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The house is tidy, spotless and quiet, three things it only is when Leo is living somewhere else. But it also feels empty without his best friend, so Adam is secretly very happy for this game night that Leo imposed – as he does – upon them all out of the blue. But Adam would die before admitting that, and so he's obviously complaining.
“It's unclear to me why we keep accepting to do these things when we don't like them,” he says, coming back from the kitchen with snacks still in their grocery bag and an army of bowls. Knowing Leo would come, he went to the store and bought basically every kind of junk food that was sold there. His best friend: a guy who can eat at Michelin-starred restaurants and regularly complain about the chef's nonexistent Maillard reaction – his words, Adam will never forget them – and also a perpetually hungry goblin, capable of inhaling the most processed, chemically engineered monstrosities ever conceived by the human mind, and calling them food of the Gods.
“First of all, speak for yourself. I love playing D&D,” Annie answers, as she sets the reversible coffee table for tonight's session. They used to have a normal coffee table, then Leo found this contraption on some obscure website and couldn't be happy until he bought it. Now they have an Evolvable, which is nothing but a small coffee table that can become a much larger table by adding parts that can be stored inside the table itself. So you still have to sit on the floor, but pretending to be sitting at a normal-size table. It is stupid, but also kinda useful on nights like this. “Secondly, you've been playing the same character for more than ten years.”
“That has nothing to do with liking the game,” he says, filling one bowls after the other, hoping to appease the goblin. “You just don't change what's perfect.”
“Your paladin is far from perfect.”
“But campaign after campaign he's always trying to better himself,” Adam insists. “That's character development. That's consistency in his attitude and nature. Narratively speaking, Jake Cobfield, Lord of Winterport, is a perfect character.”
“So much for not liking the game, hm?”
Adam makes a face. “Do we have enough glasses?”
“One, two, three, four, five... and six, yes,” Annie counts those on the table already. “Speaking of which, do you know anything about these guys?”
“Absolutely nothing. Leo says it's a surprise, so we must be ready for something really bad.”
Annie chuckles. “Why? He sounded so excited over the phone. I can't wait to finally meet them!”
Adam looks at the table and deems it ready. “He's always excited for someone, Annie, but it's either someone inappropriate or he's the one being inappropriate. He's been with more people in the past six months that both of us combined.”
“Once again, speak for yourself,” she chuckles. “Otherwise you'll be forced to have a conversation you don't want to have.”
Adam is about to answer that, but they can hear the key turning in the lock. Leo hasn't been living here in months, but this is still his home. Besides, Adam would never ask him for the key back even if Leo should move out for good. He wouldn't even rent his best friend's room to someone else now that he can afford rent on his own. This is simply not happening ever. As long as Adam lives here, Leo will have a place to crash too.
“Here we are—Oh, look who's here,” Leo reaches out, “Annie, baby, come over here. You said you wouldn't make it!”
Annie chuckles, and throws herself into his arms for a bear hug. “Surprise!” She says. “They gave me leave a week ago, but I wanted to see your face when you found me here.”
Leo squeezes her a little longer before letting her go. “I'm so happy to see you. I've missed you so much. You being on Mars is so annoying!”
“You tell me, there's nothing to do all day and the outdoor is, admittedly, very depressing. A wasteland of sand and perpetual night.”
“Wait until capitalism gets there!” Leo fakes enthusiasm. “Things will change with the first McDonald's!”
“Shut up, you love McDonald's!”
Leo chuckles, “I'll be the first costumer on Mars. But—I have some introductions to do,” he moves aside, showing Cody and Blaine behind him. “This one is Cody, my boyfriend. And that handsome man there is Blaine, Cody's other master.”
“Other as in he has more than one?” Annie asks.
“He has me,” Leo smiles.
“I don't think I understand.”
“I know, Adam, we'll get into that later,” Leo passes him by, patting him on the shoulder.
Blaine is the first to move towards the others. “Leo has an incredible way with words and also the incredible ability to never use that talent,” he smiles, shaking Annie's hand first, and then Adam's. “Blaine Anderson, nice to meet you.”
