Day ? / ?

Where was he? Garret stood in what he thought was a long line of people, but he couldn't quite tell. His surroundings were pitch black, with the darkness occasionally pierced by spots of blinding light that hurt to look at. Not that he would have been able to see anything specific anyways. His vision was blurry, unfocused. He waved a hand in front of one of the light rays, trying to see it, but could barely tell where his palm ended and fingers began. A windstorm howled in his ears, blocking out other sounds, and the ground beneath his feet felt… Was there even ground beneath him? He wasn't falling. The unidentifiable figures around him didn't look like they were in freefall, and he could definitely tell that he was standing on something, but it felt wrong somehow. A sudden, loud bang pierced through the windstorm, like the fall of a gavel, and the line he was in took a step forward.

Come to think of it, he couldn't feel his clothes either, though he was sure he was wearing them. He couldn't tell if he was hot or cold, comfortable or not. Bang. The line took another step forward.

Hell, he couldn't even tell if he was happy or sad. Should he be upset? Confused? He had no idea where he was, shouldn't that be a problem for him? And how did he even get here? Bang. The line took another step forward.

Why was he here? What sent him to this land of oblivion? He couldn't remember… Garret knew his name, but what did he do? What happened before he arrived here? Bang. The line continued its inexorable march towards its unknown destination.

Bang… Bang… Bang… As Garret moved with the line, the terrain slowly changed. If he had been walking on flat earth before, now he was climbing stairs. Ahead of him, he heard murmurs. Someone was talking. Or maybe it was a group of people? He couldn't make out the words over the gale, nor who they belonged to.

Bang. Before he knew it, Garret had no one left ahead of him. He was at the front of the line, and beyond him lay a circle of the piercing white light. He paused for a moment, unsure of what to do, before stepping forward, into the circle. The light was blinding, but through it, he could make out the vague outlines of a group of figures sitting in a semi-circle, looking down on him from above.

A whispering voice snaked into his ear. "You're not supposed to be here…" But where was here?! Garret was about to ask, when he heard another loud bang. Suddenly the ocean of darkness around him disappeared.

Day 4 / Preparation

Now where was he? Garret blinked a few times and let his eyes focus. A sudden shout startled him as something heavy landed on his chest. "Garret!" Daylight streamed through the window of the Hospitaller's quarters, illuminating surgical instruments on the walls, scrolls and potions on the tables, and other empty cots littering the old, wooden room. The object that landed on him turned out to be a person. A very worried looking girl, with braided red hair was hugging him so tightly he could barely breath.

"Annika…" He returned the embrace, though with a much more gentle grip than hers, and tried to remember how he ended up like this. He had arrived in Naton, gotten his quarters, fought some slimes,… And killed three captured guards… Oh. Annika must have dragged him here after he passed out.

"Are you alright, Annika?"

"Alright?! Yes, I'm fine, but what about you?! You were dead!" Garret tried to move a little, but Annika clung to him even tighter. Her voice was uneven and shaky, and when she looked up at him, tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto the covers.

"… D-dead? I was dead?" The colour drained from Garret's face as he heard that. He was at a loss for words. A little weak, maybe, but aside from that, he felt fine! Nothing like what he would expect a recently dead person to feel like. Annika looked like she was about to reply, but someone else beat her to it. Evidently, the commotion had attracted the attention of the resident Hospitaller, because the door opened and a surgeon, flanked by what looked like a wizard walked in.

"Not quite, Mr. Fax. Your heart and breathing stopped, but you weren't entirely dead. If you were, we couldn't have brought you back." The wizard tipped her wide-brimmed and trinket-covered hat back to reveal a confident looking, black haired woman. "Buuuut, Brother Samuel forced a potion into you that got you breathing, and I channeled enough energy to keep it that way." She cracked a grin. "You're welcome."

After wiping her tears, Annika gestured to the woman to introduce her. "Garret, this is Catherine."

The older woman smiled did a small curtsy. "Please, you can call me Cathy."

"She tended to you while you were unconscious. Brother Samuel too."

"Oh… Thank you, Catherine. Brother Samuel." This time Annika let him sit up and released him, allowing Garret to extend his arm to shake both of their hands. He was still a little overwhelmed. "I don't know how to repay you."

"Do not worry about it. We couldn't leave you to die, Ann would have been devastated. She didn't leave your side for the past two days, you know!"

"We were just doing our jobs."

