I followed the black-scaled beauty out of the cave and into the blinding light of a twin-sun noon. I shielded my eyes as I overlooked the edge of the cliff face, I now found myself upon. We were high up off the jungle basin which spread out below me like a carpet of emerald green. It extended as far as a rocky coastline a few miles away and stretched left and right as far as I could see. Miles upon miles of wilderness.

The river was now below as well. It snaked through the jungle and passed what looked like small villages and farms as the jungle eventually thinned. The river then fanned out into a delta as it neared the coastline and emptied into a roiling dark sea.

It was an amazing sight, but what truly caught my eye was a massive pyramid like structure just before the river delta. It wasn’t a pyramid exactly but more like the base of one with the top cut off and hollowed out inside. The river ran right down the middle of it and on either side, the pyramid based formed massive walls which I could only guess had to be a hundred feet tall and perhaps half that in thickness. Outside the walls a short stretch of grasslands separated it from the denser jungle beyond and within them was a densely packed port city of some kind.

Multiple docks and bridges spanned the hundred foot wide river that ran through the center of the pyramid city. Along them I counted at least four tall-mast sailing ships that were berthed. It was a good couple of miles away and I couldn’t see much detail, but from even where I stood, I could see the bustle of activity. Hundreds of people moved to and fro, loading and unloading cargo; some of them clearly not human by how tall they were compared to the rest of the masses. Beyond the docks, wooden structures rose about two or three stories high on one half of the city. On the other half, the building were made of stone and formed what almost looked like a modern day metropolis.

“Behold the port of New Haven,” Devena said with a wave of her arm. “The last bastion of civilization for over a thousand miles by either sea or land.”

“It’s the bottom of the world for most people,” Phee said lackluster as she emerged from the cave behind me. “Those who come here are either fools chasing riches or criminals running from trouble...or perhaps looking to start it.”

Devena chuckled. “Spoken like a true native. But yes, locals being the exception, the majority of New Haven residents are transients looking for fortune or to start a new life.”

“So which are you?” I asked.

The scaled woman cut her eyes at me. “The point is the Commission doesn’t care who or what you are, so long you serve to ensure their precious cargo is shipped on time. And that’s why we’re all here essentially. To keep the riches of the Vult flowing to the motherland.”

“I see,” I said, taking the hint on the no fly zone. “So what’s this commission?”

“The Holy Imperial Commission to the Vult Exploration Concern,” Yunni said as she floated out of the cave with a flutter of her translucent wings. “That’s the official name for it anyway. They’re sort of like the government around here.” She landed next to Devena and pointed towards the city. “Their headquarters is within the stone side of the city.”

“Ah…” I nodded still in awe of the structure. “So is this what you wanted me to see?”

“Partly,” Devena said. “Yunni show him the map.”

With a flutter of her hands, the winged girl produced a scroll from seemingly nowhere, much the same way Shareef did. She unrolled it and the yellow paper outlined a landmass that was sort of shaped like Australia, longer east to west than it was north to south. The bottom of the continent was covered in jungle and a small X near its southernmost tip was labeled New Haven. North of the jungle was a mountain range that separated it from a desert. Further north the desert then gave way to more forest or jungle at the very top of the land mass.

“The walls you see were built over two hundred years ago,” Devena said. “They are what make the Vult Commission even possible. They protect the city from the larger creatures in the jungle. Without them the entire city would fall within a week.”

I nodded appreciatively. “Yeah, those things are pretty massive.”

“The closest major city is the southern capital of Aziz.” Devena pointed it out on the map; a dot in the northern part of the great desert smack dab in the middle of the continent. “It takes two months to travel to the closest port town by ship and then another month of travel inland through the Moa Desert to reach Aziz.”

I studied the map and saw why. The mountain range to the north of the jungle encapsulated most of the coastline as well. The only break it in was the southern river delta where New Haven was located.

“What’s here that’s so valuable?” I asked. “These mana crystals or something?”

“That and more,” Yunni said and began counting on her fingers. “There are precious metals and minerals to mine, lumber of course, stone, rare herbs and plants. And then you have the ancient ruins and all sorts of ancient relics and artifacts to be found. Right, Phee?”

The big woman waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t get too caught up in all that. Even my people don’t venture that deep into the jungle to explore anymore. Bad omens they say. The monsters there are gargantuan too. You’d die in seconds.”

I had an urge to ask exactly ‘what’ her people were, but it seemed too delicate a topic to bring up so casually. I just nodded instead. “Okay I get it. So there be gold in dem dar hills.”

I said it with a southern drawl and the three women looked at me like I was a nut case.

“Sorry, it’s just an expression where I come from. Speaking of which, this is all very nice, but it doesn’t explain why you kidnapped me from Earth.”

“Show him the back,” Devena said and Yunni flipped the scroll over to reveal a wall of scribbled writing.

