Forge concentrated on the fire.
He had it contained to a foot-wide area in the middle of their small room, and Cinder lay luxuriating within it.
The dragon looked relaxed, and Forge smiled down at him from the bed.
He had nearly eaten his weight in gold coins and was now relaxing within the flames.
It had been an hour now, and he could feel his concentration slipping as the heat from the fire threatened to scorch the stone floor.
There had to be an easier way. His pyromancy allowed him to direct the fire’s very nature, but he knew the ability was still in its infancy.
Like the dragon, he mused.
Closing his eyes, he could feel the fire fight against his control.
Holding out his palm towards the flame, he closed his hand and extinguished it.
His head was pounding from the strain of keeping the fire contained, but it was good practice.
Cinder opened his eyes and jumped up on the bed next to him.
“Sleep. Now.”
Forge hugged the dragon to him and smiled warmly at his companion.
“Alright, buddy. Get some sleep.”
The dragon hugged him tightly once, then dove into his chest, causing a warm feeling to run through his body.
He checked the dragon’s status in his System screen.
Status: Sleeping
Idly wondering how long the dragon would be asleep this time, Forge laid back in bed and was asleep in moments. His own weariness mirroring the dragon.
***
Forge arrived at their rendezvous point early and spotted Falcon lounging against the enormous stone arch that acted as an entrance to the High District.
“I see you're early as well,” he said in way of greeting.
The ranger grinned and tossed him a small greasy paper bag.
“A couple breakfast sandwiches, and two pieces of gold for Cinder.”
Removing a sandwich, Forge took an appreciative bite.
“Thanks!” he mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Falcon sighed.
“Is Cinder still upset?”
Forge laughed.
“No. He got over that pretty quickly. He’s having his dragon-sleep.”
“Dragon-sleep…” the ranger seemed to weigh the words, then shook her head.
“Alright, I’ll bite. What is dragon-sleep?”
Taking another bite of the sandwich, Forge shrugged.
“I think it’s how he grows. He’s only done it once before, back when we first met.”
Hurriedly finishing the sandwich, Forge summoned his waterskin and took a long drink of water.
Giving the ranger an apologetic smile, he nodded his appreciation and stored the bag and waterskin.
“Last time he was asleep for around three days while I was in a dungeon.”
“And?” Falcon prompted.
“And he grew from being about the size of a frog to the size you’re familiar with.”
She nodded in thought.
“So, most likely he’s going to wake up and be bigger?” she asked.
Forge nodded.
“Most likely.”
The ranger smiled, then grimaced as a new thought occurred to her.
“Um…while him getting bigger will be useful and all, does that mean he’ll be eating more food, and more importantly, more gold?”
Forge laughed.
“Definitely.”
They both turned to watch Lioness and Gideon jog up the sidewalk to join them.
“You two stop for breakfast?” Forge asked.
Gideon grinned.
“We can’t very well stop the forces of evil on an empty stomach, now can we!?”
Falcon nodded.
“And did either of you think to bring Forge and I something?”
Lioness laughed at the question.
“I asked the lady at the cafe, and she said you’d already been by, so no. Though we got Cinder a treat, because…dragon.”
She pulled out an identical greasy paper bag from her satchel and handed it to Forge.
“How’s our little dragon, anyway?”
“Sleeping,” Forge said.
“Oh,” Gideon said.
“Then give me back my gold. I could have bought another sandwich with that.”
Forge went to hand the bag back, but Falcon stopped him.
“Cinder’s sleeping. And when he wakes up, he’s going to be bigger. So, let him have it. He’s going to be broke before too long.”
Forge laughed.
“You joke, but he ate 115 gold coins last night before he went to sleep, and there’s no telling how big he’ll be when he wakes up.”
“Team Angry Cat will have an even bigger and hungrier dragon soon,” Gideon said, looking off into the distance.
He turned back to the group.
“I really hope this audition works out. We’re going to need the money.”
Lioness’s eyes went unfocused for a moment as she checked her System screen.
“It’s getting close to time. Let’s get to the estate.”
Agreeing, they made their way up the wide sidewalk, past a few fenced-in estates, until they reached the Sturtevant estate gate.
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Gideon cocked his head as he looked through the gate at the roaming sets of guards.
“Is it just me or is that a lot of security?” he asked.
A voice interrupted their conversation.
“Are you the Guildies here for the job?” a guard with a notebook asked from behind the gate.
“Yes. That’s us,” Gideon said.
He pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to the guard through the bars.
The guard looked at it, then looked back up at them and nodded.
“Alright. Come on in. You’ll be meeting with Jeffrey, the head of staff. Please be on your best behavior.”
The guard delivered the last line with a significant look, and the party nodded their understanding.
The gate opened, and they proceeded up the long driveway to the estate.
