Hello everybody! Welcome to a new chapter to my Dungeons and Dragons story. Boy, this is sure a crazy trip just to get this chapter off the ground. With so many things happening in terms of credible dice rolls; I can say that a lot of my original story progression ideas were thrown out the window thanks to getting a bunch of bad rolls. Oh well, we work with what we have.

That said, I think there are well over 20 different dice rolls in this particular chapter. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong on that count, but I don't know if it's more or less than what I stated. Regardless, there is no doubt a lot of rolls happening. I would expect a lot to also be in the next chapter. And one has to wonder why I'm subjecting myself to writing a story based all on the roll of the dice?

While it may seem like a cheap gimmick I'm employing, I promise that it does play a role in the overall story. Whenever possible, I always try to implement my techniques and story mechanics in a way that it becomes a part of the story itself. I can't say too much more than that as I would be giving away the plot; those of you smart enough to read between the lines might already have an idea as to what I'm planning with the dice mechanic. All I can say is that it will be a while before it all becomes clear.

With that said, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter! As a means to keep track of items gained and lost, I will post at the beginning and end a basic list of what Markus obtains during this journey. Not only is it a way for you guys to keep track of what he has; it'll allow me to remember what he currently has with him and what I can use in certain situations. Some of the items are also not found anywhere in the D&D lore; it's just something I made up for the heck of it. That said, enjoy!

One last thing, though; I will introduce a new abbreviation noted as ST. That simply stands for Saving Throw. From what I understand, it is a number added to a character's roll when either trying to recover from a status ailment or conducting a particular action in which you have been disabled somewhat. I know for sure it is to help dodge magic attacks; for the previously mentioned two, I will play around with that system as I see fit. Basically, ST will stand for the Saving Throw number of each character.

Inventory:

Dagger x2 (1d4 + [Dex. + prof. bonus] attack each)

Short Bow with 20x arrows (1d6 + [Dex. + prof. bonus] attack)

Skor's Strength Potion (2d4 bonus to each attack roll; must pass a d20 x/15 roll prior to made attacks to maintain bonus)

Skor's Endurance Potion (2d4 recovery and increase to Max HP, must pass a d20 x/15 roll prior to made attacks to maintain new Max HP limit)


Chapter 3

Markus stayed in the abandoned shop until late that evening when he decided it was time to make his move. He had done his best to plan things out, but there was no denying how rushed it all was. Things were bound to go wrong; it would be a miracle if the job went even remotely clean. Still, he least he had some semblance of a backup plan to work with.

Of course, he was not happy that Skor just left him to take care of Xantyr on his own. As friends, he had hoped the Dwarf would be with him, blades at the ready, to reclaim what was taken from him. Then again, he should have expected things to go the way they did. Despite his naturally strong dwarven build, Skor's skills laid in his ability to sell practically anything to anybody at any price. For him, fighting was more of a last resort option. However, he was a definite force to be reckoned with when crossed.

At least he was kind enough to leave Markus with a couple items he could use during his newly-classified suicide job. Being the shrewd businessman he was, he almost never willingly parted with his goods unless coin was involved. The only exception was when he was dealing with friends, but even then it was like pulling teeth just to get him make a small charitable act. In that respect, he learned to take Skor's offerings for the rare gifts they were.

He was also left with the letter sent to Skor by his confidant. Even though it had been meant for him this whole time; it was great that he left Markus with some leads. With Xantyr meeting a potential buyer during the midnight hours, it meant the process was to be as low-key as possible. Why else would someone schedule a meeting so late?

(Investigation Check: Natural 20) From what he gathered from the drunkards calling it a night, there was a group of people gathered at a large house in the outskirts of town. While usually meant for town meetings and celebrations, they sometimes rented it out for extra money. As luck would have it, someone matching the High Elf's description was seen heading there earlier in the evening. (Natural 20 Bonus) They even let slip that the town guards were given clear instructions to not approach the grounds for whatever reason until the gathering was over. For Markus, that meant one less thing to worry about during his escape.