It still looked like Arabic to me. “Yeah I can’t read that.”

Devena sighed again. “I’m losing faith in you by the minute. Yunni please read it.”

I ignored her jab as the winged girl began reciting from the scroll. “The Holy Imperial Commission to the Vult Exploration Concern invites all sanctioned guilds to participate in a competition to select the builder of the Great Vult Canal. Participants will be given one month to cut a path of no less than 100 feet wide through the Vult. The guild which cuts the longest path in thirty days will be granted an Imperial commission to construct a canal that will stretch from New Haven to Aziz for the sum of 10 thousand gold per mile. The winning guild will also receive a bonus of 50,000 gold to start. Signed—on behalf of his excellency, Emperor Talus IX—Lady Vendria Celine, High Commissioner, Vult Exploration Concern.”

“Whoa,” I said. “50,000 gold? That sounds like a lot.”

“It’s more money than most can even imagine,” Devena said with a strange lust in her eyes. “Aziz is over a thousand miles away. The final commission would be worth over ten million gold. But the commission is willing to pay that much for a shorter and safer route through the Vult. Right now, one ship in three is normally lost to sea monsters, ship wreck or pirates. The merchants take great risk to ferry the goods by sea and travel via air is even more costly and dangerous.”

“Whoa, you guys have air travel?”

“It’s possible for some,” Devena said. “But at great expense and risk. Few dare attempt it. There are far more predators that roam the skies than the seas. And far less ways to defend.”

Thoughts of an airship being ripped out of the sky by giant pterodactyls filled my mind. “Yeah…I can see that.”

“Anyway,” she continued. “A shorter and safer seat route to Aziz has been an ambition for over a hundred years.”

“A hundred years?” I said, boggling. “No one’s been able to do it in all that time?”

“Many have tried,” Devena said. “The Commission runs a competition like this once every few years. Whole guilds have fallen in their attempts…including our own.”

She cast her eyes down as she said it.

“But not this time,” Yunni said in an upbeat tone. “Not with you on our side.”

“Whoa, what do you expect me to do?”

“Our guild, House Velmar, was the first to ever conquer the wilds of the Vult,” Devena said. “The walls around New Haven were constructed by us…or rather…by you.”

“Me?”

“A mage from Earth,” Yunni explained. “Or so our legends say. The great sage came from your world and wielded magic that could move mountains. I found an old text for a spell that could reconnect our worlds. We spent the last of what we had to bring you here, so that you could help us win this competition and restore House Velmar to its former glory.” She said it with gusto, pumping her fist. “With your magical knowledge I’m sure we can do it!”

“I’d be happy just to get paid for once,” Phee said with a lack luster tone. “Everything I have is riding on this.”

“So there you have it,” Devena said placing her hands on her shapely hips. “The reason you’re here. I don’t necessarily share Yunni’s hopes and enthusiasm about your potential, but I’m willing to try anything at this point. So what do you say?”

I paused as I considered it. Chopping a path through a monster infested jungle with no clue about what the hell I was doing, sounded like a surefire way to get myself killed. Even if I did only have a year left to live, I certainly didn’t want to cut it short by doing something this crazy.

Plus I had a Susan waiting for me back home. Hot exotic babes or not, this wasn’t a good deal. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if this was even all real or not.

“Maybe it’s best you send me home, ladies,” I said. “I don’t think I can do what you need me to do anyway. I’m an engineer not a mage. I don’t know how to make walls magically appear. All I know about is construction and a bit of mechanics. And it would take a modern construction crew with heavy equipment years to build anything like what you’re describing. And honestly, I don’t have years to give.”

Yunni’s face drooped into a frown. “So you’re not going to help us?”

“It’s fine, Yunni,” Devena said. “This was a long shot at best.”

Phee let out a deep sigh and my stomach sank with guilt. I did feel a bit bad for letting them all down, but I barely knew them and they did kidnap me in the first place.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but I do have my own life to live too, you know?”

“Just cast the spell, Yunni,” Devena said turning her back. “We’re done here. Permanently. I’ll book us passage back to Aziz in the morning.”

“No!” Yunni shouted with a look of determination, or perhaps desperation in her eyes. “We can’t just send him back. He’s our only hope! He can do this, I know it. The legends must be true!”

Devena lowered her slender brows at her. “He doesn’t want to stay, Yunni.”

“Because we’re only offering him what we want. What about what he wants?”

The two women shared a long stare. Yunni then waved her hands in a ‘come on, think of something’ gesture, prompting Devena to roll her eyes again. Finally the scaled woman huffed out an exasperated sigh. “Fine…what is it we can offer you to help us, Cole Jacobs?”

I was actually shocked that she remembered my full name. Or maybe she could just see it as I could hers. But now I really had to think. These women had already offered me their gorgeous bodies, but now they were offering me anything else I wanted as well? I had no concept of value here. Gold certainly didn’t interest me. Money had never been a real motivator for me anyway.

