The D&D Chronicles: The Adventure Begins

Chapter 11: Family Support

A little later, on route home…

After saying goodbye to their new friends of Delta Rune and making sure the close was clear if Ghoular was waiting for them, the kids gathered their bikes and headed for their homes, deciding to walk their bikes a bit instead of peddling after getting chased by the vicious troll.

As they walked, they could see that safety fences, hazard cones and banners were stationed over the parts where Ghoular struck, but while it had their attention, they mainly focused on what had happened with Patrick.

"Let us all hope you live long enough to see."

Vendel's voice echoed in Patrick's mind after the situation with the Soothscryer.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Patrick groaned.

"Um, Mystical creatures A cool secret magical cities? Indigenous gem forms? Heartstone? A heroic duty?!" Chuckie said, as he and the others tried to give a bit of positive support to Patrick, "What you've gotten yourself into is total awesome mania, man!"

"If I survive!" Patrick stated.

Taylor and Hilda looked at each other before looking to their brother as the latter said, "Don't worry, Patrick. I'm sure you'll get through this."

"Besides, we've special new friends who can help us," Callum then spoke up, but began to think aloud a little as he added, "I mean, sure, AAARRRGGHH is a pacifist and we might or might not get help from Asriel due to being a prince and all…"

"And you'll be trained by the best!" Chris added, "Blinky is-"

"His last guy got torn limb from limb!" Patrick instantly pointed out, "ON HIS FIRST PATROL!"

There was a good amount of awkward silence after this, as none of the kids had anything to say about this, as it was true that the last Paladin Blinky trained was killed on Day 1.

"So there's nowhere to go but up!" Luz perped up, trying to get Patrick's spirit up too.

Hearing this, Patrick let out a small sigh, "I suppose you're right on that…"

"That's the Patrick we know!" Luz happily said.

"Thanks," Patrick replied, "I suppose it would be best to give it a go…"

"Alright then, looking forward to that," Callum said, as he took Ezran with him, "see you all tomorrow."

"Sure thing!" Patrick nodded, as the others headed off to their homes as well, the others, like Chris and Luz, agreeing to keep what happened as secret.

Kirby House

Seeing their mother's car was a sign that their mom was home.

Though in this case, Patrick, Taylor and Hilda were a little nervous that it was a bad sign.

If they went through the front door and their mom saw them, she might end up looking angry, wanting to know where they've been after hours.

Carefully opening the front door, Patrick and his sisters walked through and entered the house, and started to head up stairs.

"Kids? I'm in the kitchen."

Caught.

Knowing there was no way out of it, Patrick answered their mother's call.

"Hey there, mom," Patrick said, as he and his sisters headed to the kitchen, hoping to find an excuse for what had happened, "oh man, you would so not believe, what happened to us on the way home from-"

Before he could say 'school', Patrick was surprised by what… or rather who he saw.

There, served tea by their mother was Mr. Sturges himself, who was sitting down comfortably on a stool as Johanna was giving him tea on the island counter, while leaning on the island counter was some sort of cane that doubled as a walking stick, its handle was embellished with a pattern, and there was a large knuckle guard that reached down the bottom of the handle. The larger area at the bottom of the handle contained small gold-colored gears. The shaft of the cane had a gray-black coloration and appeared to be square in shape as opposed to most canes which have a round shaft. Kira was also up, as she was having a bit of fun playing with her toys.

"Look who stopped by!" Johanna said with a smile.

Mr. Sturges looked to the children with a kind-hearted smile, "Hello, children."

"...Mr. Sturges?" Patrick said, a bit surprised.

"What are you doing here, sir?" Taylor asked.

"Mr. Sturges came by to congratulate you, Patrick." Johanna replied.

The siblings looked to each other for a moment, but decided to play along as Patrick said, "Oh. That's really... nice!"

"It's a great honour that you have been chosen to wield this mantle." Mr. Sturges said, taking another sip of tea, "I have no doubt you'll prove equal to the task."

The siblings still looked a little unsure, until their mother spoke, "Why didn't you tell me you were trying out for Romeo and Juliet?"

"The play?" Patrick asked, only to get lightly nudged by Taylor, who knew what Johanna meant, then Patrick caught on and played with it, "Oh, right, the play, that's right…"

"Patrick, surely you knew you'd run the part of Romeo? After your breathtaking audition?" Mr. Sturges happily stated.

"Yeah, after the audition I had to run, but-" Patrick was suddenly cut off, as he and his sisters heard what the teacher said, then they looked at each other, then back at the grown up, as Patrick then said, "waitaminute, I got the part?"

"You got the part!" Hilda happily gasped, before hugging her big brother.

Taylor let out a small chuckle as she added, "Well done, brother."

Patrick was still a little stunned about that his proud performance that he did on stage and earned him the spot on the play.

"Though I was just remarking to your mother that I'm a little touched concerned about your being spread so thin." Mr. Sturges then stated, "In particular, in light of your new commitment to your new friends at the D&D club."

