Yoy'ya, "Maybe don't select a door but get as much information as you can. It can only help. As for communicating, I think there will be rest periods in-between contests with some healing provided. Hallwyn's people seem to be setting things up for after the first contest.
"My bet is that people will: have to race for the door of their choice; perform the contest; come out the other end (wherever that is); get some time to rest and eat; then pick another door, one that isn't still occupied by another team."
At their patron’s request Tymythy hurried towards the doors with the others, taking a cursory look at each before realizing there wasn’t much for him to learn – what little could be seen didn’t mean anything to him. He found his attention focusing on two of the doors – the iron-banded door with its lion carving, and the masses of iron bars that brought to mind metal cages to hold dangerous beasts. So, rather than his eyes he focused on the smells, wondering if he would detect the musky scent of predators… and indeed, there was a whiff of something in the air. Smells of still water, hay fouled by sweat and urine of animals, reminding him of ill-tended stables in the spring. Although the more familiar scent of horses wasn’t present. Instead, he was reminded of ground squirrels, a familiar enough smell as animals of their kind were common prey to trappers. And… something else. A dry, spicier scent, uncomfortably familiar of late, bringing to mind their almost-encounter with the land spirit in the guise of a titanic scorpion after the storm in the desert had unburied one near their camp.
Cairee had mixed feelings about the way they were announced. She was grateful her name wasn't used. On the off chance her siblings knew of her new name at least that wouldn't have drawn their attention to her. But the clapping, and moreover the way Hallwyn stared at Zahra, unsettled her.
At Yoy'ya's word they all hurried down to the stadium to inspect the doors. They were impressive and intimidating. "I wonder how easily we'll be able to open them, or if that will be part of the challenge?"
She of course noticed that two of the doors had likenesses of animals. The ash door had a carving of an owl, and the iron-banded door had an engraving of a lion. It was the lion that caught her attention, and she found herself studying it a little more closely.
As they moved about as quickly but as carefully as they could to get a look at all the doors, the amount of information was overwhelming. There were so many different details and Zahra wasn't sure what all of it meant.
She couldn't help but be momentarily distracted by the mirror door as she got a good glimpse of herself in it. She was surprised by how mature she looked. With the jumble of thoughts in her head, she definitely didn't feel like an adult.
However, the door that drew her in and piqued her curiosity was the one with a single keyhole. It had a fancy plate with a keyhole and she wondered if she could see, smell, or feel anything through the keyhole.
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The dwarves of Dun Leummor had continued to examine the doors and were joined by other parties. The Hazard-Guard had run about gathering whatever information they could and continued to until the last possible moment. The Bonds of Gruumsh orcish team and The Sisters of the Silken Scroll searched about as well. Lady Shiply and Sir Pellius had broken away from their team to examine the gates.
The Steelheart Twins walked about but they seemed to be watching what everyone else was doing and copied them a little here and there.
Occasionally, opposing teams or team members would meet in front of a door and give each other a deep appraising look. The orcs and the dwarves met in front of the portcullis arch and broke into a shoving match briefly. Both groups realized they had to make a choice: fight now, or compete. Sir Pellius (of Predition's Cavaliers) greeted The Adherents with civility.
The group who were calling themselves The Adherents of Aureolus were all gathered at the step however, and looking a bit smug.
After The Blackbirds took a quick run about the lower bowl they could see several of the contestants gathering at the top of the south staircase. Tandyraman was waiting patiently.
Dounia, riding the high of their reception, couldn't help doing a few gratuitous flips on her way down to the doors. The one with the ten similar little drawings fascinated her, and she moved in for a closer look. Looks like a puzzle. Is it about trying to balance some weights? Those dark dots seem to be the key. Feeling confident that she'd already figured out such a simple puzzle, she whispered to the others, "This one looks easy. We should do this one first."
Since they had first entered the party, Cairee had been proudly representing Saiph - leaving her hood down for all to see her flaming orange hair. She was a little tempted to draw it up around her face in an attempt to disguise herself from her siblings. Even though they had never seen her with her orange hair, slouching into her cloak felt like a kind of protective shield.
