A shower of bone and fur shot across the area as the nearby bear corpse exploded. Lucinda and her companion both took some small damage from it, but in truth, the sharp increase in the foul stench that had been pervading the area was the worst part of it as far as she was concerned. At least, that was true right up until she spotted the large mass of the black sludge rearing upwards from the grisly remains.

“Friend!?” Marrow sent, her voice and the attached image warning of impending assault by the smaller approaching creature.

“I don’t know what they are, Marrow! Stay close… but if you get too hurt, run!”

“Fly?”

“Not the time for…”

Lucinda jolted in surprise as a thrown projectile of black substance splashed against her side. Having just settled upon shifting to dragonling form, she continued regardless, only to be met with a burst of searing pain as her armour merged into scaly skin.

Ah… No fair!

Despite the suddenness of the attack and the effect it had produced, the pain had already begun to fade as Lucinda’s transformation concluded.

“… Don’t use your acid yet. Not until we know how many there are!”

“Friend!”

At the instant her shifting completed, Lucinda began another attempt at casting her Wooden Flesh spell. There was no telling if it would be effective against the creatures she faced; yet, its potency all but demanded it be cast all the same.

Following up from its surprise ranged attack, the larger sludge creature shambled up from the body it still partially sat within. Its form warped and shifted about as it appeared to look in her direction. The liquid state of its body combined with the almost intolerable stench was hideous beyond imagining.

A wet splat brought Lucinda’s attention to Marrow just as her spell completed. The small patch of black foulness she found hinted at a similar long-range bombardment with a less successful result.

“Marrow!” her companion sent in a pride-filled mental voice.

Movement snagged the corner of Lucinda’s eye. Stashing her planned warning about over-confidence for another time, she focussed fully on her charging foe. If not for a pervasive worry that the forest might be filled with the hideous creatures, she would have already started an offensive spell in that moment; instead, she readied her claws.

Hitting burning sludge… Ah, I have to try!

As the creature reached her, Lucinda lashed out with one taloned-paw. Wary of taking damage from the attack, she angled her swipe carefully, hoping to catch the murky surface with her claws and nothing more. However, the unpredictable shifting spoiled her plan almost as soon as it had begun; her dragonling forepaw ending up sliding straight inside the gooey creature’s body.

“Hssss!” Lucinda growled, as a similar but lesser pain blossomed around the point of contact, her protective spell not fully shielding her. Planting her feet firmly, she yanked her submerged paw backwards only to find it was stuck fast.

Crap…

“Don’t hit them!” she near shouted at Marrow.

Having captured its prey, the shifting mass of blackness had calmed rapidly. It sat almost motionless while Lucinda frantically searched for an alternative to using, and possibly wasting, her dragonling breath attack. It was from an ideal situation, yet with her damage absorbing spell still active, nor was it imminently life-threatening.

“Friend…”

Marrow’s unhappy tone brought Lucinda’s eyes to her companion. A dismayingly similar sight to the one she herself was in awaited her, and served to push her more swiftly to a decision.

“Hold on, Marrow!”

A large portion of the creature that held her suddenly surged upwards to bring itself in line with her dragonling snout. Recalling the state of the bear’s body, pre-explosion, Lucinda’s heart nearly skipped a beat.

No choice!

With the sludgy beast already in the perfect position, Lucinda had no need to check her aim before unleashing a freezing blast of magic straight at her target. It shuddered as the attack hit, ice spreading across its malleable body in the blink of an eye. However, even as the rush of frosty air passed, Lucinda was still held firmly in its grip.

“Friend? Acid?”

“Yes, yes!”

Having failed to achieve her wish, the second option she had considered became her next choice. Forcing her body weight backwards so gravity could assist with her efforts, Lucinda shifted back to human form and continued to pull herself away from the sludge monster as she did. The foul blackness constricted her rapidly expanding wrist in a most disturbing fashion; yet, as her transformation reached the final stages, it popped free at last, causing her to tumble backwards.

Marrow appeared at her side as Lucinda scrambled away from her attacker and to her feet. She glanced over at her companion’s foe, though was not overly surprised to see the steaming, bubbling puddle that Marrow’s acid attack had left behind. Her own foe, meanwhile, was obviously intact, while still demonstrating the secondary, movement impairing effects of her dragonling’s ability.

“Friend?”

