Of Trolls and Homecomings Day 1
From Reydala
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Of Trolls and Homecomings: Day 1
Timeline: 24th of Chiarore
Scene 1: A Rough Arrival
The sky was clear for most of the trip to Leyandra, not that Aelthir knew this; as for the majority of the journey it seemed that his comrades had kept him drugged; likely to ensure that their mark did not escape on them, but possibly, because they were all caring jerks. When he finally gained a sense of conscious thought, he noticed that his body tied up with copious amounts of silken rope and that he was being dragged along the ground, somewhere in Allrevan. The city had not changed much since he left, thirty years ago. However, the paladin found it difficult to know exactly in what district the party was in, mainly because all he could see was up. He could only assume they were en route to the Baequi’via manor, in the northern end of the city.
He glanced to his kidnappers and noticed that only four of the five (excluding himself) were present. He could only assume that the younger elf had returned to see her parents. As he breathed in the cool Leyandran air, he felt a sense of clarity fill his head. He glanced to the rope again and followed it to the mountain of muscle that held onto the rope with a free hand. The man, Vidar turned his head back and smirked lightly. “Have a good sleep, princess?” he asked as he tugged on the rope for good measure.
“Not really, no.” Aelthir squirmed against his rope bindings with futility. “Man, you all are assholes… did you really have to drug me?” he asked as he frowned.
“You drugged Alis, so you thought of the same thing, dude.” Fal answered as the group passed through an iron gate. “Welcome home, dude.” Fal said as he turned his attention forward again.
“I never said I wasn’t an asshole.” Aelthir answered before Katrin stepped up to him and untied his bindings. Aelthir thought for a moment about escaping, but as he stood up and glanced behind him, he knew there was no escape.
He took a deep breath as a woman appeared in the distance. Even after all those years, he recognized his little sister. She adorned long blonde hair, and was maybe a foot taller from the last time he had seen her. Her skin was pale, and Aelthir could not tell if that was her natural complexion or if she was wearing makeup. He’d have to try and get the brand name if it was the latter! Her gown was made of blackened silk with a trim that seemed like was made of pure gold thread.
As they got closer to the woman, Aelthir could feel the anger simply pouring out from the woman’s amber eyes. All of it, he knew was directed at him. Thus, he chose to be brave and stepped out in front of the group. “Syllae, how have you been?” he asked her calmly as he made it to her. Her response was to slap Aelthir in the face, her expression unchanged as his face jolted to the left.
“Silence, brother” she demanded of the fabulous one before she looked toward the party standing behind him. “So, these are the people who took the job back in Crossamar, Nuln.” She spoke out loud as her gaze travelled among the group. It stopped at Vidar and her eyes grew to the size of saucers. “Y-Y-You’re huge!” she gasped, all her composure lost in a mere instant.
Aelthir cleared his throat slightly and the woman stood up straight, her composure returned as fast as it had been lost. “Alright, thank you for completing the job. You may leave now and retrieve your pay at your earliest convenience.” She spoke in as commanding of a tone as she was able to muster.
“Syllae… these are my companions, even if they are assholes for kidnapping me. You cannot just have them take me all the way here and then kick them out like that.” Aelthir spoke with a sigh. He just shook his head slightly and was rewarded with another loud slap to the jaw.
“I said silence, big brother. And watch your tone! You are a Baequi’via, and among ladies.” Syllae glared up at her brother for a moment. She sighed and looked to the other members of the group. “However, you do hold a viable point. If you are my brother’s entourage that I have heard about from my wings, then I suppose it would be rude to just kick you out of my home.” She turned and walked to Fal. “Aelthir Baequi’via. What have mother and father taught you about keeping your pets on a leash!?” Syllae scolded as she proceeded to scratch under Fal’s chin.
Fal rubbed his cheek against hers and whispered “Purr, purr, bitch, purr, purr” into her ear. Syllae jumped away from Fal and moved behind Aelthir. She had lost her composure for the second time in less than five minutes.
“He’s not my pet, he’s a trusted companion.” Aelthir sighed again. This was going to be a long visit. Syllae quickly moved over toward the door as she regained her composure for the second time, near instantly.
“Big Brother, I will see you and your guests in the sitting room in fifteen minutes, Dreraan will show you the way. I will make the arrangements for your guests.” She finished as she disappeared into the manor.
“Aelthir… you never told me your sister was pocket sized. Watching her bully you around was so adorable!” Vidar quipped at the paladin who simply walked inside. The others followed suit.
Scene 2: Skewed Image's First Exploits
As the party entered the manor, a taller high elf wearing a black tuxedo stood there in waiting. “Welcome, Sir Aelthir and Guests. I am instructed to bring you to the sitting room. I would’ve thought that you know where that is, Master Aelthir… then again, you never were one for remembering just where you were now were you.” The butler commented before he turned around and started to walk toward the sitting room.
“Hey. Don’t…!” Fal began, being silenced as Aelthir raised an arm in front of the dragonborne. Aelthir merely shook his head and followed the man. The party merely followed him and looked around. “Hey, this is a pretty fancy place you have here.” Fal said out loud as he whistled.
