Roll Against Betrayal

by Allyson Lindt

  Sydney held up a finger, worked her jaw, then dropped her hand again. “So, one—pretty sure neither of them ever got laid. And two—which one does that make you?”

  Dylan pulled his shirt up over the back of his head and stuck his arms in the air, bent at the elbows and out to his sides. “Are you threatening me?”

  “Oh my God.” Sydney laughed. “I don’t know if I needed to know how good you are at that.”

  “You needed to know. Because even when he’s being asinine, he still does it perfectly.” Josh’s retort almost sounded affectionate. It wasn’t enough to hide his irritation, though.

  Dylan would bet it was because people were staring. He didn’t care. He straightened his clothes. Inspiration struck. Did he have a lightbulb over his head, like in a cartoon? “You know what we need to do? Put our conversation from the other day to the test. See whether or not the three of us make a good questing party.”

  Josh seemed to consider this. “Someone has to DM. I nominate Tink.”

  “I accept. But two people don’t make for much of a party...” Sydney drummed her fingers on the table. “Ooh, I can call Kathryn.”

  Josh scowled.

  That was curious. “Who’s Kathryn and what did I miss?”

  “She’s my best friend. You’ll love her,” Sydney said.

  Josh’s scowl deepened. “And she doesn’t care for me.”

  Sydney pursed her lips and narrowed her gaze. “Do you blame her? You were an ass to me.”

  Josh clenched his jaw.

  “This is your chance to prove her wrong.” A sweet hint wove into Sydney’s reply. She looked at Dylan again. “I promise. And you’ll love her boyfriends, too.”

  Wait. Boyfriends? Did Dylan hear that right? “Call her. You’re right. Two isn’t really enough for a big campaign.”

  “I have the perfect one.” Sydney grabbed her phone, poked the screen, then stuck it to her ear. “I’ve been sitting on it for way too long. Hey, it’s me.” Her tone and attention shifted. “What are you all doing today? ... You up for a game? ... More than just us. You know how I told you about that guy I met?”

  She’d been talking about Dylan?

  “That’s the one.” She frowned. “Both of them... It’s just a game... I’m dating his roommate. It’s going to happen.”

  The laughter faded from Josh’s eyes, and his expression went flat.

  There was a lot implied in Sydney’s half of the conversation. Josh being relegated to roommate was probably the most glaring.

  This was getting complicated. The one thing Dylan wanted to avoid. But he wasn’t interested in walking away. Not yet.

  Sydney set up a time with Kathryn, and gave her Dylan and Josh’s address.

  After breakfast, they headed back to the apartment to meet up, with a quick stop to buy snacks and soda.

  When everyone showed up, introductions were passed around. Kathryn and Josh glared at each other, and the guys with her didn't seem to care for him either. Kathryn was slender, with dark hair and light eyes, and there was a fluidity to her movement that Dylan recognized. It was similar to Josh’s.

  When Sydney said Kathryn was an Aikido blackbelt and taught at a local dojo, that explained that.

  Evan was the all-American blond boy, solid wall of muscle. He looked like the kind of guy who’d be cast as Perfect Rebound Boyfriend Number One on any TV show. He also looked like he was deciding if he could take Josh.

  Trevor stayed close to Kathryn, arms crossed. He had dark hair, a wiry build, and looked like he’d bite anyone who came near her.

  Especially Josh.

  Sydney wasn’t kidding about tension.

  “Should we roll out characters?” Dylan would love a little bit of small talk. Fun. Build-up. If he was reading the room right at all, they needed to skip those at least until the glaring died down.

  Sydney’s tiny frown caught him off guard. “Do you need to?” she asked. “We can, definitely. Everyone else has a favorite already, but we can give you some extra stats, to put you...”

  At their level. “I have one. I just figured, with a new campaign and since we’ve never played together before, you’d want that.”

  She shook her head. “I’m good to use existing. I’ll adapt the story as we go. I just need your stats.”

  Dylan was impressed. And a bit annoyed with everyone else that they seemed to expect that answer. He’d never played with a DM before who didn’t put hours into planning a campaign. And then reminded the players every time they screwed with a carefully crafted tale.

