The Next Day

“People are already setting up for Creators’ Day, huh?”

“Well, yeah!” Liask readily replied. “Aside from Hunger’s Bane, it’s one of the biggest holidays in Tresnon!”

“Really…” Piece mused as he and Liask meandered down the main street of Compound Tresnon. The normally dusty street was currently abuzz with people preparing stalls, booths, stages, and canopies of varying colors and designs. Construction sounds — from the banging of hammers to the loud sawing of wood — echoed up and down the street, accompanied by shouted orders and the occasional burst of laughter. A handful of Chaotics were present, as well, lending the use of their powers to preparing the street for the upcoming holiday.

“It’s really somethin’, huh?” Liask remarked after a few moments of silence.

“I guess so,” Pierce replied, his gaze slowly sweeping across the festivity preparations. “But Creators’ Day is still two days away. Setting up today seems a little early; I don’t remember people preparing for Hunger’s Bane this far in advance.”

“Well, yeah. Food doesn’t last as long as a wood or stone stall. Besides… I think people need somethin’ to take their minds off of, you know… everythin’ that’s happenin’.”

“…True.” Piece then passed Liask a questioning glance. “Speaking of ‘everything that’s happening’, don’t you still have detention, or something?”

“Yeah…” Liask replied, her shoulders heaving with a resigned sigh. “But that isn’t for another hour or two.”

“I thought it was supposed to be after school.”

“Well, yeah, but classes let out early on the days before Creators’ Day. So Obra and I have a couple hours before we need to go back.”

“That’s rough. How much longer do you have detention, for?”

“…Another two and a half weeks, or so…”

“Damn. And all just for trying to help out, huh?”

“I mean, I get it… we put everyone in danger,” Liask said, and then sighed again. “But… let’s not talk about that, not now. Not when Creators’ Day is around the corner!”

“Heh. Fair enough,” Pierce remarked, returning his attention to the sounds and commotion of in-progress construction projects. “…I know this is for Creators’ Day, but it all really reminds me of the Brightest Day celebrations I saw on Sikalia.”

“I heard that Sikalia was really amazin’, there,” Liask replied. “I hear that most Nimalians really like Brightest Day, but for us Tresédians, Creators’ Day is a way better holiday.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“I mean, just think about it. Brightest Day — and Darkest Day, too, really — they just celebrate a coincidental astronomical event, you know? We don’t have any control over when the solstices happen, they just do. But Creators’ Day is somethin’ that we make happen. The day only exists because we do, and the things that we see and play with on Creators’ Day only exist because we made them. That makes it way more interestin’!”

“When you put it that way, it’s hard to argue.”

“Yeah, exactly. Not to mention that most of our holidays aren’t even Tresédian, really. Brightest Day and Darkest Day date back to a long time ago, I think, but the holidays still come from outside Treséd. Same for Hunger’s Bane and Creators’ Day, but for those two, at least, it’s easy to make them our own. We just need to make Tresédian food, or Tresédian stuff. Brightest and Darkest Day, though…”

“I think I see what you mean. It’s harder to make Brightest Day ‘your own’ because there isn’t really anything for you to add to it, right?”

“Yeah, somethin’ like that. It’s just not a holiday that most Tresédians care too much about. Tresnon’s Brightest Day is less than a month from now, but you won’t see this kind of celebratin’ then.”

Pierce turned to give Liask a surprised look. “Wait, really? The summer solstice is in less than a month?!”

“Uh, yeah.” Liask looked back at him in confusion. “Brightest Day is on the last Sundia of Ranth, and today is the 5th. Why, is somethin’ wrong?”

“No… I just hadn’t realized how long we’ve been on Nimalia. It’s really been several months since we got here, huh…”

“Yeah, but still not even half a year. Y’all got here after the last Darkest Day.”

“True… and I guess we’re supposed to be here for another several months, at least.” Pierce passed Liask a wink. “All the more time to get to know each better.”

