CHAPTER V:
Eventless was the best way to describe the morning. Dustin had stayed down in the basement with Steve and Mike. Robin went upstairs, Nancy offering Holly's room or the guestroom as her place to sleep. She chose the guestroom. Each teenager wakes on their own time. Robin is first, and Dustin and Mike last.
She made her way down the stairs of the Wheeler house, the last time she slept over, never giving the house a good look. The Wheeler's house was typical. With the tiniest bit of flair, no doubt from Mrs. Wheeler. Not unlike her home, which was typical down to its core, just like her mom preferred.
After lingering on family photos, laughing at a very young Nancy and Mike photo with a baby Holly, she made her way to the kitchen.
Robin saw the glass she had used from the night before, and after a quick wash, she poured herself some water.
...
"How long have you been up?" Robin jumps the water in her glass, splashing out all over the kitchen table. Nancy rushed to the sink pulling one of the rarely used decorative dish towels from the cabinet door.
"Shit, I'm sorry," said Robin. She rushed to clean the wet table with discarded napkins.
Nancy appeared behind her, reaching over and whipping at the spill. "No, no, it was my fault. I scared you." She lookup into Robin's eyes while she stared down into hers. Both looked away too quickly for neither to notice. Not to mention Steve, who stood at the doorways in silence. They each promptly sat down at opposite sides of the table.
"I haven't gotten to zone out like that in a long time, not since we moved here," answered Robin with a laugh. She continued to look out the window at the trees.
Steve pushed himself through the doorframe. That was his queue. "Well, that's a lie." He pulled a chair out for himself, the plastic crunching under him. "I know, for a fact, you zoned out at work a couple of weeks ago. When had you watched that movie… what was it?" Steve snapped his fingers. "Supergirl, that was it! You totally zoned out then."
Robin stamped on his foot. "Hey, ow!"
Nancy watched them. She could see what her two friends had tried to convince her of almost a week ago. Platonic with a capital P. Robin and Steve were just too close friends and had let weird jealousy take control. She still couldn't place it. She looked over at the digital clock on top of the microwave.
She abruptly rose from her seat. "Shoot! It's almost noon… can you go wake up Mike and Dustin? I'll just go pick us up some McDonald's…." At the counter, she wretched for a pad and a pen and dropped 4+1it between her friends. She looked down at herself and shrugged. "You have two minutes while I find my keys."
Steve took the pen from Robin and began to scribble his order. "What about Dustin and Mike?"
Nancy walked back in, keys dangling from her fingers. "Mike's my brother, and Dustin had McDonald's here before spring break. I'll just get him that again."
Steve held out the pad. Nancy snatched it from his hand. "Give me fifteen-twenty minutes." She was out the back door and in her car.
"Well, that just happened," laughed Robin. She rose from her spot at the table.
"Never a dull moment in the Wheeler household." Steve leaned over his chair, blocking Robin's exit. "Where do you think you're going."
She lookup down at her friend like he had just lost her head. "To wake up Dustin and Mike like she asked."
"They can sleep an extra ten minutes. We need to talk about what happened yesterday." He dangled his head, eying her like a puppy.
Robin looked at Steve, shoving him into the kitchen table edge. "What happened yesterday?"
He held his side and left his seat. "Don't do this. I'm Robin Buckley. I can be coy shit with me." He waved his hand in front of her face. She puffed her lips at him, then turned away towards the hallway to the basement. "Something was going on between you and Nancy last night. Everyone saw it. Jonathan saw it." He hurried behind her. "Don't ignore me."
Robin stops her hand on the basement door. "Nothing is going on. When you play a role-playing game, what do you do? You role-play. You see things that aren't there." Robin said aloud herself more than Steve. She opened the basement door. "Rise and shine!"
...
The group of misfits surrounded the game map yet again. All in the same spots as the night before. Robin looked on at the players, a smile on her face. She clicked the boom box. Lowering the volume just a tad. She straightened a pile of note cards. "Okay, let's do this. I think I got the hang of this now. Where did we leave off?"
