The Death Save

Chapter 1

Death is Only the Beginning

"There weren't always dragons in the Valley. Nor was their existence in this realm natural, for they had to be summoned from the pits of Hades itself. Since the last days of the Orc King, Kral, there is only one being to exhibit absolute mastery over these beasts of fire. The smell of sulfur fills the air as a low rumble resonates from behind the Gates of Felheim." Kyle says in an overly epic voice. He sits behind a folded board game wall with legions of enemy game pieces at his disposal. All there to tell the story of his carefully constructed tabletop dungeon crawler campaign that's taken weeks to prepare. However, this is a new twist.

"Perfect timing." Rachel sneers. "Just when I'm low on health and have no more potions."

"Wait. You can't just throw another, bigger boss on to the campaign. You said Dremelor was it." David says with a look of confusion and despair.

"The Evil Saladin hath returned as foretold in the prophecy, and he waits to exact vengeance for the defeat of his trusted pet, Dremelor, the eradicator. You have little time before his servants can summon the portal fully open. The portal's opened just enough to let in Dremelor's wrangler, Blighthel, the sludge slinger."

"Oh, cool. Real cool. We haven't ever heard of this... Salad Man. You're making this up." Eric points his finger in accusation.

"Of course I am. That's my job. Welcome to the game!" Kyle jokes sardonically.

"I mean you're supposed to give some foreshadowing. You can't just toss a tougher boss and his minion into a campaign like this." Eric joins the others in the chorus of frustration.

"I can do whatever I want. I'm the DM. Dungeon MASTER." Kyle responds to the criticism. Under normal circumstances, his reaction would be warranted. However, that night, this surprise was done with purpose.

"That's a DM alright. Douche Move." Jeff fires back. "Everyone of us is on so little health, at this point a goblin could sneeze on me and I'd fall dead. Full dead. Not just unconscious."

"Are you going to play or complain all night?" Kyle asks.

Rachel intercedes, "Come on, guys. Let's just fight this thing. It'll be over soon one way or another."

"No way! I've spent too much time building my character up to be screwed like this." Jeff replies.

Eric raises his hands. "Let's put it to a vote. Fight now, or wait."

"We can't fight later. David is leaving tomorrow." Jeff reminds them. "This whole night was to hang out and celebrate David's last night with us. I don't want to make his last night here a complete waste of time."

David speaks up. "It's fine. Win or lose, this night and campaign over the last week have just been great getting to spend time with you all. It's brought back a lot of great memories. It's just a game, and one where dying is expected."

Kyle tries hard not to completely break down. He threw this curve ball at them out of spite. He and David have been friends longer than the rest of them. Now, David is leaving them. Leaving him. Like their long years together meant nothing. To add salt to the wound, David was going to work the dream job he and Kyle always talked about doing. Together. David sent his portfolio of sequential art to Gumshoe Comics, the publisher he and Kyle connected over as kids. They had even written and illustrated their own adventures of the characters. It's a childish move, and Kyle realized it. However, this was the only way he had control over any of it. If David was leaving, his player character would need to leave the campaign as well. That was just the way it had to be. Who knew if he'd ever come back, and rather than hold onto his character chart, constantly being reminded of this betrayal, Kyle saw this as the cleanest option. "So, are we done talking, and want to finish this?"

Jeff lets out a long sigh. "Ok. Fine. Let's all just die."

"Blighthel unleashes his toxic daggers on the group, hitting everything within a 20 foot range eating through any armor, causing 200 damage." Kyle says with a smile.

Eric and Jeff both look on in disbelief. Jeff says, "I knew it! David's dead, and Eric and I don't stand a chance. Goodbye forever, Farornir the Swift. You weren't fast enough this time. Dadgummit, Kyle!"

Eric says, "We're not dead yet, and neither is David. I'll cast double teleportation and we'll survive if you want to attack with your Soul-Cleansing Arrow. Maybe that will at least take some bite out of his poison attacks for the others and give David some time to roll for his death save."

