Bang!
“Get up newbie! The Cap wants to see ya’.”
Casey lurched up from the bed utterly confused. The room he had been taken to the night before had just been invaded by an ape of a man kicking in the door.
“Wha- who ar-”
“No time, put these on. You do NOT want to keep the Cap waitin’.” The man interrupted him while thrusting a bundle of clothes and a pair of boots into his arms. He then turned around and left the room. On the way out he tried to close the door only to flinch when one of the hinges broke off leaving the door hanging at an unnatural angle.
“What in the-” Casey stammered “Wait, where am I again?” As he looked around the room, his memories of the night before slowly returned. Turned out, the night had not in fact been a dream and he did not wake up back in his bed back home. Instead, he woke up in a room barely the size of a large master closet. It was mostly bare with walls made up of stone bricks. There was a single arched window on the wall opposite the door. The only furniture in the room consisted of the bed he had been sleeping in, a chair, a desk, and a wardrobe. His sword was resting in its sheath hanging on the bedpost.
“I guess I’m stuck here.” Shaking his head to clear his thoughts before they turned dark, Casey looked at the bundle of clothes he was holding.
He set aside the boots for the moment and unwrapped the clothes. They consisted of a pair of shorts that resembled boxers, a pair of long socks, black trousers, an off-white shirt, a black vest, and a dark grey cloak. As he dressed himself, he realized that the clothes fit surprisingly well. The trousers were a little short and the shirt was a little snug around his shoulders but they were still manageable.
Leaving the cloak on the bed, he went back to the boots. They were also black and were shined almost to the point that he could see his reflection. Putting them on over his trousers he found that they also fit. Again not perfect, a little large, but still surprising considering he hadn’t been measured. At least not while he was awake.
Shivering at that thought he bent over and picked up the cloak. “I should probably try to figure out how to get the clasp to work” He reached for his clasp which he had placed on the desk beside the bed. Again he was struck by how cold it felt in his grasp.
The clasp actually consisted of two pieces connected by a short chain made of the same bluish metal as the main pieces. The second piece wasn’t molded into the same fox head as the first one but was instead a plain disk about the size of a silver dollar. On the back of both pieces was a pin that would secure it to the cloth. Wrapping the cloak around his shoulders, Casey attached the clasp and secured the cloak.
The man from before chose that moment to barge in again. “Come on, move it. We’re already late.”
“Hold on-” Before he could finish speaking the man grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out into the hall. He easily fended off any of Casey’s attempts at freeing himself and took off down the corridor at a brisk pace.
“Wait! Could you at least tell me who you are before you drag me off to god knows where?”
Glancing down at Casey with an annoyed look the man said “Gods, not god they hate being singled out. The name’s Conrad, Conrad Baro. And I told you already, I’m taking you to see the Captain who asked to see the new guy, which is you.” Letting go of his collar the man continued “Hurry it up or I’ll start dragging ya’ again.”
Dusting himself off Casey followed behind him and tried to remember what the book said about this Conrad Baro. As far as physical descriptions go he stood easily five or six inches over Casey at around six-foot-eight. He had dark hair kept in a short style similar to modern military men. He had dark skin, dark eyes, and a long silver scar cut across his nose and under both eyes. He was wearing similar clothes to Casey, only his cloak was different. His was a dark crimson matching the one Ronin wore. There was also a sword hanging at his waist.
According to the book, he was one of the Senior Riders in charge of training the new recruits in combat. Apparently training under him was not a pretty sight. “Wait if I’m supposed to be a new Rider, does that mean I have to go through his training” Thinking of this possibility caused his steps to falter slightly which earned a glare from the Senior Rider.
His thoughts drifted to the Captain that Conrad was taking him to. He remembered that her surname was Rowan but couldn’t think of her first name. Most of the riders just called her Captain. Despite this nickname, she was not actually a captain. Her true title was the Knight Commander of the Order of the Fox. This meant that she held the highest position in the Order, second only to the Queen and, in certain circumstances, the King.
She also had one of the rare fox clasp artifacts that gave her another ability beyond the base enhancements. This was the ability to see the inner character of anyone she meets. She also happened to be one of the few who knew of the affair currently taking place between Sara and Ronin. Thinking about how he so bluntly blurted out that he knew of said affair to the actual participants he flinched slightly.
“Weird, I feel like I’m forgetting something very important about her though” After thinking for a moment, he just shrugged and continued walking. He’d meet her in a moment anyways.
As he was collecting his thoughts, they came to a room that looked a bit like a reception area complete with a desk and an attendant. Behind her were two large wooden doors, presumably the commander’s office. The attendant looked up from her papers and pushed up her glasses as they walked in.
“Ah Senior Rider Baro, I will inform the Commander that you have arrived.” She got up from her desk and walked to the doors. She knocked and stuck her head in while saying something to the person inside.
A loud shout called out from within the room. “Oh they’re finally here? Well send them in already!”
The attendant turned to them and said. “She is ready for you.”
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