A Roll of the Die - 1. Inception

Matthew Kincaid's eyes snapped open, and strange smells overtook him -- smoke, candle wax, and a musty smell -- none of which made any sense. After a few seconds, his mind screamed that something wasn't right. He blinked a few times, clearing the morning blurriness from his eyes. He was in a bed that wasn't his, in a room that wasn't his, and where his desk should have been, an oil lamp on a stand burned dimly.

He heard the distant sound of horses in the stable and the gentle clatter of pots from the kitchen. Oiled paper covering the window let in a diffuse, honey-colored light, and he could feel a cool draft sneaking in through a crack near the window. A chill hit him, but he was strangely warm.

A wool blanket rubbed roughly against his skin, but that was not the source of the warmth. In the bed, pressed against his side, under the same blanket, was the unmistakably feminine and entirely nude form of his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Miriam Simpson. Her familiar dark hair was splayed across his chest, her bare skin warm and smooth against him.

The intimacy of their tangled bodies sent a jolt of disbelief through Matthew's mind. Not only was she here, but she was with him in a way he hadn't ever experienced -- their limbs entwined like true lovers. He had to be dreaming; he was sure of it. Was it possible to dream that you woke from a dream while still dreaming?

He didn't know, but that had to be the case. Nothing else made sense! If it wasn't a very vivid dream, and Miriam's mom found her in bed with him, he didn't like his chances of surviving to his nineteenth birthday.

Matthew closed his eyes, willed himself to wake, then opened his eyes to find nothing had changed. He felt awake, and no dream had ever been this vivid, nor had he ever been in bed with Miriam, and he certainly would have remembered if he had! Thoroughly confused and not knowing what else to do, he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take him, though if it was real sleep or dream sleep, he couldn't be sure.

Sometime later, he woke again, this time absolutely certain that he was awake, not dreaming, but his situation had not changed -- strange bed, strange room, naked girlfriend in bed with him, her warm, soft body pressed against his. What in the world had happened? And perhaps more importantly, where in the world were they?

As his head cleared from the fog of sleep, he understood they weren't in Miriam's bedroom, nor were they in his bedroom. In fact, they appeared to be in a room in a rustic inn of some kind, though he certainly had never been in one before. As he looked around, it also seemed eerily familiar. He couldn't explain why, but it felt as if he belonged; as if it were a place very familiar to him.

Miriam, who was still sleeping next to him, stirred, and he wondered how she would react to the intimate contact. As far as he could remember, they hadn't moved beyond kissing. The challenge was that he was so disoriented at the moment that he didn't trust his memory. Thankfully, Miriam didn't wake up, so he had more time to ponder the weird situation. She did, on the other hand, snuggle closer, and he felt hair he had never seen nor touched.

Matthew closed his eyes once again, trying not to focus on the parts of her body that were touching him, and thought about the last thing he remembered. They had been playing in a Wednesday evening session of their regular Dungeons & Dragons game, using the 3.5 rules, like any sane group, something he had done for the past two years, though Miriam had only joined their group a few months before.

Try as hard as he might, Matthew could not remember the end of the gaming session. Nor could he remember taking Miriam home, nor going home himself. His last clear memory was of a saving throw he and Miriam had both failed against a mind-control spell in the game. That memory triggered others, and he had a sudden realization.

The reason the room was familiar was that...it was from the game!

Unfathomably, Matthew realized they were in the room at the Grinning Griffin Inn, precisely as described by Kevin, their Dungeon Master. As that realization hit him, he noticed the rough wooden beams overhead, darkened by years of smoke and soot, and the slightly musty scent of old straw in the mattress, exactly as Kevin had described them.

As the details assaulted every sense, the room's overwhelming reality became oppressive and almost suffocating. Matthew's mind reeled -- how was that even possible? He had to be dreaming! There was simply no way that he and Miriam were in the Grinning Griffin Inn. It was just not possible, no matter how real it might seem.

"Matt?!" Miriam exclaimed, recoiling from their intimate contact. "What are you doing?! Why am I naked?! Why are YOU naked?!"

"I don't know," Matt replied, moving as far away from Miriam as the bed would allow. "I don't remember anything after you rolled the natural 1 on your saving throw."

"I remember that, too! But after that, my mind is blank!"

