The 18th of Hammer-Gwilly's birthday

They had been waiting in Calimport for a long time. Therogeon was working on something important but Gwilly wasn't even really sure what it was. Today was her birthday, though, and despite being in such a hostile city her friends had managed to drum up a small party for her. And for being amateur party planners the party wasn't really all that bad. Nothing like what Therogeon could do, but he was to busy working at the moment. The mage had changed for the better but there were still times when Gwilly still didn't quite understand him.

Gwilly, visible to all in honor of her special day, was gorging herself on all the wonderful fruit they had procured for the party. Oh, it was all so, so good. She would have to see if she could manage to find some of this for Ashara and Elric's wedding, if they were ever going to get married. She shook her head and laughed. What was that foolish half-elf waiting for anyway?

Elric always enjoyed a good party. He didn't really consider this to be a good party, but as he understood it their funds were getting a little low. And this city was entirely too expensive. Then again, maybe being around the pixie was altering his expectations. It really was a decent gathering.

It had taken a bit of work to gather everyone. When they first arrived in this horrible place it was agreed that nobody would wander off on their own. After a week or so they had started to relax a bit more. Perhaps gotten careless would be a better phrase. Half the time Therogeon was on his own with just strawmen to back him up. Eddick was back to his recruiting, and nobody knew when he was coming and going. Even Gwilly was mysteriously absent on occassion.

Fortunatlely everyone was here today. Therogeon was a bit tricky. Once he starts his projects, its hard to pull him away. Some days he eats, some days he doesn't. Elric hated interupting a wizard at work, but when it looked like this was a 'non-eating' day he had to go get him. Apparently the mage hadn't forgotten the pixies birthday... he had forgotten what day it currently was!

Of course as much as he enjoyed everyone being together and seeing Gwilly happy for their own merits, today was something special. Looking back he couldn't believe that it had already been a month since that quiet night by the fire. Seeing Ashara at the bar getting some more food for everyone, he left the table and when to refill his own mug.

"Last chance," he whispered as he snuck up behind her. "Things are going to get real interesting if we do this..." He couldn't keep the mischevious sparkle from his eye.

'She deserves something grander,' Ashara thought to herself as she waited for the innkeeper to bring another plate of figs, quince and pomegranate. It was nice to be able to sit with friends and enjoy their time celebrating Gwilly's birthday, but she wondered if the pixie was hoping for something more. The mood in Calimport hadn't made any shifts for the better, so it was probably best to lay low. As low as the Champions were capable of that is.

In spite of the situation in the city, they were together, alive, and not covered in sewage or blood. If there was anything the priestess had learned over the last two years, it was that if those four things were true...it was a good day!

"Last chance," he whispered as he snuck up behind her. "Things are going to get real interesting if we do this..." He couldn't keep the mischievous sparkle from his eye.

Ashara startled a bit at his silent approach. "Yes," she grinned up at him, reflecting his excitement, "Interesting is one word for it! I doubt it would be TOO much of a shock to them, though I do foresee being called an idiot in the near future!" She glanced back at her friends sitting on the pillows around the low table. Gwilly was laughing and waving her pomegranate juice-stained hands around in the air, recounting some lively story. "I think I'm as prepared as I can be. It will be good to get this off of my chest, you know how much I hate keeping secrets," she said with a wink. "I'm not sure this will reduce the amount of teasing or enhance it though, and I'll admit I'm a bit nervous to find out!"

"Are you sure you're ready, Elric?" She blinked up at him with a slight smile playing at the corners of her lips. "I mean...there's still time to back out of this arrangement without fallout from the rest of the group. If you change your mind after everyone knows, I'm not responsible for any actions they may take!"

The half-elf laughed. "Well, I'm not going anywhere. They're just going to have to find some other excuse to torture me." He kept taking looks over his shoulder to make sure nobody was in earshot. It'd be his luck to have kept this secret this long, only to ruin it now.

"Actually, as much fun as this may be..." Elric chuckled. "I'm actually going to miss 'the secret' a bit. Its been kind of fun knowing something the others don't have a clue about. Being around Therogeon and Eddick, that doesn't happen too often."

"Still," He said with mock exasperation. "I suppose they should be told. After all they are invited." Giving her a wink he added, "As long as they don't slow us down."

"You know," Ashara began with a laugh, "it wasn't that long ago when you were saying this seemed to happening TOO fast! Elves take decades to make important decisions, you said. Well it's only been two months since we left Dagadar! Are you in some kind of hurry?" The priestess grinned and squeezed his arm, to let him know she was only teasing. "The decision has been made, and I'm ready to get on with it myself! As good as it is to be preparing ourselves, this last week or so with no progress toward our goal has been frustrating." Ashara sighed softly. "We should probably enjoy the peace while it lasts."

