It's a boy!

Today was the day! I’m an auntie! And I helped! Eeeeee! Beornraed Timble Whistlescrew was born this evening after dinner, at about 7:30, and he was about 6 pounds, which is huge for a gnome and small for a dwarf, but I guess it’s OK for something in between.

Anyway! So! Noodler comes by early in the morning, before breakfast, and tells me that I better hustle over there because Britta’s in labor. Oh snap. I asked how bad it was, and the contractions were still several minutes apart, so I had time to put my makeup on and get breakfast on the stove before running out the door. I found Britta in bed, looking rather uncomfortable. I’m like, are you ready for this? I’m about to get to know you a whole lot better. That made her laugh, at least.

I checked her cervix, and she was still only about 20-25 WW dilated. I told her, OK, you have quite a ways to go, so why don’t you throw on some clothes and walk with Noodler to work and let his boss know that he wasn’t going to be in today. Good thing it was the start of the week and a short day anyways!

I went back to my cabin to find Pizmo fumbling with the eggs and Wynni chattering to him endlessly about... turkeys? I couldn't really tell. Anyway, I let him know that I was going to need him to watch Wynni for the day while I attended to Britta. He wasn't super excited about playing babysitter, but I mean, what else is he going to do? I gathered up my supplies and headed over to Noodler and Britta's, arriving just as they were getting back. I told Noodler to ride down to Valgarde to get Britta's mother and sisters. He made a face when I asked if it was OK to summon my imp til he got back, and he wasn't thrilled about that, but I'm like, look, it's either that or my boyfriend getting to know your wife's nether regions, cause Britta's not going to be able to smack me if I fall asleep.

I massaged Britta and helped her with some breathing exercises while we waited for her family to show up. I don't think she realized what a long process this really is! Fortunately, this midwifery gig is way easier than it was back in the day. Most midwifes can't afford to stock Scrolls of Stamina or Restorative Potions, know what I mean? And man, think of what would happen if those doofs at the Cathedral of Light would let me train as a priest! I'd be all, Power Word Fortitude! Abolish Disease! Renew!

ANYWAY, Noodler finally showed up with Britta's mom and her sisters. He was frustrated that I needed their help and he couldn't just be one of the helpers, and I'm like, dude, that's awesome, but I need people to be roughly the same height as the birthing mother so they can help support you. She can't lean on you if you're a foot shorter than she is. And yeah, you could stand on something but you'd kill her if you fell over, so, um, no. So, he just hovered and fretted and got me supplies when I needed.

FINALLY, she began the actual birthing of the baby around 7, and the baby was head down, thank GOODNESS! I cast a scroll of stamina on her and gave her a troll's blood potion just to make sure that she'd be able to remain upright the whole time. (The births I attended where the mother was lying down were just the WORST. Hurray for adventurer's resources!) I helped the baby out as he crowned, and man, does that boy have a set of lungs. I used my sword to cut the umbilical cord, and I got him all tided up (and conjured water is pretty much the best invented spell EVER; it's SO nice not making people run for more and more buckets of water that might be contaminated anyways). The placenta came not too far after, but we didn't save it because Britta's not into cool ways of recycling. Oh well.

So there you go! The birth was really pretty typical, but it was the first time I've ever helped birth a baby that I was related to! And just seeing the look on my brother's face when he first laid eyes on his new son – that was just priceless. I'm so totally happy that he asked me to help out with this.

It's not you, it's me. Seriously.

Well, that explains why I was so crabby yesterday – my monthly reassurance that I’m not pregnant showed up this morning. I had forgotten that was going to happen while we were here. Fortunately, I totally remembered supplies before we left, so the only embarrassment was a delay in fixing breakfast.

Well, at least at first. When I put Wynni down for a nap, Pizmo wanted to get a little busy, and I’m like, you know what, this is so not going to work today. And he’s all, holy crap, you’re actually buying into what Noodler said, aren’t you? You don’t think it’s OK for us to sleep together before the altar because of your brother. And I’m like, no, that’s not it at all – just a bad day, is all. And he’s like, Noodler doesn’t know Pizmo at all, he has no right to say all that stuff. He can get SO focused on a single argument that he doesn’t pay attention to rebuttals unless they totally slap him across the face. It makes me crazy.

