I woke up the next morning and realized I had slept longer than I meant to. The sun was already up and I usually woke with the rising sun. I must have been really tired from all of yesterday's fighting. I hoped that Al'Doran would forgive my sleeping in. I got up and put on some casual clothing from the closet, which I also noticed must have been magical because I didn't put any in there. It was a loose-fitting cloth shirt with some form of cloth pants and a pair of leather boots. I'm not very good with fabric types but it may have been some kind of cotton. Or whatever this world's equivalent of cotton was.

After getting dressed, I went over and scratched Aeolith who was majestically laid out on her bed with her feet up in the air, displaying her full underside in the way a dog would sometimes do when they were having an especially good sleep.

"Wake up sleepy, the day is getting away from us," I said to her mentally.

"I don't want to. I need more sleep."

"But we are going to get breakfast."

She rolled over and sat right up at the mention of food.

"Excellent! I am starved. I am much bigger than I used to be and need to eat much more food."

"You sure are," I said trying not to laugh at her.

We left the room and walked over to Tristan's room. Surprisingly, he wasn't there. We went downstairs and out to the main roadway and there we saw Tristan sitting in the patio area of the same building we ate dinner at last night with Al'Doran nearby. They seemed to be talking telepathically as they were looking at each other and Tristan looked to be thinking deeply.

I reached out to let them know we were coming and they looked over at us, Tristan smiling broadly.

"Good morning Al'Doran, Tristan," I said with my mind assuming that Al'Doran would link us all together. I couldn't communicate with Tristan mentally without Al'Doran there to facilitate the group.

"Good morning, young rider. I take it you slept well after your day of fighting?"

"I did. Thank you, Al'Doran. I apologize if I kept you waiting."

"Good, because we need to figure out a way to get you all to level up even faster than you already have. What you did yesterday was a great feat, but as you level you will find that the XP needed to get to the next level continues to grow at a fast pace, and the further away an enemy's level is from yours, the less XP they will give you for killing them. We need to find you a way to gain additional XP while killing enemies."

"That was something I was able to help with," Tristan added. "I figured we should look at taking some quests to add to the XP gained, and we can get some money as well. If we go to the adventurer's guild in a town we can register and take on some of the quests from the quest board to not only kill monsters but also get XP for the quest and the reward offered by the guild for the quest."

"Al'Doran, you are OK with us going to a town?"

"I was not at first, but Tristan assured me that it would just be you and he going to the town to pick up the quests. Then since Aeolith is your familiar rather than an actual party member, she would not need to register or even be in the town for your party to pick up the quest. Since she can remain secret, and still gain the XP with your party, I feel it is a good option."

"Great! But when we register with the guild, what does that entail? Will they know that I'm a Dragonrider?"

"No, nothing like that," Tristan said. "The registration is just for a party with the names of the members. They only need to know who might need to be found if a party goes missing or doesn't come back from a quest. Nothing really nosy about it. If you want to sign up to fight monsters or escort traders, that is none of the guild's business. They can tell by looking at someone if they aren't suited for combat and might turn them away, or a trader might request specific adventurers who had gained notoriety, but that is about it."

"That all seems good to me. Where should we pick up some quests?"

"That seems to be the only point of contention so far," Al'Doran said.

"Yeah, Al'Doran wants us to stick to smaller towns, while I said the best quests are going to be in the bigger cities."

"I'm guessing the issue here is that with the smaller towns we are less likely to have Aeolith found, but the rewards aren't as good there?"

Tristan put one finger up to his nose, indicating that I had guessed right.

"Al'Doran, which is more important? That we get strong enough to face the Shadow Beasts faster? Or that we remain hidden longer? We can only hide for so long. Eventually, there will come a time when we will have to reveal that we exist. If for no other reason than that we can't stay cooped up here on this island forever."

Al'Doran paused and seemed to be deep in thought. Finally, he spoke to us mentally.