“Hang on. Only if it recovers before I’m done…”

The purple ball of mana Lucinda had brought into being held her attention as she shaped it towards completion. With the sludge enemies having revealed their highly dangerous nature when approached head on, the idea of relying on an expendable ally to keep them busy was an obvious one.

Barely a few shapes away from concluding her casting, with the larger sludge creeping forwards at a snail’s pace, a smaller duplicate suddenly slithered into view. The small streams of visible air that were streaking off from it revealed that while reinforcements had not arrived, Marrow’s attack had not been as effective as Lucinda or her companion had hoped. However, rather than attack head on once more, the smaller mass of foulness, instead, directly approached its larger counterpart and then merged into its body.

“These things are so… Yuck!”

“Yuck!” Marrow replied eagerly. “Fight?”

“Not yet.”

Lucinda’s spell finished at last, just as the larger foe was evidently shaking off the magical affliction it had suffered. Her efforts brought a smaller version of her dragonling form into existence, which she immediately ordered to attack. It did so with a familiar growl, charging fearlessly towards the hideous sludge creature that was its foe.

Her hope that her conjured ally might hold off the hideous monster before them proved only sort of true. For as the two combatants met head on, the sludge creature demonstrated a new tactic; namely, falling upon and completely enveloping its far smaller opponent.

“Acid, Marrow!” Lucinda sent as she hurriedly worked at conjuring an offensive projectile of her own.

Though bodily surrounding the hapless dragonling, the creature did at least appear occupied by the overwhelming assault it was conducting. As such, Lucinda and her companion were free to bombard away.

Another loud sizzling sound filled the air, as a fresh wave of putrid foulness did similarly. Marrow’s attack had not missed its mark, though it had not ended the battle either. While trying not to feel sorry for her still partially visible ally, Lucinda worked her spell to completion as quickly as she could, until at last, she shot out a fiery ball of destructive might straight towards the large sludge creature.

The Scorching Orb landed perfectly, prompting an excited flap from Marrow, as a small wave of fire rippled across part of the writhing black mass’ surface. As that writhing then increased rapidly, Lucinda felt confident her chosen attack had done its job. The only issue was her limited ability to follow it up due an extreme lack of mana.

Ahh, should I not have used frost breath? It’s so expensive… I guess it got me free?

“Friend?” Marrow prompted, almost as if she could sense Lucinda’s distraction.

“I can hit it with Jolt. If that doesn’t kill it we’ll have to rely on your acid to finish it. And pray there aren’t too many more of them.”

“Marrow!”

With the foul, dragonling-swallowing monstrosity shambling towards her, Lucinda called a bluey-purple ball of mana into existence between her outstretched hands. Having tested the spell’s limited range extensively, she was certain her spell would connect when finished, and confidently manoeuvred through the steps as a result. However, at step 5 of 6, her determination proved pointless, as the creature collapsed and then splattered outwards across the floor.

“Friend! Win!” Marrow exclaimed as Lucinda let her casting efforts lapse.

After taking a moment to critically investigate the scattered remains, Lucinda breathed a sigh of relief as she reached over to pat Marrow’s feathered head.

“Good work!”

“Friend!”

“We better get out of here. If there’s more we’ll be in real trouble. You fly, Marrow.”

As Marrow took to the skies through a nearby opening in the forest canopy, Lucinda’s desire to shift and escape hit a slight snag as her first choice of animal proved impossible to assume thanks to her pitiful mana reserves.

Emerging from the treeline as a small feline a short time later, a much greater amount of relief found Lucinda, even before Marrow landed beside her.

That could have gone a lot worse… At least now we know what to use to kill any more we find, even if Marrow only has one acid spit left.

“Let’s get healed up, and cleaned up, then we’ll head back in and look for more. Okay?”

“Heal! Fight!”

Despite the defeat of their previous two foes, Lucinda was not happy with the overall situation by any means, but with the disturbing death the bear had suffered, she knew fleeing was hardly an option.

What else can I try…? I can’t imagine poison working on them. Ah, too many of my forms rely on hitting things!

Once her and Marrow were recovered fully, a new distracting ally was conjured – her most powerful option, the brown bear – before Lucinda led the way back into the forest in her matching form. With Marrow’s eyes and her own nose, retracing their steps back to the location of their battle was trivial. Thankfully, the large black splotch had remained unchanged during their absence.

“Keep your eyes open, Marrow. I can’t leave this here.”

Puzzling over how best to remove the unnatural substance took a bit of pondering, but Lucinda eventually settled on blasting it with more Scorching Orbs, and then dousing the fire with her Biting Frost spell. It was far from an ideal combination, largely due to the steep manner cost required, but it did prove to be decently effective.

