Book 1: Chapter 8

Book 1: Chapter 8

The building they ended up stopping at was the city guard’s headquarters for the district they were in. It was made of the same stone as every other building in the area and was a large square shape, taking up almost the entirety of a block in the center of the district.

Inside the building they had to stop at a checkpoint. Springcall told the guard on duty who they were and they got through. Leading Kay downstairs, Douglas glanced up as he spoke. “The policy for this kind of thing is that we take you to a secure room to do this, in case you get some kind of insane class. It’s a bit bleak down there, but we shouldn’t be long. The guard captain that will be there for the ‘safety’ portion of this is Captain Armis, and he’s a good man. The City Council representative will probably be some middle management bureaucrat with a list of classes that they would want to recruit. He’ll probably be a bit annoying, but we’ll get through this formality and then we’ll start looking for someone to train you.”

It was indeed bleak. It was just a cube shaped room made of the same greyish-brown stone as everything else, with a small chair slightly off center from the middle of the room. Kay was getting tired of thinking it as greyish-brown stone, and made another mental note to ask what it was called. It could be marble for all he knew, although he didn’t know if marble was great for building walls. He’d only ever seen it used for countertops. But was that a problem with it as a building material or a matter of cost? If it was more prevalent in this area, or even this world, it might see more use in construction...

Kay jumped slightly and refocused on the matter at hand when the door opened behind them.

In walked a taller human man with tanned skin off set by the two pale scars trailing across his face. His face was stern and Kay automatically stiffened in place as the man looked at him. A small smile crossed his face as he looked down at the BOA rep.

“Douglas.” He greeted him with a nod.

“Derman, good to see you. How’s the family?” Douglas replied.

“You know them.”

“So, the same as always?”

They both chuckled, obviously entertained by some inside joke.

“So,” Captain Armis gave Kay a once over. “This is out new Outworlder, then? Nice to meet you.” He held his hand out and Kay shook it. “I’m Captain Armis, Tumbling Rapids City Guard.”

His handshake was firm, and just a touch tighter than Kay would have liked. He tried to keep the slight discomfort off his face as he returned the handshake. “Kenneth Davis, but I go by Kay.”

“Well met, Kay.” The captain nodded at him, then gestured with his head at the smaller man behind him. “This is Lesser Councilmember Roctis.”

The man gave a patently false smile. “A pleasure.”

The Lesser Councilmember was a pale, skinny man shorter than Kay, and he obviously didn’t want to be there. Kay noted his slightly pointed ears, not as prominent as Delilah’s had been. A half elf? I guess I should try and stop being surprised every time I meet a species from a story.

“Well then.” Captain Armis pointed at the chair. “Take a seat, kid, and we’ll get started.”

“Sure?” Kay walked over to the chair and sat down. He ignored the appellation, since he was a kid next to the obvious experienced captain.

Skills: Blood Pupptery - Level 1, Manipulate Blood - Level 1

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Non-Combat

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Titles: None

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Kay stared at the screen as it floated in front of him. Just the fact that it was there was unsettling to him in no small way. Just another reminder that he wasn’t home, and never would be again. He took a deep breath and sent a wordless prayer up to who or whatever might be listening. A desperate plea that someday he could call this world home and be comfortable here.

“So?” Douglas asked. “What did you get?”

“Oh, um.” Kay quickly reread the name of his first class and frowned. Blood Mage sounded ominous, even if he was just a novice. “Novice Blood Mage.”

With a burst of movement that Kay couldn’t follow at all, Captain Armis went from only partially paying attention a few feet away, to right in front of Kay, the head of his mace only inches away from Kay’s head.

Kay stared at the slightly glowing weapon, frozen in place. Apparently I was right!