Three days has passed since TorGal's failed invasion. Life at Keep De'Arnise, and the lands surrounding it, was slowly turning back to an inkling of normality. After the proper burial of the fallen guards and servants, and the disposal of the fallen trolls and yuan-ti, the regular inhabitants of the keep could get started on the necessary repair-work, leaving Laska and her friends to deal with the surviving Umberhulks still trapped in the dungeon.

Still, it left one matter to be taken care of...

Lord Dougal De'Arnise sat in a chair, flanked by the liberators of his home, awaiting a grim task to fullfil.

A few moments later, Lady Delcia Caan, still the very vision of haughtiness even in her current predicament, was being led into the remains of the dining/meeting hall of the partially ruined Keep De'Arnise. Her beady little eyes radiated an air of arrogance as the two guards, who had just been told of Delcia's treachery, unceremoniously shoved her towards Lord Dougal De'Arnise before taking a few steps back.

"Ah, I see you have survived, Dougal," Lady Delcia did not even bother to mask her intense disappointment.

"No thanks to your efforts, Delcia," Dougal retorted, dropping all forms of labored etiquette. "Why did you do it?"

"How could you, auntie?!" Nalia shouted, her face contorted in a mixture of anger, grief and disbelief. "You lived with the people of the Keep. You KNEW them!"

"I do not know what you are talking about," Lady Delcia replied, in that same annoyingly haughty tone of voice.

"Save it!" Dougal roared. "TorGal mentioned you by name, as well as someone called 'Stronger'. You were the one who ordered the assault on the Keep! Somehow the trolls knew all about the Keep's strengths, weaknesses and defenses, information undoubtedly supplied by you, and you alone!"

"Oy!" Korgan chuckled and raised his open hand in the air. "Lemme at 'er, lordie. I be smackin' the bleedin' truth out o' that ole biddy! HAR HAR! Talk ta the dwarf!"

"I have not forgotten your insults, dwarf!" Lady Delcia retorted. "And I shall see you hanged for it."

"Well," Viconia chuckled. "It seems you have forgotten the situation you are currently in..."

"And you, elf, shall swing beside him!" Lady Delcia Caan retorted. The Drow in the meantime, faux-yawned.

"So you want to know the truth then, Dougal?" Lady Delcia Caan chuckled wryly. "Fine, you shall have it. I had the Keep invaded because of YOU, dear brother-in-law! I could no longer stand and see these once proud lands ruled by a piece of commoner gutter-filth!"

"Auntie!" Nalia snarled. "Do not speak of my father in such a way!"

"It is the truth, my dear," Lady Delcia Caan. "Your mother, my sister, was foully bewitched and swept off her feet by this scandalous adventurer! He lured her away from her family and her duty by filling her head with tales of, ugh, combat, fame and glory. And despite the best efforts of her family to dissuade her from this ill-fated path, she joined his party and took off with them."

"You know I loved Phenicia!" Dougal roared.

"Yes," Lady Delcia retorted. "We are all slapped in the face with that fact when the two of you came back four years later, married and with a babe in your arms... Such ignobility... But since mother had died the summer before, the control of the lands went to Phenicia... and you!" she spat.

"Ah, of course," Jan chuckled. "You had no intention of taking the throne yourself when your sister returned. Oh, no, power doesn't mean anything to you... It wasn't convenient for you at all that she took off with her lover!"

"You filled Phenicia's head with the bizarre idea that our lesser peasantry should actually be aided. Hah, the only thing important about the peasantry is how they serve us, the nobles!" Delcia retorted. "And that's how Phenicia died : Sliced to ribbons by a brigand for meager coins! You killed my sister, you bounder!"

"Oh, and you were so happy when you didn't have to sit on the throne yourself, but had that nice brother-in-law to take over from you!" Jan chuckled.

