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Martain’s deep sleep turned into a doze as he cracked an eye open, gazing sleepily at his friends.
They were curled up tight in a…um. What was the phrase again? Puppy pile! They were curled up tight in a puppy pile in order to fit under an Otto's Invincible Dome. One could never be too careful in the Hells, even if Zareil’s forces couldn’t track them anymore after Mizora’s death.
Snuggling further into Karlach’s torso, he smiled at the blue light of her hell forged heart reflecting green off the walls of the dome. She sleepily ran a hand through his hair.
It had grown. It was the longest he could remember, and was a rats nest most of the time. Wyll and Karlach had offered to braid it, but shoulder length hair was a novelty he wanted to enjoy.
Martian had to resist the urge to kick his feet as he began to wake up more, not wanting to disturb Wyll (who’s horns were hooked over his legs), or leave the safety of the dome.
His fragile, rare peace was interrupted by a very familiar voice clearing its throat. Martian’s veins shot with ice despite the sweltering heat of the hells.
“My Dark Master! There you are!!! And you are alive!! I am absolutely overjoyed!!”
Wyll and Karlach were immediately woken up by Martian rapidly curling up into a ball, getting his feet stuck in the crooks of Wyll’s horns and nearly launching them all out of the dome.
“Now, now, no need to panic! It is only me, your darling butler,” Sclaeratis gave a theatrical bow as Wyll moved in between Martin and the goblin. Wyll had been there, you know. When-when. When Martin finally got to enjoy his second chance. It was fine. The two strongest people he knew were here.
“What, what, what do you want?” Martian whispered.
“You don’t have to do anything he tells you to,” Wyll says, glaring daggers at Scleritis.
Hearing that, Karlach grabbed her axe, and gripped Martin's arm. She wouldn’t let him be taken away.
“Ah the memory issue! I forgot, forgive me!” Scleritis began
“Almost five years ago the most wonderful young woman came to your birthday party when you were feeling low, out of the kindness of her heart! It would be incredibly rude to not do the same!! Now that you are not burdened with your Father’s-”
“He's not my Father,” Martian spat.
“Oh of course I’m so sorry to bring up a sore subject, but really as your schedule is free-,”
“It isn’t,” Karlach cut in, flames leaping to her eyes
“Tut tut, it's very rude to interrupt. I really don’t like the new company you keep, my vilest lord. However, it would be even ruder to not do the same for the young woman who joined you on your birthday. Now!,”
The goblin snapped his long, clawed fingers, and a portal opened behind him.
“You really should get going,”
“You…just want me to go to a party, no killing anyone?” Martin asked.
“Why would I want you to kill people at a party?”
All three adventurers simply stared.
Martian took a deep breath.
“I’ll go,”
“WHAT??? NO!!!” His partners exclaimed
“You don't know what he's capable of. Baahl killed him and HE'S STANDING RIGHT THERE! Plus, it's just a party he wants me to go to. I can handle it,”
Wyll and Karlach shared a look before nodding
“If you’re sure-,” Wyll began
“If he tries anything!” Karlach swung her axe out of the sphere so it just rested at the goblin’s neck.
Martin swallowed and nodded, got up with a confidence he didn’t feel, and walked into the freshly opened portal.
He walked into a basement, hearing the tale end of
“–forget something?” as the door at the top of the stairs opened, revealing a black haired human(?) woman with a fire elemental looking over her shoulder.
Upon seeing him, her stance immediately shifted to a defensive one, reaching for a pocket knife. The fire elemental behind her flared with a myriad of colors.
“You!” She accused
“Me?,” Martian asked, very uncomfortable with being recognized by someone from Before.
“What are you doing here?”
Martian felt like he was being cornered by a devil, and when threatened, he always defaulted to one thing. Lying.
“I’m here for the lady of the house’s birthday. My butler arranged it,” He flipped his bird's nest hair over his shoulder, all suave calm. He was supposed to be here. He was invited. As far as this woman knew.
“...I see,”the woman eyed him warily, her body shifting to reveal that it was not a fire elemental behind her, but a fire-headed man who burned like Karlach used to before her engine was fixed. Martin briefly wondered if his brain had been replaced with an infernal engine before deciding that was probably rude.
“Who exactly do you think the lady of the house is?”
“I’m sorry ma’am,” Martin shrugged sheepishly, “since the lady and I last met I’ve had an accident. I’m afraid I don’t remember. She came to my birthday about five years ago, and I am far overdue to return the favor,”
“So this is just a favor then? A birthday for a birthday?”
“That’s right,”
The woman shifted again, Martin couldn't tell why or how.
“I am Mealine, this is Cassidy. Cassidy, The Dark Urge. I told you about him,”
Mealine and Cassidy descended the stairs as Martin coughed awkwardly.
“Actually that's not my name anymore. I go by Martin,”
Melanie and Cassidy ah’d.
‘Well, Martin,” Melaine smiled, “ If you are coming to my birthday party, you have to partake in a sacred birthday tradition,”
She pulled out a string of yarn(?) from her black leather coat pocket. She handed it to Cassidy. She grabbed the end of the string.
“Spin around, like the earth rotating! We are celebrating 365 days of survival!,”
“The earth rotates?” Martin asks, beginning to spin.
