[Gavyn Colburn]

[nospaces]

I REALLY JUST WANT TO BE

warm yellow light that pours over everyone i love

[break]

[attr="class","mottledbug-text"]Gavyn moved through the hobby shop, his arms full. Held against his chest were a number of starter books, a half-dozen boxes of miniatures, and a few sets of paint and tiny brushes. He really should have grabbed a small hand cart when he first entered the store but he hadn't thought he'd pick up so much. But if there was any reason to go overboard, this was it. Next week, one of his best friends was going to accompany him for the start of a brand new campaign! [break][break]

For years, Isaac had enjoyed listening to Gavyn give highlights of each long session he'd played that week. He painted miniatures for their games, asked questions about the lore, and even helped with world-building and story-planning. But he'd never been confident enough to join in the fun himself. Once or twice Gavyn thought he'd almost snagged him but then he'd always back out at the last minute. But this time, Gavyn was sure he was going to see it through. They'd done a few dinky one-shots together in preparation. Gavyn had run him through basic mechanics. And with each little practice session, he was happy to see Isaac growing more eager and excited. He'd filled out his character sheet (quite extensively), had a (very thorough) backstory whipped up, and had even sent Gavyn some concept sketches for his character.[break][break]

It was all very exciting and Gavyn just couldn't wait. [break][break]

He paused in his step as he passed a waist-high cabinet full to the brim with individual dice. Shuffling all the things he was carrying precariously to one arm, he plucked a glimmering d20 from the top of the pile. It was a beautiful pink-and-white marbled stone, interlaid with bits of forest green and it's numbers stamped in gold. He knew Isaac would love it. Humming happily, he glanced about the mountain of dice and saw a few others that would complement one another well in a full set. Then his eye pulled to the sign that listed the dice prices and the humming stilled on his lips, which promptly parted with a scoff. Why the hell were these things so expensive? Why was everything in this shop so ridiculously overpriced?[break][break]

He whined low in his throat, lip jutting in a pout. As far as money went, he knew he was already pushing it with what he was currently carrying. He'd been counting his pennies with each selection. He knew he shouldn't have spent his whole paycheck on that damn lute earlier this week. Scotty was already spotting him a couple hundred for his portion of the rent this month. But still... the dice were Isaac's favorite color. They even fit the concept art he'd sent him of his character. They were perfect! It'd taken him ages to convince his friend to actually play a game and, with his own dice set, he wouldn't have to borrow any of Gavyn's! He'd have his own. [break][break]

Gavyn turned the small d20 between his fingers, eyes narrowing with a sudden, dangerous thought. He was already spending so much money here, more than what was fair... so what was a little... incentive? Before his stomach could drop at the scandalous nature of the whole thing, he pocketed the dice. Then, moving quickly, he swiped another. A d6. A pair of d4s. A d12 that didn't quite match but he couldn't be too picky now. His heart hammered and he felt a little lightheaded as he plucked out a couple of matching d10s and a d8 and shoved them in his pocket as well.

[break]

Tag: Macon Falcon [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

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[Macon Falcon]

Sequestered in the aisles of the hobby shop, Macon found himself a bit over stimulated by the puzzle section, as per his usual. They had hundreds to choose from, all with various sizes, though he preferred the larger ones because they lasted longer. Plenty of private time to himself just musing over where the next piece fit in, much like life, creating order out of chaos until you came to the bigger picture.

He must have been in the store for about half an hour before he finally narrowed down his selection, a nice 1000 piece of Michelangelo’s Last Judgement. If he was lucky, it could last him a night or two. Satisfied with his selection, he pulled himself out of the puzzle section, though as he was turning the corner, he caught a glimpse of some hooligan with arms full of Dungeons and Dragons merchandise. He had no opinion on the game itself, though he knew other more radical priests to be rather condemning of it. That wasn’t what concerned him. No, instead it was more so the man’s behaviour that caused his eyes to narrow. Macon had worked in retail in his younger years, o he knew shoplifting behaviour when he saw it. The suspect would make it seem like they were making a big purchase, only to pocket what they were really after, and then act like they forgot their wallet when they get to the cash register and tell the cashier to set their stuff aside for when they come back. It infuriated him to no end that those people had never gotten caught, but he was going to ensure this felon wouldn’t be so lucky.

Instead of going about his business, Macon slid back behind the corner of the aisle, watching the potential shoplifter closely. Far be it from him to accuse an innocent man, he needed to see him in the act to prove his guilt. It didn’t take long. As soon as the man stopped by a pile of dice, he eyed it very carefully. It seemed like there was a debate going on in his head, possibly one that was questioning how easy it would be to walk out of there without getting hassled. If Macon had it his way, there was going to be more of a hassle than the man probably bargained for. The debate came to an end with the shoplifter shoving the dice down his pocket, followed by a plethora of others, all the proof that Macon needed to show that his instincts weren’t wrong.

