Aegis wasn't sure she liked Oopah or Oompah or whatever the hell this Magical Vanishing Ogre's name was. She also wasn't sure if she liked the Great Gazib, the wizard who was supposedly causing the 'vanishing' of the ogre to occur. In fact, 'Vanishing' was a strong word; because it appeared Oopah was actually exploding each time the spell was cast and was then being put back together.
Imoen was hopping up and down laughing hysterically every time the monster vanished in an explosion of gory particulates. The carnival patrons found the spectacle so incredibly satisfying they goaded The Great Gazib performing this 'trick' into doing it over, and over, and over again. The ground was littered with sparkling coins thrown as tips for the performance.
"I see the ogre race has left an impression on you," Jaheira observed, and her voice wasn't quite so maddeningly angry as it had been a few minutes earlier.
"I think I hate them," Aegis agreed. "Every time this one explodes I can't decide if I want to laugh or cry."
"Traumatic experiences can affect us in perplexing ways," the druid agreed. "Spend some time studying your enemy, so that you can be better equipped for felling it next time it-"
The two women heard a loud shriek and each tensed. The Magical Vanishing Ogre had apparently decided he would 'vanish' no more. With a mighty swing of his spiked mace he sent poor Gazib's brains out to join all those pretty gold coins on the carnival floor. Onlookers gaped in horror and then ran shrieking in all direction. People tripped on each other, babies were crying, and two men clocked heads and each wiped the other out. It was chaos!
Long before Jaheira or even Imoen who had been closest could react, Aegis was charging across the carnival, shrieking in furious rage.
Edwin, who despite his bitter and condescending demeanor at least had the curiosity to hurry up and see what horrors had befallen the party leader, came upon Aegis clinging to the ogre's back with one hand around his neck, savagely hacking open gores with her hand axe. Imoen was using a wand to pepper him with magic arrows while Jaheira was diving close enough to grab Aegis's foot and cast a barkskin spell. Urso- not to be forgotten for all that he was quite small- was nibbling boldly at the ogre's bare feet, a superb distraction against a rather stupid adversary.
"Imbeciles," Edwin muttered.
Jaheira ducked under a sweep of the ogre's mace and then jumped backwards as a sizzling green bolt of acid went flying over her head and drove straight in the ogre's gut. He bellowed in pain and distress, only for Aegis's next axe blow to slam down on the back of his neck. The ogre coughed out blood and then tried to roar again, grabbing hard at one of her arms in an attempt to yank her off of his back. The second acid arrow sizzled straight into his exposed throat, and his lower jaw and upper collar dissolved into pitted drippings of mush.
The ogre wavered and then pitched forward, a significant portion of his skull splitting open upon impact with the ground. Aegis gave him a few more hacks for good measure and then shakily regained her feet, teeth bared, glaring at the corpse of the loathsome beast.
"Are you quite finished?" Edwin asked. "How you fools ever managed to survive a single day without me when even your quiet carnival evenings end up catastrophic... (Little tart has the same mental weakness as the fool with the hamster, it seems)."
"Ogres," Aegis muttered.
"Well, I was mistaken when I attempted to dissuade you from letting the mage join the party," Jaheira muttered aloud. "His temperament might leave much to be asked for, but at least he is reliable and effective."
"Why thank you (bird-brained little druidic toad)," Edwin growled. "How nice it is to be recognized for something. (Effective. Effective! That's it!? I am a wizard of Thay! I am so far beyond 'effective'-!)"
"Er, Aegy?" Imoen asked, gently poking the girl's arm. "Aeeeggyy! Aegy-face! Yooohooo!" It took a few more seconds of hand-waving and yodeling before Aegis came back to herself with a little jump and then grunted and wiped her axe off on the fallen ogre.
"Sorry," the ranger woman muttered. "Um. Well. That was a great carnival experience. Where the tent of everlasting ale varieties?"
Imoen giggled. "Let's find that. Surely there must be one."
