D&D Tag Along
Chapter 10: Dance, Puppets, Dance!
A/N: You all have every reason to hate me for this long wait. It's just that I've been so incredibly busy lately. Turning 18 (legal age in Alberta) makes for some hectic weeks of celebration. Plus there was the wedding, school, drama, and soccer to do. I finally had some free time after I completed the script for our year end drama project, so I figured that I should get this done. So here it is. Oh, if anyone cares, I'm thinking about posting the play that I wrote because it's about player/character relationships.
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The look on my friends' faces was full of surprise. They looked at me, their mouths hanging open in disbelief. "Tint… is that you?" Joey asked, carefully approaching me. I barely was able to nod my head before Joey wrapped me up in a huge bear hug. Now, Joey was a huge guy. He played goalie for the high school hockey team. At least he did when there was a high school still standing.
"Where have you been? You've been gone for over a month and then all of this crap happened. Your parents were worried sick." Someone else asked.
"Wait. What do you mean were? They're still worried about me, aren't they?" I demanded. I was hoping that my gut feeling was wrong, but knowing how Boneheimer worked, my fears were confirmed. "Sorry Tint, they didn't make it past the initial invasion." Joey said, trying to sound consoling, but to no avail. The pain had already hit.
I felt myself sinking to the ground, desperately trying to hold back the tears that were eager to burst through. My fist slammed into the ground, the anger inside of me brimming over. "Damn it Boneheimer! I swear, the next time we meet, I will kill you!" I screamed out, my words becoming drowned out by the tears rolling down my cheeks.
"Who's Boneheimer?" A confused friend, Ashley the female wisecracker, asked.
I felt Sparks land on my shoulder, his rough scales feeling incredibly soothing as they brushed against my face. Anything friendly was coming as a good thing for me at this moment. On my other shoulder, Gabriel's clawed hand grasped tightly as she tried to explain the situation to my friends. "Boneheimer is the leader of this invasion. He, along with all of his forces as well as myself and the dragon, are from the era you know as one similar to your game of Dungeons and Dragons. In fact, that is where Tint has been for this past month, with us. Tint was sent back to his time by the king of our land to slay Boneheimer, making our time safe once again."
"Good luck." Ashley commented sarcastically, brushing her shoulder length auburn hair away from her face. Ashley had been my best female friend ever since the beginning of school. That was nearly twelve years ago. She had always been the most innocent person I had ever known. Now, she stood before me with the blood of fallen enemies staining her clothes.
I lifted my head to see my friends nodding their heads in understanding. I'm sure if the story wasn't coming from a half fiend, they wouldn't believe it. With the current circumstances, anything was possible. I felt someone helping me back up to my feat while saying, "Come with us Tint. We'll take you to our hideout." This was coming from Wesley, the third and final member of my D&D group, a rather nervous and shifty teen. I allowed myself to be helped along through the ruins as our ragtag group scurried towards safety.
The streets were lined with decaying bodies, many of them with their skulls ripped open. Boneheimer had personally demolished my hometown. All the more reason to swear vengeance. As we wound our way through the destroyed buildings, my friends filled us in on what exactly had happened.
It all started three days ago, coinciding with my meeting with Boneheimer in the dungeon. Everyone was carrying about their regular daily business. Suddenly, before anyone could react, this horrid looking creature began sweeping through the civilians, sucking out their brains. Women, even children, were treated as soldiers before the wrath of Boneheimer.
Not long after the terror began, the other creatures started pouring out of the portal. Thousands of undead creatures preying off of the few survivors. Orcs and goblins destroying the local police force, bullets bouncing harmlessly off of magical shields cast by demons. Dragons taking to the sky, turning the news helicopters into wreckage. It was horrendous.
Luckily for my friends, they were out of town at a Star Trek convention. Every television in the world bore the scenes of destruction. It wasn't long before they caught a ride back home with an army of regular citizens with rifles determined to stop the carnage before it continued with other towns. Unfortunately for this army, they were the second victim of the invasion, getting caught by a group of patrolling black dragons. Somehow, my friends had survived.
