“Alright! Good job, everyone!”

“Yeah! That was great!” Danielle cheered.

“I feel like I barely did anything…” Conrad said.

“Everythin’ went down without a problem, this time,” Spike replied. “I think Austin’s right, we did pretty good.”

“Exactly!” Austin remarked with a grin as he looked over each of Spike, Conrad, and Danielle. He then looked down at the table in front of him, covered in his whiteboard, miniatures, and sheets of paper. “That was the third run, today. People seem to be really into it, now!”

“And playing the part of the dragon is really fun!” Danielle declared. “…Are you sure I can’t control the dragon in a fight, though?”

“We’ve been over this,” Spike answered in exasperation. “No dragon fights. It’d be too hard, and take too long.”

“Aw. Okay…”

“I can certainly see why…” Conrad said as he picked up the sheet of paper that held all of the stats for his character. “…My guy is only level 6, and I feel like I’m only now getting the hang of him.”

“I hate to say it, but Spike’s right,” Austin admitted. “…Trying to run high- or mid-level characters for a bunch of newbies is a bad idea. Even at level 4, it seems to take people some time to get used to what they’re doing.” He then passed a glance toward Spike. “Thanks for helpin’ people with their characters. It makes it a lot easier for me to focus on DMing.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Spike remarked. “I knew you’d need the help.”

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear you say that.”

“You’re not doing too bad, though,” Conrad said while looking toward Austin. “I mean, you started the day out kind of heavy-handed, but I think you’re doing a better job, now. You’re not just immediately shutting down ideas, anymore.”

“Well, partially because I adjusted some of my descriptions to leave less room for wandering,” Austin admitted. “Look, I just want to keep people on the path, alright? It’s just a one-shot, and I don’t have all day.”

“I mean, you kinda do.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. I want to run this one-shot for a bunch of different groups. That means that we can’t spend more than maybe two hours on any single run. I’ve got this one down to about an hour and a half, which I think is a good pace; we should be able to do another couple of runs before the day’s over. Maybe even three, if we’re willing to go past sunset.”

“I’ll take as many chances to turn into a dragon as I can get!” Danielle said.

“You sure do make a good dragon, I have to say,” Austin replied.

“Yeah, so good that you spooked half the Compound,” Conrad pointed out with a smirk.

“I know…” Danielle responded dejectedly. “Everyone told me to tone it down… and I am, but…” She sighed wistfully. “Well, maybe one day I’ll get a chance to really stretch my wings…”

“Sorry it can’t be today,” Spike replied, and then looked up at the sky and the mid-afternoon sun. “…But I gotta say, I’d prefer not to go past sunset. The girls’ performance is around then, and I’d like to see it.”

“You mean that thing that Phoenix and Kestrel were working with the twins on?” Conrad said.

“Yeah. Sky would kill me if I missed it.”

“Sounds like coercion, to me,” Austin remarked.

“It was a joke,” Spike retorted with a roll of his eyes. “’Sides, you really gonna skip it? After Twy put so much work into it?”

“U-uh…” Austin looked away. “…I mean, when you put it like that…”

“Why, did something happen between you and Twy?” Danielle questioned.

Austin passed Danielle a startled look. “U-uh, well, I mean, no…”

“And that’s the problem,” Spike stated.

“Shut up, man.”

Danielle glanced between Austin and Spike cluelessly. “…I don’t get it.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Conrad declared, though he wore an amused smirk on his face all the same. “Anyways, I was thinking of going to the show, too. I’m not one for concerts or shows or anything, but Kestrel and Phoenix seem to have put a lot of effort into this thing. Least I can do is show up for it.”

Austin regarded Conrad with surprise. “…Wow. I didn’t think you were so considerate.”

Conrad shrugged. “You’re not the first to’ve said that. Why do people say that to me?”

“You’re the one who talks about naps and sleeping all the time.”

“Well, yeah. You gotta stay healthy, and good sleep is important for staying healthy. It’s not my fault that people need reminding.”

