As Klaus stood outside Bobby’s apartment door, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement mixed with nervousness. He raised his fist and sharply knocked three times. It had been far too long since they all had been together, and he was eager to catch up with his friends over a session of Dungeons and Dragons. One that would likely start overly serious before quickly morphing into a medieval slapstick comedy. He was still smiling when the door was jerked open, Bobby standing in the doorway, a wide, matching grin spreading across his face.

“Klaus, my man! It’s so good to see you!” Bobby exclaimed, pulling Klaus into a massive bear hug. While Klaus himself wasn’t a small man, looming as he did a bit of six feet tall, Bobby himself was a titan among men, being just a hair under seven feet in height. Though Klaus could have easily resisted his friend’s pull, he’d always been the stronger after all, he willingly went with it. It really had been too long.

“It’s great to see you too, Bobby!” Klaus replied, returning the hug with equal enthusiasm.

Klaus stepped into the apartment. Just beyond the entry was the living room where all of his other friends were already gathered around the dining table. Allison waved from her seat, one hand still reaching for her dice. Fred and Sara flashed smiles of their own, hands full of character sheets and what were likely pages of backstories.

“Klaus, you made it!” Fred exclaimed, rising from his seat to give Klaus a fist bump. The smallest, most bookish of the group, Fred made up for his lack of height with nearly boundless energy, especially when it came to his hobbies.

“Wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Klaus responded, returning Fred’s fist bump with a grin.

Sara chimed in, her voice filled with warmth. “We’ve been looking forward to this game night all morning! It’s been too long since we have all hung out together.”

“Yeah, seriously,” Allison added, putting the finishing touches on her own character. “We really shouldn’t let life get so busy we aren’t able to see each other.”

As he took his place at the table, Klaus felt a pang of guilt for letting so much time pace since their last get-together. “I know what you mean. But I’m really glad we could all get together today.”

“Alright everyone, now that we are all here, let’s get started,” said Bobby. He moved to his spot at the head of the table, and as he sat down his face went stern. His was now in Dungeon Master mode. He cleared his throat and began.

“Welcome to the first session of our new campaign,” Bobby began, his serious expression not enough to distract from the excitement in his voice. “Now, let’s introduce our characters. Klaus, since you were the last to arrive, why don’t you start us off?”

Klaus pulled out his character sheet and cleared his throat. His eyes darted between Fred and Sara, a smirk on his face as he described his character. “I’ll be playing Sir Trombun, a noble human paladin on a quest to uphold justice and protect the innocent. He wields a sword that belonged to his mentor, and he wears plate armor adorned with the symbol of his order.”

Fred and Sara make eye contact them promptly boo Klaus at the same time. Bobby and Allison break out into laughter, having known this was coming as soon as Klaus had said he was playing a paladin.

“Come on, Klaus. A quest to uphold justice? More like a quest to be boring. Where is the fun in justice?” asked Fred plaintively.

“Yeah, Klaus, I’m not sure how fun this will be if you are constantly shaking your head in disapproval every time we find some piece of treasure or decide to skirt the law a little.”

“You mean steal and engage in crime?” Klaus asked.

“Tomato, Tomato.”

“Tomato, Tomato?”

Sara blew a raspberry, “You know what I mean.”

“Fine,” Klaus said with a laugh, “I will try to be more of a voice of reason instead of outright preventing your fun. Deal?”

Getting a considering nod from Sara, Fred responded with a grin of his own. “Fine. But don’t be surprised if we tie up Sir Trombun and leave him behind if he starts preaching about taking a more righteous path.”

The whole group laughed again.

“Alright. Allison, you are up next,” said Bobby.

“I’ll be playing Lyra, a skilled elf ranger who roams the wilderness in search of adventure and treasure,” Allison bared her teeth in the crude approximation of a wolf. “Her wolf companion Dreena accompanies her on her journeys.”

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“Excellent. Fred?”

Fred spoke up next at Bobby’s prompting. “I’ll be playing Brother Alaric, a devout human cleric devoted to a god of healing and compassion.” His face then took on a shifty look. “He also isn’t above soliciting donations with his trusty mace.”

Before Klaus could get a dig in at Fred for his character, Sara introduced her own with a mischievous smile. “And I will be playing Sylvia, a cunning elf rogue with a knack for stealth and for liberating precious items from their unworthy owners. She’s quick with a dagger and even quicker with her wits.”

“Wonderful, then I welcome you all to the world of Urgix!” Bobby then launched into a five-minute-long opening narrative of the campaign, setting the stage for how the characters all meet through chance in a city marketplace as a riot breaks out over an unpopular tax levied by the new lord. With each minute fleshing out the world the campaign was set in, Klaus found himself leaning further forward in his chair, his imagination ignited by the promise of discovery, danger, and glory to be won.

