Well hello all! After returning from the depths of the abyss that is Real Life. I have returned with another story! I'm sorry I have not let my oppinions known with the other stories, but I've been busy. All the ones I did read were great however! Well enough of my rambling! It's Story time!
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Dev was pacing in his room, to say he had allot on him mind would have been an understatement. Why oh why did he get so drunk last night? He doubted that he'd ever remember fully what happened. His head had settled down and he wasn't as nauseous as before, so far so good. Someone knocked on the heavy wooden door. “Yeah?” he said.
Anomen opened the door with a scowl upon his face and brilliant black eye around his right eye, he hadn't healed the black eye Dev figured he didn't heal it just so Dev could see the after affects of his drinking binge last night. “We need to speak.” he said flatly.
Dev winced when he saw the black eye, yup that hazy vision of him decking Anomen were indeed true, he felt terrible as he looked at Anomen. “Listen, Anomen I'm really sorry I....”
Anomen cut him off with a raised hand, “I'm going to speak and you will listen, please.”
Dev blinked 'I don't like the sound of this' he thought to himself.
Anomen took a deep breath and continued. “Your drunken revelry last night made be realize you and I make poor traveling companions, your rather boisterousness last night Reminds me of another drunk I do not wish to remember.” he said evenly.
“Drunk? I'm no Drunk, Anomen, So I had a bit more drink than my system could handle last night. We all lose control at one point or another.” he retorted. He was no drunk, last night was the first time he had a drink in ages.
Anomen crossed his arms and looked at Dev flatly “Nevertheless I have made my decision, I am leaving you. Prehaps we will join up again when you have better control of yourself.” He took out the flail of ages and set it upon the table, turned and walked out, Dev sighed once he was alone.
“Great just great. If I'm not killing the people around me I'm driving them away.” He sighed and sat upon the bed. a Light knock upon the now closed door caused him to almost franticly look for his tunic shirt, but he couldn't find it in time as the door cautiously edged open.
Aerie peered into the room “Dev? You there?” her eyes settled on the young man sitting upon the bed. Her gaze settled on his muscled form and she found herself staring for a moment before wrenching her gaze up to his blue eyes. She found that she couldn't speak for a time as she looked into his eyes. Slowly he raised an eyebrow.
“Can...*cough* can I h..help you, Aerie?” he said, stumbling all over his words. 'Oh wonderful, that's it, make her swoon with your mastery of words' that ever present part of his mind mocked harshly.
Aerie flushed as she realized she hadn't spoken yet “some..someone came with a message from my uncle Quayle, I...I was hoping we could go see what he wanted.” she looked him hopefully.
Dev found himself once again lost in her eyes, he blinked, blushed, and coughed “Sure, Aerie anything for you..” he blinked as he said it. 'OH NO! Tell me I just didn't say that...' he thought to himself.
Aerie smiled “thank you, Dev..” he turned to leave when a thought struck her, her turned around again. “la...last night...” she began hesitantly.
'Oh God don't remind me of last night' Dev thought bitterly... “Yes, Aerie?” he asked out loud.
Aerie flushed “Did...did you mean what you said last night? Th...that I had a pretty blush a..and that I was..beautiful?”
Dev blushed terribly and suddenly became interested in the floor. He nodded mutely before answering with a small “yeah...I..I did.”
Aerie flushed and tried to say something, only to find she couldn't, she glanced back at the young man as her heart raced. She slipped out of the room.
Dev sighed as he sat there and noticed she was gone. 'oh wonderful, she's probably doubled over laughing at me out in the hall, I'm such an idiot.' he thought to himself. He stood and began to gather his things, He'd promised to see to whatever Quayle had needed them to do and he would. He'd deal with everything else later...
A sudden explosion downstairs jolted him out of his thoughts. “what the..?” Dev raced down the stairs and into the feast hall, he noticed the smoke creeping from the top of the doorway. The sight that greeted him was of a partially ruined feast hall a corner of the room was charred and blackened. Several items of wood were still smoldering and slightly aflame. Standing in the center of the room was Nalia, she whirled on him and Dev held up his hands in a foolish attempt to placate her.
“Where is he?” Nalia growled out.
“Who?” Dev asked
“Yoshimo..” Nalia spat “He...Last night when we were...” she began
“Yes I remember.” Dev nodded as his mind flashed back to him waking up naked with and equally naked Nalia next to him.
