Laska stretched in her bed as the morning sun warmed her face. It took her only a few moments to notice that she was not in her own room... that the elven sailor next to her was still fast asleep... and that the both of them were quite naked...

Judging from her slight headache, she knew she had been drinking last night, but not too much to keep her from recalling the previous eve. She remembered the celebration last night quite clearly, in fact. She and her group had decided to go to the Sea's Bounty to celebrate their ten-thousand gold reward. Laska remembered everyone telling jokes and swapping tales over a couple of stiff drinks. Viconia's burlesque joke concerning three Matrons and a poisoned velvet glove stood out especially ... It was worth seeing Keldorn grow as red as a beet.

Then, a group of elven sailors and merchants entered the inn. Their ship was on a mission of trade from Evermeet and had docked at Athkatla for repairs and replenishment of supplies. As soon as they saw Viconia sitting at the table, tension mounted and the party began. It was all Keldorn could do to keep an all-out barfight to break out. After some of the elven merchants had threatened an unimpressed Viconia, Laska and Minsc had stood up from their seats to defend their friend. Keldorn's shrewd negotiating tactic (he bought a round of ale for everyone) saved the day, however.

Soon enough, Laska got into a chat with one of the elven officers; One with a particular love for body-art. Sure enough, they started to compare tattoos before too long. Wanting to show off the blue dragon on her lower back, she suggested to find some privacy and ended up taking their drinks to his room. There, one thing turned into another and they ended up spending a night of passion together.

A smile crossed Laska's face as she silently slipped out of bed to gather her clothes. Last night was pretty good and it had been a long time since she had been intimate with someone. She snuck towards the door, directed on last grin at the sleeping elf and stepped out of his life forever.

"Vico?" Laska asked as she entered the luxurious room she and her friends had hired. She found the Drow sitting at the table wearing a robe and her fuzzy slippers, sipping on a cup of tea with a content look on her face. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you the same," Viconia chuckled. "But I did see you slip away with that sailor..."

"Where are the others?" Laska asked.

"Keldorn is sleeping in his room," Viconia said. "That damnable gnome is snoring on the couch. Minsc is sleeping it off next to the gnome and last time I saw him, Korgan was passed out at the table. I assume he is still downstairs with his face on oak."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Laska suddenly said and grinned suggestively. "Did you...."

Viconia snorted. "Oh, yeah, THAT... Well, it had been a long time since I coupled with a male..."

"Anyone I know?" Laska asked with a smile.

"Remember that gold elven merchant that wanted to see me hung?" Viconia grinned wickedly.

"NO!" Laska gasped in a mixture of disbelief and irony.

"Oh, yes," Viconia chuckled. "Let's just say that, in a private atmosphere, his tastes for the forbidden were quite more obvious. How about you? Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah, well, I kept him quite busy most of the night," Laska grinned. "You?"

"Hmmm," Viconia said and rolled her eyes for a moment. "Well, all things considered it wasn't that bad. I had to do almost all of the work, though... Still, it had been a while and he was a clean... and submissive male."

"On a scale of one to ten?" Laska grinned.

"Two."

"Only two?"

"Drow have high standards..."

"Oh," Laska said. "Where is he, by the way?" she said after looking around for a strange elf.

"Oh, I tossed him out when I was finished with him," Viconia grinned evilly. "I didn't want to sleep with his sweaty hulk lying next to me..."

"Well," Laska chuckled. "You seem lively today.... Now that we have money, how about us girls going out on the town to spend some of it..."

"Sounds good to me," Viconia said and emptied her cup of tea.

It might have been early in the morning, but Waukeen's Promenade was already bustling with merchants and customers alike. All around, people were bartering, arguing, hawking and otherwise exchanging currency for goods and goods for currency. Laska sighed as she realized this was the first time she had been here since Imoen had been taken from her. She also noticed the clean-up of the mess she and Irenicus (well, mostly Irenicus) had made had only just barely begun, showing the sluggish reaction-speed of the Athkatlan political machine.

Viconia was visibly impressed when she saw the ruined part of the Colosseum-like promenade, which housed not only shops but also quite a number of people. The multi-layered Colosseum was built of marble and sandstone alike, a true monument to the wealth of the city of Athkatla. The two elves were approaching the entrance to the northern side of the marketplace when a scruffy human male with a crazy look in his eyes jumped out from the shadows.

"Elves!" the man ranted. "Stinkin' elves!! You dare to wrap yourself in your race's pride!!"

"Yeah," Laska menaced, "we elves have a lot to be proud of... got a problem with that?"

