Of Fists and Faith - A 5th Edition D&D Quest

"Have you ever had borscht?"

You shake your head. You've heard the name, but never had the opportunity to try it. But right now, you're up for trying something new.

"I make borscht then." Ludmila tells you, as she turns down another street. "Will take time though. Have cookies in meantime."

Leaving the hotel hadn't been that hard. You didn't have much on you, and while you're probably not getting a refund on the rest of your stay at the hotel, you're more than fine with that.

Ludmila had let Billy go, with the explicit threat not to follow him. To his credit, Billy actually agreed to it. Mainly because he wanted to be anywhere other than in the old Russian's presence, by the way he almost ran out the door the moment he was free. None of his buddies were waiting around either, which was good.

"So, what were you doing at the hotel anyways?" You ask. Ludmila lives in Grapevine, so she probably didn't need to go to a hotel, unless something was wrong.

"Ah, trying to help another young person escape Nazis. Turned out to be trap." Ludmila said. "Next time I bring friends. Or meet at park."

[Or you can call on your rage more often]

"Now now, Raskova." There seems to be amusement in her voice. "No one should be angry all the time! Do you want me to rage against silly fools on court shows and soap operas?"

[Yes! Half of them are idiots!]

You watch as Ludmila and Raskova start arguing about mundane things, like they hadn't been beaten up before you had intervened. And as you listen, it feels like a bit of normacy is returning to your world. It's just you and an old woman, taking a trip to get a hot meal and talk.

And it's within this normalcy, that the Mask falls back into your hands.

After the sudden surprise, you take a good look at the Raven Mask. You know it has something odd about it.

(Arcana Test: 6 + 1 (Int) + 3 (Guidance) = 10. DC 10//20. DC 10 Pass)

Alright, you know it's able to put itself on and off of your face, which isn't normal. Well, normal normal, not the new normal. And you felt… different. Not like a different person. More like you'd done this for years, and knew what to do.

But you knew you were a Monk of Mercy without the Mask. That was one of the main facts you knew since the hole in reality. A fundamental truth of your world. But that doesn't explain knowledge you shouldn't have known until you put on the Mask, even with Codex. So is the Raven Mask just a way to hide your identity? Or is there more?

You are missing a lot of context and information. And you can't make a decision until you can figure out it's secret. But you're thankful for it. Mainly because trying to figure out how to throw a punch in the middle of a fight would have been embarrassing.

[Wait, I thought you were a Monk. How are you casting Cleric Spells?]

"…I'm sorry, what?" Your entire train of thought just derails at Raskova's question. "I'm not casting spells!"

[That was Guidance you just cast. Looked so effortless I assumed you were doing it purposely. Have you not noticed?]

You want to protest, but then you remember you waving your left hand and saying things like "History" and "Religion". You barely even realized you were doing it after a while. It too, like your fighting, felt like second nature to you. You'd accepted it without much thought. Was that actually me casting a spell?

Then various scriptures come to your mind, reminding you that spells are something extremely against the Word of God. And of course, the first thing to pop to your mind is the Witch of Endor, mentioned in 1 Kings and The Book of Sirach. Obviously as a negative.

(Wisdom Save: 12 + 3 (Wis) = 15. DC: 15. Pass)

For a moment, you want to panic. But you force it down. There is probably a way to handle this. You just have to figure it out.

–

Crisis Point: Spellcasting. The Bible is clear that witchcraft is evil. Selune, on the other hand, can grant spells and is cool. How do you handle this?

[ ] - Pastor Jeremy was cool with people casting spells in D&D. You know that he's one of the few godly examples that wasn't corrupt. These are D&D spells. You're going to follow his example for now, until you settle your crisis of faith once and for all.

[ ] - Wait, wasn't Yahweh mentioned in magical spells before? Obviously, if it's magic invoking God, then it can't be evil. It's a stretch, but Codex Gygax currently has it as a possibilty, so until that changes…

[ ] - Obviously, Selune is granting you these spells. While this adds another contradiction between the two in a pile, it does mean you don't have to worry about it right now.

[ ] - Write In (Subject to QM Veto)

[ ] - Ludmila Interrupt

--

QM's notes: This update fought me a bit towards the end, and I'm not completely satisfied. But everything should be compliant with canon so far. And now you know you're casting Guidance. Also, as a heads up, Ludmila Interrupt wins all ties.

I will be up for about another 10 minutes or so, then I'm crashing.