“Ah, count Salazar, I am glad to see you for I have not noticed your presence earlier,” Edward Collward greeted him back. Edward Collward was tall, dark haired businessman with a beard.
Collward, the second vice chairman of the tournament. I would so love to have you skinned alive for this.
“I decided to keep a low profile,” Salazar countered.
They are all here otherwise. Prince Stallington and lord Ricochieu from Illysaeas, lord Armwell from Slupsey, lord Montero and Lawland from Cinderwell, Ulognar and lord Alkambra from Redwall, lord Weannu and Woonard from Grimdawn, lord Portdell of Sonnenheim and me plus Leker from Xona. Add to that the missing head of the slaver’s guild Benedict Palcher and his right hand Edward Collward and we are all here. Seven most important slavers on the continent, six lords of the cities where they have the core of their business.
“I fail to see mister Palcher, I assumed he would be present for the grand revelation,” Salazar jabbed at Collward after customary greetings with the others.
“It seems he has encountered some minor issues and shall be here presently,” Collward reassured him.
“What if he is not? After all, we cannot delay this grand revelation else we would make ourselves look like a joke. Two hours before midnight is what we have announced, it would tarnish our names were it not to be so,” Salazar pressed.
“Count Salazar is correct, we must not start with a failure,” lord Montero concurred.
“I believe it should fall on the vice chairman to take the duties of the chairman in his absence, as we had agreed beforehand,” lord Armwell added.
My dear friends, what would I do without you? Nevertheless, without Palcher, potential voting is six lords against six slavers and my vote is the deciding one as the vice-chairman.
The question now is, are you going to challenge me, Edward Collward?
“That would be a reasonable course of action, which is why we have the vice-chairman after all,” Collward conceded.
Not yet apparently.
“That settles it. Do we have a prepared speech or shall I make my own?” Salazar continued.
“Prepared, but Mr. Palcher has all copies,” Collward answered.
Excellent, now I just need to figure out what’s really behind that curtain, so my speech fits the moment.
The crowd started to gather in front of the stairs that led to the curtain. The scene was well set. The curtain covered an entire side wall of the big hall and the massive stairs, while they were built only recently, looked like a natural part of the hall.
As the time neared, Salazar walked up the stairs to stand in front of the curtain and turned around. The crowd was massive and quickly fell silent to let him speak.
The wall is etched with the tournament brackets and names of the teams at the pairings for the first round. There are three things Lucas could use this moment for. One is a message, like putting the symbol of the Holy Order of Palai to where the name of the winner will be or crossing out all the slaver’s teams. Second is a declaration, something massive like a completely repainted wall or a small army of his soldiers busting into the room to make arrests. Third one is an anonymous sabotage like a massive explosion or release of poisonous gas in the hall to undermine the event and make the organization look incapable. I can’t make a speech to fit all three themes, time to make a choice.
As the room went mostly silent, Salazar started his speech.
“I am count Salazar d’Ielle, ruler of Xona and all its holdings, the vice-chairman of this tournament and I hereby welcome you here. We stand at a historic moment, for this is the first time since The Upheaval that an event is to be held across all the regions. I am honored to have the privilege of standing here today. I am honored by the presence of you all. May our joint effort inspire and unite the people of the continent, may you all find that which you seek,” Salazar finished his speech. The crowd erupted into applause. Salazar turned to the curtain, grabbed it with a hand and spun to make it fall while stepping to the edge of the stairs, so it doesn’t fall on him. The curtain fell as it was designed to. There was a loud thud that echoed from behind Salazar. The crowd went silent for a second. Then the faces of people started going pale, eyes wide, women started fainting, men shouting and pointing. Salazar stood in his spot calmly, sheer victory and dominance shining in his eyes.
Behind him, there was a massive symbol painted in blood over the entire wall. Symbol of sword with wings. Symbol of Palai. Above the symbol was a large text written in blood.
FREEDOM IS FOR ALL
Salazar did his best to hide a smirk and turned around. He put on the best face of surprise he had in his repertoire. Straight under the tip of the sword, just behind Salazar, laid corpse of a man.
Hello, Palcher.
19
Luna
Luna watched the scene with a mix of shock and horror. She was already with the rest of the team, ready for the introduction, so she had first-row view on the corpse that fell to the ground.
This is bad, really bad.
She leaned to Raven and caught his arm. He looked at her with an inquisitive look.
“Don’t worry, it will be alright,” he smiled.
“No, it won’t,” Luna refused, “this is a declaration of war. The Holy Order of Palai just declared war against all of us in here.” Or someone is framing the Palai Order into it, which could end up being even worse.
“Why is that so bad?” Raven asked.
Because Palai men hunt monsters and burn them alive. I am a monster. I don’t want to be burned alive.
“Because we are on the wrong side,” Luna answered.
Actually, we are on the wrong side. I really don’t want to be burned alive.
“You aren’t, you are free, you can’t be forced to fight in this.”
“Nobody is going to ask me,” Luna shuddered.
“What shall you do then?”
