(Originally posted in 2004 and lost in the attack. reposted from alternate archives - Kelryck)
(HSC) Boil, Bubble, Toil nÂ’ Trouble
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They were dueling in the clearing near Aerus Haven. The sound of swords singing in the air was punctuated by the ‘thud’ of metal hitting shields and armor.
“Owwww… ,” he yelled then swore, “…and ye be the son of a wolf hound… that hurt!”
“Not even hittin’ ye as hard as I can now Seanath,” he laughed.
“Must be somethin’ else yer doin’ that I dun know about… blessings from a secret Cleric ye have in yer back pocket perhaps?” he countered.
“No, no… nothin’ like that,” he stopped the duel and went to sit in the shade of a tree, “but I will tell ya about a special potion that I be usin’”
The directions he gave Seanath led to a cottage that one would certainly overlook if one didnÂ’t know that it was suppose to be there. The trees were thick and effectively covered the area with a canopy of green keeping the area dark and brooding even in the mid day sun.
He had a problem finding the door to the cottage as the entire building was covered in a thick blanket of ivy. Knocking on the door, he looked around to see if there were any indication that the place was inhabited and thought that the place was deserted since there be no smoke from the chimney.
“Here, what you want?” came the voice when the door opened a tiny bit.
“I’ve come to purchase a potion that I hear will make me strong,” he said and watched as the door opened up to a room that was filled with all the implements of the alchemists trade.
Looking behind him when the door closed he was disturbed to find that nobody was there. The place is packed with hanging herbs, small cooking pots filled with concoctions and vials of every shape, size and color. She slowly straightened up from her vigil minding a pot simmering over the fire.
“Ye want strength?” the woman asked.
“Aye, strength.” He confirmed as he watched her move swiftly across the room and checked a few vials.
One red bottle, about eye level on the shelf she was searching, caught his eye. She sensed his interest in the potion even before the question about it escaped his lips.
“That be a potion o’ feminine understanding,” she explained, “Very potent – works fast.”
She took the bottle down and read the label that she wrote when she completed the contents inside.
“It has the power ta make ye understand what a women be thinkin’ and what she be a feelin’,” she said as she walked back to where he stood.
“How much?” he asked taking the bottle from her.
“Five-hundred gold – ‘tis a potent spell – if yer not careful though….”
She didnÂ’t get a chance to finish as he quickly paid her generously for the potions and left the cottage.
Making his way back to Castle Sauvage, there was talk of a raid to Hibernia on this Hallows Eve.
“I hear them Druids sacrifice virgins on this night,” an armsman said to his friends as they readied for battle.
“T’would be nothin’ new then mate,” another of the group piped up, “I be all for sacrificing a woman’s virginity!”
He saw her standing to the side and talking quietly with another cleric. He pulled out the bottle of potion and pulled the stopper – in one gulp, he downed the entire contents.
Almost immediately, he felt his abdomen becoming slightly distended. His ankles began to swell and make his boots a bit tight and he felt the need to loosen the side straps of his breast plate to relieve the pressure it caused against his chest.
“How are you feeling m’lady?” the Paladin asked her.
In a whisper but in unison with her he said, “As well as can be expected since I found out that I be having twins.”
He suddenly had a taste for mutton, ale, brandied cherries and something very, very sweet.
The realization of what was happening suddenly dawned on him. He could hear her thoughts and feel exactly what she was feeling at the moment. Oh this was going to be fun, he thought.
The troops were now all assembled and the clerics were busy with their blessings. He found it difficult not to try and cast at the same moment she did but it was educational as to find out the reasoning behind why some were blessed one way and others blessed another.
On the boat to the Hibernian coast, he nearly lost the contents of his stomach as he turned a pale shade of green from the rocking of the boat. At least he was sitting down, his feet were beginning to ache.
The boats landed and the battle force hurried to form up to make their way to Dun Ailinne to try and recover Merlin’s Staff. He saw a young Mercenary wink at her as they waited for the order to move out. He smiled, as she did, and thought ‘Go away, little man, I’m too tired and busy to be havin’ ta be exchangin’ pleasantries with the likes o’ ye.’
Just as the army was ready to take off, he bent forward as his stomach did a little *flip* and he felt like there was a tiny lurkeen in there trying to kick his way out. The shock of the feeling made his eyes open wide and he caught her questioning look.
