“Lastaf!” I screamed as the mind-boggling-sized sea monsters dove back under the waves after its meal of canned mages.

“Ah, don’t worry about him. He’s harmless to us,” said a sailor to my left who had watched the spectacle.

“Harmless?! Did you see the size of that thing?”

“Oh, yea. The Grokrol normally eats smaller fish and creatures. They never attack vessels and are normally lucky to have them close by. They usually scare off the sea monsters you don’t want to meet out in open waters,” responded the sailor.

Lastaf finally came over, asking what I was screaming about. When I explained to him what I had witnessed, he chuckled before commenting on the tenacity of the mages over the massive sea creature.

Hours later, the Beastkin had taken stock of the supplies, finding they didn’t have near enough to sail back to their homeland. The merchant ship captain was kind enough to supply Lastaf with enough to get them home.

“Were ready to leave, Zeal. Remember to try and stay at Mythtide for a couple of weeks at least before you head towards Meckingmoor to find my old pal Jarrax. Leave a message for me at The Guild when you do leave Mythtide. You two take it easy and try not to get into anything. I’ll try and catch up as fast as I can.”

I hugged the Axoli before he bent down to pat Luin on the head. I picked her up and hopped over to the merchant’s vessel. Two other young Beastkin followed. It looks like they wanted to leave home see the mainland as well. I wasn’t going to pry into their motives.

Our ship left first, Lastaf and the now free Beastkin waving to us as we began picking up speed. The ship’s Air mages were propelling the ship far faster than the current breeze could have done.

It wasn’t long before the slaver’s ship vanished over the horizon. I went back to the ship's bow and sat watching the open water. That night Luin and I slept in the cabin alone. I hopped Lastaf wouldn’t take long. Having someone as strong as him on the team was reassuring.

We still had a few more days before making landfall, so I continued to train. That morning I created the fourth piece of my Ice Armor spell, my bracers to cover my forearms. I now had armor from the top of my bladed helm to my waist. Standing up, I almost toppled over with the additional weight but remained standing on the rocking deck. I began to run laps around deck and soon found myself sprawled out in the shade of the captain’s cabin. I was gasping for air and sweating profusely. Forgetting Lastaf wasn’t around to cast his Vigor spell was soul-crushing.

An hour later, I got up and repeated the process of running around the ship with the four pieces of armor. I did this as many times as I could throughout the day and then repeated it for the next three days. On the fourth day, I decided to give myself a break and relaxed on the deck while watching Luin play with the sailors. They seemed to enjoy playing tag with the small blue bundle of constant energy.

Luin dogged one sailor, then stopped in her tracks and turned her head towards the left side of the boat and began yipping before rushing to the railing and resting her front paws upon it. A few sailors walked over to see what had caught the Kobold’s attention. I, too, decided to get up and investigate.

Far out in the ocean, a massive group of the Sailapods was heading towards the ship. A few of the sailors began to cheer, catching me off guard. “Why so happy to see the Sailapods?” I asked.

“They follow vessels into the shallows. It means we should be seeing Mythtide on the horizon soon. We’ll be in the tavern by nightfall,” replied one of the sailor Beastkin.

Luin continued to make yipping noises at the group of aquatic animals as they came close and swam parallel with the ship. I went back to my shaded spot and sat down. I was becoming antsy and didn’t want to start jumping up and down. I enjoyed sailing, but I needed to get myself on solid ground after a week.

As the sailor said, I could see the port city over the railing relatively soon, and we were docked two hours later. Each sailor had come to see Luin and me off. Most thanked me for saving their brethren. The two Air mages couldn’t thank me enough for teaching them the Viewing Screen spell and promised to teach others it as well.

I bid the captain and sailors fair well and walked down the dock towards the massive stone wall of the city. As I reached the gate, I found a line of sailors waiting to be let through by the guard. I entered the line at the end and waited. I looked down at Luin, who was hugging my leg. A moment later, her head was darting around, taking in the bustling docking area.

Minutes later, we reached the guards and gate. “Two coppers for you and a copper for your pet. Are you bringing any goods into the city on your person?”

“No, just traveling thought,” I pulled one of the coin bracelets out of my bag and removed three of the three-sided coins handing them to the guard.

“Next!” he yelled.

I walked through the metal gate and gawked at the sights in front of me. I counted no less than twenty different races around me. The oddest one being a small man with a beard and pointed hat. What was odd about the man was he was maybe a meter in height, and instead of legs, he had what looked like six or eight tentacles of an octopus.

My musing was interrupted by a sailor pushing me out of the way as he exited the gate. “My apologies,” I said to the sailor’s back as he walked away. He just waved a hand in the air.

I had no idea where to go and spotted a small boy shouting at the corner, holding a paper in the air. I walked over to him to hear what he was shouting and ask for directions.

“The Akhusite Kingdom has attacked the border town of Rayafane. Refugees have begun traveling south! The Trial of Adrihel opens its doors once more in six months! The Khal Brotherhood is looking for Jade Rank and up Adventures to sign up for their expedition to travel to the west!” The boy shouted.

