The Road Goes On
(Here we go with some hot dice rolling action. The song I've picked is by Toto and is a very important song to me. That importance will bleed into this chapter. In all honesty, I wanted to keep this for a much, much later chapter. But I loved this particular story angle so much, I pushed it all forward. And I hope you all enjoy it, too.)
I wake up, somewhat peacefully, around 7am. I say somewhat, because I can't help but hear the kettle boiling. I take a moment to stretch and then throw a gown over my pyjamas before leaving my bedroom. I'm not at all surprised to see Monika is awake and making herself a cup of coffee. "Morning, Monika." I say to her after yawning.
"Good morning, Leyon!" She responds with that sweet smile she has. I can't help but smile back, despite being very tired. "Did you sleep well?" She asks me, while I grab a cup to make my own coffee.
"Yeah, I did, actually." I respond, yawning again, as I put two teaspoons of brown sugar into my cup, followed by a teaspoon of coffee. "I can tell you had a good night's sleep as well." It's written all over her face, really. I don't think she's been this happy since I got here. Monika hides a lot, which I can understand.
She nods and winks at me and takes a seat on the couch, where she was last night. "Definitely! I feel so much better, after that night's sleep." She informs me. It's so good to hear that. I was afraid of what she might do to herself if the nightmares got any worse. I want to breath a sigh of relief, as I take a seat on the chair with my cup of joe. But Monika puts her hand on the back of my own, which immediately catches my attention. "I feel like you played a big part of that. Our two little conversations put things into perspective, for me. So, thank you, Leyon."
"Ah… Well." Honestly, I don't know if what I said did help. But if Monika believes it. I turn my wrist and take a hold of her hand. "Anytime. If you need anything from me at all, my eyes and ears are open."
Monika smiles sweetly, for a moment, and then gives me a cheeky, playful grin. "Oh yeah? And what if I wake up in the middle of the night and need company?" She asks in a faux-scared tone of voice. It's pretty obvious, from that performance, she's trying to fluster me, to see if I have a point where I can be embarrassed. Unfortunately, for sweet, sweet Monika, I paid attention to her lecture on faking confidence, so now it's my time to shine.
I smile back at her and give her hand a gentle squeeze. "Well, then my bedroom door is open, too." I respond. Her eyes widen and she covers her mouth with her free hand. Now I can't tell if she's teasing me, or if she's genuinely shocked. Either way, that line. So, let's continue to push it and see where it goes. "Don't worry about waking me. Just hop under the duvet and cuddle up."
"R-really?" She asks me. Is she being serious? Did that shock her? I keep up my smile and respond with a single nod. She giggles after that "Oh, Leyon. You shouldn't tease a woman like that." Monika adds, her giggle turning into a laugh.
"Sorry, I couldn't let you just play around like that and not try to get my own back." I inform her, laughing myself. We laugh between ourselves, for a little while, before sipping our coffee. "Besides…" I add, looking over to her, realising her hand was still holding on to mine. "There was a little truth to it, as well."
Monika looks speechless. I guess she wasn't expecting me to be able to hide a genuine tone within my counter-tease. It's easy for me to relate to Monika, really. Her head is torturing her. Whether she should be made to pay for her mistakes is not a question, and it's obvious that she's being made to pay for what she did now that she doesn't have her power within the game. However, this kind of torture, where her own dreams are her enemy, isn't fair. It's too much. Too cruel. And it's not something she has any control over, either. If someone outside the game is reading this, make it stop. Stop torturing her. Stop making things worse for all the girls, please?
Ah, who am I kidding? There's no possible way this is being converted into a cute pink text box with white lettering. Quit dreaming, Leyon. It's one thing to hold onto hope. It's another thing, entirely, to plea to people who aren't out there, thinking they will just solve it all with one keystroke. No, I'm on my own with these four girls. It's up to me to be their crutch when they need help. It's up to me to pick them up when the weight of their trouble brings them down to their knees. It's up to me to help them stand up when they can't do it on their own. Yeah, it's up to me. They'd do the same for me, Afterall.
I'm brought back into the room when I feel Monika's grip on my hand tighten. "Oh, sorry Monika. I got lost for a second. Did I worry you? Oh." I hadn't even noticed, but she's now sitting on the arm of my chair, with one arm around the back of my neck. Here smile is gone, replaced with sad looking lips and worry filled eyes. I pull her in for a hug. "Sorry." I whisper into her ear.
