Nova loves to run D&D. He convinces the girls to give it a shot with his favorite campaign. Can the girls survive the terrors of Barovia and escape the dread lord? This is meant to be a side story so there’s no cannon placement for it. Just some friends playing D&D!
“Alright, y’all have y’all’s characters ready to go?” Nova looks around the table to his newest victims….I mean…players. Players is what I meant.
“Yep! I’m excited to see how the story unfolds. I’ve heard of D&D but never had the chance to play. I’ve gone over the numbers and I should have a near perfect set up.” SciTwi beams a few seconds before going back over her page to make a few tweaks.
“Ready as ah’ll ever be. Though half this stuff I still don’t understand.” AJ says as she holds the handbook up.
“Ah come on AJ it ain’t rocket science.” Dash jokingly jabs AJ.
“Not quite darling. Still working out the finer details.” Rarity says as she writes.
Pinkie looks over and giggles. “That’s not the character sheet silly. You’re just drawing.”
“The look of a character is just as important, if not more so, as the numbers dear.” Rarity smiles back.
Sunset gives a nod. “We’re good to go here.”
Fluttershy speaks softly “I guess so…but I’m not very good at board games. I can just watch so I don’t mess anything up.”
Nova gives a light chuckle. “There’s nothing to mess up as long as you try. D&D is a role play game and the easiest role to play is yourself. That’s why I had y’all just create yourselves to make things easier. You are a group of friends who just joined the adventures guild and are on your first mission. Simple.”
Sunset smirks. “So pretty much where we are now. But instead of just joining a guild we are fresh out of high school going on our first adventure of life.”
The girls chuckle a bit as Nova shrugs. “What can I say? A familiar scene makes for easier role play. Now go ahead and describe y’all’s characters so we all know who can do what.”
Dash speaks first. “I’m a super cool ass-Imar Kensei monk.” She pauses after the giggles started. “What?”
Rarity responds holding back her own giggle. “Rainbow darling. I do believe it’s pronounced Aye-simar…and not ass-imar.”
Rainbow turns a little red as she retorts. “Well…they need to find a better way of spelling it then.” She then waves her hand to dismiss the situation and move on quickly. “Anyways. I’m a SUPER cool…angel lady who kicks monster butt with a staff.”
Applejack follows after. “Ah myself decided to stick with human. Was tough pickin out a class but I reckon a good ole cavalier outta do the trick. Ah’ll have good ole Winona with me. She’s the best horse a cowgirl can ask for.”
Rarity keeps it going. “I too had difficulty picking the class. There are just so many interesting design choices. Ultimately I settled on an human arcane archer. The elegance and precision needed for archery is not to different from what I do at the shop. Only…larger scale and…deadly.”
Twilight then goes. “I knew what I was going to be as soon as Nova suggested it. I am an artificer. A scientist who creates gadgets to do all sorts of things. A bonus as a battle smith I get to bring spike along.”
Spike puffs his chest out. “Yep. I’m the steel defender. I’ll keep you girls safe.”
Twilight gives spike a pat as Dash asks. “So does this mean we’re gonna have to deal with twilighting?”
Twilight yells “That’s not a verb!”
As everyone begins to laugh Nova says. “Yes…and it’ll be great.”
Twi glares at Nova before letting out an exaggerated sigh then smirks. “So who’s next?”
Pinki pipes up. “Ooh I’m a halfling because they know how to party. Also I have no clue why. Maybe it was something I ate but I’m a wild magic sorcerer. So…sorry in advance if I cause all of us to explode!”There’s a squee sound as she puts on a large grin.
A little warily now Sunset goes next. “Well I figured the obvious pick is a wizard but the subclass was difficult. I never had a single focus of spells as I tried to learn it all so I went with war. I’m also a teifling.”
Dash asks. “What’s a teifling? I don’t remember seeing that after the…angel one.”
Sunset smirks. “Oh I’m just playing a she-demon.” After seeing her friends pause she continues with a chuckle. “Girls come on. I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong. I guess I just feel a bit of a connection. They are literally demon people but not by their own choice. They just mostly want to be excepted so…not to far off from me after the formal. Especially since I turned into a literal demon. I promise I’m fine. Also…they looks super cool.”