Annika looked away, seemingly embarrassed, but Garret was more concerned with the length of time he had been unconscious for. "I was out for that long?"

"Yes." Catherine crossed her arms and put a finger on her cheek, before lecturing him like a child who had fallen asleep in class. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that casting too many spells is dangerous, but try to be more careful next time. If Ann hadn't managed to drag you back as quickly as she did, you really would be dead."

"Yes, I know… Sorry…" Garret sighed as she chided him, letting his gaze fall to the floor.

Brother Samuel coughed, interrupting the conversation. "I'm sure you all have a lot to talk about, but I need to examine Mr. Fax and speak with him in private. If he's fit to be discharged, you can continue your discussion outside."

Annika did not look like she was happy with this one bit, as she cast a final, worried glance at Garret before standing up to leave. "Alright… We'll wait in the hall."

After shoeing away the two women, Samuel began his examination, listening to Garret's breathing, checking the strength of his pulse, and having him try to stand and walk around the room. "It seems like you're almost fully recovered, Mr. Fax. The other priests already purified you of the demonic energy, so there's no point in keeping you here. Just don't strain yourself too much today and you should be fine."

"Thank you, Brother Samuel."

"Now…" The man retrieved a journal and an ink quill from his desk before taking a seat across from Garret, staring at him with a contemplative gaze. "About our chat. Your commandant wanted me to ask you what you fought. Your partner, Ms. Nyman, already spoke with him about it, but he wanted me to confirm it with you. What did you find when you ran into the woods?"

"Ah, um…" Now that he was being interviewed again, Garret's eyes shifted around the room, unable to maintain eye contact. Brother Samuel didn't seem to mind, however. It appeared he was used to dealing with anxious or anti-social patients. "It was some sort of slime. The biggest, blue slime I've ever seen,… but it was smart. It could talk and split itself into smaller slimes, and they seemed to be able to communicate with each other mentally."

Samuel nodded as he wrote Garret's description down. "And what did you do when you found it?"

"I…" He hesitated. He knew what he did was right, but that didn't make it easier to say. "I knew I couldn't fight it, but it was… 'feeding' from three captured guards. They were already half way to becoming incubi so I…" Garret sighed. "I killed them. Couldn't risk a slime that large getting any bigger."

Samuel nodded in understanding. "It sounds like a slime queen. They're exceptionally dangerous and powerful for a slime." He finished writing his report, set it down, and then leaned back in his chair. Looking Garret over again, he thought for a moment. "I think you made the right call, but how are you feeling? Are you ok with this?"

Garret shivered in response. He didn't like killing his fellow man, but sometimes it was a necessity. The guards' fates were sealed once their transformation had begun. "I'm fine. It needed to be done."

Samuel sensed this hesitation but didn't press further. "Alright. I want you to know, though, Naton takes care of its soldiers. If you ever need to talk with someone, you can always come to me, another Hospitaller, or one of the Priests." With that, he got up from his chair and opened the door for Garret. "That should be everything. Take care of yourself, Mr. Fax. You're free to go."

Outside, Annika seemed to have calmed herself down. No longer flustered and teary-eyed, she was happily chatting away with Catherine. When he arrived, they paused their conversation and waved him over.

"You must be starving, Garret. You too, Ann. I propose we all head to the mess hall and get lunch together." As if on cue, Garret's stomach growled. Two days without food meant that it was quite enthusiastic about Catherine's suggestion. Annika nodded as well, bringing the three of them into agreement. "Excellent. You two head there, then, and secure us a table for four. I'll pay a visit to the barracks and see if Mr. Cross would like to join us. Now, then…" She gripped one of the trinkets hanging from her hat, causing it to glow. "Motus Onerariis!" A magic circle appeared around her feet, and a second later, she disappeared in a flash of light.

When Garret stepped onto the street and oriented himself, it became clear why she had chosen to teleport. The Hospitaller's quarters were on the opposite side of the city from the barracks, with the mess hall half way between the two. They had a bit of a walk ahead of them.

"… So who's 'Mr. Cross'?"

"Oh! Eric was the guard who fought with us at the gate. You know, when we were the last three standing before the-"

Annika's words faltered and Garret cut her off. He didn't want to be reminded of it either. "I understand. How did you become friends with him? We never got a chance to talk in the fight."

"He helped me carry you to Brother Samuel after you passed out, and even stuck around for the first day to help. I think he liked your magic." She playfully punched him in the shoulder. "You impressed someone! Good job!"

