The 18th of Hammer-Gwilly's birthday

Elric's mouth dropped open and his spirit plummeted. THAT wasn't the response he wanted! He really was horrible at this deception stuff. This was supposed to be easy! He sets the present down. She opens it. Squeels a little. Party continues. Now Ashara and Eddick were locked back into there staring contest saying who knows what to each other, and he had a hyper pixie jumping on his shoulder demanding the identity of a non-existant suitor! Yeah.. he was going to get backstabbed before this was through...

When he woke up this morning... this was NOT how he expected this day to go. Also all this switching between languages was starting to give him a headache. Switching to pixish, <Gwilly... I can't just... Tell you.. umm.. It would ruin the surprise! Yes. It would ruin the surprise!> The surpise, he thought was that nobody was actually coming that wasn't already here!

Perhaps with a few more gifts, she'd forget this whole conversation! It was possible... She forgets whole convesations all the time! Sadly he admitted to himself, not the ones you wanted her to forget! Where was something shiny when you needed it!

Suddenly he got an idea... that MIGHT work. It required a little more deception, so he didn't have much hope. <Ok, Gwilly get close... you have to promise to NEVER tell Ashara I told you this....> He was pretty sure he could feel her nodding eagerly. <When Ashara was in the Snakewood last week, she tried to get word to your little leprechaun friend. The 'plan' was for him to show up here and surprise you! She's not 100% sure he got the message, but she's REALLY hoping you two hit it off again!>

He felt a pang of guilt drawing Ashara into this... It wasn't supposed to get this deep. However Gwilly had told him a couple of times she didn't care about the leprechaun anymore. So he couldn't get away with it. Hopefully this would be the perfect blend of a good deed on Asharas part, and no real dissapointment when he doesn't show... Time would tell.

Gwilly stifled a giggle.

"<You know as well as I do,>" she whispered, "<that the leprechaun won't come.>" She smiled at the thought. "<He wouldn't dream of leaving his precious gold!>" Gwilly's little body shook with silent giggles. "<Why, I can't even remember his name...!>"

Suddenly Gwilly had a thought. "<I could make it look like he comes, though, if that would make Ashara happy. He might just waltz right in here and get down on his knees and propose to me! Wouldn't that be something?>" Gwilly was glad Elric couldn't see the twinkle in her eyes.

"<Speaking of proposing...?>" She gave Elric a sharp nudge with her elbow. She was pretty sure there were a few loose ends that crazy half-elf needed to tie up, and what better day than on her birthday!

He had pretty much given up on trying to predict her moods. Elric Half expected her to be annoyed at the constant pushing of the leprechaun at her, and half expected anger at a surprise she didn't want. He visisbly relaxed when he heard her giggle at the idea. This little game may not have destroyed the festivities after all! Not for the first time, he wished when she was visible, she was actually where she said she was!

"<No.. no... Ashara would just be disappointed it was all an illusion! You don't have to do that... >" he answered a little too quickly. "<If he doesn't show up, he doesn't show up! She tried. Besides, I think she has a back up present planned 'just in case'. But first you have to open your other ones.>"

"<Speaking of proposing...?>"

Elric fought to keep a grin off his face. It wasn't really a surprise that she brought it up again. He pretty much expected it every time he spoke with her. With an exaggerated sigh of exasperation, he whispered "<Gwilly... We talked about that. These things take time!>" He waited a moment, but couldn't resist. "<You'll know about any proposal plans the day I ask you to help plan the wedding!>" He winked where he thought she was... then realized he probably looked like a fool.

Gwilly rolled her eyes and let out a sarcastic sigh. "<What am I going to do with you...?>" she asked in mock frustration.

Then, quickly changing her mood as only she could she chirped, "<Well, I guess I need to open some of my presents!!>"

She flew back to the table taking the same position as her illusion, right as it was popping another raspberry into its mouth. She dispelled the illusion and made herself visible at the same time, making the transfer flawless. She savored the raspberry she had just popped into her mouth before taking stock of all that was around her. Sure enough, there was a small package laying right in front of her plate. "Ooo, look! A present!!" she put her hands on her cheeks in excitement and "surprise". She hoped she wasn't over doing it. "I wonder what it could be...?" She tore into the package and gasped as the afternoon light caught the gift and made it sparkle! Gwilly gasped at the sight of the pretty trinket and started to giggle as she let the colored dots speckle across her face.

