Surprised at how quickly it was to find his bed, Obsius on his shoulder leading the way to his bed. Seeing the placard there, Norbert moved it to the side as he sat on it; nothing else was there, just a bed. Looking under it, I saw only darkness, fumbling around and confirming no objects were there.
Norbert looked around the hundred people around him, wondering how many other places would have these rooms within them. People are sitting around waiting for the tournament. They were meant to be there to start.
Some people were sitting on their beds, nervously tapping their legs and staring into the distance. Others pulled out books to read while others checked over their gear, ensuring nothing had been left behind.
Norbert could see some pacing down the aisles, going back and forth around it. A couple Norbert could see were lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling as they waited for the time to pass. Taking out the coin from his pouch, Norbert began flicking it into the air as he breathed out of his helmet, watching the light come in and out as he waited, wondering what others would think of him.
Spotting number one hundred and one, the person was just a black orb floating in the middle of the bed; Norbert assumed he was inside doing whatever he felt like doing. Norbert watched; the others were now wondering what the next thing to happen was.
Knowing the only thing he could do was wait, looking at the bed and feeling it, wondering if he had just wasted two gold on an inn he wouldn't even be staying at. At least there, he had a place to put his stuff, as there wasn't even a chest for him to put any items in.
As Norbert waited there. Finally, a stirring came from one of the sides, everyone stirring at the sight of someone bee-lining towards them from the entrance from which Norbert had come. The stone under his feet echoed louder now as he seemed to slam them into the ground.
As the figure approached the group of beds, the person appeared smaller and smaller to Norbert as he stood up, pointing a finger as he realised who was coming towards him. "Stumpy, my man. What are you doing down here?" Norbert shouted, his voice echoing around the empty room, shattering the silence that everyone had created.
Stumpy stopped as he stared at Norbert, only his mouth moving, unable to hear what the petite guy said. Everyone was staring at him, giving the death eye as they started looking around, Norbert wondering if the slimes would turn up.
Surprised, and everyone got a look of relief on them as nothing popped up out of nowhere around them. Stumpy continued towards the group. He stopped in the centre of the sea of beds, with everyone going towards them.
"Thank you all for coming here and representing Morenas," Stumpy said as Norbert nodded, fighting all his instincts to start whistling, knowing it wouldn't end well for him. Clamping his hand over Obsius's beak to stop the bird from singing either, knowing now wasn't the time for it.
"For those who don't know, this is the interim room where you wait for your time. The nights you will go back to your lodgings. Other times, you will wait for your name and number to be called out." Stumpy said as he looked around, ensuring everyone was paying attention to what was said.
"Today will be the introductions; everyone, please follow me," Stumpy said, walking off to the left of where he had come in. Norbert heard a doorway scraping against stone as it tried to open. Norbert watched as, with a heave, it did.
The group followed after the little man, Norbert, who saw the black orb pop out of the corner of his eye. The man inside stepped onto the bed and followed afterwards.
Looking around at him, Norbert stepped forward, going into the crowd. Obsius and the white fox followed him, bending over to pick up the white fox, placing it on his right shoulder as Obsius landed on his left.
Others now stared at him as Norbert passed through the door, watching as they made their way through it. The same hallway leads them to go flat. A platform ahead as Norbert could see a passageway cut into the rock above them.
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Standing on Stumpy, waving to someone, Norbert couldn't see as the ground he was standing on started to rise. Surprised at the movement, as he thought back to what Luck said that elevators didn't exist, he wondered what she would think this was called.
Unable to ask the goddess now, surrounded by others who might spot her presence. Not knowing the amount of trouble would instantly place him in. Light beamed down from above as the stone ceiling opened up for them. He squinted at the harsh light coming in compared to the light of the runes, now drowned out.
Feeling the platform come to a halt, Norbert squinted as he looked around; the first thing hitting him was the cheers from above him. He placed his hand over his eyes as he looked around, finding himself where he thought they would end up: on the Colosseum floor.
They were surprised to find themselves again in an arena like this, looking towards the crowd and seeing similarities to the monkeys in the Hall trials he faced in their actions. Although there was a more excellent mix of types of people in front of him, they still acted the same.
Looking around the crowd, Norbert noticed a box office trailing around the top of the stadium. Norbert watched as he confirmed the heads of the nations standing together as they discussed. Up there was Commander Sally, Norbert nodding to her as she didn't even make a gesture that she had seen him.
That was until a person waved his hand from side to side at Norbert. Shaking his head in shock, Co, unit von Count, stood there, waving at him. Giving a slight wave back as the vampire turned to someone else in there that Norbert didn't recognise before moving someplace else.
Norbert, not noticing the crowd growing quiet as they stared at Norbert, who still had his hand in the air, finally started to hear a voice echoing over the area. "And over there with the waving man is the Country of Morenas. Now, everyone, please cheer!" The voice went over.
Everyone gave a half-hearted cheer at the group's arrival. They continued to stare at Norbert. Now, feeling like something was amiss, he looked around at the other groups, also standing on their platforms.
Finding one group of beast people, Norbert assumed they were from Arzatech staring at him as well. Some were confused about whether their ire should be directed towards him, while others looked him down like a bull. Assuming that Arzlan had told them about him, they were surprised that the lion man wasn't already there. I'm ready to charge him down after last time.
Casting his eyes further around Norbert, he saw two groups wrapped up in cloths as he looked up at the sun beating down on him, knowing that one group there would be the Grimm group, needing to cover themselves in cloth or else face what happened to Count von Count and the waitress from earlier.
The group walked forward, Norbert being pushed, and he joined the pack, now focusing back on the speaker, realising no words were being said that he understood, some chant coming out of their mouth. After several seconds, the first finished, one of the groups ahead of them, which was making the rounds, smiling and waving at the crowd, fist bumping the air and shouting in completion.
As the next group continued to sing in chorus with the next song, Norbert still did not understand what was said, sounding more like scrapes than anything else, realising that it was each group's anthems.
Wondering what Morena's anthem would be, he continued walking, waving at the crowd around them with his group as Norbert smiled.
"How do you know a vampire?" Someone asked over his shoulder. Looking at the fox as it continued to look around, ears pivoting around, getting all the sounds around them. Realising the fox hadn't talked, Norbert looked around, seeing number one hundred and one standing there.
Not even seeing Finekus walk up to him, making the hairs on the back of Norbert's neck stand on end before he forced himself to calm down. "You've seen him with me for a while now; why did you just ask?" Norbert asked Finekus.
Finekus just nodded as he continued to wave. Norbert looked around the crowd and said, "No clue he was one; no need to ask. So, how do you know him." He asked Norbert again.
Norbert just shrugged his shoulders. "Just picked me up and started following me. Not like I can stop him at all." Norbert stated as he continued to wave, looking up at the stadium box and trying to find Count von Count, the vampire as elusive as ever when he wanted to be.
Finekus just nodded along, waving at the others as he melted away back into the group. Norbert turned around, seeing that he was no longer next to him, letting the man be as he continued to wave.
Norbert continued to walk as the group in front of them cheered, and Norbert paid attention to what the speaker was saying.
"And for Morenas, we shall bash and …"
***
The next thing Norbert remembered was sitting back down in the bed, not believing the anthem's words.
"How can they say it with a straight face? How does anyone even let this country stand if THAT is their anthem," Norbert said, shaking his head, not believing the brutality of their statements.
Looking around, Norbert turns to his closest one. "But seriously, how does a country not just take us over if in the anthem it says 'we will place those against us in chains of bones'?" Norbert asked.
Someone shouting from far away, "What makes you think they haven't tried before!"