《The Muraglen Saga》 [Book 1] Chp 1: The Wishing Walls White. All I saw was white. Where am I? Sprawled on the ground, I turned my head, noticing an arched ceiling embedded with clear crystals and a black line running down its center. I was in a hallway of some sort. I attempted to get up several times, but my body was stiff. It felt like ages before I could get off the grainy floor. The hallway seemed to extend forever in either direction, which made me doubt I would be able to find a way out. After a few moments of consideration, I decided to do the only thing I could: walk. I moved with unsteady steps; all that guided me was the black line running on the ceiling. The monotonous appearance of the hallway lulled my mind into an unthinking state. After some time, the walls darkened and the black line turned white. Now, instead of being a guideline, it was a beacon urging me forward. After what felt like hours, my legs gave out beneath me. Oddly familiar aches and pains throbbed throughout my body. I sagged against the wall, wishing for rest. I must have blinked, for when I opened my eyes, a door had appeared in front of me. The blue coloring on its surface incited a calm feeling within me. Shocked, I looked both ways, only to see the same unchanging walls. I scrambled to my feet and carefully moved in closer to the door. I didn¡¯t know what was behind it, but I didn¡¯t have anything to lose. I opened the door to a heavy thunk. Inside the doorway, the white walls from earlier surrounded a simple wooden bed. It was the only thing in the mysterious room. ¡°A bed¡­¡± I whispered. I didn¡¯t want to look this gift horse in the mouth, but I did wonder. Did the hallway somehow know what I needed? Did it really just grant my wish? My aching body decided not to bother investigating further and I collapsed on the bed. I began to drift off almost immediately, but as I was falling asleep, I noticed a girl standing at the foot of the bed. Before I had a chance to speak, the total darkness of sleep embraced me. When I awoke hours later, the room was the same bright white. The girl, if she had truly existed, was gone. The door to the Hall - what I had decided to call that seemingly infinite expanse of white - was still there. Refreshed, I examined the door closely. It was a plain shade of blue with a symbol resembling a Y on top of a W, carved into it at eye level. I opened the door and stepped back out into the familiar long corridor. I pulled the door shut behind me, turning to face the Hall. When I didn¡¯t hear an accompanying sound, I turned to find the same unchanging surface. That was surprising, but I had bigger problems to worry about. As if on cue, my stomach growled horribly and I wondered how long it had been since I ate. I heard a shifting sound, like sand being swept off of a wooden surface, and I turned to find a plain blue drawer at hip level. It bore the same YW inscription. I opened the drawer and, to my surprise, there was a generic burger- bread, beef and a slice of good old cheese. Hesitant but increasingly hungry, I picked it up and took a bite. The juices from the meat dripped down my chin as I inhaled the delicious protein. I looked down at my now burger-stained clothes. I had failed to notice that my clothes were only a shade away from rags. Testing the capabilities of the Hall, I wished. This time I spoke aloud, asking for a new change of clothes and, sure enough, I heard shifting and another blue drawer appeared in the wall. Inside it was a matching set to my plain white shirt, jeans, and brown sandals. For some reason, there was also a blue-black bracelet that had no detailed features, simply a band with a round black plate. Making use of the Hall¡¯s capabilities, I wished for something to clean myself with. As soon as I¡¯d spoken the words, a door opened up next to the burger drawer. I opened it, and found a¡­ washroom. The walls were made of white porcelain tile and the furnishings were of Victorian design. My brain was filling in information as I stumbled upon things. I walked into the pristine room, leaving a trail of sweaty moisture with my bare feet. There was a large tub, a sink and a mirror hanging from the wall above the sink. As I moved closer to the tub, I noticed my reflection in the mirror. It looked like the face of a stranger. The face had sharp features, black hair, and the scruff of a beard beginning to show. The grime that covered my face suggested that I had taken a mud bath in the recent past. It took a minute for me to accept myself in the stranger¡¯s face, but no memories about the past surfaced. I made faces at myself, just to confirm my identity. After a few minutes of familiarizing myself with myself, I was ready to take my shower. I left the door open, just for peace of mind in case the Hall decided to disappear. I washed myself thoroughly, dirtying the pristine tub. Once I was done, I stepped out of the tub. I had put my dirty outfit down on the ground, but it had vanished while I was showering. Instead there was a clean towel in place of the rags. Now clean and dry, I walked out of the bathroom towards the clothes drawer. I dressed and wished for a way to store my clothes. Seconds later another drawer opened, revealing a rucksack. It was a one-pocket jet-black leather bag. I stowed my still wet towel into it, never knowing when it might come in handy. A saying, ¡°Always know where your towel is¡±, bubbled up from somewhere in my memory. Still hungry and not knowing if or when the Hall would stop granting my wishes, I asked for two burgers. However, no new drawer appeared. Perplexed, I checked the drawers, but all were empty. The one where the burger had originally appeared was now closed, but still visible. I opened it and was relieved to find, two burgers as well as a bowl full of clean water.. One burger was wrapped in a waxy paper, while the other just laid there. I didn¡¯t understand how the Hall knew I meant to take one of those burgers with me. It had clearly read my thoughts somehow. I drank the water from the bowl and tossed it in my rucksack. Stowing the burger away, I threw the bag over my shoulder.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Entering the bathroom, I washed my hands. When I finished, I returned to find the Hall empty once again. I frowned at the prospect of the open drawers disappearing, as I gazed down the length of the Hall. ¡°Will open doors do that too?¡± I wondered out loud. I turned and continued my endless journey. As I walked, I tried to piece together what had happened to me, but the more I tried to recall my past, the more my fresh Hall memories clouded my brain. While I could not make connections to my memories, there was still a subtle itch in the back of my mind that kept my focus while I walked, pushing me to retrieve them. Accepting the fact that the Hall still held many secrets I did not understand, I walked numbly forward. I still could not tell the time, but there was a definite pattern to the color scheme changes of the room. The white walls started to gray and then turn black. The white line on the ceiling was the only thing left to guide me in the darkness. My thoughts turned to the girl I had seen the previous night. Had it been a dream? Were there other people here? All of these questions tumbled through my mind. Consumed in thought, I bumped into a column. It was the first feature I had seen since the doors and drawers so I inspected it closely. After pacing and running my hands all around it, the only noticeable features were that the column did not reach the ceiling and that it had a spiral construction, with notches at about three foot intervals. After a second look, I realized that there were two symbols engraved into the stone. One was the familiar YW symbol and was located on the side facing the direction I had come from. On the other side though, the symbol was different, resembling a sharp pair of wings. Although I searched the column for more details, the fully darkened walls made it difficult to see any additional clues. Deciding to wait out the night, I wished for a bed like the previous night and an identical room opened up. I ate the burger I had packed, sitting on the bed, and soon felt tired enough to lay down and try to sleep. Some time later, as I was starting to drift off, I blinked and saw that the girl from before was there. This time I forced myself to stay awake and observe her through the crack of my eyes. She was wearing a blue button dress, had jet black hair that reached her hips and startling silver eyes. She stared at me piercingly, as if she was wishing I would go away and never come back. As I continued to watch her watch me, I noticed a red gash on her right shoulder. She had been injured somehow, as the blood stain on her dress grew even while I watched. I tried to think of a way to ¡°wake up¡± and not scare her. However, for lack of a better plan, I used a direct approach, opening my eyes slowly to say ¡°Hello¡±. Her eyes widened, and I couldn¡¯t help thinking of our little satellite, the moon, as I looked into her silver eyes. Wait...the moon? What was that? She was already turning away, so I said ¡°No wait, you¡¯re hurt. Let me help you.¡± She replied once I sat up in the rigid bed. ¡°Hello¡­¡± she said in a voice that sounded like a well tuned violin. My mouth sagged. Hearing the first words from another person after the silence of the Hall gave me a relief I hadn''t realized I needed. I jumped off the bed and walked past her out into the Hall, wishing for a bandage, alcohol, a new dress and a bathroom. The girl visibly recoiled at my energetic approach, but I paid it no mind. While the door and drawers for all of those began to appear in the Hall, her expression grew progressively more alarmed and she started looking around the room, peering under the bed and touching the walls, as if she were searching for something. Apparently not finding what she was afraid of, she breathed a sigh of relief. When I motioned at the wound with the supplies, she relaxed and relented. She pulled down the blood soaked section of her dress to reveal a nasty bleeding gash. I cleaned and bandaged the wound. It was a straight three inch cut on her shoulder, but the skin looked jagged along the edges. I wondered where I had learned to clean and dress wounds. I studied it closely to see if it required stitches. I opened my mouth to wish for a bed for her, but she slammed her hand over my mouth with surprising strength and shook her head vigorously. With her hand still on my mouth she stared intensely at me for a couple of seconds, got up, took the identical dress and ran off through the night, like a cat scared of a storm. Before I was able to pursue her, she faded into the distant walls. ***** Perplexed and worried by the events of the previous night, I decided it was time to speed up my progress and see if I could catch the girl on this never ending road. Still, I wondered specifically why she had been so skittish when I made those wishes. There were already so many mysteries, adding another seemed par for the course. Giving up on figuring out the mysteries of the Hall, I decided to pursue the only clue I had, the girl. Keeping it simple, I wished for the Hall to give me a way to move faster, but while I said that part aloud, I thought of running super quickly or jumping really high. A garage door opened up to my left. The door retracted upwards, revealing a square space about ten feet by ten feet. Hanging from some hooks attached to the ceiling was a black, smooth trapezoidal shaped tube. I looked around the room with confusion. After a minute of searching and seeing nothing else of interest, I approached the hanging frame. I ran my hand over the surface of the trapezoid. It felt like a smoothed metallic mesh. As I continued to move my hand along its upper length, I heard a humming. The moment I lifted my hand from the metal, the humming got louder and louder. After a couple seconds it stopped abruptly. A wave of energy exploded out from the frame, pushing me back into the Hall, knocking the wind out of me. Disoriented, I rose to my feet and moved back towards the garage. The sleek frame remained there in the air, but shimmering green light streamed from the front and back. The light shaped itself into two swirling disks of mist and light. My curiosity reaching an all time high, I ran up to the garage door and cautiously approached the glowing and swirling contraption. I knew that explosions were fun but not when directed at myself. Slowly, I placed my hands on the frame, which pulsed green and roared to life, like a lion awakened from his nap. An ethereal seat formed, as well as a pair of handles on the front of the trapezoid, right above one of the swirling disks. I placed my hands on the handles and felt a surge of power and a sudden understanding. This was a speed construct, and it could be ridden to move beyond the walking speed of a regular person. With more than my fair share of trepidation, I pulled the frame down from the hook that held it up. Nothing explosive happened when I tried to set it down. The frame was much heavier than I had expected, but the mist disks caught it and held it up. I wheeled it out into the Hall, and the garage door slid closed behind me. As I looked around, all the doors I had opened shut suddenly; the Hall itself seemed to encourage me to go. I got on the bike and looked back at the column one last time. Finding no other markings or signs, I placed my hands on the handles. With the knowledge that had flooded my mind, I knew all I needed to move was a thought. Without even finishing the word ¡°Go¡±, the construct sped off deeper into the Hall. Despite my tremendous speed, the same question haunted me. ¡°Just where the hell am I?