The Intermediaries

"Huh." Mike said to himself while putting the antler away. He hadn't thought it was possible for the pieces of defeated dungeon monsters to remain behind, but apparently this was a special case.

Shrugging, Mike took one last look around the chamber, enjoying the strangely peaceful and solemn atmosphere one last time. Making sure his disguise was in place, he shouldered his new spear and exited through the portal.

He found himself back outside, facing a small crowd of adventurers and guild clerks, who erupted into cheers as soon as he'd appeared. From the sounds of it, there was some kind of commotion going on in town as well.

The man who had been manning the entry stall ran over to him. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you. If I had known that you were capable of conquering the dungeon on your own, I would have never have bothered you."

He had a fawning, desperate expression that seemed to begging for absolution.

[Is clearing a dungeon really that big of a deal? Judging from their reactions, at least it looks like I didn't cause them any problems by doing so.]

"That's alright. You were just doing your job." Mike replied, trying to head off any further groveling. "What's all this about?"

The man blinked, "Why, we are celebrating. It's been years since the last time a delver has conquered the Cave of the Beast, so when the portal changed color, it didn't take long for word to spread. Give it another hour or two and the whole town will be one big party."

Mike looked behind, noticing that the dungeon portal had taken on a distinctly greenish hue, which somehow made it look more inviting. "This won't cause any problems for anyone? I mean, it's not like I ruined everyone's source of income or anything, right?"

The man blinked again, looking a little unsure of himself, "Of course not. Whenever the dungeon boss is defeated, it makes the other monsters more docile, less powerful. If anything, you've made everyone's lives easier for the next few months, until the boss respawns and things return to normal. Is this your first time clearing a dungeon?"

[Well, that answers a few questions. It looks like I don't need to worry about anything else.]

"Thanks for the information. Anyway, I need to be going. I have pressing business to attend to. Judging from the position of the sun," he took a moment to stare sagely into the air, "I have already spent too long here."

With that he began moving towards the village gate. The assembled crowd moved apart to allow him past, cheering all the way.

The guild clerk hurried up beside him, "Are you sure you can't stay longer? I think they're planning on a having a big feast in your honor. If you've never been a part of a Dungeon Conquest party, you should know that you are missing out."

Tempting though that was, Mike had other obligations. The last thing he wanted to do was to stand up his two female party members just to attend a feast. He would never hear the end of it once they found out. "I'm afraid I cannot."

"Wait, come on. You haven't even told us your name!" The man pleaded.

[Didn't I show you my guild card earlier?]

There was some murmuring amongst the crowd, which suddenly took on a scandalized tone. Shouts of 'you can't leave!' and 'tell us who you are!' could be heard over the general noise. Mike noticed that the onlookers had started crowding closer, evidently trying to get a better view, but in the process, they cut off his line of retreat.

[I never knew that popularity was such a pain. Why does anyone want to be famous? Ugh, I really don't have the time or the patience to take care of it in the appropriate way, so I might as well be flashy.]

He sent a quick mental message, before halting in the center of the constricting circle of excited adventurers. With a trickle of mana, he enhanced his voice to make it carry over the assembled people, while giving it greater gravitas. Raising his new spear to quiet the crowd, he delivered his statement. "I have no desire to spread my name, and therefore I won't share it. If that answer doesn't suffice, fear not. I will show you everything you need to know momentarily."

There was a moment of silence as the crowd digested this statement. Mike heard someone in the back say, 'what does that mean?' before he got the mental reply he was looking for.

With a burst of Air Magic, he threw himself directly up, just in time to intercept Red as he nimbly navigated through the encroaching trees. Mike was almost out of earshot, when he heard the crowd finally react, bursting into frenzied cheering which faded as the dragon flew them farther north.

[Man, the Dragonknights are really popular here. Just have to show up on the back of one and suddenly it's a national holiday or something.]

Mike put it out of his mind, and concentrated on holding on. Red was complaining mentally about having to dodge around the ancient trees, and as soon as there was enough clearance, he ascended above the canopy. Angling himself towards the capital, the dragon launched himself forward at high speeds, evidently enjoying the act of flying with all of his might despite whatever discomfort it caused his rider.

In a short span of time, they were over the city, and Mike was preparing to jump.

[Thanks again, Red. You've been a big help. I'll treat you to something tasty once we've reached the point you can hang out in the city without causing too much of an alarm. I've heard there is a restaurant that cooks an entire cow using an old family recipe. Supposedly, the meat just falls off of the bone.]