As she flicked the medallion about, throwing colored lights on the faces of her companions, a small note fluttered to her lap. It read: "To our dearest Gwilly. From: Elric and Ashara." Gwilly looked up toward Elric and Ashara. "Thank you!" she giggled with glee. She brought it down to her lap to look at it again. "It's so sparkly and.... OH! Oh, oh, OH!" she squealed as she finally noticed the inscription, "Offical Wedding Planner."

"<You'll know about any proposal plans the day I ask you to help plan the wedding!>"

That is what Elric had just said to her. Did he really mean it? A million thoughts ran through her head at once. She looked at Elric, then Ashara, than back to Elric again. She held up the medallion and pointed to what was written on it looking questioningly at Elric. "Does this mean...? But you said...! But when did you...? Or did you...?" she asked this last one to Ashara. Gwilly shook her head so hard that her head looked like a little black ball of fuzz. She turned her attention back to Elric.

"But where...? And how...?" she sputtered. "Oh my goodness you crazy half-elf! You have some explaining to do! And there are the preparations to consider." she stared off into space as she started to list her responsibilities as the wedding planner. "I have so many things to plan! Where will I start? I mean, there's the place, and the people, and the season... Of course you will want it soon, but we can't do it here... And the food! We have to have the BEST food..."

Gwilly stopped in her tracks. Her eyes narrowed as she realized something. She glared over at Elric. "You lied to me didn't you?" she said in disbelief. "You lied about the wedding, because of course you were talking about your own wedding... You just didn't want to tell me, did you?" Gwilly wagged her finger in Elric's direction as a smirk appeared on her face. "You crazy half-elf!" she exclaimed with a giggle.

"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!"

Eddick did not let his face budge during her whole speech. He had made it a habit to listen to someone fully, and not interrupt, knowing that many more truths come out when people feel they need to fill silence. (wisdom check = 3)

This old druid was not always a druid, and especially not in any way naive to the fast paced verbal sparring of the court. He had prided himself, and was actually named for his ability to not be taken in by people who would take advantage of him through deception or guile. He remained "Steady" even unto the priestess, who through playful invention had slipped him a falsehood. He reminded himself of several lessons from his great uncle, who had the singular occupation of teaching the next generation his priceless wisdom.

Lesson three: Lies must contain an element of truth to be believable.

Lesson four: Secrets given are at most only half truths

Lesson seventeen: A person will change their tactics, but not their intention.

It was possible, then that something had indeed happened in the morning of that day, but getting married was not that thing. Several possibilities came to mind. They could have become engaged, at sunrise would have been a romantic time, but Elric was not that romantic. He loved deeply, but did not have the foresight or boldness to do something like that. He probably would just blurt it out one day.

They could have united physically. Eddick studied the two. Although they were quite flirtatious with each other, he did not see that anything that grand had changed. They had not become one flesh, or at least had not this morning.

They could have set a date. No, Ashara would not permit such a thing, she would get married when the duties she had in her mind as were given to her by the one who spared her sanity were complete, and not before. She had to pay the debt for her freedom before she would enjoy it.

Eddick was at a loss. He knew she had lied to him, but he could not discern the truth, and it bothered him a little. Oh well. The bait was out there. Now he could either ignore it, or use the line to pull the fisher in the water. He watched her practice her elvish to Elric, he knew it was elvish, because Elric only knew one other language besides common, and pixie was not going to be the first language he taught her.

He decided to act. Gwilly was currently engaged in telling a funny story about a goat or some such thing. Try as he might, Eddick had trouble listening to two different conversations at once. He stood up quickly and shook his legs a bit to make sure they were awake.

