Double-checking the abilities, trying my best to understand them. I would not pick anything until I had at least completed the rare ingredient quest.

  “I got two options,” I said to Milo, before listing them off exactly as they were written.

  Milo rubbed his chin. “They are interesting, but importantly, the language they use is important. The first option sounds like it’s only useful when buying the goods, and you’ll lose the ability to find them since it’s an appraisal, not a forage. That said, I’m sure you could still find the ingredient in the wilds and appraise it on the spot.”

  I nodded. That was how I read it too.

  Milo continued, “The second is something that I expected you to get from this. A permanent vision ability is incredibly powerful. However, it depends on how it gains experience. Also, the specific wording there of line of sight is concerning. Currently, you can see objects in the ground, or behind trees. If it’s a firm rule—line of sight—you’d need to be looking at the object for it to stand out, no more finding hidden ones.”

  I had not considered that at all.

  “That sounds worse than it is now, so I really shouldn’t consider either of them?” I asked.

  Milo shook his head. “No. You need to consider what the ability will become. Getting a vision ability like that means it’s almost always going to remain a vision ability when it evolves in the future.”

  This was all a lot to think about. “I’m going to wait until I have completed at least the rare ingredient quest before I decide on anything.”

  “That’s smart. It’s best to have all your options before you decide,” Milo agreed.

  Saying goodnight, I went to sleep on it, and considered the potential uses for the skills, and more importantly, regenerated some mana. Being left with so little really didn’t feel good.

  ***

  When I awoke in the morning, I was very surprised to see a giant tree of coal and ash formed from the fireplace itself. It would have been taller than I was, but what really made it stand out from Crisplet’s other statues and objects he built, this one had leaves that were made of fire itself.

  “Wow, Crisplet, that looks amazing!” I said, approaching the tree.

  Getting closer, I could see so many fine details. It was also then that I noticed a certain cat carved out of coal appeared to be sleeping under the tree, which was especially fitting with the real Lily sleeping just a few feet away in exactly the same position under the branches. There was a fiery bird in the branches that looked suspiciously like Alira with fire wings. At the very top, there was a mini figure of Crisplet.

  “I wish we could save it when we move,” I said.

  I knew we couldn’t, but it really was special.

  I sat down to prepare breakfast. I purchased some new rolled grain and berries, so I decided to make a sweet porridge, pulling out the pot, adding the grain and milk, along with a small dash of sugar.

  Bringing this to a simmer, I admired the tree some more, noticing more and more details in it the longer I looked, like someone who looked suspiciously like me sitting in the branches right near the top of the tree, alongside what must have been Jen and Liane.

  “Crisplet, is this me?” I asked.

  I got a burst of sparks in response.

  After ten minutes of simmering, I took out a variety of berries and threw them into the pot. This added an almost purple swirl to the porridge, and it smelt amazing.

  Pulling it off the heat, I was just about to infuse it, stopping myself just as I was reaching towards it.

  I set it aside to cool down slightly, getting up and making my way to the entrance.

  “Morning,” I said.

  It was freezing outside. Looking around, I even saw what looked like frost along the ground. I wondered how close we were to actually getting snow now. Sitting outside, I saw Colin, Jen, Milo and Darren.

  “Trev, come take a seat!” Darren called.

  Looking back at the porridge, I closed the door behind me and took a seat.

  Colin was the first to speak. “Excited about the capital today? I heard it’s your first time visiting.”

  Shrugging, I didn’t know how much he knew, so I had to assume essentially nothing.

  “My first time to the capital, I was so overwhelmed. It’s so large compared to any of the towns around here, and then just the super imposing royal palace in the centre of everything. Even living there now, I still catch myself in awe of it all,” Colin continued.

  He started to laugh a little. “You know you’re going to cause a scene with your cat friend when you enter. I would stick around to see it, but it’s best I don’t get caught up in it all. I want to get home, make sure my plants are all still alive.”

  “You have a house there?” I asked curiously.

  “Sure do. Nice little place in the middle district! I head there in my downtime, sell my loot from the dungeon, and do any of my gear upgrades in my workshop,” Colin responded.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “How often do you go to the dungeon?” I asked curiously.

  This was a topic I knew almost nothing about, and it fascinated me.

  “Three times a year, usually. I take a month or so downtime between runs, and usually spend a few months in the dungeon at a time,” he said.

  “I heard they are large, but you can spend three months in there?” I said, shocked.

  “Easily. There are people living there for years at a time,” Colin said with a chuckle.

  “How? Wouldn’t you have cleared everything by then?” I asked.

  This just made Colin laugh, shaking his head.

  “No, it’s not that simple. I don’t think anyone has cleared the dungeon. It gets too strong. That’s not to say it’s not possible, just hasn’t happened yet. They are not infinite,” he said.

  “Couldn’t Lily finish it?” Darren asked excitedly.

  Milo joined in. “Yes, probably, but there would really be no reason for her to do it. She’ll gain nothing from it besides experience she likely doesn’t care about.”

  “It’s all about balance. Clearing the dungeon fully would end the dungeon for a very long time, if not permanently, since it needs the mana to generate the monsters and rewards, and it’s all a cycle. If you take too much or destroy everything, it will ruin the dungeon and the livelihoods of thousands,” Colin explained.

