“...”
As Riana watched Lawkey give Sana some kind of gift, her attention quickly turned towards the other merfolk who were talking to the Golden Garden Guild members, trying to appeal to them.
She felt the heat race to her head as her brows furrowed. The sight of her people constantly being on edge, begging for help as if they were weak and helpless… She couldn’t stand it any longer.
Even if she had to fight alone, so be it. The only thing holding her back was Sana, but since the guild was coming after the little girl now too, Riana didn’t see any other option for them but to fight.
This was their ancestral home, where they belonged. It’s where Rania was turned into a golden statue, where the great Nimue sacrificed her life to ensure the survival of their race.
Sana spoke of a big tide on the horizon… Whether that’s a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain. If there is anyone who has a chance to survive a big tide, it’s us Merfolk!
As Riana steeled her mind, Lawkey had already risen with a renewed luster in his emerald eyes of his own.
This was obvious to anyone who could see them from the front. However, someone who was still behind them, watching them stand in silence, couldn’t keep his patience under control any longer.
“!”
He had just thought of a perfect plan as well.
“Friend, I’ll tell ya where ya can get some ‘er those pancakes, if ya help these poor folk.” Alviss, having given it all some thought, closed one eye and directed the other at the swordsman’s back. He had firmly grabbed onto his golden round necklace at some point, tracing the dwarven design with his fingers.
Twitch! Twitch!
Lawkey’s ear suddenly twitched in place upon hearing the magic word; it almost seemed like his ear was getting bigger for some reason.
But… I already decided to help out… Wait! If I can help AND get some pancakes… Isn’t that getting two oversized parrots with one luminescent stone? In that case…!
In a split second, Lawkey turned around in a flourish and planted a hand on Alviss’ shoulder, “Deal! Whatever you say, Shorty!”
Eh?! It worked?! On the receiving end of the unusual sparkling eyes, Alviss couldn’t help but question what had just happened.
“...”
To the side, as if on the same wavelength, both Sana and Riana looked at the swordsman with pity in their eyes.
Hey! Don’t give me that look! I was already going to help! Besides, you would get it if you had pancakes at least once! Sana, you traitor, I thought we had a connection about the taste back on the ship! Lawkey lampooned inwardly, then let out a long sigh before changing into a more serious expression.
“?!”
Just as Lamia and Salil were trying their best to find a solution with the annoyed Cleitus, they all turned to see the gang walking closer to them.
While Alviss and Lawkey took the lead, Riana stuck a little behind as Sana stayed close to her auntie’s leg. Even now, she found herself looking for Arya, the older siren, amidst the crowd, but couldn’t find her.
“What’s this?” Cleitus raised an eyebrow after looking their way, “Do you really want to get involved with this, newbie? It shouldn’t have anything to do with you, right?”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Involved? Ma friend here just wants ta have a friendly duel with ya.”
Alviss kept his stern expression while gesturing to the baffled Lawkey pointing at himself.
“I do?” The swordsman asked before coming to his own conclusion. I thought we were going to fight them head on, but a duel isn’t a bad idea! Good going, buddy!
No matter the continent, the unspoken universal rule between warriors and fighters was to uphold the outcome of a duel no matter what. That was the case on Tartarus as well, perhaps even more so for the unlawful exiles and criminals. It was the one code they still adhered to most of the time.
Alviss, having come to that same conclusion and wanting to avoid needless bloodshed, continued with the terms of the duel he suggested, “If ma friend wins, ya lot leave the island!”
“...”
Cleitus took a moment to process what this dwarf was saying. His demands were ludicrous to say the least. A simple friendly duel to decide the outcome of such a large dispute?
It seems the dwarf has no idea how big this conflict really is. Whether I win or lose, me leaving this island doesn’t change a thing with the executive of the Golden Garden Guild basically living in his cathedral on this very island. Cleitus ran through his options before quickly coming to a decision. The outcome here doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. At best, it would delay our progress by a mere few hours. It’s your own fault for not informing yourself properly and making such low demands. You're lucky I’m bored, and I’m very curious about one thing in particular…
“Fine, I’ll bite. The name is Cleitus of Golden Garden.”
