Sex & Drugs & Dungeons & Dragons

C4. Time Magic

Midnight came but Hope wanted to keep playing. She turned the restaurant's sign to "closed" and they spent the rest of the night fully immersed in the haunted realm of Barovia. Kubla the Conjurer cast a confusion spell on the driver of a ghostly carriage. The bewildered coachman mistook them for vampiric thralls and drove them to the very gates of Ravenloft, Strahd's stout fortress. The entrance was barred but Lonewolf McCain used his thieves'skills to pick its lock. Inside the castle's gothic walls Kubla the Conjurer burned ravenous ghouls with eldritch fire and Lady D'Espaire faced down ghosts and specters, exorcising their spirits with holy energy. Then the group hunted for Strahd himself. The arch-vampire toyed with them, drawing them into ambushes and traps, but the four hunters defeated each one and persevered in their quest. Once, when Kubla the Conjurer fell in a pit and was ambushed by zombies, Tony advised the rest of the characters to run away and save themselves.

"No way," growled Derek, " . Ritter von Zeppelin leaps into the pit. He's gonna save Tony's character or die trying."

"Don't split the party!" echoed Cobi, and Lonewolf McCain also descended into the pit.

"Don't split the party!" laughed Hope, and Lady D'Espaire joined the fray. Together the four of them were able to turn the tables against the vile undead and Lonewolf McCain found a secret door that lead to Strahd's crypt. Confident that they had finally cornered their prey, the players began to discuss their strategy of how best to drive a wooden stake through Strahd's heart.

That's when Hope happened to notice the wall clock out of the corner of her eye. "Shit!" she exclaimed. "I was supposed to be home hours ago!"

"Oh crap!" everyone exclaimed as they realized how late it was.

"My dad's gonna kill me."

"I hope my mom didn't call the cops."

They cleaned up the table and threw away the empty pizza boxes before hurrying outside. Cobi put his hand in his pockets and started walking home while Derek hopped on his Vespa. "Cobi wait up!" Tony ran up beside his friend and they began walking home together.

Inside the Pizza Hut, Griffin stayed behind to help Hope cash out the register and close up the restaurant. "You live nearby?" he asked as they finished up.

"Naw," she replied. "I live with my yuppie uncle in Lincoln Park."

"So how you get home?" wondered Griffin.

"Well usually I take the L..." she replied, trailing off.

"But at this hour the L's closed." Griffin realized, completing her sentence.

"So I guess I'm walking," Hope concluded.

"That's a long walk," Griffin warned. "Can't you call your uncle, have him come pick you up?"

"I could," Hope admitted, "but I kinda wanted to get home before he was awake; sneak in so he never knows how late I am."

"Actually, me too," Griffin nodded. He chewed his bottom lip, thinking for a minute. "You know what, I might be able to drive you home."

"You got a car?"

"My brother does."

"My hero," Hope mocked, placing her palms together and resting them against her cheek.

Griffin frowned in embarrassment. "If you'd rather walk I can leave you here."

"Fine," Hope conceded. And then, as an after-thought, added: "thank you."