Confrontation at the Festival

(The Real World)

Back at the table, the Loud Sisters (specifically, Lori's group) found themselves shivering slightly with fear. Mere seconds ago; Joey, a friend and schoolmate of the four eldest Loud Sisters, was given the floor to make his debut within the game. Of course, when they saw his costume, all ten of the girls leapt with alarm.

His face was coated with a sort of bluish-black face paint, he sported a skull cap that had a red spinal fin at the top, wore a pair of gloves that looked like scaly reptilian hands and the way his hooded cloak covered his eyes in shadow was quite creepy. "So, Joey; tell us" Rita inquired in her normal voice, "what is your character like?" After giving a sort of laugh that sounded like a snake's hiss, Joey drew back his hood and revealed himself.

It was here that everyone was able to get a good look at his facial features. At first, Lori and her group presumed that their earlier assumptions were correct; that Joey truly was wearing some form of odd facepaint. "Sorry, hon; but you're wa-a-a-ay off there" Miguel said to Lori, "this is actually a synthetic scaly face-mask, the same kind most horror movie makeup artists use.

Everyone gasped in awe at this reveal, while also feeling mildly conflicted on which to admire most; Miguel's makeup skills or how realistic Joey's facemask looked. But then, Lynn Sr. quickly reminded everyone that they were getting just a tad off-track; despite also feeling captivated by Miguel's handiwork. "Now, then; what can you tell us about Zok, Joey" he asked, "what makes him tick?"

After taking a moment to giggle gleefully with excitement; the teen calmed himself down, pulled his hood back over his head and put his "game face" on. When next he spoke, he did so in a most stoic and rather hauntingly creepy tone of voice; like a true killer who's lost all sense of emotion. "Zok is a member of the Lizardfolk, which are a breed of humanoid creatures that resemble your reptiles" Joey said in his character voice, "like most of his people, he hails from the jungles of the south; he's quite agile and is quite adept in the art of stealth."

Whether it was because of his animal-like tone of voice or the description of his character, the Loud Sisters (particularly Lori and Leni) couldn't help but shiver a little with fright. But at the same time, there was something about Joey's character that nagged at some of the other players. "Pardon me for interrupting, everyone" Lisa said suddenly, "but if this...'Zok' and his people truly are native to the jungle, what is he doing in such a seedy pub?"

As if expecting this, Joey let out a raspy yet fiendish chuckle; one that made even someone like Lisa quiver with fear. "One day, Zok came upon a group of humans and he attempted to try and steal from them" he explained, "unfortunately, he was caught and despite his efforts to fight back...Zok was swiftly defeated and taken captive." After this; he explained that the humans "tasked" him with hunting and stealing for them but Zok lacked any real combat skills.

It was here that the leader of the group did him a courtesy and taught him all the basic survival skills; like hunting and fighting. "When he came of age, Zok went on to learn the art of stealth from his captors" Joey hissed, "a decision the humans would later come to regret." In spite of the fear gripping at them, the Loud Sisters' overall curiosity proved too strong and they asked what happened next.

"One fateful night, while the human's slept; Zok slinked his way into the hunter leader's tent and stole one of his knives" Joey explained, "which he then used to slit the human's throat!" The Loud Sisters all shrieked with fear at this reveal, even some of the along with some of the other players. As for Joey, he suddenly realized that he was becoming...a bit too invested in his character and apologized for his behavior.

"Oh, no...it's quite alright, young man" Mrs. Johnson said in her normal voice, "we all tend to get lost in our imaginations, sometimes." With that misunderstanding out of the way, everyone beckoned for Joey to continue speaking. "After leaving his captors behind, Zok wandered about the jungles; doing whatever it took to stay alive" the young man explained, "this granted him many opportunities to test out his new hunting and combat skills."

As Joey's story continued, Lori and her group grew so frightened that Lola couldn't help but hug onto Lori's leg for comfort. Meanwhile, Lana (either because of her character type or her genuine love for them) recoiled in alarm; whenever the teen mentioned Zok killing animals for sport. "Of course, as his skills grew; hunting the same prey in the jungles day after day became rather...tedious" he stated, "so, he left his native home and went off into the great big world; eager to find new prey to hunt."

Once again, the Loud Sisters cringed slightly at how Joey was being so in-tune with his character. But perhaps, the creepiest thing about him was the sort of voice Joey gave the character. It sounded raspy, fierce, intimidating and whenever he added hissing sounds in-between his sentences; it sent shivers down their collective spines.

"So, how did he come about being a spy" Pop-Pop said in his Game Master Karuk voice, "what master does Zok serve?" Joey took a moment to clear his throat, before answering; mainly to take a break from using his character voice. "Truth is...Zok doesn't have a master" he said matter-of-factly, "he's a spy, a merc; in short, an assassin for hire."

Upon hearing the term "assassin," everyone soon understood what Joey's character was like. As a hired hand, Zok held no true loyalties; he only cared for whichever side offered him the most coinage. "Sounds like a real sleaze, dudes" groaned Luna, "why would you pick such a character, Joey?"

Almost immediately, the teen proclaimed that he had a great love for reptiles and the Lizardfolk race seemed like the perfect choice for him to play. "Yeah...but why would you make your character a bad guy" questioned Lola, "bad guys are yicky, mean and they hurt people!" While many at the table empathized with the young pageant princess' concerns, they still did the wise thing and reminded her that this was all just a game.

"The thing is, Lola...in role-playing; none of the characters are automatically good or evil" Lincoln explained, "sure, the manual says it...but as the player, you get to decide what side your character's on!" Joey chuckled heartily at the sole Loud boy's statement and proclaimed that he was thinking the same thing. "Think about it this way, girls" he said suddenly, "a hero's a hero...but everybody loves a great villain."

While they didn't completely agree with him; Lori and her group realized that, every now and again...villains were the coolest part of the story. "Now, he's not a professional spy by trade" Joey stated, "he simply uses his natural abilities as means to perform spying tasks for those who pay him." When asked what sort of abilities a Lizardfolk creature had, the young man smiled and presented his character sheet to Lori.

At first, many of Zok's abilities/skills seemed relatively basic for his species; such as digging skills, regeneration, enhanced strength and being able to hold in his breath for long periods underwater. But then, she came upon something that seemed so bizarre; even the word itself was difficult to understand. "Um...real talk for a second," she said while raising her hand, "what's this word here...kar, Chrome...mat...toe...fore?"

After the Council of Game Masters took a moment to mentally sound off the word themselves, they'd finally understood what confused Lori and decided to enlighten her. "The term you're referring to, young She-Elf is 'Chromatophore'" Mrs. Johnson said in her Agathe voice, "essentially, it means Lizardfolk are able to alter the tone of their scales' colors." To help clarify the woman's words, Joey added that the word was another way of describing camouflage.

"Basically, Zok's able to alter the color tone of his scales; like a Chameleon can" he stated, "which makes him a perfect kind of spy, don't ya think?" Much to their initial surprise, Lori and her team found themselves murmuring softly in agreement. But after taking note of all these things Joey revealed about his character and remembering why Fastred sought him out, they suddenly felt an eerie chill run up their spines.

(The Game World)

The next morning, all of the townspeople were working themselves ragged to put on the finishing touches for the festival. They had all the banners put up, readied the sales booths at the market square, covered nearly every home with decorations and spent equal amount of time cleaning the city streets. While the adventurers couldn't help but admire everyone's work; at the same time, they also pitied them.

"These poor souls" Ursa purred softly with remorse, "it looks as though they work themselves harder this time of year than they do every other day." Ventris nodded silently in agreement, while also taking note of everyone's expressions. Despite their smiling faces; the sweat on their brows, the ragged breathing and the filth that coated their bodies all pointed towards one truth; the people were exhausted.

"The sooner we take Fastred's gem, the sooner we can liberate these people" the Elven mage stated, "but for now, try and remain inconspicuous." Everyone nodded in agreement and were ready to disperse until Shadow quickly stopped them. "Before we all depart, we'll require the protection spell once again" she said telepathically, "quick, let's move out of the square."

Not needing to be told twice, the adventurers followed their Kenku comrade to a more secluded area. Afterwards, Shadow and Ventris used their combined power to encase their party within a mystical aura. But unbeknownst to them; while all this was going on, someone was watching them from atop one of the buildings.

With the aid of a makeshift spyglass he created; the lizard creature, Zok oversaw everything they did. "Drat, that blue blood never said anything about the intruders having spell-casters with them" he hissed bitterly under his breath, "how will I ever..." Before Zok could finish with his tirade, he suddenly overheard the soft strums of a lute nearby.

With great care and swift reflexes, he leapt across the rooftops until he came upon the source of the melody. It was a young minstrel playing a tune for a small group of human children in the center of town. The whole time he watched her, Zok felt no sign of mystical energy from the minstrel; which pleased him greatly.

