"Ach," Korgan grunted as he shoveled his omelet and bacon into his mouth with tremendous speed. "Ye could 'ave stood in bed with yer girlie and slept late. Looks like we be goin' nowhere today... again..."

"I see," Keldorn said. The aged Inquistor had only stepped through the frontdoor a few moments ago, leaving home to check up on his friends and fellow party members. "Well, with what's happened a few days ago, I am not surprised."

"Och," snorted Korgan and slurped down another part of cooked egg. "I nay be complainin'. Mooching of the lass 'as been fun, but me axe be itchin' fer a skull to split. Sitting on yer arse all day makes ye fat and lazy, unless ye break the occasional head... But thar nay be chance of that happenin' anytime soon. Minsc 'as locked 'imself in 'is room, the Drow nay been seen since she be puttin' 'er nose in all those bookies. That bloody gnome 'as been pesterin' me for a switch of rooms too. Do ye believe that 'e wants to turn me quarters into a turnip-patch? And from what I be 'earin' that blue sword of the lass 'as been itchin' fer battle as well..."

"I'm sure you must have had a hellish fortnight in this house of extreme luxury," Keldorn said with a sarcastic undertone, going completely over Korgan's head. "Aye, certainly in a place like this, for what a commoner in the slums would give his right leg to own..."

"Aye," Korgan agreed. "Fer once, I'd be likin' to meet some normal people!" he roared, grabbed his axe and slammed it down on his plate. Korgan chuckled as he took another slice of egg and sucked it down.

"Yes," Keldorn muttered, noticing the many axe-marks on the formerly antique table, "normal people..."

"Look," Korgan continued, "maybe ye can convince the lass to get us in gear again... Ye can find 'er in the winecellar, gettin' loaded..."

"At this hour?" Keldorn said in surprise. "The rooster has barely let out his last cry!"

"We 'ave a rooster?" Korgan asked, and looked from his plate to his axe. "I 'ate the buggers. They keep ye up at dawn, but be tasty well enough in the eve! HAR HAR!" Then, Korgan looked up from his meal and stared Korgan in the face. "Ye still 'ere?" he snorted. "I thought ye were goin' to find Laska?"

"You didn't give me time to leave," Keldorn sighed.

"Well, get goin'! Get yer arse in gear," Korgan replied. "I ain't got all day, ye know?"

"You could go down and express your discontent with Laska yourself, Korgan," Keldorn grimaced.

"Oy!" Korgan replied. "Can ye nay see I be eatin'?!"

As soon as Keldorn stepped into the damp wine-cellar, he could already see Laska leaning against one of the huge kegs, currently busy refilling a bronze goblet.

"Don't you think it's a little early for that?" Keldorn asked.

"Listen, I'll get drunk whenever I want to!" Laska snapped. "Though it might take forever with this light wine... Who would have figured a hardened slaver like Ketta would drink light wines..."

"I've been talking to Korgan," Keldorn said, getting right to the point. "He says everyone is itching to get on the road again..."

"Heh, I bet..." Laska chuckled. "But we are not going anyway," she added, her expression hardening again. "Minsc is in no state to travel, Viconia has been working on her project and me... Well, I've had a couple of bad dreams last night and let's keep it at that..."

"I see," Keldorn said. "But I must remind you that we seem to have been sidewinded from the path to our primary goal : The rescue of your sister..."

"Imoen is safe for now!" Laska snarled.

"Being taken into custody by the Cowled Wizards does not equal safety by far, my friend," Keldorn said grimly. "Not by a longshot..."

"She is saver than when she was under the 'gentle' care of Irenicus!" Laska retorted. "And certainly a hell of a lot saver than when she was with me..."

"Why do you say that?" Keldorn asked.

"I've never told you about heritage..." Laska laughed uneasily. "I guess I forgot about it all..."

"Viconia told me," Keldorn stated. "As well as Jan and Korgan. Before we talked to Renal Bloodscalp, even."

"Really?" Laska snorted. "All the 'mama got raped by a dead god and I popped out two years later'-stuff?"

"Aye," Keldorn nodded sympathetically. "Do not worry. If I thought you were evil because of your god-blood, I wouldn't have been here..."

"Keldorn," Laska asked, changing the subject to a degree. "Have you ever felt like you were... incomplete?"

