by Tom Liberman
In addition to the many foreigners moving toward the battle site there were all sorts of gnoll families heading in the same direction and one of them joined up with Borrombo the morning after their encounter with the pregnant women. The gnoll females wore thick, dark clothing from head to foot while the not yet pubescent girls and boys often played completely naked except for their furry bodies.
Marianna seemed to have an affinity for the children and spent much of the day talking and playing games with them while Mike often sat next to Borrombo at the reins looking out across the plains ahead. Each night they camped with increasingly large groups of travelers and shared stories by the fire.
If the gnoll families minded so many strangers in their lands they showed no particular hostility although for the most part the women stayed sequestered from everyone else. On a few occasions Rhia managed to say a word or two to one of them as they filled water jugs by a creek but the women largely did not speak a language Rhia knew or were unwilling to talk with strangers.
When they finally came across the site where the great tournament was to take place there were already tens of thousands of spectators gathered to watch the event. Tents of all colors spread across a large open plain on which a large river flowed separating it from a forest of trees to the east. While gnolls made up the majority of spectators there was also a good smattering of various other races. Borrombo seemed to have previously arranged for a good spot not too far from the fresh water of the river but also close to where the action would take place, a clear ground of dirt marked off with brilliant banners and heavy chains.
It took them about an hour to get the camp all set up and then Borrombo went off to do some negotiating with parties unknown, leaving the girls to fend for themselves.
“What should we do?” asked Marianna looking out over the thousands of people. “I’ve never seen so many people in my life. At a Gray Knight swearing in ceremony there are lots of people but this is beyond comprehension. How many are there?”
Mike shook her head, “I have no idea, but you’re right, it’s far more than I’ve ever seen gathered in one place. Lofo is right too, if someone can unite all these gnolls they represent a terrible threat to Tanelorn. Now would be a good time to launch an invasion, while they’re all busy here and without a leader.”
“The Gray Lord would never do that,” said Rhia shaking her head and fingering the sword at her side.
“Jon Gray might,” said Mike. “Even Jane might. If they could see what’s going on here. They might see how dangerous it is.”
Rhia shrugged, “It’s our job to figure out what Pillswar is trying to do here, not to worry about anything else. We should split up and wander around to see if there are any familiar faces. Marianna, you know most of the people he hangs out with and I don’t think they’d recognize you now. You look like a different person.”
Marianna blushed, “Thank you, Rhia,” she said looking at the ground as her face turned red. “I’ll go wander around and see if I spot anyone.”
“Good,” said Rhia her eyes darting around to the many tents on all sides. “Mike you should do the same. I don’t know as many people, so I’ll find out when this tournament starts and who will be doing the fighting. Hopefully we’ll figure out who Pillswar is backing if anyone.”
“I suppose,” said Mike with a shrug and a yawn. “But Lofo told us not to interfere anyway. So even if we find out who Pillswar is hoping to win we can’t do anything about it. Unless we take matters into our own hands ….”
“Let’s just take things one at a time,” said Rhia holding up her hands. “We’ll meet back here for lunch?”
“Fine,” said Mike and Marianna nodded her head as well although she wore a big grin on her face at the thought of the excitement of the day.
Rhia decided to head down to the ring where the battle would take place and soon found herself standing with a hundred other gawkers looking at the enclosure. The ground was spotless with anything bigger than a pebble long removed. A hard layer of dirt served as the surface. It was about twenty feet from side to side and roughly circular in shape. Thick wooden fence posts stood at regular intervals with long chains stretched from one to the next closing the circle. There were two small tents on opposite sites, one black and one white that had a little walkway to gates that opened into the circle.
Rhia watched as various groups of people, representing all the regional races, approached and looked over the arena for a while, spoke in strange languages, and then meandered off somewhere else. No one in particular struck her as unusual and after an hour or so she thought about moving on. Then a tall gnoll with greenish fur approached and gave a strange little bow, “Hello,” it said in an understandable language. “I am Togor of the Logrend tribe. You are interested in the tournament, yes?”
Rhia nodded her head and bowed back imitating his mannerisms, “I am Rhia. Yes, I am interested. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“Excellent,” the creature said with a broad smile revealing a nasty row of sharp teeth. “You wish to wager?”
Rhia laughed, “I wouldn’t know who to wager on. Is there a list of candidates? I know nothing of the event, I’m afraid.”
Togor smiled again, “There is no official list, of course, the candidates are not revealed until the draw of combat is made, but there is an unofficial list and, of course, as a gambler, I have access to this list.”
“What if I wager on someone who is not invited?” asked Rhia.
“Then your silver would be refunded in full, of course,” said Tobor with yet another bow and smile. “You would like a copy of the list, yes?”
Rhia nodded her head, “I would like that indeed.”
“You will place a wager with none of the others then?”
Rhia nodded her head again, “I will only wager with you, Tobor.”
“Good, good, good,” said the gnoll and made a strange little laughing sound. “You are encamped with the dwarf iron merchant, yes? You will pass along my name, yes?”
Rhia bowed her head and smiled, “Of course I will. I’ll make sure Borrombo wagers only with you. I suspect he is a sporting man.”
