It was amazing that Tony and Kevin were even ready in time for the trip. Sleeping past noon after a long night was a natural thing to do. The problem was that Tony and Kevin hadn't packed for the trip the night before. So, when Kevin rolled over and noticed that it was already 1 p.m., he jumped off the top bunk and quickly woke Tony up. Mayhem ensued for a few minutes as the two tried to get ready and pack. Even Mikey, had he been around, which would have been highly unlikely even during spring break, would have been impressed by the efficiency with which things got done between the two friends.
They packed their bags into Kevin's SUV. They waited for Scott, who had already been up for hours and was off getting additional supplies, and Cindy and Lisa who were taking their time finishing up packing. Finally assembled, the five of them flew (Writer's note: Yes, flew. This is Kevin driving, remember.) to Paul's apartment to meet up with the rest of the crew. They arrived just as Paul was closing his trunk. His car was full of people already, so they had to be ready to go.
Kevin rolled down his window. "We'll just follow you, okay?"
Paul gave a thumbs-up back to Kevin. "Just try to keep up," he replied, stepping into his car.
The drive up into the mountains was picturesque. The weather was perfect (as it tends to be in California) as the two-car caravan made its way through winding, forested roads. The group eventually pulled off a dirt road onto a gravel driveway about four hours after they left DeMontfort.
"I think that was the first time I haven't been scared for my life the entire trip when Kevin's driving," Scott quipped as he got out of the car. "Of course, it's difficult to hold that kind of fear for four hours straight."
The group from Kevin's car laughed. That is, everyone but Kevin laughed.
"Thanks, Scott," he replied with a half-smile. "It's nice to know that my abilities are appreciated, I guess."
"Nice dodging those squirrels out there, Kevin." Paul was walking towards them from his car. "Too bad there weren't any squirrels. Even if there were, you probably wouldn't have missed many of them."
"Heh. Well, I was just following the leader in this case," came the retort. "I wasn't sure if that was the way you're supposed to drive in the country or if you were just that bad a driver." Kevin shrugged. "Everyone's a critic, huh?"
One of those sly smiles spread across Paul's face. "Kind of difficult not to be in this case, though."
Kevin chuckled. "You know, this kind of abuse is going to hurt my ego pretty soon."
Tony, deciding that discretion is the better part of valor and probably the best thing if he wanted to survive the trip back in a few days, bit his tongue.
Scott, Lisa and Cindy, who had only briefly met Paul before, silently watched this exchange with bemusement.
Paul approached the rest of the Richter group. "Sorry for being so rude again. Let me introduce everyone to everyone else." He motioned for the others to come over. "Kevin, I might need your help with your friends here."
Introductions went smoothly. Besides Paul, there was Tony's chemistry TA, Sharon. Sharon was a diminutive ferret, who wore a pair of very distinctive earrings. They were gold discs about a half inch in diameter with a very significant number of multicolored gems inset in them, in a complex pattern. The truly distinctive part of these earrings, though, was that they seemed to shine more brightly than one thought they should.
Next was a very tall cougar named Richard, or Rich as he preferred. He was Paul's roommate and was almost as quick-witted. As with Paul, Rich was not obviously incredibly athletic, but was neither very thin nor overweight. He was a master's student in physics, plasma physics specifically, he said. Rich and Paul could have been mistaken for a pair of twins, had it not been for the slight height difference and the fact that they were different animal types.
Doug was a well-cut wolverine dressed in dark blue tank top and shorts which accented his steel black fur. Lisa felt herself staring a little too much at him, and tried to get her mind back to her real interest: her fuzzy Mikey. Doug could have been confused as a clone of Scott, but with significantly more fur and a different coloration. They were about the same build, the same height, and had the same sort of self-confidence. Doug and Scott, in fact, hit it off pretty quickly, and wandered off after introductions finished.
The last member of Paul's group was an athletic female timber wolf. Her real name was Rachel, but she preferred her nickname Crystal. It was an appropriate nickname, because hanging from her neck on a thin, intricate gold chain was a large light blue crystal. The crystal's color matched her eyes perfectly. Other than this particular adornment, she dressed very simply in jeans and a light green t-shirt. She had an engaging personality and was very amiable. There was some sort of interest or feelings between Crystal and Paul, if one watched them close enough, but they didn't introduce themselves as anything more than friends.
With introductions complete, everyone started unpacking and setting up inside the cabin. The cabin was very spacious and well built. Set well back into the hill, the bottommost of the three floors was underground except for a marvelous view of the lake eastward down the hill. The east third of the living room and kitchen area extended up all three floors, with almost floor-to-ceiling windows on the eastern wall. There was a small wood-floored deck just outside the living room, facing the lake, accessed from the cabin by a plain glass door.