Wondering where this was headed, Keldorn decided to be open. "Yes... When I was faced with the prospect of losing my family to Sir William... Even though it was the result of my own actions, or rather inactions," he spoke with bitter regret.

"Remember how ballistic I went back in the Beholdercaverns, when the shadows cut off a piece of my ear? My tip no less?" Laska smirked.

"Yes," Keldorn confirmed. "I must say I was surprised by your sheer ferocity over the whole matter..."

"It's because I am only elven in a biological sense," Laska stammered, letting Keldorn know this was very difficult for her to talk about. "I am quite proud of my elven blood... But blood is all there is... Oh, sure, I can sniff an Orc or hear Korgan belch from miles away, but... I lack the elven spirit! Oh, I have an elven spirit, otherwise I'd be a mindless shell. It's just... incomplete," she sighed. "You have heard of the elven people's connection and the unbreakable bond with workings of nature, yes? Well, I DON'T HAVE IT!" she shouted. "I can stroll through a forest and feel nothing, not a single thing... I cannot just disappear and become one with the forest like the rest of my elven brethren. Nature actually is a rather hostile place to me, actually. I sometimes think the bloody forest doesn't want to have anything to do with me. That's harsh, you know? Being snubbed by a forest!"

"I see," Keldorn grimaced. "Bhaal has a lot to answer for..."

"No kidding!" snarled Laska. "I actually prefer the cities. I say burn all the stupid woods! There ain't no pubs there anyway... See why Imoen would be safer with the cowlies, huh? I sit here in this big house drinking wine while she's in a cell..."

"You care about your sister, do you not?" Keldorn interrupted.

"Of course!" Laska said, while boring holes in Keldorn's skull with her eyes. "What are you suggesting, paladin?!"

"I suggest," Keldorn said in a low voice, "that you should stop trashing yourself and stop feeling guilty. I suggest you should get your DAMN act together and start working towards finding and rescuing your sister!"

Laska rose her fist, as if to strike Keldorn where he stood. After a few tense moments during which Laska stared at the paladin with a pure acidic look, she finally spoke in a low, angry voice. "I'm going out for a walk..."

She brushed past him in a state of barely controlled anger.

"What now?" Keldorn mutter to himself as he knocked on Viconia's door. Only a few moments after coming back up from the cellar, he passed the old library, which had been converted into Viconia's room. He had heard books being tossed against the wall, accompanied by words unknown to him, but judging from the tone with which they were spoken, he was quite certain they were far from flattering.

"Enter, damn you!" sounded from the other side of the door. Keldorn did.

What he saw was the fact that his Drow student had obviously lost herself to frustration : Books were strewn across the room in a haphazard fashion and in the middle of it all, stood a heavily breathing Viconia with a look of thunder crossed over her dark elven features. After running her hands through her hair, she spoke calmly. "What do you want?"

"I take it your research isn't going well?" Keldorn asked.

"What gave it way, Wael?" Viconia snarled. "If your Order wasn't so paranoid about accepting texts of a darker nature, this would have been a LOT easier!"

"The Tribunal feels that might negatively influence the younger members..." Keldorn nodded.

"Why don't you allow them to make up their minds on their own, without rules from the 'above'?" Viconia retorted. "In Menzoberranzan, books and information about the surface were forbidden too, but that didn't stop half the city from reading them..."

"Perhaps you should table your research for now," Keldorn suggested. "It is obvious you are not making any progress. You need to get out, take some free time, do something else. It might rekindle your creativity..."

"No!" Viconia snarled. "I want to have a cure ready next time we meet Dynaheir!"

"Rushing yourself won't do any good," answered Keldorn.

"Oh," Viconia sighed. "You're right, unfortunately... Dynaheir. She really used to keep the party together, you see. I myself did too, in a lesser degree, but I was still adjusting to working with a group back then. She really used to keep us on her toes, kept us on track and spurred us on when we were getting lazy. We would still have been sulking around Nashkell right now if she hadn't been on our hides... I must say you have taken over her role quite nicely. But it would be impossible to replace her. She was unique," Viconia smiled sadly.

"I've had a talk with Laska just now," Keldorn started.

