A slight puff of wind from Zander woke Auron from his trance. He abruptly stopped his zombie-like march toward the institute as the breeze forced him to squint his eyes. Looking over at his familiar with an annoyed expression, Auron raised his eyebrow as if to ask why.

[There are a few things of which you need to be careful. The first is our connection. Do not let anyone see your tattoo, or your ability to use wind magic. If anyone asks, tell them you were trapped in a purple dungeon, and your memories are gone. Before level twenty, you should not have access to a magic path. Your abilities are fine to use—just no magic. Okay?] Zander speaks quickly, his tone deadly serious.

Auron listened quietly until Zander finished speaking. "Well, the memory thing will be easy enough." He nervously joked, trying to ease the tension of the moment. His familiar's serious expression refused to falter. Auron was slightly worried by the sudden mood change in his friend.

[Call me if you are in danger, but only as a last resort.] Zander sent as he pressed his head to Auron's shoulder affectionately. [Stay safe Auron.] He said right before he blinked out of existence and took his place inside Auron's tattoo.

The affection showed Auron that Zander was not upset with him, but something had deeply unsettled the magical creature.

After a moment, Auron collected himself and decided to continue his plan. Approaching the area of his vision before trying to enter the city was the best path forward. The orphans and the old lady seemed kind, and he was venturing into unknown territory with no knowledge of how society here worked. His connection to the dragon looking man was also an avenue that begged exploration. All of that blood. It would be lucky if he were even still alive.

His thoughts swirled wildly around his mind as he looked at the blood-stained wall, and continued to play with his dagger. The hand dexterity training at this point, second nature as a habit to calm his nerves.

As Auron gathered his courage, he stood and was about to leave the treeline when an Iron grip clasped around his shoulders. In the blink of an eye, he was slammed to the ground. His dagger flew out of reach as the heavy hands of an unknown enemy flipped him over as if he weighed nothing.

Now on his back, he looked into the dark eyes of his attacker. Lifting Auron with ease, the man slammed him into the nearest tree. Auron, shocked by the sudden attack, took in the appearance of the first human he had seen in this world since before the swamp.

The man lifted Auron against the tree as if he was weightless, using only one hand as his other flew to a great-sword on his back. The fingers of his metal gauntlet wrapped around the rogue's thin neck.

The man stood a head higher than Auron, and if that was not impressive enough, the scarred man had legs and arms that would make tree trunks blush. Auron gulps back the bile rising from fear in his throat as he looked down at the battle-worn plate main covering his attacker. Scars from previous battles covered every inch of this aggressive man and his armor. He had sun-brushed olive skin and his dark eyes matched his short pitch-black hair.

"Where did you get that belt and that dagger." The man growled out in a deep voice; hatred draped over his rough features.

From an outside perspective, it looked as if the two men could be related.

Auron's eyes flashed red, and a name appeared above the warriors head as four other fully armored men swooped out around and pointed various weapons at the loner.

Gregory Felt-Worth Class: Berserker Knight lvl ??

"I got it from a giant monkey!" Auron managed to stutter out as he trembled with fear. He was choking out the words because of the tight hand around his neck.

The grip tightened around his throat, and the burly man's face contorted with rage. Just as Auron lost hope of talking his way out of the situation, the meaty hands loosened altogether as the skinny rogue collapsed to the ground coughing.

"Rodney, Thatch keep this one close." The man said in a gruff voice turning and walking toward the city gates, knowing he did not need to make sure the order was followed. As he walked, he stopped only to bend over and put the dagger in his belt, handling it gently as if it was a newborn.

Before Auron had the time to wonder about how odd it was to see the beast of a man act so gently toward a weapon, two of the four men lowered their weapons and lightly tapped them on black bands, all of the men had these same bands on their left wrists. As the weapons disappeared, Auron assumed they were inventories like the brass ring he had on under his gloves. These men did not seem him as a significant threat. They were likely correct, but the disappearing weapons gave Auron a small hope for escape.

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Complying with the man's orders, the two gently lifted Auron and walked alongside him. Their faces lost all of the tension they held when their leader had dropped Auron. The one on Auron's right side even went so far as introducing himself.

"I'm the one they call Thatch. Sorry about the captain's aggression there. It is not my place to explain, but he is a good man." The man, Thatch, spoke as they walked, punctuating his words with smiles that reached his eyes. Auron liked the man instantly because of how open and kind he seemed. The other man had no words and only looked over Auron as if he would attack the group at any moment. The two others were the same, keeping their distance stationed behind Auron as they all walked.

