Scattered Embers: Flames Rekindled (story)

[Demortis]

Blade rose from his meditation and began to gather his equipment. He looked at his claw bracers, Don't worry Demorte, if your alive, I'll find you. I swear I'll find you! he thinks to himself. He had befriended the tribe Demorte came from, not being able to pronounce his name in Thri-Kreen, Blade gave him the name Demorte, to honor his master. The Thri-Kreen Demorte, had created the bracers Blade held in his hands, they saved his life more times then he cared to admit, and knowing that Demorte had created them, made it that much more important that he use them to help those in need. He held up FlameStrike, the blades felt warm to the touch and he remembered how much his friend had a "warm" heart, he strapped it to his arm and then held FrozenStrike, and remembered how stubborn like ice Demorte was, he smiled and strapped it to his other arm. He picked up his belt and looked at the leather case on it, he opened the case and removed the leather bound book that was in it. DAMN IT!! Why did you entrust me with your spell book!? Wherever you are, you could use it now I bet! You were like a brother to me! You accepted me, knowing full well what I was, I wont rest till I know you are alive or dead he thinks to himself as he flips through the pages of the book. "Disintegrate was your favorite to use... and you just loved to use 'rock to lava', you were a real jerk back then." Blade says with a smile. He puts the belt on and sets the book back in its case, Never knew how you made fist of stone permanent on yourself, something your going to have to teach me he thinks as he steps out of his room, and out of the tavern.

Blade starts to look around, looking for the nearest smith around, after a few minutes, and careful searching; he spots the smithy and walks over to it. "Excuse me, sir?" He says, looking at the smith. "But, how much iron are you willing to sell me?"
"How deeps your money pouch?" the smith says.
"Deep enough, i need a solid four by four by eight foot slab of either iron, or steel. And before you ask, yes I can pay for it." Blade requests.
"What do you need that for huh?"
"Training."
"Well, kiddo, your just in luck, a friend of mine managed to create just what you were asking for, now, its gonna cost oh.... about 1500 gold." the smith says.
Blade reaches into a pouch and pulls out two platinum pieces and sets them on the counter.
"That should be more then enough to pay, and whatever's left is for you and your friend to split." Blade says.
"I'll have it ready for ya tomorrow, its a pain to move that much steel, so I'll have it ready then." the smith says.
"Where is it?"
"Kiddo, I dont think even you could move it. But if your willin to ruin your back, its in the back over there." the smith says as he points behind him.
Blade walks into the back and looks it over, then reaches around and lifts it up, struggling somewhat to keep it from moving. Then he takes it to the center of town, and sets it down. He steadies his breathing, then begins to practice, lightly hitting the chunk of steel, but, memories start to flood back as he continues his training. He starts to hit harder and harder, leaving tiny dents at first, but some memories keep pushing him harder and harder. Why did they think me an outcast?! Was it so wrong that when they grew old and frail, i was still young and strong?! Why is it everywhere i go, after a decade or so, that they figure something's wrong with me, and try to kill me?! Is it because I'm some sort of prince of wolves?! I never wanted this! He stops punching the slab of steel and looks at his knuckles, blood dripping from his knuckles covers the slab of steel and his hands. Dents can be visibly seen in the steel as it falls over with a loud thud.

[Aegis]

The abyssal light continued to grow behind the collapse form of Amelie, the three combatants halting their skirmish, watching in silence. Aegis' eyes darted from the form of the small half-elven child, to the rift she had created. He felt his hands wringing the shaft of his glaive more tightly, his muscles twitching, whether through anticpation of nervousness, he wasn't quite sure. He felt his feet slowly guiding him towards Gypsy, who was still standing firmly on Erudish's axe, the weapon struggle occasional, only to be forced back to the ground.

"Uh, Gypsy, What do you reckon that there light?" Aegis swallowed hard, stopping next to his smaller companion.

"Not sure, dear. Trying to find a way to lay the blame on you, though..." She flashed a small, but weak smile. She was gripping her daggers just as tightly as Aegis was holding his own weapon.

"Gee, thanks." Aegis kept his eyes trained on the rift, craning his neck slightly, so that he could see Erudish from the corner of his eye. "Uh, Twinkle-Toes? Any words of wisdom you can offer?"

Erudish grunted his response, something between him scoffing at the name, and insulting Aegis at the same time. He didn't waste time trying to figure it out, though.

"So..." His voice trailed off as the light continued to grow. "Should one of us go get the girl?"

"Feel free, hon." Gypsy ground her heel on the blade of the axe again as she spoke. "I don't care to be anywhere near that thing. Besides, heroics are your department..."

Aegis tilted a glance towards Gypsy. "Also the considerate one, aren't you?"

"Wouldn't dream of taking your fun away."

"I feel so special. Thanks." Aegis rolled his head on his shoulders, working out stiffness out, then did the same with his shoulders. After a moment, he thrust his glaive towards Gypsy.

Gypsy looked at it a moment. "What?"

"Take it." Aegis' eyes were trained no Amelie, his weapon still held out to Gypsy, who seemed to just look at it. "Hon, don't be difficult."

Gypsy gave an exasperated sigh, tucked one of her daggers back into its sheath, then took the glaive, the muttered something under her breath, which sounded like an insult to her friend.

Once his hands were free, Aegis cracked his knuckles, and lowered himself ready to lunge and rescue the girl. Just before he was about to spring forward, he felt a rough grip on his shoulder. Before he could turn to see what it was, he felt his body hoisted from the ground, thrown back a foot, landing roughly on the ground. The light of the rift was blotted out, the form of the hulking Erudish silhouetted.

"You keep your hands off her, human." the half-orc grunted the command, setting of determindly towards the fallen child.

