“We fought three different patrols in the Bramblewood, and the first patrol was led by a pack leader accompanied by a Fang of Set. We lost Bram in that fight.” Griff winced at the recollection.

“I used all of my enchanted arrows to kill the Fang, and Joel and I were running on fumes when we ran into another patrol along the Silvervein. If not for the fairy, we might have died there,” Zorah begrudgingly explained the rest of their travels back to Riverwatch, including the ambush by the Blighted Twigs.

“Great, great. Snarf’s back with his Fangs of Set, Blighters are ambushing people within a stones throw of town, and Jessa and Bennet are across the river dealing with bandits. Is there no good news?” Lord Graystone complained.

“Well, there’s Dahlia,” Griff pointed to the fairy sitting on his head.

“Hi,” Dahlia said. Her voice and appearance seemed to strike Lord Graystone like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened, he sputtered and pulled a pair of wire-framed glasses from his desk to his eyes.

“By Bes’s bristling beard! A real fairy?” Lord Graystone stared at Dahlia as if she were a strange creature, and not a common fairy. Which, Dahlia reflected, was true. Unlike that skank Deborah, Dahlia exuded grace, charm, and copious amounts of fairy dust.

“Yep,” Zorah confirmed. “Dahlia’s got a magic wolf familiar.”

“And a conjured Shadow. More impressively, she healed my wounds when I lay on the cusp of death. Twice I felt the cold touch of Nephthys on my shoulder, and twice she pulled me back.” Griff added, vouching for the fairy.

“I am amazing, aren’t I?” Dahlia chimed in with a faint blush on her barely visible cheeks.

“Where did you come from?” Graystone asked.

“The Soulweald. My Mistress sent me here because of that big dummy Vaelmir the Ancient.”

“Do you perchance mean Vaelmir the Eternal?” Lord Graystone queried. The old nobleman seemed shocked that someone might refer to Vaelmir in such a way, but he didn’t press it. Dahlia took this to mean her social status was unknown relative to that of Vaelmir, but Graystone’s status relative to Vaelmir seemed abundantly clear to Dahlia based on the reverence and fear the old lord held for the mage.

“Yes, Vaelmir the Dumb and Old is why I’m here,” Dahlia corrected haughtily. Dahlia felt no remorse for her true interpretation of events.

“Lord Vaelmir sent you to save us from Snarf? We’re saved!” Lord Graystone clapped his hands happily but paused when he saw the serious expressions on Zorah and Griff’s face.

“The lass is impressive, but Snarf might be a bit much even for her.” Griff said diplomatically.

“I’m here to become the greatest Necromancer! I guess I could save you too.” Dahlia exposed her quest without any hesitation, or wondering if she should.

“Necromancer?” The old man repeated, looking shocked and more than a little appalled.

Griff and Zorah also looked surprised, but then frowned and nodded, as if they shouldn’t be. They had seen her Shadow, afterall.

“Well, that’s between you, Osiris, and Anubis,” Lord Graystone said.

Despite what Lord Graystone said, Dahlia definitely felt like the old mortal had judged her himself, and found necromancy to be an unpleasant subject.

“We need to rally the defenses. There’s no telling when Snarf will raid,” Griff said with urgency.

“Right, right. Zorah, could you brief Jaspar and send him to me after?” Lord Graystone asked the surly ranger.

“Yeah, I’m on it.” Zorah bowed her head slightly then slipped out of the room. The smirk of self-satisfaction Zorah flashed Griff made Dahlia wonder why the ranger seemed so happy to get out of the meeting. While slightly judgmental, the town’s lord struck Dahlia as a mostly pleasant fellow.

“And you two,” Lord Graystone said. He didn’t get any further, as another young woman with auburn hair who looked an awful lot like Amelia entered the room with a tray. Dahlia found herself briefly wondering if Amelia had changed dresses and hair styles to impress her, but the tray contained cups that demanded her attention. In addition to a steaming carafe that exuded a delicious aroma there was a jar of honey, a few cubes of sugar, and pastries with a honey glaze.

Dahlia’s tiny stomach growled, and her mouth watered at the huge treats.

“Adeline, we’re—” Graystone said, but stopped when his daughter poured him a cup of tea and set a plate in front of him.

