“Ah, here he is.  Nice of you to join us, Rylan”
That was Prue, the first lady to arrive.  Now that she had removed her cloak, she looked less the soggy traveller and more a lady of action.  Her chain armour, under a tight fitting overshirt did nothing to hide the figure of a well-muscled athlete.  The twin swords she had removed from their harness sat within easy reach on a nearby counter top.  Many times, I’d had cause to be glad that we fought on the same side.  Prue was savage when it came to a fight.

My smile broadened at the sight of the group.  I took a moment to shrug my sodden cloak off and hang it with the others by the dor.  I took care to make sure that I could grab it easily if I should need to leave quickly.
Only then I turned back to the group and spread my hands mock-apologetically.  “Sorry I’m a tiny bit late.  Important things to take care of.  You know how it is – busy man like myself.”

That last brought a snort and quick giggle from the littlest member present.  Nana, the smallest of us, was easily mistaken for a child.  However, she was probably older than any of us.  None of us really knew that much about Gnomes and especially around things like a lady’s age it’s better to avoid the topic.

Prue’s dynamic determination and drive kept us together as a group, but it was Nana that kept us functioning.  Without a doubt, our effectiveness was due in no small part to her healing abilities.  As a trainee cleric, she brought medical knowledge backed up by actual healing magic.  She could keep us going in a fight and patch us up afterwards.

It’s very unusual to find in the harsh reality of DownTown Faircrest, but Nana actually cared about all our welfare and we'd come to view her as a mother, despite her youthful appearance.