Aegis groaned as he pushed himself back to his feet. Today was not seeming to be his day. He walked back to stand next to Gypsy, rubbing the small of his back as he did so, his other hand running through his hair. "He could've just said something..." he grumbled, more to himself, than to Gypsy, who, in the tension of the moment, risked a smile.

[Aegis]

"So, I have to say, that light is a might unsettling, wouldn't you agree?" Aegis stood next to Gypsy, rubbing the back his head, more out of habit than for any practical reason.

Gypsy smirked. "You're getting soft on me dear. A year ago, never would have heard something that from you." She flashed a playful, if tired, smile towards Aegis. "Besides, you know how I hate soft things..." she winked before looking back to the form of Erudish scooping up Amelie.

Aegis could only grin. "Thinking there might be anything coming from that light? Not the most familar with magiks and such, having a personal distaste for it an all."

Gypsy shrugged. "Seen a lot of things in Calimshan, hon. Nothing like this, though. Not with the petty illusionists littering the corners of the city." Gypsy ground her heel down on the axe again as it struggled against her weight. "IF something does come out, though, I'm sure it won't be pretty."

Aegis' lip tugged into a look somewhere between apprehension and anticpation. By this time, Erudish had returned with Amelie wrapped up in his bulky arms. "Good work there, Tinkle Toes."

Erudish flashed Aegis a deadly gaze, and snorted his distaste in any verbal interaction with the human. The look was met with a simple smirk. "So, I'm thinking someone will have to take a peak into the light. I mean, we can't have it just sitting there."

"Glad you volunteered, dear." Aegis looked to Gypsy, his jaw cracked open a bit. She only smiled playfully at Aegis' resigned look.

"Well, no use hesitating, then." Aegis rolled his neck once more, working out one further crack, before hoisting his glaive defensively, and edging towards the light. As he moved closer, he found himself squinting, the light seeming to grow in intensity as neared it. "Say, dear. Can you see anything from there?"

"Eh? not really. The walls are nicely decorated. Floral pattern and all. Nothing I'd like to have on a wall, but nice none-the-less." Aegis stopped, and looked back to the olive skinned woman, his brow quirked. "Oh, and a big pillar of light."

"Thanks, hon. Big help there." Aegis sighed, and looked back into the light, leaning in.

He saw something, a bit of discolourization in the otherwise pure white light. It was hazy, and it looked small. He swung his glaive about, so that the butt end of the shaft was in front of him, and edged a little more closely to the light. When he was near enough, he gave the discolourization a gentle prod. He was about to give it another poke, when he felt a tug on the other end. Gripping the weapon more tightly, he maintained his hold on it. He began to grow more concerned as the tug turned into something more forceful, and then into as though whatever was in there was attempting to disarm him.

"Uh, Gypsy. Could use a hand here." He felt the weapon begin to slide in his grasp. He tucked the shaft between his arm, and tightened his grip, bracing his feet against the smooth floor. Regardless, he felt himself begin to slide along the floor. It wasn't long before he felt Gypsy's smaller arms wrap around his, adding her small weight to his own. It seemed to be enough. The two gave a tug of their own, attempting to bring the weapon back out of the light. Where they had expected resistance, the weapon gave easily, throwing both people off balance, stumbling backwards.

When the steadied themselves, Aegis glanced at the end of the glaive. The butt had been blackened by whatever had grabbed it. "Umm... That's going to take some scrubbing..."

"I think we have another problem, hon."

"A bigger one that my glaive being all mucked up?" Aegis felt Gypsy's slender hand along his chin, pointing it back towards the light. As he turned his head, his eyes widened slightly.

The discolourization was moving towards the edge of the light. Aegis swung his glaive around, angling the blade towards what could be a new threat, and lowering himself defensively. What he saw surprised him even more.

From the light, a small figure emerged, no bigger than a gnome. In fact, for all Aegis and Gypsy could tell, it was a gnome. Somewhat different in appearance than a typical gnome of the Sword Coast. This one had an ashen-grey colour to his skin. Wild, untamed hair hung loosely from its head. A monocle rested over its left eye, and it held a platinum pocket-watch in its right hand. It was immaculetly well dressed, wearing fine silk garments, and a light purple vest that shimmered against the light of the rift. After a moment, it stopped, and looked up towards the scattered onlookers.

"Bollocks. I hate this place..."

[Bloodstalker]

Nights curtain had fallen heavily, draping the land in deep shadow. Blankets of cloud obscured the starlit sky, and what bare glimmers of their brilliance broke through seemed harsh and intrusive. Day had deserted the forest, and the moon hid it's face as if unwilling to bear witness to the events that would unfold. The air was unervingly still, as if Nature herself was holding her breath for fear of disturbing the calm for fear of the storm it might unleash. Light had forsaken this place; as if aware of the transgressions it had been unable to prevent and willing to let her nocturnal twin deal with such deeds in what manner her deemed suitable.

There was no movement save that of the man who now crept his way to within sight of the small single roomed cabin. Even so, his motions did not clash with the stillness, as one would believe. Darkness drew itself to Bloodstalker as he flitted from shadow to shadow, as if recognizing one of it's own children and cloaking him in an impenetrable veil to hide him from wary eyes. Long had it been since the blood hunt had been unleashed, and the night seemed to welcome its offspring home with relish.

Drawing to a halt some fifty yards from the cabin, Bloodstalker sank deeper into the forest, allowing himself to maintain view of the cabin while lowering the chances of detection while he considered his options. He was no fool, and knew that a simple frontal assault on six men of unknown skill and strength was only a step away from suicide. No, he would wait them out. This was not his first hunt, and experience told him that eventually someone would wander from the cabin on an errand of some sort, most likely to relieve themselves after too much ale.

Settling himself, BS waited stoically for some time before the cabin door opened. A feral grin flashed across his features as he made out the lone man striding into the night. Gathering himself, he slipped further into the shadows, moving to intercept the mans path.


