Bac in the Game

All characters are over 18

Some time ago

Kya flinched as headlights from a passing car washed over her through the kitchen window, probably glinting off her shaved scalp. She took a breath and quietly slipped through the Donaldson's dark kitchen and poked her head into the hall at the base of the stairs."Clear." She whispered, waving her co-conspirators forward.

Maisey appeared through the doorway, moving quickly past her friend. She seemed to hurry to the lowest step but once there, she stopped. She gripped the bannister and leaned against it, her breath a little labored. "Suh-sorry. I just...haff... need a... second." She wheezed.

"You're all right, Maise." Kya put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't push yourself. But we do need to make this quick so, Jason, do the thing."

"Wait!" Maisey hissed "That's not..!

"Yes Ma'am." Jason stepped past Kya and swept Maisey up into his arms, starting up the stairs. He moved quickly but carefully, keeping one shoulder braced against the wall for stability.

"Put me down!" Maisey fumed, thumping him once one the chest. "I can make it myself."

"Yeah, you can." Jason agreed quietly. "But you don't have to. You're getting tired and you need to be back in your room before your mom misses you."

"Mmn." Grumped Maisey even as she relaxed, laying her head on his shoulder. "Why is Kya bossing you around. You're *my boyfriend."

"Context is important." Jason grinned. "She told me to pick you up, and you know how I like to get my hands on you."

"Jerk." Mumbled Maisey. But she allowed herself to be carried up the remainder of the steps and down the hall to her room.

Kya followed, entering just as Maisey was set on her bed. "Good job, Jase. Get back to the car. I'll help her get her pjs on and be down in a minute."

"All right." He agreed.

"Or you could stay and watch." Teased Maisey, toying with her collar.

"Oh, you tempt me, Vixen." Jason whispered. "But this needs to be quick and quiet, and it's possible that would be neither so I'll have to decline. For now."

"Pfft." Scoffed Maisey. "Your loss."

"I know." Jason took a step towards the door.

"Wait." Maisey hissed. She took a breath. "I... had fun tonight. Thanks, you guys. I know taking me anywhere is like dragging an anchor."

Jason paused at the door, glancing to Kya over his shoulder. "Any time, Baby. I would be lucky to drag you anywhere." And he slipped out the door.

He was stepping off the last stair when he found his path blocked by a familiar woman who stared him down impassively. He glanced once back up the stairs. "Mrs. D." He whispered. "Fancy meeting you here."

"In my own foyer. Imagine that." Susan Donaldson in an equally low tone, continuing to look at him. She paused only a moment. "How did it go?"

"Smooth." Jason said. "We got there and in, no problem. It was a little chillier that I'd hoped, but we had the blanket and kept her between us. She said she had a good time but... she's going to be tired tomorrow."

Mrs. Donaldson let out a breath and nodded. "She's lucky to have you." She nudged past him to head up the stairs. "And I'm lucky she has you too. Now, I'm going to stop by and make those two little sneaks nervous."

Jason smirked and turned the opposite way. As he reached the back door, he heard from the upstairs "Maisey, are you still awake?" They had agreed she wouldn't bust them in exchange for knowledge of their plans but he at least hoped Kya found a convincing place to hide.

* * *

"This was a terrible plan."

"What do you mean?" Maisey asked. "It worked. We got the map."

"We got a piece of parchment." Kya returned, shaking the iron mitt locked over her right hand. "We can't be sure they actually gave us the map until I get these damn things off and we get a look at it."

"So?" Maisey said. "You're the lock expert. Get them off."

"I need fingers for that, Maise." Kya scowled, though she doubted Maisey see it in the darkness. "And a pick of some kind."

"What kind of rogue doesn't bring a pick on a mission." Maisey scoffed.

"I had one." growled Kya through gritted teeth. "Hidden in my clothes. Which you gave away."

"They caught us." argued Maisey. "We had to negotiate to get out of there. I was pretty sure they wouldn't kill us and I was right. At least we left our gear at the inn. Otherwise they would have taken that too. All we lost was two sets of clothes. And a lock pick, apparently."

"Two lock picks." grumbled Kya. "And our dignity. Even if Caitlyn finds us before anyone else, how is she going to get us out of this?"

"Maybe her deity will have something. Anyway, what are you complaining about?" countered Maisey. "All you got is those stupid metal gloves. I got both hands tied behind my back and my feet shackled. Even if we had clothes, I couldn't get them on."

"I'm complaining because I'm naked, in a field, in the middle of the night." griped Kya. "I'm cold. And you said their security was 'light'. They were on us quick. Probably an alarm spell."