And this was where he found himself at, along the outskirts of the house in question. He made sure to hide within the shadows of the trees due to the full moon's celestial light making the road illuminated. Thankfully, his position granted him a good view of the grounds and any threats that may be lying in wait.

(Perception Check: 2+3/10) "How am I gonna do this?" he grumbled as he could only see one guard so far standing by a torch at the front door. He assumed there were more outside, but it was hard to tell due to them most likely donning extremely dark armor as the one by the door. With the cover of the trees only extending halfway up the walkway, he dared to chance getting closer and ruining his advantage.

(Perception Check: 13+3/5) However, Markus noticed the guard tossing something between his hands in an absentminded fashion. His shield and spear were leaning neatly against the wall, ready to be picked up at a moment's notice. Despite that, he was more into whatever was in his hands and not paying attention to the path.

"I could take him by surprise," he wondered aloud after a few more seconds of watching. After giving the area a final once-over, he decided it was worth trying.

(Stealth Check: 19+4/4) As assumed, the guard did not notice Markus slowly creeping up to him. Even with his front facing the path, the Dragonborn had no issue sidling up to the wall just a few feet away. One wrong move and he would be exposed in a heartbeat, but the guard merely continued to play with what was now known to be a pebble. He could even be heard counting under his breath; that was how close Markus was!

He took advantage of this moment to try and figure out his next move. As much as he wanted to sneak in through the door, he could not risk it without first scoping out the inside. Of course, that would be hard to do with even a distracted guard a few feet away. If things went south then, he would easily be surrounded in a heartbeat.

No, the best thing in this situation was to knock the guy out. If he did that, then he could take the Studded Leather Armor as his own and pretend to be one of the guards. That would negate the need to perform any risky stealth maneuvers. There was also a helmet in which he could hide his Draconic heritage in case this was a group that did not hire such people. The only thing he needed to make sure was not to mess up. Otherwise, it would call for some rapid-fire improvisation to hopefully get out of it in one piece.

(Strength Check: 12/7+2+ST 2) As swiftly and quietly as he could, Markus jumped on the guard's back and wrapped an arm around his neck. The guard immediately dropped his stone and placed both hands on the offending appendage. He also tried to scream for help, but he could only manage wheezes of pain thanks to his windpipe being crushed. It was amazing how the guard was failing at this despite him clearly being more muscular.

What almost caught Markus off-guard was the sudden jerk backwards where the wall was. Had he not been paying attention, he might have loosened his grip upon impact. Instead, the Dragonborn managed to plant his feet against the bricks and stop the guard's momentum. He then pushed them away from it and down to the dirt where they landed with a soft thud, a cloud of dirt rising and choking Markus in the process. Still, he continued with his assault as he did not want to lose his newly gained advantage of being on top.

Despite this, the guard continued to flail about like a netted animal. Were this any other situation, Markus would have been surprised at how long he was lasting. Instead, he found it annoying and was contemplating whether or not to just smash the guard's face in to save time. He did not have all the time in the world to deal with this guy, after all!

Thankfully, the struggle began to calm down. The death grip on his arm loosened until they fell silently onto the dirt. His legs, which were helplessly kicking against the ground, stopped trying to buck Markus off him. His breath, having since been coming out as sickly wheezes, gave out one last choking attempt at a gasp before going silent. That was when Markus finally let go, and he was rewarded with a now immobile guard. Though just to make sure, he placed a finger on the guard's neck to check if he was dead or alive.

"Geez, this guy's a tough one," he grumbled after a couple seconds. "At least he'll be out for a while. I better take his armor and hide him somewhere before I get caught!"

Thankfully, that ended up being an easy task. All he needed to do was untie the straps along the guard's ribcage that joined the front and back portions of the armor. Afterwards, he rolled the guard onto his side so as to slip the armor over his arms. It was the only way to get it off as the shoulders were bonded together with a combination of leather straps and metal studs. It was easy, though, and he soon found himself wearing it as his own.

