Zap took his word seriously.

  He had sworn with his life that he would protect the paladin, and that was what he would do.

  Even if he had to do it from the shadows.

  It was a shame the boy had seen through his disguise, but it was for the best.

  He needed to find his own way, and his interference would have only hurt that process.

  A figure stepped out from between two buildings and approached him.

  It was night, and Zap had found a nice dark place to stand, well away from the gas lamps that ran the length of the street.

  Of course, being born a troll meant he could see in near total darkness, providing his surroundings had stored enough heat. It wasn’t necessarily always the case in a dungeon, but in the city, it posed no problem.

  His visitor’s body radiated with heat as he attempted to sneak through the bushes nearby.

  To be fair, the rogue was pretty good. He couldn’t actually hear him moving at all, but his stealth skill wasn’t at a high enough level that it would reduce his heat signature while moving.

  Zap waited for the man to get within ten feet of him before calling out.

  “What did you find out, Hatchet?”

  “It was Gold Talon. I verified he’d been asking around about the girl.”

  “Where is he?” Zap snarled.

  “Gone. Most likely dead.”

  Zap ground his teeth together, but kept his composure. There would be time to let his anger out later.

  “Who gave him the job?”

  The man said nothing for a moment, and Zap turned toward the bush impatiently.

  “A noble house,” the voice hurriedly answered.

  More nobles, he thought sourly.

  “Which one?” he growled.

  There was another pause.

  “Sturdevant.”

  Tired of the game, Zap reached into the bush and hauled the rogue out by the back of his armor.

  “How sure are you that the Sturdevants did this?” he ground out.

  Hatchet hung in the air in front of him, keeping his hands away from his weapons and in plain sight.

  “I verified the Sturdivant’s majordomo met with Gold Talon.”

  “Hurmph,” Zap grunted, placing the man on the ground.

  “I need more. Drag Talon’s party back to the Guild. I’m sure they have a party stone. So, they should either know where he was and when, or will know when he turned off his location.”

  Hatchet nodded.

  “It might take some time to find them. Word is, they headed to the Tir for some downtime.”

  Zap grunted.

  “See to it. I’ll have a chat with the Sturdevant’s man.”

  Zap turned and stalked towards the High District.

  He would get his answers. It was time the Quality understood that there were monsters about.

  ***

  The party sat in the back room of The Breadbasket. A tavern that was known for their high-quality bread, whether in loaf or liquid form.

  Forge stared at the ale in front of him and took a tentative sip.

  It had almost a sweet quality to it and was remarkably less cloudy than the ales they served back in Barda.

  He felt the weight of the liquid hit his stomach and grinned over at Falcon.

  “This is practically a meal. Though, remind me to tell you about the wine I received from a goblin. It was incredible, and I think it’s spoiled me for all other forms of drink.”

  Grinning back, she took a long pull from her mug and set it back on the table, then reached over to the cheese and meat board, moving a few pieces of dried sausage and cheese over to her plate.

  “While I’m sure it was delicious, we’ll have to see how it compares to what the elves in the Tir make.”

  Gideon made a face.

  “Elven wine is too sweet. I swear they add more fruit than grapes to their barrels.”

  The ranger shook her head.

  “That’s just the dessert wines they sell to outsiders. Real Elven wine coats a glass like nothing you’ve ever seen, and still tastes both complex and refreshing.”

  The pair bickered good naturedly about the quality of different Elven vintages until Lioness arrived and tossed a token onto the table.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Gideon picked up the coin and examined it while the cleric closed and secured the door.

  “Come on out, Cinder,” Forge said.

  The dragon appeared on the table and immediately grabbed a slice of sausage before moving to a chair, then made a reaching motion towards the platter of cheese.

  Like she was preparing food for a toddler, Falcon stood up and made a small plate of the different dried meats, cheeses, and fruits that were on offer.

  “Thank you,” he sent, immediately trying a bit of everything.

  Falcon laughed and took a bite of a fig, before turning her attention to the coin that Gideon held.

  “So that’ll allow us to use a Guild magic circle and bind the party stone?”

  “That’s right,” Lioness agreed as she fixed her own plate.

  Forge summoned his notebook and pen and began writing.

  “Well, we did all promise to discuss things before we spend our points. As our first bit of business, I would like to use some of my points to open my third mana-gate,” Forge said.

  “Spending fifteen points in one go. I can’t even imagine that,” Lioness said.

  Gideon laughed.

  “Think of it as 7 and a half. Still high, but will benefit two party members.”

  She laughed.

  “I’m not complaining, just amazed…and very interested to see what you two get.”

  Giving a wink to Cinder, Forge opened his System screen and spent the fifteen points.

  He felt the rush of power hit him, more powerful than before, but the effect slowly dissipated.

  He checked his log, then his Spellbook.

  System Message: New Spell Gained!

  Summon Fire Elemental: Summon a small Fire Elemental for 1 minute.

  He opened his eyes, but Cinder was the focus of everyone’s attention.

  He turned to the dragon and realized he’d gone through a physical change.

  While still about the size of a cat, his red scales gleamed with an incandescent light.

  Falcon reached out and touched his scales with a finger, then tapped them.

  “It’s a magical effect. I can feel my finger slowing down as it nears him.”

  Cinder grinned, and Forge could see his once ivory teeth now shone like polished steel.

  “Wow, Cinder. You look like you could bite through a wooden plank. I bet that bear from the forest would have run for his life if you growled at him now,” Forge said.

  Cinder preened under the attention and turned back to him.

  “You get?”

  “Oh yeah, I can summon a fire elemental now.”

  The party turned and stared.

  “You can summon?” Gideon asked incredulously.

  Falcon held out a hand.