"I'm still quite proud of you for that, too," Johanna then said, "all that D&D games you've done must have paid off to join that club, as well as the acting to earn a place in the spotlight." she then let out a small giggle as she said, "With this D&D club and the acting, it's like you've got a secret life I don't know about."

The siblings let out a small giggled too, a little nervous one (luckily, their mother didn't know that).

"You have no idea…" Patrick half smiled.

"Yeah, secret life…" Taylor nodded.

"That's so bizarre." Hilda added.

Mr. Sturges then looked to the kids, especially Patrick, as he then said, "Indeed. Though remember, Atlas too carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. And I want to make sure that you try not to overextend yourself like him."

"I'm sure I can handle it!" Patrick pointed out.

"And besides, you've got us!" Taylor stated with a smirk, wrapping her arm around his shoulder.

"Yeah, we can handle it together." Hilda also said in support of her brother.

Patrick looked to them and had a small bit of thought, if Paladins have been known to have allies or work alone, then he would pick the former, especially for his everyday life at the moment as well.

"Yeah, we've all got this." Patrick said with a smile.

"I should hope so," Mr. Sturges said, before letting out a small smirk, "we don't want a repeat of you sleeping in class now, do we?"

"Wait, what?" Johanna doubletaked on that, before realizing she had accidentally overflowed a second cup of tea she was making.

Patrick had a tiny blush on that, especially as Taylor then said, giving him a smirk and a tiny nudge, "Well, luckily, he's got sisters who can keep him awake."

"Yeah…" Patrick said with a small smile, scratching the back of his head, "thanks, sis."

"So sweet of you to say that, Taylor." Johanna said, as she finished cleaning up the spilled water from the tea she was trying to make, before looking to Mr. Sturges and asked, "Do you still like another-?"

"Thanks, but I don't want to overstay my welcome." Mr. Sturges kindly declined the offer of another cup of tea, before getting out of his seat, collected his walking stick, and handed Johanna a copy of his phone number, "My phone number, Mrs. Kirby."

"Please, call me Johanna." Johanna kindly replied as she was given the number and then offered her hand to say goodbye.

Mr. Sturges, being a kind gentleman, accepted the hand, and kissed it, "Johanna, delighted to meet you."

Johanna was a little surprised for the gentleman-like behavior of Mr. Sturges, while Patrick, Taylor and Hilda looked at him a little odd as they all raised an eye at that.

As he started to leave, he looked down at little Kira, who looked up to him, and happily smiled, "Bye-bye, little Kira."

"Bye-bye." Kira said back, as any cute little toddler would say.

Sturges then walked to the siblings and said, "It was nice seeing you again, children, and you and your friends know where to find me if you ever need help."

Putting aside what they saw, Patrick and his sisters smiled and nodded at that, as the former then said, "We will, Mr. Sturges. Thanks."

Patting Patrick's shoulder, Mr. Sturges headed for the door, before turning a bit to his student as he kindly said with a wink, "Best of luck out there, Young Atlas."

Patrick nodded a little on that, before saying, "Goodbye, Mr. Sturges."

As Mr. Sturges left, Johanna smiled as she started putting away the dishes following a cup of tea.

"He really likes you." she said with a smile.

"Heh, he sure does…" Patrick said a little as he went over to collect Kira, who started to feel a little tired.

"I've never seen a teacher take such an interest before." Johanna added, but soon her smile disappeared as she looked to Patrick with concern as she approached the siblings and then added, "And he has a point. There are only so many hours in the day Patrick. If your grades slip, even a little, I'm going to insist you cut back, starting with the things you do for me."

"I like taking care of you." Patrick stated, as he looked to his sisters and added, "We all do."

As his sisters nodded in agreement on that statement, Johanna let out a small sigh as she then said, "Except that it's my job to take care of all of you."

Patrick looked to her, then to his sisters, as he let out a small sigh before looking at their mum and said, "Do you remember dad, and how much he was always there for us?"

Johanna, Taylor and Hilda looked down in understanding when he asked that, each of them remembering a bit of the person who was no longer with them now.

"How could I forget?" Taylor said.

"I always liked it that he was there when we needed him." Hilda confessed a little, rubbing her arm thinking about her father.

"I do remember too." Johanna replied.

Kira, still a little tired, only looked a little curious at that, since she was born after Micky died of his illness.

"Well, remember what you once told us? Sometime after he died?" Patrick then asked, getting the girls' attention, as he then said with a comforting smile, "You said "We just have to take care of each other". That's all I'm doing, mom. Same with all of us."

Johanna smiled at that, as did his sisters, as they soon came together for a small hug on remembering that, with Johanna then giving his children each a kiss on the forehead, something that even Sophie liked, even as she was ready to sleep.

"Well, then, I guess you three must be starving?" Johanna then said with a smile, as she jokingly suggested, "How about we have breakfast for dinner?"

