A Shocking Victory
(The Real World)
When we last left our players, Lori's group had just begun their duel against Lynn's Loxodon character. Lucy's spell work provided a passable distraction, the dagger barrage delivered by Lola's Rogue barely left a dent on her opponent's shield. But despite this poor attack, it gave Lana's druid the perfect opportunity to wrap his thorny vines around the Loxodon's ankles.
Sadly, this move didn't hold Lynn down for very long; which left the next moment of attack up to Luan. Alas, her poor attempt at dodging Lynn/Velra resulted in not only her weapon snapping but also in her landing rather unceremoniously on top of her. But in spite of this, the collision did manage to inflict ten points worth of battle damage on Lynn.
Now, all eyes had fixed themselves squarely upon Lori; who was already clutching at her mage staff so tightly, it looked libel to snap. "What say you, Mage" Lynn Sr. inquired in his Acheron voice, "what sort of strategy do you have in mind?" At first, Lori offered no reply; possibly due to shyness from having so many people staring at her.
But then, albeit begrudgingly, she glanced at her character sheet and went about debating on which cantrip to use. Finally, she decided to use Firebolt as an attack against Velra. "Ah, an excellent choice" Carol proclaimed from halfway across the table, "when playing a wizard-type character, you can't go wrong with a fireball."
Upon hearing his friend/legal guardian say this, Lincoln chimed in and quickly reminded her that Fireball was a level 2 kind of spell and Lori had yet to master Level 1. "Thank you so much for the info, dear brother" murmured the eldest Loud Sibling dryly, "I'll make sure to log all that away." No sooner had she made this comment, Rita wagged her finger at her in an authoritative manner and urged for her to be nice.
With a heavy sigh, Lori rescinded her earlier comment and thanked Lincoln for his earlier comments. "Regardless, I see two different spells with the word 'fire' in their names" she explained, "what's literally the main difference between them?" Much to the young lady's surprise, the Council not only accepted her question but proclaimed it to be an excellent sign of her doing game research.
Afterwards, they went on to give an explanation behind the two spells in a way they hoped she would understand. "You see, Lori; the Firebolt on your sheet acts like a sort of...straight shot kind of attack" Albert explained, "kinda like firin' a bullet made of flames." Much to her own surprise, Lori was nodding slightly to her grandfather's words; looking as though she was actually listening to him.
Soon after, Mrs. Johnson quickly chimed in and explained that a Fireball spell was slightly different from the bolt one. "Think of it as a sort of...fiery grenade" she stated, "even if it hits the ground, the resulting explosion will still cause your opponents to fly up into the air." Once again, Lori found herself nodding slightly in understanding; taking mental notes on everything she just heard.
Yet somewhere deep in the back of her mind, her subconscious teenage pride was practically screaming for Lori to not look so invested...but she didn't listen. "So, what say you" Huggins inquired in his Fastred voice, "do you still wish to use Firebolt as your first attack or do you have something else in mind?" After taking a quick glance at her paper, Lori felt that none of the other 1st Level cantrips or spells would help with her situation.
Thus, in the end, she went along with Firebolt; hoping it would do something good. "Very well, then" Rita said in her Eliana voice, "for this spell, you will need to make a Spell Check roll for us." Lori's eyes darted from side-to-side for a moment until, at last she had found the dice in question on the table. She picked it up, held it in her fist and gave it a good lob along the table.
When it finally stopped mere inches in front of Paige, she glanced down at the die and cried out the number "sixteen" in a most gleeful voice. "Excellent work, young lady" exclaimed Mrs. Johnson while she clapped her hands, "now...begin with your Saving Throw, Barbarian." As she picked the dice up from the table, Lynn cast a quick yet firm glance at her eldest sister; as if telling her to watch herself.
(The Game World)
Velra watched as the small spark of flame formed over the tip of the she-elf's finger. Though her warrior pride assured her there was nothing to worry about, she still did the wise thing and readied her shield. When the fire bolt was finally set loose, not only did it hit the wide shield with great force but it also pierced straight through the metal.
Alas, Ventris saw that her aim had been altered at the last moment and only managed to fire through the bottom left corner. But the force of the hit did manage to knock Velra back ever so slightly; which surprised everyone. "Hmm...it looks as though this one still has fight left in her" Gunari murmured, "let us see if she and her friends can last long against the champion."
After that, he gave a wave of his hand and commanded for the real fighting to begin. Velra smiled widely beneath her trunk while giving a soft yet wicked chuckle of delight, as if expecting this command. Then, after tossing her shield aside, she plucked up her axes from off the ground and charged forward like a raging bull.
The Party gawked fearfully at the sight of the oncoming tusked barbarian until Ventris ordered for everyone to quickly dodge. Alas, Mituna found it difficult to do so due to her great size. This in combination with her earlier leg injury made it all the grimmer for her. Her only option left was to retreat within her shell, hoping it would shield her enough from Velra's charge.
Meanwhile, the crowd roared with a series of cheers or vicious jeers; the latter of which harbored many a vicious comment towards Mituna's capabilities as a fighter. "Look at that cowardly reptile" proclaimed one spectator, "crawl back to the swamps where you belong," cried another. Then, all too quickly, their jeering turned to gasps of shock when Velra's mighty tusks suddenly struck Mituna's chest.
The force of the collision was so great, it sent her flying halfway across the arena floor before colliding up against the back wall. A loud "crunch" echoed fiercely, causing many of Cicero's people to cry out in disgust. But while Fatima felt pity for the young Tortle bard, the emperor beside her simply reveled in the carnage below.
"OH-HO-HO-HO! What a glorious sight" chortled Gunari, "I haven't had this much fun at the Games since last winter, when that boastful knight from Ravenswood had his arm cleaved off!" Poor Fatima wanted nothing more than to cry out in protest towards her captor's crude behavior. But when she caught sight of the jewel glowing brightly on her collar, she had no choice but to hold her tongue.
"Strangers...I hope you have a plan" she thought worriedly, "you will need one in order to remain in one piece after this squabble, let alone survive it." Back in the arena; Mituna, though still dazed, had somehow survived Velra's charge. Yet she suddenly felt a somewhat stronger pain in her chest than she did from her leg wound.
Upon seeing their comrade in such a state, the rest of the Party rushed to her side with great speed. But just as they were within arm's reach of Mituna, an ax suddenly flew by; barely missing their hands by an inch. With a fierce glare in her eyes, Ventris turned to find that it was Velra who had thrown the weapon.
"Don't think I've forgotten about the rest of you" growled the Loxodon, "time to see what the rest of you are capable of!" With this proclamation, Velra collected her remaining ax and charged forward; giving off a battle-cry that was a mix of her trunk trumpeting and her own mouth ululating. Thinking quickly, the remainder of the Party dispersed and collected whatever weapons they could find lying about.
