Author Note: Best read while listening to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0c-Wvb ... gw&index=8

Thanks for reading!
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The light shined bright, I couldn't help but step forward. As I passed through the light, I found myself walking into a new room. The floor rippled with waves of blue and white light, the white walls rose high to a black ceiling. In the middle of the ceiling, a single bright orb lit the room. I looked forward to see a lady clad in a white dress sitting upon a decorated throne.

"Welcome, traveler to my realm" The lady spoke. "I am Y'salia, the goddess of this realm. I have been tasked to guide you to your new world. My world. Come, step forward."

As I walked forward, I couldn't help but notice just how beautiful she was. I was only a few yards away when she pulled out a deck of cards from behind her.

"Before I send you to your new home, it is customary that I bestow upon you a gift. In my hands are a deck of cards with talents, attributes, magic equipment, and more. You will select one card at random and that shall be your sacred gift." Y'salia then spread the cards with her hand, "Go on, choose. What doe fate have in store for you?"

I reached forward and drew a card. Y'salia snatched the card clean from my hand an examined it.

"You have drawn an interesting card...you drew the card of the Argonaut."

"What does that mean?" I inquired.

Her sharp gaze switched from the card to me. "It means that you will be gifted with both might and magic. You will be driven by the desire to be a hero. Perhaps you were even driven by them before?"

"What did you mean by being gifted with might and magic?"

Y'sallia smiled, "Just as it sounds. You will have a natural proficiency for handling both weapons and magic. However, you still will need to learn and train in both." Her smile began to fade, "Exterria is a dangerous place, I advise you be cautious if you want to live. Now, when you wake up, there will be a bag with some basic equipment beside you. Oh, and don't worry about communicating with the locales, you will be given knowledge of the common tongue. Farewell, Amphorus."
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Suddenly everything went white and Amphorus rush forward. He looked around to see he was in a forest with lush green trees. There was a gentle breeze that blew through the woods. Amphorus looked up, he could see the blue sky through the swaying of the trees. His gaze went downward onto a bag that was next to him. Inside was a map, spark rocks, a waterskin that was full, and some cloth. Beside it was a short iron sword in it's sheathe.

Amphorus picked up the bag and slung it on his back, then he picked up the sword and fastened it to his belt. "Now..Where the hell am I?" Amphorus walked forward through the forest for what felt like an hour. As he pushed through a bush, Amphorus finally found a clearing. He suddenly found himself atop a hill looking out onto a set of flatlands, The were mountains rolling in the distance and a town that sat not to far in the middle of a massive field.

This was the beginning of Amphorus's Journey, my journey......

Darkness was all I could see. It seemed to go on forever with nothing to stop it from swallowing me whole. All of a sudden there was a small spec of light in the distance and it slowly crept closer. Getting larger and larger the longer I looked until it was right upon me. So bright was the light that I felt I had to shield my eyes to keep from going blind. As my eyes adjusted I began to walk subconsciously into the light. As I entered the light I found myself walking into a new room. A bright orb in the distance shone with a kind of benevolence. The first thing I noticed was the black ceiling followed by the floor which basked in a blue and white light of its own. I looked forward to see a beautiful woman clad in a pure white dress seated at a throne in the middle of the room.

"Welcome, traveler to my realm" The lady spoke. "I am Y'salia, the goddess of this realm. I have been tasked to guide you to your new world. My world. Come, step forward."

I hesitated for but a moment before following the lady's words. I could see her playing with what seemed like a deck of cards. With a curious furrow of my brow I took a couple more steps forward before she motioned for me to stop.

"Before I send you to your new home, it is customary that I bestow upon you a gift. In my hands are a deck of cards with talents, attributes, magic equipment, and more. You will select one card at random and that shall be your sacred gift." Y'salia then spread the cards with her hand, "Go on, choose. What doe fate have in store for you?"

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not the only one you've said this to?" I said with a smirk. With a look of knowing on her face she insisted with her eyes that I draw a card.

As i reach out to draw a card she quickly snatches it from my hand before i can even see what fate has set for me. She looks up in disbelief.

"This deck is supposed to be enchanted so one can only draw one card but you ended up with two. Even more peculiar one of the cards is upside down which is also not supposed to happen." She spread what had looked like one card into two and looked at them both very closely.

"Damn dragon hunters always mess everything up." She said under her breath. If the room hadn't been completely silent other then the sound of her voice and Tiberius's light breathing he may have missed it. As he was about to ask what she meant she continued speaking.

"Your natural card is that of the Knight. Protector of the weak and banisher of injustice. This is normally a very forthright card but you also pulled another card which worries me. But the strings of fate are tied and I have to give you what you pulled."

She waved her hand and a symbol was written in the air above her. What started as words flew through the air and headed straight for my hand. Before I could even blink they formed a tattoo on my left hand. It was a black tattoo which had the appearance of an arrowhead detached from its shaft.

"When the time comes Agvarr will call and you must answer." She said in way of explanation as if it explained everything and then she continued with her speech.

"Exterria is a dangerous place, I advise you be cautious if you want to live. Now, when you wake up, there will be a bag with some basic equipment beside you. Oh, and don't worry about communicating with the locales, you will be given knowledge of the common tongue. Farewell, Tiberius Adavahr."

Before I could ask any questions to understand a bit more about my new situation she waved her hand and the next thing I knew I landed butt first in a freezing cold stream of water. Ok, It wasn't as cold as I initially thought but the surprise of the quick change of environment made my senses crank to eleven. I looked around to surmise a better idea of my surroundings. I was apparently deep in some kind of forest with bright sunlight shining through the canopy overhead. I stood up from my unintentional bath and breathed a disappointing sigh.

