#garster

“Oof! Huh, that didn’t take too long. Thanks for the ride mister!” 

A small but boisterous female voice expressed its gratitude to a burly man steering a stationary horse-drawn wagon. He gave a tip of his sun hat with a hand holding two gold coins in his large palm before spurring the horses back into motion. 

As the wagon pulled away there appeared a waving small figure. A short, female Halfling with tan skin, chestnut hair and a wardrobe of browns, yellows and greens. She kicked up one heel, turning around on the other before stamping it on the ground and placing her fists on her hips with a haughty ‘Hmph!’ through a tight smile. 

She was back in Waterdeep! 

Finally she got to get back to adventuring. Finally she could tie her hair back up again. Her parents probably wouldn’t like it, but who cares? She did! Almost made her feel older, and maybe... Just a little taller. 

But either way it was going back up because she was back! And she had adult responsibilities again. 

And she wouldn’t have to wait long as a heavy, gruff voice called across the street from the other side of the gate.  “DEH-MEH!” 

It was more yell than voice, but she knew exactly who it belonged to. Turning around she immediately spotted a rag-tag group of individuals with the fuzzy culprit towering over the others. 

A bugbear was waving his heavy palm. 

In front of him stood an armored knight carrying a flail with a kite-shield and patterns of green painted over his armor and standard. He rolled his shoulder to adjust one of his pauldrons when he looked up and caught eye of his party mate. 

By his shin a male halfling with grey clothes and a disinterested look, impatiently clicking a very expensive looking pen. When he looked up an almost mischievous smile spread onto his face. 

Behind the bugbear on an already commandeered and loaded cart sat a beautiful elvish woman with silver hair kicking her feet back and forth in the air.A sight that might’ve been a little less unsettling if not for the spire she had on the back of her hand she was staring at with a casual smile. 

Demi excitedly waved as she ran a few feet in their direction before taking a few rapid looks around. Immediately she was aware of one silhouette missing. There was no long beak of a plague doctor mask sticking out anywhere. 

The halfling cupped her hands around her mouth before leaning forward a bit to try and carry her voice to the others, “Have you guys seen Trona yet!?” 

“Not anywhere, was supposed to meet us an hour ago! Much longer we’re gonna be late!” Ferrum, the knight, called back. 

“I said we should just leave her!” Haelgrukk, the bugbear rumbled like thunder across the clearing, clearly displeased. 

Garster, the sketchy looking halfling just raised his hands in a shrug along with a few rapid shakes of his head while Val, the elvish woman, was still clearly preoccupied with her spider. 

“Hrm...” Demi whined, slightly in pondering but mostly in disappointment it was gonna be longer before they could leave. 

“Have you checked her shop yet!?” Ferrum called again, earning equally surprised stares from all sides of his party. 

“She has a shop now!?” Demi called back. 

“Why didn’t you tell us that!?” Garster demanded, kicking his armored shin with about as much success as one would expect. 

“... Because it wasn’t relevant until now?” Ferrum answered, not doing very well to appease the frustrated stares, “Hey I was getting the cart!”

Demi rubbed a hand over her face with a heavy sigh, turning on her heel again as she took off down the street, “I’ll go find her, just gimme a minute!” 

“Two blocks down, you can’t miss it! Looks exactly like what you think it does!” Ferrum called back before the distant sound of metal clanking together. Hale likely lost his patience and got mitts hands on him. It was a small wave of relief Demi didn’t have to see, or really hear, any of what was coming next. 

Before long she found a building that stood out to her from the others just by the newer, fresher wood and stone to build the structure. She didn’t know much about architecture, but she could always tell when forest material was fresh. 

It was a rounded building with windows embedded into stone piling that gave way to long stretches of wood. Behind the glass she saw hanging, drying herbs and the glint of a few colorful potions in the reflecting sun rays. 

She could definitely smell it was her place, if anything. The combination of burning chemicals and fragrant herbs was an odor no one ever agreed on if they loved it or hated it. 

But that didn’t make her hesitate to push the door open with a high jingle of a welcome bell. 

Before she almost choked on a wave of dust. 

The halfling stumbled into the room with a few light coughs, waving her hands in her face as she was startled by just how thick the air was. The sunshine and twinge of the salty air from the Sea of Swords gave way to a pungent odor of something like lavender crossed with sulfur. 

When Demi wiped her eyes she got her first look at the shop. Shelves and notes lining the walls around a desk on the far side of the room. A bed nestled under a window to her left and a staircase cascading over a small kitchen up to a loft. 

A figure turned around with a start at the desk across the room. A head whipping around with the flourish of a very long, white ponytail. Looking back at her were foggy, baggy eyes of a pale-complexioned woman. It was almost impossible to make out the alchemist against the curtain of smoke that immediately dissipated as she took a couple steps to turn fully around. 

“Demi? You’re back already?” She asked in a faintly accented voice. 

Demi coughed, giving her chest a couple pats as she stood up to full height again, “Yeah! *Cough* It’s me, Trona! Didn’t think I’d be back so soon, either, but couldn’t be happier I am. Eugh, it’s hard to breathe in here. What are you making, some kind of new poison for Garster?” 

Trona blinked, sheepishly looking at a mug and saucer in her hands then back up at the ranger again. 

“Tea.” 

“Tea-!?” Demi started to question, shaking her head in dismissal of the topic, “Nevermind, we gotta get going! Everyone’s waiting for us!” 

“Waiting for-” Trona had barely enough time to set down her tea and flip up her hood before Demi scampered forward and took one of her hands. 

“Yeah! Waiting! The party got us a job for us,” She explained as she pulled Trona along towards the door who leaned with almost both of her arms at full length reaching for her plague doctor mask and satchel off the bed, “So we gotta get going!”

Trona scrambled to adjust her mask as they burst out into the morning air. She almost lost her footing underneath her as the sun bore down on her. What she didn’t have time, or the courage, to tell Demi was she hadn’t left her shop in a couple of days. Her time sank into a black hole trying to synthesize a tea using nightshades with minimal success. 

The aggressive light and almost thin air made her lose her breath for a second, but she kept jogging at the behest of the halfling pulling her along. 

“I’m not waiting any longer for an adventure, we got things to do! Besides, it’s a beautiful day!” Demi exclaimed, clearly the excitement of returning starting to stoke her halfling spirit. 

It made Trona look at her feet, watching as almost grey ground gave way to spills of color. Her eyes adjusted to see sprouting flowers in the cobblestone path. The complimentary shades of Demi’s wardrobe and the glow of her smile over her shoulder. Ringing in her ears giving way to melody as birds chirped, just returned from their first fly of the day. The smell of the billowing bread oven of the bakery just up the road with windows thrown open to circulate the breeze. Yes, even the colorful language spouting from Hale’s mouth at Ferrum as they got closer to the rendezvous point. 

You’re right-” Trona breathed to herself, not quite audible to Demi,