  They settled around the living room like there was a divider wall running down the middle. Kathryn, Evan, and Trevor were distinctly keeping to their side.

  Dylan had a barbarian character he loved to play. Dumb as a sack of rocks, but built like a tank. He amused himself with that pun.

  When Josh said he was playing a healer, Kathryn laughed, and another round of glares was exchanged.

  Kathryn played a monk, Evan a ranger, and Trevor a battle mage.

  None of this seemed to surprise Sydney.

  “We ready?” Sydney asked.

  There was a series of nods and grunts. Dylan wanted to knock some heads together at the lack of enthusiasm, but he was willing to watch and wait.

  Sydney wove a stunning setting of the countryside their party traveled through. With each question she asked, she received a round of one-word replies.

  Josh continued to exchange glares with Kathryn. Sydney’s tone wilted with each passing minute. Half an hour in, Dylan could almost hear her asking herself, Why did I think this was a good idea?

  He was sick of this. Not of her. He suspected Sydney’s story had a lot of potential, if everyone would just play.

  “You reach the edge of a forest.” Sydney spoke in a near-monotone. “It stretches endlessly in front of you, as far as you can tell. The trees are green and dense and shit. You can continue on the road that goes around the forest, but you don’t know how far the tree line extends.” She gave a little sigh. “You can go through the forest, but the foliage is so overgrown, you can’t see more than a few feet ahead.”

  “Can we camp for the night and wait to see if things are better in full sunlight?” Kathryn asked. It was the longest sentence she’d spoken since she arrived.

  Josh shook his head. “I’m not camping with my back to that forest.”

  “What do you want to do instead?” Trevor narrowed his gaze. “If we go into the forest, more our backs are exposed.”

  “Then we’ll backtrack enough to establish a perimeter.” There was a bite in Josh’s reply.

  Evan made a disgusted grunt. “Do you even know what that means? We pushed hard to get this far this fast.”

  “No. We pushed hard because no one wants to make any decisions.” Now Josh was just being snide. “I’m making a decision. I want to backtrack and set up where we have a good view of all of our surroundings.”

  Sydney’s scowl deepened with each new retort.

  This was so not better than the one-word answers.

  Dylan was done. “I check for traps.”

  The swivel of heads in his direction was almost comical. He bit back the laugh.

  “You don’t have that skill in your character class,” Trevor said.

  “I can still look around, right? I’m capable of scanning the forest?” Dylan looked at Sydney.

  “I...” She looked between the character sheets and him. “Your perception is three.”

  Dylan didn’t care. “I want to check for traps.”

  “Where?” Sydney picked up the dice and rolled her thumb along them in her palm.

  “In the forest.” At least he could see that.

  Kathryn furrowed her brow, but she wasn’t glaring anymore. “The entire forest?”

  Dylan nodded. “I’m also not a very bright barbarian.” His intelligence was five. “Me check for trap. Keep safe,” he said in a booming baritone.

  Sydney giggled, and Trevor rolled his eyes. Everyone watc
hed Dylan with either curiosity or amusement. Perfect.

  Sydney rolled the dice and stared at Dylan, mouth slightly open, when it came up twenty.

  She rolled again. Another twenty.

  One more time, and this time it came back a one.

  She puffed out her cheeks and blew out a long breath. “Okay. You may not be the brightest or most observant barbarian ever, but you do have a fighter’s instinct and an intense love of gold. Something calls to you from the middle of the forest. The ancient lessons of your ancestors say it’s probably gold. Or a dragon. Or a dragon protecting gold. Any of the above would pretty much make your month.”

  “Let’s keep pushing into the forest.” All of Kathryn’s antipathy was gone.

  “Agreed.” Josh sat straighter, and his scowl vanished. “Are we rested enough to continue?”

  Evan looked between them. “We should be good for a couple more hours. Are we certain?”

  “Yes,” Josh and Kathryn spoke in unison.

  Dylan just wanted to make everyone laugh a little. He hadn’t expected an instant one-eighty in their attitudes. What had them so eager to push ahead where they hadn’t agreed before?

