I was in awe of Cloudrest simply for how pretty it was. The rolling mist gave everything an otherworldly sparkle. The buildings were made of a faintly glowing greyish-blue material, decorated with all sorts of wall-paintings and carvings, as well as a few inlaid gems. The smooth streets appeared to be paved with polished marble and more of that same strange material.

Glow must've caught me staring, because he gave a soft laugh. "Enjoying the sights?"

"What is this stuff?" I asked, examining the ground. The huge flagstones had a vague oval shape to them, and as I looked at them a little closer, they had little dimples and creases in them as well.

"Dragon scales, if you believe the stories," said Glow, starting to walk off.

"Dragon scales?" I repeated as I followed him through the streets.

"Well, the story goes that there used to be a town at the base of the mountain. But one day Ashen Lao Shan Lung trampled and destroyed it by accident. To apologise, he gave the villagers his scales so they could rebuild. To make sure he didn't crush it again, the villagers built the new city into the side of the mountain, and that's how Cloudrest was born," explained Glow, expertly weaving his way through the crowds, leaving me to struggle behind.

"Interesting story," I said. "Wonder if it's true."

"Well if you ever see a moving mountain, flag him down and ask," said Glow with a slight smirk.

Glow led me through the bustling streets. There were so many different species of monsters, all going about their business around us. A Qurupeco hawked his wares, while a Brachydios was offering his services as a heavy lifter. A pack of Velociprey followed a Velocidrome through the streets, stooping to pick up dropped coins wherever they could. Glow ignored all of this, though, and kept walking, towards the top of a hill, where I could see a rather large building waiting.

When we reached the huge building, Glow stopped. "Here we are," he said. "This is Explorer's Lull, where I live."

Like the rest of the city, Explorer's Lull was made of the supposed dragon scales. It was also covered in wall-paintings, mostly depicting various monsters engaged in battles or holding treasure. The most common figure appeared to be a Diablos, followed by what looked like a Yian Garuga. There were others there too, like a Gravios, a Najarala, and an Astalos.

"What's up with the drawings?" I asked.

"Oh, we put those there whenever someone does something really special. We are explorers after all. Most of us like to be recognised in some way for what we do," said Glow.

I scanned the wall, but though there were dozens of drawings, not a single one showed a Rathalos. I didn't say anything, but instead followed Glow through the doors and into the lodge.

The interior of the lodge was quite cozy-looking. A soft carpet of grass, broken by the occasional stone or scale, covered the floor. A fire blazed in the massive hearth, around which were laid out several cushions and straw piles. One of those straw piles was currently occupied by an Astalos, presumably the one in the drawings outside. He was poring over a map and reading a letter of some sort. I glanced up at the high ceiling and jumped when I spotted a pair of red eyes staring down at me. In the darkness of the rafters, I could just barely make out a Nargacuga, draped across the beams and watching me with curiosity.

Several corridors branched out from the main room, leading who knows where. A large bulletin board was set up on the back wall, covered in letters and 'Wanted' posters. Other than the Astalos and Nargacuga, there didn't seem to be anyone else here.

The Astalos looked up from his map, "Oh hey, Glow. Who's that?"

"Her name is Aether. Well, for now anyway," said Glow.

I waved a claw awkwardly.

The Astalos raised a brow, but said nothing. "So is she looking to join the guild?"

"That's a good question, actually," said Glow, turning to me a little sheepishly. "I didn't even ask..."

"What kind of guild is this?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

Glow opened his mouth to answer, but the Astalos cut him off. "We're a band of explorers, serving the legendary adventurers Mournful Miasma and Courageous Charge. We rescue people, find treasure, map out the world, and are just generally awesome," said the Astalos, like he was making a sales pitch.

I wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, so I just said "Cool." I purposefully avoided mentioning how 'Mournful Miasma' didn't exactly sound like a friendly name.

"So would you like to try and join?" asked Glow.

I thought about that for a second. Did I want to join this guild? I suppose it was more a question of what I would do otherwise. Stuck in a strange world with no memories, and only a small pile of coins found in a forest to my name. It seemed like joining the guild was kind of my only option...

"Yeah, sure," I finally answered. "How do I sign up?"

