Davin really needed to stop getting knocked out… he knew he did, it could not be healthy to spend that much time forcefully unconscious. To his credit, he wasn't out for long, "Okay, what the hell was that?!" Davin sounded offended as he asked the question to Grim.

"Heh, that was jus some shadow magic, I ain't got much of it, but I know how to make use o' what I can do." The smugness on his face was clear.

"Shadow magic? That doesn’t sound suspicious at all…" The sarcasm in Davin's voice dripped, "I really wasn't expecting you to drop that on me where did you even go, I should have crashed into you at least."

Standing a bit taller, "That was a shadow step, burnt quite a bit of energy to pull that trick off, but man that was fun, you didn’t see it coming, and that is the point of the trainin, we wan' you to make it out there."

"So anyone and everything can pull some crazy trick like that?" A hint of fear in Davin's voice.

"Yup, but just wait, what I can do is pretty mild compared to some out there, there are some monsters out there that can literally turn you into a pile of goo, and that isn't fun to wake up from, let me tell you." Grim grimaced as he remembered some of his previous adventures. "I suggest getting a few friends that you can trust, while Gale and Jes are amazing rogues, they ain't the best for everything, so now that you’ve got most of your training done, I highly suggest headin' to 'The Hall' and seeing about pulling together a group."

That gave Davin a lot to think about since he wasn't sure what Compass would ask of him, but he could agree that a few friends that weren't rogues would not be a bad idea. That could wait, he still wanted to get his ranger starting set up before he did anything. After Davin pulled himself up off the floor, he focused on building his expertise, Jes was excited to see him, and the two of them kept working on his foundations for being observant and picking up on the cues around him faster. That evening Davin left the rogue training hall and made his way over to The Hall, wanting to get in touch with a few other people in this world.

"What'll ya have?" The large orc affectionately referred to as Big Green asked as Davin pulled up a stool at the bar.

"You said that if we ever had any questions on anything, we could come to ask, is that offer still up?" trying to balance on the uneven stool.

"Of course, information is my primary role here, just depends on what you're wanting to know since a lot of the information isn't free." He placed a mug on the counter in front of Davin, pouring in some mildly off-colored water.

"Okay, then I'll cut to the chase, where are the rangers, where can I meet people that may be looking to form groups, and how do I know when my class is fully unlocked?" the rush of questions flowed out of Davin.

"Well lets me start with what I feel are the most important part of those questions. Your class, once you’ve unlocked the primary aspects of your class you should get a prompt that you’ve completed your basic training and you now qualify to participate in quests. Groups aren't as common as you'd think, many form right here." He motioned his hand in the general direction of the open room, "But, with most parties, they tend to form naturally, and a lot of them are well established at this point, your best chances of getting a group maybe once you’ve gotten for full unlocks.

Your last question is a little more difficult to answer since rangers are one of the ones that thrive outside of the city, so you'll need to get in contact with their group and be invited out there, but you want to make sure you either finish your fist class unlocks or be ready to class change." Crossing his arms as he watched Davin as the information sank in.

"Wow, thank you, that is really good to know, can you only focus on one class at a time?" Davin had pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil to jot down the notes so he could review them later if he needed.

"The one class at a time rule only counts when you're in training for them, since you haven't been confirmed for that class and having it open for you to multiclass, once you’ve gained the class you keep it and can add more classes. I honestly suggest aiming to only have a maximum of two classes at a time, otherwise, you can lose track of what your goal was." Picking up and taking a swig from a glass he had behind the counter. "Classes, of course, aren't the only option, like myself, I don’t have a class, and I will likely never have one."

"Stick to limiting my classes, and don’t get caught up, got it." Writing down his notes. "I thought that people here in the city would all have classes, how do you not have one?"

"When I first came here, heh, that was a long time ago now. I wanted to be a support to others, I did the adventuring life, and I was done with it, so here I am. My patron agreed that there should be someone to help get others going on their careers in this world. I had aimed for starting a guild, but it didn't go well, so I ended up making the starting hall."

"You made The Hall? Is that why it doesn’t match the rest of the city? Which patron did you take?"

"Now just so you know, it's usually considered rude to ask who someone's patron is, but that is mainly for safety over anything else. I follow the same patron that you do, Compass, he isn't a common patron, since so many seek more glory out there than anything else, but once you’ve been here a bit, you'll pick up on the hints. As to The hall here, yup, my own two hands, a few friends that I made when I got here and a little power from Compass helped me bring this place into existence."

"So does he still talk to you?" Davin said this with a bit of apprehension. "he said that he can find the new ones easier."

"He does, he mainly checks in on the first day for a group, so I knew you were coming, as long as he has work for you, you'll hear from him, and since you're one of the first ones I've seen in a while, I think you're gonna stay busy for a bit."

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"Well that’s good to know, would hate to get bored here…" The sarcasm in Davin's voice was obvious.

"It won't be bad, Compass has a knack for making sure you get to do what you want to. Now since I know newcomers don't have too much in the lines of money, can you do me a favor to make up for the information that I gave you?" Leaning onto the counter to almost whisper the question.

"Uh, I guess?" Davin grew mildly afraid at this. "What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, nothing too serious, and it lines up with some of your own goals. I need someone to run some supplies out to the edge, and it'll get you a chance to meet up with the main ranger enclave."

"Oh! That would be great, let me guess, they need ale?" Davin chuckled lightly at his own joke.

"Heh, not too far from it actually, I need to have a few ingredients run out and some ale brought back, should be pretty easy."

