Congratulations. You have reached level 4.

Congratulations. You have reached level 5.

My usual carnival of dreams erased my recollection of leveling up once again. Only this time instead of dreams of Kalli, it was my mother in my dream. She sat across from me at a table with a serious look on her face. She wasn’t angry, but she was desperately trying to tell me something. Unfortunately, this particular dream didn’t have any sound.

I strained my ears and struggled to lipread as mom grew more and more frustrated at her failure to get her message across. Whatever it was she was trying to say, it seemed important.

Suddenly, she was gone and I was sitting alone in my bedroom. A strange door stood hinged in my closet with a ritual diagram etched into it. I didn’t remember having a door there. It was slightly ajar and I thought I could see the cosmos swirling in the darkness beyond.

A vision of Kalli suddenly filled my head. It wasn’t that she was in my dream, but my consciousness wondered why she wasn’t. This pulled me back to reality, so I opened my eyes.

I lay in bed for a few minutes trying to hang onto the dream, but it didn’t make any sense. I knew my mom was in it and it had something to do with my closet but that was it. I clambered out of bed and shuffled over to the closet to see if that jarred any memories, but the only thing I discovered in the closet was a pile of unfolded clothes.

I loved the weekends. The best adventures for a nerd were always to be had on the weekends. I saved countless worlds from 64-bit tyrants and rescued princesses from their keeps. When no video game caught my interest, my nose was buried in a book that whisked me away to worlds born in the minds of my favorite authors.

For the first time in my young life, the morning held the potential that reality might just prove to be just as exciting as my vivid imagination. The first thing I wanted to do for the day was to greet my princess.

Good morning, princess.

I could immediately tell that I had interrupted something. Excuse me for a moment, Mel.

I almost feels like you’re…

Her more urgent reply came across with a tone of annoyance. What did I tell you about using the connection while the other person is indisposed?

Oh, sorry.

She didn’t reply. The sensation reminded me that my own bladder was full, so I made a pit stop at the restroom. Not 5 seconds into my business I felt her greeting. Okay, let’s try this again. Good mor…ugh. Great, fine. Let me know when you’ve finished.

Okay.

She urgently insisted. When you’ve finished.

It turned out that Mrs. Hodgins wanted to register with the guild too, so she decided to tag along with us to the local office. Since three would be a crowd on the phoenix, I was picked up in Mrs. Hodgins' jeep.

I noticed that Kalliphae was in the back seat when they pulled up so I climbed in the back and sat next to her. Mrs. Hodgins already had the Vista guild office programmed into her GPS. As we pulled out of my apartment onto the main road, Kalli whispered, “Guess what? I leveled up again last night. It must have been all those monsters you killed with that giant rock. I’m level 9 now. Did you level up?”

I scratched my chin, “I didn’t have the dream. I don’t know.”

Listening in on our conversation, Mrs. Hodgins glanced at me through the rearview mirror, “Holy Moly. You’re level 5. How did you do that?”

“Questing”, I replied proudly, “When you join the guild, you’ll be able to go on quests too.”

The librarian shook her head solemnly, “I’m joining the guild so I have access to guild libraries. Kalli told me about the man in red, and we both agreed that it’s probably dangerous for me to go back there right now too, so I’m going on sabbatical until things cool off. I was thinking I might apply at one of these magical libraries and maybe even take an internship under a high-level scholar if I can find one.”

“Wow”, I exclaimed, “You’ve really thought this out, haven’t you?”

The old scholar sighed, “Honestly, Melvin. You’ve awakened less than a week ago and you’re already level 5. I’ve been awake for years and I’ve only managed level 2. That president that I told you about is level 5. Do you realize that you are on the same level as a man that until recently was thought to be the most powerful man in the world?”

I shrugged, “I used to think that way about the president too. Now, I’ve learned that there is a secret society of families out there that have all of the real power in the world. Possibly even multiple worlds.”

Mrs. Hodgins nodded in agreement, “That is precisely why I need to educate myself. I am confident that I can keep up with you kids if I apply myself. I guess you can say that the two of you motivated me.”

I couldn’t help laughing as I pointed out, “Come to think of it, we wouldn’t know that the guild even existed if I didn’t get taken in by the police the other day. Maybe that fiasco wasn’t all bad.”

The old woman levied a scowl at me through the rearview mirror and hissed, “It was all bad. I worry about you two enough without you taking unnecessary risks like that. The two of you are not immortal.”

I frowned and looked down. I didn’t know how to reply. I still felt guilty even though I was trying to make light of the situation. Kalliphae came to my rescue and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, telling Mrs. Hodgins, “Mel knows that. He is already being more careful.”

I wondered if she had told the scholar about the avalanche that we barely got away from. I smiled at Kalli and whispered, “It looks like the princess is the one rescuing me in this game.”

She gave me a blank stare before whispering back, “That reminds me, why did you call me princess earlier?”

I spent the next ten minutes trying to explain to her how video games worked.

Kalli and I were locked in a heated discussion as we arrived at the guild. Mel, I just don’t get it. Why would someone create a device to go on fake quests?

