Roll Charisma

3800 words. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

*

Roon pulled smoothly at the oars of the rowboat. The small craft sliced noiselessly through the water. The pirate ship loomed ahead, a nearly-invisible black smudge in the ocean darkness. Concealment was on Roon's side with the heavy clouds blocking any moonlight.

"Room," a quiet voice whispered in the dark.

"Yeah?" Roon whispered back.

"Are you' sure we're headed to the aft of that ship? That's the only way this is going to work."

Roon nodded, confident he was aiming at the flat back of the stern. He pulled the oars up out of the water, allowing the rowboat to slow. The windows to the captain's quarters loomed above them as the rowboat eased up to the anchor's chain.

Katori, the ever-silent elf, reached out to grab the chain. He tied a quick knot to secure them against the pirate ship. Irian, the half-elf who questioned Roon moments earlier let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. He was concerned Katori would make noise.

"I haven't made any noise since we stormed the keep at Suentina," Katori had said, his pride wounded.

"You never know," Irian muttered in reply.

Now, Katori scrambled up the chain and popped his head over the railing. He took a quick peek before climbing back down. The three huddled together and Katori walked them through what he saw.

"Okay, there's one lookout in the crow's nest but he sure looks asleep. There's a guard to the captain's cabin and she's a 'her' so that's for you," he said looking at Roon. Roon rolled his eyes. "Lastly, I heard the captives being held below deck but I didn't see where we could get to them. I saw no other pirates."

The other pirates had passed close to Roon's rowboat not ten minutes before. They rode two ship's boats toward the harbor. Roon had been waiting for fires and combat to erupt from town but none had appeared yet. The three here were lucky they weren't spotted by the marauding crews.

They sketched out a hasty plan with Roon taking point on the female guard. Irian and Katori would deal with the human in the crow's nest and things would push forward from there. Hopefully some of the prisoners could be freed and they would help pilot the pirate ship. None of the three had handled anything bigger than a rowboat before.

Roon took a breath and started chanting. He was interrupted by a rough hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," Irian said, looked at him with confusion, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm casting disguise self. I'm going to be a pirate to overtake the guard."

"You're a bard!" Irian said with more volume than needed.

Katori shushed them and knocked an arrow, pointing it up at the railing in case anyone came to investigate.

"So? I have a good magic," Roon said.

"Yeah, and, like, a TON of charisma! There's a busty human pirate wench up there and you need to seduce her! She's there for the taking! It's what you do!" Irian said.

"No," Roon replied quietly, "I'm not that kind of bard."

"Then what fucking use are you?" Irian shot back. He unslung his axe and started climbing the chain to the deck of the pirate ship, "I'm going up."

"Grab him!" Katori hissed. Roon made a move but Irian kicked down with his iron-studded boot, hitting Roon in the face. There was an explosion of starbursts and the audible crunch of his nose breaking.

"Alarm!"

The call came from the crow's nest. The three had made enough noise to alert the guards. A war horn sounded from atop the ship's quarterdeck and a woman's voice called out "Prepare to repel boarders!"

"Stay or go?" Katori shouted, no longer concerned about secrecy.

Roon was finding his balance and attempted to climb the chain. Irian was on his way down.

"We go," Irian said, "Those ships are going to turn around."

"We stay and fight," Roon countered, "And we have half an army locked away. We free them and we can take on anything."

"How do we know they can sail or fight?" Irian challenged Roon. Katori meanwhile knelt and had an arrow nocked and pulled back, pointing almost straight up at the railing above their head. He waited for someone dumb enough to pop their head over the railing.

"It's a port town, stupid!" Roon shouted, "Of course they can all sail!"

*THUD*

An arrow embedded itself in the side of the ship. Two more arrows hissed harmlessly by into the gentle swells of the sea. Warcries and splashes of oars drifted across the darkened water as the pirates came to defend their ship. The town's bell started tolling in the night, alerting the city guard.

"Well, those guys won't be able to help us out here," Irian said with disgust.

"Go! Go! Go!" Roon shouted and scrambled up the chain. Irian flopped over the railing to find himself staring up at a cutlass pointed directly at his throat. The female pirate, indeed busty with cleavage spilling over the top of her leather jerkin. Her red hair bounced in tight curls as she snarled and swung at Irian's head.

"Aaaand time," Brian said.

Jacob snapped his head up.