She pushed those thoughts aside. This game had taken an abrupt turn with the moving of the arena. Suddenly it felt very serious, and dangerous. Her petty squabbles with her family were the least of her concerns. Let Arnie and Mar recognize her, or not. Dounia was right - they weren't her family any more. And she wouldn't disrespect her goddess so by hiding her mark. Cairee stood tall and confident as she studied the lion engraving.
It was curious, some parts deeply etched and some much fainter, worn, like it had been around for two hundred years. The lion was strange - it had a humped back and highly ribbed ribs cage. The mouth looked like it was filled with rows of shark teeth. Cairee shivered - she hoped it wasn't a rendering of a beast they would have to fight.
Was there some significance to this lion-like beast on a crumbling pillar? A story or legend that might hold a clue as to what was behind the door?
Seeing that Tandyraman was waiting at the south staircase, Cairee motioned to the others. "Let's not be the last team to join him."
All the teams posturing and sizing each other up was both interesting to watch and exhausting at the same time.
Zahra tried to focus on the door and take in every detail of the escutcheon. Whatever key fit the hole was unique as she had never seen a keyhole like it. She also wasn't sure she liked the fact that there was a skull on the plate. That couldn't be good.
She shared what she'd learned with the others and listened to what they had learned as well. "Do you think we need to find the way out of each of the doors once we're inside? Or do we have to figure out how to get into each door?"
It seemed like Dounia had chosen the door she wanted to do so Zahra nodded in agreement. It was always good to have a decision made.
She looked in surprise at Cairee when she said they should go join Tandyraman. "Do we need to join him? Shouldn't we be closer to the door we want so that we can get there first?"
While Zahra and Cairee talked over where to be, Dounia and Tymythy watched as the Steelheart Twins walked towards the stairs. The sister took a glance over and her face froze. She stopped in place while the brother kept walking.
"Arnie! Arnie!" She rushed over to him and they had a discussion. Arnie's head snapped to look at The Blackbirds. His face turned beet red as he stomped over sand and floor tile towards the team. He dropped his great club unmindfully as his hands formed fists.
He was halfway to the group.
He was close enough that they could all hear the chinking of the mail part of his armour. Mar was close behind. The muscles in her neck were locked and it gave her the slight appearance of a cobra.
He was staring right at Cairee.
She looked in surprise at Cairee when she said they should go join Tandyraman. "Do we need to join him? Shouldn't we be closer to the door we want so that we can get there first?"
Cairee pointed to where Tandyraman and some of the other teams were waiting. She saw her siblings approaching the stairs as well. "It looks like we need to gather there for instructions. I don't know how we'll be assigned doors, but he seems to be waiting for all of the teams."
That's when Arnie stomped over and started shouting. So much for any hope that her siblings had grown and matured over the last few years. Cairee resisted the urge to step back from the verbal assault. She had no idea what Arnie was talking about. His mention of a boyfriend confused her. Does he mean Flyson? If so, perhaps her friend was safe if Arnie didn't know where he was.
"Hello brother. Allow me to introduce my friends. This is Dounia Mehar Mehek Ghali, Zahra al Asmar, and Tymythy-son-of-Stywyrt. Blackbirds, meet my siblings, Arnie and Mar." She kept her voice low and polite. Tal's wise words ran through her head. Don't meet people in their bad behaviour. Guide them towards your good behaviour.
Arnie showed no sign of slowing down. Cairee had seen him angry in the past and she's seen him fighting, how he works himself up into a state. This was something else. This was fury and his older sister's words ricocheted off him.
Woo hoo! A fight!
Arnie was on top of Cairee in a flash. He grabbed the neck of her robes and threw her to the ground.
Arnie, "Don't you have any honor! What did you do with it? sell it?!"
Mar notched an arrow and as she drew the string back the bow creaked like a heavy barn door. She aimed it at Tymythy.
