Of Trolls and Homecomings Baequivia Ball
From Reydala
Contents |
Scene 1: The Elven Conundrum
By the time Aelthir managed to make it to the ballroom, the party itself was in full swing. Ball music filled the overly lavish gold and white room and the elf felt himself be hit with a wave of nostalgia from times back when he was a youth, just learning the roles and responsibilities of being a future head of the family. It was not an entirely discomforting feeling in the least. In fact, as stepped into the room, he felt his body gracefully sway and the golden cape upon his back flutter lightly and he felt all around peaceful.
Unfortunately, all things must come to an end when the gasps of shock and surprise were enough to snap the paladin out of his reverie and look toward the center of the room. Even though he was slightly shorter than the average elf in the room, there was no mistaking that black and red fedora and Aelthir began to make his way to the center of the room, fearful for what could be presently going on.
When he made it to the front of the crowd, he simply deadpanned at what he saw. Fal had his hand on his fedora, with his head tilted down. As the next song began, he pulled off his fedora, spun it on his fingers and then perfectly placed it back on his head. He then began to move his legs in awkward directions with a speed that was hard to keep up with. He then started to move his arms, no let his arms flow with the music and shuffle his legs to let himself move around the whole area.
He stopped in front of an elven woman and delivered a pelvic thrust in her direction, then proceeded to be slapped hard in the cheek. Aelthir winced slightly, but the dragonborne simply went in the direction of the slap, and his feet shuffled the floor so that he was spinning around in place. “Talk about rolling with the punches.” Aelthir muttered to himself quietly as he watched.
A moment later and he faced the woman again and started to slide backwards, and yet his legs looked as if they were moving forward. It was simply mesmerizing and shocking. Aelthir made a mental note t have Fal teach him how to dance like that sometime in the future. Sure, the dance didn’t seem as fabulous as he was used to, but there was an air of majesty around those moves.
Relieved that the dragonborne was not getting into too much trouble at the moment, the paladin turned away and prepared to make his way out of the crowd. Until he felt a hand take hold of his own and he deadpanned. Before he could open his mouth to protest, he was pulled into the dragonborne’s arms and led to the center. As Aelthir looked to the man, he noted that Fal’s eyes were shut, and he could smell some alcohol on Fal’s breath. So much for not getting into 'too much trouble'.
“Fal” the paladin said, hoping to reach the poor tipsy psion. Unfortunately, the paladin’s answer was as Fal decided to lead him around in what could easily be mistaken by a lesser noble as a waltz. To Aelthir, however; this was a man fumbling to try and dance properly, after a show where a normal person would have had no ability to walk after. The paladin tried to pull away, but Fal just had too much of a grip on the poor man. “Fal.” Aelthir repeated and tried to get the psion’s attention as well, once again ignored. Aelthir simply gave up and went along with the dance for now.
A waltz is usually done in three noble and majestic steps. However, the paladin was doing a waltz in his mind as well as with his feet. First step and Aelthir felt annoyed. Second step and Aelthir felt embarrassed that he was dragged into a dance with a guy. Third step and Aelthir felt like groaning in disbelief. Over and over, his mind cycled through these thoughts as his feet cycled through the three steps. Finally, as the song came to a close, Fal dipped the poor paladin and started to say something to say something to Aelthir which made him sigh. “Open your eyes, Sir Fal. See the terrible mistake you are making at this moment.” Aelthir said as he just glared at the dragonborne.
Fal opened his eyes and looked at the paladin. The face that Fal made would be something Aelthir would remember for years to come; followed with being dropped unceremoniously to the ground.
“Y-You!? What happened to that hot elven babe I saw in the crowd!?” Fal asked in a horrified tone as he pointed at the paladin. “B-Bro, that’s not cool!”
“You grabbed my arm! How could you not tell it was me!? I’m wearing a suit and a gold cape! I’m definitely not a lady, sir Fal!” Aelthir retorted as he sat up. “I mean seriously! Don't you know how to tell a man from a woman!?”
