Luc opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling of the room. He could see the morning light streaming in from between the cracks of window shutters. He had stopped trying to sleep a long time ago. His pounding chest and short breaths simply would not allow it.

There had been protests when Faro had named him the Scout. Well, protests from Tissa and Luc that is. They had tried their best to convince Faro that Luc was not suitable for the job, but the black tunic refused to budge on the issue. Faro said that with the personnel they had, it was the only configuration that would work.

Glancing around the room, Luc saw Gray already sitting on the edge of his bed, sheathing and unsheathing one of his swords repeatedly. Rith rummaged through his satchel, fidgeting and muttering. He took out a small vial and opened it, taking a deep breath in. After a couple of moments, his body stilled, and his quiet rambling stopped. Faro sat atop his bed, legs crossed and fingers entwined once more. The only person who was sleeping was Tissa, arms wrapped around his lance. His snores reverberated throughout the room.

Even if I wasn’t this nervous, I still wouldn’t be able to sleep with this noise.

A loud knocking at the door made Luc flinch. Across the room. Faro’s eyes opened, and he swiftly rose to his feet.

“It is time.”

Luc stood, watching as Gray and Rith did the same. Tissa still slumbered, drool leaking out the corner of his mouth. Reaching over, Faro shook him on the shoulder. Tissa jerked awake, brandishing his lance in a random direction. When he saw the looks on their faces, Tissa lowered his lance and began double checking his equipment in silence.

The door swung open, and Sera looked into the room, parasol leaning against her shoulder and blocking the sunlight streaming in from the windows behind her. Faro exited the room, beckoning at the rest of them to do the same. Luc waited for the others to leave before exiting. As he walked out, he leaned towards Sera, lowering his voice.

“Is there any chance I can get out of this?” he whispered. “I’ve had a last minute change of heart, and I don’t think that - ”

“No,” said Sera, voice flat and unamused.

Luc swallowed. His eyes darted over her shoulder towards the staircase leading back down.

“Do not even think about it,” said Sera.

Luc lowered his head and turned, heading after the rest of the party as they followed Faro towards the other end of the hallway. As they walked, they passed several other wooden doors. Luc reckoned that if they were all filled with people, then there were more than just a few people taking the Gauntlet.

Why are there so many people wanting to go inside a giant pit of death?

When they reached the end of the hallway, Faro led them down another set of stairs. This set of stairs led not to another large room, but to the outside instead. Exiting the building, Luc squinted against the bright morning rays. As his vision adjusted, his jaw dropped from what he saw.

They were standing on a ledge overhanging the Chasm. The Chasm itself was even more enormous than Luc had imagined, extending across his field of vision like a great lake made of darkness. It was difficult to see beyond the Chasm, as a dense white fog hung low over its surface. The morning air was brisk and chilly, making Luc shiver in his thin peasant’s tunic, and the quiet howls of wind could be heard emanating from the depths of the giant hole.

Next to Luc, there was the clinking of glass as Rith rumbled inside of his satchel. Once again, he pulled out a small vial and uncorked it, breathing in. In the light of day, Luc could see that the bottle held some kind of dark green gas.

Luc’s gaze was drawn away from Rith as they approached the edge of the Chasm. There was a rope fence lining the ledge they were standing on, stakes pounded into the stone floor with cords wound around them at waist height. At the very end of the ledge was a wooden contraption made of a single vertical metal wheel with another thick rope drawn along its edge. What looked like a large wooden basket was tied on one end of the rope, and two muscular people – one man and one woman – stood next to the other. The length of the rope was pooled at their feet, looking like a giant snake sprawled over the ground. Staring at the device, Luc’s stomach began to sink as he realized how they were going to descend.

I can’t do this anymore!

Luc turned to flee, but Sera stopped him with a palm in the chest. Grabbing onto his shoulder with talon-like fingers, Sera guided him to where the others had come to a stop. Luc had no choice but to follow, lest he lose functionality of his shoulder.

