There were two contracts, both level two when they met back with Val. Gavin took the sheets of paper from her, eyeing them over. The first was just a small way away near the first of the beacons the wardens had placed on this run, the second was about half way back to base and off to the east, an area they'd explored fairly thoroughly.

  He handed the papers over to Sam who scanned them briefly, before passing it to Judy. There wasn't a lot of information, not like back in Wildenesse or Edomont, where the infrastructure was more sophisticated, just a general location and level.

  Jumping to the first location they spotted the encounter easily. A giant violently undulating ball of energy shimmered near the top of a mountain, it's mirrored surface warping the light chaotically as they watched.

  “Reckon it's got less than an hour.” Gavin said.

  “More than half, less than one.” Sam said in agreement.

  “Better make it quick then.” Val said, stepping through Judy's portal.

  The team rushed into the bubble, and were greeted with something wholly unexpected.

  A giant nearly empty hourglass, more than twice as tall as a person stood on a round dias in the centre of a circular stone courtyard strewn with broken tiles. Beyond the courtyard lay a void not unlike the void that surrounded the Entropy themed extradimensional space they'd completed weeks ago.

  “What in the gods-?” Sam said, looking around.

  “It's a puzzle” Gavin said, picking a dinner plate sized piece of tile up “see, this looks like part of a face and some background”

  “We have to do this in half an hour? No way, we don't have the time.” Val said, looking around at the pile of rubble around her.

  “It's either complete it or stay here until the dimensional bubble blows up, I say we give it a shot.” Gavin said sardonically,

  “Might even get the Wardens too at this range with how big the bubble was.” Sam said.

  “It'd be close.”

  “We'll worry about that when the time comes.” Gavin said, taking control of the conversation. “Judy, get in the air, I'm going to flip all these tiles up the right way, see if you notice anything about them, Sam, Val, look for the edge pieces, there should be concave edges that fit around the hourglass and convex ones that go around the outside. Go.”

  They went to work, Gavin efficiently flipped over large sections of tiles, shooting any edge pieces he noticed to the middle or outside of the area.

  “The background parts are different colours, like a rainbow.

  “Good.” Gavin said, floating up into the air next to her.

  He used his magical secrets power to copy Judy's ability to copy another ability, then using that to copy her vision power. Together they looked at the problem before them.

  “Okay team, Judy and I will separate the pieces out by colour, you two try to fit them together as best you can.”

  With an effort Judy and Gavin separated out the colours, placing them in a spectrum around the dias. They joined their team, helping rearrange the pieces. It wasn't difficult work, the pieces were large, and their ability to hold information in their heads was improved above a baseline human, even so, the challenge of physically moving the pieces, rotating and locking them together in the correct place was time consuming.

  They worked feverishly, Sam and Val doing the edges while Judy and Gavin filled in the internal parts, both of them using his force of will power to quickly complete small sections of the puzzle.

  Sweat matted their brows as they worked, all eying the grains of sand trickling closer to death.

  “We're getting to the point we need to make a call.” Sam said, brow furrowed with sweat.

  They'd discussed ways to deal with a dimensional space collapse. They should have two or three seconds to get out of the space and portal away to Gavin's maximum distance then use Judy's portal as a backup if they didn't get far enough, in this case it would be trying to find the storm wardens to get them to safety before they were caught in the blast.

  “I don't think we're going to make it.” Judy said, glancing behind her.

  “We can do it.” Gavin said, locking another piece in place.

  “Not at this rate, we're not even half way and more than half the sands gone.” Val estimated.

  She was doing the internal edge and had the most constant reminder of their time remaining.

  “We're speeding up. Don't think about the time, think about the puzzle.”

  “It's a big risk.” Val said, not stopping her work

  “Only if we don't complete it in time. We can portal to safety and grab the Wardens in like twenty seconds if it comes to it.”

  “I don't like it.” Sam said, still working as fast as she could.

  Val finished her inside ring, then moved to help Sam with her part. Gavin took a moment to float up above to check on their progress and get a better view.

  “Judy, can you get up here and make an illusion of what you think the picture is supposed to look like? It might save us time.”

  “On it.” she said, as Gavin dropped back to the ground, working on a new area.