"Ventris, go to Mituna and use whatever healing skills you have on her" Ursa ordered, "we'll deal with the barbarian!" Not wishing to argue, Ventris rushed speedily towards her fallen Tortle comrade; who was clutching at her chest slightly in pain. She quickly examined the wound and saw nothing quite so severe, only a few small cracks in her shell.
Still, she wanted to make certain her friend was safe and quickly went to work.
(The Real World)
Back at the table, Lori is seen shaking a piece of dice vigorously between her hands; giving the sort of side-tongue mouth expression Lynn often showed during games back home. After seeing how swiftly Luan's character got knocked aside, her big sister instincts kicked in and she was determined to help her. Of course; in the eyes of the other players, they saw this as Lori getting more and more invested in the game.
"Now, sweetie; remember...your class doesn't normally practice Healing magic the same way Clerics do" Rita explained, "so, why not let Luan take a crack at this?" Upon hearing this suggestion, Lori stopped herself so suddenly that she came dangerously close to chucking the die across the table. Upon recovering, she couldn't help but give her mother a slightly frustrated expression that seemed to say "way to cut it close, Mom."
"If I can't help heal Luan; can I, at least put up some sort of shield" she asked, "I don't want Lynn to literally kick us when we're down." The crowd soon broke out into a light echo of applause, not only for Lori's choice of action but also for the fact she used her favorite word in the correct fashion. Once the clapping died down, seconds later, Albert (in his Game Master voice) reminded Lori that shields were more commonly used as an "automatic defense" if a player were suddenly attacked.
"You raise a valid point, Dad" Rita commented in her normal voice, "but given the current situation Lori's in right now, I suppose we can let her use the spell...just this once." This verdict caused the young teen to let out a sigh of relief, thinking as though she saved herself from a bad situation. It was here that Lori's inner teen pride reared its head once again, thus forcing her to "come back to her senses." "Just...keep going and try not to look like you're enjoying yourself" she thought firmly, "because you're not."
Not wanting to waste any more time, Lori resumed shaking the dice in her hands and threw it along the table. When it finally stopped in front of Joey, he gave a slight frown and proclaimed she only got a nine. "Oooh! This is not good" murmured Mrs. Johnson while sucking through her teeth, "you create a decent shield around you and Mituna...but it won't stay active, if Velra makes a charge towards you."
As if thinking this was her cue to play, Lynn scooped up the dice and proclaimed that she wanted to make a charge straight for Lori...just to test out her shield. "Not so fast, lil' lady" Mr. Grouse interjected, "your sisters still need to take each of their turns next." While she knew the old man spoke the truth, Lynn still couldn't help but sulk bitterly over being denied her chance to do something "epic."
"Don't worry, girlfriend; you'll get your chance" Margo assured, "we all will."
(The Game World)
"Quickly, everyone" Shadow ordered telepathically, "while Ventris attends to Mituna, we must distract our opponent as best as we can!" Not needing to be told twice, the Tabaxi Twins took immediate action with Ezra volunteering to make the first diversion. While he knew his abilities wouldn't work quite as strong without his staff, Ezra had more than enough druidic spells to deal with her.
Meanwhile, Ursa looked about the sand for any sign of discarded metal lying about; anything sharp she would find useful. That's when she caught sight of a broken piece of a sword buried three inches deep in the sand. "Excellent" she whispered while collecting the blade, "now, I just need Ezra to..."
Just then, Ursa's train of thought was swiftly halted by a sudden sand blast. While doing her best to shield her eyes, she looked over her shoulder and saw that Ezra was the cause of it all; thanks in part to an Air Gust he summoned. As the sand blew about, several specks of it suddenly flew into Velra's small eyes; momentarily blinding her.
Once the Loxodon was distracted, Ventris was given the ample opportunity needed to aid her fallen friend; who still appeared rather wounded. "Remember, my powers aren't quite so strong with this sort of magic" she said matter-of-factly, "but I hope it will be enough to help you." Mituna nodded slightly with a grin, heaving out a sigh while the cooling touch of the healing magic flowed through her.
Back with the others, they were busily conceiving a defensive strategy while Velra still stumbled blindly about. "We need to think of an idea and fast" urged Ursa, "that barbarian is libel get her eyesight back soon." No sooner had this been said, Shadow squawked loudly to gain everyone's attention.
Afterwards, she gestured for Ursa to hand over her broken sword piece. Upon being given the item, the Kenku proceeded to place a hex on it. "Fat lot of luck that lil' trinket will serve us, witch" hissed Ursa, "how do you expect to hurt Velra with it?" Shadow made no reply, she simply glanced at her comrades with a look; one that insisted that things would work out in the end.
(The Real World)
"Just...lemme see if I can understand this, honey" Lynn Sr. murmured softly, "you're absolutely sure you want to attack Velra with just the broken sword piece?" Much like her character, Lucy offered no response (verbal or otherwise.) She simply gave them a smile, one that seemed to assure everyone that she knew what she was doing.
Deciding to trust in her judgement, the Council of Gamemasters granted the young Goth girl permission to go with whatever plan she had. Meanwhile, her siblings simply stared at her with looks of utter bewilderment; wondering what sort of things were going on inside their sister's head. Speaking of whom, while Lucy went about formulating her plan, Lori and the others were left to deal with Lynn's character on their own.
Lana attempted to use her gust attack again, this time wanting to blast Velra halfway across the arena floor to give Lori more time. Sadly, she got a "4" on her dice roll; which made her attack feel about as strong as an old rotary fan's breeze. Lola attempted to use her Rogue's agility skills to make Velra dizzy, somehow.
But while she did manage to achieve this, a quick Saving Throw from Lynn immediately put a stop to the Rogue's fancy footwork. "Looks like the only ones left to stop Velra are you, Lori and Luan" Albert said in his normal voice, "Lucy...ya sure you wanna wait till last to make your move?" The young Goth only nodded and gestured for the others to continue without her.
This left only Lori and Luan to make the next moves but nobody knew if they were able to yet. "Hold on, give me just a sec here" the latter Loud teen said while flipping through some notes, "I know I'm still sort of injured" she said uneasily, "but I can still use my abilities on people...right?" Wishing to give his daughter the benefit of the doubt, Lynn Sr. asked what sort of idea she had in mind.
"I remembered taking some notes about Bards when we first started playing" Luan explained, "and...I was thinking I might use this 'Bardic Inspiration' thing on my Abilities list to help Lucy out?" For a moment, no one among the Game Masters Council offered anything in response. They didn't even question Luan on her knowledge of what the ability does.
Instead, they brought this question up to everyone else; hoping they, too would be familiar with Bardic Inspiration. "OOH! OOH! I KNOW" exclaimed Rusty while waving his arm up high, "with musical notes or even the simplest words, Bardic Inspiration allows Bards to gain...an extra oomph to whatever actions they plan to do." In addition to this, the young Spokes teen (dressed like a dwarf) said that this ability also gave one's party a little sliver of extra courage when they need it most.
