Chapter 12: Game On

Tobias sat down in the chair and sighed, gazing around their small room, “It’s not the worst place we’ve slept.”

“No windows, though. It really does feel like a cell, confining. How can we be on the 4th floor with no windows? There were windows outside,” even for one of her size, Riley barely had space to move.

She slowly hopped back and forth in the small strip of space between the bed, the desk, and Tobias’ chair.

The entire room had the feeling of being formed from molded stone, perfectly shaped and dull grey in color. There were no corners to be seen. Even the floor bore the signs of utilitarian design, having just enough grit for grip.

“This place reminds me of what I’ve heard of a copper’s quarters. Minimal space, no light… Gods, even the air feels confined in here, “Tobias’ eyes danced around the tiny space as if scanning the hard points before he leaned back in the simple wooden chair until it creaked.

“I don’t like this,” they both said in unison, sharing a knowing glance.

“We’re here to be tested. Do you think this is like Timbergarde? They’re gonna knock us out, yada yada?” Riley sat up on her hind paws so she could gesture.

“Not like Timbergarde, no, but I think everything has been a test since we met with Ecbert a week ago. They’ve kept us tired, moving, and off-balance while telling us nothing. We’ve been enduring by stamina potions and training alone. Next, they berate us and try to break us down. Finally, there was the blood oath. We’ve secrets we must keep now, or else. I don’t know what’s coming next, but this all reeks like kraus shit in summer,” Tobias ran his hand just above the desk, calling the small iron kettle from their inventory, already sitting on its metal stand.

Next to it, a small bin of his favorite tea appeared.

“That tracks, even Ecbert and Thomas, they throw us into another world or would it be realm? Anyway… they put us off our game, playing good cop and bad cop, locking us down, controlling our movement under pretext. Wow, this does feel familiar on multiple levels,” Riley pondered, cocking her head toward the floor in a scan.

“Exactly, and our quarters tell the truth of it. They’ve put us in a cell fit for a copper, which was always one of my greatest fears, and they do it the night before our final test. This whole thing is a fucking test,” Tobias spat as he stuck two fingers under the metal frame holding up the kettle.

A wisp of orange flame appeared, causing the metal to groan as it expanded.

“I’ve lost my temper a few times...” Riley began.

“Oh, I have too. Ecbert was just asking to be knocked in the teeth, but he’s no Cid,” Tobias grinned malevolently.

“We’re still black-blades, through and through,” Riley straightened up with pride.

“Right down to our obsidian torcs,” Tobias gestured to the ones around each of their necks.

“Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that,” Riley bounced up and down on her hindpaws.

“They’re playing games, setting us apart,” she continued.

“From what I’ve seen, I don’t mind it. I earned the right to be a black blade, but I fell into a knighthood,” he sighed.

“You feel like a phony,” Riley concluded.

“It doesn’t feel earned, and I don’t like that,” Tobias sighed, adjusting his finger under the teapot with a critical eye, “Ecbert said we were in his world now, and we are. Even in Calaria, it’s a new world.”

“What do you call saving the kingdom?” She challenged, drumming a hindpaw as if underlining her point.

“I’d have been comfortable with a Captaincy, but I was born and raised a Second Tier and chosen for the black cloak. There’s a way things are done, a way the Gods have ordained. We’re an anomaly, Riley, ” Tobias removed his obsidian torc and stared at it.

"I also happen to be as cute as all hell. If we're an anomaly so what?" She countered.

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“I remember when Cid put this on me in the Hidden Blade. It was one of my proudest moments. I felt like I had earned my way into something real,” slowly, he turned it over in his hand.

“ We did earn our way, and we went farther than any blackblade has ever gone. That does count for something, even if they can't see it,” Riley rested a gentle paw on his knee.

“I’ve no doubt we can do the work, but that doesn’t mean the title fits,” Tobias set the torc back around his neck, “Grey cloak or no, at my core, I’ll always be a cobbler’s son and a Blackblade Ranger.”

Riley gently set a paw on his knee, “And that’s all you ever have to be. We know what we’re about, and we know what we’ve done. Have you noticed they swear differently here?” Riley asked.

The seeming non sequitur caused Tobias to regard her strangely.

Riley mentally shrugged, “They swear to the Ashen throne, but you and me, we swore as black blades to the Ashenrealm. That’s what it’s always been about for us; people, not power. Grey torc or not, those people still need someone to fight off the monsters that want to make them into a meal.”

Tobias reached out and tousled her ears, “I hadn’t thought about that.”

