The selkie announcer called the final battle to action, but Julian was already distracted.

He was in charge of overseeing this tournament, judging any rules that were broken, and issuing the champion title. His word would be the final decision… and he could barely focus on the match when his eyes were drawn to a certain troll.

Why? He had some ideas. If he could guess, Gerda was going to be joining them in the battle to defend his people against the Blackfog spies. Or she was an undercover Blackfog spy and her name on the list was just so she could go undetected.

She found his locket? Maybe. Her surprise and fixation on him from across a crowded market could be that she was watching him - and disappeared to tell the others.

It wasn’t likely.

It was probably his patron Fate and her meddling sister. Julian was supposed to meet Gerda and they would be thrown together in his next trial. It was how he’d met all of his other party members…

What other reason would they keep running into each other? Out of an entire auditorium, she just coincidently sat directly opposite him and was targeted by a poison arrow? Ha, he wasn’t a fool.

She either knew about the arrow and caught it, or she was powerful enough to catch it. Since her strength was tied to her bridges, he could only imagine how many she controlled…

He came to his conclusion quickly. She might already have information about their mutual enemy, and Julian had news for her as well. There was no telling what Queen Henrietta and King Keith had decided to do about the list of names, so Julian would inform the troll himself when they spoke after the tournament.

He settled in to watch the match.

And then Gerda excused herself and left early.

She could just be stepping out for a second… but he sincerely doubted that. Another reason to be thankful that he’d dispatched a guard on the troll.

“And Vance lands a blow! But is it enough? No! Kenji has activated his [Wind Blade] attack!” The announcer called out, drawing Julian’s attention back to the battle below. It was just as impressive as the previous two.

Vance was a palm-sized mouse with a sword as big as a toothpick, but his Strength stat must have been in the thirties or higher since he was able to parry Kenji’s blade with ease. They charged at each other and suddenly there was a flash of steel and the loud clammer of sword on sword.

In order to fight Kenji properly, Vance would scurry left and right and then launch himself into the air. Once, when Kenji was a hair's breadth too slow, Vance managed to slice the knuckle on the human’s left index finger. A trail of red dripped down Kenji’s hand and onto his sword before the injury healed itself.

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Kenji stepped back and drew in a deep breath, whispering, “[Aura Blade]”

Julian couldn’t hear the words, but from this angle he could read Kenji’s lips. With practiced grace, the man slowly swung his sword in a diagonal slash. Vance, sensing the danger, lept high into the air about chest height to his opponent and rolled head over tail twice. The cutting energy that burst out of the sword missed the mouse’s vitals, but sliced clean through his tail.

Vance landed and then awkwardly tilted from the loss of balance before righting himself.

“Your Grace.” John was suddenly beside Julian. “The bridge troll is in the back room.”

Vance said something to Kenji and the human nodded solemnly. The mouse lifted his sword straight into the air, leaving himself open for a shot that never came as Kenji braced for whatever Vance was going to strike him with.

“She’s come early?” Julian didn’t turn from the fight. Strangely, knowing Gerda was already here finally allowed him to let go of her hold on his thoughts and actually concentrate on the battle. The tiny blade in Vance’s paws was starting to glow with purple light.

“She said she wanted to avoid the crowd.” John said, “though I think she just wanted to get it over with quickly.”

Below, Vance was cloaked all in purple. When the light fully engulfed him, he disappeared.

It wasn’t invisibility magic. Julian stood up and took a step to the edge of his box so he could look closer.

There was nothing to see until Kenji fell to the ground, knocked out by a tiny sword between his eyebrows and a tiny mouse sitting on his face.

The confusion erupted into cheers and Vance hurriedly poured a health potion on the human and scurried off to the side as the healers rushed forward to help.

“Was that…”

“A [Time] skill.” John nodded. Julian’s Perception was only level twenty-five, and so he couldn’t track the mouse at all. John, however, had a perception over thirty. “He can bank a certain amount to time and then move forward at a speed faster than we can percieve. The effectiveness of the attack is hampered by its loading time, but it is an incredible ability to possess.”

The announcer was already announcing a similar account, “And Kenji is down for the count! Vance used his famous [Delay Strike] for the first time in the tournament and what a finale! What a rare talent! Was it teleportation? Was it a time stop? No one knows!”

Vance bowed to his now awake opponent, as Kenji refused the offered hand by a healer and stood on his own. The human sheathed his blade and then returned the bow, low at the waist. A smile pulled at the corner of his lips and Kenji offered to treat Vance to a celebratory drink.

Julian raised his arm to indicate Vance was the winner and used the cast crystal to announce, “Victory in the final round to Vance Underwood!”

Then Julian turned away as Rish began a final count of the day’s battles and the schedule for the closing ceremonies.

“Send an invitation to Vance,” Julian ordered. “With a skill like that, he is wasted as a caravan guard.”

John nodded, “It is done.”

Julian picked up his drink and carried it to the door. “Also, send the extra guards I’ve stationed here to the Hall of Inventions.”

If the Dark Lady and her troll were going somewhere, he wanted back up on hand for whoever was targeting them.

Julian opened the door to the back room in time to watch the tea trolley carrying lunch tip over and splatter all over the floor.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Gerda placed one hand against her chest and looked at the server with unapologetic eyes. She then met Julian’s gaze and sent him a challenging look. “I didn't know it was Your Grace’s habit to poison the witness?”