"There is much speculation on the politics that are involved in these extra dimensional spaces. Naturally the owning faction rules, but we don't know to what extent. We also don't know what they do to those who break the laws they set forth." University professor to her class on the subject of multidimensional- businesses.

"…And I will cast Mage Hand." Kurt said.

"Alright, what are you trying to do with it?" Steve asked.

"If I can reach, I want to try and pull that pile of books off the shelf." Kurt said, pointing to the bookshelf that was drawn on the dungeon map. "My goal is to distract the troll and get him to move that way."

Steve did some quick measuring with a string he had marked in increments. "Yeah, you can reach. Go ahead and roll for me."

Kurt and the girls had gotten back from the raid and were told to stand down for the rest of the week. That naturally led them to taking one day to recover from being up all night and trying to fix their sleep schedules. The rest of the time was spent doing things that they had neglected around the house. Thankfully Rupert and Tig were there to share some of the workload and had volunteered to do some of the chores that needed doing.

The duo were staying with them for a few more days until they had finalized the purchase of their own house which would become their field office. Kurt was actually a little hesitant to have house guests for an indeterminate amount of time, but they were surprisingly helpful.

The other agents hadn't wanted to come to game night however, despite Val begging them and promising it would be fun. But no matter how hard she tried; she just couldn't convince them to come along. Kurt guessed that they would also like some time alone and couldn't fault them for it at all.

Thus, it was the regular Saturday crew gathered around the table with a bunch of dice and paper. This was their fourth session, and they were finally beginning to understand not only the rules but also the pacing and nature of game play. Unfortunately, they were also learning more about the one person they didn't want to be there.

Jayson had been getting more and more snippy as time went on. He started each session with a barely tolerable attitude but by the end he was an absolute snot about every little thing. "Oh, just sneak in and use stealth attack." he said while throwing up his hand with a scoff. "Seriously, it's so plainly obvious how this encounter is going to go can we just get it over with already."

Kurt had about enough of the guy at this point and was about to snap back when Val beat him to it. "Dude, if you are going to spend every session telling us what to do with our characters then why don't you go play a single player campaign. Seriously, either stick to your character and accept the story or get lost."

Jayson looked utterly shocked. It was like he had never expected someone to actually say anything back and responded in a fashion that was typical for him. "How about you get good and stop wasting my time."

Val looked to Melody then. "Mel, are we 'wasting time' when we are trying to play the game?"

The poor dwarf woman looked like she wanted to be anywhere else besides at a table with a people arguing, much less be involved in the debate. "I-I ah…" she floundered for what to say. "I just want to play the game the way I want to play it."

"There it is, just play the way you want to play it." Val said, slightly twisting the narrative by speaking first. "Everyone gets to play the way they want."

For his part, Jayson looked like he wanted to say more but Steve cut in to divert the conversation. "What did you roll, Kurt?"

"Ah, eighteen after modifiers."

"Great, that is enough to pull the stack of books off the shelf. They slide down and land on the stone floor with a thwap and the flutter of pages." He paused and rolled a die. "The troll stops walking in circles and goes over to the corner with the books." Steve quickly finishes describing the scene and they all begin to roll initiative order.

The encounter went as expected, with the troll going down to a dog pile of attacks and nobody really getting any serious hits to their health points. The session wrapped up several minutes later as the party discovered a giant set of double doors that were seemingly engraved with a puzzle that they would have to figure out in the next session.

They all began helping to clean up, well everyone except for Jayson who just stuffed his things into his bag while muttering under his breath. At this point, everyone had pretty much come to expect this from him and just ignored it, not wanting to engage the guy in conversation.

Kristi looked over to Steve as he folded his screen up. "Great session, Steve." She said in the very honest tone that she always used with him. "I really liked the lead up to the gate at the end."

Steve smiled back. "Thanks, I wanted to build a little suspense for the next part of the campaign and the extra time to plan will help."

Val and Adam also weighed in, asking questions on how he managed puzzles and interpreting player input while they wiped down the table and bagged up their trash. Melody was talking to Kurt about the last campaign Steve had run where they had a door puzzle which they failed and dropped the entire party into a jail cell filled with undead.

While everyone else was packing up and getting ready to head out, Jayson was waiting outside the little room. When Val stepped out, following after Kurt and Melody, he got right up next to her. "Hey, I don't take kindly to you telling me what I can and can't say." He said, getting right into her personal space.