He thought to Ashara directly, he tried to put a slightly pained expression on his face. (Acting- non proficient- Charisma -6 check = 2!) "Well, my dear, that changes everything. Don't worry, I cannot allow myself to not present the newlyweds with a gift. I cannot express the ache in my heart that you would cut your closest friends out of the most momentous occasion in your life, but I can still celebrate with you by providing to you the best I can offer.

With that he bowed to the pixie and smartly turned around as an old soldier never forgets to do. He crossed the room quickly and went to the bar. He spoke to the attendant in hushed tones, knowing that Ashara would be the only one who could hear him because of her spell. "We are going to need another room for tonight, and spare no expense. Everything must be of the highest quality!"

He reached down for his belt, feeling a momentary surge of emotion, in spite of his intent to not actually do what he was about to do. He hoped that Ashara would stop him soon. "This belt is worth a good deal of money. It should cover the expenses for at least a week I am sure..."

As Eddick rose to his feet with that wounded expression on his face, Ashara's heart broke in two. What a wretched friend I am to joke about such a thing, she thought to herself, Elric was right. I CAN be diabolical!

Gwilly had finally opened her gift and read the inscription on the medallion by the time the druid reached the bar, so he did not hear the truth of their secret.

Eddick the Steady (XIV) wrote:"We are going to need another room for tonight, and spare no expense. Everything must be of the highest quality!" "This belt is worth a good deal of money. It should cover the expenses for at least a week I am sure..."

Another room? Why would he...

While Eddick was removing his belt, two other things happened at this same moment.

Gwilly accused Elric of lying...

Gwilly wrote:"You lied about the wedding, because of course you were talking about your own wedding... You just didn't want to tell me, did you?"

Then, Ashara realized what the additional room was meant for. Her eyes widened and with a strength borne of panic, she crushed the half elf's hand she had been holding. The blood drained so rapidly from her face, that she nearly passed out, just barely catching herself before falling off the pillow. Apparently she hadn't thought her lie through to the end...

"NO EDDICK, WAIT! I was just being deceptive! We're not married, we can't sleep together!"

Silence fell heavily over the Champions' table. Ashara meant to project that particular exclamation ONLY into Eddick's head, not aloud for the entire group to hear and promptly misinterpret. For a brief moment it felt as if her spirit were hovering over her body watching the events unfold, like it was trying to separate itself from the mortifying embarrassment its host was currently enduring.

"Sanuva amada ten' verne'lle?" <Will you take a fool for your wife?> She questioned him faintly and rhetorically, as she tugged on a braid.

Ashara raised her head to apologize, but found herself unable to make any eye contact. "Ummm... I'm sorry everyone, Eddick and I were...chatting telepathically."

"Please Eddick, come sit down, she urged in the druid's mind, "Gwilly's gift reveals the truth of the situation."

"I'm so glad you like your surprise, Gwilly," she spoke in the pixie's direction, trying desperately to change the subject, "We've been keeping that secret for you for some time!"

"NO EDDICK, WAIT! I was just being deceptive! We're not married, we can't sleep together!"

Eddick turned back to the attendant, barely able to contain a smile. "I apologize for making you my unwitting accomplice. Here are your wages." He slid a pair of gold coins toward the attendant and turned around like an old soldier never fails to remember to do.

"I hope you won't be angry with me for my deception, my dear. Turnabout is, after all, fair play.

He came back to the table and sat down, cross legged on his pillow next to Gwilly, and looked at her present. "Ah, so he did propose? Excellent!" He was genuinely happy to see this happen, and his face could hardly contain his joy for the both of them.

"I hope you won't be angry with me for my deception, my dear. Turnabout is, after all, fair play"

So Eddick had managed to play her for a fool once again. Humiliated by her own actions, Ashara fought back the tears that threatened to drop into her lap from her down-turned eyes.

"You're right. I'm sorry I lied to you, I just wanted you to be as surprised as the rest of them. I didn't expect you to have guessed our secret."

The priestess bit her lip, tried not to hear the chuckling of the inn's other patrons, and prayed to Lathander that SOMEONE would start talking.

No more secrets. No more lies. Lesson learned.

