Normality in Forgotten Realms

Jax sighed as he threw another pitchfork-full of hay to the wooden tray. The traveller's horses were certainly hungry and wasted no time in crowding the feeding tray. The lanky stable boy had to forcefully shove them aside to get enough room for another pitchfork-full. The "Winking Maiden" was a roadside inn and tavern, servicing travellers on the coastal road north of Westgate. Not that there were many - most people chose to sail directly into Westgate, whether coming from Starmantle, Urmlaspyr or even farther away. So Jax seldom had to tend to animals, as the local farmers preferred to walk to the Maiden for their evening pint. But tonight his routine of running errands for the kitchen and ogling Lissa, the busty barmaid, had been broken by a group of adventurers.

Their horses watered and fed, Jax entered the main room, where the adventurers were holding court, negotiating with some of the fishermen for passage to some forsaken island on the Sea of Fallen Stars. The ale was flowing freely and their bard - a tall half-elf in colourful clothes - was entertaining the crowd with her flute and melodic voice while her comrades bargained.

Jax was of joining them. Nothing interesting ever happened here and being an orphan, his future looked bleak. The current owner of Winking Maiden had a son, who would take over running the place, and the few marriage-age maidens of the nearby villages spared him little attention. Which he grudgingly could understand but not accept. Joining an adventuring band was really his best, nay only, option. But how to convince them to accept him?

"Fine, we'll pay you ten gold crowns for the passage. How you share it between you, is your business. We'll leave at first light!" Tall and broad-shouldered, Gamla the Berserker was a mountain of a man, tanned, muscled and with long, raven-black hair. He wore tight brown leathers and carried an imposing looking greatsword. He was the nominal leader of "Blue Fist" and had, apparently, finally concluded a deal with the three fishermen with the largest boats. To celebrate, he banged one fist against the tattoo of a blue fist on his chest and emptied his tankard. "Another!" the imposing man shouted and Lissa scurried to fill the order.

"We'll still have to leave the horses behind. Risking them on a sea journey would be foolish and the island should be small enough that we wouldn't even need them", reminded Isande the Trickster. Her long hair was as dark as Gamla's, though tightly braided. Her leathers could not hide her impressive figure and if Gamla hadn't kept one hand constantly at her thigh, Jax would have openly drooled over her, two swords strapped on her back and daggers on her belt notwithstanding.

"The shadowdancer speaks truth", put in Connerad the Cleric, a stout dwarf still clad in scale mail from head to toe. Only his face was visible, though most of it was covered by ruddy-brown beard and moustache. The cleric of Tempus, the war god, kept his warhammer and shield next to his feet, so as to keep his hands free to empty tankards at an alarmingly fast rate. "The innkeeper wouldn't dare to sell them in just few days, and that's all the time we need!"

"Can we-", started the robed figure in the back, "go upstairs now?" Finished the other robed figure. Jax was terribly intrigued by them as only their jade green eyes were visible over the silk veils that both wore. Their clothes revealed no hints, though he guessed they must be female elves, based on their voice. Most curiously, they spoke in unison, finishing each others sentences.

"Nay sisters, we are barely getting started", laughed out Milla the Bard, stepping back to her companions. Her human heritage was amply on display, as her purple blouse left most of her mouth-watering decolletage visible. A pink satin bustier emphasized her tiny waist, a gift from her elven parent, and her legs were only partially hidden under the blood-red, plushy skirt. "I've just gotten the crowd warmed up and, who knows, this might be our last night of merriment!" The half-elf stole Isande's drink, emptied it, and with a giggle, turned back to her audience, resuming her performance.

Wry smile on her face, the Trickster nodded: "She is right, so you witches better have some fun too!" Issande signaled Lissa for another drink. The robed duo sighed but remained sitting, their backs against the wall. And Jax realized that his chance had come.

***

"By Tempus, that was good fun", Connerad shouted as he kicked open the door of the upstairs group room. The Blue Fists streamed in, all ready to crash for few hours before their departure.

"Wait, my saddlebags are gone", said Milla, frowning at her bedside. Gamla had fallen on his bed, pulling Issande on top of him but, after hearing their companions alarmed voice, they also checked. "Nine Hells!" Very soon the group realized that all of their saddlebags and backpacks had been stolen.

