Nick sat next to Evelyn, and Rafael took his seat across from him. Derek and Evelyn went after the pizza. Alejandra waited before she got her slice.

Tyler situated himself at the front of the table by Derek and Alejandra. Rafael was busy examining his character sheet, and Nick felt the nerves of this whole situation. He knew what Grizzizzik would do. The moment Akshi came into sight, no one would trust Grizzizzik. That much he knew. In fact…

“Hey, Grizzizzik’s still at level three. He’s been fighting me with leveling, and refuses to go to level four. I figured everyone should know to be prepared.”

There was silence. Not the silence of understanding, but something else. Tyler reached over to get a pizza slice, taking a huge bite. Evelyn was munching on her pizza, trying to keep it away from her character sheet that she was double checking. No one turned toward him, no one said anything. Nick frowned. “Hello?” Again, silence from everyone. Nick blinked, then stared right at his sister. “Evelyn, you heard me, right?”

She didn’t react, and Nick’s gaze shot toward Derek, then to Tyler. “Tyler? Derek? Please say someone heard me.”

Tyler took a huge bite, nodding. “Excellent pizza.”

“Hey, thanks,” Derek said.

“Grizzizzik’s at level three.” Nick made his voice louder than Tyler's and Derek’s. “He’s refused to move to level four. He’s planning something.”

“Yeah, it’s fantastic,” Alejandra said at the tail end of what Nick said.

Derek beamed. “Thanks.”

Nick didn’t realize how hard his heart was pounding until he felt it almost burst out of his chest. He shot a gaze at Rafael. “Rafael? Did you hear me?”

His old friend kept his gaze on his character sheet, ignoring the pizza. Nick waved his hand in front of Evelyn, but she kept eating like nothing happened.

Icy dread snaked up his spine as he watched his friends. He didn’t want to do this session at all. What was going on? These were his friends. They were part of this journey with him. How could they not hear him? He would have screamed to get their attention, but he didn’t want Walt questioning him, either.

Nick leaned over, inches from Evelyn’s ear. “Grizzizzik’s at level three! He’s not at level four!”

His sister still didn’t react.

“Hey, Nick? Rafael? Want a slice?” Tyler asked. Nick had no appetite, and it wasn’t his burnt tongue. He shook his head, the nerves too much as Rafael took a slice. “Alright then. Are we ready to begin?”

Everyone nodded, except Nick. He stared at Grizzizzik’s miniature, unable to calm his breathing, but no one seemed to notice his panicking. What was happening?

“Alright. A little recap from last time. Ezekiel is attempting to cure his lycanthropy, and he’s got two of the three ingredients. Time is swiftly ticking down until the next full moon, and your characters must steal one of Akshi’s swords as the last piece for the cleansing ritual. Your characters have snuck up on a house you believe is where Akshi is residing. As it gets fully dark, the house comes into view.” Tyler opened his palm. “What are your characters doing?”

There was a pause. Everyone glanced at each other. Derek closed one eye. “Milo’s got his night goggles on and is in this state of nerves where he’s making scientific notations in his mind about how the night goggles are working to implement them in his own invention.”

Tyler smiled. “Fair enough.”

“Ezekiel’s… sort of got his night goggles on,” Rafael said. “He’s… worried because he’s seeing better in the dark, and he’s uncomfortable with it.”

Alejandra quietly cleared her throat. “Hraktar’s staying by Ezekiel’s side.”

“Princess Clarissa’s on the other side,” Evelyn said.

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Nick had his elbows on the table, resting his chin against them as he thought about his character. “Grizzizzik’s sneaking up to a window to peek inside, which he would do better if he was at level four, but he’s at level three.”

Tyler nodded, acting like he hadn’t heard the last part. “Roll for investigation.”

Nick opened his bag of dice, and couldn’t help but glance around to see everyone watching him. He was used to everyone being frozen. It was weird to pull out the mythical d20 from the velvet bag and shake it while everyone watched. It felt heavy in his palm. The d20 clattered on the table, and he winced when it landed on a nine. He almost waited for the modifier to add itself. When it didn’t, he ran his finger down his sheet until it got to investigation and saw the +2.

“Eleven.”

Everyone turned to face Tyler, who had his eyes closed. “You observe a quiet house. Lived in, but…no.” Tyler furrowed his brow, eyes still closed. “The house is nearly spotless. No dishes, no fast food bags. Or—” Tyler cracked an eye open to glance in Walt’s direction. “No… medieval equivalent to fast food. There is nothing here that makes one think anyone lives here, let alone a single man. The lights are all on, yet no one is inside the room you’re looking in.”

