) Rose arrives at Suldenesselar. Hope you like it! 
Tnt 190 : Inheritance, Reunion... and a horrible little man.
After another day of fruitless searching, Laska stood empty handed at the city-gates. She had searched for most of the day around the base of the Tree of Life, combing the forest floor for any sign of the amulet that Bodhi had ripped off her body and thrown down the tree.
"No luck?" asked the Sylvan gatekeeper as he opened a small hatch in the gate for her.
Laska sighed. "I found some acorns and a handful of coins. Got bit by a squirrel and chased by a unicorn. But no amulet."
"A unicorn?" the gatekeeper asked. "I thought only virgins could see those."
Laska chuckled. "By the way it was chasing me, I think that one might have been a 'slut-edition unicorn'."
"Tough luck," the gatekeeper said. "By the way, Reynessa asked me to tell you that she wanted to see you. She's waiting for you at the adventurer's lodge."
"Great, this too," Laska sighed. "I still have to change, bathe and pick some flowers, dammit!"
---
"You weren't in the city," the white-haired bladesinger stated matter-of-factly as she sat in her room at the lodge, lounging near the window.
"Went out looking for my amulet," Laska said. "But I think it's lost. I'm certainly never going to find it again."
"What's so important about this amulet?" Reynessa asked.
"It protected me from undead," Laska said. "Or, more to the point, it prevented me from upchucking whenever one got near. Oh, well," she sighed and sat down in the chair facing Reynessa. "I suppose I'm going to have to learn to live with it again. There aren't any undead in my social circle, luckily. So, why'd you wanted me to see you?
"We're disbanding," Reynessa said. "Most of us have been recalled back to Evermeet and others are going into the forest of Tethyr to... scout would be the best word for it. We'll leave as soon as the builders and new moon elven settlers have arrived. Then the rebuild of the city can begin in earnest."
"Moon elven settlers, ey?" Laska grinned. "Well, that should make Ellesime very happy."
Reynassa offered Laska a half-smile. "There are some... matters to discuss before we leave. Anadielle's legacy. She appointed you as the sole beneficiary."
"Me?" Laska said, surprise evident in her voice. "But..."
"Anadielle doesn't have any kin. She comes from a long line of bladesingers... that ended with her. She outlived all her brothers and sisters and with her death, her entire line now dwells in Arvandor," Reynessa said. "She told me that she wanted you to have all her worldly possessions."
Laska nodded. "I... feel like a ghoul, now."
"Do not," Reynessa put her hand on Laska's. "Anadielle owned a small patch of land near Drelagara on Evermeet. Actually, she didn't exactly own the land, since we all share land freely with our people, but she was given the right to build a home, hunt and farm at a place of her choosing. I think giving her this land was Lady Irylana's way of subtly telling her that she had earned rest and meant for her to retire. Sadly, she never got to use it, but the right now passes on to you. Also, she has left you some gold, which you can take now. And... she wanted you to have this," she said, reaching for a small box.
---
"Her armor," Laska said as she proudly modelled Anadielle's armor in front of her friends. Her old elven chainmail had been torn up during the battle with Bodhi, plus it literally had to be peeled off of her broken body after her fall. Needless to say, all that was left of her prized elven chain were some bits of green scrap metal.
But this was an entirely different form of elven chain. Unlike the green color, this one was a greyish purple. It was even lighter than her previous chain and weighed next to nothing. It was padded at all the right places without impeding any of her movement. As soon as she had put it on, the magic armor had adjusted itself to her body. It felt like a second skin, fitting tightly around her body. The chain shirt had a high neck, giving adequate protection there. Her shoulders and wrists were protected by extra flexible plates of metal forged in a leaf-motif. The base of the large and flexible metal leaf lay at the neck of the chain, while its tip lay between her breasts. The pants of the chain connected seamlessly with the chain boots, and protected her legs with extra layers of chain, while still allowing for maximum movement.
