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He didn't much care for the sun or the breeze. And he definitely could have done without the view!

Yes, eight miles high, battered and bleeding, and in the clutches of a rather large bird was not how the [Strategist] had intended his day to wind up. If he'd still been fighting with the Chernion Swords on the ground, he could have managed himself just fine. Healing potions and tonics could have mended his broken ribs and soothed his bruises and abrasions in the two shakes of a mouse's tail. It had been an eye-opening fight. One he'd been poised to win if only by the skin of his teeth. Silently he cursed his size and then proceeded to vocally curse the bird who'd decided he might make a nice lunch.

"Go on and land you great feathery beast!" Niers snarled and struggled in vain against the rather nasty set of talons pinning his arms up against his body. "Let's see how strong you are when we're not in the air! Come on then! I ought to have you served to Foliana with a side of rice and a glass of wine!"

The bird, for its part, paid no mind to the noisy insect it was holding. Why should it? It was a bird, after all, and did not speak English. Not one bit. Happily, it grabbed a nice updraft and made another sharp ascent into the sky. Another two miles disappeared between it and the ground, and the bird couldn't have been more pleased with how quickly it was going to return home.

The wind rushed past the Fraerling at an alarming pace. Even though he couldn't tell how high he was at that moment, Niers still knew it was higher than he'd been just a few moments before.

"Damn it all..." he murmured, and hung his head limply. It wasn't supposed to have BEEN like this. He was supposed to be in Liscor right now, making himself comfortable at the Tailless Thief and preparing himself mentally for his visit to the Wandering Inn in the morning. He would have slipped into the building, found the Innkeeper, and they would have had the most exciting game of chess as that damned [Earl] watched jealously...

What a stupid plan.

What a stupid turn of events.

 "I should have just stayed there!"

In hindsight, staying at the Wandering Inn would probably have been a more strategic choice. It would have been far more intelligent to have been intercepted by the Brothers. To have them make the introduction, and allow their glowing praise of his nature to -

To what, exactly?

What was he hoping to get out of this?

It was true that he wanted to finally meet his chess partner. To play a game with them in person and experience a sort of kinship that could only occur with a person sitting right in front of you. It also wouldn't have been wrong to say that his hand had been forced when the [Earl] had sent him the taunting picture. Atlesteil might as well have made a Wistram broadcast out to the world announcing, "Look here! I have found your partner, and am going to make her mine! You should have moved faster!" And both Peron and Foliana had correctly guessed that there was a part of him that couldn't help but wonder if there couldn't be something more with the Human Innkeeper...

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." Niers clenched and unclenched his fists in frustration. "Why do I keep doing this to myself? Even if I'd managed to get to the Inn, managed to meet the Innkeeper, what then? Did I just expect that she'd want to know me?"

Well, yes. That was precisely what the Fraerling had expected. They'd been distant game-friends for quite some time. Who wouldn't want to meet the person they'd been playing with, right? And after all, it had been her who'd asked if they could be friends in the first place.

He tried to imagine what their first meeting might have been like if his plan had gone off without a hitch. If he'd never been ambushed. What might her reaction have been?

The Wandering Inn stood proudly on a hill. Though it wasn't a small building by any means, from the mouse's eye view of a Fraerling, it might as well have been a mountain.

Not surprisingly, the inn was busy - it was nearly dinner time, and people were flocking there to eat and catch a showing of what sounded like it could have been The Seige of Liscor.

A stately looking Drake strode through the front door, his cloak billowing behind him ostentatiously. Niers hitched a ride on the richly colored fabric, knowing full well that the Tall Folk wouldn't notice him as long as his Skills were active. Normal [Strategists] typically didn't have Skills for hiding and camouflage, but living with Foliana had taught him a few things. Most notably [Hide in Plain Sight] and [Weightless Ride] - which, when stacked, could allow him to tap dance on a person's shoulder without them being any the wiser.

The hapless Drake took a seat at the bar, and Niers took his leave. He waited until the cloak billowed impressively out and upwards, then nimbly used the lift to hop onto a tabletop. Surely the Innkeeper wouldn't be too hard to find. It was her inn, after all!

Once on the table, he could get a decent look at the establishment. He'd known it would be busy at this time of day. And, if you had asked him, he would have told you that he'd gotten a good look at the patrons from his spots on the floor. But it wasn't until he'd seen it from the Tall Folk's point of view that he could truly understand how busy it could get. And the place was PACKED. Oh, yes, there was enough room for people to sit down, and there were still some tables open on the theatre side of the room. And it wasn't as if a person couldn't navigate from one side of the room to the other. But still, the sheer number of people milling about reminded Niers of the Tall Folk cities and busy marketplaces. He was grateful to be up on the table and not anywhere in foot-stepping distance.
He eventually managed to spot the telltale hats of the Brothers of Serendipitous Meetings. If he were to feel a bit silly, Niers might have said that finding them here was a bit of serendipity, but today he was a man on a mission. The time for jokes was quite literally any other time, as far as he was concerned.

