Relma found Estela visiting Frederick soon after. It was within their pavilion, laid aside at Benarus' expense. Frederick and Ronald had been given wine and servants to see to them. Relma thought this wise of Benarus. During the tournament, Relma had heard stories from Ronald of his adventures. They'd hunted much undead and saved the life of William and Felix, along with a famous druid called Jehair.

They'd also rescued many people who had been taken by slaving mercenaries from Sorn. No one was sure about the details, but William maintained it was the High Priest. Relma could simply not believe this, however, and neither had Ronald. You didn't become a High Priest of Elranor without some faith, and no one with any faith would do such a thing.

Either way, the knight was still being forced to spend a lot of time in bed by Aunt Pan. As it turned out, he was sleeping, and Estela was sitting there. Ronald was washing his hands while standing guard a little way off.

"Estela, I need to talk to you," said Relma.

Estela looked up in surprise. "What is it?"

"I..." Relma didn't want to say this. But she had to. "Well, honestly, how you won the tournament was wrong."

"What?" said Estela, staring at her.

"You didn't break any rules," said Relma. "But you flouted every courtesy and tradition. Against Garrick, it was understandable; he'd already broken them. But William didn't cheat or anything. You broke tradition simply because you didn't like him."

"I didn't have a choice," said Estela.

"You could have lost the tournament," said Relma. "It would have been an honorable match."

There was silence for a moment.

"...I need the money, Relma," said Estela with a sigh. "My family needs the money. We've had to raise several armies in the past decades, and the crown is virtually bankrupt. And now Stormstrike in eastern Escor is planning something.

"We may be in league with the Dragon Empire.

"With the money I won from the tournament, we could pay off our debts and refill the treasury. I must win this, or my family could fall from power."

"Oh, well, that's a good reason," admitted Relma. "Still, maybe you should explain yourself to William. It wouldn't be a good idea to have a vendetta between Vortegex and Gabriel."

"I don't need to justify myself to him," said Estela. "Do you know what his allies did in the Escorian Civil War? What Arraxia and the Dust Elves? And all in a war House Gabriel started."

"Maybe he needed the money as well?" said Relma. "Did you ever consider that?"

Before Estela could answer, the door opened. She looked up to where a man was entering. "Yes?"

Ham Hawkthorne entered the room. Estela stood up in anger. "Sir Ham Hawkthorne. What do you want?"

Ham looked different. He bowed his head. "I've come to apologize for my previous behavior. I was cowardly, ungrateful, and horrible. I am... ashamed of my previous actions."

"Don't worry about it. I forgive you," said Relma.

"He tried to cleave in your skull from behind," said Estela.

"Well, yes, that was pretty bad," said Relma. "But he apologized. And he seems pretty genuine." She looked back to Ham. It wasn't like she got anything out of holding a grudge here. "Why were you so upset about losing anyway?"

Ham shifted. "My father, he is a mighty lord. But he's been ridiculed for never taking the field of battle. He doesn't regard combat as anything glorious. But men say that House Hawkthorne are weak merchants who advance only by marrying well.

"I fought alongside Reginald to try and gain recognition for my deeds. But when I returned, I..."

"Yes?" said Relma.

"A number of my father's business partners in Sorn cheated him," said Ham. "He lost a great deal of money and has debts to repay. I hoped to win this tournament and pay off those debts.

"Instead, I ended up being bailed out by Reginald.

"I'm sorry."

"Sound familiar, Estela?" asked Relma, looking at her.

Estela shifted. "...Alright, point taken. Is there anything else?"

"I also have a warning for Lady Estela," said Ham.

"What is it?" asked Estela, looking eager for it to end.

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"House Gabriel and House De Chevlon, as well as several others. They could have agreed to unite during the melee," said Ham. "They plan to beat you into the ground and then split the difference.

"And I will be standing with them."

"Then why are you warning us?" asked Relma.

"It wouldn't be fair," said Ham. "I already tried cheating once; I'm not going to do it again. It would be sinking back to my previous level."

"You could side with us," said Relma.

"I already owe Reginald a debt for bailing me out of prison," said Ham. "And the De Chevlons are considering paying off my father's debts for him.

"It may not be right, but I must pick a side.

"I choose my allies."

Relma remained silent for a moment. "...Thank you, Ham."

Ham nodded. "Milady."

Then he turned and walked out. Estela clasped her hands together and leaned back. "...Well, we'll have to do something about this. Frederick is still too weak to fight. That means it will be you, me, and Ajax against Varsus, William, Reginald, and Ham. If we could get Fayn and Garrick on our side-"

Ham walked back in. Estela looked up. "Yes?"

"Sorry, I forgot to mention," said Ham. "Garrick is in Saphra De Chevlon's pay; she hired him with a promise for part of the winnings. And Fayn is on their side as well.

"Good day." Then he walked out again.

Estela sighed. "...We're doomed."

"We could always just forfeit," said Relma. "We've already won the tournament. Then they'd just have to fight each other."

"Out of the question," said Estela. "The honor of House Vortegex is on the line. Why did De Cathe have to go off the Black Marshes like that? If he were here, this would be far easier."

