"Hey! Cenn, Aydor! Come here."
As soon as Cenn stepped out of the Temple, a familiar voice called out to him. Uncle Hog was standing in the square in front of the Temple entrance, along with many other people waiting for news from the meeting.
Without hesitation the boys headed towards him.
"So, how did it go? Did you see that elder? Did he say anything?" The fat man pounced on the boys with a questioning look.
Cenn and Aydor looked at each other. No doubt the news would spread through the city tonight. Still, they didn't want to discuss what they'd heard in the company of strangers.
"Uncle Hog, let's discuss it on the way. I'd like to get home soon." Cenn replied hesitantly.
Hog hesitated for a second, but decided to go along with the boy.
"All right, let's go home. Just gotta find the old crook. Or he'll be sleeping in the ditch again. Wait for me here."
Saying this Hog turned around and disappeared into the crowd of people. And the boys were left surrounded by servants and members of the Orist family.
"Aydor, you must wait for your grandfather to come out of the Temple. And we can all go home together." One of the Orist family members turned to Aydor.
"I'm sorry Uncle Rant, but I'm going home tonight. I don't sleep well at my grandfather's house, and before tomorrow's battle, I'd like to get a decent night's sleep." Replied Aydor.
"But father will be upset, he wanted you to celebrate your victory with the family. Will you not respect the old man?" The man continued to insist.
"We already celebrated yesterday. Besides, you're perfectly capable of throwing a drunken party without me. So stop pestering me with stupid questions." Saying this Aydor turned towards the Temple, leaving Rant behind his back.
Seeing this scene the others present were hesitant to address Aydor again.
As for Cenn, he rarely spoke to anyone but Hog and Innodeus, albeit not by his own free will. So no one had any thought of speaking to him.
There was a buzz of conversation coming from all sides. Others in the tournament were talking about what had happened at the Temple. So it was easier to slip in other people's conversations than to pry something out of their young masters.
Cenn could feel the crowd around him getting more and more excited.
[News travels too fast.]
What was happening was disturbing to Cenn, considering that there were only 4 participants left in the tournament, the chance of meeting Aydor in battle would be quite high.
A couple minutes later, Hog returned in the company of the old teacher.
"Hey brats, how long are we going to wait for you? Hehe." Cenn shook his head in response to Hog's attempt at a joke. And together with Aydor, he headed towards the fat man.
"Wait for Velin, or he'll be sad to go home alone." Said Hog addressing the servants of the Bael family. Without waiting for a response he turned around and left. Cenn, Aydor, and Innodeus followed him.
...
As they left the square in front of the Temple, they found themselves on a rather quiet street leading to the exit of the city.
"That's it, no more prying ears here. Spit out what you've heard." Hog was eager to hear the news.
"Well, first the bishop told the life story of the First Martial Emperor, and then a sect elder spoke about the benefits of the medite technique..." Aydor began to recount the contents of the evening.
"The winner of the tournament will be accepted into the Iron Fist Sect. The rest is not that important." Cenn interrupted him.
"Did the Elder say that?" Hog questioned.
"Not just said it. He had the sect head's decree with him." Replied Cenn.
"Strange, the Iron Fists have always been closed off from the outside world. And only accepted those who came from the founding families into their ranks. What could have changed?" The old teacher remarked.
"I don't know what has changed in their sect, but this news changes things for us. The only question is whether it will be a change for the better or for the worse." Replied Hog.
"But this is a great opportunity. When I win, I'll become a disciple of the sect. I'll have access to the fourth set of sigils. I'll be as strong as Grandpa Erteos was, and I'll be able to help Dad and Grandpa with the family's business." In the back of his mind, Aydor already knew that he would be the winner of this tournament.
"I'm afraid you're getting a little ahead of yourself. You have to win first, but I'm sure that won't be easy."
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"But tomorrow is already the semi-final, which means that at least one of Cenn and me will make it to the final. And if we are lucky, both of us will be there. Aydor continued to fantasize about winning.
"If you think your next battle will be like today's, forget it. I'm afraid tomorrow you won't have to think about winning, but about keeping yourself alive." It was evident by Hog's voice that he was agitated.
"Uncle Hog, I'm not afraid to fight." Replied Aydor.
"Then you won't be afraid to kill your enemy either?"
Hog's question made Aydor freeze in place while his companions continued onward. Waking up from his appraisal he hurried to catch up with them.
"Uncle, don't try to scare me. I can win even without killing anyone."
"Hmm. That's a bold statement. But trust me, circumstances have turned out such that your opponents will do anything to win. This is no longer a friendly tournament among the town kids. Now the fate of the entire town depends on who wins this tournament." The more Hog thought about what was happening, the more nervous he became.
"Uncle, you're overestimating things."
"Kiddo, you are too naive. The winner of the tournament will be able to join the sect and will be able to form 4 seals without any doubt. That's not to mention the sect's support. And that's more than enough to take control of the entire city." Noted Innodeus.
Finally the company reached the city gates and found themselves on the road leading to their estate. The day was nearing its end and the road was empty. Hog looked around nervously, as if searching for enemies.