************************************************** ********

Kellen stepped out of the cabin, barely able to suppress the anger and fear that were warring inside of him. This was not how it was supposed to have been. He'd been looking for some easy coin, and had no problems with banditry, he had not expected things to get so out of hand at the farm. Now, walking aimlessly through the night, he still couldn't believe what had transpired. Running a shaking hand through his hair he stopped at the sound or Marls voice, waiting for his companion to catch up.

"What's gotten into you? Mouthing off like that to Deiric, you know how he is." Marl spat out as he caught up, reaching out a hand to turn Kellen back to face him.

His anger flashing, Kellen jerked away from him, whirling to stalk off." I know how he is, I was there today, remember?"

Marl fell into step, his own confusion over the actions of his friend fueling the heat in his voice. "Dammit boy, you knew the risk. We're bandits, you know there's always a risk of somebody dying.." His words went unfinished as Kellen whirled on him, his voice rising in a panicked tone.

"This isn't about that. This didn't happen by accident, Deiric knew what he was doing before we even got there. He meant to kill those people. I may be a thief, but dammit, I'm not a rapist."

"So that's it huh? What happened made you squeamish, that it? Now what, you gonna run off, tail between your legs and pretend it never happened? Deiric ain’t gonna let that happen. You'd be caught in less than a week and have half of Windhaven on our tail. Gods man, get over it, so some of the boys had a little fun. None of those women are complaining now."

"Fun?!?! You call what happened to that little girl fun? She was a kid Marl, doesn't that bother you at all?"

"Alright, I know," Marl answered, dropping his voice a bit." I get it, but what good does it do to argue about it? I ain't exactly comfortable with Deiric's tastes, but look at the setup. We got free reign with the orcs running loose, easy picking. Money, women, things have never been this good. So Deiric indulges a little every now and then, what difference does it make? I ain't about to walk away from a good thing just cause you got high moral standards.."

Kellen whirled on his heel, tired of the argument and just wanting to put as much distance as he could between him and Deiric when Marls grabbed his arm again, whirling him back around. "Dammit kid, I warned you, I'm not......"

Whatever words he was about to say died with him. Kellens eyes widened in shock as he saw the dark figure materialize as if born of the shadows themselves. Speechless he saw the glint or steel as it swung in a viscous arc, severing Marls head from his body. For a long moment he stood, shocked into silence as Marls body seemed to sway, as if not aware that it should be dead. Time slowed as the seconds stretched into an eternity and he stared in morbid fascination at the body as it finally dropped to the ground, not even aware of the blood that coated his own face and clothing from the spray of Marls bloods still being forced through the jugular.

He was brought back to reality as he felt a strong hand grip his throat, slamming him back against an oak. The bark dug into his skin through the thin shirt he wore as his hands clawed desperately at the iron like hand forcing his windpipe closed. Panic set in as he gasped for breath, struggling futile against his assailant. Panic gave way to terror as he forced his blurred vision to focus and looked into cold blue eyes.

[werebeargoddess]

Kieshe snuck silently across the field towards her horse, glancing constantly around at her two sleeping companions, just to be sure that they stayed that way. The younger of her two companions she was not worried about waking (unless it was while she was off hunting, and he became scared when he realized that she was not there). Oh no; it was the older of the two that she was worried about.

Aerie had been traveling with them for a good week or so now. Several times, Kieshe had come dreadfully close to killing her. The only reason that Kieshe hadn’t killed her yet was because Aerie was a cleric. Oh, seeing as she had grown up in a village (and seeing how her mother had been the village healer), Kieshe was no small hand when it came to herbal healing. But that was using herbs. Aerie, unlike Kieshe, was an actual cleric, and could go well and beyond herbal healing. As it were, Kieshe had already attempted to leave the elf behind; once, during a hide-and-go-seek game between the two women and Tyrell; and another time when the elf was bathing.

Kieshe sighed, then restrained the urge to whoop as she got to her saddle bags, and pulled out her bow and arrows. She disliked hunting for the most part, and bought food whenever she could, but buying food was a little hard when you where out in the middle of nowhere with a whining elf and a five-year-old boy. And seeing as she was the only one out of the three of them who could handle a bow properly, the task of hunting fell to her. Stringing her quiver across her back, and keeping her bow limber, she set off at a prowl. Maybe I should send Aerie out later to find edible plant life. That was another thing that the elf was good for; being able to successfully identify some of the more common edible plants from poisonous ones. Kieshe could easily do that on her own, even going on to identify some of the more uncommon edible plants (again, because of her mother), but it was much more satisfying to watch Aerie labor around looking for food.

Her mother. It had been several years since Kieshe had left her village, and her family. She had been the third child of her mother’s to leave the village; the other six children either too young to leave, or preferring to settle down in the same village as their family. The only ones of her siblings besides her to leave were her brothers Paton and Alden. Paton, who was the oldest of the nine children, had left for Athkatla when it was decided that he had the makings of a cleric and a priest, and needed more training than what their mother could offer him. After several months he had joined the Order of the Radiant Heart. Kieshe smiled a little at the thought of her brother. Even though Kieshe had arrived four children after him (Paton being the first, Kieshe being the fifth), the two had always been exceptionally close. But then her mood darkened a little as she thought of Alden. He had been the second child born, some two or three years after Paton. She had always loved Alden dearly, as she loved all of her siblings. He had been close to all of them, Paton in particular. But Kieshe suspected that he had been more than a little jealous of his older brother. Something happened to him, after Paton had joined the Order. He had grown moody and standoffish. He began to grow apart from them. Then, five years before, he announced that he was going to go to Tethyr and make a living there. He packed up his things, and within a day, was gone. No goodbyes, no letters. Kieshe never knew, but from the way her mother had still cried about it two and a half years later, when Kieshe decided to leave to become a bard, she suspected that Alden had gotten into a fight with their parents, right before he left.