"Mm, surely," Aegis agreed. "And let's get our new wizard some better wine, for that matter. He looks like a skunk climbed up his robes."
"Oh yeah, did you see those arrows? Of course you did! That was so awesome! I'm going to ask him all about how he did it!"
"I'm... sure he'll love that," Aegis answered dryly, doubting Edwin liked talking to other human beings about anything that didn't involve complementing himself. "I'm not sure about him, Imoen. He just helped us, yeah, but... I get this feeling there's a possibility he will kill all of us if he can. Maybe you shouldn't bother him. We need him to stay content."
"Pfft, Aegy, he's like a dragon. A big scary fire-breathing dragon. But every dragon's weakness is flattery, and I'm as buttery as they come!" Imoen scratched her chin. "That sounded lewd..."
"Could he hurt us?" Aegis asked. "Could our whole group end up in danger because of him?"
"Maybe it was intentionally lewd... Well there are some spells that can take out a lot of targets, especially ones packed into the tight spaces we're going to encounter down in the mines. I'm not saying for sure, but there's every possibility he knows one. All the more reason I should make friends! Besides, after that conversation with Jaheira last night, I have a terrible urge to spite her."
"Jaheira said something to you? What?"
Imoen tapped her chin. "Aegis, how would you feel if I slept with every attractive man we come across?"
The taller woman gave her a baffled look. "Confused?" Aegis answered after a moment .
"Then you'd know exactly how I feel about what room Xzar ended up in last night!" Imoen proclaimed cheerfully, crossing her arms over her chest.
Aegis found this absurd; Xzar might have seemed a very odd choice of bedmate to Imoen and the others, but technically Aegis hadn't slept with any other man in her life. For Imoen to throw herself at every handsome face they came across would certainly have been an escalation. Garrick alone would have probably been sufficient. "Erm. Well since I know reason won't persuade you one way or the other, I'll just say this: If you catch something, and your vagina rots out of your body, and Xzar nabs it to try and use it in one of his potions, I'm going to tell you: "I told you so." Also, I won't force him to give you your vagina back. That negotiation is going to cost you a significant chunk of your sanity."
Imoen gave an absolutely horrified and thoroughly chastised expression. "Okay. Okay. You made your point. Wow, that mental image. Not going away..."
"Mhmm. Now I think you promised me something about 'alcohol'..." Aegis reminded her, crossing her arms over her chest.
Imoen giggled and hooked one of her arms into the crook of her sister's. "Very well, you win. Edwin! Let's get something to drink to celebrate how awesome your acid bolts were and that we're all not dead!"
Montaron wanted to engage in some of the carnival's less wholesome pursuits (although to be fair, Imoen and company had been watching an exploding ogre), and that was how he found himself with Xzar in tow, visiting the gambling tents.
"Yeh mind telling me what in Cyric's name yer doin' with the nature brat?" he growled up at the madman, who was muttering to himself about the nefarious intentions of each and every unassuming farmer they passed.
"Why Montaron, whatever do you mean?" the wizard cooed.
"Yeh know exactly what I mean, we've got a job to do, and here we are visitin' a circus. Have you forgotten? This ain't a holiday! Yer the one who kept insistin' we travel with this group. Now I'm askin' ya, are we here right now cause its gonna help us do that job, or is it just cause you actually found some twat stupid enough to let you between her legs?"
"I don't think that's an appropriate question," the necromancer answered in a high-class and cloudy way.
"Damned to the hells what you think. We shoulda been talking to Kagain backed in Beregost when we had the chance. Now we've lost time rescuing this floozy witch dame from gnolls and gathering up all sorts of useless rift-raft. All we needs to be knowin' is where to place the true blame for this iron shortage. That's it!"
"Really? And who do you presume we ask, little dumpling man? The fool guards manning the top of the mine? The dead bodies within? Or do you think deep down in Nashkel's depths we might find an explanation lurking? Don't be foolish. I need them more than I need you."
