Page 5 of Gaming with the Gargoyle in Hallow's Cove

Gabe

WhenGwensmiles,theentire world stops. It’s a miracle I’m able to keep my hands from shaking. Then again, I’ve had plenty of practice.

For just over five years, I’ve lived with the fact that I was in love with my brother’s wife. I’m trying to hold it together around her, because now that Preston’s gone, it’s really hard to give her time to heal and not obsess about the fact that I finally have a chance.

After months of being flaky, luckily the guys are on time. Brooks, a satyr in a cowboy hat, comes in first, bringing baked goods, like he usually does as an apology. I’ve told him I don’t know how many times that he doesn’t need to do that. Especially since Sydney, his human wife, is pregnant with their second—we all understand if he needs to skip sometimes.

After him, Jake, a raccoon shifter and his—also human—mate Hayley enter, with a jar of the booze he brews in this shack in the woods—I promise it’s at least thirty percent less sketchy than it sounds like. It’s not an apology. We know that Jake shows up when he wants, he’s been that way since we were kids, but now he almost always shows up with some of his special drink in tow, and honestly, the reliability he’s had since having his new girlfriend kind of freaks me out. They come in and sit down at the table, hugging Gwen, and getting their stuff set up.

We’re all shocked when our final party member shows up. Ted always played with us growing up, but now that he owns the diner in town, he’s not always able to get away to play. A lot of our schedule was based on nights that he is most likely to be able to come, but as we’ve all grown up to become entrepreneurs, we all understand how it goes. Still, seeing Ted is a pretty big deal for us.

“Hey man! You were able to sneak away?” I ask, clapping him on the back. It’s a good thing that the game store used to be the fire house, because the ceilings are extremely high. I’m tall at almost seven feet, but Ted towers over me. He’s a Bigfoot, so it makes sense, but even he doesn’t touch our ceilings. We all settle down at the table, everyone pulling out their character sheets and dice, and we get the chitchat out of the way.

“Yeah, my new sous chef has really stepped up to the plate,” Ted said as he pulled out his dice bag full of mini dice, “and it seems like I’ll be able to get away more often.”

“Alright!” Brooks says.

Once everything is set, I dim the shop lights a little and turn on our mood lighting. It’s a bit extra, sure, but it’s my main hobby. Tonight we’re running a variation on the starter set. I have a few supplements that I sell online to help out new DMs fill in the gaps that are inevitably left in standard adventures. It takes time to learn where and how you can improvise with your players and how to get them invested in the plot. Actually running it with my group will help me spot the places I could make improvements.

“Same deal as before, you guys. If you see any gaping plot holes let me know. This is the new starter set, so pretend, please, that you don’t know these monsters’ stat blocks, okay?”

Hayley giggles. “No problem for me!” She’s only just started playing, so I am really interested in her feedback.

“You are several days into your journey from Eversummer. The trip has been smooth and uneventful so far, but your destination, a remote island, has appeared in the distance. As you approach, a large temple is revealed, along with the massive statue you’ve heard about. From the beach and the docks, a path weaves up the side of the cliff-face toward the temple, interrupted here and there by openings into rooms carved into the hillside. As you make your way to the harbor, please introduce yourselves…”

As it turns out, we’ve got a pretty well-rounded party. Jake’s playing a Wild Magic Sorcerer, Hayley’s got a Ranger with a little raccoon companion, Brooks is playing a Bard, Ted’s a Cleric, and Gwen’s got her old standby, her rogue, Rena. We play for a few hours, and the whole time, I can see Gwen picking at her fingers and looking at our mail stack. I’m not surprised that at break time, Gwen opens the letter. She’s reading it over, when Brooks calls over to her.

“Gwen, are you going to get some more little kids’ games in? I want to start stocking up for Laney.”

“Yeah, if we don’t have to sell, that is.” Gwen stares down at the letter, her face pale.

Shit.

“What do you mean?” Brooks asks. Next to him, Jake seems to be really intent on stacking his dice, but I know him well enough to see that he’s paying close attention.

Gwen waves the letter as she sits back down. “It seems that Preston’s will is being contested. There is another party claiming ownership of his assets, apparently there are multiple copies of the will that they are trying to determine dates on.”

God damn, if that isn’tjustlike Preston to fuck updyingof all things.

“That’s horrible!” Hayley says, reaching over to rub Gwen’s back. Hayley has been great to have around for more than just getting Jake here on time. She and Gwen seem to get along really well, and I think having a girlfriend has been really good for them both.

“Yeah, it is. The worst part is that the will stipulates that if I was pregnant with a Fairfield heir, it would immediately solve the problem of the inheritance. And after he died, I found evidence that he’d been tampering with my birth control. He had always been so crazy about wanting an heir, but I didn’t ever think he would go that far. I mean, who even talks like that?”

“It sounds like your late husband was a real asshole, Gwen,” Hayley says.

“You have no idea.” Brooks says, shooting me a look and he’s practically squirming in his seat. “Preston was a huge dick.”

I’m not entirely surprised that there are weird clauses in Preston’s will, as his mother was always worried that I would take things away from her and Preston. As a kid, I had worshiped my big brother—as most kids do. He largely ignored me, but I looked forward to every time he visited.

“Gabe’s a Fairfield, just have him knock you up.” Jake chimes in casually, his eyes never leaving his dice stack.

I choke a little at the suggestion. Sure, did hope swell in my heart when I realized that Gwen was single? That after years of pining I could at least try to make her mine? Of course. But Preston has been dead for less than six months and I don’t want to pressure her.

“You know what?” Brooks says, yawning. “I’m feeling really tired. Sydney’s been having trouble sleeping, and I try to stay up with her too.”

He shoots me another look, moving his eyes toward Gwen, what the fuck is going on with him?

“Yeah,” Jake says, stretching. “Why don’t we call it an early night? Hayley is still getting used to the nightlife around here anyway.”