Homecoming: The Storm Clouds Gather

It was winter by the time Lance reached the road that led home to Solace. Jarrin and Aldemere had parted ways with him and Luca once they reached the shores of Solamnia, home had been closer for them. Luca had thought about splitting off himself and heading back to Bloodhelm to find his father but in the end he had decided against it, thinking logically that his father would have to return to Solace soon if he had not already. They had ridden long and hard all through the day and into part of the night, setting camp when they could not possibly continue any further. Their spirits became lighter once they entered the lands of Abanasinia and alighted upon familiar roads.

It was late afternoon, nearing evening, when they entered Solace with a light snow falling all about them. The streets above were almost bare, everyone seeking early shelter in their homes by warm fires. Waggons below were covered up and horses in their stables had thick wool blankets and stalls packed high with straw and fragrant grass. Luca rode with Lance as far as the latter family stable and then they parted ways, Luca turning his mount toward his own family home and promising to come and visit in the morning. Lance watched his friend for a time then attended to his horse. His father had always been one to say that if you did not take care of your horse they would not serve you well when you needed them so Lance was careful to gently remove every piece of tack and gave his horse and gentle brushing before making the stall comfortable with straw and grass and rewarding his horse with a warm blanket and a sugar beet for being so patient. All this done Lance gathered up his things and found the stairs that would take him up to the house.

The windows of the Mage Ware shop were lit and the door was open. Will must be here, thought Lance as he entered. Sure enough his uncle, they called each other cousins since they were so close in age, came out of the store room, his arms full of scrolls. Seeing Lance he nearly dropped them but managed to place them all carefully on the top of the nearest display case before approaching Lance to give him a hug. Will had grown up to be unusually tall considering his parentage, Morgen had said he got it from his grand father who was his name sake, and he had his mothers fair hair, his fathers warm brown eyes.

"Lance! By the Gods it is good to see you"

"It is good to see you too Will but not so loud I want to surprise my father"

"Oh of course sorry" Will backed a way a step or two and smiled. "Are you just getting back?"

"Yes Luca and I parted just a few moments ago"

"Ah so he`s back too, that is good to hear"

"How have you been? I did not expect to see you" Will's smile fell a little.

"I am well and mother is improving so she said that I should come and get back to work a few days ago. I still go back and forth between here and Palanthas though so that she can have some company" Lance smiled.

"You're a good man Will"

"Oh you noticed?" Will chuckled and collected the scrolls again. "I should get back to work. Go on up I think your father is in the study" the study, Lance felt his heart ache a bit.

"Thank you Will" Lance placed a hand on Willis shoulder then proceeded upstairs to the main house. It had changed hardly at all. The main room of the house was large and round with the fire place still at the far end facing the door and four armchairs of matching black leather sat around it with a small table between them. Above the fire place hung a ships wheel a wreath of roses hung on either side of it. On the mantle stood two silver goblets that Marz had crafted for Rosemarta and Kalas on their wedding day and Rosemarta`s harp, silent now but kept in such a condition that it looked as if its owner had set it down only yesterday. But that that were true, Lance sighed. The dinning table stood on the left hand side near the open doorway that led to the kitchen. On the right hand side of the house there was another open doorway with heavy velvet curtains drawn across it. Above the door the three moons were painted. It was his mothers study.

Lance set his pack and sword down upon the dinning table before waking over to the doorway and drawing aside the heavy curtains. Twin book shelves that reached to the ceiling branched away from the door on either side, following the curve of the walls. A round glass ball hung from the ceiling and was the rooms sole light, save for the candle upon the desk. The desk in question was at the far end of the study, facing the door and backed by a large bay window with a cushioned bench. Seated at the desk, with the single candle lit, flipping through the pages of a book sat Kalas. To anyone else, except perhaps Lucius and Khurn, his father would have appeared to have changed very little but Lance could see that he had. Sorrow had left its mark gathered about his eyes with deep lines and furrows. He did not hold his head quite the same way and a certain sureness in his movements, no matter how small, was gone.

"Father?" Kalas looked up and when he smiled upon seeing his only son he was in that moment his old self again.

"Lance!" Kalas rose from the chair and went around the desk quickly to embrace his son. Lance smiled and returned his fathers embrace firmly. "It is good to see you again son. Did you just arrive?"