"It wasn't that impressive…" The two walked in silence for a moment before Garret spoke again. Annika had bounced back to her usual cheerful self pretty quickly… almost too quickly. Was she putting on an act for his sake? "… are you ok, Annika? You were pretty shaken back there."

The question caused her to sigh. "I was worried about you, Garret. We've been working with each other for so long, I thought we'd make it through the war together…" She fell silent again, letting the two walk for a bit before continuing her thought. "…But you're back and no worse for wear, so there's just one thing to do." She stopped suddenly and grabbed Garret by the shoulders, spinning him to face her. "Promise me you'll be more careful with your magic next time."

This time, he managed to force himself to hold her gaze. "… I'll do my best, Annika."

She stared at him for a moment, looking him in the eyes, before dropping her serious expression and smiling again. "Well that's all I can ask. No time to fret about the past anyways, right now it's time for food!" With that, they continued their journey.

To accommodate the expeditionary troops that arrived from Northreach, the mess hall had been temporarily expanded into one of the city's squares. Worn, wooden tables and benches were arranged around an old fountain in the center, and extra cook tents were set up in a few of the unused alleys. After being given a hearty meal of meat and potatoes, the two quickly found an empty table and sat down. While they waited for Catherine and Eric, Garret examined the fountain they were sitting beside. In the center of its pool stood a weathered, stone sculpture of an angel, either shouting or chanting an incantation. From her outstretched hands, a spray of water arced into the pool, and she leaned forward, as if leading an attack or perhaps bracing herself against the flow. Unfortunately, the statue was damaged from age, and several narrow cracks ran down its side. They leaked moisture and revealed a hollow channel inside, through which the water was pumped before spraying from her hands. He wondered if it could be repaired. Maybe its age made that impossible, or maybe the cracks had already progressed far enough that it couldn't be fixed without remaking the entire fixture.

While Garret was lost in his observations, Annika spotted Catherine and Eric. She stood up and waved them over. Apparently Eric had recently returned from a guard shift, probably overnight, since he was still dressed in his armour (minus his helmet), and his blue eyes had dark circles under them. He collapsed, more than sat onto the bench across from Garret and yawned. "Nyug… Good morning, everyone." Catherine sat down beside him, the charms and crystals on her dark robes jingling as she did. "Mr. Fax, this is Mr. Cross. Mr. Cross, Mr. Fax. I believe you two have met, albeit briefly."

"Yeah, we fought together at the gate. You can call me Eric." The man offered a handshake, immediately making it clear from his vice-like grip that he was the stronger of the two. "So how are you feeling, dead-man? You back to normal yet?"

For the second time that day, Garret was put on the spot, causing him to look anywhere but the eyes of the man across from him. He focused on his plate and replied between bites of potato. "I'm better. Just hungry. Nice to meet you, Eric. Thanks for helping me the other day."

"Oh yeah, no worries man. It wasn't much."

The brief conversation ended just as quickly as it began when Garret and Eric began to focus on their food, only to be restarted by Annika. "There's a lot of rangers here, today. I wonder if something's going on."

Sure enough, across the plaza, almost three tables were all full of male-female archer pairs, clad in their usual leather armour. Beside them lay their quivers and bows. It seemed like they would be leaving for a mission soon.

Catherine nodded in confirmation. "The commandant has been sending scouts out since yesterday to patrol the forest and track that slime queen. They probably want to kill it before it attacks anyone else and regains its strength."

"We might get a mission to hunt it down later… Hopefully after I've gotten a bit of sleep."

Unfortunately, Eric's sleep would have to wait. Half way through their meal, someone let out a shrill whistle. A watch sergeant had stepped onto one of the tables, and with a booming voice, announced an upcoming operation to do just what they suspected: Slay the slime queen. He then produced a scroll from his satchel and began to read off the names of soldiers who would be participating. Annika, Catherine, Eric and Garret were all on the list.

"I understand many of you are part of the Northreach Expeditionary Force! Your usual duties for today have been relieved. To improve unit cohesion, those participating in tomorrow's operation are to report to the training field at noon for sparring and instruction." A low groan emanated from the less-than-enthusiastic crowd. "Wizards are the exception. You will meet at the Mage's guild instead, to assist the preparations of wards and enchantments for this mission. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!", the crowd replied.