Kieshe shook herself out of her reverie, and strung her bow. Five minutes later, she had caught a pair of quails. At the end of half an hour, when she decided to head back to camp, she had caught a clutch of coveys and a pheasant to go along with them. She limbered her bow, and headed back to camp. When she got there, she found that Aerie was still asleep, but that Tyrell was awake, playing with a doll. The little boy looked up, ran over and hugged her legs. Dropping her catch, she bent down, picked him up, and hugged him.

“I don’t really like that elf lady, Kieshe. She snores loudly, and kinda smells.” He muttered to her.

Kieshe nodded, and put the boy down. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She looked over to where she had stored the wood that they had collected, she grinned slightly. She went over, took an armful, and walked about a quarter mile away from the camp, and set it down. She did this several more times, with Tyrell following behind. When she was done, she went to her saddlebags, took several pieces of cloth, and muffled Starshine’s hooves. Then she took the pair of quails and the pheasant over to where she had left the wood. Carefully, she built up the fire. After that, she went down to a nearby stream and cleaned the quails and the pheasant. She went back to the fire, cooked the birds, and the two ate. They quietly snuck back to the campsite. Kieshe couldn’t help but smile a little as she saw that Aerie was still sound asleep, snoring loudly. She stored away her few things away in her saddlebags, saddled up Starshine, and got Tyrell into the saddle. Taking Starshine’s reins, she carefully led the horse out of the clearing, grinning fiercely when Starshine’s hooves made no sound. Getting a grip on the reins, she left Aerie behind.

************************************************** ********

Aerie woke up an hour later. She looked around the clearing, rubbing her eyes to adjust them to the sun. Why hasn’t Kieshe woken me up yet? Surely she and Tyrell must have eaten already. It was only then that she noticed that there was only one horse tethered to the patch of grass where they had left the horses the night before. Then she noticed the clutch of coveys lying on the ground, still feathered and starting to reek some. It took her a couple of minutes to realize that Kieshe and Tyrell had left her behind. She screamed.

************************************************** ********

Several miles away, Kieshe stopped Starshine, and got her bearings. She couldn’t help but smile a little at the thought of Aerie, left behind in that clearing. She almost wished that she had stayed behind, if only to see the look on the elf’s face. Sharing a smile and a laugh with Tyrell, she started Starshine forward.

[The Z]

Erudish couldn’t believe Gypsy’s foolishness. By going to help Aegis, she’d forgotten all about the magical great axe that now lay stranded behind her. Using his telepathic link, the half-orc summoned his weapon to his side. As much as he hated to admit it, the artifact was beginning to wear off on him. In fact, the warrior felt naked without it – the axe had become a part of him, an extension of his will. Gently, he set Amelie upon the ground and grabbed his weapon and started towards his distracted opponents, intent upon resuming their combat and ending it once and for all.

Like the snow upon one’s bare skin, a small, comforting hand gripped his forearm, weakly holding him back. Erudish looked down with shock at Amelie, who – now awake – looked pleadingly at him with her wide, glistening eyes.

“Don’t go. Please…”

The half-orc was furious. She had disobeyed him and ignored his own plea for her to steer clear of the battle. Minutes later she had become involved in the altercation in a vain attempt to save him. All that remained of her extravagant song spell was a glowing portal that would no doubt house some sort of abyssal creature that would devour them all. Granted, the whole fiascal had, in all likelihood, succeeded in saving him, but the principal of being rescued by one half his age and of the opposite sex…

Gruffly, Erudish pulled his arm away and glared at the child sternly. Amelie seemed to shrink underneath this punishment and shied away, hurt. But the half-elf seemed to gather her courage and just as the big warrior was turning away, she spoke with her soft little voice.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to die like everyone else. I…” once more, a tear slid down her slender face – almost crystalline, “I…I failed you.”

Her newfound guardian looked back and despite the fury rushing through his veins, managed to quell the rage. With heavy steps he returned to her side and knelt beside the child. She had her arms wrapped around her knees, which were pulled close. Raven colored hair clung to the sides of her face and every now and then an almost beautiful tear dripped off her cheek; they were droplets of sweet rain from clouds of amber – her eyes.

Erudish set his axe down and much to his disgust, he felt himself hugging Amelie close. He cursed the Gods and himself for that ill-fated decision to keep the child. Lopping her head off and feeding her to a few orcs would’ve been the most economical choice. Something wrong had compelled him to let the half-elf tag along and Erudish was really starting to hate that feeling more and more as he got to know her.

“Ok little girl. How did you let me down? I’m alive aren’t I? I’m hardly even bleeding!”

“I summoned…I…shouldn’t have. The druids, they…they locked him up, but he escaped. He – the demon – is some sort of information keeper on another plane. He…it…knows everything.”

Erudish stared at her, amazed at her power to summon creatures from other planes, yet confused as to how an informant would do him any good given the situation.

“Why would you summon him?”

“The…the druids said that before he devours mortals he likes to hurt us by reminding us of our greatest regrets, our greatest torments.” Amelie replied, shuddering and letting herself sink deeper into the half-orc’s embrace.

“That’s how much he knows. He…he’s in our heads.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Abruptly, she pushed Erudish away with a surprising amount of force, stood up and hissed back at him. Her eyes bored searing holes into his heart and it seemed as though a fire had ignited within them, illuminating the small distance between them.

“Because I failed! I always do! It’s always the tone, it’s always the pitch, sometimes it’s the words, I can never sing perfectly and people always die because of it!”

The effort of that outburst sapped Amelie of whatever strength had found its way back into her. Devastated, she swooned, but somehow maintained her balance. Once more, she spoke, quietly as always, melodic.

“I can never get the right thing,” she admitted, looking at her feet. The child struggled to hold back her tears. At times the half-elf just wanted to weep, to bury herself in the ground and never get up. But she had been taught to be strong.

