The Keeper of the Trial was a young man, by Centurion standards, he didn’t look a day over thirty. His skin was still healthy, his hair straw yellow, and he wore a sickly white set of robes decorated with crystaline patterns. They stood in a wide training yard lined with dummies while Ignus spoke with him, then the Keeper turned and introduced himself. “My name is Evander Trunis. My family founded Trunstan a few thousand years ago, and we’ve cultivated the Fire Domain to train the most powerful, discerning—and rich—mages for centuries. I’ll say this once: You’re welcome to what you carry, if you declare it. Any skills you gained—or classes, which is unsual—are yours as well. Ignus sent another scout, I see. How many of the fourteen caverns did you explore?”

Trella produced her scroll map. “Fourteen? Not fourteen. I never saw—there weren’t fourteen. We saw three.”

“There are eleven paths through the Fire Domain through a total of fourteen caverns. Not to worry, three is the normal number for first tier mages. Let’s see.” He accepted Trella’s scroll and unwound it, comparing it to a “master” map of how he expected the layout to be. For over an hour he asked questions, particularly about the [Burning Dream] nest. At last, he cast a spell, and Trella’s map converged with the Master. Her annotations appeared in the air, written in her fine script, detailing bosses, attacks, and stages. Her map faded, losing most of its notes. “We can’t give them too much information. I don’t want them to know everything, I want them to take risks and push themselves and be afraid. But an idea of what’s there? That’s a good adjustment. Notes on the attack forms for the Fire Moth will drive parties that way, excellent. And I’ll personally choose which parties get what notes.”

Eve went next, explaining how the [Rock Rollers] had nearly killed them, her view on the effectiveness of [Plague], her bitter unhappiness with the mana restrictions in the final trial.

Wren had stripped her armor and joked with Evandor about picking the worst tours with the best work benches. “The company was perfect, the crafting was even better, even my instructors won’t complain about this Mage Killer armor.”

Ashi interjected before Evander could call her, explaining that she simply couldn’t function in the Fire Domain, but thought she might be able to survive now. Evander was quite clear, the trial was for [Mages] and any problem [PolyMages] might have was not one he wanted to solve.

Evander called for a break. “We need to do two things. First off, food. This is not a normal debrief. Secondly—and I need to be clear about this—drop everything you took so we can catalogue what might come out of the Domain.”

Kaden blushed as everyone began to stare.

“Perhaps we’ll go first and then let our resident [Pack Rat] take his turn?” Sara carried a surprising amount of loot, and as she unloaded, she began to rant in vigorous detail about how unprepared the Mabies had been. “[Create Water], [Cooking], [Reap Materials] and [Minor Mend] are a bare minimum of skills,” she said. “And this party came optimized to kill the Light Fairy and would have had their first party wipe. Osharam was prepared to kill the others for more [Starfire Crystals].”

“Ah. I did wonder if her family would let her in on the secret.” Evander said, as he wrote down Sara’s loot. “The jaws—these are a beetle, you say? They’re not a normal loot drop.”

“[Reap Materials] granted them,” Sara said, pointing to Kaden. “From now on, if you’re going to use the term ‘not a normal drop’ do us all a favor and assume it’s a crafting material Kaden reaped from the corpse. And how would she have survived without her party?”

“Osharam’s family is the one who paid for the trial. She’s a Noctomancer, and the conditions are very favorable. A mage who claims all six {Starfire Crystals] can have second tier skills well developed before ever leaving.”

“The Dark Fairy is a serious challenge, but was completely worth it. I do see why she’s hidden. And no, we didn’t steal her, the Mabies left her.” Sara’s tone said what she thought of that.

Evander hadn’t stopped staring. “The ‘what’ Fairy?”

Sara was done and took a seat at the table, devouring food. “Dark. Fairy.”

Over the course of the meal, they relayed how there was a secondary challenge, one the Trunis family hadn’t known about.

“Secondary classes are so rare we’ll need to close the trial to mages when it comes up,” Evandor said. “Not that [Starfire Crystals] are bad rewards. Five points of skill is life changing.”

“Agreed,” Eve said as she dumped the last of her loot, which was almost all for crafting cooking gear.

