Garble swung his sword wildly at the test dummy that had been placed there, leaving deep gouges in the wood with triumphant cries with every blow, but there was no magic to be seen in it, just a powerful person being violent all over the helpless strawman.

Their teacher let out a sigh of relief. "Your basic form is acceptable, but I notice you don't keep your shield up."

Garble glanced at the shield that mostly just hung there, both of his hands on his weapon in a power stance. "Yeah? Not like this thing's gonna make me want to use it."

"Let me show you." She went to the table with the crystals, plucking one up. "This is yours, paid and true. It will guide you through your starting days and you may outgrow it in time, but for now, it is your link to the powers you reach for."

"Like Spike's thing?" He hiked a thumb at where Spike was still practicing his staff swirls.

"Exactly like that. Show me your guildchain." When he held it up, she reached out and pressed the crystal to it. It flowed into it as if the two were made of water in that moment, undulating as 'Bulwark' the name flashed on it as it metamorphosed, its angles becoming sharper and beveled as if they were shield edges on all sides. "There you are, now you have a class, and access to the powers of it, at least the simple ones."

"Yeah cool, so what powers are those?" He raised his shield up, releasing his weapon with that hand. "Let me guess, shield stuff?" He scoffed at the notion.

"It doesn't have to be defensive," explained their teacher with a wagging finger. "Though most are. Remember that your job, as a bulwark, is to remain standing and prevent the others in your party from being injured, so they can do what they do and, together, win the day."

Garble frowned. “When you put it like that, it sounds an awful lot like--”

“Friendship!” Spike said, grinning.

Garble groaned.

"Like practical teamwork," corrected the teacher with a hand at her hip. "Some of the best teams see each other as respected peers and nothing more, but they have complete faith in each other to do their part, and they win through amazing odds because of it. Friendship, if you can manage it, is a nice addition, but also a liability."

Garble smirked at Spike. “No friendship needed? Sounds great.”

Spike frowned, Smolder rolled her eyes, but Garble was already turning away. “Anyway, so what do I do with this?” He held up the shield in front of him, waggling it. “It’s something cool, right?

The teacher turned him, a hand on either of his shoulders, back towards the practice dummy, then stepped with him several long strides away. "Alright, now it's a little far to hit with your sword, right?" When he skeptically nodded, she gestured with two fingers at his shield. Hold that up towards it and think 'Shield Rush'. Go ahead and say it out loud, it can help focus. Some people shout it."

Shouting it sounded pretty lame, so Garble held up his shield and tried to think: Shield Rush.

Nothing.

Shield Rush.

Nothing.

He thought very loudly, and shouted “Shield Rush!” very much aloud. He felt a rush of power, coursing up through his legs and arms, and just a bit of tug forward on his shield. He pushed off with his legs, but hardly needed to, being carried with that momentum forward at a sudden and great speed towards the helpless strawman.

His shield slammed into it, his entire bulk crashing in a jarring impact. Their teacher nodded sagely. "It's difficult for most enemies to ignore that. You have its full attention, and you just crashed into it. Feel free to use your sword now."

Garble smirked, and raised up the sword, slashing at the dummy, cutting into it several inches. He slashed at it again, talking as he cut. “So, what powers do I get for my sword?”

“None.”

“Say what?” Garble said, stopping his slashing and looking back at the teacher. “I don’t get any cool things to do with it? Why am I even practicing then?”

“The equipment provided to you as a beginner has one ability each. Different pieces of gear have different abilities they can teach you, but you'll have to purchase or find those on your own." She turned to Smolder. "You've all been eager to rush ahead. Have you already figured it out?"

"You know me too well." She crouched a little, a dagger directed at either side. "Watch this." She took a sudden step forward. "Shadow step," she barely whispered, blinking out of sight for just a moment, appearing as she dragged one dagger across the target dummy that had been 15 feet away from here. She twirled in place as she faded away, only appearing in time to bring in the other dagger in a cruel stab. "I gotta say, I'm loving this."

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

The teacher clapped her hands in soft applause. "Well, you've exhausted the basic tutorial. The rest is up to you to learn. You should rejoin your party member. She should be able to guide you along further." With that said, she moved to leave as if there was nothing more to say.

Spike held up his staff. "Huh, she said I get one thing, so… I can heal people."

"Is that what you did?" He shrugged softly. "Didn't notice a thing besides green sparkles."

"Because you weren't hurt, duh." Smolder rolled her eyes. "And we're still dragons on top of that. I am entirely alright with this. Now let's go see if Sandra is busy getting over not being a dragon." She hiked a thumb back towards the hall they had come through.

The three of them headed back through the guild halls, not stopped by anyone on their way out. The lamps along the side of the street were alit, as evening fell across the city, and the streets stopped being so much of a bustle.

This suited Smolder just fine as she flipped the knives around, tossing them up and slashing at the air. “I am gonna stab so many things.”