She glanced back at her friends once more as the innkeeper brought the plate of fruit out to her. She thanked him and turned back to Elric. "Do you have the gift for her ready? I have a little something for her myself, but she should probably get yours first." A brief flicker of panic lit in her eyes, and Ashara smiled up at him. "I'm a little scared of their reactions, but I'm ready when you are!"

Elric reached into his pouch and pulled out a wrapped package. "Got it right here." It would be fun to watch Gwilly open it. He remembered spending quite some time in Waterdeep finding somethng that was 'just' right. The little medallion was covered in shiny multicolored stones. They weren't very expensive. Actually they weren't even real, but they did really catch the light. When held just right, it practically glowed. Engraved right in the center are the words "Offical Wedding Planner."

"I'm all for enjoying peace." He said with a grimace as they started walking back. "It's just not the word I'd use to describe this place. I just can't relax here. Sitting around waiting for a fight is sometimes worse than the fight itself. I keep expecting something to jump out at us."

"You're right of course," Ashara nodded in agreement, "this wouldn't be my first choice of where to spend our free time. I keep wondering though, what Calimport must have been like before the chaos began. It is a beautiful city." She lowered her voice as they approached the table. "For today I'm going to try not to think about the possibility of being jumped by assassins. Just for today. The wards are in place, and precautions have been taken. It's all we can do for now. Let's just enjoy this particular moment," she grinned, "There won't be another like it!"

The priestess set the platter of fruit on the table, and returned to her place across from the pixie. The food on her plate hadn't been eaten so much as just pushed around, and she poked at a few of the pomegranate seeds as she listened to Gwilly finish her story. She hadn't eaten a thing all day due to her nerves, and she prayed now that her friends would take the news well. Ashara shot Elric an anxious smile as he sat down next to her, hoping that his enthusiasm would bolster her courage.

Elric returned her smile with one of his own. He hoped it appeared confident. He knew she was nervous, and he was pretty sure he could match her. Still he wanted to appear calm at least on the outside. Inside he was a swirl of emotions with excitement barely edging out nervousness. For some reason he was more nervous about today then he was when they had told her parents. Odd, he thought since at that time he wasn't really sure how they would react. He was reasonably certain that his friends were going to approve. Probably calling them idiots for waiting so long. Of course he was starting to get used to that.

Elric waited until Gwilly turned her attention from the table. It didn't take too long. She seemed to have her attention all over the place today. Talking with everyone at once it seemed. As she turned to her attention from him he fluidly slipped her present next to her plate. Then leaned back and waited, continuing his dinner like nothing had just happened.

With a barely concealed smile and wink at Ashara, he waited for Gwilly to notice it.

Eddick was happy to see Gwilly stuffing her face with the large basket of raspberries that Eddick found. He knew they were her favorite, because she always mentioned it twice when she was asked what kinds of fruit were available in her forest. They were expensive, but Gwilly was worth it.

Of course, with the two love birds winking and whispering at each other across the table amusing to watch as well. They were telling each other secrets that were not secrets, but it made them feel good, and Eddick did not want to spoil the mood, so he kept quiet.

The old druid had been shocked and slightly embarrassed that Elric had written him a song for his birthday. He was kind of disappointed with a present that can handed to her. He was hoping for another tune he could whistle, because Gwilly had this habit of humming his song invisibly behind him as he walked through the streets of Calimport. It made for some really amusing faces, Eddick had to admit, but still was a fair bit embarrassing. He hadn't had a song written about him since he was 15, and that was by decree. Now that he did not have power, he could not stop it, and he tried his best to receive it in good humor.

She was nearly twitching with anticipation while she waited for Gwilly to notice the small package. Eddick sat to the pixie's right, and Ashara realized that he had been watching Elric and herself rather intently. When she met his gaze, that knowing grin spread across the druid's face, and Ashara flushed crimson in response. Eddick always seemed to know more about what was going on than he should be able to, and she wondered if he somehow knew the announcement they were going to make.

The priestess had been practicing her impulsiveness during the downtime in Calimport, and she acted on one of those impulses now. Gently pressing a finger down on one of the pomegranate seeds, she held it in place while she flicked the fruit at Eddick with her right forefinger.

It seemed that Gwilly was so distracted, she wasn't even paying attention to her presents. Eddick saw what Ashara was doing with the seed too. The urge to try to catch it in his mouth was strong. Strong enough to try. He tried to gage the flight pattern of the projectile out of the corner of his eye. Then as she flicked he crouched into a receptive position.

