Forfeit Royale

Chapter 1 - Arrival

Erin is a young man who only two weeks ago, finished University. Unlike his peers however, Erin opted to spend his new found freedom, wasting away in his apartment playing video games and ignoring the outside world.

For the life he lives, Erin himself actually looks ok. His body is fairly well built, though he spends no time at the gym. He has shoulder length, untidy black hair and his eyes shine blue. He is six foot tall but you wouldn't guess that by looking at him as he is always slouched over, playing games on his phone.

Erin woke up on a Tuesday afternoon. He had gotten into a comfortable routine lately which consisted of, getting out of bed, walking to his computer, turning it on, and sitting down. Erin didn't care for much else unless it became urgent, such as using the bathroom or eating. And today was no different. His computer booted up and just as he did every day, the first thing he did was open his emails. Though today, something was different. On any normal day, Erin would simply scan the emails and ignore them. Today however, a new email caught his eye. He opened the email and sat confused for a moment. The email was from a game development company, congratulating Erin on being invited to take part in a beta for a new game called "Forfeit Royale". Erin found it strange as he didn't remember applying for a beta by that name. He wondered whether it might be a scam but instead assumed it was simply a code name for a game he had applied for and they didn't want information leaking. Feeling a little excited, Erin clicked the link.

For a moment, Erin thought that the power in his building had gone out, because everything had suddenly gone pitch black. He reached out for his desk but missed. He waved his arms around wildly before realising, he hadn't missed. His desk wasn't there anymore. He attempted to stand up from his chair, but that was gone too. He tried stomping his feet on his apartment floor but felt nothing and no sound reached his ears. He was in complete nothingness. Beginning to panic, Erin began trying to convince himself that he simply hadn't actually woken up yet and he was still sound asleep in his bed. But that thought was quickly pushed from his mind as a small white light appeared in the distance. Quickly the light grew closer. The closer it got, the brighter it was. Before long, the light was so blindingly bright that Erin **** his eyes shut and hoped that he was simply about to wake up.

Feeling solid ground beneath his feet again, Erin slowly opened his eyes. Quickly he realised, he hadn't just woken up. In fact, he wasn't even in his apartment anymore. He was standing in some old abandoned temple or cathedral of some kind. He was surrounded by large stone walls. A tall, long ceiling hung above him, held up by six thick pillars, all engraved with strange markings he didn't recognise. Light was barely creeping in through huge stained glass windows, depicting what was clearly a queen of some kind being worshipped by her people.

"Where the hell am I?" Erin said allowed.

"Welcome to Pandorica." A soft female voice responded.

Erin quickly looked down to see a short woman, roughly around twenty years old stood below him. He scanned her up and down and was immediately confused by her outfit. She was wearing something that Erin had only ever seen in his video games and anime. She was dressed in a long frilly white and pink dress. Beads and bangles hung from her wrists. Her blonde hair was split into two thick, bushy pigtails that fell past her shoulders on either side. In her left hand, she held what looked like some sort of staff. The top of which was bent into the shape of a crescent moon and in the middle of the moon was a star. She was looking up at him with a smile.

"It's ok. It usually takes some time to orient yourself." She said, beaming up at him. "How about I introduce myself while you get dressed." She said, pointing towards some ragged looking clothes laid neatly on a bench to the side of Erin.

Confused at first, Erin quickly realised something as a breeze entered the room and blew its way towards Erin's junk, sending a chill up his spine. He was standing there, completely nude. Quickly covering himself as best he could, Erin dove behind the bench and put on the rags the woman had pointed out to him.

"What the hell did you do to my clothes?" Erin asked as he came out from behind the bench fully clothed and feeling embarrassed.

"Me? I did nothing. The spell I used to bring you here however, does not account for clothes or items."

"Spell?" Erin questioned.

"Yes, the summoning spell that brought you here."

Ignoring the woman Erin assumed was crazy, he moved the topic away from spells.

"And where exactly is here?"

"You have arrived in the land of Pandorica and I, Hella am the one who summoned you." The woman responded, still beaming a smile at him.

"Pandorica? Never heard of it. Where exactly is that?"

"Why, Pandorica is here." She said as if it were obvious.

