Chapter 2
"The room is dark. The air wreaks of death and decay. The walls are adorned with torches, that seem to cast little to no light whatsoever." Keila explains, her voice soft and dreary. "Search check!" Guy yells, ecstatically. Keila nods her head in his direction, her eyes narrow. "Eighteen." Guy grumbles. "Alright, you look around the room, and along the walls you take notice of a few elongated holes in the walls, and a few mounds scattered around the room." Keila's eyes shift around the table. "Well, what are you going to do?"
Marceline glances at Bongo, then at Guy. "I pull out my axe-lute, and play a cord." She says. Keila nods, "Alright, as soon as the sound echos, a violent whirlwind begins circulating around the room. The stench of death grows stronger. In the midst of the whirlwind, you see six skeletons take form from the holes in the walls." Keila grins. "I knew it!" Guy shouts, tensing up.
"Roll for initiative!" Keila screams, dramatically. Four twenty-sided die bounced across the table momentarily before coming to a stop. "Seventeen" Bongo announces. "Twenty-three" Marceline says, smiling. Guy sighs, loudly, "Eight..." Keila giggles. "Ahh, babe, the dice giveth, and the dice taketh away." She pouts at him, teasingly. "Alright, the Skeletons got an eleven on their roll, so, Marce, you're up first." With a crack of her knuckles, Marceline leans forward, examining the grid board. "Alright," she huffs "Guy, take the two on the left, Bongo take the middle two, and help me with my two when you're finished, sounds good?" Bongo smirks and nods his head. Guy just mumbled under his breath.
Marceline's eyes fixate on Keila, a fierce intensity resonates within them. "I'll move up to this skeleton," She announces, picking up her miniature figurine, and moving it six five-feet-squares, and planting it firmly in front of the skeletal figurine. "and make my attack with my axe-lute." Marceline says, as she tossed a twenty-sided die on the table. It tumbles around briefly, before stopping on a nineteen. She smiles, "With my attack bonus, that's a... Twenty-six, and a critical threat." Keila nods her head. Marceline rolls the D20 one more time, rolling a fourteen. "Plus my attack bonus... That's a twenty-one. Critical hit, baby!" Marceline cheers, giving Bongo a fist bump. Guy smiles, darting his eyes to his girlfriend. Marceline could tell Guy was loving this, because Keila had boasted heavily about how she was going to "kill a player character this session." However, the dice seemed to be on Marceline's side tonight. 'So it won't be me. Not this battle-bard!'
Three twelve-sided dice roll across the table, Marceline eagerly awaiting their halt. "Ten... Eight... Twelve... Plus my damage bonuses... So, that comes up to... Thirty-nine!" She grins, looking up to see Keila's face. With a huff, Keila mumbled "Yeah, that skeletons dead. Beyond dead." Marceline nods her head, smiling. "Well, you got to tell how it happened." Keila grumbles. "Oh! Right, sorry, I don't crit often." Marceline laughs, "Well, as soon as I saw the skelletons forming, I grabbed the neck of my axe-lute, and charged straight at one of them. As I closed the distance, I reared my axe-lute behind my head, and came down with a powerfully flurry of blows, crushing the skeleton's skull. As its body crumpled, limp, he let out a disembodied scream, that echoed throughout the dungeon." She threw herself backwards, slumping into the couch, a satisfied look creeping across her face.
Keila snorted, as smoke billowed from her mouth. "Well, if it had to die right off, I guess I couldn't have asked for a better way for it to go." She hesitates briefly. "So, I think that brings us to your turn." She points to Bongo.
Bongo cleared his throat. "Alright. So, what's about to happen is this." He said, definitively. "I'm going to charge attack-kick this skeleton," He stated, pointing out which figurine he intended to hit. "And topple him into the other skeleton." His face grew long as he debated the success rate of his attack.
Keila sighed, "Alright, well, you'll have to make an unarmed attack roll... Plus you'll take a negative penalty for trying to kick re-animated bones. So, if that's what you want to do, be my guest." She chirped, smirking. A smile crept onto Bongo's face. "Doing it." He said as he hurled his D20 onto the table. it danced around shortly, before landing firmly on a seventeen. Bongo quickly glanced at his character sheet. "Alright, that's... Plus five for my strength modifier and plus two on my unarmed strikes... With a negative three for kicking a bone man. So, twenty-one." He beamed.