¡± [Book 1] Chp 2: Chance Encounter I wondered if the speed construct had a defined range. There was no indication of how far it would let me travel. While riding, I felt my head ache and again my stomach called for attention, so I slowed down to a stop. Since I had eaten burgers for two nights in a row, I wished for something more filling. A drawer appeared, and I jumped back in alarm; this one was red. It had the second wing symbol I had seen etched into it. Wary about what the color and symbol could mean, I opened the drawer tentatively. I cracked the drawer open, a pale tentacle-like arm the size of a lamp post shot out of the drawer, striking me in the face with incredible force. I fell to the ground, stunned. I saw a girl, dressed identically to the one from the previous nights, running towards the tentacle in a flurry of red hair. Instead of a blue dress, she wore a red one and she threw something at the pale appendage. A short blade struck the appendage, severing its connection with the drawer. The cut tentacle fell to the ground and began to disintegrate as it writhed next to me. The girl rushed over to the drawer, closed it, and scratched off the winged symbol with a dull knife. She examined me from head to toe, scanning me once over with machine-like precision. She pointed at the wall where the drawer disappeared into, and shook her head. Even while still in pain and shock, the encounter with the aggressive tentacle allowed me to connect the events of the previous night with the one that were now taking place. The Hall was not always helpful, or even cooperative; it could be dangerous. Wishing was a gamble. I had been getting lucky. She helped me to my feet and placed a smooth, heavy, bronze colored coin on my palm. It was about the size of a quarter. As I was studying it, the girl tapped my shoulder. When I looked up, she gestured for me to flip the coin. I placed it on my thumb and flipped it with some difficulty, unused to the weight. The coin flew in the air and landed on the floor with a loud clang that made no sense considering its size. The coin vanished, inexplicably replaced by a sword. My mouth dropped open. Some forgotten memory told me it was closest to a gladius. The blade was about two and half feet long, sharp on both edges tapering to a point. As I leaned forward to pick it up, the sword turned back into a copper coin. During the whole transformation process, the girl stared at me as if I¡¯d turned into one of the tentacle beasts. She uncrossed her arms, apprehension visibly dissipating once the coin reverted to its original shape. ¡°Why were you not suspicious at all?¡± she asked. ¡°Suspicious of what?¡± ¡°Of me, of the coin I gave you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where or who I am, Nothing that is happening here makes any sense at all, the doors, the wishes, you, and now this creature.¡± I waved vaguely at the room around us. Questions tumbled out of me. ¡°Who are you? Where are we? What is this place?¡± I asked frantically. I would have continued asking questions had I not run out of breath. I didn¡¯t want to miss my opportunity to get answers about my situation. The girl narrowed her eyes as she studied me again. She had rounded features and auburn colored hair, which contrasted to the girl from the previous night. We stared at each other in silence for several seconds. I had run out of questions, and she wasn¡¯t forthcoming with any answers. I knew that she had no reason to talk to me, especially after saving me from the strange tentacle, but I felt roiling emotions surface. After I appeared in the Hall, I felt changed. I was not sure how, maybe it was because I had been removed from my previous way of living, whatever that might have been. ¡°You¡¯re weak,¡± she said blurted unapologetically. ¡°Well, what did you expect? I have no idea who I am! All I have are my thoughts which¡­ this weird place is somehow reading.¡± I gestured towards the speed construct. ¡°I wished for this¡­ or something similar to it, and this place answered. I wished for food, and it answered. I wished for clothes...¡± She shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t wish, it¡¯s dangerous.¡± She turned to leave. Placing my hand on her shoulder I said, ¡°At least tell me your name?¡± ¡°Nara.¡± That name... I had heard it before. Before I could get any answers to the dozens of questions I had surfaced, she had shaken me off. Surprised by her speed, she was already off in the distance, phasing into the Hall and its white, dangerous walls. There was something oddly familiar about the two people I had met. I was sure it had to do with the strange wishing hallway. Nara had left the coin on the floor. Did she just forget it, or was she trying to offer me some kind of protection? Not knowing what her intentions had been, I chose to assume the best. Meaning I would have to learn how to use the damn thing without it always reverting into a coin. It would be useful to have a sword, but it had a strong preference for its coin shape and reverted the moment I tried to pick it back up. After flipping the coin several times, with the same sword-to-coin, I gave up mid-flip and caught it in the air. For the first time, I felt the sword¡¯s solid grip in the palm of my hand. As I held the slender leather hilt it flashed green and hummed joyously. I swung it experimentally, but it was incredibly heavy. After a couple of swings it slipped from my hand because of its sheer weight. The moment the tip touched the floor, it was once again a coin. Mesmerized by the morphing, I repeated the process of flipping and catching several times, until I felt I could do it on command. After a few successful tries in a row, I became frustrated. Just summoning a sword couldn¡¯t help me learn to fight or overcome my ¡°weak¡± state. I had no idea how to properly hold a sword or swing it effectively. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to use this! How am I supposed to get out of this place with this sword! Gah!¡± I yelled in frustration while glaring at the walls. As I finished my little tantrum, I noticed a wooden door. It was a sliding door made from bamboo. It was held together with a red cord woven between the stalks of rounded wood. An uneasy feeling erupted in the pit of my stomach and I wondered if my frustrations had led the Hall to interpret a wish where there was none? Not knowing what to do, I decided that waiting to be eaten was worse than diving head first into the mouth of a beast. I slid the door open and went inside. The room was square, with a low ceiling. It looked empty and dark, so I cautiously stepped in to investigate. The moment my feet crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut. Dark. I was stunned for a couple of seconds. I had forgotten what complete and utter darkness was like; it had been a long time since I had been in anything other than the ever-present white glow of the Hall. The door clicked behind me and a single thought crossed my head, ¡°Am I done for?¡± The floor dropped out from underneath me. The next instant, the adrenaline of falling kicked in and altered my focus from the future to my imminent present. I felt myself panicking, but I took a deep breath of the cold rushing wind, clearing my head. I reached for the walls around me, but my hand dragged on it with such friction that I yanked back in pain. In my left hand, I clutched the odd coin that I was still holding. Taking a chance, and hoping that I wouldn¡¯t lose it as I fell, I tossed it down gently and caught it again. The sword formed in my hands, and I held the hilt as tightly as I could. The wind was tugging at me, but I found the wall with my hand again and drove the tip into the wall, stabbing it downwards at approximately a forty-five degree angle. The sword stuck in place, but I continued falling. My shoulders and arms screamed in pain as I held onto the hilt for dear life. My lower body hit the wall as I came to a stop, saved by the sword. Without the wind to force my eyes shut, my vision adjusted to the gloom of the shaft. It was as square as the earlier room had been and everything inside was a shade away from pitch black. As I looked around, I saw dim light filtering in through the crack my sword made above me. As my eyes became more adjusted to the darkness, a very convenient doorway with a small ledge on the opposite side of the shaft took shape. I took a moment to mentally shake my head. Everything in this world was bent on testing me. Swinging from the hilt of my sword I picked up speed, but before I had momentum built up my sword dislodged from the wall. I flew across the abyss, but knew I would fall short of the door, and in an instant had accepted death with unsettling ease.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Death was not ready for me just yet. A hand grasped my own. I looked up at my savior, only to see a pair of silvery eyes staring down at me. Nara had opened the door and grabbed my hand just in time to save me from the fall. She hoisted me up into the room and a bright light shone directly into my eyes and the message, You have entered one of the Great Realms. Become who you were meant to be! Was displayed in black lettering. I blinked and the text disappeared. I was assaulted by a rainbow array of not only colors but scents. I was in forest as far as the eye could see, filled with all types of strange and unfamiliar plants. There were blue and green trees, red grass and all manner of colored flowers. It would have been a botanist¡¯s dream. The least surprising thing about the new place was that Nara had been there to catch me. Her and her Hall buddies seemed to be everywhere at once. I was not entirely sure her presence and the appearance of the sliding door were connected, but I was alive and not one to complain. After my full minute of infatuation with the kaleidoscopic forest, I stood. ¡°So¡­What now¡­?¡± I asked Nara. ¡°Train, you idiot,¡± she responded. ¡°How do I do that?¡± ¡°Survive.¡± With that, she tapped the right side of my temple and jumped into the black depth of the shaft. She made it seem as if it was jumping into a small pond. I stared after her, listening for a sound that might indicate she had landed somewhere. There were a couple more seconds of silence and I hoped she had faded into the walls like her counterpart. As I stared after her, the void I had barely escaped called to me. Thanks to some unknown instinct, I turned back to the forest, pushing further from the doorway. I understood what she meant by survive. With no food, a towel, and a sword I didn¡¯t know how to use, my chances of even finding food, much less catching it, were slim. I scratched my head while thinking of what I should do, and my fingers passed where Nara had touched my temple. Another flash of blinding light struck me. However, this time there was a table of information hovering before my eyes.
