Chapter 43

That morning we all had breakfast, then Kim took us out to the corral. Linda and I stood at the rail as Aunt Darla put Kim through her paces on the ring. “We let her take some time off since you guys were visiting, but Trixie there was getting restless. You can’t leave a horse like that alone, or they get moody and fat,” Uncle Dave said.

“She’s really good!” Linda said, watching Kim do several runs then applauding. “How long has she been doing that?”

Uncle Dave chuckled. “Oh, since she was around 4. All-State winner four times, and runner-up a few others. Too bad Pete here never got into rodeo. This kid is probably the only one I know that does not really like horses.”

“Oh Uncle Dave, I like horses just fine. I just do not like riding them. Or getting thrown off of them. I would rather do other things, like skiing.”

“Yep, that’s sure enough true. You are a first-rate skier, that’s the truth. I think you got that from your dad, he never cared much for horses either.” Finally, Kim was done, and she was walking Trixie to cool her off. Aunt Darla came over with Ben, and asked Linda if she wanted to take a ride. Linda looked at me, and I just smiled and nodded. She was over the fence in a shot, and soon she was laughing and riding around the ring. Kim got back on Trixie, and soon Uncle Dave had opened the gate and the two girls were trotting off across the pasture.

Dave and I both laughed, and I helped him muck out the ring and the stalls next to it. Darla joined us and we all chatted, sad that we were leaving in two more days. “It’s been a pleasure having you here this last week Pete, and that Linda is a real doll. You had better continue to take good care of her, you hear me?”

“Yes Ma’am, I intend on doing just that. What about Kim though? I’m kinda surprised she’s single, to be honest.”

“Oh, I think that’s mostly because of you Pete. She has her eye on somebody I think, but we will see how serious it becomes. But I know that Jeff had asked her out, but she turned him down because you were going to be here.”

“Jeff, from school? We actually met him skating the other night. But she said that she could not see herself married to him she told me.”

“Yep, he is a true believer. But I can tell when they look at each other that there is something more there. It only remains to be seen if that is what they want or not. And if nothing else, I think they would make a good couple until he takes off on his mission.”

I agreed, and we chatted for a bit longer until Aunt Darla headed in to make lunch, and Dave and I continued to talk. “Pete, I’m just gonna ask this upfront like. Are you and Kim messing around again?”

I looked him in the eye and said “Well, yes and no. We have kissed and fooled around some, but Linda was always there and it was with her permission. But no, we have not made love since I left, and we will not make love again. I will always love her as a sister, but the past is past. We both known and accept that, so there are no misunderstandings.”

He looked me in the eye, and nodded. “That is what I thought, but Darla insisted I ask. Every night the three of you have been going out to the pond, and we both know what you two used to do out there. I guess I wanted to make sure you were still the same Pete I knew from two years ago.”

“Sir, I am. Yes, Kim and I have fooled around a little. But mostly we just kissed and held each other. She also watched Linda and I kiss and fool around a little. But mostly we just drank beers and chatted. She really is more sister to me than anything else now. And she really likes Linda, mostly I think they try to see who can embarrass me the most by telling stories about me.”

Dave laughed at that, and said “That’s women for you! I once listened in on your mom and Darla chatting when your dad was still in the Army. Darla and I were already married, and your mom was spending the night. I had gone to bed but gotten up to take a piss. And the things they were saying to each other, man! They were saying things I would never say to even my best buddies, and giggling about it. Let’s just say I learned more about how your father makes love that night than I ever wanted to know, as well as a review of my own performance.”

I nodded. “Yeah, there has been a bit of that. But they knew I was there, and they just did it to tease me. And just so you are aware, Linda even offered to allow me to make love to Kim while I was here. Both of them even told me that, and I turned them down. Kim will always be part of my life, but as my dear friend, not my lover. Anything else would be using her, and that is not only not fair to her, it would weaken our special memories.”

He looked me in the eye, and nodded. “That’s what I thought. She wanted me to forbid you all from having beers at the pond tonight, I told her I would not do that. And if she tries to go down there as she had threatened, I guess I will just tell her what you just told me. And that I had overheard her and your mom years ago, and you three were just sharing that kind of conversation. I never told her that before, and it will probably shock her. But it should keep her up here.”

“Uncle Dave, can I ask you something? Was listening to their conversation as rough on you then as it is to me sometimes? It’s flattering that they almost think of me as ‘one of the girls’, but it also reminds me of that time Kim and I went to the fair, and she was talking about the stud horse.”

He laughed long and loud at that and nodded. “Trust me, I understand you there. I learned a few things about myself that night I overheard them, and it was humbling. However, that was a long time ago, and I like to think that the things I learned that night which Darla found me lacking in I corrected. And we are still together almost twenty years later, so I think I did the right thing.”

