Forge found himself once again being led to the guildmaster’s office.

Foregoing his normal armor and mask, he wore the fine black clothing he’d purchased when first arriving in the city.

The large adventurer that had led him to the room gave him an amiable smile.

“The boss is waiting for you.”

Forge returned the smile.

“Hey Zap. It’s strange seeing you with the illusion spell. Is being a troll really that hard for others to accept?”

The giant shrugged his massive shoulders.

“In the guild, not really. Outside of the guild, in the city, it would be an issue.”

Forge shook his head.

“We need to introduce more people to the wider world.”

The disguised troll snorted.

“There’s a plan in place to do just that. It’s just going to take a while.”

A thought occurred to Forge.

“Zap, are there Guild branches in the southern cities?”

The troll laughed.

“Of course. Though there’s only one big city to the south. The rest are towns and villages and they’re mostly monocultural. Once they truly blend all the different tribes together, they’ll be a sight to behold.”

Forge nodded.

“I look forward to it. Some new viewpoints would do everyone some good. I’d like to go there.”

“I can help you with that. But you’ll need to get stronger first. There’s too much at stake to take chances.”

On that ominous note, Forge wished the troll well and entered the office of the guildmaster.

Jackal looked up from his desk and gave him a welcoming smile.

Across from him, Sapphire sat in a plush chair, along with an unfamiliar gnome.

Glad that he hadn’t let Cinder out immediately, he gave a polite nod to the elf and gnome.

Guildmaster Jackal stood up, summoned a silver dish covered with gold coins, and placed it on his desk.

“It’s okay. We’ve briefed Saber on the situation, and he’s trustworthy.”

“It’s alright, Cinder,” Forge said.

The dragon appeared in front of him and launched himself towards the guildmaster’s desk.

“Fascinating,” the gnome said, studying the dragon through his large, runed glasses.

Standing, the gnome gave him a bow.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Saber.”

Returning the bow, Forge studied the diminutive figure.

Dressed more like a scholar than a fighter, the gnome had the wizened look that he’d come to associate with the species.

Some sort of magic class, he thought. Though the name Saber seemed to indicate at least a passing familiarity with swordplay.

The gnome chuckled.

“Well Jackal, you weren’t kidding. An elementalist, warrior, and paladin, to boot.”

He stepped forward and peered up at Forge.

“You need to stop being so trusting,” he admonished.

Forge looked up helplessly to Jackal, who nodded his agreement.

Taking him by the elbow, Saber led him to a chair and had him sit. Then jumped up to sit on the guildmaster’s desk.

With his short legs dangling over the side, he turned to the dragon, who was still happily munching on coins.

“How do you like those coins, Cinder?” the gnome asked.

“Best gold!” the dragon sent.

The message went to everyone, and Jackal chuckled.

“Someone’s found his voice, I see.”

Sapphire, who had been silent the entire time, watched Cinder, fascinated.

“And you say this gold will help?” she asked.

The Guildmaster turned to the elf with a frown.

“Where are your manners, Sapphire!? It’s not too late for me to send you to that finishing school in Akari.”

The elf rolled her eyes.

“You’ve been using that same threat for the past 800 years. Time to change it up, old man.”

Jackal turned to the gnome with a look of long suffering.

“Do you see what I have to put up with?”

Saber made a dismissive wave.

“She’s still young. Another couple of centuries and she’ll grow out of it.”

Forge’s eyes widened at the statement.

He knew they were joking, but to speak of such long periods of time so casually made him realize how truly young he was.

“You know. You’re not the first person to tell me I need to be less naïve,” Forge said.

The gnome stood on the desk to look down at him.

“They were right. You should assume everyone is a potential threat and not to be trusted.”

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“I think people are basically good. My father used to say, anytime there’s a problem, to look for the helpers. It renews your faith in humanity,” Forge replied.

The gnome nodded seriously.

“And how’s your father doing now?”

Forge frowned.

“Saber, that’s completely inappropriate,” Jackal said.

Saber turned to the guildmaster, his finger reaching out to poke him in his chest, punctuating his words.

“No, it’s not. The boy needs to toughen up. We didn’t survive as long as we did by trusting in others.”

