He was finishing off the meal. Norbert was placing his cutlery neatly on his plate. The servers came through, taking the plates and placing the next one in front of the remaining two occupants. While doing this, the rest of the table was cleared off. Norbert looked down at the long, empty table to one side, with only a seat between himself and the witch.
As the desert was placed in front of him, Norbert looked down at the cake. As he stared at it, a feeling of déjà vu came over him. Knowing he had never been here before but still tickling at the back of his mind. Squashing it down, he took the spoon and cut into the brown cake he hoped to be chocolate.
Piercing it, a warm, flowing moose came out of its insides, steam wafting up from within the desert. He scooped it up and twirled the spoon around for a moment, getting all of the liquid mouse to attach to the spoon before placing the entire thing in his mouth.
The soothing dark liquid entered his mouth, sticking to his tongue and throat as he swallowed it. The only thought coming to his mind in relief. It was, in fact, chocolate. The rich chocolate flavour buttered his mouth, filling it with flavour even after nothing was left on the spoon.
Taking the spoon out of his mouth with an audible pop, Norbert went in for another helping. Picking it up, half the cake was already gone on the second swipe, a slight shame that it couldn't last for longer. Norbert also placed it in his mouth, moaning audibly when it hit his tongue.
"How did you change the room around?" Norbert asked Vivienne.
The witch was just smiling at him as she took another spoonful and placed it in her mouth. Norbert saw her twist the spoon around before pulling the clean spoon out of her mouth.
Norbert just shook his head as the woman continued to eat in silence. "I'm just going to chalk it up to magic shenanigans in this place," Norbert muffled aloud. He took the last spoon of cake into his mouth and scratched it around on the plate to pick up the last pieces, not wanting to waste any of the crumbs or moose currently stuck to his plate.
Finishing it off together, Norbert sat there, leaning back in the chair and staring at the ceiling. The chandelier in the centre of the room with their candles, wax dribbling down them and catching onto the basins.
Norbert sees black snakes on the ceiling, their shimmering green scales depicting an incredible tangle above. As Norbert trailed with his eyes, the snakes slithering and moving as one, spinning about themselves and slowly progressing across the ceiling.
Turning to Vivienne, Norbert asked the witch, "So what now? After your little introduction, I'm off the hook and can go anywhere in the city?" Norbert asked the question aloud.
"Most of the time, yes. However, when you go to the tournament to fight in, your appearance in your usual gear must be seen. When you go around the street, you must remove any identifying features you normally wear when fighting," Vivienne explained to Norbert.
He nodded as he looked down at his tuxedo, with no weapons strapped to his legs and no black helmet with a red glowing light on his head. His face wasn't shown when he constantly wore the helmet when fighting. But still, his presence would be needed for the Kreevss, or else they may come back here. And the strange guest of Viviennes may be their first target of many.
"Anything you want me to look at or talk about?" Norbert asked Vivienne.
With a wave of her hand in dismissal, Norbert nodded as he stood up from the table and headed towards the door.
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"And where are you going?" The witch asked Norbert. Turning around, she saw her hand on top, two snakes coming from underneath her arm, and motionless black beings staring directly at Norbert, waiting for him to move.
"Above," Norbert said as he pointed up to the ceiling, Vivienne's eyes following his direction up to the ceiling of the room.
Vivienne also went up from the table with a shrug, and the servers came through, cleaning up the remaining plates. Vivienne headed towards the main doors, and Norbert followed after her. The two of them walked up the stairs as Norbert went past her when coming to the landing, heading to the room he was given.
Opening the door about to enter, Vivienne shouted down the hall, "Please don't cause any more trouble, for the sake of both our wellbeing."
Norbert nodded his head as he walked in, closing the door behind him. Looking in the wardrobe, he didn't find any plain clothes for him to wear. Opening up the chest and rifling through the sack, he found one of his spare sets of clothing a scout would use. Thinking it wouldn't matter as long as he wasn't masked, Norbert wore them, skipping the leather coat, just the undershirt and pants, feeling the loose fabric flap around his arms.
Attaching his belt with his coins, dagger, and knife to him, Norbert patted himself down, confirming nothing was out of place. Shutting the chest, Norbert went downstairs again, passing the mirror as he paused, confirming that nothing was amiss or identifying him. With a satisfied nod, Norbert continued, heading down the stairs and out of the mansion.
Standing on the steps, looking at the rock garden in the front, surrounded by the iron gate, Norbert stepped through it, opening it without a single squeak coming from the metal. The empty street opened for him once again.
Walking down it, heading towards the stadium, Norbert remembered the maps Vivienne had shown him. Taking note of the way around, he looked for the closest junction to get above ground.
Spotting the pillar rising into the air tens of meters away, Norbert walked along the paths, whistling as he did so. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, as someone flying over the heads would raise the suspicion he was trying not to gather onto himself.
So, walking around, he did; as he went close to the nation, nobody kept to him. No longer getting the stares he had the first time he walked around here, Norbert wondered what change had happened to him.
He shrugged it away, happy he wasn't being raided and hounded by anyone, and there were no detours to random alleys as he found the steps. Taking one at a time, Norbert made his way up the spiral structure, hearing several other footsteps on the staircase as well, all coming the same way he was.
No longer rising, Norbert went up out of the staircase and found himself in a wardrobe. Clothes were around his head as he stepped out, and a busy clothes shop was around him. A rainbow of colours was all around him, rolls of fabric and thread stacked high on one wall of the shop.
"Evening, sir. May I interest you in our wares?" One of the assistants asked, signalling Norbert out instantly and looking about the store, I saw several other people of all sorts and shapes also being caught within the con the shop had set up. Others only having a quick conversation before wrapped bags were brought out, with a wave they left the shop, the doorbell ringing of someone escaping from the trap set up.
Shaking his head, Norbert looked down at himself. "Can you cut with the local style?" Norbert asked them.
The assistant nodded his head like it was the most sensible decision ever. "Ah yes, a splendid choice, sir. Come this way to have yourself measured." They said to Norbert.
Nodding his head in understanding, he followed the assistant into the back of the shop. Curtains closed around Norbert as a tape measure came out, and his body was arranged like a marionette into whatever position was needed.
Before Norbert knew it, the curtain was drawn open, bearing the shop to Norbert as directed. "That will be a silver for payment. The clothes will be ready by tomorrow. Is there a name for it to be under?" They asked Norbert.
Nodding his head, "Norbert." He reached into his coin pouch and provided the appropriate coinage before walking out of the store. The bright moon shone overhead, and Norbert did not know how much time he had spent waiting around as he breathed in the fresh air.
The wind tickled at his face, blowing through his hair. He took a single step to the side, allowing others to walk in and out of the sandstone shop. He stood there, eyes closed, and the wind blew over him.
Feeling revitalised by it, Norbert snapped his eyes open, looked across the other side, and stepped onto the street, heading away from the Colosseum. Remembering Lady Luck's words on finding the temple, Norbert headed off to the city's outskirts.