"Yes a few moments ago, I saw Will downstairs"

"You must have ridden a long way. Are you hungry? I was about to get up and start super"

"I am very hungry. Do you need a hand in the kitchen"

"Oh no I can manage. You have a seat and relax" Lance smiled some more.

"Very well then father" Kalas placed an arm around his sons shoulders and walked out of the Study with him. Lance took a seat in one of the arm chairs near the fire while his father went on to the kitchen. As he sat a brown cat, that he had not noticed before, came out of the study. It was Mishka, Gremelkins mate, she was now very old but you would not tell by looking at her. Gremelkin had once said something before he passed about the Paladin that had granted him the gift of unnaturally long life giving the same gift to Mishka and to their kits through transference. Lance smiled at Mishka and bent down to beckon her over. Mishka meowed and walked quickly over to rub against his hand. Lance laughed softly and picked her up, setting her in his lap. Mishka shifted about for a few moments then, finding a comfortable place at last, settled down and closed her eyes.

Will came upstairs then and with him came his familiar, one of Gremelkins sons, Vallen. Vallen and Thorn had been the two kittens Gremelkin and Mishka had chosen to keep, with the permission and support of Rosemarta and Kalas. Vallen was a slightly lighter shade of brown than his mother but in the sunlight he shone the golden colour of the Vallen Wood trees in autumn and, since becoming Willis familiar, wore a black collar around his neck. Thorn was a darker gold orange brown like his father and had a black stripe running from his nose down to the tip of his tail with smaller stripes branching off on all sides. Thorn had joined the city guard after the death of his father and was doing his best to fill Gremelkins paw prints. Both cats had also gained their fathers ability to communicate in the common tongue through telepathy.

"Heading home for the night Will?"

"Yes I've come up to say good night and good bye" hearing this from the kitchen Kalas came out and offered a hand to Will.

"Good night then Will, be sure to give your mother my best"

"I will uncle Kalas" Will shook Kalas`s hand then walked over to Lance. "I would not want you to disturb her" Will chuckled softly and gently patted Mishka`s head before offering his hand to Lance, "Good night Lance and welcome home"

"Thank you, good night and please give my best to your mother too"

"I shall" Will walked to the door and waited for Vallen to say a farewell to his mother, Lance and Kalas before departing. Kalas returned to the kitchen and Lance sat back in his chair again, slowly stroking Mishka`s fur, she was so warm and her purring was strong and comforting. He had almost drifted off when a voice said,

"When did you get home Lance?" Lance looked up to see Thorn standing by the door, he must have arrived while Will was leaving and been let in. Lance smiled.

"Not long ago Thorn. It is good to see you"

"And I you" Thorn`s eyes smiled for him as he walked over to hop up onto the small table.

"Hungry Thorn?" called Kalas from the kitchen.

"Yes very!"

"Hard days work?" asked Lance.

"Not overly but work of any kind always gives me an appetite" Mishka groaned softly and Lance chuckled. In short time dinner was ready. Kalas came out of the kitchen with a pan fried salmon crusted with black pepper and other spices. There were also potatoes and fresh bread. Kalas served some left over fish to the two felines then called his son to the table. Lance sat and drank deeply from the ale that his father had handed to him before starting on his meal. For the rest of his days he would swear that he had never eaten a finer meal then on that day with his father, home at last and glad to be. Father and son ate silently, Kalas knowing the value of a quiet meal after so many nights of eating out in the elements and having to be constantly on guard. When they were both finished Kalas refilled the ale mugs and settled back in his chair.

"Now son you must have some news, you must tell me of it"

"Did you receive the letter that I sent to you?"

