I didn't look at what Clair was pointing to, instead my eyes were transfixed on the small woman laying in the cage. She was facing us and had red hair with a small sharp nose, freckles dotted her cheeks giving her a young complexion. She was wearing a faded top and her trousers were in tatters.

  "Luca, can you hear me?" Clair asked, she gave me a light shove breaking me out of my trance.

  "What?" I asked.

  "We need to talk about these." She pointed at the 3 locks that adorned the cage, there was a bronze one, a silver one and a gold one. "Do you have any keys?"

  "I have a silver one, I got it for carving a duck." I replied.

  "Carving a duck?" Clair asked incredulously.

  "It was a rare ranked ducked okay." I said, I scuffed my foot on the sand.

  "I didn't know you carved ducks," Clair said softly, "I do like seeing your creations, you haven't shown us what you've been working on."

  I looked at her nervously, I had never done their statues before and I hadn’t asked for their permission either.

  "It's a set and it's not finished yet. It wouldn’t be worth showing them just yet." I said dodging her question, she noticed though.

  "Okay, keep your secrets of Master Carver." She teased.

  "Actually it's Grand Master Carver now." I beamed.

  "What?! Shit really?" Clair looked amazed. "That is amazing! Congratulations Luca."

  She stepped forward and hugged me, I stood there for a split second before hugging her back.

  "Thank you, while it did come from a skill point I think it'll be a new dawn for my creations." I said once we stopped embracing.

  "Right then, what do you want to do with the key?" Clair asked.

  "Are you going to try and convince me to save the human?" I asked, I was weary of adding a random human into our quest.

  "Actually I was going to say don't pick it, its a trap." Clair said, "no 'reward' is going to be a real human. Dungeons don't do that."

  I could think of a few Dungeons that had done exactly that but I wasn't going to argue, it was a trap, there was some sort of mesmerising effect that had me reaching for the key.

  "I was thinking of opening the cage we can't see into." I said. "I think that has a better chance of something good."

  I was tempted to hoard the key for a later floor but I didn't want to leave the Dungeon and still have the key.

  "I was hoping you'd say that. Also I think the other cage you marked out was a mimic."

  "It was a mimic, I just wanted to show what this Dungeon's version looked like."

  We walked around gathering everything we put down until we came to the cage we wanted to open. I looked at Clair who looked like a bundle of excitement. I look out the key and put it in the silver lock, without me having to do anything, turning by itself unlocking the cage.

  A split second before the cage door slammed open, I realised that anything could be in the cage, including a shadow monster. I moved to grab Clair but I stopped when I saw a portal. I sighed in relief and looked at Clair.

  "This one or the normal portal?" I asked.

  She just looked at me before shaking her head. I shrugged and followed her as she walked through the portal.

  We appeared in what looked like an expensive gambling hall. There were card tables and dice tables, roulette and I thought I saw a chess board. In the middle of the room was a large wheel and a big sign that said 'Wheel Of Fortune' in big letters.

  Reward Room Silver Level. Please accept your reward and proceed to the next Challenge.

  Our feet touched down on a carpet floor, the room was deadly silent as there was no one around. Actually that was a lie. Next to the Wheel of Fortune was a figure in black robes. We had a look around the gambling hall before we approached the figure. That meant we stole everything not nailed down but it ended up being mainly dice, cards and a few board games.

  The Wheel of Fortune stood on a small platform raising it above the main floor. The big sign hung off the side but was almost dwarfed by the large blue and red wheel in the middle of the podium. Squares were lit up on the wheel, but whatever was written on them, just looked like blurred squiggles.

  "Congratulations on finding the prize room on floor 2." The robed figure said in their neutral tone. For a silver level key I will adjust the minimum level of prizes on offer, they will range from silver to unique based on your spin."

  They reached into the middle of the wheel and did something I couldn't see. Some of the squiggles changed but I still couldn't see what they said.

  "The reward room gives 1 spin per person per dungeon visit. Who would like to go first?"

  I looked at Clair and gestured to her, she beamed and hopped up to the figure.

  "How does this work?" She asked excitedly.

  "I have a lever…"

  "Can I pull it? Please?" She almost begged.

  The robed figure stopped for a few seconds as it tried to figure out what to do. I was about to tell Clair that she’d broken it when it spoke again..

  "Here." It waved its hand and a small podium with a large lever on it rose up next to her.

  "That is amazing." The beamed before pulling on the lever.

