Chapter 11
Fog
~Dragon Dancer~
“Okay, okay, I get it! I’m sorry!” I hissed. I stood in the same unused hallway trying to calm Dark who was screeching and flapping his wings at me. He flew around my head and I tried to catching him. Dark was annoyed at being cooped up and hidden, I really couldn’t blame him.
Finally I caught him in my hands, he calmed down a bit at my touch, “The tournament will be over soon, just five more fights and we will go and have some time to ourselves. After all, “I sighed, “we won’t win.”
Dark huffed and looked at me, impatiently waiting for me to let him go. Certain that he wouldn’t cause anymore fuss I released my grip. He wiggled out of my hands and flew over to my shoulder, satisfied with my apology.
I slid down to the floor onto the cool tile. The first out of the five battles would start in a few hours and I was in no rush. Everyone in our group was paired up with someone in the other finalist group, the Excruciates. It was done that way every Angelmark tournament; just one fight would be too fast, it was more entertaining with five. Because some of us could use magic and some couldn’t we couldn’t be paired randomly so the king and the judges matched us. Sometimes it was fair, sometimes not so much; such was the nature of human judgment. Just ten minutes before I learned (illegally) who was fighting who. First it was Gret vs. Vlad, then Rook and Hig, Brand and Marca, Sebastian and I, Aaron against…Luecor. This was unfortunate; I rather wanted us to win. I suppose I was being pessimistic, it was possible we could make it. Luecor was the problem, I knew him and that Aaron was no match for him. Hopefully we would win three matches before Aaron would go. But I also knew Luecor wouldn’t surround himself with weaklings; Brand, Gret, and Rook would be hard pressed.
Thinking about Luecor wasn’t pleasant and of him winning even more so. Too bad someone didn’t beat him in the earlier rounds; his ego was huge without all the attention.
I got to my feet brushing the bottom of my pants, none of my weapons making a sound. Not needing any sign or command Dark flew right to his hiding spot. Hands I my pockets I make my way to our room. When I stepped in Aaron was standing in the middle of the room without his shirt. Unfazed I walked in; through the years I had seen plenty of naked men and a reaction would be awkward; I wasn’t supposed to be a girl. The dark circles under Aaron’s eyes were still there; evidentially his dreams hadn’t been getting better. Everyone else in the room was realizing something was wrong, Brand and Gret had asked him about it this morning. Aaron of course, said nothing was wrong but I think they knew better. Naturally I knew too, Aaron didn’t know it but he was getting better at dream walking, as soon as he fell asleep he walked into my mind. I showed him some more memories, nice ones with games of tag and pretend, swims in the pond, forts, etc. But regrettably as I showed more and more, the more I thought about the Last Day and I couldn’t prevent the horrifying vision from seeping into my mind. Again Aaron saw the bloody mess, and he did not have the best of sleep. I wondered why I was showing him the images; did I want someone else to bear my pain too?
Aaron saw me at the door, “Oh, hey Gray!” he said clueless as ever. I nodded and collapsed on the couch. The room was now first class; ordinate lamps gave the room a pleasant glow, the cots were replaced with beds that had feather pillows and comforters (the group was especially happy about that), then there was the expensive-looking desk and couch I was sitting on, and, adding that last touch to the room, was the elaborate rug on the floor with a depiction of the land to the south, Alleria.
“So how are the ribs, Doc?” Aaron asked Gret who was feeling Aaron’s ribcage with experienced hands.
Gret had a puzzled look on his face, “As far as I can tell your ribs are completely healed.”
Aaron heard the confusion in his voice, “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Yeah, but that was pretty fast, even with my magic,” Gret shrugged, “Well, we might as well just accept the miracle.” It was anything but, I just thought that Aaron might as well be in top shape for his fight.
Gret told Aaron he could put his shirt back on then turned to me, “Alright, let me see your leg.”
“Its fine,” I said crossing it, “Plus you need to conserve your energy for your fight.”
“There’s no need to be shy,” said Brand nudging me.
“I’m not shy; I just think that there is no need to fix what isn’t broken.” I replied tartly.
“Come on Gray, this is just a quick check up,” said Gret trying to do his best puppy face.