"Well, ... At least this situation is something I can deal with." I said aloud to nobody in particular. I walked out of the stream and attempted to dry myself off as best I could. I saw the pack she was talking about out of the corner of my eye and walked over to it. At least it didn't take a dip with me I thought to myself as I reach for the pack. Inside I found map, spark rocks, a waterskin that was full, and some light leather armor. Beside it was a short iron sword in it's sheathe. I quickly put on the armor and strapped the sword to my waist. I pulled out the map and got a good look at it so i could find my way around. It didn't take long to figure out where I would be attempting to go but it did take a decent amount of time to find some kind of landmark to know where I was. Once both were found I spent the next two hours making my way out of the forest and towards the nearest town on the map.

The sun was still high, so it was sometime around midday when I finally approached the outskirts of the village. It was larger than I originally thought. As I walked down the road into the town, I could hear the laughter of children playing, the chatter of neighbors, and the sounds of a busy market in the distance. No one seemed to pay much mind to me. "They must be used to having travelers here." I murmured to myself.

Suddenly, I heard a deep voice yelling in my direction, "Oy! You there! Wait up!"

I turned around to see what the commotion was about only to find a large middle-aged man with spiky brown hair approaching me. He wore a sleeveless tunic with long brown pants, there were multiple scars across his arms that indicated he had seen a fight or two. His eyes were aged but looked fierce. "I haven't seen you in the parts before, what's your job class?" inquired the man.

A puzzled look came across my face. "My job class?", I asked in a confused voice.

"yes your job class, your an adventurer aren't ya? That's why you have the seal on your shirt."

"A seal??", I thought to myself. I looked down and sure enough there was a red seal pinned to my tunic. "How did I not notice that!?"

The man's gaze was still locked onto me, "Look, there is an Adventurer's Guild in the center of town. Why don't you go there and figure yourself out. It's better you do that than look like a lost pup out here." Before I could even thank him, the man walked off.

"Alrighty, looks like I should go check this guild out." I said to myself. Thus, I continued my walk to find the guild hall.

Thankfully the goddess gave me a map but I couldn't help but notice she had neglected to give me any gold, or whatever currency this world used. Hmm gold must have been what I used from where I came from if it was the first currency that came to mind. Now that I think on it I have no idea who I am or where I came from. I remember basics and thanks to the goddess I know my name. I also feel a strange sense of pride when I say my last name, as if it meant something ... more.

As I thought on this I began exiting the thick of the woods. I could now see a large clearing which thanks to the map indicated I was going the correct way. If this is correct ... I looked up from the map to see a decent sized city in the distance. It was directly surrounded by flatland which made it easy to see. After about a mile of flatland in each direction the forest started again and slowly got thicker the further it went in. The city felt like it had natural forest walls outside its own defenses. I headed in towards the center of the city.

As I entered the town I got a good look around at the people. There were people of every race and class. From artificers to what looked like warriors. Mages with pointy hats and full armored knights. As I was people watching to try to figure out the cities status quo I stumbled upon what looked like an inn. I was about to attempt to go inside when I remembered I had no currency. I looked at the building and back at the people walking around the town. I had to figure out how to make some gold or I was going to be sleeping outside. As I was thinking a small woman walked up behind me without me noticing and immediately read my situation.

"If its gold you seek you're looking for the adventurer's guild. Its in the center of town."

I whipped around quickly to see a youngish looking elf girl. Skinny in nature and apparently very nimble. She had a small dagger on her waist and I could somehow tell that wasn't her only weapon, just the one she wore for people to see. I immediately could tell she was a rogue which made me instinctively move in to defend my gold pouch which I didn't even have. I corrected my behavior as quickly as I could and looked her right in the eyes. She had a beautiful set of red eyes with bright red hair to compliment them. She smiled at me as if she knew what I had almost attempted but it wasn't necessary. I could tell from one look in her eyes she had no intention of stealing from me. She was just trying to help.

The only word that escaped my lips was "Huh?"

She pointed to my shoulder at a seal I didn't notice before and spoke. "That's the seal of the adventurer's guild. It's a place in the center of town where you can get quests to complete for gold and experience." She smiled a large smile and pointed towards the center of town. "It's that way."

I looked towards the direction she pointed then back to her. I bowed a quick bow and spoke. "Thanks I'll get right on that. I'm Tiberius Adavahr, I'm kinda new here and I appreciate the help."

She looked at me as if she knew something I didn't and smiled again. "I'm Arya and it's a pleasure to meet you! You better hurry though if you want to receive and complete a quest before night time." I hadn't even thought of that. I bowed again in thanks then quickly headed off towards the direction she suggested.

It didn't take long to reach a rather rowdy town center. This seemed to be a popular place for the more adventures type. There was a building which clearly stood out among all the others with tons of activity going in and out. I figured I should take Arya's advice and get this done before night began to descend. And so, I headed into the guild hall.

The guild hall stood tall in the center of this bustling town. Even with all the traffic on the road behind me, I could hear the loud voices echoing from the hall. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I may not know anything of this world, but this is probably the best way to find out what's going on", I thought in an attempt to reassure myself.

I pushed open the large wooden doors to find myself looking at dozens of adventurers of different races and sizes. They were gathered around wooden tables, cheerfully talking and drinking. The hall itself was long and wide with columns standing along a walkway down the center of the room.

"Hello there, welcome to the adventurer's guild!" Announced cheerful voice. I turned to see that the voice that had greeted me was a short women was approaching me. She wore a red dress with a silver adornment. Her blue eyes were absolutely captivating. Then I noticed that she had long rabbit like ears sticking out from her silver hair.

