Chapter Text
By the time everyone actually made it down to the basement, it already felt like they were late to their own night.
Dustin was talking loudly, that was usually how you could tell things had started.
“I’m just saying, last time we absolutely skipped my turn.”
“You were in the bathroom,” Max said.
“That doesn’t mean my character stopped existing.”
“It kind of does,” Lucas said, steadying the folding table when Dustin leaned on it too hard.
The lamps were on instead of the overhead lights, which was good, because the overhead lights were terrible and everyone knew it. They made everything feel like a classroom. The couch was already claimed in the middle of the room, cushions shoved around until the worn thin padding was fairly comfortable. Dice rattled in plastic containers as the party got their setups the way that they liked. A pop can cracked open. Someone complained about snacks and then immediately gave up.
“Okay, okay, don’t touch anything yet,” Mike said, half laughing as he stepped behind the table. “I need everything where it is.”
“You say that every time,” Dustin said, already reaching for his dice.
“And every time you mess something up,” Max added.
“I have never messed anything up.”
“You set yourself on fire.”
“That was character development!”
Mike shook his head, smiling despite himself, and finished setting up his screen with his notes stacked neatly behind it. The map laid out flat in front of him and his character sheet sat beside the screen, worn soft at the edges from years of use.
Will slid into the chair next to him, laying out his usual setup with small, practiced movements like this is something he didn’t even need to think about. He tapped his pencil lightly against the table while everyone else talked over each other, listening more than speaking; trying to shift into the character of Will the Wise.
Max leaned back on the couch, her cane resting against the cushion within easy reach if she would need to get up. Lucas sat beside her, close enough that their knees brushed. When she shifted, he shifted too. Sundar the Bold stared up at him from the page on the old folding table. He checked his slingshot stats again, just to be sure he remembers where he left off after the last session.
El sat in-between Will and Dustin at the table, her character sheet smoothed carefully in front of her. Most of it was still in other people’s handwriting, but there were additions now. A note here, A word circled there. She watched everyone talk, trying to get herself into the headspace needed to play D&D with the party; though she has been faithfully watching the Party play for quite some time now she has only been playing with them for the last 5 sessions or so.
Dustin dropped into his chair directly across from Mike, the excitement on his face clear as day, he had been talking about his theories of where the campaign would head all day. “Okay,” he announced, clapping his hands once. “I’m just saying, if this turns out to be exactly what I said it was, I expect apologies in advance.”
“No,” Max said immediately.
Lucas didn’t even look up from his sheet. “Absolutely not.”
Dustin blinked. “Wow. Okay. So that’s how it’s gonna be.”
“That’s how it’s always been,” Max said. “You talk for three hours, something vaguely similar happens, and suddenly you’re a prophet.”
“I am not saying prophet,” Dustin said. “I’m saying… extremely perceptive.”
Mike cleared his throat before it could spiral further causing an even longer delay in starting their session. “Okay,” he said, already flipping to the next page of his notes and settling into his DM voice smoothly. “As you’re arguing, the wind picks up. The old bridge sways in the eerie breeze that has settled in the cavern.”
Dustin gasped. “See.”
“No,” Max said again. “Stop that.”
Tayr moves ahead, carefully.
said Mike, effectively stopping another argument.
Will leans forward a little without even really realizing it, he was already falling into the world Mike was creating. “What does the air feel like?”
Mike glanced up at Will, a brief soft smile breaks across his face before he can stop himself., “Heavier. Like it’s pressing down on you instead of passing through.”
Will nods, his expression showing he is deep in thought, “I don’t like that.”
Max shifted slightly on the couch considering her next move. “Does Ash hear anything besides the wind?”
“If you’re listening for danger,” Mike said. “Roll for wisdom.”
Max shifts on the couch reaching for her dice, picking them up carefully before tossing them into the shallow tray she uses so she does not lose track of them. The faint familiar clatter settles quickly.
Lucas watches without comment, as always smiling softly at her.
The dice are heavier than most, the numbers raised, braille. He’d spent months calling around to every specialty store he could find to track them down. Refusing to give up when people told him they did not exist or it was impractical. Max knew they must’ve cost more than he would ever admit to her.
She runs her fingers over the result, reading them to herself.
“Eleven.”
Max smiles again, thumb brushing the edge of the tray before she nudges it back into its accustomed place on the table.
Mike stays quite a moment thinking the roll over before replying. “Yeah. Something faint, not footsteps, more like… stone against stone. Slowly.”
