Putting on my best narrator voice, I began to explain. "I come from a place called the Material. It's-" I was abruptly cut off as Ash was once more flying in my face, eyes wide, hands gripping my cheeks.

  "WAIT! Wait, waaait now!" She stared at me, hard. "Yer tellin' me there's actually a place called the Material? And you come from there? I thought that was nothn' but a myth, an old wives' tale! What is it? What's it like? And could I go back with ya?" By the end, her words were coming out faster and faster. She was breathing hard, her rather lovely chest rising and falling from her excitement. I couldn't help but notice she was quite well endowed for her size.

  In an attempt to calm her down and move her to where I could see her properly, I held one hand under her and gently pushed on her shoulder with the other until she was standing. As I held her in front of me, she stood with her hands on her hips, eyes wide and expectant.

  "Take a breath m' lady," I chuckled "I'll explain what I can. I know I'm amazing, but I won't disappear. We can take our time."

  Clearing my throat, I gathered my thoughts, then resumed walking as I talked. "Yes I come from the Material, and until today, I had no idea a place like this existed. As for going back with me, there might be a way eventually, I don't really know. In fact, I was hoping you would be the one who knows everything."

  I considered just telling her all about the Astral alignment with the Material, the incursions and so forth, but I hesitated.

  First, I didn't really know this person, er, dragon... uh, dragon person. Whatever she was, I didn't know if I could trust her that much. She seemed nice, but I wouldn't show all my cards so easily.

  Secondly, I barely understood the information myself, so I didn't think I could explain much anyway.

  "Well, I doubt there'd be many people, if any at all, down here on the lower Astral that'd know about the Material. I'm a fey of knowledge after all; that means I'm a genius! The only reason I don't know is because it's obviously somethin' terribly difficult to know!" She pouted adorably as she said this, crossing her arms petulantly.

  "Heh, then I guess I'm even more of a genius, because I know all about the Material!" My laughter grew as her mouth dropped open indignantly and she once more began to fly, drifting off my hand.

  "Well, fine then "genius," why don't ya just find yer own way out?" She stomped her foot in the air adorably and turned her nose up.

  "Okay, okay!" I cried "I admit, your the genius. Please madam sage, don't leave this lowly one to wander without your wisdom!" I clapped my hands together and bowed my head playfully, mimicking supplication from Japanese culture.

  "Hmmph! Very well then. It would be beneath my station to abandon someone in such need. I suppose I'll share my wisdom with you a while longer. Be grateful!" This time she adopted an arrogant English accent, enhanced by her self superior posture.

  "Yes, this one is grateful to the Sage!" I nodded seriously. We held our positions a moment before we both broke out laughing. It really was easy to get along with this girl.

  Our levity was broken by the sound of rustling coming from some nearby underbrush. We both went silent, staring in the direction of the sound. I prepared my staff and Ash changed back into her dragon form before vanishing from sight completely. Invisibility huh? I suppose that explains a lot.

  I didn't have long to consider that as a distorted version of a wolf, —with two extra limbs and a row of sharp spines along its back— emerged from the foliage. I saw madness in its glowing green eyes. I tensed, as it crouched, anticipating an attack.

  The beast lunged at me, and I swung my staff, connecting with its snout. It snarled and snapped at me, its eyes wild. I dodged and tried to retaliate, but it was clear I was outmatched. I wasn't entirely unskilled with a staff, but this creature was unlike anything I'd faced before. It moved with unnatural speed and ferocity. I struggled to keep it at bay, but it managed to land a savage blow with its vicious claws, leaving a painful gash on my arm.

  Just as I was starting to falter, Ash reappeared. She darted through the air, pouncing on its flank to rend and tear with her own claws.

  It roared in pain and turned its attention to her. I lunged forward, determined to prevent it from getting to her, successfully buying her time to disengage.

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  As I continued to fend off the beast, Ash drifted higher, eyes glowing violet. Stones and debris began to float through the air, then pelted at the wolf-thing with bruising force. One stone in particular hit the wolf in a foreleg with a loud crack! It cried out in pain once more, though it had legs to spare, and seemed to barely slow.

  The scent of blood filled the air, both that of the creature and my own. There was something else too; something foul mixed with the creatures blood. I had to push down the urge to retch as I continued to fight.

  It was a fierce battle, but eventually, we wore it down, largely thanks to Ash's relentless barrage of rocks. With one final attack I lunged forward, and with all my might, I brought my staff down hard on the creature's skull. With an audible crack, I ended the fight. The creature fell with a thud, and lay motionless on the ground.

