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“All I’m saying,” Kristen goes on, “is that toxic sludge is the ideal form of soda.”
Adaine scrunches her face up. “I resent the idea that something called toxic sludge can be considered the best of anything!” Riz nods his agreement and takes another handful of popcorn from the bowl on Fabian’s lap.
“No, Kristen’s right,” Gorgug says seriously. “It has every flavor profile you could possibly ask for,”
“But I’m not asking for 24 flavor profiles when I want a soda!” Adaine raises her voice. Riz loves how heated she gets in silly arguments like this. He wants to fan the flames.
“I think the color is the best part,” he says, trying to hold back a smile. “There’s nothing better than brown-green. Breen? Grown?”
Fabian is scowling on the couch next to him. It’s obvious that he knows Riz is just fucking around, but his highfalutin sensibilities keep him from letting it go. “That’s disgusting, The Ball.”
Riz grins with at least one popcorn kernel stuck in his teeth. “It wouldn’t be toxic sludge if it wasn’t a little gross.”
Fig walks back from the kitchen with bowls of ice cream in her hands. “What are we talking about?”
“When you mix every soda together in one cup.” Gorgug stands up to help Fig with the rest of the bowls of ice cream. “Toxic sludge.”
“Ew, no, that’s called a suicide! Who would want to drink sludge?”
Adaine throws her hands in the air. “That’s what I’ve been saying!”
Riz finally lets himself drop character and laugh. “It’s foul, yeah.”
“Thank you, Riz. That’s three against three,” Adaine says, gesturing to Fabian, Riz and herself. “How are we going to tie-break this one?”
A hand presses onto the living room window and slides it open from the outside. “I would be happy to do the honors!”
Riz’s hand goes for a gun that isn’t on his hip. He sees the other Bad Kids reach for weapons as well and he readies himself for a fight. He jumps to his feet and vaults over the couch. Fabian lunges out of his seat and steps in front of Riz so that he has partial cover.
There’s a silhouette of a man, now climbing in through the window. In a familiar voice, he says, “It’s called swamp water and it’s absolutely delicious, students.”
Riz sighs.
Arthur Aguefort crawls the rest of the way in through the window, confronting six unimpressed faces.
“Principal Aguefort. What a pleasure.” Fabian says, dryly. “What, pray tell, are you doing in my house?”
Riz stands down, swinging himself back over to the couch. He snatches the nearest ice cream bowl and digs in, happy to let things play out. He’s long past trying to understand the strange machinations of Principal Aguefort.
“I’m so glad you asked, Mister Seacaster! I’m here to deliver a quest.”
“Sick,” Fig says.
“At ten o’clock on a weekend?” Adaine objects.
“Adventure waits for no such thing as a week day, my dear students.” Aguefort pulls out a scroll from a pocket dimension—which seems excessive to Riz, he’s pretty sure a scroll can fit inside any pocket—and tosses it to Gorgug.
Gorgug reads out loud.
LOOKING FOR ADVENTURERS TO DEAL WITH A GHOST IN THE TOWN OF ESTERIE.
Riz doesn’t want to hear more. He’s so sick of the town of Esterie. Nevertheless, Gorgug continues.
THE GHOST REMAINS NON-VIOLENT AND THE ADVENTURERS SHOULD RESPOND IN KIND. SHE IS ASKING FOR TWO MAGIC ITEMS WHICH WERE STOLEN FROM HER TOMB TO BE RETURNED TO HER.
WE ARE UNABLE TO OFFER A REWARD FOR THIS SERVICE. WE HOPE YOU CAN STILL FIND IT IN YOUR HEARTS TO HELP.
That makes Riz feel a little bad. It’s not the ghost’s fault that Esterie has been so harrowing for Riz in the past. It’s not the town’s fault, either. Just a series of unlucky coincidences and adverse circumstances that led to a fracturing in his friendship with Fabian and a total emotional meltdown in the process of healing said fracture.
He shakes his head to clear his thoughts.
“Now, I did not have time to spruce up that solicitation to make it sound more fun but I hope you students will fulfill the bounty regardless. What better way to spend a weekend?”
Kristen gestures to the movie playing in the background, the bowls of melting ice cream, and the sleeping bags and blankets spread throughout the room. “I’d say there are better ways than fighting a ghost.”
“Oh-ho! No fighting allowed, young lady! This would be a particular kind of challenge, one without the use of weaponry or combat magic of any kind. All great adventurers should learn how to solve problems peacefully, if possible. Your first move should not always be to jump for your swords! Don’t think I didn’t see you all prepare for a fight when I climbed in through this nice young man’s window.” Aguefort says, gesturing to Fabian.
“And why did you choose a window, again?” Fabian’s eyebrow is raised and he looks thoroughly unamused with the principal’s antics.
