D&D at Cabaret Bara - Chapter 4 - Hekate the Warlock (SFW) (Patreon)

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A big thank you to JJ, Adam, and Tom for taking the time to read this chapter and helping me make corrections. You guys are the best! 😘

Chapter 4 - Hekate the Warlock

“Culum eorum crema in cinerem!”

And in a flash of light, you are engulfed in flames. You can feel the burning sensation spread all over your body, your skin sizzling as if you're being roasted alive, all the hair on your body tingling like it's burned to a crisp. The pieces of armor you do wear heat up to the point of burning your flesh. You do not even dare breathe in for fear that the overwhelming mist of fire will find its way inside your body.

***

FIROUZ: Wait, did you just attack us?

JADE: I’m just freeing you from the monsters.

FIROUZ: We’re literally gonna die.

JADE: Hey! I’m a damage dealer, I do what I can. And anyway you’re a rogue, don’t you have evasion?

FINN: I don’t. What’s that?

DIEGO: Yeah, I think you and I are just gonna burn, big guy.

JADE: Ugh, fine! DM, I’m gonna spend a sorcery point and make them all pass their saving throw.

FINN: Does that mean we don’t die?

FIROUZ: Oh, I won’t but for you… she does have a lot of dice to roll.

BEN: Alright so, you can start rolling, Jade.

***

Despite your altered mental state and the extreme heat that pushes your body to its limits, you still all manage to jump out of the way at the last moment and dodge a large portion of the flames. Although you don’t fully realize it, it feels like somehow chance has been skewed in your favor and you’ve managed this impossible feat out of sheer luck. However, Azad, in a display of almost inhuman agility, jumps-

***

FIROUZ: Backflips.

***

-backflips gracefully out of the radius of the explosion, avoiding the entirety of the conflagration.

From the moment of its detonation to the dispersion of the fireball, only a few seconds pass. But in this short time of blazing inferno, each vampire flower catches fire and disintegrates in a flurry of golden sparks and black ashes. One by one, the shrubs are destroyed by the spell, each carrying the growing promise that you might be next. Luckily, before the flames consume you too, they dissipate as suddenly as they appeared. Leaving behind a scorched circle of glowing embers on the ground blackened by soot.

***

DIEGO: How do you have so many dice in the first place?

JADE: I take my role of dice goblin very seriously.

FINN: So… My HP is down to 47 and I think that most of the damage I took was from the fireball… Can someone heal me?

BEN: Finn, you’re still under the effect of the flower’s toxin, you are blissfully unaware of being in bad shape.

FINN: Oh right… Sorry… I mean… *moan*

BEN: That’s better. In fact, you’re all still intoxicated.

***

Emerging from the dissipating mist of black smoke, a Tiefling steps towards you. The residual glow of magic flickers in her amethyst-colored eyes, revealing her to be the source of the arcane blaze that was just unleashed upon you. Long strands of fiery red hair cascade around her twisted horns, creating a beautiful contrast with her delicate features and her soft lilac skin. As the smoke gradually clears, her elegant black leather armor and robes become apparent, suggesting both sophistication and remarkable fierceness.

Amidst the chaos she wrought, she stands unscathed, a testament to both her infernal lineage and the mastery she possesses over the destructive forces of magic.

With each step, the air crackles with lingering energy, and the scent of charred embers blends with the sweet fragrance she wears, creating a perfume that is somehow both anxiety-inducing and calming at once. The Tiefling's presence exudes a mix of danger and strength which, combined with her nearly unearthly beauty, create the most seductive of contradictions. In the aftermath of her spell, a subtle smirk plays upon her glossed lips, hinting at the pride behind her formidable magic and only emphasizing even further her devastating charm.

Not unlike a pair of forbidden fruits, her br-

***

JADE: Okay, we get it, she’s pretty and badass. Can we proceed?

BEN: O-of course!

FIROUZ: Hahaha! (under his breath) Simp.