After a few agreements on that statement we all look to Fluttershy as she’s the last to go. “Oh um…I decided to be a high elf who lives in the woods and I’m a shepherd Druid so…I help tend to the animals there. I am excited to start playing though. I have the same ability to talk to animals so I’m curious to who I’ll meet in the game.”
Nova grimaces a bit as he knows how this campaign goes. “Yes well…good luck with that.”
Nova with a sinister smirk and speaking in a Transylvanian accent. “Great. Now I know all your strengths and weaknesses.” Upon seeing the girls slightly worried looks Nova chuckles. “Relax I’m just messing with y’all…mostly.” He then clasps his hands together. “So everyone’s ready?” The girls nod with a few determined looks as Nova then continues. “Alright then. A festival is in full swing in the city of Waterdeep.”
“The Harvest festival couldn’t come at a better time. The girls had just signed with the adventures guild in Waterdeep and were eager to prove their mettle against any foe!” Rainbowdash say while striking a heroic pose.
Applejack gives Rainbowdash a questioning look. “Uh Dash, Why are ya narratin?”
“Well I…uhh…I’m just excited to get out there.” Dash says with a hint of embarrassment. She then puts her fist up like she is ready to fight with a determined look on her face. “I’m ready to kick some bad guy butt.”
Pinkie begins bouncing around the group joyfully. “But before any of that Dashy we have some serious partying too doooo.” Pinkie says in a sing song manner.
“That’s why I said the festival is perfect timing. We passed our test with the guild, we party all day, then we show everyone how it’s done.” Dash says with her hands on her hips and chest puffed out.
Sunset lays a hand on Rainbowdash’s shoulder. “Don’t worry you’ll get your chance Dash. Just don’t do anything crazy.”
Applejack snickers. “Ya don’t go off forgettin we’re here.”
Rainbowdash waves them off then smiles confidently. “Relax girls. Once the bad guys see me comin we won’t need to fight. Now let’s get partying!”
The girls all nod as Twilight pulls out an info pamphlet for the festival. “So what do you guys want to do first? Looks like there’s a bit of everything. There’s a market, games, petting zoo, magic shows. Oh there’s also a fighting arena and a fashion contest.”
Rainbow boasts. “Sign me up for the arena. We’ll show them how it’s done. Right AJ?”
Applejack gives a determined nod. “Yep we’ll give’em a good wallopin.”
Rarity smirks. “Well naturally I would like to fight in the arena too. The arena of fashion.” She then strikes a pose like she is already on the runway.
“Um…I’d like to go to the petting zoo please.” Fluttershy says as she raises her hand slightly.
“Oh oh magic shows for me please!” Pinkie says as she happily bounces around the group.
Twilight nods. “As for me the market is perfect. I need to see if I can get a few components. How about you Sunset?”
Sunset smiles and shrugs. “It all sounds fun to me.”
Twilight nods. “Alright girls. Follow me. I’ve already calculated out a rough schedule. To the petting zoo!”
The rest of the girls happily follow the party leader knowing she makes the best plans. It has nothing to do with the fact that she is in charge of the money. Not at all.
“Would you young ladies care for a reading of your fortunes?” The girls pause to acknowledge the speaker.
They see a middle aged woman sporting black hair with strands of grey, a vibrant blue head scarf and an equally vibrant multicolored dress with coin shaped bits of metal that clatter as she dances to the music.
The girls recognize this woman as a vistani. They’re gypsys who wander from place to place, particularly where there are festivals and the like but they have a bad reputation. Most people see them as scammers and thieves so they are bared from entering most cities.
She gives a quick bow. “Apologies but I couldn’t help but overhear that you are here to celebrate forming your party. I’d be glad to give you your fortunes for a single silver coin.”
Pinkies eyes light up. “Oh oh we should totally get our fortunes read girls!” She heads toward the woman’s open tent.
Fluttershy loves this kind of thing so follows her friend.
Rainbow shrugs. “Eh why not?” She too follows with AJ and Rarity close behind, curious as well leaving Twilight and Sunset.
