Ifirit had seen several summoners before. He also knew several of his children who served as familiars in their earlier lives. The opinions of him and his kin were mixed. Some spirits told of great adventures, of battles and friends. Those had been the most wise and the highest level of any of his children.

Others told stories of fools, drunk on the power and prestige that having a familiar brought, dying in a tower, or to someone of actual power that they had angered. Those spirits were either still weak or were broken. Losing a summon was something that hurt spirits on a level not many could understand.

For that reason, Ifirit continued to be cautious for the day that followed, but he was soon left feeling confused, and rather foolish. When Tay Mallor woke up after his battle with the Fey, and reawoke Ifirit, he felt a strong sense of curiosity, along with trepidation from the boy, which boded well with Ifirit. Having a fool who was cautious and even afraid of nothing was the most common way his Children retold stories of losing their summoners.

When Tay went to explore, and later to eat, he sensed no malice or ill-intent from him. In fact, he felt that the boy was trying to name him. He quickly put a stop to something as ridiculous as that. He wanted to tell the boy his true name, but his meager link, and his body's primitive condition had stopped him. He settled for telling him it when he was able to talk.

He observed him for the rest of their time at what he came to know as the Adventure Association's official city inn. The accommodations were good enough, or at least they would do until Tay recovered. He didn't seem to be someone of renown, as when he had visitors besides the nurse, Abby Winer, they didn't seem to show any signs of recognition. That would undoubtedly change if Ifirit had anything to do with it.

-

Tay sat at the edge of his temporary bed in the Inn, his wounds healed enough to leave without Ms. Winer scolding him like a disappointed parent. Orby floated around slowly, circling the room. His familiar hadn't really done much, which Tay thought to be fair considering the only place he had been was the bathroom and his bed. But he was ready to get back into the action. His body was feeling good, and strong, and he needed to test it out.

"Let's go little guy." He said with a grunt as he stood. He plucked the pouch of coins he received from Ms. Winer, along with his new silver association brooch, and put them away into pouches on his belt. He had gotten a new set of gear, complete with a new sword. It was longer than the one he normally used, but it fit in his hand quite nicely, so he had no complaints.

He left the room near spotless and headed for the front desk. Ms. Winer sat behind another association member who was going over a sheet of paper, its contents moving with a flick of her hand. The nurse only noticed him when he had knocked on the wood of the counter.

"So you'll be leaving us then, Mr. Mallor?" She asked as he handed her a paper. "Yeah," he rubbed his neck. "I'm itching to get back at it now that I'm a new man." She folded the paper neatly before using wax to seal it. She set it in what looked like a sorting shelf. "Well it's been a pleasure to house you, and I hope we don't need to see you under the same circumstances again." She said, giving Tay a "you understand?" Look.

Tay waved at the staff as he left, the few that had been tending to him returned the gesture, sending him off with warm smiles. Tay breathed the morning air, enjoying the coolness of it. Fall was just around the corner, and Tay thought that it might be wise to invest in some thicker clothing soon.

Finick's Bay was looking the same as ever. The buildings matched the same theme as the association's member's uniforms. They were made from dark Colend, which was a tree comely found by the cost, and the roof tiles were cut from green stone. It was a pleasant mix, and in a way, made the town feel quiet. There were no popping colors or grand structures, except for a few, and everything fit just right into their places.

Tay felt the salty air in his lungs and heard the sea's waves crashing along the southern rocks. Almost everything in the city was made from material well suited to weather the corrosive ocean.

And of course, the tower. A huge structure stretching into the sky for thousands of feet. Its white bulbous shell was woefully misleading. Tay had spent a long time staring at it during all hours of the day. He could have been half asleep, but his childhood room's window faced it perfectly, and so he would often see it as a blur in the moonlight.

The streets were not yet busy, having only a few city folk running about, getting ready for the day's duties. Tay's pleasant morning ended there.

Across the street, as shady as the building they were standing by, was Tomy and Hollins. They had been constants in Tay's life, for better or worse. He figured that trying to get away would end up with him at the same place he expected to be taken to, only on his knees and considerably more bruised.

