Ironworks Gaming Forum - Imoen Same-Sex Romance II

Okay, L33, don't say that you weren't warned. Chapter 1, part 1:
Lady Galadria, Mage of note, stared intently at the bowl on the table before her. Her husband, Sir Attalus covertly watched her from a nearby couch. The two had only been married a few months, and Attalus was both worried and annoyed at this new preoccupation in his young wife. Not that he had expected her to be a doting spouse - he had known her too long and too well.They had met on the road as fellow adventurers and only recently having accumulated enough gold to buy a house,a modest place in the City of Baldur's Gate.
Modest, indeed, considering how much treasure they had accumulated after the fall of the evil wizard they had opposed. Attalus had helped pick out the discreet, secure house on a quiet side street. It supplied the necesssary home they, and their allies, needed after years on the road. But now the structure was filled with tension. Indeed, the young knight was not the only one with a grievance. Lady Noemi, Galadria's half-sister was not even speaking to her, after Galadria had sent her apprentice, and Noemi's lover, Morgul, on a highly secret - and dangerous - mission to the north, from which he had only recently returned. He had dug up the pieces that he had later assembled into this bowl in a strange, shadowy valley shunned by nearby barbarians. With the aid of the their shaman, he had reassembled the bowl and triumphantly produced the object to Galadria as a new and obviously potent magical device. Now, he and Noemi were enjoying a joyous reunion, and Galadria was studying the strange piece of glass.
As she sent her mind through the magical object, Galadria slowly worked her hands over a small flask. She had found this in the ruins of the wizard's house and had recalled that he had used the thing to imprison a genie. Somehow, more of the mage's magical essence had lingered in the flask than any of the more impressive relics that she had found.
Attalus finally moved, noisily, and cleared his throat. "Galadria...", he began. The dark sorceress started, as if suddenly awakened. She gave her husband a faintly reproachful glance. "Gal, please", he continued, "I'll leave you alone if you'll just tell me what you're trying to find out."
Galadria relaxed, visibly. "I don't know, exactly, my love,"she replied. Attalus brightened at that small bit of affection. He did love this woman, desperately.
"If I knew, exactly, it would become relatively easy, " she went on. " I just have been overwhelmed by a feeling , lately, that Smaractus was still alive somewhere." Attalus felt his tension return at the mere mention of the name af the wizard who had tormented his wife and Noemi, and nearly had him killed. He forced himself to smile.
"But, Gal," he said uneasily, " He's dead. We saw his body. And I know it was him because he was flinging spells at us, left, right, and center. And I saw his magical defenses break as you three were hurling countermagic against him." Noemi, it should be said, was also a sorceress, though not nearly of Galadria's accomplishments. Her interests tended to be more diverse. The other member of the three mages was their fair friend, Cythera.
"For a person like Smaractus," Galadria said, with a thoughtful look, "death can be an opportunity to do more harm."
"That crossbow bolt was more than a minor distraction!", Attalus stated, with pardonable pride. Indeed, it had been a poisoned bolt from his own weapon that had finally downed the sorcerer. "But," Galadria persisted, "how about all those bodies and clones he always had laying about? Couldn't he have somehow transmittted his soul into one of those?"
Suddenly a new voice was heard, loud and heated, "He didn't have a soul. That's why he wanted ours!" Both sets of eyes turned to the door, where stood a petite but very erect figure, green eyes and red hair blazing. Noemi must have overheard their conversation and her temper had overriden her sulks.
Attalus tried to hide a smile to see the two confronting each other. They were not alike, these sisters, and indeed, they had different mothers. Where Noemi was bright, Galadria was dark: black hair and nearly black eyes, though he ofter claimed to see a faint sheen of caramel in them. She was also tall, and in her black and gold robes was an impressive figure, crackling with potential power. They often clashed,especially lately,as evidenced by the Morgul dispute. It actually spoke of the confidence that Noemi had in her sister's affection that she so often argued with her, as all involved knew that Galadria could have fried her to a crisp in an instant. That it never crossed either of their minds for an instant was obvious, at least to the knight.