At least the end is near, as is my wage packet... which means hello F.E.A.R., high-speed router and Quake IV. 
Hope you like the story!
Tnt 191 : Rocketman
"The suns is hardly up," Viconia complained as she threw off the covers and reached for her robe. Despite the sleeping-spell, Imoen had still woken way too early and Viconia had found her preparing spellcomponents and drawing a summoning circle on the floor with a pink crayon.
"I can't help it," Imoen giggled. "I'm so excited!"
Viconia grunted as she wrapped the bathrobe around her body. "Fine. Cast your spell. But after that, it's straight back to bed, no excuses."
"Okay, okay, okay," Imoen said. "Oh, I wonder what it'll be. An owl? Or a cat? Or maybe something really big like and Owlbear. Or a pixie! Or a dog! Or a wolf! Or an Otyugh! Or a kobold. Or a..."
"I swear, if I hear the words 'Or a' one more time, I'm going to scream," Viconia sighed.
Unable to contain her excitement any longer, Imoen opened her spellbook at the appropriate page and started chancing and moving her hands in arcane gestures. A few seconds later, a yellow light emerged from the floor, forming energy in the shape of the flower. The flower of energy parted, and then, suddenly dissipated, leaving Imoen's new familiar standing on the floor of their room.
Viconia blinked. "That's a..."
"HOW CUTE!" Imoen giggled merrily as she regarded her new familiar.
The familiar was a little dazed from the magical summoning but recovered quickly. He looked about, taking in the room with his pink eyes. His long tail dragged over the floor as he took a few tenuous steps, keeping his white fur off the ground. He looked around, raising his round ears. He looked at Viconia. "Squeak?" asked the familiar, but then... "SQUEAK!" sounded through the room as the white rat recognized his summoner.
Imoen stretched out her arm to pet the creature, but the rat simply jumped up her hand, ran up her arm, and ran across her shoulders until he sat on her other shoulder, pressing his fur against Imoen's cheek.
"Awww," Imoen cooed.
Then, the white rat looked at Viconia. "Squeak?" he went. Then... "SQUEAK!". The rat ran down Imoen's other arm and headed towards Viconia.
"Oh, no," Viconia backed away while the rat scrambled down the legs of the table and headed towards her. "No, you don't!" Viconia protested, but the happy rat was already running up her leg. Viconia squirmed, squealed and shrieked while the rat ran underneath her robe and moved across her belly to her back and up to her neck, until it ended on her shoulder pressing his fur against Viconia's cheek.
"Aw, he likes you!" Imoen said.
"This... this is not a familiar," Viconia said, still trying to get the rat to move from her shoulder without touching it with her hands. "It's vermin!"
"Don't be mean, he's cute," Imoen said and beckoned the rat to come over. The rat was only happy to oblidge and left a relieved Viconia by jumping off her shoulder and running over the floor to Imoen, where he ended up in her cupped hands.
The rat stood on two legs and wriggled his tail expectantly. Imoen suddenly felt images forming into her mind. Her rat was trying to communicate with her, that much was obvious, but so far these new thoughts forming in her head were far too alien for her to fully understand. But in the jumble of images, thoughts and ideas, one thing stood out above all others.
"Piper," Imoen emphasized. "That's your name. Piper Wriggletail."
"SQUEAK!" was the rat's, who was now christened Piper, enthusiastic response.
---
"If I had known that that rodent would be the end result of the spell," said Viconia as she, Imoen and Keldorn walked through the forest to the docks. Imoen was on cloud nine, Piper being crawling around in her hair, creating the image of a bright white patch on top of a nest of pink.
"Don't be surly," Imoen said. "I love Piper. He's so cute."
"SQUEAK!" enthused Piper.
"Wait till he meets Boo," Imoen giggled. "Oh, Minsc is going to freak."
"Shouldn't Laska be here?" asked Keldorn. "I think she'd want to see the Bladesingers off."
"She'll be here," Viconia said. "She told me she wanted to go look for her lost amulet one last time. Besides, the bladesingers aren't leaving just yet, and she said she really wanted to be there to see them off. Knowing Laska, though, she'll probably arrive just in time to see the ships pass the bend in the river over there."
