The Twenty-Sided Dice

Chapter 4: Moral of the Story

The Game Master waved cheerfully at the group, subtly staring right into Maya's eyes as the whole group stared back at him. He sent more commands to Erin, and she sat down in one fluid motion, gesturing for Dexter to join the group at the table. He bowed his head slightly, a deferential gesture, and sat at the very end of the table, setting down Ashley's character sheet and his own transparent amber dice.

What is the GM doing here? I thought that all ended! He heard this faint whisper coming from Maya's mind, pervading the calmness of the atmosphere. He immediately realized that he had forgotten to tell Maya that he could read minds, and he was blasted by the alarmed thoughts of everyone... everyone except Erin. Her mind was a blank starscape of emptiness, her brain in a state of easy control. He released his control over her and left her with a basic knowledge of what was happening right now. Her gaze turned blank for a split second, then shifted back to her normal sunny smile.

Meanwhile, however, the rest of the group was anything but calm.

Who is he, and why is he giving Maya that look? Tanya's observance was oddly disturbing, but he let that worry pass.

Why are his eyes such a weird color? At Xavier's thought, the GM realized that he had given this form bright amber eyes, the same color as the wax on his home plane. He decided to dismiss this, however, and figured that it could be a quirk, something that seemed off, something to remind Maya who he really was.

He looks like Jamie. This thought came from everyone at once, and their reactions to this were very conflicted, but in the end they all decided that it must be a coincidence. Well, everyone but Maya, that is. Maya, who already suspected his identity based on his intense stare, now confirmed the information in her mind, positive that he was the Game Master.

This was all irrelevant, however, as the game was about to start. Erin shooed them all away so she could set up the map of their current session, and Maya deliberately refused to leave, clearly seeking to talk to Erin alone.

"What is it, Maya? I have to set up the game." Erin's face was a blank mask as she rushed to position the characters.

"Don't you notice anything... weird about Dexter? It seems like he just came out of nowhere. Where did you find him?" The Game Master's heart skipped a beat as he realized that Maya was trying to tear open this slight hole in his supposed backstory, and he quickly took control of Erin.

"Well- He's one of my friend's brothers. He expressed an interest in playing D&D, so I invited him to join our campaign. It's not going to be permanent, don't worry. He just wanted to try playing a real game to see how it worked." The GM sighed in relief at his skillfully improvised cover-up story, and Maya turned away, frustrated but unable to find anything wrong with the story.

"One last thing, though. Did you see his eyes? They're amber, just like the wax in the Plane of Souls."

"The plane of what? Maya, what are you even talking about? Can you just let him play with us, just this one session, without being suspicious of everything he does? Come on, he's barely 10. Give him a break." As soon as the GM made Erin say this, he realized that it was a mistake. Erin never spoke in that tone, not to her friends, and especially not to Maya. But he added as an afterthought, "Sorry. I didn't mean for that to sound rude, I just promised him that he would get to experience a fun game, and I really want to give him that." Maya's face made it clear that she was not satisfied by this answer, but she dropped the subject, just in time for the setup to be finished. The GM released his hold over Erin, and she called everyone to the table.

Tanya and Xavier had clearly been talking about Dexter while Erin and Maya were talking, and they hushed their conversation as they walked by him. This didn't go unnoticed by Erin, however, and she shot them both stern looks as they sat down.