The second and third floors took up the west two-thirds of the building and looked out over the living room and kitchen on the first floor. Both floors had identical layouts with three bedrooms and a bathroom connected by a single hallway that looked down onto the kitchen and living room and out toward the lake. A very sturdy looking staircase wound its way along the north side of the building. The staircase was right next to the north door and entered the kitchen area on the first floor.
Paul let the travelers know that each bedroom had two beds. Everyone separated into pairs as they lugged their belongings into the cabin.
Rich and Tony paired up in the south bedroom on the third floor. Rich decided not to stay with Paul, not because he didn't want to, but because, as he said, "I get enough of Paul the way it is. Best to share."
Paul and Kevin set up in the center second floor room, chatting the whole time they were unpacking. Cindy and Sharon knew each other pretty well from the chemistry department and headed toward the north third floor bedroom. That left Lisa and Crystal together. After a bit of uncomfortable silence as they moved into the north second floor room, the two found something to talk about. With this common ground, they started conversing and laughing quite loudly while unpacking.
By the time Scott and Doug returned and started unpacking, the kitchen was filled with hungry bodies and lots of food. Dinner was simple, but according to Kevin, "Much better than that gruel they try to serve us at DeMontfort".
Scott and Doug eventually made their way down to the kitchen after unpacking. "Something smells good down here," Scott said, hungrily eyeing the food.
"You can blame that on Paul and Rich," Kevin told them. "They did most of the cooking. You should stop smelling it and just eat it."
"Ah, this must be that infamous three-cheese casserole that Rich has been warning me about, huh, Paul?" Doug taunted, inspecting the scoop of food he just put on his plate. Paul glanced incredulously at Doug and then at Rich, who was chuckling at the wisecrack.
"You never seemed to mind it before, Rich," Paul stated to his roommate. "In fact, I've noticed that you are the one that tends to finish it off all the time."
Rich deliberately scooped up some of the dish in question off his plate and munched thoughtfully on it. He swallowed, gave a slight cough, and sipped a bit of his water, before retorting, "Yeah, but that's only because you tend to eat almost all of it before me. There's usually only a good spoonful left by the time I can attack it."
"I suppose that is true." Paul chuckled sheepishly. Noting that all eyes were still on him, obviously expecting the clever retort he didn't have, he quickly switched subjects.
Addressing Scott and Doug, he queried, "Where did you two wander off to anyways? Took the tour of the lake?"
"Nope," Scott replied. "We actually just stumbled around the woods behind the cabin here, chatting the whole while. I didn't intend to be wandering for that long, but things happen, you know?"
Doug added, "You know how it is when you start chatting with someone, right? Mind doesn't care what else goes on."
"Like yours ever does?" The quick sting came from Sharon, who had been sitting quietly eating at the end of the large table. Doug glared for a moment at her. She looked up at Doug, smiling. Doug's glare changed quickly into a smile, and any tension that might have been built up was instantly defused.
What an interesting group of people, Tony thought. It's like having a bunch of Kevins around. The more I even think about the possibility of more Kevins, it scares me. He smiled to himself.
After dinner, everyone went outside to get a tour of the premises. They were in a small clearing, surrounded by trees. The clearing sloped down slightly toward the lake. Near the water, the land leveled off, indicating that the lake was probably higher sometime in the past. They were at the northwest corner of the lake, so it stretched down the valley they were in toward the south for a couple of miles. It was about three miles long, but only about half a mile wide, surrounded by forest. There were only a few cabins on this lake, so the water was mostly undisturbed and reflected the slowly setting sun.
Most of the mountains were still heavily covered in snow, so the lake's water was quite cold, but tolerable enough to swim in for a short time. Out about three hundred yards from their shore, there was a small island that was entirely sand. As Paul explained to the rest, that island was a favorite for the sunbathers because it was very fine, soft sand and there was no vegetation on it or near it to block any sun. Of course, it required that you get out to it somehow. In the summer, it was a simple swim. In the spring, however, it was preferred to use a canoe to get out there. Luckily, there were a few canoes in the cabin so those that wanted to tour the lake or enjoy the sun on that island could actually use the lake.
The sun was beginning to set, reflecting brilliant oranges and reds off the water. Many of the group sat on the small beach next to the lake and watched the sunset, casually chatting and getting to know each other better. Paul and Kevin wandered back up toward the cabin, talking about the role-playing campaign Paul had set up for them during this mini-vacation.
"So, when are we going to start the campaign?" Kevin asked.
Paul chuckled. "A bit antsy, huh? We'll draw up characters tonight, and tomorrow morning, we'll start it up. When you wake up tomorrow morning, be prepared for a small shock." Paul chuckled to himself.