“What are windows if not doors but smaller? And sideways. And off the ground. And—”
“We’ll do it for extra credit,” Adaine interrupts. “Three percentage points to apply to any class of our choosing.” Riz admires her boldness. He didn’t even consider that saying no was an option but he certainly wouldn’t mind some extra credit.
“One percent,” Aguefort counters.
“Two.”
“Four.”
“Deal?” Adaine’s eyes squint. The other Bad Kids look as confused as Riz feels.
“I respect the hustle, young Miss Abernant. Now off you all go. Solve a mystery! Save a ghost’s life!” Aguefort starts to walk towards a different window facing the front lawn.
“Use the door!” Fabian shouts but Aguefort is already prying off the window screen. He throws the screen to the ground and dives through the window with a sloppy somersault onto the wet grass.
“Be smart, be safe, and do not use any weapons or combat magic. I’ll know!” He keeps shouting while walking further and further across the yard. “I’ll know, dear students. I always know.” With those final cryptic words, Riz hears a pop and sees Aguefort discorporate, using some form of teleportation spell. Why he didn’t just teleport in and out of Seacaster Manor in the first place was beyond Riz. Maybe he had a passion for crawling through windows. Riz can’t pretend to know how Aguefort’s mind works.
For a moment, every Bad Kid is stunned into silence.
“He doesn’t mean, like, right now, does he?” Kristen rubs her hand over her eyes. “I’ve used so many spell slots on stupid things today, I could really use some sleep before we go on any adventure.”
Riz crosses the room to close the window and replace the screen. He’s not quite tall enough to get all four corners to pop back into place. “Surely he doesn’t mean right now.”
“I don’t know, guys,” Fig cuts in, “if he wanted us to go tomorrow, why would he give us the quest today?” She taps her finger against her temple.
“Why does Principal Aguefort do anything?” Adaine sighs and throws herself into a soft arm chair. She leans forward just enough to cast Ray of Frost on each of the bowls of ice cream. Kristen and Fabian each grab theirs and start eating.
“I’m with Kristen,” Gorgug says, crossing the room towards Riz. “My parents always say how important it is to get a good night’s sleep before a big adventure.” He takes the screen gently from Riz’s hands and snaps it into place before patting Riz’s shoulder. It should feel a little patronizing, but from Gorgug, it’s just kind.
“I could use the spell slots too,” Adaine says. “Riz? Fabian? How do you guys feel?”
Riz wants to say that he’s filled with dread and fear about returning to Esterie but that isn’t quite what Adaine is asking. “I’m good either way, you guys know I’m not gonna sleep tonight, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.” He jumps back over the couch and settles back into his seat, grabbing a cushion to hug.
Fabian’s hand shakes almost imperceptibly. “I vote we get it over with and go tonight.” His voice is steely.
Kristen leans forward to put her empty bowl on the coffee table and pats Fabian’s arm on the way back up. “Sorry, bud, three votes for tomorrow, only two for tonight.”
Riz wonders if he should’ve sided with Fabian. Getting it over with does sound pretty good. But then again, maybe this time will be different. Maybe they’ll have fun. Maybe they’ll have some laughs. Maybe they’ll make some good memories.
Maybe he just needs to have a positive mindset about it. Esterie doesn’t have to mean what it’s meant to him in the past. Maybe it can redeem itself this time around.
Riz forces as much optimism into his body as he can manage. He bites his tongue and swallows the blood. There won’t be any weapons, there won’t be any fighting. It’ll be different this time. He’ll have fun.
“Ugh, fine,” Fig says, “we’re finishing the movie marathon then. And Kristen, can you burn a spell slot on Create Food and Drinks? We’re making swamp water, whether y’all like it or not.”
“Hell yeah—”
“It’s not called swamp water—”
“I’m not drinking something called swamp water—”
Five voices overlap and Riz laughs. Yeah, this time will be different.
“Okay, the tavern keeper says that the ghost has taken to holing up in her mausoleum lately so we can most likely find her there.” Riz lets the saloon-style doors swing shut behind him. The party thought it would be hilarious sending him and Adaine in to question the person in charge of the inn and tavern. Their last time asking questions at a bar hadn’t gone exceptionally well and the Bad Kids loved teasing them for it.
Luckily, Riz already knew Lukrast , the owner of the Esterien tavern, from his last two visits, and he has a friendly relationship with her at this point. Lukrast wasn’t thrilled by the amount of blood stains left behind after his first visit but those were the risks of running an inn, he supposed.
“She says the ghost is the old mayor, I can’t remember if the brief already mentioned that. Her name is Evelada Montgomery. And she says we should be prepared for something very strange about her, which is a horrifying thing to say to someone with no further elaboration.” Adaine hugs Boggy close to her chest. Riz reaches up to put a hand on her arm.
