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[FelixSparks]

Arwen, to his credit,  seems to weather the four children that launch themselves at him as the group enters his home rather well. He lifts two of the girls, one on each arm, and manages to walk with two of the younger boys clinging to his legs. "Off with ya, you tiny beasts! The store ain't closed and Dad still needs your help! Off with you now!" He deposits the two girls on the counter as the boys run off to go learn the trade, leading his two friends to a staircase nestled along the far wall. With a chuckle he leads Adrik and Johanna upstairs, stepping over scattered toys and wooden carvings. The large table seemed big enough to seat about twenty people, and at times it very well may. For now, Arwen seats his friends and helps corral the younger children upstairs.

In response to his mother's question, he nods and shakes his head. "Yes Ma, these are my friends. May I introduce Johanna Stonesthrow, Dwarven Noble and Master of spells, as well as Adrik Ungart, who manipulates spells as well as you and I breathe. We've been travelling together, and I hate to break your heart but I'm not back to settle. Not yet anyway. As fetching as Johanna is, we aren't bethrothed. We came through town to visit Uncle Dwaine. And I wanted to stop in and see how everyone was doing. I see Dad's still handling most of the baking." It worried him a bit, that his father was still doing all the work. As the eldest son, the work should have fallen to Arwen, but he'd proved terrible at the trade time and again, either burning everything or making a complete unsellable mess whenever he used the oven.

"Is there any news I should know? I've been gone a year, and my younger sister seems to have been replaced with a young woman!" He indicates one of the elder girls, grinning mischievously. "Well Lily? Did Alex finally propose? Or did Sam beat him to it?"

[My Name is Immaterial]

((Since TBF is having internet troubles, I'm going to be relaying posts for him.))

TBF:
Adrik takes the lack of interesting stonework in characteristically dwarven stride.
He nods politely to Arwen's parents and extends a hand to shake.
"Adrik Ungart.  Pleasure to meet you all."
He seems to be putting on a more refined, social air, instead of the blunt-as-a-sledgehammer affect that was common back home.  As well as the vowels.  The vowels are being dusted off for an appearance after a four-day absence on the road.
In short, Adrik's putting on half of a half-elven act, though when he says his name it's obvious it's Dwarven, and from how he's pronouncing it he must be a native speaker.

Turn:
As the trio makes their way up the stairs, young children scamper around under foot, eager to hear the stories of their elder brother and his exotic new friends. The slightly older siblings do seem to dawdle in completing their tasks, but who can blame them?
Arwen's mother listens intently to her son's words, interrupting as only a mother does. She quickly curtsies and apologizes profusely when she learns who Johanna is, as do her children, and nods politely to Adrik, looking a little confused by the odd juxtaposition of half-elven form, and Dwarven accent. She sighs sadly when Arwen says he's not back to stay, and tuts disapprovingly when he mentions his intention to visit his uncle.
"Your uncle is in the city these days, working on some project," she says, with a slightly disapproving tone. "Tell him I said hello, dear. Your father isn't completely alone in the kitchen; Damien (Arwen's oldest younger brother) is helping him out these days. He's really stepped up and filled some big, empty shoes." Arwen can't help but feel judged.
Lily blushes deeply, and shyly flashes a plain, burnished iron band. Barely containing herself, she explains "Sam and I are hoping to get married around Beltane*! I can't wait! She only asked a month or so ago, and yet there's so much to do! Do you think you'll be able to make it to the wedding, Arwen?" The look his mother gives only really leaves one possible response, yet that might be difficult to deliver on.

_{*Beltane is a holiday at the end of Spring, at the start of Mirtul (May). It's associated with love and fertility, and is a popular time for weddings, and renewing vows.}

[Dwarmin]

She waved off the attempted apologies kindly, putting on her noble airs to address the commoners. "No need for frippery with me, Ma'am-I owe you any number of courtesies for the raising of your boy, here-for the price of having him with me, and leaving you, he's proven his muster time and time again-and done the all of Faerun good and lasting service. Also, the mistake is more amusing to me than you'd probably guess...."

...

Johanna fell into silent calculation when the wedding came up. She hadn't planned that far ahead...and there was no telling where they would be going next after meeting the Monk, or if they were staying in the general region even. Or if they would still be around by then. Still, she held her tongue-this wasn't a question of if the party could come back here (She would accommodate Arwen as best as she could, if they were still together, but there was no guarantees in their line of work), but if Arwen wanted to make the promise or not for himself.

[FelixSparks]

Arwen feels the weight of parental guilt on his shoulders, but sets it aside for the moment to share in his sister's joy. "It's about time. I gave her my blessing before I left!" He laughs a bit, nodding at the question. "I'll be there. Even if I have to ride another dragon to do it." He stands up to hug his sister, then looks back to his mother.