Kaden relayed the key to the Dark Fairy’s true test. “You have to give her the [Starfire Crystal] you got from the first stage. In return, you get this.”

Evander turned pale.

Ignus looked to the windows, then cast a barrier spell.

Kaden went back to eating.

“Don’t ask, he doesn’t know what it is,” Eve said between bites.

“Please?” Ashi asked. “I would look on it.” She studied the [Soulfire Crystal]. “It is both the least valuable of all you would take and the most. It grants a soul.”

Ignus produced a rough cloth bag, woven from strands of what loooked like straw. “This blocks [Thief Sight]. There are so many mages who would kill to be able to grant their [Golem] a soul. Keep it hidden until you sell it.”

“I could use it on Vip or Trinity,” Kaden said.

“Your beasts near enlightenment and will gain one on their own,” Ashi answered. “Fate works in wondrous ways. Believe this.”

Trella had done Kaden proud. Her Inventory was filled with poisonous, explosive, deadly reagents. “The real prize for me was the [Huntress] optional class. I’ll be able to use Kaden’s bow to kill kings and queens, since Huntress is a specialization of [Ranger]. Also [Shadow Chains] is an awesome spell. When do I get my Quest bonus?”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Ignus seemed deeply frustrated. “When I say it’s done. You’re almost as impatient as him. Perhaps more so, and if you wish to live long enought o use a legendary weapon meant to murder royalty, perhaps don’t say so in front of a King!”

To say the room was silent would be like saying that Beast Control stank. It didn’t just stink, it stank in a way that other stinky, odiferous, offensive places aspired to. The number of commoners who had had their eyes roll back in their head before collapsing to the floor was legendary, so much so that losing one’s train of thought was usually excused with ‘Sorry, got a solid whiff of Beast Control. Where was I?’

Evandor savored his sudden respect. “Well, I hope I’m not on your list. Oh, to be young and in my first tier—just kidding. I wouldn’t go back it you paid me. All right, Pack Rat. Start with whatever you’re carrying, then we’ll deal with our invasive species.”

Kaden’s party moved to the other side of the room.

“We’re going to need a bigger training yard,” Eve said.

Half way through unpacking his Inventory, Evandor handed Trella an Inventory Cube and let her pack things away. “See? I told them to take the crystals, and instead, all they did was take ‘a’ crystal.” The last thing Kaden withdrew was the [Burning Dream] egg. “It didn’t belong there, and those [Burning Dreams] would kill everything but the dragon, given time. I didn’t feel comfortable with them erupting from the ground on whatever’s above. But killing an entire species is usually wrong.”

Evandor waved to the area around him. “This city is what is above the caverns. You’ll understand if I feel differently about slaughtering a species. And the workers aren’t all dead?”

“It’s impossible to say yes or no. The caverns are huge. There were hundreds. That said, a worker alone is a threat but not impossible. The Queens are different.” Kaden stored the egg away. “I already send the [Falcrow] to a druid friend for advice. There has to be somewhere they can live.”

“It won’t be here. You met the dragon. He’s going to be furious with you. And you should never give your name to a dragon,” Evandor said.

“Alev was grumpy, yes. But Drummond Stag was the head priest at the Saint’s Hall, so I wish Alev luck hunting him down.” Kaden stored the scale, which was still so hot it would char skin. He had a plan.

“You’ve truly pulled a wonderful harvest,” Evandor said. “More than—”

“Wait.” Kaden nodded to Skully. “We’re not done. That was just my Inventory. Now we have to do Skully’s.”

Part by part, Kaden unloaded his pet, setting bones aside. “These are [Mage] bones, the best bones for Skully to repair himself because they’re soaked in mana.”

Oddly, neither Ignus nor Evandor found that cool.

Kaden dumped the spell books and wands. “The [Burrower] killed a lot of people.”

“I’ll reduce its power, or maybe range,” Evandor said. “The Domain is like a proto-dungeon. Most creatures will reset within months, then I’ll have a vivomancer enhance or weaken the monsters to adjust their strength. Is that all?”

Kaden took out the seashell necklace. “This.”

Evandor’s sigh was heavy. “I remember this young man. [Sea Mage]. It’s not uncommon to have a single survivor, but we really hoped he’d make it. You want a Quest?”

