Hiral followed Seeyela over to the table where Seena, Wule, and Nivian sat with the two Bonders – a man and a woman. Along the way, party-chat calls were sent to Yanily and Gran to come and join them.

“Everything good?” Seena asked Hiral, looking at her big sister before back to him.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think so.”

“Sis?” Seena asked.

“I’m not going to stab him in his sleep or anything,” Seeyela said dryly. “Unless he gets too touchy with you.”

Despite the implied threat, Hiral smirked at the sisters. If Seeyela could joke like that, she was working on getting past everything that had happened. Not that it would be that easy – she’d frozen for the second time when faced with a loved one’s life right in front of her, and she knew it. It was easy to talk about never letting it happen again, but far easier to put into practice.

Hopefully they were simply never in that situation again.

Seena looked between Hiral and Seeyela one more time, the twins and Bonders waiting patiently, before finally nodding at them. “Good. We all need to trust each other. Which…” she trailed off, looking behind Hiral, and he turned to spot the rest of their party coming over to join them.

Yanily and Gran had picked up Right and Left along the way, which brought everybody together.

“Time to go to the dungeon?” Yanily asked, the usual gleam in the man’s eyes at the thought of experience. They’d done well in the Siege, but they weren’t anywhere even close to reaching A-Rank. Whether it was B-Rank being much slower – or something else entirely – they’d barely hit level ten. Well, he had. The others were level nine – thanks to his experience bonuses.

“Almost,” Seena said. “Everybody, I’d like to introduce you to Romin.” With those words, she pointed to the man sitting across from her. His skin was much paler than Hiral’s or the Growers – which made sense, since they spent most of their lives in the sun. Shoulder-length hair hung tied behind his head, and he wore a thick, leather armor. From all appearances, he had to be around the same age as the rest of them, maybe a pair of years in either direction. For him to have reached B-Rank at that age would’ve made him some kind of a prodigy back on Fallen Reach.

“B-Rank?” Gran asked the obvious question.

“B-Rank-seven,” Romin said, clearly referring to his level.

“Burs suggested he’d make a good tank for our party,” Seena continued while everybody appraised the Bonder. And while he did the same right back at them. As usual, his eyes lingered on Hiral and his doubles – along with their matching outfits – before taking in the rest of the party. “As you all probably heard, he and Finotol here,” she pointed at the Bonder woman, “were part of the goal for Nivian and Wule’s dungeon.”

“I’m sorry about what happened to the rest of your party,” Seeyela said. “I… know what that’s like.”

Romin’s hands clenched on the table in front of him, and his jaw tightened. He nodded once, then looked to Nivian sitting beside him. “I couldn’t protect them like I should’ve. I was the party’s tank, and I failed.”

“Why, then,” Gran spoke up. “Do we want him with us? No offense kiddo.”

“None taken,” Romin said. “I would ask the same question in your shoes.”

“Kiddo, my shoes would break your ankles,” Gran said with a small cackle.

“I… don’t know how to respond to that,” Romin answered honestly.

“He’s straightforward, at least,” Yanily said.

“As for your question, Gran,” Seena spoke up on Romin’s behalf. “There are a couple of reasons why he’s the best fit for the party.”

“The main one being I’m the only B-Rank tank without a group at the moment,” Romin said.

“That… wasn’t what I was going to lead with,” Seena said, already pinching the bridge of her nose. “I was planning to start with the fact that you knew loss, so you were less likely to let it happen again. From there, I was going to talk about how you had more than enough reason to improve. After that, I would’ve brought up the very strong recommendation you got from Burs, as well as Nivian and Wule’s opinions on what they saw while fighting beside you.

“Then – and only then – I might have mentioned the limited options.”

“I see,” Romin said, then reached under the table for something. A second later, he brought out a small notebook and scribbled some lines in. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time. Any other suggestions?”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Yanily said. “You’re a tank?”

“That’s my role in a party,” Romin said. “My class is technically called a Bastion.”

“Is that an advanced class?” Hiral asked.

Romin shook his head immediately. “Nobody has an advanced class…” he started, then stopped. “Actually, that may not be true anymore. I’ve heard some rumors of people getting them during the attack.”

Hiral nodded at that. It seemed to take some pretty exceptional circumstances to qualify for one. That wasn’t even taking into account the Seeds of the Lost the party had gotten as a lost dungeon reward.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Yanily said slowly. “But, you, uh, don’t look like a tank.” He pointed at Nivian’s imposing frame, along with the plate armor made of bleached bone covering the tank, and then at the shield propped up against the bench behind him. Compared to the Death Knight, Romin was downright small. He’d hardly be any bigger than Hiral, and it didn’t look like his armor was anything special.

Then again, his abilities could make his appearance deceiving.

“That’s because Romin wouldn’t be the only one joining the party,” Seena said.

