Somnium Online

Knight Exam

Eric woke from his rest as the carriage jolted to a halt.

He was lying sideways, his head in Anne's lap. her hand was placed on his head protectively and she was... snoring loudly?

That figured. Of course, she had fallen asleep watching him fall asleep.

Anne stirred and cracked an eye open. She yawned and stretched. Eric sat upright. After rubbing the sleep from their eyes, Eric opened the carriage door.

It was dark outside, and a dirt driveway was illuminated by flickering torches. On the far end of the driveway was a blocky stone castle keep. On either side were a series of wooden longhouses which Eric could only assume were bunk rooms.

Anne led Eric into the keep, which to his surprise was actually a large circular colosseum with a freshly raked sand floor, and tiered seating.

Anne and Eric approached a group of men, each looking to be in their late teens and early twenties or so, wearing full plate armor and carrying large ornate swords.

Anne saluted and they returned the gesture. Anne turned to Eric. "These men will be assessing your abilities today. Before you begin, would you please put on this ring. It blocks your magical abilities."

Eric saluted and accepted the plain silver band. He placed it firmly on his finger.

Anne nodded. "Alright, when you're ready please enter the arena. Your test will then begin."

Eric smiled and stepped to the edge of the wall that surrounded the arena floor, protecting the spectators.

He turned around to face Anne and the judges, saluted, and then fell backward into a dive.

"Initiating programs," N shouted gleefully. "This is going to be fun!"

Eric hit the sand and rolled off the impact. A plume of sand shot up from where he had landed and rained down around him.

He looked around. The arena was circular, with smooth walls. There was a gate with iron bars over it to the north, south, east, and west.

It reminded him a lot of the pit Anne had thrown him into when they were training in the dungeon, in fact, it looked exactly like the pit.

Eric stood in the middle of the arena and drew his sword, it's dark blade gleamed in the moonlight.

The gate in front of him clanked open, and there was a deep roar from behind it.

Up in the stands, Anne's eyes widened. "What did you do Quentin?" She demanded.

The knight next to her shook his head slowly. "It's more like what did you do. Bringing a mere boy into your division is one thing, most of us ate young enough, but appointing a man you've only met recently as your second in command?"

Anne wanted to strangle him. Her eyes were cold. "So what's his test?" She asked.

Quentin grinned and put his feet up on the seat in front of him. "You'll see."

Eric watched as a large shambling form emerged from behind the gate. It was something out of a nightmare. Eric had faced down the undead many times, but this creature was a true monster.

It had the appearance of a large feline, but its tail was covered in wicked barbs and spines. Its faces, though skeletal could only be described as that of a demon with sharp horns jutting out. Its eyes glowed with the same blue fiery intelligence as the fish he had slain.

It was a bone devil.

Anne's jaw dropped. "Quentin, you've gone too far. This is practically murder you can't make him fight that thing!"