“You definitely know him,” Annie smiles. “Annie. Nice to meet you both. Cody, you're so pretty. Where was he hiding you?”
Cody blushes. “I don't—I... uh...”
“Don't stutter, Sweets. She just paid you a compliment.”
Cody nods and he seems to stand straighter, then. “Thank you, but I am the lucky one.”
“Oh, trust me, you're not,” Adam puts a chip in his mouth and then offers the bowl to him. “He's not a person, he's a cross to bear.”
“First of all, asshole. Second of all, you think you're better?” He catches Cody looking at him, silently asking for permission to grab some chips from the bowl. He nods. “You pace yourself, Sweets.”
Adam raises an eyebrow in what is clearly a silent Uh, what was that? to Annie, who just shrugs. They clearly both decide to let it go for the moment. “I am, in fact, way better than you because despite the nuisance that you are, I have a surprise for you.”
“Another? Annie was a big one.”
“Oh, this is bigger,” Annie chuckles. “In more ways than one.”
Leo raises both his eyebrows and shrugs as he steals some chips from a bowl, “Do I wanna know?” He says, sitting down at the coffee table. His master screen is already there, waiting for him, carefully folded. That thing is ancient, but Leo refuses to throw it away, so it must be treated like a relic, close to disintegration. He places it the way he likes it best.
“Either you want it or not, you will,” Adam chuckles, taking his place next to him.
“Cody, come sit here,” Leo tells him. “Between me and Blaine.”
Blaine sits down at his own place, casually stroking Cody's hip when the boy passes by him. “I have to come clean and say that I've started playing this game a few weeks ago because Leo was very persuasive. But I still don't know what I'm doing.”
“Don't worry, none of us does,” Annie smiles at him encouragingly. She's got a piece of paper in front of her, already filled with the characteristics of her character. It took her quite a few years to understand all the numbers she was supposed to put in, but now she can proudly create her own character by herself. And she did. And half-ogre girl who collects male skulls but dreams of being a ballerina. Quintessentially her, if she may say so herself. “So, Blaine, Leo didn't disclose any details. It was all very mysterious. What do you do for a living?”
“I'm a professional Dom.”
“Oh wow,” Annie blinks, even more interested in this handsome, older man that seems to be at ease even if forced to kneel at a coffee table. “Of all the things I was expecting, this wasn't even on the list.”
“What's a professional Dom?” Adam asks.
“I'm a Master for hire.”
“A master of what?”
Leo rolls his eyes. “It's BDSM, Adam. People pay him to be dominated.”
Adam's face turns from red to green to purple. “You have sex with people... for money?” It's clear in his voice that he's trying to ask as best as he can without offending anyone.
“I assume that with having sex you mean penetrative sex. But that is not always required. Actually the need to be controlled can be satisfied in many ways, not necessarily or not exclusively through the act itself. I used to offer that service too, if the situation required it. But that is now over, thanks to these two,” he smiles, indicating both Leo and Cody. He strokes Cody's head and the boy seems to almost purr under his touch. “Now I help my clients with limited physical involvement.”
“I sense an interesting story there,” Annie is very intrigued now.
“And we will tell you all about it, but we need to start playing or we're going to stay here for the whole weekend,” Leo says.
“I wouldn't mind,” Cody says. “It's a nice place.”
“Really? Even if I tell you there's no chocolate here? Can you spend an entire week without chocolate?”
“What?!”
As his mom taught him from a young age, Adam instantly activates at one of his guests' request. “I think I have some dark chocolate. And there are all the snack bars I bought too.”
“Don't worry about that, he can't have chocolate.”
“Not even a square?” Cody pleads. “A teeny tiny square.”
“Don't bargain, Sweets.” Leo looks at him sternly. “You know I hate it.”
Cody sustains his look for a grand total of two seconds and then he looks down, whispering. “I'm sorry, sir.”
“That is a lot of intensity there,” Annie says, wary.
“It's okay,” Cody smiles at her and he looks genuinely okay, which throws her off a bit. Is the kid bipolar or something? “Let's play!”
“We actually can't until—“ Annie is interrupted by the doorbell. “Oh, that's perfect timing.”
“Come in, the door is open!” Adam calls.
