A rewritten version of a Modern!AU of a campaign between @meteorito618 and I (PS go check them out they’re cool!). This is only Part 1. Hoping to do Part 2 soon. Not too much has changed from the first version just an addition of a new character and I think better writing, so enjoy!
“... and that is how we create a fireball,” a green dragonborn dressed in a loose tank top and yoga pants states. She walks towards the front of a group of around a dozen people of all different races and skill levels, absentmindedly transferring a small fireball from hand to hand. Once she gets to the front, standing in front of some wall-length mirrors, she addresses the group again, “Now, a few things to remember about this spell. While you can control it and create these small bursts of flame, they can also grow into enormous fires, so you have to be careful and keep your concentration up. Also, this spell requires verbal commands, specific movement, and materials so you’ll have to be prepared if you want to use it.” She pauses and waits for nods from the group, some of whom have already followed suit and created their own fireballs, then she smiles and begins again, “Now, the number one rule of self-defense is always just that, defense. What I teach you should never be used for plain harm or in ill-thought of another person.” She pauses again, waiting for agreement, and continues, “As I said before, fireballs can become much bigger than this,” she holds up her own baseball sized fireball, “but for our purposes and to use against any potential threat, this should be enough. In addition to this, we have also learned some disarming strikes, which can be used in addition or in place of, for those without the same magical capabilities. Now,” she shifts on her feet to stand up straighter, she cups the fireball in both of her hands and closes her eyes, “to get rid of the fireball so you don't have to carry it around with you all day,” this earns a few small, some perhaps nervous laughs which makes the dragonborn smile, “just like how we brought forth our magic from our being to form a shape, so we shall release it to where it will wait for our call again.” She removes her hands from around the fireball and it drops for a moment before dissipating in an orange glow. She breathes out a moment before opening her eyes. She claps her hands together and smiles at the group in front of her, ”Now, it is your turn.”
With that, the dragonborn goes around, helping those who cannot quite get their magic to dissipate, or answering questions from those practicing some other defense moves. Eventually, everyone in the room is empty handed and the dragonborn returns to the front of the room. She claps again and smiles, “Great work today everyone. I hope you have a great rest of your days and I hope to see you all again soon. Remember if you need anything from me, my email or text are always open!” With that dismissal, everyone moves to collect their personal belongings before heading to the door leading out of the small studio. The dragonborn holds the door for her students, saying her more personal goodbyes and receiving some in turn many along the lines of, “Thank you for your help today Blaine!” and, “Have a good evening!” With the final person heading out, the dragonborn, Blaine, goes over to a chair which holds a backpack. She reaches in absently and pulls out an envelope as well as a smartphone. She ignores the former for a moment as she powers on her device and sees several messages. The first she clicks on is a group chat with the title “Dbl Trbl”:
[Image ID: A group text between three members: Jil, Mil, and Blaine. The conversation is titled Dbl Trbl with a smiling devil emoji and reads as follows:
Jil: Mom wants to know when you’ll be coming home. She’s been freaking out!
Jil: Also, Ms. A would like to know, she’s alright tho since… y’know you actually said bye to her (angry emoji)
Mil: Yeah, not like we needed to know or anything…
Mil: Just kidding, we know you had your reasons B. Anyways, we told them that you’re fine, living
your own life.
Jil: But you know them B.
Mil: Not to mention we’d love to have you home to hear about your travels and life.
Jil: All about it and who you might’ve met (smirking emoji)]
Blaine’s scales darken a little as she blushes before she scoffs and types a quick response:
[Image ID: The same group text as before now with a new message:
Blaine: Yeah, thanks for showing you care (rolling eyes emoji)
Blaine: Anyways, I’ll think about it, just finished a class and I gotta head home.]
She hits send and backs out of that conversation. She has one more notification which she clicks on leading to a chat titled “Boss Lady”:
[Image ID: A text message chat between two members: Mari and Blaine. The conversation is titled “Boss Lady” and reads as follows:
Mari: Dearie, just wanted to let you know I let a couple of other patrons know about your classes. You might get some new students soon :)
Mari: Payment is due soon! Don’t forget to drop it off!
Blaine: Hey, just wanted to let you know I won’t be in today. Caught something and had to cancel classes.