"Oh, really?" Viconia chuckled. "I doubt it had any result. She was in one of her surly moods today. She gets those from time to time. Laska will be moody, sulky and generally uncooperative... Even Dynaheir couldn't do anything about it. Imoen could fix those moods, though, be she's not around right now. What did you tell her?"

"Well," Keldorn said. "I felt it necessary to press her, so she would get her act together... She went for a walk... to think, I would gather."

"Oooohhh, boy!" Viconia chuckled. "Now you've done it..."

"Done what?"

"Well, let's just say we've learned to let those moods simply blow over, instead of trying to end them prematurely," Viconia chuckled. "But now, it either means she'll do something completely unexpected or extremely reckless and dumb..."

Laska strolled through the city, block by block, street by street, hands in her pockets and dark mood crossing her elven features. "Self-righteous git..." Laska muttered. "I should have kicked his gods-damned ass!"

The people walking around her all seemed to be so damn cheerful and happy, she just snarled at them all and gave them dirty looks. She didn't know what part of the city she was in now, nor did she really care. From the looks of it, she was nearing Waukeen's promenade, but was still in a neighborhood will with cheap, yet stately houses. She just damn-well hoped she wasn't anywhere near the jeweled-towers. All those campy colored stones seriously grated her nerves, even if she was in a a good mood.

"MY MOTHER SAYS THAT ELVES SHOULD GO CLIMB A TREE SOMEWHERE!!" sounded a shrill shout just next to her. Looking down, Laska noticed a haughty little girl looking triumphantically at the tattooed elf.

"That's great," Laska smirked. "Just tell your mom she should eat some acorns. If she's lucky, a tree might grow out of her butt..."

The haughty girl didn't know how to deal with that bit of information and instead fell silent. "My cat's breath smells like cat-food," she managed to say after a few moments.

"Good for him..."

"Ermmm, I'm going home now."

"Bye..."

After the little girl had run home, she noticed she was all alone in the street, except for a man standing on the curb next to a sobbing child.

*Come on, Laska!* Ipsiya suggested and glowed and angry blue. *He might be trying to kidnap her, or maybe he just likes to make children cry!*

"I told you to keep quiet!" Laska snarled. "Last time you spoke up, I was in the middle of a square filled with people... who looked at me funny when I had to tell them it was my sword insulting that old lady instead of me!"

*Oh, come on!* the moonblade suggested. *I hadn't been out of the umbrella-stand for a week! Swords need to be USED! Besides that old lady was jay-walking and needed a severe stabbing!*

"Okay," Laska finally sighed. "I'll check it out..."

The tattooed elf strolled over to the man standing next to the girl. The girl had blunt, pointed ears, signifying she was half-elven. Laska was about to speak, but the man beat her too it.

"Greeting, noble elven warrior. I am Dawnlord Arenthis of the church of Lathander church. Excuse my young charge here, but Risa doesn't talk much since the recent death of her mother," the man spoke with un underlying sadness.

"I see," Laska said, softening immediately. "I never knew my mother myself, but I have lost a father once."

"R-r-really?" the sobbing girl spoke up and looked at Laska with teary eyes.

"There is very little that can be done for her, as well," Arenthis shook his head. "Other than to put her into an orphanage, I suppose. She is so shy and sad, though, I am sure it will do her no good. There is only place for her in the Trademeet orphanage, unfortunately. Death and murder seem to run rampant these days for some inexplicable reason. Last night, another batch of people were found murdered and drained of their blood..."

Then, the girl flew towards Laska. "Please!" she sobbed. "I don't wanna go to 'nother city! I don't wanna lose all my friends... I don't wanna live there!" Laska, unused to dealing with children, carefully scooped up the crying child, being overly careful not to drop or harm her.

"If only there was someone who would care for her," Arenthis mused, dropping the hint. "Hmm. You strike me as a good person, noble elf. And I have heard good things about you. Per... perhaps you would be willing to care for a child in need? What would you say to that?"

Laska gave Arenthis a blank stare.

"This is my house, where I live," Laska spoke as she entered, holding Risa by the hand.

"WOW!" Risa raved. "This place is so huge!" she said, referring to the cavernous entrance hall, which sported a long dining-table, a large sitting area, some statues, expensive carpets, a huge keg and even a piano and a harp. In the back of the hall, stood a large fireplace, flanked by two winding stairs, one going up, the other leading to the cellars.

