Editing Around the Dinner Table (section)

===Appetizers===
The weak afternoon sun streamed in through the closed windows as Brecca barreled into the room.

"Well, that happened," she exclaimed as she threw herself into the nearest chair. She tossed her sheathed sword onto the large table. "Is there any beer? I could use a beer."

Mae, from her chair at the windows, turned to Brecca. "And hello and Happy New Year to you, too. You'll have to ring for it."

Brecca grunted and got up, searching for a bell.

"The rope next to the door," Mae pointed as she got up from the chair and moved to the chair next to the one Brecca vacated.

Brecca moved quickly to the rope and pulled on it. If a bell went off somewhere, Brecca couldn't hear it. She tugged it a few more times just in case and went back to flop back into her chair.

Mae smiled at Brecca. "So, what 'that' happened this past week?"

Brecca frowned and asked, "Should we wait for the others?"

Mae shrugged. "If you wish, but you are the one who announced that THAT happened."

"Yes! It did. Several times, in fact!" Brecca responded, crossing her arms.

Mae lifted an eyebrow and waited. Eladrin were known for their patience and Mae knew from experience that Brecca was not. She smiled inside as she watched Brecca fight to keep the news secret.

"Fine! They tried to assassinate Wyncit! And me!! Five times!!!" Brecca blurted out.

Mae was shocked. "Tried? He is alright?"

"He's fine," Brecca responded. "I hate it when he's right!"

Mae lifted both eyebrows up. "Where did that come from and what happened?"

Brecca slouched in her chair and mumbled, "You know how he gets when it turns out he's right." 

Mae took a breath. Sometimes talking to humans was an exercise in chaos, as their thoughts quickly jumped from topic to topic. "What was he right about and what happened?"

The door opened and Herman walked in.

Looking at Mae, he asked, "You rang for something?"

Without turning around, Brecca answered, "I did. Is there any beer?"

"We have several different kinds, as well as ale, mead, wine, port..." Herman started but was interrupted by Brecca.

"Just a beer. Whichever you choose is fine. And maybe a snack?"

Herman nodded. "Of course. I'll have it sent up."

Mae smiled at Herman. "Thank you, dear."

He smiled back as he closed the door, which immediately reopened as Wyncit and Tony walked in.

"Thank you, Herman," Tony was saying as they walked into the room.

Mae turned and looked closely at Wyncit.

"You don't look assassinated," she said.

Wyncit looked surprised as he made his way to the chair on the other side of Brecca. He sat down and looked at her, still slouched down in her chair. Tony moved to sit in the chair next to Mae.

"Assassinated?" Tony exclaimed. "You said the trip was frustrating, not dangerous."

Wyncit sighed. "Over two years ago, when I first boarded the ship heading to Palmheart, my definition of 'dangerous' was rather expansive. What happened these last six days I would now define as more frustrating than dangerous."

"HA!" Brecca cried out. "Show them your new toy!"

Wyncit reached into his left sleeve and pulled a knife from a hidden wrist sheath. He leaned forward and placed it on the table so all could see it.

Mae looked at it and shuddered from revulsion. It was a thin stiletto of some black metal that seemed to soak up the shadows within the room and hide within them. It was smooth from tip to tip, no hilt marred its form. It was made for assassination.

Tony frowned. "I feel nauseated by that thing. What is it?"

Wyncit leaned forward to rest his arms on the table. He stared at the stiletto. "Took me three days to find that out. Even a guildmaster of weaponsmiths didn't know ... or refused to tell me. It was a member of the Church of Vandria in Thess that told me. The metal is called thinuan. It takes souls." 

Mae hissed, catlike. "I've heard of it. The metal is very rare. Comes from somewhere in the outer planes. No one knows where, specifically; it's a well-kept secret."

"Now tell them how you got it," ordered Brecca. "No, let me. We came out of the Street of Faiths in Thess. It was night. It was raining! Next thing I know, we're hundreds of feet in the air! At night! In the rain!! Falling!!! With that thing sticking out of his back!!!!"