"Well, I guess it's all I can do to help the others at this point." Jeff says, trying to come up with something more. "I move forward and use my bonus action to fire Soul-Cleansing Arrow. That will cause a little more damage and maybe take his shields down a little."

Kyle says, "Blighthel screams in rage. Soul-Cleansing Arrow isn't strong enough to deal much damage even at closer range, but it does pierce his armor dulling his toxins for the next 2 rounds. He scoffs as two of your party run away in fear."

"Better than dying like a chump." Jeff says under his breath. "Rachel and Dav--- um, excuse me. Mórien of the Nightfolk and... Phil the Bard, it's up to you guys. Godspeed. May you die with honor. Galthor and I will... go watch over the wagons. We await your reincarnation there."

David and Rachel pause a moment and whisper to each other, hatching a plan. "Blighthel does not wait for your useless scheming. He demands your lifeless corpses!" Kyle says in a boisterous voice that hungers for battle.

"Blighthel will wait for us according to the rules. And if he grows too impatient, the DM will have a long time to think about whether or not it was worth it to make Mrs. DM upset." As Rachel said this, she shot him a look that wasn't so shrouded in mystery to the group. It also told Kyle he was already treading on thin ice after pulling this stunt. Finally, Rachel proclaims, "By the order and training of the High Enchantress, I cast Seething Solar Flash, and use my bonus action to cast Polymorphia to turn Blighthel into a slug to slow him down!"

Kyle stammers a little, "You. You can't do that. His Unholy Aura deflects any magic, even that of the Enchantress Order."

"The Solar Flash blinds him, but also weakens his magic resistance down for the spell to work. You know it's true." Rachel replies.

Kyle returns a look that's both frustrated and compliant. "Fine. Blighthel is blinded and turned into a slug for the next round until his magic resistance overrides the spell. David's turn." David picks up his die to begin rolling, when Kyle interrupts. "You're forgetting the house rules. During boss battles, the DM rolls for any death save attempts unless a tie-breaker is needed. Give me your die." David reluctantly hands his d20 die over. Kyle shakes it in his hand saying, "Alright, you have 3 chances to either live or die. Your fate depends on this little die."

"We know! Stop delaying and get on with it." Jeff says as he leans back in the chair with his head rolling back to look at the ceiling.

Kyle tossed it behind his game wall. It's a 9. "9. First chance not so great. Now, let's see if luck is on your side." He rolls it again. 12. "Looks like you're still in it. For now. 1 for 1." With the third toss, it lands on 19. "Oh, so close to 20."

David says, "Yeah, but still between 10 and 19, so still good."

"Yes, unfortunately." Kyle rolled again. It's 13! Kyle can't believe it. His plan backfired. This meant 3 out of 5 rolls were above 10, so David would regain consciousness.

"Well, what is it?!" David asks while the others share in his intrigue. Everyone is sitting up and scooting closer onto the table.

Kyle's open mouth turns into a smile and he says, "It's a 2. Looks like fate just isn't on your side in this battle."

David said, "I still have one more roll and I get to toss this one." Kyle reluctantly hands it over. David rolls closing his eyes. He tosses it out onto the board. Everyone leans in to see the result, and everyone is surprised by the answer. No one is more shocked than Kyle.

David holds the die up in the air, facing Kyle. "20! I rolled a natural 20!" Kyle's eyelids close halfway as he looks uninterested in the result. "Now, tell me DM, because I forget what this means."

Kyle folds his arms and says, "It means you regain consciousness, 1HP..."

"...and..." David leads him on.

"...you can take your current turn." Kyle says quitely. "Well, what will you do?"

David thinks about it for a second. "Now, that Blighthel's armor and magic is down with him being turned into a slug I will banish him back behind the Gates of Felheim to end the campaign."

Kyle is completely stunned and flabbergasted. "But. No. You can't do that! I worked hard to create this boss fight for you guys to just banish him."

Jeff replies, "It doesn't seem like you did any of this for us. You ganged up on David this whole night. You pummeled all of us in this ridiculous gantlet, but seemed to target David especially."