Forge studied the two guards that were stationed on the large porch, then looked up higher to the men that stood with crossbows aimed at them.
He stopped and held up a fist.
“I suggest you point those crossbows somewhere else, or we’re going to have a problem!” Forge yelled up to the men.
He watched the pair stare at him for a moment before pointing their crossbows away from his group.
Nodding, he dropped his hand, and they continued their way up to the mansion.
“I didn’t see anyone with crossbows,” Gideon whispered from behind him.
“There were two men on the balcony above the porch.”
“Huh…must be hiding behind an illusion,” Gideon said.
“Something big must have happened recently to have them so spooked,” Falcon said.
“Just more reason for them to hire us,” Gideon said.
They stopped at the porch, and a guard stepped forward.
“Please follow me.”
He turned and opened the thick door and led them into a large hall lined with polished suits of plate armor.
Above them, mounted beast heads lined the high walls, complete with small plaques providing details on the various monsters.
The guard led them through a door and down another hall before bringing them to a tall set of double doors.
Opening the doors, he led them into a comfortable room with various plush couches and gestured for them to sit.
Forge gazed around the room, taking in the finely crafted weapons mounted high on the wall.
The weapons were of odd styles, clearly not from the local lands, but obvious in their functionality.
A strange-looking mace caught his attention, and he walked over to study it more closely.
One end was hollow, like the socket of a pike, but it was too wide to fit on any polearm he could imagine.
It tapered down like thick, overlapping dragon scales, clearly meant to move, and ended in a thick, weighted tip.
“Are you familiar with the design?”
Forge turned toward the voice and spotted a man dressed in a butler’s finery standing in the doorway.
“Not familiar, no. In fact, I was trying to determine how it would be used.”
The butler nodded and walked up to stand next to him, gazing fondly at the mounted weapon.
“The Sturdevants made their fortune making masterwork weapons and armor. This was a prototype of a weapon used by the people to the far south.”
It finally clicked in Forge’s mind, and he turned to the man.
“It’s for a kobold, isn’t it?”
The butler gave him an appreciative nod and smiled warmly.
“Exactly so. This is a weapon used by the kobold warriors of Alvin, a city far to the south.”
“A city? I thought the…people of the south lived in tribal villages,” Lioness said from her spot on a couch.
The man smiled and bowed his head.
“As you say.”
Forge turned to face Lioness.
“I’ve met trolls, ogres, goblins, and kobolds, and I assure you, their armor and weapons are excellent. Possibly better even than what’s made in the mid and northlands.”
The butler nodded his agreement.
“Just so.”
He gestured for Forge to take a seat, then made his way over to stand before them.
“I am Jeffrey, majordomo of the Sturdevant, and you will be reporting to me for the duration of this contract.”
Falcon, who was sharing a couch with Forge, elbowed him in the side.
“Store the mask.”
Gritting his teeth at his faux pas, Forge removed his mask and placed it under his cloak, then stored it in his ring.
“Please forgive my rudeness,” he said, bowing his head to their host.
Jeffrey nodded his acceptance.
“Not at all. I rather approve that you came dressed to work.”
He placed his hands behind his back and his smile fell away, replaced with the no-nonsense expression that butlers were famous for.
“We recently fired our long-standing Guild security group.”
He paused for a moment, then continued.
“Without going into specifics, they chose inaction during a serious incident, and while we are understanding of the realities of combat, the one thing that is unacceptable is doing nothing, especially when they could have acted in a way to ensure the safety of the house.”
He held up a hand.
“I won’t speak to the inner workings of Guild politics, but we ask that even in the event an issue occurs that relates to the Guild, that our contracted team does their best to mitigate the situation, even if that is just acting as a middleman during a confrontation.”
Forge considered the scenario. It sounded like someone important from the Guild came to the Sturdevant estate and the support team didn’t act.
He held up his hand to get the butler’s attention.
“I believe I understand and can assure you that if we were to take this position, we would not back down from any threat, whether from the Kingdom, Temple or the Guild.”
The butler studied him.
“You’re the paladin of Honos, correct?”
Forge bowed his head in acknowledgement.
“That’s right.”
“My understanding that those that pledge themselves to Honos value honor over everything,” Jeffrey said.
Forge smiled.
“I don’t speak for the temple but can confirm that honor and justice are my core beliefs.”
Jeffrey smiled.
“This is going much differently than expected, but you have provided me with a means to get an answer to whether you will be a good fit.”
The butler paused for a long moment, gathering his thoughts.
“In a scenario that found you between the Sturdevant and your Guild, how would you respond?”
The party was uncharacteristically quiet as they all watched him.
“With honor.”
The butler nodded, then swept his eyes over the rest of the party.
“And all of you feel the same?”