Max’s mouth twitched trying to hold back a smile, she has grown to love playing D&D with the party, looking back now Lucas sitting her down and making her work on the character sheet was a really good way to keep her busy during her rehab and to keep her mind off of how painful it was to learn how to walk again. Though she would never admit to the group, playing the game really helped her cope during some of the hardest moments in her recovery.
El tilted her head. “Can Lyra tell if it’s magical?”
Mike considered this before speaking, “She doesn't sense active spell work, but roll a saving throw versus spells anyway.”
El rolled.
12.
“Lyra doesn't feel magic per se," Mike said. “But she can tell that the stone feels aware, like it remembers something.”
Mike raised his hand, indicating he had more to say. “Before anything happens, Will the Wise notices something etched into the stone near the far end of the bridge.”
Will looks up quickly. “What kind of something?”
“Old symbols,” Mike says. “Worn and damaged but they look like they may be protective.”
Will the Wise moved forward, being drawn to the symbols. "Hey guys, I found something." he says softly.
Will reached for his die.
“Roll for intelligence.”
The die bounced along the table before landing with a soft click.
13.
Mike checked Will’s character sheet before nodding. “He recognizes it as a ward. Something old that was meant to keep whatever is on the other side from crossing.”
Will frowns. “Was meant?”
“Its been broken,” Mike said in a low dramatic voice. “Recently.”
Dustin leans back in his chair sucking in a breath. “Oh this is bad.”
Max leans forward. “Recently like… today recently?”
“Recently like someone didn’t want it there recently,” Mike said avoiding the question.
Lucas taps the table once, looking around at the whole party. “Okay. Formation.”
“I would like to be literally behind everyone else” Nog says as he backs himself up.
“You are,” Ash says “Always.”
Will hesitates for a moment. “If it’s broken, can I try to reinforce it?”
Mike’s eyes flick up to him. “You could. It’ll take time though.”
“How much?”
“One round,” Mike says. Then continues in a softer voice, “You’ll be exposed.”
“‘I’m going to reinforce the wards.’ Will announces to the group.
Mike opened his mouth like he wanted to protest, clearly he was not expecting Will to put himself in the line of fire like this. He closes his mouth before nodding and adapting to the unexpected turn of events.
As you step closer, you realize that Tayr follows you, staying close to where you stop to examine the carvings.
Mike takes a slow even breath before continuing.
“My shield is positioned just behind you, angled to protect from danger. Close enough that if anything would happen, it would happen to me first.” Says Tayr as he looks confidently over his shoulder at Will the Wise
Will glances up at Mike.
He looks up at Tayr and says “You really don’t have to be that close.”
Mike shrugged casually
“I don’t trust the bridge.”
Will smiled despite himself and rolled for wisdom.
It was a 10.
“He feels the ward respond,” Mike said, watching Will closely. “It’s very weak but it remembers what it is supposed to do.”
Quickly Mike nudged the table as he looked up at the group. “The bridge begins to creak, El please roll for wisdom.”
El nodded before rolling again.
14.
“The cavern tightens,” Mike continues, “like it is bracing for something big. I’ll need everyone to roll for initiative."
Dice clatter all around the table.
Dustin squinted at his die and groaned loudly. “Six.”
Lucas checked his die next. “Eleven.”
Max didn’t hesitate running her fingers across her die. “Fifteen.”
“Nine.” El spoke up softly from her spot next to Will.
Will rolled last. “Eighteen.”
Mike glanced down at his notes before he rolled behind the screen.
“Tayr gets a twelve,” he says almost too quickly. “Okay, the order’s Will, Ash, Sundar, Tayr, and then Nog and Lyra.”
Max’s head tilted slightly, she couldn’t see the board but she could hear the way Mike spoke, anxiety seemed to lace his words over how far Tayr’s turn was from Will’s.
“You’ve got just enough time,” he continued, voice low. “To keep the ward going before whatever is coming commits fully, you can feel the stone vibrating under your hands.”
Dustin leaned back in his chair. “So this is where everything is going to go wrong.”
Mike did not answer him.
Instead he allowed his voice to drop lower, deliberate. “The stone scrapes.” Mike slowly began dragging a ceramic coffee cup along the tabletop to mimic the sound. “The thing on the other side of the bridge begins to crack free from its hiding spot.”
He let the words hang between them all, stretching the moment out until everyone was leaning forward without realizing it.