"It's okay." She whispers back, hugging me back, her cheek pressed against my own. "I'm here for you." I can feel it. She's holding me pretty tightly. "We all are, Leyon." She adds, pulling back a little bit to look into my blue/grey eyes. Our chests pressed against each other, to the point where I can feel her heart beating. There's a calming, restful beat to it.
"And I'm here for you, Monika." I finally reply, with a smile. "I'll be here for you all. I promise." I mean that, too. From now on, I will dedicate my life to the girls of The Literature Club. I can see Monika's smile coming back.
"Morning!" I hear coming from upstairs. I let go of Monika and we both take our respective seats as a very happy Sayori heads downstairs. "Did you two sleep well?" she asks Monika and I, as she heads over to the kettle.
"I slept great, thanks Sayori." I respond, winking at Monika the moment my neighbour's back is turned. Monika giggles, quietly and sticks her tongue out at me. I raise my eyebrows at her and she quietly some more. "Were you comfortable enough, in that room, Sayori?" I ask as the emerald eyed President on the couch is mouthing words like 'stop, please?' to me. Pretending not to understand, I mouth back 'Love you, too' with the single most mischievous expression I can pull off. At this point, poor Monika has to surrender and walks away, heading upstairs to, presumably, compose herself while getting dressed.
"I slept like a baby, Leyon! Why didn't you tell me your beds were so comfortable?!" Sayori asks me as she takes a seat with a hot drink, probably cocoa. I don't really know how to answer that question. Technically, this is only my third day here and Sayori worked that out. "Oh, sorry!" She responds. "You've not been here very long, I forgot."
I sigh, while also laughing a little bit. Classic Sayori. "Don't worry about it, Sayori." I say, still kind of laughing. I'm about to speak up again, when I get a text from Monika that reads 'Hey, about that invite into your room… was that real?' I was waiting for that question. "Hold on, I need to respond to this. It's an e-mail from Amazon." I say to Sayori, lying. Sort of… I respond with 'Of course it was. Just, maybe not while the rest of the girls are here, okay? 3' There's a good chance the heart wasn't necessary, but it's too late to take it back, now.
After a while of Talking back and forth about breakfast, Yuri and Natsuki come downstairs at the same time. Yuri makes herself some tea, while Natsuki grabs a glass of orange juice from the fridge. I can't help but smile, until I realise, I'm still in my pyjamas and gown. "I should probably shower and get dressed."
"Good luck with Monika in there. You could be waiting a while." Natsuki informs me, looking tired, uncomfortable, and frustrated. Oh, I get it. That's gotta to be embarrassing. I point Natsuki in the direction of another bathroom. "Geez, why wouldn't you tell me that sooner, dummy?!" She yells and power walks to the second bathroom.
"Natsuki!" Yuri and Sayori call out, in unison. I can't help but be surprised by Sayori chastising her friend. Apparently, Yuri's shocked as well, until Sayori looks back at us. "What? It's your house, Leyon. She shouldn't talk to you like that." She says, in an almost whimpering tone, like we've told her off for something.
"I have to agree with Sayori." Yuri pipes up, after taking a sip of her green tea. I guess it shouldn't be surprising, and they do have a point. Honestly, though, being called a dummy is like water off a duck's back to me. Sayori smiles a little more after Yuri's remark, which may have been the real purpose, on Yuri's mind.
Natsuki comes back and sit's next to Sayori. "I'm sorry, alright? I'm not really a morning person." She says, under her breath. Yuri and Sayori start looking judgingly, at the diminutive pink-haired manga fan. "What?! I apologised, what more do you want?!" She adds, loudly.
"Girls, stop." I say to them, sternly but softly. Sayori and Yuri look over to me, curiously. "You two are quite right that this is my home, and I shouldn't put up with people being rude. Natsuki apologised, however, and I'm fine with it." Which, honestly, I am. Natsuki has troubles of her own and copes by lashing out. "Furthermore, I've been called way worse than a dummy, which is why I didn't really react to begin with. However, if you, Natsuki, continue to be rude, I will come act. Are you okay with this?" Natsuki nods, shyly and then I turn my attention back to Sayori and Yuri. "Lastly, you two, remember where you are. This isn't the club room."