"Pfft, what do I know about sneaking?" replied Maisey. "I know with four or five extra guys we could have just busted in there and took it. That's light security."

Kya groaned, suddenly feeling like she should have known better. "Fine. So what's the plan here? We just wander around until wolves eat us?"

"I was going to look for the light from a village or something." replied Maisey. "But I'm not seeing anything. I can tell you which way is north by the stars, but it's too dark for anything else"

"Everyone is asleep at this hour." countered Kya. "Lights are probably all out. And, what? We were just going to wander into a town like this? Chained up with all our... parts out."

"Unless you got a better idea." said Maisey. "At the very least, we need to get you free so you can pick my locks. And that will probably mean a blacksmith. Or another rogue. And I suspect a smith would be more honest and less likely to, you know, sell us into slavery or something."

Kya took a breath, ready to argue, but reconsidered. "Fair." she grumbled. "So naked into town it is. If we can find one."

"A couple of miles that way. Looks like I should have brought an extra horse."

The pair jumped at the new voice. As dark as it was, Kya was nearly as blind as Maisey, even with her half elven eyes. She couldn't locate anyone visually. But a dwarf could. "Caitlyn?"

She heard what she now recognized as Caitlyn's voice intone a short invocation and white light suddenly shone around them. Both were dazzled for a moment, but as they blinked their eyes clear, the short, stocky form of their cleric companion came into focus.

"Caity! Are we glad to see you!" Maisey exclaimed.

"How did you find us?" Kya added.

"When you were late, I asked the Sky Father to help me find you." Caitlyn replied. "He sent a kitty cat to show me the way. I'd ask how it went, but, judging by your outfits, I'm going to guess you didn't get the map."

"We maybe got the map." said Kya, waving her encased right hand. "They gave us something, but it's stuck with my hand in this thing. We haven't got a look at it yet. Don't suppose you got a spell for that?"

"Let me have a look." replied Caitlyn. She took Kya's offered arm to examine her predicament. "So how'd you two end up like this?"

"We got caught." explained Maisey. "And they offered not to beat the shit out of us in exchange for some entertainment."

"Oh, I see." giggled Caitlyn. "So that's why you're naked?"

"No." sighed Kya. "They were just going to chain us up and turn us loose. The 'Great Negotiator' here, volunteered to do it naked in exchange for the map."

"Genius, right?" said Maisey.

"If the map is in my hand, I will admit it's genius." put in Kya.

"Nothing I can do with these." said Caitlyn. "The lock is internal. If I took my hammer to it, I'd be just as likely to jam it as open it. Let me have a look at Maise."

"Look all you want." cooed Maisey. "Not much I can do about it. Speaking of which, I don't suppose you brought any extra clothes?"

"You were dressed when you left." replied Caitlyn. "All I brought is your sword." She moved to examine Maisey's restraints. She had a chain locked around her waist that was fastened to the shackles binding her wrists, pinning them to the small of her back. Her ankles were similarly shackled with a length of chain between them, long enough to take awkward steps. "If we can find a rock, I might be able to hammer against it to break the chain on your feet." said Caitlyn. "But any higher and I'd be worried about hammering you. We're going to have to find a smith, I think. So back to town. My horse is at the tree line."

"Which way is the tree line?" sighed Kya.

"I'm more interested in the horse." said Maisey. "Of course, I'll need the ankle things off before I can ride it." She lifted and rattled one ankle.

"Hmm." mused Caitlyn. "If I break that chain, though, you'll be able to walk just fine. Tell you what. You can ride if you leave the chain on."

"And how am I supposed to do that with my feet chained together."

"Yeah, with her hands tied, side saddle is out." put in Kya. "She'd fall off at the first bump."

"I figured we'd just flop her over face down." said Caitlyn with a smirk.

"Oh right." snorted Maisey. "With my bare ass in the air. You two just want a free show all the way back to town.

Kya and Caitlyn shared a look and replied in unison. "So?"

* * *

Jason paused at the correctly numbered door. He wasn't nervous. He was prepared; he could do this, but he was anxious for another, somewhat illogical reason. This would be the first game he would run in years without-- her. He took a breath, blinked aggressively a few times, and exhaled He was fine. It had been months. He would be with friends. Her... friends. God damn it, just get on with it. Her rapped twice on the door.

He heard footsteps from within and a pause, presumably to check the peep hole, before the door swung open. Sasha stood on the other side dressed in brief and snug athletic wear. "Hey Man! Come in! Find the place alright?"