"Look around," Matthew suggested.

Miriam raised her head and gasped, "The room Matthias and Miri share at the Grinning Griffin Inn! But how?!"

"I have no idea," Matthew replied.

"Where are my clothes?" Miriam asked.

Matthew looked around and spotted them on a chair, but they weren't Miriam's clothes; they were Miri's sorceress robes! On the small table next to them weren't his clothes, but Matthias' garb, that of a swashbuckling rogue! Also on the table was his rapier. It made so little sense to him, he was certain it had to be some kind of trick, though he struggled to understand it.

"On the chair," he said. "But look!"

Miriam gasped, "Miri's robes? What's going on, Matt?"

"I have no idea! Matthias' clothes are here, too."

"Uhm, Matt, did we..."

"I think I'd remember that! Don't you?"

"But I don't remember anything after I rolled that natural 1!"

"Me neither," Matt replied. "We have to be dreaming!"

"Both of us?" Miri asked in disbelief. "At the same time?"

"Unless you believe we were actually transported to Nystria!"

"What do we do now?" Miri asked.

Matthew considered for a moment, and they really only had one option, at least until they figured out what was going on.

"What Matthias and Miri would do," he replied tentatively.

"They're lovers!" Miri exclaimed in astonishment.

"I didn't mean that!" Matthew nervously replied. "Let's get dressed, go down to the common room, get something to eat, then figure out what happened and how we can get home."

"What about money?" she asked.

"I suspect if you check Miri's pouch, you'll find silver and copper coins."

"I'm naked..." she said, allowing the sentence to hang in the air to see how Matthew would respond.

"I'll turn so you can get up," he offered.

Matthew -- Matthias -- turned on his side to face away from Miriam, and Miriam -- Miri -- quickly scrambled out of bed. She found her linen undergarments and pulled them on, then donned her robes and the heavy silver medallion all mages were required to wear.

"Your turn," she said as she slung her pack and tied her pouches to her cord belt.

Miri turned away as Matthias got out of bed. She was tempted to look, but he hadn't even tried to look at her, so she waited until he indicated he was dressed before she turned.

"Do you have your mana crystals?" Matthew asked.

"You don't think..." Miriam said skeptically.

"I don't know what to think!"

Miriam, now acting as Miri, her in-game persona, opened her special purple pouch and saw ten glowing red crystals that pulsed slightly in sync with her heartbeat. If they worked...but they couldn't, could they?! She took one crystal from the pouch, closed her hand around it, concentrated, focused, and silently cast a simple protection spell.

The crystal pulsed in her closed hand, mana flowing from her body into the focus crystal, and to her complete surprise, a blue glow surrounded her. She opened her palm and saw that the mana crystal no longer glowed, indicating it had discharged.

Matthew, in complete disbelief, moved to her and tried to touch her, but the blue aura repulsed his hand with a slight tingle similar to static electricity. He tried throwing a punch, but his fist could not penetrate the blue glow, glancing off to the side.

"Oh, my gods!" Miriam exclaimed, using the phrase Miri would have used. "Magic works!"

They waited, and after a short time, the aura faded, and Matthew could touch Miriam's arm.

"What's happening?" she asked, confused.

"I have no idea," he replied. "I'm going to surmise I'm skilled with the rapier, sling, dagger, and light crossbow, as well as in stealth and lock-picking. But as I said, let's worry about that later. I'm famished, and I need to eat. Remember, we're Matthias and Miri, not Matthew and Miriam, at least until we figure out what's going on."

They gathered their things and left the room, heading down the stairs to the common room of the inn. As Matthew, now using his Matthias persona, had expected, he saw Tristan, Karla, and Milos, the other members of their adventuring party. He was not at all surprised to see that Tristan had Dari, the Innkeeper's daughter of just fifteen years, on his lap. Nor was he surprised by the disapproving look from Iosif, the Innkeeper.

Matthias and Miri, acting in character, took their usual spots -- at least the ones Matthew and Miriam had chosen for their characters in their D&D game. Dari got up to get them their usual breakfast of porridge, bread, and cheese, along with dandelion tea. Miri was sitting next to Karla, who, in real life, was her close friend, Carol Forester, who had invited her to join the D&D group.

