A young man led the way across the courtyard. "This is pretty much it for the South Edge City branch of the Guild," he gestured lazily at the brick walls that enclosed them. "It's mostly offices and whatnot, but we hold classes here as well."

Thomas was his unwilling guide for the day. Looking to be a few years younger than Alan, the boy was blond haired and handsome, and from what Alan could see he wasn't shy about using his looks to his advantage. He was smiling at practically every girl that passed by during his tour.

The boy pointed to his left as he continued walking. "The big entrance you see over there leads to the main hall. That's where people can come in with transport requests or other business for the Guild. If anyone is going to be headed to another Territory, that is where they start. Also, if you get lost you can go there, the receptionist at the front desk should be able to point you to wherever you need to be."

Thomas had been showing Alan around while Alan tried to follow along with the crude map that they had gifted him. The campus was quite large, and Alan was having a hard time remembering all of the various buildings and their functions. He had a feeling he would be making his way to the receptionist quite a bit till he got his bearings.

"That small grey building over there," Thomas pointed up ahead at an old looking structure situated off to one side. "That's where Director Mahon's office is, and where you're headed. It's not often that the Director herself bothers with a student, let alone a newly minted member."

Thomas paused in his speech and turned back around. It seemed to take him a moment to spot Alan even though they were standing right next to each other. Alan waited patiently for the boy's eyes to focus on him. This had been happening a lot recently, the effects of [Hide] were turning out to be more of an issue than he had imagined.

The boy was obviously curious about Alan and seemed to be waiting for some sort of response. Alan refused to play along and looked at his guide blankly. "By director, you mean Jan?"

"Jan?" Thomas backed up slightly looking alarmed, "I mean yeah but seriously I wouldn't go around calling her that. Especially not to her face, she's known to be strict about such things. Director Mahon is your safest bet, otherwise don't blame me if you get on her shit list before you even begin." Thomas leaned in a conspiratorial manner. "Rumor has it that one time a student bumped into her in the hallways and didn't apologize fast enough for her liking. Not even a big bump or anything, just kind of accidentally knocked shoulders. Next thing you know, he gets sent on an assignment way above his Skill level, ends up deep in the Expanse, and was never heard from again." The boy made a slicing motion at his neck.

"I'll keep it in mind," Alan responded, thinking back to the confident, somewhat annoying woman who had burst into his hospital room a week ago. The image didn't fit, were they really talking about the same person?

"Do all of the other Guild Halls have students as well?" Alan asked, changing the subject as they continued walking towards the grey building ahead.

"Nah," Thomas shrugged. "Just this one in Saga. One hall in each Territory is used for training new members. Of course, I've never been to any of the other Territories, but that's what they say. I'm hoping to get placed in Sine once I get [Mana Manipulation], I mean they don't send just anyone there, but think about it, Sine!" Thomas smiled.

"It's supposed to be a beautiful place. Giant forests, trees stretching up to the sky." Alan said, enjoying the boy's easy-going manner. He thought back to the mosaic depicting the Five Territories that had been in the Marketplace where he grew up.

"Not only that," Thomas continued excitedly. "Because it's mostly cut off from the other Territories, I hear they know a lot of secret Skill Paths that you can't find anywhere else. I'm willing to bet a guy could make a good amount of money with some of those." He rubbed his hands greedily as they approached their destination. He stopped and gestured to the door in front of him. "Anyway, we've made it to the admin building. Her office is just through there, go straight up the stairs to the very top, and you'll be in the right place."

Alan approached the door. "Any last advice?" The boy seemed to have been here a while and knew his way around, might as well get his opinion.

"Might have some," Thomas flashed a winning smile. "If I know a bit more about your situation and why she wants to see you."

"Ah, too bad." Alan opened the door in front of him. "Thank you for the tour."

"Didn't really have much of a choice, but yeah no worries, see ya around!" Thomas called to his back.

Alan entered the building and found a large, spiraling staircase in front of him. He thought back over the last week. He had been staying in the hospital, gaining back his strength and, as one nurse had put it, eating through their entire food supply. The Guild had assured him that the extra food and everything else would be paid for, but he knew that nothing was free and worried about what they were going to ask for in return. Not that he had any choice but to go along with it.