NAME TITLE LEVEL
Faust Swift None 1 (0% to LvL)
HEALTH MANA STAMINA
100 (Regen 0.5/sec) 100 (Regen 0.5/sec) 100 (Regen 0.5/sec)
ATTRIBUTES
Vitality 0
Strength 0
Endurance 0
Dexterity 0
Intelligence 0
Willpower 0
Charisma 0
Luck 10
SKILLS
First Aid 1 (15%)
Construct Operation 1 (20%)
TRAITS
Universal Favor 10 to Luck
RESISTANCES
EVOLUTION
1 (0%)
Even after blinking repeatedly, the semi-transparent lettering and borders in my field of vision did not disperse. It was as if they were stuck hovering a foot from my face. With my initial concern dying down, curiosity found a burning ember to latch on. At least one of my questions had been answered. I was Faust Swift. How this ghostly table knew that, I hadn¡¯t the foggiest idea, but it was better than remaining nameless. ¡°I am Faust Swift...¡± I said, savoring the name. As soon as the words left my mouth, a gong reverberated all around me. Startled birds could be heard taking flight. You have identified a part of yourself. You are on your way to becoming who you were meant to be! You can now gain experience as you find your place in the world. Breathe, you will be here a while. Once again assaulted by blinding light, I was not shaken as much. It appeared to be a regular thing in this new Realm, that everything relevant leave you seeing spots. In an attempt to reduce the bright light, I covered my eyes and when I opened them again, the table was gone. It occurred to me that I might have control over the table and I touched my right temple again, prompting the table to return. Increasingly more confused, now a definitive trait, but immediately excited I tapped my head like an idiot several times, opening and dismissing the table like a child with a new toy. I studied the table closely to see if it had any new information. I focused on the individual attribute categories and more floating text sprouted beside each word that I wanted to learn more about. "Health, Mana, and Stamina are the core of your being and connect to your life, magic and physical potential¡± Vitality! "Affects maximum Health and lightly affects Health Regen" Strength! "Affects proficiency with heavy weapons and general damage as well as carrying capacity of objects" Endurance! ¡°Affects maximum Stamina and lightly affects Stamina Regen" Dexterity! "Affects proficiency with light and range weapons as well as movement speed and flexibility" Intelligence! "Affects Maximum Mana, lightly affects Mana Regen, and affects proficiency with the Mystic Arts" Willpower! "Significantly affects All Regen, increases pain threshold and overall constitution." Charisma! "Affects interactions between sentient beings and allies." Luck! "Who knows?" That last descriptor was particularly uninformative. I looked at the values associated with the Attributes and was slightly offended that they were all at 0 except for Luck. It took me a moment to realize that it was essentially saying I was like a baby. I wanted to feel hurt, but with the recent turn of events I felt that might have been the case. I had no real experience or memories to help me in this new world of nonsense I found myself in. There was even more information in the table. First Aid! "Mummify your friends, how could they not feel better?" Proficiency in this skill affects your use of bandages and healing tools. Construct Operation! "What is an Ancient¡¯s Machine to you but another tool? Proficiency in this skill affects a wide variety of traits while operating magical constructs. This strange world must have pulled these skills from my experiences in the Hall, considering I could not remember anything from my previous life except the occasional words that I had very little context for. The First Aid skill must have come from my bandaging of the blue dressed girl on my second night in the Hall. As far as the Construct Operation skill, my time on the ethereal machine had not been wasted. I focused on the rest of the table and the prompt disappeared. Getting another look at the table told me there was some kind of growth possibility for my skills and for myself in the form of Levels, even if I was far from progressing in either category. The last entries on the table only gave me more questions. I inspected the Traits, Resistances and Evolution sections, but no clarifying text popped up. An unrelated alert appeared. Universal Favor! "The universe has an eye on your peculiarity" I considered if my coming here had been by chance. I had been lucky to find two people in the seemingly endless Hall, to not get killed by the Hall¡¯s mysterious inhabitants, and to be given the opportunity to grow in the strange realm I found myself in. Maybe my high Luck made sense after all. Having already spent way too much time on self-reflection, I figured it was time to put my ¡®newborn¡¯ form to the test. The strange forest beckoned me and a nervous energy consumed me. Hoping that the blue and green curtain of the forest canopy would share some of its treasures, I ran in. Update Regarding Future Chapters! ---Hello Everyone! Thanks for Reading! I just wanted to give everyone a heads up if you are interested in what Muraglen has to offer. As you may be able to tell from the double blurb for the story, I am currently writing the Sequel to The Hall. I will post a recap chapter for the events of Book 1 for the benefits of those who did not read it while it was fully available on RR, or you could pick up a copy on Kindle or KU!Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I will be releasing chapters for the sequel here and ahead of time in my Patreon. I have a super cool group of readers and fellow writers over on discord if you want to see cool art and chat about the story as it progresses. I also have a small Facebook group where I try to give regular updates on what I am working on. [All links below] If you are interested in more, I add announcements on facebook and Discord when something new comes up.I hope you enjoy what I writeand follow all my stories! -Frank G. Albelo [Book 1] Chp 3: A Room Among Many I wandered around for over an hour without encountering much of interest, listening to the sounds of the forest and its animals. I sat at the foot of one of the taller trees to rest and admired the beautiful colors of the flowers. While sitting there, hunger began to gnaw at me and I stood to see if there was anything that looked, or smelled, close to edible nearby. A squirrel sat on a low branch munching on a large walnut. The creature had not been there a second ago, but that was as far as that train of thought went; all I could think about was food. I hoped if I would be fast enough to catch myself a meal. I transformed my coin and crept closer to the branch. I stepped on a twig and the squirrel looked my way. It jumped off the branch and onto the ground. I gave chase. My hunger melted away in the adrenaline rush of chasing the squirrel. The trees thinned until they gave way to a long oval shaped clearing. In the center of the large clearing was a huge tree, different from the rest of the forest. It was tall, with numerous vines dropping down from its canopy. The trunk was easily three times as wide as its nearest neighbor, suggesting it was ancient compared to the short trees at the edge of the clearing. I stopped and stared at the tree, its knotted trunk seemed to shimmered, as if radiating energy. Mesmerized by the tree, I had lost the squirrel. A different squirrel jumped out at me from the grass. I reflexively slashed it with my sword before it got closer. I felt a tug on my blade, but then the animal was gone. Instead of leaving behind squirrel gore, it disintegrated just like the tentacle had done in the Hall. I heard loud rustling behind me and I turned to see hundreds of beady little eyes staring at me from the treeline. When I noticed the small bushes at the edge of the clearing start to shake a sense of dread filled me. I had definitely not gotten lucky with this particular door. I started running towards the huge tree a couple dozen feet away. As I ran, the grass around me was flattened as more squirrels jumped down from the treeline and gave chase. The things following me were not regular squirrels any more. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw their limbs elongated, and their fur, snouts and teeth began to thicken. The once light red-brown fur became a dirty maroon.They chased me as their contorting bodies hobbled on the grass. Combat! You have engaged in combat, passive Regen is reduced by half! One of them landed on my back, still not fully transformed, and bit into my shoulder. A burning sting ran from my shoulder and warm blood dripped when I smacked the monster away with the pommel of the sword. Not stopping to admire my attacker, I scrambled forward. I saw one of the squirrels start to climb up the tree. Another concerning thought crossed my mind: it was a trap. There were now waves of the monstrous creatures converging on the clearing. I had followed so easily and was now surrounded; I had been dead the moment I started chasing that damn squirrel. The creatures that had been pursuing me leaped into the air and landed among the branches of the shorter trees on the periphery of the ancient one. I felt the stare of hundreds of bloodthirsty eyes on me. Setting my jaw, I raised my sword and hoped for a miracle. While I had no real memories to speak of, a primal instinct told me to fight, to survive. The wind picked up as it blew through the clearing and it whistled in my ears as I tensed for the attack. I felt the earth tremble; my sword vibrated in tone with the positioning squirrels. A piercing screech split the air, and a torrent of monsters rained down on me, nearly knocking me to the ground. I slashed and dodged on the defensive, using the swings of my swords to propel me around the clearing. Congratulations! You have received the skill Swordsmanship! ¡°How swift is the blade you carry?¡± Proficiency in this skill affects damage and speed with sword weapons A new notification popped up in my field of vision, but I dismissed it with a thought as I focused back on the monsters rushing me. I advanced towards the tree. When the fight started I had felt a calm energy coming from it, growing stronger the closer I got, and I hoped it would be my salvation. Swinging wildly as I went, the only thing I felt was the quaking sword in my hand and the desperate beating of my heart. The only thing that mattered was reaching the tree. I ignored the pain from the cuts and bites of the monstrous squirrels as I pushed through the horde. I heard a new wave of chittering come from around me, the closest squirrels making way for a fresh group. With the surge in their numbers my will faltered slightly. The new monstrosities jumped all over me, tearing my shirt to shreds and almost pulling me off course.When the mass of fur pushed me back, a flashing prompt stating that I had 50% health and 20% stamina remaining appeared in my vision. After frantic seconds of struggling I slashed the air where I thought the next monstrosity was, but suddenly there were none of the creatures in front of me. The squirrels ran to surround the tree. None went closer than the edge of a patch of darkened grass that surrounded it. The creatures that were perched on the branches remained still and stared intently at me. Almost as soon as I stepped on the darkened grass, I hear branches breaking. I spun to find the whole tree was shifting, forming an arch that was almost fifteen feet tall and ten at its base. Moans and wails of pain came from the center of the tree inside the arch.. The whole forest was eerily quiet. A dark body appeared inside the arch, slowly exiting the gate. A bear as tall as I was, and nearly three times as long, padded slowly forward. The black-brown fur along its body shone in the sunlight, the barred teeth and the drool dripping onto the grass only heightened my fear. Almost as if it wanted to make my fear official, the creature roared, louder than I could have ever imagined. I was pushed back by the shockwave, but it was more than just sound that moved me. The monster squirrels that had been behind me disintegrated, their bodies tossed in the air for mere seconds. You have received 15 damage from Intimidating Roar. You have resisted the fear effect by sheer Luck. As usual, I had no plan. I rushed forward, using my momentum to swing my sword over my head. My sword managed to make a tiny gash in its fur before it lifted its paw and slapped me towards the tree. I hit the tree with a bone crunching thump, and my hand spasmed. I dropped the blade and it fell back to the ground, turning into a coin once more. All the adrenaline left my body at once, and I writhed on the ground, struck by the pain of my wounds with the adrenaline fading. Cracked Ribs (3)! Stamina Regen decreased by 40% and breathing is reduced. Cracked Radius ! Stamina decreased by 5% and battle speed is reduced. A very angry red warning told me I was at 10% health and suffered from reduced Stamina due to some broken bones. Lying there broken, death felt like a very good idea. I would not have to worry about who I had been, or what I would be, only the comfort of darkness. However, my mind could not give up the idea of living to see another day. I fought to catch my breath, fighting against the ache of broken ribs and the fear that choked my throat. I muttered to myself, hoping for salvation, as I struggled to rise as the ground trembled with the force of the bear¡¯s heavy footsteps. Hearing a familiar shifting sound, and hoping I was not delusional, I scanned around me. A red drawer had appeared on the surface of the tree. I crawled towards the drawer, and reached above my head to open it with the last of my strength. As I plunged my hand into the drawer, I felt something small, cold, and hard. I pulled it out and a notification flashed up. You have acquired Unidentified Magic Coin. I flipped the red coin and caught it midair. A handgun formed in my hand. This was no ordinary handgun; it was just under three feet long and had a trigger grip. The safety was built into the grip and all I had to do to fire the oversized gun was pull with my index finger on the trigger. With difficulty, I raised the barrel and aimed it at the creature. The bear, having noticed my continued struggle, turned its slow approach into a sprint. The bear came close enough that I could feel his hot breath on my face, but I steadied the gun and aimed it directly at its head. I pulled the trigger. A fireball of molten lead shot into its mouth, tearing through it like water. The flash of the gun and the roar of the bullet leaving the barrel momentarily blinded and stunned me, but a notification popped up behind my eyes anyway.