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“Here you go, my dear,” the waitress said, setting down a basket of sweetened bread rolls with a cracked sugar topping and ceramic pot of tea.
“Thank you,” Ellandra replied.
Ellandra sat at her usual table in Hazel’s Haven, her favorite cafe in the Sea Ward. She had been coming there since Hazel still owned the place. Now her granddaughter did, but at least she still served the same delicious rolls. She was about to pull out her book, when heard a familiar voice call out her name.
“Ellie!”
She turned to see her great-grandson Gale wave as he entered the cafe and joined her.
“The cherry blossoms are in full bloom out there, it almost looks like snow,” he said, shaking pale pink petals out of his thick chestnut hair.
Gale’s appearance was strikingly similar to his great-grandfather Gaius and she often marveled at the strong Dekarios genes. Gale shared Gaius’s soft brown eyes, complexion, even his prominent nose. There were some differences, of course. One thing that was unique to Gale was his radiant smile, which always brightened her day.
They greeted each other with cheek kisses and a brief but warm hug. After they sat, Gale poured himself a cup of black tea and immediately ruined it by stirring in milk and sugar, which always offended Ellandra. “Your Grandpa Gaius would be appalled at how you take your tea?”
“That’s because he married a sun elf,” Gale snorted, referring to her. “A proper Waterdavian smooths the rich malt flavors with a touch of milk and a bit of sweetness.”
Ellandra chuckled, selecting one of the rolls and placing it on her plate. “What’s your schedule like?”
“I’m free all day,” Gale said, taking a sip of his now-ruined leaf water. “Since we returned from our little misadventure the Academy has pulled me in a hundred different directions. You and I have barely had a chance to spend time together.”
“Well, I am happy we have today.”
“Me too.”
Ellandra looked around the cafe, smiling at the seaside decor and warm lighting. “Gaius and I used to come here on Saturday mornings when your grandfather was little. Then we headed over to the market before walking around the Heroes' Garden. Griffin loved to feed the ducks.”
“Well, that sounds great! Why don’t we start there,” Gale suggested. “Don’t forget, this evening, we are meeting the rest of the family down on the waterfront for the Celebration of Rhodaria.”
The Celebration of Rhodaria festival, which took place every spring when the cherry blossoms around the city were in full bloom, honored the Goddess of Family. The festival was fun and the city limited the Waterfront to foot traffic. Vendors lined the streets and once the sun went down, everyone launched paper lanterns into the sky. The lanterns carried prayers to departed family members. Ellandra loved celebrating the holiday with their family but she did not enjoy the crowded streets or long food lines.
“I forgot that was tonight,” Ellandra grimaced.
“Oh, come on Ellie, the people watching is half the fun,” he said.
Over a short stroll through the park, Gale caught her up on his new position at the Blackstaff Academy. She was excited for him to start a new chapter in his life following their return. She, on the other hand, planned a long overdue break. All she wanted to do was catch up with friends, play with her grandkids, and not have anyone in her head. Truth be told, Ellandra had never been an adventurer, she was just always in the wrong place and the wrong time. But then again, those chance situations brought people like Gale’s great-grandfather her way.
She and Gale continued their walk, heading south toward the Market in the Castle Ward, where they came upon the enormous God Catcher statue. Standing nearly thirty meters tall, the construct took the shape of a stone man, holding a sphere high into the air.
Ellandra remembered, nearly a century past, how the Walking Statues spontaneously appeared from the Ethereal Plane and wreaked havoc all over the city. The God Catcher had done the most damage, but luckily was rendered inert by the former Blackstaff, Tsarra Chaadren. Tsarra had used a dangerous ritual, one of the few kinds of magic that mostly worked during the Spellplague, to turn the ground beneath the construct’s feet to mud. It had sunk to its waist in the deep muck.
“You see that gash under its armpit?” Ellandra pointed at a badly damaged spot on the mighty statue. “Your Grandpa did that with a bolt from a ballista.”
“I forgot he helped take one of these down,” Gale said, looking up at the statue.
“Two, in fact. He and Laeral Silverhand were posted right up there,” she said, turning to point at a nearby roof. “You have to remember, during the Spellplague, there was no magic. People used what they could to defend the city. In the end, all eight of the constructs were defeated.”
“That must have been frightening?” He asked.
“It was. But luckily, Griffin and I were far from the destruction,” she said.
They looked back up at the enormous construct for a moment.
“The city uses them as location markers now,” Gale explained. “In fact, the God Catcher has been hollowed out and redeveloped into luxury apartments.”
