The lobby was filled with various beings.

  It was well lit, despite the stone walls, but the inside was devoid of any natural light. There were eight doors on the back wall, with each wooden door sporting bars across the little window near the top of the door. There were hooks on the side of each door where a metal bar could be dropped into place and three of them were already barred.

  The guard pacing in front of the doors had the head of a lion, large bat-like wings coming out of his back, and a barbed tail sliding across the floor behind the armored man. He held a large sword in his hand and a blaster on his hip. His yellow cat’s eyes locked onto me the moment I walked in and he sauntered over to me.

  “This is for runners only.” He growled, his tail rising off the floor to position over his head. “Leave.”

  “Chaspin, he’s one of mine.”

  I was relieved to hear the too-sweet voice of Orina come to my rescue.

  The red Elf was wearing a silver dress this time, but it was just as revealing as the black one had been back at the Casino. She stood out amongst all of the other beings in the lobby, as she was the only one not wearing armor of some sort.

  “He’s a Manticore.” Grandpa informed me. “Nasty mercenaries, but easier to deal with than a Were.”

  Easier to deal with? I sized up the man in front of me. He has to be 400 pounds, at least!

  “I didn’t mean in a fight.” Grandpa chuckled at my confusion. “But you can reason with these battle junkies, while Weres are more of a ‘follow orders regardless of how crazy’ kind of species.”

  “He’s the token you’re waiting on?” The Manticore growled. He held out his hand to me. “Token.”

  “Right.” I pulled the pendant out of my shirt and slipped the chain over my head, then handed it to him.

  He walked over to the last door and waved it over the door, then began typing something on the wrist pad on his arm.

  “Rond told me that the token was real.” Orina smiled and nodded for me to follow her. “To think, the great Human Alistair would have a grandson that would follow in his footsteps.”

  I glanced around the room and my grandfather enlightened me on the various races as I looked at them.

  “The green and yellow men over there are Orcs. Nasty lower fangs are good for biting into stuff. They’re not very fast, but tough as nails. Dwarves you should recognize; the one with only a mustache is a female if you want to introduce yourself…”

  I shook my head as I followed behind Orina.

  “AH! The felines are Cat Sith. That cheetah-colored one is a rarity; most are black with a white spot on their chests like the other three. Tell her she’s pretty!”

  Why would I do that? I sighed as we walked by them. Of all the females that I’d seen during my adventures off Earth, I wasn’t going to deny that she was attractive. She also stood out among her three companions, who all had the black fur that Grandpa had talked about.

  “Think ugly duckling.” Grandpa urged. “Her coloring is off compared to the rest of her clan. It’s a wonder she’s even being allowed in public.”

  Before I could say anything, she dropped one of her daggers. She’d taken the sheath off her belt to resituate it in a better position. She wasn’t fast enough to grab it before it clattered on the stone floor, but she was able to scoop it up before most people turned to see what the noise was.

  “Disgraceful runt!” The other female in the group fumed. “I knew we shouldn’t have brought you! You’re going to curse this whole team!”

  “Weird.” I paused by their team. “Where I’m from, a lovely creature like her would be considered good luck, while black cats are usually an omen of bad fortune.” I chuckled. “Also, aren’t her patterns rare? So shouldn’t that be a lucky thing?”

  The blush on her face made the impending confrontation worth every moment. The slight smile was just a bonus that let me know I’d brightened her day a little.

  “Stupid Human! You know nothing of luck!” The male closest to me stalked up to my face. He was a few inches shorter and very slender, which wasn’t intimidating at all.

  “Just an observation.” I grinned. “Just offering another person’s perspective.” I felt Orina tug on my arm and let myself be pulled away from the standoff.

  “Drop out while you can, Human!” The Cat Sith called after me. “The Dungeon is a dangerous place for fools!”

  “Now you do what I tell you to!” Grandpa cheered. “Why her and not the others? Are you a furry?”

  Orina doesn’t see me as a person and the Centaur just saw me as a client and a potential problem. I felt a grin on my face. She felt like a person.

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  “Gotcha…” The cheerful edge stayed in his voice.

  I could tell he was plotting something, but that was a problem for a later date.

  “I didn’t see you as someone to rile up your competition, but I like it.” Orina licked her lips. “Oh look, Chaspin is back.”

  The Manticore met us at the group near the far wall and tossed the pendant to me. “You’re in hall eight with Nolan Lawrence as the leader.” He eyed me for a moment, then shook his head as he walked back to the middle of the room.

  “Well, that was riveting.” Orina clapped her hands. “Now Nolan, you might be registered as the leader because we’re using your token, but Arwel is going to be running things since she has experience with the game.”

  The purple Elf woman leaning on the stone wall muttered something under her breath as she folded her arms across her chest. She was wearing leather gear, but unlike mine, she had metal knee, elbow, and shoulder protectors. Her gloves were also covered in metal plates and she was the least protected of the three of them. She blew a stray lock of green hair out of her face as her white eyes glared at me.

  Despite her icy introduction, she was the most welcoming of the three. The man, at least I think it was a man, to her right looked like a walking hyena. His feet were bare, but otherwise he was wearing metal armor and carried a chipped axe in his hands.

