Davin stepped next to the one he'd asked the time of while he'd been eating, "Three trainers and three distractions, the distractions filling all the classic clichés while the trainers fade into the background and observe and see who would fit well into the role. How did I do by the way?"
"Well, I guess that depends on when you picked us out." The blue-skinned man looked over at Davin.
"When I was standing at the bar waiting for my food, you swapped out for a brunette but you didn’t order anything new just pretended to nurse the same glass" smugly smiling to himself.
"Impressive that means you picked us out in a few minutes but kept watching till you knew for sure" He reached out his hand to Davin as to offer a shake "I'm Gale, like the wind."
"Davin" looked over the rogue trainer's hand before grabbing and shaking it.
"Good instincts" Shaking Davin's hand.
"I guess that means you're with us." Standing up ." Follow me, we will get you set up with a place to stay, and then we can start your training in the morning".
They left The Hall heading into the city, Davin getting his first real look at the city. Seeing the ever-shifting colors up close was a sight to behold, he almost fell behind while following Gale, who was increasing his pace as they made their way into the city.
"And here comes the second test, you just have to keep up," Gale said as he started to jog. "Just be warned, it will get harder as we go, I hope you're not afraid of heights." Suddenly taking a sharp turn and sprinted down an alley.
Davin hated running in his previous life, mainly because running sucked, but he wasn’t in the best shape for running, so doing it now in his new body only dredged up some of the hatred he'd built up for running. Gale was fast, and very agile, but seemed like he was always staying just in Davin's sight, pausing from time to time to set up things that could slow Davin down, spilling over buckets and pulling lines in the way. Davin guessed that the test took place over a very specific path that had all these things easily ready to catch them off guard. Snaking through the alleys, dodging simple traps, and having to climb up and over a variety of things, feeling like his test would last forever Gale then sprinted, sliding, and slipping through a hole Davin knew he'd never fit through. Panicking Davin dropped his bag and did something he'd only ever seen in videos, he made his first real attempt at parkour. He sprinted to the wall, spotting a few foot holds, and leaped, making it to the top of the wall with only a little struggle. That is where things took a turn, losing his balance on the false wall that only appeared to look like it was real, Davin falling from the top of the wall…
For the second time today, the world faded away Davin once again found himself in the darkness of unconsciousness. His mind swimming through the darkness he heard a familiar voice.
"I see you found the rogues, although, isn't it a little early to be sleeping?"
"I'm not asleep… I think I fell and landed on my head, I'm just unconscious."
"Ah, that would make sense, since normally we can only communicate when you commune and in dreams, I felt your mind in this state and felt I should see how things were going."
"Do you pay all of your beneficiaries the same level of attention?"
"Only the new ones, they're the easiest to find."
"Easiest?"
"Yes, with your freshness, your smell hasn’t blended in yet."
"Ah, and the fact you can smell me shouldn’t be creepy why?"
"The lingering smell of life is a strong one, and it fades over time, it is not that I seek it specifically."
The world around Davin swayed and became foggy for a moment.
"It looks like you are waking up, I wish you luck…."
With that last word, everything faded to darkness and Davin became very aware of how much pain his body was in all of a sudden, letting out a heavy cough and then a groan as the pain flooded through his body once again.
"Ouch…" Davin let out a whisper, feeling that anything beyond that would have caused yet another wave of pain.
"Oh! You're awake, glad to see I didn’t kill another newbie on day one." Gale said in a mix of excitement and relief.
"You've killed a newbie on day one?" Davin said back in a whisper.
"Only once, but they tripped and cracked their face on a corner, they're an accomplished mage now." A hint of pride in Gale's voice.
"Well, then I'm glad that I survived" Davin let out a small groan of pain.
"Just rest mate, you'll be fine in the morning, but you made it, no one has ever tried to climb the walls before, so they aren't as sturdy as they look." a hint of a laugh in Gale's voice.
"That’s good, but I honestly didn't expect to make it to the top of the wall," Davin said in wonder. "Never tried that before."
"For real? From what I heard from the watchers, you looked like you'd been at this for years." Gale sounded surprised.
"Only ever watched it done, never was in a good enough shape to try it before." Davin sounded a little ashamed.
"What was that anyway? Never really seen anyone move around like that." The question brimming with curiosity as Gale asked it.
"Huh? Oh, in my old life, it was a form of martial art called parkour, it's focused around using your body to move around the terrain in a fast and efficient way." Davin tried to put it in the easiest terms he could think to describe it.
"That could come in handy, might want to look more into it, we should have some more information on it in 'The Collection'." Gale's voice sounded as though he was plotting something.
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"What's the collection?" confusion edged into Davin's voice.
"Don't worry about it now, just drink this and get some rest." Handing over a small jar with a cork stopper. "It will help heal you and help you sleep, you're going to need your rest."
With that Gale stood up, walked over to a lantern, dimmed the light, and walked out of the small room. Looking over the small jar and its crimson fluid every gaming stereotype flooded into his head. "Heh, healing potions, that’s awesome." Popped the cork, sniffing and then quaffing the brew in a few swallows, the flavor a mix of herbs and strong alcohol, but not the worst thing he'd ever drunk, not even by a long shot.