So finally, after he carried on for a while, I’m like, look, the reason we can’t sleep together right now is because I’m bleeding and it would be painful and messy, so you’re just going to have to wait a couple days, all right? He was really quiet for a while, and then he says, “Pizmo broke ya, didn’t he.” And I’m like, holy crap, what the heck are you TALKING about? He reasoned that the only way I could be bleeding from that particular spot was if he had injured me during sex. He went on to suggest that I see a doctor and said that he hoped I wasn’t broken forever because of him.

Whoa. I mean, seriously, WHOA. He’d made so much progress in the last several months that I had sort of assumed his naivety was a thing of the past. And I mean, come on, menstruation is one of those facts of life, you know? This one totally came out of the Twisting Nether. So I try to explain to him that it’s something that happens every month, and given how freaked he is about the idea of starting a family, it should be seen as a good thing, cause it means that I’m not pregnant.

I think that last point totally flew over his head, cause he’s like, so your body just breaks down every month? That’s worse than goblin engineering. How long will it take to fix ya? And I’m like, STOP saying that I’m broken! For the love of Gnomeregan, you’re not broken if you have to go use the outhouse, right? This is the same deal, except it’s every few weeks instead of every few hours. And it only lasts a few days, so it’s not like it’s some dire situation or whatever. And it fixes itself, so I don’t really have to do anything.

By this point, he’d begun to realize that this was a bit of basic information that he should have known. He started sputtering about how of course he had known this, he was just testing me and so on, and I’m just like, Pizmo, come off it. I don’t give you this song and dance when you teach me something about engineering or whatever. Just file it away, and for Light’s sake, get me a hot towel and some chocolate.

Seriously? Lay off.

Ugh, man, I was totally in a craptastic mood today, despite having had such a great evening last night. I dunno what my deal was. Anyway, Pizmo went off to work on his logging contraption, and I’m like, you know that’s scaring the crap out of everyone, right? And he’s like, I’m totally just trying to help, and I’m like, well, I’m not sure it’s really all that helpful, and we ended up getting into a fight. I just started crying, which is so not even like me, and then he felt really bad, but by that point, I was like, fine, just go work on your stupid logger thingee.

So, I go over to Britta’s to see how she’s doing, and she’s still totally freaking out about the whole Vrykul attack from the other night. She’s like, holy crap, maybe we should move to Valgarde cause they have a bigger contingent of soldiers, and I’m like, uh, I think they get attacked way more than you do. So then she was like, maybe going back to Azeroth would be smart, and I’m like, well, your family’s all here, and we’ve got undead and demons and all kinds of freaky things down there. There are some places that are safer than others, but I mean, nowhere is REALLY safe, you know?

And then – I have no idea what got me started – but all of a sudden I just could not stop worrying about Pizmo. I mean, I’m still so jealous of Noodler and Britta. They had troubles and stuff, but pretty much they decided to get married and then they did it. I still have no idea if Pizmo’s ever gonna want to settle down with me. I mean, as long as he can remember he’s been footloose and family-free, and he hasn’t ever dated anyone before, and then here I am with a kid and all kinds of psychological baggage ready to tie him down. And, like, this trip was supposed to be a totally good thing for us, but I mean, what if my cleaning OCD is getting on his nerves, or he hates living with a kid, or he doesn’t like that he’ll be getting my brother’s family in the deal when I won’t have any in-laws to deal with. I have such high hopes for such a simple life, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m sabotaging myself all along the way.
We had sort of recovered by the time the menfolk had gotten home – I kind of wish we hadn’t, though, because then maybe Noodler wouldn’t have decided it was time for a little “talk”. We go outside and he's all, you're sleeping with Pizmo, huh. And I'm like... um, who cares? And he's all, well, you're a smart girl, I just hoped you would have learned form your mistakes. And I'm all, what the crap are you TALKING about? And he's like, well, you were all ready to dump Zandramas and then you got pregnant and had to marry him cause of the baby; I'd think you'd be a little less promiscuous this go-around.