"Excellent, a human target" the lizard man snickered, "if I get this one, the blue blood could place blame on the other strangers and run them out of town!" While this idea seemed flawless on paper; at the same time, Zok realized that there were far too many witnesses moving about for him to strike from above. His only option was discretion, to use a method that would leave no trace.

With this in mind, Zok reached towards his belt and unclipped on of the pouches that hung from it. Inside was what looked like a cluster of odd grey leaves; which, to the untrained eye, looked relatively harmless. "Iocane Leaves, one of the deadliest pieces of jungle flora in existence" he whispered softly, "odorless, tasteless and once added into liquid, they will dissolve instantly."

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Zok leapt down from the rooftops and did his best to keep hidden in the shadows. While doing so, he set out to put the next stage of his scheme into motion. Fortunately for him, today was a festival day; which meant that the townsfolk would all be drinking wine and ale by the barrelful.

"All I need to do is find just one barrel to mix the leaves into" Zok murmured, "even a flagon will do." Just then, Zok suddenly overheard voices approaching his location. Thinking quickly, he pulled his hood up and took shelter behind a cluster of boxes.

(The Real World)

Back at the table, Lisa suddenly raised her hand and presented an inquiry regarding the "Iocane Leaves." "With all due respect, everyone; there is no biological or ecological record of these 'Iocane' leaves" she said monotonously, "am I correct in guessing that they are a fabrication of the game's world?" Naturally, the child genius' lingo left almost everyone dumbstruck and all was quiet for almost half a minute.

That was when Zach raised his hand and provided a sort of "translation." "She's asking if the Iocane Leaves are part of the game or not" he stated, "and to put it bluntly...no, they're not." The Council of Game Masters thanked the young man for his help and explained that the leaves were actually something Mrs. Johnson came up with.

"Let me ask you and your sisters a question, Lisa" she inquired, "how many of you are familiar with The Princess Bride?" Without even the slightest delay, almost every one of the Loud Sisters erupted in a mad cacophony of delighted murmuring; all of which revolving around how much they simply loved the movie. The only exceptions to this were Lynn Jr. and Lucy, who both believed that the story was "too girly" for them.

"This coming from the same Goth Girl who reads Princess Pony in the darkness of the bathroom" Lincoln thought to himself, "part of me wants to call shenanigans to that." Meanwhile, the Council explained that the addition of Iocane was part of something they called "homebrew." "Oh! I think I read that term in the book, when we first suited up" Leni exclaimed, "it's when you add stuff into the game that wasn't originally part of it...right?"

The other nine Loud Sisters stared aghast at her, thinking that everything she said sounded like utter nonsense. But the Council and the other players, on the other hand applauded Leni; proclaiming that what she said was almost exactly correct. "'Homebrew' is a term used within many other D&D sessions" Clyde interjected, "it means we can utilize content that is often found within other pieces of media...without plagiarizing the source material, of course"

On this note, the Council explained that while Iocane wasn't part of D as leaders of their session, they were allowed to implement the idea into the story. "That's interesting to know, I'll give ya that" Lynn Jr. murmured, "but what exactly is so special about these grey leaves anyhow?" All around the table, several players either rolled their eyes or groaned softly in annoyance; wondering if she had paid attention earlier.

But all too quickly, Lynn Sr. called for silence and reminded his daughter of what Zok said mere moments ago. "Think about it, Junior" he stated, "if you've got a poisonous substance of any kind that's odorless, tasteless, deadly and dissolves instantly in liquid...what would you do?" After taking a moment to let all of this sink in, the Loud Sisters suddenly realized just how deadly Zok's plan truly was.

It was then that Lori proceeded to ask if she and her group were in the area Zok was. "Actually, dear; yes, you are" Mrs. Johnson said in her normal voice, "while hiding in the alley, you and your group are out for a stroll; talking among themselves." In spite of himself, Joey couldn't help but sigh heavily with relief. As for Lori, she was given permission to say whatever she wished to her group members during this point of the game.

"Oh, okay...I guess, we'll just be talking about all the stuff that's happened so far" she stated, "maybe even think of another way to take the Scrying Gem from Fastred." While Lucy, Lana and Lola did agree with the idea; they also wished to discuss about Lyra Golden-Mane's proposal to Yoko. "Doesn't seem like the kinda priority you should be focusin' on" Mr. Grouse stated, "besides...ain't you two a bit young to be talkin' 'bout romance?"

While still trying to be respectable; Lola gave the old man a coy chuckle and proclaimed that she was an "expert" on romance, thanks to all the time she spent reading princess stories. "While this may be a fantasy world we are playing in, dear Sister; I do believe relationships are...more complex than how fairy tales choose to depict them" Lisa murmured, "but that's beside the point." In the end, the Council decided to allow both discussion ideas; while also asking Joey what he planned to do next.

"I remain hidden in my hiding spot" he replied, "I also try to listen in on what the people were all saying." With this, Albert asked the teen to roll two types of dice; one for Stealth and the other for Perception. "Hold on, Pop-Pop" Luna interjected, "I thought perception focused just on what a character sees, not what they hear."

Without hesitation, the Council assured her that the aforementioned roll works both ways; explaining that the term "Perception" applied with all the senses within D&D. "Word of warning, though" Rita said suddenly, "if your enemies get a high Perception Check...they'll be able to spot you right away, no matter how stealthy you are." Strange as it seemed, this warning from their mother caused all ten Loud Sisters to quiver with anxiety.

Meanwhile, Joey took hold of two D20 dice and shook them vigorously. After letting them roll, he let out a hearty cheer; proclaiming that he got high rolls for both of them. "To be specific, I got...a 19 for my stealth and a Natural 22 for my Perception" he explained, "which means I should be okay."

While the Council of Game Masters congratulated Joey on his rolls, Lori's group all softly complained about how "lucky" he was. But then, Lily suddenly started waving her hand frantically while chanting the words "ooh, ooh, ooh" out loud. "Silly Lily, you're not a monkey" Leni said sweetly, "you're supposed to be a wolf pup."

The littlest Loud groaned loudly with annoyance, feeling frustrated that her sister wasn't taking her seriously. That's when she picked up the dice from the table and exclaimed "Lily woll next...Lily woll next!" With this simple statement, everyone suddenly realized that a small yet grievous error had been made.

"Oh! We're so sorry, honey" Lynn Sr. exclaimed shamefully, "we forgot to let you have a turn." After each member of the Game Members offered up an apology, they offered Lily to try and roll the dice next. But first, they asked what she planned on doing for her turn.

"Do you wanna try and sniff around for anyone shady, Sis" inquired Lana, "is that it?" In response to this, Lily let out a happy yipping bark; just as she did many times before. "Uh-oh, this could mean bad news for me" Joey thought worriedly, "please, don't let her roll too high!"

Once more, Lily took the die in her tiny hands and lobbed it over her shoulder. It rolled across the table for four seconds until it stopped, revealing the number "16" on its side. "Very good roll, young lady" Principal Huggins said, "not a Natural 20 but still, it was a wonderful attempt." After this; Lily, through means of pantomime, said she wished to sniff around for any signs of trouble.

"You do just that, little pup" Albert said in his Karuk voice, "but while you do smell some odd scents in the area, your mistress claims that it's nothing more than the refuge piled up in the alley." With these words, Joey let out a soft sigh of relief; apparently happy that Lily was unable to locate him. "In time, you all leave the area" Rita said in her Eliana voice, "which grants Zok the opportunity to continue with his business.

(The Game World)

With cat-like grace and reflexes, Zok moved about as swiftly as he could through the bustling crowds. He briefly hid himself behind merchant stands, weaved through the streets and blended in with the townsfolk as best as he could. At the same time, his eyes darted about; anxiously searching for his target.

During said search, however; Zok found himself being unintentionally distracted by the townsfolk. While his face still remained hidden beneath his hood; anytime they caught glimpse of him passing by, the people greeted Zok with the same odd smiles and unnaturally pleasant murmurs of "welcome." "Dah! Humans had already made my scales crawl before" he hissed softly, "but these lot are...inhumanly polite."

After hesitantly giving several people a quick "hello" or a "good day," Zok rushed off as far away from them as swiftly as he could; finding cover between two houses. While there, he cursed softly at how the humans were distracting him from his mission. "If I don't strike soon, those strangers will be leaving this city and I won't receive my payment" Zok thought to himself, "where are they?!"

Suddenly, his small ear-holes overheard the soft strums of mandolin strings being plucked. Ever so silently, Zok crept out of the alley and spotted one of the minstrels close by. But it wasn't the human he saw earlier; that is, it wasn't the male human...it was a female.

Over at a small spot in the square, the minstrel known as Yoko Spring-Stepper was playing a soft melody for a group of children that surrounded her. To the left of her was a small flagon of cider, which had been partially emptied. This all gave Zok a much more fiendish idea than what he had before.

"In truth, it doesn't matter which of these manlings I poison" he thought sinisterly, "either way, it will still allow the blue blood to place blame upon the strangers and I will still receive my payment." With this thought in mind, Zok smoothed out his cloak and stepped out of the crawlspace as casually as possible. Upon doing so, he suddenly heard Yoko call out for a refill on her beverage.