Kill the enemy in front of me, ask questions only when I don’t see any. That’s how James taught me to live. I know no other way.
“We fight the team from Slupsey in the first round; they should be the guys with brown and yellow uniforms two teams to our right,” Luna pivoted the topic.
“Do you know what type of contest will the first round be?” Raven asked.
No. But the illustrations at the carving look like they should depict it. The men washing off the blood are in the way, but I should be able to piece the picture together.
“Looks like a race to something. Something like a maze. Maze full of traps?” Luna guessed.
“Trap run, those are the most boring ones,” Raven concluded.
“Boring?” Luna probed.
“Finubar, have you ever done a trap run with your team?” Raven turned to the leader of Rapacious Reavers who was standing nearby.
“Plenty of times,” Finubar smiled, “you can leave it to us.”
“Is there anything you would need from Luna and me for that?” Raven asked straight.
“It would be best if you didn’t get in our way. No offense but we know what we are doing,” Finubar replied.
“Alright, we will leave the maze to you and your people then,” Raven smiled.
“What are you doing?” Luna whispered swiftly.
“Preparing for the match,” Raven kept smiling.
“So, you just plan to sit it out?” Luna demanded.
“Maybe, haven’t made the plan yet.”
“How about asking me before you decide what shall I be doing?” Luna challenged.
“Don’t worry, I will run the detailed plan by you once I have one,” he reassured her.
That’s not the point!
Idiot!
The team introductions were boring at best. Each team went up the stairs, posed for a bit as the organizers read their names. Luna paid it little attention
“Captain of the team is Ms. Katherine d’Airelle, members of the team are Salazar d’Ielle…”
Wait, what?
The room wen
t silent.
“Did I just hear that right?” she turned to Raven who she stopped speaking to before.
“Which part?” he asked, clueless.
“The part where they announced count Salazar as a participant, idiot!”
“Yea. Is he someone famous?” Raven probed.
Are you even listening?
“Whatever,” Luna cut him off.
Idiot!
She waited for the team introductions to end. Afterward, she left her team and went on for a small hunt.
I need to know what’s going on.
Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!
Luna kept cursing as she was advancing up the stairs to the higher balconies of the grand hall.
On to business. The blood on the wall was still dripping down. The murder was absolutely fresh. No matter how skilled the assassin, he had to get at least small drops of blood on himself. Drops which will leave the distinct smell of blood until they dry out. Smell I can follow. All I need to do now is to pick up the trail.
Here! Well, that didn’t take long.
Luna sensed the faint smell of blood in the air and went to follow the path. It led to the highest levels of the building.
Tss! Pepper, I hate when they throw pepper around. This smells like the place where he dumped the bloodied cloths.
She looked around and found an apron and gloves thrown in a corner. Pepper covered the entire area. There was no obvious trace leading on.
Alright, where did he go? Think!
The roof. Most likely not here, but somewhere near should be the entrance to the roof. There, back behind, that’s where it is.
She retraced her steps and found a ladder to the roof in a side room.
Meh, I can’t climb a ladder with this dress.
Luna pulled out a hidden dagger and cut the bottom part of the dress, making it more loose, which freed her legs for wider steps.
With a bit of luck, it will look like it was supposed to be a wide skirt anyway. Hopefully, people will be too drunk to notice how exposing it is.
She went up on the ladder. The small door on top was locked, but the joints weren't tough, so she just forced it open and climbed up on the roof.
Nobody here. But why would the assassin stay here? No reason to. If he is somewhere, it is a place where he can see inside the hall to enjoy the results of his work.
Luna scanned the surrounding area, mapping the disposition of the hall beneath her in her mind.
There!
There was no direct path there, but one wing of the mansion was pushed forward from the main hall. It was angled in a way that made it possible for a person to see inside from its roof. Luna advanced towards the area.
No sign of anyone. I hope I don’t get noticed. Now that I think about it the white dress I wear is not the ideal clothing for sneaking around.
Luna scanned the area.
If he wanted to just leave, he is gone and I can’t find him. That’s useless. If instead, he wanted to watch, then he will be at a spot with a good view. There! Downer edge of the roof. There the assassin would have the best view.
She carefully prowled down by the side of the roof.
Well, hello there.
A person was indeed lying sideways on the roof. It was dressed in pitch black leathers and had a hood over its face. It wore a strange mask underneath. It looked like a white mask, but it didn’t seem to have any facial features like holes for eyes or mouth.
Luna flicked her wrist and the black sword appeared inside of her hand.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the person turned its head slightly towards her. He was still lying on the ground. The voice was hard and male, clearly distorted by the mask.
“Why wouldn’t you?”
I need to not let him stand up… once he does I am completely outmatched since I don’t have the clothes for a fight.
“First of all, that’s a very dangerous blade you carry. Secondly, I will dodge the strike and sweep your legs. Even if you dodge, you won’t be able to dodge the follow-up kick and even if you do block it, the force will push you off the roof straight into the fountain under us.”
