Breathing easier, Kieran rolled onto his back and laid there for a while. Looking around for a moment, he thought his eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dark yet. Moving his hand in front of his face, he realized he couldn’t see a thing. Total darkness. For a moment he worried he was going blind.

What have you gotten yourself into this time Kieran.

Above a bright light flickered on above. Kieran shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness stunning him temporarily. He heard a slight buzzing noise. Slowly cracking his eyes back open they adjusted taking in his surroundings. Trying to avoid looking directly at the light, he looked to his side and saw a bed built into a metal wall with a ragged blanket and pillow. The room was warm enough that he wouldn’t need the blanket though. The temperature in the room was almost perfect compared to the fall chill he had felt earlier. He then noticed that most of the room was comprised of metal.

This definitely feels like a prison

He had never seen a prison like this before. Where was the stone or wood? Iron doors or bars maybe, but here everything was a strange metal that seemed different. The quality of the work was better than some of the finest blacksmiths in Brigalia. Wiping away the layers of dust that had gathered from a time he saw a shine to it. Sitting up, he looked around more. There was a stale smell in the air like no one had been here in a long time. The only objects in the room were a desk with a weird glass window and what he assumed was a latrine.

“Well, at least I don’t have to piss in a bucket.”

A bright light enveloped the door, and three figures stepped through it. Kieran scrambled backwards from the site. Two of the figures looked like crosses between a lizard and a man. They had broad shoulders, and blue scales that covered their bodies. They wore gray tattered pants, and each carried a pair of metallic bracelets with a glowing light on them. The third figure was a muscular green man with four arms, no ears, and an oversized drooping nose. Kieran had never seen monsters like this before. He had heard of them from stories, but he never would have believed something like this was real. They rushed Kieran before he could get to his feet.

“Hey! Let go!” Kieran shouted as he struggled to wrestle against them. Unfortunately, the one with four arms held him down without exertion. The other two clasped the bracelets around his wrists and ankles. A small beeping noise sounded, and each pair locked together, binding his hands and feet like handcuffs. Kieran’s captors gathered his shield and mace and exited the room through the door, the light disappearing shortly after. Kieran laid there a while, struggling to pull the devices apart. There was another beeping noise, and they came apart. His heart pounded as the sight of the strange monsters and him being held in captivity sank in. Quickly getting up, he rushed over to the door and started hammering on it.“Let me out!” Kieran shouted repeatedly. After a few minutes he gave up; he couldn’t even make a dent in the door. If only he could figure out how to work these magical portals. Walking over towards the bed, he sat down and waited, his stomach growling.

“You could at least feed me if you’re going to hold me prisoner!” Kieran shouted at the door.

After what felt like hours, the light on the door reappeared. Kieran rose and readied himself for a fight. The second the first figure walked through the light Kieran charged. There was a beeping and Kieran’s arms and legs slammed together causing him to fall to the floor. It was one of the lizard men. Picking up Kieran he helped him to his feet. Kieran slammed his head into the lizard man’s snout. Kieran fell backward while the lizard man reeled back clutching his now bleeding snout. Turning furiously towards Kieran he shouted something unintelligible and kicked him in the stomach. Kieran buckled over on his side clutching his stomach. The second lizard man finally entered the room pushing the first back and yelling at him. After glancing at his companions bloody green snout, he burst out in low bellowing that Kieran could only assume was laughter. They both argued for a minute before turning back to Kieran. They both grabbed him by the arms and hauled him through the light kicking and screaming. Kieran could feel the same tingling sensation throughout his body as they passed through the light.

They threw him to the floor in another room and left back through the light, his hands unbinding shortly after. He stood up clutching his stomach and looked around. The structure of this castle differed from anything he had seen before. At first, he thought they took him prisoner by the Dragalian guard, but now he wasn’t sure where he was.

“Where am I?”

Kieran found himself in a long room with a door on the other side. Walking further into the room he eyed the walls and tables. Along one wall were wracks of different suits of armor. There was scale, plate, and leather armor, and some weird looking white armor that felt smooth to the touch but didn’t feel like metal. A long table lined the middle of the room with all different kinds of helmets, again he found some with the white smooth material. They were covered in the front with what looked like glass for you to see through. Against the other wall was probably the most diverse selection of weapons he had ever seen. He walked over to a section that had maces, morning stars, and flails. Maces always seemed to be his choice of weapon. Nothing felt better than smashing your opponents off their feet in an excellent sparring match. Picking up a mace that caught his eye, he examined it carefully. Strong leather wrapped well around the handle, and the shaft looked to be sturdy and shined silver. What interested him though was the head of the mace. It had eight short flanges on the end made from a smooth black metal. Running his fingers across it felt durable, sharp, and expertly crafted.

“Ooooooh I like this. Now for a shield.”

As he slipped the mace in his belt, he headed over towards a section of shields. They also had a decent variety of shields, but a red glimmer in the far corner caught his eye. It was one of the heads from the eagle on his shield. Picking it up he slipped it over his shoulder. Wherever he was, it looked like he would fight soon, so being prepared never hurt. Many tournament arenas he had seen in the past had a similar room for the combatants to pick out their desired weapons for fighting. He grabbed a couple small daggers and strapped one to each ankle. It was always good to have a backup in case he dropped his shield or mace. In the doorway opposite from where he entered the light appeared. He tensed for a moment but nothing came. Impatient, he decided to walk through it.