Erudish bit his tongue and decided that it would be better to not push the issue.

“Amelie, we’ll talk about this later. Are you strong enough to cast…sing spells?”

“Do you even want me to try again?” the child replied bitterly. She was exhausted, but refused to let the warrior glimpse her fatigue.

“Not unless you absolutely have to. Stay out of harms way and this time I mean it. Only come if I need you.”

She nodded and watched him pick up his weapon and rumble off. A weak smile curled upon her lips. For once, she hadn’t been scolded for ineptitude.

[The Z]

Erudish shoved all thoughts of Amelie from his mind and focused on the gnome that had emerged from the portal. For a brief moment, the warrior was taken aback. Surely the demon would be a grotesque beast, armed with claws and fangs. Nonetheless, the half-orc had learned his lesson for underestimating enemies. Twice that day, he had almost lost his life because of arrogance. For as long as he lived, it would not happen again. Quietly he conversed with Aegis and Gypsy. He still wished to maim them, but a duel against a demon alone wasn’t an appealing option

“That’s no gnome, humans, that’s a demon and I intend to send it back where it came, with or without your help.”

Both looked at him as if he’d just slandered Lloth in Arach-Tinilith.

“Um…tinkle-toes, I don’t know what they taught you in orc school, but not all demons want to eat first and talk later.”

Gypsy stifled a giggle while all three stared at the impeccably dressed gnome.

“Maybe he thinks he’s got better odds against a demon then against us, hun. Let him go, we’ll have a wager on how long it takes before he’s eaten.”

“Are you two fools? That thing will pamper you until you beg for him to put you in a human buffet on a silver platter. We have to kill it now!”

The gnome, having been excluded from the conversation decided to interrupt.

“Might any of you nice chaps know the way back to the Blood War?”

Erudish stepped forth and growled, axe in hand.

“Let me sever your head, that should do the trick.”

“Um…tinkle toes? Not such a good idea…”

To all three of the mortals shock, the gnome was taken aback by the half-orc’s weapon.

“Where did you find that, mortal? Plenty of my employers are looking for that, you don’t mind if I take that from you do I? There’s a pillar of platinum for you if you give it up.”

It reached for the artifact only to narrowly miss having its limb severed by a defensive slice.

“You’ll have to take it from me, demon!”

Aegis and Gypsy looked on in shock as the gnome shed its skin and emerged in its true form. Erudish ignored this and charged straight at the demon spawn, yelling battle cries with fangs bared.

“It will be a pleasure to not have to pay for such a priceless artifact and to top it off, I have an early tea time today,” the ‘gnome’ smirked.

Gypsy turned to Aegis.

“Hun, we going to help the idiot or not?”

The aching fighter rolled his eyes.

“This really isn’t my day.”

[Aegis]

For a moment, Aegis watched the intricate dance put on by the Outsider and Erudish, almost in awe. Erudish's movements were quick and responsive, something almost unbelievably considering the hulking brute's size. Though, even the skilled hald-orc's attacks appeared clumsy as the Outsider deftly moved aside from each slicing cut or rending chop of the orc's weapon. Finally, with a resigned sigh, Aegis arced his back, working another of many cracks out of it, hoisted his glaive up tightly, he readied to pounce into the fray.

"Hon." Aegis grit his teeth, more at the frustration of knowing what he was about to do.

"Right here beside you." Gypsy brought her dragonfang weapons to bear beside the taller man.

"Not this one." Gypsy's eyes flashed towards Aegis, caught somewhere between betrayel and surprise. "The girl needs to be moved. Especially if an Outsider is involved."

"I get it. You just want to play hero. You want to be the 'strong, semi-muscular man'." If it weren't for the situation, Gypsy would probably have given him a swift shot to the kidney's for his request.

"I don't have time to argue this, Gypsy!" Aegis shot a look towards the woman, a glint of fear steeling his resolve in the matter. "This is something neither of us has ever taken on, and I'm not about to let a rug-rat suffer for it!"

"Oh, you can't let the woman be hurt either, eh? Save your chival-"

"Damnit, Gypsy! I didn't say run as well! I just said get the girl out! You think I can take that thing on with only Twinkle-toes there?"

Gypsy recoiled with realiztion. He hadn't actually told her to run as well. She attemtped to stammer an apology, which came out more along the lines of incomprehensible babble. She then nodded quickly, and went to move Amelie to safety.

"Women..." Aegis muttered silently to himself. "Well, here goes nothing..."

He watched the Outsider and Erudish battle it out for another moment, the half-orc still failing to have landed a single blow, and the Outsider continuing to, in Aegis' best estimates, play with him. Waiting for the right moment to leap into the fight, Aegis counted the beats of the fight, watching for a pattern. One wasn't difficult to discover. Erudish, for all his talent in combat, was routine. A series of slices, chops and butts, all designed to use his brute force. Aegis smirked. That would be useful information later.

Finally, he saw his opening. Erudish had just launched into the beginning of a new 'routine', and the Outsider quickly fell into its own routine of playfully avoiding the attacks. Aegis put his feet into motion, launching himself forward, and vertical at the same time, his strong legs propelling him through the air, his glaive poised to strike at a downward angle. He aimed for where he figured the Outsider would wind up during the 'routine'. As he came into the fight, he gave a shrill whistle, gaining the attention of both combatants, Erudish giving a surprised look, the Outsider's grin merely widening. Aegis thrust his glaive down, aimed for the vitals of the Outsider, or where he hoped the vitals would be. The blade cut through only air, however, the Outsider deftly moving to the side. Aegis felt his weapon cut into the wooden floor of the Throne room.