“I don’t know how you handle this so well…” Lucinda complained silently as more of the unbearable stench filled her nostrils.

“Bad!” Marrow agreed, while revealing she was still handling it far better than Lucinda was.

“…Have you seen any more sludge anywhere?”

“Find!”

“Okay. We’ll follow it… Once my mana is back.”

Proceeding through the forest was a slow affair. The threat of a new insurmountable danger hung heavily in Lucinda’s mind, as while not overly strong, the sludge creatures were still a problematic foe to engage.

Over the course of nearly two hours, Lucinda and Marrow battled three more of the smaller versions of the hideous monsters. Fought one at a time, her strategy remained the same for each encounter, as their apparent lack of intellect did not lend itself to any form of adaption on their part. Unfortunately, the trail Marrow continued to help them along, turned up more than one additional dead animal as well, and fearing the same explosive reaction was inevitable, Lucinda was forced to burn them thoroughly before moving on.

Towards the end of that period, the sporadic remnants of foul sludge pointed to a single point of origin: the large rocky protrusion that sat centrally within the forest. Lucinda had strongly expected a gigantic sludge to greet them there, but was relieved to find only another bear tucked away within the cave.

“It’s still alive,” Lucinda sent to her companion as she warily approached the prone bear.

“Fire?” Marrow asked.

“I… don’t know.”

Do I kill it? Save it from suffering as that thing eats its insides like all the other poor animals? Or could I heal it?

The symptoms of the bear’s condition were readily apparent: the same black sludge lingering on its mouth; heavy, laboured breathing; and the severe lack of a reaction to her presence. Plopping down next to the furry animal, Lucinda considered how she might proceed in troubled silence.

“Okay,” she sent to her companion at last. “I’ll try healing it. We can take on another if we have to… Can you keep an eye out for any more? Being stuck in here if more show up would be really bad.”

Lucinda summoned the ball of mana necessary to deliver her healing power to the poor animal before her, and with practised ease, quickly shaped it to completion. Still on edge after the ample danger she had faced that day, the bear’s sudden coughing fit that occurred as she pushed her remedial magic into its side made her jump back in alarm. That alarm then increased as a spurt of black sludge burst from the prone animal’s mouth to splatter across the cave floor in front of it.

With her hands held at the ready, Lucinda watched the foul emission unblinkingly. But as the bear’s laboured distress returned to its previously unhealthy but stable levels, she relaxed at last.

Did that work? Not exploding and not dying seem like good signs… I guess I keep trying?

“Wolf!” Marrow’s mental voice interrupted as Lucinda moved forwards to cast another Heal spell. “Alive!”

“Hang on, Marrow.”

Swiftly going through the motions again, a similar but lesser result emerged upon the deliverance of further restorative magic. It was a very welcome reaction to her efforts, even if it did seem to indicate she was in for a busy afternoon.

I guess I should bring the wolf here too? Hopefully I can keep them from killing each other once they’re recovered… Ah, that should probably still be if.

“Rabbit!” Lucinda’s companion sent with an attached image of the animal in question, who was clearly in a non-deceased state.

Ah, crap…

Surrounded by a menagerie of animals within the cave, Lucinda worked tirelessly throughout the afternoon, and well into the evening. Throwing out as many healing spells as she could manage while retaining a small emergency reserve of mana, her charges had gradually seemed to improve.

“You’re looking much better,” she whispered quietly to the small grey rabbit she was gently petting with one hand. Her innate ability was in full effect to help calm the critter, and was further helped by the large predator-blocking position she had assumed. “Let’s just get you cleaned up before you head home.”

That the smaller and more vulnerable animals had begun to recover first came as a highly convenient realisation. One that prevented them from becoming tasty snacks for the bear and two wolves that were also under Lucinda’s care. However, the first of those to make a full recovery had decided to remain with her, thanks to some small encouragement on her part.

Not my first choice of bird to befriend, or the kind of situation I expected to befriend one in… But I guess I can’t complain.

Reaching out with one finger, Lucinda gently stroked the head of the small bird that sat on her left shoulder. With a fiery orange colour to most of its body, save for a strip of brown from beak to the same brown feathers found upon its back and wings, it was a rather attractive bird all things considered. That it had stayed in spite of refusing the various snacks Lucinda had offered it had come as a surprise, even with the encouraging mental influence she had thrust upon it whenever she could.