"Boss says he wants to see 'ya." Said Tomy. "Says he 'as a proposition for ya'." Tay was sure he did. "You know where to go, move." Growled Hollins. The second man was a stark contrast to the brawny bald Tomy. He had dark attire covered in many straps, some around his chest and others around his waist and legs. He had at least a dozen daggers, and probably twice that hidden on his person.

They were the boss’s favorite bullies to send around the port city, and had an uncanny ability to show up at the worst possible times.

Tay indeed knew the exact route he needed to take, crossing three streets to get to the city wall. The "old lady" was the unofficial club for the gang and the boss’s favorite place to drink and play. It was a tacky little place, being one of the oldest buildings still standing from when the city was first built. The front was a large porch several feet from the ground, the covering was held up by four wooden pillars carved to look like horns.

Tay opened to door to a wall of smells. Smoke rolled out like steam from a hot bath. The windows had been completely boarded off, and now candles lit the room. The boss didn't like to draw any attention to his places of business, so he opted for the least amount of magic objects as possible. Jeering came from the centermost table as three figures surrounded by another twenty played cards. It was the boss, Frigun Harow, his second, jester, and a woman of about thirty.

They were playing a game of strip-jack, which as the name implies, involves striping of articles of cloths when you lost a hand. Tay inwardly leaped for joy when he realized the game had only just started, and that he wouldn't need to be subjected to seeing Jester's pot belly again. Hollins cleared his throat to get the attention of the room.

"Mallor." He gestured to Tay, confirming his tasks completion. Harow waved the two thugs off, and they happily obliged. Tay took a more rigid stance as Harow stood, shoving his way through the crowd. He was tall for an Oltian, impressively so. His facial mark that covered his face from his eyes to his hairline was deep dark blue, insinuating his magic. The rigid, blue-tipped rock-like horns that came out from just behind his ears were full and undamaged. Again, impressive for an Oltian.

"Congra-tu-lations, Tay." He said, drawing out the word. He wrapped his arm around Tay's neck, drawing him in. He stood an easy two heads above him. "It's hard to believe that our boy's grownin' so much, ain't it boy's?" The gathered crowd whooped, whistled, and clapped, except for the few who didn't want to be there.

"Wanna play a round with us?" He waved at the crowd. Tay looked at the table for a moment, then smiled. "Maybe another time. I've got...things to get to." He said passively. The boss nodded, pulling Tay tighter. "That's alright, another time." He echoed Tay's words. "The reason I called for you actually has to do with that." He smirked.

He led Tay to the bar where an older man dressed in a fine dark green suit waited. "Drink?" He asked. Tay shook his head. Alcohol wasn't what he needed right now. Harow shrugged and put in an elaborate order to the bartender.

"I see the rumors of you bein' a summoner are true." Tay flinched but stayed silent. His familiar floated just behind him, completely emotionless. "Good for you." Harow took the glass of blue liquid offered by the old man, drinking half in one swig. "I was hoping that you'd start to repay your debt, what with you being able to go into the tower now," Harow said. "Without dying, that is." He chuckled.

"We've been taking care of 'ya for a while after all. Wouldn't you say?" Tay nodded with a smile. "That was my plan. Figured starting now would be a good idea, maybe I could get it paid off in just a few years." Harow clapped Tay on the back with his massive hand. "That's the spirit, kid." He boomed. "Then if we're on the same track, I won't be holding you up anymore." He shot out his hand for Tay to shake, which he did. It was firm with the calluses from years of fighting.

After saying his goodbyes, Tay left the bar, and then the street as quickly as he could. He dropped to the ground, his back against a wooden wall. He ran his hands through his long blond hair. It was sticking to his skin from sweat. He knew Harow was strong, only a fool would have thought otherwise, but now that he had evolved and could more easily feel mana, Harow's power was clear. It was only just a fraction of what the man had, but Tay suspected that that was Horow's goal. It felt like he was in the midst of a dark forest, and he could hear the crackling of leaves and breaking of twigs, but never saw what was making it.

