Under the warmth of the two suns, but feeling a coldness permeate the scene around me, I draped myself around the podium near Meebur. In the past, I would have been around his neck instead, resting my head on his shoulder like the most dangerous scarf ever made. But since leaving the dungeon with Frey and Astrid, Meebur had been acting weird. He hadn’t approached me, let alone come in contact with me. However, despite the issue with Meebur, I tried to keep my focus on what he had just put in motion.

  “We will be having an Apprentice Trial.”

  I had a good vantage point to see the members of the guild, who had all gathered around hastily to hear Meebur’s announcement. There were tamers of all ages, sizes, and levels of worry. Apparently, the choice of an official guild apprentice wasn’t taken lightly. It was always accompanied by a trial. One chosen by the guild leader. And since Meebur had never taken an apprentice before, no one knew what kind of test this would be.

  The Almanac gave me a bit more detail:

  An “Apprentice Trial” can be called by a guild leader at any time to help determine a suitable candidate to be their apprentice.

  The exact nature of the trial is chosen by the leader and has been known to include tasks that test a tamer’s knowledge, skill, and connection to their monsters.

  An “Apprentice” is a unique role within the guilds of Olympia.

  A guild leader may take on any number of apprentices, but often only has one at a time.

  Apprentices typically receive special training and missions from leaders, but the only duty they all have in common is that should something happen to their leader they will then take over as leader of the guild.

  Gregory stepped forward onto the platform, joining Meebur and I. He held eight sealed scrolls on a tray which he set down on a small table next to the podium.

  “I will now call out the eight candidates Meebur has chosen to participate in the apprentice trial.” Gregory said calmly. I couldn’t tell if he, as viceleader, was angry or happy that a trial was being held. He did look a little shaken and tired, though. Meebur had called this gathering so quickly, clearly Gregory hadn’t had much time to prepare or process what was happening. “Once I call you up, I will then give you a scroll which will have all the details you need to complete the trial. Ready?”

  The group of tamers cheered, but there were definitely a few that looked more concerned than excited.

  “First up…Violet.” The guild clerk stepped forward with a round of applause. It was no surprise that she would be one of the tamers singled out to be tested for such a prestigious position. Violet was one of the first people new recruits met, and working in the entrance hall meant she was the face of the guild. In a way, she felt close to being a leader already.

  “Next…Lucus.” The gungho tamer bounded forward with the same jump I imagined his frog monster, Kichi, would have. He was laughing confidently, exclaiming that he was about to be one step closer to his dream of being a guild leader.

  His passion and exuberance were almost immediately dampened when the next apprentice candidate was revealed to be Hodi. The brooding tamer stepped up quietly, and slicked his hair back, looking quite happy at the angry expression on Lucus’ face.

  “Why is he being considered? He doesn’t deserve to be an apprentice!” Lucus yelled, pointing at Hodi, who didn’t flinch.

  “You might be right, Lucus.” He replied, suddenly acting very sullen. “If someone like you is being considered, then I guess the role of apprentice is beneath me.”

  “Why you…!” Lucus exclaimed, balling his hand into a fist. Hodi’s laughter as Violet held back Lucus echoed through the entire guild enclosure. I had a feeling those two would be at each other’s throats no matter what kind of test Meebur chose.

  It could be a written exam and somehow they’d find a reason to battle…

  When Braum was called as a candidate next, he nearly bowled over Meebur with his hug. Which seemed very difficult to do, but Braum’s group of bodybuilding-Meebur-fanatics seemed to be training to do exactly that. But what really surprised me was how Meebur didn’t seem opposed to coming in contact with Braum. Unlike how he seemed to move further away from me every time I got close.

  Did I do something wrong?

  Braum flexed on the platform as Gregory passed him a scroll, and his big, muscular friends cheered louder than anyone for him.

  “One step closer to Meebur!” He said with his muscular arm outstretched. His bodybuilding buddies all copied the same pose as they cheered for him even louder.

  As one of the most experienced tamers in the entire guild, it was a bit of a surprise to hear Nanna called as an apprentice candidate next. “What would that whipper snapper Meebur have to teach me?” She yelled out. Nanna acted like the entire thing was a massive hassle and a waste of time. However, she did so while smiling and standing happily in line on the podium.

  Braum always says exactly how he feels, but Nanna always says the opposite. An interesting pair!

  “The sixth candidate is…Lock.” Gregory said. “I’m sure many of you are unfamiliar with them, but they are a masterful tamer that have even taught me a few things.” The group murmured in admiration, many asking who amongst them had actually met Lock. “However, as Lock is virtually never at the guild, I will send them a summons and hopefully meet them at the trial’s start.”

  Gregory made a gesture with his hand, and his monster, Corinth the Bog Bat, flew gracefully towards him from a nearby tree. He grabbed the scroll from Gregory and with a brief whisper of instructions, the bat with moss covered wings flew quickly off into the distance.

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  I asked Astrid what this Lock person was like, but she didn’t say much. Astrid was once a member of the Artemis Guild, and apparently knew Lock well. But she refused to say too much about them. From what she would say, Lock was apparently similar to Meebur in that they had hatching zones in odd or obscure locations and rarely left them.

  I’m excited to meet them!

  “If they actually show up.” Astrid seemed convinced it wouldn’t happen.

  “Next up is…Frey.” Gregory called out, and the expression on his face was almost as surprised as Frey’s was.

  “Wait…really?” Frey said, looking around for someone to tell him he’d heard wrong.

