Nick gripped the steering wheel as Evelyn scrolled through her phone again. Grizzizzik and Clarissa were in the back seat, neither one of them looking at each other. There was a quiet in the car, but it was far from peace. No one had a fight that Nick remembered, but there was a definite feeling of “off”. Evelyn had been distracted all morning. Clarissa and Grizzizzik wouldn’t talk to each other if they didn’t need to, so they didn’t. Nick was still fuming. During breakfast, Walt dangled over Nick’s head that he was only letting him do this because he’d been so well behaved this week. Like he was some sort of dog, needing a pat on the head and an extra treat because he was such a good boy.
The fact that Grizzizzik could see his unease and was hiding a smirk did not help.
They pulled into Derek’s house. Judging by the cars, Tyler and Alejandra were already here. Evelyn was texting someone as Nick turned off the car. They all got out, silently trekking toward the door. Evelyn didn’t slip her phone in her pocket until the door opened.
“Hello!” Tyler said. “Come on in. Derek’s talking with your dad now.”
Nick frowned, glancing at Evelyn. “Um… why?”
“Well, the grapevine is getting back to us. Some people have seen us around town, so Derek’s making sure we’re fine to play outside.”
Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose. That wording was awful. It was no fault of Tyler’s, but he still felt like a dog. He marched in, his face settling into its glare.
Amanda was there, cleaning up the kitchen. Milo was there, too. He was washing old vials and beakers. He watched the strange sight of Amanda moving around the kitchen and ignoring Milo.
“Yep! You have nothing to fear, Mr. Larsen. Thank you so much. Yep! Bye.” Derek turned off his phone, then gave Nick an enthusiastic thumbs up. “We’re good to go!”
Nick said nothing, folding his arms tightly and figuring out how many days he had left until April tenth. He was almost jealous of Derek’s birthday in January. Why did his have to be so late?
Derek’s enthusiastic thumbs drooped as he glanced at Evelyn.
“You better get going, Derek. It’ll only get hotter, and you need to end with enough time for the girls to get back for the dance,” Amanda said.
“Don’t worry. We’ve got enough water bottles,” Derek said. Evelyn held up her own bag. Nick just glowered. “What time do you need to get back, Evelyn?”
She checked her phone. “I’ve got a hair and nail appointment at three. So as long as I’m back by two thirty, that’d be great.”
“And you, Alejandra?” Derek asked.
“Oh, I’m not going to homecoming.”
Amanda’s gasp was tiny, but there. “No one asked you?”
Alejandra looked like she didn’t enjoy the sudden attention. “It’s really not that big of a deal, Mrs. Perez. There’s still… plenty of dances this year.”
Amanda glanced at Derek. She then jerked her head to a place a bit more private, and Derek followed. Nick had been at Derek’s house long enough to know his mother made sure everyone felt at home. Alejandra being left out of a school dance was something she took as a personal offense, and Nick knew the woman was going to make sure Alejandra was asked to the next one.
How, Nick didn’t know, but Amanda had her ways. Derek and Amanda talked in fast, quick Spanish. Ones that sounded like they were fighting, but Nick was always surprised to learn they weren’t. Perhaps Nick always assumed a parent/child conversation meant fighting.
Once Derek finished his conversation, they all walked out of the house toward the minivan. Grizzizzik jumped into the back with little ceremony as Hraktar wrestled with the seat belt.
They drove toward Calawit’s store. Clarissa and Milo were chatting about his recent discoveries. With working in the lab every day, he was close to discovering red mana. Clarissa checked with Hraktar about Ezekiel, and the fighter reported about the same. Ezekiel was blowing through the books. And was introduced to movies, mostly Indiana Jones, and fell madly in love with them.
Alejandra leaned over to Nick. “Are you alright?”
Having her head that close to his own instantly brought Nick out of his mind. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”
Alejandra studied him, frowning. “It’s… you’ve looked—” she gestured toward his face, “—angry?”
Nick looked away, seeing Calawit’s tent getting ever closer. “Yeah, well…” He trailed off, not interested in talking about Walt.
