“You think we’ll be promoted after this quest?” A slender red headed man asked, adjusting his bow over his shoulder.

“Nae, the new Guild Master is a stickler.” A short but stout Drake replied.

“I’ve heard she knocked a sapphire’s front teeth out for cutting in line…”

“Aye, rule follower, her.”

“Both of you, shut it. If we lose another bounty because you two are being too loud, so help me I won’t break your front teeth.” A fiery and well armored woman said in a hushed whisper.

“I envy Ikal…” The red head whispered.

The Drake laughed. “You would think he broke his foot on purpose, just to get away from her.”

“I can hear you.” The woman said with irritation. “And again, stop talking. I won’t be the one to explain to Ikal that we won’t be able to afford the fare south.”

“Bah, we don’t need a fare. We can just take a caravan guard quest.”

“And do you want to slowly travel with a group of half-wit [Merchants]? Because I sure don’t.”

“Hey, I take offence to that! My uncle is a [Merchant]!” The red head yelled.

“Shh!” The Drake collapsed his hand around the man’s mouth. “I heard somethin…”

The team went into battle formations, spreading out and staying low. Snow and ice covered the hard ground, echoing each step with a definite crunch. They each activated various means of quieting their movements. The woman, a [Warrior] used technique called Even Footing, the Drake a spell called Hush, and the red head, an [Archer], a technique called Nimble Steps. The forest went silent, eerily silent. They were in a dense section which limited their vision to only a few dozen meters. They did as any veteran adventuring team would do and listened.

Only the Drake, with his non-Human ears heard it. “It almost sounds like… Purring…” He whispered when the team regrouped.

“I can’t hear anything.” The woman said, getting a nod from the other Human. “Know what direction?”

“That way.” The Drake pointed with a single leathery finger, deeper into the frozen foliage.

“Ashwin, get a vantage point. Follow along in the branches.”

The red head nodded before activating another technique. Before he knew it, he was in a sea of dead branches. Hints of white shone through the brown grey of winter wood, allowing Ashwin glimpses of his teammates. They moved forward, he did also. They stopped, he stopped. Sometimes he wondered if he was helpful as an [Archer]. If he was stationed on a wall, his abilities were useful. But in a forest? Trunks often blocked his line of sight. Above the trees was no different. He could hardly see, how many times did he tell them that? ‘I can’t see shit up there! I would be better on the ground!’ But they never listened, that’s why he suggested they move south. Less trees would be good for all of them. Ikal would be able to run without tripping on roots. Lars would have better angles to fire his spells. And Maisy… Well… She would stab better?

Ashwin didn’t dwell on Maisy for very long. She was by far his least favorite of his teammates. ‘Focus up’, ‘Quiet down’, ‘I saw you trip him!’, she would say… Always a busy body, but he had to hand it to her; she was strong. By far the strongest single member of the team. But you don’t make amethyst by doing nothing. Maybe that was her problem. She thought she was better than the rest of the team just because she was a rank higher. Ashwin rolled his eyes; I always do my best thinking in the trees… He continued on, refocusing at the task at hand. A bounty quest, one for ‘any large beast/monster’. He always liked these kinds of quests. You never knew what you were going to kill. Lars said he could hear purring, maybe a mountain lion of some type. He listened, straining his senses but Ashwin still heard nothing. Nothing…

That’s weird. He thought, I can’t even hear Maisy’s armor shifting.

Ashwin dropped from the tree, looking around the vacant surroundings. His quiet footstep ability had long ended, but he didn’t notice. Instead, he worried about the shit storm he was about to be in. He was supposed to be on overwatch, but he lost his team? Maisy is going to kill me! He thought, doubling back towards where he last saw them. He often lost track of time while in the trees, but he’s never lost his team before…

“Wait…” Ashwin whispered to himself. “Alright, alright! You can come out now! You guys got me! Good one!”

Expecting his team to jump out from behind a tree or pop up covered in snow, he readied himself. Best not to make it worse by allowing them to make him jump. He and Lars had done something similar to Ikal when he went off to pee once, maybe Lars convinced Maisy to do something similar. But as the seconds ticked by, and no one revealed themselves his mind began to race. If they aren’t hiding…!

He took off in a dead sprint. He wasn’t even sure if he was heading back towards Lesterwood, as his movement through the trees left no tracks to follow. But he didn’t care, he had to move, and he had to do it now. Every hair was standing up on his body and every synapse was firing. The [Archer] skill High Alert had gone off. The skill was simple, if something targets him with the intention to kill, he would be pumped full of adrenalin. The idea for the skill was to give the [Archer] enough time to withdraw and counterattack. He spent months as a child learning the skill. His mother told him it saved her life many times and is something that everyone should have.

As Ashwin ran, the trees he passed began to morph. From long cylindrical trunks with a multitude of thick branches to twisted and baren. The trees spiraled away as if they were trying to run from something. Run from something in the direction Ashwin ran. A root ended his flee, Irony, he thought as he felt his now bloody face. For the first time, he looked behind himself. There was a stag. A great stag, one larger than Ashwin had ever seen. Its antlers branched like the treetops the [Archer] loved so very much. Drops of a red liquid fell to the white snow below, casting the stag in mold of blood. Strips of fabric, the same iconic yellow Lars wore, flapped in the wind, as if they mocked Ashwin. Ashwin moved, pulling his bow in front, and losing an arrow with a quick movement. The arrow bounded comically off the stag’s iron fur, removing all hope the adventurer had.