Miri recalled the backstory Carol had developed for Karla. Her father was a retired Army scout; her mother spun wool yarn, brewed ale, and kept the hearth. Life had been hard but stable until brigands -- most likely Razor Claws -- had raided their farm for some unknown reason. The attack had been swift and merciless, and Karla, then having only fifteen years, had watched from the hayloft where she had hidden with her father's old bow as her parents and younger brother were killed.

In the chaos, she had nocked her first arrow -- not out of training, but raw terror. She killed two raiders from the shadows before the rest set the barn ablaze. She had barely escaped the flame and smoke and had sought refuge in the woods, where she had only ever foraged. She learned tracking, trapping, and hunting skills from necessity, drawing on stories her father had told, surviving by her wits alone, until she felt it was safe to return to Langford, where she had met Milos.

Miri wondered how to talk to her, unsure whether the weird experience had affected all of them. Given she had no idea, she decided to be subtle.

Miriam's own memories surfaced unbidden -- her father vanishing for cigarettes when she was four, leaving her and her mother to scrape by in Newtown. Life as Miri offered escape from that ache, from Turpin High School's drudgery, and the chance to truly be with Matthew. She pushed the guilt down; staying felt like the first real choice she'd ever had.

"Did anything out of the ordinary happen last night?" Miri asked.

"No!" Karla replied mirthfully. "Milos lasted about thirty heartbeats, then fell asleep immediately afterwards!"

Everyone in the adventuring party laughed at the 'in' joke. That response made Miriam think the effect -- or whatever it was -- only affected herself and Matthew. That made some level of sense, as their characters -- Matthias and Miri -- had been away from the others in the party when she'd failed her saving throw.

While he waited for his breakfast, Matthew wondered how to break the spell, or geis, or wake from the dream, or whatever it was that had them in Nystria. Perhaps all that was necessary was to sleep another night, and they'd wake up in their own beds in Newtown, Ohio. If that didn't work, they'd need to figure out a way to get home. Not being able to do that would require them to adapt to a reality in which they were lovers who adventured together along the Nystrian Coast. Matthew pushed that thought aside, as he wasn't about to succumb to defeatist thinking.

He thought back to the new campaign they'd begun the previous week -- Matthias and Miri had been waylaid on their way to meet their companions on a quest to rescue a kidnapped merchant, Isaac of Southham. A wizard, Kranos the Arcane, had cast a mind-control spell on them, and Miriam had rolled a natural 1 for her character, Miri. The next thing Matthew remembered was waking up with his naked girlfriend snuggled next to him as if they were Matthias and Miri.

Matthew realized the food was not anything like he'd imagined -- the porridge was bland, the bread hard, and the cheese hard and odd tasting. In all the four years he'd been playing D&D, it had never crossed his mind how the food might actually taste. But it wasn't just that; the inn had an odor, something he was certain was a result of the old rushes on the floor and the bodies of the travelers who had slept at the inn.

The quintet ate their breakfast, paid Iosif for the meal, and rose to leave. Tristan kissed Dari, drawing an evil look from Iosif, then the adventuring party left the inn. Matthew took stock of the surroundings, recognizing them from the game, and weirdly, from his memories as well. He had, strangely, not just his own memories, but memories from Matthias, his in-game persona.

His traveling companions all matched the descriptions his friends had given when they'd created them. Milos, a budding knight who was wearing a chainmail shirt, was brawny and stood just over six feet, with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Tristan, a fighter wearing leather armor, was about an inch taller than Milos and was muscular, with bright blue eyes and shoulder-length, wavy golden-blond hair that fell around his face rather than being bound back. Both Milos and Tristan sported neatly trimmed beards -- full on Milos, lighter stubble on Tristan.

Karla, the ranger, stood a lithe five feet eight, and had long jet-black hair parted in the middle and dark brown eyes. Then there was his girlfriend, Miriam -- Miri in the game -- who was an inch shorter than Karla, with long black hair flowing over her shoulders, dark eyes, and a soft, rather than toned, build, befitting a sorceress.

Matthew didn't have a mirror, but he was certain he looked like Matthias -- six-one, dark-brown-haired, dark-brown-eyed, and medium build with a neatly trimmed beard.