“Hehe…” Liask responded with a bashful giggle. “…Yeah. And once I don’t got detention anymore, we’ll have more time to actually be together.”

“Glad to hear it! With any luck, this whole Bleeder situation will be dealt with by then, too — and even better, Brightest Day lines up with another school break, right? Maybe we can look into taking a trip to Nimaliaka.”

“Huh?” Liask passed Pierce a confused look. “Why…?”

“That’s where your namesake is, right? Mount Liask, the tallest mountain on the planet?” Pierce replied with a smile. “If I remember correctly, you said that you’ve always wanted to visit.”

Liask stared back at Pierce, astounded. “…I… I didn’t think you would remember that!”

“Hey,” Pierce remarked with a smirk, “I never forget anything important.”

Liask giggled. “It sounds like a great idea, then! I didn’t think I’d ever actually get to see Mount Liask, because I’m a Tresédian, and all…”

“Psh, I won’t let that stop us. I’ll get you out there, I promise. And while we’re at it, why stop there?” Pierce remarked. “The summer break will be two weeks long, right? That’s plenty of time to travel around the whole planet. I could show you the falls in Riverana, the forest in Relédiaka… or we could even go places where I haven’t been. I’m interested in seeing the Great Plains of East Nimaliaka, personally. Or, if we’re feeling dangerous, we could check out the wildlife on the Hazard Islands, or the Bermuda Triangle-like Fog Islands…”

“Wow, you have a whole list!” Liask replied with a grin. “I dunno if two weeks is enough to see it all, or even what the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ is… but even so, I’m already lookin’ forward to it!”

Pierce winked at her again. “Well, I’m here to please!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake… get a room, you two.”

“Huh…?” Pierce and Liask both looked to their side, where they spotted none other than Phoenix and Sky stepping out of a small shop. Upon noticing them, Pierce adopted a snide smirk as he and Liask stepped out of the main street crowds. “Well, if isn’t Phoenix! Fancy running into you, here.”

“Ugh, just what I fucking needed…” Phoenix muttered.

“What’re y’all doin’ ‘round here?” Liask asked, and then looked past Phoenix and Sky at the shop they had just exited. “…Clothes?”

“We’re still preparing for Creators’ Day,” Sky replied, and then shot Phoenix an annoyed glance. “Phoenix here still needed some supplies, so, here we are.”

“Why not Market Street?” Liask questioned. “There’s better stores, there.”

“Yeah. But they’re all out of what we need, because, you know, it’s so close to Creators’ Day,” Sky responded while impatiently side-eying Phoenix. “If someone had better foresight—!”

“Shut up, I get it,” Phoenix grumbled, and then held up a bag in her hands. “Look, we got what we need, okay? I’ll still have your outfit ready by the end of tonight, just like I promised.”

“Wow… sounds like you’re really dropping the ball, Phoenix!” Pierce remarked, his chin turned upward and his arms crossed as he looked smugly down at Phoenix. “Is it really that frustrating to be alone?”

“Can it, asshole,” Phoenix shot back. “Like you were any better back when I was with Arn!”

“I never let it get in the way of stuff that actually mattered,” Pierce countered. “You couldn’t hold down Arn, anyways. I knew that wouldn’t—“

“Pierce!” Liask cut in, startling him out of his smug expression. When he turned to give her a surprised look, she continued, “really? There’s no need to be so mean!”

“I-I…!” Pierce stuttered out, clearly surprised by Liask’s interjection. A second later, however, he released a resigned sigh. “…You’re right. Sorry.”

“Wow, look at you,” Phoenix remarked snidely. “She’s already got you all wrapped up around her—?”

“Alright, cut it out!” Sky snapped. “This, Phoenix! This attitude is why we’re cutting it so damn close!”

“B-but, I—!”

“No buts!” Sky looked between Pierce and Phoenix irately. “Can’t the two of you just stop being so fucking petty?!”

