After signing up with the adventurer's guild we headed over to look at the board to see what kind of quests they offered. The board was just several large flat pieces of wood nailed upright to a few poles secured to the wall and was divided into three sections with smaller pieces of wood and signs at the top that said tier one, tier two, and custom requests. We were told to look at the quests in tier one, and that we could only take one quest at a time. Some were harder than others and the information wasn't always one hundred percent accurate because people sometimes would stretch the truth or hide parts of it to get someone to come out to help. Nothing could be done about that, so we just read the ones they had available. The individual quests were written on pieces of paper and then nailed to the board as well. It looked like they hadn't replaced the boards in a while as there were so many nail holes the boards were about to come apart.

"Goblin incursion, lost my cat, rats in my basement, transport me to Incira, ah here we go...lost in a dungeon. We could do that right Callan?"

I looked over at the one Tristan had picked up off the board. It looked like some adventurer had gone into one of the local dungeons and hadn't returned. The adventurer's guild was the one that actually created this quest.

"I'm not sure Tristan. We aren't supposed to let people see Aeolith remember?" I tried to say under my breath.

"I know, but almost all the rest of them are low-level creature kill quests or transport quests where lots of people would see us. At least this way we get to go into a dungeon and get all that experience."

That dungeon I had spawned in had been a really good source of XP, even if I hadn't really known what I was doing.

"Let's talk to the attendant and see if she can give us more details."

We walked back over to the desk where Amy was sitting.

"Hi Amy, can you tell us more about this quest? Where the dungeon is, how difficult it might be, and anything else we might need to know?" I asked, handing her the piece of paper with the quest request on it.

"Let me see. Oh yes, this one has been up for a while, unfortunately. At this point, we are figuring someone could just bring back the body and we can give it to his relatives to bury. Or at least something of his to give them some closure. But the dungeon is about two hours east of here called the Bat Cave. It's not a super tough dungeon, but we usually advise parties of four and that they have a healer to keep everyone going. Otherwise, it's not too difficult of a quest."

A body at this point...that seems much more up our alley.

"Alright, we will take this one then."

"Are you sure? There are only two of you and you don't have a healer."

"I actually know some healing magic so we should be fine."

"Alrighty then. If you can do some healing it shouldn't be an issue. I will mark this as claimed for now and will hold it for you for two weeks. If you haven't come back by then, I will have to repost it."

"I'm quite sure we will be back before then. Thank you, Amy!"

With that, she noted our team name on her sheet of active quests and put the quest page in a box under her desk. We turned and left the guild. By this time it was looking like we wouldn't be making it back to the forest before it was going to be dark, or if we did we would be flying in the dark, and since we had paid for the inn we decided to go back there for the night. We got to the Dragon's nest and Patsy greeted us as we entered.

"Good evening lads, glad to see ye back. How did it go at the guild?"

"It went well! We found a quest we are picking up and will likely head out in the morning for it."

"Well, are ye sure? Ye did pay for three nights."

"We are sure, Patsy. We are OK with that. Hold onto it for us and use our room. When we get back we can say we still have two days to use. We will be back, I'm certain of it."

"Very well lads. I'll mark ye as having two nights to use when next ye come through. Are ye hungry? It's supper time and we have stew."

"Absolutely. Two bowls of stew, and bring us drinks as well."

"The drinks are two copper each."

"Very well. Here."

I flipped her a silver.

"Keep 'em coming," I said with a wink.

We went over to a table and sat down together. As I sat down, I concentrated on the bond that Aeolith and I had. It was faint, almost too faint to tell it was there, but I was able to feel it. I focused on it for a minute more to see what I could tell about the link from just monitoring it. I could feel faint emotions. None were distressed or scared, they seemed determined and excited almost. I took that as a good sign and guessed Al'Doran was teaching her something new and stopped focusing on the connection.

"So now we just need to get back to the forest?" Tristan asked.

"I have to activate the seal on the scroll Al'Doran gave me before we leave the city. That way they can get a chance to come back to the forest to meet us. But then yes we just make our way back. Then we can make a plan to get to the dungeon."

"I had a thought as much, maybe we should buy a map from the market in case Al'Doran doesn't know where the dungeon is at."

"That is an excellent idea, Tristan. We will stop to get one in the morning before we leave. Maybe we can get something that has more of the surrounding areas if we are going to be here longer for quests."