"Dari said the bandits frequent the woods about a half-hour's walk northwest," Tristan said.

"You're going to need to join the bandits and become an outlaw if you don't figure out how to convince Iosif you're a good guy before you pluck that rose!" Karla teased.

"Let's focus on the task at hand," Milos suggested firmly. "We can save the jests for when we're drinking ale later!"

Everyone agreed, and they set off, walking northwest along the road leading from Langford, where the inn was located, to Fulham, a port city.

"Do you have a plan, Tristan?" Matthew, speaking as Matthias, asked.

"Dari says according to her friend, there are only five members of the band in the woods, and they don't have any mages," Tristan replied. "We scout and take down their sentry or sentries by stealth, putting the odds heavily in our favor. The way I see it, you and Karla can manage that with magic support from Miri."

Miri fretted because she didn't know how to tell the others she only had nine crystals until she'd have a chance to sleep for eight hours, as she couldn't explain why she had needed to test her magic without her friends asking difficult questions she would be unable to answer. Even if she could get another stone, it wouldn't help, as the mere presence of more than ten stones meant none of them would charge, and she could only use stones she charged. Spare stones wouldn't help, either, because any stone further than about five paces from the mage would lose its charge.

All of that meant she wasn't quite as prepared as Tristan assumed she was.

"That sounds like a good plan," Karla agreed. "Matthias and I take down the sentry or sentries; then the group attacks the remaining bandits."

"If it's just one, with no others in range, I'll go for a stealth kill," Matthias offered. "Miri can cast a muffle spell to enhance my stealth."

That would require the use of another crystal, which meant Miri had to be extremely careful, as her offensive spells each required the power of two or three crystals to cast. Her best spell, which conferred forty-five seconds of invisibility, required five crystals. There were even more potent spells, but so far, she hadn't found anyone who would teach them to her.

The road was only lightly traveled, and any merchant who dared follow it would need at least one man-at-arms to guard him or risk being robbed by brigands or outlaws. The small band of adventurers was at little risk from the blackguards, as the martial skills of both Milos and Tristan were obvious to even a casual observer. Miri was dressed in the robes of a sorceress and displayed her medallion, which would give any attackers even more pause, as the few who possessed the skill were notoriously dangerous.

The journey gave Matthew more time to think about what had happened, but his mind constantly turned to the sensation of Miriam's naked body pressed against his. In the Real World, they hadn't progressed beyond kissing, and Matthew hadn't even tried to put his hand on Miriam's breast over the fuzzy sweaters she usually wore.

In the Game World, her small, pert breasts had been pressed against his body, and she'd had one arm and one leg thrown across him, and her head had been on his chest. He struggled to put those thoughts aside and focus on the actual problem -- how to return to the Real World. He had too promising a future to abandon it, not to mention that he had no desire to live without all the technology available.

Miriam had similar thoughts, but her goal was precisely the opposite. In the Real World, she and her mom had struggled since her father had gone out for a pack of cigarettes and simply disappeared about a week before Miriam turned four. She had dreamed of a life like Miri's, and that had influenced her roleplaying. Was it really possible she could live the fantasy life she'd invented for her D&D character? In a sense, it would be a dream come true.

In the Game World, Miri had seduced Matthias, hoping that Matthew would follow suit in the Real World. That hadn't happened as he was as inexperienced as Miriam, and his self-consciousness and nervousness were evident when they shared simple kisses. Miriam had asked him that morning if they'd made love, hoping it might encourage him if he thought they had -- something their characters had regularly done in the Game World.

Miriam wanted to be Miri so much that she would be happy to never return to her life in Newtown, Ohio. She wondered what her mom and friends would think about her disappearance, but considered she might be in a coma, trance, or something similar. Whatever it was, Miriam wanted to stay in Nystria as Miri and live the life of a teenage sorceress and, more importantly, to make love with Matthew as Matthias.

Matthew, on the other hand, had been champing at the bit to leave Newtown, just east of Cincinnati, to start at Harvard in the Fall. He'd taken up swordplay for the SCA -- the Society for Creative Anachronism -- and had turned his skill with the rapier into a full fencing scholarship, using a fencing foil.

