We’ve been playing D&D together for almost four years and it that amount of time, you develop inside jokes, themes and traditions. Many of our jokes come from our first campaign, the 2.5 year adventure of Shackled City, which took place in and around the city of Cauldron.
We still have those characters — now 15th level — and I hope we dust them off again at some point.
With all that history in mind, when Taj saw the great buttons at a booth at the Stumptown Comic Fest, she knew she had to get some made specially for us.
Please support these great artists — Sydney and Kevin. Sydney’s website is
http://smore.ca/
For those of you who haven’t kept up with the Divas’ game play, the picture of the staff is a running joke — during the Cauldron campaign we suggested using Taj’s character’s staff for every problem we had to solve. Can’t quite reach a button across a booby-trapped floor? Use Myntilly’s staff! Need to prop up a sagging shelf in camp? Use Myntilly’s staff!
The beholder is for Michelle, who is more often our DM than not. Potion is for me — the healer. The animal head is a dragon – but an acid spitting dragon, like Sarah’s Acgar.
The others are more general, but beloved Dungeons & Dragons themes…. Sometimes your d20 is on fire and sometimes, it’s drenched in blood. Your blood.
I felt the wind as the katana sliced at my throat. Ha, I thought. Missed me! And then I felt the pulse of blood flowing out.
I did the only thing I could. I straightened my tail out, stiff like a plank and fell over backwards. If the thief thought that I was dead, I may have a chance to heal myself before doom fell. I heard a cry, whether from Nya, Gami or Mir’Itus, I could not tell.
I slowed my breathing. Willing my heart to stop its flutter. I didn’t want to move, not just yet. Then I felt a hand on me. I carefully cracked an eye. Hekari was kneeling beside me. In my mind’s eye I saw flowing water and the golden light of a summer morning and I gathered the two into a ball and imagined swallowing it. I heard Hekari gasp. I squeezed her hand.
A moment later, I felt a breeze as the thief’s body hit the floor near me. I sat up, slowly because I still felt lightheaded. I saw surprise and then anger on Nya’s face. Gami-Gami dropped her weapon and Mir’Itus shook his head in wonder.
“I being OK. No dead. Just play the dead to not be dead, yes?” Nya turned away without a word. Gami bent slowly, as thought she were ancient, and picked up her blade.
“What?” I asked Mir’itus. “What’s the problem here?”
“We thought you were dead.” I raised my whiskers. “Yes, and….?”
“If you died, think about it Te’Ka, if you died, Gami-Gami would have to follow you. She swore an oath to protect you.” His words meant less to me than the fact that he used my name. I cannot remember the last time he called me Te’Ka. I bowed to him. “Thank you for my life, honored Mir’Itus.”
I approached Gami-Gami, who was slowly cleaning the double blades of her weapon. “The thanks of a humble rat go to you, great warrior Gami-Gami! Count the stars in the sky to number the blessings of being your companion.” I bowed low and held my bow for several seconds. When I finally met her eyes, she said “Aye.” And no more, but she seemed satisfied with my thanks.
One more apology — Nya. 
I found her in the larger chamber. She’d climbed on her horse, as though to leave. I looked down at my robes, the blood heavy at the collar. I pulled them straight and adjusted my belt. Deep breath and then I spoke:
“I am forever in your debt, for my life. Thank you, great warrior, for protecting me in my time of need. I am… not worthy.” And I bowed low. The only sound was the hooves of her horse as he moved nervously. I vowed to hold the bow until she spoke.
Finally she said, “Don’t mention it. Ever.” As I raised up, I caught a glint as though she’d been crying. And then she was gone.
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