The hours passed in more fun than Klaus had experienced in a long time, what with his endless work and the constant pressure of his family’s debt looming over his head. Loosing himself in the roleplaying, Klaus had urged his new companions to stick together as they navigated the chaos, using his paladin’s strength and better armor to shield his friends from harm. Allison and Fred had kept their characters close behind him, striking down any of the agitators that had tried to attack them. Sara herself had sent her rogue running ahead, scouting a route through the riot. The session ended up concluding at around eight in the evening as their whole group was deputized by the city guard to track down the ringleaders of the right, that they might be brought to justice for defying the city’s new ruler.

“Wow, I really have missed this,” Bobby said as the finished the session. “We need to pick this up again next weekend.”

Looking around, Klaus saw everyone was looking at him. He knew that he was the weak link when it came to hanging out. Klaus resolved that there would be another session soon and that he wouldn’t be the last to arrive.

“Actually, before we get to that,” Fred said, “Sara and I wanted to share something with you all. Sara?”

Sara lifted her left hand from her pocket. Where her hand was bare before, now a very respectable-sized diamond ring graced her ring finer.

“Fred and I… we’re engaged!”

A collective gasp of surprise and delight rippled through the group as Fred looked at Klaus and Bobby. “And we couldn’t imagine getting married without our closest friends at our side. Klaus, Bobby, would you do us the honor of standing with me as groomsmen?”

Klaus’ eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly stepped to Fred’s side of the table to clap him on the back, only barely beating Bobby there to do the same.

“Of course, Fred! I’d be honored.”

“Yeah, what Klaus said, Fred. I would be honored as well.”

While Klaus and Bobby pulled Fred into a group hug, Sara stepped around the celebrating friends to stand by Allison.

“And you, Allison, will you be my Matron of Honor?” asked Sara.

Tears welled up in Allison’s eyes as she nodded. “Oh, Sara, I’d be thrilled to. I can’t wait to be there by your side on your wedding day.”

”Excellent!“ Fred cheered at hearing Allison’s response to his fiancee. “This calls for a drink! Bobby, do you still have that bottle in the kitchen? You know the one.”

While Bobby darted off to the kitchen, saying as he did that there should still be some of it left, Klaus felt his pocket vibrate. Checking his phone, he saw Dr. Halter was calling him. Immediately concerned, since his boss generally did not work this late, Klaus excused himself from the celebration, and then made his way to the bathroom before he answered.

“Dr. Halter?”

“Klaus,” Dr. Halter greeted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m glad you were able to take my call. Listen, I need you to come to the office right away.”

Klaus frowned, a sense of unease creeping over him at the terse urgency in Dr. Halter’s voice. “Is everything okay, doctor? You sound a bit… off.”

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before Dr. Halter responded, his voice tight with restraint. “I’m fine, Klaus. But we have a situation here, and I need your help to resolve it.”

Klaus’ heart sank at the ominous tone in Dr. Halter’s voice. “What kind of situation?” he pressed.

“Just a small issue with some paperwork,” Dr. Halter laughed. It wasn’t his usual jovial one either. Mixed in with it was barely hidden stress. “It is urgent but with your help, I think it can be fixed pretty quickly.”

“Can it wait until Monday? I’m with some good friends and—”

”No, it must be now,“ Dr. Halter interrupted. “I’m sorry, but it really can’t wait.”

Something must really be wrong if Dr. Halter was insisting on Klaus coming right this instant. Frowning at the fact that he wouldn’t be here to properly celebrate with his friends, Klaus knew he had already made up his mind as to what he would do.

“Alright. Just let me tell my friends and I’ll be on my way to the office.”

“Thank you, Klaus. See you soon.” The call disconnected.

Staring at the phone in his hand, still not able to set aside his unease, Klaus after several long seconds put it back in his pocket. Stepping back into the living room, Bobby was pouring whiskey from an expensive looking bottle into glasses for a toast. At his return to the room, everyone looked in his direction. Smiles began to dim at the frown on his face, but before they could ask what was going on, Klaus spoke.

“Sorry everyone, Dr. Halter called with a work emergency. He says he needs me right now, and that it can’t wait.” He grimaced. “So, raincheck on the toast for me?”

Fred set his glass down and stepped over to Klaus, clapping him on the shoulder. “Of course, man. Just do what you need to do. We can make it a night this coming weekend?”

“Count me in.” Klaus pulled his friend into another congratulatory hug.

Klaus gathered his things, then stepped around the room, giving hugs and goodbyes to everyone. With each of his friends, he said out loud he would be seeing them soon, hoping that the act of voicing it out loud would make it that much more likely to happen.

The door closed loudly behind him as he made his way down the street to Dr. Halter’s office. A drop of water hit his hand. A storm was coming.