Alystia continues to blink slowly and adds chewing her lip to the contemplation. "Auntie Bryn? She's nice, like you. I don't like uncle Kaggan... he's scary, and all drooly..." the girl shuddered for a moment.

"He is very drooly, isn't he," Jevan remarked. "Well I am looking forward to meeting 'Auntie Bryn'. You'll have to introduce me."

Alystia led Jevan through the complex excitedly, as if the Freth noble did not know where his brother's chambers would be. She seemed to enjoy recklessly throwing herself into the air as she activated the house insignia clipped on her blouse, floating between the floors.

Xullin, as the house mage, had a suite sequestered away near the top of the stalagmite; a multi-room affair, it was little surprise that there was no immediate response when Jevan knocked on the door. After a few moments and some additional knocks there was at least some response; in the form of an eye magically blinking open on the door. The spell, adopting the style of al all-seeing eye, peered around for a moment, looked at Alystia who waved shyly, then bore straight down at Jevan for a long moment.

Finally, the purple device blinked itself out of existence and the door opened; revealing not Xullin but the battle-captive Shurlae Shobalar. The ex-noble wore a set of wizard's robes that were parted just enough to reveal from her neck down to her navel, the multi-colored robes shimmering primarily purple and green like a silky oil slick poured over her rail-thin body. Her hair was short and worn in a pixie-cut, today it was a magically altered purple.

"Miss Alystia, a pleasure as always. And I'm sorry, you are?..." Shurlae looked at Jevan with big doe-like eyes.

"Jevan Freth," Jevan replied with a wink, not losing his good humor for an instant. "Truly, Shurlae has it been so long?"

"I've come to see my dear brother Xullin."

"Hmm, Jevan, Jevan..." Shurlae said ponderously, tapping her chin with one slender finger tipped with a manicured purple nail. "Oh, right! Jevan, I'm so sorry, I thought you had died... whoopsie. My apologies, you know, divination wizard and all time can get a bit muddled."

She threw her hands out in mock exacerbation. "Welcome home, of course. Xullin is deep in the midst of a ritual, but she should be done soon."

"I'd expect nothing less of Xullin than to be nose deep in a ritual," Jevan replied with a smile. "We'd be pleased to wait, wouldn't we Alystia? Better to catch him now than try again later and find out he'll be hours finishing."

"Might we wait inside?"

"Hm. Awkward" Shurlae stated flatly, tipping her head to the side as she did. "I mean, I have express permission to come and go as I please, but Xullin didn't say anything about inviting anyone else in. Not that it's my place to stop you either" she continued to look at Jevan with big, doe-like submissive eyes.

"I'm sure Xullin would insist," Jevan said with a grin. "Come on in, Alystia," he said, holding out his arm to bid her enter and then moving to follow swiftly behind. "Uncle Xullin will be along soon enough."

Shurlae narrowed her eyes a bit but dipped her head in acquiescence and held the door open for the two as they entered. Xullin's quarters were spacious for the limited dimensions of the house spire, and in fact opened directly into a reasonably sized parlor complete with a fireplace and comfortable seating for up to six or so individuals. There was a small counter-top bar against one wall, that was stocked with a carafe of drow wine as well as it seemed a lovingly half-emptied bottle of surface brandy.

Shurlae laid sidelong on a divan; "Well well Master Freth, you certainly have grown. You developed some talent for the arcane during your short stint at Sorcere? You're practically dripping with it."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:19, Fri 04 Feb 2022.

Jevan grinned. "I'm a quick study," he replied, making his way towards the bar. Jevan lifted the bottle of brandy, pulled the stopper and brought the cork up to his nose. "Delightful," he said after a moment.

Setting the stopper in place once more he put the bottle down and turned to address Shurlae directly. "I must have inherited some of my brother's natural talent. But unfortunately none of his singular dedication."

Jevan winked.

"What of you, Shurlae?" he asked. "You look delectable as ever. Have you been enjoying my brother's company?"

The brandy in Jevan's nostrils smells almost decadently sweet in comparison to the average Underdark spirits; dominated by apple with hints of smoked oak and the barest trace of vanilla, it is what he can only imagine a surfacer orchard might smell like.

Shurlae, recumbent upon the divan, raises one eyebrow in a curious look at Jevan. "Hmmm, just familiar and implicit enough to be insulting, yet complimentary and interesting enough to warrant lenience. Scandalous Jevan, I may be a houseless outcast but I'm still a priestess and you speak as if I'm sort of tramp" she said, returning one of Jevan's winks right back to him. Despite her words, she fails to notice or care her own indiscretion as one side of her already revealing robe slips, offering a glimpse at more of one tiny breast than was conventionally acceptable. Shurlae was one of the smallest drow Jevan had ever seen, shorter than any other female for certain, and so thin she probably didn't weigh a single stone even when wearing soaking wet robes... even if those robes were modest.

"Things here have been boring. Probably a safe judgment for one who's house and family line is utterly obliterated, but there it is all the same. Being Xullin's little assistant hasn't proved any more interesting even for all the... fringe benefits" she eyed the brandy as she spoke, though that was the only indication of any meaning she might be alluding to.

"Houseless," Jevan repeated. "You'll always have a house with us."

"And as for entertainment," now Jevan eyed Shurlae much as Shurlae had been eying the bottle of brandy moments before, his gaze deliberately slipping to the slit in her dressing gown. "Well, perhaps we'll just have to look a little harder for those benefits," he concluded, looking up to meet her eye.

"Care for a drink while we wait?"

Shurlae softened her look, possibly genuinely taken aback by Jevan's words. When Jecan's gaze lingered down her body and came back up however, there was no a sly smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

In response to Jevan's offer of a drink, she said nothing but offered a very slight shrug of one shoulder and her head, implying a gesture of acceptance.

