After standing there another minute, Charlie stepped through the door, wanting to at least know what was beyond those bars. She could see a bit of sky, but that didn't really tell her what she was out there overall. It looked like it might be a stadium of some kind, but beyond that she couldn't tell from the small view she had from that hallway with the dirt ramp.
As she moved through the door, she felt like she'd walked onto a movie set that was supposed to take place in ancient times. Such as ancient Rome.
The surroundings looked like it was the dirt floor of an arena, and the walls surrounding it were at least twenty feet high, maybe thirty feet. The floor of the arena spread out for at least a hundred yards, although Charlie couldn't be as certain of that estimate as she was about the height of the walls surrounding the arena. Aside from that, she couldn't really tell much else. Although, the weapons on the racks at least now made sense to her, but what didn't make sense to her was why she'd been put in there by herself, with not explanation of what was going on.
If nothing else, she was pretty sure they couldn't have just assumed she knew what was going on. Especially since they didn't seem to think that she was very bright, just because she couldn't speak.
Which also made her wonder why they seemed to think that just because she couldn't speak, she wasn't very bright.
Suddenly it felt like the entire arena she was in was spinning. She put her hand on the stone wall to steady herself as she waited for the vertigo to pass. Which took longer than she'd have liked.
When he felt like the world was becoming stationary again, she found that she was having a hard time catching her breath. Like she had just finished running a sprint or something. Though, she couldn't explain what could have caused it.
Just what is wrong with me? Charlie asked herself, feeling like too many things were happening at once.
Aside from the strange 'memories' she experienced in the room with the weapons and on the dirt ramp, she felt like things were almost a little surreal for her. Like what was happening was merely her own mind trying to catch up to events that were coming at her so fast that she was starting to struggle with dealing with them.
She couldn't say if that was correct or not, but it was at least what she could wrap her mind around. Even though she hoped it wouldn't end up happening at a much more inconvenient time. Not that it was really a convenient time at this point.
Still, as she forced her heart to calm down, she noticed others being brought out as well. Although, each of the others had a weapon of some kind in their hands. Charlie couldn't say if she should go back and get one from the weapons racks herself, but quickly pushed that thought out of her mind. If she was supposed to have gotten one, she would have expected to have been told to do that.
Besides, she did at least recall hearing that there was going to be a 'test' today. Nothing was said what kind of test, so she couldn't say if she should be expecting to have to try to dodge the weapons or not. Or if that was something else entirely.
Charlie took another breath and let it out before starting to walk over. She didn't know if she was expected to go over there to be with the others, but she wasn't going to just stand there and look stupid. She wasn't Ralph.
When she got close to the others, she was ready to start cursing a the rocks that kept biting into her feet. She couldn't imagine how the others weren't bothered by those rocks or why they weren't allowed anything to wear on their feet. She just wished that she could get those rocks to disappear.
When she arrived, she couldn't help but notice that the others were almost all girls about her age, though a few were a bit older, with a couple boys. None of them looked like they were as muscular as the two women who had entered Charlie's pen earlier, even though they seemed to have the same kind of look in their eyes as they glanced at Charlie.
Charlie wished she knew how long this was going to take as the sun rose up above the stands and started shining down directly on them. The day was clearly warm, but now Charlie couldn't help but worry that she might get sunburned. Especially since she hadn't even noticed anything with the weapons that she'd have been able to put on as even makeshift clothing. Such as a burlap sack or anything.
As the sun started to feel like it was getting ready to bake her, the woman who had been poking her appeared in the stands above them, on the top of the wall. It felt a little overdramatic to Charlie, but she suspected it made it easier to see what was happening than if she was on the arena floor with them.
"All of you are here to see if you have what it takes to be an arena fighter. All the weapons you've been able to bring up were blunted. As you were supposed to have teen instructed, this will determine not only the kind of fighter you will be, but also what…" the woman said, but then trailed off as her gaze rested on Charlie.
She couldn't help but wonder if she'd somehow screwed things up. She didn't know how, but it didn't stop her from feeling that way. Especially since she didn't have a clue what was expected of her anyway.
"Why didn't you pick a weapon before you came out here?" the woman demanded, somehow managing to make her voice travel the distance between them as if she was standing right next to Charlie.
Charlie shrugged. She really didn't know if she should be trying to run back to pick one at this point or not. Nor could she really respond, so she just waited patiently, hoping she wasn't digging a hole for herself.
When she didn't respond after a few minutes, the woman's gaze turned into a glare. "Do you think I'm asking for my own amusement? Answer me!"
