The Arcana Club

“We should have a name,” Van said.

“A name?” Cindy asked. Despite the lack of seasonal activity, she was spending her time with the rest of us instead of in the pool where kids her own age were. If my only option was River, I’d choose the twelve year olds over her in a heart-beat too.

“Like a team name,” Van explained, “We’re superheroes. We’re a team. We should have a team name.”

“But we’re not out in public,” Nerves said, “We don’t need a name for that.”

“But if we wanted to formally meet,” Cas said, “We could be a club.”

“Yes!” I said, “We can plan club activities, which are actually just trying to figure out the situation with the sisters.”

Everyone agreed.

“We need names, and a cover story,” I listed, “Believable, so if anyone overhears us we can make up an answer.”

“Book Club,” Emmy said.

“They’ll ask what the book is,” Nerves said.

“Imagination Club,” Van said.

“Hard to make that exclusive,” Nerves said.

“The club where we go somewhere to get drinks so nobody will be there to ask questions,” Cindy said, “A coffee club I guess.”

“Mom would say no,” Van said.

“Moms would want to join,” Nerves said.

“Dad has some TTRPG books at home,” Cas offered.

“He does,” Cindy said, “We don’t have to explain what we’re talking about beyond it being a campaign, we can keep it exclusive, and if mine and Cas’ parents are ‘in charge,’ parents are less likely to object.”

“Now we get a team name?” Van requested.

“Could be a party name,” Cas said.

“The Arcana Club,” I decided, “Because Tarot is sometimes called the Arcana, and we’re supposedly playing games where we pretend to be magic.”

“The Arcana Club,” Cindy said.

The wind suddenly rushed around us. We all started looking for any signs of Autumn.

“Nothing,” Cas assured us, “Wind is just like that sometimes.”

The first official meeting of the Arcana Club commenced. Mr. Roddenstein insisted on running an actual campaign for us because the homework would help sell the cover story. He also seemed to just want to run an actual campaign.

To help with the cover story, he made our antagonists actually be named Autumn, Spring, and Winter, which would let him read any expressions on parents who’d recognize the significance.

“I don’t think the parents know anything,” I warned him, as the first person to arrive.

“People know more than they let on, parents especially. It’s worth covering our bases.”

I liked Mr. Roddenstein. He had a deep voice that sounded really cool, and aside from a paler skin tone, I could see Cas and Cindy looking like him when they were older. He was tall and a bit lanky, with round glasses that had transition lenses, so he kept a pair in the sun for effect when he’d run the game later.

“So you moved to Arizona because Talisman told you to?” I asked.

“Yes, and I’m grateful for it every day. I still visit New Mexico for holidays. All of us do.”

“Did you have a talisman for him to talk to you with? I thought your sister was Pestilence.”

“My aunt, not my sister,” Mr. Roddenstein half-answered, watching the door as it clicked and Van entered with their mom.

“Hello Mrs. Spenser,” he said, “It’s good to finally meet you.”

She took his outstretched hand with hesitation.

“Likewise. Van barely told me about this Arcana Club until yesterday, which is very unlike them.”

I stared at Van behind their mom. They talked about everything. If their mom thought they didn’t want to play, then the operation was blown. They gave a shrug.

“I told everyone to keep their character ideas under wraps until the first session,” Mr. Roddenstein said, “They must have committed a little too hard.”

Van and I let out a simultaneous breath of air. As much as Van loved to talk, they could also commit a little too hard to not talking. We attempted a silent reading time together once, and Van just used sign language for the next hour. They weren’t fluent.

“Oh that’s understandable.” Mrs. Spenser immediately loosened up, “Should I stay for the—”

“No!” Van and I immediately said.

“We don’t really want an audience,” Mr. Roddenstein said, “But Aisha has refreshments in the other room if you need a minute.”

“I might take it.”

Van and I stared slack-jawed at Mr. Roddenstein.

“How did you do that?” I asked.

“Mom hates people,” Van elaborated, “Who are you?”

“I’m Jonah Roddenstein, and I still have a few blessings left from my time as War. I tend to know what will set someone off, and can extrapolate from there what will make them comfortable. Your mother cares a lot about you, Van.”

“Yeah,” Van groaned, “She could afford to care a little less, though.”

“Blessings from War?” I asked, “So we’ll still have some of this stuff once we stop wielding our talismans?”

“It depends on how bonded your souls are, but probably, yeah.”

“Cool.”

“Can I get refreshments?” Van asked.

“Of course.” Mr. Roddenstein directed them toward the kitchen. I continued waiting for everyone else.

Nerves came next, immediately sitting next to me as his mom talked about him, using his actual name the whole time. He cringed every time she said it. I would too if I had his name.

Nerves’ mom left along with Van’s before Emmy’s mom brought her.

“It turned into a grocery run,” Emmy admitted. Nerves and I gave consoling nods. Luckily her mom left quickly because she had frozens.

We were quickly corralled over to the kitchen and their dining room table with everyone else.

“Alright,” Mr. Roddenstein said, “I assume you all have business to discuss, and I ought to gather materials for all of you to make your characters anyways.”

He and Mrs. Roddenstein left the room.

“Let us know when you’re ready,” Mrs. Roddenstein added.

“First order of business,” Cindy said, “Any progress with your talismans? Nerves, have you tried talking to Princess again?”