The door is only half open when Leo starts screaming like a madman. He puts down his food, jumps over the coffee table and literally throws himself into the arms of the newcomer, which is some kind of giant. A 6'2” tall boy with the darkest bush of messy hair ever, and the weirdest most angular features Cody has ever seen on a human being. He turns to watch him better as he comes inside, Leo still hanging from his neck.
“Matt, I can't believe you're really here!” Leo says. “When did you arrive?
“'Bout an hour ago,” Matt says, as he waves at the others in greetings.
“Where are you staying?”
“Here,” Adam answers for him. “He's gonna take over your room. Speaking of which, where's your suitcase?”
“Don't need one,” Matt pats his backpack. ”It's all in here. I'm countin' on you havin' a washer.”
“I do and it's yours to use.”
“How long are you staying?” Leo asks again, finally getting back on his feet.
“A week. Restaurant be closed for some fixin' up.”
This seems to be sending Leo in orbit. He's so excited that he can't really stand still – This is something Cody has had the chance to witness several times already. His Master has become very good at controlling himself, but if there's something that really excites him on whatever level, his enthusiasm always takes over and he becomes a restless, bouncing ball, crawling walls. He wonders why this intriguing guy has this effect on him.
“We have to hang out, there are a thousand places I need to show you.”
“Thought as much,” Matt smiles. He's got a mouth that's too big for his face – Cody is quite aware that the proportions are off there – but it still looks good on him. When he smiles it's a bit eerie, but in the good sense of the word, if that even exists.
“Come, I want you to meet someone,” Leo says. “This is Cody, my boyfriend.”
Matt turns his eyes on him and Cody's legs feel suddenly wobbly despite the fact that he's sitting down. The guy has deep set, black eyes and he looks at him carefully, studying him. “Nice meetin' ya,” he says.
Cody's hand disappears in Matt's giant hand, and he shivers so strongly that his whole body moves. “Nice to meet you,” he manages to force through the lump in his throat. He hasn't had this reaction in months, literally since he met Blaine. This is concerning.
“And this is Blaine, Cody's other Master.”
“Nice meetin' ya too, man,” Matt shakes his hand too, taking in the information in stride. “'sumin' you're the first? Didn't tell me ya into that sorta things.”
“That's new, yeah,” Leo chuckles, sitting back behind his screen. “Do we want to start?”
Once they're all seated and ready, Leo can start to weave a plot for them. This is something he's able to do easily at this point. He's been a dungeon master for ten years – and a Master for less than one, that's funny – and he's got a talent for it. Plus, he's been doing this with Adam, Annie and Matt all his life, and he personally taught Cody and Blaine, so he's familiar with everybody's game.
Not knowing which characters they were going to bring to the table, he came up with a story that would be fitting anyway. As he collects everyone character's sheet, he has them introducing themselves to the others. Annie's half-ogre, Vorla, becomes instantly his favorite. She's a talent for creating intriguing and uncommon characters, and she always thinks outside the box.
Adam is playing the everlasting Jake Cobfield, Lord of Winterport, a character Leo has been trying to kill off since day one with no success. Jake refuses to die, no matter how dire the circumstances are. But his sense of justice will be useful this time around. He has a few of difficult choices to be made in store for him.
Cody is the biggest surprise this time around. His character, Bluebell, looks like him physically – a petite, demure-looking elf with a naive attitude towards everyone and everything – but the notes Cody left on the sheets clearly state that he is lying, and that he is a hunter. He didn't specify of what, but Leo has the perfect idea for it and he just writes it down, only for him to see. Cody instantly nods.
Blaine went back to his first ever character, but gave him a twist. There was not a mysterious death in the past of Dorian Fairborne the first time around, but Leo can very well work with it. In fact, it's easy for him to blend this very peculiar detail in the plot. It's going to be a surprise to Blaine when – or if – he gets to know the truth. It's going to be interesting to see how he'll deal with the information.
And finally, the pièce de résistance, Matt's character, Vorak Sharpclaw, a wolfkind fighter that in Leo's hands will turn from hunter to pray.