“Marrow, I’m going to have to sleep soon… All this healing is exhausting! Can you wake me if anything happens? The bear wakes up; or any of them starts… squelching?”

“Friend!”

“You’re a lifesaver, Marrow! Oh, if things are looking better tomorrow, I think we’ll send you with a letter to the circle, okay? I’m sure Yalia would want to know about this…” Sensing the unhappy response to her declaration, Lucinda leaned forwards to hug her companion tightly. “I’ll be fine. It won’t take you long to get there, and then I can summon you back straight away!”

“Summon?”

“Yes, if I’m in real danger before then I’ll summon you. And the same is true if you get in trouble!” Seeing the acceptance in her companion, Lucinda turned a critical eye to the remaining animals. “One more round of healing… Then I’ll call it a day.”

With the exception of one night time wake up call to send a recovered owl on her way, morning came without incident. After a brief breakfast, Lucinda chose to take it as a sign that the danger had passed. She still sent Marrow out for a survey of the surrounding area, but when that returned nothing of note, the plan of writing a letter to the Druid circle began.

It took several more assurances and affectionate hugs before Marrow reluctantly flew off at last. Lucinda too, was hardly thrilled at the prospect, but with several animals still recovering within the cave, she had no choice but to remain behind.

For the remainder of the morning, she continued healing away the sludge, while applying her innate ability to her small, red friend in between. She happily released several other small creatures during that time, and was feeling quite satisfied with her work as lunchtime came around, even despite the resumption of the weariness from the night before. However, during a final round of healing before her planned meal, two things happened in quick succession: Firstly, a notification appearing before her eyes; secondly, one of the wolves dashing forwards in the direction of the female deer that was also within the cave.

Heal Mastery

Your Heal spell has reached 100% mastery. Please choose from one of the following upgrades by thinking: "I wish to upgrade Heal with option ." Where 'n' is the number of the upgrade you desire. Option 1 Each successful Heal spell provides an additional 50% healing over 30 seconds. Effect is extended upon recasting of spell. Option 2 No more than once every 15 seconds, Heal will provide an additional 30% healing instantly.

Diving forwards herself, Lucinda just barely managed to collide with the charging wolf despite the notification still obscuring her vision. She wrapped her arms around it tightly, earning herself several nips and scratches even as she brought her calming influence into play.

“I know you’re hungry,” Lucinda said to the struggling wolf. “But you can’t eat her now. She deserves a chance to avoid ending up in your belly.”

The wolf’s struggles gradually slowed, and then ceased entirely. The deer had not responded well to the sudden attack, but its weak attempts at fleeing had not brought it far from where it had been resting.

Releasing the wolf, she looked it over carefully.

“One last Heal, and you can go. But no trying to eat that poor deer on your way out!”

Unsurprisingly, the wolf did little more than stare at her as she delivered her warning; yet, that did not stop her from casting her spell as intended. Then, once that was taken care of, some encouragement in the form of an angry brown bear appearing out of nowhere helped send the recovered animal off on its way at last.

After checking up on the deer briefly, Lucinda slumped against one of the cave walls and turned her attention to the persisting notification.

Spell mastery… So this is what it does. Ah, I think I’d be a lot more excited if I wasn’t so tired… They do look useful though.

Lucinda’s attention was pulled back from her pondering as the small, red bird swooped down to land upon her knee.

“Hi, again,” she greeted. “I thought you’d flown off for good. No more trying to influence you for now though. Wrestling wolves is not something I’m suited for!”

The bird chirped out a short response, but otherwise remained in place, allowing Lucinda to return to considering her options.

The first choice looks like it heals more, just gradually… Whereas the second would be more useful if I’m in real danger. Especially if I get that instant cast one at level 8! Ah, I guess both would still work with that…

The lingering healing effect would be pretty handy right now for the animals, not that I should let that guide my decision… Oh! Ohh… Unless I find myself in another situation where I have to heal more than one person. Of course!

A few moments more was it all took for Lucinda to settle on the first choice. Thinking the required phrase caused the notification to vanish back out of existence, though otherwise appeared to have no effect. But as she cast her Heal spell on the three remaining animals within the cave, she was confident its effects were being put to good use.

Over the next few hours, as well as chatting with her increasingly distant animal companion, Lucinda saw the wolf and the deer out of the cave safely. As rewarding as the experience was, she was still looking forward to it being over with, and to getting a proper night’s rest that wasn’t filled with worrying.

