The Value of Friends

         Mara Redcross sat at the campfire across from her friends, Kendra the human and Kelderys the elf. The usually plucky Halfling cleric-rogue of Illmater was more quiet than normal, and with good reason. The words of the letter in her bag were all too clear in her mind…

         Mara Redcross, correct? At least, that’s the name Aiden was screaming… I would’ve never thought that even a man as powerfully built at Magnus could bleed so and not die….

         How dare he! she thought to herself furiously as she whittled on a piece of wood with one of her daggers, a hobby of hers.My friends, the two men who saved my life and my soul, who’s only goal in this world was to relieve the suffering of others… How dare anyone make them suffer so! Her eyes momentarily blurred with burning tears, blinked away the next.

         It had been less than a week since the note from ‘Crimson’ had arrived, claiming that her first friends, the gentle cleric of Illmater and his warrior brother were Crimson’s tortured prisoners. In exchange for their release, Mara has to bring two items to Crimson, powerful arcane artifacts. Her new traveling companions, the northern barbarian of the Bear tribe and bladesinger from Evermeet whom she’d joined up in the Neverwinter region with after leaving the brothers’ company, had instantly agreed to help her find the relics and if needed be fight Crimson. But even with their presence, and knowing their joint power from the other adventures they’d shared, Mara couldn’t shake the gut-twisting fear she felt, fear for another dear to her.

         “Be careful, Mara,” Kelderys said as the Bladesinger glanced up from his spell book. “You’ve very nearly cut yourself twice now.”

         “Scars acting up on me,” Mara lied smoothly, not wanting to push more of her troubles onto them, even the purely mental ones, as she set aside her carvings and pulled her back over from next to her boots. “I’ll just give them a dose of my cream.” As she rummaged out the tin, she missed the concerned looks that passed between the woman and elf, and as she unscrewed the lid and pulled off her brown leather gloves bearing the marks that gave her her moniker, she felt a stab of heart-deep pain seeing the red scars on the backs of her hands, which lined up perfectly with the marks on the gloves.

         Only burned, instead of severed like the captain wanted, Again, Magnus and Aiden’s doing. First they spare me a grisly fate, then ease my suffering after I’m branded and exiled, then help me find a purpose in serving Illmater. Now they’re suffering, and here I am, powerless to stop it! It’s not fair! They’ve done nothing to deserve it! I’ve done far worse….

         “Kelderys,” Kendra spoke up, setting aside her massive sword longer than Mara herself was tall, “is it just me, or are Mara’s scars redder tonight?”

         “Hmm… it could be just a trick of the firelight,” agreed Kelderys, “or it could be they actually are red.”

         “They’re fine. Just a little sore tonight.” Mara flashed that she felt was a cheerful, carefree smile as she slathered the pain-numbing ointment over the scars. “Be perfectly fine by tomorrow.”

         “May I see?” Kelderys held out a hand, smiling at her gently, eyes full of concern. “Although I cannot draw Corellon’s power a you do Illmater’s, you’ve even said yourself that I’m a fair healer.”

         “More than fair, Kel.” Mara hesitated. If she refused, she would only upset her new, dear friends. But her hands were fine; the occasional ache that flared up hadn’t since their first jaunt into the dwarven ruins for their current patrons. At his continued wait and gentle smile, Mara sighed, stood, and went over to hold out both hands to him. Gently he took her small hands in his and studied them, then frowned. “Bad lighting angle,” gently pulling, he guided her to the space between himself and Kendra, so Mara’s back was to the female, then down until she knelt between them.  Tipping her hands this way and that, he looked over first one, then the other.

         “See? They’re fine. I just needed my cream tonight.” Again Mara tried that smile.

         “I suppose you’re right,” Kelderys finally agreed. “Your hands seem find.” But, he didn’t let go, instead fixing Mara with those concerned eyes again. “However, you’re not.” As if on cue, which it probably was given that Kelderys kept them linked with a telepathy spell, Mara felt Kendra wrap both arms around her from behind, encircling her ribs below her arms and pulling her backwards so she practically sat on the barbarian’s lap,  back to front  and legs uncurling on reflex.

         “Hey!” Mara yelped as the action startled her. Then playfully she glared at Kelderys as she gave a few experimental squirms. “Okay, hah hah, funny. You made me jump.” All of them knew how hard that was to do.

         “Not our intended goal,” Kendra chuckled as she secured her grip, easily able to keep the Halfling all wrapped up. “But a nice side-effect anyhow.”