"The hour is late, the night is dark and full of terrors, so when you come across an inn at the edge of a small mining town in the far north, you take it for what it is—a stroke of luck—and go in. The patrons are a mixed crowd of tired workers, wary merchants, and a couple of hunters. Nothing too unusual, except for all of you, of course. You don’t know each other, but you’re keeping an eye on one another from the four corners you occupy because you all know the others are cut from the same cloth. And if you mean trouble, then so do they. The only exception is Bluebell," Leo gestures toward Cody. "He looks unusual enough—an elf among humans—but he’s clearly unsure of what to do. Should he ask for something to drink and draw attention to himself or not? He’s out in the world alone for the first time in his life, second-guessing every move since he left the sanctuary in Auriseau. The world out here is full of dangers, and he knows that well."
“I hate to draw attention, but I know the rules in these places. You're supposed to spend money in these establishments and drinking is a socializing activity for humans. They think there's something fishy about you if you don't drink and you end up drawing way more attention,” Cody muses out loud. “I order an ale and then I go to sit near the window.”
“Good choice. But are you sure you want to sit there? You will be close to Vorak.”
Cody nods, “He seems safe enough.”
"He’s a giant, humanoid wolf. In what universe does he look safer than me?" Adam says in shock. "I’m right here, a proper paladin, with proper armor, the proper face of a righteous man."
Cody chuckles, an answer ready. "But you're human, and to us elves, you're more dangerous than any other species. Vorak might be huge, but he's a wolf—a creature connected to nature, just like me." He looks up at Matt sitting in front of him. His baby blue eyes linger on him just a little too long. "I feel like I can deal with him just fine."
Matt looks back at him, his black eyes unreadable. He doesn't say anything, but Cody catches a vibe from him that resonates with his innermost parts and gives him a pleasant shiver. He's still smiling when he looks down nonchalantly to grab another chip.
“You've been there for just under an hour when the door of the inn suddenly bursts open. A man stumbles in, soaked to the bone from the rain. His eyes are wild, haunted, and he's visibly shaking. We've found another body in the forest , he gasps, voice trembling. 'It's the pastor. He's dead... and his heart is missing. The room goes still. For a moment, no one speaks. Then, half the men begin talking at once. Most seem concerned, while the loudest ones, tired and frustrated, demand that something be done.”
“I identify myself to the man who just arrived and demand to be given a full report of what's going on,” Adam says immediately. “If there's a problem, I must help these people.”
“Of course you do,” Leo chuckles. “They explain to you and the others that someone, or something, has been killing people in the area. It started with a few isolated cases, seemingly unrelated, but now it's clear that it's happening systematically. Every two weeks, someone disappears, only to be found dead. At first, the villagers suspected a wolf, or maybe a pack of wolves, but wolves don't remove their victims' hearts with surgical precision, do they?”
“Something must be done,” Adam says.
“Why, this is not our problem,” Blaine says. “It's not even our town.”
Adam looks at him in outrage. “Innocent people are dying. It's our duty to help.”
“Innocent people are dying everywhere all the time,” Blaine shrugs. “You can't save everyone.”
“Maybe there's a reward?” Matt suggests.
“That would change things,” Blaine agrees.
Leo looks at them interacting with each other so easily and it's really amusing. “As it turns out, the man is the mayor, and he offers a reward of 35,000 crowns to anyone who can find and kill the person, or creature, responsible for the murders.”
“I will take care of it,” Adam declares. “No need for a reward, this is the right thing to do.”
“Wait now,” Annie steps in. “Tin-man can do this for the glory, not Vorla. Vorla wants money.”
“Me too,” Blaine says.
“Me three,” Matt chips in.
“Well, I don't need anyone, I work alone,” Adam insists. “And it's better for everybody if you stay out of it. This is dangerous and I'm the only professional, here.”
“Unfortunately for you, Jake, the mayor is a good man, and in good conscience, he can't let you go alone. He's seen all the corpses, all the blood, and he doesn't believe this is a task for one person. So, he raises the reward to an impressive 55,000 crowns, on the condition that it will be a group effort to hunt down the killer.”
“Fine, I don't have time to argue. There are innocent people out there that could be dead within two weeks,” Adam gives in. “Who's with me?”