I don't think I need to say anymore than that. It's kind of cool that Sayori is looking out for me, knowing what she knows about me, but I can handle my own. "Sorry, Natsuki. Sorry, Leyon." Sayori says with the saddest eyes. Yuri soon follows with her own apologies. Natsuki apologises to Sayori and Yuri as well. Probably for causing a problem.
"Alright. I'm going to shower and get dressed. I'll be back in a moment." I say and head to my bedroom, which has it's on en-suite. I sometimes wonder how many rooms are in this house, but I'll find out another time. Half an hour later, I come out, dressed fully, with slightly damp hair. Monika has returned and is giving me the biggest smile, I've ever seen. I've also just noticed that the girls are sitting around the dining table, and there's a fully cooked English breakfast at an empty chair. "You shouldn't have. Really, thank you so much!"
I sit down for breakfast and dig into it quickly. I'm told who did what and I can't help but feel appreciated. The breakfast was cooked by Monika. Which is awesome, because she's a vegetarian/ There's a selection of Blueberry muffins, which Natsuki made herself. Yuri made the tea, which is earl grey, my absolute favourite tea. Lastly, Sayori set the table. The fact that they went to so much effort feels so good.
"Here, let me clean up." I say to them, as I finish a muffin after cleaning off my plate. Monika gives me a hand, anyway, as does Sayori. Yuri makes another pot of earl grey while Natsuki sets up the game area, placing the rest of the muffins on the centre of the coffee table.
The seating arrangement is a little different. I'm still in my armchair, but one couch has Monika and Natsuki, with Monika being closer to me. The second will seat Yuri and Sayori, with Yuri being the closest to me, so we can share the pot of tea. "Are you ready to begin?" One by one, the girl's eyes light up. Yuri nods at me. Sayori claps, enthusiastically. Natsuki gives me a thumbs up. And Monika winks at me. At 10am, I look at the girls with my hands clasped together. "Alright then. So, after a hearty breakfast. This party of four rag tag adventurers-!" As I start, the doorbell rings. Okay, I know I ordered some more Tabletop stuff, but there's no way they should be delivered four later. Right?"
"Got interrupted by someone at the door." I get up and open the door. I can hear the chuckles from the girls behind me. Any hope I had of laughter is drowned out by my guests. "H-how? How?! How is this possible?!" I yell out, tears streaming from my eyes. In front of me are three boys. One is wearing jeans, a Halestorm t-shirt and a sleeveless denim coat. He has long black hair and deep, dark blue eyes. "… Mickey?!"
The second boy is taller than me, and I'm six foot one. He has short brown hair and glasses. His eyes are a dark brown, almost a very deep red. He's sporting a black shirt with a red and white checked tie and blue jeans. One his head is a trilby hat, that has red and white checked studs around it in two rows. "… Kain?!"
The last boy is about Monika's height and is also wearing glasses. His eyes are gold, in colour, and he's wearing a pair of loose combat trousers, a leather trenchcoat and a Tool t-shirt. "… Alisteir?!"
They all step inside my new home and I hug them all at once, instantly. Kain is first to speak up, in his deep, soft, Scottish twang. "There, there, Leyon. We missed you, too." He says, and I feel the arms of my friends, who were in the car with me, embrace me.
"Uhh… Do you need a moment? It seems like it's been a long time since you've seen each other." Yuri speaks up. Alisteir shakes his head, slowly, in response. I turn to look back at the group and wipe my eyes. The mixture of facial expressions from the girls is a sight to behold. Yuri is smiling, warmly. Natsuki is a little curve on her lips, apparently even she can't help but feel touched by this reunion. Monika is smiling sweetly at us. And Sayori is smiling and crying. I guess She and Monika worked out who they are, while Yuri and Natsuki are just happy to see what's in front of them.
"Sorry. Girls, this is Mickey, Kain and Alisteir." I say, pointing to the lads. "Guys, this is Monika, Natsuki, Sayori and Yuri. My friends from school. The one's I told you about." I say, excitedly. They quickly get acquainted and take seats. Mickey pulls a beanbag over and sits at the opposite end of the coffee table, resting a Black Stone Cherry backpack on the floor beside him. Alisteir, politely, asks to site on the couch with Sayori and Yuri, which they agree to. And Kain, being the reasonable guy he is, takes my chair without asking. I don't care. My friends are here and well. I have so many questions, but they can wait.
