Author: innbetween

I was very much hoping to post this story in July for our faithful and fearless transcriber Ria, because Ria’s birthday is in July, but alas, it was not to be. Finding time to write has been tough recently, which is why I value your continued love and support for the show, even though it’s been ages since we’ve made any show.

Season six is still on its way, but in the meantime, why don’t we spend some time not with our characters, but with their players?

*

Em squinted at faer phone. “Teresa says she’ll be here in like, ten minutes.”

“That might as well be forever,” Alex groaned. He was already upside-down in his chair, which did not bode well for his focus for the rest of the game today, River thought.

“Gives me time to finish levelling up,” Cal muttered, scribbling on their character sheet.

“Why didn’t you do that before we started?” Michael asked.

“I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count,” Alex said.

River winced sympathetically. “Thesis?”

“Thesis,” Cal agreed, and rolled a d10. “River, can you verbally verify what number is on this die?”

River leaned over to look. “That’s a nine.”

“Eleven hit points for Yak,” Cal said gleefully, making a note.

I was thinking about Drow lore in the classic D&D settings, and Rosie and Stella in particular, who are canonically and textually trans, and this was maybe the funniest thing I could think of. Happy Pride!

*

Griselda Muneshyl was not a sexist. She was rather proud of this, actually. Although the drow of antiquity believed that boys were functionally useless as anything other than breeding stock or sacrifices to the great god Lolth, Griselda was a contemporary drow. A modern drow. Why, it flew in the very face of reciprocity to have an entire gender that was no good. Senseless.

…But even so.

We’re exploring the corest of our core characters today: our dearly beloved Goblin’s Head. When I was a kid, I had a book called What It Feels Like to Be a Building (Forrest Wilson), and I’m not going to pretend that wasn’t a contributing influence. Enjoy!

*

The building that was the Goblin’s Head did not feel, in the traditional sense.

Having observed mortal humanoids for several hundred years, the inn knew that they felt all sorts of sensations. Pain, tastes, touch, heat and cold—all of these were foreign to the inn. Its body was constructed by loving hands, long ago, of stone and wood and iron, with mortar and nails and tar holding these pieces together. It hadn’t been aware of what it was then, but it remembered, down to its foundation. But this foundation did not ache with age, nor did the rattling of its shingles make it shiver, nor did the feet of hundreds of people wearing down their floorboards tickle.

Sensation was foreign to the inn, but emotion was a different animal.

I think I said at some point that I was never going to write about the thing that happens at the end of this story. And I still haven’t. Because I got sidetracked by messy emotional issues. As I am wont to do.

In any case, enjoy this story about Sterling, Knowles, and very polite disagreements.

*

Sterling looked at the neat pile of armor on his desk, fastidiously tied up in twine, shined to perfection. It reminded him of a serving tray of dishes, although lifting such a tray would require balance or skill, while this breastplate full of armor pieces looked very secure, if heavy. No loose ends.

“You’re leaving us?” Sterling repeated to Sergeant—well, former Sergeant Knowles.

“Yes, sir,” Knowles said, their posture absolutely perfect as always. They were wearing new armor, cheaper but newer, a chain shirt and some pieces of plate in amongst street clothes. They looked directly behind Sterling’s head, as always. Sterling wasn’t sure they ever looked him in the eye.

“We only just got you back,” Sterling said, half to himself. It would be nigh impossible to replace Knowles—why, that was precisely why Sterling had selected them for the mission to Belling. Based on Knowles’ report, Sterling had been exactly right to do so. But now…

“Apologies, sir,” Knowles said stiffly.