The next receptionist had seen what had happened. It didn’t help that Linda gave her the stink eye and was still calling for him.

Micah avoided her and kept on running, pressing his way through the line of Climbers who waited. He also pushed his way through the one after that, and the one after that, and kept on running until there were no more lines at all. He’d reached a secluded stretch of receptions at the end of the hall then. Almost no one was here. It was strangely quiet, the sounds from the main entrance echoing hollowly from far away.

Micah did find a group of people sitting around a low table on sofas after a bit. They were equipped in full gear and seemed to be discussing something. He felt awkward as he walked past, but they didn’t seem to mind. He just wished his shoes were quieter. Then he found a brawny, older man sitting behind a reception alone, his feet propped up on the counter and seemingly dozing. When Micah saw him, he slowed to a halt and took a moment to catch his breath.

The man must have noticed him, though, because he suddenly opened his eyes and stretched. He looked at Micah and gave him a grin.

“You here for me?”

Micah nodded.

“Great." He sat up. "I’m Garen, how can I help you, recruit?”

Micah felt antsy as he considered what he should tell him. He didn’t want to lie. Or at least, no more than he already had. As far as he was concerned, his Path was [Cantrips] now, but he wouldn’t tell the man anything other than that.

"I want to enter the Tower soon," Micah said slowly, forcing more confidence in his voice than he felt. He watched the man for his reaction. If he declined, where was Micah supposed to go? Back to the receptions near Linda? No, they were off-limits. Maybe he would have to go to a whole other branch ... "I had some questions, about what to expect. If you could answer them?"

"Sure," Garen said easily, still grinning. "I'd be glad to help."

Micah felt a massive weight lifted from his shoulders. He smiled in relief that he hadn't been turned away. Based on Linda’s reaction, he’d assumed all the receptionists would dismiss him. His smile was short-lived, though. Underneath it all, he still felt ashamed. He had stood up for himself against Linda, which was great. It wasn't like he had any problems with doing it. The way he did it though …

If Garen had seen the way he'd acted back there, Micah was sure he would have turned him away too.

"Where do you want to start?" the man was now asking instead. In a way, Micah was already lying to him. He forced himself to the lump in his throat and speak with confidence.

“How about equipment?" he asked. The whole point of going into the Tower was to fund his alchemy. Micah had some saved up, but he didn't know if that would be enough for everything he needed, or if it would be worth it even. "What would I need for a first trip?”

"A first trip? Just for a day, right?" Garen asked.

Micah nodded quickly. He wasn't planning on doing a whole expedition like some people apparently did for whole weeks.

"Well," Garen considered, scratching his stubble. "A weapon would be a good start. Considering the first few floors, nothing too long. A knife or a short sword."

Knife or short sword, Micah repeated in his head, as if he was sitting in class. He planned on memorizing it all. Missing a single thing could be fatal after all, and he wanted to honor his promise to Linda that he would be careful.

"If you have a shield or a buckler, you can wear it, but only if you can handle the weight. Bows only if you have another weapon. A beginner won't always hit and you'll soon run out of arrows. It's pricey, too."

"I have a knife," Micah offered.

"A proper dagger?"

He shook his head. "Hunting Knife."

It was an old knife that his mother had and kept wrapped in a towel at the bottom of the wardrobe in the guest room. She only used it in the Fall seasons, when she went hunting with his father and some of their friends. Micah could probably sneak it out if he was careful. He knew how to sharpen it, and he would put it right back there when he was done.

"If it's sharp and durable, it'll be good enough. I'd show it to someone, though, just to be sure."

"I will," Micah lied and immediately kicked himself for it. No biggie, he thought. He would just have to actually do that. Then it wouldn't be a lie at all.

"Then you'll need bandages, lots and lots of bandages," Garen said. He raised his hands and ticked off a finger, his eyes looking up as he counted. "And a basic healing potion or salve. Two water flasks, one for cleaning, one for drinking. Good, sturdy shoes. Thick clothes that can be torn, preferably light armor if you can afford it. Emphasis on light, you got that?"

“Yes?” Micah replied.

"I once saw a kid show up in full plate, headed for the second floor …” Garen shook his head. “Anyway, tools to check for trap-- ah, no, scratch that. First floors don't have any good traps. Maybe just a ball to throw down corridors?"

Ball to throw down corridors.

