by KJ Harlow
“What can you tell us about them?” Cal asked. Belle, one of the other maids that Natasha said she didn’t get along with, cleared the plates on the table.
“My jaws are shut,” the mayor said. “You might be family, but I’m not going to give you an unfair advantage because of that.”
Family, huh? He had never considered that a hulking, blue werejaguar would consider him kinfolk, but then he wouldn’t have ever considered many of the things he had done in ValorVale to be normal.
“How about their Affinities? Surely you could share that with us, Grand Uncle.”
He shook his head exaggeratedly, crossing his arms. “You boys should head on over first. A lot of the townspeople are making their way there. They’re excited to see a couple of dashing wayfarers participating in our tournament. I’ll see you in the arena.”
There were more people in Bracefell that Cal thought. Adults chattered excitedly, walking through the town square that had nearly borne witness to a tragedy a few moonshifts prior. Children of all races, shapes and sizes skipped and ran together, weaving through the crowd. Cal smiled; the only thing that was more beautiful than Bracewell was its people.
“Hello Cal! Hello Kai! Good luck in the tournament today!” A young man with a bowl haircut yelled. His words of encouragement were heard by others and repeated. Kai walked as tall as he could, puffing his chest out. Cal smiled and waved. See Eyre? This is why I’m staying in ValorVale.
The path narrowed in front of them and Cal walked in front of Kai. Someone walked past and he had to squeeze against the shop to his right to let them past. He bumped a mannequin, almost knocking it over before righting it.
“Hello, hero!” The shopowner was an older, pink werejaguar. She wasn’t quite as advanced in her years as Keizen, though Cal could see her eyes twinkling with memories several cycles ago, like shards catching the light of sparkfire. “Have a lady friend? All races, all sizes and a discount, just for you.”
He paused, glancing in the store. “Orc!” Kai was a few yards ahead, urging Cal to join him.
“You go on ahead, I’ll meet you there.” The bell tinkled as the door swung out. “Do you have dresses for succubi?”
“You’re late. They’ve been asking me where you were.” Kai’s fur was puffed out. Whether that was because he was angry at Cal or because he’d been warming up, Cal couldn’t be sure.
“Sorry,” he wheezed. It had taken about 20 minutes for him to choose a dress, wrap it up, pay for it and bring it back to the manor. He had bumped into Javal just as he was leaving. After reassuring him that he didn’t have cold feet, he gave the package to the first maid that he saw, telling her to pass it on to Natasha.
“And now look at you. You’re already exhausted. We might as well forfeit right–”
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 23rd edition of the Bracewell Tournament!” The already loud arena lifted even more in volume, warmly applauding the MC.
“Come on, let’s head over to the waiting area.”
Cal and Kai walked through the foyer into a tunnel towards the center of the arena. They came into a plain room where other competitors were warming up. They appraised the orc and werejaguar but said nothing.
“Callahan and Kai?” A mousey-looking man with a bald patch on the back of his head rushed over to them. They nodded and he ticked them off his parchment. “Empty out your satchel and put these mana and health potions. I’ll hold onto your belongings. Now, stand over here and listen to the announcer explain the rules. You will only hear them once. Once he announces you, run straight in.”
“Through there?” Kai said, pointing towards the square doorway.
“No, back the other way,” Mousey said. The competitors behind laughed as Kai snarled at them.
Kai shooshed him. “He’s starting.”
“Before we begin, let me remind you of the rules of the tournament. There are three rounds, each one lasts a fifth of a moonshift. Competitors fight in teams of two. They will be scored by our panel of judges based on the quality of the attack on the opponent. Teams can win either from having more points after three rounds, when the on-field judge has deemed that both combatants in one team are not fit to continue. A team can also forfeit the round by placing both their arms in the air. Craft may be used, but nothing that uses imbuement from the moons. Fusion attacks are not allowed either.
“If you win the match, you will be awarded full EXP as if you had slain your foes. Killing of the opponent is forbidden and will result in automatic disqualification. The prize pool for Round 1 starts at 1,000 shards and will double with each round. The champion will receive a complimentary Shard Wallet to hold their winnings. Before we begin, let me introduce our judges for today…”
“Excuse me, what did he mean by ‘quality of attack’? How do we know when time is up?” The balding man looked unimpressed, not even bothering to answer Cal’s questions.
“Don’t worry so much, orc.” Kai’s held his Blood Lance in one hand and was in a half-crouch position, as if he was a standing on a sprinting block. “All we have to is hit the opponent as many times as we can and stop them from hitting us as many times as they can.”