-.-.-.-
Our group continues their leisurely stroll, blocking the Old Road, still lucky to have not come across anyone trying to pass through. There is a whine from one of the two horses provided by Lady Hucrele's estate. Both are obviously meant as rides for her two children.
"At least that's what we overheard. About this so-called 'fruit' from some locals on our way to Oakhurst," finished Dustin picking up where he had left off. The Dwarf ended with air quotes.
"Why do you keep," asked Eleven. The Rogue creates her own air quote, "when you say fruit."
The Barbarian and Ranger eye each, not ready for another long-winded recounting from the Dwarf, and decide to fill in the group on their conversation with the Inn barkeep, Garon:
There was another Adventurer with the Hucrele children, a Ranger, and a local to Oakhurst. The Paladin of Pelor, Sir Barford, who just showed up thirteen-odd years ago, sat in Garon's mind. He had an oddly giant frog for a pet. He had asked a great deal about the purpose of The Stronghold, the rumors about it being a retreat for some sort of ancient cult, possibly involving a dragon.
Give a History check, fifteen or higher.
Twenty-four.
Our Sorcerer pauses. A sudden spark of knowledge ignites his memory. "Did he just say dragon, or did he give you a name?"
The Barbarian and Ranger shrug.
He holds out his hands in excitement. "Before traveling, I was at the Library of Wayreth to see if I could find anything on The Stronghold," states Will. "Which, there's basically nothing, by the way." He looks to his left and right. "There was, however, information about this." The Sorcerer motions to the lifeless area ahead. "All of this was caused by a Black Dragon during a rampage. Maybe, this cult followed that dragon?"
There is a collective silence as they all think.
"There haven't been any signs of the dragon since, right," asks Mike. "What? It's a dragon. Last I checked, we should all, you know, be scared of the possibility of a dragon."
Time passed, and the Elf held a leather journal to her chest after a few hours. She began to jot down important points of their conversation. Just in case, you never know what information could be helpful as an Adventurer.
The closer our group of Adventurers comes to The Stronghold, the more dilapidated the fortress becomes. It has an odd shape, with never-ending stairs winding along a mountain.
You're sure? Okay, Dustin, give a history check. You're a dwarf. If the fortress is located inside the mountain, it sounds like something that would be common knowledge for you.
Nineteen, yes!
The Dwarf notices the mountain formation. It—is—perfect. The perfect density is needed to build a fortress from below. The stone is strong. The floors below, however many, that is where the best structures would be found. He's sure of it.
The Dwarf notices the craftsmanship at its top, even from a long distance. He can tell that the visible portions of The Stronghold were created for vanity. No function other than to possibly keep its actual entrance hidden.
"It's awe-inspiring," breaths Dustin. The Dwarf looks on, hand over face, lessening the sun.
The Half-Elf Rogue, hand resting at her hip, most of her weight on one leg. "Really?" She looks in the same direction. Her interest wanes dramatically. "Nerd," Erica snickers.
The Barbarian walks forward behind the two. His hand grips the Dwarf's balding head with a found-family-affection. "Leave Bal be. It's not his fault he loves his rocks," says Steve with a laugh.
He swipes at the human hand. "Would you—get off," Dustin grumbles. He pushes away.
The Barbarian laughs, his walk a casual pace to the road.
The others join and laugh at Dwarf's experience.
Did you really just rub my head?
Of course! Was in the moment, I was role-playing just—like—you—said I should.
-.-.-.-
Hands slapped against the TV try. "Shit. I forgot." Robin said her complete focus was on a tattered and warn book. "You three." She points in the direction of Dustin, Mike, and Lucas with both hands. "This book." She lifts Eddie's copy of a book titled 'Dragons of Autumn Twilight.' "Does it look familiar to you?"
The three boys eye the book with intense focus.
