#it very much made me remember the treasure-dungeon. that i entered on my own. as a white-mage.

[racke7]

Yesterday, during a dungeon where I played as a Machinist (ranged DPS), our tank disconnected.

I don't think any of us actually knew how to dismiss/reinstate a member of the party, so we uhhh... kept going?

Which meant that I ended up effectively playing the tank, because I could run away from the boss, which meant that I wasn't getting insta-gibbed.

We did finally manage to trigger the "dismiss vote", and then we had a tank and it was such a relief, but it was also not nearly as hilarious as me hauling ass around an arena as a dragon tried to murder me.

[dailyadventureprompts]

DM Tip: Better Loot

Treasure is ubiquitous in D&D, it’s presumed to be one of the default motivations, if not the only motivation behind many adventures, despite the fact that very little thought has been put into the systems by which the DM generates the treasure and the party plays around with it. After nearly two decades of being a DM I can’t count the number of times I’ve made a treasure horde and handed it out to the players while feeling as if the fun game we had been playing had suddenly been put on pause. 

It took me a while to realize that this was because unlike combat ( the favourite child among d&d’s many subsystems) very little attention had been made to making loot feel good at any stage of the process whether it was down to the mechanics or even the presentation. 

While below the cut I’m going to get into systems about easier ways to generate treasure,  rebalanced magic item prices, and how to get your players in on the fun, for now I want to focus on this element of presentation when it comes to handing out loot.

Here’s some of my findings, in no particular order:

Just like combat has “ Roll initiative” and “how do you want to do this?”, handing out loot should have codified phrases to indicate that the party is entering into a specific period of game time. It’s a ritual that will not only get them excited but have them in the right kind of headspace required for absorbing new information. The phrases I’ve been using are “ You spill out your plunder across the table/dungeon floor and there you find_____”  and “With that sorted, you pack away your spoils, and return to the adventure at hand”

I completely ignore art items/gems, they’re a neat idea for flavor but they slow things down at every turn ( coming up with them during loot generations, players recording them) and are almost always junked for gp at the first possible opportunity. The exception to this is valuable trade goods/collectors items, which I mention being worth X gp in value but worth MORE if the party can find an associated merchant ( as a questhook)

GP comes first, followed by the names of the items and a brief as possible physical description. Players can ask questions generally on what items do but either have to call dibs then or divy them up on their own time.  Listening to the dm dispassionately read out the stats of an item is boring as hell, only eclipsed by the dm describing the indepth  LOOK of various items and then asking the party to roll checks to identify/figure out of the items work. Speed in divvying loot keeps the momentum of the game going and you want to tap into the “OOOH, SHINY” impulse of your players before their eyes glaze over.

I HIGHLY suggest keeping a party doc with the stats of all your items copy/pasted into it. Divide the doc up by characters/in the cart, so your party can always remember where shit was. Ask one organized player to be the one to keep track of the party doc and share it with the others. Call them “quartermaster” they’ll love that shit. 

Unless the item in question needs to be used immediately “ It’ll be in the party doc” is your answer when they ask for stats. Update the partydoc after session so your group can have the whole week to look at it and get used to things between sessions. Gearing up with new loot is just as much homework as leveling up a character, and is best done away from the table.

After you’re done checking out the treasure generation rules below, also be sure to check out my systems on handling shopping trips, making identifying items more interesting, and managing party wealth. I’m sure you’ll find something there that can help improve your game.

The magic item chart to rule them all

Figuring out a better way to generate magic items was actually pretty simple once I had all the pieces in place, though it took me a many attempts to realize what I actually wanted in such a system:

It had to be simple and time saving, requiring the least amount of math/chart references as possible

it had to be relevant at every level accommodating to 3rd party material

d&d already divides items and adventuring parties into tiers, and the game already allows lower level parties the chance at finding items that outstrip their tier.  

Absolutely no effort should be spent generating items wroth random amounts of gp when players are going to instantly sell them.

Which led me to this thing of elegance:

To generate a hoard of items, roll a single set of dice (1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 2d10, 1d12, 1d20) and compare the numbers rolled against the chart above. Every 0 represents an item relevant to the party’s adventuring tier ( so a lvl 1-5 group would get common, lvl 6-10 group would get uncommon and so on). +1s represent an item of a grade above, -1s represent an item of a grade below. I had to invent a tier below common, but d&d already has rules for “trinkets” as fun but mechanically useless items that were easy to adapt.

After I’ve got a string of -1s, 0s, and +1s, it’s only a matter of comparing them against whatever list/books I’m using to supply items. For sake of ease, I’ve got multiple google docs where I’ve sorted my collection of 3rd party and homebrew items by rarity and theme, but if you don’t hoard material like I do you don’t have to worry about that. 

New Magic Item Prices

having several thousand GP worth of wiggleroom for high level items helps no one, so instead we’re going with a base 5 system that’ll guide us through the rest of this doc. These prices are meant as an absolute baseline for things like crafting and haggling down to, as well as determining the value of non-magical rewards later on.

Trinket: 10 , Common: 50 , Uncommon: 250   Rare: 725 , Very Rare:  3625 , Legendary: 18,125

Having a concrete price also lets you use my chart to generate raw GP in coinage:  too many items cluttering up your list? run out of ideas? convert the leftover item slots into thier price in GP and worry no more.

Other Uses for the Chart:

If you’re the type to run magic item shops ( and you should), using a set of dice to generate treasure is a great way to pick out the inventory.  Most shops are going to be at common rarity, but for major shops the party is going to return to over several levels, I do a new inventory drop every 5 levels.

Since Overthinking d&d is my passion, I was caught up in weighing the value of treasure that was scattered throughout the dungeon  vs treasure that was all in one place. The former encouraged the party to explore (which is the entire reason for going into a dungeon) but risked the party missing out on important rewards if they didn’t figure out a clue or feel like fighting a particular beast.  The latter felt like a proper reward for overcoming a gauntlet of challenges, but encouraged players to race to the end. The answer was to do both, One hoard at the end of the dungeon, one scattered around in nooks and crannies for the party to discover on their own. That meant that a party could count on almost doubling their plunder if they explored the content I’d made for them... which is exactly where I want them to be.

Frequently my parties will do a bit of unexpected looting I haven’t planned for: They’ll pick through the ruins of a destroyed town looking for salvage, harvest alchemical components from a garden of feywild flora I’ve only intended as set decoration, or load up a cart with the contents of a bandit armoury and hit the market with it. I want to reward players for taking the initiative, but I always feel like raw gold is too flat a prize and I don’t like making up stuff on the spot. My system offers a solution: every time they do that they get a stack of loot ( graded common to very rare, based on who or what it is they’re looting). When they hit the market, they can cash in any number of loot stacks for the roll of 1 dice, scaling up. If they hit 7, they get to roll the full array and get themselves a loot drop. This is always done in the aftermath of a session, so that I have time to tell them what they’ve won. ( 5 stacks of loot is worth 1 of the next grade up and visa versa). I similarly let my players attach a wishlist to this loot drop ( vague things like “ healing potions” or “ I’d like a new spell focus” to guide my search through my item lists.

[archonanqi]

fragile as dust | 5 - culmination

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🔖 a/n - aaah some stuff finally starts going down in this chapter, thanks y'all for staying patient through the last four chapters. please let me know if you’d like to be tagged for updates! enjoy!

—

  “Admittedly,” Zhongli sighed, “I may have gone a little overboard with the food.”

   You both peered at the carnage leftover from your feast, the table strewn with at least half of the meal left.

   “Are you full?” Zhongli inquired. He wasn’t smiling, but there was unmistakeable amusement in his voice. You nodded — a few minutes ago, you’d felt like you could have eaten everything on the table, but the physical limits of your stomach betrayed you. “Very well. Let’s clean up, then I will show you around the house. How does that sound?”

   It still took you by surprise, each time he asked you for your opinion. “It sounds good, Mr. Zhongli.”

—

   The first time you touched him was as he handed you one of the plates, as you thumbed over the intricate blue-white markings and felt your fingers brush.  You didn’t know it then, but it would not be the last.

   He was wearing his gloves, and so it was really leather that you’d touched, but it was electrifying all the same. You winced, searching his features for any displeasure. It was not your place to so much as gaze upon a noble of  half his status without permission, let alone touch — you’d been taught that lesson, quickly and very early on.

   “Please take this to the kitchen,” he requested, as though nothing had happened. You obeyed with slow, deliberate steps, squashing even any thoughts of dropping the fine china. Gingerly — how in Celestia was even the inside of his fridge elegant? — you set it down, closed the door and almost jumped out of your skin. He was standing right behind you, arms crossed as he studied you, features unreadable.

   “Tell me a little about yourself, Hansi.”

   Small talk? Or a test? Surely, certainly, he wasn’t genuinely curious? You felt naked under his probing gaze, still clad in that plain white dress. Had it really only been a day since you’d met Zhongli? Every second with him seemed to stretch over the length of a millennia. Instinctively, your hands wandered to your chest, feeling for your Vision. Wasn’t there. Wouldn’t help you even if it was.

   I grew up in a shithole with a dozen other people. I stole, robbed, dredged myself through life, you imagined yourself saying to him, just to get sold to a nobleman who thinks I’m too stupid to understand his intentions. 

   By the way, three nights ago, Rex Lapis smoked up something real good and gave me a Geo Vision I don’t know how to use.

   “There is nothing to know about me,” you said, instead, “save that I am bound to you in loyal servitude, and that I will do as you please, Mr. Zhongli.“

   “Hm.” Zhongli hummed, a low echo. His golden gaze rend you through Then, rather abruptly, he said, “Let’s begin the house tour, shall we?”

   Somehow, his curtness stung. Had you said something wrong? What you’d said — that was the textbook response you were meant to give, no? Regardless, you nodded your obedience, swallowing the fear you felt, as always, at his displeasure.

—

   You almost expected there to be a dungeon of some sort hidden behind one of the doors, some skulls, maybe a poor chained up Hilichurl or two.

   What you didn’t expect was so many rocks. 

   And paintings. And scrolls, and trinkets, and jewelry, arranged carefully upon display stands in each room. You remembered how cluttered the drawers were that you hid your Vision in. In the daylight, now that your mind wasn’t clouded with as much fear and fatigue, you were realizing just how much stuff Zhongli owned.

    (Vaguely, it brought to mind images of dragons — the billowing, fire-breathing, treasure-hoarding creatures you’d read about in one of the many storybooks you’d stolen. You shook that image out of your head. Zhongli was plenty intimidating, even without a set of horns and fangs.)

   “—and this is the bathroom,” Zhongli said, pushing open the door. The bathroom, on its own, was bigger than the shack you’d shared with four other families growing up. In the middle of the room, the dark marble floor gave way to a large, circular bathtub — it looked a little like a pool. “You are free to use it, and anything in it, whenever you’d like.”

   The idea of a hot bath was heaven, but you were a hundred percent certain that your current state — dirt-caked fingernails and unkempt hair and all — was all that was keeping you safe. If you got nice and clean, who was to say what he would decide to do to you?

   No, you would avoid taking a bath as long as you could.

   Zhongli closed the door, and hesitated. “Hmm. There is less than I thought to show you,” he admitted. “These other rooms are simply full of items I’ve collected over the years, and I’m sure they would bore you.“

   “It would be my pleasure to hear more about them,” you said, quickly. You wanted to keep him talking; as long as he was talking, he was doing nothing else. Besides, you found yourself growing more and more intrigued about Zhongli — only so that you could read him better, you promised yourself.

   “Well, then far be it from me to deny you your pleasure,” he said. “What would you like to know more about?”

   You glanced around, gaze landing on a small, glass standing display case. Two gemstones sat side by side in it, both a rich, translucent gold — like his eyes, you thought. “What are those?”

   “Cor Lapis,” he said, and you heard a hint of something in his voice. Pride? “They were a gift, from someone close to me.”

   “Are they worth a lot? They’re so pretty.” You bit your lip. They were probably worth more than the average Liyue merchant would ever earn. Pretty? Really?

   “In terms of Mora, yes, they are worth no small amount,” Zhongli replied. “However, their value far surpasses material currency, for these are prime Cor Lapis samples from Mount Hulao.”

   “Hulao... in Jueyun Karst?” You’d heard the rumors that floated between drunk fishermen and merchants, of the dangers of the mountain, of those who entered and came back changed. You had never put much stock in them — drunk men would say just about anything.

   “Yes. And as I’m sure you know, Jueyun Karst is a dangerous place to venture into, without the proper precautions.”

   “Dangerous… even for you?” You glanced at the Vision hanging off his waist. You couldn’t imagine a situation where Zhongli would ever be forced to break that collected facade of his.

   “For any human.”

   You found yourself enjoying the light conversation — you couldn’t remember the last time you’d spoken to another person like this. “Who gave you these?” You tried to smile, and it came easier than you expected. “They must have been really nice, to give away something so expensive.”

   Immediately, you regret opening your mouth. Zhongli’s eyes darkened, and his face fell visibly.

   “Yes. She… was certainly very kind,” he said, quietly. He looked as though he wanted to say something else, but didn't. Couldn’t.

   Was? You wanted to kick yourself. Of course you’d manage to bring up his dead friend in your first real conversation with him. The next seconds of silence were almost unbearable. Finally, you spoke up with the first thing that popped into your head. “So, you like rocks?”

   By the Archon, weren’t you on a roll today.

   You were pleasantly baffled to hear him chuckle, a deep, throaty rumble from the depths of his chest. “Yes, one could say that I am fond of them.” He said, amidst soft laughter. “And you?”

   “I don’t know much about them,” you admitted, “but the ones you have are beautiful, Mr. Zhongli.” So was his laugh.

   “Is that so?” He asked, the previous conversation seemingly forgotten, as he strode over to a case across the room, “perhaps you will find these to your fancy as well — these pieces of Noctilucuous Jade were mined from the deepest mines of the Mingyun...“

—

   By the time Zhongli had finished regaling you about his rock collection, the sky outside had become a smear of pink and orange, the sun drifting barely over the horizon. You hadn’t even noticed the time — Zhongli simply had the kind of voice that demanded wholehearted attention.

   “I seem to have gotten carried away again,” Zhongli smiled. Was it just you, or were his smiles coming more frequently? “Thank you for being such a good listener, Hansi.”

   You nodded in response, not quite sure what to say to that. The praise had a strange, warm feeling spreading through your chest.

   “All that’s left of the house is the library upstairs,” he paused, the tacit question clear on his lips.

   You froze. Ever since you started stealing to survive, you’d made a point to sell everything that couldn’t be eaten. Jewelry, hairpins, no matter how pretty, no matter how much your heart ached to put them on, went straight to the pawn store. But you could never sell books. You couldn’t bear to give up the worlds within them, the promises that one day you would be able to live as freely as the heroes of those stories.

   So you stole. First from Wanwen bookstore, then when the owner learned to watch for your grubby hands, from bags and pockets and homes. You devoured them like hot meals, kept them under the floorboards of your corner, read them out loud to the kids who lived with you, read them till the dirt from your fingers had smeared the words to unrecognition.

   You wanted to see Zhongli’s library, so badly that it hurt.

   But to tell him this would be to admit to him that you’d stolen those books, that you taught yourself a skill that someone of your social class didn’t deserve to learn. Something you weren’t worthy of.

   “I can’t read anyway,” you lied.

   “I see,” Zhongli said. “Then, shall we go and get some dinner? Are you feeling well enough to make a trip to Liyue Harbor? I know the most splendid restaurant.”

—

   You thought that things were going relatively well, that you were doing a fine job of squashing the unease and distrust of Zhongli that still gnawed at the corners of your mind. You were giddily excited, even, to be going to a restaurant for the first time.

   So, as you two arrived at the outskirts of Liyue, close enough to hear the bustle of nightlife, you certainly weren’t expecting the sudden wave of emotions that knocked you clean off your feet.

   It had started small — the unrelenting reminder of how out of place you would look at the restaurant. How out of place you would look in public, next to Zhongli in all his regality. Then: how out of place you truly were — how absurd of you to have started warming up to Zhongli when you knew, with every fiber of your being, what all men like him wanted; when you knew that one day he would grow impatient of waiting for you to offer it.

   If you took his dinner, his food, his kindness, what would you begin to owe him?

    Suddenly, you couldn’t breathe. The bile that rose through your throat was hot and bitter, and you doubled over and retched noisily into the nearest bush. Vaguely, you could hear Zhongli’s exclamation and his footsteps approaching, but you couldn’t stop until your stomach was empty once again.

   You flinched violently at his light touch on your shoulder. “Hansi,” he said, and you were baffled at how genuine his concern sounded, “what happened? What’s wrong?”

   “I don’t know,” you whispered, and it was true. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—“

   “Please don’t apologize. Can you stand?” Zhongli asked, voice low and soothing. “Let’s get you home.”

   You nodded. “I’m sorry I ruined dinner.”

   “Nonsense, your health is infinitely more important.” He said. “Do you think that you can walk?”

   Once again, you nodded. You let him lead you home.

—

   When you reached the front door of the house, Zhongli’s hand on your shoulder firm and gentle, something had begun — deep in your heart — to fester. The fear, the confusion, the things that had fallen into place but didn’t quite fit together — it had all been boiling too long, too hot. 

   “Mr. Zhongli.” You said, as you stepped through the door, once again greeted by a warm gust of air. 

   “Yes, Hansi?” He asked, close behind. His hand on your shoulder was suddenly heavy, and hot. You shrugged it off, whipping around to stare him in the eyes.

   “Please, just— do whatever you’re planning to do to me.” You said, knowing that if you lost your momentum now you would never get it back.

   “I beg your pardon?”

   “I’m not a child. We both know what I'm here for. When I lived on the streets, two pieces Mora would have earned any nobleman a night -- let alone... however much you’ve spent.” You were vaguely aware of how many lines you were crossing with each word, but there was no stopping the words flowing from your lips now. You could feel your heart thrashing against your chest, anger warming your bones. 

   “We both know that I have nowhere to run, no way to defend myself, so just DO it already. Be cruel, hit me, whatever, do your thing so that I can stop holding my Archon-damned breath and waiting for the inevitable. What exactly are your intentions with me, sir?”

   You paused to catch your breath, and the horror set in suddenly. Your temper had always been the bane of your well-being — you just had to let it get the best of you, every time, didn’t you? Why couldn’t you have just bided your time and waited for his patience to run out later rather than sooner?

   Zhongli stayed silent, face pulled into a frown as though he was pondering over your words. Time seemed to slow into a viscous fluid, drowning you in its wake. You glanced down the hallway at your room.

   If he raised his hand against you, would you be able to make it to your room? Would you be able to grab your Geo Vision before he caught you, and would you even be able to use it against him, against the years of experience he’s had with his? You knew the answer to all of those questions: a resounding no.

   Would he let you live if you apologized? You opened your mouth to beg.

   “My intentions with you...” he said, brow pulled down over heavy lids. “Hm. It seems that I must apologize.”

   You let go of a breath you didn’t know you were holding. For the umpteenth time since your meeting with Zhongli, you wondered: What?

   “I have been trying to let you acclimate to your new life at your own pace, whilst moving on from your old.” Zhongli’s pursed lips were the only sign of discomfort in his composed features. “I did not know that such concerns were going through your head, though I should have seen that your seeming lack of fear was but a facade from your incredibly strong character.”

   In the corner of your eye, you saw your hands trembling. You tried to get them to stop. They would not.

   Zhongli swept on. “The circumstances of our meeting are... unfortunate. In time, you will understand my intentions in orchestrating our meeting, but for now -- you have been put in a very uncomfortable situation. I am remiss for not having acknowledged this much earlier.”

   What?

   Zhongli cleared his throat. “Hansi, please listen to me. While you are under my roof, I will never lift a finger to cause you any harm, physically or otherwise. And for as long as you are a part of my household, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are never again touched by hunger, frost, hardship. That you will never be subject to the kind of fear that’s making you tremble,” he reached out slowly and took your hand, “like this.” 

   He had done all the speaking, but it was you who had lost the breath from your lungs. Each of his words was a low rumble, earthquakes in their own right. You didn’t know if you believed him, but you so badly, badly wanted to, with every inch of your shaking body.

   “I do not expect you to believe me, right now,” he said, as though reading your mind. He let go of your hand, and it fell back to your side, still shaking. “However, you will soon come to learn that I never break my word.”

   You were beginning to see why Rex Lapis had chosen to grace this man with a Vision. He commanded — no, demanded — your attention, your respect, your trust, your entire being. There was more to him than the rich, lonely nobleman he seemed to be; in that moment, you had never been more sure of it.

   “Is there anything else you would like to ask me, Hansi?” Zhongli asked.

   You shook your head, mutely. There were a lot of things you wanted to say to that, but the swollen words stuck in your throat. “Thank you, Mr. Zhongli,” you said, and hoped he heard everything behind it. 

  Tomorrow morning, you supposed, it’d be alright if you had that bath.

[punprincess321]

Mchanzo Sleeping Beauty

This is LOOOONG so be prepared...

Once upon a time in a land far far away, there was a beautiful and vast kingdom ruled by two kings, King Jack Morrison and King Gabriel Reyes.