“Good, good, good,” repeated the gnoll and rubbed its paws together with delight. It reached into a small satchel at its side, looked around the grounds for a moment, and then quickly passed over a sheet of parchment. “It is not exactly legal to wager on such events,” it whispered and gave off that barking laugh again.
“I understand completely,” said Rhia with another little bow and tucked the parchment into a pocket.
“You women are very different than our own,” said the gnoll looking her up and down. “You speak boldly. It is both off putting and intriguing at the same time. Perhaps we can become better acquainted, yes?”
Rhia looked at the furry creature; he wasn’t particularly bad looking, and smiled, “Anything is possible, Togor. For now I will go talk with Borrombo and pass along this useful information.”
The gnoll bobbed its head again, then turned away, and began to walk toward another group of visitors.
Rhia smiled to herself at the thought of such a liaison, her time in the circus had removed all innocence in that regard, and then turned to wend her way back to their camp. She arrived before the others and began to set a fire to prepare lunch. Borrombo had paid for a good supply of firewood and young gnoll boys delivered water in large clay pots every morning alleviating them of that arduous duty.
By the time she had a low fire going and a few fish in the skillet she spotted Marianna making her way through the crowd to their encampment. Rhia looked up and smiled as the girl moved passed the massed people. Much of her timid nature remained but she didn’t shy away from every person or jump with fear when someone accidently kicked a pot as she was passing by. “Did you find anything?” Rhia asked when the girl finally arrived.
Marianna shook her head, “No, I didn’t see anyone I knew from before. That doesn’t mean they aren’t here. There are s
o many people and Pillswar probably had a lot of people working for him that I knew nothing about. He went on long trips all the time.”
“Nothing to worry about,” said Rhia patting the girl on the back. “I wasn’t expecting to find anything out immediately. The contest doesn’t start for another few days at least although there doesn’t seem to be any definitive timetable. There isn’t even an official list of candidates although I got an unofficial list from some gamblers. Apparently quite a few wagers are taken on the outcome of events.”
“Men like to bet,” said Marianna quietly and looked at the ground. “They’ll bet on just about anything. How long it takes to scream when someone is hurting you, just about anything.”
“Those days are over for you,” said Rhia shaking her head at the cruelty the girl clearly once suffered. She didn’t doubt for a moment that what Marianna said was true, for Rhia had seen some terrible things on her long journey north. It was only sheer luck and her blade that allowed her to avoid a similar fate on a number of occasions. That and the fact that she wasn’t particularly attractive.
“I hope so,” said Marianna and smiled at Rhia, a genuine thing of pure joy. “I like it better with you and Mike.”
Rhia smiled back while nodding to her, “Now get some of those vegetables Borrombo bought yesterday out of the sack and start cutting them up. You know how that dwarf eats and Mike can as well, although where she she puts it on that little body she has I don’t know.”
Marianna laughed, “She is tiny, but she has some shape when you get her out of those wraps. Remember the night at the inn?”
“It was only a few days ago,” said Rhia with a laugh and made a motion with her hand over her own breasts. “I remember, and she did surprise me; hers might be bigger than mine and she’s half my height.”
Marianna laughed just as Mike appeared from nowhere, “How did I surprise you?” she said with her hands on her hips and an angry look on her face.
“You’ve got bigger boobs than any boy I’ve ever known!” said Rhia with a laugh. “Now don’t get all mad for once and just have a little fun.”
Mike tried to hold back a grin but finally shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “Well, they aren’t too bad I guess, although I bet one of these days we’ll see Borrombo with his shirt off and I bet he’s got bigger ones than me!”
All three of the girls broke into giggles although eventually Rhia shook her head and grimaced, “Now that’s an image forever in my mind, thanks, Mike.”
Mike laughed again and grimaced herself, “Me too. What’s for lunch?”
“Fish and some of those onions Borrombo bought yesterday,” said Rhia pointing to the skillet and then the bag of onions Marianna had opened. “Did you find anything out?”
The smile left Mike’s face immediately and she sat down on one of the chairs that Borrombo kept in the wagon which now sat outside, presumably for the duration of their stay here in the camp.
“What?” said Rhia stopping from turning over the fish with the spatula in mid scrape.
Mike said nothing for a moment looking at the ground.
“Not?” said Rhia an image of the terrifying orc suddenly coming to her mind.
Mike nodded, “Adusko.”
“That’s not good,” said Rhia. “He knows us. If he sees us he’ll know something is going on.”
“He was with a bunch of rough looking gnolls,” said Mike her eyes darting back and forth. “Strange looking ones. They were taller and their fur was red like the setting sun. One of them had horns coming out of his head. Demonkin maybe. I don’t know but they looked dangerous.”
“More bad news,” said Rhia shaking her head. “Did you find out what gnoll tribe they are from, Sunbringer? At least then we’d know who Pillswar is trying to get in good with.”
Mike shook her head, “I didn’t ask too many questions because I don’t speak the language. It shouldn’t be hard to find out. Those gnolls stand out pretty clearly and everyone seemed a little afraid of them.”
