Chapter 30

As soon as the men were ready, they hustled off to the arena and got themselves checked in. Roden made sure to reserve a box suite for his mother just in case she decided to attend. At that point, money wasn’t much of an issue, Riakon’s dimensional bag was full of all the money they would ever need for common things.

They didn’t have to wait nearly as long for their match that day, given they had arrived a fair bit later than the day before. Roden noticed Errrkkkk wasn’t in the best shape that morning, but some breakfast and coffee had him bright eyed and bushy feathered. Roden facepalmed at his own mental joke.

Riakon hadn’t brought up their conversation from earlier that morning and Roden was content to leave it shelved for now. He definitely wanted to pick their brains about it all, but he wasn’t confident he could manage it without making himself look like an idiot or worse an imposter. He pushed all of those thoughts aside and focused on the fight at hand.

They were set to take on a team of mages. If Roden was a betting man he’d bet they would be able to counter some of his spells. He had a sinking suspicion that meant he was going to have to get up close and personal in order to be effective against these glass cannons.

When it came time to make the walk through the tunnel Roden was buffed to the gills. First, he had prepared his Divine Gambit, which was a morning ritual at that point. He had his Basking Embrace on each of them, granting their signature flaming glow as they made their way through the darkness.

He was clad in his Grove Armor as always with his Moment of Ignition cape flowing behind him. It was his newest addition to his buffs that bolstered his new look. His Adventurer’s Aegis was clad to his left arm, it was an obnoxiously large round shield that he imagined made him look like Leonidas from ‘300’ minus the abs of course.

The announcer took over as they made their entrance,

“Innnnnnnn the Red Corner, we have a fan favorite folks, if their last couple fights are any indication! They are quick, they are powerful, they are the ever faithful, Sons. of. Era-rchy!!!!”

They took their places at their marks for their corner as the crowd showered them in applause. Roden took in the crowd a little differently this time. He realized that yeah, they had earned the applause. They put on good shows and weren’t overly arrogant about it all. He raised his shield arm high in a sign of respect to the crowd, who began to quiet as the announcer introduced their opponents.

“Innnnnnnn the Blue Corner, we have a team shrouded in mystery, they hail from the far off city of D’Oreizahn in the shadow of The Great Tower. They are the mystical, the mighty, the Darkhaus Elves!!!!”

Out of the tunnel stroud three identical figures all clad in dark blue cloaks with their hoods drawn. When they took their places on their marks they raised their arms from their sides in a pose that reminded Roden of a crucifixion. In that instant, each figure tripled leaving Roden and company staring at nine identical looking images.

“Well fuck.”

“Cacaw.”

“Ready!!! Set!!!! Fight!!!!”

With the announcer’s cue they were off. Errrkkkk launched into the air and raised his talons to the sky setting up a Soul Sphere. Roden knew these mages were going to pick him apart from range if he was just sitting up there. He followed Riakon in a headlong charge straight towards the hoard of elves. As they ran, he flung his hand out and shouted his favorite incantation “Conflagration!”

His fireball flew passed Riakon and crashed in the center of their enemies. However, instead of it being the cataclysm he had hoped for, Roden saw them waving their hands projecting barriers of concentric circles.

It wasn’t clear to him if his spell had done anything other than distract them. He activated his Blaze ability as it had the added benefit of signaling if the enemy had been touched by his flames. To his surprise all of the figures started smoldering as his Blaze took effect.

Riakon bellowed a war cry that sounded like it was straight out of one of those Viking period shows. By the time he reached his targets they were a jumble of figures.

Roden saw his hesitation and yelled to him, “Riakon, they are illusions just start swinging!”

That was all he needed to hear. Using the momentum of his charge Riakon swung his hammer. When he connected with one of them, the figure shattered. It sounded like he had put his hammer through a bay window, but there was no glass, just wisps of magic fading into the air. His second strike, while in the midst of them, was just as successful as another duplicate shattered to pieces. Unfortunately for Riakon, his attacks left him nearly surrounded.