"For years I have been in anguish as I saw you, a mere dressed-up peasant, control our lands. Our lands with such a rich noble history... I vowed that I would one day restore these lands to proper noble hands, Dougal! Luckily, I found someone who helped me organize the liberation of our lands..."

Dougal rose from his chair, strolled over to Lady Delcia and stared her in the eye. To the onlookers it seems the very air around them radiated the hatred they had for each other. "Over fifty dead, Delcia! Forty loyal guards... eight servants... two children! All lost! And why? I always took care of you, despite your outrageous demands!"

"You are nothing but a worm, Dougal! Those fallen were nothing than worms! It was their duty to die for their betters... And they did..."

"Lady," Laska replied. "You are the biggest butt-head I have ever met... And I've met quite a few in my days..."

"Boo is wondering if Lady Delcia will go squash like a soft fruit under Minsc's boot!" the hulking ranger roared.

"My Lady," Keldorn snarled. "There are no words for betrayal such as this. I have always believed that everyone can be saved, but you have truly earned a place in the deepest pit of the Abyss!"

"So you hired a pack of trolls?" Dougal De'Arnise said, boiling with barely controlled rage. "I don't believe that someone who won't even set foot on a patch of grass could even negotiate with trolls unless..." Dougal concluded, his eyes wide with realization.

"'Stronger' are the Roenalls, aren't they?" Nalia sighed.

"The Roenalls," Dougal sighed. "It always comes back to the Roenalls... Is that why you pressured the closeness, and indeed, the so-called betrothal between Nalia and that rat-faced Isaea? They've always been keen to own these lands..."

"Isaea Roenall is a proper noble, who would have rules these lands like a true noble should!" Lady Delcia Caan retorted. "I did it for you, my dear," she directed at Nalia. "So you would live the life of a true noble. You would not have to endure the shame of having such a father..."

"I don't believe this..." Nalia sobbed, tears welling up in her eyes. "All this horror... because of me?" But, instead of falling into tears, Nalia stiffened, slowly stepped over to Delcia and slapped her across the face with such a force that the arrogant noble nearly fell backwards. In a moment, Dougal was upon the startled noble. His hand shot to the hilt of his sword, and in moments it sang through the air, its destination being Lady Delcia's fagile neck. In the fraction of a second, however, Dougal changed his mind. He stopped the slashing blade a mere half-inch from the arrogant noble's neck. Leaving it to hoover there, he spoke in a low, growling tone. "You were such a proponent of re-opening the dungeons, weren't you? To 'spur on the lazy peasants'? Well, you're going to get acquainted with the dungeons really closely, since you'll be spending the rest of your life there. And that's being mild considering what you have done!"

For the first time, an inkling of fear crept through Lady Delcia Caan's arrogant demeanor. "You cannot treat me as such, you lowly commoner! I am a noble of the Caan family!"

"Perhaps a few years of wearing a burlap sack for a gown,and having rat for supper will teach you that nobility is a privilege, not something to be exploited!" Dougal snarled. "Captain Yang-ja?" he asked, and the newly ordained Kara-Turan captain of the guards stepped forward. "Please see to it that this... filth here gets the best room in the house..."

"With please, my lord," Yang-ja grinned and proceeded to drag the screaming and cursing fallen noble out of the room.

"You can't treat a member or a noble family in such a matter!" Lady Delcia Caan shouted at Dougal in a last-ditch effort to at least get in the last word. "What will the Athkatlan nobility say?"

"Frankly," Dougal smiled. "I don't give a damn..."

"Bye, bye, birdie!" Laska waved after her.

Laska strolled over to the window in the sparsely decorated room she shared with Viconia and glanced at the horizon. Miles away, on the small farms surrounding the Keep, she could see farmers plowing the field, while their children played around the farmhouses. It seemed the invasion had not even affected them at the very least. There, life went on as usual. Something about that make Laska feel content...

On the other hand, the pastoral scene in front of her, the lands of grassy meadows, corn fields and forested did not touch her elven spirit at all. Nature did not fill the void in her elven being, even though it would any other elf. Disgusted, more with herself than with the landscape outside, she turned away from the window with a frustrated sigh.