“It’ll be fine, it’s all six of us, we can handle whatever it is,” he reassures Adaine.
“So let’s head over!” Fig swings her bass over her shoulder. She had been playing music while Riz and Adaine were inside and Riz sees now that a crowd of kids have gathered around her. They look at her with hearts and stars in their eyes. One holds out a copper piece reverently but Fig just takes the kid’s hand, signs it with a marker, and shoots them a bright smile. “Fig Faeth, everybody. I’ll be here all week!”
“No, you will not,” Fabian says flatly.
“No, I will not!” Fig says, never letting her smile drop. “Which way to the mausoleum?”
“Whatever is strange about her, we have to be so cool about it, okay? Everyone, practice your poker faces.” Riz implores his friends to take the quest seriously for once. Weirdly, he feels more pressure than usual because it’s a non-combat mission. If things break bad, there’s nothing he can do other than fail the assignment. And Riz hates failing.
Kristen giggles to a joke she whispers in Adaine’s ear. Adaine stifles a laugh as well.
“Terrible poker faces, team, great work.” He deadpans.
Riz tries to push open the heavy stone door but feels no give. He finds himself shadowed by Fabian’s arm over his head, helping the door swing open on rusted hinges.
“Have you come to aid me? Or steal from me, maybe?”
Riz hears an eerie voice, more wind than vocal chords, speak from the upper corner of the mausoleum. He crosses the threshold and walks inside, eyes up. There, in the air, floats a blue-ish green ghost, all wispy edges. He can just barely make out the shape of a halfling woman.
“Strangers, that I see. Helpers, could you be?”
The ghost seems to be no threat to them. She remains floating in the corner, far above their heads. The mausoleum is enormous, certainly made by a family with money to spare. There are lines of tombs along the walls, one of which is damaged. Smashed open, it seems. The corner of the stone has been pulverized and the lid left askew. He can see the remnants of a name engraved on the side. Evelada Montgomery. This is her.
“Yes, um, hello! We’re adventurers from the Aguefort Adventuring Academy and we’re here to help you.” Adaine’s voice is strong but Riz can hear just a hint of nerves in it. Still, she sounds more confident than he feels. This whole town has put him on edge. He feels like a frayed wire, hypersensitive and electric.
“You will help me find the thief? It would surely soothe my grief.”
“Uh, yeah!” Fig speaks up. “We’ll find a thief for you! Right, guys?”
Riz nods, distracted. It took him a bit to notice, but was Evelada only speaking in rhymes? He wonders if that’s a ghost thing or if she spoke that way in her life, too. Was that the strange thing about her?
“The betrayal of my town, it is sharper than any knife. Two rings missing from my finger and the finger of my wife.
“I knew her family, and thought them good, so this part makes my heart sink: But one was taken by the child who’s never wanted for a drink.
“The other ring, now that’s simple, I’ll tell you what I know. You’ll find it on the hand of one who can make all things grow.”
Riz rips out a notebook from his briefcase and copies down everything Evalada says, as close to verbatim as he can. “Can you tell us more about the first ring? What do you mean—” Riz lifts his head to probe Evalada with more questions to find that she is completely gone. “Oh.”
“She looked beat,” Kristen says. “I think rhyming that much really takes it out of a person.”
Adaine shakes her head with a laugh. “I think appearing to people on the Material Plane as a ghost is what takes it out of a person, Kristen.”
Kristen shrugs. “Could be your thing, could be mine.”
“Shit,” Fig says, “that really isn’t much information to go off.”
Riz shakes his head vigorously, a smile on his face. “No, are you kidding? This is perfect! We have clues, we have a mystery, we have a scavenger hunt ahead of us. This is better than a sleepover, guys.” His grin is wide. “This is a whodunit!”
The Bad Kids split off into groups of three. Fabian, Fig, and Riz are assigned the first half of the riddle while Adaine, Gorgug, and Kristen are sent to take care of the second half. They agree to meet back up at the mausoleum by sunset, hopefully with two rings in tow.
“Well, speaking of wanting a drink, is anyone else dying of thirst?” Fabian says, with overdone dramatics piled onto his words. His chin is held high and his posture is straight but Riz can see how he won’t quite make eye contact with anyone. He’s nervous, and trying to cover it. Riz thinks he would be too, if he weren’t so distracted by having a new mystery to solve.
“Yeah, I could take a break.” Fig says, stretching her hands over her head. She twists and cracks her neck, letting out a sigh. “Long day, huh?”
“Guys,” Riz says, “we’ve been here for an hour. We can’t be taking a break already.”
