1 An unlikely encounter

"Chirp-chirp, chirp-chirp."

The sound of the pudgy yellow bird chattered incessantly that morning as it sat upon the window bobbing up and down trying to wake Dion.

"Stop! Milo, it's too early." Dion said, rolling over to his side covering himself with a blanket as he lay in his log bed.

"chip-a-chirp?" the bird asked but continued to sing even louder and eventually flew over to land on Dion's head.

"Chirp-a-chip, Chirp-chirp, chip-a-choo." Dion sat up, the sleep still heavy in his eyes and his short brown hair a complete greasy mess. Taking the bird off his head, he placed it back on the windowsill and fed it some bird feed. Milo, satisfied with his job, happily pecked away at his food.

Dion proceeded to do his morning stretches which consisted of rolling his shoulders and overhead triceps stretches as well as a bunch more to loosen his joints. His bedroom was a mess of equipment and bags that were scattered about the place, so his morning workouts almost always had him bumping into or tripping over something.

Dion, still tired and yawning, walked through his small lodge to the kitchen. Making his way around the wooden table at the centre of the kitchen; he went to open up one of the small cupboards to grab a small bag of coffee and boiled some water over a small wood stove.

As the water boiled, Dion fried up some sunny side up eggs and three large pieces of back bacon. Taking a knife and some green herbs, Dion diced them up and peppered them loosely over the still cooking meal. The steamy smoke dissipated through the air and Dion took in a whiff taking in the enticing smells.

Finishing up and sitting down at a small coffee table by the window, Dion was able to enjoy his morning coffee and have a peaceful meal looking out at the small village out in the distance. His lodge was just outside the village limits on a small plot of land with a quaint little farm and a white picket fence surrounding it.

Just down the dirt road, waddling quickly, a plump looking squirrel with a mailsack around him made his way to Dion's gate. Even though the squirrel was around a foot high, it still found it hard to open the latch to the gate. Its little arms reaching out to nothing but air.

"Sir! Sir! Can you please open the latch!" The panting squirrel asked, but Dion just sat at the window sipping his coffee watching the squirrel in amusement. "Please sir, I need to get all these deliveries out today and I'm already behind schedule. I can't afford to get another write up from the office…". The squirrel rambled on and on interrupting Dion's otherwise peaceful breakfast.

Dion's bird Milo flew out from his perch to the squirrel and jumped about on the fence frustrating the little mail squirrel chirping away.

"Chip-a-choo, chirp-a-chip?", the bird asked. "Yes, I'm late and your annoying presence is not making this process going any faster!"

The little squirrel swatted at the bird with a heated aggression chasing it around the fence. Laughing, Dion got up and went to the gate to open it and get his mail. Whistling at Milo to return, the bird ceased its bullying and glided back down to rest on Dion's shoulder.

"Your bird needs to learn some manners!" The squirrel said pulling out a small package and a slew of flyers.

"Sorry, Milo is a little monster, but he can be quite pleasant most of the time," replied Dion petting his bird's head.

"Here is your mail, and some flyers from the village. I have to go but please consider lowering the gate latch for me." The squirrel wiped his head with a small rag and started to run down the road and onto the next home.

Reading his mail, Dion noticed one of the flyers which stood out from the rest, with its golden trim and bright blue writing. Dion opened it and read the information within,

"This is to all companions throughout Acorn village that the annual arrival of adventurers is this upcoming Sunday in the morning. Please take this notice and ticket to give you a week in advance to prepare for the gathering. Adventurers will arrive at the guild house so please be prompt to get picked by the more skilled adventurers…" Dumbfounded, Dion thought for a moment to analyze the flyer.

'Wait this letter was supposed to be delivered a week before and today is Sunday… oh no.'

Realizing what was happening, Dion quickly ran back into his house dropping the rest of his mail and dashed off to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Milo on the other hand was frantically carrying in his mail and then went off to grab his owners' belongings from his bedroom closet.

