Nick stared at the rogue who was focused on whittling the bark from the branches with his hell dagger. Grizzizzik glanced up which helped Nick see his rogue sporting a very swollen eye and a nasty fat lip. “Hey.”
Nick stared at him, his hand gripped over the doorknob. “What… the hell, man.”
Grizzizzik looked confused. “What? What happened?”
It frustrated Nick so much he slammed the door. “No. You will not pretend that nothing happened. You can’t seriously think I wouldn’t figure out.”
Grizzizzik blinked, or at least closed one eye since the other one was swollen shut. “It doesn’t concern you.”
“I just spent all day at school freaking out about you possibly getting kidnapped and dragged to your father to get slaughtered.”
“I don’t have a father,” Grizzizzik said.
“I still have to roll the dice, remember?”
“Wait, really? Even though you were—” Grizzizzik stopped short, then shook his head and went back to stripping the bark from the branches. “Like I said before. Don’t worry about it. It’s been taken care of.”
“Oh, has it?” Nick tried hard not to sound frustrated, but this guy was acting like a lone wolf, and Nick was still trying to get the feeling back in his fingertips. “You wanna talk about how you got knocked out in a battle? Then brought back to consciousness two hours later? Then apparently tried to get out of something I’m assuming were ropes judging by the marks on your wrists? Intimidating your way out of danger?” Grizzizzik just ignored him as he whittled the stick. “And let me guess. You’re making yourself some arrows because whoever it was stole everything except your hell dagger.”
Grizzizzik barely glanced at him before focusing again on his arrow. Nick groaned, then pulled out his phone and saw that Derek had texted him about a question about math. Which was code for calling him. Nick called, waiting for Derek to answer. If they ever got out of this alive and decided to start a new campaign, he would never choose a brooding rogue again.
“Hey! How is everything?” Derek said.
“Um, great. Things are great. Turned out better than expected, and the package is definitely here in my house, which was completely unexpected.” Nick wasn’t sure how he liked talking in code, but Tyler insisted on it until they found out more information.
“Oh? Oh, wow! That’s fantastic!” Derek said.
“Yeah. Yeah, it is…” Nick said.
“You don’t sound like this is fantastic.”
Nick didn’t know how he was going to use code to explain how silent Grizzizzik was being, but he had an idea. “You know cats?”
“Um, yeah?”
“Moody. Just wanting to do everything their own way. Have a tendency to go do their own things and come home with a swollen eye and fat lip and just pretend like it was nothing?”
Grizzizzik gave Nick quite the glare, and he simply gave his rogue a glare in return.
“Did your cat leave a dead body on the front porch?” Derek asked.
“No. Or, uh, not that I can see. I wouldn’t be surprised if I stumbled on one somewhere.”
Derek chuckled. “Well, I’m glad your package is safe.”
Nick did nothing more than grunt before he hung up. He gave his face a hard scrub with his fingers before he headed for the hallway. “Princess Clarissa?” Nick shouted to the empty house. At least he was pretty sure it was empty. Shouting for a princess while Walt had made the choice to come home early would make sense, considering his current streak of luck today.
No one answered. Which at least meant none of his family members were home. But then he thought of an idea that would get the druid out. “Clarissa?”
He hardly finished the syllables when Evelyn’s bedroom door flew open, and Clarissa walked through. “I am to be addressed as Princess, or Princess Clarissa. Only using my given name is a deep insult for me, and I will not—”
Clarissa stopped short when she saw Grizzizzik at the table. More specifically, when she noticed the swollen eye and the fat lip. She narrowed her eyes. “What have you been up to?”
“I’m trying to figure that out,” Nick said as he folded his arms.
She placed her hand on her hips, some sapphires in her tiara shimmering in the light. “Where were you?” Clarissa asked.
Grizzizzik went back to focusing on his handiwork. “Here.”
Clarissa narrowed her eyes. Nick watched the two of them, curious. So many times on the table Nick and Evelyn would bicker, just like siblings, with Grizzizzik hitting every single one of Clarissa’s buttons.
