She finally asked, “Where are we going to do some of this, guys?”
They sat in silence for a minute, and then Ryan said, “I have an idea.”
Ryan pursed his lips, waiting for Eric’s response. They stood inside the partially empty guest house at the estate of Ryan’s parents in Potomac, Maryland, where mostly rich people lived. Outside, tall trees loomed in nearly every direction, just far enough away from the house to prevent falling leaves from clogging gutters. The shade they cast moved with the breeze so that sunlight danced across the hardwood floors inside, never staying constant. There were no curtains or hardware to hang them, or furniture. His parents had renovated the place years ago, having all the walls painted, new cabinets added, the whole bit, but then they stopped short of finishing it when Ryan had paralyzed Daniel so long ago. The thought made him sigh, for the building was frozen in time back to that period and it always brought unpleasant memories back. Even so, it seemed the best option for what he and his friends needed.
“I think this will work,” Eric admitted, looking around.
Ryan felt a little relieved at the reaction. He admired Eric even before this business with being champions arose, but his friend’s critical thinking skill wasn’t something he’d really noticed before. Eric would find the flaw in just about anything. While the others had good ideas, no one picked them apart like his former juvenile delinquent friend.
Sometimes he wondered if that past was where Eric got the skill from. Had breaking into places, stealing, and making his way by his wits made him not just street smart, but savvy? Eric thought things through with a speed and precision that would have made Ryan jealous if he really cared about being that way himself. In his mind, Eric was their leader, though Ryan was supposed to act like it on arriving for a quest, or any other time they needed to impress on people how important and powerful they supposedly were as the Ellorian Champions. He was the most imposing for his height and muscular physique, the golden and gilded armor of Lord Korrin of Andor an impressive sight.
More people wanted to talk to him, too, for Eric was supposed to be Andier of Roir, the Silver-Tongue Rogue, with a reputation for swindling people or tricking them into revealing too much. Matt as the Majestic Magus Soliander of Aranor just scared everyone. And Anna as the Light Bringer Eriana of Coreth, who saved countless lives by channeling a god’s healing power through her, inspired reverence, respect, and awe, much of it causing people to be very polite and keep some distance.
All of this left Ryan to receive the exuberance of desperate people grateful for their arrival to save them. He was the showman, too, having played a knight for years at the local Renaissance Festival for fun, so beyond knowing how to don armor and swing a sword (just not for real), he was best suited to the apparent-leader role. That Eric held that position behind the scenes was fine with him. They just had to stay on the same page.
And so Ryan sighed in relief on hearing Eric accept the use of the guest house as a training area. On the same property where his parents and he lived with his brother, the building stood two stories and had its own three-car garage, driveway, and gate with unmanned security. An acre of land, with a line of thick pine trees, separated it from the main house. As long as they kept quiet, everything but the horseback riding could be done here without his family even knowing they were using it. The property had some empty acres where archery could happen, too.
Looking at some old Persian rugs the family was storing stacked atop each other in the living room, Ryan said, “I think we have to clean it up a little. Use the dining room for storage due to the chandelier being in the way anyway. Can’t swing anything in there. We can move some of the other unused furniture there, create the spaces we need.”
“Is there a basement?” Eric asked.
“Yeah. And it’s got some big open space, depending on what’s been put down there.”
“Let’s have a look.”
They soon decided the first floor would have minimal equipment in case anyone happened by, like the gardeners and others who maintained the property. They didn’t want suspicions forming. Gym mats and exercise gear would occupy the basement that would be kept dark when not in use. They realized that, if anyone did catch their cars here, that maybe they should pretend they were using it as a place to hang out, and they would need somewhere to sit anyway. Some couches, tables, and an entertainment system would help convince anyone they weren’t up to anything weird. Matt, being a techie, could set up a security camera to alert them to anyone dropping by if they were downstairs. The need for such a ploy became apparent sooner than expected.
The front door opened with a bang and Ryan’s younger brother rolled his wheelchair over the threshold and into the foyer, then the living room, from where he smirked at them as they sat on the pile of Persian rugs in the adjacent dining room. His long black