"We're going to be late! Hurry it up!" Dion screamed putting on his brown trousers, boots, and white shirt. He placed his hooded tunic over his shirt and laced up his boots. Gathering up supplies and provisions into his knapsack, Dion secured it down with small locks on it and put it on.

Running out the door, Dion leapt over his fence and out onto the dirt road heading towards Acorn village.

"Chirp-a-chee!", the bird shouted, holding a ticket in its talons. "Thanks! Can't leave without this, what would I do without you little one!" The ticket was used by companions to gain access to the guild and allowed them to be partnered with an adventurer. The only problem now is that Dion was extremely late and trying to find an adventurer this late into the morning would spell doom for the rest of his year.

As both Dion and his little bird hastened their commute to the village, they passed by other small farms and homes occasionally waving to their neighbors. One neighbor in particular, Mr. Leafstone, an elderly man who lived with his wife, sat outside in a rocking chair watching Dion race by.

"Dion, try not to be late this time! I don't want to see you come home a lone companion this time. Ha! Ha!"

"Shove it, old man! I'll be part of the best party this side of Evermore just you wait." Replied Dion, groaning under his breath.

Dion made his way to the outer gate of Acorn village where an armoured guard stood by nonchalantly leaning against a wall eating a sandwich.

"Looks like your going to be late again this year as well, Dion," said the guard chewing away.

'I'm not going to be late!' Dion said, passing the gate and into the crowded mass of people.

The main part of the village was the trading market that extended to almost all parts of it. Houses of all shapes and sizes made up much of it with the occasional spots for trees and small gardens. Seeing the crowds blocking most of the main streets, Dion Sent Milo up into the air to find a better path to take so they could get to the Guild inn faster.

After a few moments, it came back, and Dion followed the bird through a maze of narrow alleyways and passages leading towards the Guild inn. Making his way down the decerped looking backsides of shops and houses lead him to eventually reach a bright cobblestone street. Villagers pulled carriages and carts filled with fruits and pots shouting out sales pitches to sell their wares. Flags and banners dressed many of these shops as they fluttered in the wind with various symbols describing services on them.

Dion glanced past all the hustle and bustle of the main street and out to a large inn off in the distance.

'The guild inn!' Dion thought to himself. He raced down across the street, dodging carriages and pushing past all sorts of people. Ranging from elves, humans, and a plethora of other humanoid races.

As he reached the entrance to the inn, Dion could already see that many adventurers had already chosen companions and were already diligently working on quest logs and forming their parties.

Keeping his head low, he walked into the inn trying not to be noticed by the other companions and adventurers. The inn itself was a multi-tiered establishment with high ceilings and a large spacious lounge area where patrons could eat and drink at the various tables.

Off to the sides were various small shops and information desks but at the very end of the lounge room was the guild inn's front desk where everyone dealt with their adventuring business.

Noticing all of the groups already established and leaving, Dion tried to remain calm hoping that there would still be a position available before the day was over. He joined the long line of other adventurers, and companions and eventually made his way to the front desk. The person working the desk was an old portly rabbit with spectacles on and wore a green vest with yellow buttons.

"Hi! Sorry I'm late, I wanted to arrive on time but apparently the letter got lost in the mail and…"

The rabbit looked up while rummaging through a pile of papers in front of him. Neatly organizing them and placing them in a folder, he passed them off to one of the human girls assisting him.

"Your tardiness if none of my concern Mr. Dion, you should have had that bird of yours help remind you that today is the busiest day of the year for us." Milo pouted and ruffled his feathers in disagreement.

"Well I'm here now, hopefully you guys have some strong heroes that I can get hired by." Dion asked the rabbit. 'Hopefully, I can get paired with a powerful wizard, or a necromancer with undead skills, maybe even a knight.' Dion thought.

Dion handed the rabbit the ticket and the rabbit got off his high stool at the desk and went into a backroom to grab Dion's companion folder. The companion folder consisted of Dion's various skills and how well he could use them. The last time he checked them he was below the average but excelled in cooking above all else.

