Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

Lucian.
    “Don’t mention it.”
    “Are you still coming over tonight?”
    “I wish, but I can’t. My sister’s coming over from Boston, and I have to spend the evening with the family.”
    “What? You can’t be serious!”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Come on, you can’t do that to me! We were going to explore the last floor of the Dragon King’s Lair . We’re so close to finding Excalibur!”
    “I know, but still, I can’t. My parents would kill me if I didn’t show up for dinner tonight.”
    “Fine! When we find Arthur, I’ll let him know that it was me alone, Krisklef of the Kataroc tribe, who found his magic sword.”
    “Yeah, you do that.”
    Samuel enjoyed role-playing games, but sometimes even he thought that Lucian was taking things a little too seriously. Besides, King Arthur was probably doing just fine without their help.
    “I almost forgot,” added Lucian, rummaging through his bag. “I put together a handbook for this weekend’s cosplay event.”
    He handed a printed document to Samuel, bound with a black plastic coil. The file was about twenty pages thick, with a colorful cover that depicted a red dragon on four legs, along with the flag of England.
    “I got an email two days ago from the organizers,” continued Lucian. “We’re on the English side, in some legendary battle near London, against hordes of barbarians. I did some research on the internet and everything is in there: backgrounds, history, vocabulary and other stuff that will help us get in character.”
    Lucian was undoubtedly taking this whole role-playing gaming a lot more seriously than Samuel was. Then again, it was partly because of such enthusiasm that Samuel got along so well with his friend. There was something comical, but also highly compelling, in seeing how he invested himself in things that truly fascinated him.
    “This is … impressive,” said Samuel. “I’ll check it out.”
    “Just make sure you have a red dragon somewhere on your equipment—it’s our emblem. I’m going to ask the organizers for the emails of the rest of our team, so I can send them the document as well. This is going to be so much fun, Sammy, I can feel it!”
    As he walked from his house to the bus stop, Samuel tried to think of a plausible explanation for the scratches on his hands. He had been lucky not to show up with a blackened eye or a more significant injury, but he still would have to find an explanation for the holes in his jeans and the dry blood on his palms.
    Samuel’s house was at the end of the street. He immediately noticed his sister’s Prius parked in the driveway, right next to his mother’s silver sedan. It had been at least three months since he’d last seen Shantel. He ran across the lawn, and into the house.
    “I’m home!” he announced.
    No one answered.
    Taking advantage of his mother’s absence, Samuel ran to the first floor, where he changed into new jeans and washed his hands. Two minutes later, he was back in the kitchen. He grabbed the milk from the fridge, poured himself a glass and took a couple of cookies out of the jar, then walked across the dining room and out on the patio, where he found his mother and sister chatting together, enjoying a glass of homemade sangria.
    “There you are,” said Shantel, standing up to greet her brother. “Come here and give your big sister a hug.”
    Samuel barely had time to extend his arms and move the cookies and milk out of the way, before Shantel threw herself into his arms.
    “Seems like every time I see you, Sammy, you’re getting taller and bigger.”
    “So are you,” replied Samuel.
    “Oh come on, now, that’s not nice, little brother.”
    Indeed it was not. Shantel was a remarkably attractive young woman, and everyone on the patio knew this very well. Samuel joined the ladies for a bit and talked about school and other things in his life, while Shantel told stories about her life on campus, which made her mother blush a few times.
    An hour later, Samuel’s father returned home from work and everyone sat down at the table for another birthday dinner.
    “So, are you still into the whole role-playing thing and fighting imaginary dragons with that Lucian kid?” asked Shantel after they had finished the cake from the previous night.
    “Pretty much, yes. We’re supposed to head out to a real-life costume play event this weekend.”
    “Oh boy. At least tell me there are a few girls there.”
    “Of course there are.”
    “Good! At least