"You'll have to go through me first," said a new voice.

I turned, along with Glow and the Astalos, to the source of the voice. I tried my hardest not to stare, but it was pretty tough.

Standing in the entrance to one of the corridors was a Yian Garuga, but one who looked like she'd seen her fair share of fights. Her entire body was criss-crossed with scars, with many of her spiny shells being cracked or snapped off. Greenish moss lightly covered her wings and tail, but what was most unsettling was her face. One eye was completely gone, only a huge, messy scar left in its place, and I highly doubted she could hear through the tattered remains of her left ear. Her remaining eye burned with a disturbing red fervour, seeming to leave an afterglow as she walked towards us.

"Hi, boss," said Glow.

"Welcome back. I trust you had no problems in the woods?" said the Garuga.

"No, none at all, except finding Aether here," said Glow, glancing back at me.

The Garuga turned to me. "So, you'd like to join our guild, is it?" she asked.

"Uh...yes ma'am," I said, not sure how to address her.

"Then I'm afraid you're going to have to do a little test first," said the Garuga. "My name is Mournful Miasma, and I'm the current guildmaster. My job? It's to make sure that no one gets hurt on my watch. But that's a two-way street. I protect my explorers when necessary, and in return, they're strong enough to handle themselves so that it is rarely necessary. And so I can't let you join us until you prove that you can survive without a babysitter."

"What's the test?" I asked. I wasn't totally confident I could do it, but what did I have to lose? Other than some limbs, of course.

"There's a place to the south of here called Static Meadow. In the deepest part of the meadow, there's a special type of insect. They glow a very distinctive blue. You can't miss them. Catch one for me and bring it back as proof that you got through Static Meadow," said Miasma.

All I had to do was go bug-catching? But then why did Glow look horrified?

"But, boss..." said Glow. "That's way too dangerous. You didn't make me do the test. Can't you let Aether off too?"

Miasma gave him a stern look. "That's different. You're a non-combatant. This girl needs to prove herself. And Static Meadow is the place to do it."

Glow looked as if he might protest some more, but gave up and hung his head in defeat. "Alright..."

Miasma nodded, then looked at me again. "You can bring whatever you like. Silent Shadow will give you some basic supplies."

"Ok," I said, wondering who 'Silent Shadow' was.

I nearly jumped out of my scales when I realised that the Nargacuga had at some point jumped down from the rafters and crept up next to me. I hadn't even heard her move. I only noticed her when I felt her softly breathing in my ear. Honestly, I had forgotten she was even there.

The Nargacuga, presumably named Silent Shadow, said nothing, but turned and walked away, totally quiet. She gestured with her head for me to follow. I followed her through the hallways into a room. A single straw bed was laid out, though it looked like it hadn't seen much use. Shadow walked over to a pile of miscellaneous clutter by the wall, and pulled out a bag, which she gave to me.

It was similar to the one Glow had been wearing, but it lacked the badge and the healer's cross. I opened it and saw a few pouches full of some strange powder, various seeds of different colours and sizes, some bandages, some bottles of medicine, a scarf, and a strange-looking orb.

"Um, what is all of this?" I asked Shadow.

She said nothing, instead directing my attention to a book on the ground, opened to a blank page. I watched as Shadow picked up a pencil, and, holding it in her mouth, began to draw pictures and write explanations for everything in the bag. When she was finished, she carefully tore out the page and gave it to me.

"Uh, thanks," I said. I felt more than a little awkward talking to someone who didn't answer back.

Shadow smiled and led me back to the main room.

"All kitted out?" asked Miasma.

I nodded. "Good," she said. "Sky Stinger will take you to Static Meadow."

"I will?" said the Astalos.

"Sky Stinger will take you to Static Meadow," repeated Miasma without missing a beat.

The Astalos, Sky Stinger I was guessing, looked from his map, to the letter he was reading, to Miasma, to me, and then back to Miasma before sighing and standing up.

"Alright fine. Come on then," he said, walking towards the entrance.

"Good luck!" called Glow as I left the building.

I followed Sky Stinger back out into the shining streets of Cloudrest. He took a much more efficient route than Glow had, taking to the air and expertly weaving his way through all the flying traffic. Thankfully, he lit up his wings for me so I didn't lose track of him amongst the other wyverns in the air.