  “That’s a Gnoll.” Grandpa informed me.

  Aren’t they feral?

  “Some are intelligent enough to hold a conversation with.” Grandpa scoffed. “But I suspect that both of the men are here as muscle to throw at the monsters and not to keep an eye out for traps.”

  What’s the other one? I eyed the hairy, pig-faced man on Arwel’s left.

  “That’s an Ogre. They’re nasty but tough as nails.”

  I nodded as I took in the other man. He was covered from the shoulders down in metal armor, which gave him more protection than any of us. He was also much thicker than myself; even without the armor, he weighed at least three hundred pounds.

  Orina pointed at the Gnoll. “This is Gnasher Garbrawl.” She gestured at the Ogre. “And Corbah Hindrel.” She clapped her hands. “Now that everyone is acquainted, you can go to the hall and get ready for the game to start.”

  “How much time do we have?” I looked down at my arm, but the glove was covering my wrist pad. The extra layer of protection hadn’t stopped people from scanning it, but it did prevent me from seeing the time.

  “Almost two hours.” Arwel yawned. “I told you that we were getting here too early.”

  “Better to be here early than late.” Orina snapped. She nodded at the row of doors. “Three teams have already gone in their halls.” She looked around the room. “If we can convince everyone to get in their lanes, then we might be able to start early.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a bad thing?” I glanced around the room. The other groups were clustered in tiny groups talking in hushed tones or helping each other into the metal gear. While a good portion of the other competitors were only wearing leather gear similar to what I had on, there was at least one person on each team wearing thick metal gear.

  “Arwel can get you through the Dungeon, so if we could get an early start to catch the other teams with their armor off.” A mischievous grin spread across Orina’s face. “Yes, I think I can sell it.” She shooed us towards our door, then turned on her heel and strutted towards the entrance.

  “Fine.” Arwel sighed and pushed off the wall. “Human, you’ve got to go first since the door only opens for the token holder.”

  “Okay…” I didn’t feel very comfortable having the Gnoll and Ogre at my back, but I wasn’t going to suggest that she take the pendant so I could bring up the rear.

  “That wouldn’t have worked anyway.” Grandpa chuckled. “It’s keyed to DNA, so only the person it’s given to or one of their close relatives can use it.” There was a smugness in his voice. “I made sure to include you on it in case this day ever came.”

  Always thinking ahead. I walked up to the wooden door and pulled it open. It was a solid door, but it opened smoothly. Inside was a hall with a wooden bench on either side. The hall ended with a metal gate; otherwise, it was empty.

  “Always the best accommodations.” Arwel sneered as she closed the door behind her.

  Corbah put his helmet on, covering himself from head to toe in metal armor. He walked over to the gate and dropped his warhammer on the stone floor in front of it. He grabbed the bars, shook them, then grunted when they didn’t give.

  Gnasher howled with laughter at the Ogre’s frustration.

  “Don’t start that, you two.” Arwel glared at the two men. She turned to me. “Here’s how this is going to go.” She pointed at Corbah. “He’s going to charge in and trigger any traps. If it’s anything that I need to disable, then I’ll call that out, and you can slow down.” She nodded at the Gnoll. “Gnasher is going to follow behind me and you’ll be behind him, so if he stops, you stop.” Her white eyes fixed on me. “I don’t care who your dad was; I’m not going to lose because you can’t keep up.”

  “My dad?” I froze. Was my dad a runner too?

  “Not that I’m aware of, though I don’t have all of Alistair’s memories, so I guess it’s possible and he just omitted those memories.”

  “Alistair Peregrine.” Arwel sneered. “Please tell me that is a lie so I can gut you now.”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’m his grandson, but yeah, this was his.” I patted my chest where the pendant rested.

  “I don’t care how special your father thought you were.” Arwel spat. “You look weaker than a bear cub, so until you prove you’re capable of keeping up with us, don’t call yourself things like ‘grand’.”

  “Grand… He-ha, he-ha, he-ha!” Gnasher threw his head back as he laughed.

  They don’t understand grandparents? I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  There was a hint of arrogance in his voice. “They use the term ‘foresire’, though any culture that has had a minimal amount of exposure to human culture would know the term.”

  I raised an eyebrow at the still laughing Gnoll. “Is he going to do that the whole time? He didn’t make a sound a minute ago.”

  “That’s because Miss Taniel threatened to take his vocals if he spoke in front of her.” Arwel grumbled. “I tried making the same rule, but either he speaks or he doesn’t and having a mute teammate is a good way to die.”

  “We’re all going to die! He-he-he!” Gnasher doubled over as he laughed.

  “I don’t know…” I eyed the dogman. “That doesn’t seem very reliable.”

  “He doesn’t have to be reliable.” Arwel walked by the Gnoll and slapped him on the back of the head. “Shut it until we get into the Dungeon.” She dropped onto the bench across from me and closed her eyes. “Wake me up when the gate opens.”

  I settled into my seat on the bench. So far, I wasn’t very impressed with the team I’d been stuck on. It was possible that they were good at what they did, but every moment I was with them was another moment that running solo sounded so much better.

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