  I stood there, panting hard, trying to catch my breath. My hands were stinging from the final blow, and my arm was still bleeding from the creatures claws. Ash flew over and landed beside me, also breathing hard. Clearly, whatever magic she had used took it out of her.

  "Thanks," I told her, meaning it. "You probably saved my life. What is that thing anyway? And why does it smell like that?" I grimaced as I examined the thing.

  "That's a corrupted fey wolf. There's somethin' in the hill you see, drivin' the poor souls of this shard mad; twistin' their very natures. It's been creepin' in, like the ivy on the old oak trees in the Feywild —slow but sure.

  "That's why this shard's been split off from the rest o' the Feywild. It's a sort of defense; the Feywild's attempt to keep the rot from spreadin'. If nothin's done, I'm afraid it's only a matter o' time before the whole shard ends up like this poor beast." Her grimace matched my own, though there was genuine fear there as well.

  I could understand why. The situation sounded grim. "I see. I don't know if there's anything I can do to help, but I would like to at least look into it. I'll need more information first. Before that though, can you keep a look out for me? I want to try something." At her nod, I approached the body of the wolf and crouched down.

  Covering my nose with my shirt to limit the stench, I closed my eyes and tried to absorb its energy. Nothing happened. I tried once more to sort through the information given to me by the mysterious voice, but nothing new revealed itself. If this was meant to be something all spire lords could do, then I would expect it to be somewhat intuitive.

  Thinking more about it, I realized the main difference between me and other spire lords, —in theory at least,— would be that I never used my Potential. Perhaps the energy pool, or whatever else might be needed, simply weren't there for me.

  Then again, the voice said we would be paving the way for other mortals on Earth, so there must be more than one way to go about this. Or maybe not. Still I wanted to try at least one more thing.

  Sitting in the lotus position, similar to how I had been sitting in the Material, I began to meditate. I thought of all of the cultivation novels I'd read and tried to search for a solution. I knew that wasn't very scientific, but then again, I was in the Astral, and the lore of Earth was supposed to have some basis here.

  I knew that many stories talked about chakras and danteans, channels and cores. Some stories talked about a silver cord in the Astral plane, connecting a mortal to the Astral. Yet no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sense anything like that inside me. I tried for several minutes before I had another idea.

  I may not sense any of that, or even the energy of the dead wolf, but I could sense the Potential in me. Focusing on that, I imagined it circling inside me, gathering and pulling other energy into it.

  I hoped that like might call to like, and sure enough, I felt as it started to grow. I got excited, thinking I may have found a way to store up strength. If this worked, I might be able to build up "levels" for when I finally used the potential, and skip some xp grinding later on.

  By the time I had finished, the potential had grown some. Nothing amazing, but it was noticeable. It was slightly uncomfortable, but still easily bearable. Smiling to Ash, who had been waiting patiently, I spoke. "Thanks for waiting. I think that helped. Let's go, it shouldn't be far now."

  Neither of us spoke much for the short walk back to my tether portal, both lost in our own thoughts. At least my arm had stopped bleeding. I didn't know how injuries might work here, but blood was apparently a thing.

  As we reached my portal, I turned once more to Ash. "I think you should come stay in my territory. I can close the portal and you should be safe. At least until we figure out the corruption. It's the least I can do after you saved me in that fight."

  "I see. I don't disagree. Besides, I'm very curious about you and the Material. It would be a shame if I missed you when you came back." She changed back into her humanoid fairy form and gave me a dazzling smile. My heart skipped a beat, but I shook it off. I'd never even been into action figures. Clearly, doll sized people weren't my thing.

  The portal opened once more when I placed my hand on its frame, and we walked though. Ash was enchanted when she saw my domain, and especially my tree. She was full of questions, but we were both tired, so I promised to tell her all about it when I got back. I told her she could make herself at home and that I would be back soon.

  Turning my focus inward, I concentrated on returning to my apartment. I pictured everything in as much detail as I could muster, and willed myself back with all my might. It took a few seconds to get the feeling right, but eventually I felt my consciousness shift, and when I opened my eyes, I was back.

  I was reasonably confident I could call my first adventure a success. I had made a friend anyway. At least, I hoped so. Most stories about fey described them as notorious tricksters. Ash had certainly enjoyed her pranks, but I thought there was more to her.

  I supposed that only time would tell.