"We must hurry." The fat man motioned his companions over.
"Uncle Hog, what should we do if Aydor and I meet in battle." Asked Cenn, he had been worried about this question even before the tournament began. He knew very well that whatever the outcome, it would only give his aunt more reasons to hate him.
"You will have to fight and find out who is stronger. Don't you dare give up brat." Hog looked at him unhappily.
"I wasn't gonna do that."
Hog decided to distract himself and the boys from their heavy thoughts.
"Let me tell you a story you haven't heard yet. Aydor, you know that Cenn's father actually happens to be Velin's uncle. And in fact Cenn is of the same generation as me and your father. And in fact he is an uncle to you."
"Yes, uncle, I know that. But it's just so strange. Cenn is only a year older than me. And I'm already used to calling him brother." Replied Aydor.
"Yes call him whatever you want. So when a very long time ago, Erteos left the family and traveled the world. He was away from home for a long twenty-four years. When he returned Velin and I were six years old each. I was still a toddler, but I remember very well that at that time all I wanted to do was eat a good meal. And I didn't even dream of cultivating, and neither did Velin. "
Hog smirked sadly remembering his childhood.
"The truth is, your grandfather Genor was a worthless head of the family. He gambled away almost everything his father, your great-grandfather, left him. And what he didn't lose gambling, he drank away. And when Heurteos returned home to see his only kin. He found Me and Velin playing in the mud in the middle of a crumbling manor house. Fortunately for us, he decided that he couldn't leave us in that position and he took over the running of the family".
"I heard about that, though Dad didn't say Grandpa was a drunk." Aydor was a little saddened, newly discovered facts.
"Don't fixate on that, we're just getting to the most interesting part. The first thing the old man did when he became head of the clan was to return everything that Genor had drunk or lost. In those days, there was a huge gambling house in Hartglenn. On the surface it was an ordinary establishment, but in fact it was owned by a gang of river bandits who fished from Hearthglen to Bryndale. And this gang already considered all of the Bael family's property to be theirs."
"But why didn't the Temple protect us from the bandits?" Cenn asked puzzled.
"Ardul never meddled in the city's affairs. The bandits donated money to the Temple faithfully, so he turned a blind eye to a lot of it. Of course he put a bounty on the heads of bandits, but it was so insignificant that no one wanted to risk their lives for it.
So, when confronted with the fact that the gambling house didn't want to give Erteos back the land that belonged to the family. They even threatened him with death if he didn't give up the remaining lands and estates to pay Genor's debts. Your father decided to restore justice in the simplest way possible. One night, the gambling house at Hearthglen was gone, the building burned down and everyone who worked there disappeared without a trace. A day later, Erteos returned to the town with two bloody sacks in which he collected the heads of the river bandits. And dumped them in the square in front of the temple, demanding a reward. In front of the whole town, the bishop handed him the money and respectfully thanked him for his help."
"Wow, Uncle Hog, you're not kidding, are you? I don't believe you can bring a bunch of severed heads to the Temple and get money from the bishop's hands for it." Aydor was flustered.
"Heheh, what do you know, you little brat. That day, thanks to the Bishop, the whole city learned that Uncle Erteos was a fourth rank cultivator. During his wanderings, he would be able to access the fourth set of sigils and form the fourth seal. After that, things in the family took a turn for the better. Not only did he reclaim everything the family had ever owned, but he tripled the number of farms under our control. When we were eight years old, he hired that old crook to teach us how to read and write. And he became our mentor. And it was only because of him that Velin and I were able to reach rank 3."
"Yes, I remember the day Erteos found me in Norwath. Said he had two little goons to make decent men out of. And with all sorrow I must admit that I have succeeded only half as well..." Innodeus intervened.
"Ahahhh, yes you did. You really screwed up with Velin, old geezer." Replied Hog.
"Ahahhh, what a rascal you are." Laughed the old teacher.
"I told you this so you'd realize. Any honored family that gets a rank 4 cultivator will be able to take over the entire city within a couple of decades. If Erteos lived until today, there would be no honored families and no city council. Heartglen would have been our domain by now, and the Bael family would have been given a title of nobility. But Uncle died too soon, before he could finish what he started. And now we have that chance again. And the other families won't let it go that easily. Not us, not anyone else."
The smile disappeared from Hog's face. He walked hurriedly forward, looking around. Their manor was quite close now, but that didn't reassure him much.
"Both of you are sleeping in the main house tonight. I'll give you half an hour to gather everything you need and come to the main entrance. And that's non-negotiable."
"But I need more time. I can't get everything I need done in half an hour." Cenn protested.
"I don't care about that. If you don't show up on time, I will find you and bring you in by force. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Uncle Hog."
After a couple minutes of traveling in silence, they finally reached the manor.
"I'll expect you in half an hour." With that, Hog walked off in the direction of the main house.
"Kids, take care of yourselves. And don't upset the fat man. Hehehe." Innodeus said goodbye to the boys and headed towards the kitchen.
"I'm going to go too. Gotta talk to mom some more." Aydor ran off towards his house.
[We have to hurry or the fat man will scold.]
Cenn ran towards his house.