“The Baequi’via Estate has existed for approximately one thousand years, and in the four generations of the main family, all have lived on this estate for at least some amount of time. The house has been rebuilt once, after being destroyed in a fire approximately two hundred years ago. It houses the Baequi’via Haberdashery, the family tailoring shoppe that requires an appointment to even browse materials.” Aelthir recited as if he had just summarized an old lesson.
“Glad to see you bothered to even remember that much, Master Aelthir.” The butler spit out as the group entered the sitting room. “Please be seated Mistress Syllae will be with you momentarily.” He said before he left the room.
Aelthir moved to the large couch and sat down. Next to him sat Katrin, beside her sat Fal. In the largest chair of the room, Vidar sat down, and Alis sat in a chair near the couch. “It seems you’re not on their best side, Aelthir.” Alis commented as she relaxed in the chair, her hood still over her face.
“Well, I have been gone for thirty years almost and Lady Syllae had to take my place. It’s expected, so if anyone insults me, let it rest.” Aelthir answered and closed his eyes for a moment. Soon Syllae would enter and the festivities would truly begin.
As if on cue, the footsteps of a small elf filled the room and Aelthir opened his eyes once more. The blonde haired woman finally stopped and took a good look. “Big Brother, where are your manners?” Syllae asked suddenly as she rested her gaze on her older brother.
“Ah!” Aelthir stood up. “To my right is Katrin Vielnye, beside her is Fal Indelstan, whom you are already acquainted with.” He started and motioned over to the De’nan and the Dragonborne for a moment. “Over at the chairs are Alis Selne and Vidar Caerwyn. Everyone, meet my sister, Lady Syllae Baequi’via.” Aelthir sat back down after.
“Now that we are acquainted, I have allotted rooms accordingly. First, I had to make special arrangements for your bodyguard here, as no bed in this house is large enough for him. He will take the room across from yours, Big Brother and a bed will arrive this afternoon.” Syllae pointed to Vidar. She then shifted her pointing hand to Alis. “Your squire can sleep in the room to the left to Sir Vidar. I hope your servant finds the room to his satisfaction.” She said as she looked to Alis, whom by now had her hands clenched. “I know this amount of grace and fabulous charm is one you are unused to, Sir Alis… but even though you are only human, I assume you’ve learned a thing or two from you elfin master.”
She then pointed toward Fal. “Your pet… I mean, Sir Fal will have the room to the right of yours, and of course, Lady Katrin and yourself will lie in your bedroom, my dearest brother.” She spoke, and Aelthir swore to himself, that she spoke that last part with a bit of spite behind it. However, there was a far more pressing question that he needed answered.
“W-Wait. Why is Lady Katrin sleeping in my room, sister?” Aelthir asked, his expression deadpanning.
Syllae’s expression became one of pure honest confusion, as if that was an obvious thing. “Well, I’m not going to separate husband and wife, even if your wife is not an elfish woman, she is still your wife, and it would be a crime to separate you two. I find it odd that you have different last names, but I presume it is because you are afraid everyone would look down upon her, because she is not elven.”
“Wife…?” Aelthir asked as he linked a few times. “She’s not my…” he started to say, only to be silenced by Katrin’s arm draped over his shoulders and the woman closer to him.
“Oh, blessed be! Thank you, young sister! We were so worried you wouldn’t approve of us!” she said as she held onto the elven paladin. “Do you hear that, dear Aelthiria? Now I can take your name and we’ll be happy~” She said in an affectionate tone to the paladin who looked like he just had a seizure and a mind crush all at once. She then looked at Syllae and said “Don’t mind him, he’s still shy” Before she pulled on Aelthir’s cheeks. He still didn’t respond.
“Aelthria?” she poked Aelthir’s arm and continued to smirk. “Hey! Wake up! Stop being so shy!” she continued as she poked his arm again. She then leaned in close to his ear and whispered something quietly. Whatever she whispered, it was enough to turn the elfish paladin’s face red and be on his feet.
“Uh, I’m going to uh… go explore the old home, yeah!” Aelthir said in a nervous manner before he dashed out of the room as fast as his legs could take him.
“He hasn’t changed much in thirty years.” Syllae sighed and rubbed her forehead. “He was just as shy back when we were young. I couldn’t even give him a sisterly kiss on the cheek without him running off like that. Don't worry though, he'll come around eventually. If you choose to look for him, he’ll be easily found in his old workshop. All you need to do is go up to the third floor and go all the way to the north end. You’ll recognize it. I had my parents keep it the same and used it as my workshop as I learned. I miss him, you know.” She paused as the last words came out of her mouth, and then clucked her tongue in annoyance. “…If you’ll excuse me, I have others issues to attend to! Have Aelthir show you to your rooms!” she said in an annoyed tone as she stormed out of the room.
The group quickly glanced to one another and silently nodded their heads. In unison they stood to their feet and began to search for the room Aelthir had chosen to hide himself. Their fun was nowhere near complete yet. If Syllae was that quick to judge, they were going to abuse it.
