Mugs clinked amidst the clamor of conversation I'm the dining hall. There were far fewer parties there that evening, but the atmosphere was still jolly. Some parties that had even won their round had been forced to retire from the tournament due to injury, but there were no deaths.

Mirth filled the faces of our party of four, who basked in the added admiration of fellow adventurers. "That match of yours looked more like a third round match! I don't know how you keep getting tougher matches, but you keep pulling it off! That will mean big points" commented a stocky fighter from the table next to theirs.

"Hopefully you can catch a break on your next one though," added an elf from the same group. She smiled and gave eyes to Arc, who played it very cool and returned a smirk and a nod. Sid smiled to himself, thinking they could all use a little break if they could get it. Arc never struggled to find bedfellows if he so desired. The man was half elf, which meant he possessed some of their famed beauty and mystique.

Sir Boulder was getting the bulk of the attention, with fellow competitors fawning over his savage attacks of the day. Sir Boulder however sat perfectly rigid in his seat, hardly uttering a word. "You're very stoic, mister Boulder" giggled a younger woman who'd had a little too much to drink. Sid trusted Sir Boulder to be the utmost gentleman and make sure she made it to her room safe and sound.

Dion had his face buried in his plate, hands and chin mucky with his dinner. Any attempts to say his attention were in vain, the man had simple desires and was simpleminded in seeking then out. Sid sat alone and watched his comrades with deep satisfaction. Arc was just leaving the room with that lovely elf when Sir Nautilus came into the room alone. Sid saw the glare of jealousy in his eyes before it could be hidden.

"Hey there... Sod, was it?" Sid smiled dryly, but didn't correct him. "Hello Sir Nautilus, how are you faring this evening?" Arc looked back but Sid subtly waved him off. Everyone in the party knew Sid's history with the White Dragons, so were naturally protective of him even though he didn't need it.

"We are doing marvelously as you must know. It seems you got a tough break today, facing a gargoyle like that. And nearly all your weapons are bladed, not very advantageous against armored skin. It's fortunate that Sir Boulder has deigned to humor you all for this little tournament, hmm?"

"It was certainly a challenge, but not one we couldn't overcome. Sir Boulder has indeed been instrumental to us thus far." Sid smiled, recalling that Sir Nautilus was the only White Dragon with half a brain. His mocking would be subtler, which was just fine with Sid. He honestly felt that he had nothing to prove to them.

"Yes well, let us hope you can overcome your next round as well. It would be a terrible shame for you all to have to drop out of the competition for any reason. That said, if the next round seems too scary, or if serious injury seems imminent, perhaps it would be wise to drop put of your own accord. Such decisions are up to you of course, just a friendly reminder to... know your place." He smiles slyly and walked right back out the door.

Dion looked at Sid with a touch of worry, but Sid shrugged it off. "Ignore him, he's just trying to get in our heads. We'll be fine" Sid reassured him, hoping it was true. Dion nodded solemnly before digging back into his dinner.

***

There were far fewer rounds the next day, and there was much more time between each round. Sid and the crew got to watch only three matches before it was their turn to get ready. The first beast had been a giant demon ostrich, which towered at 3 meters tall. The second had been a giant thorn slug, and the third a massive horned wolf. Only the third party won their round.

Sid suspected there was a theme to these fights. The idea of fighting a massive enemy rather than multiple enemies brought some comfort to him, though not enough to relax. Dion seemed especially excited, however. "Strong! Those enemies are very strong! We will kill a strong enemy today!" "That's right buddy" Sid laughed while patting him on the shoulder.

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This was exactly the type of energy they needed for the fight, especially after Sir Nautilus tried to ruin their morale just last night. He looked excitedly at Arc and Sir Boulder, who smiled and nodded and remained still respectively.

When they headed down under to prepare for their fight, Sid couldn't help but feel a sense of impending doom. What would those dastardly Dragons try to pull this time? Whatever it would be, it sure wouldn't be good.

As they neared the center of the arena, the far gate rumbled open. Some huge indistinct form lumbered out of the dim light into the arena. Just as Sid had suspected, another unfavorable match. Though it wasn't as dangerous as the demon ostrich or the horned wolf, it was at least a durable as the thorn slug.

The beast they faced wasn't actually a beast at all, but a dirt golem. Golems were artificial construct, using magic to shape and move their bodies, which were generally made of loose material. It wouldn't be much of a challenge for a wizard, but they could be tricky to deal with for ordinary people.

They would have to locate the magical core, which acted like a heart that pumped magical energy rather than blood through the body. They had never faced such an enemy before, but Sid had read a lot about them. Therefore, he felt some level of confidence regarding their chances of success.

"Make probing attacks, we need to gauge it's speed and strength. Try attacking different spots and well," Sid instructed. He would have to really keep his eyes open for clues.

Arc fired arrows into it from a distance, moving off to the left of the party. Sid signaled to Arc to watch the golem carefully too. Dion and Sid moved off to the right, while Sir Boulder stood fast where he was. They circled around the lumbering golem, which stopped once it reached the center of the arena.

It stood there dumbly, like it was waiting. Arc's arrows didn't seem to be affecting it at all, regardless of where they landed. "It's probably somewhere in the center of mass" Sid commented to Dion while miming to his other comrades.

Dion approached the golem, and the moment he began to swing his greatsword the golem swatted at him. The attack caught Dion off guard, and he was slapped away, falling over. Sid could tell he was alright, but he now worried more. Even though he knew about them in theory, actually fighting a golem was a totally different thing.

He racked his brain, trying to devise some strategy. Arc set down his short recurve bow and took out his great bow. He fit the string to the bow with difficulty. Arc didn't like using this bow very much, but he carried it anyway because sometimes it's use was necessary. It was tiring and he couldn't shoot as fast with it.

Taking a deep breath he drew the hefty bow back and loosed an arrow. The arrow buried itself deep into the golem, causing it to turn toward Arc. Sid perked up at this motion, and he and Arc's eyes met in a moment of realization.

The only true instinct a golem had was to protect its core. The fact that it had turned toward Arc meant he was a threat to that core. Sid grinned, a plan finally formulating in his brain. The moment Arc fired his next arrow, the golem raised its arm in defense and instead recieved a mighty slash from behind. It reeled to defend itself from the new attacker, but got stabbed by Sid's spear from a new angle. It swung blindly, hitting Sir Boulder's tower shield. "Grk" Sir Boulder struggled to take the hefty blow.

Another arrow planted itself into the golem, who again spun to try to defend itself. Methodically, the three attackers worked their way up the torso in search of the pesky core.They were about half way up when the golem reacted differently. It's swing was more savage, filled with instinctive fear.

The blow was nearly too much for Sir Boulder to handle, and he fell to his knee. Sid realized this couldn't go on for much longer, or they would risk serious injury.

"If serious injury seems imminent, perhaps it would be wise to drop put of your own accord."

Sid recalled Sir Nautilus's words and gritted his teeth. With a battle roar he stabbed recklessly at the golem, targeting where its solar plexus would be. Dion roared his own battle cry and began cutting and stabbing fiercely into the enemy. The golem swatted Sid away easily, sending him flying. It then smashed Dion down with it's arm, and raised both it's fists up to finish him off. Before it could do so, Sir Boulder stood over him and took the full might of the blow. He groaned as he was forced to his knees, but didn't falter.

Another arrow buries itself deep into the golden's back, and it's form became destabilized for a moment. Sid wiped the blood from his split lips and charged it as it spun to face Arc. He leapt into the air and drove his spear deep into it's back, right next to Arc's arrow.