The charred mages started casting all at once. It was nearly impossible to decipher what was being cast or which one was casting which spell. All Roden knew was the ground beneath his feet was suddenly the slipperiest surface he had ever touched. He slid on his heels straight toward the group without any way to stop himself.

Riakon was in an even worse position, he could do nothing as two of the mages unleashed gouts of flames from their mouths in a racing torrent that washed over Riakon and headed straight for Roden.

Both men were engulfed in enemy flames. Their auras from Basking Embrace were burned away. Roden was fortunate to have his armor and shiny new shield, which prevented most of the remaining damage he would have taken. Visibly, Riakon had taken the spells point blank.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

What most missed was the faint glow that came from his shoulder, his Tiamat given resistance blunting their flames. Riakon grinned wickedly, knowing they wouldn’t be expecting him to counter so swiftly. He drove his hammer around with all his might and slipped on the now flaming oil at his feet. He crashed to the ground with a gut wrenching thud that made Roden cringe.

With Riakon’s attack halted, Roden cast Instant Destination, putting himself over Riakon. It was Roden’s turn to grin as he activated Flashpoint. His cloak flared and burned up as if it were a fuse. When it reached his shoulders it winked out. The moment seemed to hang in the air for an eternity before three of the flaming figures erupted in bright pillars of fire.Again the three mages brought up personal barriers to halt his flames.

As much as he wanted to pour on the fire. He knew the spell they were using and its resistance lasted for longer than he had to capitalize on their inattention.

Seeing Riakon struggling to get to his feet behind him gave him an idea, “Riakon, give me your hand!”

From his kneeling position Riakon looked a bit confused, but offered his hand all the same. Roden leaned back with all his weight. He dug into the floor of the stage with his shield. With a great heave he yanked Riakon not just to his feet, but skiing across the oil.

Roden wasn’t expecting much from the maneuver, but he figured Riakon on his feet was better than casting a spell the mages were already shielding against.

Riakon had other plans.He let his hammer trail behind him, the second his clawed foot gained traction, he used the momentum from his slide to power his swing. He shattered another image with the first strike, and found home with the second.

He caught the mage in the chest. His hammer exploded with a thunderous boom. Out of rage Riakon poured a dose of divine magic into the strike creating a smiting blow. The mage was sent tumbling off the edge. Even if they hadn’t fallen out of the arena there was no way they could continue.

The other mages were left with a real dilemma. They now had to deal with the fact they were outnumbered and had an unhappy Dragonkin in their faces. One of the elves began waving their arms about ending their gesture with a pulling motion. A powerful gale came ripping through the arena buffeting Roden, who was still in the oil. He started sliding uncontrollably.

Riakon was the picture of resolute focus. He slammed his hammer into the floor and was unmoved by the wind. Roden was heading straight for Riakon when the second mage started casting their spell.

Electricity rose from their fingers as they threw their hands out. A bolt of lightning shot straight through Riakon. Stray arcs built up around him and continued to pass in a line. Roden just managed to get his shield up as he was struck with the spell.

Roden found being electrocuted a novel experience. Preferably, one he would never have to endure again. It was sometime around then that Roden wondered,

'Where the hell is Errrkkkk?!'

He turned his head around in the direction Errrkkkk flew off in at the beginning of the fight. Roden was amazed to see Errrkkkk hovering high above the arena floor, a Soul Sphere the size of a smart car held above his raised hands. The timing was just right as Errrkkkk threw the ball of energy straight toward the fight.

From the ground Roden didn’t feel good about their chances of getting away from that beast of Soul Sphere, but he had to try. Roden shimmied the rest of the way to Riakon’s feet and grabbed him by the ankle. Riakon looked down with fury in his eyes, which was tempered when he saw it was Roden.

That was when he saw Errrkkkk’s Soul Sphere. That was also when Roden activated his Instant Destination, he had to overcharge it to do what he needed, but he figured the fight was over anyway. Just as the massive ball of energy was upon them, Roden and Riakon vanished.