  But Frey was the seventh candidate, and he stepped forward to a mix of applause and confusion. Although everyone knew he had just completed a dungeon with Meebur, they also knew that he still had yet to hatch his first monster. While Hodi and Lucus were also new recruits, they both had experience from before they joined the guild which made them interesting, if not odd, choices. Whereas Frey was as green as you could get.

  Frey stood amongst the others and held his hatchling egg close to his body. Participating in an apprentice trial was probably the last thing he expected to do after the dungeon. He had likely hoped to have a few weeks to care for his egg and raise the monster within.

  Frey has been experiencing a whirlwind here almost as much as I have.

  “Yes, but it’ll be a good experience for him to compete with the other tamers. Even if some of them aren’t my cup of tea.” Astrid said to me and looked at Hodi and Lucus who were ready to fight each other right now if they had to. “I'm concerned about why Meebur is doing this, but…it might actually be fun to watch all of this play out.”

  Meebur stepped forward and stood in front of Gregory. “I would like to announce the last candidate personally.”

  “This ought to be good.” Astrid said, but her smile didn’t last long.

  ”The eighth candidate is…Astrid.”

  * * * *

  Many people in the guild were confused at the selection of candidates for the trial. Several of the chosen eight were experienced tamers, yes, but others were complete rookies. Yet another had a guild of her own, and didn’t appear the least bit interested in taking lessons from her old leader.

  “You’ve pulled a lot of crazy things in the past, but this foolishness takes the crown from the King Koi!” It was difficult to listen to Gregory’s instructions while Astrid was yelling at Meebur in the background.

  Apparently, Meebur’s choice to include her was perfectly legal according to the rules. The Almanac entry for “Apprentice Trials” wasn’t complete, but it gave me a good overview. As a former guild member, she was still eligible to be selected as a leader’s apprentice. Nothing forced her to participate or even to try to win, but backing out could be perceived as cowardly or disrespectful to a leader of Meebur’s rank. Her guild, Psion, was the newest in all of Olympia, and perception was everything amongst the leaders. She couldn’t lose face.

  And Meebur knew that.

  Maybe he just thought it would be funny? He does have an odd sense of humor sometimes, but still…

  A part of me hoped that was all it was. A playful joke that hid a valuable lesson. It would mean the happy-go-lucky Meebur was still in there. But his signature smile had yet to return. Even as Astrid argued with him about his choices, his facial expression barely changed. Eventually, she gave up trying to lecture her old leader and begrudgingly took her place amongst the other candidates.

  I remained perched on the podium so I could watch the rest unfold.

  Gregory stood before the seven candidates who were present, and made sure each kept their scroll unopened until the trial began. With Gregory answering questions from the candidates, Meebur managed to peel himself away from the rest of the group and pull Frey aside. I slithered down the podium to follow them. “Frey, for this trial you are unlikely to stand a chance without a monster.”

  “Why would you pick me then? You know I’m not ready.” Frey looked very concerned. A part of him seemed excited, but the majority oozed fear.

  “Do not worry. I will make sure you are not at a disadvantage. You can borrow Nid.”

  Frey and I exchanged glances. We both blinked slowly.

  “What?”

  What?

  “Do not worry. This is not an advantage either. Nid will be wearing this.” Meebur pulled out the stellar raiment we earned from defeating the recent dungeon boss: the bulk brace. “This will put Nid on an even playing field with the other monsters. It will be good for you to experience a little bit of a challenge.”

  I was worried about wearing the brace, but mostly I was just happy Meebur was speaking again. Even if he sounded a little more…somber. And methodical.

  He placed the bulk brace around my neck, and I immediately felt the effects. The brace was so heavy it was literally pulling me towards the ground. I couldn’t imagine how I would battle while wearing it. Especially since, checking my Status screen, it also reduced all of my stats by a noticeable amount. Even the bonus I got from Meebur's “Magnificent” title was completely negated.

  No one is going to mistake me for a deity monster when I fight wearing this.

  “Do not bother trying to remove this. A stellar raiment equipped to a monster can only be removed by the hands of their tamer.” Meebur said, immediately standing back up and moving away from me.

  “This won’t be easy, but neither was our journey to the dungeon, right? And look how worthwhile that was!” Frey smiled wide, and while I could tell he was a little uneasy, my trust in him helped me feel confident.

  Plus, Meebur is right. Even weakened, Frey needs me if he has any chance of winning. And if it’s what my tamer needs from me, I should do it. I questioned him in the dungeon, but everything worked out for the best then. I’m sure it will be the same here!

  Meebur stepped forward and announced that the apprentice trial would begin momentarily. All of the guild members applauded, starting to feel truly excited for what was to come. But as the applause died down, Meebur gave everyone a tiny wave of his hand…and ran away.

  “Where are you going?!” Everyone yelled out in unison.

  He had just grabbed his spear from the edge of the platform and left. Meebur made his way out of the guild like a bolt of lightning, and no matter how many times we yelled at him to come back, he didn’t say a word or slow down.

  Gregory called us all over, and once Astrid finally stopped threatening to chase after Meebur and hit him in the head, he said, “Now that Meebur is moving into position, you may open your scrolls.” Gregory spoke with thinly veiled exhaustion. Clearly, whatever Meebur had chosen for his apprentice trial was something that his viceleader wasn’t happy about.

  The candidates opened up their scrolls with a mix of fear and excitement. It could be anything. Taming a wild monster. Conquering a dungeon. Traveling across the continent. There could be a very long list of requirements written on that scroll.

  But there wasn’t a long list at all.

  There were only two words:

  “Defeat Meebur.”

  “We have to do what?!” All of the candidates yelled out together, unified in the knowledge that this test was insane.