Cal raised a finger, held it there, then dropped it. He had to admit, Kai did have a point.
“Our condolences go out to the following combatants. They’re home may be no more, but they’re not here for your sympathy. Please give a warm Bracewell welcome to Var and Zam from Gresshia Village!”
Two werejaguars ran out on all fours, applying the brakes then standing up. Var was holding a lance and Zam was unarmed.
“Why doesn’t Zam have a weapon?” Cal asked.
“No matter what happens next to the following combatants, they are already heroes in our eyes. When our ‘king’,” boos and titters erupted around the arena, “paid us a visit, these competitors made sure they didn’t take our mayor’s life away with them. Give it up for Cal and Kai!”
“Alright, remember–” Kai ran straight into the arena, leaving Cal coughing with the dust in his wake. “…to communicate.” Cal shook his head and ran through the hall.
Kai was toe to toe trying to get into the face of a calm Var. Cal unsheathed his Wild Axe, gazing around the arena. People whooped and clapped, punching the air. He stood at the entrance for a moment, soaking it all in.
They’re cheering… for me…
He raised a hand and waved at a section of the crowd to his left. The applause swelled in response.
“Will the combatants please come to the center of the ring?”
Cal blinked then jogged over to join the other three. He nodded at Var and Zam.
“It appears that fate has interwoven our paths, Cal.”
“It appears so.”
A referee wearing a neon blue top walked out from the tunnel that Cal and Kai had come from. The crowd cheered again, sensing that the entertainment was about to begin soon.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Do you have any questions about the rules?” Cal had no less than a dozen swirling around his head. Kai’s sharp look stopped him from asking them. “Please return to your ends.” The referee pointed an arm towards each of the entrances to the ring and the four fighters separated.
“Examine.” Cal focused on the dust-brown werejaguars walking away from him:
NAME: Var
CLASS: Werejaguar Fighter
LVL: 25
HP: 299/299
MP: 320/320
NAME: Zam
CLASS: Werejaguar Brawler
LVL: 27
HP: 320/320
MP: 280/280
“‘Brawler’?”
“His body is his weapon,” Kai growled.
That meant that he could only attack from close range. “Kai, let me take on Var. I should be able to get past his lance. Do you think you can stay out of Zam’s range?” Kai didn’t respond, eyes glued on their adversaries. All three werejaguars adopted the half-crouching, sprinting stance that Kai had in the tunnels before.
“Cal and Kai, are you ready?”
Kai roared, spittle flying out of his mouth. His Blood Lance became engulfed in fire, much to the delight of the audience immediately behind him.
“Var and Zam, are you ready?” They remained still.
“3… 2… 1… begin!”
Zam was first out of the blocks. He ripped across the ring, making a beeline straight toward Cal and Kai.
Kai gripped his lance with both hands, raised it above his hand and swung down. “Fireball!” The air rippled and a six-foot high ball of flames rolled out towards the werejaguar brawler.
Zam saw it early and jumped over it. He changed position midair, pointing his heel towards Kai.
“Earth Wall!” A wide wall of sand shot up in front of Cal and Kai. It shuddered, grains of sand falling off. “Did he crash into it?” Cal flattened his hand and pushed the Earth Wall down, just in time to see a fist flying towards his face.
Zam’s punch sent him flying five feet through the air, thudding into the ground face first.
-25 Damage!
Sections of the crowd booed and groaned. The referee rushed over, multiple copies of his concerned face appearing in Cal’s vision.
“Can you still fight?”
Cal got to his feet, putting a hand out to steady himself on the referee’s shoulder. “Combatants, back to your sides.”
“Orc, what in Karst’s name was that?”
“He just took me off guard, that’s all.”
“Resume!” The referee shouted.
Cal snapped his head up. Zam and Kai started sprinting at one another on all fours towards the center of the ring. They jumped at the same time. Kai drew out his lance, set it alight and, putting all his weight behind it, rammed it towards Zam. Moving with a litheness that belied his size, he pirouetted in mid-air, the flames from Kai’s lance singeing his brown fur. Zam threw a spinning backhand fist into Kai as he passed him. Kai twisted out of the way, narrowly avoiding it.
Both werejaguars landed, one hand on the floor to steady themselves. From that position, Kai sprinted towards Var, who hadn’t moved from his starting position.
Zam landed, looked up at Cal, turned on his heel then started running back towards Kai and Var.
