Chapter Text
The tavern is dimly lit, the flickering candles leaving much of it cast in shadows. Most of the patrons prefer it that way though; privacy is critical among mercenaries, lest someone beat them to the punch by eavesdropping on a key conversation.
Not that Jinx is afraid of getting her hands a little dirty if needed; she’s no stranger to being hired muscle, and if the job turns out to be half as good as promised, it’ll go a long way towards paying off the debts hanging over her head. She spots the person she’s meeting with right away, wandering in with the stunned look of a deer before the hunter’s arrow. Jinx waits for the human to approach, getting her measure: a barbarian probably, from her size and lack of armor, but no weapon to be seen. Something strikes Jinx as being off about that; when has she ever seen an unarmed barbarian? Then again, the lady looks like she could punch a bugbear to death.
“Uh, howdy fellow traveler?” The woman says. “I’m Smashley.”
“‘Smashley?!’” Powder’s mouth dropped open. “Vi, you said you’d take this seriously.”
“What? Ekko said humans can have any names they want,” Vi said, looking confused. “I figured Ashley is a normal name, and she smashes shit, so why not combine it?”
“It’s not a big deal,” Ekko said quickly. “Having a second player is the most important thing. Right, Powder?” he added pointedly. Powder rolled her eyes.
“Just… don’t turn this into a big joke, ok?” Powder asked.
“I won’t, I promise,” Vi said. She stared down at her dice, picking up one that looked like a pyramid. “So which one do I roll to see how drunk I get?”
Powder covered her face with her hands.
With drinks finally out of the way, Jinx passes the sheet of parchment across the table. Smashley picks it up, looking it over, her eyes glassy. She nearly knocks over the stack of tankards next to her as she slams it back on the table.
“Fighting off goblins? Count me in,” she says. “They’re no match for Smashley’s sonic punch attack.”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Jinx says, taking the parchment back and tucking it neatly into her pack. “So the mine is about a half day’s travel from here, if we set out at first light we might be able to get there and back without needing to camp. Do you… maybe wanna pick up a weapon tonight?”
“Nah, these bad boys are all I need,” Smashley says, raising her fists. (“You do realize you do a lot less damage without a weapon, right?” Ekko pointed out.) “But, uh, maybe it couldn’t hurt,” she adds. “How do I do that again?”
“There’s a blacksmith in town,” Jinx says, exasperation poorly hidden. “Just ask for the biggest weapon he has. How much gold do you got?”
“Uh… none?”
“Vi, what?” Powder said. “We should all have gold, why don’t you have any?”
“I gave it all to the bartender,” Vi said, “for the drinks.”
Powder shot a glare at Ekko, who gave a bashful grin. “Hey, the bartender knows an easy mark when they see one.”
“Wait, are beers not supposed to be five gold a pop?” Vi asked.
“I’ll cover for your weapon,” Jinx says, shaking her head, “but it’s coming outta your half of the reward money. Got it?”
“Sure,” Smashley says. “Now let’s go get another round of drinks.”
“No more drinks, big girl,” Jinx says firmly, grabbing Smashley by the arm and dragging her from the bar. “I think you’ve had your fill for the rest of the week.”
After a catastrophic trip to the blacksmith— (“How was I supposed to know he’d expect me to steal from him?” Vi said, shrugging.) —the two adventurers set out upon the road, ready to face the troublesome goblins that had taken over the local mines, putting the livelihoods of the miners at risk. By the time they reach the mines, the sun had already passed overhead, now dropping steadily towards the horizon. They watch as four goblins mill about near the entrance to the mines, possibly standing watch, though all seem far too distracted.
“Perfect, we have the drop on them,” Jinx says, preparing his clockwork pistol. “I’ll sneak up a little closer, lead one away—”
“Let’s smash some skulls!” Smashley shouts, barreling forward with great axe held high.
“No, you— ugh!” Jinx chases behind her, gun firing at the startled but prepared goblins. She dodges beneath a jagged, rusty scimitar, firing directly into the goblin’s chest. An arrow grazes her face, leaving a small trickle of blood down one cheek, and she dodges into cover just in time as hidden archers begin peppering them with shots. Smashley is struck multiple times, though she seems to have no interest in backing away; instead, she charges forward, axe cleaving goblins in twain left and right. But the tolls of her injuries prove too much, and she collapses.
“Wait, what the hell? I’m dead?!” Vi shouted.
“I told you to be careful!” Powder pushed her chair back, frustrated. “We don’t have a healer, remember.”
“Yeah, but you have those healing potions, right? Come heal me!”
“Are you kidding? Those goblins will turn me into a goddamn pin cushion!”
“This is stupid, I can’t believe six little arrows took me down.” Vi shook her head. “So what, is this just game over or something?”
“Maybe it’s a good place for us to stop for tonight?” Ekko suggested. “I didn’t really expect you two to have such a hard time of it.”
“Vi, seriously, you said you’d play it right,” Powder said dejectedly. “What’s with the running out and getting yourself killed for no reason?”
“To be fair, that’s a pretty barbarian move,” Ekko said.
“Yeah, I thought, ‘Smashley’s gotta smash,’” Vi added, “and I just did what she’d do. Was that wrong?”
