Refreshed to within an inch of his life, Negrath found that the suggestion had been a good one.

He wondered if the new, plant-based smells the servants had bathed him in(they had insisted upon putting him through the entire ritual, as was fitting a lord), would be available at the various inns he no doubt would continue to sleep in once they left the Keep.

Assuming that the rest of the group would be unhappy with him if he woke them before sunrise, he wandered into the library to find a good book.

…And that's where Jaheira found him, once the others had gathered for breakfast.

-"What are you doing?" she queried, sitting down beside him at the reading table.

-"Reading about prophecies."

-"Yes, I reckon one such as you would want to stay updated on those."

Catching her tone of irony, he glanced at her with a smile;

-"Not about the Bhaalspawn."

-"What, then?"

-"Prophecies that has failed to come true."

-"...well, I assume you do not count your own amongst those?"

-"I see no reason to do that."

-"...so to speak." She added for him.

Smiling, he rose, closing the book he was reading, and started towards the door to the hall;

-"I guess I'd best get to the meal before Minsc empties their kitchen as well."

-"He seemed to be on his way to do just that as I went looking for you." Jaheira replied, falling into step beside him.

-"Then let's hope he has not succeeded yet."



No doubt Minsc would have done just that, had he not been the one offering up some of his food once the groups "decider" had been seated, grinning at the astonished looks all around;

-"Boo knew." He explained briefly, before resuming the attack on what little was left of his meal...

-"Thanks, Minsc." Negrath replied politely, smile still on his face as he dug in with a ferocity to rival the large ranger, and send what servants still remained almost running towards the kitchen, presumably to scrounge up whatever food was left, in order to give him a taste of how keep-owners were supposed to eat.

Grinning at their antics, seen through the corner of his eyes, he returned his attention to the task at hand; finishing his meal before Minsc...

Looking confused at him for a few seconds, Minsc smiled, almost mischievously, and put boo down on the table, handing the rodent a chicken leg.

-"Not fair." Negrath smiled, before resuming his part of the makeshift "race".

-"Oh, fair." Minsc objected;

-"Minsc and Boo up against the offspring of God's."

-"Oh, all right." Were the quick reply, grin threatening to hamper Negrath's eating abilities...

-"…Now I understand why males ended up as the weaker part of the Drow." Were Viconia's laconic statement, before the table erupted in laughter.



As the servants performed their after-meal duties, the group gathered at a table in the main hall downstairs, all eyes turned to Negrath, to hear his suggestions for where to go next.

-"I've been going through my notes, and have found that I've completely forgotten the plea from that little guy outside the Coronet. Supposedly something about animals attacking the city of Trademeet...Jaheira?"

-"I was wondering when you'd get around to that."

-"Then why did you not remind me?"

-"I trusted you would remember, sooner or later...and, had I started to remind you...you might not have gone at all."

-"...A definite possibility. Thanks for your fate in me."

-"I'm not alone in having that." The Druid added silently.

The look that followed the statement, told him that the "other" were the one who, according to her, recently had taken to wander invisibly in front of them, a satisfied smile on his face...

-"I appreciate that." were his low-voiced reply, before turning his attention back to the group as a whole;

-"So we agree that we have no more pressing matters than this?

Viconia?"

-"Just keep us out of the Underdark, and you can tell us to walk across worlds, human. Whether we choose to obey, is another matter entirely."

-"I'll remember that.

Minsc?"

-"Will Minsc have to slay defenseless creatures of nature?"

-"Depends...you may have to take down a few in our search for their cause to attack a town they have not bothered previously. You with us?"

With a look in his eyes telling them that in his mind he was already boot- to-moral with whatever evil caused the "defenseless" animals to do what they did, Minsc nodded, almost malevolently;

-"Minsc and Boo will travel with Negrath."

Snapping out of his daydreaming, he added, giving the table a single, heavy strike;

-"And we will travel now!"

-"We'll be going as soon as we have clear that it is all we will need to do for a while...Druid business tends to demand a week or two, at the very least, eh, Jaheira?"

Smiling slightly, she nodded; so it did.

-"Keldorn? You with us?"

-"The sooner I can turn my blade against human opponents again, the sooner I'll be happy."

-"Agreed." were Jaheira's answering comment.

-"And you have no intention of being the "Lady of the Manor", Aerie?"

The avariel simply shook her head.

-"Well, then. Domo!"

Having recently entered the room by way of a nearby staircase, the man who where Negrath's eyes and ears in the Keep, wandered over, clearly wondering what the Lord wanted of him.

-"Domo, I'd like to suggest a few of the hidden doors here in the keep replaced with real ones...would make maneuvering it a whole lot easier for all of us...and whoever else would be dropping by. Care to listen?"

-"Always, My lord." the man said, taking the seat on Negrath's right, recently vacated by the Drow that for some reason never were to be found far away from his new master...

As Negrath began explaining, the Major Domo gestured at a nearby servant, who, from whatever shelf they had been hidden in, got him the plans for the building.

Soon enough, the two Keep-managers were busy discussing which secrets that would be best served by being replaced with actual doors, and which that would be better off staying secret, paying no heed to the rest of the group, that departed to their separate rooms to get ready for the journey ahead.



Upon setting foot on Trademeet soil, the adventurers were beset by creatures they, if ever, had expected to find in the pens of the Copper Coronet, if they at all had previous knowledge of them.

A great, dotted cat, a vampiric wolf, and several other more or less magical creatures of the wild variety.

Fortunately, the town still had able men and women to stave of the common threat, and soon joined in the uneven battle.

Negrath noticed that Minsc and Jaheira were as precise in their strikes as only true protectors of life could be, and that Minsc rarely struck at a creature that did not attack him or Aerie directly.

Viconia, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to go up close and personal with the four-legged opponents, perhaps to prove to herself that she still could, or simply to re-live the justice of killing the farmer and his sons.

Keldorn took a rather unusual approach; he picked an animal that no-one else could currently handle, and basically gave it the flat of his blade, a thorough trashing sending it yelping in short order.

Personally, Negrath felt no joy in the four-legged bodies he could see from earlier attacks on the town, but simply cut wherever his enchanted katanas could have an effect.

A few close calls and a pile of fur-covered bodies later, they were approached by someone who looked like she had gotten used to the sight without having wanted to.

in clipped tones, she told Negrath that help would be appreciated, but that a visit to the mayor would clear things up for everyone involved.

Having received directions Negrath led his group into the city proper, catching the oh-so-sweet tones of yet another exchange between two of his female companions...something about...soaking a parade?

Shaking his head in confusion, but unwilling to ask, he turned down the street where the mayor's house were supposed to be, wishing to get together with the only family he had left, as soon as possible...