Without that, his blue-collar family could have only afforded to send him to a State school without borrowing a ruinous amount of money. An Ivy League education depended on a scholarship because, while his grades were decent, they weren't good enough for purely academic entry into Harvard. A law degree from Harvard was his ticket to an excellent career with fantastic earning potential.

The only thing about his plans that gave him pause was leaving Miriam, his girlfriend of six weeks. She was two years younger, which meant she had two more years of High School, meaning, at most, they would see each other on breaks. That would be tough enough, but there was no way she could attend Harvard. It would be at least six years before they could be together, and even then, he'd have no way to support her, as he wouldn't have finished law school at Harvard.

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, as further concern about that problem had to take a back seat to figuring out how to return to Ohio. Miriam also refocused her thoughts as they reached the path into the woods and began to think more like their alter egos, Matthias and Miri.

The band of adventurers turned onto the path, with Karla taking the lead, as was the norm, she was the ranger, after all. Tristan followed about six paces behind her, walking 'slack' as Kevin, their Dungeon Master, had called it, and the other three were about six paces behind him. The narrow path cut through the underbrush, roots snagging at boots that felt both familiar and unfamiliar -- familiar to Matthias, but a far cry from the sneakers Matthew typically wore.

Matthias kept his breathing shallow, feeling the rapier on his hip, something Matthew had never felt, handling a rapier only when he had fenced, never having it in a scabbard hanging from a leather belt. Dust and the smell of pine sap filled his nostrils, and he could even taste the sap, along with damp earth, as he breathed. Behind him, Miri moved like she had been born to these woods, moving with a confidence that made his stomach knot tighter than the leather straps of his pack.

Every five paces, Karla stopped and held up her hand, indicating to the others to freeze so she could listen. Each time, after waiting a silent count of fifteen, neither hearing nor seeing anything, she lowered her hand, and they would continue moving. It was the seventh time she stopped when she heard something and signaled for Matthias to move forward, a signal Tristan relayed.

Matthias turned to Miri, who extracted a crystal from her purple pouch. She touched his arm and whispered the words of the 'muffle' spell, casting it on him. A faint blue glow and a tingle on his arm informed his senses that the spell had the desired effect -- enhancing his already excellent stealth skills.

Matthias moved as quickly as stealth would allow and crouched next to Karla, who pointed and held up one finger. Matthias nodded and crept silently to his right, at a slight angle away from where Karla had pointed, attempting to flank his prey. After moving quietly for a dozen short paces, he saw his target -- a brigand dressed in dirty, tattered leather armor -- and decided to use his dagger for a sure, silent kill.

Unobserved and undetected, he came up slowly behind the brigand. When he reached him, he sprang up, put his gloved palm over the brigand's mouth, and drew his razor-sharp dagger across his target's exposed throat. Blood spurted from severed vessels, and the man's grunt of surprise was muffled by Matthias' gloved hand. The brigand collapsed almost immediately, his lifeblood draining from his body onto the ground.

Matthias quickly wiped his dagger on the dead man's tunic, though his stomach turned at what he had just done, and he tasted bile and iron. Even so, his hands did not shake, something that frightened him more than the killing. He crept stealthily back to Karla, using a finger drawn across his throat to communicate success.

As he waited for Karla to move forward, Matthew contemplated that he had just killed someone. Or had he? Was this the real life? Or was this just fantasy? He hoped for the latter, as he couldn't fathom himself as a killer except in roleplaying, which this had to be, at least in some way. It had to. If it wasn't, then what had he just done? And what would he have to do? He cleared his head as best he could, focused on the game, and watched Karla advance.

Four steps later, she stopped once again and signaled for Matthias to move forward. He crept up to her, and she pantomimed that there were two targets. She indicated she'd take one down with her bow while Matthias took down the other by stealth. Matthias nodded his agreement and moved off in the direction Karla had indicated while she melted into the trees to use as cover and nocked an arrow.

Matthew suppressed his concern that it might NOT be a game and prepared to do what he had to do. Acting as Matthias would in the game, he crept around and saw that his target was wearing an old metal breastplate that also protected his neck. That meant either a backstab or a crossbow bolt rather than a dagger across the throat. He decided on the bolt and took his light crossbow from its sling on his backpack. He carefully used a lever to cock it, taking advantage of the last few seconds of Miri's muffle spell, and loaded a bolt. He brought the crossbow to bear on the brigand and waited for the birdcall signal from Karla.

