Read Among The Stars :: That Old Garbage Heap

"So. We've got a show off, huh?" The captain seemed displeased, like her doing well was bad. "Well, if you're so good, maybe we can upgrade you.. to the advanced course!" He led her to a menacing structure, an old pile of moldy wood that looked like it would fall down if you so much as snapped your appendages nearby. "Go on in, if you think you can. If not, we can always accommodate- and put you on latrine duty for a pymno!"

She mustered the courage to go in, knowing it was probably more dangerous than trying to steal a baby Aphelion. As she walked in cautiously, trying to step lightly, she looked around and saw a rafter in the ceiling crack. She wondered how old the run-down place was (calling it a building seemed a little too generous). Her foot came down on a plate in the floor, and something clicked. She ducked instinctively, and right above her head whooshed dozens of arrows! Real ones, not the fake ones on the other course! She knew that if she went too slow and stepped on another disguised plate, she could possibly never leave this old dump heap. So, she did the best thing she could: tried to dash through as quick as possible.

She sped through, activating several more plates that threw axes, swung clubs, and even shot bullets at her! Luckily, she somehow made it through with no more than a few scrapes from sharp bits sticking out of walls, until the final stretch. She must have been no more than four kyolg from the door, when she tripped on a loose piece of wood. As she fell, she triggered a tripwire that splashed some kind of red, sticky substance. It seemed harmless, until it started to burn her feathers! She stumbled in pain as she tried to make it to the door, and barely got through.