"Sometimes the line between paranoia and preparation is a little blurry. It's even more so when divination is involved." - Kristi

Being behind the counter or the staff only door of a business always felt a little 'special' to Kurt. Never mind that the scenes behind said door or counter often were rather mundane and spoiled the magic of it all. In this case the employee's only area was the upper floors of the building where Frank lived.

His home was on the fourth and fifth floor of the gaming store and he said that the third was actually a rental with its own stair access on the back side of the building. All the upper floors shared a stairwell and elevator that was opposite the one in the store. That rental property was currently vacant according to Frank, his last tenant having moved out a month prior.

"Thanks for coming early." Frank said while passing out cups of tea for everyone as they sat around his dining room table.

Kurt took his and sniffed carefully, noting that he couldn't smell anything but a pleasant herbal blend. "No problem, but who is running the store?"

"That would be my dad and one of our employees." The wizard answered. "Dad likes to help out a couple days a week which gives me something like a regular weekend, despite it being on Sunday and Monday."

"Well, that seems to be a good arrangement." Val said, taking a sip from her cup and nodding in satisfaction.

Frank smiled. "Yes, it is. But I didn't ask you to come here so we can talk about my work schedule."

"And exactly what is it that you think I can help you with?" Kurt asked.

Setting down his cup, Frank leaned back and interlaced his fingers, resting his elbows on the table. "I am concerned that there might be a magical arms race in the area. A turf war of arcane proportions. I would like to not be left behind if that is the case and wish to contract some defensive magic that isn't as draining as my spells or wards."

"What makes you think there is a magical arms race?" Kurt had his suspicions but wanted to get confirmation before offering information. His handy work was in several very public places around town.

"I stopped into Captains, the coffee shop, and noticed a spell as I stepped through the door." Frank began to explain. "It was an identification spell, one I have felt at Johnny's when dining there. It was also on the security company next door to the coffee shop."

Seeing all four of them still listening, Frank pressed on. "Now, one place having a spell like that isn't a big deal, happens more often than you would think. My concern is that three places have a similar spell in such a small town. It leads me to suspect there are more places that I haven't found yet."

"Mhm, mmhm." Kurt nodded along. "I am familiar with the spell in question. What is it you want done?" once more he wanted to play it cool and not give anything away.

He also wasn't going to just give the guy everything when it came to his catalogue of defensive enchantments, same as the coffee shop. There were just some things that you didn't want to go off in a populated area.

"Well, my big concern is of course my safety and wellbeing. You are probably aware that wizards have a well-earned reputation for being more than a little paranoid. Believe me, it's for good reason." Frank wasn't giving much on specific requests. "My next concern is for the store and anyone that might be inside it should something happen. I don't want any innocent bystanders to get injured because some rival mage tries to take me out if this cold war goes hot."

Kurt was getting a little annoyed that Frank was being dodgy on actually asking for things. "Well, I am a runic enchanter, so I have some options. What did you want specifically?" Give a little, take a lot. That was the strategy for this conversation turned negotiation.

Frank sighed and rested his chin on his hand, elbow propped on the table. He was well aware that Kurt beat him to the punch and now he was the one to give information, having the weaker position. "I was hoping you might have a way to make a reflective barrier that co-"

"No." Kurt said, cutting him off.

"You can't make one?" Frank asked, arching his eyebrows at the sudden and flat dismissal.

"Oh, I can make one, but I won't." Kurt answered.

The wizard looked surprised before shifting to annoyed. "Why?" He questioned further.

"What happens when a powerful spell is deflected? A spell that someone would use against, oh let's say, a wizard in his tower?" Kurt asked while tapping his foot on the floor to make it clear he knew that the entire building was Franks' base of power.

Realization turned the frown on Frank's face to an 'O'. "Ah… yeah that would be bad."

"Indeed. I know for a fact that the places in town that you mentioned only have passive defenses in either hardening enchantments or identification enchants." Kurt agreed.

"How do you know that for a fact? Have you picked them apart?" Frank was now staring intently at Kurt, giving him another, more speculative look.

"No, no." Kurt said with a chuckle. "I put them there."

That seemed to not be what Frank was expecting, and the middle-aged wizard suddenly went silent. The look of confusion was suddenly replaced with one of understanding as he connected the dots.

"You aren't a free agent." Frank stated, not even having to ask.

"None of us are." Val said from her side of the table, next to Anna. "But that doesn't mean we can't work with you. We don't even have to tell our employer about it."

Franks eyes flicked to Val before darting between each of them in turn. "Hmmm… Stabilitas. You are Order Stabilitas agents."