"I can't believe she gave me her armor," Laska grinned and jumped up, did a flip in mid-air and landed on exactly the same spot where she had been standing. "Look at this, I do even feel its weight. I feel as if I'm naked."
"Please spare me," Keldorn said. "It is fine craftsmanship, though. It suits you."
"Still," Laska sighed. "I wish Anadielle was still wearing it. Somehow... it doesn't feel right."
"She wanted you to have it, sis," Imoen said.
"Such regrets are nonsense," Viconia said. "You don't see me agonizing over my red dragon plate, do you?"
"Thou shalt if we ever come across another red dragon," Dynaheir said.
"AHEY!" Minsc grinned. "Minsc has dibs on the next red dragonscale armor! And with a miniature plate mail for Boo!"
"Aye, fer once the drowsey be right," Korgan chuckled. "Ana'd be dead. She nay be needin' it anymore. Ye'd be daft if ye nay keep the lot, even if it be shabby elven craftsmanship."
Laska smiled. "It is gorgeous, though. Sleek and sexy."
"Sleek and sexy?" Jan grinned. "I'll tell you what's sleek and sexy. And for once, it's not turnips! No, no, it was my uncle Adam's chariot. Pitch black and with a glass dome. Ah, he was a bit of a hero of the people, my uncle Adam. Used to dress himself up as a rat, climb from roof to roof and fight the dastardly evil wicked evil people of the city. Ratgnome, he called himself. Started out in 1339, I think. Oh, is it really that long ago."
"Rat people?" Minsc asked. "Minsc is confused. Aren't rats supposed to be foul-toothed and long-toothed and steal the cheese off your sandwich?"
"Oh, cheese was safe around him, though Ratgnome stole plenty a scene," Jan said. "Especially when he loudly sang his own theme-song : Nananananananana, RATGNOME! Nananananananana RATGNOME! RATGNOME! RATGNOME!'. Such a boisterous warcry scared off many a villain."
"I wonder why," Viconia grimace after weathering the assault on her eardrums.
"He and his faithful assistant Sparrow, a huge hulking Cambion he had picked up at the circus, busted many a villain. Oh, yes, the Ostrich, the Poker, Mister Sneeze. They had many hits and very few misses. But then, as things go, things started to go down south, you see? Sparrow made more of an impression than Ratgnome. Human women... well, half-elf and elven women too, I think, have an odd notion of what is sexy. Why, who could be interested in a huge, brave, fearless muscular brute with a squared jaw wearing only a set of leggings two sizes too small and a gym-shirt, when next to him is a diminutive, bent-over stud of a gnome with a huge nose and wearing a filthy rat costume, I ask you? It's impossible to understand."
Viconia, Imoen, Laska and Dynaheir seemed miles away, apparently enthralled by the mental image of said huge, brave, fearless muscular brute.
"Oh, no!" Minsc said. "They are all comatose! Bring back our ladies' minds, you evil villain what has stolen them somehow."
"Calm down, Minsc," Keldorn sighed. "It's just a lust-induced hallucination."
"Anyway, so Ratgnome decided to get rid of Sparrow, whom his female fans had started to call him : The Incredible Hulking Cambion," Jan said. "He had decided to undress himself while Sparrow was signing autographs, so that the females would flock to him and stampede Sparrow to death! So, while my uncle stood there, naked as a jaybird expecting the ladies to flock to him, he was spotted by the Griffler who took him out in a most cruel manner. Poor uncle Adam. I can still see the rats dragging off his rancid costume for nesting material. He only wanted his share of the ladies... Ironically enough, Sparrow married two days after uncle Adam's death. A fine wedding between him and his childhood sweetheart Ted."
"HAR HAR HAR!" Korgan roared. "That be a fine story, gnome."
"What's the point of this story, Jan?" Laska asked, scratching her head.
"Twofold, my dear elf," Jan said. "First of all, don't get naked when there's griffins about and two, just keep the armor. It's fine where it is now."
"Nice," Laska said. "But now I really have to get ready..."
"Aww," Imoen cooed. "It's nice to see you all jittery and nervous."