“His companion?” Hiral asked, though he didn’t see any animals around.

“Correct,” Romin said. “While my class is Bastion, it’s actually Wallop who stands at the front line. I support him with my abilities, and draw threat to him.”

“Wallop?” Yanily asked.

“Yes.”

“And… is he… invisible?”

“Of course not,” Romin said. “Only Veils have the ability to make their companions – and themselves – invisible.”

“So, then…”

“How about you just introduce them to Wallop?” Seena said, clearly seeing where a conversation between Romin and Yanily could go. Or, not go, as the current case was.

Romin nodded at the party leader, then looked under the table. “Come out and introduce yourself, Wallop. No, don’t give me that. This isn’t the time to be shy.”

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“The tank is shy?” Yanily asked Hiral quietly, and all he could do was shrug.

“I know how you feel,” Romin continued the one-side conversation. “But we can’t sit around and sulk about what happened. They were our friends, and we will continue to mourn them, but we can’t let that failure hamstring us. No, it wasn’t your fault. Yes, I saw exactly what the boney man did. I was there too, remember?”

“Boney man?” Yanily predictably asked in a whisper, and Hiral pointed at Nivian.

“Exactly, we need to be able to protect people like that. Which is why we need to get back out there and get stronger. Stop sulking and come out to meet our…” Romin looked back up at the raised eyebrows and confused faces. “Our potentially new party. If they’ll have us.”

At those words, Seena gave a tentative nod. They all knew everybody in her party would have to agree to it before anybody got added.

“There’s a good boy,” Romin finally said with a smile, and stood himself up. A few steps to the side of the table, he waved his hand a few times as if he was trying to usher a blushing child out from behind their parents’ legs. What came out was not was Hiral expected.

Given the size of the table, he’d assumed it had to be some kind of bird, or maybe a snake of some kind. Instead, what trundled out to stand beside Romin was… a Runeoceros. One that only came up to Romin’s knee.

The size of a small dog, the companion looked up at each of the party members with wide, intelligent eyes. The singular horn on its snout resonated to Hiral’s runic senses, while the smaller ones on its shoulders only had a hint of the same power. And, unlike the Reinforced Runeoceros they’d battled, the rest of if its body was covered in a thick, leathery hide, as opposed to the plate-like protection the Wild-Boss had possessed.

“Is it a baby?” Gran asked.

“Can Li’l Ur ride it?” Yanily asked at the same time.

“Why would I ever choose to when my place is on my Mistress’s shoulder?” the little lich asked.

“Are you saying…?” Seena started. That was all she had to do before the lich realized the implications of his comparison, and his hands went up immediately. Luckily, for his sake, Romin took the opportunity to explain things.

“Wallop is almost as old as I am,” the Bonder said. “Since I assume you are referring to his size, and you’re not from the Hanging Garden, there are a few things I should explain.”

“That’d be wonderful,” Hiral said on everybody’s behalf.

“As many of our companions can vary drastically in size, all Bonder classes share at least one common ability – Shrink. This only works on the companion bound to us, but allows us to reduce their size to something that can enter any of the buildings within the city. As soon as we begin combat, or when our companion chooses to end the effect, they return to their normal size.”

As if on cue, Wallop took a few steps away from Romin, and then erupted in size. From the proportions of a small dog to that of a small wagon in the blink of an eye, he suddenly looked much more like a tank. The companion’s eyes once again peered at the party, and he let out a great snuff that kicked up dust in front of him.

“That’s more like it!” Yanily said, and solar smoke immediately emerged from his ring. Thunderclaws pranced out of it a few seconds later, then strode over to look Wallop in the eye.

“You have a companion as well?” Romin asked, confusion on his face. “Where was it? What is it?”

“That’s a bit of a story,” Seena said. “Yan, why did you…?” she trailed off when she noticed Bliss joining the other two. “Sis?”

“They might as well get to know each other,” Seeyela said. “It’s good for them to make friends.”

“Fine, let’s get this over with,” Seena said, and flames resolved into Vili a few seconds later. “Hiral, just get Drake out. Romin still has a few things to explain to us before we decide on things.”

“Sure,” Hiral said, the bone-white smoke pooling around him before Drake stepped out of it. Thankfully, he didn’t roar his presence to the world at large, though he did turn his big head in Hiral’s direction. “Hey bud. You can go play with the others, just be careful not to break anything.”

The Dracolich looked around at the relatively small area, nodded, then went over to join the companion and Reflections.

“They aren’t companions,” Seena told Romin while the mounts got to know Wallop. “At least, not like yours. They’re a dungeon reward.”

“They seem so real,” Romin said. “Are they alive?”

“Kind of?” Seena said. “I guess I’m not entirely sure, though we treat them like they are. Enough about them – for the moment. What else can you tell us about Bonders and how your class works?”