Sleep took Davin quickly, and unlike when he was knocked unconscious the sleep was dreamless. The next day seemed like it came far too soon, still feeling groggy, likely from the potion, Davin pulled himself out of bed, finally getting to look around the room he was in. The light was trickling in from the small window near the ceiling letting him know that it was at least daylight out, easily finding his bag, he started to change into fresh clothes, hoping he could get the ones from yesterday washed. Making use of the small sink in the corner of the room, and washing up, that helped a lot more than he had expected. Davin opened the door of his room into a silent hallway. He felt as though he was standing in front of a crowd as he moved into the hall, his steps sounding like cannons in the comparative silence. Working his way down the hall reaching out with his ears trying to find anything for them to grab onto as a place of people gathering. Not wanting to wake or bother anyone Davin continued his trek down the empty halls, trying to quiet his steps for his sanity as much as for the respect of the others that may be sleeping. With none of the doors standing out or suggesting they led anywhere else, Davin's sense that he was being watched continued to grow, feeling more eyes on him with each step. A deafening crash filled the hall, sending Davin into a fight or flight panic, trying to find something to hide behind but coming up empty.
Once Davin's mind started to calm down, the sound of a group clapping as if he was playing golf hit his ears. "Great job Davin!" the voice of Gale hitting hip like a punch and letting Davin know that he was safe again. "You picked up on your issues pretty fast, becoming aware of your heavy footfalls." Gale's voice sounded as if he were teaching a lesson.
"Wha…?" Davin still mentally trying to wrap his mind around what was going on.
"Stealth 101, everyone is set in the silent hall on their first night, the hall is set so that only the sounds that hit the floor are heard, this makes you more aware of how loud your steps are and helps you develop good walking habits."
"Wait, this was a test??"
"Yup, and you did fantastically, three steps before you started to walk lighter."
"What was the crash?"
"That was the trap, a pressure plate that drops an empty glass on the floor, which because of the floor's enchantment, it’s a huge noise."
"But why?"
"Oh that will be part of later lessons, we have a role to fill, and each lesson you learn here, you'll take with you, we just want to make sure you make it through."
"Make it through what?"
"Who knows, and that is the point," Gale said in this last statement with a deep shrug. "Okay, enough fooling around, let's get your training underway." Gale walked through a door that was hidden in a panel in the wall, behind him several others began flooding out from the room. "So we need to test some of your other skills, your observation skills are pretty on point, and you seem to have a good handle on how your body moves." Bouncing on the balls of his feet while he said this. "Few other things to test, and see where you want to invest the time you have here."
"What skills can you teach me?" Davin's face lit up thinking about all the potential.
"Me personally, my skills are more getting where I shouldn’t be, acrobatics, athletics, sleight of hand, and stealth." Gale pantomimed different actions with each word as if he were in mid-action.
"What about lockpicks and such?" the concern was clear in Davin's voice.
"Oh, we all learn how to use those, just not everyone has the same skill with them." HE said matter-of-factly.
"What's first?" Davin asked.
"I like to start with the ones you think that you'll like the least, so what do you think will be the least fun to do?"
"What are my options?"
"Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and the use of Thieves' tools, but that last one is a gimmie"
"Not interested in Deception, Intimidation, and Performance, I already have Insight and Persuasion."
"Your starting skills from your past life? Not bad ones to have honestly, so those can be knocked off the list, you won't benefit too much from more training in those unless you decide to specialize. Will still need to test you though, so get ready, you're about to put on a show."
Letting out a long groan. "Do I have to…?"
"Yes, and based on that reaction, I'm betting this will be hilarious."
Davin spent the next few hours in a strange improv circle, literally pulling roles out of a hat and having to do what they said. It was awful, basically having to relive every memory of the school performances he'd had no choice in opting out of. The whole thing played out like an extended version of “Who's line is it anyway?” and he felt like the confused guest the entire time, no matter how much he tried to relax and enjoy the event, it all kept drudging up those memories. The group he was with was enjoyable to watch, he had a lot of good laughs and was honestly impressed that these people were just practicing skills. It was clear that when all was said and done, Davin was not meant for the illicit side of talking to people.
"Yup, totally right, that was hilarious, you were terrible."
"Oh, trust me, I know more than anyone, there is a reason I never signed up for drama club."
"Drama club? What the hell is that?"
"Like this, but part of school so a lot less entertaining."
"Huh, yeah, you'd have done terribly in that too."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence" Davin responded sarcastically.
"Any time, okay, let's get you some food, I'm sure your starving."
Gale led the way through the twisting halls that all looked the same, Davin was baffled at how anyone could navigate this place, let alone do it so casually, "How long did it take you to remember the layout of this place?" Davin asked casually.
"I want to say that I've memorized the layout, but that would be the biggest load of crap I would likely be able to tell you, it’s just as a trainer, I get access to the training grounds mini-map, I also have it for the path that is included in the test," Gale said with a lackluster and serious tone.
"We can have mini maps?!" Davin's excitement shone on his face.
"Yeah, but only of places that you are considered an "owner" like keys, access to the bound map, the whole kit and caboodle" sounding apologetic.
"Fair, I mean, that does make a bit of sense." Davin sounded a bit disappointed.
When Davin sat down with his plate of food, the smells made him drool. He didn’t remember food smelling or tasting so good. Even the dried fruits and bread he had gotten for breakfast seemed far better than they had ever tasted back home. "This may sound like a weird question, but why does everything taste so good?" he asked Gale as he teased parts of his food before scooping a spoonful and filling his mouth.
"The same reason the Rainbow Bastion exists, belief, and since we get the peak flavor from all that enjoyed the items as its flavor, it's bound to be delicious," Gale said while distracted with his food.
"So if I got others to believe, then I could alter the way things taste?" Eyes wide in anticipation.
Gale burst into a laugh, "Oh no way, the result is controlled by the patrons, most of the things are based on the worlds they originated from."
Davin had even more questions as a result, but the events of the day were starting to catch up with him, and the exhaustion from the day was crawling up his spine. "After you finish eating, you should call it a day, and we'll pick it all back up in the morning." Gale finished his food first, now waiting on Davin. The food was so good, Davin was already almost done shoveling the last few bites by that point, his mouth so full all he could do was let out a hum and nod his head.