Elix opened his eyes slowly. The air smelled of soil, mingled with the fresh scents of the forest. Above him, was a high ceiling with wooden beams stretched across it. As he sat up, he felt the softness of a bed beneath him, which confused him further.

  Where am I? Did I die? I always imagined the afterlife would involve some godly being passing judgment and granting passage onwards, he thought, taking in his surroundings.

  Assessing himself, Elix noticed that all his clothing was clean and free of dirt. Even more impressive, all of his injuries had vanished. M.i messages awaited him, and he began to read them:

  You have consumed Lesser Vitri Potion. You have consumed Lesser Repair Token. You have consumed Lesser Stamina Potion.

  It looks like I’ve been healed and my clothing repaired. Nice, but where the hell am I?

  Elix climbed out of the bed and looked around. Wooden shelving units lined the walls, holding magic cards displayed on small stands. Hundreds of them adorned the room’s perimeter. Strange maps of unrecognizable places hung on the walls. As Elix’s eyes scanned the room for clues, they landed on a small box at the foot of the bed. The sleek stone box was filled with feathers, and nestled in the center was Lef, peacefully snoring away.

  “Even in near death, I can’t get rid of you, huh?” Elix said to himself.

  He moved over to the sleeping creature, scooped him up with one hand, and carefully lowered him into his shirt pocket. Searching for an exit, he spotted an archway with a curtain draped down, obscuring what lay beyond. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through it.

  What greeted him was a stark contrast to the room he had just vacated. The cool night air brushed against his face as stars twinkled above. The smell of fire filled his nostrils, and murmuring voices reached his ears, but he couldn’t see anyone. The sounds seemed to be coming from directly ahead.

  I should be able to see people. Why can’t I? Are they invisible? Fear began creeping in, and Elix started to wonder if he had been captured by some kind of monster.

  Monsters don’t have nice rooms... Wait, now there’s only a tent! What happened to the large room I was in? Could this be card magic? It has to be, that means it must be Ren and his party.

  “Are you going to stand out there all night, kid?” A familiar voice called out from just a few meters ahead, though there was no one there.

  “Where are you? Ren, is that you?” Elix shouted back.

  “He really is green. Where did you find this one, Ren?” another rough voice chimed in.

  Elix stepped forward, following the voices until he stumbled into a campsite. His eyes darted around in wonder at the scene before him.

  A metal-grated box in the center emitted flames flickering upward, while billows of smoke rose to the sky. The sky itself glowed with the colors of a perfect sunset—deep oranges and reds. The ground had transformed into soft grass, far smoother than the rough forest floor he had seen earlier. It resembled a lush green carpet, dotted with small, flowery shrubs.

  The centerpiece of the camp left Elix speechless: a large wooden pergola, circular in shape, with a roof formed of glistening leaves. The roof had a wide hole in its center, allowing smoke to rise unobstructed from the fire below. Cushioned benches surrounded the pergola’s base, and seated on those benches were Ren and his party. All eyes turned to Elix.

  “Where are we?” Elix began to ask but froze as his gaze fell upon Elisa sitting at Ren’s right-hand side.

  Elix instinctively took a step back, summoning his halberd card. The Halberd materialized in his hand and he took a fighting stance.

  “You! You tried to kill me!” Elix shouted at Elisa.

  “I’m sorry, Elix. That was my fault,” Ren interjected. “I shouldn’t have sent such a hot-headed person to check on you. We’ve spoken, and I promise she’ll be no bother moving forward. Come, take a seat with us. Let’s make proper introductions and answer some of your questions.”

  Ren gestured to a bench directly opposite where he and the others were seated. Still cautiously eyeing Elisa, Elix walked over to the bench. As he did he stored his Halberd card back into his inventory. Latrus and Dorgo appeared amused by the situation, exchanging glances as they stifled their laughter. Elisa remained expressionless and hard to read. Elix decided not to take any chances and took a seat.

  “Right, first things first, Elisa has something to say to you,” Ren said.

  Elisa stiffened in her seat and took a deep breath.

  “I’m not apologizing, so get that out of your stupid head. I’m a superior Cardmancer, and I will not be disrespected by the help. If you question me again, you’ll meet the same power as last time. That said, I have no objection to you tagging along until you inevitably meet your end.”

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

  She looked sideways at Ren, seeking his approval.

  “See, Elix, friends already,” Ren laughed. “Let’s move on from this and take it as a lesson in not challenging higher levels. I commend bravery, but there’s a fine line between courage and stupidity, and the wrong side of that line normally leads to death.”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you, Elisa I just didn’t agree with you, I guess. I’ll always speak my—” Clatter!

  The sound of pots and pans tumbling to the ground startled Elix. He turned to see what had caused the noise. Standing just outside the pergola was a girl with blonde hair and pointed ears. He recognized her immediately as the Elf who had saved him from the blood monster back in Heath Village.

  Elix opened his mouth to greet her, but before he could speak, Ren cut him off.