Mari: Okay, take care of yourself or I’ll lose another paying customer >:(
Mari: Don’t forget to turn in your payment soon. I should be here until the end of the day, but if not just give it to me the next chance you get :D]
Blaine smiles and laughs a little to herself, shutting off her phone’s screen and putting it back in the bag, she grabs a set of keys from inside before slipping the backpack onto her back. Holding the envelope, she heads out the door of her studio. She quickly turns around and locks the door before swinging her bag around and putting the keys away. Then, she walks into the main lobby on the first floor of this building. She walks towards a desk that sits in the middle of the room, just in front of some stairs and facing towards wide windows that lead to a fairly empty street. It was dark outside by now, and it seems that most people were home. Sitting at the desk is a slightly older gnome typing away on an older model desktop.
The gnome looks up as she hears the door lock and smiles as Blaine approaches, “Ah, I see I did not have to remind you about paying. Never really do, but I have to keep up my reputation of a good building owner somehow,” the older gnome, Mari, says with a slight laugh. Blaine hands over the envelope, which Mari inspects for a moment, before her grin grows, “My, my Ms. Copinhaven, I did not know you and Ms. Azuris were on a first name basis now?” she questions with a teasing lilt in her voice. Blaine’s scales darken once again as she leans over to grab the envelope, however Mari pushes her chair back to remain just out of reach. She chuckles and says, “Now humor an old lady will you, what is this?”
Blaine sighs and droops against the counter she was reaching over, giving up defeat on getting it back for now. She stays there a moment looking mournfully at the envelope before looking at Mari and saying, “It’s nothing really, just… what I might want to say to her… but I'm too nervous to.”
Mari studies her for a moment before slowly rising from her chair, “Well if you’re too nervous and you’ve got it all written out already why don’t we just…” she makes a gesture towards a door opposite of Blaine’s studio which has “Azuris Books” written in swooping letters on the front of it.
Blaine reacts immediately, “No, no, no, no, no!” she says moving to the opposite end of the counter to stand in front of the other door with her arms outspread, “I’m… I’m not ready for that yet!”
Mari’s smile turns into a softer version of itself as she lowers herself back into the chair and holds the letter out towards Blaine, “Oh you know I’m only teasing hun. But really, such a nice young lamia and a nice young dragonborn, why don’t you take the chance, especially when I am sure,” she says that word in a decisive tone, “that she likes you as well?”
Blaine relaxes, and reaches out to take the envelope back. She looks at it wistfully for a moment, running her thumb over the lettering, “To Glacia'', before looking back up at Mari, “I don’t know it’s just… She’s such a great friend! And, I don’t want to ruin that if she doesn’t like me back. And, and!” she exclaims, “Have you seen her! I just… how could I even begin to try to approach this I just,” she buries her head in her hands, still holding the envelope, and just groans.
Mari chuckles lightly and replies, “Ah, the troubles of young love. Well, I am sure that you two will figure it out eventually. As for now, I believe you came here for another purpose?” she holds out her hand, waiting.
Blaine peeks out from under her hands, and sighs. She brings her backpack around front and digs into it for a moment, replacing one envelope with another. She deposits the new envelope into Mari’s awaiting hands who opens it and examines what is inside. She nods seeing the amount on the check inside and says, “Perfect as always, Ms. Copinhaven,” she smiles.
Blaine returns the smile and quickly recloses her bag and swings it around her back. She starts backing towards the exit to the place saying, “Y’know I don’t mind your texts, just don’t hound me like some of the other clients and I’ll be fine. There could be a day where I don’t remember, who knows, though I’ll try to stop that from happening.” She reaches the door, and puts a hand on it, turning back to Mari, “Well it is getting late and I know you would like to probably head home soon, so I wish you a goodbye and a goodnight…” she turns to push the door open, but before she does she turns her head to look at the older gnome one last time with a mischievous smirk on her face, “... Mrs. Gildenbloom.” Blaine makes a hasty exit, hearing a bark of laughter resound behind her and a returned goodnight.