"I see you are new here, I'm Lilia. I'm the attendant for this guild hall." she said with a smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Amphorus", I quickly replied while giving a slight bow.

She immediately let out a chuckle at the sight, "I'm sorry, I can't say that I'm used to an adventurer trying to use manners. Either your a rare breed or you just haven't been broken in yet." She said with a smile. "So, what job class are you currently working as?"

I hesitated for a moment, "I don't know. All I know is that I have this seal and some big guy told me to come here." I then showed her the seal that was on my tunic. Her smile suddenly faded and she looked more puzzled than anything.

"That's strange, the seal you have isn't the current guild seal." She stepped closer to get a better look at it. "I've seen drawings of these seals and read about them in text. Your seal resembles an ancient seal that was believed to be past out by the gods to their champions." Lilia paused for a moment, "But that is a conversation for later. You said you don't know what your class is?"

I nodded in response.

"Follow me then." We walked off to the side where the receptionist counter was. On the counter was a Glowing blue orb that was supported by a pedestal. As we got closer to it, I could feel something coming from it.

"This is a device we use to assess an adventurer's qualities or stats as we put it." Lilia reached out to me, "Give me your hand."
Lilia was quick to grab my hand as I extended it. She then placed my hand flat on the orb. At that moment, I realized a few of the other adventurers were watching. The orb began to glow as Lilia placed a flat sheet of paper on the other side of the orb.

"Alright, you can have your hand back," She exclaimed as she released my hand. "Now, lets have a look at your stats!" She took the paper and read over it. "You're under average in charisma and your constitution is a little less than average." Lilia continued to read. "You have average luck and good very good endurance." She looked up just to give me a quick wink. I couldn't help but blush a little. She looked back at the paper, but this time her smile faded. "You have good strength that is slightly above average, I would think you would be built to be a warrior. But Your Intelligence and Spirit are way above average. On top of that, your agility is way above average."

Lilia placed the paper on the counter where I could read it. "Your recommended class is Red Mage. You rarely see those nowadays." A few adventurers turned began to chatter at the announcement.

"What is a Red Mage?" I inquired

"In short, you could use both offensive and supporting magic. At the same time, you could where armor up to chain mail and use bladed weapons or staves."

I looked up from the paper. "Ok, so where do I begin learning how to be a Red Mage?"

"You'll need to talk to various White mages, Black mages, and Fighters around town. They can show you the basics. However, you may want to do a quest first that way you can find housing tonight and a meal." She pointed to a board on the other side of the room, "That's the mission board, you can find all sorts of quest up there including easy missions to kill slimes to difficult bounties for dangerous monsters. Go pick something out and complete it before it turns to night."

"Thank you for all your help"

Lilia gave a quick smile, "Don't mention it" She then walked away to attend to another man that had just entered.

"Well, better check out that board and get some money" I thought to myself. Thus, I walked to the board to examine the quest.

As i pushed open the large wooden doors to the guild house there was a downright jovial atmosphere in the room. everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a grand old time. Several around the bar area were eyeing me as I walked in but they seemingly quickly lost interest in the newest arrival. The hall was studded with columns which outlined the walkway leading to the center of the room.

"Hello there, welcome to the adventurer's guild!" Announced a cheerful voice. I turned to see who it was that greeted me so soon after entry. The person in question was a bunny girl ... If that wasn't different in and of itself she had a beautiful set of bright blue eyes and wore a fancy red and silver dress. She was fairly short which I wasn't sure if it was a thing she herself claimed or if all bunny girls shared the same trait. She had long silver hair and looked at me peculiarly.

"I see you're also new here, I'm Lilia. I'm the attendant for this guild hall." She said with a smile.

I quickly stood up slightly straighter, clenched my right hand into a slightly clenched fist and put my right arm to my left breast. I slightly bowed. "I'm Tiberius Adavahr and It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He reset his right arm and looked her in the eyes.

"Oh my! Two in a row, this must be my lucky day." She said with an enthusiastic expression. I just looked at her confused.

Noticing my confusion she shook her head and offered a explanation. "Manners aren't the strong suit of people around here." she said while motioning around to the patrons of the bar. One man in particular was sloshing around his cup, spilling some on a lizard man's meal. "Don't worry about it though, the person before you was also very polite." She pointed at a man standing and looking at what I could only guess was the quest board. "What job class are you working as?" she said as a form of moving along to business.

I looked at her as confused as I was a moment before. "I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to but I'm pretty handy with a blade. I haven't really been around these parts for long but a nice young woman saw the crest on my shoulder and told me I should head here." As I spoke I turned slightly sideways to show her the crest. Her smile faded and looked back to the man at the message board. She turned back to me and I could see the look of an idea beginning to form in her mind. "First I need you to come with me then I'll set you up to work with someone on a quest." Lilia said as she grabbed my and and pulled me towards the counter towards the back of the room. She lead me towards the counter where I saw a glowing blue orb supported by a pedestal. As I looked into it I felt a kind of power coming from the device. I looked up to the bunny girl and she grabbed my hand and placed it on the orb.

"This will tell us what stats we have to work with," she said as she brought out a paper and put it on the other side of the orb. She released my hand and began looking over my stats. "Lets have a look at your stats!" She said as she looked through the paper excitedly. "You're average in charisma but your constitution, endurance, agility and strength are way above average. Your spirit and intelligence are almost non-existent so I'm sorry to say magic would be very difficult and would require almost all of your mana to use." She looked almost sad as she told me that but quickly brushed it off and continued with renewed vigor. "Other then that your luck is the highest I've seen in a long time it's just too bad that doesn't have any specific effect on anything." She set down the paper on the table and looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes. She pushed the paper in my direction and spoke again. "There are several classes you could be with that skill set but it says you already started something." She pointed towards the bottom of the page and looked at me curiously. "Are you sure this is your first time coming to a guild hall?" she asked inquisitively. I looked at her in confusion. "I've never done this before but I don't really remember anything from my past." I looked at her in sincerity. She just shrugged her shoulders and I looked down at the paper. In all capital letters I read the word KNIGHT.