“Is it about your dad?” Alejandra asked.
“Is it anything else? He’s made it so it’s only ever been about him in my life.” Nick’s voice came out far more bitter than he expected, and it caused Alejandra to hesitate. He rubbed his forehead. “Sorry, it’s just…” He trailed off again. Alejandra said nothing else.
Derek parked the van on the side of the road, and everyone got out. It was a quick trip to Calawit’s tent. Nick walked beside Alejandra. They didn’t talk, but it was nice to be beside her. He needed to stop being so angry at Walt. If he didn’t cool it, he’d waste this entire time being angry. He needed to focus.
They walked in the tent, with Grizzizzik getting the flower petals on his hands again, shooting Calawit an annoyed look. The gnome sorceress grinned.
It took Nick a second to realize they weren’t the only one in the tent.
“Phantom?” Derek asked.
The bandit captain looked up, smiling. “Hello adventurers! Calawit told me you’d be in here!” Phantom looked back down again, distracted with the petals on the back of his hands.
“What news?” Milo asked, folding his arms.
Phantom was still distracted with the petals, not answering. He muttered something to himself as the petal looked like it was going to come off, but it remained firm.
“Phantom?” Calawit snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Milo asked you a question.”
“Akshi.” Phantom glanced up again. “Akshi is here! In this little town.”
They waited, but that was all the news Phantom had. Grizzizzik sighed, rubbing his forehead. “You have to be one of the worst thieves I’ve ever met.”
Phantom frowned. “Why?”
“We already knew that.” Grizzizzik dropped his hand. “We’ve known for over a week now.”
The bandit chief deflated at that. “Well, you asked for information.”
“Next time, it’d be nice to have some information we don’t know,” Grizzizzik said.
Phantom pursed his lips to a thin line. “I’m trying. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but the guy is as slippery as a snake.”
Grizzizzik rolled his eyes. Tyler took out his phone, tapping on a few things. “Calawit, what do you know about this?”
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Alejandra’s eyes widened. She stared at Tyler, swiping inches from her neck with her hand. Tyler frowned, curious, but it was too late. Calawit had seen the phone. The gnome took it and inspected the screen. “This is the strangest contraption I’ve ever seen.”
Tyler kept glancing at Alejandra, who covered her face with a hand. “You’ve seen phones before, right?” Tyler asked.
Calawit pushed her small spectacles up her nose. “Absolutely, but they’re still fascinating. Is this the box that paints a picture of the object you want instantly?”
“Um… yeah. I guess we can describe it that way,” Tyler said.
“Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.”
“So… the picture.”
“Ah, yes.” Calawit was holding the phone upside down, but Tyler righted it for her. Calawit’s gaze shifted to Alejandra. “Is this a path you want to go down?”
“So you’ve seen orcs?” Alejandra asked, whispering.
Nick frowned. It didn’t matter that Alejandra whispered it. Across the way, Hraktar stiffened, turning his head toward them. Calawit distracted herself by looking at the picture before giving it back. Despite Alejandra’s whisper, Calawit resumed with her normal, gravely voice. “They are serving under Akshi. He is keeping them distracted for now. He’s preparing something. I don’t know what, but it sounds like Akshi is in communication with Torraq somehow.”
Nick stared at Calawit, wide-eyed. “How do you know this?”
Calawit turned her gaze toward Nick. “I know the orc language.”
He frowned, studying her closer. It didn’t answer his question at all, but he always got the impression Calawit was downplaying just how powerful she was.
“See, Phantom, that is how you be a thief. Calawit is better at gathering information than you are,” Grizzizzik said.
Phantom glared at him, but said nothing.
“Orcs. Here?” Hraktar asked.
“Yes.” Calawit tore her gaze from Nick to crane her head back to see Hraktar. “Friends of yours, judging by their skin pattern.”
For the first time since their CCNC characters got here, Nick saw the huge half-orc fighter look nervous. “But… here?”
Calawit turned her attention back to Alejandra. “I didn’t want to mention it. I didn’t think your friend would have stumbled on proof.”