This gave the lizard man just the opportunity he needed to strike. With great care, he approached the young minstrel and graciously offered to have her cup refilled for her. "Why, thank you for the kind gesture" Yoko said gratefully, "but...might I ask why you appear so overly dressed?"

It didn't take long for Zok to realize that the female was referring to his cloak. As such, he did his best to think up a response; one that he hoped the human would believe. "I...I'm from the western provinces, you see" Zok murmured, "my skin, it...well, it doesn't quite respond well with the sunlight in these parts; it burns easily."

At first, Yoko gave him a rather confused look; making her look as though she wasn't all that convinced by his story. But then, she looked beneath is left glove and caught sight of the stranger's wrist. It was rough, scaly and had a rather sickly looking color she had never seen before.

This was more than enough to convince Yoko that the stranger was "telling the truth." "Best keep your hood on, Sirrah" she said with a light bow, "and...might I recommend purchasing some oils to help ease your irritation?" With a light chuckle, Zok claimed he would consider the offer and thanked Yoko for her kindness.

After that, he reiterated his earlier request to have her flagon be refilled and Yoko happily accepted. With that done; Zok snatched the cup away, made his way towards the nearest drink vendor and requested a refill of cider. But upon receiving the cup, Zok saw that the server had the same odd smile the rest of the townsfolk wore; which filled him with a great sense of uneasiness.

After taking the cup away, he found cover in another alley and went about with the next phase of his plot. "I'm starting to wonder who it is I'm really meant to kill" Zok thought with a disgusted shiver, "whatever the blue blood's doing here to these humans...it seems far worse than what he claims the strangers are doing here." Not wanting to waste anymore time, Zok found cover someplace far from the square and resumed his work.

After carefully putting the flagon of cider down on the ground, he brought out his pouch filled with Iocane leaves and collected two of them. He was mere seconds away from adding them to the drink; when suddenly, he heard the sounds of barking from somewhere close by. With an angry his; Zok took hold of the leaves, dumped them into the drinking cup, plucked it off the ground and fled the scene as swiftly as he could.

Unfortunately; in his haste, he left his pouch behind on the ground.

(The Real World)

Back at the table, Joey is seen slapping his forehead in irritation; feeling rather annoyed at himself for leaving his pouch behind. "Don't sweat on it, dude" Becky called out from her end of the table, "you were in a rush and couldn't afford being spotted." Despite however reassuring his friend's words were, Joey still berated himself for his mistake.

"Look on the bright side, it's not like Lori...I mean, Ventris will know the pouch is yours" Leni said reassuringly, "wait...is that possible?" Almost immediately; the Council revealed that as a mage, Lori's character would be able to learn who owned the pouch. All it would take, according to Lynn Sr./Acheron was a successful Locator Spell.

"The only thing I can literally find that sounds anything like that is 'Locate Creature,' according to the manual" Lori stated, "but it says I would need to have actually seen the creature myself, in order for it to work." With this reveal, everyone started scratching their chins in thought; trying to think of a way to make the spell work for Lori. That's when Lucy raised her hand and asked if she could make a suggestion.

"Since there's nothing in the spell book or her spell sheet, I have a better idea that Lori can use" she stated, "why not have Lily (a.k.a. Lupa) track who owns the pouch instead?" After taking a moment to think it over, everyone agreed that the young Goth's idea was actually pretty sound. "There's just one problem with it" Simon interjected, "how can Lupa track a scent if there isn't one?"

Upon elaborating further, he explained that the Iocane leaves were supposed to be odorless as well as tasteless. Thus, it would be near impossible to track down the scent; in theory. "What you say is true, young hatchling" Mrs. Johnson said in her Agathe voice, "however...it is not the scent of the leaves Lupa will be looking for, it's Zok's!"

Before anyone could say anything else, the Council suddenly requested that Lily make a quick Perception Check. For most creatures within the game, such rolls were meant for situations where they were seeking out traps or clues within a room. But for a character like Lily's, a wolf pup, it would be used to measure her sense of smell.

The littlest Loud giggled happily with excitement, feeling eager to try another dice roll. "Okay, lil' pupster; here ya go" Clyde said adorably, "just give it a nice hard toss like you did before." Lily yipped softly like a puppy in response, held the die slightly over her shoulder and lobbed it forward.

Surprisingly, it rolled across the table a pretty good distance until it stopped just inches away from the Game Masters. "Hey-Hey! Nice throw there, Lily" Albert said in his normal voice, "now...let's just see how ya did." After closely inspecting the dice for a few seconds, the Game Masters were amazed to see that Lily had rolled...a Natural twenty-four.

The whole table suddenly broke out into a joyous applause at this, while Lori and the rest of her group stared at their littlest sister with utter shock. "The...T-That can't be legal" Lola exclaimed, "that kind of roll is almost impossible, the dice must be loaded!" At first, everyone felt shocked to hear the young lady say such things about her own sister.

But then, they quickly realized that rolling such high dice numbers was always a 50-50 chance. So, the fact that a baby of all players earned a twenty-four truly both shocking yet still quite impressive. Meanwhile, little Lily showed off her excitement in the most adorable way she knew; with a combination of cheers and joyful wolf howls.

"Okay, sweetie; calm down" Rita said kindly, "we've gotta move on with the rest of your turn, okay?" With this simple command, Lily's joyous giggling stopped and she sat herself upright like a trained housedog. Once more, the other players took a moment to softly gush at the little lady's behavior.

Afterwards, everyone went back to business and continued on from where they left off. "Thanks in part to your high dice roll, Lupa; you are able to easily smell a strange scent from the pouch" Lynn Sr. said in his Acheron voice, "it bears the faint aroma of swamp water, moss and...something else you don't quite recognize." Continuing from there, he explains that Lupa's canine senses are able to sense a "trail" of sorts; one that seems to follow off into town somewhere.

"A quick question for the Game Master Council, if I may" Lisa said while raising her hand, "when you say Lily 'sees a trail...' do you mean to say she sees footprints on the ground or are you referring to aromas she had come across from the pouch?" For a brief moment; the group of Game Masters stared at her in stunned silence, as if unsure of how they should answer her. It was here that Mr. Grouse, while (surprisingly) still remaining in character, provided a sort of "translation" of what Lisa said.

"Wolves, much like any hound, have stronger senses than most creatures; do they not" he inquired, "thus...in Lupa's eyes, she 'sees' a sort of 'musk trail,' one comprising of the aromas she discovered on the pouch mere seconds ago." The other players, the Loud Sisters and the Game Masters themselves all gasped in realization; finally understanding the meaning behind Lisa's egghead words. Meanwhile, the wee genius in question simply folded her arms in mild annoyance "that's what I said" under her breath.

In any case, Lori's group now fully understood the situation and the game continued on.

(The Game World)

While doing their best to blend in with the townsfolk, our band of adventurers proceeded to follow Lupa; who was sniffing about the air and ground ahead of her like mad. Ahead of her, the Frost Wolf pup's senses could seemingly "see" a sort of green trail; one that soon found its way off into the square. Behind her; Ventris (Lupa's friend and mistress,) the Tabaxi twins and the Kenku conjurer all followed behind Lupa as quickly as they could.

"Where the devil do you think she's going" murmured Ezra, "the pup couldn't have picked up on a scent that soon...right?" While feeling equally skeptical, Ventris still smiled at her comrade and assured him she had faith in Lupa. "Though she is only a pup, she's as good of a tracker as a fully grown Frost Wolf" she whispered, "we'll find whoever the pouch...I hope."

At that moment, Lupa softly yipped back to her pursuers; as if telling them not to dawdle. After that, her head suddenly perked up and she started inhaling through her nostrils much more deeply than moments ago. To Ventris, this meant that they were getting dangerously close to their quarry.

But just to be on the safe side, she presented the pouch to her familiar one final time; to ensure that she would not lose track of the scent. However, upon sniffing it for but a small second; Lupa turned her head suddenly with a wide-eyed expression. Then, those same wide eyes suddenly narrowed tensely and the wee pup let out small yet fierce growl.

"What is it, girl" whispered Ventris, "do you see something, is it the owner of this bag?" In response, Lupa let out another fierce growl and suddenly started to bark madly. Then, she pointed her nose off towards the center of the square; as if telling everyone that's where they would find the owner.

"But that's where half of the townsfolk is setting up for the festival" Shadow said telepathically, "how will we be able to find whoever owns the pouch in there?" Before anyone had the chance to think up any sort of ideas, Lupa suddenly darted off into the square. This caused many of the people present to gasp in alarm, while others almost tripped over themselves when Lupa crossed their paths.

Not wishing to make anymore of a scene, Ventris followed after her pup as quickly as she could; all while trying not to rouse suspicion among the townspeople. Much to her surprise, however; whenever she did happen to run by anyone, they simply called out in saying "it's quite alright...no harm done." Despite the supposedly pleasant tone in their voices, it all made the Elven mage shiver.

