"On second thought... war? You think having a few humans with swords makes you an army? This is hardly an adventuring team, much less a group capable of defeating Addison's clan." Jax narrowed his eyes, meeting Misty's eager gaze and Maya's determined glance.
"A few dozen humans. And two- no, three- dragons. And the Game Master. We practically outnumber her army." Maya responded evenly, not breaking eye contact. She had a point, Jax realized. Their combined abilities would make for a fearsome army, in ordinary circumstances. Addison, however, was not ordinary.
He continued surveying the group, taking note of Emma and Xavier's strange knowing glances. Hm. Humans are impossible. Their little sideways glances. Jax swept Misty and Maya under his wings and led them into the forest, and the rest of the group dispersed to work on the defensive wall Maya had instructed them to build.
Meanwhile, Emma and Xavier slipped under the game table, where it was relatively quiet and free from prying eyes.
"Have you found out anything more about the Game Master? I've had no luck, save for Skyler's candle." Emma whispered, emptying her bag to expose a small, smoldering candle. Xavier's eyes widened, and he curiously poked the embers with his finger.
"Ow! Yep, definitely still lit." He yelped, pressing his hand into the cool dirt. He picked the candle up again, this time examining the barely glowing wick.
"They must be really weak, they can't die but this is the closest they can get. I feel bad for the poor guy, immortality sounds like a really sucky curse." Emma sighed, putting the candle on the ground in front of her. Xavier looked at it sadly, and shook his head.
"I've got nothing. The candle is probably our only way to find Skyler." He pulled a thick tome out of his sack, flipping decisively through the pages. After a few seconds, he turned the book to face Emma, and pointed at a set of instructions for a seek spell.
"We can find them using the candle with this, if they're not too weak to reciprocate the spell. It requires consent from the target for it to seek properly."
"Well? What are you waiting for? We need to find them fast, before Maya realizes we're gone. Cast it!" Emma ventured. Xavier nodded once, and began whispering ancient words in a hollow tone. He dazedly pulled a stick of incense out of his component pouch and lit it with the sparks of Xavier's candle, filling the cramped area with a musty wooden scent. All at once, the incense sparked with teal glimmers of fire, and the smoke changed direction, now blowing against the wind towards the library.
"I guess we're going back towards civilization." Emma joked, and they collapsed into delirious laughter, almost euphoric from exhaustion and stress. After a few minutes of breathless wheezing, Xavier stood up, still chuckling, and helped Emma up.
"Always a new adventure, isn't there?" He commented as they were walking past the building, following the wisps of cyan smoke deeper into the city. "The second one thing ends, another thing begins."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I stood shakily at the top of a dullish tan office building, staring at Emma and Xavier below. What the hells? Why would they think to look for me, of all people? They're supposed to be looking for Addison?? By all the stars, if I have to rewrite an entire chapter because they find me.. I suddenly stumbled, caught up in a ferocious breeze. As I toppled off the building and landed heavily on the floor, the kids stared at me in shock.
"No.. worries, I'm fine, carry on." I muttered, already realizing how much of the chapter I would have to rewrite. Emma was gaping, while Xavier's curious expression filled me with a sudden swell of pride for how much effort I had put into these characters. "Skyler?! You're really here! Please don't run off or anything, I know we have the powers but give me a chance to explain-" I cut Emma off by raising a breathless hand to her.
"You guys weren't supposed to find me!! I can't write this into the book, I've added way too many plot twists already! Great, now I have to rewrite a whole freaking chapter." I threw my hands up exasperatedly, until a brilliant idea occurred to me.
"Oh, uh... what is it you wanted to say?" I answer, trying to keep my voice even. They gaped at me, seemingly surprised by my willingness to talk.
"Well-" Emma stopped suddenly, abruptly realizing she had no clue what she wanted to ask. I took her hesitation as an opportunity, scaling the side of a nearby building like a lizard. Only when I stood crouched at the top did I realize I had dropped my book, and Xavier was already flipping eagerly through the pages.
This is... not good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya looked like a real leader now. She held a quarterstaff in her right hand, a grand wooden rod with flakes of stone embedded, and a large silver orb ensconced in the wood near the tip. It made her feel like a leader too, powerful and responsible. At last. It felt good, it felt so good to know that she commanded this army. And she was going to do great things. She was going to defeat Addison's infernal troops, liberate young Misty from her abusive parents, and stop the black market's tyrannical influence over the multiverse.
One thing seemed off though... where were Emma and Xavier? She hadn't had a chance to talk to them since Jax's dramatic arrival. She decided to go check on them, after all, she had to make sure everyone was accounted for before they went to war. It seemed like such a big thing, she pondered as she wandered around the clearing. It seemed almost too simple. All of a sudden, she was tackled to the soft earth by a pair of lithe figures. She was about to cast Thunderbolt, when she realized who they were.
"Emma? Where have you two been? And why are you being so mysterious?" Emma shushed her with a single gesture, and pulled a worn leather book out of her backpack.
"Trust me. Put your hand on the cover. Repeat after us." A taller person said from behind Maya, making her spin around. The mysterious stranger had striking yellow-flecked green eyes and curly brown hair that bobbed at their ears. They put their pale hand on the cover of the tome, and Emma and Xavier followed.
"We only need half the group. Ready?" The stranger, who was Skyler, asked. Emma and Xavier nodded assertively. Maya only blinked once.
"Assimilate what cannot be changed, publish what cannot be rewritten. Make these mistakes and reset a spoiled world, repair this fourth wall with my words. Repair this fourth wall with my words." Skyler muttered, barely loud enough for Maya to catch their words. Emma and Xavier easily followed suit.
"Assimilate what cannot be changed..."
"Make these mistakes..."
"Repair this fourth wall with my words." Xavier's eyes glowed amber.
"Repair this fourth wall with my words." Emma said slowly, staring at Xavier with the same glowing orange eyes. They both turned to Maya, and she looked at the book. It seemed... oddly informal for the power it thrummed with through their irises. She held it in her own hands, still confused at the orange bolts that jolted through her fingers.
"Repair this fourth wall with my words."
And the world fractured into tawny shards.
[ 1259 words ]
pls vote sorry for not updating in a while
YOU ARE READING
The Twenty-Sided Dice
FantasyMaya has been given the ability to use the powers of her D&D character, and her life is suddenly flipped upside-down by all the different facets of her new world. Once you're in... there's no turning back.