“Really?” She responded, thinking that was clever use of the statue. “Have you been inside of them?”
“I dated someone that lived there,” Gale said with a blush. “Alas, we were not compatible. But, I did discover a lovely wine bar nearby, so it wasn’t a total loss.”
“When was this,” Ellandra asked, looping her hand in his arm.
“A few weeks ago. Trust me, the relationship was not worth the ink,” he said.
Ellandra laughed as they shuffled their way through the busy market.
They passed through the food vendors, retail shops, and made an obligatory stop at his favorite rare bookstore, to search for first editions. For lunch, they made their way down through the Castle Ward to her old haunt, the infamous Yawning Portal Tavern.
It felt like ages since Ellandra had been there and she brightened at the sight of the tavern’s rich, intricate tapestries and mahogany paneled walls. Candle-wheel chandeliers still hung from the ceiling, softly lighting the tavern. And of course, at the center of the taproom lay The Well, the infamous entry to Undermountain. The Well was all that remained of an ancient wizard tower and the stones rose slightly above the floor, giving it its name. Down the Well was a vast dungeon complex filled with dangerous creatures, unstable arcane magic, and portals to parts unknown. People traveled from all over Faerûn to see the Well, but many notable adventurers came to seek glory in the dungeon.
“Ellie!” A gruff voice called out as she and Gale stepped toward the long bar. “Morena said Gale rescued you out there in the wilderness.”
Ellandra smiled at Durnan, the tavern owner and an old friend. She hugged the former adventurer, then looped her hand back into Gale’s arm. “Well, technically I rescued him. The kid got stuck in his own portal.”
Gale laughed, nodding his head. “No dispute there.”
“Gosh. Every time I see you kid, you look more and more like Gaius,” Durnan said, clasping forearms with Gale, in the Northern manner.
“You would be surprised how often people tell me that,” Gale smiled. “I had no idea you two knew each other?”
“Your great-grandmother and I go back well over a century,” the tavern owner said with a chuckle and gave her a sad smile. “Back when we both got stuck on our own adventure down the Well.”
“That’s a long and sorry tale for another day,” she said. Durnan, long accustomed to his friend’s loss, let the story drop. He gave her a soft, sad smile.
“Gale and I are familiarizing ourselves with what has changed since we’ve been gone,” she said, changing the subject.
“Well, you know what they say, nothing changes here but the weather,” Durnan said, with a wink.
Ellandra and Gale ate lunch at the bar counter, chatting with Durnan about Waterdavian politics. Ellandra noticed Gale looking up at a large chalkboard over the bar with a sign that read, ‘Delve Pool.’ Below the sign were the names of dozens of adventuring groups. Most of the names were crossed out with a line, except for one at the very top, written in faded chalk: ‘Gaius Dekarios.’
“I have been meaning to ask you, what is Delve Pool?” Gale asked Durnan, pointing at the sign.
“It started over two centuries ago. The tavern regulars began betting on who would make it back from Undermountain,” the owner chuckled. “But you must know the legend behind your great-grandfather?”
“Vaguely. Ellie has been filling in the blanks of our family’s history,” Gale said.
“During the Spellplague, Gaius joined a group of powerful wizards who sought out to restore the Weave and resurrect Mystra. In order to do so, they had to get to the Outer Planes and the fastest way was through the portals in Undermountain,” Durnan explained, pointing to the Well.
“The group descended, fought several grueling battles, and eventually managed to stabilize the Weave. It was actually your great-grandfather who figured it out. He was the one who ended the Spellplague,” Durnan explained.
Ellandra smiled at the sight of Gale, beaming with pride. “He did that?”
“Gaius was a true hero. We keep the name up there to honor his memory,” Durnan said, then made a fist and held it to his chest. “Some say his spirit roams the Undermountain, assisting lost adventurers. Others think he’s still alive.”
Ellandra smiled at her friend, turning her wedding ring on her finger. She felt a tear fall, still missing Gaius.
“Well, being a hero runs in the family. Gale is also a mighty hero,” she said proudly to Durnan and quickly explained how he thwarted the Netherbrain in their own recent adventure.
“Ellie, stop,” Gale said, with a hint of pride in his voice. “You were there too.”
“I only covered your flank. You were the one that hit the brain with that final spell,” she grinned at him.
“Well, that is true,” Gale grinned.
“And he managed it all without standing in lava,” she teased.
