(Dyn)

  “Wele, initiates.” K’hab’s voice was deep and anding as he bowed his head to the left, his movements slow but deliberate.

  “And Tome & Key,” he said, bowing his head to his right with a sharp, respectful nod.

  He paused, looking over the team with narrowed eyes. “Where’s Dorian?”

  Ru answered him, “He requested to sit this o in order to spend more time helping his brother train.”

  K’hab’s jaw tightened. “I see.”

  “Athrax has volunteered to take his pce,” Ru said.

  Athrax stepped forward and thumped his chest with his fist—a military salute. He quickly stepped bato line, but his posture remairaight and attehe okamijin stood out with his two ed, cyberic arms. Dyn wondered if it was an ability, or armor, or some advanced prosthetics. He also had a solid tan coat, though the gray along the edges of his ears and snout betrayed his age.

  Ru was the only female on Tome & Key. An emerald-scaled drai appeared behind the group, standing a head taller than all of them. A striking crest sat on his head with jagged ridges and horns arg backwards, giving off a anding presence. His bright yellow eyes surveyed the potential guild members. He had broad shoulders and a V-shaped torso.

  Two elves fnked Ru . One wore a soft tunid well-worn but perfectly fitting pants. His hair was a tousled blend of seafoam blue and sunlit gold, falling in loose waves. He had simir eyes to Nathan, but more cerulean, with shimmering flecks of silver. His gaze was warm and id-back, lifting his at Dyn to aowledge him.

  The other elf was a stark trast to the first, with angur features, high cheekbones, a finely cut jaw, and deep-set eyes. His hair, a striking shade of deep violet streaked with copper, was immacutely groomed, falling in straight yers just past his shoulder. His eyes were an intense shade of jade, flecked with gold. The intense elf wore a dark suit with silver accessories that gave him an effortlessly regal and refined look.

  K’hab resumed his briefing. “Your trial will st for two weeks. During this time, Wedge will evaluate you based on what you do and, just as importantly, what you don’t do.” He folded his hands behind his back.

  “Nightshade sends you out with little more than a on, some armor, and your wits. That st part is what will make the difference… trary to popur belief, abilities are not what make someone an adventurer. Being an advearts up here.” He tapped a cwed finger against his temple.

  “This trial is to prove to yourself that you have what it takes to be an adventurer. Some of you may already have abilities.” He looked directly at Dyn. “It’s important for you to use them as the tools they are, but uand they aren’t a substitute for using your wits and your mind to overe challenges.”

  “We are Nightshade, Guild of the Are. Our motto is: ‘Knowledge, to seek and protect.’ But what does that mean?” He paused, pag bad forth to give them time to pohe answer.

  “The answer is simple. We learn,” K’hab said, his voice carrying a quiet fidence.

  “Where, what, when, how, and—most importantly—why, are the best tools you have. Abilities and magic alone aren’t power; knowledge gives them power, and it remains powerful even in their absence.”

  “Gathering knowledge is a noble goal, but dangerous and even reckless if shared withard to cause and effect. You don’t give a child fire and expect them not to get burned. So we learn and then we protect what we’ve learned from others. When we ask the os to share her secrets with us, they don’t bee our secrets to share with others.

  “But we also have a responsibility to use that knowledge to help others. Learning for the sake of learning alone has no value until ly what we’ve learned.” The guildmaster handed Ru a sealed envelope.

  “Team Tome & Key, this is your quest, and these initiates have signed up to support you.” He motiooward Dyn’s group.

  To the initiates, K’hab said, “Please assist Tome & Key, follow their instrus, learhing you , and tell no oside of this group the details of your quest.”

  A loud air horn sounded from up high.

  “It appears your transport has arrived,” K’hab said with a grin.

  Everyoepped out from uhe tent to look up as a floating ship, straight out of a Disney movie, came into sight. It approached from behind the guildhall, its sails rippling in the wind. Three masts held rows of billowing sails, creakily as they magically kept the wooden airship suspended in the sky.

