James appeared in the Reward Room and noticed the Reward Chest on the floor next to a glowing blue portal. The room was oval and about 3 meters by 4 meters. The bottom was made of metal grates, and the ceiling was domed with luminescent moss. Rocko appeared a moment later beside James.

"How did it go?" Rocko asked.

James smiled. The rest of the visit had been pleasant, and James had a few more tankards. He drank a lot more than he usually would, but he found either the ale was watered down, or his Resist Poison was preventing the alcohol from having an effect. James responded to Rocko's question by opening the Reward Chest and pulling out two items. The first was the ring he promised to help better design the Dungeon. The second was the Token of the Onyx Dog. He brought up the Analyze window for both and allowed Rocko to view them.

Rocko moved over to the Token and stared at it. "Well, that's a surprise."

'Why's that?' James asked.

"It is a Token. They start at Rare, so, even though this is the lowest of the line, it is still pretty powerful." Rocko explained.

James frowned, 'I am still not sure what it does.'

Rocko climbed onto the lid of the closed chest and looked up at James. "This is going to take a while, so get comfortable."

James sat down and leaned against the wall. The time would allow for the alcohol to leave his system before he had to leave the Dungeon.

Rocko took a deep breath and began, "There are three different types of creatures that you can have the aid you. There is a Pet, a Summons, and a Familiar."

Rocko paused to collect his thoughts, "With regards to Pets, you will remember that I mentioned several different ways to get one. The most common way is by being a pet class and having access to pet-based spells, such as Charm or Tame. This is pretty strong, but sometimes the Charm can break, and you have the creature attack you instead of the creature you're fighting. The other problem is that you are limited to the creatures around you. It is not uncommon a tactic to find the strongest creature, Charm or Tame it and then use it to kill all the other creatures in the area."

James nodded, "I played a game once where I was a hunter, and I had a pet like that."

Rocko nodded, even though he had no idea what Jams was going on about, "The big disadvantage is that when you Tame or Charm a pet, the effect is not permanent and won't follow along with you if you enter a Dungeon or Teleport far away. One nice thing about it is that if you are strong enough, you can have more than one pet."

James smiled with his eyes closed, "Nice."

Rocko ignored him, "The other way is to purchase a pet from a pet shop and raise it to up fight by your side. You can purchase a full-grown pet, but they won't be as loyal to you. The big advantage of purchasing a pet is the more time you put into raising them, the more loyal they will be. The big disadvantage with a purchased pet is that it is a huge time sink, and if they die, you have to start over again."

James looked over at Rocko and nodded, "It would also hit you pretty hard in the feels."

Rocko had to agree with James on that one.

James looked at the Token in his hands, 'But this is different somehow?'

Rocko held up a claw, "I am getting to that. A Spell or a Power summons summoned creatures. The shorter the duration, the more powerful the creature Summoned. So, when you learn Animate Shadow, which lasts for one second per level, you will find that the creature is very strong. Most Summons will last about one minute per level, so good for a fight but not as strong. There are some Spells I have heard of that will allow you to Summon a creature for a few hours, but they are more like servants and not meant to fight."

James leaned his head back and took a swig of water from his water skin. It was his last one, as he emptied all the others when he tried to clean himself off earlier.

Rocko eyed him for a moment, and when he noticed James wasn't going to interrupt, he continued, "The last category is Familiars. Familiars are powerful creatures which are a part of you. They share in your Experience and grow."

James opened his eyes and looked at Rocko, "Wait. Are these the creature which levels up with you by taking half your Experience?"

Rocko nodded, "Yes. What we discussed is an Advantage which grants you a Familiar. There are many different types of Familiars, and they all do different things. But all of them take a portion of your Experience. Fifty percent, to be exact."

James didn't even open his eyes, 'Don't Pets take some experience as well?'

Rocko nodded, "Yes, but pets don't take half your Experience. They do count as another person in your party. So that would reduce your Experience to only 70%."

James held the Token, 'So, how is this different?'

Rocko shifted a little on the chest lid and continued, "Enchanted items can replicate the process. Finding the right wand or ring would allow you to Tame or Charm a creature. You can get a Figurine which will Summon the creature for you for a short period. Find a Token, and you will be granted a Familiar. But even those items have limitations. To Tame a creature, it can't be higher level than you, and it can't be higher level than the Tier of the enchanted item."

James frowned, "With enough gold, we could have a bunch of wands for almost every situation. If used correctly, a couple of those Wands of Taming could be convenient in turning the tide of battle."

Rocko nodded, "Yes, they could. But as you said earlier, you are a fighter, not a spell caster. Having a bunch of spells at your disposal is not your mode of combat thinking."

James nodded, "Agreed, but it would be nice to have an option. How much would a wand cost?"

