Astris sits down and gazes into the water: Extended Edition

Taliah Murphy looked down at her mother’s grave,the splashes of rainfall breaking up the ground beneath her into small patches of mud; creating an almost picturesque scene. A scene drawn from one of her own stories, had she the will to write about her own families passing. No, this was not a storybook scene, for writing was perhaps the last thing on Tali’s mind as she read the headstone inscription upon the long-chiseled gravestone.

“Amanda Murphy” spoke the inscription upon the headstone. “An angel in a fiendish body. Loving wife, and mother of two. May her sacrifice allow her children to live long, and fulfilling lives.” Tali read the inscription, and then she read it again. A part of her just wanted to cry. Another part of herself wanted to die, to be done with mortality, just to get the chance to lay down next to her mother again. Still, with willpower, she tried her best to suppress those feelings. She hadn't come all this way from The Order simply to cry at a grave. As much as she wanted too.

“Hi mom.” Tali spoke towards the gravestone. “I’m sorry if I haven’t come by to talk in a while. Everything...had kinda left me kinda busy.” She paused. “Oh! Yes. My friend, Boudica is here; though well, “friend” is probably not the right word anymore, we’re engaged. She seems like the kind of person you'd like, really outgoing, but also really friendly with everyone, like Devlin.” Tali took a moment to look around, and saw that Boudica was off a few graves down, Tali wasn’t the only one to have family buried here, it seemed. Still, she didn’t want to bother her fiancée.

“You and dad always really enjoyed your time with raising Devlin, and, well, It’s not that I’m jealous or anything...but...I’ve been trying to keep the family name alive with everyone else gone. I’m sure both of them have told you how much they missed you, and well...I miss having you around too.”

She paused again, not sure of what to say. “I started a Fletching business!” she spoke, seamingly out of nowhere. “Yes! Mottlewood Munitions! Mostly just military stuff, bolts, arrows, crossbows, ya know, Dad Stuff. But Boudica’s got a knack with enchanting arrows, heck, she’s even been trying to enchant cannonballs. I know! I thought it was a great idea too! I...like spending time with Boudica. It, helps. She’s...actually a really great fighter, shure she does all this magic and stuff, but she's really good at target shooting, and swordplay. It’s funny. The more I get to know her, the more she reminds me of Aunt Cass.

“Anyways, uhhh, I’ve made a few new friends in this town as well, it’s much better than Cheliax. I’ve met some, lets just call them, odd folk, but it’s nice. Happy, and peaceful. Just like you wanted for us. Like mother, like daughter, I guess.”

“I still wonder what happened to Dad, and still kick myself for letting Devlin go after him. Still....what’s in the past is in the past. I can't change what’s happened. All I can do is try to look forward for the future, isn’t that right?” Tali put on the best smile she could muster, and looked towards the gravestone, which seemed to muster a altogether silent voice.

Tali’s smile faded at the lack of response, but at the same time, the sounds of heavy boots behind her alerted her to Boudica’s presence. “Looks like she’s back” spoke Tali trying to keep up her hopeful tone. “Gotta go. She and I still need to make all the arrangements for the wedding ceremony, and invite all the guests. Wish me luck!”

As Tali finished up her conversation, another human women walked up next to her. This second figure was incredibly buff, and stood at 6'2, but was, rather strangely, dressed in wizard robes. The new women walked up behind her friend, and spoke, in a rather forward, but altogether caring tone. "You gonna be ok Tali?" Tali, not taking her eyes off the gravestone, simply hugged the second women, as the two of them observed the gravesite in silence. “It was nice talking to you.” spoke Tali’s parting words.

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It was neither thundering hooves, nore death-defining waves that brought the two lovebirds back into the city limits of Augustana; rather, it was the slow trot of a carriage, paid for not in blood, but saved-up silvers, enough to perhaps purchase a nice dinner on the town for the carriage driver after his shift had completed. Neither Tali nore Boudica were rich women by any stretch of the word, but neither were they poor either. Betweens Tali’s shrewd busnesswomen skills, and Boudica’s family name, not to mention her magic, it helped keep the pair afloat.

As the carriage entered the city, Tali couldn't help to reflect on what had gone by to get her where she was now. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Boudica had been an, albeit-unintentional, Sugar Mama for her. Between her magic, good looks, not to mention family connections, Boudica had been a godsend for Tali,though even now she wondered what the powerful mage saw in her.

The two of them had met about a year and a half ago, not long after Tali had scene Devin leave to go after her father. And while the two of them could not have been more different, Taliah and Boudica shared many similar traits: Adventuring families, big brother’s off down south, and disposable incomes. Of course, most of that changed when Tali had begun to set up Mottlewood Munitions, and Boudica had been accepted into The Arcane Order, but despite their distance between each other, it made the time they spent together all the more enjoyable.