Erin, about to question Hella some more, was quickly interrupted as the large wooden doors to the building burst open. A tall, red headed woman came barging in, sprinting quickly towards them. Just like Hella, this new woman was dressed oddly as well. She was clad from shoulders to shins in heavy metal armour. Her chest completely covered in a thick, heavy looking plate while her legs were slightly more exposed, though still clad with metal. In her right hand she was madly waving an impressively large sword that looked like it would be too heavy for her to even drag, but she was running full speed at Hella and Erin. A new wave of panic washed over Erin. Was she about to attack them?

His fears were quickly halted as the woman skidded to a stop just shy of Hella.

"Quickly, they have found us." The woman said in a slightly deeper raspy voice.

Hella turned towards Erin. "I know you have questions, unfortunately, we don't have the time to answer them. Would you kindly follow me and Ginny?"

Erin looked at the red headed woman and did not think Ginny suited her. She looked more like a Gertrude or even Bert but looking at her face, there was fear looking back at him.

"We have no time to debate this." Ginny exclaimed. "We move now, or we die."

Hearing the seriousness of her voice, Erin quickly jumped down from some sort of alter that he had been standing on and made his way towards the women. Ginny pointed the group towards a smaller wooden door off to the side. Erin followed as Ginny kicked the door, breaking it completely off it's hinges. He followed into the room as Ginny began lifting a mouldy blanket off of a hidden trapdoor. Opening the door, she ushered Erin inside first.

"I'll be right behind you both." She said as Hella joined Erin on the rickety ladder.

Erin heard some loud bangs come from above as he continues his way down but not long after, heard the clanging of Ginny's armour on the ladder.

Reaching the bottom, Erin had no idea what was going on. Did this have something to do with the link he had clicked? Surely it couldn't be. And Hella, talking about summoning him and the way she and Ginny were dressed. It was like he had been dragged into a strange anime. But he had no more time to ponder. Ginny had just made it to the bottom and was pushing him forwards down a dank, dark tunnel system of some kind.

It felt like they had been walking for an hour before they finally stopped. Ginny pointed out another ladder and began to climb up first. All too ready to get out of the tunnel and to finally get some answers, Erin followed. He wasn't sure what he expected when exiting the tunnel, but it definitely wasn't what was before his eyes. As he climbed the last rung of the ladder and walked down a small alleyway between two building, Erin seemed to have walked back in time. Lots of small wooden buildings surrounded him and all sorts of people were walking by, going about their days. Though most, were dressed similarly to Erin, rags, barely clinging to them. Erin stood there befuddled. It was almost as though he had walked into some sort of medieval village. This was nothing like the city he had just been in barely an hour ago.

"We're not stopping here." Ginny said before pushing Erin along a cobbled stone path. "Just up that hill and we will be there."

"And where is there exactly?" Erin asked but Ginny simply ignored him.

Erin's legs began to burn as he climbed the steep hill. But it was worth it once he reached the top. As he crested the hill, a huge medieval looking city lay a few miles from them down another incline. It was completely surrounded by huge stone walls. Even taller stone towers were spread out around the wall but the biggest thing Erin noticed was the castle. An enormous stone castle was placed on the furthest side of the city. It had too many towers to count and seemed to span even further than he could see. Surrounding the castle were more wooden building and Erin assumed even more behind the stone wall he couldn't see behind.

"Markell." Hella said. She continued after seeing Erin's confused face. "Markell, it's the cities name. It's the capitol of Pandorica."

"Where the hell am I?" Erin questioned. "I have never heard of any place like this before. It's almost like I'm in a video game."

"What's a video game?" Hella asked sounding confused.

Erin looked at her with matched confusion. How could she not know what a video game was? He began to question everything. Had he somehow actually travelled through time? Had the link he clicked somehow transported him inside some strange simulation? Too many questions flooded his mind. Though he wouldn't have long to think of more as before he knew it, he had arrived at a huge archway right under the stone wall of the city. Medieval looking guards stood with pikes guarding the entrance, though they seemed to pay no mind to Erin and his group as they entered the city. Just as Erin had expected, more small and large wooden building surrounded him as Ginny and Hella guided him deeper in. Something Erin was not expecting however, was the small group of people who were gathering around a strange sight.

