***** Anderson’s POV *****

After Broohn’s explanation of what he was giving us, we wasted no time getting back to the Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters in Buckabrinse, the capital city of Talens. As such, Shelvin used most of his mana on a spell called All the Forest is One, which used the nature of the forest to dramatically shorten our travel time. Even though it took us two weeks to get to the clearing from Buckabrinse, largely due to meandering all over the place following the bandits, it only took us two hours to get out of the forest. After that, it only took another two hours to get from the edge of the forest to the Guildmaster’s office.

Normally, we would have taken a few hours after they got back to relax, unwind and wash before reporting in. These were not normal circumstances, however, so we politely demanded an audience with the Guildmaster at her earliest convenience. Between the level of trust we had earned with her, and the fact that we weren’t expected back for another couple weeks, she made room in her schedule immediately.

“Welcome back to civilization.” Guildmaster Marybothane greeted us. “Given how quickly you returned, I have to ask you: good or bad news?”

She was a human woman of average height and slim yet muscular build. She also had a cheerful face and brilliant crimson hair which offset her orange summer dress beautifully. When she had been younger, people were more likely to mistake her for a pushover based on her cheerful face, brightly colored outfits, and her seemingly gentle personality. However, as she got older, more and more people started to connect the dual rapiers on her hips with the controlled grace of her movements and the fire just barely hidden in her hair. Those that made the connection realized that she is a force to be reckoned with.

“We bring good news ma’am. The bandit problem has been solved. Permanently,” I replied since I'm the party leader.

“Oh?” asked the Guildmaster. “You did remember that you were only supposed to be scouting to find the source of the problem didn’t you?”

“Yes, we did ma’am. We’re not the ones who solved the problem.”

“We were the Kraken bait!” interjected Shelvin, who was a bit hyper from the mana potion he dank to stay awake for the meeting.

“Not that we were ever in any actual danger while doing so,” added Ragnar.

“He wasn’t as sneaky as me,” said Bobert.

“Whoa! Simmer down!” interrupted Marybothane. “I can’t listen to all of you talking at once. Start at the beginning and one at a time! For goodness sake, you’d think that this was your first time giving me a report in person or something!”

“Sorry Guildmaster,” they all apologized at once.

“Right,” I said as I prepared a summary in my head. “Four hours ago when we finally caught up with the bandits to try and talk to them, they got executed by a dragon who has now claimed a sizeable section of the Rain-Soaked Forest. The only reason we survived unharmed is I got my shield bubble up before the bandits got roasted. By the way, we now have proof that dragons have a phenomenal sense of smell. None of us had managed to get a bath in… what, at least two days because of the forest?” I asked, turning to the rest of the group.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Ragnar confirmed.

“Even so, the dragon still smelled enough soap on us to convince him that we weren’t bandits,” I continued.

“Your armor helped a lot,” added Shelvin. “No bandit would take care of their armor the way you do, armor lover.”

“I am a dwarf you know. We are most at home when surrounded by steel and stone,” I retorted.

“Wait a minute,” interrupted the Guildmaster before I could continue. “Why do you say that the dragon executed the bandits?”

“I chose that word because he had some sort of enchanted item that enhanced the effect of his fire breath to the point where all of the bandits were dead before they even knew he was there. At the same time, the bandits themselves were the only things that got burned by the dragon fire at all, and there was nothing left.”

“I thought you said you had good news. A dragon with that kind of power would be an absolute nightmare to fight!” exclaimed the Guildmaster.

“I would suggest you wait until our tale is complete, ma’am,” replied Ragnar. “Things aren’t exactly as they would seem.”

“What he said,” I agreed, nodding my head in Ragnar’s direction. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, once the dragon decided we weren’t bandits, he then scared me into putting my shield bubble back up before a very small Kraken attacked us out of the pond next to the camp. I don’t think it knew the dragon was there since it was yelling at us about how we killed all of its pirates.”

“So that's why there were so many bandits in there,” the Guildmaster realized. “They were attracted to a Kraken that couldn’t get any pirates!”

“Precisely,” I confirmed. “Fortunately, this is what the dragon was waiting for since he ambushed the Kraken and killed it in three pokes with one claw. I’m fairly certain that killing the Kraken is what allowed him to claim so much of the forest. He then proceeded to apologize to all of us for using us as Kraken bait while turning the Kraken into calamari. The result is called Krakenmari and he says it is good for helping people recover from mana related injuries and illnesses.”