"Oh well for now you probably need a good place to stay and a meal but those things aren't free." She looked around and smiled when she saw the man from earlier was still looking over the board. She grabbed my hand again and dragged me over to the man and the board. "Amphorus this is Tiberius Adavahr and I think the two of you should team up for your first quest." Lilia said as she released my hand which left me standing right across from the blond haired man. I looked from her to him and back to her again. My eyes finially set on the man and I introduced myself. "Hi! You can call me Adavahr," I said as I held out my hand toward the man in an attempt to clasp arms.

"Amphorus this is Tiberius Adavahr and I think the two of you should team up for your first quest." Lilia said as she ran toward me pulling a brown haired man behind her. The man looked from her to me and back to her again, he seemed to be caught off guard by this just like me.The man turned back to me and held out my hand toward me in an attempt to clasp arms. "Hi! You can call me Adavahr."

I paused for a brief moment as I was still surprised at this random encounter. I quickly snapped out of it and reached forward to accept gesture. "I'm Amphorus, it's a pleasure to meet you Adavahr."

"Now that you to are introduced, I know just the quest you both can do!" Lilia exclaimed "One of the farmers on the edge of town has a giant rat problem. He has a 25 silver reward for anyone that can clear it up."

"Would 25 silver cover a meal and bed?" I inquired.

"Yep! And you should have a little extra as well." Lilia's gaze switched to me for a moment. "Amphorus, you haven't learned any magic yet correct?" I nodded. "Before you guys go, why don't you speak to Joof. He's a good friend of mine and he is a Black mage, I'm sure he wouldn't mind teaching you a spell real quick."

Lilia switched her gaze to Adavahr, "While he does that, you should speak to Flin. He's another friend of mine and he is a Berseker. He may have a sword skill he could teach you." Lilia took a step back and spoke to both of us, "Don't worry, you both have plenty of time left in the day to do the quest. Just remember to be careful out there. Good luck!" Lilia turned away to go back to the counter.

"What the hell just happened?" I thought to myself. I turned to Adavahr with an awkward smile, "Well, it wouldn't hurt for me to know a spell or two before we go."

I looked at Amphorus with the same awkward smile. "I can't just fight with my sword?" I looked back but Lilia was already halfway across the room. For a hostess in a fancy dress she sure moved fast. "I guess I'll go see Flin for some kind of sword skill. Want to meet back here when we're done?" I said eagerly to what was hopefully my new found companion.

From the question he asked Lilia and the duo's conversation, I could safely assume Amphorus was new here as well. His question about silver meant he also didn't know about this world's currency which meant they were seemingly in a similar position. As I turned away from Amphorus I realized I had no idea how to find Flin. She had neglected to reveal any information except for the fact that he was a friend of hers as well as a berserker. I took a good look around the guild hall and Lilia was nowhere to be found. As I searched more thoroughly I found a scruffy looking man sitting at a table nearest the door. I walked over and decided to ask him if he knew where Flin was.

"Hi friend, Is there any chance I could get you to spare a moment of your time?" I said with a friendly grin. "I'm looking for a man named Flin. Lilia said I should ask for his assistance but she may have forgotten to tell me how I should find him." The man looked up from his cup of ale and thought for a moment. "If he aint here by now he's probably around the courtyard. For a Berserker he sure like the serenity of the flower gardens." With a dismissing gesture he looked back to his drink. "Thank you sir!" I said as I turned to exit the guild hall. I had remembered seeing something befitting a flower garden on my way to the guild hall so I knew where I was supposed to be going. I wasn't entirely sure what the man was supposed to look like but I assumed I would figure out soon enough.

As I approached the area I had earlier designated the garden there was only one individual standing there tending the flowers. A large beast of a man with a similarly large great axe on his back. He was bald with a blue tattoo on his head pointing towards his front. I didn't want to judge a book by its cover but I could tell right away this was the man Lilia was talking about. I approached slowly as not to startle the man and spoke softly. "Are you Flin?"

He took a moment and finished what he was doing with the flower and turned to me. "That depends who's asking." He looked at me inquisitivly then he looked down to the crest on my shoulder then back up to my face. I wasn't sure what the crest meant but obviously he knew. Before he could push me for further information I offered what I had. "Lilia sent me to find a man called Flin. I'm new to this city and to adventuring and she thought he would be the right person to request a favor from. If you are Flin I'd like to ask you to teach me something. I know how to use a blade but Lilia said something about a sword skill?"

The man looked at me and let out a large smile. "Any friend of Lilia's is a friend of mine." He clasped me on the shoulder and shook me a bit then continued speaking. "There's plenty I could teach you but if you're just starting out I may as well show you the resounding strike. Most fighting is just blade on blade or blade on body but when things get nasty that's when skills are handy." He reached behind his back towards his belt and pulled out a short sword that I didn't even realize was there. As he unsheathed it I could tell the blade was no normal blade, it seemed to have magic infused into it. He took a few steps back and demonstrated the strike. It was a savage hit with little finesse and tons of power. He quickly explained how learning skills worked then did the skill a few more times so I could learn it. Apparently you only had to see someone do a skill a few times then you could unlock it for yourself. After about thirty minutes I was able to learn the skill and I felt more powerful already.