“Don’t be rude, father.” Adeline chided and poured Griff a cup of tea and set out a plate for him.

Dahlia couldn’t restrain herself anymore and bolted off Griff’s head to dart around Adeline.

“For Dahlia too?” The fairy asked, practically drooling as she flew in circles around Adeline. This left trails of fairy dust sparkling in the air like glitter. The magical energy, like Dahlia’s hair, shifted from white to purple, sometimes to yellow, then to pink, then back to white in a practically breathing spectrum of color.

“I’ve never met a fairy before; how would you like your tea? I hope this cup is small enough, it was the smallest I could find,” Adeline apologized as she poured a tiny amount of tea into a cup half the size of the men’s, which coincidentally was half as big as Dahlia herself.

“With honey! And sugar! And honey!” Dahlia cheered, her eyes growing wide at the pile of sugar.

“And would you like a pastry?” Adeline asked between laughs, unable to hide the joy Dahlia sparked in her. Even Griff and Lord Graystone were hiding smiles and chuckling at the fairy.

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“Oh, yes!” Dahlia agreed. “I love sweets!”

The men discussed boring things, like where in the Bramblewood the Hyena-men attacks had happened, where Bram had fallen, and the location of the hollow that the Blighters had attacked. Dahlia ignored all of that and luxuriated in the sweetened tea and honeyed pastry. It was an uphill struggle to rip the pastry into bite size pieces, but Adeline took pity on Dahlia and helped her out.

“So, what will you do, Dahlia?” Griff asked when the fairy sighed contentedly and sat on the table, her plate nothing but crumbs.

All three humans stared at the fairy, wondering where the pastry that had been larger than Dahlia went.

“There’s a Pillar of Ascension here, right? I need to visit it!” Dahlia answered without any hesitation.

“I do as well, I’ll take you there. Have you put any thought into what you’ll do after that?” Griff coaxed her for an answer.

“Well, I’m going to save your town from Snarf, duh. Then I’ll become the greatest Necromancer in the world. After that, I suppose I’ll go home.” Dahlia smiled brightly, listing her objectives in order as if she’d knock them out in an afternoon.

“I see,” Griff replied diplomatically before he looked to Graystone.

“Why don’t you stay with Griff, Lady Dahlia?” the Lord suggested, but Adeline coughed and scowled at her father.

“No, why don’t you stay with us, Lady Dahlia? Amelia and I would love to have your company, and we have treats,” the Lord’s daughter said with the smile of a tempter.

“Okay!” Dahlia said. Normally she would be reluctant to accept gifts from mortals, but Dahlia already knew Griff to be a sweaty, smelly beast of a person. Any accommodation associated with the forester were likely to be beneath Dahlia’s standards. If any debt were created by staying with the Lord, she’d simply make Griff pay it off in recompense for saving his life.

“Let’s go see the rock thing now, Griff!” Dahlia demanded. She flew into the air and went through a few flying loops to burn some of her sugar fueled energy off.

Adeline looked suspicious, as if Griff might not bring Dahlia back.

“I’ll bring her back after,” Griff said with a laugh.

“Did you get what you went out for?” Graystone asked Griff.

“Yes, we managed to get it done. Wood from an Ashenheart,” Griff answered and untied a pouch from his belt and set it on Graystone’s desk. The small bag looked like an ordinary bag, it didn’t radiate any magic, but Dahlia realized that was part of the pouch’s enchantment. She could sense, if not see, powerful magic within it.

“Aw, if I had a Pouch of Plenty I could’ve kept the bird that tried to eat me,” Dahlia lamented. No one offered to give her a pouch, despite her subtle hint. How rude.

“Good job, Griff. I’ll have your payment later, stop back after you visit the Pillar.” Lord Graystone took the pouch and caressed the bag happily.

“Come on lass,” Griff told Dahlia as he roused and shepherded the two of them out of the room.

Adeline followed them to the front exit.

“Do come back, Dahlia!” Adeline said, and Amelia echoed her with a happy smile.

“I like the girls,” Dahlia told Griff from his head.

“They’re sweet lasses, aye. Now, are you ready to level up?” Griff asked.

Dahlia answered by jumping up and down on his head for the whole walk to the town square. Hyped up on sugar, Dahlia had an endless pool of energy to draw on, such that Griff had the potential to end up with a bruised head.

