Page 34 of The Great Maple Mistake

Smirking, I continue. “You’re immediately transported to the courtyard of a castle, and everywhere you look, there are strange fae creatures leaning out of windows, hanging over the battlements, and exiting through open doorways, their attention focused on each of you.”

Sam is the first to act. “I pluck a string on my lute and get ready to cast ‘calm emotions’ if things get heated.”

I nod, making a note of that. “Okay, you have ‘calm emotions’ ready to go. Anyone else doing anything?”

Andre jumps in. “Do I see anyone that looks like they’re in charge?”

“Roll a perception check.”

Andre rolls his die and does the quick math. “Sixteen.”

“With a sixteen, you don’t see anything at first that marks any one particular being as the leader of this group. But your tiefling eyesight zeros in on an older-looking brownie leaning against the fountain in the center of the courtyard. His clothing and hair allow him to blend in with the stone, but you catch movement as he steps forward, eyeing you warily.” I make my voice higher than usual, adopt an Irish accent, and add a tone of arrogance to it. “What a motley crew we have here. Who are you, and why have you come?”

Cody leans in, looking at the map I’ve set in the center of the table. “I stride across the courtyard and kneel in front of the brownie, and say, ‘Good sir, we are a traveling party, in search of the cause of a plague sweeping across our lands. In that pursuit, we stumbled into a fairy circle and find ourselves here.’”

I stare at him, completely turned on by his flawless aristocratic British accent and the way he’s embracing both the game and his pompous human Paladin character. We’re a pretty easy-goinggroup, letting friends and significant others sit in whenever they feel like watching or playing for an evening. When I asked Cody if he wanted to play, he jumped at the chance. He swears this is his first time, but he has mad role-playing skills. Something I plan to keep in mind for other non-group activities.

And that thought frustrates me yet again. Because I’m desperate to talk to Cody about us, and taking whatever we are to the next level. And I want to do that tonight, but this session keeps dragging on. Not that I’m hating running the game. Everyone is actually being really creative. It’s just that the talk is weighing on my mind, and I just want to get to it so I know where we stand. It’s make or break time because I’m really falling for Cody, and that’s potentially dangerous territory.

“If you’d be so kind as to tell us wherehereis, we’d be grateful.”

I drag my thoughts back to the game. “He laughs at you as he pushes away from the fountain, pacing back and forth, arms crossed over his chest. ‘You stumbled into a fairy circle? What are you, dense? Were you looking at the sky? Was something chasing you?’”

Finn’s half-elf chimes in. “Yes. We were being chased by a horde of undead.”

“The brownie snorts at you. ‘Some Cleric you are.’ Make a deception check.”

“Okay.” His grin is impish as he rolls his D20. “That’s a natural twenty! For a total of twenty-three.”

“With a twenty-three, the brownie answers your question. ‘This is Edgehaven, of course.’ He pauses, looking past you and out through the portcullis. ‘You didn’t bring any of them with you, right?’”

Finn shakes his head. “No we managed to escape them, I guess. But that’s why we didn’t notice the fairy circle.”

Mickey leans in so he can see me around Jason. “Wait, I thought if we stepped into a fairy circle, we’d have to dance. Or become invisible or something.”

“Are you asking me as Mickey or the brownie as your half-orc Sorcerer?” Like most of the crew, Mickey doesn’t use an accent for his character, and sometimes that makes it difficult to tell if it’s the character asking the question, or the player.

“Sorry, my Sorcerer’s asking.”

“The brownie turns to you with a pitying, haughty look on his face. ‘Well, you’re pretty invisible right now to anyone who was watching you step into that fairy circle.’” I laugh maniacally. “‘And now you’re ours to do with as we see fit.’ He turns to look at the fae surrounding your party. ‘What should we do with them?’ You all watch as the crowd starts to get rowdy. You hear taunts hurled in your direction. There are calls for enslavement and blood. What do you do?”

Sam gets excited, waving their hands, and shouts. “I cast ‘calm emotions’!”

Oh thank god. If Sam’s character can calm things down, we won’t have to have a battle tonight, and I can wrap up this session. And then wrap myself around Cody. Hopefully. “You pluck the string on your lute once more and cast your spell.” I stand up and point on the map to where the fae are. “‘Calm emotions’ has a 20-foot radius, so you’re not going to be able to catch everyone, even if you succeed. So where are you casting the spell?”

Sam stands too, examining the map, then points at the brownie. “I have the leading edge of the circle right in front of him, going back toward the tavern, so I can catch most of the ones closest to us.”

We sit down again, and I pick up my D20. “For the fae not to be affected by your spell, they need to roll a charisma saving throw. What do they have to beat?”

Sam checks their character sheet. “A fourteen.”

“A fourteen. I’ll roll once for the brownie and then once for the whole group of fae who are in your spell’s radius.” I roll the die. “Thirteen. The brownie fails the charisma check.” Yes. Come on, die! One more failure, and I can wrap this session up in about five minutes. I roll the die again and stare at the number nine and try not to grin. “With their save modifier, that’s a twelve. So the rest of the fae in this area fail. You successfully cast‘calm emotions.’What does your spell look like?”

Sam thinks for a minute. “I play a soothing melody on my lute, and purple sparkles swirl out from the instrument in a glittery plume, surrounding the brownie and the other fae, caressing their skin in a calming way. And once it touches the last person it can reach, it fades to nothing.”

I nod. “The purple mist slowly fades, and the brownie frowns, a bit confused by his own aggressive stance. He relaxes and jumps up onto the fountain base so you’re closer in height. ‘Well, it’s an honest mistake. Really, we forgot about that particular circle and haven’t had many creatures stumble through it. The last one was ages ago. But no harm done. You’re all free to go.’ And with that, he and his bespelled friends turn and head back to whatever they were doing before you all dropped in. The non-spelled fae have looks of confusion on their faces, but since their leader isn’t concerned, they let it go. What do you do?”

Andre jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m getting out of here.”

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