Chapter Seventeen #2
“Uh, I’m just going to take all these,” Felix says and pushes a pile onto a paper plate. The others follow his lead, but Max and I take our time, bending over and studying the table like we’re professional golfers scrutinizing the topography of the land before taking a shot.
Finally I find a perfect one, stacked high with meat, cheese, and toppings, and he does the same. I raise mine in the air. “To our new game.”
He gently clinks his chip with mine. “And new beginnings.”
Unlike last session, when I was nervous and wishing I could claim sudden food poisoning, today I’m actually excited.
This whole week I’ve been brainstorming and reading and jotting down ideas for encounters.
Since they defeated the giant opossum last time and leveled up, it makes sense that they’ll want to figure out what was going on with that.
Where did those giant monstrous animals come from, and are there more of them?
And that means that when they start exploring the forest, I can lead the group to the opossum’s den, which just happens to connect to underground tunnels.
And that means we can start a dungeon crawl tonight.
Once we do that, it’ll feel like a real D&D game.
“Are we all ready?” I ask when everyone has sat down and Zoinks is settled next to Nova’s chair.
I’m practically bouncing in my seat. I already have the space all mapped out in my head (and a rough sketch since I’m not an artist like Li) and I know exactly when they’re going to find the traps, monsters, and loot.
It’s going to be so cool. I feel like a real DM—like Mom—instead of a newbie pretending to be a Dungeon Master.
“Actually,” Felix says. “Li and I took your advice and worked on our character backgrounds.”
I sit back. To be honest, I’d kind of forgotten about that with everything else going on. And I’m surprised Li talked to Felix without telling me. “Oh, well, that’s great. What’d you come up with?”
They share a shy look across the table. They look so similar in that moment, with their glasses and fidgety hand gestures, that I do a double take.
“So, we were thinking about the fact that Ellywich is a gardener and how druids really care about the balance and sanctity of nature,” Felix begins.
“And we decided that we didn’t want to be related,” Li adds.
“So, instead we decided we’ll be from two separate families who live in close vicinity to each other, protecting and living off the land.
But the reason we’re here now is because a blight destroyed our crops.
We can’t survive there anymore, and our families are dispersed, and we don’t even know where everyone is.
So, we’re here to search for answers to the blight and save our land and bring our families together. ”
Felix and Li give each other a little nod of support. I’m still processing.
“Cool backstory,” Nova tells them. “Tragic backstories are always best.”
Tragic backstories are great…except when I didn’t know about them until after I already set up this campaign and have nothing built in about this.
I figured they’d just decide to be childhood friends or something, not that they’d create a whole separate mystery that we’d need to solve.
I swallow tightly and smile. This will be fine.
It’ll just be something to deal with in the future.
“Thanks for thinking so deeply about this,” I say.
“And now that we know that, I guess we can start. As I’m sure you all remember, we ended last session with the group defeating the giant opossum and saving everyone.
However, the giant raccoon got away. Luckily, because of its size, it left a very wide path into the forest.”
“Well, the obvious choice is to follow the tracks, right?” Nova asks the group. “And I wouldn’t mind going deeper into the woods. All those crowds were stressing me out.”
Zoinks gives a little bark next to her, and she ruffles his fur. “Well, that’s too bad,” she tells him in a baby voice. “I know you like people, but this is what happens when there’s people. Chaos.”
“Actually, I kind of agree with Zelda,” Felix says. “I was hoping we could explore the city first. What’s it called again? Darkthorn?”
I nod tightly and my eye starts twitching.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Li says. “Felix and I—oops, I mean Elrid and I—are hoping to look for leads on what might be causing this blight. It’s why we came to this area.”
“Fine by me,” Max says, and I clutch my hands together under the table. “I’m very gold motivated, so I’m not going deeper into the woods unless I have a good incentive. But since the four of us were so helpful, I bet we can negotiate a reward if we find someone in the city.”
“Fine,” Nova says with a sulk. “I hate towns, but Zelda will be beside himself with joy.” She looks to me. “Okay, the party is going to go into the town to explore.”
Everyone turns to face me, eager and smiling, and I absolutely freeze. What am I supposed to do now? I’d set everything up so perfectly, mentioned the tracks and the raccoon running back into the forest. Lining up the hints that should have drawn them to follow. I have everything ready for that.
My mind races. “You’re sure? Right, okay, the city. Let’s see…”
I stare down at my dungeon crawl notes and dice as if there’s anything there that can help me. What does the city even look like? I clear my throat roughly.
“So, the party walks into the city. When you get there you see, um, buildings. Tall buildings. Well, not too tall, but with maybe two stories. And flower boxes.”
I cut my eyes to Max and Felix, sure I’ll find them rolling their eyes or smirking, but they only sit patiently. Li nods, probably thinking I’m about to say something profound or helpful, but I’m not.
“Okay. Great. So, who’s in charge of this city?” Max asks after another moment.
“Uh, the…the duke. The grand duke of the city.”
He frowns and then turns to the group. “I feel like we should seek him out. We can plead our case and ask for payment.”
“What if you went to search for him, and Elrid and I started asking about the blight?” Li suggests and my stomach twists again. Now they want to split up? And talk to twice as many non-player characters that I haven’t created and don’t know how to role-play?
“Zelda and I will come with you, Axolotl,” Nova says.
“I’d love the company.”
“No,” I blurt, and Li jumps back in surprise, probably from how sharp my tone is. “I mean, I think you should all stay together.”
“But how’ll we figure out what’s going on with our lands if we don’t start asking around?” Felix asks.
“Well, maybe you should have told me ahead of time about your backstories rather than dropping it on me last minute,” I snap and then immediately want to slide under the table. I’m totally botching this.
Felix blinks in surprise. “But you told us to come up with a backstory, so we did.” He looks to Li for confirmation.
My heart is racing and guilt swirls with my anxiety so that I have absolutely no clue what to do with the group next.
“Aw man, I completely forgot that my mom brought a cake for us tonight!” Max pushes back from his chair.
The others glance around in surprise before following his lead and standing up.
“Well, it’s mostly for the adults, but she said we could have some if we got to it before they ate it all.
We should get some now before it’s gone. ”
“What kind is it?” Felix asks.
“Chocolate fudge.”
“Get out of my way,” he replies with a laugh and flies toward the kitchen. Li and Nova hurry after him, and Zoinks is quick to join the party. Max lingers until we’re alone in the dining room.
“Do you want a piece?” he asks quietly.
I tilt my head in confusion. “What are you doing? You were never a cake fan before.”
“I don’t hate it if it has enough icing, it’s just not my favorite. I can choke this one down.”
“But then why…”
I trail off as he gives me a small knowing smile.
What I really need right now is a few minutes to get my bearings and figure out what comes next.
I know I could explain that to everyone…
but I really don’t want to admit that I’m already dropping the ball as their Dungeon Master.
I’m supposed to be the leader. The person behind the curtain who knows everything.
I don’t want them to lose faith in me so early in the campaign.
Max easily could have called me out as soon as he realized I was vulnerable, but instead he found a way to give me exactly what I need without letting the others know. The realization makes my throat tight.
“When did you become so sacrificial?” I ask weakly. “Choking down cake for me?”
“Just looking out for my Dungeon Master.”
His Dungeon Master. My heart stumbles. Suddenly that one word has enough weight to render me mute.