Just because quests don't exist for someone doesn’t mean they don't want to go experience the adventure. Besides, think about it, if the threat of death isn’t real then there are no real drawbacks.

With a sense of aggravation, she pointed out. There are also no rewards. You just sit there in front of the magical picture box and do what? Waste time? You even equip your imaginary hero with fake weapons and armor. I fail to see the point.

I laughed at her comment which further unnerved the girl, causing her to turn red.

We are so going to have to play some video games together. I think you’ll like it.

She gave me a skeptical look and sighed. Very well, I will try this video game of yours, but only after we complete some real quests. Okay?

Deal.

It turned out that we got our wires crossed with Shara. She assumed we would return to the Poway guild while we went directly to the Vista branch which was closest to my house. Her bodyguards refused to allow the child to fast travel, so they were forced to drive their escalade which was going to take them an hour at least.

Mrs. Hodgins decided to do the full guild orientation so Kalli and I were left to our own devices. I glanced over at the section roped off for people seeking a group.

Do you think we should try to find more group members and get started?

Kalliphae shook her head. We promised Shara that we would group with her this weekend. I think we should wait for her.

I have an idea. Let’s try out some F ranked quests while we wait for her. We need to get used to it if we ever plan to do quests by ourselves after all.

She agreed and we strolled over to the bulletin board to look at the lowest level quest offerings. We learned that the bulletin board that was available to the F ranked adventurers like us was called The Beginner’s Board. We were able to view the C and the D ranked quests, but we could not pull the magical parchment off of the board.

Quests worked on a first-come-first-served basis. Taking the parchment granted the taker one calendar week to complete it. Otherwise, the parchment would turn to dust and reappear on the board for another taker.

Kalli and I debated over which quest to take. She growled at me. I am not killing slimes. They are gross. They explode when they die. Did I tell you that my magical flame does not work on cleaning up magical guts? If you take one of those quests, I’ll just support you with fireballs.

It turned out that we could both pick a quest. As F ranks, we were allowed 1 quest each. That went up by 1 quest per rank. I decided not to choose the slime quest because I didn’t want to upset Kalli, so I chose a different quest.

Little pests are acting up again

Slay 10 Rats

Bring back 10 tails as proof. Reward: 20 Copper + Free Lunch

The owner of the Phylis’ Bed and Breakfast has requested pest control

Kalliphae made a sick face when she looked over my shoulder at the magical parchment I had selected. It was too late to change it. I already accepted it.

Don’t worry. Rats are easy to deal with. I can just make a trap and call it a day.

The girl raised an eyebrow at me. Do you really think this is just a quest to kill normal rats?

What other kind of rats are there?

Kalli rolled her eyes at me and held up her quest.

Delivery Quest: Deliver a Parcel to the master carpenter

Deliver 1 package

Bring back a receipt as proof of delivery. Reward: 20 Copper + Choice of Duck

Urgent Delivery: You are requested to deliver a special order to B’s Custom Furniture.

They have delivery quests? I hate those.

Kalli stuck her tongue out at me. At least we won’t get dirty or have to perform monster autopsies for my quest.

We checked up on Mrs. Hodgins before leaving the guild. I made sure she had my M-Phone number before we left in case she needed us.

As it turned out, the quests we chose were on the opposite sides of town.Kalli’s quest was in old town and mine was in restaurant row.We decided to do hers first since it didn’t require any exterminating.It felt a lot like cheating flying the phoenix to the destination for a delivery quest.

We made it over to the furniture store in five minutes. At first, I thought it was a vacant building.

Are you sure you got the address right?

Kalliphae took a moment to double-check the parchment and announced. This is the spot. The quest marked it on the map and everything.

The door creaked as we pushed it open. The store looked more like some old person’s house with hand-carved rocking chairs and antiques lining the small room in a way that resembled a living room. A man wearing overalls with a beard that went down to his belly greeted us from a workbench in the back, “Well I’ll be. We don’t normally get young ’uns in here. Do ya need to use the bathroom or somethin’?”

Kalli and I exchanged a look and she waved him off, “No, thank you. We’re fine. We have a delivery for you.”

“From the guild?”, he asked, his excitement mounting.

I grinned, “Yep.”

The slightly overweight man scooted around the workbench and made his way over to us. He looked down at his greasy hand and wiped it on his overalls, leaving a brown smear in his wake. Seemingly satisfied, he offered his hand to us, “The name’s Barney. Pleased to be meeting ya.”

Kalliphae gave an uneasy look at the man’s hand and curtsied instead, announcing “It’s a pleasure.”

Cowing under Barney’s gaze, I gulped and took his hand in mine. It felt traces of whatever had been on his hand as he shook mine vigorously. I took my hand back and sniffed it gingerly. I was relieved to smell varnish, but Kalli shot me a disgusted look.

We both looked up to see Barney towering over us, asking, “Well, out with it. Who’s got my package?”

Kalli jumped and stammered, “Oh, sorry. That’s me. One second.”