“Dude! There are a bunch of women wearing suits here, and you look like a woman, how was I supposed to tell the difference!?” Fal asked as he offered a hand to the paladin, his expression still overly horrified. Either way, that told Aelthir that no, Fal really didn't know how to tell the difference, and he wasn't going to teach the dragonborne, not today, not ever.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe for the fact I was saying your name multiple times?” Aelthir asked as he took Fal’s hand and got to his feet. The paladin brought up a hand to his forehead and rubbed it gently.
“Oh, I thought my dancing had just wowed the chick in my arms so much that she just knew my name.” Fal answered with a shrug. Aelthir groaned before he looked around at the people still watching and now snickering at the pair. Aelthir cleared his throat and turned to the group. “Alright ladies and gentlemen, resume your dancing, show’s over!” the paladin near hissed and the watching elves broke apart to return to their business of dancing and mingling. This had already turned out to be a long night, and it had only begun. “Come on, let’s just go sit down.” Aelthir sighed again and shook his head.
“Nah, I’m off to go flirt with more women and drink away this horrible soon to be memory.” Fal answered as he quickly moved off. “Later dude.”
“A drink sounds really good right about now.” Aelthir sighed as he turned to head toward a table, and came face to face with a certain blonde haired girl.
“There are women in suits, Aelthir! Why didn’t you make me a suit!?” She demanded to know as she got up in the paladin’s face.
“Because you needed to man down, in the worst possible way” Aelthir answered with a straight face, and immediately found himself on the floor once more. As he looked back up at Alis, he saw her munching on some snack or another in a loud and angry manner. She then turned around and stormed away, obviously upset with Aelthir.
The paladin groaned once more and stood to his feet as he rubbed his cheek. Tonight was turning into a disaster for him and he could only imagine what was coming next.
Scene 2: Property Owner Katrin?
When Aelthir was young, he always wondered what stars were made out of. His parents always told him that stars were made from the wishes of the mortal man or woman sent to their sovereign deities. Back when he was a child, such a romantic tale had enthralled him to no end. As the paladin leaned against a slightly shadowed wall of the Baequi’via courtyard, he could not help but chuckle at his reaction to his parents’ words. He still had no idea what the stars above were made from, but he had a feeling that it was nothing quite as romantic as that.
He raised a glass chalice to his lips and took a sip of the rich tasting wine inside. He was not quite sure of the name of this wine, but that was merely a minor detail tonight; as long as nothing else occurred like a half hour prior, then the night could yet still be a good one.
It was at that moment, the paladin’s ears heard the sound of footsteps falling onto the cobblestone terrain of the courtyard. The paladin passed it off for the moment, because everyone had a right to their privacy. “Big Sister Katrin” Aelthir heard, and knew instantly who was outside. The paladin looked over carefully from his shadowed location to see his young sister and the pale cleric as they walked to the center of the courtyard. “Do you know why I’ve asked you out here…?”
“No, dear sister, I do not.” Katrin answered her as she stood beside the woman. “I assume it must be important, if you could not tell me inside, amongst your peers.”
“Well, first of all; I just wanted to tell you how absolutely gorgeous you look in that gown.” Syllae said as she smiled up to the woman. “Secondly, I want to know your plans after the festival, if you’ve thought of them.” Syllae asked as she turned to face the far garden.
“Well, probably head back to Nuln and do more work for the guild.” Katrin said with a shrug. “I have my goals, as does everyone in our party.”
“I see.” Syllae started as she turned to face the cleric again. “I am reinstating my brother into the family tonight. There will be no grand announcement, but I’ve obtained the support of the branch families in the matter during a council this afternoon. He will be once more, Lord Aelthir Baequi’via…” Syllae paused and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes.
“Is this not a joyous event? Why do you seem so tense about it then?” Katrin asked as she glanced toward twitching ears and noticed Aelthir eavesdropping from the shadows. She just pretended that the paladin was not around for now, and decided she’d go with the flow for the moment.