Astonished by the site before him, Kieran couldn’t help but stand and stare. What laid before him was a colosseum that made the famous Tamworth’s Arena look like a small hut. The center of the arena was a massive grassland covered in tiny hills and trees. Surrounding the arena was a large auditorium that could probably seat the entire Brigalian nation, and they were full of what looked to be similar monsters that he encountered earlier. Above the auditorium were bright lights that lit the arena below. High in the air were what he assumed flying ships. The sky seemed clear and dark, glittered with hundreds of stars.

“Where in the world am I?”

A light appeared nearby and a bulky four-legged creature jumped through and snapped back at the light like someone was forcing it through. It had a large rounded brown face with two larger eyes in front and a smaller eye on the outside of each. There were two small slits for a nose and below were razored-sharp teeth. Its chin had two small gray points. On top of the head was a similarly colored flat plate with multiple plates scaling down its back. The body was enormous and muscled, and each foot had four sharp claws. As the light disappeared, so did the target that had instigated its rage. Sensing Kieran nearby, it redirected its anger towards him. Stomping its foot twice it lowered its head and charged.

“That’s not good.”

Kieran ran immediately as the beast charged towards him. Looking for cover he spotted a small grouping of trees nearby. He scrambled towards them as the beast gained on him. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like he would make it. As he turned around swiftly, he slid to a stop. As the beast came within striking distance, it lept towards him. Kieran tried to dodge to the side blocking with his shield, but he wasn’t quick enough from being exhausted having not eaten or rested that day. The shoulder of the beast hammered into his shield with sizable force causing him to fly backwards crashing into the ground. He awkwardly rose to his feet and readied himself as the beast came charging again. Kieran was quicker this time and swiftly sidestepped the beast swinging his mace contacting the beast's rear leg. The skin was thick but the black blades sliced through causing three minor gashes. The beast howled in pain giving Kieran enough time to run again. Shaking off the blow the beast started charging after him.

Finally, reaching the trees he weaved between two smaller ones, the beast just smashing them over until it had hammered into a trunk thick enough to halt it. Kieran, taking advantage of the moment, brought his mace hammering down onto the beast's head. There was a resounding clang as his mace came in contact with the sturdy plate seeming not to phase it. Swiping its paw up at Kieran he brought his shield up to block. The claws ripped across it leaving four sizable scratch marks. The shield could not take many more hits like that. Kieran spun around the tree swinging the mace hard. It cracked into the side of the beast’s face piercing one of its eyes and causing it to howl in pain. The animal's instincts kicked in, and it fled. Kieran did not chase, instead using the moment to catch his breath. Hunting the creature down to kill it seemed cruel and unnecessary. Kieran remained inside the trees for protection waiting for what would happen next trying to gain a moment of rest.

The trees flickered becoming translucent and disappeared. Instead of a vast grassland the arena had transformed into a flat metal stadium. Never had he seen magic like this before, even stories couldn’t live up to what he was experiencing now. Between the different monsters and the magic of this arena transforming, he wondered if he was still dreaming. He could see the Beast running off in the distance. Hearing a loud crack he flinched as he watched something pierce straight though the beast’s head causing it to crash to the ground. If this was a dream, it felt and looked real. Kieran raised his shield and tightened the grip on his mace as he heard loud screams from the surrounding crowd. Another light appeared before him, this time the same two lizard men stepping out. Kieran kept his guard up.

“What do you want from me?”

Neither of them acknowledged him as they walked towards him. After hearing the telltale beeping Kieran moved his feet together and maintained his balance after the bracelets connected. He could still keep a hold of his mace, but dropped his shield. One of the lizard men, now with a bandage covering his nose hesitated for a second. Tapping the other on the shoulder and saying something unintelligible he pointed at Kieran. The other waved his arm and shook his head, then continued towards Kieran. As the lizard man came within reach, he hurled the mace at him. The lizard man easily dodged the mace and looked back at his companion and smirked. Meanwhile, Kieran ducked down removing the dagger strapped to his ankle. He lept towards the lizard man and slammed it into his neck. The crowd erupted with excitement as they both tumbled to the ground, the dagger still lodged in the lizard man’s neck. This time the other lizard man started laughing as his companion laid on the ground bleeding out on the floor.

Another light appeared nearby, and this time the four armed monster came out. He walked over and shoved the lizard man and pointed at Kieran, who reluctantly walked over. Together after wrestling Kieran for a minute they both dragged him to his feet. Kieran looked back out towards the crowd who looked pleased with the outcome. Forced to stand there, he heard some shouting. It was an announcer of some sort speaking to the crowd, but he couldn’t understand it. Eventually they held his hands in the air and the crowd cheered more. Then they dragged him back to his cell where he finally found some food waiting. At least, he thought it was food.

“Finally, something to eat.”

After eating the measly amount of slop, he laid down to get some rest. Assuming they had finished with him now. A lot had happened since the siege had started. Now that his adrenaline wasn’t rushing, he had a moment to reflect on everything that had happened since the beginning of the siege. Before he was teleported to this magical prison, they had taken two of the siege towers.

“I wonder if Nolan was able to take out the other four towers. I mean, it is Nolan after all. If their ballista broke, he’d probably just start throwing the rocks himself. No one is as stubborn as him. Well, I hope they all survived, but I can’t focus on that now. I have to figure out how to get out of here. if I can get out of here.”