Carefully, he pulled a miniature crossbow out of his pouch of holding and replaced the very expensive and very explosive bolt with something a little less deadly. Another enchanted bolt took its place, this one designed to deliver an electric shock to the recipient. For a Fraerling to get hit with it, death was a distinct possibility but a Gnoll's tough hide meant that Wilovan would merely feel like he'd touched a metal doorknob on a winter's day.

All over his body.

Well, nobody said communicating with the Tall was an easy task. The [Strategist] aimed lazily, and his bolt struck true.

Wilovan spasmed as though he'd been struck by a miniature bolt of lightning. Which, in essence, he had been. A few of the other Hatmen thumped him on the back encouragingly, thinking perhaps he'd merely swallowed his Firewhisky too quickly. His partner Ratici knew better. The two scanned the room before eventually managing to see past his Skills and locate the table their employer was waiting on.

"Good evening, gentlemen." he greeted them crisply, ignoring the way his stomach was trying to crawl up into his chest. "I trust everything has been arranged the way I'd requested?"

"Er... about that..." Ratici stumbled over his words, trying and failing to hide the guilty look on his face.  "It would appear that our plans seem to have run up against a sort of..."

The [Strategist] felt his skills warning him. He had a nasty feeling that was about to come next wasn't going to be in his favor. Despite that, he pressed his contact to finish his sentence.

"A sort of what?"

"Ah, well. It wouldn't really be a gentleman's place to tell you so abruptly." Wilovan rumbled, still rubbing the place where the electrified bolt, more of a needle, really, had struck him. "It's probably for the best that you see it with your own eyes."

Niers stepped onto an outstretched hand and was carried over to a corner near a window, far enough from the entrance that the ever-growing stream of people couldn't disturb it.

Several small tables were set up, each one holding a chessboard. And in the center?

The lovely Miss Solstice. She looked exactly like her Mage Picture, down to the glowing smile and well-worn apron.

His heart beat faster.

The game on the board in front of her was an exact copy of the one they'd played a few nights before. He knew the move she was going to make before she'd even done it. Her opponent countered flawlessly.

Her opponent.

Suddenly the [Strategist] felt his knees buckle, and he was sitting in a Gnollish palm rather than standing on it.
There, sitting across the table from the Innkeeper, sat Earl Altestiel. He said something quietly across the table, and Miss Solstice laughed delightedly. Altestiel made another move and then slyly glanced over in the direction of the two Brothers and their employer. It was he who was the focus of her attention, he who was on the receiving end of her smile. And it was he who was playing the exciting game of chess, while Niers sat and watched jealously...

A sudden twist and deep dive by his feathery captor jolted the Fraerling out of his spiraling imagination. Oh. They were being attacked by another Razorbeak. Wonderful. At least it had reminded him that he was not, in fact, being shown up by one of his rivals. That bit had all been in his head, and besides which, probably wasn't even all that accurate. Why would two dozen of the Brothers even be out in public drinking together anyway?

No. If the two should meet, it would probably be more like this:

A Drake [Heiress] waited for him at the Mage's guild in Inversil. It was she who received the bottle he was hiding in, a note having been sent to Hexel that she would be arriving to "talk business."

Selys Shivertail couldn't know he was hiding in the wine bottle, of course, and he had to wait until she arrived back at the inn to share her bottle with her best Human friend. Who also happened to be the Erin Solstice. How perfectly convenient.

Both young women screamed upon his exit from the bottle, alerting the Guardsmen at the bar. Several armed patrons swarmed their table. They didn't look too thrilled to see that their drinks and meals had been interrupted.

Neither did the heavily armed Hobgoblin that lived there. He descended upon the table with the wrath of, well, a furious Hobgoblin, smashing on the table with his fists.

Niers leapt back, nearly toppling off the table, only to find himself pinned to it by a superbly shot arrow. Several Abberation-Antinium swarmed the table, their shovel-like hands reaching out for him - 

No. No. That was absolutely NOT how it was going to go. Sweet sunshine, what in Rhir’s Hells was wrong with him?

One more time...

Niers sat patiently on a chessboard. His chessboard, in fact. Or at the very least, it was the board he had commissioned and sent to an inn outside Liscor. Its pieces were waist high and meant for a much larger player. The tiny [Strategist] leaned back against one, still waiting for its true owner to arrive.

It was evening now, closer to the hour at which night transformed into the morning. He'd been waiting for hours, but in the end, he hoped it would be worth it.

Eventually,  she arrived. The owner of the chess set and of the Wandering Inn. The Human who had managed to catch his attention and impress the entire world. Erin Solstice.