He turned back to Forge.

“Jackal didn’t tell you what happened to Trandaril, did he?”

“No, he didn’t,” Forge said, looking past the gnome at the guildmaster.

“He died a hero, doing the right thing at the right moment!”

Forge blinked at the gnome’s sudden intensity.

“He saved a city and nearly doomed a world!” Saber shouted.

“And now, the new dragon-bound is a paladin of all things. Are the gods just screwing with us!?” he ranted.

“That’s enough!” Jackal roared, slamming his hands down on the table.

Alarmed, Cinder flew back, landing on Forge’s shoulder, and hissed a warning.

“It’s okay, Cinder,” Forge said, reaching up to scratch the dragon’s head.

Sapphire stood from her seat, glaring at Saber and Jackal.

“What is wrong with you two?!” she demanded.

The pair had the good grace to look embarrassed.

Jackal made to speak, but Sapphire cut him off with a look.

She turned to Forge and Cinder.

“I’m sorry about that. This is what happens when you bring two old fighters together. They forget where they are, and regress to what they used to be. You know…morons.”

Forge bit his lip to keep from cracking a smile, but Cinder snickered, his earlier fright forgotten.

“Morons!” he sent.

Sapphire reached up to scratch the dragon’s head, and he leaned into it, then jumped over to her shoulder, where he wound himself around her neck, so the scratches would continue.

Saber sighed.

“This is all going wrong.”

He hopped down from the desk and stood next to Forge.

“I’m sorry. This is…well…Seeing you opens up some old wounds. Days of glory and sadness. I told you our friend died doing the right thing. He was the absolute best of us. Like you, he saw the good in people. And he was far too noble for his own good.”

He gestured back at Jackal.

“Either of us would have given our life for his.”

Jackal snorted.

“Not that he would have ever allowed it.”

Nodding, the gnome chuckled.

“And here I am, doing the same thing I did last time. Thinking I know what’s best.”

He turned to Cinder, who was still being scratched, but was once again eyeing the dish of coins.

Saber picked up the dish and handed it to Sapphire, who immediately began feeding the coins to the dragon.

Forge watched him eat the coins and smiled.

“I know he likes gold, but he really seems to enjoy those.”

Saber nodded his head sagely.

“Do you know why dragons eat gold coins?”

“Not really,” Forge replied.

“It’s not the fact that they’re gold. It’s that they’re composed of mana.”

The gnome paced around the room as he lectured.

“Unlike silver and copper coins, which are entirely man-made, gold coins are System generated, and thus composed entirely of mana.”

Saber summoned a coin to his hand and flipped it into the air.

“Normally, a dragon absorbs the ambient mana from around them, but eating a coin provides an exponentially larger amount.”

He spun to stare at Forge.

“And I know what you’re thinking. Then why doesn’t he eat every enchanted item?”

The gnome paused, as if waiting for a reply, then continued on.

“Answer: Because they aren’t pure System mana. Now, these coins that I brought are old, and like Cinder, have absorbed ambient mana, so provide a little more energy for your little friend.”

He turned to Sapphire.

“And what happens when the dragon absorbs enough energy?”

She stared back at him.

“I have absolutely no…”

“That’s right! He sleeps, and he grows,” the gnome said, cutting off her reply.

Forge held up a finger.

“He eats a lot, but he doesn’t…you know.”

All three of the adventurers laughed.

“His body doesn’t produce waste products because he converts everything he eats into energy. Which is something you too will experience once you open your fourth mana-gate,” Saber said.

“Mana-gate!” Cinder sent.

“I’m getting to it,” Forge laughed.

“You know, I actually came here for a reason.”

“I know,” Saber said, a tiny round object appearing in his hand.

Tossing the item to Sapphire, he turned to Forge with a raised eyebrow.

“What is that?” Forge asked.

“That’s a magic collar. Like the dragon himself, it absorbs ambient mana and stores it. And that mana will allow him to create an illusion of how he wants to appear.”

“And it doesn’t need to be bound?”

Saber grinned at him.

“Of course not. I made it for him after all.”