“Oh, calm yourself, The Ball. It won’t be a break. Let’s go to the grocers and buy some lemonades and we can ask around. Wouldn’t you say a grocers’ child has never wanted for a drink?”
“Oh, you—you’re actually being smart.”
“Actually? I take great offense to that,” Fabian says, hand over his heart. “You’re not the only one with a working brain in the party, you know.”
Riz smiles apologetically and puts his hands up in surrender. “My bad, Fabian. You’ve got this, you can take the lead in there.”
“Oh, gods no, I don’t want to do any actual work. The job’s all yours, The Ball. I’m just here for moral support.”
“Fig?” Riz asks.
“Very ready to drink lemonades and listen to you talk, right here.” She says with a wide smile and a wink. Riz chuckles and shakes his head. He feels her Bardic Inspiration seep into his blood, red-hot and spicy. It tastes like cinnamon candy and it makes him feel ready to do anything.
He walks inside the grocery store.
It’s a small store, fit for a small village, with just a few short aisles of food. There are baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables that look much more appealing than the dusty cans on the rows of shelves themselves. The farms in Esterie must keep the town well-fed, without much need for outside resources.
He walks up to the register, while Fabian and Fig go down the aisles, looking for drinks.
“Hello, sir, my name is Riz Gukgak and I’m visiting from out of town. I wan—”
“Why, hello, Riz Gukgak,” the ancient old man behind the counter says, voice creaky and hoarse. “I’m Beau Silverberry, what a pleasure to meet a stranger today.” He gives Riz a genuine smile and Riz remembers his manners.
“Oh, uh, yeah, pleasure to meet you too, sir. Beautiful store you have here. Say,” he braces himself, “you wouldn’t happen to have any children, would you?”
Riz cringes inwardly. Not his smoothest transition ever.
Beau looks vaguely bemused, mixed with something else. Riz rolls an Insight check but can’t figure out what the something else is. “Why do you ask, young man? Are you looking for someone?”
“Yeah,” Riz says. “Well, kind of. Looking for something, more than someone. But looking for the someone who will help me find the something, uh, you know?”
Beau laughs. “I can’t say that I do, son.”
Fabian and Fig pop out from an aisle, holding three glass bottles of lemonade. Riz notices they weren’t refrigerated and takes a moment to miss the arcanotech comforts of home, like cold drinks on demand.
“Well, it’s just—hmm, it’s complicated.” Riz doesn’t want to accuse this guy of being related to a thief. “We’re helping someone out who said, uh, that, maybe, the child of, um—
“Do you have a kid, or not?” Fabian says, impatiently, sliding the bottles across the counter.
“Hello to you, too, son.” Beau says, looking less amused. Riz shoots Fabian a warning look. “I was not lucky enough to have a child in my many years, no. But thank you for waltzing into my store and reminding me of that fact.”
Riz covers his face with his hand and shuts his eyes. He takes two deep breaths and then emerges, shame written on his face.
“That’s our bad, sir. So sorry to bother you with all this. We will get out of your hair!” He grabs Fig and Fabian by the arms and pulls them down the store towards the door. “Thank you for your time, sir, and goodbye!”
He pulls the other Bad Kids just far enough away that they’re not in eyesight of Beau’s windows anymore before letting go and slapping Fabian on the wrist.
“Ow!”
“What the hell, man?” Riz hisses. “I was getting somewhere with him.”
“Riz,” Fig says, slowly, “I hate to agree with Fabian—”
“Hey!”
“But you were not getting anywhere.” She puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a comforting half-smile. “You were blowing it, man. Fabian just saved us some time.”
Riz frowns. He really has to get better at this part of the job. A detective who can’t interrogate is not a good detective. And, in a quest without combat, what does he have to offer the team if not his investigative skills?
“Sorry, guys. I’ll do better next time.” He chews on the inside of his cheek. “But I was thinking while we were in there, not a lot of drinks, right?”
“I mean, yeah, it took Fabian and I a minute to find those lemonades.”
“I resent the fact that we didn’t even get to leave with them, by the way,” Fabian says, crossing his arms. “Still dying of thirst, over here.”
“Shut up, I have a theory here. There’s some drinks at the grocers, sure, but not a lot. What about a place that’s designed to serve drinks?”
Fig smiles at him, wide and proud. “Brilliant deduction, detective! To the tavern!”
Riz has become quite familiar with the Esterien tavern-slash-inn at this point. He’s surprised to notice that he actually feels a bit calmed, just walking through its wide saloon doors. It’s nice to have a base of operations, of a sort, that he’s well-acquainted with. It makes Esterie seem less intimidating.
So this time, when he walks inside, he gives Lukrast a grin. “Hi! Me again.”