"You are right in that you cannot be hidden forever. There will come a day when you will be revealed to the world with the hopes that you will rally forces to your cause to banish the Shadow Beasts once and for all. But at this time you and Aeolith are still not strong enough. You have grown so much, but I cannot risk you being killed before you have a fighting chance. I implore you to use caution for a bit longer."

"That does make good sense. Can we come to a compromise and perhaps look at some of the midsized towns? Not the rural outlying tiny towns that would have meager quests."

"This we can agree on. I do not want you to starve for XP, nor do I want you to stagnate on goblin-slaying quests. We will find a mid-sized town. While you two pick up the quests, I will train Aeolith. She must learn to fight as well, but cannot learn that from you. I will show her how to hunt, and kill as a dragon does."

With that settled we sat down to eat a hearty breakfast. Al'Droan again gave us a meal, magically delivered.

"Al'Doran can we really not eat anything magical? Like if I was dying of dehydration and someone use a water spell, I could not use it to help keep me alive?"

"No. As I said before, you cannot eat mana. Mana is the essence used to power magic. It is not a substance like wheat or water or meat that is consumable for sustenance. It is an essence that can be formed by will into a manifestation of a thing or action. So manifesting the water, while it looks like, feels like, and acts like water, it is not, in fact, water. It would cause the consumption of concentrated mana into your body. Your body can only handle so much mana at a time and is designed to process it in a specific manner. Taking it in through normal food consumption does not process the mana through your mana network and leeches into your body in ways it was not meant to. Doing this will cause harm to your body."

"I see what you mean, but where are you bringing it from?"

"That is not something I am ready to explain. Suffice to say it is edible, and it is delicious."

I shrugged and went back to eating. The meal was really delicious, and it was really hearty. Something that would stick to your bones, as my grandma used to say. Afterward, we went back to our rooms to gather our equipment. We donned our new gear, equipped our weapons, and went back out to meet Al'Doran on the main road.

"Good, you are both ready. I want us to go down to the beach again to do a small bit of training before we set out."

So we walked down to the beach and Al'Doran showed us each a mental vision of a training form. For me it was the sword forms from before, but with the next level of complexity. I flowed through the forms and followed the patterns. Many of them seemed familiar from the last time, but there were several twists and new steps for my feet that challenged my balance as well as my ability to track where each limb should be at any given time. After following it through about three times, Al'Doran stopped me.

"You are making good progress with the forms, but learning a form with no practical application is worthless."

As he finished saying this an apparition appeared in front of me that looked exactly like the mental vision of the warrior going through the sword forms. It raised its weapon into a ready position.

"I'm going to fight with this guy?"

"Yes."

And with that one word, the apparition struck out. I barely got my sword up to block in time. I parried back and forth the strikes frantically protecting myself and trying not to be hit by the sword. Suddenly, it hit me. The way he was attacking was exactly like the form. I flowed into the forms and the steps and suddenly blocking was as easy as breathing. Every step put the attacker into a position to be on the defensive. Suddenly I was using the forms to push the apparition back and then parried his sword to the side and swiped my sword across its neck.

The apparition disappeared.

"Good, you have learned how to replicate the steps. Now, can you use them in any situation?"

The apparition appeared again. It readied its sword. This time I did as well, not wanting to be caught off guard again. I briefly wondered if this was where the phrase en garde came from when it struck and we were fighting again. This time its attacks did not follow the exact pattern of the steps. I was a little thrown off trying to parry the attacks when Al'Doran spoke to me.

"You are focusing on the pattern, stop thinking about looking for an attack pattern and watch your opponent's movements. The hips and shoulders will always tell you where they will strike. They cannot keep their balance without being centered on the way they will attack."

I changed my focus to not just the sword, but the opponent's hips and shoulders. And was immediately rewarded by being stabbed in the gut. Fortunately, the apparition disappeared as soon as it killed me in the same way it disappeared when I killed it.

"You were beginning to grasp it, but you took your eye off their sword."

"You said to watch the hips and shoulders though."