Keila hung her head in disbelief. She sighed, while everyone else in the room grinned. "Yeah, that's a hit." She mumbled. "You knocked that skeleton back onto that one... Both of them took five points of falling damage." She pouted. Guy's face lit up. "The dice giveth, and the dice taketh away." He chimed in, teasingly. Keila grunted. "Yeah, well, the DM has final say. Would you like a tree to fall on your precious level 12 Human Rouge in his sleep?" She snapped, eyes widening. Bongo and Marceline stifled their laughs, as Guy conceded back to silence.
With a crack of her neck, Keila whipped her head back around to face the tabletop grid board that held all the figurines. "Alright." She smiled sinister. "Let's kill some player characters." She quickly arranged the three standing skeletons into new positions, and then lifted the skeleton in front of Bongo's character back to it's feet. "Attack of opportunity!" Bongo yelled, gently slapping the table, before rolling his D20. As it stopped he peered over to view what fate it held for his Orc Barbarians attack of opportunity, and it was promising.
"Fifteen" He smiled. "With my attack bonuses... That's twenty-three." Keila sighed again. Bongo didn't even wait for Keila to confirm the hit - If twenty-one had hit, there was no way twenty-three couldn't. A D12 was launched across the table, accidentally falling to the floor. "Man, Bongbro, you gotta quit throwing them." Guy laughed, glancing down to view the results. "Sorry man, I just get excited, you know?" He apologized, his voice soft and sincere. Guy picked Bongo's die up and slid it to him across the table. "It's all good bro. By the way, you rolled an eleven." Bongo's face lit up. Good rolls always make you feel fantastic. He glanced down at his character sheet. "So that's an eleven naturally, and a... Eighteen with my damage bonuses." He stated, looking up at Keila. She snorted. "Yeah, he's not dead... Well, re-dead, but he is looking pretty rough." She grumbled, as she marked down the skeleton's loss of hit points on her paper.
"Okay! Now that that's out of the way," She huffed. "It's their turn to attack!" Keila let a handful of D20's go into a small cardboard box she kept for secret rolls - A Dungeon Master always has a way to make secret rolls, so the players aren't able to meta-game and figure out what numbers and percentages they need to hit to be successful at their tasks. Her head flopped back, her mouth hanging open. She grabbed another cigarette and lit it promptly. "You have to fucking me." She exhaled. "What?" Marceline smirked. "Apparently... These skeletons can't hit the broadside of a dick!" She screamed, causing laughter to erupt from everyone in the room. Once the laughter died down, and Keila let out another sigh, she pointed at Guy. "I believe that brings us to your turn, babe."
Guy snatched his D20 off of the table, and popped his neck. "Don't fuck me now, common..." He mumbled, rolling the die around in his hand. "Alright, so I'm going to attack this skeleton, with my blessed sliver dagger." He states confidently, pointing at a small skeletal figurine. "Alright, babe, make the roll." Keila retorts. Guy rolls the dice around in his hand a bit longer, before setting it free upon the table top. It whisks around briefly before coming to a halt. "... One." Guy jeered. "Fucking one." Keila tried very hard not to laugh. "Sorry babe, but I can't excuse a critical failure..." Guy crosses his arms, and leans back in his chair. "So..." Keila drags on, despite her boyfriends suddenly sour mood. "As Guy is running to engage this skeleton, he trips on a mound of bones, and his dagger slides across the room." She hesitates, and glances over at her boyfriend, who simply rolled his eyes. "But, babe, you aren't within range to promote an attack of opportunity..!" She throws on a fake smile, to which he mocked and averted his gaze away from her.
Marceline couldn't help but notice the genuine smile that crept across Keila's face when she was looking at Guy. Even when he was being a child, she still adored him. She couldn't help but crack a smile at her best friend.
The party made short work of the skeletons, with no one getting severely injured - Aside from Marceline, who took a battle-axe to the shoulder, for twelve points of damage. Guy pepped up after he had a good roll, letting him hook his fingers through a skeleton's eye sockets, and tear its head off - He kept the skull as a souvenir. After the skeleton's unlife was taken, the party looted the corpses, finding minute amounts of gold, a few stale potions, and a brass key that was hot to the touch.
Marceline fished around her pants pocket, in search of her cigarettes. She snapped her fingures in realization that she left them on the table earlier. She leaned forward, extending her arm across the table to grab her pack. "Damn, Marce. That's like your third since we entered this room." Guy chuckles, expelling smoke. She puffed her chest out at him defensively, "Hey, man, D&D gets me excited. At least I'm not like Keila, who has to pee every five minutes." They all shared a laugh. Keila couldn't deny it. Dungeons and Dragons shrank her bladder.
"Hey, Bongs, you got any not-stale potions of cure light wounds?" Marceline asks, cocking her head to face him. "Yeah, I think so, you need some?" He retorts.
