//------------------------------//
// (3) Humble Beginnings 
// Story: Canterlot High's D&D Club 
// by 4428Gamer 
//------------------------------//


3rd Person POV
The Next Day




As the morning sun arose, people of all walks of life joined it for the new day. Farmers and ranchers would appear from their land surrounding Dreiweg and immediately begin their daily routines. At the same time, merchants would get an early start on opening their business for the day. Meanwhile, street vendors would be rushing for the Bazaar Ring, a large area that surrounded Dreiweg's commercial district, in the hopes of getting the perfect spot to open their storefront.

All of this bustle would go unrecognized by travelers and shoppers alike who would typically wake up at more reasonable times. They would prepare themselves for the new day, mapping out their activities, and by the time they were dressed and ready the merchant rush would be complete.

The same could not be said for a particular set of travelers. With a slight hangover for some and rude awakening for others, seven different people had managed to wake up come the rise of the sun. Drowsily, a human woman would trudge through the roads of late rising merchants and arrive for a second time at the Evening's Nest, meeting up with her three acquaintances before soon heading out once more.

During this time, three other travelers were preparing for the same job. With one waking up at the table of a dive bar, to another crawling out of an extra bed at a barracks, and even a third leaping gracefully from a large rock from within a small grove outside of town.

In one form or another, the seven travelers all made their way toward one destination; the Onyx Steed Stables. The stables were just outside the city walls to the southeast but even though the walk wasn't too difficult for any of the seven, none of them were up for introductions so early in the day.

So instead, the group would gather at the stables and grunt or nod a greeting to one another before collecting the tarped wagon the stable boy had prepared for them; complete with two healthy oxen hitched up at the front. Little more was exchanged as the stable boy went over the basic motions and sent the group down the path to the south.

This group-made silence would go on for about another hour or so before each member of the group began to truly wake up. As they did, everyone would start to walk at a more moderate pace which in turn allowed the oxen to walk at their regular speed rather than the awkward canter they were doing before. However, by now the lack of any social interaction with one another was beginning to build on one of the travelers to the point where her mind had begun to wonder.




Stostine's POV




As Dreiweg and its surrounding farms were now far behind us, sitting on the cart had begun to feel dull. Aside from a small flock of birds or an odd looking tree we would pass by, nothing felt interesting enough to focus on. Aside from Ricven, the gnome I had met yesterday, everyone else in our group seemed unbothered by the long time of little interaction. And even in Ricven's case, he had occupied his time on the trip by mindlessly playing his violin.

Eventually, I got anxious. I started to glance around at the others, trying to gleam information simply by how they dressed or presented themselves. It was judging a book by its cover but when the book is locked what other choice did you have?

The first one I had looked at was the one in front of the cart, Glemerr. She was a large half-orc woman in worn down clothing and hair cut short and uneven. It looked as though the orc simply grabbed whatever hair was too long and chopped it with a single tug of a knife. That, doubled with the fact that her forearms and calves were wrapped in bandages, and you can tell that she was the kind of woman who preferred a scrap than any other form of battle. Oh, and she also didn't have shoes.

The other girl I had met yesterday was Vareén. However, I didn't know much else past that. She was dressed in leather armor, same as yesterday, and had a thick gray cloak over her with the hood pulled almost entirely over her face. Despite the attempts I made yesterday and this morning, I couldn't get a clear look at her. The only physical trait I could spot was the strand of jet black hair that revealed itself for only a moment.

As for the newer faces, the spectrum of backgrounds expanded tenfold. The simplest out of the three was a dwarven woman dressed in heavy armor with an equally heavy looking warhammer resting on her back. She had this bright fiery hair that went down to her shoulders with amber colored eyes to match. She seemed militaristic in how she held herself but there was little else to recognize about her.

The second new face held himself in an opposite tone. He was a human male dressed in simple leathers with a thin, worn cloak. In a way, he was dressed similar to Vareén with the only difference being the colors of their clothing. Vareén was dressed in darker colors underneath her gray cloak but the man was dressed in regular browns and other basic colors that made him less interesting to observe. The other difference between the two was that while Vareén had a hood that was constantly hiding her face, the man had no hood at all. In fact, he didn't seem to care whether anyone saw his face or not.

And finally, there was the most eye catching of us all. As I sat on half the wagon's seat, a Wood Elven woman sat beside me with the reins in her hands. She had this long, unkempt, bright orange hair mixed with green and light blonde highlights. Although despite the eye-catching colors of her hair, it was her clothes that had drawn everyone's attention from minute one.

Starting from the bottom up she had nothing in terms of footwear, not even bandages like Glemerr.  Despite that fact, her feet were absolutely clean. Even when we had all gathered outside the stables on dirt and wet grass none of it seemed to remain on her.

Then, there was this tan brown leather skirt that had been cut up to the point where it could only go as far down as the knees. At some point it may have gone down to her ankles but the uneven cuts along the edges made it obvious that she had made the 'improvement' herself.

