The Quests of Samantha the Red (pictures included-updated 8/5)

[Rel]

What follows are the “Adventures” of my three year old daughter who I’ve introduced to a brand of LARPing in and around our home. I’ve posted some information about our earlier adventures in this thread. But what follows is the start of a series of adventures with a common theme and setting. I don’t know how long these will go on but I’ll keep posting about them as we go. I’ll warn you that they WILL be silly and there is no “system” to speak of. Plenty of time for that later.

I will also be attaching photos to most or all of the updates. These will illustrate the story as it progresses. I hope you enjoy them.

And so on with our story…

A call went out throughout the lands of Mommyville that King Monkey was summoning any who would dare to attempt to lift the curse from his kingdom. And this call was answered by the aspiring adventuress, Samantha the Red. Garbed in her reddest outfit, she donned her backpack, empty but for a few red coins, and entered the audience chamber of King Monkey.

“Greetings, Samantha,” he said. “I am glad you have come to help us. My kingdom is cursed and everybody is sad and can’t get happy again until the curse is lifted.”

“Oh. Well, I can help you with that,” replied Samantha the Red.

“I’m so glad to hear that. To lift the curse, you must find all the magical items that have been lost and scattered throughout the kingdom. The first three are the Silver Items. The Silver Cup, Silver Horseshoe and Silver Jingly Ball. Can you remember that?”

“Yes! Cup, Horseshoe, Ball!” Samantha repeated this brief list of items several times to commit them to memory. Although very smart, she was as yet illiterate.

King Monkey addressed her once more before she departed, “Very well, I shall wait for you to bring back these items. And before you go looking for them, you may wish to buy some of the things the merchants have for sale in the village.”

“What’s a merchant?” Samantha asked.

“Um, like a store. One that sells things. Go look for the Gnome and the Egg Wizard.”

“Ok. Bye-bye!” And with that, Samantha was off to do some shopping.

--------------------------------------

She went immediately to where she knew the Gnome to live, at the base of the Loquat Tree. She found him there, sad but with several items for sale.

“Hello, Binky! (The Gnome’s name is Binky) What do you have for sale?”

In a sad and pathetic voice, Binky replied, “*sigh* I have this Magic Rope, these Magic Shoes and a Sharp Stick. The Magic Rope lets you climb things. The Shoes let you jump very high and very far. The Sharp Stick is good for poking rats in the bottom. *sigh*. Each of them costs one coin.”

“I see. I might need the rope for climbing things. Here is a coin!” She placed the red coin in the small bucket next to the Gnome and placed the Magic Rope in her backpack. With a brief “Bye-bye, Binky”, she was off in search of the Egg Wizard.

She found him sitting despondently on a colorful couch. If the brightly colored couch couldn’t cheer him up, likely nothing would. “Hello,” he said wistfully as she approached.

“Hi! I see you have some potions! I have money!” Samantha attempted enthusiasm but it was not contagious.

“Yes. I have two potions. The blue one makes you very tall and the green one makes you very small. I also have a Magic Ring that lets you fly. The Ring is two coins and the potions are one coin each.” From the sound of his voice, the Egg Wizard barely made it through his sales pitch without bursting into tears.

Consulting the contents of her purse, Samantha the Red determined that she had enough money and opted to buy everything. She carefully counted out the coins for each item and laid them on the colorful couch next to the Egg Wizard. Once she had paid for everything, she loudly declared, “I have one coin left!”

“I don’t have anything else to sell right now,” proclaimed the Egg Wizard, nearly sobbing. “You’ll have to go talk to the Gnome.”

“Bye-bye!” and Samantha set out to see Binky once again.

She found him where she had left him and regarded the two remaining items he had for sale. She admired the shoes for they were shiny and black. But the Pointy Stick held the allure of danger. One never knew when one would be beset by a rat sorely in need of a swift poke to the bottom. “I’ll buy this!” she declared, holding the Pointy Stick aloft in triumph. So great was her rapture at this latest acquisition that she nearly forgot to pay for it. But Binky reminded her and she parted with her final coin.

Adding the Pointy Stick to her backpack, she determined that she was prepared to set forth on her adventure after a brief pause for a photo-op…

 

[Enkhidu]

Rel has just become my new hero.

 

[Rel]

Not knowing precisely where she should go next, Samantha the Red gave some thought to the items she sought. Silver Cup, Silver Horseshoe and Silver Jingly Ball. The Cup and the Ball she would have to keep an eye out for, but she had an idea of where the Silver Horseshoe might be. She hitched up her backpack and headed straightaway for the stables.

There she found her faithful old steed, Hobby. And sure enough, hanging from his bridle was the Silver Horseshoe. She reached for it and Hobby recoiled.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I need that Silver Horseshoe for King Monkey!” Samantha replied with fervor.

“Well then I will gladly give it to you. But I wonder if you will do me a favor?”

“Sure,” said Samantha the Red, always willing to help those in need.

“I have something lodged in my hoof. Could you take it out so it stops hurting me?” Hobby’s voice contained the hurt that he felt.

“I will do it!” said Samantha. She quickly knelt and saw that a large stone of some sort was stuck to Hobby’s right front hoof. She plucked it free and found that it was in fact a sizable diamond!

“Oh thank you!” cried Hobby. “That feels better already! You may take the Silver Horseshoe. And is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Have you seen the Silver Cup or the Silver Jingly Ball?” she asked.

“I haven’t seen any sort of Jingly Ball,” Hobby replied. “But I have heard that the Mean Green Monster owns a Silver Cup. He lives on the Big Stump in the Forest.”

“I know where that is!” Samantha cried in delight, happy that she had a new destination in mind. “Bye-bye, Hobby!”