Pierce and Phoenix both responded only with uneasy smiles. They then glanced at each other, only to look away in a huff.

“…I think we should go,” Liask said with a forced smile. She grabbed Pierce by his arm and began walking off. “C’mon, Pierce. I only got so much time before I have to go back to the campus.”

“Uh, right. Sure thing…” Pierce responded as he followed after her.

Sky and Phoenix watched the couple leave. After they disappeared into the crowds, Sky turned to give Phoenix a frustrated look. “Honestly, what is wrong with you?”

“There’s nothing wrong,” Phoenix insisted as she barged off in the opposite direction of Pierce and Liask.

Sky quickly caught up to her, falling into step beside her as she chided, “seriously, why are you and Pierce always at each other’s throats like that, huh? I thought y’all were supposed to be friends!”

“We—…” Phoenix trailed off, frustration writ across her features. Her shoulders then deflated in resignation. “Fuck… look, I know this is stupid, alright? I know it’s fucking stupid to get all caught up in things like this. But, just… look at Pierce! How can that smug bastard not piss you off?!”

“I kinda get where you’re coming from, but you also just keep making things worse. He didn’t even notice you earlier until you called out to him!”

“I just… can’t stand to see him win. He’s the sorest winner you’ve ever seen.”

“And you’re one of the sorest losers I’ve ever seen. You’re almost as bad as Pierce himself! What are you ‘losing’ anyways, your stupid ‘dating’ contest? That thing’s caused you and Pierce more grief than almost anything else we’ve faced these past few months, and we’ve seen some fucked up stuff!”

Phoenix responded only with silence, a furrowed brow, and a frown.

A look of realization dawned on Sky’s face. “Wait… is that what’s going on? Are you stressed out about everything else, and that’s what’s making you frustrated?”

Phoenix passed Sky a glance before turning forward again. “…Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Hey, if you want to talk…”

“I don’t need to talk. I just need for this stupid contest to end. Pierce will fuck this up somehow, anyways, he always does. He can never hold down a relationship. And then, I can come in with the actual victory…”

“Ugh!” Sky threw up her hands in frustration. “I give up! Just make sure that my outfit is ready, alright? I have better things to do than listen to you gripe about this stupid fucking contest.”

“Wait—!” Phoenix began, but Sky had already stormed off down a side street. After watching her disappear around a corner, Phoenix held her free hand to her face and pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes closed in an effort to calm herself. “…Fuck…” she muttered, “…I need to end this, soon… but first, Sky’s outfit…”

With that, she resumed walking down the main street again, picking up her pace this time so as to finally wrap up her own preparations for Creators’ Day.

---

*

“…So! Do y’all understand the rules, now?”

“U-um…” Kirstin responded uneasily, “m… maybe…?”

“I’m sure I can learn as we go,” Conrad declared.

“That doesn’t sound like a ‘yes’ to me…” Spike said.

“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine!” Austin insisted as he laid down a whiteboard on the floor in his room. Spike, Conrad, and Kirstin occupied the room with him, all in the aim of helping to prepare for Creators’ Day. It was in the name of that goal that Austin and Spike had spent the last half-hour explaining the rules of the game to Kirstin and Conrad, with the former listening as intently as she could, while the latter lounged about on Austin’s bed.

Without paying Conrad any heed, Austin quickly drew out a square grid on the whiteboard and placed down a handful of humanoid figurines. He then gestured for Spike, Conrad, and Kirstin to move closer, with Spike and Kirstin taking seats on the floor next to the whiteboard — while Conrad remained lying on Austin’s bed, making no attempt to move. “It’s always easier to learn by doing, anyways,” Austin declared as he pulled out a handful of other miniatures from one of his bags. “Let’s just run a quick fight, and see what y’all think then.”

“O-okay…” Kirstin replied, carefully looking over the whiteboard. She then picked up a piece of paper that Austin had handed her earlier — her “character sheet”, he had called it — and began looking it over. “S-so… w-what do we—?”