Um, yeah. So he has, like, NO FREAKING IDEA about what REALLY happened. I was kind of peeved at that point, though, and I wasn't about to say, guess what, big brother, I was RAPED, k? So I just said something about how it was totally different, and of course he wanted to know why, and I couldn't really SAY anything at that point. UGH. Take a chill pill, I know what I'm doing, I'm totally in control here. If I do manage to get knocked up, then it's gonna be because I KNOWINGLY did something stupid.

He’s like, look, how do you expect to ever get married again if you’re going to give away the copper bolts without selling the forge? And I’m like, um, well, I’d hope that any man who marries me wants to do it because he loves me and not because he’s desperate to get in my pants. And he’s all, I hope you’re not just offering your body because you’re trying to keep him around, or letting him take advantage of you because you’re still vulnerable from Zandramas. Um, no, and this really isn’t any of your business ANYWAY. And he's like, sorry, I'm just worried about you, and I'm like, whatever, I didn't blow over 400 gold to come up here and be harangued.

So, Pizzy and I went back to our cabin and I crawled into his lap in front of the fire, and he held me while I cried. He told me he had heard me defending him out there, and he really appreciated it. Then Wynni crawled into my lap and we just had a big awkward pseudo-family cuddle. I don't care what my busybody brother thinks. I'm happy with Pizmo, and that's all that matters.

Welcome home, Pizzy

So, last night Pizzy got totally asked to go with my army to go to Serpentshrine Cavern. I guess they needed someone who was totally skilled at polymorphing to come along. It was kind of weird to have him going and me staying here, because usually it’s totally the other way around. But I was kind of glad that he left – he’d been working on this weird logging machine that looks kind of like a goblin shredder, except more like a harvest reaper from Westfall. It’s got these funky glowing lights on the shoulders and head, and while I know the townspeople of Westgarde were initially happy for the help, I think they’re afraid that this thing is totally gonna come kill them in their sleep.

Anyway, so I listened in on the officer channel (well, sort of – do you know how awful the reception is up here in Northrend? I swear, we’d do the world a favor if we built some repeater towers before we left) so I could kinda follow what was going on. Wynni and I were with Britta and Noodler, who really couldn’t follow what was going on, but that’s OK. I guess it was maybe a little rude to keep my buzzbox going that whole time while I was over for dinner and card games, but it’s like, Serpentshrine is MY territory, and it just killed me to know he was there and I wasn’t there to show him around, you know?

Well, Vashj stymied them, but Lurker, Leotheras, and Karathress all were defeated. I kept asking how Pizzy was doing but no one would tell me anything! I managed to gather that he didn’t quite have the damage output of everyone else, but he was good at turning nagas into sheeps and counterspelling when it was necessary, so that’s a bonus over some mages we’ve traveled with. I couldn’t find out anything about how he got along with people, though. I mean, I guess he was just quietly following orders and not really standing out or anything, but I guess I was kind of hoping to hear my friends tell me that holy crap, he’s like the coolest guy EVER. Oh well.
I made sure to get home before he did, get Wynni all tucked in, and get dinner made (big bear steak, yum). Britta and Noodler helped me summon him home before going to bed. He was tired and a bit worn – I guess Vashj’s lackeys roughed him up a bit – but he was TOTALLY thrilled because he came home with a bit of treasure: new gloves! We went upstairs and he ate his dinner while I rubbed his shoulders to get some knots out. He was SO totally excited to tell me about his experiences there – how he heroically shut down Karathress’ healer, how he blasted that crazy blind blood elf for all he was worth, how his arcane bag of tricks was perfect for helping keep Vashj’s fen striders under control. Having spoken with the officers already, I knew he was embellishing a bit, but it was still a joy to listen to.

As he finished eating and I began massaging down the rest of his aching muscles, he began gushing (haha, what a great pun!) about all the engineering in there. The bridge to Lady Vashj’s chambers is really pretty awesome, and I guess the whole place is a real engineering marvel – ginormous amounts of machinery sucking out the water of Zangarmarsh. Isn’t it funny how you totally ignore stuff like that when you go someplace all the time, and then when someone else experiences it for the first time, it’s like seeing it all over again?

We made love, and the last thing I saw before I drifted off to sleep for the final time was a contented smile on his face. I really hope that means that this evening was a pleasant experience for him. It was weird to be so domestic, but it was weirdly enjoyable too. I hope that he decides it’s an arrangement worth continuing.