"HEY!" Laska scowled. "I'm neither jittery nor nervous. I just missed her, that's all. Korgan? How about you give me a quick axe to the stomach? Jan? Could you shoot me once with your flasher?"
"Damn, I left my crossbow downstairs. I'll go get it," Jan said and went out the door.
Dynaheir smiled. "Too bad thou couldst not have asked before he told his story."
"Are you sure this is wise?" Keldorn asked.
Laska grinned. "Are you kidding? This chain can stop most of any blows. Uh, don't put your weight in it, Korgan. I don't want to be bruised."
"Aye," Korgan roared and slammed his axe into Laska gut. The elf took a step back to steady herself from the force of the blow. Everybody waited with baited breath, but Laska's smugness was proven accurate, since no blood was leaking from the seams of the armor, and not guts had spewed forth.
"Nice," Laska sighed. "Oh, Rose'll be along shortly, I'd better get ready," she said and started to remove a pauldron.
"Laska, please," Keldorn looked away. "Do you have to do that here?"
"I'm wearing underwear, sheesh," Laska sighed as she removed the upper part of her armor. "Come on, we've been travelling together longer than a year, I trust you." Two boots came off, and Laska was starting to slide down the rest of her armor.
The door flew open, and a smiling gnome stormed in. "Heads up," he grinned and fired his crossbow into the room.
A brief cry of pain was followed by a thump of an elf dropping to the floor. Shortly after a moment of stunned silence, Pandemonium broke out among the other partymembers.
"Oh, the blood! Oh, the horror!" Minsc gasped. "It's everywhere, oh, don't look, Boo! Friendly fire is so tragic."
"Ye effin' bloody gormless arse-head of a gnome!"
"Sis! Speak to me! Sis!"
"Vith'os, iblith'yingil!"
"Jan, art thou INSANE?!"
"Sweet Torm, gnome, don't you look before you shoot?!"
Laska gritted her teeth as she lay on the floor, a pool of blood slowly forming underneath her injured leg. She held a hand against the bolt now sticking out of her thigh, grasping at it. It was an illusion that holding the foreign object would somehow lessen the pain, but at least trying wouldn't make her feel worse. Her hand was quickly slicked red from the blood welling up from around the bolt, and the fact that she could just see the tip of the bolt breaking the skin of her inner thigh didn't do a hell of a lot to improve her mood.
She offered the offending gnome a look of pure anger. "Bastard!" she hissed through gritted teeth.
"Uhhhh," Jan gulped. "I thought you were going to keep your armor on for a bit longer... Ah, isn't it ironic that you still have your armor on for a bit and that I just hit your exposed skin five centimeters above it? What are the odds of that, ey? Heheheheh..."
Imoen held Laska steady while Viconia hurried over to examine her.
"Damn," Viconia said, glaring at the gnome. "Good shot, Jan," she said. "You split her thigh-bone and nicked a major artery."
Jan gulped. "So, uh... Lucky shot, huh? Just like my aunt..."
"JAN!" Keldorn roared. "You are a horrible little man, WHAT ARE YOU?!"
"I'm a... a horrible little man, Keldorn."
---
Laska paced... a bit painfully... near the city gates, waiting for Rose to come up in the treelift. When she was still in her coma, Imoen had sent for her to come to Suldenesselar. A few elves who regularly travelled to Athkatla on secret trade missions for the city had agreed to bring her to the city. Now that their mission was done Rose had hitched a ride on the ship that had brought the purchased products back to the city.
Laska had 'liberated' from flowers from the palace gardens while the gardeners weren't looking and held it in her hands. Then, finally, the gate opened. And there she was...
Laska smiled as Rose ran up to her. A moment later she let her lover flow into her arms, feeling her warmth, her familiar smell, the texture of her hair. The tattooed elf experienced a moment of pure bliss.
Lise, the elven girl that Laska had encountered in Trademeet and took into her home raced past them, excited to be home again. She yelled something about going to find her uncle's place and ran off towards one of the Sylvan districts. Risa, Rose's sister, remained behind and allowed herself to be scooped up by Laska. She put her arm around Laska's neck while the elf supported her with one arm.