         “You’re all in a knot about this affair, Mara,” Kelderys pointed out kindly, “and while it’s an understandable reaction, it won’t do Aiden, Magnus, or us any good if you are so distracted you slip up and get yourself killed. So, we’re going to help you calm down.”

         “Somehow I don’t think a hug will help like it did when the ghost covered my bed – and me – in blood.” Another bit of futile wiggles.

         “Not hugs,” teased the elf, a mischevious smile on his face now that Mara thought boded ill for her. “So tell me, Mara dear… are Halflings as ticklish as they look?” Mara went dead still.

         “Wh – what?”

         “Are Halflings ticklish?” repeated Kendra, whom Mara now realized was also holding her in such a way that her arms were slightly forced up, high enough so she wouldn’t be able to easily defend herself. “Of course, he mainly means you, and you look terribly ticklish I’d say.”

         “Oh, no no. N-not ticklish at all, no not me!” It was a lame try, and even Mara knew it.

         “Oh? Shall we see then?” And Kelderys reached for her vulnerable stomach.

         “No no no no no nohohohehehehahahaha!” Mara’s protests faded into giggles as all ten of the elf’s fingertips stroked over her white blouse.

         “Aw, look at that1 he teased as his fingers danced. “Our little Mara is ticklish after all!”

         “And she said she wasn’t,” Kendra scolded.

         “Alright alright, I’m ticklish! Hehehehahahahahehehe! Stohohohohop, Kehehehel! Hahahahaeee!” She tried to swat at his tickling hands, but could only just graze them thanks to Kendra.
         
         “Laughter is good for a person’s soul,” the elf informed her as he squeezed her sides, getting some loud eeps. “Kendra, why don’t you see if anywhere else handy is as ticklish?” Mara just caught Kendra’s grin out of the corner of her eyes as she squirmed, then felt the fingers of the barbarian’s right hand start wriggling over her left ribs.

         “Eeeeeehehehehehe  hahahahaha nononono Kehehehendrahahaha! Not my rhihihihihihibs hehehehahahaha!” Mara twisted and squirmed, trying to catch her fingers to make them stop, then shrieked as Kendra’s left hand, up higher on her torso, started tickling under the rogue’s right arm, a very ticklish spot! “Nonononono! Nohohohohot thehehehehere! Hahahahaha!!” Mara wasn’t strong enough to move Kendra’s arms when she had a grip on something, even when she wasn’t being tickled. Much to her laughing dismay.

         “Tickle tickle tickle, Mara,” Kelderys sing-songed as he pulled her blouse free of her pants and exposed her belly for some direct skin-to-skin tickling, making her laugh harder. “You have such a lovely laugh. Suits you well. Though I have a wonder….” He wiggled a finger into her bellybutton, getting a shriek of giggles and more wiggling. “Are your feet ticklish too?” Mara’s bare toes curled at the thought.

         “Kehehehel, please nohohohoho hehahahaha eek!!” Kendra had started running both hands up and down her ribs, between alternating tickling under each arm to make the little thief twist in her arms. Kelderys just chuckled at her laughing protests and moved to her kicking feet. It wasn’t a challenge to grab her ankles, then scissor them between his own thighs to hold them still.

         “Too bad you left your boots over by your bedroll!” he laughed as he ran a finger up the left sole.

         “Nohohohohot my feheheheheheht Kel! Hehahahaheheheh! It ti-tickles tohohohoho much hahahahehehehahaha!” Mara hadn’t laughed like this in ages, since she was a child in the orphanage and some of the older kids would catch her, hold her down, and tickle her witless. They’d picked on her since she was a Halfling, and smaller and weaker then they were, thus an easy target. Though she would admit this was more fun, even after Kelderys picked up his writing quill and started running the fluffy tip under her toes while his fingers tickled the other foot.

         “What tickles more, Mara?” Kendra teased practically in her ear. “Your ribs, your feet, or under your arms?”

         “Hahahahahehehahaha all of it hehehehehahahahahaha! C’mohohohohon stop hahahahaha! Thihihihis is low hahahahaha!” Mid-foot tickle Kelderys leaned up to blow a raspberry on her stomach, the sound and sensation drawing out a loud gale of giggles with a shriek of ticklish surprise. It certainly seemed like they were having just as much fun as she was.

         After about five or so minutes of tickling the Halfling, the elf and human stopped their games. Mara lay slack in Kendra’s arms, giggling softly and twitching from aftershocks, eyes closed and panting.

         “Are you okay, Mara?” Kendra asked.