  “I’d better get back to breakfast, or Lily will eat it all,” I said, getting up from the bench.

  I made my way to the dome. I was really interested in learning more about the dungeon, but I didn’t want to accidentally say something and let slip a secret.

  Entering the building, I noticed the tree was no more. I was sad to see it gone.

  “Crisplet, you need to figure out how to make permanent statues! That last one was fantastic!” I said, approaching the fire.

  I got a burst of sparks as I stored the porridge away.

  Once everyone was awake and Milo, Jen and Darren had come inside, I served breakfast for everyone.

  “What’s the plan for today?” I asked.

  Hari shook his head. “Honestly, I’m sure whatever plan we make will be shattered. What I hope we can do is enter without too much trouble, find an inn, and visit the guild before the palace is alerted of our presence.”

  Milo laughed, causing Hari to let out a sigh.

  “Yeah, I know. It won’t happen, but one can hope, right?” Hari said with a grin.

  “Is Lily staying with us or hiding?” I asked, looking over at her.

  Hari and Milo looked at each other. “Honestly, Trev, I’m not sure. I don—”

  Hari was interrupted as Lily appeared next to me, sitting and appearing to be looking at Hari.

  “I think she wants you to continue,” I said with a chuckle.

  “As I was saying, I’m not entirely sure. If there is anywhere they might try to attack her and succeed, it’ll be the capital,” Hari began, but the moment he mentioned succeed there was a dull pressure I felt.

  The others were obviously feeling something different because they all winced, with Micca, Darren and George even moving away from the group and getting some distance.

  “I’m sorry, Lily. I don’t mean that as an insult to you. I just don’t know how strong you really are, and I don’t want you thinking we’re leading you into a trap if they do something foolish,” Hari said, looking at Lily directly.

  This seemed to have worked because the pressure dropped.

  “We can go about this two ways. We enter the capital how we entered Grey Rock, hiding nothing and flaunting the power, or we try to sneak our way in and take a quiet approach,” Hari explained, looking around at us all.

  Lily just looked over to Crisplet, who came over to the ground and began to make something, as what appeared to be a statue of ash appeared showing Lily, Crisplet and myself, followed by Lily pawing the ground next to it.

  “I think we got our answer. We go in loudly,” Liane said with a laugh.

  I heard a sigh from Hari, but he didn’t object.

  “Just know that whatever happens, we have your back, Trev,” Hari said.

  Looks like we had a plan.

  ***

  We were all mounted up and back on the road. Colin seemed a little on edge with Lily walking alongside me, impressively matching speed with Sable. I felt like Hari mentioning they could succeed in attacking her lit a fire under her, because she seemed to be extra prideful right now.

  There was no laziness in her movements. She appeared like a predator. If I didn’t know how much of a softy she really was, I would be terrified by the show she was putting on.

  Along the road we passed two caravans heading in the opposite direction. The first one nearly fell off the side of the road in its efforts to avoid us, and the second one turned into a field, deciding off-road was better.

  Another hour passed when I spotted three people on horses up ahead. They didn’t linger long before they turned their horses around and started racing back the way they came.

  I heard Hari yell out, “Well, they know we’re coming now. This should be an interesting entrance.”

  ***

  The road was unusually clear for the next two hours of travel. We did not pass a single caravan or rider heading the other way. I also noticed we were passing more and more farmhouses, and the farmers’ fields were much smaller and far better marked with little stone walls, so it wasn’t like they were going around us easily.

  On the horizon, I got my first glimpse of the capital, and Colin saying it was huge didn’t do it justice. It made Boltron look like a village. From here, the walls looked imposing already, and I could barely make out any details on the buildings.

  Well, except for the incredible-looking white and grey stone building in the middle, which must have been the palace.

  As we got closer, I noticed there were a lot of people at the entrance. They didn’t look like people lining up to get in either… my question was answered by Hari a moment later.

  “Formations. They have the entire royal and capital guard standing there, by the looks of it,” he said, shaking his head.

  Colin let out a nervous laugh. “I think it’s time I broke off and made my own way. Good luck!”

  With that, and after shaking Milo’s hand on the wagon, he jumped off and wandered into the field. I noticed he just took a seat on the stone wall to watch from a distance.

  We made our way slower now, and I noticed the pressure Lily was emanating grew.

  “Lily, if you have to, get yourself away, okay? We’ll be fine,” I said.

  The look I received told me that was absolutely not going to happen.

  As we got closer, the scene before us was clearer. There were hundreds of people in armour and robes, all in formation.

  In the middle of them all looked to be four figures, one of whom was wearing red armour so bright I could see the shine even from this distance.

  I could feel the tension in the air within the group. No one said a word, but I noticed small things: Jen clutching her reins harder than I’ve ever seen before; Hari looked like he had a wood board in his armour he was so stiff.

  Milo had taken out a mana candy, while I saw Liane sipping from a spider soup vial.

  Then there were Darren, George and Micca, all looking like they were struggling under the pressure Lily was emanating.

  When we finally got close enough to see the figures standing out the front, I heard only three words from Hari,

  “Tha… that’s the King!”