"Do not worry, humans" she thought, "in time, my friends and I will stop Fastred and free you from his tyranny." As Ventris continued to follow Lupa, her elf eyes looked ahead and saw something rather unusual; a figure dressed in a hooded cloak. Of course, this only seemed strange to her because of how much the stranger stood out from everyone else.

It was far too sunny of a day to wear such heavy garments and this figure seemed to be moving at a rather quick pace, almost as if they didn't want to be seen by anyone. Soon after, Lupa caught sight of the stranger and thus started to behave rather strangely.

First, the Frost Wolf pup's eyes narrowed tensely; then, her fur started to frizz up (which was typical for animals whenever they sensed some form of danger.) Finally, let out a vicious snarl and rushed towards the stranger as swiftly as her small legs would allow. "What the...What has happened to your beast, Ventris" questioned Ursa, "you best stop her before she..."

Just as she was mere seconds away from finishing her statement, both she and her comrades heard the sounds of vicious snarling and screaming from up ahead. It was then that they all saw Lupa, viciously pulling at the hem of the hooded stranger's cloak. In truth, they were amazed how she was able to hold them thusly; in spite of the pup's small size.

However; at the same time, this scene was causing many of the townsfolk to cry out fearfully (while the hooded figure hissed and growled at the pup in annoyance.) "Help...someone, help me" they cried loudly, "someone, get this blasted mongrel off of me!" At first, those surrounding the stranger and the pup truly wanted to help but they felt it dangerous to get in the way of a vicious animal.

Finally, after Lupa gave the cloak one final tug; the hooded stranger suddenly threw his drinking cup up over their shoulder. Mere seconds later, it fell to the ground with a "crash;" just inches away from Ventris' feet. The beverage from within the cup lay strewn on the pavement like a bloodstain, which seemed to "tarnish" the overall "perfect" look of the walkway.

However, Ventris had little time to focus on the issue; she had to get Lupa away from the stranger before she caused anymore of a scene. "No! Naughty girl, let him go this instant" she said sternly, "it's rude to attack strangers without reason!" Without any further delay, the She-Elf reached down and did her best to pry Lupa away from the stranger; while also trying to not harm them in turn.

While all of this was going on, no one seemed to notice that Count Fastred was approaching the scene with great haste. Beside him was Miss Yoko and her troupe of bards, the former appeared to have a look of vicious impatience on her face. "There he is, Your Lordship" she cried out to Fastred, "I asked that fellow in the hood to bring me my cider almost a half hour ago!"

While this would be a small issue to most; in Fastred's eyes, such tardiness was a tremendous offense towards his ideals of perfection. He believed that every merchant in his community should bring their wares to others punctually. Of course, when he saw the wolf pup "attacking" the stranger; the count realized what might've been holding him up.

His annoyance grew even higher, when Fastred saw the Elven mage holding the pup in her arms. "What is the meaning of this, She-Elf" he demanded, "why is your beast attacking my citizens?!" Just as Ventris was about to answer, she heard Lupa barking loudly; as if she was trying to tell her something.

(The Real World)

"Lupa continues to bark and yip at you loudly, Ventris" Lynn Sr. said in his Acheron voice, "while also nudging her wee nose over towards your hand." Before anyone at the table could ask, Lynn Sr. quickly reminded them that Lori's character still had the mystery pouch in her possession. But unfortunately, this didn't make the scene any less confusing for some of the other players.

"Hold on, guys; I think I've got an idea" Lana interjected suddenly, "maybe...the pouch belongs to the dude in the hood." Almost immediately; Lisa let out a soft scoff and proclaimed that in most "mystery scenarios," placing blame on the most "likely suspect" almost never worked out. "You're quite right on all points, youngling" Albert said in his Karuk voice, "however...there is much more to the stranger than you might realize."

It was here that he asked Lily to make another dice roll; this time, it would be for Perception. "To be more specific, I would like for you to roll this for your tracking skill" Albert stated, "the higher the number, the easier you'll find the scent you're looking for." After this, the Council requested that other members of Lily's group make the same roll (specifically Lori, Lana and Lola.)

Feeling both confused yet somewhat curious at the same time, the ladies why they were all chosen to do this. "The answer is simple, everyone" Principal Huggins said in his normal voice, "Each of your characters possesses senses that are far stronger than those of normal races/species in the game's world." As an example; he revealed that like normal cats, Tabaxis were able to see clearly in the dead of night.

"That's kinda, cool...I guess" Lola murmured with uncertainty, "but how would something like that help us here?" Rather than be bothered by the young lady's words, the Council chose to continue on with their explanation. It was here that they revealed how certain creatures had certain "racial traits" that granted them a sort of "edge" above some others.

"For example; Lily's character, Lupa is a wolf pup" Mrs. Johnson said in her normal voice, "and like any wolf or canine; they have a strong sense of smell." As the Council continued with their explanation, Lily's patience had finally ran out and she quickly made her dice roll first. Naturally, her four sisters felt slightly bothered this...but lightly shrugged it off.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Lily" Lori said sympathetically, "we'll keep going now...'kay?" For a brief moment, the littlest of the Loud Sisters/Siblings looked up at Lori with a sour expression on her face. Then, almost instantly; it turned into the brightest of smiles and she let out a soft wolf howl.

Once that was settled, the Council took a quick look at Lily's dice and saw that she rolled a 19; which seemed promising. "So, wolfling; tell us" Lynn Sr. inquired in his Acheron voice, "what do you plan to do with your nineteen roll?" Through the best method of pantomime she knew, Lily told the Council that she wished to "smell the spilled drink on the floor."

Surprisingly, this along with the matter of their characters' heightened senses inspired Lori and the twins to do the same thing. "You all do just that" Rita said with a smile, "firstly, Lupa gives the puddle of spilt cider a whiff...and suddenly recoils in disgust!" With this statement; everyone was both suddenly intrigued, a little nervous and just a smidge skeptical all in one go.

The first thing that crossed Lori's mind was the possibility that what "Lupa" smelt was nothing more than hard cider, which had an understandably rank odor to it. But then, she held that thought and decided to give her own dice roll; with Lana and Lola following suit. After careful examination, the Council concluded that both of the twins' characters received perfect 20s on their rolls while Lori's was one number short of Lily's.

In the end, all four of them had high enough numbers to go about the next phase of the game scenario.

(The Game World)

After Ezra took a knee, he ran his finger across the still moist splotch of wine and sniffed at the remnants slightly. Then, his sinuses were suddenly filled with two aromas; one strong (that being the apple cider itself) and another faint yet...unusual substance that seemed almost recognizable. "By my whiskers...what was that" Ezra hissed bitterly, "this cider's gone worse than sour!"

Feeling both curious yet confused by his words, Ursa followed her brother's actions and was prepared to smell the cider for herself. But then, Ventris told her to hold back for a brief moment; so that she could examine it for herself. "This is ludicrous" Count Fastred grumbled, "there is no sinister ploy going on, just someone doing one of your friends a kindness in bringing her a beverage!"

Ventris ignored the old man's ravings, however annoying they might have been and held her staff aloft over the puddle. Then, after chanting softly in her elvish tongue; the head of the staff started to give off a soft glow. Soon, that same glow passed over the spilt cider and for a few moments; everything appeared relatively calm.

Then, ten seconds later, everyone saw the strangest thing appear in the puddle; small white specks. "What the deuce are those things" Shadow murmured telepathically, "they look like...crumbs of some kind." No one seemed to know the answer, particularly the townspeople; who proclaimed that their cider had always been sold clean and fresh for generations.

"You see, there is nothing sinister at play here" Fastred cried out in frustration, "now...can we please stop with this nonsense and move along with the celebration?!" With that statement, the crowd came close to dispersing...had Ursa and Ezra not called for them to stay for a moment longer. "Please, this is important" the Tabaxi rogue insisted, "'tis but a theory...but I believe I know what these speckles are."

Without a second thought or a pause, Ursa explained that the strange specks were the remnants of a plant; one that was native to only the swamp lands...Iocane Leaves. "That's preposterous, you foolish feline" Fastred guffawed, "how can you tell all of this from only a few specks found in a drink?" These words utterly infuriated the Tabaxi female, who glared at the Count with a fierce snarl in her throat.

It was here that she revealed how, when she was young; her people taught her all the techniques she would require to be a successful fighter...including extensive knowledge on what type plant-life could kill or incapacitate others. "Even if your knowledge is vast on the subject, Madam; there is but one glaring and fundamental flaw in your theory" Lyra interjected, "everyone knows that Iocane instantly dissolves the moment it touches liquid."

While she knew that the bard's words were true, Ursa was quick to point out one technicality behind them. "Iocane does dissolve instantly within liquid, yes" she murmured, "however...this is only possible when it's ground up into a powder!" In addition to this, Ursa explained that unless they were prepared thusly; it would take much longer for Iocane to dissolve.

