Norvandell sighed as he ordered another drink from the bartender. Nothing was offering him a challenge as a mercenary these days. Most jobs he got were either weak demons terrorizing even weaker villages, or the occasional so-called shrine priestess trying to "cleanse" the area. A quick swipe with his blade was all it took nowadays to complete his contracts. The drink was finally made and slid across the counter to Norvandell, who caught it midway and began to chug it down. His usual drink invigorated him as always, but now it was starting to taste of dissatisfaction. He wished a challenge would come soon.

Closing his eyes, he pondered what he was to do with his life. He grabbed some coins from his pocket and said, "Here, keep the change." as he dropped them onto the counter. When he heard the clinking of coins hitting the ground rather than the counter, however, he noticed something was amiss. He opened his eyes and found himself no longer at the bar, but at some sort of grand lobby. Sunlight filled the area, and there was food and drink aplenty. Before he could even begin to wonder what was going on, there came the announcement. 

Challengers? Battle City Council? Norvandell began looking around, noticing the other 7 individuals, most of which were male. Not paying any attention to the others making a fuss about themselves, he went over to the buffet table and picked an apple from the table. He gave it a quick sniff to attempt to detect any poison, then decided it was safe to eat and took a bite. Perfectly juicy and perfectly crunchy, just to his liking. Looking back at the others, he began to examine them more closely. If he was to gauge the situation, he was in a tournament with 7 other combatants, all of which were of equal or perhaps even greater strength than him. There were clearly some who were warriors, and one who could be defined as a rogue. A woman warrior was quite rare, even in his home, although to be fair, the more powerful women he knew tended to be witches. 

All in all, he did wish for a challenge. Perhaps he would get one from them.