She was playing with the small bird she had seemingly successfully befriended, and discovered fed solely upon small flying insects, when the sudden sounds of approaching footsteps brought her to a state of readiness in an instant.

“A cave? I wonder…?” A familiar sounding voice called out, moments before a familiar appearing person came into view. “Oh. Hi!”

“Hlana?” Lucinda replied as her pulse began settling down once more. “What are you doing here?”

“Says the woman sitting in a cave next to a sleeping bear?” the young woman returned with a teasing smile. “You should have said you had a place of your own, though! I would have said yes if you’d invited me back…”

“Umm, sorry, guess I didn’t think you’d appreciate a stinky bear cave.”

Hlana giggled briefly. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Did you… see anything odd out there?”

“I did, as it happens. And that’s why I’m here! A new mission came in this morning, one talking about weird slimy creatures in this very forest. No one else seemed up for it… so I came here all on my lonesome to smite some evil monsters, but instead I only found you. Which means… prepare to defend yourself evildoer!”

Lucinda’s pulse shot upwards as Hlana began tracing a spell in the air between them. After only a moment's hesitation, she chose to shift into bear form in the face of the sudden attack. But before she could shift completely, the spell finished with a flash of bright light.

“Oh, a brown bear. Very nice!”

Seeing the small ball of light that had appeared in Hlana’s casting hand, and the beaming smile stretched across her lips, Lucinda released a loud huff before shifting back to human form once more.

“That wasn’t funny…” she complained once her mouth had regained the ability to form human speech.

“I’m pretty sure it was,” Hlana replied, before giggling to herself. “That look on your face… You should have seen it.”

Lucinda deepened her frown in lieu of a verbal response.

“You took care of it then?” Hlana asked.

“Yes. It was horrible… Black sludge creatures, some of them exploding out of dead animals… But they’re all dealt with.”

“Aww, sorry you had to go through that. Must have been even worse being a Druid? You poor thing! I suppose the reward money would help you recover… Oh, except you’re not a member are you?”

While some sympathy had been evident on Hlana’s face, it soon disappeared as talk of money came up.

“I don’t mind…” Lucinda stated as Hlana moved to sit opposite her.

“How about you tell me everything that happened? That way I can lie my way to the reward on my return!” A slight pause brought another pout to Lucinda’s lips. “And give you half of it, of course! Although, you know, it’s not much…”

“Fine… I guess that’s okay.”

“Oh, you were so brave!” Hlana exclaimed as Lucinda finished her retelling. “Taking on all those sludges, and then even healing up all the animals afterwards. It brings a tear to my eye…”

Lucinda raised a single eyebrow as she determined no such event was about to occur.

“It’s a figure of speech,” Hlana continued with a wide grin. “You’re sure you got them all?”

“I think so… My companion didn’t see any other signs of them. I still have no idea what caused them to appear though.”

“Mmm, did you see any suspicious openings in this rock anywhere? Sludges are the kind of monster that lives underground, so maybe some found a way up to commit their sinister deeds?”

Casting her mind back in search of any such sign, Lucinda had no luck in recalling anything.

“Marrow? Did you see any holes in the rock? The kind a sludge might have crawled out of?”

“Rock?” The reply came immediately, though was noticeably fainter than their usual communications. “Rock.”

The second sending from her animal companion confirmed that no sight matching Hlana’s suspected cause had been spotted.

“That’s okay, we did our best! Are you close to the circle?”

“Fly,” Marrow replied, indicating she had a long way yet to go.

“Don’t push yourself; there’s no rush. I’ll be hugging you again in no time!”

“If you’d rather fall asleep that’s fine,” Hlana said.

Resisting an urge to roll her eyes, Lucinda replied. “I didn’t see anything like that, sorry.”

“Oh-no, what a disaster! I’ll have to actually do some work after all. I’m starting to wonder if it was even worth coming here… Renting that ill-tempered horse I left out there was expensive!”

“Ah… You left a horse out there? There’s wolves about.”

Hlana waved dismissively as she rose to her feet. “She’ll be fine… Or was it a he? Either way, if you do hear lots of neighing and gnawing of bones, do you think you could step in while I’m having a look around?”

“…For the sake of your poor horse, I guess so.”

“Thanks, see you in a bit!”

With the young woman’s swift departure, Lucinda was left alone to return her attention to the remaining injured animal within her care. Looking far healthier, and even breathing at a steady rate again, she was sure the bear was close to a full recovery, and with a weary sigh she began a new Heal spell to help realise that result all the sooner.