“One of these days you might just outwit Grizzizzik,” Nick had once said to his sister.
“One of these days? I already have outwitted him! The dice rolls just weren’t on my side today,” she had responded.
“Here’s the truth, plain and simple,” Clarissa said. “It is in everyone’s best interest to know who you got hurt by. Since I doubt you took a trip to visit Hraktar, I’m thinking it’s not someone in the party for once. You didn’t visit Calawit, did you? She’s been known to pack a punch.”
Grizzizzik grunted as he began coating the hell hound molar in some sort of cleaning liquid. “I’d ask you to be a little less condescending, but I’m afraid you might puff out of existence if you did that.”
“I believe that’s the closest I’ll ever come to hearing you say that you care about my welfare,” Clarissa said.
“Well, you did ask about mine in a roundabout way,” Grizzizzik said.
“On the contrary. Clearly, someone stronger than you is on the loose, so I’m far more concerned about keeping myself safe.”
“Stronger, right. You didn’t even notice we were literally fighting out your window.”
Clarissa raised an eyebrow, mostly in mock, some in triumph. “So someone came here, then? You didn’t sneak out?” Grizzizzik glared before returning his focus to breaking the molar into a sharp point. “I will have you know I’ve been meditating all day to keep the bubble strong.” Grizzizzik rolled his eyes. “Come now, Grizzly Bear. You don’t need to be embarrassed that someone else completely wiped the floor with your face. Just give us a name.”
The rogue said nothing. He clamped up real tight, but it was at least good to know that he didn’t get far from the house. Nick did his best to blend in with the background, since it was still odd to have a conversation with these two. He was too busy thinking about what Grizzizzik would say to step into the conversation.
Clarissa cocked her head to one side. Her eyes narrowed, then she gave an overly exaggerated roll of her eyes. Nick felt his body tense. Evelyn must have rolled an insight check. Hopefully, it was high enough.
“It doesn’t take a genius to realize this is about your father, Grizzly Bear,” Clarissa said. Grizzizzik’s eyes tightened, but he said nothing. “This entire thing is stressing everyone out, not just you. But you are one of the few that seem to go out of your way to find trouble when things are spiraling out of your control.” Clarissa straightened, placing her hands to her side. “But you must not have left the house. They must have come here, didn’t they? The thieves? Your father’s minions. You always used to brag about how you’d leave their bodies for your father to stumble on, but they must have gotten the best of you this time. Where did they tie you up? In a closet? Outside?”
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Grizzizzik slammed his partially made arrow down. “Damn you, Clarissa. Sometimes you really get under my skin.”
“Perhaps you should shed it, Grizzly Bear. It’s so much healthier than holding on to it.”
“I’m not taking beauty advice from an elf,” Grizzizzik said.
Clarissa did a hair flip. “You mean an elf princess? And clearly you should. Look at me, I’m gorgeous.”
Grizzizzik grumbled. “Fine. It wasn’t my father’s goons. But it was another set of bandits looking for an opportunity to join his ranks. To prove themselves.”
Nick frowned. “They were here?”
“Yeah. Just outside Princess’s window. I heard them,” Grizzizzik said.
Nick narrowed his eyes, thinking back on the day. “No, you didn’t.”
Grizzizzik’s teeth began to sharpen, and Nick realized he’d have to play this carefully. Grizzizzik was just starting to open up to Clarissa. He couldn’t have his rogue shutting down again.
“My roll went straight to stealth. No perception, nothing. Just stealth. You were sneaking out,” Nick said. Grizzizzik said nothing, and Nick was afraid he’d shut his rogue up again, but he wasn’t going to let Grizzizzik lie to Clarissa. “But I rolled a natural one. I failed, miserably. You must have been right outside Princess Clarissa’s window, trying to sneak out. A nat one would need a failure, but for some reason it didn’t get one from the princess. You must have made a loud enough noise for two thieves to hear you. I’m assuming there were two. Maybe more.”