It’s not too crowded inside, at this time of day. There are just a few small tables occupied by one or two halflings, scattered across the tavern. The small stage for a musician is empty, and Riz can see Fig eyeing it. The bar itself is empty, save for Lukrast behind it. All the well-worn wooden stools are available so Riz climbs up onto one and sits down.
“This is my friend, Fig, she’s one of the students on this quest to help the mayor.”
Fig sticks her hand out for a handshake and shoots Lukrast a charming smile.
“And you remember Fabian?” Riz inclines his head to the left, gesturing to where Fabian is standing, a few feet away from the bar.
“I remember him carrying you in here, covered in blood, yes. Will today be another night like that one?” Lukrast's face is guarded. She clenches her jaw. “I don’t love having my inn used as a medical bay.”
“No, ma’am, it won’t be.” Riz scratches the back of his neck and tries to sound confident. “There will be no fighting, this time around. No one will be getting hurt.” He puts as much earnestness in his voice as he can, trying to convince himself as much as Lukrast.
“If you say so—”
Lukrast is interrupted by a young half-orc bounding by the stairs. She looks to be a few years younger than Riz, maybe eleven or twelve years old. She reaches the bottom and crosses her arms.
“Mom,” she says, stretching out the word with a whine, “my friends are outside. Can I please go hang out with them?”
“Savein, you know you’re grounded. I don’t want to hear another thing out of you for the next three days, alright? Go to your room.”
“Ugh!” Savein stomps her foot and spins on her heel, racing back up the stairs.
Riz gives Fig and Fabian a look. Daughter of the tavern keeper? That would fit the riddle pretty nicely.
“Oh, is that your daughter?” Riz is determined to segue a little more smoothly this time around. “What got her grounded?”
“That girl is always sneaking out with her friends after dark! Who knows what they get into? I can’t imagine it’s anything good.” Lukrast shakes her head. “Those other kids are a bad influence on her, I swear. She’s just too suggestible, she’ll do anything her friends say to try to seem cool in front of them.” Lukrast's mouth twists to the side. “Kids, am I right?”
Riz, Fabian, and Fig all nod nervously.
“Yeah.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Totally.”
“Anyway, look at me, running my mouth. What can I do for you, Riz?”
Riz hops off the bar stool and lands on the sticky floor. “Nothing, actually! Just wanted to say hi, I’ll talk to you later!” He races to the door. “Fig, Fabian, time to go, guys.”
Riz bursts onto the street and covers his eyes, adjusting to the bright sun. They still have an hour or two until sunset. He almost runs directly into a group of kids, all around Savein’s age. These must be her friends.
“Hey, Riz!” Fig calls out from behind him. “Come here, I have an idea.” She ducks into an alley separating the tavern and the next building over. Riz and Fabian hurry inside as well.
Riz pokes his head in and the only person there is Savein.
“Ah, clever,” Riz says.
“Thanks, man, you know me. Always looking for an excuse to cast Disguise Self,” Fig says. “But really, we think Savein stole the ring, right? So maybe she told her friends about where she hid it. I’ll just go over there, real subtle, and see if they know where it is.”
“Good thinking,” Fabian agrees. “Do we need a code word if things go wrong?”
“A code word for what?” Riz asks. “We can’t start a fight, remember?”
“Nothing’s going to go wrong talking to a bunch of pre-teens, alright? I’ve got this.”
And, like magic, Fig adopts the posture of an insecure tween, and walks out of the alley. It’s an art, the way Fig can transform herself into someone else. And it’s not just with magic. She has an undeniable ability to become someone else. The way she stands, the way she talks, the words she uses. Riz finds it endlessly fascinating. He wishes he could peer out and watch her work but he doesn’t want to blow his cover so he leans against the wall and turns to Fabian.
“Hey, not so bad this time around, right?”
“Hm?”
“Just like,” Riz stammers. He gestures all around him. “The whole place. Not as spooky this time. No fighting, no enchantresses, no traps. It’s pretty… normal.”
Fabian narrows his eye. “Did you just curse us, The Ball?”
“What? No!”
“You did, you just cursed us. You just said ‘hey, nothing’s gone wrong at all!’ You said it with your own mouth and you cursed us.”
Riz laughs. “Come on, man, that’s not real.”
“Of course it is! I was thinking that things seemed not-so-bad this time around too but I didn’t say it! I didn’t speak the opposite into existence like you just did.”
“You can’t be serious, dude. Are you superstitious?”
“It’s not a superstition if it’s real, The Ball. And you really just screwed us over. Just you watch. Something’s going to go bad now.”
“Oh, come on, man, don’t speak that into existence!”
Fabian points at him “Hah! You admit it, you can speak things into existence.”
Riz can’t stop himself from laughing at that, loud and abrupt. “This is such a stupid argument. Can we just agree this trip is going better than the last two?”
