SILVERYMOON

Chapter 4

Kate was helping Alexis put on her gown. They had no choice but to use two different tailors, given they only had three weeks to find a dress and if necessary, have it altered to fit them. Most of the other guests had had months. They had three weeks.

Alexis's gown was light-weight shot silk with a satin finish. It was soft and flowed nicely. It was full-length, with long billowing sleeves that each had hanging sleeves attached to them. It was white with iridescent hints of pale blue and light purple. The shoulders were slightly padded with a layer of cotton. Thankfully, the gown wasn't going to be overly warm due to how it had been made.

Kate's gown was almost a mirror of Alexis's and not because they had planned it that way. Hers was equally white with soft, iridescent hints of pale blue. Her gown was several layers, but the fabric was also light enough that she wasn't overly warm even though it was silk. Hers had padded shoulders too, but her bodice had a collar and a bow just under her breasts.

Kate had bitten Rick last night just before they made love to each other. It meant she felt great with new Demon blood in her system, and Rick felt just as great with her Cum inside him.

"May I ask a question? You can tell me to mind my own business, and I won't be upset." The question Kate wanted to ask was personal.

"Ask away." Alexis wasn't all that worried about her question.

"Castle needs Cum, and you need Cum, so how do you get yours?" She knew Rick was eating her pussy and fucking her, so he got all he needed, but what was Alexis doing?

"The same I was doing back in the loft. I go out at night and find a lone male, charm him, and either give him a blow job or I have sex with him. It's a little strange. I'm all of 16 years old, and I lost my virginity a couple of years ago.

"I know sex is supposed to mean something, that it should be personal. But to me, it's just one more thing I have to do to live. I boiled it down to thinking of it like going out to get a late-night burger or a taco. A craving, if that makes sense.

"Till Dad found you, I was convinced I would be doing this forever. You, though, have given me hope that I might find someone. Who here I could trust to tell, I don't know, but at least now I have hope." Alexis loved Kate for that alone. And she was making her dad happy which meant the world to her.

"I'm almost positive that around here there's someone like me who's pure Evil and would just as soon kill you. But I've seen several races I thought sure were just fantasy. I might see a few more tonight," Kate pointed out.

"We might." Alexis shrugged. "It's kind of fun seeing all these races. Real Elves and Dwarves, and not Disney Dwarves either. Plus, all the others I've seen. Did you know there's a race here that's part Celestial? Aasimar, I think he was called. He was handsome, rather tall, and had sort of pale grayish skin with white glowing eyes. I saw him during one of my classes to be a Sorceress."

"Handsome, huh?" Kate was beginning to think maybe Alexis already had ideas. "Does he like you?"

Alexis chuckled since she knew exactly what Kate was thinking. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know my name. Nice try, Kate."

"Can't blame a girl for trying." And then Kate continued to try. "You know, you could just go and talk to him. Maybe a Celestial, whatever that is, and you might be a good match."

"Celestial is someone from another plane of existence. They call this place the Prime Material Plane. There are a lot of planes out there. His is just one of many. Though I've learned that an Aasimar is technically a half-breed. Something like Half-Elf and Half-Orc. So half-human or Elf or whatever, and half-Celestial," Alexis explained.

"So, you do like him?" Alexis clearly knew more than she did. She could only learn that much by asking someone, which meant that she was attracted to him.

Alexis glared at Kate, who had finally stopped fluffing her dress. "I don't even know his name."

"So find out. I need to check on Castle. Knowing him, he's barely even started getting dressed. And I need to think about what we're going to take with us. This idea of not being armed gives me pause." Kate was done helping her and needed to get Castle moving.

"No weapons, Kate, and we don't have many magical items. You won't let us buy any," Alexis reminded her.

"Until we start making money, we won't be buying any either. None of us have jobs, and we're not even being paid to do this." Yes, they were getting three spells cast on their home, but that wasn't money they could spend in the Market.

"Don't get yourself dirty before we get there. Remember, you need to decide what to do with Patches." Kate didn't know what her plans were for her fiery cat. "And I did let us splurge on these dresses and Castle's suit, Alexis." Kate was doing the best she could and felt a little annoyed with her.

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The Palace had arranged for a carriage to come to pick them up, so they didn't have to walk. Rick got out first and offered a hand to Kate to help her out, followed by Alexis. Not far off was the main entrance, and boy, was it guarded or what? They even had animals that none of them had ever seen before.

"Sniffer dogs, no doubt." Alexis had spotted them right off and was glad she had talked Patches into staying at home. Ever since that one dog attack, he hated all dogs. Even if these things were dogs – and it was hard to tell – they still might rip her little cat to pieces.