“Well, it’s not that. I’m just nervous. Well, you see. In this short period of time, I’ve come to accept you all as extensions of my family. My home has never felt so lively.” She laughed lightly. “Although my family has always been very traditional, I find that boring and stagnant. Sir Alis and his easily embarrassed manner amuse me, so I do my best to embarrass him through his silent manner. He really needs to show more emotion. Sir Vidar needs to lighten up as well, but he is still different and interesting. Sir Fal is a bit over the top, but his personality is enough to cheer up a room; and you, Big Sister. I admire you. You’re so strong willed and kind hearted. Sure, you like playing jokes, but life without jokes is not really living. I have only known you all for a few days, but I can see how much my brother trusts and cares for all of you. He is willing to sacrifice himself to protect all of you, which means that no matter what, you’re all good people.”
Syllae sighed and opened her eyes. “I got off track here, sorry.” She said before she clucked her tongue in annoyance and for a moment. Aelthir swore to himself that he heard his little Syllae speaking, and not the family head Syllae. “To welcome Aelthir back to the family and as his wife, yourself, I wanted to get you both a special gift. However, if I give this to Aelthir, I know he’ll refuse it. He always was stubborn.” Syllae snapped her fingers and a tray appeared beside her with a parchment atop of it. Syllae took the paper in hand and looked to Katrin. “It’s not a large piece of land, but it belongs to you.” Syllae offered it to Katrin nervously. Katrin simply took the deed from Syllae’s hands questioningly.
“I… I just figured that it was big enough for you two to start your future family… when you’re ready of course.” Syllae looked away. She was obviously embarrassed about such a thing. “I know you said you aren’t ready to do that yet, but…” she paused and turned at the sound of Aelthir choking on his wine.
“A-Aelthir!?” Syllae shrieked as she stared at the flabbergasted paladin. “H-How long have you been there?! W-Were you listening to what I was saying to Katrin!?” Syllae huffed up and marched toward the still shocked paladin. “H-How dare you eavesdrop! You could have listened to the conversation if you wanted, but eavesdropping is impolite!” Syllae screeched as she grabbed Aelthir’s left ear and pulled on it roughly before she started to pull the paladin along with her.
“O-O-Ow! Watch out for the earring!” Aelthir hissed as he was dragged painfully along. Syllae raised an eyebrow and let go of his ear. As she moved his hair out of the way, she saw a diamond stud in the shape of the family crest in his left ear. She shrugged and dragged him around with his right ear instead, like a mature adult would. Once she had returned to Katrin, she pushed Aelthir beside the woman whom she assumed was his wife. Aelthir did not fight back; he simply rubbed his sore ears and tried not to fall on his face.
“This land will be saved for you for when you decide to settle down. Now there’s no need to be shy, Aelthir, because I’m not going to take no for an answer. I want you and your dearest Katrin to live close to me, so that I can see my nieces and nephews and they can grow up with my future children.” Syllae explained as she returned to her ‘holier than most’ tone of voice.
“You’re serious.” Aelthir questioned in his most deadpanned expression ever. Now he really regretted helping Katrin with her charade and her fun. He also questioned how much Katrin regretted it, after all, Aelthir did not think she expected something like this to happen and neither did he. A quick glance revealed nothing from the shocked Den’an.
“Oh blessed be, my dear. We have a place to raise our family and grow old together when we’re done travelling.” Katrin wrapped her arm around Aelthir’s shoulders and leaned in slightly. “Now I know that you’ll never leave me when I am old and frail and not as beautiful as I am today.” She spoke while she held onto the paladin who continued to have a blank, spaced out expression.
Syllae smiled lightly at this and decided to walk off toward the ball room at that. “Take care, you both. I’ll see you back inside when you’re ready. So beautiful, a tale of a paladin and his healer~” She waved and entered the room swiftly. Katrin then let go of Aelthir who let out a monstrous groan.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m going to tell her everything tomorrow.” Katrin said to the paladin as she took her life into her own hands and ruffled his hair. When he didn’t respond in any manner, she continued to talk “I just wanted to have a little more fun before we came clean to dear sister. This was unexpected though.”
“You’re going to be the death of me one day.” Aelthir laughed dryly and rubbed his ears more.