Although it got stranger still. Resting loosely around her torso was this deep green noblewoman's blouse. At least, I think it had belonged to a noble at some point. Both sleeves had been cut off, similar to the skirt, and straps made up of dried vines helped to hold her only belongings on her back. A small wooden buckler that resembled tree bark...

And a scythe. An ebony black scythe that hung off her back like a severed praying mantis leg.

As all of these articles of clothing were covered in grass stains and twigs, the scythe was entirely clean without a single stain to be seen on it. However, none of this held a candle to the vines. All across her right arm, from shoulder to wrist, was a tightly wound layer of thorned vines wrapped like bandages. However, unlike bandages, the vines were subtly coiling about now and then as though they were a living snake.

The entire time, the elven woman seemed blissfully unaware of the thorns as they were visibly piercing into her arm. When she caught me staring she instead looked at me as though I was the weird one.



	Despite how worried the girls were about the magic, all of them turned to look at Fluttershy. Story hadn't told any of them what character was who, but none of them really needed the hint. The description, while very concerning, could only have belonged to one of them.

“Wait a second," Rainbow spoke first. She had perked up as though a light had gone off in her head. "How’s come Fluttershy got an intro like that but me and Applejack had to describe what we looked like?” Rainbow rose an eyebrow at Story.

"Applejack and I," Twilight spoke.

"Huh?" Rainbow asked.

"Err, n-nothing." Twilight backed off, catching her own correction.

Story looked back at Rainbow with a shrug. “Simple. She asked earlier.”

“That’s it?” Sunset furrowed her brow. “You didn’t say we could ask that.”

"Yeah," Rainbow jumped back in. "If I knew that you would've done that, I would've asked you to introduce this character like that."

“Well, to be fair she had a full backstory right down to her appearance being explained. So I kind of had to explain all the details. Besides, the only ones that had an idea for a backstory were Fluttershy, Twilight, and Applejack.”

“Well that seems a tad unfair,” Rarity noted.

“Not at all," Story corrected. "Every time I met up with you guys to make characters, I asked if you had any kind of backstory in mind. I mean, if you guys ever want me to do something specific about your characters, just ask and I'll be glad to help.”

Story then cracked his knuckles as loudly as possible, pulling everyone’s attention away from Fluttershy and back on him whether they appreciated the sound or not. Although Fluttershy was incredibly grateful for the attention falling away from her.

“Now then. Back to the game.”



When the elf caught me staring at the vines for a third time today, I decided that I needed a distraction. So I cleared my throat.

"Um, excuse me. Everyone." I allowed myself to stand up partly, confident in my footing on the moving cart. "Now that we've all taken some time to wake up—"

"Meh," Someone muttered from the behind me, earning a deadpanned look in return.

"I thought," I continued. "That we should take the moment to properly introduce ourselves."

"Why?" The Dwarf asked with no enthusiasm. "If we keep talking it'll just make this last longer than it nee—Ow!"



	For the second time today, Rainbow rubbed the rib that Applejack had elbowed.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Rainbow whispered through her gritted teeth.

"Look," AJ whispered back. "Magic err not, there ain't no excuse fer being sour 'bout a game. Jus' play it straight, ya hear?"



"How about I go first?" The Dwarf asked with strained enthusiasm. "My name's...Rav-a-thy-ra," she said slowly. "I'm a Dwarf who likes...using a hammer." Her shrug made it seem all the more forced.

"Riiiight." The human met the Dwarf's enthusiasm. He then took the chance to look over to me. "You'll have to excuse her. Apparently, she doesn't know people skills until the sun's taller than her."

"Hey!"

"Dat's fine," Glemerr slowed her speed so that she was standing near Ravathyra. "Mah name's Glemerr. Ah'm an orc that likes ta figh' people!"

"I was curious about the wrappings." I looked them over once again. Parts of them were a little dust covered but for the most part they were fresh. "I take it you trained somewhere?"

"Nah. Grew up figh'in mah family!" Glemerr gave me a huge toothy grin.

"A family a orcs, hmm?" Ricven asked from atop the wagon. Due to his smaller stature, Ricven found a stable location on the tarp and had been lying down the entire ride so far. "I'm guessin' you came from some kinda tribe then?"

I turned to glare at Ricven. "That was uncalled for."

"Ah s'pose," Glemerr answered. "Tribe's like a family. So yea, Ah come from a tribe!"

Ricven seemed to smirk to himself though it felt a little too snarky. Right or not, he didn't need to say that.

But I said nothing. Instead, I watched as Ricven made his way to his feet and balanced himself on the tarp. If I had to guess, he was probably standing on a crate. "Well, I do believe I'll take the chance to go next." As he said this, Ricven started to make a few gestures with his hand as he held his bowstring. All while muttering a few words under his breath.

Wait a second, I realized. Those are arcane sigils.

As though to answer my question, Ricven suddenly began playing feverishly on his violin with the sound of a second violin playing faintly in the breeze. The two violins seemed to almost give off this welcoming aura, like a warm hearth or a local pub.