"These are for you," Laska said and handed Rose the flowers.
"Thank you," she smelled the flowers for a moment. "I missed you."
"Same here," Laska smiled. "Love you."
"Love you too."
"Hey, doesn't Risa have school?"
Risa made a rude noise in response.
"Blimey, it was only a question," Laska said.
"Lasalla has taken Becky to visit her mother. Lise wanted to go home, so I couldn't let Risa behind all alone," Rose said. "Captain Rathylar told you was seriously hurt in the battle. Are you alright?"
"Oh," Laska smiled. "I, uh, took a bit of a tumble, that's all. You know how us elves can be : always exaggerating."
"You have a bit of a limp. Are you sure you're alright?"
Laska grimaced. "Of course," she said, waving away any worried Rose might have had. "Come on, I'll show you around the city... Uh, the parts of it that's not destroyed, that is."
"WOW!" Rise said and pointed at the Tree of Life towering over the city. "That's the second biggest tree I've ever seen!"
Rose squinted for a moment, looking at one of the lower branches hanging above the city. "Is... Is that Jan? Is that Jan hanging from that branch?"
"... No..." Laska said.
"I think that is Jan," Rose said. "He's right there hanging upside down. Someone tied his feet to the branch with a bit of a rope!"
"There is no gnome," Laska spoke.
Rose blinked. "Okay, then. Show me around the city," she said, hooking around Laska's free arm.
---
After the fall of night, after having walked through the city, wining, dining and a vigorous session of passionate lovemaking, Laska and Rose lay in their bed at the Adventurer's lodge. The fire in the fireplace was still going, but was dwindling ever so slightly. It gave some warmth and some minor light into the room. Rose watched the light dancing off Laska's curves and let her fingertips slide over her lover's skin ever so slightly.
Laska, who had her eyes shut, stirred slightly.
"What are you thinking about?" Rose asked quietly and twirled some of Laska's hair around her finger.
Laska kept her eyes closed as a broad grin crossed her face. Rose swatted the back of Laska's head playfully as a reprisal. "Seriously," she chuckled.
"Thinking about all that has happened recently," Laska sighed. "I've been feeling like I've been rafting on a fast current lately. So much has happened. Got my spirit back, kicked Bodhi's ass, got my bones crushed, got my bones pieced together, found out my sister is sleeping with my best friend..."
"You've earned a rest," Rose said. "There's nothing for you to do now. Come back home with me soon. Your garden's waiting for you. How about just spending some quiet time with me and your friends at home? You've certainly earned a nice long rest."
"Part of me would love that," Laska admitted. "But," she looked over her shoulder and smiled, "another part of me wants to don my new armor and kick some rump."
Rose snaked her arms around Laska's waist and hugged her tightly. "Oh, my," Rose said. "You can take this elf out of the adventure, but you can never take the adventure out of this elf."
"Still," Laska said. "It'd be nice to rest for a while. Hang about the house for a bit, be lazy, train up, make out with a certain half-elf."
"Oh?" Rose smirked. "Do I know this certain half-elf?"
"I would hope so," Laska replied.
"I like your new tattoo," Rose said, stroking the scorpion that now adorned Laska's left shoulder-blade.
"I wear it to honor her," Laska smiled. "She told me it was her first ever tattoo. I figured it was appropriate."
A brief silence followed. "Viconia told me what happened this morning."
"Ah," Laska sighed. "So, uh, you know why I was limping. Don't worry, Viconia's a master healer."
"She also told me that you needed a full day of rest to let the re-nit bones set and the soft tissue heal... and that walking around with me all day must have caused you a lot of pain," Rose admonished.
Laska nodded. "Well, just a bit," she lied.
"Hey," Rose softly slapped Laska's cheek. "You being in pain for me is not romantic. Next time, you tell me and do something else than walking around the city all day."
"Yes, ma'am," Laska chuckled.