"Well at least you gentlemen get to do something somewhat fun." Catherine took a glance up at the sun, and hurriedly chowed down on the remainder of her meal. "I'll need to retrieve my spell books before the meeting, so for now I must leave you. Good luck with your training, Mr. Fax. Ann." She tipped her hat to both of them as she excused herself from the table. "Mr. Cross, would you be a dear and return my plate for me? Thank you~" Eric didn't have a chance to protest. A second later, Catherine had teleported away.

"So, Garret… Why aren't you with the rest of the wizards at the Mage's guild?"

Shouts and the sounds of wood on wood filled the air around the training field, punctuated by the occasional splintering as a guard broke his or her training sword.

"I'm not a wizard… Just a sorcerer." Crack! Crack! Crack! Garret had the fortune of being paired with Eric for sparring practice, though it was less of a fight and more of Eric teaching him the basics of sword fighting. The Natonian and Northreach soldiers had been distributed such that there was one of each in a pair, allowing the soldiers of each nation to compare and learn from the other's fighting styles.

"The fuck's the difference?" Thud. Garret barely managed to block Eric's single attack with his shield.

"Wizards are useful for things other than combat." The pair circled each other, with Eric sizing Garret up, and Garret… basically taking a break. He had no idea what he was doing here. "They use arcane formulae for their spells and do all the complex stuff. Sorcerers just sort of… will their magic into existence. Much faster for fighting, but we can't do many complicated things…"

Thud! After hearing the explanation, Eric nodded and lunged forward. Garret tried to block the attack, but wasn't fast enough. He was rewarded with a welt on his shoulder for his trouble.

"Hmm… try holding your shield like this and standing like this. You'll be able to defend yourself better."

After giving Garret a moment to ready himself, Eric repeated the same lunging attack. This time, Garret managed to block it, albeit just barely. He nodded his thanks to Eric before retaliating with his own flurry of blows.

Crack! Crack! Crack! "Good! Good aggression! But your form, well… it's terrible. Try to stay more in control of your weapon, you're-" Crack! Crack! Thud! "Ow…" "You're off balance."

Garret had tried to catch Eric off guard, but his wild attacks were easily parried, allowing Eric to bash him with his shield, knocking him flat on his ass.

"Hey, don't get discouraged, man, you're doing well for your first time."

"Got to give it all I can…"

For the next two hours, the two continued to spar, occasionally pausing to rest and allowing a different pair of guards to use their space in the training field. Gradually, Garret was starting to get the hang of it. Of course, a single training session would not a swordsman make, but with Eric's instruction, he would no longer pose more of a threat to himself than his opponents when handling a sword.

A whistle from the training sergeant caused the field to pause as the guards listened for his instructions. "Good job everyone, that's enough weapon training for today. Take a few minutes to rest, then we're going to work on grappling."

Grappling… that was something Garret could do. After their break, the two set down their swords and shields, and took up positions on opposite sides of their training space. Unlike before, where he was unsure of his movements, this time Garret moved deliberately, arms bent in front of him, hands open, ready to grab or block as he stared down his opponent. Eric seemed to pick up on his increased confidence, because he smiled in return. "This more your style, Garret?"

Garret barely acknowledged this, his face remaining expressionless as he formulated a strategy. "Yes."

Seeing his stoicism as a challenge, Eric's grin only grew wider. "Well then I won't hold back!"

The two stepped into their attacks simultaneously. At first Eric got a dominant grip, but Garret managed to break it and move in, pushing Eric backwards as he tried to maneuver into a more favourable position. Eric crouched down and tried to scoop Garret's legs, but he managed to step away. Shooting a leg behind him, Garret grabbed the hunched over Eric across the chest and around his waist.

"HAAAA!" With a mighty twist and pull, he hauled Eric over his leg, sending him crashing to the floor and landing on top of him.

As the two wrestled for dominance in the dirt, Eric spoke between grunts of exertion. "You're… pretty good… for a mage." He rolled over and used his legs to sweep Garret off of him, then lunged, trying to grab him for a choke hold.

"Have to be… can't cast… if someone grabs me…"

Garret broke out of the hold and managed to escape from Eric's grasp, scrambling away from him to get some space. Rather than chasing after him, Eric stood up and the two returned to their starting positions to begin anew. "You're strong, Garret. We're going to have to do this more often!"

"Sure thing." Now, even Garret was grinning, enjoying the feeling of competition in a fight between two equals.