"The hell's that supposed to mean, ya-" They had just entered the gambling tent, and a hooded man bumped hard into Xzar on his way out. Montaron broke off mid-insult with a snarl, whirling around to lunge at the man. He grabbed the other thief's wrist, twisting it and exposing Xzar's stolen belt purse.
For once, the Necromancer didn't need him to explain things in detail. It took the wizard a split second to recognize what had just happened, just long enough for the man to stammer out a curse. Then the wizard had snarled out a fountain of draconic, and his fingers were glowing blue and closing around the thief's neck.
Jaheira had gone off to find Khalid, and Aegis hadn't seen her since.
The ranger, Imoen, and Edwin hadn't been able to find a place to drink, but they had found a purveyor of wine by the keg and bottle who was willing to offer them tastes of his wares provided they could show they had the gold to make a purchase.
They spent an hour or so in his tent, until Edwin and the wine seller had been able to thoroughly educate an ignorant Aegis of all the ins and outs of fine Faerun wine. Well, they were talking to Imoen too, but she wasn't really listening. She was being buttery, and by the gods it appeared it was working. Edwin seemed markedly less interested in blowing either woman's head off than he had at any point previously.
Of course that also probably had something to do with the fact that Edwin was tipsy by the time they left the tent. Wizards. Lightweights.
Aegis purchased a small keg under Edwin's supervision, bought them each a flask of festively spiked apple cider, and promised to visit the purveyor in Baldur's Gate if ever she made it that far north in her journeys. As they sauntered happily through the carnival, with enough alcohol in their bellies that Edwin probably couldn't pull off any more 'daring' rescues without tripping over himself, they found Dynaheir and Minsc standing outside of a tent. The Wychlaran was speaking with another woman gently and murmuring reassuring things to her. Edwin made a sour face but said nothing as Aegis steered them over to the group.
"What happened?" Imoen asked.
"A man of no good intention was threatening this lady!" Minsc pronounced. "And when taunted he turned like a fiend and assaulted us! There was much butt-kicking for goodness!"
"Oh really?" Edwin slurred. "And what did she do to incite him?"
"Nothing that I can determine," Dynaheir chimed. "He accused her of witchery."
"She's no Rashaman," the Red Wizard scoffed.
"I repeat only his words," Dynaheir said with weighted patience.
"Then he's a fool and better off dead," Edwin dismissed with a wave. "A pity he wasn't better at spotting witches, or he might have done my job for me and I could be on my way home."
Minsc growled and his hand tightened on his sword, but Aegis nterspersed herself between the two feuding foreigners. "Well, we just had a nice taste of wine and bought this keg. It's a bit heavy; Minsc do you think you could help me?"
"What? Of course! Anything for the leader of butt-kicking-ness!" he proclaimed, and then swiftly came over and whisked the keg off her shoulder as if it were a featherweight to settle it upon his own. He beamed happily at his service to the greater good.
Aegis blinked. "Er, thanks. So, that makes this the second assault our party has weathered in a carnival. I'd have to say either this is a sign times are pretty bad, or an indication that we suck at avoiding trouble."
Dynaheir finished speaking with the woman, who seemed incredibly grateful and offered her savior a few trinkets in exchange for her help. The Wychlaran sent the woman on her way and then turned to look at Aegis. "Have thou seen any of our other party members?"
"Well Jaheira went off to find Khalid, but aside from that- ah, I think I see them."
The woman was petrified. That is not to say that she was scared immobile with fright. In fact, she had quite literally been turned to stone. Garrick and Khalid had come upon here while traversing the carnival. Garrick had been struck with admiration for her features the moment he'd laid eyes upon her. Khalid had attempted to get a good idea for whether or not the woman was truly petrified or whether she was simply a highly realistic sculpture. He had seen petrified persons before, but without Jaheira he didn't feel he could be certain.
A man nearby offered them a Stone to Flesh scroll in order to restore the petrified woman, but the price he was charging was extortionate and when Garrick checked his pockets he found he was not carrying enough gold, and the man lost interest in talking to him.
