6 friends at a housewarming party (Complete)

The sun had just dipped below the Sydney skyline when the first knock came at the door. Andrea Reyes flung it open with her usual flair, arms wide and grin wider. “Welcome to Casa Andrea!” she declared.

She ushered in her friends Miles and Leila, each of them carrying a bottle of wine. "Wow I see we're getting loaded tonight."

"What? We don't have to drink this tonight, I thought a bottle of wine was an appropriate housewarming gift." Leila said.

"And so did I...cause Leila told me to bring one." Miles admitted sheepishly. "Personally I'll take a beer if you've got it."

Andrea rolled her eyes, "Come on in. Let me give you the tour...ok so there's the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room and my bedroom! The end!" It was a rather small studio apartment, all if it visibly the moment they'd stepped inside. Still Andrea was proud of herself for getting this place. She'd been living with roommates for so long she was thrilled to finally be on her own.

"It's nice." Leila said unconvincingly.

"Yeah, really nice." Miles said honestly, not picking up on Leila's tone at all.

"Well don't just stand there, come in! And help yourself, beer is in the fridge." Andrea waved them in. The apartment was still half in boxes, but Andrea's unique style was already on display. None of her furniture matched, bright colours were everywhere and the scent of her perfume filled the space. It was small, but it did seem like a good thing for her. Besides it was a much nicer neighbourhood than her old place.

Miles put his bottle of wine down on the counter and found a beer for himself. He eyed the couch, but decided to plop down on the floor. "So are we ordering in or what?" He asked.

Andrea shook her head, "No..."

"No?" Leila asked.

Andrea blushed, "Well...Daria asked if she could bring anything..."

"Andrea!" Leila crossed her arms and stared at her, "You remember what happened last time, don't you?"

Andrea gulped and nodded, "Ya...but...I reminded her. She promised it will be vegan this time."

Leila sighed, Daria was a nice girl but she seemed very confused by Leila's veganism. No matter how many times Leila reminded her she kept making mistakes.

Another knock at the door and Andrea went to answer it. There was Daria , carrying a large casserole dish. "Hi everyone!" She said cheerfully.

"Hi Daria." Leila said back.

"Can I put this in the oven? It just needs to reheat." Daria asked. Andrea said yes of course and she went put it on and then came and sat down in the living room. "So how's it going guys?"

"What did you bring?" Miles asked on Leila's behalf.

"Oh, I found a great new recipe. It's chickpeas and rice, with a bunch of veggies and coconut milk and vegetable stock."

Leila blinked, "Wait...that sounds vegan."

"Yes of course it is." Daria said, "I actually bought some lamb to go with it but Andrea sent me a...I mean I decided I don't need meat in every entree."

Leila sighed in relief, "That's great. Thanks."

The front door opened again, without a knock this time. Camille rushed in, "Bonjour mes amis!" She made a beeline for the counter and set down a bottle of wine. She opened a few drawers at random until she found a bottle opener and then started removing the cork, "I had, how do you say, ah, a shitstorm ya?" She succeeded in pulling off the cork and quickly looked around for a glass. Andrea rescued her and passed her one and she filled it and took a sip immediately. "Ah. Bien. Tastes like shit but what did I expect for $10? Can I pour anyone else a glass?"

"With that endorsement how could I go wrong?" Andrea said slyly.

Camille poured her a glass and handed it to her, "Ah, by the way I think David is here."

Andrea rolled her eyes and walked to the door. She opened it and poked her head out, "David! Get over here!"

"Oh, sorry." Came the reply. David hurried in and immediately sat down and went back to looking at his tablet.

"David, buddy, you're going to get hurt one day walking with your tablet in front of your face." Miles chided.

David looked up briefly, "I know I know. I just had a great idea and was trying to incorporate it. You know I'm freelance..."

"We know!" Everyone said collectively. David never went anywhere without his tablet and often drifted out of conversation to pull out a project and start working. He insisted that was just part of his creative process and his friends had all gotten used to it by now.

There was a beep from the oven and Daria stood up, "Oh, great timing David. Dinner is served..."

30 minutes later there was another knock at the door. Miles answered and paid the delivery driver, then brought the pizza back inside.

"I'm sorry, I really thought my dish would be a hit." Daria apologized once again.

"It's ok, it was vegan at least." Leila said, "I just don't think you needed quite so much salt next time."

"Now that I think about it...it was probably supposed to be 6.0 grams and not 60..." Daria said absentmindedly.

"Oh well...this looks good though right...let's eat." Miles suggested.

They all sat around Andrea's living room coffee table and ate their pizza. Miles finished first, as usual, and then spotted something underneath the couch. "Hey, what's this?" He reached and pulled it out.

A game box — old, wooden, dusted with time. Unmarked, save for a faint symbol carved into the lid: a closed eye surrounded by twisting vines. It didn’t look like anything modern. No branding, no instructions.

“Did you get this from the antique shop next door?” He asked, wiping the dust off the top.

Andrea blinked. “What? I’ve never seen that before. It must have been left by the last tenant.”

Miles opened the lid and set it aside. Inside was a beautiful board game. It appeared to be solid, polished wood, showing no signs of the age or dust that had been on the lid. A curving path looped around the board with different symbols scattered across the tiles. 6 carved marble figurines stood together on the board and a central glass dome dominated the board. He picked it up and set it down on the coffee table.

"A board game? Neat. How do we play?" Miles asked.

David swallowed a piece of pizza, "There is a 6 sided die there...but I don't see any instructions."

Daria reached out and grabbed a piece. As she made contact she felt a shiver down her spine and suddenly the glass dome lit up. "Whoa..."

Words flicked across it, clear enough for all to see.

Touch your piece to begin. 5 players remain.

Miles shrugged and touched a different one. The words changed.

4 players remain.

"How does it know? Where are the batteries?" Leila asked.

"Who cares, this is cool." Andrea said, touching her piece.

3 players remain.

David and Camilla reached out at the same time and touched theirs.

1 player remains.

They all looked at Leila expectantly. She groaned, "Oh fine." She touched hers.

The game begins.