"It can be whatever ya want" he said enthusiastically, "a song, a wink or just a bit of positive re-enforcement; Bardic Inspiration makes any of those things powerful." Luan sat silently in her chair, after that; mentally processing everything she had been told just now. Finally, she had just the idea in mind to help move things along.
First, she had Mituna (albeit weakly) turn her head in Shadow's direction; where she chose to give the Kenku a few words of encouragement. "'I know things seem dire now, my friend...but don't lose hope'" Luan exclaimed while using her character voice, "you can do this, we believe in you.'" "A bit simple but still rather effective, nonetheless" Huggins murmured with approval, "this gives Shadow just enough points to help her along with her Hex."
(The Game World)
As Shadow continued channeling her hex into the broken blade, her comrades did everything they could to keep Velra away from her. But without their own weaponry, they could only do so much. Midway into the match, Ezra placed his hands upon the arena's soil; hoping to summon more vines to slow the barbarian down.
But due to the overall chaos of the fight, he found it rather difficult to properly concentrate. So, as a last resort, he summoned a reasonably-sized bonfire in the middle of Velra's path. "I'd like to see the brute withstand this" the druid thought with a cocky grin, "even her thick hide couldn't possibly..." Ezra's train of thought came to a halt, when he heard the unmistakable shrill of Velra's trunk sounding off.
Then, he watched in horror as the mad warrior suddenly ran straight through her fire. The way the flames clung to her tusks and arms gave her the look of a demon charging straight out of the black pits. But just as it seemed Ezra was about to be trampled down, Ursa quickly tackled her brother out of the way. "SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU BLASTED FOOL" she hissed at her brother, "I have no intention of dying yet...least of all in this place!"
With that said, Ursa pulled her brother up from the dirt and ordered him to take a proper defensive position; vowing to cut off his tail if he failed to do so. Meanwhile, Ventris appeared to be on the brink of exhaustion while still tending to Mituna's sore spot. As she told her comrades before, healing was better suited for the hands of a druid; even with her magic being as strong as it was.
"I hope that will be enough" muttered Ventris between heaving breaths, "can you...move at all, Mituna?" Ever so slowly, the Tortle pushed herself onto her knees before standing up as carefully as possible. When she finally got up onto her feet; Mituna, despite feeling a brief dizzy spell, seemed right as rain.
"Now...to business" she muttered, "I only pray my abilities will be enough to assist Shadow." With all the inner strength of will she could muster, Mituna looked to her Kenku comrade and cheered heartily. Upon doing so, her whole body from the tip of her beak to the tips of her claws seemed to shine with positive energy.
This same glow swiftly passed itself off onto Shadow, seconds later and it help give her magic just the extra kick it needed. Finally, her hex had been enacted and the broken blade was pulsating with black energy. "Quickly before the spell fades" Ventris called out weakly, "throw it at Velra!"
(The Real World)
Back at the table, everybody was practically on pins and needles with anticipation; wondering what Lucy planned to do next. Meanwhile, the Game Masters revealed that using the Hex had left her character feeling somewhat weak (much like Lori's did during her turn.) As a result, she had to do something called a "Strength with Disadvantage;" which involved rolling two D20 at the same time.
"Whatever end number you receive, that will determine how strong your throw is" Albert explained in his normal voice, "the disadvantage will make your throw weaker, depending on the number you roll." Although even now, all the math stuff within the game still made Lori's head feel sore; a small part of her hoped she would get a decent enough dice roll. She reached to her side, picked up each of the two D20s and shook her hands as if she were waving a pair of invisible maracas.
When she finally set them both loose, her group watched nervously to see what numbers they would land on. One dice stopped just inches away from Whitney's line of sight and she cried out "got an 8 over here" while the other stopped in front of the Game Masters. With a firm look in his eyes, Lynn Sr. eased his head down slightly to get a better look at the dice.
When he got a close enough view, he held up three fingers on his left hand and cried out "THREE" in a most dramatic tone. "Okay, I'm literally doing my best to follow along here" Lori uttered uneasily, "is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Surprisingly, it was Lisa who chose to provide the necessary explanation this time around; not the Council.
Making sure to use words that were "easy" enough for her sister to understand; the young genius explained how the dice roll made Lori's sword throw look "as awkward as lobbing at their dog, Charles. "As blunt as the lass' words may be, I'm afraid she's right" Albert said in his Karuk voice, "as a result, the blade spins awkwardly through the air towards Velra; granting her the ability to catch it." To say the least, Lynn was left rather surprised by this turn of events and decided to do exactly that.
Of course, being the natural sportswoman she was, Lynn decided not to leave anything to chance and asked what sort of roll she needed to make. "That would be a Dexterity Throw, young lady" Mrs. Johnson replied almost immediately, "to remind you, this can be used for both dodging attacks and catching any objects being lobbed your way." Junior nodded slightly in understanding, thanked the teacher for her tip and plucked up the D20 from the table.
Afterwards, she proceeded to shake it between her hands so vigorously that it sounded as though she were shaking one of Lily's old rattles. When Lynn finally let the dice fly, it bounced off the board at one end of the table and flew all the way over to the other side. Thankfully, no miniatures or displays were damaged when it fell.
But the impact the dice made almost put a hole straight through the table's surface. Every eye fell onto the young jock, each one looking either mildly bothered or slightly angry with her. "Uh...heh-heh. Sorry about all that, folks" Lynn muttered uneasily, "I don't know my own strength, sometimes." No sooner had she said all this, Lori couldn't help but comment under her breath; muttering "wish your character had this strength during your turn."
(The Game World)
"The hex has been enacted" Shadow called out telepathically, "quickly, someone launch it at Velra!" Not wanting to waste the spell; Ventris leapt towards the broken sword piece, plucked it off the sand and lobbed it towards Velra as hard as she could. Alas, she soon felt rather winded and fell to the floor with a groan.
"GAH! Healing Mituna took more out of me than I realized" wheezed Ventris with a cough, "I need to make this quick while I'm still able!" With this, the she-elf gathered all the strength she could muster and threw the dagger towards Velra. At the same time, the Loxodon was in the midst of a standoff against Ursa; who had somehow been able to hold her ground with naught but a pair of shortswords.
The two strained and struggled for what felt like ages, attempting to make the other lose balance. It was here that Ursa caught sight of the oncoming dagger and leapt away, almost causing Velra to lose balance. "What's this...giving up the fight already, feline" she said with a laugh, "about time you realized that you..."
Velra's speech came to a sudden halt, the moment she also caught sight of the dagger flying her way. But unlike Ursa, the Loxodon stood her ground with a coy smile and raised her hand; catching the weapon near effortlessly. "HA! Were you hoping to take me down this easily, Elf" she said boastfully, "it will take more than a broken blade to do that!"
