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(Now that we’ve gotten to know what Elmville is like I think we should start to get to know our characters. Emily, Murph! If you could please start us out.)
The morning of the first day of school is always hectic, more so when there is more than one kid in the house.
“Riz...” Fig poked at him as the goblin was asleep on his bed. She continued to poke at him since he did not wake up. “Riz. Riz. Riz. Riz. Ri-” The goblin took ahold of her finger and talked with his eyes still closed.
“Do you really have to do this?” He sighed as he rubbed at his face with his other hand.
“I heard you all night tinkering with your headpiece. This is revenge. Get up.” Fig then picked her bow and walked out of their room. Riz got up and had to make sure to not step on the many loose arrow heads on the floor.
He grabbed at his daggers and put his headset on his ear. “Hi dad, sorry about yesterday. Didn’t mean to stay up that late... yeah yeah I’ll tell him that. Oh! Mom said if maybe you could give some extra things today? She wants me to make friends. Could you believe it? And just being to do one Eldritch Blast is not enough?”
“Riz, please, you know the rules about the headpiece on the table.” Gilear said as he finished setting the table up. Fig was already eating her breakfast and she was sneaking some pieces of egg and bacon to the Gryffin pup beside her.
“Yeah, I know. Oh, Gilear. Dad says you shouldn’t apply to that ride share job. They are gonna saddle you up with debt and take the car.”
“Ah... Well as always tell your Dad my thanks.” The pup rasped at his leg and Gilear had no choice but to give her a piece of his own breakfast. The pup liked yogurt as much as he did himself. “Your mom couldn’t stay here to send you off but she wanted me to tell you that she hopes you both have a good day.”
The three of them would soon get into the family’s car. It wasn’t cramped but with the pup in the middle of the two teens it still felt a bit cramped.
(So, I’m Fig and this is my step-brother Riz.”
“Hi.”
“I know it looks weird since he’s a goblin and I’m a demon but I can assure you there is a really easy explanation.”
“Our parent’s partners both died.”
“I was getting to that!”)
Many years ago, way before Fig’s horns had grown or her skin had turned red, Gilear had moved both of them to the Strongtower Luxury Apartments. The young girl had been silent for most of the move and was clutching fiercely at the late Baxter’s egg. Their neighbors ended up being the Gukgak’s. More especifically Sklonda and Riz.
Both parents wishing for their kids to not end up lonely, and Sklonda wishing to have to pay for a nanny, ended up spending most of their days under Gilear’s watch while Sklonda worked late hours. One thing led to another and those things lead to several other things which lead to the four of them eventually becoming a really mismatched family.
That didn’t mean it was all easy going on...
(“It was messy when my horns grew out.”
“Mom did threaten to take you in if Gilear even thought about going away.”)
Fig had yelled in horror at her reflection and at her hands. One day when they were sent to their primary school while Gilear and Sklonda talked she ran away. They eventually found her, Riz and Sklonda were great investigators so it was easy, and there and then Gilear had to do what a father should’ve done earlier and actually talk to his daughter.
“Your mother was... she was messy. I knew that when I married her.” Gilear sighed all the while he talked. “We weren’t... I needed a way out of Fallinel and I think she needed someone to help her. We cared for each other but not like Sklonda and Pok did. And then you came along.” He put his arm around her and tried to think about what to say and how to say it. “We are all we have left for each other, kid. I’m not going anywhere.”
He was wrong since there were two goblins waiting for them just out of sight but that was a story for another day.
(“And then we tried to figure out in what plane our parents were.”
“...yeah... that was messy.”)
Usually to hold a seance one would need either a cleric, a paladin or even a warlock if one is desperate. These two were kids so one could make out what ended up happening.
“Does this look like a q or a g?”
“G I guess?”
It was not a g.
Tentacles. Fire. Teeth. And several other unpleasantries flew out of their summoning circle threatening to drag them into whatever hell they spawned it from. Their parents were nowhere to be found and they could only try to hold unto each other.
BANG!!!
The sound of a handgun was heard and they turned to look at the mass of writhing tentacles flinching away. Another bang and another bang continued to be heard until little by little the eldritch being retreated back into whatever hell it came from.
Screeching tires and a police siren could be heard behind them and they turned to find both Gilear and Sklonda running out of her car towards them.
“We’re gonna get in trouble aren’t we?” Riz asked.
Besides them materialized an ethereal looking Goblin. Pok Gukgak looked tired and completely mad.
“Kid, you have no idea in how much trouble you are in. Gods you took years of my after life from this...”
(“And that’s how I got my dad to be my Warlock Patron.”)
“We’re here.” Gilear said and urged the two of them to get out of the car. “I’ll come for the two of you after school. I’ll call if anything happens. I just have to learn how to use this damn thing.” He had broken his crystal... again.
“Maybe we’ll call you.” Fig said as she waved him goodbye. “Say hi to Mama Sklonda for me will you?”
The Aguefort Adventuring Academy was imposing as ever. More so for the two of them since they were freshmen. Riz in particular stood in front of it for a while until Fig hit him in the back of the head with her bow.
“Don’t tell me you are afraid.”
“A bit yeah.”
“Well if anyone is mean to you I can have Lynn piss on their head. Isn’t that right my sweet?” The pup chirped happily.
“Please don’t command her to do that.” Riz sighed and with a renewed effort began to walk inside followed by Fig. “It’s just school Riz,” he said to himself. “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”