Loward awoke the next day to find his surroundings had changed. His bed was in the corner of a large featureless white room. At one end of the room stood large bookshelves and a study desk that had a very familiar style to it. Across from his bed he could see a practice circle where a white robed figure sat with Featherkey patiently. He sat up to get a better look at the room and was noticed by his guests.
"Ah it seems that the prodigal student has awakened. How was your rest Loward? I hope it was better the second time around?" Loward looked at the doctor who had the creepiest placating smile and noted that the robed figure remained motionless.
"It was okay. Could you tell me where the hell we are?"
"You're in quarantine until you can get a hold of your madness. Well that is the official statement that I gave to his lordship. I am fairly certain that your extrinsic genetics have fully integrated our local disease quite nicely into your system and that full control has been reestablished."
"Then why the quarantine?"
"Because you need to finish your studies young man. My father knew that you would eventually arrive to this facility given the right amount of persuasion and stimulus. Why else would you have been allowed to leave his school with his Cards of Power. Do you think yourself such a clever thief to have purloined them from a man such as he? Loward raised an eyebrow and looked at Doctor Featherkey with a scrutinizing eye.
"So you're Master Corwin's son. I can see some resemblances. The vacant green eyes and bad posture do remind me of the old man. So what poor elf did he date rape to spit you out?" Featherkey chuckled a bit and stood to his feet. For some reason he seemed to grow in height when he stood with a straight back. "So you're telling me the crotchety old bastard knew I was headed here...aaaaand...he knew that I'd bring you his famed Cards of Power?"
"Exactly."
"So who is your little friend sitting like a lump on a frog's ass?" Loward was out of the bed and had begun his normal stretches.
"Don't tell me you forgot about me already Fucktard? I mean how often do you run into someone with my charm and sophistication." The robe figure stood and removed his hood to reveal his former upperclassman Duroth.
"Why are you he..." Loward noticed a slight resemblance between Duroth and Hogarth. "Oh you got to be kidding me? You're related to Master Corwin?"
"My grandfather to be exact, Timmy."
"So why exactly are you here? Don't tell me the old man wants to torment me with your presence." Loward finished his stretches and walked over to the desk he had noticed earlier. "You said something about finishing my studies. What exactly do you mean?"
"I have bought you a month's, perhaps two months', time to study from these books to increase you mystical knowledge. The purpose s to import the knowledge that you posses a very powerful gift that must be regulated and controlled unless the world be unmade by the ambitious."
"The Witch Fire." replied Loward.
"Exactly. An Extrinsic entity informed my father of your arrival and requested that you be instructed in the use of magic in this realm. During your initial encounter with Jonas he discovered that you brought a souvenir from your old life."
"Yeah a fuckin' death sentence to Midian if allowed to fall into the wrong hands." said Duroth. Loward turned to Duroth.
"That doesn't explain why you are here." Duroth grinned as he stretched his back.
"I'm here to teach you how to fight so that you don't get into a situation like this in the future."
"I'm not the weakling that you beat on at the school. I have learned a thing or two in my travels."
"It's only been a few month's fucktard. You can't possibly think you can take me?" Loward grinned and approached Duroth in the training circle.
"Tap out or knock out. No killing. You cool with that Duroth?"
"Bring it on." The two began to circle each other in the as they took up battle stances. Loward's body began to grow in mass and hair as he assumed his monstrous human form. It was larger and more massive than it had been before and his long mane of black hair now had streaks of white. "Oh you want to get furry. Then let's get furry." Duroth shifted into an impressive half-form pale eyes and grey fur. Duroth attacked with an impressive style of tooth and claw maneuvers which ,had Loward not been enhanced by Tomas's wolf blood, may have been a threat. The grey lycanthrope darted to and fro inside the circle trying to confuse and off balance his adversary but whenever he closed to attack, Loward was always out of reach.
"I thought you were here to school me Mr Badass? It seems to me that your skills are lacking to my new talent." Duroth pressed his assault even harder which forced Loward to take a more defensive position. Every strike was parried and he escaped every hold that Duroth tried. This went on for an hour and Duroth had come no closer to landing a solid blow. "I think I understand how your style works now. Let me try." Loward shifted into his half form which stood a full head taller than Duroth's and pressed an attack of his own. He replaced the claw attacks with knuckle punches and ridge hand strikes and refrained from biting attacks. His blows connected with a sickening thud and the sounds of fracturing bones. Duroth threw a punch and Loward countered meeting fist with fist. "Bone Crusher." uttered Loward as Duroth dropped to his knees holding his limp arm.
"I yield. Damn man! Where did you learn that from?"
"Just made it up. I used a few principle techniques to create a counter punch of destructive potential. The telekinetic enhancement helped as well." He turned to Doctor Featherkey who had watched the match intently for it's entire duration. "I think your son has outgrown his usefulness."
"I will send him back to my father as soon as he is well enough to travel. It seems that you may be closer to my level than I thought. So from now on you will spar with me in the mornings and for the rest of the day you will study the books on those shelves. "
"Well let me get to work then." Loward grabbed a book off the shelf and began to study.
That's the end for now…