"Wow." Kurt said. There was no use denying the accusation since Frank sounded a hundred percent certain. "Got it in one."

"How did you guess?" Kristi asked before taking a sip of her tea.

"Simply put, it's the only one of those entities that fits." Frank answered. "Terminus doesn't let its agents live off site, which you do. Gosmerlin keeps far too tight of a leash on its people to allow them to freelance and Dinas Group wouldn't employ you being human only."

Kurt had only heard of Terminus before, not the other groups, but it sounded like they all had their quirks. He wasn't sure if their mission sets overlapped either, which might be why he didn't know about them.

"Well, now that everything is out in the open, do you still need defensive enchantments?" Val asked, redirecting the conversation back on topic.

Frank thought for a moment. "I think so. I did a little scrying recently and think we, as the paranormal population of this city, might have some struggles in the future."

"What, looked into a crystal ball or something?" Kurt chuckled. The image was just too much of a stereotype to…

"Yes, I am actually rather accomplished at divination." Frank answered with a smug smile, interrupting Kurt's train of thought. "I am not sure who, but I think there might be some issues coming our way."

"When?" Asked Kristi.

"Hard to say. Best guess is sometime after the snow has left."

"How do you figure that?" Kurt asked. He hadn't had much interaction with seer's or other people skilled in the art of divination. He had a basic understanding but didn't know any of the specifics or even all the types that were practiced.

"In one scene, I saw a combat boot step on a fresh green sprout on a wooded forest floor. That leads me to think late spring or early summer." Frank answered. "Honestly it also had a certain… feeling. Like when you get that first warm breeze after winter. There was almost a smell to the air that reminded me of warm and wet weather."

Kurt glanced around the table at the girls, taking in their expressions and noting that even Kristi had relaxed, seemingly comfortable with the interaction now. Anna was still completely silent but that was expected. He also got the feeling that Frank wasn't an enemy and was consistently rather friendly toward them.

"So, what is it you want then? Now that you know I won't make anything that can damage the surroundings."

"How about the same thing you did for the coffee shop?" Frank suggested.

Thinking for a moment, Kurt tried to recall everything he could do to make a building tougher. "I can do your windows, not a problem, and also the structure of the building." Kurt said.

Frank nodded and scratched his beard. "How long will it take to do that? I was hoping to be better off by next year and I know you enchanters take a while."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"That isn't a problem for me." Kurt answered. "There was some stuff going on with the enchanter's guild that I don't have to worry about anymore." He clarified after Frank cast him a rather surprised look.

"I see." Frank said. "What else can we do?"

Kurt then ran down a short list of things that were extremely cost effective in regard to materials and time. It also helped that Frank could charge any arrays himself if needed, given his magical abilities. They also talked about another detail that the wizard would probably like to know about.

"This is a key code for the back door of the security company." Kurt said while sliding a card with a six-digit number over the table. "It is a safehouse for the Order and can even get you off world via portal."

Franklin raised his eyebrows at the card but took it all the same "I promise to not abuse your trust." His tone was very formal and carried a heavy tone to it. Kurt wondered if there was some magic around promises made by powerful wizards but couldn't think of anything.

Kristi shrugged and drained the last of her tea. "Abuse it or don't. That bill will be paid to the Order so you will have to deal with them if you use the service."

"Ah, of course." Franklin seemed to understand that this particular lifeline had a cost associated with it. "Speaking of cost…"

"Well, I don't need money." Kurt said, quickly cutting off that line of thought.

Frank frowned. "Then what can I pay you with?"

While Kurt was thinking, Val was having a whispered conversation with Anna at the end of the table. He couldn't make out the words, but it seemed to be related to the question that Frank had asked. Finally, the whisper war ended, and Val gestured to Anna, getting her to speak up.

"Ahem, y-you s-s-said you h-have an apartment for rent?" The little fey spoke up, her voice a little shaky.

*****

"So, what do you think?" Kurt asked Anna after they had toured the apartment. They had decided to have a quick snack at the gaming table while they waited for the rest of the group to show up.

The apartment was a nice, if small, downtown unit. It was laid out with a large open area that made up the kitchen, living room and dining area that ran along one half of the floor. The other half was made up of two decent sized bedrooms that were separated by a spacious bathroom.

Kurt rather liked the wood floors and painted brick that made up the majority of the walls. He also liked the high ceilings but wasn't in love with the exposed rafters that allowed them to see all the wiring and duct work. At least it was all painted and the wires neatly organized.