“Oh don’t be like that.” Katrin pouted as she placed the deed paper in her satchel, something to be discussed later. “You can take a little bit of teasing, can’t you, Aelthiria~?”
“Yeah, I can. One of these days, I’ll look back on this whole event and laugh. Until then, I need a drink.” Aelthir gave a dry chuckle and looked to the now empty glass. “If you’ll excuse me” He continued and walked off back toward the ballroom. There was definitely going to be some backlash over that. Not even the beautiful sight of the stars could calm him now.
Scene 3: Munchquest versus Drunkquest?
When Aelthir walked through the ballroom toward the bar that was situated at the western end of the hall, he knew that one day he would look back on this whole endeavour and laugh over it. However, today was not that day. In fact, all Aelthir wished to do was to drink enough that he would be relaxed and have an excuse to leave early. Yes, it was an embarrassing thought, but at this point, hadn’t he been through enough over the night that he could afford an excuse.
The paladin sat down at the bar and quickly ordered a glass of that specialty Leyandran wine. The bartender nodded quietly and served Aelthir a wine bottle beside it. The paladin nodded his head in thanks and poured a glass. He then heard a strange, yet familiar sound from beside him. He glanced to the left and saw a blonde haired girl munching on some appetizer or another. “Ah, Lady Alis” Aelthir said calmly as he nodded to her. The woman stopped munching for a moment to take a big swig from her bottle of alcohol, and then munched some more. Aelthir sighed lightly and gulped down his chalice of wine. “Is something bothering you?” He asked her as he refilled his glass daintily. The girl just took another swig of her drink and shot a glance toward the paladin, as if to tell him the obvious reasons. Aelthir nodded his head and gulped down his drink. “For what it’s worth, you look exquisite this evening, Lady Alis.” Aelthir answered the silent comment and refilled the glass. “You needed to man down, and you certainly did so.” Aelthir commented and looked to her for a moment. The avenger continued to say nothing, and Aelthir returned his attention to his drink to find that someone had placed a somewhat large plate of cheese and crackers before him. Most likely the bartender and Aelthir thanked the man with a gracious bow of his head.
Aelthir shifted the plate over so that Alis could reach it as well before he took a cracker, a small piece of Leyandran cheese and began to eat it with a quiet munching sound. The silent avenger lowered her drink and took a snack for herself. The paladin kept silent as he began to sip his next glass. He was already feeling a little off kilter, and did not wish to make himself sick. He may have wanted a reason to leave early, but he did not wish for it to be in an embarrassing manner.
“It’s unusual to see you drink.” Alis began as she reached for another snack. “What is troubling you, Aelthir?”
“Lady Katrin is a property owner now.” Aelthir sipped at his drink again, he just knew that Alis raised an eyebrow to that. “Trust me, it is not a tale to talk about at this moment, and add in Fal thought I was a woman earlier and I’m being reinstated into the family.”
“Well, on both accounts, you need to man up Lady Aelthiria.” Alis answered before she began to munch once more.
“We had this conversation earlier, Sir Alis.” Aelthir reached over for another snack as well.
“Yes, and it seems we are both failing at this, miserably.” She responded between bites. “Completely failing.”
“And how do you suppose we repair this situation, Lady Alis?” Aelthir asked as he looked to his empty wine bottle. “Tender, might you spare me another bottle of this delicious wine?” he requested simply. The bartender nodded and gave him another bottle. The paladin poured another glass and drank it as quick as the others were.
“As it stands, Aelthir, we cannot.” Alis paused to take another swig. “And it pisses me the hell off. I mean, I may not be the most voluptuous girl in the world, but I am still growing. Even so, I still do not understand how Syllae can think of me as a man? Especially now! I am not in a cloak; I am in a fucking dress!” Alis cursed quietly as she looked to the paladin. “Explain this, Aelthir!”
“I believe the answer is quite simple, Lady Alis.” Aelthir paused to fill up his glass once more. “After all, Syllae explained it quite well, earlier this afternoon, before she—“
“You will stop the hell right there, paladin.” Alis answered as her eyes drooped into a half glare. “Do not bring up earlier, because I am fully aware, more than you at what happened earlier.”
