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sections of terrain between
her characters and David's ruined portion of Gamearth. She hoped her plan would
work.
    She distributed new
printouts of the log sheets. She kept track of every week's game in her
father's computer. Over the years she had compiled a three-ring binder, a
book-length journal of all their games and adventures.
    They glanced at the
new pages and shuffled them aside, except Scott stopped, picked up his copy,
and stared down at it. "Hey, when did that happen, Mel?"
    "What?"
    David blinked at
his printout and turned pale. He pressed his jaws together.
    Tyrone looked at
Melanie's copy as he reached for his dip. "This says that Bryl's got the
Fire Stone. And what's this? 'Enrod came to destroy the land with the Fire
Stone. He tried to cross the Barrier River on a raft and was stopped by the
return of the Deathspirits, who cursed him to journey back and forth across the
River forever. They presented his Fire Stone to Tareah, who gave it to Bryl in
his quest.' Interesting, Mel, but ... well, shouldn't we have played it?"
    Everyone looked at
Melanie. She blinked her eyes, baffled. "But ...this isn't something I
wrote up at all."
    Scott made his
mouth a straight line. "Nobody else has access to your Dad's computer,
Melanie."
    David sighed and
put both elbows on the table. He looked pale and afraid. "Of course it
happened that way! You know it's right." He stared at them, then shook his
head. "Didn't you guys dream it? It was so vivid I woke up
sweating.
    "I could see
Enrod. I could hear what he was thinking about blasting all the trees around
the Stronghold, and building his raft and crossing the River." Sweat
appeared on his forehead; he brushed it away in impatience. "And those big
black hooded things coming up and yelling doom and gloom at him and taking away
the Fire Stone. You had to dream the same thing."
    "I don't
remember my dreams," Scott said.
    Tyrone scratched
his cheek below his ear. "You know, now that you mention it, I do remember
something like that. And it was weird because it wasn't me in the dream.
Yeah, I remember it now."
    Melanie recalled
the dream too, like a vivid slap in the face. "There's more going on here
than I thought." She felt a perplexed hope, but she didn't know what to do
with it. "If the Deathspirits came back, what about the Earthspirits?"
    Scott pursed his
lips. Melanie watched him; he became very uncomfortable when he didn't know how
to explain things. "Wait a minute ― I thought we decided not
to play the Spirits. They were gone for good because they were too much for us
to handle."
    "The game is
starting to play itself," David insisted. "It's coming alive. It's
out of control. This is reality ― " he slapped a palm on the
tabletop. Their glasses of soda and the dice jingled on the table.
    "We have to
stop it!" The urgency in his voice was frightening. "Let's all agree,
all right?" David's eyes pleaded with them. "We can try a trivia game
or something if you still want to keep meeting on Sunday nights. Let's just
stop this game."
    Melanie swallowed
hard and drew herself up. In annoyance, she flicked her hair behind her ear.
    "If it's truly
coming alive, David, then it's a wonderful, magical thing. Something here is
greater than we ever dreamed of. We have no right to kill it."
    She snatched the
dice on the table. "Let's get started."
     
    Chapter 3:
    ACROSS THE BARRIER
RIVER
     
    "When
embarking on a quest, characters travel primarily on foot, according to the
guidelines set forth in Rule #5 and the accompanying tables.
    However, characters
shall be free to use any other available transportation to speed them on their
way."
     
    ― The Book of
Rules
     
    Though important
quests usually started at dawn, Vailret, Delrael, and Bryl set out from the
gates of the Stronghold in the dark hours before morning. The near-autumn air
carried a cold snap, and the stars shone bright and sharp.
    On the crest of
Steep Hill, the Stronghold overlooked the terrain all around, the