“Definitely,” I reply and continue once her skill check is successful. “Stump, you discover that these are the same type of tracks as the giant opossum you fought at the music festival.”
“I guess we’re going into the dark creepy cave, then?” Felix asks.
“Aren’t elves supposed to be brave?” Nova asks.
“I don’t know, but I’m not. I like to play music and eat good food. It’s the main reason I was sad about the blight.”
“Not because you lost your home and family?” Li asks with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s where the good food was kept,” he tells her with a laugh.
“When we get this solved, remind me that I don’t want my family interacting with yours.”
“I will not. I’m hoping our families will be spending a lot of their time together once we’ve found a way to save our lands. I’d like to introduce you to my parents.”
Felix and Li smile at each other for a moment as if no one else is sitting there, and I can practically feel Li’s delight from here. Mental note for future sessions: Find ways to bring those two characters even closer into contact. There’s definitely going to be some in-game love happening.
My phone buzzes with a new text.
Max:I TOLD YOU
I laugh before I can help it and then bite my lip. Felix and Li sit back and resettle themselves.
“I’m thinking that Zelda and I will take the lead and go deeper into the cave tunnels to track for scents,” Nova announces.
“I’ll come with you,” Max says immediately, and he and Nova share a ghost of a smile across the table.
“Shouldn’t we all come?” Li asks.
“You two can hang back and guard the tunnel,” Nova advises.
I almost feel bad because I’d like to give their characters a little alone time rather than moving on to what I have planned next. But then, one of the fun things about being DM is that I get to mess with their plans and special moments, just the same as they get to mess with mine.
“As you begin your descent deeper into the caves, you hear the scrape of claws against stone.”
They all exchange glances.
“My time to shine,” Max says and mimes brandishing his huge axes.
Felix eyes me. “You aren’t going to let us get close to the wizard for a while, are you?”
I grin mischievously. “If I did that, the campaign would be over sooner. None of you want that, right?”
They shake their heads.
“Bring it on. I could use some more experience,” Felixsays.
It turns out the claws are attached to an owlbear, one of my personal favorite monsters. The battle is a hard one and the owlbear is almost strong enough to overpower my group since they’re still a low level. Luckily both Li and Felix can heal because everyone is going to need it.
The rest of the session is excellent. I’m able to take them down a series of passageways, throw another encounter at them, and even include the classic “treasure chest that’s actually a mimic.” Maybe it’s been done a lot, but it’s never been done by me.
Unlike usual, Melanie and Max leave quickly at the end of the night because she has an early shift the next day. Li and Felix also leave together, so Nova and I get some rare time alone.
“Are they dating now?” Nova asks and sits down on our sofa in the living room. Zoinks follows and curls up on the ground next to her.
“Li and Felix? I don’t think so. Or, at least, Li hasn’t said anything official to me about it.”
“So, knowing this group, they’ve been dating for weeks and are keeping it a secret as well. You all are doing a great job of reminding me that I shouldn’t date until college. Or maybe grad school, I don’t know.”
