PART 3 SPOILERS IN THIS STORY! WATCH ALL OF PART 3 BEFORE READING!

Chapter 6- Roleplaying 101

Jim and Claire stood near a road, leading to the city. They could hear music and beeping cars coming from it. The lights were sporadically changing colors and the sky was lit up. This was their first time ever seeing Las Vegas in person. They didn't realize how big the city was or how crowded it would be at 9 PM.

"And they say New York is the city that never sleeps." Jim said.

"You're telling me. How are we going to get through that?" Claire asked. They stared at the crowds. Suddenly, the sound of a car engine roared, getting increasingly louder. Jim and Claire turned around, startled, seeing a vintage red convertible driving up the road.

"We need to hide and come up with a plan!" Claire said to Jim.

"Where? There's nowhere to hide!" Jim panicked.

The car began to slow down, stopping near where they stood. Jim and Claire looked around for a hiding place. They were about to be spotted. The car halted. Jim and Claire stiffened. In the car sat a woman and two men. The men were dressed as knights while the woman was dressed as a maiden back in medieval times. They gawked at Jim, in his troll form and Claire, wearing her gleaming purple armor. Finally, the driver spoke.

"Bruh...that is awesome!" He said. Jim and Claire were wide-eyed. They didn't expect that. They didn't know how to respond.

"Uh...what...is...exactly?" Jim asked, hesitant.

"Dude, your costume? Excellent craftsmanship and sense of realism!" The man in the back seat replied. Jim and Claire turned and gave each other a "what just happened" look. They turned back. "And yours, my fair lady is exquisite." He said. She nervously giggled. He took her hand and went to kiss it. Jim got angry and hit his hand.

"Hands off. She's mine." Jim told him. The man in the back let go and put his hands up in surrender, stunned.

"Are you like, going to the festival?" The woman asked. Jim and Claire didn't have a clue of what they were talking about.

"Festival? What...festival?" Jim asked them.

"The Maces and Talons festival? I mean, duh! You guys look like enthusiasts!" The man sitting in the back seat replied before handing Jim a pamphlet. Jim looked down at it, reading it.

Join the Visimorph hoard.

Unleash the powers of the crescent of the blood scepter.

Bask in the tribute reaped upon your warrior's clan.

Embrace the powers bestowed upon thee by the Elders of Grimoris.

Ride your dragon into the mist of the illustrious chasms of doom.

Become one with the all-knowing might of Vetruvius.

Become the greatest leader of all worlds.

Join the fight and gain control of the universe.

Come to the Maces and Talons Festival.

And drink the blood of your enemies.

Show yourself if you dare.

Jim stared at the flyer, trying to process everything he just read.

"Oh! Uh.." Claire said, looking at Jim. "Y...yeah! That's exactly where we're going!" Claire nervously chuckled.

"Wait we are?" Jim asked before getting elbowed on his side. "Ow...uh...yeah! That's where we're going!" Jim responded. "Yeah, we were just joking around before."

"Yeah, we were just on our way. Getting these costumes ready takes forever. Wanted to make sure everything was perfect." Claire lied.

"Right on, bruh! Well, can't be late! Later dudes!" The driver said as he started the car. The car drove off. Claire and Jim stood there, dumbfounded.

"Do you know anything about Maces and Talons because I don't." Jim asked Claire. Claire turned her head, shocked. She was expecting him to know.

"No, I thought you would know!" Claire responded.

"Hey, Gun Robot is my thing, not Maces and Talons. I thought you would know since you like to read Shakespeare and things like that." Jim explained.

"What does Shakespeare have to do with Maces and Talons?" Claire asked, confused.

"Um….well...there were dungeons in those plays….I think…."Jim replied, unsure of himself. Claire sighed. They pondered what they could do. Jim suddenly had an idea.

"Claire, I need your phone." Jim said as he held his hand out.

"Wait why?" Claire asked him.

"I think I know someone who could help us." Jim responded. She put the phone in his hands before Jim began to dial a number. After the dial tone rang, a voice was heard.

"Hey! What's up, Claire?" Toby answered the phone. Little did he know it was Jim who called.

"Hey, Tobes!" Jim exclaimed. He heard the phone drop. After a few seconds, he picked up the phone again.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh….Claire what happened to your voice?!" Toby exclaimed.

"No! It's me! Jim!...how could you not know…" The phone dropped again. His voice became distant.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Toby picked up the phone and put it to his ear. " Jimbo! My best bud! How are you? Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay because I haven't heard from you in days!"

"Yeah Tobes! I'm...well...crispy! Listen, I need your help."

The trolls were still stuck in the same place they had been. There was nothing around but dust, mountains, and sky. The trolls were sitting around, taking in the moonlight while they still had it. They were beginning to become bored from not having moved for hours. They had no idea where they were or where they were supposed to go. Nomura was beginning to get frustrated.

"Can we please find our way to Las Vegas or else, I'm going to need to hurt something…" She said, taking out her swords. "Or someone…"

"Nomura, please. We are trying our very hardest to conjugate a plan. We need more than just the map." Blinky explained. He scratched his temple, thinking as hard as he could. He suddenly remembered something. "Great Gronka-Morka how could I forget?"

"What?" Nomura asked. Blinky began to go through his shoulder pack. Blinky pulled out a compass.

"This!" Blinky held the compass high in the air. "It's a device that incorporates the science of magnetism to direct us north, south, east, or west!"

"No really, Dinkous. We all know what a compass is." Nomura said, being her usual cranky self.

"Agh, stop calling me that. What does Dinkous even mean anyway?"

"It means your mom." Nomura replied.

