The Manticores were finishing up the arena as Lardeth recovered. Arsha noticed that the inside of the circumference was lined with springs pointing inwards. A circular piece of material was then hooked up to the springs. \u201cA trampoline?\u201d asked Arsha. \u201cI had one of those when I was a little girl. Went too high at one point and landed in a way that broke my leg.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOuch!\u201d winced Delselii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat would mean you lose this trial,\u201d remarked Boltuk. The crowd then returned. The size of it somewhere between the first trial and the second. \u201cWe have seen these outsiders pass two of the six trials!\u201d Boltuk called to the crowd. \u201cThey are physically and emotionally strong, but what of their agility?! How well can they dodge?! Will they be able to make good enough decisions and quick enough changes in direction?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a dodging trial?\u201d asked Bashoon. \u201cLet me in on that action! Goblins are only rivaled by halflings in our ability to make quick getaways!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBashoon, wait!\u201d hissed Delselii. \u201cWhat if it\u2019s something you can\u2019t see?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where the ears come in.\u201d Her ears flapped to back up her words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Very well.\u201d Delselii stepped back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood luck, Lieutenant,\u201d wished Arsha. Bashoon took off her shoes, then stepped into the ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou believe your shoes will slow you down?\u201d asked Boltuk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, just don\u2019t want to tear the trampoline,\u201d replied Bashoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Very considerate.\u201d Boltuk then turned to the crowd. \u201cBring forth the Casters!\u201d Three Manticores then came out of the gates and took to the air surrounding the ring. \u201cDodge their magic blasts within a minute\u2019s time!\u201d he instructed Bashoon. \u201cOne hit and you fail the trial! Begin!\u201d The Manticores fired on Bashoon, and she bounced upwards, dodging the blasts. One then fired near her, forcing her to twist out of the way in mid-air. Another one followed a milli-second later and she twisted out of the way again. There was a rapid-fire series of shots and Bashoon stayed ahead of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c10 seconds so far,\u201d muttered Patrica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019ll falter,\u201d remarked Boltuk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know Goblins as well as I do,\u201d retorted Arsha. \u201cHeck, you don\u2019t know Bashoon Barmek as well as I do. She takes any bit of adversity, and she makes the best out of the situation. Whenever she has a problem, she finds a solution.\u201d The magic blasts soon became more erratic in their timing. Bashoon yelped as she twisted in the air, hoping to gain some speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHalf a minute remains,\u201d remarked Boltuk. Another caster then joined the fray and fired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, come on!\u201d groaned Bashoon. With more shots added to the mix, she had to make decisions faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t hear you summon another!\u201d protested Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI assure you, it\u2019s part of the trial,\u201d replied Boltuk. Bashoon kept leaping out of the way, but the added caster made things more difficult. Finally, they all prepared for a simultaneous shot. They were matching her movements and the blasts were getting bigger by the second! When Bashoon went into the air, they fired. There was only one choice, she dove OUT of the ring. She then looked to her team as the blasts hit each other and made a brilliant light. Her team then rushed up to her, leaving Falnii to continue her dream-weaving for Lardeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Captain,\u201d she mumbled. \u201cI felt like I had no choice! It was going to\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith that done,\u201d called Boltuk to the crowd, \u201call trials of Strength are passed!\u201d Bashoon then looked at Boltuk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWait, I won?! Bu-but I went outside the ring!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the trial were still continuing, the casters would have targeted you regardless of whether or not you stepped out of the ring. The only way you could have lost is by being hit. I never said a ring-out would mean a loss. You could have run along the outside edge of the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME I COULD HAVE USED THE WHOLE ARENA?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven the stands.\u201d Bashoon fell to her knees, groaning at the whole thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI made things way too hard for myself!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeems that way. In any event, like I said, the trials of strength are over. We will rest as we prepare the remaining three trials.\u201d The crowd departed and left the team to their devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAwake,\u201d Falnii said softly. Lardeth then yawned and stretched as if he slept through the night. He then looked around the arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDid\u2026did we\u2026?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBashoon won the last trial for us,\u201d replied Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThough, I made it harder on myself,\u201d remarked Bashoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen why aren\u2019t we at the next trial?\u201d asked Lardeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re gonna be waiting for them to set up the next stage,\u201d answered Foresna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026My opponent. The one who jabbed me with her stinger. What happened to her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was dishonored after attacking you. If I were a betting boy, though, she\u2019s probably run to Oyed to tell him the news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foresna would have won that bet. Nedola made her way to Oyed\u2019s chambers. She bowed before an altar. \u201cMighty Oyed, I have news that must be reported in spite of how bad they are.\u201d A black mist came into the room and coalesced into Oyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou may speak,\u201d he directed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRealmfleet\u2019s found the entrance. Their team passed two trials. I tried to kill one as you ordered, but they knocked me aside, gave my target the anti-venom, and shamed me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomeone undid your work?! I ordered their deaths!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBoltuk disobeyed those orders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Boltuk Bloodwing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe same.\u201d Oyed gnashed his teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was there when I gave the order publicly! He was supposed to kill them outright!\u201d Oyed drew in a breath. \u201cI need to think on how to salvage this. In the meantime, report to Dr. Borg to have that mark removed from your forehead. It doesn\u2019t suit a loyal follower like you. Thank you for bringing this to my attention as quick as you could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI live to serve you, My Lord.\u201d Nedola then headed to the door. Oyed sat in a chair and steepled his fingers as he thought. \u201cIf we had the numbers,\u201d muttered Nedola, \u201cwe could make an example of them.\u201d She then left the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a frightening statement in and of itself,\u201d Oyed mumbled to himself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Manticores were finishing up the arena as Lardeth recovered. Arsha noticed that the inside of the circumference was lined with springs pointing inwards. A circular piece of material was then hooked up to the springs. \u201cA trampoline?\u201d asked Arsha. \u201cI had one of those when I was a little girl. Went too high at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,237],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-4075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-4-trials-of-light-and-dark","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4075"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4076,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4075\/revisions\/4076"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}