My parents created “quests” for me growing up. Sometimes it went along the lines of “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate though enemy lines and retrieve the very important classified intel from the drop at the end of the driveway.” Or “You must deliver the dangerous artifact encased within this glob of darkness to the Box of No Return.”

And my cousin and I would do recon. We would plan. We would encounter enemy soldiers or bands of roving orcs. And, ultimately, we would fetch the mail. Or take out the trash to the dumpster. But, boy would we have fun along the way, and our imagination muscles flexed all the better for these experiences!

I started having themed birthday parties, and my parents would deliver much better quests than household chores for those. Backstories. Plot twists. With help from my eldest sister, they created aged maps and treasure chests. They would lie in wait and ambush us. And I had the most talked about and well-remembered birthday parties among my circles of friends! Because it was more than just a fun birthday party activity. These were exciting stories and we were the main characters! 

So when my best friend and I decided to make really awesome pirate costumes to see the midnight showing on opening night of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, it didn’t take a huge leap of thought to, “Man, we’ve put a lot into these costumes. We should have a pirate party and invite other people in pirate costumes!” And what’s better at a pirate party than a pirate treasure hunt, complete with buried chest of gold and jewels with lots of cryptic clues and puzzles along the way? Setting it up was so much fun, and we heard such positive feedback from our guests, we made our Pirate Parrrrty (and its accompanying treasure hunt) an annual event for several years!

Out of these fond memories, Adventure Quest was born. Not everyone was blessed with parents. And I wanted to make Quests and Adventures even more epic and memorable and involved than the ones I experienced! It occurred to me that Adventure Quests could be used for so much more than a fun time. I have now created plenty of birthday party Quests, and heard from participants years later about how amazing they were. But I’ve also created Rite of Passage Quests to usher children into their teenage years and teens into adulthood. Rites of Passage used to be an integral part of life stages, meant to challenge us and show us that yes, you can overcome; yes, you are ready for this. I’ve created team building Quests for businesses. I even made a hiring Quest that tested each applicant’s knowledge of the job, their resourcefulness, their ability to work with others, and their leadership skills. I’ve created Quests for classrooms that give students a better reason to know those math concepts than just getting good grades. 

Quests for families, quests for couples, quests for students, quests for friends. Adventure Quest brings people closer together through their shared experience and appreciation for each other’s talents and skills. 

I’m an Eagle Scout and a Certified CA Naturalist; I was the Head Naturalist at the Chico Creek Nature Center. I majored in Creative Writing. I have certifications in Project WET, Project WILD, and Permaculture under my belt, and I’ve always had a love of history, nature, and the outdoors, and a hunger to learn more, always. These accomplishments have helped me get to a place where I can help and guide others on their quests for knowledge. Giving classroom presentations and leading field trips in Nature Education go hand-in-hand with Adventure Quest, which is all about getting out, challenging yourself, learning, and having fun in Nature. I also teach Enrichment Courses at schools and workshops for natural sciences, archery, sword fighting, and Scout skills like knots and lashings, orienteering, making fire with flint and steel, physical fitness, teamwork, and camping and survival basics. I am fortunate that all of these interests, skills, and the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years fit neatly under the umbrella of Adventure Quest! 

~Druin Heal