Jaheira had arrived a short while later, and after a lengthy examination she determined the statue was quite certainly a petrified person. Together the three of them had enough money to purchase the scroll, but when she heard the price Jaheira became irritated. She began shouting at the purveyor for being of questionable moral character. By the end of thirty minutes, Garrick and Khalid were restraining the druid from jumping the man and beating him senseless with her quarterstaff.
When Aegis and the others finally did arrive, they spent some time listening to Garrick describe the situation in his long-winded and poetic manner.
-The damsel seemed to sigh, as if she knows not of her fate,
and the loathsome man who does have the ability to free her,
watches and does nothing, hoping to benefit from the bigheartedness
of a better soul than his, while the wind-
Minsc almost immediately went glassy-eyed and then, noticing that Jaheira was still trying to kill someone she probably oughtn't, he swaggered over and settled his keg down to help Khalid. Within thirty seconds, he had hoisted Jaheira up into the air and was holding her arms pinned to her side with the curve of just one of his large arms.
"Haha! Boo thinks maybe there are two fiesty ones in this great adventure!"
"Let go of me you gargantuan, tattooed, addled fool!" Jaheira raged.
"I do protest thine assessment of mine companion!" Dynaheir pouted, coming up to frown at the druid woman. "We are not the ones assailing poor merchants!"
"This bastard has the means to help a woman, and yet stands by commanding prices from the highest bidder!" Jaheira howled.
Aegis frowned, her confusion compounding upon itself as she tried to follow Garrick's tale. After a few moments of listening to the bard's exposition and the druid's roaring, Aegis finally turned a puzzled gaze to Imoen and Edwin, hoping one of them was following the situation better than she was. Imoen gave her an equally baffled expression and shrugged, lifting her hands in an, "I have absolutely no clue what is going on," gesture.
Edwin was cradling his elbow in one hand and holding up his chin with the knuckles of the other, watching Garrick with an uncharacteristically patient bemusement. He turned a languid gaze back to the two women and lifted a brow, still pleasantly mollified by the alcohol they'd given him. Imoen made a mental note that Edwin and wine went well together.
"They say this statue here is actually a petrified woman, and the scroll they need to revive her is owned by this man, who is charging a ridiculous fee."
"Aha!" cried Imoen, enlightened, "I can solve that! Just give me a moment." She dashed off, slipped into the shadows of the circus, rounded on the confused scroll-purveyor who was trying to decide if Jaheira might convince Minsc to kick his butt. Edwin and Aegis watched casually, each sipping on their ciders, as Imoen came quietly up behind the man with her cider still held casually in her off hand. She nicked the Stone to Flesh scroll straight out of the man's grasp, and somehow he didn't even notice. Imoen backed up, made her way back around the tents in the area's periphery, and returned to the ranger and mage with the scroll held triumphantly high.
"Tada! Look, I found that extra scroll we had in our bag all along," she giggled with a big and overstated wink. Garrick was still talking, only it appeared now his narration had transformed into an epic ballad. No one was listening to him anymore, and in fact few people were listening to Imoen; Jaheira and Dynaheir looked on the verge of a completely unnecessary cat fight.
"Keep your hands away from my things," the wizard drawled, sipping on his cider. "That was ridiculous."
"Oh don't be all bubble-headed!" Imoen giggled. "I'd already been through your things thirty minutes tops after meeting you! Nice underwear by the way; they're silk right? They felt really comfortable!"
By the baffled and slightly violated expression on the Thayan's face, he had absolutely no idea what to think or feel about that. He had many options. He could have been lascivious or incensed; unaffected or cocky; angry or insulted; amused or complemented. After a moment he lifted his mug and muttered something draconic into his cider.
Imoen spent the next few minutes shrieking hysterically, running around in circles with a fleet of conjured bats in rapid pursuit. Aegis nearly died of laughter.
Aegis thought it was appropriate that Garrick was so taken with the previously petrified woman.