“Must you harp on about the Esterie of day’s past?” Fabian inclines his head. “I thought we worked it all out last time.”
Riz frowns, feeling particularly exposed. Was he the only one still affected by the aftershocks of their previous trips? “Uh, no, yeah, we did. I’m good.”
He studies Fabian’s face and sees a twitch in the corner of his eye and a slight twist to his lips. He’s standing tall but his chin is slightly tucked and he won’t look Riz in the eye. Oh. Fabian is still affected too, he just wants to hide it.
Riz can let him hide. “Onwards and upwards, right?” He grins and jostles Fabian who laughs and lightly shoves him back.
“Onwards and upwards, The Ball.”
Fig’s disguise worked. All she had to do was allude to the ring and the other kids reminded Savein that she hid it in the cellar of the tavern “with the others,” whatever that meant. Fig was glowing with pride, from a job well done, and Riz couldn’t help but be thankful that they had her on their team.
Esterie was less haunting with friends by his side, Riz decides.
Sneaking past Lukrast to get to the cellar door was easy enough. The dinner rush just started, keeping the half-orc’s eyes on her customers. Riz guided Fig and Fabian, hugging the wall and ducking behind the counter, to the door which opened to a steep staircase.
“Eerie,” Fig says. “I love it.” She runs her hand through a cobweb in the corner of the room and spins it around her finger. She wanders around the cellar, running her hand along the walls.
A rat scurries across the room and dives into a hole in one of the walls. Riz squints. He rolls to Investigate.
“I’ll be right here.” Fabian stands in the exact center of the room. “Where the bugs and rats aren’t.” He stares down a spider climbing one of the walls with intense mistrust.
Riz rolls his eyes. He knows you have to get your hands a little dirty to investigate properly. He follows Fig’s lead and runs his hand along the wall that the rat dove through. He carefully knocks on the brick and it sounds hollow.
“Bingo.” Riz bites his cheek to keep from smiling too widely. “Secret door.”
“Oh, hell yeah!” Fig says and jogs over to him. “How do we get it open?”
Riz hums. “I’m… not sure.” He scans the wall for any clues but can’t see anything suspicious from his vantage point.
“Oh, right here.” Fig says, over his head, and gestures to a part of the wall Riz can only see if he cranes his head all the way up. She reaches all the way up and presses her hand on a brick that’s slightly off-color. Riz hears a mechanism click and the door cracks open, barely wide enough to squeeze through.
Riz turns sideways and pushes his way through immediately. He hears his friends follow.
“The Ball, don’t you think we should be careful—”
Riz’s left foot depresses an inch into the floor and he realizes he just stepped on a pressure plate. Gas comes pouring out of it, floating up to him and infiltrating his senses before he can react.
He inhales on instinct and chokes on the acetic vapor. Riz feels his head empty. He can’t put one thought in front of another. They’re all mixed up in a pot and stirred. He dips a spoon in the soup of his mind and scoops out a single thought: keep going.
He does, stepping forward again.
Behind him, he hears voices call his name, the volume getting louder. Why were there voices? Why were they getting closer? Who were they? It didn’t matter. Keep going.
He does. His ankle goes through a wire. He hears a whizzing sound, a whistle, and two exclamations of pain.
He keeps going. He puts one foot in front of the other, mind still blank. The shouting is still there.
“Riz!”
Riz has just enough time to register that he feels something underfoot before the snare is triggered and he’s whipped to the ceiling, hanging upside down by his ankle.
All at once, his head clears, the confusion gone.
“Riz, you need to wake up!”
Of course, he knows those voices now. That was Fig, yelling at him. And that was Fabian, calling out his name. How could he forget? It seems impossible to imagine now, upside down, but thinking clearly.
“What the fuck?” He asks, mostly to himself. All the blood rushes to his head.
“Are you insane, The Ball? Why did you keep walking after you got gassed?”
“Well, not out of my own volition, obviously!” Riz shouts back. “It must’ve been confusion gas or something. Fuck.” He studies the room, as best he can from his vantage point. It’s mostly empty. A few crates. A lot of dust and cobwebs. A small jewelry box. Two injured party members. “Oh, shit, are you guys okay?”
It’s a little hard for him to read facial cues upside down but he thinks that Fabian looks distinctly unimpressed.
“You triggered more traps, Riz,” Fig explains, “which, like, no big deal. Not your fault. But, ouch? Swinging blades nicked me. Fabian got an arrow to the thigh.”
“Which I’m pretty sure was coated in acid!” Fabian says, indignantly.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” Riz says. But then he chuckles a little. And then full-out laughs.
“The Ball, what part of this is funny, exactly?”