His pangs of hunger were almost becoming intolerable and he didnÂ’t notice that she had weaved through the throng and was now beside him. She had reached in his pack for something to eat, since she knew he always carried food, and found the small bottle. She read the label and saw that the contents were gone.
“So what am I thinking now?” she asked him.
Looking over and seeing the bottle in her hand he replied, “Yer thinkin’ I be a fool, albeit a sweet fool, but a fool none the less.”
The army was successful in taking two of the towers around Dun Ailinne and a request for a contingency to stay in reserve at each tower. As they sat in the LordÂ’s room waiting to defend the real estate that they had just appropriated, she smiled at him knowing now what was affecting him.
He felt the flush of heat rush to his cheeks as he looked into her eyes. The longing to touch her lips with his own burned inside him and he knew that was what she was feeling. He gently pulled her onto his lap and his lips were on hers in a searing kiss.
“Oh for the love of God, can’t ye two wait until ye get home – we’re under siege!” the wizard stated as he made his way to the roof of the tower.
“On Me!” he shouted as he took his stand in front of her to intercept the blows.
They ran as if they were attached at the hip, moving around the tower to heal and revive the fallen.
After reviving a scout from a fatal fall from the ramparts he expressed her thoughts with, “If ye didn’t try and hang by yer toes ta get the ‘perfect’ shot, ye wouldn’t have fallen flat on yer face.”
She realized that whatever she thought was coming directly out of his mouth and decided to have a bit oÂ’ fun.
He came toe to toe with the Paladin that was complaining that Everyone was so inferior to him.
“Ye canna do anything without havin’ at least two clerics ta heal yer sorry arse,” he shouted, “And besides that, yer a lousy lover!”
Everyone stopped and turned to look at him.
Just then the chimes of midnight could be heard peeling from Dun Ailinne tower. As the last tone could be heard, his boots began to fit properly, his breast plate became too loose and he knew that the spell had been broken.
As he escorted her back to her house she couldnÂ’t stop giggling.
“Go ahead and laugh,” he muttered, “Is going ta take me months ta get that idea out of everyone’s mind.”
She turned to him as she reached for the latch to her door, “But I know the truth,” and pulled him inside.
(HSC) Boil, Bubble, Toil nÂ’ Trouble
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They were dueling in the clearing near Aerus Haven. The sound of swords singing in the air was punctuated by the ‘thud’ of metal hitting shields and armor.
“Owwww… ,” he yelled then swore, “…and ye be the son of a wolf hound… that hurt!”
“Not even hittin’ ye as hard as I can now Seanath,” he laughed.
“Must be somethin’ else yer doin’ that I dun know about… blessings from a secret Cleric ye have in yer back pocket perhaps?” he countered.
“No, no… nothin’ like that,” he stopped the duel and went to sit in the shade of a tree, “but I will tell ya about a special potion that I be usin’”
The directions he gave Seanath led to a cottage that one would certainly overlook if one didnÂ’t know that it was suppose to be there. The trees were thick and effectively covered the area with a canopy of green keeping the area dark and brooding even in the mid day sun.
He had a problem finding the door to the cottage as the entire building was covered in a thick blanket of ivy. Knocking on the door, he looked around to see if there were any indication that the place was inhabited and thought that the place was deserted since there be no smoke from the chimney.
“Here, what you want?” came the voice when the door opened a tiny bit.
“I’ve come to purchase a potion that I hear will make me strong,” he said and watched as the door opened up to a room that was filled with all the implements of the alchemists trade.
Looking behind him when the door closed he was disturbed to find that nobody was there. The place is packed with hanging herbs, small cooking pots filled with concoctions and vials of every shape, size and color. She slowly straightened up from her vigil minding a pot simmering over the fire.
“Ye want strength?” the woman asked.
“Aye, strength.” He confirmed as he watched her move swiftly across the room and checked a few vials.
One red bottle, about eye level on the shelf she was searching, caught his eye. She sensed his interest in the potion even before the question about it escaped his lips.
“That be a potion o’ feminine understanding,” she explained, “Very potent – works fast.”
She took the bottle down and read the label that she wrote when she completed the contents inside.
“It has the power ta make ye understand what a women be thinkin’ and what she be a feelin’,” she said as she walked back to where he stood.
“How much?” he asked taking the bottle from her.