Coming back to the desk, the rabbit opened the folder to reveal Dion's skill papers.

Pushing up his spectacles the rabbit began to read, "lets see then, proficiency in cooking, minor cleaning and repair, and minor defense through the use of a shield. Hmm. You also passed all of your companion training exams; this will be beneficial for new adventurers to learn. But you lack in almost every other area and you still haven't made significant progress from last year."

The old rabbit stroked the scruff of his chin and sighed.

"Please take a seat Mr. Dion, hopefully there's still adventurers left who will take you. Your peers have all been grouped up with most of the more promising arrivals so for your sake don't get your hopes up too high."

Taking a seat at one of the long tables, Dion and his bird sat there for what seemed like eons. Occasionally glancing at the clock above the front desk indicated that he'd been there almost six hours and by then most of the adventurers and companions had already left. The place was looking more and more empty by the hour.

Dion heard a commotion coming from the Armoury to his left, which was where the new arrivals were equipped with the most basic gear. The commotion got louder as pieces of armour and weapons came crashing down.

A sheepish voice was coming from inside, "sorry, sorry, I thought I could reach it!" Dion looked at Milo and gave each other worried looks. The inn was practically empty and whatever person came out of that armoury would most likely be their assigned adventurer. Getting up from his bench, Dion went over to see who was making all of that noise.

To his surprise it was a young girl, possibly in her late teens or early twenties. She was slender and had short wavy light brown hair with very soft facial features. The girl was still getting dressed in her attire which appeared to be a summoners outfit. A white hooded tunic with icy blue accents that ran down just below her waist.

She fastened on a large leather belt with a small pouch but managed to spill some of the contents causing some of the magical items to fall out and trigger their activation process. Little bolts of lightning and sparks flew about the small armoury and landed on some of the shelves causing some to catch fire.

The armourer on duty gasped and grabbed a large piece of cloth to snuff the flames out.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." The girl said blushing, pulling down her hood over her face.

Dion stood there in silence, but the girl turned to face him and smiled brightly at him. "You must be Dion! My name is Luna," putting her hands at her hip she proudly spoke, "and my chosen class is - Great and Powerful Summoner supreme!"

Dion and Milo gave each other a quick glance and smirked. They laughed uncontrollably with Milo falling to the floor rolling around. "What's so funny. Isn't every new arrival supposed to choose a class?" She asked infuriated.

"The class name is just – Summoner – there's no need to add all that extra nonsense to it. You say that to a monster, and it'll die from laughter." Dion said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Well, I didn't know, I just got here, and the guild helpers were so quick with their information sessions. This whole experience is new to me, so it's a lot to take in." Dion took note of her annoyed state and stopped laughing.

As the armourer finished cleaning up Luna's accident, he went into a back room and came back handing Luna a paper bag with her gear in it. She pulled out a basic summoners short staff that had a white, glassy stone at the top of it with metal parts holding it in place. She held it up to the light and marveled at its beauty as it glowed in a hue of sparkling colours.

"Looking like a summoner already, soon you'll be off summoning elementals and casting enchantments." Dion said smiling at her. "Also, how did you know my name? I haven't introduced myself yet." Dion asked as he picked up his bird.

"Well, when I went to approach the other companions for hire none of them wanted anything to do with me. Something to do about having a terrible skill sheet and not enough experience. Blah. Blah. Blah." She pulled out a sheet from her pocket with Dion's name it – his hiring sheet.

"Apparently the only companion left in here was you, but since I'm not as proficient as some of the other adventurers, partying with them was out of the question. So, a companion was a must for me and since you're the only one here, you get to show me the ropes!"

Sounding sarcastic Dion replied, "well that's encouraging, but it's getting late and it looks like we're both stuck with each other. My companion ticket is non-refundable but if you're the only one in here…," leaning out of the armoury Dion looked around shouting, "anyone else in here need a companion?" The inn was silent but from a room two floors above a voice cried out,

"No!"

