Jabez, the war-hardened soldier, was no stranger to plans going awry, but this was certainly something else. It was one thing to get captured by bandits, but it wasn't until they figured out said bandits were actually a cult of crazy dragon-worshippers that, as James had said, things "got interesting". As of right now, that "interesting" meant waiting in a dungeon to be sacrificed by said dragon-worshippers, bound to his companions by rope

"Now, I know this looks bad," James began, "but I assure you that I have everything… under… control…" James' assurances were broken up by grunts of effort and shifting of the entire group across the stone floor. He was clearly trying to get free of his bindings, and wasn't having a particularly easy time.

"Bullshit, Jesse! I rolled a 17, not even factoring in the +4 from my dexterity modifier!"

Genji had never seen Dr. Ziegler angry like this, and certainly hadn't expected it to be caused by a board game. He didn't hate it.

Jesse only shrugged. "Maybe you shoulda taken proficiency in escape artist instead of relying on your attribute bonus, but whaddo I know?

"Goddamnit-" the Gunslinger continued to mumble.

Jabez wordlessly slid a switchblade into his hand from the inside of his sleeve, flicking it open with a well-practiced motion. The ropes fell limp, and the Soldier climbed to his feet. As James was still processing what had happened, Jabez cleared his throat.

"Back in my day, these cultists would've been shut down already. Get a move-on, people."

Armina, the Alchemist, let out a hearty laugh. "Justice will be done, my friend."

"Okay, but how're we gonna go around dispensin' justice if we're still stuck in this cell, huh?" James piped up.

There was an odd silence in the air, almost as though the four were mentally checking what talents they had that could be applicable to the scenario.

"I… have an idea," said Jiro, perhaps the fourth sentence the group had heard him speak since their first meeting. "There is a technique my brother once used to escape a prison carriage…"

…

James lay on the floor of the cell, doing his best to mimic a violent sickness. It wasn't long before the guards took notice, after which they decided to check on their prisoner - their lord would not be happy if the sacrifice was tainted, after all. As the door opened, they were greeted with the flash of a blade and a momentary scuffle, left limp on the stone before they could react.

The party moved swiftly and quietly through the halls of the (once-abandoned, now cult-controlled) ruins. Jiro led the way, darting his head from dusty corner to dusty corner, signaling to the others when they should stop, as well as when it was safe to continue. It wasn't that they weren't confident in their ability to defeat anyone that should challenge them (their weapons, out of some mixture of stupidity and poor planning, had been left in a box somewhat close to their cell), but the majority of the four were more comfortable with avoiding open combat until they had a better idea of the situation (Armina was the only exception, who had proposed a substantially louder course of action).

Voices were coming from up ahead, monotone and layered, and Jabez guessed it was a sort of chant. They were probably close to… something, whatever it was. The group followed the sound, moving even slower as to be completely certain that they wouldn't be given away by their movements. It wasn't hard to find the source, and as Jiro peeked around a corner, he saw an unsettling sight: an open chamber, featuring an unfortunate woman bound to a sacrificial table, and a robed figure in the center performing some sort of ritual, flanked on either side by rows of similarly robed individuals.

James stepped out into the chamber, hand floating above the grip of his trusty revolver.

"What the hell are you doing," Jabez hissed.

Ignoring him entirely, James waltzed further towards the back of the central individual, under the gaze of dozens of shadowed eyes.

"Creating a distraction," Jiro whispered back to his irritated companion. He realized that, with such a bold move, it would be easy to slip in and rescue the hostage. Mission accomplished. He closed his eyes and concentrated, stepping into darkness.

As he vanished from sight, the Soldier and the Alchemist were left wishing there was far more communication than there had been.

"Hear ya'll've been stirrin' up some trouble 'round these parts. Now, as a good samaritan myself, I can't leave that be, y'hear?"

As the one in the center started to turn, James drew his weapon in the blink of an eye and fired off six shots, each hitting their mark. Their robe was riddled with holes, the body underneath staggering.

Staggering, only for a brief moment. To James' dismay, the figure seemed to recover in close to an instant. Devilish laughter filled the air, and he shielded his eyes as a blinding flash filled the room. By the time it ended, the robe had been burned to ashes, and a horned being coated in red scales, glowing with arcane energy stood in its place.

"Alright, now, before we roll initiative, my stomach is achin' somethin' fierce. Ya'll want pizza?"

Angela was the first to speak, followed by Reinhardt.

"Why do you always have to interrupt the game right before the big fights, Jesse?"

"IT WAS JUST GETTING GOOD!"

"Well, we can keep goin', I'm just saying that it's gonna take a while before anything gets here, so we might as well order now, y'know?"

"Fine, order the pizza. Verdammt."

"Everyone good with pineapple?"

Genji looked around in confusion as Jesse was met with sounds of agreement.

"You all eat pineapple on your pizza?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah. We figured out one day that we all like pineapple, so we've just been gettin' that ever since."

"But don't feel like you need to, Genji, We all know it's a little bit of a weird topping," Angela interjected. "With this many people we would probably need to get two anyways, so we can order one with just cheese."

"Sorry, it's not that, Doctor, I was just surprised. I always used to want pineapple, but my… brother… would never let me. He said it was disgusting."

"Well, ain't that somethin? Two pineapple, then."