The woman's name was Branwen, and no sooner had Jaheira cast the Stone to Flesh spell and released her from her curse, that the woman was praising Tempus and devoting herself to the party's service. The last person to have done this (minus the Tempus-praising) was Garrick, and the offer left the party similarly flustered.
"We only wished to do a good deed," Jaheira said, and since the two of them hadn't ended up coming to blows it seemed Dynaheir and her were once more on the same side.
"Thy were in trouble; it was in our power to aid thee; we could not stand by and do nothing," the Wychlaran agreed.
"Nonsense! She is cleric of the war god!" Minsc boomed, throwing an arm in a companionably hug around the new woman and drawing his sword to waggle it about in the air. "She must join us! Together, we shall fight back evil men with strength and steel! For goodness!"
"Ye gods," Edwin muttered into a facepalm. "(Surrounded by fools, so many fools)."
"I care not the cause so long as it is one of valor," gushed Branwen enthusiastically. "I have no wish but to prove my worth in combat! Let me aid you in your journey! Whatever the task, whatever the weather, I shall not complain! Perhaps on the way we will come across the foul Lokispawn who tricked me into this fate and pay him back with my hammer!"
"Erm, this may be an indelicate question to ask the woman who loves hammers," Aegis said slowly, "but do you have skill with healing?"
Branwen turned to her in surprise.
"You see we're investigating the iron crisis in the region, and that means heading down into the Nashkel mines. We have three wizards, and a good assortment of people skilled with weapons, but Jaheira's the only person here who can heal and sometimes we get into really bad situations.
"Of course! To act as shield maiden to one's compatriots in combat is an honorable task!" Branwen agreed. "I shall ensure your battle lines never falter!"
"I want her," Aegis told them. "More importantly, the bludgeoning I took from an Ogre this morning has turned half my ribs purple, and my severe bruising most definitely wants a cleric."
"I should be glad to help!" Branwen told her, and with that Aegis had no more bruises and the blonde highlander woman was most definitely hired.
The most obvious dilemma the party faced aside from overpopulation was that Branwen had been stripped of her armor when she'd been petrified. That meant the party had to fork up some money to buy her new things. Branwen was a large and sturdy woman, who with Aegis, Xzar, and Minsc ranked among the tallest members of the group. It would be difficult to find fitted armor sized perfectly for her proportions, but a good suit of chain or splint might temporarily suffice.
Too far south of Beregost to visit Thunderhammer smithy, the group realized they would have to either make their way back to Nashkel proper to visit the general store, or else look around the carnival for the necessary goods.
Imoen said she remembered seeing some tents advertising the sale of iron goods such as arms and armor, and pointed the party back towards the western side of the carnival. After a quiet moment talking to Aegis, Imoen (with her hair in quite the disarray from Edwin's reaction to her snooping) slunk off to try and steal an enchanted weapon (without the knowledge of a substantial portion of the party). The rest of the group headed west back into the carnival to try and find an armor salesman.
The group had just recognized the sigil of an armor smith planted out in front of a large striped tent, when they noticed a cluster of Amnish soldiers gathered about an even larger tent in the northwestern section of the fairgrounds. The matter didn't seem to concern them at first, but Aegis was no lightweight, and her senses hadn't been addled enough by weak cider and wine testing to forget her party was still missing two of its most controversial members.
Minsc and Khalid accompanied Branwen into the armor shop, with Garrick and Dynaheir in tow for companionship, and Edwin following them all suspiciously for no reason other than to invade their spirit of camaraderie and make veiled threats. Jaheira, who had little interest in the metal trinkets of civilization, remained outside to consider the twisting path their journey had taken them thus far, and all the unusual people they had surrounded themselves with on the way. They were turning into a truly sizable party, perhaps multifaceted and talented enough to deal with the Nashkel threat- if no one killed anyone else before then!
Aegis headed northward from the armor tent almost immediately, and not because she was disinterested in whatever gear Branwen needed. Coming up beside the large tent and the Amnish soldiers, she found it was a place of gambling and drinking. Some poor fellow had been attacked, she gathered, and the soldiers had dragged him out of the tent to determine whether he could be helped.