"Is there anything else we might need while we are in the market?"

"We can ask around. Maybe someone has more experience with dungeon diving than we do and can offer some advice."

Patsy came around and brought our stew and drinks. She was deftly carrying both bowls of steaming hot stew on one forearm while carrying two large tankards in her other hand.

"Did I happen to hear ye boys were going to be entering a dungeon? I don't mean to be droppin' eaves, but I might know someone that can help."

"Can we meet them this evening? We really need to head out in the morning."

"I'll see what I can do for ye. How 'bout you two finish yer food and drinks, hit the market, then come back? I'll see if I can get in touch with 'em."

"Thank you, Patsy. That would be really helpful."

"Don't mention it. Harlow came by and told me what happened. I feel like we should try to do something to show ye we aren't really a city of thugs. That Gregory has always been a lazy bum. I'm sorry he tried to do that to ye."

"It's perfectly alright Patsy. I appreciate the assistance though. We know not everyone is like that, and I don't really think we were in danger from that group of thugs."

"That might be, but watch yerself later on. Gregory will get released eventually and he won't be happy. Hopefully, he learned his lesson and doesn't try anything, but I'm just not certain how he feels about what happened. Some people just hold grudges."

"Thanks for the warning. We will try to be careful."

Patsy nodded and walked off toward the bar. We started eating the stew she left for us. It was delicious. It was hearty with big chunks of potato and meat, while also having some other chopped vegetables as well. It was seasoned nicely which was great news that this world had salt as a normal commodity. There were other spices as well, so at least this world wasn't so far behind that it didn't have seasonings in their food. The drink was a beer of some sort. Not the craft beers that were served so often on earth for certain. It had a more earthy flavor, and the alcohol content seemed to be higher than the beers I had consumed on earth, but then again I'm sure there is no one regulating them as they did on earth. It was still good and went well with the stew, so we drank it.

After finishing the first round of drinks, Patsy brought us another round. When she sat the drinks down I told her that we would have the other drinks I had paid for when we returned from the market. Something told me we would want drinks while talking with the person she was getting in touch with. After finishing the second round of drinks and the rest of the food we decided to go up to the room for a moment. When we got to the room I called for Brutus. I realized I hadn't seen him in a while and wondered what was up with that.

"Hey Callan, how's it going?"

"Good, Brutus. Where have you been?"

"I've actually been with you the whole time. I can make myself invisible. It's a fairy trait so we don't get caught."

"Is that normally an issue? Are there people looking to trap and keep fairies? I thought we were bonded?"

"We are bonded. It doesn't mean that someone wouldn't try to capture me and sell me to someone else still. There are very unscrupulous people in this world who would sell a bonded fairy on the black market. Fairies are very rare and extremely sought after. Someone might buy me even if they knew I was bonded just to try to remove the bond and make one themselves."

"So there's a black market in this world too?"

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

"Of course there is. Anywhere there are illegal goods to be found, there is a black market, but that doesn't really pertain to this conversation."

"Right, sorry. Can you talk to me while you are invisible?"

"Sure, but others can hear me too. Best to be alone when we talk."

"OK. Good to know. We are going to buy a map, and I was curious if there was any kind of map feature in this world."

"Not sure what you mean. There are maps in this world."

"No I mean like in some games on earth there were 3D maps that could display in my vision or could be pulled up in menus like my stat sheet so I could see where I had been and where things were in this world."

"Not unless you get some kind of cartographer's skill. You can get a personal map if you get that skill."

"How do I get that skill?"

"You have to make maps to get a cartographer skill. Isn't that obvious?"

"Oh. OK. I don't really have time for that right now."

"That's true. Maybe Al'Doran can help with that later. For now, I'd stick with the paper maps."

"What's earth?" Tristan asked, apparently unable to control his curiosity anymore.

"Huh?"

"You said something about 3D and on earth. What does that mean?"

"Oh. I never told you did I? I'm not from this world Tristan. You can't tell people this, but I was reincarnated here."

His eyes went wide. I then proceeded to tell him the story of where I was and how I came to be here. About my reincarnation, my time in the dungeon, and then finding Al'Doran. He listened with rapt attention to everything I said.

"This explains so much. You are special."

"How so?"