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Congratulations! You have received the skill Marksmanship! ¡°The best fighters are not bloodied by their enemies. What better way to accomplish this than from afar!" Proficiency in this skill affects damage with small projectile weapons as well as reloading speed. Dead, the massive creature lay there while the archway it had come through became a dark swirling mass in an instant. A cutting wind began to blow towards the darkened hole as though it were a massive vacuum. Bark peeled off trees and the remaining monster squirrels squealed as the archway sucked them into the unknown. I set down the gun and just like the sword it turned back into a red coin, which I stashed in my pocket. I clung to the grass on the ground as the wind sped up, trying to stop myself from being pulled in with everything else. The ¡°room¡± was being sucked into the void, and I searched frantically for my sword coin. I saw it, gleaming on the ground, somehow not sucked into the archway along with everything else. When my hand touched its smooth coin surface I felt almost complete, and I morphed the coin. It transformed into its blade form, and I stabbed the ground just as the suction force of the hole began to tear the very trees from the ground. Hanging on for dear life my breaths came short and fast until consciousness started to slip from my grasp; then darkness. You have Died. You must think on your actions as the astral energy of your soul is given shape. As you are not yet significant enough, your level and skill progression will not be affected. My consciousness returned slowly. It was beyond an out of body experience; I could feel my body and the boundaries that separated it from all the things that were. Apart from the memory of the pain from the squirrel attacks, the actual experience had been almost painless. I didn¡¯t know how long I swam in that pool of curious energy, but I felt a hard floor beneath me. I turned my head gingerly and looked around at the familiar white walls of the Hall. I breathed a sigh of relief. There were no horror squirrels around. Gathering myself, I felt around my pockets and noticed that I still had both my sword coin and the red coin gun. I attempted to stand, but the moment I pushed up with my arms, a splitting headache brought me to the ground again. While I laid there holding my head as it throbbed, I heard the soft click of shoes behind me. I flipped over as quickly as I could, pulling one of the coins from my pockets. I looked up and saw that it was just Nara, watching me as I rolled around on the floor. She seemed amused. ¡°Yeah, go ahead and laugh¡­ but I died, how is that possible?¡± I asked, hoping she would be able to explain the crazy events of the past few hours. ¡°The great Beyond is kind to us,¡± Nara replied matter of factly. ¡°Yeah¡­ that doesn¡¯t really clarify anything¡­ What is the deal with the floating table, the prompts and descriptions¡­ What is going on Nara?!¡± The desperation cracked my voice. ¡°Nothing. You are a part of this world, but it won''t be long before your magnificent luck runs out,¡± she said with a deadpan expression. Did she know about my Universal Favor Trait? Probably not. She must just think I had been getting regularly lucky in the Hall. Impatient, Nara said, ¡°You need to grow stronger, we must head deeper into the Kigata and find what the Beyond chose you for.¡± She walked away from me, still laying on the floor. I couldn¡¯t just let my only source of information get away from me, so I wobbled to my feet despite the pain and struggled after her. We walked for a while, maybe ten minutes. I struggled to keep up with her frantic pace, and often fell behind and had to catch up. She ignored me the whole time. I heard a familiar and frightening chiterring coming from behind us. Nara and I turned and saw a wall of the monster squirrels running towards us at a breakneck pace. The triple jointed squirrel monsters paled in comparison to the bear and my death via vacuum, but seeing them again brought the memory of their bites back to the forefront of my mind. I almost squealed as I began to run, tripping over my own feet. Combat! You have engaged in combat, passive Regen is reduced by half! Nara was far ahead of me already. She ran up to the wall as though she was going to phase through them as I had seen her do before, but they failed to accept her. The young woman tried to push against the whiteness, but her arms only met solid walls. She roared in anger. It must have been because we were in combat. The warning had popped up just as I saw the furry mob. Nara punched the wall, clearly frustrated that her escape had been foiled, and continued to flee along the Hall. I ran towards her, but my stamina was quickly running out. A new tidal wave of squirrels, with wolves and rabbits mixed amongst them materialized some way in front of us. Now surrounded on both sides and with the numerical disadvantage, we locked eyes and an entire conversation seemed to pass between us. I knew our best course of action was to mow down enough of the furry creatures to hopefully send the rest scurrying away in fear. As Nara and I stood back to back, I heard her grip tighten on her short blades. I lashed out with my blade, stumbling slightly from the pain in my head, but Nara spun around me to cover me from an attacking wolf. As the main mass of squirrels crashed into her and I, we did our best to flow to the less concentrated pockets of enemies. I swung my sword wildly, my lack of training evident, but I always managed to hit something. There seemed to be more squirrels than an entire forest would ever need. I saw we were making slow progress in clearing the woodland creatures around us, there always seemed to be more reinforcements. What I heard next chilled my blood. With another Intimidating Roar, a bear only slightly smaller than his humongous cousin, this one with dark brown fur, began to make its way towards us after emerging from the walls. I pulled the red coin out of my pocket, dropping my sword coin in order to hold the massive gun that appeared when I flipped it. I unsteadily took aim towards the hulking beast. ¡°Nara! Cover me!¡± I shouted over the animal yelps and growls. While the red-dressed girl warded and slashed at the monster squirrels that got the closest, I pulled my grip tight on the handle to release the safety and pulled with my index, releasing the hammer. Just as I was about to fire, one of the woodland wolves landed on my back. Nara had left an opening and it had gotten through, its claws digging into my back and hot drool splashing onto my neck from its teeth. My fingers twitched on the trigger and the gun went off, with the same furious flash and roar as before. ¡°Nara!¡± I cried, struggling as the wolf clamped down on my shoulder. Nara spun around and stabbed the wolf, preventing it from tearing my spinal cord out. My panicked shot had gone wide, missing the bear and only vaporizing a few squirrels. The bear roared again, and it leaped about fifteen feet, an impossible distance, reaching out its massive paw to swipe at Nara. It hit her shoulder, leaving claw marks and sending her sailing through the air. She hit the wall with a distant thump. , and it leaped the remaining fifteen feet, knocking Nara through the air. I stared helplessly at the bear. A 50% health warning flashed angry red in my vision; that wolf must have done more damage than I realized. The bear slowly circled me. My hands shook as I held up the gun. I fired two quick shots at the bear. They didn¡¯t hit, and served more as warning shots and distractions rather than deterrent. I looked for Nara. She was slowly getting up, just outside the current ring of woodland creatures surrounding me. Another wave was appearing from empty space, their outlines filling in like a coloring book, just like Nara did but in reverse. If I didn¡¯t do something, Nara and I were both dead meat. Or vapor. Whatever usually happened to people¡¯s bodies in the Hall. I decided to take a risk. Knowing that it could end badly, I wished for safety from the monsters. I felt a sudden rush of wind as I kept firing shots into the creatures around me, barely preventing the bear from pouncing. I glanced over my shoulder as a swirling mass of green colored mist about the size of a manhole cover erupted from the ground. Seeing the vortex sent a chill down my spine, but I knew my options were limited. I fired another shot at the bear then scrambled for the vortex. Nara desperately fought her way to the green energy. She reached it before I did, but nothing happened. ¡°No! It was his wish! Let me go!¡± she shouted in dismay. I was only ten feet from the vortex, but the bear caught up to me and swiped me with its large paw, which sent me rolling into the wall. Successive warnings for 30%, 20% and 15% health flashed across my vision as the pain from the impact clouded my thoughts. The squirrels gave me a wide berth as they¡¯d done the bear. I didn¡¯t know how long I could keep them at bay with the red gun. Nara, recovered from her panic, silently looked between the vortex and me. Her face was still. She raised her hands in the air and shouted. ¡°Asbru!¡± A new swirling vortex of red mist began to surround and then mix with the green vortex. Overcoming the green, a growing mass of yellow-tinged red mist began to fill up the Hall space. Several of the squirrels were sucked in. The moment a tendril of mist touched them, they vanished in a blink. As Nara held her hands in the air, the mist continued to expand. It was about the reach me and the bear. ¡°Go! I cannot leave this place! Go!¡± Nara cried as sweat began to pour down her frowning face. I crawled towards the swirling mass. The bear, which had been distracted by the swirl of colors in the magical vortex, refocused his attention on me. I scrambled to my feet once again, aching all over, but needing to escape the bear and enter the vortex. I tried not to look behind me as I broke into a run, but the vibrations through my shoes told me it was almost in striking distance. As I reached the mist I heard a familiar voice scream ¡°Survive!¡± Nara yelled as I reached the mist. I looked up to see Nara swarmed by a pack of wolves, each chomping on a different limb. She had a smirk on her face, even as she was torn to pieces. She raised her arms higher. The mist swelled and covered my arm and chest. It sucked me in and I felt like I was tumbling in darkness, my earlier meals threatening to surface from the vertigo. [Book 2] Chp 1: The Mourning Journey Part 1 ¡°He is progressing marvelously,¡± said the man in the shadows. ¡°I¡¯d say. Most of us expected him to combust on arrival, he is the furthest traveled Lae after all. He originated even further than Abscondia,¡± replied the raven on his shoulder. The two observed as their charge, a simple youth not much older than twenty, raced through a city that was not his home. The darkness coiled around the man as if the very void of space had been vaporized and worn as a cloak. He tilted his head to the side as the youth glanced in their direction. Faust Swift stared directly at the pair before a hulking half-orc nursing his arm called to him. Faust moved further down the road, but not before glancing back as he cut across a corner. ¡°I guess that does it for surveillance. He clearly saw us, even though he should not have been able to yet.¡± The raven flapped down from the man¡¯s shoulder and idly pecked at the ground. As the man was lost in thought he felt a flare of pain in his chest. The pain forced him to his knees and the raven cawed frantically while jumping around him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Galdin. Though I think this is for the best. Whatever Flaw his trip gave him and whatever Favor the Universe granted him will have to do. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m sure they have a more ¡®important¡¯ assignment for us.¡± The man¡¯s voice dripped with sarcasm as he evaluated the situation. The raven settled down and then flew up to his perch on the man. With one last piercing look, one that allowed him to view Faust from the shadows that surrounded the youth, he jumped and encased himself in his cloak of darkness. The silhouette of his cloaked body shrunk until it disappeared with a quiet chime. A spot of dead grass remained where he had stood, the particular granules of soil beneath cursed to remain barren unless an opposing force acted on them. ***** ¡°You know there was nothing we could have done. Even if she had gotten out of there, there wasn¡¯t enough mana between us to save her.¡± The man speaking was Walton, the mage that had saved Dana from certain death not a day prior. ¡°She shouldn¡¯t have been included in the mission. We were¡­ overzealous,¡± replied Adalric. The four of us lapsed into silence as we reran the events of the previous day through our heads. The infiltration into the Dov¡¯s keep, the fight with the Well Drake, and our ¡®successful¡¯ escape. I held my head in my hands, the throbbing headache of mana exertion still lingering. After Dana sacrificed herself to allow me to escape, I had inadvertently ¡°sprung a leak¡± as Walton had put it. For several blocks of the run to Dana¡¯s inn, The Shivering Hen, I left foot wide cracks in the earth. Walton and Adalric quickly corrected this by knocking me unconscious. As undignified as it was, it was almost certainly the thing that kept me from turning around and making the Dov noble family pay a hefty blood price. Blinking the tears from my eyes, I focused on the ground. I needed to keep my bloodlust in check. I rationally knew that I was no threat to the Dovs, since even the Lord of the city of Milton hesitated. ¡°She wanted us to live. I¡­ will not forget her.