Gaming: D&D Pt. 03

- "We'll do it another time." said Nate. "Parvani - that was a great game - thanks to you. I hope you'll come again."

- "If it's ok with everybody else." she said. "I really enjoyed it."

- "All in favour of Parvani coming back?" said Tanya.

All three of them immediately raised their hands.

"Looks like a yes." I said.

Parvani didn't cry, on the way home, but it was close.

- "Ian, they're so nice." she said. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

- "I'm glad you enjoyed it." I said.

- "Enjoyed it? It was wonderful. Your friends are wonderful. The game was ... amazing. How did you ever come up with that story? Oh - I liked everything."

We talked all the way to her house - a 20-minute walk. Parvani couldn't stop talking. The group, the characters, Tanya, Nate, and Derek ...

"Will you invite me back?" she asked.

- "Of course." I said. "You saw the vote. I'd have a riot on my hands if I didn't."

- "Thanks, Ian." she said.

***

Parvani fit in perfectly. Everybody liked her - she didn't have a mean or cynical bone in her body. She obviously enjoyed the game, and her enthousiasm was contagious.

As a thank you after her second game, Parvani invited us all for brunch on a Sunday morning - at a Chinese restaurant.

- "It's called Dim Sum." she explained. "They're mostly bite-sized pieces, served on small plates, or in steamer baskets."

The food came around on trolleys, offering a selection of dishes. You only had to point and nod to get what you wanted - which was a good thing, because the wait staff weren't particularly fluent in English.

The food was excellent, for the most part - and dirt cheap, which made this group of poor university students quite happy.

- "We have to do this again." said Derek, with his mouth full.

It was a great time for me. My classes were enjoyable, and I was doing very well. I had a circle of friends now, and there was always something interesting to do. Gaming was fun, and getting better all the time.

There were only a few things I would have changed.

One was money - I didn't have much of it. My job didn't pay very well. But the boss basically allowed me to set my own hours, and I doubted that I could find a better one.

The second issue was a bit more of a headache. His name was Alan.

It wasn't the grass and the hash that he brought - I didn't care if everybody except Parvani and me got stoned. They could still play while high, and on those few occasions when they couldn't - well, it was no big deal.

The problem was that Alan annoyed the shit out of me.

He expected to be the center of attention. Alan wanted his character, Grog, to be the spokesman, even though Nate's wizard had the highest charisma. Alan would say rude, abrasive things to NPCs (the people we met in the game), regardless of whether they were friends or enemies. His role model seemed to be Don Rickles.

Alan insisted that any enemy we fought was his particular rival. He - and only he - had to be the one who got to face them. When I created a special feud for Derek's character, Alan stepped in and tried to hijack it.

The moment he got bored - if, for example, I was doing something special for another player - Alan's character would wander off, open a door, or set out on his own. He would demand that I describe the place he had found, who was there ... if I told him that no one was home, he would steal their possessions. If I gave him an empty room, he would vandalize it. And if I put people there, he would start a fight.

Basically, he wouldn't allow us to do anything unless he was the focus of the action. I read an article about this very problem in the Dragon magazine. The writer's advice was either to ignore that player - or to kill his character.

I couldn't do either.

Alan seemed to enjoy baiting me. When I had the group meet a possible employer in a crowded tavern, Alan went up to every single person in the place - and asked me their name.

He knew that he was getting to me, too. And then he started to make it personal.

- "What's the difference between a +3 vorpal sword and a hot chick?" he asked.

- "I don't know." said Nate.

- "As far as Ian's concerned, nothing." said Alan. "He'll never get either one!"

The weirdest part - at least I thought it was weird - was that Alan only did this sort of thing when we were gaming. In a social situation, when we were out as a group, he was completely different.

He shared my love of The Who and their music. Derek appreciated them, as role models for his beloved band, The Jam, but Alan genuinely idolized them. He knew more about the Who than I did.

The three of us had a few pints at the pub, and then went to the Pantheon for a Who double feature: Quadrophenia, followed by The Kids Are Alright. Derek was falling asleep by the second film, but Alan and I were wide awake for the whole thing.

On another occasion, at a party that Tanya invited us to, I stepped outside for some fresh air. I found Alan, quietly smoking a joint. He offered; I declined. But I stayed with him, as we had a fairly deep conversation about philosophy and history.