  Judy coloured the stone below them in a matte rainbow illusion, slowly filling in bits and pieces that made sense. The illusion wasn't just a wash of abstract colours, it depicted a scene of great beings in battle with one another in an astral battlefield. In seconds they had a crude guide showing where the rough shapes should be.

  Soon the team had the colours mostly filled in, leaving the images of the gods incomplete. They each took a figure, piecing them together as they worked around the circle.

  “Gavin.” Sam said, her tone tense, “it's getting close to that last minute.”

  “We've got this.” he said, falling on the last image while the others worked to complete theirs.

  Soon Val, joined him, taking the feet while he worked on the face. Sam scrambled over finding a hand piece and slotting it in place. Face complete, Gavin rotated the torso into place.

  “Got it.” Gavin said as the final piece slotted into its home.

  The whole mural flashed and fused together. The hourglass shattered, revealing a book in the remaining sand.

  “We've got to go.” Sam said, feeling the space begin to collapse around them.

  Judy teleported to grab the book, then again to leave the bubble.

  “Hold on, I want to get a look at it.”

  “Leave it, we have to go.” Sam said, rushing out behind Val as the world around them began to twist into tendrils of ash.

  “Fuck, Gavin swore, teleporting out moments before the space collapsed in on him.

  Behind him the mirrored space spun violently, shrinking rapidly to a point then vanished entirely. He pulled himself upright with his force of will to stand next to his team mates who all seemed flustered.

  “Never didn't have it, eh?” Gavin laughed.

  “These things are always much closer to killing us than I’m comfortable with.” Sam said.

  “I'm coming to think that's just part of the job.” Judy said, her brow sheened with sweat. “We've practised scraping through every encounter so much I don't know how we’d handle anything easy.”

  “It's what got my last team killed.” Val said gravely “I know we can't do much about it now, but we really should look to taking a steadier more reliable method of advancement.”

  “Don't think that's ever going to happen for anyone around me.” Gavin said handing out pies for everyone, “there's some fucked up God shit gonna go down one of these days, I don't think we have the time to get good the normal way.”

  “I think he's right, unfortunately. We made our choices months ago knowing anything remotely connected to Gavin would always be a complete mess, now we have to sink or swim.” Sam said.

  “Thanks guys.” Gavin said warmly “now what's our next contract?”

  “Nevermind that, what was that bo-” Val began.

  “Not out here.” Gavin said at the same time Judy also said “not until we’re in the fortress.”

  “Why?” Val said, confused.

  “I think it's something we don't want to talk or even think about out here.” Judy said, glancing at the sky. “We definitely don't want to go showing it off where anyone could see.”

  “Shiiit.” Val said, letting out a low whistle.

  Gavin opened his portal back towards their second target. They arrived in a swamp lowland, where several shallow streams converged to form a river further down the valley. The ground was soft, their armoured feet sank past the ankle on each step. Gavin and Judy floated above taking the easy route.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Do you have to mock us like that?” Sam said to Gavin.

  “Like what?” Gavin said, halting his walking motions in mid air just barely above the ground.

  “You know what you're doing.” Sam said peevishly.

  “Gavin look out!” Val shouted, rushing to push him aside.

  In the half moment it took Val to shout, a set of teeth clamped themselves around one of his legs. The body of the six metre long half buried lizard writhed beneath him, rolled over, and dragged him down with it. He teleported up into the air, pulling the dangling monster with him, he felt his mana reserves dip as the stress of pulling another body with him strained his power.

  The monsters whole weight tore him back down with a yank as gravity took hold. Bones crunched and flesh tore as Gavin fought to stay airborne. Pain lanced through his body as the last scraps of flesh tore between razor sharp teeth. The beast fell back to the swamp, the severed limb disappearing down its gullet.

  “Not again.” Gavin groaned, looking at his ruined stump trailing blood and gore.

  He activated a health potion in his inventory, instantly fusing new healthy flesh over the wound before taking out his rifle, calmly aiming it, Squeezing the trigger and disintegrating a fist sized hole in the top of its head.

  Sam, Judy and Val all launched into their attacks in the same moment the bullet left the barrel, carving it to pieces in moments, their weapons easily able to punch through its resistances.

  The monster flopped dead to the ground, twitching spasmodically. Gavin floated down to touch it with his good foot, turning the beast to ash.

  “You think that was it?” Judy said.

  “No. Aside from Gavin losing a limb again it was too easy, there should be more around.” Sam said.