When it came, Matthias loosed the bolt at once, hearing the twang of Karla's bow just a split second later. Both projectiles found their marks with a wet thwack -- Karla's arrow in her target's heart and Matthias' bolt in his target's spine. As both brigands dropped to the ground, Milos and Tristan quickly advanced to administer coups de grâce, though it was only necessary for Matthias' target.

Taking down the remaining two brigands was short work for the two swordsmen -- steel against steel, followed by grunts as swords found their marks and blood spilled onto the leaves littering the ground, and soaking into the rich earth. Silence rushed back in, thick and heavy. The forest now smelled of death -- warm blood, voided bowels, and the sharp tang of spilled guts.

Matthias lowered his crossbow, his pulse hammering in his ears. Miri appeared at his side, almost by magic, and touched his arm.

"Just like the game," she whispered. "But real."

"Too real," Matthias sighed, thinking about the men he had just killed.

They moved forward to join the swordsmen who were scouting the nearby woods, but the kidnapped merchant was nowhere to be found, nor was the bandit leader. The adventuring party quickly searched the camp, but found nothing other than tattered blankets and bedrolls, and the usual detritus of camping, including hot coals in a ring of stone.

The party moved among the corpses, stripping coin pouches, rings, and a crumpled note that mentioned a merchant bound for Fulham. Karla's fingers lingered a heartbeat too long on a silver clasp shaped like a raven's claw, as the memory of the last time she had seen one haunted her. She removed and pocketed it, satisfied, even two years later, with retribution.

Matthias turned his attention to Miri -- Miriam -- his chest tight, and wondered how many more deaths would occur before she stopped looking like she belonged here -- and before he stopped wishing he didn't. Having completed what Matthew saw as the grisly task of robbing corpses, they gathered to plot their next steps.

Following a lengthy discussion and another search for clues, the band of adventurers set off northwest for Fulham, where the Ful River emptied into the sea. A note found at the camp suggested that the merchant had been taken there, along with the plans he had acquired for what was claimed to be a magical device capable of opening any lock in a matter of seconds, no matter how secure or protected against picking.

🎲🎲🎲

Fulham had just over 10,000 inhabitants, many of whom drew their income from sea trade or fishing. It was the fourth-largest city in Nystria and, of course, had the usual collection of tradesmen -- smiths, tinkers, coopers, fletchers and bowyers, millers, bakers, weavers, fullers, and merchants, to name a few, as well as inns, taverns, and other typical amenities. There was also a small college with about thirty students.

As the band of adventurers approached Fulham, the muddy road, which sucked in the horses' hooves, gave way to hard-packed gravel, making for an easier ride, and changing the scents from manure and woodsmoke to the varied smells of the city -- a mix of stale air, stale ale, and refuse, much harder on their noses than the sweeter scents of manure and smoke.

When they entered the city just before the gates were locked for the night, each had an agenda besides the mission for which they had been hired. For Miri, it was to find someone to teach her a powerful new spell. For Tristan, it was better quality leather armor. For Milos, it was to find someone to train him in sword-and-shield techniques. For Karla, it was the materials necessary to restring her bow, along with high-quality arrows. For Matthias, it was a new pair of boots, but more importantly, for Matthew, not thinking as his alter ego, it was to find a way home.

Most of that -- except Matthew's search for a way home -- would take a backseat to locating the merchant and recovering the plans for the lock-picking device, which would earn them a significant bonus, and, for Matthias, something to do while he sought a way back to Ohio.

Their first stop was the Soaring Falcon Inn, where they would eat, rest, and attempt to gather information. When they entered the brightly lit, smoky, noisy inn, Milos spoke to the innkeeper to arrange for three rooms so they would not have to sleep in the common area. He and the innkeeper haggled over the price and reached an agreement that included their meals, and coin changed hands.

Matthew had considered raising an objection, but that would be out of character for Matthias, and Matthew had to maintain his façade. He was absolutely certain that Miriam agreed, as she seemed to be totally at ease in their new circumstances, something that was not true for Matthew.