A chorus of agreements rang out from the team, and Jeffrey gave them a measured smile.
“Good enough. All that’s left is the test.”
Jeffrey beckoned them to follow him and moved to the door.
“A test. Yay. I hope it’s not math,” Gideon muttered.
“Not at all, Mr. Gideon,” Jeffrey called from the doorway.
“Merely a means to take your measure as fighters and problem solvers.”
“Sounds like combat to me,” Lioness said, grinning at the others..
The team followed Jeffrey down the hallway and down multiple flights of stairs until they reached an armory.
The group stared at the weapons and armor on display.
Racks of blunted training weapons lined one side of the room, while the other displayed well used but carefully maintained combat grade armaments.
Jeffrey stopped and gestured to the racks of weaponry.
“Please feel free to use any of the weapons in the room.”
The team studied the weapons but made no move towards them.
“We’ll fight as we stand,” Lioness said.
The butler nodded, then led them through a large door.
They entered an enormous natural cavern that someone had turned into an arena.
Forty-foot stone walls separated the rest of the cavern from the arena, and the exceptional carvings set in the walls and floor reflected the amount of effort spent turning the room into a training ground.
Six people stood off to the side chatting amicably, but stopped when they entered.
“Hey, they have a cleric! That’s not fair,” a man holding an enormous axe over his armored shoulder said.
“Shut up, Wolf!” a woman wearing light armor growled.
The attractive woman came out to meet them and gave a Guild salute, which Forge and his team returned.
“I’m Diamond Fire, and this is my team,” she said, gesturing at her group.
“Six of you?” Gideon asked, confused.
Diamond Fire laughed.
“No, it’s just the four of us. The two Mercurius clerics are here to provide healing.”
The pair of clerics walked over to join them and nodded to the team, then bowed deeply to Forge.
“I am Timothy, and this is Davis. We will provide healing as well as calling the match.”
Davis stepped forward and his amiable smile dropped, his face serious.
“I will be operating a bell that will start and stop the match.”
He turned to point towards the center of the room where a glowing green rune lay engraved on the floor.
“That is a training rune that will display your health, as well as any active negative effects on your person. This will allow both you and us to see the relative health of every fighter in play. When you hear the bell, you are to immediately cease fighting, cancel any offensive magical effects, and step well back from your position. When the bell is rung again, you may resume the match.”
Timothy gestured to Lioness.
“When the bell goes off, do not heal anyone other than yourself unless it is a matter of life and death, or you wish for the healed party to be removed from the fight.”
“This is a simple match to determine which team is the most effective. Your goal is to protect your side’s target while attempting to destroy the other side’s protected target, as well as take down the team. Anyone may give up at any time by saying Sturdevant,” Jeffrey said.
A lacquered wooden box appeared in his hands, which he handed to Timothy, then opened.
Inside were rows of amulets with the same glowing rune that was carved onto the floor.
“Please take an amulet. And don’t worry, these do not require a mana-gate and will only display your health and negative effects.”
Everyone took an amulet and glowing bars appeared over their heads.
“This is amazing! I wonder if the Guild has something like this?” Falcon said.
“Not yet, that I’m aware of,” Jeffrey said, pleased at their response.
“These runes are a creation of the Sturdevant, and not readily shared.”
Diamond Fire raised a hand.
“Should we have a handicap? They’re only Rank One.”
Jeffrey shook his head.
“Of course not. You’re both competing for the same job.”
Diamond gave Gideon an apologetic shrug.
“Sorry, Giddy. Tell you what, after we win and secure the job, we’ll take your team out to dinner to celebrate.”
Gideon laughed and sent his group a sideways glance, his face turning red.
“Giddy?” Falcon asked. “Are you two an item?”
Diamond grinned.
“Nothing so formal. I just give him some pointers from time to time,” she said, giving the ranger a wink.
Diamond’s team turned and started walking to the opposite side of the arena, where a dummy on a pole was setup.
Falcon grinned widely at Gideon, then turned to the rest of the party.
“She’s pretty. I wonder what sort of pointers she gives him.”
Lioness snorted a laugh, then covered her mouth.
Forge turned his mirrored face to the swordsman.
“Is she a caster, Giddy?”
Gideon hung his head.
“I can’t believe it’s her team we’re going up against.”
He faced the group and lowered his voice.
“Yes, she’s a caster, and her specialty is some kind of fire attack.”
Forge nodded.
“I’ll take care of her. That just leaves the slinger and their two warriors.”
Falcon’s eyes glittered.
“I’ll protect our target and take shots from here. Forge, you charge in and take out her fire. Gideon and Lioness, you follow behind him and provide clean up.”
The team nodded. The setup had worked well in the dungeon, and there was no reason to suspect it would go differently here.
They moved to their positions and waited for the bell.
This was going to be fun!
