Chapter 10

Fallon opened his eyes, yawned and sat up smacking his lips and scratching himself. Looking out the rear window he noted it had grown dark but found it odd that from where he had his room that he could not hear the usual sounds from a bar. Rising he rinsed his mouth, lifted up his clean clothing and began to dress. Slapping on some of that fancy man's stink pretty he stepped back lifted his left arm and smelled and then lifted his right arm and smelled.

"So far so good." He planted a pretty cocky smile on his lips and moved to his door, snagging his arquebus sliding it in his belt, and lifted his sword and slid it into the frog on his belt. Grabbing his hat he set it at a jaunty angle and whistling a happy little song he moved out into the hallway and looked up surprised to see two scro warriors making their way towards the upper balcony. They turned looking at him and growled in their guttural language. One moved on to the balcony the other turned on Fallon and moved with a raised sword ready to cleave him in half.

Fallon sighed, "Really? Are we going to do this?"

"Die human dog!" Fallon lifted his gun and fired right between his eyes knocking him backwards. "So stupid by bring a sword to a gun fight?" Stepping over the dead scro warrior he headed to the balcony and looked through the door. Seeing the warrior watching someone below Fallon opened the door and stepped out. Giving a little whistle he smiled watching the warrior turn and growl then he like his partner turned to charge Fallon. Fallon stepped back into the main hallway. Fallon stepped around the blade wielding warrior and smacked him on his hind quarters.

The scro warrior growled and spun around only to find that Fallon had danced around to his other side. "Your species sure are stupid." He chided and advanced forward to come down with a hard deep slice into the rear tendon of the warrior hamstringing his left leg. Fallon danced back and felt his back against the wall, flipping sideways he came up and cut the hamstring of the warriors right leg. The warrior growled out in pain and toppled backwards.

The door was filled with a female in a yellow dress, that was all that Fallon could see from his peripheral and turned back to run his blade through the warrior. He watched the life go out of his eyes and he smiled. "Well that takes care of that." He wiped his blade on his the uniform shirt of the warrior and turned a wide smile slashing across his devilishly handsome features. "Well, hello there Lady M'lar. Nice to see you in one piece."

M'lar leaned against the door and looked at the two dead warriors in the hallway and then to Fallon. "Captain Stormbringer nice to see you in one piece too. Why don't you come down stairs and let me treat you to dinner and a drink. That is the least I can do for helping me take care of the trash." M'lar pushed from the doorframe and moved to the balcony railing. "Baloq! Two for the pyre in front." M'lar moved to the stairs and moved down to the kitchen.

Fallon followed behind her nodding to the drow bartender passing him on the stairs. Fallon recognized the chant he was citing and knew he was calling upon unseen servants to get the dead carcasses of the warriors. "I would love to have that dinner provided you have that dinner with me?" He smiled widely with his most charming manner. M'lar laughed and moved to the pots on the stove.

"I will sit with you and I will drink with you but I don't have dinner Mr. Stormbringer. Now what will you have? I can serve you beef, lamb, fish, or pork." She turned with a smile and it made her look lovelier than he remembered.

"How about a nice piece of beef with some potatoes and homemade bread. I have been at sea so long that fish does not sound appealing." He casually leaned against the table crossing his ankles and folding his arms over his chest. "Then I hear you make a mean apple pie. That along with some more of that lovely rum that has a kick and we could be set for the rest of this night."

M'lar loaded up a plate with beef and potatoes then cut four slices of her homemade bread. Then turning she cut a large piece of apple pie and put that on the tray with the plate of beef. Moving to her storeroom she dipped out another large tankard of ale, set the forks and knives on the tray. Setting the tray she turned and lifted the tray moving out to the common room of the bar and carried the tray to the table she called hers. It held four books and some parchment paper quill and ink well. Sitting the tray down she put the plates eating utensils and tankard on the table in front of a chair that sat across from her.

"Mr. Stormbringer your meal is served." She stepped back pulled out her chair and sat across from the place she just set the meal. Fallon chuckled the food smelled wonderful and the company was delightful. Fallon smacked his hands together then stopped.

"Where might I go to wash up? I don't relish the idea of eating with the stench of dead scro on my hands."

M'lar looked at his hands and with a manipulation of her fingers she cantriped his hands clean. Feeling the waft of warm air move over his hands he smiled. "Handy little trick you have there."

"My god allows me so many orisons to each day I give devotions to him. So I can easily clean, mend or anything light that is needed." She sat back and studied the man taking the seat across from her. "So Mr. Stormbringer when did you make landfall?"