A decision was reached to spend the night under the cover of a bunch of trees instead of carrying on to home. It turned out to be a good decision, because the following morning a squadron of fighter planes and bombers flew overhead. The town would have been carpet bombed if the dragons hadn't gotten to the planes first. Not long after, ground forces met a similar fate at the hands of a very angry Pit Fiends. Apparently, Boneheimer had managed to draw the services of the creatures as a favor in return for the countless souls that were being delivered to their doorstep of torture.
By pure luck, my friends had slipped past the invasion forces as they expanded to new territories. They managed to reenter the ruins that were our home. On the outskirts of town, they had run into the horrifying Mindflayer/Lich who had started this invasion, who let them live on one small condition. He wanted them to fight it out to the death with the punks for his entertainment. At the time, they had no idea that he was the one in charge, thinking he was just another scumbag. To me, it all sounded a little suspicious, but it could very well be true. Boneheimer could have learned of their connection to me and was using them as puppets in his desire to screw with me.
So far, their story was proving to be true. As we made our way through the wreckage, we crossed paths with many members of Boneheimer's army. These creatures did little more than point and laugh at us as we passed by. A few were more than suspicious of myself, Gabriel, and Sparks. Joey claimed that we were part of the reinforcements coming through the portal. The creatures bought the story, but I was sure that at least one had gone and told Boneheimer of my presence. It wouldn't be long until the abomination came after me.
The location of my friends' headquarters was enough proof for me that they were being used as puppets. Only one building in this part of town was even partially intact and it just happened to be my house. On one charred wall remained the burnt outline of two human bodies. My friends tried to redirect my attention, but it was too late, I had noticed the spot where my parents had been murdered.
Upon entering my house, I immediately noticed that my weapon collection had expanded. It now contained almost a thousand pieces. "Our armament." Ashley explained, noticing my impressed nods. Gabriel was already adding a second heavy mace to her gear. I couldn't blame her; we were going to need it soon.
"The war in this town is over now. That group that you guys killed for us were the last of the punks. Boneheimer doesn't have much use for us any more. He's probably sending his goons over here to deal with us at this very moment." Wesley declared as he took a seat next to a broken window.
I looked over my friends, realizing that they had matured so much since I had left them. They were now battle hardened veterans of dealing out death. Such a cruel fate for a bunch of teenagers. At least it was better then being among those who had already met with death and had been on the receiving end of the exchange.
"Hey guys." I began, thinking of something to say that would raise their spirits. "How about when this is over, you come back with us to the D&D world? You guys don't have anything left here except each other. At least there, you would be living in peace."
"Thanks Tint. I for one will accept your offer." Joey was quick to reply. Both Ashley and Wesley added their approval. Now they had something to look forward to after this was over. Unfortunately, their was one major obstacle between us and that future. Boneheimer.
For some odd reason, Boneheimer had left us with a still working television. The flickering lights fascinated Gabriel and Sparks, both drawn to the glowing screen of static. "It's pointless to watch that. Boneheimer destroyed the station second day of the invasion." Ashley explained.
"Boneheimer!" Gabriel suddenly yelled out. I looked over to see her raising her mace high above the TV, prepared to smash the appliance to pieces. "Wait!" I ordered, putting myself between the seething creature and the TV, which now sported the ugly mug of Boneheimer.
"Looks like he's learning how to use our technology." Joey commented as he sat down on the couch. Soon, all six of us were gathered around the boob tube, waiting for the warlord to speak. On the screen a bunch of goblins scurried about in a rushed attempt to get everything set up. From the looks of it, Boneheimer was on the verge of smiting his minions.
Finally, Boneheimer spoke, his voice sounding cockier than ever. It was sickening to listen to. "Welcome home, Tint. Do you recognize the place with all of my redecorating? I had a feeling that you would follow me. You are unlike any other human that I have crossed paths with. You did not show fear when you looked into my eyes. I respect you. If you were not so dedicated to opposing me, I could easily make you one of my generals. Unfortunately for you, that is not the case. I sent a present to you that should be arriving any second now. Please stay alive long enough so that I may witness your death." With that the screen turned black.
"What kind of present do you think he's talking about?" Ashley asked, her voice quivering.
My mind had already come up with an answer to Ashley's question. During Boneheimer's speech, I had heard the house becoming surrounded. I did not say anything at the time because I did not want to frighten my friends any more than they would be when they discovered what had happened. I made my way over to the nearest blown out window and peered outside. Sure enough, the building was surrounded by the likes of every evil creature imaginable. I swallowed nervously as I turned back towards the others. I didn't need to say a single word. They knew.