“It isn’t fast,” he goes on. “That’s almost worse, chunks of stone begin to slide away as it drags itself towards the bridge, long arms hauling its massive body inch by inch. Grinding its way along.”
Dustin grimaced,
“Oh I don’t like that” Nog says.
“I told you!” he added quickly because of course this was something that he had predicted in that day's rant.
“No one will be apologizing.” Max said bluntly. “Ever.”
“When it reaches the edge of the bridge, the ropes begin to pull tight and strain under its weight.”
I’m going to keep the ward going, nothing is going to stop me from fixing it; Will began to run his hands over the carvings.
“Roll for wisdom.”
The die bounced once before settling.
“You feel the magic strain, it is so fragile. It's barely holding on.”
Max shifted on the couch, straightening her shoulders before speaking. “Tell me when it moves.”
Lucas leaned in even closer to the map. “How close is it now?”
“Too close to ignore,” Mike said quietly. “Ash can hear its weight on the bridge as every board struggles.”
Dustin makes a strangled noise. “Oh no. Nope nope nope.” he says under his breath.
“Ash, you’re up.” Mike said, as he looked at Max expectantly.
She uses her reactive step,
Max said, “I want to increase my sensory input.”
“Roll for dexterity.”
Max’s die clicked in the dice container.
“Sixteen.” she spoke aloud letting the rest of the party know what the braille told her.
“She moves cleanly, low and fast. Ash can feel the vibrations shift as the creature adjusts its weight. It is clearly about to rush.”
“Good.” Max said.
“Then I want to move fast. I want to get its attention.”
Mike nodded at her. “Reactive step puts you in position but you still have your action.”
Ash slams her staff down and drags it across the stone. She wants as much noise and vibration as possible to get it looking at her.
Mike considers for another moment before replying. “Okay, roll for strength.”
13.
“The impact echoes sharply,” Mike said. “The vibrations ripple through the bridge and the creature reacts immediately shifting all of its weight towards you.”
“So it's focused on Ash now?” Lucas asks.
“For the moment,” Mike replies.
There's a beat of silence.
“And now, it commits. The creature lunged, heavy and violently, the boards screaming under its weight.”
Lucas didn’t wait,
Sundar fires.
He rolled immediately. “Eleven.”
“The stone cracks against its shoulder,” Mike said, “It howls in anger as it swings wildly, off balance and angry.”
Mike’s voice changed, becoming dark. “Then it decides.”
Dustin leans forward. “Please tell me that that doesn’t mean it goes for Will.”
Mike didn’t answer right away. “It ignores Ash, committing to its attack on Will the Wise.”
Will immediately stopped doodling on his sheet looking up at Mike.
Before anyone else could speak, Mike continued.
Tayr moves.
he rolled behind the screen.
He doesn’t hesitate, his shield raised he steps in front of you.
Mike locks eyes with Will’s.
“Does he-”
He takes the hit that was meant for you, It was hard, it drove him back a step and his arm went numb from the impact but he managed to hold.
A table let out a quiet breath of relief.
“Is he still standing?” Will asked.
Mike finally breaks eye contact with Will, looking down at his notes. “Barely.”
Will nodded, his jaw tight.
Will calls out “Are you okay?” to Tayr but he does not stop what he is doing, knowing the best way to stop this would be by fixing the ward.
Mike straightened up.
Tyar calls back ‘I’m fine!’ but you can hear the pain in his voice.
he paused before adding. “The shape of the ward starts to lock in.”
Will swallowed and then rolled.
16.
There is a beat of silence before Mike exhales slowly. “Okay, the symbols begin to flare brighter than before, it's not clean or gentle but the magic snaps into place like a door being forced shut.”
Mike drags his fingers across the table, slow and deliberate.
“The creature slams into the ward. Once. Twice. The bridge screamed, ropes straining, boards cracking. The third hit never comes, the ward holds and the creature recoils. The stone grinds again as it drags itself backward. “
Mike reaches for his mug again and scrapes it across the table, the sound sharp against the hush of the room.
“It collapses back into the wall with a final crash.” Mike bangs his mug into the table, earning him a small jump from El.
Silence falls over the basement.
Will relaxes, his shoulders dropping from the tensed state he has been in ever since that creature came for Tayr. “I am going to sit back for a second and rest.”
“I'll stay with you” Tayr says immediately, he hasn't lowered his shield yet.
Will looks at Mike
Will tells him "You don’t have to keep guarding me, I’ll be okay.”