All three siblings let a small giggle at that, as Patrick then replied, "We'll see, mum."

"Can we try having an omelette?" Hilda asked.

"Just as long as you don't overcook the eggs again." Patrick playfully teased.

"Hey, that only happened once!" Hilda stated, earning a small little laugh from the family.

Outside the house, Rodney Sturges happily (and secretly) overheard the conversation from the front door, a small smile on his face, as he headed for his car.

But then that smile faded… and a stern frown came up on his face, his hand gripping the handle of the walking stick tightly, sensing that something wasn't right.

"What do you want?" he then asked as he turned… and faced the Tiefling that was with Horvath a while back, the creature letting out a small little smirk as he stood outside the side of the house, away from being seen through the window.

"Aw, isn't that anyway to say hello to family, brother?" the Tiefling grinned coldly, his eyes giving out a golden glow like Rodney's did.

Rodney carefully approached the Tiefling, that was actually his own brother, not wanting to be caught by the family he just came to see, and looked at him angrily as he asked, "Why are you here, Valron?"

"There's nothing wrong with siblings seeing what siblings like, is there?" the Tiefling, Valron, asked, before looking to the window on what was happening.

Rodney looked too, and both saw the Kirby family, having a nice time chatting and talking about Patrick's audition, all while sorting out dinner.

"You should be lucky it's me and not Ghoular," Valron smiled, "otherwise, he'd taken the amulet and burned this hut to the ground."

Rodney scoffed as he said, "That certainly wouldn't draw any attention now like earlier, would it?"

"Perhaps…" Valron admitted, before smirking as he said, "though I admit that you did well for not drawing attention to yourself either with your human form and name, 'Rodney Sturges'. It's silly of you, if you ask me, having a human name rather than your true name you were born with, Rolthus, even your virtue name is a joke, 'Repentance'."

Rodney, or rather Rolthus, frowned angrily and hard on that statement, knowing a little well how true about Tiefling names are.

For Tieflings, their names fell into three broad categories. Tieflings born into another culture would typically have names reflecting that culture. Some would have names derived from the Infernal language, passed down through generations, that reflect their fiendish heritage. And some younger tieflings, striving to find a place in the world, adopt a name that signifies a virtue or other concept and then try to embody that concept. For some, the chosen name is a noble quest. For others, it's a grim destiny.

For Rolthus, when he was young, he chose the name 'Repentance', as to having learned of the terrible acts that most Tieflings, even some of those in his family, had done, he committed himself to redeem the way of Tieflings to show and prove a change for the better.

Though it was hard as his brother, Varlon, who had a cold heart from being outcasted by others, chose to walk a dark path, in hopes to make all Tiefling kind supreme and gain the recommendation that they deserved, even if it was to side with Horvath and Ghoular to do so, which earned him his own virtue name, 'Bitter'.

As both brothers looked on to what was happening with the Kirbys, Varlon grinned, "So… first human Paladin in centuries. This will be a lot of fun to watch."

Rolthus soon turned to his brother and sneered, "You just stay away from him and his family."

"Worried they might find out about who, and what, you truly are, brother?" Varlon chuckled evilly.

"I'll accept whatever happens when I cross that path." Rolthus said, before saying, "And you and your master should watch out, as the boy and his friends will find a way to stop whatever you've got planned to let… You-Know-Who back from imprisonment."

"We shall see, brother." Varlon said, as he started to depart, "We shall see."

As he watched his brother take his leave, Rolthus looked back at Patrick as he was enjoying dinner with his family.

In his mind, he felt a little jealous of his star student, having a loving family that was there for each other, but accepted this instead of falling into jealousy.

'Be careful, Young Atlas,' he thought, as he made his way back to his car, 'there will be many challenges ahead for you and for what's to come.'

Back in the house, as she was enjoying dinner with her children, Johanna spoke, "This is quite delicious."

"Glad to hear, mum." Taylor smiled.

Changing the subject, Johanna then said, "So, Mr. Sturges, he seems nice."

"He sure is," Patrick said, as he took a sip of Coke.

"Is he single?"

That question caught Patrick off guard, as he almost coughed on his drink, while his sisters were a little stunned at hearing that too.

"What?" Patrick replied, "Um… I don't know…"

"Oh, you know… just a thought… that's all." Johanna confessed with a small smile.

Author's Notes:

Whoa, so Mr. Sturges is (secrectly) a Tiefling, and has a bad brother too!

How will this affect Patrick and his friends and family, find out soon

The characters of Rodney Sturges (AKA Rolthus) and his brother Varlon are based off and inspired by the personalities of Stricklander, with Rodney representing the kind-hearted and good parts while Varlon represents the antagonistic and ruthless parts, and you'll soon expect more from them soon

Who is You-Know-Who, you may asked, stay tuned to find out

Until next time, True Believers!

Excelsior!