“Me? Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Snorting, Fureno went to shove past Gregory, but stumbled and nearly fell when Gregory stepped aside. Falling to his knee, Fureno started to snarl at Gregory, but saw James in the hall and snapped his mouth shut. With a sneer, he got back to his feet and stalked off to the other end of the hall, taking the stairs down to the ground floor.
“What was that all about?” James asked when he got closer to Gregory.
“I think he just got knocked out of the game, and well... he takes losing badly. He went to shove past me, but I wasn’t where he thought I was going to be.”
“I saw you sidestep and him stumble,” James said, shaking his head. “Even having seen your foresight during the tournaments, it’s still surprising to see you a second ahead of anyone trying to hit you.”
“It’s been useful,” Gregory nodded. “I think we’re going to have combat this turn. You ready?”
“Oh, yes,” James said as he opened the folder his notes were in. “Considering where they were last turn, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t combat this turn.”
“Did you want to start?” Gregory asked.
“Sure. Okay, there’s a light foot that comes from this space around this heavy wood— using it to shield them from detection— to this space,” James said, showing him the move.
“Which means they run into Nilum’s men,” Gregory nodded. “Okay, did you want to drag the watchers out here for combat?”
“I prefer that. Otherwise, they’ll argue about it,” James said. “Well, Hayworth’s group might not, but the last group… ugh.”
“I’ll drag the watcher for Nilum out here,” Gregory chuckled. “Be right back.”
~*~*~
Hours later, the real combat was about to get underway. Gregory had his notes in order and Klim with him when he stepped into the hall. “I don’t think the game will continue too far past this, unless Hayworth’s team has surprises hidden.”
“Do you think that’s likely?” Klim asked as they waited in the hall.
“As much as I disliked him during the novice year, I can say he’s intelligent. He seems receptive to learning and changing, so yes, I expect him to have some surprises. The question becomes, will it be enough?”
“We’ll find out shortly.”
Someone coming down the stairs got their attention and they turned to find Yukiko, Farin, Petak, and another of the Eternal Flame coming their way.
“They won’t last,” Petak snickered. “You fell easily to that trap.”
Yukiko and Farin didn’t reply to Petak, but Yukiko gave Gregory an apologetic smile as she came closer. “Jason is their last commander. Jenn and Clover are still in it.”
“Telling him won’t help them any, unless he’s going to try sneaking them a message,” Petak sneered.
“My clan doesn’t need to cheat to beat the Eternal Flame,” Gregory said with a smile. “I think we’ve proven that repeatedly.”
Petak grimaced, then pushed past Yukiko and Farin. He stormed off with his clanmate following him.
“Their clan really does hate you,” Klim said idly. “How is the game, Farin?”
“Good, Magus. I’ll be surprised if our team doesn’t win before the end of the day.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll see our clan for the last match,” Klim said. “Go rest. You look like you could use a nap.”
“Thank you, Magus,” Farin said.
Gregory gave Yukiko’s hand a quick squeeze as she passed him. “Rest, dear one. Our wife will win for us.”
“I know she will,” Yukiko smiled. “See you later.”
“Yes.”
James stepped into the hall, then paused to let Yukiko and Farin pass. “Oh, you already have your watcher. Let me get theirs. I’ll be right back.”
~*~*~
Gregory yawned, stretching as he walked beside his wives and friends. “The last game is going to be rough. Klein had a hell of a strategy to fight Hayworth. It cost them a lot... I wasn’t expecting Klein to call for reinforcements during the last round. That’ll mean it’s him and another for the Shining Light in the last round.”
“We got Ling in just before the end,” Jenn said. “That leaves me nearly done, Clover at half, and Ling full. Jason didn’t try to save any of his men— he pushed all the buffs he could onto his men to gut us at the end.”
“That’s how his clan is,” Yukiko said. “We made it to the top three again. Even if we lose the last game, we did well.”
“We did. The Eternal Flame is out of the Empire’s Gambit tournament, at least,” Clover grinned.
“Shining Light and one other clan,” Ling murmured.
“Iron Hand is one of them,” Gregory said. “Klim told Farin that he might face them in the last round.”
“And the Hardened Fist won their game earlier, so it’s those two against each other?” Yukiko half-asked. “That’ll be a brutal game.”
“Considering the history between them, yes,” Gregory nodded. Yawning again, he shook his head. “We have a couple of days off, at least. Farin will be over the day after tomorrow to talk strategy.”
“I’m glad we bring food with us,” Clover said. “I’d be starving, otherwise.”
Ling chuckled, nudging Clover with her hip. “You need to slow down when you eat, as it is. You shoved that whole piece of jerky into your mouth earlier.”