  The wheel began to spin, slowly at first but it picked up momentum. I thought it would start slowing down but it only sped up, even the air in the room started to be whipped into a frenzy. If there had been anything left in the room it would have turned into a high speed projectile. To my amazement I began to feel a pull as the speed of the wheel increased further. I looked at the robed figure who stood directly next to the wheel, he wasn't being affected whatsoever. Suddenly the pull disappeared as the wheel stopped spinning instantly. A white square was lit up, the illegible squiggles were now fully readable. It read '1 class growth item'.

  I gaped. Class items were very rare and Dungeons were the only guaranteed place to find them. Growth items were even harder to find. A class growth item was almost unheard of. A small pedestal rose up out of the ground next to the robed figure, it had a small statue of the Wheel of Fortune on it, just below it was a crystal box. Almost reverently Clair opened the box and pulled out a thin leather necklace cord. There was a little feather attached to it.

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  "Ahh a wonderful item you have there." The future said once the necklace was out of the box. "The Wilds Master's Summoning Necklace. The necklace is made of enchanted leather to bind to the owner so that they may never lose it."

  "What does it do?" Clair asked as if she didn't have an Identification spell.

  "A Wilds Master can add fur, feathers, scales, fluff and other parts of living animals to the necklace to be able to summon a copy of the creature to them. If the monster is dead, the Wilds Master can add bones or body parts to summon a spectral version of the monster. The summons, both living and dead, last for your level in summoning plus your class level of minutes, after the duration they creatures will leave and to necklace attachment will crumble into dust."

  "I didn't know Wilds Masters could summon." I said.

  "There are not many of us left, most of us are relatively low level as well. The levelling conditions are really hard." Clair complained.

  "I know that feeling, level 9 took me 4 years to complete." I gripped, Clair winced when she heard my levelling speed. "Congratulations on your prize, hopefully it'll count Dungeon creatures and we might be able to find something strong for you."

  "That would be good." She said putting on the necklace, it fit her quite nicely. "How do I attach new keepsakes?" Clair asked the robed figure.

  "Touch it to the necklace and if it is compatible, the necklace will do the rest." It replied. "Now there is one last spin, would you be so kind."

  I stepped up to the level and positioned myself so I could use the podium as an anchor point. I pulled the lever and braced myself. The wheel spun up and began sucking in the air around it. I was much closer now and had to grab on to a section of the podium to stop myself from being pulled in. My heart began to race as I felt myself being lifted off of the ground. Then suddenly I fell back to the ground.

  I knew I should look to see what the writing was but I stayed on the floor for a few seconds to let my heart calm down. This was meant to be a prize room.

  When I had recovered enough I stood up and looked at the Wheel of Fortune, the square read 'Summon Companion'. I had mixed emotions about companions, on one hand they were incredibly useful companions that would help the summoner the best they could. There was a wide variety of companions that had been recorded in the archives of the Adventure Society, but I had never looked at them. The dark side of companions was that some of them were sentient, it was close enough to a slave contract that I didn't like the idea of it.

  The same pedestal rose up out of the ground and revealed a golden prize box. I looked at the prize box and hesitated, I still had the upgrade coin from the first room. Did I want a golden prize companion or a crystal prize companion?

  What decided it was the necklace around Clair's neck. It had been a class growth item and it had come in a crystal box. I knew I was sacrificing a potential unique box if we did really well in a future challenge but I didn't want to hold back on something that could be infinitely useful. If the summon was sentient I would just never use it, then they would be free to do what summons do when they are hanging around.

  I pulled out the Prize Upgrade Coin and played with it for a second before putting the coin on the box and pulling back my hand. The coin sat in the box for a second, then it started to glow and melted into the prize box. Lines of glowing light spread out over the box, like icing melting on a hot cake. Slowly it covered the box and the glowing stopped.

  "I see you have used a Prize Upgrade Coin, congratulations on your find. I think you will find a crystal prize is something quite special.” The robe figure commented.

  I stepped up to the crystal prize box and opened it.

  You have gained a new ability Summon Soul Companion.

  Ability: Summon Soul Companion

  Cooldown: None

  Cost: 1000 Mana per summon

  Description: Summon a Soul Companion to your side to aid you in your tasks. Soul Companion may be able to use the powers of the summoner depending on the type of summoned companion.

  "What is a Soul Companion?" Clair asked. “What for does it take?”

  "It sounds like a familiar that it specific to me but the description doesn't say what it’ll look like." I said, activating my new ability. “let's find out.”

  I felt a massive suction as 1000 mana left my body and formed into an intricate ritual circle on the floor, symbols began writing themselves out and glowing in sections. Rituals and never been my thing so I had no idea what it all meant. The circle and symbols finished and they began to glow so bright it hurt to look at. When the light began to fade, I looked back to see a green glowing orb hovering in what would have been the centre of the circle. My Identification spell triggered.

