Chapter Text
It took them all a moment to regain their composure after May broke out into her evil laugh. She was still laughing, but it had turned to uncontrollable giggles. “So-so-sorry, guys! Continue, please!” she gasps out as she hunches over in her chair.
“Buck, that’s you,” Bobby reminds the firefighter, who was still looking very concerned at the teenaged girl who was now wiping away tears.
“Uh, right… um, so first and foremost, Howie, your family is probably fine. He would have gloated before trying to kill us, and he didn’t. So that means he has no leverage over us. The problems are: one, he knew where to find us, two, he was able to send something after us, and three, we were able to hear him after he failed to kill us. Which means next time he gets trigger happy? Will be worse. And he’ll make it hurt.”
“What makes you an expert on this guy? Honestly curious.” Howie sits forward, listening intently.
“The first time we met him. He was boasting about his power to try and get us in line. The problem was that the board we were playing on was controlled by him. The things that you wanted to protect were surrounded by him. So, I tried something. As he mentioned several times, I’m an outsider. The loner of the group. Whatever family I have, he doesn’t know about. So, I reacted. And he didn’t go for me, he went for Eddie. So either he knows more than we did at that point (“Or more than we still know,” Eddie interjects, grumbling.), or he enjoys making sure that the person he has a grudge on knows that their friends or family are being harmed because of them. Really hammer in the guilt.”
“I hate how much sense that makes. So basically, we moved his preferred source of retaliation out of his reach. So when he figured out that we were playing him, he went looking for our loved ones. When he couldn’t find them… temper tantrum.” At Buck’s confirming nod, the warlock scrubs a hand over her face. “And he has some way to watch us… hold on.” Hen stops talking as she stops talking to flip through her spellbook.
Out of game, Hen has her character sheet, scanning through what she can do. “Nope. I thought my invocations could do something.”
Chim chuckles as he pulls a card from his spell deck. “Hey, May? What are the odds that this is the spell I will need?”
“Chim, why don’t you roll me a… an arcana check, please?” May asks, checking her notes.
“Can I cast Guidance, May?” Eddie asks, looking up from his own spell cards.
“Yes, you can, Eddie.”
“So add a d4 to that, Mr. Bard!” Eddie says, grinning across the table.
“So… that was a 4 on the d4, plus 5… How does a total of 25 sound?”
Howie, as you sit there, quietly playing your violin during your short rest, you remember something. There is a spell that allows one to see what others are doing. Now, sometimes you can fight it off, but it requires a specific… wisdom about you. As far as you know, you will all be fine, especially if in the protection of Buck’s aura, but then you remember... Buck was not faking the fact that he kept getting lost in the woods. He was utterly helpless in this unfamiliar terrain. You also recall that to make the spell more effective, you can sometimes have something of the person’s to connect with them. Hair, for instance, would be very effective. The spell itself creates an orb or something similar to watch and hear from, which is invisible. You can roll once more, with Guidance… and if it's high enough, next time you long rest, you can switch one of your spells that you have taken for that one. Finally… as far as you know, it has a 10-minute time limit.
Chim looks across at Eddie and getting a nod, rolls his dice. “Okay, that is a 3 for Guidance. And a 16, so that is 24... you know what, I haven't used Luck yet today. It couldn’t harm anything to see… That is a natural 20! For a total of 28.”
You are sitting there, contemplating this scrying spell, and thinking of the ways that you have to try and detect it, all while strumming. And as you look over at Buck, most likely the victim of this spell, because Mackey did have the opportunity to steal Buck’s hair, and you see something. Floating above Buck and back maybe three feet, you can almost see the sound waves from your playing as they curve around a translucent orb that is dark-tinged. (Mark off a second-level spell slot, the Nat 20 had you casting it but you will still need a long rest and to switch one of your current spells out.) Howie, you have just cast a spell that you don’t even really know. But now, you see the scrying orb behind Buck, (One last Arcana check for confirmation. No Guidance this time.” “19 total.” “Okay.) and you realize something. They had to know where you were to summon the fiend that raised the undead. The battle happened, and Mackey obviously has seen the outcome of that. Then you regrouped, and you are here healing. It’s been closer to 30 minutes since you guys have sat down post-battle. That isn’t counting the time pre-battle or the fact that he knew that your party was trying to deceive him. Scrying is supposed to last 10 minutes. And it isn’t a low-powered spell requiring a significant amount of power to cast. How is this spell still active? But no one else has noticed that you have seen this sight. You can do whatever you want with this information.
“How much can I say with Message?”
“It is one round… I will say anything you can fit in 6 seconds. The Message Cantrip has somatic components, so you will be making a stealth check to cast without being discovered. Every consecutive spell will make the DC harder.” May pulls out her phone, setting a time for 6 seconds. “You ready?”