"What happened to yours? You had more than any of us!" Guy exclaims, arching an an eyebrow.
With a roll of the eyes, Marceline explains. "Well... See, I kind of lost them at the last tavern we were in... During a arm wrestling contest." Guys jaw dropped. She squints her eyes at him, "Don't judge me. I thought for sure the dwarf would beat the gnome. I mean, it is a logical bet, right?" She glances to Keila, an expectant look on her face. "Right?"
Keila laughs. "Yeah, to be honest, I was even more shocked than Marceline when the gnome won. The dice just really wanted him to win." Marceline's head whipped back around to Guy, her long black hair flowing with the swift motion. "See!" She yells, with a laugh. Guy shook his head, and leaned back in his chair, fighting a laugh - Guy takes his D&D pretty seriously, in his own weird semi-childish way.
Bongo had a laugh with the girls, before nodding his head at Keila. "Alright K, I'm giving Marce some potions." Keila nodded her head in response. "Thanks, bro." She gave him another fist bump, before turning to Keila. "Obviously, I drink the shit out of that potion. Axe wounds don't heal themselves, you know." Which got a chuckle out of Keila.
"Alright, are you all ready to proceed?" Keila asked, slumping forward and propping her arms on the edge of the table. The party all gave her confirmation. "Alright, theirs only one way to go from here, lady and gents. Out." She says. Bongo and Guy nodded in agreement.
"Wait!" Marceline shouted, holding her hand up high in the air, fidgeting with her cigarette as he pondered her next words. "I think we should take the brass key back to the main room and unlock the fat ass door, and claim the prize for ourselves. I mean, what are the High Priests of that town going to do with it?" A sly smile crept across her face. A very similar smile crept onto Keila's.
One boss fight, and a chest full of loot later, Keila brought the Dungeons and Dragons session to an end, causing several groans from the group. However, being a Dungeon Master is more work than most people are aware of. You have to write the scenery, the dungeons, the towns. Build the non-player characters, and how they act, build the monsters, and control all of them. Keila just didn't have enough material written to continue the campaign any further that particular session.
With a toothy smile, Keila exhaled smoke from her nostrils. "Don't worry, I got some exciting things in mind for you guys next weekend, if you guys are up to it?" She said, in a challenging tone, giving a slight wiggle of her eyebrows.
"Hell yeah." All three said in unison.
A short burst of silence overcame the group, as they relaxed from a tense session. The only sound audible was the sound of cigarettes burning, and ticking of the second-hand fixated on the wall. "So, good session babe. You never seem to disappoint." Guy said, snubbing his cigarette out in the tray. Keila blushed a bit, leaning over the arm of her chair to kiss him. He met her half way.
Marceline turned her head to face Bongo, who was sitting at the other end of the couch. He caught her stare and cocked his head to face her in time to see her curl her lip in a teasing manner. He chuckled, causing her to laugh as well. Their laughter thickened as they went back and forth making faces at each other, poorly imitating their friends. In response, Keila began making excessively loud smacking noises while kissing Guy, which in turn, plunged Guy into a fit of laughter.
They were a close-knit group. The four of them. Marceline, Bongo, Guy, and Keila. Not just in the fantasy world of Dungeons and Dragons, but in the real world as well. They played well off of each other, and read each others emotions and body language near flawlessly. No one really understood them - But them. Not to say they didn't have heated debates, and disagree from time-to-time.
The laughter died shortly after it began, but there wasn't a face in the room that did not wear a smile. 'This is nice, I needed this.' Marceline thought, taking in the happiness on all of her friends faces, as they sat in the dimly lit basement. "You know, we are the stereotypical D&D nerds, you guys realize that right? I mean, we're sitting in Guy's dim-lit basement." Marceline comments with a giggle. Keila snorted.
"As if. How many D&D nerds are this cool?" She retorts, defensively, popping the collar on her flannel, and sinking back in her chair. The room fell silent. Keila's eyes darted back and forth to the blank expressions on her friends faces. "Aight. Fuck you guys... So maybe we are." She mumbled, crossing her arms. Which generated a burst of laughter around the room. Before long, even Keila joined in.
As the laughter faded, Guy cleared his throat. "Man, I really don't want to start school tomorrow." The entire room moaned. "Yeah, well, at least its our last year." Bongo nodded his head, offering Guy a high five. Guy returned the gesture. "Yeah, but still. That's a whole year I have to muscle through. Lets just... Get the band going strong and drop out." Guy says, raising his hands. Keila swatted the hand closest to her. "I don't wanna hear it. It's only one year. You'll live." She smiled, blowing him a kiss. Guys groan was long and obnoxious.