The two had united their kingdoms many years ago when Gabriel's son was still an infant, unfortunately both queens had died, Gabriel had only one heir and Jack feared the worst, when the two met it was like love at first sight, the two were married and Gabriel's son became heir to the throne of the entire kingdom. Jack and Gabriel were conquerors, they would take down tyrannical monarchies and put better more trusted leaders in their place, this system made them loved across the land, along with their 17 year old son.

Prince Jesse was wild like most teenagers, he was mischievous and quite a headache for the palace workers but he was still kind and compassionate, he helped out in any way he could around the kingdom and would give his best hunting prizes to families who needed the fur and meat. This kindness mixed with Jesse's roguish looks made him the most desired bachelor in all the land but Jesse never showed any interest in the countless princesses that flocked to his door, Jesse may have been handsome and beloved, but he still felt lonely, women didn't appeal to him but yet no man had caught his eye either.

One day the kings got word of a kingdom who had terrible rulers, they abused their subjects, stole from their allies and it was believed that they were involved in the dark arts of sorcery and occult rituals. Jack and Gabriel readied their armies and left for the Shimada empire.

Many months passed until the kings returned, the kingdom rejoiced at their return and Jesse ran out of the castle to greet his fathers, behind them was a medley of prisoners, all to either be thrown into the dungeon or executed in town square. As Jesse watched the prisoners walk through the crowd, getting pummeled by trash and rotten produce, one prisoner caught his attention, a man with long black hair and a large blue dragon tattoo on his left arm, he appeared to be Jesse's age, around 17 to 18, and was quite strong, the man looked scared and confused by what the people were doing. Jesse stared at the man feeling his heart race, he wanted him as his own.

The prisoners were brought into the throne room where Jack and Gabriel judged the severity of the punishment they would receive. One by one, the prisoners were divided into groups of ones to be executed and those who would be imprisoned, Jesse stood by and watched the spectacle, they soon reached the one with the tattoo, Jesse looked at his fathers to learn their answer, hoping that he would only be a prisoner, Gabriel stood. "You were the one who attacked my beloved unprovoked when attempting to make an agreement to avoid the mutiny that occurred, for this act you will be beheaded." He announced.

Jesse saw the fear in the man's eyes, like he had no idea what he did would result in a public execution, Jesse couldn’t let this happen and ran to his dad. "Father wait!" Jesse exclaimed. "This man seems to be conflicted about something, let him speak of his actions." He requested, Jack and Gabriel looked at their son then at each other before Gabriel turned back to the man. "Very well, explain yourself to us." He demanded.

A guard pushed the man forward and he looked down at his feet. "I only did as my king father told me, he ordered me to kill on sight, no matter what you say." The man explained, Jack leaned forward. "Your father is king of the Shimada empire?" He asked, the man nodded and held his head high. "I am Hanzo Shimada, loyal son and servant of my family's empire." He replied, this man didn’t look anything like a prince, his hair was matted in dirt and his clothes looked like that of rags, the only way they knew he was honest was the royal crest branded on his right shoulder, not much was known about the Shimada empire, but it was said that royal offspring had their symbol branded on their bodies.

The two kings looked between one another, unsure of what to do with the son of their enemy, Jesse was staring at Hanzo with great interest, Hanzo noticed and attempted to cover his body with his long hair, Jack and Gabriel took notice and made the decision with a nod between them.

"You will serve as concubine to our son." Gabriel announced, Jesse looked both surprised and pleased with this decree, Hanzo on the other hand looked terrified, he knew what happened to concubines if they didn't serve their purpose. The sentencing concluded and Hanzo was dragged away to be prepared for his new position.

-

Hanzo had to be held down as he was bathed, clothed and done up for the prince, the handmaidens made numerous comments about how his hair looked like it had never been combed once and he reeked of a pigsty, Hanzo didn't understand why they mentioned it.

After nearly two hours, Hanzo was ready, he had been covered in sweet smelling oils and was dressed in tight blue silks covered with silver dust, his hair had been braided and decorated with sapphires, his ears had been pierced and platinum and sapphire earrings adorned his lobes, platinum anklets and bracelets shimmered in the candlelight of the room and an aquamarine and sapphire necklace wrapped around his neck tightly. Hanzo looked in the mirror and was shocked, in all his life he never knew what he looked like clean and done up, he actually began to smile until he remembered why he was dressed like this.

Hanzo was escorted to the prince's chambers, the door slammed closed behind him and Hanzo suddenly felt afraid again, luckily the prince was not there yet so he had time to attempt escape, Hanzo ran to the window thinking he could jump out and escape but he was in a tower and the jump would be suicide, he tried the door but it was locked, Hanzo fell to his knees losing hope, he knew his fate as a concubine was to be the royal whore for a couple months, the prince would tire of him and he would be killed, he would have preferred execution over this torment.

The door soon opened and Jesse walked in, he saw Hanzo looking absolutely gorgeous and absolutely defeated, he walked over, knelt down and cupped his concubine's cheek. "Why are you so sad darlin'? Your life has been spared." He said with a smile, Hanzo sneered and slapped Jesse's hand away. "For only a few measly months and only to be your whore…" He spat, Jesse was surprised but his smile returned before he chuckled and stood up straight. "That was not my decision, it was my parents', I don’t wish to exploit you for sexual pleasure or to take your life in such a short time.”

Hanzo looked confused as Jesse helped him to his feet. “I’m in love with you Hanzo Shimada and I want to prove this to you, I will treat you like a king, even if you don't love me back I wish to win your heart no matter how long it takes.” Jesse proclaimed, Hanzo was understandably shocked by this brazen confession, he felt his cheeks heat up from how flustered he was and it only got worse when Jesse kissed his hand. “Come, let’s toast to new friends.” He said, he poured them some goblets of wine and handed Hanzo one, Hanzo blushed and slowly sipped the wine.

It took a couple more cups before the two were buzzed, Hanzo was sitting in front of the fireplace with Jesse and slowly sipping his twelfth cup, at first the wine was just social lubricant but Hanzo kept requesting more, Jesse was only on his fifth and was only slightly buzzed but Hanzo was wasted, trying to sit up straight and keep a coherent sentence. “I think you’ve had enough darlin’.” Jesse said as he took away the goblet, Hanzo whined and tried to reach for his cup but fell flat on his face, Jesse helped him back up but Hanzo tried to pull away, thinking Jesse was trying to make a move on him, only to fall back onto the floor, he ended up falling asleep before he could even attempt to get back up, Jesse chuckled and picked the man up before putting him in the bed. “Goodnight my treasure~” He said softly, he took Hanzo’s hand and kissed it before getting into bed himself, he kept his body turned away from Hanzo to avoid accidentally touching him and disturbing his sleep.

-

The next day Hanzo woke up with a splitting headache and no memory from last night except for having a couple drinks, Jesse holding him and him pushing away before passing out, he finally sat up and noticed he was still in Jesse’s room, in Jesse’s bed but the prince wasn't in the room, the mattress was extremely soft and so were the pillows and blankets, much softer than home… Hanzo looked down expecting to be naked but surprisingly he was still in the outfit from yesterday, suddenly the door opened and a maid came in holding a tray. “Good morning sir, his highness prince Jesse asked me to bring you breakfast.” She said as she set down the tray, Hanzo was stunned by the kind treatment but accepted the breakfast and began to eat.

After finishing breakfast, Hanzo was led by some handmaidens to take a bath and change his clothes, the handmaidens complimented Hanzo’s hair and how beautiful it was now that it was cleaned, Hanzo blushed at the compliments before he was put into a red silk outfit and decorated with gold and ruby jewelry.

Jesse entered the room just as Hanzo finished getting his hair done, he smiled and walked over to his concubine. “You look as beautiful as yesterday.” The prince said sweetly, Hanzo blushed as Jesse took his hand and kissed it. “T-thank you your highness…” He replied softly. "Not that I don't appreciate it but why do I have to wear these clothes?"

Hanzo's outfits had been rather provocative so far, tight fitting and rather revealing, Jesse chuckled. "You're considered my concubine in the eyes of the staff and all concubines must be appealing to the eye if they're seen in public, honestly you're already eye catching without all the glamorous accessories." He replied, Hanzo blushed at the compliment, he didn't understand the prince at all, did he not know what a concubine was?

Hanzo allowed Jesse to lead him into the gardens, he was still weary of the prince’s intentions and didn’t fully believe the heartfelt confession he made yesterday, he also had no idea what happened last night and if the prince violated him or not, they were sitting by the fountain and Jesse was going on and on about random things from sword fighting to his art lessons, Hanzo just listened, sometimes adding in a correction of proper weapon use, but he honestly had nothing else to say, he may have been a prince like Jesse but his early life was far different. All of a sudden Jesse walked over to a rose bush, pulled off a flower then plucked all the thorns off the stem before returning to Hanzo’s side and putting the flower in his hair. “Just as beautiful as you~” He said softly, Hanzo blushed and sheepishly thanked Jesse for the flower.

Hanzo was then brought to the library, there was enough books to build an entire mansion by the looks of it, Hanzo gazed in amazement. "I've never seen so many books before…" He said still in awe, Jesse chuckled. "Would you like to read one?" He asked, Hanzo looked confused. "Read them? I thought they were only meant for decoration…"

Jesse looked at Hanzo in shock. "You've never read a book before?" He questioned, Hanzo shook his head, Jesse looked displeased before taking Hanzo's hand and leading him into the library. "That needs to change, there's amazing stories and mountains of knowledge to be discovered in books, I can't believe you never knew about this." He explained, Hanzo was then sat on a couch as Jesse walked over to a bookshelf, he picked out five books and brought them over. "These were some of my favorites when I was younger, I'm sure you'll find one of them interesting."

Hanzo looked at the small pile before grabbing the one on top, it had a picture of a dragon on it so he was initially curious. Hanzo opened the book and his eyes lit up. "There's words and pictures in here! What does it say!?" Hanzo asked in excitement, looking at Jesse.

Jesse gave him a confused look. "You can't even read? Your parents never taught you?" He questioned, Hanzo shook his head. "They said schooling wasn't important for battle, I don't even know how to write." He explained, Jesse looked horrified. "I'm schooling you myself! No one should be deprived of knowledge!" He exclaimed.

-

As time went on, Jesse showed Hanzo how to read and write, Hanzo took to reading a lot and Jesse had some servants bring some of the books Hanzo liked most to their room. Hanzo really began to appreciate the prince's kindness and the more time they spent together learning, practicing fighting techniques or just hanging around the castle, Hanzo found himself falling in love with Jesse, he was so sweet and didn't treat him like a concubine, he was just there, a man who the prince wanted to be around, Hanzo was also given the option of less revealing clothes opposed to the ones he was made to wear, he was quite happy about that although he did keep wearing the jewelry and getting his hair done.

One night Hanzo was reading in Jesse's room by the fireplace when Jesse came and joined him, Hanzo raved about everything happening in the story when he noticed Jesse was just smiling at him, the flames from the fire reflecting in his eyes, Hanzo didn't even take time to process what he was doing before he and Jesse's lips connected, when they parted Jesse was still smiling. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time~" He said softly, Hanzo blushed and looked away shyly. "Jesse…. Thank you… nobody has ever been so kind to me, I would have died if it wasn't for you and I…. I think I love you too." He replied in a quiet voice, Jesse cupped Hanzo's cheek and kissed him again, the kiss lasted much longer as Hanzo wrapped his arms around the prince.

When the two parted once again, Jesse reached into his pocket and pulled out a platinum and sapphire ring. "Marry me Hanzo, I promise that I will always be with you and make you the happiest man on earth if you become my bride." He requested, Hanzo smiled and held out his hand to accept the ring, Jesse smiled and slipped it onto his beloved's finger before they kissed again. Unknown to the two lovers, a dark presence was watching from the shadows.

-

The kingdom celebrated their prince's engagement, even Jack and Gabriel were thrilled by the news, Hanzo was deemed a member of the royal court and had extensive knowledge of his family's magic uses, not many knew the uses or strength of the dark arts but Hanzo was able to fill in the blanks, the weeks leading up to the wedding were full of excitement as Jesse taught Hanzo how to dance while they planned their big day.

But meanwhile, Hanzo's family was watching. They had escaped the castle before the army burst in, they had left Hanzo and their soldiers to die so they could run off to their fortress in the mountains.

They had planned to retake their kingdom with the help of their prince but now Hanzo had turned against them, he had learned… Hanzo now understood what was being done to him in his family's empire wasn't right, being forced to wear rags, being made sleep in a shack next to the pig pen in the courtyard, being refused an education, proper food or basic hygiene wasn't right and this was all thanks to Jesse, he gave Hanzo everything he could ever possibly want and more, he showed him that those who cared about and loved him wouldn't make him live like a peasant.

The Shimada family had to watch all of this from their spying spells, every book Jesse gave, every meal Jesse served, every gentle kiss he placed on Hanzo's hand, it had unraveled their entire life's work, they wanted Hanzo to remain an obedient soldier who wouldn't question anything even when he took the throne but all that was gone and it was all thanks to the prince.

They. Wanted. Revenge.

The wedding was now in five days and the couple finally had time to unwind, Jesse left on his horse for his usual hunting trip in the forest, he waved goodbye to Hanzo who was at the castle gates and waving back.

Jesse arrived in the forest and looked around for a good target, he saw it in mere seconds, a female deer. Jesse gently kicked his horse and they gave chase after the animal, unaware how deep into the forest he was going. When they finally caught up to the deer, it was stopped in a clearing and was just staring at him, Jesse was confused by this and got off his horse to investigate, he slowly walked closer to the deer when it suddenly turned into a snake, this scared Jesse's horse and it ran off into the woods, Jesse was about to follow suit but the snake jumped and bit him on the hand, Jesse yelped in pain and looked at his hand and then at the snake, his vision began to blur, he couldn't stand up straight, the last thing Jesse saw before he collapsed was the snake taking the form of a woman.

Jesse laid motionless on the ground, the sorceress laughed maniacally at the effectiveness of her poison, she then said an incantation the clearing began to be surrounded with brambles and thorns of any kind, she quickly made her escape from the cage and placed a guardian by the prison before vanishing.

It had now been four days since Jesse left and Hanzo was still waiting for him to return which was odd, Jesse had been gone so long and their big day was tomorrow. Hanzo soon noticed Jesse's horse running into the kingdom and towards the castle, Jesse was finally back!

Hanzo ran down to the courtyard where the horse was to greet his fiancé but to his shock, Jesse was not on the horse, Hanzo immediately had a bad feeling, if Jesse had been gone this long and only his horse had returned, something had gone wrong. "Bring me a horse, sword and my bow!" He demanded, the stable workers nodded and fetched Hanzo what he needed, Hanzo immediately snatched the weapons, got onto his horse and rode towards the forest, he reached the edge of the trees and felt a strange aura around it, something wicked had been casted in the forest… Hanzo was about to head in when suddenly…

"Stop boy."

Hanzo froze when he heard the voice, he turned around and there was his grandfather, along with his uncles. "What are you all doing here?" He spat, his grandfather smirked. "We're here to bring you home, where you belong." He replied, Hanzo glared at him. "I am home grandfather, and I'm going to find where my fiancé is so if you'll excuse me-"

"There's no need to boy, he's gone."

Hanzo snapped back to his grandfather. "What do you mean?" He asked, venom dripping from his words, the elder snapped his fingers and a crystal ball appeared, it showed Jesse in the clearing, laying as if he were dead, his hand bleeding from the snake bite. "The poison was sleeping death, he'll never wake up, he's gone Hanzo."

Hanzo's eyes filled with tears, he couldn't believe it… He basically lost the person who saved him from death in more ways than one… Hanzo wanted to sob but he let out this agonizing scream, it was so loud that the crystal ball shattered, Hanzo then drew his bow and shot his grandfather in the heart before he grabbed his sword to battle his uncles, Hanzo showed no mercy for his family, the ones that tormented and abused him were shown the horror of what they created, a ruthless warrior that could only be stopped by death. “YOU DID THIS! YOU COULDN’T STAND ME BEING HAPPY AND YOU SENTENCED HIM TO DEATH! YOU’RE ALL MONSTERS!” He screamed in anger.

Hanzo eventually bailed out of the fight and ran into the forest, he couldn't leave Jesse there to die alone and forgotten. The cage of thorns was soon in sight and Hanzo made a break for it only to be stopped once more but by a dragon, the guardian the sorceress had placed there. Hanzo was not fazed by the creature and immediately slashed at it but his last few uncles had followed him so he had to dodge arrows left and right but they managed to hit the dragon, this weakened the monster significantly and as Hanzo finished off his treacherous family, he was able to make one last quick slash at the dragon's neck.

The dragon laid slain at Hanzo's feet but Hanzo was not satisfied yet, he passed the creature's corpse and began to cut down the brambles, when he finally managed to make himself an entrance he looked inside, there laying in the light that came through the top of the cage was Jesse, Hanzo dropped his weapons and ran to him, he held his lover in his arms and cried. "I'm sorry Jesse… this is all my fault… My love is what killed you..." He whispered, brushing hair out of his fiancé's face, he gently kissed Jesse's lips as one final act of love before holding him close and crying. Suddenly, Hanzo felt a hand brush away his tears. 

"Darlin'... why are you crying?..."

Hanzo gasped and looked at Jesse and saw his eyes were open and he had a weak smile on his face, Hanzo cried even more and hugged Jesse tightly. "You're awake! I thought I lost your forever!" He sobbed, Jesse hugged Hanzo back and kissed his cheek. "I would never leave you darlin', I made a promise to you." He said softly, Hanzo smiled and kissed Jesse again.

Hanzo and Jesse returned to the kingdom, Jesse was a little weak from his five day sleep so he leaned on Hanzo’s shoulder as they rode home on his horse. “How did you manage to wake me up? You explained to the court that the sleeping death spell was unbreakable, how did you free me?” He asked, Hanzo thought for a moment before realizing the answer. “It was when I kissed you, I remember my parents talked about it near me once and only the kiss of a person you loved that loved you back could wake you.” He explained, Jesse smiled and kissed Hanzo’s cheek. “I knew you were the one the moment I saw you." He said happily.

The next day was the wedding and as expected it was beautiful, Hanzo was dressed in a glittering white and royal blue suit with a golden diamond and sapphire crown which had a veil attached to it, Jesse wore a red suit with gold trim and his golden ruby crown sat proudly atop his head, after the ceremony the reception happened in town square, several chefs and bakers in the kingdom helped the castle kitchen staff prepare the feast for everyone in the city. Hanzo danced with his husband and some villagers having the time of his life but the best part was before the celebration ended, a group of soldiers marched into the middle of the party with the last members of Hanzo’s family in chains.

Hanzo smirked, when he and Jesse had returned to the castle yesterday he told Jack and Gabriel what his family had done, he also told them where the mountain fortress was since he knew that’s where they hid. Jack and Gabriel immediately sent some soldiers to arrest the ones who attempted to kill their son.

Hanzo stood up from his seat next to Jesse looking proud. “Hello everyone, I am so glad you made it to my wedding, however you will not be staying much longer after what you have done, the only person who deserves my pity is my brother Genji and I will be giving him the proper family life he deserves that we never received, with the blessing of my husband and fathers in-law, I sentence you to death.” He announced, he motioned for the soldier holding Genji to step forward, Hanzo took his little brother and held him close while the rest of their treacherous family was dragged away while being booed at by the crowd and pelted with food.

Jesse smiled at his husband and introduced himself to Genji who looked weary but Hanzo knew with a little time he would be okay, just like he was.

THE END

[the-mad-hattie]

Pirate and Swapberry's Adventure

“So it’s genuine?” Pirate Chara asked.

“Completely legit.” Dance Chara answered. “Now of course I doubted it when you gave it to me, but after having my own contacts check its authenticity I can assure you it’s the real thing.”

“Great, we should be able to find it, snag it, and be back by the end of the week to sell it.” The man said putting the map into their coat ready to take off immediately.

“Oh I'm not coming with you.”

“Wait what?” Pirate was shocked to hear that. “I need another person to help sail the ship, and the ruins themselves will no doubt have puzzles that could use a second pair of eyes.”

“Look around us, we’re in a tavern of adventurers for hire.” Dance said gesturing to the many seated pirates, rogues, and mercenaries. “Oh and I’ll be taking my twenty percent off the top, so don’t go promising any big rewards to your volunteers. And don’t make me come after you, two weeks and then I better see you again.”

Pirate Chara waved off their partner and then returned inside the tavern to find a crew for this exploration. “Which of these fools should I take with me.” They pondered looking over the lot.

Pirate climbed upon a stool and decided to address the entire tavern for any takers, figuring at least one would show interest. “Greetings fellow adventurers, I’ve come to gather a crew for a journey that’ll make us all richer than our wildest dreams. Some of you may have heard of me already, the demon who comes when you call their name.”

“Aren’t you the guy who got mutinied and thrown into the ocean by their crew?” A voice in the crowd.

“So you have heard of me.” Pirate responded with a smile. “And yes, a slight misunderstanding that led to a poor situation. Nevertheless that was on the part of the crew, and I’ve never held it against them.”