Garble laughed. “I always thought it was lame to have to wear armor, but decked out like this I feel pretty awesome.”

Smolder smirked. “You think you’re impenetrable now?” She play swiped at him, which he blocked with his shield. The two of them swiped back and forth in the street, grinning both.

Spike walked behind, fidgeting with his staff, holding it up. Just one spell, for the moment, the spell to restore life. But soon, so many more spells.

"New members?" came a sudden purr of a voice, another figure emerging from the guild with them as if it was entirely on accident. "I don't recognize you. What tribe do you hail from?"

Spike glanced at his friends and back. "Tribe?"

"Race?" ventured the figure that looked much like a human, if one ignored his large feline ears and swaying tail. "I am of the beast folk, where the humans see animals, but you are not one of those, I feel sure."

Garble shrugged at that. "We're demi-humans, or so said the jerks inside." He hiked a thumb back at where they had just emerged from. "Why?"

"Don't use that word… Not between us." He shook a hand, an annoyed growl emerging from his throat. "Humans call everything not human that. We are more than that… They call us beast folk, but before I was a beast folk I was of the Felisurra tribe. You are…?"

Garble smirked. “Dragons. That’s what we are. Not some dumb not-humans. Dragons.”

The figure raised an eyebrow. “Dragons are the things of myth and legend. Impossibly old and rare, and yet three stand before me?” The figure smirked, his sharp fangs on display. “I like that. It’s bold.”

Spike took in this figure, trying to determine what class he was. From his hip hung a weapon, some variety of curved sword. Attached to his belt was his guildchain, hanging off of it, and the setting on the guild chain was a ring with a geometrical swirling design coming off of it. He wore light armor, like Smolder did, but what exactly he was was unclear.

Smolder flipped one of her daggers in an idle toss, catching it as it twirled with a triumphant grin. "Dragons are cool, can't argue that. We have to check in on our team-mate, got herself hurt real bad. Humans, ya know?"

The figure chuckled. “Don’t let her push you around, now.” He turned around, walking with one hand resting on the hilt of his weapon, waving his hand above his head as he disappeared into the shadows.

The three dragons watched the figure disappear, and turned to keep going to the healer’s hut.

“At least some people are cool here,” Garble said.

"Sandra's alright, just… you know… kind of desperate." Spike shrugged softly as they walked along. "The way I see it, she really doesn't have much going for her. I feel bad for her."

"And that means you'll be her little servant?" demanded Garble with a raised brow. "'Cause I--"

"--No no! Nothing like that. Hay, now that we know what we're doing a little, I'm pretty sure she should be following us. She just wants to be a good adventurer, right? Cool, so she can do her stuff while we look for how this world works and figure out a way home."

Smolder fired an emphatic double thumbs-up. "Sounds like a plan to me. I don't remember voting her as the party leader, but we don't have to kick her out."

"Hello? She's the one that made us come here," argued Garble with a smokey snort.

"Bzzt." Smolder smirked at her larger brother. "She found a summon and gave it to the older guild member, remember? She basically had nothing to do with it other than being there. The other one actually called us. She hasn't done much but show us some stuff and then get hurt. Kinda pathetic if you think about it."

Spike lifted his guildchain into view. "Besides, she's still in the party." He pointed to where his name and the others all rested. "Hey, I think she's better." They each had a bar beside them. Hers was lower, but was increasing noticeably. "They must be healing her. Oh! I can do that now."

They walked past the receptionist, only for a staff to lower in their hand, blocking the way. "They are restoring her currently."

Spike raised a hand. "I can do that too now. Can I help?"

They glanced at his guildchain suspiciously, but that faded on seeing the marks of a vitamancer. "Ah, so you can. You may enter but follow the lead of the master already on site."

Spike was allowed to proceed as the others waited impatiently. He quickly dashed through the narrow halls, coming on the room they left Sandra in. Bits of green magic flowed out from the closed door, revealing the magic at play. He glanced at his guildchain, seeing her bar still raising, maybe halfway up. He dared a soft knock. "Hello? I'm a friend of hers, and a vitamancer."

"Hm?" came a male tone from inside the room. "Come in then." The door swung inwards, revealing an older gentleman, his hands still glowing light-green pulses. "They hadn't mentioned she had any vitamancers in her party."

He plucked his staff free from his back and held it aloft with pride. "I just got it, but I'm ready to help."

"That's just as well. My most serious magics were required to draw her back from the edge of the void." He clapped his hands and they faded, the glow leaving them. "From here, you can tend her with simpler restoratives. She is stable, just injured."

"Great, thanks!" He held up a scaled hand towards him. "I'll handle that, but, really, thanks."

The elder considered a moment, hesitating, but eventually taking the hand. "Take your path seriously. The way of healing is a serious one. Even the most stalwart of warriors will suffer terrible wounds, and only you can stand between them and the end they never saw coming."