Then the only thing that truly mattered struck me like a punch to the face.

“You’re a healer right?” I said looking to Devena. “Can you heal me of my cancer?”

“You’re what?”

“My—” I checked my health stat again “—Disease…touched by death?”

Devena grimaced. “Ugh, a death touch? So that’s what it is?”

“You can do it can’t you, Devena?” Yunni pleaded with her. “Right?”

“Not at this level.”

My heart began to beat a little faster. “But you’re saving it may be possible though? You could cure me with magic just like you did my wounds and poison?”

She paused a moment thinking about it and then she nodded with a smile. “Most certainly…if you’re willing to become our Guildmaster and invest your life force in me, that is.”

I couldn’t believe it. A new lease on life, but for real this time. Maybe the Universe was finally paying me back for all the shit luck it had dealt me—taking me to another world that could cure my cancer magically. It sounded almost too good to be true, but still, I wasn’t going to throw everything away.

“So you just need my help winning the contest right?” I asked. “Nothing else.”

I said the last part as a statement more than a question.

Building a thousand mile canal was one thing; no way could I do that. But figuring out how to chop down a bunch of trees for a month is definitely something I could probably do. It was all logistics, right? And I was pretty damn good with logistics.

Yunni shrugged. “It would be a start, I suppose.”

“Well if we don’t win, it won’t matter anyway, right?” I said.

Phee crossed her muscled arms across her chest. “He has a point.”

“Fine,” Devena said. “But I won’t let you off so easily. I’ll heal you of your Death Touch, only after we win the competition. After that we can negotiate what comes next.”

Fuck yeah!

“Lady, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Yunni bounced into the air, fluttering her wings. “Hurray! We have a guildmaster!”

“Finally!” Phee said with a laugh. I then felt her large hand upon my shoulder as she leaned down to whisper huskily in my ear, “I’m glad you decided to stay, Cole.”

The way her hot breath hit my ear sent a shiver up my spine and a jolt of excitement through my groin. “Ah…me too.”

“Let’s not go celebrating just yet,” Devena said. “It’s not official until he accepts the amulet.”

“What amulet?”

With another magical flutter of her hands, Yunni produced a silver chain attached with something that resembled a compass. She then handed it to Devena who stepped before me held the chain above my head ceremoniously. “Cole Jacobs, do you accept this holy relic, the Eye of Discernment to become Guildmaster of House Velmar?”

“Ah… I do?”

“Then as Chief Steward of House Velmar, I Devena Blackscale, bestow upon you, this solemn charge; to rule the Guild as you see fit for the benefit of all those within it. Long live House Velmar! Long live Guildmaster Cole!”

She placed the amulet around my neck and a sudden jolt of energy coursed through my body.

You have gained +1 insight!

You are now a Guildmaster.

Yunni clapped and cheered. “Yay! It’s official! Congratulations, Master Cole.”

“Yes, congratulations, master,” Devena said almost icily. “So what is to be your first order of business? Bonding I assume?”

She said it so casually, I actually felt myself bush. “Like, right now? Here?”

She sighed with an eye roll. “It need not be physical, Cole. A blood oath will do. We have only a week to prepare before the competition and we’ll need to be a lot stronger than this to stand even a chance. The sooner we get started the better.”

“I…ah…”

“Maybe we should all get back to town first,” Yunni suggested. “There is a lot I need to show Master Cole about what I found in the archives.”

“The archives?”

“Yes,” she said. “It’s where I was before I came here. I was a librarian in the Grand Archives of Aziz.”

“Oh… so what did you find?”

“Magical texts from the legendary sage!” Yunni said. “I brought them here. I’m sure the secret to the magic that made the city walls are within them. I’m sure you’ll be able to unlock them too.”

My interest was certainly piqued at that. Maybe I could do some kind of magic after all. I checked my stats again to see if the amulet had made anything change.

Name: Cole Jacobs

Race: Human

Class: Guildmaster

Insight Level: 3

Strength 5

Agility 7

Dexterity 4

Constitution 3

Will 5 (+2)

Intellect 4 (+2)

Charisma 6 (+2)

Mana pool: 9

Next: 250

Class Traits

Discernment

Bloodoath Ritual

Bond Ritual

Bondmates: None

Max: 0/1

My eyes glazed over as I took in all the new information. No magic like fireball or anything, but I could definitely do more it seemed. I then vaguely became aware that Yunni was still speaking. “And besides deciding who will be his Firstbond is a pretty big decision. We shouldn’t rush him into it.”

“Agreed,” Devena said and then shot Phee an accusatory look. “Let’s leave that decision for another day. Shall we?”

Phee shrugged her massive shoulders. “Whatever the master wishes.”

They then all looked to me, as if expecting some kind of answer.