Bongo ignored Guy, and turned his head to Marceline. His eyes quickly darted to Keila, who gave him a subtle nod of the head. She knew he was about to address the situation they had all been avoiding - They had discussed it the day prior, and Bongo drew the short straw in being the one to initiate the confrontation. "Speaking of school, what's up with that girl at the coffee shop the other day? Wasn't that a girl from our class? I meant to ask you the other day, but I forgot." Keila jumped in before Marceline could formulate a reply. "Yeah, isn't that Bonnibel? She acted like she knew you. What's up with that? And... 'Amber?' What?" She laughed, a bit nervously. Guy was still groaning in the background.
"Wait, how do you know Bonnie?" Marceline says, lifting an eyebrow.
A sly grin crept across Keila's face. "Oh, so it's 'Bonnie' now, huh? Alright, spill it." Fuck.
By now, Guy had stopped and was sitting forward listening intently. Marceline's eyes darted to each of her friends eyes, before she sighed and sunk deeper into the couch. "Alright, alright. I know her from way back. Like, way-way back." Her arms now crossed. Keila twirled her hand, expectantly. Marceline took notice and quickly shot her glance away from her friends. "Well, we used to hang out a lot as kids. And I sort of haven't talked to her in years." She mumbled, her raspy voice slowly fading out as she spoke.
The room fell quiet once again, everyone taken back by Marceline's sudden attitude shift. Keila's eyes focused on Guys. They both shrugged their shoulders, and tensed their throats. Bongo's eyes, however, stayed fixated on Marceline. The shaved portion of her hair was revealing the half of her face she would usually be able to hide with her hair. He could tell she was lost in her thoughts - And not the pleasant ones, either.
"Well," Guy spoke up, "I mean, why'd you lie to her the other day?" Keila leaned over and firmly struck his left arm. He winced, diverting his attention to her. Being subtle never was Guy's strong suit.
'Because she... and it just... Sort of happened.' Marceline sighed. "I really have no idea why I did that. And I know I'm going to pay for it... I guess I just didn't want to talk to her." She whipped her body around to face guy, her voice grew suddenly defensive. "I mean, what's wrong with that?" Guy threw his hands up in innocence.
Keila stood from her chair. "Alright, do I need to separate you two?" The two bickering friends eyes narrowed on each other, before diverting their attention to Keila. "They started it!" They both exclaimed pointing a finger at one another. Keila sighed. "Alright. Marce, you come with me." Marceline nestled her butt deeper into the couch cushion, crossing her arms. "And what if I don't want to go?" Keila groaned, rolling her eyes. "A tree will fall on your D&D character."
Marceline mulled it over for a minute before slumping further into the couch, so far she was practically laying on the cushion she had been sitting on. She loved her Half-Demon Battle-Bard. So, she extended a hand towards the other girl to help her stand. With an amused snort, Keila walked over to pull her friend up. As they made their way around the table to exit the basement, Guy stood up. "Hey Marce, I didn't mean to get under your skin." He said, in the most apologetic voice he was capable of. Both the girls snickered. A smile graced Marceline's face. "It's all good, bro." She insisted, throwing her arms out for a hug. He stepped forward to embrace his friend.
When they broke contact, Keila nodded her head toward the door. Marceline followed behind her, grabbing her skateboard that was propped against the wall on her way out. A short flight of stairs later, the two girls found themselves in the back hallway of the small house. As they made the necessary turns to get to the front door they passed Guy's mother, who smiled and waved. They returned the gesture before continuing outside the estate. A brisk breeze slammed the two. Marceline shivered. "I didn't think it was suppose to be this cold this time of year." Keila just shrugged and turned to face Marceline, but she had already mounted her skateboard, and pushed off as soon as Keila turned around.
Marceline road down the driveway a ways before landing a successful kick flip, and whipping the board back around. Seconds later she was back within a comfortable talking distance. "Alright, so spill it, Marce. Why does 'Bonnie' get you so worked up?" Keila couldn't hear it over the sound of her skating, but she knew Marceline had just sighed.
"I don't know." Marceline muttered, riding circles around her friend. "I just don't want to talk about it. And I definitely don't want to talk to her."
Keila visibly sighed. "Marceline, you know you won't be able to avoid her all school year. You're going to have to talk to her, at least once." Marceline's reply was a shrug. "And, she's probably going to be pretty upset you lied to her when she realizes it was you at the coffee shop. Not to mention, is she the reason you've been so picky about where you go since you got here? You've basically been a shut in this past summer. That's just not you."
