Barley drove his brother in his van over to Quest Con: the biggest convention for the game Quests of Yore. As they got out of Guinevere 2, Barley put his hand on Ian's shoulder.

"Well dear brother, your first convention experience is awaiting." said Barley as he put on his theatrical voice.

"Barley, do you have to talk like that all the time?" asked Ian.

"Everyone here does it, Ian. You just got to get into the spirit when you're at Quest Con." said Barley, "Now you got your student ID?"

"Right here." said Ian.

"Then lets sally forth!" said Barley.

They entered into the building. Everyone from the tiniest fairies to the largest of trolls was dressed in costumes from long ago. There were booths selling merchandise of all sorts from t-shirts, tabletop miniatures, and even crochet tea cozies.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting it to be this big." said Ian.

"You haven't seen anything yet, dear brother, for you must join your first ever Quests of Yore game campaign."

Barley took his brother over to a large room with tables set up where creatures could sit down and play their favorite tabletop rpg.

"Now you're just a novice wizard right now, so we'll need to start you off with someone who can give us a good campaign. Perhaps with a small party."

Barley scanned the room for a suitable table. Most of the tables had members that clearly had more experience than Ian had. It was then he saw a lone table with a girl sitting at the end.

"Ah, perfect!" said Barley.

He lead Ian over to the table and approached the girl.

"Excuse me, Fair Maiden. My brother is a level one wizard wishing to partake on his first quest."

"Oh great!" said the girl, "I have a campaign that's perfectly suited for wizards."

The girl reached into her backpack, pulled out some papers, dice, and tiny miniatures as she set them up on the table. Barley looked at the miniatures and noticed they were painted in fine detail.

"You paint your miniatures too?" asked Barley.

"Yeah, they help advance the game." said the girl.

"That's how I feel about it too!" said Barley.

Ian picked up a figure and studied it.

"How do you get them so detailed?" he asked.

"Lots of patience and tiny brushes." said the girl, "Now, do you two have any character sheets?"

"Right here." said Barley as he handed the girl the sheets.

"Alright. Ian Lightfoot and Barley Lightfoot. Those are nice names. Please take a seat and we can start."

Ian and Barley sat down and grabbed some pencils and a notebook.

The girl then cleared her voice before setting up the scene.

"You've reached the Manticore's Tavern. The smell of mead permeates the air as you enter."

"We actually know the Manticore." said Ian.

"REALLY?" asked the girl.

"Yeah, she's really nice. She and our mom like to hang out together practicing sword fighting."

"That's so cool!" said the girl before realize she had to go back to her campaign, "Anyways, the Manticore enters into the room. Her large wings and her scorpion tail swish as she approaches you..."

As the girl continued to talk, Barley began to lose focus. He found the girl to be rather pretty with long brunette hair and deep blue eyes. He also noticed the fin-like ears that pointed outwards, giving her a bit of an elven look. Her voice was light and upbeat with a hint of charisma as she set the scene for the two teenagers.

"Barley!" said Ian as he tapped his brother on the shoulder.

Barley flinched a bit.

"WHAT?!"

"The Manticore is speaking to you."

"Oh." said Barley as he got out his character sheet, "I use my Charisma points to convince the Manticore to hand over her map."

The girl looked at Barley, then rolled the dice.

"You attempt has proven effective and she gives you the map."

They continued the game for at least two hours until the game ended.

"Well I think you two did great on your quest." said the girl, "Especially you, Ian; can't believe this was your first campaign."

"Thanks." said Ian.

"Well, I think I best be going."

It was at that moment the girl wheeled herself out from the table, revealing her wheelchair and her scaly pink tail.

"Oh!" said Ian.

"What's wrong?" asked the girl.

"Nothing. I just didn't realize you were a mermaid." said Ian, "I didn't even know mermaid were interested in this kind of stuff."

"IAN!" said Barley before turning to the mermaid, "Forgive my brother; he does not know of the tales of the likes of the great mermaid rogue, Myra the Mysterious."

"You know about Myra the Mysterious? I have her playing card right here!" said the mermaid as she got out her card.

"That's so awesome!" said Barley.

"You know, if you want, we can continue playing another time." said the mermaid as she started writing down her information, "My name is Isla Swifttail, by the way."

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Swifttail." said Barley as he bowed and tipped his hat.

The girl smiled and laughed a little before wheeling out of the room.

Ian looked over at his brother, who seemed to be focused on something else.

"Barley, are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." said Barley.