Bits of clothing and armour lay torn and scattered across the cobbled path. Just beyond the mess of clothes, was a middle aged man, having sex with a woman. On her hands and knees, her large breasts swinging wildly with each thrust, the younger woman moaned as the man pounded against her. The slapping of flesh rung through the street but strangely, the people surrounding them, seemed to be cheering the man on.

"That's what you get for losing." Erin heard and older woman shout at the younger girl as her face contorted in a strange ecstasy.

Erin, not wanting to seem like he was perving on the public sex act, turned his head and did his best to ignore the moans that were growing louder. Just as the woman screamed in pleasure, Ginny pointed Erin towards a large tavern like building, ushering him inside.

"Finally." Ginny exclaimed as they entered the building. "You can drop the spell now Hella."

She split from the group and went to sit in a one of the many chairs surrounding the many tables. Erin scanned around, there didn't seem to be anyone but them inside the tavern right now. Just as he was about to question everything, Hella spoke up.

"We should be safe now. I assume you have plenty of questions?"

"Damn right I do." But Erin fell silent. He had no idea what to ask first.

Thinking for a few moments, he finally spoke up with the biggest question of them all.

"What the hell is going on? One minute I'm sat at my computer, looking at my emails, the next, everything went black and then I was here."

"As I mentioned before, I summoned you here."

"What does that even mean?" Erin said, getting frustrated.

"It means, that I pulled you here from another world."

"A...another world?"

"Yes. I'm not sure where you are from, in fact, that was my first time performing that spell. But you are now, in another world."

Erin's head exploded with a million more questions. Surely she was joking? Another world? He couldn't be.

"Why?" Erin said, not really sure how to continue.

"That's where it gets a little difficult to explain. Take a seat, I'll get you a drink and do my best."

Erin did as she said, feeling a little light headed. A few moments later, Hella had returned with a glass of water and a slice of bread.

"It's not much but that is all we have right now."

Erin took the water and almost drank the whole thing within a few seconds. He hadn't realised how thirsty he was until now.

"Now, what I'm going to tell you, is a lot to take in, so bare with me while I get through it ok?"

Erin nodded. Eager, though scared to finally hear some answers.

"You see." Hella began, looking a little uncomfortable. "Pandorica, the land we currently reside in, has been ruled by a tyrant queen for almost three hundred years now. She rules with an iron fist and doesn't shy away from dirty tactics to get what she wants. Almost as soon as she became queen, she enacted something called The Forfeit Royale. Basically, if you don't participate in the Royale, you are **** to live in poverty. It is illegal to help those in poverty and the only way out, is by joining the Royale."

Hella paused for a moment, looking to see if Erin was paying attention. He was, though he wasn't understanding very much.

"And what is this Royale?" Erin asked.

"The Royale is basically a competition. you start at rank Z and have to fight your way up to rank A. The way to rank up, is by battling.

"Battling as in fighting one another?" Erin asked, getting more confused by the second.

"Yes. You battle one another until one person is no longer able to battle."

"No longer able to battle?" Erin said, thinking this sounded a lot like **** sports.

"Until one person is incapacitated." Hella continued. "Battles are only to be taken place within major cities. There is magic there that prevents one from being completely killed, during a battle. Though it's not far off from truly dying."

Hella paused again, seeing the worry in Erin's eyes.

"Ok, so people battle to rank up? I assume they get money and stuff for winning?"

"Yes. Money is one of the rewards. However, that is not why people join the Royale. Should a contender make it all the way to rank A, they gain the right to fight the queen's champion. Should you beat the champion five times, you then get to challenge the queen. Beat the queen and you take the throne."

"What? Just like that? She just steps down and hands the throne to the winner?"

"It sounds simpler than it is. In order to move up a rank, you must beat somebody of the same rank five times. People tend to join the Royale, thinking they will win, but upon losing, quickly realise it's not that easy. It's called the Forfeit Royale for a reason. Upon losing to an opponent, a forfeit must be completed. Refusal isn't an option. Refuse and you get imprisoned."

"I take it these forfeits are pretty bad then?" Erin asked, seeing Hella's worried looks.

