Rain and Brimstone
Lineth slept in her old room that night. It seemed smaller, somehow, but comforting in the way that ancient history is comforting. It was far behind her, this room, but the bed was still soft and that was all that mattered.
For once, the dreams did not bother her. It was quite a change from the many nightmare-plagued nights travelling across the Silver Marches. Horrible images of fire and brimstone, of snow and a cold even more biting than Hilltop's winter, of endless days with no light...
Lineth Raine slept comfortably that night.
When she woke, the house seemed busier than before. She dressed slowly, glad she had been able to take a bath and wash her grimy armour the previous night before bed. She'd spent much of the night talking to Dorna and Xanos, but had still managed to de-bloodify herself.
She walked down the stairs and was met with the sight of many halflings, seated in every chair, feet dangling a foot off the ground. They all looked quite travel-worn and bedraggled, and seemed much relieved to be out of the cold.
Only one of the halflings was standing up. She was dressed in rich purple-and-black gypsy's clothing, and had long dark hair. She was talking to the paladin Mischa Waymeet.
Lineth walked across the room towards them. The halfling looked up and smiled. "Well, well, well. The great Lineth Raine finally awakes from her slumber."
Mischa started and turned around, smiling widely as she saw Lineth. The young paladin gave her a warm hug. "Oh, Lineth," she said, "It's so good to see you again!"
"And you, Mischa. Hello, Katriana. How's business?"
The halfling gypsy scowled. "This winter hasn't been too good, my Elven friend. I lost a couple to illness. We ran into Mischa outside Blumberg and, well...now we're here." She waved a hand.
"I see," said Lineth, looking around, "Your company certainly looks a lot better for being in the warmth again."
"Yes, well, this winter is perhaps the coldest we've ever seen," frowned Katriana. "And Xanos over there-" Xanos was talking to a couple of rather gruff-looking halflings, just his type, "said they'd found you camping in front of the house."
"Well, I've had colder winters than this," said Lineth slowly. She remembered the Wastes of Cania, a dismal plane where the cold could kill you. That was where she had collected a small supply of Velox Berries, the only warm things in such a cold realm.
"Huh," said Katriana dismissively. "Well, I'm sure you two will want to catch up," she continued, addressing Mischa and Lineth, "So I'll just go and see what Torias is doing. No doubt trying to chat Dorna up again."
"I seem to remember, the first - and last - time he did that he ended up with a lockpick in a rather unmentionable place," said Lineth thoughtfully. Mischa blushed and Katriana laughed, moving off.
"Still as naive as ever, I see," said Lineth bluntly to the paladin. Mischa frowned at her.
"Such a comment isn't like you, Lineth. What's happened to you? I notice...scars..."
Lineth shrugged her shoulders with the soft clink of armour. "A grand adventure," she said loftily. "Perhaps I'm a little changed, inwardly as well as outwardly. I'm surprised Dorna and Xanos didn't fill you in; I told them everything last night." That wasn't strictly true. Lineth had told them the abridged version; the version that was probably going to go into the kobold Deekin's book. She wondered briefly what had happened to the little creature once they had parted ways in Waterdeep.
"Yes, I regret I wasn't here to greet you," the paladin said. Lineth jerked her thoughts back to the present. "Like Katriana said, I was with her caravan. I heard word they were stranded near Blumberg and went to help them."
"Well done," said Lineth. She laughed. "Doer of good deeds, in...deed."
Mischa smiled. "How long are you staying here for?" She led Lineth towards a bench uncluttered by halflings, and they sat side-by-side.
Lineth shrugged. "I don't know. I ... hadn't really planned for it. I left Waterdeep in rather a hurry, you see."
"Yes, I heard you were mixed up with something to do with the Drow...Xanos and Dorna told me a bit of it. You were fighting one of the Matron Mothers, the Valsharess, and her arch-devil Mephit...Mephis..."
"Mephistopheles, yes," said Lineth bleakly. "I killed the Valsharess - not after she tried to pursuade me to join her, of course - and found out Mephistopheles' True Name and vanquished him with it."
"Oh," said Mischa in a small voice. "You vanquished an arch-devil?"
"Yes, I've come a long way since fighting kobolds, haven't I?" Lineth smiled.
"You've definitely changed," said Mischa.
"Mmm," said Lineth. Her gaze strayed into the middle distance as she sat, thinking.
"There's something more, isn't there?" said Mischa, showing uncharacteristic insight. "Something else that happened while you were in the Underdark."
"A lot of things happened, Mischa, and I can't be expected to remember all of them," she replied. "It's nothing, really. Just...a passing fancy, I suppose. For him, anyway." She added the last part under her breath, but Mischa had very good hearing.
"A man?" Mischa's eyes were wide. "Did you fall in love?"
"His commitments were to...his 'people', I suppose. His Seer." Lineth shook her head and stood up. "I think I'd like to raid the kitchens right about now, Mischa. Please tell me you have something other than beer..?"
Mischa stood as well, and her eyes were thoughtful as she surveyed the Elven woman. "Of course, Lineth...of course..."