"Ma, we both know I've always taken after your side of the family. Hells, I'm a walking mirror of your father. I love Dad, but baking just isn't in my blood." He looked across the room, nodding a candle. Once people were looking at it, he tweaked one of the lines of power in the air around him, lighting the wick. "But uh... Apparently this is. It's part of why we need to talk to Uncle Dwaine. I know he's been... less than a role model in the past, but I'll see if I can't talk some sense into him this time. Maybe showing up with two magic users, and a drake, will get his attention, yeah?" He shakes his head, letting out a breath. "Ma... I know none of this is what you want to hear, and I'm sorry. I uh... Did bring you something though, if you'll have it."

[My Name is Immaterial]

TBF:
Adrik nods politely as Lily explains.
"My congratulations to you and her."

Turn:
Arwen's mother listens with pride as Johanna praises Arwen, for once not barraging him with thinly veiled criticism. Sometimes, a mother just has to be proud.
Lily beams, embracing her brother, and laughing at his little joke about riding a dragon. "Oh, come off it, Arwen! Still, that's so sweet of you!"
As Arwen turns to talking about his uncle, his mother's face darkens slightly; the wounds there have not healed, but it quickly morphs into shock when she realizes how the candle was just illuminated. After a moment, she breaks out into a joyful laugh. "Ohoho! You did end up being a wizard! I'm so glad!" She wipes away a tear and explains, "We were so worried when you joined the guard, and then set out to adventure; it's dangerous on the front lines in a dungeon. Wizards get to stay in the back, where it's safe," she says, smiling with pride and relief. "But, it doesn't really matter why you came back, I'm just glad that we got to see you again, it's been so long! You really should write some more."
There's the nagging again.
"But what did you bring, besides yourself?"

[FelixSparks]

Arwen chuckles, not thinking it the best idea to tell his Mother that he tried riding a dragon during one of his first excursions. For now he'll let it be a joke. In the same vein, informing her that he wasn't a full wizard, and more of a spellsword, seemed like it would only worry her. He'd include it in the next letter he wrote.

At her question, he rummaged in his bag and pulled out a cloth pouch, putting it on the table carefully. Even with his care, the telltale jingle of coins falling onto one another could be heard from it. "Just a small apology for being gone so long." Inside the pouch were most of his earnings, save 20 gold pieces he figured he'd need for his travels.

[Dwarmin]

Money as a gift? How gauche!

"Ahem! Might I offer a gift as well? I could let your ma choose a figure of her liking from among my Dragonchess set-I carve the pieces myself. If she'd be amenable?"

Johanna thought to show Arwens mother the Sylph, Dragon, and Griffon pieces first, along with the Unicorn and the Hero. The latter of which looked a little like Arwen himself.

[My Name is Immaterial]

The pouch of money is of a considerable size, and clinks loudly on the table when dropped. All of the eyes in the room zero in on the small bag, and Arwen's mother stammers out "We couldn't possibly accept this, Arwen! This is too much!"
However, Lily regains her composure, and gives Arwen a big hug and a peck on the cheek: "Now you have to come to the wedding: you're practically paying for it!"
Despite the shock of several month's wages being dumped on her dining room table, Arwen's mother manages to regain her composure, and oohs and aahs over Johanna's hand carved pieces, initially refusing to accept any gifts, but quickly picks out the Hero, commenting on its likeness to Arwen: the immense physique, minute, but still sharp sword, and even a similar nose, an unintentional feature of the piece. It quickly finds its way to the Dunwood's mantle.

After a few more minutes of smalltalk, Mama Dunwood ushers the party out, insisting that they go visit Dwaine Lyon, Arwen's uncle, before dinner.


Like any properly settled wizard, Dwaine Lyon lives in a tower. As he's not some savage hedgemage, his abode is elegant, made of polished granite, and, inside, furnished in a very modern style, leaving large tapestries and banners for oil paintings of religious and mythological scenes by up and coming artists. Of course, there is a certain level of 'functional clutter', including various texts, half finished projects, and exotic specimens scattered across the foyer. A menial assistant of the wizard quickly lets the group in after Arwen explains who he is, and flashes a bit of steel (perhaps it wasn't so quickly). Lyon himself is a tall man, with a thin mustache he can't help but fiddle with.  At the moment, he's speaking to an imperious looking Halfling woman, who carries herself with the dignity of a creature many times her size. This is an impressive feat for someone standing on a tall stool to be chest height with the person they're talking to.
"...ich is why Kulian theory can't explain where the mass goes, or your case, would come from. Hmm. One moment, please," Lyon says to his diminutive guest, as he sees the party enter his study. "Arwen. I wasn't expecting to see you. How is your mother?"

[Dwarmin]

Johanna sidled over to the newcomer while Arwen handled his uncle. She looked quite...ferocious...for a Halfling.

"Well, well. Who might you be? I am sorry to interrupt your discussion, but then again, the Kulian theory was thoroughly debunked* by the Robespierre Argument-everyone knows that. Extra-planar mass+energy can't exist in four simultaneous space/time states at once! Complete nonsense!" Johanna said, making perfect sense.  "Anyway, my name is Johanna Stonesthrow. Pleased to meet ya...er, you." She finished, mentally trying to cut out the brogue that crept it to her speech lately.