¡± I turned to look at Flesk, my half orc companion and willing vassal forced upon me. Something about Orcs and how ¡®their lives are their bargains¡¯ led the man to vow himself in fealty to me without my exact consent. His gray-green complexion was a stark contrast to Adalric¡¯s bronze skin, Walton''s pale tones and my own tanned features.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I know, Flesk. I just¡­ I need time,¡± responded Adalric while shaking his head lightly. ¡°Well, I will be going home. If you need me, you know where I live. Just no more morningstars. I will answer, I know how crazy you all are.¡± Flesk and I chuckled as Walton stood and made his way to the stairs. Adalric also stood. ¡°I will accompany you. I¡­ need some air anyway. Faust, Flesk. I am sure if you tell Tellon you need anything he will get it for you. Dana has¡­ had¡­ an open visitor tab. You are family at this point, so feel free.¡± I could tell the man was struggling to come to terms with his friend¡¯s passing, but being active was better than sitting still. I silently nodded at the leaving pair and contemplated the disasters that followed in my wake. I had been in Muraglen for almost a month and I was already trailing an exorbitant amount of corpses. Since my arrival in the Hall and getting transported here, I had killed a number of strong creatures and sentient beings. As my memories returned, as my determination to grow stronger solidified, I found a path to take. However, the loss of Dana had shaken some of my determination. I¡¯d believed that my aptitude for magic and budding strategic knowhow would carry me to a place where I would be able to defend my friends. Her death had proven how weak I actually was in a realm inhabited by things I did not truly comprehend. I stretched my hands out in front of me. I whispered the word ¡®Free¡¯ and a light green mist began to gather along my fingertips. I sighed, the sensation of my magic energizing me slightly as it moved through me. The moment I breathed out, a gray mist, identical to my Earth mist in all but color, followed my breath. The gray mist curled slowly in the air and the moment it touched the green mists in my palm, they hissed slightly. I found myself holding thin sand, the mists having converged and reacted forming into something else. ¡°That¡¯s new,¡± I could hear the unspoken question in Flesk¡¯s voice as he looked at me. ¡°Ever since Dana, I have had better control over my mana. I am still not entirely sure how to conjure her Air mists, however.¡± ¡°Give it time. We don¡¯t even know how to handle the one element we each already had and now you have two.¡± I could tell the man was trying to distract me from thinking about Dana, but it was a vicious cycle. The more I tried not thinking about her, the more I thought. I could feel the half orc¡¯s eyes looking me over. After a moment he stood and patted my shoulder. ¡°I think we should take a walk, Faust. I know a place where we might be able to relax.¡± The half orc had a sad smile on his face, the broken tusk and unbroken one that jutted out of his mouth doing nothing to mask the emotions within. I smiled weakly at him as I stood. ¡°Should we wear our armor?¡± I asked the man, hoping his idea of relaxing involved something physical. ¡°I think so. Might need our mana if they let us¡­¡± Flesk trailed off as he turned and moved down the stairs. I shook my head at my friend¡¯s antics. Making my way over to another of the tables in the penthouse of the inn, I sorted through my armor and equipment. I had lost Kameko¡¯s sword in the side of a Well Drake, as well as the kris that I had stolen from some rogue dwarves. There were iron bracers and greaves which offered some protection, and attack if I was clever, as well as some half torn leather leggings. In the middle of the table, central to all those pieces was probably my most expensive piece of armor. The Cuirass of Molten Leather was the only Rare piece of equipment I owned and so long as I didn¡¯t shred it or tear it apart completely, it would reknit its protection. I ran my hand along the metal plate that now covered the front left breast of the cuirass. Memories of my fight against the armor¡¯s original owner flashing through my mind. Along with those memories, the frustration with my failure in the Dov''s Keep resurfaced. After informing General Ragnar, the ruler of the Free City of Milton, about the events in Dov Keep he had dismissed us. He had started to process the information Dana and Walton had been able to acquire about the noble house and their illicit practices in Milton. I had wanted to remain and seek revenge, but the General released his mana and pushed us to lay low, or at the very least stay away from the Dov. The simple thought of the Dov and the mage that had killed Dana made me shake with pent up anger, but I tried to remain rational. I equipped my damaged leggings, then my iron greaves over them. I glanced again at the metal plate over the heart of my chest piece, thinking of the Orc Warchief, but then donned it and my bracers quickly. I tightened the straps as I made my way down the stairs and out onto the main floor of the inn. [Book 2] Chp 1: The Mourning Journey Part 2 As I stepped past the kitchen door that was next to the stairs, I walked into an unusual scene for The Shivering Hen. The patrons were all quietly talking with one another, nursing mugs and steins as they looked at the ceiling. The central support column that ran all the way through the building had several cloth ribbons tied on it, as well as a variety of colorful flowers at its base. It was clear that news of Dana¡¯s passing had reached the regulars, tempering their usual rambunctious attitude into a sort of quiet reverence. I spotted Tellon, the gnome waiter and bartender of the inn, as he was serving a human some ale. I waited at the edge of the counter, peering out at the customers looking to spot Flesk. After a minute of scanning the various races, all of which I had already encountered in their full or halfling forms, Tellon approached me. ¡°Mr. Faust. Mr. Hork said he would await you by the cart. He said he needed to fetch something,¡± the gnome bowed slightly and moved to serve another patron that was waving his flagon in the air. While I didn¡¯t question the gnome¡¯s grieving, his professionalism threw me off. Making my way around the tables, I wondered if I was taking Dana¡¯s death too personally. As soon as I stepped out of the musky inn, the smell of a clean city and dozens of types of food assaulted my senses. The energy of Milton was contagious. I hadn¡¯t seen the city properly in the daytime, considering most of my time had been spent fighting in near darkness or stuffed inside a cart full of crocodile meat, I felt excitement brewing. I moved around the inn until I spotted Flesk rummaging around our cart. I dropped into a crouch and saw the outline of my hands become fuzzy, like an unfocused magnifying glass. ¡°What¡¯s the plan, Flesk?¡± I said as I stealthed up as close as I could to the half orc. My friend jumped up into the cart with a very un-orc-like scream and turned, glaring at me. ¡°Well, Faust, I need some tradeable items for us to make it into where we are going,¡± his irritation at my surprise was apparent, but it quickly faded as he turned back to collecting some of the weapons we had taken from Marauder thugs. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it''s exactly... sanctioned by the Wingmen, but it was a good source of cash for me while I moved between jobs,¡± he continued. ¡°Well, now you have me curious. I don¡¯t think one¡¯s vassal is supposed to keep secrets.¡± I mockingly questioned the half orc as he waved his hand dismissively. Flesk was usually a lot more proper when interacting with others, but after saving his life a couple of times, and giving him the opportunity of awakening his magic, he was slowly letting go of the formalities. Flesk handed me some weapons wrapped in the thug¡¯s leather armor and led the way. I glanced back at the inn as we joined the bustle of Milton¡¯s streets, thinking of what Dana would have wanted me to do, before hurrying after my orc friend. ***** It took nearly thirty minutes to make it to our destination. The late morning traffic in Milton was claustrophobic. While most of the population was made up of stocky dwarves and half dwarves, the presence of the occasional elf and the large number of humans made the density of people even greater. Once we were done wading through the soup of people, we arrived at a squat stone building at the foot of the outer wall of the city. The only notable feature of the building was that there were four, different colored flameless torches on the front. There were gray torch and blue on the left and a red and green pair on the right. Flesk had been silent the entire way there, leaving me to wonder where we were going and to glance around at the marvels of the city. As we approached the iron banded door that led into the building, Flesk grabbed my bundle. The half orc knocked on the door three times and scraped his hand along one of the metal plates. An instant later, a slot I had missed on the door slid open and a pair of big brown eyes stared out at the street crazily. ¡°You got the password?¡± the male voice whispered. ¡°There is no password, Clem. There is no need to be paranoid,¡± Flesk replied calmly, his formal tone back in his voice. The pair of eyes focused on Flesk for several seconds before the slot slammed shut seamlessly. A moment later, an impossible number of latches were snapped open on the opposite side before the door swung open a crack. A wild haired man that was a head shorter than me stared back at us. He was sporting a thin haired goatee. As he looked us over, I scanned him also. The moment I did, I realized he had goat feet for legs. The realization kickstarted another memory dump. Memories of joyous, dancing and mischievous nature loving satyr topped the dam at the edges of my mind. A light wind chime tone sounded off from one of the ones playing a pan flute. Since arriving at the Hall and, subsequently, Muraglen I had not been able to properly remember things from my past. The only thing that had helped my recall was encountering things that I had some reference for, in this case a goat man. The satyr, as my brain informed me, looked askance. ¡°Who¡¯s the weirdo? And what happened to yer tusks?¡± ¡°This is my liege, Faust Swift. As for the tusks¡­ had a tough fight.¡± The half orc straightened as he presented me, but idly touched the corner of his mouth where the jagged tusk had rubbed his lips raw. The satyr, Clem as Flesk had called him, didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°If you really were Flesk, you would know I can¡¯t let randos-¡± ¡°I brought appropriate down payment for the Gladiator.¡± Flesk cut him off before he could continue. The goat man bit his lip, but offered a short bow and opened the door fully to reveal a torch lit passageway. A musk wafted from within, but I schooled my face into remaining flat. Making a note to talk to Flesk about leading me to sketchy buildings, I followed the other two men into the hall. Clem remained silent as we made our way inside. At the end of the hall was a spiral staircase that wound down, an opening in the middle allowed me to see that it went down at least fifty feet. I felt some sweat drip down my back. The memory of my fight against a drake surfaced and sent a slight shiver through me. The dragonkin were definitely not to be messed with. For the next few minutes we slowly made our way down the stairs, the only sound the rattle of the weapons Flesk held bound.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. At the bottom of the stairs was a small armory of sorts. A few weapon racks lined the walls of the circular space and randomly placed tables held assorted shields. Clem turned to us as he regarded the bundle Flesk had. ¡°What yah got?¡± asked the goatman. ¡°Clem, we both know I dealt with Darin directly.¡± At my vassal¡¯s response, the man huffed and pulled open a door that was opposite the stair landing. The moment the man tugged on the door handle, gray mist flared across the frame and the volume in the room exploded out. There were cheers, groans, moans and any assortment of sounds coming from the doorway as bright light spilled from within. Flesk threw a smirk over his shoulder and led us inside. ¡°You do know you look more sinister than amused when you smirk like that, no?¡± I said. Without missing a step, the half orc trudged through the doorway. The sight of the underground colosseum blew me away. The door had put us on an overhang that looked down on a colosseum easily four hundred feet wide at the narrowest section. The oval shaped perimeter of the fighting area was lined with stands and several dozen people filled the stands. The muted roar of the spectators filled the space. A little ways down the overhang, the shouts of peddlers and their goods could be heard, fighting for dominance against the audience. ¡°Welcome to The Mountain¡¯s Bowels. Premier market and entertainment center for the mundane and unsavory,¡± Clem stated flatly. I imagined that if the doorkeeper was someone else, the introduction to the Bowels would have had a fair bit more fanfare. It took a few seconds for me to recover from the shock. The sheer size of the cavern the colosseum was set in and the fact that the city guard allowed it to exist baffled me. Frowning slightly, I looked at the fight that was ongoing between the frightened man and a lion-like beast. Probably having spotted my frown, Flesk spoke up, ¡°The Guard allow the Bowels to run because it¡¯s the only real form of entertainment for the city¡¯s fighters. The Guard is even known to send some of their prominent recruits to be pitted against the suggestions The Gladiator provides.¡± ¡°Not entirely convinced, but who is this ¡®Gladiator¡¯?¡± I asked. ¡°That would, indeed, be me.