Charlie then turned to head back to get a weapon. She had only taken two steps when the woman's voice came down, this time making Charlie worry that she was going to attack her.
"Where are you going!?" she thundered. "I didn't tell you to go anywhere. I told you to answer me!"
Charlie sighed. She doubted that this would help her out any, but it wasn't like she had any other options right now. Especially since she still had no idea what was going on in the first place.
Charlie looked up towards the woman and did her best to say that she hadn't been told anything about what she had been expected to do when she had been brought here, her voice only coming out as various sounds and moans.
When she finished, Charlie was aware of the others looking at her with a mixture of surprise and contempt. Almost like she herself had done something wrong.
The woman above them merely stared in complete shock. After a minute, she turned to the woman who had unlocked the door that had allowed Charlie onto the arena floor.
"Didn't you explain what was expected of her?"
The other woman looked shocked that she was now in the hot seat. She didn't say anything, but merely stared at the older woman, making Charlie wonder if this was a case of assuming whatever they were talking about was always someone else's responsibility.
Eventually the older woman sighed. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. It's not like doing anything will change what's happened right now, but you will be facing consequences for this."
Charlie almost felt like she was watching a stage performance. She didn't know what was going on, but it almost felt like it was just a show for the entertainment of everyone present. Not that it was especially entertaining.
The older woman then shifted her gaze back to Charlie. "Return to the room you came from and select whatever weapon you want. We'll see how well you can handle it. If you do well enough, you might be able to become an arena fighter. It doesn't matter which one you take, because all of them are blunted."
Charlie wasn't sure she really understood, but didn't see a point in waiting for any further clarification. Especially since she had a feeling that there wasn't going to be any. The feeling that she got was that she needed to do what she was told or she wouldn't like what would happen as a result.
Much like apparently the younger woman who apparently was supposed to explain to Charlie what was expected of her in this place. As judging by her expression, she didn't have anything pleasant to look forward to as a result.
Charlie then did her best to jog towards the door she'd come from while ignoring the small rocks that were still hurting her feet when she stepped on them. Some still even stuck to the bottom of her feet as she moved along, forcing her to stop briefly to remove them so she could get it to sop hurting her feet.
When she arrived back with the weapons, she looked at the various weapons displayed. She didn't see any hammers, flails, maces, or any other blunt weapons. All that were present were bladed weapons: daggers, swords, spears, glaives, and the like. Another strange sensation she felt was the fact that she knew what each weapon was without having seen some of them before. Most she remembered from various pictures she'd seen from history books, movies, and in a few museum exhibits.
She wasn't sure how long she'd be given to select a weapon, so she decided she needed to take as little time as possible, just in case she was expected to be back right away. Charlie looked at the various weapons, the most variety of any of them were among the swords. She quickly dismissed the spears and glaives, mostly because she didn't think that they'd be the best options for her. She further ruled out the shorter weapons, mostly because she didn't want to be that close to anyone she might be fighting, as she wasn't ashamed to admit that all the others intimidated her just with how buff they looked.
She tested the weights of a few of the swords, which felt like they'd be more suited for her, even though just touching them felt almost like she was accepting the strange memories as part of her. Like she was changing in ways she couldn't even begin to imagine.
In the end, she merely took a longer sword, one that might be considered a 'long sword' even though she was pretty sure that the name of that particular type of sword was a zweihander. Even though that kind of sword was more of a type of longsword anyway. How she knew that, she hadn't a clue. Although, this one seemed a couple feet shorter than she would have expected.
She quickly turned back and started jogging back to the others, hoping that she hadn't taken too long. If she got in trouble here, she couldn't say how that might affect her chances of escape or if it might end up with her being separated from Cithis and Haln.
Why those two came to her mind at that time, she couldn't say. Just that they did, which brought a mixture of emotions to her. Part of it was the loving sensation she'd sometimes gotten when she'd thought of her parents or sister, part of it was worry that something would happen to them, part of it was concern for how they were doing, and part of it was a protective sensation she couldn't say she'd really felt towards anyone before.
As she moved over the dirt floor, she felt the weight of the sword and wondered if she'd be able to wield it with both of her hands, since she was pretty sure that it wasn't going to work so well if she tried holding it with only one hand. She knew it was too late to do anything about it now, but she couldn't help but worry about that thought.
As she reached the others, she couldn't help but feel like she'd pretty much been caught coming to class late, even though she had essentially been given permission to leave the 'class' in order to pick out a weapon. Even as Charlie had that thought, she felt like it was strange, almost surreal.