“Didn’t you promise to find an ancient treasure filled city and came back empty handed?” Another voice added.

“Another misunderstanding.” Chara claimed. “I did in fact find the city, I just wasn’t able to bring back any treasure from it since the inhabitants were still rather lively and wouldn’t part with it. But it should still prove that when I make a bold claim like I’m about to that faith should be withstanding.”

“In my hand I hold a map to yet another fortune, one this time not owned by any kingdom of monsters and is ours for the taking.” Pirate began their speech. “I need only a single man to join me on this journey to travel out to a small island where an ancient lord of the sea stored a portion of their loot away from the rest to assure its complete secrecy should the main haul ever be plundered as it was.”

“Take me!” A tall lanky fellow yelled excited.

Pirate eyed the excited person but continued anyway. “Just one man to help sail the boat and be my first mate through the trapped filled dungeon of treasure.”

“Pick me! Pick me! Over here!” The person continued to yell out.

“If anyone here should be brave enough to join me-”

“I’ll do it! I’m brave!”

“Anyone at all? Someone’s lame uncle that needs one last adventure before retirement or a child y’all never want to see again?” Pirate tried digging the bottom of the barrel to avoid bringing a certain someone.

“I’m here!”

Pirate Chara sighed and looked the excited gentleman in the eyes. “I suppose you do know how to tie a knot for a sail?”

“Oh definitely Mr Captain Sir, I’ve been practicing all my sailing skills ever since I first wanted to join your crew!” Swapberry said excited to finally have the chance.

“Just meet me at the dock in fifteen minutes, may as well get sailing before I decide the treasure ain’t worth it.” Pirate told Ichi, wondering if any treasure would be worth being with this excitable airhead for two weeks alone at sea.

At the dock Pirate Chara had raised anchor and was about to set the sails so the wind would catch and pull the ship out of harbor. Swapberry showed up at the very last minute to Pirate Chara’s both dismay and relief.

“You ready?” Pirate asked as the fellow sailor boarded the ship.

“Aye aye captain.” Ichi answered. “So kind of a small ship you have here.”

“Yep.”

“One bed?”

“No beds, and even if there were a bed one of us needs to be awake at all times to make sure the ship stays on course.” Pirate took the liberty to explain there’d be no fooling around this voyage. “Can’t help it, I’m always cute.”

“Eye of the beholder.” Pirate responded with a vague meaning quote before returning to business. “I’ll take the first shift, you find a corner and make yourself at home. We’ll be sharing this boat for the next week or so.”

For the next few days Pirate Chara learned to enjoy Swapberry’s company, despite that awkward first meeting last year where Ichi had come off like a lost puppy looking to be adopted. The young sailor proved to be a valuable companion. They were clearly faking being a sailor and only knew half of what they claimed, and only half decent at what they did know, but they were a quick learner and picked up the ropes quickly. Ichi also proved a capable chef, the meals weren’t the most presentable, but they tasted alright. And thankfully all the cooking and sailing lessons took up all Ichi’s free time to try and come up with new flirts.

On the fourth day an island came into view and Pirate checked the map to confirm it was their destination. Lover’s Quarrel the island was nicknamed. An odd name for an island, presumably named after some ancient dispute between two lovers long ago.

“Now remember, this island is most likely filled with booby traps to stop anyone from getting to the treasure near the heart of the island.” Pirate Chara explained one last time to Swapberry.

“That’s okay, because neither of us have boobies.” The young man jokingly responded, getting a scowl from their captain. “Sorry.”

“Stay close, keep your eyes peeled, and most importantly don’t touch anything.”

“Aye aye captain.” Ichi saluted before getting out of the ship after Pirate and following their lead.

The trek through the trees was largely uneventful, just some vines Swapberry managed to tangle themselves forcing Pirate Chara to stop and help free them. After reaching the temple the real trouble started.

“This writing is near illegible, but from what I can tell the only way to enter these ruins is as a pair.” Pirate Chara said aloud.

Swapberry gasped. “This is all so sudden, but if you really want-”

“A pair of explorers, not a couple.” PIrate said standing Swapberry on one pressure plate and standing on the other themself to open the hidden entrance. “Now let’s head inside.”

Pirate dodged, ducked, and dipped past many traps and hidden dangers attacking them through their exploration, much more than needed to be avoided if a certain partner of theirs would stop stepping on every pressure plate in the ruins.

“Are you quite finished?” Pirate Chara asked in an unamused tone waiting on Swapberry to finish crossing the hall.

“Yep, and not a single-” Before Swapberry could finish their claim their foot landed on a hidden pressure plate launching poisonous darts into Pirate’s arm. “Ouch, sorry…. Again.”

As discovered many times earlier the darts’ poison had long since expired, but Pirate Chara was no more happier with non-poisonous darts sticking in them than poison tipped ones.

“Let me just-”

“I’ve got it.” Chara said plucking the darts and throwing them to the ground. “Stand here and let me read this inscription.” They said issuing an order to Ichi and then beginning their deciphering of the ancient wording. “At journey’s end only embracing will open the path.” They translated. “Embrace what? Is there a word missing?”

Time wasn’t on Pirate’s side to solve the riddle as walls and ceilings started moving and trapped them both at the locked door with the sound of dangerous things coming their way. Touching the writing must have triggered some kind of time limit for the riddle.

“Okay embrace.” Pirate took a deep breath trying to understand. “Embrace faith? Philosophy? Understanding? This is Lover’s Quarrel island, so the pair must have embraced differences of opinion to stay together, but how do you show an embrace of ideas?”

Swapberry was growing worried watching Pirate struggle to solve the riddle, they wanted to help but all their ideas were usually stupid ones. Even right now all they could think of for embrace was to grab Pirate’s hand and- Wait, that was it, an embrace of understanding. Ichi grabbed Pirate’s hand and held it theirs.

“What are you doing?!” Pirate yelled trying to take back their hand

“Just wait!” Ichi told Pirate, not letting go of their grip on the man’s hand.

Pirate tried yanking their hand from Swapberry’s grip. “Let go! If I don’t solve this we’re going to-” The worried pirate suddenly noticed the sound of death slowed down and stopped. “What happened?”

“We embraced.” Ichi smiled holding up Pirate’s hand in theirs in front of their face to show what the riddle meant.

“The riddle actually meant to embrace…. That’s surprisingly literal for once. Can I have my hand back so we can get the treasure?” Pirate requested.

“Oh of course.” Ichi said letting go of Pirate’s hand.

Pirate gave an appreciative node and entered the treasure room. They gave one last look around for traps before opening up the chest, inside was a note that read “the treasure is the friends we made along the way.”

“Well that sucks.” Ichi responded after hearing Pirate read it aloud.

“Yeah that is a cliche, good thing they left all these heart shaped rubies along with the note.” Pirate smiled, tossing one back towards Ichi.

“We’re rich!”

“Semi rich, rubies aren’t the most valuable, but they’re worth a pretty penny at the market.” Pirate explained. “Load them up and let’s head back.”

“Aye aye captain.” Swapberry saluted and grabbed the loot to carry to the ship after a successful journey, they even got to hold Pirate Chara’s hand. ___________________________________________

My half of an art trade with @channydraws hope you enjoy it.

[kai-keda]

Cowards Die Many Times | DreamSMP Fanfic

Wow okay so I literally JUST made a post flat-out making fun of myself for writing this but in the tags I made a comment of “Should I post this?” and wow three people already reblogged with comments expressing I share.

So, you can thank (or blame lol) @thesmpisonfire @tommyistheprotagofthesmp and @ak3m0n for this being posted here at all. Depending on what the response to this is on here, I may or not post it on a03 and, again, depending on the response, I may or may not make this a sort of collection of one-shots detailing different death scenes and how the characters felt in those moments.

A/N:

THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE REAL LIFE STREAMERS!

I view the DreamSMP storyline as a sort of Dungeons and Dragons game with no real DM. Just players running around a world that they create as they go along and cause whatever chaotic instances and plot points they can manage. As such, while I write this and as you read this I want you to remember - burn into your brain - that this story isn’t about the real Minecraft streamers. They aren’t even streamers in this fic, they are fictional characters living in a made-up fictional world. I get that the line is blurred due to the nature of the videos this is based on, but I view it as being sort of like how when you write a character like Spiderman, you’re writing Spiderman, not Tobey Maquire.

All that being said, I really wanted to just write this concept of how death and respawn works with Tubbo from a certain festival event but as it turns out, he is very uncomfortable with the concept of fanfiction written about him. (Thank you SMP-boundaries for your God sent Tumblr) As such, even though I don’t see it as me writing literally him as I’m sure he’s seen plenty of, I won’t include anything from his perspective and try to limit any sort of mention of him. (I can’t bring myself to surgically remove him entirely. That would just be impossible because of how much of a part he plays both in what visibly happens and in Tommy’s development) ALSO PLEASE do not go out of your way and tag or try to show any of the Minecraft streamers/youtubers involved in this (not that y’all would lol). I happen to know that Tommy especially doesn’t want to see them even if he’s okay with them existing.

This was also meant to be a sort of collection of ficlets in one chapter. It was going to include more than this one scene and even include a POV from Wilbur but, uh, wow I got really carried away heh

SO YEAH! Now we got the important bits out of the way, please enjoy~

Cowards Die Many Times

“Do I shoot him Wil, or do I aim for the skies?” It was a heavy question. So heavy he couldn’t bring himself to raise his head. As they stood together and allowed the light reflecting off the water shine on them in a subtle way, Tommy considered his options. The answer should have been obvious. After all, this was war and this duel was their ticket to end it all and free themselves from their previous leader. The one Wil and he had labeled as a tyrant.

Dream.

“Tommy I -” A pause. Tommy looked up at his general. The only man he would ever take orders from. Wilbur Soot. He could see in his eyes that he had messed up. This was a burden Tommy couldn’t handle anymore. The deafening silence lasted for all of two seconds but it felt like eternity. He would never know for sure what Wilbur thought of his outburst and challenge towards their worst enemy, but the answer he received relaxed him. If only for a bit.

“I want you to do whatever your heart tells you.”

Tommy took a deep breath and relaxed it before turning around and going towards the man who hid behind a mask.

“Coward.” He whispered to himself. When he thought the word, he believed it was for Dream but now that he felt it leave his mouth and heard the shake of his voice, he wasn’t sure if it was for himself or not.

He walked to the center of the wooden path and held his bow tight. The tyrant, with his bright green hoodie that seemed to act as a target and challenge, laughed with his friends. With George and Sapnap. As if he felt this was all a game and after he won it would all be over with him holding more than bragging rights. The worst of the scene was that even Eret - the traitor - joined in their fun.

With such thoughts running through his mind, it’s no wonder the decision Tommy came to.

They needed their independence.

And Tommy had the perfect opportunity.

He knew what death felt like. He had nearly grown used to it. Maybe that’s why he was always so quick to start fights, skirmishes and even join wars. That was probably why he felt no regret with this decision to challenge the immediate area’s strongest member.

But if he was so used to death, then why did he shake so much?

Dream finally left his friends behind to watch as he walked towards Tommy. The younger of the two swallowed his nerves and did his best to glare. The smiling mask stared him down. Was Dream glaring under there? Was he shaking within the loosely fit hoodie? Was he…

“Are you taking this seriously at all, Dream?”

“Oh, I don’t know. This seems pretty easy.”

Oh yeah, Tommy was killing him for sure. To hell with any sort of ‘honor’ that supposedly came with throwing away ones shot in a duel, Dream was officially a dead man.

“Remember, Tommy,” Dream stated with his usual calmness, “when I win, you give me the disk, Mellohi, and you all give up this silly tantrum for good.”

Tommy glared even harder as now he was angrier than ever. Dream was always after his music disks, his most prized possessions in this God forsaken land. Betting one of them was worth it if it meant seizing total and complete independence forever for this wonderful vision Wilbur had shared with him.

He thought briefly about the disks. About why they were so treasured by Dream and himself.

For Dream they were merely bargaining tools. Something he could use to keep Tommy under control and stop him from starting anymore fights with anymore members under Dreams thumb. The deal would be that if Tommy got involved in any sort of ‘griefing’ of any kind, Dream would burn the disks. Though, to be completely fair and honest, all of that had started with Sapnap burning an unrelated member's home and then dragging both of the now dueling men into the fight.

But for Tommy? These disks were everything. There was something nostalgic about the sound of music, as though there was something he had long forgotten from a time far behind him. It was incredibly rare where they lived to find such things and Tommy, Tommy had two of them. Each a different mixture of sounds that brought their own unique textures to his mind.

He was not about to throw away his shot.

A whisper entered his mind and he did his best to not give away who it was from. For someone to use this ability, one that made themselves freeze in place and become vulnerable, especially at a time like this, it was important. So he simply continued to glare at Dream.

‘There’s no turning back now, Tommy. Good luck out there. My right hand man.’

Tommy took a deep breath before yelling out as loud as he could. “LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOO!”

At the sound of yelling, Dream, Sapnap, George, Eret and even Tubbo - the only other member as young as the loud blonde child and one of their allies - all laughed. But the rest of his side? His makeshift army? They starred with an apathetic energy Tommy wasn’t sure what to feel about. All looked as though they had given up on this hopeless revolution. The humanoid fox and supposed child of the general, (it was unclear how serious he was of such a claim as it was never confirmed) Fundy, even went so far as to let out a sigh and shake his head.

He never was one to find such outbursts funny. It was as though he felt that Tommy treated this all as a simple game with no consequences. Yeah, he hadn’t experienced death nearly as many times as Tommy had, so maybe he did think more of it. 

Wilbur, however, was hardly monotone in his expression and voice. As he spoke his next line, he looked directly at Tommy for only a brief second with worry and, more importantly, sadness. Wilbur had also already given up but as Tommy thought over that look, he realized that Wilbur, the one who was always looking after him as though he were an older brother charged with watching over the youngest child, was apologizing for dragging him into this. For supposedly making Tommy experience the worst possible torture this crazy world had to offer over and over.

Death.

“Are both parties ready?” Wilbur had questioned. After that one look, he refused to even so much as glance at Tommy. The younger one understood. Wil could never help getting emotional in times like these, after all.

Tommy turned to look at his opponent and the damn man was putting on a show of yawning, hardly looking prepared. He really was that confident.

Tommy pointed an accusatory finger at the one who seemed to like to smile a bit too much and yelled out “Are you ready to experience death, Dream?! Cause I’m ready to cause it for you!”

Dream shrugged and stood straight, bow in hand at his side. “Let’s hurry and get this started.”

Wilbur, still not looking at Tommy and, more surprisingly, not saying anything about his outburst of a response, stated the rules of the duel.

Turn their backs to each other, count ten paces - no more, no less - and then fire on your opponent at will. The first to die wins the duel and the agreement.

Either Tommy loses one-half of his most prized possessions, or he gains independence for their nation.

The count began. Tommy thought about what it would be like to kill Dream like this. No tricks, no silly traps and no real plans from either of them. Just a single arrow making contact and he would be dead. It was almost unreal. He would be a hero and would be considered a total badass. Maybe everyone, both enemy and friend, would finally respect him.

The count hit four. His thoughts turned away from such happy fantasies. What if Dream wanted revenge? He never took losing very well. Rather, he took it harshly, and the Lord only knew what George would do to them in unofficial retaliation. Dream would probably lightly suggest George return the favor to Tommy in a whisper and then claim to wash his hands of the incident. Just for the satisfaction of showing power while keeping whatever peace they decide upon after all this.

The count hit seven. Tommy centered himself. Maybe it was a bad idea to allow himself to daydream at this time. He probably should’ve been scanning and studying the terrain thoroughly and thinking of how to use it to his advantage and of how the other could use it against him. Think of a plan or at least a vague idea of the literal millions if not infinite possibilities.

Like hell.

Tommy always thought of plans only when he was backed into a corner and even then he was well into a battle.

Dream was the one to come up with every possible outcome and choose one of nine where he won. Tommy refused to be like Dream.

The count hit ten.

Tommy turned quickly and fired. His arrow went off and almost hit Sapnap, someone who was once an ally, if only temporarily, in his and Dream’s initial war. Way further off his target than the young man was willing to accept.

There was no time to think and sit in denial of being such a terrible shot. No time to listen to Dreams lackies yell at him to be a better aim or watch Tubbo cover his eyes while Fundy simply shrugged as though expecting it. Dream’s first arrow went by his ear so fast he almost felt as though it could deafen him and the older of the two was already aiming his second shot while Tommy was stuck in disbelief.

Tommy quickly moved and jumped to avoid the arrow that he knew would hit him if he didn’t but instead of landing on the wooden path, he crashed into the water. The very lake - or was it a pond? - that served to decorate the land and create a nice scenic area to sit and enjoy time with friends around. Tommy had forgotten all about it just as everyone had probably predicted.

Just as Dream had predicted.

As no arrows came, Tommy figured that Dream was waiting for him to surface so he took the time to ponder on his decisions.

After all, there was no doubt they were coming to bite him in the ass. There was no chance of him getting out of the water and not getting shot to death by a single arrow from his worst enemy.

This was it.

He was going to die again.

How much would it hurt this time? How long would he be stuck in an area of nothingness as whatever God that created them formed a new body? Would he be able to see his friends, to see Wilbur, as they are forced to give away any hope of a special place they could call their own?

Would it be slow and torturous as his body reels from the pain or would it be instant and clean? He had no way of knowing any of these things. He had no way of knowing what this death would feel like as, in his experience, there was no rhyme or reason to any of it.

What would one day only sting for a bit as he was instantly brought back to life, would cause him to spasm and feel his heart stop and his lungs give up their air for what felt like hours. In that one case that comes to mind, to add insult to injury, he would be trapped in that plain area that was completely absent of light and life with no way to contact anyone he loved (or hated).

They all knew this.

They all agreed that the fear of what would happen as you see the attacks coming and you feel yourself growing weaker could only sometimes be worse than the experience itself.

Tommy felt torn by everything in a single moment. If they all knew this, then why did they fight in this war to begin with? Was it worth these moments of pure fear and terrible agony?

Whenever he would die he would return as though nothing ever happened despite his true thoughts and experience. He was not one to talk about things like ‘feelings’ or ‘emotions’. That was something for women and only women. No matter how much Wilbur would try to encourage him to be more open like Tubbo, Tommy was a man. And he was always fighting to prove it.

Yes.

He may be positive he’ll lose. He may be certain there is no chance of winning this duel, but Tommy made a decision in that moment as he swam to the other side of the path.

He was going to die but he’d be damned if he let himself be the cause of Wilbur’s hopes in the form of their very own L’Manberg crashing down forever and for good.

First, he had to make it look good so no one else would suspect what he had hiding in the deepest part of his mind. An actual plan.

He jumped from the lake and pointed his arrow directly at the mask and right between the eyes but before he could fire, he was hit.

Ah. This one was going to hurt.

[anime-lover-forever-1127]

A Woman With Vision {Arthur Leywin} - 20. Beast Glades

Beast Glades

*****

Disclaimer - (Cause fanfiction is tricky ground and I hope not to offend the creator of the original story and get sued)

I do not own "The Beginning After The End", it belongs to its original creator TurtleMe. This is only a fanfiction that I was inspired to write by the original work. Please support the official release. Most of the media - such as the art and illustrations, gifs, video's, etc. used in this fanfiction - are from the web. Thus, most of them aren't mine (because I really, really can't draw) unless mentioned. To fit the story, images are also edited by various apps and websites. So they aren't mine, just edited. I get much of the text, especially the fight scenes and thought, aside from my oc's, from the original novel, which can be found on Library Novel. Please support the official release.

Also if you own a picture or Video that I found online, and you either want your name added, or me to take it down. Please contact me and we can talk it out. P.s. I also ask that you do not copy my work and publish it onto any other website.

If you're gonna use my idea, please ask me (If you ask nicely, I for sure, will agree). If I don't contact you within a week, then just assume I'm giving you the all clear and go for it. Just remember to credit me.

I will be writing out scenes even if my Oc isn't in them. As long as she's mentioned, or influencing the characters in some way. This may seem a bit annoying. But that's just how I write. I like to embed my characters into the story line. Because of this, most of the dialogue/scenes will come from the original work.

Playlist

For the playlist you can go to my YouTube channel, which is under "Anime-lover-forever-1127" and click on the playlist titled "A Woman With Vision {Arthur Laywin}". Or you can use this link watch?v=GYlAaNM7WS8&list=PLVKYkztH1Zd8bdl2_a1C8F6u8gPPwfa6D&ab_channel=7clouds 

Warnings: Spoilers for Chapter 30 and chapter 54 of the comic

*****

Today's Special

No one tells you that the hardest part of MOTHERHOOD is when your kids grow up

~ sitiraihana

*****

{Morgana P.O.V.}

Crossing through the teleportation gate, my senses jolted from the scenery. The City of Xyrus had the most teleportation gates among the cities since they were the only way one could enter it, it being a floating city and all. The one we crossed led us directly to the front entrance of the area known as the Beast Glades.