Peering over their shoulders, Aegis observed that the 'poor fellow' had ugly black-colored bruises around his neck and jawbone, and the color of his skin was blue with hypothermia. There were cracks in his flesh and his skin had a strangely raw and blistered appearance. Despite all of this he was breathing, and it looked like he might actually pull through the ordeal.
"You there!" called a guard, stomping up to investigate her presence. "The gambling tent is closed!"
"I recognize the spell that was used on this man," Aegis explained. "Is the wizard who cast it under arrest?"
"We are investigating the matter!" the man sniffed at her accent, which apparently carried just enough northern flavor to deliver a bad first impression. "What concern of it is yours? Get out of here."
"The wizard's my paramour," Aegis sighed. "He should have a slightly grungy looking halfling with him. I'm sure they wouldn't have attacked a man without provocation." Like money! Money could be a provocation. Oh boy, Oghma, that was a bald-faced lie and I know it. Please forgive me.
That got the man's attention and he frowned. "Your paramour? That man? The one with the face paint? That man is most certainly mad!"
"Ehm, he has good days and bad days," Aegis explained with an apologetic wince. "He tends to get worse when he is nervous. Is he alright?"
"He and his accomplice attacked this man in the tent! They said their motive was that he had stolen from them, but we've found no evidence of that! Hmm. Aren't you the leader of that party that was 'attacked' in the inn a few days back?" he noticed suspiciously. "Trouble seems to follow you..."
"Trouble does, and I am," she dismissed, unconcerned with his poorly veiled accusations. "Which one of them did this guy steal from?" Aegis asked. "If I remember, my wizard's coin purse is green cloth, the same color as his robes. He has about a hundred gold worth of gem and coin on him. The halfling's purse is just leather but I'm not sleeping with him so I've no idea how much he's carrying. Is that accurate? Did you find either purse on him, then? Did he have a coin purse of his own that might prove they're telling the truth?" She crossed her fingers behind her back and prayed to Ohgma that someone had indeed tried to rob the duo and not the other way around.
The guard wrinkled his brow and then moved to talk to another soldier. After a moment of discussion he returned to Aegis and gestured that she should follow him. The two of them led her into the gambling tent, and there much to her relief she found Xzar and Montaron with their arms bound behind them. Montaron had been roughed up a little and Xzar had been gagged (most likely to stop all the girlish shrieking), but otherwise the two were unharmed.
"There you are," Aegis sighed in relief. "The hell happened to you both?" She looked to the guards to see if it was alright for her to approach, and she recieved a nod at about the same time a man knelt down to release Montaron's bonds.
"We were robbed, is what!" the halfling snarled, jerking his hands away from the guard as soon as they were untied and rubbing his shoulder vexedly. "And then these bastards jumped us and accused us of assault!"
"Okay, okay, calm down," Aegis protested his tone of voice, especially when the Amnish guards had just released them without so much as imposing a fine for disorderly conduct. She approached the duo and noticed no one was moving to un-gag or untie Xzar. She didn't blame them for not wanting to approach him.
"Oi, don't un-gag him," Montaron agreed with the soldiers. "He'll just start making a racket!"
"Don't tell me what to do, half pint, I wasn't the one off getting arrested while there was a carnival to enjoy," Aegis muttered reproachfully, leaning over Xzar and taking the quivering man's face in both hands. Xzar was halfway ready to wet himself with anxiety and excitement.
"Oh fuck you, nature-brat," Montaron muttered. "Imma need more than a half pint of ale just to settle me temper!"
"Xzar? Xzar. Look at me. Look at me," Aegis coaxed, her voice becoming lower and more commanding until finally the necromancer's gaze riveted on her and didn't instantaneously flit away again. "There. Now, I'm going to untie you and take the gag out of your mouth. I don't want to hear a word. Not to shriek, no draconic, no spellcasting; you are already in deep enough trouble. Got it?"