"What? Now?" he asked, looking around the table.

"Yeah, now," Brian said, "I have study group in the morning for Econ and the final next week is going to be a bitch. Combat could take a while so let's start back up later."

Jacob glanced at the clock mounted high on the wall of the back corner of the library. It glowed 11:52 in red. Manny looked at his phone, nodding at Brian. It was late as evidenced by five of them being the only ones in the common room study area the past hour.

Wade was frowning at him.

"Seriously, Jacob, you didn't seduce the pirate? That's what bards DO, man. What's the matter with you?"

"I'm not that kind of bard," Jacob said, "I don't have to seduce everything in sight. Jesus, charisma is not just for that. My spell was good and I would have waltzed right by her."

Manny, now very much the opposite of elven given his heavy IRL human frame, leaned in. "I'm kinda with Wade on this one," he rumbled, "That was a classic seduction opportunity."

Brian folded up the DM screen and gathered his notes and pencils. Finally, he glanced up at Jacob.

"I tried to softball one to you," he said, "But, hey, you play the way you play. You don't have to seduce anything. Thought it'd be nice to see you try."

He looked over Jacob's shoulder to the one person not playing.

"Emma?"

Emma, perched on the table next to the group, grinned down at the small group.

"I haven't ever played this game so I don't know," she said, "Are bards or whatever supposed to seduce everyone?"

"No, and that's the point!" Jacob said more forcefully than he meant, "I have high charisma but I have dexterity and wisdom too. I can scout and sneak and persuade and I have good spells. That would have worked!"

"You could have persuaded her to take her shirt off," Wade said, grinning fiercely.

Jacob watched Emma consider that comment for a few beats. The boys watched her, waiting for her to pass judgment.

"But," she said, "Even if it is a meme or a trope or a joke or whatever, it still would have probably worked just now, right?"

Wade clapped his hands once, hard. The pistol shot sounded through the study room. Manny rocked back in his chair, metal legs straining, and laughed. Even Brian smiled at that.

"Yeah," Emma continued, "You had a pirate wench who was lonely and sad being left behind from that raiding party. She needed someone to take her mind of things. She hoped for a handsome bard to come sing her a song and woo her."

Brian was all grins. "You should learn this game," he said to Emma, "And I could use a co-DM to keep these clowns in line. That was pretty good!"

Manny turned to face Emma, "I already liked you and this just seals it for me."

Even Wade was nodding, a thoughtful frown on his face. He narrowed his eyes at Jacob, angry, and pushed back in his chair.

"Well, this mission has gone to shit," he said, standing, "So I'm out for tonight. See you guys next time."

Brian put his things in his backpack and zipped it up. He stood and gave a little wave. Manny also rose and sighed loudly. "Bye, kids," he said as he headed toward the door of the common area study room, leaving Emma and Jacob alone.

Jacob looked at Emma still sitting on the table next to his.

"I don't know why it's important to me to explain it but give me a shot," he said. Emma shrugged and nodded.

"You can tell me about it but it just might not make sense. I don't know the game," she said with a shrug.

"Can I try?" he asked. She nodded.

"So," Jacob started, "A bard has a stat called charisma, among others, that influences how well he or she can do things related to social relationships and personality. It's how charming he can be but it doesn't have to be related to seduction."

"And you have a ... good ... charisma in the game?" Emma asked, the grin returning.

"I won't give you the number but, yes, it's good. And it impacts things beyond seduction," Jacob said.

"But there is seduction?" Emma asked, eyebrow raised.

Jacob nodded. "There can be," he said, "The game is an open world so you can make decisions and do things and the guy in charge, the DM, tells us what happens. So you saw Brian behind that little pop-up screen. He's telling us what's happening in the world and we make decisions and do things. Then he tells us how the world reacts."

"If I were a bard," Emma cut in, "What would my charisma be?"

The question hung in the air. Jacob hesitated. He wasn't sure how to answer exactly.

"I'd put you at popular, able to speak to most people about a variety of subjects."

"And would I be able to seduce someone?" she said, her voice noticeably quieter.

"Uh, it would depend on a roll," Jacob answered.

Emma held her sundress down against her legs and slid off her table to stand next to Jacob. She looked down at his dice on the table, green with white numbering, and picked one up. She held it directly in front of her eye like a jeweler examining a diamond or, in this case, an emerald.

