Another night with his parents working late, but this time it was to Simon's advantage. He was having some friends over to start the next adventure in the Blood Brethren Trilogy.

He had some Red Baron's in the oven, snacks and drinks out on the kitchen table, and the dining room table was all set up for the game.

Mariana arrived on her skateboard with her backpack and a plastic bag. She knocked at Simon's door. She didn't have a clue on what she was going to play, but it would keep her outside the house with a good crew.

Simon answered the door, "Oh hey, you came, awesome." He moves aside to let Mariana in. "Makes yourself at home, I've got food set up in the kitchen, the game's going to be in the dining room, I've got my Sega hooked up to the TV in the living room, and the bathroom is down the hall on the right." He points out each location as he calls them out.

Jono was next. He had taken his guitar home and picked up his books. There were a few kits he was interested in trying out.

She moved the plastic bag to Simon's face. "Mom wouldn't let me leave without this." She said in her monotone voice. "Totopos with cielito lindo." She entered the house. "Where should I put them?"

Simon looked at the bag off... nachos? "Sweet, nachos. You can put them on the kitchen table." He starts to lead her to the kitchen when there is another knock at the door.

"Jono, what's up? Sick performance at the game tonight. You ready to return to Hollow World and thwart Thanatos?"

"I'm always ready. Just can't decide what to make." he smiled.

"Hey..." She waved at Jono. "I still wondering what should I play... I have never played this."

"Well, it's fantasy adventure. Warriors, wizards, thieves and more. Is there anything you've ever imagined being?"

"Well... Necromancer...or a dragon rider..." Mariana shrugged.

"You can definitely reprise your old character if you'd like or make some changes, roll up a new one if you'd prefer. We'll be picking up at eighth level." Simon tells Jono while they head over to the kitchen.

"Necromancer, we could do that easily enough. It's almost exclusively an evil class, but we can work outside of expectations if you don't want to be evil. As far as a dragon rider goes... I can't give you a dragon at your level, but there are other ways around it. You could be an aspiring dragon rider, a paladin on a quest. Or you could be a retired dragon rider who lost your dragon and is trying to find your way. Again, probably a paladin. If you do go paladin, you'll have to be lawful good, so there will be some restrictions on what you do.

Another option, if you're more interested in the dragon part than the rider is to make a druid. You won't be able to become a dragon exactly, but you could turn into a komodo dragon."

Mariana thought about it and pursed her lips. "... hmmm... how about a cleric... one who helps the dead pass to the next life?... Would that be okay?"

//GM Intrusion
A knock on the back door.

"Ah, this will help." he took a book out and set it on the table.



He turned towards the knock, wondering why it wasn't at the front door.

"Oh, a cleric with necromancer tendencies maybe? You could be a cleric of Jergal, the God of Death. You could strive to help maintain the natural order of things, or to hurry others along so they can find peace in death. Lots of possibilities there."

Simon is about to go on another tangent when he hears the knock. "Hmmm, everyone should be going to the front, I wonder who it is?"

Curious, he opens the back door.

It was a disheveled Richard still in his basketball uniform. "Dude..." He was panting. "I need help..."

Mariana took the book and started to read it. She paid no mind to the new guest in the back door as she sat on the couch reading the book.

"Richard," Simon looks around behind him to see if he was alone, "Yeah man, come on in. Jono and Mariana are here too... what's going on?"

"Richard? What happened?" Jono motioned him towards a chair. "Sit down. Rest. I'll get you some water."

Richard took a deep breath and went in. "I was on the locker room and was getting my stuff. I heard a voice." He frowned as he explained. "Then there was that bear... and everything is nuts. Gen is missing and... I don't want to go home. Mom is so worried about Gen... is it wrong of me to not care what had happened to her?"