Now came the task of hiding the body to keep the other guards from figuring something was wrong. Granted they would soon realize it once they see the door guard missing. Still, it was better they be kept guessing for a while instead of figuring things out right at the get-go.

(Strength Check: 18/10) Not wanting to waste any time, he decided to just drag the body to the trees he hid under earlier. Even though it provided little cover against passersby going to the house; at least people from the house would have a hard time noticing anything. Then again, the people renting the place specifically forbade any outsiders from approaching. In that respect, Xantyr's buyer was helping to make sneaking around easier.

With the body out of the full moon's light and, hopefully, away from general view; Markus calmly made his way back to the front doors. Before entering, however, his eyes caught sight of the Lance and metal Shield leaning against the wall.

Why'd he have both? he wondered as he went over and picked up the Shield. It takes two hands to use a Lance just to keep it stable for attacking. The only exception is when one's on a horse, but the momentum compensates for that. He'd have to be pretty strong to pull off this kind of combo! He couldn't be, though; he was hardly a walking bag of muscles.

Not wanting to waste more time thinking on it, Markus put the Shield over his right arm. He gave it a couple test swings to make sure it was secure. Being he was not used to using them, it felt cumbersome. That and it had to be on his weaker arm so he could fight with his dominant side. Still, it at least meant he had one more piece of protection to use. If push came to shove, he could also smack someone upside the head with it.

"Evening, Hayden," a woman suddenly greeted.

Markus jumped in surprise before turning around. To his horror, someone had managed to come up without him noticing. What made it worse was that this woman was wearing the same colored armor as the guard he took out. That meant he did not see all the guards that were stationed outside. Since she had her helmet on, he had no way to knowing what race she was; Dwarf or Halfling was out of the picture, though, since she was about his height.

(Deception Check: Dis. Crit. Fail) He tried to respond back, but all he managed to do was make a fool of himself. His voice failed to work because he was so startled; he was like a caught fish trying to loosen the hook on his lips. His left arm awkwardly waving hello at the newcomer did not help matters either.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked, the confusion clear in her tone. "You're acting kinda strange."

(Crit. Fail Penalty) "I'm fine!" Markus finally let out. Unfortunately, it came out in a high-pitched squeak. He then cleared his throat before repeating in a still somewhat squeaky manner, "I'm fine. You just startled me, is all!"

One could practically feel the disbelief in the woman's tone. "And since when have you ever been startled by anything? You didn't even flinch when the boss jumped in front of you one time demanding to know what you did to the pack."

(Deception Check: 2+6/3+4) "Only because I expected that to happen!" he quickly bluffed. Thankfully, he had recovered enough to gain back his voice. Still, he hoped his vocal tone was not too different than that of the guard he was posing as. "You think I was expecting you to just sneak up on me? You probably would've reacted the same way!"

"Probably not, but I suppose that's fair." The suspicious underlying tone in her voice lost its edge. However, it was clear she still found the situation hard to believe. "How can a tough guy like you get scared to the point of jumping, though? Kind of like a pampered girl thing to do, if you ask me."

"Because I was thinking about something. When you're lost in thought, anything can give you a bad scare, you know?"

"So you say, but I think you're just fishing around for an excuse. But whatever," the woman said with a sigh. At least for the time being, she seemed ready to accept things as they were. "I only came by to ask if you noticed anything strange tonight."

(Deception Check: 3+6/8+4) "No, not a thing!" Markus exclaimed a little too quickly.

That was clearly not the response she was looking for. "Okay, what's going on? You're not acting like yourself. What gives?"

At this point, he felt it best to just stay quiet. He was already treading on thin ice with the woman thanks to a couple slips of the tongue. It was amazing that he was able to recover from them as well as he did. Unfortunately, he got the feeling this was one slip too many.

