Wandering Dungeon

Garrett stared at Jenny as she now stood about two feet taller than him. "Wouldn't you being bigger make this easier for us?" He asked.

Jenny chuckled. "It is not just my size that has increased deary." She said as she seemed to disappear when two gloved tentacles whipped through the air. She reappeared a few feet to the side. "So close dear but you'll have to be faster than that to catch me."

Blixie called out to Garrett. "Come on Garrett, you can do this. Use what the good goddess gave ya."

"I guess we need to try harder." Garrett said. "Go get her Squishy." He called out.

Jenny smiled. "That's a rather cute name for your slime."

"Okay. So, any ideas on how you are going to pass this test?" Garrett and Blixie watched as Kyle launched gloved tentacle after tentacle at Jenny as she gracefully danced around the room despite her age and new size.

"A couple." Garrett maneuvered himself to the side of Jenny opposite Kyle reaching out a hand anytime Jenny got near. Jenny managed to avoid most of the hands and tentacles that reached out at her, the rest she blocked with the handle of her axe. Jenny laughed loudly, as she fully enjoyed the game.

After several minutes Blixie noticed Kyle's swings getting slower and slower as he slowly ran out of energy. "Whatever you have planned you better do it soon. Ky-ugh, Squishy looks to be running out of steam." She yelled.

"Don't worry." Garrett yelled back. "We almost have her."

Jenny howled with laughter. "Sorry dears but I could do this all day, but it looks like you boys are running on empty." She quipped. Garrett nodded to Kyle as he threw himself at Jenny with all the force he could muster while Kyle launched both gloved tentacles from Jenny's opposite side. "A pincer attack. Great idea." Jenny said as she jumped and flipped over Garrett and watched as he smacked into Kyle's tentacles. "Just a little too slow though."

Jenny landed lightly and gave a yelp as the ground gave out beneath her. Hey feet sank into what should have been solid earth but was now very loose sand. Before she knew it the sand was up to her waist and a loose glove flopped into her chest leaving a red splotch a moment later. She looked up with surprise and a bit of pride to see Garrett tangled up in Kyles tentacles his naked hand outstretched toward her.

She burst out in laughter her eyes welling with tears. "My oh my, I wasn't expecting a trap from you. Well done." She said. She placed her hands to her sides and tried to push herself out, but they sank in the same loose sand. "I see why you didn't charge earlier. It probably took a while to make this trap and get me into position."

Garrett and Kyle tried to untangle themselves but were having troubles. "Actually, I wasn't sure where you were going to go so I had to make quite a big pit." Garrett responded. "I made it about twenty feet wide just to be sure. How did you get your tentacles in knots." He grunted. Suddenly Kyle stopped moving as he lost cohesion and collapsed into a puddle. Garrett stood up and shook off the liquid remnants of Kyle's slime as the puddle solidified back into a slime.

"I didn't expect you to have an earth element affinity." She said as Garrett approached her.

"Why not?" Garrett asked as he stopped a few feet shy of Jenny. He started walking around her and used his Earth Shape ability to resolidify the ground.

"Usually, monster tamers pick a creature that is the same as their elemental affinity or one that has good synergy. Slimes start out with the water affinity which has very little synergy with earth." She explained as she watched Garrett circle her.

"I resolidified the ground around you, but I don't think I can help pull you out."

"It's fine." Jenny placed her hands on either side of her and lifted herself up a little while her legs shrank to their original size. Soon her legs were out of the sand, and she walked over to the side of the room on her hands. While Garrett fixed the rest of the sandy floor Jenny shrank the rest of her body down. "Since you passed the test we can go back upstairs and get you registered as an adventures guild member."

The four of them climbed back up the stairs. "So, what elemental affinity do you have?" Garrett asked. "I can't think of what would give you a skill to grow your size."

Jenny chuckled. "It is a very rare skill indeed. As far as I know I'm the only one in the world that has it. As for my elemental affinity it is plant. A combination of earth, water, and light elements." They reached the top of the stairs and Garrett, Kyle, and Blixie went to the far side of the counter by the exit while Jenny reached into a drawer under the counter. She pulled out a small metal card and placed it on the counter. "This is your guild card." She pulled out a necklace from beneath her shirt and tapped it on the card which started to glow a soft white. "Go ahead and infuse your mana into the card."

Garrett placed his hand on the card and pushed his mana into the small metal card. Slowly characters etched themselves into the metal. "The card will have your name, any titles you may receive from the guild, as well as your guild rank. We can also record any gold you leave with us that you can retrieve at other guild branches around the realm." Jenny explained. "Your guild rank starts at 'F' and goes up through 'A' by doing quests and proving yourself a capable warrior. There are higher ranks but those are achieved through special circumstances."

"Why are the guild ranks 'A' through 'F'? I've always wondered."

"Because it's sounds better than one, two, three?" She laughed. "Honestly I don't know, and I don't think anyone really does. The guild and its ranking system have been around longer than even an elf's memory. Anyway, if you are ready for your first quest, I have one to pick medicinal herbs in the nearby woods or there is a package that needs delivering to the next town over. Which would you like?"

"I think we will deliver the package. I'm a little tired of running around in the forest." Garrett replied.

"I understand. The forest can be a beautiful place, but it can get a bit monotonous." Jenny went to one of the bookshelves behind her, grabbed a small box, and brought it to the counter. It was a simple wooden box about a foot long on each side with some paper strips sealing the lid shut. "Here is the package. It needs to be delivered to the adventurer's guild in the town of Lakefall to the east. It should only take a day or two to get there on foot." She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of silver coins and placed them by the box. "Since it is so late here is a little something to get you a room and a decent meal at the inn across the way."

"That's more than generous of you but you don't have to pay for our room." Blixie said. "We can take care of it.

"Nonsense. You are the first new recruits we have had here in a few years that have given me such fun for the test. Just think of it as a bonus."

"We appreciate your generosity ma'am." Garrett said as he picked up the coins and placed them and his new guild card into the pouch around his neck. He picked up the box, said goodbye, and headed out into the night with Blixie and Kyle in tow.

Jenny smiled warmly as she watched the group leave. Such nice kids. I really hope they survive to make something of themselves. She thought to herself before she went and locked up the building and headed home.