The others in the room weren't much better. They were all level 2's or 1's at the breakthrough point. Tay breathed in slowly, letting the salty air cleanse his mind. Tay sat there for a long while before I left. He knew Harow had heard, but the knowing didn't make it better. Harow had raised him since he was young and taught him almost everything he knew. But the man was no father figure to him. He was a cruel man who ran the biggest crime group in the city, and maybe even the region, for all he knew.

The thought of using his powers just to give what he earned to Harow was sickening. But choosing not to wasn't an option. One way or another, Harow would get his efforts worth out of him.

The city was lively by the time Tay moved on. Hand-pulled carts rolled through the streets dodging crowds of people. Vendors had their wares on show, perfectly spaced from each other so as to not have their prospective customer's attention drawn away from their products.

All eight of the city's trolleys had started to run, two for each of the three major streets. They ran along a center path, guided by small glowing crystal's embedded into the laid stone. They only stopped occasionally at trolley stops, but more often people would simply jog briskly until they caught it, and then take it until they reached their destination. Going from one end of the city to the other with the trolleys would normally take around twenty minutes.

Tay used one of them to make his way towards the association's main hall. He would need to buy some extra equipment if he wanted to take the more valuable items he got from the tower. The building was the very last one before you got to the large empty area around the Tower. He had only been there twice, once when he needed to get his potential realized, and again when he went out yesterday---with the supervision of nurse Abby.

The inside was a bustle of activity as people came and went from and to the Tower, or bought and sold from the many stores. He made his way to the level 1 shop that he had gone to before.

"Mornin'!" The cashier said. He recognized Tay from his previous visits. "What can I get for you?" Tay looked around at the many different items. "Something to carry articles from the Tower. Maybe something to help not die right away as well?" He said jokingly. The man nodded before quickly dashing away. He brought back with him a roll of fabric. "This is our finest H-tape. Should serve you well in the Tower I'd say." Tay agreed as he handed the man the two silver it cost.

The man bagged it before turning to face his customer again. "And might I suggest an alternative to buying something to carry your goods?" He questioned. Tay shrugged for the man to go on. "Items such as that are not only expensive but also fragile. A better possible option would be hiring an assistant." He said. "They cost a fraction of the price, and sometimes you can even get one for free. Most of the time they simply want to experience adventurin' without as much danger."

Tay considered it but then shook his head. "I'm not really looking for companions." The man looked inquisitively at him. "You saying you ain't gonna get yourself a team?" Tay shrugged, he wasn't trusting when it came to people supposedly working "together" with him. At least for the time being, he would go at it solo.

The man turned away, shaking his head in what looked like disappointment. "You'll get yourself killed..." he shuffled back towards his desk, tapping a finger to it before sitting. Tay placed the H-tape along with a vial of healing and a small spacial bag in front of the man. "This'll be all." He said as he handed him almost all of his silver coins. He looked at Tay for a long moment, his eyes were old and hard, like he was trying to look tuff.

The man shook his head and finished the order, giving Tay his items all neatly tied in a bag. His next destination was the jobs offices on the second floor. When he got there, he was directed to a private office where he could acquire a mission without the prying eyes of others. He picked a simple one: reach the firth floor and give 20 percent of his findings to them in return for 40 silver. It was a cheap mission, both in requirements and returns with the reward being only half of what he got for his evolution, but he had to start somewhere.

The woman who had helped him took the card that outlined what he needed to do, and slipped it into a small cube. It came out with a glowing mark, which Tay knew as a progress bar. It made sure that the job was completed correctly.

The tower was massive no matter where you stood, whether it be from the walls, or from the far-off Elzibian mountains. But up close? It was impossible. It had been measured before, with its widest being 890 feet. What was more is the inside was, on average, triple that. People often got lost in the maze of tunnels, and there were known cases of people dying not of monsters, but starvation.

Many people came and went from the square, and more stood just outside its entrance. Some were preparing, others were planning with their teams, and some simply collected their nerves. Tay did not idle but rather walked straight into the unsettlingly dark cave's mouth.