It's finally happening; after a three-year campaign, multiple character deaths, countless reschedules, and more than 1 near-party wipe, it's finally happening.
Checking the party groupchat for what feels like the hundredth time and seeing no one has backed out at the last minute, I grab my dice, my snacks, and my notebook, lovingly filled with hour's worth of Absolutely vital character information and notes, jump in the car and head off.
On the arduous drive along packed highways, I can't help but feel proud that of the party's 5 members, im the only one not to have suffered a single character death. My character Selene has been with me since day one when our Game master Daniel's first session. I feel i know her inside and out at this point, and I absolutely love the 4 hours a week on a Sunday afternoon when I can forget about my day-to-day life and just sink into the fantasy that I am Selene.
Walking through the door, I'm greeted by a cacophony of "DUDE! 's" and "BRO! 's" Seeing everyone already at the table getting set up, I rush over to join them.
"You ready to finally end this?" Lucas says, a massive grin on his face.
"For sure", I reply, "though I will miss Selene."
"Fair enough, I'm not super attached to Brock; 6 sessions wasn't nearly enough to really get a feel for him", He replies.
"Brocks a dweeb, not like the mighty Balgurax!" Luis says
Looking down, I've got everything set up just how I like it, my dice lined up, my book opened to my character sheet, and a scrap piece of paper for notes I'll compile later. Though I'm not sure how much I'll need those notes considering this is the last session, oh well, old habits die hard.
"Alright! Everyone ready?" Daniel asks to a chorus of yesses.
"Well, let's get into it. We last left off at dawn, with our seasoned veterans heading into the abandoned city of Drymarsh. What do you want to do?"
I look around the table, trying to gauge if anyone has any ideas they've been sitting on, and seeing nothing decide to start.
"Well, first off, we should try to stealth our way in, we're out of time, and the ritual is set to start in less than twelve hours, so the less potential fighting, the better."
With everyone seeming to agree, we all make our rolls confident that at our high level, our modifiers should smooth out any awful rolls and start to make our way deeper into the dead city.
The session's first hour is pretty relaxed, with Daniels's well-refined descriptions and light banter to keep us entertained. It's not till we're well into our second hour that things heat up as we make our way into a building looking over the town square; it's a large open area designed to handle peddlers and stalls with a large ornate fountain at the far end, though today It's barren except for a single figure standing in the dead centre surrounded by an enormous magic circle.
Daniel looks around the table slowly, making sure we're all watching, and speaks loudly and clearly. "Ah! I was wondering when you would arrive; I wouldn't want my piece de resistance to be without its audience after all."
He pauses for effect. "Well? Come on down; let us chat like the civilized people we are."
"well fuck", Devon says, looking around the table at us all. "I suppose we either go down or just attack him outright; not much good in staying up here like idiots."
We all agree and decide to make our way down is the best option, tense and ready for what seems like will be the inevitable final boss fight.
"How good." Daniel begins, "How have you been? I've been excellent, as you can see, everything tied up in a lovely little bow."
"We're here to stop you and your machinations once and for all!" Lucas proclaims loudly.
"Oh? How fun... well, a last hurrah before my glorious ascent to divinity would make for an excellent way to cap it off," he speaks with a sense of finality.
Daniel claps, "Alrighty then, kids. Time to roll for initiative."
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Three hours later, we were reaching the end of the battle, our snacks eaten and our health almost gone. The town square, once ornate, was ruined, littered with craters. Many of the surrounding buildings were burning or burnt, Thomas' character was dead, and the rest of us might join him soon.
"Such a pitiful sight", Daniel said, "the mighty heroes, brought low in their final hour. But alas, your twilight is only my dawn; your adventures following my exploits were but the prologue to my glorious story. Do not fear; you will not be forgotten, as you were the best among all the obstacles in my way. In a way, I have come to see you all as friends and confidants, no one else has truly seen me in all of my power. And so, because of this connection we share, I will allow you all to witness my ascendency."
And with that, he turns away from us, walking back towards the centre of the square, his magic repairing the flagstones to their previous state, the magic circle along with it.
Looking back at us, he smiles, and the magic circle lights up, blinding the party till all turns white. Around the table, everyone looks at each other, defeated, and I let out a sigh.
Daniel looks at all of us with what seems like an accomplished smile and says, "The last thing you hear is his voice, my beloved friends, i do not wish for your death. Unfortunately, if i left you as you were, I have no doubt that you would somehow manage to provide a continued nuisance to me at every turn. So as my first act as a God, I wish for you all to return back to the humble beginnings you came from."
With that, Daniel snaps his finger, and my vision goes black.
1Thanks for reading the prologue, please tell me what you think as this is my first attempt at writing and any advice is welcome, I'll aim to release another chapter in a few days with hopefully 2000+ words per chapter.