“Nothing,” Hlana declared decisively as she reappeared at the mouth of the cave. “Nothing whatsoever. Other than the bits of sludge your fighting must have left behind. It really stinks out there! Even worse than a normal forest.”

“I noticed. Though some people like the smell of forests.”

“Oh, of course. Who doesn’t like a good whiff of animal excretions every other step? And maybe some human kinds too. Unless you have a proper toilet tucked away here somewhere?”

“I don’t actually live here, you know. Umm, usually,” Lucinda said as Hlana began an exaggerated glance about the interior of the cave. With a sigh she continued. “What’s next?”

“I return to the guild and collect my reward! I think we can say the threat is dealt with. Don’t you?”

“Probably. Hopefully.”

“Then, why not come with? We can make it back before dark on my trusty horse! If he survived getting eaten?”

“She did.”

“There you are then! Our incredible reward awaits!”

Glancing back at the sleeping bear, Lucinda was reluctantly forced to agree that there was not much holding her there anymore.

I saved all the ones I could. Mrs. Bear might be lonely for a while, but that can’t be helped… Some coin for my troubles wouldn’t be so bad either.

“Okay. I’ll be out soon.”

“Don’t take too long. Wouldn’t want those wolves to eat me either!” Hlana announced happily, before moving out of sight.

Alone once more, Lucinda provided a finger perch for the small bird that had been on her shoulder, before bringing it in front of her to better address her newest friend.

“I’m leaving now. You’re welcome to come along. I know Marrow would be happy to have someone to play with. I guess I can’t offer you food, but I’m a good petter!”

Shifting her mental projections to match her spoken words, Lucinda hoped to convey her intent clearly enough for the small, red bird. Compared to her ability to communicate with her companion, it made for a frustrating task, and only seemed to result in the bird hopping about along her arm for a spell, before it returned to her shoulder once more.

Lucinda took a moment to check over the bear one final time before exiting the cave. She found Hlana standing with hands on hips, glaring angrily at her rented horse while muttering under her breath.

“Everything okay?” Lucinda asked.

“You know it isn’t. My expensive horse has decided she wants to stay here forever.”

“I guess you’re lucky I’m here then,” Lucinda replied cheekily as she moved over to the troubled beast with her calming influence active. “I’ll convince her otherwise, and then you can increase my share of the reward.”

“Oh, really? And what happened to not minding?”

Lucinda shrugged. “I’m just trying to get a feel for adventuring.”

Her words brought a sudden burst of laughter from the other woman. “I think you got me there… Tell you what, you join the guild when we get back, and I’ll give you more than your fair share.”

“After I pay the 1 gold fee, you mean?” Lucinda’s subsequent pout only brought more laughter to her ears.

“You’ll have to charm a lot more than a single horse for me to pay that!”

“Don’t tell me you left more lying around in the forest for the wolves to eat?”

“No, not this time. But if we don’t head off soon, maybe it’ll be us being eaten by them after all.” Hlana approached her horse with some lingering wariness. “I’ll let you get on first.”

Ah, I should go on foot really. But showing off more shapeshifting seems like a bad idea… I guess It’s not too far.

Climbing into the saddle without issue, Lucinda cast a glance back at the other woman and smiled broadly.

“Druids do not get eaten by wolves.”

“Now, I shall inform you of the guild’s most intriguing history. So intriguing, in fact, that I shall be reading it from this dusty book you see before you.”

Seated in a small room containing little more than a table, a few chairs, and a single cabinet, Lucinda smiled nervously at the clerk’s words. Even before she had been led the short distance from the entrance hall to her current location, a rising sense of unease had been assaulting her; all as a result of the upcoming reveal of her class.

“One hundred years ago,” the clerk began in a scholarly voice. “The most wondrous and greatest man of the age – that’s actually what it says here – took it upon himself to answer a need most urgent in the hearts and minds of the people of our world… Bored, yet?”

“Not really. Is it long?”

The clerk shot an incredulous look at Lucinda as she tapped the heavy tome she held.

“Ah, maybe a summary would be okay?” Lucinda asked hesitantly.

“Wise decision,” the clerk replied as she snapped the book shut. “It’s all common knowledge really. The original guild leader was a man named Lofty Lamberson, though that probably wasn’t his real first name. Anyway, he started the guild in the distant land of Loquram…”

Waflaw’s homeland?