“Er…let’s get back to town,” I said. “This jungle has been great and all but I could really use a bath.”

“We’ll see you there, master,” Yunni said and lifted off the ground with a flutter of her wings. “Don’t take too long, Phee. I’m dying to show him all of my books!”

As she spun in the air and flew off, I focused on her.

Discernment: Great Success!

Name: Yunni Y’vol

Race: Nymph

Class: Scholar

Insight Level: 1

Strength: 2

Agility: 8

Dexterity: 3

Constitution: 3

Will: 4

Intellect: 9

Charisma: 9

Class Traits

Research

Comprehend Language

Recite Scroll

Racial Traits

Flights

Magic Spheres – Light (Invocation/Illusion Schools only)

Wow, that was a lot more info, I thought.

“See you when you return, Phee,” Devena said and then casually jumped off the cliff.

“Hey!”

My heart leapt into my throat as I instinctively reached out for her, but she was already gone. Holy fuck! A second later a black form soared up from below the cliff with a powerful flap of wings. I did a double take at the black-scaled, reptilian creature as it circled in the air and spun about to face us.

I recognized the eyes before anything else, emerald green and piercing. The horns were the same too, swept backwards. Gone was the sexy woman named Devena, now replaced by a person sized dragon, flapping its wings at me.

“Don’t tarry,” she said again, her voice still sounding the same, but more augmented, like she was speaking through a megaphone. “We’ll meet at the HQ.”

I wasted no time checking her as well.

Discernment: Great Success!

Name: Devena Blackscale

Race: Black Dragon

Class: Steward

Insight Level: 1

Strength: 6

Agility: 5

Dexterity: 5

Constitution: 8

Will: 12

Intellect: 9

Charisma: 4

Class Traits

Barter

Calculate

Financial knowledge

Racial Traits

Transform

Flight

Magic Spheres - Light/Dark (Healing Schools only)

The Devena-sized black dragon then spun about and flapped hard to catch up to Yunni.

“Holy crap,” I said as I watched them both sail into the distance, heading for New Haven. “She’s a freaking dragon?”

Phee sighed. “Yeah…it explains a lot really.”

I looked up at the big blue lady and laughed. “So…what are you then, Phee?”

“You have the vision,” she said with a wink. “You tell me.”

I looked at Phee next.

Discernment: Great Success!

Name: Phee

Race: Half-Ogre

Class: Barbarian

Insight Level: 1

Strength: 12 (+5)

Agility: 7

Dexterity: 6

Constitution: 10 (+5)

Will: 8

Intellect: 5

Charisma: 13

Class Traits

Tracking

Wilderness Survival

Animal Tamer

Racial Traits

- Great Strength/Constitution

- Non-Magic Bonus (Plus to Physical traits)

“Holy shit, Phee!” I said looking at her stats. “You’re a friggin’ beast!”

Her face suddenly dropped as her eyes found the floor. She then pulled her arms across her chest, as if trying to cover her body. “You don’t like what you see. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed that you would find what I am pleasing to you in any way.”

“Wait what?”

“When I was tending to you earlier…by the river. I thought that perhaps, you might have been interested in—” She cut herself short and turned her back suddenly. “Never mind. This is ridiculous.”

“No, no!” I said quickly, catching her elbow to spin her about again. “You totally misunderstood me.”

“Yes, I know that!” she said more forcefully, snatching her elbow back from me. “You’ve made that very clear. It’s obvious you’d find Yunni or even Devena more appealing than me. You don’t have to make a point of it.”

“No, Phee,” I said again. “I meant you misunderstood me when I called you a beast just now. Where I come from that’s a good thing. It’s a compliment. It means you’re really amazing. Like powerful. Strong. Super sexy. All that stuff!”

I meant it too. I’d always found buff women to be sexy, and hell I’d been a She Hulk fan my entire life. If not for the subtle difference in hue, she’d look right out of the damn comic book!

“Oh,” she said…and then she blushed, looking even more embarrassed than before. “Perhaps we’d better just get going.”

“Hey,” I said. “Let’s start again. Like I haven’t taken a peek at your character sheet.”

“My what?”

I then made an exaggerated bow ignoring her. “I’m Cole Jacobs. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Phee. And once again I’d like to thank you for saving my life.”

She chuckled a little. “And once again…you’re welcome.”

“So I guess we’re both stuck walking back to town,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

“It’s not far from here. We should go and not cause the others to wait.”

“Hold on a second,” I said. “I do feel much better thanks to Devena’s healing, but my stomach is killing me. Any chance we have time to sample some of the meat you got roasting back there?”

I grinned cheesily as I said it and it caused her to laugh.

“Why of course,” she said still smiling. “The least I can do is feed you before we go.”

She then slowly turned about, giving me a great view of her ass as she walked into the cave. “Right this way, master.”