Anna looked up from her rule book and bag of jerky. "I liked it. I just don't know about living so far away." She was rather hesitant to be on her own in a strange city, in a world she had only just arrived on.

"That's fair." Kurt said while trying to make his back up character. They had been very close to losing people on a few occasions and he was beginning to understand why regular players always had a few ready to go.

"But it's not really far." Val countered. "The store is like a block from the coffee shop and the portal back to the Order. That portal takes you to the same area as the one in Kurt's garage."

"I guess…" Anna didn't seem convinced.

Kristi decided to weigh in after she came in with several paper bowls filled with snacks that she placed on the table. "It only seems far because we drove here. How about I take you through the portals on the way home so you can see how close it is?"

That seemed to catch Anna's interest, and she wholeheartedly agreed to that plan. She returned to reviewing the rulebook and her character sheet just as they heard someone walking across the floor toward them. Judging by the rapid, heavy steps, it could only be one person.

"Hi guys." Melody said as she rounded the corner. "Oh, new friend!" She squeaked after seeing Anna sitting across from Kristi.

"H-hi." Anna said while trying to shield herself behind the rule book.

"Anna, this is Melody. Mel, this is Anna. She is new in town, and we are looking after her for a little while." Val made introductions.

Before anyone could get further into the conversation, Steve entered the room with a very sheepish Adam trailing behind him. "Hi folks. And hello Anna. It is Anna right?" He said with a friendly smile.

Anna nodded. "Y-yes. I h-hope it isn't too much troub…"

"Nope, happy to have you." He quickly cut her off. "We technically have room for a few more so I am stoked that you are here."

That seemed to put Anna at ease and she relaxed a little as Melody took her place between her and Steve. Adam took his seat across from Val and he cast a nervous glance at Kristi.

"Before we get started, I… I just wanted to say sorry." He spoke to Val after taking a breath and lowering his head.

"Adam, it's ok." Val said while smiling. "Jayson is a dick. Honestly you didn't do anything but try to keep him from getting in trouble, so we are good."

"Yeah. No hard feelings here." Melody added while leaning back to look around Anna. "Between us, he was on borrowed time. I am surprised that Steve and Frank didn't boot him sooner."

Adam looked relieved that not only was Val not mad but that everyone else at the table agreed. Everyone except for Anna who was just looking on in confusion. "Well, that's a relief." Adam admitted

"How so?" Melody asked while putting a plate of brownies on the table.

"He was ranting and raving after he woke up in the hospital." Adam began. "He was going on about lawsuits and all that until Frank showed up with a sheriff deputy."

"Well, this sounds interesting." Val leaned in, propping her chin on her fist. "Then what?"

"Then Frank says that the deputy was there to take our statements and that he had already turned over the security footage of him assaulting you." Adam answered Val. "The deputy said that he would be following up to see if you wanted to press charges and that Kristi acted in defense of another with 'less lethal' force."

Kristi snorted and rolled her eyes while pilfering a brownie off the plate Melody had uncovered. "He's lucky I used an open palm."

"Well, after the cops told him he was in the wrong and facing jail time, he shut up pretty quick." Adam finished. "After Frank left, I did too. I was angry at him and a little sad about not being able to come play anymore, so I just walked out."

"Just like that?" Steve asked.

"Well…" Adam hedged. "I might have vented my frustration after years of trying to be a good friend. I pretty much broke up with him. In a manly, platonic, friends only sort of way." He quickly added in to make it clear they weren't a couple.

"How did he take that?" Val asked, her grin still plastered on her face.

"Don't know. I walked out and haven't heard from him."

Kurt wished there had been better closure but figured beggars couldn't be choosers. He was still just glad to be done with the guy and that Adam had seen the light. He didn't have anything against him and actually thought he was pretty nice, especially when his greasy friend wasn't around.

"Huh, I'll be." Steve muttered and finished setting up his screen. "Well, all that aside, let's play."

That announcement was followed by a flurry of activity as everyone pulled out their notes, character sheets, dice and other supplies. Snacks were passed around and drinks cracked open as everyone turned their attention to Steve. He laid out the dungeon map again and placed the minis where they were after referencing his phone a few times.

"Alright, last time we left off with the party having just killed a troll in this underground library. When you finished combat, you realized that your paladin had fallen into a pit trap during combat and none of you can see the bottom."

"I'm not going after him." Kurt mumbled. Looking around at the table, he saw everyone else was in the same boat.

Steve took that to mean he could move on. "Right, you all turn and see the doors in the far corner of the room." He propped a clip board against his screen with a computer-generated picture of a set of double doors. The surface of each door was covered in symbols and decoration that were raised off the stone slabs.