Rather than feel intimidated by Velra's words; Ventris, her strength having finally returned to her, eased herself up onto one knee and smiled at her. Soon after, the rest of her comrades did the same and even Shadow let out a soft yet joyous squawk of victory. This of course, made Velra feel quite irritated, and she demanded to know why everyone seemed so proud of themselves.
"The dagger wasn't our attack, barbarian" Mituna giggled softly, "look at your hands...and you will see." Annoyed and slightly confused, Velra took a glance at her right hand; at her opponent's behest. That's when she noticed an odd splotch on the center of her palm, pulsating brightly with a purple glow.
For a few short seconds, Velra almost dismissed this as nothing; thinking it was some form of a bruise she received from punching one of her other opponents earlier. But then, she noticed how this purple splotch started to spread wider across her palm. Twenty seconds more and it moved over each of her fingers, then her forearm...then up to her elbow before she finally started to feel worried.
"What...WHAT IS THIS" cried Velra, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY ARM?!" Ventris chuckled softly at the Loxodon warrior's demeanor and proclaimed she had no hand in what was happening. This prompted Shadow to appear by her side and smile coyly. By the time Velra was able to learn the truth, the burning sensation in her arm had grown so intense she wished to lop it off with one of her own axes.
To say that the people of Cicero were shocked to see their champion be reduced to such a state would be a gross understatement. Emperor Gunari was particularly vexed (if not troubled) by the sight of this unforeseen turn of events, but he did well to keep himself composed. Eventually, the odd purple glow had moved its way up to Velra's right shoulder and the burning sensation now felt like a hundred suns blazing.
"MAKE IT STOP...I BEG OF YOU" she cried loudly, "I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, JUST...MAKE THE PAIN STOP!" Despite being momentarily shocked by the warrior's change in behavior, Shadow still felt proud of the desired effect of her Hex. After taking a moment to adjust her cloak, she approached Velra and started making a series of odd gestures with her wings.
(The Real World)
"Okay, Luce...we get it, you beat me" Lynn grumbled dejectedly, "now, can you stop with the weird bird victory dance already?!" As the camera panned over to Lucy, it's revealed that she was making the sort of gestures her character did within the game. Of course, she neglected to make the point of explaining what she would do beforehand.
Thus, in the eyes of everyone around her, Lucy looked as though she were either flapping her fake wings or doing some sort of bird dance. When she finally noticed their looks, Lucy let out a dry "groan" and proclaimed she was trying to talk Velra into surrendering. "OH! Is that it" exclaimed Leni in realization, "why didn't you say so earlier...and I mean it, Shadow has that stone thingy that helps her speak telephonically; right?"
Upon letting her sister's words sink in, Lucy realized her small error and blushed lightly beneath her long bangs. With this in mind, she decided to use Leni's suggestion and demanded that Velra surrender. "I mean...if my character created the hex, she could just as easily lift it" she said matter-of-factly, "seems like a fair trade, doesn't it?"
The Game Masters took a quick moment to speak amongst themselves, after this; as if debating how to approach Lucy's idea. This carried on for almost two minutes, which made the young Goth girl feel rather anxious. When the Council finally broke apart and returned to their seats, each of them shook their heads in unison.
"We're so sorry, young lady...but not even the caster can remove their own hexes" Mrs. Johnson said sullenly, "only Clerics have that kind of ability." Upon hearing mention of this, Lily (of all people) was suddenly struck by inspiration. Soon, she started hopping on her seat and was waving her tiny arm frantically; desperate to gain someone's attention.
"Okay, okay; we see you, sweetheart" said Lynn in surprise, "what is it that you wanna tell us?" Alas, Lily was unable to express her idea fully due to her somewhat limited vocabulary. After all, she may have been a clever toddler but she was still a toddler, nonetheless.
So, she did the only thing she was able to do; she performed a series of gestures in Leni's direction. "OOOH! Are we playing charades, now" the teen gasped gleefully, "can we do that before we head off to bed for the night?" With a disgruntled grunt, Lily slapped her tiny hand over her face and tried to think of another way to get her point across.
That's when she caught sight of the Monster Manual, which held all the info on every creature character within the game. Thinking quickly, she leapt atop the table and proceeded to waddle her way towards the book; much to the surprise of the other players. "Careful not to step on our minifigs, Sis" urged Lana, "or break the models."
After a short while, Lily finally made it to the book and went about flipping through its pages until she found what she was looking for. Feeling curious, Lori took a glance over her sister to see what was going on. That's when she noticed her tiny hand pointing at the Cleric illustration on the page she found.
"Hold on a sec, everyone" Lori proclaimed, "I think Lily's saying that Leni should be the one to make the next move." The moment this was revealed, not only did all the other players finally understood what the littlest Loud was trying to tell them but Lily couldn't help but clap proudly at her small victory (no pun intended.)
Meanwhile; Leni, after having been put under the spotlight, found herself feeling rather nervous. "Don't feel so scared, sweetie" Albert said sweetly while giving her a reassuring hand pat, "it's no different than when your character healed everyone in the stockade some turns ago." Despite her grandfather's words, Leni still felt anxious about having to step up; thinking that a failed dice roll might kill off her sister.
"Uh...Sis, it's just a game" Lynn said bluntly, "I'm not really gonna die, if you mess up." While everyone else agreed with the jock to a degree, they still urged her to be mindful with her words regarding a fellow player's uncertainty. It was here that both Lincoln and Lily decided to help calm her down by performing some breathing gestures.
Their plan seemed to have worked, much to their surprise for Leni was soon reaching for her D20 after taking only four heavy breaths for comfort. "Okay, girl...just remember, there's no pressure" Leni thought nervously, "just shake the dice...a-and hope for the best."
(The Game World)
"I SURRENDER...YOU'VE WON" Velra cried in distress, "PLEASE, TAKE THIS CURSE AWAY!" Despite however much she wanted to, Shadow let out a sullen squawk and shook her head; her own way of saying she did not know how to remove her own hexes. By now, the purple glow had moved its way up to Velra's neck and it looked as though it had become much brighter than before.
For the first time in her life, be it as a warrior among her people or a champion of the arena, the Loxodon showed genuine fear for her own life. Meanwhile, the people of Cicero were shouting with vicious outrage upon hearing Velra proclaim her submission to the New Blood gladiators. Among those displeased was Emperor Gunari himself, who had already felt irritated by the Party's persistence earlier.
At his side, Fatima found herself in great distress; not just by the poor state Velra was in but by the shock she felt at how quickly the people had turned against their hero. "I must do something" she whispered, "of all the people here, Velra showed me the most amount of respect I deserved." After making a cautionary glance towards Gunari, Fatima closed her eyes tightly and...she vanished in a flash.