The Pillar of Ascension climbed twenty feet or more into the air. Its base held a large depiction of the Book of Thoth, and a large number of ceremonial depictions. The rest of the pillar was more artistic and formed three climbing spirals of stone that ended at three different heights.

“What do you do?” Dahlia asked in an almost whisper.

“Touch it,” Griff answered simply and extended his hand. His eyes went pure white when he touched the stone.

Dahlia flew off his head and landed on the ground, where she too touched the Pillar of Ascension.

The world crumbled away, and Dahlia found herself in the black space outside of Nantes once more.

You have reached level two.

You have gained: 1 1st level spell slot.

You have learned Dread Resolution.

Dread Resolution (1st level Enchantment spell): You touch a creature, infusing them with the determination of fallen heroes. Grants fear immunity, temporary hit points, and enhances the attacks of allies in ten feet.

You have gained the following class features: Call of Gloam, Dark Chorus.

Call of Gloam: Summon an ancient knight bound to uphold the oaths of the past.

Dark Chorus: You have unlocked fragments of the song of the Soulweald. Choose two from the following list.

Deadly Refrain: Your Charisma enhances the damage of a cantrip of your choice.

Distant Verse: Choose one cantrip, your effective range increases dramatically.

Repellant Intro: Choose one cantrip, your cantrip now pushes the target up to ten feet away from you.

Warding Shadows: You gain the Warding Shadows reaction, which allows you to decrease damage taken by you or an ally.

Whispers of Gloam: You can cast Message at will without expending a spell slot.

“Uhh,” Dahlia muttered. All five of the options sounded good to her, and she could see a use for each of them.

Dahlia chose Deadly Refrain. It had deadly in the name which really appealed to her, and her Charisma was super high! But then she had to choose which cantrip to for it to effect.

“This is hard!” Dahlia whined.

Both Shadowy Whispers and Soul Lash were really good spells, with great uses, and both looked equally amazing. Maybe appearance shouldn’t have been part of the decision-making process, but Dahlia couldn’t help that it was. Part of her wanted to take Deadly Refrain twice, so she wouldn’t have to decide. Both already had decent range, and dead things didn’t need to be pushed. There was no one she wanted to send messages to, Warding Shadows sounded complicated, so why shouldn’t she do that?

“Can I take it twice?”

Yes, the boring voice answered Dahlia.

“Alright, then I’ll do that.” Dahlia chose Deadly Refrain twice, for Soul Lash and Shadowy Whispers.

You have 3 Glimmer points. Glimmer point uses:

1 point: Raise an Attribute under 10 by 1.

10 points: Unlock Racial Ability—Glimmer Warp.

“Ohh, they are useful! Spend all three to make me smarter!” Dahlia jumped up and down happily.

Attribute Intelligence has been increased from 6 to 9. You have 0 Glimmer Points remaining.

Dahlia’s mind swam and expanded as the increase in her intelligence took effect. The tiny, selfish brain of the fairy stretched. Concepts such as empathy, planning, strategy, and even the depths of communication grew. While the fairy certainly was sapient before, her intelligence skyrocketed into the realms of an average humanoid now.

You have finished leveling. Exit?

“Wait,” Dahlia said. She felt so different.

“How do I get more Glimmer Points? What are Glimmer Points?”

Glimmer Points are the mechanism used by the Fey of Nantes to bend reality. They are granted for the following:

-A mortal expressing sincere thanks or gratitude to a fey.

-Learning the True Name of a mortal grants Glimmer points commensurate to their power.

-Completing a bargain or pact with a mortal grants Glimmer Points commensurate to the challenge.

-Stirring powerful emotions in mortals.

-Bending the rules of reality in clever ways.

-Replace a child with a changeling.

-Secrets Revealed! Learning the deeply hidden or valuable secrets grants Glimmer points equal to the value of the secret.

-Temptation: Tricking a mortal into breaking a personal, social, or cultural taboo.

-Disrupting the plots of another Fey, especially those of rival Courts.

Dahlia read the list. Some of those things seemed simple. Mortal gratitude, for instance, seemed easy enough to earn by acting helpful. Maybe that one granted less points because it was easier than the others?

Testing would be required.

“I’m done,” Dahlia told the darkness.