Before his feet touched the ground, he was already in further motion, swing the butt of his glaive about, in an attempt to smash into the Outsider's knee-cap. Erudish joined back into the fight, his own 'routine' attacks compensating slightly for the addition of an ally. His movements, though, showed an obvious lack of teamwork, likely from the fact Erudish had probably always prefered to fight on his own. Aegis found himself often compensating for an attack made by the half-orc, adjusting one of his own attacks.

"Damnit, Twinkle-Toes! Work with me!" Aegis shouted over the rush of air created by the continuously missing weapons.

"Perhaps if you weren't so intent of just incapciatating it, you'd be more useful." Erudish grunted through the strain of one of his own missed attacks.

From an outside perspective, the three combatants looked to more to be dancing than fighting. Both Aegis and Erudish wore determined looks on their face, while the Outsider simply held a large grin. After several minutes of the fight, the outsider's smile slowly began to fade.

"You know, you blokes aren't very good at this." The outsider casually ducked one of Erudish's attacks, while angling his stomach away from the edge of Aegis' glaive. "Those sods in the Blood Wars, they'd have a grande ol' time with you guys. Of course, only if you could dodge as well as you can hit air." The Outsider let out a shril laugh, which was met by a heavy grunt by Erudish.

"I always thought demons were a little bit more fierce, you know." Aegis said in between thrusts and sweeps. "Horned, oozing blood. Fire and brimstone, you know."

"That's what I hate about you wankers! One little Balor comes to the Prime, and look waht happens! The rest of us earn a poor reputation!" The Outsider almost appeared offended at the generalization. "Oh course, a demon can't be articulate, or classy. No, we have to be the epitomy of evil!"

"And you're saying you're not?"

"Did I attack you?"

"You tried to take my stick!"

"Funny, looked like a glaive."

"You know what I meant! Besides, I'm a little distracted right now. Twinkle-Toes over there doesn't smell the best you know."

"Stow it, human."

"Yeah, yeah. Drop the whole 'holier-than-thou thing."

The banter seemed to pick the spirits of the Outsider up quite a bit, as it gave off another amused laugh. "You blokes, you're alright, I suppose. What do you say to stopping this whole thing, and sitting down to a cup of tea?'

"Only when my hands are cold and dead, demon!" Erudish snarled his response.

"And why would we be doing anything like that?"

"Oh, Possibly because of this:" the Outsider leapt back, out of range of both men, and snapped his fingers quickly. For a moment, everything went bright, blinding both Aegis and Erudish. When their vision returned, both found themselves sitting in the Throne room at a table, their weapons locked and chained to the far way. In front of them the table was set for four people, a tea saucer for each, with a delightful pile of scones in the centre. The Outsider was sitting across from them, appearing as the well-dressed gnome again.

"That's better." He said happily. "Now, onto formalites. My name is Squee. How do you do?"

[The Z]

Amelie examined Gypsy as the woman approached her amidst the raging battle between man and demon. She was probably half a foot taller and quite a bit more filled out then the child, being fully-grown. Olive skin complemented the multitude of exotic jewelry that adorned her ears, wrists, and neck. Like Amelie, she had black hair, although it was curled and somehow (despite the recent combat) remained neater as well. Their eyes met, amber staring into emerald.

“Come, child, we have to find a safe place for you.”

The half-elf masked her anger at the mere idea of running from Erudish’s side and replied by simply shaking her head sending locks of hair whipping to and fro.

“Now is not the time to be stubborn. Let’s go.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

“What would your half-orc friend want you to do?” replied Gypsy, quickly becoming annoyed at Amelie’s insolence. She desperately wanted to return to the fray and Aegis’ side.

As if the child had read her mind, the girl, out of nowhere, turned the tables upon her would be savior.

“Do you love Aegis?”

Gypsy was stunned for a moment, but held down a blush.

“Now is not the time little girl.”

Amelie continued to press, “I think you’re very beautiful, especially your eyes. Even Erudish would have to admit that you’re pretty. Aegis undoubtedly must think you are.”

The woman, while flattered, saw where her acquaintance was going and tried to remain true to her intents. No child would outsmart her, especially one as powerful as the one that stood before her. Action was now more important then words.

“We’re going. Now. For Aegis and Erudish’s sake.”

Gypsy grabbed Amelie by the arm but didn’t foresee how hard the half-elf would struggle. She winced as the child kicked her in the shins repeatedly, but had the presence of mind to cover the girl’s mouth, preventing any spell from being cast. Again, however, the youth refused to be suppressed by biting Gypsy’s hand and drawing blood. She was forced to drop Amelie unceremoniously to the ground to avoid being bitten and as the girl scampered off towards the clashing sounds of battle, she began to see how attached the child was to her guardian. Shaking her head, the rogue followed her quarry.

[The Z]

Erudish couldn’t make his axe budge beneath the chains that shackled it to the wall; some sort of force blocked his link. The half-orc was frustrated, to say the least. He had fought three times that day and besides his encounter with Blackoak, all had resulted in utter lunacy. There was now no doubt in his mind that the Gods hated him, forcing the warrior to fight against a human who called him ‘twinkle-toes’ and then fight with him against a powerful demon that, for whatever reason, decided that transforming into a gnome and talking over tea was a delightful way to contact the lesser beings.

“This is all your fault,” he hissed at Aegis, seeking an outlet to vent his anger upon.

The human, pointedly witty as he was, stared with disbelief at his ‘comrade’.

“It was your girl who brought this outsider here; and, speaking of her, aren’t you a little old and a little too ugly to be courting a half-elven child?”

This only served to infuriate Erudish more.

“At least I don’t drag around a pet from Calimsham everywhere I go. How much did you pay her to stick with a fool like yourself?”

“Less then how much your father paid your mother,” the human grinned.