Dion sighing went back to Luna and smiled hesitantly and asked for her skill sheet. She handed him the crumpled-up paper that was in her belt pocket. Reading through the various skills Dion found himself staring at the paper with sheer terror on his face with eyes bulging forward.

"Luna, you say you wanted to be a summoner, but your stats don't make any sense. Most of your points are divided amongst skills outside of summoning. Out of the initial ten points you were given, you slotted two under weapon melee, two under magic, two under thief, and four for heavy armour. You're not even wearing heavy armour!"

"I thought it sounded cool, so I wanted to put some points into that." Luna said softly twirling her thumbs.

Scratching his head, Dion told her to follow him to one of the long tables to re-do her skills sheet since she hadn't gotten it stamped by the guild staff. Sitting down, Dion pulled out a pencil and eraser and erased her poorly attributed skills.

"To start, skills are divided so that they can be properly appointed to the right class. The other classes being knight, priest, and wizard to name a few. Since you picked summoner you want your initial points on skills that can help cultivate your summoning abilities."

"Ok, so what skills will help me become a summoner?" Luna asked.

"Well, the skill system is designed in a tree format, once you place points on a branch you unlock abilities in that skill over time. So, let's get you the summoning skill set" Dion went ahead and slotted four points for summoning. "Next, you need equipment points which go under the light armour skill. So, two points should do for now. I specialize in defensive shield and sword so it will help balance out the two points allocated."

"The rest of the points I'll let you decide but I would advise against provisioning." Dion's face darkened as he said this leaning in over the table. "I'm a master provisioner so if you pick provisioning, I will make you regret it." Luna pulled back and cowered but assured Dion she would pick other skills.

Her last remaining points were placed under weapon melee with one point and the last three slotted under intelligence.

"Intelligence seems like a broad subject, how does that one work?" Luna asked staring at her skills sheet. "The intelligence skill is used primarily for enchanting, summoning, and overall anything that needs instant recall. In most scenarios, a normal mind could recall a spell but trust me when you're in a tight situation you need that ability to react and pronounce complex spells correctly." Dion replied.

"How hard can spell casting be? You say a couple fairy, whimsical words and bang! You got a spell."

Laughing, Dion pointed at a large sheep sitting at a table at the other end of the room. "You see that sheep over there? That used to be an adventurer but apparently, he didn't have enough intelligence to use a complex spell and say the right words. So, his spell backfired turning him into a harmless sheep!"

The sheep sat human-like at the table glancing in their direction.

"Bahhhh!" the sheep cried.

Luna stunned by the sheep, quickly looked away. "Ok. Ok. That makes sense." She quickly went back to her sheet and removed the one point from weapon melee and added it to intelligence.

With her sheet all settled, the two of them went back to the guild front desk to get her skill points stamped. A girl with blonde hair was on duty, but she seemed too busy talking to another guild staff member at the desk to notice Dion and Luna.

"Eh! We're here to get this sheet stamped," Dion said as he slid the paper across the desk. The blonde girl looked at him with a blank face. She stamped it quickly with the symbol of the Acorn village on it.

"Isn't there supposed to be some sort of ritual or grand event when skills get assigned?" Luna asked the staff member. "Would you like a cake and balloons with it as well?" The blonde girl asked as both she and her staff friend laughed. "Oh wait, your serious. Ha. Skills get placed within you magically, so it all happens without you seeing it. Your companion friend can show you your personal magic sheet later on. It usually takes twenty-four hours for them to take effect."

Disgruntled with the staff member's response, Luna decided it was best not to start an argument and left the guild house pulling Dion by the arm to the street. Milo jumped down from his shoulder and bounced on his own out the door.