Attack of the Vrykul!

Good grief, what a night. So, OK, after a pretty boring day, we put Wynni to bed, and Pizzy and I were enjoying ourselves upstairs a bit, celebrating his newly exalted status with the Shattered Sun Offensive. It was like, seriously, 11PM at night or whatever. And we start making love, and all of a sudden there's this banging on the door. I ignored it at first, but then I heard Noodler's voice hollering for me to open up. Gah. So Pizzy and I finished up, and I threw on a bathrobe while he got properly dressed. Noodler was a bit surprised at my dishevelment (though I don't know why he SHOULD be - hello, ELEVEN AT NIGHT, HOLY CRAP), but he was mostly panicked. He was like, Duerma, you guys have to get to the keep. The Vrykul are totally attacking. And I'm like, what? And then I heard the dragon scream. Crap crap crap.

So then I was like, look, Pizzy and I are trained professionals - we kick blood elf and dragon tushy on a regular basis. I'm not gonna hole up like a pansy when I could be totally helping. So I gave him Wynni to get to safety and I hustled upstairs to get my battle gear on. For once, I was glad that Pizzy seems to think that his pewpew clothes are appropriate for every occasion. And it's weird, but it felt really good to strap on those spiky shoulderpads of doom for once. I guess as much as I wish for a life of domesticity, this adventuring stuff is in my blood.
I popped up an Eye of Kilrogg to get a glimpse of whatever the heck was going on. There weren't a lot of them - seemed like just a skirmish or whatever - but these guys were seriously creepy. I mean, OK, so you know how humans are freakishly tall? Well, these guys were even BIGGER. Like, at least as big as Tauren, if not more so. And they kind of looked like humans, except kinda ugly, but they didn't move quite right. And then, of course, were the dragons. Geesh. They didn't look like real dragons - they were white, for one, and had yellowy wings. I don't think we're in Azeroth anymore.

We tiptoed outside and went around to the northeast, where the attacks were coming from. I'm not sure that even the Westgarde inbfantry noticed us. I cursed up the Vrykul while they weren't paying attention (with elements, maybe? Or is it shadow? Whatever the wild new flavor that is two curses in one! It's like a fruity juice blend!). We picked one and lit him up like a firecracker with a mad pyroblast/soulfire combo. A couple more hits and he was just a black mark on the ground. See how YOU guys like being burninated, huh? I sent my succubus in as a distraction (ooh, I wanted to smack her for that smirk she gave me and Pizzy before running out there, though), and as they chased her, I sacrificed her for some sick shadow power and let loose with a few shadowbolts.
It was pretty obvious we were there at that point, and we had to hide and let the infantry get their attention again before we could let loose with any other dirty tricks. It took awhile - at least half an hour of non-stop fighting - but we finally drove them off, and their little dragons, too. Several infantrymen were injured, but no one was killed. And we EVEN managed to take one of those Vrykul guys prisoner! Obviously they weren't expecting the gnome artillery. Hopefully that'll scare them off from attacking again for awhile.

Current events in the Howling Fjord

Pizzy had to get back to civilization for some work today, so I spent the day just hanging out with Britta. I figured at the very least, I could get a feel for recent events in the Howling Fjord so I knew what to start gathering info about. She was thrilled to death to have visitors - I guess she quit her job at the inn a couple weeks ago, and she's been pretty bored and lonely at home by herself. Wynni had fun playing with the stuff she'd prepared for the baby, and Britta and I were able to just chat for awhile.

Evidently, the Vrykul - those guys who harpooned our boat - have been a serious problem lately. I guess they've been here all along, but have only become a threat in the recent years. She said that overall, Westgarde was a lot safer than Valgarde, but their activity has picked up a bit here too. Britta told me that she was thrilled that I was able to come up - evidently the only midwife in the region was killed in an attack a few months ago, and she's been scared to death about the upcoming birth ever since then. I'm like, you know I fall asleep, right? And she said that her mother would be here with any luck, and if not, at the very least Noodler could have poking rights.
Anyway, more stuff! Her brothers haven't always had to go all the way up to the Grizzly Hills for their logging stuff - there used to be plenty of forest right there around Westgarde for their needs. The Vrykul came in, though, with dragons, and burnt the forest all around, presumably to make way for ground troops. The dragon bit was kinda whoa - I asked if she knew what color they were, but she replied that she hadn't even seen what happened. All the women and children are ushered into the bottom of the Keep at any sign of danger. I'm curious and suspicious now - could it be more black dragons like the orcs use in the Spire?