Red made dismissive noises at the idea, but Mike saw a hint of drool forming at the corner of the dragon's mouth. Chuckling, he jumped, once more aiming for the University. With a little effort he was able to direct himself towards a secluded section of the campus. Judging from the sky, he still had about thirty minutes until it was time to meet up, so he took a moment to visit one of the dining facilities and eat a quick meal.

As per usual, Audra woke immediately after coming within a certain radius of food, and fought to free herself from the confines of Mike's pocket.

He intimated a feeling of exasperation along their link. [I spend the entire afternoon fighting monsters, and you're dead to the world. But the second we stop by a restaurant, you're ready to take on the world. I'm glad I don't actually have to depend on you for anything.]

The little dragon turned to look at him, cocked her head to one side, and replied with a squeaky chirp which translated as 'hungry!'

Sighing, he got in line. The cafeteria was serving a thick pork stew, with a half loaf of white bread, a wedge of cheese, two apples, and a flagon of ale. Not exactly the healthiest of meals, but tasty nonetheless. He made sure to get a second bowl of stew for his familiar, and sat down to eat, letting Audra down onto the table to do likewise.

Despite being distracted by the need to grab the dragon's bowl every so often to avoid having her tip it over, Mike found himself getting lost in thought during the meal.

[So I know mana infused ink works for creating items through Artifice, but how are you supposed to do it with the other methods. Am I supposed to simply incorporate the mana core into the item somehow? What should I do when making something small?]

He resolved himself to research the idea when he had the time, but pulled one of the smaller red cores out of his bag, out of curiosity. He wondered if he could somehow make it take a more convenient form, and applied a little mana-infused will in the attempt.

It didn't accomplish much besides making the core glow a little, and he could clearly tell that he was on the wrong track. Sighing again, he set it down on the table, and grabbed one of the apples, absentmindedly biting into it while thinking.

[The simplest method would be grind it into dust and add it to the item at the beginning…]

Audra, having finished her bowl of stew, was staring at the mana core curiously. She walked over and gently nudged it with her snout. It was a little humorous to watch, since the crystalline sphere was almost as big as she was.

"That's not edible, little one. Are you really still hungry? Here, you can have my other-"

With a loud crunch, she took a bite out of the core. By reflex, Mike moved to pull it away from her, but stopped himself to watch. With slow, steady progress, Audra devoured the sphere, storing it in whatever extradimensional space that served as her stomach. Once she was done, she gave a satisfied chirp, yawned, and curled up to go to sleep.

[I guess dragons really can eat anything. Maybe mana rich foods are an important part of their diet? I really wish I could find someone who knew something about this. Perhaps when the surviving Dragonknights hunt me down for appropriating their name, I can get a little dragon-rearing advice before they try to kill me or whatever.]

He gathered up his familiar, thanked the serving staff, and headed back to the dorm. When he arrived, Tal and Sera were waiting outside, apparently ready for him.

"Finally! I thought you would never get here. Do you know how long we've been waiting?" Sera demanded as soon as he was close enough to yell at.

Mike listened to the sounds of the clock tower in the distance, chiming ten bells, which was when they were supposed to meet up. "Sounds like you are the ones who were early? What's the matter can't wait to hang out with me?" He teased with a grin.

The Oracle blushed, "Don't you know that you're supposed to get here first? Its not gentlemanly to keep ladies waiting."

"Alright, alright, sorry. Now, are you both ready to go?" He said, while motioning back towards the training grounds.

Tal simply nodded, while Sera grumbled to herself for a few moments before acquiescing as well. It was a short walk, and before long, they'd arrived at the deserted yard.

"So what's the plan? Are you going to give us pointers or something?" Sera asked, while getting her weapon ready.

Mike turned to his party members. "That will be part of it. I've been thinking about this for awhile now. How should I best prepare you for the dangers of live combat? How do I make sure that the two of you, and Brenden as well, whenever he comes back, will be able to survive against the toughest of opponents? Unfortunately, I am not a strong teacher. My innate qualities make it difficult for me to relate to the struggles of others in this world."

Noticing the frown forming on Sera's face, he made sure to follow up. "Not that I'm complaining, it just make's this training a little bit challenging for me to plan. That said, I think there is one method I can pursue that will help you prepare for all kinds of dangerous situations. One that can serve as a measure of your current progress while allowing me to help you grow in the future."

Tal sketched a symbol that basically meant a question mark onto her chalkboard.

"Combat simulations, of course." He said as he summoned a ball of fire in one hand, before angling it towards the pair. "Lets see you've got."