“Vorla hopes killer is man. Another skull to her collection.”
“I never turn down money as a principle,” Blaine says. “I think it's the only one I have.”
“It'd be surprisin' if that thing be bigger than I am. I'm in,” Matt nods and then he turns to Cody who has been very quiet during the whole exchange, his eyes moving from one boy to the other, but always lingering on Matt more. “What d'ya say, cupcake? Ya comin'?”
Matt's Texan accent gets to Cody's head instantly. It sounds like an invitation to him. “I have never been on an adventure like this! And seeing the world is the reason I left the sanctuary to begin with. Besides, I have magic. I can help.”
“It could be dangerous for someone like you,” Adam says. “You're not a fighter.”
“Cupcake there made up his mind, paladin,” Matt speaks to Adam but looks at Cody, and Cody feels the irresistible urge to cross the coffee table and sit on his lap.
“I can take care of myself, sir Jake,” he responds, looking back at Matt. “Plus, I'm sure a wolfkind is bound to honor and ancient law to protect my kind.”
Matt only nods, but it's all that Cody needs.
Leo watches them interact, but he's not interested in whatever Matt is doing – he can talk to him later – Cody, on the other hand, is doing things he shouldn't be even thinking. He looks over to Blaine for a second, but the man just shakes his head imperceptibly. Wait, that means. Give him room to either correct himself or hang himself with the rope you gave him.
So, the party starts the investigation from the site of the last murder. The victim is still there, a bloody hole where the heart should be. Vorla and Vorak smell around for any trace of the killer, while Dorian looks for tracks. Bluebell examines the body and report everything to Jake.
The work drags on over the following weeks, with no clues to help them track down the killer. Aside from the missing hearts, the victims don’t seem connected—neither by blood nor by circumstances. After two weeks—or about forty minutes in real time—they decide on their own to wait for the next murder, hoping to catch the killer in the act. Exactly what Leo had wanted.
This would have been the moment for a plot twist—if Cody hadn’t decided to test Leo's patience. It's just Matt and Cody on the scene, the group having split up to cover more ground and keep an eye on the town. Cody has been so blatant in offering to pair up with Matt that Leo nearly lost his temper. Now, they're talking, exploring backgrounds. Leo knows this is the perfect moment for Cody to pull out his knife and reveal his true nature—a hunter. A wolfkind hunter, to be precise. He's been on Vorak's trail from the start, following his scent across half the country, intent on killing him and taking his pelt and weapons to prove his worth to his clan. For Cody, it's a rite of passage. There's no sanctuary, no naive, gentle elf.
And yet the kid is testing him.
“So, this sanctuary,” Matt asks. “ Whatcha doin' there?”
“I'm an Aaris vestal,” Cody answers.
“Ain't vestals girls?”
Cody shrugs. “Aaris loved his boys, so the legend says,” he chuckles. “Pretty ironic, uh? To be a vestal for the most sexualized God in the pantheon.”
“Why's that?”
Cody points at himself. “Raised and born to tend the statue of the God of sex, and yet never to be touched or enjoyed.”
“A pity. That why ya left the place?”
Cody shrugs. “I want to live before burying myself alive in there.”
“That would be such a pity. Ya should be doin' what your God preaches, cupcake.” Matt grabs something from one of the bowls, a fun size sneaker. He bites half of it off and then he offers the rest to Cody, pressing it against his lips.
There's a collective breath being held at the table, the rest of the players literally crashed by the mere intensity of the scene. Leo doesn't know if Matt is just playing a part or not – he's done cosplay with him when they were kid and he knows him to be able to be completely, eerily in character – but he knows for a fact Cody is having very real reactions. That's not acting from him, that's responding to Matt's possibly fake invitation with actual availability. It's already unacceptable like this, but when Cody closes his lips around the piece of chocolate and Matt's fingertips – managing to be inappropriate and to go against one of his direct orders at the same time – he just explodes.
“Cody, stand up!” He thunders, his voice turning from a calm, narrator tone to low, angry pitch. It's so sudden and so brutal that Adam and Annie almost jump up too. Leo grabs a piece of paper towel and offers it to Cody. “Spit it out. And look the fuck down.”