"That doesn't mean you can stop watching the sharp instrument they are looking to kill you with!"

That just made sense and I didn't have a response for it.

"You must watch the sword, but you can also see the direction their core moves to know where they will attack. Many times it is subtle, but it is always there. Now, again."

Al'Doran again summoned the apparition and again we met and fought. Again I was beaten.

"Again."

The apparition was summoned again and again and again. And each time I was beaten. Though at the same time, I was holding my ground longer and longer. I was able to parry more attacks and I was starting to see the attacks coming as Al'Doran had described. Eventually, Al'Doran called for a stop in the training. I sat down heavily on the sand panting. Al'Doran cast some sort of rejuvenation spell on me that made me feel much better.

I looked over to where Tristan was to see him reading some sort of ethereal book. Well wasn't that just fun? I was working my butt off and he was reading.

"Why is Tristan just relaxing and reading while I'm fighting for my life here?"

"He is reading up on the fundamental theories of magical application and how they relate to death magic when applied to macro-necronomics. If you would like to read up on that as well, I would be happy to get you a copy of the book."

I blinked at him for a few seconds.

"He's learning about what again?"

"It's a book on the basics of how magic is applied on a large scale when it comes to using death magic for the purpose of large-scale necromantic application such as raising multiple undead minions at once."

"Oh. Yeah, I don't think that will apply to me anytime soon."

"Then do not presume that others are not working hard to be better simply because they are not doing physical activities."

"Sorry. You're right, I should know that you have our best interest in mind."

"I should tell you though, in case I am not here to help or you have free time without me, that the books I am giving to Tristan as well as more than you could likely ever read in a lifetime, are in the Dragonrider library. It's located underground on this island. It has books on any subject you could think of. You can visit it by going down to the basement level of the dormitories. There you will find an entrance to the library. I highly encourage you to take some time at some point to research more about your skills or spells so that you know how best to use them."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"I will, Al'Doran. Thank you for telling me."

Al'Doran nodded. We wrapped up the training time and hopped onto Al'Doran's back. Aeolith was too large now and flew alongside Al'Doran instead.

"Where are we headed to Al'Doran?"

"There is a mid-sized city located north of where I dropped you off yesterday. I will set you down about two hours walk from the city and keep Aeolith with me. You and Tristan will walk into the town and see about setting up a place for you to stay in an inn as though you were adventurers looking for work. You can then sign up with the adventurer's guild in the town and look at taking on some jobs. You have gold I presume?"

"Yes, I do. What's the name of this town?"

"It is called Jewelston. It was named this because of its access to a mine hundreds of years ago that was known for the large number of jewels that came out of the mine in the beginning. The town sprang up around the mine and became a destination for trade. Many people stayed even when the mine stopped producing anything and they remained a hub of trade for the towns in the surrounding areas."

"I've heard of Jewelston," Tristan interjected. "It's a good place to start. There are even some dungeons around the area."

I nodded. If they were in agreement then I would be as well. I knew next to nothing about the areas and towns in this world so I would rely on Al'Doran and Tristan for knowledge. I sat back and watched the ocean pass beneath us, then the ocean turned to land and I watched the landscape pass beneath us. We had to fly rather high to not arouse people's attention, and Al'Doran tried to keep within as many clouds as he could, but I was able to gather glimpses of the world below. There wasn't much to see in the way of towns on the path we were taking, which was of course because Al'Doran was trying to be careful, but it seemed so lush and beautiful. This world hadn't been taken over by the modern technological advancements of my world so it was so much greener than earth.

We flew for about another hour and then Al'Doran began to circle a spot and descend. It was a large clearing in the middle of a forest. The trees were tall enough that when Al'Doran landed in the middle of them, he disappeared under their bows. They were truly massive trees. We dismounted and I walked over to Aeolith and put my forehead against hers. I hadn't been away from her yet and wasn't looking forward to the distance.

"I don't think we will be able to communicate across the distance."