MARKUS: Why do some of your characters look like villains?

JADE: I blame the Hays code.

DIEGO: Yep, they’ve been queer-coding the bad guys for so long that we’ve started villain-coding our queers.

FINN: Wait… We were supposed to code something? I don’t know how-

BEN: So moving on!

***

The witch, noticing your apparent “gooned-out” state, deduces that there isn’t much you can do without being brought back to your senses first so she looks around, hoping to find a remedy.

Although the ground around you is left scarred by the fireball, the flora outside of its area looks intact. You can see all sorts of flowers, herbs, and mushrooms in an array of shapes and colors that defy your imagination. It’s easy to sense that the vegetation in the Everhard Woods was touched by the energy of the fey realm a long time ago as its very essence is filled with magic. Certainly, some of these faerie plants could be used to counter the vampire flowers’ toxin if mixed properly and administered carefully.

***

JADE: Who has time for that? I slap them.

BEN: It has no effect.

JADE: I slap them again.

BEN: (sigh) Fine, y’all can roll the Wisdom save again. Once!

***

The Tiefling, choosing violence over medicine, manages to smack clarity into the mind of…

Finnigan.

“W-what happened? Milady, did you save us?” asks the fighter, still rubbing the confusion out of his eyes. “I think I saw fire.”

“Whatever happened matters not, but do be grateful you still have your life.” replies the witch. “My name is Hekate, and unless you’re here to pick flowers, I’m assuming that, like me, you’re trying to cross the forest to reach the mountains.”

“We are indeed!” exclaims the man. “I am Finnigan, a hero in training. Are you by any chance also on a quest for King Sikandar?”

“Not quite.” says Hekate. “But I am on my way to the Golden Palace.”

“What for?” the human inquires.

“Rumor has it that King Sikandar himself has managed the impossible and broke a pact with a devil.” She tosses her hair back before continuing: “Let’s just say that I could use some insight on that procedure myself.”

As Finnigan recognizes that Hekate’s magic would be most useful against the fantastical creatures they’ll likely encounter on their journey, he invites her to join their party, at least for the time being. Of course, the Tiefling, lacking prowess in physical combat herself, acknowledges that the wisest course of action would be to assist each other throughout their perilous travel.

After a few more unsuccessful attempts to pull them out of their toxin-induced stupor, it becomes obvious that Azad and Corentin are in dire need of medical attention. Not only are they both prisoners of their own mind, but their constant state of arousal, and uncontrollable desire to willingly forfeit their lifeforce to the mischievous plants will quickly become a liability if more vampire flowers are on the way.

The fighter takes it upon himself to carry both his incapacitated comrades while the witch takes hold of the map and attempts to navigate the maze-like forest to the best of her ability. The minutes turn to hours as they walk down the winding paths that should take them to the southern border of the woods. The sun, now past its zenith, hits the group in a shower of burning rays through the canopy while the humid air around them seems to grow thicker and harder to breathe.

After a moment, Hekate turns towards her new companion and notices he’s sweating profusely, probably weary of carrying the rogue and the bard on his shoulders. In a moment of compassion, she offers him a leather-bound water canteen she’s been carrying.

“Can we stop and rest?” Finnigan asks.

“We probably shouldn’t.” replies Hekate with a smile of sympathy. “We don’t know how dangerous that poison is to their brain, it could be time sensitive. And furthermore…” She looks away into the depth of the forest. “I worry what might come find us if we let our guard down.”

“Alright then.” says the human before wiping his mouth and picking up his enthralled companions again.

As you make your way even deeper into the forest, you begin to see familiar views. In fact, you start wondering if everything is simply melding together in your mind or if you might actually be lost. A tree split in two, a rock that looks like a big peach, a trunk overgrown with moss and bright red mushrooms. You know you’ve seen those before… Several times.

***

FINN: Oh no! We’ve been going in circles?

JADE: Hey, don’t look at me, I rolled great on survival.

BEN: Both of you, roll perception.

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