those who did accept me, wanted something in exchange. Usually my body," Viconia sighed.

"It seems your bitterness towards humanity and the surfacelands is quite understandable," Keldorn mused. "Humanity certainly hasn't shown you its best side..."

"I was starting to wonder about that, until I met Laska and her little group. They saved me from death and willfully took me into their mids without asking anything in return. And even though they were completely void of ulterior motives, at first I started to ascribe all sort of mischievious plots to any of their actions... It's hard to step out of that paranoia, you know... Among the Drow there is no such feeling, since everybody actually is out to get you, but things here are quite different at times, I admit to that."

"This world is so strange," Viconia continued. "Mates actually care for one another. And many add this incredible value to the lives of others... But then there's that duality again. For every person trying to help those in impoverished destitution, there's another person trying to fleece or kill them."

"Such is the nature of man, I fear," Keldorn said. "The fight against evil is an everlasting struggle. Your society knows no good, so there is none of that duality you mentioned. The only real struggles Drow society knows are between rival groups..."

"I fear that life on the surfacelands is changing me too, and..." Viconia said, but was interrupted by Keldorn.

"And that frightens you so much you cling to your old ways with all your might. For you it, is the only certainty you have left. You choose to ignore those around you and are more and more withdrawing into yourself, because you insist on believing in your old ways, which no longer even apply to you!" Keldorn broke in.

"I have lost so much," Viconia said, her eyes flashing with fury, "and now to lose myself as well!"

"Improvement comes with change, Viconia," Keldorn stressed. "Change is not necesarily a bad thing. Trust may be a difficult to muster for you, but if you come to realize that being able to trust will be the first step towards coming to terms with a strange world and its inhabitants, your life will make sense again. Right now, you are floating between two worlds, Viconia. And right now, neither will accept you. If you don't learn to trust, you will forever be a loner... Someone who shall never have a place to call home."

Viconia bowed her head for a moment, apparently contemplating Keldorn's words. The aged paladin thought he saw the inkling of a nod for only a brief second, but Keldorn felt he needed to add a few words.

"Don't you trust your old companions?" Keldorn tried. "Don't you trust Minsc and Laska?"

"Of course, implicitly," Viconia stated, but her mood seemed to have darkened even more. The Drow suddenly stood up and approached Keldorn. "Why should I change?" Viconia snarled in his face. "Why should I accept the rules and values of a society that reviles me!"

"You must convince the people that you are different from others of your race," Keldorn said, and just as Viconia opened her mouth for an angry retort, he continued. "Don't bother denying it. You are already different from other Drow or we would not even be having this conversation!"

But this statement angered Viconia even more. "You want me to become teary and weak! Shall I crawl on the ground, exposing my belly to every rivvil waiting with a knife to gut me? I think not!!"

"No," Keldorn continued unfettered. "you should become... respectable. You do not have to be a hero like Drizzt Do'urden, ermm, don't bother retorting, I know how you feel about him. You should simply become an honest individual who means nobody harm. Then you can be left alone, if you choose so, no matter the amount of power you possess."

Again, Viconia seemed to be contemplating Keldorn's words, and again Keldorn tried to add one more argument for his case.

"Aside from Minsc and Laska there are more people you trust, no? You seem to be very nice to my Vesper... I've also noticed your nervousness out on the streets, which seems to completely disappear when you are in safe and familiar company..."

Viconia flashed Keldorn a half-smile, "Children are more innocent, more accepting. Children don't try to charbroil me at the stake. Funny thing is," Viconia continued, "I was just starting to enjoy my life on the surface. I enjoyed the verbal sparring with Imoen, the chats with Laska and Dynaheir. Even Xan was friendly to me, even though he kept saying that 'having a dark elf in the party is a sure sign it's the end of the world as we know it.' And... I miss Dynaheir. She told me about life on the surface, and I could always confide in her. She was my friend and... I will see Irenicus dead for having her killed."

"So you did have a confidante?" Keldorn said and rubbed his chin. After some moments of deep thought, Keldorn looked upon Viconia intently and made a difficult decision. "Perhaps you simply need a teacher, to help you understand life on the surface better. To show you how to deal with our 'strange' values and laws..."

"In this party?" Viconia grinned, as if the very notion was absurd. "Who? Laska? She's just a child, in many ways, and has plenty problems of her own... Korgan? Please... Minsc? I'd become his butt-kicking side-kick!... Jan? I'd end up on a hundred gp a day turnip-habit," but when she noticed Keldorn gazing at her she said, "You? Surely you don't mean..."

"Paladins do more than simply go to battle with evil hordes, my Lady," Keldorn smiled. "Paladins also help others. I owe you a debt of honor, Viconia. Because of your advice, I've ignored the laws which would have meant the imprisonment of my beloved wife. I never would have done that if you and Korgan did not convince me otherwise. You've helped me make the hardest decision in my life, and because of that, I have my family back and will spend the remainder of my life with them. Let me repay my debt to you. You've helped me, now let me help you..."

"You," Viconia said with astonishment, "a paladin? Help me?"

"Travelling with Laska has taught me that an old dog can definitely learn new tricks. I've had many students over the last decades. Some were priests, some were squires of the Order, some were converted heathens, even. You'll be my last before I retire, if you choose to accept. Consider my offer and make the big step, lest you retreat too deep within yourself to crawl out of that trap again."

Viconia stared at Keldorn with open mouth. "The irony," she chuckled, "to be offered aid from one of those who used to hunt me..." Eventually, chuckling turned to laughter. Hysterical laughter. The Drow flopped back on the couch and supported her head on the padded armsupport. Keldorn watched the Drow impassively and said nothing.

Then suddenly, her laughter stopped as abruptly as it began. "Why not," she whispered. "What do I have to lose except myself?"

"Good," Keldorn replied with a small smile. "It is settled then. Tomorrow, I'll notify the Order I have a new student. The Order and the clergy will refrain from attacking you when they know this."

"You know," Viconia half-smiled, "I have the feeling we could learn a lot from each other. Perhaps a little more fexibility in your rigid thinking?"

"The student-teacher relationship works both ways, so perhaps we will see," Keldorn said, trying to avoid making any promises he could not keep. "Come," Keldorn said. "It is a late hour. Let us get some rest."

"Just... let me sit here a while, suliss," Viconia said. "I wish... to think a moment."

Keldorn nodded once and silently stepped out of the room. Viconia turned to face the window, only to notice it had stopped raining...