Dungeons and Dragons: Out of Nothing At All

by

DrummondType2

Disclaimer: I do not own Dungeons and Dragons, and I am making no profit on this work.

Note: This is set after my previous story, "The Enemy of My Enemy".

2.

"Master, I bring news," Shadow Demon raced to Venger's side to tell him of the most recent developments.
"What do you have to report, Shadow Demon?" Venger sat, brooding.
Shadow Demon told Venger of the Young Ones' encounter with the Orcs, and of the Magician's miscast spell.
"And so," Shadow Demon concluded, "It would seem that many of the Orcs, and several of the Young Ones, are now infatuated with the Thief."
"Healer," Venger amended.
"Er, yes, the Healer," Shadow Demon was puzzled by Venger's new interest in the freckled girl, but had long ago learned from the mistakes of others not to ask too many questions, "They now journey to find the last Cancellation Stone in the Realm, in hopes of breaking the love spell."
Venger raised an eyebrow, "I see. There are no paths back to their world, and so the weapons are in no danger of leaving the Realm with them. I might consider letting them achieve their goal."
Shadow Demon looked uncertain, wondering if his Master were not going soft since last encounter with the displaced youth.
Venger seemed to sense his subordinate's unease, "On principle alone, however, we should intervene. Aside from which, it would be worthwhile to possess the Stone of Cancellation, if for no other reason than to keep it out of the hands of my enemies."
"Of course, Master," Shadow Demon bowed and excused himself.

********

In the meanwhile, Sheila was feeling particularly uncomfortable. Both Diana and Presto were behaving in increasingly affectionate ways, and the only reason that they weren't being followed by throngs of lovesick Orcs was because Bobby had threatened to pound them to paste if they didn't knock it off.
Diana and Presto were her friends, and their current behavior was through no fault of their own. She didn't want to do anything to alienate either of them. But their cloying need for her attention at this moment made her uneasy.
"You okay?" Hank asked.
"Well," she smiled half-heartedly, "when I mentioned that my feet were killing me after all this walking, Diana offered to show me a massage she learned from her gymnastics. And on any other day, I'd take her up on it, but today...well...I'm not entirely sure her motives are pure."
Hank gave a mild laugh, "Yeah, well, Eric and I overheard Presto composing some poetry, for want of a better word."
Sheila shook her head, sighing, "I hope it's better than his attempts at card tricks."
"Seriously, though, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Really. It's just...I don't like to be the center of attention on a normal day. Remember that school play, back in 4th grade?"
"I thought that you made a terrific Red Riding Hood," Hank protested, "Your acting was great."
"Hank, I wasn't acting. I really was crying on stage when I had to confront the Big Bad Wolf. Johnny Ratzinger's costume was a bit too realistic, if you ask me. Plus, I was in front of the whole school! I could have just died!"
"Hey, guys!" Eric called, "We have a problem!"
Everyone ran up the hill Eric was standing on, and looked out to see just what it was the Cavalier had spotted. They were expecting a molehill being made into a mountain, but were unpleasantly surprised to find that Eric's assessment of the situation was more than apt.
Spread across the valley floor below them were multiple Orc, Bullywog, and Lizard Man encampments, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Hank motioned for everyone to drop down before they were spotted.
"Okay," Hank turned to the others, "I'm open to suggestions."
"It's days like this that I wish Doctor Who was real and not a t.v. show," Presto remarked.
"Nerd coughcough Nerd," Eric grunted.
"Stow it, Eric. We could try going around."
"Won't work," Eric said, "Did you see the mountains around the valley? They're too steep for us to try climbing."
"Oh, like you know, Eric," Bobby sniped.
"About this I do!" Eric said forcefully, "Look, Dad took me rock-climbing with one of his business partners, alright. Those cliffs, they're too sheer and too high to do anything without the right equipment. And unless there's a camping supply store or we can magic the gear out of Presto's hat, we haven't got a chance. And besides, none of us, not even me, have the experience to make that kind of climb. And I wager that Diana's the only one of us fit enough to do it."
"The Cavalier is correct," Dungeon Master offered, appearing out of nowhere, "Climbing the Razor Spires is no task for any of you. Even if you had the equipment you need, and the experience to climb mountains, those particular mountains are home to a group of Obsidian Dragons. They are particularly vicious gem type dragons, and they will be especially hostile right now, as they are nesting."
"And did you know about all this when you sent us this way?" Eric gestured to the armies before them.
"No. In fact, the plains were clear when I sent you. I suspect Venger has learned of your goal, and seeks to stop you."
"Stop us?" Sheila was puzzled, "But...this isn't a way home. Why would he?"
"He sees the Stones of Cancellation as being a threat to him. The stones were neutral, a form of anti-magic once created by powerful wizards like Merlin as a cure-all for misapplied spells or curses. But, in a Realm where magic abounds, the stones were quickly used up, and their creators passed on without passing along the knowledge of how to make new ones.
"If Venger got his hands on the stone, he could keep his enemies from undoing his magic."
"If WE got our hands on the stone, it wouldn't be a threat to him, either!" Sheila protested.
"True, but I fear he may have another, more sinister purpose for wanting the stone," Dungeon Master rubbed his chin, "If he were to offer it in exchange for the weapons..."
"Of course," Hank looked grim, "That's exactly what he would do."
"So, two days away from our goal, and an army to wade through," Eric slumped, "Do we really need that stone?"
"We don't," Presto said.
Everyone turned to look at him, "We don't need it. All that thing is gonna do is erase my love for Sheila. Why do we need it? Why would we want it?"
"Because you're not yourself, Presto," Hank put a reassuring hand on Presto's shoulder, "You're under a spell. You wouldn't want Sheila following you around just because of a spell, would you? It..."
Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Presto decked him with a surprisingly strong right hook. Hank rubbed his sore jaw, then looked Presto in the eye.
"You just want her for yourself!" Presto shouted, tears in his eyes, "You just want to keep her from seeing what anyone else has to offer. Don't try to hide it. The minute you heard what happened, you couldn't wait to march us off on a trip to find the 'cure', could you?"
"I'm going to let that slide, Presto, because you're not in your right mind right now," Hank's voice was firm, "But if you do it again, I'm going to have to restrain you. I can't have you attacking me. You understand."
"Oh, I understand. Big, strong Hank, always the guy to come to the aid of the little guy! But were you doing it for the little guy, Hank, or were you doing it to show off in front of Sheila?"
Sheila stepped between them, "Stop it! Both of you! Hank, let me talk to him. And Presto, you apologize to Hank! Right now!"
"But..."
"I mean it, Presto! Whatever the reason, hitting your friends isn't okay," Her tone was gentle, but firm, "Hank didn't do anything to deserve that. Bullies hit first, Presto. Is that what you want to be? A bully?"
"But I..." Presto turned, his eyes filled with tears, and ran back the way they'd come.
"Presto!" Sheila called, and was about to take off running, when Eric put his shield in front of her.
"I'll go," he said, "If Hank goes, Presto's liable to start another fight, and Hank here would have to finish it the hard way, the way Presto is right now. And if you went, it would only convince him that you loved him back, and we'd have an even harder time convincing him to break the spell."
"Why not me or Diana?" Bobby demanded.
"'Cause you don't know enough about these things yet, kiddo," Eric ruffled Bobby's hair, "And Diana is under the same spell for a few more days, so she has a horse in this race...uh, not that you're a horse, Sheila."
"I get what you mean, Eric. Please, don't hurt his feelings."
"Eric," Hank called after the Cavalier, "Tell Presto...tell him I'm not mad at him, and I just want him to be alright."
As Eric left, he moved to hug Sheila, but she gently pushed him away.
"I just...I a moment to myself," Hank heard the hitch in her voice, and nodded. She slipped on her cloak, and Hank walk over to a tree, slamming his fist against it in frustration.
"Good one, Hank," his voice was full of self-reproach, "Can't even talk to your friends without a fight breaking out."
"Do not be so hard on yourself, Ranger," Dungeon Master stood beside him, "The Magician is not himself, and Sheila, she's confused about how to treat any of you. If she favors the Magician ever so slightly, she's afraid you would show jealousy. If she favors you right now, she's afraid that the Magician will be hurt even more. It is a hard road to walk."