"Can I roll this one?" she asked him, her head tilted to the side.

"That's a four-sided die. You would want to use a 20-sided die instead. The range of charisma works better on that."

Emma poked a finger into the pile of dice, scooting around plastic, hunting for a 20-sided. She picked up a bigger die and spun it in her hand, grunting in satisfaction. It did, indeed, have twenty sides.

"So," she said, looking back at Jacob, "What do I have to roll to seduce someone?"

"Well," Jacob said, clearing his throat, "You'd have to narrate what you were doing and then if I was in charge, I'd decide what the reaction was. Then you'd roll."

"So I have to tell you what I'm doing?"

"Exactly. You have a pretend character so you'd narrate in first person to me."

"Let's play like what just happened was happening but in reverse. I'm a female bard. You're the guard at the door and I'm trying to distract you, right?"

"Sure," Jacob said, "Let's go for it."

"Oh, we're going for it," Emma confirmed. She took a half-step toward Jacob, closing the distance. She put a hand on his forearm, and smiled at him, dropping her gaze and looking at him through her eyelashes.

"I need your help," she said in a low, husky voice. Jacob felt himself react to her as a tingle shot through his body. He moved to pull his arm back but she tightened her grip.

"I need you to come with me to save my friend. She's desperately in trouble and I'll ... I'll find a way to thank you." Her eyes ran down his body to his crotch and back up to his face. She wrinkled her nose at him, catching him staring at her.

Jacob's skin prickled. Goosebumps popped up all over his arms. Emma glanced down and smiled, seeing his response. She took her arm back and sat in the chair next to his.

"So?" she inquired brightly, "I use this D20, you said, and I have to roll ... what?"

"Uh," Jacob said, trying to recover and speak normally, "That was pretty good. Roll higher than a, uh, five, and you're successful."

"A five?" Emma pouted, "That's a 75% success rate. I thought I did better than that." She shook the die in her hand then stopped, still holding it.

"You guys talked about bonuses during the game. What if," she dragged out every word, "I get a bonus for every button I undo."

"I'm sorry?" Jacob said, confusion coloring his face.

Emma reached one hand up to the collar of her sundress, a blue cotton dress with a pattern of red and white flowers. Her fingers played with the top button, touching it, caressing it, threatening to undo it to expose her pale skin underneath.

"If this is how charisma works in the real world, it seems it'd work in the game too," she said.

Jacob had to work harder to keep breathing normally. He felt his heart pumping in his chest and his gaze flitted from Emma's face to her fingers. She smiled and undid the button with a quick snap of her fingers. Her collarbones came into view and a small vee of white skin showed below.

"That's for better than a four," she said and dropped her voice back to the husky play-acting she had done moments before, "And I've been so lonely. I haven't seen a man like you in forever."

*snap*

The second button came undone. And the third. Emma felt the air on her skin. The tops of her small breasts were now exposed to the room, though not a soul seemed to be around the study area. She leaned over in front of Jacob to roll the die, her blouse hanging low and exposing her beige bra to him. His eyes went wide and he tried not to ogle. Emma appreciated the effort and let the die clatter on the table in front of them.

"15!" she said, "That's good, right?"

Jacob cleared his throat and fought to speak, red creeping up his neck. "Uh, yes, you succeeded in seducing the guard."

"So, how does that work? You have to narrate what happens next, right?" Emma asked, thoroughly enjoying watching Jacob squirm from the question.

"We, uh, usually do a fade-to-black style where Brian doesn't go into specifics but we all know what happened."

"So you have seduced women before!" Emma accused.

Jacob shook his head. No, no he hadn't. That was all Irian that one time. Wade, that is.

"We're playing this out," Emma said, "Go on, what does the guard say to me?"

"He compliments you."

"What does he actually say?" Emma asked, "And here's a helpful hint: Keep it above the neck."

Jacob answered immediately.

"I like the way your earrings match your eyes," he said with sincerity.

Emma smiled at that. "I knew you'd be here when I came down to watch. It was on purpose," she confessed.

Jacob's eyes widened. Emma nodded confirmation.

"I like you, Jacob," she said, "You're fun and nice and you're not trying to stare at my tits right now. You include people and you're polite to everyone and you're a nice person. I'm really into you."

She paused, "In fact, I bet I could do more and you'd be gentlemanly about it."

Jacob panicked on the inside, having no idea what to say or do.