"I think that's the book Eddie asked us to get," answers Lucas. "Why?"
Dustin and Mike respond in kind, "Oh yeah." "My copy is in my room… I think," added Mike.
Robin sets the book back down within the confines of her binder fortress. "Have you read it?"
Lucas scratched the back of his head in thought. "A few chapters." Dustin and Mike simply shrugged. It was apparent they had both forgotten.
"Alright, cool—cool, I can work with that. Just don't read anymore, at least for a bit, yeah," asks Robin with a laugh. "I think Eddie was assigning you guys' homework to surprise you with this Campaign." She clapped her hands together. "Okay, back to work. Sorry for the break. Just wanted to make sure for, you know, future and all."
-.-.-.-
"We should set camp here," states Argyle. He runs his hands atop the soil. He looks distrustful at the ground.
"Your sure," asked Jonathan.
"Yep," the Gnome confirmed.
The Half-Elf Monk, ordinarily quiet, couldn't help herself. She spoke, "There's at least an hour of good light left. We would make it to the entrance before nightfall." She rolled her shoulders and neck.
"True that, true that, but you see my Super-Monk brochacha, no one ever pays mind to ol'Sharkey Finn," the Gnome struts out in front of the group.
All watch on in wonderment.
"On account of the fact, Sharkey be…" he motions with his hands to indicate his height. He puts a finger to his mouth. "They all talk. You all talk. Forgetting Sharkey is in the room." He begins to hand gesture wildly as he recounts his time in the General Store back in Oakhurst:
A Cattle herder was in town for the day. He needed feed. His fields were bare, at least as far out as he was willing to let his cattle graze. He is not about to let his cattle get skewered by a monster, even if it's just a rumor.
"Sure, night's on its way. What better time for a monster come out and," Argyle makes a slashing sound at his throat. "But, here," the Gnome raises his arms, "here we have all the sides, over there," he points to the mountain. "We might not have any."
The sleeves of the Gnome's robed arms never left the ground.
The Ranger, Paladin, Sorcerer, and Dwarf eyed one another in silent conversation, each a defacto lead within the small company.
"Did they say what the monster was," asks the Ranger, his interest heightened? Maybe, he could have the upper hand.
"Sadly, no, Sharkey was ushered out of the store before anything was said," Argyle sighed. "Don't think the thin man was a fan of dirt."
"He makes a good point," agreed Mike. "And he has never steered me wrong." He playfully pushes the Gnome, and they both smile.
The dwarf steps in the direction the Gnome indicated. He stands stalk-still. Perhaps he impersonates a stump or more of a rock. Only he knows.
Hey!
The hour to dusk passes quick. Bedrolls are out in sets of twos and threes. The group decided to take the watch in pairs. Even at the Elf's protest, she does not 'need to' sleep. She simply falls into a trance.
The Fighter looks up from the campfire, wooden bowl in hand. "That's just an Elf's asinine way of saying they sleep. Without saying, they sleep," chided Jonathan.
The Elf glares. Her hand twitches.
"Ash, don't!" The Dwarf and Barbarian yell out together.
The Fighter holds out his free hand in apology.
"Ash? But I thought your name was, Cirilla," asked Eleven.
"It is," answers Nancy. The Elf, one eye open, watches the Rogue.
Give me an insight check, Nancy.
Eleven.
The Dwarf sits next to the Rogue. He pulls off his goggles and begins to animate feverishly. "It's actually quite fascinating. Elves have two names! Two names, can you believe it? One as a child, and then once they become an adult… They get a new one! A new name, can you believe it!"
The Elf both eyes shut once more. "What he said," Nancy agrees. She rests against a dead log.
The Rogue, the Paladin, and the Elf, who doesn't need to sleep, take the third watch. The others sleep, only one shift left after this. The Elf continues to sit at her log, eyes shut, and senses at the ready.
You three roll me perception. If you get above a fifteen roll, either dexterity/stealth or dexterity/acrobatics.