Kevin glanced at Paul. Kevin shuddered as he caught a rare evil glint in Paul's eye. Wonder what he has planned for us? Kevin thought. I haven't seen that kind of malevolence before in his personality.
Paul noticed Kevin's uneasy expression and slapped Kevin on the back. "You looked worried or something. Sorry, I'm just trying to put the finishing touches on the campaign in my mind. My mind is partially elsewhere." He laughed, trying to get Kevin to loosen up again. "You understand that, right?"
If I didn't know about the existence of his campaign, I'd swear he was up to something devious, Kevin thought. But, he's being sneaky about this campaign so I guess I'll just have to get used to this kind of behavior for a few days. Kevin slowly smiled as he came to this realization.
"Yeah, I understand," Kevin said. "I've just never noticed your evil side before. It took me a moment to figure it all out."
"Oh?" Paul looked incredulous. "And what, may I ask, have you figured out?"
Kevin smiled. "That your campaign is probably going to rock!"
Paul let out what sounded like a relieved laugh. "You doubted it?"
"Well, we'll find out in a few days, now won't we?" Kevin replied.
He started walking towards the cabin again. Paul followed alongside. "So, what can you tell me about it then?"
"Nothing yet. You'll just have to wait like everyone else."
"Darn! Not even a little bit?"
"Nope. As a certain anime character once said, ‘That is... a secret!'" Paul stopped and mimicked the anime character in question, saying the line while waving an extended index finger.
Kevin laughed. Figures someone like him would toss in a Slayers reference. And it would have to be Xelloss too, Kevin thought.
"Okay then, Mr. Trickster Priest," Kevin started. "I guess I'll just have to live in anticipation."
Paul chuckled. "Don't tell me I just got a new nickname. Even though I like the ring of it."
The two continued on with their walk up to the cabin, joking and laughing the rest of the way up.
Darkness brought everyone back into the cabin. Paul and Kevin were in the living room as the rest of the sunset-watching group drifted in.
"So, what's happening tonight, then?" Crystal asked Paul as she came in.
"We're drawing up characters tonight. We'll do most of the role-playing over the next two days."
"Cool. I have an idea for the character I want this time!" Sharon said, visibly excited.
"Well, don't get too many ideas. There are some restrictions on characters for this campaign," Paul explained. "But, when you're ready, come on down and we'll start."
"Okay." said Crystal and Sharon simultaneously. They looked at each other and laughed.
Everyone else filtered into their respective rooms as they came in. Kevin and Paul spread the word about the character creation that would start when everyone else was ready.
After a few minutes, the role players started drifting down toward the comfortable living room. The others congregated in Lisa's room.
The role-players were all down in the living room, idly chatting and waiting for Paul to let them start, when the sound of a large collective groan came from Lisa's room.
"What's wrong up there?" Kevin called up.
Tony came out of the room and hung over the railing. "We were just listening to the radio and the weather report came up. They're calling for rain showers the next two days."
"Really? That kind of sucks for you guys," Crystal stated, sympathetically.
Lisa, Cindy and Doug came out of the room and leaned over the balcony with Tony. Their faces conveyed their disappointment.
"I'm sorry, you guys," Paul said. "I should have checked the weather report before inviting you up."
Lisa spoke up, "Don't worry about it, Paul. It's not your fault. We'll find something fun to do."
Rich sighed, but soon perked up as a thought struck him. He poked Paul's shoulder and asked him a question. Paul thought about it and nodded after a quick moment of thought.
He spoke up, "Well, Rich just had an idea. You guys wanna play with us?"
Cindy looked at Paul apprehensively. "Um, well, we're beginners. We wouldn't have any idea how to play."
Scott looked up. "Well, Kevin and I are also first time players. We can all learn together. Doesn't look too hard."
Kevin added, "Plus, you get to use your imagination and have fun with the rest of us. It's not the most active form of fun, but it should be quite enjoyable."
The invited four chatted quietly amongst themselves. After a few seconds, Lisa shouted back down, "Do you mind if we leave in the middle, just in case the weather gets nice?"
Paul thought about it for a minute. "Sure, that should be fine," he replied. "We can work it into the story when you want to leave."
Tony asked, "You guys sure you don't mind us joining?"
Sharon was the first to respond, "Mind? These things are more fun with more people. I definitely don't mind."
The other role-players nodded in agreement.
"Come on, you guys. Come join us!" Scott yelled up.
The four went back to their muted discussion. A few seconds later, they started walking toward the staircase.
As they descended, Doug told the role-players, "Make some room! Four newbies joining up and looking for adventure!"
Cheers and chuckles from the whole group rang throughout the cabin as the four new players joined the circle.