As Blaine steps outside, she is met with the slightly cold night of winter, she breathes out and watches her breath fog up slightly before disappearing. Looking around she sees one other person on the street, heading in the other direction. A lone half-orc who when they see Blaine, nods. Blaine nods back before turning and walking towards her apartment nearby. As she walks, her path is lit by tall lamps that hold magical lights that flickered, but would not go out, even with the breeze. Blaine zones out as she walks, going over in her head the progress of her regular clients, and who might need more help as well as what she should teach in her next class. She walks past stores, apartments and homes. No one is really out and if they are they seem to be seeking to get inside away from the colder weather. Few places are open at this time, some that are open 24/7, others who just normally hold late hours, the lights of these places melding with that already coming from the street lamps.
A few minutes into her walk, Blaine comes up on an alley and hears a shout and a grunt of pain. She slows, heading to the entrance and making sure that she does not make any noise before peeking around the corner and into the alleyway. There, she sees the backs of three people. It seems as if they are confronting something past them, and are struggling with whoever or whatever is at the end of the alleyway. The one in the center seems to especially be struggling, and when they move enough, Blaine can see that it looks like they are trying to cover the mouth of a person they are trying to hold down. What Blaine can see from this person they are holding is that they appear to be mostly covered by a dark green hoodie.
Another of this group held a dagger which appeared to have a glow to it. The final member of the group stood taller than the others and hissed in a low voice at the hooded figure that was struggling, “Cut it out, gooder. We just wanna know who you work for, and where you all work.” They grab at the hood and the figure’s hair and pull their head up, revealing a set of mismatched eyes to Blaine. The third member continues, “You all have taken out too many of my people lately, you and your crew. I just want some payment for my misfortunes, now ain’t that fair?” The figure in the hood struggles again and manages to kick at the person holding them, allowing them to be dropped for a moment by all members of the group.
Blaine manages to hear shouting from the figure whose mouth is no longer covered by a hand and which shows a handkerchief covering their mouth with the insignia of a cornacopia on it, “Fuck you and your crew! We’ll clean up your dirty acts soon you!...” and that is all the figure manages before the member of the group that held them is able to get a good grip on them and covers their mouth again. The member of the three that was previously talking, who Blaine now assumes is the one taking point, punches the hooded figure. This causes Blaine to stiffen and almost without thinking, she summons a fireball in her palm which steadily grows as she watches the scene in front of her.
“Shut it gooder!” the boss member hisses, “Why don’t we show you we are serious? Maybe your dead body will finally encourage this little campaign you got going to step forward and actually confront me.” With this, they step back and nod towards the member that holds the glowing dagger. This member nods in turn and steps towards the once again struggling hooded figure, before raising the dagger.
Blaine cannot take anymore, “Hey!” she yells, stepping fully into the entrance of the alley. The large fireball now sitting in her hands lights her face in a dramatic way and shows her anger. “Catch!” she calls out as she chucks the ball towards the three members of the group and the hooded figure. The one holding the figure yelps and drops them, leaping out of the way. This knocks the one with the dagger into the giant fireball’s path which hits them head on. They yell as it comes into contact with them, burning their clothes and charring a portion of their chest. They take large, pained breaths for a few moments until they finally drop their dagger and fall unconscious. The boss member looks towards Blaine who already has another fireball at the ready. “If I were you,” she starts, bouncing the fireball between her hands, “I would grab your friends and leave while you still can.”
The leader of the three hisses a quick command at the one that was previously holding the hooded figure. Together, they pick up their fallen partner before heading towards the entrance of the alley. Blaine moves to the side as they approach, giving them room to leave, but still holding her summoned fireball between herself and the three of them. As they finally reach the street, the boss turns back to Blaine and growls out, “You’ll regret this. You just made a bad enemy today, dragonborn.” The three hurry away into the night. Blaine sighs and releases the tension she held in her body. She drops the fireball which dissipates mid-air, as she turns back into the alley to see if the hooded figure needed any help.
Instead, she turns around to see two different colored eyes staring straight at her, studying her. She sees green-toned skin and dark hair streaked with white. And most prominently, a large flaming sword in this person’s grasp that was pointed straight at her:
[Image ID: An image of a person with a green hoodie on. They have one blue and one green eye. Their skin is light green in tone. They have long dark hair with white running through it and a braid on one side. They have pointed ears, and a slit in one eyebrow. They wear a handkerchief with a symbol of a cornucopia on it. They wear a teal colored necklace. They are holding a sword which is covered in fire.]