She fished a package off of her back and offered the oversized sack to the carpenter.Since the quest items were too big to fit into our personal bags, a special one had been provided with a larger opening.The bag weighed nothing even when fully loaded.I had joked with Kalli that the bag was worth more than the quest reward, but she had informed me that stealing it would get us kicked out of the guild.

Some girls just can’t take a joke.

Barney wasted no time untying the seal on the sack and pulling it open. His smile grew larger and larger as he examines the contents. He then turned back to us and said, “Well, guess a promise is a promise. Come on back and choose your duck.”

Kalliphae gave me a nervous look before following Barney through the open door at the back of the room. As I stepped through the door, the first thing that caught my eye was a floor-to-ceiling display case. Inside were dozens, perhaps hundreds, of hand-carved wooden ducks.

Barney announced, “You can choose any duck from the bottom shelves. Each duck has a special magical effect. Each one was handcrafted by my pupils over the years as a final test of skill.”

Her apprehension lost, Kalli walked up and down the row of ducks, occasionally picking one up and turning it over in her hands. I watched impatiently as she handled duck after duck, always frowning and putting it back.

Hurry up. Just pick one. They’re just ducks. I’m getting hungry and my quest comes with free lunch.

She sent me back frustration and replied. Hush. None of these feel right. I want to pick the perfect one.

I sat down in one of the wooden rocking chairs and announced, “Wow, these really are comfy.”

Barney beamed at me, “O’course they are. I made ‘em after all.”

Both of our attention was turned back to Kalli as she stood on the tips of her toes reaching for a red duck on one of the upper shelves. I groaned and Barney mumbled, “That’s…”

The girl cradled the duck in her arms lovingly and ran her hands over its wooden plumage. Barney rubbed his chin and informed us, “That’s very interesting. What class be you, girl?”

She looked up from the duck, “Pyromancer. Why?”

“Hmm”, the carpenter sighed airily, walking to the back of the room where he had other supplies stacked in various crates and cupboards.

He returned with a red nesting doll that matched the duck in color. Kalli’s eyes widened when she saw it, “What’s that?”

“I don’t rightly know”, he explained softly, “I believe it’s a dragon’s egg.”

That got both of our attention. Kalli and I walked over to Barney and looked closely at the doll. I said, “That doesn’t look like a dragon egg. It looks like it’s carved out of wood. There's a seam right there. Why don’t you just open it and see what's inside?”

Barney raised an eyebrow at me, “What exactly is a dragon egg s’posed to look like?”

He tossed me the egg and I examined it. Placing a hand on both ends, I tried my best to pry it open but had no luck. I reluctantly handed it back to the carpenter.

Kalli quietly walked up to Barney and ran her hands over the nesting doll in the same way as she had the duck. She whispered, “It’s the same, isn’t it?”

Barney nodded, “That’s right. That duck was carved from dragon wood. That is wood that grows from a tree that is planted atop a dragon’s grave. This particular wood comes from a red dragon. It’s my belief that this here is the egg of that very red dragon. I’ll tell ya what. Here’s what I’m gonna do. You do me a favor, and I’ll let you have that there duck.”

Kalli cringed away from the carpenter. He raised his hands defensively and explained, “I ain’t talkin’ bout nothin’ inappropriate now. I want you to do a test for me. Call it a quest. I am going to lend you this here duck for a week. You know the Pvruzth spell right? I want you to use that to infuse fire into this egg every night for no less than an hour. Bring it back to me in a week and you can have that there duck. What do ya say?”

Kalliphae looked at the egg curiously and asked, “Why do you want me to do that?”

Barney rumbled with deep guttural laughter, “I mean to hatch it, o’course. I think all this lil baby needs is a lil mother’s love.”

“How does infusing my flame into an egg give it mother's love?” Kalliphae asked suspiciously.

The carpenter educated us, “Have you ever read about how a dragon hatches her eggs? Well, I have. I’ll tell ya. She keeps ‘em warm with her breath. This lil baby hasn’t got no love so it won’t hatch.”

We marched out of Barney’s shop a short while later to fly to our next stop. Kalli tucked the dragon egg in her bag. I laughed at her.

Look’s like you’re about to be a mama.

The girl stuck her tongue out at me. Shaddup.

While she was unraveling the phoenix from her flowing blue dress, my M-Phone rang. I answered it, “Hello?”

Shara’s voice spoke on the other end, “Mel, is that you? We’re here at the guild. Where are you?”

I explained, “We took a few low-ranking quests while we waited. We just finished the first one.”

She asked, “Where do you have to go for the second one.”

“Have you ever heard of Phylis’s Bed and Breakfast?”, I asked.

Shara replied ecstatically, “I love that place. We will meet you there.”

I grinned and told her, “Pick up a quest for us to do together. Something fun.”

She announced, “I got just the thing. See you soon.”

I hung up the phone and turned to board the phoenix. I nearly walked straight into Kalli, who was waiting patiently for me to get off the phone. Let me see your hands.

I presented my hands to her.

Why?

She took my hands in hers and she practically yelled.

“Pvruzth”