The mess hall of the Starspawn barracks was nearly at full capacity. Servants were running hurriedly up and down the aisles serving food and clearing dishes. By Sir Perry’s orders, the kitchen staff had been working since before dawn to prepare for the morning’s activities. On this day, the barracks would open its gates to the hundreds of adventurers who had traveled from afar for a chance to join the Starspawn guild of Omnirius.

  “Hurry now,” Perry grumbled as he tore at a piece of bread. “We don’t have much time.”

  Next to him, Ellis, Mary and the others were rushing to finish their breakfast. Across from Perry, Telhari sat quietly while holding a cup of water.

  “Sir Perry,” Telhari began, “If you wish, I can begin with the potential recruits so that you and the others have time to finish.”

  Perry shook his head as he swallowed a mouth full of food.

  “No need —mhm— Master Telhari. We will be done soon enough.”

  “Sir Perry!”

  Avenell jogged down the aisle toward Perry with a ledger in hand.

  “I have updated the census as of yesterday evening, and have spent the night reviewing it.”

  “And?” Perry asked as he ripped into a piece of jerky.

  Avenell shifted his weight uncomfortably without saying a word.

  “Out with it, Avenell. Speak your mind.”

  “It would seem that there are many more than we can handle, Sir Perry.”

  “What do you mean?” Telhari asked.

  “Yeah, isn’t it good if we have more people?” Ellis asked as he set down his cup. “The more the merrier, no?”

  “It would seem not,” Avenell chided. “While it would certainly improve our numbers to accept the near two-hundred persons who have shown interest—”

  “Two-hundred!” Albert shouted. “Holy shit, Perry! That’s incredible!”

  Perry puffed out his chest with pride.

  “Be that as it may,” Avenell cut in, “The number is still too many to manage. It would take months of labor to build the lodgings capable of housing so many, and that is to say nothing of the resources it would cost. Beyond that, it would require hiring even more staff to keep up with the demands. The increased cost in food alone would bankrupt us.”

  “Have we so little?” Perry asked as he brushed the crumbs from his beard.

  Avenell sighed.

  “With all due respect, Sir Perry, our stores are not unending. Between the cost of repairs to the town, the damage to the field lands from your battle, and the food preserves which were given to the town’s folk, there is little to spare, even for ourselves.”

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  “So then we must be more critical of who we allow in?” Ingrid reasoned aloud.

  “So it would seem.”

  “Alright then,” Perry said as he brushed his hands together. “We will just have to test them.”

  Ellis stood with his hands behind his back in a line with the others. Albert, Ingrid, Lyusya, Telhari, Mary and the rest of the Starspawn he had come to know over these years were positioned in a line behind Sir Perry. Before them, filling the entire front yard of the manor grounds, was a sea of new faces. Ellis had never seen so many different kinds of people before. Though most were human, they wore clothing and had facial features which he had never seen before. And then there were the non human recruits. First, there was the matter of the other elfkin. Those elfkin before him were not so dissimilar to the humans in the crowd. There were some with darker skin and different features, but their physicality was quite normal. Ellis remembered when Telhari had mentioned that his people were different from the other elfkin, but he had not known exactly what he meant by that until now. It was not simply their height or bodily strength which differed. In fact, there was an aura about Telhari that the others did not possess. Beyond the elfkin, though, there were still stranger beings in the crowds. He saw a few men who were bearded, with course features and wide, low-set ears. These men were also more stout than any human Ellis had ever seen. And even more frightening, though there were a precious few of them, were those who looked scarcely human at all. They wore clothing and donned martial weapons, yet they were covered in reptilian skin and had morphed facial features that reminded Ellis of the dragon which they had fought.

  Perry, having given the people time to settle, finally took a few steps toward the crowd.

  “On behalf of the Starspawn Guild of Omnirius, I, Sir Perry Mannigold, would like to thank you all for coming.”

  A murmur of agreement and reciprocity moved through the crowd.

  “As you can tell,” Perry continued, “There are a great many of you. More than either myself, or any of my men, could have predicted. And while we are grateful for your interest, we are nonetheless unable to accept all of you.”

  There then came a rumbling of dissatisfaction from the crowd. In response, Perry raised his hand and they quickly quieted down.

  “With that said, we have devised a means by which to solve this problem.” Perry turned over his shoulder and motioned Avenell with his head. Avenell bowed himself slightly, then walked out and stood beside Perry.

  “This is Robert J. Avenell,” Perry announced. “You will show him as much respect as you would show to me.” Perry gave an encouraging nod to Avenell who swallowed deep and stepped forward.

  “Good morning to all of you,” Avenell began. “Many of you may recognize me. I have been inquiring about you all since you first arrived in Viemen. I trust that my intentions will now be made clear.” Avenell cleared his throat a moment, then continued. “You will all be assigned to a specific group and sent to an area on the grounds. You will then be met by members of the Starspawn and they will interview you. Afterwards, we will proceed to the training grounds and your combat skill will be evaluated.”

  At this, there was a wave of excitement that moved from person to person: exclamations of strength were mixed with boisterous and self-aggrandizing laughter.

  “After this combat evaluation,” Avenell said in a louder voice, above the ruckus, “The interview results, along with the information you provided me will be used to decide who will be accepted into our ranks. After the end of the combat skill evaluation, you are all free to retire to your lodgings in town. In two days time, a list with the results of our evaluation will be posted in the Lonely Song tavern.”

  “If you would please separate yourselves into groups of approximately thirty!” Perry called out into the crowd.

  Immediately, the attendees began to shuffle about and motion to each other. As the wandering people began to coalesce into smaller groups, the Starspawn members headed to their positions. In the yard-land behind the barracks, several wooden tables had been brought out along with enough chairs to seat the Starspawn who would be conducting interviews. The groups of men and women followed the paths to the back of the barracks and assembled in front of their respective tables.

  And with that, the interviews began.