"Slow down, we haven't even discussed our party guidelines. The first order of business is finding you an inn to stay at and setting up your bank space." Pulling out a flyer with inn coupons Dion flipped through them. "So how much gold do you have? They should have given you a weeks pay," before he could finish Luna interrupted him, "I spent all of it, I assumed that I would be staying with a companion so I didn't think twice about the gold as we already know gold is easy to attain starting out. I bought this nice hat with the gold." Luna pulled out a wizard hat from her paper bag and Dion quickly reached out to see it – it had a tag that read:

'level twenty-two minimum requirement. Wizard class only.'

Befuddled, Dion glanced at his coupons and slowly put them away in his pocket. "I don't know where you learned these ideas, but your knowledge of adventuring is lacking. It's like you don't know the faintest idea about this occupation. The hat you have isn't even useable."

"Well, about that. I'd rather not say why because of how public this place is but maybe I can tell you later tonight?" Luna asked.

"Very well. I have a lodge just outside the village gates, we can talk about it over some tea but please refrain from leaving out any important details I need to know. Adventuring is tough and I don't want to die on a quest because of something idiotic."

They both walked through the market which was already closing up for the day. 'Had it already been a full day?' Dion pondered. Making their way to the gates, the guard that stood watch was fast asleep resting on a bed of hay with breadcrumbs on his ragged armour.

Milo tagged behind the two of them but being the trickster bird, it is, he was drawn towards the sleeping guardsman. His internal instincts telling him to wake the slumbering oaf.

"Choo-a-chip!" Milo squawked, flapping its wings at the breadcrumbs which blew them into the guard's beard. The guard awoke in a daze to see a plump yellow bird at his feet staring up at him with beady black eyes. Squinting at the bird, he leaned back down and fell asleep. Milo jumped up and flew back to Dion and circled the two of them as they travelled down the dirt road back to Dion's lodge.

"So, Luna, I have to ask because I feel like you're more or less oblivious to the whole process of adventuring. We're outside the village and this was something you wanted to tell me in private wasn't it?" Dion asked.

"Yeah, about that. I'm going to be honest with you," she grabbed Dion by the shoulders, "I shouldn't be here" She replied with a serious expression on her face. "I didn't think too much about the letter that was sent to my house back on earth. I thought it was some sort of mail-in order that my little brother was subscribed to."

Confused, Dion removed Luna's hands from his shoulders. "I don't understand you're telling me you didn't know about the letter and the explicit details in it? I know most adventurers find it jarring when they get here but the letter should've explained it well enough before you got here."

"I kind of…skimmed through it, I wanted to pull a prank on my brother and put my own name down to ruin his order." Luna couldn't help but laugh. "As soon as I signed my name down everything went white and then I 'popped' into a room with about a thousand other people."

Standing there in utter shock, Dion contemplated how such an event could have happened to him. "So, you took what was supposed to be your little brothers' invitation to join our world and fight against evil but now you're stuck here but more importantly I'm stuck here with you!" Sweating and in a panic, Dion took Luna's wizard hat and held it up to her face, "you also spent all of your gold on this stupid hat which is from a completely different class! At least tell me you have some experience from your world on adventuring?" Dion asked impatiently.

"I used to watch a show about prancing ponies in a meadow if that counts."

Dion's skin went pale and he carefully put the hat back onto Luna dusting it off and straightening out the creases.

'I should have just become a chef and never bothered with this companion nonsense,' Dion thought to himself.

Walking past Luna, he slowly trudged back home while Luna walked behind him at a distance.

They got up to Mr. Leafstone's lodge and the old man blurted out, "Hey good for you Dion, you got yourself a nice adventurer to work with, congratulations!" Luna smiled and waved at the old man and he did the same.

Milo flew back down to land on Dion's shoulder, "Chip-a-chip" Milo chirped.

"I guess its not so bad, maybe I was a bit harsh." Dion said scratching his head.

"Choo-a-chirp."

"It'll be tough but hopefully we can help her the best we can." Staring out at the sunset, it was well into the evening and Dion had to figure out where Luna was going to sleep. His lodge was small so making space was going to be a problem.