"Wow! You have stairs!" Rise continued. "Our house was just flat."

"We've got a pool too. And a large kitchen, and," Laska whispered in Risa's ear, "secret rooms too. But don't tell anybody, or they won't be a secret anymore..."

"Okay," Risa whispered in return. "Promise..."

"Hey there!" Jan said as he came for the cellars. "I almost have Korgan convinced to switch rooms with me. 'Anythin' ta keep ye from chattering' he said. Who's the pintsized elf?"

"That's Risa," Laska said. "She's going to be living with us for a while... Risa, this is Jan."

"Hello," Risa greeted.

"Risa, why don't you go pick out a room on the second floor? There's plenty of big rooms for you to choose from, but you can see the entire city from the largest room next to the pool..." Laska suggested.

As Risa ran upstairs with Jan to explore her new home, Laska heard the thunderous voice of Keldorn from behind her. "Laska," he said with a low snarl, while leading her to her own quarters "A word?"

"THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE!" Keldorn roared in anger. "IF I WAS TO LOOK UP THE WORD 'IRRESPONSIBLE' IN THE DICTIONARY, I'D FIND A PICTURE OF YOU! OR BETTER YET, YOUR PICTURE SPLASHED ALL OVER A WHOLE PAGE, NO, A LIFE-SIZED FOLD-OUT PICTURE OF YOU!"

"What are you on about?" Laska asked after having explained herself to Keldorn. "We have plenty of room in this house for another person," she said and stepped back into the entrance hall, followed suit by Keldorn.

Keldorn, who forced himself to calm down. "Look, there is more to it that simply giving the child a home. Risa will need love, affection and a proper upbringing!"

"Oh," Laska challenged. "And she will get that at an orphanage? In a whole other town?"

"I am not sure she will ever feel at home here!" Keldorn snarled, but then, he and Laska noticed Korgan, Risa and Jan sitting at the dining hall engrossed in a story-telling-session.

"...So I looks over to me mate, and 'e slammed 'is sword into ta other bandit's chest, while I use me axe to gut another Orc," Korgan boasted, while Risa was completely enthralled. "So me ole mate Tucker slashed 'is sword inta yon orc's gullet, and 'is guts spill out all over the floor, while the bloody Orc be starin' at 'is own organs afore realisin' they be fallen out of 'is body! And then, Robus, that be me old party's bag-of-tricks, be castin' this spell that be makin' the Orc tiny, so ye can smash 'em with yer foot! And then, I turns around to the other orc and slam me axe in 'is skull!"

"WOW!" Risa raved. "Did his brains fall out?"

"Sure did! HAR HAR!" Korgan chuckled. "Bugger kept trying to stuff it back in!"

"You call that a story?!" Jan laughed. "This is a story. Once upon a time, in a place, far, far away... Last month and next street, in fact... There was this handsome, young, experienced, talented, virile and dashing young gnomish prince called Naj. Now, Naj was liked by all and all loved his long, long stories about his family, but he had this enemy, you see? The evil ogre-king Trax, a bottom-feeding, turnip-hating, scum-sucking brigand from Hell! And he had this weapon, you see. This weapon which could imprison prince Naj forever! It was called Form JD456-24D, which prohibits an honest business man from selling high quality illegal Flashers for a reasonable price. And just as things look bleak, prince Naj defiantly stands up to Trax... standing well back while the ogre is being beaten up by the elven princess Aksal. Then, princess Aksal introduced Naj to her friends Ainociv, Nordlek, Nagrok and Csnim, fine people all, and they had many fabulous adventures together..."

"Ach, now that be epic," Korgan said sarcastically.

"See, I think she fits in fine!" Laska chuckled and waved to Risa, who quickly waved back.

"You are an adventurer! We all are!" Keldorn retorted. "How do you expect her to cope when we are all away from home!"

"I can take care of myself!" Risa suddenly spoke up with a surprising amount of maturity. "My dad was elven and he left us after I was born," she pouted. "My mom had to work hard as a waitress in the Mithrest Inn and had to leave me alone plenty of times... I usually went playing with friends... One day," Risa choked, "my mom never came home. She had told me she had been followed by that man again... And the next day, Arenthis came to our house and told me... my mom was killed... And I had to leave our house."

