Chapter Text

“Go on without me”

Sam Braveheart clenched his jaw, gazing down at the fallen form of Anagelova whom Death Fears. The elf’s body was paralysed and burned but her hands still clenched a purple leather-bound spellbook like an old friend. Stuck like a hunted boar with a lance of indecision Sam simply stood there, hefting his sword as the roaring crystal sound of arcane storm magic approached. (Ohh nice- “roaring crystal”. I like it.)

(Uh, thanks. It's your turn Sam.)

Sam Braveheart stammered out a frantic reply:

“I don’t know what to do without you Anagelova. Can’t I carry you?”

Sam stooped and easily shouldered the lithe and planking body of Anagelova. He turned to run, kicking up dry sand as he tore a trail through the desert. Ahead, he could see Hana the halfling cleric looking even smaller than usual as she ran into the distance. Like a toll of doom he heard the strained tone of his companion:

“Dude you’re going to be too slow to outrun the storm and I’m out of buffs!”

(Was that… In character Zoe?)

(Yeah, Hana's chill af.)

From the rippling back of the warrior, Anagelova could see the churning air forming shapes from the dust below- terrible faces and menacing spiked forms there one instant then wisped away. And suddenly it made even more sense to her. And suddenly she was more frightened than she had ever been. Rolling her eyes towards the red bunch of hair that was all she could see of Sam she shouted:

“Sam, drop me- It’s hopeless! There’s no point in both of us dying tonight!

Sam shook his head, firing back with:

“No I won’t drop you- I literally don’t know what to do without you- you’ve got all the notes in that book. I won’t give up and I’ve got a plan!”

(Well- maybe do it?)

(Yeah now isn’t the time to hold back Braveheart. The storm is like one turn away.)

(I use action surge and I’m gonna use it to run.)

(Right… roll your acrobatics. It’s going to need to be a good one.)

(Sam wait! We could just-)

(I know how to play- you don’t need to control my character anymore Abby. I roll…)

***

“A one.”

The three players leaned back on their chairs in an uneasy quiet that came over the chilly basement. For a brief few seconds the only sound was the struggling fan of an overworked computer in the corner. Then the air shook with a deep roll of thunder. Sebastian ran a hand through his silky black fringe and clenched his teeth. Leaning over the game master shield he sheepishly stated:

“The storm overtakes you both, wrapping your bodies and your hearts in liquid nightmares- and worse. As the monsters within tear your souls apart the storm continues on uncaring. It chases the dust trail of Hana. Sorry everyone. I think we’re going to have to stop for tonight. I was sort of planning on having a full party for this next bit.”

Abigail bit her lip and smouldered beneath curled purple locks. Sam’s hands had faltered halfway through his spiked blonde hair and his eyes were round and staring at the d20 with that fateful and fatal critical fail showing. Zoe fiddled with the straps on her denim overalls. Her eyes flitted between Abby and Sam. It looked like something was bubbling just under Abby’s lid and ready to explode.

Sighing, Abby steadily said something through her teeth:

“Why didn’t you listen to me? Now Hana’s all on her own and we’re two people down!”

Turning slowly to face Abby’s stern gaze Sam grimaced and mumbled “I thought it worked with the character.” Abby quirked an eyebrow “I don’t remember other Sam having a deathwish”. Sam worked up some courage and rested his hands on the table saying:

“No he didn’t but Anagelova was his best friend. You were always telling me I should think more about the character or whatever and I did and now you’re getting mad at me?” Abby responded with a forced laugh, leaning closer so her nose was inches away from Sam’s:

“Well if your big character moment breaks the game maybe you should stick to being the big token fighter and not mess up Seb’s whole game plan. Not every fight needs to have a dramatic death sequence, it’s not a forking transformers movie or whatever you watched last! What about ” The springtrap venom on Abby’s words made Sam lean back, raising his hands like he had the barrel of a gun pointed at him. His face twisted with a mix of surprise and hurt. Seb interjected “Hay, don’t being me into this, I could just say that tonight didn’t happen and we could go back to-” Then it was Sebastian’s turn to jump back as both of the feuding players faced him and simultaneously said:

“No!”

Another pause overtook the room and another roll of thunder passed as Sam and Abby glowered deeply at each other. The tension shattered only when Zoe’s phone pinged and all eyes turned towards her. Fishing it out of the big chest pocket of her overalls she felt the familiar weight in her hands. The well-worn screen was shattered in several places and through the rivulets of black she could see Emily’s profile photo beside the message:

“Hay dreamgirl- this storm is getting pretty intense- some real bad vibes \ 0_0

Are you going to get back tonight?”

As she tapped out a reply, Abby stood up and scooped a notebook, dice bag and expertly-painted character figure into a backpack. She blurted out something about how she should be going and by the time Zoe had sent back a quick response saying she was leaving soon, Abby was gone. Before the door had swung closed, conversation resumed. Sam asked the other two if he was really doing something wrong. Sebastian shrugged. He could see where Abby had been arguing from but this could be solved somehow- it always could. He still told Sam that it was a dumb decision but it made sense for the character.

After they had all got their gear together, Sebastian came with them to the front door. Sam had to brace his shoulder against it as the storm forced itself against the flimsy-seeming wooden hatch. Pulling their coats around themselves, Sam and Zoe set out together into the driving rain. The thunder clapped a third time, much less distant, making them both startle. Huddling together to shield each other a little, they discussed what happened. Sam was indignant at Abby’s reaction. Zoe was unsure where to step on this issue just now, thinking more of home and the dry fresh sheets that had been washed this morning. When the time came for them to part ways, Zoe cautioned to Sam “Stay safe out there, message us when you get home!” Rolling his eyes, Sam recovered an element of his flippant attitude and jabbed back with:

“It’s okay old-timer- I’m a big boy. I can look out for myself!”

Before fighting upwind towards the lights of Pelican Town down the mountain. Not to be outdone Zoe shouted after him:

“I’m like four years older than you ya meddling kid!” Before smiling. It was getting colder every second under the raincoat which she was slowly realising was too thin. She just saw the outline of Sam as he turned and stuck his tongue out at her before vanishing in the shifting sheets of rain.

Zoe took the back way around to Aspen farm. Climbing the steps she took some time to be happy that Emily was there at the house. Snoot, their dog, would be terrified of the thunder and when she lived alone she felt awful leaving him alone on stormy days. Of course there were plenty of other reasons, but that was the one that came to mind just now. Another would be the everpresent supply of tea that naturally occurred in a home where two tea lovers live. Turning the corner, she passed into the small crevasse that held the tunnel out of town and the mountain trail back home. The rain was less like a hail of arrows here and the wind that was chilling the left side of her face dropped off completely. Her ears rang as she cupped warm hands over them. After they warmed up a little, she pulled the ear-flaps of her hat downward to cover them. Past the flaps she heard something new over the howling of wind caught in the rocks above. A sound like metal striking wood.

Zoe knew the land around here well. Ever since moving here as a wrung-out and tired college dropout she had waked this path nearly every day. Still a sound like that does something primal. Zoe was on edge, looking around in the last remaining glow of daylight that clung to the mountainside. It sounded like it was coming from all around her as the wind carried the sharp noises all around. Zoe didn’t like this. With a practised hand she unbuckled the sheath on her back and drew the subtle dark blade she kept for emergencies. Sometimes the occasional monster escaped the caves near town. She didn’t draw yet- it could be anything. But she knew from past experience that the sword could be in her practised grip within a second.

Gulping, she hustled quietly through the stormbound gathering night.