When the dust cleared, the Darkhaus Elves were all laying flat on their backs, a faint shimmer of magic preserving their life. The arena however, was in much worse shape. The Blue Corner was no more, not that it was an actual corner in the first place, but it was safe to say that side of the arena was destroyed by the blast.

Errrkkkk floated down the only unscathed participant in the arena.

“That was too easy, cacaw.”

Roden couldn’t believe the bird had the nerve to be both smug and irritated at the same time.

“If you hold him, I’ll cook him.”

“I would, but I’m sure he would taste terrible. He’s all feathers and no muscle.”

Errrkkkk narrowed his eyes, as the two laughed at his expense.

When they returned to their preparation room they were greeted by Miriana, who was standing this time, attempting to feed Grok some of the food from their tray of snacks.

Miriana looked up from the little garg, and smiled as they entered the room. “Well well, the victors have arrived! You boys definitely made that one look easy.”

Roden greeted his mother with a hug, “I don’t know about easy, but it wasn’t as bad as some of our other fights.”

“I’d say it was pretty easy, cacaw.”

Riakon dropped into a chair, “Yeah well you weren’t the one being set on fire.”

Roden laughed, “To be fair, they were the ones being set on fire.”

They all shared a chuckle. Miriana reached down and gave Grok a pat on the head.

“Ma, are you leaving already?”

She turned her head to look at her son, “Yes, I should get going. I am sure you boys have plenty of celebrating to do and need to plan for your fight tomorrow.”

“Any advice for us?” He said with a hint of knowing expectation.

Miriana thought for a moment, “I would suggest you boys do what you do best. I’m sure everything will work itself out.” Her words stuck out to Roden as having something implied. He racked his brain trying to figure out her unsaid intention.

She had told them they were going against mages, which while helpful was something Roden already knew and really didn’t matter. However, Roden knew from his campaign that the next fight was not going to go well for them if they did what they do best.

He had planned to change the outcome of that fight. He wanted them to win, but Miriana’s words made him feel like she wanted them to lose.

That didn’t make sense to him. “Why would she want them to lose?” The question plagued him on the entire walk from the arena to the Golden Dew. It plagued him through their meal and drinks. The only thing that interrupted his rumination was when a figure approached the table.

It was a Dragonkin, just like Riakon except she was a lady Dragonkin. She had scales of a glossy golden color that laid together smoothly creating an almost skin like appearance. She had the typical Dragonkin face with a long snout that promised a large toothy maw behind her thin lipped smile. She wore a long silky black dress that brushed against the floor. The dress had a slit up the side that exposed a tasteful amount of golden leg.

Roden wasn’t in a position to judge a non-human’s appearance, but by the look on Riakon’s face he liked what he saw.

Roden couldn’t make out their hushed conversation, but before he could ask, Riakon moved to stand and quickly excused himself to go dance with his new enchanting friend.

Roden dismissed the distraction from his mind and homed in on the problem at hand.

'Why did Miriana want them to lose tomorrow?' Then a thought came to him, 'it wasn’t Miriana who wanted them to lose. It was Zamira.'

An uneasy feeling washed over Roden like fever chills. His revelation brought about too many questions.

'What stake does Zamira have in the fight?'

If Miriana is Zamira and has an interest in what happens then everything that has already happened must be part of some plan of hers, but how was that even possible, he just got to that world a couple months ago.

He was starting to spiral, when it occurred to him that there was no way Zamira knew about the game that had already taken place.

She didn’t know they needed to lose to follow that path, she just wanted them to lose so that things progressed in a way that was beneficial to her plans.

Roden just couldn’t wrap his head around what possible advantage she was getting from them losing. She hadn’t been introduced in the campaign when they had this fight nor did she have a stake in that fight when it happened. He groaned to himself, there was too much to consider and he didn’t have enough information.

A funny thought tripped through his mind 'is this what being a player at his table felt like?'