I huffed and rolled up my pant leg, my shin had a sickly yellow look to it but was fine, I could handle what little pain there was. Gret inspected my leg, probing it with his fingers, “The bruise has definitely gotten better, does this hurt?” he asked, slightly pressing down on the bone.
“A little,” I said in a bored tone.
Before I could stop him Gret wrapped his hands around my shin and it turned back to its pale tint.
“You need to conserve your energy Gret,” I said irritated, “I hope that doesn’t cost you your win.”
For a second a sad look passed over his face but he quickly covered it with a laugh and a smile, “That was nothing. Besides, the same could be said for your injury.”
I lay down on the couch, unconvinced. Gret did not have the drive to win; he was still shaken from the death of Farrell.
Aaron, who was now fully clothed, clapped and rubbed his hands, “Sooo, what do we know about the Excruciates?” he said looking at all of us.
“Only the really obvious things,” grumbled Rook.
“Luecor is insanely strong,” said Gret.
“Luecor has never been beaten,” piped in Brand.
“Luecor is the boss,” Aaron threw in.
Everyone went silent. “We really don’t know anything?” said Aaron, more stating than asking.
Inside I sighed, I was planning not to say anything; I must have forgotten how they lacked any planning skills.
“The other members are Vlad, Hig, Sebastian, and Marca. Vlad uses two jagged short swords, Marca uses a ball and chain, Hig uses a spear, and Sebastian uses a sword and shield.”
Everyone looked at me with surprise, “What?” I said, “We saw them fight earlier; it’s your fault you didn’t gather any useful information from it.”
They looked around the room guiltily; Rook retaliated, “Come on, how were we supposed to know we’d end up fighting Luecor?” the others nodded in assent.
“You should all know by now that you should think of all the possibilities,” I said in a knowing tone. They recoiled at the thought of Ethan.
“Well, did you gather any more information?” asked Rook mimicking my voice.
The others laughed but I tilted my head, as if thinking, “Luecor uses a sword, it’s not a MAO but with his magic it doesn’t really matter. His magic is probably the most dangerous thing about him and he knows it. But that also makes it his weakness; he’s overconfident and will probably just flaunt his power, making him lose energy fast. The best strategy with him is to evade.”
The others stared at me, soaking in the info, Brand laughed and thumped me on the back, “Man are we lucky to have you. I mean, at first you sure didn’t look like much but you came through. I don’t think we’d be here without ya.”
I was taken aback by his sudden kindness and I nearly smiled, “Thank you but I’m just along for the ride.”
“And so modest!” said Brand, his hand still hammering my back.
“And battered if you keep doing that,” said Gret, “There’s only so many bruises I can heal Brand.”
Brand laughed but stopped, I rubbed my back relieved. Gret smiled and everyone went to work getting ready for the battles to come. I think I was the only one who noticed that his eyes weren’t laughing.
~Gret~
“My most entertained ladies and gentleman, welcome to the final round of Angelmark City’s 107th Tournament!”
The crowd roared with such intensity I wondered how they weren’t hoarse already. The five of us stood right outside the trapdoor waiting to hear who would go. Though his voice was loud enough I found myself craning to hear the announcer. Aaron, Brand, Rook, and not surprisingly Gray, they all looked calm and collected, even a bit excited. What did they need to worry about? They’d do great, that was a given, but me…I was shaking, my hands were clammy, I shifted from one foot to the other. My instincts were screaming that I wasn’t supposed to be there. I was the guy who tried to be funny, the doctor, not the former commander Aaron, or the natural fighter Brand, or even the insanely skillful Gray. No, I thought sighing, I wasn’t supposed to be here.
“Today not only each of the members of both the Excruciates and the Dragon Seekers will be facing off separately but they will also be fighting in different environments.”
Aaron had talked about that, in the final round the arena was changed somehow. Sometimes they used magic to create storms over the fighters, or they let a dragonet lose in the arena. It was different for each fighter and usually deadly.
“And for our first fight we have-,” I held my breath, “Vlad Ares from the Excruciates and Gretan Duman.”