“Ahghairon's nose, that was one time!” Gale retorted.
Ellandra and Durnan laughed.
After lunch, Ellandra and Gale swung by the Blackstaff Academy. Ellandra realized she had not been there since her son graduated, over a century ago. Gale excitedly gave her a tour of the grounds and the classrooms. Motherly pride welled up inside of her, when he showed her his new office. She was so proud of him, not that she expected any less.
“Gale, I had no idea you were part sun elf?” One of his colleagues asked, after he introduced Ellandra.
“He’s not,” Ellandra explained to the professor. “Gale’s great-grandfather was a widower and had a toddler son when I met him.”
“Oh? You were his grandfather’s step-mother,” the professor said, understanding their family connection.
“No, Ellie was the mother that stepped up,” Gale corrected his colleague and smiled at Ellandra. “My Granddad Griffin called her Mom. She raised him like her own son.”
Ellandra blushed and put her hand in the loop of his arm again, “Thanks, kulta.”
“It must be hard to be an elf with a family of humans,” the professor asked Ellandra seriously.
It was true, as a sun elf, Ellandra’s lifespan exceeded that of any of her family’s by at least a millennium. But she always reflected on something her mother told her, ‘your soul will know its mate, and they might not be who you expect.’ She hadn’t expected her soulmate to be a human with a little kid. But I wouldn’t trade my life with them for the world, she thought.
“Sometimes,” Ellandra finally answered, grinning at Gale. “But, I am fortunate that my long life allows me to watch all my kids grow and hopefully have kids of their own, someday."
Gale threw his head back in a hearty laugh. “I’m not in a rush.”
“You know, Gale I do have a friend that might be perfect for you,” Gale’s colleague suggested.
“Really? Do tell? What’s their name?” Ellandra asked.
“Okay, well, I hate to cut this riveting conversation short, but we are going to be late for the festival. Knowing my mother, she will find a way to ground me if I’m late,” Gale said, guiding her away from his colleague.
“We’ll talk later,” Ellandra called over her shoulder.
Ellandra and Gale left the Academy and joined the crowd headed toward the Waterfront. The streets were already closed and the harbor was filling up with tall ships decorated with soft lights for the festival. They navigated through the people mingling with family and friends and bartering with the vendors for art and trinkets. Hearty aromas filled their noses and street buskers played melodies. She had almost forgotten how much she loved Waterdeep during spring.
“Gale! Grandma Ellie! You are finally here,” a petite older woman, with auburn hair called out as they arrived on the docks. “We have been waiting for ages!”
“Mother, a wizard arrives precisely when he means to,” Gale informed her.
“Yes, I’m sure that works for your students, but we are on a schedule, sweetheart,” Morena said, kissing both of them on their cheeks in greeting. “Come now, everyone is waiting.”
Like Gale, her granddaughter Morena had the Dekarios soft brown eyes, but her wit and charm were all from her father. Ellandra linked arms with her as they followed Gale to their large, rented flat-bottom boat.
As she went aboard, Ellandra was greeted by the rest of their huge family. Her grandkids, young and old, descended on her like always. Hugs, kisses, and holding babies was her favorite part about being a grandmother.
The boat pulled away from the dock and glided down one of the harbor’s fingers. Everyone grabbed drinks, chatted, laughed, and spent time together. Ellandra glanced at the city’s skyline and smiled. The street lights, mixed with music coming from the waterfront and bonfires on the beaches, gave the city a warm glow. It was easy to understand why it was nicknamed the City of Splendors.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Gale said, joining her as they looked toward Waterdeep’s skyline.
As they watched, they saw the Waterfront slowly fill with the glow of paper lanterns from the crowds. A couple of her grandsons passed out their own paper lanterns and they all waited, looking toward the waterfront for the start of the ceremony. Then they heard the city bells chime three times. First one, then dozens of lanterns floated up from the crowd. Soon the city was bathed in an amber glow as lanterns filled the night's sky.
Ellandra kissed her lantern, said a prayer to Rhodaria for Gaius and Griffin, and asked her to watch over her family. She released the lantern and watched it float up to join the thousands making their way into the heavens. It was a sight beyond even the power of magic, because every single lantern was a prayer of love.
She felt Gale put his arm around her as they looked up at the sky. “Grandpa Gaius was probably watching over us during our journey, making sure we both made it back home.”
“I think you are right,” Ellandra said, and looked back toward her family, all looking up at the sky in wonder. “He always said, home is not a place, but it’s with the people you love.”
❤️