  “How close is this dragon?” Trevor’s shoulders relaxed, and he leaned in, elbows on his knees.

  “He’s in the forest.” Sydney looked like she was fighting a smile.

  So worth it.

  Evan drummed his fingers on his knee. Whatever Kathryn and Josh knew, her guys didn’t seem to. “If I check for traps, will I find him?” Evan sounded doubtful.

  “You can try, but he’s not a trap.” Sydney was definitely enjoying this.

  Josh laughed. “Because your barbarian is so dumb, he doesn’t know the difference.”

  “Guilty as charged.” Dylan knew the teasing was friendly, and Sydney’s pleased look was worth anything that came next.

  “Okay,” Evan said. “The barbarian takes the lead. He can follow his ancestral instinct and be the front line if anything ambushes us. Kathryn can watch our rear.”

  Josh quirked an eyebrow. “So, same as always.”

  Kathryn blushed. “It’s a good view.”

  “Do you want to do any more prep before you go in?” Sydney asked.

  Dylan’s character might be stupid, but he wasn’t that into the role playing. “Yes.”

  “No.” Josh and Kathryn were in agreement again.

  Sydney looked at Evan and Trevor, who shrugged.

  “Apparently they know something we don’t,” Trevor said. “We side with the sexy monk.”

  Dylan knew when he was outvoted, and his curiosity was screaming for answers. “I’m in. Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  They wandered for what Sydney said was a couple miles, with Dylan in the lead. The sun was setting, and the longer they traveled, the harder it was to see their path.

  And then a light broke through the trees. Dylan led them toward the glow. The group reached a clearing and squinted in the brightness.

  Dylan was as on edge as Trevor and Even, as they waited for their eyes to adjust.

  Kathryn and Josh were already striding forward.

  “There’s a building in the clearing that looks like a Disney castle,” Sydney said. “Spires stretching toward the sky, and opaque crystal walls glinting at you. You’ve never seen a building so stunning or so completely impractical.

  “A woman strolls around the corner. She’s tall and slender, and it’s difficult for you to determine her age. When you look closer, if you squint, her form seems to shimmer and fade, and you see the hulking shape of a grand dragon wrapped around the building, its scales the same color as her vibrant leather outfit.”

  It sounded stunning, but Dylan didn’t see why this was enough to make Josh and Kathryn get along.

  Josh looked like he was fighting a smirk. “I stroll forward and bow. Great and mighty goddess, we’re here out of respect, and not to intrude.”

  “I join him.” Kathryn nudged Evan and Trevor. “We all do. Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Mistress.”

  “Me too?” Dylan was almost bursting from curiosity.

  Sydney’s smile was mischievous. “Inside my home are wonders from around the universe. Technology, knowledge, weapons... Treasures you’ve only imagined. To gain access, you must each complete a quest. Because you’re a group, if every single one of you doesn’t pass your individual quest, you won’t be allowed inside.”

  That sounded... vague. “What kind of a quest?” Dylan asked.

  “It will vary from person to person.” Sydney rattled the dice in her hand. She rolled. “And your mage goes first.”

  “I didn’t agree to this.” Trevor held up his hands.

  Kathryn gave him a sweet, wide-eyed stare. “Please?”

  “All right.” Trevor’s sigh was exaggerated. “What’s my quest?”

  Sydney rolled again, then checked something on her phone. “You have to sing us the song of your choice.”

  “What?” His tone went flat. “Why would I do that? What’s inside that’s so great? Are all the quests like this?”

  “Do you forfeit?” Sydney studied him. “Because you cost your entire party if you do.”

  He looked at Kathryn. “You have some idea what’s in there. What’s so great that you’re dying to do this?”

  Dude was kind of a whiny dick.

  She pursed her lips. “We don’t know until we go inside.”

  “Of course she has an idea,” Josh said. “But if you’re not going to play, why are you here?”

  Evan clenched his fist and glared at Josh.

  Kathryn rested a hand on Evan’s leg, but her attention was on Trevor. “Play the fucking game, please?” Her voice was sugary sweet.