"Yes, I have actually!" the man ranted.

"Are you actually talking to this... nothing?" Viconia asked Laska.

"Elven fiend, with your pointed ears and your narrow faces!" the man ranted on. "Your very appearance is insulting to us REAL humans!"

"Oh, now you're just being jealous!" Laska said, angering the man even further. "You don't look as good as we do and you wish you have such cool pointed ears like we have. Tsk, tsk... ear-envy is a very serious mental disease, I hear..."

"Come to think of it," Viconia chuckled. "He does have a bit of a smashed nose... And let us not mention the rest of his face, which looks like a cart just ran over his head..."

"Yeah," Laska said. "Now that you mention it, he does look a bit like a camel."

"I will not hear your words!" the man rambled steadily on. "You are a demonic copy of us, created by the gods to punish us for our sins!"

"I hate to break it to you, pallie," Laska replied, "but us elves have been here long before humans were little more than cave-dwelling grunters."

"ELVEN PROPAGANDA!" the man shouted while a vein in his neck almost popped.

"I thought you wouldn't hear our words?" Viconia chuckled.

"The day will come when humanity will see your true faces! You shall be cleansed, you hear me?" the man shouted. "YOUR SOULS SHALL ROT IN THE ABYSS!"

It was about then that Laska noticed the man had stepped very close to the edge of the fountain. Glancing over at Viconia, she noticed her friend had seen it as well. Grinning wickedly, both Viconia and Laska slid forward and shoved the jerky man into the water. After a gratifying splash the sputtering man surfaced again, too outraged to utter a word.

"Oh, and by the way," Laska chuckled, "elves have spirits, not souls..."

Laughing heartily, the two friends walked towards the marketplace, leaving the steaming man behind.

"Wow, this place is incredible!" Laska said as the two elves entered the Adventurer Mart. The shop was large, and filled with all kinds of weapons, spell-components, armor, ammunition and supplies. A lot of people from the adventurer's cloth were browsing around or chatting. Artworks and tapestries richly adorned the walls of the shop, which consisted of two levels and in the middle of the shop, behind the counter stood a friendly looking half-elf flanked by a burly dwarf.

"This is an adventurer's dream!" Laska said gleefully. "Look at those enchanted chainmails! Only three thousand gold!"

"Why don't we concentrate on the dire necessities, abbil?" Viconia asked.

"Huh?" Laska said. "What can be more necessesary than armor and weapons?"

"Oh, how about a tent, rations, pots and pans, bedrolls and a tinderbox, maybe?" Viconia chuckled.

"Oh, we won't need that stuff!" Laska said. "We're in the city now!"

"Pay attention to the word 'now', Laska," Viconia chuckled. "'Now' often changes..."

"Oh, alright!" Laska sighed. "What did you have in mind?"

"Look at this," Viconia said and picked up the most expensive tent from the stack. "The Amnian-World-Ranger-Stormbuster Mark 8, third edition. It's strong, durable, fits six to eight persons, is quick to assemble and can withstand rain and storm..."

"ANY storm, huh?" Laska chuckled. "Well, those inventors never spend any time around Korgan when he breaks wind... How much is it?"

"The tinderbox is fifty gold, the set of cookware and crockery are seventy gold, we can get six good bedrolls for twenty gold each and the tent costs two hundred and forty gold," Viconia said.

"I'm not paying two hundred and forty gold for a piece of cloth!" Laska said.

"Funny," Viconia said with a grin. "You are perfectly willing to toss down three thousand for a piece of enchanted metal."

"Fine," Laska sighed. "We'll buy them..."

Viconia smiled smugly over her victory and put the items in her basket. The two elves then strolled over to the counter, where the smiling half-elf was standing.

"Well, hello there, lovely ladies," the half-elf greeted with a comic bow. "Ribald Barterman at your service. Welcome to the Adventure Mart, a shop solely outfitted for those of the adventurer's cloth."

"We can see that, male," Viconia muttered under her breath and put the contents of her basket on the counter.

"Say," Laska asked, "do you also buy items from adventurers? I've got a whole Bag of Holding filled with a variety of Carefully-Collected-But-Completely-Useless-Junk... In mint-condition! Well, mostly..."

"Sure!" Ribald replied. "We buy and sell items all the time. Let's see if we can make a deal..."

The next few minutes were spent making various deals for items Laska and her friends had obtained during their previous trips through the city, but couldn't use themselves. Satisfied with the fact that her money-pouch now contained twice as much money as she had when she entered the store, Laska decided it was definately time for a new chainmail.