  “Pon, return,” Ren commanded.

  The girl vanished in a streak of light, materializing into a card that appeared in Ren’s hand.

  “Sorry about that! please continue, Elix,” Ren said as he stored the card back into his inventory.

  Gathering himself, Elix decided to change the topic of conversation which was probably for the best.

  “Where are we?” he asked.

  “You really don’t know much about card magic, do you, kid?” replied Dorgo, stroking his beard as he looked at Elix with eyes as black as night, pupils invisible in the darkness. “This is a Terrain card. A Cardmancer can produce different environments and structures using specific cards. This one’s Elisa’s, it’s a forest camp based on her homeland.”

  “I’m new to this side of card magic. I only know the basics and don’t really know anything about Cardmancers. The first one I ever met was Ren. My father told me some things, but nothing about card types or what Cardmancers can do,” Elix replied.

  “Well, stick with us, and you’ll see much more than this,” Latrus said with a low rumbling laugh.

  “Why couldn’t I see inside the camp earlier? I could hear you, but until I got close, it looked like there was nothing here,” Elix asked.

  “That’s part of the effect of Elisa’s terrain card. The camp is invisible to outsiders, and only those permitted can enter freely. Quite handy in the wild, you never know if monsters or other dangers are nearby,” Latrus explained, his sharp teeth glinting in the firelight.

  “That’s so cool! Okay, next question is Pon a MIB, and where did she go?” Elix asked, looking at Ren.

  “Pon is a Magical Interface Being you are correct. They’re magical entities, not real people. There are all kinds of MIBs in the world, they are bound to cards and can be summoned as needed,” Ren explained.

  “What do you mean by ‘not a real person’? How do you know something is a MIB and not a person? She looked like a real Elf to me,"asked Elix.

  "Well, MIBs are created by the M.i. They have a unique aura signature specific to MIBs and a symbol on their body that allows them to be identified. I presume your next question will be how Cardmancers obtain a MIB. There are only three ways a MIB can be bound to a Cardmancer.” Ren began to explain.

  "First, a MIB can agree to be bound through a magically binding contract, becoming that Cardmancer’s to summon as needed. Second, a Cardmancer powerful enough can enforce the contract, binding the MIB using superior magic. This method requires a high level and rank. And finally if the MIB is defeated in battle to the point where it can no longer resist the binding the Cardmancer can bind it to a magic card using a binding spell," Ren explained.

  Elix wondered about the kinds of MIBs that existed in the world but decided he had more pressing questions to ask.

  "Okay, MIBs, I think I understand them a lot more. Ok, here’s my most important question: Why am I here? What do you want from me?"

  Latrus, Dorgo, and Elisa all turned their gazes to Ren, giving the impression they, too, wanted to hear his answer. Ren stood and walked over to the fire at the center of the pergola. He turned back to face them all.

  "You are here to be our new squire. A squire doesn’t need to be officially inducted into a guild and can be recruited by a party leader at any point during a mission. Your duties will be to help with tasks that myself and the others assign to you," replied Ren.

  "This seems like a very one-sided deal. Why would I agree to that?" Elix asked, his thoughts drifting to his father and his goal of getting strong enough to meet him at Gravenetch City.

  "There are hundreds of people who would give anything for your position and many of them would be more qualified. Being a squire to a guild party is a surefire way to learn card magic and gain XP. The reason people want to be squires is because, while they travel with people like us, they get to experience things they normally never would," answered Dorgo in his booming voice.

  "If you accept, you’ll be in a great position to learn as much as you can. I made an agreement with your father to take you with us, but the decision is yours. You’re free to leave at any time. However, opportunities like this don’t present themselves regularly. If you go back now, you may not get this chance again," Ren said, his eyes fixed on Elix, awaiting his response.

  Standing there in the firelight, Ren seemed to grow in stature, his aura washing over the camp like a warm wave of soft air. Elix paused for a moment, weighing his options carefully.

  "I accept. I will be your squire," Elix finally declared.

  Ren pulled a card from his inventory and threw it into the empty space between the fire and the benches. A long table materialized in front of the party members. Next, he summoned multiple cards, one between each finger of his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the cards flying, and they transformed into jugs filled with various beverages. Latrus followed suit, pulling cards one by one and tossing them onto the table, where they became differently sized drinking vessels.

  "Let us toast our new squire and celebrate Elix, our new companion!" Roared Latrus in his rough, beastman voice.

  Each party member took a vessel and filled it with one of the available liquids. Even Elisa poured herself a drink, though it was clear she didn’t care much for a toast in honor of Elix.

  Elix took a sip of his drink and was immediately struck by the taste, it was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

  If this is a sign of things to come, I could get used to this, he thought, swilling the liquid around in his mouth, trying to discern its flavor. He couldn’t, it was entirely foreign, likely made from ingredients he had never encountered. When he finished his drink, he felt a pleasant sensation: a mixture of exhilaration and clarity, this was not just a toast to his new role, this was to him a toast to finally finding his path in life.