Elric was glad he didn't have to hide it anymore This was the reaction he'd been hoping for! Watching the pixie get that flustered was worth the wait! She was practically speechless... and that wasn't something that happened often! Watching her confusion caused Elric to laugh so hard he was nearly in tears!

"I wouldn't say LIE in the strictest sense of the word..." Elric managed to choke out. "I said, I didn't want you to ruin the surprise!" He got a slightly confused look on his face as he added, "Ok, the rest of that was a lie..."

Suddenly his laughter turned to a yelp of pain. Ashara's grip had turned quite painful. Turning to see what the problem was. Her face had gone pale and she looked ill. He knew she was nervous about today, but this reaction seemed a little extreme. Concerned, he was about to ask if she was ok, when suddenly she yelled, "NO EDDICK, WAIT! I was just being deceptive! We're not married, we can't sleep together!"

Elric's mouth dropped open. He stared at Ashara. He could feel the blood rushing to his face. Where had that come from! Then looked over to where Eddick was doing who knows what. Then he looked over at the rest of the Champions who seemed as shocked as he was. Then back to Ashara and the process started over again.

It took him a moment to realize that Ashara and Eddick must still be mind talking... He had seen her embarassed before, but this... the paleness was gone and this was a whole new shade of red! He wasn't sure... but he thought she was about to cry!

The absurdity of the whole situation started him laughing again. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear her question, but in the stunned silence of the room he heard every word. Leaning over to her, he whispered his answer, "Dur'lle ta'!" <Believe it!> and gave her a quick kiss. Then in the common tongue he added, "I can't wait to hear this story!"

Gwilly sighed at Elric, "I guess I'll forgive you this time... but NO MORE LIES!" She gave him a smirk then turned back to her new pretty. She was so enthralled by the way it sparkled that she missed all the commotion going on around her.

"I'm so glad you like your surprise, Gwilly. We've been keeping that secret for you for some time!"

The pixie looked up to see Ashara talking to her. Ashara looked slightly shaken, but Gwilly had no idea why.

"Oh, I love it, I love it!" Gwilly got up and flew over the Ashara to give her a big hug. "It was the best surprise ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The pixie did a little jig in the air to show her excitement then flew back to her seat.

"Now," she said looking both at Elric and Ashara, "I believe it's time that you two told a story! How did Elric propose? I want all the juicy details!!" Gwilly wiggled her bottom further into the cushion she was sitting on to make herself comfortable and when she was satisfied with her position she popped another piece of food into her mouth.

"I will forgive you, Ashara, if you will forgive me. I should have merely exposed the truth instead of making a fool of you. I will admit I got caught up in the moment... quite a few moments recently, I would wager. You won't have to worry about any more teasing from me. I would always tease my daughters, but sometimes I would go to far. Some faults never cease, it would seem...

...

I will be quiet now."

Eddick realized at this point, he would only be able to make things worse. He did not mean for her to get so depressed. As wise as he was, he still had a problem knowing when to shut up. Which he was going to practice at this very moment. A few things popped into his head, but he began thinking about an endless meadow, golden, ready for harvest. He thought of the wind, gently blowing, creating intricate patterns as it swirled and played with the wheat, like a woman playing with a man's hair.

And then Eddick decided that he must think about the party before he got depressed too, and Gwilly would be forced to give him a hug.

He looked over and saw the package that she got from Elric and Ashara. "Official wedding planner" Oh, she will love that!

The priestess accepted Elric's kiss and Gwilly's thanks and warm hug with much joy, and they went a long way helping her to recover from her previous embarrassment. As the pixie flew back to her seat, Eddick spoke to her through his telepathic link.

"I will forgive you, Ashara, if you will forgive me. I should have merely exposed the truth instead of making a fool of you. I will admit I got caught up in the moment... quite a few moments recently, I would wager. You won't have to worry about any more teasing from me. I would always tease my daughters, but sometimes I would go to far. Some faults never cease, it would seem...
...
I will be quiet now."