Forge stared, fascinated as Sapphire placed the tiny collar around Cinder’s neck.

“I didn’t know you could enchant an item that didn’t require binding.”

“Normally you can’t. But Saber’s a master enchanter, so he tends to break the rules,” Jackal said.

After a moment, a tiny horse appeared in Cinder’s place.

Forge frowned at the sight.

It was strange to see a horse wrapped around a person’s neck.

“Cinder, I think you need to pick something a little more fitting to the situation,” he said.

Moving to sit on Sapphire’s shoulder, the horse changed into a tiny gnome.

Saber laughed.

“He looks like me as a child.”

“Cinder, how about a cat?” Forge said.

Nodding, the tiny gnome turned into an orange tabby.

The cat leaped from the elf’s shoulder and flew across the room to hover in front of the mirror.

“A flying cat. That’s really weird,” Sapphire observed.

After a moment, the cat’s form changed.

Still an orange tabby, Cinder now sported armor like Forge’s own, complete with a copy of his mirrored mask.

The dragon went through a few changes, finally settling back on the plain orange tabby, though now wearing a black vest.

Forge sighed and turned to the gnome.

“Thank you. We’ll work on it.”

Saber made a gesture and Cinder’s image pulsed once.

“There. It’s locked in place. He can make minor changes, but the cat form is now locked into the crystal.”

“Thank you!” Cinder sent.

“So polite,” Saber said.

“Cinder, no flying when you’re a cat. It breaks the illusion. Remember, this is so you can walk around in the open,” Jackal called over.

Cinder, the cat, smiled happily back at the Guildmaster.

“Thank you!”

Forge grinned at the cat.

“Don’t forget. I still need to open my third mana-gate before you can go out in public,” he cautioned.

Saber laughed.

“Do you hear that, Jack? Third mana-gate. They’re racing through the Tiers.”

Jackal sat back in his chair and looked at Forge.

“Was there anything else you needed?”

“Just a question. There was a girl that my team set some money aside for, to get into the Guild’s early training. I wanted to see if she came in while I was gone.”

The guildmaster frowned and turned to Sapphire.

“Know anything about this?”

She shook her head.

“No, but I can look into it. What’s her name?”

“Angela,” Forge replied.

***

Angela ran. The same shadowy figure that she’d spotted on the roof of the building was definitely following her.

Her survival skill had let her know in no uncertain terms that this was a person to avoid.

If she could make it to the Guild, she should be safe. But she’d need to cross the main street and would be in the open.

Afraid to stop and catch her breath, she burst out through the bushes that lined a storefront and darted towards the stone steps that led up to the Guild building.

Someone stepped in front of her, and she ran face first into them, then fell backwards.

Hands caught her, and she felt a cold liquid splash across her face.

A strong medicine smell overwhelmed her, and the world spun in her vision.

She tried to free herself and scream, but her body wouldn’t respond.

And then there was nothing.

***

A carriage pulled up, and the driver stepped down to take the girl and place her in the back.

Turning to the man dressed in black leather armor, the driver handed him a pouch of gold.

“With the Count’s thanks.”

Gold Talon nodded to the carriage driver and dropped the gold into his belt pouch.

He watched as the carriage rode down the street and away.

Turning to the stone stairs, he considered the girl’s choice of destinations.

When most people were in trouble, they went to the temples. That was what they were there for, after all.

Yet this girl had run to the Guild.

It could be coincidence, he thought.

Another more chilling thought hit him.

Or, he might have just screwed up majorly.

He debated what he should do next when he felt an arm encircle his throat, and the icy pain of a dagger sliding into his back.

Gold Talon gasped and clawed at the arm as his assailant dragged him from the street and into the alley he had chased the girl through just moments earlier.

He’d screwed up. By taking a job outside of the Guild and without his team, no one would know what happened.

The rush of blood in his ears was the last thing he heard, as his vision went dark.

Yeah, he deserved this; he thought.

***

The body disappeared into his necklace, just like the Count said it would.

Greg inspected the divine amulet and the black kris knife engraved on it.

His master’s gift was truly a wonder.

He made his way out of the alley, whistling a tune.

Great things were heading his way.