Hraktar turned to glance at Alejandra, who sighed, hugging herself. “I didn’t want to say anything.”
Tyler brought his phone closer to him. “We need all the information we can get. But should we wait until next week? That way, we’ll have Rafael and Ezekiel with us. An added person going after some orcs might be helpful.”
“It depends. How strong is Ezekiel?” Milo asked.
Alejandra shook her head. “Rafael’s… not doing anything with him.”
Her sentence hung in the air. Nick glanced at Derek, who rubbed his head.
After slipping his phone into his pocket, Tyler kept his gaze on the floor. “In that case, it might make it worse if Ezekiel is there.”
“Hey, Calawit, I have a friend who thinks he’s seen demon rats hanging around his house. That feels easier for a low-level cleric to handle. Can you figure out where my friend lives?”
Calawit squinted through her spectacles at Derek. “What kind of friend are you if you don’t even know where he lives?”
Derek shrugged. “I mean… he enjoys his privacy. So you might want to… not let him notice you.”
Calawit rolled her eyes. “I’m not a rogue gathering information for the gossip boards in a tavern.”
“Hey,” both Grizzizzik and Phantom said.
“I’ll have you know rogues don’t gather gossip,” Phantom said.
“It’s a very refined art,” Grizzizzik said.
“We’re not simple gossipers!” Phantom had his hands on his hips.
Grizzizzik pointed a finger to his palm. “Besides, a good thief always knows gossip always has a bit of truth.”
Calawit simply smiled, waving her hand. “It is too easy to ruffle your feathers, boys. Go do something useful. Like think about getting an honest job.”
Phantom and Grizzizzik both gasped like they’d been mortally wounded. Nick smirked until he noticed Alejandra looking at Tyler, worried. Hraktar, too, had retreated into himself.
“Alright, well, we have an enemy.” Tyler glanced at Hraktar. “But is it one that we want to engage?”
There was silence as everyone looked at Hraktar, who did not focus on anything. It took him a few beats before he realized the attention was on him. “Sorry, what was the question?”
Tyler glanced at Alejandra. “We should skip today’s session.”
“No, no, it’s fine.” Hraktar rolled his shoulders around, and there was a lot of cracking. “We can do this.” The fighter settled into his stance.
“Hraktar… are you sure?” Tyler asked.
“The orcs are being a pest, no? And we… get rid of pests. To keep this town safe.” He headed toward the opening of the tent. “Come on. As mentioned before, it’ll only get hotter.”
Once Hraktar left, the tent became quiet. Tyler stared at Alejandra. “Why didn’t you tell him?”
She didn’t look at anyone. “Because I know what he’s like when he’s nervous.”
“How many orcs are there?” Nick asked.
Tyler sighed, covering his eyes. “Once Akshi figured out Hraktar’s weakness, he started using orcs as guards. I guess the question of whether we’re following the AI campaign or my own has been answered. Akshi has many orcs of different levels. It might be smart to chip away at Akshi’s orc army a bit at a time so we don’t have to face all of them when we hit level seventeen.”
“Akshi’s got an army of orcs?” Grizzizzik asked.
Tyler’s face morphed into one of pain. “Yeah. Yeah, he does. We better make sure there aren’t too many for us to handle right now.”
Even after that phrase, no one moved. Nick was aware that Hraktar was out there, ready to face people of his tribe. Hraktar did this before, once. But Nick got the feeling Alejandra was so uncomfortable about it that Tyler never returned to that plot point.
They left, piling into the minivan. Derek turned on the van, then placed his hands on the steering wheel. “So…”
Tyler glanced behind him at Hraktar. Every single muscle in the fighter’s body was taut. If anyone touched Hraktar, he’d take off their head.
“Anyone have any ideas?” Tyler asked.
“Milo and Grizzizzik should do a stealth and investigation mission to narrow down where the orcs are,” Nick said.
“It shouldn’t take us long. Once we get in the zone, orcs can’t hide from us,” Milo said.
Tyler nodded, still keeping an eye on Hraktar.