The next moment she reappeared; she was standing right beside Velra in the arena, much to the crowd's surprise. "W-What? What is the meaning of this" demanded Gunari, "get out of the arena and let the match continue, Fatima!" Despite however much her body quivered with anxiety, the young half-djinn held her ground and refused the emperor's command.
Further, she proclaimed that the match itself had gone on for far too long and she refused to see the fighters suffer further. "I am putting a stop to this nonsense here and now" decreed Fatima, "and I shall start by healing Velra's hex." With that, she took a knee at the champion's side and took her hands in her own; channeling her healing magic through them.
While both Velra and the Adventuring Party silently admired the jinn for her bravery; the same could not be said for the people of Cicero. Outraged by this sudden interruption, many citizens started booing Fatima while others chose to lob and throw whatever remained of their food. "What right have you to deny us our entertainment, creature" cried a woman from the audience, "leave the arena and let the slaves fight!"
No sooner had this been said, Gunari reached into his robe and pulled out a jewel that hung from a necklace he wore. When the Party caught sight of the jewel, they noticed how it resembled the same one at the center of Fatima's collar. But before any of them could speak a word about this, they suddenly heard Fatima crying out in horrible pain.
"I warned you, time and again, never to cross me" growled the emperor, his jewel now pulsating a blood red; "now...you will die here with your precious slaves!" The people suddenly roared loudly with cheers, as if agreeing with their leader's mad notion. Meanwhile, the Party wasted no time in trying to think of some way to help Fatima.
"If only I had my staff...I could easily pull that gem out of Gunari's grasp with Mage Hand" Ventris murmured, "or you could use your bow to shoot it out, Ezra!" While he wholeheartedly agreed with each of the she-elf's notions, Ezra reminded everyone that their gear was still under lock and key.
That's when Velra, now fully cleansed of the Hex, suggested that they use a different tactic.
(The Real World)
"So, Junior...what's your plan" Lynn Sr. asked in his normal voice, "how do you want to do this?" She didn't know why but, in that moment, for some strange reason; hearing her dad's question filled Lynn with a great sense of excitement. But much like Lori, she chose to keep it buried inside of her...just a little bit.
After taking a moment to calm herself down enough, Lynn went about explaining her strategy. "Okay...here it goes" she began, "Lola's Rogue character is really awesome at throwing stuff, right?" As if expecting this, many players (even the Game Masters themselves) sounded off in understanding.
Once she got their attention, Lynn went on to explain her plan; which involved Lola's character throwing something at the necklace that carried Gunari's jewel. "Hold on, Lynn...how could Lola possibly throw an object that far with that kind of accuracy" Lucy called out, "wouldn't she require a bow like what Lori suggested earlier?" In response to all of this, Principal Huggins (now assuming his Game Master role) explained that Rogue characters were widely regarded for their pinpoint accuracy.
"Indeed, comrade" Mrs. Johnson chirped in her Agathe voice, "with the right roll of the dice, a Rogue could make even a dagger throw as accurate as an arrow shot." Just as Lori's group felt as though things were looking up, the girls suddenly heard their mother's voice calling for their attention. It was here that she added that while Mrs. Johnson's words rang true, a Rogue still needed to be in close enough range to make such a strike.
"Oh! Is that it...doesn't sound too bad at all" chuckled the wee pageant princess, "is there a way I could move to a point where I'm...not too far yet still not too close to Gunari to make my attack?" With broad smiles upon their faces, both Loud Parents went about showing their daughter exactly where to place her minifig on the board. Unbeknownst to them; while all of this was going on, Lori was drumming her fingers on the table in boredom.
"Just when I thought we were almost out...we're literally thrown back into the boring stuff" she thought in annoyance, "at the very least, it's almost ten; which means it will be bedtime and will be out in the real world for another week!" While Lori sat in her seat, mentally contemplating on what she planned to do until next Friday night, Lola was ready to make her move. Once hers and Lynn's idea had been properly laid out, the Game Masters instructed her to make two individual dice rolls; one for Perception and the other for Dexterity.
"Perception helps your character's aim focus at just the right way" Clyde explained from the far end of the table, "while Dexterity determines how strong and careful your knife-throwing skills are." Lola nodded slightly in understanding, thanked "Clyde-y" for his information and plucked up her D20. She shook and rattled it between her hands for what felt like an hour before finally sending it across the table. When it finally stopped just inches in front of Cici, the young pre-teen gave an Orcish cry of joy before shouting the number "TWENTY-SIX!"
"YAY! Lola got 26" Lily cheered while clapping her tiny hands/paws, "dat good, right...26?" Everyone chuckled adorably at the wee Loud lass' inquiry and proclaimed that this dice roll was beyond good for Lola. But they decided to let the Game Masters help explain it all. "Yes, well...because of this high Perception roll; you, Ursa have a clear view of the necklace in Gunari's hand" Lynn Sr. explained in his Acheron voice, "you don't even see a need to tell any of the guards near the emperor to get out of the way."
In spite of herself, Lola couldn't help but do a brief victory dance for her success but stopped when she saw all the eyes looking her way. Next, she made a roll for Dexterity and she hoped that good luck would come to her twice. "There is no way Lols is gonna make this attack work" Lynn snorted, "if she does, then...I'll eat my gym socks and I'm talkin' about the sweaty ones I wore during last Tuesday's Paintball game at Camp Mastodon."
After taking a moment to wipe the image of her sister eating socks out of her mind, Lola continued shaking her dice. When she finally sent it skipping across the table, she crossed her fingers so tightly that it was a miracle they didn't snap off. Surprisingly, not only did the dice roll all the way across the table; it bounced off the board and skipped all the way back to Lola's side.
"HEH! Lil' lady doesn't know her own strength" Albert chuckled heartily, "now, let's have a looksee at what'cha got." With bated breath, several players (even Lola) glanced down at the dice to see what number it revealed. When they finally saw it; the whole room suddenly echoed with thunderous cheers, laughter, mad screams of disbelief and even a few players calling out phrases like "HOLY CRUD!"
As it turns out, luck was definitely on Lola's side that night and she managed to gain a second "26" dice roll result. "SHENANIGANS! I CALL SHENANIGANS" Rusty called out from his end of the table, "this was a one in a million dice roll situation...and Lola uses it on this?!" While no one disagreed with the Spokes boy's disbelief, everyone was still very proud of Lola on her success.
As for the Game Masters themselves, three out of five of them had to wait almost a minute and a half to let their initial excitement subside; they were so proud. Meanwhile, Mrs. Johnson and Principal Huggins strove to be more "dignified" in their praises (on the outside.) On the inside, however; Huggins' brain was like a supercomputer going into overload due to his initial shock and excitement.