“I just,” Riz starts, before interrupting himself with another laugh. “We, three seasoned adventurers who have saved the world twice now, just got bested by a handful of preteens.”
“Damn, he’s right.” Fig says, before laughing too. She tears off the bottom of her shirt, ripping it into a crop top, and wraps the fabric around the cut on her arm. “They got us, alright.”
Fabian presses his lips together. “No one can ever know about this.” He looks deadly serious so Riz gives his best nod, considering he’s still hanging upside down.
“Can anyone, uh, get me down?”
Fig jogs over and unties the trap, doing her best not to let him fall directly on his skull. Fabian busies himself pulling the arrow out of his calf. He presses down on it with the heel of his palm and holds it there.
“Do we think healing counts as ‘combat magic?’” Riz wonders out loud. “I don’t want you guys to have to walk around hurt, but—”
“You don’t want to fail the assignment, either.”
“Yeah,” Riz admits. He steadies himself on his feet and brushes off dust from his clothes. “Are you guys, like, desperate for a heal? Or—”
“We’re fine, The Ball. Don’t worry about your precious extra credit.”
Riz smiles, gratefully. He’s not going to lie, in a perfect world, he would appreciate a heal, too. The confusion gas gave him an instant headache which certainly wasn’t improved by being flipped upside down. But it was nothing he hadn’t faced before and nothing he wouldn’t face again.
He crosses the room to the jewelry box. “Think we found our prize, guys.” He unlatches the small, powder-blue box, and slowly raises the lid. Inside, he sees a half dozen rings of all different sizes and designs. Some silver, some gold, some adorned with gemstones, and some plain.
Fig and Fabian join him, peering over his shoulder. “Do we,” Fabian asks, “have any idea what the ring we’re looking for looks like?”
Riz shakes his head. “Yeah, uh, we didn’t think to ask.”
Fig’s hand dives into the box and she pulls out a ring at random, studying it. It has a yellow tourmaline gemstone, cut to shine from any angle. She slips it onto her middle finger. “Pretty!”
“Fig, you have no idea if these are magical, or cursed, or whatever. Please be careful.” Riz wrenches her hand over and tries to slip the ring back off but it’s entirely immovable. It’s not that it’s too small to be removed, exactly. It just won’t move. Like it’s choosing not to.
“Woah,” Fig whispers. “It chose me.”
“I don’t—I don’t think that’s what happened.” Riz says, but he doesn’t want to get into it. He turns his attention back to the box where he catches Fabian’s hand just escaping it, with a ring of his own. He slips it on before Riz can even protest.
“Good gods, I feel strong,” Fabian says, the ring on his finger glowing faintly. “I feel—woah, I feel seriously tough right now. Try to punch me right now, Fig, I bet I’ll hardly feel it.”
Fig pulls back her fist, twisting her entire body into the wind-up but Riz jumps up and catches her wrist. “No punching each other! What the hell, guys?”
“Oh, have a little fun, The Ball. Why don’t you put a ring on too?” Fabian cajoles him, putting a hand on his head and messing up his hair. Riz shoves him off and laments the loss of his hat over spring break for protection from attacks like these.
“Yeah, come on, Riz! Let loose,” Fig adds, smiling at him.
Riz chews on his lip. He did tell himself he’d have fun on this trip. Why not let loose? Why not put a ring on too? Why not enjoy a little diversion before the quest ends?
“Fine.” He studies the rings in the box and finds a silver band with black gemstones embedded along the edges. He slips it onto his thumb.
“You’re so much better than your friends. They don’t deserve you. They’re not good enough for you. They should be punished. They should be hurt. They should be killed—”
Riz rips the ring off.
“Nope! We’re done.” Riz scoops up the rest of the rings and dumps them in his pocket. He’ll let Evalada pick out the right one once they return to her mausoleum. “We are very done, time to go.”
He walks back towards the cracked door and gestures to his friends to follow him.
He calls out over his shoulder. “Watch out, though, guys. There’s traps.”
His friends laugh and he can’t help but join in.
Riz hears Kristen whistle as they get close to the mausoleum. “You guys look rough.” She eyes the blood on Fig’s arm and Fabian’s leg. “I thought we said no combat?”
“We didn’t fight anyone!” Fig protests. “Riz just fucked us up.”
“Why would you do that, Riz?” Gorgug asks, with so much disappointment in his voice that Riz feels sick.
“Not on purpose, dude. We had a gauntlet of traps to get through, alright? What, you guys didn’t?”
Gorgug’s brow furrows. “No, we just talked to the town druid. Turns out she caught her daughter with the ring but didn’t know who to return it to. She gave it right over when we asked.”
Riz exchanges glances with Fig and Fabian. He laughs. Of course he would be the one to attract complications on this quest; it was Esterie after all.