"Thanks for the help Flin!" I said with sincerity as I left him and headed back towards the guild hall. It didn't take long to get back but it seemed I made it back before my new blonde friend. I went to thank Lilia for helping then sat down at a table to wait for Amphorus's return.

"I guess I'll go see Flin for some kind of sword skill. Want to meet back here when we're done?" Adavahr asked. I nodded in response. Shortly after he ran off to find Flin.

"Ok, I guess I should find Joof....who the hell is Joof!?" I said to myself. All I knew about Joof was that he is a Black mage and a friend of Lilia's. on top of that, Lilia was nowhere to be seen. I glanced around the hall to see if I could find my mystery mentor. I walked up to a table where an elf had been drinking by himself.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a black mage named Joof. Would you happen to know where I could find him?"

The Elf put his drink done for a moment and turned his attention to me. "If your looking for Joof, you'll find him upstairs in his study." The Elf pointed down a hallway to the side of us, "Just go down that hallway and you'll find the stairs." The Elf then returned to his drink.

"Thank you for your help." I turned to the hallway and proceeded to follow it. It didn't take long for me to find the stairs. As I came up the stairs I could hear to voices chatting. Upon reaching the top, I found myself entering a large library. In the middle at a desk were two individuals. The first one stood no higher than my waist. Though he was short, he was no child. His grey hair was short but his beard was long. He wore a ridiculously large purple pointed hat and a purple robe that was obviously too big. The other person was tall and had fish-like features to them. They wore a long blue tunic with a brown belt and leather boots. On there back was a crude looking lance that resembled a crab's claw.

As I approached nether one payed any attention to me, it seemed they were caught up in there own conversation. "Excuse me, but would either one of you happen to be Joof?"

They both turn there gaze to me and the tall Fish-like man walked out without saying a word.
"Well, now that you scared off my company, I am Joof." Said the short man. "Why have you come to my study?" said Joof. His gaze switched between me and the sword on my belt.

"Well, Lillia sent me to find you..."

"Aha!" Joof exclaimed as he interrupted me, "I knew this day would come! I knew that damn bunny would send someone after me!" He quickly grabbed his staff off the table and jumped to the floor. "If you think you can kill me so easily then you are horribly mistaken! I, Professor Junaric A. Oof will defeat you and that cursed bunny!" yelled Joof as he pointed his staff at me while stricking an odd pose.

His exclamation had totally caught me off guard. I wasn't even able finish my sentence.
"Wait, I'm not here to fight you, I'm here to learn from you!" I quickly exclaimed.

"Oh, so you've come to learn from me? I guess that would explain why you don't have any real equipment on you, I guess seeing some one with two heads caught me off guard."

I stood there, confused by Joof's statement.

"Hmm, no matter. Allow me to introduce myself proper, I am Professor Junaric A. Oof, Black mage and local Alchemist. But everyone here just calls me Joof" He turned and walked to a chair to sit down. Upon looking around, I noticed different ingredients that had been sitting out including a half eaten mushroom of some sort. "So, what is it you wanted to learn?"

I turned turned my gaze back to him, "Well, as you can tell I am a new adventurer. Lilia recommended that I come to speak to you about learning a spell or two."

"Is that all? That's dull. Very well, I'll teach you one spell! So let me ask, Fire, Ice, or lightning?"

I took a moment to think it over, "Lightning." I replied.

Joof smiled, "Good choice, Arcane it is!"

Again, He had manage to confuse me.

"What, did you think I was just going to skip the basics and teach you how to summon Bahamut?" Said Joof. "Well, I probably would have but you don't have enough mana for that."

"I don't mean to be rude, but are you alright?" I asked

"Of course I am, please child I've only lost my sanity." Joof exclaimed with a smile. "Now then, let's get started."

Joof spent the next 10 minutes was showing me how to perform the spell Arcane Blast: A spell that shoots a small orb of arcane energy at a target. After 20 minutes of practice I finally got the move down.

"Thank you Joof for teaching me"

"Don't mention it...seriously don't mention it, I don't need Lilia knowing about me getting ready to melt your face off with fire."

I cringed at the thought.
"I'll be on my way." I slowly turned to walk out.

"Try not to die out there!", I heard Joof yell as I went down the stairs.

As I came out of the hallway, I could see Adavahr sitting at a table. "He must have finished before me" I thought to myself.

"I take it you are all set and ready." I said as I approached the table.

As I sat there waiting for Amphorus I couldn't help but want a drink. There was no way I was going to get one without money and I'm far too proud to ask for charity. I'll just have to wait until were done with the quest. I quietly wondered where we were supposed to go for the quest. Once again Lilia wasn't specific which meant they would have to ask around to find the location of the man that needed their help.

It didn't take long for Amphorus to finish up. I assumed he would be coming from outside but instead he strolled down from upstairs. "I take it you are all set and ready." He said as he walked over to the table. I immediately stood up from my seat and nodded my affirmation. "Do you know where we're going or should we try to find Lilia?"

"Do you know where we're going or should we try to find Lilia?" Asked Adavahr. I quickly realized we hadn't been told about where to go or who the client was. "No, But I'll go check the post" I turned and walked to the board, sure enough it was posted still.

"Ok, what have we got here....Giant Rat problem...Ok, we go to Ultenberg Farm... Clients name is Kran Ultenburg." I muttered to my self as I read. I returned back to the table where Adavahr was and told him the details. Adavahr pulled a map out from his bag and we proceeded to try to locate it.

As we looked, I had just realized that I didn't know the name of the town. The map read that we were in Ridgewood. I looked at the map a liitle closer and saw that the farm was on the eastern side of the town.

