"How did you end up in this place?" It was a question that many asked him nowadays. The man stood in the doorway and laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." The other person looked at him completely focused. "Try me." The man walked into the light.
Algrim Jungle 3:04 a.m.
Amaroq looked at the dense jungle. Grey was in there somewhere and he was going to find him. Amaroq looked at his sword. Ralph had probably killed the person that stole Amaroq's sword. Not matter. He was just glad to have it back. He retraced his steps to Greys house. The signs of struggle were evident. Grey was here. Now, however he was gone. Amaroq looked at the sky. "Where are you," he thought. Amaroq walked back to the forest edge. "I guess I'm going to have to look the old fashioned way, by word of mouth."
It took him three days to get to the desert. The harsh terrain had since been unforgiving. Amaroq wiped his brow, wincing as a drop of sweat burned his eye. He had been wandering the desert for days. Water, as is usually in the desert, had been scarce and he had yet to find an oasis. Amaroq took a piece of the now dwindling supply of snake meat. His mouth immediately reacted to the meat, saliva pouring into his jaw as he tasted the hint of meat. Finishing the bite he took out a red rock about the size of a piece of bubble gum and tossed it into his mouth. Being careful not to swallow, Amaroq continued to suck on the stone. It provided the necessary amount of water he needed to get through the day. Night was falling now, and Amaroq had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. He nestled into a makeshift bed he made out of sand and his shirt.
He didn't know how long it had been since it happened all he knew was that he was thankful for the ride, even if it was a prison caravan. He had food, water, and a sweltering hot place to sleep. It was perfect. His joy was cut short though when the sudden motion jarred him to the back of the wagon. He looked out of the bars at the shadow of the castle before him. The people driving the wagon whispered one word "Uurg."
The massive gates towered overhead, and he could hear the chains creek as the drawbridge lowered. The caravan echoed as the horses clopped down the cobblestone road. They stopped outside of a huge building that stretched as far as the eye could see. He was curious, but he kept quiet. The door opened and Amaroq was ushered out. "15 flights and counting" thought Amaroq. After about 40 flights, they stopped at a door. The door was inlaid with gold, a silver border, and a Dragon crest in the middle. The door opened into a totally white yawning chasm. "Send him to the dark room." Amaroq was knocked out. He awoke to find himself in a pitch black room. Amaroq stood up, warily keeping his head low. And the training started. After training I was taken to a cell. "And that's how I ended up here." Amaroq looked at the man and was amazed to find he wasn't laughing.
"Better start working out, cause you'll need it if they're sending you to the dark room. I work out every day, with hanging sit-ups, crunches, and prone cobras. Then I cool down with handstand pushups. You're welcome to work out with me if you want." "Thanks. I may just take you up on that offer." Amaroq was exhausted, and passed out. The guard woke him early the next morning. "Get up; it's time for your training. Amaroq was led to a new room, this time the door was blue.
He entered and stared in amazement at what was before him. His sword stood there in the ground, implanted in 5 feet of concrete. Only the 1 foot sword hilt was sticking out of the ground. "You must be able to pull the sword from the concrete with one motion; you are too weak for the dark room right now. When you have pulled the sword from the stone, then I will consider letting you in the dark room." The guard left and Amaroq went to the sword. He pulled and he pulled but nothing happened. Not even one inch of the sword moved. In the end, he was taken back to the cell, exhausted and beat. His cell mate was waiting in the cell. "How was training?" "Horrible, they took me to a new room. My sword was buried in five feet of concrete, and I can't leave that room until I have pulled it out with one swing of my arm." "Ah yes, the dreaded blue room; I remember when I had to do that. Although I didn't have a sword and so I had to use a standard sword. It took me three months to get that sword out without breaking it. You better start working out."
Although he didn't want to, Amaroq did as the man said, and three months later, he was nothing but muscle. His biceps bulged as he did one handed pull ups. His abs moved, flexing as he did hanging crunches. "Oh ho, now you are ready. Go get your sword." Amaroq waited intently for the guard. At long last the guard came and ushered Amaroq to the blue room. Amaroq walked into the room, grabbed the sword, and with one swing of his arm, pulled the sword out. "Well done, now on to the dark room." Amaroq was finally ready.
When they got to the dark room, Amaroq was thrust inside. The first thing Amaroq heard was the whistle of a stick being sent in his direction. He dodged the stick only to be hit by a bamboo pole. When Amaroq walked out of the room, He was bruised all over. Three ribs on his right side and four on the left were either fractured or broken. He had a large gash on his right shoulder and his left leg was bleeding profusely. The guards said some words and the bleeding stopped. The rest had to heal naturally, he was told. They carried him back to the cell where he was laid him on the bed. His friend was nowhere to be seen, and Amaroq was worried. This was the first time he had been alone since he was brought here. For this reason Amaroq could not sleep; that, and the fact that his whole body writhed with pain.
It was about what Amaroq called midnight when he walked in. he was battered and bruised. His mouth uttered word after word as he lay down on his bed. Knowing that his friend was safe, Amaroq fell fast asleep. He was woken early the next morning by his cellmate. "You ready for an intense workout?" Amaroq groaned and pulled himself out of bed. This morning's workout included diamond pushups, reverse pushups, bear crawls, hanging crunches, one handed pushups, pull-ups, prone cobras, and phantom chair. Amaroq decided to skip the phantom chair since his leg was once again gushing blood.
Amaroq was once again ushered into the dark room. Once again, he was unprepared for the beating that came. When he came out the guards once again spoke in a language that Amaroq could not understand. The slurred words completely confused him, and he was in amazement at the healing that occurred. He was taken back to the cell where he was met by a familiar face. Amaroq smiled.
Grey was taken aback when he saw Amaroq, "Where have you been?" Amaroq answered "Looking for you. When were you brought here?" "It was about well I don't really know how long ago it was but I was going back to the hut and found someone was waiting for me. They captured me and took me to Uurg. It was here that I met my match. All in these stupid freaking rooms and they just keep coming, you master one only to find yourself in front of another color coded door. Oh crap, I'm rambling on again, anyway how are you doing?" Grey looked with anticipation at Amaroq's answer. "I'm good. I'm a little tired but I'll get over it. They have me at the dark room right now, I guess I'll just have to work my way up to where you are then we can form a team and go to the team rooms." "Agreed," Grey nodded. Grey told Amaroq everything that he knew about every room and Amaroq just breezed through them. In no time at all, they were at the same level. The first time that they asked for a team room, the guard just laughed and said good luck, but after days of prodding, the offer went to Uurg. "Approve them; I want to see if they work well together." Uurg's big booming voice sounded in the air.