Miriam, for her part, was looking forward to sleeping in Matthew's arms, not as Miri and Matthias, but as Miriam and Matthew. That said, she wasn't averse to a bit of roleplaying, if that was what it took to get her boyfriend of six weeks to make love to her. She was still a virgin in the Real World and wouldn't make love with just anyone, but she was convinced, despite their short time together, that Matthew was 'The One'.

The five friends ate ravenously, though Matthias was unimpressed with the quality of the food. The food at the SCA events was far better, but this was, he was sure, more authentic medieval fare. While they ate, Tristan, true to form, flirted with one of the serving girls, who appeared to be about sixteen.

She was, Karla noted, exactly Tristan's type -- young, pretty, and innocent. Karla was fond of Tristan, but he collected maidenheads the way Lords collected taxes. Milos, on the other hand, was loyal, honorable, and faithful to her.

"Another rose to pluck?" Karla asked Tristan after Lisette, the serving girl, moved away.

"I'm the best rose plucker in Nystria! The roses are properly plucked, and the field is properly ploughed, though never fertilized."

He made sure of that by providing the freshly ploughed maiden with silphium, an herb that brought on their cycle, thereby ensuring the seed had no chance of germinating. Both Miri and Karla used it to ensure they did not become burdened with a child in their wombs, taking it a day or two before their cycle would typically begin.

Karla scanned the common room of the inn and took note of a pair of roguish men who looked promising as targets for their mission. With a flick of her eyes, she indicated her intent to Milos. He nodded his agreement, and Karla rose from the bench. She crossed the room, adopting a slightly unsteady gait, and plopped down next to the younger and more handsome of the pair.

"Buy me an ale?" she requested, slurring her voice slightly.

"Warm my bed, and you can have all the ale you can drink!"

"An untilled furrow is worth more than ale," she stated, even though Milos had ploughed her field quite satisfactorily for nearly two years.

The two rogues exchanged a look before the elder one spoke.

"What of your friends?" he asked.

"Merely traveling companions I met at the Grinning Griffin," she replied. "They're too lawful for my tastes. How about that ale?"

The younger rogue waved for Lisette and asked for an ale for Karla.

"Where are you headed?" the younger one asked.

"Here, there, anywhere," she replied. "Seeking adventure and coin. Karla of Langford."

"Brandon of Black Lake," the younger one said. "And he's my cousin, Marcus, of the same. Adventure and coin, and also an expert ploughman?"

"If the rewards are sufficient, most certainly!"

"We have work, but you'll need to speak with Pavel, our Chief. You can meet him tomorrow."

The serving girl, Lisette, brought Karla a mug of ale, and Karla raised it to Brandon, who paid a pair of coppers for the ale.

"Then the tending to my furrow shall have to wait one more day," Karla said. "But I assure you it is sodden in anticipation of an expert ploughing!"

Karla realized she would need to find a way to sneak into Milos' room without being seen by either Brandon or Marcus. One way to do it was to depart before her companions, something she could easily do so long as they were aware. She downed her ale and gave an unchallengeable reason to rise.

"I need the privy," she said, slurring her speech even more than she had earlier.

Neither rogue objected, so she moved towards the privy, which brought her past Milos. She used her eyes to indicate they should remain, then went through the door to the privy. She pulled a drape to provide privacy, drew down her leggings and linen underwear, then squatted and relieved herself. When she finished, she fixed her clothing, then returned to the two rogues.

"I'm going to turn in," she said. "Where should I meet you?"

"Behind Hantain's smithy on Broad Street, just after the cock crows."

"I'll be there, and tomorrow night, you will be the one who will crow!"

Karla made her way to the small room she would share with Milos, where she undressed and used the wash basin to cleanse the day's grime. Once the dirt was removed, she sprinkled a tiny amount of rosewater over her body, then climbed into the bed. About an hour later, Milos arrived, performed the same ritual, minus the rosewater, and joined Karla in bed.

"I'm to meet their chief at first light tomorrow. All it took was a promise of my maidenhead, something of which you relieved me on the day after I completed my fifteenth year! Their leader is Pavel, and I hope he has information about Isaac of Southham, but I suspect he'll only be the first link in the chain. Maybe we'll be lucky, but if not...I'm faithful to you, Milos. The problem is, if I don't go through with it, the jig might be up."

