After Gusto went upstairs, much of the day was spent the same way Adam had gotten used to by now. Some moderate physical training in the training field involving archery practice, acrobatics, sprinting, weight lifting and martial arts drills, followed by swim practice in the lake. After that, he spent time meditating, listening to Juhend give lectures on mysticism components and their uses in rituals, followed by practice in harnessing the powers of illusion and divination present in the Realm. In the evening, he spent time reading overviews of legal systems, common flora and fauna, differences in linguistic vernacular and other common lifestyle variations between various Realms. It was Adam’s normal, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t challenging. By the time he was finished for the day, he was practically starving.

  Thankfully, the strange wooden puppets that loitered around the bastion were capable of receiving basic commands. Something like “clean my room”, “iron my shirt” or “cook a stew” was within their capabilities. Of course, the stew ingredients would have to be laid out ahead of time, and it wouldn’t exactly taste like a chef’s magnum opus. Still, after long days of training, a few simple commands to these strange puppets was capable of seeing a warm and hearty meal in front of him as if he were directing subordinates.

  Tonight, he was eating some stew in his room whilst reading a book on self cleaning sewage systems. His capacity to endure headaches had become much greater since the start of his studies- an entire floor of the bastion was taken up by a modestly sized library, and Juhend often assigned additional readings. He often didn’t understand any rhyme or reason to Juhend’s assigned readings, but was determined to get high marks anyway. There was no telling when he would need the information he was taking in.

  He had just gotten to a particularly boring portion related to self cleaning due to shear stress in certain designs when he heard a soft knock on his door. Opening it, he was met with Juhend’s impeccably dressed appearance.

  “May I enter?”

  Adam was taken aback by Juhend visiting out of the blue in such a way but quickly found himself and moved over to the side, gesturing with his arm for Juhend to enter.

  “Mr. Juhend, what can I help you with?”

  Juhend walked to the desk and picked up the book that Adam had been studying.

  “A comprehensive analysis of the use of Chezy’s formula and hydraulic mean depth as a method of self cleaning sewage treatment?”

  Juhend smiled, breaking out into a hearty laugh.

  “Adam, I realize you take assigned readings seriously, but you may be the only person I’ve ever met that would read about sewage systems while eating dinner.”

  Adam grew sheepish, an amount of color rolling into his face as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

  “You won’t be able to become a Chosen if you end up dying first. Pace yourself.”

  Juhend put the book down and turned to look Adam in the eye.

  “Speaking of, I’m worried about Gusto’s current mental state. I plan on sending the two of you to collect a book for me from a friend. You can use it as an opportunity to probe around a bit, see how he’s doing for me. Can you do that?”

  Adam nodded firmly.

  “Yes, Mr. Juhend. I’m worried about him too. I haven’t seen him all day today.”

  Juhend nodded and moved to walk out of the room.

  “The two of you will Shift in roughly one hour. It is a simple task- simply visit the Third Wand Bookstore and pick up a package for Juhend Sureb. Then, Shift back here. Make sure not to use an Anchor when you Shift back here or else your Anchor to the Physical World that we used getting here will be overwritten. It’s very important not to lose that.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  …

  As Adam went through the familiar process of another Shift, his head swam as if he was against a heavy wall of water. Ringing abounded in his ears, and he was dizzy almost to the point of collapse once he finished materializing at his destination. Gusto, wearing a black tunic and brown pants, was next to him waiting with an annoyed look on his face.

  The pair found themselves in a dusty basement, with barrels, cobwebs and old books on shelves. Gusto gestured to a stairway without much sound and began to climb upstairs.

  Adam had to catch his breath for a time before following. For some reason, this Shift caused him to feel almost as if his head was splitting. It was similar to the experience he had felt first Shifting to Juhend’s Realm, but magnified significantly. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts a bit, he soon followed Gusto up the stairs and through a hatch, alighting outside to a dark alleyway.

  The air was moderately warm, but stank of nearby feces and horse manure. This alleyway was a dead-end, with a number of old wooden crates nearby. On either side of the alley rose apartment complexes.

  Pinching his nose against the smell, which was notably worse than that in Diell City, Adam tried to lighten Gusto’s mood.

  “I didn’t think there were any cities this big in any Realms, it’s surprising!”

  Gusto didn’t look back, his voice, though softened by his mood, still carried itself easily and clearly back to Adam without issue.

  “Yeah, well people can be born in Realms just how they can be born in the Physical World, it’s not that surprising that some Realms have big populations by now… Come on, let’s find the bookstore and get the book and get out of here.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Adam’s smile faded on his face as he briskly walked before Gusto, whose gait was larger than normal.

  Before long, thanks to some written directions of how to get there from Juhend, the pair managed to spot a small sign hanging on a street corner. It was wooden and slightly faded, with purple lettering and the image of an open book.

  “Third Wand Bookstore, there it is! Gusto, maybe you’ll find something you want to read there?”

  Gusto didn’t respond to Adam, instead making his way forwards. Adam sighed and followed.