¡± At the voice all three of us jumped spun in surprise. Without even realizing it, I had called green mists to the fingertips of my left hand and tried to reach for my sword, but grasped at air. Similarly next to me, Flesk had pulled his bent morningstar and dropped the bundle on the ground. Clem, well, he looked annoyed more than anything. Before saying anything further, the man motioned behind us, towards the ¡®fight¡¯. I watched the man get overtaken by the lion creature before a net of green mana erupted around the lion. The man scrambled back to a booing audience, but I could swear I saw the relief on his face from here. ¡°I only push people to their limits. That is, indeed, the only way to grow,¡± the man said before exclaiming, ¡° My manners! Darin Rogelto, The Gladiator, at your service.¡± With my breath back in a semblance of order I looked the man over. He was easily eight feet tall, but had somehow managed to sneak up on our group. There were a series of scars running down his arms and bald head, some reaching further on his body, hidden beneath his spotless white robe. The man had a relaxed smile on his face as he looked in my direction, obviously allowing me to give him the look over. ¡°Satisfied?¡± He motioned at my still misting hands, when I looked over to Flesk he had already relaxed. With a shake, I dismissed the mana, stood up straight and nodded. ¡°Perfect.¡± ¡°How are you, Darin?¡± Flesk asked. There was a familiarity in his voice that Flesk hadn¡¯t used with anyone, not even the other ex-slaves I had rescued him with. I was strangely upset by that development, but quickly dismissed it. The half orc had a reason for his familiarity and comfort in the Bowels. There was a faint smile on Darin¡¯s face as he walked closer. ¡°Good, though I¡¯m hemorrhaging money since my golden egg left before it could hatch.¡± A brief shadow crossed the man¡¯s face before the faint smile returned. I could see Flesk stiffen slightly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the right time for me. You know I wanted to do more, and, well, here I am. The ¡®more¡¯ found me instead.¡± There was tense pause as he regarded Flesk, then turned to me. The man crouched so that we could be at eye level. ¡°My apologies indeed, being half giant has its benefits and its flaws.¡± At the man¡¯s words, his stature triggered my mind. Memories of towering individuals with the strength to wield trees as clubs and to topple city walls flashed through my eyes. When I refocused on Darin, he had a puzzled expression on his face. Behind the Gladiator I heard Clem, ¡°He do that often? He did that with me didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My name is Faust Swift. I¡­ have had a stressful couple of days.¡± I stuck out my hand, and the half giant shook it firmly. I didn¡¯t need to tell them about the sudden bits of background I had acquired regarding some of their dispositions. I felt extremely self conscious, the memory flashes were coming in fast and furious the more new things I encountered and I worried they would occur during a fight. ¡°Indeed¡­ Well, since you are here and you obviously brought your entrance fee,¡± the man pointed to the bundle on the ground, ¡°I imagine you two are intent on entering the arena?¡± Flesk nodded and I nodded slowly, realizing what my vassal¡¯s idea of a ¡®walk¡¯ entailed. ¡°Great! Clem, get back to your post. Sara will guide them to the waiting area. I need to review who I can pit them against¡­ I think I can make some good coin indeed.¡± The man chuckled and left walking through the crowd. As I watched him, people seemed to move out of the way without noticing. I was instantly reminded of Salix, the Master Guard who had strong-armed us into a meeting with the General of Milton a few days prior. The two were doing something to the people around them, but I couldn¡¯t pinpoint what. Before I could continue with that line of thought, I heard a light scratching at my foot. A small armadillo, maybe two feet tall was scratching at my greaves. Next to me, I heard Flesk whimper and noticed Clem swiftly making his way back to the pseudo-armory. I looked back down in confusion at the cute brown armored creature then to Flesk. ¡°Heeeyy, uhhh Sa-sa-sa-ara.¡± The half orc was a stuttering mess, even more than when he had been told the Orc Chieftains might be preparing to storm Milton lands. The armadillo, Sara, spared a look at Flesk with her beady black eyes, then moved down the road, rolling every few feet in a ball. ¡°She¡¯s cute.¡± ¡°Nooooooo.¡± Flesk took off after the speeding armadillo. I was confused by his and Clem¡¯s reactions, but followed behind nonetheless. As we jogged I admired some of the food and goods in the stalls while Flesk fussed over where the armadillo had rolled to. The half orc definitely had an interesting past. [Book 2] Chp 2: Swift Clash Part 1 Without much delay we made it to a long log building. I wondered how they had managed to get the logs down into the underground cavern, but before I could ask Flesk a short stout man burst through the doorway. ¡°Fleecing the Gladiator? THE Gladiator? Don¡¯t let me see your face in the Bowels again, Ingram!¡± An even shorter woman than the man that had been tossed through the doorway kept a close eye on the scurrying form. ¡°And you? What burab killed your cattle? Are you fighters or observers, cus¡¯ if you¡¯re the latter I want you gone!¡± ¡°Clara! Its Flesk, Darin sent us to be registered for upcoming matches.¡± Flesk moved next to the woman, the armadillo left to scratch at my greaves again. After a moment of hesitation, I picked up the creature and absently petted it. The purring vibrated my body much more than I expected but I felt myself relax as I let Flesk deal with the cantankerous woman. As the vibrations pulsed through me, I felt my mana stir gently within me. The sounds of the stalls and the arguing of the pair faded into the background for a second and I closed my eyes. The instant the world darkened I swore I saw flares of green running beneath me while wisps of gray hovered around me. I concentrated on what I could ¡®see¡¯ but the moment the armadillo stopped purring and jumped off me, the world darkened again. I opened my eyes to see Flesk looking at me, the concern obvious in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m alright, Flesk. Just taking a moment.¡± He gave me a look, before glancing at the armadillo that was rolling towards the woman. Now that she was standing while staring at us, I recognized the large nose and stubby limbs with longer fingers. She was a gnome. ¡°This fatso did say you might stare, I guess it was due warning, but I¡¯m gonna need you to hustle up if you want to fight here. The arena isn¡¯t for slouches.¡± She approached me as she spoke and gave my abdomen a quick poke. ¡°I think I can manage something.¡± There was something familiar about the woman¡¯s demeanor, but I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on it. All she did was huff in response and head back into her log building. ¡°We are slotted in twenty minutes or so. They want me to go in first, solo, then you have a match afterwards. I¡­ will probably have a tough matchup. I actually have a record in the arena, but they will likely match you with someone in the lower tiers. Do you remember your Attributes off the top of your head? It might serve you well to let Clara know so she can match you more fairly.¡± I shook my head in response. It had been quite a while since I had looked over my Status, the numerical representation of my prowess and abilities. With a mental command and the slightest amount of concentration, I pulled up the table of information. The words and numbers floated a foot in front of my face, surrounded by the other indicators for my Health, Stamina and Mana that I had set to display.
NAME TITLE LEVEL
Faust Swift None 8 (54% to LvL)
HEALTH MANA STAMINA
180 (Regen 1.1/sec) 170 (Regen 1.05/sec) 200 (Regen 1.2/sec)
ATTRIBUTES
Vitality 8
Strength 8* (1 from Equipment)
Endurance 10
Dexterity 7
Intelligence 7
Willpower 4* (1 from Equipment)
Charisma 0
LuckThe author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. 10
SKILLS
First Aid 3 (46%)
Construct Operation 1 (20%)
Swordsmanship 6 (46%)
Marksmanship 1 (23%)
Cooking 3 (2%)
Farming 2 (19%)
Construction 3 (64%)
Herbalism 2 (12%)
Stealth 3 (59%)
Leadership 2 (37%)
Combat Magic 3 (19%)
Small Blades 1 (32%)
Mana Channeling 3 (26%)
TRAITS
Universal Favor 10 to Luck
Resourceful Allows for use of unconventional weapons
RESISTANCES
Blunt Damage 5%
Earth Magic Damage 5%
EVOLUTION
1 (30%)
Human Kin 10%
Dwarf Kin 20%
Taking a moment to really look at my Attributes, I wondered if they were properly balanced. Vitality was focused entirely on how much punishment my body could take, while Endurance and Dexterity determined how long I could fight and with how much agility. Since acquiring magic, I had started to use it to upset fights against opponents I really had no business fighting, such as an Orc Warchief much superior in levels. I was slowly ticking my Intelligence up to increase my Mana pool, but Levels were still hard to come by and I had started on the back foot in Muraglen. Getting transported to a Realm with the equivalent attribute strength of a baby wasn¡¯t the jolliest of times. My Willpower, Charisma and Luck attributes were a bit more of a toss up. While I knew Willpower affected the recovery of my Health, Mana and Stamina, there was something else intangible about it. Charisma supposedly allowed me to interact with others better, but considering most of the time I was crossing swords instead of words, I had yet to put points into it. Luck, well, that was a separate issue in its entirety. As I mused on what my high Luck actually influenced, Clara approached me once again. ¡°Fill this out. Consent form for damages, injury and the like. I need you to sign here, here and here. Initial here, and add a next of kin here. Also, identify your Attribute focus here, no need to put in actual values we understand the need for privacy.¡± The woman handed me a legal paper-sized piece of parchment with almost unrecognizable swirls on the surface. It took me a moment to realize I had not actually ¡®read¡¯ anything in Muraglen other than my Status. Even as I watched and she pointed to the different signature lines, the swirls shifted slowly, forming into words that I understood and outlined what the arena coordinator had mentioned. Apparently seeing the surprise in my face, Clara explained matter-of-factly, ¡°Self translate paper. Expensive, but reusable. Now, get to it. Flesk, you are coming with me. Sara, hustle up missy.¡± The gnome waved at me dismissively and my half orc friend flashed me a smile as he passed. I walked into the log building as my vassal made his way toward where the arena was located. The building was mostly barren except for two doors at either end and two desks that sat facing the door. One of the desks was empty, the other had an older looking human scribbling away with what looked like a tall fountain pen. When I stepped inside, the man looked up with a frown. ¡°Didn¡¯t Ms. Kilgred already deal with you?¡± he said. ¡°I...ummm¡­ don¡¯t have anything to fill this. I also don¡¯t exactly know where to go.¡± The man sighed dramatically, scooting his chair back and opening a drawer to hand me another fountain pen a few inches shorter than his. ¡°Don¡¯t touch the lever on the side or we will have ink everywhere.¡± I grabbed the man¡¯s pen and quickly filled out the form. Tentatively, I marked strength focus for my attributes since those stats were still higher than my magic. Once I had finished, I looked up to an outstretched hand. The man snatched the pen and the parchment from my hands, then quickly summoned blue mana into his hands The haze was almost imperceptible, but it sunk into the paper and the signature and description of my focus floated off the paper. The man fished out another identical paper from another drawer as one hand held the ink suspended in the air. With a slight whisper, the mists faded and the ink plopped onto the paper on the man¡¯s desk. ¡°Done. Now go to the arena.¡± I stared at the man in surprise, the ink had fallen in exactly the same shape as the ink I had put down. ¡°How did you do that?¡± I asked. I shut my mouth as I realized it was gaping at the man¡¯s control of water mana. ¡°Simple imbuement with a static effect. Now get out! I have paperwork to deal with.¡± The man stood and shooed me out of the building, but not before I got a chance to glance at the nameplate on his desk. Travers. Shouting my thanks, to a grumbled response, I made my way to the arena. [Book 2] Chp 2: Swift Clash Part 2 Making my way to the arena was progressively more difficult as I got closer. There was another resurgence of peddlers closer to the entrance, these with more battle oriented items. Amongst them were weapons, armor and potions advertised to heal, buff and debuff people. I moved with single minded focus, it wasn¡¯t as if I had my coin purse. I mused about how the mixture of races was barely striking to me, even the ones I didn¡¯t recognize. There were a few mammal looking humanoids and even a bird looking one. I wasn¡¯t sure why none of their sights triggered my memories, but I looked at them all in wonder anyhow. Even with the large variety of strange races, the other races I had met dominated; dwarves and humans were present in particular, but there seemed to be no aggressive arguing. I made my way past the bird humanoid as it argued with a dwarf merchant about some talon blades. After another few minutes I made it to the arena. The walls of the colosseum roze nearly fifteen feet from the ground. As I looked up at the walls, I realized why the inside of the cavern looked so well lit. Massive clusters of glowing rocks grew out of the ceiling, illuminating the Mountain¡¯s Bowels. I must have spaced out looking at the glowing crystals because I heard scratching on my greaves again. Looking down, Sara stared back with her beady eyes. ¡°You seem preoccupied, indeed.¡± The voice behind me made me jump. The enhanced Strength of my body launched me into the air and a brief, almost instinctual whisper of ¡®Free¡¯, called forth my mists. I whirled to see Darin absently petting Sara where I had been standing a moment ago. The Gladiator was smiling gently. The man¡¯s propensity for surprise didn¡¯t go unnoticed that close to the arena. The majority of the people noticed the man the moment he spoke, all shifting to move away. Even the peddlers spoke faster, lowering prices by notable margins that even I realized were large. ¡°Don¡¯t mind them, Faust. They tend to get spooked mighty easily. Reputation at work and all that.