Marceline felt overwhelmed with questions. She skidded to a stop on her board and popped it up, catching it in her right hand. 'Yes' "N-No" She stuttered, "I just... I don't know." There was a long lapse in conversation. Eventually Marceline let out a over exaggerated exhale. "I just, I mean, how would I even begin to tell her I've been somewhat local all these years, and haven't even tried to see her?" Her usually raspy voice grew incredibly soft.
Another long pause filled the air. Keila frowned. "I guess you just tell her the truth?" Marceline's face came to life in that instance. 'No. No, no, no. Anything but that. I don't think I'll ever be ready for that.' She tried to compose herself a bit better before speaking. "I don't think that would be a good idea." She mumbled, laughing dryly. Keila put a caring hand on her shoulder. "Marce, I want to help you, but I have to understand you first. I've gotten pretty good at reading you, but this is a new one for me. What is going on?" Keila's eyes narrowed in a way that made Marceline feel very uncomfortable - An emotion she wasn't too familiar with. "Does it have anything to do with Ash? Cause I swear I'll-" Marceline cut her off swiftly. "No, it has nothing to do with that loser. I'm... I'm over him. It's just..." She fell silent, and her head slumped.
Minutes passed without a word. Marceline reached up and took Keila's hand in hers, with a sigh. 'I wish I could understood, myself.' She took in a deep breath of air, preparing to speak, but Keila cut her off. It was as if she had just read her mind. "I get it Marce. Don't worry. I know you can't explain what you don't know." A faint smile formed on Marceline's face. "Thanks, K. Can you just help me like, avoid her?" Keila used her free hand to caress her friends face. The weight of Marceline's head fell into Keila's hand, and her lengthy black hair now covered most of her face. Keila laughed, and tucked the hair behind the girls ear with the hand that had previously been occupied by her friends hand.
Marceline smiled. She looked genuinely happy in that moment. The moonlight was catching her in a way that really brought out the subtle features of her face. The way her dull, yearning, eyes looked in this moment, threatened to awake a piece of Keila that she thought she had stifled many years ago. She couldn't help but smile back at her dearest friend. Marceline rested her hand on Keila's face in a moment of acceptance, and understanding. Keila locked eyes with Marceline, and held her glance firmly. Both girls silently soaking in the compassion of their closest friend.
Keila cleared her throat. "I can't make any promises, Marceline. I have no problem with the girl, and as far as you've told me she's never done you wrong. I won't be rude to her, or snub her. But, if this really means this much to you, I will do my best to ensure you have as little interaction with her as possible." She said firmly, making sure to stress the point she would not be rude to Bonnibel - It's just not who she is, she has to have a reason to dislike someone.
Marceline let her head slump more into Keila's hand, as one of her signature smirks emerged on her face. Keila subconsciously returned the gestures. "I couldn't ask anymore of you, Keila. You're a great friend." She paused. "No, a perfect friend." Marceline had an underlying tone of genuine appreciation - Which caught Keila off guard, because she only sounds that way when talking about music she is fascinated by. Keila couldn't help but blush, and tuck her face into, her friends hand. "Oh shut up, I'm not that great."
"Oh, yes you are." Marceline snickered, patting Keila on the head, messing up her already messy hair. Keila scrunched her nose initially, before shooting her friend a death glare. The moment was gone, but that was just how Marceline lived. She never stayed in one moment for too long. She didn't like to be caught up. Anyone willing to follow her on her life's journey had to accept that. Keila was no exception.
Authors Note: Well, I hope you lovely ladies and gents like (Or have heard of) Dungeons and Dragons. It has, over the past year, became a pretty frequent and entertaining portion of my life. I play a Human Dread Pirate named Jarlin BroJack, who was a famous pirate captain, before he gave that life away to raise a family. Sadly, his old crew returned and killed his family, leaving him alive. Now, he is fighting along side a disgraced Human Paladin named Hexus, a female cannibal Halfling Barbarian named Lilly, a god-possessed female Human Mage named Muse, a drunken Dwarf Monk named Draxx, a powerful undead Dark Elf Necromancer named Rengar, and has his own ship in a bottle that he can pull out at any time and have a full sized ship. The catch? He swore to his wife he would never use a weapon designed to kill again... So he uses a woodcutting saw, a carving chisel, and a lumber chain to combat the forces of evil! I'm telling you, D&D is fun. I encourage it. Honestly, I could write so many stories just based on all the things that have happened in the D&D campaign I've been playing. That would be intense.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Expect another one before too much longer. (Sorry, I'm no good with schedules, so you'll have to bear with me here.)