  Fasated, Dyn watched as the airship slowly lowered itself until it hovered two stories above the ground. “I wonder where it’s going to nd?”

  Thick ropes rained down from the sides of the ship. Several es hung over the railing, anch the ropes. Wedge and members of Tome & Key started seg them to the pre-loaded pallets.

  Dyn watched along with the other initiates as the guild members showed them what effit teamwork looked like. One person gathered the s together, anrabbed a free rope, threading it through the hole and tying off the knot. They signaled for a ship crew member to haul it up. One person stayed to monitor the load as it went up and the other moved on to help the eam member.

  They loaded the supplies and gear in no time. A rope dder dropped from the ship and the twins were arguing about who should go first. W’itney said they were the eldest and it should be them. Eury walked past the bickering duo and started climbing up herself.

  Dyn walked over to Wedge. “Where’s it going to nd?”

  “You do not want it to nd,” Wedge said, pulling the st knot taught. “If the airship nds, that means something has gone very wrong.”

  Dyn watched as Tome & Key boarded the ship. A shimmering wooden door materialized in front of a rexed-looking elf. He ope, and a sed door appeared, floating just above the ship’s railing. He casually stepped through the ground-level door and disappeared. Then he reappeared as he exited the floating door above the ship.

  Ru transformed into a puff of smoke, which made its slow, meandering to the ship, where she reformed into her okamijin form.

  Athrax bent low, the ground cratering underh him. He leaped high into the air. His arc crested just above the railing for a precision nding.

  The drai took to the sky and flew just like superman, one arm out and everything.

  “It’s even cooler in real life.” Dyn watched, his jae.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance as gray clouds rapidly swelled overhead. The sudden darkness felt jarring, out of p such a sunny day. Dyn gasped as a bolt of lightning struck the st elf, and he vanished in an instant.

  “Holy shit… Did he just get obliterated?” Dyn ducked, gng warily at the angry sky. The other initiates didn’t seem bothered.

  The clouds cleared just as fast as they appeared. Dyn couldn’t help but look up to see what was going on. The elf who’d been struck by lightning gave a casual wave from behind the ship’s railing.

  “How am I supposed to get up there?” Dyn asked Wedge.

  Wedge poio the rope dder.

  Dyn stared up at the dder. The two stories appeared higher and higher as he tio look. Wedge wasn’t waiting and walked past Dyn to take hold of the dder, making his o. The lithkai was much heavier than Dyn; it gave him peaind that the dder would hold him without a problem.

  Only two of them remained on the ground, and Guildmaster K’hab wasn’t going on the quest. Dyn realized he was holding up the trip and hurried toward the dder. He took a tentative hold and pulled himself up a rung.

  He flexed his hands, pumping himself up. “It’s not that bad. I do this.” He climbed up halfway before notig the sway of the dder. The only thing worse than stopping like he did would have been to look down.

  He tried to give himself a pep talk as the dder swayed bad forth. “Catch your breath, keep climbing, and whatever you do, don’t look down.”

  Without thinking, he ed his o check his foothold to resume the climb. Vertigo hit him, and the world spun out of trol as he gnced down. He redoubled the grip on the dder, abandoning any notion of climbing. The dder swayed increasingly as his body stiffened into a weighted pendulum.

  “You are already halfway,” Wedge called down to him. The lithkai leaned over the side of the airship, waving at Dyn to tinue.

  His body was rigid, every fiber of his muscles tense. Overexertio in his arms and legs as they quivered. Fear, uainty, and doubt overwhelmed his mind. Dyn struggled tain trol of his body and his mind.

  He thought about his options. ‘If I fall, I hahe pain, and they heal me. Even if I died, that hasn’t stopped me before. The worst thing would be to do nothing.’

  Through gritted teeth, he opened his eyes, f his trembling hand to reach for the rung. Slowly, he rose higher and higher, tinuing to take them o a time. Wedge stood there, bent over the rail. A rge, stony hand reached toward Dyn and patiently waited for him.

  Fear hadn’t left. Uainty still had its grip on him, and his doubts abounded. But he just focused on climbing at a time. He didn’t dare to reach out for Wedge’s hand—too many movies taught him that was a bad idea.

