Magnificent piece of friends and I enjoying a D&D campaign, done by my wonderful friend {ibOtoriGin}, thank you very much! Please be sure to check out the other posts as well:

(Pending)

(From right-to-left)
Ann the Paladin is PSI
Gin the Dark Alchemist is OtoriGin
Lolly the Wizard is ButterscotchLollipop
Lemmy, the Dungeon Master, is me
NORVILLE BESTEN DUNGEONEN DRAGONEN

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Note: For best quality, please view on InkBunny

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Ann, Gin, Lolly and I started to play some Dungeons & Dragons. Every other weekend we gathered at one of our houses, and set up what we could and played basically all day.

Ann was a Paladin. Gin a Dark Alchemist. We had managed to convince Lolly to stick with a Wizard for at least a little while. And I was their Dungeon Master, and storyteller.

We met at my house; donned our outfits. I set up the back corner of the living room with a short table and some candles. We spread the maps we had been using out, set my Army Men on them and got into our session...

The three of you walk up the flight of stairs into the second floor of the tavern. There are many tables and chairs, and a stage on one side of the room. A layer of dust made it evident that none had performed or partied in this room in quite some time.

"Let's look around," said Gin. "I'll check the stage."

"I'll check the back!" Lolly said with excitement.

"Hmm... I'll keep in the middle of the room," Ann deiced.

I continued my narration.

Making your decisions and staking claim to your regions of search, you split.

Gin scurries to the stage and leaps upon it from over the stage-front. Her heavy boots tamp upon the polished wood, dormant under the sheet of dust.

Ann turns her head toward Lolly.

Lolly scurries to the back of the room, here and there. The tables are cumbersome to navigate, made worse by the occasional toppled chair. However, in the hazy dark, Lolly bumps into something that is not made of wood--and that lets out a grunt in response.

"I cast Magic Missile!" Lolly burst out.

Our little nook was quiet for a few seconds.

"Roll your die," Ann whispered.

"Oh! Right," Lolly picked up her die and shook it in her hand, before letting it fall on the table.

"A two!? Come on..." She folded her arms, pouting.

I took in a breath to continue the story.

Lolly takes a step back and raises her wand; her movements are quick, but unsteady. Too unsteady, in fact. Magic requires a calm mind and a steady body--of which, in this moment, she posseses neither. But she has already started the process, and to quit now would be dangerous. Her magical aura glows for a moment, before it appears to spark and pop. Unstable magical energy discharges at the tip of her wand, sending her back a few feet.

The shadowy figure she had bumped into takes advantage of her mishap, charging forw--

"Nooooo! Don't hurt me!!!"

"I stand between Lolly and figure, and raise my shield!" Ann exclaimed with a furious roar, and threw her die.

It skipped across the table like a stone across the pond--tck-tck-tck!

I clutched the big old book I was using as a veil, and held it up just in time to keep my handsome face from catching an edge of the die that practically leapt up to kiss me--thk!

The die bounced off my book and landed on the table, knocking one of the army men over. When it settled, we all gazed at it.

A Natural Twenty.

I slowly set my book down and rattled a couple dice in my hands. I let them fall onto the table behind the veil of my book. A chuckle slipped out of my throat. I pulled the hood over my head, to continue my narration.

Lolly was nibbling on her finger, worried about her fate.

The shadowy figure seizes his opportunity. It dashes toward the Wizard, and a glint catches what little light there is in the room, as it pulls something from its cloak.

But, Ann has been vigilant. Even when Lolly had started to cast her spell, the heavy clatter of her plate-mail signaled her charge toward her friend. The chairs and tables in her way were brushed aside like she was running through a field of wheat.

She intended to be a buffer to defend the strike meant for her friend. But, her charge carried with it more momentum than even she could handle. What started as a sturdy stance to absorb the blow this shadow might have planned for the Wizard, was carried forward by her charge into a shield-bash.

The shadow grunted in pain as it met with Ann's shield like a tumbleweed against a wall of steel, and was sent back even farther than the Wizard's mishap had sent her. Tables and chairs toppled over when it crashed into them.

The light caught a glimmer--a flicker--in the air. There was a soft sound, most distinctly the sound of a sharp blade finding its way into soft flesh.

"Gh! Ghlaaaah!" The shadow gurgled, violently writhing upon the floor for a moment, before going limp.

I took the army man that had been knocked over off the table.

"Are you okay?" Ann asked Lolly.

"I think so?" Lolly asked, looking at me.

"You only lost one hit point from the mishap," I told her. "Nothing a good nights' rest won't heal."

"After checking up on Lolly, I go to the body and inspect it."

"Roll a Constitution check."

Ann grabbed her die and, giving me a glance, this time more gingerly let it roll onto the table. After seeing its value, I continued.

You approach cautiously, unsure of the status of the assailer. Still keeping your shield at the ready, you reach down and uncover its face. You reveal a half-orc, with greasy black hair and pale-brown, leathery skin. He is not breathing.

You inspect the body further, interested in the glint you had seen. Rustling through the fabric of the cloak, you find a point of tension. The handle of a dagger is in clear view.

"I take the dagger."

You grab the handle of the dagger, and raise it from the half-orc's leathery hide. As you lift it, a caustic smell catches your nose, and you see wisps of smoke rising from the blade.

"Wait! Don't touch the blade, give it to me," Gin ordered.

"Intelligence check," I told her.

She tossed her die onto the table.

While Ann's pride is not one to heed orders from others lightly, she senses the sincerity and caution in your voice. She holds the blade by its small pommel and lets you take it.

You inspect the blade carefully. You see that along one of the daggers' blade-edges, it has a small groove traveling nearly up to the hilt. From it, a dark liquid--not blood--is weeping out. A drop of it wells at the tip of the blade, and drips onto the wood.

It sizzles, smoke rising on contact.

You know not what this liquid is, but based on how it provided the three of you with such a... Performant, death, you wish to study it. While the dagger is unremarkable, whatever poison it conceals may prove useful, if you can replicate it.

However, it may also prove very dangerous.

"I want to take a closer look at the wood before I do anything with the dagger," Gin said. She rolled her die again.

You take out your magnifying glass and kneel down at the wood. You see that the liquid has stopped sizzling. It has dried, leaving almost a waxy-like coating where it rests. A faint burning, like incense, catches your nose.

"Hmm... Can Lolly use her magic to make one of my test-tubes grow?"

"I can try," she said, and rolled. "...A two. Again." She sulked. "Sorry."

It's a simple enough request--I narrated--and now your mind is clear. With your wand, you tap the test-tube that Gin holds out to you. There is a slight ringing, like a tuning fork when struck, as the glass tube grows just big enough to fit around the blade.

"Hopefully it won't burn the glass..."

You slip the blade in. The liquid from within the dagger still seeps, collecting into the glass. It does not seem to react, however there seems to be a lot of the stuff seeping out.

"Let's go back to the contractor's den," Ann suggested. "We should report to him what we've found."

"So, does that mean y'all can take a break for some lunch?"

"ACK! Mom! How long were you there!?"

"You should really use simpler words, sweet-pea. Lolly might have a tough time following your story."

"It's okay, Auntie B.! I like when he uses big words. What's for lunch?"

"PB&J and Fluffer-Nutters!"