This guy is either seriously overconfident or powerful. I need to find out which one it is – if it’s the former, he is a decoy and useless to me, if the latter then I need some answers from him. Now I just need to not fall off the roof once he hits me so I can talk to him afterward.
Luna stepped forward and launched a quick swing at his chest. The man bolted sideways away from the swing, kicking the edge of the roof to propel himself away from it and to Luna’s side. He used his hand to pivot and sweep at her legs from behind. Luna expected the kick and jumped up. She had no chance to launch a strong enough strike towards the leg fast enough. Her heels dug into the roof as she landed.
Why didn’t I take these off?
The man spun on the ground and shot a fast upward kick towards her midsection. Luna blocked with her both hands. The impact took her breath away. Both heels of her shoes broke. Luna was thrown up into the air. It sent her off the roof.
Shit!
She quickly glanced behind to see where she will fall.
Straight for the fountain, fuck.
Luna prepared to spin midair as she started to fall, but a strong hand caught her by her ankle. She fell over, her head hanging down over the edge of the roof. Her skirt fell over her.
Let me go! No! Wait! I don’t know!
The man said nothing, just held her. He stood like a statue.
I got nothing under the skirt! The same skirt that’s hanging over my head.
Luna turned red.
“Will you be more civilized if I put you back on the roof?” he finally asked.
“Mhm,” Luna squeezed out of herself. Slowly, the man moved her sideways so she could catch the edge of the roof. He gently put her on it. Luna quickly pushed down the skirt to cover at least her crotch.
The man lied again into a position where his head was at the edge of the roof facing towards the great hall, away from Luna. Luna took a few minutes to calm down.
Luna, focus! You are drunk and drugged, but focus! He looks like he is willing to talk… don’t blow this chance up!
“Are you from the Order?” she started.
“Yes.”
So it is a declaration of war.
“Does the Order plan to kill the contestants?”
“Not unless they get in the way, cause trouble or are demons.”
“Not even the non-demonic monsters?”
Silence.
Looks like he doesn’t plan to repeat himself. I will need to take it like this and pray they don’t see me as a demon. No, praying is not enough.
“You seemed to have recognized my sword, do you know it?” Luna changed the topic.
“I do.”
“Do you know how to use it? I mean, truly use it not just like a regular sword,” she asked.
“No.”
“Can you help me in learning it?” she pressed.
“I can.”
“What will it cost me?” Luna inquired knowing nothing will be free.
“You will kill someone for me. A single man in Cinderwell, you will do it when I tell you and arrange the scene the way I tell you to. Also, you will keep my existence an absolute secret. From everyone. ”
An assassination. Not that I have much else to offer anyway.
“Does he deserve it?” she probed.
“Does it matter?”
No, it doesn’t.
“And exactly what will I get in return?”
“A book in which you will find how to use the sword.”
“A book?” Luna barked in surprise.
Seriously, it’s that famous?
“Yes, a book.”
“What if I don’t like what’s in it?”
“We renegotiate.”
“I will need a lot of time to read a book,” Luna jabbed.
“You shall find it in your room tomorrow.”
Okay,
that’s neither scary nor creepy. NOT! Then again… Cinderwell is far off on the schedule, so this gives me enough time to see if I got what I wanted.
“An exchange, a murder for a book, still doesn’t look like a fair trade,” Luna tried to get more.
“Once you conduct business with the Order, it will view you as its asset. The Order is much more reluctant when it comes to burning alive its assets than when it’s just about a stranger,” the man mused.
I suppose I can live with that. Literally.
“I know that asking a masked man for a name is kind of stupid, but I still need something to call you,” Luna tried.
“Call me Jack.”
That sounds as fake as it gets.
“I am Luna. Alright, Jack, I agree to your deal and I hope the book is worth it,” she concluded.
“Enjoy the night,” Jack said as he rose to his feet.
“These are for free,” he added as he dropped something to the ground before heading up the roof. Luna went to examine what he dropped and to her shock, found there a pair of high heeled formal shoes.
What?! How? Why?
She turned around to confront him, but he was gone.
20
Raven
Raven was lost. The crowd of women swarming around him was impossible to get rid of. He tried to disappear after the team introductions, he attempted to maneuver through narrow corridors hoping to lose them, he went to all types of men toilets, but nothing worked.
This is not how it was supposed to work. All I wanted was to look decent next to Luna… How do I get rid of them? I can’t even talk to any of them. Every time I try, they just giggle, smile or do sounds like ‘Awww’. What does that even mean? Plus how long are they going to last? Waiting doesn’t help either. If I had any money, I could have bought them some drinks and get them all drunk to the point of fainting. But I have nothing and Luna has disappeared somewhere. I cannot move fast in the hall. Maybe I could lose them in the park.
Raven headed out to the park in front of the grand hall. It was covered by light snow and the ground underneath was muddy.
This looks promising. Whatever is the purpose of the strange spikes their shoes have under the heel, it does not look like they are made to walk on mud.
Legacy of Dreams: Freedom Page 13