"Alright, now that all of you have a weapon, we will go through a few drills of striking with the weapon you chose and blocking with it," the older woman said from the stands above them again, this time sounding almost like a drill sergeant from a few movies her father had sometimes picked for her family to watch. "Once we're satisfied that each of you know your way around the weapon and can hold it properly, we'll decide who moves on."
Charlie wished she could ask what came after this drill, but could only blame herself for the fact that she couldn't. Although, she also couldn't help but wonder if she could and did ask, if she wouldn't get in trouble for having asked in the first place.
Charlie gripped the sword and pulled it out of it's sheath, letting the sheath fall to the ground at her feet. She felt more than a little surprised at its weight, having always thought that swords would be lighter, since they didn't look like they should be so heavy.
The younger woman set each of them in lines and had them swing the weapon that they'd each chosen. Charlie was glad that both of her hands fit on the sword, although part of her felt like she should have expected that to be the case anyway. Though, as she held it at the ready, she looked at the craftsmanship on the zweihander.
It wasn't especially ornate, clearly made for functionality rather than anything else. It looked almost like it had been crafted out of a single piece of metal and, other than being dulled, had been well cared for.
Charlie also felt like the wieght of the sword was perfectly balanced, which merely added another item to what she knew about it that she couldn't explain. While she didn't think it was exactly problematic in and of itself, she couldn't help but worry that it might be a sign or something of a larger problem that she just wasn't aware of. The length of the blade seemed rather short to her, at about three and a half feet, though she couldn't say why she felt like that would be 'short' for the sword.
Charlie waited until they were told to swing their weapons in whatever way they felt like, so long as it was clear that it was an attack. At an imaginary opponent, which Charlie added to herself.
She swung it like she remembered in those 'memories' that weren't hers. She could think of twelve ways to swing it that would qualify in her mind as 'basic' attacks, although she only went with the three that were the least taxing on her. As the information came readily to her mind like she had studied for a test or something, she couldn't help but start to feel a little scared at this revelation.
While it was useful to her current situation, it still worried her that she didn't have an answer to how it had happened in the first place or anything like that. It was more than a little disconcerting for her. Like something had happened to her that she still wasn't aware of.
After several minutes of swinging the sword, or at least what felt like several minutes, as the two women watched everyone, Charlie felt like her arms were getting ready to drop the zweihander. She didn't know if that would affect how she was seen, but if her arms stopped cooperating with her, it wasn't like she'd be able to do anything about it. All she'd could do then would be to accept whatever came. It also didn't help feeling the sunlight baking her while she did that.
While she could use her magic to support, and maybe heal, her arms, she didn't know if anything was being done to detect magic being used. She wouldn't be surprised if there was.
However, when she spared a quick glance at the others, she saw that she wasn't the only one who was starting to tire. A couple had even set their weapons down and looked like they were trying to catch their breath. Either that or she just didn't look at them long enough to see what they were really doing as they rested from swinging their weapons.
"Alright, that's enough!" the younger woman called out suddenly.
Charlie nearly fell over in relief as she let tip of the sword down to the ground. Somehow she knew that under normal circumstances she shouldn't let the blade of the sword rest against the dirt, but that's because it would dull the blade. However, since it was already blunt, she couldn't see what effect it might have on the sword. As she then could use it to help support herself as she took a breather herself.
"Next we'll be moving the weapon in a block," the woman said after letting them rest for a minute. "Once you have your weapon in a blocking position, just hold it. I'll be walking by to check how well you're doing as well as how you hold your weapon. I already have my eye on a few of you who I don't expect to make it past this. If that happens, then you just won't be sold as an arena fighter. You might get thrown into other options, but it won't be here."
Charlie wished she knew what 'options' the woman was talking about. She suspected that it might be something the others knew about because they grew up in this world, but since she didn't that might be why she just didn't know.
When she was told to lift her sword and 'block' Charlie moved right away, holding her sword at a slight angle in front of her, with the blade sitting an even distance in front of her. It was a simple block, and didn't take up as much energy in her arms as some of the others blocks that came to her mind.
Charlie wished she knew why and how she knew all this. She couldn't help but worry that it was going to end up hurting her in the end somehow.
When the younger woman came by to inspect Charlie's block, she was surprised to see the older woman with her. She hadn't noticed the older woman leave the stands. They looked at Charlie and whispered among themselves before moving on.
All she could hope was that whatever they decided wouldn't affect her negatively. She didn't know what exactly was going on, so she couldn't say if being accepted here was a good thing or a bad thing. Or if it would be bad for her no matter what happened.