The bottle of brandy however, had disappeared from the bar top. Instead, nearby Alystia held the bottle, having slipped it away unseen and now help it unstopped as she sniffed it much in the same way Jevan had before; except she crinkled her nose in response to the aroma.

---

Hate to be a hypocrite but my rolls are in the log. Posting from my phone so it is not easy/efficient to copy them over. but Alystia rolled *another* 20.

"The Dark Mother help me child, but you are quick on your feet," Jevan said with a grin. He took the bottle from Alystia. "Your mother wont thank me for pouring you your first brandy just before a celebration with House Baenre. A few more years, Alystia."

Jevan took two rock glasses off the bar and poured a finger into each. Heeding his own advice he refrained from pouring more. After all, he too had to be on his best game that evening. He handed one of the glasses to Shurlae.

Alystia handed the bottle to Jevan without protest, only cocking her head slightly to the side. "You said you shouldn't give it to me just before House Baenre comes. But then you said years. That's not fair, there's a big difference. The only fair thing is to split the difference; just after the celebration with House Baenre."

Shurlae giggled, and accepted the brandy. "Wish you were back at Melee Magthere with all those... sweaty boys yet?" she said teasingly.

"That would be fair," Jevan conceded to Alystia. "But alas I've only convinced your mother to let me have you until the celebration. Afterwards you belong to her again. I shall have to sneak you away again at a later date," he said with an indulgent wink for his niece.

"And no," he continued, turning now to Shurlae. "Not in the least. I haven't had a decent meal in ten years. Or a good drink for that matter." Jevan lifted the cup to his nose and savored the bouquet once more.

"Now this - this I could get used to. To new beginnings," he said, raising his glass to Shurlae.

"You're too big to be sneaky I bet I can do a better job at that" Alystia stated without hesitation.

Shurlae couldn't resist another giggle. She raised her glass to clink Jevan's, a movement that in her recumbent position once more compromised the integrity of her outfit though she still refused to acknowledge it. "New beginnings. Here's to hope it's not just the same old shit, new Narbondel" she said, then after the toast tossed back the brandy; not drinking it entirely but still draining more than she left behind.

"Oh ho!" Jevan remarked with a chuckle for Alystia. "Be careful what you wager, young miss! That sounds like a game for you and your uncle to play later."

"New Narbondel," he finished, raising the glass to his lips. As the brandy hit his tongue he closed his eyes and relished in the moment.

Alystia narrowed her eyes playfully at the challenge, then nodded in agreement.

The brandy went down smooth, somewhat tart on its own but delightfully sweet nonetheless. Soon after, the door leading further into the suite swung open; "Brother! Welcome home... I see you've helped yourself to the amenities, be my guest of course. I know Shurlae is hardly one to play the host."

Xullin walked into the room, eyeing the brandy in Jevan's hand. Jevan's brother matched him almost exactly in height, as well as the broadness of their shoulders. Xullin's hair however was died primarily a deep purplish blue though it still had a significant amount of natural white streaks throughout; he had cut it since the last time Jevan had seen him but it was still long enough to warrant a low ponytail to keep it close along his neck and shoulders. In addition to the hair, Xullin had magically added facial hair to his jawline and chin; Jevan knew that the unnatural beards were rather 'in' fashion among Menzoberranzanian noble mages currently. Xullin wore his in long, spiky mutton chops that were distinctly cut off from a narrow and pointed goatee; all the same blue and white as his hair. He wore spider silk robes but had shrugged the top portion off so it hung loosely from his waste, while his lean but muscled torso and arms were covered with arcane glyphs and symbols which he now was wiping off with a towel.

"My apologies for the delay, I wrapped up as quickly as I could without risking our safety, I'm sure you understand" he said casually.

"Brother!" Jevan replied merrily. He held out his arms to embrace Xullin as adults for the first time in their shared existence. "So good to see you again."

"No apologies are necessary. On the contrary, Shurlae has been a perfectly agreeable drinking companion."

"Would you care for a drink as well, or must you return to your duties shortly?"

"Those two are not mutually exclusive," Xullin said, patting Jevan on the shoulder blade as they embraced. "I can visit for a while, the work never ends but it is not every day my younger brother returns from a sojourn of ten years. The brandy is excellent, is it not? Rather expensive, it hails from somewhere outside the City of Waters Deep, where the humans who prepare it likely only know of drow from scary stories they tell their children. Well worth the price of smuggling it from halfway through the world."

"Waters Deep?" Jevan replied as he reached for another glass and unstopped the bottle once more.

"Well its well worth the price. Here you are. We were just raising a glass to new beginnings."

"New Narbondel, brother."

Jevan took another sip.

"I have to thank you. Your former masters at Sorcere speak highly of you. The name 'Freth' is well looked upon in those halls, and my stay was all the more pleasant for it."

Xullin waved away Jevan's repetition of the city name, as if implying it did not really matter or at least he did not care to explain. He took the glass of brandy and tipped it, accepting the toast before taking a sip. He took a seat on a highbacked chair next to the fire, which roared to life with a snap of Xullin's fingers, burning a warming purple and blue flame.

"I am glad to hear. Headmaster Baenre offered me an instructor position there, it was difficult turning him down but ultimately my talents are needed here at home. I see you didn't let your time there go to waste... an interesting sort of magic you wield, Jevan."

Jevan smiled. "I learned what I needed to," he said modestly. "No one is offering me an instructor position of course, but then I'm just a simple swordsman and our needs are not complicated."

"Don't be so modest, you are a Freth and nothing we do is ever simple" Xullin said with certainty. "You said the masters of Sorcere treated you well, what of the students? Did they give you any trouble?"