Nick was working hard on his essay in English. His essay on Frankenstein was pretty bad, but first drafts were supposed to be. He was at the dining room table, since it was Walt’s new rule about using anyone’s electronics. Nick didn’t care.
His parents were watching TV upstairs, and it was getting late. Nick received the notification that Grizzizzik was ready for level four. His character sheet was in front of his vision, even as he tried to mentally move it. It was obnoxious, making it difficult to write his essay. Being level four, he could add two points to any ability. He tried to choose one, but it blocked his attempt. He tried to see if Grizzizzik wanted any feats, but nothing showed up there, either. Nick even tried rolling for hit points, but that, too, was blocked. And so, he remained for a good hour, working on his essay around the character sheet in his mind’s eye.
The door opened, and Evelyn and Grizzizzik walked in, with his rogue a bit more bloodied.
“How’d it go?” Nick asked.
Evelyn glanced at Grizzizzik, folding her arms and tapping her foot. At first the rogue was surprised, but then he let out a sigh, glaring at her. “You are insufferable.”
“Say it, or I’ll tell Hraktar you didn’t,” Evelyn said.
Grizzizzik grumbled. He didn’t even look at Nick, instead distracted himself with something on the wall. “Sorry for threatening you.” It was the quietest voice ever.
A corner of Nick’s mouth lifted into a smile. “I forgive you.” Grizzizzik grunted as he moved toward Nick’s room. “Hey, wait, wait, wait.” Nick lowered the laptop screen. “We need to talk about level four. It’s been blocking my view for an hour, and I need to get homework done.”
Grizzizzik kept grumbling as he turned back around and plopped himself in the chair across from Nick. His rogue glanced at Evelyn, but she already had her phone out, inspecting herself as she walked into the bathroom.
“Princess Clarissa stayed with Ezekiel, I take it?” Nick asked.
“That cleric isn’t doing so good,” Grizzizzik said. “He attacked me while in his wererat form.”
Nick raised an eyebrow, noticing the dried blood on the side of his face. “Oh.” He missed a lot when he wasn’t at these things. He’d wait to get the rundown from Evelyn when she was done with her nightly skin routine. “So, um, do you want to choose a feat or special skill? Or would you rather put two points into an ability?”
Grizzizzik said nothing, and Nick waited. The longer the silence lasted, the more Nick felt like he was dying inside. “Come on, man. You know how I feel about pulling information from you.”
“Which you’ve never successfully done,” Grizzizzik said.
“You realize the only person this is hurting is you, right?” Nick asked.
Grizzizzik stood up again. “I’m willing to take the risk.”
Nick couldn’t help it and felt confused. “What are you talking about?”
“When I’m ready, I’ll come to you,” Grizzizzik said.
Nick didn’t know what to say. In his speechlessness, Grizzizzik slipped away and headed toward his room. The door shut, and Nick could only look at it.
The request to start level four stopped and forced itself to the side. Nick blinked again, then looked at the door to his room. How long, exactly, would Grizzizzik put this off? It wasn’t like they had a ton of time before the heist. Grizzizzik certainly wouldn’t be stupid enough to wait until then.
***
Milo wasn’t back, but Derek didn’t mind. He was studying things out, making sure he made the best choice he could. When it came down to it, he understood that as a mana fusor, Derek should dump the two points in intelligence. It was Milo’s spell casting ability, and a +4 intelligence modifier felt drool-worthy. But he needed to make sure he was making the right choice. Because he could also choose a feat if he wanted to.
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Derek had a lot of tabs open on his laptop, searching through the different feats.
“—of course I’m going to take it. It’s a slight pay cut, but what I’ll lose in pay, I’ll save in other expenses from not having to travel so far.”
Derek glanced over his shoulder, realizing his door was open. As was the door to his parents’ room. They were speaking quietly in Spanish.
“Alright. I guess we’re doing this,” Amanda said.
“We’ll let the kids know in another couple of weeks,” Miguel said. “Once things are officially signed.”
