"Ok, stop me if you've heard this one before. Two mages, a priest of Helm, and a swordswoman walk into a bar…"

"Immy."

"Oh, fine. But I'm telling you, it's a classic…"

The four travelers, exhausted and covered in dust from a long, tiring day on the road, pushed their way through the door into the cacophonous din of the Copper Coronet, easily the rowdiest, most raucous bar in all of Athkatla – which was saying something, for the City of Coin certainly had its share of loud and unruly drinking establishments.

The leader of the group, a brunette with a pair of swords strapped to her back, led the way over to the counter at one end of the Coronet's main room, dodging stumbling patrons and harried waitresses as she made the treacherous crossing. She threw an elbow across the heavy wooden counter once she'd reached it and leaned forward, slapping a few coins onto the surface and nudging them forward. "Long time no see, Bernard. The usual, if you wouldn't mind."

The portly barkeep looked up at the woman's slim hand, then at her smiling face, which, though it had been years since he'd seen it last, looked much the same as it always had. He grinned back at her. "The usual it is. What's it been? Nine years? Ten, since you last been down this way?"

"Ten," she said with a nod. "Would've been longer. We were supposed to be off to Sembia, but Nalia got a letter saying we needed to put that on hold and come here instead. Something about everyone around these parts thinking we were dead."

Bernard scoffed. "Aye. Heard some talk about that. No one with any brains believes it, o'course. After all you and the rest been through, a body'd have to be some kinda fool to assume the worst had happened to ye."

"Well, Amn's never had any shortage of fools."

Bernard snickered at the joke, but sobered almost immediately. "Too right. You weeded a bunch out when you were here last, but you been gone a whiles. They grew back. S'pose it's time to be showin' some folk the error of their thinkin' an' all that, eh?"

The woman shrugged then winked. "Something like that." She pushed over a few more coins and then jerked a thumb towards the rest of her companions. They'd gotten themselves a table nearby. It hadn't been hard. At the sight of their weapons and armor – especially the Helmite geared in full, shining battle-plate – the Coronet's patrons had seen more than fit to give the group a wide berth. "The usual for them, too, all right?" she said, gesturing towards the coins she'd just nudged across.

"Of course, lass."

"What do you mean 'we're dead?' I think the fact that I'm sitting here talking to the rest of you, drinking a mug of Bernard's ale – which is a lot more watered down than I remember it being, by the way – is a pretty strong testament to the fact that I'm still alive… i.e. not dead."

"I didn't mean physically dead, Enara. It's just… we've been gone so long, that the Athkatlan ruling council declared us… well… dead in absentia. They just figured we weren't ever coming back."

"They can -do- that?"

"Well, what did you expect? We all just packed up one day, left no instructions, and walked away from everything we had here in Amn."

"It is not as if we severed all ties. The Order knew where we were going. We had their blessing."

"I just mean that we… well, we left a lot of loose ends behind. Like my family's keep, for example."

"Except that's just it, Nals. Your father's advisor-guy was supposed to be taking care of all that."

"And he was, Imoen, until… well, until he died. And -when- he died, there was no one left to steward the lands in our absence, so of course the Roenalls figured they could make a grab for everything."

"Even with Isaea swinging from the gallows?"

"Especially with him gone. They were willing to play nice before, but after we exposed him for the sniveling, underhanded little bastard he was, there was no way they were going to pull any punches after that. No, with us out of the way, they made a play for the lands, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let that pack of lowborn jackals have them."

"She's gotten crotchety in her old age, hasn't she?"

"Imoen."

"What, I'm just saying, you never used to be this cranky. Would you like us to get you a cup of tea? Maybe a little lie down?"

"Enara?"

"Hmm?"

"I can't reach. Smack her for me, would you?"

"Gladly."

The brunette reached out and thumped her younger sister solidly on the back of the head, causing her to dribble a tiny bit of ale out of the corner of her mouth.

"Ow!" She glared daggers at her sibling then polled the rest of the table for some sympathy but found only smug grins staring back at her. "Hate you guys."

Enara sighed. "You know, just when I thought we'd managed to solve all these messes with feuding families and political intrigue and all that crap, they pull us back in."

"It is the way of Amn, my love," the Helmite replied with a sigh of his own. He stroked his beard – a habit whenever he was upset. "The 'nobles' of this place are far too quick to turn against each other when they detect even the slightest hint of weakness. Thankfully, the possessions we left with the Order for safekeeping are still intact, but I am afraid that precious little else remains. Most of what we had here in Amn has been seized."

"Anomen. Dear. I know this is where you grew up, so, no offense or anything, but this place sucks."

He chuckled. "None taken."

"Oh, come on, Nar, it's not so bad. It's just like old times. Well, except for the torture and all."

"Imoen, I continue to be astounded by your ability to remain chipper in the face of… everything."

"It's a gift, Nalia."

"Regardless, I'm going to go down to the Council Hall and see about being declared un-dead."

"Won't that make us flesh-eating zombies?"

Anomen rolled his eyes, sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Helm preserve us. All right, then. While the Lady de'Arnisse speaks to the Council about our situation, I believe I shall meet with the First Watcher and see what he has to say about the matter. I can only hope he has some insight."

"And if not?"

"One bridge at a time, Enara. One bridge at a time."

"That's all well and good, but what are Immy and I supposed to do while the two of you are hobnobbing with all the muckymucks?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Mucky… mucks?"

Nalia quickly and gracefully hid a snicker behind her hand, then looked up, once again the stern, proper noblewoman. "Perhaps it's best if the both of you just… stay here. I'm a bit leery about turning the two of you loose, unsupervised, upon an unsuspecting Athkatla."

"I see no need for such harsh measures. I'm quite certain Enara will ensure that the both of them remain on their best behavior."

"Of course. Best behavior."