Back down the road leading into the dark wood, the scent of tea wafts through the air just a second before a portal is torn out from the air. From the swirling vortex peeks Chaos, who looks both ways before stepping out, encouraging Jonson to follow along.

“So long, Cooking Minion,” Chaos says with a gentle wave through the portal before it closes, leaving the two to the breeze and the grass of the world that is probably Aydoss.

“So, this is it,” Jonson says. “The start of it all.”

Chaos shrugs. “Or the end. I am not so preoccupied with specifics, you understand.” Chaos points forward with an aloof,

dramatic flare. “This way, mighty hero.”

Jonson scoffs as the two start down the road. “A bit early for that, don’t you think?”

Chaos shakes his head. “You have what it takes, but there’s always room for improvement.”

“Is that why you only taught me one spell?”

“That one is all you will need. I would much rather you got it perfect in what little time we had than for you to know many and get this one wrong.”

Jonson hums with a smirk. “One might think that you, as a great wizard, might have used some super-learning spell to help me out.”

Chaos’ great black jaws curl in a grin. “I did. You’ll see the value of all you’ve learned soon enough.”

Jonson looks to his new wand to the side of his hip. “Soul transfer, hmm?… Honestly, I can’t see it. It didn’t seem at all like the magic the others use.”

Chaos nods. “The people you know back at Eizerith use the magic that’s practical to them, and you will be using the magic practical to you.”

Jonson crosses his arms. “Well, if you say so… Whoa.”

The two come upon the grave-marks of five players, designating where people died within an hour’s time.

“A fight,” Chaos says plainly as he looks around the immediate area.

“So many… Whatever did this, are they close?”

“It’s likely. I’d expect it to be a ‘who’ rather than a ‘what’, however. See how they’re surrounding a single point?”

Jonson’s eyes look over the spot. “Yeah.”

“They were probably gankers that were going for what they expected to be an easy kill.”

“But looks like whatever they were fighting had a different plan.”

Chaos nods. “It seems we have ourselves a companion or two for the trip.”

“Two?”

Chaos looks over to the two sets of tracks heading into the woods, causing Jonson to roll out a soft “Ahh.”

“Shall we?” Chaos asks.

Jonson nods. “Onward to victory.”

The two start along the road, shaded over by the great clouds above.

“Getting a bit late in the day, don’t you think?”

Chaos smiles. “Heroes operate on the clock of necessity.”

Jonson scoffs. “Yeah, gotcha.”

Before long they reach the twisting vines of the dark wood. “This is it,” Chaos says, almost with a sense of pride, “your first challenge.”

Jonson stares into the enigmatic dark. “What’s in there?”

Chaos shrugs. “Probably something spooky.” He reaches into his cloak and produces a magic, blue-flamed lantern. “I’ll provide light, and you protect us. Sound good?” His grin is so friendly it’s positively oozing with naivete, as if they were exploring a backyard.

Jonson looks on into the dark a moment more, and steps forward. “Sounds great.” Immediately he regrets the decision, but he doesn’t want to turn around and pass by Chaos; an impulse out of both honor, and fear.