The chirps of birds, occasional cries and roars of beasts, and the constant sound of water flowing filling the background all created an enticing symphony of nature. The sight of tall trees and numerous hills covered in various plants and shrubs made it hard to believe that this beautiful landscape was filled with magical beasts capable of killing even the strongest mages. However, because of abundances of natural resources on the outskirts, it was mostly only the lower rank beasts that inhabited this deeper an adventurer traversed, the more mysterious and treacherous the landscape turned, filled with the lairs of powerful beasts that have amassed their treasures and power in the solitude's of unexplored regions in the Beast Glades.

I took a sip of the crisp air as Jasmine and Arthur arrived behind me through the teleportation gate when, suddenly, I heard a wish, and from the corner of my eyes I saw Sylvie scurry off.

"Wait, Sylv! Where are you going?" Arthur called after her, dumbfounded.

Sylvie transmitted a vague response; I could feel her emotions of excitement as she sent out thoughts about her plans to train as well.

"Did she just?" I asked, pointing at the direction my baby just ran off to.

"Yep, she just ran away from home." He answered weekly, his tone going a little high.

"Oh, Arthur." I sighed, pulling him close and giving him a shoulder hug. I had only known Sylvie for a couple of months, and I felt as if something was missing without her here.

But she was Arthur's bond, and had never left him since the day she had hatched. I could only imagine how big the hole in his heart must feel.

"Are you gonna be ok?" I asked. "We could take a break."

Arthur shook his head, "We just got here. Plus, I'm only a little…" He struggled, unsure of what world to use, "...uneasy. But… I can sense her whereabouts. So it should be fine."

"You can sense her whereabouts?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded, "Wait! You can't?"

I shook my head.

"Close your eyes, and try searching for her aura."

I did what he had said. I could see the mana floating around me, but no Sylvie. I opened my eyes, "Nothing. No trace of her. Maybe we're not just there yet."

Sylvie had explained to me that the longer me and Arthur were with each other, the stronger our mate bond would become. And the stronger it becomes, the easier it would be for me to create an adopted bond with Sylvie. Of course that would only be possible after spending time with her. And if I ever got a bond, it would be the same with Arthur. He would form a bond, through me, until he had a second, slightly weaker bond, with my own, on his own.

So because of that, until my bond with Sylvie was complete, I would be using Arthur's bond, to support my own developing one with her.

Now it was Arthur's turn to give me a sympathetic and reassuring hug. "It's fine mama bear."

"You're right." I nodded, "Knowing you can still

"She'll be okay. Mana beasts have a natural instinct to grow stronger. She must've felt very suffocated being in a sheltered environment all of her life," Jasmine pips up , walking next to Arthur.

"I know." I nod, "But that honestly doesn't make it hurt any less."

Jasmine lets out a chuckle, "It's like your her mother."

"She is" - "I am"

Arthur and I answer at the same time.

Jasmine stops a bit, staring at us long and hard, before smiling, "I think I get what your parents meant now. Well, to each their own."

Both me and Arthur smile at that. She really is a great woman.

Putting her hand on our shoulder, she signalled for us to start moving. "There's a place I wish to visit first before going to a dungeon. We have to hurry though; it gets a little more dangerous at night."

Willing mana into her body, Jasmine bolted off into the distance, her wind attribute mana propelling her even faster.

I followed after her, forming two gales of wind below my feet as I dashed after her, Arthur doing the same, followed.

Everyone in a while, Arthur would give me an update on Sylvie.

"I just hope that she doesn't go after bigger beasts until she's ready." I sigh.

"Don't worry. She knows she has us if she ever gets in over her head. She knows she can always ask us for help." Arthur says, petting my head.

*****

The journey lasted a few hours and it began to grow dark. The only reason Arthur and I had been able to keep up with Jasmine, even when she was at a dark yellow stage, was Arthur had been using mana rotation throughout the way, and I had controlled mine to only use the bare minimum amount mana needed to create a controlled, constant amount of wind. This skill had become almost second nature to me now as I utilised it unconsciously whenever I exerted mana.

By late evening, we had cleared through a dense forest and arrived at a small clearing. Surrounded by trees, there was a small field of grass with a stream of clear water flowing through it.

"We'll camp out here for a few days," Jasmine announced as she set down her bag and took out a couple of items.

"Weren't we going to a dungeon right away?" Arthur asked, setting down his bag as well.

She simply shook her head, picking up a few branches of wood and gathering them together.

Well Arthur and I went into the forest, finding some decent-sized branches to make a fire with. After a bit, we had a fire crackling and popping in the middle of our camp. Making myself comfortable, I leaned against Arthur who had removed his mask and sat silently by Jasmine, next to the fire.

Trying to break the silence, Arthur asked Jasmine, "What made you want to become an adventurer?"

"…"

Her gaze never left the fire and after a few minutes of more awkward silence, I just stared back at the flame, assuming she didn't want to answer.

"I wanted to get away from my family." I almost missed what she said from how quietly she spoke amidst the wood of the fire snapping fiercely.

"I see… were you on bad terms with your family?" Arthur responded, his eyes focused on the fire.

I choose to just listen to their conversation.

"…"

"The Flamesworth House was a major contributor to the war against the elves. Our house has provided many powerful mages, both conjurers and augmenters. Our lineage in the fire attribute element was second to none. We took great pride in this, because fire is considered to be the most powerful of the elements," she stated monotonously.

Despite her short sentences, this had been the most Jasmine had talked in one sitting.

"But Jasmine, aren't you a…" Arthur asked, looking up at her as she nodded in response.

"Since early on, when I had first awakened and started training, my family tried to test my mana for fire affinity. I went through various tests so they could see how my mana was exerted and how it flowed through my mana channels." She took a pause and poked at the fire before continuing on. "When it was made clear that I had no aptitude for the fire attribute, my family regarded me as lesser."

"…"

Arthur didn't know how to respond to her. For the first time, the always aloof and cold Jasmine seemed…vulnerable.

"I'm sorry for what happened…" was the only response Arthur managed to utter.

But so much for staying silent, I stood up to my knees and crawled over to Jasmine until I was face to face with her. Looking her directly in the eyes, I told her firmly. "Your family is wrong… and crazy." Her eyes went wide at my statement. "Wind magic is probably stronger than fire when you get down to it! All your family is, is a walking matchstick. All they can do is shoot out flames, a pillar if they're really getting creative. But with wind magic… we can create tornadoes, fly, move objects across a room. I mean it was because of wind magic we covered a distance that would have taken us days, in mere hours. Do I really have to say more?"

Jasmine's eyes widened and she shook her head, she gave me a faint smile. "The Twin Horns have treated me well and I don't dislike what I am."

I smiled, "I know that. I can tell it on your face whenever you're with your party, that you're clearly happy. But I'm just letting you know that your family is wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but theirs… is just plain stupid."

I glanced at her palm as Jasmine formed a small swirl of wind, different emotions running through her face as she peered at her hand.

This world was a place of discrimination and classification. The hierarchical roots embedded into this land would never truly disappear. Normal humans were considered second-rate people, while even amongst mages, augmenters were discriminated against by conjurers. It went further than that where, unless one was a deviant or a dual element specialist, some elements were considered "higher class" than others.

Being born from a family of powerful fire attribute mages, she was discarded as inferior because of the elemental attribute she had; something that most mages would kill to acquire. She was a dark yellow augmenter skilled in fighting and mana manipulation at the ripe age of 24. Many would consider her a genius but from the standards she grew up with, she considered herself lesser.

We placed more wood to last through the coldest parts of the night and laid out our sleeping bags a few feet away so we could still feel the heat.

As we got ready to go to sleep, Arthur leaned into my ear and whispered, "I know subtlety isn't really your strong suit. It never has been."

I sent him a glare, "This better be building into a compliment."

He sent me a smile, "Well, more of a request. But I'm not shy to add one in there. Anyway, if we ever meet with nobility… and royalty again - assuming you haven't scared them enough yet. Could you at least try to hold it in. Until we least have a chance at beating them."

I huffed, "Speak for yourself. I already have my network ready. Of course it really isn't anything that great yet, but it has potential. The seeds are planted, and ready to sprout like a butterfly bush at a moment's notice." I winked at him.

He stared at me confused, "Who would-"

I cut him off, "Finishing school is quite boring when you've actually played the high society game. But, when it comes to making connections with little girls eager for your approval, there's nothing like it. As for informats, they're easy to buy. Mom and dad's allowance has always been generous, and I know exactly how to put it to good use." I smirked as I thought of the various amounts of blackmail I had collected for various families.

Arthur stared at me, wide eyed. "Damn, why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged, "I thought you knew me?"

"I do!" He defended himself. "But I may have accidentally underestimated you. I thought your network may take you another two to three years. Sorry. Never again."

I smiled into the fire, "Well… If I'm being honest. It's nowhere near as good as my old one. But it's better than nothing. Information is the name of the game. And plus, every now and then, I do find a few pieces of gold." I said, remembering the little golden nugget of information I'd collected on a certain elf princess. I don't wanna be mean, but if she pushes my hand...

My eyebrows furrowed as I remembered, "Where's my compliment?" I pouted.

Arthur chuckled, "What you said to Jasmine, was truly amazing."

"Of course it was." I said, smiling and accepting the compliment. I ran my fingers through his hair, and added, "Though, we really do need to work on your elements. You need to do so much more than just creating pillars of fire." I felt a sweat drop roll down the side of his neck as I began making plans. "I've made a lot of progress with my wind, though I definitely need to work on my water. Before we start school, I would like to start working with ice a little bit. Though I'm not sure how much I could exactly get done between practising wind, and working on water, and relearning the sword." I pouted, eyeing the blue blade Arthur wouldn't let me touch unless he knew for a fact I wouldn't drop it on myself.

As much as I hate to admit it, I don't really blame him for it. Considering he never lets me forget it, I know for a fact he remembers how bad my first sword training lesson went. And to be honest, as fun as it would be to swing it around again, I don't wanna know how well it would work out with my current build. It was too big for my current body. So until I grew a bit, I'd have to use a practice sword.

Eyes closed, I waited to drift off when I heard Jasmine mumble something.

"…It's weird. When I talk to you two, it doesn't feel like I'm talking to children."

I didn't respond. Pretending to be asleep, I hoped she wouldn't push further for a reply.

*****

"Good morning." Jasmine was up and cooking something over the fire by the time I had gotten up and out of my sleeping bag.

My stomach rumbled to remind me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon as I looked hungrily at the skewered fishes being grilled on the fire.

"Good morning! You should've woken me up, Jasmine. There's no need for you to do all of the chores on your own."

I turned my head to see Arthur rubbing his eyes.

"…I tried waking both of you up… But you wouldn't budge." Her half-closed eyes that give off an apathetic stare regarded us with concern. "If I didn't hear you breathing, I would've mistaken you for corpses."

"Haha…" Arthur let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm sorry, I really need to fix that."

"You and me both." I nodded. I usually woke up early on my own. But if I didn't, then nobody could wake me up.

After devouring the grilled fish for breakfast, we put out the fire. Using the nearby stream to wash myself and my clothes.

Arthur put on his mask and swords, well I wrapped my cloak around my shoulder, and placed my contents lenses in, assuming we'd go hunting for some mana beasts around the area, when Jasmine stopped me.

"Your opponent for these few days will be me."

"Huh?" I couldn't help but be surprised at the turn of events. We came all the way here to spar?

"This area is close to the dungeon we will be exploring, but for these days, I want you to focus on fighting me. I noticed that your fighting style seems… awkward at times. Like, you know it in your head, but your body doesn't listen to you… or something like that." She told Arthur and then turned to me, "You have your control down. But you need to focus on increasing your mana amount. We can stay in a dungeon for days at a time. So you're going to need to work on that."

Unsheathing her two daggers, she pointed one at me, continuing, "We won't use any kind of mana for these next few days while sparring."

I hadn't expected Jasmine to catch on to what I had been worried about, but it was a good opportunity.

"Good idea," Arthur replied, unsheathing his short sword.

I sat down on the grass, getting ready to meditate.

{Arthur's P.O.V.}

"Use your other sword…" Jasmine's eyes flickered toward Dawn's Ballad.

"How did you know this was a sword?" I wasn't planning on hiding my weapon from her but I was still caught off guard.

"Knowing you, that black stick should be something more than just a cane or a practice stick," she shrugged, walking a few steps closer to me.

Giving her a confirming nod, I tossed the short sword to Morgana, who caught it with her eyes closed. From my position, I could see the mana around us, begin to gather towards her.

As the sword soundlessly glided out from its scabbard, the translucent blade glowed a light teal as it reflected the sun's strong rays.

Holding it out in front me, I positioned myself. "Ready when you are."

"Y-Yeah," Jasmine stuttered as her eyes remained glued to Dawn's Ballad.

We dulled the edges of our weapons using mana before beginning. Without mana strengthening my body, I realised just how much I had been neglecting myself. After a few swings, my arms felt heavy and my legs trembled as they pushed feebly off the ground.

This was my mistake. I knew of the limits that my juvenile body had, but instead of trying to fix my shortcomings, I chose only to mask it using mana.

While magic in this world was capable of many things, it should be only used as a supplement to your abilities, not a replacement to cover them.

I lunged out with a sharp thrust aimed at Jasmine's sternum. Even though our swords were coated to prevent fatal injuries, it would still leave bruises and even broken bones if taken lightly; this made the sparring experience much more intense and real.

Jasmine swung her two daggers down in an outward arc, parrying my lunge and knocking the blade of my sword into the ground.

I brought my rear foot forward to maintain balance as my teal blade sunk into the ground below her. However, by that time, Jasmine had already brought her daggers back into position to follow up with a quick, downward slash.

Prying out my sword, I immediately pivoted my body to the side to avoid the overhead slash. As her daggers grazed harmlessly past my loose shirt, I kicked her arm away and stepped away into a more comfortable distance.

My arms were burning from the quick, consecutive movements as I positioned my sword in a defensive stance.

"It's my win," Jasmine said, sheathing her two daggers deftly into their scabbards attached to her thighs.

"You're right," I laughed as I dropped Dawn's Ballad on the ground. We had sparred for a little less than five minutes but my arms and legs screamed in protest from overuse. Massaging my forearms, I picked my blade back up and slid it back into its black sheath.

The duel had ended with me with the upper hand, but I didn't have the strength to proceed. It was my loss.

"Hey Jasmine, I think I'm going to need more than a couple of days to work this out," I confessed with a chuckle.

Her lips curled up slightly as she nodded in agreement.

I had three years before I'd attend Xyrus Academy. During my time at school, I would have plenty of chances to focus on studying mana.

I knew what my priorities were at this time.

Making a rough calculation in my head, I held up two fingers. "Two years, Jasmine. I'll dedicate two years to getting my body truly adjusted to sword-fighting without relying on mana."

"That's it?" she said, surprised.

"Just watch," I smirked.

*****

A Butterfly bush is a really fast growing plant. I could have used weeds, but referring to an information network as weeds, doesn't sound nearly as nice.

Also, finishing school only takes about 6 weeks. So I didn't have to worry about that.

I get the whole bond system is a little confusing, especially with me throwing in mate bonds and secondary bonds. So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Because I do have plans to keep using and referencing the bonds - so it would be easier for you guys and less confusing, if you know what's actually happening. (Or if your just here for the romance - I guess you can sort of skip it - though again - their is the mate bond)

I feel like I should give you guys a heads up, that the next chapter is going to likely be on the shorter side (and the two after that as well). But man will it leave a huge impact on you guys. I'm actually willing to bet the title of the next chapter alone would be worth the hype (and the happiness and excitement you would get from four pages - why four you asks, one page for each word in the title.)

In fact, here's a little teaser (Feel free to try and guess what may be happening, and the contents of the paper):

Next Time~

Morgana untied the bright red ribbon and uncurled the scroll.

Her eyes widened as they flew over the contents of the paper, before tears began streaming down her cheeks.

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Chaos Lineage: Ayato Sakamaki (Story 07)

In terms of the gameplay: The black choices lead up to a bad ending, the white choices lead up to a good ending. Please no reposting onto other sites, ask me before translating this into another language too! I’m an amateur translator, but I hope you do enjoy it anyway!♡

Place: Orange Mansion — Ruki’s bedroom

Yui: hm...

...uhh... it’s Ruki-kun's room...

(I had a dream when I was at the Sakamaki house... I miss that mansion)

I wonder how Ayato-kun has been doing since yesterday... but—

I may be mistaken but... Ayato-kun’s memories are finally back...

(Ah, someone is coming—)

*someone comes in*

Ruki: Breakfast is ready. We’ll meet in the livingroom

Yui: Alright. I’m coming. Thank you... huh?!

(I- I’m still in my pajamas... !)

Why didn’t you knock tho... !

Ruki: You’re in my room. Do I have to knock to enter my own room?

I have no personal interest in you in the first place.

We just need you to make someone of us the king and thats it.

Yui: ...uhh

Ruki: Change your clothes quickly and then come with me, don’t think about anything strange

*Ruki leaves*

Yui: (...He really acts like I’m just a thing to order around)

The key to become king, is me. Even if I said that I can’t remember anything ...

Yeah, there is something I could remember. But for that they need to let Ayato-kun out!

Place: Orange Mansion — Dungeon

Yui: (... I made it. I used the way which Kanato taught me and I came back without being found ......)

(I'm worried about Ayato-kun's condition from yesterday, he hasn’t eaten anything for a long time)

(After eating, I managed to bring out the food without being found by Ruki-kun)

(I know that vampires don’t need food, but I think it will change the mood)

Ayato: ...oh? Chichinashi!

Yui: Ayato-kun! Are you alright?

Ayato: Of course. Anyway, what brings you here?

Yui: Well, I made sandwiches. They are with ham and eggs. Wanna eat them?

Ayato: Hah? Did you bring it in purpose?

Choices

1) — I want you to get better (white) ♡ ♡ ♡

2) — I want you to eat (black)

— I want you to get better ♡

Yui: I wanted you to get better soon that’s why I made them.

Ayato: It's not like I’d die if I don’t eat anything

Yui: But you will always get bored here, right? I think it's okay to change the mood

— I want you to eat

Yui: I want Ayato-kun to eat. I did my best to make it.

Ayato: Heh, whatever

Yui: Oh, I've been picking apples for dessert. You can eat them if you preferred that

end Choices

Ayato: I don't feel like eating. You should know that my food arrived already?

Yui: Huh...

Ayato: I’m talking about your blood

Yui: (After all, its still like that...)

(I thought you restored your memories yesterday... ?)

Ayato: Oh, let me drink quickly, get closer to the steel grid

Yui: Y-Yes...

*Yui gets closer*

Ayato: Hey, your face, turn it right here

Yui: My face? What are you going to do?

Ayato: That’s good, now close your eyes

Yui: Oh, but ... I'm scared to close my eyes

Ayato: Do it now.

Yui: (His breath... it’s so close...)

Ayato: ...Nn

*Ayato kisses Yui*

Yui: Eh... ?

(Huh! He kissed me on the cheek... what?)

Ayato-kun... ?

Ayato: Heheh... What's with that scared face. It’s kinda funny

Yui: No... ! That was awful. I was really scared about what you’d do... !

Ayato: hehe, my girlfriend really is the cutest.

Yui: (What? Ayato-kun's atmosphere is getting softer because of this ...)

Are you really remembering everything... ? The Sakamaki mansion and all...

Ayato: I do

Yui: ... !

Ayato: Those fake memories were blown away like nothing ever happened

I am Sakamaki Ayato, I shouldn’t forget that so easily.

And you — are the most important person on earth for me

Yui: I’m...

Ayato: You should believe what I’m saying

Yui: (No... I’m too happy that my vision started blurring)

I missed you so much... If your memories weren’t coming back, I wonder what I’d do ...

Ayato: Look directly at me. In front of you is the Ayato, you badly fell in love with and who will protect you.

I managed to remember you. I finally got ride of that dizziness...

Yui: I’m so happy you do...

(As long as Ayato’s memories came back, I’m happy with everything...)

Ayato: I wish I could hold you in my arms but this iron grid is in my way

Jeez, that asshole called Ruki really locked me up in here, without any hesitation.

Yui: Oh... Do you remember what happened after you came to this house?

Ayato: Ah. Not really, the way our memories got changed messed up my whole mind.

Hey, do you know what happened?

Yui: N-No. I just know that everyone’s memories are weird—

*someone opens door*

Yui: Huh... ?

Ruki: After all, you really came here

Yui: (Shin-san! Ruki-kun!)

Ayato: Tch... the trouble arrived

Yui: Why are you here...

Ruki: I thought that you’d get in touch with Ayato now or later, so we decided to pay you both a nice visit

Yui: (Ah... they expected that I’d go to the dungeon)

Ruki: However, it’s unexpected, that Ayato is surprisingly calm.

I was going to collect you before Eve would become a victims of the beasts fangs...

I should’ve been a little earlier. Or did the beast not put his fangs in your neck already?

Yui: Ayato-kun, is not a beast. And he’d never force me to give him my blood

Shin: That's what you think and what your mouth says. Did you forget the other day already?