That was the last straw. The general leapt across the table and landed upon Aegis, smashing cups to tiny bits and sending scones flying. Without his glaive, the smaller fighter was unable to hold back the enraged half-orc and he soon found himself being strangled. Erudish, on the other hand, was relishing the moment, squeezing the life from his foe – all in the name of his mother. Just a tad longer and he wouldn’t have to be called ‘twinkle-toes’ ever again.

Squee, dismayed at how positively rude his ‘guests’ were acting snapped his fingers. Another blinding flash of light surrounded the brawlers and a few brief seconds later, the setting was how it was before the small altercation, except Aegis and Erudish were locked to their chairs with only enough mobility to grab a scone or take a sip from their tea.

“Is this some sort of jest?” cried the half-orc, who was still fuming.

“You mortals are so utterly hypocritical. I’m supposed to bring chaos on this plane and yet, your races bicker so often, it’s a wonder why we demons even have to make a sojourn to this accursed place. Why can’t we have a nice little chat?”

The gnome drank from his cup and then continued, “That is the reason you summoned me, is it not? Business?”

“What?” said Aegis, confused, but still wheezing for air, managing to interject one word before returning to drinking furiously in a vain attempt to catch his breath.

“Don’t tell me you chaps brought me here without knowing who I am?” Squee, sighed, muttering something to himself about ignorant mortals. Shortly after he began speaking as if introducing himself to one of the Dukes of Baldur’s Gate.

“I am an …”

“Information keeper,” interrupted Erudish, still growling in rage, “I was told about you. You’re going to read out our greatest torments before…”

The gnome snapped his fingers yet again and the half-orc found his mouth stuffed with scones, sealing his mouth shut. Smoldering embers burned in his eyes as he began chomping upon the delicacies in a frenzy to restore his speaking privileges. Aegis, who could barely breathe in the first place, began choking – half because of laughter, half because he hadn’t recovered from his near death experience yet. Squee, acting as if nothing had happened, continued.

“Manners, my dear friend, manners. It’s rude to interrupt. Now where was I? Oh yes, I am an information keeper, you were correct; and for Bhaal’s sake, chew with your mouth closed, that’s almost as disgusting as you smell.”

Erudish glared at the demon and refused to oblige, despite the revolting mix of drool and scone crumbs that now littered his armor. Squee simply turned away and rambled on. Aegis still laughed and choked – the lack of breath was giving him a headache to go alongside of his aching back.

“And yes, I do know both of your greatest regrets, but reports of me using that as a way to season you before eating you are greatly exaggerated. Selling the knowledge of those regrets to your enemies is so much more profitable. But don’t worry; neither of you have angered me enough to force me into such drastic action. Yet.”

The half-orc had managed to eat his way through dozens of scones and was about to speak when Squee, to the warrior’s disbelief, snapped his accursed fingers once more. This time, it seemed as though more scones had been jammed down Erudish’s large maw. Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased as he began spitting and chewing the scones with large, powerful clenches of his jaw.

To illustrate his disgust, the general grabbed his cup and flung it at Squee, who calmly caught it in mid-air. The demon casually threw the projectile back at its original owner. Erudish managed to dodge it, despite being stuck to his chair, but overcompensated and soon found himself (with the chair still latched onto his back) on the floor face first. Aegis, at this, laughed so hard that he himself fell backwards with the chair, scarcely feeling the crunching of his back on the stone floor because of how badly his head hurt. A muffled groan escaped Erudish, making the human burst out into tears, lost in laughter.

At that moment Amelie burst into the room, skidding to a halt. Her bright eyes seemed to widen even more then usual as she tried to digest the scene. The child’s gaze fell upon Squee first (which was disconcerting enough), then passed to the picturesque dining table (completely out of place in a throne room), then to Aegis, who was trying to wipe a tear from his eye (despite being locked to a chair), and then finally to Erudish, who looked nothing like the heroic figure who had fought for her sake, rolling about on the ground with scones stuffed in his maw and a chair on his back. She seemed to waver for a moment, then fainted – right into the open arms of Gypsy. The poor woman was barely able to support Amelie, for she was unsure of what to make of the situation and was faring no better then the girl she held in her arms. Squee seemed to be the only one that was completely unphased by the turn of events and he addressed the mortals, seemingly ignorant of what had just come to pass.

“When you lot are done being angry, happy, unconscious or shocked, the matter of business is still on the table. I do have information that all of you could benefit from, but there is the small matter of profit for me.”

The demon smiled behind his gnomish camouflage.

“Which is why I have a proposition to make…”

[Aegis]

Aegis' chuckled began to subside, and he crawled back up to the table, leaning heavily on it, wiping a tear from his eye. Once down, he took a deep breath, and looked at Squee, who was casually sipping delicately from a small, silver teacup, a floral pattern running along the rim. He could see Erudish in the corner of his eye, the ever present scowl seeming to have grown in size, more than likely at the dislike of being confined to a tea party with a human and demonic gnome. He raised his hand, his finger outstretched as though about to make a point, but his thoughts fled him as he was about to speak, leaving an awkward gaping hole where his mouth was. For a second, he stalled, lowered his finger, only to have it raise again, only to fail in words again.

Squee looked at Aegis, an amused smirk playing across his face. "You look pensive. Is there something you want to say?" He lowered his floral teacup to the table, and rested his elbows on the table, wrapping his fingertips together.

"So-" Aegis started. "What your-" he stammered over his words.

"Proposition?" Gypsy's delicate voice carried over the table. The three turned to her. She placed Amelie gently in one of the five chairs, then sat herself in the one next to Aegis, glancing briefly at the chained man, giving a playful smirk "Now dear, we've talked about this, and publicly even!" She winked, and ran a finger along the outside of his thigh. Erudish groaned at the behaviour.

"More of a business arrangement, I should say." Squee said, taking his teacup to his lips, waiting a moment to continue. "Suffice to say, there are a number of reasons we 'Outsiders' are unable to come to the Prime. Not that I can see the reason they'd want to, anyway." He 'humphed' as he looked around the Throne room.