*******

"Presto! Presto, come on, man!"
"Go away," Presto replied.
"Dude, Hank's not gonna pound your face in. And Sheila, she's not really mad at you, man. She's worried. And sometimes, when you're worried, y'sorta snap at people. I should know. I'm a bit of an expert."
"It hurts, Eric. Being in love isn't supposed to hurt! It's supposed to feel good. It's supposed to make people happy!"
Eric scoffed, "I'm the last person you want to talk to about that, Presto. Happy. I love my parents. I sure as hell ain't happy."
"It's not the same thing," Presto sulked.
"The Hell it isn't!" Eric roared, "I love 'em, and I do thing to try an impress 'em. D'you know that I play piano? Well, I learned 'cause I thought it might get them to notice me. Dad? He's always off to one business meeting or another. Always about the board room, and never about me. Mom? She's oblivious to everything. She just reads those trashy romance novels and pretends everything is fine.
"My parent's don't show me that they care. They just bought me a bunch of crap to shut me up and then people wonder why it is that I can't really...
"Look, man, for what it's worth, Sheila does care about you. Not the way you want, but she does. So, she's in love with Hank. Suck it up and deal with it. It's called life. Loving someone doesn't mean they'll love you back."
"You know," Presto wiped his eyes, "You suck at cheering people up."
"I'll add it to the list of everything else I suck at. Now let's get moving."

*****
"Feeling better, Diana?" Sheila asked as the Acrobat shook her head, seemingly to clear out the cobwebs.
"I...I think so," Diana rubbed her forehead, "Remind me never to step in front of Presto's hat again."
"Deal. And you're sure you're over the spell?"
Diana shrugged, "One way to find out."
"What's tha...mph!" Sheila let out a muffled cry as Diana pressed her lips to Sheila's, embracing her in such a way that the redhead couldn't pry loose. The kiss ended as abruptly as it had begun.
"Yep. I'm over it," Diana smiled, "Though, you kiss pretty good, all things considered."
Sheila, for her part, was too stunned to have a reply.
"Hank's gonna worry." Diana said.
"Huh? Oh, he's keeping a lookout for when Eric and Presto get back."
"Really? That's good."
"Uh...why is that good," Sheila raised a concerned eyebrow.
"Because," Diana's eyes started to glow red, and she began to melt and shift, her voice going several octaves lower, "That means that he won't be around to stop me from taking you prisoner!"
"Diana" finished morphing into Venger, wings spread wide, a wicked grin on his face.