Rather than head towards the stairs, Sky Stinger flew directly south, quickly reaching the end of the city. I looked over the edge, suddenly dizzy. It was a lot higher up than it seemed. I recoiled and drew back from the ledge, shaking my head to clear it.

Sky Stinger gave me a look. "What's up? Afraid of heights or something?"

"Maybe slightly," I said.

Sky Stinger tilted his head and chirped quizzically. It was quite adorable, but I doubted he'd appreciate me saying that. "Weird. I've never met a flying wyvern who's afraid of heights," he said. "Do you want to take the stairs or something?"

"Can I?" I asked hopefully.

Sky Stinger gave me a wicked grin. "Nope."

Then he shoved me over the edge. I shrieked, quite understandably, to the sound of Sky Stinger's laughter behind me.

To my great surprise, I didn't wind up in a crater again, but rather I instinctively opened my wings and glided safely, if not gracefully, to the ground below, where I stood panting and trying not to have a heart attack.

Sky Stinger landed next to me, enjoying my plight far too much. "You have wings, you're meant to use 'em! Seems you just needed a little push."

I glared at him. "Never do that again," I growled.

His answer was to laugh some more. "C'mon, I'll show you the way to Static Meadow," he said.

I followed him down the road for a while, but eventually the road ran out and we were walking on trails of flattened grass. Chirps, chitters, and the rustling of leaves echoed all around. The shadow of a Seregios passed overhead at one stage, and I spotted Sky Stinger glaring at it.

"What's up?" I asked him as we kept walking.

"I think that was one of the guys from Team Strife. I don't like those two, and if he's here then the other isn't far behind," replied Stinger, glancing around through the grass. "You see a Deviljho, you take off running, ok? She's nothing but trouble."

The grass grew taller as we continued south towards Static Meadow. Stinger took off, scanning the grass and continuing to lead me. At some point, I started to notice sparks jumping between the blades of grass, as well as swarms of glowing Thunderbugs. Guess I knew where the name came from now.

Finally, Stinger landed. The foliage had thinned out, leaving me in a small clearing surrounded by walls of grass. A strange purple box lay next to a thin opening in the grass. The closer I looked, the more it seemed like something was off about the vegetation.

"Well, this is where I was supposed to take you. I hope you remember the way back, because I'm not waiting. Someone needs rescuing from a dungeon back by Cloudrest. I'll see you back at the lodge." With that, he took off, leaving me alone.

I had my doubts that this was just a normal meadow. Peering into the foliage, I realised what was wrong with it. The air itself was twisting and warping. It seemed Static Meadow was a mystery dungeon. I figured it might be best to take a look at the things that Shadow had given me before I went in.

I opened the bag and pulled out the sheet of paper she'd given me. Despite the fact that she'd been working with her mouth, her drawings were very detailed, and the penmanship was perfectly legible. She'd even used a dainty cursive font. Of course, I hadn't a clue what language she'd used. But that didn't stop me from understanding, oddly enough.

According to the instructions, the scarf was a neat accessory that would make you physically stronger. I had my doubts about the plain-looking white scarf, but I slipped it around my neck anyway. It was probably some form of uniform or good-luck charm or something.

The rest of the objects all appeared to be medicines of some sort. Eat this herb for a basic painkiller, rub this liquid on a burn, and so on and so forth. Feeling reasonably confident that I wasn't going to die horribly, I repacked the bag and hung it round my neck, before steeling myself and stepping into the gap in the grass.

I shuddered a little bit as I entered the dungeon. The towering foliage seemed to press in from all sides, blocking out even the sky. The walls came alive with flying sparks and the trilling of thunderbugs, and I could've sworn I spotted eyes watching me from the darkness.

There was no way to go but forward, so forward I went. Though the walls hummed, the path was oddly empty. The first room I came to had a sleeping Genprey in the corner, which I decided to leave alone. Something gleamed near the exit of the room, but to my disappointment, it was only a seed that supposedly made you stronger. Still, I picked it up. It might come in handy.