"Well, we don't take kindly to you telling us what to do and how to play our characters." Val politely rebuffed. "So, it seems we are at an impasse and that is all I am willing to say on the matter." She then turned back to Kurt and Melody who had looked back over their shoulders.

"Listen here! If you can't be bothered to not be a dum – HEY! I am talking to you, bitch!" When Val ignored him and walked away, Jayson made a series of bad decisions.

First thing he did wrong was yell since it drew everyone's attention to him. The second thing was he insulted Val, to her face, in front of witnesses. The third thing was he reached out, grabbed her ponytail and yanked hard on it. The fourth thing he did wrong was not knowing Kristi was within ten feet of him.

As Val cried out in pain, Kristi stepped in half a second later. THWACK. "OooFFFffffff." CRUNCH. The air was forced from Jayson's lungs as she open hand smacked him in the ribs under his raised arm. The force of the blow lifted the man off the ground and threw him several feet into a table where his weight broke it as he landed on its surface.

"HANDS OFF!" Kristi roared, taking a step forward to put herself between Jayson and Kurt, who had a rather murderous look in his eyes with a glock suddenly in his hand. It was currently tucked against his side, not showing to anyone else in the room.

"Huuuuaggggghhhhhhh." He groaned from the middle of a pile of wood.

"Oh shit!" Adam cried and looked torn on what to do. He only took two steps toward his fallen friend before looking to everyone else.

Kurt also surveyed the group to see Steve with a resigned look on his face. Adam was conflicted, likely between helping his friend and also not wanting to side with him. Val had tears welling in her eyes from the pain and embarrassment. Melody looked…Smug? Yeah, smug was how Kurt would describe her face.

As for him and Kirsti, they were both just waiting for an excuse to open the proverbial can of whoop-ass. Sadly, they didn't get a chance as the sound of feet pounding up the stairs made them all turn to the door. He quickly dismissed his pistol back to his storage ring before the door to the stairs banged open.

Frank came running out of the stairwell and skidded to a halt while surveying the scene. He glanced at everyone's faces, like he was doing inventory before noticing that someone wasn't amongst them. Then the wizard saw the broken table and the legs sticking out of the rubble as they slowly shifted.

With a sigh, Frank asked the only question he could. "What the fuck happened?"

"There was a disagreement that he wouldn't leave at the table." Steve began while stepping forward so the owner could see him. Kurt also saw him subtly point to his hand and looked back to just barely catch Frank stuffing a wand back in his sleeve.

"This looks like more than a disagreement." Frank commented. He wasn't relaxing but did nod toward Adam and the heavy-set man went to check on his friend.

Kristi raised her hand and only spoke after getting a nod to proceed. "He accosted Val as we were leaving, continuing the argument. When she decided to break away and ignore him, he shouted, called her a bitch and then yanked her hair. All while she had her back turned."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Frank raised his eyebrows. "Great, fine. But how did he end up in the remains of what once was a perfectly good table?"

"I ah… I kinda reacted defensively and slapped him. In the ribs." Kristi admitted while flushing in embarrassment. She pantomimed the action of when she hit him and that only seemed to confuse the wizard as he looked at the several feet between where Jayson was groaning and where Kristi was standing.

"There was some serious loft to that smack. Like a good 'one-Mississippi' of hang time." Melody said, sounding far too gleeful. She quickly straightened her face when Frank frowned at her.

Kurt had calmed down enough at that point to provide some context. He caught Frank's eye and mouthed the word 'dragon' to him. That seemed to help as a look of understanding crossed the wizard's face face and he returned to the group.

"Adam, can you get him on his feet? He probably needs to go to a hospital." Frank half asked, half demanded. "None of us are going to touch him again."

"Y-yeah, I t-think I c-c-can." Adam said while helping up the much skinnier man.

Jayson didn't really look to be fully lucid or, at the very least, was unaware of his surroundings. His eyes were screwed shut with tears streaming down his cheeks. There was also a little blood on his lips, and his breathing was labored as he curled into a fetal position.

"Hang on." Frank said as they got closer. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Jayson. He then muttered a few words that sounded like a harsh version of Latin to Kurt. A second later, a soft blue light shone from the tip of his wand and washed over the wounded man being held up by one arm. The look of shock on Adam's face would have been funny if it didn't look like he was also about to pass out.