He blinked a few times, clearing the existential cobwebs as the kettle began to whistle, prompting him to dismiss his conjured flame. Next, his favorite metal cup appeared in his hand.

He dropped a few pinches of the dried green leaves from the tin in the kettle as the fresh brewed tea aroma began filling the tiny space.

“It feels more like home when you do that,” Riley stretched and hopped up on the bed.

“One of the reasons I do it. Anchor points of familiarity in an unfamiliar world. After we got through the hell part of our training Cid always had hot tea for us and a warm fire most nights. We hold onto what anchors us, big and small, and we see the trials through,” with a wave of his hand, another item popped out of their inventory onto the desk.

“Atta boy,” Riley praised, as her ears twitched in confusion, “What are you doing?”

“Game on,” Tobias replied, opening the pouch before touching his torc, “We don’t have to worry about monsters, but we do have to worry about rangers and shenanigans. If they want to test us, let’s give them a challenge.”

“We have seeds...” Riley referenced their shared inventory space, “Wow, you stocked up on everything!”

“We do have the room,” Tobias shrugged while Riley called forth a spear of tenganut, chewing meditatively.

“Good thinking,” she said, with her mouth full.

“I don’t know where they’d put it, but magic means a secret door could be anywhere. I could grow a creeping bramble if you’re gonna alert powder the door. They won’t expect that. Unless they’re listening,” her ears dropped again.

“Have you seen my lips moving?” Tobias grinned again.

“Oh wow, we’ve been on soul coms this whole time, and I didn’t notice. That’s kinda creepy, but I like it in a ‘fuck you, General Ecbert’ kind of way,” Riley rubbed her paws together.

“Soul coms, cute. It’s gotten awfully familiar, hasn’t it?” Tobias took his cup of tea and sipped it, visibly relaxing as he did so.

“It has, but I don’t regret it. I don’t regret any of it, even though this routine is getting old. They haven’t stopped testing us since we saved Chadrick in the arena; which feels like a lifetime ago in its own right. So much for gratitude,” Riley finished her fruit and dug her claws into the coarse blanket, pulling out the kinks in her back.

“Riley, have you ever stopped to consider that was a different lifetime for all intents and purposes?” Tobias asked.

“I see what you mean. You wouldn’t have thought in terms of games or alert powder traps a year ago. You grew up, and you grew up hard. I guess that’s me too,” Riley shook her head as the realization dawned of how often she’d used her magic to kill and how many times she had to stand on the line.

Riley, ever sacrificing yourself for the benefit of others.

“What was that?” Tobias looked up from his tea, picking up on the echoes of her thoughts.

“Oh, a half-remembered dream about a barely remembered life. So, bramble wall?” She deflected.

“Once I finish my tea, we’ll have a bit of dinner. Then I think it’s early to bed, but let’s flip the desk onto the mattress and use our bedrolls. I’m not taking any chances with enchantments,” Tobias looked over at Riley, who was already up on the bed.

“Oops, you could have warned me earlier!” Riley glowered within.

“Sleep enchantments are easy enough to break, and it would only have hit one of us,” Tobias’ smile broke out like warm sunshine on an otherwise gloomy day.

“Unless they cursed your chair too!” Riley pointed with a paw as his eyes went wide.

“That’s a fair point,” Tobias conceded as Riley hopped down off the bed.

“You’ve gone and got me paranoid, ass!” Her ears flattened against her back as she gave him her best stare.

“Paranoid is good! They won’t ambush ya if yer paranoid. Always keep moving and keep your head on straight, or it’s liable to be knocked off!” Tobias recited, mimicking Cid.

Out of nowhere, something slammed into their door with a wet plopping noise, followed by the sound of feet beating a quick path back down the stairs.

“By the dead Gods,” Tobias swore, slamming down his cup of tea, his sword appearing in his hand as he strode over Riley and went to pull the latch on the door.

“We’re locked in,” he announced before shaking his head, “Damn tests.”

“Enchanted lock, probably. That’s elegant, and Thomas didn’t leave us the key. So they’ve baited us. Do we take it and blow the door down? We’ve got the means,” Riley rose up on her hindpaws before checking her status bars and pulling at her power.

“I’m ready to rock,” she announced.

“No, we wait. If they want to come for us, they’re going to have to come through the door,” Tobias took his alert powder off the table and began sprinkling it liberally on the floor. A brief flash of magic from his index finger left it sparkling, indicating a charge.

“It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?” Riley sighed.

“Yep,” Tobias confirmed.