Whatever the price, the hospital had been good for him. He still couldn't feel or move his left arm, he still had broken ribs and cuts and bruises all over, but his SP was finally full and he was feeling good. The doctors had mentioned that he was healing quite quickly.

Overall the last week had been wonderful. It honestly didn't seem to take much, just sleeping in a bed was a luxury that he hadn't ever thought to have again. Adjusting to having people around was proving to be a bigger issue than he had imagined, but luckily no one seemed to expect too much from a hospital patient. He had cried himself to sleep those first few nights. The stress and fear that had been his constant companion deep under the earth was slowly unraveling itself. Not that he was about to let himself relax. Not by a long shot.

Alan stopped in front of the large door at the top of the stairs and knocked. Here goes nothing. Never his strong suit, he was still getting used to talking to other people again.

"Come in," a voice sounded from the other side.

Alan took a deep breath and opened the door. The room that greeted him was larger than he had imagined. There were many desks covered in papers and files organized neatly in rows, and a long table placed in the center of the room. The space was empty aside from the three figures sitting at the table on the side furthest from Alan. Jan was there, but the other two were unknown.

Sitting in the center of the group was an ancient looking man, Alan had never seen more wrinkles on a person before. The man seemed to be glaring. To his left was another serious, if younger, man dressed in a sharp uniform. There was a moment of silence as the door opened and the group turned to look.

The older looking man waved him over. "Come sit down, Director Mahon tells us you're just out of the hospital, no need to worry about formalities at the moment."

Alan nodded to the man's request and walked over to seat himself at the other side of the table. He glanced at Jan who was leaning back with a slight frown on her face. The older man who had welcomed him cleared his throat, bringing Alan's attention back to the situation at hand. "Now what's your name boy?" The man asked.

"Alex Stone, sir." Alan had given a fake name back at the hospital. He wasn't taking any risks. Maybe someone had some Skills to see if he was lying, but he couldn't let that stop him from trying.

"Nice to meet you Alex," the old man sighed grumpily, indicating it was anything but nice to meet him. "I'm Walter. Let's keep this quick, shall we? You know Director Jan Mahon, and to my right is captain Henry Jacobs." Jan just glanced over while the captain nodded slightly at the introduction. "Why do you think you are here?"

Alan cleared his throat and concentrated on stilling his shaking hand. "I have been lucky enough to acquire the Skill [Mana Manipulation], and this is the Mana Guild. I know I am required to join, but I assume I'm here to learn what that means exactly." He didn't know why he was so nervous. He had faced down armies of murderous lizards and survived, what was this meeting compared to that? Unfortunately, his pounding heart and shaking hands refused to listen to his mind's logic.

The man nodded along. "That is true," he replied. "But that's not all. You're also here to once again go over the circumstances in which you were found. Captain Jacobs is not a member of the Guild, but a member of the Guards. He has requested to be present at this meeting to confirm your story and your intentions before allowing you to enroll with the Guild. We aren't necessarily suspecting you of anything, but we do take the safety and responsibilities of the Guild very seriously. Basically, as long as you're telling us the truth, you have nothing to worry about." He turned to the stern looking man, "Captain?"

The captain nodded matter of factly. "Yes, thank you Walter. Nice to meet you Alex. As you might have guessed, I'm the captain of the Guards here in South Edge. Can you tell us once again how you ended up alone, out in the Expanse, unprotected and injured?"

"I don't remember sir." Alan was ready for this question, having encountered it several times already. "I have no memories of my time before waking up in the hospital. The first thing I remember is deliriously stumbling through a massive storm and collapsing just as someone came to my rescue. I know my name, but that's about it. I'm sorry I can't be of more help." Alan did his best to look genuine. He had tried to come up with something better than just forgetting who he was, but couldn’t think of anything reasonable to explain his situation that wouldn’t give him away. Until he figured out the truth of what had happened to him and his town, he was better off disassociating himself from his past. Amnesia it was.

The captain's face remained blank as he looked at Alan before going on. "You have been confirmed to have the Skill [Sense] as well as [Mana Manipulation]. Rare Skills, [Mana Manipulation] usually takes years of practice before being able to activate it successfully. Even then the survival rate is... low. Yet here you are, there are no records of you training with the Guild previously and no missing prospective members that fit your description. Acquisition of [Mana Manipulation] with the intent for unauthorized use is a serious crime, so if that's what was going on when you were found, then it's best to admit it now."