"Stick with the plan, Castle. Do not do something to screw this up," Kate whispered to him.

"This is me we're talking about," Rick argued since he knew the plan.

"That's what worries me," Kate retorted. She didn't miss the beginning of a grin on Alexis's face. "Shall we? Everyone got their invitation?" Kate saw two, plus her own.

Kate hadn't had to get Castle to get dressed. He was already done and waiting on her and Alexis. She really did like his suit. It wasn't a black tux like one he probably had back in the loft.

FLASHBACK

"You're dressed, so why the long face?" Kate was surprised that Castle was actually ready and he looked really sharp. Very handsome!

"I was just thinking," Rick responded.

Kate rubbed his arm. "What's wrong? It was your idea to accept this responsibility. We aren't getting paid, but we are in a way." Spell spells that would have cost them 750 gold pieces each meant they were getting paid in her book.

"I know. I just… I had a tux back in the loft. All this got me thinking about what's back there. The loft, the house in the Hamptons, Mother, all my friends and people I know. For an adventure, this is interesting, but we live here and I… I don't know." For once, he was having trouble putting it into words.

"I know what you're thinking. What's my dad doing? Lanie, the boys. Dad lost my mother and became a drunk so what's he doing this time?" Kate had been trying not to think about it. She had no control over it, so why worry about it?

"I don't have much real money in the loft. Mother doesn't know the combination to any of my safes. How is she going to manage? The power bill, water bill, insurance bills, groceries. I'm not going to be declared dead for 7 to 10 years. Roy's gone, so who does that leave to help her? Bob?" He might tease her a lot about living with him, but she was his mother.

Kate wrapped her arms around him to try and comfort him. She hadn't really thought about it. She had bills piling up, too. Her dad had a key to her place, but not her mailbox unless he found the spare in her bedroom. At least he had a job and could do something about it.

"Martha sounds like she can take care of herself. She raised you all alone, so she can manage. Maybe my dad can help." He wasn't all that well off any longer, though. Not after being a drunk. "Is there a credit card in your study she could find and use?"

That had Rick thinking. "There is actually. I wonder where my phone is?" He lived off of his phone, that, and his laptop.

"Same place mine is most likely. Along with my clothes. I don't want to think how many voicemails and text messages it has." Kate was betting a lot by now. It had been months.

"Come on, Castle. We have a job." Kate focused her mind on the job. She patted his chest and looked him over to see if anything needed adjustment.

END FLASHBACK

Sure enough, they got sniffed, and that was before they even had a chance to hand over their invitations or make it past the gate and into the complex.

It was an impressive place. It had at least four floors and two towers. One reminded Rick of the Clock tower in London; it was Big Ben, just without the clock. If anything, this entire place reminded him of that building but without the river next door.

There were massive iron-reinforced doors that had still more guards, and this time, real dogs that looked them over before they could enter. After going through the doors, they could go up or down, and they chose to go up.

To their right was an impressive library filled with books that had Rick leaning that way. That was until Kate took his arm and went straight. They could hear someone playing the piano somewhere. In front of them was a Great Room that was three floors tall. Looking up before entering showed that the stairwell was just as tall and open.

It was a nice room. It had a fireplace, sofa, four chairs, and a table. Open doors led to the kitchen, and yet more open doors led to outdoor porches. The Lady of the house was on the sofa and being greeted, so Rick and Kate got in line. Alexis knew her job, so she headed for a porch. She looked around, saw she was alone and went Ethereal. It was so that she could search this place unseen.

After greeting her, Rick started his job. His job was to stay close to her but not too close and to keep his eyes open. Alexis was supposed to go where she couldn't, but that didn't mean Kate couldn't look around, so she left this room.

Rick came upon staff walking around handing out glasses of champagne and hors d'oeuvres, so he took a flute of what he thought was something like Cristal Brut, and he helped himself to a single hors d'oeuvre. Then his imagination went to town. The word POISON flashed in his mind. Shuddering slightly, he put his drink and the hors d'oeuvre down.

He knew what to do, so he watched everyone, not only her. Just because weapons got caught at one of the doors didn't mean one couldn't make it inside, so he kept an eye out for those.

Kate walked into the library and looked around. So far, everyone looked either human or Elf, but she was betting that would eventually change. The room had a fireplace, a sofa, three chairs, and a table. There were also some potted plants and two walls of books. And by the look of it, they were real books, definitely not scrolls.