Mar, "Give me an excuse!"
All of the stadium was watching. Some people were on their feet. Some were hissing and calling foul. Hallwyn was at the edge of his platform thrilled and at the edge of laughter. He seemed to be enjoying every element of chaos. Some of the elves in pale blue cloaks were hustling towards the fight.
In the distance Dounia, Tymythy, and Zahra could see Premuroso run to the edge of the upper bowl and leap off. His 'wings' picked up the air and he was soaring down towards them. His eyes were steely and his rapier was already in his hand.
Dounia was a reflex away from flinging a dagger at Mar. It was the "booing" of the crowd that stopped her. Everybody was watching, and what Cairee's jerk siblings were doing was clearly not okay. In fact, I'd bet that if we get injured, they'll heal us.
Not that that meant much when staring down the bolt of a loaded crossbow. Heal, maybe. Resurrect? Not worth the risk. She could see that Mar had caught Tymythy by surprise, and that he took her threat seriously. He had a better chance of getting the brother off Cairee, so Dounia had to take out this b of a sister.
Throwing herself forward with a yell, she dove then rolled the 30 feet between them, popping up right at Mar's feet. She lunged upwards, trying to grab the crossbow from beneath and push it up and out away from Tymythy.
Zahra gasped as Arnie attacked his sister. She had coveted siblings, wishing her new friends were her sisters and brother, but these real-life siblings were making her second guess her feelings.
She took a step towards Cairee and gently took Arnie's wrist while Dounia and Tymythy distracted Mar.
"It sounds like something has been misplaced," she said kindheartedly as she tried to mirror the voice her mother had used when she had been angry or upset. "We can help you find it, but not like this. First of all we need to know what it is you're looking for. For that we need more talking and less fighting."
As she spoke, Zahra attempted to lead Arnie away from Cairee and have him focus on her instead.
Mar, "Give me an excuse!"
The arrow aimed at him seemed like an afterthought, compared to the immediacy of the brother’s presence. And the weight of threat in his words that seemed settle like shackles on Tymythy’s shoulders, seeping him of the will to fight. But fear was a familiar companion to a hunter or a warrior, for to take up weapons to use against others was to accept weapons raised to oppose oneself.
”Excuse? Honor? You speak of things you do not understand,” Tymythy growled as he stared Mar straight in the eyes while walking – not rushing – while he saw Dounia charging towards the sister and Zahra trying to lead the enraged brother away. ”You would accept the host’s hospitality and guarantee of safety and then smear offal upon their honor by forcing them to defend one guest from another? You want to shoot? Try me, and condemn yourself.”
Zahra tried gently to move Cairee's brother. She put her hand on his wrist but found him untouched by her words. He was in all respects a stone until he grabbed her arm in return. He twisted it around and shove her so that the sorceress stumbled ten feet backward, "Go 'talk' to the wall! Really sister! How did you go and find people more milk in their blood than you?!"
Dounia popped up in front of Mar who hooked the desert thief's ankle with her foot. Dounia's leg went up, her balance went left, and she hit the ground knocking all wind out of her lungs.
When Tymythy brought up hospitality Mar slackened her bow string. Wheels turned in her mind as she looked up at the crowd. A third of the audience were crying foul, and nearly the same amount were cheering for a fight. Then Prem landed behind her with his rapier drawn. He put two fingers in the air with his left hand and slid the flat of the blade backward across them like he was honing the edge. He muttered as he did.
Mar, "He's right Arnie. We've already been feasting. We can't break hospitality."
Arnie, "But she has it! Or she knows where it is! ArrrrrHHH!" He stepped back five feet.
She took a step towards Cairee and gently took Arnie's wrist while Dounia and Tymythy distracted Mar.
"It sounds like something has been misplaced," she said kindheartedly as she tried to mirror the voice her mother had used when she had been angry or upset. "We can help you find it, but not like this. First of all we need to know what it is you're looking for. For that we need more talking and less fighting."