Yui: No, I remember! But... Ayato-kun is fine now. Because he finally remembered who he is and who I am to him!

Shin: Hah? What does that mean?

Yui: (I tried to explain it so many times by now... It’s just frustrating!)

Ruki: Shin, hold Eve. I suddenly got a good idea for an intense punishment

Yui: Huh?!

Ayato: What?!

Shin: I understand, brother. You see, come here!

Yui: Agh! Stop, release me!

Shin: There’s no way to escape. You’re way too weak against me.

Ayato: Damn it, let her free! She didn’t do anything wrong!!

Ruki: Ayato, I told you many times. Eve is the key to become king. Not a simple toy.

Ayato: That’s wrong, you’re not better! You assholes are not taking her away from me again!!

Yui: Ayato-kun... hn!

Ruki: ...I understand. Shin, hand over Eve to me

Shin: Understood, there you go, brother

Yui: Stop! What are you doing... ?

Ruki: It is often said that curiosity kills cats.

You broke the statement and contacted Ayato without notice. I shall punish you then

Yui: ...Nn

Ruki: And Ayato, it seems useless to tell you anything in words. That’s why—

I have to show you clearly and make you understand

Ayato: What are you saying?

Ruki: Take a good look. At your beloved Eve —

Yui: Wha—

(His fangs are touching my neck... is he going to drink my blood?!)

No... stop! Ayato-kun... !

Ayato: Oi, stop that! Release her now!

Shin: Shut up. Just wait and watch it. Because this is your punishment

Ayato: Shut up! Why are you doing that! Do you want to show me your strength or what!

Shin: Aren’t we allowed to play a little with our toy too? Oh right, she belongs to our selfish Ayato

I think you would be forgiven if you're willing to follow your brother's order from now on?

Ayato: Orders...? Don’t talk shit! I’d never follow any orders you’d give me!

Shin: Haa... it’s already too late I see

Ruki: That’s right.

Yui: A-Ayato-kun...

(I hate to be sucked from any other vampire then Ayato... but this—)

That’s alright... yes. Because I’m fine.

Ayato: Hah?! What are you saying!

Yui: There is nothing I can do against it. I really hate being sucked by others

But the person who I love, is nobody else then Ayato-kun.

Ayato: You...

Yui: (As long as I can afflict Ayato-kun at least a little)

(I’m sorry... this is the only method...)

Ayato: Fuck... how can you smile over that...

I don’t want someone else to suck your blood.

Yui: Ayato-kun... ?

Ayato: Realise her now...

Ruki: What... ?

Ayato: I told you to let Yui go!!

*Ayato breaks the iron grid*

Yui: What are you?!

Shin: You must be kidding? The Iron grid...

Ayato: This prison is way too weak to hold me back from taking her from you.

Now pass her over!

*Ayato pushes Ruki*

Ruki: agh... !

Yui: Ayato-kun... ugh..

Ayato: Finally, I got you back...

Yui: I...

(After such a long time... he’s holding me in his arms again)

(I’m so relived. I just... I... )

We finally... are together again.

Ayato: You idiot... you look so speechless right now...

Yui: What is that supposed to mean? I’m just happy... I wanted to be in your arms again... its kinda funny...

(My vision is getting blurry... no, I shouldn’t cry now)

Ayato: Jeez, why are you holding them back? If you want to cry do it

After all, I can’t continue my life without seeing your face everyday

Yui: Yes, without Ayato-kun in my life, I can’t continue living.

Ayato: Heh... you didn’t change. Well, of course. At the end you’re still the one I treasure the most.

My dear. The person I want to protect at all cost...

I won’t allow you to go to any other man besides me. Even if you die, I won’t allow it.

You’re only allowed to love me, and me only.

Yui: ...Yes!

(I can’t hold back anymore... I’m just too happy I don’t care if I cry)

(I like this mood...)

Ayato: ...ugh, nh... !

Yui: Huh...?

*Ayato collapses*

Yui: A-Ayato-kun?!

(He collapsed? What happened?!)

Ayato-kun?! Wake up!

Kanato: Shut up. I just lost my temper already because of how reckless that day was

Yui: K-Kanato-kun. Hes alive right...?

Kanato: That's probably right. That idiot Ayato can't die that easily

Yui: We should get him in a bed... ! Ruki-kun please help!

Ruki: Let's allow Ayato to return to the room. Instead-

You should tell me what happened between you two very detailed

Yui: ... !

Yes, I understand... please take care of Ayato-kun.

Ruki: Understood

Monologue

Ayato-san, who fainted, was safely taken out of jail.

He started sleeping so peaceful, my chest got warm when I watched him.

Finally I got him back. His memories finally came back

Most importantly, I love you — Ayato.

[jaywrites101]

Excerpt: A Treasure Made of Death

A Light In The Darkness (full novel here)

He trudged along the dirt road in determination. The cold night bit at his nose under the hood of his cape. His eyes were focused on the dim circle of light in front of him. The darkness pressed in around him. It was heavy. The lantern held out in front of him against the wind was his only lifeline. If it went out he could easily wander off the path and be lost in the night.

A dragon's roar echoed on the wind. The damned nuisances ran rampant up here in the mountains, he knew. But not even the threat of a dragon attack could keep him from his task tonight.

He couldn’t feel his legs. In some ways, it was a blessing. His whole body was sore from riding earlier in the day. Just a little bit further and he could finally put his poor body to rest. At last! A light appeared in the darkness in front of him. It’s dim yellow glow brought tears to his eyes, tears that the wind would freeze to his face. The path at his feet widened out. What few trees dotted on either side of him dispersed altogether as he approached the promised drinking hall. The light solidified into a square pane of glass set into a rough oak wall. Little things flirted in and out of the lantern-light. Steps! A door! Oh, he was so close. One step away. One turn of the handle. His hands felt disembodied. He needed to get in fast before frostbite set in for good. His hand on the handle, the traveler paused. Music! Hearty laughter and well-natured guffaws warmed his heavy heart. He knew before entering he’d found the right place. With a renewed vigor the traveler opened the door and stepped into the hall. “What in blazes!” Exclaimed a burly man of middling ages. Seated as he was against the fire his shadow covered most of him except his long fine mustache which was at least one foot on either side. The other patrons of the hall looked up from their ale mugs expectantly. Some assessed him; seasoned veterans, no doubt. Others simply bored of him and returned to their bantering. Except for the youth in front of him and the man by the fire, no one seemed to think he was of importance. The youth in question approached the stranger. He was dressed in a simple leather tunic and rough woolen breeches. But the sword at his hip marked him as a fighter. “State your business, stranger,” he said in a voice meant to be threatening, but a slight squeak betrayed his age. “Is this the guild hall of the Ancient Magics Delvers?” The newcomer asked, pulling a flyer from his coat. “It is,” replied the youth. “What does that matter to you?” “My name is Drake Mundus. I’m a client.” The man by the fire took interest at this. “Goodness gracious man!" He exclaimed. Do you have any idea what time it is?" The youth, after a nod from the older man, guided the stranger to a roughly hewn stool by the fire. Drake accepted the seat with a gracious sigh. Warmth couldn’t seep back into his limbs fast enough. “I judge from your clothing you’re not from around here.” The mustachioed man chuckled. “From the city?” “I’m an archaeologist,” Drake answered. His own inquisitive glance didn’t tell him much about the man in front of him. Clearly, he was in charge here, the fabled guild leader Erik Musen. But from his garb, nothing could be discerned about his temperament. He was a tall man, easily seven feet and more. He wore no shirt except some kind of leather brace which showed fine workmanship. On his legs was a workman’s hardy leather pants. His arms and chest were well developed and bulged majestically from his muscles. His skin was dark and tanned. There wasn’t a hair to be found anywhere on him save his elegant mustache which was bound on either end and painstakingly maintained. “Ha! So you need a bodyguard little man.” The big man japed. Drake was no stranger to being belittled by men like him. It was standard procedure for experienced mercenaries to puff out their chests like they’re in charge. It got them better wages from more foolish clients. Drake was no fool. “Ordinarily? No,” he said sternly. “But if you know of the temple I’ve been contracted to investigate, I dare say you’d want a bit of steel behind you as well.” “We’re the Ancient Magic Delvers!” The man boasted. “We’ve been in and out of every temple in these lands. HOOAH!” He called across the hall. “HOOAH!” Everyone called back. Some of the more festive drinkers downed a mug of ale in a toast. “Haha,” the guild leader grinned as he settled back in his chair. “So tell me, what dungeon cave does your king want you to crawl through now? The Green Pyramid? The Meadow Reserve? Are you lads finally gutsy enough to take a peek inside the Haunted Hollow?” “The Temple of the Dragon Knights.” The guild master’s face paled. “That’s not funny.” “It wasn’t a joke.” “Good Lord!” he exclaimed. “No wonder you came to us. Anyone else would've refused out of principle.” Drake fetched a bundle of papers from a hidden pocket in his coat. Of them, he selected three and placed them on the bar next to his stool for the guild master to examine. “These are the official declarations. The King himself has issued one hundred thousand gold pieces to any man who can go to the center of this labyrinth and return with whatever treasure lies there. I also have the authorization to loot any rooms we come across for valuables and offer that as a bonus reward for your services.” Erik Musen looked over the papers with a hesitant eye. “Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?” “Of the fifty-seven unmolested temples in this country, it is considered the most dangerous. Thirty and four times expeditions were sent into the ruins and only once did even a single person return.” Drake pulled out one last paper, a clipping from the news archives praising the adventurer who returned alive. “Erik Musen, 19. The sole survivor of the 29th investigation refused high honors from the king. He has returned with an unconfirmed artifact, now his by right of law. Wherever his future lies, Godspeed,” he read aloud. Laying the article on top of the others Drake witnessed the transformation of the guild leader into a sad old man. “Is that really you?” The youth asked, pointing at the article. His face equal amounts of shock and awe. “Aye! That’s me,” came the gruff reply. “You’re mad to have even accepted this task in the first place!” “I have my reasons.” “Are they worth your death?” “They are.” “I fail to see any reason strong enough to willingly enter that nightmare.” Erik huffed. “I’m afraid there are things I cannot afford to divulge,” Drake replied. “I’m sorry, but if you mean to test my resolve, you’ll find it is as hard as steel on this.” “To enter the Temple of the Dragon Knights you’ll need a will much harder than steel,” Erik said while the bewildered youth stood agape watching the two of them. “My will is strong enough to break reality.” “A mage, eh? That sword peeking out from under your cloak says otherwise.” “Forgive me,” Drake said with a small bow to punctuate the other man’s win. “But you’ll understand why soon enough.” “I want to go,” chimed in the youth. “Absolutely not !” Erik roared. People from around the hall were taking an interest in their proceedings. No doubt, unused to seeing their guild leader in a troubled spot, his outburst at the youth’s eagerness turned heads and brought an audible gasp out of those nearby. “Father! You were a year younger than I when you set foot in there.” “And I lost my friends! All twelve of them. It was a nightmare from the very moment we crossed the threshold. I found the Knight’s Tear. Aye. It was a treasure unlike anything anyone had ever seen. It was one rock found tossed in the floor like rubbish, and yet it’s discovery opened the doors to Machination and Automatons. "Sure, I single-handedly developed those schools of magic and craftsmanship, but look at the cost! It’s not worth risking you too boy. Or any of you!” He roared to the onlookers who were sitting at the edge of their seats. “I volunteer!” A girl called out from the back of the room, much to the chagrin of the guild master. She was dressed in dark blue flowing robes. She wore a pointed hat that was embroidered with gold runes. In one hand she carried a staff, in the other a thick bound book. Her piercing blue eyes glowed with power. “Danger and mystery is my cup of tea,” She said excitedly. Drake shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, but this is highly dangerous, and it’s certainly no place for a lady. Or,” he added, turning his head to the youth, “for amateurs. My intention was to hire Erik and Erik alone. There are no two people on this continent more capable than the two of us-” “Except for the two of us ,” the youth insisted. “Dela, there is no lady.” “And Junior has been adventuring since he was in diapers!” Dela added, giving the youth a playful poke. “Stop this nonsense immediately,” Erik cried. “We’re not going to chase down that deathtrap after some vague sense of treasure and glory.” “Don’t think of the treasure, father! Think of your pride!” The youth implored. “Think of your honor and the honor of your friends. You see, don’t you? This is your chance to blot out that stain! To give their deaths meaning. And to give meaning to all the people who’s died since then. This is a chance to bring closure to their legacy. Surely you wouldn’t want to be remembered as the man who refused to do the right and noble thing?” “Hell, No!” Erik spat. Drake knew the look of a man steeling himself for something hard. Erik was not happy. His bluster and confidence had run out. He was scared of that temple. But he’d been a boy himself when he went in there last. The guild watched their leader anxiously. Since it’s foundation no one had ever seen Erik backed into such a tight corner. His face was drawn, and his arms shook slightly. Even his own son looked uncertain about his father’s intentions. Erik looked at all the expectant faces in the hall and sighed. “Alright lad,” he said. “You got me on that one. It goes against me gut, but you’re right. We can’t let that ruin be the better of us. The Ancient Magic Delvers have a reputation to uphold. HOOAH!” He roared at the guild. “HOOAH!” The guild grunted back. Even Drake was caught in the moment and grunted alongside the others. It was happening. It was finally happening! All those years of research and crawling through ruins looking for clues was about to pay off. “But,” Erik said so quietly only Drake could hear. “If a single one of them gets hurt on this quest. I’ll kill you personally.”

[greengargouille]

((Here it is, in an hurry, the “I want to talk about my headcanons for Group 2′s remaining bugs but since it’s going to be long I might as well make it into a fic format” post. You know, before KoroQuest destroy it completely :’D Note: 'Peep’, ‘Slumber’ and the Goddess Ring are all things that exist in Dragon Quest. Because you know, if I spend half an hour on the DQ wiki then I might as well use that.))

What makes a good scout, when you explore a dungeon?

The response might depends on the adventurers you ask. Smaller groups need their members to multitask, so someone whose skills in reconnaissance can also be helpful in battle are a must; for bigger teams where people tends toward specialisation, the opposite may apply. However, they would certainly agree on at least two things.

First, a scout need to be observant and patient. Not only it is their whole work to obtain information, the fact they have to move away from their group, alone in enemy territory, means nobody can save them if they fall into a trap. Second, a scout needs to be small, quick and flexible. One that can access multiple places without being seen, while having the capacities to run away if they do end up discovered. 

Surprisingly, finding someone having both points can be hard. Taking class E as an example, Takebayashi and Fuwa both have excellent observation and analysis skills, but they lack in speed and stealth. On the opposite, Okano and Kimura have the perfect physical skills for a scout, but their impulsivity and complete disregard for traps make them surprisingly vulnerable.

Right, someone having all those skills is rare. A small, furtive observer... If there was anyone like that in class E, they would probably have a central role. One might even make them a protagonist. ...Of course, all of this is a bit of a moot point when someone just happens to have a bug circumventing most of those problems.

Mimura’s bug: When alone, monsters who meet him don’t start a fight (doesn’t work on boss or guardian-type monsters)

It was far from foolproof, of course. For one, it was useless against humans, so it offered no particular protection in dungeons like Irina’s tower, back when she was charming villagers left and right. Then, there was still the famous problem of getting caught into traps, though for this one Mimura wasn’t too bothered, as he had a pretty good awareness of his surroundings. More dangerous, there was still the chance of encountering a monster on which this bug wouldn’t work- this had caused him problem during his precedent year, then unaware of the limitations of his bug. No dragon hoarding his treasures, no black knight threatening that none shall pass his bridge, no mimic. Now that one was troublesome, as it means he couldn’t just steal the content of any chest he found on his way; the appraisal skill necessary to distinguish the monster from the object could only be learned by experienced mages, and the items one could use as an alternative were either expensive or an exclusivity of the church, so class E was out of luck on this. Well, except for one person.

“Alright, I checked the way, there’s a room where we could sit down and plan our next moves. Fuwa, there’s a chest there, could you verify it? -No problem!”

Thus was an usual scene for Group 2. Whenever they were low in health and items, and whenever the way wasn’t clogged by a monster, Mimura would scout the area first to make sure they could progress without trouble. And if there was any chest that needed inspection, Fuwa could handle it.

“It’s dusty.” Hayami noted while entering the room. A mostly bare place, with stone walls and wooden benches around a table, a rack stand to put one’s weapons, and most importantly, an massive, tough-looking chest. “It looks like an abandoned rest room. -Right, it’s weird it’s not used anymore.” Nakamura commented. “Even monsters go on patrols. If that chest’s a mimic, though, that might explain why they’re avoiding it.” Monsters or humans, mimics didn’t care much who opened them, as long as they were somehow edible. “Guess it’s my turn to act, then?” Fuwa planted herself in front of the chest. “Peep!”

Nothing seemed to happen, but the girl immediately blinked.

“Hmm... I see a red aura around it, so... probably safe?”

This is a sentence that no other group would be able to hear. Anyone knowing about the ‘Peep’ skill could tell you about the three colours a chest could take under its effect: blue and yellow were nice to have, as they indicated either an item or money. Red, however... definitely some kind of mimic. That is, unless said skill had a bug. Fuwa’s bug: Have access to all appraisal skills from level 1 without using MP, but have a 99% probability of giving a wrong result.

A skill that gave the wrong answer pretty much all the time wasn’t very useful, but with a bit of logic, it still could be a great hint. Appraising an equipment for a curse and knowing ‘this object is safe’ have 99% chances of being wrong was more than enough to deduce it would be a bad decision to wear it. As for treasure chests... A blue or yellow aura was still half a chance to be a mimic, but red was, indeed, a safe result. Of course, there was still the 1% chance of Fuwa actually getting it right, but the laws of storytelling meant it would only actually happen when it would be either tragic or funny. Not during an exposition story.

“Alright, let’s see what this huge babe got inside!” Okajima opened the chest as soon as Fuwa spoke.

“Money would probably be more useful,” commented Nakamura. “Merchants are getting rather cheap when buying used goods, it’s almost a scam at this point. -But if we get more items, we don’t have to rely on them as much in the first place. Ah, shit! -What is it? Found something we can’t use? -No, we can probably use it, but...” The boy put a knee on the floor, arm deep in the chest, from which he pulled a tiny ring. “That’s the only thing in it. -...Stupid standardised chest sizes. -Doesn’t seems to be cursed, at least.” Fuwa informed them. “What is it supposed to do? -Boost one’s Coolness, according to the description. -Great, so nothing of interest for us. -Eh, speak for yourself!” Okajima objected. “If nobody want it then I’m taking it. Actually, if somebody did want it, that’s too late, I claimed it first.” The boy glared at the nearest person near him, that is to say, Sugaya. “Eh, not interested.” The boy replied. “Of course you aren’t,” commented Mimura, rolling his eyes at the scene, “you already have the highest Coolness stat among us boys. -It’s not even that, I still need to wear my Goddess Ring to restore MP. Now that I think about it, it’s weird we can only equip one magic ring at a time. Anyways, are you sure Chiba isn’t the one with the highest Coolness? Like, if he were to part his hair so we can see his e- -What about that Slumber ability you were researching?” Chiba immediately asked, a bit too quickly for it to be natural. “You said it was more efficient to restore MP. -Yeah, about that... I wanted to try it, but sleepwalking is pretty hard, you know? And there’s still the problem of being asleep at the start of battles... -That’s the opposite of a problem, actually.” Nakamura interjected. “I can just switch your status with one from a monster, that’s one less trouble to worry about. -I... guess? I haven’t thought that far away, to be honest. All I can manage for now is falling asleep at the start of classes... -So, nothing different from before.” Chiba noted, not without amusement. “How lucky, I wish I could take a nap that easily.” Nakamura sat down on one of the benches. “Even standing around waiting isn’t that restful. -Right, I guess it’s time to take a pause.” Mimura sat next to her, a bit relieved.

If it was just him, then he would probably had stayed quiet and continued, rather than make the team wait, so it was nice that someone else agreed to stop and rest for a moment. He supposed that made sense, too: even if the rest of the group, understandably, didn’t accompany him for reconnaissance work, they couldn’t exactly relax and fool around. And it’s not like he left for long periods of time either. Everyone eventually installed themselves around the table, Okajima with an audible groan of satisfaction as he sprawled on it. Hayami used that time to inspect her bow, while Chiba... probably relaxed his eyes, but it was hard to tell.