He saw me approach and stopped shouting. “Would you like to buy a paper, sir, only a copper, sir?”

“I’ll pay you two if you can direct me to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Sure thing, sir! Take this road that way, and it’s the large building with the three green peaks. It’s got a wooden sign above the door with a sword, shield, and stave carved into it.”

I handed the boy the two coins, and he gave me one of the papers from his stack with an excited grin. I began walking towards the indicated direction and began reading the paper.

The Khal Brotherhood is looking for a handful of Jade Rank or above adventurers to travel west and explore the dessert past the Gladmeda Mountains. Survival skills and Heat Resistance Traits are recommended. The expedition is expected to take the better part of a year. On returning a payment of five-hundred gold and a share of any treasure brought back.

The Akhusite Kingdom has burnt down the mining-border town of Rayafane. Reports have said the casualties had been low, with the town getting adequate warnings of the approaching army. The Akhsites have taken over the local Glitterstone mine and raised the town to the ground. Refugees are heading south in hopes of finding refuge in the larger towns.

The Trial of Adrihel opens its portal in six months. This trial opens once every twenty-five years to challenge adventurers and is said to bestow tremendous skills and even advanced classes for those who pass its trials. Those interested in testing their mettle are to head to the town of Kirjour to the north.

Interesting, I would have to find out more about the trial. The expedition sounded interesting, but maybe another time, I looked up as I dodged a massive bipedal wolf. I glanced back at the man before looking ahead. He had to be three meters tall and didn’t look like a Beastkin. A few minutes later, I could make out the bright green roof of the building above the shops.

Reaching the main door, I looked up at the massive building. It had three floors and took up almost the entire block it sat on. I followed a lizard-faced man into the door and marveled at the insides. It was very posh, to say the least. The first floor was entirely open, with large desks at the back and a few people behind them. To my right on the wall were four large purple felt-covered boards with many pages pinned to them.

I looked up to see the second floor was opened in the middle, and a balcony circled the entire floor looking down on the first. I could see many doors through the railing going around the 2nd floor.

Looking towards the left of the building, I saw a large bar with many tables in front of it. There sat an incredible amount of people chatting away at both the bar and tables. I spotted stairs going up to the second floor in the left and right back corners.

I followed the lizard-face man to the back as he went to one of the desks with what I guessed was a receptionist. I made my way over to a man with tattoos covering his face and neck. The man looked bored, and I could see the distaste on his face as he looked up at me.

“Your Guild Card and business?” he asked in a monotone voice.

“I’m here to register, and I have a letter for the Guild Master,” I replied.

“I’m sure you do,” he said smugly.

I removed the letter from my bag and placed it on the table. The man signed and slapped his hand on the letter and pulled it towards himself. He picked up the letter and looked at the seal on the back before he sprang to his feet.

“One moment, sir, I’ll fetch him right this instance,” he said before running to the stairs and climbing them.

I grabbed the letter and studied the wax seal at the back. I couldn’t tell what had changed his deminer. The wax was yellow and had what looked like a mountain, with a suit of armor leaning against the mountain. Was that an image of Horrow?

A few minutes later, the tattooed man came back down the steps and beckoned for me to follow him. We walked up to the second floor and then up the guarded stairs to the third. He opened a door and waved me in before closing the door. If downstairs was posh, this room was approaching chic or lavish.

A few moments later, the tattooed man returned with what I assumed was tea and snack cakes. “He will be with you after his current appointment. Feel free to relax while you wait,” he said before leaving and closing the door.

I sat on the armchair and poured myself a cup of the provided drink, taking a sip. It was delicious. It tasted of cinnamon and fruit I couldn’t place. On the other hand, the snack cakes were a level of sweetness I couldn’t palate but finished the cake anyways. I didn’t want to insult the host. I had no idea what social norms people had here.

Luin, on the other hand, devoured the remaining cakes, then jumped onto the chair next to mine, spun around a few times, plopped onto her belly, and fell fast asleep.

After ten or so minutes passed, no one had come, so I got up and moved to the window at the back of the room. I could see a better part of the city that looked to go on as far as I could see. At what I assumed was the city’s center was another tall tower like the one back at Kruton. I was curious about that. I would have to check it out.

I was pulled from my city, gazing as the wall to my right opened up like a door, and an older Beastkin walked into the room. I couldn’t place the Beastkin’s animal counterpart. Was he best described as a large-eyed sugar glider?

His face was covered by light brown and black hair, with two massive ears that seemed to twitch back and forth like that of a cat. His big brown eyes watched me as he moved to one of the larger couches and let out a sign as he threw himself onto it, laying down. “So, the day has arrived. Has Horrow finally called for me? Tell me he needs me to help him clear out a monster nest, or better yet, a new Dungeon!”

“I'm sorry, I think he said this was a letter of introduction for me, to you,” I said as I handed him the envelope.

“What? Don’t tell me he’s going to stick me with another student. That old minx never wanted to train anyone when he found someone with potential, always giving them to someone else,” The Guild Master said before ripping the envelope open and pulling out the papers within.

I sat back down on the previous chair as he flipped through pages of the letter. Then he began to read them a second time and a third.