Two days pass. Kadlian maintains his vigil and you do not see him.
Then, at tea time on the afternoon of July 6th, you are sitting around the dining room table arguing over which side the bread should be buttered on, when the door opens and the arch mage Occa walks in.
With him is a gnome whom you do not recognise.
The elf with a hangover and a case of the beer farts nods at the newcomer, as he lets one rip. Sighing with relief, he pounds another beer and wonders if the man bound and gagged has been fed or given water.
Galil's hand pauses as a slice of buttered bread with honey is halfway to her lips.
She raises a brow and looks to her host and the look alike that has just walked in.
She lowers her hand, absently wiping a bit of honey from her lavender silk glove as she smiles.
"Good morning. You must be the master of the house?"
"Yes indeed!" Occa says with a half-laugh. Then he sings,
"Master of the house
Doling out the charm
Ready with a handshake
And an open palm
Tells a saucy tale
Makes a little stir
Customers appreciate a bon-viveur
Glad to do a friend a favor
Doesn't cost me to be nice
But nothing gets you nothing
Everything has got a little price!"
Galil smiles and nods. "An excellent recommendation."
Then he comes to his senses and says, "Sorry...great show. So, I understand you are Kadlian's group? Must be a stout and very tolerant bunch or maybe just a bunch of yes men?"
He chuckles.
Galil shrugs as best she can in her armor, as her gloved fingers toy with the crystal glass of light mead.
"Indeed, I am riding with Lord Kadlian. My stoutness or tolerance has yet to be tested."
"Don't mind my razzing you...no pun intended."
He sits down, pours some coffee and says, "So, what brings you all to Sandas?"
Galil shrugs, deferring to the other party members.
The gnome wanders casually in.
"Hi," he says. "I'm Baddenkohrlmspf Herr'Dei."
He looks around. "And I don't suppose any of you are. Although..." he looks at Occa, then the one who looks like Occa, then back to Occa. "I'm not sure none of you are him."
"Good day Baddenkohrlmspf Herr'Dei." Galil responds, saying his name rather gracefully despite its length. "I am Galil-Gadith Amadriewen, more casually known as Galil, so no, I'm not another Baddenkohrlmspf Herr'Dei. Nor am I him or the other." she replies, indicating Occa and Cannon Fodder.
The gnome grins.
"That's pretty good," he says. "Most elves can't do consonant clusters."
He peers at her suspiciously. "You haven't been practising, have you?"
"Indeed I have. Not your name specifically, but it was part of my training to understand language structure, sounds and their origins," Galil replies.
Badd raises an eyebrow as she says this, obviously curious.
Then he saunters casually over to her chair, and sticks out a small hand.
"Nice to meet you, Galil," he says. "My friends call me Badd."
Galil extends her gloved hand to him. "I'm pleased to meet you, Badd."
Hopping deftly onto the edge of her chair, he runs a hungry eye over the table.
"Looks good," he says. "Got any spare? The trick is to butter it on both sides, then hold it by the edge."
"Please, do help yourself," Galil says with a small smile, making room for him. "Both sides? Surely not?"
The female half-elf stands up to greet Occa and his guest. "What news, dear Occa, do you have of the exploits of the others? Why have you returned? Is there a problem? How is my husband?"
Galil watches the half-elf curiously.
"All is well on the western front. We are making a base camp off-world in a place called Greyhawk Castle. We have a whole group of green recruits who are exploring this tower owned by some mad arch-mage named Zagyg. Sounds like a cool guy. Anyway, no news other than that. Oh, Badd here is one of those green recruits I was talking about. He needs illusionist training."
Turning to the gnome, Jesse says, "Welcome, I am Jesse, a bard by training, now teaching more and more. I would love to hear any stories of your lands and peoples to add to my collection, if you have the time."
"If you have time, I would greatly like to hear some of the older songs and stories of the old Empire and even before." Galil replies, "I am called Galil."
"Hey, I'm in no hurry..." Badd reaches over Galil to grab some food from the table. "People stories, yep, no problem. I had a village, you know, until the orcs came, but I'll leave that one to Occa. Gnomish villages are always full of people stories, we can hardly keep up ourselves. You won't have heard about old Grimble Addleblith chasing a woman one quarter his age and twice his size, bringing her weasel-jerky every second Sunday..."
He begins to regale Jesse with village gossip, stuffing food in his mouth all the while.
Occa says to Jesse, "Ohway, on'tday askway aboutway ethay amilyfay. Assacremay."
He looks over at Badd with a sad look on his face.
Jesse frowns slightly before nodding.
"Heard that!" says Badd, mid-stream of gossip. His head snaps around to look at Occa. "Don't you know there's nothing gnomes love more than word games?"
Then he grins a little madly at Jesse.
"Don't worry, I'm still mostly in denial," he explains, before carrying on with a story about how the problems of disciplining adolescent gnomes.
Occa shrugs sheepishly.
In order to illustrate his thesis, he butters the bread on both sides, holding it by the edge with remarkable dexterity, spreads jam on the bottom, places slices of cheese on the top, then proceeds to fold it in half and stuff it into his mouth while all the while still talking to Jesse.
Galil's eyes widen as she watches Badd demonstrate his most interesting eating technique.