Cody swallows, but without a protest he does what he's been told, looking at the floor.
“Leo, whoa, calm down,” Adam looks at him in shock, but Leo doesn't even turn.
His face remains stern. “Not now, Adam.” He stands up too and he gestures to Cody. “My room. Now. Down the hall, to the right. When I get there, you're gonna be on the floor in your waiting position, have I been clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
As Cody passes him by, Adam tries to stop him, but he doesn't let him. “Leo, have you gone out of your mind? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I will tell you in a moment,” Leo repeats again, and then he moves to go after Cody.
Blaine stands up to follow them. “Be patient. I—apologize for the unexpected and unwanted spectacle. This usually doesn't happen in front of people and it could have been done better, but your friend is new to do this. Just give us a moment, alright? Apologies again.”
Annie, Adam and Matt are left there, mildly shocked and utterly confused about what just happened. Although they can't hear words from the other room, they can recognize Leo's enraged voice and Blaine's calmer but still stern one. Cody doesn't speak a word, except a few pained moan that makes Adam's blood boil. “I don't know what's happening, but I don't like it.”
“I think I have an idea, but it's better to let them explain,” Annie says.
It takes twenty minutes of them waiting and awkwardly browsing on their phone to look at ease, before Leo and Blaine comes back without Cody. “He's got a ten minutes time out,” Leo anticipates Adam's question. “He'll be back and he'll play, and he'll behave.”
Annie turns to look at Leo with a sort of scolding look. She's always been his first supporter in any stupid thing he has ever done, but also always the very first person who would tell him to fuck off because, for all his outrage, Adam has never been able to really scold his best friend. “Leo, is there something you wanna tell us about? For example why you just freaked out during a roleplay and borderline abused your boyfriend?”
“I already told you I'm his Master and Blaine is too. Usually that is confined to a scene that you start and end, possibly not during a game night with friends. But Cody and I are in what is called a TPE, which means I get to control him all day every day—“
“What?! That's insane, Leo!” Adam is shocked.
Leo sighs. “Let me finish, please. We are in a TPE and he started misbehaving at some point during the game. I let it slide several times, and then I lost it. I'm not supposed to. There are other ways to act in these situations, better ways to handle a sub who acts up like that, but I'm learning and I still lose my temper when I shouldn't sometimes. So, for that, I apologize.”
“And you don't want to apologize for the way you treated him?” Adam frowns.
“Not for that, no. He expected that reaction, he knew it would come. Partially, he might have called for it,” Leo nods. “That is part of what we are now.”
“Insane?”
“Adam, you don't need to agree with it—“
“I don't.”
“Right. But can you trust me, please? I'm not abusing him. This is a thing we're doing together and if he had wanted out of it, he had ways to tell me.”
“He's got a safe word,” Annie says.
“Yes, and I'm very good at reading him even when he needs it but he doesn't want to say it,” Leo confirms. “I'm still learning and I make mistakes, but I am doing this always respecting what he wants and needs.”
“This is weird,” Adam informs him.
“Yeah,” Leo chuckles, “I know.”
“Was it my fault?” Matt asks.
“You gave him the opportunity, but you don't have a master and you don't have rules. He does, so that's on him.”
“I'm sorry everyone,” Cody's voice comes softly, but calm. He doesn't look particularly upset or traumatized in any way. He's just barefoot, for whatever reason. He only looks over at Leo to show him his smartwatch. “The clock beeped. Can I come back?”
Leo goes to him and pulls him into a hug to kiss him on his head. “Yes, of course. Are you alright, Sweets? Need anything?”
“And now he's all caring and soft with him.”
“It's called aftercare, I believe,” Annie looks over at Blaine, who nods.
“No, I'm okay,” Cody smiles. “Can I sit with you?”
“Sure,” Leo sits down with him on his knees. “Alright, where were we?”
Cody smirks at Matt, but this time is not sweet at all. “I take out my knife and attack Vorak.”
Leo gives him the dice to throw while three people at the table collectively exclaim a confused and shocked, “What!?”
And that's it for the second plot-twist of the day.