"Don't you have a regular supply run for this?"

"Nope! I specifically keep this one open just for this opportunity." Smiling widely. "I usually have someone that comes in either needing information or some coinage, and this gets run every few days, and this time it's you."

Nodding in agreement, "You know, that makes a lot of sense, so what do I need to do?"

The city, fueled by all of the belief and magic of the patrons made it difficult for some natural processes to occur, one of those processes was the decomposition of matter, which made things like fermenting, aging, and pickling, so those processes are handled outside of the city. Importing and exporting from in and out of the city is one of the primary occupations that can take you outside of the city. Having seen the ships that traveled from the city out to the wilds while on his walk with Jes, Davin knew that it was a thing, but it was another to see the station for himself. The cart he pulled behind him was only a few small barrels, but this trip was done often enough that it was never very large. The ships that make the runs out to the wilds were massive, having expected something more akin to the trains from his world based on the rail of light that they rode, but they were the size of cargo ships. The one that he needed to get on was crowded with people, which he'd found surprising since while he was moving through the city he had never seen as many people.

The mix of people that he had seen here on the boats sealed the idea that this was a fantasy world more than anything else, the individuals in heavy full plate armors, dark robes, and every other gaming cliché was represented here. Davin found himself people watching, seeing the full mix of races that he hadn't seen yet, and all of his gaming knowledge making all of the names click into place, and every race he could think of was represented, and even some he didn’t recognize, but the afterlife didn’t hold the same breakdowns of what most RPGs considered the civilized species. The ships were low and wide, carrying a mix of passengers and supplies, seeing others pulling carts as he did, he made his way over. Standing near someone with a matching cart, he pulled up next to them and asked, "Headed to the ranger enclave?"

The sudden words surprised the willowy man, causing him to jump some, "Huh?! Oh yeah." The man looked over the cart Davin pulled, "You headed on a beer run for Big Green?" He calmed himself down, taking a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Looking to join the rangers?"

"Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, I saw you had the same cart and figured you were headed that way too." Davin looked slightly ashamed as the man was taking deep breaths. "Yeah, I want to pick up a few skills that they have, and this was the price for the information from Big Green."

"I did that one, let's just say, I was not meant to be a Ranger." waving over his form. "I'm making a run for the mages have some alchemy supplies that need to age and pick up a few."

"Oh, you're a mage?" Davin's curiosity was clear in his voice.

The man nodded, "I'm still pretty new to it all, magic can be pretty difficult, but the power is neat, I've only learned a few cantrips, and being able to move things with your mind is really cool." Wiggling his fingers in the 'classic' magic way. "I'm Hugh, been here a bit already."

"I'm Davin, nice to meet you, so you’ve got an errand out of the city too, how often do you have to run them?" Davin held out his hand in the offer of a shake.

Shaking Davin's offered hand, "Nice to meet you too, but so far I make a run every few days, there are lots of things that I get stuck doing because I'm the new guy." Shrugging deeply looking out over the edge into the wilds. "Is this going to be your first trip out?"

"Yeah, this will be my first time out of the city. I'm kind of excited." letting out a small chuckle.

"it's not so bad if you stay in the enclave or other protected places. I haven't been to the true Wilds yet." His nervous ticks showing once again.

"Is it really that bad out there?"

"It can be, just depends on how prepared you are." With that, he patted a book at his side.

With a rumble and a jostle, the freighter that Davin was on started moving, starting slow it quickly gained speed, as the speed climbed a strange bubble manifested around the ship causing the buffeting winds to completely stop, all that was left was a low hum of the engine. Leaving the city was a surreal event, crossing the threshold that separated the wilds from the city was like passing too close to an exploding firework, full of bright colors and flashing lights. Davin moved over to the edge of the ship and watched as it pulled away from the city, looking back at the city, he thought he could almost see the bubble that made up the rainbow bastion, the shimmer similar to that of oil in a puddle. The shifting mass of the city was a sight, the multiple layers shifting as if dancing between themselves, all of it backing up that the city was far more alive than he originally thought.

"Wow." was all Davin could think to say, the sight was something he didn’t think that he'd ever get used to, but with how things were going, he doubted he would get used to anything in this world.

"It's one hell of a sight isn't it?" Hugh joined him and they both watched as the city shank quickly. "You should see it at dawn, the colors are far more vibrant."

"I've seen the city from one of the highest points in the city at dusk as the colors woke, and this makes that look like a child's painting by comparison. I can say that I'm excited to see more." with that he turned away from the city and watched as they made their way closer to the edge of the wilds.

"I haven't seen that sight, will have to add it to my to-do list. Haven't gotten many chances to explore, also too easy to get lost in the city without a guide." Leaning over the edge of

the ship to get a better view, pointing out to the edge. "We're going over there, will be a bit of time before the next ship arrives, so you'll get a chance to look around before heading back."

Davin could see the shapes of buildings coming into focus as they traveled, "It’s a bit bigger than I was expecting." Surprise was clear in Davin's voice.

"The city can't hold everyone… and a lot of people can’t stand the city, 'the crush of civilization' and other nonsense." A hint of judgment in his voice.

"I plan on spending a lot of time out in the wilds, I want to explore what's to come. Plus it is a whole new world for me, how could I turn that down?"

"Haha, I like your enthusiasm, I hadn't thought of it that way, and what do you mean by what's to come?" The tone of confusion hinted in Hugh's voice.

"Still not sure on what it means either, my patron wasn't clear on the exact details."