"Fools are not made, only revealed," she responded, "and I know that I am just that in many ways. Just to clairify, we would never dream of not including you in our wedding. I have thought that it would be my honor to have you walk me down the aisle, but that right belongs to my father, and I cannot imagine he would give that up. And don't worry about the teasing," she grinned. "I know you only do it out of love for us!" She met Eddick's eyes and smiled sincerely, glad to have reconciled so quickly.

"I believe it's time that you two told a story! How did Elric propose? I want all the juicy details!!"

About five minutes earlier, this would have caused the priestess to blush. Now...nothing. She smiled and felt that perhaps she was making progress!

Ashara looked to Elric, who had conveniently just filled his mouth with fruit. With that infamous mischievous glint in his eye, he motioned for the priestess to tell the tale.

"Well," she began with a mock glare at the half elf, "he asked me the evening after he, Kaber, Gwilly and myself returned from sledding in Impresk. It was the day after I completed the creation of his ring." She smiled to herself remembering, and took a sip of tea. It didn't taste anything like the weak chamomile they were drinking on that occasion, but it helped bring the memory to the forefront of her mind. "I think he actually began the conversation by telling me all the reasons he could think of for why I shouldn't be with him," she chuckled again at the preposterous thought, "so of course I thought he was trying to push me away!"

Ashara brought the teacup to her lips and stopped abruptly, turning to Elric. "Did I yell? I think I might have yelled. Hmm... If I didn't, I should have!" She took her sip and continued on. "It seems he thought I was being impulsive by choosing to be with him. He thought I was making a mistake, and he, ever the hero, was trying to save me from...well...himself!"

"Do you remember what I told you, Aratoamin <My Champion>?" She batted large, innocent eyes at Elric, while grinning wickedly. "Shall I sing your praises here for our friends? You turned such a lovely shade of scarlet!"

Elric's eyes got rather large at that threat. He could feel the weight of everyones eyes and the attention was making him a little uncomfortable. It was a little different when all the attention was on Gwilly... about them. It was entirely different when they were the center of attention. He chuckled nervously, "No no no... I remember just fine!" He was starting to feel a bit warm, and wondered how close to that fabled shade of red he was going to get before this party was over. "Besides... Not in front of the Pixie!" He whispered loud enough for the whole table to hear with a grin.

He thought back to that night. "I don't remember any 'yelling'." he answered. "The way I remember, it was more mocking and laughing. Apparently something I said struck you as hilarious! You were quite enthusiastic, but I don't think it qualified as 'yelling'."

"I'm pretty sure I heard the word idiot thown in there!" he said with a smile. "Of course, I'm still not sure if you actually said it, or I imagined it..." Casting a mock accusatory glance at the rest of the party he added, "I've heard it so often lately, I get confused."

Ashara gasped slightly at Elric's comments, and she turned to meet his eyes. "I would NEVER mock you or call you an idiot! I'm so sorry I made you feel that way..." It seemed she wanted to say much more, but considering the audience, she was content to leave it at that for the moment.

The smile that had momentarily slipped, returned to her face. "I DID find it hilarious however that you thought that I was making a mistake, but I think I did a relatively decent job pointing out the reasons that wasn't true!" The priestess winked at him and chuckled into her cup as she took another swallow of tea.

"Now where was I?" She tapped her bottom lip with her forefinger, before breaking into another grin. "Ah yes! I had just convinced Elric how truly amazing he is, and why there is no one else on Toril that I'd rather spend every moment of the rest of my life with!"

"It wasn't until we began discussing the upcoming birthdays that he told me how he felt, and asked if we could hand Gwilly the reins as Official Wedding Planner, to which I obviously and enthusiastically said yes!" Ashara couldn't completely hide her flushed cheeks as she remembered the moment. "I think that's about the gist of it. I know my storytelling skills leave a bit to be desired, but I hope that meets your approval, Gwilly!" She laughed and added, "I'm quite sure that you had a hand in making this happen as soon as it did, and hopefully Elric doesn't feel he was guilted into proposing!"