He hunkered over his meal and watched her while he hungrily shoveled the food into his mouth. "Today around mid day. Plan to be here for a couple of weeks before the boys and I are back out to sea." He chewed and watched her over his plate. "You sure are pretty. You know that?"

M'lar laughed, "No I did not thank you for telling me. I take it you took a room here for your stay? I find it interesting you would not chose one of the inns near the wharf. I mean a seafaring man such as yourself must feel that the sea is his mistresses since he spends so much time riding her waves."

"A man gets lonely and has to find comfort in the soft arms of some other than his first mate or his men." He chewed and studied her while he lifted his mug and drank down the hardcore rum.

"I see so you seek soft arms and a warm body to sate your needs. I can assure you Mr. Stormbringer I shall not be those arms or that warm body because I am not a lady of questionable charms. I do not give my favors out at the drop of a hat." M'lar had maintained her amused smile with a slight twinkle to her eyes while she laid out her rules to this handsome and tempting male that showed a great deal of interest in her.

"I know you are not a whore or a woman of questionable morals. That is why I wanted to see you again. I can have a whore for the right price and I understand that is available down the street from here. I also could pick up any woman of questionable morals I had that in Waterdeep. What I want is your time, an evening of just sitting and getting to know each other."

Fallon had sat back took his napkin and wiped his mouth. The beef had been succulent and juicy just like the lovely piece of womanhood that sat across from him and his eyes smoldered with imagination of what she would be like to lie beneath him and writhe with passion as they made love. "I am looking for more than just a night of passion Lady M'lar. I am looking for a woman that would make me want to give up the mistress I have claimed for the past twenty years."

M'lar folded her arms under her breasts which only caused her breasts to become more pronounced. His eyes were drawn immediately to her cleavage and he smiled. His eyes glided up to see the smirk on her lips. He then knew she had done that action as a test and he had failed miserably. "My eyes Fallon are up here. If I had not brought your attention to my eyes would you have even known the color of my eyes?" Her voice held a hint of mirth.

"I have to honestly say I would not. Although I must admit they are a lovely shade of emerald green. They match the hair and I suppose there is a temper to go with that glorious hair color?" He lifted his mug and drank deeply.

"That would be a correct assumption and you should be happy that I like you. Or you might have witnessed that temper first hand. Just be happy I do not offend that easily." She watched him look down at the piece of apple pie and then to his near empty mug.

"I don't suppose I could talk you into another mug of rum?" He smiled that beguilingly handsome smile of his and handed over his mug allowing his fingers to caress her fingers with the exchange.

M'lar laughed and it had been a while since she laughed this much and felt like laughing. "For you Fallon I would be happy to give you a keg of rum." She took the mug and stood bending over the table to allow him a chance to look down her top so he could get full view of what he was not going to cuddle up with for the night. This time he did not fall for the trap she had set; he kept his eyes locked to her green gaze and smiled.

"I am a quick study my lady." He held her gaze until she stood up and moved to the kitchen to get his refill. His gaze followed her across the room and watched the easy sway of her hips he moaned inwardly. Even fully clothed in a cotton gown he was aroused by her and her beauty. He would have to make sure he tapped that before Darius had a chance at her. He smiled, she would not be an easy conquest but she would be fun to pursue.

From the balcony overhead Morgan had opened his dimensional door and stepped out to watch with curiosity the play between M'lar and Fallon. He had locked his emotions down and wondered if he was jealous of what he was witnessing. A part of him did not care who she chose to sleep with but another part of him did not like loosing to the likes of Fallon Stormbringer a commoner and not worthy of her bed. Straightening his jacket and turned and moved into the hallway to the door he knew led to her room.

Moving through the door by phasing he walked in to look around at the modest fare that was her accommodations. Moving to her closet he opened the door and looked around at the simple course dresses that hung neatly in a row. He moved the dresses around and found the one that he knew he had bid on for their dinner date. Laying the dress on her bed he paused and looked to the room that adjoined her room. Moving to the door he opened it and walked in to see it was Gillian's room.

On her small bed laid a stuffed rabbit, which looked to be much loved and worn. Morgan moved to the bed and picked up the white rabbit and smiled. To get to the woman you had to get to her child. He smiled thinking about how he could use this to his advantage. Putting the rabbit back on the bed he turned and moved back into her bedroom and stopped looking around he picked out various items to accent the dress that laid on the bed and collected them. Turning he opened another dimensional door and stepped through carrying the items he had collected from her room.

Morgan appeared back at his estate in the room he had designated as M'lar's room. He laid the gown on the bed and then the accents he had found in her room. They were simple and meager. Moving to the closet he pulled out another dress and laid it on the bed next to the one she had worn the night of the auction. Finding the perfect ornately beautiful accents he laid them on the dress and stood back. He liked his combination better. Now a matter of getting her to come to him for dinner and from there he would deal with the matter of that proposal.