"When do I come in?" Anna whispered to Steve.

He leaned over to whisper back as the rest of the party studied the picture. "I will introduce you. Did you have any changes to your character since Thursday?" Seeing her shake her head, he continued. "I will kick off the scene and leave it to you to role play with them after."

Val was flipping through her notes and her characters inventory while Kurt and Kristi moved their characters up to the door. "Can I try to push the door?" Kurt askes.

"You can try. Give me a check." Steve said.

"Alright, rolling for strength and… fourteen?"

"Nothing happens." Steve replied.

Kurt paused and stared at the 'carvings' shown on the doors. While he was thinking, Kristi raised her hand and spoke. "What do I notice about the door? Can I see anything that stands out about the symbols?"

"Perception please." Steve said and watched as Kristi rolled and did some math.

"Ehm, a…plus one and seventeen?"

Steve consulted his notes behind the screen before looking back up. "You think the symbols look very familiar. You remember seeing them in the library in Cantona."

Val was flipping back and forth in her notebook and pulled out a scrap of paper they had been given in a previous session. She began to look from the picture of the door to her notebook and was writing feverishly. "Oh, oh! I got it."

"Figured it out?" Steve said with a sly smile and a glance to Kurt.

"Yeah. I walk to the door and grab the thing that looks like a four pointed star." She described and moved her mini.

"Then what?" Steve said.

"I 'pull' the door." She said and smirked at Kurt. She rolled her D20 and quickly did some math. "Twelve."

"The door opens!" Steve said with a little chuckle.

"Awe come on." Kust said. "I had a fourteen on that and it didn't move."

Val flipped her notes around showing the cypher she had been translating. "The inscription says pull to open."

Kurt just grumbled while Steve set the scene again. "As you pull the door open you hear the sound of fighting. A familiar bellowing and quieter hissing grunts mixed in with the sound of weapons against hard flesh."

"Do I recognize the noise?" Kristi asked and they all moved their character minis up to the door. She rolled a die and checked her wisdom. "Nine?"

Steve thought for a second before speaking. "You recognize the sound of a troll because you just fought one but you don't know the other."

"I pull the door all the way open." Val said

"Alright. In a darkened cavern of a room, you can make out a small figure fighting a troll with a spear." Steve says and places another map section down with two figures on it. "You can see there is a broken pile of wood under an opening in the ceiling. The smaller figure looks slightly battered. What do you do?"

"I would like to rage." Adam said. "Then I am going to rush in and attack the troll."

"Roll initiative everyone." Steve said and they proceeded to get in order and run through the encounter. The small figure was obviously Anna's character and Steve helped her play through the combat with recommendation and explanation. After several turns, they eventually defeated the troll.

"And with that Eldritch Blast, you kill the troll." Steve said and pushed the figurine over. "Before you stands aaa…" He waved to Anna and she suddenly scrambled for her character sheet.

"Ah-aaa. Y-you see a kobold wearing a leather chest and upper armor holding a spear. She has b-bits of w-wood…" She trailed off and looked at Melody.

"You're doing great hon, keep going." The dwarf whispered and everyone smiled and nodded encouragingly.

Anna cleared her throat and continued. "Bits of wood stuck to her clothes. She… ah. Backs up and holds her spear across her chest in a guard position."

"I step up with my hands out to show I am unarmed." Kristi said.

"Yeah, a monk being unarmed." Melody chuckled under her breath.

"I say 'Hi we mean you no harm.'" Kristi continued after shooting a glare at Melody.

"I say 'Where are we?'" Anna said, playing the role.

Kurt then moved his mini. "'We are underground in the remains of a research facility. How did you get here?' I move to stand off to one side."

Anna chewed on her lip, debating on how she wanted to play her character. She seemed to make up her mind a few seconds later. "'I fell through that fucking hole in the ceiling and landed ass first on that table.' She points to the pile of wood."

The way she used an accent when speaking with her character was somehow the funniest thing. Mostly because her more refined pronunciation didn't lend itself to swearing but also because she tried to make it sound like a knock-off Italian mobster.

The whole table broke into laughter and Melody gave her a fist bump. The rest of the session was spent with the party of six exploring the upper level of the caverns, fighting the various monsters and baddies that Steve put out for them.

Eventually the session came to an end and they had to pack up. Everyone loved to have Anna playing as she doubled down on the crass but refined Italian kobold. They made their promises to be back for the next session and wished everyone good night before they took off. Kurt and Val going to the car while Kristi took Anna through the portal in town to the Order.

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