Just when Gamla was getting ready to rampage through the inn, the door opened again. There stood Jax, overloaded with their belongings.

"You need a thief to round-out your group, and since I just managed to steal most of your belongings while you were distracted, I believe I fit the bill", he said, his voice wavering. This was either his best, or his worst, idea ever.

The adventurers, dumbstruck, looked at each other. Connerad's holy symbol slipped off Jax's fingers and hit the floor.

Finally the tension was broken by Milla laughing out loud, throwing her head and her golden tresses back. Issande grinned as well: "The boy is right"

"WHAT?!" Bellowed Gamla. "You cannot be serious!" Issande merely shrugged. "He managed to steal our stuff. Sure, we were downstairs but explain Connerad's holy symbol. He actually managed to get that from him. I'm a Shadowdancer, not a trap-expert. If nothing else, the boy will set off a trap and kill himself, sparing us the trouble of feeding him for long". Jax swallowed, he hadn't thought that far.

The dwarven cleric donned the holy symbol around his neck, stared at Jax for a long time but eventually nodded too. "Aye, I say we give the lad a chance". The robed duo remained quiet. Finally, Gamla agreed, grudgingly. "Fine then. Give us our stuff back and be at the docks at sunrise!"

***

The Blue Fists, including their new member, embarked on the three fishing boats and set sail towards the Isle of Prespur, though their real target was somewhere south of that large island. The journey was to Jax - not because of choppy seas, though those were certainly present but because of the company. Connerad and Milla were in the first boat, the dwarf operating some sort of gnomish invention that aided navigation. The robed duo were in the second boat and had made it clear that they wanted no company while they prepared their Art, whatever that was. Which meant that Jax was on the third boat with Gamla and Issande. The Berserker was feeling romantic and constantly kissed and fondled his ladylove. As the boat was too small to have a cabin, this meant that both Jax and the grizzled old fisherman had front-row seats. For her part, the Trickster suffered no shame, though she draw the line at nudity and actual copulation. For hours, Jax nursed an erection in his canvas trousers, hiding it behind the short spear he had brought with him. It was all he owned.

Eventually they reached their destination, just as night was falling. After a lengthy argument, the fishermen agreed to anchor little off-shore and wait until morning for the party to return. This meant that they had to push forward immediately. Luckily they had torches. The island was very small, only featuring a single low hill, which they climbed.

"Here it is", Milla announced. Jax could only see an unremarkable stone slab, sunken in the earth. But to Connerad, it was something else. The dwarf used his warhammer to knock here and there, while muttering words in a language that Jax could not understand. The result was nothing short of amazing - the slab parted in two, and a staircase was revealed, leading deep into the ground.

"Issande and Jax, take point. Then it's me and Connerad, followed by the twins. Milla brings up the rear and makes sure we aren't ambushed from the back", Gamla ordered. The Berserker had switched from amorous to professional the second he had stepped off the boat. Jax swallowed nervously, but steeled himself and followed the gorgeous posterior of Issande into the depths.

What followed were the absolute worst six hours of his life. Beset by traps and monsters, the party fought its way deeper into the dungeon. Connerad exhausted his healing spells patching them up. At one point Jax stumbled over a rotten chest that contained nothing of value, aside from a pair of earrings shaped like the letter N. As they didn't look especially valuable, he pocketed them without mentioning his find to the others. Yet the nightmare continued. Eventually they found what they were looking for - the chamber of a lich. Fortunately, the lich was dead. Unfortunately, a party of Drow had killed it and was in no mood to share the loot. Miraculously, the party managed to escape, largely thanks to the spells of the robed twins, who Jax learned to be actual wizards. Their spells decimated the Drow survivors and caused one tunnel to collapse, allowing the Blue Fists to beat a hasty retreat.

At sunrise, the wounded and exhausted adventurers stood on the shore, waiting for the three boats to return. Lying on the sand, trying to regain his breath, Jax remembered the earrings and took them out for another look. He had never before owned any jewellry. On a whim, he put them on and vowed to not sell them, instead keeping them as a memento of his first adventure.