“I still hate her voice, but apparently she’s old friends with Lupus.”

“Oh,” Emmy said, “Are we soulmates?”

“Gross,” Nerves and I both said.

“Why?” Emmy asked. Neither of us had a good answer.

“Emmy,” Cindy said, “How are things with Lupus?”

Emmy reached into her backpack and proudly pulled out a sketch. Within a few weeks, her wolf proportions had improved to accurate, as far as I could tell. We all made impressed sounds.

“And I actually saw him. He’s beautiful.”

“Does he look like you when you’re transformed?” Van asked.

“I don’t know how I look transformed.”

“Beautiful,” I said.

Everyone agreed, Emmy blushed.

“Van, things still going smoothly with Invention?” Cindy asked.

“I have introduced Invention to the concept of Steampunk. We look very cool now.”

“Show us?” we all asked.

Van beamed as they said, “Invention.”

Their beanie was now a bomber hat with goggles. They had a leather jacket on them that went a little further than their torso, and for some reason they were wearing a skirt. I didn’t really see the steampunk in the look, but they did absolutely look cooler.

“Where’s your bag?” Emmy asked.

They put their hands in pockets their skirt had hidden, reaching their whole arms down into them.

We all gasped with envy.

“Here.” When combined with Invention, their voice had a metallic echo.

“Summer, any dreams?” Cindy asked.

I shook my head.

“No dreams, no talking, nothing. I mean, I’ve tried talking to her, but she hasn’t really answered.”

“Maybe you should try being a better listener,” Nerves offered.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means you’re not always easy to talk to if you don’t care about the subject, Summer. It’s just how you are.”

I pouted.

“Just, like, take five minutes of not thinking, and see if you hear her then.”

“Okay.”

I tried to empty my head of thoughts.

“Not right now,” Cindy said, “But that is good advice, Nerves.”

“Thanks.”

“Cas?” Cindy asked.

“Nothing new to report,” Cas said, “Except that I found this.” Xe pulled up xer laptop and showed a picture of a woman who looked weirdly familiar.

“That’s Julia,” Nerves said, “From the show.”

“Meet Lorraine Woe, Edward Woe’s wife, mother of Tarot’s current wielder.”

“So she was based on a real person,” Emmy said.

“And I think she did wield the light brother, or the other way around. She probably doesn’t know much, but if he’s in America now…”

“We can’t let them know he’s here,” Cindy said, “He would escalate the moment a member of the Woe family made landfall, and we wouldn’t be able to stop them from coming here.”

“But we should talk to her,” I said, some instinct pulling me towards it, “I think she knows something, and if she doesn’t, then we’ve figured out something.”

“How can we trust someone who wielded Chi—”

We all shushed Nerves.

“Yeah, whatever, the light brother. If she wielded him, could we trust anything she says?”

“Yes,” I said, or more accurately, Summer said through me, “Summer trusts her.”

Everyone stared at me. I smiled awkwardly, unsure how to parse what I just said either.

“Cindy, how are things with Death?” I asked.

“As well as they can be when you’re not sure you’ll be intact for the next fight. We’ve understood each other since I was a kid, but I don’t understand her obsessive trust, and she doesn’t understand the concept of having doubts.”

“Explain it to her,” Nerves said.

“Well aren’t you just full of advice.”

“Don’t you have three other people to talk to?” Van asked, returned from being Invention and now fidgeting with a pencil.

“I hadn’t thought of that. Cas, are you up for an experiment later?”

We started by building characters. The character sheets were multiple pages, but Mr. Roddenstein assured us we would only be using the one for most of play. For some reason I wasn’t reassured.

Van went with a magic character, already thriving in the game system, which they claimed was highly intuitive. I balked.

Nerves played a witch character, which meant he had to be a girl apparently. Mr. Roddenstein said he could ignore that rule, but Nerves didn’t mind.

Emmy played a character that could talk to animals, or at least one animal.

Cindy and Cas were told they weren’t allowed to make complicated characters, which confused me more because this already seemed complicated. Cindy played a healer, and Cas played a tank, because we were already heavy on casters.

I rolled up a thief character that accidentally stole the macguffin. Well, they stole it intentionally, but they hadn’t planned on it being dangerous.

Then Mr. Roddenstein gave a long lecture on how we were supposed to play, how there were no main characters, and how we needed to communicate if things were uncomfortable.

Then he showed us his collection of miniatures. Van and Nerves got extra excited about them, I liked the feel of them in my hand. We each found one that was sort of like our characters and presented them.

“I have books in the setting if you want them,” Mr. Roddenstein said. Van was the only one who raised their hand.

“I have novels too,” Mr. Roddenstein added.

I raised my hand at that.

“I thought so.”

Satisfied with our creations, and our discussion, we confirmed Cas was going to arrange a call with Lorraine Woe for all of us. Then we played card games until our moms picked us up. Cas and Van were both picked up by Van’s mom though.

“Where are you going together?”

“We’re going—” Van started.

“To drop me off,” Nerves explained, “Mom said that was going to happen.”

“Is that why your mom asked to stay?” I asked Van.

“Yeah.” Van said, holding their mouth closed like they worried about revealing something.

Nerves was definitely hiding something, and Van was involved in it, but what?

Mom picked me up, asked what we did, and I talked about what a session 0 was, but nothing really took my mind off the fact that Nerves may have lied to me.