Bedtime stories (an EQ 2 FG server Chee story)

[tanare]

     Chee sat down in a rickety chair by the fireplace of her cramped Freeport apartment where she and her 25 siblings still lived. Piles of old blankets and furs were strewn around the apartment as Chee and her family made the best of things after their parents were killed by Kerrans nearly a year ago. As part of the age old rivalry between kerrans and ratonga continued. However they didn't enjoy that for long as the eldest child Ahee, whom Chee suspected worked in less savory fields than the rest of her family- those old enough to work that is, tracked the killers down and killed them all. That of course made him the hero of the family, but he was often out working for long stretches and was seldom around.

     That left taking care of the younglings to her other older brother Bhee and Chee herself, being the next two oldest. Bhee however took the death of their parents hard and turned him into a brooding sort, yet like Chee herself, followed in their mother's musical footsteps as he often played at some of the portside taverns. Though Chee didn't particularly enjoy the cynicism of his music she couldn't help but be impressed when she heard one of his two big hits "We're all gonna die so let's get drunk!" and "Misery loves company and so does a drunk." When she was out and about. Chee herself didn't have much of a reputation so she often made her way to the market place and found a little corner to play in.  Chee hoped to be discovered one day so she wouldn't have to play for coppers or the occasional silver coin while worrying the market thieves or ogre "bouncers" might find her a target.

     Now after a rough day, Chee had come home with some bread and even a few chunks of cheese for the family. Bhee had arrived earlier in the day with some potatos and milk before going back out for the night shift. Her next oldest sibling Dhee chipped in helping to deal with the orc scouts just outside the city gates with her companion the rat "D" but she was back home to help out as well. She worried about Ehee who was little more than a pickpocket but it was still extra coins for the family- less whatever Chee expected he kept for himself. Fhee, Ghee and poor stuttering Hhee would not be back until later as well. Hhee no doubt preferring to sleep in the stables where he had more room.

While one of the elders was always around to watch the younglings the littl'uns were getting to be a handful for the triplets  Ihee, Jhee and Khee who watched over things as best they could, though Khee at times was little better than the younglings to his sisters' annoyance. But now with Chee at home the younglings gathered around her expectantly. Well except for Whee who was running around the apartment as fast as his little legs could carry him.

"Yes? Do you want something?" Chee asked feigning ignorance.

"A STORY!" they cried in unison.

"And a good one too, not like big brother Bhee's. His are all sad ones." Added Lhee, the head of the younglings who kept the toddler Xhee on his lap to keep his youngest baby brother from finding some trouble to get into.

"A funny one!" added Qhee, who for once hadn't snuck out of the apartment when no one was looking.

"I need to go to the bathroom first!" interjected Phee.

"OK then go Chee will wait." Chee assured him as he ran off.

"It should be a story about me." Demanded Mhee who was yelled down by his siblings.

Chee looked up to where Ohee was re-reading one of the three books that were in the house as Chee made a mental note to find another book for her. Chee though she might make a good thief or mage someday since she was so quiet, you'd never notice she was around. Looking around the group Nhee was paying extra attention as she said she wanted to be like her big sister Chee so of course she was intent on picking up the bardic tricks of the trade. At that point Phee returned and settled in next to Rhee who gave him a dirty look for delaying storytime.

"Well then it looks like we're all here." Chee said as she pulled the crawling baby Zhee up onto her lap as her twin sister Yhee was in the arms or her "protector" the 4 year old Vhee. "So how about I tell you all a story about the first ratonga Squeee?"

   "YEAAA!" the younger ratonga exclaimed happily.

   "OK then . let's see, it was a long time ago when Freeport was only a small town and the first ratogna made their way into the city. Of course back then ratogna were much smaller, even smaller than little Zhee here, before all the good food in Freeport let them grow big and strong like we are now. So one little ratogna named Squeee came into the big new town and wanted to make a new life here.

   "But, as little Squee discovered, he was not the first one here. No the mean kerrans had snuck in first and thought they were so much better than the ratogna because they were bigger."

"That's not right!" interrupted an outraged Uhee, fully engrossed in the start of the tale.

"Yeah Thee says so too!" Uhee's older by a year brother chimed in, nodding to himself as if he made a great point. At this point Whee decided the story was interesting enough to stop running and find a seat on the floor to listen.

   "That's very true." Chee agreed, "Squeee quickly learned to avoid the kerrans who bullied him and always chased him away when he tried to find food and work. But Squeee was smart, because the littler you are the smarter you have to be to beat someone bigger. He saw there were lots of small holes in the big buildings he could hide in that the kerrans couldn't get in because they were too big."