The one bit of positive news that she had was that the Explorer's League was sending people up here in droves. I guess after Uldaman had been pretty thoroughly searched, they didn't have much left to do in Azeroth, and Northrend was the next frontier of choice. (Course, there's still freaking ULDUM down there in Tanaris that hasn't even been sniffed at, but maybe people were sick of desert after hanging out in Silithus for so long.) The prize site is, obviously, Ulduar up in the Storm Peaks, but they are digging in everywhere they can. There's a big operation in the Grizzly Hills, but they're setting up excavations all over the Howling Fjord because who knows what they'll find? And while they have an independent operation over on the eastern cliffs, they're also setting up one nearby and using Westgarde as a base.

She started asking me about Pizzy after that, and it's sure a lot easier to be candid when he's not wringing his hands beside me and Noodler's not giving me the protective big brother evil eye. I opened up to her a bit about the whole debacle in February; she was a bit concerned, of course, but she told me about a huge fight that she and Noodler had had during their courtship. I guess there was some problem between him and one of her brothers, and her brother had made some racist remarks, and she hadn't understood what had happened exactly and so sided with her brother at first. Just like between Pizzy and me, things got all out of hand, and neither was really listening to what the other was saying, and they ended up breaking up for a couple months. It took them awhile to smooth things over, and it was a long time before Noodler was really accepted by her family, but it all turned out all right in the end.

I summoned Pizzy back after dinner. (No mail for me, what gives? If I were still a major leader and I had someone offering herself as a spy, I'd be like, hook me UP! Information's what makes the world go round, after all.) While he worked on cutting a gem for his new wand, I told him the story that Britta had told me. I figured it'd be good for him to realize that everyone has problems and stuff, and to let him know that my brother's hardly a bastion of perfection himself. Pizzy's such a fretful person. I wish I could calm him a bit. Anyway, he seemed to at least appreciate the story, and we did make love afterwards, so that's something, right? I really wish he'd let me into that goggled noggin of his

Lunch with Britta's Family

So glad it was our last night in the inn! There were these totally noisy sailors in the room next door last night, and I swear they were carousing until a couple hours past midnight. And this was TOTALLY not the day for my narcolepsy to be worse than usual, given our luncheon with the Frostbeards. Stupid sons of troggs. I had half a mind to unleash Wynni on them before breakfast and see how they liked it.

Anyway, so, lunch with the Frostbeards! Pizzy was of course supremely nervous, and I admit that I wasn't really up for a meal with a whole clan of dwarves just then. Everyone was focused on the food for the first hour or so, though - seems the oldest brother, Bronin, had bagged himself a shoveltusk stag, and evidently that's a Big Deal. I found the meat to be a little gamey, but the dwarves thought it was the best thing since the gyrochromotom or something. Noodler told me that since it was the first week of the month, the Frostbeard brothers who were logging up in the Grizzly Hills - the ones who were lending us their cabin - were here, which was pretty special.

And, of course, what's the first thing that comes out of someone's mouth once food and ale are no longer the focus? "Hey, you must be Duerma's husband!" Pizzy turned bright red and was like, um, not really. So I swept in and said, no, we're still working on that, and then I introduced us properly. I'm hoping neither the relative nor Pizzy was too mortified. Then a couple of the brothers started talking about mining (something about the quarry at Fort Wildevar), and Pizmo got caught up in that conversation. The women, though, wouldn't stop grilling me about him. Evidently a man is much more interesting when he hasn't married you yet.

We were asked to stay for games and such after the meal, but after being there for a couple days, I was REALLY eager to get settled in, you know? Britta and Noodler weren't up for leaving yet, but Britta's brothers Beldin, Bjarn, and Broldar were heading out too. It was a long trip back to the logging camp, and they could let us in as well as anyone since, you know, it's THEIR HOUSE. We nabbed a wagon and hooked it up to Pookie after I summoned him (figuring that he could go back to eating bombons in the Twisting Nether after he was through, rather than continuing on to the Grizzly Hills like their rams). The trip only took an hour this time, even with the wagon hauling. It's amazing what a difference not trudging through ice and snow will make.