  Dylan wasn’t sure how he felt about her boyfriends, but he could see why she and Sydney were close friends. Kind until the situation called for otherwise, and then the sweetness faded.

  “We all have to do something similar.” Josh’s good mood was fading too. “Are you a coward?”

  Trevor raised an eyebrow. “Are you the kind of asshole who thinks he can goad me into something by calling me names?”

  “Are you done being contrary?” Evan asked.

  Trevor shrugged. “I guess. It’s roleplaying, right?”

  Dylan doubted that was the real reason for the attitude. He was tempted to deck the guy.

  “The dragon wants to know what song you choose, and if you’d like accompanying music,” Sydney said.

  Trevor shook his head. “I’ve got this. The song is a surprise.”

  He sang “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. It was acapella and amazing. Dude had an incredible voice.

  Now Dylan really wanted to deck him.

  Until Sydney clapped, glee on her face. It was worth the headache. “Your barbarian is next,” she said.

  And Dylan was going to do whatever it was he was asked, without argument, because doing otherwise was ridiculous. No one could follow an act like Trevor’s anyway.

  “You have to tell a joke,” Sydney said.

  He stared at her in disbelief. “A... what now?”

  Kathryn let out a low growl.

  Josh clenched his jaw.

  “A joke. Tell a joke. That’s your quest.” Sydney didn’t look fazed.

  If he was going to do it, he might as well get it over with. “Uh...” His mind was a blank. He’d heard hundreds of jokes in his life, and some were even funny. It figured that only one came to mind now. Well, aside from a punchline he never remembered the beginning of. You think I asked for a twelve-inch pianist?

  He sighed. “What did Cinderella say when she got to the ball?”

  “What?” Sydney raised an eyebrow.

  “Nothing. She just gagged a little.”

  Everyone groaned, except for Josh, who snorted with a tiny laugh. Thank God for him.

  “I don’t think that counts,” Evan said.

  Sydney fixed her gaze on him. “The dragon hears your complaint and
wonders why you’re making this more difficult for your own party. The dragon would also like to point out the requirement wasn’t to tell a funny joke, and that you were trying not to laugh despite your protests. And by the way, you’re next.”

  Evan had to recite a line from his favorite movie... in character. He did a fantastic Casper Van Diem impersonation, though Dylan wasn’t sure how he felt about anyone calling Starship Troopers their favorite movie.

  Kathryn had to dance. If Dylan had landed on that one after that stripper routine last weekend, he probably would have made Sydney prove that was really what he’d rolled.

  There was a fluidity in Kathryn’s movements that reflected her skill with Aikido. It wasn’t a stunning ballet, but it was amazing to watch.

  Dylan had been wrong. She definitely followed up Trevor’s act, and blew it out of the water.

  And then it was Josh’s turn.

  Sydney scrunched up her face as she stared at the dice. “Apparently, you’ve picked the wildcard.”

  “What does that mean?” Dylan asked. He could see why Kathryn and Josh wanted to visit the dragon. This was ridiculous, but it was fun. With Trevor’s tantrum out of the way, the mood in the room was lighter.

  “It’s quester’s choice... sort of,” Sydney explained. “He has to pick from one of the tasks someone who came before him already performed.”

  Josh twisted his face in consideration. “What if I pick nothing?”

  Sydney looked amused. “Then the dragon will get angry, point out you know that’s not how this works, and eat you before letting the rest of your party in.”

  “I’ll die?”

  “If you’re lucky.” There was no irritation in Sydney’s voice. Her smile never faded.

  Josh looked around the room. “What should I pick?”

  Everyone had a slightly different opinion.

  Josh stood, stretched his arms over his head, and rolled his neck. “I pick the dance.” He extended his arm toward Sydney. “But only if the dragon dances with me.”

  She shook her head and pushed his hand away. “The dragon doesn’t dance.”

  Dylan had the feeling this particular quest hadn’t come up before.

  “Maybe the dragon shouldn’t hand out quests she’s not willing to complete herself,” Josh teased.