As for Mrs. Johnson, she volunteered to help give a description of the in-game scenario while still giggling like a schoolgirl. "Okay...Okay, so...you aim so carefully that, even though there are guards near Gunari, you still have a clear shot" she explained giddily, "then...you pick up the broken blade you used moments ago, aim it just right and hurl it high up!" The whole time she was explaining everything, Mrs. Johnson used all manner of expressive body language to get her point across.
Needless to say, this was the most energetic any of the Loud kids had seen a teacher behave. When the moment came to describe how Lola's shot succeeded, she asked for Kotoro to stand beside her for a moment. "Okay...Okay, okay; here it goes" she giggled, "so...you throw the blade upwards; it seems to swoosh loudly through the air before it finally makes contact with its target."
At first, everybody half-expected the blade to cut through the chain of the necklace. But instead, Mrs. Johnson revealed that due to Lola's Perception roll; the blade managed to hit Gunari's hand instead. To demonstrate, she lightly slid her fingers along the side of Kotaro's thumb; symbolizing the sword blade cutting along the surface.
Upon hearing this reveal, Lola wasted no time in performing another short victory dance. At the same time, the other members of her group couldn't help but join in...all except for Lori. But while she continued to keep up her indifferent facade, she couldn't help but give the smallest of smiles to her young sister for her success.
"Okay, I know that this is a moment for celebration" Clyde said suddenly, "but...given that my character is a dwarf, I feel obligated to say 'THAT STILL ONLY COUNTS AS ONE'" Within seconds, every player at the table suddenly burst out laughing at the boy's quip; remembering how a character from King of the Rings said a similar line.
Needless to say, Lola's idea worked and (as explained by the Game Masters) Gunari lost his gem. "With the chain broken, the jewel falls down towards the ground below" Mrs. Johnson said in her Agathe voice, "where it suddenly shatters upon impact!" To emphasize this, Lynn Sr tagged in and proceeded to perform a series of exploding hand gestures while also minicking the sound of glass shattering.
Meanwhile, Lola and Lana hugged each other closely while bouncing with cheerful glee at their victory. At the same time; Luan was whistling loudly, Lucy gave a soft yet pleased grin, Lynn Jr. was whooping it up like a mad football fan and Lily simply clapped while giving a series of happy giggles. As for Lori, her own small smile grew ever so slightly across her face but she tried her best to hide it from everyone.
(The Game World)
The instant the gem shattered, bolts of red lightning surged out from the one that remained on Fatima's collar. It crackled and sparked violently, causing the half-jinn to double over in pain while clutching her hands around her neck. "Quickly, we have to help her" ordered Ventris, "see if any of you can remove that stone without hurting Fatima!" While no one denied the severity of the situation, very few among the Party seemed eager to risk their lives in attempting to remove an unstable magical object off a living being.
But much to their surprise, it was Velra who chose to make such a risk in their stead. After unceremoniously shoving Ventris aside, she clasped one of her mighty hands around the glowing red jewel and pulled. While this transpired, the people of Cicero jeered loudly at the gladiators for "stalling" the match while also telling them to "let the emperor's pet die."
"Let her suffer, Barbarian" Gunari shouted from his seat, "it's what she deserves for defying mine and the people's wishes!" Ignoring the crowd's jeers, Velra continued to struggle and strain while pulling at the gemstone; which seemed to be fused to Fatima's collar. Finally, after bellowing out a mighty blast from her trunk, Velra gave one final pull and the jewel popped right off.
After using so much force to remove the gem, the Loxodon barbarian suddenly flew backwards onto the ground; as a massive burst of red energy bellowed forth. This energy (which the Party assumed must have been the magical buildup from the gem) passed over the arena floor, up onto the stands and phased over every citizen present. Thankfully, no one was harmed and Fantima herself seemed to still be alive.
Once the gem was in her possession, Velra found herself gazing upon it with great intent; as if contemplating. "So...this is how the emperor kept you in check, eh" she murmured, "must be some very powerful magic." Fatima offered no reply, her body lay motionless upon the ground.
Fearing the worst, the Party rushed to her side and searched for any signs of life from the young jinn. Finally, Fatima let out a heavy gasp for air as her body shot upright mere seconds later. "AHH! WE'RE TOO LATE, THE GEM KILLED HER" Ezra cried fearfully, "QUICKLY, KILL HER BEFORE SHE HUNGERS FOR OUR FLESH!"
Ursa grumbled loudly with annoyance at her brother's poor choice of words and was prepared to discipline him soundly for it. But she was far too focused on Fatima's sudden revival and asked if she was okay. "She's fine, a little winded after what I've done...but fine" Velra assured, "now, you outsiders best take a few steps back."
Not wanting to be told twice, the Party heeded the barbarian's instructions and retreated several feet away with Fatima in toe. Then, they watched in silence as she placed the gem upon the sand and retrieved one of her axes. The crowd couldn't quite tell exactly what their champion was doing but Gunari had an idea about it all.
"I won't let her do this...I won't" he growled, "GUARDS, SURROUND THE CHAMPION AND STOP HER BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!" For a moment, Gunari felt quite proud of himself; believing that his soldiers would have both Velra and the others in custody. But to his surprise, every guard (both in the stands and down in the arena) remained where they stood.
"Why are you all standing about" seethed Gunari, "apprehend the Outsiders and bring our former champion here!" Yet again, the emperor was surprised to see his soldiers remaining fixed where they stood. Although they and his guard were duty bound to serve him, there was something about the present set of circumstances that put that duty into question.
"With all due respect, sire...whatever that jewel was doing to Fatima, it was killing her" said the captain, "you cannot expect us to incarcerate our champion for saving someone's life." Soon after this, several other members of the guard cried out in agreement while also questioning their leader's support in Velra. To say the least, this sudden turn of events left the party feeling quite shocked.
(The Real World)
"Mere seconds later, several members of the townsfolk suddenly rise from their seats; sounding off in agreement with the royal guard" Rita proclaimed while in character, "this comes as a surprise to you and your party members due to the fact they were calling out for your deaths mere seconds ago." After taking a moment to process everything over, Lori couldn't help but agree with her mother. How could the people of Cicero be so fixated on her group's death, one moment and start questioning their leader the next.
Then again, she quickly realized how people have been known to become swept into the heat of the moment. There were times when she and her sisters were guilty of this very thing. Regardless, Lori immediately brought this up to the Council and awaited their response.
"This kind of thing happens a lot in sporting events, sis" Lynn interjected, "believe me...I've been there." There were many affirmative murmurs and responses from all around the table, be it from family or friends. The Council were among the voices who agreed with Lynn's words, her parents in particular.
"Besides, dear; Gunari is starting to become rather unhinged at this point" Albert stated, "and even the most die-hard of supporters can't help but question their leaders whenever they start actin' strange." All these responses seemed satisfactory to Lori and yet, she still wondered how this would help her group get out of their situation.