My breath went out of my mouth painfully, I didn’t hear Aaron and the others giving me encouragement or the announcer going on. The air seemed to get colder but I was sweating like it was baking.
Suddenly something pinched me, shaking me from my shock. Automatically I turned to see the culprit and found Gray standing right beside me. “Nothing I can say can make you fight or feel better,” he said hastily, “But I think you should think about why you are here, think why. Now go!” he pushed me toward the stairs, the trapdoor was already open, I must have not heard the horn.
A sense of resignation went over me and I thought I might as well get this over with. Breathing in I walked out onto the painfully empty arena. Mirroring me on the other side was Vlad, which I could see from here was a pretty normal looking guy. He wore a brown shirt over mail and brown pants and to match his attire he had dull brunette hair.
I took a step forward, “READY!” another step. Why? I thought, Why was I here? “BEGIN!” There was a gust of wind and it was as if the clouds descended upon me obscuring my vision. Fog, that was my obstacle, and luckily a more harmless one. I looked up, directly above me the fog cleared allowing the audience to see me and presumably Vlad. Looking around in every other direction I couldn’t see farther than a few paces. I couldn’t hear the audience either; they must have done something about that too.
As quietly as possible I unsheathed my sword and stepped forward. I listened for Vlad, trying to pinpoint his location. My breath was unnaturally loud to my ears but I wasn’t able to hold it. Why was I here? Because out of everyone I was picked, I wasn’t going to win, I was going to lose. Crunch. I twisted to the right, from the sound he wasn’t far away. Swallowing I stepped sideways from it. What was Gray’s advice for? Was it to make me feel worse? I clutched my sword tighter, no, he told me to keep thinking why.
Another crunch, he was getting closer. I was here because I was picked. Why? Because we got this far in the tournament. A shadow passed in the fog. Why? Because we entered the tournament. Vlad lunged at me from the side, materializing out of the fog with a crooked smile on his ordinary face. Shakily I parried his sword, stepping away. The blade was short but jagged; any wound from it would be ugly.
Why did we enter the tournament? For the money. I blocked another swing and just barely kept my sword from flying from my hands as Vlad tried a complicated sword maneuver. This guy was good. Why the money? To fund the trip. Vlad swung at me viciously and I blocked very blow, taking me further back. Why go on the trip? The Dragon Dancer. I took another step back but hit the wall, unable to step further back his knife sliced across my forehead. The wound wasn’t deep but now blood flowed down into my eyes. Hastily I tried to wipe the blood away and concentrate on healing the cut. Why the dragon dancer? My answer stopped me short, Vlad’s blade came down on me again but it seemed slower than before and I easily knocked it to the side. The wish, we were here for the wish, for Aaron.
This time I swung at Vlad and he backed away. My insecurities and worries seemed to lift from my shoulders, my blade wasn’t as heavy. I had forgotten why I was here, but now I remembered thanks to Gray. I could win now, I was sure of it. Using the weight of my swords pommel I rained down blows on Vlad. Tired and desperate he retaliated with reckless swings. He lunged and I sidestepped it and as he passed I pinched his right arm, the one holding his sword, at a pressure point. Vlad turned on me again and did a little motion with his shoulder. Irritated Vlad tried to move his arm doing a strange jig.
I lowered my sword, “Give up,” I said, putting my hand to my cut and healing it, “Your arm is usele-.”
I wasn’t fast enough to raise my sword as Vlad plunged his jagged blade into my stomach. My eyes looked down at the knife, shocked. For a second I didn’t feel anything as my brain registered what was happening but then there was an explosion of pain. Vlad roughly pulled his sword out and I fell to the ground. In the back of my mind I noted that his immobile right arm still clutched his sword but his other arm pulled out a second matching one. Didn’t Gray say something about two swords? It was just my luck that I forgot it. Slowly my thoughts began to get fizzy from the pain and my eyesight began to fade too. I was vaguely aware of my own warm blood pooling around me. I had the strange urge to laugh, wasn’t that supposed to be inside me? Someone was applying pressure to my stomach now and there were voices. I tried to talk but couldn’t, I wanted to tell Aaron and the other I was sorry but instead I just made gasping noises. The pain suddenly swallowed everything and the whole world went black.