Melanie mercifully ignored that comment as she began to wrap the yarn around Martin’s torso and arms. After the string was wrapped all around him and Martin had begun to feel quite dizzy, Melanie tied the string off and declared the ceremony done.
“Now you can come join my family and I upstairs,”
Martin followed the pair upstairs, shocked to see lights attached to the ceiling that burned without fire. Magic. The short hallway opened up into a dining room that was connected by arches to an extremely fancy kitchen and a plain living room. All were lighted with more of those magic lights. Even though the sun still shone through the windows.
A small gathering was assembled at the table, which had a cake in the center. Martin had never had cake before!
“This is Martin, the person who’s birthday party I went to a few days ago,” Melanie introduced
“A few days?” Martin glanced at her.
“Yeah”
Melanie must have been pretty surprised to see him, Martin had been turning 15 five years ago.
“Hi!,” a woman clad in fantastical pastel clothing greeted, getting up from the table. She crossed the room and quickly took Martin by the arm. Her grip was firm.
“Why don’t you have a seat?” She offered casually. Martin allowed her to manhandle him to the opposite side of the table as the two youngest guests.
Martin found himself in between Cassidy and a man with a shimmery silver sheen to his skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. Melaine and the woman who had sat him down were on either side of the two young party guests.
Next came introductions. The pastel woman was Kita, Melaine’s wife. The little tabaxi was called Seline, and her older sister (the one with the strange tails) was called Aria. The family had invited their friends Cassidy, ADDAM, and a woman named Artemis (who had the same easy confidence as Jaheira.)
“We were about to have cake!” Kita declared, and Cassidy leaned over to light the candles that read “33,”. Heh, Cassidy was just like Karlach! Martin would have to see if he needed a way to cool his engine down.
Martin happily sang happy birthday with the rest, adding an extra respectful flourish, still wary of his host. The strange furniture and casual magic may have awed him for a second, but he needed to remember this was someone who had willingly shown up to a party as a favor to the Lord of Murder.
Just before Martin dug into his slice of cake, he pulled a piece of scrap paper out of his pocket and quickly scribbled down a rough approximation for the instructions on how to fix an overheated infernal engine, then slipped it into Cassidy’s pocket. Cassidy glanced at him
Martin made a confused face and asked, “What is it?”
Cassidy shrugged and turned back to his cake.
Martin took a bite of his cake. He opened his mouth in surprise and it fell right back out. He picked it up and popped it back in his mouth. He heard Seline laugh at him. The cake tasted like when he and Gale stopped at the elfsong tavern on the way to the Storm Shore Tabernacle; Gale had introduced him to tea…
–There had been little white cubes of sugar, which were a thousand times sweeter than an apple. They had turned the tea smooth and bittersweet. Gale had laughed at his reaction to the new flavor–
…Martin felt as if he had just dumped a whole bowl of those sugar cubes down his throat.
“Sooooooo, what do you think of the cake?” Seline asked, leaning over from across the table, her own slice already half-eaten.
“It’s very good. Just like one I had at a banquet the other day,"Martin lied easily, a perfect smile on his face.
Seline nodded sagely,“Hard agree”
Seline was immediately elbowed by Aria.
Hm.
“In all seriousness,” Cassidy commented,” Y’all did an excellent job on the cake. I think it's the best by far,”
Everyone at the table nodded in agreement.
Artemis waved her hands around. The conversation continued as if she had said something, Melaine translated what was apparently a language spoken in hand movements.
“Man, it sure sucks you can’t eat this amazing cake ADDAM, am I right?”
Artemis glared at Melaine (the truth that Martin didn’t know, was that all she had really done was ask ADDAM if he could eat the cake).
“Why can't he eat the cake?” Martin asked inquired.
“Oh he's a robot” Seline replied.
“Like, an automaton?”
“Yeah I guess”
Dread filled Martin’s stomach. He quickly turned to ADDAM.
“Whereisyourflesh?”
“Pardon?” ADDAM leaned away from him.
“Where is your flesh? If you are an automaton you must have flesh,”
Images of towering steam powered creatures, connected by parasite to stolen, enslaved brains danced behind Martin's eyes. He had once again forgotten he was in the company of one who called his old self friend. He hadn't had anything like this “cake” before and had let it distract him from the real danger. That would have gotten him killed in the hells.
“PARDON?” ADDAM repeated “ I am a purely mechanical being,”
“NO! To be alive you must have flesh somewhere!!!”
Martin had to had to know. Had to know. Walls coated in viscera. A child nearly killed. Droves of people disappearing. A walking bomb with a flesh heart.
Martin found himself rising from his seat–
Someone clapped their hands together, and Martin was back in hell.
The smell of sulfur once again filled his lungs as he was quickly embraced by his partners.
Karlach pulled back and looked him over
“I swear, if they hurt a single heir on your head-”
“I'm ok, I'm ok. I promise,”
“That's a relief,” Wyll sighed.
Martin just stood there, a moment, relieved at the presence of his two best friends.
“Ok, what's next?” He asked, wanting to o move on quickly.
Wyll caught his avoidance quickly, and herded him to where breakfast was set to cook, in that casual, light hearted way of his. Sclerstis was trussed up like a Turkey and gagged. He seems to be attempting to sing Martin's praises. Martin shuddered.
“So, what happened soilder?,” Karlach asked, popping sausages into the pan
“You won't believe it, they had an automaton that looked just like a real person…,”