"Reincarnation of that level is extremely rare. Most people here are reincarnated, and some retain certain memories, or occasionally a skill from a past life, but there are only a handful of people in all of history who retained all their memories from a past life and got to choose their next race in a reincarnation experience."

"Al'Doran explained that to me. I don't have an explanation for why it happened, so for right now, I'm just focusing on what is in front of me. If I can find answers along the way then all the better, but for now we have to get stronger."

"That...alright, I will keep this to myself, but this is a big deal, you have to know that."

"Tristan, I was ripped away from my home and sent to an alternate world where I got to choose my race, change my attributes, gain XP, level up, and other things I don't want to say out loud in case someone is listening! I am definitely aware it is a big deal."

"You just seem so calm about it."

"I learned a long time ago that there are things you can control and things you cannot control. If you worry too much about the things you cannot control, then you lose control of everything else in the process. Since we are in a situation where I need to have as much control over the things happening to me as possible I choose to work on the things I can control to have as much control of my life as I can."

"You said the word control an awful lot in that last sentence."

"It's a little hard to get the point across if I don't. There is a prayer where I come from. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

"That is profound."

"It's what I try to live my life by. You can either let the things you can't control consume you, or you can let it go and work on the things that you can influence."

"I think I get it. But it's hard to do."

"It's very hard to practice, but you get better with time."

"I'll try."

"That's all that matters," I said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Now let's get to the market."

We left the room and walked downstairs. Patsy greeted us at the bottom of the stairs.

"I sent word to my friend. He should be here when ye get back from the market."

"Thanks, Patsy."

I waved to her on our way out and we walked back down to the market. Once we got there we asked a few of the stalls where the best place to get a map would be and we were pointed to one stall further down the way and a man named Marco. Marco was apparently a world traveler who had made many maps in his travels around the world.

"Hello, welcome, are you seeking maps?"

"We are. I gotta ask though, what is your surname?"

"Xander."

"Oh," I said, maybe a little more disappointment coming out than I meant for.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Where I'm from there was a famous map maker named Marco as well. Different surname though. We just need a map of the surrounding area. Something that has the dungeon called the Bat Cave in it."

"I have a map for that. It's just five silver."

He reached under the stand and took out a map.

"Mind if I look at it first?"

"Do you have the Cartographer skill?"

"No, I don't"

"Then I don't mind at all."

I unraveled the map and saw it did show the Bat Cave and areas surrounding the town.

"This is perfect. Here you go," I said as I handed him the silver. "But do you mind if I ask why you wondered if I had the cartographer skill?"

"That seals it that you don't have it. The Cartographer skill has an ability that allows the user to copy a map they have seen and add it to their own personal map. So you could have stolen my maps just by looking at them. It's why I don't display my maps out on the table for people to look at."

"Wow, I had no idea. That seems like a really useful skill to have. Too bad I don't have that."

He thanked us for our purchase and we walked around a little longer looking at the other stalls to see if anything stood out to us. We looked at some weapons and armor at a few stalls, but none were as good as what we had gotten from the armory on Cathar. There were some food stalls, but having just eaten Patsy's stew we were still full and passed on snacks as well. Seeing nothing we needed, we headed back to the Dragon's Nest. When we arrived and opened the door Patsy greeted us like she always did and bid us to come to the bar. We walked over to where she was standing, talking with an older-looking gentleman nursing a drink. When we got to the bar, Patsy poured Tristan and me a drink as well.

"Callan, Tristan, this is Oscar. He was an adventurer as well and knows about the dungeons around the area. He might be able to help ye with some ideas of what yer up against."

Oscar turned to us and held out a hand that each of us shook in turn.

"Good to meet you, Oscar. We are going to be heading to the Bat Cave soon. Can you tell us about it or give us some ideas of things we should bring with us while we are there?"

"The Bat Cave? Not a particularly hard dungeon, but dangerous if you don't have ranged weapons of some kind. Or I guess if you could fly. The main creatures there are what you'd expect, bats. While that isn't too tough in the beginning, they swarm. Then they bite, and when they bite they cause bleeding. Being able to stop the bleeding while killing the little flying buggers is the hard part."

"Any thoughts on what would be helpful for that?"

Tristan offered a suggestion, "Bark Armor would help. At least if they are smaller bats."

"What's Bark Armor?" I asked.

