TJ stuck his head in the room and called, “C’mon, guys, time to start!”
They stepped out into the bright sunlight to see that a tent had been erected. Allison figured it was probably meant to be a pavilion, since it had a couple streamers waving from its corners and apex, but the “J&R Party Rental” stamped in big letters sort of killed the effect.
She looked around at the thirty or so others who had converged for the weekend of gaming. As Allison had feared, there were almost no other girls present, though it occurred to her that she didn’t feel as out of place as she’d expected. The one adult woman in attendance stood nearby and was dressed in a green outfit similar to Stu’s. Next to her was a bearded man in a matching costume, and as the two murmured back and forth, they watched the play fighting of three children who looked to be between ages ten and fifteen. Occasionally one of the adults would call out a suggestion to the kids, and when the youngest took a sword in the face and burst into tears, the woman wrapped him in a hug. Realizing it was a family who had come together for the weekend, Allison smirked, idly imagining what half-human, half-whatever-Simon-was children would look like.
There were several other nonhumans within the group, though none of them appeared to have put the attention to detail into their makeup as Simon had. Those players who weren’t robed mostly wore shirts woven from gray or silver yarn to simulate armor, and a couple even had headpieces made from real chain links. Almost everyone had a weapon of some sort, either a staff or a sword or an axe, all padded and duct-taped for safety.
As the last person exited the lodge, someone nearby blew a trumpet fanfare and then shouted, “Hail King Robert of Livonia!” The crowd returned the shout, and one of the tent flaps opened to reveal a middle-aged man wearing a fur robe across his shoulders and a crown atop his head. The fur looked authentic; the crown looked like it came from a dollar store. Allison remembered her own helmet and decided that she shouldn’t judge.
There was a smattering of applause and cheering. One lone voice shouted, “Long live the king!” The king looked over in that direction and smiled and waved, then gave a little bow of his head in acknowledgment. Regardless of what his costume looked like, he sure looked like he was reveling in the attention.
“That’s the guy,” TJ whispered. “The one who owns all this land. Wicked nice when you get to know him. He’s like an accountant or a lawyer or something most of the time.”
“My people.” The king smiled broadly. There was a bit more applause. “MY PEOPLE!” His voice boomed this time, his arms spread out before him. This resulted in more cheering, though one person booed as people fully got into their characters. “My people.” His voice was softer now. The crowd edged closer. “These are dark times. Dark times indeed. In years past, our kingdom has cried out when in need of champions, and those among you stepped forward, took up the challenge, and returned victorious. As to the manner in which you approached these challenges . . . well, some were less acceptable to the Crown than others.” His eyes fell first upon Chuck, then moved on to several others as he continued. “But we can overlook that in light of your successes.” There was a little nervous laughter among the adventurers.
“But those challenges, those trials and tribulations, are but nothing compared to what we now face. A darkness has risen in the East.”
TJ chuckled. “It’s always the East, isn’t it? Sauron, Arawn, the Yankees . . .” The wisecrack spawned considerable laughter, and King Robert scowled in his direction.
“This is no joke, my people. There is a new threat that faces us, and not just us, but all the peoples of our world.” Now that got people’s attention. They were used to plots being based on only local happenings—some barony invading another, or a tribe of goblins passing through and raiding farmers’ lands. There were groups all around the country that laid claim to other parts of the world, and each group was mindful not to step on others’ toes.
“Word has reached us that a mighty wizard has arisen from the squabbles of the Arcanum in Estervary. We have long been protected here in the West from their internal struggles and from the fallout of their magebattles. This has been partly because of our distance and partly because none wanted to risk looking outward when their power base was still threatened by others.
“But that has all changed. One stands supreme amid the ruins of his rivals and is able to act unchecked—at least for now. He has turned his eyes westward, with thoughts of war and conquest. To be sure, there are many lands and many leagues between Estervary and us, but as each domino falls, he will gain momentum until he is unstoppable.”
A voice from the crowd called out, “But what of the rest of the Arcanum? As he moves westward, will they not try to topple him from behind?” It was all Greek to Allison, though it was obvious that most had all the background lore down.
The king nodded. “Indeed, that is always the way of these things. And while yes, history has proven that that is the inevitable conclusion, shall we wait until he has laid waste to our lands and has killed or enslaved our friends and neighbors?” His voice crescendoed. “Or shall we ride forth to meet him, to turn him aside before he comes within a hundred leagues? For myself, and for our people, I choose the latter.”
There was a general muttering within the crowd as the assembled heroes digested the information. Allison looked at TJ and said, “Wait, a hundred leagues? Isn’t that really incredibly far? Are we going to get on a bus or something? Couldn’t they have just emailed us this information beforehand and then pretended we’d already marched by the time we got here?”
He smiled. “Well, that’s kind of what we’re going to do. After we break camp and head out into the adventure, we’ll fast-forward to whatever part of the world holds the next encounter. We won’t actually go very far at all, but we’ll cross hundreds of miles of game terrain. Willing suspension of disbelief, and all that.”
“Like those horns Simon’s wearing?”
TJ snorted. “Yeah, exactly.”
The murmuring had receded, so their monarch spoke again. “Time is of the essence, my friends. You must proceed with all haste. The fate of not just our lands and people are in your hands, but so is the fate of everyone who lives outside of Estervary. Go now. Go with my blessings, and the blessings of the gods.”
With that, the crowd erupted into a cheer. The king gave one last wave before disappearing back into the tent. People began breaking up into small groups, which Allison presumed were their own versions of adventuring parties. She looked around at the boys she was going to be fighting beside for the next two days in their costumes and—in Simon’s case—makeup. A surge of adrenaline streamed through her as she convinced herself that she was off to do battle with evil monsters and save the world.
She grinned. “OK, let’s go knock some heads.” Then she turned toward the woods.
“Wait, Allison,” called Simon. “We can’t leave quite yet.”
“Why not? What about due haste and all that stuff? The fate of the world is in our hands. Shouldn’t we get going?”
“Well, yes, and no. Look around. You see all those other parties here?”
Allison counted six other groups. “Um, yes?”
“Well, there aren’t enough NPCs—nonplayer characters—for everyone to run off fighting at once. The first group goes out and we give them half an hour, and then the next group goes out and the like. That gives each group time to complete a particular encounter, either killing some monsters or discovering a hidden cache or interviewing a local person, and lets the NPCs set back up for the next group to come through. In the meantime, we just sorta hang out here and shoot the breeze. We can head back into the tavern until our number is called.”