The house was this cute little A-frame with a fireplace and chairs down below, and then beds in a loft up above. They cooked everything in the fireplace. Very cute and quaint. The brothers helped us lower one of the beds downstairs for Wynni (I had visions of her crawling through the railing to her doom in the middle of the night), and then they continued on their way. After being constantly surrounded by people pretty much ever since we got on the boat, it was kind of weird to finally be on our own. But it was nice.

We had a pretty low key evening, just reading books and playing games with Wynni until she finally petered out for the night. I wasn't far behind her. Pizzy was finally OK with getting cozy with Wynni sleeping downstairs, but I'm like, dude, I'm totally exhausted. He was a little put off by that - I really haven't rebuffed him very often - but he was fine snuggling together before bed. I'm so glad that he respects me enough not to push me - I really feel like I can trust him in that regard.

Midsummer's End

So, we woke up this morning on the ship, and Pizzy was a little less uncomfortable eating in the dining hall with all the other sailors. I kept Wynni dosed with the dreamless sleep potion; I figured when we got to Valgarde, she could wake up and eat totally ravenously. We totally had some time to kill after breakfast, like 4 hours worth or something. Pizzy had brought some business reports to study, but I was totally dumb and didn't think to bring anything to entertain myself on the ship, so I mostly just wrote in my diary here. I did manage to get a little cozy with him, even if he still wasn't up for lovemaking with Wynni there.

Finally, not long before midday, we heard the telltale screeches of the wind outside that meant we had entered the fjord. Wynni kept sleeping like a rock, of course, but Pizzy and I just kind of huddled together on the bed - not like we could concentrate on much else with that racket going on. After 15 minutes or so, there was a huge bang and the ship rocked hugely and I'm like, oh crap, we totally hit an iceberg, didn't we? We could hear all kinds of movement going on above us.

I poked my head out and asked what had happened, and apparently we'd been hit with a giant spear thingee. Fortunately, it just splintered the deck and rocked the ship, but not done any MAJOR damage. Pizzy went up top so he could blast away any more incoming missles. I wanted to help, but I couldn't leave Wynni there by herself, sleeping or not. I couldn't tell what was happening over the winds, but another 20 or so minutes later Pizzy came back to our cabin, grim faced, and reported he had destroyed another 3 spears that had been launched our way. Another couple had hit the sails. Now, though, we were in Daggercap Bay, far enough away from the cliffs that they couldn't target us anymore. It sounded like the ship was going to need some major repairs before it headed back south.

We finally got the all clear to disembark, and Noodler AND Britta were both waiting there on the docks for us. Poor Britta looked like a freaking ZEPPELIN. It's GOT to be any day now. I introduced them to Pizmo (and I made Pizmo hold the still-sleeping Wynni so he would have something to do with his hands besides wring them incessantly). Britta's face turned white when she heard about the Vrykul attack on the ship. I guess they've been a growing problem as of late, and Noodler said it's lucky we were on such a big ship cause they had successfully sunk a bunch of the smaller ones. Eeep.

It took them like an hour or something to get us our trunks - I guess maybe the door to the cargo hold was damaged?n Fortunately, our luggage was none the worse for the wear. Noodler told us we'd be staying in the inn a couple nights before heading up to Westgarde, and I'm all, what, you totally promised me a cabin, and he's like, yeah, but we have dinner once a week here in Valgarde with Britta's fam, and it wouldn't make sense to ride up there when we just have to come back, amirite? He DID get us some dockside tickets for the Midsummer's End firework show over the bay, so I guess that sort of makes up for it.

Wynni FINALLY woke up, so we had some lunch there at the inn, over which Noodler asked Pizzy a bunch of questions about the kind of work he does and stuff. It was, like, normal stuff and all, but Pizzy was totally sweating it. I held his hand to try to calm him some, but he was still pretty stammer-licious. Good thing his fiscal accomplishments totally outweigh his mode of delivery, huh? As soon as I could, I started yapping with Britta about pregnancy so he could catch a bit of a break. Noodler kicked me under the table, but hello, it's not like we're going ANYWHERE for the next THREE WEEKS so he can have PLENTY more opportunities to rake poor Pizzy over the coals.

