I joined Baltar as he stood by the door; we'd been through the list of prospects several times already, and we must have argued about who to cut for a good ten minutes at least.
We finally had our twelve; they would never become a group of star players, but the passion they held for the game of Runeball was noteworthy. We'd need that level of commitment if we were to have any hope of winning.
'When I call you, step forward.' As I read from the clipboard, I took another look at the notes I'd scribbled next to their names.
'Baltar Greathoof.' Humanoid/Giant. Male. Built like a fortress. One hundred and three years old (I'd struggled to believe his age when he told me.) He had as much playing experience as I did, but he wasn't a practitioner of magic.
'Molly Raines.' Human. Female. Athletic. In her early forties and probably the only veteran player amongst us. Formidable with starting fires, she'd later assured me; I thought it best not to ask her any more than that, though.
'Lorna Howell.' Human. Athletic. Mid-thirties. She has no Runeball experience, but her son happens to play for The Bricklelake Bobcats. We might need Lorna's contacts at some point.
'Sameth Nooke.' Elf. Age unknown (He wouldn't tell me for some reason.) Extremely athletic, but again, no playing experience. He seemed to know a lot about rune magic, though. We'd want him on the team if only to pick his brains.
'Alistair Grimwalt.' Giant. Seventeen years old (he was as tall as the others of his kind, with some knowledge of magic.) Again, no playing experience. It was likely due to him being around the same age as me, but we were already becoming friends.
The other players proved to be the main point of contention, though, where there seemed to be many more unsuitable candidates than promising ones. After calling out the other six names, everyone else I hadn't mentioned bolted to their feet at once, crying out in protest.
Skargar must have been listening from the other side of the sealed iron door; because it suddenly swung open and in, he marched with over twenty guards. 'Perfect, I can already tell who's coming with me.'
'We're not going anywhere with-'
'BANG!'
Mathias Melgar was shot dead before he could rally those around him; the others fell into line fairly quickly after that, walking out with heads held so low, they were practically dragging them along the floor.
'Welcome to the new Rimeholde Raiders,' Skargar announced with dripping sarcasm. 'Your first game is tomorrow morning, but your training begins now. Guards, take them outside.' We all nodded, though; our movements were utterly bereft of enthusiasm. After all, we weren't in this place because we wanted to be.
'We're practising here?' Molly breathed, the air of disbelief pouring out of her mouth as she stared at the filthy turf. The remains of the dead had been removed, and yet the stadium still reeked of rotting flesh. Even the grass now bore scars from what had happened.
I turned to face Molly. 'Let's get on with this... Where do we start?'
She snatched the clipboard out of my hands, ripping the old sheet off and handing it back to me. 'We only have one hour, right?'
I nodded. 'These five drills are what we should focus on.'
'Shuttle runs, short passing, long crosses, penalty shooting and magic meditation.'
The last one sounded a little absurd, giving the time constraints, and she laughed when she saw my reaction. 'Some of us are more able than others when it comes to practising magic, Jake. If we spend fifteen minutes meditating, it will help sharpen those abilities.'
I still didn't believe her, but telling her that would have achieved nothing. 'Sounds good.'
'Everyone on the line!' Molly called, shaking her head. 'Shuttle runs will determine agility and fitness levels for tomorrow's opening game.'
'Do we have to?' Alistair grumbled.
Molly looked furious. 'Oh, I'm sorry, young Sir, would you prefer to join those poor bastards who were taken away instead?' Alistair shut his mouth, looking guilt-stricken. 'I didn't think so. Now, everyone, go. Twenty runs, as fast as you can.'
Some moved quicker than others, with Sameth and Lorna having already finished. Despite all of Alistair's moaning, he was running faster than any giant I'd ever seen. That could end up proving to be incredibly useful during a game, where deception would undoubtedly play a critical role in scoring.
Short passing was the trickiest drill, with more than one inexperienced player tripping over their own feet. I wasn't exactly the embodiment of perfection either, though. And seeing me struggle, Molly clapped her hands together once. 'Okay, moving on. Long passes can be very useful when used effectively, especially when the opposing team favours shorter passing.'
'Because we can spread their team thin and tire out their players more with accurate long balls?' Alistair asked.
Molly smiled, mimicking applause. 'Exactly. It all depends upon what kind of team we go up against.'
'But we still don't know who we're playing tomorrow, do we?' Someone asked.
Molly sighed, and I couldn't help but sympathise. We weren't going to receive any notice, not when Skargar's only goal was to offer us up as entertainment.
'Penalty shootouts are rare,' Molly admitted, looking at me. 'Because as some of you are now aware, most matches never last that long.'
'So why are we practising them?' Baltar demanded, drawing an annoyed look.
Molly furrowed her brow. 'You're about to find out,' She pointed at the goal. 'Go on.'
Baltar jogged over, but before he could touch the goal post, the ball ricocheted off the back of his head and pelted straight into the goal. 'Hey!'
Everyone laughed, including Molly. 'We need to be able to score like that, but also be able to see those shots coming at us and stop them.'
I nodded. 'Molly's not wrong. During my last game, I had an unfortunate encounter with mirage magic.' My smile faded as memories of the ill-fated game came flooding back.
Everyone had enough time to take one shot at goal and have one stint in defence. It wasn't going to be enough to prepare us for the upcoming match, but the training certainly hadn't hurt.
'Everyone, take a seat. That includes you, Baltar.' The man was restless, resulting from him being humiliated, I thought initially, but I recognised the real reason for his agitation after watching him for a couple of minutes. Whenever I sat still for a moment, I would get homesick too, or I'd wonder about the fate of my friends.
I stood back up, patting him on the shoulder. 'It's okay big guy; I'm sure this will help.'
'Where would you like the totems placed?' Sameth asked, ignoring Baltar altogether. Baltar didn't care though, he just dropped to the ground, slumping back on the slippery grass.
Molly looked thoughtful. 'All around, we don't have much time left.'
I recognised some of the card's symbols as they were placed in a circle around where we sat. 'Hope, Strength, Leadership, Fortitude, Ingenuity, Knowledge, Wisdom, Justice...' There must have been over fifty of them, all decorated and facing up towards the sky. 'Is this Adinkra?' I'd studied the Ancient African runic symbols a little during my second year at Feldspar Academy.
Molly nodded, and for the first time, I felt like I was the teacher's pet. Sameth just grinned, though. 'You have no idea how difficult it's been to keep these safe.'
We sat behind the cards, with legs crossed and eyes closed. I felt so stupid, but as I fidgeted less and less, I could hear the quiet echoes of a strange chanting building up. Molly was singing, a beautiful harmony, holding no discernible lyrics, but the louder she sang, the more the surrounding symbols began to glow orange.
I felt weightless, as though I was floating down a gentle river, calm and full of purpose. When I opened my eyes, everyone was staring at me, and I was towering high above them. With a click of my fingers, glistening orbs flashed into existence, quickly transforming into materialised objects of whatever images happened to cross my mind, from people to weapons and even vehicles. I had somehow learned how to control the mysterious phenomenon.
'Seize him!' Skargar roared; he must have been watching us from a distance.