Chim cracks his neck, and stretches exaggeratedly, “Okay, so this is the sleight of hand. That is a 12 for a total of 16. And I am sending this to Hen, as the second-best liar here. First being myself, of course.” That had everyone snorting in laughter because Chim was the worst at lying and secret-keeping. “Oh, shut up. Okay, start the clock.”
“The scry is active. The spell is not normal. We have to figure out what to do about this.”
“Hen you have 6 seconds to respond. No rolls are necessary.”
“Can you dispel it? If so, let’s fake a convo, and then go.”
Chim is flipping through his spell cards, frowning. He has Dispel Magic, which would require a roll, but there was still the possibility of the Duke casting the spell again. He thought that he had read the description for a spell that would protect Buck for a time, but he couldn't find it. Then he remembers. It was one of the ones he swapped out last session before the level-up. Closing his eyes, he chuckles a little at his own blunder. May had given him all the tools necessary to fix this situation and he had discarded them because they weren’t flashy. He bungled it trying to be more important and the “non-flashy” spells he had discarded were actually of plot importance. He glances up towards the knowing smirk of his teenage DM and gives her a slightly pleading look. From the slightly evil grin that started spreading across her face, he knew she wasn’t going to be as kind as she was with See Invisibility.
“Well, well, well, Howard Han. There is something you had and threw away, that you need back. So, let’s talk about it.” May sits back in her chair and cracks her knuckles. “Here's the thing. I was a kind and generous DM at first, so we are going to play my version of Let’s Make a Deal. So… Without any kind of inspiration or outside help, you are going to roll... let’s go with three Arcana Checks. The first two checks are regarding that second spell that you know you need, and the third will be to gain those spells in your repertoire for permanent use without a long rest. In addition, you need to talk to me about which spells you are giving up to make room. They cannot be spells from your Additional Magical Secrets feature unless you want to give up the bonus one I gave you. I’m going to need at least one of the spells you swap out to be an Evocation Spell for me to allow it, though. The second one can be whatever, but I highly recommend either another Evocation or an Enchantment school spell to sweeten the pot. So let’s get rolling.”
Chim sighs, rolling his die in his hand before sending it across the table, watching it carefully, breathing in relief when it comes up as a natural 16. “21 for the first.” Rolling again, he couldn’t help but wince as the 8 came up, “13 total on that one. Last roll.” Chim lifts the die to his mouth and blows, ignoring Hen’s teasing, “What is this, Vegas?” as he releases the die, and holds his breath in as the light blue “20” is revealed.
The silence on the table is broken by May, who had stood up to watch the die’s progression, with a soft, “You lucky fucker.” The entire table’s heads snap up to look at the 17-year-old, who looks confused for a moment before horror crosses her face and she claps her hands over her mouth. “I’m so sorry Bobby! Please don’t tell my mom!” And just like that, the tense moment was broken, as the entire table once again burst into laughter.
Everyone had almost calmed down as Buck accidentally sets them off again with a very innocent, “Does this mean we can all swear now?” but now they have all caught their breath back and are looking at May, who has her hands pressed tight against her cheeks, which feel very hot. “Okay. Howie… Which spells are you giving me?”
“Shatter is the Evocation spell. Does me no good actually. It works on a radius and there's the possibility of friendly fire. The other one is Crown of Madness, which is Enchantment. It is a second level, requires concentration, causes me to give up my turn every round, and it makes a save every turn, too. Plus, if there are no enemies in the creature’s reach, it acts normally.”
“Howie, go ahead and switch Shatter and Crown of Madness out for See Invisibility and Nondection because”, as you are sitting there trying to figure out how to fix this situation, wracking your brain on the spells that could help your party, they come to you. You feel the knowledge of the other two spells slip away, beyond your grasp, but it doesn’t matter, because this is what your party needs, and you are the only one of them who can cast these spells.
“Wait, really?” Chim is shocked. He thought that the reason behind him being the focus was his Arcana, but now he sees that that is wrong, when he glances over and notices that Hen has a higher modifier than him. “There is no way that I am the only one who can cast those spells.”
“With this party, you are. This combination of spells is only available to Bards, Wizards, and Oath of the Watcher Paladins. There are two domains of clerics that have one of them on their spell sheets, but Eddie does not. And no one is a Sorcerer or a Ranger either. Also, with Dispel, you have it permanently, Eddie would need to prepare it, plus this requires a roll and you currently have the higher modifier, Hen may have access, but she has very limited spell slots, and Buck isn’t a high enough level of Paladin to cast level 3 spells yet. Only you can, Chim.”
“Okay, so I remove those two spells and replace them with these. Okay, good to go.”
