The room was silent as Kaiya, Jopha and Kelaki sat around a table scattered with hides and quills. To the side of the room, three green dragons lay crowded along the weyr’s ledge, looking toward the girls intently, their jeweled eyes whirling.

Jopha and Kelaki stared with bated breath as four ten-sided dice rolled across the table. They slowed, clattering to a stop. Kaiya noted the numbers the dice landed on, then checked the hides on the table, noting the numbers on each hide.

“So?” Jopha asked, breaking the silence. “What happens now?”

Kaiya smirked, enjoying the suspense. She took one more look at the numbers, then let out a loud, theatrical sigh.

“Your dodges are successful.”

Jopha and Kelaki let out breaths of relief, and the dragons rumbled in reply.

“The team narrowly escapes being crushed by the giant rolling ball by slipping into a crevice in the stone wall,” Kaiya recites, “The ball rolls past and falls through a hole in the floor, making a horrible crash as it lands. As the dust clears, everyone emerges from the crevice and takes stock of their situation.”

“I’m fine,” Jopha spoke up, “Just a little rattled.” She looked over at Kaiya. “Has the anti-transformation spell on Deimoth worn off yet?”

“It just did. Of course, it would have to be right after escaping the rolling ball that she could have crushed under her giant wherry claws…”

Jopha scowled. “Sure.”

“I’m all right,” Kelaki added, “And Laishanth reports that no one has come to the ruins since we entered, and she’ll continue to keep watch outside. She’s also very bored.”

“Better she stays outside than trapped in here,” Jopha said.

Everything looks fine here, Mabonth said delightedly, Shall we continue?

And so went the first campaign for the latest game Kaiya had discovered in the oldest wing of the Archives – a game in which the players could become heroes or villains, in a sophisticated version of Let’s Pretend.

The script – as Kaiya crafted it – called for five brave warriors, each with special abilities: Jopha was an old, wrinkled drudge (who happened to be the Master of All Drudges, thank you very much) armed with a magical frying pan, while Deimoth was her loyal wherry with the power to transform into a giant mutated version of herself. Kelaki was a miner with the power to find valuable ores through singing, and Laishanth was… a starship. Kaiya still couldn’t quite figure out how that one worked, but somehow it did. Lastly, Mabonth was a Weyrwoman with the power to speak to all dragons.

As the Dungeon Master, Kaiya was responsible for guiding the motley crew through a dark, abandoned Weyr, booby-trapped long ago by its crazy, dragonless last Weyrleader in order to guard his treasure.

“You walk forward through a long, dark tunnel,” Kaiya continued, “until you emerge inside a cavern filled with a pool of lava. Several large, ruined stones are scattered across. And directly in front of you lies a stone slab, and an intricately carved sign. The sign reads: ‘To pass, one must give up their greatest treasure.’”

Jopha and Kelaki looked at each other.

“If this is anything like the other puzzles,” Kelaki began, “it’ll probably make us give up something like life or sustenance, or something else valuable.” Her eyes unfocused as she listened to Laishanth. “Yes,” she answered, “like food or a drop of blood.”

“We’re down to our last meal at the moment,” Jopha pointed out, tapping her finger on an item list for their Bag of Holding. “I don’t want to waste a perfectly good meal on a puzzle.” She reached out toward a bowl of meatrolls and popped one into her mouth. “And Deimoth reminds us that the last puzzle required blood,” she continued, her mouth full.

We lost all our marks when we fell through the trap door at the entrance, Mabonth mused.

Kaiya peeked over the stack of hides she was holding and smirked. “Mabonth also reminds everyone that the team is flat broke.”

Kelaki sighed. “I could start singing and hope we find a chunk of silver…” She thought a moment, then nodded decisively. “I’ll do that!”

“You’ll need to do a skill check,” Kaiya answered, gesturing toward a set of roughly carved dice in varying configurations.

Kelaki nodded. “Of course.” She picked up a ten-sided die and tossed it across the table. “The first check to see if I overcome the silence potion I drank a few traps back…”

The die landed on 6.

“All right, there’s that,” Kelaki answered. “Now, let’s see if the sound bounces off the walls or gets absorbed.” She threw the die again, and it clattered to a stop on 8. “Yes!” she cheered, “it’s absorbed!”

“The sound of your singing voice flows through the walls and floor of the cave,” Kaiya said, “causing a minor earthquake. A small chunk of bronze ore falls from the ceiling and lands at your feet.”

Kelaki frowned. “That’s it? Bronze?”

Kaiya shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s how it goes.”