Macon slipped back down the aisle, making his way toward the cash register. As he made the purchase of his puzzle, like a trustworthy individual, he leaned in close to the cashier and pointed to the man with his hands full. “I saw him shove some dice into his pocket. If you call the police, I’ll keep him occupied until they get here.” The cashier nodded and handed Macon his receipt and purchase, both of which he slipped into his satchel before wishing the person behind the counter a good day.

As he turned around, now facing the direction of the filthy shoplifter, he walked directly toward him. In his head, he knew what he was doing was righteous, but his chest rattled like someone was playing Yahtzee with his heart. He stopped as soon as he was directly next to the shoplifter, pausing for a moment as he realized he really had no idea what his plan was for “keeping him busy” was. Of course, he could always use his power to give the shoplifter a scare, but what would happen if he did that was completely unpredictable.

With his stone face, Macon’s irises moved to the corner of his eyes, as if he was really thinking hard about how to small talk with a known thief. “You… um, do you know” as he tried to think up a question, he looked at one of the DnD books he held in the corner of his eye. What was it that people did in DnD? Summon demons? His church background wasn’t helping much in that aspect. “A good demon summoning spell?”

[Gavyn Colburn]

[nospaces]

I REALLY JUST WANT TO BE

warm yellow light that pours over everyone i love

[break]

[attr="class","mottledbug-text"]Gavyn's heart fluttered in his chest as he pocketed the last of the dice, feeling much like he was being watched and that, at any second, he could expect a hand clamping down on his shoulder or an accusing voice clearing its throat behind his back. Doubt pricked at his fingers and his palms felt clammy. Maybe he could put back one of the miniatures instead? That might afford a handful of dice. Isaac had plenty of miniatures, after all. So what if they had to use a horse in place of an elk? The game was all about imagination, anyway. His eyes darted across the few patrons perusing the aisle in front of him, just waiting for them to sniff out his guilt and — like some terrifying hivemind — turn his way in sync, eyes knowing and damning. [break][break]

Absorbed as he was in his own wracked conscience, he didn't notice the man step right next to him until he started to speak. Even though his voice was soft, it tore Gavyn from his thoughts abruptly and violently — he startled, yanking his hand from the crate as if he'd touched a hot stove (and as if he knew how that felt). The motion skimmed a few dice from the top of the pile and sent them skittering noisily across the floor while the flutter in Gavyn's chest kicked to a more frenzied, pounding drum. He just barely managed to keep a hold of the loot in his arms, fumbling ungracefully to keep from dumping the whole haul at his feet.[break][break]

"Woop! You scared me!" Gavyn laughed nervously, a bit too loud and quick to be passably natural, and crouched to start picking up. He looked up at the man who'd joined him as he hobbled about in an awkward crouch, collecting dice as he went and trying simultaneously to keep the bundle of merchandise secure in his arms. The man had asked him a question, right? A demon-summoning spell?[break][break]

The expression across his face flickered slowly from anxious bewilderment, to confusion, and then finally to enlightenment. A grin pulled at his mouth as he straightened, the gathered dice held in a fist. "Oh word, you play? Fifth edition?" He gave the collection in his arms a slight raise, lips pulling wider before pursing a moment later into a thoughtful frown as he gave the man's question its due consideration. "I mean, there's the obvious Summon Lesser or Greater Demon spells. But..." the corner of his mouth tugged into the start of a thoughtful, appraising tuck and he nodded slowly. "Are you going for a Warlock build? Fiend pact? That's fun."[break][break]

"Planar Binding jumps to mind but, in my experience, it's hard to pull off and almost too tricky to be really worth the fuss. If you wanna try, Magic Circle is a must. Honestly though, may be easier to stick with devils. Demons are the worst. Especially if your DM is real into that stuff." His nod deepened while he widened his eyes and puffed a held breath in his cheeks (as if sharing a private joke with someone who might know how brutal DMs could be). He blew it out after a moment and let his face fall into something freshly open and curious. "You play in-person or online? My group's starting a new campaign this week if you're interested. There's not many of us but the lot's pretty cool. Always looking for new PCs." He raised and waggled a brow, trying to entice.

[break]

Tag: Macon Falcon [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

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[Macon Falcon]

Macon stood, rather unphased by the man as he scattered dice all along the ground. No doubt this panicked diversion was just another of his clever thievery tricks to make it all look like an accident as he collected more of his treasured dice. For what reason did he need so many? Macon couldn’t tell. Perhaps there was an aftermarket that this man was using to fuel an addiction of sorts. In the man’s nervousness, he announced the sudden burst of fear he had felt with Macon’s appearance. “I have that effect on people” he added plainly.