The performance only lasted about twenty or so seconds but none of us, not even Ravathyra, showed any intent of having Ricven stop early. When it finally did reach a conclusion, both violins reached a crescendo before Ricven ended the spell and bowed towards no one in particular.

"My name is Ricven Lioncatch, the Connoisseur of Culture! And for the past twenty or so years, I’ve been touring the world! Seein' what it has ta offer! And once I’ve been ta every inch a' this land, I plan on recording it all for every man, child, and especially lady that remains as curious as I.”

The human man snorted with a thin smile. "Sounds like you've been rehearsing that speech."

"Indeed I have," Ricven admitted. “I can’t very well give a weak performance in front of a crowd of such beautiful ladies.” He gestured towards the rest of the us with little response.

"Hmph. Regular Casanova, huh?" The same man rolled his eyes. “Well, as long as we’re all telling stories, I might as well go next. The name’s Platick. I was born in the capital. I don't have anything as special as Ricven's little show, but I've been working on guarding carts like this for a few years now. It's the kind of work I'm used to."

"Then I take it we should be learning by your example," I asked.

Platick only shrugged. "There's not much to learn, really. Just make sure that nothing happens to the cart."

I nodded along before recognizing that I was one of the few left yet to actually introduce myself. And since the other two girls hadn't said a single word all day I figured that it meant I was next.

"Well," I started. "My name is Stostine Swordhand and, like Platick, I used to live in the capital. Jobs like these are a little new to me though."

"What sparked the change in scenery?" Platick asked.

"Nothing too extreme," I dismissed. "I simply realized that the city was too busy to live in constantly."

"..." Platick slowed his pace for a moment, his gaze not breaking from me.

"..."

"...That right?" Platick asked.

"Of course," I replied.

"..."

"..."






3rd Person POV
Ms. Cheerilee's Room




Sunset and Applejack continued to stare each other down as the others watched. Sunset kept a completely neutral expression while Applejack watched for any break in her for anything.

"That all there is?" AJ asked calmly.

"About so, yeah." Sunset's expression didn't change.

This caught everyone's attention. Whether the girls saw it often or not, Sunset knew how to keep her thoughts to herself. She would be able to voice them whenever she needed, but with the years that came before Twilight and the Fall Formal she could be very subtle about her opinions and intent.

Then there was Applejack. It was common knowledge at school that she had a sixth sense for lies. Even if the person in question wasn't lying but instead holding some details, she was able to pick up on the issue immediately.

The stare down was slowly making the other girls and Story go quiet. The silent battle had been the first thing past the magic to catch Rainbow's interest when there was none before. Meanwhile, the rest of the girls began to lean away from the two as though they were worried that they would be pulled into the feud.

The girls weren't caught off-guard by the exchange though. In fact, it surprised the group that Sunset and AJ didn't butt heads more often. Whenever it did happen, however, it would always end the same way. The two girls would square off for a moment and then go about their days like nothing ever happened.

"Funny," Applejack continued. She spoke in a voice for her character, Platick, like Pinkie and Rarity had done. Although, all the voice sounded like was AJ trying to hide her accent and deepen the pitch slightly. It worked well enough for an adult man's tone.  "Why would you give up something like that? From your clothes, it looks like you had a pretty good job before."

"Well, appearances are everything," Sunset spoke evenly, allowing herself a small smirk.

"And deceiving," AJ matched the smirk herself.

The two knew that this was different from their usual bouts. But just as subtly as their joy showed, it faded back as their intensity remained.

Applejack continued watching for any crack in Sunset's expression that she could use. Without proof, she couldn't call Sunset on her lie. However, Sunset knew that too. So rather than risk a deep breath or a raised eyebrow that would give Applejack evidence, she simply controlled her blinking and breathing. Too much or too little would work against her.

That didn't stop Sunset from mentally laughing at AJ's attempt. Applejack didn't have to worry about her expression nearly as much, so Sunset was able to bask in the victory that was Applejack gritting her teeth in frustration.

Without wasting time, Sunset went for an offensive.

"Deceiving?" Sunset repeated. "Funny you say that. For someone that was so welcoming a second ago, you seem suddenly abrasive yourself."

"There," Thought Sunset.

Only she had been able to notice it, but Sunset wasn't seeing things. Like Story had said, Applejack was one of the girls who had a story for their character. That means that Applejack's "Platick" had some history. And judging by the inaudible twitch from Applejack it was probably a secret.

Applejack made no instant retort. Instead, she sat back in her chair, crossed her arms and tried to hide her expression. Meanwhile, Sunset took to leaning onto the table with her chin in her palm. While Sunset hated to admit it, there was still a few useful things she learned while being that terrible, manipulative bully. She would never do this to a friend about something serious but if they were in a game like this then she could have a little fun, right?

Still, Sunset stopped her assault early. The Lying Game was only harmless if you let it end before it went too far. Besides, there was still the magic aura to deal with. Sure it was quiet for now, but something told Sunset that if anyone tried doing anything other than talking then that's when the magic would start kicking in.

Sadly, Applejack was about to test that theory for her.