"And fat!" added Shee breaking her way from her study of the copper bracelet Dhee had given her a few months ago .

"Like Uhee!" Vhee added giggling.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Uhee demanded getting up and about to thrash his younger sister.

"DO.NOT.TAKE.ONE.STEP.UHEE." Ihee and Chee said in unison as Uhee crumbled under their combined warning as Vhee giggled again.

"As for you Vhee." Chee went on with a nod at Ihee. "Apologize to your big brother. We're family so we always stick together. Don't be causing trouble."

"Ok big sister." Vhee said in a small voice. "I'm sorry big brother Uhee."

"Hmph." Grunted Uhee as he sat back down.

"Now if there's anymore arguing no more story. Does Chee make herself clear?" Chee demanded

"Yes big sister Chee." The youngtsers said.

"Now where was i? Oh yes. Squee found a nice little room he could have all to himself in a warehouse where the mean kerrans couldn't get to him. But Squeee needed money and he was too small to do the work the big folk could. So he thought to himself 'why don't I take it from the kerrans?' And Squeee thought it was a great idea and learned how to pick the pockets of the kerrans without them noticing. Things went well for a time until one rainy day, one of the kerrans heard Squeee splash in a puddle just as he cut a hole in the kerrans moneypouch and took a few coins.

"Stop thief! The kerran yelled as he chased Squee through the market square. Though Squee was smaller, he could duck under the booths and fit between piles of boxes that the kerran had to go around so he stayed ahead. Then Squeee had an idea and jumped up to the cleaner's stall and knocked a chunk of soap off the table behind him just as the kerran was about to catch him.

"As Squeee had hoped the kerran stepped right on top of the soap, and started to slide along the street on the bar of soap. Since the stone street of the market was wet from the rain, the kerran kept sliding. He tried to get his balance but he kept right on going. VBOOM! He crashed into a fisherman's stall and came out with a fish in his mouth and more stuck in his clothing and he kept going as the fish merchant started chasing him. Then BOOM! He crashed into a clothing stall and came out with a lady's hat on his head, someone's trousers over his eyes and two scarves around his neck and now the tailor started chasing him too. As the kerran tried to stop and get his eyes uncovered BOOM! He ran into baker's stall and poof, ran into one of the baker's flour sacks which went POOF and covered the keeran, and the fish and the clothing in white flour. So the baker started chasing him too. Finally, just as the kerran got the troursers out of his eye he saw a stone wall right in front of him and..."

"BOOM!" the youngsters exclaimed along with her.

"And now, the town guards was there listening to the fisherman, the tailor and the baker all demanding the keeran pay for what he took. Not to mention the owner of the inn, the kerran ran into wanted to know who would pay for the kerran shaped dent on his wall! The Kerran tried to say it wasn't his fault but the guards pulled him up to his feet and told him he had to pay. So the kerran reached for his money purse. But it was empty! While the kerran was sliding along the road, all the rest of his coins fell out of the hole Squeee made in it and fell all over the road. And the kerran had lots of coins, so the human younglings and Squeee picked them all up along the way, and since the younglings saw what Squeee did for them they decided to let him join their gang, because the kerrans were mean to them too. Of course Squeee was busy and made sure he took a small bag and put some fish and bread in it while he followed the kerran making a mess of everything so they all had food too, and the human younglings gave him some of what they found too.

"Squeee found his first friends thanks to the mean kerrans, and when he met a cute lady ratogna later on they settled down and started a family that lived happily ever after."

"And the mean kerran?" asked Nhee?

"oh yes I almost forgot. Since the kerran couldn't pay for any of the damages, the guards took him to jail until he agreed to work for all those people that he stole from until everything was fixed. And he never bothered Squeee or his new friends again. The end." Chee concluded.

"Yeaaa!" cheered the children, which unfortunately woke the now sleeping Zhee and Yhee who immediately began to cry.

"Well it was nice a quiet for a little while. " Dhee said philosophically, as she scooped Yhee up from Vhee's arms as Chee started trying to rock Zhee back to sleep.

"Ok story time's over. Time for bed." Announced Ihee as the children made their dislike of the announcement quite clear.

"That's ok." Chee replied to Dhee as she carried Zhee over to the old crib in the corner and placed her next to Yhee as the two twin sisters quickly fell back to sleep, "as long as we're together everything will be fine."