“...I know this might seems random,” Fuwa said to Mimura after a few minutes, “but I can never find the appropriate time to ask. Do you remember back in Chapter 4, when we had to find the fake? -Chapter 4? -The Ruins of Betrayal. You know how in the first trial we had to prove we were the true ones with our bugs? I was thinking, how did you do with your own bug? -That’s an excellent question.” Hayami admitted, as if slightly surprised by Fuwa. “I didn’t pay attention back then, but some bugs are harder to prove than others, aren’t they. Well, for those who did it the normal way.” She glared at Okajima. “Hey, don’t look at me like that, it would have been hard for Nakamura to prove she wasn’t a fake without my nose, right? -I’m sure I would have done without.” Nakamura replied unhappily. “Though I do wonder for Fuwa too, now, that kind of bug must be easy to fake. -Oh, Korosensei didn’t make me prove my bug,” Fuwa explained. “He asked me a trivia question that only I could reply. -Hm? -’Rank Hunter x Hunter, Berserk, X/1999 and Noragami by how much hiatus years they had in total.’ -Right,” agreed Okajima, “that’s not a question someone besides you can answer on the top of their head. What’s the answer?” Fuwa emitted a soft laugh. She then began to sob. “Ah, Okajima made her cry.” Hayami noted. “That was a jerk move, Okajima.” Nakamura looked at him with an angry look. “How was I supposed to know she would cry about it?! -It’s alright,” Fuwa replied while drying her tears in an handkerchief. “Most of them came back, so I will probably get to see the end of at least one of them... probably... -...Yeah, I don’t think anyone could have faked being Fuwa with this.” Sugaya commented before turning his head to Mimura. “What about you, then? -Well, Korosensei didn’t go as far as trivia... But he did ask me about my bug. ‘With your bug, what would happen if you encountered an undead monster?’ -What? That’s weird.” Nakamura immediately pondered about it. “Undead aren’t really guarding anything, and they’re definitely not all boss monsters. Would that depend on whether they were human before? But our skills definitely register them as a monster... -They’re a special kind, though.” Chiba replied. “Undead and ghost type monsters doesn’t obey to Korosensei who’s supposed to be their king, and they will attack any live monster they find, too.” They all remembered asking their teacher about a cemetery dungeon. ‘Don’t go in there, I won’t be able to help you! And it’s not that I’m scared of ghosts or anything, they just don’t obey me, I’m not scared of them!’ “...How did you even answer, by the way? We never had to fight or met undead. -Right, it’s a bit complicated.” Mimura bit his lip, uncertain whether he should explain. “Something weird happened while I was scouting at the start of the year...”

He was so screwed. Mimura should have known not to rely on his bug that much. His teachers the precedent years said it, too. The humanoid monster in front of him definitely was watching him weirdly, and he was all alone to fight. “You...” The creature spoke while approaching, raising his arm. Mimura closed his eyes, expecting to be hit. But, what came was a gentle tap on the shoulder. “It’s dangerous for smiling mushrooms to wander alone, I heard adventurers were raiding the dungeon. Go find back your group, okay?"

“So what you’re saying is... -Right. Apparently, monsters confuse me with one of them.” Mimura’s bug: When alone, monsters who meet him don’t start a fight (doesn’t work on boss or guardian-type monsters) mistake him for a smiling mushroom.

“...That makes a lot of sense, actually.” Nakamura admitted. “Right,” Fuwa continued, “the ones that actually attacked you so far are those who would attack any monster, right? The guardians or mimics. And a boss would surely be pissed off to see a low-level monster in his quarters... I guess undead monsters would attack you too. -Plus,” Okajima added, “you do kind of look like a mushroom. -I do not! -You do,” the others actually agreed. “...You will pay for this. -If it can reassure you,” Chiba tried to comfort him, “you all look like monsters to me. Well, targets. Sometimes in battle I’m not sure where to shoot. -That’s the least reassuring thing ever!! -So that’s why I felt the arrows were coming kinda close to me sometimes.” Okajima looked uneasy at that idea. “No, that was me.” Hayami admitted. “Don’t worry, as long as I don’t see you as an enemy they won’t actually touch you. -...I feel really worried, suddenly. -At least you’re not the one that’s registered as a monster.” Mimura complained. “If at least it was a cinema dragon... -Right, what is Okajima’s bug, anyways?” Nakamura casually asked. “Whenever someone hit me, there’s a 50% chance I get charmed instead.” Okajima replied in the same tone. Half the table suddenly froze at the reveal. All this time, all the attacks they did toward Okajima...?! “It only works on humanoid monsters though.” Sugaya specified. “Wait, don’t-” Too late. Nakamura already was trying to strange the boy. “Don’t you ever dare to make that joke again! -Please don’t hurt Okajima,” Mimura ordered nicely, “we still need him for battles. -Alright, but once we’re out of the dungeon he’s toast. -I feel so loved right now.” Okajima’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “But right. It only work on humanoid, female monsters. And only if their Coolness level is above mine. -Pretty much all of them, then. -Jerk. Anyways, that’s why I wanted the ring, not some shameful reason like you all seems to think. I mean, not just for that.” The boy showed the item for emphasis, then removed his right hand glove. “Finally I won’t be a joke character anymore...” Yet, something weird happened when Okajima put the ring. A strange sort of dark feeling. Everyone else around the table felt uncomfortable looking at the guy. As if... “Well, how do I look? Cooler? -...Say, Okajima.” Nakamura asked quietly. “Can you remove the ring? -Why, you’re jealous now? Well, as long as you give it back I’m willing to- Wait, I can’t remove it! -...So it was cursed after all. -Wait, so that mean- -Yeah, your Coolness stat is currently at 0.” That was the most common effect of cursed equipment, besides being unremovable: it drained all points from a specific stat of the wearer. “Ah, I get it.” Fuwa whispered. “What is it?” Sugaya asked, intrigued. “Okajima’s bug is that whenever someone write about him, they feel the need to turn him into a bad joke. -Hmm, sounds about right.”

[slytherinknowitall]

Potion Fumes and Cauldron Leaks

Chapter 8: A Muggle Milestone With A Magical Twist

(Click here for chapter 7!)

(Click here to start from the beginning!)

Disclaimer: I don’t own the “Harry Potter” book series. The story of “Harry Potter” is the property of J. K. Rowling, it is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Over the course of the next week, Severus tried his best to keep his distance from Granger. He completely ignored his apprentice and her tenacious, ever-waving right arm during regular Potions class; and for their Tuesday lesson, he simply sent her to the greenhouses to collect some Mandrake leaves as his supply had run low.

By the time their next lesson rolled around, however, he could no longer avoid the witch. The Hospital Wing was in sudden dire need of Wiggenweld Potion, causing the matron to request such a large quantity of bottles that Snape by no means could have handled it all himself. “I will need to have a word with Poppy after dinner,” the half-blood thought pettishly as he carefully measured out the required amount of salamander blood. “She ought to keep a better eye on her stock and place orders earlier. I simply cannot get any proper work done like this! My research sure is suffering terribly under these ludicrous conditions …” Of course, he would have never admitted that he was mostly trying to dodge long lab hours with the Gryffindor Princess.

On the other side of the classroom, Granger was in the midst of simultaneously stirring three gigantic copper cauldrons with a little help from her wand. She almost seemed to be in a world of her own, with her brows deeply furrowed in concentration. Severus also noticed that the skin of her lips was looking horribly battered. Needless to say, he had observed her nervous lip biting habit years ago; but today, he was purposely trying to keep his eyes away from her and her stupid, all too distracting mouth.

Just as Snape was about to start calculating how much flobberworm mucus would be needed for the potion, the heavy classroom door suddenly swung open. “Severus, my old friend!” the headmaster’s familiar voice resonated from the dungeon walls, causing him to wince. In the name of Merlin, that loony fool was the last thing he needed right now!

Looking up, he saw the infamous grey-bearded wizard strutting towards his desk. If the old man hadn’t been wearing bright green robes with metallic purple embroidery paired with a ridiculous-looking pointy hat, he might even have been a majestic sight to behold. Severus rolled his eyes melodramatically before giving his employer a curt nod of acknowledgement. “Headmaster … What can I do for you?”

Once Dumbledore came to a halt in front of him, Severus could see that strange twinkle in his eyes that he knew all too well. What is this ancient madman up to now? “My boy, I always enjoy getting the chance to converse with you,” he said with glee. “Today, however, I have come to see the lovely Miss Granger. As I can see, the two of you are getting along just great!” Severus thought that he could see his mouth form a slight smirk.

Granger’s head shot up in surprise. “Me?” she asked, a bit flustered. “But why, Professor? Did something happen? Am I needed as Head Girl? Did Harry get hurt during Quidditch practice? Or Ron? Ginny?” One could almost sense her thoughts spinning through the room at lightning speed.

The headmaster smiled softly. “Now, now, Miss Granger, no need to worry! Remember, the dangerous times are over now, aren’t they?” Snape saw her sigh in relief and nod her head, as if to reassure herself. Trying to remove himself from the situation, he walked over to the cauldrons that the young woman had now abandoned and added a handful of lionfish spines to their bubbling content. Dumbledore continued, “In fact, I am here to celebrate a joyous occasion! After all, it has come to my attention that there is a very important day coming up rather soon; and since I unfortunately won’t be on school grounds tomorrow, I thought that I should come and congratulate you today.”

While Granger seemed pleasantly surprised and even blushed a little at these words, Severus was more than confused. “Congratulate?”

“Why, yes, Severus! Don’t tell me you weren’t aware of the fact that it is Miss Granger’s birthday tomorrow?”

The Potions Master curled his lip in annoyance and redirected his attention to the potion before him, which was now in the process of turning bright yellow. “I was not. And quite frankly, I do not see why this should be of any concern or importance to me.”

“But birthdays are always of great importance!” the flamboyant man exclaimed almost dramatically. “Besides, need I remind you that it is tradition for apprentices to receive a present from their tutor on their special day? I’m sure that you must have stumbled across this wonderful practice at some point during your research.”

Come to think of it, he did recall coming across something like that when re-reading Hogwarts: A History following that fateful staff meeting two and a half weeks ago. Severus groaned. He felt like he was being punished for everything he had ever done wrong in life. Not only was he being forced to closely work with the arguably most annoying person he’d ever met, but now he also had to present her with a gift – like he was one of her idiotic little friends! And what should he even give to her? How should he, a 37-year-old man who had never had a proper relationship with a woman in his entire life, know what today’s girls were into? He grimaced at the thought of going down to Hogsmeade and buying heart-shaped candies from Honeydukes or, even worse, standing between the racks in Gladrags Wizardwear and thinking about what piece of clothing would fit the Muggle-born’s well-formed body the best.

Dumbledore for one seemed highly amused by his younger colleague’s reaction. “I’m sure you will be able to find something that is just perfect for our equally as perfect student. Now, Miss Granger, I wish you a very happy birthday, and, of course, I did not come empty-handed either. I think I made a great pick if I dare say so myself!”

He handed her a little pouch similar to the one that Snape had received at the beginning of term, only that this time it was made of neon yellow fabric with little light blue pearls sewn around the hem. The girl cautiously untied it with her delicate hands, revealing a thin golden bracelet with only one small charm dangling from it: a glossy white cowry shell.

“I came across this lovely specimen this summer during a nice, long walk along the French Riviera. If I recall correctly, you used to spend many happy days there with your family before you entered the wizarding world, is that right?”

Her honey brown eyes lit up immediately. “Yes! Oh, thank you so much, Professor! What a thoughtful gift – I will treasure it forever!” The headmaster had a content look on his face as he watched her promptly put on her new piece of jewellery.

“I do not want to ruin this precious moment,” Snape suddenly interjected, sarcasm clearly dripping from his stern voice. “But I do believe that Miss Granger is here to help me brew, not to celebrate a birthday … Especially one that is still hours away at that.”

Alarmed, his apprentice hurried back to tend to the cauldrons, whereas Dumbledore merely chuckled. Making his way to the classroom door, he turned back around one more time.

“Oh, and Severus?” he called out, causing the Potions professor to tear his eyes away from his cutting board and look up. “Thank you so very much for so quickly taking care of this whole Wiggenweld Potion situation. Poppy sure seemed terribly upset with me when I accidentally knocked her entire supply from the shelves in her storage room last night. I did feel awfully bad about it, of course; but what can I say – I guess we all just get a bit clumsier with age!” Severus glowered at the older man as he gave him a mischievous wink before disappearing into the dark dungeons at long last.

The next half hour was fortunately free of any further disruptions. He and Granger were able to finish brewing the potion relatively soon and were now carefully pouring the thick liquid into cylindric-shaped glass bottles. It was then that the Head Girl decided to break the silence.

“You know, Professor, you don’t really need to give me anything. It’s not an important birthday anyways,” she said hoarsely.

Not taking his gaze off his work for even a second, Severus waited awhile before answering. Eventually, he replied, “Miss Granger, believe me when I say that there is nothing I would rather do. However, I am already forced to take part in this imbecile apprenticeship programme as it is. So I might as well participate to the best of my abilities.” After another short pause, he added, “Not that I have much of a choice. I would never hear the end of it if the headmaster found out that I didn’t eagerly play along with his silly antics.”

“Oh, um, well …” Granger stuttered. “I would like to thank you in advance then, sir.”

Ignoring what she’d just said, he continued, “And if there is even such a thing as an important birthday, the eighteenth would surely be one of them. After all, I do believe that it equals coming of age in the Muggle world.”

He could see her frown out of the corner of his eye. “Certainly. But most witches and wizards do not seem to attach value to this. I reckon that the majority of them don’t even know that there is a difference between the wizarding and the Muggle world in this regard.”

Snape snorted. “I do hope that I would be aware of it, having a Muggle father myself!”

He only noticed his mistake when he saw her jaw almost drop to the floor, and then his breathing hitched. He had just shared personal information with a student! Having always been a very private and reserved man, this was something that he’d never ever done before, not even with his favourite Slytherins – and yet he had just now recklessly slipped up in front of one of Potter’s main sidekicks. He cursed under his breath.

“Miss Granger, it looks like there are only a few phials left to fill. I believe that you should go now.”

He could see that it took the teenager a few moments to regain her composure before she finally bobbed her head and started to gather her belongings. Once she had left the classroom, Severus put his head in his hands – he could already feel a migraine coming.

*************** *************** ***************

Hours later, Hermione made her way from the Astronomy Tower back to her private quarters. As soon as she was inside, she dropped her heavy bag onto the floor and let herself fall onto her bed. She was utterly exhausted. It was almost midnight and it had been a very long day. While she had always been a night owl, she certainly needed her sleep during the week.

She remained in this position for a few minutes before she reluctantly sat up and took off her uniform. She stood up, walked over to her closet and pulled out some worn-out pyjamas which she had received as a Christmas gift from Mrs Weasley nearly three years ago. They were terribly ugly, being of a washed-out pink colour and an atrocious floral pattern, but they were comfortable and Hermione loved them to pieces.

After finishing her nightly routine consisting of washing her face, brushing her teeth, packing her bag for the following day and casting a few protective spells – an old, hard-to-kick habit of wartime – the Gryffindor finally slipped into bed. With her eyelids already feeling heavy, she quickly wrapped herself in her fluffy blanket and pulled a happily purring Crookshanks to her chest. She’d never felt this tired before.

Hermione had almost fallen asleep when the feline in her arms suddenly started to squirm, hissing loudly. Confused and a bit drowsy, the girl turned around and noticed one of the school’s owls sitting on her windowsill. Her eyebrows knitted in surprise as she begrudgingly got back up and walked over to it. Who in their right mind would send out something so late? Exchanging the animal’s package for a few tasty bird treats, she closed the window before getting back into bed. As far as she could see, the parcel hadn’t come with any sort of note; and the only thing she uncovered after removing the brown wrapping paper was a rather old-looking book.

“Lumos,” she whispered. With the tip of her wand glowing faintly, she was able to take a better look at the publication in front of her. The title was almost completely faded, but she was still able to decipher it: Long-forgotten Secrets of the Mayan Wizarding Culture – Potions, Spells and More.

Suddenly, the famous young witch was wide-awake and even let out a minor shriek. Unbelievable! In her hands, she was holding one of only twelve known copies of one of the most sought-after literary masterpieces from the early 19th century. It was so rare that some magical scholars would quite literally give an arm and a leg just to catch a short glimpse of it. And now it seemed as though Hogwarts’ on-site know-it-all was in possession of an exemplar – Hermione was in complete shock.

Even more shocking, however, was the fact that she had actually seen this priceless book in person before – hiding in plain sight on one of many shelves in Professor Snape’s sitting room.

(Click here for chapter 9!)

[dailybestiary]

Patch Has Issues: Dungeon #1

Issue: Dungeon #1

Date: September/October 1986. (I was just entering 3rd grade—a dismal year for me—and hadn’t yet discovered D&D at this point. I had just watched Optimus Prime pass away on the operating table during The Transformers: The Movie, though.)

The Cover:

(Use of cover for review purposes only and should not be taken as a challenge to status. Credit and copyright remain with their respective holders.)

One of the notable things about Dungeon was that the covers were actually commissioned for the magazine, instead of just vaguely connected to the issue’s theme like Dragon’s were. The late Keith Parkinson’s “Into the Flame” shows off the star of the issue, the red dragon Flame. Its very humanoid posture recalls Parkinson’s time doing draconians for the Dragonlance line. I’m guessing he was very proud of being picked to launch the magazine—this image is the first that comes up on his website to this day. (If you’re curious, Parkinson’s work in general is great if you like knights in bad weather and big humanoids, but he definitely leans hard into the all-women-in-fantasy-are-bikini-wearing-sorceresses trope, a habit that—like many ex-TSR artists—only got more pronounced as his career progressed. It’s no wonder he moved into video games.)

The Adventures:

“The Dark Tower of Cabilar” by Michael Ashton & Lee Sperry, AD&D, Levels 4–7

Our very first Dungeon Adventure is...*drum roll*...a converted tournament module that is pretty rudimentary: Defeat the vampire in his stalagmite tower-and-dungeon combo (I’m already thinking a stalactite would have had more cinematic appeal), and retrieve the crown that can prove your employer’s godson’s noble lineage.

Right off the bat, this adventure features encounters with fire drakes and lava children! Yep, you read that right—lava children. (Pathfinder fans will remember them from Misfit Monsters Redeemed.) Clearly Dungeon is not afraid of Fiend Folio weirdness.

Beyond that, the module screams “I was written for a tournament” with the number of traps and cursed items and red herrings involved, and not in a good way. Once we get to to the dungeon levels, as a reader I’m just listlessly going room by room till we get to the Big Bad. Overall, a disappointing start.

“Assault on Eddistone Point” by Patricia Nead Elrod, AD&D, Levels 1–3

Our first adventure by a woman author is only our second adventure out of the gate! This bodes well for the rest of the series—wait. Hold on. Is that Patricia Nead as in P. N. Elrod? I’ve never read her work, but she’s helmed some anthologies that Jim Butcher’s short stories have appeared in. I’m guessing this is an early cut from her? And frankly the hand of an experienced author is all over these pages—a vast step up from the previous article (whose authors, to be fair, seem like they were still in college, according to their bios).

So first off, this is a tidy little adventure: Check out why the team sent to repair a signal tower hasn’t reported back. (Even Bryce likes it! We’ll talk about Bryce below.) The NPCs aren’t locked to one location (except the hostages), so once PCs get to the tower, it’s up to the GM to position them and assign reactions. But the cast is small enough this doesn’t seem daunting, even for new GMs, and you could run this thing in a single night.

But where it really shines, as I said, is the deft authorship. Elrod very quickly delivers a tight sketch of the location: two city-states vying for market advantage, dwarves under the mountain range in between minting the gold that moves said markets, some signal towers that exist as a compromise to keep the peace, and what the heck, also some elves in the valley between.

Now, this is basic stuff. And not even pumpkin-spice-latte basic...this is “I’ve only read The Hobbit” basic. Dwarves minting gold and elves in the woods and most of the villains are half-orcs? Even for 1986, this ought to be chucked in the bin as trite.

And yet...it’s not, because of Elrod’s deft pen. I suddenly want to find out more about these cities in the course of play—maybe one could be a good home base for the party? The interplay of politics and markets and signal fires and dwarf relations is just specific enough to feel real, while being sketchy enough it could be dropped into most game worlds. The clever chief antagonist is distinctive enough I don’t mind her stereotypical brute sidekicks, and trying to uncover her employer could lead to the next session’s adventure. It’s basic sure, but it’s Basic Rules-red-box basic. In other words, it feels classic. I wouldn’t put this in front of my grad school gaming group, necessarily, but if I got asked to run an afterschool session for some middle-schoolers wanting to learn the game? Hell yes!

At this point, I’ve probably oversold this adventure, so forgive me if you are underwhelmed by it. But I’m willing to risk a little overhyping to celebrate what can be constructed with such simple meat-and-potatoes ingredients.

And that’s not even counting the not-meat-and-potatoes elements, like the white raven who is already one of my favorite familiars ever, and the ticking clocking scenario the weather sets up (you need to beat the mercenaries before they can mess with the signals), and the names of the other watchtower peaks, each one slyly suggesting another adventure, and…yeah, I dig this.

“Grakhirt’s Lair” by John Nephew, AD&D, Levels 1–3

John Nephew wrote one of my favorite D&D supplements of all time, Tall Tales of the Wee Folk, which I won’t shut up about—I’ve even told him so on Twitter—so I don’t feel bad in saying that this entry is a total dud for me. Pretty much the only interesting thing about this adventure is that the humanoid antagonists are the Fiend Folio’s norkers, and they get the classic 1e AD&D humanoid treatment: that is, absolutely nothing sets them apart from any other humanoid out there aside from their stat blocks. You can skip this one without guilt.