“Yes, please,” Trella said. “We’re like, experts at returning dead people’s things. Kaden returned some skulls to necromancers recently, it resulted in a civil war in Omnor, the weave of [Fate] breaking, and Kaden arranging the demise of a six thousand year old broker.” She accepted the necklace. “No matter how this goes sideways, it’s going to be great.”

“You plan to [Reap Materials] from the [Burning Dream Queen]?” Evandor asked.

“Not me.” Kaden knew his limits. “I’ve got the spinerettes that are legendary crafting tool materials, so they’re not even something I’ll use. I have a crafter who works for us, but we need to branch out. I need a team of crafters. Dozens of specialists.”

Ignus cleared his throat. “If only there were someone—someone in this room—who had the best interest of his local city at heart. Someone who understands what would be produced and who will use it. Maybe you should consider asking the King how Trunistan operates?”

“We have strong ties in Verona,” said Sara.

“And you think we won’t move around during our career?” Eve asked. “I will always have a soft place in my heart for Verona—and you know my heart is far from soft, but it is a small city at the edge of a desolate continent. There are better crafters and greater opportunities almost anywhere else. We’ll be happy to connect with crafters here, sir.”

“So says the councilor-audier woman regarding her own city.” Ignus spoke without judgement. “Oh, don’t look like that. You and I and everyone short of the City Lords know it is the truth.”

Evandor glanced to Sara. “Our crafting communes are highly organized. You may be used to making personal connections and favoring specific crafters. Attempting to do that here will result in chaos we don’t tolerate. [Master Crafters] on our Crafting Commission will evaluate and assign all materials so, for instance, you don’t have legendary spineretts going to a journeyman [Weaver].”

Kaden didn’t like this arrangement, though Sara’s delighted smile said it was in fact something she approved of. “If I get to make deals with crafter I need, I get the equipment I need. If you assign my loot to some crafter who makes negliges for nobles, I’ll probably never need them.”

“It’s a system similar to what brought you here. Ignus knew the [Prophets] agreed Osharam would die during the trial without a [Beast Master], so he arranged for your services. Those beautiful faction tokens can be exchanged for similar favors.”

Trinity put her serpent head over Kaden’s shoulder to help herself from his plate, while Kaden mulled over the situation. “Are we free to go?”

“Even better, you’re free to stay. Evelyn, you know royalty. Tell him how the kingdoms of the world work.” Evandor struck up a conversation with Wren, purposefully not paying attention.

Eve looked like she’d been handed a dead scorpion, so Kaden summoned Vip and let her climb into Eve’s lap. “Small kingdoms with weak kings are vicious. They demand ritual and respect because every scrap makes their [King] class more powerful. Empires are usually ruled by Centurions with a lust for power. They demand rituals and respect because they don’t have anything better to do.”

“What’s that?” Evander said. “There’s a third kind? Do tell! Sorry, Miss Wren. Please expound on the concept of [Mage Killer] armor.”

Eve reached out with [Mind Speech.] *The best kind is a merchant kingdom. There are many kinds, this is only one of the possibilities. My favorite are island shipping kingdoms, but this works as well. They favor Crafters and treat them like champions. They can afford favors and gold for Surge protection. If you’re not disrupting their economy, you’re contributing, and their royalty can be almost reasonable.*

“Almost reasonable,” Evandor repeated. “I’m almost pleased with that explanation. You really should stop screaming in [Mind Speech] if you don’t want others to hear. Now, I am going to leave you to my trade advisor to get setup. I’m not upset you harvested all of this, but I do want most of it to go to my Kingdom, my Crafters.”

With that, King Evandor rose and gestured. “Eat your fill. When you’re ready to rest, there will be rooms. When you’re ready to trade or deal or purchase, again, speak to my trade Advisor.”

Kaden hadn’t stopped making connections. “Ignus got something valuable from the King for arranging us to escort that party.”

“My debt to him is repaid, and you profited most heavily,” Ignus said. “I had hoped you would be wise enough to come prepared, and you exceded my hopes. Your Quests are completed. I hope next time I ask, you’ll be more open to the opportunity. I did say you have the strangest loot. We will be in touch.” Ignus stood, having barely touched his foot, and touched a bracelet. A Portal opened, and he stepped through.

The party exploded in cheers and celebration.