The carriage pulled up in front of Mottlewood Munitions. It was on Walwick Avenue, just northwest of the town gate. Its neighbors included a tavern called The Yellow Cauldron and a silk store called The Spider, both owned by a man named Benthal. The building itself was a single storey, timber framed building, with several stained glass windows, each of them displaying bullets, bolts, ships, or other illustrations. In addition, but invisible to the naked eye, were a number of Sigls and Wards that Boudica had put up around the store, to deter thieves or pirates. While piracy was all but unheard of in Andoran’s waters, and the wards had cost both of them a pretty penny, the two of them had still gone and purchased them anyway, if only for the piece of mind; running a shop, especany one dealing in magical items, was risky business. Few had the coin to pay for such expensive items, and even less came through the relatively safe port of Augustana, and as a result, the vast majority of their profits came from the city itself.

Tali had sat down with Mayor Menadian about six month prior, and had used her expert negotiating skills to negotiate a contract with the city, and it’s protection, a contract that ended up being a very lucrative deal for Mottlewood Munitions, and ensured they always had a steady stream of orders, mostly for crossbow bolts, the odd lost bow, and repair work. While not the most profitable business in town by a long shot, it kept Tali busy, and also allowed her to slowly expand the business. What had once been a small wooden building was now inlaid with decorations, stained glass windows, and magical wards, a sure sign of a thriving business.

As the two of them walked into the store, Boudica reached for the “Open” sign in front of the door, and flipped it close, before turning towards their staff. Tali didn’t employ a large number of staff, about six or so craftspeople, as well as an apprentice mage that Boudicca had brought from the Order. “Everyone!” called out Boudica, as she flipped the sign. “We need the building cleared out for now, so i’m going to need to send everyone home today. Regular schedule going forward, we just need the building emptied right now.”

Both the sounds of the joy of freedom, and the crushing annoyance at the lack of working hours could be heard from behind the counter, but nonetheless, the staff got the message. Within minutes, half a dozen people had clocked out, and soon, both of them had the store to themselves, though the store itself was hardly silent. Between the traffic outside, as well as the faint humming sound of magic, the store itself was a beautiful cacophony of everything that Tali had worked to create over the last year and a half.

As soon as the back door closed, Boudica gestured into the air and summoned a oversized quill and sheet of paper, and begin to draft a letter. “Making invites?” asked Tali towards her fiancée, who responded first with a smile, and then a flash of magic as the quill and paper disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Just one. To my brother, Quincy, at The Order. Haven’t heard from or scene him in a while, and just thought I ought to let him know first...so maybe he can pop down and say hello before the ceremony.” Tali tried her best to put on a smile from Boudica’s antics, but the only expression she was able to muster was a dull frown. Almost immediately, Boudicca had realized what she had done, and moved to hug her, but Tali held out her hands. “No...no, it’s ok.” she spoke. “You didn’t realize.”

Boudica, still sympathetic, responded with “I don’t know what I'd do if I lost Quincy. He’s the only sane member of my family left, to be honest. It’s why he got kicked out, and why I might as well have gotten kicked out by this point. It’s always all ‘SMITE VAMPIRES! DESTROY GHOSTS WHEREVER YOU FIND THEM! PURGE THE UNDEAD!’ Boudica made a number of over-the-top gestures as she spoke, gestures that seemed to bring a smile to Tali’s face. “Point is, everyone over at the fort is too serious. And while I don’t like undead either, life is more then that, ya know? I’m know you're probably dying to know what happened to your father, and Devlin, and honestly I'd feel the same if anything bad happened to Quincy, but from what you’ve told me of them...both of them probably went down fighting. Whoever got them probably bit off more than they could chew, and is probably still stinging from that bite to this day!” Boudica’s words of encouragement, while not perfect, certainly helped to lift Tali’s sprites. “Now then!” spoke Boudica “We’ve got a wedding to plan. And quick too. I just told Quincy that everything will happen in about a month’s time.”

Tali did a double take. “WHAT!” she spoke towards Boudica, a hotbed mix of emotions within her mind. YOU SAID IT’S IN A MONTH? We don’t even have anything ready yet!” Boudica simply laughed at Tali’s apparent confusion. “Ya. More of a challenge that way. It’s no fun if everything is certain.” Tali looked at Boudica, and almost immediately began doing calculations in her head. “Ok...months time...” she spoke, trying to be calm and collected. “A month...ok, I can do this. ...One week to setup the ceremony, a few days to write out invitations, maybe another week of notice to allow everyone to ship in, we should use the funds from the last sale to set up a teleporter to Fort Mottlewood...” Seeing Tali suddenly begin to dubble down, and work out the total days of the wedding, and seemingly begin to start to plan for every contingency, Boudica simply responded “I could always amend the letter to make it three weeks from now?”

Tali’s response to that statement was loud enough to shatter windows over a block away. It was going to be a long day.