“It’s a little more than just ‘reminding’ with you,” Spike countered.

Conrad shrugged again. “Eh. Whatever. Besides, just ‘cause I like to sleep doesn’t mean I’m a lazy layabout.”

“Yeah!” Danielle agreed. “I don’t even need to sleep, but I still like to, sometimes. It feels good!”

“It feels like nothing!” Austin replied incredulously. “You’re unconscious when you sleep, you can’t feel anything!”

“Alright, let’s not turn this into an argument,” Spike interjected. “…I think that’s enough of a break, too. We should start lookin’ for some more folks to play with—“

“Oi! What’s this I hear about a fuckin’ dragon?!”

Austin, Spike, Conrad, and Danielle all turned to look at the approaching newcomer — at Davídrius, flanked by Kaoné and Selind.

“Well, look who the cat dragged in,” Conrad remarked as the trio stopped at the stall.

“I don’t care about cats,” Davídrius retorted. “It’s the so-called dragon that I’m here for. What the fuck’s that about?”

“I, um…” Danielle looked at Austin and Spike uneasily, only for both of them to respond with shrugs. She then turned back to give Davídrius an uneasy smile, saying, “that’s me… is something wrong…?”

“Nah,” Selind airily replied. “Davídrius here is just annoyed that he didn’t get to see it.”

“That ain’t the problem at all!” Davídrius snapped back. “I just wanna get to the bottom of a fuckin’ dragon appearin’ over the Compound!”

“We already talked to Selind about it…” Spike responded as he passed a quick nod toward Selind. “…Is there still somethin’ wrong?”

“What?” Davídrius whipped around to glare at Selind. “Why didn’t you say that?”

“Oops,” Selind replied flatly, though she was smirking all the same. “Must’ve slipped my mind.”

“Selind…” Kaoné responded in an admonishing tone.

“Ha ha, sorry!”

“Makin’ me look like a fuckin’ dumbass…” Davídrius muttered.

“So… everything’s fine, then?” Danielle questioned hopefully.

“Yep, on my word,” Selind replied. “You’re still good to do your little… whatever it was.”

“Hmm…” Kaoné leaned forward to look over the group’s table — and the whiteboard, minis, and papers that covered it. “…So this is that… tabletop RPG you were talking about, Austin?”

“Uh, yep, this is it,” Austin responded. “Just, you know… stupid nerd stuff, ha ha…!”

“The hell is a ‘tabletop RPG’?” Davídrius questioned. “And what’s it got to do with fuckin’ dragons?”

“It’s an abbreviation. It stands for ‘tabletop role-playing game’. It’s, uh, how do I explain this…”

“Imagine a story, right?” Conrad interjected, his head half-turned to look at Davídrius. “Now imagine that you’re in the story, playing the part of the main character. That’s basically what we’re doing.”

“Huh. Interestin’,” Selind remarked.

“So this ‘story’ of yours has a dragon in it, is that it?” Davídrius questioned.

Austin nodded. “Yeah. They don’t actually fight the dragon, though—“

“Fight?!” Davídrius echoed incredulously. “Y’all better not be gettin’ into any dirt-damned fights on my campus!”

“It’s not a real fight, it’s a game fight!” Danielle replied. “Like a video game!”

“More like a tactics board game, really,” Conrad said.

“…Right,” Davídrius drawled. “…So this is some fantasy story or somethin’, and… what, you fight stuff?”

“That’s part of it, yeah,” Austin said. “You can also solve mysteries and puzzles, talk to NPCs, explore your surroundings… it’s pretty open-ended.”

“The hell is an NPC?”

“I’m sure it’s a game term,” Selind said. “But it sounds like you can do anythin’ you want in this game. How’s that work? How is it a game?”

“Well, not quite anything you want…” Austin responded sheepishly. “There are rules and guidelines and stuff, to help keep the game balanced and everything. But there’s a lot of freedom, yeah.”

“You want to give it a shot?” Conrad suggested.