"Yes. For each loss to the same person, the forfeits get worse. Lose once, and you must expose yourself to your opponent."

"Expose yourself?"

"Yes, you either have to show...your breasts, vagina, or penis."

Erin looked shocked. What kind of strange person would **** this as a punishment. But looking at Hella, Erin knew it only got worse.

"Lose twice and you must strip completely naked for your opponent. Three loses and you opponent gets to touch your body however they like. Four losses and you must..." Hella trailed off.

"I can sort of see where it's going." Erin said.

Hella took a breath and continued.

"A forth loss and you must...give your opponent an orgasm, with either, hand, mouth, or anything else that isn't sex. That's because sex is reserved for the fifth and final forfeit. lose five times and you must have sex with your opponent until they are...satisfied. Then and only then, once all forfeits have been completed, can you move up a rank."

"Seriously?" Erin said, shocked that this was even a thing. "Wait, is that what was happening to that woman outside?"

"Yes, she must have lost her fifth battle."

"But...why would anyone willingly sign up for that?"

Hella looked down, seemingly embarrassed by something.

"You saw the people outside." Ginny finally spoke up from the other side of the room.

Erin had almost forgot about her. She was now spread across two chairs, her armour on the floor beside her.

"Anyone who doesn't compete, lives like shit. Worse that shit. Plus, if somehow, you can make it all the way to the top rank, you get to take over and finally get rid of this stupid Royale bullshit." Ginny said, anger in her eyes.

"Can't people just move?"

"Move where?"

"I don't know, another country. Surely if it's this bad, any other country is better than this."

Ginny stood up and walked over to Erin. For a moment, he thought she was about to hit him. Instead, she pulled up her sleeve and showed him her wrist. A small glowing rune like symbol seemed to be almost burnt into her flesh.

"That. That is why nobody can leave. Everyone has one. They use this to track you. From the day you're born to the day you die. And before you ask, no, there is no way to get rid of them."

Erin looked shocked. He looked over to Hella, who also held out her wrist to show the same runic symbol. He looked at his own wrist, half expecting there to be the same thing, but to his relief, his wrist was rune free. He looked back up at Ginny.

"That." She said, pointing to Erin's wrist. "That is why you're here. You weren't born here. You don't have a mark yet. You can't be tracked."

"Ok?" Erin said, still not following what she was getting at.

"We think, our best bet to actually winning this thing, is by having somebody unmarked join the Royale."

Still looking confused, Erin scratched his head.

"Oh, yeh, something Hella forgot to mention. Training, in any way, is illegal."

"What?" Erin exclaimed."

"Exactly. The only way to get better, is by participating in the Royale."

"So if you're untrained...you have to risk going through the forfeits in order to not be like those people in the village?"

"Exactly" Ginny said, seemingly glad he was finally understanding.

"I still don't understand how I come into this?" Erin said.

"You're unmarked. Meaning, they can't track if you are training."

Erin couldn't help but agree. It did make sense. Though he didn't agree that it should be him.

"But how would I even train if I can't train against another person."

"That's simple." Ginny said, looking over at Hella.

Hella looked up and spoke. "Magic."

"Magic?" Erin said confused.

"I...I have been training my magic in the Royale for a while now and believe I can sort of trick the runes. Basically, if I were to cast a spell on a rune, then that person challenged you to a battle, you would be able to train against that person and they wouldn't get in trouble for illegal training because the rune would think they are in a true battle, even if the other person has no rune."

"I see...hold on." Erin had just thought of a flaw in that plan. "What if the person training me lost?"

Both Hella and Ginny went a little red at that question. But Hella continued.

"The forfeit would still have to happen."

"So I would still have to carry out the forfeit on whoever was training me?"

Hella nodded.

"But." She continued on. "You would be able to train as freely as you wanted, free of punishments until you win. Once we believe you are ready, we get you into the real Royale. You face your opponent and hopefully win."

Erin didn't like how Hella said hopefully. He could also see plenty of flaws in their plan. For starters, if he lost, he would be punished. If he won, he would still have to punish someone. Not to mention the sheer insane amount of victories he would need to make it to the top. He looked at both Hella and Ginny and they had a very expectant look in their eyes.

"So?" Ginny said a little aggressively. "Will you help us?"