Free His Work of Art by Shannyn Schroeder

They obviously had rearranged furniture to accommodate the table that three guys were sitting around.
    â€œHey, everyone. This is Adam.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at him. She put chips and salsa on the kitchen counter.
    Adam stepped forward.
    Reese pointed to one guy. “This is Lee. It’s his apartment.” Adam nodded at him. She moved to the guy on his left. “This is Chris. Where’s Kim?”
    Chris toyed with the dice in front of him. “She had a final to study for.”
    Reese looked at Adam over her shoulder. “Kim is the only other girl who plays. Now I’m outnumbered.” She turned to the last guy, who was setting up a folder in front of himself. “This is Frankie.”
    â€œAre you playing?” Frankie asked.
    Nothing like being friendly. “I’m not sure. I just came to hang out with Reese.”
    â€œHe can play an NPC for the night. That’s okay, right, Frankie?”
    Adam nudged her shoulder. “NPC?”
    â€œNon-player character. It’s a character that he can create for just tonight’s mission.”
    â€œHe doesn’t even know what he’s doing, Reese. Who the hell did you bring?”
    Reese reached behind her and tugged on Adam’s sleeve. “He’s a friend who wanted to check out the game.” She pushed Adam toward the seat beside Chris and she sat between Adam and Frankie.
    â€œStop being a dick,” Lee said.
    â€œWhatever.” Frankie set some papers behind his screen.
    Adam leaned over and whispered, “I’m really okay just watching. I don’t want to mess up your game.”
    â€œThere’s nothing to mess up. It’s like a story that unfolds as we play. You’ll catch on.” She pulled a small pouch from her bag. “You can use my dice. We’ll explain as we go.”
    Frankie was scribbling away behind his cardboard screen. Reese, Lee, and Chris all started talking about where they had left off last week, and Reese kept breaking off to offer Adam insight and explanation. It all sounded very complicated. The more he listened, the more he believed this had been a colossal mistake.
    And then they started to play.
    Frankie looked at him and said, “You can be a dwarf who is searching for the magic potion to save his village.”
    â€œA dwarf?”
    â€œYeah.”
    Reese snickered.
    â€œWhat are you?” he asked her.
    â€œAn elfin archer.”
    He could see her as an elf. Not much better than a dwarf. He looked at Lee.
    â€œI’m a knight.”
    Chris said, “I’m a sorcerer.”
    â€œWhy can’t I be a knight?”
    â€œBecause you’re just playing today. Knights play important ongoing roles,” Frankie answered. “Let’s start.”
    As Frankie explained the mission for the night, Adam focused on what he needed to do. It seemed simple enough. Roll the dice to determine what happened. He could follow this.
    Frankie continued, “You enter the cave and discover no light source. What do you do?”
    Reese’s eyebrows nearly joined. “How big is the mouth to this cave?”
    Frankie shrugged. “Six.”
    â€œWhat does it smell like?”
    Frankie narrowed his eyes. “Bat shit.”
    Reese opened her mouth to argue, but Chris spoke quickly, as if he knew the question-and-answer session would keep going. “I’ll cast a spell to create an orb of light.”
    â€œYour light has just awakened the ogre. Prepare to battle.”
    Reese, Lee, and Chris argued over a battle plan.
    Adam spoke up. “How about you guys distract him and I’ll sneak around him. Ogres are huge, right? And I’m a little guy.”
    All three of them stared at him like he was nuts. But Frankie spoke. “No, I called for a battle. They can’t pretend.”
    â€œOkay. You guys battle and I’ll wiggle my little ass by to collect the precious stones we need from the other