And she was off once more…

 

[Rel]

She made her way carefully down the path into the forest, always wary of Rats and frankly quite anxious to poke one in the bottom with her trusty stick. But none approached and she caught a glimpse of the Mean Green Monster in the distance.

She had dealt with him before and knew him to be greedy and rude. And it now appeared that he was also reclusive for he had erected a tall wall along the path that entered his part of the forest. But this was no deterrent to Samantha the Red who was determined to aid King Monkey and free Mommyville of its curse!

In a flash she had out her Magic Rope and cast it up and over the wall that barred her way. As she held the end of it, it coiled around her and pulled her up and over the wall before vanishing in a puff of smoke. With the wall behind her, she made her way through the underbrush until she stood face to face with the Mean Green Monster.

“Mean Green Monster, I need the Silver Cup. Do you have it?”

The Monster replied brusquely, “Yeah, I have it! But I’m not giving it to you!”

“Why not?” asked Samantha, her innocent heart not able to grasp why one would withhold aid from King Monkey in his time of need.

“Because I’m MEAN and GREEN! I don’t just give stuff away! You have to give me something!”

“Oh,” said Samantha, “well what do you want?”

The Monster thought for a moment. “I want a great big diamond!” He chuckled inwardly, knowing that it was exceedingly unlikely that young Samantha the Red had such resources. He was startled at her reply.

“Oh I’ve got one of those. Just a minute.” She doffed her backpack and dug for a moment before finding where she had placed the diamond in her purse. “Here you go!”

Angered at having to follow through on his end of the deal, Mean Green Monster connived to thwart Samantha. “Well, you can have the Silver Cup now…IF YOU CAN FIND IT! HA HA HA!”

But Samantha was nothing if not sharp-eyed and she easily caught a glimpse of the cup hidden in a hollow in the stump. “There it is!” The Mean Green Monster’s laughter ceased abruptly. He was beaten.

“Do you know where the Silver Jingly Ball is?” inquired Samantha as she packed the Silver Cup into her backpack.

The Mean Green Monster had heard a rumor but wasn’t sure he wanted to pass it along. But if he didn’t then Samantha was likely to linger and continue to gloat about tricking him out of his Cup. He decided he’d prefer if she went and bothered somebody else. “I’ve heard that the Eagle has it. Now go away!”

“Does the Eagle live at the Birdhouse?”

“Of course he does! Now GO AWAY!” The Mean Green Monster turned away in frustration.

“Ok! Bye-Bye, Mean Green Monster!” And with that she set off in search of the Birdhouse…

 

[Terwox]

This is really adorable, thanks for posting it.

 

[Baron Opal]

Wonderful, Rel! My son is 3 as well and has similar adventures throughout the house, although I've never done anything so organized. I may have to get a picture of Sir James the Purple up here sometime.

Baron Opal

 

[Cinerarium]

Oh. My. God.

Rel, this is amazing! I'm going to get my wife, a non-roleplayer, to check this out. I love the pictures! The Mean Green Monster is great!

Best story hour ever!

 

[threshel]

Absolutely awesome!

I love the world kids can live in, and you've done an excellent job playing in it. Keep up the good work. And keep letting us know more of the Aventures of Samantha the Red!

 

[Rel]

Thank all of you for your kind words. I have such tremendous fun doing these adventures that I just wanted to share with a community that I enjoy so much.

I've got a couple more updates from our last adventure and then there will be a new adventure this coming weekend. That will be the Quest for the Three Golden Items.

 

[Rel]

Before she could depart the forest and make her way to the Birdhouse, Samantha would have to find a way back over the wall now that she had used up her Magic Rope. She regarded the contents of her backpack and came across the Magic Ring she had bought from the Egg Wizard. “I can use THIS!” she exclaimed with delight.

She donned the Magic Ring and she suddenly felt herself grow much lighter. In just a few seconds it felt as though a giant pair of hands had gripped her, lifted her over the wall and sent her soaring through the forest in the direction of her destination. She arrived at a black gate that was the entrance to the Duchy of Backyard. Finding the gate unlocked she passed through it and continued on her way to the Birdhouse.

As she arrived, she called out to the Eagle who sat perched atop his aerie, “Eagle! I need your help!”

The Eagle gazed down regally and replied, “My child, what is it I can do for you?”

“I need your Silver Jingly Ball to give to King Monkey!”

With a hint of sadness in his voice, the Eagle called down from his lofty perch, “And I would gladly give you what you seek. But alas, the Egg Rat has plundered my nest and taken it from me. He left me with but a single egg and I do not think that it will hatch.”

Samantha’s voice also dropped in sadness, “Oh. Well, where did he take it?”

“He has made off with it to his lair, atop Mulch Pile Mountain. There he guards it jealously against any who would try to take it back.”

Samantha the Red was instilled with a new resolve now that she knew where to go to right this injustice. “I’ll go get it! And I’ll poke that rat in the bottom! I have a pointy stick!”

This seemed to give rise to the Eagle’s spirits, “I wish you luck my child! And you may take the last egg that I have. What it contains may aid you in your quest!”

Samantha looked up at the tall Birdhouse with consternation. “How can I get it out? It’s too tall. Wait!...I have a Potion!” She furiously dug through her backpack and withdrew the magical potion with the blue stopper that she had purchased from the Egg Wizard. She held it forth, observing the almost day-glo orange of the liquid it contained. Then she quaffed it in its entirety and felt herself begin to grow.

Within a few seconds she had reached such a height that she could easily open the Birdhouse to grab the egg within. She shook it and heard a rattle from inside it. With a squeeze and a pop, the egg opened to reveal three of the red coins used throughout the realm along with a golden key inscribed with a dragon. She placed these things within her backpack and prepared to march off to Mulch Pile Mountain.

There lived a rat who had a date with destiny!