"Do you have to keep pacing about?" Viconia replied while she lay on her cot, and looked up from her task of updating the party's journal. "It's rather annoying..."

"When do you think we'll be leaving?" Laska asked. "I've spent enough time in this castle already. It's cold, damp and way too big for my taste..."

"Probably soon," Viconia muttered. "I've overheard Keldorn telling the squires he would return to the Order guildhouse soon to evaluate their performance."

"Indeed," the voice of Keldorn sounded through the door. Laska's head whipped towards the door where she saw him standing, being flanked by Dougal De'Arnise and Nalia.

"Don't you know when to knock?" Laska smiled. "You know, we could have been naked in here..."

"The door was open," Keldorn chuckled. "And we could hear you talking from the other side of the hallway..."

"Ah," Laska said.

"To answer you question, I am to return to the Order immediately to issue my report. And I take it, that you wish to return to Athkatla as well. It is for you to decide when you wish to leave the Keep."

"Before you leave," Dougal broke in, speaking in his usual low and powerful voice, "I would like to express my gratitude to you and your friends for saving our Keep and indeed, our lands for the troll invasion. I would reward you with a great sum of money, but I would like to invest my resources in the repairs and the keep, so I would like to offer you..."

"Ah!" Laska spoke up. "While exploring the cellars, I spotted a few of those gigantic kegs of wine..."

"Yes," Dougal replied. "We have several of those..."

"Have one delivered at my estate in Athkatla and we're even," Laska smiled, rubbing her hands.

"Well, that's enough to see you through the week," Viconia chuckled.

Laska turned around to smile at Viconia. "Yeah, yeah. I know it's quite a stretch, but I should have it empty by a ten-day..." she replied with a grin.

"I was going to offer you some land for when you decide to retire," Dougal smirked, "but it's a deal..."

"I would like to keep the Flail of Ages," Viconia asked with a certain amount of anticipation.

"It's yours," Dougal smiled. "As a gift for saving my life."

"Speaking of retirement, how did you, an adventurer, end up as a landlord?" Laska asked, while Viconia held her new flail firmly in hand.

"Oh," Dougal said as he wrapped his arm around his smiling daughter's shoulder, "I became a family man, really. And I want to keep my family safe. And that's why I want the Roenall sword hanging over our heads removed forever."

"Lord De'Arnise and I have talked it over," Keldorn added, "and we have come to the conclusion that the Roenalls must be held accountable for their part in this invasion. Unfortunately, that is not as easy as it sounds."

"How so?" Viconia asked. "The invasion failed and there are witnesses left. Their house is doomed, no?"

"Not exactly. Even with the proper evidence they would receive nothing more than a stern slap on the wrist," Dougal sighed disgustedly. "We have to beat them by using the very rules of nobility against them..."

"By using my own social betrothal, I intend to help you unmask the Roenalls," Nalia demanded.

"Nalia, are you certain you wish to do this?" Dougal sighed nervously. "I don't want you to get hurt..."

"Yes, father... They epitomize what I hate about nobles. Everyone is beneath their status, and if you wish any respect you must be of their social number. All others are treated as dirt... They staged this whole charade just to get their hands on the wealth of these lands and I won't get away with it..."

"The plan is as follows," Keldorn said. "If Lord Dougal goes into hiding, and we introduce the rumor that he has fallen while fighting the trolls, the Roenalls will drop their guard and will try to force the social betrothal into marriage which will give them control over the De'Arnise holdings. We are hoping the Roenalls, especially Lord Isaea and Lord Farthington act carelessly and drop the evidence we need in our laps."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Laska spoke with indignity. "I'm supposed to be the leader of this pack, and I'm supposed to be making the plans!"

"Well, what's your plan then, Laska?" Keldorn asked.

"Kill'em..." was Laska's one-word reply.

