The Dungeon Crawler's Academy

"Better than Expected;"

Rahndall spoke up, putting his focus now on the high-spirited young woman. She nodded her head with gusto, playfully tapping her hands on the counter as she slid onto a barstool.

"Sure! They're from the Academy, after all... Are they here for a job?"

"They are."

"Good for you guys! Better that than sitting around the grounds, wasting the weekend away. Right Rahndall?"

"..Mm.."

The barkeep frowned as Kotomi slapped Gauge encouragingly across the back, drawing a nervous laugh from the rogue. It seemed to be convincing enough, as the man sighed in resignation and knelt down to retrieve a workbox from beneath the bar. Taking a stamp from inside, he pressed the rubber into a pad of wet red ink and applied the seal to the contract with it.

"Fine. It's all yours, approved."

Gauge swiped the paper with a grin, immediately moving away from the bar before anyone could change their mind.

"Thanks, Kotomi!"

He gave the girl a mock salute as he backpedaled towards the rear staircase, using her name in what he hoped was a convincingly familiar manner. The girl waved happily in response, and Argent hurried to follow his companion upstairs.

"What was that??"

"Hell if I know, but i'm not gunna question the help. Let's get the hell outta dodge."

The two spoke in hushed voices as Gauge led the way into the back of the upper floor. Strange as the encounter below had been, it was almost immediately lost from Argent's mind and instead replaced by the shock of finding an active teleportation pad nestled away in the furthest room of the establishment. Even more surprising was the revelation that those undertaking contracts were permitted to use it for free. The runestones were carefully inlaid, glowing strongly with world energies that drew Argent in like a moth to a flame, so much so that Gauge had to virtually shove him aside in order to organize the coordinates.

"So it's an open point? That's amazing! How did you find this?"

Argent exclaimed, receiving an annoyed grunt in reply. Teleportation magicks affixed to waypoints functioned one of two ways; either it was directly linked between two specific locations and would travel only between the two, or it was an 'open point', accessible to any other similar device so long as one knew the proper designation. This was what Gauge was currently managing, adjusting a series of shiftable stones along the far edge of the pad to match the line of runes written along the bottom of their contract. Argent watched with earnest fascination, always thrilled by the devices no matter how many times he saw them. Standing over Gauge's shoulder he reached back into the side-pouch of his bag, withdrawing his trusty notebook and taking a moment to record the runestone designations for both their destination and place of departure.

"..Alright, that should be that. Step on, let's blow this place."

Once the two were on the pad, the thrumming of channeling arcana began to fill the room around them, and soon they were overtaken by an incredible flash of light. That horrible, unnatural feeling of falling and flying all at once rippled through Argent's gut. Straining to hold himself together, he closed his eyes tightly against the spin of the world relocating around him, opening them again only after the sensation ebbed away. The chirping of birds and chattering of squirrels filled the air around him, a gentle breeze carrying the scent of a far off river and the notes of wild trees. Slowly regaining his composure, his vision swam back into view in the image of Gauge standing several paces away, looking back at him with a hand on his hip.