Hello, Everyone!
Last time, Mary and Agatha went to look for Driko, the gnome-tattoist. They found him in his abode and convinced him to give Mary a magical tattoo outside of his 'working hours'. After that, the two of them went to the library and researched all the known dangers in the Swamp of Agony, so that they could be prepared when they got there.
“Sooo, where do you want it?
Driko was putting on the contraption that allowed him to draw on people’s skin and, a little bit worried, Mary watched as he placed a new needle at the end.
“Where does it… um, hurt the least?”
The gnome looked at her with a sneer.
“The lower back, the shoulder…” He shrugged. “Many people put it on their calf.”
Mary swallowed hard. Not the calf, she thought. She tended to lose those. She decided on the shoulder.
“All riiight,” the gnome said. “What about the image?”
“Um… a butterfly?” Mary avoided Driko and Agatha’s eyes. A butterfly sounded basic and girly, and not very adventurer-like, but she liked it. Butterflies were pretty.
“You want some vodka?” Driko asked, watching her sit sheepishly on the tattooing chair.
“Is it going to help?”
He shrugged. Agatha patted her on the shoulder and went to buy her the drink. It was bitter and it burned all the way down her throat.
Mary didn’t know why, but the tattooing almost didn’t hurt. Maybe it was the vodka, or maybe it was that she’d already gotten used to all sorts of pain. But she endured each and every small stab by the needle that pushed the ink into her skin, and she didn’t flinch even once.
“So, I heard you’ve been in this elven school of magic,” Agatha said while Driko was working. ”Can you tell us anything about Tiriel Elaire?”
“Yeah, I can.” Driko spat out. “I can tell you she’s a stupid bitch.”
“How about something that’s not public knowledge?” Agatha smirked.
The gnome sniggered. “I pissed on her door that one time. My very last piss in the school, but it was worth it.”
“Riight.” Agatha watched the butterfly wing on Mary’s shoulder growing.
“You look like you’re not from around here,” Driko said, looking at the tabaxi.
“Yeah? What gave me away?”
“Ever been with a gnome?”
“No.” Agatha winked. “But there’s always a first time for everything.”
“Mary! There’s something different about you!” Aurum said when Mary and Agatha came back to the tavern. “Are you wearing makeup?”
“Yeah, did you change your hair?” Bruno said.
“N-no, I… It’s just the tattoo, I think…”
“Nah, it’s something else.” Aurum came closer to her and squinted at her face. Mary blushed. “How old are you?”
Mary didn’t see what this question had to do with anything but it gave her pause. How old was she? She’d always considered the day Lilly and Bramble found her as a birthday, but now she knew the real date. December 25th. That was about two months away at that point. Only two months before her nineteenth birthday!
“Anyway,” Agatha said. “The tavern looks kinda deserted. What happened to your boys?”
“Oh, four city guards came to get them at noon. Started leading them towards Orswald.”
“Well then, isn’t it about time that we headed out as well?” Tesaya said. “We’ve got all the supplies, the letters are sent, the tattoo made…”
The others agreed. They went on and settled their bill with Leon. They had to pay for all the Ekobian boys but Bruno was still optimistic that Dynatos Perres was going to compensate them later.
Outside, in the stables, each of them stood by their horse and prepared for the teleportation. Aurum kneeled down and spread out the spell scroll. Mary craned her neck to see it, wishing she was the one to operate it.
A magical circle was drawn on it, its lines with blue ink and as thin as spider legs. Around the circle, small symbols indicated the places where the destination should be written in. Mary flipped her journal to the correct page and started dictating to Aurum who wrote them on the scroll. When the last one was ready, the ink started glowing. Its light grew brighter and brighter, spread out to all corners of the stables and then went back to the paper. A glowing ray shot out, like a vertical line in the air. It broke into two and started drawing the outline of an arc. The moment the shape was fully formed, a portal opened in the middle of it. Mary gaped at it with amazement.
“Go, go, go!” Aurum said, holding his hand out. “I don’t know how long it’ll stay open!”
They grabbed their horses’ reins and rushed through.
Woo-hoo! We're finally moving! I can't wait to get to Orswald, it was such a nice place last time our heroes visited it! I wonder if it has changed at all in the meanwhile...
Also, for those of you who are interested in the D&D meta properties of Mary's tattoo - it increases her CHARISMA score by 2 points. That, in turn, increases her Spell Attack Bonus (for when she needs to blast someone with her Eldritch Blasts), as well as the Spell Save DC (for when she tries to charm or scare someone).
See you next time!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: Mary Windfiddle's story is my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.