"Our plan is a little more detailed," Nalia chuckled.

"But if your family's position is weakened," Viconia asked, "how will you prevent these iblithen from taking the castle by force."

"Again we will use the rules of nobility against them," Dougal smiled.

"Yes!" Nalia chuckled. "We must appoint a weaponmaster to rule this Keep in my stead since, according to Amnian law, I am too young to rule."

Laska snorted and dropped herself on her cot. "So, where are you going get one of those?"

"Well," Nalia stammered. "Errr, we were thinking of you..."

"Me?" Laska laughed. "Me? I can't even keep my own wardrobe in order, and I am wearing the only outfit I own," she said, pointing to the rather revealing leather vest and pants she was wearing. "Unless... Ah," Laska snapped her fingers. "You want a marriage of convenience, then..."

"NO, NO!" Nalia replied quickly, but not quick enough to keep from blushing a violent red.

"Why not?" Laska asked, sitting up and stared at Nalia with an angry fire burning in her eyes. "What's wrong with me?"

"Errr, well, nothing really..." Nalia muttered.

"It's because I'm an elf, isn't it, you bloody racist!" Laska snarled as she stood up and strolled over to Nalia in a threatening fashion. "If I were a human woman, you'd marry me in an instant!"

"No, no, no!" Nalia said, trying to calm the enraged elf down a bit. She heard Viconia chuckling in the background. "It's only because you're a woman!"

"And proud of it!" Laska said, thrusting her ample bosom forward.

"That's just it! The Roenalls will never believe we married out of love!" Nalia chuckled, hoping the light mood would calm down Laska.

"What are you talking about?" Laska grinned. "I've read in the Amnian Gutter that Lady Caadric married her poodle last month..."

"Yes, but she's insane!" Nalia chuckled.

"How good are your acting skills, Nalia?" Viconia smirked. "Can you fake a seizure?"

"No, no, no," Nalia chuckled. "I was wondering if you'd consider ruling the keep in my stead. I'd be your ward, not your wife."

In few seconds later, Viconia rolled off her cot in a bit of screaming laughter. "If... that's... your plan," she said during fits of violent giggles, "you'd be better off giving the castle to the Roenalls..."

"That's more than fine," Dougal chuckled. "Nalia? Perhaps Yang-ja is better suited for that job. She has been with us ever since our party met her in Kara-Tur, and she knows the lands better than most... Laska, I would ask you to become Nalia's bodyguard for the time being..."

"Sure," Laska sighed. "My house is big enough..."

"I am entrusting you with my greatest treasure then," Dougal added with a touch of nervousness.

"And you, Lord De'Arnise," Sir Keldorn spoke, "are now officially dead..."

The trip back was blissfully uneventful. All three squires remained silent during the whole trip, while the usual banter within Laska's party lasted for hours. After placing their horses back in the Order corral, where they could be picked up later if necessary, Keldorn bid his friends to return to the Order Guildhouse as soon as possible. But Laska, Jan and Viconia decided to take care of some other matters first.

"Khittix!" Risa shouted as she ran down the stairs to greet her friends. Soon enough, Becky and Jaela joined Risa

"And what about us?" Laska chuckled, freigning sadness.

"Oh, I love you guys too!" Risa giggled, but kept hugging the happily chirping spider.

"Mother has gone to the market," Becky said. "Do you, ermmm, want to leave a massage?"

"If you mean 'message' just tell her to prepare the last free room for another guest, and that we'll be back later after we come back from the Order guildhouse," Laska smiled.

"I'm just here to drop off Khittix," Viconia said, "and to pick up some books. I shall not join you during the celebrations, abbil. I must oversee the construction of several items by the dwarven smith Cromwell at the docks..."

"For Dynaheir?" Laska asked, to which Viconia only nodded slightly.

"Ah, where is my little potato-nose?" Jan asked as he came down the stairs again.

"Oh, she went to the market with mother," Becky said.