  Name: Etheric Wisp

  Level 11

  Type: Unique

  Description: A female Etheric Wisp is a playful but useful creature, while not overly powerful with physical capabilities, the female wisps are more magical gifted than others.

  Health: 1000/1000

  Mana: 4000/4000

  Effects: Immune to curses. Immune to poison. Immune to non-magical attacks.

  "Hello?" I said, I took a hesitant step forwards, companions weren't meant to be hostile to their summoners.

  "Greeting Master." The orb glowed a brighter green as it spoke. "How may I be of assistance today?"

  "Can you tell me a bit about yourself?" I asked, "I've never heard of an etheric wisp."

  "I don't think an etheric wisp has existed on this world before." It replied, "I have lots of magical abilities, most of them are utility but I do have some non-lethal spells. I also have access to your abilities as well, my favourite spell is Dancing Lights and my favourite ability is you Etheric Step…"

  "Stop." I said, interrupting the wisp, "What is a soul companion?"

  "A soul companion is a companion that is bound to the summoner, we take the form of what the summoner needs the most. It's the same as a soulbound weapon, like the one you already have." The wisp bobbed and I felt my scythe lift up a little. "I am a tool to help you, while I am my own wisp and want to set rules, I'm not opposed to doing what I can to help."

  "You are beautiful." Clair said interrupting, she stepped forward to get a better look at the wisp. "Can…can I touch you?" She asked hesitantly.

  "Not in this form I'm afraid, I can change shape though and you can touch me then." The wisp replied, "What form should I take?"

  "Luca loves most small critters but his favourite is," She said and turned to me, a huge evil grin on her face. "A duck."

  And just like that, Clair doomed me to a life of having a small critter as a soul companion.

  I tried to protest and say that they weren't my favourite, but when the wisp turned into a small adorable etheric green duck, my protests died on my lips. I had images of the duck standing on my shoulder as we travelled and it made me smile. I wondered if it could copy Right Clothes for the Job. Having a duck in black robes made me smile.

  Sensing my thoughts the wisp waddled over to me, in its duck form, it looked up at me. Black shadow seemed to claw its way around the duck, like the void was slowly engulfing the duck. The robes that were left behind were as black as the abyss, they coveted 98% of the wisp, the front of the duck's beak poked out the front of the hood.

  It looked so adorable.

  "Do you have a weapon?" I asked.

  "I do." The wisp-duck said at the same time it quacked.

  The duck held out a wind and a green crystal rod appeared in its wing. I didn't understand how the rod stayed in place or even think about it as I noticed that the rod looked a lot like my scythes snath, the gem on the end was where the soul lantern should have been. I took a step back and looked at the wisp as a whole. I smiled as my heart melted. I decided that the duck form was not a bad one.

  "What should I call you?" I asked.

  "My name is Illand'elle but you can call me Elle if you like master." The wisp quacked.

  "It is a pleasure to meet you Elle, please call me Luca or if you would like to be formal Mr Piel but I prefer Luca." I said not wanting to be called Master. "We need to sit down and talk about what we can do and lay some boundaries."

  As it turned out for a level 11 etheric wisp, Elle was one of the more magically gifted wisps. She had some truly random spells like Susan's Infinite Lockbox which was a spell that summoned random items once a week. Or the spell Laundry Day that washed, cleaned and folded clothes, even the ones you're wearing. She also had a lot of useful spells though, various situational spells like Create Rope or Knock to unlock things. There were some standout abilities and spells that we talked a lot about.

  The first was an ability we both gained, a limited telepathy. Limited in the sense that it only worked with each other. We could sense that it was limited by range but after moving around the room, we guessed it was about 100 feet. The second was Elle's innate ability to turn invisible, it was better than stealth or an Invisibility spell as she left no traces. The last was the shape-shifting and boundaries.

  We established that animals were fine if they were of a certain height, shorter than 4 feet, humanoid races were only when instructed. Elle agreed but also made sure that they were free to change into other forms at her own free will. Next I established rules on trickery and shenanigans, however they mainly consisted of; don't get caught, don't cause harm to others, and warn me of potential fallout. Appropriate behaviour and privacy rules were quickly agreed and thankfully the wisp had no special requirements.

  It was interesting to find out that Elle didn't require food or water, instead she needed to be unsummoned for at least 1 hour per day to restore herself.

  With an agreement in place, we looked at the black portal that had replaced the Wheel of Fortune at some point. Clair held my hand as Elle stood on my shoulder in a small duck form. I could feel her etheric duck wing grab onto my hair. We all stepped through the portal.