"Story," Applejack spoke suddenly. As Sunset's attention snapped away from the table only then did she realize that her attention had left Applejack. Her mental laughing instantly turned to scolding as she yelled at herself for giving AJ a chance to recover.

"Is there a way fer Platick ta figure out if Sunset's lyin'?"

Applejack watched as Sunset's eyes darted over to Story before turning back towards her. All at once Applejack noticed a good several tells coming from Sunset. Whether there even was a way for Applejack to catch Sunset's lie in the game didn't even matter now. The fact that Sunset was starting to crack told Applejack that there really was something that she was hiding. That was more than enough for Applejack to call her on it.

"There is, actually," Story said, letting Applejack and Sunset both turn toward him. After they did, Story looked at Applejack. "Go ahead and roll me an insight check."

Applejack's eyes locked onto the magic dice in front of her. AJ, and her alone, watched as the twenty-sided die in front of her gave off this faint orange glow that no one else could see. Not the girls or Story.

In fact, as Applejack looked to Sunset for an answer she noticed that Sunset didn't seem to be reacting to the dice. Although she was certainly the most worried.

Applejack finally looked back to Story, seemingly making up her own mind. "Roll it?"

"Yeah. Just like that history check, but using the number next to the word 'insight' instead."

Story noticed the odd hesitation but decided against pointing it out. He had merely assumed the worried look was from AJ not knowing what was going to happen next. And, in a way, Story was right.

"Applejack," Sunset warned. When she saw that Applejack was actually debating whether or not to pick up the dice, she gulped. "You could just take my word for it."

AJ , who had been mulling over the idea, heard Sunset's words and paused.

"Take yer word?" Applejack repeated. "Ya know, you could just as easily admit what yer hidin'."

"I'm not hid..." Sunset forced herself to calm down. Her own voice was betraying her. "You don't have to roll."

"Or you could," Story reminded with a small smirk. He then noticed Sunset scowling at him but refused to respond. Story may not have been aware of the girls' background in the Lying Game, but that didn't mean he was out of the loop entirely. After all, acting was just another form of lying. He knew all too well how the game worked.

However, as he failed to notice how Sunset was scowling, Story instead noticed that Rainbow was getting more and more interested in the standoff. This will help, Story thought. If he was gonna get Rainbow or the other girls more invested in the game now was a great chance to do it.

"I mean," Story continued on, presenting a bigger presence to the Lying Game. "If Applejack rolls a higher number than Sunset, that means Sunset has to tell Applejack if she's telling the truth or not."

"...I would have to roll too?" Sunset blinked as she looked down at the dice. Each of her dice was a fiery red color with the numbers looking like they were a bright orange. Meanwhile Applejack's dice were a polar opposite with a sunrise orange base with bright red numbers. The opposite colors had a meaning.

"Had ta be that one," Applejack noted.

Sunset could already see Applejack's intent in her twitching fingers. "You're taking this a little far, don't you think?"

Applejack's fingers twitched again. Then she sighed. "Sunset...sooner err later we're gonna end up doin' this. Might as well rip off the band-aid now."

Before Sunset could argue any more, Applejack quickly flicked the die into the air and watched along with everyone as it tapped around.

As the die came to a stop it began to glow brighter with the same orange aura that had poured out of Applejack earlier. Every girl immediately froze up as the die landed on a 6 but only Sunset and AJ could notice the aura dim to a dark orange glow. A moment later, Applejack alone witnessed as "+4" appeared next to the die from the same orange aura.

All the girls' attention then shot up towards Story, who was simply sitting there looking at Applejack. "So..." He hummed. "What's the total?"

“O-Oh! Um.” Applejack looked back at the dice and checked the paper set up in front of her. "Jus'. Jus' ten." She instantly scooped the die off the table, unsure if Story hadn't seen the glowing or what. However, while she hid the still glowing die in her hand, all the girls, not just AJ anymore, noticed Insight: 10 now glowing on the desk where Applejack's die once was.

"Alright, good to know. Now it's Sunset's turn." Story turned to Sunset, who was now genuinely confused like the rest of the girls. To them, the magical writing was plain as day. Yet Story was sitting there. Seemingly unaware of it.

"Whether you're lying or not," he carried on. "Roll me a D20."

Sunset didn't break eye contact with him. At least, for the first second or two. Then, as her die began to glow, her attention was quickly focused on it. Like before, none of the girls or Story could see the aura around the die; none except for Applejack who seemed to excpect it. Nevertheless, Sunset steeled her wits and lightly tossed the dice with as little contact as possible, afraid of it reacting to her.

From there, the die began to glow brighter as it clattered around the table for a second. Then, after it landed on a 15, the die pulsed with Sunset's magic in a way that was brighter than Applejack's dice.

"Cool," Story complimented plainly. "Now, if you're lying, add the deception number to the dice. If you are telling the truth, add the persuasion number."

Sunset looked back to the dice and saw that the magic had already come up with the number anyway. Beside the die was a '+4' written in the magic. "Uh...Nineteen."

