NOVEL NEXT Chapter 76: Dungeons… (Sorry. I Left the Dragons at Home)
Matt
In between the relentless bouts of presence training, I continued my brunches with Evelyn, growing more and more comfortable around her with time. It still wasn’t perfect. I still jumped when I saw her sometimes, and I still found myself spiraling into fear and anger on occasion, but I no longer blamed her for that.
Trauma is a heavy thing, and it’s not something you can cure. No matter how much either of us wishes it were otherwise, I’d watched her kill my mom with her teeth. That wasn’t something I could forget, and every time I saw her face, it reminded me. I hadn’t stopped being afraid sometimes. I hadn’t stopped panicking. I just learned not to hate her for it, and how to recognize when my head was taking me someplace it shouldn’t.
I started training with the sword again as well. Now that I was allowed outside, with only minor supervision, I figured it’d be best to make sure I didn’t get rusty. You never knew when you’d have to fight, after all. Even in this village, even protected by Willow’s garden and Aoife’s presence, we all kept our weapons close.
Chel became my sparring partner, like always, and she kicked my ass nine times out of ten, just like always. Eventually a woman, aged and strongly built, invited the two of us to train with her. Chel had already met her, of course, but she introduced herself to me as Cassandra. Cass for short. She fought with the same kind of massive sword the Cherubim used, and wielded it almost as gracefully. She’d apparently been Evelyn’s closest friend since the day she arrived and provided a significant portion of the blood that she drank.
After about three weeks of our new routine, the Fletchers announced that they’d finished the radio project, presenting a large, antennaed speaker, and two small recording devices, each barely small enough to fit in our packs. They also produced several hand grenades, which they claimed were unintentional. I don’t know if that made me more or less concerned. Regardless, their announcement meant it was almost time. We had to get moving as soon as possible, otherwise our cover story would fall through. We’d be leaving within a week.
With that in mind, I decided I wanted to do something. I wasn’t sure what, but there were good people, people I’d started to care about, we’d be marching to our (probable) deaths soon. I wanted to do something together. When I mentioned my thoughts to Evelyn, she agreed enthusiastically, and the two of us brainstormed ideas together.
“We could… go swimming in the lake.” I proposed.
“Sure! If you’re interested in getting eaten by lake monsters.” She countered, taking a sip of her drink. I don’t know why, but I figured the water close to the village would be safe, but I guess it’d be pretty hard to clear out. As long as nothing came out, it made sense not to really bother. “Maybe we could do a gift swap? We all get together, get assigned a random person, and get them a present or something.”
“Of course! Because we’ve got so much free time right now. A multi-day commitment where we find gifts for people we hardly know sounds like the perfect way to spend it!” If nothing else, I’d inherited her sass.
“Huh. Yeah, fair enough, kiddo.” She huffed out a little sigh, and an awkward silence fell over us. I worked away at my breakfast, assorted fruits and fried fish today, trying to think of something that wouldn’t be a massive inconvenience to everyone involved. That’s when I noticed Evelyn grinning softly. A grin that grew wider, more sinister by the second. “You know, Matt, I used to DM back in college. Old school, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.”
“No.”
“C’mon. Think about it. We live in a world filled with actual, literal monsters. I am a monster. This is maybe the dumbest thing we could be doing, and that makes it perfect.”
“Evel-”
She interrupted me.
“Use the title.”
“Moom,” I let out a heavy sigh. “We don’t even have any rulebooks, character creation is still a commitment, and preparing a game’s an even bigger one. Are you sure you want to put that kind of pressure on yourself?”
Her smile remained fixed on her face, her pupils dilating like a cat that’s about to get the zoomies. She took one deep breath, polished off her glass, and spoke.
“One: I’m a nerd. I could do THACO calculations in my sleep. We don’t need rulebooks. B: I’m a nerd. I can make a few faceless, stock character builds that you guys can choose from when we’re about to play. Last: Don’t underestimate me. I may be slightly more well adjusted than I was back then, but I’m even more capable of pulling all nighters. The game and the characters will be done.”
“Well fuck, Moom.” She nodded, and I took a swig of my coffee. “If you’re sure, then… I guess I’ll make snacks for everyone. I’m sure I could talk Willow into helping me make some popcorn.”
I was right. Willow gave me a few cobs of corn, and when I told her what they were for, she threw in a pineapple for the hell of it. Unfortunately, she and Erica were both too busy to join in, but with Chelsea, Cass, and I, we had enough for a perfectly satisfying party. With invitations delivered and responded to, Evelyn was given most of the remaining week to prep the game.
Eventually, just two days before we were scheduled to depart, the four of us gathered in the kitchen of Chelsea and I’s shared house. As the last of the evening sunlight disappeared over the horizon, we sat at a candlelit table, character sheets in hand, as Evelyn began to narrate.
“You wake up in a windowless stone room, chained and shackled to the wall. Two strangers are bound as well beside you, and a hooded man with a too wide smile watches the three of you from the door. What do you do?”