Scene 3: It All Goes South
As Aelthir stood in his old workshop, memories of his youth flowed through the paladin’s mind. It was in this very room that Aelthir first learned to dance. It was in this very room that Aelthir first chanted the Ninth-Thread Cloth Works prayer. The room seemed far simpler than the extravagant paladin would commonly have around him with white walls with silver designs along the border of the ceiling. Along the walls were oak cabinets, filled with cloth and other tools for the expert and aspiring tailor as he remembered and across from the door was a wooden table, where Aelthir remembered breaking many a sewing needle.
“I am the soul of my needle. Cloth is my body, thread is my blood. I have tailored over a thousand pieces of cloth. I have withstood mistakes to create many masterpieces. Yet this body will never wear any. So as I pray; Ninth-Thread Cloth Works.” He recited to himself as he moved over to craft table. He opened the drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. It was old and tattered, but it was still intact. “I’m not quite there yet for the second version of the prayer I wrote. Maybe in a few years.” He murmured as he opened it up and read it out loud.
“My body is made out of cloth. My blood is made out of thread and my heart out of spools. I’ve crafted countless items. Not once ever truly seeing. Not once ever truly sewing. The tailor here lies alone, forging my craft on a hill of needles. Only then will my work be made from Divine Cloth. Ninth-Divine Cloth Works.”
Aelthir chuckled and placed the paper back in the drawer. “So many memories.” He whispered before a loud bang filled his senses. “What the!?” he jumped in surprise and looked down to see a door on the ground at his feet. He kneeled down by the handle to investigate better, out of shock more than anything. His eyes went wide as the lock seemed to simply sink into itself and then it started to expand rapidly and finally burst into pieces which flew into the paladin’s hair. As Aelthir reached into his hair and pulled out one of the pieces, he deadpanned. “OH MY GOD, IT’S ALL IN MY HAIR!” he shrieked out in utter terror. He hadn’t even noticed his four comrades who were also in the room as he started to remove the broken parts of the lock from his hair.
Narrowly a minute had passed when a woman yelled out the paladin’s name angrily from the doorway. Aelthir’s shifted his gaze over toward the door where he finally noticed his four comrades and his sister. Each of his comrades had an expression of pride and amusement he noted as he glanced at them. Finally, his gaze stopped at his sister, and he only wondered what he was in trouble for now.
“What is going on here!?” she demand as she took a step in and looked between he and the Den’an cleric who had managed to be near a wall now. The cleric fanned herself down gently with her hand and Syllae’s expression turned to one of curiosity. “O-Oh… I think the servants have told me about something like this.” The young head of the family gasped out as a hand moved to cover her mouth.
“Oh? What have they been telling you, little sister~?” The blue cleric asked in a gossiping tone as she looked toward the elfin woman. The Den’an woman had an expression of fatigue, which to her comrades was obviously fake, but to the elfin girl, completely believable. Aelthir was quick to catch onto Katrin’s expression and instantly turned red “W-Wait!? What do you think we were doing!?” he stammered out as he huffed up!
Syllae huffed up back and stormed toward the fabulous paladin. She pressed her finger firmly into the paladin’s armoured chest and glared up at her older brother. “Just because I accept you and your wife, does not mean you and she can just fool around with your lovemaking anywhere in my house! If you want to perform these acts with her, at least perform them in your bedroom!” the woman scolded her older brother who simply continued to blush profusely, unable to say anything.
“I told him the same thing, little sister, but unfortunately when my Aelthiria starts, he just cannot stop himself.” Katrin continued with a smirk, which only grew as Aelthir glared in her direction. “There’s no need to deny it, Aelthiria. I just wish you would show that kind of assertiveness in public~” Katrin continued as Aelthir’s glare slowly turned into a deadpan expression, she had almost broken him.
“I’m talking to you, Big Brother!” Syllae snapped at him as she turned the paladin’s gaze back to her. “You’ve ogled your wife enough for now, pay attention!” She continued and Aelthir’s face became completely blank. Both he and his sister were thoroughly trolled for the second time this afternoon and he was broken again as a result.
“Whatever. I’m leaving.” She said before she marched her way back toward the door. She then noticed the other trio and stopped. “What are you three doing here?” she asked them in an angry tone.
Vidar shrugged and said “Well, when Sir Aelthir shrieked out, we thought something was wrong, and as his bodyguard, it is my job to check on him. Sir Short Fry was with me at the time, as was Fal.” He motioned to the Dragonborne and the Avenger.
Alis tried hard to not react to Vidar’s words right now as she continued to stare forward angrily. Syllae noted Alis’ stare and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know, Sir Alis; I know. It must be hard for you to see someone you look up to act so shamefully in his sister’s own home. No respect whatsoever.” She shook her head and squeezed Alis’ shoulder gently. “Be strong, young man.” She then left the room swiftly, obviously annoyed over this situation.
Fal casually skated over to the paladin and waved his hand in front of Aelthir’s face. He then scratched his chin for a moment as he contemplated something. He then grabbed Aelthir’s shirt and backhanded the elfin paladin, hard. He let go of the paladin and watched him crumple to the ground. “Well I guess he’s… down for the count.” Fal said in a very chill tone that cued a chorus of groans. Without another word after, the party just exited the room and left the broken paladin to wake up at his convenience.