"Is this because I'm leaving?" David asks. "If so, that's not cool at all. I thought you were happy for me?" Kyle doesn't answer and David realizes he didn't need to. "I guess I have my answer." David gets up, gathering his things and walks to the door. "I'll see you guys around. I have an early flight tomorrow. It was fun." Jeff and Eric get up and join David at the door, glancing back at Kyle, still sitting behind his board game fortress wall.

Rachel turns to Kyle and begins to tear up as she says, "Aren't you going to say anything? David is leaving. Maybe for good now. You're just going to sit there and watch him leave like this?"

Kyle looks up at Rachel, and then up at David. "Enjoy your flight."

David returns the eye contact and leaves. Rachel gets up and follows the others out. Kyle is left to sit alone at the gaming table.

Later that night, Rachel and Kyle sit in the living room. No one talks. Kyle sits on his computer while Rachel reads her book. Finally, Rachel can't stand it anymore. "Are we not going to talk about what happened tonight?" Kyle sits there in silence. "Fine." Rachel replies. "I'm going to bed. You can stay out here all night." She gets up and walks down the hall quickly followed by the bedroom door slamming shut.

Kyle threw his laptop off him onto the couch. His frustration with David confused him, but was overridden by his embarrassment in front of all the people he cared most for. He acted like a child. That's all he'd ever be known for from that moment on, and that embarrassed him more than anything. He couldn't take any of it back. His feelings about David were accurate, but he couldn't understand how it all came to this. It was more than just the fact that David was moving away. More accurately, it had to do with him going into the field of art they both longed for, but he was doing it without Kyle. Kyle felt like he was being left behind. He didn't feel the same drive David did, and that really angered Kyle. All these feelings of abandonment peppered with jealousy had built up for a while undetected until they exploded in one bright flash tonight. Stronger than any Solar Flash, Divine or not could do in the game. What was he doing? This was no time to think of that stupid game. This was real, and he had to face it. It couldn't be swept up and dealt with later. He had to call David. Well, maybe tomorrow. They both needed to cool down. Yes, tomorrow, Kyle would...

"Kyle..." Rachel stood at the doorway with the phone grasped to her chest and tears falling down her cheeks. Kyle hesitated, knowing in his heart what she was about to say. "David's in the ER. Jeff and Eric rushed him there a little while ago."

"The ER? Why? What's happened?" Kyle says now being hit with the full force of the things he's said to David and felt over the last few hours. They hit him like one on Blighthel's poison dag... Stop it. His friend is lying in a hospital bed about to die for all he knows and he's thinking about the game. That stupid game.

"He just collapsed. They said he has a tumor. It's malignant. They estimate it's lied dormant for for a few months now, but finally is beginning to take over. He..." Rachel pauses choking back tears. "...he may not make it through the night."

"Get your coat. We're heading there now." Kyle says helping Rachel get her things. This can't be happening. None of this seems real. In fact, it feels like someone is rolling the die right now against David's life. One more negative roll, and this could be it.

They arrive at the hospital and meet up with Jeff and Eric. Kyle asks, "What happened? Where is David?"

Eric says, "We weren't sure until we got here, and they told us is was a tumor on left side of his brain. He's not expected to last long."

"What were y'all doing when it happened?" Rachel asked.

"Nothing! Just talking. Reminiscing about the past." Eric paused. "About what happened tonight."

Kyle looks at Rachel. Jeff looks up from the waiting room chair with his hands together underneath his chin. "You hear that Kyle? I don't think your little show helped anything."

"We don't know that had anything to do with it, Jeff." Eric replies.

Jeff says, "I'm sure it didn't help anything. His headache started while we were talking about all that."

Eric looks down at the ground. "He's in a room, but they wont let anyone to see him yet. They want to keep him isolated to check him out more before they let anyone back."

Kyle looks at Eric and says, "I'm so sorry. For tonight. For all of this."

