This freebie story was the result. It involves the characters in one of my Works in Progress, The Players Are the Things. A group of avid gamers bring their characters to life with all their focus...and those characters end up playing their players in order to help them with the mess they've made of their real lives.
“Roll!”
There was no need for Beatrix to snap the word at her. Rhane had already begun to shake the pair of dice in her hands.
The Game Master fixed her impatient gaze upon the player, fingering her own dice with a black laquered finger.
Too late.
Rhane left the hot, dark little room which the players hunched around behind.
She breathed in the mountain air with Amberwyne, running a finger down one her character’s reddish gold tresses.
She could almost see the fish Amber watched, leap out of the water of the lake in front of her. Its scales reflected the light of the sun overhead.
“Right, you rolled a 12. Amberwyne fails to notice anything.” Beatrix’s smug words brought Rhane back to the table.
Nothing gave Bea more satsifaction than having her monsters sneak up on the characters.
No doubt something horrible awaited Amber just around the corner.
“Can Isolde roll perception?” Mona wasn’t any happier than Rhane was about Beatrix’s glee. “She’s senstive to anything that might be a danger to Amber.”
Mona gave her own dice an aggressive shake, anxious to get moving.
“All right.” Beatrix said, offering Mona gracious little nod.
Isolde’s perception level was much lower than Amberwyne’s. Beatrix could afford to be gracious.
“Go ahead and roll,” the Game Master said.
“Come on!” Mona coaxed her dice in an undertone before throwing them across the table.
The numbers that came up weren’t encouraging.
“To bad,” Beatrix gloated, not bothering to hide her smirk. “Isolde notices nothing.”
“Watch for the fish,” Amber mumured, trying to take a moment to ignore the game and its players. Yes, she only existed because of Rhane, but she wanted just a moment to herself with Isolde.
Her slender fingers sought the callused ones of her sculptor knight.
The two women’s hands entwined with each other’s.
Isolde turned to the rippling surface of the lake, Amber moving with her.
The Game Master’s annoyance shatered their fragile moment of independence, brining them back to their players and the dark room they chose to trap themselves in. “You can roleplay on your own time.”
“We’re the only players here,” Rhane muttered, raising a hand to touch her own cheek, which felt hot.
“Yes, but I’m the Game Master. It’s my job to keep the story running on time.” Beatrix informed her. “Once Amber and Isolde finish being all lovely dovey, could you get on with your journey?”
Rhane sighed, feeling her skin tingle in reaction to her character’s moment.
She looked up to meet Mona’s dark gaze.
The other player nodded, shifting her gaze from Rhane’s.
She and Isolde had enjoyed the moment, too.
Ooh. Such an ominous feel. Well done.
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