He pulled for another arrow, but it hardly mattered. His body was turned into a pin cushion moments later, ending his life before he could even blink. He didn’t see the stag move, and maybe that was for the best. His life was still his own in those last few moments, still an [Archer] wanting a better life with his friends. Still an adventurer hoping for a big score, and still a fighter who fought to his last breath. There was no torturous build up or agonizing slow bleed out, instead he died fighting.

“Are you happy?” The stag said to a small mole that was just breaching the soil.

“Yes. I know you don’t want to kill, but we both know none of my shifts are the fighting type.”

“You and Dreamstem always leave the dirty work to me. I’m sick of it. I’m asking for a transfer when this is over.”

“Yes, yes. You’ve been saying that for a decade. At least you realize this had to be done. If the fungus spreads… Just look at this place. We must find the cause.” The mole said.

“I know, I know. You do not have to remind me. You should remind Dreamstem. It was her turn to watch over the area. But she gets called in to discuss goblins of all things? Now look at this? Three more adventurers. Three more deaths, on me. On ME!”

“Such is our duty.” The mole waddled over to his hole. “I’ll inform Dreamstem, you get some rest.”

The stag huffed, before his bones began to crack and shift. They lessened in weight, and long silky feathers started to grow from his fibrous fur. A long beak formed, bright yellow with an orange undertone. A toucan sat where the stag once was, it took one last look at the adventurer, before taking flight and thinking, I’m not cleaning this up.

“Stable… Strong… Hmm… Solid base… Impressive spell work, Max.” The tree-face avatar of [Arbor] Xylem said.

“Thank you. Couldn’t have done it without you.” Max replied.

“Bah, you would have got there without my help eventually.”

“I’m not so sure. Teleporting was something I had use for. I don’t think I would have actually pursued Pocket Dimensions, especially after failing so many times.”

“Now you are just being modest. You told me last time you had an interest in inventory rings or has that changed.”

Max sighed. “You got me there…”

“Never question an [Arbor’s] memory.” Xylem chuckled.

“Touche.”

“Touch-aye?”

“Errr, never mind.” Max said. “Where do I go from here? I don’t have a use for a castle inside a pocket of space…”

“Yes, the great question of any [Space Mage]. What’s next?” Xylem’s massive wooden eyes rolled in their stationary position. “Max, you have only scratched the surface of what is possible for people like us. Teleportation and Pocket Dimensions are just two branches of a massive tree. Forgive the pun, I am not myself as of late.”

This time Emi rolled her eyes. “Good one.”

“If you wish to table Teleportation and Dimensions, then might I suggest distortion or size manipulation?” Xylem continued.

“Both are interesting ideas… I assume you mean distort space to effect enemies and manipulate the space of something to change its size?”

“Correct. I would suggest starting with distortion, as it is the easier of the two.”

“Portal.” Emi called out.

Xylem nodded. “Gates are another choice, yes. You could study the Gate System, maybe even find their secrets.”

Max and Emi shared a look. “I think she meant the spell Anchored Portal. I’ve yet to try it.”

After a moment of hesitation, Xylem said, “You have a Portal spell?”

“Yes… It is a long story, one that I don’t want to get into. But the short version is that I acquired the spell from a Spell Book.”

“You learned a Portal spell from a Spell Book? Max, it’s not that I don’t believe you, I just find it hard to believe someone would give you something so priceless.”

Max sent over the spell box before saying, “It wasn’t so much as left it for me, but rather I found it? Or maybe it was on purpose? I’m not sure, that’s part of why I don’t want to get into it.”

Xylems eyes moved horizontally, reading over the spell.

Anchored Portal (Epic):

Anchor portals between space. Portals will remain in place but otherwise closed unless fueled with sufficient mana.

115 mana for initial anchoring.

25 mana to open.

Variable cost for distance traveled.

“Max, this is… I… I must see it. Please show it to me.”

“Do you think it’s safe?”

“No, but where else would a better place be, if not besides a veteran [Space Mage]?”

“One who cannot move or react with magic…” Max said.

“That is true. But I have ways to protect you if things become rough.”

Max sighed, What do you think?

Do it. Emi replied.

Fine, fine. This is probably the saftest place anyways…

“I’m going to try for a small one, okay? Nothing too fancy…” Max said aloud. The knowledge flowed from his mind, guiding his mana. Alien information made itself known, altering his thought processes to assist rather than control. Space began to flicker as a single long line formed mid-air. Almost as if space erupted, the line bulged before adjusting itself to bend to Max’s mana. The line transformed into a tear, as if created with a dull sword. Rays of light seemed to penetrate the area, blending into the room as if welcomed. An almost inaudible hum slowly made its presence known. Max’s mind quickly told him the cause of the noise. The spell was incomplete, and he needed to act fast before it snapped back to normal. A second wave of mana was fired out, this time to the far side of the room. Similar to before, a line was created then carved away, leaving an identical tear as the first. The humming stopped, and so did Max.