"To deal with the rats you fought, about 70 gold. To deal with the Rat King, probably closer to 600 gold, but that Wand would allow you to Tame creatures up to level 19." Rocko explained.

"What about the Spider Queen?" James asked.

"Each Wand is targeted to a specific creature type. One would be Mammals, and the other would be Arachnids."

James shook his head, "Of course they are. Why not just call them Insects?"

Rocko shook his head in disappointment, "Because Spiders are not Insects. They have eight legs. Insects have six legs."

James closed his eyes again, "Oh."

Rocko smiled, "Would you be impressed to know that Scorpions are Arachnids?"

James opened his eyes, "Seriously? Scorpions are Arachnids? Why?"

Rocko smiled, "Because they have eight legs. So are ticks."

James sat stunned at the revelation.

Rocko chuckled, "I know. It blew my mind when I found out."

"Who decides such things?" James asked, leaning his head back against the wall.

"The gods, of course," Rocko stated.

James muttered, "Of course." James held up the Token, 'Back to this.'

"The Token of the Onyx Dog summons a dog Familiar. It is loyal and friendly and loving, and a great pet. Doesn't shit in the house, doesn't chew your slippers and doesn't try to hump your girlfriend while you are wrestling with her on the floor."

James grinned, "Sounds like you are speaking from experience."

"I had a pet Terrask when I was younger," Rocko paused for a moment as he seemed lost in a memory. Rocko shook his head, and he continued, "The Dog will stand guard and protect you on adventures. It still takes half your experience and starts at level 10 or your level, whichever is lower."

James sat up and looked at Rocko with clearer eyes, 'So, you don't think I should take it. We discussed this before. You said you thought losing half my Experience was not wise.'

Rocko shrugged, "We talked about it before. The main reason I was against it was that it would cost you a lot of Advantage points to buy one at your level. Which was the reason I disagreed. They are very expensive."

James waved a finger at Rocko, "You know, Rocko. Now that I have all these Advantage points, I can make Connie a Companion, which might be a prerequisite for getting a squire."

Rocko cocked his head to the side and thought, "That may very well be."

James thought for a moment, 'How does that fit into all of this. Would Connie be considered a Pet or a Familiar?'

Rocko chuckled, "Not that I would say this to her, but she would be closer to a Familiar. She wouldn't be considered a member of your party because she is already leeching half your Experience. The big advantage is her rate of growth would then be the same as yours."

James didn't see the advantage, 'Then why would Champions even consider it? I don't see any advantage in them having a companion.'

Rocko shrugged, "For some, it is for that very reason. Having a companion who is loyal to you and who can't betray you is very enticing. They grow faster than regular humans, so they can be useful in a fight."

James nodded, 'But you mentioned that it doesn't solve the problem of not being able to travel into Astral Space together.'

Rocko agreed, "Champions don't usually have access to Astral Space, so they are limited to travelling around the world like mortals."

James sighed, 'But we still don't know how to make a Shadow Squire. I am sure that other Champions have done it in the past. Are there no records of how it was done?'

Rocko looked a bit frustrated, "There have been three Shadow Lords before, but only one of that took the path of Shadow Knight. The other two were Shadow Mages. We looked into their records to see how they did it, and we have not found anything yet."

James looked over at Rocko and raised an eyebrow, 'Have you considered how Knights normally make Squires? Why does it have to be a special process.'

"Because James. We are dealing with the Shadow Court. For them, everything is a process."

James grinned, "Archimedes Rockwell, I name you my Squire."

FAILURE!

The target you named is not within range.

Please try again with a different target.

"Son of a bitch!" Rocko exclaimed.

"I thought it might be similar to what Connie was doing when she selects party members," James explained.

"Do you think that it is that easy?" Rocko asked.

'You're the guide, Rocko. Can you ask your friends?' James sent it to him as a thought.

Rocko nodded his head absently, "I will. There are probably special rules regarding Squires."

'Oh?' James thought, 'I may not be limited to one squire! I could name all three sisters my Squire.'

"I doubt that," Rocko countered. "In everything I ever read and heard about regarding Knights and Squires, there has only ever been one Squire per Knight."

James was disappointed by the news. He was looking forward to having a bunch of squires. They may not be as good as his old team, but it would have been nice to have some people to watch his back.

Looking back at the Token in his hand, "Now, what to do about this? I don't want to cut my Experience Progress in half, but having a Familiar might be handy."

A moment later, another glowing blue portal appeared. It was slightly smaller than the other portal but otherwise the same.

James and Rocko looked at each other. "I think your host wants to talk to you again," Rocko suggested.

James levered himself off the floor and brushed off his Cuisses. Without another word, he stepped through the new portal.