"Leave that to Tristan," Milos suggested with a smile. "Lisette is smitten and will spike their drinks after she has impaled herself on Tristan's spike!"

Karla laughed, "He is incorrigible! Not to mention insatiable!"

"And me?" Milos asked.

"The love of my life," Karla replied. "Care to tend my garden?"

🎲🎲🎲

"I am untouched," Lisette said quietly as she stood before Tristan.

"I shall be gentle as a warm Spring breeze," he replied reassuringly.

He moved carefully to her, took her in his arms, and gently pressed his lips to hers. Lisette's arms tightened around Tristan, and when his tongue touched hers, she moaned and pressed her young body against his, desire burning in the pit of her stomach.

🎲🎲🎲

Meanwhile, Miriam and Matthew stood facing each other in their room, each unsure of themselves and their partner. Were they Matthew and Miriam, or were they Matthias and Miri?

"What are you thinking?" Miriam asked.

"About how to get home," Matthew replied. "Perhaps when we wake up, we'll simply be back with our D&D group. At least, I hope so."

"I don't," Miriam admitted. "If we go back, you'll go to Harvard, and I'm stuck in Ohio for two more years. Here, I'm an adult; we're together, and we're free."

"What about our friends and our families?" Matthew inquired.

"Our best friends are here, albeit as their alter-egos," Miriam countered. "This life is much more exciting than Turpin High School and living in Newtown! I'm willing to wager it's even more exciting than Harvard will be for you!"

"You don't want to go home?" Matthew asked incredulously. "Ever?"

"I want to be with you," Miriam said firmly. "Either here or there. I think here is better, because there you're going away, and we'll be apart for most of the next six years. I love you, and I want to be with you. Every day. Forever."

"But what about modern medicine, electricity, computers, cars, cell phones, the internet, and all the other tech?"

"What about the freedom to do anything we want? Without the government or our parents controlling us? Here, you don't need a law license, and you can fence, something you truly love, not for a scholarship, but simply because you love it! You can practice law simply by declaring yourself a lawyer without seven years of school and passing the Bar exam. Here, we have each other and our friends, and you don't have to go away."

"We have Tristan, Karla, and Milos," Matthew countered, "not Terry, Carol, and Miles! What about your mom? She has to be beside herself, and I know you love her!"

The mention of her mom caused Miriam's stomach to tighten, but it quickly went away, as that would happen eventually, no matter what, because Miriam would leave Newtown for wherever Matthew was, most likely Harvard.

"We don't know what happened," Miriam countered, "so we don't know what our families think. I don't want to go back!"

"Even if it means we'll be apart because I want to go back?"

"We'll be apart if we do go back," Miriam sighed. "You'd be leaving in about a month if we were back in Ohio."

"Can we discuss this tomorrow, if we're still here?" Matthew asked.

"Yes," Miriam reluctantly agreed. "What about the bed?"

"I'll sleep on the floor," Matthew offered. "I have my bedroll."

"Matthias and Miri are lovers," Miriam said hopefully.

"But we aren't," Matthew replied.

Miriam sighed loudly, but didn't say anything. She was disappointed, but felt arguing with Matthew would be counterproductive. Perhaps he'd be amenable if they were still in Nystria in the morning.

🎲🎲🎲

In another room, Tristan looked incredulously at the sexy girl lying next to him.

"Again?" he asked. "Truly?"

Most maidens simply wanted to be held after their blood was on the bed linens, though some did want a second time, and the rare ones, a third time. Lisette, on the other hand, had demanded he take her a second and third time, which he had, and now she was requesting a fourth.

"Truly! And do that thing with your mouth before you plough!"

"But the field is so recently ploughed!" he protested.

He very much enjoyed doing that, but only before ploughing, not after, when his seed was in the girl's furrow.

"If you taste my nectar, I will drink deeply from your fountain," she offered sexily.

Few girls had ever done that for Tristan, and only ones with experience. That was, generally, the price he had to pay for his desire to bed maidens. The implications of 'drink' meant something only one woman had ever done -- a much older friend of his mother who had seduced him at fourteen. She had drunk deeply from his fountain and swallowed his seed to ensure he could plough for a long time, and her endeavors had been rewarded.

In the end, Tristan's desire overcame his reluctance, and he agreed.