"Here's an experiment," Emma announced. She looked around one last time to confirm the room was deserted. No one was there. No sounds came from the hallway and the usual dull roar of the dorm was muted to nothing. Tuesday nights weren't party nights but tonight seemed extra quiet.

Her bra clasp was on the front and she deftly undid it in front of Jacob. Her breasts, on the smaller side to match her thin frame, remained mostly covered under material except for a narrow line of skin running from her neck to her belly button.

"Now if I lean over," she breathed, "You're going to be able to see a lot more. But I think you wouldn't take a peek. Shall we try?"

Jacob was frozen. He tried swallowing and couldn't, his throat closing up on him. What was the right answer? She was daring him to look but what if she didn't want him to? She had invited him to so he should. It'd be polite. Or, no, that was the excuse. She said she wanted a gentleman, not someone who'd stare at her body.

The thoughts whirled through Jacob's mind. His erection throbbed in his cargo shorts. What if she noticed, he wondered.

Emma acted, pushing aside the dice and sheets in front of Jacob. She pushed herself up on the table, sitting directly in front of him, her feet dangling on either side of his knees. She leaned forward, taking his face in her hands and kissed his forehead and the tip of his nose. She felt her shirt hang off her body, exposing more of her skin to him.

"I want you to look," she said. He nodded and looked down her shirt. She laughed on the inside when his eyes widened and he took on a dazed expression. Her amusement was good-natured and he was cute how he was reacting.

"This is new," she said, not really asking. The blush had climbed from Jacob's neck up his cheeks and his whole face was aflame. "It's new for everyone at some point," Emma said, stroking his hair with her fingertips, "Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"I'm going to touch you now, okay?" she asked.

Jacob paused. "Do you want to?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes," Emma whispered back, "Very badly. I've been thinking about this for a while."

Jacob nodded, resolute, and Emma's hand snaked between their bodies. She found the hard lump in Jacob's shorts and gave him a light squeeze. He inhaled sharply when she unsnapped the buttons and moved under the waistband of his shorts. He gasped when her hand curled around his hardness. His skin was hot to the touch and felt smooth. He was rock hard.

"Here," she breathed, "Get up a sec."

Jacob moved up off the seat and Emma easily slid his shorts down his legs to his calves. She stood over his lap, stroking him lightly, positioning herself.

"Is this okay?" she asked.

Jacob nodded. "Yes," he croaked.

She pulled the hem of her sundress up high enough to move her underwear out of the way. She positioned herself over Jacob and eased down the length of him. His body went taut and she heard his breath catch in his chest. She took all of him inside her, sitting on his lap, and stopped.

"Tell me you're okay," she said, her hands now on both sides of his face. His whole body started shaking and Emma pulled his head to her chest, holding him, shushing him while he trembled. She planted light, loving kisses on the top of his head and murmured nothings until the quivering slowed and disappeared.

"I want to make you cum now, okay?" she asked. Jacob nodded, a mixed look of fear and lust all over his face.

"Put your hands on my hips," she said. He obeyed and she started rocking her hips, working him inside her. He grunted as soon as she started moving.

"Does that feel good?" she asked. He nodded, his eyes shut and his face torn with conflicting emotions. She moved a hand around to the back of his head, the other on his cheek.

"Look at me, Jacob," she said. His eyes opened and he looked at her. She moved slowly, smoothing, working his hardness.

It didn't take long. She felt his hands gripping harder on her hips, his fingers digging into her skin. She'd have marks tomorrow and she laughed about it on the inside.

"Let go," she breathed and he jerked once under her, his whole body tensed. She felt him grow taut and his breathing went ragged. Emma picked up her pace to bring him to orgasm. He cried out, high-pitched, and his body forced itself up into her, driving deeper as he unloaded his seed into her. She rode him, urging wave after wave of pleasure to wash over him. Jacob's head rolled back and his body started loosening. Emma slowed her rhythm, no longer grinding into him, easing him down off his high.

He sighed heavily, finished, empty, and she stayed on top of him. He looked up at her, uncertain of what to say or do. She put a finger on his lips to keep him quiet. She adjusted herself and slid off his cock, still remaining in his lap.

"Don't say anything right now," she said, "Just be here with me." She wrapped her arms around him and he held her tight. She laughed internally, thinking of a leveling-up joke. It wasn't appropriate and she'd just save it for later.