"Leyon, were you about to introduce these girls to the wonderful world of D&D Without us?" Alisteir asks me. I can only nod. Honestly, I'm so overcome with emotion that words are hard to come by. "Well, if you need more experienced players, how about you dish out those character sheets?"
"Yeah, and grab one for yourself, my friend. It's about time I was the DM. And that means you get to be a player for a change." Kain adds. "It's a proper reunion. Let's do this the right way."
"Actually, Leyon drew up a character with us, to help us understand the sheet a bit better." Monika informs Kain, with that sweet smile and her one finger against her cheek. God, she's so cute. I excitedly grab blank sheets for Mickey and Alisteir, taking a seat on the couch between Monika and Natsuki.
"Just so you know, we all used the same stats, which we rolled together." I inform them as I pass them blank sheets. "Then we picked Race and Class. Monika is a Half-Elf Bard. Natsuki is a Tabaxi Monk. Sayori is a Human Paladin and Yuri is a Wood Elf Druid. And I rolled up a Human Ranger."
Yuri pipes up, a little nervously, at this point. "If I remember correctly, the numbers we rolled were eighteen, sixteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve and eleven. Is that right?" She asks, looking to the group for approval.
"Wow, you got it right on the first try." Sayori says to her, clearly impressed. "Way to go, Yuri!" Yuri sheepishly nods once and goes back to looking at her spells. Everyone else can't help but be impressed by that though.
"Well, I think there's only one choice there's only one choice to make: Trae Devinicus, the Half-Elf Rogue!" Alisteir called out, triumphantly. It took Yuri by surprise, judging by her little jump in her seat. Sayori jumped, too, but Sayori turned into a living fit of the giggles, right before our very eyes. Which is hilarious, and it's hard not to join in with her.
I'm watching the Alisteir and Mickey prepare their characters at a record pace, while I'm giving out extra dice trays and dice to them, and I can't help but be in awe of it. But as I'm about to compliment them, Kain speaks up from the DM seat. "So, where were you, when you left off?" He asks the party.
"If I may, ladies?" I ask the Literature Club members, who all smile and nod at me. "So, the girls were transported by horse and court, from Neverwinter, to the village of Phandalin. They got some rooms at the Stonehill Inn and took on a job from the Townmaster's Hall, which will see them heading to Umbrage Hill. Their mission is to make sure a woman named Adabra Wynn comes back to Stonehill. Rumours of a possible Dragon sighted in the area, the Townmaster would like to see her come back to Phandalin, for her own safety."
Kain looks over my notes and nods. "Okay. So, ladies. You come down stairs to a hearty breakfast, which is provided with the cost of your rooms. As you set down at the table, hot drinks and meals brought over, you can't help but notice at the table in the corner, there are only four more patrons here. One of which you recognise as the man who brought you here in the first place."
Monika smirks. "Well, obviously, I'm going to get up and head over to that table and say to the man with the horse and cart. 'Hello! Moniq Alya. Do you remember me? I wanted to thank you for bringing myself and my compatriots here.'
I smirk back at her. "It's at this point, I look up at the half-elf and respond. 'Well, I couldn't ever forget the face of a pretty lady, such as yourself. I'm Darius. Darius Enders.' And with that, I smile and point to an empty chair, before waving over the girls from the other table."
Kain isn't surprised, obviously. It would have been odd if he were, considering he read my notes. In fact, Natsuki and Sayori were the only people that were shocked by that reveal. They must have thought I was one of the other characters.
"I turn my seat backwards…" Says Natsuki, with a happy grin. "And then I look at the group and simply address everyone with a simple 'Sup?'" She got the whole squad laughing with that one.
Sayori then leans in a little bit. "DM, can I ask who the fourth person is?" She inquires. Kain then explains that the man with Darius a Dwarven man who supplies Adabra with the necessary herbs and other all sorts that go into making her potions. It was actually this man, named Artorius Craghammer, who brought Miss Gwynn's lack of safety to the Townmaster.
Mickey pipes up here. "In character, I say 'Before we continue, we should introduce ourselves. My name is Leviek Sol, and I am a guided by the call of Sylvanus, The Oak Father.' And then I show you my Holy symbol, which is a pendant that's made of a blessed, crystalised oak leaf."