"DRAT!" Jan muttered. "I was looking forward to skipping this whole knight thing completely and taking Lissa to a romantic dinner for two. There's this wonderful place in the slums where you can get two straws in a single turnip."

"It's simple," Keldorn said as he and his friends were standing in the back of the Order guildhouse, waiting to be heard. "You will enter this backroom one-by-one, where Lady Sylvana Skye, Sir Ryan Trawl and Prelate Wessalen will be seated at the table to ask for your opinion on each squire. Laska and I will enter last, since she is the leader of the party, and I am the overseer of the initiates. Afterwards, they will deliberate and decide who will be chosen to be knighted."

"And then we be gettin' ta drink ourselves stupid?" Korgan asked, licking his lips.

"If you mean to ask if there is a celebration afterwards? Yes there is. At the Five Flagon's Inn, in fact... It is the custom that the squire who wins the position will host drinks for the other members of his party," Keldorn added.

"Cor lummy!" Korgan roared. "Let us be gettin' on with it then!"

In the distance, Elotta, Gurgan and Anomen regarded the party they had served with as Minsc was the first to enter the backroom.

"Well, it nay be me who gets knighted," Gurgan spoke. "I be too young."

"It isn't me either," Elotta sighed. "I'm just too shy and timid..."

"That leaves only one candidate!" Anomen smiled. "Of course, there is the fact that I have endangered my companions..."

"Guys?" Elotta said. "Whatever happens, I hope it's one of you two who gets knighted..."

"Me too," Gurgan offered. "I be hopin' one of ye gets knighted..."

"I hope I myself will be knighted this day!" Anomen grinned broadly.

"So, Minsc," Sir Ryan Trawl asked. "What is your opinion on..."

"All of them! They are all great butt-kicking heroes who deserve to wield the boot of justice!"

"Err, that's nice, but I want to ask you some questions per specific squire...." Sir Ryan Trawl smiled.

"All! Minsc liked them all, and they are all great heroes to stomp the huge boot of righteousness on the pimply butt of evil, nasty, icky do'ers of bad things!" Minsc said proudly. "And Boo agrees!"

"Who is Boo?" Lady Skye asked.

"This is Boo!" Minsc said proudly and held his loyal hamster to the elderly paladin.

"How cute," Lady Skye smiled.

"So Gurgan should be given the title?" Prelate Wessalen asked. "This is your opinion?"

"Aye!" Korgan said. "'E be a fine lad, and even though I be thinkin' these wanna-be's are all barmy for wantin' ta join this lot of self-righteous gits, I say 'e be the bloody best of the lot. He be talkin' the talk an' walkin' the walk! HAR!"

"I see," Sir Ryan Trawl said. "And what of Elotta."

"A nice lass, with all the bits in the right places, if ye be knowin' what I be meanin' HAR!" Korgan chuckled, but continued unfettered when he noticed his last words weren't exactly appreciated. "Well she be a fine lass, if ye be directin' one foul word in 'er direction she be crumblin'..."

"And Anomen?" Lady Skye asked, but Korgan fell silent... and kept silent.

"Well?" Lady skye pressed.

"Afore I be enterin' this room, Keldorn be sayin' to me that if 'I ain't be 'avin' anything nice to say, donnay be sayin' nothing at all', so I be sayin' nothin'," Korgan snorted.

"So there is nothing to say in Anomen's favor?" Lady Skye asked.

"Well, he be dyin' some day," Korgan chuckled. "That be a nice thing! HAR HAR HAR!"

"Lady DeVir?" Prelate Wessalen asked. "You may give your opinion on Gurgan's performance..."

"He is too young a male for such a position of power," Viconia replied. "I recommend he taught more before he is allowed to claim the position. Elotta, on the other hand, would be an excellent choice for knighthood. The handles her weapon with grace. She is shy in dealing with others, but that can be conditioned out of her character as she performs more missions for your Order. She is ready, in my humble opinion."