"We won't, but Al'Doran said if you concentrate on our bond you can always tell what direction I am from you and whenever one of us is in serious distress the other will know it and Al'Doran and I can come to you."

I chuckled slightly, "What makes you think it won't be me coming to save you?"

She snorted and just looked at me, then looked at Al'Doran.

"Fine...I see your point. Still, take care. I will come back to you as soon as we get the quest and can make it look like we are setting out to handle it."

"Hurry back. We will wait for you."

I stood up and looked at Tristan and Al'Doran.

"Is there a way we can let you know we are heading out of town? It seems risky to have you wait in the forest for however long it takes us."

"Here is a scroll. Its seal is connected to me. If you break the seal on the scroll it will activate a spell that will let me know you are ready."

A scroll appeared in the air in front of me and I took it and realized I didn't know exactly where the town was from here. Al'Doran really seemed to have a spell for everything. It was a little convenient, but then again he was part of the training for new Dragonriders even hundreds of years ago. I would have to ask him about it later.

"Thank you Al'Doran. We will see you soon. Keep Aeolith safe for me please."

"I will guard her with my life."

With that, they took off together. I turned to look at Tristan after they had left.

"Is the town directly north of here?"

"Almost. If we walk north out of the forest and then turn west we will find a road that will lead us directly there." Tristan said.

"Have you been there before?"

"A couple of times. They weren't keen on helping someone like me though."

I put a comforting hand on his shoulder and he gave me a forced smile.

"Let's not worry about the past, for now, we are just adventurers that are looking for some work on our way through this town. Everything is going to be better from here on out."

His smile turned genuine and we set off north through the forest. We walked for about half an hour until we came to a break in the trees. Ahead of us, there was a sprawling field with green grass as far as I could see. We looked around briefly and then turned west and walked along the treeline. We followed that for almost an hour before we came to the road. Or I guess what passed for a road in this world. I had the completely incorrect idea that this would be closer to roads on earth. I kept forgetting how far behind technologically this world was from earth. What we were standing on, was just a flat dirt path wide enough for a wagon to roll down. But it did beat walking through the forest or even the grassy plain.

We turned north and began to follow the path toward the town. We walked for what I figured was about an hour and a half before we got to the entrance of the town. It was just a basic stone wall, not too high, maybe twelve feet, and relatively sturdy, but not like some of the huge castle walls I had seen in movies on earth, and it had a wooden gate. They had a single guard at the entrance, but he didn't even look twice at us.

"The guards don't care who comes and goes?"

"They are really only looking for monsters or some of the more sentient pests like goblins. As humans, unless you are some really famous criminal, they don't care. If you cause trouble you'll find the guards fast in the town though."

"Makes sense then. We shouldn't run into much trouble though."

Just as I utter this, we are stopped by some men on the path not too far inside the gate.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? Some new travelers who haven't paid the entrance tax? Only two of you? Don't worry, it's only five silver a piece."

"Odd that we walked in past the town guard without being asked for any fees," I replied.

"Oh, the guard's supposed to remain vigilant for monsters. They don't have time for the collecting part. Don't want no monsters coming in. We are here to assist them with that."

These men were dirty. They smelled like they hadn't showered in days. One of them held out a hand looking for the payment.

"I think I should check with the guard first to be sure this is right."

As I moved to head back to the entrance two more of them closed around behind us.

"Didn't I just tell you the guard is busy? Can't have you distracting them from their duty."

We stopped. I let out a long exasperated sigh. This was not going to end well. There were six of them. Not the best odds especially since I had to watch for Tristan as well. Had I been alone I probably could have handled it. Most bullies like this were not that sturdy. But I couldn't let them hurt Tristan. I looked over at him though, and he had a determined look on his face. Our eyes met and he nodded to me. Guess we're doing this.

"Well. You're so right. We shouldn't involve the guards in this. In fact, why don't I give you exactly what you need."

