Dungeons and Dorks

The next week couldn't get there fast enough, and by the time the end of classes and training came, the Bakusquad + 3 were crowding back into Kaminari's dorm with eager faces and arms full of paper and dice. (Kaminari had plenty to spare, the little dice goblin that he was, so he'd given each of them their own set to keep, all matching their personalities in one way or another.)

Midoriya came through the door first, carrying his own stack of D&D books that he claimed he ordered online so he could study them and so they had an extra set, and Kirishima and Mina came in toting snacks and drinks. (Bakugo also brought a few trays of food, but no one dare bring up the fact that he liked to cook for them out of fear that he might stop.)

"Aw man I'm so excited!" Kirishima grinned, dropping the drinks on Kaminari's bed before taking his place between Bakugo and Sero. On the other side of the table was Mina, Midoriya, and Todoroki, with Shinsou at the other end across from Kaminari himself.

"Yeah actually, I was looking online at stuff and I'm a lot more into this than I thought I'd be," Sero chimed, dropping onto his pillow with an excited smile. "Seriously, there's all kinds of games you can watch online of people playing it- mostly in English, but still. It looks dope."

Todoroki was nodding softly across from him in agreement. "Yes, I looked into it a bit too. I... cannot promise to be very good at the role playing part, but I am eager to give it a try," he said, giving Kaminari a small smile that was returned ten fold.

"Hell yeah! And you'll get better at it as we play. Most newbies are a little hesitant," the blonde said as he bobbed his head, grabbing one of the sodas that Kirishima was passing out. "It gets easier, don't worry!"

"This is going to be so cool!" Mina giggled, loading up her plate with chips and some of Bakugo's brownies before passing the bag and container to someone else. "I wrote up like, an entire essay for my backstory. Speaking of- Kami, you got my email right? With the document in it?"

He nodded eagerly and held up a folder labeled 'character backstories' . "Yup! I got everyone's backstories right now. Thanks for emailing them to me guys. And honestly? Everyone kind of went all out and I'm so proud and excited."

"Let's just get this fuckin' started," Bakugo grumbled, nodding to Kirishima as the redhead passed him his own plate of snacks. "Who are we killin' first?"

Kaminari snorted and shook his head, pulling out a screen to block off his side of the table from the others. "No one yet. We gotta set the scene bro. Do you guys want to introduce your characters now? Or as they show up in the game?"

After a brief discussion, they decided it might be easier to just discuss now to get the awkwardness out of the way, so Kaminari nodded and glanced towards Bakugo. "Okay, quick note. Since there are so many people, it's going to get loud and hectic a lot. So, that being said, we're going to try and go in turns or just be respectful. I do want you guys to talk between each other though in character as if you were actually there. And you're allowed to strategize and such. Just try to be respectful of everyone else's turns, yeah?" They all nodded and he turned back to Bakugo. "Okay, you first Blasty. Who are you playing?"

Bakugo straightened up, a wild grin on his face as he crossed his arms. "I'm a Half-Orc Barbarian," he said almost proudly. "Grew up in a tribe out in the desert when it was attacked by a rival tribe. Now I'm on a mission to avenge them and be the strongest fucking Orc in this stupid country."

Sero snorted from the other side of Kirishima and rolled his eyes. "Why is that such a you character? Fuck, I shouldn't even be surprised."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean, soy sauce?"

"I just mean it fits you is all!"

"Do we have to give our backstories in our intro?"

Kaminari glanced at Mina and shook his head, unable to hold back his smile as the room delved into chaos already. "You don't have to, but you can. It's up to you." He glanced at Bakugo and smirked. "What's your characters name?"

The room went quiet again and Bakugo smirked back, unashamed. "Zero Fucks Given. But he goes by Zero."

"Of fucking course it is," Sero laughed, the first to break the silence before everyone else burst into laughter.

"I'm Kazagal Rocksmasher," Kirishima said eagerly on his turn, holding up the back of his character sheet where he'd drawn a very rough, but very good, sketch of his character. "He's a Goliath Barbarian because there's never too many tanks in a group. He was left as a baby at a brothel where the matron took him in. Then when he was old enough, they made him a bouncer body guard dude and he's still very close to all of them. But," he rushed to say, holding up a finger as if someone was going to interrupt him. "Now he's traveling the country with his best friend because she has a goal to reach and he didn't want her going alone. Oh, also, he's massive."

"Well, he is a goliath, so-" Kaminari nodded.

The others nodded in agreement and Midoriya leaned forward to see the picture better. "So coool. You should draw all of us!"

Kirishima blushed, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing. "Oh uh- it's just a hobby. This was like, a ten minute sketch, but I can draw everyone if you want me to. That could be fun!"