"I like the look of those chainmails," Laska said. "Is there a place where I can fit them?"

"Certainly!" Ribald said after charging Viconia for the equipment she had bought. "There's a fitting room in the back, complete with a sparring dummy and complementary swords. Please leave the swords for the other customers when you're done with them..."

"How'd you like this one?" Laska said as she picked a skimpy chainmail from the round rack and held it in front of her. It was obvious that little number would leave very little to the imagination.

"Bit lavish," Viconia said, while glancing at the paintings in the back of the store. "Besides, do you really want that deep a cleavage? A bandit could easily bypass the armor completely and plunge an arrow in your heart!"

"I sense your attention is not quite on my armor, Vico," Laska said sarcastically.

"Hmmm?" Viconia asked. "Oh. Well, I was just looking at the pictures. Whatever happened to Tiamat, I wonder."

"I read somewhere," Laska began, a pensive look crossing her tattooed features, "that she lost her purpose in life when she ate all her enemies. I think she went in real-estate or something... But take a look at this chainmail!"

She took several of the chainmail she had chosen from the rack and headed towards the fitting room. Taking the first one off the stack she had chosen, she removed her old armor and tried to squeeze into the new one.

"Oh, dammit," Laska fumed. "My boobs don't fit into this one... It's supposed to be an elven-sized chain-mail for crying out loud!"

"Oh, we can remedy that one," Viconia chuckled. "Give me one of your knives..."

"You're kidding, right? Right?" Laska asked with a raised eyebrow.

Laska pulled the chainmail over her head again and put on the next one on the pile. Immediately, Laska had the sensation of drowning in the baggy chainmail. "Ack," she hissed in disgust. "This one is human-sized! What's it doing on the elven-rack?!"

Another toss and another chainmail was tested. Everything seemed right this time, until a look of intense discomfort suddenly crossed Laska's features. "Vico," she said. "This chainmail was made for females by a MALE blacksmith!"

Viconia directed a look of sympathy towards Laska. "I hate when that happens," she added.

"I mean," Laska said while running her hands over her bosom, "no extra leather padding for support and insulation! I can feel the coldness of the metal on my skin..."

"And no woman wants to be chilly in the chest-area!" Viconia added in disgust.

"Toss!" Laska yelled and ripped the chainmail off her body. The next one was a little better. It seemed to fit well, and Laska decided to take the swords for a combat run. After a few moments of sparring, this chainmail was tossed off as well. Following Viconia's questioning look, Laska answered : "It's too tight! It pulls in my neck and sides when I thrust, and around my back when I spin!"

Sighing heavily, she sat down on the bench, ready to put on the last chainmail.

"Why don't you buy a nice plate?" Viconia asked. "Nice and roomy, and it only impedes movement a little."

"You're one to talk, Vico!" Laska said. "You're the one who wears splint! Besides, I've said it before : I'm simply a chainmail-gal!"

Viconia sighed heavily and sat down next to her friend. "I was hoping to get your Mail of the Dead when you buy a new armor," she grinned. "Besides, that Ankheg Plate Thunderhammer made for me fit me like a second skin... Too bad I lost it..."

"You may get my mail yet," Laska said as she fitted the Crimson Mail and twirled around. "This one fits like it was made for me!"

"Are you sure you want that one?" Viconia asked as she regarded Laska. "I mean, it's just so red, it's bad luck, I think."

"I think we have a winner!" Laska said as she swung her sword to the dummy with some acrobatic movements.

"Good," Viconia grinned and tried on her friend's Mail of the Dead for good measure.

"I cannot believe this," Viconia snarled as the two elves walked alongside the many stalls, each one wearing their new armors. "A vendor who sells fried lizards on a stick? Who'd eat a lizard on a stick?!"

"Tastes like chicken," Laska said and bit off the lizard's head.

"Is there anything you won't eat?" Viconia said, remembering the time when Laska had cooked for their party back in Cloakwood. When the meal was halfway finished, Laska had casually mentioned the sweet meat they were eating belonged to one of the Ettercaps they had slain that morning. The evening-dinner ended abruptly when Xan and Imoen turned sheet-white and Dynaheir ran over to the bushes to hurl her dinner.

Then, the two elves walked past a stand which contained a various amount of old trinkets, junk and other various strange, exotic, old (and often, very useless) objects. A short, graying dark-skinned human male was sitting in front of all the useless items, eyeing the two elves' moneypouch. Next to him, stood another dark-skinned man, tall and with a warm smile.