Right now he had more important fish to fry. There was the matter of someone trying to encroach on his property and he was not about to allow some commoner to take what he considered was his. He had already put Camron in his place and Camron was a god killer. He needed to find Fallon's weakness and play on that.

Moving from her bedroom he made his way down to the drawing room of his estate. The boys moved to his side. Morgan automatically placed his hands on each head and sighed. "I wonder what is going on at the Hoch tonight boys? Do you think we give it a little time before I go check it out?" He glanced from one to the other. Both hounds whined and then licked his hands. Their tails thumping with each stroke he placed on their massive heads. "My thoughts exactly. I do not feel like being alone tonight and I could not think of a more enjoyable meal or body to keep me company than the one tending tables at the Hoch."

Thorax Ragnar looked at the communiqué that had been handed to him. He smiled and thought about his last venture with Morgan Manshak it had kept him happy for almost three years that was how lucrative it had been for him and his men. He was a massively huge man with a huge barrel chest and a scruffy red beard. His eyes were deep blue and his laughter shook his body. His humor was course and he moved to his bed and flopped down smacking the arse of a female that had been sleeping soundly. "Wake up Meg, aye gotta go. Me boys and I are shoving off." The sultry wench that threw the covers off her nude body rolled over and stretched.

"The least you could do is give me some lovin before I 'ave ta go ya ugly bastard!" She rubbed her breasts and shook them at him. Thorax was never one to let such an invitation leave him. Grabbing her by her hips with little effort he lifted her up and slammed her down on his lap.

"Aye shameless hussy, spread ayeslef fer me and let me in." He laughed and rolled her over on the bed and crawled between her legs. The only sound coming from his room and echoing down the hallway was a hysterical giggle. The crew knew the captain was tearing up that piece and would let her know he would be back for more once they were done with this new assignment.

Marstoq, Orion, and Zac stepped through the portal to stop in the park and look around at the destruction of the scro spell jammer. Wafting in the tree limb was the frayed flag of one of the severed elf head clan's flag. The remains of the ship had already sunk and were being distributed along the bottom of the ocean from the main lake. That was the beauty of the lake, for the first twenty feet of the lake's depth it was fresh water fed from the two majors springs that ran into the lake. From twenty feet down it became salt water and had been a perfect setting for the sea drow to hide and survive.

The fact that the island was never stationary and moved in a giant circular pattern monthly making a circuit anything thrown in the lake was evenly distributed into the ocean. So Umberlee's children could receive the refuse of many different species that had found their watery grave that was the lake.

Looking around the men were glad to see most the damage had been contained to the beachfront and even that had shifted back to a more normal appearance. "Well gentlemen we were successful this time. Let us hope they were not able to communicate back to their mother ship that M'lar and I are here."

Zach frowned, "Speaking of Mother where is she?" He looked around almost expecting to see her appear at their side. Orion frowned as well and peered at his comrades.

"Where was Kaitlin during all of this?"

Marstoq sighed and looked to the now placidly calm looking lake. "According to Kane and Ageis, they were taken to Morgan's spelljammer with instructions to his crew that if things went south they were to take off with her Kaitlin, Gillian and Stephaney."

Marstoq sighed, "Well gentlemen I don't know about you but I am going back to the Hoch, kiss my wife and get drunk and in that order." Marstoq turned and opened a dimensional door to the Hoch. He waited for Orion and Zach to step through the door and then followed them feeling the door slam shut behind him. Orion was the first to step through the door, followed by Zac, then Marstoq.

He peered around and saw he was missing some tables and chairs. "Baloq where is Feleena? What happened?" He moved to the bar and noticed a new face sitting at his mother's table. Nodding politely to him he turned to look back at Baloq waiting for his answer.

"Fel said she would be waiting for you back at the cave, she wanted to make sure the kids were safe with Bianca. We had a few unruly scro visitors. They came looking for your mother."

"Where are they?" Marstoq had not seen them when he entered the room. With the opening of the door he could smell the burning bodies in the street. "Never mind, I can smell their corpses burning. Was anyone hurt?"

Baloq looked at Fallon then Marstoq. "Just the scro boss, Shayla pretty well fried them with her spell fire and what she did not get, I did with a globe of darkness and then skewered them. We did loose three tables and twelve chairs, but nothing else."

"Mother where was she?" Zac slid to the stool and waited for a bottle of scotch. Baloq set his bottle on the counter turned and drew an ale for Orion and set it on the table, then got Marstoq his bloodwyne.