         Mother bear, Mara couldn’t help but muse affectionately, as she sometimes thought of the instinctively protective female. “I – I’m fine.” Mara opened her eyes. “Gah! You two are sneakier than I am!” They laughed.

         “Proves how distracted you were,” the bladesinger countered. “We were worried about you.”

         “Even since you got that letter, you haven’t smiled or laughed,” added Kendra. “We know that the reason is justified, but at this rate you will get yourself killed.”

         “I know, and I keep telling myself that, it’s just – urg!” Frustrated at her lack of words, Mara ran a hand though her mussed red hair.

         “Anyone would be preoccupied,” reassured Kelderys, “but answer me this: they follow Illmater, right?”

         “Yes.”

         “Both of them?”
         
         “Yes, since they were boys.”

         “Illmater is the deity of those who suffer. So right now he’s at their side, helping them endure, and he’s working through you to ease their pain by finding these relics and if needed fight Crimson. All you need to do is have faith in that.” Mara’s eyes widened slightly at that, then she smiled a sincere smile.

         “Who’s the cleric here, you or me?” She took a breath, then let it out slowly. “You’re right, both of you. If I let this hinder me, then Crimson wins. All I can do is trust in Illmater to help them until I get there, and do my part until Crimson is within striking distance of my daggers. Thanks for setting me straight.”

         “You’d do the same for us,” informed Kendra with a tight hug.

         “Kendra – Halfling needs to breathe,” the thief-turned-servant teased in a breathless voice, earning another squeeze before she was let go.

         “I’m going to reverie,” announced Kelderys as he moved to his bedroll. “We’ve got quire a trip ahead of us tomorrow. You sure you’re okay, Mara?”

         “I’m sure. I’ll take first watch too. All that laughing’s got me too alert to sleep yet.” They chuckled and laid down as Mara returned to her own bedroll.

         “Good night.” Within minutes Kendra slept and Kelderys was in the elven trance. Mara watched them for a while, deeply touched by their concern for her. She could count on one hand the number of people who treated her so, and have a finger left over! She just had to do something to show them how much they meant to her….

         Suddenly inspired, Mara sat down and began carving on a new piece of wood…
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         About a month later, back in their ‘home base’ of Ashford, in the Neverwinter region, Kelderys was preparing for bed in his room in the inn, the Tin Horsemen. The three had been busy; after thwarting Crimson (and getting to witness a very warm reunion between his little friend and her mentors), they’d not only cleared another section of ruins for their dwarven patrons, found a valley where massive reptiles long extinct elsewhere still lived untouched by time, but also had recovered another of the Crystal Relics for the spirit from several of Kelderys’ visions. And now they prepared to head even further east than the brothers’ temple home, to the Dalelands and Mara’s hometown, the very place that had branded and exiled her so long ago. A letter had arrived from the mayor of the place stating that they wanted her to return, to pardon her for the crime that had gotten her kicked out in the first place. And even though the three friends had instantly thought ‘trap,’ Mara was certain that the gold-dusted, elaborate penmanship was authentic, and was too concerned not to go see what was going on.
         
         Deciding to get in a little arcane scribing before Reverie, he began to rummage in his haversack until his fingers found something amiss. Something small and hard was tucked into his spare, fine elvenweave clothes. He carefully pulled it out, and his expression softened at what he found.

         The carving was exquisite, the type that one found in upscale shops, an eagle flying over swirling clouds that made up the round base. The natural dark colorations of the wood had been preserved, and it was polished so the golden and tan whorls and streaks enhanced the carved plumage. Set into each eye was a moonstone, and carved onto the back of each wing was the symbol of Kelderys’ patron pantheon, the Seldarine. An engraving across the bottom told him the source of this new acquisition. Getting up, he left the room to see Kendra, also holding something small and wooden: a bear. It appeared as if mid-walking through a bubbling river, so detailed it looked furry and with emeralds for eyes. Carved into its shoulder and chest was an identical image of the tattoo of Kendra’s bear tribe, which she herself carried on the same place:

         Your trust in me my Highest Honor, your friendship with me my Greatest Treasure.

         Smiling, they approached their final companion’s room. A quick knock spell took care of the locked door, and they knew she never set a trap here, a testament of how safe she felt in this place. Mara lay on her bed in a pool of moonlight, sound asleep, a small smile on her face as if in amusement at their surprise, even in her rest. Notably, a jar of alchemist glue sat stoppered on the desk, as did various sanding clothes, bits of wood, and a small engraving knife.

         “We feel the same, Mara,” Kelderys said softly as he shut the door. “We feel the exact same.”