Hey LapisGollum again I wanted to post it sooner but my good for nothing proofreaders didn't finish the chapter until now. I'm only kidding Xathridex and another two friends who don't have accounts have been helping me but all of us are fairly new at all of this. Please point out spelling mistakes and the like it will help me with my work in the future. I'm hoping to post another chapter by the end of the week maybe today even. Thank you for your time reading this story. This chapter is actual plot instead of backstory so enjoy. The first few chapters are going to be a little slow as I introduce characters and plot to this story. To put that into perspective this chapter is like half an hour in total.
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Chapter 1-Ceremony
The crowd in front of the stage is quiet, The hustle and bustle of town can just be heard in the small theatre. The building is old and nearly all the seats have been removed, It more closely resembles a fighting pit at this point. Many of the onlookers are clad in armour made of metal and leather. The faintest hint of blood is present mingling among the sweat covering the gruff looking people. Each of them hold different weapons glaives, swords, bows and many other other sharp weapons, very few wield hammers and quarter staffs. A woman clad in a steel scale mail chest piece with a chain mail skirt and leather boots, stands on a stage above the crowd. She has a pretty face, with low cheekbones. Scars adorn her face and hands, and her short cut hair give her a fierce aura. Her muscles bulge out of her shirt slightly and she stands straight as she addresses the crowd.
“You all know the sacrifice of an adventurer!” She announces, “We give our lives to this city the first sacrifice. We are shunned as lazy thrill seekers our second sacrifice. And none know our deeds when we die stopping evil in the wretched halls beneath us. If you want to be a hero go back 500 years and help the church of three defeat the Lich king, there are no heroes here only those brothers and sisters among us. Today we do not hunt however, today we welcome three brothers and sister with open arms. Like newborns they enter our world naked”
After her speech the curtain behind the woman drops, she moves aside and motions with her arms as if presenting some dancer or actor. Five changing stalls reveal themselves. Whoops and whistles echo through the theatre as the onlookers stare at the newbies standing naked in the stalls. A girl suddenly shrieks and a wave of laughter rolls through the crowd. One of the girls onstage desperately tries to cover herself with her small hands. She collapses to the ground on the verge of tears, doing her best to cover herself. A second girl looks a little bewildered, she then smiles. She begins flexing her muscles and displays herself like an artist's muse. She covers herself but plays it off as tasteful posing. People begin cheering and whistling at the displays of strength. Two boys quite obviously twins step out of the stalls and approach the posing girl. They flank her and begin mimicking her movements. Obviously fishing for praise like the girl. They are muscly, although more so toned that brawny like scarred woman. The only real difference is the one on the right has a slight barely noticeable gap in his teeth and his nose is bent slightly to the left. The last initiate was a fairly tall dark haired teen, the faintest bit of stubble around his face. On his torso is a large ‘Y’ scar stretching from his shoulders to the middle of his sternum and then down to his groin. A worried expression betrays his previously stoic expression and he quickly turns around. A few people jeer at him.The woman raises her hand and everyone quiets down. A faint sobbing can be heard. Some attendants climb onto the stage and hand robes to each of the naked people on stage.
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“Now that al-” The woman starts, the room erupts into noise, as people slam their staves on the ground or stomp their feet. The action causes the whole building to shake as every other noise is drowned out. Civilians on the street move away from the swaying building that sounds as if a stampede is moving through it. The woman waits with a blank face, although the corner of her mouth is twitched up in a smile. The room quiets down after a few moments and the woman begins to speak again. “As I was saying, now tha-” The room once again erupts into stomping and clapping. The woman on stage is a little impatient now but she still has a good nature twinkle in her eye. When the stomping stops she once again speaks. “Are we done now? Everyone got it out of their system?” She pauses for a moment and nobody makes any moves, or says anything. “Now all that is finished. All of us have seen you naked, you shouldn’t mind telling us about yourselves then.” She flashes the five people standing on stage a big grin. She pauses for a moment, silence grips the theatre. The previously busy street is silent after the vigorous noise coming from within the building, half-scared and half-excited for what’s to come. After a few moments the woman on stage breaks the silence, “no takers eh, alright alright I’ll go first then. The name is Nancy, I’ve been guild leader longer than the average adventurer lives. Don’t go askin’ a woman about her age though, The last man who asked me that still can’t walk right” her joke elicits a few nervous chuckles from the crowd.
The girl who was previously flexing steps forward. “My name is Griffen” she announces, “I’m good with shafted weapons and swords too” that comment sends the crowd into a round of laughs. Griffen gives a quick glance towards the other girl on stage, before she speaks up again. “And I don’t know about you lot, but I’m gonna beat the shit out of the group whistling at me from the back over their. I see you in the back there George, you can’t hide from me. I know your wife” The clanking of armour could be heard as the people beside the one named George slapped him on the back with their metal greaves. Griffen sticks her tongue out at the crowd, mostly towards George’s group in the back.
The two fair haired twins step forward next. In unison they both begin speaking “Hello guild mates” the one with a slightly crooked nose speaks up alone this time. “My name is Bruce” hi brother chimes in next “And I am Gary”. They both speak in unison again, “you can call us the dynamic duo”. They bend their knees and form fists. They connect them together forming an arch with their bodies. “More like double trouble” someone shouts from the crowd, a new wave of good humored laughter rolls through the crowd. They both back up chuckling to themselves.
The next person who speaks up is the dark haired boy. The robe behind him would look almost regal on him if it wasn’t ragged and tattered. A smile quickly spreads across his face displacing his worried look. “I’m Kevin Dale, uhh not much more than that” He says. A light murmur rises from the crowd. Second names were not common, they were reserved for the upper class. The boy steps back into his previous position.
The last girl steps up next, tears still biting at the corner of her eyes. “My name is Claire” she says. She quickly runs across the stage and pulls back her fist, in front of her Kevin’s eyes go wide. Her fist flies down and punches him straight in the jaw. His neck spins upward and he falls. His jaw is now at an awkward angle and blood is pulling out of his mouth. Her middle finger is broken. She spits on him, “That’s what you get for being an asshole, this is why you didn’t tell me about the entrance ceremony?”. She circles around the stage and back to her spot of the stage. Her expression is pained, but she forces a scowl on her face. After a moment of silence clapping erupts from the crowd as the Kevin’s body is tended to. Nancy speaks up “Now to begin the adventurers auction”