To the rest of the girls, they had no clue what was going on. Each of them looked to each other to see if any of them could see the magic. When they were sure that they were seeing the same thing, or lackthereof, they turned back to Story to see him looking a little confused, but not surprised. The only thing he seemed confused about was why everyone else was suddenly so worried.

Finally, Sunset's die gave one last flash of magical aura before both dice stopped glowing altogether. No words like Applejack's this time. Instead, only the number 19 appeared beside Sunset's die in a way where all the girls could see it.

It's hiding the intent, Sunset thought.

Story nodded along and sat back. "Applejack, you keep waiting for any sort of tell or give that she's lying to you but you're not sure whether or not there's anything there. She may seem guarded but without knowing anything about her it's easy to chalk it up to being careful around new faces."

"..."

"..."

Eventually, Applejack hummed in thought. Though not without taking several seconds trying to figure out whether or not Story was hiding something. It didn't go unnoticed to either girl that Story was playing Devil's Advocate with the dice, but something that Sunset observed is that when the aura on the die flashed like a camera, no one flinched from the list. Not even Applejack. Sunset was the only one to see it.

However, one flash that Story did notice, was a light bulb supposedly going off above Sunset's head.

"Hey Story?" Sunset straightened up. "Can I do the same thing to Applejack?"

"What," Applejack snapped.

Story rolled his jaw as he thought. "You mean an insight check? What for?"

"To see if her character's hiding anything?"

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me."

"Do it..." From the edge of the table, Rainbow was half whispering, half pleading for Sunset to do it. She wanted something else to happen.

"You stay outta this," Applejack warned. She turned back to Sunset who was now weighing the D20 in her hands carefully. "Ya proved yer point Sunset. I went too far, alright?"

"I mean, in all honesty, eye for an eye," Story excused with a smile.

"You too! You keep ta yer own." Applejack gave a stern look to Story. By now it was obvious that Rainbow and Story were just egging on the feud, and Applejack could feel herself giving in to the competition. Still, there was a limit to how much you should push magic and this was the borderline.

"Technically, this is my own." Story shrugged. "I mean, I gotta be the one to tell y'all what happens. Sunset simply has to roll the dice."

"There ain't no simply about it."

"But, Applejack," Sunset cooed humorously, putting Applejack on edge. "Sooner err later we're gonna end up doin' this. Might as well rip off the band-aid now," Sunset recited as she mimicked Applejack's accent.

Applejack tensed up. "Ugh! Me an' my big mouth..."

Sunset then turned to Story. "I'd like to make an insight check for any signs that Applejack's character is either as they seem to be or if it's a front." Once Story gave her the all clear, Sunset turned back to her dice.

Just as Sunset had predicted, the D20 began to glow faintly again. And as she thought, none of the others seemed to notice it.

It looks like the magic activates whenever Story gives the word. Not only that but the magic seems harmless so far. At the very least, in the dice it's harmless.

Deciding to keep up her sudden casual tone, Sunset took up the dice and rolled it with a calm smile. And just like each time so far, the die tapped around on the table and began to glow in a way where only Sunset could see. Once it landed on an 11, the aura made "+3" appear next to the die that only Sunset could read. 

The images are all created from my aura too, just like the aura on the dice. All it's doing is projecting the information I need. After a quick glance around the room, Sunset noticed that none of the others were ponying-up either. Also good.

"Fourteen," Sunset announced.

"Good. Applejack," Story turned to the cowgirl, who was now sitting there with her hat pulled low over her face. "If Platick is normally friendly to new faces, roll persuasion. If he's normally not so friendly to new people, deception."

Applejack looked back over to Sunset, who was now sitting back with a satisfied grin on her face. When she was sure that Story wasn't looking, Sunset winked in assurance.

What's she so calm about? Applejack thought with a raised eyebrow. She's treating this like a friendly game of poker...

Hold on. Applejack went for her dice and held it in her hands. If I'm right, Sunset's die was probably glowing for her. But it doesn't look like she cared. Then does that mean...

Trying to imagine every feud she had put between herself and Rainbow, AJ grinned. "Ya got it all figured out, don't ya?"

Catching on to AJ's meaning, Sunset's smile became more genuine. "Yep."

"Heh," Applejack chuckled. "Well alrighty then. I trust ya."

That last part confused Story but it didn't matter. With more assurance, Applejack flicked the dice ahead and joined the others in watching where it stopped. However, with nothing for Platick to add to the roll, Applejack's game face fell quickly.

"Five," She said pitifully, earning a snicker from Rainbow.

“Welp." Story quickly tossed his pen down before standing up and walking over to where Sunset was sitting. "Seems we have a winner then.” 

“Wait, what’s happening...” As Story got closer, he signaled for Sunset to lean towards him. Once he was sure that none of the others could hear him, he began to whisper something to her.

“What’s going on?” Twilight leaned towards them out of curiosity, but she still couldn’t make out what they were hearing.

“Oh. Um, Story's whispering really quietly.” Fluttershy watched as Sunset’s expression turned from confused to focused. “I remember when my parents were planning a birthday party for me. Story and his family were helping them plan the surprise and every time he whispered, no one could hear him. Not even Angel Bunny.”