“Well, I hope you guys had fun, at least.” Riz takes a look at the ring in Adaine’s hand. He digs through the jewelry box and pulls out the matching pair.
Together, they enter the mausoleum. Riz holds his ring out in his open palm, hoping it’ll coax out Evalada from wherever she disappeared to last time.
They’re instantly assaulted with an excited faceful of ghostly mayor.
“You found them! My rings! The symbol of our love. Can you hear me, dear wife, my eternal dove?
“Thank you, sweet adventurers, your kindness knows no bounds. Goodhearted folk still exist; that truly does astound."
“Of course, girl, we’re happy to help!” Fig replies with her most charming smile.
“If you care for a stranger, you must be good souls. I offer you, in thanks, something better than gold”
“Does this ghost have any gold in the first place?” Fabian leans down to stage-whisper to Riz.
“The rings are yours if you can make me a promise. You share them only with those whose love is honest.
"If you wear its twin alongside someone you adore, your connection with them will shine on forevermore.”
“That’s sick as hell, thanks, Eva!” Fig says, with a wide smile. She slips one of the rings onto her ring finger and twists her hand around, watching it catch the light. “What exactly do they do though?”
Adaine speaks up. “Will it offend you terribly if I cast an Identify spell on these rings, Miss Montgomery?”
“You need information from another, instead? I will not take offense, my dear friend: go ahead.”
Adaine’s eyes glow blue. The Bad Kids all hear the projection of a steady, accented voice.
“Ah, yes, the Twin Soul Rings. These two rings are magically linked. The rings are meant to be split between two wearers who share steadfast love. When the rings are worn, they create an open telepathic bond with a range of 100 feet. The rings are inert if the wearers do not love one another. This has been another use of the Identify spell.”
“Nice! Come on, one of you put the other one on!” Fig exclaims, excitedly, and holds the second ring out. Kristen snags it out of her palm.
“But you’re not in love with Kristen?” Riz asks with a furrowed brow.
“Psh, not in love, but I definitely love her.”
Kristen slips the ring on and looks at Fig. They’re both quiet for a moment, and then they laugh in unison. Riz realizes they’re having a silent conversation. The telepathic bond must’ve worked. Interesting.
“This is sick, thank you, Miss Ghost,” Kristen says to Evalada. “Come on, you guys all try.” She and Fig slip off the rings and start passing them around. Adaine slips one on and Gorgug puts the other on his pinky.
“Oh, wow, it does work.” Gorgug says, curiously. “I guess I love you, Adaine.”
Adaine smiles back at him. “I guess I love you too!”
They keep passing the rings around, trying every combination of Bad Kids they can think of, and smiles and laughs flood the room. Riz has a telepathic conversation with Adaine about spell components she’s been looking for, and then another with Fig about how much they wish they could’ve drank those lemonades. He talks to Gorgug about how the ring doesn’t really fit either of their hands. Then he jokes with Kristen about the rhyming couplets they’ve been hearing from Evalada.
Riz laughs and laughs. The mood is light and sweet and loving. He feels blanketed in it, warm and comfortable.
“I see I was not wrong to entrust the rings to you. When you next face challenges, may these rings help you through.”
“But which of us get to keep them?” Fabian asks.
“None of us, dummy, we all have joint custody on them, now.” Fig replies.
“Yeah, Fabian,” Adaine says, “there’s too much love to go around. We can’t narrow it down to just two people.”
Riz looks in the corner of the mausoleum and sees that Evalada has begun to fade away. It seems that, now that the rings were together once more, her purpose on the Material Plane was fulfilled. She smiles softly and fondly at the six of them and Riz smiles back at her. He gives her a little wave as she fades out completely.
Riz realizes his anxiety and tension have been completely blotted out by warmth and calm. He even forgot he was in Esterie at all, for awhile.
The rings ended up on his finger and Fabian’s. Riz projects his thoughts to him. “It sort of wipes out all the bad memories of this place, doesn’t it?”
Fabian’s head turns towards him and he looks thoughtful. “Maybe not all of them, The Ball. But making some good memories here certainly doesn’t hurt.”
Riz nods. “Not our worst work, either. No weapons, no magic, no fighting and we still completed the quest. We’re kind of bad asses, aren’t we?”
“That we are, The Ball. That we are.”
Riz grins at him and Fabian smiles back. Riz spins the ring around his finger hesitantly and thinks for a moment. He likes having this telepathic bond with Fabian. It’s a nice feeling to be connected to him. It’s reassuring.
But he doesn’t need it to feel close to Fabian. He takes the ring off and passes it down the line for everyone else to mess around with.
He doesn’t need the ring to assure him that there’s steadfast love between all of the Bad Kids.
He already knows that to be true.