"There. That's where were going." I said as I pointed to the map. From there, Adavahr and I left the hall to make our way to the farm.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

We arrived at the farm after 20 minutes of navigating the streets and back roads. It looked like a decent sized farm. There was a large Barn that stood two stories in height. About 15 yards away was the house itself which was surprisingly small. on the other side of the barn looked to be 4 acres of crops, wheat by the looks of it. We walked up to the house to see an older gentlemen on his porch.

"Oy! What can I do for ya." the old man said as he rose from his chair to greet us.
We walked up to greet him at the bottom of the stairs and informed him we came from the guild to handle his rat problem.
The old man smiled and pointed to the barn, "You'll find the rascals in there. The barn door is locked, so take me key." He passed us his key to the barn. "All you gotta do is kill the rats and return my key, then the reward is yours."

With that, Adavahr and I walked to the barn. We prepared ourselves drawing our weapons. "Well, this shod be easy. We just have to kill a bunch of rats" I exclaimed with a goofy looking smile. Adavahr returned the smile and nodded.

We unlocked the barn and opened the door. Staring right at us were 3 Giant Rats standing waist high. Their eyes were blood red, their fangs sharp to the point, and their fur was a s dark as the night. One of the rats let out a loud a cry. The rats were 9 yards away from us and were positioning to charge at us.

"Oh shit...." I said.

I braced and waited for Amphorus to open the large barn doors. As they opened we immediately saw three giant rats staring right at us. Judging the situation at first glance I didn't have much time to act. If the rats got out of the barn and we failed we could trouble the farmer even further. I also realized these rats would might be easier to beat if I could get all of their attention and give Amphorus a good shot at their backsides.

"Get ready!" I cried out as I rushed forward. I slashed a long slash across two of the rats snouts releasing a small spray of blood from each. Both let out a loud cry in pain as they recoiled from my first strike. I dashed at the one on the right which was as of yet unhurt and cut it deeper then I had the other two. After the strikes hit true I vaulted over the rat in the middle with my left hand and landed in the barn a few feet behind the rats. I used the confusion to my benefit as I slashed again in a wide arc so I could hit all three rats although I had to minimize the damage to do so. As they all turned to look at me I rolled back about six more feet and bellowed out at the top of my lungs,"CHALLENGE ME IF YOU DARE FOUL VERMIN!" I looked over the rats snarling faces hoping Amphorus was as good as I was giving him credit for.

The rats had turned their full attention to Adavahr. Their backs were exposed. I rushed forward and jumped onto the back of the closest rat, plunging my sword into through the back of it's neck. It let out a loud cry as blood poured out from the fatal blow. I looked up and raised my left hand, pointing to the rat closest to Adavahr with the flat of my palm.

"Arcane Blast!" I yelled. A purple sphere of arcane energy surged forth from my hand and struck the rat directly on it's thigh. The rat let out a cry of pain and was knocked onto it's side. It was staggered and struggled to get up. The remaining rat turned it's attention back to me after seeing me cast my magic and attempted to lung at me. I quickly rolled off the back of the dead rat and used my sword that was still in that was still in the body to position the corpse between me and my assailant.

Sure enough, the rat's fangs struck the corpse and missed me completely. I pulled my sword from the body and kicked the corpse at the rat that had leaped at me.

Sure enough as soon as the rats started heading my way Amphorus did exactly what I needed him to do. He killed one with a fine thrust to the back of the neck, immobilized another for the moment and was fending off the third.

Just the opening I need, I thought to myself. I lunged my sword almost as soon as it hit the ground. With a sickening gulch my blade struck true right into the giant rats gaping maw. As I slid my sharp blade out of the rats mouth I saw Amphorus using the dead rat as a shield. I quickly used his distraction to my advantage and jumped on the rats back stabbing my sword through the rats neck and partway into the dead rat underneath. As I withdrew my sword and leapt off the rat's twitching back I looked at my slightly blood covered companion.

"Well ... that was fun." I said with a chuckle.

"Do you think there are any more in the barn?"

"Do you think there are any more in the barn?"

I gave a quick glance around. "ya, let's make sure there isn't any more. They may have had a nest too."

We proceeded to look around the barn. Sure enough, there was a small nest with newborn rats. They hadn't even opened their eyes. As I looked at them, I couldn't help but wonder what we should do.

"So, do we kill them or do you think there could be any practical use for these?" I inquired.

I just looked at Amphorus for a moment, not sure exactly what to do in this situation. I wiped the blood and flesh off my blade using a dirty cloth I found lying near the door and sheathed my blade. I looked at the rats and decided a couple things.

"First of all they have to be removed from the barn either way. I say which ever we decide we take some of the adult rat meat to cook for later or sell and ask the farmer what he'd like to do with the rats. Or we can try to see if there is anything humane we can do with them. Worst case senario we have to kill them and bury them out back." I waited for Amphorus to clean and sheath his sword then gestured for him to lead the way back to the farm house.

I pulled a cloth from my bag and used it to clean my blade. I looked back at the baby rats and wrapped them in the cloth. "We'll let the farmer deal with the corpses, as for these." I pointed to the bundled rats, "I know a crazy Alchemist they may use them."

We walked out of the barn and approached the old man.
"Sounds like y'all had some fun in there" said the old man as he sat in his chair.

"I wouldn't really call that fun, but the deed is done. We even cleared the nest in there." I said as I passed him the key.

The old man smiled and passed us a bag with 25 silver. "Thanks for the help, if you ever need something to do come on back. I got plenty of work to be done." said the old man as he pointed to the fields. After that, we parted ways with the old man and left to go to the guild.

