Immediately as Pear exited the swirling portal that deposited him outside the dungeon a new screen flashed before him, ignoring the other waiting notifications that it had skipped past.
You’ve completed a Quest!
Grandmaster’s Lesson: You have completed your master’s lesson and survived the Dungeon he sent you into with his restrictions intact. Congratulations!
Rewards: Removal of restrictions from the Cloak of the Grandmaster’s Student (Received).
Bag of Holding. Attain from your master.
The right to adventure without a chaperone. You have proven to your master that you are capable of adventuring without him looking over your shoulder(Received).
Spell: Summon Familiar: Summon a familiar of your choice. Each summon after the first, the familiar will take the form and affinity that you have already chosen. Attain this spell from your master.
Blank Grimoire: A grimoire that is blank and therefore bears no unwanted Perks or Curses. Attain from your master.
Bonus Reward: You made a friend!
“Ah, fresh air!” Ripspell said happily as he took a deep breath. “I’m sure the both of you missed it terribly.”
“You got that right,” Savantha agreed as she closed her eyes and turned her head toward the sun, soaking in its warmth.
“I’m just happy to see with my own eyes again,” Pear said.
“Yes, and speaking of that, it is time I gave you your other rewards,” Ripspell said, holding out a small brown sack toward Pear. “This is a Bag of Holding. It is capable of holding a decent amount of items within it, though you need to be careful. If you were to add too many things or too much weight, then it will break and everything added to it will be lost. Additionally, if you attempt to add another Bag of Holding to it, both will react badly with one another and they will send you into the Void beyond saving. I have already placed your other rewards within.”
“Thanks,” Pear said warily as he gingerly took the bag and examined it. “It’s not going to break on me for no reason, will it?”
“No, no, no,” Ripspell laughed, waving Pear’s fears away as Savantha turned her attention to the wooded area around them. “Like anything, it will have its limits, but all Bags of Holding are examined by three master craftsmen when they are made. If even one of them declares it to be unsafe, then the item is destroyed and its materials repurposed.”
“Sounds like they’ll all be pretty sturdy,” Savantha commented.
“Indeed my dear, they are,” Ripspell agreed.
“Now, as I said, your other rewards are inside of the Bag,” Ripspell said. “Once you remove the Blank Grimoire, I advise bonding with it immediately and choosing the knowledge it will record as it travels with you. As the First Bond of the grimoire, you will be able to access that knowledge at your leisure. If you are able to evolve your grimoire, then you may be able to choose another type of knowledge it will record that you can access. As for the Summon Familiar Spell, I recommend that you wait until you have learned more about the sorts of familiars that you are able to call to. Knowing that will be important. You can learn the Spell as soon as you wish, but wait to cast it.”
“Thank you for the advice, Master,” Pear said gratefully as he bowed his head slightly.
“Now, let us go to the city,” Ripspell said. “Would you like me to bring you both with me as I Teleport?”
“Nah,” Savantha said, waving her hand to dissuade him. “I’d like to walk there. Get a feel for the land and experience the sun some more.”
“Thank you Master,” Pear said gratefully, “but I will also decline. I don’t want to let Savantha get lost.”
“Hey!” she protested, swatting at his arm.
“Very well,” Ripspell said with a smile. “I will see you both in Hero’s Crypt. Enjoy your walk!”
With a theatrical wave of his hand, Ripspell disappeared into nothing with a slight pop and Pear and Savantha were left alone.
“So, which way is the city?” Savantha asked as she looked around.
“I don’t know,” Pear said sheepishly. “I’ll see if Markus is around to help us out.”
“Okay,” she shrugged. “Just remember, I’m not climbing any trees.”
“When is this guy going to get here?” Savantha asked unhappily as she kicked at the ground impatiently. “Your friend said that he’s a ranger, right?”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“He did,” Pear nodded. “I guess he doesn’t really know where we are.”
“I’m so bored,” Savantha complained. “Why can’t a bunch of sweaty, roguish thugs appear from the shadows already and try to rob us? I’m ready for a fight!”
“Be careful what you wish for,” a man said, his voice coming from above them. “You might just get it this late in the day.”
“Finally,” Savantha said with a savage grin as she looked up into the trees. “Are you an enemy?”
“Nope,” the man said as he swung out of the tree and landed next to Pear with a light thump. “Name’s Brand. You Pear and Samantha?”
“Savantha,” Savantha corrected him with a disappointed look.
“Right, guess that wasn’t a typo,” the Orcish man said as he looked around the small clearing they were in. “Anyway, let’s get going. I’ve spent a night outside the city, and it’s pretty bad within five miles of the walls. All the predators know that prey congregates around the cities and they come closer to hunt.”
“How far away are we?” Pear asked curiously.
“About eightish miles,” Brand said. “I’ll lead the way if you two are cool with that.”
“Works for me,” Savantha said. “Lead on! Mush!”
“Mushing,” Brand said with a roll of his eyes and starting off.
“And there it is,” Brand said as the sun peeked over the horizon one final time before setting completely. “Hero’s Crypt. Good to be home, eh Pear?”