"Yep." Jason replied. "In the age of gps, the hardest part was the stairs. Thank for hosting. I live in my grandma's house. She'd have been thrilled by the company but, judging by past experience, a game with Cait and Kya... might have been a little much for her."

Sasha rolled her eyes with a grin. "I've heard the stories. On a related note, Caity told me to answer the door in my underwear. I declined.

Jason stepped into the apartment, looking around. "Ah. Yeah, that might have been a little much for... me, the first session. Kitchen table?"

"Sure." said Sasha. "Unless we'd be more comfortable in the living room. I got a couch and coffee table."

"My personal preference is a nice flat surface." replied Jason. "Less writing nowadays, but still good for dice, miniatures and drinks. No Caity yet?"

"Oh, yeah. She's in the..." Sasha stopped as there was a flush from down the hall. "Bathroom."

In a moment, Caitlyn appeared from a hallway. "Jason! Hey! You all set for sexy adventures?" She was dressed in an oversized t-shirt with presumably some shorts underneath, though it was difficult to tell.

"I'm just here to give you perverts opportunity." Jason began unloading his bag with various books, dice and a tablet. "How about you two? Characters ready?" He gestured to Sasha. "Human barbarian." And Caitlyn. "And tiefling sorceress?"

"Yeah." replied Sasha. "Caity helped me put it together. We went light on the mental stats. She says I'm not stupid, but I should be a brick."

"Good start." said Jason. "Let me have a look at your sheet and you're good to go."

"Me too." said Caitlyn, producing her own sheet. "Except for one thing. My tail?"

"I looked into it. And your arms."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes with a smirk. "The only thing I could think of was to squirm around on the ground to my arms until one was reattached."

Jason grinned. "That was my thought as well. There was no feat I could find, but to keep it fair to the others, I will let you trade your fire resist or darkvision for a tail that can hold and manipulate stuff."

"I know from experience that you're more likely to turn out the lights that set me on fire." said Caitlyn. "So I will keep my darkvision, thank you very much."

* * *

"Unurgh!" Caitlyn strained to... do anything. She found that, with a great deal of effort she could blink her eyes. That was good. She had no idea how long this would last, and dried out eyes would be uncomfortable. She had a pretty good idea what had happened. Someone had raided their camp. Thieves, slavers, whatever. Judging by Sasha's exuberant shouting, their defense had been successful, but the man Caitlyn herself had been dealing with declined to go down easy,and she'd had to use a magic missile. Which reacted badly with her powers, creating a burst of wild magic that left her frozen in place. Fortunately, her last spell had killed her adversary. She knew that because she was stuck staring at his lifeless body, decently visible with her darkvision.

She wasn't too concerned. It sounded as though the fight was over. And this would wear off. Some time. Probably. Her companions would miss her shortly. Kya and Farrah could see well enough in the dark, that it shouldn't be much off a search. It was mostly just going to be an inconvenient wait for the effect to fade.

"Oh, shit." Caitlyn heard from behind her. "Anyone seen Cait?" Probably Kya. The paralyzed sorceress tried to scream for attention, but she was limited to shallow breaths. A weak noise like a moan was all that came out.

"Damn it. Fan out. Find her." That was Sasha. "Farrah, we might need you to track. Just let me grab a torch..."

"Hold on." Kya again. Caitlyn heard her mutter a light spell before the area behind her lit up. "Oh, whew. There she is. Hey Caity! We got 'em! Safe to come back!" There was a pause for a reply. "Caity?"

"Nerugh!" Caitlyn forced out the loudest noise she was able, which still didn't amount to much. But she'd been seen and the shadows around her changed accordingly as Kya's light source approached.

"Hey! We're talkin' to you!" A hand roughly impacted Caitlyn's shoulder, Sasha's judging from the voice. She rocked for a moment, unable to do anything for balance, before starting to topple. Her eyes would have widened if her face hadn't been frozen. "Nneurgh!"

"Whoa!" The light shifted and strong arms wrapped around Caitlyn, halting her decent. "Crap! She's stiff as a board." Caitlyn felt one of the hands squeeze her breasts, and was able to roll her eyes in response. "Even her boobs are less... squooshy than usual."

"What? Let me see."

Caitlyn was manhandled and the world spun for a moment before she was dazzled by a flash of light. She had to force her stubborn eyelids closed. Normally, some rapid blinking would help resolve the spots in her vision, but she was doing nothing rapid at the moment. "Nergh!"

She felt a finger poke her cheek. "I'd say she's paralyzed." Came Kya's voice. "Maybe this guy was a mage, or was using poison. Not seeing any injuries though. What happened, Cait?"