While still keeping his back turned and his hood up, Zok suddenly tensed up at this revelation; mentally cursing himself for his misstep. But just as Zok was about to make a retreat, he suddenly overheard the humans shouting at the Tabaxi female. "Are you suggesting that I poisoned the cider I sell...nonsense" cried the cider vendor, "everyone here has been sampling it all morning and as you can see, we are all fine."

Growing evermore frustrated in the scene before him, Fastred slammed the tip of his cane upon the ground; silencing everyone. "Enough with these mad allegations, you mangy feline" he growled, "you and your lot have been nothing but trouble since you arrived here!" As the count's rage started to grow, the jewel around his neck started glowing.

This caused many of the townsfolk to become fearful and unsure about what was happening. "I think it's best that you all leave here" Fastred grumbled fiercely, "your lot have caused enough trouble in our community!" Rather than be intimidated or bothered by the count's tone, Ventris simply stared at him intently; as if she was studying him.

It was here that she noticed how, despite however much he tried to appear intimidating, Fastred appeared to be losing his nerve. His brow was sweating, his nasal breathing sounded frantic and his arms quivered with a mix of fear and anger. To Ventris, this all boiled down to one conclusion; the Count was losing his nerve.

With all this in mind, she held her staff over the cider once more; hoping to find the one clue she needed.

(The Real World)

"The power of your scepter starts 'scanning' the remnants of the cider spill for further clues, Lady Ventris" Albert explained in his Karuk voice, "within seconds, you soon discover something on the broken cup pieces...green fingerprints." Almost immediately, the Loud Sisters questioned if the prints were green because of Lori's spell or from something else. To which, Lynn Sr. proclaimed that their latter suggestion was correct.

"But to make absolutely certain your theory is correct, you call Lupa to your side" he stated, "then, you ask her to smell the pouch you found earlier one final time." Upon hearing this, Lily let out a happy cheer while also hopping in her seat. Then, she picked up her dice and lobbed it across the table; just like she did before.

As it skipped along the table slightly, many of the other players softly expressed their doubts about the baby gaining another high roll like before. "If that lil' lady gets a Natural 20...I'll eat my shoe" Carol called out from the other end of the table, "I'll even get a selfie of it." After everyone took a moment to shake the aforementioned image/idea out of their heads, they soon noticed that the dice had stopped rolling.

As the Council took a moment to look at it, they saw that the dice had landed on...twenty! "WOW! Somebody's on fire tonight" Lincoln said with pride, "and...before you even ask, Leni; I don't mean that literally." After this; the Council explained that, after smelling the mysterious pouch, Lily/Lupa was able to a similar musk from the broken cup pieces.

Just as Lori's group was about to ask some questions, Luna stood up and proclaimed that the cup originally belonged to her. "My cup was running low on cider and a rather nice fellow offered to help refill it for me" she said in her Cockney accent, "I believe it was the chap in the hood that lil' wolf pup was attacking a moment ago." No sooner had this been said; Principal Huggins, while speaking in his Fastred voice, said that he quickly ordered several guards to surround Lori's group.

But before any of the council members could move the game pieces in, Lori urged them to stop and requested that she'd have a moment to speak with the "hooded stranger." "I ask him about the cloak he's wearing" she said bluntly, "I ask the stranger, 'why are you more overly dressed compared to everyone else here?'" In response to this inquiry; Joey, in his Zok voice, offered up the same explanation he gave Sam's character a while ago.

No sooner had all this been said, the Council suggested to Lori an idea she could use in a future turn; a Persuasion Check. It was here that they explained how the initial specifics of the roll. Whenever a character is denied something, wishes to gain information from someone who intents to learn some secrets; the higher the dice roll, the more persuasive they will be.

"Might I also consider possibly using an Intimidation Check" Mrs. Johnson suggested, "just in case the stranger doesn't cooperate with you?" Upon hearing this reveal, the other Loud Siblings suddenly felt a chill run through them. In that moment, they couldn't decide who would make the scariest use of an Intimidation Check; Lori, Lucy or Lola.

However, the ladies in question revealed they weren't planning on making any rolls just yet. Instead, they took the time to have a small pow-wow amongst themselves to discuss their next course of action. "I think we should be calm about this and roll for Persuasion" Lucy murmured, "the guy in the hood might not even be a genuine threat."

At first, Lana was willing to go along with the idea...until she remembered one important clue. "That pouch we found has the same musky smell that Lupa smelled on the broken cider cup bits" she stated, "for all we know, it could be his." Not too far away; Lola, her patience barely hanging on by a thread, suggested in going with the Intimidation idea.

"Just give me a few seconds with the stranger" Lola said with a fiendish grin, "I'll get him to talk!" After this, both sisters soon fell into a strong debate over what plan their team should go with. Things would've got a lot more heated between the two, had the council members not chosen to intervene.

With but two simple taps of their canes, the echoes reverberated throughout the room; causing both Lucy and Lola to go silent. "Now, then; what say you, Ventris" Rita said in her Eliana voice, "which action do you prefer to take...diplomacy or force?" For almost a minute and a half, Lori sat in her chair; scratching her chin and racking her brain to the point where she almost got a migraine.

Finally, she came up with an idea that would please both of her younger sisters (and possibly move things further along a lot quicker.) "First, we'll talk things out with the stranger" Lori explained, "if they don't cooperate...then and only then will you get the chance to do your thing, Lola." After everyone nodded and murmured in agreement, Lucy picked up her dice and gave it a gentle roll; receiving a solid 17.

"Okay, that was pretty good" Albert said in his normal voice, "now...what do you plan on saying to the hooded stranger?" At first, Lucy didn't answer; her mind lamenting on her failure to follow in Lily's footsteps and gain a Natural Twenty. But at the same time, she realized that a seventeen still gave her just a small push to try and peacefully persuade the hooded stranger.

(The Game World)

Slowly and carefully, Shadow approached the figure; assuring him that she meant no harm. "I only wish to ask you some questions, if it pleases you" she said telepathically, "to start with, is this bag yours?" After asking this question, the Kenku let out a soft outward squawk; which signaled Ventris to hand over the aforementioned pouch to her.

Upon seeing the item, the hooded stranger suddenly hissed and snatched it out of the elf mage's hands; startling the crowd. "What were you doing with this, eh" he asked apprehensively, "I imagine you thought there was money inside and you wanted to take it for yourselves!" As expected, this accusation caused many of the townsfolk to gasp in alarm; the bard troupe among them.

Meanwhile, Count Fastred hid himself in the back of the mob; all while bearing a sly grin upon his face. "Excellent, excellent" he whispered, "even if that Zok fails to kill the outsiders, the people will simply drive them out themselves!" With this idea in mind, Fastred decided to stand off to the side and "watch the theatrics unfold."

It was here that the adventurers continued in making a more peaceful attempt to help calm the hooded stranger. "We assure you, Sir; we mean no harm" Ventris stated, "my friends and I happened to come upon this pouch, moments ago while out on a stroll and wished to return it back to whoever owned it." Despite however sincere the she-elf's words were, the hooded stranger did not appear so easily swayed.

They did everything they could to make her and the rest of her compatriots appear to be the guilty ones. But alas, their argument did not seem all that convincing either; least of all, to the townsfolk. "If I could just interject for a moment" a woman from the crowd called out softly, "do you have an explanation for why your...pet seemingly attacked this fellow so suddenly, Madam Elf?"

Without hesitation; Ventris explained that when she and her group found the pouch earlier, it bore an unusual scent; one of swamp musk, moss and another aroma that not even she recognized. "Like any good tracker, my pup smelled the pouch and followed the scent" she stated, "as it turns out, the trail led us to the hooded stranger before us." With this reveal, the townsfolk suddenly grew rather suspicious; proclaiming that they were leagues away from any sort of swampland.

"Perhaps the hooded fellow might be sick" suggested Miss Yoko Spring-Stepper, "it might also explain the odd skin disorder they told me about." This bit of information left everyone feeling rather intrigued, none more so than Ventris; who gestured for the stranger to step forward. "If you are ill, Sir or Madam; my magic can heal you" she stated, "please...step forward."

All eyes soon fell upon the hooded stranger, after this; who appeared to be looking quite tense. For what felt like ages, they just stood in place; barely allowing himself to even breathe. Of course, this did not make them appear any less suspicious in the eyes of the townsfolk.

Finally, a vendor who sold healing wares threw caution to the wind and approached the stranger as cautiously as she could. "Allow me to offer one of my ointments to you, Sirrah" the vendor suggested, "it works well in healing both burns and irritations." Rather than be comforted or pleased by this offer, the stranger form appeared to grow tenser by the second.

But as they took a glance over their shoulder, hoping to find a way to escape; instead, they spotted Count Fastred looking at them from the back of the crowd. At the same time, the stranger also noticed the gem around his neck was glowing brightly; which filled him with even more dread. "Be still and hold your tongue, reptile" the count's voice growled telepathically, "if you value your life!"