Alan was no idiot. He was just an asshole when we played D&D. I should have asked him why he did it - but I let the opportunity slip past.

The last of my problems was quite simple. I was tired of being a virgin.

***

Tanya was complaining to Nate about a shortage of people to play tennis with. She wasn't on a team, or a member of a club - she just liked to play on the municipal court near her house.

- "I'll play." I said.

Tanya stopped dead. She gave me the once over, with her trademark smirk.

- "You?"

- "Why not?" I asked.

- "Seriously?"

It took some doing to convince Tanya that I could play. Nate had to jump in, and tell her that I used to play soccer and hockey.

"Really?" she said. "I'm sorry, Ian - I know you run, but ... I had you pegged as a hardcore nerd. No offence."

- "None taken." But now I was primed to show her that I wasn't just a D&D geek.

The following Sunday, I rode my bike to her neighbourhood. Tanya was waiting for me, at the outdoor courts, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. She had solid, powerful legs. Her hair was tied back with an elastic. It might have been just my imagination, but I think she was checking me out - she had never seen me in a t-shirt and shorts either.

She went fairly easy on me as we warmed up. I hadn't played in a long time, and it showed. But I wasn't worried about winning; I just wanted to perform well enough to earn a little respect. I was hoping that Tanya would begin to see me as something more than a DM.

- "Want to play a set?" she asked.

- "You serve first." I said.

I shouldn't have been so noble. She had a rocket of a serve - the only thing that saved me was that she only got about half of her first serves in. I didn't score a point in the first game. The smirk was back, full bore.

I never played enough tennis to develop a good serve. My first serves were comparable to her seconds - I was just trying to get them over the net. She hammered them back at me, and broke me easily.

By the third game, I was beginning to get my act together. She still won, but I made her work for it. I was particularly proud of one nasty drop shot that she didn't even get close to.

Believe it or not, I won the fourth game, on my serve. Tanya loved to stand on the baseline and blast her powerful forehand. She grinned in anticipation before smashing the ball straight at me, or down the line.

So I gave her anything but forehands: I played to her backhand, dropped shots, and put all the backspin on the ball I could muster. It wasn't quite what she was used to, and she got a little frustrated. I won my first game.

She went up 4-1 with several wicked serves. But I held serve, scrambling to find points - I got lucky, too, with a shot that clipped the net, and fell on her side. 4-2.

Then Tanya had trouble with her serve, and I broke her. There was luck involved, but I made a couple of nice winners, too. 4-3.

Tanya broke me to go up 5-3, and then put me away with two aces in the final game.

- "Not bad." she said.

- "Made you work for it."

- "Yeah, you did. My backhand's not that strong."

Tanya had brought sandwiches, and a thermos with lemonade. We sat on a bench to eat and drink.

"You're better than I expected." she said. "If you could serve, you'd be dangerous."

- "Thanks."

- "But you looked like you were limping a bit." she observed.

I told her about me knee, and the injury. I probably shouldn't have, but I also related how my girlfriend had dumped me, and my jock friends had forgotten that I existed.

"Is that how you ended up with friends like Nate and Parvani?" she asked. "So it was beneficial, in some respects."

- "It certainly was."

Tanya would answer my questions about herself, but she didn't volunteer a lot of extra information. She did it smoothly, so that I didn't realize until later that she really hadn't divulged very much in the way of personal information.

I insisted on one more game, so that she could enjoy herself. I had done my best to make her life miserable with drop shots, and playing to her backhand. Now I stayed on the baseline, and let her stroke those potent forehands. The grin was back on her face.

- "We should do this again some time." she said, afterwards.

- "Sounds good." I said.

I listened to Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon three times before going to bed that night.

***

Another Dream

I awoke slowly. I could hear music - a soft voice, singing. Yoshikune and Emrys were still asleep. There was no sign of the little faerie. But Rhiannon's bedroll was empty. I turned my head, and raised myself onto one elbow.

There she was, wearing a dark cloak, but barefoot. Rhiannon looked back at me, over her shoulder. It was dark; I couldn't see whether she wore her usual smirk ... or was that a smile of invitation?