  When he was close enough, Wedge reached down over Dyn’s back to grab hold of his belt and hoisted him up and over the rail as if he were a small child. He didn’t think it ossible to be even more impressed with Charles’ pants. However, the loops holding his belt withstood his entire weight beied around. They truly were the best pants Dyn had ever owned.

  He sat there with his back against the rail. His heart hammered in his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Thanks.” Dyn gave Wedge a shaky smile.

  The big guy shook his head and took off toward Tome & Key. Dyn sat there and waved toward Eury, W’itney, and Hay’len, who had gathered together. Eury looked away, while W’itney leaned on Hay’len, pointing and ughing at Dyn. Hay’len gave him a sympathetic look.

  Ru’s silhouette shaded Dyn as she loomed over him. “I see the runt is finally aboard.”

  Dyn blinked, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. The entire crew were skeletons wearing hats.

  Specifically, they were drai skeletons with elongated skulls and tail bohat swayed as they walked. He guessed this was an airship crewed entirely by mprians.

  “Heh, a skeleton crew,” he chuckled to himself.

  “The Everafter awaits your orders, ma’am,” the mprian with a bck tri hat said to Ru.

  “First Mate Echo.” Ru aowledged the mprian. “First, crew introdus, the sail, and prepare the Captain’s Quarters for a private meeting y minutes after departure.”

  “Right away, ma’am,” he said with a nod of his skull.

  The first mate took off to gather the crew ahem top deeet their passengers. Skeletons appeared from all over the ship; through doorways, down the sails, and some even came up through hatches to line up along the deck.

  Dyn got to his feet and stood o Wedge and the initiates while the crew assembled. Other than a few minor size differehe crew looked almost identical. It was a good thing they were all wearing hats or Dyn wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

  Ru was sulting with her team when a mprian with a bck tri hat appeared on the floor above them. A crimsoher stuck out from the side of this hat. The gathered crew hushed and stood at attention in the presence of the crimsohered mprian.

  She introduced herself. “I am Captain Echo and it’s my pleasure to wele Nightshade aboard the Everafter.”

  The captain walked dowairs to their level as she tinued, “Feel free to speak with First Mate Echo if you have questions or s during this expedition.”

  She motiooward the mprian standio Ru. He was also wearing a bck tri hat, but without any adors.

  “My officers Navigator Echo and Engineer Echo,” she said, pointing.

  Navigator wore a blue tri hat, and the engineer wore a green tri hat; they both stood o First Mate Echo.

  “Pilot Echo is at the helm of the bridge. Please pardon her absence as she tio keep us aloft.”

  There were three mprians wearing blue bandanas and five more wearing bck bandanas standing at attention as she approached them. “The balst crew is our blue team, and the deck crew is our bck team. Unless it’s an emergency, let them go about their important duties of maintaining the ship.”

  Captain Echo looked up and poio someone in the crow’s , just above the highest sail. “Up there is Spotter Echo. He’s mostly heard and rarely seen. If you hear him shouting, be sure to listen.”

  Three more mprians gathered together to form the st of the crew. “Meic Echo, with the green skullcap, keeps the ship running. If you see her running, get out of the way and do exactly as she says.

  “Cook Echo, in the white skullcap, prevents mutinies. Seriously, his titanfruit pie is a gift from the Mother.

  “And Medic Echo, in the red skullcap, will be as useful as tits on a drai, as long as renowned mender Ru is aboard. Perhaps Cook Echo could use some help peeling titanfruit?”

  The crew chuckled at the captain’s joke. She o her first mate aurned up the stairs toward the bridge.

  First Mate Echo stepped forward, shouting rapid fire ands. The crew came alive and scattered in all dires. Captain Echo led the officers to the bridge while leaving the scuttle work to the blue and bck teams.

  Dyn hadn’t realized how much work went into flying an airship. He turo lean against the railing, peering out at Dartmouth from his new vantage point. In just a few moments, his first adventure would begin.