“‘I… don’t like this,’” Derek said, using his Milo voice.

“‘What do we do?’” Evelyn didn’t bother putting on her Clarissa voice.

“‘They’ve got to be in there somewhere,’” Rafael said.

Tyler scooted back, grabbing one of his miniatures. “For reference.” He placed a miniature on the table. It showed a house that looked old timey, but Nick tried to imagine it as more modern. “Everyone’s…” he moved his finger around, concentrating, “…there.” They all placed their miniatures by the house.

“‘I say we look through other windows.’” Nick tried to sound like Grizzizzik but felt ridiculous. Now that he knew what Grizzizzik sounded like, he doubted he could ever return to roleplaying his rogue.

“‘I’ll come with you,’” Derek said.

Rafael lifted a hand. “‘Wait, are we sure we want to split up?’”

“‘Do you have a better plan?’” Evelyn asked.

Rafael frowned, his brows furrowing. There was a stretch of silence as Rafael concentrated. “‘I… can’t think. It’s…’”

Nick shook his head. “Grizzizzik doesn’t wait. He heads for another window in a different room.”

“‘Grizzly Bear, where are you going?’” Evelyn asked.

Nick paused, staring at Grizzizzik’s minifigure. “‘When you come up with a plan, let me know. I’ll have Akshi’s sword by then.’”

Derek snorted. “Milo hesitates, but not for long. He rushes after Grizzizzik.”

“Okay.” Tyler stood up, grabbing another miniature scene behind him and placing it next to the other one. This one gave them a closer look at the house. “Which windows are you looking in?”

Nick leaned over, following with a finger. “Grizzizzik’s going this way, and searching every window he can.”

Derek nodded. “Milo’s following.”

“Okay. Milo, make an investigation check.”

Derek let out a breath, picking up his dice, muttering something in Spanish before letting the d20 tumble on the table. He then pumped his fist in the air. “Nat twenty!” He picked up the dice and kissed it. “Good job, my friend.”

Rafael scrutinized Derek, and Alejandra smiled, though rolled her eyes.

“Okay, okay,” Tyler said, studying the miniature. He grabbed Milo and Grizzizzik figurines, moving them around the house before placing them next to the front door. Tyler stared at it for a second. “You look into this room and see a man there. A man you recognize as…” Tyler pursed his lips. “Bob. The local leader of the area’s school.” Tyler glanced at Walt before focusing on the game again. “He is sitting at the table. There is nothing around him, no books, no… entertainment. The man is sitting there, staring off into the distance with green in his pupils.”

“He’s not doing anything?” Derek asked.

Tyler shook his head. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Does he look okay?” Alejandra asked.

“Fine, fine. He’s almost in a trance. It seems… like this is what he always does. Whenever he gets home, he… comes to this room. And is ordered to stay.”

Nick winced. It was one thing for Tyler to explain this about a mythical creature, but quite another to hear this about Mr. Stower. Nick didn’t know him well, but it made him squirm in his seat.

“Does Milo find anything interesting in the room?” Derek asked.

Tyler closed his eyes again. “Yes. There are… enchantments around the room. You sense mana. If someone enters this room, it’ll send an alert to the caster that someone is here with Bob.”

Derek nodded. “I share this information with Grizzizzik.”

Tyler and Derek glanced at Nick, who stared at the figurine outside the room. “Grizzizzik… doesn’t care. About the man. He’s watching for his… nemesis.”

“What about the front door?” Derek moved the Milo figurine to approach the front of the house. “Any mana there?”

“None that you can sense,” Tyler said.

Derek’s shoulders slumped. “I hate that phrase.”

Tyler shrugged in reply. He grabbed a figurine to act as Mr. Stower and opened the house’s roof, placing the figurine inside the room.

“‘Hey, Grizzizzik. Can you pick a lock?’” Derek asked as Milo.

Nick snorted. “‘I am morally offended that you need to ask that question. Should we break in without the others?’”

“‘I want to see if I can diffuse the enchantments around that man,’” Derek said.

Nick furrowed his brow. “‘That’s not our mission.’”

“‘Maybe I can break the link between Bob and Akshi. That’ll help our friends immensely,’” Derek said.

“‘Also not our mission, and you think way too highly of your skills. We don’t enter until we see Akshi,’” Nick said.

Derek sighed, staring at Milo’s figurine.

Tyler made a quiet noise of footsteps approaching before placing a second figurine in the room, small and feminine. “Pippa appears in the room, walking toward Bob.”