Jayson's expression changed from pain to relief for a brief moment before he slumped completely to the floor. Frank then explained before Adam could freak out anymore. "It was a healing spell. I fixed his thirteen rib fractures, the bruised lung, the lung punctures and put him to sleep. He should wake up in about twelve hours and be extremely sore with severe bruising but otherwise none the worse for wear."

Steve then spoke up from beside Val. "Frank, I think this is grounds for banning. He assaulted another member of the group after being verbally abusive to most of us to varying degrees for the entire night"

"Done and done. I will send the email tonight. Adam, can you make sure he gets the message that he is no longer welcome here?"

Adam nodded dumbly. "Umm, yeah I can do that."

"Great, thanks. You are still welcome here though. Unless Steve says otherwise?"

"Nah, he's good." Steve said. "Honestly he will probably be a better player when he isn't trying to keep Jayson from running his mouth." He added the last part in a joking tone to try and lighten the mood.

They all watched in silence as Adam dragged his unconscious friend into the elevator after refusing any help. He mumbled something about how he felt bad about everything and didn't want them to get involved any more than they had.

After they left, Frank turned back to the remaining members. "Look, I don't expect that dumbass to try anything in terms of legal ramifications and if he does, I will support you guys. Just a heads up."

"Thanks, hopefully he pulls his head out of his ass." Kurt said then sighed. "But I doubt it. Stupidity has a way of being clingy."

"I do wonder if we will ever see either of them again?" Val wondered aloud.

Melody spoke for the first time since frank gave her a hard look about her commentary. "W-why wouldn't w-we s-see Adam again?" Her tone was shaky, and she looked like she was about to be sick. Kurt thought It was odd considering she has been rather enthusiastic a moment ago.

"Oh, just embarrassment is all." Val said while patting her on the shoulder. "It's a guilt by association thing. Since he was Jayson's friend and all that."

Frank was nodding along. "You are probably right, Val." He then faced her directly. "Are you OK? Not hurt at all?"

Val shook her head and winced slightly. "A bit sore but nothing that won't heal." She didn't mention that it would heal quickly with her hybrid physiology.

"That's good. Everyone else, OK?" When everyone confirmed they were he continued. "Great, good. Kristi, nice shot but you owe me a table."

"Wait, what?" She gasped in surprise. "How do I owe you a table when it was him that started it?"

"Well, you are the one that hit him into it of course." Frank said in his most innocent tone. "The guys over at the furniture store stock these so you can get one there."

Kurt smiled wryly and shook his head. "At least we know a guy over there that can help us out." He then walked over and took a picture of one of the still intact tables. "I will have them deliver one as soon as possible."

While Kurt originally wanted to argue that they shouldn't have to pay for the table, a couple hundred dollars was a small price to pay to stay on a wizard's good side.

*****

Renee was locking up her stall after a rather busy day. She had done a lot of good business and had actually seen a good trend in her sales. The lease on this stall was up in another week and she was already ahead enough to be looking at one of the more permeant shops on the outer walls of the bazar. She even had an offer in with the old gnome who was looking to retire.

With the gate rolled down and firmly locked, she pocketed the key and began walking back to the exit that would let her teleport back to her home on Gratis Prime. It wasn't as nice as her home world of Stalvantol but it had consistent portal access to the Order. She waved good night to a few other vendors who she was friendly with before looking at the railing at the edge of the tower.

Shrugging, and not having a better plan to get where she needed, she climbed on top then launched herself into open space. Her wings flared, the air filling them with a soft slap of the leathery skin and she began to glide down. Her path had a little 'S' pattern since she didn't like landing on concrete when going fast, unlike her cousin who seemed to enjoy the sudden, hard landings.

As she began her final approach, wings locking out for a nice slow glide, she noticed a few people watching her. It wasn't uncommon for someone to look as she glided but definitely not with such intensity nor in a group of five. Warning bells started going off in her mind as the five circled around where she was planning to land.

Renee flared her wings a bit more as she came over the railing on level three, causing her to stop a good twenty feet short of her original target. The group approaching her hesitated before forming a line between her and the exit. After pausing a few seconds to stare each other down, one stepped forward.

"Renee of Gratis. We are representatives of the enchanter's guild, and you are going to answer a few questions." Announced a man who looked human other than having no external ears and very sparkly skin. He seemed to be the brains of this outfit as the others all seemed to be there for show with their brawn on full display. His tone was full of self-import and bravado, making him seem like an ass.