“You’re right, it is improper to bring up the fact you got kissed by my younger sister because of your; and I quote: well developed abs, short hair and rugged good looks.” He stopped talking to burst out giggling at her as she half glared even harder at him. “Oh, so adorable manly glare” Aelthir teased and pinched her cheeks for a moment, only to be shoved onto the floor for the second time that night by the Avenger.
“When I am sober, I am going to kick your ass!” Alis cursed at him as she stared at the paladin who was now sprawled out on the floor.
“When you’re sober, you will not remember this, Lady Alis, because pardon me for being brutally blunt, but you’re wasted.” Aelthir kept giggling as he slowly crawled back into his seat. “Okay… maybe I’m wasted.” Aelthir took his wine glass and sipped at it now.
“Yes, Aelthir, you’re wasted too; and I don’t know about you, but I think it’s about time I leave for the evening before I make a fool of myself.” Alis said as she carefully stood up, drink in hand.
“Alright, I’ll make sure to give Syllae a good night kiss, from her rugged knight.” Aelthir burst out into another fit of giggles. Alis slapped Aelthir as hard as she could and then left the room while the paladin rubbed his cheek, painfully.
Aelthir continued to giggle as he sipped at his drink. He made a mental note to apologize to Alis, once morning arrived, but now was not the time. He smiled and began to tap a finger against the bar to the tune of the music. He was so calm for the moment; he didn’t notice someone drape their arm around his shoulder until the same person took his bottle of wine and looked at it. “So, what are you drinking, Lord Aelthiria?” Katrin asked in a curious tone as she looked to the bottle.
“Uh… some sort of local speciality wine, it has the taste of both white and purple grapes, bitter and yet sweet to the palate.” Aelthir answered her as he turned his head slightly in her direction and giggled. “I don’t remember the name of it right now.”
“I see, interesting.” Katrin said as she raised the bottle to her lips and drank a sip of it. “It tastes pretty good, actually.” Katrin remarked and placed the bottle back down in front of him. “Thanks for the information.”
That was all it took for Aelthir’s expression to become increasingly suspicious. “…Why are you asking, Lady Katrin?” he asked, almost hesitantly, because although he was drunk, he had a feeling that he was not going to like the answer.
“Oh, I just figured that it would be a nice gesture to assist a friend in one of his few indulgences.” Katrin gave a wide smile as if she was trying to say ‘I am innocent, I swear’. “Nothing bad, Aelthir; I promise you.” She then pulled away from him and walked off. Aelthir giggled again and returned to his drink; of course, whatever Katrin intended would probably make the paladin groan when he found out, but until then, he just wanted to relax.
Scene 4: Vidar the Benevolent Giant?
Not long after Alis left the ball and Katrin posed the strange question to the paladin, Aelthir found himself no longer drinking the wine, but merely watching the ball itself. All in all, he figured that people were having fun, but he did remark that the chandelier needed to stop spinning like that. It did not make for any awesome effect, nay if anything; it was gaudy beyond all belief and something he would need to bring up to his sister in the morning.
He focus shifted to a table where he saw his sister as she sat with the human giant, her retainer and the ghostly cleric now. While Katrin, Syllae and Ansr’onna talked away about heavens knows what, the poor giant sat in boredom as he listlessly looked around the room. Aelthir knew that Vidar would likely end up like this, and the paladin should have likely let him and Alis both skip the party, but there was only a short couple hours left before the closing ceremonies anyway. Also, was that a sword on Vidar’s back, drunk or not, Aelthir knew that it probably was.
His gaze shifted to the dance floor, where the ballroom dancing was still going on strongly, and he knew it would continue this way until the very end. The paladin would have walked over and asked one of the three ladies to a dance, but he knew he was too drunk to even walk over there safely, let alone dance with someone.