The three friends arrived in the river-bend where the docks of Suldenesselar were located. Of the old army camps that the elves had kept here during the war with Ust Natha, there was no sign. All the tents were gone and packed, as were most supplies. At least a dozen ships lay docked in the harbour, while the docks were bustling with elves. Most bladesingers were helping to load up supplies and weapons to their ships and preparing to return to Evermeet. Six ships were carrying moon-elven settlers and builders. There were enthusiastic people looking to help rebuild the city and start a new life on the mainland. Right now, they were helping to unload the many supplies that Suldenesselar was in desperate need of.
"Oh, sweet Torm," Keldorn said, his eyes widening. His eyes fell on an ornate elven galleon that lay docked next to the Swiftwind and literally dwarfed it and the other elven cruisers. Unlike the other ships, which were red, this cruiser was grey. Like the other ships, it had two pontoons, which were longer than usual. Each had a red tip and a black end-piece. Its stern was adorned with golden patterns and had a wooden statue of a green-skinned elf. "I can't believe it. It's his ship. They're here! They're actually here."
"Who are?" Imoen asked. Piper in the meantime, watched the interplay between the three friends with interest, moving his head from person to person as if watching a tennis-match.
"The famous elven explorers! That ship. It's the Endeavor," Keldorn raved. Keldorn was always interested in the tall ships and their masters, but there was one ship, one group of explorers that Keldorn has always admired before everyone else. And now they were here.
"Keldorn, you're as giddy as a schoolboy," Viconia smirked.
Keldorn appeared not to hear her, and from looking at his expression, it seemed he was already hearing fanfares when looking at this tall ship. And then... he emerged from the cabin. He was a tall elf wearing a gold shirt that seemed to have a hastily repaired rip across it. His hair waved in the air as he regarded his surrounds.
"Captain's Log," he talked to himself while a sexy Drow woman with a very short skirt and a strange metal ear piece, was following him about and scribbling on a notepad. "Date 17 Eleasias 1370. We have arrived... at the port... of the ancientelevencityof... Suldenesselar. Soon... ourpassengerswill... disembark. Otherwise, mycreware... lookingforwardto... a. nice. long. shore. leave."
"Oh, my Torm, it's HIM!" Keldorn almost clapped his hands in giddiness. "Captain Jams Tiberiul
Kirf, famous elven explorer and adventurer!"
"Wow," Imoen said. "I've read about him in the Candlekeep archives."
"Captain Kirf! Oh, captain, my captain!" Keldorn almost rushed the hapless captain as he ran up the gangplank and took his hand. "You have been an inspiration for me all my life. I loved reading about the accounts of your travels, like your encounters with the gamesters of Waterdeep, and the Islandkiller Doomsday golem. And the ghost-ship Fesarius."
"My, it's always a pleasure... tomeetwith... a fan," Kirf said. "But really, do get a life."
Keldorn said. "I have a family. I'm not a hopeless cause."
"That's a good start. And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time. 'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find I'm not the man they think I am at home. Ah, no no no... I'm a rocket man. Rocket man. Burnin' out his fuse. Up here alone," Kirf said. "Rock It Man. Up here all alone. No no no, I'm not the man they think I am at home."
Imoen blinked while Keldorn seemed positively starstruck... and Viconia was twirling her finger along the side of her head.
"That is a most illogical statement, captain," spoke a tall lanky sylvan with a piercing gaze and jet-black hair. He was the first officer Sprock, and scanned the three visitors. "Captain, might I suggest an away-team to scout around first?"
"Certainly, Sprock. I shall remember... to check out the babes... later," Kirf replied.
"AHAH!" said a third elf, an older, crustier moon elf, as he jumped out from below-decks with a saw in his hands. "Anyone in need of medical attention?" he spoke gleefully as he waved his rusty saw around.
"Not right now, Saw-bones," Kirf said.
"Forgive our doctor's most illogical behaviour," Sprock said. "But he has been somewhat unhinged since he obtained a rather nasty headwound during this trip."
"Shaddup, you pointy-eared hobgoblin," protested the doctor.
Now, it was the Drow's turn to speak up. "Hello, I'm..."
"Uha-pirotess!" Keldorn nodded. "I know."
"Oh, great," Uha-pirotess scoffed. "First I'm never allowed to leave the ship and now people start interrupting the chronically under appreciated communications officer. Just wonderful."
"Uh, sorry," Keldorn sighed. "I didn't mean to steal the wind out of your sails, so to speak."