Time seemed to slow down as the seed flew through the air. Ashara's face was priceless as the realization of what Eddick was about to do changed her attitude from spite to astonishment. Yes, if this risky maneuver was accomplished, it would step up everything to the next level. If only it would work. (dex check? 6!)

The seed came at him, hovering just a bit, before diving down at the druid's bare chest. If he did not catch it, it would hit the beard. Eddick moved his chin forward and down, catching the seed under his tongue as it cleared his bottom teeth.

He smiled and ate the seed, being as smug as he had ever been.

Ashara's mouth dropped slightly in shock when Eddick caught the seed in his mouth. This man never ceased to surprise her! She didn't want to cause much more of a scene though, so she gently tapped her temple then pointed subtly to Eddick to let him know she wanted in his head. He didn't say no, which she took as an invitation. With a whispered word and a slight gesture, the priestess pushed her voice into his mind.

"What's with the smirk, Eddick?! Can't we just sit together and eat a pleasant meal without you teasing us? Nice catch by the way!"

Her voice was forceful in his mind, but the tone wasn't at all harsh, and it was obvious she was simply teasing him.

Eddick smiled at the Priestess.

"Now we are reading minds? Seriously, I don't know why you are so amazed at me knowing things because I am old, when you can do things like that. Oh, and thanks by the way, I think I was pretty lucky, either that or hungry."

Eddick licked his lips. "I would ask for some more, but too much fruit might keep me away from the party." The old druid patted his stomach and made a face.

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she thought about launching a fistful of seeds in his direction, but decided not to obey THAT particular impulse.

"I'm not reading your mind, we're simply having a private conversation! And what do you mean about 'knowing things'?! Age doesn't exactly grant you extrasensory perception. Even if it did...I mean...there isn't ...what's there to know that you don't already!?"

Apparently it was possible to stutter mentally as well. Bluffing wasn't exactly a skill she possessed, and the expression on her face was one of mild panic.

Ashara fidgeted on her pillow, trying to distract herself from the weight of Eddick's stare. Elric would have told her if he had said something to the druid, and there was no way anyone else could have known about their intentions. Why was she even nervous anyway? Certainly they all expected it at some point, and she couldn't believe that any of their friends would have a problem.

The priestess glanced over to Elric as she realized that it was because making the announcement would cause the reality of their decision to finally set in. It wasn't at all that she was afraid of permanently binding her life to his, but that making it known to everyone could make the wait that much more difficult. Butterflies flapped furiously inside of her, and without thinking, Ashara rested her hand on her stomach in an effort to calm them as she turned her eyes back to Eddick.

Maybe we should have found a shinier package, the half-elf wondered to himself. The party was continuing on, but not how he had imagined. If asked this morning, it would never had occured to him that she would choose food over presents. There was plenty of conversation, but Elric was having a hard time focusing on what was being said. The excitement was eating him alive. He turned to say something to Ashara when he noticed a peculiar look on her face.

It seemed that she was having some kind of staring contest with Eddick. The druid seemed pretty comfortable, while the priestess was fidgeting something fierce. Odds were Eddick was going to win this and the smug look on his face said he knew it.

Well, if he couldn't enjoy one show, he'd enjoy another. Smiling he leaned back and watched the contest.

Eddick chuckled a little. I don't have extra-sensory powers, I just use the powers nature has given me. These gifts amount to my eyes, my ears, my memories, and my reason. Nothing else. When you get as old as I am, your reason and memories will improve to the point of being able to make the same intuitive leaps that I do. Weren't there things that you could not understand at the age of six, or ten, that you understand fully now. It is like that. Your mind will continue to develop and grow, you see, it is like a tree or a vine. Never stops growing until it is nearly dead."

The old druid smiled a little wider, having caught Elric's movement out of the corner of his eye. "Looks like you should stop looking at me like that. It seems Elric is getting jealous of your attentions."

Ashara found it infuriating when Eddick talked to her as he would a child, but in all honesty, she realized that she was just this side of it. Besides, he had seven children that were older than her! If anyone had a right to talk down to her, she supposed it would be him. She chose to assume he did so out of affection.

The priestess laughed aloud at his telepathic comment about Elric. "I'm quite sure he knows that there is no reason for him to be jealous of anyone! Especially after this morning at the temple..." She wasn't sure if she could pull it off, but why not try to play with him a bit since he knew so much? She and Elric had been out in the city most of the morning getting things ready for the party and letting Therogeon know he was expected to be at dinner this night. They didn't even see Eddick until early that evening, so hopefully that would assist in her little deception.