That's when Leni took a stand and proclaimed she had an idea, which was often rare. "I was reading the part in the book talking about my character the other day" she began, "and it said Clerics could call upon the power of whatever holy deity they follow...right?" The Council of Game Masters nodded while murmuring in agreement, while also congratulating the young lady for studying her gaming manuals.
Of course, Huggins felt tempted to comment on how he wished children like her would put equal effort into their schoolwork as well but chose to hold his tongue. Instead, he added that as a Jinn; the powers Leni's character had been given a bit of an extra boost. This, of course filled Leni with an immense excitement and she wasted no time in asking what she could do
"Well...that's just it, Miss" Liam murmured uneasily, "accordin' to the manual, there ain't never been half-genie/half-cleric type characters in the game before." In addition to this, Lincoln clarified that the only known character type with genie-like powers were those of the Genasi variations. "But isn't there something in the section about half-djinn that Leni can use" questioned Kat, "I think I read something about such characters having a fire-based cantrip."
Upon hearing this suggestion, Lucy suddenly had an idea. Through whatever divine connections her Cleric character possessed, Leni could use the cantrip Kat mentioned as a sort of holy fire. "That does sound like a neat idea there" Leni said warily, "but...how's that going to help me?" No sooner had she said all this, who should happen to pop on to the scene than Mrs. Bernardo; who was still dressed in her crier's uniform.
With her usual over-dramatic bravado, the drama teacher proceeded to try and inspire Leni on what to do next. "Picture it in your mind, my dear" she stated, "the carnage of the arena battle, the jeers of the crowd, the knowledge of all those poor souls suffering down below...tell us, how does it all make you feel?" For a moment or so, Leni's mind did exactly as she was instructed.
With her eyes clenched tight, she did her best to imagine the carnage and pain that was described in the game's current scene. The real clencher were the images of her sisters' characters being in that struggle. Overtime, small tears started trickling down the young teen's cheeks; which caused many players to worry.
"Hey, now...don't cry, hon" Chaz said sweetly, "remember, this is only a game." After letting out a sniffle, Leni smiled warmly at her boyfriend and thanked him for his care with a blown kiss. Afterwards, she assured everyone else that she was okay; simply overwhelmed with emotion. "I think I know exactly what to say, though" Leni said firmly, "is it still my turn?"
With mild looks of surprise on their faces, the Game Masters looked to one another for a brief moment before turning back to Leni and nodding silently. Afterwards, Leni went about describing her plan...to use her "Holy Fire" to somehow, burn away the shakles of all the slaves down below. "That's...a very big move to make, sweetie" murmured the old man warily, "ya sure you wanna do it?"
Leni gave her grandfather a confident expression while also sharing a thumbs up with her sisters, as if telling them her plan would work. But before she did her dice roll, the Council quickly brought one more important thing to Leni's attention. "Make sure to add the points on your Wisdom Modifier to whatever roll you get" Mrs. Johnson explained, "this could give you an extra boost in power."
Leni thanked the teacher for her tip and took a quick peek at her character sheet, hoping to find something of use. Sadly, upon taking a glance at her Wisdom modifier, she discovered that it was only worth one single point. "Oh, no...if my roll's bad, this will just make things worse" Leni thought, "but then again, maybe not."
With all this information in mind, Leni knew that she had to make this next roll count...for her family. She let out a deep exhale to steady her nerves, plucked up her d20 and proceeded to shake it like mad between her hands. When Leni finally let it roll along the table, nearly everyone watched with bated breath for the result.
"Please, be good...please, be good" Leni thought while tightly crossing her fingers, "please, let this roll be good!" All time seemed to slow down, as the dice finally came to a stop midway across the table. It bounced in place for but a moment before it landed flat on its bottom side. Several players leaned eagerly over towards the dice, wondering what it showed.
"Tell me the truth, guys...is it that bad" Leni murmured, "or is it at least a ten?" As the poor girl closed her eyes in fear, her ears suddenly rang loudly with the sounds of joyful cheering. Confused, Leni opened her eyes and asked why everyone seemed so happy; to which Lana urged her to look at her dice roll.
After getting up from her seat, Leni walked her way towards the midway point of the game table and looked down at the d20. "It's really bad, isn't it" she groaned in defeat, "I was so hoping I would end up getting...A NAT TWENTY!?" Surely enough; upon giving the dice a much closer inspection, Leni saw that it truly was a natural 20 result.
Within seconds, Leni's fearful demeanor melted away and she joined in on everyone's cheering. Meanwhile, Lori (despite however much embarrassed she appeared on the outside) couldn't help but feel secretly proud of her sister on the inside.
(The Game World)
The skies rang with sounds of combat, as the Adventuring party did their best to hold their own against the royal guard of Cicero. But many of the weapons they found upon the sand were too damaged to fight with. Thus, all they could do was defend themselves without harming the soldiers.
Meanwhile, Fatima looked upon the scene with great anger in her eyes and anguish in her heart. Too long had she been forced to sit idly by whilst gladiators dueled senselessly within the arena. Too long had she been forced to listen to the people's mad cheers and jeers at it all. Now, seeing these strangers putting themselves at risk (not just for her but nigh all the fighters within the Coliseum) pushed her anger to the brink.
"O, great Pelor, Dawnfather of the heavens...hear my prayer" Fatima whispered silently, "give me the strength to aid these good people." After making this plea, nothing seemed to have changed until an astonishing sight appeared. Up in the sky, a ray of light shined down upon Fatima; a light that shined so brightly it caused every fighter to wince in mild alarm.
Alarmed by this, the two servants who were attending to Gunari threw their leaf fans over his face; hoping to shield his eyes. "Away with the both of you" the emperor demanded indignantly, "I must see this!" Not wanting to miss this strange phenomenon, he hurried towards the railing and stared down at the arena floor while squinting tensely.
It was here that Gunari saw Fatima's body radiating with the same glow as that of the sun. Then, she let out a long sigh while levitating slightly off the ground; much to the confusion of all who were watching. Finally, with her eyes blazing white, she thrust out her arms with a fierce grunt; unleashing powerful blasts of fire through the gates.
"LET ME BE YOUR VESSEL, GREAT ONE" Fatima said with a booming voice, "LET YOUR HOLY AND PURE FIRE BREAK THE CHAINS THAT BIND THESE MORTALS!" As the crowd watched in shock as the fires continue to pour forth from the half-djinn's fingers, they could only wonder if her plot would bear fruit.
(Line Break)
Down below, the slaves who remained in their shackles and cages could not help but look at the roof above them. Mere moments ago, the only sounds that could be heard were those of the crowd's cheers and those of combat from within the arena. Now, the very stonework seemed to be quaking, people were screaming softly in alarm, and one could swear they heard loud rumbling from somewhere very close by.