“…some hundred years ago; started solving people’s problems, who then started paying him, which allowed him to recruit more people to his cause, and expand to new territory. The parts where he negotiated independence with all the countries he moved into are less straightforward, but as far as I recall they usually involved befriending princes, and bedding princesses – or was that the other way around?”

Lucinda giggled as the clerk smirked knowingly.

“Anyway, in time it spread, spread, and spread some more, until… things were as they are now. Of course, old Hofty snuffed it years ago. But his descendants – the luckiest or most ruthless of the bunch – have managed to keep a hold of it since. Lefty, is our current guild master.”

“I see.”

“You should also know that with how large the guild is these days, a single guild master is hardly enough to run everything; which is why we have local guild masters too. Our closest one is in Oradas; a woman who goes by the name of Oppipilly.”

“Op…pipilly?” Lucinda asked around a smile.

“She’s not as weird as her name makes her sound. But I’ll leave that for you to determine. I think that’s us done with history, you’ll be glad to hear. Which brings us to… purpose. An even more obvious one, as well as another I’m supposed to refer to a book on. Care to take a stab at it?”

“Umm. The guild exists to help adventurers? Gives them a… base to work from I guess. With services, missions, and… company?”

“Struggling already, lass?” the clerk asked with a smirk. “To be expected. There’s only one point you’ve really missed: the underlying purpose of the guild. I’ll give you a hint, or two, in fact: It involves missions and coin.”

“Missions and coin…?” Lucinda muttered the hints to herself a few times before an apparent solution came to her. “Does the guild take a cut on the rewards?”

“You guessed it. No matter who pays the reward, be it the crown, another guild or organisation, or even a private sponsor; the guild does indeed take a cut. And as all missions of any importance go through the guild…” The clerk adopted an expectant grin as her sentence trailed off.

“The guild masters are filthy rich?”

“Unbelievably so. Of course, as a member you’ll still get those perks we talked about.”

“…Free baths is something I’m looking forward to. Ah, they’re heated?”

“Absolutely. It’s not all bad in other words. Any more questions? If not, we can move on to that status check.”

Without waiting for a reply, the clerk moved over to the nearby cabinet, unlocked it with a brass key, and then pulled a small device from within. Lucinda got a proper look as it was placed down upon the table in front of her: A straight piece of a nearly black wood that was lined with six gems, measured in at about 20 centimetres in length and 5 or so in diameter, and was enclosed at both ends with two metal caps.

“I’ll just tap you on the head with this…”

Lucinda reluctantly nodded as she fought to keep her expression neutral. She knew it was foolish, as it had already been made clear to her that her class was not a problem for the guild. But as the rod landed upon her head a moment later, her nervousness was still as high as ever.

“Mmmhmm,” the clerk muttered as she placed the rod back down on the table. Directing a knowing smile at Lucinda, she continued. “I thought you looked a bit nervous. Anyway, that’s us almost done. I just need to pop out for a mo.”

“Okay…”

A long, slow minute passed by as Lucinda waited for the clerk to return. The possibility that the benign guild clerk was actually rousing a Shifter-hating mob to put an end to her wicked ways passed through her mind as she waited – as did several other, similar imaginings.

“Sorry for the wait, lass,” the clerk announced upon her return. “You’re all registered. You just need to take one of these, and then you’ll be free to go.”

Accompanying her words, a small wooden box filled with wooden rings landed upon the table. Lucinda’s hand made it part way towards picking one, before the clerk spoke again.

“You’ll notice there’s a single engraved line running along the outside. That denotes your current rank, and more will be added as you progress. But it’s up to you whether you want one that fits you. They’re not enchanted with anything useful, so there’s no need to actually wear yours.”

Considering the statement while rummaging through the box, Lucinda eventually decided she may as well choose one that she could wear upon at least one of her fingers. Finding one that matched that criterion did not take long.

“Thank you,” Lucinda said as she slipped her chosen ring off of her middle finger and placed it securely in her pack. “I was a bit nervous, but I think there’s only excitement left now.”

“Then I’ll let you go and get to that celebrating I’m sure you’re itching for.” The clerk began tidying away the items Lucinda’s joining had required. “Oh, Hlana was asking about you. Something about coin I think?”

“Thanks, I’ll go see her.”

Once out of the room, Lucinda was beset by a vigorous wave from the dark-robed young woman as soon as her eyes dared look into the sparsely populated tavern. Returning the wave in a considerably less enthusiastic manner, she turned aside to stare intently at a nearby wall instead.