I reached into my bag and pulled my fist back out closed. I held it out and the thug who spoke held his hand out to catch the coins I was going to drop into his hand. His eyes grew wider with the thrill of the thought that he was just going to get what he wanted without any trouble. I could see the greed play out in his mind as he went so far as to lick his lips in anticipation.

Instead of dropping coins into his hand though, I opened my hand and brought it down, grabbing his wrist. His eyes went from greed-filled to shock in an instant when he realized my hand was empty. As I grabbed his wrist I pulled him forward and past me, shoving him with all my not-so-inconsiderable strength into the thug behind me. They collided in a pile on the ground while I turned my gaze to the thug next to him. He looked shocked as well and started to back up. I was on him in an instant holding his clothes and turning around with him in my grasp so that his back was to the group while I was put outside the circle we were in. He grabbed onto me trying to break my grip with one hand while he fumbled to get a knife out from a sheath on his side. I extended my arm and thrust kicked him in the chest to get him further away from me and he landed on the ground in front of me.

I looked at the rest of the group, and Tristan had not been idle either. He has taken his staff and tripped the thug next to him into falling towards the one behind him. They collided with each other and, try as they might, failed to stay upright. He was currently standing with his staff pointed at the last standing thug who was just standing there with a knife out looking back and forth between me and Tristan and the rest of his flailing party.

By this time we had created a small bit of a commotion and people were starting to stare.

"Tristan, stand your weapon up," I whispered to him walking over to him.

He did so and we took less defensive postures as the thugs all regained their feet. The leader of the group who had been speaking to us was livid. His face had turned a shade of red I had rarely ever seen on a human face before.

"You think you can get out of paying us? The guards will hear about this."

"The guards have heard about this Gregory."

The man turned to the new voice that had announced itself behind the group of thugs.

A man dressed in plate armor and wearing a bright red tabbord over his armor with a crest in the middle of a lion spitting flames came to stand between us.

"Ah, commander, you got here just in time. We were greeting these newcomers when they attacked us out of nowhere," the thug tried to explain quickly.

"Is that so?" The commander questioned looking suspiciously at the one he called Gregory and then over at us.

"What is your side of the tale?"

I paused for a moment, looking at the man called Gregory, then the crowd that had gathered, then at the Commander. An idea hit me.

"We had just entered the town, after a very long journey. We are adventurers seeking work, and were going to head to the inn for some rest before registering with the guild when we were stopped and surrounded and told we have to pay an entrance fee of five gold per person to enter this town."

"It was only five silver," one of the bigger, and likely dumber, thugs pipped in.

I smiled at him, "Thank you, I had misspoken, it was five silver, not five gold."

I heard a little yelp come from the bigger thug as Gregory had apparently stepped on his foot for saying something out loud.

The commander turned back to the group of thugs, "Trying to extort funds from adventurers instead of making an honest living are we boys? I think you need to come with me to the office for a chat."

He whistled and four more guards came over to escort the thugs away.

"Sorry for the trouble. Our town does not charge visitors. We hope the economy would attract enough guests. I'm Commander Harlow of Jewelston."

"I'm Callan, and this is Tristan. As I mentioned we are adventurers just looking for work in the area. We figured we could register with the adventurer's guild and take on some quests to help out the town as well as gather some funds for ourselves."

"Aye, that you can. Just head down the main road here past the market and then on the right, you'll see an inn. Has a sign with a dragon on it. Called the Dragon's Nest. Tell old Patsy that Commander Harlow sent you and she should take care of you. I hope you won't look down on the town because of these ruffians."

"Of course not, Commander. In every group, there are those that will act out. Don't treat them too badly. I don't feel like we were personally in that much danger."

"You are kind for saying such. They have to be held accountable though. Actions without consequences lead to chaos."

"That is also true. Thank you for the directions and the recommendation Commander. I hope the next time we meet, it is under better circumstances."

