Chapter Text
"Well, we're not going anywhere today" Fjord announced, closing the front door of the tower against the bitter cold. "Fortunately, the tomb takers probably aren't either."
The weather outside had taken a severe turn for the worse; the wind was blistering, and the snow swirled so fiercely that visibility was limited to about 5 feet. Fjord knew that they would just wind up walking in circles if they went out in that. Not only would they be unable to cover any ground, but they would also wind up exhausted the next day which would set them even farther behind. It was best to just hunker down for the day and wait the storm out.
"So, we're just going to sit here for the whole day?" Essek asked. "What are we going to do?"
"OOH! OOH! I know!" Jester exclaimed. "The Traveller taught me this really fun game that we can play. I wanted to play it for a while but we never had time before."
"Jester, I don't know that the Traveller's idea of fun is necessarily our idea of fun," Fjord interjected cautiously.
"No, no it is, I promise. Plus it will let me try this cool new spell that he taught me that goes with the game. Pretty please?"
"It won't hurt anyone?"
"Of course not!"
"Well alright then," Caleb said, "shall we go upstairs to play? You will have to tell us the rules."
"I will!" Jester said, grinning as she floated up through the iris and into the modular room on the second floor. She began pulling open the doors and dragging couches out into a circle as the others floated into the room behind her.
"Well, it can't be too bad if there's couches, right?" Beau whispered to Fjord.
"With her and him, you never know" he whispered back.
It wasn't long before all the couches were out and arranged in a fairly tight circle. Caleb asked one of the cats to bring several bottles of wine (and tea for Jester and Caduceus) as they all settled into their seats, and Jester began casting a spell in the center of the circle.
"Just let it happen, you guys" she said, as the wave of magic washed over them. It spoke to the level of trust amongst their group that none of them tried to resist her spell. With the ritual complete, she skipped over and plunked down on the couch next to Fjord.
"Okay, so the game is called Zone of Truth or Dare" she explained, practically vibrating with excitement. "Basically, when it's your turn you get to choose one person and then they get to choose if they want to answer a question which would be a truth, or do some challenge that you choose, which would be dare. The spell I did makes it so you can't lie if you choose Truth. If you hear the question or the challenge and you chicken out, then you have to do TWO of the opposite thing, and you can't chicken out on either of those, so be careful! And then once you answer your truth or do your dare then you get to pick the next person to challenge. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Okay, I'll go first." She turned to Veth. "Veth, Truth or Dare?"
"I'll do Truth, I guess" she said apprehensively.
"Okay, I'll give you an easy one. Fuck, Marry, Kill: Tomb Takers edition. You can choose from Lucien, Otis, and Cree."
"Well obviously I would KILL OTIS!" Veth answered quickly. "And I think I would-" she fell silent for a moment as the spell cut her off mid-sentence.
"You have to tell the truth, Veth!" Jester giggled.
"Dang, that spell really works. Okay, I would fuck Cree and marry Lucien."
"WHAT??" the whole group exploded, with the exception of Essek who just sat in silent confusion.
"Explain yourself!" demanded Beau.
"Listen, we've all seen Molly's, y'know." She said with a blush. "If I choose Fuck then I only get that once. But if I choose Marry then it's 7 nights a week baby!"
"Gross" muttered Fjord. Everyone else just laughed. Everyone was already most of the way through their first glass of wine and were starting to relax into the cushions of the couches as they began to realize that the game might actually be fun.
"Okay, now Veth you get to choose who goes next."
"Alright, Caleb. Truth or Dare?"
"I think I will also choose the Truth. Ya."
"Okay... Are you still in love with Astrid?"
Caleb sobered for a moment and stared at the ground for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He frowned, and then opened it again. Still, no sound came out. He sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Apparently I don't even know the answer to that. It is all very complicated. I do but at the same time I do not. That is the only truthful answer I can give."
No one really said anything in response to this, just sat there thoughtfully, most of them starting at their laps. Essek, however, was looking rather intently at the wizard as he spoke, with a rather curious look in his eye. He quickly turned away though, as soon as Caleb began to look up.
"Right, Beauregard, your turn. Do you prefer Truth or Dare?"
"Guess I'll shake things up and do a Dare."
"Excellent," Caleb grinned, "then I dare you to smile for the next five minutes. And I mean a nice big smile right across your face." He clicked his fingers and a cat ran into the room holding a large hourglass which it put down in the middle of the circle.
Fjord snorted into his wine glass as Beau begrudgingly contorted her face into what could reasonably pass as a look of happiness, or constipation, depending on how closely one looked.
"Gah, this is so uncomfortable" Beau groaned through clenched teeth as the rest of the group laughed. Yasha reached over and pinched her cheek playfully. "Are we just gonna sit here and stare at me for five whole minutes?" Beau asked, still smiling.