Mae and Tony stared at Brecca, then turned to Wyncit. Wyncit winced at the memory. "One thing about going up against Acererak: your reflexes speed up." He sighed and leaned back into his chair.

The door openned and Herman entered the room with several men and women carrying trays. The conversation stopped as Herman stayed near the door while the others placed pitchers of beer and ale, mugs, and several plates of bread, cheese, sausage and pickled vegetables.

"Food!" cried Brecca and sat up. She reached out to the pitcher of beer and grabbed a mug as the staff left the room.

"Thank you, Herman." Tony said. "Let the town watch know to be extra careful for the next few days. Ask them to tell me if there are any new or suspicious people are in town."

"Yes sir," Herman replied, then closed the door.

Brecca poured herself a mug of beer, then started filling a plate with food.

Mae coughed politely. "Brecca mentioned five attempts."

Wyncit rolled his eyes.

"I saw that," Brecca snapped as she started eating.

"I'm pretty sure two of those were obligatory thug attacks," replied Wyncit. "Muggers going after an apparent wealthy couple."

"Right," Brecca said while chewing, "Thugs always go after the couple armed with swords. And what's this 'couple' thing?" 

"And I'd call the other three more like one attempt in three parts," Wyncit went on, ignoring Brecca's question. "Or maybe part one was the dagger in the back and parts two and three were him, or her, trying to get their dagger back for the rest of the night?" Wyncit shrugged. "Brecca took care of him, or her, and they ran."

"Who's him/her?" Tony asked.

"Shadar-Kai," Brecca answered then took a deep drink of beer. "Hard to see at night, in the rain. And they teleport."

"So, Raven Queen," Tony said.

Mae frowned. "Not necessarily. While most follow Her now, there are those that follow other powers or are unaligned."

They all looked at Mae.

Mae sighed. "Its an eladrin thing. Old history." Mae saw that piece of information slip into Wyncit's mind and slot into place. She had forgotten his perfect memory. She decided it was time to change the topic. "So did you find out, anything?"

Wyncit nodded. "It was very frustrating, but we did."

Brecca grinned. "Wyncit has a girlfriend."

"What? I do not, Wyncit protested.

Tony cackled. "Who?"

"Priestess of Ioun at his school," announced Brecca. "Madalyn."

"Please," protested Wyncit. "Not even. She wanted me to convert."

Brecca nodded. "Cleric flirting. It was so sweet."

Wyncit rolled his eyes.

"Children. Back to the topic, please," said Mae.

Brecca grinned at Wyncit, who sighed and continued. "First, no one sees a problem. The Raven Queen is always collecting souls for one reason or another. The deities don't seem to have a problem, as long as she doesn't destroy the souls and they get them back. So we asked a series of questions about why she would collect souls. Most, but not all, warlock hexblades have Her as a Patron. Does she use the souls to empower her warlocks? Answer is: unlikely. No one else uses souls to empower their warlocks. Granted, She could be different, but all evidence says no. There is a theory that She is not entirely a deity and requires the memories of the souls She collects so She may sustain Herself. I was surprised with the number of deities who directly answered this question, via both spells and prayers. They all said the Raven Queen is a deity. Which means She gains power from Her worshipers. She doesn't need the souls for power. She could still read the memories of the souls She collects, but it seems She always releases the souls afterwards." 

Mae broke in. "But that isn't what Leardon said, was it? In the dream?"

Wyncit looked up at the wood-beamed ceiling and remembered. "He doesn't say anything about the souls. He only says that he doesn't trust her. He never says who 'her' is and I'm the one associating what he says to the image of the Raven Queen. And it probably wasn't him sending the dream, it was probably Evening Glory passing on what he said or felt.

"Oh!" Wyncit suddenly exclaimed. He looked at everyone and smiled. "I have word on Leardon."

Brecca raised her eyebrows. "When? Why didn't you tell me?"

