Kalon Link: Barold
Chosen Prompt: What's their nerdy hobby?
Prompt Response:
It was Crispin’s idea, really.
The group of them had managed to settle down in a new part of town after a stint in which the four of them had to flee to escape the police. It’d taken them a bit to find a new place to hide out, but Mars had managed to acquire a place for them to stay.
Barold had sprawled out on the couch, his legs laying across Venus’ lap, and she had one arm strewn over the back of the couch. As Mars finished unpacking the rest of their stuff, Crispin poked his head in through the door.
“Hey! Asrophael’s here, too. I caught him on my way back.”
He stepped into the landing, and soon enough Asrophael also entered the room - the white-furred kalon was wearing a simple purple hoodie with his boney hands poking through the sleeve holes. Mars seemed to perk up a bit as he came into the room, giving a wave. “Aye, you should’ve called me!”
“Sorry, I wasn’t sure if you’d needed to get a new phone number.”
“Fair.” Mars replied, giving a shrug. “I’ll tell you if I need to get a new one. What’s good, li’l buddy?”
Mars’ attention had shifted to Crispin, and Barold watched as he fished through his bag. “Oh, right! I wanted to suggest we all play a game together. It’s one of my favorites, although I haven’t been able to get a group to play with..”
From his bag he pulled out a manual - Barold couldn’t read the cover from this distance, but Crispin cleared his throat. “I ‘unno if you guys would be up for playing D&D with me, but I figured I’d pitch it.”
Venus sat upright, and Barold could see her eyes glittering. “Oh, sweet! You sure you’re up to runnin’ something with the lot of us?”
“Yeah. We don’t gotta start tonight, especially since you’re gonna have to make characters & stuff. I can help you with that, of course, since I have experience with it.”
“Well, hell yeah, li’l dude! I’m always down for somethin’ new.” Mars gave a thumbs up. He glanced over to his sister, who was mulling it over.
“Will I get to look really cool?”
“Well, that’d probably depend on the character you make. But you probably can, yeah.”
“Then absolutely.” Venus laughed, and she gave a nod. Barold hesitated for a moment or so.
“Sure, why not. If Venus wants to play, then I’ll give it a shot.”
Everyone’s attention shifted to look toward Asrophael, and the other gave a surprised noise. “H-Hey, why are you all staring at me?” He replied, sputtering. “It wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, so sure. I’ll play with you.”
Crispin gave an excited noise, fishing through his bag. “Oh, good! I was really hoping you’d all say yes. I already got sheets printed for when you make your characters, and then some dice, too - did you know there’s a game shop down the street from this place? They were really helpful in helping me pick out everything for you guys.”
“So were you just gonna make us play anyways?” Mars replied, giving a snort. “You were really gunning for us sayin’ yeah, I guess.”
“Well, it doesn’t hurt to have extra dice & sheets, so if you’d’ve said no I would’ve kept this stuff anyways.” Crispin fished through the bag again, holding out several tubes with dice sets in them. “So you guys can pick one from here, and they’ll be yours! Make sure not to lose any of em.”
Mars went first, picking a set of purple-toned dice, and Asrophael picked a set of seafoam-colored dice. Barold felt like he’d best tug himself off the couch & Venus’ lap as he went to select a set, settling with a set that had a green & purple color scheme. Venus settled for a pale orange set, and Crispin took the last set - silver & blue.
“Cool! I’ll help you guys with figuring out your characters in stuff soon! Just let me know and I can set up the table to fill out the sheet.”
It was a few weeks later, and the lot of them had settled around the dining room table. Crispin sat with a fold in front of him, obscuring the papers he had settled in front of him. “Okay! Do you think you’re ready to introduce your characters?”
“Yeah.” Barold gave a nod. “Can I go first?”
“Go for it!”
Barold cleared his throat, sifting through the sheets he had in front of him. “I’ll be playing an elf wizard, named Laurence Aldervale. He’s under the school of Necromancy.”
“Interesting choice!” Crispin clapped his hands together. “Necromancy is a fun one, any reason why you picked it?”
“It just seemed cool.” Barold gave a shrug. “No real reason.”
“Okay!”
“Me next!” Venus chimed in. “I’ll be playing a Tabaxi barbarian. He’s named Rock Crusher, and his weapon of choice is a gigantic hammer.”
“Not playin’ an arsonist?” Mars teased.
“I already do arson in real life. I wanted to spice it up a bit!”
“Fair, fair.” Mars replied. “In that case, I’ll be playing a Tiefling, named Ashe Trinity. She’s of the cleric class, under the god Tymora.”
“Another interesting one!” Crispin replied. “A lot of interesting choices here. Asrophael, is your character ready?”
“Mhm.” The sound of paper shuffling filled the room as he picked up his sheet. “I’ll be playing a fighter, named Aethelwynne. They do not have a last name, as their quest is to figure out what’s up with their memories, as there’s something they can’t seem to remember.”
“Okay, cool! I think I can work with that.” Crispin nodded. “So I think we can officially start playing next week unless someone else has a suggestion?”
“I think that’s good for us.” Mars gave a nod. “Is it good for you, Asro?”
“It should be. I’ll give you a call if it doesn’t work.” He nodded.
And thus began the journey into what’d become Barold’s favorite hobby - when they weren’t running from the police for magic crimes, anyways - playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends.
Token Worth: 10 tokens (1023 words)
Previous Responses: one