An hour later, the sergeant whistled again, calling an end to the training, much to Garret's relief. He was about a half second away from tapping out of the choke Eric had put him in. At the start, they were evenly matched, but it had quickly become apparent that Eric's endurance, even with his lack of sleep, was much better than Garret's for martial matters. "You alright down there, Garret?" Eric stood over him, extending a hand to help him up.

"Yeah… Fine… I'm just… going to lay here for a bit."

"No, no, come on. On your feet, soldier!" He grabbed Garret's arm and hauled him to the standing position.

"Thanks..."

"No problem! That was a good fight." The two headed over to the training field's fence to retrieve the waterskins they had previously set there. After such a strenuous workout, they were both thirsty beyond measure.

"You didn't break him did you, Eric?" Between gulps of water, Garret saw a very sweaty Annika walking over to join them.

"No, he fought pretty well! You didn't tell me that Northreach mages trained in hand-to-hand!" The complement caused Garret to smile slightly, despite his dislike of being the center of conversation. Maybe it was ok, since they were praising him.

"No? Well you've got to be careful around this guy!" Annika slung her arm over his shoulders in a gesture of camaraderie. "He may be quiet, but he's full of surprises."

"I'm not that special, Annika…"

"You're more special than some of the dim-wits I had to deal with…" An annoyed voice from behind them caused the group to turn. Catherine was approaching them, with a rather cross look on her face. "Good afternoon, Mr. Fax, Mr. Cross, Ann. I trust your training went well?"

"Very well! I taught Garret a little bit of sword fighting and practiced grappling with him! It was a good time!" Eric flasher her a thumbs up. "We were just thinking about heading to a pub for a drink to relax. Want to join us, Cathy?"

… They were? This announcement was news to Garret and Annika, though neither of them were particularly opposed to the idea.

"Hmm, I would that I could, but I was actually here to talk with Garret. I need his assistance preparing some enchantments."

That caused Garret to raise an eyebrow. "Uh, um… I'm not a wizard, Catherine. I don't know how to enchant things."

She dismissed his uncertainty with a quick wave of her hand. "Please, call me Cathy. Oh, and I am abundantly aware of that. Not nearly enough crystals or scrolls for you to be a proper wizard." She said, gesturing to his plain, red-brown robes. "I just need your help for a few spell components, that's all."

"Uh…" Garret shrugged. Well he did owe her a life-debt, and if she thought he could be useful, he could at least try. "Alright. I'll catch up to you at the pub after we're done, Eric."

Unlike the professional soldiers of the Natonian guard, Catherine owned her own house in the city and didn't sleep in a barracks or the mage's guild common quarters. It was a small one, crammed between two much larger homes, but surprisingly well kept from the outside.

"Welcome, Welcome. Do come in. Please excuse the clutter."

The inside was another story. Piles of books and magical trinkets dotted the room, covering tables, desks, and overflowing from shelves. At least the floor was relatively clear, and the place was completely free of dust, probably thanks to a few spells.

"No problem… I don't think I've ever seen a Wizard with a tidy house."

Catherine laughed at his remark. "I'm sure you weren't much better when you were a student. At least you got to leave that life behind once you graduated from your academy. For a wizard, though, our studies are never done. This way, please." She guided him through her house, towards some stairs leading into the basement.

"Here we are."

Scattered around the basement lay an arsenal of weapons. Swords and maces lay on a table, and poleaxes and spears were leaned against the wall. This one, dimly-lit basement looked like it housed enough weapons to arm a small crusade.

"Are these all yours?"

"I wish… No, these are the weapons we will be using on tomorrow's mission. We're supposed to enchant them with fire magic, but the other wizards in this city have been absolutely useless… Half of them can't even manage a simple enchantment! What are the universities teaching them these days?" She collapsed on a stool dramatically. Garret leaned against a wall and made himself comfortable. It seemed like she was on a bit of a rant.

"They take students at the age of 8, train them for their whole lives, and release them sometime around the age of 20. That's at least twelve years of education. You would think they could fit a year or two of enchantment research in there, couldn't they? Just, look at this!" She picked up a sword with a ruined hilt to demonstrate. "One of those clueless imbecils thought you could just cast a flame onto the sword and call it a day!" She let out an exaggerated sigh and collected herself. "Right, well you're probably wondering why you're here." Garret nodded in response. "My studies specialize in energy manipulation. The most efficient way for me to enchant these weapons would be to superheat their cutting edges and then cast a spell preventing the loss of that heat energy. Whoever wields the weapon will have their energy drained over time to maintain the spell, but until they start hitting things with it, it shouldn't require any more than what I provide for with the initial enchantment."