"No, we can move on. But if anyone catches you slip before the sand runs out then your time starts over" Jester said.
"Alright then. Captain, your turn."
"Oh goodness, I don't trust either one, coming from you... I suppose I'll choose Truth."
"Okay," the grin on her face turned into a shit-eating one. "Tell us how you feel about Jester."
Fjord's eyes widened and he glanced over at Jester out of the corner of his eye.
"I care for her very much" he said. His face was getting darker as the blood rushed to it and he quickly took a big drink from his wine. "Uh Yasha Truth or-"
"Ah ah ah" Beau interrupted. "That's not gonna cut it and you know it."
Fjord began wringing the hem of his shirt, not making eye contact with anyone, until a small blue hand gently covered his. He looked over at Jester and much of the tension visibly bled from his body. He met her gaze and took a deep breath, not breaking from her eyes as he spoke. "I feel like the birds sing a bit louder and the colours are a bit brighter when we're together. She's a partner who I trust with my entire heart, mind, and body. She's more than I could ever ask for and then some, and I scarcely know how I could have gone about my life so contentedly before I knew her, or how I took so long once we met, because now I can't bear to imagine spending a single day without her by my side."
"Oh shit" whispered Veth, so that only Beau could hear.
Jester leaned over and kissed Fjord on the cheek, then whispered in his ear "I love you too, Fjord."
They stayed like that for a long moment until Caduceus coughed loudly and startled them out of it.
"Oh, right. Essek, how about you? Choose your poison."
"Me? Alright, I suppose I will choose the Dare."
Fjord pondered for a moment, but Jester whispered in his ear again and passed him an empty wine bottle. Fjord grinned.
"Alright, I dare you to spin this bottle and kiss whomever it lands on."
Essek paled, but everyone else cheered and passed the bottle over to him encouragingly. He timidly took it and brought it to the center of the circle and gave it a good spin. It went around once, twice, three times, and finally began to slow on the fourth rotation. It went past Jester, past Cad, past Yasha and Beau, past Veth, and then very slowly rolled to a stop pointing directly at Caleb. Essek followed its path with his eyes, his expression a subtle blend between elation and horror that he quickly covered up with a perfect poker face. Caleb looked surprised too, but not upset. Playfully, he beckoned to Essek with his finger while lounging back on the couch. The drow floated over towards him and Caleb patted his lap invitingly. Essek awkwardly sat on it sideways, twisting his torso to face him. He began to sheepishly turn back to the group, about to chicken out and take the punishment, but Caleb brought a hand up to his chin and brought it back to face him. The hand then migrated to the back of Essek’s head and wove into his hair, and Caleb pulled Essek’s face closer and closer until their lips met.
Essek had expected a quick peck and that would be it, but Caleb’s other arm wrapped around his back and pulled him in as they kissed. He fell into the embrace and lost all track of time, but eventually Yasha’s wolf whistle broke them out of it. He stood up rather abruptly, unable to make eye contact with Caleb any more. “Um, thank you. This is an interesting game but I think I will go and make sure my spell components are ready for tomorrow.” He gave them all a small bow and then quickly floated away and up through the iris.
Everyone watched him leave, somewhat stunned except for Caleb. He rose to his feet before Essek had even left the room, reaching out a hand as if to stop him. He turned back to face the Nein and took a deep breath to steady himself. “Um, I think I shall excuse myself too. Veth, Truth or Dare?”
“Dare…”
“I dare you to compliment Fjord. A real one. Okay bye.” And he quickly hurried off as well, following Essek up the iris and out of sight.
The stunned silence that had followed Essek’s departure continued for a moment, until Caduceus broke it. “That’s nice. Anyway, Veth?” Everyone shook out of their momentary stupor and reoriented themselves.
“Right, yes, well, Fjord, I think that you are very charming and eloquent, and I also think that I’m starting to see a bit of definition on your biceps lately so maybe you are less weak than you used to be. Does that count?”
“I’ll take it” Fjord replied with a chuckle. "At least I know you meant it, too."
“Great, we will never speak of it again. Caduceus, you’re up.”
“I’ve never been afraid of the Truth.”
“Okay, do you-”
“YES!” Beau exclaimed, causing everyone to jump and turn to her in confusion. She looked back a bit sheepishly and pointed at the center of the circle. “The sand just ran out in the timer. I can stop this torture now. Sorry, carry on.”
“As I was saying,” Veth continued, “do you believe that we have any real hope of bringing Molly back? Or do you think he’s gone forever?”
Caduceus thought about it for a long moment before he answered. “All I can truthfully say is that I have hope. Whether that hope is misguided or unfounded is impossible for me to say, but I personally haven’t given up. Stranger things happen every day. Who’s to say if tomorrow’s strangest thing won’t be this?