Clover blushed, covering her face with her hands. “I said I was sorry...”
Jenn snickered. “It was amusing, Clover, but she is right. Slowing down would be good.”
“There aren’t many times when you should shove an entire length of meat into your mouth,” Yukiko said with a mischievous smile, her eyes on Jenn.
Now, Jenn’s face heated, and she looked away from Yukiko.
Ling caught the byplay and bit her lip to stop from laughing.
“We’ll get a little more sleep than last night, but not a lot more if we want to keep to our normal schedule,” Gregory said, not wanting to touch the last conversation.
“And we should,” Ling said, quick to agree with Gregory. “It’ll be harder for Clover and I, but it’s better for us in the long run.”
“Agreed,” Clover said, nodding. “Third bell, wake up for breakfast.”
“We should have two or three days off before we go into the last game,” Yukiko said. “We’ll make sure we rest up before then.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Four days went by with a similar routine. Clover and Ling started to see their aether caverns more often, making them both excited. Farin had come over every day to talk tactics with them, just in case he was called back in to help. He let them know that his clan had beaten the Hardened Fist in their game, setting the Iron Hand, Shining Light, and Aether’s Guard as the final three.
Clover and Ling were keeping up with the others during physical conditioning. On top of that, Gin mixed one or the other into sparring with Gregory while he got a better grasp of the bo. Whenever they scored hits on him, they would end up with big smiles.
With it having been nearly a month since the clan had grown, the other instructors mentioned cross weapons training would start soon, wanting to get them used to facing other weapons. That had the novices buzzing with eagerness to test themselves against their friends.
They spent the evening study period before the last tournament with one last tactics session. The novices asked a lot of questions and put ideas forward to be discussed. They were excited for the older magi, but also for themselves, as they were going to Gin’s the following day.
~*~*~
Jenn shivered as she let out a shuddering breath. “Oh, goodness... That really is a great way to wake up.”
Gregory kissed her thigh. “Glad you enjoy it as much as I do.”
“She does,” Yukiko giggled, taking her hands and mouth away from Jenn’s breasts.
Third bell began to chime and Gregory exhaled sadly as he got out of bed. “It’ll be a couple of days before we can do m
ore... though that’ll just whet the appetite.”
“Yes, yes it will,” Yukiko said, standing up and stretching. “I always feel a little bad when you do that for us, dearest. Your problem is a hard one to ignore.”
“It is, indeed,” Jenn sighed wistfully. “It has to be worse for him.”
Gregory chuckled, shaking his head as he reached the armoire. “It’s not that bad. Given a little bit of time to calm down, I’m fine. Besides, I do enjoy watching you come awake in pleasure.”
“As we do with you,” Yukiko said, hugging him from behind, her naked body pressed to his back. “We have to get dressed, but if you give me a couple of minutes and if Jenn helps, we can fix the problem quickly.”
“Oh, yes, please,” Jenn said as she hurried the last few steps to them.
“No sane man would say no,” Gregory exhaled. Just the thought had him more than ready to let them do what they wanted.
Yukiko kissed his neck, then stepped back and turned him around. “Come, Jenn, let’s bring our heart some pleasure.”
Jenn came to a stop in front of Gregory and winked at him as she knelt.
~*~*~
“We thought you might have slept in,” Ling said when the trio came into view on the stairs.
“Just took a bit longer than normal to get dressed,” Yukiko smiled brightly. “Sorry to keep you all. Let’s get down to the dining room. Breakfast was probably ready a couple of minutes ago.”
Daciana sniffed the air and her face heated slightly. Licking her lips, she followed the older magi down the stairs, but tapped Nessa and Victoria on the shoulders. With a few small gestures, she let them know the truth, which had the others blushing. All three watched the married magi with hopeful, wistful expressions.
“There they are,” Dia said when the group came into the room.
“It was our fault,” Yukiko said. “We hope we didn’t delay breakfast.”
“I just finished,” Quilet said. “I’ll have the snacks ready for you by the time you finish breakfast.”
“Excited to try winning today?” Bishop asked as the group took their seats.
“We are,” Clover said. “It’ll be tough, but we have a solid plan in place.”
“Do you think Farin might have told his clan your plans?” Bishop asked.
“It’s possible,” Gregory said, “but, no, I don’t. Farin has proven to be a solid person. I think he would have fit into the clan if the Iron Hand hadn’t accepted him first.”
“He has been very forthright and earnest,” Dia said. “From my few conversations with him, I know he does hope for Aether to return. Sadly, he has another clan, and the Iron Hand doesn’t let their members go easily, but it does mean you have an ally in their ranks.”
“Another ally,” Gregory said. “I think Magus Klim is, and maybe Magus Erichson, too.”