“Huh. Y'all really do know each other,” Applejack admitted.

“Well, his mom and mine knew each other since they were in school," Fluttershy explained. "So I’ve known him for as long as I can remember.” Fluttershy had come out from behind a majority of her hair but still seemed a bit unwilling to talk too much about everything.

Thankfully for her, all eyes watched as Sunset started to go from focused to intrigued. “What's on his necklace?” Story leaned back in to keep whispering more info.

"Hold up! How's come she found that out?" Applejack straightened up, now scrunching up her face in protest.

Story paused his whispering for a moment to look at Applejack. "She studied you for any signs to see if Platick is as they seem. Devil's in the details." With that, Story went back to whispering to Sunset.

Meanwhile, Applejack fell back in her seat. At this point, it wasn't even the magic getting to her. It was her luck. Applejack figured that she'd probably be getting the same secret-telling from Story had she rolled high enough. So whether she liked it or not, this was all in earnest.

When Story finally finished, he went back to his seat while Sunset closed her eyes to take in all the information. “Alright then. I think I know what I want to do.” With a new smile, Sunset looked up toward Applejack.





Stostine's POV
On the Road
Sunrise





"I'm terribly sorry." I began to walk forward so that I could speak to Platick in a quiet tone. "I didn't quite get your name. What was it again?"

Platick then tightened his expression as he picked up the pace to keep up with the cart. At the same time, I took the chance to study his appearance in whatever way I could. Just as I had seen before, he wore regular leather armor with a plain looking cloak that helped to hide most of his belongings. At a cursory glance, I spotted the same poorly-managed shortsword hanging from his belt.

However, that was the weapon Platick apparently wanted people to notice. It was hard to spot, but I managed to find the tip of a blade hidden away on a back sheath. Not only that but I was able to notice the quality of the daggers tucked away in his boots. One in each.

But there was one thing that I noticed above all the hidden weapons he had on his person; a trinket that was meant to be hidden just as well as the weaponry. Hanging around his neck with a simple leather string wrapped around a single coin. The coin itself, while I couldn't see the symbol of its minting, was certainly a platinum coin.

There was a large war that ended resulted in an economic boom for Leodaav as naval trade became more widely available. Then, about seven years later, our neighboring kingdom to the south, Skel, opened trade negotiations. Since then money has become easier to obtain. And even when the common man had the ability to earn gold pieces, platinum was still only reserved for the rich.

And the rich typically had more than only a given name.

When 'Platick' didn't answer me, I turned fully to him. "What is your name?"

"I already told you," the man spoke calmly. "My name is Platick."

"Just Platick?" I repeated.

I then watched as the smile he greeted us with was now replaced with a neutral expression at best. "That's what I said."

"You don't want to say your last name?"

"What makes you think I have one?" He countered.

"You're not denying it," I pointed out. In response, I saw his expression turn sour.

While Platick seemed to be considering a comeback, I could sense the rest of our group watching the exchange. Whether the man was hiding anything or not, there was nothing to gain over calling him out immediately. After all, the one thing I believed about him was his experience in these types of jobs.

"I apologize," I spoke softly and took a step back. "As I said before, I used to work in the capital. It's a very different world there."

Platick hummed along but said nothing.

He knows I suspect something, I thought. "Though, to be blunt, I do not get why you are hiding so much. If you say you have done this job before then you make yourself seem capable. But wearing a rusted blade and rags over your armor makes you seem unreliable. Why the confusing message?"

"Well what can I say?" Platick spoke through his teeth. "Appearances are everything."

"And deceiving," I added.

"...Fast learner." Platick took the chance to fall in line behind the cart. Though the whole way he now had a much tighter guard kept up.

Unnerved by how the conversation was going, Ricven sat back down and glanced over towards Vareén. "I believe it's your turn to say a little about yaself."

"No thanks." Vareén didn't turn to look at him.

That answer didn't settle too well with the group's Dwarf. "What do you mean 'no thanks'?"

"I mean I'm not interested."

"Oh no you don't," Ravathyra warned. "How's come you get to go on without saying anything?"

"Simple," Vareén answered. "I don't have anything to say."

"But that's not fair! If I need to introduce myself than that doesn't mean that you can get awa—"



	Rainbow Dash was ready.

With time to spare, she caught Applejack's elbow before it could strike her in the ribs a third time. Dash took a few seconds to smirk at Applejack before she continued going against Twilight and her fake brooding.



"You're not getting out of this without saying anything. So talk."

"..." Vareén didn't have a snarky remark this time.

Instead, Platick sighed. "Look, if we all break out in arguing we're never getting this stuff delivered..." He looked Ravathyra over before making up his mind.

"Miss." Platick looked over toward Vareén. "Can you just say something so short fuse will calm down?"

Vareén kept going on trying to ignore the group but she knew it wouldn't work. So, instead, a moment or two passed as she let out a thin groan.

"My name is Vareén," she admitted. "I used to be a hunter. Now I'm not. There." None of her tone seemed at all welcoming. If anything, it just made the situation more tense.