Grizzizzik’s teeth were lengthening as they sharpened. Nick knew something he refused to let anyone else know about that ability. It was supposed to be an intimidation factor, but Grizzizzik often intimidated when he himself was scared. Which the rogue felt a lot more than he wanted to let on.
“Where were you going?” Nick asked, trying not to feel like some sort of bad cop on an investigation.
“It doesn’t matter,” Grizzizzik said.
Nick stared at his rogue, who was so stupidly edgy. Nick already knew what Grizzizzik was doing. “You can’t seriously be that idiotic to want to figure out where your father is.”
Grizzizzik’s tongue came out, rubbing against the sharpened teeth, easing them back into place. “He’s dangerous. More dangerous than anyone could even know. It is in everyone’s best interest to be prepared.”
“Yeah, well, in your attempt to prepare yourself, you literally stumbled on a group of thieves,” Nick said, running a hand through his hair, looking away. “That’s nat one’s for you.”
“Yeah. Um… about that…” Grizzizzik said. Nick glanced up, his heart faltering. Something had happened. Something really, really bad. Grizzizzik was known to never ask for help. Unless he was in a pickle that he couldn’t solve himself. “They stole my rapier. They are planning on giving it to Akshi. As a gift. For their loyalty.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “And… tell Akshi where you live. Because they stumbled upon where you live. He’ll come find you the moment he steps into the bubble.” He grabbed a lock of his hair, his eyes widening. “He’ll know where I live. Where Evelyn lives.”
Grizzizzik paused, then glanced at Nick. He looked annoyed. “And this is why I prefer to work alone,” he grumbled, gathering his things.
Stripping the annoyance and vexation from Grizzizzik’s tone, he realized this was about as vulnerable as the rogue had ever been since coming to earth. He would never admit it, but he didn’t want anyone to get hurt by Akshi like he did.
Clarissa walked over to the table, grabbing Grizzizzik’s hands and closing her eyes. He looked as though he wanted to pull away, but his sore wrists decided for him.
“We’re not meant to work alone, Grizzly Bear.” She whispered something that sounded like the wind traveling through a sagebrush. Her hands glowed with a golden, sandy light. The marks around his wrist healed. His fat lip stitched together with magic before melting away. The swollen eye shrank, and though the bruising was still there, he could at least see out of his other eye now. Nick watched as seven more hit points were added, giving him sixteen total. He was looking far better, being two points away from full health.
Grizzizzik sniffed. “Alright, well, the two thieves threatened to tell Akshi, but I doubt they know where he is. There is a leader that refused to show himself. Which is a puzzle we must figure out sooner rather than later.”
“Do they know you’ve got friends?” Clarissa asked.
“I…” Grizzizzik gave another grunt. “I don’t have friends.”
She rolled her eyes in a way that reminded Nick so much of Evelyn that he had to suppress a smile. “Do they know you’ve used your powers of charisma to rope people into caring about you enough to keep you safe?”
Grizzizzik nodded. “That’s better.”
“Friends is an easier way to say it,” Clarissa said.
He ignored her. “No, they don’t know. I don’t expect them to.” He tapped a few fingers against his chin as he thought. “That might give us the element of surprise.”
Clarissa turned to Nick. “Your home and your family have been compromised. If Grizzizzik’s father knows you live here, he will do whatever he can to make your existence torturous to get to his son.”
“He’s not…” Grizzizzik let it drop, shaking his head as he folded his arms.
Clarissa ignored him. “Akshi is not a man to trifle with. He is brutal, cold-hearted, and if you don’t believe me—” Clarissa pointed to Grizzizzik. “There’s his offspring.”
Nick glanced at her, feeling a pressure in the front of his head. “Yeah. I, unfortunately, know Akshi well.”
Grizzizzik stood, concerned. “You know of my father?”
“Just through the game. Which, come to find out, is very real,” Nick said. “But my parents can’t see him. And he can’t hurt us.”
