0: A Dungeons & Dragons Ride

...and now it was time for part three of Diana's evening ritual - step one being shower (teaching kids martial arts works up a sweat) and step 2 being meditate (teach kids martial arts can disturb one's calm). Step three was plopping down on the couch with dinner and a beer, turning on the TV, and watching some terrible reality TV. Her former Buddhist teacher would probably have a fit if he saw her following up meditation with Married at First Sight. Actually, scratch that. The old woman would have calmly told her the value of other pursuits. That woman could be Zen about her house being on fire. But anyway, Diana liked her trash TV. Call it guilty pleasure if you like.

Diana sinks into the couch and sighs. She has her General Tso's tofu, fresh from the place on the corner. She has her beer of the night: a nice hefeweizen from the brewpub by the dojo. Remote control in hand...

"Hello? It's me! Presto! I hate to interrupt whatever you're doing..."

Diana sighs again. Only this time not in satisfaction. She used to live for an emergency call from Presto. But now... all that delicious tofu... and beer... Diana closes her eyes, takes a calming breath this time, and finds her center. No beer tonight, she says to herself. But can't go on an empty stomach. Too bad I don't get to savor it. Diana takes a big mouthful of food, then grabs the plate and heads for her room to change, continuing to eat as she goes.

A smile creeps across Bobby's lips upon hearing Thunder Club speak to him again. It's a smile of pure joy his face hasn't worn back home in decades. "Soon, my friend," he replies to the weapon, its familiar heft reassuring in his hands. His finger's still bleeding from the kitchen knife cut but Bobby very nearly laughs. It's good to be back.

Bobby puts his arm around Sheila's shoulder (if she's visible). "I'm afraid to ask," he rumbles, "how your opening went. Before you ditched it, that is."

Bobby doesn't waste much time with pleasantries. Sheila, Hank and Diana all get a bear hug from him. Presto gets somewhat gentler treatment as he doesn't want to break his frail friend. He shakes Eric's hand cordially. Then, he leans out a window and whistles for Uni.

"Warduke & Kelek eh?" the barbarian booms. "Lemme at 'em!"

Eric shakes Bobby's hand firmly. "Hiya kid." He thinks back to the Griffon Shield Probably my friends... again. He looks around at the gathering group. "Here we go again everybody. What craziness brings us together this time? What do Warduke and Kelek want Presto?"

Sheila appears and returns her brother's hug. "It WAS going well..." She answers and glances about noticing Diana. She moves over to her close friend and gives her a hug as well.

"Friends." Hank spoke simply as he took the other five into his view. Age had matured him; he spoke a little less carelessly than he used to, pausing first to assess what was transpiring before opening his mouth. His warmth and care did not fade though; the gaze that fell on the others was still fond and familiar. He sent the same sentiment to the bow that had spoken in his head. "You too old friend."

"Varla and Lorne? Have you already scried for them? We can set off straightaway before the trail gets cold."

Malchor snapped his fingers and pointed at himself then the bowl of quicksilver.

After a few embraces and questions about family, Presto gets down to business. "Right, right, so we’ve got a problem. As I’ve told you, Kelek and Warduke have attacked. A glance out the window and a sniff of the wind will show you what they’ve done to the Vistani wagons, and would’ve done to me if I were home. Instead, they’ve taken Varla and Lorne. It sounds like they’re not alone, they’re getting the band back together for another tour of terror. Malchor has been trying to find them, let’s see what he’s got so far…"

He moves to the bowl of quicksilver, and, careful not to breathe too deeply or touch the strange material, looks deeply into the bowl.

"Arcane and necromantic powers try to obfuscate their trail. Much stronger than the last time I encountered them. Stronger than they should be," Malchor said without opening his eyes amidst the sweat which ran down his brow.

"There..."

