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No one really wants to know what dying’s like, but this party was unfortunate enough to find out. As they walked from the bar to the room, covered head to toe in blood, sweat and ashes, bodies aching and minds fuzzy, they couldn’t help but think about the choices that brought them here.
“We should’ve just talked to the fucking goblins” said Nerathiel, voicing what everyone was thinking. A beat of silence and then: “It wasn’t that bad…” drawled Valeria, eyes closed and head somewhere else. “Woman, you died.” said Jamal from his place on top of the ceiling fan, staring at Valeria incredulously. Akira looked up at Jamal and seemed to consider asking how he got there within the 2 minutes they were there, but decided to simply lay his back against the wall and think about his savings. “Unimportant” responded Valeria.
Opening her eyes and looking up she asked Jamal: “Want me to try to heal your scalp? Maybe it would help your hair grow back faster.” Jamal looks down, a few seconds of awkward silence pass before he says “Forget about it cuh.”
Illithor, who everyone thought was asleep, suddenly jumped up and said: “Dibs on the first shower”. Chaos erupts. Nerathiel looked 2 seconds away from strangling him, actually she would have done so if Illithor hadn’t predicted it and started sprinting towards the door. He certainly would have gotten there first had Jamal not launched himself from the ceiling fan, using all his might to tackle Illithor to the floor. “DON’T LET HIM LEAVE” screamed Jamal. Bora slept in the corner of the room, completely unaware of the tense atmosphere in the room. Akira approached and sat on Illithor, making it so he can’t move. “God almighty, we’re all adults here, surely we can decide who gets to shower first without turning it into a bloodbath.” said Valeria exasperatedly. “And how, pray tell, will we decide that?” asked Nerathiel, sounding tired of everybody’s shit. “Easy, you did most of the work, so you can shower first and the rest of us will draw straws, sounds fair?” Nerathiel has a neutral expression and simply says:”Thanks”, grabbing her change of clothes and making way to the washroom.
After she leaves, the others sit in silence for a bit, Akira being the one to break it by asking: “Where are we gonna get straws?” Valeria blinks, before eloquently saying “Fuck”. To kill eight people and to be bested by a couple of straws was frankly embarrassing. “Get some from the bar?” suggested Illithor, to which Akira looked like he was gonna be sick, “Are you insane? Do you know how much that would cost? We had to pay 48 gold for 3 measly beds and bathroom privileges, the straws would probably cost 10 gold! No way, we’re not doing that.” Illithor looked annoyed and was about to say something a polite person wouldn’t repeat, before Jamal chimed in: “Let’s play rock,paper,scissors then, there’s four of us so that’s two pairs, the winners and losers play against eachother and based on who won/lost and when we can determine who goes when.” “I think that might be the best idea any of us had today.” said Valeria, feeling relieved. And so they split into pairs, Jamal and Valeria and Illithor and Akira. In the end the schedule went: Jamal, Akira, Valeria and Illithor.
After all the long and relaxing showers, the party is now sitting on the floor in silence. Valeria breaks it by asking: “Sooo...Got any hobbies?” Nerathiel seemed to be debating whether it would be better to kill herself or to kill Valeria. “ I collect rocks” said Jamal, looking mighty proud of himself. “What kind?” asked Akira, looking half-dead, feigning interest in his new friends’ lives . “All” he said, and once they thought about it for a bit longer, they realized what a cryptid this guy was. As if he read their minds and decided to prove them right, Jamal climbed right back to the ceiling fan. As he looked down he saw Illithor and Valeria excitedly talking in hushed tones, Akira dozing off and Nerathiel looking straight at him. That wasn’t at all concerning. He decided to keep on maintaining eye contact in the hopes of making her feel uncomfortable and forcing her to look away. This lasted for a good 6 minutes before Jamal realized it was futile. “Can I braid your hair?” asked Nerathiel with a expressionless face.
It took him a moment to realize he was the one being addressed. Jamal had only known this woman for 4 days, he had seen what she was capable of, this could be a way to get his trust and then stab him in the back when he was most relying on her, so naturally his answer was:”Got any Vaseline?”. Sue him, he’s tired, his hair is not looking good at the moment and Nerathiel had pretty hair that was always styled well. Nerathiel wordlessly pulled out a tub of Vaseline. He decided not to question where she got it from (Seriously though. Where? They were together the entire time, did she steal it in passing? Or maybe she carries it around?).