We had just gotten outside the guild when I realized we hadn't split our pay yet.
"So, we have 25 silver, wanna split 12 and 12. we can see if we can get a meal or some drinks with the one silver?" I asked Adavahr.

"Sure!" I said as I began leading our way back to the tavern. As we walked back I was debating asking Amphorus a few questions in order to better understand each other but I quickly decided against it. It was beginning to get dark and I was getting tired. I could do well with a decent meal and a nice large cup of ale.

"I could definitely use a drink and I'm up for whatever." I said as I turned back to Amphorus with a smile. As we walked back to the guild hall we walked near the place where I had met the thief earlier, sadly she was nowhere to be found. I couldn't hide the disappointment expressed on my face but I don't think anyone saw. I don't know why I thought she'd be here again as it was a pathway not a destination she'd stay at. I quickly shrugged it off and continued walking towards the guild hall.

As we reached the guild hall I could tell we could both use some sleep. I turned back to Amphorus again and gestured him inside the building. He still had the sack of silver so it was best for him to take the lead.

Adavahr and I entered the Guild Hall which was bustling with adventurers. Everyone must have been returning from missions. I manage to spot a small unoccupied table that could seat 4 on the far side of the room. I pointed it out to Adavahr and we quickly took our seats. After sitting down, I split our reward evenly leaving the 1 extra silver piece out. After I had counted it out, I felt the squirming of the rats in my bag.

"I guess I should go get these to Joof." I looked over to Adavahr, "if the waitress gets here before I'm back, order me a drink will ya". I got up and proceeded to head to down the hallway to where the stairs were at. As I got to the top of the stairs, I could see Joof working at his desk. Scrolls were spread out everywhere. Joof turned around with a smile on his face, "Well, the great adventurer returns and being successful might I add."

"All thanks to the spell you taught me", I returned the smile. "I brought you something you may be able to use for your research."

I opened my bag and showed him the rats. "Darn, and here I had hoped you brought me some mushrooms." He glanced up at me and gave a coy smile , "What? They help inspire creativity." He must of saw that I wasn't impressed with his answer as he looked back to the rats.

"So, you brought me Giant rat baby's. I suppose I could dissect them.....or I can feed them to Mr. FluffyBuns!"

"Mr. FluffyBuns?" I asked with a confused face.

"Oh yes, my pet Werecat." Suddenly I heard a loud hiss above us. I looked up to see a massive cat. He was 5 ft in length and had a muscular build. His fur was purple with hints of purple, but most his fangs were far more notable. They were the length of a short sword.

"You'll have to excuse him, he doesn't like his name for some reason."

"ya, seems like a mystery to me", I muttered.

Joof looked over to me and smiled, "So my spell helped you?"
I nodded in response.
"Interesting, then you must really be Redmage." He jumped down away from his desk and started to pace around. "While the spell I taught you is basic, it cannot be used by either a beginner black or white mage. Oddly enough, Redmages can learn it."

He turned and focused his gaze on me "I can teach you more basic spells, but they won't come free. It's 5 silver to learn rank 1 spells, which is what you can handle right now. I would also recommend speaking to other adventurers, sometimes they will teach you a move for a cheaper price if they aren't too busy." Joof began to smile agian, "Consider that information as your payment for these rats. It's much better than the 3 copper I would have paid for them."

I couldn't help but laugh, "Thanks Joof" I said with a sigh. I excused myself to return back to the table. Adavahr had already got us drinks by the looks of it, but he wasn't by himself. There was a cute Elf girl with red hair sitting next to him laughing.

"Great, now I'm working with a lady killer," I muttered to myself. I walked over to the table, "Sorry I took so long Adavahr, Joof is a bit talkative at times" I gave a goofy looking smile and sat down.

Only moments after Amphorus left, the waitress walked up looking at me expectantly. "You ready to order?" She said with a cheerful but slightly downtrodden tone. It must have been a long day for her, I thought as I looked at the other unruly customers. I looked back at the waitress with an understanding expression.

"Yeah I'll take a meal and a drink for my friend and I ..." I started while being pleasantly interrupted by a familiar looking elf girl. She quickly pulled out a chair and sat down next to me a bit too close for comfort.

"Make that three drinks and two meals." She said as she winked in my direction.

As the waitress left Arya looked me over once again. "You don't mind buying me a drink do you?" She said with a coy smile.

I shook my head. "I owe you for pointing me in the right direction earlier, I'd still be wandering around the city without a coin to my name if it wasn't for your tip." I said as I looked her in the eyes. Once again I got a good look at her beautiful red eyes sparkling in the candle light. All of a sudden there was a look of realization on her face then a look of knowing. I couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking but she seemed to know something I didn't.

"I'm glad my little tip payed off." She said with a knowing grin and I couldn't help but wonder what she wasn't telling me. I shook the thought off again as the waitress brought over the drinks. She placed two drinks in front of Arya and I and another at one of the empty seats across from me and walked away. Arya was still sitting a bit too close to me but she picked up her mug and gestured for me to do the same. I did as she requested and we touched glasses.

"To the two champions returning from completing their first quest!" She said as a cheer as she raised her glass. I took a sip while she downed her glass and we set our glasses back on the table.

"Wait ... champions?" I said as I looked at her again. She just laughed as Amphorus joined us back at the table.

"Sorry I took so long Adavahr, Joof is a bit talkative at times." He said as he sat down.