“The fight begins as the three of you are traveling through a forest!” Austin interrupted, clearly unaware of Kirstin’s incoming question as he excitedly looked down at the board. “You were hired as escorts for a local merchant who was worried about his caravan being attacked, due to rumors of a dragon in the area!”

“Wow. Fighting a dragon already, huh?” Conrad deadpanned.

“I doubt that,” Spike said. “It’s just a rumor, right? We’re probably supposed to find a way around the dragon, or somethin’.”

“I-I thought, um… th-that we were, uh, j-just doing a fight…?” Kirstin questioned.

“I mean, yeah, but I’m just setting the stage,” Austin insisted. “You know, the narrative backdrop! I’m giving y’all your reason for being here!”

“For a tutorial fight?” Conrad replied incredulously.

“Look, it’s all part of the game, okay?”

“Let’s just… do the fight,” Spike suggested. “It’s an introductory fight, right? Shouldn’t be too bad.”

“S-so, are we… f-fighting a dragon…?” Kirstin asked.

“Nah, dragons are mostly mid- or late-campaign type stuff—“

“Nope! It’s dragon time, bitches!” Austin declared as he reached into his bag, withdrew a sizable model of a blue dragon, and slammed it down on the whiteboard — accidentally knocking over all of the other miniatures in the process. He quickly grabbed the minis and righted them before crossing his arms and looking proudly down at the model he had just taken out.

Spike looked down at the same model, only with doubt on his face. “…Ain’t this supposed to be a one-shot?” he asked, turning toward Austin. “Why’re we fightin’ a dragon, already?”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Austin insisted. “All your characters are level 13.”

“13?!” Spike echoed incredulously. “We got two newbies with us, what the hell are we doin’ at level 13?”

“Oh, is that why my character sheet has half a novel on it?” Conrad questioned.

“Oh c’mon, it’s not that bad,” Austin insisted.

“Um… I-I have, uh… s-six pages…” Kirstin said.

“Well, yeah. You’re playing a spellcaster, so I printed out the descriptions of all the spells you have. You’re level 13, so it’s a lot.”

“R-right…”

“Austin…” Spike held an exasperated hand to his face. “You can’t teach someone the game with a dragon fight at level 13.”

“Eh, I’m sure it’s fine,” Conrad replied dismissively. “I’m sure half this text is just fluff, right?”

“Well, actually—“ Austin began, but was cut off as Conrad summoned his glaive and turned the blade toward the game pieces.

“My guy has really high initiative or something, that means I go first, right?” Conrad remarked as he used his polearm to try and move his character’s miniature while still laying on Austin’s bed.

“Wait, don’t—!” Austin quickly interjected, his eyes wide with concern — but he was too late. When Conrad attempted to move the mini with his glaive, the blade instead sliced effortlessly through the mini, lopping off the top half and knocking it aside.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at the bisected miniature before turning to look at Conrad. “…Oops,” he replied simply as he dismissed his weapon. “…Forgot how sharp that thing was.”

“You shouldn’t be playin’ around with weapons, anyways,” Spike admonished.

“At least that was one of my cheap minis…” Austin grumbled as he rummaged around in his bag for a replacement. After slapping a new figurine down on the whiteboard, he continued, “alright! So, we’re doin’ a fight! It’s you guys, versus a dragon! Now roll—!”

“Did you say a dragon?!”

Everyone turned to look at the door to Austin’s room, where Danielle now stood, having just burst through the door. She looked around excitedly before spotting the dragon figure that Austin had just pulled out, at which point she readily jumped forward and took a seat next to Austin. “Oh, cool! I didn’t know this was a thing!”

“I— what?” Austin responded cluelessly, only to clear his throat and reply, “I mean, yeah, of course! You can’t have a dragon fight without an intimidating model of a dragon!”

“Though, so far, we’ve just been kinda staring at it,” Conrad deadpanned.

