CHAPTER VII:
Plans changed, as plans do. Especially plans that adults can control—specifically parents.
The teenagers sat around Harrington's dining table, Robin at the head, her binder fortress up and ready to go. To her left sat Dustin, and next to him, Steve. To her right was Nancy, and next to her sat Mike. Plates of pizza sat at the table's edges. Cans of Soda on coasters. Steve, a beer. His parents neither cared nor noticed the drinking limit changed back in 1984.
Nancy looked in the direction of the kitchen. The clock hung over the kitchen table read seven-thirty, Will, Eleven, Jonathan, and Argyle should be on their way soon. Hopper insisted they stay for dinner, Joyce convincing him it was okay for 'the kids' to visit their friends if they returned home by twelve-fifteen.
"Let's just start. We don't have enough time to watch a movie," suggested Nancy. She grabbed everyone's plates, setting them together away from the game map.
Robin shrugged. "Any objections? How far could we get before they get here."
-.-.-.-
A Dwarf paces the opening. What number is this? His companions lost count.
"We could latch our ropes there, then loop it in this direction. Which would turn our weight into a counterweight. Then loop again in the opposite direction to keep the other rope from…." Dustin mumbles to himself.
"Is he broken? I think he's broken," whispers Steve. The Barbarian crouched next to the Elf and the Paladin. He shifts the loose leather straps debating which to bring, the battle axe or the great sword.
The Elf smirks at her companions. Like the Barbarian, she is taking inventory of her supplies. The majority of her munitions left during the company's dramatic exit. The Dwarf and Paladin would constantly remind the group of the group. The Elf agreed. Calling it a clean battle, that is where the two, her and the Paladin, differ in viewpoints. She was the one who came close to death. She was the one missing the majority of her munitions. "This was not the plan…" trails Nancy. The Elf secures her shield at her back and a short sword to her side. Her bow was snug beneath the shield.
"Sometimes plans don't go as planned," offers Mike. The Paladin begins tightening his leather straps.
The Elf shifts her glower to the Paladin.
Choose your words wisely.
The Elf and Paladin watch the other. Sizing the others waiting to see who will speak first.
"Someone's information was wrong."
"Admit it, you don't trust Sharkey Finn," states Mike. The Paladin straightens himself. His face is stern, and he prepares to defend his friend.
"Excuse me," asked Nancy. The Elf eyed the Paladin. She saunters to him, a level of elven intimidation not seen by any but the Barbarian and the Dwarf. "Not once did I say I distrusted Sharkey Finn. Not once!" The Elf stopped inches from the Paladin. "I said, Someone has the wrong information." She pauses. "Maybe a villager fed us wrong information, or one of us misheard details."
The Paladin shifts back two steps audible gulp.
The Elf moves her arms at her hips now. "I would never accuse any of us of betrayal without evidence, let alone at all," spoke Nancy, her voice stern. "Are we done?"
The Paladin said nothing.
-.-.-.-
Mike placed his hands on the table. He pushed out of his chair, left through the archway to Steve's kitchen, and said nothing.
Steve looked to Robin, who looked to Nancy, who motioned at Dustin.
"Don't look at me. I don't know what goes on in Mike's head, shrugged Dustin. He takes a bite of pizza.
Robin tapped the table. "Nothing against your brother, Nancy, but that was the most' teenage boy' I've ever seen a teenage boy, 'teenage-boy,' before."
Steve smirked. Nancy eyed Steve. "Sorry," He leaned back. "Not the time."
Nancy rose from her seat and shifted between the chair and the table. "I'll go talk to him." She left in the same direction as her brother.
In his signature not-soft-whisper, she could hear Dustin say, "It was kinda funny, Robin." Nancy ran a hand across her smile. It was a little funny.
Mike was at Steve's kitchen counter. Pizza slice in one hand and a can of Coke in the other. He folded his crust like a heathen and shoved it in his mouth.
"Are we going to talk about what just happened in there?"
Mike eyed his sister definitely, "it's nothing."
"It's not, nothing. You just picked a fight with me in a fantasy game. What is going on."
"It's Nothing. I'm just overthinking."
Mike grabbed another slice.
"We might not always get along, but I do care. Not to mention I'm your big sister."
"It's stupid... I'm worried Hopper will try something again to keep El and me apart, and I'm not going to notice. I was oblivious to Will. I'm a horrible friend."
"You're not a horrible friend Mike. You're a teenager."
"You're a teenager."
"I'm an older teenager." Nancy squeezed hid arm as any older sister would before heading back into the dining room to sit down.
-.-.-.-
"It's fine. The damn rope is fine," yelled Steve. Fed up with the Dwarf's antics, the Barbarian stomps in the direction of the Dwarf and grabs the rope.
Strength check, please.
Seriously.
Seriously, roll that die, Harrington.
Twenty-one
The Barbarian takes hold of the rope. He yanks. It's a strong and sturdy knot, and he notices the rope feels new, not grimy or old like many of the abandoned campfires the group walked past to get to this point.
"See, fine," says Steve. He salutes the Elf and Paladin. The Barbarian descends the wall.
Acrobatics checks from anyone who wishes to follow.
Sixteen, sixteen, six, eighteen.
Come on, Robin, I made a harness, ten.
Our Adventurers rush to the ledge as the Barbarian holding the rope drops. The Elf leans over and takes hold of the rope. The Barbarian laughs as he propels himself down the wall using the old weather foot and handholds.
The Elf chuckles. She looks to the Paladin and Dwarf. The Elf lobs herself into the ravine, and The Paladin and Dwarf follow suit. Our Dwarf loses his footing halfway down, landing with a thud.
The west of the ledge the small group lands on is submerged in darkness. At their feet is rocky debris. The Dwarf regains his footing, a soft crunch with each step. He looks down, his dark vision showcasing a floor covered in small animal bones.