¡± Darin waved his hand dismissively, ¡°Now, let¡¯s get you to the waiting area. I am sure you will want to see what my old disciple is truly capable of.¡± ¡°I have seen him. He is quite strong already.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop some heat from escaping. It was a horrible idea to taunt someone who carried a reputation like the General of Milton and felt like he could grind me into paste. Not pausing to address me further, Darin moved along the perimeter of the arena. Barely a minute after, we came up on a duo of arches that reached another ten feet over the walls. At the entrance, two signs to the right and left of the entrances shifted between different languages automatically. When the words cycled through Common, I realized that the right entrance was for the audience and the left for fighters. As Darin led me deeper into the arena, we stayed silent. I wanted to ask about Flesk¡¯s path, or what kind of challenge we would receive, but instead I remained silent. ¡°You know. Flesk was to be the heir of my Title. If he only had a few more years, indeed. Instead he gets captured and now is vassal to a Lae. The Universe sure is a strange one.¡± I missed a step and almost fell flat on my face. I looked up from the ground where I landed and met eyes with Darin. ¡°I know what you are, boy. Ragnar may run the city, but I pump the blood. Move against any of my interests and it will, indeed, be the last thing you do.¡± A cold sweat sprouted from my back. I inhaled deeply and I noted tendrils of air mana swirl as if from nowhere. Darin¡¯s eyes widened. With a look back and forth from my face to the mists, a predatory grin split the giant¡¯s face. He quickly ushered me into a waiting area where a single dwarf was manning a counter with weapons hanging behind him. Darin urged me in and shouted to the man to guide me to the queue room to await my match. The dwarf nodded and called me over. ¡°What¡¯s yer poison, eh, laddie?¡± I looked over the man¡¯s shoulder to an assortment of maces, swords and even a pair of bows. I looked through some of the swords from afar, but I just pointed at the sharpest looking one. My sword training included aiming the pointed side at enemies, not allies, and that was about it. I was tempted to work with a weapon that would benefit from a lower need for finesse but I already had a few levels in Swordsmanship. The dwarf commented on my form as I held the arm length sword in front of me, ¡°Ye¡¯ve got worst form than me Nan.¡± ¡°I kind of just picked up a sword and went with it. Never been trained before,¡± I responded, sliding the sword into the sheath at my waist. The stout man combed is hip long beard with his fingers as he regarded me. I felt uncomfortable with the look he was giving me, but after my recent failures I focused on receiving as much constructive criticism. The once over he was giving me definitely suggested he was about to provide feedback. ¡°Yer posture be trash. Maybe¡­ What¡¯s yer Mana?¡± ¡°I¡­ I have Earth and Air Mana, but I don¡¯t know how to use my Air magic.¡± There wasn¡¯t much point hiding the fact I was a mage. Somehow the man had perceived me as a mage as had every high leveled individual I met in Muraglen. However, at the mention of my Dual Mage status the short armorer¡¯s eyes widened and he stopped stroking his beard. ¡°Why¡­ here lad, me thinks this will serve ye better! Even more, here here.¡± The dwarf stumbled over himself and snatched a slightly shorter sword from the wall behind him but with a longer hilt and wider guard. You have acquired Mainz Gladius 9/10 Durability, Common, +10 Damage A bit surprised about the change in demeanor of the man, I struggled to redo the strap on my belt with the new sheathe. The dwarf tried to talk, but a gong reverberated through the room. ¡°Shite. Ye best get going, The Gladiator rarely excuses delays. The next match be starting, and if yer not in the waiting area it be off with me head. Read through these instructions, Common, eh?¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The flips in personality from the man had me wheeling and it took me a second to realize he was asking what language I read. With a hasty nod, he scribbled a few sentences onto a paper with a piece of charcoal and thrust it at me. He then ushered me back down the hallway out of his armory. ¡°Take the next right. There be some double doors and ye¡¯ll find the waiting area. If ye got time come find me laddie.¡± With a final pat to my shoulder, he pushed me forward. Without much delay, the man shut the door in my face. ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t even have your name.¡± I said. I stood there for a second until a double gong sounded through the arena. Without much delay, I found myself going up a set of stairs through the double doors and then out onto a cage like room at the edge of the colosseum. I could see one side of the oval and the sounds of the roaring audience above and in front of me shook the floor. The amount of people in the stands had nearly doubled. I felt a chill run down my back. I didn¡¯t remember if I had stage fright, but fighting in front of so many people definitely made me shifty. As I wiped the sweat from my hands, I remembered the note from the armorer. Unfolding it, it read ¡°Use earth to grip the blade. Use earth to reinforce the fuller. Use air to sharpen the edge. Use air to extend your reach.¡± I read through the note several times. That¡¯s not cryptic, I thought. Before I could give it much more thought, a trio of gongs resounded and the audience picked up their cheers. A moment later, as I looked out onto the sandy center of the arena, The Gladiator himself appeared in a flash. ¡°Welcome, to The Mountain¡¯s Bowel Arena!¡± The giant¡¯s voice carried clearly to where I stood several hundred feet and over the audience. The volume picked up even more, then halted instantly at a motion from the man. Goosebumps ran through my arms at the man¡¯s command of the audience. I leaned closer to the bars that made up the front of the cage-like room. ¡°One of our old Tier Champions returns! I felt it only fitting that he be pit against a true challenge. Sara Rogelto will fight Flesk Hork!¡± The shouts from the audience were deafening, and this time, Darin did nothing to ease them as he strode towards my cage. I tensed as the man approached, easily leaping the fifteen feet to the bars. He casually held on and after a brief bout of mumbling, a small stone platform formed under his feet. I marveled at where the stone attached to the bars. ¡°Simple enough to create stone. Tricky not to destroy the things around it, indeed.¡± Darin said still facing the arena. I wanted to ask him what that meant, and why he kept saying indeed all the time, but when I saw Flesk come out from one end of the oval, and the tiny armadillo Sara from the other, I held my comments. ¡°How is Sara suppose to fight?¡± I asked, but all I got from Darin was a look and a smirk. When Sara and Flesk were roughly a hundred feet apart, a replacement weapon and shield in Flesk¡¯s hands, Darin spoke again, ¡°Begin!¡± The audience went crazy, as did Sara. Within one blink, she was the size of a dog, within three she was easily the size of a bear and twice as long. The rounded plating on her back had stretched and sharpened into points. I saw Flesk shift back slightly as the not so small armadillo finished changing. Finding myself gripping the cage bars, I shouted, ¡°Go Flesk! Before she is ready!¡± Shaking out of his stupor, my vassal spotted me and his expression changed. A savage grin showed as I saw his lips move. When Sara began to charge towards him, his mace shone with a soft red light. The beady eyes of the armadillo widened and she tried to halt her advance, but Flesk had rushed to meet it. With a neat strike, the half orc knocked the creature to the side, causing it to fall over. As Sara roared, I saw Flesk heave slightly, before going in again with his shield at the ready. After the third hit, the armadillo managed to use the momentum of the impact to roll over and spin away. It drew in its legs and rolled away from the orc before he could land a fourth strike. Now out of melee range, the armadillo unwound and stared at Flesk warily. Flesk held his shield out in front of him. A beast of a shield that stood nearly as tall and wide as the muscular halfling. As the two fighters eyed each other, I couldn¡¯t help but be amazed. This was both at Sara¡¯s giant transformation and at Flesk¡¯s combat prowess. Having seen him fight before, I realized he was experienced. What he showed in the short exchange with Sara hinted at practiced forms and the strength to back them. ¡°Sara is my familiar. An Armadillo Lizard, who received a tad bit of my attributes as a Giant. I have been training Flesk for a while, but the fire magic is new indeed,¡± said Darin, drawing my attention briefly from the fight. I couldn¡¯t tell if he was talking to me, but the next sentence was definitely not intended for me. ¡°Maybe he was right¡­¡± Taking my eyes off the Giant, I looked at the arena just in time to see Flesk use his shield like a makeshift sled. He had thrown himself to the side to avoid a rolling charge from the armadillo lizard and his shield slid him further away from danger. As Sara slowed, Flesk was already running after her. While the half orc wasn¡¯t nearly as fast as Sara, he reached her just as she unrolled herself. The strike met the creature¡¯s snout and knocked it to the side again. However, this time Sara was ready. Instead of letting the blow knock her on her back, she rolled all the way over and responded with a swipe from her large claws. Flesk barely managed to put up his shield in time, the mace swing having put him slightly off balance, before Sara made contact. The edge of the shield sheared off and one of the claws cut into Flesk¡¯s side. From our position I couldn¡¯t see how deep the cut had been, but I saw Flesk double down. Hunkered behind his shield, Flesk¡¯s face was obscured. A second later, a cloud of the dirt that made up the arena made its way up into the air. Followed by Flesk¡¯s red Fire mist. As the mist touched the dirt, flashing sparks blinded me. By the time I cleared my eyes of spots, I had only the wild screeching of Sara to tell me that she had not taken that attack well. The angered lizard had recoiled and Flesk had his shield up already. However, it hadn¡¯t been enough. The lashing tail of the armadillo pricked huge holes in Flesk¡¯s shield and threw him back several feet. The armadillo stuck her head up in the air, shaking it side to side until it faced in Flesk¡¯s general direction. With her target acquired, and Flesk still picking himself up from the blow, the rolling, armored, spiky mass of the creature would have both flatten and shred the half orc. ¡°He-¡± Before I could call it to Darin¡¯s attention, the man was already gone. I followed a dissipating green mist to where the giant had stopped Sara with his palm. I couldn¡¯t hear him from there, but he was gently stroking her side as she slowly shrunk. A few seconds later and she was cradled in the man¡¯s arms. ¡°The victor by intermission is Sara Rogelto! Healers, please attend to the challengers.¡± At the Gladiator¡¯s words, two teams of three rushed out from somewhere in the sides of the fields. One picked up Flesk in a stretcher and lugged him away while the other gently picked up Sara from Darin and escorted her off. After a moment of cheering and booing from the audience, Darin held his hands up. ¡°I would like to take the opportunity to remind the newcomers to the arena. We do not condone death for entertainment. Both Mr. Hork and Sara fought honorably, and nothing would have been gained from Mr. Hork¡¯s death. Now, if everyone is ready¡­ I have a surprise matchup planned for you all!¡± With that, the first gong resounded through the arena and the cheering renewed. Darin¡¯s eyes bore into me from several hundred feet away as he smirked. The bars in front of me detached from their frame and tipped me forward into the arena stage. [Book 2] Chp 3: Fumbling Magic Throwing up a cloud of dust when I landed, and receiving 5% damage when I looked at my Health, I slowly stood up. The crowd broke into laughter as I picked myself up. When I looked at The Gladiator he had his shaking head in his hand. A moment later, the double gongs sounded and the audience settled down slightly. I pulled my sword and started towards Darin. Thanks to my proximity to the edge of the audience I heard snickering about my weapon posture and stride before I could make it out of clear earshot. My face grew hot as the embarrassment of the fall and my lack of skill was showcased to too many others. As I struggled to focus, I crumpled that dwarf¡¯s note slightly in my hand. Glancing at the paper for a moment longer, I stuffed it in the single back pocket my leather leggings provided. I spared a thought for my burab rucksack and the familiar egg within, before I was waved forward by the giant ringleader. Darin had moved back to the center of the arena and I jogged over to the man as evenly as I could muster. With a face burning nod from me and a smirk from The Gladiator, he motioned and the last gong filled the arena. A cage-like room, identical to the one where I had been observing, opened from the opposite side of the arena. A lithe-looking man purposely leapt from the opening and landed on his feet easily. From the slightly pointed ears, jet black shoulder length hair and light skin, I assumed he had to be some portion Elf, but I had no way to be sure. He had a halberd easily as tall as him propped on his shoulder. He casually made his way over to the center a few dozen feet from me on the other side of Darin. He wore a dark brown leather vest as well as a longer version of a gladiator skirt. His entire body screamed speed, but I could see defined musculature that indicated he was no Strength slouch. ¡°For today¡¯s final match we have the adventurer Faust Swift, untiered, against Grislend Ban¡®Tun the Champion of our second tier!