On the one hand, the stranger (Zok) did not wish to displease the blue blood; still wishing to receive his payment. But on the other hand, he held no true loyalty to the human and felt that he was putting himself at too great a risk for a few pieces of gold. In the end, he decided to hold his ground; thinking that even if his identity were to be exposed, he could still fight his way out.

When Ventris finally came face-to-face with the stranger, she politely asked that they hold out their hands. "It won't take long, I assure you" she stated, "I only wish to have a quick look at your skin to see where the irritation appears most severe. The stranger simply grunted under their breath in reply, held their arms out towards the she-elf and gave them a slight shake.

This allowed the sleeves of their cloak to slide back slightly, revealing a fraction of their wrists for all to see. Ventris recoiled slightly in disgust, upon seeing the rough and...green pigmentation of the skin. But the people of Maravillosa appeared even more repulsed by this (with the exception of Count Fastred.) "This is no mere skin irritation, Madam Elf" said the ointment vendor, "it's...something else entirely."

Confused, Ventris took a few steps forward; eager to learn more about the stranger before her. But as she drew closer, she suddenly noticed something gleaming under the shadow of the suspect's hood; a pair of piercing blood-red eyes. With this small yet alarming discovery, Ventris' instincts told her that the being before her wasn't human.

With this in mind; she took hold of her staff, pointed it squarely at the stranger and urged everyone to move aside. "What...What is the meaning of this" cried Caden, "what has gotten into you, Madame Elf?!" Rather than answer the bard; with her eyes still fixed upon the stranger, Ventris loudly ordered for everyone to move aside.

"Whoever this stranger before us is, one thing is certain to me" she said tensely, "they are not human!" Rather than be alarmed or intimidated by these words, the stranger simply held their ground; glaring at her sternly beneath their hood. "If you wish to leave here in one piece, outsider; tell us" Ventris demanded, "who are you, where did you come from...and why were you attempting to poison Miss Yoko?"

For a moment or so, the stranger simply stood in place; arms aloft and remaining still as a stone. Finally, they gestured for Ventris to come closer; promising that they would confess everything. Of course, the Elven mage was not so easily fool and she gave one final command for the stranger to confess.

"Very well, I will tell you everything" they whispered softly, "but...you and your friends will have to catch me first." Upon saying this, the stranger drew his head back and suddenly spat at the she-elf's face; thus slightly blinding her. Afterwards, took the opportunity to flee the scene; roughly pushing aside several townspeople in the process (Count Fastred among them.)

Feeling both confused and bothered by this assault, the noble waved his fist angrily at the retreating figure and proclaimed that he would not receive even a copper piece from him. Of course, the mere instant these words passed his lips; everyone soon looked down upon him with perplexed glances and stares. "What was that, Your Excellency" questioned Lyra Golden-Mane, "are you implying that you're in league with that...thing?"

For a moment, Fastred said nothing; save for a few stammers and incoherent babblings. Then, when he saw everyone else glaring at him; the count glared at Lyra and proclaimed she had no right to speak to him thusly. "I think she does, my Lord" said one of the citizens, "and the rest of our people would like to know the truth as well."

Within seconds, all of the people of Maravillosa started to tightly surround their "exalted leader;" some looking quite bold and others still appearing rather nervous. It was here that someone from the latter group urged their fellow citizens to "be mindful" of whatever they planned to do next. Meanwhile, after seeing them attack one of her friends; Ursa chased after the hooded stranger with a ferocious growl.

All around the square they ran, startling many vendors and townsfolk along the way. At one point during the chase, the stranger made an attempt to elude Ursa by climbing to the rooftops. "Come back here, you coward" she shouted, "you think you can get away from me?!"

After crouching down slightly, Ursa gave a great leap upward and dug her claws deep into the stonework of one of the houses; keeping her rooted on the spot. Afterwards, she made her ascent to the roof; which filled the hooded stranger with a great sense of worry. "The Blueblood never said anything about a Tabaxi being one of my targets" they thought worriedly, "I need to move as far away as I can from her!"

(The Real World)

Back at the table, many of the players were cheering wildly with glee; appearing excited by the chase scene happening within the game. Meanwhile, Joey was creating so much friction from rubbing the dice so much; one swore they could see smoke seeping out between his fingers. "Well, young reptile; it seems as though you're in quite a pickle" Lynn Sr. chuckled in his Acheron voice, "how do you plan on alluding Ursa?"

With a nervous whimper, Joey first considered using a smoke bomb to distract her; which the Council of Game Masters allowed. Furthermore, after receiving a 17 on a quick dice roll Principal Huggins made; the move granted Joey the chance to perform a "Bonus Action." "Um...Real talk for a second, please" Lana interjected politely, "what exactly is a 'Bonus Action?'"

Upon asking this, the game went into a quick time out; granting everyone a brief free period to answer Lana's inquiry. "See...when you perform a certain spell, action or special ability; it grants you a chance to use a Bonus Action" Clyde explained, "it's basically, a sort of extra move you can make during your turn." Lana gave out a soft murmur of understanding, after letting all the info sink in.

But just as she thought she fully understood the concept, the Council revealed that specific races and classes had certain specific Bonus Actions. "Thankfully, Lola; both yours and Joey's classes are able to use such actions" Rita assured in her normal voice, "in which case...young man, what do you plan to do next?" From here, Joey explained how he planned on using his crossbow to fire a line across the way to another building; which would create a sort of zip line.

But unfortunately, while Joey was successful in making his shot; when the time came for his zip line escape, he earned a solid "1." "This right here, girls is what we in D&D call a 'Critical Failure'" Lynn Sr. explained, "whenever this happens, your planned course of action ends in the most embarrassing and sometimes painful of ways." It was here that Clyde added that getting such a roll was like having your most epic of fails being recorded on someone's phone/camera.

"Thanks for the info, guys; really" Lori said with a slight chuckle, "I think we've got the message." After this, Mrs. Johnson rolled a dice to see how much "Fall Damage" Joey's character received from his failed roll. Thankfully, it was only five; which meant that said fall was like the equivalent of a sprained ankle in the game.

"The enemy is down, adventurers; what is your next course of action" questioned Lynn in his Acheron voice, "do you plan on interrogating them...or do you wish to put the stranger out of their misery?" Without hesitation, Lori's group agreed to first unmask the hooded stranger for the entire village to see. To emphasize the moment, all the other players acted out the surprised/shocked gasps of the Maravillosa citizens.

"Next, I'd like to make that...Intimidation Roll thing you talked about earlier" Lola said with a sly grin, "now, the fun begins." After taking the dice in her hand, the wee Pageant Princess/Tabaxi Rogue shook it vigorously for almost fifteen seconds. Then, after she finally let it roll; a hush quickly fell over the table.

Soon, the whole world felt as though it was going into slow motion; as all eyes watched the dice roll across the table. When it finally stopped just inches away from where the Game Masters Council sat, they looked down upon the dice and saw that it landed on the number "24." "Well, would ya look at that" Albert guffawed, "you got yourself a dandy of a roll here, honey."

When Lori's group got the chance to see the number for themselves, they started screaming and cheering loudly with joy; even Lucy couldn't help but cheer for her sister's success. While this was going on, however; Lincoln couldn't help but smile and nod at his sisters slyly. "Yup, it's like we told them from the beginning" he thought, "one way or another...they'll start to get into the game."

When the cheering finally died down almost two minutes later, the time came for Lola to choose her next course of action. "You've made your Intimidation Roll successfully, youngling" Mrs. Johnson said in her Agathe voice, "how do you plan on getting your captive to talk?" Without missing a beat, Lola pulled out a nail file and softly rubbed it up against the claws of her paw gloves.

Afterwards, she held them outward in a sort of threatening stance and explained that she wanted to hold one of her claws beneath Zok's throat like a dagger...but only slightly. "You do just that, Madame Ursa" chuckled Mrs. Johnson in her Agathe voice, "and the slight pinprick of your claw against his neck creates just enough of a scar for some blood to seep out." Upon hearing mention of blood (which Joey later revealed was the color green,) the Loud Sisters suddenly grimaced with disgust.

Surprisingly (or rather, unsurprisingly) the only one who wasn't bothered by Lucy; who secretly wished that the players could actually use a blood-like substance in the game.

(The Game World)

Zok winced softly under his breath; both from the pain in his leg, the pain in his neck and the shame he felt from his failed escape attempt. The combination of all this left him completely at Ursa's mercy, who was growing evermore impatient from his continued silence. "Speak quickly, reptile" the Tabaxi growled, "why did you come here, why were you attempting to harm one of my friends...and who put you up to all of this?!"

At first, Zok felt the desire to try and lash out at his captor; thus granting him a vain attempt to escape. But after feeling the searing pain in both his neck and his leg, he soon realized there was no chance of him escaping again. With all of this in mind, Zok let out a vicious hiss and sent a fiery glare over at Count Fastred; who was now fully surrounded by his people.