I gathered my own cloak, and rose to my feet. Careful not to disturb the others, I followed her up the slope. She was still singing, softly. I caught only a few words. 'Taken by, taken by the sky ...'

She flowed up the hill. I trailed after her, caught up in her spell. At the very top, she stopped, with her back to me, and spread her arms. I approached a little closer, and clearly heard her sing.

'She rules her life like a bird in flight ... and who will be her lover?'

Rhiannon turned to face me. Her cloak gaped open, revealing that she wore nothing beneath it. My mouth was suddenly dry, and I grew hard.

She spun the cloak from her shoulders, and spread it out on the grass. Then she knelt upon it, completely naked. Rhiannon reached up, behind her head, to untie her long hair. She was not so slender as Mirowen, nor so well-endowed as Sylven. But she had strong legs, and high breasts. There was little fat on her powerful frame.

Rhiannon sat back, and extended one leg, with her other knee raised. She was deliberately exposing herself to my hungry gaze. Her eyes were slightly hooded ... with lust?

I advanced, then. I spread my cloak next to hers, and knelt beside her, equally naked. I placed my hand on her raised knee. To my surprise, Rhiannon lay back, and pillowed her head on her arms. She was completely exposed, offering me access to all of her body.

My hand was still on her knee. I bent my head, and kissed it, and then trailed my lips up her thigh. From there I could smell - and feel - the moist heat emanating from her loins. I sought out her core, with my fingers, and my mouth. Rhiannon groaned softly.

I kissed her there, and probed with my tongue. "Mmm ..." she moaned, encouraging me. There was no hurry. Stars filled the sky above us, and a warm breeze swept across the top of the hill.

Rhiannon's breathing was becoming a bit more ragged. She reached out to grasp my shaft, and began to stroke it. That seemed to excite her as much as me, for she reached her peak soon after that, thrusting her pelvis at me.

I pulled my head back. Rhiannon released my erection, and turned over, giving me a beautiful view of her rounded haunch and buttock. She rose to her hands and knees, and presented her backside to me.

Again, she looked back over her shoulder at me. She smirked, ever so briefly - then she nodded her head. I moved behind her, kneeling between her legs. I spat into my hand, twice, and spread the saliva over my rock-hard erection.

I tried to be gentle, but she would have none of that. The moment the head of my cock was lodged between her nether lips, she thrust back against me, and engulfed half of my shaft. She pulled away, and lunged back at me again.

On her third try, she succeeded in taking my entire length, her asscheeks pressed tightly against me. The message was clear: Rhiannon was not fragile, or delicate. She wanted to take, and be taken.

I took hold of her hips, with my hands, and began thrusting into her. She met me halfway, impaling herself on my erection even harder than I was pushing it into her.

It would be difficult to describe it as making love. What we did on that hilltop, under the stars, was more like mating. It was fierce, and grew fiercer as we picked up the pace. There was no give in her as I ploughed into her like a rutting stallion.

All too soon, my balls tightened, and I fired streams of semen into her. She felt it, and ground her backside against my lower stomach as I continued to come inside her.

***

I did well on final exams. First year had been very successful for me; Dad was proud, and the university renewed my scholarship. Derek helped me get a job for the summer - we were movers. It was hard work, carrying appliances and furniture up and down stairs, loading and unloading trucks. The pay wasn't stellar, either. But it was fun to work with my new friend.

Nate worked in an art supply shop, while Tanya was a lifeguard at an outdoor municipal pool. Alan did odd jobs. He never seemed to have much money, but he always had enough for drugs and beer.

Parvani had a part-time job at the library. None of us worked nights, and for the first time we were enjoying the thrill of not being in school in May and June. We went to movies, and to the Queen's Arms pub - and we played a lot of D&D.

My players were getting more sophisticated. They wanted to know why we were taking on quests, and they were suspicious of any new NPCs I introduced. They were wary of traps, too - I had tricked them easily in the past, but now they were on their guard.

That meant that my plots had to be more complex, and my villains, too. In an early Western, the good guy wore white, and the bad guys wore black; I couldn't get away with that anymore.

Then, in early July, we ran into an unforeseen problem.

- "I can't play anymore." said Parvani. She looked as though she was about to cry.