Blaine automatically puts up her hands, taking in a sharp breath and looking over this figure. The person wore dark colored jeans that were a loose fit, hiking boots, a dark green hoodie, and a lighter green bandana with a cornucopia that covered the bottom half of their face. Their dark hair streaked with white tumbled out of their hood and had a braid on one side. The two stood looking at each other for a long time, before Blaine decides to break the silence.
“Hey… um, sorry for scaring you if I did. I just heard a shout? And thought maybe I could help. Didn’t really want anyone to get hurt, y’know I actually work with people to prevent that on a day to day basis, kinda a self-made job really…” she lets her sentence fade with a nervous and awkward laugh. The person in front of her blinks a few times, their hold on the sword shifting but not lowering at all.
The person finally speaks, their eyes narrowing, “You’re telling me you weren’t with those thugs? You aren’t part of the Gindilian Gang?” they question, sword moving slightly closer to where Blaine is worried the fire might burn her.
“What? What… no?! I don’t even…” she pauses and thinks a moment before continuing, “I think maybe I heard about them on the news? They’ve been more of a nuisance and… more active lately right?” she questions, the person in front of her giving her a slight nod but still looking suspicious. “But… but no! I do the complete opposite of being in a gang, I run a self-defense course not far from here actually! You don’t have to trust me, I mean, I doubt we’ll meet again, and it’s not like I’m planning to go to the cops or anything, but can you at least believe me enough to not hurt me with that?” she gestures with her head towards the still alight blade practically in her face. The person stares at Blaine some more, trying to judge her intent. Eventually they seem to find their answer and opens their hand, allowing the blade to drop slightly before it dissipates, much as Blaine does with her fireballs. Blaine lets out a short sigh, before stuttering out a startled response as the person moves past them to leave the alley, “Wait! You… you’re okay right? And you’re just going to leave that there?” she gestures to the dagger still glowing faintly on the ground.
The person glances back with a smile that shows in their eyes, “You seem smart, why don’t you keep that. Just know that if you do anything bad with it, and word reaches me, I will come find you. As for me?” they shrug, a playful lilt in their voice, “I’ll be okay. See you around… pal.” They slip off onto the street and quickly moves away from sight as Blaine stands a bit shocked. As she recovers, she glances down at the dagger which has a slight green glow. She bends down and picks it up, testing the weight in her hands. She does a few quick moves with it, before smiling. She swings her backpack around and opens it, finding her spare change of clothing, she wraps her new dagger up before replacing it in the bag and closing it. She shifts the bag back onto her back before heading back out of the alley and heading home as she intended to before. She can’t help but think of the events that happened as she falls asleep that night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blaine kept the encounter she had in the alley in her mind as weeks passed by. She expressed the importance of self-defense in her classes even more, never revealing exactly what she had experienced, but alluding to it when some of her clients would not take the classes very seriously. She was more alert than ever when traveling around town, especially at night, wondering whether she may run into something like what happened in the alley again. Mira took notice of her caution, asking if she was alright. Blaine would always give a quick answer before all but running out of the door.
Now, it was a little after two months after the events in the alley, and Blaine was in her office in the back of the studio where she held classes. She sighs, her head held in her hand and clicks on her phone. She scowls as she sees it is now past midnight. Blaine shuffles the papers she was working on regarding finances and customers and puts them neatly away in her desk before gathering her things and stepping into the main lobby area of the building. Mari wasn’t there and it was dark, which made sense considering how late it was. Blaine locked her own studio’s door before heading to the main entrance, pulling out the main door’s keys that Mari gave her for such circumstances. She locked the door behind her, and nodded to herself when she checked to be sure it was for sure locked. Her eyes fell shut slightly as she walked, having not slept too well the night before with nightmares of enchanted daggers and death consuming her sleep. However, just as she was beginning to fall asleep on her feet, she is startled awake by a loud noise.