Seventeen, five, Sixteen – crit, dirty twenty
There is a sudden quiet, the 'quiet' that is always described as too quiet. The bugs no longer clicking. The owl, off at a distance, no longer hooting. There is a rustle of leaves and bushes close by.
"That's weird," states Mike. He pulls t his tunic, gripping at his sword.
The Elf and Rogue grip the Paladin tightly, each with a hand over his mouth. The Elf eyes him. The Rogue, less frustrated, simply says, "shhh…."
A sound continues to move closer and closer. The closer it gets, the more, the more rhythmic it becomes. A strange rustling joins in, slowly shifting to a steady scrap against the hard dirt surface.
The same sounds echo from left to right, even a few feet back.
The Elf reaches with her foot towards the campfire. She begins scooping loose dirt in an attempt to stifle the flames.
Our Elf, Rogue, and Paladin see a tall shadow shift with only the moon's light. It looks sturdy, whatever drags along the ground. It turns, finally making eye contact with the Elf.
It shrieks. There is no mouth. The sound seems to escape from the sunken 'eyes' of a tree.
Since El and Nancy rolled so well, I'm going to let you warn everyone, Mike… But you can't be quiet about it.
The Rogue shoves the Paladin back to the rest of the party.
Eyes wide. The Paladin shakes the bedrolls of our Sorcerer and his brother's bodyguard. He pulls at the Gnome's hat. Then scrambles to his feet. "Get up, get up, get up, get up," Mike yells. Alerting the rest of the party away.
...
The surrounding sounds stop. The group knows they are surrounded by no way out.
Nancy, you and El will have advantage on your turn.
Our Sorcerer shifts in the direction of the log previously used as a backrest. His hand outstretched, he places the tips of his fingers atop the log. "Light," Will calmly speaks. A bright light erupts from the log. Exposing the campsite, a Twig Blight, and three shrubs surrounding the campsite's border.
The Twig Blight stands three and a half feet tall. Strong branches twisting together, creating a humanoid body. It screams again, no mouth and sunken eyes. It shifts its torso around its focus on the Elf. Roots suddenly whip out in her direction, piercing through the small gap in her armor.
"What the fuck is that," yells Steve. He stands twenty-five feet from the Twig Blight, five feet from one of the sudden shrubs.
The others begin to stand back to back in an attempt to see the whole of their surrounding.
She screams out in pain, the Elf. Blood oozes down her arm, and she falls to her knees, gripping the wound.
The Ranger looks at the enemy in complete concentration. He pulls an arrow from his quiver. Then releases it with ease. It makes contact with the Twig Blight that attacked the Elf. It explodes. Loose pieces of warped wood float to the ground, the only indication that they ever existed. "Yes," says Lucas quietly to himself.
The Barbarian lunges forward in an attempt to pull the Elf to safety. Not aware of what the switch action has brought to life.
There's a screech.
"What the hell," screams Steve again, barely dodging the same pricing attack in the direction of one of the shrubs, it now also looking like a Twig Blight. He stands next to the Elf, focusing on the Twig Blight that tried to kill him, kicking at its torso.
Everyone watches as the Twig Blight explodes.
That's right!
"No one fucks around with my friends… but me," yells Dustin. He squeezes his hand into a fist, releasing it, and the party can see molten fire drip from his gloved hand. He twirls it in his hand, throws it at the shrub, and sets it ablaze. Dustin whoops.
With his quick feet, a Gnome is at the side of a Half-Elf Monk. He looks up at her and takes hold of her pant leg. "For you, my Super-Monk brochacha."
Her feet begin to glow softly, and she feels her energy increase. She dashes in the direction of a pack, a torch laying half-hazard across it. She grabs the torch sticking it into leftover embers of the third fallen Twig Blight, it ignites, and she thrusts it into the remaining shrub.
There is a shriek as the final Twig Blight bursts into flame.