“Hey, I’m trying to get to it, but you guys keep interrupting me!” Austin countered.

“I’m just sayin’, dude,” Spike said. “I really don’t think this is a good way to introduce people to the game. There’s too much shit to read. And dragons are too deadly!”

“So? Death is a part of the game!” Austin insisted.

“I-it is…?” Kirstin responded uneasily.

“If resurrection is easy, then death should be, too!” Austin declared.

“Austin…” Spike muttered while holding a hand to his head.

“This sounds like fun!” Danielle remarked. “How do you play?”

“You just missed the lecture,” Conrad deadpanned.

“It wasn’t a lecture,” Austin retorted. “Anyways, as to how to play the game—“

“Let’s just do the fight,” Spike insisted. “She can watch and learn with Conrad and Kirstin.”

“Can I be the dragon?!” Danielle asked, excitement readily evident in her eyes. Her eyes then widened even further, a veritable light bulb going off over her head as she whipped around toward Austin. “Oh! Oh! I just had the best idea!”

“What—?” Austin started, clueless, only for Danielle to move to his side and begin whispering in his ear. A second later, the confusion that occupied his face was entirely replaced by excited glee. “Oh man, that’s PERFECT! I love it! Let’s do that!”

“Do what? Not play the game?” Conrad snarked.

“No, we’re still playin’, but Danielle had a great idea to make the game even better!” Austin exclaimed.

“And that idea is…?” Spike prompted.

“It’s—!” Danielle began, but Austin pre-empted her.

“Ah ah ah,” he interrupted, “let’s keep this one a secret. A surprise for the big day!”

“Oooooh! Good idea!” Danielle replied with a grin.

“What am I watching,” Conrad deadpanned.

“A-are…” Kirstin stuttered out, her gaze dropping to the whiteboard. “Are we, um… st-still doing this, uh, f-fight?”

“I think we should do a different fight,” Spike said. “Somethin’ with goblins and low-level characters. You know, keep it easy, keep it simple. We are teachin’ the game, right now.”

“You’re trying to introduce this game to new people on Creators’ Day, right?” Conrad said. “It’s probably better to keep things as simple as possible.”

“But…” Austin frowned. “…But I wanted to use a dragon!”

“A-and, um… I-I kinda, uh, w-wanted to… f-fight it…” Kirstin admitted.

Spike looked over at Kirstin, and then at Austin, at which point he released a resigned sigh. “Alright, I guess we can do this, now. But for the actual thing, we gotta keep it simple. Throwin’ a 13th-level character sheet in someone’s face is the fastest way to turn ‘em off of the game.”

“Alright, alright, I get your point,” Austin replied. “I’ll simplify things for the day of.”

“Aw…” Danielle pouted. “Does that mean…?”

“I’ll still find a way to incorporate your idea, don’t worry,” Austin said. “It’s way too good of an idea to pass up!”

“It’s certainly an idea, I’ll give you that much,” Conrad deadpanned.

“What?” Austin turned to look at Conrad with suspicious confusion. “Wait, how do you know what we’re talking about?”

“…Let’s just get to doing this fight. I’ve been waiting forever.”

“You didn’t answer my question!”

“Austin…” Spike muttered, exasperation filling every aspect of his tone and demeanor. “Let’s just get goin’ with this, already…”

“…Hmph! Fine!” Austin crossly replied, at which point he turned to address everyone. “Alright, let’s get this fight goin’, then! Roll initiative, everyone!”

Conrad and Kirstin both stared at Austin blankly. “…Roll initiative?” Conrad echoed.

“Oh my god— y’all weren’t payin’ attention at all!” Austin exclaimed. “Alright, from the top! This game is all about rolling dice, so when I say ‘roll’…”

The afternoon continued on with Austin re-explaining the rules to the group of new players — now including Danielle — all in the name of preparing his introductory one-shot for the upcoming Creators’ Day.