She breathed a little sigh of relief.

"I must say, I'm very glad that you're not upset with us! We would have invited you all, but everyone has been so busy doing their own things here, and there was really no good opportunity for the kind of wedding party that Gwilly will want to throw... We just didn't want to wait any longer, I'm sure you understand. I'll admit, I wish the priest had been a bit friendlier, but he was happy enough with the gold!"

Ashara smiled brightly at the druid. Reaching over, she squeezed Elric's hand and looked up at him adoringly. Fortunately that last bit wasn't TOO hard to fake.

Elric was confused. The druid seemed as smug and confident as ever, but he was still blinking on occassion. From what the Half-elf remembered, that meant he lost. Unless, with a quick look at Ashara he noticed her blink too. Either these two knew an entirely different set of rules, or something else was going on.

When he felt Ashara's hand on his and saw the look on her face, it was confirmed. He didn't know what was going on, but there was definately something happening here that he wasn't included in. With a bemused grin and a confused look he squeezed her hand back and raised his eyebrows questioninly.

She could only imagine what poor Elric was thinking... Ashara didn't have another Telepathy spell to use for the day, so she attemped to make use of the bits of elven language he had been teaching her.

"Amin lakwenien yassen...ahhh...Ianter." <I'm joking with The Old One> She spoke softly enough to keep it between the two of them, and she smiled, realizing she strung the words together successfully. "Hmm. Ah, ooma e'dol," <voice in head> she tried to explain, pressing her finger to her temple.

Elric blinked in surprise. Apparently Ashara's lessons were coming better than he had thought. She was a fast learner, actually picking it up a little faster than he did all those years ago. But that accent! It had been a long time since he'd heard a human speak elvish. And they at least considered themselves fluent. He remembered some of the looks he got in Evereska and wondered how he sounded to a full elf. It took a moment to decipher what she had said, and when he did he fought back a grin.

Trying to keep a straight face, at least till his head was turned from Eddick, he leaned over and whispered in the priestess' ear. "Sai quel. Lle istim o'hordo" <Very good. You must have a good teacher.> He couldn't contain a chuckle as he added, "Vor'tyal yassen Taur 'Amandil. LLe mern amin to?" <Continue playing with the druid. Do you want any help?>

It took her a few painfully long moments for her brain to process what he had said, but finally she nodded and smiled softly. "Uma... Sai'quel o'hordo, yassen sai'melien...hirao!" <Yes. Very good teacher, with a very enamored student!>

Ashara knew she was completely butchering the pronunciations, but Elric was patient as always. She just hoped Therogeon didn't overhear or he would be thrown into one of his fits of raucous laughter which he seemed to be prone to now.

"Taur'Amandil... noa ro hanya lye." <The druid thinks he knows about us.> She winced at her slow and halting speech, hoping he'd be able to interpret what she meant. "Amin nyare ho lye...var'uin... No, um...veru ie'anoron." <I told him we married at dawn.> Var'uin...nice. She realized she nearly told him that they had protected the whale at dawn.

Elvish was a difficult language. Not that she'd had much experience learning other languages, but it was more difficult then Dethek at least. Her human mouth formed more easily around the hard consonants, and it was very frustrating to listen to herself attempt the much more fluid tongue after hearing Elric speak it so beautifully. He had begun teaching her after the party in Zazesspur when she'd shown an interest in visiting Evereksa. Over the last week or so, they'd been working on it regularly in the mornings after the dawn rituals. The more she learned, the more she realized that if they DID go to Evereksa someday, there would be no way she'd even attempt to use the language in front of a full-blooded elf. She was afraid it would either embarrass Elric or incite some sort of rude comment from the elf. Better to just understand what was being said, and keep her trap shut. Elric seemed to be enoying her fumbling attempts though, so she pressed on.

"Uma, diola lle. Amin valin...ten'lle tua yassen i'tyalie !" <Yes, thank you. I am to be happy for your help with the game!>

One corner of Ashara's mouth turned up in an apologetic smile to her teacher. She reached for her tea and took a sip, hoping the bitter liquid would punish her tongue for its inadequacy. "I'm working on it," she whispered to him, "it is...challenging..."

Elric's eyes bugged out in astonishment. Had she just told Eddick he missed the wedding? She had to have... They hadn't even seen a whale lately.