Just over the horizon, the smallest peak of the sun begins to show. The Fighter and the Barbarian look at each other. "You can yell at me later, Bal," states Steve. He lifts the Dwarf onto one of the horses. Then Fighter does the same with the Gnome. They look at each other and slap the ass of the horse. "Just steer it in the direction you need it to go."
"I know how to ride a horse," yells Dustin.
"This is awesome," adds Argyle.
With the Ranger's help, the Paladin lifts the light-headed Elf onto the other horse. The Half-Elf Rogue sits behind the Elf. She holds tight to the Elf to keep her steady, then kicks off in the direction of the others.
"Leave it," says the Fighter. "We'll come back for what we can when it's light out," says Jonathan in a rush directing everyone to follow the others.
They run, the distant sounds of screeching following for as long as they can.
...
The morning's dawn radiates wildly across the lifeless land our company desperately traveled through only moments ago. The Paladin, Barbarian, and Half-Elf Rouge are helping the Elf as she slides from her seat atop the horse. The blood loss is significant, but she refuses to let go of her life.
"I'll take care of the horses," Jonathan speaks in his usual straight soft-spoken tone. "She needs your help." He is looking at his brother, motioning with his head. The Fighter takes out a map marking a location. They would need to return before dusk to salvage what goods they could.
He rushes in the direction of the others, the Barbarian resting the Elf against the pillar. The Dwarf lunges from his spot atop a horse. He lands with ease rushing to his friend's side. "Stop looking at me like that," Nancy says. She laughs, a small amount of blood dripping from her lips. "I'm not dead yet, and I don't plan on dying any time soon. Do you understand me," Nancy continues to say.
The Sorcerer pushes between the Dwarf and Barbarian. Then places a ringed hand on the Elf's wound. He grabs a crossbow bolt from her side quiver. "Bite down on this," says Will. He closes his eyes for a moment to concentrate. There is a bright white glow from his eyes that radiate through to his hand.
The Elf screams, biting hard, almost breaking the crossbow bolt. She feels her bones, muscles, and sinew begin to regrow and realign with her shoulder. Sweat drips down her forehead.
"She can move, but she should stay on a horse until it's completely healed," says Will, calm. He is looking at the Dwarf.
The Dwarf sighs, "You might as well." He looks to the Barbarian, who lifts him back on a horse, then helps the Elf behind him. She leans forward, and the Dwarf puts his hood up. The Fighter takes hold of the reins and guides the horse along the ravine. The others follow suit,
The Gnome sitting atop the rump. Once situated, he pulls a sprig of mistletoe from an inside robe pocket. A swirl of green magic engulfs the plant. The white berries begin to emit a pale green glow. He pulls a berry free. "A top off, you don't look complete," offers Argyle. He places it in her free hand. "But you should still rest. Like the Sorcerer man said."
The Elf smiles. "Thank you, Sharky… Finn." She eats the berry.
-.-.-.-
The friends did better this time to end early. Considering High School would be reopening now that there was a proper location for the displaced citizens of Hawkins. Nancy offered to drive Robin home, giving Steve only one stop to worry about with Dustin.
"This has been surprisingly fun," says Robin to fill the silence.
"Yeah, I forgot it can be fun. I haven't played since I stopped babysitting Mike years ago." Nancy laughed. "He would insist I dress up and everything, and I did."
Robin laughed. "Now that, that I would pay to see Nancy Wheeler." Hand on the door, she exited the station wagon. Then opened the door to the middle seat. She pulled the box from the seat. "Guess I better read up on what's to happen next, just in case, you know."
They looked at one another longer than what was necessary.
"I'll see you at school."
Robin walked the small, hilled pathway to her front door. The car sped off.
"I'm home," she shouted, shutting the door with her foot. She set the box atop a side table. A portrait of a younger Robin was in the lap of a man, her father, and beside them, her mother, a blonde woman with bangs and her hair pulled back. Written in permanent marker on an empty space of the photo were the words "love ya, Kiddo."