Without saying a word, we drew our weapons. I decided that it was going to be best if I didn't use my mirror shield. Instead, I drew the katana that I had been carrying for so long, but had yet to use. I had actually forgotten about the weapon for most of the adventures. It was just there and I had carried it with me, just in case. Today, I was going to need the extra offense.
Our silent act of arming ourselves was broken by a call from outside. "We are not here to start a war. We only want the one called Tint." I went to the nearest window to see who had spoken, having slightly recognized the voice. Sure enough, the speaker was someone who I recognized. The three eyed lady from Dondoria had stepped forward to issue the challenge.
I slowly started walking towards the front door. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Joey asked, trying to block my way. I merely pushed my way past the big guy. "This is personal." I whispered as I stepped through the doorway and out into the fading light of day. My friends quickly joined me as I stood before the horde of waiting creatures.
"Good of you to join us tonight." The three eyed woman began. "Boneheimer has made some specific orders regarding you. The two of us are to fight to the death in a one on one battle. No outside interference is to be tolerated." This brought a chorus of laughter from the gathered minions. The woman silenced them with a quick glare. "That goes for our troops as well. Boneheimer will be here momentarily to enforce his rules, so if anyone steps in to help either of us, they will be slain instantly by the dark lord."
"What's with all of these rules?" I whispered to my friends.
Sparks was the one to supply the answer. "This is an ancient tradition from our world. It is a symbol of the respect that the leader of the larger group has for the leader of the smaller group. The winner of the battle gains control over the loser's armies and possessions. Basically, it is meant to put an end to the bloodshed of war. Good luck, Tint." Sparks lifted off of my shoulder, joining my friends who had formed a tiny group behind me. At the other end of the street, Boneheimer's forces were arranging themselves behind the three eyed woman.
An eerie silence filled the air as all of the spectators awaited the arrival of Boneheimer. The sun was glowing a bright orange as it slowly fell below the horizon. A dark cloud started moving in from the east, coming to a stop above the battle grounds. As if by magic, the clouds began to rearrange, taking the form of a few figures. When everything was done, Boneheimer now hovered above us in his throne. Chained to his throne was a battered Deanna. All of the emotion and life had drained from her face, leaving her as little more than an empty vessel. "Deanna!" I heard Gabriel call out behind me, followed by a brief flutter of wings.
"No! Don't move!" I yelled back to Gabriel as she began lifting off the ground. I could hear the sound of hundreds of bows begin to stretch tight as the enemy forces took aim at the half fiend. Gabriel uttered an angry growl as she returned to the ground. One crisis had been averted. I wanted to do the exact same thing, but I knew that it was pointless.
Boneheimer's decaying mug showed an emotion that could have been called pleasure. He seemed to be enjoying the position that he had placed us in. The pools of darkness that served as eyes looked back and forth between myself, the three eyed woman, and the sunset. What was so interesting about the sunset? I had seen it thousands of times before.
Boneheimer stayed silent, his eyes becoming glued to the sun. The instant the glowing ball of light completely disapeared from sight, his attention changed to the other horizon. I followed his gaze to see a full moon rising up. "Let the battle commence!" Boneheimer announced to a series of cheers from his minions.
I prepared myself for the inevitable attack, closing my eyes as I waited for my opponents charge. But nothing came. I opened my eyes to see my opponent writhing n agony at the other end of the street. I lowered my guard, carefully approaching the screaming woman. As I got closer, I noticed that her skin was becoming darker, as if a curse had fallen over her. Still, I moved closer, curiosity drawing me in.
Suddenly, the woman lifted her face to meet mine. How it had changed. What had once been the face of a beautiful woman now resembled a wolf's head. All three of her eyes flickered with an uncanny night glow as they focused on me. Her mouth was now full of razor sharp teeth that looked eager to rip into me. I was staring into the face of a werewolf and I had moved right into her range.
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A/N: I hope that I didn't anger anyone by ending this chapter before the fight. I promise that the next chapter is going to be fighting from beginning to end. Thanks for reading this, even after my absence. Next update is in less than one week!