It had been foolish to try to greet Arnie like a normal brother. She had been away too long. The memories of his cruelty and anger had softened around the edges. Still, she wasn't surprised to find herself on the ground. It was familiar, and brought the true nature of her siblings' character back into sharp focus.
It was Zahra, touching Arnie and trying to lead him away, that spurred Cairee into action. Her friend clearly didn't realize the danger she was in. The Cleric used the distraction to get to her feet, trying to look as calm as possible and not like a frightened tortoise flailing on her back. She positioned herself beside Zahra, hands griping her quarterstaff, ready to defend them if needed. She stared down Arnie, trying to look calm, tough, and unbothered by his behaviour. "Brother, you need to stand down."
Zahra tried gently to move Cairee's brother. She put her hand on his wrist but found him untouched by her words. He was in all respects a stone until he grabbed her arm in return. He twisted it around and shove her so that the sorceress stumbled ten feet backward, "Go 'talk' to the wall! Really sister! How did you go and find people more milk in their blood than you?!"
Cairee's face flushed with anger. How dare he pick a fight with her friends? She grabbed her quarterstaff and pushed the end into his chest, hard, trying to knock him back a step or two.
Still unsteady from her fall, Cairee stumbled a step and ended up jabbing the air in front of Arnie. She stared him down, pretending that was what she'd meant to do. "I assume mother's sword is missing? May I remind you that I relinquished my claim on it? Why would I steal something I have no interest in?"
Of course, that might not be true, especially after finding the scabbard. With everything that had gone on the last day she hadn't had a chance to tell her friends why she had wanted to keep the treasure. A thought crossed her mind - was it still in Zahra's bag? No, she must have put it in Haseema's safe. Right?
Without taking his eyes off the visibly fuming Arnie Tymythy moved to stand by Cairee’s side as she lashed out with words at her siblings.
”So. An item they crave goes missing. And instead of blaming themselves for failing to guard it, they rather find someone convenient to accuse of the theft, to shift the responsibility?” he grunted. ”You may share blood with them, but it seems you are little alike.”
Cairee stood up tall before Arnie and grasped her staff. He'd never seen her do that before and it unsettled him but didn't stop him.
Cairee thrust her quarterstaff into Arnie’s chest and it hit squarely. Arnie didn’t move. He didn’t wince. His expression changed from fuming to condescension. ”Really?”
”So. An item they crave goes missing. And instead of blaming themselves for failing to guard it, they rather find someone convenient to accuse of the theft, to shift the responsibility?”
Arnie, ”Item! It’s not a sock! Beheader has been in the family since before our grandmother’s time,” There was something about they way he said ‘our’ that clearly meant He and Mar. ”And it’s not convenient. It’s obvious! Her boyfriend tried to steal it before. What did she do then? She protected him! She befriended him. Mother saw you two practicing with quarterstaves. Hm, should have got a better teacher.”
”You may share blood with them, but it seems you are little alike.”
Mar, ”Never a truer word! We’re going to join the others. Once we’ve won this thing we’ll come find you and have a real talk about this.”
Tandyraman, "All competitors to the starting place!"
All of the teams were at the top of the southern staircase but The Twins and The Blackbirds.
Embarrassed, Dounia did a kip-up to get to her feet, then backed away a little. It looked like the others were using words instead of violence, so the skinny teenager just stood there, trying to look tough.
Tandyraman, "All competitors to the starting place!"
All of the teams were at the top of the southern staircase but The Twins and The Blackbirds.
Dounia said, "Come on!" and ran lightly up towards the others.
Dounia said, "Come on!" and ran lightly up towards the others.
Mar watched as Dounia jogged towards the starting point and looked confusedly towards Cairee, ”I don’t understand. You’re not still competing are you.” It was not really a question.
Arnie, ”Did you miss when we said we were competing. I was pretty loud and we were down here looking at doors like everybody else.” If Mar wasn’t really asking a question then Arnie was giving something between a statement and an order. The Steelheart Twins headed toward the herald and the other teams trying to leave Cairee behind them.