Sero sat up straight when it was his turn and opened his mouth, ready to talk until Bakugo shoved a pillow in his face. "Don't fucking talk with your mouth full, soy sauce. Swallow first."

The dark haired teen coughed in surprise, glaring at the blonde before swallowing his mouthful of chips. "Okay so- I'm playing a human cleric-" he dutifully ignored Bakugo's 'lame' from beside him and continued. "My name is Celo Phane and I follow Helm, the god of protection." The others chuckled at his name, but Sero seemed proud of the reaction.

"I'm Trouble Valkaria, a Tiefling Rogue," Mina jumped in next. "I grew up the daughter of an absolutely gorgeous, and very well known, brothel owner, and Kazagal is my absolute best friend in the entire world. We are practically inseparable and super protective of each other. I'm on a journey across the world to track down my real dad and kick the snot out of him for breaking my moms heart. Also, I'm pink!"

"So, you're just playing you?" Sero snorted.

"You're name is Trouble?" Bakugo laughed, rolling his eyes. "And you guys made fun of me for my name."

Midoriya blushed softly when all eyes turned on him and he fidgeted with his character sheets. "Um- my name is Cowl Zultek and I'm playing a halfling Warlock. I uh- don't think I'll go into the backstory just yet. But I'm just kind of traveling around, learning to control my new powers and umm... searching for someone."

"How mysterious," Mina giggled, nudging the boy with her shoulder before leaning over him to see Todoroki. "And you? I expect someone dope from you."

Todoroki glanced down at his own papers with his normal, empty expression, but there was a soft dusting of pink across his cheeks as well at the sudden attention. "I will be playing an Human Wizard," he said surely, but quietly. "His name is Rokai O'dota the second. That's all."

The others nodded, not wanting to push the shy boy before turning to Shinsou, the newest member of their squad. He shrugged, unbothered by the attention before holding up his sheet to also show a picture drawn on the back. "Cymric Selkirk," he introduced, earning impressed eyebrow raises from a few people. "He's an Elven Warlock, though I want to multiclass into Rogue eventually. He has a cat," Shinsou said matter-of-factly, pointing at the drawing of the cat around his character's shoulders, "her name is Litch."

"Wait, we can have pets?!" Mina cried, turning her wide eyes towards Kaminari as if offended. "No one told me we could have pets!"

The blonde laughed and held up his hands in defense, shaking his head. "Technically it's not a pet, it's a familiar. Certain spellcasters can get a spell called 'Find Familiar' and they get an animal companion," Kaminari explained, Shinsou nodding along with him from across the table. "Technically you can still have a pet if you want, but a familiar gets extra perks that regular pets don't have."

"I want a pet!" Mina declared, clenching her fist and striking a pose. "Whatever we do guys, we're going on a shopping trip eventually and I'm getting a pet!"

"We haven't even gotten into the game yet," Bakugo rolled his eyes, kicking at the girl from under the table, though it was a fond kick. She stuck her tongue out at him and he repeated the gesture. "Can we just get into it?"

"Yes! I think I gave everyone a piece of paper right? That's the letter that brought you all here... here, to the Prancing Pony!"

Bakugo snorted.

The Prancing Pony was a small tavern on the edge of Yuueida, with a fading sign swaying in the wind and paint peeling across the wood panels of it's exterior. It was a comfortable place, with a bar on the bottom floor and several rooms for rent on the next two, cheap enough for most to afford at the sacrifice of some niceties. Music could be heard from inside, drifting through the cracks of the door and the open windows, a live and jovial atmosphere filling the main room on that busy Friday eve.

A group of strangers are gathered in one of the corner tables, all unique in their own way and drawing gazes from around the room at the people new to town. Unbeknownst to the townsfolk, each of these seven strangers carries a letter on their person with a large red seal on it from the crownsguard. A request for a meeting.

"We all got the fuckin' letter?" A half-orc in the corner growled, arms crossed tersely over his chest and his leather armor shifting with the movement. There was a large great-sword sat next to him, leaning up against the wall, shimmering in the torchlight of the bar, a warning to anyone who dared come too close or decided to pick a fight.

The pink skinned girl beside him nodded eagerly, the jewelry dangling from her curled horns jingled loudly, and she turned to begin digging into a bright yellow backpack she carried. With a cry of excitement, she pulled a letter out and held it up to his face, ignoring the sneer she got in return. "See? I got one, and Kaza got one too, right?"

Beside the girl sat the largest of the group, having to hunch over slightly to sit at the table, not looking at all uncomfortable in the position. His skin was an ashen grey, with bright red eyes that stared everyone at the table down in what might have been an intimidating look if it weren't for the bright smile on the Goliath's face. He was completely bald, but there were sharp, deep red tattoos across his scalp that stretched down his neck, shoulders, and around his arms in intricate and complicated designs. The Goliath nodded at that girl. "Yeah, I got one too."