"Quite clever." she remarks, relieved when the entire mass eventually makes it into the gnome's mouth rather than on her cloak.
The other gnome speaks, "I could possibly train him. Depending on his prior training, I believe."
The other gnome in the room is young with dark hair and dark eyes. He is dressed flamboyantly with very colorful clothing.
Galil rises when her meal is finished and nods to Occa and his look alike.
"Has there been any word from Lord Kadlian?" she asks with some concern and a slight hint of impatience.
Occa says, "What is going on?"
Cannon Fodder (the Occa lookalike) says, "Oh, Rage is confined to her room with some ailment. Kadlian is by her side."
Galil nods. "Thank you Cannon Fodder, I appreciate the information. I was quite concerned when he was called away. I hope that Rage is feeling better soon."
"I should tend to Mouse as she's sometimes high strung in such a confined setting. I'll be back shortly should Lord Kadlian require my services or if you should require my services in exchange for your very gracious hospitality."
She gives Occa a slight bow and steps out to tend to Mouse.
"Who is mouse?" Occa and Cannon Fodder ask at the exact same time.
Galil smiles. "My horse. The finest mare from the fields of Drehy in Dorian. I raised her from a foal and she has served me incredibly well on our adventures."
"Galil, Have you ever considered adding wings to her?" Kailar asks thoughtfully.
Galil is momentarily startled by Kailar's question but then smiles.
"No, I haven't. I'm not sure she would approve of such a modification."
"Of course she would. No landbound creature can look at a soaring bird and not envy it. Wings are an improvement for any animal. Unless they already have them, naturally."
Galil chuckles softly and shakes her head. "Among my people it is believed that each creature is what it is, bound by its own nature, and knowing no other. Mouse could no more wish she was flying than an insect could wish to cast a magic spell. To meddle with the forces of nature or gods is a dangerous path indeed."
Occa says, "Uh oh. You didn't put her in the stable with Nightmare did you?"
Galil gasps in alarm, looking to Cannon Fodder then back to Occa.
"I do not know Nightmare, and placed Mouse in the box stall that the stablemaster indicated," she replies, all but running from the room to head for the stables to check on Mouse.
Occa laughs. "Just joking!"
Galil stops in her tracks and looks back at Occa.
"Indeed?" she smiles, adjusting her lavender gloves as she speaks. "You have an interesting sense of humor."
Occa slaps his leg. "Sorry. I know that was uncalled for, but I couldn't help myself. I am sure Mouse is just fine. Our stable master is very good especially with new horses that may be uncomfortable. Please feel free to take him around the grounds if you like."
A smile tugs at Galil's lips. "Not uncalled for truthfully, just unexpected."
She nods at Occa. "I believe I will take HER around for a bit, to keep her in shape should we suddenly be called to service. Thank you again."
She smiles again and continues on to the stables in a less hurried manner.
The muscular (and very handsome) young man stares at Occa wondering why he is babbling so. Then he turns to Badd. "I am Dor D'Och. It is my pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, and mine to meet you," says Badd, nodding vigorously as he stuffs another piece of bread in his mouth. He tips his head at Occa. "He's just being tactful."
Badd then wanders over to the other gnome and peers at his nose carefully.
"Hi!" he says, sticking out his hand. "Nice robes. Would you really train me? I'm a fast learner!"
"Sure! I wouldn't have offered otherwise. How far have you progressed in the craft? Are you a late bloomer? My name is Kailar Krookedtoes. I should probably check in on Findas too, I haven't seen him in a while. When are you ready to begin training? Are you afraid of dragons? Do you have a familiar?"
"No familiar, and I'm afraid of everything," replies Badd with a manic grin. "But usually my curiosity outweighs my cowardice."
He shrugs. "I learnt a few spells of the simplest kind from me old dad, but then he passed away and I settled down. That didn't work out though, so here I am being teleported around by Occa."
He smiles again, stuffing more food in his mouth. "The stopover service is unbeatable."
"Well assuming that our schools are compatible, we can begin the training immediately. It will take two weeks to progress. I'll waive my fees, of course, but there are probably supplies that you'll have to pay for."
"Okay," says Badd. "Occa says there's a pool everyone pays into for things like this, so..." he looks over at Occa. "Could you please leave some money, Occa? Whatever sum Kailar thinks we'll need?"
Occa says, "Cannon Fodder can take care of the arrangements for you. He has access to enough money."
"Thanks!" says Badd enthusiastically. He looks at Cannon Fodder. "Are you guys twins?"
"No!" says Cannon Fodder and stomps out of the room.
Badd winces and glances at Occa. "There goes my bank manager. Did I say something wrong?"
Occa shrugs and says, "I don't think so. Maybe he is having a bad day. He is almost an Occa. He is a simulacrum by the way."
He sips some coffee. "Odd behavior even so."
Niko smirks and replies, "Maybe closer to an Occa than you think..."
Kailar pulls out a crystal ball and begins to scry for Findas.
An image forms, and he sees Findas the dragon, sitting atop a smallish pile of treasure, asleep. He looks a bit bigger than when you saw him last, and well fed.
Once you are finished your tea, the training begins. Soon the house is in turmoil, as gnomish illusionist training is unlike anything you have ever seen, seeming to consist mainly of learning newer and more bizarre practical jokes.
Badd is an excellent student.