to Colson," Catti-brie added with a smile aimed right at Bruenor and even more pointedly at Drizzt. "A fine wife our friend has found, and a child who'll grow strong under Wulfgar's watchful eye."
"He learned to raise a son from a master, I would say," Drizzt remarked, grinning at Bruenor.
"And too bad it is that that one didn't know as much about raising a girl," Catti-brie added, but she waited until precisely the moment that Bruenor began gulping his ale before launching the taunt.
Predictably, the dwarf spat and Regis got soaked again.
* * * * * * * * * *
Morik the Rogue wore a curious and not displeased expression when he opened the door to his small apartment to find a petite, dark-haired woman waiting for him.
"Perhaps you have found the wrong door," Morik graciously offered, his dark eyes surveying the woman with more than a little interest. She was a comely one, and she held herself with perfect poise and a flicker of intelligence that Morik always found intriguing.
"Many people would call the door of Morik the Rogue the wrong door," the woman answered. "But no, this is where I intended to be." She gave a coy little smile and looked Morik over as thoroughly as he was regarding her. "You have aged well," she said.
The implication that this enticing creature had known Morik in his earlier years piqued the rogue's curiosity. He stared at her hard, trying to place her.
"Perhaps it would help if I cast spells to shake our bed," the woman remarked. "Or multicolored lights to dance about us as we make love."
"Bellany!" Morik cried suddenly. "Bellany Tundash! How many years have passed?"
Indeed, Morik hadn't seen the sorceress in several years, not since she was a minor apprentice in the Hosttower of the Arcane. She had been the wild one! Sneaking out from the wizards' guild nearly every night to come and play along the wilder streets of Luskan. And like so many pretty women who had come out to play, Bellany had inevitably found her way to Morik's side and Morik's bed for a few encounters.
Amazing encounters, Morik recalled.
"Not so many years, Morik," Bellany replied. "And here I thought I was more special than that to you." She gave a little pout, pursing her lips in such a way as to make Morik's knees go weak. "I believed you would recognize me immediately and sweep me into your arms for a great kiss."
"A situation I must correct!" said Morik, coming forward with his arms out wide, a bright and eager expression on his face.
* * * * * * * * ** * *
Both Catti-brie and Regis retired early that night, but Drizzt stayed on in the tavern with Bruenor, suspecting that the dwarf needed to talk.
"When this business is finished, you and I must go to Waterdeep," the drow remarked. "It would do my heart good to hear Colson talk of her grandfather."
"Kid's talking?" Bruenor asked.
"No, not yet," Drizzt replied with a laugh. "But soon enough."
Bruenor merely nodded, seeming less than intrigued with it all.
"She has a good mother," Drizzt said after a while. "And we know the character of her father. Colson will be a fine lass."
"Colson," Bruenor muttered, and he downed half his mug of ale. "Stupid name."
"It is Elvish," Drizzt explained. "With two meanings, and seeming perfectly fitting. 'Col' means 'not', and so the name literally translates into 'not-son,' or 'daughter.' Put together, though, the name Colson means 'from the dark town'. A fitting name, I would say, given Delly Curtie's tale of how Wulfgar came by the child."
Bruenor huffed again and finished the mug.
"I would have thought you would be thrilled at the news," the drow dared to say. "You, who knows better than any the joy of finding a wayward child to love as your own."
"Bah," Bruenor snorted.
"And I suspect that Wulfgar will soon enough produce grandchildren for you from his own loins," Drizzt remarked, sliding another ale Bruenor's way.
"Grandchildren?" Bruenor echoed doubtfully, and he turned in his chair to face the drow directly. "Ain't ye assuming that Wulfgar's me own boy?"
"He is."
"Is he?" Bruenor asked. "Ye're thinking that a couple o' years apart mended me heart for his actions on Catti-brie." The dwarf snorted yet again, threw his hand up in disgust, then turned back to the bar, cradling his new drink below him, muttering, "Might be that I'm looking to find him so I can give him a big punch in the mouth for the way