She threw herself across the human-sized bed, just barely bothering to kick off her shoes as a yawn took over. Niers watched bemusedly.  And then coughed conspicuously before she decided to shed any more clothing in his presence.  Erin jolted up, looking around for the very unexpected, and very male voice that had materialized from inside her room.

"Good evening." He called out, giving her a small wave from his spot between a rook and a knight. "I'm sorry to startle you, but I felt it was probably safer for me to meet you in private rather than try to brave the crowds."

Erin's eyes grew round as she approached the table where the little intruder stood. She took a seat and regarded him with wonder.

"You-you're a Borrower!" she exclaimed.

Neirs blanched at the Terrandrian euphemism. He knew what they thought of his kind there. Borrower indeed. "Er, no.  You haven't met any of my kind before, have you?"
 
Erin shook her head vigorously, "No, never! You're so TINY!"

He smiled, relief washing over him. That was the reaction he was used to. And it was one that quickly went away once he got a chance to show off a bit.

"Well, allow me to introduce myself." He bowed, "My name is Niers Astoragon, and while it is true that some might refer to me and my kind as Borrowers, we're actually called Fraerlings."

"Oh, was I being rude? I was, wasn't I? " Erin's hands flew to her mouth, clearly having noticed the slight edge in her visitor's voice when he repeated what she'd called him. "I am so sorry! It's just... "

He shook his head. "It's quite alright. I know we're notoriously rare outside of Baleros. And even then, you're more likely to get struck by lightning than to stumble across a Fraer village."

"Right, right..." Erin nodded her head, still in awe that somebody so SMALL could even exist. "So... um... can I help you? Most of the rooms are probably too big for you, but I could probably find, like, a drawer or something and turn it into a bed. I've got some crafting Skills."

"No, that won't be necessary. I don't know that I'd be able to sleep right now anyway. Teleportation does that sometimes." He waited for a moment, trying to gauge her reaction. It was slightly disappointing when she merely nodded her head absent-mindedly, as though casually mentioning that he'd teleported someplace was the most normal thing in the world. "I'm a long way from home, you know. Baleros. All the way on the other side of the world?"

Again Erin nodded her head. She appeared to be paying rapt attention to his words but gave no indication that they were in the slightest bit impressive. She surely must have made the connection between the mysterious Fraerling showing up on her SPECIAL chessboard, one who claimed to have teleported all the way from Baleros. Honestly, most of the Tall Folk could only ever name one Fraerling if asked. He'd MENTIONED his name! Hadn't that Swifttail fellow said anything to her about him?

Was it possible she didn't know who he was?

Damn... I should have asked the Brothers to start talking about me. He ran his fingers through his hair awkwardly.  One last chance tonight before I start looking like an absolute creep.

"Right. Well. I know it's late but, the truth of the matter is, I was rather hoping for a chance to play a game of chess. I, ah, understand you're something of an expert in the subject. I've read all about your games in 'Chess News Monthly.'" He patted one of the pieces encouragingly, then regarded her with a twinkle in his eye. "It just so happens I'm something of an expert in the subject as well."

Erin sat back in her chair and gave him an appraising look. "Expert, huh? That look in your eye is the look of somebody who thinks he knows a secret. That tells me either you're way out of your league or I am. So which is it?"

Busted... Niers thought guiltily. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. She was sharp as a tack. He really shouldn't have expected anything less.  I suppose it's time to come clean.

"Ah, well. I suppose you've caught me." He grinned, squeezing between two pawns to put them between himself and his hostess. "It just so happens that I was the one who invented the game. This chessboard? I was the one who sent it to you. Well... I suppose back then it wasn't so much you as it was the best player in Liscor. Which happened to be you. So the result is the same either way."

"Wait... you were the one who sent the board? The person I've been playing with all these months? No way!" Erin sat forward, her eyes suddenly shining. "I've always wondered who was on the other end!"

"Yes, that was me. I would have liked to come sooner, but I have certain... responsibilities to take care of." Niers ran a hand over the details carved into the Bishop. "This is actually the first vacation I've taken in, well, in years."

"And you came here? To meet me?"

"Is... is that a problem? I was under the impression that many people specifically came here to meet you. Adventurers, famous actors, influential strategists?"

Erin's cheeks took on a slight pinkish tinge. "Oh, that... it's really not as impressive as it sounds. The Horns have been my guests for AGES, way before they hit gold rank. And the Players of Celum started off as a pet project. We all grew together!"

"And what of the Drake [Strategist] Chaldion? Or [Knight Marshal] Altestiel? I don't suppose you grew with them, did you?"

"Well... Chaldion only comes sometimes. Usually because Grimalkin or Saliss wants him to, but sometimes just for a snack and a game of chess." She hunched over a bit, unconsciously trying to make herself smaller. "Besides. It's a lot easier for them to come to visit since I got the magic door. Not like trying to teleport all the way across the world. That's some kind of big magic, isn't it?"