Howie sits up, and says, “Maybe we should wait until morning to keep going. We will have an easier time in the light of day,” and as he finishes his statement, he gives a flourish with the bow, dragging it sweetly across the strings, and casts Dispel Magic.
“Okay Chim, because the spell is higher than 3rd level, we are going to roll an ability check, using your spellcasting modifier. The DC is 10 plus the spell’s level.”
Buck sits up and says, “Wait, Chim, read the details of Dispel Magic out loud first.” At the strange look from the table, he shrugs, “Just humor me.”
Frowning, Chim pulls the card out and starts to read, “Choose one creature, object, or magical effect within range. Any spell of 3rd level or lower on the target ends. For each spell of 4th level or higher on the target, make an ability check using your spellcasting ability.”
Buck stops him, “Okay, now read your Jack of All Trades feature description.”
Grinning now, Chim flips to his character sheet, “Starting at 2nd level, you can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn’t already include your proficiency bonus.”
“May… If Jack of All Trades applies to your initiative, which it does because it is a Dexterity Ability Check without your proficiency modifier and already applied like that on Chim’s character sheet, then wouldn’t it stand to reason that it applies to this?”
May stares at the youngest Buckley for a moment, before sighing, “You guys are aware the lawyer is the bad guy here, right? You two with your word games… I will allow it.” She rolls her eyes and smiles as Eddie and Buck tap their wrists together before turning to Chim. “You heard them. One roll with your spellcasting ability modifier plus what you would get with Jack of All Trades. Oh and don’t worry about any material components for the other spell.”
Chim rolls, grimacing as a two comes up. “I will be using another Luck on this.” At the nine, he grimaces and goes to mark another mark off another. He sighs in relief as the dice comes up to be 15. “Modified 20 for the dispel. Which should work unless there are Level 10 spells. So Dispel Magic is cast, and then I am standing up and walking towards Buck, throwing the diamond dust into the air and casting Nondetection.”
Howie casts a spell, stands and walks toward Buck, and then casts another spell, before he turns to the rest of the party and says, “We need to go and hopefully find a ranger or wizard with the right spell in 8 hours. Or we sleep where we are currently known to be, and we risk being attacked again. I vote we go.”
“Wait, I don’t know about the scry at all, do I?”
“No. Howie is the only one who knows everything and he has not shared it yet.”
“What is going on? You say we are going to stay and then change your mind?” The Paladin had stayed seated while Howie was casting, but now he stands, cocking his head curiously. “Mackey was able to apply a type of scrying spell on you. I don’t know which because this one lasted longer than it should. But it was able to take hold, and so I cast something that protects you from all divination magic. But that was the last time I will be able to cast something like that without resting, so we need to leave.”
“How is he able to though? Shouldn’t Buck be able to have a chance to resist?” The cleric also stands and begins packing up his medkit.
“Not if he has something belonging to the intended recipient.” the warlock says calmly, smoothing down her familiar’s ruffled feathers.
Buck groans as he starts redoing his armor and strapping on his shield. “Fucker ripped out some of my hair. Fuck.” (As the disapproving A-shift looks at an unrepentant Buck, he just points over at May and says, “She started it.”)
Soon the rest of the party is ready to go, and with Chim leading the way, Eddie right next to him to help provide any guidance necessary, they set back off into the woods.
“Group survival checks, same order please, and Eddie, you have said that you are providing Guidance for Howie. Hen and Buck, just so you know, Medusa and Bailey can give you advantage on these rolls. Hen you start.”
“18.”
“Modified 20.”
“Also a modified 20.”
“21.”
“And two good rolls. 17 for me.”
Howie, between you, Eddie, and Bobby actually working together, Hen and Buck taking up the rear with the party pets, you quickly find one of the paths that Eddie had tried to hide earlier in the day. You guys follow it, trying to take the most direct path to what you are trying to find.
“Group perception check, please. No guidance for this.”
“18.” “6”
“Natural 20 for 24.”
“24.”
“10, with Bailey’s help.”
As you start to get a little desperate, already tired, and quickly approaching your eight-hour deadline, you hear a distinctive twang. Eddie, you grab your partner, while Bobby pushes Chim out of the way. Everyone missed the two figures stalking through the woods, but you were perceptive enough to notice as an arrow embeds itself into a tree, at about throat height. A woman comes out of the shadows, a bow in a ready position, a gigantic black cat acting as her shadow. She starts speaking, her eyes flickering over each of you, “Stay where you are, and drop your weapons.” She continues to speak, but when her eyes land on Buck and Eddie, she stops talking, dropping her ready stance. She flings herself at the both of you, wrapping an arm around each, exclaiming, “Eddie! Evan! Thank the gods!” As you stand there being squeezed to death, Eddie, you start to remember who this person is. You are both being hugged by a very relieved Maddie Buckley.