"What the devil is going on up there" murmured a Genasi warrior named Arkoni, "you think the strangers have won...are the people rioting as a result?" Although plausible, many of the other fighters felt that the noises were far too loud to be a simple riot. But before anything else could be said, there came another noise from just outside the door ahead. It was the Dungeon Master and to many people's ears, it sounded as though he were terrified of something.
Then, without warning, the door creaked loudly before finally bursting off its hinges; allowing a great plume of white fire to pour into the room. The slaves recoiled and screamed in horror, fearing this might be the end of them. But as the flames flowed through the bars of their cells and enveloped their bodies...they felt nothing.
True, their skin felt somewhat warm but it was a pleasant sensation like that of a summer morning's glow against their bodies. Throwing caution to the wind, many slaves braved a look and saw that while the fires still blazed around them; nothing was amiss. No one's hair (for those who had it) was burning off, their bodies were in one piece and their gladiator attire was also undamaged.
Yet, at the same time, the fires were causing some damage to the room. Not only were the metal bars of the slaves' cells melting away instantly but their shackles as well. "What sorcery is this" murmured the Shifter, Dyris; "who...or what is the cause of this fire?!" While they shared in her comrade's confusion, the other slaves weren't going to let an opportunity such as this slip away.
After brushing off the dusty remnants of their chains, the slaves rushed through the Stockade door and up the stairs towards the arena.
(Line Break)
Back above ground, Fatima's holy fire energy seemed about spent but she willed herself to stop just as she saw the other slaves appear at the western gate. While breathless, she felt no less proud of what she'd done and cast a defiant smile upwards at Gunari. "What...is the MEANING OF THIS NONSENSE" the emperor roared, "I demand to know what you did, you vile half-breed!"
Just then, Fatima briefly fainted due to her exhaustion, but Velra was quick to catch her. She thanked the gladiator for her kindness, who responded in saying that her gesture felt small compared to what she had done for her. "Not just for you, Barbarian" Ursa said firmly, "what she did...she did for all of us."
With these words, she pointed towards the western gate where all the other slaves could be seen; standing there in what looked to be confusion. This did not go unnoticed by Gunari nor his guard, unfortunately. "What is the meaning of this" shouted the emperor from the stands, "how did you slaves leave your cells...get back down there or we will..." The woman's train of thought came to a halt, when a knife suddenly flashed through the air and struck his left wrist; cutting deeply.
With a wince, he looked down and saw that it was Ursa who made the throw. He gnashed his teeth in anger and ordered for every available guard to surround and slay the "outsiders." But before they could take but three steps towards them, a wall of flame suddenly arose from the sand in a protective circle around the Party.
It didn't take long for the likes of Ventris and Shadow to deduce who was responsible. As for Fatima; with the last amount of power she had, she wanted to put it to the best of use. "No more, Gunari" she decreed indignantly, "no more senseless bloodshed, no more slaves...just free people, tied only by the bonds they have chosen!" Suddenly, Fatima raised her arms aloft and levitated several feet up off the ground with fire blazing through her fingertips.
The crowd, Gunari, the newly freed slaves and the Adventuring Party could only watch in silence as Fatima bellowed forth three simple yet powerful words; "CLAIM YOUR FREEDOM!" With this declaration, she fired her last burst of holy fire in a massive beam of light towards the eastern wall of the arena. Any and all citizens seated there scurried away as fast as they could, not wanting to fall victim to the blast.
(The Real World)
Back at the table, players were cheering like a bunch of mad fools for Leni's amazing turn. Even her parents, despite their impartial roles as Game Masters, couldn't help but shed tears of pride for her amazing plan and acting skills. As for Lori's group; Lana and Lola danced around merrily with glee, Luan almost fainted due to the overwhelming amount of excitement, Lucy clapped her hands with all the glee her Goth nature could show and Lori...she was stunned.
Judging from the wide-eyed look upon her face, it looked as though her mind had been blown from the fantastic turn of events. But then, her mind quickly snapped back to reality; thanks in part to Mrs. Bernardo ringing her crier bell. "I do not wish to interrupt this most joyous moment, everyone" she said apologetically, "but I'm afraid the hour grows late and it will be time for us to retire soon."
This announcement brought many groans and outcries of displeasure from both the players and the Game Masters. After such a rousing moment of awesomeness, no one felt like ending things off so soon. "Ah! Come along, ya crazy dungeon crawlers" Mr. Grouse grumbled with a light grin, "this old man needs his beauty sleep, after a session like that." Despite however much the children wanted to argue otherwise, each of them started letting out many a prodigious yawn.
Finally, everyone relented and decided to call it a night before proceeding single file out the door. "EEE! That was amazing, Leni" Dana chirped gleefully, "I had no idea you were such an awesome player!" Leni giggled softly with a light blush and admitted she owed half of her success to everyone else for helping inspire her.
The other half, meanwhile, came from years of playing make-believe with her younger siblings at home; particularly Lana and Lola. But while everyone else chatted, Lori's mind was barely hanging on due to her desire for sleep. But in spite of this, she couldn't help but mildly scold herself for showing possible signs of "weakness" yet again.
"I just hope that whatever we have going on tomorrow, it's literally something easy" she thought, "I'd even settle for reading those lame manuals for notes."
(First AN: When will Lori learn...in the world of tabletop role-playing games, nothing goes as expected. What will happen at the next session of the campaign? Will Lori's group escape the arena, will their quest to find the Bloodstone Keep ever be fulfilled...and when will Lori finally learn to embrace her inner nerd without shame?
Tune in next time, to find out)
(Second AN: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter...I did not expect for this one to take so long to write. But not only did I want the arena fight to be as exciting as possible, I also wanted to make sure I got the right skillset for Leni's character. Technically speaking, half-djinn characters are known as Genasi within the game but there's already such a character in the cast list; namely Whitney.
Still, I wanted to make sure to get the right tips on how to depict Leni's character; make her big moment as big and believable as possible. I hope I've succeeded)
(Third AN: This chapter contains not one but two references to iconic pieces of fantasy media. The first is when Clyde used the line "that still only counts as one;" which is a line used by the dwarf, Gimli in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Given the fact Clyde's character is a dwarf and the situation in that part of the story, it just felt right to use it.
The second reference is small and only familiar to a select few. It's when Lynn Sr asked the question "how do you want to do this," which is a line that's been made famous by many Dungeon/Game Masters; most noteworthy, Matthew Mercer of Critical Role fame. Much like with the Gimli line, I simply could not resist.)
(Fourth AN: Some people may read this and cry "hacks" after reading this, particularly during the Nat 20 moments. But rest assured, the dice ain't loaded and Leni got her big roll fair and square)
(Finale AN: For those curious or unfamiliar, Pelor is one of the deities from the D&D mythology. He is the Sun God, rules over agriculture and most hated being among evil forces. Given Leni's character and her origin; I felt that out of all of them, Pelor was the right god for her to pray to)