"I don't understand, but how dare you invoke my mother into this!" Blinky said, pointing to the sky. Merlin was sitting further away, annoyed at the bickering.

"Would you please stop all this bickering."

"Alright. Great gorgous you sound like Morgana." Blinky said.

"WHO TOLD?!" Merlin exclaimed. Everyone blankly stared. "I mean...Morgana? That witch? Pft. What nonsense…" Everyone continued to stare blankly at him until bringing their focus back to their own problems.

"Anyway, from what I can conclude from the map, Las Vegas is east. If we keep traveling in said direction, we may be able to figure out where we are. That way, our task will be much easier for us." Blinky explained. Nomura nodded as did Merlin.

"Well, why didn't you think of this 5 HOURS AGO!?" Nomura exclaimed.

"Shut your changeling mouth." Blinky responded.

"So you are going to go into Las Vegas pretending to be a Maces and Talons enthusiast and you need my expertise in regards to all of the details?" Toby asked, while on speaker phone so Claire could listen in.

"Preeeeetttyyy much. Can you help?" Jim replied.

"Jimbo, you are talking to Ruxican, Defender of the Seven Worlds, wielder of the war hammer, protector of the eleven plains, BRINGER OF DEATH AND NEVER ENDING PAIN!" Jim and Claire blankly stared at the phone, silent. "Jim? You there?"

"Yeah, I'm just trying to process what I just heard." Jim replied.

"Same. What the heck did you just say?" Claire added.

"It's my warrior name. I try to make it sound intimidating." Toby responded. Jim and Claire looked at each other and shook their heads in amusement.

"Anyway, what can you tell us about this whole roleplaying game?" Claire asked him.

"Well, first, we need to give you both a warrior name. Every Maces and Talons player is given one. Then I will tell you all of the ins and outs of the whole game."

"Okay. Go for it, Tobes...can you stop with the epic voice though?" Jim said to Toby.

"Nope. Hmmmm...okay…." Toby said. Jim and Claire heard a book open and a ton of papers clash together on the phone as well as books dropping on the floor. "Alright, okay….got it!"

"Got what?" Jim asked.

"Your warrior name!" Toby cleared his throat. "You shall be…...MEREXAES!"

"Who?" They both asked him, confused.

"Merexaes! The Malevolent, the famed, the fighter for the shadowed moors, true born heir to the Obsidian throne, master of the blood moon blade...BRINGER OF DEATH AND DEMISE!"

"I won't be able to remember all of that...even though that does sound pretty cool." Jim said as he shifted his gaze towards Claire. "Makes me even more good looking don't you think?"

"I plead the fifth." Claire said with her arms crossed. "Okay, Toby-Pie, what about me?"

"You shall be…" Toby said. "Treladoria, the-" Toby was interrupted by Claire's chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Toby asked, concerned.

"Nothing j-just...what else have you got?" Claire responded, trying to hide the fact that the name she was given sounded completely ridiculous.

"Treladoria! Master of the powers of the fifth dimension! Wielder of darkness! Withholder of the crown of the lands of Derbyshire! BRINGER OF PAIIINNN AND OVERALL DOOM!"

"Did you just bring a town of Scotland into this?" Claire asked

"What? It works." Toby explained. "Okay, now we talk about your skills and things. You should probably both be at a level 11 so no one beats you up because you are amateurs. Merexaes should have the bite of the wolf, because hey, you got sharp teeth and also, it just sounds so cool. Treladoria could have the powers of the underworld because bringing people back from the dead...darkness...doy. Now, I think that-"

"Toby?" Claire interrupted.

"Yeah?" Toby responded.

"...I don't get any of this." Claire said, holding her head from a stress headache.

"We just need to get through the crowd so we can find the way to the caverns of the Paiute trolls." Jim added.

"Wait, the what?" Toby asked.

"Long story, no time to explain. There has to be a better way to learn all of this." Jim said. Claire stroked her chin in thought. An idea came to mind.

"Maybe we don't have to learn it at all." Claire said as she picked up her pack. She rustled inside of it and pulled out two very small bluetooth earpieces. Jim stared at them, dumbfounded.

"Whatcha find, Claire?" Toby asked.

"Two bluetooth earpieces. You can listen in on our conversations and if ever a conversation comes up about Maces and Talons, you can fill us in on what we say." Claire said as she held up the earpieces.

"Wow, those are almost like spy-worthy earpieces!"Jim said.

"Your dad always comes prepared." Toby added.

"How'd you know it was my dad?" Claire asked.

"Claire….come on…it's Papi." Jim reminded her.

"Okay, you're right." Claire said. She gave Jim one of the earpieces. They both put them in their ears.

"Okay Tobes, can you hear me?" Jim asked.

"YEAH, I CAN HEAR YOU!" Toby said with the earpieces' volume too loud. They both yelped.

"Ow!"

"WAIT IS IT TOO LOUD?" Toby said.

"Yes!" Claire took the earpiece out of her ears and found the volume. She turned it down. She proceeded to take out Jim's earpiece and fixed the volume on his. They both put them back in their ears.

"Okay, that should be better." Claire said to Toby.

"...so I can talk now?"

"Yes...yes Tobes. We're about to head into the city. Are you ready?"

"Tonight we shall feast on the remains of our enemies. Tonight...we shall watch them perish before the wrath of our fury! TONIGHT WE SHALL DRINK THE BLOOD OF-"

"WHAT?!" Jim exclaimed.

"Just...getting into character...Ruxican….wielder of the...oh nevermind." Toby told Jim. Jim's eyes shifted to Claire's.

"Is it too late to just keep walking?" Jim said. Claire elbowed him in the gut again.

CHAPTER 7 COMING SOON