As Zahra stumbled backwards, her focus became staying on her feet which she thankfully did. Obviously Cairee had gotten all the manners in her family.
Zahra straightened her dress and walked back to Cairee. There was a coldness now that seemed to radiate off her skin that was focused in her eyes.
Just as she reached her cleric friend, Tandyraman called out his warning. She linked her arm through Cairee's and nodded at Tymythy, "Let's go. I've had all the mean and childishness I can handle and we have a competition to win."
Zahra completely ignored anything else that spewed out of Arnie's mouth. It was rather sad that he sounded like a petulant child when he was as old as he was. She leaned over and whispered to Cairee as they walked, "After meeting your siblings, you should be super proud of the awesome person you are. Overcoming that toxicity takes strength and courage.".
Zahra stopped briefly by Prem as they headed to Tandyraman. ”You totally win for best entrance. You were amazing! Thanks for having our backs.”
Zahra stopped briefly by Prem as they headed to Tandyraman. ”You totally win for best entrance. You were amazing! Thanks for having our backs.”
”Indeed, if there was any dept between us, it is now settled,” Tymyhty joined his voice in Zahra’s praises. If the formidable twins had pressed the matter, any help would have been welcome, and his was timely given, without asking. But they didn’t have time for proper thanks, it seemed, as the competitions were about to begin.
When Zahra composed herself everyone could feel the strength radiate from her and the temperature dropped slightly. Before they turned to leave Arnie shook as if he had a sudden chill and some of his confidence, his control chipped away. But he shook it off and headed to the upper bowl.
Prem, "I'm just glad it didn't come to crossing weapons. They look young but have an overdeveloped sense of ... what would you call it? Oh, yes. Muscles."
When The Blackbirds joined the other teams Mar rolled her eyes in disbelief that their older sister was still competing. She whispered to Arnie.
Arnie, "It doesn't really matter. She'll go out in the first challenge and we'll still win."
Mar, "But she's ruining it."
Hallwyn stood at the edge of the eastern castle and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. All six teams stood with their fellows and the lake became faceted, showing them all simultaneously.
Hallwyn, "So we begin! Six days of competitions!"
He smiled a long mischievous smile.
"Don't worry. Don't worry. It is one of the reasons I've chosen this place. We will have six days here and twelve hours will pass back in Zhayalahmar. You shall all be home the day you left, I promise!"
"I dare say, rooms adequate for your stations have been prepared for you here at Gossamer House. Services shall see to your comfort. Competitors shall perform one of the challenges of their choosing each day as we watch their performance in our great Mirror of Ara." (Everyone heard Ara but they also heard translated 'Glory')
"Our evenings shall be spent with eachother. Please indulge yourself in the pleasures of this my humble home."
"Competitors will rest, eat, receive care as we ponder their courage of the day. I believe we have ... yes, some priests of Deneb are here to assist with judging and to care for the wounded."
"Please beware! The challenges are deadly. The faint of heart must finish the challenge of the day and those who wish to forfeit may do so in the mornings before a door is chosen!"
"Our herald shall start the choosing!
Cairee nodded in appreciation to Prem as they hurried up to the stairs. Her focus had been so focused on Arnie she had barely processed Prem's entrance. His ears were wings? He has magical abilities? His choice of spells made her like him all the more. Any focusing of light made her feel closer to Saiph. They were lucky to have made such an ally so quickly.
She wasn't sure why Mar seemed to expect her to drop out. But she couldn't worry about them right now. She turned her attention to Hallwyn's explanation. 6 days! What on earth had they gotten themselves into?
Tymythy frowned as he heard all he needed to of the siblings’ whispered conversation, debating if he should mention it to Cairee but decided not to. It seemed the siblings were competing most evenly about which of them was more of an embarrassment. And to think he had almost thought well of the sister for having at least the sense to recognize dishonor when her nose was rubbed on it! Well, her whining about stolen spotlight more than made up for it now.
