The moment was intense, Virgil’s heartbeat rising as suddenly all this pressure of keeping secrecy and this team together. When Lords and the King had told him of his assignment he was completely baffled by the simple idea. Newly recruited and already he is thrown into the lion’s den to be one of the first to enter the abyss. It was almost like he and his crew were the fresh meat ready for the taking. Nonetheless, Virgil was valiant in proving himself to be completely functional as an upcoming Captain. 

	As he guided the group down the stone arches to the hideaway of the castle he could already tell by the simple presence of these recruits that they were in fact newcomers to Zion. Justice, naivety, and a hint of disappointment Virgil wasn’t too sure after all if he could even lead a team of his own. After explaining the situation and asking the recruits hand and acceptance he expected outrage, following combat. But instead, he got answers of hope, accepting silence, and of course [i]questions[/i]. Virgil didn’t know how to answer them without revealing the ulterior motive, he himself didn’t know the reason but in his blind chase for acceptance he accepted with no hesitation. 

	[i]” This secrecy is decided upon by The King himself. Due to the dangerous contents of the abyss, King Baldwin and the council of lords have decided that a scouting party should be in order to ready the waves of recruits. Ultimately this is an act of spy-work. [/i] “

	This is what Virgil had thought, this was the most likely answer to this whole set up but no one could know for sure what the higher-ups are thinking. With a great sigh, he looks to the set of rookies before him and takes a small moment to observe his soon to be subordinates. 

Five women, four men including himself. A lady dressed in black replicating the look of plague doctors, another holding a lantern most likely a sorcerer, a warrior dressed in light armor baring what looks to be an elegant sword, another of whom seems to be small and nimble almost like a rogue, and a fairly tall lady wielding a large weapon of sorts represented by familiar colors. The men, on the hand, a priest of what he could only assume was a sorcerer, and two in heavy armor. They both looked equally jaded.

“Balanced. “ he repeated in his mind, and as the second of silence passed Virgil returned and beckoned the group to join him inside the training hall. He gestures them to come inside and opening the wooden door in front reveals a wooden boarded floor with tables, chairs, and two weapon racks against the wall of the entrance and then past the wooden floor borders the training floor of marble material. The hall itself is narrow, but long enough to host multiple one on one training sessions. 

	Virgil leads the group inside, stepping onto the marble flooring, lighting barely shining into the hall as candles light its sides and a single chandelier to brighten the center floor, “This is where you will be training for the next month in preparation for our descent into the abyss. Going through simple combat, strength, and endurance training we will go over all possible situations we can experience within the abyss. All we know is that the dark fog that covers its entrance can be negated by divine energy created through our spiritual energies. Specifically, throughout this training, you will all be trained to passively produce a bodily shield that will negate this fog that hopefully lets you survive. On another note when we aren’t training you will be roomed outside of the castle into a previously empty school where some of the recruits are kept. There you will all be fed, given clothes, weapons, and other necessities. Similar to a school setting you will wake in the mornings head to your training hall and the day is spent here. Otherwise, treat your new home with respect. “

	Virgil walks in circles, his fingers rubbing his chin as he thinks of things he hasn’t gone over, “Ah… “ He sighs, “That is all. But. I stress we must keep our goal a secret. If you are asked you are here for a year just like any of the other recruits. Is that right? “ He looks to the group expectingly for gestures or verbal answers of approval.

“Right then...  Before we leave I would like you all to wear this. “ Virgil’s hands shuffle through his white coat as he pulls out white cloth bands holding a small silver cross. “This is the symbol of our group, this is how the higher-ups will differentiate us between the ten others. Wear this whenever you are commanded to, otherwise keep on your persons. “ Virgil goes up to each of the recruits handing them the markings, “Alright. Follow me. “ 

Another lengthy walk, Virgil leads the group outside of the castle walls and down the right lane. Down this lane, the group notices another band of recruits with their marks tied to the left of their arm bearing the mark of the sparrow. The leader of this group is nowhere to be found but it is clear that they are going to the same place as the group. Virgil stays silent and after a few minutes of walking and evading the crowd, the group is halted in front of a quite large sandstone building holding three floors. 

	“This is your new home for the year. “ Virgil looks back at the group for a moment and then leads them inside through a pair of two large wooden doors. The first floor of the dormitories looked quite similar to that of a tavern, wooden floors with wooden tables and chairs, and a counter with a maid working at its side. “Very similar to your average tavern, but with no alcohol. “ Already the group could see recruits lounging about within the first floor bearing the symbol of a star, they eye the group down but Virgils leads his group upstairs. 

	“Surprisingly King Baldwin has put forth a large sum of gold coins into the preparation of this assembly, this building specifically of what used to be an old run-down school has been refurbished into what is sort of a barracks. “ The second floor of the dormitory was a narrow hallway of evenly spaced outdoors of what could only be individual rooms. Virgil leads the group to the end of the hallway and at its end was a glass window that looked down into an alleyway. 

	Virgil points to the doors to each side of the walls of which held the symbol of a silver cross. “Luckily since our assortment is quite small we have fairly two large rooms. “ From the left side of the hallway, Virgil opens the door revealing a quite spacious room with windows to its front and from the back wall where six bunk beds connected to each other with space under them for miscellaneous items and a singular assortment of chair tables. Virgil then led the group to the right side which was the same as the left. “So-- choose wisely, they’re both the same. I suggest not rooming with the women of your party as that can obviously lead to some problems and if it does we’ll simply move you. So choose wisely. Your next set of instructions won’t come until tomorrow so that'll give you time to settle down into your new home. I suggest not making friends with the other recruits as you won’t be seeing them for quite a while after this month. “ 

Virgil nods, looking to the outside window as it was only noon. Much time was left for his recruits to simply escape Zion but he had hope in them not to, “Alright. Stay safe, I must leave for a meeting. “ And with a bow, Virgil leaves the group to do their own and heads off. 

[hr]

You are left with the simple command of choosing who you’ll room with and then after is free roam until tomorrow morning.

Currently, outside Zion is bustling with citizens walking down the streets going about their daily routines. Though when night comes along no citizen is caught walking, as you look to the sky you see ripples of dimly lit white lights shielding the city of Zion across miles. You see guards of silver armor patrolling the streets and very few citizens heading home. You are told by a recruit or someone within the dormitories that is in good faith to stay out of the streets at night.

[b]Do you choose to stay inside or explore the night of Zion? [/b]

[hr]