One Day Later
Morning light stung Darwin's eyes. Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed. He had a big day ahead; First, he had to do a practical test against a gold ranked adventurer; Second, he needed to take the highest paying job he could get. Having about a months' worth of finances, Darwin was a long way from an early retirement- not that he had plans to retire at the moment. The idea of not doing anything all day bored him. There must be something more to this boring world then everyday life. Magic is brimming in the world and yet people tend to stay in the comfort of their own homes and towns eating the same boring thing safe and sound behind giant walls. Pulling his undershirt over his head he let the thoughts about others leave his mind. He always liked to distract himself with his thoughts, trying to think of anything other than his actual responsibilities. He buttoned up a nice blue shirt with thin yellow stripes and snorted. "Guess I could always sell my fancy clothes for some gold" he said to himself. Pulling on his black wool pants not the scratchy thick kind commoners wear but smooth and comfy. Finally pulling some shin high dark brown boots on, he flopped back on his bed. Which was surprisingly comfy for an inn? Grunting he pulled himself up from the bed that was starting to swallow him back to the sweet darkness of sleep. His hunger won this battle however growling at the darkness and striking hard at Darwin's stomach. Arousing him and forcing him down the stairs in search of food. The door creaked open and closed, and the stairs had seen better days showing their years of wear. Pictures of travelers that had stayed throughout the years hung along the walls. Darwin wondered why the innkeeper would do that. He did find that it made the establishment feel more comforting, like everyone could find a place here no matter who you are. He arrived at the bar that existed in the bottom floor of inn. The barmaid was turned around wiping down plates and stacking them up.
Clearing his throat "excuse me miss, if possible, may I order some food?" Darwin asked politely. Turning around the women smiled at him she had long curly black hair and olive skin and green eyes.
"Of course, honey" her voice soft and warm. Her friendly demeanor making Darwin wonder if he was ever this friendly with anyone he knew. Up in the manors you had to be extremely respectful even to those you thought of as friends. One could easily start a feud between families by one misspoken word or remark. She disappeared through a door Darwin assumed led to the kitchen and he sat down on one of the stools. Drumming his fingers on the bar he let his mind wonder off. He was nervous for the battle test that was coming up today that would solidify his station as a silver ranked adventurer. He had only ever sparred with his father when he was young and other then that most of the wizard's school was academic study of magic and occasionally practice at targets. Wizards are not meant to fight one on one and since most join the army after graduation very little time is spent on solo fighting.
A plate sprang up before him snapping Darwin out of his chain of thought. It smelled quite good. It appeared to be some eggs and wheat cakes with some berries on top.
"Here you are, I hope it suites your taste." the barmaid said happily smiling yet again at Darwin. He shyly smiled back and lightly breathed out
"Thank you."
"What was that Dear? "
"Thank you." Darwin stuttered louder. Laughing the barmaid waved him off and placed a glass of water down next to his plate, before he could get another thank you out the girl was gone, helping other guests that started to arrive in the eating area.
"Be more confident you're a noble after all" Darwin chastised himself. He wasn't really used to having to thank the help after all but why is he so shy about it. Not like he was a noble anymore. He sighed and began to eat.
The meal was rather tasty. He would have liked some meat but it still satisfied his hunger. He thought as he began the short walk to the guild. Darwin started to plan for his practice fight. If he were to face a warrior type, he will try to keep range and pelt him down with some long-range spells, nothing too strong. Just earth bullets or something. If a mage were to fight him, he will charge in and use close range spells like quicksand and earth spike to trap or damage his opponent. Happy with his simple yet effective plan. He stomped his way through the streets. The city being mostly square with all the streets laid out a grid made it easy to traverse. It was only the noble manors and the area around the keep that had a rather odd design. Arriving at the guild Darwin marched up to the reception area, which was quite empty. A silver bell that sat on the desk said ring for help. It made a quiet but sharp sound that seemed to echo for a split second. A half orc man pushed past a curtain that separated the desk and meeting area from the office in the back right of the building. He was quite tall forcing Darwin to look up quite a bit to look him in the eye, otherwise he would just stare at his chest. His yellow-orange iris's was a nice contrast to the clover green skin. Two small ivory tusks jutted out from the top of his mouth on each side. The long, braided brown hair swooshed beside him as he turned to face Darwin.
"Well good morning, sir. What can I help you with today?" the receptionist asked.
"I'm here to take a test for placement into the guild. I filled all the paperwork out yesterday and was told to return today, for the trial." Darwin said boasting like he had already passed.
"Ah, Darwin, right? Everyone has been waiting excitedly. Not often we get wizards from the college to test, so everyone wants to see how the nobles train their wizards" He stated, beaming, almost giddy at the thought of the fight.