"Well that's my cue," Arya said as she got up from her seat with a nimble hop and slid past me to get to the front of the table. "Congratulations on your first completion", she said to Amphorus as she began heading toward the front door of the tavern. She looked over her shoulder again and smiled one last time in my direction before walking out the door. I looked over to Amphorus and shrugged. "Well ... the food should be on its way." I said as a way to change the topic. "Did you get anything for the rats?" I asked hoping to distract my new ally from this anomaly that just occurred.

I sat down at the table right as the Elf took her leave. My drink was already there and it looked like we were still waiting for our food.
"Did you get anything for the rats?" asked Adavahr. Before I spoke, it had occurred to me that I didn't know much about Adavahr's background. He seemed new to this lifestyle as well, but he definitely wasn't a stranger to fighting.

"Joof provided me with information on acquiring skills in exchange for the rats." I paused only to reach forward and take a drink from my beverage. "From what I gather, it is 5 silver to learn a new skill from a trainer. However, we can learn from other adventurers which could be cheaper or more expensive depending on the situation." Right as I had finished, the waitress came by and dropped off two plates. Both had a small loaf of bread with a slice of pork and a serving of greens. I didn't hesitate to begin eating.

"I can't remember the last time I had a meal so good!" I exclaimed. Then I paused for a moment. I couldn't remember the last time that I ate. Come to think of it, I couldn't remember anything. The only thing I could recall was my conversation with that goddess. Then I began to wander about Adavahr again. It just didn't add up yo me. He seemed almost as lost as me, but he clearly isn't young enough to be ignorant if he lived here.

I began to get a little skeptical as I though it over.
"I never did ask you." I looked up from my food, "What's your story? How'd you end up an adventurer?"

I met Amphorus's gaze and thought back to what I could remember. Slightly embarrassed to admit I looked at him somewhat sheepishly. "Honestly I don't remember anything before today." I set down my eating utensil which was a wooden item with two prongs on the end for picking up food and continued. " I don't know if you'll believe this, but there was this ..." I looked around the room to see if anyone else was listening in. I didn't want to seem more crazy then necessary at the moment. After I was sure nobody else could overhear me I turned back to Amphorus. "Goddess and she said something about me dying and being given a second chance." With the look on Amphorus's face I pushed through before he could say anything. "I know it sounds crazy but I have no memory of any time before that."

I diverted my gaze back to my food and continued speaking. "After speaking with the goddess she teleported me to the forest towards the east of town. I ended up landing in a small stream and worked my way towards the nearest city on the map she gave me. I wasn't in the town long when I met the elf you had just seen." I pointed towards the door she had exited only minutes before and looked back at Amphorus. "She directed me to the guild hall where I met Lillia who introduced me to you." I winced as I looked at him for signs of disappointment which weren't there and continued again. "I'm sorry if you're disappointed that your new partner is new to this whole thing but unless I completely missed my judgement, you don't know much about the way things work either." I looked at Amphorus inquisitively now. "So despite how weird my story sounds ... What about you. What's your story?"

Hearing Adavahr's story would have phased me if it weren't the same as mine. It definitely made since for the situation we were both in and why his seal was the same as mine.

"So despite how weird my story sounds ... What about you. What's your story?"

I looked up to meet Adavahr's gaze. "My story......is not so different." I paused for a moment. "I can't seem to remember much of anything aside from waking up in the forest from what seemed to be the wildest dream." We sat there in silence for a moment as we continued to eat the remainder of our dinner.

"So, now that we know each others story's I have one question for you." I looked up from my empty plate and gave Adavahr a serious look. "How'd you pick up a cute elf like that in one day." A smirk had managed to sneak onto my face. I was hoping I could break the ice.

I blushed a bit and looked up from my near empty plate. "I don't know what you're talking about. She came up to help me when I was looking confused in the middle of the city." I quickly finished my drink so I could relieve myself of the blush. I set my empty cup on the table and went back to finish my food. As I demolished my last bit of bread I could see Amphorus grinning ear to ear. I put my eating utensil down. "Perhaps we should turn in early for the night. I have a feeling we have a few things we have to get in order tomorrow." As I spoke I put the extra silver coin on the table and walked up to the counter to pay for my room for the night.

The meals ended up only costing us 35 copper a piece and the drinks were 15 copper a piece. The extra silver we earned covered our tab perfectly. Adavahr had already gone to get a bed before I left the table. I put down another silver piece to cover for Adavahr's friend's drink and to cover as a tip for the waitress.

I walked up to the counter right behind Adavahr to pay for my bed, lucky for us it only cost 5 silver. After paying for the bed, that left me with 6 silver. "I'll see you in the morning" I said to Adavahr.

I started to walk towards my room when I saw Lilia walking towards me from down the hall.

"Well, hey Amphorus! How'd your mission go?" She asked with an upbeat tone.

Something about the way she asked got me smiling, "We were able to manage."

"That's great! So, you guys got a meal and your rooms for the night then?" Lilia inquired

"Yep, I'm actually on my way to my room now." I replied

"Good! I'm sure you guys are ready for some rest." Lilia paused for a moment, "Oh! I forgot to tell you that we do have a public bath available if you want to get cleaned up. It's just further down the hall." Lilia then smirked mischievously at me. "Make sure to go to the Men's bath now and no peeking on the ladies." Lilia said with a laugh. Just like that she was off to the main desk.

The room that I got for the night was small. It had a small bed against the wall with a night stand next to it. There was a small window right above the night stand. A couple yards away was a small desk and a chair. There wasn't anything more than that.

"This is definitely not meant to be a permanent lodging." I said to myself. I got myself situated and decided to use the public bath. Lucky for me, no one was in there at the time. After cleaning up, I returned to my room and called it a night.

"Who knows what will happen tomorrow", I mumbled as I slipped into a slumber.