"You're not Hayden, are you?" she suddenly asked as she leaned in. She soon was close enough to the point he could actually hear her sniffing. Yep, it was definitely one mistake too much! "Who are you, and what did you do with him?"

"I-I am Hayden!" Markus automatically exclaimed. "You think I'd let some random guy get the drop on me?" It was out of reflex for him to keep up disguises even in the face of danger. Still, that did not mean he had plans to get out of such sticky situations. This was one of those moments.

"You may sound like him, but your behavior's way too different. No, I'm positive you're an imposter!"

(Strength Check: 19/7+2+ST 2) Before she knew it, Markus' fist smashed into her face. Even though it was protected by her helmet, the noise from the impact was enough to startle her. He then took advantage of it and got behind her before wrapping an arm around her neck. Her windpipe effectively crushed, thus cutting off any exclamations she made from the earlier strike. She struggled with everything she had to shake the Dragonborn off. Wildly thrashing about did little to help her situation, though.

(Strength Check: 15/10+2+ST 2) As a last-ditch effort, she managed to snake a hand to her waist and pull out a dagger. Markus, however, gripped it with his free hand and kept it pinned in its sheath. He also effectively kept that arm locked from doing anything, so now all he had to do was wait until she fell unconscious. That happened only a few seconds later as her thrashing grew weak and her legs began to give way. A little after that, she stopped moving completely as her free arm fell limply to her side.

"Thank god that's over!" Markus groaned as he loosened his grip. The woman fell to the floor in an unceremonious heap as a result. "I can't believe she managed to sneak up on me! Now I have to take care of her, too, before someone sees her. This's turning out to be a really bad start!"

(Perception Check: Natural 20) After checking to make sure the coast was clear, he began to drag the unconscious woman down the road towards the tree where he left the other guard. It was the only place he could think of to dispose of her, though he did not want to imagine how bad things will be when one woke up to find the other lying with them. In any other circumstance, it would be a funny thought. Right now, however, it meant more chances to be discovered.

Just as Markus settled the woman's body underneath the tree, he noticed something was affixed to her armor. He took it off and noticed it was a medal of some kind. Engraved on it was a figure of a wolf's head looking back at him with blood red rubies set in the eyes. That was the only thing on it, though; nothing else was engraved on the back.

Probably a sign that represents the people she works for, he thought as he pocketed the medal away. I'm willing to bet that guy also has one on him. Wish I knew more about the local crime lords and their symbols, but I'm not really into that circle. Maybe I'll ask Skor about it if I run into him again.

(Natural 20 Bonus) Feeling extremely confident there was nobody else around to get the drop on him; Markus quickly made his way back to the front door. He made sure to seem casual, however, in case someone happened to look out a window at him. The last thing he needed was to be caught again. Thankfully, he had no more run-ins with the guards.

Now back at the front door, he took a couple moments to compose himself. After the craziness he had to endure in the past few minutes, he could only imagine how things will be inside. So long as he did not blow his cover, he should be alright. Then again, he did panic like a rookie earlier and almost got himself exposed. In light of that, it was fair to say it would be a toss-up inside as to whether or not things will take off without any further hitches.


New Inventory:

Leather Armor (AC 11 + Dex.)

Shield (AC +2)

Wolf's Medal (Engraved with a wolf's head and set with two blood rubies in the eyes)

You can call me completely extra with all this if you want, but nothing keeps me wanting to write than continually challenging myself with otherwise difficult writing prompts. Making a story based almost entirely on the roll of the dice is a pretty stupid story prompt idea, but I found it to always be stretching my imagination and forcing me to write in scenarios that I'm sure I would not have done so otherwise.

That said, I'm done writing now. It's almost one in the morning for me, and I'm tired of spending time typing out an intro and outro author's note. So I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and the admitted cluster-bomb it became thanks to a bunch of dice rolls that made the story seem more random that it should have been.