“Five-hundred gold – ‘tis a potent spell – if yer not careful though….”
She didnÂ’t get a chance to finish as he quickly paid her generously for the potions and left the cottage.
Making his way back to Castle Sauvage, there was talk of a raid to Hibernia on this Hallows Eve.
“I hear them Druids sacrifice virgins on this night,” an armsman said to his friends as they readied for battle.
“T’would be nothin’ new then mate,” another of the group piped up, “I be all for sacrificing a woman’s virginity!”
He saw her standing to the side and talking quietly with another cleric. He pulled out the bottle of potion and pulled the stopper – in one gulp, he downed the entire contents.
Almost immediately, he felt his abdomen becoming slightly distended. His ankles began to swell and make his boots a bit tight and he felt the need to loosen the side straps of his breast plate to relieve the pressure it caused against his chest.
“How are you feeling m’lady?” the Paladin asked her.
In a whisper but in unison with her he said, “As well as can be expected since I found out that I be having twins.”
He suddenly had a taste for mutton, ale, brandied cherries and something very, very sweet.
The realization of what was happening suddenly dawned on him. He could hear her thoughts and feel exactly what she was feeling at the moment. Oh this was going to be fun, he thought.
The troops were now all assembled and the clerics were busy with their blessings. He found it difficult not to try and cast at the same moment she did but it was educational as to find out the reasoning behind why some were blessed one way and others blessed another.
On the boat to the Hibernian coast, he nearly lost the contents of his stomach as he turned a pale shade of green from the rocking of the boat. At least he was sitting down, his feet were beginning to ache.
The boats landed and the battle force hurried to form up to make their way to Dun Ailinne to try and recover Merlin’s Staff. He saw a young Mercenary wink at her as they waited for the order to move out. He smiled, as she did, and thought ‘Go away, little man, I’m too tired and busy to be havin’ ta be exchangin’ pleasantries with the likes o’ ye.’
Just as the army was ready to take off, he bent forward as his stomach did a little *flip* and he felt like there was a tiny lurkeen in there trying to kick his way out. The shock of the feeling made his eyes open wide and he caught her questioning look.
His pangs of hunger were almost becoming intolerable and he didnÂ’t notice that she had weaved through the throng and was now beside him. She had reached in his pack for something to eat, since she knew he always carried food, and found the small bottle. She read the label and saw that the contents were gone.
“So what am I thinking now?” she asked him.
Looking over and seeing the bottle in her hand he replied, “Yer thinkin’ I be a fool, albeit a sweet fool, but a fool none the less.”
The army was successful in taking two of the towers around Dun Ailinne and a request for a contingency to stay in reserve at each tower. As they sat in the LordÂ’s room waiting to defend the real estate that they had just appropriated, she smiled at him knowing now what was affecting him.
He felt the flush of heat rush to his cheeks as he looked into her eyes. The longing to touch her lips with his own burned inside him and he knew that was what she was feeling. He gently pulled her onto his lap and his lips were on hers in a searing kiss.
“Oh for the love of God, can’t ye two wait until ye get home – we’re under siege!” the wizard stated as he made his way to the roof of the tower.
“On Me!” he shouted as he took his stand in front of her to intercept the blows.
They ran as if they were attached at the hip, moving around the tower to heal and revive the fallen.
After reviving a scout from a fatal fall from the ramparts he expressed her thoughts with, “If ye didn’t try and hang by yer toes ta get the ‘perfect’ shot, ye wouldn’t have fallen flat on yer face.”
She realized that whatever she thought was coming directly out of his mouth and decided to have a bit oÂ’ fun.
He came toe to toe with the Paladin that was complaining that Everyone was so inferior to him.
“Ye canna do anything without havin’ at least two clerics ta heal yer sorry arse,” he shouted, “And besides that, yer a lousy lover!”
Everyone stopped and turned to look at him.
Just then the chimes of midnight could be heard peeling from Dun Ailinne tower. As the last tone could be heard, his boots began to fit properly, his breast plate became too loose and he knew that the spell had been broken.
As he escorted her back to her house she couldnÂ’t stop giggling.
“Go ahead and laugh,” he muttered, “Is going ta take me months ta get that idea out of everyone’s mind.”
She turned to him as she reached for the latch to her door, “But I know the truth,” and pulled him inside.