The room only had one exit, so I pressed on. The path turned corners and split off frequently. At one point I walked in a massive circle before finally finding the correct path. My efforts were rewarded as the next room I came to held the staircase. These stairs went down instead of up, so I was careful to fix my eyes above as I walked down.

The room I arrived in was much less friendly than the last. As soon as I got my bearings, I found myself gazing into the eyes of a Gendrome. His long fangs gleamed in the light of the thunderbugs, and he reared up and let out a piercing cry. At once, four Genprey flooded the room, seeming to come out of nowhere. The little wyverns had me surrounded. There was no fleeing. I had to fight.

The Gendrome struck quick and sudden, leaping forward to nip at me with his fangs. I just barely pulled my head back in time, before lashing out with my own, considerably stronger jaws. The Gendrome was too quick for me, hopping back and out of reach while my mouth closed on nothing.

Reeling from my missed strike, I felt a sudden prick on my back. Twisting my neck, I saw a pair of Genprey had latched on and were clawing at the tough shells on my back. Not sure how else to get rid of them, I reared back and rolled over, trying to crush the annoying little pests with my weight. I heard a satisfying yelp as one of the Genprey couldn't jump off in time.

The other one, however, escaped. As I turned to try and take it out, I heard the Gendrome issuing orders again, and suddenly the other two Genprey were behind me, biting and clawing my left leg. The Gendrome himself rushed at my face, deadly fangs and claws at the ready. I swung my head at him and managed to catch him off guard. He staggered a bit, but was otherwise unharmed.

The third Genprey had joined his two packmates in gnawing on my leg, but their strikes weren't hurting that much. In fact, they weren't hurting at all. As soon as the realisation hit me, I felt myself tilting to one side as my leg started spasming and twitching. I growled and tried to get my leg back under control, but it was no good. The numbness was spreading fast.

The Gendrome seemed pleased with himself, and he struck out at my face again, claws aimed at my eyes. Without a working set of legs to hop back with, I could only close my eyes and hope for the armor plating on my face to stop the worst of the blows.

While the Gendrome scratched at my face, I twisted my head and bit at him. Luckily for me, my blind strike caught the Gendrome by the arm, and he squealed in shock. What little I could feel of the Genprey's assault stopped, as the little creatures seemed unsure of what to do.

With the Gendrome's arm clasped firmly in my jaws, I opened my eyes again. The Gendrome was determined, as despite the bone-breaking pressure I was putting on his arm, he still tried to bite and scratch at me. Unfortunately for him, my head was too armoured for his fangs to pierce without a lot of effort.

My legs had gone almost completely numb, but my neck still worked, and I swung the Gendrome as hard as I could, smashing him against the ground. He shrieked in pain and redoubled his efforts to paralyse me, but it was no use. Over and over again I bashed him on the ground, until the Genprey's venom finally got the better of me and I was forced to let him go.

Somehow, he wasn't dead, but he was clearly in no shape to fight. The arm I'd been holding was well past broken, and his legs didn't look too good either. One of his signature crests had snapped off, which didn't bode well for his status as pack leader. Indeed, his Genprey seemed to have slunk off once the tables had turned.

As much as I would've liked to clear out as fast as I could, the paralysing venom was holding me in place. Thankfully, the Gendrome had no intention of starting round two. He picked himself up and slowly limped away, leaving me to simply lie on the floor and wait for the venom to wear off.

Soon, the adrenaline wore off and the multitude of small cuts and scratches I'd gotten started to sting. In particular, my left leg was starting to burn with the pain of all the bites and the lingering venom. Still, I took it as a good sign that the venom was finally wearing off. Eventually, my legs started tingling, and with a bit of effort I was able to pull myself up and get a move on.

I left the room, now full of torn-off scales and a dead Genprey, and hobbled out into a long corridor. The Gendrome was long gone, and with luck I wouldn't have to deal with him or any others again, because I wasn't sure I could handle being swarmed like that again.

The corridor eventually lead me to another room. A pile of coins lay in a corner, and I helped myself as I passed through. After all, it's not like anyone was using them. This room had two exits, so I mentally flipped a coin and took the path on the right. The path on the right turned out to be a dead end, so I went back into the room and found myself looking at one of the Genprey from before.