- "Why not?" asked Nate. "What's wrong?"

- "It's my parents. They're very religious. Someone in their congregation told them that D&D was evil - that it involves demonology and black magic."

- "You're shittin' me." said Alan.

- "I tried to explain," said Parvani, "but they wouldn't listen to me."

- "Do they know how much you like it?" asked Nate.

- "Yes. But my father's ... strict. Ian has met him." Parvani related the story of how we got permission for her to see the Lord of the Rings movie.

Derek spoke up. "Well, if Ian convinced your dad to let you go to the movie, maybe he can convince him to let you keep playing."

I had been thinking the very same thing. I looked at Parvani.

- "Do you want us to try?" I asked.

- "I don't want to stop playing." she said, near to tears.

- "You'll still be our friend, whatever happens." said Nate.

Parvani shot him a grateful look. "Thank you."

We talked it over, as a group. I wondered aloud if it might be useful to have us all go, to show Mr. D. how many friends his daughter had, and how strongly we felt about her. Nate talked me out of that. Upon reflection, I had to agree with him.

Alan wouldn't make a positive impression, no matter how much we cleaned him up. Derek wouldn't say anything. And Tanya could offer moral support, but if she smirked, it could have a negative effect on our chances.

In the end, Nate and I decided that the two of us should go. I would do the talking, and he would back me up.

We did some research, and discussed all of the current anti-D&D articles out there. Religious groups claimed that the game promoted Satanism, witchcraft, and pornography. There were even allegations that it encouraged murder and suicide.

- "Where do they get this shit?" asked Nate.

The only real case we could find was some kid at Michigan State who had attempted suicide - unsuccessfully - and then hid from his parents for a month. A year later, he used a gun to kill himself. This led to articles and even movies which suggested that impressionable youth could lose touch with reality because they had difficulty separating fantasy from real life.

Like lawyers preparing for a case, we gathered our evidence, and prepared to face the jury. I didn't think that Mr. D. would appreciate me showing up with a binder, so I had to memorize everything.

There was a lot riding on this. Parvani was my friend, and I knew how much this meant to her. I didn't want to let her down. Nate and I made sure that we were as ready as we could possibly be.

We were invited over for tea.

- Hello Ian." said Mr. D. "How are you?"

- "I'm well, Sir. May I introduce my friend Nate?"

- "How do you do?"

It was all very polite. We sat down in the living room. Parvani sat on the couch, with her parents flanking her. Simran sat on a chair, next to her mother. She was wearing a black skirt, and a white shirt, and looked awesome. It was a distraction I didn't need.

Nate and I sat on wingback chairs facing them. It had the feel of a court martial. I couldn't read Mrs D.'s expression, and even Simran looked skeptical. But that didn't matter. If we couldn't convince Parvani's father, we would lose.

- "As you know, we've heard some rather serious allegations about this ... game." he said.

I took a deep breath. "Sir, you gave me a hearing before allowing Parvani to go to a late-night movie. Will you let me try to explain our hobby?"

He nodded. "Go ahead."

- "Thank you." I said. "D&D - or Dungeons and Dragons - is one of several role-playing games. We create characters, much as a playwright would."

- "What kind of characters?" said Simran. From her tone, and the expression on her face, I couldn't tell if she was trying to help - or hinder.

- "Adventurers. Explorers. Heroes." I said. "In a way, we are Jack, climbing the Beanstalk, or Robin Hood." Nate and I had decided that Robin Hood was a good example.

- "So you're Robin Hood?" said Simran. "And Parvani gets to be Maid Marian?"

I smiled at her. "Actually, Parvani is more like Robin Hood than anyone in our group. She leads, or persuades the rest of us to follow the best course. Nate, here, is like Will Scarlett. Our friend Derek could be compared to Little John, and Tanya bears some resemblance to Alan-a-Dale." I was praying that Mr. D. was a fan of Sherwood Forest.

- "Then who are you?" asked Simran.

- "He's Friar Tuck!" said Parvani.

- "Well, my 'character' is a healer - like a priest. But I'm really more like Howard Pyle ... he wrote Men of Iron ... "

- "The movie? With Tony Curtis?" said Mr. D.. He couldn't help himself.