"Maps, maps are important. They're never accurate, but they can give you a good idea of the general lay of the land. Plus, you start to notice patterns after a while. We sell a guide, too, if you want that, with some basic ones in it.”

Maps, Micah repeated.

“How much does it cost? The guide?”

“For you?” Garen said. “Twenty iron.”

“Pennies?” he asked hopefully.

“Coins.”

“Ooh,” Micah groaned. He had a little more than forty iron coins saved up. It would take half his savings just to buy a guide. He looked at Garen who was oh-so-willing to help and instead of answering, asked sheepishly, “So what else will I need?”

Garen knew what he was doing, Micah saw, because he grinned even wider and chuckled as he went on.

“Well, you’ll need a sturdy pack to hold everything in, best if it has multiple compartments. If not, take a sack or two with you for the loot and any fully formed monsters you kill. You can sell their bodies to the Guild or at the Bazaar. Guild taxes you through the entrance fee, so it doesn’t matter. Artisans don't mind either, both ways. They just love the parts.”

Micah agreed with that.

“Then you’ll also need a whistle. That’s damn important. Get a whistle, kid, if nothing else. If you’re in trouble, blow it and hope for rescue. If someone else does rescue you, do the polite thing and offer them your loot, do you understand?”

He stared at Micah, his grin gone, apparently waiting for an answer.

“Yes?” Micah said.

“I want a clearer answer than that. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” he said.

“Good. I keep on hearing of more and more brats being too greedy to be thankful for their lives these days. I don’t want you growing up like that.”

Micah thought of his reasons for going into the Tower and wondered if he wouldn’t have done just that if Garen hadn’t told him not to. He really did need the money, after all. But he wasn’t completely dishonorable. He was going to keep his word if he gave it.

“Finally, you’ll need some rope, a light source, and some lunch.”

Rope, light source, lunch. Micah repeated. He knew how to make a light potion that worked if you shook it. Hopefully, that would be good enough. A lighter probably would be too fickle and he didn’t want to hold a torch. He didn’t even know how to make one if he was being honest. Just wrap some rags in oil around a stick and set it on fire? Wouldn’t the stick catch on fire, too, though?

Best if I stick with my potions, Micah thought. He smiled then a little on the inside. His mood was improving.

“And on that note,” Garen said, pulling Micah from his thoughts, “lunch.” He brought out a small bundle and put it on the counter. He quickly unpacked it and revealed a pile of cut sandwiches.

Micah was confused and started worrying a little. Was this Garen’s way of saying "bugger off"? Or would Garen just eat and talk? Should Micah have to come back later? He could always wait on one of those couches nearby …

“Take one,” Garen said.

“Huh?” Micah’s mind hadn’t quite caught up yet.

“You can have some if you’re hungry,” he said.

“Oh,” Micah mumbled. He was hungry. Would it be impolite to refuse? He took one and thanked the man. It had some sort of sauce on it, with lettuce and ham. It was actually quite tasty. He said as much.

They continued to talk as they ate. Micah asked Garen how high a beginner was expected to climb on their first try. Garen, after getting up a little and giving him an awkward once-over, confidently said "first floor" with a wink and a fake smile. Micah pouted as he munched on his sandwich and unconsciously tried to stand taller by puffing his chest out. He was small, yeah, but not weak.

Then Garen said that the best thing he could honestly bring along was another person. If maybe he wanted to group up?

Micah shook his head. Who would want to group up with him?

Apparently, there were request boards for that, but they took time to get an answer. In response, Micah just repeated his last question somewhat more bitterly. He would prove himself, get level 4 as an [Alchemist], maybe a [Fighter] Class. Then he could probably try out the message boards.

When Micah asked how many floors there were, Garen said infinite with a straight face. Micah asked again (no really this time) and apparently, nobody knew. A childish part of his mind wondered if the Tower really went all the way to the moon.

He explained that most people only went as high as the tenth floor, though, since the ones after that were strange. Micah asked, but he didn’t elaborate. Of course, the actual most people, according to the registrars, went to the seventh floor, to the Garden. Even Micah knew about that. Garen called them Gardeners and said that if he ever wanted a steady job, he could just become one or a guard to them.

Finally, Micah asked about the first few floors, what he could expect and maybe where he could find the best alchemical ingredients—besides fully-formed monsters—plants and herbs and such?

Garen was happy to answer.

“We say ‘floors’ but they don’t exist, not really. The Tower isn’t structured like a normal building. What you can encounter on the first floor changes every day, and what you might encounter one day you’ll instead encounter on the second floor another day.”