It seemed to want nothing more to do with me, because it took one look at me before running back towards the room I'd come from. I breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn't have to fight again before walking down the other path. This time, I reached the room with the staircase and bounded down without a second thought.

The next floor didn't land me face-to-face with an enemy, thankfully. There was a tattered old scarf on the ground, a blue one. It probably wasn't worth anything, but I picked it up just in case. It could be another good luck charm like the one I was wearing.

This floor's corridors were long but straight, and navigating was no trouble at all. As I approached a corner, the figure of a Genprey stepped out ahead. The small monster hissed threateningly at me, but made no moves to call a Gendrome or attack. We stood for a moment, staring each other down. I couldn't go forward without going past the Genprey, but it didn't seem inclined to budge.

Suddenly, an idea flashed into my mind. I wasn't quite sure where, but somewhere I remembered seeing a Tigrex toss a boulder at me. Maybe that would work. I dug my right claw into the ground and threw the resulting chunk of dirt at the Genprey. It was really more of a mud pie than a boulder, but it seemed to intimidate the bird wyvern enough for it to turn tail and run.

Upon chasing the Genprey off, I found myself in the room with the stairs. Good, because I wasn't keen on wandering in the maze for any longer than I had to. I wasn't sure how long my trip through Static Meadow would be. By my count, this would be the fourth floor.

This floor seemed to be another peaceful one, thankfully. There were no signs of Genprey or Gendromes anywhere, and the first room even had a pile of coins for me to take. There were two exits from the room, but I could see from where I was that one of them was a dead end, so I took the other path.

This floor seemed totally lifeless. There were absolutely no monsters, and barely any treasure. It gave me the distinct impression that something dangerous was lurking up ahead. When I found the staircase, I was almost afraid to take it. But there wasn't any other way out that I knew of, so I steeled myself and descended the staircase.

The first thing I noticed when I hit the next floor was the odd layout. There were no corridors or rooms. Indeed, the grass all around me no longer looked like oppressive walls, but just like normal grass. Was this the deepest part of the dungeon? There was a clearing up ahead, so I pressed forward.

The thunderbugs in the area seemed to be far more excited than the ones I'd been seeing, flitting around faster and trilling even louder. Furthermore, some of them were glowing blue.

These must be the bugs Miasma asked me to get, I thought.

As I started digging into the bag for the jar I was supposed to use, I caught sight of a figure up ahead. I walked a little closer and saw that it was a Zinogre, wearing some sort of odd veil and humming a tune to herself. She seemed to be tending to the thunderbugs, offering them flowers she held in her massive paw.

She didn't seem to be feral, so I relaxed a little bit. "Um, excuse me," I called.

The Zinogre jumped. "Oh, hello. I didn't see you coming," she said. She put down the flowers and shook her head to get the veil off. "Are you here to hurt my friends?" she asked, glancing around nervously.

"Not unless your friends are Genprey," I answered, somewhat unnerved.

"Oh, good. Can't have people hurting my friends, that wouldn't do. Friends are important. Gotta keep them safe," said the Zinogre, still looking every which way.

Something about the Zinogre was giving me weird vibes. Maybe it was how jittery and nervous she seemed. Or maybe it was the way she seemed to be looking at me as though she was about to pounce.

"Why are you here, if not to hurt my friends?" asked the strange Zinogre.

"I was sent here to catch a special type of bug. One that glows blue. There's a whole bunch of them here, so if you don't mind I'll just get one and be on my way," I said.

Suddenly, the Zinogre howled. "Oh, I just knew it! You are here to try and take my friends away from me!" All of the blue thunderbugs in the area swarmed over to the Zinogre, whose fur started sparking and standing on end. "You think you can get away with barging into my home and trying to steal my friends away from me? Well I won't let you!"

With a howl of rage, the Zinogre lifted her electrified claw and slammed it down. I only barely managed to hop back in time to avoid it. Sparks and excited thunderbugs flew where she struck, aimed directly at me. The swarm of thunderbugs charged at my right claw, giving me a strong jolt and causing me to reel back.

"What!? Hey, calm down! I'm not looking to start a fight here!" I shouted.

