Just as Strider began to wake up to a pounding headache and a shallow stream of blood coming from his nose, he was able to make out a blurred mass of guards surrounding him and the others. Still in a daze, Strider would have attacked if it were not for the large amount of spears now pointed at the four strangers. The crowd was silent with their eyes fixed on the king who now stood at the weathered white marble railing of his royal viewing box. It was quite unusual for anyone to survive the arena's events. It was also considered a personal insult to the king if there was a survivor, much less four. The sun glistened off king Vertigo's golden trimmed robe as everyone silently waited for his decision.
Signaling with a thumb down, a huge relief from both the crowd and the prisoners was felt; this indicated the prisoner's lives would be spared. The prisoners were presented to a healer who helped bandage and mend any wounds they had sustained. Next, they were given all their previous equipment along with a small note. They had all been invited to attend an exclusive meeting to be held at the castle. Although none wanted to stay, they were given very little choice in the matter.
The four men were all filtered into a massive dining hall. In front of them lay a feast the size of which they had never seen before. There were at least three dozen others, mostly male, already sitting at the elegantly decorated table. There was no sign of the king until after the dinner was long over and the company had begun to grow restless. King Vertigo came into the room with a very somber business face. "I come before you all today with a great task that I can not complete alone." Vertigo began in a stern leading voice. "Because of security precautions concerning this task, I can not tell you what it is I ask of you until you have already accepted the task. I can tell you this however; those who accept will receive from me no gold, no treasure, and no riches of any kind. Your only reward will be world recognition as a hero and a savior. When all is said and done, those who accept and survive will be hailed as gods. We will all owe a great dept to you for what you will have done. The odds will be very much against you, and it is very likely that death will feast more than once on the willing participants. This is all I can say for now, those who do not wish to take on such a large burden, leave now." The king abruptly ended his speech and stood in silence as the large majority of the crowd gathered their belongings and left without another word.
It was clear by the expression on Vertigo's face that he was very disappointed by how few had stayed. He regained his composure and began to speak again, now in a quiet and remorseful tone. "The world as we know it, is in danger. A great evil is stirring and will soon unleash itself upon all that we hold near and dear to our hearts. You seven will travel to the most northern edge of this continent and meet a hired mercenary who goes by the name Daka. There, he will take you to the nearest town and you will begin your journey. The quest you have set before you is to ally every kingdom, city, and village to join our cause. Bloodshed and envy have spread apart the northern part of this continent and we must have everyone allied if we are to stand any chance against the oncoming evil. We are still uncertain of what exactly this evil is, but we know that very soon the time of war will be upon us. It has been foretold that this will be the final war between good and evil. The outcome is uncertain, but we know the end is near for someone. Your rides should be here shortly. Please, converse for a short while. You will soon be fighting side by side with the strangers around you, take a moment to get to know one another." The king turned and walked out the door, leaving the seven strangers to themselves.
The room was silent for a moment while everyone absorbed what had just been said. Patty stood up from his chair. He was wearing dirty peasants clothes and looked nothing like the heroes that had just been described. "My name is Patty. Why don't we just go around in a circle and introduce ourselves?" He offered. Odin, who sat at his right, raised his hand slightly, "Call me Odin" he stated dryly. Odin was fully cloaked, just as he had been at the Arena. Next, a young man clad in a set of shining full plate mail stood. In a full, proud voice the man said, "I am Sir Kuvo of the king's personal guard." A short laugh came from the woman sitting at Kuvo's side. She was dressed in elegant elvish cloth and had a katana strapped to her side. The half-elf female stood, looking at Kuvo with apologetic eyes. "None of these people care that you're one of the king's guards Koov." The half-elf said while slightly shaking her head side to side. Kuvo gave a small shrug and surrendered, sitting down. The half-elf introduced herself, giving her elvish name. A few of them unsuccessfully choked the name out, disgracing the elvish language in Strider's eyes. "Your name starts with a K, how about we just call you Kay?" Strider offered. The half-elf woman was not happy with the name change, but conformed to the simple-minded group with little argument. Kay sat down and waited for the introductions to continue. Next in line was the man from the arena who wore black leather. It appeared he was still wearing his leather attire, but it was difficult to see under his dark rogue-like cloak. He reluctantly stood and in a rough voice hurried the words; "My name is Sturym." He quickly took his seat and said nothing more. A stout dwarf stood now. He was well armored and heavily equipped. Four throwing axes were attached at his waist and upper thighs. Two massive dwarven waraxes hung on his backside. "Glo'in is my name." The hulking dwarf sat back into his wooden chair. The last to be introduced was Strider. He was dressed in weather beaten studded leather armor. A longbow rested next to him, and a longsword hung at his side. Strider stood slightly taller than the rest, which was not unusual since he was an elf. "It's nice to meet you all, my true name is Valorien; though some call me Strider."
King Vertigo reentered just as Valorien sat. Your rides are here. It's time to go. The group was herded onto a spacious balcony that glistened from the moon's light. The entire town could be seen dimly lit below. A large forest rested to the north. Beyond the forest, mountains towered above, veiling the northern part of the continent. That was where the new group's journey would begin.