"And yet, you grace us with you presence." Erudish snarled the remark, and attempted to fold his arms across his chest. The imposing act fell short of its mark, as the half-orc was only able to touch his wrists with the opposite hand.

"Sarcasm aside, Twinkle-Toes-"

"Erudish!"

"As I was saying, before Twinkle-Toes here interrupted me, again." Both Aegis and Gypsy chuckled to themselves at Squee's obvious disregard to Erudish's dislike of the nickname Aegis had bestowed upon him. "The last time I 'graced' the Prime, I was left with a certain bit of unfinished business."

"Wasn't quite able to finish cornering the scone market, eh." Aegis grinned at his remark.

"No more than you were able to tell that young woman you were so eager to save in Cromyr was actually a man." Aegis turned a mellow shade of red, and clamped his mouth shut. "Now, if I may continue without interruption."

Gypsy nodded her approval, taking the reigns of the discussion, deeming her male counter-parts incapable of such civil and intelligent conversation.

"Well, at least the young woman has been trained in some manners." He offered a polite nod to the exotic woman, who flashed her intoxicating smile back towards the demonic gnome. "As I was saying. When I was last on the Prime, it had been in the 'service' of a senile old sod of a wizard, who grossly misjudged what I was capable. It was always 'Squee, I command you to tell me what my enemies are plotting!" or "Squee, tell me the secrets to eternal youth!" or "Squee, how can I grow it in size!" Imagine that, a power such as myself being reduced to a growth hormone!" Squee looked scandalized at the recollection of the past events.

"Any matter, because of this limited indentured service, I had been promised some things in return. Mostly a series of mundane objects: some tomes, random trinkets, something called a 'Rubrix Cube'. Those I care little for. But, there was one object I had my eyes set keenly on, that this wanker of a conjurer held on to. He called it a 'Bottle Gnome'." Squee paused a moment to watch Aegis' face light up with mirth, and began to speak once more, cutting off the inevitable comment.

"I've heard of this object only through rumour, we all know how rife the Blood War is with those. To be honest, I had not thought it existed."

"So, what could an object made on the Prime possibly be worth to a demon?" Gypsy questioned lightly, taking a small sip of the two that had been set before her.

"Well, in this case, a great amount!" Squee almost appeared giddy as he thought of the 'Bottle Gnome'.

"Twinkle-Toes said something about you being an 'Information Keeper'." Aegis said, finally gaining enough control of himself to speak seriously. "Forgive my lack of knowledge arcane and all things demon, but from the sounds of it, what use could you have for an object from the Prime?"

"I'm glad you've decided to join the conversation. I was afraid your gaping maw was about to attract flies."

Aegis quirked his brow at the comment. "Careful there, Bushi. You're creeping in on my territory there…"

"Quite. Anyway, under ordinary circumstances, you are correct. This 'Bottle Gnome' would mean little to me. But, what fascinates me most, is that I know nothing of it!"

"Uh. So?"

"Demons are all given different gifts. Some have immense power, others incredibly sexual appeal and gifts. My particular gift is knowledge. Essentially, I know all there is to know."

"Again, so?" Squee scowled slightly towards Aegis.

"Perhaps you would like to explain to your chimp what I mean…" He directed the comment to Gypsy, who nodded politely in response.

"Dear," she started delicately. "The Gnome knows everything, but nothing about these 'Bottle Gnomes'. Obviously, it means there is some major power behind this object, keeping him from knowing what he should. Its like if I were to tell you not to pull the lever. Remember what happened when I told you not to pull the lever?"

"I pulled the lever."

"Right, and what happened?"

"A giant boulder chased us down the temple hallway, only to lead us into the nest of agitated weasels."

"On the nose there, hon. This 'Bottle Gnome' is Squee's lever."

Aegis nodded in final understanding.

"You have a lovely way with words, my darling." He smiled to Gypsy. "Thusly, my proposition is such: Assist me in finding the 'Bottle Gnome', and we may discuss my payment to you upon completion of said task."

"And why should we help you, demon." Erudish snapped the remark, a little moe viciously than even he intended.

"Well, Twinkle-Toes, because I have you and the Chimp chained to a chair, with the lovely brains over there making the decision. She obviously knows a good deal when she hears it. A demon, especially one not out to eat you, is always a powerful ally."

Erudish grunted. He couldn't argue with the argument provided.

"Alright then," started Aegis, leaning on the table. "I guess you have a deal, at least Gypsy and myself will help you."

"Ah, that's the tricky part." Squee returned his teacup to the table. "You see, for the pact to be sealed, I need each of you to agree to the deal, otherwise I return to my own plane. After satisfying my 'palate', of course." He added the final bit with a mischievous grin.

Erudish grumbled something. Aegis glanced to the half-orc, than to Gypsy. "Well, I know he wants power, and know Gypsy and myself are not ones to pass up a fun time. And I'm sure the young love interest sleeping over there will go where her Knight in slimy armour leads…"

"Most excellent!" Squee declared, and shot to his feet, standing to his full height on the chair, still shorter than Erudish was sitting.

"Oh, uh, one last thing, Squee." The demonic gnome looked to Aegis. "You, uh, mentioned something about… Growth?"

[The Z]

Erudish was on the verge of slamming his head into the table repeatedly. Death would be a blessing at this point. While Squee’s proposition was an interesting one, the sacrifices the warrior would have to make far outweighed anything the demon could tell him. For starters, he’d have to deal with Aegis and Gypsy for an extended period of time. Either they’d drive him mad by referring to him as ‘twinkle-toes’, or he’d commit suicide before it got to that point – neither of which options were particularly satisfying. Secondly, he’d be forced to leave his conquest behind, something all people seated at the table seemed to have forgotten.

“Gnome…er…Squee. What about my legion? I do have all of T