The man paused once more, looking at Alan. He hadn't asked a question, so Alan just stared at the captain silently, unsure what was expected of him.

After a tense silence, the captain continued talking. "You have the protection of the Mana Guild and that gives you a bit of leeway here, which frankly I do not like. However, they have agreed to allow us to track you on a probationary status for a year, at which point we will review your case again. I have the Skill [Track] which will allow me to know your location. I'm going to have to put my hand on you now to activate it. Every ten days you will have to come by the Guardhouse to have the Skill re-cast. You also will be required to stay within city limits. The Mana Guild has already agreed to these terms."

Alan was getting a bit tired of not having any say in anything, but he tried to keep the irritation off of his face. The guard had once again not asked any questions, so Alan just nodded his understanding as the man stood up and started walking towards him.

"This will be quick, just hold still for a moment." Coming next to Alan, the captain placed his hand upon his shoulder for several seconds. Walter and Jan just watched as the captain used his Skill.

"Done." The captain stepped back with a slight frown.

"Thank you captain," Jan said from across the table. "That should satisfy your requirements for now. Alex will be seeing you in ten days, thank you for coming." She folded her hands, clearly dismissing the man.

The captain of the guards looked at Jan. "Thank you for having me, Director. I'll take my leave." He nodded in their direction before heading out of the door Alan had come through.

Once the door had closed, Jan let out a huff. "Don't let him get to you, Jacobs is known to have a permanent stick up his ass."

"Ha! More like a whole tree." Walter huffed.

Jan ignored the comment from the ancient man and looked back at Alan. "Feel free to relax a bit, the guard is gone and it's just us Guild members now. As you might have picked up, your situation isn't exactly normal. Not even mentioning the way that you were found, the fact that you were able to activate [Mana Manipulation] without the supervision of the Guild or a Guild member... well honestly I know this can't be the first time it's ever happened, but hell if I can remember any others. And on top of that, you have [Sense]. You're a puzzle, and a more pessimistic person than myself might assume some rogue member had been teaching you in order to subvert Guild efforts or start a smuggling operation." She paused, letting his situation sink in. "But I'm more of a glass half full type of gal. Also, it goes some way that you didn't seem to have the Skill when you were found and only just obtained it." She shrugged as if the matter was beyond her and thus not relevant. "So all of that aside, how are you feeling?"

This was another question Alan had practice answering. It was the question that he had been asked the most often over the last week, and he knew how to respond.

"Good." He said.

Jan stared at him and silence filled the room momentarily.

"Don't talk much, eh? Well that's fine, I'll do the talking then. You can ask questions after." Jan shifted in her seat, while Walter put his feet on the table and appeared to be dozing. Alan was having a hard time understanding the dynamics of these particular people. Maybe he had been underground too long.

"We'll start with your hospital fees," Jan continued. "Hospital care is free up to a point, but you have swiftly passed that point, and that doesn't even include the ridiculous food bill that we got. So what this means is that you have two options right now.

"Option one," she held up a finger. "You pay us back the hospital fees, register with the Guild, and go on your merry way. As someone with [Mana Manipulation] you are required to become a guild member, and as such you will need to come back to one of our Guild Halls and check in every three months. When you check in, you submit a report on your use of [Mana Manipulation]. We also require that you don't use [Mana Manipulation] to engage in competition with the Guild in any way. You'll be getting some papers outlining all of the official rules later, but I can tell you right now the most important one.

"No unauthorized travel between the Territories. Some people will offer quite the price for a Guild member to smuggle someone or something between the Territories off the books. But I'll be clear now, it's not worth it. All travel between Territories goes through the Guild. If you are caught breaking that rule, and we will catch you, you'll be dead no matter where you end up. And it won't be a quick or pleasant death."

Alan knew this. The Guild had a monopoly on the one Skill that allowed people to pass through the Expanse safely. A monopoly sanctioned and backed by all five Territories. It was why everyone knew about [Mana Manipulation].