The Zinogre ignored me and pressed her advantage, charging forward intent on ramming me. Her horns ground against the plating on my face and the flying sparks stung, making my ears twitch. Since it worked so well before, I twisted my head and lashed out with my jaws, but the Zinogre was smarter than the Gendrome, and pulled back to avoid having her skull crushed.

As the Zinogre backed up, it was my turn to press the advantage. I dug into the ground and tossed a clod of soil. It didn't do any actual damage, but the dirt annoyed the Zinogre, and some of it got in her eyes, blinding her. While she was distracted, I charged her down.

I raised a claw to strike at the Zinogre's chest, but I was in for a nasty surprise. The coursing static electricity leapt from her chest right into my claw, instantly causing my muscles to seize up. Seeing as I was forced to retreat for the moment, the Zinogre didn't waste an opportunity. She shook her head to clear the last of the dirt, before suddenly doing a compete backflip, catching me in the face with her flat, electrified tail. The current assaulted my senses, making my vision temporarily explode in a haze of flashing lights and colours.

The surging electricity was making the fight much harder than it needed to be. Of course, there didn't need to be a fight in the first place, but the Zinogre just had to get aggressive. If I wanted any chance of winning, I was going to have to knock the charge out of her one way or another. It dawned on me that when the Zinogre had rammed me, her horns hadn't given me an electric shock. Perhaps that was where I should be focusing my attacks.

With a vague plan in mind, I dodged another claw swipe and lashed out with my own claws, aiming for the Zinogre's horns. Sure enough, the jolt of electricity never came. Instead, I heard the Zinogre yowl as I hit her full-force in the head. Still, she managed to hold onto her charge, and she was quick to recover, sending another ball of thunderbugs my way.

I wasn't quite fast enough to dodge the projectile, and the little insects sent their stored charge straight into my chest. I felt my heart give a squeeze as my muscles locked up. Noticing I was stunned from the strike, the Zinogre turned to slam her massive shoulder at me, knocking me completely off balance and onto the ground.

"Ok, I'm on the ground now, can we talk about this?" I pleaded.

The Zinogre had no mercy, sending another group of thunderbugs my way. I was forced to take the brunt of it, but I managed to haul myself off the ground just in time to dodge the Zinogre's next claw swipe.

Howling like mad, the Zinogre ran towards me, before suddenly leaping up and flipping onto her back, landing in a shower of sparks and thunderbugs. It was all I could do to get out of the way unsinged. In the wake of the Zinogre's wild attack, I spotted an opportunity. The attack had left the Zinogre on her back on the ground, completely exposed.

Not wasting any time, I rushed towards her horns. I latched on with my jaws and bit down, hard. I felt a horn splinter and the Zinogre screeched. Suddenly, the fur along her back fell into its usual position as the panicked thunderbugs fled. I didn't want to harm the Zinogre any more than I already had, so I spat out a shard of horn in my mouth and stepped back.

For a moment, she didn't move or make a sound. Then she slowly stood up and shook herself off, glaring at me.

"You...you ruffian!" she yelled. "You burst in here out of nowhere, try to take my friends, and then you have the gall to attack me? I won't let you get out of here scot-free!"

She started calling more thunderbugs, but I had had enough.

"Will you please just listen to me?" I shouted in a voice approaching a full-throated roar.

The Zinogre stopped charging and just stared at me. For a moment, even the thunderbugs seemed frozen.

"I don't need a blue thunderbug," I said, using an indoor voice this time.

"You don't want one of my fulgurbugs?" asked the Zinogre, almost hopefully.

"It's true I came here to get one," I started, watching as the Zinogre's expression hardened. "But I'll gladly leave without one if they mean so much to you," I hastily added.

"Really?"

"Really. I only needed one as proof that I got here. I can leave, and you can keep your bugs." I backed away from the Zinogre, preparing to leave. "I'm sorry for bothering you. And I'm sorry about your horn."

The Zinogre glanced up at her shattered right horn. "It's alright. It will heal on its own time. So long as my friends are safe, I don't care about anything else."

I turned to leave the meadow. After all that fighting, I was eager to get back to Cloudrest. Hopefully it would be ok that I didn't get a fulgurbug. And if it wasn't, hopefully Miasma would lend me a bed for the night so I could get some well-earned rest.