Her eyes snap open to see two people darting towards her with lights flashing behind them. Yells and shouts sound from a group behind the two as they run. Blaine froze, not knowing what was going on, but as the two got closer, she recognized something that made her realize that this situation may be more familiar than she first believed. These two people in dark clothes, wore light green handkerchiefs with a cornucopia on them, which covered the bottom halves of their faces.
Much too quickly, they were upon Blaine, both of them splitting to be on either side of her, and both grabbing one of her arms, dragging Blaine back a couple steps in surprise. Blaine quickly got to her senses and pulled herself away, spinning to face the two. They halt for a second in their running, turning to face Blaine. She quickly notices a few features regarding the two. They both were around the same height and had a bright red tone to their skin. They had dark black hair and horns curling behind their heads which were brightly decorated with jewelry. Their eyes were a deep purple, and they had tails which lagged behind them.
One of them shouts, in a more masculine voice, “We can’t explain, but you must run, now!”
The other chimes in with a more feminine voice, “Yes, unless you wish to be dead, come on!”
They both turn and begin running again. Blaine, looking behind her, did as well as the other group with the lights did not seem too far behind. She managed to catch up to the two dark-clothed people, just managing to keep up with them as they turned down alleys, jumped fences, and hid behind corners until finally they ran into an abandoned building. All was quiet for a few moments, save the breaths the three took, before a pounding of footsteps and shouting of threats passed by. After waiting a few minutes that seemed to stretch far too long, the two people Blaine was following let out twin sighs, signaling that the chase was apparently done. The two looked over to Blaine who was bent over catching her breath, and thinking about what she was once again caught up in. The two were whispering, Blaine not able to make out what it was they were saying. As she straightened, she caught the two looking further into the building, seemingly at nothing, before they look back at her in thought.
Before any of them could say anything, a person appeared. To Blaine at least, that is entirely what it looked like. A halfling woman with orange hair and patches of different colored skin stood before the three. She looked at the two hooded figures and scolded, “You two not only got found by the Gindilian Gang, almost got caught, but you also managed to bring an un-inducted person to our base?”
One of the two, the one with the slightly more feminine voice, responded, “Well, they probably didn’t know it was our base until you said so Gwen!”
The one with the slightly more masculine voice chimed in, “Yeah, if anything YOU just revealed our base. What a leader, huh?”
The woman took a deep breath in, shutting her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. She was just about to retort, but before she could, another person appeared from halfway into the building. Blaine straightened at the appearance of this new person. Well not new to her. A half-elf stood who had a lighter green skin tone, and had one thing that Blaine would not have forgotten… two different colored eyes. They stared at Blaine for a few moments, before a smile twitched onto their face and they placed their hand on Gwen’s shoulder. Gwen stopped and looked up, ready to snap at whoever interrupted her before realizing who it was. She relaxed, but raised a brow at the half-elf who was looking solely at Blaine.
“Well pal,” they begin, “never truly thought I’d see you around again.” This draws a startled laugh out of Blaine which draws the attention of the other three in the room.
One of the hooded figures, with a masculine voice, questions, “You know them?” not indicating who they were asking the question to.
The half-elf ignores the question, stepping forward and offering a hand to Blaine who hesitantly takes it. They squeeze her hand and give it a firm shake before smiling, “Well, maybe it is time to induct some more new people. Especially since this one saved my hide and already knows where the base is.” They look to the people around the room who look slightly shocked but also encouraged at the news. Then, they turn back to Blaine with a wide grin, “So, what do you say, pal. Want to become a ‘gooder’?” Blaine’s eyes widen as she looks at the others. Gwen seems slightly shocked, but smiles at Blaine appreciatively , though Blaine does not understand why. The two figures remove their hoods and handkerchiefs revealing similar looking tieflings, one having part of their head shaved to mark a difference. Both are smiling at Blaine in excitement.
Blaine looks back to the half-elf and gives her answer. “Well… I suppose why not? But first, what’s your name… pal?” She says this with a growing smile as she gets excited and intrigued by the events happening around her.
The half-elf looks giddy before turning and motioning for them all to follow. They say over their shoulder, “The name’s Darjo, and more introductions can be made later. For now though… welcome to Bjarga.” Darjo steps further into the building and disappears. Gwen and the other two do as well. Blaine stares at where they all disappeared, before taking a deep breath, and plunging into the unknown.
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