“What—?!” Austin’s eyes grew wide as he shot Conrad a panicked look, only to force a smile as he turned back to address the Deans and Selind. “I-I mean, I’m sure y’all are busy, there’s no need to force yourselves to do something you’re not interested in!”

“Busy? We actually have plenty of free time right now,” Selind replied. “Why else would we be walkin’ around, here?”

“Oh…”

“I think this game sounds quite interesting, personally,” Kaoné added. “…But… I don’t know anything about how it all works.”

“Well, that’s what we’re here for,” Spike declared. “We can give you a quick run-down of the rules and your characters, and see where we go from there!”

“Are you all really interested, then?!” Danielle questioned excitedly.

“Hmm…” Davídrius stared down at the papers on the table, his brow furrowed in consternation. “…Well… should probably make sure y’all ain’t doin’ somethin’ dangerous with that dragon business…”

“Oh c’mon, if you’re interested, just say so!” Selind declared as she slapped Davídrius heartily on the back. She then turned to address the Earthians with a grin. “I’ve always wondered how you Earthians have fun, so count me in!”

“W-well, this isn’t a thing that all people on Earth do…” Austin responded sheepishly.

“I think they understand that, Austin,” Conrad pointed out.

Kaoné nodded. “Yes. There’s hardly any single pastime that every Nimalian likes, so I don’t know why we’d think otherwise for Earth. But if you’re really willing to explain everything to us, then I’d like to give this a try, as well.”

“R-really?!” Austin questioned in disbelief.

“So long as this doesn’t take all afternoon,” Davídrius replied.

“Should only take a couple hours,” Spike said, and then nodded toward Austin. “Clean up the board and everythin’, I’ll explain the rules with Conrad.”

“Time to teach the teachers,” Conrad remarked with a smirk.

“Don’t you get ahead of yourselves, now,” Davídrius retorted.

“Davídrius…” Kaoné muttered with a sigh. She then looked to Spike. “Anyways, please, go ahead.”

“Alright then…!” Spike cracked his knuckles before pulling out a set of rules and beginning to explain them to the three Nimalians, all while Austin quickly setup the table for yet another run of his game.

---

A Few Hours Later

“Well, would you look at this! What a surprise!”

“Who—? Oh… you,” Obra muttered, annoyance writ across his face as he laid eyes on Pierce. “What are you doing here?”

“Now now, let’s not be hostile with each other,” Mark interjected from the side.

“Should be obvious what they’re doin’ at a food stall, anyways,” Minilas pointed out.

“…Hmph…” Obra responded with an annoyed snort, and little more, leaving Pierce — and Liask beside him — to look over the stall. Or rather, what appeared to be two stalls bashed together; Minilas and Obra’s stall had been moved down the street next to Mark’s, and Mark’s side of the stall was now occupied entirely by chips, cookies, and the tools Mark was using to make even more chips and cookies. On the other side of the stall stood Minilas, readily fabricating sandwiches out of thin air for any passers-by, while Obra stood at the front of the stall to take orders.

Liask smiled as she beheld the combined stalls, and then glanced between Mark and Minilas. “So y’all decided to work together, huh?”

“Mark was the one who suggested it,” Minilas replied flatly.

“It only made sense, I felt,” Mark stated. “I realized just after lunch that I had my hands full trying to make sandwiches, chips, and cookies all by myself. That’s when I remembered that Minilas here can make sandwiches and raw foodstuffs out of thin air, so I figured — why compete, when we could cooperate, instead?”

“Helps that I get all the chips and cookies I want,” Minilas added as she grabbed a handful of freshly-fried chips and began munching on them.

“Thanks to this team-up, our stall was one of the most popular ones on this whole street over the past few hours!” Obra declared proudly. “Minilas’s sandwiches, alongside this outsider food — it’s a hit!”

“You’re even calling Mark an outsider?” Pierce questioned. “That’s low. He might well be one of the nicest people I know.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that…” Mark responded bashfully.

“Look, outsiders are outsiders, that’s just a fact,” Obra retorted. “It ain’t like I’m sayin’ his food is bad, I think it’s pretty good, actually!”

