We’d had too much to drink. She slept in a pile of covers. I exited the room, aly closed the door behind me, locked it. My fingers slipped the key into my pants pocket.
I felt wired, head to toe. It was the most exhirating night I’d had in a long time. Short of when I got in a car wreck that oime. Or the first day I got here. Or taking that level in Bard. Okay, I've had a lot of crazy nights.
But this was one of the good ones.
More people were out on the deow. It was deep into the night, and the stars still swirled their milky radiance above. Faint talk, and mplight spilled from the staircase leading down.
With not much else to do, I walked to the railing. Here, also, was Cal the Ranger.
“Good evening,” I said on approach.
Cal just nodded.
“Thanks for the assist back there,” I tinued, referring to the arrow he’d shot during my fight with the pirates.
“You are wele,” he said, not turning tard me.
“You doing alright?”
He turo look at me finally, and gave me an annoyed smile.
“I am doing as well as I ,” he said. “The past couple days have beeful.”
“Yeah? Caleb not believe you?”
“Quite the opposite,” he said. “He accepted me as his son almost immediately.”
“What does the Queen think?”
“She seems to be ign me for now.”
“Probably best,” I said. “So that’s good! Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I don’t know what I wanted,” he said, eyes narrow in the mplight as if he were trying to spy something on the horizon. “But I think I would have preferred nation. Or disbelief. I’d gone so long imagining that I would have to fight for his acceptand… he just accepts me right away?”
“Easier to be angry, huh?”
He ughed darkly.
“Far easier. Now I have to deal with the fact that I actually like the son of a bitch.”
“He’s accepting and kind. What an asshole.”
“Right?”
My ste buzzed in my pocket. I took it out thinking it was maybe Rachel cheg in. It was not.
DM: just pushed an update to the stes. A nelication is avaible. It is called Party Stats, represented by an i taining a row of three faces. Until party members opt out, it will share your stats with the rest of the party. Those that do not have stes, like NPCs, ot opt out uhey leave the party.
DM: More information be learned from the tooltips.
Huh. I hadn’t thought about the DM in a while. But that sounded pretty helpful.
“It’s like you gh all this time building up this moment in your head, and in some ways it lives up to it, but in others it’s like — ‘now what?’” Cal stopped talking wheiced me staring at my ste. “What’s that?”
I figured it wouldn’t kill him to know.
“It’s a magic ste of crystal,” I said.
“Yeah, I know that. Caleb showed me.”
“Really? Right away?”
“Yeah. Likes to show everyone his stats when he’s drunk. Apparently, I’m a temporary member of your party. So, what’s so important?”
“It’s got a new fun now,” I said. “What else did he say about it?”
Cal patted his hair, rubbed his beard, and frowned.
“Well, he said it was some kind of magiformation mirror. But a lot of the way it veyed information was in the form of a game. And everyone had statisti it. Now that I’m in his party, I have stats too.”
“That’s close enough. Want to see everyone’s stats?”
“Sure,” he said with a shrug.
I sed the party’s stats real quick before handing them over.
Shade the level 6 Assassin Rogue and level 4 Fey Warlock.
Hit Points 53, Armor Css 15 (no armor)
STR 7 (-2) DEX 20 (+5) 12 (+1)
INT 13 (+1) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 18 (+4)
Items: None
Abilities frue: Backstab (+150% additional damage against targets from behind ainst targets that are otherwise distracted), Improved Assassinate (350% backstab damage against targets that do not identify you as a threat), Beguiling Allure (double proficy bonus to charisma checks against the opposite sex)
Abilities from Warlock: Fey Sight (see farther and through dim light or darkness), Spiderwalk (walk oical surfaces and even upside down), Charm (one use of the charm spell per day), Empowered Leap (triple jump distance). Spellcasting.
Skills: Acrobatics, Deception, Iigate, Sedu, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Bere’s stats were mostly the same, but for an ability score increase to her dexterity. This meant that her main stat was the highest it could be for a human. Presumably she could raise it ter through magic items or boons. I’d have to ask the DM about it.
Oriana the level 10 Starbound Barbarian.
HP 108, AC 17 (unarmored)
STR 19 (+4)* DEX 16 (+3) 18 (+4)
INT 10 (+0) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 9 (-1)
Items: Haversack of Holding, Belt of Ogre Strength (sets strength at 19)*, Neckce of Sed ce (grants Fighter’s sed ce feature)
Abilities: Rage (twice per day, halves all damage received, increases own damage by 25%, grants a 50% boost to athletics skills), unarmored defense (grants a boost to defense equal to stitution aerity bonus, and increases movement speed by 50%), Against Destiny (rage uses per day may reset when attempting to thwart fate, uses e gained in this way are doubled in potency). Radiant Reach (While raging, melee attacks have their reach extended by five feet). Shimmering Movement (instantly appear anywhere within 120ft of you, once per use e).
Skills: Athletics, Insight, Sleight of Hand, Social Drinking
Radiant Reach was new. Kind of excited to see how that worked. was me. I’d leveled up earlier in the day.
Beznik of the Red Hand the level 4 Mageknight and level 4 War Bard
Hit Points 61, Armor Css 11
STR 12 (+1) DEX 12 (+1) 14 (+2)
INT 13 (+1) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 16 (+3)
Items: none
Abilities from Fighter: Adrenaline Rush (170% time dition, double movement speed) and Sed ce (Twice per day heal +25% HP), Sympathetic on (you may pce a on you have sympathy with in a dimensional pocket spad remove it at will). Spellcasting.