*This is still up for debate

[Twinwolf]

The halfling woman looked somewhere between extremely annoyed and bored by the conversation they'd been having with Arwen's uncle. "If that's how it worked, then how did he do it in the first place...?" she'd been asking before they were interrupted. She gave Johanna a once-over, silently appraising her. "Mm... you are addressing Cora Lightburrow. It is... nice to meet you as well." There was a bit of a strain in Cora's voice at the normally pleasant greeting - the effort in keeping something out of her tone was visible. "Did you need something from the wizard?"

[Dwarmin]

"Ah, we did need help with Arwen's...condition...and, his uncle is in a unique position to provide that. I would probably go over some obscure arcane matters if we got the time. Otherwise we're just sort of paying a visit, yes? We're in between jobs, like everyone else in this city. But, what brought you here?" She inquired. Surely it had nothing to do with the Kulian Theory, which was firmly-firmly-debunked.

[FelixSparks]

Arwen gives his sister a hug back, grinning. "I'm glad you'll be putting it to good use then!" After a few goodbyes and promises to hurry back after visiting his uncle, Arwen leads the party to the tower. It'd been about three years since he visited his uncle at home, since the experiments he was doing normally involved fireballs and things "You couldn't possibly understand boy." Granted that was when he was nine...

Arwen takes the sights of his Uncle's tower in as he walks in, noting the incredible amount of junk the wizard had accumulated. "Hi Uncle Dwaine. I would have sent a letter but I don't own a bird. I do, however, have a Drake and the ability to cast magic. I came to discuss that with you, among other things. These are my friends and adventuring party, JOhanna and Adrik. The Drake is named Rex." After giving a moment to let that sink in, he answers the initial question. "Mom's good, still upset. You should visit more often. You live in the same town, and they're family. I know Wizards love the whole solitude thing but I think she's one bad day from kicking down the door and dragging you to the dinner table. You should come with us tonight." Taking a breath, he removes his helmet and hugs his Uncle. "It's good to see you again, Uncle Dwaine."

[My Name is Immaterial]

Dwaine responds rapidfire to Arwen, interjecting, and interrupting his nephew frequently.
"You should get a bird; they're very easy to acquire. Magic, and a domesticated Draconus Inferious? Those are much more rare. Did you suddenly manifest sorcerous talents?" He sniffs the air, commenting "No scent of ozone. Unlikely. Did you find religion? No visible religious marking, so no. Psionics? Still sane and tentacleless, even less likely. Spellplague mutation? Hmm."
When introduced to the rest of the trio, Lyon gives them each a nod in turn, including Rex. "Charmed, I'm sure. Ulcaster graduate, no, Madam Stonesthrow?" He stops to sniff the air again, noting "Brimstone, and permafrost, if I'm not mistaken, which I never am, Mister Adrik?"
Arwen bringing up his mother clouds his uncle's otherwise stone face. The family resemblance is remarkable when they try to talk about the other. "I have been your mother's brother longer than you have been her son, and I know how our relationship goes: by the end of the evening, we'd only be further apart. I appreciate the offer, but I will not be coming to dinner. Tell her I said hello, and to pass on my congratulations to Lily."
"But, explain the magic. You didn't stop by for a social call. I don't get many of those."

[Dwarmin]

When introduced to the rest of the trio, Lyon gives them each a nod in turn, including Rex. "Charmed, I'm sure. Ulcaster graduate, no, Madam Stonesthrow?"

Johanna gave his a sideways glance.

"Yes, class of 79. Graduated 2nd." She said with a sniff, only nursing an old resentment at the long ago defeat by Melody Curar. They had been bitter rivals, and the girl had graduated over Johanna by a single point, taking the top spot in their class-and earning her a lifelong Dwarven grudge, no matter how unfair. The woman was in her 30's now, a Wizard of her own fierce reputation, but Johanna hadn't heard much about her at all in the last few years.

[FelixSparks]

Arwen chuckles, always amused at how his uncle could actually smell the magical energies on other people. It was unfortunate that his Uncle had declined the invitation, but he had tried and really, without physical force, that was the most he could do right now. He nodded and began to answer the question, having a decent idea where it started. "While fighting the cult, long story, I came across a Dragonborn by the name of Cyanwrath. He was manipulating what appeared to be life energy via some strange purple orb. I fought him, for he'd once before made an attempt on my life after I lost a duel to him, and during the fight I managed to lop off one of his hands. He chanted something I didn't know,
 and the orb funneled a strange mist to him, granting him a wicked looking claw as a replacement. He attempted to bring me into physical contact with the orb, with, I expect, intent to drain my life away into it. Or possibly my soul, I don't claim to understand how these things work. I managed to force him into contact with it first, and he went limp. That's likely what the exposure that awakened these magical talents was." He nods, looking to Johanna curiously. "Did I leave anything out, or does that sound about right?"