“Girls we really shouldn’t go wasting our money on an obvious scam.” Twilight voices her concern.
Sunset places her hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Come on Twi. It won’t hurt to have a reading done. It’s like any other attraction here.”
Twilight sighs as sunset pulls her to the tent. “Fiiiine. I guess it won’t hurt.”
As the girls file into the tent they see a low table with a crystal ball on it. The tent itself is decorated with various knick-knacks such as shrunken heads, beads, chicken feet and…apparently a large eye in a jar that stares at whoever is close to it. Aside from the strange decor the girls watch as the madem sit and waves her hand over the crystal. As she does smoke begins to fill the tent.
The woman begins to him as she closes her eyes. “I see…great fortune in your futures. You will all soon find your desires.”
Rainbow and AJ silently joke with each other at the tropey nature of their fortune.
The women continues. “But all in this play know not their assigned roles. You must always prepare for the unexpected.”
Twilight rolls her eyes thinking of the wasted silver for this vague fortune.
The women’s eyes open revealing only the whites of her eyes. “I see you are a well knitted group. Such diversity yet…elements of…harmony.”
The girls perk up slightly at that. They begin to huddle closer as the woman continues.
“I can see your bonds are strong and have faced many trials but…the greatest trial is ahead.”
As the woman speaks the smoke gets thicker as it begins to flow around the girls. “In the present I see loyalty…but the future holds betrayal.” As she continues the girls gather closer together as their fear rises. They then see shadows in the smoke that attempt to grab them to no avail.
“Then honesty gives way to lies. Generosity to greed. Laughter to despair. Kindness to wrath!” The woman’s pitch gets louder as the scene becomes increasingly chaotic until she suddenly stops and everything becomes calm as the smoke returns to normal. “Will your friendship survive I wonder?”
The girls remain frozen for a time trying to process what happened. Suddenly Pinkie blurts out loudly with a huge smile. “THAT…WAS…SO…AWESOME!!! You should totally open a haunted house! That would be best! Can you do it again!”
The others blankly stare at their hyper friend as they begin to inch toward the exit to avoid a repeat performance. The madem chuckles and shakes her head. “Unfortunately my dear I can only do one reading per person but…I feel your destinies are great indeed. I require no payment but would like to give each of you a token for your visit.” The vistani gives Pinkie a small coin pouch. “Please keep these with you.”
Pinkie takes a coin out as she hands the pouch to Twilight. Looking at it she sees the is a visage of a man with long straight hair. The other side holds a strange crest she has never seen before.
Twilight faces the woman. “Who is this? I’ve never seen this crest before.”
The woman chuckles. “Oh I’m sure you will find out in time…but now I must rest. I do hope you girls enjoy the festival. I look forward to seeing how you perform.” The woman shows the confused group out as she closes her tent up. “They are strong…but I wonder if that is enough?
Back to the confused group of girls outside. They stand blankly for a few moments until pinkie happily exclaims. “Now we’re off to the petting zoo!”
The rest of the girls take a breath and follow their eager friend. Deciding to move on from the “attraction”.
After a day of fun and games the girls decide to turn in at the inn. They have a big day tomorrow. As they change into their night wear and settle into their large party room as Pinkie calls it. Sunset wonders aloud. “So what do you girls think all that was earlier today…with the fortune?”
Dash waves her hand lazily in the air. “Ah don’t worry about it. It’s like you said. It’s just another attraction.”
Twilight then wonders. “But what I don’t understand is she first said it would be one silver but then said it’s free and gave us these weird coins. It just seems strange.”
AJ nods in response. “Think we oughta chuck these things?”
Pinkies eyes shoot open from the sugar comma she was in. “No we can’t do that. They are…a keepsake of that crazy fortune.”
The girls all look at Pinkie a little confused but have no rebuttal so they drop it. Sunset tosses in her bed. “Well we can worry about that in the morning. Right now we need some sleep.” The others nod and settle in their own beds as they each drift off to sleep.
Unknown to the girls a dense fog is moving across Waterdeep. As they sleep the fog makes its way silently into their room and envelopes them entirely. After a few moments the fog retreats. Leaving empty beds behind.