A woman in a clean blue dress chases the four adventurers down as they attempt to exit the village the following in-game day. Although she clamors for their attention quite a few times, the group is so engrossed in their excited conversation they don't notice.

"Wait, please! Help me, Knight of Azora!"

As the woman gets closer, Adam receives a small notification pop up in the corner of his vision, a benefit to having a high 'Perception'. His three companions, lacking in all wisdom-based skills such as this, remain blissfully unaware of the woman's cries until the paladin turns to locate them.

"Fair lady! What can I do to assist you?" The human says, giving her his most reassuring smile.

Kohl and Seamus share a snort of laughter at Adam's attempt to role-play as a holy paladin.

"You sound like such a dork!" Kohl cackles, ever so helpfully.

Seamus quickly joins in on the Adam-bashing. "Just talk normally, weirdo!"

Orianna just stares at the both of them, one eyebrow arched. "Why do you guys even want to play a roleplaying game if you think it's lame?"

"I can kill stuff, set things on fire, take over a kingdom, tax the crap out of all my peasants, buy a billion cool items..." Seamus continues to list activities of a nefarious nature.

"Yeah, all that plus I can look like a smoking-hot pirate badass as we pillage." Kohl gives Seamus a high-five, grinning as the halfling struggles to reach her raised hand.

Adam, having chosen to ignore his friend's jeering, manages to calm the woman down enough so that she can communicate her request to the group.

"I heard you brave adventures were quested to kill the wizard; he has taken my son! Please, return my baby to me!"

For a moment, Seamus appears stunned. All three friends turn to watch his reaction, anticipating an incoming onslaught of rage.

"Seriously? Do the Towers & Tiefling's RNG gods have some kind of insanely strong grudge against me? This is exactly the kind of asinine mega lame-a--"

Orianna just sighs in relief, happy that the wizard is guilty of something and that the bartender didn't completely misrepresent him as being bad. She had been worried they had been quested to kill an innocent magic-user, and wasn't sure she could let her party go through with it.

"We'd be happy to return your child. What's their name?" Orianna says, worried that the game's algorithm would interpret the tiny man's tirade as a refusal.

The woman looks at Orianna, taking in her horns and pink skin. She then turns back toward Adam, her teary eyes pleading, searching for confirmation. It's almost as if the tiefling's words didn't matter in the slightest.

While this is going on, Seamus continues to complain about yet another toddler he has to find until tear droplets leak from the pirate's eyes as she laughs uncontrollably, doubled over.

Adam looks a bit reluctant as he reassures the woman of the party's acceptance of her task. He asks for a few more details about her and her son before letting her shuffle off, adding them into a 'Notes' tab on his player interface.

Afterwards, he lays a hand on Orianna's shoulder. "Sorry the game makes the townspeople act like such butts to you."

"It's okay." Orianna beams at him while continuously glancing at their point of contact. "Kohl did warn me this could happen when she and I first started talking about me joining the group. It's actually a very interesting aspect of the game; it's cool that the NPCs know enough to treat us differently."

"I'm glad you see it that way." Adam gives her a grin right back before asking, "Do you like the game so far?"

"Um, yeah! It can be a little...overwhelming, but it's fun playing with you. You guys, I mean. All of you." Orianna says, not quite meeting Adam's eyes.

Missing the blush that turns Orianna's cheeks a deeper shade of pink, Adam replies, "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon, but let me know if you ever have any questions! I love this game; I used to play with my brothers back home. Now that I've moved away and play with you guys it's harder to find the time."

"Do you miss your family? And your old school?" Orianna asks.

"Well, yeah, I miss them and all my friends from my old school everyday a ton. Also my girlfriend, of course. Long distance sucks."

Orianna winces before diplomatically saying, "Leaving our hometowns to go and board at some weird hybrid high school in the middle of a college campus certainly has its drawbacks."

Adam sighs, still reminiscent. "Yeah, I'm sure we all feel like this though, so I shouldn't complain. It'll be worth it when we get to skip two grades at the end of these two years, right?"