At this time we saw the girls riding back, and laughed. Kim had Trixie at a gallop, and Linda behind on Ben almost looking panicked at a fast center. One hand was on the saddle horn, and her butt was bouncing on and off the saddle in a way I was sure would leave her bruised. Kim was about 50 yards in front and looked back. She then turned Trixie quickly and rode back, and Ben settled into a calm trot the last several hundred yards back.

I helped to unsaddle the horses and rack the gear, as Kim showed Linda how to walk them until they were cooled down, then curry them. Dave and I put the barrels back against the rails and raked the ring, then with the horses fed and watered the four of us went back to the house.

After washing up we sat down to lunch, and Linda squealed when she saw Aunt Darla had made finger steaks. She laughed, and said that I had told her that she loved them. “I insisted he show me how to make them, and I did try once. But they came out nothing like this. These are different than the ones he makes.”

I smiled. “Well, to do it right you need buttermilk. My dad and I do not drink buttermilk, and I can’t see buying a half-gallon just to throw most of it away, so I do it with regular milk and lemon juice. It comes out a little different, but pretty much the same. Aunt Darla makes more of a traditional type, the ones I make are closer to say those at Dead Steer.”

Linda looked puzzled, and the Littlebuck family all laughed. Kim put her hand on the back of mine, and said “Oh Pete. Linda, that is what we call the Red Steer locally. But it’s all in fun, even my parents and I eat there all the time when we go into town. But we normally get Baconeers. Those are like huge burgers with bacon, we eat these all the time at home.”

“I often say that if I could raise the money for a franchise, I could probably get rich introducing Red Steer to Los Angeles. There is nothing like finger steaks or the Baconeer down there. Linda here is the first one to have actually eaten at one, and I think now she understand what I mean.”

“Pete, if you ever get the money to open one I can guarantee it will be a success. Especially if you did the fries like this!”

“Well, this is how Aunt Darla makes them. I don’t think anybody sells them this way, so you would have to get a machine to slice them also. She does it by hand, that would never work for a fast food place.”

Linda even managed to get her to give her the recipe she used, and I knew that was a family secret. That impressed me, and told me more than anything else that she approved of my choice in girlfriends. After the food was all gone we all headed up to take showers and get dressed for later in the evening. I spent quite a while showing Uncle Dave how the VCR worked, and we even sat back and watched again as I played the only tape we had with something already recorded on it, my game exhibition.

He laughed as he watched, and also said he got why it was a fun game to play. “Although I am not into all those tables, I bet it is a lot of fun to play.” And even he called Holly a “Bitch” when she turned on the other players, and said they should all kick her ass. Then when he understood she had been used, he looked slightly ashamed.

“Uncle Dave, that was how I wrote it. Yes, she was setting them up. But against her will. Think of it as magical blackmail. She did not want too, but she had no choice. That is part of what makes it so much fun. And why to do that adventure right, you really need a Kaos that is in on it so she knows what to do.”

He nodded, and when I said that Kim was probably going to run some games in the future, he nodded. “Kim, I bet will be just as good as you are Pete. You both like reading a lot, and while I never had that kind of book smarts, I have heard you two playing make-believe since you were a baby.”

We all laughed, and soon we were making our departure. We went ahead and drove through town a bit, and we showed her some of the other sites in town. We even showed her the rodeo grounds, and the Portneuf River. We spent some time walking through a park on the river, and I saw more than a few people glance at us as I held one of their hands in each of mine. “Careful Pete, or they might think you are one of those compound guys that believes in Polygamy” Kim giggled, and I joined in.

“What is that?” Linda asked, and we both explained to her that those were break-away LDS sects that still believed in a man having multiple wives. Kim explained that there were some in the area, but they largely kept to themselves. Shunned by most, they largely kept to compounds well out of town, and only came to town occasionally to get food and a few other things.

“Well, I might agree to share Pete to a degree, but I can’t imagine his having another wife. Let alone four or five of them.”

“I agree there baby, I only want one. Polygamy is something the LDS has been trying to pretend never happened for over a century now, but we all know the truth. Look in some of the records, and you will see a lot of unmarried “sisters” with kids living with another sister and her husband. It is not allowed anymore, but some groups have broken away, and do it even though it is illegal. We even get young boys in town from time to time. Once they hit around 16, most boys are kicked out of the compounds, but the girls are forced to stay and get married. It’s a crime and a scandal, but there is little that can be done about it.”

Linda was shocked, but I reminded her of Hollywood. After all, there were dozens living in an old hotel in town, mostly surviving on prostitution. And nobody did anything about it there either, why should it be any different here?