Yet another voice sounded from the stern. "Did anyone done mention tha sails? Och, I cannay coax more speed out o' me wee bairns," spoke an elf that apparently had been raised in a dwarven colony. "We cannay sail with tha speed o'light, cap'n. I cannay change tha laws o'physics."
"I can't believe it," Keldorn sighed. "They're all here except..."
As if on cue, two more elves stepped on deck : the navigator and the helmsman. A young Aquatic elf and a somewhat older gold elf stepped along. "I'm telling you," spoke the aquatic. "The Weave is an aquatic invention."
"What are you on about?" scoffed Lulu. "Everything's an aquatic invention to you. Even deserts!"
Viconia noticed several nervous elves wearing red shirts were peeking out of the hatch carefully. Finally, one stepped out, or rather, was prodded out by the others. And as soon as the red-shirted elf stepped on deck, a giant Roc seemingly coming from nowhere dove from the trees, made a low pass during which he snatched up the screaming elf and flew off again, only to disappear as quickly as he had come.
"Oh, dear," Uha-pirotess said as she scratched off another name on her notepad. "We lose more crew members that way. Last week a safe dropped on one of the crew from the sky... in the middle of the ocean, mind you."
Keldorn took Kirf, Sprock and Saw-bones aside, bombarding them with questions about the Tripples, Kirf's encounter with the lizard-man on Cestus island, the salt-vampires, the vampire clouds, the encounter with Dahn, the enhanced human and the misadventures surround the corrupt trader Harry Crud.
"I've got a question for you," Imoen said. "Just how amazing are these adventurers, ey Vic?"
"I have a question for you," Viconia snorted. "Why are we we still here?!"
Imoen shook her head. Unfortunately, she had forgotten about Piper who was still resting on her head. She barely caught the little white creature before he fell to the ground. Piper quickly scrambled up Imoen's arm and ended up sitting on her shoulder, making certain he could see everything that was going on around him.
Just as Imoen and Viconia were about to leave, three more elves emerged from the guest quarters located in the stern of the ship. One elf was a surly looking male moon-elf with jet-black hair wearing grey mage-robes. The second elf looked somewhat older. She was a smiling moon-elf wearing green wizard robes that contrasted sharply with her bright red hair. And the third... was a striking moon-elf with dark hair and dark eyes. She was the eldest of the three, at least four hundred years of age. She was short, one of the shortest elves both Viconia and Imoen had ever seen. But otherwise, she looked almost exactly like Laska. Laska sans tattoos, a battle-honed body, a lot shorter and with magical aptitude, for she was obviously a wizard of great power judging from the way she carried herself.
"Oh, I wonder what she's like," the young red-head said. "I'm so excited."
"You've already seen her on the scrying bowl, sister," the male snorted. "I still don't see why we had to made a detour for this."
"Hush, now," said the elder elf, who has a touch of nervousness in her voice. "We will meet her soon enough, just..."
The elder elf stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she spotted Viconia and Imoen at the gangplank. It was obvious that she had recognized them, even though they had never met her before. For a moment, nobody knew exactly what to say.
"SQUEAK!" announced Piper, breaking the silence, and looked at the dockhouse, where Laska had suddenly appeared. The tall tattooed elf was merrily walking up to Imoen and Viconia holding three pheasants tied to a long stick.
"Hey, guys," Laska said. "Still haven't found my amulet, but I came across these lovely pheasants. So I thought to myself, Self, these birds would be just lovely into your patented extra-hot vindaloo tonight."
Laska kept walking, but raised an eyebrow when Imoen and Viconia did not respond.
"Cat caught your tongue?" Laska smiled. "Come on, I announced my delicious vindaloo here. Eating all day, farting all night, just like last time."
"Uh, Laska," Imoen said.
"Why the hell is there a rat on your shoulder and..." and then Laska saw the elves standing on the gangplank.
The stick with the pheasants tied to it dropped to the planks of the dock, the vindaloo totally forgotten. Laska and the elder elf looked at each other for a moment, simply staring at each other. And when the tears started to brim into the eyes of the elder elf, it was Laska who finally spoke.
"Mum?"
Silence
"Are you my mum?"
Nasty cliffhanger. Next part will be more emotional... and thus written when I'm no longer under the stress of my temp-job.
Thanks for reading, btw.