While the explanation was interesting, Garret was still trying to figure out his part in the plan. "Alright, but what do you need me for?"

"Well you see, creating a flame from pure energy is incredibly inefficient. I'd be exhausted before I finished the first three swords." She pointed at him as she continued. "But your flame sorcery… that's much more sustainable. I need you to heat these blades up and keep them hot while I weave an enchantment into them."

That made sense, but there was still a problem. "Uh… alright… but I don't think I'll be of much help. I used up all my energy fighting with Eric." To emphasis his point, Garret conjured a small flame in his hand. As he predicted, it was weak and flickering. He couldn't sustain anything much larger than that.

"Hmm…" Catherine looked a bit disappointed at this, before shrugging and unhooking one of the three large crystals from the necklace she was wearing. "I suppose it can't be helped. Here." She held it out for him to take. The crystal thrummed with power. An ordinary person wouldn't notice it, but to someone sensitive to magic like Garret, it might as well have been glowing. When he picked it up, he began to feel something remarkable – energy started to flow from the crystal into him, replenishing his strength. He could even will it to increase the flow, decrease it, or even reverse it to channel energy into the crystal, presumably for later use.

"It's fascinating, isn't it? These are the pride of my research: Energy crystals that can be used by any magician or sorcerer, no matter their discipline. ...But please be gentle with that. They cost a fortune to make, and each one required weeks of spell crafting."

Garret nodded in agreement. "Very impressive… How much energy can they hold?"

"About the same amount a magician can normally access in a day. I tried to store more in the first one I made, but that caused it to shatter."

Once the crystal had finished restoring Garret's energy, he handed it back to Catherine. "Thank you. Now, where should we start working?"

"Let's deal with the polearms first." She quickly strode over to the wall and gathered a half dozen of them in her arms, before depositing them on the floor in front of him. "If you would be so kind, Garret, please heat these. And don't worry about scorching the floor. The whole house is warded against fire."

With the two of them working together, they managed to enchant the weapons at a fairly rapid pace. Garret would cast a small, but intensely hot flame across the weapon's edges, heating them until they glowed white, and then Catherine would weave her energy enchantment into it, locking them into a state of extreme temperature. Occasionally they had to stop for rest breaks to regain their energy, but within an hour, they had managed to enchant all the weapons and piled them in a corner where their glowing tips wouldn't set anything alight.

"Won't the heat damage the blades over time?"

"No… The other wizards of the city were at least competent enough to help me by warding them against damage. They should be fine for a day or two. Long enough to finish our mission anyway." After taking a moment to survey her handywork, Catherine nodded, pleased. "That should be sufficient. Thank you for your help, Garret. I am in your debt."

"Oh, uh, no problem."

"Well it may not have been a problem, but I greatly appreciate it. As a token of my thanks, I'll let you borrow one of these crystals for tomorrows mission." She removed one of the other, still full, energy crystal from her necklace and began to rummage through one of the old chests stashed away in a corner of the basement. A few minutes later, she came up with a plain looking, dull-grey, chain necklace to attach the crystal to. "Here, this should be sufficient."

"Thank you very much, Catherine." Garret gingerly took the necklace and fastened it around his neck. Almost immediately, he felt some of its energy start to flow into him, though he quickly willed it to stop. He didn't need it yet.

"I said 'Cathy' was fine…"

"I'll take good care of it."

She nodded after hearing this, satisfied. "I'll hold you to that. Now then. Our friends were waiting for us at the tavern, weren't they? We should make haste and join them. Come, Garret, there is food and drink to be had." After grabbing his hand, she chanted a quick incantation, causing a magic circle to appear, and teleporting the two of them away.

Author's Notes: First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favourited or followed the story so far. The positive feedback I got was great for my motivation. I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. Again, please leave reviews if you spot things you think need to be improved, or want to make note of things you like. I appreciate them all.

In my original draft of this chapter, I had cut out the middle portion and went straight into the group's mission to kill the slime queen. I felt this was rushing things a little, though, so I decided to put the proper monster slaying stuff off until next chapter and added the training field and enchantment scenes. Eric and Catherine are supposed to be significant characters in the coming chapters, and I felt that moving on to the fighting too quickly would leave people saying "That's nice, but why should I care about them?". The addition of these scenes let me develop everyone's character a bit.

The next chapter is going to be a little delayed. I'm going to be very busy for a while.

Until next time, Sayonara!