"And what of Anomen?" Sir Ryan Trawl asked.

"Let him eat his hammer and let him try to defecate it whole..." Viconia snorted.

"Errr, harsh words," Prelate Wessalen said, trying his best to be heard over Lady Skye's roaring laughter.

"He left me standing to fight off my attackers alone while he ran off to enlarge his own glory, so what do you expect?" Viconia smirked.

"So that is when my aunty Roberta and I escaped the Isle of No Return with all our turnips intact, but her false teeth were never the same," Jan said, finishing his story. "What was your question again?"

Lady Skye, Sir Ryan Trawl and Prelate Wessalen sighed simultaneously. "I... I can't remember," Lady Skye replied, being the first to speak.

"Gurgan fights like a demon, and so does Elotta," Laska said. "They both have a good head on their shoulders. They're very sensible and clever in combat, which is more than you can say for me in the same situation," Laska chuckled.

"Ah, yes," Lady Skye smiled. "You are full of praise for Gurgan and Elotta, but you have yet to speak of Anomen."

"Do you want the rant of the 'one word'?" Laska said. "If you want the rant, I'll just tell you that he's arrogant, moronic, has the sense of a kumquat, behaves like an ass, endangered us all, holds his hammer like an Orc, walks like a duck, talks like a duck, has no sense of humor, leaves comrades standing in the blue, is more judgmental than a bureaucrat, is just a self-righteous git and he looks like a walking pile of scrap metal! And a very shiny one at that..."

"I... see..." Lady Skye stammered. "And your, ahum, 'one word'-opinion on his performance?"

"Bullocks!"

And after Laska excited the room, it was Keldorn's turn to give his report... And the waiting began. For the squires, it was the hardest. Elotta was biting her nails, while Gurgan was constantly tapping his tones to some imaginary tune. Anomen was pacing back and forth while Laska, Minsc, Jan and Korgan were discussing the timeless art of sucking out eggs. Viconia had left as soon as she had her session with the three paladins for reasons unknown to anyone but Laska.

Finally, after a deliberation of at least a full hour, Keldorn stepped out of the room. Immediately, the three squires all but ran up to the aged inquisitor.

"And?" Elotta stammered.

"Due to your excellent performance, and by rule of extreme exception, no less than two of your group have been chosen to be knighted," Keldorn smiled.

"Who?" Gurgan asked and could not hide the nervousness in his voice. Anomen was staring openly now.

"I'm sorry Anomen," Keldorn said and put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Perhaps next year will bring you more luck."

Anomen simply stood there and stared at his feet, while in front of him, the squealing Elotta threw herself in the chuckling Gurgan's arms.

"Hey, you slipped away from us!" Elotta told Laska as she, Gurgan and Laska's party were painting the town red in the Five Flagon's Inn.

"Well," Laska smiled as she took a cup from Gurgan's hand and slammed it down in one drought. "I had to take some time away to have a new tattoo applied," she smiled.

"Oh, a new one?" Elotta asked.

"I see you and Viconia have been talking," Laska chuckled. "Take a look at this..."

"Where?" Gurgan asked.

"Oh, I forgot," Laska smirked. "You're a knight now. Ahum, you have permission," Laska said in a half-mocking tone, "to stare at my chest..."

And there is was. On the right middle slope of her left breast now was an ornate black tracing of a flower... a black rose.

"Wow," Gurgan muttered and felt his mouth go dry.

"I thought that would get your attention," Laska said. "Any cups left for me?"

Scanning the room, she noticed everyone was having a wonderful time at this celebration, with Gurgan and Elotta as veritable lighthouses of happiness. The only glum figure however, was Anomen. He was sitting away from the rest of the group, staring into his cups and often stared jealously at the two soon-to-be knights of the Order.

Already, the beginnings of a colossal prank that would certainly remove the starch from his britches, formed in Laska's mind. She grinned evilly and decided to await her opportunity.