Romin nodded, easily brought back to the present subject. “You’re a Grower?”

“Yes,” Seena said.

“Which means you must get your PIM from something like the Seedling,” Romin said. “Right here.” He tapped the center of his chest.

“The Seedling?” Seena asked. “What’s that?”

“A small tree,” Romin said, his face screwing up a little. “It’s been here since the beginning, but it’s never grown past the size of a very young tree – hence the name. It provides, as you would guess, the seed that grows into our Growers’ PIMs. You must have something similar where you come from.”

“Do you think it’s related to Grandfather?” Seeyela asked her sister.

“It’d have to be,” Seena said. “But, how?”

“The Rise of Fallen Reach,” Hiral said. “The squids attacked – and crashed the Bonder island – at the same time Grandfather was turning into a tree. Maybe he sent a piece of himself here when that happened.”

“Can he even do that?” Seeyela asked, and Hiral shrugged. It was his best guess, but he didn’t have any evidence to back it up.

“Back on topic,” Seena said. “What does that have to do with you Bonders?”

“We get our PIMs in a similar process, though from the Den Mother instead of the Seedling,” Romin explained. Again, he tapped his chest.

“Not a seed though?” Hiral asked.

“No,” Romin said. “When it’s time for us, we’re brought to the Den Mother and her selection of potential companions for us. The attraction between Bonder and companion is almost immediate in most cases. As soon as I saw Wallop, I knew we were meant to fight together. When the selection is made, the Den Mother draws blood from each of us – just a scratch – and shares it between us, forming the bond. Our PIMs flow through our veins, connecting us. Each half of a greater whole.”

“Wallop is your PIM?” Yanily asked.

“A big part of it,” Romin said. “If something were to happen to him – or to me – the other would technically survive. It’s… not pretty, though. Most who lose their bond quickly follow. While it’s possible to bond with another, it’s rarely done. I’m told it’s like having yourself hollowed out, losing all the color and joy in the world.”

“You use some of your abilities through him, then?” Hiral guessed.

Romin nodded. “I have a selection of abilities I can use myself, and others that need to be activated on or through Wallop. He also has several of his own abilities he can use at his own discretion as well. The Runeoceros is a rare and powerful companion, able to use its namesake runes, and I was very lucky to be able to bond with him.”

“Does he level up with you?” Yanily asked.

“Yes,” Romin said. “He shares my experience, so we Bonders level somewhat more slowly than Growers. About fifteen percent slower, I believe.”

“That’s not too bad,” Seena said. “If you had six Bonders in a party, would that be six companions as well? So, twelve of you in a dungeon?”

“If we could have six Bonders in a single party, yes,” Romin said. “We need at least one Grower with us to access a dungeon though. Since Bonders outnumber Growers in the Hanging Garden, it’s usually four of five Bonders for every Grower in the parties.”

“Of course,” Seena said. “That’s still pretty powerful. I guess we aren’t cheating as much as I thought with Left and Right.”

“They’re still pretty overpowered,” Yanily reminded her.

“We totally are,” Right said.

“Anything else we should know about your companion and how they level up?” Hiral asked. “Do they have their own classes?”

“Not exactly,” Romin said. “They have a species in place of a class, which means they don’t have the advanced class option. Instead, they can evolve into enhanced versions of their species, but only through encountering another of that evolved type. For a Runeoceros like Wallop, it’s exceedingly unlikely we’ll ever have that opportunity.

“His base species is already so rare, that meeting – and harvesting parts from – an evolved version is near impossible.”

Hiral, Seena, Seeyela, and Yanily all looked at each other before looking back at Romin.

“An… evolved version, huh?” Seeyela said. “Like, say, a Reinforced Runeoceros Wild-Boss?”

Romin’s eyes narrowed at that oddly specific example. “From the sounds of the name, that could – perhaps – be the type of thing we’d need to find. Why? Have you located one?”

“We did,” Seena said.

“What? Where?” Romin asked rapid fire, the eagerness clear in his voice.

Seena lifted a hand, patting the air in front of her. “We already killed it.”

“Damnit,” Romin said, excitement deflating. “That could’ve been exactly what we needed.”

“You said something about harvesting,” Seeyela pointed out. “Why? Would you need a part of it for something?”

“Yes,” Romin said. “The evolutions stem from consuming part of the power of the other beast. For a Runeoceros, that would be the horn. If we had an evolved version of that that, Wallop’s offensive power would increase. Or, if we were able to get a sample of a thicker hide – as an example – his defense would go up.”

Seeyela looked at Seena, who only thought about it for a second before nodding.

“What if,” Seeyela started, holding her hands out to either side of you. “What if you had both?” Then, with a pulse of solar energy, the horn and piece of armor plating she’d taken from the Reinforced Runeoceros dropped to the ground in front of her with a thud.

Romin’s jaw joined the two items a second later.