Just as the two walking directly next to him on each side had vastly different personalities, they also had different appearances. As Auron was half listening to Thatch ramble on about a meal he was looking forward to, he was trying to take in all of the information he could with his eyes.

Above each man, he could see their name and class, but not their levels. The names turned from red to blue the second their "Captain" dropped Auron.

Thatch Littlewound: Sting warrior lvl ??

As Auron looked at Thatch, his eyes were level with the man's dark brown ones, standing easily around six feet just like himself. His skin was a few shades darker, which contrasted with the dazzling white smile he showed every few moments. He carried two short swords out that were thin, about two fingers wide, before he put them away. The armor he was wearing looked solid, but light a mixture of hard leather and thin metal, which matched his medium build. A bandoleer of deadly looking knives wrapped diagonally around his chest.

Rodney Frought: Shield warrior lvl ??

Rodney, on the other hand, was shorter than all of the men there. He made up for his lack of height with an unnecessary amount of aggression. He was staring daggers at Auron with his light blue eyes the entire walk. His skin was the same olive as Auron's, but there were tufts of blond hair coming out the back of his helmet. Before he placed his weapon in a storage device, the man held a broadsword in his left hand. In his other hand, he still held a large round shield with a sharp spike reaching out of the center of it. Auron was able to test the sharpness when Rodney gave him a poke for stealing a look back at the other two. He didn't make out their appearances in time, but their names and classes were clear.

Ben Devens: Survivalist lvl ??

Before they started walking, Auron saw that this man had two bandoleers with glass bottles holding green, yellow, and blue liquid.

Tim Devens: Ranger lvl ??

All Auron could remember from his glance at this man was the wicked looking arrowhead pointed at his neck from the rangers cross-bow.

These two had one hand on their weapons and the other pulling a large cart that carried the bodies of the Panther, and Toucan Auron had fought with earlier.

As they walked, with each step, Auron felt any hope of escape flutter further away. He could use stealth, but the men would likely attack as soon as he used any mana. Slowly abandoning thoughts of fleeing, Auron decided to listen to Thatch and get any information he could when he realized the man had asked him a question. Looking at him, the man repeated it. "I said what about you, lad? Have you ever been to the red beak tavern? The. Best. Thunder Chicken you will ever have.

The slew of words confused Auron, which must have been evident by the look on his face because the man continued. "Well, if you haven't been, we can go later!" Thatch said, joyfully earning himself a glare from Rodney.

Auron began breathing hard from the brisk pace they were keeping as they got halfway to the city gates. "I'm sorry, I think the dungeon I was in messed with my mind. I can not remember anything about who I am or where I am from," Auron lied, hoping that the truth he placed in his sentence would meld with the lies.

Rodney must not have believed him because he gave him another poke with the sharp metal point of his shield. "Don't go thinking you can lie to us, kid." He said aggression clear in every word. "Enough, Rod." The captain barked from the tip of their group. "There is no way he survived out there alone without stealth skills." He said without turning toward the group. "If he is a rogue, he must have had an interaction with a purple dungeon. Damn commoner adventurers, marching to their deaths just to gain classes. You can see just as well as I can. The kid does not even have a last name." The man sounded like there was more pity in his voice than anger at the situation. "Now everyone keep your mouths shut until we get back to the guild." He said with a finality that made even Auron not question the order.

Completely silent the rest of the way, Auron noticed that the men were marching entirely in sync as he bumbled along, forced to keep up. The captain led the way with his massive frame, and the two on his sides must be there to protect the back row. Auron imagined what it would be like to fight with a group of people rather than just himself. Liking the thought, he decided if he was going to make a life here, he was going to find people to team up with. His first mission would remain the same. He had to find the source of the magic that was messing with Zander and then find his mom. Auron knew this city would be a great place to start as they reached the giant steel gates that lead into the city. From this vantage point, Auron could make out the glimmer of a lake along the wall if they had continued forward.

Standing before the gates, Auron once again was left breathless. A giant flying dragon was carved into the right gate door in beautiful detail. Auron wondered how many years it would take a person to create such a masterpiece as he took in the other side of the gate. On the left side, a regal-looking Queen and her people. She stood with her arms spread out one seeming to shield the people from the dragon, as the other reached up to receive it. The scene made Auron's heartache for some reason, but before he could think on it further, the gates opened.