“Can we exceed our own natural limitations to match those of the Guardians? Rumors and legends abound of past mages who might have qualified as S or S+ rank equivalent mages. But those are, after all, merely legend. If only the Guardians could talk to us. Teach us. I must know more.”— A collection of notes for A Scientific Treatise on Mages, Volume Two, yet unpublished

The Ruined City of Araedi. Day 0.

A knock on Tyree’s door woke her up. She glanced around the room and saw no sign of either Shai or Koda.

Tyree’s time piece read just after nine in the morning. She’d slept in for the first time in as far back as she could remember.

The knock came again and Caleb’s voice sounded through the door.

“Kronos wants us all for breakfast.”

Tyree shook the grogginess away and forced herself to stand. “I’ll be down soon.”

She began her day with a quick wash and put on her armor. It was lightly enchanted and the strength enhancing effects of first donning it was a better wake up than any morning beverage.

Kronos gave a wave when Tyree walked towards their table. “Nice of you to join us.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever slept in that late, sorry everyone.” Tyree said as she slipped into her seat. A plate of toast and eggs had been prepared for her and she began eating it.

“No problems. You missed the memo, we’re taking a late start. I looked at the schedule and we’re a day ahead. Take your time, we are in no rush.”

“In that case, I wanted to show you something.” Tyree set down her fork and knife and reached into her bag. She pulled out the monster bounty and handed it to Kronos.

He looked over it, his brow furrowing. “We’re soldiers, not adventurers. This isn’t our quest.”

“That was issued by Pella. If they’re putting it out to the adventurers, it means they don’t believe the guards can handle it. Doesn’t that bother you?”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Adventurers have been fighting monsters and exploring dungeons for years. I’m not sure I follow you,” Kronos said.

“You and I are level forty. Shai and Caleb are level twenty-nine. But most guards outside of Castera are maybe half our levels if they’re lucky. The people of Erenvelle might have stood a chance if their guards were higher level.” Tyree said.

“And what’s your solution? You want the guards to become dungeon divers?” Kronos asked.

“If it gets them facing tougher threats, it might be exactly what they need,” Tyree said.

“Maybe you’re right.” Kronos mused. “If we see this monster on our path, we’ll deal with it. If not, then we’ll take a guard patrol from Pella and use it as a training opportunity.”

***

They finished their breakfast and set out for the last outpost to inspect. It was in arguably the worst shape of the twenty they had seen. Kronos had to consult his map a few times as they had walked by it a couple times due to how heavily the plant life covered it.

Kronos grunted as he hacked away at the vines blocking the doorway. When he was finally through, the door fell inward, sending out a cloud of dust in its wake.

Caleb let out a wheezing cough. “I think it’d be easier if we scrapped this one and built a new one.”

Tyree nodded her agreement.

“It’s a massive trip hazard in here,” Kronos said after a quick glance inside. “Caleb, Shai, you wait outside. Tyressa and I have this one.”

“Just be ready to come save us if we choke on all that dust,” Tyree said, earning a soft laugh from even the normally reserved Shai.

Thick masses of cobwebs covered all of what little of the furniture remained and Tyree didn’t even want to know the last time the food cache tucked in the corner had been rotated with fresh stock.

Kronos tapped Tyree on the shoulder and pointed to the ground in front of one of the windows that had been broken into. He kicked aside some broken glass and dust, revealing an “A+B Forever” carved into the floor where the light hit it.

Kronos chuckled softly. “I’m sure the king will be happy to know Ilsylvania’s money has been going to such… romantic uses.”

“I think it’s kind of cute. Who knows how long it’s been there. I wonder if those lovebirds are even still together,” Tyree replied with her own laugh.

“By the way things look in here, I’d say they got together long before either of us were born.”

A shout from Caleb sent both Tyree and Kronos moving for the doorway.

“What do you two make of that?” Caleb asked as he, Kronos, and Tyree all stood in awe at the purple light shining in fierce competition with the sun.

Tyree’s skin crawled as she remembered Aliyah's words. The light had first heralded the arrival of the Guardians. Then their disappearance. Hopefully now…“A sign. And if we're lucky, a good one.”

The light disappeared a minute later.

“To our horses,” Kronos called. "Come on, we're going back to Araedi.”