  As Gusto opened the door, a tinkling sound of a bell echoed out. From behind the counter, the pair heard a small, almost mouse-like voice yell “Just a minute!”

  Bumps and the occasional swear could be heard from behind the counter, and a thin, weaselly old man in spectacles pushed his way up from a hatch underneath the floor behind the countertop. He stood up, his height barely enough to see over the counter, and sighed with a smile.

  “Sorry about that, I was feeding the guard drake under there, he’s a stinker when he’s hungry!”

  The spectacled man outstretched his hand, which was visibly scarred over in many places and had many callouses.

  “Name’s Tiny. Tiny Squeak. And yes, that is my legal, real name before you ask. What can I help you young lads with today?”

  Gusto was taken aback, but Adam, having actually read the notes in Juhend’s library on the establishment here, swiftly shook Tiny’s hand with a smile.

  “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Squeak. My name is Adam and this is my friend Gusto, we are visiting on behalf of Mr. Juhend Sureb to pick up a package, and plan on potentially browsing a bit while we are here.”

  Tiny’s hand was sweaty, almost plaster-like, in Adam’s grip. The small spectacled man smiled upon hearing such words.

  “Yes, yes! Excellent, I have the package with me here somewhere. Let me see where I put it…”

  Tiny dropped down and the clatter of various items behind the counter could be heard. Soon, his head reappeared.

  “Sorry lad, I think I left it with the guard drake under there, you’ll have to grab it with me. Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite often! Haha!”

  Adam’s smile froze on his face, and Gusto laughed loudly enough to have the sound reverberate in the room.

  “Yeah Adam, go ahead and make friends with the guard drake! I’ll keep an eye on all these books for you while you’re gone.”

  Adam shot a glance at Gusto, who was smiling ear to ear, and walked behind the counter.

  A small hatch was just behind the counter, which Tiny was descending through down a ladder. He motioned for Adam to accompany him, and with a sigh and roll of his eyes, Adam obliged.

  Guard drakes were large lizards, suspected to be genetically similar to Komodo dragons. However, they were considered a spiritual creature, that is to say, a creature with an innate ability to stir some of the powers of its home Realm. They were native to many different Realms, so were often used in place of guard dogs in establishments with magical items. They could grow slowly for decades provided they were fed, similar to dragons, and could even reach sizes approaching that of fully grown humans. Most had intelligence on par with various dog breeds, and some species had scales thick enough to act as light armor or the ability to breath hot steam, fire or even bursts of electricity through the use of gaseous sacs in their throats.

  As Adam got to the bottom of the hatch, he was met with an exceptional specimen. Red scales covered its body, slowly turning into milky white scales as they approached the tail. Green reptilian eyes were nearly eye level with Adam, and its tongue, similar to that of a gecko, slicked its way across its face.

  “Now don’t let Cupcake scare you, he is a very well behaved drake. He’s been my partner for over fifty years here! Isn’t that right, Cupcake?”

  "Grr."

  Tiny, who was indeed shorter than the drake, scratched Cupcake’s throat briefly.

  “Alright, Adam lad, you can keep Cupcake company, I have the package here somewhere, just give me a moment to look through and find where I put it, eh?”

  “Right…”

  Soon, the sound of Tiny rustling through various crates and shelves could be heard. Adam, standing next to Cupcake (though not terribly close, for safety reasons) was quite uncomfortable with the whole situation.

  “So… how’s business, Cupcake?”

  “Grr.”

  “Uh…right.”

  Cupcake flicked his tongue again, and Tiny shot up with excitement, practically prancing over to Adam in the small space.

  “Found it! Told you I didn’t lose it lad!”

  I never claimed you had…

  The “package” was a small notebook, unadorned except for a small engraving on the front of a silver wolf’s head.

  Soon, the pair successfully made their way to the ground floor again, where Gusto was waiting.

  “So, how was meeting Cupcake, Adam?”

  Gusto’s smile was evident in his voice.

  “We had a thrilling conversation regarding the recent price fluctuations of watermelons in Viernes.”

  Tiny laughed at the comment.

  “Don’t let Cupcake fool you, he understands language quite well, and even can speak a couple words, though he’s a bit guttural. He’s just shy around new people on account of being a guard drake and all.”

  Adam shook his head.

  “Uh, right. Thank you, Mr. Squeak. We appreciate your assistance and hope you have a wonderful day.”

  Tiny waved the pair off with a smile, not noticing the growls coming from beneath the hatch.

  …

  Before the pair had even made it to the other side of the street, Gusto and Adam both sensed something was wrong. A skittering sound could be heard on the stone road nearby, getting closer.

  Adam tensed up and Gusto lowered his center of gravity as the pair beheld a reptilian humanoid skid towards them, with fangs bared and green scales overtop partially transformed human skin.

  A monster? What are the odds of that… Maybe it’s attracted to the notebook?

  It was a logical sequence of events, provided the notebook could actually attract monsters.

  Thankfully, the creature was noticeably slower than Marc had been, and couldn’t compare to the speed at which Hrime and Hellig could duel.

  Locking eyes, Gusto and Adam prepared to put the beast down.