This decision lasted for a good 13 seconds before he blurted out: “Girl, where the fuck did you get that?”.He got an empty gaze as a response. She looked at him for a bit before ominously saying: “It will make sense in the end.”. Thank you, Nerathiel for explaining absolutely nothing while sounding menacing, a job well done, he thought, briefly annoyed before it was replaced by excitement at the thought of getting his hair done. These fights really were not doing any favors for his luscious ‘fro. He jumped down and ran to sit in front of Nerathiel. She brought out several items including a spray bottle, a wide tooth comb and a rat tail comb. “Nerathiel I will give you all of my rocks if you tell me where and how you got these.” He noticed her lip twitch at this, but the conversation stopped with her telling him to turn around and sit still. He was not a patient man but he was going to wait for Nerathiel to warm up to him and then charm her into telling him. It wouldn’t be so bad, being friends with her, I can’t really get a read on her, but she seems like a good person to watch your back. “Do you have any hobbies?” he asked her, having decided to befriend everyone or at the very least know at least a half-decent amount about them. After a couple of minutes of silence, he was sure he wasn’t getting an answer. “Drawing.” Holy shit, maybe he was getting somewhere. He just had to keep the conversation going. So he asked what she drew. “Maps mostly, but occasionally I sketch whatever I see. I’m not that good-” “Queenie, there is no way that you are bad it, look at your non-magical magical fighting skills and more importantly your radiant hair, it just screams I’m good at whatever I do.” She looked at him with a baffled expression. Did he ever actually stop feeling the effects of the drugs? God, I sure fucking hope so, the last thing we need is a dragon chasing Jamal.”Are you still high? What does my hair have to do with my drawing skills?” Seeing as she was doing his hair, she couldn’t see his face, if she could she would have seen a smug smile on his face. “It will make sense in the end.” Jackass. Having her words repeated back to her did not please Nerathiel. She pulled on one of the finished braids lightly. Jamal began yowling and whining dramatically. “I barely even touched you” said Nerathiel, a woman who with two raps, managed to knock down the door.
They continue to bicker quietly. Akira watched them as if he were trying to understand something written in a foreign language. These people were his comrades now, whether he liked it or not, and because they were his comrades, he had to know all about them. Not because he wanted friends, that was out of the question, he just needed a way to make sure none of their actions caught him off guard, and the best way was to observe them, learn how they think, what motivates them and how they react to situations. He was interrupted by Valeria asking him whether they were being too loud for his taste. He responds with a simple no and quickly assesses what he knows about Valeria. She was the easiest to figure out, she wears her heart on her sleeve, always makes her intentions clear. Always watching over everyone, making sure their needs are met. A ‘good’ person. The one thing I don’t understand is why she wastes her time checking on me. She’s made it clear how devoted to her God she is, and I’m everything that church of hers taught her to fear and despise. By all means, she should at least stay away from me, yet she remains persistent in checking up on me.
Maybe- ”Do I have something on my face?” the current thorn in Akira’s side asked. He opted to simply stare daggers at her, using all his might to muster up a glare so terrifying an orc would run away. Valeria’s eyes shone with fear yet she did not move, only stared back at him. They made uncomfortable eye-contact until Valeria broke it by looking away and asking whether he fancied a game of cards. He surprised himself by agreeing. It’s a good opportunity to learn her tells. Besides, he’d always been a decent card player, maybe it’s time to show off some skills. After a couple rounds, as he was shuffling the cards, Valeria asked him: “May I know why you’ve been staring at all of us? It don’t really bother me, I’m just curious. You seem very on edge most of the time, and that certainly ain’t healthy.” For a moment he thought about simply telling her the truth, but ultimately decided to say he’s just watching over them. If she knew why I watch them, she’d think it was suspicious, I’d never be out of her sight. She listened to his explanation and nodded, before laughing and telling him he’s a rather peculiar man whose company she enjoys. He gathered all the charisma left inside of him and smiled at her, yet it didn’t feel as forced as he thought it would.
