Page 4 of Hostile Holiday

She was yawning. “Yes. Thank you.”

He frowned. “Why are you so calm about this?”

“Oh, my family was trying to kill me for my organs, so at least here, I have a fighting chance. Literally.”

He paused and nodded. “Is that item grafted to you?”

He was pointing to her sweater on her left arm. It felt rather soothing, so she dried it out and then wrapped it up again. It felt lucky.

She wiggled her fingers, and he left her alone, closing the door to her cell behind him.

She settled in. Wearing a grey smock and drawstring pants, she held the sweater and tucked it under her head to get some rest. Apparently, there was orientation in the morning.

Chapter Two

Orla had introduced herself and signed a combat contract, and now, she was sitting and looking at the array of weapons she was allowed to use. She went for a gladius. It was short enough that she could use it and light enough that she could stab with it.

The administrator who was walking her through everything explained the reward system and the penalties. The penalties were percentages of her rewards and could be demanded of her opponent.

“Miss Orla, why are you so willing to go into the arena? Most would try and find a way out of it.”

“Avoiding difficulties doesn’t mean that they go away; it just means they hang over your head until next time.” She shrugged and settled her scabbard.

“Very wise. What kind of mage are you?” Telurn smiled, and his greying hair showed age that was not quantifiable. Mages aged slowly.

“I am not one. I was the family’s disappointment. All the promise and none of the power. My brother had his, and that had to be enough.”

“Your parents were both mages?”

“My father was... is a warlock, and my mother was a mage, but I don’t know what her skillset was. No one said, and she never mentioned it to me.”

“Well, you do have power in you. Perhaps you can work on learning what kind of power you have if you win a few bouts. Education is a reward you can earn.”

Orla blinked. “Oh. Well, okay. I was going to save it for a better outfit or maybe some new shoes.”

He stared and blinked. “You don’t have shoes?”

“No. My boots shrank from being dunked in river water.”

“That will be remedied before you train tomorrow. Do you have a patron?”

“A what?”

“No, of course not. You won’t until they have seen you move.”

“That doesn’t sound creepy at all, but as long as it’s remote, I don’t care.”

Telurn cocked his head. “What?”

“As long as they can’t touch me.”

“I see. No, we are in a dimensional bubble that has a temporal aspect. You will be returned to your world if you survive to the upper tier.”

“Lovely. Well, if I am going back to the moment that I left, I am going to get to work. So, you say I have to win to get magic instruction?”

“Technically, yes.” He smiled. “If there happens to be a mage or a grimoire in the common area, you can glean what you can from it.”

Orla nodded. “Right. I will do that.”

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