"Get the fuck off me!" I thrashed and snarled, limbs flailing as strong hands dragged me through the portal.

One moment I was trading blows under clear blue skies, and the next, I was in a cavernous chamber of gray stone. Arched ceilings loomed high above me, draped in banners I didn't recognize. Magically lit sconces flickered along the walls, painting grim faces in harsh light.

When those hands released me, my injured leg gave out and I crumpled to the floor like a sack of shit.

A tall, gray-skinned man stepped forward. "Finally we meet, Earl HEnshaw." His lean frame and big yellow-owl eyes didn't look predatory, but his scarred face and intense look held the promise of violence all the same. "Welcome to the Waldren Perch"

I held a hand up to stop him talking. "Just give me a chair," I muttered, "or something to hold on to. Not splattered here like a fucking afterthought."

He studied me for a moment longer before beckoning to one of his men. There was a scrape of wood, and a chair thudded down beside me.

I swatted away a helping hand and dragged myself into the chair. Then shifted again, gripping the back of the chair so I was standing upright, grimacing as fresh pain lanced through my leg. "Ah, that's better," I lied.

They were all staring at me like I was on Netflix. I glared at each of them in turn until my eyes landed back on the main guy. Now I was standing, I could see he was about a foot taller than me. He had weird ridges across a bald head that was even more scarred than his face. "Let's try this again."

As he spoke, I skimmed his stats:

Name: Onlan Anila

Title: ---

Level: 42

Class: Warrior/Tradesman

"It's good to have you here, Earl. Thank you for joining us."

"Who's 'us'?" I grunted. "I'm guessing the Siroth, yeah?"

He nodded. "That is correct. We staged a revolt on Velkyn to recover you. Amongst other things. I'm still waiting to hear the full extent of our mission's effectiveness."

"Cool. Hope it goes well. What happens for me? I'm assuming I'm not going back to fighting in that tournament." I threw a thumb over my shoulder at where the portal had been and instantly regretted it as my leg flared up again.

A ripple of quiet chuckles filled the room as Onlan replied. "No, that won't be possible. Unfortunately, the Union Tournaments won't be available to you for quite some time. You should be able to enter some of the higher leveled tournaments once your existence has been forgotten and we have a false identity set up for you. Until then, you can develop your skills and wits in the Foundry, when you aren't needed."

"Foundry?" I asked, strongly reconsidering my decision to stand.

"It's an underground fighting circuit. Most Union worlds have active tournaments. They're as popular and as complex as the official tournaments, though not quite as pretty."

"Sounds good to me. Point me in the direction, and if I can get my leg healed up, I'll dive straight in."

Laughter pealed from Onlan at a far higher in pitch than I ever would have expected from the big man. It was like nails on a chalkboard. Lucky for him, I couldn't move from my perch.

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"Tanl said you were ferocious," he said, thankfully ending the dying pig noise. "I will have mages attend you as soon as possible. After that, we need to get you accustomed to your new station in life as part of the Siroth. We have far bigger plans for you than just brawling in the Union underbelly."

I didn't like the sound of living life someone else's 'big' plans. I scowled at his words, but he appeared not to notice.

"We can discuss that later, for now, please sit and make yourself comfortable while I take reports."

I plonked myself back on the chair, trying to hide the true pain in my knee as some invisible force jabbed it with a red hot poker. "Fine by me."

Then I was forgotten as he turned to the other men. "What was the situation when you left?"

A burly grunir, one of the men who'd pulled me through answered. "The streets were wild! Even though they were expecting something from us, they were woefully under-prepared."

I checked his identifier:

Name: Tunka Pildin

Title: ---

Level: 28

Class: Warrior/Tradesman

Onlan nodded thoughtfully. "And did many of the citizens react well to our presence?"

"They did," Tunka replied. "Plenty making the most of the excuse to hurl hate. With a little bit of encouragement from our echoes, there were more'n a few government buildings going up in flames. It was a good day."

I barely had a clue what they were talking about, but Onlan's head bobbed along, stern faced and full of keen interest. "Do we know if Warden Anso appeared?"

"Oh yeah!" Tunka cheered. "He came just as the target arrived at the portal."

I realized he was talking about me. "It's Earl, yer ignorant wanker."

He grinned over. "Aye, Earl."

"I would have come through had I known," Onlan said in a low growl, but Tunka shook his head.

"No time. His Augur made a mobile portal and they were on us like flies on shite."

"And then?" Onlan pressed, his fists clenched.

"I shot him with an arrow," another answered. A tall woman wearing a cloak that covered most of her features. "It hit just behind his breastplate. He will recover sadly."

"Aye, but it was a fine shot," Tunka said. "Gave him something to think about."

"Not as much as Stanis," the woman replied.

Onlan's brow rose. "Stanis?"

"Yep." The grunir said. "Dead as a Radelin orphan in winter. Spear to the face by our new acquisition." He thrust a chunky, ash-stained finger at me. "Ain't that right Earl?"

Everyone in the room turn to look at me. I shrugged, not knowing for certain who Stannis was, though I suspected he was the gold-armored dickhead who'd tried to trap me in a magical barrier.

"How?" Onlan asked, looking at me with amazement. Tunka answered for me. "Stannis threw a shield around him. We couldn't get him out. Lost a couple of spears in the trying. Turns out," he waved me with a beaming grin. "Earl wasn't affected by it. Pretended to be though, and when Stanis came in range he just stabbed straight through like it was nothing. Hit right in the gap of the bastard's helmet."

Those who weren't there gasped, as Tunka continued. "Went that deep it rang the back of his helm like a bell."

Onlan's eyes had widened at the retelling and turned back to me. "Is this the magical resistance we've been hearing about?"

I gave a half-smile, leaning back in the chair. "Well, I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but I'd say it sounds pretty fucking likely, doesn't it?"

"How does it work?"

I winced apologetically and glanced around the room. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it's one of my rules to not give it all up on the first date. I'm a delicate flower."

I noticed Onlan's fists clenched at my response, though he made no move toward me. "I assure you," he said, voice strained. "That you can trust everybody in this room." His eyes locked onto mine, as if expecting me to cave. After a couple of uncomfortable seconds, he gave up. "Very well. I'm sure we will earn your trust soon enough. You have struck a great blow for us today, Earl. One that will not be forgotten. You have weakened the House of Garazal with his death."

"Nice. I reckon I could have killed a few more if I had time. The one with the arrow in him looked like a right handful, but the rest were useless. The one guarding Stanis stood there like a plank when I killed him. What kind of shitty soldiers are they?"

"They're a tougher than they look," Tunka said. "House guard of Prime Garazal. We're just lucky we outnumbered them."

"Indeed," Onlan replied. "But hopefully you'll be able to kill more on missions to come."

"Missions?" I asked, the frown on my face hopefully making it clear what I thought about that.

"Yes. We have unrest to sow! The Siroth are growing in power once more and we have powerful allies in the shadows."

"Great! But I didn't sign up for any of that shit. I'm just here to fight. Slap me in this Foundry so I can kick some ass. Oh, and don't forget the armor and gloves that your man promised me."

Onlan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, like he was preparing for an argument he didn't want. He was saved from answering as another portal opened.

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