Vax thumbed through the skull book. He couldn't understand what it said, but it looked like strange rituals and items were illustrated all throughout. He couldn't make heads-or-tails of it, but it looked important.
At that moment, Vax heard muffled conversation on the other side of the door coming closer. Assuming the worst, he closed the book and stowed it inside his coat. Just as he put everything else back in place and closed the chest, a gust of wind swept through the room, dulling the flames in the fireplace behind him. He turned around and looked at the embers, not sure what just—
Poof!
The fire flashed, momentarily blinding Vax. As his vision returned, he realized he wasn't alone in the room. Turning around, he found himself face-to-face with the Briarwoods.
"Oh, Uh, beg your pardon," Vax said as they began to approach him. He stepped back to match as he tried in vain to give a cover story, "Just...turning down your bed. Forgot those little...pillow mints."
Of course, the Briarwoods didn't care, though they seemed amused by his attempts. When the cover story failed, Vax fell back on the next best thing after remembering he had no daggers.
"Um..." he paused a moment before putting up some faux-confidence and leaning against the mantle above the fireplace, "Oh gosh, your are a handsome couple. Lost my train of thought!"
Roll for Seduction
Nat 1
The Briarwoods glanced at each other, than back at the intruder. Vax realized this wasn't working out and attempted to run away, but Sylas simply grabbed his collar and held him back. The rogue looked up, terrified for his life, and he was met by a pair of glowing yellow eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back downstairs, the group was working through Percy's traumatic past. Pike was the first to speak.
"Percy, why didn't you tell us?"
"I've tried to tell many over the years," Percy explained, "No one's ever believed me."
"But...why is my brother working with them?" Yin shook his head, "It doesn't make sense. He has to be under their control or something!"
"It's possible, but I suppose that's just something we'll have to investigate later," Vex spoke up. Even a moderate amount of sympathy from her surprised Yin a little. She generally wasn't as kind to him as her brother was—
Suddenly, Yin realized something, "Guys...isn't Vax still upstairs? And, like, the very evil Briarwoods that killed Percy's family and my possibly brainwashed brother are going up there? What if he needs help?"
"Plus, he's got the squirts!" Grog lamented, but no one paid his long-since established idiocy any mind.
"Okay, I'll distract, you go...quietly," Scanlan decided. As he went back into the dining hall, everyone immediately slipped away from the event and back to the weapons' desk at the front.
(In case you haven't watched the show...look up Pull My Beads of Love on YouTube. I don't even want to put a link because the thumbnail would probably ruin the surprise for those unaware.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vax was frozen. He tried to move, but he found he couldn't. Whatever Sylas had done paralyzed him. The man circled Vax, running the back of his hand down his cheek.
"You are a curious one..." he spoke in a sultry-yet-threatening tone before wrapping an arm around the rogue's shoulders and holding his chin in his hand, "...and you look delicious."
YOU ARE READING
The Legend of Vox Machina: The Power Within
Fanfiction"Balance is not something you find. It's something you create." The world of Exandria, like any fantasy setting, is often beset by various threats. Some are simple, but others can threaten the safety of entire nations or even the world. What's stan...