(Admittedly, Nephew was also shockingly young when he did both this and TTotWF. Looking back, I really wish I’d made some different decisions re: my writing growing up—I was disengaging with the hobby just at the age when other people were hammering down the door to get published. Sigh. But hey, none of them held a Run-DMC concert or hung out with Rahzel at age 21, right? We all have our journeys.)

“The Elven Home,” by Anne Gray McReady, D&D, Levels 1–3

Our first D&D adventure! D&D, specifically BECMI D&D, was the neglected stepchild of the late ’80s and early ’90s, despite the earnest efforts of line champion Bruce Heard, Dungeon editors Roger Moore and Barbara Young, and a lot of talented freelancers. But I was a fierce D&D partisan, because it was what I was first introduced to and what I could afford, and because I loved the variety of classes and cultures the Known World allowed. For a line that often felt overlooked in terms of marketing and support, the love and talent put into the books that did exist were evident on almost every page.

So I wish I could find more to recommend “The Elven Home,” but it’s not even really an adventure or even a side trek—instead it’s a thoroughly fleshed-out NPC encounter that should lead to combat only if the PCs are particularly boorish. Like Bryce (again, see below) I could have used more whimsy and more weirdness to make these elves stand out just a bit more, though their twee personalities (more faerie than Tolkien) at least set them apart from most elves PCs run across these days. So your mileage may vary—some of you may be utterly charmed by this (I lean at least somewhat charmed), others of you very much not.

“Into the Fire,” by Grant & David Boucher, AD&D, Levels 6–10

I was expecting a lot out of this adventure—the cover dragon, Flame, was the closest thing Dungeon had to a mascot till the Adventure Path years under Paizo, and he wound up appearing in at least one or two more sequel adventures, if I recall correctly.

While I wasn’t blown away, I can see where the fondness comes from. The adventure isn’t particularly special at first. A necklace shows up that may hint at the fate of a lost prince, but following that lead means following the trail of a recently deceased knight, and—spoilers!—that trail leads back to a dragon. But then the combat with Flame is presented, and the brothers Boucher serve up a number of round-by-round tactics and dirty tricks for Flame to employ that wouldn’t feel out of place in 3.5...and I’m guessing were thrilling in 1986.

Remember, this is before dragons had varying power levels according to age—and were often asleep in their lairs to boot—so if DMs weren’t careful high-level characters would carve through them like butter. (Seriously, it was such an issue that every June Dragon Magazine would churn out articles about how to keep your dragons alive longer. They did this for decades.) It’s easy to ding the Bouchers—Bryce (see below) certainly does—for coming up with too many reasons why Flame is immune to PC powers and abilities throughout the adventure. But to me it just feels like an experienced red wyrm doing what an experienced red wyrm who wants to live would do. Flame is smart, more interested in survival than winning, and while he plans to ruin the PCs’ lives as thoroughly as possible, he’ll run if he has to. PCs who survive will be stoked to tell the tale, and that feeling will only be magnified by a massive treasure haul with a number of flavorful items and future adventure seeds of its own.

Other things to note: There’s a slanty tower that’s okay (I’m a sucker for slanty towers), but where it’s placed in the adventure, it will likely be an anticlimax. There are also some big wandering monster encounters—a score of ogres with an ogre magi, two dozen ghouls and ghasts, etc.—that I’d be interested to see how they rebalanced for Pathfinder/5e D&D. I think shows like Game of Thrones have put the fear back into random encounters with large groups of humanoids, so it would be fun to play that out even if the math says the PCs shouldn’t break a sweat.

Is this my favorite adventure? Not by a long shot. But I can see why readers were fond of it and why Flame’s legend persisted.

“Guardians of the Tomb,” by Carl Smith, AD&D, Levels 3–5

That...is some very boring architecture for a shrine. Also, why would a master thief even have a shrine? Especially in a swamp? And while I’m vague on the relative power levels of 3rd–5th-level characters in 1e AD&D, I feel like 2(x PCs+ y retainers) shadows+1d12 even more shadows = a whole damn lot of shadows to trap the PCs with behind an 18th-level wall of stone! Apparently Smith even worked for TSR at some point—did no one pull him aside and say, “Dude! Game balance!”?

I have questions.

Not only does this seem a bit extreme, at least for an unlucky 3rd-level party, it feels personal. This feels like Carl Smith had some players he wanted to teach a lesson. The bio says Carl Smith’s first love is Westerns; I’m guessing he likes the ones about the Alamo or Butch Cassidy or Unforgiven where pretty much everyone dies at the end.

Who hurt you, Carl Smith? Who hurt you?

Best Read: “Assault on Eddistone Point.”

Best Adventure I Could Actually Run with Minimal Prep: All but “Into the Fire” could probably be run after only a second read-through. But I actually want to run “Assault on Eddistone Point.”

Best Concept: As dungeon locations go, a leaning tower that’s leaning because a dragon decided the best way to kill the wizard inside was just to land on the dang thing and knock it over is a pretty good concept.

Best Monster: You always remember your first dragon. So of course, we have to give this accolade to the always-two-steps-ahead Flame.

Best NPC: I’m a fan of the crafty Vorona in “Assault on Eddistone Point,” but the tie goes to the titular elves of “The Elven Home,” who literally want to chat so badly that the party might get attacked by stirges for lingering too long. Don’t overlook the wolfwere in “Into the Flame” though— he sounds like a real a$$#ole.

Best Map: “Into the Flame”’s Lake Haven kinda-isometric hex map, though I also do like seeing the dragon’s volcano lair map with a boat right in the middle.

Best Thing Worth Stealing: A dragon’s volcano lair with a boat right in the middle.

Worst Aged: The magazine’s first adventure hadn’t even started yet and the text was reminding us to look up climbing rules and calculate the PCs’ weights. Yikes. I don’t miss 1e AD&D. Also, the term “magic-user.” Oy. So glad that’s gone. Oh, and alignment tongues! Ye gods, remember alignment tongues? No, you don’t, because they made no sense and no one over the age of 11 ever used one in their game.

What Bryce Thinks: “Wow. I had no idea that 1e adventures sucked ass so much.”

One of the only people who has done in-depth online reviews of old Dungeon issues is a dude named Bryce Lynch over at tenfootpole.org—which is hilarious, because Bryce hates old Dungeon adventures. An OSR (old-school renaissance) fan through and through, Bryce is super particular about what he considers an acceptable adventure. To his credit, he wants adventures able to be easily run at the table, but he also loathes boxed read-aloud text, long backstory, and pretty much anything he regards as fluff. Which means Dungeon, even at this primordial stage of the game, drives him around the twist (as our Brit readers might say)—and it’s only going to get worse. Even so, I’m going to check in on his reviews as we go along, because his laser focus on the GM’s experience at the table is a good yin to my all-about-the-fluff/inspiration yang.

But for what it’s worth...we pretty much line up on our faves for this issue. Go us! Ditto Adam Perdona, whose tastes also seem to line up with mine and who also liked “The Elven Home.”

So, Is It Worth It?: Okay so let’s say you play Pathfinder, 5e D&D, or some other contemporary system. Should you run out and try to find a physical copy of Dungeon #1?

Well...aside from the collector’s value (it is a #1 after all)...probably not. There’s nothing here that screams “Pull me off the shelf”—what pleasures are inside will also be in the PDF.

What this issue does offer is a back-to-basics approach to adventure construction and worldbuilding that I think we sometimes need. Sometimes all you need is some dwarves, some elves, and a dragon. Sometimes we need to forget secret societies and trade disputes and just help a king who’s lost his prince. Think of Dungeon #1—specifically “Assault on Eddistone Point” and “Into the Flame”—like one of those articles you sometimes see in GQ or Esquire: “How to Grill a Steak. No, put down the pesto, put down the chutney, put down the coffee dry rub and remoulade. You’re going to grab some salt and pepper and maaaybe some butter and We Are Going to Grill a Goddamn STEAK.”

If you want fusion sushi, look elsewhere. Are you in the mood for steak? Look for these two adventures.

Random Thoughts:

Editor Roger Moore’s voice in the intro is so stiff—he would be way more assured and relaxed in the ’90s.

It’s a huge nostalgia trip seeing maps in “1 square = 10’” after years of 5’ squares in 3.0/3.5/Pathfinder.

Speaking of maps, they’re still pretty rudimentary here—it is 1986, after all. But I’m pleased that we are immediately getting side or isometric views of some of these locations (especially the towers) to give us a better sense of what these structures look like. I’m a big fan of that.

One of the weird things about published D&D, AD&D, and Pathfinder settings is that, for an ostensibly Middle Ages-inspired hobby, most show surprisingly little interest in the standard medieval trappings. Kings and princes are rare, city-states are the norm rather than feudal kingdoms, and even knights and castles have largely given way to mercenaries and manor houses. I think there are tons of reasons for this—questing knight tropes feeling stale or immature, the gradual shift of the hobby’s default assumptions to early Renaissance and the Mediterranean rather than medieval England, more opportunities for political conflict but with more manageable stakes... (And let’s face it: high-level PCs just love regicide. Oligarchs don’t have targets on their backs the way kings do.) Anyway, I bring all this up because early Dungeon is clearly not afraid of kings, queens, princes, or knights. If your tastes are more King Arthur & Prince Hal than Diplomats & Doges, you might want to check these early issues out.

Comfy rooms that make you sleepy are an overdone trope in this era.

Leaning/slanty towers also get a lot of love in Dungeon—perhaps too much—but I will never not love them.

If a description, even if just meant for the GM, is going to use a simile that takes me out of the game world such as “like Spanish bayonet,” I’d prefer it walled off in parentheses.

A lot of the art inside this issue (especially James Holloway’s) would be reused again and again in the pages of Dragon, including for subscription cards, the No-SASE Ogre, and even “The Voyage of the Princess Ark.”

Notable Ads: An ad for Lankhmar, City of Adventure, for you classic sword & sorcery fans, and the Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide for AD&D.

(Any fans of the DSG out there? I’ve always heard it, like, laid the groundwork for what we think of as the Underdark. But every time I’ve seen a used copy on the shelf I’ve opened to pages and pages of rules about mining and smelting and I’ve closed it in horror.)

This Month in Dragon: Dragon #113 offers a cardboard dragon (assuming you have a physical copy or can get creative with the PDF), a tour of Hades, fiction by Harry Turtledove, and some nasty Gamma World robots. Dragon #114 serves up the witch NPC, the elven cavalier class, and Marvel’s Inhumans.

[agentaw]

Detroit: Become Human - Funny story...

Okay... so Story Time because my friends pointed this out and it’s been fucking with me ever since.

This is the story of how I kinda...sorta wrote/ predicted parts of DBH about...2 years ago. Just hear me out...okay?

So this all started similarly to how DBH started, with that dope-ass demo back in 2012. My 15 year old self became enthralled in it, much like I am now enthralled in the full game. I’ve always loved story telling and had a sort of soft spot for digital modelling. So that demo was a masterpiece to me, it had a great concept and beautiful design. It was a short obsession but it had an impact. 

And that was the last piece of news I’d ever hear about it until a month after they released the full game. I remember hearing some rumour that they weren’t gonna make it a full game or something and left it at that. I didn’t hear anything about it’s coverage at E3 because while I like video games, I become absorbed in different obsessions from time to time. 

And two years ago I was obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons, the thought of creating a whole world and having others enter it was fascinating. And while I tried to create worlds from scratch, I had a problem. 

I had never been too interested in Fantasy things, I liked fantasy characters but tended to focus on too much of the political aspect of fantasy worlds and not the fun stuff like slaying dragons and stuff. 

The return of an old obsession began to try and take my focus off of DnD but I wasn’t ready to let it go yet. 

So I merged them, DnD didn’t have to be fantasy, I didn’t have to invent a world from scratch and luckily my old obsession had a world pre-designed. Marvel, specifically MCU had a treasure trove of lore and I could take a number of rules from DnD 5e and tweak them to suit the change in genre. 

So I started off with a one shot campaign, set in a HYDRA base. My three player characters would be playing themselves and making decision based on how they’d react. They ‘woke up’ in a white plastic robot body. Singular, all three were in the same body, looking through the same eyes and rolling for control over said robot body. It was entertaining to watch them figure out what they hell was going on organically. They quickly met the first NPC an old doctor/sciencist who was a very nervous person. He explained that they’d all been loaded into the same body by accident and that he was just testing out that his creation (the body itself) was working correctly. So my players decided to answer the jumpy doctors questions and let one of them take control as the doctor got them to walk around while still connected to the computer around them by a bunch of wires connected to the back of their neck. The doctor left the room briefly (to report to his superiors) before returning and calmly explaining that he’d need to shut them down before making the rest of the bodies. Yes, this was heavily inspired by the demo but the players didn’t notice or didn’t comment on it at the time. And they genuinely really like the one-shot. So, I started writing more, growing the campaign and expanding my list of NPCs.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “wow...you ripped off the demo and think that counts as writing a whole game” but I never said I wrote the whole story, that would be mental. But as both me and my players have pointed out, there is a large number of similarities which is spooky because as i already stated I didn’t know anything about DBH until almost a month after it’s full release. 

The first and most profound is Amanda. Or my Amanda, who’s called Ruth LaRue. Dr. Ruth LaRue, the trio’s psychologist/co-creator who acts pleasant (too pleasant) towards them...unless they disobey or resist their training to become Hydra Assets. One of my players is rebellious and LaRue has tried to manipulate and coldly threatened him as a result. While another obeys and gets praise and rewards as a result. Also she looks like Amanda (a character i didn’t even know existed), I originally described her as the same race, hairstyle, though slightly younger. And then I drew her (poorly) for my players to get a better idea of how she looked and Jesus Christ they look the same. 

Another is the fact that I have three player characters. There was a possible fourth player but work and life made it difficult for her to be a part of the game. Also my players are two boys and one girl. And while that’s all freaky, their characters appearances/designs are extra weird. Originally, after all getting their own bodies, they all had white plastic robot bodies, all male design (which female player wasn’t happy about because she missed her boobs). The only way to tell them apart was voice and the nervous doctor had given them different coloured eyes. Creating robots came with the challenge of figuring out how their bodies worked (one player was particularly interested in this). Once again inspiration partly came from the Kara demo, the robots are a water (blue liquid) based system, a pump (heart) transports water, which is collect in bags (lungs) through the robots absorbing moisture in the air (through breathing), around the machine frame (body). The water has two purposes, to thinly coat the white plastic casing (skin), which allowed the robot to feel pressure but not texture and also to keep the pump valves going, which creates the energy the machines (players) are run on. After learning that the white plastic version could be easily broken during training, the nervous doctor created a second batch of models, this time made out of metal (female asked for a female body and therefore the doctor gave her a large dent in her chest plate, she was pleased). They then get a new model, ones that are designed to blend in with humans. And this is where this section gets super freaky. The player got no say in how they looked because in game they wouldn’t. 

The female is the shortest model as well as they palest model with loads of freckles, the similarities with Kara stop there but the female player has been gifted a female kitten (thankfully named Cookie, not Alice) as the reward and is quite paranoid about it being taken off her or harmed (calm down, I haven’t hurt the cat...yet). 

One of the males is only slightly more tanned than the female with considerably less freckles and markings. He’s the tallest and the player has been surprisingly obedient, only "failing” when he doesn’t understand what’s happen or doesn’t think something will benefit HYDRA. Because of this he’s been promoted to team leader by the powers that be. He’s logical and is usually thinking about training and what’s going on in the NPCs’ heads. 

Lastly we have the second male who looks southern European (Spain, Italy, Greece and could probably pass as Mexican but the story is set in central Europe) so a different ethnicity/race to the other two. This is the rebellious player who generally plays pranks, cracks jokes and says “fuck you” to authority. Like I said before as a result, he tends to be the one looked down on and oppressed by the powers that be. He generally has a very clear line which he won’t cross no matter what and is willing to stand up if he views something as drastically wrong (refused to hurt his friends or pick up a gun).

Also when asked what they wanted to be called (I.e What’s your name?) The players decided to to sick to what the nice nervous doctor had designated them, i.e the colours of their eyes. Rebellious is Red. Logical is Blue and Female is Purple (name later changed to Violet).

Next is three more NPCs, who have enough in common with the DBH characters to mess with me. 

The nervous doctor, Dr. Thomas Thornley, while having a completely different personality, has formed relationships like Hank. A number of the players refer to him as “Daddy Thornley”, not to his face but when talking to each other in game. And most disturbingly the rebellious player has implied on several occasions that he “ships” the logical male player with father-figure Thornley, jokingly of course. And while in the beginning Thornley may have viewed the robots as a project or experiment, he now appears quite protective and fond of them. Even displaying discomfort when one is broken or completely destroyed. 

Their combat and gun trainer, Agent Woodrow who is ex-military and treats the robots exactly like you’d expect he would, like machines. He could either be Gavin or Captain Allen but either way he’s a genuine aggressor and dislikes/hates the robots. 

The Head of Hydra, Director Malachi Storm who has an air of mystery around him and commands any room he enters. He’s considerable less creepy than Kamski but is an “all-knowing, all-powerful” character. Also I guess I’m technically also Elijah Kamski (a.k.a GOD) and my players pointed out that i have his sadistic, power hungry play style (thanks, guys).

Lastly is a few game mechanics and events i put in the game. The players have always been able to telepathically talk to one another, they can also transfer images to each other. If broken beyond repair (i.e Killed) they now get automatically rebuilt, similar to Connor. I made LaRue give them a morality test which was mostly the “Track dilemma” which is similar to both the driver-less car AIs and the Kamski test. I actually did the motherfucking Kamski test with one or two of my players (but with humans instead of androids lol). Also the players believe they’re alive (which technically they are). They���ve literally been give zero context as to how they are in robot bodies in the MCU, specifically they’re last memories before the start of the game are of going to sleep in their beds in the real world. They are literally three robots walking around stating that they’re alive. 

And yes, I realise that Cage took shit from other movies but it have seen any of those movies so...:P

If I looked hard I could probably find more scary comparisons but a) I don’t particularly want to show all my cards, in case my players read this post, and b) I appear to have written a fucking TED talk out of what was supposed to be a short funny story. 

[chaoticpolarity]

Long post incoming: on Hogwarts Mystery and comparing it to the old Harry Potter games

So a few of us have been playing Hogwarts Mystery, the new phone/tablet game that’s basically the RPG we begged for when we were younger.  We can make our own character, be in our own House, compete for the House Cup, and learn Hogwarts magic, all while a story is going on in the semi-background.  For a new-age Harry Potter game, and an RPG at that, it’s a good enough start, I suppose.  

Pros:

- It’s set far enough back in the timeline that we can have all the old teachers we had come to love, as well as the added opportunity of meeting some teachers we had only heard mentioned (for example, Professor Kettleburn, the old Care of Magical Creatures professor, before he retired to, as Dumbledore put it, “spend some quality time with his remaining limbs”)

- It’s also set back just far enough that we get to know some older characters that we never really talked to much in the books (Bill, Charlie, Tonks).  Although, given their fully canonized ages, I do now question heavily Tonks and Lupin’s relationship (they have a 15 YEAR AGE DIFFERENCE, with Tonks being in her mid twenties, and Lupin being almost 40.  I did the math.  Even though they were both consenting adults, I find that pretty creepy, when I previously just thought it was shoehorned in).

- All the lessons we’re given in the game are pretty canon-feeling, and there are quite a few of them, in a variety of subjects, which is very nice.  There could be more, but then the game might feel a bit cluttered.

- I do like the dueling aspect of the game.  Adds a bit of challenge, almost like boss fights.  Not a big fan of the rock-paper-scissors aspect of it, but it’s a start.

- I do like the attribute system, especially in how your attributes have to be a certain level in order to do certain things.  With the attribute system, there comes a bit of strategy as well (ex. in the first year, you should kiss up to Snape in order to win House Points, rather than have them taken away.  That conflicts with my integrity quite a bit, but hey, I’m competitive, and I don’t want to be blamed for having more House Points taken away).

- I am a competitive person.  I see that we can compete for the House Cup, and I like it, especially when I feel that our lead is entirely because of me (I’m in Ravenclaw, which, by default, is often in 3rd or 4th place.  Not if I have anything to say about it).  And you even get rewarded for being in first by the end of the year, which adds even more reason to compete for first beyond, you know, being in first.

- They went the extra mile and made a story for the game.  It’s not the best story in the world, but it’s a story, which keeps it interesting enough to grab you.

Now to get into the cons, which I’ll focus way more on, lmao.

Cons:

- There’s a choice to be made between spending oodles of money and waiting unbearably long amounts of time for your energy to recharge.  Many people joke that it take 5 energy to breathe, and I can totally see it.  It IS a phone game, though, so we have to take that into account, and it did come as free, so the developers have to make money somehow.

- While I do like some of the original characters made for the game (I’m in the second year currently, but I’ll list some favorites: Penny and Barnaby, in the original characters category), and, while I’m annoyed with them, I appreciate how some characters demonstrate the true definition of some terms (Ben Copper.  He’s afraid, but he faces his fears, which is the ACTUAL definition of bravery, even if he’s a very annoyingly extreme case of it), some characters are a bit...weird for me.  I’m talking about Rowan.  I like having a best friend, but I want an actual friend with their own mind, not an ass-kisser who worships the very ground you walk on.  Some worshipping is fine, it fuels my ego, but the amount Rowan does makes me uncomfortable and feel like a “Mary Sue.”