"Look, it's not your fault." Eric consoles Kyle. "Like I said, he's been living with this growing undetected for a while now. There's no way you could've known. It's not your fault. No one blames you." He looks back at Jeff sitting down. "No one." Jeff gets up and begins walking to the other side of the waiting room. Eric looks back at Kyle and places his hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Look, we'll stay here and keep you posted on when they begin letting people back. You guys go get some sleep. We all need it right now."

Rachel places her hand on Eric's hand and says, "Thank you, Eric. We appreciate all that you've done so far."

Kyle nods in agreement. "Let us know the second you know something, and..." he pauses to muster courage, "...and if you get to see him before we get here, tell him..."

Eric interrupts Kyle, "We all go in together. You can tell him yourself."

"Thanks, Eric." Kyle can't believe how levelheaded Eric is about all this. He was always the more collected of the bunch. Kyle always admired that in his friend. "Good night. See you guys in the morning."

"See you guys. Get some sleep!" Eric nudges Kyle and Rachel towards the door. As they walk out, Rachel gives a little wave. Eric watches as they leave, and a tear just can't be held at bay anymore. He looks back at Jeff and to Kyle and Rachel again and begins crying.

When Kyle and Rachel return home, Rachel begins walking to their bedroom. Kyle lags behind and walks over to the game board. He stares down at the pieces strewn about. Spoils of war. So much fun. So much history is contained within this game. Whole lives lived and lost in this game. He had done the one thing he swore he'd never do as DM. He made it personal and let the battle bleed into real life. Now, it cost him his friend, possibly all of them now, and one of them most likely for good.

He stares at David's character sheet and pieces. His die still faces 20 side up. Kyle picks it up and stares at it. This one little die held a lot of power. With one toss, it brought David's character back from certain death. It's cruel irony was that mere hours later, the one who rolled it fights for his life in the real world. He knew it wasn't the die's fault, but still all his anger in that moment focused on it. This had ruined his friendship, and possibly damaged his marriage. The latter would hopefully be easier to make right. It was time to stop all this foolishness. Time to stop playing games. He knew the reason he was so mad at David was jealousy. Not just jealousy for David's success, but for David's drive and perseverance. Kyle felt inadequate. He felt like he was too comfortable to risk being truly happy in life with a career he longed for. Too comfortable to step out and try something new. Somewhere new. He focused back in on the die in his hand. He then hurled it against the wall and it landed behind the cabinet. He hears Rachel gasp from behind him. He looks back to see her tear-filled eyes. "Rachel... I..."

She rushes over and wraps his head in her hands. "I know, love. I know you didn't mean the things you said tonight."

Kyle replies, "That's the problem. I don't know if I believe that."

They stand together in silence for a few moments in the glow of the lone lamp on the cabinet top. Rachel looks up and says, "Forget what I said earlier. I need your company with me tonight. Come on. Let's get some sleep and we'll head to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning." She leads him to the bedroom door closes for the night.

They forget to turn the lamp off. Its' glow reaches faintly across the room., lighting up the bookshelves that hold the many books of game rules and lore, the game board and pieces still set up. However, the light struggles to reach underneath the cabinet, where faint traces of accumulated dust, some lost game pieces, and old rubber bands can be found. Also, in the back behind these knickknacks is a 20-sided die with the number 20 facing up.

The moon falls and the sun rises on a new day. Kyle wakes up to birds chirping and the warmth of the sun on his face. The sun feels really warm in fact. "I must've left the blinds open." Kyle thinks to himself. He reaches to close them, but returns with a handful of grass. GRASS? His eyes shoot open as he springs up from his position laying down. He's laying in a field at the base of a tree. He jumps up to the sound of clanging swords near him and deep, pig-like grunts from behind him. He looks around to see a warrior clad in armor, brandishing a sword and shield. He's caught this battle at its' end. The warrior dispatches the last of his green, fanged foe. He looks back at his new visitor, which stops Kyle in his tracks.

"Kyle? What are you doing here?"

Kyle's eyes widen. "...David?"

THE BEGINNING