Before Orianna can reply, Seamus calls out to them and points to a certain pirate splayed out on the dirt groaning through her giggles about how her stomach now hurts.

Seamus seems so proud of his handiwork, smiling smugly. He gives himself a pat on the back.

Adam walks over to their fallen comrade, reaching out a hand to assist her in pulling herself upright. "Are we all ready to head out now? Seamus, did you get it all off your chest?"

"I mean, I'm sure I have it in me to complain some more, if you'd like. It's kinda my real life special ability."

"Uh huh. Maybe save it for the real life boss fights then, my friend." Adam takes a step back from a now-standing Kohl, allowing her space to dust off her leather garb. "Follow me guys."

The four adventurers set out with the artificial sun still low in the computer-generated sky. They traverse down the well-trodden dirt path leading out of the village, crossing paths with a lone traveler or roaming merchant with a cart full of wares every so often.

It doesn't take long for them to reach Starchasm Forest, and the holy boy scout does his best to move tree branches and thorny thickets out of his friends' way as they trudge through.

Progress is slow-going, as none of the four have much of a clue on where to go or how to get there.

"Wow, the 'Survival' skill is strong with this one. Bet you don't even have a plus one," Seamus quips as Adam attempts to make sense of the scribbles he had made back with the magic shop owner in both his 'Map' and 'Notes' tab.

"Yeah, probably should've bought a compass before we left. Kinda hard to know if we're headed in the right direction with just the sun to guide us." Adam squints up at the sky, looking for guidance. "I could pray to my god for some kind of sign, maybe. Wait, Kohl, your character is skilled in navigation, right? Wanna help me out?"

"Nah, that only kicks in with nautical maps, sadly. I'm useless on land." Kohl dismisses Adam's theory quickly, happy to remove herself from any possible position of authority.

Instead, she takes out her bow and notches an arrow, pointing it at a bird flying overhead. Target practice and a potential meal are much more interesting to the pirate than playing the part of a diligent and responsible guide.

While Seamus taunts Kohl for a missed shot, Orianna pulls up her character's user interface. "My map says we're currently heading in the direction of the Spire. What's that?"

Adam double-checks his own screen, then shrugs. "I don't know, I'm not seeing that on my end. Maybe click on the icon, see if it gives you any more information?"

"The Spire: the rumored site of the ruins for an ancient civilization. Terrain: mountainous. Distance: a day and a half on foot. See 'Ancient Artifact' in 'Side Quests'." Orianna reads in a monotone voice. She pauses for a second before asking, "When did we get a side quest?"

"We didn't," Adam explains. "All characters start with at least one, they usually have to do with your character's background. I'm guessing you've got to search the site for some new knowledge to bring back to your wizard mentor or something."

"I have a wizard mentor?"

Adam just laughs. "Don't worry about it too much, Orianna. It's just a way to get extra experience points or an additional ability. Totally doesn't matter to our main quest; we could skip it altogether and be fine. Share your map with my character, we can swing by if it's on the way."

Orianna does just that, with Adam's guidance. He studies his updated map with glee.

"Hey, this is great! It's totally in the same direction as the chasm, and I'm betting there's a chance we can spot the wizard's house from one of the hills. Thanks, Orianna! I bet we can have Kohl climb a tree now to see--"

A disturbingly realistic squawk gets Adam and Orianna's attention, letting them know one of Kohl's many arrows has finally hit a mark. With a sickening thud, the small, broken body of a bird lands at Adam's feet. The whole party watches in fascination as it disintegrates into tiny blue pixels. A notification pops up on Kohl's screen:

~One 'Bird body' added to inventory.~

"Hell yeah! I got one!" Kohl throws her hands in the air and jumps up and down.

"Only took you like a bajillion tries." Seamus says, then laughs as the bird-slayer flips him the bird.

"It's only a short bow, stupid. The odds are against me when I aim so far away."

"Excuses, excuses. Remind me to steal you a longbow later so you won't have any."

