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“Well that’s what happens when you use a fire elemental to power your stove—it eventually burns down your inn!” Me to our paladin as we stand watching the remains of said inn collapse into smoldering ruins. We’re in the Elven equivalent of San Francisco and our fancy-ass accommodations just got burned to a crisp because of Spark the sentient Bic lighter. “You burned down another inn!” Our druid after they return from a side quest. Their real-life daughter was sick so they couldn’t make it to the D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) session. When this happens we just say they’re on a “side quest.” “Hey, I’ll have you know I was in no way responsible for this! I shout back indignantly. “And those other two were bars thank you very much.” My D&D character Kazmira is constantly getting blamed for anything that turns into flambé because of her inherent flame magic. The only two bars in a town supporting the completely sus magic school infested with serpent people. Our “totally not a harpy” party member who touched the super dangerous glowing magic purple crystal that possesses people. That ogre who just so happened to be a dragon using illusion magic. Yep, all her fault. Now, Reader, you may be thinking D&D… 😬 🤔? Well if you’ve watched like any Stranger Things or caught a glimpse of that Dungeons & Dragons trailer with Chris Pine you have at least a vague idea of what I’m talking about. (To be 100% honest here I’ve consumed exactly zero of that show. Seriously, I’ve seen more Eddie and Steve slash art than minutes of Stranger Things.) If you’ve still no idea what Dungeons & Dragons is, no worries. Because—another bit of honesty here—I was not someone who grew up playing D&D either. Seriously. I legit didn’t even know it was a game that existed until the mid-2000s. So here’s the tweet version. It’s a collaborative storytelling game you play around a table with friends. You roll a collection of dice and move awesome miniature figurines on a square-grid board. You pretend you’re on missions created by a Dungeon Master to accomplish goals like… Saving an inn of people when the fire elemental decides to go on strike and burn it to the ground. Some more truth. Despite having 12 years experience in musical theater. And having 10 years experience in historical reenactment. I sat in the corner of our living room and worked with headphones every other week while my then-boyfriend (now husband) and our friends role-played every other week. For a freakin’ year. Because I thought… I can’t do this. I’m not good at this. It’s not the same as other things I’ve done before. I did this for an entire YEAR! But then over New Year’s—a decade or so ago—I agreed to play a completely ridiculous game called Kobolds Ate My Baby. And well… Now I’ve been role-playing every other weekend for a decade or so because… This thing that I thought wasn’t for me was actually kinda awesome. Because more often than not, trying something completely outside of your wheelhouse and comfort zone actually ends up turning into an unexpected pleasure for you. Something you look forward to. Something you never even realized you might actually be good at. Which makes me wonder, Reader. How many things do we tell ourselves we can’t do? I can’t write a whole novel. I can’t write in that genre. If I did that people would think— But would they really or are you just imagining the worst? Could it actually turn out kinda awesome if you gave it a shot? So, Reader, my challenge for you is to do one thing you thought you could never do. What is it? Hit reply and let me know. Your cohort in storytelling, Kat Vancil 🐱 PS 👉 What exactly is Kaz? Thanks for asking. She’s a Home-brew D&D 5 (Dungeons & Dragons) race I made that’s a fantasy version of a species in one of my upcoming SciFi Boys Love projects. Sound intriguing? Click here and I’ll drop you an email when it’s closer to launch time. PSS 👉 If this Quest of the Week prompt sparks your creative catfish hit reply and let me know or Story me on The Gram 😸 Quest of the Week Your Legendary Character is staying at the Singing Catfish inn. They’ve just arrived in the common room when the fire elemental that powers the stove bursts into the room.  
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