“Speaking of which,” Shelvin interjected, “I was unable to locate his torso in any manner until after the Kraken was dead.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “He was right in front of us the entire time.”

“That’s what he wanted you to think,” Shelvin replied. “The clearing the bandits had chosen to make camp in was very small. Broohn is a rather large dragon. Keeping most of himself outside of the clearing was a reasonable decision on his part. In a forest like that, he should have been disturbing a bunch of plants where his torso was. These disturbances were how I tracked the bandits. Until the Kraken was dead and territory had been claimed, the plants told me nothing. When they did tell me something, it was… different from what it should have been. I can’t put my finger on how or why it was different.”

“So, you’re saying that you could only sense this dragon, Broohn, because he wanted you to sense him?” inquired the Guildmaster, taking a special interest in what Shelvin had to say. Dragons can be very sneaky, but they are still one of the largest and strongest monster types out there. They sneak around because it is fun to scare the poo out of people. Sure, they're less likely to break things this way, but they don't care enough to be that sneaky.

“Yes, ma’am. That is exactly what I am saying,” confirmed Shelvin.

“Huh. That is a bit concerning,” the Guildmaster thought to herself before turning back to me. “Despite this, do you still say that this Broohn is good news?”

“Absolutely ma’am,” I replied. “He introduced himself as Broohn de Celestine, the Celestial Enchanter. We only talked with him for about half an hour, but that was long enough for me to identify him as a LightPath dragon. In the end, he gave each of us what he called a smart wrist bag and a single dose of Krakenmari free of charge. He also gave us another smart wrist bag as a gift for you containing twelve doses of Krakenmari.” I said as I pulled it out of my pack.

“What!?” the Guildmaster exclaimed in consternation. “He’s a dragon! Even the Light Path ones don’t just give things away without ulterior motives!”

“Nor did Broohn. Those he gave to us were partly an apology for using us a Kraken bait and partly an ‘advertisement’ of his skill and power as an enchanter. That last also applies to the one he gave to you, but I don’t think it was on the table until he got the flash of inspiration or something because yours also came with a rather cryptic message,” I said, holding the smart wrist bag out to the Guildmaster. “Unfortunately, I am drawing a blank on the actual message at the moment…”

“Never fear, I remember the message,” said Ragnar before he closed his eyes and recited in an appropriately mysterious voice, “A gift of the Light and for the Light from the Lord Most High through the Child of Stars and Moonlight. Do not fear, for the Lord is by your side.”

The Guildmaster froze with her eyes wide open, not even remembering to breathe for several moments as I continued to hold the bag out to her. When she finally broke her own paralysis, it was only to ask a single question in the smallest voice I had ever heard her use.

“What color?”

“Black with stars and a white glow,” I said. “Wh–”

“How do I use it?” She demanded as she snatched the bag out of my hand.

“Just strap it to the wrist of your non-dominant hand,” I instructed. “Don’t go on to the next step until you’re ready to remove the Krakenmari from the bag and IMMEDIATELY feed it to the intended recipient. He made a very big deal about how quickly it degrades if it isn’t stored in a location with paused time and that it needs to be made with the freshest Kraken possible.”

“Oh. That would explain why we kept failing when we tried to make our own version,” the Guildmaster said. “Never mind. Quickly, how do I remove the Krakenmari?”

“You tap the center of the round part with the intent to remove items, then select the item you wish to remove from the bag. Normally there would be more to it, but he said he had allowed you to skip these steps somehow.”

“Good. Take these tokens and give them to the receptionist. They will provide you with free food and lodging here at the guild until further notice. I want full written reports from all of you by the time I get back. Tell no one the contents of the message until I say it is safe to do so. Understood?”

“Yes Guildmaster!” we chorused.

No sooner had we said that than she ushered us out of her office, locked the door and engaged the wards. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have to run.”

Then she was gone in a blur of movement, leaving us alone in the hallway.

“What just happened?” asked Shelvin.

“I don’t know,” I said. “We will be informed when the time is right. Now let’s go get some real food! I'm tired of trail rations.”

"Amen!" said Bobert.