Tyar shrugs like it was obvious, “I don’t mind.” he said softly.
“Of course he doesn't." Max said sarcastically.
There was a small pause before El leans forward, her eyes bright.
Lyra watches both of them, she keeps her magic ready just in case.
Mike nods. “You feel the tension bleed out of the cavern slowly.”
Will smiles, small but very real.
Will moves to stand back up, shifting his weight.
Tayr offers you his arm without hesitation, waiting for you to take hold.
Max’s eyebrows raise ever so slightly.
Will blinks once, “Uh.” he laughs awkwardly before he takes his arm but he has a questioning look on his face now.
“Of course he does,” Mike says, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “You cross the rest of the bridge together. Tayr kept close to Will, concerned about how much energy he used to repair the ward.”
Lucas looks around the room at the rest of the party before speaking up “Does anything happen?”
Mike shakes his head no. “The bridge holds. Everyone moves past the bridge into a narrow stretch of stone corridor. The danger is gone but the tightness of the corridor brings an intense feeling of claustrophobia.”
Tyar keeps looking over his shoulder at Will, asking him questions:
“You still okay?”
“Need a moment?”
“You don’t feel any backlash from the spell do you?”Will smiles softly and answers every time in a calm trusting voice.
“I’m good”
“Yeah”
“I’ve got it”
El continues to watch quietly absorbing everything. When Mike describes the corridor opening into a small, sheltered chamber she spoke up.
“I think this would be a good place to rest.” Lyra said smoothly.
Mike readily agrees “It is. The stone here is warmer, it is sheltered and safe.”
“I’ll take the first watch,” Will says immediately.
“You don’t have to,” Tayr argues.
“I know,” Will replies “I want to.”
Tayr decides he will stay awake with you,
Dustin drops his head to the table with a groan “Oh my god.”
“What?” Mike says in genuine confusion.
“Nothing,” Max says quickly. She smiles sharp and knowingly at Mike as she leans back into the couch making herself comfortable.
Lucas glances between them. “What?”
“Nothing, Stalker.” Max shrugs, moving on from the conversation.
They played a little longer, loot was distributed among the group, notes were taken down so they would be prepared for the next session. Dustin broke into a victory riff that absolutely did not need words which got him a small soft laugh from El who had not expected him to break out into song.
Eventually Mike glances up at the clock and winces. “Okay. That’s probably a good stopping point for tonight.”
This was immediately met with groans of frustration.
“I was in the middle of something!” Dustin protests
“You were lying down,” Max says
“I was roleplaying.”
Dice are gathered, notes stacked and spell books closed.
Will lingers for a second, still holding his spell book. “That was… really fun.”
Mike smiles at him softer than he did for anyone else. “Yeah, it was.”
Max continued to listen to their conversion as she shook her head in amused exasperation.
They didn’t leave all at once.
Dustin got distracted midway up the stairs talking to El about something that might have been a spell interaction or in reality might have just been an excuse to keep talking. Will lingered behind to help Mike stack up the books, even though this was not a task that required more than one person. Max waited for the noise to thin out before standing.
She grabbed her cane from where it leaned against the couch and unfolded it with a quick practiced flick. The sound cut through the basement alerting Lucas to the fact it was time to head out.
“I’m good,” Max said automatically, tired of people assuming she needed help.
“I know,” Lucas replied. “I wasn’t- I just- door’s on your right.” he sighs defeated.
“Yeah, it always is.” Max says dismissively but he could hear her smile.
The stairs creaked the same way they always have and probably always will. Max took them quickly brushing her fingers lightly along the wall as she climbed, Lucas following closely behind.
They both say a quick goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler before heading out the front door. Max steps down off the porch adjusting her step and heading straight towards the driveway without hesitation, she has learned the bumps of the Wheelers walkway and it comes to her easily.
Lucas followed her to the passenger side of the car and was about to reach for the handle to open the door for her when Max snorted “Don’t”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You were.”
“Okay,” he admits. “I was, but I would have opened the door for you whether you could see or not, it's just the gentlemanly thing to do” he insists.
“You’re such a dork.” Max laughs “When did you become a gentleman?” She reached for the door handle herself letting herself slide into the car easily, folding her cane neatly in her lap before buckling her seatbelt.
Lucas slid into the driver's seat silently and pulled out onto the empty street. The car engine hummed as they drove down the familiar roads back to Max’s home.
They drove for a minute before Max spoke.