  “Wait, how does that work? I’ve seen summoners. They have to bind spirits into phylacteries, and they only do a specific job before they disappear, or the sun comes up.”

  “Uh…” Forge said, checking his Spellbook again.

  “It says nothing about binding or a phylactery. It just says I can summon a small one for a minute.”

  Gideon grinned.

  “Well, summon one then. I want to see it.”

  Curious himself, Forge cast the spell, and a three-foot tall being of flame appeared above the table in front of them.

  Cinder waved at the spirit, and the spirit waved back.

  The table was quiet as the fire elemental flew in lazy circles around them.

  Forge could see a counter in the corner of his vision, but wanted to see if he could dismiss the spirit.

  The creature waved one final time at Cinder, then faded out of sight.

  “Hypros’s Pride!” Lioness exclaimed.

  Forge grinned at the group.

  “And that was only at Tier One. When I raise the Tier, it’ll be more powerful.”

  “It’s like having an extra party member,” Falcon laughed.

  “The cheese melted!” Gideon shouted.

  Everyone at the table laughed, though Cinder shared a sad look with the swordsman.

  “Miss cheese,” he sent.

  Retrieving two gold coins, Forge handed them to the dragon and scratched his head.

  Cinder busied himself with eating the coins, and the table turned serious about what they would do next.

  “I still think all of you should spend the five points to open your first mana-gate,” Forge said.

  “Well, not me. I only have 13 points, and I need to pick my general class, and take the Agility and Endurance skill,” Gideon said.

  He used a slice of sausage to scoop up the melted cheese and popped it into his mouth.

  “Never mind. This is better,” he said, pointing down at what remained of the cheese.

  “Falcon already has her class, she can open a mana-gate,” Lioness said, eyes focused on her screen.

  The ranger considered it and finally nodded.

  “Alright. There’s no downside. I guess I’m just afraid to see that I don’t have magic.”

  The entire table murmured their agreement. They were all young, so the benefit of living longer wasn’t as big of a draw, but it was only because of the timing and not the desire.

  Her eyes unfocused and Forge saw the ranger shudder with the rush that comes from opening a mana-gate.

  “Whoa, that was something. I…” her words cut off and she breathed out excitedly.

  “I got offered the Druidic Path!” she screamed.

  Everyone stood up to congratulate her, then sat back down.

  “I’ll be honest. I have no idea what a Druid can do,” Forge said.

  Lioness let out a breath.

  “Oh, thank Hypros. I didn’t want to be the one to say it. I don’t either.”

  Lioness and Forge looked to Gideon.

  “What? I’ve been around. Druid’s are nature casters. Control plants, move earth, that sort of thing,” he said.

  Gideon leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

  “You know, I just realized that our party is now two casters, a healer, a dragon, and me.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” Lioness asked.

  He shot her a grin.

  “No. Not at all. I just feel like everyone else is special, and I’m the dud of the party.”

  “Cook!” Cinder sent.

  Forge nodded seriously.

  “Cinder and I think you’re the most important member of the party. After all, we spent days in a dungeon and forest with the absolute worst food.”

  Gideon laughed.

  “Fair enough. At least I’ll be useful.”

  “You should open your gate as well and hold off on one of your attribute points. That way, you can bind your ring and see if it does anything worthwhile,” Forge said.

  Gideon scrunched up his nose and then laughed.

  “You know? Why not?”

  His eyes went distant as he worked on his System screen.

  “I’ve taken the Cook Class and…whoa!”

  Like Falcon before, the burst of energy shocked him when his mana-gate opened.

  His jaw dropped.

  “I’ve been offered the Path of the Somatic Mage!” he shouted.

  “The odds of that happening…” Falcon started, but she stopped as she saw Lioness’s eyes go distant.

  The cleric’s body shook for a moment as her own mana-gate awakened.

  Her eyes opened.

  “Enchanter Class.”

  Falcon turned to Forge.

  “Did you know this would happen? Is that why you wanted us to open our gates?”

  Forge held his hands up in surrender.

  “I had no idea. I mean, what are the odds of this happening?”

  “Astronomical,” Lioness said.

  “It is you. I mean, not you directly. But remember what Zap said. You’re a focal point. Just being around you was enough to…do whatever had to happen to give us magic,” Falcon said.

  Lioness turned to the grinning swordsman.

  “And no, we will not be hiring Forge out to wealthy nobles, to see if his presence awakens the Paths of rich morons.”

  Gideon turned to the cleric with a hurt expression.

  “I would have never even thought about doing something like that.”

  He grinned widely.

  “So, I’m glad you did! We could legitimately make a fortune!”

  She scowled at him, and he sank back down in his chair.

  “Though keep in mind, this brings us to another issue. Spells aren’t free. Falcon and I will need spell scrolls, and you’ll need expensive crafting ingredients and enchantment recipes,” Gideon said.

  Lioness laughed.

  “A good problem to have, in my opinion. Besides, I’m still the only one with a class that can make us some money outside of jobs or dungeons.”

  She stopped and stared at Forge.

  “We all received magic suited to us. I think it really is because we’re around you. It’s like the System thinks you’re so important that it’s trying to make us strong enough to support you.”

  “That’s actually terrifying,” Falcon said.

  Gideon stood and leaned out over the table.

  “All of us joined the Guild to be heroes. But now, we have the opportunity to become something greater.”

  “Superheroes?” Falcon asked.

  “What? No! Way bigger than whatever that is. Song-worthy heroes!”

  Falcon laughed, and Cinder just watched him with wide eyes.

  “Imagine. Every tavern, bar, and restaurant, with people singing about our amazing deeds!”

  He rubbed his hands together.

  “Oh, this will absolutely kill my family,” he cackled.

  “First, we need to do some heroic deeds, which brings me to the next order of business,” Forge said.

  “We need to take another job.”