“It’s ready…” He spoke.

“Marvelous.” Xylem whispered.

Even Emi was captivated from the lightshow before her. The little monster was tired of being bored during these space lessons. She wanted Max to be able to summon her a large quantity of water at will, giving her something to play with. The air within the [Arbor]’s trunk was oddly dry, meaning she could only make a few small orbs to pass the time. But now? Now she could have as much as she wanted.

Portals are glorious! She said to Max.

They really are… Max activated the spell’s intended function. The tears were pulled from the center outwards, creating a diamond shape. Light poured from the seams, filling the already dark room with purples and dark blues. Mana dripped from the edges, falling harmlessly to the ground before it suddenly stopped… The portal stopped emitting light, stopped dripping mana, stopped sparking against reality. A shifting frame of manipulated space stood firmly in reality, a mirrored image of the room inside. Cautiously, Max and Emi circled the anomaly. The image of the other side of the room moved with them, each step showed a new step but from a different angle. Until Emi saw her back.

A quick, but small, bolt of water was launched by the bond, aimed at the mysterious copy. The real Emi jumped as a bolt of water hit her! She spun in surprise, firing an Ice Lance with practiced movement. A shield of water was quickly erected to protect Emi from her own attack.

“Emi! Emi!” Max yelled, gathering her attention. “It’s okay, that’s you! You can see yourself…”

She walked around the portal with more hesitance. Slowly accepting the embarrassment of the situation. Xylem let out a low bellow as an annoyed expression overcame the water monster. A bolt of water splashed the [Arbor]’s massive chin, causing him to laugh louder.

“I guess we know how it works now, at least.” Max said, hoping to maintain an ounce of his bond’s pride.

“Indeed, we almost lost the little one because of it!” Xylem giggled.

“I want to go home!” Emi finally said.

“In a minute, in a minute.” Max said with a smile. “Should I step through?”

“I think you should…”

Max took a deep breath, working up the nerve to take a step. It was similar to last time he used his body as a testing object, but this time his mind told him it would work. He knew the spell was constructed correctly, as if he had casted it a thousand times before. Spell Books are scary, he thought as his legs guided his body forward. With a wave of vertigo, Max appeared on the other side of the room.

“Huh.”

“Something wrong?” Xylem asked.

“No… Emi, you try.”

Without hesitation, Emi sprinted through the portal, slamming into her partner’s knee.

“Absolutely amazing! Max, please tell me you understand the possibilities tied to this spell?”

“Errr-“

“Gates, new Gates. Protection, moving an army… Esmel has a way out of the dome…”

“Do they want to leave?” Max asked. “I’m sure some of them do, but for most is this not their city?”

“That is true, some will stay. Has captain Ism told you of the crowds he deals with every morning?” Xylem said. “I wouldn’t blame him for not telling you. I know he has mentioned the issue with price gouging luxuries, but its more than that. There is a group of citizens that have taken it upon themselves to steal everything they can get their hands on. The victims of such crimes are the temporary citizens, the ones that found their homes outside the walls destroyed. This spell would give them a chance to find normalcy.”

Seeing Max’s hesitance, Xylem continued. “Max, I know it’s a big favor to ask of you. Your life will never be the same if people know you can cast such a spell.”

“We don’t even know if others besides me and Emi can enter the portal… And I don’t think there will be many volunteers.” Max said.

“That is true. Captain Ism is entering my trunk as we speak. May as well ask him.”

“Ask me what?” A familiar deep voice connected to the captain said. “Max here’s the list for our next order. Most of the items are—What is that?” Ism pointed at the two portals.

“That, my dear captain is Esmel’s future. Two connected portals, one on this side of the room, the other not. Emi would you mind showing him?” Xylem said, receiving a nod from Emi who took a single step to the other side of the room.

“I-is this safe for others? Could I try-?”

“I don’t know…” Max said hesitantly. “It should work, or at least my mind is telling me it should work…”

“Your mind?”

“Spell Book.”

“Ah, in that case, I will try. There is a saying about spell books, Max. ‘I trust myself to cast, but I trust the mind to guide more.’ I’m going to do it.” Ism stepped forward, finding a weird cold sensation encompass his body. His skin shivered as if he was bathing in a cool river, but his next step brought him out of range of the portal, warming his chilled skin.

“It didn’t work?”

“Apparently not. But I did feel… Cold?”

“It should… My mind is telling it should work…” Max said contemplating his alien knowledge. “Sorry, I really don’t know what happened. Everything I understand about the portal says it should work…”

Xylem’s wooden face shifted slightly, conveying his disappointment, “That is alright, Max. It was a long shot anyways…”

The mood was soured as the captain and [Arbor]’s attitude shriveled. “I’ll head back to Lesterwood and do some testing. I’ll come back in a few days with another round of items.”

“Thank you, Max.”

“Yes, thank you, my Lord.”