“You noticed it, right?”
Lucas frowned slightly. “Noticed what?” a slight edge to his voice thinking he may have forgotten an important date.
She huffed a quiet laugh. “Okay. So you didn’t.”
“Max,” he sighs. “If this is about the Mike and Will thing again-”
“It is,”
“They’ve always been like that.”
“No,” she said. “They’ve always been close.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“It’s not.”
Lucas keeps his eyes on the road. “Mike’s always had that… voice.”
Max grins “The Will Voice.”
“Yeah, The Will Voice.” he said “Since we were kids, it is not new.”
“I know,” Max said. “I’m not saying it is.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
She tilts her head towards him before continuing. “I’m saying it's louder.”
He glances at Max before looking back to the road confused. "Louder?”
“He used it the whole game, Lucas, not just when something bad happened. Not when Will rolled bad. All the time.”
Lucas shook his head. “He was DMing.”
“And playing!” Max reminded him. “And everytime that Tayr talked to Will the Wise it sounded like Mike talking to Will. Not Tayr. Not the paladin voice, just Mike.”
“That’s still just roleplaying, Max.” Lucas replies a little firmer now. “He always puts extra care into Will’s character, they’re best friends.”
“Care,” Max repeats. “Sure. If that’s what we are calling it.”
Lucas tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “They’re best friends. That’s what best friends sound like.”
“Sometimes,” Max says. “But not like that.”
She let the silence stretch just long enough to be uncomfortable.
“Think about the bridge,” she says finally.
Lucas hesitates before giving in to his girlfriend. “What about it?” he sighs.
“Who did Tayr stay with?”
“Will.”
“And who did Mike keep checking in on?”
“...Will.”
“And when the fight was over,” Max continues explaining it slowly like Lucas might not get it if she speaks too quickly. “Who did Tayr offer his arm to?”
Lucas opens his mouth to argue but closes it quickly struggling to come up with something.
“That,” Max says gently, “was new.”
Lucas thought about it. The way Mike hadn’t even paused, the way it hadn’t sounded like a joke or roleplaying.
“...Okay,” Lucas says slowly. “That part was… a little weird.”
Max grins, satisfied. “Thank you!”
“But,” Lucas adds quickly, “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything!”
Max laughs loudly at that “It means Something.”
“It means that Mike is leaning into the game.”
“No, it means that the game gave him an excuse,” Max corrects him
Lucas gets quiet again as the car rolls over a familiar stretch of road on the way back to Max’s trailer.
“...You really think so?” he said softly, almost like he was nervous to admit it.
“I don’t have to see it, Lucas,” Max replies. “I can hear it, I can feel it. And tonight? It wasn’t subtle at all.”
Lucas doesn’t respond right away letting the words digest.
“...Huh.”
“Yeah.”
Lucas was quiet for a long time, the road continued to hum under the tires as they took a turn they’d taken a hundred times since Lucas had gotten his license.
“Okay.” He says finally.
Max didn’t say anything, she waited for Lucas to continue.
He exhales knowing he is not getting out of this before continuing. “Yeah. No. You are right.”
She smiled, small and satisfied to finally have Lucas on her side. “Thank you.”
“It wasn’t just the voice,” Lucas continues. “That part’s always been there, but the rest of it…the arm. The way Mike didn’t even think before putting Tayr in front of Will.”
“And?” Max prompts.
“And the way Will didn’t question it,” Lucas says. “Like it was normal, expected.”
Max nods “Exactly.”
Lucas shakes his head half smiling and amused at himself “How did I manage to miss all of that?”
“Because you’re not as perceptive as me, Stalker.” She looks at him even though she cannot see him and smiles.
He laughs quietly. “Yeah, okay, that's fair.”
They pull up in front of Max’s trailer a minute later. Lucas puts the car in park and they both linger in the silence.
“So,” he said, glancing over at Max again. “What now?”
Max reaches for her cane. “Now we let them be idiots a little while longer.” She says as she reaches for the door handle.
“Thats it?”
“For now,” she said. “But not forever.”
Lucas smiles despite himself before agreeing with her. “Yeah, Okay.”
She opens the door, unfolds her cane and steps out into the cool night air, Lucas getting out along with her to walk her to the door.
“See you,” he said.
“Get home safe.” she replies, giving him a quick kiss before unlocking her door and heading inside.
Lucas heads back to his car and as he pulls away into the night he replays the night again in his head with new eyes.