“Golden Garden? Neva heard of ya.”
“Haven’t you paid attention at all? It’s our esteemed guild with only Royal Clansmen as members.”
While Cleitus tried to inform the ignorant outsider on some ongoings in Tartarus, his friends quickly approached behind him.
“Hey, Cleitus! This isn’t the job! What do you think you’re doing?” Liv voiced her discontent with her usual frown.
“It’s too late now, Liv. Let him have his fun. It doesn’t really matter anyway.” Behind her, Bakari scoffed while picking up a curved sword from the ground and putting it inside the cloth around his waist next to his dagger.
Cleitus, ignoring his companions behind him, moved the conversation along, “What happens if I win?”
“Hey, Shorty, look at this guy thinking he has a chance.”
“Haha, good one, friend.”
“Thanks, Shorty!”
Snap!
As Lawkey and Alviss exchanged what seemed like a moment of male bonding, Cleitus felt a vein bulge on the side of his forehead.
“Keep talking like that.” The wind user sauntered forward, releasing his killing intent for everyone to notice. “For someone like you, a mere newbie, I’ll make you eat those words after a single hit!”
“Is this guy an idiot?” Liv crossed her arms and gritted her teeth.
“Shut up and watch, new girl. This is how we do things here. You better get used to it.” Bakari fixed his hair with a smile.
“...”
“What are they doing?”
“A duel?”
“Do they want the island for themselves instead?”
Murmurs resounded from the sidelines. Lamia, Salil and the rest of the merfolk were waiting to see what would happen. While a part of them wanted the Golden Garden Guild members gone, they also didn’t want the wrath of the Coin Masters coming down on them after these two strangers stuck up for them.
Riana gripped her spear with one hand and patted Sana’s head with the other. She was biding her time, knowing full well a simple duel will not mark the end of this conflict. She needed to be ready for whatever came next. The three members of the guild here were far from the main threat.
“Okay, I got it. If ya win, I’ll join yer guild for a while.” Alviss finally answered after a moment of deliberation. “I’m the best blacksmith there is, and with the right pay and equipment, I can easily make weapons on the scale of 2 Golden Stars Grade!”
There it is! That’s what I wanted to hear! Cleitus celebrated inwardly. He had closely observed one of the weapons earlier and was impressed by the craftsmanship. If he could bring someone like this into the guild, even just as a hired blacksmith, he was sure to gain some favors with the Coin Masters. Maybe they would even give me Zoran’s spot! After all, they have been wanting a talented smithy for a while now.
“What a coincidence, we’re in need of a blacksmith anyway. So, that’s perfect!” Cleitus confirmed what the duel’s outcome would entail.
It wasn’t long before everyone made their way slightly north of the statue where there was more space for the awaited duel.
While Alviss stood in the middle, Cleitus took the dwarf’s right side, while Lawkey the left. They each stood at the ready.
“Uncle…” Sana muttered as she tightened the grip on her auntie’s hand.
Riana simply watched in silence, but kept her attention focused around her on the other two members or anyone else who might show up.
Then, the dwarf began the countdown.
“3, 2, …” Just as Alviss was about to end his countdown, Lawkey already felt a disturbance under him that no one else could see. It quickly threw him off his guard. “1! Duel Start!”
Whisshh! Whooshh!
In a split second, the wind exploded beneath Lawkey, but instead of hitting him, it was directed at his sword, Eclipsed Dawn, causing it to fly away towards the opponent.
Snatch!
“Heh, cool sword!” Cleitus snorted upon catching it.
“Um, excuse me… that’s my sword. Can you, uh… give it back, maybe? It’s kinda precious to me. I can’t just use any other one, you see.”
Lawkey found himself in a misfortune dilemma once more.
Was this his luck acting up again?
Even so, for some odd reason, his nerves were completely calm.
Just then, he realized that someone else was touching the precious tassels and sheath that he was gifted by many of those who he cared for. Some of which weren’t alive anymore to replace them if something were to happen to them.
“...”
Now that realization quickly ignited a raging flame in his emerald eyes.
----------------------------------------
image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]