I sunk into my chair slightly. "Perhaps introductions were a bad idea."

With regret already building, I finally turned towards the last of us who had yet to say anything, the woman with the scythe. On top of trying to avoid her glance I was trying to ignore the scythe as it would sometimes tap my shoulder whenever we hit a bump in the road.

"Erm...Did. You want to say a few words?" I asked carefully. She did seem the most abrasive out of us all.

The woman took a moment before cautiously glancing towards me, as though unsure if I was even talking to her or not. When she noticed that all of us were silent at this point, she started to look unsettled.

For a second, I spotted this instinctive pull in her expression. Her eyes glazed over slightly and the corner of her lip twitched like a feral animal. In that instant, I thought that she was about to tear my throat out, no scythe necessary.

In fear, I gripped the left cuff of my robe. Carefully hidden just below a thin layer of wool was a small crystal which acted as my spellcasting focus. Without it, a lot of my spells would become much more difficult to pull off. Although, with her sitting this close to me, the focus wouldn't matter. I wasn't quick enough.

The standoff was short lived. After a couple of seconds spent of this woman staring me down, the intensity in her eyes began to settle and she had begun to look more inquisitive. Like she had needed time to comprehend what I said.

Finally, nearly an entire minute later with none of the others saying or doing much else, the woman with the snake vines spoke up.

"nah...nu-name," The woman answered slowly. It sounded like she were testing her voice as it were raspy and faint to the point where it could have faded away for good any moment. "I...no."

"What?" Ravathyra glanced over towards us. "You're not saying either?"

The woman shook her head and tried again. "i. no...name. I no name," she combined the words together. It was clear how she spoke that she didn't know common, which was odd. Common was a language that every nation used. In some places it wasn't the first language but I don't think that was the problem here.

"Don't have a name, huh?" Platick asked. "I mean, alright, I guess, but what do we call you?"

"..." The woman went silent again in contemplation.

"N-no name," she repeated. "I...title."

"A title?" Ricven hummed the idea over in his mind. "Interestin'. And what, my fair lady, would that be?” Ricven asked as he sat up once again from behind us.

“Title...called Thorn Wielder.”



	“Everyone but Fluttershy go ahead and give me another history check.” Story leaned forward.

“..." Sunset glanced around, noticing that the others were no longer as concerned as they were last time.

"Okay." Sunset shrugged before taking the dice.

"Sure." Applejack followed suit.

Over the last few minutes the two managed to spread the news to the rest of the girls that the dice had been harmless. And now, everyone's dice, excluding Fluttershy's, were glowing faintly with their respective magic with everyone only able to see their own aura.

“I have an eight," Twilight announced, watching as her die had the dying glow of embers.

“I, woah." Applejack, meanwhile, had to force herself not to shield her eyes from the bright flash of light her die made. "I. Th-There's a twenty on the die."

"Congrats." Story smiled. "That means critical success."

“And...What if we got a one?” Coincidentally enough, Sunset sat there staring at her dice awaiting any kind of response. The moment it stopped on a one, it stopped glowing altogether. No visible writing on the side, no tendrils of aura, nothing. It should have been great that there wasn't any magic but it was a bittersweet feeling.

“Fourteen.” “Eleven.”  Rarity and Pinkie didn't seem to be holding their breath as the dice only gave a faint glow.

"I got fifteen," Rainbow called out, now only interested in whatever the magic was going to do.

As all of the girls finished checking, every single one of them could see their numbers appearing on the table in ghost-like writing except for Sunset who's dice continued to remain dormant. However, from Fluttershy's point of view, she started to notice that Rainbow and Applejack's numbers seemed to have more of a presence to them.

“Alright then,” Story seemed to look toward Fluttershy for some sort of sign before standing up. Upon the two making some sort of silent agreement, Story stood up. "AJ and Rainbow beat the number."

"Wait, I got something?" Rainbow looked confused. "But Applejack got higher than me."

"You're not trying to get the highest score." Story shook his head as he scooted past a few chairs. "You're trying to get above a certain number."

And with that, he gestured for Rainbow to lean in before whispering something.

This time, it only took about ten seconds but Rainbow's expression seemed sort of confused.

"Scorched Acrine?" Rainbow repeated. "What?" Story whispered to her a second time and slowly she seemed to understand.

As Rainbow started to nod Story backed over toward Applejack. "And since you got a natural twenty..."

Again, Story began to whisper with the girls only seeing gestures or reactions from either of the two.

Then, by the fifteen second mark, the girls began to watch as Applejack's expression started to stretch into surprise while at the same time that Story made a slow sweeping motion.

"Is it really that surprising?" Rainbow looked over. "I mean, it's in the name isn't it?"

"What is, what is?" Pinkie started to teeter around on the edge of her seat. The whole time she was sitting beside Applejack she couldn't manage to hear anything that Story was telling her.

Pinkie's curiosity went unanswered as a few seconds later Story backed off and left Applejack to look to Fluttershy.