We pretty much spent the afternoon chasing Wynni ALL over Valgarde (that's the downside to the dreamless sleep potions - she doesn't have the seasickness going on but when she wakes up, MAN, is she a ball of fire). Wynni's favorite game was running towards Pizmo, and then he'd blink to where she had just been, keeping her running back and forth and screaming with laughter. He really is very good with her, much better than I would have expected from a man who's so squeamish about the idea of parenthood. Anyway, Noodler and Britta took Wynni so we could nap - evidently the fireworks show wasn't starting til eleven! Not dark enough til then, Noodler said. And then he said that supposedly during the Midsummer festival, there were parts of Icecrown Glacier that the sun never set. I'll take his word for it.
That night, we sat down on the docks for the show (Noodler and Britta had seats further up on the hill so they could actually have chairs). And, man. So, Booty Bay and Stormwind have some pretty good fireworks shows, but this was crazy. Besides just normal fireworks and everything, there was this ribbon of light streaking across the sky that looked like the Twisting Nether (Noodler called it the Aurora Borealis). And, more creepy-like, there were these flaming Vrykul ships or something hanging over the cliffs of the fjord. Let me tell you, nothing fills a gnome's heart like a good fireworks show. As we sat there, Pizmo's arms around me, the sky exploding with colors, everything just felt so RIGHT.

This is going to be a good vacation.

Journey to Northrend! Again!

Wow! So! After running amok this morning trying to get some last minute errands done, I barely had time to meet Pizzy in Shattrath so we could go on to Menethil and catch our boat. Wynni was wiling like a banshee because we hadn't had breakfast beforehand, which of course meant that EVERYONE from Shattrath to Menethil was staring at me and thinking about what a horrible mother I am. I so hate that. The REASON I hadn't fed her is that she's going to be getting seasick ANYWAYS, and it's a lot less pleasant when there's something that actually comes up instead of dry heaves. I think Pizzy must have snuck her a cracker or something because there was definitely something there that first time. Ugh.
ANYWAY! Our ship was called the Zephyr, and it was pretty huge - evidently the biggest in the Kul Tiras fleet. Besides lugging cargo around, it's also the one that carries wealthy merchants everywhere they need to go, from the South Seas to Kul Tiras to Northrend to Theramore and back again. I guess that explains why the tickets were so expensive. Anyways, what that meant for us is that we had a nice, large cabin that really was pretty nice. Definitely better than the last one.

Anyway, we set our traveling packs down there and got comfy while they loaded our big trunks into the cargo area of the boat. I took Wynni to explore a bit before we launched, but when we launched, we were back in the cabin. Pizmo was rather mortified when Wynni started puking; he hadn't been expecting that, I guess. He was doing this hovering by the door, likehe really wanted to go but he figured he ought to stay, so finally I just told him to go ask the captain when we were expected to land in Kul Tiras and to find out where a good restaurant was and to find out about any appropriate business investments we should look into while there. He was glad to go, and I was glad for him to STOP HOVERING, GOSH.

We got to Kul Tiras about half past noon, and we were told to be back at the ship by 2PM. That was plenty of time to go and eat. Wynni didn't want to come with us, and she really didn't want to eat, but I made her get some chicken noodle soup and some sparkling water anyways. We found this nice place called The Tortoise's Manor. Pizzy had a smoked summer bass with potatoes and I had breaded Rockscale cod with some Alterac swiss melted on top. Mmmmm. It was SO good.

After lunch, Pizzy went to investigate some business opportunities while I took Wynni back to the ship. She was in better spirits after having eaten something. We had a fun time chasing each other through the mostly empty corridors til everyone started filing back on the ship. There were WAY more people than who got off - I guess we picked up a ton of passengers. Anyway, Pizzy made it back in the nick of time. I dosed Wynni with a bit of Dreamless Sleep Potion (which is more unethical, dosing her or letting her endure 24 more hours of puking?), and then Pizzy and I curled up to take a nap too.The man's like a breathing security blanket. I love it.