The surface of the quicksilver became a mirror at first, reflected your faces, then became a window onto a dense forest which showed signs of a legion having moved through it. Trees uprooted or felled for wood, fire pits, animal carcasses, and foul pools of water. A small fort patrolled by giant trolls sat at the edge of that decimated forest, its now one-handed orc commander shouted in his native tongue at his underlings and the handful of human mages atop the 20 foot high walls.Commander One Hand moved into the fort proper, little more than a series of bare stone rooms, and your invisible scrying sensor followed. His prisoners, your friends, lay bound and gagged on the dirty floor, and he growled at the handful of human mages and orc guards near them.Commander One Hand seemed overly circumspect for an orc, almost as though he knew he was being...

"Let me try an observational variation," Malchor said as his visibly trembling fingers danced in the air.

In the corner of the fort's room, you saw a luminous orb about the size of your fist floating near the ceiling. Almost as soon as you saw it, the orb flashed and violent ripples danced through the quicksilver, breaking the connection.

"Another scrying!" Malchor shouted. "No doubt one of the Malevolent spellcasters!"

He tried to stand but slumped back to the floor.

"I had a long day in the lab before helping the Vistani and twisting this spell. This is taxing me more than I'd expected," the wizard said in the defensive tone of one unaccustomed to being seen at less than his best, "but I can teleport you to them using the bastard's hand as an anchor. They're somewhere on this plane... I'm not sure exactly where... but you can teleport back here easily enough, Presto."

He looked up at you all and asked, "Whoever was scrying them saw our sensor, too. They'll know you're coming. Are you ready for a fight?"

Bobby hefts the Thunder Club, his jaw set. "Always ready for a fight! Let's go!"

Presto rubs his short beard, thinking. "They've got a lot of help this time. I wonder who all the humans are. Malchor, you've clearly met the big orc before if you've got his other hand (which is really gross). Who is he?"

"One of the Vistani cut it off before the bastards portaled away," the wizard said. "Get your gear and prepare. I'll... need a minute to focus."

"I can only wonder what horrible schemes those villains are up to this time." Sheila inserts into the conversation. "Some of these bad sort just don't learn from past lessons of getting their butts kicked over and over again. Isn't that one of the signs of insanity? Or..is it stupidity?"

"None of these guys were ever that bright." Eric says, beginning a series of stretches to limber up. "We'd better be ready to go in hard and heavy if they're expecting us."

"Eric is right, they'll be expecting us. Well, we know our formations well enough by now. Eric you're front and centre, Bobby and Diana on either side, but spread out the moment we arrive, I'll be just behind Eric to provide cover fire, Presto you're right at the back, and Sheila, you do what you do best when you're out of sight." Hank found the familiar tactical assessments roll off his tongue easily, it all began to come back to him as he framed himself with a sense of urgency, ready to go.

The first thing Diana hears on arriving in the Realms is the calm voice of The Staff. "Wherever you are is the place you need to be, Acrobat." She's holding it in her hand, as she always does when making the trip between worlds. A small wooden trinket in the "normal" world, an old friend in the Realms. She immediately expands The Staff and gives it a couple of twirls. "It appears I need to be here," she says with a smile. She tries to stay centered as the glorious power of the weapon infuses her body.

The second thing Diana does is take in her surroundings - and it's a lot to take in. She's caught up in processing it when Sheila approaches. Diana returns the hug firmly. "Hey there," she says. "So good to see you. Wish it was under better circumstances. I've got to start coming to visit you more." Diana greets the rest of her old comrades in turn, then listens to the tale that Presto and Malchor have to tell."I bet these guys have something new, or think they do. That's their pattern. Every time they get some new item, spell, or partner, they think that THIS time things will go their way. It's been quite a while since their last scheme though. I'd wager they think they've got something really big." Diana's staff is less than a foot long now, and as she talks she talks, she moves it about absent-mindedly. If her friends notice, they'll recognize it as a nervous habit that usually means Diana is worried.

"I don't like it," she finally says. "We should be on guard."