Looking at her, Wyncit answered, "When we walked through the front door, here. Queen Esmerelda sent a Sending. The clerics at the Temple of the Warm Embrace sent a message to the King: 'Leardon is with Evening Glory'."

"Does that mean he is dead-dead?" Tony asked.

"It could mean that's where he put his phylactery?" Mae added.

Wyncit shrugged. "That's what they sent her. She didn't know what that meant, either."

"Do lichs have souls? Did Acererak? I thought the reason they become lichs was so they didn't have to go?" Brecca asked.

Wyncit frowned and crossed his arms. "Evening Glory, and maybe Vecna, seem to have a way to gather undead souls to them. So, he could be dead-dead or just 'collecting himself' until he comes back." Wyncit rubbed his head. "What we know about how deities work is all hypothetical and gives me a headache. Gods know they aren't talking!"

Tony grunted. "Frustrating thought that Acererak is enjoying an afterlife after what he did."

Wyncit shook his head. "Acererak shook the deities down to their core. If there is one thing they all agree on, it's that Acererak should not exist. They are ALL are on the watch for him." Wyncit sighed. "And they all say they'll let me know if he shows up, again." Wyncit threw his hands up and shouted, "WHY ME!?"

Mae giggled. "Nice to be wanted."

"They're deities! Can't they deal with him on their own?" Wyncit asked Mae. 

There was silence as each took a collective sip of what they were drinking. After a minute of quiet, Tony whispered, "I was half expecting someone to answer that question."

Mae sighed. "So Leardon doesn't trust Her. Assuming he means the Raven Queen, he doesn't trust Her with the souls?"

"Then again, Leardon doesn't trust anyone," Brecca added. "Well, maybe Wyncit. Or not, after dumping Acererak's phylactery into the Shadowfell."

"Did he send a dream to anyone else?" Tony asked. "I mean, he is a member of the Brightstone Heroes. He fought with Kazzak's Follies. For nasty work, he can even call in Drake's Company. He has an entire church organization to call on."

Wyncit shook his head. "Just me, as far as everyone can tell."

"I'd say that was trust," Tony said.

"What other questions did you ask?" Mae asked Wyncit.

Wyncit cocked his head to the side. "While every soul is important, Gremaka was probably the most important in Syra that was in that phylactery," Wyncit said. "So, did She take Gremaka's soul to get back at Evening Glory or attack Her? The Church of Evening Glory was very adamant that that was a bad question. Not only is there no history of animosity between the two deities or churches, there is, in fact, a history of support."

"If there is a history of support, then did they ask Raven Queen why She has the souls?" Mae asked.

Wyncit nodded, "A high level contact within the Church of Evening Glory said the High Priestess directly asked the High Priestess of the Church of the Raven Queen that question. The Raven Queen never answered Her High Priestess." 

"Which leaves, 'because I wanted it,'" Brecca said.

"Seems so," Wyncit answered.

Tony shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Why try to kill you?"

"Please. Even I have wanted to kill him," Brecca exclaimed.

"Children," Mae warned. 

Wyncit, pointedly ignoring Brecca, answered with a shrug, "I wasn't subtle about where and who I asked. Anyone could have figured out what I was doing. I was, on the other hand, very quick bouncing around Syra. I would guess, and it's only a guess, that the assassin took the initiative and went after us without orders. If not, then there must have been assassins planted all over the place waiting for us, which means a coordinated and ordered attack. But there was only the one..."

"Three," interrupted Brecca.

"...Attempt."

"So, a coordinated and ordered attack," Tony said.

"Maybe," Mae said.

"So frustrating!" Brecca yelled.

There was a long silence after that outburst. "Anyone want dinner?" Tony finally asked.

"Yes!" Brecca enthusiastically answered.

"You always want dinner," Wyncit teased.

Brecca sniffed. "I do. You never know when you'll be bouncing around Syra while dodging assassins. Need a full stomach for such activity!" Brecca answered.

Tony got up and walked over to the bell cord and tugged it.