Interrupting their bickering, Adam asks, "Hey Kohl, can you climb a tree and see if you can spot some nearby ruins or mountain area? You have the highest 'Dexterity' out of all of us, so you should get a really high bonus to an 'Acrobatics' check." Adam reasons.

"What!" Seamus appears outraged. "My 'Dexterity' is way better than hers. I get a plus six to most skills!"

"Yeah, but..." Adam looks the halfling up and down, unsure that such a small stature can successfully make it up the twenty-something foot trees of Starchasm Forest.

"I can do it, dude! Five silver coins says I can even make it to the top faster than her."

"I'll take that bet. You're so tiny I bet you won't even be able to reach the branches." Kohl jeers, crossing her arms in haughty contempt. "I'd love to see the look on your face when I win."

Seamus scoffs. "Even if you do, I'll just steal my money back."

"Your hands go anywhere near my pockets and I'm cutting them off."

Seamus pulls one of Kohl's beloved shortswords out of his bag, grinning from ear to ear. "They already have."

"You piece of--"

Before Kohl can get the curse out, Seamus tosses the blade a few feet away then starts scrambling up a nearby tree. The half-elf dashes towards her treasured weapon, then sprints to a nearby tree of her own.

It's a close battle, but when Kohl shoots an arrow that slices clean through Seamus's hand, nailing it to his tree, she's able to quickly secure victory.

Ignoring the swear-filled screams of the rogue, Kohl communicates what she can scout from a couple dozen feet in the air down to Adam.

The party is on the right track, and with the leader now armed with the information he needs to keep it that way, things are looking well.

Except for Seamus. He manages to yank the arrow out of his impaled hand, but loses his precarious balance on the tree branch in the process and starts spiraling down towards the ground. Orianna shrieks as her friend's form falls fast, closing her eyes as she braces for the sound of impact.

Adam catches Seamus, quickly resting the rouge on the forest floor before he can protest. The paladin's fingers glow with golden magic as he seals up the hole in the halfling's hand, kneeling beside him.

Kohl gracefully descends from the tree top, eventually landing on her feet in the soft, green grass of the forest. There is no hint of remorse on her face as she grins at Seamus, triumphant.

"I'm going to kill your character in your sleep, Kohl. I hope it was worth it."

"Psh, please. You would've done the same if you'd thought of it."

Seamus purses his lips, unable to refute her ironclad argument. "Touche. You got me. It was an excellent play."

Kohl tosses her long brown hair back over her shoulder. "I know, right?"

Adam straightens, giving a smile that looks more like a grimace. "Well, now that I've wasted one of the few healing spells I can cast a day, let's maybe stop the friendly fire. Seeing as no one else has any healing capabilities whatsoever, we'd be screwed if we run into too many monsters."

Kohl pouts, unhappy to be indirectly reprimanded. "This is why I say you're boring, Adam. You can't seriously tell me you didn't find that funny, can you?"

Adam's serious facade cracks, revealing a more genuine smile. "It was pretty freaking funny, I have to adm--"

"What! Dude, she shot me!"

The paladin bursts into laughter. "I know! The things you said you were gonna do to Kohl's pirate crew in revenge were just hilarious. And then you fell out of the tree! Ah, it was amazing."

"Wow, so this is how you treat your best friend. How is your beloved god of justice going to feel about you laughing at innocent halflings being shot down for sport?" Seamus crosses his arms, playing the part of the pissed-off friend well.

Adam claps the rogue on his leather-wearing back, saying, "My god is smart enough to know you're far from innocent. Now, let's get going, yeah? We want to make the most of the daylight."

The party resumes their trek, off in search of ancient ruins and a cool spot to camp for the night. Even more importantly, monsters they can kill.

~~~

Word count: 2362

Total word count: 4587

T&T Handbook:

Friendly fire - a gaming term; when one inadvertently or purposefully hurts their teammates

RNG - a gaming term; an abbreviation for "random number generator", essentially synonymous with luck or chance

Shortsword - longer than a knife/dagger shorter than a standard sword, Kohl normally wields one in each hand (dual wielding)

Anything I miss? Let me know and I'll add it in!