  “They don't seem like the sort to just all charge in a wave though, we're gonna have to dig them out.” Gavin said.

  “I think I have an idea.” Judy said, casting an illusion out over the whole area to emit a low hum centred on the team.

  “Oh good. ” Gavin said, Readying his rifle again.

  The monsters rushed them in a frenzy, smelling blood in the water. They looked closer to gigantic geckos than crocodiles, with short snouts and a row of closely packed razor teeth designed to effortlessly saw through flesh and bone.

  Gavin and Judy took to the air, hammering bullets and arrows down from above. Sam and Val found a small patch of soft earth to defend, Sam planting her feet in the centre while Val darted around her, covering her flanks as a flood of swamp lizards snapped at them.

  The team had crossed a threshold while they were out in the unclaimed lands, their power and coordination had improved past the point a straightforward fight would challenge them. This was just work, and soon the monsters piled high as they were slaughtered.

  As the sound of battle waned Gavin moved between each corpse, looting it in turn, turning their residual energy into a good number of coins, enough giant lizard leather to outfit a medium sized gay bar, some potions, and a dagger that dealt additional nature damage.

  ***

  “Not again?” Klara said as Gavin hovered in through her barracks door.

  “Yeah, again, I promise I'm not getting dismembered on purpose”

  “What was it this time?”

  “Giant swamp lizard. None of us spotted it until I was in its mouth.”

  “They can be hard to spot, Lance has a power that deals a small amount of damage to enemies in an area, stealthy monsters hate it.”

  “I could probably make a magic item that does the same thing.” h

  He said, momentarily lost in thought.

  “Or you could come running back to me every time you chopped something off.”

  “Did you just make a running joke right after I had my leg eaten off?” Gavin said, incredulity flashing on his face.

  “Not intentionally. Come here, I'll regrow that leg for you, it was just the leg right? It got pretty high up” Clara said, a mischievous smile crinkling the corners of her eyes.

  “Yes it was just the leg, I checked, and don't you dare make any dick jokes.”

  “I wouldn't, that sort of talk is unbecoming” Klara Said, placing a hand on his hip, flooding him with healing energy.

  Gavins leg reformed, good as new, the hairy limb growing out of his loose shorts in an instant.

  “Cheers mate.” Gavin said, giving her a thumbs up.

  “Don't mention it, now, you'd better go before you cause another scene.”

  “I cause? I'm not- ahh nevermind, thanks, I'll come find you when I get my head bit off next week.”

  “I don't think you could survive that.”

  “I bet I could.” Gavin said, stepping back through his portal.

  The knights were all in the dining hall, deep in discussion when Gavin returned. They fell silent when he strode into the room. They each sat at their seats around the table, deliberately not looking at the thick leather-bound tome sitting between them like a corpse.

  “What's up with you lot? You look like you've seen a ghost, is that the reward for the puzzle? What's it about?” Gavin said, moving to sit casually down at the table, propping his feet up on the edge.

  “You'd best look at it yourself.” Sam said gravely.

  “And put your feet down, it's gross” Judy said.

  Gavin's chair clonked to the floor, throwing him forward. With a smooth lunge he reached across to snatch the book. It was plain, some very light ribbing on the spine, it carried no other embellishment or identification, though it was clearly heavily enchanted. The book practically vibrated with stored energy.

  [Item: Skillbook - Ethereal Travel]

  Rarity: Relic

  Description: Contains information on the fabrication, enchantment and operation of Ethereal gates

  Effect: Imbues the user with stored information

  “Holy fuckin shit.” Gavin said, his hands trembling. “This is-”

  “A way home. Told you you'd find a way” Judy said.

  “My home is here, with you guys.” Gavin said stonily, “I don't want to go back.”

  “We've been talking. We think that you, we, might need to go to your homeworld.”

  “Why?” Gavin said, brow furrowing.

  “We think Soliece knows something and set that whole encounter up to give us a way to get back to your world.” Judy said.

  “That's a logical leap even I wouldn't make.” Gavin said.

  “We think she found a way to cheat, to pass you this book without having to go through the normal channels.” Val said.

  “You're gonna have to back up a bit, how do you figure this?”

