“Thanks for thinking so deeply about this,” I say. “And now that we know that, I guess we can start. As I’m sure you all remember, we ended last session with the group defeating the giant opossum and saving everyone. However, the giant raccoon got away. Luckily, because of its size, it left a very wide path into the forest.”
“Well, the obvious choice is to follow the tracks, right?” Nova asks the group. “And I wouldn’t mind going deeper into the woods. All those crowds were stressing me out.”
Zoinks gives a little bark next to her, and she ruffles his fur. “Well, that’s too bad,” she tells him in a baby voice. “I know you like people, but this is what happens when there’s people. Chaos.”
“Actually, I kind of agree with Zelda,” Felix says. “I was hoping we could explore the city first. What’s it called again?Darkthorn?”
I nod tightly and my eye starts twitching.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Li says. “Felix and I—oops, I mean Elrid and I—are hoping to look for leads on what might be causing this blight. It’s why we came to this area.”
“Fine by me,” Max says, and I clutch my hands together under the table. “I’m very gold motivated, so I’m not going deeper into the woods unless I have a good incentive. But since the four of us were so helpful, I bet we can negotiate a reward if we find someone in the city.”
“Fine,” Nova says with a sulk. “I hate towns, but Zelda will be beside himself with joy.” She looks to me. “Okay, the party is going to go into the town to explore.”
Everyone turns to face me, eager and smiling, and I absolutely freeze. What am I supposed to do now? I’d set everything up so perfectly, mentioned the tracks and the raccoon running back into the forest. Lining up the hints that should have drawn them to follow. I have everything ready for that.
My mind races. “You’re sure? Right, okay, the city. Let’ssee…”
I stare down at my dungeon crawl notes and dice as if there’s anything there that can help me. What does the city even look like? I clear my throat roughly.
“So, the party walks into the city. When you get there you see, um, buildings. Tall buildings. Well, not too tall, but with maybe two stories. And flower boxes.”
I cut my eyes to Max and Felix, sure I’ll find them rolling their eyes or smirking, but they only sit patiently. Li nods,probably thinking I’m about to say something profound or helpful, but I’m not.
“Okay. Great. So, who’s in charge of this city?” Max asks after another moment.
“Uh, the…the duke. The grand duke of the city.”
He frowns and then turns to the group. “I feel like we should seek him out. We can plead our case and ask for payment.”
“What if you went to search for him, and Elrid and I started asking about the blight?” Li suggests and my stomach twists again. Now they want to split up? And talk to twice as many non-player characters that I haven’t created and don’t know how to role-play?
“Zelda and I will come with you, Axolotl,” Nova says.
“I’d love the company.”
“No,” I blurt, and Li jumps back in surprise, probably from how sharp my tone is. “I mean, I think you should all stay together.”
“But how’ll we figure out what’s going on with our lands if we don’t start asking around?” Felix asks.
“Well, maybe you should have told me ahead of time about your backstories rather than dropping it on me last minute,” I snap and then immediately want to slide under the table. I’m totally botching this.
Felix blinks in surprise. “But you told us to come up with a backstory, so we did.” He looks to Li for confirmation.
My heart is racing and guilt swirls with my anxiety so that I have absolutely no clue what to do with the group next.
“Aw man, I completely forgot that my mom brought a cake for us tonight!” Max pushes back from his chair. The others glance around in surprise before following his lead and standing up. “Well, it’s mostly for the adults, but she said we could have some if we got to it before they ate it all. We should get some now before it’s gone.”
“What kind is it?” Felix asks.
“Chocolate fudge.”
“Get out of my way,” he replies with a laugh and flies toward the kitchen. Li and Nova hurry after him, and Zoinks is quick to join the party. Max lingers until we’re alone in the dining room.
“Do you want a piece?” he asks quietly.
I tilt my head in confusion. “What are you doing? You were never a cake fan before.”