“Marrow?” Lucinda projected along the disturbingly faint connection she shared with her companion.

“Friend! Near!”

“Good work, Marrow! Make sure to drink plenty of water and take a rest when you get there, okay? I won’t be able to summon you back until I’m outside of town again.” After sensing a silent agreement to her words, Lucinda continued. “I joined the guild! Once you get back we can start doing missions for real! We’ll probably have to stick to easy ones for a while, but I’m sure we’ll get to travel and have fun all the same!”

“Friend!”

With her silent conversation concluded, Lucinda made her way through the tavern to Hlana’s usual table. A warm smile greeted her as she sat down.

“Congrats!” Hlana exclaimed. One of her hands reached beneath the table and pulled out a small purse. “Ready to receive your incredible reward, guild member Lucinda?”

Lucinda returned the smile without difficulty. “Yes, guild member Hlana. I am.”

While holding Lucinda’s gaze, the other woman pulled out a series of silver coins from her pouch. Placing them one by one on the table between them, her smile grew in size after each, and as the last clink of metal against wood sounded out, Lucinda had little choice but to giggle as she realised how things were.

“Four whole silver,” she commented. “Lucky me. Is that really my fair share?”

“It is! I only got three… Not even enough for a nice drink to celebrate.”

Lucinda sighed. “Is it my turn to buy?”

“Oh-no, I wouldn’t dream of making you pay! But I am going to choose what we drink.”

“Do you think maybe it’s that bossiness that has scared people away from your group?”

Hlana grinned widely. “Hmm, nope!” Spinning in place she called out to the barkeep. “Temel! Two cups of the finest Tesachfa tea!” Turning back to Lucinda, she continued. “If you thought what you tried the other day was nice, just you wait!”

“We’re out,” Temel replied from behind the tavern counter, causing Hlana to whirl back towards him.

“I refuse to believe that. Find some!”

“Ah, I don’t mind…” Lucinda began.

“Mayhaps there's some in the cellar," Temel shouted out over Lucinda’s words. "You can check it yerself if you're that desperate. It’s not locked.”

Hlana turned a mischievous grin upon Lucinda. “What do you say? Our first proper mission together? The reward’s a good one!”

“Hunt down some tea in the cellar?”

“That’s it! Well?”

Laughing at the bizarre turn of events that seemed to have found her, Lucinda reluctantly nodded. “Okay.”

Travelling through a door located behind where Temel still worked, they came to the kitchen beyond. There, in one corner of the room sat another door that revealed a set of stairs leading down into darkness.

“It’s my time to shine again!” Hlana stated as she began casting a familiar-looking spell. “I’ll lead the way.”

“Good idea. That way the mice will nibble your toes first.”

Whirling in place Hlana shrieked out a reply. “Mice!?”

Lucinda burst into laughter as her teasing produced the desired effect, while Hlana’s alarm soon gave way to laughter of her own.

“Mighty Wizards aren’t afraid of mice!” Hlana said, holding up the glowing orb she had conjured to peer down into the cellar. Looking back at Lucinda, she grinned. “But… would you mind going first?”

Managing to suppress further laughter, Lucinda moved past Hlana and began down the stairs without hesitating. The dark cellar was still fairly foreboding even without a worry of the small animals that might lay within, making the ball of light a welcome use of magic.

Stepping off of the bottom stair, a curious smell made Lucinda pause.

“What is it?” Hlana asked, as Lucinda sniffed the air suspiciously.

“Do you smell something?”

“Mmm?” Hlana sniffed the air loudly several times. “Oh… Don’t worry about that. Just a bit of blood from the people we’ve killed down here.”

Turning about, Lucinda’s frown was matched with a smile from the other woman.

“Too morbid?” Hlana’s grin widened and then gave way to a loud spurt of giggles.

A rod appeared in the woman’s hand. Lucinda had no time to react as it fell upon her and sent a wave of magical energy coursing through her body.

“Lucky it wasn’t a joke then!”

Mounting panic struck Lucinda as she was forced to stare into Hlana’s eyes. There was no mistaking what effect she had been hit by. The complete lack of control she had over her body pointed to one horrible truth: A hold spell.

“We are going to have so much fun together.” A pale hand came up to caress Lucinda’s face; something she could do nothing to stop. Hlana then looked past her into the cellar beyond. “Isn’t that right, Mother?”