“Normally, I would say that what is dead should remain as such. But, from what you’ve told me, Molly was born through death. And Lucien evidently isn’t dead, so the lines have become quite blurred and I’m really not certain of anything at this point. But regardless of all that, I do still hold hope that there may be a chance for them.”
No one said anything for a moment, and only Beau and Caduceus noticed Yasha subtly wiping a shimmering tear from her cheek.
“Jester, you haven’t been in the spotlight yet. What do you choose?”
“I will do a dare, please!”
"I thought you might. I dare you to prank-call Pumat."
Jester squealed with glee. "OOH that's such a good one, Caduceus! Okay okay okay..." Jester sat up straighter and cleared her throat a bit. When she spoke next, it was in a much deeper voice with a Xorhaussian accent.
"Mr. Pumat Sol? I recently bought an Oil of Slipperiness but I accidentally drank it and now I'm covered in mucus that won't go away. Help!"
Everyone burst out in laughter but Jester quickly shushed them as she listened to Pumat's answer.
"Oh, Oh dear, that's not good. I haven't heard of that side-effect before. Uh, you should probably seek out a cleric... Who is this?"
Jester repeated the response in her best impression of Pumat's voice and everyone burst into laughter again.
"Okay Yasha, your turn!"
"I think I will take a Truth."
"Tell us exactly what happened on your date with Beau!"
"I will take two Dares." She said it so quickly and deadpan that everyone started laughing again.
Jester pouted a bit but quickly changed to an excited smile as new ideas came to mind. She pulled out her paints and ran behind the couch for a moment. When she returned she had a pile of black and white fabric in her hands that she thrust towards Yasha. "Okay, your first dare is to wear this for the rest of the game. There's some accessories there too, make sure you put them all on!"
Yasha looked at her suspiciously but popped into one of the little side rooms to change. Seconds later she yelled out "Jester are you serious?!?"
"You already chickened out once this round, can't do it again!" the tiefling shouted back.
It was a couple of long minutes before the barbarian remerged, hunched in on herself and pulling at the hem of the skirt, clearly uncomfortable. She was wearing a very short black dress with a super puffy skirt; a little white bibbed apron, white gloves, high white socks with bows on them, and a little ruffled headband. Jester had forgotten to paint shoes for her though, so she still wore her high black combat boots along with the rest of the ensemble. Veth started to laugh, whilst Beau exclaimed "awe babe, you're so cute!" Everyone else just chuckled under their breath a bit as Yasha went to resume her seat next to Beau, still tugging awkwardly at the maid costume.
"Don't sit down yet!" Jester said, "You still have to do a second dare!"
Yasha looked terrified.
"You have to stand in the middle of the circle and spin around really fast 20 times, and then run back to your seat as fast as you can."
Yasha looked relieved. She did as instructed; the skirt flared out around her nearly horizontally (fortunately Jester had painted some shorts for her) as she spun. She was definitely losing her balance by the time she got to 12 rotations. Eight more and she was nearly tripping over her own feet as she spun.
"Okay now run!" instructed Jester, who had been keeping count.
She did as instructed and actually managed to make it back to her couch without falling over, but when she went to flop down on the couch she wound up falling directly into Beau's lap, instead of beside her. Everyone giggled as Beau just wrapped her arms around Yasha's waist and kissed her before eventually allowing her to slide over to her intended seat. Yasha just sunk into the cushions, face turning redder than Jester's mom.
It was silent for a moment before Jester cleared her throat. "Yasha, you have to pick someone to go next!"
"Oh, right, I forgot. Um, I guess Beau?"
"I'll choose Dare again."
Yasha grinned manically. "I dare you to let Jester tattoo my name on your body."
Everyone's eyes widened, except for Beau's. She just shrugged. "Do I get to pick where?"
"Sure"
"Alright, let's do it." Jester had a look on her face like it was her birthday as she rummaged through her haversack and pulled out her tattooing equipment. Beau sat on the back of the couch and presented her leg to her. "Let's do it on my ankle. Can you put a little heart inside the holes of the As?"
"I can... Are you sure though? It's just a game but this is permanent."
"Yeah, I'm sure." She looked over at Yasha and smiled. "I'm not going anywhere any time soon."
Jester got to work and it wasn't long before she stepped back to admire her handiwork. The name was written in beautiful scrolling letters and it actually looked quite elegant.
"Well," said a voice from the center of the room, "I think that someone getting a permanent tattoo is in the rule book as the official end of this game, isn't that right Jester?" The voice came from a spectral green cloaked figure in the center of the circle. "Even if it's not, I think I'm going to add it. I did write the rules myself, after all, and a tattoo seems like such a perfect coup de grace to wrap things up. No game would be complete without it. I did quite enjoy watching you all play though. Perhaps you're all not as prude as I thought. Well done, Jester. Well done."