Sorry if this one's a little messy. Thanks for all the faves, reviews always more than welcome!
My glass shattered on the floor, making the poor bartender start and the few other people around fall silent.
"Where is he?!" I asked, no, rather yelled.
"But…"
"I need to know!"
The Wendersnaven… Grobnar…
"Upstairs… but really, I can't tell you more…"
I slammed three gold coins and a few coppers on the table, and Reigar immediately changed his mind.
"The second room to the left."
As I rushed upstairs, I didn't care that that was almost all my money, nor that I didn't have any more coin for a passage on the ship to Narfell or even for a room at the inn. I needed to find out if my friend has survived. My best friend, Grobnar Gnomehands.
I have to tell you some more about this here, I guess. When I first met him, on my way to Old Owl Well near Neverwinter City, all that my companions wanted was run for their lives, especially after he began telling us how to write a song at around noon, and near midnight he was still merrily talking, but by then about a spring-mounted mechanical shield and his codpiece. The weird thing was, while my companions had fallen asleep (I noticed only after Grobnar stopped chattering as he remembered to breathe), I didn't. I listened intently, as I love telling tales too, though I'm not as far as good as he was. I never learnt how to tell a story well, see, even now I keep on switching. So, there he was, Grobnar Gnomehands, standing around his little campsite. A gnome with lovely… err, I mean lively brown eyes and frizzy blonde hair, mandolin in hand.
"Amazing!" I told him once he finished "I used to be known as pretty much of a tale teller around my village, but this… you are wonderful!"
No, I'm not a bard, as I have already told you. In fact, I have no idea what I am, though some called me a thief just because I like disassembling stuff. But hey, I'm just curious! I want to know how things work! Um, come to think of it, I even disassembled Grobnar's mandolin once, but he somehow managed to reassemble it, something that I would have never been able to do. I guess we make up for each other well!
So, after I had praised Grobnar in every possible way, Khelgar Ironfist, my honorable dwarven fighter friend and strong protector, rubbed his eyes, stirred, and stared at me incredulously.
"Ye calling this amazing, lass?! I say it's time we smash his head and…"
"Oooh" Grobnar's eyes lit up as he clapped his hands "come to think of it, I nearly had my head smashed once! So, there was this angry ogre and…"
"Grobnar" I smiled at him "you'll tell us on the way, okay? We're going to Old Owl Well, it will take a while, so you'll be able to!"
"What?!" Khelgar seemed shocked "you mean he's…"
"But of course!" I replied "come along, Grobnar, you'll find plenty of material for new songs if you come with us, and your tales will keep us entertained all the way!"
"Why, thank you! I remember a kind person like you who…"
"Remember to tell us! Now, let's go and…"
"He's really coming?!" Neeshka, a tiefling rogue I started to become good friends with, seemed more than irritated "will you excuse me if I go back to your uncle's tavern and have a drink?"
For my uncle, Duncan, used to run a tavern in Neverwinter.
"But Neeshka, it's far! You won't catch up with us any more!"
"Don't worry!" and she ran off. I still have no idea why she did so.
Elanee, the elven druid I have already told you about, just sighed as she picked up her gear.
As for me, I could already tell I was going to love Grobnar. And in fact, during our long journeys, he was the one who always managed to cheer me up, and he was by my side in every single battle I fought. When I last saw him after the final showdown with the King of Shadows, as the Vale of Merdelain was collapsing, he was trying to get back to one of his creations, a blade golem, and I screamed for him to let it go, then rocks fell and I was sure he had died…
But at the inn at Immilmar, I saw a glimmer of hope. For Grobnar had an invisible instrument too (I'll tell you more later), and I was pretty sure gnome bards with such incredible gear weren't very common.
I knocked on the second door to the left.
"In a second, oh yes!" the happy, cheerful voice made me shiver.
I perceived the door opening as painfully slow. Then…
"Oh my" he said, as he stood there, dressed in just a bathrobe "you look almost exactly like a friend of mine!"
Typical. But I was too shaken up to start trying to convince him, so instead I threw myself at him knocking him to the ground (yeah, as I'm a half-elf, he's very much shorter than me, but I didn't care), and hugged him tightly.
"My, my lady!"
"Grobnar! You're alive!" I felt tears of joy gathering in my eyes "and it's me, Lailli, Lailli Heyrand!"
We somehow managed to pull ourselves up to our knees, and I still held one of his hands, as I kept on wiping my eyes with my sleeve.
I really, really wanted to know how he survived! Whoa, how much time has passed? Must be just a few days… or was it more? When those psychos cut me up…
"Grobnar! Please, tell me…" I couldn't even finish my question. As I stood up, staggering, I suddenly got enveloped in darkness.
I woke up even dizzier than after the operation or, rather, butchery. I was lying in a bed, dimming evening light coming through the large windows with white curtains. But where was I? Was it all a dream? Was I back in Crossroad Keep or something?
I yelped to see Grobnar sleeping on a chair beside my bed, half slumped over, his head lying on my knees.
"Uh?" he woke up and blinked "no, no, no, you stay in bed!"
For I have begun to pull the white cover off me.
"Why? Am I sick?"
Oh, great. Those practicing surgeons must have infected me with some nasty disease. I was most certainly screwed.
"Well, not exactly…" he seemed somewhat embarrassed.
"What is this place anyway?"
"The temple of Bhalla or Chauntea, Immilmar, the capital of Rashemen and…" he kept on chattering, citing every single detail as always "…and then you fell on my floor as if asleep, and I was so scared I began screaming, and the priests showed up and that's why we're here and…
I just looked at him smiling, then ruffled up his soft hair to take his attention back on me. I really couldn't wait to hear how he survived! But first, to ask for some healing potions or disease cures and get out of this temple.
"You stay in bed!" he gently pushed me back, then looked down at me intently, resting his elbows next to my pillow.
"Grobnar, why?" I was getting really worried.
"Lailli…" he blushed "you…"
"Aaah! I can't die! I'm too young for that!" I screamed.
"No, that's not it" he shook his head.
"Oh, fine… then what? Grobnar, I gotta get moving…"
"Lailli, you are… erm… how shall I put this…" he moved a hand to my stomach "you are…"
Suddenly it dawned on me.
Poor soul. The other soul inside me.
I was pregnant.