"It's a spell that makes the skin extra tough, kinda like bark. It would help with the bites."

"That would help. Spells are a little expensive though. If you can afford it that would be helpful. Another thing though is loud sounds. They are using sounds to find their way around and really loud sounds can confuse them. Also, area-of-effect spells are especially helpful, if you are going the spell route. Something that can damage a lot of enemies in a group."

"I think we can handle some of that. The boss though. Every dungeon has one right?"

"True, every dungeon has one. This one is a vampire. It can change into the shape of a bat and fly around harassing the party. You definitely need to be careful with that one. I don't have a lot that can help with him, but it shouldn't be too difficult if you stay careful and attack fast."

"So we shouldn't bring say, garlic, or wooden stakes with us?"

"Why would you bring those things?"

"Don't vampires hate garlic and you have to kill them with a stake to the heart?"

Oscar looked at me really strangely.

"Where would you get an idea like that? They are monsters. They can be killed by slicing them up with a sword like any other creature. Garlic won't do anything but make your breath smell bad. And a stake through the heart would kill just about anyone."

"Oh. OK. That makes sense. Sorry, just something I had heard once."

"Well, whoever told you that was a fool. Just kill it like you would any other monster."

"Looks like we do have one more trip to make to the market in the morning. I saw a magic shop on the way here. I bet they would have some spells we can look into. I gotta ask though, Oscar, is this how all quests go? We are still a little new to the adventuring life."

"Pretty much. You go to a town, sign up with their guild, you go look at the boards, and then you pick one that tickles your fancy. Once you have decided, you can ask others for help with information about the quest, and then you gear up for any special circumstances you might encounter, and set out to where ever the quest has you going. Once you finish the requirements you will come back with proof and get your reward. Most adventurers stay in an area where they find a good number of quests in for quite a while building a reputation. That allows them to take better quests from the board. Once their reputation outgrows the area they are in, they can move on to other areas or might get recruited by guilds in really big cities."

"Does that mean the adventurer's guild has the power to just give out XP?"

"No, not exactly. They are given that to assign to quests, but it comes from the town. Town management is a whole other discussion, but suffice it to say, when you are in a territory and gain control over it you end up creating a settlement. Settlements have special properties that allow you to assign XP as rewards for quests done for the settlement. The settlement gains a certain number of XP to give out every so often and those are pooled together to be given out for quests. Either the territory owner can create them, or they can open up the option for others to be allowed to create the quests."

"Who sets the XP rewards? The quest giver?"

"Yes and no. They are allowed to give a certain number of points within a range. Depending on the job the person might set it to max or they might set it lower and then if the adventurer does a really great job they can get bonus XP."

This was all really fascinating, but it definitely sounded like there was a lot being left out. I now had about a hundred more questions that would likely each spawn more questions, leading down a rabbit hole we just didn't have time to follow. Maybe someday I would get the chance to explore some town-building aspects of this world, but for now, I needed to focus on what was in front of us.

We finished our drinks and thanked both Oscar for his help and Patsy for setting us up with Oscar. I had a lot of questions about dungeons now but thought it best not to ask them to Oscar or in front of Patsy so they don't learn about me being new here or ask questions about me that I wasn't prepared to answer. The last thing I needed right now was looking even more like some kind of idiot who knew nothing at all and was about to run into a dungeon than I already had when I put my foot in my mouth with that garlic and wooden stake comment about the vampire. Al'Doran could probably fill me in later anyways. We went to our room and got ready to sleep for the night.

"Tristan, can you think of any other spells that might be helpful for the dungeon?"

"Maybe. But it would be best to see what the magic shop has. Sometimes those kinds of shops have lots of spells, and sometimes they have only a few. Best not to get our hopes up for specific spells before we know what they have."

"That makes sense. But still, is there an AOE spell that we could use in the air?"

Tristan thought for a few minutes. I was about to check to see if he had fallen asleep when he finally replied.

"None from the death school of magic. I can get Banshee Scream though, which is a loud sound spell that also does damage. It's AOE, but not super high damage. There is Wind Blast. If we can find that one it would be really helpful. Both are a shot in the dark though if they don't have the right scrolls."

"Great. At least we have something to ask about. For now, though let's get rest. We can hit up the store in the morning to see what they have."

"Good night Callan."

"Night Tristan. Sleep well."