Suddenly, the smaller, older man stood up and adressed the two elves. "Ah, might you two pointy-eared foxy ladies be interested in some of our quality merchandise? We have a collection of fine antiquities to browse, of which many people did not see the true value!"

"We sell junk," the taller man broke in.

"Quiet, you big dummy!" the older man said. "Don't you recognize two pigeons when you see them? Ermmm, I mean, lovely ladies, of course. My name is Sed Franford, and this dummy here is my son La Monte..."

"Will you stop calling me dummy, pop!" La Monte replied. "I'm sick and tired of you calling me a dummy in front of the customers. I think I really should try to find a better job."

"Who's gonna be stupid enough to hire you?" Sed said. "Ain't nobody gonna hire a dummy, stupid! Stupid dummy..."

La Monte sighed and adressed the two elves. "I'm sorry about that. Feel welcome to peruse our items."

"As long as you are prepared to leave some cash behind, and ain't gonna be no freeloader!" Sed added.

A few minutes of browsing through the 'antiquities' later, Laska grinned broadly when she noticed a pair of glasses. Immediately, she put in on and took on a sexy pose, thrusting her chest forwards and arching her neck upwards, flipping her hair in the process. "How do I look?" she asked Viconia.

"A bit smarter," Viconia said impassively.

"What do you mean, 'a bit smarter'? Are you saying I don't normally look smart?" Laska asked with a smile.

"Yep," Viconia chuckled. "You normally look like a big, dumb, muscle-brained, tattooed, useless-for anything-but-fighting elven tramp..."

"See what I have to put up with everyday?" she grinned at La Monte.

"I hear you, sister," La Monte said while directing a glance at his father.

"Wait a minute!" Laska said. "I suddenly know what this ring is! It's a ring of Invisibility! I just wore it because it looked pretty!" Immediately, Laska grabbed some unidentified items from her Bag of Holding. "This is a Rod of Resurrection... This is a Potion of Hill Giant Strenght!... Wow! How much for these glasses?"

"For you," Sed pretended to make her a good deal, "just ten big ones."

"Bit steep," Laska replied.

"You think so?" Sed replied in annoyance. "How about this : In this world, you've got the Haves and the Have-nots. Now, if the Haves would give the half of what they have to the Have-nots, the Haves would still be the Haves and the Have-nots would be the Have-sumtins!"

"Come on, pop!" La Monte said. "A thousand gold is steep! Let me make a better deal : How about six hundred?"

"OHHH!" Sed said while suddenly clutching his chest and raising his head to the skies. "Our son is trying to give away everything we own! This is the Big One, Elizabeth! I'm coming to join you, honey... penniless and thin as a stick!"

"Oh, pop," La Monte said.

Laska carefully tucked the pair of glasses in her Bag of Holding for later use as she and Viconia continued their way through the stalls and vendors.

Screaming children greeted the two elves as they rounded about the corner. Apparently, a huge group of people were running away from the circus-tent at the center of the square. Sharing a look, the two elves decided to investigate further. As they stood near a multi-colored tent, they noticed the entrance-flap gave way to an extremely dark passageway which seemed to run quite deep... far deeper then the tent was long. Just as the last person ran out of the tent, Laska grabbed him by the arm, causing the man to protest loudly and tried to pull free of Laska's iron grip. "Lemme GO! Monsters! Werewolves! Death! I saw DEATH!!! KALAH! KALAH! AAAAAHHH!"

Laska grined lopsidedly as her friend, making it clear she wanted to take a look inside.

*'Zzzzzzzzzz.... Ermmghg, Wha?'* Ipsiya started as she was drawn. *'What do you want NOW?! I had this lovely dream about a handsome Katana and...'*

"Quiet, you!" Laska chuckled. "I want to try out my new armor!"

*'You woke me up for THAT?!'* Ipsiya snarled. *'There'd better be a dragon in there, Laska!'*

As soon as the two elves stepped through the void, they arrived at an impressive and luxurious castle. It was oddly shaped, flanked by swirling grey colorschemes which seemed to be impossible to exist outside of a painting. A small drawbridge crossed a moat comprised of a liquid as dark as ink.

"Is it just me," Laska asked, "or is the tent way too small to contain all this?"

"This place is not real, abbil," Viconia said. "Trust nothing here..."

The two elves strolled forward and stepped on the drawbridge. Immediately, a Genie appeared out of thin air. Before Viconia and Laska could react, many invisible hands grabbed them and hoisted them up in the air under loud protests and many colorful expletives.