"How about we just sleep now. Together, just holding each other?"
"I'd like that."
---
One floor up, Viconia and Imoen were in much the same situation. They were resting quietly while the fire in the fireplace still went strong. Khittix lay sprawled on the rug in front of the fireplace, quietly snoozing in the warmth.
Of the two, Imoen was tired, but still awake, staring at the ceiling. "Hey, Vic," she whispered at Viconia, who was sleeping on her stomach. The Drow did not reply.
"Vic? Are you awake?" Imoen prodded at Viconia's arm with her fingers. Viconia stirred but showed no sign of actually waking up.
"Vic? Vic?" Imoen pushed her with two hands now. With an angry groan, the Drow turned to her side, groggily facing Imoen.
"What is it?" Viconia said as she blinked twice and yawned, her eyes adjusting to the light from the fire.
"So," said Imoen. "Whatcha thinkin' about?"
Viconia stared at Imoen. She blinked once. Twice. Three times. Four times. Stops.
"Well?"
"You woke me up for that?!"
"I was just curious, sheesh."
"You want to know what I'm thinking about?"
"Yes. So, what are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about just how long it will take for you to hit the ground after I've thrown you out of the window," Viconia rolled back onto her stomach.
"Sourpuss, I was just wondering," Imoen said.
"Well, stop it," Viconia sighed. "If it's not your newfound libido, it's the talking in your sleep that's keeping me from my rest. And if it's not your night-time chatter, it's crumbs in the bed. I told you stop eating those lambdas breads in bed, Imoen."
"Geez, sourpuss, I was just asking," Imoen pouted.
"Oh, oh, sorry for being a bit cranky after being awoken in the middle of the night for no reason at all," Viconia sighed. "We both need our rest."
Imoen pouted. "So.... wanna cuddle?"
Viconia looked and Imoen for a moment, sighed and then allowed Imoen to embrace her. Viconia was always amazed just how much affection this girl required. How Laska managed to stand her for her entire life, she'd never know. Of course, she'd never admit that she didn't mind all that much, though she was quite tired.
"Imoen," Viconia said. "In the Underdark, I often gave my husbands gifts whenever they had done something to please or amuse me. A shield, a scimitar, a new suit, gold, that sort of thing. On the surface, this is different. A gift to a lover has to have meaning. You have to make the effort to think of something that your lover truly needs or appreciates. That can be... difficult."
Imoen gasped. "You bought me a present!"
"I wasn't going to give you this until tomorrow, but..."
"Yes!" Imoen bounced for a bit. "This is exciting!"
Viconia reached over to the drawer in the nightstand, opened it and fished out a neatly rolled up scroll with a blue ribbon tied around it. She studied it for a moment, and then gave it to a most eager Imoen. Viconia couldn't help but smile when she saw how excited Imoen was when she tore off the ribbon and unfolded the scroll.
"A Find Familiar scroll!" Imoen squealed. "Wow, these are so hard to find! How did you know?"
"I traded several items out of my share of the, ahum, spoils of war we obtained during the fight in this city," Viconia said.
"You traded some of your loot for it? Nice," Imoen grinned. "Oh, wow, this is great, I always wanted a familiar! Oh, I wonder what I'll get! Something fluffy? Or something ferocious, like an owlbear or a dragon! Or a giant Eagle! I'm gonna cast it right now and... Oh, crud, I have to memorize it first."
"Yes," Viconia grinned. "And for that, you need uninterrupted, calm, quiet sleep."
Imoen nodded, then quickly grabbed her spellbook from the nightstand and started to transcribe the spell in record speed. Then, she started to study the arcane symbols intently. "Okay," she said, put away her book, kissed Viconia on the cheek and laid down in bed after tucking herself in. "Hit me."
The already prepared PowerWord Sleep spell Viconia shimmered red around Viconia's index finger, sending Imoen to dreamland. She dropped to her pillow like a log.
Viconia shook her head and briefly kissed Imoen's forehead before returning to her own rest.
Thanks for reading!
---Weyoun