"A pox on you, Blueblood" he shouted angrily, "you told me this would be a simple job...now, look what happened?!" This sudden outburst created quite a reaction from both sides. After hearing that he had hired a criminal to do someone harm in their own community, the townsfolk of Maravillosa looked upon Count Fastred with utter contempt.

Meanwhile, Ursa demanded to know more about the "job" he was hired to do; all while digging her claw deeper into the side of Zok's neck. "Why did you come here" she hissed, "what reason did the Count have in hiring you?" Rather than answer her, Zok made an attempt to try and shake the Tabaxi female off of him.

But the instant he did, a blue light suddenly coiled around both feet at the ankles and his hands at their wrists. This in turn pinned Zok onto the pavement, keeping him rooted on the spot no matter however much he struggled. "I'll ask you one final time" Ursa growled impatiently, "why did Fastred hire you?!"

Hurt, humiliated and bereft of any of the strength he had before; Zok had no choice but to confess everything. He told everyone about Fastred coming to the tavern outside of the city, how he came there looking for an assassin and of the specific targets the Count had in mind. After all this was said, the townsfolk couldn't decide which appalled them more; the fact their own leader would conspire against innocent strangers or that he would use their tax money to pay for Zok's "services."

But regardless of however angry they were with him, there were some among Maravillosa's citizens who still refused to act. Of course, Ursa knew full well the reason behind their hesitancy and felt that now was the opportune time to tell the truth. "People of Maravillosa, hear me" she exclaimed, "you have no reason to fear Fastred, he's nothing but a low-born liar and a thief!"

At first, the people looked to one another slightly while murmuring amongst themselves; acting as though they believed Ursa's claims. But when they saw the bright glow Fastred's jewel; they gave in to their fear, once again. "My sister speaks the truth, everyone" Ezra shouted, "he has no real power, it's the gem; we can take him!"

To prove himself, he took hold of his druid staff and charged toward Fastred; intending to strike him where he stood. But at the near last second, the count sidestepped slightly and swung at Ezra's legs with his cane. This attack swept the Tabaxi druid off his feet, causing him to roll across the pavement into a nearby fruit vendor stand.

"Fool! You think charging at me wildly would've helped you" Fastred chuckled, "now...to punish you accordingly, both for your interference and spilling all this fruit!" As the count began to strike Ezra soundly with his cane, the townsfolk suddenly grew apprehensive and they demanded that he stop. "Be silent, you witless fools" Fastred seethed angrily, "you should know by now that anyone who acts out of line must be disciplined!"

With that, he resumed his earlier thrashing towards Ezra; all while shouting out loudly that "his rule was law." "I will not let you or your fellow criminals destroy what I have created" growled Fastred, "I will have order, I will have perfection, I will have..." Just as he was about to both finish his "decree" and deliver his next blow, a tomato suddenly struck the count square in the face.

This distraction granted Ezra the right moment to escape and return to his colleagues. "Thank you for that, everyone" he said with a soft wince, "if I let him beat me for much longer, that wretch would've broken something." While they appreciated the show of gratitude; Ventris, Ursa, Shadow and even Lupa confessed that none of them threw the tomato.

Just then; Fastred gave out another cry of annoyance, when he felt another tomato strike him in the face. This time, however; it turned out to be a rather rotten one. "Who would dare insult me like this" the count demanded, "show yourself or risk your life!" In response to this, he was struck by another item; a large fish, to be precise.

Then, the party looked ahead and saw that it was the townspeople attacking him; using whatever items they had at their disposal. "Stand down, my Lord" the innkeeper demanded, "they were right, you're just an old man...you have no real power over us." Desperate to regain his authority, Fastred dusted himself clean of any food stuffs and clenched his hands upon his Scrying Gem beneath his coat.

With as much ire he could muster, he ordered the people to stand down. "Go on, then...do your worst" he urged defiantly, "who wishes to be the first to try and take me down!" At first; the people felt hesitant in answering his call, still believing that he might have some sort of "supernatural" ability to protect him.

But then, the fruit vendor resumed his earlier tomato barrage; achieving at least one or two direct hits. It was here that Shadow suddenly got an idea of how to bring an end to this battle. "We must all attack at once" she instructed telepathically, "the Scrying Gem cannot anticipate too many thoughts at one time!"

At first, her comrades believed that the idea was too risky to attempt. But they soon realized that with the way things have escalated so highly, now felt like a golden opportunity to attempt it.

(The Real World)

Back at the table, Lori's brow was dripping with so much sweat that it looked like she was melting away. After taking a moment to let her calm down, the Council asked what her team's next course of action was. "Okay...Could you give me a sec, please" Lori requested, "I just need to look up something quick."

Without any further delay, she picked up her character sheet and started looking around for anything that could help her team's situation. In time, Lori found something that was not only familiar to her; it would also give her just the chance she needed for success. "Okay...on my list of spells, I have something called 'Flashbang'" she murmured, "I know what that is...but what does this part about a 'Saving Throw' mean?"

After taking Lori's words into account, the Council explained that Saving Throws were a way for a character to help "protect" themselves from certain attacks or circumstances in the game. "In this case, you will need to make a Wisdom Saving Throw for your Flashbang attack" Rita stated, "the higher your result, the quicker you'll be towards protecting yourself from being blinded by the light." No sooner had this been said, Sam suddenly found herself singing Blinded by the Light by Manfred Man under her breath.

Seconds later; Luna, Ruth and George felt compelled to join her...but only for a few brief seconds. When the group saw the impatient looks on everyone's faces, they quickly fell silent and urged everyone to proceed. "Anyway...first, Lori; you'll need to roll a D16 for your Wisdom save" Mrs. Johnson explained in her normal voice, "after that, roll a D4 to test the strength of the flash."

Lori nodded slightly in response, took hold of the D16 dice and rubbed it so hard between her hands that people swore they saw smoke seeping out between her fingers. After almost two minutes of waiting, Lori finally sent the dice rolling across the table; all while hoping she'd get a high number. "C'mon...C'mon, show me something good" she thought desperately, "if you do, I promise; I won't mock the game anymore...for the rest of the night."

As if Fate had heard her "prayers;" after the dice had finally stopped rolling, the Council looked at it and announced that Lori had received a "14." Naturally, this sounded like pretty good news to her...until Lori remembered the second dice roll she had to make. "Thanks for the save there" she thought to herself whilst looking up towards the heavens, "now, can you give me the same blessing a second time?"

Much to Lori's slight disappointment, she was met with only silence after her "prayer." However, after she had made her second roll; everyone was shocked to see that she gained yet another successful throw. "Congratulations, Madame Elf; your Flashbang attack proves most effective" Lynn Sr. said proudly in his Acheron voice, "however...due to your Wisdom Save being a fourteen and gaining a four on your secondary roll, you are also blinded by the flash...but for only a brief moment."

At first, Lori felt worried that she made some sort of mistake, after hearing the first half of her dad's words. But once she heard the second half, she let out a mixture of a sigh of relief and a sort of "it figures" kind of groan afterward. In any case, the Council revealed that the Flashbang attack was just what her team needed to catch Count Fastred off-guard.

"Me next, let me go next" begged Lola, "I take out something from one of my belt pouches, something the manual calls...caltrops or something." Upon mentioning this, she opens up the manual and shows everyone an image of the aforementioned weapon; which (to many players) seemed to look like a collection of jacks. "Excellent choice, young lady" Mrs. Johnson praised in her normal voice, "the moment people step on those buggers, they won't be able to run any farther from you."

After this, Lola took hold of her dice and made her attempt to gain a successful Dexterity Save. Much to her delight, she received an fourteen; which, while not a , still meant that Count Fastred would be subjected to quite a bit of foot pain. "After losing his footing from stepping on the caltrops, the Count falls hard to the ground" Albert said in his Karuk voice, "who will be the next to attack?"

Without a moment's pause, Lucy answered the call; explaining how she planned on using "Sleep Spell" to knock out Count Fastred. "An excellent choice, Young Kenku" Albert chuckled while still in-character, "of course, instead of rolling one dice; this requires you to roll five dice at one time." This revelation came as quite the surprise for the young Goth, who, as anyone else would, questioned how she'd be able to roll so many dice in her hands.

"Don't you worry none about that, Missy" Liam interjected, "just use this here cup to shake 'em." After being handed the item in question, Lucy and her sisters looked into the cup and saw eight dice inside of the cup; each one a different color and having the same odd shape. "Why do all these dice thingies look so weird" Lola asked, "I'm still used to the white ones we use for normal board games."

While making sure to not use up too much time in doing so, the Council decided to offer up a quick reply to the young lady's inquiry. "Every dice in Dungeons & Dragons has several different sides" Rita explained in her normal voice, "we do have some square ones for this game as well...but all others have sides that range between six, eight and of course, twenty." After this, Mrs. Johnson explained how the dice they brought out for this turn was mostly used for light weapon attacks.