“True,” said Rhia her fingers drumming against her sword hilt. “So we’ll have to be careful to try and avoid Adusko, but I don’t know what we can do about it. We should come up with a story in case we do run into him. That way we’ll be consistent.”
“You can’t fool Adusko like that,” said Marianna shaking her head. “He’s a lot smarter than he looks. If he sees me here he’ll do whatever it takes to get the truth out of me.”
“Maybe we should just tell him the truth. We’re here because Lofo wanted us to watch the tournament or whatever they call it,” said Rhia and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not a lie and it’s probably better than any lie we could come up with.”
Mike shrugged her shoulders as she stuck a fork in the fish still on the fire, “What’s he going to do to us with all these people around?”
“I don’t want to find out,” said Rhia. “You remember what he did back at the Grey Knight ceremony. There were plenty of people all around then too. It didn’t seem to slow him down.”
A hard expression came across Mike’s eyes as she looked at the fire and the fish in the pan, “If he tried that on me again I’d cut out his heart. He just caught me by surprise is all.”
Rhia said nothing to that and they continued their preparations in silence. Eventually Borrombo arrived as jolly as ever and happy to see the food already well on the way to completion. He seemed to never tire of eating or talking.
He took the heaviest of the chairs, the lion’s share of the food, poured himself a beer from the large keg he had ordered almost immediately after they settled at the site, and sat back with a smile on his face. “Trade has been excellent this morning,” he said and began to fork in the food. He did not eat speedily and took small bites apparently relishing each one for all of its flavors. “There are any number of merchants here hoping to take advantage of the crowd. Making this detour was an excellent idea. I’ve already gotten a number of orders.”
“Iron ore?” said Rhia looking at him with a grin.
“Weapons mainly,” said Borrombo. “My people are well known for their skill at forging the tools of war. Men are willing to pay goodly sums to make sure they have the finest steel in their blade, for it is a matter of life and death.”
Rhia nodded her head, her hand again going to the weapon at her side, “The gnolls are buying large quantities of weapons then?” She asked thinking about how her uncle had given her the sword along with the horse when she left Elekargul. It had proved an excellent blade and Borrombo’s point about it being a matter of life and death was deadly serious.
Borrombo looked over at her and smiled, “I would not necessarily say large quantities but certainly quite a goodly number. There do seem to be an endless supply of the furry beasts and we’re all quite aware that their women are more than capable of replenishing any lost in battle.”
“I was given something that might be of interest to you, Borrombo,” said Rhia pulling the parchment from her pocket.
“What’s that?” said the big dwarf looking up with interest.
“An unofficial list of the combatants,” said Rhia handing it over.
Borrombo smiled as he scanned the list, “For wagering purposes I gather?”
Rhia nodded, “A gambler approached me and gave me the list on the condition that I pass it along to you. Your reputation as a gambler seems to have preceded you somehow.”
“I like a sporting wager as much as the next dwarf,” he said with a grin and turned his eyes back to the list. “But I think it unlikely that many around here know me by reputation or otherwise. As I said, I’m newly arrived in the region from the far north.”
“As you said,” said Rhia watching the big dwarf carefully.
If Borrombo found the sly accusation of deceit upsetting, he gave no indication of such and simply continued to study the parchment. “Interesting,” he said and smiled.
“How so?” asked Rhia while the others continued to eat their food. Rhia’s simply grew cold
on her plate as she kept her eye on Borrombo.
“I have never attended one of these before, I believe this is the first in a decade or more,” he said while studying the list. “But I have spoken to a number of traders who have been to several of the combats. The speculation was that there would only be perhaps three of four contestants and those from the largest and wealthiest tribes. This list contains ten names and there are several from tribes that I have no knowledge of. This means little of course, they might be older tribes of distinguished lineages fallen on hard times for all I know. Still, ten seems an overly large number.”
“Do you know when they will announce the draw?” asked Rhia.
Borrombo nodded his head, “I actually did learn that particular piece of information. It would have been helpful if your list included that draw. It would make wagering a little easier but alas, the bookmaker in question was clearly unwilling to part with such valuable information.”
“Bookmaker?” said Mike looking up from eating. She tended to gobble her food quickly while ignoring everything around her.
“The person who takes the bet,” said Marianna downing her own food as if someone was poised to snatch it away from her. She was always the first one finished with her meal and retained a hungry look even then.
Mike looked over to Borrombo who nodded his head, “Our young ginger-haired friend has it exactly right.”
“I thought the draw was random?” said Rhia biting her lower lip.
Borrombo laughed, “There is almost nothing random about this entire enterprise from what I’ve been led to believe. Almost all of the outcomes are predetermined and the High Chieftain generally comes out completely unscathed in any way.”
“Not too sporting then,” said Mike returning to her food.
“But quite practical,” said Borrombo. “While the strongest and most brutish fellow who has great skill with a blade might seem like a good choice for a leader that is almost universally not the case. Leadership requires cunning and those who acquire power through brute force quickly find they do not have the skills required, much to their chagrin and that of the nation. No, this is a better method. It makes it devilishly more difficult for a gambling man because one must not look at the skills of the man with the blade but to the behind the scenes acumen of his stalwart allies.”