"I did"

"I am glad, I was unsure if you would. You know then a great deal of what happened but I should tell you of what happened after" Lance took a drink and then began. Kalas listened silently as Lance told him of what they had found on the smugglers ship, of the battle and of the smugglers arrest. "The discovery of the five headed dragon symbol leaves little doubt as to with whom the smugglers were dealing"

"Indeed so"

"I spoke to Master Sarilban about the incident at Bloodhelm when I stopped at the tower with Luca and the others. He said that so long as her followers believe in her the Dark Queen will never be truly gone and that evil never truly goes away it merely lurks in the shadowy places where the light cannot reach"

"That sounds like something he would say indeed but it does make sense if you think about it"

"He also said that we should prepare ourselves for the next time evil rallies to try and over take the light again"

"I agree with him on that point also but I hope that it is not something we will have to do too soon"

"As do I father" so they both told themselves but there was something that the both of them could perceive in the other and that was the feeling that if there were already isolated instances of the followers of Takhisis rising up to cause trouble and if they were gathering weapons that that day was coming fast, far too fast. A silence passed between them. After a few moments Lance broke it.

"Has sir Lucius returned yet?"

"No not yet"

"I see"

"Did he look well when you saw him last?"

"Yes very well father. I am sure that he will be returning soon" Kalas nodded and took a drink. Another silence, shorter than the first.

"Will you go to see Solana?"

"If I happen by her"

"Only then?" Kalas smiled and Lance frowned a little.

"Now don't start that father I only just got back"

"Start what?"

"Father" Lances voice was stern but still respectful, a trick he had learned over the years. "For some reason I cannot understand since Solana and I were children you and many others have been trying to thrust us together. When did I ever show more than friendly interest toward her, and don't say when we first met because I was only a boy"

"Do you not like her?"

"Father of course I like her she is a very kind, sweet person. Moon and Boamin raised her well. What I don't like is feeling as if I cannot chose who I am to be with, that it has already been decided for me and that is exactly how you make it seem. Father can you please, please father, let it rest. Solana and I are friends and whether that changes or not will be up to us to decide" Kalas regarded his son with quiet understanding and nodded.

"Very well Lance as you wish. However you should know that Vallan has had an eye for her for some time now" Lance snorted,

"She is smart enough to repel his clumsy and surly vulgar advances"

"Perhaps but you know my son that he is a rather accomplished young man"

"Accomplished?" Lance barked the word and lowered his gaze to show he had not meant to and quieted his voice, "How can you say that father? Knowing what he is"

"He is a warrior and shares command of a band of men that his own father leads"

"That means nothing. For as long as I live father I will never understand why Lucius tolerates them and he must have explained it to me nigh on a dozen times. They are not soldiers they are murderers, no better than a pack of wandering mercenaries. They have no honour and no rule and Akoran is the worst of them all. He never thinks before he acts, with a sword in his hands he is a mad man and his son is just as bad if not worse"

"They are however good fighters and their numbers grow almost daily. They are an asset"

"So Lucius continues to say even though they disobey orders constantly and listen to no one but Akoran. As for Vallan he all but called you a coward father. I served him well for that you can be assured. There in lies another reason I cannot stand either the father or the son and that is their belief that they are equal to you and sir Lucius and that is not so and it never shall be so"

"They are proud that is all"

"They ought to know their place and I shall continue to teach it too them till they do" Kalas took a drink in the silence that passed and regarded his son thoughtfully. He had worried about this hate and anger his son harbored when he had been still a child and had hoped that he might grow out of it but such had not been the case. He set his now empty ale mug down and said calmly.

"There may come a day when you will have to fight along side them, not against them, especially if what you say about the followers of Takhisis is true. If the forces of darkness do strike again you will not be able to afford bickering with your allies"

"I would sooner believe that the Phoenixes would join the forces of Takhisis. No father if a war comes I shall not be with them, nor shall I be against them, they will just do best to remain out of my way and they will fight on their own" Lance drank the last of his ale and Kalas sighed softly. Lance gathered up the dishes and took them into the kitchen. Once everything was washed and put away Lance came back and stretched, letting a yawn escape him as he did so.

"Forgive me father, for the night is still quite young, but I feel frightfully tired and I think I shall retire to my room"

"I understand son. I have kept your room well enough but you may fetch fresh sheets and blankets from the hall cupboard"

"Thank you father and good night" Lance smiled before climbing the stairs. Kalas listened to the opening and closing of the hall cupbored and his sons foot steps as the straightened the bed in his room and then moved on to the bath room to wash, finally returning to his room after a few minuets, the shuffling of him settling to bed and then silence. Kalas sat up for a number of hours before finally putting out the fire, bidding a good night to Thorn and Mishka, and turning in himself.