Illithor was content with not talking at the moment. After all, they had a rough couple of days and now he just wanted to brush out Bora’s fur. My poor, neglected baby. I can’t believe I let it get this bad. Good thing I found this comb, I just don’t get how anyone could leave a fine piece of woodwork like this behind. Bora seemed to enjoy himself. For a non-combative tiger that does nothing during fights and insists on sleeping on the bed, he sure acted like he was carrying the party. Illithor catches a glimpse of Nerathiel looking around confusedly, evidently searching for something. She had just finished doing Jamal’s hair and according to him, he looked: pretty damn fly. Turning her head in Illithor’s direction, she quickly found what she was looking for. Okay, this confirms it, I’m going to kill Illithor. I wanted to hold out a little longer but as fate would have it, now is the time. Hoping she was wrong, using a calm and articulate voice, she asked: “Did you use that comb to brush Bora?” Illithor looked at her for a second before quickly and joyfully replying that he was lucky to have found it and that he had brushed out the entirety of Bora’s fur, as if presenting evidence he lifted the comb and pointed to the hundreds of white hairs stuck in it. Nerathiel gritted her teeth before saying it’s hers. You can stay strong, you shouldn’t kill him. As long as he cleans it thoroughly and gives it back-”Oh well, finders keepers, losers weepers.” said Illithor, putting his hand in an L shape on his forehead and sticking his tongue out. In a matter of seconds Nerathiel had Illithor on the floor struggling to move, however, at the misfortune of everybody else, he did not struggle to scream. As Akira watched the two of them tussle, he turned to Valeria and asked:”Shouldn’t you stop this? It comes with the holy thing doesn’t it?”. To which her simple response was: “I pretend I do not see it.” He gave her a solemn nod and they continued their game, ignoring Illithor’s almost murder.
Jamal seemed to be on demon time and kept saying variations of get his ass. Which she did. Safe to say Illithor thoroughly cleaned the comb before returning it to her. It was getting late and finally the party was about to go to bed. While everyone got comfortable in their respective sleeping places, they could feel the exhaustion creep in. Just as they were drifting off a squeaky voice said: “Let’s play contact”. Nerathiel opened her eyes and fixated Jamal with a glare, so ferocious it would make Satan himself crawl back into the hole he came from, and said: “During the past four days we have escaped going to prison, killed our guards, killed that guy and his lover, slept in the basement, gone undercover in a nightclub, got drugged, got put in jail again, broke out, defeated an orc and his soldiers, died and got revived.” Not a single sound was heard from anyone. At least not until Nerathiel said E.
Jamal had an ear splitting grin on his face. As they played it was like his and Akira’s brains had merged into one. They kept thinking of the same words, even when the other gave incredibly niche explanations. It’s sort of funny, thought Valeria, to have two people who couldn’t be more different from each other work so well together. They make a rather odd pair, but they will become good friends. I can feel it. Akira is softer around him, doesn’t look as worried as he normally does. Jamal seems happy. They’re good for one another. She watches them succeed in getting another letter, they have the letters e,q,u,i so far. Her heart wasn’t really in playing the game, but in observing her companions joy at playing such a silly game. They’ve had a rough couple of days, they deserve this. She watches Akira ask Nerathiel what the fuck kind of word started with equiv, and her just retorting that he didn’t strike her as stupid. This only fueled his desire to win, seeing as he had a competitive streak. He turned to Jamal and said that they must win at all costs. To which Jamal had vigorously nodded, looking more serious now than during any other battle they had found themselves in. It was quite a funny scene, in order to conspire, Akira, a six foot something demon mind you, had crouched down to Jamal’s level and they were talking in hushed whispers, all while occasionally looking at Nerathiel, who had a bit of mirth in her eyes. I like them. They’re rather good, even though they say they ain’t. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, going on more adventures with this group, actually, I don’t think I’d mind doing anything as long as it’s with them.
“Should we ask Arthur why he ditched us?” asked Illithor from where he was curled up with Bora. Gods, Arthur. They had been so exhausted, they completely forgot he was right down the hall. Nerathiel was the first to answer. “There’s nothing to ask, he got scared and ran, we don’t need cowards that would only slow us down.” “I get where you’re coming from, but it ain’t fair to think the worst about him, he should at least get a chance to explain himself. If the reason he left is stupid, feel free to kick him out, but at least hear him out.” said Valeria, who was not looking forward to that particular conversation. The two met eyes and Nerathiel simply nodded and said that if it’s a stupid reason, it would take a lot to persuade her to allow him to rejoin their group. “EQUIVOCATE” screamed Jamal and Akira in unison, to which Nerathiel blinked, smiled slightly and nodded. The two erupted in cheers, hooting and grinning like madmen. This is fun, thought Nerathiel,looking at her comrades, I wouldn’t mind doing it again. They’re not bad company, this lot. After a couple more rounds the party finally settled down and went to sleep.