"As did I," a thin man with pure white hair said from beside him. He was human, by the looks of it, with sharp, piercing blue and brown eyes and a deep red cloak draped over his shoulders. He had a strange leather holster on his hip, mostly hidden by his cloak, that held a thick red and gold book. He pulled a letter from his own bag and placed it carefully on the table. "Addressed to me directly and delivered to my workplace."

"Mine came to my house," the smallest member of the group said from across the table. His shock of green curls and pudgy, freckled face could just barely be seen over the top of the table as he grinned at everyone. He held up his own letter, showing off the many scars across his arms and hands, but no one deigned to mention them. "Had my name on it and everything."

From his side, another tall human bobbed his head, black hair dangling around his face and shoulders. It was a stark contrast to his bright white and golden robes, but he placed his own letter next to the halfling's. "Mine came to the temple I was temporarily visiting. Not many knew I was there."

"And mine came to my home," the final member of the table said with a frown. He sat taller than the humans, though still shorter than the half-orc and Goliath, with intricate lilac coloured braids and long, pointed ears. His own robes were dark blacks and greys and he had a thick, light grey scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. "No one knows where I live," he said simply, narrowing his eyes, but not producing his own letter.

The letters themselves all read the same thing, though addressed individually.

' Upon the third moon of this month, you are requested at the Prancing Pony Tavern in Yuueida. Your skills and expertise are needed for a most important matter. Please bring any supplies you deem necessary and your rooms will be paid for upon your arrival. When arriving at the tavern, you will sit in the far corner table where a representative will meet you. I look forward to making your acquaintance. '

And signed at the very bottom of the letters was a large A. M., signed in perfect calligraphy and shimmering golden ink.

"Do we know an A. M.?" Midoriya asked curiously, glancing up at Kaminari from where he was jotting down notes.

Kaminari hummed, tapping a finger on his lips as he thought. "You know what? If you want to, roll a history check for me. Anyone can if you want, we'll see if any of you could put together the dots."

There was a cacophony of rolls, some sighs and the quiet adding of modifiers. Most of them failed the, fairly high, DC that Kaminari set, other than Midoriya and Todoroki, who just barely rolled high enough.

"Okay so," he said, turning to the two of them with an eager smile. "Most of you would know that it's not super common, or polite, to merely sign with initials. Mina might actually know because of her background, that that's usually only done when the contents of the letter are meant to be left anonymous or coded. You two however," he said, pointing towards the two who rolled high, "would know that there are plenty of people throughout history with the initials of A M. In this part of the country however, you don't know of any that would still be alive. There was Altair the Magnificent over two hundred years ago, well known for his hand in bringing peace to the outer kingdoms. There was Agramit Mourto, a powerful sorceress who attempted to overtake the capital city a few decades ago before falling in battle. And of course, there was Allinori the Mighty. He was an extremely strong and powerful Warlock nearly three hundred years ago who assisted in protecting the realm from a dangerous entity only known as "One". Not much is known about the fight other than children's stories, and neither of them survived. However, none of you know anyone personally with those initials. If they even are initials."

Bakugo snorted and rolled his eyes. "So what was even the point of making us roll? We barely got anything from that."

"You never know what could be useful, Kaachan!" Midoriya chimed in, not looking up from his notes. "Even the smallest of details could be important for the story later. Maybe Kaminari gave us important information, but we just don't know how it fits in yet."

"Yeah, Kaachan~" Kaminari grinned, narrowly dodging the fist that was tossed in the direction of his shoulder. He laughed. "Okay, back to the tavern, yeah? So you're all chatting it up when-"

The door swings open with a loud squeak, though the music is loud and the conversation is excited, so most don't notice the sound. A man, tall and thin, wearing black monks vestiges and bandages wrapped around his throat, ambles into the room. His dark hair is half pulled back, revealing pointed ears, and his face is gaunt and exhausted-

"Is- is it fucking Aizawa?"

Kaminari pouted, glancing up from his campaign notes to look at Sero. The other boy grinned at his expression and laughed. "Oh my god, you put Aizawa in your game? Bro, he's going to be so pissed!"

Kaminari glared and stuck his tongue out. "Not if you don't tell him. Now shut up, I worked hard on all these characters and you're going to appreciate them! Now, where was I? Ah- his face is gaunt and exhausted-"

-as he silently makes his way through the crowded tavern, seemingly unnoticed. He touches nobody as he walks, deftly avoiding flying hands and unknowing shoulders before he comes to a stop before the large and colourful, group.