“HE put us there!” she growled and scanned the room once more.. “When I get done with him...” Dev didn't catch the grumbled words she muttered and really had no heart to do so. Yes, he was also slightly ticked at Yoshimo for playing what he hoped was an attempt at a joke on them both, but looking at Nalia's reaction, Yoshimo was in enough trouble..
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Dev crept through the sewers. He was ankle deep in sludge, and deep in thought. The rest of his group trudged along behind him, He heard Nalia's cursing every time Minsc's large foot splashed into the goo.
“Minsc! Do you HAVE to slosh through the sludge like that! It's not enough that my robes are slimed up to the knee that you have to go and try to get the rest of me equally dirty?” She finally snapped at the large ranger.
Minsc took a step away from the mage “Oh, I'm sorry Nalia, Boo says when you are as large as I, you cannot step very lightly anywhere. “ he blinked at the rather nasty glance Nalia was still giving him “But Boo and I will try to not 'slosh' so much.”
Yoshimo stole a look at Aerie and noticed the elf staring ahead at Dev, seemingly lost in thought and smiled before slipping up to Dev, silently. “The young elf is staring at you again.” in informed the blonde haired fighter.
Dev blinked “a..again?” This wasn't something he was aware of since he tended to take point in almost every situation..
Yoshimo nodded “Yes, again my friend. I have found her looking at you far more often as of late, usually with a far off look in her eyes as if she was deep in thought.” he smirked a bit “Seems your infatuation with the young elf is being returned in kind.”
Dev blinked as the ever present part of his mind snorted. 'Oh sure she's infatuated with me alright. The very idea, I mean...ME? c'mon..to even hope is stupid.' he shook his head a moment. “I'm sure it must be something else, Yoshimo. I'm at the front of group, it's not hard to be seemingly staring at me.” he said to the thief waving away the possibility that she'd be staring at someone so dorky.
Yoshimo 'hmmed to himself and slipped back with the rest.. “We shall see, my friend. I still think I am correct.”
Dev snorted at the thief and kept walking in the ankle deep sludge. They all turned the corner and nearly ran into another group.
The Dwarf of the group turned at the noise Dev and his friends made. “What the what? Strangers walking in our midst! Who's blasted job was it to keep watch? Spoiled our hidin' for sure!” he grumbled. Dev didn't like the sound of that. The dwarf took a quick look around and grumbled before turning back to Dev. “Blank stares all around! All right then, I alone get the spoils! You there! Hand over your loot or I split your skulls wide! 1000 gold will do”
Dev blinked his spine stiffening a bit and muscles tensing.
Nalia watched Dev curiously. Most of the time his demeanor and casual attitude made one think that he was anything but a warrior. Now Nalia saw him get serious and it was a remarkable change. His eyes lost the caring and casual light to them, now seeming to be endless blue pools of seriousness. His lips were pressed into a thin line, losing the smile it almost always had. His voice was unemotional and had dropped a bit lower as he spoke.
“Not a chance. I'm not paying for simply walking by!” Dev said eye never leaving the dwarf...
The Dwarf rumbled again loudly. “Then you will fall before the might of my axe! Maybe I'll let Gallchobhair and Draug have a piece of you as well!” he then surged forward, axe held high as his companions did likewise, two of them hanging back and muttering their incantations.
Dev slashed the blade of roses again and again at the dwarf, but the dwarf raised his shield and slammed it into him making him stumble back and land on his but in the sludge. Minsc swung his large sword and cleanly decapitated another dwarf and leapt to the fight with the one that had knocked Dev away. Yoshimo had waited patiently as Nalia and Aerie removed the protections on the mage and cleric before driving his katana into their backs.
Dev staggered back to his feet to see Minsc hack again at the dwarf, Yoshimo slipping out of the shadows behind the dwarf as several magic missles slammed into the dwarf making him stagger. Yoshimo and Minsc struck at once delivering a killing blow. The dwarf refused to die right away as he hefted his axe and threw it at the one that sent the missles at him. The Axe hurtled toward Aerie, who was in the middle of yet another spell, eyes closed in concentration.
Dev never reacted so fast in his life, surging forward and wrapping his arms around Aerie as red hot pain exploded in his back as the magical axe tore into his armor and his back afterward. Dev's momentum sent Aerie and he to the ground, Aerie landing on her back with Dev having enough sense of mind to shift to land next to her. He saw her horrified and worried expression as the world faded into blackness..