Abilities from Bard: Dazzling Strikes (ons attacks give off sparks, potentially distrag oppos). Inspiring Words (+60% movement speed, 10% instant healing, and +30% extra damage modifier to a party member of your choice). Student of War (extra on damage equal to CHA bonus). Spellcasting.
Skills: History, Performance, Persuasion, Social Drinking
Nothing new really, outside my dexterity increase. Hopefully I could actually hit something with my new bow. I also picked up the ‘ward’ spell. It protected either me or an ally from a siabsp; A little pricey on spell slots to use, but I think it could really be a game ger.
was Caleb. A little disappointed he didn’t have any of his magic ons equipped, but his stats were impressive enough.
King Caleb the level 18 Padin of Honor
HP 220, AC 12
STR 20 (+5) DEX 14 (+2) 18 (+4)
INT 13 (+1) WIS 11 (+0) CHA 16 (+3)
Items: Ring of Faithfulness (proof of marriage, effects hidden)
Abilities: Aura of Prote (allies within 100 ft of you, receive 90% less damage). Aura of Honor (allies within 30 ft of you ot receive critical hits). and Duel (spells that pel a creature to fight you have increased effectiveness). Healing Hands (you have a pool of hit points you may heal by touch equal to your own hit points). Impeachable Honor (you ot be charmed, stunned, or or put to sleep). Shining on (ara 200% damage from melee strikes, increase this damage twice for evil creatures). Spellcasting.
Skills: Athletics, Intimidation, Medie, Persuasioion
Boons: Boon of Ability Prote (your stats ot be lowered through magical means).
My big takeaway from this is that the safest pce to be in a fight was right o him. His auras were powerful. And his stats were such that he’d be a serious threat even unarmored. Last was Cal’s stats.
Caleb Jr. the level 7 Monster Hunter Ranger
Hit Points 60, Armor Css 14 (leather armor)
STR 13 (+1) DEX 16 (+3) 14 (+2)
INT 12 (+1) WIS 13 (+1) CHA 10 (+0)
Items: Leather Armor.
Abilities: Honed Senses (gains a bonus to find and traemies). Hunt Evil (Monstrous creatures receive 130% extra damage while perceived). Keen archery (gains a bonus 100% damage ted attacks).
Skills: Acrobatics, Perception, Survival
They were respectable.
After handing Cal the ste, I heard him say, “Caleb Junior? What the hell does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “That’s not your name?”
“I’m not a junior! If anything my st name should be Afon! Not his.”
“I didn’t write this,” I argued.
“Who did?” he asked.
I just shrugged to avoid lying.
I was still buzzing from all the alcohol, and the fact that I got to touch a girl’s boobs tonight, so it took me a while to realize that the couple of days was going to be a lot of work. The fun was over, for now.
We had to prepare for some kind of attack, and we had no idea what it was, he the scale, or from what dire it would e. Cal art of the group now, but did he even want to be? What if he was a weak link?
“What do you think about being part of the group?” I asked. “We took you in to fight a dragon. Now you’re just here. Do you even want to be?”
“I do,” he said. “I’ve seen Caleb’s kingdom. It’s beautiful. People are happy and safe. I’m not sure I agree with how he maintains it, or even that we wouldn’t be happier without any kingdoms at all. But then I hear about what happeo the people in the Kingswood, how the monsters overran them. And I want to make sure it doesn’t happen here. If that means I must protect a goodly tyrant, then so be it.”
“So you’re with us for now?”
“For now.”
“And this isn’t just an excuse to get to know your dad?”
“It’s certainly an excuse to get to know the King. But he is a good man. And he is doing a worthwhile project.”
“Good enough for me,” I said.
I left him to his thoughts, and spent the couple of hours staring at the stars in silence, holding close the memory of Bere under me, and the way her tongue swept across the bay teeth. If I had nothing else, I had that.
I eventually headed down into the hold to get some sleep in a hammobsp; On the way, I passed the King and Queen asleep together. She y on his massive chest, and he on the hammock, and for a moment she didn’t look like a hundreds of years old elven queen. She just looked like a woman.
Two royal guards, a man and a assed a bottle of coffee between them as they talked quietly, seeking to keep the other awake while their charges slept.
I also saw Brealyn asleep against Rachel’s shoulder, ste still in hand. In fi and in games there was this whole thing about elven trances. In this world, they just slept, like the rest of us. Though maybe they needed less of it than we did.
Rachel’s eyes snapped open as I passed. She extricated herself, and grabbed me by the arm.
“Everything okay?” she asked, voice low. Braelyn didn’t stir.
“Yeah.”
“What are you doing down—”
“We hooked up, but not like, all the way.”
“Ah. Too much pressure for a first date?”
“Yeah. We had fun though.”
“I bet,” she replied, waggling her eyebrows.
I spped her shoulder lightly.
“Get some sleep,” she said, “we’re gono be sharp tomorrow.”
“Right,” I said. “Wait, do we have a pn for tomorrow?”
“All the queen’s spies and all our lud we only just mao stop Mia, but we still don’t know what’s gonna happen at the ball.”
“So, no pn?”
“The pn is to protect Caleb, and his sons at all costs. Mark will be there. If we have to, he teleport up to 8 people out at a time before he runs out of spell slots.”
“We’re essentially using Caleb as bait?”
“No. Maybe? Caleb won’t cel the ball for anything. He’s stubborn like that.”
“Well, this didn’t reassure me at all.”
“What we do?”
I said goodnight again.
Rachel fished a fsk out of her backpabsp; I o her as I settled in. She drank and gazed at Braelyn, eyes dark with some emotion I was too tired, or stupid to read.
I’d have to ask her about it ter.
I slept, and I dreamed ons.