"Actually Gwilly, I have a proposal for you!" Ashara smiled and pulled a small scroll and delicate, pink tea rose from beneath the table next to her seat. The rose was almost identical to the illusion the pixie had created for her that night before the battle with The Shade. The priestess had dragged Elric to nearly a half a dozen florist shops that morning before she found just the right one to give to her friend. She handed Gwilly the flower and opened the scroll, sliding it across the table to her. On the scroll was a nearly perfect sketch of Gwilly's joyful face, grinning ear to ear. "Down in Dagadar, I told you that if I was ever to be married, that I would ask you to be my maid of honor. Well, at the time I could never have imagined that it would really happen, but my choice remains the same. What do you say, Gwilly? Can the Official Wedding Planner also be the maid of honor?"

Elric leaned back happily, as Ashara told their story. She hit all the high points. The story itself wasn't very extravagent. Not like they tell in the famous stories. In hindsight he wished he'd planned things a bit better. However planning wasn't really his style, he admitted with a chuckle.

It still surprised him that Ashara had given away one of her sketches. She didn't share them very often. It was a shame, and he had told her that too. Art that amazing should be seen more. Her skill was nothing short of phenomenal. The Gwilly on the page looked nearly as realistic as the Gwilly that had been telling the goat story, while the 'real' Gwilly was dancing on his shoulder. It still amazed him nobody had noticed the switch. At any minute the portrait looked like it might start talking. Actually he admitted to himself, he shouldn't rule out anything with the pixie around.

The expression on the real Gwilly's face was tough to pin down. Either joy or amazement. Maybe some pixie combination of the two. The way she kept staring at the mirror-like portrait and turning it this way and that made Erlic wonder if she'd even heard Ashara's question. Who was he kidding, he admitted to himself. She didn't miss nearly as much as she pretended to. If she overheard us whispering about weddings in another language, when she was in the middle of a story, he had no doubt she had heard about actually being in the wedding!

Which brought him back to Ashara's story. "Guilted?" Elric laughed at the idea. "Maybe I was just waiting till I was certain... well... pretty sure, you'd say yes!" Throwing her a wink he added "After all those nice things you said, you'd have had a hard time backing out then. Actually if I remember correctly, I think you nearly proprosed to me!"

Ashara was anxiously watching for Gwilly's reaction to the gifts when Elric spoke.

"Actually if I remember correctly, I think you nearly proprosed to me!"

She blushed a bit and grinned. "Yes, I suppose that was a bit forward of me, wasn't it? I had to though! It sounded like you were trying to talk yourself right out of being with me, and there was no WAY I was going to let you leave me again without letting you know EXACTLY how I felt!"

"Actually, the thought of proposing to you did cross my mind when I gave you that ring... Buuut, we weren't alone, and you watched me complete it, so I couldn't very well wait until later to give it to you! I must say that I'm glad you did it before you forced my hand. " The priestess laughed then added, "I'm only human you know! I don't have as much time to play games!"

The minotaur had been mostly silent since the party started. He was not brooding, but taking everything in and learning from it. This custom of celebrating the day of birth almost made him wish he knew his. On further reflection though, he realized that he would not enjoy all the attention upon himself. Instead, he smiled at the happiness and excitement of his companions.

As Gwilly finished one of her stories, Kaber slipped away, making some minor excuse and hoping nobody noticed too much. He had returned to his room to retrieve the gift he had purchased for the pixie. This was his first time gifting at one of these celebrations, and he was somewhat nervous whether he got it right. At first he was not going to bother, but the more the rest of the group talked about it, the more he thought he should. Besides, it was a good way to let Gwilly know that he no longer felt any ill feeling toward her after the incident when they first arrived in Calimport.

Kaber had searched shops the better part of the day, trying to find the right item to give. It had not been an easy task for him. People were nervous and suspicious of others, especially of a frustrated minotaur. And, pixie sized gifts were even harder to come by. He had finally convinced a man to bind several blank pages together into a small leatherbound book.

Figuring out what to use as a quill nearly left the man in tears. The fancy ones were all much too large for a pixie to use, and by the Nine Hells, what was a peacock? Eventually they had hit upon using a goldfinch feather. Which the man did not have, thus Kaber had to march across the city to find one at another shop and bring it back. Nevermind the look that shopkeeper gave the warrior when he told him what he wanted.

