I sensed the attack before it came, but I was too tired from the repeated beatings to move the way I wanted to. So, instead, I steeled myself and allowed the punch to hit its mark. I might have even stuck to my impending defeat if I wasn't so thirsty for victory. Even tired and bruised, I wanted to win. That's why I dipped my head forward just enough so that I could avoid that painful sock on the jaw and forced my assailant's punch to strike against my forehead instead.
He cried out—I've been told that I have a thick skull—and was too focused on his pain to notice my counterattack. A knee to the groin and an elbow to his jaw was all it took to make him crumple at my feet, the last of the opponents she'd sent to test me.
"Is that... it?" I asked, breathless. "I can… do this… all day…"
"Cocky brat, aren't you?" she replied in an amused tone.
She walked gingerly over the pile of groaning bodies on the floor to get to me. Even then I noticed how gracefully she moved which my brain likened to a jungle cat rushing in for the kill. Perhaps that's why I raised my tiny fists one more time. It was a move that only made her smile.
"You're something else, brat… It's not every day you see a human child win a royal rumble like this." The pretty female with the twin horns protruding out the sides of her head leaned forward so that her face was inches from mine. "What was your name again?"
"Will," I grimaced.
"Will?" The golden cat's slit irises of her eyes widened slightly. "Just Will?"
"That's all I remember…"
A flash of emotion appeared on her face. It was a pitying gaze that didn't last long. She drew a knife from her belt and pressed it to my throat, and the blade's cold touch licked at my skin.
"You didn't even flinch," she noted.
"I already died once… you saw…" I reminded her.
One of her eyebrows twitched upward. "You're a weird human boy, aren't you?"
"Um… I won your test… right?" I gave her a blood-smeared grin. "You'll… train me… now?"
I didn't even see her move. By the time sense returned to me, I was on the ground and she had already mounted me.
"Here's your first lesson, Will." Divah balled her hands into fists and bright blue scales grew over the skin like shiny gloves. "Learn to tolerate even more pain than you can unleash and your enemies will never bring you down."
Her right fist drew closer, and then oblivion took me.
***
I woke up with a start while my brain pounded against my skull like a drum solo at a rock concert.
"Oh, spirits," I groaned. "Feels like Divah's been punching me all night..."
"Is that why you were moaning?" asked a soft, melodic voice that was slowly growing familiar to my ears.
I glanced over at the open door and saw her leaning against it. She had her arms crossed over her chest while her eyes studied me.
"You drool a lot," Liara teased. Then added, "Must have been a nice dream..."
"Nightmare," I corrected.
One of the first things Divah taught me was to case every new environment and burn into memory every nook and cranny of it.
"Know all the entry and exit points and you'll never have to panic about not having an escape plan," she'd always remind me.
That was why my eyes were zipping across this space I'd woken up in, taking it all in with instinctive attention to the little details.
It was a small, square space with just enough room for a bed, a desk, and a drawer. The walls, ceiling, and floor were made of stone that had been designed with those leaf-like patterns and thin columns similar to the tower's facade. The door was on the left corner while the room's lone window was by the right wall where the bed stood. At first glance, it seemed big enough for me to escape through if needed.
'I should ready a rope by the windowsill just in case I need to make a quick exit…'
"This is the fifth floor. Shouldn't be too rough of a climb," Liara said as if she read my thoughts.
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Speaking from experience?"
She shrugged. "We all entertain thoughts of escape from time to time."
The bed I sat on was a little too soft. It was like sitting on a marshmallow. By its foot was a chest I recognized instantly as the one I kept all my things in back on Earth. Mostly weapons and minor grimoires, but I collected a few bits and pieces of mementos over the years that I stashed in there too.
Honestly, the space was pretty sparse compared to everything I'd seen so far. It was an observation Liara mirrored exactly when she said, "Your room's a little too spartan for my liking."
"This is… my room?" I asked.
"Our living spaces shift to reflect our needs and tastes," her eyes drifted left and then right, "which in your case probably means just someplace you can sleep in..."
"An enclosed adaptive environment... Possibly even an artificial dimension?" I contemplated. "Groovy."
Suddenly, I felt the room tilt around me—which did nothing to help the chili-mead-fueled headache I was nursing—and then a brown package appeared out of the air to drop between my bed and the door.
"What the—"
Liara held up a hand. "Wait for it."
We experienced a second tilting of space, and then a scroll appeared where there was none before to drop on top of the package.
"You'll want to read that first. Come find me at the tower's hearth when you've dressed." Liara turned to leave. "I'm your guide for at least one more day."
Truthfully, I didn't hate the idea of spending another day in Liara's company. Even if she was ljósálfar. And, while I unfurled the scroll I picked up, a smile crept up my face that had nothing to do with its contents.
"Apprentice schedule," I read the first lines of Dwalinn's note out loud and couldn't help but grin at the thought of the possibilities waiting for me. "Interesting… very interesting."