It seemed as though Macon’s question summoned some sort of inspiration into the man opposite of him. No longer was he the flustered shoplifter, but now an eccentric encyclopedia of knowledge, each sentence leaping out of his mouth causing Macon’s eyes to cross slightly as he tried to make sense of his lingo. Fifth edition? Fiend pact? Planar Binding? Even if he had reference to what these things meant, all the connecting words weren’t helping much either. Both of his hands were gripped tightly to the strap of his satchel, his mind in the midst of coming to an answer.

“… Yeah, fifth edition. That’s the most recent revision, yes? I try to keep up with my readings of that one” he answered a bit unsure in his tone. He could really feel the seconds in that moment, not even when he was hunting the most dangerous of gifted would he feel as anxious as he did now. It was for a good cause; he would remind himself. Just then, he turned his head back to the cashier to spy on the progress they were making. They were on the phone, and by the looks of it, jotting down a description of the thief on a notepad right next to the register. By the looks of it, this was only the beginning of his façade.

As Macon’s vision returned on the shoplifter, he feigned the look of an intellectual, nodding along with his talks of devils, demons, and DMs. What those two letters meant in combination, he hadn’t the slightest of clues. “That’s what I was thinking” he commented with all the confidence of a student called on the spot by a teacher, scratching the back of his head somewhat nervously. “But my friend told me that demon summoning was cooler and less dangerous because if you summon devils you don’t want to end up summoning Satan by accident.” The words coming out of Macon’s mouth seemed appalling even to him. What was this game and why did people play it?

“Yeah, no, I don’t have a new PC so I play in person rather than online. With my friend, of course, he’s good at making sure the demons we summon aren’t too dangerous. You know, better to be safe than sorry… until we get better with our rituals I think we’ll keep to our group though.” Macon really needed to attend those seminars about DnD that the other priests were running. All this talk of devil and demon summoning seemed quite dangerous, no wonder so many other community leaders had denounced it.

[Gavyn Colburn]

[nospaces]

I REALLY JUST WANT TO BE

warm yellow light that pours over everyone i love

[break]

[attr="class","mottledbug-text"]The stranger seemed nervous. Or uncertain. And, as he spoke, Gavyn was inwardly confused by some of the things he said. He was careful, though, to keep the thoughts from his face. There was a lot of gatekeeping in the D&D community and he knew it. Had felt it himself once upon a time. It was difficult to rope new players into warranting a try, what with the sheer amount of lore, mechanics, and know-how that enjoying a game required. Many people were intimidated by the learning curve, afraid of making mistakes and risking the annoyance of more experienced players. The group he played with loved beginners. But he'd known plenty of others that couldn't stand them. Gavyn most certainly wasn't about to belittle or patronize and be the reason someone was put off the game entirely. Especially since he'd spent months convincing Isaac that exactly that wasn't going to happen to him.[break][break]

So, he only nodded and lifted his brow encouragingly. Besides, maybe this man and his friend were simply doing their own homebrew. One didn't have to play by the letter to enjoy D&D. They could make it their own. Whatever worked best for the group and ensured the fun lasted as long as it could. "Satan? My, that does sound dangerous. If he's one of your devils, I'd hate to see your demons!" He chuckled, then pouted a bit as he acknowledged that this man didn't seem to be looking for any groups. He nodded sagely. "Hey, I get it. If you ever change your mind though, and need some help besting those big bads, Jared —" Gavyn jabbed a thumb toward the cash register, glancing toward the man behind the counter as he did so. He shrugged. "Well... he's not working today... but he's usually the one around. He's got a list up front of some local groups, when they get together and where, all that sweet jazz. We're on there. Call ourselves the Prancing Petes." His eyelids fluttered, smile growing a touch sheepish. In their first campaign, they'd named all of their PCs Pete and the name had stuck. [break][break]

He was about to explain but his gaze returned, pulled by some wary instinct, to the man behind the counter. He was... watching him and the stare was markedly unfriendly. His mouth moved and he nodded along to whoever he spoke to on the phone pressed between his ear and shoulder, fingers moving a pen across a pad of paper. Gavyn swallowed. Although he'd never considered himself a smart man, some things were easier to piece together than others. He had a clear view of him standing there in front of the dice crate, didn't he? [break][break]

With a nervous tilt to his mouth, Gavyn turned back to the man beside him. He felt the weight of the dice held in his fist grow heavier. "Actually, man, I just remembered something and uh, I oh — I gotta go. Like I said, Jared's got our info if you're ever interested." A bit hastily, he started to shuffle the things in his arms to sit atop the dice crate. It felt rude. If he had time he'd have put it all back. But he had a feeling he needed to leg it. Perhaps Isaac could come buy and pick everything up later.

[break]

Tag: Macon Falcon [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

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