Finally, it was almost time for the game, so we headed on over. And there were even more people than last time! We met Doug, and he told us the first broadcast of the taping from the night before would be shown tonight, and Kim rushed off to use the phone to ask her parents to record it. And he also got ahold of Mr. Cummings, and got permission to use segments of the tape so they could be used in a later story.

“In short Pete, my editor loved it. It is a combination of many stories in one. A scandalous appearing topic, and things that kids are into that parents do not understand. But then we also have the angle of a local kid that had made a name for himself. And finally, throw in the fact that some of the local clergy have said it is not an evil game and it makes for a powerful story.”

“But you are back again?”

“Yep, this is going to be a three-part story, the first one is now background. Tomorrow it is going to be more about the game, with some shots of you all actually playing. We are going to film the entire game tonight, and then edit it down to a four minute segment with narration. Then we are going to have another one, with interviews with Pastor Frank, and several other people. Even Mrs. Dodge has agreed to an interview, and unless something changes tonight will likely admit it was not what she had thought it was.”

I told him that was great, and he told me he had permission to edit in the video from the convention. Kent had already loaned him his copy, and that he had seen it and it was a lot of fun to watch.

Soon we had started, and for the most part, it was routine. They had been badly mauled, but after the use of almost all of their healing spells and items, they were preparing to enter the lair of the Archmage. And as usual, they made plans on how to stage the attack. But right before they burst in, Kaos pushed by them all and hit the hidden button. Then entered the door saying “Like, they’re here your Exaltedness!”

Everybody was shocked, and several yelled at Linda. Even some of the thirty or so spectators that had gathered to watch were yelling at her, and she looked a little intimidated. This was more than we had ever seen before.

And Kaos Linda went to stand in the corner, as the Archmage called her his “pet”, and told her she had done well in bringing them here to their doom. I even had him describe how he was going to enjoy killing them all, and that the Captain and he were going to rule the town with an iron fist, killing anybody who did not do as they ordered. Then the fight broke out, and most were badly injured and one was unconscious when they finally took him down.

And then, the unexpected. Pastor Frank said he was going to run Kaos through with his sword. I had him roll, and he got a fucking 20! Roll again, double damage. He then rolled for his damage, and it was more damage than she could take. Kaos fell, unconscious and bleeding.

They left her in the corner bleeding to death as the spectators cheered, then they searched the room. Only then did they find the notes, including the one I handed over to Frank where it was described that Kaos was an unwilling pawn. Being forced to do so by a magic compulsion. At that, almost everybody lost it. They ran and tried to heal her, but she had been lying too long. Kaos was dead.

Pastor Frank was actually crying, and walked over to Linda, softly saying “Please forgive me”. She stood and gave him a big hug, saying it was alright, and it was only a game. The party was now pissed. They went back to town, full of rage. They did not even try to arrest the Captain as most groups did. They simply walked into the station and killed him. Then laid down their weapons and asked to be taken to the king.

I had them make several rolls for persuasion and managed to convince the king that the Captain was evil and had to die. In the end, he agreed. And rewarded them before banishing them for taking his law into their own hands.

I then took a few minutes to explain to everybody that in over two years of playing, this was the first time the party had killed Kaos. “Yes, she was completely innocent, forced to do that against her will by a spell placed upon her. Baby, hand around your character sheet. If you look, she is ‘Chaotic Neutral with Good tendencies’. If given a choice between good and evil, she will choose good almost every single time. In here, she simply had no choice. The magic geas placed on her ordered her to find a group that looked like they might be a threat, and to get inside of it and betray it at the worst possible time.”

Even Mrs. Dodge was shocked. “Pete, when Kaos turned, I thought maybe I had been right, and the game was evil. But now I see, that is not it at all, is it?”

“Nope, this is classic film noir here. Imagine Sam Spade taking a case from a gal, and going through a lot of danger. Only in the end to have her betray him to the bad guy, and that she had been trying to have him killed. And in response, he kills her. That is pretty much what happened here tonight. But only after killing her, does he find out she was blackmailed and forced to betray him, or say her son would be killed. Therefore she had no choice, it was all done to protect her son. If Sam Spade knew that, he would never kill her.”

She nodded, as did Pastor Frank. “The problem here is that when Pastor Frank said he was going to run her through. He basically got perfect rolls, and almost killed her in a single attack. In damage, it goes all the way down to negative ten. At zero, a player is unconscious, at negative five they are in a coma. Kaos was at negative eight when it was done, and bleeding one point of damage a round. At negative ten, the character dies. As the DM, I have no right to interfere with what a player does, I am supposed to be the neutral narrator. He did it, she is dead. However, if this campaign was to continue, he would now be in trouble. His fighter was Lawful Good, and his attacking and slaying an innocent without cause goes against everything he believes.”