“Something like that,” Pear agreed as he looked at the looming walls of the city that stretched shadows of pure darkness into the dark night. “Can we get inside now, or are we too late?”
“The guards at the gates are on duty letting people through for another hour after the sun falls,” Brand said. “Been a little late getting in before today and as long as you have ID or a voucher from someone with ID then you’re good.”
“Oh good that means that I get a bed too,” Savantha said with a tired smile before yawning widely. “Can we get this show on the road?”
“I’m not saying no,” Brand said, starting the rest of the way toward the city. “Let’s go! We’re burning sand! Once that hourglass is done falling, they don’t let anyone through no matter what!”
“Guess we better hurry,” Pear said as he cast a Light Shield around himself and then Savantha to set a gentle glow falling from the two of them.
“No complaining here,” Savantha said before breaking into a run and overtaking their Orc guide, leaving Pear to stare after her.
“That’s the thanks I get,” he sighed as he began walking quickly after the two of them. “Give her light so she doesn’t trip up and she leaves immediately.”
“Pear!” Savantha called, pulling his attention to where she had stopped and turned to look back at him. “Come on! Let’s go! I want to get some real food!”
“On the way!” he called back, picking up his pace into a light jog, muttering under his breath as he went by Brand who broke into a jog of his own after him. “I’m a damn caster class, I’m not meant to run around like this! I’m meant to use my magic for that stuff.”
He was almost able to pretend he hadn’t heard Brand snort with laughter behind him.
As they followed the glowing tip of Savantha’s tail, lashing playfully in front of them, Pear and Brand kept a comfortable pace as they approached the gate that stretched ten feet into the air.
“Halt!” one of the guards called out as they approached. “State your names, business, and offer identification!”
“Just follow my lead, but tell them that she’s with you,” Brand whispered to Pear as he tried to catch his breath.
“I’m Brand, Ranger, member of the Hunter’s Guild,” Brand said, reaching under his shirt to show a chain with a copper symbol dangling from it. “Coming home.”
“I’m Pear,” Pear said, reaching for his own Wooden token. “Novice Elementalist, also a member of the Hunter’s Guild. Also coming home. That’s Savantha, she’s with me.”
“Don’t have a Guild Token?” the same guard who’d spoken before asked her with a squint of his eyes.
“Nope,” she said with a shake of her head. “My village isn’t really around here.”
“And where is it?” the guard asked, gripping his sword’s hilt as he shifted his grip on his pike.
“I don’t know,” Savantha shrugged. “Somewhere to the east? Left and didn’t look back kind of thing.”
“Don’t cause trouble and obey the laws of the city,” the guard said after a moment of studying her. “Welcome to Hero’s Crypt.”
“Will do,” Savantha said with a happy nod. “Thanks.”
As Brand led the way through the half-open gate, Pear and Savantha followed closely behind him, glad they didn’t wait as they heard the guards begin calling for the gate to close. As the heavy, iron-bound, wooden doors closed behind them, Pear’s Light Shield Spell was dispelled, leaving them in a much darker area than before.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” one of the guards said while leaning boredly on his pike. “City wards. They don’ allow spells like that one to keep on. Does the same for illusions and the like too.”
“It’s okay,” Pear said before moving past him. “I’ll live.”
Stepping into the familiar yet alien cobbled streets reminded Pear of just how long it had been since he’d been in the city. Lamplighters moved through the dark streets, ensuring that the scattered streetlamps remained lit as the citizens moved through the streets, some boisterous and shouting as they drunkenly staggered toward their homes, others keeping their heads down and attempting to avoid the attention of the watchful guardsmen that stood at attention on street corners, keeping the peace of the city from devolving into anarchy and chaos.
“Does it always stink?” Savantha asked Pear as she wrinkled her nose. “It’s gross.”
“I’ve heard that Beastkin like you make that complaint all the time,” Brand said before Pear could answer her. “You have a more sensitive nose and hearing than the rest of us do. You’ll be able to smell and hear a lot more than you think. Saw one girl scratch her nails down a little chalkboard she carried and make the Wolfkin that was harassing her fall to his knees whimpering from the sound.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Savantha said. “It’s all still pretty gross.”
“It’s a city,” Brand shrugged. “They’re gonna be a little gross. Just be happy that the new sewer lines were finished a few weeks ago. Way I heard it, before that was done, all the Beastkin were unhappy about the smell.”
“Ew,” Savantha said blandly at the thought. “I don’t think I like cities.”
“It’s not so bad,” Pear said, feeling defensive for some reason. “Come on, let’s go to this tavern I know, it’s clean and has good beer, plus the food’s pretty good.”
“Bullshit,” Brand said immediately. “No tavern has both good food and good beer. Where is this mythical place?”
“The Barfing Minotaur,” Pear said, taking the lead and moving toward the tavern in question. “Axel’s got a nose for bars and he picked it out. If we’re lucky, Markus’ll be there too.”
“You know, I do want to talk to him,” Brand said thoughtfully as he fell in behind Savantha as she followed after the much shorter Elf as he moved through the city.