The next room had a pool table where two humans were playing pool. There were two chairs, more potted plants, and Kate thought there were Half-elves who were waiting their turn. Outside was an upper terrace and a lower terrace, and those areas were filled with people. There was a small three-person band, and a few couples were actually dancing.

Back inside, she saw the piano and didn't know who or what was playing it. She decided to call it an It. It had four arms and used all four of them to play the music. She saw still another fireplace, sofa, two chairs, and potted plants. This time Kate paid attention to the lone tapestry and two pictures hanging on the walls.

She went into the next room over. It held a round table with six chairs, lots of potted plants, and walls filled with pictures. The table was laden with food and drink. Kate looked at it and ignored it since she no longer ate or drank.

Kate walked into another room that turned out to be a sunroom. It was unique in that two of the walls were glass. One looked onto the lower terrace. Surprisingly, the ceiling was glass too. She was taken aback since glass certainly didn't come cheap here. Kate took a closer look and noticed they were all single pane. She also noticed a sofa, two chairs, a coffee table, and more potted plants. The others in the room looked to all be Elves.

It was then that Kate finally got noticed. She knew he was watching, but he didn't approach her, and she moved on to the next room. This room had a pair of glass doors leading outside, a round table with a lovely statue sitting on it, and a spiral staircase going up.

Kate knew that that Elf was standing next to her, looking at the statue. He was handsome enough. If things were different, she might even be interested, but she had Castle and was learning to love him.

"What do you think of it?" he inquired.

"She's naked," Kate replied. She had breasts about her size, long hair, and she was thin, just like her.

"The female form is the most beautiful known to any race. Where are my manners, my name is Durian." He bowed a little toward her.

"I'm Kate." They had considered using fake names, but people might question them, so it was best not to lie.

"So, what does Kate do?" Durian queried.

"Worry about what my boyfriend and his daughter might sell in our store between my training to be a Slayer of Domiel," Kate told him, thinking that would scare him off.

"A lawful good assassin! Very interesting. That is most impressive." He had heard boyfriend, but that wasn't stopping him just yet. "So, what do you plan to sell?"

"Christmas. All things Christmas," Kate said.

"Christmas? This is not something I have heard of till now." He had no idea what she was talking about.

Kate gave him a sort of smile. "No one here has, but everyone will eventually. You'll like it. It's a celebration of life. Trees to decorate and other things, as well as music to celebrate with."

He was still interested. "Perhaps I will hear you sing one of these songs later."

"Perhaps. I need to find Alexis, so if you will excuse me." Kate inclined her head slightly and headed for the spiral staircase to go up and see what was there.

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Alexis was way upstairs after finding a set of back stairs. Up there was an interesting sitting room with a glass-enclosed alcove. There was even a bathroom. The walls held at least twenty small pictures of people.

Walking out of the door, she came upon a gallery that was filled with armor and weapons. Each suit of armor was in a dormer that had glass. But it was the two figures at the far end that had her attention.

Going toward them, she saw one on his knees. The woman was looking her way, but obviously, she didn't see her. "What are you doing?" Alexis asked herself and watched them. At first, she didn't understand what he was doing. "It's a lock! Thieves!" Initially, she thought she needed to find Kate or locate some guards to come up here. But instead, she went through the door and into the room. It was a pretty large room with glass windows on three sides. And there was even a fireplace. Though, dead center was what had her attention.

"What are you?" Alexis circled it and looked it over. It was just sitting there, but it was almost as big as her body. To her, it looked like an enormous diamond save for the fact that it was flat on the bottom. However, the rest of it reminded her of a gemstone.

"Is this what you two are trying to steal?" Alexis wasn't sure how much time she had before they figured out that lock. So she stepped up and wrapped her arms around it. Alexis became solid, picked it up, and went back to Ethereal. She was able to rush out through the door, away from the two thieves, and head for that small bathroom she found.

What Alexis didn't see was all the fireworks going off outside. That was the alarm. Something had been stolen, a very certain something.

Kate found an empty room that held a sofa, two chairs, and another spiral staircase that led upward. A wall of glass and an alcove that was all glass. However, while she was looking, she saw fireworks going off, and even from there, she could tell that all hell was breaking loose.

Rick was still watching the old Lady of this place, the people around her, and all of the help handing out drinks and food when suddenly fireworks went off outside. He loved fireworks, so he began to watch. Rick wished it was him firing them off when he turned and saw guards taking the old Lady away. He followed discreetly, just as Kate told him to.