"Right this way." the receptionist ushered Darwin past all the tables in the meeting area to a door in the back left of the building. He moved so fast, it was difficult for Darwin to prosses what the rush was. He shrugged it off as a weird character trait of the half-orc. Through the door was a yard behind the building that had dummies and rings for sparring as well as targets for archers and mages to shoot at. Curiously, there were no people. Darwin stopped and felt a rather hard push against his back, the orc still laughing to himself. Turning swiftly to meet the man eye to eye only to bury his face in the half orcs chest who imminently took a step back.
"Where are you leading me too exactly? Where is everyone and why are you laughing at me?" Darwin fired questions off at the man railing himself up in the possess. Letting out one last chuckle before composing himself the man replied.
"I am taking you to your exam to be held in that building there.' pointing at a large building that resided behind the field "as for your other questions everyone is wanting to see you fight and is waiting in there. And I seem to have not contained my excitement enough, you see, I love watching fights- especially if I don't know what to expect! It gets me giddy." laughing again at the last bit he just pushed Darwin's shoulder forcing him to continue toward the building he had pointed at earlier. The frustration was building within him. Being laughed at in any way really pissed Darwin off. He swallowed his anger. For now, he needed to focus if his spells where to be of any use. Taking a deep breath, he opened the double doors in front of him. There looked to be an empty kiosk in front of him and a few people lingering around who scurred off down the hall as soon as they saw him, some speaking in hushed words on the other side of the hall and he could hear chatter coming from behind the other set of double doors in front of him which he promptly started to walk towards when he felt a pull at the back of his collar.
"Not that way you'll be fighting, not watching" the man defiantly wasn't holding back his smile or his giddy excitement. He pointed to a sign that said arena entrance at the very end of the hall.
"Okay." Darwin sighed, and huffed. He really did not appreciate how the half-orc conducted business. Darwin was ready to be out of his company and hurried to the arena entrance doorway down what seemed to be two levels of stairs and to another hall that seemed to disappear and curve quite a way around. The half-orc pulled a key out of his pocket and opened a room for Darwin to get into. It was well lit, had an iron gate that seemed impossible to move and a door on the other side. Otherwise, it was bare.
"I bet on you to win, so don't let me down. Terrible odds for you, so I'll make a boat-load if you win. Maybe even buy you a pint with my winnings, if you survive! Good luck," the man spoke swiftly, closed and locked the door before Darwin could process what happened. No wonder he was so excited, Darwin thought.
He heard the door behind the iron gate open and the gate eked its way up screeching its way to the top. Darwin winced and covered his ears. Sunlight began to seep into the room. Once the gate allowed enough room, he ducked underneath through the gap and out onto the dirt. The arena stretched far, at least one hundred feet, if not more in every direction. The walls were about twenty feet high to the first-row of seats and rows upon rows of stands were open. There seemed to be about eighty people watching in the stands that were spread out, some in groups and others alone, many of different races and ages. In the center of the stands, directly in front on him was a covered podium area, most likely used for an announcer in most cases. This time there stood a group of five people. One Darwin recognized from his graduation ceremony, Robert. He seemed to be talking with a few other adventurers. Darwin walked to the center of the arena. The audience had noticed his presence and quieted, while Robet continued to talk until the half-orc that had delivered him to the arena walked up. He could not hear what was said but he could see the half-orc's stupid smiling face. Robert nodded, then turned around to address Darwin and the audience.
"Well don't we have quite the crowd, I suppose my appearance probably has something to do with it. However, I am not the one providing the exam; just curious if this one will be worth the trouble I went through to get him, "Robert jeered and the people laughed.
"No, the one who is in charge of the evaluation, and who has my full support in this test is the great and mighty Halgrind!" Robert gestured to the half-orc who at this point was beaming. Darwin's eyes bulged with fury fists clenched. He bit his tongue. At least he would be able to show Halgrind how strong he was when they fought and he would show all these other people what a real mage can do.
Stepping forward Halgrind began. "Hello everyone! I must say I got quite the treat for you all," pausing he scanned the crowd "no, I won't be fighting today-"
"What do you mean? I was told I would be tested by a gold ranked adventurer. What are you to scared of a schoolboy mage, Halgrind?" Darwin swiftly cut him off, letting some of the venom that filled his heart seep into his words. The crowd was dead silent. Only Halgrind could be heard, laughing hysterically. Although, the smile on Robert's lips did not elude Darwin's sight.
"No, boy, I ain't scared of you. How about this- if you beat the two challenges, I'll spar you myself and I'll even allow you a partner to make it fair. Sound fair?"
"Deal" Darwin spit.
"Good. Then on to the first challenge. You shall face ten goblins. Good luck!" Halgrind clapped.
"Goblins?!" startled but the idea he wasn't just sparring another adventurer or just showing off his ability
"Aye, Goblins. Make sure to kill them all. They may be stupid, but they are not complete fools so be aware," as he finished speaking Darwin could hear the gate below the podium rise. Nasty, yellow-black eyes met Darwin's as the goblins charged from the doorway.