And, the con I’m going to elaborate on the most:

- They sacrificed having an actual game to play for a sort-of story and canon lessons.

The lessons can be interesting at first, but they can get old quickly, and this is where I’m going to draw comparisons to the old Harry Potter games, especially the first...three?  Four?  Idk, just hear me out, I only played that far.

The first games were a bit outrageous in some elements, but they felt like actual GAMES.  I especially appreciated the Gamecube games, even though I grew up more with the PC versions.

Here are some pros of those old games (I’m mainly going to cite the Gamecube version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, since I never got the Gamecube versions of the next games, even though I really want to now, especially since the old computer games don’t even work for newer computers):

- The spells you learned, at least in the Gamecube versions, could be used for a variety of things.  You learn Flipendo, and not only can it knock enemies back, but it can depress switches as well.  You learn Lumos, and not only can it light pathways and open up other ones, but it can be used to FIGHT certain creatures, like malevolent ghosts and Gytrashes.  Each spell had different uses, some of which you don’t even think of at first.  That’s innovative!

- Each lesson you went to had a certain “dungeon.”  You went through it, you solved puzzles, you fought enemies, and sometimes there were even bosses.  Sometimes.  Even Potions had dungeons attached!  POTIONS!  It was great!

- You could explore the castle in so many different ways.  Sometimes I stalled going to class just to enter different classrooms and loot people’s desks for HOURS.  And later on, you could fly your broom across the grounds, ALMOST ANYWHERE you wanted.  And with exploring the castle came hidden rooms, secrets, treasures that were hidden, etc.  I remember a certain chest on the grounds that you could only reach flying your broomstick, once you got it.

- Collectibles.  You could collect Wizard Cards in the game, and I especially loved the ones where you had the ability to collect all 151.  Trading made it easier, which wasn’t very fun, imho, but you could learn things about the Wizarding World.  It was a minor aspect, but it was addicting, just like collecting Wizard Cards WOULD be.  AND collecting Wizard Cards had the added benefit of increasing your stamina.

Basically, the old Harry Potter games felt like actual GAMES.  They didn’t get very high reviews on gaming sites, but hey, they were fun!  You learned spells to use later, not just for story purposes, but for exploration.  And the process of learning the spells was FUN, because there were dungeons attached!  Not very canon to the stories, I know, but sometimes you have to sacrifice canonicity for FUN.  You know, what games are SUPPOSED to be.

So yeah, Hogwarts Mystery is a good first step.  But it should not be the ONLY step.  They’ve proven that they can make a sort of story, they can make original characters (their characters need some work, but hey, it’s a start, and far more than we ever thought of), they’ve introduced a sort of strategy when it comes to interacting with people and doing certain actions, they can do graphics well even for a phone game, and they’ve already implemented dueling, or at least a beta version of it. The next step should be to learn from their predecessors.  Implement the GAME and EXPLORATION aspects of the old ones into the new ones, and create a happy medium.  Yes, it’ll be for a console or PC, and yes, it’ll cost money, but it’ll be more FUN and WORTHWHILE.

And it’ll make our young wizards and witches that reside in all of us finally happy and fully satisfied.  We’ll finally be able to have our own adventure, not just in a canon-esque way, but in a FUN way.

[forged-through-trials]

We entered the door, and delved into a small hallway, with three glowing archways in three alcoves. Standing before these niches was another ghost, this one resembling a wizard. We spoke to him, to get his take on the matters. Ghostly Wizard: “You there! Slave! Why haven’t you brought me the ritual scroll?” Trials: “...” I flared my snout at him. “Excuse me??” Ghostly Wizard: “I need it to fight the dremora! ...or was it to summon the dremora? ...summon the Aylieds? I... do not remember... “Anyway, it is somewhere in the Agreasel. Bring it to me, quickly!” Trials: I narrowed my eyes at him. “No, no, go back. What did you just call me?” Ghostly Wizard: “And a word of caution, slave--” Trials: “I will punch you!” Ruin: “Trials, you cannot punch a ghost.” Trials: “I will find a way!” Ghostly Wizard: “--The portals are... unstable... for some reason. They do not work as expected. You may not always appear where you think. And have a care for that dremora who stole the Waters of Anu. He’s in here somewhere. Probably need those to restore the Sacred Well. Put them back in.”

Once I suppressed the urge to introduce this ghost’s nose to my fist, I processed the task he’d given us. We had a strange dungeon to explore, and explore it we will. It took me a while to figure this out, but the place is a bit like a maze. The glowing archways could take me and Ruin around to the different rooms in this place, but only one could actually advance us to the next area. The rest would send us back to the beginning of the maze.

Ruin and I began to explore... and were stopped short by the dremora forces right away. Every inch we advanced was hard-won, as dozens of dremora stood between us and our advance. It didn’t really help matters that we fell afoul of the traps in this place. Firstly, there were the broken archways, booting up back to the beginning of the maze. Then, there was the Dark Welkyn stone, which fired the gods-damn lightning of Julianos at me. I think I’m still smoking from being hit by it. And then there was the inconspicuous red circle, in the room with the white fire coming out of braziers. Sure, it looked like a decorative bit, much like the red markings on the floor I’d seen throughout the Agreasel. Then I stepped on it, and a Storm Atronach appeared from thin air! The thing packed a wallop, able to send me reeling with but a blow, and it’s shock spells hurt almost as much as that cursed Dark Welkyn stone. Ruin could tank those hits a little more easily than I could, so he ran interference while I sniped it from afar. Granted, a huge golem made of electrified stones could take a plinking with arrows like a champ, and Ruin was forced to retreat before it was downed. Thus led to me poking my head out to shoot, followed by ducking back behind a pillar to dodge the lightning. A few more shots finally downed the Daedra, much to my relief.

So something I’d been glossing over; I learned to summon a Golden Saint a while ago. She’s been an asset, saving my leathery hide on more than a few occasions. Well, while enlisting her help in this dungeon, a thought occurred to me. Trials: “...hey, uh, may I ask you something?” Golden Saint: Curt. “Speak quickly, mortal!” Trials: “Yeah, sorry, I really should have asked this sooner; what do I call you?” Golden Saint: She gave pause, and blinked at me, confused. “...what?” Trials: “Your name? We’ve worked together for a little while, now, but I never got your name.” Golden Saint: “...’Lilitham.’“ Trials: “Huh. Sounds pretty.” Lilitham: She flushed visibly. “Th-thank you... mortal.” Trials: “Call me ‘Trials’.” Lilitham: “...very well, ‘Trials’.”

After making my way through this maze, I found... this strange room. Large stones covered in runes stood before me, with plates in front of each one. Starting at the northen-most stone, and going clockwise, they were listed as; the “Tree Stone,” the “Waves Stone,” the “Flame Stone,” the “Mountain Stone,” and the “Sword Stone.” A stone plate in the middle gave me a rough idea what to do. The stones needed to be activated in a particular order, and that order had to include the Tree Stone as the first, and the Mountain Stone as the third in sequence. The center tablet also mentioned that any sequence where the Tree Stone was first, and the Mountain Stone was second, would likely be very, very bad. So I was sure to avoid any such combination. That still left me to try and figure out the sequence, but while I looked for clues, I noticed five Soul Gems of increasing quality on a shelf in one corner of the room, laid out around a glowing, white flame. I compared them to the standing stones, and thought that they, perhaps, lined up. Indeed, if we assume the Tree Stone, which we know is first in sequence, was the Petty gem, then it lines up with the Mountain being the Common gem, the third in quality. So assuming that was my ‘key’ to this puzzle, I activated the stones in sequence, and... jackpot! Well, about as ‘jackpot’ as a huge, glowing, red portal can be. My, oh, my but that seems quite ominous. However we’d come this far, so we might as well dive in the rest of the way. Turns out, Ruin couldn’t follow. The portal only admitted me. So it was up to me  to scale the spiral staircase overlooking an abyss of nothingness, to the top of this tower, and face whatever lies there. Yay.

What lay at the top? A dremora calling himself the “Storm Magus.” Well, that name alone sounded like bad news, and I’d had enough of being hit with Shock spells today. Thankfully, I had a counter for him. From one of the lesser dremora throughout the dungeon, I’d looted a staff that could cast Silence. That stopped most of his spell-casting, cold, and while he was so disabled, I called on Lilitham, as well as another Dremora from a scroll. The two of them worked the Storm Magus down, while I ran interference and kept him Silenced. Lilitham got him good in the side, and I’d thought the fight was won, only for the Magus to chug a potion and return to the fight immediately. Curses. Only I’m supposed to avoid dying by chugging potions like a chump! My two stalwart Daedra continued to whittle down the Storm Magus while I kept him quiet and non-spell-casty. But he just kept chugging potions every time he was dealt a mortal blow. It was a race to see who would run out of resources first; his potions versus the charge in my staff. Both were running low, and sweat beaded my brow as I could feel the staff losing power. Once it ran out, he’d have access to his magic again, and I’d be screwed! Finally, Lilitham slammed him with a sucker-punch, knocking the Magus off of his feet. Then she plunged her sword into his gut. I waited with baited breath as he reached into his pocket, but I could see by the look on his face that he found nothing within. He was finally out of potions. He slumped back with a groan, vanquished at last... and just as my staff ran out of charge. What a dramatic finish!

Now that he was down, I pinched what was left on him, and began to search the top of this tower for any decent loot. Among them, I found this strange, magical shield, with “Divine Shield of Lightning” inscribed on it. I recalled, now, that it was mentioned among the stolen items on the notice board in town. So, turning it in back there was sure to offer a nice, sizable reward for my efforts.

Also among the treasures, I’d found the Waters of Anu. I now had what I needed to restore the Sacred Well. I had not, however, found the Ritual Scroll that boorish Ghost-Wizard had requested. I’d have to find it later. Right now, however, I’m both overloaded with treasure, and feeling quite overwhelmed. I only just barely managed to defeat that Storm Magus, and that was after fighting my way through hordes of Dremora, and barely surviving traps that nearly killed me on their own. I feel ill-prepared for all of this, and I need something, anything more that could give me the edge. The treasure we’d plundered from this dive can more than pay for a little trip. So, it’s time; we’re putting the Cheydinhal Business on hold, and returning to Anvil in order to seek the tutelage of a Sword Master. The Chronicles of Anvil book I found while there said “Rhano” at the Fighters Guild trained in the blade, so I will travel there, and return to this story, when I’m a master of swords.

[jasonxavier]

Solidarity

Karolina confines in Gert.

She called Gert. She had to, she needed someone. Everything was getting to be too much. Her mom’s a murderer, she… has a superpower and everything with Nico-… She just needed someone to talk to…

After they’d hung out after school a few days ago, Karolina had begun to think of Gert as a friend again, little by little, and she didn’t even think twice about calling her.

Gert picks up on the third ring, and after Karolina asks a quiet “Can you come over?” she promised to ‘…be there in ten.’

“Hey, rainbow,” Gert greets her when she opens the door and Karolina can’t hide her surprise as she stumbles back a step, leaning heavily into the door,  

“E-excuse me?” “Uh, your lights…” Gert explains as she gestures awkwardly to her arms, “You light up, changing different colors, you literally shoot colored light from your arms… any of that ringing a bell?”

“Oh, yeah, right,” Karolina mumbles and her ears grow red in embarrassment. They’re surrounded silence a moment later and as it grows awkward, Gert shifts on her feet and a few sharp ‘clinks’ ring through the air. A pack of Heineken dangles unnoticed in her left hand.

“You brought beer,” Karoline states, moving aside to open the door wider, letting Gert in,

“Yeah, uh, you sounded like you needed some on the phone.” She nods at that, trailing after Gert as they make their way to her room.

“What, did you raid your parent’s liquor cabinet or something?”

“No, they keep it open. They always say that it’s better to experiment with drugs at home and supervised than somewhere else,”

Karolina nods at her words before stepping forward to enter her bedroom door.

“Woah, what happened to your room?” Gert just about exclaims as the destroyed state of her pictures and the contents of her desk come into full view.

“Oh yeah. I broke some stuff, it’s not a big deal.” She shrugs before kneeling, moving to pick up the binders and strewn pieces of paper that had fallen out of them and littered themselves around her floor, brushing wayward pieces of glass off of them as she goes along.

“Wow, you’ve got some anger under that smiley exterior,” Gert says as she sets the beer down next to Karolina’s bed before kneeling beside her,

“Yeah, just because I’m blonde and religious doesn’t mean I’m not capable of feeling more than one complex emotions.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Gert mutters teasingly, her words holding no malice.

They work together quietly, efficiently picking up the papers and the larger shards of glass and depositing them on her desk.

They stand together, admiring their handiwork when Gert points at her previously neat wall of pictures, asking

“What are you going to do about those?”

“We’ve got some extra picture frames in the basement, actually.”

“What’re the odds that your basement has a murder dungeon, too?” Karolina rolls her eyes, exiting her room, and moving to grab the broom from the kitchen before re-emerging in her doorway. Gert walks over and takes the broom from her wordlessly, beginning to sweep up the glass.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

The basement of her house was the most cluttered part of it by far. There were enough boxes down there to hide the gray of the walls behind them. There used to be enough dust residing on the cardboard that when she was younger, she almost died from an asthma attack from being down there for only a minute or two. It was better now, thankfully, an air purifier made by Wizard Co. ran perpetually down there but still, even in the present, her throat closed up a little in the confined space.

She’d ventures around a stack of boxes before she found ones labeled ‘Living Room’. It’s crazy that they’ve kept all of this stuff even though they’d been living in that house all of Karolina’s life. The tape sealing the box together come off easily, it’s adhesive long since withered away.

A small smile forms on her face at the first thing she sees; an old photo of her grandfather. Her fingertips ghost atop it. He looked practically ethereal as he basked in the warm glow of the sun near the Santa Monica Pier. It was one of her favorite memories, one of the only memories of her grandpa that she still remembered.

They’d sat together in the sand and he explained to her the importance of a smile, how the small gesture of smiling at a stranger could give them a reprieve from their hardships, a small reprieve of the storm of their day into a bright clear sky, if only for a moment. One of the philosophies of the Church of Gibborim that she would soon come to know.

The memory makes lacks its usual loving glow, instead, it makes her heart heavier, placing bitterness and sorrow in the place where warmth used to reside whenever she thought about the practices of her church… Whenever she thought of her grandfather she’d used to think about the love and light of the Church of Gibborim provided her but now… Now she can only wonder how much of that her family actually believed. Believed in.

As she looked around her basement that she knew held so much family history that there almost wasn’t enough space to keep it all, Karolina felt nothing but sadness and revulsion as she regarded it all.

Gibborim paraphernalia disguised as family heirlooms and treasures items litter the house, masking the disingenuity of it all behind religious practices Karolina doesn’t even know her Mother actually believes -that she doesn’t even know if she believes anymore.

After all, how can you preach daily about the spreading happiness and sharing smiles when one of the last smiles one of you followers may form very well might be the last they ever get to bring into this word.

Her stomach roils painfully at the thought.

Everything she’s been taught might as well have been a lie. It feels so cold. Sterile. Impersonal. And it’s then that Karolina realized that she has more color and warmth in her left arm than in her whole house.

Karolina finds herself wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. She places the picture back down, finding the empty frames she’d been looking for in the next box over and as she climbs back up the stairs and into her houses back room, she feels like she can breathe a little easier. For more reason than one.

“We’re not going to be able to drink those here, my dad likes to pop in to check on me and they’re definitely not going to be happy that this.”  Karolina reminds Gert as she gets handed a picture frame, placing it in its previous spot on her wall.

“Yeah, well, our parents have murderous tendencies, are you really that worried about what they approve of right now.”

“Not my dad.” She interjects sharply and Gert raises her eyebrows in question.

“What?”

“My dad’s not a part of it,” Karolina states resolutely, her voice strong.

“How do you know?” Gert asks and Karolina can’t help but release a small chuckle.

“Have you seen him? My mom’s the head of the church, my dad hasn’t even officially gone ultra-”

“Is that even a real thing or is it a code for... You know.” She shrugs,

“I don’t know but… I just know that he’s not. I have faith in him. That he believes the things my mother preaches.”

“Do you still believe the things your mom preaches?” She doesn’t answer.

They park on the far side of the beach parking lot, Gert’s car stalls under a blanket of shadow as a low rush of warm air coaxes itself through the car’s vents, cutting through the slight chill of the night.

Gert reaches into the back seat and grabs the pack of beer, resting it on the middle console as she slips one out and hands one to Karolina. After the time it took to clean her room and drive in the heated car to the beach, the beer’s warmer than what Karolina would call desirable but with the anticipation of the alcohol releasing the tension on her shoulders… she can’t complain.

They sit in silence together, comfortable and content in each other’s calming presence, watching together as the waves lap lazily against the shore.

It took her a little longer than expected to get used to the bitter taste, she’d have to admit, but when she finds herself more relaxed than she’d been in the three days prior, she can’t find it in herself to care.

It took Karolina almost draining all of her beer to make the thought come into her head: ‘Come out.’ She’s been thinking that more and more lately. It whispers to her in the night when she finds herself fixated the female characters on whatever sitcom is playing and screaming full force whenever Nico comes near her.

She doesn’t really know what comes over her this time, though. Maybe the combined efforts of the alcohol and the betrayal she feels from her mother takes a toll on her awareness… But for some reason, it makes her think that everything will be okay.

“So uh,” She begins, breaking the silence for the first time that night.

“You believe in fighting for social justice and… equality for all and all that, right?”

“Within reason, yeah.”

“Within reason?” She questions, not being able to help it as she tenses up a bit.

“Yeah. You’re not going to see me defending the rights of a neo-nazi, that’s for sure.” She explains and Karolina nods, hiding her sigh of relief in another sip of beer.

They’re silent after that just sitting together as they take in the sea air, lost in their own thoughts. When their first beers are finished, Gert grabs two more, before handing one to Karolina, barely making a sound. She finds her gaze hyperfocused on the alcohol sloshing inside the glass bottle and only after she takes one courage-fueled swig, does her mouth open to spill what she’s wanted too for a while.

“I’m gay.” She blurts out and Gert chokes mid-sip. She begins coughing violently and Karolina reaches out a hand, firmly patting her back until it dies down. Gert’s eyes are wide, watery from the coughs and her voice sounds strained when she speaks up.

“Wait, you’re not into Chase?” She asks and Karolina visibly retracts, shaking her head vehemently.

“No. Definitely not. I-I uh,” She takes a deep breath. Steeling herself, steadying herself. She contemplates stopping at that as the suddenly more and more familiar feeling of fear rests lowly in her stomach but the confused look Gert’s giving her isn’t one of disgust, but one of curiosity and it’s that look that gives her the strength to continue.

“I’m a lesbian.” Karolina finds herself enveloped in a tight hug a moment later and she has to tilt her beer away so it doesn’t spill all over the seat. The position’s a little awkward but it gets the point across and the moment is nothing less than perfect. When Gert pulls back, her smile is the most genuine she’s ever seen it and it’s almost enough to bring Karolina to tears.

“Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me,” Gert says and Karolina smiles shyly down at her beer, sighing deeply as the anxiety she was feeling a moment earlier leaves her body.

“So,” Gert says, taking Karolina’s silence as a prompt to continue.

“How’d you figure out that you were a lesbian?”Gert asks and her casual acceptance makes Karolina feel warmer than the buzz that the alcohol is giving her.

“Well, I’ve been trying to ignore it but recently that hasn’t been working out the best for me,” she jokes a bit before her smile grows somber.

“And I have the biggest crush on this girl but I think she’s strai-”

“Nico?” Gert cuts her off, smiling as the look on Karolina’s face confirms her suspicion. “Yeah,” Karolina frowns at her, “How’d you know?”

“I saw the way you two interacted at the coffee house after our mission to save Alex.” She explains, “I don’t know, I assumed that you guys just… really bonded before Molly and I got there… I guess it was a wildly different type of bonding than what I was assuming, though.” She teases. Karolina takes another helpless swig.

“No, nothing like that. When we were back at Alex’s I saw Nico and Alex kissing so… I’d say her heart’s unobtainable at the moment.”

“Oh, man, I know how that feels,” Gert mutters. Karolina looks at her expectantly, prompting her to continue and “Chase,” is all Gert offers to her.

“Oh,” Karolina breathes out. “Oh.” She says again. Gert nods.

“And you may not be into Chase but he’s definitely into you.” She huffs out, sighing into another sip from her bottle. Karoline nods understanding.

“Is that why you’ve been acting a little…”

“Bitchy?” Gert supplies and the giggle Karolina releases turns into a drunken hiccup.

“You said it.”

“I’m really sorry about that, actually…” Gert apologizes,

“I’m not used to being jealous,” Karolina nods at her words, tilting her glass towards Gert’s own and they clink against each other in a mock toast.

“Yeah,” she breathes out. “Neither am I.”