¡± announced the giant. With the introductions out of the way, a wave of oh¡¯s and ah¡¯s ran through the crowd while the other fighter looked my way with a pearly shit eating grin on his face. I tried to get Darin¡¯s attention, to ask about the placements, but he waved me off. Everyone in this Realm-damned arena has a shit smirk on their face. With a flare of his earth mists, the gladiator-turned-announcer bounded off to his stone perch. ¡°Begin!¡± Combat! You have engaged in combat, passive Regen is reduced by half! The moment the giant signaled the start of the fight, the halberd immediately reached out across the space and I jumped back too far. I admonished myself. While I wasn¡¯t trained for close combat of any kind, the snippets of memories that resurfaced about it all shared an important piece of information: Being inside your enemies range, while they are outside yours was definitely idiotic. I moved forward slowly, looking to parry the weapon as I circled and tried to push in. Grislend was having none of that. The fighter merely moved the base of his halberd and kept me at range. I tried to cut in, but a loud gasp from the audience distracted me for a split second and that¡¯s all he needed to catch my blade. With my sword between the two prongs on his halberd, I try to pull back. With a practiced twist, he knocked my blade out of my hand. Disarmed! Acquire a weapon! Your Swordsmanship skill has increased to 7! I quickly dismissed the skill notification as I jump back. I managed to dodge a sweep much faster than the previous ones, but the exchange told me that Grislend didn¡¯t think much of my skill. The crowd started to boo and the elf¡¯s face remained smiling at me. The face of Hanfel, the mage who murdered Dana, flashed through my mind. I feel the ineptitude and weakness of the last few days begin to boil up in my chest. My knuckles whitened as I balled my fists. I whispered ¡°Free¡± to summon forth my earth mana from my untouched mana pool. At the appearance of my creeping mists, Grislend¡¯s expression flattened. Hopping back and to the side is all I can do to keep the man from gutting me as he picks up the speed of his sweeps. A blow, having anticipated my dodge, comes in and I was able to catch it on my misting bracers. The moment the halbert¡¯s blade struck the earth imbued metal, the mists dissipated but pushed the weapon away with force. Scrambling to get a better grip on his weapon, the elf takes a half step back. Trying to capitalize on the opening, I went for his shoulder. Mists dancing along my fingers, I focus on getting a non-lethal blow against the elf. With a breath, I am knocked back and have to fight to stay standing as my balance is thrown off. Wisps of green and gray mist join and a shower of sand covers us both. He¡¯s a mage also! I note a tiny flash in my peripheral and see that the exchange took 3% of my Health. Looking at the man notes thin lines of red welling up along his arms. A quick glance at my cuirass showed micro cuts in the leather, but nothing too damaging. With the first real blood drawn, we both dove back into the combat. I began to burn through my Stamina and Mana only to exchange blows and minor damage. A series of exchanges and attempted grabs dropped my health by another 5%. With a sudden realization, I noticed that I have no clue what his actual health was, or mana pool for that matter, so I back up and frantically scan for my sword. I spot the polished iron to the right of the halberdier and dive into a roll to pick it up before he can engage me. Committed to my dive, the edge of his halbert catches me in the shoulder. With another drop of roughly 4% Health, I grab a hold of my sword. Bleeding! You take 1 HP/sec damage for the next 10 seconds! With a mental wave, I moved away the bleed effect notification and try to staunch the bleed with my sword hand. The dripping blood made my grip slick, but the bleeding was reduced to a five second timer. When I resummon my mists, they immediately mixed with my blood. Pale brown stone encased my hand, binding it to the handle of the weapon. The words from the dwarf¡¯s note rung in my head. ¡°Use earth to grip the blade.¡± With a solid grip on my sword, I was able to deflect the next attack from Grislend. I feel the force threaten to rip the blade from my hand as the halberdier deepened his attacks. Dodging the follow up sweep, I run the fuller of the weapon along my wound just before the bleed effect ran out. Pushing my mists out into the blade, imbuing it, the blood began to crystalize. A slight glow was added to the weapon once the mists finish converting the blood. ¡°Use earth to reinforce the fuller.¡± I brought my sword to bear against a downward halberd strike strike. The weapon stopped dead in its tracks, almost none of the elf¡¯s Strength pushing against my block. Instead, the vibrations of the strike were magnified tenfold. A tingling spasm crawled up my arms and through me. In the case of the halberd¡¯s shaft, it wobbled severely. Both of us backed up with short jumps and I saw Grislend shaking out his hands while keeping a grip on his weapon. You have received 5 damage from Disarming Vibration. You have resisted the Disarm effect due to your restricted grip.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Grislend redoubled his grip on the pole of his halberd when we both recovered. Expecting his momentum to die like last time, I went on the offensive. Choking up on his weapon, he pulled back to block my strike. To both of our surprise, my weapon swing is also stopped, but the Disarm effect triggers on the other fighter. The elf jerked his hands and the still vibrating halberd fell to the ground. You have received 10 damage from Disarming Vibration for stacking vibrations. You have resisted the Disarm effect due to your restricted grip. Still reeling a bit, I rush to get a damaging blow. Any kind of blow. I heard the man inhale while saying ¡°Breathe¡±, then blow out a dense cloud of gray mist. The mist slowed my charge, halting my advance and then pushing me back as I tried to swing forward. While caught up in the mana cloud I saw the elf reach back for his halberd. The serious look on his face sparked a fire in me. While the mists pushed on my body, they also dissipated and slowly entered me with each breath of my struggle. Remembering the two instances where I had summoned my Air mana earlier in the say, I breathed out. Then inhaled deeply. A sharp pain cut through my throat, like trying to swallow hundreds of tiny razors. A flashing warning told me I had 30% health remaining as the mana attacked the inside of my body. However, when I breathed out the mists were my own. Your Mana Channeling skill has increased to 4! Your Combat Magic skill has increased to 4! I coughed up a glob of blood that landed in the elf¡¯s mana cloud. The blood instantly dissipated and shrunk what remained of the cloud. Before I could muster another attack, I felt the fighter¡¯s halberd lunge forward at me. Crossing my left arm on my chest, I caught the prongs on the bracer. The tips still reached past my guard and through the cuirass, but only enough to take 4% off my Health. Summoning some of my earth mist, I repulsed the halberd sending the elf back from his deep lunge. I cast a glance at my Health and Mana and quickly ran the edge of my blade along my left hand¡¯s fingertips. ¡°Use air to sharpen the edge.¡± Using my own personal air mana cloud, I swept my blade through it and noted some of the mists lingered on the edge. Without further delay I lunged forward to attack Grislend. When our two clouds touched they kept us separate, acting as large globular cushions. The elf, having the larger range, used it to his advantage. He threw obscured thrust after thrust that I was forced to dodge instead of risking a Disarming Vibration block. With a misstep from the elf, I managed to catch his attack. The moment our blades made contact, the vibrations spread and chunks of the air mana around us suddenly started to dissipate. I ignored the 15 damage the attack caused me as my Health continued to creep lower. The glow along my fuller flickered and the crystalized blood crumbled to dust as I pulled my weapon back slightly. Thanks to my sustained hold on it I was able to recover faster than Grislend. While he managed to keep his weapon, I swung up and diagonally towards his chest. As the attack finished its arc, the thin line of air mana on the edge flew off my blade. The gray line easily cut the air cloud as if it was a hot knife through butter. The instant before it landed, Darin Rogelto seemed to materialize in the elf''s place. The man simply clapped his hands and the blade of mists broke apart into a breeze that rustled his clothes. ¡°Quite enough, Mr. Swift. I do believe the match is set.¡± With that the giant turned to the audience, who I then realized had been deadly quiet through the later half of our engagement. ¡°The victor by intermission is Faust Swift! Healers, please attend to the challengers.¡± The moment The Gladiator announced the results the audience released a roar of approval. It also released the tenuous hold I had on my injuries and I slumped to the ground. As my head spun from the constant Mana usage I couldn''t help but smile. I need to find that dwarf, I thought, as a pair of what had to be half dwarves jostled me onto a stretcher. One of the dwarves injected me with a small needle and I immediately saw my health start to tick up. There was a small portion of my Health that was greyed out and a few blinking notifications on the edge of my vision. I heard the cheers and encouragement of the audience quiet slowly. As the light of the crystals in the Bowel''s ceiling gave way to torchlight, I opened up the notifications. You have Internal Scarring. Max Health reduced until proper treatment is received. You have Mana Withdrawal. Mana Regen halved for the next 3 hours. Quest Complete! You have found and completed the secret quest An Underwhelming Challenger! You will be recognized by the Mountain¡¯s Bowels as a Tier 2 Champion, as you have defeated their current tier Champion. See the Arena Organizer to receive your Title. Title may be lost as a result of defeat in official combat or falling out of favor with the Fighter¡¯s Guild. You are now Rivals with Grislend Ban¡®Tun! You have gained Experience! Congratulations! You have gained 1 Endurance, Willpower and Intelligence for developing your skills in both Combat Magic and Mana Channeling during combat while receiving little instruction. Even with my injuries and the new Mana debuff I felt quite well. Also a bit woozy but I wasn''t entirely sure if that was a result of my injuries, my mana or the needle I had been stuck with. A second later I noticed the lights brighten considerably and blinked to see the half dwarves standing over me. They were running their hands over my body. ¡°We¡¯s got good external healing. Health Serum done got'' im tickin¡¯ up and numb,¡± said one of them. ¡°Not sure what be causing the Health cap, might need to start probin¡¯,¡± added the other. With a flashback to the ''treatment¡¯ Walton had given for some of my prior injuries I perked up at their words. ¡°Throat¡­. Scarring,¡± I rasp out. The two looked between each other and nodded. One held my head while the other began to tuck his short beard into his apron. Why aprons? I wondered before I realized why. While the one dwarf held my head and jaw, the one with the tucked beard shoved a potion down my throat. I only knew it was sky blue in color because the moment the taste hit my mouth I gagged part of it out. Most of it landed on the apron. ¡°Gah, ye ninny.¡± The apron dwarf didn''t appreciate the helping of spit up on his beard as he helped his colleague clamp down on my mouth for the rest of the dose. Several disgusting swallows later, the potion was down the chute and the grayed out portion of my Health started fading. After the taste had dissipated some, I tried to thank the dwarves, but my tongue was swollen in my mouth. They explained it was a normal reaction and should fade in an hour or two. As they left for the door of what I realized was an infirmary room lined with beds, they also mentioned that if the swelling lasted for more than four hours I should seek a healer. Alone in the room I noted Flesk, snoozing in the corner. I wobbily made my way to him but saw that he looked to be in good health so I made it back to my spot. I wanted to thank the half orc. He had indeed found a good distraction and a productive one in the end. Dana wouldn''t have sat still, so I realized it would be okay to grieve while also pushing forward. I had taken her death personally, but I hadn''t taken her final message to heart. With my determination in not as many pieces, I laid down to rest for a bit. Only to have to jump back up a second later, along with a not too coherent Flesk. The door to the infirmary had been slammed open to reveal a slender blond haired human. ¡°The General requests your presence within the hour,¡± announced the man in Milton guard garb. Flesk and I looked at each other in confusion before the guard continued, ¡°I am to escort you. Please prepare your items as we will be leaving briefly.¡± With that, the man slammed the door shut behind him. The Tethers is OUT NOW! Hello everyone! I wanted to make a post to inform you of the book''s status. Book 2 of The Muraglen Saga is now out on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. As I mentioned earlier, this means that the majority of the book is now unavailable on RR. Hopefully this is not a major issue, you got to read the unedited version and/or you are able to pick up the story on Amazon in one way or another. I want to thank everyone for your comments and support while writing the story, and I hope to hear from you in the future. If you have read the story, or plan to pick it up on Amazon, I would love to hear what you thought, Reviews are vital to new books!This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. If you would like to read more samples of my work, get involved with other readers and get updated when my work goes live (wherever that is) then feel free to join Realms Beyond. I will also include links to my Facebook group, and both Books of the series in the Post Chp. Notes for your convenience. Again, thank you, and on we go to bigger and greater things!