“It should have given us a bronze dragon instead of a bronze ore,” Jopha muttered.

Kaiya smiled to herself, then turned to Kelaki. “So what will you do with the bronze ore?”

Kelaki sighed. “I’ll give it as an offering. I hope it’s enough!”

“You place the bronze ore on the stone slab, and the cave rumbles,” Kaiya continued, “The stones scattered across the lava suddenly pull together to form a bridge to the other side of the cave.”

“Perfect,” Jopha said, “Let’s cross the bridge!” She didn’t see Kaiya’s menacing smile behind her stack of hides.

“You cross the bridge to the other side of the cave. As you move further through the cave, the light from the lava dims. When you reach the furthest corner, you see a pair of jeweled eyes in the dark, and hear a menacing growl.”

Jopha’s eyes widened, and she looked over at Kelaki. “That’s not good,” Kelaki murmured.

“From the shadows, an ancient bronze dragon emerges, with tattered, fouled sails for wings. He roars angrily, as if disturbed from his sleep. Behind him is a large pile of coins, jewels and chests.”

“That must be the treasure!” Jopha exclaimed.

“But what do we do about the dragon?” Kelaki asked.

Maybe I can talk to him, Mabonth answered.

Kaiya nodded. “Mabonth has volunteered to try and talk to the dragon.” She looked Mabonth’s way and said, “You’ll need to do an empathy check.”

Okay!

Kaiya smiled, knowing that Mabonth had no idea what that was. She picked up and tossed a die, which landed on 7. “Your empathy check passes, so you’ll know exactly what the dragon says from now on.

“He says: How dare you wake me from my slumber! I ought to eat all of you and go back to sleep with a full stomach!”

“Please don’t,” Jopha muttered.

“What do we need to do so you won’t eat us?” Kelaki asked.

“The dragon eyes you warily, then says, I sense magic among you. Cast a spell to restore my wings, so I may go between to follow my fallen rider.”

Kelaki glanced at Jopha. “You have the magic frying pan. Cook something for him to grow his wings back!”

“Didn’t I say we were on our last meal?” Jopha shot back. Kelaki raised an eyebrow at Jopha, then Jopha sighed in defeat. “Oh, all right. I pull out my frying pan and whip up a dragon-sized bowl of wherry noodle soup!”

“Skill check!” Kaiya piped up.

“Yeah, sure.” Jopha rolled a die, which landed on a 6. “The restoration spell is successfully mixed into the soup.”

“The dragon gulps up the soup hungrily, then lets out a roar as his wings are quickly restored to normal. His wings flap, turning the air within the cave into wind, and the dragon rises into the air.

“Mwahahaha! Finally, I’m free! Now I will exact my revenge on all those who oppose me, in the name of my fallen rider! He looks down at you with a horrifying grin, and his mouth begins to fill with fire!”

At this point, Kaiya could no longer hold in her laughter.

Kelaki stared back, horrified. “Wait – how’s that possible?” she demanded, “The dragon didn’t eat any firestone!”

“The restoration spell in the soup brought the dragon’s body back to the last time he was healthy,” Jopha replied in horror, “He must have been fighting Thread at that time…”

Meanwhile, Kaiya continued to cackle with glee.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” Jopha shot back, “What happens now?”

Kaiya wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. “You want to know what happens next?”

Jopha and Kelaki stared back at her earnestly.

A feral smile crossed Kaiya’s face. “So sorry, but that will have to wait until the next session!”

“Oh, come on!”

“Not on a cliffhanger!”

“But of course,” Kaiya replied cheerfully, “Gotta keep the story going. How else will I keep you guys coming back?”

There was an awkward silence between them for a moment.

“Don’t be silly,” Jopha answered hastily, “You know we’d come regardless of how this game goes!”

“Whether the game ends today or next sevenday,” Kelaki added, “what’s important is that we’re having fun!”

I agree, Mabonth’s voice echoed in Kaiya’s head.

Kaiya stared back at her friends in awe. “If you say so,” she said softly.

As they cleared the table and continued to chatter about the game, Kaiya’s thoughts were on planning the next session. What would happen after the team defeated the dragon? Maybe she should invent a curse on the treasure. Or maybe arrange for one of the team to be kidnapped and send the others on a wild chase to rescue them. Your Weyrwoman is in another Weyr.

Kaiya smiled to herself, and felt Mabonth’s familiar bubbly presence in her mind.

Whatever you come up with, I’m sure it will be fun! Mabonth said.

I’ll make sure of it, Kaiya replied, packing away the dice and character sheets with care, ready for the next time they embarked on a grand, magical journey.

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