"Nungh." Caitlyn moaned. She forced her eyes open to see Kya and Sasha staring back at her. Sasha had a spot of bright light on her shoulder, from Kya spell, that the tiefling would really like to turn away from, but her body refused to cooperate. "Nuh uh."

"Right." Kya sighed. "Paralyzed. Okay, so not poison." Kya cocked her head in thought. "This guy is dead, so any spell he cast would have broke when he dropped. But..." Kya looked past Caitlyn to her opponent then back to the sorceress herself, particularly her outstretched arm. "It looks like she hit him with a magic missile judging by the holes and the way she's got her hand." Kya snapped her fingers as a mental light clicked on. "She cast a spell! This was a magic surge, wasn't it, Caity?"

Caitlyn's eyes flicked to Kya's. She wanted to say 'Probably' but her lips and tongue were having none of it. "Uh huh." was all she managed.

"Well, at least there's no basilisk sneaking around by our camp." Kya sighed. "How long will this last, Cait?"

"Uh?" was the most useful reply the immobile mage could make.

"Great." said Sasha. "So what do we do with her until 'Uh'?"

"Take her back to camp." replied Kya. "Keep her safe and comfortable until she can move again. Need a hand, or do you got this?.

Caitlyn watched a smirk creep on to Sasha's face. She adjusted her grip, slipping one hand under the sorceress' robe, sliding it up her thigh, to get a firm hand hold between her legs. "I got this. I'll keep her... entertained while she gets this worked out."

Caitlyn's ability to emote was sorely limited by her predicament. Just as well. She wasn't sure what she would have said. She only groaned in response.

* * *

Sasha stepped back from her door to allow Kya and Farrah entry, and swung it closed behind them. "Need the fridge?" She inquired, glancing at the pack of bottles under Kya's arm.

"Nope. Community soda." replied Kya. "You can stick yours in there yourself if you want it cold."

"Ooo, grape." giggled Caitlyn. "Already pandering to the GM." She was already poking a finger through the outer plastic even as Kya was setting the beverages down.

"What can I say. I'm an easy mark." added Jason, waiting his turn. "Hey Kya, Farrah. You guys got your characters set?"

"We do." said Kya. "I helped Farrah with hers a few days ago. We are pretty much good to go. She did have questions about her animal though."

"All right. Shoot."

Farrah looked to Kya who let her part of the conversation drop, leaving the girl on her own to deal with the details. She blew out a breath and faced Jason. "I am going to take a wood elf ranger." she told him.

"A good choice." he answered.

"Ok, and the book says I can get a pet at level three. How long will that take?" Farrah squirmed under their eye contact but pressed on. "And I have to pick a favored enemy. She said to ask your opinion because I do not know what we are fighting."

"All right. Been thinking about this one." said Jason. "Thought you might take a ranger. First, level three is when you get a combat pet. You can have one before that; it's just going to be squishy. You'll want to keep it out of danger. On a somewhat related note, if you take humans as your favored enemy, as opposed to a second race, I'll give you one free cast of find familiar every day, Basically a free magical pet. It will be weak and no good for fighting. Mostly for role playing purposes, but it will be something to hold you over. And if anything untoward should happen, you can re-summon it in the morning."

"Oh! That is... Ok, thank you." Farrah looked to Kya, who gave her a thumbs up.

"We'll get the particulars hammered out as we play." said Jason. "And now, last but not least: Lady K, what are you playing?"

"I built a half-elf bard." replied Kya. "I specked myself for traps and healing. Should be able to keep up well enough so long as you don't go to crazy with damage."

"Good plan." said Jason. "I was hoping you'd have some heals so there wouldn't need to be twelve packs of potions sitting around. Same rules for lock picking as the last game then?"

"The DC goes up the less hands I have free?" smirked Kya. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"All right. Just for simplicity's sake, I'm going to start you as a group." Jason went on. "You can work on dynamic and relationships as we go. The first couple sessions will be a learning experience for half of you anyway, so we'll really get into it after that. Any questions?"

* * *

'Is it supposed to be this easy?' Sasha thought to herself as the goblin in front of her fell into two pieces. 'Maybe I should go back to naked and unarmed.' She corrected herself when she turned to see the trouble her companions were having. Farrah had downed one goblin but was dancing back from a second with two arrows sticking out of it. Kya was engaged with another, a bloody slash on her arm and Caitlyn was doing her best to evade the last one, seemingly just trying to stay alive. 'I must just be that good.' Sasha smirked as she charged in to help her companions.