However, at the same time; it would also be used whenever spellcasters would perform any kind of attack. "The reason we're using so many at once for this turn is to test how strong your sleep spell will be" Rita explained, "see, such magic can affect anyone and everyone within a twenty foot radius." Upon hearing this information, Lucy couldn't help but smile; thinking that such a spell would be useful whenever she would be attacked on multiple sides.

Finally, she took hold of the cup and began to shake it vigorously; creating a noise that sounded like a can of peanuts was being shaken. When she let the dice roll along the table, seconds later; the Council took a moment to add each number shown. In the end, they revealed that Lucy's spell proved very effective and that Count Fastred fell fast asleep where he lay. "Take heed...the effects of this spell last for only a minute" Huggins said while in character, "whatever you plan to do next, make it quick."

Not needing to be told twice, Lori's group quickly went to work. The first thing they did was remove the count's gem from his neck. Then, they asked for someone amongst the townsfolk to help bind his hands together; only to be met with (according to the Game Masters) total silence.

(The Game World)

Fastred awoke almost an hour later in a daze, his head throbbing painfully and his body aching with discomfort. After taking a moment to wipe the sleep from his eyes, the count took immediate notice of his surroundings. Instead of his lustrous estate; he was confined within a jail cell, sitting upon a cot and dressed in rags.

Confused by all this, Fastred prepped himself to leap out of his bed and call out to someone for answers. But the instant his feet touched the ground, a painful stinging sensation suddenly coursed through him. Upon examination of the soles of his feet, the count noticed several small scars and splotches of dried blood.

It was here that he suddenly realized what must've happened to him and Fastred grew quite livid, as a result. "Those strangers must've done this to me" he growled bitterly, "they've ruined everything; my society, my perfect city and now, they've brought be back to the gutter!" With these thoughts in mind; Fastred vowed to exact his vengeance upon the adventurers, someday...once he found a way out of his imprisonment.

At that moment, a door opened in the farthest corner of the room, bathing (and blinding) the disgraced count slightly in sunlight. Afterwards, a guard entered the jail and stared at Fastred silently with a look of pure contempt. Not long ago, soldiers such as this were once under his command; doing whatever possible to keep out the rabble from Maravillosa.

Now, Fastred no longer held authority over the city; thus making the guards all free folk. The sight of this warrior filled the count with a mixture of anger and mild dread (though he would not show such feelings openly.) Finally, after a long period of stone-cold silence; the guard spoke to Fastred.

"My apologies for disturbing your rest...Your Grace" she said softly, adding a slight growl to the last two words; "you have a visitor, they insisted in coming to speak with you in private." This news was quite surprising to Fastred, who wasted no time in asking the guard if she was being too lax with her job. "Firstly, you are no longer in any position to criticize my way of safeguarding prisoners" sneered the guard, "second, you are no longer a threat without that jewel of yours; thus...I have no reason to worry."

Upon hearing mention of his precious Scrying Gem, Fastred looked behind the guard and spotted it upon a nearby desk. The sole thing that made him superior to those around him was but only four feet away. But so long as he remained imprisoned in his cell; to Fastred, it may as well have been halfway across the globe.

With a reluctant groan, Fastred plonked himself upon his cot and asked the guard to send in his visitor. Though, in his mind; he didn't know who would want to come and see him in such conditions. "Who else could've known about my imprisonment" pondered the count, "perhaps it's the strangers coming to gloat or...who knows what else."

While Fastred was left alone with his thoughts, the guard approached the door and gestured for the visitor to enter before returning to her duties out in the square. Once the door closed shut, Fastred eased his head up slightly to gaze upon his mysterious visitor. They were dressed in a hooded black robe with red and violet flames at the hem of their sleeves.

The hem of the hood had several holes and small tears upon it, the robe itself was quite tattered and dirty. But when Fastred heard the figure breathing, it filled him with a great sense of horror. "Filthy beggar, stay away from me" he exclaimed, "have the townsfolk sent you here to contaminate me with the Plague?!"

Rather than take offense to his harsh language, the strange visitor simply gave out a soft cackle. In an instant, Fastred noticed that the stranger's voice sounded almost female; save for the raspy tone. "Is that any way to speak to an old friend, Your Grace" the stranger murmured in disapproval, "least of all one who gave you such a wondrous gift?"

No sooner had she said this, the hooded stranger approached the table and picked up the Scrying Gem in her wrinkly hands. Of course, Fastred took this as a sign of "disrespect" and was prepared to proclaim her a thief. But then, when he took a good look at her holding the Scrying Gem; his mind suddenly burned with surprise.

"It...It's you, you're the old woman who gave me the gem so long ago" Fastred exclaimed, "but why are you here, where did you come from?" Much his surprise, the stranger slowly raised her hand up and silenced him; telling Fastred that how she came to be there wasn't important. "You disappoint me, Human" the stranger said softly, "I gave you this gemstone thinking you would be a worthy ally in my cause...instead, you use it to force your people into building roadways and smile 'pleasantly' all hours of the day."

Offended by these slurs against him; Fastred demanded to know who the stranger was, why she came to "his city" and what she intended to do with his gem. "I'm afraid this bauble is no longer yours, Fastred" the stranger said firmly, "it is my creation and I intend to reclaim it." Instantly, the count noticed an odd tonal shift in the stranger's voice.

Instead of sounded sickly and haggard; it was more sultry, younger and above all, viciously displeased. Of course, Fastred's first assumption was that they were simply one of the members of the adventuring party; coming to toy with his fears in his hour of defeat. But when he saw the fierce glow of the stranger's eyes beneath her hood, that idea swiftly faded into dust.

"You need not concern yourself with those four fools, Human" the stranger stated firmly, "I shall deal with them very soon." With that said; she bid Fastred a "good day," retrieved her Scrying Gem and made her way out the door. "What...that's it, that's all you came here for" Fastred shouted, "you insult me, belittle my endeavors with my city and steal from me?!"

Just as she was within arm's reach of the doorknob, the stranger froze where she stood. Then, after a while; she looked at Fastred over her shoulder with the fiercest of glares. "You are correct, milord" the stranger murmured softly, "there is one last thing left for me to do."

After safely placing the Scrying Gem into her left pocket, the stranger brought out another item from within her right sleeve; a magnificent orb. Not long after that, a beam of light shot forth from it and pierced deeply into Fastred's chest. Although it did not pierce through him; within seconds, the count suddenly felt the life slowly drain away from his body.

Time and again, Fastred cried out loudly for someone outside the prison to come save him; only to be met with the people's cold remarks in reply. Overtime, his screams became breathless and raspy; as if all the air was being sucked out of him. When Fastred glanced down at his hands, he choked out a horrified gasp when he saw them become withered and wrinkly.

Soon; his body grew thin, his hair fell from his head like snowflakes and his heart pounded violently in his chest like a war drum. Finally, after making one last futile attempt to call for help; Fastred felt his chest tighten and he fell over dead on the floor. Afterwards, the hooded stranger's orb finally stopped glowing and she quickly hid it away within her robe once more.

"The strangers Fastred spoke of could prove most bothersome for me" she murmured bitterly, "but...it is of no consequence; one by one, they will all kneel before me."

(First AN: Good News/Bad News Time! The good news is Ventris and her compatriots have finally exposed Fastred for the liar he was, thus freeing Maravillosa. The bad news is the worst has yet to come on their journey and with Fastred's sudden..."departure" at the hands of this mystery figure, who knows what could happen.

On the plus side, it looks like Lori's younger sisters *four of them, at least* are really starting to get into the swing of the game...except for Lori herself. How long will it be until she finally embraces her inner nerd, what will happen in the next part of the campaign and when will the rest of the Sisters get their chance to shine?

Tune in next time for the next exciting installment of Dungeons, Dragons & Dames)

(Second AN: Sorry this chapter's so long and that it took me so long to write it. I wanted to make certain that the mystery aspect here was intriguing, authentic and engaging enough for my readers to enjoy. I love reading and watching mystery stories but I'm not that skilled in creating them, unfortunately)

(Third AN: To all the D&D players who read this chapter, I apologize if I got the info wrong during the Wisdom Saving Throw scene. I did my best to find information that would help clearly explain how the process works. But from what I could find, I did what I could to explain it during Lori's flashbang attack.

Again, I'm sorry if I got the information wrong; I did the best I could)

(Forth AN: Iocane is neither a real poison in the world nor is it one featured in D&D. It is featured specifically within the book and the film version of The Princess Bride; which is under the complete ownership of Fox, Rob Reiner and the book's author, William Goldman *or S. Morgenstern in the story's continuity.* I've seen a YouTube series where D&D players could use certain pop culture characters within the game; though, I'm not certain how they achieve this.

When I needed to think up a poison that wouldn't be so easy to track, Iocane was the best idea I could think of)

(Fifth AN: Just to inform you; although the character of Count Fastred is now...deceased, Huggins will still be portraying his part as Game Master Fastred. Just thought I'd point this out for everyone)

(Final AN: In regards to Sam's character of Lyra Golden-Mane proposing to Luna's character in the game, don't you worry none; that part will be seen somewhere in the next chapter)