Deciding it was best to pay no mind to the pair’s words he focused on their host instead. Six days of challenges? This was much more than he had expected… yet why should he have thought he had any sense of these things?
Zahra saw Mar whisper something to Arnie and it took all her will power to not roll her eyes. They may have an overdeveloped sense of muscles, as Prem pointed out, but they sure had runty social skills. This was why she refrained from completing her eye roll, she mustn't stoop to their level and frankly they weren't worth the energy.
Thankfully Hallwyn started speaking and gave her something to focus on. Her stomach lurched as he mentioned six days of competition. Her parents would think she was taken again! But then he explained how time worked differently here and her insides quit doing flips. The strange thing is that they wouldn't even remember after the fact that they had been gone so long or why they felt tired or sore. Being part of the world of magic was something truly strange and wonderful.
Two porters brought a light wooden table over to Tandyraman. On the table lay seven objects: a hex tile, a small hand mirror, a coin with the image of a door upon, a wooden key, a black marble, something that looked like a large tooth, and a velvet cloth bag.
The herald placed the objects carefully in the bag. He faced the teams and spoke loudly enough for the arena to hear.
Teams rushed the table!
Zahra was listening to Tandyraman and was waiting politely for him to finish his sentence when almost everyone else began rushing the table. Mistakenly, she was expecting some measure of decorum and so was caught flat footed.
Thank goodness that other members of the Blackbirds were more on the ball than she was.
Tymythy-son-of-Stywyrt reacted on instinct and was a step ahead of Arnie Steelheart, who gave the spearman a little shove to see if he would stumble. Tymythy fell forward and landed on one knee but returned quickly to his feet.
Arnie pushed to move out front as Lord Badrelow of Perdition's Cavaliers tried to grab his armour from behind and pull him back. Arnie cursed under his breath as he fell a full step behind. He found himself behind Cairee and just in front of Dounia, Khol (of The Bonds of Gruumsh), and Zosimos (of The Adherents of Aureolus).
After the front runners came Simone Ghastwith, Sir Pellius Courtland, Lugh Gemynd, Lady Shiply, Nergui, Taryth Moorsdaughter, Trismegistus, Pattallia Crux, Guthan Levargarda.
Several people had barely started and there was nothing they could do to catch up. Zahra could see around her Mahri of Glaemorgan and Prince Keone of The Perdition's Cavaliers; Roshynduv Gemaylan, Grownya Lar, and Caydren Actreo of The Warriors of Dun Leummor; Tyerror, Batbayar, and Jad of The Bonds of Gruumsh; Mar Steelheart; and, Alliss Shothand and Candor Rafinmodor of The Sisters of the Silken Scroll.
In the crowd people yelled and hollered and whooped as money changed hands back and forth hurriedly. Hallwyn's table was in an uproar of laughter and joy.
Grunting in pain at his sudden stumble, Tymythy wasted no time in sweeping at Cairee’s bother’s legs with his usriev even as he got back to his feet and resumed running, seeking to pay back the favor in kind.
Cairee found herself running all out with her brother on her tail, a regular occurrence from childhood she had hoped never to repeat. She fought the urge to whip around and push him square in the chest. Instead she focused on Lord Badrelow's feet just ahead of her. He skidded a little to the left - could Cairee twist a little to the right and overtake him?
Tymythy tried to return the favour to Arnie but aimed where the Twin was instead of where Lord Badrelow pulled him to.
Cairee tried to move past the large lord but he was too big and too well trained.
Khol watched out for whatever came her way and was right to as Zosimos reached out and tried to touch her. He got a good grasp of her shoulder for a second and she appeared to get weak but gritted her teeth, shook her head aggressively, and kept going.
It became pretty obvious, pretty quick that Zahra was out of the running for getting to the table the fastest.
Instead, she took up a chant to rally her other team members and hopefully would get the crowd involved. As she moved towards the table she began to clap rhythmically and chant,
She looked back at Prem and made eye contact, hoping he would join in and help with the crowd like he did before.