"She said she was on Morgan's spelljammer with Kaitlin and the girls. When they got here, Kait took the girls to temple. M'lar is in the kitchen getting the gentleman a drink."

Marstoq turned on his seat and eyeballed the man sitting at his mother's table. Fallon sensing he was being sized up turned in his chair smiled and stood. "Fallon Stormbringer, I understand you are Lady M'lar's son?" Fallon moved to offer his hand to Marstoq and his first impression of the male verision of his mother was impressive. The man was massive and his muscles bulged when he flexed his arms to fold them to rest them on the counter of the bar

Marstoq stood up and towered four inches over Fallon. Fallon was tall at six feet two inches and tipped the scales at a well-maintained and muscled one hundred ninety pound weight. The man who grabbed his arm in a warrior's handshake was all of six feet six inches and weighed easily two thirty pounds. His eyes narrowed slightly but he smiled. "Nice to meet you Fallon Stormbringer."

Mars slid back on his stool and studied the sea faring male in front of him. "So you put into port just in time to meet some of the less than agreeable visitors. You were unharmed?"

Fallon chuckled and then turned to watch M'lar move into the room with a small keg balanced on her shoulders. She moved to his table and slammed the keg down. On the side she had carved 'Fallon Stormbringer's Brew.' Turning she smiled, "Told you I would bring your own keg. Hello son." She moved to eye him up and down for damage. "Not injured?"

Zac slid from his stool and moved to his mother's side. "Mother I am going to check on Shayla and then to bed, we used a lot of PSP's and all of us are going to need to rest." Zac leaned over and kissed his mother's cheek. She turned and with a look of tenderness and love she cupped his cheek.

"Travel with the wisdom and blessings of Oghma. You too are uninjured?" Fallon watched this exchange and was touched by her tenderness to those she called her children.

"Yes Mother just a lot of PSP's. I love you."

She smiled and whispered for his ears, "I love you too. Now go rest." She turned to look at Orion about to fall out of his chair. "Orion do you want me to call you a carriage to take you to the Dojang or will you go to temple and allow Kait to see to your rest and needs?"

"I will take Thunder and ride out there to check on her and if you don't mind I think I will take one of the monk's cells to rest. We used a lot of our mental powers to fight the scro war ship."

"Then let me have Freddie saddle Thunder he is in the rear stable." M'lar turned and saw Baloq had already moved to find the stable boy. Orion moved to M'lar's side and kissed her cheek.

"Be careful we are not sure how many escaped from that ship and they very well may be hiding out and laying low until they can come back and take what they came for and that my dear Lady M'lar." Orion turned and clapped his brother warlock's shoulder.

M'lar sighed watching Orion leave. Turning to Marstoq she asked in scro, ~Will you be safe to go home?~

Marstoq smiled hearing their language flow so easily from her tongue. ~Mother I will teleport home, I have enough mental powers to get me there.~

Fallon had not understood one word they had spoken but by the tone and inflections he knew it was an exchange between mother and son and that was truly their relationship. He watched as the huge warrior bent over kissed her cheek then with a subtle pop disappeared from the room by ~teleporting without fail~.

"Your sons are warlocks? Like Morgan?" Fallon had leaned against the counter of the bar resting his elbows on the counter top and peering down at the woman that had carried a two hundred pound key on her shoulder and set it down.

"NO they are nothing like Morgan. Morgan is a fallen warlock. He violated the warlock rules and was judged not worthy. You can tell the difference by the earring they wear in their right ears. Zach, Orion, Marstoq, Kane, and Ageis all have varying colors of earrings in their ears and if you look they are blue in color. That means they passed the test and found worthy to bear the mark of a true warlock. Morgan wears a black earring, which means he failed. He failed the test for abusing his powers."

Fallon thought about this and wondered why Darius wore no earring he knew Darius had been admitted to the citadel. "Well that is interesting I did not know that. So you must have learned a lot since your sons are all obviously powerful warlocks."

M'lar sighed, "I learned more than I thought I would but I am the lore master and so to learn something is what my God expects."

"Well now that we have the family reunion out of the way what say you join me for a short stroll down the street and show me the highlights of New Damara."

M'lar flushed and then smiled. "Why not? Baloq apparently business is going to be slow tonight because of the scro raiding party. I am going to show Fallon around the Main Street and will be back shortly. Do you need Jodi's help?"

Baloq waved her off it was nice seeing her smile and not mad. "Nope got it."

Fallon tucked her hand through his arm and led her from the bar into the night air and paused the pyre of burning bodies was now nothing more than a smoldering pile of ash. "Lead the way my Lady I am all yours for this walk!"