"So that's option one. Pay us and follow the rules, and you go on your way. Of course, that includes obeying the good captain's rules as well. But I'm willing to bet you don't have the resources to go that route. So option two." She held up two fingers. "Option two is you train with and work for the Guild. What this looks like is a bit different in your case. Ordinarily, no one learns [Mana Manipulation] without our help. We accept about six-hundred students each year, and it's fairly competitive. If someone gets accepted, they go through three years of training and preparation, after which the final exam involves taking you out into the Expanse to actually acquire the Skill.

"If you survive that experience, which most do not, you get one more year of training on how to utilize it. From there, most choose to work for the Guild even if they can afford tuition, as it pays well, is easy and guaranteed work, and frankly the whole reason that they applied to us in the first place.

"Suffice to say most of our students are the leftover sons or daughters of relatively wealthy households that want a connection within the Guild or to other Territories. We offer scholarships for exceptional talent, of course.

"And what do you know, lucky you, you just qualified for a scholarship. That means your tuition along with your hospital bills become a low-interest loan offered to you generously by the Guild. A loan with some strings attached. Simply put, after graduation you are required to work for us until your debt is paid off. Before I go further, let me ask you, what option will you choose? You don't have to decide now if you need some time to think it over."

"Option two," Alan responded. He didn't see a choice.

"Amazing," Jan said matter of factly, clapping her hands together. "So usually since you just recently acquired [Mana Manipulation] you would enroll with our graduated members for the upcoming year. Timing is a bit off since the final exam is in a month, and the classes start a month after that. But this actually works out in our favor because everyone else in that class will have three years of training before they obtained the Skill. Three years of training that you do not have. Frankly speaking, if we threw you in class now, you'd slow everyone down. Which brings us to Walter here." She turned towards the old man who seemed to have fallen asleep.

He must have just been pretending because at the mention of his name, his eyes opened and focused on Alan. Steel grey eyes stared out hard from within the creases and deep wrinkles on the man's face. Alan stared silently back.

"I don't want this." Walter started pausing to see Alan's reaction. When he got none, he seemed a bit disappointed but continued. "Even though I'd prefer not to, I'm here to teach you until your official classes start. See if we can get you caught up. Normally, such a task would be beneath me, and I'm not quite convinced that it isn't given that I'm a senior member of the Guild. Retired actually. Living a peaceful and safe life in South Edge where I get to spend my days spoiling my favorite granddaughter as much as I want. A happy life in my later years that I am not happy about being interrupted." He trailed off grumbling before coming back to the subject.

"But the Guild can be very convincing, and they seem to want this," Walter smiled, which just made him look scarier. Rather than a smile, it was more like he was baring his teeth. Except the teeth were rotten, and he was missing several of them. "The reason they want me specifically is because of [Sense]. I hear you have it, which I don't understand because you're way too young, but I also have it. The Guild values the Skill highly, so they want me to teach you and make sure you don't fuck it up as its a tricky Skill to master. So let me start with this. What level is your [Sense]?"

Alan didn't see any reason to lie, even if he didn't find himself liking the old man, he hoped that he could learn from him. "Level eight sir," he replied. The old man didn't react, but Jan let out a low whistle at his answer.

"Bullshit," Walter exclaimed after a time, looking if anything angrier than he had before.

Alan looked from one person to the other waiting for someone to explain.

Apparently, eight was a pretty high level for [Sense]. Or at least higher than they had expected.

Apparently, his lack of Points into Intelligence was a huge problem. Also something they hadn't quite expected. The atmosphere had noticeably cooled when he had mentioned his Stat allocation, but at least it didn't seem to change the outcome much by what he could tell.

The rest of the meeting consisted of a lot of questions and setting up his schedule for the next couple of weeks. Walter was very clear he didn't like or believe Alan, and Jan seemed to be happy to let them figure things out between themselves.

By the time it was over, the sun was starting to set outside. He would be taking lessons with Walter three times a week, and the rest of the time was his to do with as he pleased until classes started. It gave him a lot of free time, but from the way they had been talking, he didn't think his time would be his own.

He had been given a temporary room to stay in while he found his own accommodations. It was all set up and paid for by the Guild (which went towards his ever increasing debt of course). He wasn't sure how he felt about the Guild members that he had met so far, but all told he was pretty happy with his situation. He had housing, food, safety, and most importantly, a way to get back to Strength.