Derek stared at the computer, trying to get back to concentrating as he struggled to understand that it was official. His dad had a new job, and they were moving after he graduated.
He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. Real life was so boring, which is why it was strange that it had such an impact.
Derek sighed. He shouldn’t make this choice when he had a blow to his anxiety, but he didn’t need to research anymore. He wasn’t checking if these feats were good for his character. It was more a refresher for potential characters. He grabbed the d8 and rolled for hit points. All in all, thirty-seven hit points and a +4 intelligence modifier were pretty good. None of his spells changed, but he could last longer in the fight.
Derek settled into bed. It was almost one in the morning. Tomorrow he could sleep in, which was good because he wouldn’t get much sleep now.
He spent a restless sleep tossing and turning, so when Milo walked in a few hours later, Derek felt himself fully waking up.
“Oh, hey. Sorry,” Milo said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you’re back, and you didn’t run into Pippa.”
Milo shuddered, as he always did. “Thankfully, no.”
There was silence between the two of them, but Derek no longer felt like he could sleep. Milo sat on Derek’s desk chair, folding his arms, lost in thought.
Derek pulled up Milo’s character sheet, then shifted over to the side quests, seeing gold mana checked off. Milo had collected a lot of different things, and black mana was getting close. Once black mana was complete, he’d most likely move on to red mana, as he had most of the ingredients for that. Green mana would probably be the hardest, but also one they should have. Ezekiel was strong enough to cast revivify, and it was always good to have a stock pile of gold and green mana if Ezekiel ever found himself out of mana to cast that particular spell.
Derek wetted his lips, hands in his hair. In late spring, they’d put their house for sale. They’d probably move sometime in the summer. Right before the supposed apocalypse. He would probably attend school with Tyler, so he could use the excuse to stay with him for the summer. To make sure they killed of the last of the monsters. Because they couldn’t have an apocalypse. They’d figure it out. They could kill all the monsters before August.
Right?
“How bad do you think this will get?” Derek whispered.
Milo kept his arms folded, staring out into the distance. “The rock is at the top of the hill, and us arriving has given it the nudge it needs to start rolling.” Milo kicked his feet up. “The real question is how fast will the rock accelerate, and can we save this realm in enough time before it's crushed?”
Derek sighed. “And how long can you procrastinate going to the lab?”
Milo winced, then looked down. There were a few seconds of silence, and it didn’t look like Milo was going to say anything more.
“I know you’re terrified of Pippa, but it’s as you say. The rock is falling, and we’ve got to save earth. You’ve got to face your fears. We need you in that lab because some of us have gray marks on our bodies that are getting more dangerous if we get hurt.”
Milo pulled out a beaker of black sludge he most likely got from the undead. He swirled it around, looking dejected. “I know I’m supposed to muster some sort of inner strength to face my demons, and by demon, I mean my succubus ex-girlfriend, but…” He rubbed the side of his face. “But holy hell. That woman ripped my heart out and then ate it in front of me.” Milo paused, then glanced at Derek. “Metaphorically. Though she might be capable of literally doing that. I don’t know.”
Derek nodded. “I was there.”
Milo sighed, placing the black sludge into his inventory. “Let’s just say I’m not the guy in the group known of his courage.”
“Oh stop. You’ve got to be the bravest guy I know,” Derek said.
Milo frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You walk into the same battles Hraktar does. Everyone knows Hraktar should fight, but then there’s you next to him, the scrawny, nerdy guy you are, and you’ve survived. Every time.”
“Yeah, well, bruises and cuts heal. The poison left by that succubus is as potent as ever. That can’t truly heal until we cut off the source of poison,” Milo said. “But how can I possibly cut off the source when every time I do I lose my mind?”
Derek sighed. “You can’t use my mom’s kitchen forever. She’ll start noticing.”
Milo massaged his head, groaning. “I need my lab. We can… think of something.” He got up, letting his suspenders drop around his waist before climbing into the sleeping bag on the floor. “Later.”