Mantle of the Gods

Justia was waiting for me at the door.

She didn't say anything as we walked into the courtyard. I had spent too much time thinking about the other teams and my own team had made it into the dorms before I had left the training facility. We ran across the courtyard into the dorm with her on my heels. After the escapade earlier she was apparently taking her job of watching me seriously. When we got inside I saw that Trent was passing out ration bars to the group. The other four members of my group were all sitting on the beds that were assigned to them.

Edward had been put across from me with Aelin next to him and Ether on the last bed in that row. Rix was in the back corner on the last bed in my row.

“Is this all we're getting?” Aelin asked as she looked at the ration bar in her hand. Given her waitress uniform, I wondered if she was used to having much better food. For me, the ration bars were a staple since you never knew how long you would be on deeper trips. They were lightweight, easy to carry, and stayed good for a long time. Adventures sometimes didn't have time to stop and cook meals, or like most of the groups that I had been working with had only been farming for the day so they hadn't wanted waste time in the middle of their farming session to sit down and cook something. A ration bar and some water was the fastest way to get some nutrients before jumping to the next group.

Also, ration bars were fairly cheap. After the Dispatchers deducted the cost of lodging, my clothes, and gear from what I was paid there was almost nothing left over. Eating ration bars had allowed me to put a little back. I had been trying to save up for this day so that I would have money to get some basic gear once I found out what my mantle was but now I had no idea.

“You better get used to it.” Trent said as he finished the loop and handed me a ration bar. “You're going to be eating these for most of your meals.”

Aelin made a face but didn't argue. “So when are we going to go into the dungeon?” she piped.

“You'll have plenty of time to go into the dungeon.” Trent said as he brushed the crumbs off of his hands. “For now you need to worry about getting the basics down.” He looked around the room, “But even that can wait. I know all of you are probably still excited about getting your mantles, but you really do need your rest. Even if you don't feel like you need sleep right now, trust me, you're going to need it in the morning.” He sat down on his bed and leaned back against the wall. “Oh, if any of you want to clean up we have our bathroom right there.” he closed his eyes. But it was more like he was meditating than sleeping. “There are uniforms for each of you to wear outside of the dungeon, but for the most part you are going to be spending most of your time in your armor so don't worry too much about it.”

I looked around but other than the blankets and pillows on the beds. There didn't appear to be any other fabric in the room. I scooted over to the desk that was associated with my bed and opened the drawers, each one of them was empty.

“What are we going to change into once we get cleaned up?” Aelin asked

Trent opened his eyes and whipped his left arm out so that the sleeve of his robe fell down and a watch slid up to the base of his wrist that was a white crystal on a black leather band. He turned it over so that he could look at the display, then touched the crystal with his other hand and then began sorting through something in the air that I couldn't see.

“What are you doing?” Ether asked

He turned to the white-haired woman, “Once you all go low enough in the dungeon you'll be able to find crystals that are large enough to be turned into accessories.Those accessories can hold some items, especially if they are made from dungeon crystals.” he gestured with his hand and blue uniforms appeared at the foot of his bed.

Aelin scooted off of her own bed, walked over to the pile of clothes, and picked one up they were one-piece jumpsuits that were very simplistic in design.

“You expect us to wear this?” Aelin asked

Ether scooted over and picked up one. It looked almost exactly like the one she was already wearing except it was blue instead of gray.

“When you start exploring the dungeon you'll be thankful for this gear. Trust me, the right gear will save your life.” He nestled down more on his bed. “If you guys still can't go to sleep then maybe you should introduce yourselves. You're going to be spending a lot of time together.”

The six of us looked at each other. We’d heard the names of everyone except myself and Justia and despite there being six of us the other four were looking at the two of us who hadn't been part of the selection process

“Atlas.” Trent muttered from his reverie, “Why don't you go first?”