Reroll

When you don't have so much as a paperback book and can't sleep, eight hours of “restful calm” is super boring. But that's okay. I can hear the birds outside, including the eagle on the roof and the eaglets in the nest.  I'll be fine.

Ed and Betty get up before I'm done - they started earlier - and come out of the room dressed.

“Ah… what are you…” Betty starts.

I think I know where she's going with that… “Eight hours of restful calm; I was up late mowing. After that… well, it's best that we stay close to each other: ‘Don't split the party’ and all, especially as we're being hunted… not that anyone has our current faces.  And I understand the need for some relief: I've succumbed to the desires of these overly hormonal bodies, don't forget,” to the point where I couldn't process what was going on around me, even: This ride is pretty wild, “I'm not going to tease either of you at all.”

Ed joins the conversation, “Fair enough. Back to cleaning for us, let us know when you're rested so we can head back to the school,” he grabs Betty, and pulls her off and they get back to work.

Or rather, “work”.  I can hear them through the walls: They're enjoying each other quite well… eh, whatever. It's getting me a little warm, though. Eugh. Regardless, they settle down eventually and get to cleaning the house rather than each other.

And I eventually finish resting, then spend fifteen minutes concentrating to get my power points back. Divine spells are far more convenient there: Just an hour of prayer, no need for rest… of course, for most, that rest combines with sleep, so… eh, whatever.  I can do something else next life, which will hopefully be a long time from now.

I call out as I head to the door, “Ed, Betty: I'm ready; you two good to go?”

“Meet you at the door,” Betty shouts back as I go.

I'm not waiting long before Ed and Betty reach me. They're a little dirty from cleaning, but it's not like they can easily wash, with no power or running water.  Their clothes are clean, though. That's… probably because of how magic clothing works.  That or they were cleaning in the buff; one of the two.

Regardless, we're dressed now, and look mostly presentable, so, “Anything else before we go?”

“No,” Ed shakes his head, “I'll want to lock the door, of course, but we're good.”

So we head out, pets in tow, but I stop when I see Ed frown when looking back at the house after locking up, “What are you looking at?”

“Probably just a coincidence,” he begins, “but that's the same color rabbit, killed the same way, that the eagle is feeding her young… after coming in from the same approach.”

I nod slowly, “Too many things line up… well… if it's the same rabbit again later, we'll need to get up there for a closer look.  For now… school?”

“School,” Betty agrees.

The walk to the school is uneventful… at the school, though?

“What’s up with the metal detectors?” Betty asks the question on my mind.

I look at them… they have the driveways blocked off, and rows of metal detectors with four six foot tall guys that have to weigh a good three hundred pounds each… and from what I can tell, between all four, they have maybe a pound of fat. Those guys are RIPPED. They're in uniform, and certainly are dressed as police officers… but those hand cannons on their belts - and NOT strapped in - are most assuredly not police issue. Also, police don't generally carry shotguns and grenades… oh, they are the same type as blew up in the admin building… and a third gun longarm, which I'm guessing is a tranq dart gun.  Each also has a bluetooth in his ear, shades on his eyes, and a flak vest on his chest.

I’m gonna go out on a limb, “Oh, they're Guardians, I think… let me get a closer look…” I focus as we walk, suppressing the signs that go with Detect Psionics, and when we get within sixty feet, I whisper, “Not here,” and turn.  We’ve been doing this kind of thing in game long enough that everyone turns with me.

“Too late, they know. What'd you see?” Ed whispers as we walk away.

Yeah, two of them broke off and are following us. They're not exactly stealthy.  I whisper back, “Divination magic on the detectors,” I sigh, “Well… let's see how far we get before they press the issue, eh?”

“Keep them away from backup?” Betty puts it together.

“Divide and conquer,” Ed agrees.

We're good half-mile away from campus when they start hustling.

“I'll face; cough if they lie,” Betty volunteers.

“Will do,” Ed responds.