"SILENCE!" the genie bellowed. "See that water down there? It kills everything it touches instantly. Struggle, and I will command my minions to toss you into the moat. Fortunately, I have a little riddle for you. Should you answer it correctly, I will let you go. Otherwise, you both die horribly..."

"Well," Viconia directed at Laska. "That's another fine mess you've gotten us into..."

"Answer me this," the Genie grinned. "A princess is as old as the prince will be when the princess is twice as old as the prince was when the princess' age was half the sum of their present age. How old are they? Take your time... But you can only answer once..."

"Any ideas?" Laska asked, not having a clue.

"Hmmmm," Viconia said and put her finger to her mouth, "If I'm right, the prince is thirty and the princess is forty. The princess is as old as the prince will be when the princess is twice as old as the prince was when the princess' age was half the sum of their present age, correct?"

"Eeeeeeeemmmmm," Laska stared blankly.

"So when the princess was half the sum of their present ages, she was thirty-five," Viconia said. "Add thirty and forty and divide them by two and you'll get thirty-five. Do you follow?"

"Eeeeemmmm," Laska looked like a deer which was about to be hit between the eyes by an arrow.

"So, when the princess was thirty-five, the prince was ten years younger... twenty-five," Viconia added.

"Twice the prince's age then is fifty and when the princess is fifty," Viconia grinned, "the prince will be ten years younger. He'll be forty. Which means, the princess is forty, which agrees with what we started with! Are you still with me, Laska?"

"I think you lost me where you said 'If I'm right'," Laska said and rubbed her forehead. "Can you run this by me again?"

But the genie broke in. "Yes," he said, clearly impressed. "You are correct... and you have definitely more brains than the one who summoned me and had me create this place. Do kill him, would you?" That said, the genie was off, and the two elves fell to the floor with another batch of loud expletives.

After dusting themselves off, Laska and Viconia crossed into the courtyard, which was just as lavish and colorful as the circus-tent. A large fountain spewing fresh water was the center of the room and was flanked by many pots filled with fragrant flowers. Most notably, though, was the extremely large and disgusting ogre standing behind the fountain.

"Oh, more prisoners of..." the ogre spoke in a sweet, childlike voice, but it was too late. Laska was already in the air, shouting a warcry while Ipsiya glowed blue in the darkness as she prepared to lop off the ogre's head with a single swing. The ogre stared death in the face, covered its eyes with its hands and screamed in a shattering, high-pitched voice. At the last moment, Laska realized her mistake and managed to slightly bend her body away from the crying ogre, her moonblade barely missing the beast. Laska shot past the creature and slammed into the railing with a loud crash. A pot toppled and fell down, shattering over Laska's head.

"I don't know about you," Laska wheezed in pain as she removed earth, shards and the offending flower from her hair. "But these illusions feel pretty real to me!"

"I'm sure they do!" Viconia said, barely able to contain her laughter.

"I... Is it safe?" the ogre stammered.

"Safe is a relative term around Laska," Viconia answered.

"Y-You are a DROW!" the ogre screamed. "You're evil incarnate!"

"And you're an ogre," Viconia menaced. "You're dumb as a rock and twice as ugly... Save your slurrs for someone who cares..."

"I am not an OGRE! I am an elf! A winged elf... or at least, I was... My name is Aerie... And Kalah has... transformed me..." the ogre formally known as Aerie said.

"Figures," Laska said. "I bet those other monsters are actually normal people caught up in this fake world."

"My uncle Quayle!" Aerie suddenly yelled. "Kalah took my uncle! He's gonna kill him! We have to rescue him, please!!!"

"We?" Laska asked with disbelief. "No... Vico and I will handle this one."

"O-Okay," Aerie said, sounding a little hurt. Laska motioned Viconia to join her and they both ventured deeper into the complex.

"Dammit!" Laska yelled out while she and Viconia were beset by dozens of werewolves and shadows. The creatures seemed to match every blow Laska inflicted on them, while they fought in a round room filled with many mirrors.

"You're not real!" Viconia suddenly yelled. "NONE OF YOU ARE!" Due to the strength of her conviction, more than a dozen of the creatures moaned in sorrow and disappeared in a flash of light. Thinking she could do the same, Laska lowered her weapons and confronted her attackers. "None of you are re..." Laska was never able to finished her sentence. A werewolf slammed his fist against Laska's jaw. Blood spurt from her mouth and a coppery taste teased her tongue as she flew backwards.