"I imagine it would be the only big thing about me."

The words came out before he'd had a chance to think about how they might be perceived. But to his surprise, the [InnKeeper] laughed and regarded him fondly.

"Well... I supposed since you've come all this way, it wouldn't be very welcoming of me to turn you down. I suppose we've got time for one game before bed."

...

One game turned into two. And two games turned into five. It was one of the happiest nights Niers could remember ever having. Erin was so easy to talk to. She played as well as he did, playing him to a draw in three out of the five games.

As the first of the morning rays flickered through the window, it was easy to see how they'd spent the entire night enjoying each other's company. He'd told her stories of his home, his students, and of his days as a Named Adventurer. She'd told him of the various guests who graced her inn, the horrors that had crawled out of Liscor's dungeon, and of the changes that had gone through the Drakes in the time she'd been there.

"Goodness..." Neirs stifled a yawn almost as big as he was. "I hadn't intended for it to go on for this long."

Erin looked at the window and groaned. She was supposed to be getting up right about now after having gotten a good night's sleep. "You and me both."

"I wouldn't hope to trouble you again tonight, not after keeping you awake all night. But I wonder if I might trouble you for a chance to do this again some time." This was it. The time he finally stopped being complacent and threw himself out of the frying pan and into the fire. "Perhaps while visiting The Silver Pomegranate over in Inversil? It just so happens I'm friends with the person who owns the magic door."

At first, the Innkeeper's tired smile matched his own. But as the words sunk in, the smile faded. Little by little, it transformed into a frown.

"The Silver Pomegranate? Isn't that place sort of... expensive? And um... " she paused delicately, attempting to fish out the right words for what she was thinking. "Intimate?"

Erin wasn't wrong. The Silver Pomegranate WAS expensive. It was probably one of the most expensive places in all of Izril. And nobody would have been incorrect in describing it as being intimate. Indeed, it was one of the most popular places in the world to propose a marriage among those who could afford to travel.  Not that he intended to do that. Not yet, at any rate.

"It's not a market street food stall, but if it's the cost that worries you, it would be my treat. It's certainly within my means." Niers took a seat on the edge of the table and leaned forward a bit. "Besides... I'd like to get to know you better. And maybe... vice versa, if you were interested."

If a person could have peered into the room, the sight would have looked like something out of a fairy tale. A young human woman, seated at the table, facing a tiny little man. A bargain hung in the air between them.

"Like... a date?"

The [Stragesist] could practically feel the sweat beading on his forehead. Despite not being in any actual danger, his [Dangersense] was blaring.

"... Yes?" He could have kicked himself. Of all the wishy-washy comebacks!

"Oh..." Erin reached her hand out slightly, before retracting her hand. "I... I don't think that's going to work. I just - I just can't see myself going out on a date with you."

And the look she gave him! What a look! The most awful sort of look he could have asked for. That terrible combination of second-hand embarrassment and pity. It almost made him wish she'd just laughed at him instead.

Niers took a steadying breath and sat up straight. All his plans were falling apart around him. "Ah. Well. I suppose... that's fair."

He stood up. Swallowed thickly. Had his mouth always felt like cotton?

"If I'm not being inappropriate, may I ask the reasoning behind your decision?" There were a thousand and one reasons why she might have rejected him, any one of them just as valid as the next. But he still had to know.

"It - it's not your fault! You're like, the best chess player I've ever met, and you have lots of great stories, and I like talking to you. It's just..."

"Just?"

"It's just... you're so...", again the young woman dithered, trying hard to choose her words just so. "so... small."

And he was. Nobody would deny it. Even though he might have been tall when in the presence of other Fraerlings, compared to the human sitting before him, he was the size of a doll. A small doll, one too delicate and fine to be played with by children.

"It isn't that you aren't human. If you were a Drake or a Gnoll, or even a Hobgoblin, it would be OK. But... " She gestured to her tiny guest as he stood among the chess pieces. "How would we ever get over the size? I feel like I might accidentally swallow you if ever we tried to kiss."

"It's not as if it's never happened before..." Niers mumbled; the fire that had been in his belly now replaced with lead. "There was a fellow who got together with a Human [Baker] not all that long ago."

"I'm so sorry." Erin shook her head sadly. "But, you just aren't enough."

Though the sick fantasy was over, the lead feeling remained in his stomach. Figment of his imagination or not,  Erin Solstice was right. He wasn't enough. Never had been. It was why he had always needed to be part of a team, even when he was Named Rank. It was why he needed Foliana, and an entire Company to make his mark on the world. And it was why he was miles in the sky on a lunch date with a Razorbeak instead of in the Wandering Inn. He should have known better than to come here by himself.

The sun was shining. The air was crisp and clear. And suddenly Niers Astoragon felt like he was exactly where he deserved to be.