The Barbarian waves his hand at the Dwarf. "Shh." He grabs a torch from the Paladin's pack.
The Dwarf rolls his eyes and then flicks a device, lighting the torch on fire.
Able to see the Barbarian and Paladin look on in alarm at all of the small animal bones spread atop the sandy ground. Stepping closer to the ledge and holding the torch out, the Adventurers glance down the light and reveal a chasm of no more than two-hundred and fifty feet to the west and eighty feet from where they stand. A hewn of stairs that zig and zag down the ledge, descending into the darkness.
Stealth check,
please. Dustin, you have disadvantage.
Fifteen, ten, twenty-one, twelve
The Barbarian, Elf, Dwarf, and Paladin look toward the sound of shifting bones. A Giant Rat makes eye contact releasing a shriek, alerting two other Giant Rats to their location. Their eyes glisten as the torch light illuminates the ledge.
"Fuck…," both say Dustin and Steve.
The Barbarian and Dwarf shift to their left and right, flanking the Elf and Paladin. The Barbarin moves his hand to his back, gripping tight to his greataxe. The Dwarf plants his feet into the sandy rock to steady himself, grabbing one of his handaxes in his left as his right-hand hovers over the other at his belt. The Paladin removes the dulled-metal shield from his back, his warhammer in hand at the ready. The elf grips tight to her longbow fingers, grazing the feathers of what few arrows her quiver possesses.
One of the rats lunges towards our Adventurers, missing it retreats back to the others. They chatter in unison, only separated by a few feet.
The Elf stares. Her gaze fixates on the Giant Rat, who lunged in the direction of Paladin. She lifts a finger. A soft-purple aura surrounds her finger as her eyes glint the same color for a mere second. She readies her bow. She has it in her sights. The arrow speeds through the air. It connects with its target directly between the Giant Rat's eyes.
The rat collapses in a heap atop the sandy rock. The two other rats hiss, gnarled teeth on display, spit flying in all directions.
Hand still on his greataxe, the Barbarian unlatches his javelin and lifts it above his shoulder. The Barbarian throws. A Giant Rat is knocked back but rises to its feet. The javelin wobbles in its back stuck.
"It mocks me," sighs Steve. He watches his weapon sway back and forth with the monster's movement.
The Barbarian's companions chuckle.
Wobbling to and fro, the rat lunges, attempting to bite the Dwarf. Still dazed from the Barbarian's attack, it falls short of the Dwarf, landing at his feet. The Dwarf, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he takes his handaxe at the Giant Rat and swings. He comes in contact with the base of the skull, splitting it from the rest of its body. The Dwarf pulls the javelin from the rat, tossing it back to the Barbarin.
And that is how that's done.
Don't be smug. I basically killed it for you.
You did not! The rat wasn't dead. I killed it. It's my kill.
The Paladin and Elf look at one another. The Paladin laughs as the Dwarf and Barbarian continue to argue over who was the true rat killer. He tosses the warhammer a few inches into the air catching it as it lands in his palm. The Paladin makes eye contact with the remaining Giant Rat, grins, and throws the hammer in its direction.
The weapon twirls through the air in the direction of the rat. It makes contact with the Giant Rat's middle, and the weight of the hammer, the velocity of the spin splits the rat in two. Blood splatters everywhere in a ring span of five feet.
-.-.-.-
The kitchen phone began to ring. Dustin, Nancy, Mike, and Robin gave Steve an expectant look. The phone rang again. Steve furrowed his brow at his friends. A third ring.
"Right, right, give me a sec." With long strides, Steve jumped from his seat at the table and disappeared into the kitchen.
Dustin smacked the table in excitement. "Eddie is a genius. Have I said that lately?"
Nancy and Robin glanced at one another. Together they smirk. Dustin is not wrong. Today and last weekend have been fun.
"Not today, no," answered Robin. She rolled her neck short sharp-audible cracks released into the air, which resulted in Robin rising from her chair to give her body a good stretch. From the corner of her eye, she could see Steve in the dim kitchen, in focused conversation. "Hmm?"
Nancy watched her friend. "Everything okay?"
"Not sure yet." Robin bent forward, hands on the table to stretch out her knees. Steve's soft shadow moved against the wall.
It was fifteen past eight.
"Yeah, yeah, it's no problem, man. Plans change, and spending time with family is important. Especially when he was stuck in a Russian labor camp for like six months, no biggie. See you guys tomorrow." Steve's voice was loud enough for the friends to catch the tail end of the phone conversation. He hung up the phone and returned to the dining room.
Mike stared at the table.
Nancy bit her lip in worry as she looked at her brother.
Robin pushed herself from the dining table, then clapped her hands. "You know what, I think we're at a good stopping point. I say movie." She looked at Nancy and Steve. "What about you, movie?"
Steve walked over to his seat. He pushed it into place. "I think that's a great idea. That's what we were planning to do in some way anyhow." He grabbed the plates and empty cans. "Besides, we have tomorrow." Steve walks back into the kitchen. The sound of dishes in the sink and cans tossed in the trash echoes.
Nancy rose from her seat, a reassuring hand on her brother's back. "Come on, I think we could all use a movie. With less Robin-level-drama, don't you think?" She does not move from her spot until she notices her arm rising with her brother as he exits his seat.
Dustin rose from his seat with a stretch.
Robin planted her hands atop Dustin's shoulders to usher him into the Harrington living room. "I suggest 'Young Frankenstein'… 'From that fateful day when stinking bits of slime first crawled from sea and shouted to the cold star, 'I am man' our greatest…." Robin dramatically monologued as she recited from memory. The two disappeared into the living room.
All Nancy could do was shake her head and laugh as she steered Mike into the adjacent room.