Home amongst the stars

[Northen Light36]

Acqua and Mat both pick up their pace when they reach the underground city of Humontis, eager to reach the guild in time for dinner. In fact, the last half hour's worth of conversation between the pair has consisted of nothing except what might be on tonight's menu.

They pass through the doorkeeper's shop with only a brief arguement about Talon's presence, then lead their companion down into the guild.

While the guild might have started life as a cave, these days it looks closer to a high priced inn. Stone pillars, beautifully carved to resemble tree trucks and set with brown tiger's eye, support the roof of the cavern, which has been set with crystals that catch the light of the wall torches and sparkle like stars. Even the walls and floor are set with semi-precious gems as well as gold and silver. In the center of the guild is a huge dining/communal gathering room. Large fireplaces and the huge oven keep the guild comfortably warm, despite being this far underground.

"There's a hot spring in that room there," Mat remarks to Talon, pointing out the door of the room in question. "Those rooms there are bedrooms. That one is Echo's - not that she uses it often. There's the healer's wing there, and through that door is our library. Store rooms are over there, and the privies are through that door and that one."

"Welcome to the Thieves' Guild," Acqua tells her brother with a grin.

[Kender Bard]

Talon was drinking in the sights with wide eyes. "Holy Etaf," he breathed. "This place is beautiful. No wonder you constantly want to come here." He wandered slowly from sight to sight, breathless with delight. "It's amazing."

[Northen Light36]

"Ilyamen's better," Acqua and Mat chorus. A couple of watching thieves laugh, but it's friendly laughter.

"You two must be blind if you believe that," one of the pair remarks, getting to her feet and walking over. "Kitten, Mat, a pleasure to see you." She looks at Talon and smiles warmly. "You, I'm afraid I don't know."

"Kit, not Kitten," Acqua corrects with a sigh, then eyes the woman. "Um..." The woman glances back at her and laughs.

"Amy. Don't worry, I didn't expect you to remember me," Amy laughs. "The only time we met, you were still hiding behind Echo." Acqua blushes at that.

[Kender Bard]

"My name is Talon," Talon introduces himself with an equally warm smile and an outstretched hand. "I'm Acqua's brother-in-law."

[Northen Light36]

"A pleasure to meet you," Amy replies with a grin and a hand shake. "And if half the stories I hear about Kit are true, you have my sympathy."

"Hey," protests Acqua, her laughter interupted by a sneeze. Mat instantly remembers to be over protective.

"If you'll excuse us, Amy, Acqua needs to see a healer and she, Talon and I could all use a visit to the bathing rooms before the guards smell us out." With that, Mat herds Acqua and Talon over to the healer's quarters, ignoring Acqua's protests completely.

The healer here is a kindly old man who greets the trio with a smile and makes a tsking sound when he hears of Talon and Acqua's misadventure with the bandits. "Ah dear, bandits are a problem aren't they?" he remarks. "Well, you two just sit down and I'll take a look at you both."

Acqua sighes, but takes a seat. The healer quickly looks over Talon and perclaims him healthy, aside from a need for a bath, fresh clothes and a relaxing soak in the hot spring. He also gives Talon a couple of herbal teas that should prevent any illness from the poor food supplied by the bandits.

"Now, let's see about you, young lady," the healer tells Acqua and begins examining her. "Hmm," he murmurs and tsks. "Well, you certainly have a cold," he says at last. "And there's some minor infection in those cuts. A few days in bed, plus a nice soak in the spring and using this cream on those cuts should fix you up though." The healer turns to Talon and Mat, saying, "Now just you two lads make sure she gets her rest."

[Kender Bard]

"I will," Talon promises. "It won't be the first time I or Alethia have had to force her to stay in bed or at home for a while. Now a bath and a soak sound like a bit of heaven to me, so why don't we take care of that next, eh?" He grins at Mat.

[Northen Light36]

Mat chuckles and nods. "Come on, I'll show you to the bathes and you can wash up while I scrape up some clothes that you two haven't been marched through half the Beastlands in."

"Mat, I love you," Acqua sighes. Mat flushes slightly and forces a laugh.

"You're easily won," he quips, leading the way to the bathing rooms. "Here we go. I'll just drag some clothes out of storage for you." Mat rushes off, leaving Acqua to roll her eyes and mutter about the oddities of boys as she heads into the women's bathing room.

By the time Talon's about halfway done with his bath, Mat's back, with towels and clothes. "These might be a little big, but they should be all right." He glances at Talon's dirty clothes. "Want those washed, or burnt?"

[Kender Bard]

"If you burn them, maybe my wife will have to let me wear my old clothes," Talon chuckles. "I want to thank you for all your help, Mat. You're a nice fellow. That being said, I feel that I should be fair and warn you that if you keep making eyes at my little sister, I'm obliged to make it hard for you."

[Northen Light36]

Mat flushes a little, but otherwise keeps his cool. "Well, Talon," he replies reasonably calmly. "Never let it be said I back down from a challenge." He grins, leaning back against a wall. "Besides, I'm a nice guy, like you said. Better me then some flighty bard, don't you think?"

[Kender Bard]

"I don't have anything against bards," Talon admitted. "I don't have anything against most people that don't get on my bad side. I like most people; it's the most defining difference between Amaro and me." He gives Mat a pointed look, as though he just dropped another hint.

[Northen Light36]

Mat smiles, but he's completely serious when he says, "Talon, if I get on your bad side, I'll probably have already gotten on your sister's bad side. At which point the guild will be digging my grave."

"Boys!" Acqua calls from the other side of the door. "Do you two want to grab some time in the spring or are you just intending to drown yourselves in there?"

[Kender Bard]

Talon stretches and chuckles, calling back, "We're coming!" To Mat, he says with a smile, "Well then it seems we're both pretty clear on things. That being said, let's go enjoy those springs."

[Northen Light36]

"You go ahead Acqua, we'll be there in a minute," Mat adds, then nods to Talon, tossing him a towel.

"Wasn't planning on waiting," Acqua calls, already running off. Mat laughs softly.

"She's a neverending bundle of energy, isn't she?" he remarks fondly as he leads Talon to the hotsprings. Acqua's already there, up to her neck in the warm water and chatting to one of the younger guild members, a 12 year old boy who's fishing for pickpocketing tips - much to Acqua's amusement.

[Kender Bard]

Talon stretches before slipping into the springs as well, a groan of bliss escaping him. "A real shame I don't have this at home to come home to. Would do a world of good after a hard day of work."

[Northen Light36]

"There's one in the Talen'sul guild," Mat comments idly, sighing in contentment as he slids into the water.

"Too bad we're not so lucky in Ilyamen or Maelstorm," Acqua adds. "Considering how easily it is to end up with aching sides after laughing at the guards, it'd be nice to be able to soak." Mat laughs and nods his agreement.

"Ah well, we can't have everything," he remarks, then turns to entertaining Talon with amusing stories from Acqua's early days in the guild. Acqua, naturally, counters with every story she can think of about Mat and the story war goes on until Mat notices Acqua's starting to look like a cooked lobster and is half asleep. "Hey Talon," he says, pretending to yawn. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhusted. Ready for bed?"