"Well then," AJ started with a breath. "Fluttershy, that is some story ya got there."

“Well, I did have a little help.” With a small smile, Fluttershy turned towards her bag. Entirely unalarmed as it shook lightly in return.

"If it makes you feel any better," Story sat down and scooped up his pencil. "I wasn't ready for a story like this either. Although it did fit with a few things."

“So, what'd he say?” Pinkie rocked in her chair, impatient. “I really wanna know!”

“Uh…” AJ looked to Story Spinner. “Can my guy tell whether or not the others know 'bout Flutt--err, Thorn Wielder?” She held her hand above the orange die.

"As you glance around the others," Story laid out. "You can tell that most of them seem simply confused. Although you do spot that Ravathyra seems to be less frustrated with the answer and more...occupied."

Applejack shared a look with Rainbow before coming to some sort of conclusion. “Alrighty then…”






Platick's POV
On the Road




"Hold on, Thorn Wielder?" I glanced over to the cart where Stostine and the woman at hand were seated. "Didn't expect to hear that name clear out here."

"..." She didn't respond. She just kept facing forward.

"The place she's from..." The Dwarf, Ravathyra, spoke in her native tongue. "It's from the other half of the world, right?"

Well, other half of the continent, but I think that's what she meant to say.

When I finished translating in my mind I walked up to her and kept pace alongside the cart. "What have you heard about her?" I asked in Dwarvish.

"A couple of things I guess," she shrugged.

"Well then, would you mind sharing?" Vareén asked, jumping into our conversation also in Dwarvish.

I tried spotting her from the opposite side of the cart to no avail. Although what I could tell was that the rest of the group was looking at the three of us in either confusion or interest. It seemed like the three of us were the only ones who knew fluent Dwarvish.

“I thought most Elves knew about the story.” Ravathya crossed her arms.

“Most Elves?” Vareén repeated.

"Okay, not what I meant." Ravathyra held up her arms. "It...It’s just that's how an elf said it. He told me it was a big deal back in..."




"What was the elf place called again?" Rainbow looked to Story.

"Cortás," Story repeated gladly.




"Yeah, Cortás, that place." The Dwarf said while nodding along to...no one.

"You know," I spoke in Dwarven. "Not all Elves are from Cortás."

"Come on, I. That is not what I...sorry," Ravathyra grunted.

From the corner of my eye I could see Stostine looking towards us quietly. Oh joy, she speaks Dwarven. How's come I'm not surprised?

"...Let's speak later," I concluded in Dwarven. I then hung back and allowed myself to take my position behind the cart.

There is no way she simply wanted a 'change of scenery'. Stostine seemed upset about my reluctance but it wasn't like she could do much against it. So she instead got up and began to ask Ravathyra if she wanted to take a turn riding the cart rather than walking it. Despite the fact that Stostine only sat down ten minutes ago rather than every hour like we agreed before.

Studying Stostine closer, she was dressed in very clean light blue robes and hair that was neatly wrapped up in a single braid. Couple that with her speech and how she presented herself and there was no doubt that she came from higher standing. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that her standing was pretty damn near excellent. So then why did some regular guard job take her interest so much?

Stostine instructed Thorn Wielder to slow the oxen for a moment as Ravathyra boarded the cart with a confused look. Her rest was still another three hours and she was now skipping Glemerr and myself in the queue. Not that I was going to take my turn. If I got to rest during shift change I'd be fine. Meanwhile, Glemerr looked like she could march all day if she needed to. Neither of us would complain.

"Thanks, I guess." Ravathyra placed the hammer next to her in the seat and leaned back.

"Not a problem," Stostine answered in Dwarven. "Besides, it's only fair you take a moment to rest. Your armor looks heavy."

Kiss up, I thought. If she wasn't a noble then she knew how to play their game. Let me guess, did she pack some pastries before leaving the city? Maybe even a hand-stitched blanket while she was at it?

As Stostine took up Ravathyra's position, I glanced back at Thorn Wielder. Then there's her.

The woman muttered a few things in some odd tongue towards the oxen. I have no clue how that Gundren Dwarf found her of all things but already my instincts were telling me that this was wrong. Some girl from the capital as well as an elf straight out of a fairy tale? It made me want to stop, turn around, and just walk back to Dreiweg. Pretend it never happened.


"Then 'ow's about somethin' more dan coin?" Gundren asked me. It was about a week ago.

"Like what?" I challenged.

"Ya do this fer me." Gundren held for a moment. "An' I set a few shops straight on yer name. How's about that?"


My name, I repeated. How did he know my name?

"Oi! Platick."

"Huh?" I huh'ed.

"Hurry it up," Ricven called from atop the cart. He, as well as the rest of the party, were now several yards ahead. "We ain't about ta slow down every five minutes so's you can stare at the trees!"

"Funny," I countered. "You don't seem to mind when the girls stop the cart for no reason." Regardless, I picked up the pace to catch back up with the group.

Whether there was some out of place noble on this job or an elven woman that shouldn't be here, it didn't matter. Anything was worth trying to set my name right.