"Quickly!" Viconia yelled and dragged her partially stunned friend along to the stairs, where they quickly closed and barred the door. Turning away from the pounding and scratching on the door, they noticed they had entered a luxurious throne-room, filled with riches and treasure. On the throne sat a large and imposing Ogre-mage...

"So," the ogre replied, "I doubted that you would survive to meet me. Welcome to my domain. I regret that my hospitality will result in your deaths..."

Before they could reply, a bright flash of light blinded Laska, and when she opened her eyes... two Viconias stood in front of her, completely identical in every way.

"I'm the real me!" Left-Viconia shouted. "Kill her!"

"What?" Right-Viconia retorted. "You don't even look like me, iblith! Kill HER!!"

"Errrmmmmmm," Laska said, her brain almost frying in her skull.

"You, You," Right-Viconia shouted in anger. "FOOL! Are you such an insipid moron, that you cannot even tell your real friend from a fake version of her? You truly are an idiot jalil!"

This time, Laska grinned evilly and drove her moonblade through the heart of a surprised Left-Viconia. "That's my Viconia," she said, while smiling at Right-Viconia."

"N-no," Left-Viconia said while blood ran from her mouth. "T-this isn't what the genie promised me..."

Immediately, Left-Viconia turned into an ugly gnome while the castle rippled out of existence, making place for the familiar sights of a circus-tent. The commoners were happy to have been returned to their normal forms, and a blonde-haired elven girl was lovingly embraced by an older gnome. Immediately, Laska started to loot the body of the gnome and found several interesting items. Just as the two elves were getting ready to leave, they heard a girlish voice from behind.

"T-thank you f-for saving us!" Aerie said. "I-I was w-wondering if I c-could j-join you. I always w-wanted to s-see the world and..."

"Wait a minute," Viconia broke in. "Why did you lie to us? You said you were a winged elf. Did you perchance leave your wings on your nightstand this morning?"

The girl stared at the Drow in disbelief before breaking into tears. "H-How could you b-be so c-cruel?!"

"What'd I do?" Viconia retorted.

"I guess there are some people who don't appreciate your special brand of humor, Vico," Laska whispered in her ear.

"I'm sorry, kid," Laska directed at Aerie. "But I don't think adventuring... or our group," Laska added, receiving a nod from Viconia, "is for you. You should make a life for yourself here at the circus."

"As far away from the real world as possible," Viconia muttered to herself.

"O-Okay," Aerie nodded with disappointment. "I-I will be h-here if you change your mind..."

That said, Laska and Viconia left the tent after receiving a final cheer from the circus-people.

"I CAN'T believe you talked me into this!" Viconia snarled while both elves were lying half-naked on their stomachs at the tattoo-parlor in the slums. The tattoo-artists, a tall half-orc female covered with body-art and a short halfling male, husband and wife, were just adding the last touch to their work. The two were the best at what they did, and Laska made a mental note of returning to their parlor many times from now. On Laska's left and Viconia's right shoulderblade, they had created a matching tattoo: A small image of a sun rising from the sea, symbol of the dispelling of darkness and illusions.

"Hey, we've been talking about this for months back at Baldur's Gate." Laska said as the smiling artists held up mirrors to allow them to see the tattoo. "Come on, admit it! You love it! And it's a memento of our adventure today!"

"Well, it is rather nice," Viconia conceded.

"Great work!" Laska told the artists and paid them their fee. "You've really outdone yourselves."

"I bet the others are wondering where we are," Viconia added, while she got dressed.

"Oh, they'll live," Laska said as she put on her new chainmail as well. "We'll get back to the Sea's Bounty and pick them up..."

As soon as they stepped outside, however, they saw the boys standing on the other side of the Slums, and obviously they were looking for them. Laska waved to get their attention, and soon enough, they were joined by the lads. The only problem, though, was an angry Keldorn...

"You should have left us a note at the very least!" Keldorn said. "We've been worried half to death!"

"Correction!" Korgan added. "'e's the one who be actually worried!"

"I'm sure I left you a note Keldorn," Laska blatantly lied.

"There was no note," Keldorn growled in a low voice.

"Are you sure you checked?" Laska grinned. "Maybe it fell behind the couch..."

"THERE WAS NO NOTE!" Keldorn menaced. The argument was cut shot though, when buckets of rain suddenly started to pour down instantly. Laughing and giggling, Laska and her friends fled into the Copper Coronet.

Acknowledgements : Thanks go to my good RL friend Jeroen, who worked out the mathemetical roots of the Genie-riddle.