Oddly enough, the way I'd come through the meadow was gone. Instead, there was a narrow pathway through the tall grass. Following it didn't take me back into the dungeon, but instead lead back to the entrance. I would've been a little miffed that I had gone through the whole dungeon for nothing, had the exit not vanished as soon as I turned my back. Poking around the grass revealed that the path was well and truly gone. More mystery dungeon shenanigans, I supposed.

The sun was setting as I wandered through the grassy field Stinger had shown me earlier. It wasn't too hard to find my way back to Cloudrest, but once I got to the base of the city I was faced with a tough decision. Climb the stairs, or try to fly? In the end I decided to climb the stairs, since I wasn't keen on flapping my way up there without someone to catch me in case things went wrong.

Well, climbing the stairs turned out to be a huge mistake. I could barely breathe by the time I dragged myself up into the city. The sun had just set, my lungs were burning and my legs shaking, but I just about managed to make my way through the streets up into Explorer's Lull.

As soon as I walked in, Miasma looked up from a stack of papers she'd been reading. "You're back," she said.

"I am."

"Did you get the bug like I asked?" asked Miasma, her red eye seeming to burn into me.

"Well, no," I said, dreading what was to come next.

"Really? And why not?"

"See, there was a Zinogre. She seemed really upset about me trying to take a bug, to the point where she attacked me over it." I gestured to the claw marks and singed patches on my scales. "In the end, I just couldn't take one knowing that they were so important to her," I explained.

Miasma closed her eye. "I asked you to catch a bug."

"I know. I'm sorry. I suppose I failed then?"

Miasma opened her eye, and there was the faint hint of a smile on her ragged beak. "No. On the contrary. You've passed with flying colours."

I was stunned. "But...how?"

"The truth is, I lied about the purpose of the test. I knew the Zinogre would be there, and I know those fulgurbugs are more important to her than anything else in the world. It was really a test of character. Some people come to this place expecting that they will always be rewarded with treasure and glory. But just because you went through a dungeon and endured many trials, doesn't mean you can take what you want. That would make you a thief. You won't always come home with treasure. Had you actually returned with a fulgurbug, you would have failed, because I don't tolerate thieves in my guild."

Miasma smiled. "Welcome to the guild, Aether. Tomorrow I'll assign you a partner, and you can start getting to work."

I nodded, thankful that I hadn't blown it. "Is there a place for me to sleep, or do I have to find an inn?"

"Go down the hall. The second room on the left will be your room from now on," said Miasma.

I tried my best to follow the directions, but when I entered the small room, I thought I had gone the wrong way. It was the same room where Silent Shadow had assembled the bag for me, and the Nargacuga herself was curled up in a corner next to a lantern, writing something in a small journal. She looked up at me and waved a claw.

"Sorry, I think I got lost. I'll get out now," I said.

She shook her head and gestured to the straw bed.

"Wait, I'm not lost? This is where I'm supposed to be sleeping?"

Shadow nodded.

"But there's only one bed. And it looks like this is your room."

Shadow grinned at me, then coiled herself up and leapt into the air. I followed the movement with my eyes, and only then did I see that on one of the rafters was a pillow and a blanket. Shadow put her head on the pillow and pointed her long tail at me, then at the bed on the floor.

"Oh. You sleep up there?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Well, I guess we're roommates then. I hope I won't bother you."

From up in the rafters, I heard the faintest ghost of a laugh.

"I'm pretty wrecked from all that falling, walking, and fighting, so I'm gonna go to sleep now. Goodnight."

Shadow nodded and leapt down to put out the lantern in the corner.

In the darkness, it didn't take long for the drowsiness to take hold, and I dropped off to sleep almost as soon as I lay down on the bed.

A/N: I apologise for the obscenely long time this took to come out, but a combination of real life, ennui, and not knowing how to write fight scenes kept me away from this. I'll try to to get back on track for future chapters. As before, if you have any criticism or if you notice any spelling/formatting errors, do let me know so I can fix them.

Also, someone asked in the reviews which PMD this is based on. The answer is none of them. This has its own distinct plot, but if I had to pick one I'd say it most closely resembles the original Red and Blue Rescue Team.