She considered how to handle this group of rather tough looking goons and opted for the same way as she handled the other pests from the enchanter's guild. "Sorry, won't tell you anything." She quipped in a very blasé tone.

"Can't or wo- wait, you already said won't." The man now looked rather confused, clearly expecting to use the rather famous line. "What do you mean by you won't tell us?"

"Well, the word 'won't' is a contraction that generally means 'will not'. Given that, it means that I will not tell you anything." Renee said. She hadn't changed her half-crouched posture and was thankful that gargoyle's had digitigrade legs and an extra leg joint that allowed her to 'crouch' a significant amount while looking like she stood tall.

The man then looked back to his four goons. "You don't have a choice in the matter. By the authority of the enchanter's guild, you are being detained until further notice." He even sounded imperious when spewing utter nonsense.

Renee smiled slightly, she had spent a little time reading up on the laws and regulations of The Order Stabilitas, knowing for a fact they had absolutely no authority. "But you don't have any real authority." She mused allowed, putting on a faux confused expression while tapping at her lip with a clawed finger.

"Yes, we do!" The man insisted, taking a large step forward. "The guild has complete authority within its borders, territory and property."

"But we aren't on guild property." Renee was now just stringing him along, seeing how mad she could actually make him. She did have a little gift from Kurt to try out after all. "I don't think the Order would like you trying to supersede their authority in their own territory."

"TH-then we will take you to guild property." He took another two steps, clenching his fist before sweeping his hand down and to the side in a dramatic gesture.

"Oh? Just you?" Renee asked, her tone all sweet an innocent. "Are you sure you have enough 'authority' to do that?"

Once more he stepped forward and pointed a finger.. "Seize hhhhhheeeerrrr?" His order turned into a question as he realized that he was now closer to the gargoyle than his hired help. A gargoyle who was now starting to loom over him as she stepped forward and didn't sink back into a crouch.

Renee had taken two steps forward, letting her legs fully extend so she stood around eight feet tall. She also flared her wings slightly, filling out her whip thin frame as her tail lashed behind her. "Oh, it seems you have made a little mistake. That's ok, everyone makes little mistakes, especially little boys. Perhaps I won't kill you and make you a pet instead. I think I have the perfect aquarium for you to live in." She said, baring her fangs while looking down at him.

"I-I-ahhhh." The man began back peddling very quickly, trying hard not to turn his back completely and run away. Once he made it back to his guards, who also looked rather intimidated, they all began retreating, having to press through the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle.

Watching them leave, Renee gave it a good five count after they were out of sight before she sighed heavily and sagged. She ran a shaking hand over her head and fought the muscle aches that were coming with the sudden relaxation and letdown from not having to fight. She hated fighting and actively avoided it at all costs. She was just glad he hadn't called her bluff.

A bored sounding voice from over her left shoulder disturbed her quiet moment. "Well, that was anticlimactic."

Renee spun, lashing her tail out in a hip high sweep only to find nobody behind her. She turned her head side to side, searching for who was close enough to have spoken to her. When she turned around, there was a rather handsome human looking man in a grey suit standing a respectable distance away.

"Good evening, Renee. You can call me Jay. I would like to talk to you about our mutual… ah let's call him a friend." He said while waiting patiently with his hands in his pockets.

Hackles rising, Renee looked back at him skeptically. "Oh, what friend would that be?" She wasn't sure if this was another member of the enchanter's guild sent to prey on her after she let her guard down but didn't rule it out.

Once more the man spoke but, while his lips moved, the sound didn't cross the intervening distance. Instead, she felt his voice once more whispering softly over her left shoulder. "Your supplier, Kurt, is also one of my employees here in the Order. With this latest aggression from the guild, I feel it is time to move on to the next phase of our plan."

"What plan?" Renee didn't know about any plans but had a feeling the plans knew about her.

"Ah, all in due time. How about I escort you to your teleportation hub and we can chat about setting an appointment along the way. This is something best discussed behind closed doors, and I am sure Kurt will want to be there." Jay answered while gesturing with his arm toward the teleport hub.

After thinking for a moment, Renee shrugged and allowed him to escort her. She ended up agreeing to a meeting a few days later. She figured it couldn't hurt to get a little more involved with the Order and this mysterious Kurt character. Plus, how bad could his boss actually be?

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