"Tanya... NoaRIL!" <That's idea's BRIllIANT> He whispered with amazement. Unable to contain a chuckle he added, "N'Walk'lle, Nan' aglar. Iire sina vanwa, Men' amin ten'iluve!" <Cruel, but brilliant. When this is over, I want to hear everything!>

So Eddick thought he knew hmmm... The half elf thought to himself. He wasn't sure what he could do with that from outside their heads. From here anything he would say aloud would either ruin the surprise for Gwilly, or ruin the game Ashara was playing. He decided to sit back, enjoy the show and follow Ashara's lead.

The pixie was loving being the center of attention! Today was her birthday and therefore it was her very own moment to shine so shine she did! Eddick had brought her some wonderful raspberries as a birthday gift. They were plump and juicy, almost as flavorful as the ones that grew in her home, the Misty Vale. Eating them reminded her of a story, which she decided to tell with much enthusiasm. When she had finished that story she had been reminded of another one, then another one.... The exploits of her family alone were enough to keep everyone laughing (will, maybe not Kaber, the minotaur rarely laughed).

"...and then my brother turned the funny little man into a goat! You should have seen the look on his little kid face when he looked into the pool of water he had been bathing. He had thought the pool would take the warts off his nose, which of course is absurd! Everyone knows that this pool was just an ordinary pool, not anything magical. I mean honestly, do people really think that if pixies had a magical pool at their disposal that they would just leave it out in the open for anyone to use? I do not think so!

Anyway, you should have seen his face when he looked down as saw that "the pool" had turned him into a goat. Oh and he was an ugly goat, to boot! My brother, Sylvan, was beside himself with laughter (though he had taught himself at the young age of 150 to laugh without making a sound, which was a good thing too, for he dearly loved to laugh)..."

All of a sudden an elven word had caught Gwilly's attention. Elric and Ashara had seated themselves near Gwilly and they seemed to be having an animated conversation with each other, in elven, she thought. Gwilly stuck a raspberry in her mouth to allow for a momentary pause in her story. The word she thought she had heard was the word for marriage! If this was so, she needed to do something fast!! Gwilly quickly caused an illusion to sit in her place and continue the story while she became invisible and flew over to listen in on the conversation with Elric and Ashara.

"...Well," the illusion of Gwilly continued the story, "needless to say, our new goat friend was dazed and bewildered and he ended up wandering the wood for several days! Finally he set off home, but what he didn't know was that Sylvan had changed him back into a man, though tricking him by still making him think he was a goat. We followed him to see what would become of him once he reached his house. When his silly wife found him he was chewing the laundry she had just hung out to dry in the afternoon sun. She gave him a mighty piece of her mind telling him just what she thought about his behavior, then shooed him inside. His face still looked like that shocked little goat by the pool! It was most amusing!!"

The illusion Gwilly burst out into a fit of laughter as the real Gwilly flew silently over to Elric's shoulder and whispered in elvish, "<What is this I hear about your marriage?>"

*ooc: I really wanted to put the elven in here for that phrase but my little girl is needing some food, and I wanted to post this asap, so I didn't have time to figure out the phrase in elvish... sorry

Elric was watching the druid intently for any change in expression, and was about to pop a berry in his mouth when he heard Gwilly's voice behind him. He lost control of the Berry and watched it roll across the table to where the pixie was supposed to be.

How long had she been there? Was the surprise ruined? No... he told himself, calm down. She doesn't know anything. She can't. Obviously she can't have been there long. She seemed to have heard the word wedding. (WHY he wondered for the hundredth time, did I ever teach her that word...) But she didn't seem to have heard the rest of the convesation about the trick on Eddick. He may be able to work with this.

“Gwilly!” he whispered harshly. “Mani naa lle umien vanwa sinome?” <What are you doing over here?> All their planning was now being relegated to improve. If this worked, it could be more fun than what they had actually planned!

He shook his head quickly and whispered to his invisible eavesdropper. “Amin um’quem en AMIN Versa... Sii Autlle a’llehama, Pant’lle onae, N’ala lle nark’i’fios!” <I didn’t say anything about MY wedding... Now you go back to your seat, open your gifts, before you ruin the surprise!>

He felt sure he was going to explode with laughter, but somehow he was able to keep a straight face. Once again he addressed where he thought she was. “Ro nauva sinome rato... Ar’ um’quem Ashara! Lle ten En’ta lle uva corm’he!” <He’ll be here soon... and don’t tell Ashara you heard about it! You’ll break her heart.> He added with a wink, “Maa fiose!” <Look Surprised!>

"<Surprise!,>" the pixie whispered back her own tongue, "<I love surprises!! Tell me what it is! Tell ME! And what do you mean 'he'll be here soon...'? Who is 'he'? Tell MEEEE! I wanna know!>" Gwilly did an impatient dance on Elric's shoulder.