Now, Kaber looked at the crudely wrapped package. If she liked it, then perhaps he did understand the gift giving properly. If not, he mused, he would have to find a goblin and beat if for her amusement.

Downstairs he approached the table, holding the package in front of him delicately, as if holding an egg. Not sure what to say, he looked up and saw the others. Ashara and Elric were smirking at each other, like they had been doing a lot lately. Therogeon looked thoughtful, while Eddick seemed to have a knowing smile on his face. Gwilly's smile reach ear to ear and Kaber had the distinct impression that he missed something.

Elric blinked in surprise. "Really?" He remembered the day she gave him the ring. He looked down at it once again. She had said it was for his birthday, and he remembered that she was disappointed at his impromptu party that it wasn't ready yet. She'd never gone into detail about how it was made, but he knew she had in fact 'made' it. The ring was a powerful magical item, and he assumed it was a difficult process. It was probably his most treasured item.

She was so happy when she had given it to him, but he had suspected she wanted to say something else. He didn't know what though. So she was going to propose? That thought hadn't crossed his mind. What would his reaction have been? Would anything had changed?

He supposed that if she had asked him, he would have paniced. That would probably have started the whole foolish conversation about half-elf heritage a day early. How would that have ended? The same way? Probably. She refused to be chased away, and he never really wanted her to go.

Still, though she was able to laugh about the situation now, he knew at the time his doubts... his concerns, had upset her. How much more would she have been upset right after a marriage proposal? He remembered how nervous he'd been when he finally asked...

"I'm glad you waited." he grinned at the priestess. It appeared that Gwilly had been a little overzealous with her raspberrys and a couple seem to have gotten away from her. He picked up one of the strays that was in front of him and playfully tossed it toward the priestess' mouth. "This way I get the credit for asking!"

She caught the berry in her mouth and chewed it slowly while she smiled at him. When the Champions weren't discussing pressing business, or fighting for their lives, it was far too easy for Ashara to be distracted by the half elf, with his effortless smile and bright green eyes. "I'm glad you get the credit," she purred at him, "sometimes it's nice to be the pursued rather than the pursuer!"

The priestess began leaning toward him, when she saw the hulking minotaur standing at the head of the table, and she suddenly remembered they were surrounded by their friends. She jerked upright, and shot Elric an apologetic smirk before shifting her eyes to Kaber.

Ashara was surprised when she saw the tiny package he held carefully in his outstretched hands. Kaber had grown so much since they first set out from Impresk, but to give Gwilly a gift on her birthday was a huge leap! She hoped Gwilly would appreciate the significance of the giving, no matter what the gift might be. She smiled widely at the minotaur. "Kaber! Come sit down, Gwilly is just opening her gifts now. I'm sure she can't wait to see what you have for her!"

Kaber?! Elric started when he saw the large shape standing at the table. Then cursed himself silently. How long had he been gone? He was sure he'd seen the minotaur at the table earlier. When did he leave? How had he missed it! Kaber's the biggest one in the group! He chuckled at his own failings. If Eldorath was here and knew that the half-elf let himself get so distracted... Elric could practically feel the slap to the back of his head.

Suddenly the smile slipped a bit from his face as he tried to think back. How long was he gone? He was here when they ate in the beginning. He thought he remembered him here when Gwilly... well, her Illusion anyway was telling the goat story. Did he leave after that? He didn't remember him being here when Ashara made that scene.

Did he miss everything! Who was going to have to catch him up!?! Elric still had nightmares about having "the talk" with Kaber in Dagadar! Fortunately the minotaur hadn't said anything else on the subject since. However he was sure that Kaber would have questions now!

With smile frozen on his face he leaned over to Ashara and whispered, "Sut ann nae ro wanwa?" <How long was he gone?> While to Kaber he called out happilly, tossing him a pomegranate. "About time you got back!"