The necromancer narrowed his eyes at her as if slightly insulted. Aegis lifted her brows. "I could just carry you back to the tavern like this," she warned him "Oghma help me, I will." Montaron looked at the two of them as he stood and dusted himself off, disturbed out by their familiarity with one another and at the same time curious at how Aegis was managing to elicit a sane response from the insane wizard.
Xzar glanced at the ground for a moment and then looked back up at her and nodded slowly in comprehension. Aegis grunted, kissed his brow, and then leaned over him and untied the cloth strip that was gagging him. Xzar made a disgusted face as it slipped free and sloppily smacked his lips together, trying to wet his dehydrated mouth and get the taste of the rag off his tongue. Aegis laughed at his expression, untied his hands, and then pulled the suddenly docile mage up to his feet.
"Your... coin purse, sir," one of the guards said dryly, stepping forward with the pilfered goods and offering them to Xzar. The necromancer paused and looked down at the green bag as if it was a snake. He glanced suspiciously up at the guard and no doubt would have said something bizarre and incomprehensible to anyone present if he weren't currently bound to a promise of silence. A moment later he reached forward slowly and then quickly snatched back the purse, hoarding it to himself and opening it with paranoid fervor to inspect the contents.
Knowing that her insane companion was likely on the verge of a nonsensical fit, Aegis thanked the guard and then gently tugged Xzar out by the arm. Montaron followed grumpily, taking back his shortsword and the wizard's dagger from the guards as he went.
They walked for a few moments in silence, until they were far enough away form the tent and out of ear shot that Montaron didn't feel talking would look suspicious. "How the devil did you manage to get us out of that? Blasted guards. I steal a thousand purses and only get arrested when someone tries to steal mine..."
"Well, your innocence helped," Aegis muttered dryly. "I think I managed to accurately guess exactly what was stolen. Also, I'm a lot prettier and have a nicer and more compliant temperament than you do when dealing with guards."
Montaron laughed. "I'll believe that. How did you even know it was us that were in trouble?"
"I recognized Xzar's handiwork. For the rest of my life if I see anyone with bruises on the neck who died from hypothermia I will be able to list cause of death as: strangled by crazy necromancer using chill touch," Aegis teased. Xzar gave her a piteous look, desperately wanting to talk. "Hmm? Okay. You can talk. But please don't shriek, I'm on the verge of a headache."
Xzar frowned at the request and gnawed on his thumb as he thought for a moment. Then he smiled at her. "Thank you."
"For getting you out of trouble?"
"For recognizing my spells! That's very thoughtful of you. I mean, most laymen don't care to notice at all! Even sorcerers are culprit! Anyone who doesn't study the art through book and diagram is ignorant. It's so aggravating! Once I was dealing with this cleric and I told him it was the blackguard which done it! All the evidence was there! But no, no, he just couldn't be bothered to recognize the charred state of the intestines, and what with the assassin lurking about no one could- "
"You're welcome, Xzar," she told him, and grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him to her so she could place a smooch on his temple. The necromancer's breath caught in his throat, but then he hummed contently at the physical contact, his agitation forgotten.
"Yelcome, welcome, zelcome," the tall man muttered dreamily, and despite all his instability he slipped a hand up behind her and settled his fingers on her lumbar region in an affectionate or at least possessive manner.
Jaheira was not happy to see the two of them touching when the trio returned back to the armory tent. Maybe the sight of their physical contact made Aegis's ill-advised partnership with the wizard all the more 'real.' Wrinkling his nose at them, it seemed Montaron had found the very first thing on which he and the druid could actually agree on.
Recruiting Kivan is going to be extraordinarily confusing for me, given that Aegis already appears to know who she likes...
But it's Kivan! How can anyone not love Kivan!? It's like not loving Bishop, it's statistically improbable! All rangers are moody assholes, and ergo we love all rangers!
On that note, Imoen abbreviating Aegis's name is all the more amusing given that 'Aegy' must be pronounced 'Eejee.' Aegis, what the hell did Gorion give you such a unfeminine sounding name for!? XD