“Now you do,” Minilas interjected, a wry smirk crossing her face as she turned toward Pierce and Liask. “You should’ve seen ‘im when Mark first approached us. Looked like someone had just slapped ‘im in the face.”

“I-I was just being cautious, that’s all!” Obra insisted. “You can’t trust outsiders!”

“It sounds like you at least gave Mark a chance, though,” Liask replied. “It used to be that you’d never even consider it!”

“He barely did,” Minilas said. “I was the one who took up Mark on his offer.”

“If I’d known I’d cause trouble, I wouldn’t have said anything…” Mark said.

“Nah, fuck the haters,” Pierce retorted. “Obra just has a stick up his ass about us ‘outsiders’.”

Obra bristled. “I said that his food was good!”

“You didn’t even try it ‘til you saw how popular it was,” Minilas pointed out.

“W-well… look, what matters now is that we’re here, and the stall is successful, a’ight?”

“More successful than I ever expected, honestly,” Mark commented, still working at the fryer and the oven as he passed Minilas a smile and a nod. “If not for your help, I’d still be struggling. But not only can you make the sandwiches, but you can also make all the ingredients I need for the chips and cookies, so I never even have to leave to restock!”

“No prob,” Minilas replied casually, while still munching on chips.

“We’d heard that y’all had teamed up, actually…” Liask mused, “but I still had to see it for myself!”

“You guys have been at this all day, haven’t you?” Pierce questioned, and then turned his gaze upwards. The sun was now well on its way toward the western horizon, its golden light shining down on the Compound to indicate that only an hour of sunlight remained. “…You should probably take a break,” Pierce suggested as he looked back at Mark, Minilas, and Obra. “You know, take in the sights, see the goods, and everything.”

“Most of the sellers have sold out by now, but you can still look at the art and listen to the music,” Liask added. “You’re really missin’ out!”

“It is true…” Mark mused. “I suppose I’ve spent all day manning the stall…”

“Things’ve slowed down a lot, too,” Minilas said, and then glanced back at Mark. “Though now that I think about it, I ain’t seen you eat anythin’ all day long. You sure you ain’t hungry?”

Mark shook his head. “Remember, I’m a Duratechnic. If I wanted to, I could go for several months on end without eating and never feel hungry. And on a day like this, time I spend eating is time I can’t spend making food for everyone else!”

“…You outsiders sure are weird…” Obra commented.

“But you’re pretty alright, in my book,” Minilas declared.

“I’m glad to hear that!” Mark replied with a smile. “Same to you, and to Obra, as well. Thanks for giving me a chance.”

“Yeah, well…” Obra averted his eyes. “…Like I said, your food is good. That’s all.”

Pierce smirked in amusement. “You have a hard time being honest with your feelings, huh?”

“Shut up…” Obra muttered.

“Still, you do raise a good point, Pierce,” Mark commented as he dumped a fresh batch of chips out of the fryer and turned the device off. He then glanced between Minilas and Obra, saying, “once I finish up this next batch of cookies, how about we take a look around?”

“Sounds good to me,” Minilas replied.

“Oh, you should join me an’ Pierce at the talent show in an hour or so!” Liask exclaimed. “Some of his friends are gonna perform!”

“Well, Phoenix and Kestrel aren’t the ones performing,” Pierce corrected. “…But they’ve put some effort into this, so I might as well check it out.”

“What? Pierce, bein’ friendly?!” Obra exclaimed incredulously. “Since when?!”

“Hey, I do have friends, you know,” Pierce retorted.

“Either way, it sounds like a plan to me!” Mark said. “Meet at the venue around sunset, then?”

“An Earth performance, huh?” Minilas mused. “Now that’ll be somethin’.”

“It should be!” Liask remarked. “Now — there was still somethin’ I wanted to check out a block or two over. We’ll see y’all later, Minilas, Obra, Mark!”

“Yeah… see ya later,” Obra responded as Pierce and Liask departed, joining up with the Creators’ Day crowds once more.