"Oy, how about if we ever find that bloke, I rip out 'is heart and show it ta 'im afore 'e dies?" suggested Korgan. Risa managed a weak smile.

"Do you really want to ship her off to an orphanage?" Laska asked Keldorn.

"I say nay!" Korgan slammed his fist on the table. "I be likin' the wee bairn."

"So do I," Jan added. "Do you like turnips, Risa?"

"Kinda. Why?" replied Risa.

"Now I like her even more!" Jan chuckled. "Oh, come on, Keldy! I'll have my family check up on her if she's alone. And Ma always has an extra bed at the Jansen home... And I'm sure your family will like her too, Keldy..."

"See?" Laska offered Keldorn. "It's three against one..."

"THIS IS NOT A GAME!" Keldorn roared. "I'd hardly call this a stable enviroment for her."

"I don't wanna go to an orphanage!" Risa wailed. "They hit you with sticks and feed you grass and make you shovel horsepoop!"

"Orphanages are not like that, child," Keldorn smiled apologetically.

"If she stays here," Laska said. "She won't have to leave the city, won't become a faceless number in an orphanage, nor lose all her friends..."

"Pleeeeeaaaaseeeee?" Risa asked while looking at Keldorn with puppy-dog eyes.

After a long time of thinking, Keldorn finally caved. "Alright!" he said. "But I want to make sure she'll end up with a decent upbringing. I will make arrangments for her education. Risa will be schooled by the same priests that teach my own children."

"School?" Risa grimaced. "EEEEWWWWW."

"You'll learn reading, writing and how to appreciate fine veggies!" Jan added.

"What is this I hear about a new housemate?" Viconia asked as she stepped out of her room.

"Don't be afraid," Viconia cooed and Risa stood facing Khittix with her little hand extended. "Don't worry. He likes you..."

Risa gulped and brushed her hand over Khittix's head, between the eyes. "Ooooh! So smooth!" Risa giggled. The spider chirped in appreciation when Risa resumed petting.

"Ach! Wee bairn!" Korgan strolled over, holding his hands behind his back. "I be 'avin' a surprise fer ye."

"Really?" Risa asked.

Korgan whipped out a miniature axe, recently sharpened and wrapped with a red ribbon.

"Wow! For me?"

"Aye," the dwarf grinned. "It used ta be me practise axe when I was a wee laddie."

Immediately, Risa took some wild practise swings and giggled with joy. "I can't wait to tell my friends about all of this..."

"Aye," Korgan sighed to Viconia. "They be growin' up so bloody fast, donnae they?"

The next morning, Laska stepped out of her chambers after having had a nice long relaxing bath. She thought back about the previous evening, where Risa had dined with them for the first time, and had enjoyed helping to redecorate her new room, which she claimed was even bigger than her entire house. After 'visiting' Risa's mother's landlord, and 'presuading' him to part with all the furniture he had stolen when he foreclosed on Risa's home, it had been a merry turn getting everything upstairs and inside her room.

Laska noticed morning had long passed, and everyone had gone on their own merry business however. One thing did stand out, though : The door to Minsc' room was open... and he was not inside. A quick search of the house did not reveal the hulking ranger, but when she looked out of one of the back windows, she knew why. She decided to eavesdrop and step onto one of the balconies. What she saw made her smile.

Minsc stood in the backyard, with Risa on his shoulders, while the half-elven girl held Boo in her hands and was carefully petting him.

"And that," Minsc said while pointing at one of the trees in the backyard, "is an elm-tree! Look at that pretty tree! There's a momma and daddy blue jay building in nest on those to branches there, see?"

"Yeah!" Risa giggled. "Minsc? What do they make their nest from?"

"Oh, twigs, pieces of clothing and more little things like that."

"What do they eat?"

"Oh, flies, beetles, little insects, and worms! Oh, do bird love worms, right Boo?!"

"Ewwwwwww!" Risa grimaced.

Minsc was looking very much cheered up, and for the first in a long time, Laska felt good about herself. 'Helped a kid find a good home and cheered up Minsc... Maybe Imoen would have been proud of me if she had been here... Maybe Gorion too...' she thought. Still grinning, she stepped back inside.