Gwilly enjoyed the story Ashara and Elric told about the proposal immensely, so much so that it had caused her to day dream a little bit about such wonderful happenings. She was shaken out of her reverie by the voice of Ashara saying her name.

"What do you say, Gwilly? Can the Official Wedding Planner also be the maid of honor?"

Gwilly blinked twice to make sure her head was out of the clouds, then a big grin spread across her face as she saw the portrait Ashara had given her.

"Oh, thank you so much!" she said as she clapped her hands. "And yes, yes, YES, of course I will be your maid of honor!! How could I possibly say no! Oh, I can't wait...!"

Gwilly turned back to her picture enjoying every detail. A shadow fell across the portrait while the pixie was in the middle of analyzing her face on the page. Gwilly looked up and saw the minotaur standing there before her with something in his hand. He had a nervous and slightly confused expression on his face. Gwilly hoped she could put him at ease, as fun as it was to watch him squirm sometimes, now was not that time.

"Is that for me, Kaber?" the pixie asked with hands outstretched to receive her supposed gift. Kaber handed it to her and she unwrapped it with glee! Inside lay a beautifully bound book just her size along with a sweet yellow quill to be used to fill the book's fresh, clean pages. "Oh my!" Gwilly gasped. "I've never had my own book before. Thank you, Kaber! I love it!" She reached up for the minotaur as she flew from her seat, rising to kiss Kaber on his sweaty forehead. "I think I'll ask Ashara to teach me to draw so that I can fill your book with beautiful pictures. Wouldn't that be great?"

Pleased that the gifts had been given, and all the secrets were out in the open, Ashara grinned as she watched Gwilly study the sketch of herself.

"Sut ann nae ro wanwa?" <How long was he gone?>

Ashara had kind of lost track of things when she started the telepathic conversation with Eddick. Thinking back now, she didn't remember seeing him while she told their story... Perhaps Gwilly would mention something so Kaber would hear of their betrothal.

"Amin caela n'uma... noa <I have no idea>", she whispered to Elric, "nan' ro uume...ummm...tene narn... <but he did not hear the story>.

Frustrated with her poor grasp of elvish, Ashara continued in common, trying to keep a straight face. "Since you, Kaber and Eddick share a room, perhaps you can explain everything to him tonight!"

"Thank you. Thank you very much..." Elric replied sarcastically. The light in her eyes said Ashara was enjoying this idea. Of course she wasn't there the last time... Still maybe he'd get lucky. It seemed unlikely that Gwilly wouldn't say something to make the whole point moot.

With an exaggerated sigh and a slumping of his shoulders. He tried to look pitiful. "Well if I must. I must... Its either that or sleep on the roof tonight." He gave a bit of a smirk, "Of course, come to think about it... The rooms are getting a little crowded, and we've had pretty nice weather here..."

"You wouldn't DARE put yourself at risk like that!" Ashara's eyes narrowed in defiance. How bad had Kaber's 'discussion' with Elric been that he would rather risk assassination than have a repeat of the talk?!

She raised an eyebrow after pondering for a moment. "Eddick was about to purchase an extra room...ummm....as a wedding gift for us... Maybe I'll take him up on the offer after all." She glanced at the druid and flashed him a half smile, knowing he could still hear every word through the Telepathy spell. "I'd stay with Gwilly of course, it will be fun teaching her to sketch! Hopefully the extra space would keep you off the rooftop..."

The priestess picked up another of the stray raspberries and popped it into her mouth. "You should know that if you are going to be taking unnecessary risks with your life, I may have to have Eddick start feeding you fish!" By the expression she wore, he could tell that she was only mostly joking.

Elric's eyebrows raised at Ashara's comments, and tried to hide his smile. He was beginning to get an idea of what was going on in the druid and priestess's heads. That helped explain Ashara's outburst earlier.

"You should know that if you are going to be taking unnecessary risks with your life, I may have to have Eddick start feeding you fish!"

That did cause him to laugh. She'd do it too! With a sidelong glance at the druid, he said "I don't know... I don't think Eddick's ever fed me anything as tasty as fish! Might be a nice change!"