“Face” refers to “party face” - the person with the social skills like Bluff and Diplomacy (lying and convincing people) and so handles talking. Betty’s got a Charisma-based build, so she's a natural choice. Ed has a Wisdom-based build, which is where you find Sense Motive, the skill that detects deception in words.  

I renew my Detect Psionics and simply observe as the two Guardians approach.

“You three,” one of the ‘police officers’ shouts, “You're under arrest for suspicion of terrorism. On the ground, now.”

Ed coughs.

He's got magic… I can't pinpoint things yet, but… he's not a mundane.  Nor is the other…. I keep focusing.

“Certainly officer…” Betty lays down, and we follow suit, “but what makes you think so?”

“Suspicious behavior,” the guardian continues, and Ed coughs again, “But we'll compare you to records,” another cough, “and let you go if your record is clean.” My, Ed is having quite the fit….

And I finally pinpointed the magic. It's in their glasses. Divination.  The school of magic that's all about learning things… it's not very strong, but… lying won't help here.

I say three words in Shae, “They see magic.”  I mean, I'm guessing that's what those glasses do. It's the right school, and would be an invaluable tool for anyone hunting magic users, so it stands to reason….

We don't bother getting up. We don't plan to run, and being on the ground reduces your profile against ranged shots. We all call to our pets; Betty uses Mind Thrust (it's a first level power that  does a lot of damage to a single target…Will negates, so it's risky, but it's a good bet against muscleheads), I use Energy Ray (picking cold for the extra damage boost), and Ed casts Aggressive Thundercloud (it makes a tiny storm that runs around the battlefield and strikes people with small lightning bolts at Ed's command).

We all target the close guy, as do the animals at our direction. It's focused fire; a tactician the game to reduce the enemy count as quickly as possible, because a baddie at one hit point is exactly as dangerous as a baddie at full health, so spreading fire simply doesn't make sense: Dealing fifty percent damage to two enemies is going to leave you in a worse place than dealing one hundred percent to one, every time.

And while he's greviously injured by it all, dripping blood from the animal's claws and teeth, burned and cracking skin where the lightning hit him, visibly frostbitten where I hit him, and looking like he's having a stroke with one eye facing the wrong direction… he stays on his feet.

Interestingly, the two ignore the animals and draw two guns each: The shotgun in their left hands, their Mr. Smiths in their right… and each gets three shots off (one from the shotgun, two from their Mr. Smith).

Sadly for me, they focus fire too. The beanbag rounds don't do anything to me… I’m guessing because I'm immune to nonlethal damage as an undead; those Mr. Smiths, though… well, the lights go out when the fourth shot hits my head as I hear Betty shout, “Oh Pelor! They killed Kenny!”

And I'm back in fire world.  I have about a ten foot radius of the area I was just in, I’m nude, I'm my old self, and there's a stack of books, a character sheet, an inkwell, and a blotter sitting on the sidewalk in the middle of a raging inferno. And yes, I still smell sulfur.

Knowing I have lots of time… I sit down and rock in place, holding my knees to my chest for a bit. Getting shot is no fun at all. I take some time to just breathe, and after an unclear amount of time, I get up and get to work.

Okay, so… I'm going to be in the thick of it immediately on my return. So I need a build that can be largely okay naked, and largely okay without resting to recover. I go with a Hengoki Sparrow base race… a minor shapeshifter, can turn into a sparrow, human, or hybrid form a few times a day. For my classes, I go with a Spheres Arcanist//Hedgewitch, all in on casting.  The Spheres Arcanist gets floating magical talents - which means I will be able to change out my abilities from one day to the next - while the Hedgewitch gets some really interesting options, like spontaneously learning new talents for a short time (Spiritualism) and being able to shape shadows into real-ish effects (Umbral)... which are the two paths I take.  I go with an Intelligence based build, of course, to cover those skills, as I know ow Ed and Betty have Wisdom and Charisma covered.  Oh, and I get another dog.

After I'm done, I sign my sheet, and the red world fades out….