“That’s… ok, no, it wasn’t wrong,” Powder admitted. “But it’s just… we can’t have you rushing in all crazy like that with just the two of us. Ekko, can we please get some NPCs to help us?”
“I told you, I’m barely tracking everything as it is,” Ekko said. “I can’t keep track of even more characters every fight.”
“But then we’re just gonna die every session,” Powder countered. “We need more help on our side.”
“Why not just more players?” Vi suggested.
“We’ve been trying, Vi, but nobody wants to play with a couple kids,” Ekko said. “I even put a forum post out, but nobody responded.”
“What about asking around your school?” Powder asked. “There’s gotta be some nerds who wanna play Leagues & Legends around there.”
“Trust me, the people I know aren’t gonna be interested in playing this,” Vi said.
“I guess I can go down to Mages of the Shore again,” Ekko said. “Maybe someone will say yes this time?”
“Guess it’s better than nothing,” Powder said, with little optimism in her tone.
“C’mon Pow-Pow, let’s get home before Vander starts worrying,” Vi said, putting a hand on her sister’s shoulder.
“Hey, uh, I know I was kinda… cranky tonight,” Powder said as they walked to the car, leaving Benzo’s store behind them (Vi had no idea how Ekko had convinced him to let them all play in his office). “But I really appreciate you giving it a shot. You’ll play again next time… right?”
Vi hesitated; the game hadn’t exactly been what she’d call fun, but the look in her sister’s eyes broke her resolve. “Yeah, sure,” she said finally, fishing the keys out of her pocket. “I’ll give it one more shot.”
“I’m sure Ekko’s gonna have better luck this time,” Powder said. “He’s got really good campaign ideas.”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Vi warned. “I doubt many people will see a 13 year old and go, ‘Yeah, let me hang out with him.’” She paused. “Actually, I better go with him. No telling what kind of creeps he might run into.”
“Let’s all go tomorrow,” Powder said, nodding her head as she climbed into the car. “It’ll be fun!”
Vi had a fairly large range of things she considered fun, but nowhere in that range fell hanging around in a games store while her little sister and their friend tried to convince strangers to play with them. The store was crammed full of games and books, with shelves full of boxes for card games and various statues that cost so much money that she was convinced they’d added one or two extra zeroes by mistake. The one time she dared to even touch one of the books, a thick rulebook for some game with a lantern-holding skeleton on the cover, some dude had come over and started asking condescending questions about how many archetypes she could name, whatever the hell an archetype was. It wasn’t until she gave him The Glare (the one she used to shut up Mylo) that he finally scurried away to be an annoyance elsewhere.
After what felt like two entire days (though the clock on the wall insisted it had only been 45 minutes), Ekko and Powder ran over with excited grins on their faces and a young man following behind them. He was in his early 20s, which immediately raised Vi’s hackles, but she merely crossed her arms, biting her tongue.
“This is Jayce,” Powder said. “We told him about our game and he said he was interested in joining!”
“Is that so?” Vi stared at Jayce.
“I get what it looks like,” Jayce said, scratching the back of his neck, “but I heard you guys play at some convenience store, right? We can play here for a session or two until you feel comfortable playing there, if that’ll make you feel better?”
Vi looked to Powder and Ekko, then back to Jayce. “I catch one weird comment from you—”
“Trust me, I get it and I don’t blame you,” Jayce said. “My friend and I can meet you here next Saturday then? I can reserve a table for us to play, I don’t think they have any Arcane tournaments next weekend so it should be pretty open.”
“Arcane?” Vi asked.
“You know, Arcane: the Summoning?” Jayce raised an eyebrow. “The biggest card game since like the 80s?”
“Whatever,” Vi said, shaking her head. “We’ll meet you here at noon next Saturday, pretty boy.” She turned away before he could respond, the kids hurrying along behind her.
“Sweet, two more players!” Powder shouted gleefully.
“Not sure I like there being two grown guys hanging out with us,” Vi said.
“If they suck, we’ll just tell them to take a hike,” Ekko said, with a bravado that made it clear he didn’t grasp the actual concerns. Vi sighed. “Don’t worry Vi, we’ll make sure Vander and Benzo know the plans. It’ll be fine.”
“I sure hope so,” Vi said, unconvinced.
In the end, it had taken a lot of work to convince Vander, and it wasn’t until Vi promised to call before, after, and halfway through the session that he gave his tentative permission. And so Vi had been forced to wake up early on a Saturday (anything before noon counted as early to her), help get Powder moving, pick up Ekko, and drive them all over to Mages of the Shore. She had even ended up having to carry Ekko’s heavy cardboard box of books and supplies into the store, feeling bad after watching him struggling to even get it out to the car. She was so busy trying to make sure nothing fell out of it that she didn’t even notice that Jayce had beaten them there, nor who his friend was. When she finally looked up, she nearly dropped the box in surprise.
The student council president, captain of the school’s distinguished marksmanship team, and only daughter of one of the richest and most influential families in the entire area, stared up at Vi from the table; paper, pencil, and several sets of dice ordered neatly in front of her
“Oh, hello. I think we go to school together, don’t we?” Caitlyn Kiramman asked, smiling politely.