Hello, Everyone!
Something, something, DnD is awesome! đ
Last time in our dear Mary Windfiddleâs adventures, our heroes went to Myth Adofhaerâs Archives and found out some interesting details about the abductions that were happening amongh the elven city. It turned out that almost all of the victims were elven women with blonde hair, and that all the kidnappings had happened during the dark hours of the day. Also, six years ago, when agent Dorina Dwendel was on the same case, she used an elven woman to successfully lure the kidnapper.
Mary had an idea to repeat her attempt and have Aurum--with his recently acquired ability to transform himself into other people--turn into a blonde elven lady and try to get the real kidnapper show up.
Letâs see how that goes XD
Tesaya accepted their risky plan wholeheartedly. She seemed so eager to do something--anything!--that her enthusiasm spread to the whole group.
Since Aurum couldnât Alter his clothes along with his body, she went on and gave him one of her elven dresses. It was pretty but not too shiny, with long sleeves and high neckline, reaching down to under his knees.
"Oh, wow!â Aurum said. âThat's way too skimpy for me!"
Mary rolled her eyes.
Bruno and Tesaya put some enchantments on the bard to better his chances of success, and, just before he transformed, Mary took a small clay figure from her component pouch and pressed it to his forehead.
âNow you can understand and speak any language you hear,â she said. âWe donât want some elven guards to ask you where youâre going and find out that you canât speak elvish.â
âOh, good idea, Mary!â Tesaya said.
And so, they were ready to start.
Night began falling on Myth Adofhaer. The streets quickly emptied and--fearing another abduction--everyone locked themselves home.
The door of Tesaya's house opened and a beautiful golden-haired maiden crossed the yard. She peeked through the door in the fence, as if to check if the path was clear, and headed out.
The plan was that Aurumâs elven Alter Self, Lanna, would pretend she was going âhomeâ and fend off all attempts at being accompanied if she ever encountered a helpful passerby. Mary and the rest of the party would follow her from a safe distance, in two groups, each on a different side of the road.
Lanna darted through the city in a straight line, as if she knew where she was going, and for a while nothing happened. Then, two guards appeared on her way and they had a brief conversation. From where Mary was standing, hidden behind a tree about 90 feet from the scene, she couldnât hear the words being said, but she could certainly see Lannaâs âdonât worry, Iâll be fineâ gestures and the shrugs of the two men before they let her go on her way.
Part of Mary was relieved that they were able to convince the elves but at the same time she felt appalled. Why would these people just leave Lanna walk alone at night? They knew girls like her were not safe out there!
And, fair enough, just a few minutes later, what theyâd feared and hoped for at the same time, happened.
Lanna had made her way to one of the more secluded areas of the city. She was walking, keeping her brisk pace and demonstratively not looking around.
Suddenly, only a few feet before her, a cloaked figure emerged. Mary had to do a double take because⌠it rose up from under the ground!
Lanna made a few more steps, unable to stop her inertia, and she flew right into it. But they didnât collide. The figure passed through her.
And then, it whirled around and wrapped a cord around Lannaâs neck.
Maryâs hand instinctively reached for the nail in her component pouch. It would allow her to paralyze the attacker! Then she remembered⌠she gave up that spell just a few days ago. She clenched her empty fist and groaned, horrified by her foolish decision.
In the distance, Lanna rang the Mosrael bell. As usual, no sound came out, but the dark figure recoiled in pain. However, the cord stayed around the maiden's neck, making her gasp for air.
Tesaya rushed towards the scene, divine light spreading around her. She held out her hand and a blessing enveloped both her and the Altered Aurum.
Almost as fast as her, Bruno sent a Guiding bolt towards the attacker. But it didnât make contact with the cloaked figure. It passed through, as if it had suddenly become immaterial. Instead, it hit Lanna straight in the back. The maiden staggered forward and started coughing violently. The cord had--somehow--slipped off of her neck.
The cloaked figure looked at the quickly approaching rescue group, and Mary was able to see their face. It was a woman, a human woman. No elven ears were sticking out from her head. Short, auburn hair dangled around her face, and her clothes were too clean for someone whoâd just appeared from the ground! Something nudged at Mary's brain and insisted that she knew that person from somewhere.
The womanâs face whipped back to Lanna. She drew a long stiletto blade and plunged it into the maidenâs unprotected side.
For a second, Lanna froze into place with her eyes wide open, then went limp and fell on the ground. Losing her consciousness, she turned back into Aurum. The bard lay motionless on the road, inside of a quickly growing pool of blood.
Thatâs when Mary finally snapped out of her stupor. Hold Person wasnât her only spell! She had other magic, damn it! She rushed forward, sending a necrotic force ahead of herself. She couldn't see if it hit but it certainly had no effect on the cloaked figure. Desperate, Mary commanded her familiars to attack.
Atti and Aingels swooped down from the sky and tried to sink their claws into the woman. They didnât meet any resistance and just flew through her. A moment later, Tesaya's sword did the same. That woman was like a ghost.
How do you combat a ghost?!
Seeing that she couldn't accomplish anything by fighting, Tesaya concentrated on healing Aurum. She sidestepped the cloaked woman and, grabbing one of the jewels on her necklace, kneeled down next to the bard. Soft light spread around his body and he gasped back to consciousness. He dragged himself upright, just in time to see the stiletto blade flying towards his stomachâŚ
âCome AT me, bitch!â he shouted, his words ringing with bard magic. His attacker fumbled and missed hitting anything vital.
Meanwhile, more celestial light illuminated the road, this time coming from Brunoâs holy symbol. It seeped into Mary, giving her energy, and healed more of Aurumâs wounds. At the same time it made the cloaked woman wince in pain.
âShe looks familiar!â Tesaya said, positioning herself between her and the bard. âI think Iâve seen her somewhere!â
So had Mary! But she couldnât pinpoint whereâŚ
Meanwhile, Aurum rang the Mosrael bell again. The woman covered her ears with the look of intense pain. Then, snarling at the bard, she returned to trying to stab him with her stiletto.
âThis weapon looks like trouble,â Bruno shouted.
He raised his hand and yelled out a prayer. The air around his hand blazed hot and he pointed at the woman's blade. The stiletto glowed red and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. The woman yelled in pain, dropped the weapon and gripped her injured hand with the other.
Then, Bruno spoke again and, suddenly, everything fell into place.
"Dorina, STOP!" he yelled.
OMG, what a tense fight! Is this woman really a ghost? Physical attacks pass right through her but she CAN be hit sometimes, so what is going on?! And what does Bruno mean by âDorinaâ? I hope our heroes can solve this before they⌠get in trouble. Get it? âIn troubleâ?? Like the title of this chapter???
My friends were right. Iâm getting worse at pun-ing. I should probably stop...
Anyway. Letâs see how this fight is going to finish, eh? See you in the next chapter!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum and Bruno) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.