“Welcome, Duchess,” said the man and woman standing next to the device in unison.

Duchess? From what Luc could see, the two people at the contraption looked nearly identical. They were both built like distorted bears, towering over the entire party and barely fitting into their black tunics. Their upper bodies bulged with muscle, their lower bodies looking small and fragile in comparison. The only difference that Luc could make out was the lack of facial hair on the woman’s face.

“Greetings, Jack and Jill,” said Sera, smiling. “As always, a pleasure to see you.”

Luc desperately wished to leave.

“Now that the Gauntlet is about to begin for your team, I will give you the details of your task,” said Sera. “From the entrance where Faro takes you, find your way to the Metropolis of Floor 1. You will have three days and two nights to complete this task.”

Three days? Luc tried to shuffle away from Sera, only for her to give him another squeeze with her fingertips. He winced and ceased his movement immediately.

“If you do not reach Floor 1’s Metropolis in three days, then you will fail the Gauntlet,” said Sera. “You entered the Gauntlet out of your own discretion, so the Spades are not responsible for your safety. That means if you do not make it to the destination within the timeframe, we will not look for you.”

Holy mother of all gods, thought Luc Get me out of here, please!

“Lastly,” said Sera. “I must remind you that the Gauntlet is an individual assessment. This means that you will be judged by your performance, and your performance alone. These evaluations will be made by the proctor, so it is in your best interest to listen to his commands.”

When no one spoke, Sera looked around at each one of them once. Then she made a gesture with her hand. Faro walked up to the large wooden basket and unlatched one of its sides. The side of the wooden basket swung open on a hinge, giving access to the basket. He looked up expectantly at Tissa, Luc, Rith, and Gray.

“Ha!” said Tissa. “If I’m on this team, things should be easy!”

He walked into the wooden basket, leaning on his lance. Shortly after, Gray followed him in, still not speaking a word. Lug glance over at Rith. The young man’s face was pale and sweat dripped down his face. He fumbled at his satchel once more.

“Come on, do not be a coward,” said Sera. She guided, or rather dragged, Luc to the wooden basket and all but threw him in. Luc scowled and rubbed his sore shoulder, taking the time to survey his surroundings. The basket he stood in was sturdily built, made from several layers of wood glued together with some sealant and wrapped entirely with rope. The side of the basket came up to his chest, and the interior seemed large enough to fit around a dozen people at most.

After taking several whiffs of the dark green potion, Rith finally followed into the basket. For the first time, Luc noticed that the boy was short, coming only up to his chest.

What’s this kid going down into the Chasm for?

Lastly, Faro walked into the basket, closing the door behind him. As soon as the five of them were inside, Jack grabbed onto the rope next to the metal wheel, holding it taut. Jill placed her hands against one side of the basket and began pushing it towards the Chasm. It was clear that both of them had some Bloodline or skill that allowed them to wield immense strength. Grunting, Jill eased the basket off the edge of the Chasm.

After having fallen into multiple pits, Luc was mildly impressed that his stomach was not as queasy as he expected it to be. Still, he did not dare to stick his head over the side of the basket. Tissa faced forward in silence, usual banter absent. Rith dropped down in the basket, huddling in one of the corners with his hands covering his face. Luc couldn’t really read Gray, as his entire face was masked besides his eyes.

“All set?” asked Sera, leaning over to look into the basket.

“We are ready,” said Faro, not bothering to ask the rest of the team before answering.

“Perfect,” said Sera. “Remember, follow your proctor’s orders, work as a team, and trust your instincts. May fortune line your path.”

With that, Sera turned to Jack and Jill, giving them a nod. Together, the two of them began releasing the rope. As they fed the rope through the metal wheel, the basket began to drop, wooden contraption creaking with its weight. Slowly but surely, the basket plunged below the outer surface of the land, dipping lower and lower until it was swallowed by darkness.