Page 39 of The Spellreader and the Phoenix

“I’ve got a couple in paperback,” David went on. “How about I bring them next week, and you give that a try? So you’ll know if you like them before you invest.”

Smiling shyly, Tom said, “I’d like that.”

Stella patted Rory on the shoulder on the way out. “Nice job.”

Rory was pretty sure she wasn’t talking about the game.

They all echoed the sentiment that it was nice to meet him and they hoped he’d be coming back.

“I hope so, too,” Rory agreed. “This was a lot of fun. Although I’m still pretty sure I have no idea what’s going on.”

Max locked up behind them and then looked at Rory. “Was that okay?”

“They’re great,” Rory assured him, a huge smile on his face. “It was so much fun! I can’t believe how silly it is. I love it!”

Max looked like he was trying to suppress a smile. “I’m glad.”

“Can we do our homework now?” Rory asked. “I don’t want to forget. What happens if you don’t level up like you’re supposed to?”

“You probably die,” Max said casually.

Rory made a face.

Max laughed. “That’s why we have back-up characters ready to go. The DM tries to balance encounters so that they’re a challenge but not likely to kill everyone first thing, but things can go wrong. The dice tell the story.”

The dice were still inanimate objects with numbers painted on them, but Rory had observed that everyone at the table seemed to believe that these plastic cubes defied logic and probability to have control over the game.

It had become clear this wasn’t something he should argue with them about.

“I like how everyone works together,” Rory confessed. “Well, I mean, sometimes Edward does whatever he wants and we end up with a besotted dragon, but…”

Max was laughing again. “I know what you mean. There’s a lot of collaboration rather than one winner.”

Rory nodded. Yes, that was exactly it.

They headed upstairs, Nōwē meowing as she darted between them, firm in the belief that they’d gotten a lot more snacks than she had and that should be immediately rectified.

“It’s time for bed,” Rory told her, yawning. “Are you sure you’re really hungry?”

It was the principle of the thing, apparently.

“How about we level up in the morning?” Max suggested.

It was after eleven. That was probably a good idea. Rory felt like he’d reached the limit of what he could possibly learn today. The knowledge wasn’t hugely practical, but it was very entertaining.

“Sounds good,” he agreed.

He wondered if you leveled up in real life, too. It certainly felt like he was embarking on a new adventure right now.

As they approached mid-October, they settled into a routine. While Max ran on the treadmill in the basement in the morning, Rory did a variety of HIIT, dancing, or other workout routines. He found running boring, but he enjoyed workouts that frequently changed up what he was doing.

Rory liked that he and Max could be in the same room each doing what interested them. Max had checked on him a bit more at the beginning, like he was worried Rory was going to get bored or think that Max should do what he wanted instead, which was just silly.

This worked perfectly well, and there was no reason to change it.

Max listened to audiobooks while he ran, and Rory discovered new music every day with each new workout.

Alex redid the design in the window so that more leaves blew across the glass, and pumpkins had appeared as a border. Rory and Alex shared the duties in the bookshop whenever possible, allowing Max to work with the spellbooks.