Micah frowned at the explanation. Was that supposed to make sense? Garen saw his frown and paused, giving Micah a chance to speak. He appreciated it since he really didn’t want to be rude to this man.

“How can that work? Do the rooms shift or do the monsters move? Aren’t people in the Tower all day?”

“We don’t know,” he said simply. “The Towers are an enigma, even though so many people have been studying them day after day for generations. All of the rooms are interconnected, and yet if you walk up, you might find yourself on a lower floor that leads up to where you started.”

“Where I started?” Micah asked. “Wait, doesn’t everyone start at the bottom?” Micah had stared at the silver Tower for so many nights, he had never seen a higher entrance above the wall of the Climber’s Guild. He was pretty sure there wasn’t one.

Garen had been smiling, but then frowned a little and cocked his head.

“You do know how the Tower works, right? How you get in?”

“Uhm, no?” Micah asked, hoping he wasn’t betraying some grave ignorance. In truth, his community wasn’t all too fond of the Tower. His parents, his neighbors, his teacher, they all described it as a deathtrap and Micah rarely heard much about it. He only caught second-hand stories from the other children that were fanciful or poorly told. He’d never even seen a Tower play.

Garen, for one, seemed stumped. He shook his hand and gestured as he tried to explain.

“There are six entrances to the Tower, right? And each one has a guild built around it. You know that much at least?”

Micah nodded. He hadn’t. He thought he'd heard there were supposed to be doors?

“Well, the entrances are like … walls? They’re a part of the Tower. They’re just these massive screens of silver light. Big enough to fit a whole building through. So you just walk on through and find yourself inside of a room on the other side. Your intent guides you when you go through. This is important. If you walk through with a school class, your teacher’s intent will make sure you all end up in the same place. And if you’ve earned it, you can choose which floor you want to go to. Just think of the place and you’ll end up there. You can also think of nothing and let the Tower guide you. Just a few months ago, we discovered a whole new room on the fourth floor because of that. People are just too used to the norm, I guess.”

He scratched his head as if he didn’t really understand it himself. It reassured Micah because he didn’t understand any of it either. Silver light? Intent? Wasn’t it all just magic?

“And inside?” he asked.

“Depends on the floor, you can meet all sort of monsters—”

“No, I mean. Do I have to search for a silver light on the inside, too?”

Garen smiled again. “No, and yes.”

Micah almost groaned. Why couldn’t it be simple?

“You look for stairs or tunnels on the inside to climb up or down. But some sets of stairs have a space with a silver light that leads out. That’s the exit. That’s very important. There’s another exit near your starting point, look for it when you go in and don’t lose track.”

“Alright,” Micah said. That much he could follow. “So what monsters can I expect on the first few floors?”

“Well…” Garen started and told him. It was the beginning of what would turn into one very long conversation. Garen explained to him the various monsters that the beginners faced, how they acted and how he should act around them. He always added stories of his personal experiences, too, since he was a retired climber. He made off-hand comments or jokes that were supposed to get Micah to laugh. And he did laugh, even if it was somewhat nervously from the other side of the counter.

As the day went on and Garen realized they would be there for a while, he let Micah inside the cubicle so he could sit down, and so he himself could make crude drawings of the monsters on a pad of paper there, drawings Micah was very grateful for. He asked a lot of questions. As time went by, the answers to those questions became less and less coherent and more and more a mix of gestures, pictures, and weird monster sounds Garen tried to imitate.

He couldn’t answer much about alchemy either way, except for which loot was highest in demand on the first two floors, but he did suggest Micah go take a look at the request boards before he went in. They listed a lot of things he could find on the inside. Even mundane ingredients were supposed to be of a higher quality. That still didn’t interest Micah. He wanted non-mundane ingredients. Magic.

As the sky turned red, the grizzled veteran shared another snack with him (apple chips and dip) and brought him a glass of water. It was dark out when Micah decided to leave. His parents would yell at him if he got home too late, and while he cherished the city lights, he couldn’t say the same for the Climber’s Bazaar. He thanked Garen over and over again as he stepped out of his cubicle.

“I was glad to help,” the older man said. “If you need anything else, just ask. And buy the damn book!”

He meant the beginner’s guide. Micah called back that he would if he could, and stepped outside, deep in thought.

He didn’t offer any of the request walls a spare glance.