“Perhaps. Magus Klim has asked for you to spar with her again,” Dia said. “She told me that you agreed if we did and if time could be arranged.”
“I did. She’s a skilled opponent and I enjoy the matches against her,” Gregory said, giving a nod as the otter eurtik set his food before him. “Thanks, Quilet.”
“I approve of it,” Bishop said. “I did add the caveat that she also spars against our other, younger magi. A good opportunity for you all to learn.”
“Thank you,” Daciana said eagerly.
A half-second after her, Clover was speaking, “I’ll do my best.”
The others all agreed that they would look forward to it.
“You’re going to Gin’s today?” Jenn asked the novices.
“Yes. We’ll be learning the gambling games like you did,” Nessa said. “Vicky and I should be good for the dice variants, at least.”
“Inns are rife with bones,” Victoria smiled.
“I’ll learn quickly,” Daciana said as she fiddled with the mind ring on her hand.
“We know,” Nessa and Victoria said as they patted Daciana’s back, making the partial-wolf eurtik blush.
“It’s good you three get along so well,” Yukiko said. “Learn the games and look forward to Empire’s Gambit after that.”
“We are,” all three said, earning chuckles from the others.
“I’ll be happy to start your learning on that topic over the next few days while your friends try to win the tournament,” Dia said between bites.
“Let the kids know we’ll be by as soon as we get time off again, and that we miss seeing them, please?” Gregory requested.
“We’ll let you know how they’re doing,” Nessa said.
“Thanks, Ness,” Gregory replied.
Nessa smiled a little wider when he used her nickname, as he didn’t do it often.
~*~*~
They met Farin just outside of the tactics hall. “How is your clan doing?” Gregory asked him.
“They’re excited and worried,” Farin said. “They didn’t talk a lot about the game in front of me, but they’re likely just as hurt as we are.”
“That’ll make it an even game,” Yukiko said.
“We’re staying with our plan,” Clover said, “so be ready, Farin.”
Farin exhaled slowly. “I will be, but I still think Yukiko would be the better choice if it gets there.”
“It will depend, but you using earth magic might be more important to us if it comes up,” Jenn said.
“Understood,” Farin exhaled. “I really don’t want to be the one to stop my clan from taking the top spot.”
Gregory clapped Farin on the shoulder. “We get it, but they’ll respect you doing your best, too. Besides, they’re in for the trip, already.”
“I know, Magus Erichson was happy about it. Master Chen was happy that the win also coincided with the Hardened Fist losing.”
“Let’s go in and see if there are any other twists,” Gregory said.
“A good point,” Yukiko said.
They were the first ones into the hall. Taking seats at the table they’d used all year, they waited for others to show up. It wasn’t long before Magus Erichson led the Iron Hand apprentices into the hall, with Magus Klim following them.
“Pettit, I’m looking forward to our matches,” Klim greeted him. “Our apprentices and novices will be there to see all of them and to test themselves against Magus Bishop.”
“I look forward to seeing them spar against her. She’s one of the most skilled swordsmen I’ve fought. She’s equal to Gin,” Gregory replied.
Paul’s eye twitched. “Your clan is a little too informal,” he said.
“We’ve become less formal over the year,” Yukiko said, “but part of that is my fault. He was a retainer to my family before he was introduced to Greg.”
“That might explain part of it,” Paul nodded.
More people coming through the doorway got everyone’s attention. Egil strode in with Gin beside him while the other instructors followed them. A handful of seconds later, Klein led his group into the hall, with Magus Dunn walking beside them.
“Magus,” Egil said, bowing his head. “Did you come to watch?”
“If it is okay,” Dunn replied in his normal, detached tone.
“It’s fine. You may sit with them as long as you do not help,” Egil said.
“I’ll be silent the entire time once I am in the room,” Dunn said, bowing formally to Egil. “On behalf of the Shining Light, our thanks. It is felt that our students have learned far better this year than in previous years.”
“I hope that’s true for all of this year’s magi,” Egil replied. “Take your seats, please.”
As Klein and his group sat, more people began to file in. Gregory was surprised to see the entirety of the class coming into the hall. Egil directed them all to take their seats.
As was becoming a habit, the Eternal Flame arrived last. Barlz looked annoyed as he followed the apprentices into the room. Shutting the doors behind him, Barlz went to the middle of the room with the other instructors.
“I’m sure those of you who lost
are wondering why we have you here today,” Egil said without preamble. “That is simple— by watching, you can still learn. Which is why this fight will be different. Our surviving groups will each have three rooms. Those who are waiting to join them will sit in the room with their groups. The central board here will host the entire battle.”
“Sir?” Hayworth asked, raising his hand.
“Go ahead.”
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