Derrick felt a cold wind as the door opened again. A shout went up from the tables. It was Crispin, also known as Rickard’s father. OOG, Crispin was Curtis and still Derrick’s dad. His father had had custody on every LARP weekend. Derrick had been playing alongside him since he was eight, in one of the limited roles children were allowed to take. Since turning sixteen, Derrick had been able to be a full-fledged PC, moving quickly up the ranks thanks to all his IG knowledge. And it didn’t hurt that the character Rickard was based on had gained more importance with each book.

On weekdays Curtis was an accountant, but in Cascadia, Crispin was a silver-tongued rogue working both ends against the middle. He was tall, like Derrick, but more muscular. Even though Derrick thought they looked alike, new players always seemed surprised to find out they were real-life father and son.

“What ho, friends!” Crispin cried. He was grinning, his arms around Lady Katarina and a stone elf named Sheena. As Cascadia’s founder, he drew women like flowers drew bees.

He clapped one hand on Derrick’s shoulder as he made his way to the center of the crowd. Derrick felt a familiar tangle of jealousy and love. But then he remembered. The coins in his father’s purse had no value OOG. But the money Derrick was making from selling Bob’s work could be spent anyplace.

Turning away, he pushed himself deeper into the tavern. A small crowd was gathered around Nellique. In front of her were a number of wire tools. Sticking two in the lock of a small wooden box, she began to manipulate them, her tongue poking between her teeth. While Nellique had had to buy the legerdemain skill to become a locksmith, it didn’t guarantee she would actually be able to get into the box. To open the lock, she had to pick it for real.

New people came to Cascadia expecting a game, but this was as close to real life as you could get. You didn’t roll dice to see if you had the charisma necessary to pull a great con, or the dexterity to hide in the shadows, or the intelligence to figure out a secret code. You had to actually be able to do those things. If you wanted to strike an enemy with your arrow, then you had to physically throw your arrow representation and hit them with it.