Tymora's luck

OFFSTAGE

Somewhere in the Prime Material Plane on the world known as Toril in Realmspace, Amberlee Wyvernspur watched from an upper window as her two younger brothers joined the flock of cousins in the courtyard. They were up to some mischief, led, no doubt, by Aunt Julia's twin sons, Tavan and Toran Sudacar. Uncle Giogi's son, Gory, and Amberlee's brothers, Lumen and Ferrin, followed them like moths to the flame.

As the oldest and most mature at nine years old, Amberlee generally made an effort to ignore her cousins' antics, but today the youngest cousins, Uncle Giogi's daughter, Olivia, and Aunt Julia's daughter, Heather, and even Amberlee's littlest brother, Pars, were part of the flock. Tavan and Toran were not responsible enough to keep the little ones safe. All the adults but Uncle Steele and their great-grandaunt, Aunt Dorath, had gone to a wedding at one of the nearby farms. Amberlee realized it would be up to her to find out what the older children were up to and discourage them from including Heather, Olivia, and Pars.

As the Wyvernspur and Sudacar brood disappeared into the stables, Amberlee raced down the stairs of the castle out into the courtyard and hurried after her younger kinfolk. Just outside the stable, Gory sat upon his own pony. Olivia, Heather, and Pars were waiting in Olivia's pony cart. Inside the stable, Tavan, Toran, Ferrin, and Lumen were saddling up their own ponies. After hitching up the coaches for the adults to attend the wedding, all the stablehands had taken the rest of the day off.

"And just where do all of you think you're going?" Amberlee asked Gory. He had the most sense of all the boys, and she could usually get him to come clean.

"Don't tell her, Gory," his sister Olivia whispered. "She'll only go running to Aunt Dorath."

"No, she won't," Cory said, giving Amberlee his most charming smile. "She'll come with us. I've already saddled her pony."

"That's very presumptuous of you, Cory Wyvernspur," Amberlee retorted with a sniff.

"We all have to go," Cory said.

"Go where?" Amberlee demanded.

'To the family crypt to meet the guardian."

Amberlee gasped. The guardian was the spirit of a fierce wyvern who guarded the family's underground burial chamber. The girl's alarm was replaced a moment later by reason. "You can't do that," she said. "The crypt is locked."

From the back of the cart, Heather held up a silver key on a chain.

"Where did you get that?" Amberlee whispered anxiously.

"I took it from Uncle Steele's sock drawer when he was sleeping," Heather said with a giggle.

Uncle Steele referred to his nieces and nephew as a pestilence of brats and barred them from his quarters completely. Whenever he had too much to drink, however, he showed a partiality to Heather, whom he mistook for his little sister Julia, although Julia was now a matron. At such times Heather was able to coax coins and candy from her uncle and was allowed to rummage through his old toys, which he still hoarded in chests beneath his bed.

"When Uncle Steele finds out, you're going to be in a lot of trouble," Amberlee said.

"We'll return it before he notices," Cory said.

"Only if you're very lucky," Amberlee replied.

"That's the beauty of it," Cory said. "We are very lucky, I heard Mother Lleddew tell Father last night that Tymora's power is leaking. Anyone who calls upon her gets scads of luck. This morning we each tossed a toy in the well as an offering to Lady Luck. We should have more good fortune than we need."

"That's how I managed to get into Uncle Steele's room without Aunt Dorath noticing and without Uncle Steele waking up," Heather explained.

"Cory, the crypt opens onto the catacombs, and the catacombs are filled with evil monsters," Amberlee said. "You can't go down there, especially not with the little children."

"We are not little children," Olivia snapped.

"I want to go," Pars shouted and began blubbering like the four-year-old that he was.

"We aren't going into the catacombs," Cory insisted, "just the crypt. We have to talk to the guardian and find out who's her favorite of the cousins so we know which one can use the wyvern's spur."

A horrible suspicion seized Amberlee. "Cory Wyvernspur, you didn't steal the wyvern's spur from your father, did you?"

With an unashamed grin, Cory held up the mummified piece of wyvern's foot that enabled the guardian's favorites to turn into a wyvern at will. "I took it out of his pocket."

"You can't do this," Amberlee insisted, stomping her foot on the ground. "It's too dangerous."

"We'll be too lucky to get hurt," Tavan said as he led his pony from the stable. Toran, Lumen, and Ferrin followed with Amberlee's and their own ponies in tow.

"Lumen and Ferrin and Pars, as your older sister, I forbid you to go," Amberlee said imperiously.

Lumen and Ferrin laughed and mounted their ponies.

"I want to go," Pars screeched.

"I'm going to tell Aunt Dorath," Amberlee declared.

Tavan grabbed Amberlee's arm. Although a year younger, Tavan was taller and far stronger than Amberlee. 'You don't want to do that, Lady Amber," Tavan said with menace.

"And why not, Tavan Sudacar?" Amberlee asked.

"Because while you're telling Aunt Dorath, well go off without you. Aunt Dorath won't be able to catch us, and she'll spend the whole day fretting. Probably die of worry. And then we'll all be in the crypt for her funeral. And it will be your fault."

"Tavan, that wasn't very nice," Cory reprimanded.

"But probably true," Tavan's twin, Toran, said darkly.

"Aunt Dorath will send Uncle Steele after you."

"He's probably drunk half a flask of brandy by this time of the day. He'll be sleeping till supper," Tavan said.

"Please, Amberlee," Gory asked again. "We could use your help and advice."

Amberlee glared at her charming cousin, knowing full well his flattery could lead her to her doom. She looked back at Redstone Castle uncertainly. Tavan was right about Uncle Steele. Aunt Dorath was probably snoozing over her knitting as well. There was no one she could rely on. It was up to her. "All right, I'll go," Amberlee announced, "but only to keep you all out of trouble."