He felt a cold emptiness in the pit of his stomach when he thought about it. One thing at a time. He shook himself off as he continued making his way across the campus to where his temporary apartment was located.

Alan stopped briefly to admire the sunset and readjust his grip on the large package of papers he had been told to go over. The smells and sights and sounds of everything around him threatened to overwhelm him after his time alone in the caves. The bustle around the Guild campus brought the evening alive. Smoke and music and laughter filled the quad as he made his way across. People of all ages walked with purpose to wherever they were headed for the night.

He didn't stop long. As much as he enjoyed breathing fresh air and being free from the caves, the longer he stayed out the more [Sense] continued to bombard his perception, making him feel nauseous and causing an increasingly painful migraine. He picked up his pace.

He reached his building as marked by the map. A bit out of the way in a much less busy area, the two-story wooden building was non-descript but clean looking. Alan found the stairs and made his way to room forty-three. The room they had given him.

Putting the key in the lock, he let himself inside. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it was underwhelming. It was a small windowless room with nothing to it. It was dark inside, and while it was not the overwhelming darkness of being underground, it was dark enough that if he didn't have [Sense], he wasn't sure how he was supposed to see anything.

A bed and a dresser were the only pieces of furniture in the cramped room. He was only here for two weeks while he searched for his own place, so it didn't matter much. He had arranged a loan of five hundred drams with Jan, which was renewable month to month. He was hoping he could get a job soon to offset the massive amounts of debt he was already accumulating. Over fifty thousand drams so far. He shuddered. It was a staggering amount for someone with literally nothing to his name.

As promised, in the corner of the room were two dirty pouches and a dozen rough stone knives arranged neatly on the floor. The items that they had found on his person when they picked him up. He [Sensed] a candle and some lighting tools on the dresser, and quickly walked over to it. Soon, a soft flickering glow filled the room.

In the light, his items looked even shabbier than he had imagined. Not only did they look like garbage he would find on the street, but they seemed to smell like it as well.

He sat down on the rough bed and picked up the larger pouch. He emptied it onto the bed beside him. There were a few trinkets, the foot of some creature that he had assumed was a good luck charm for the lizards, and some leather cord he had figured would be useful. His entire life savings. After fingering the charm for a while, he carefully put the items back into the pouch. After everything, as dirty and useless as they were, the objects meant something to him.

He was alone in a foreign Territory living under a false name. At the end of the day, he had no one he could really trust. It was a lot to deal with, but somehow the presence of his worn items and dirty pouches comforted him. It had been his life for the last year or two. He had survived in the dark caves, and he would survive here. He just needed time to adjust. He could wait for tomorrow to deal with all the Guild logistics and everything else.

As he focused [Sense] on the bag in his hand, he noticed something. Reaching inside, he dislodged a small, oval-shaped object from the between the folds at the bottom of the pouch. Picking it up between his fingers, he stared at a speckled egg in the dim candlelight. It was oddly cold.

One of the lizard eggs he had saved to eat as an emergency food source must have gotten stuck in the pouch during his struggle out of the caves. He set the small egg down on the bed gently and stared at it. Tiny dark specks stood out against the off-white, shifting with the flickering of the candlelight.

For too long, he contemplated the egg. It was oddly meaningful for him: one last memento from his time in the caves. How many of these had he eaten? Hundreds? Thousands? He touched the smooth surface, before gently placing it on the dresser.

As he prepared to retire early and go to sleep, he went over the days events in his mind. He thought over the events of the last week, of the last couple of years. He had a lot to figure out, but he was starting to feel more confident. His biggest worry was being discovered to be lying about having amnesia. It was a risk, and it didn’t sit well with him but he hadn’t been able to come up with a better alternative.

He was sure Jan and the rest suspected something. Both captain Jacobs and Walter had practically told him to his face that they didn’t believe him. Alan sighed as he moved himself into the bed. It seemed fine for now at the very least.

As he let his mind wander and adjusted himself to a more comfortable position, a thought came unbidden. He once again contemplated the lizard egg he had found. The one that had miraculously survived his journey intact and uneaten.

Was it still possible to hatch it?