Days Gone By: The Ancient Kingdoms Campaign

And Into the Fire

Amy looked at the phone that buzzed on her bed. She was surprised to see who was calling.

"Uh... hello?"

"Hey, Ames," Justin's voice made her heart race. "How're you doing, baby girl?"

"I'm... good," Amy answered slowly. She was still in shock that he was calling her. "What, uh, what's up?"

"Well, I know it's not your regular gaming night, but I've got a campaign tonight that's got that bard I was telling you about. I think you could learn a lot by watching if you want to come over." Justin seemed just as carefree as ever when he spoke. "I got an extra chair for you if you want to sit in and observe."

"Sure, that'd be great." Amy closed her book and grabbed her sweatshirt off the end of her bed. "It'll be a bit, but I'll walk over."

"Alright, baby girl, see you soon." Justin hung up before she could say anything else.

When Amy arrived at the house, she knocked hesitantly on the door. She was fairly certain it was unlocked, but she wasn't about to just barge in.

"Hey, hey, baby Amy!" Skeeter crowed as he opened the door for her. "What are you doing here? Your friends aren't here. Did you come to see me? Is that what's up? You finally decided to give in to those wild passions of yours."

"In your dreams, Skeeter." Amy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Justin wanted me to sit in on the group he's got tonight, say's they've got a good bard."

"Oh, so you're here for Justin?" Skeeter mimicked a cat clawing and meowing as Amy pushed past him to go downstairs.

She could hear the laughter from the top step.

"Alright, as you enter the circular room with your loaf of bread, you see several statues around the perimeter. In the center of the room is a fountain and it appears to be flowing with gold." Justin described the setting then looked at the group. "What do you do?"

"I'm going to roll a perception check, see if I can find anything out of the ordinary," the lone girl at the table picked up a die and rolled it. When it landed, the entire table burst into laughter while she covered her face with her hands. "Nat one."

"Derrrr... that gold isn't as solid as other gold you've seen. It looks like it's moving," Justin laughed and then looked up when the floorboard beneath Amy's feet creaked. "Hey, hey, Ames! You made it. Come on in, baby girl."

Amy smiled a tight-lipped smile and made her way down the rest of the stairs. She waved awkwardly at the group who nodded in return.

"Ames, this is my Inter-Planar campaign. This is Gherrick, he's the barbarian." A thin, lanky man with stringy brown hair nodded. "Ama, the rogue." The girl who had just critically failed tipped an invisible hat. "Tourin, the healer." A chubby man with a week's worth of stubble inclined his head in her direction. "Heddard the fighter."

"I'm a Paladin, thank you." A man in a pink shirt sniffed as he pouted. "I just happen to be Chaotic Evil."

"Sure, and I'm the Queen of England." Justin shrugged and then pointed toward the man on his right. "And this is Cheddar, the bard I've been telling you about."

"Pleasure, my lady!" The pudgy, balding man rose and bowed low before returning to his seat. He grinned at her before asking, "And whom do we have the honor of being accompanied by tonight?"