Grizzizzik shook his head. “I guarantee he’s already figuring out how to hurt everyone here in this new realm. It’s only a matter of time. He is an incredibly powerful mana wielder and uses it for darker enchantments of manipulation and charm. Few can resist him. We must find him and end him.”
Nick still could not feel the tips of his fingers. Every time he thought he got used to characters in the game being real, he was faced with a new aspect of it. Akshi and Torraq were here. Somewhere on earth. Possibly already in the United States or Mexico. And if Grizzizzik’s little experience today was any indication, Akshi could figure out where he and his sister lived. It was like learning the Lord of the Rings had traveled here, and the eye of Sauron and the Witch King were narrowing down where he lived.
Nick rubbed his face, trying not to feel nauseous. They couldn’t hurt him. Not physically. But Grizzizzik was right. If anyone was going to work tirelessly figuring out how, it would be his snake father.
His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to see Evelyn calling. He flipped open his phone. “Hey, sis.”
“Hey. Everything alright?” she asked.
Nick didn’t answer. He stared at the two characters, not sure how he could relay everything that had just happened.
“Okay, let me put it this way. Did my nat twenty help?”
“Immensely. Thank you. As did the cure wounds.”
“I’m just on a water break now, but I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“Thanks. I’m fine. Things are—” he was cut off when he felt his phone vibrating again. He checked it. “Wait, it’s… ah, shit. Dad’s calling. Hey, I’ll call you back.”
“No worries. I’ve still got a bit of time left in practice, but I should be home in another hour or so.”
“Yeah. Alright.” Nick wasn’t sure if he could sit on this information for another hour. But he couldn’t talk about it over the phone, either. Everyone else needed to know this, too.
He hung up and tried calling Walt back. It took a few rings before he heard the sharp tone. “Why did my call drop?”
“Um, because Evelyn called, then you called, and my phone is old and couldn’t handle it,” Nick said.
“About what?”
“What do you mean ‘what’?”
“What was Evelyn calling you about?”
Nick felt it in his gut. The annoyance that he had to tell the truth, because Walt would be checking. “It was a question about CCNC.”
“During cheer practice?”
Nick hated how much this sounded like an interrogation. He hated the double lives he had to live right now. One where he had to protect these mythical people from harm, but also had to pretend they didn’t exist. Especially when the MED might figure out where he lived.
“She’s the one who called me,” Nick said.
“You know I’m going to check your phone. There’s no point in lying to me.”
Nick headed away from Grizzizzik and Clarissa, feeling his blood boil. “Congratulations, dad. After so many years, you’ve all but made me lose my ability to lie.”
“Good. Because you know how I feel about liars?”
Nick’s fingers twitched into a fist. “Are we done?”
“No. This isn’t even the reason I called. I just heard from your mother that someone saw you get pulled over.” Nick gripped the edge of the table, his fingernails biting into the wood. He hated this town.
“It was just speeding. I was going six over. I got a warning, no ticket. Call Officer Hendricks if you want to,” Nick said, his voice turning hard.
“That’s all I need to know.”
“You believe me?” Nick asked.
“I just want to know who pulled you over so I could check with him. I promised them you’d never be a concern, Nick. It’s important to keep your promises.”
“Bye, dad.” He didn’t even bother waiting for Walt’s goodbye. He slammed his phone shut, sometimes thinking it would be better to not have one. There was silence, and Nick glanced up to see Clarissa and Grizzizzik looking at him. Nick sniffed, brushing the back of his hand against his nose.
“So, you should all gather somewhere else to tell the others what happened. Today we learned I can still roll even when I’m miles away.” He stuffed his phone in his pocket. “I’ll tell Evelyn when she gets home, but I doubt my dad will let me leave this house today. You can go, and I’ll just wait until I’m prompted to roll. We’ve got to make sure we catch those thieves before they can find Akshi.”
He picked up his backpack, slinging it over his shoulders, as he headed toward his room. The others needed to know what happened today, but he wouldn’t bother asking Walt for permission to attend another CCNC session. Not when he’d done something that made him less than perfect today.