Phantasmal and Resplendent

Chapter 6

Kravitz left Lup and Barry after recounting his and Taako's first meeting. He needed to report to the Raven Queen. He couldn't tell Her everything; that would have taken too long, and She didn't need every detail. That's why She gave the job to Kravitz instead of doing it herself. Though Lady Istus and Kravitz had both informed Her that the liches were safe, She was still put off by the fact that there were two of them just running around.

After meeting with his Queen, Kravitz wasn't sure where he should go. Taako still was busy training (he promised to call Kravitz when he was done) and he didn't want to be in Taako's room without his permission. He supposed he could go back to Lup and Barry, but he had just left and was concerned that it would be awkward if he showed up so soon after leaving.

Then he remembered that the Raven Queen had given him an apartment in the Astral Plane. He hadn't visited it in years—Kravitz was something of a workaholic, and in the little free time he allowed himself, he usually just went exploring around Faerûn. But now he had this mandatory time off work, he could use it again.

The apartment was exactly the same as he left it: empty with only the bare essentials it came with. As he walked around, he thought about what he could add. I should get more furniture. A comfortable chair or two, maybe. Oh, and a bookshelf. That would give me something to do. Oh wait, is it still—

Kravitz rushed to his bedroom, which was empty except for a mattress on a bed frame and a closet door. Occasionally, if Kravitz came across something he liked in the field, he would create a rift that led to his closet, which he only remembered when a wave of trinkets came crashing out at his feet. He dug through the mess of gemstones, books, and rare objects and found what he was looking for—his cello. He thanked his Queen that he kept it in a hard case, otherwise everything he had shoved in the closet would have harmed it. He brought it out to the apartment's main room, making a mental note to sort through the mess of trinkets he left on the floor, and sat in the one chair he had. Kravitz started by tuning the cello, which took a while, considering how long it had been. Once he had finished, he applied rosin to the bow and started playing.

Kravitz had forgotten how much he loved making music. Just hearing the cello play almost had him in tears. He let himself go and took advantage of his muscle memory. He started with scales, then the songs he learned in his earlier days, occasionally going off on his own and improvising. He probably would have played forever if his Stone of Farspeech didn't interrupt him.

Kravitz gently set his cello and bow on the floor and answered. "Hello?"

"Krav, babe, I'm trying to bake but Angus is being annoying and won't stop bothering me about you. Would you entertain him?"

Kravitz smiled, knowing that Taako was teasing Angus because he was probably listening. "Of course. I'll be there in a moment." He put his instrument away and opened a rift to Taako's room.

Taako was on Kravitz as soon as he stepped through the portal. Kravitz was surprised at first, but quickly adjusted and embraced Taako.

"I take it you missed me?" Kravitz asked.

Taako scoffed. "As if. I was just letting you indulge in Taako's Radiance."

Kravitz smiled and kissed Taako. "Of course, dear."

The two of them spent a couple quiet moments just enjoying being held by the other. Then Taako said "Well, the kid's waiting for us out there. We'd better get out there before he breaks in, since he can apparently do that." Kravitz chuckled as Taako led him out of the room.

Kravitz was greeted with a "Hello, sir!" as a very energetic Angus McDonald waved from his seat at the kitchen counter. Angus had a notebook in front of him that was sitting on top of a very thick book. After greeting Kravitz, the child went back to taking notes, though it was obvious he was still paying attention to his surroundings.