Alisteir nods and grins a little bit "'Yes, charmed, Ser. However, you are in the presence of the greatest Gentleman Thief to grace the Sword Coast. Trae Devinicus, of House Devinicus, at your service.' Is what I say, after standing up and taking a bow. I'm not quite as heavily armoured as Darius, and no where near as armoured as Leviek. But I do have a Hand Crossbow and a Scimitar on my belt."
"I guess I'm next?" Yuri asks, a little nervously. That nervousness won't last. This is a deep and complex fantasy realm, which is one of her favourite things. "So, I finish playing with my sprig of Holly and say 'It's a pleasure. My name is Yu'ilya Frostleaf. I'm one that prays to Sylvanus, and answers to the call of the wild, myself, Leviek. I'm looking forward to seeing how similar we are, in terms of skill.' And then I pull out the map of Umbrage Hill, to study a possible approach."
Natsuki leans in, at this point. "I sigh and say 'Hey. Natushi. Tabaxi. Monk. I punch and kick things. And I do so with a lot of force and speed.' And then I drink my coffee."
Sayori raises her fist to the sky and says "'I'm Rios! Mighty Paladin! I will bring all forms of evil down to an early grave!' Is what I call out in the empty tavern." We all laugh, in varying degrees, but no one laughs harder than Kain. To be fair, that sounds like something he'd do.
Well, it's my turn. "I put down my coffee and say 'So, most of you know already, but my name is Darius Enders. I'm a Ranger and I specialise in front line fighting. My sword is a birth right, handed to me by my Father, and his before him…' And before I finish that fake monologue about my weapon, I laugh and then say 'No, not really. It's just a sword. But I can do a lot of damage from the front.' And then I hand over the conversation to Moniq."
"'Thank you, Darius.' I say with a warm, welcoming smile. 'Yes, my name is Moniq Alya. I am a traveling Poet, but I do like to play a lute, when I'm on the road. Nothing like a song to make the longer journeys less Monotonous, right?' and then I stand up and say 'Okay, everyone! Let's go climb Hill and bring back Adabra!'"
We then role play our walking journey up Umbrage Hill. And the Kain looks at us with a grin. "Okay, so… from where you stand, as you climb the hill, you see a large Windmill. Which adds something to what is already a beautiful scene. It would be more beautiful, as beautiful as a painting, were it not for the winged, four-legged beast with a sort of lion head, attacking the front of the windmill with it's spiked Tail. A woman can be spotted from the second-floor window, waving her arms frantically and screaming for help.
"I yell 'ABOMINATIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!' As I draw my two-handed Maul and charge at the beast." Sayori describes, in great detail, even going as far as to gesture drawing the weapon from her back with her hands. Not bad, for someone who's playing the game for the first time.
"I draw my Longbow and knock an arrow, ready to attack the creature." Yuri describes.
"Similarly, I pull out my light crossbow and ready a shot at the… Is this a Manticore?" Monika asks, which Kain nods in response, to
"Yeah, the short bow is coming out." Alisteir adds. "But I'm going move to a different position from, away from the Bard and the Druid, to get the beast in short range."
Kain interrupts at this point. "Good. Good. So, Trae, Darius, Natushi and Leviek, roll me perception, please?"
Uh-oh, I rolled a twelve. Luckily, my perception doesn't totally suck. Deft Explorer gives me double proficiency in that skill, so that's an extra four, plus my wisdom modifier of plus two, for a total of Eighteen. Trae got a total of Fifteen, Natushi got a Ten. And lastly, Leviek rolled a Natural Twenty.
"Okay, so everyone that isn't Natushi notices a second Manticore appear from the other side of the windmill and lands about twenty feet away from Trae." Kain explains to us. "So, let's make a formation, what's happening?"
Natsuki ponds her right fist into her left palm, eager to get going. "So that low perception roll is fine by me, because I'm going to run after Rios, towards the first Manticore!" We get another good chuckle out of that. Is Natsuki some kind of RP comedy genius?
I make a motion with my hands and say "I draw my Longsword, two hands on the grip, and say 'Leviek! With me!' And I charge after the second Manticore. Leviek?"
Mickey smirks at this point. "I draw my Axe and Shield and, with the same smirk that's on my face now, Leviek will charge with Darius toward the second Manticore. I've got something special in mind." He explains.
Kain claps his hands together and stands up. "All right gang… Let's roll for Initiantive!"