He nodded to me and turned to follow his men. We turned as well and went down the road toward where the market was. As we walked we looked briefly at the vendors to see what wears they had. We didn't need much in the way of gear, but there were other things to see. Food, clothes, trinkets, a few street performers, and one stall had animals in cages and seemed to be some kind of pet shop. Once we were past the market I could see the sign up ahead shaped like a dragon and the writing on it said the Dragon's Nest.

We stopped at the entrance and made sure we dusted ourselves off a bit before opening the door. We were immediately hit with the smell of something wonderful cooking in the kitchen. The inn was something straight out of a game. Wood interior with a large long wooden bar where patrons could drink. There were some tables scattered around the main portion of the room and a fireplace set on the opposite side of the room from the bar. No fire was going now because it was warm outside though.

A woman was behind the bar polishing some mugs, just like I'd expect a barkeep to be doing. We walked over to the bar together.

"What can I do for ye boys?" The lady said, in what I would have sworn was a Scottish accent.

"We were pointed here by Commander Harlow. Told to ask for Patsy."

"I'm Patsy. Why did that old goat send ye down this way?"

"We are adventurers who will need a place to stay while we register with the guild and look for some quests. We ran into a bit of trouble at the gate and I think he felt bad for having it happen to us so soon after entering the city."

"Well, if Harlow sent ye, then I'm sure yer good folk. I got a room with two beds for ye at one silver a night. It'll be an extra silver for both ye to have meals while ye stay here. Drinks are extra."

"Thank you, can I go ahead and pay for three nights in advance? Not sure how long we will be here or need the room based on the job we get, but I'd like to pay for the three days regardless. If we need more we can let you know."

"That'll do fine lad."

I placed six silver on the bar and she swept it into her pocket. She handed me a key and told us our room was on the second floor at the end of the hall. I thanked her and we went up to the room to take a look around. It wasn't a large room, but it was big enough for both of us, our belongings, and to have two beds for us to sleep on with a window that looked out over the front of the inn. We left the room again and locked it and went back down to the bar.

"Hey Patsy, would you be able to tell me where the local adventurer's guild is and how to get there from here?"

"Sure, lad. If ye go out the front here, turn right, then keep going up about a mile down the road, it'll be on the opposite side of the road. The sign looks like a blue and white shield. Can't miss it."

We thanked Patsy and headed on our way, out the front door of the inn. We turned right and began walking down the road again. Most of this area was full of shops rather than the stands in the marketplace. A tailor, a blacksmith, an armory, a general goods store, an apothecary, a magic shop of some kind. I couldn't help but think of the shopping tips back on earth. Sure there were no pizzerias, smokeshops, or coffeehouses on every corner, but it was still similar in other ways. The shops set themselves up so that someone could go from door to door to get everything they needed to go on an adventure. After walking a good way up the road we saw the sign that Patsy told us about. It looked just like a small wooden shield with the words Adventurer's Guild on it. We opened the door and went inside. There were tables and chairs in there as well with a bar off to the far side of the large room we entered into. There was also a desk at the back of the room, a straight line from the front door. A young woman sat behind the desk and waved to us as we entered.

"Welcome to adventurer's guild. My name is Amy, and I'm here to help with whatever you might need as an adventurer. I don't think I've seen you here before, are you new to town?"

"We are, Amy. Thank you for being willing to help us. We need to register here with the guild so that we can look at picking up some quests for some income."

"Perfect! I can help you with that right here. I just need the name of your party, how many members it has, and the names of your members. Then you can pick from the board over there anything on the left side of the board. You'll notice the board is divided up into three sections. The first section is quests anyone can take, the middle is for when you have become more trusted by the guild to handle harder tasks, we don't want a bunch of new adventurers dying from quests too hard for them, and the right side is for quests that are party specific. Meaning the person who put it in is wanting a specific group to help them out."

I looked at Tristan.

"We never thought of a team name. I didn't know that was a thing."

Tristan just shrugged, "I'm good with whatever you choose."

I thought for a moment. It needed to be cool but mean something.

"My name is Callan, this is Tristan, and we are the Lucky Vultures."