Derek and Nick made their roll. They started with stealth. Nick got a sixteen, and since he had a +6 with his roll, there was no doubt he’d get by. Derek didn’t say what he’d rolled until Milo and Grizzizzik left.
“Seven?” Nick asked, holding back a wince. “What is it with the modifier?”
“That is what the modifier bumped it to,” Derek said.
They drove around, Derek leading the way since he felt the pull of his character. With what Derek rolled, they might need to prepare for a hasty escape.
Time slowed down, and Nick got prompted to do an investigation roll. He assumed Derek would get one, too.
He rolled, and it landed on a nat twenty. Once time resumed, it didn’t take long for Nick to feel a drop in his stomach.
“Tell me someone else feels that,” Nick said.
“Yep,” Tyler said.
Derek responded by tightening his grip over the steering wheel.
Alejandra’s eyes bounced between Tyler and Nick. “What’s happening?”
“Bad feeling,” Nick said.
“We’re talking Star Wars level of bad feeling,” Derek mumbled.
The passenger seat groaned under Tyler’s constant squirming. “Go where you need to.”
Derek nodded, then moved the van into a side street.
Alejandra folded her arms, staring forward. It was now her turn to look deep inside her mind.
“Alejandra?” Nick asked. She glanced over at him, concern and fear never leaving her face. “You alright?”
She glanced behind her at Hraktar. “I know what he’s thinking. He wants to get it over with quickly. But it’ll get him killed.” She tapped her cheekbone. “I already see it. He’s so frightened any roll will be at a disadvantage.”
Hraktar buried his head in his hands.
Derek pulled the van over so quickly that Nick pushed into Alejandra. “Sorry,” he said, straightening.
Evelyn opened the sliding door and Milo and Grizzizzik leapt inside.
“Go! Go! Go!” Milo said.
Derek didn’t wait for Evelyn to close the door. He had peeled out onto the road before Evelyn finally got the door closed. Grizzizzik and Milo panted, leaning against the door.
“Where do we need to go?” Derek asked.
“There’s too many. Two dozen at least,” Milo said.
“Everyone is too low of a level to take on that many orcs,” Tyler said.
“We get back to Derek’s house,” Alejandra said.
Grizzizzik shook his head. “We need a plan. That’s all. Lead them out slowly and take them out. Their strength is in their numbers, not their brains. We break that apart; we can get to them.”
“It’s still far too dangerous,” Tyler said.
“Form a solid plan, we have a solid chance,” Milo said.
“Yeah. If the dice rolls are good enough,” Nick said.
“No. I’m calling it. We can’t do this. Not today. Not with Hraktar…” Tyler trailed off. Nick could almost feel the nerves radiating off the fighter.
Hraktar finally met Tyler’s gaze. “It’s fine. We can do this.”
Alejandra turned around. “No, Hraktar.”
Her fighter stared back. “We need to get rid of them.”
Alejandra paused, studying Hraktar, then at Tyler. “Hraktar is already at level three. He’s got a little over a thousand experience points. He doesn’t need any leveling right now. My suggestion is you make a plan without my fighter.”
Tyler watched her closely, then glanced at Derek.
“I’m heading home. We need a plan no matter what we do,” Derek said.
Hraktar let out something that sounded like a grunt, but considering how tense he was, everyone flinched away from him. “It wouldn’t be that hard. Orcs are stupid. You show them something flashy and they’ll follow like the idiots they are. It wouldn’t be hard to get a few of them away.” The vitriol that came out of Hraktar made the hairs on the back of Nick’s neck stand up. Everyone stared at the fighter, who met no one’s gaze. He stared out the window, smashed into his seat with his knees close to his chin.
“Yeah… um…” Tyler was the first to break the silence, but was still hesitant. “We’ll take that into consideration, Hraktar. Maybe we’ll look into that for next week. I think… Alejandra is right. You can sit this one out and let the others get some leveling. But… not today. Let's take a break."
Behind them, Hraktar tried to relax, but it sounded more like he was cracking his knuckles.