"You all have your letters?" He asked, his voice low and tired as he stared at all of them, waiting for their nods before pulling a chair up and wiggling it between the halfling and the human in white. "Very well. Tell me your names."

"Why should we?" The half-orc growled, pressing his hands against the table and leaning over it slightly to glare at the stranger. "Are you the one who sent them? A.M.? How'd you even fuckin' find me? Hm?"

The man only sighed, rubbing at his eye before shaking his head. "You read it, I presume? It clearly said they'd be sending a representative. I'm not the one who wrote the letters, I'm just here to pick you up for your first assignment. Now, your names?"

"I'm Cowl," the green-haired halfling greeted with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Trouble and this is Kazagal, we came together," the pink teifling grinned.

The man nodded along as each member of the group introduced themselves, all until they got to the half-orc in the corner who sneered at the monk's raised eyebrow. "You can call me Zero," he finally relented, clenching his big hands into fists.

The man nodded. "Great, then everyone is here. My name is Aiza and I work for... a certain individual that will remain unnamed for now. I'm sure you're all curious as to why we've summoned you here, and I'll be honest with you, it wasn't my first choice," he grimaced. "None of you are qualified for this kind of work, you don't know each other, and I don't trust any of you."

"Well aren't you just peachy," Trouble pouted, leaning her elbows on the table and dropping her chin into her hands. "You know, for a guy who's trying to hire us or whatever, you're not doing a very good job convincing us."

Aiza shrugged, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't have to convince you. You agreed the moment you received the letters. I'm not going to spout a bunch of fate mumbo jumbo, since I doubt you'd believe me anyway., but that's besides the point."

"And the point is?" Cymric asked, raising an eyebrow and turning his purple eyes on the other man almost lazily.

"As it turns out, you are apparently needed," Aiza answered just as lazily. "You've been chosen by someone much more powerful and knowledgeable than me, so I guess I'm not going to argue."

"And you're here to hire us for some sort of job?" Kazagal asked, his voice a low timber, though not as threatening as the half-orc's. "What could we possibly do that you couldn't hire the crowns guard or professional mercenaries to do?"

Aiza bobbed his head. "Good questions, but like I said, I didn't choose you. I cannot give you all the details right now, as even I don't have all the information. However, we have our suspicions that a great evil is making it's way towards us and we need someone to help stop it. There are those we cannot trust in the more professional circles to handle it, and we're in need of a multiple number of skills that you all seem to possess. We also need people that are not easily recognizable."

A loud snort rang through the air and heads turned quickly to glance at Zero who shook his head. "You chose the wrong group of people then. Look at us, we're drawing attention just sittin' here. Just the three of us are gettin' whispers," he said, gesturing to himself, the Goliath, and the tiefling.

"True, but you wouldn't be recognized by people who matter," Aiza continued.

"You mean you need people you can't be connected back to," Rokai said lowly, eyes pinning Aiza to the spot, not that the other man seemed bothered by the accusation. "You want strangers in case it goes south. Then the blame wouldn't be put on you."

The monk shrugged, not denying it but not agreeing either.

"And what do we get out of it then? You plan on paying us or somethin'?" Zero demanded.

Aiza nodded. "If that's what you want, we can provide money. It's not an issue to us. If you are in need of supplies, we can provide you with those as well along your journey. Your rooms will always be paid for, and if you are injured, you will be healed, though that might not be an issue with your cleric here," he said, gesturing to Celo. "Should you assist us in taking down One, then you will gain the title of heroes as well. You'll go down in history, or whatever."

"Wow, Kami, your Aizawa impression is on point," Mina interrupted, giggling loudly when the blonde straightened up in pride. "You've got his attitude down, pat."

Kaminari snorted and grinned bright. "Well thank you! I am a master at impressions," he said proudly.

Sero shook his head and leaned back against the desk behind him. "I still can't believe you put Aizawa in the game. You didn't even change his name!"

"Actually, his name was Dadzawa for a while, then I changed it to something cool and fantasy sounding. But you were all like, 'omg is it Aizawa?' and I decided to just go with it. So that's his name now. Plus, you have no room to judge Mr. Celo Phane. It's just your hero name but cut up! At least Todoroki and Shinsou went all out with their names."

Shinsou raised a hesitant hand and smirked. "Uh, my name is literally just two different kinds of cats mushed together."

"Midoriya took the end of my name and made it sound fantasy appropriate," Todoroki chimed in with a shrug.

"Yeah but still. No one is allowed to judge me for the names and characters I've chosen when you've all just literally made yourselves. Now, can we keep going?" They all nodded and Kaminari instantly fell back into his Aizawa impression, shoulders hunched and face deadpan. "So... do you want to be heroes?"