  “Look at the rarity Gavin, it's a relic, like an actual relic, I've never heard of anyone getting a relic level item out of anything below a level ten encounter. ”

  “She knows everything that's happening on this planet, she knows we would respond to that dimensional space, she knows what skills we have, what skills you have. The book is about making and activating a gate that can send you across the ether, you just happen to be able to make and enchant items, and you have a portal power that probably ties into it somehow.”

  “Okay, I can see how you got there, yeah. What does she want me to do back on earth though?” Gavin asked, his brow furrowing.

  “What you're doing here” Judy said, “finding that sword.”

  “You're really going to need to explain this one to me.”

  “How long ago did the king Arthur story happen on your world?”

  “Like six hundred years ago, why?”

  “Shit, that puts a dent in our theory” Sam said.

  “What theory?” Gavin asked. “I feel like I've definitely missed some critical discussion here.”

  “We were thinking that Dragonheart’s wizard took the sword back to your world and that sparked the King Arthur legend there, but if it was stolen from here two or three hundred years ago then that doesn't work.”

  “Guys, we’re going to have to back this tinfoil hat theory all the way up. You're saying that I named the team the knights of the round table after a legend from my world, then some lady who is actually the villain in that legend recognises our name and figures out I probably know the legend and that she's definitely the baddy, then sends me to find actual Excalibur. Somewhere along the way a god gets involved and wants us to go back to my home planet where Excalibur is so I can get it and bring it back to the evil lady that's definitely going to betray us. And this God of knowing everything anyone has ever thought wants the evil sorcerer lady to have a divine right to rule?”

  “Well, when you put it like that.” Judy said.

  “Yes, it does seem we’ve gotten away from ourselves a bit.” Sam said.

  “Obviously” Val agreed.

  “Well okay then. Assuming I'm definitely absorbing this book, what do we reckon is actually going on here.” He said, the book vanishing into his inventory.

  “Shall we lay out the facts and try to work out something that makes sense?” Sam said.

  “Lady Morgan Dragonheart, who’s name is strikingly similar to Morgana Pendragon, asked us to find a sword and sent us out here to find it.” Judy started.

  “The sword is a symbol of authority in her house.” Sam added.

  “A wizard stole the sword and absconded to a tower in the middle of nowhere, apparently hasn't been spotted since.” Gavin said.

  “We don't actually know that part, but it makes sense.” Val said.

  “Potentially unrelated, but the god of knows everything gave us a book on how to traverse universes.” Gavin said.

  “Assuming the wizard hasn't been seen since, him having disappeared to another universe isn't impossible.” Val said.

  “If he has the power to travel between universes, he's definitely too strong for us to handle. If he's even alive.” Gavin said.

  “If he's that strong he's almost certainly still alive.”

  How do you figure that?”

  “The more magical your body becomes the more your strength is based on your willpower. Once you hit level ten your body is more magic than flesh, higher than that and you're pretty much just all willpower. It's basically impossible to kill a high ranker, you have to make their soul want to give up in order to kill them.”

  “Okay, so, some super powerful wizard is probably out there with what may as well be Excalibur. We're level two and there's at least one level twenty out there probably looking for the sword too.”

  “We don't actually need to find the sword, Morgan said she'd pay us for the location of the tower.” Sam said.

  “That just seems like a hella lame way to end a quest.” Gavin said.

  “Why do we think Soliece wants us to go to Gavins planet?” Judy asked, realigning the conversation.

  “Maybe she's sick of hearing Gavin’s inner thoughts.” Val suggested.

  “Pretty sure she explicitly likes my inner thoughts, thank you very much.”

  “She probably just wants Gavin to find a way to bring information back, He's said he wants to stay here, but I bet if he found a way home he would bring a load of movies and books back, right Gav?” Sam asked.

  “And music. You guys don't really have music the way we do, there's orchestras and that's about it.”

  “Well there you go. Maybe Gavin finds a way to bring people back with him, surely he isn't the best example from his world she wants to learn from.” Sam said.

  “Hey.” Gavin argued “I might come across as a bit self impressed, but I've got a top tier brain rocking round in the old skull.”

  “And I think that's the point where we've run out of anything productive to say.” Sam said.

  “Well, in that case, let's try out this skill book.” Gavin said, mentally activating the book in his inventory.

  “Wait, not now, it's going to be-” Sam said, watching as her teammate blanched then fell unconscious, his face smacking the edge of the table as he tumbled to the ground.