"I could choose a substitute," blurted Frederick.

Estela looked up at him. His eyes were open. "What?"

"When a knight cannot fight in the melee because of injury. It is a tradition that they can choose a substitute to take their place," said Frederick. "I will choose Ronald to act in my stead. He proved himself in the Raishan War.

"With his help, you may stand a chance."

"Maybe," said Relma. "Ajax will want to go after Garrick for a rematch. He took his loss personally."

Estela shook her head. "That will lead to a stalemate between them, and we'll be cleaned up. "Okay, Relma, talk to Ajax. Ask him to go directly after Ham once the fight starts. We'll want him knocked out quickly. That will leave us even in number. Then he can take care of Garrick while we deal with the others.

"Ronald should go with Varsus since Varsus is a defensive specialist. You deal with Fayn, and I'll handle Gabriel."

"What is Fayn doing with them?" wondered Relma.

"Trying to get revenge on you," said Estela.

"Well, that's the obvious answer. But we called a truce," said Relma.

"She said she called a truce," said Estela.

"I don't know," admitted Relma. "I think she has something else planned. Maybe she's planning to backstab them or something."

"Maybe, maybe not," said Estela. "Either way, we're assuming that she's not on our side.

"Do you think you could ask Lady Pandora for aid?"

Relma considered it. "I could talk to her about it," she said after a moment.

Later in her house, Aunt Pan did not look up from her knitting. For a moment, she remained silent, needles moving rapidly. Then, finally, she looked up. "No."

"What do you mean, no?" asked Relma.

"I mean no, Relma," said Aunt Pan. "I told you before, I would help you get into the tournament to win or lose as you could on your own. But, I'm not going to balance the scales in your favor."

"But why not?" asked Relma. "House Gabriel will be doing exactly the same thing!"

"True," conceded Aunt Pan. "But then, they have a vested interest in this tournament is won. I don't. Whoever wins the melee is of no concern to me. Estela already has the money she needs."

"Well, yes, but if she wins the prize for the melee, she'll have even more," said Relma. It sounded weak, even to her.

"Why do you think Varsus came down here in the first place?" asked Aunt.

"Hmm?" said Relma.

"Varsus is the heir to Brisgald," said Aunt Pan. "A significant person in House Gabriel. He didn't come down here purely to fight a tournament. Escor is a concern to everyone in Harlenor. If it falls into chaos, the Dragon Empire could break through the Pass of Dragon Bones."

"What's the Pass of Dragon Bones?" asked Relma.

"A strategic location in Southern Escor," said Aunt Pan. "Very difficult to move an army through."

In any case, I can't take a side even if I want to. I am Lady Pandora. My great advantage is existing outside of politics. Every time I involve myself, I become committed.

"If I were to provide your side with the means to victory, other people would start asking. The melee needs to be more important for me to get involved. At worst, House Vortegex will owe House Gabriel or De Chevlon a favor."

"What does that mean?" asked Relma.

Aunt Pan sighed. "Relma, House De Chevlon has grown rich on the slave trade. And House Gabriel is catching up to them with their malas riches. Do you really think they will let House Vortegex fall for the sake of some generations-old grudge? When could their replacement be an empire of firebreathing lizards? One who would devour whole flocks?"

Relma considered that. "...No."

"Exactly," said Aunt Pan. "No.

"I've been negotiating with Varsus and Saphra De Chevlon. All while they were here under the pretext of joining the tournament.

"But Estela has thrown the entire plan into disarray. The way things are going now, House Vortegex isn't going to owe House Gabriel or De Chevlon anything."

"So you didn't want Estela to win?" asked Relma.

"Don't be absurd," said Aunt Pan. "We'd much prefer House Vortegex independent from House Gabriel. It will make the succession far easier to manage. Also, bringing Escor into the fold will be much easier.

"But having Escor being indebted to House Gabriel would likely be the death knell to your chances. Ascending the throne would become nearly impossible for you at that point. We'd need to wait for a generation, at least.

"Even then, Vanion and his heirs might be too competent and could be another age. Chances to reinstall royal bloodlines don't come about often."

"So why don't you want us to win?" asked Relma.

Aunt Pan shrugged. "House Gabriel and De Chevlon hold grudges. They perceive that they've been wronged. So now they want to get back at House Vortegex. So let them.

"If their vengeance is defeating Estela three-on-one without anyone dying... So be it. It is definitely preferable to war or a more severe conflict. None of them are wicked enough to deliberately kill or permanently injure her. Estela suffering the consequences of her actions might be a good experience. She's far too reckless for her own good. And she did do a great deal to earn their ire.

"Conversely, if you knock them out, they'll stew over their losses. They may then do something spiteful and dangerous.

"I'd much rather have things end in the tournament."

Relma felt annoyed at this. Just who was Aunt Pan to tell her how the others would react. She could win and make this work and not have a grudge seething afterward. She'd prove it. "Well, I'm going to try and win this melee all the same."

"That is your choice, of course," said Aunt Pan.

Relma turned around and walked out. She should have known they'd have to handle this on their own.