Alexis had a problem. She needed Kate. But she also needed to get a good look at these two, so she focused on the pair first. Alexis saw them looking around as she finally heard the fireworks going off. She thought it was early for fireworks, but Alexis looked at these two and memorized everything she could about them. Then she went down through the floor to try and find Kate.

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But Alexis was back. She thought they might escape, or maybe they were in disguise, so she took a chance. Alexis chose to become solid and charmed the first one, the male. However, the female ran for it and escaped her. At least she had one of the thieves, so she wrapped her arms around him and went Ethereal, taking him with her. She carried him into the room they were trying to break into.

Going back to solid, she kissed him six separate times, thinking that would hold him here. So she began to run through doors and walls and even people while in search of Kate.

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Now they had Mitalar Aetoris and several guards. Other city members were there, and even High Lady Alustriel Silverhand while someone worked on the lock. He had just one final bar to move. He looked at Alexis. "You got this open?"

"Nope, they did, but one of them is inside or should be. That's where I left him," Alexis told them. "It's a Chinese two-dimensional puzzle lock. I've seen them before. The only thing worse is a Rubik's Cube. Those things are a pain."

Alexis saw the looks she was getting. "What? I am learning to be a Sorceress, you know."

He moved the final panel and opened the door. Sure enough, he was still standing there with a blank look. "It's gone!" Mitalar was not happy. He and the Lady knew what was locked up in here.

"I have it," Alexis assured them. "They were trying to steal it, so I stole it first. It's in the bathroom around the corner." Alexis gestured toward it, and Mitalar and two guards left. They returned moments later carrying that enormous diamond.

"Thank the Gods!" Lady Alustriel was satisfied. She took it from Mitalar and placed it back on its pedestal.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it?" Kate was curious. What made it so damn special?

"This is a Diamond Dragon Egg. It is believed to be the very last of its kind. If or when it finally hatches, it will give birth to what might be the very last Diamond Dragon in Faerûn. It is the single most precious and expensive item known," Lady Alustriel revealed. She looked at Alexis. "And you did this?"

"You did hire us for this, my Lady," Alexis responded.

"She was doing what I told her to do. I was searching the building, looking for suspicious people. At the same time, Alexis was searching the building as well. Castle was to keep his eyes on the Lady of the house," Kate explained.

"It sounds like we owe you far more than three simple spells," Lady Alustriel said thoughtfully. "We can talk about that later."

"There is one more," Alexis warned her. "The male's here, but he has a female partner. We need to find her."

"Oh, we will." Mitalar was sure of that. A few simple spells, an ID from Alexis, and that female would be questioned for years to come as would this male once they figured out why he was like this.

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The Ball lasted for hours, and Rick, Kate, and even Alexis never left their job. However, nothing else happened that they were aware of.

They were riding their carriage back home. "A Dragon Egg?" Rick had listened but was still trying to understand it all.

"That's what she said, the very last of its kind. Something about Dragon Disciples. Evil Dragon worshipers. They wanted it to hatch, and then they would corrupt it to be evil," Alexis explained. They questioned her for some time about everything she did and saw.

"Real Dragons." Rick was smiling wide. Suddenly being stuck here was looking up.

"Don't go getting any ideas, Castle. If they're half as big as I think they are, and half as powerful as I believe they might be, they could level this city if there were enough of them." Kate didn't ever want to see even one. She liked living just fine, thank you very much.

"Oh, come on, Kate! It's a DRAGON! How cool would that be?" Nothing Kate could say would stop him from wanting to see one. Or even better, talk to one!

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Just two days later, the three of them were all standing there watching Mitalar and a Cleric. Those two walked around their house and cast their three spells. She wanted to know what the option spell they wanted and if they wanted to keep everyone out or just a select group?

"This is also yours, compliments of Lady Alustriel. The contents are yours as well. If we have cause to need your help again, we will contact you," Mitalar told them. "Oh, and each item is tagged with what it is and does. You have the thanks of the City of Silverymoon. The Ball was a complete success." He took his leave and even paused to think about petting the fiery cat, but he changed his mind and didn't even try.

"It's a backpack." Kate looked it over and watched as Rick opened it and pulled things out of it. Again, and again, and again. "Just how big is this thing?" It wasn't even the size of one of those large camping backpacks. It was more the size of a kid's backpack for school.

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Whip of Webs – +1 whip, 3/day target entangled as if by a net for up to 3 rounds

Robe of Arcane Might – +4 armor bonus to AC; +1 to caster level for spells of a specific school

Ring of Animal Friendship – Charm animal at will

Circlet of Rapid Casting – 3 charges/day, cast spells as swift actions