In fact, when Aelthir felt the ground shake, he simply assumed it was his body shaking violently after all of the alcohol he drank just a few moments ago; and when he heard a loud roar in the air, he thought it was his stomach, trying to not reject the alcohol which was being filtered into his system. However, when a wall came crashing down and a ten foot creature stood on top of the rubble, Aelthir knew that either he was hallucinating, or there was danger. The sudden screams and panic which filled the room suggested that it was the latter. Instinct alone forced the paladin to try and move so he could intercept the beast, but intoxication prevented it. Quickly Ansr’onna was on her feet and looked as if she was issuing orders to the trio at the table.
Aelthir could not hold back a smirk as he watched Vidar. The human stood up, cracked his knuckles and drew his sword. Between the sounds of the people who tried to exit the room and the giant itself, Aelthir was unsure if Vidar screamed out as he basically leaped at the giant with the intent to cleave through it. The giant merely threw a fist at the side of Vidar’s blade and knocked it aside. Vidar changed the velocity of his blade and swung toward the beast’s side. The giant roared out again and aimed a fist at Vidar’s skull at the same time. The berserker was connected by the attack and thrown back a few feet. The man’s sword landed a few feet away from him.
A glance to the side revealed that the three women had mostly herded out the other guests, which left only them, himself, Vidar and the giant which started to charge at Vidar now, each step that the beast took caused everything to rattle about violently. The berserker, now without blade was quickly onto his feet, ran back at the giant and weaved to the left. Aelthir watched with amusement as the still giant, but smaller than the real giant berserker grabbed onto the beast’s arm and flipped it onto its back, through several tables in the center of the room. The room rumbled once more, and Vidar jumped out of the way as the chandelier fell from the ceiling. The light fixture crashed into the giant, but it wasn’t enough to fell the giant.
Vidar continued to grin as the giant stood back up and charged him once more. A hop to the left and Vidar watched the giant as it rushed past him toward the wall. As soon as it stopped and started to turn, Vidar raced at the giant as fast as his legs pushed him. The giant roared in anger once more as Vidar tackled the creature through the nearby wall and into the main courtyard.
“Hey! I can’t see the fight now!” Aelthir complained before the wall between the two holes caved in. “That’s better, carry on!” the paladin raised an empty wine glass toward the two combatants now and resumed watching in silence.
Vidar stood by the creature and slammed his fist into the giant’s face repeatedly. The giant reached for Vidar with both of its massive arms and grabbed hold of him. Vidar struggled to get free and stomped down as hard as he could on the giant’s chest. The giant squeezed Vidar in its grip, and the berserker stomped down on the giant’s chest for a second time. The giant refused to relent though as it held onto Vidar, and Vidar stomped on the giant’s chest. Vidar felt his breath shortened and changed his approach. He rammed his heels into the giant’s arms and the giant was forced to let go of the berserker. Vidar was not satisfied with this and stomped repeatedly on the giant’s face.
“Aelthir, it’s time to go.” The drunken paladin heard Katrin from beside him and he glanced over with a frown. “Aelthir, I’m serious. It’s not safe here.”
“Vidar is stomping a mudhole in the giant. How can you stop me from watching this? I mean just look at it, this is quality entertainment!” The paladin argued and drunkenly tried to point in the direction of Vidar and the Giant. Unfortunately, his arm pointed in the opposite direction.
“Fine, watch and if the ceiling collapses on you, you can deal with the backlash from Syllae’s anger and a million ‘I told you so’ from me.” Katrin shrugged.
“…Maybe you’re right. Let’s go, Lady Katrin.” The paladin slurred and hopped down from the stool. He started to giggle again and stumbled toward the door, poor Katrin behind him, holding onto his shoulders so he wouldn’t fall flat on his face, at least in the ballroom.
A few minutes later, Vidar entered the hallway and looked to Syllae. His suit was torn in a few places, and it was covered in blood. “You’ll need to get people to move the body.” Vidar’s voice was gruff as he spoke. He passed Syllae after that single line and ignored the cheering elves as he chose to retire for the evening.
“A perfect end, to a perfect ball” Aelthir murmured as he took a step forward and proceeded to black out at that.