Damn it. No matter how fast he urged his feet to move, Zam and Kai still pulled further and further away from him. It was like starting ValorVale for the first time all over again and having low AGL. He was a tortoise compared to them. Deep clangs rang out through the arena from Kai and Var’s weapons before being drowned out by the cheers of the crowd. Kai was too lost in the moment to notice Zam closing the distance behind them.
Cal raised a hand then stopped. If he just threw up Earth Walls willy nilly, Zam would just dodge them and still get to Kai. With only one mana potion, he had to be smart with how he used his MP. Cal found an extra burst of speed from deep down. Only got one shot at this.
Five yards away, Zam skipped and drew his muscled, right arm back. His fist came alight with fire. Kai shoved Var back and turned around.
“Earth Wall!”
Cal raised a wall of sand again, this time releasing the bonds between each grain slightly. Zam’s flaming fist flew through the Earth Wal and became engulfed in the earth. Cal gripped his fists, pulling the bindings between the grains of sand as tight as he could. Zam was elbow deep in the wall, his fist inches away from Kai’s face.
“Karst!” He swore.
Zam was trying to pull his right arm free, but Cal wouldn’t release the craft. Keeping his left fist closed, he pulled his axe out and swung it at Zam’s back.
-45 Damage!
His roar of pain reverberated around the arena. Cal pulled his axe out. The wound was a few inches thick from one side of his body to the other. Dark blood oozed out as he flung his left arm towards Cal, trying to knock the axe out his hand.
Cal jumped back slightly, watching the struggling werejaguar. Can’t hold this craft for too long; best I finish him off now. He raised his axe again, aiming for his flailing right arm.
A lance with a serrated tip erupted out of the Earth Wall, straight towards Cal’s face. He dodged at the last second, putting his shoulder in the path of the weapon.
-32 Damage!
“Argh!” Cal’s left hand flew up to grip onto Var’s weapon. The Earth Wall collapsed, pattering to ground in mud form. Zam pulled his arm free and immediately leapt back around eight yards, avoiding a lunging Kai.
“A water-wielding werejaguar,” Cal said, his hand still on Var’s weapon. Var continued pushing his lance into Cal’s shoulder. Water roped around the flat blade, rippling and striking Cal with the force of a waterfall.
“We’re not that common, but we do exist,” Var said. Cal gritted his teeth then drew his axe back in his right hand. At the last moment, Var rotated it so the blade was parallel to the ground. This not only made it dig deeper into Cal’s shoulder, it sliced through it when Cal slammed the blade of his axe into the shaft of Var’s weapon.
-18 Damage!
Cal roared in pain, falling to one knee while leaning on his axe. He looked up straight into the blade of Var’s lance.
Gong!
“End of Round 1!”
Var held his position for a moment longer then withdrew his weapon. He walked towards Cal, offering him his hand. Cal looked at it for a moment then accepted it.
“Well fought so far.”
Cal was too busy trying to not black out that he had no response to Var. He watched the dusty werejaguar retreat to his side, joined by a hunched over Zam.
“Karst, what happened to your shoulder?”
Cal looked at the blue werejaguar. “What happened to your face?” Oh wait, it was like that when you were born. He held back the remark and stared at Kai. The right side of his face had copped the full brunt of a Zam punch; his right eye was swollen shut.
“It’s nothing,” Kai said dismissively. “I got him too. No critical hits yet, though.”
Cal glanced back at his opponents. Var was inspecting Zam’s back wound. “We need to take the brawler out first. He’s sustained more damage.”
“If I had a bit longer, I could have–”
Cal shoved his tusked face into Kai’s. “No, no more ‘I’. This is a team tournament. We have to work together. If you want glory, fine. I’ll even give you all the EXP at the end of the match if I could. But we have to work together. Got it?”
Kai glared at Cal with his left eye. “Understood.”
“OK, so this is what we’re going to do.”
“Round 2… begin!”
Neither of the combatants from either side moved. Var and Zam started circling towards their left, edging closer to the center. Cal and Kai mimicked them.
“Why isn’t Zam rushing at us like before?”
“You never show your hand until the last card’s been dealt.” Kai threw a confused glance at Cal. “They’ve still got something else up their sleeve.”
“Speak normally, orc.”
“They have skills or abilities that they haven’t shown us yet.”
“Oh.”
“But so do we.” And with any luck, we won’t have to go to Round 3.
Var raised his lance and like Poseidon summoning a lightning bolt roared as he plunged it blade first into the ground. Clouds rapidly gathered overhead and a deluge started pouring in on the arena.
“What Skill is this?” Cal yelled.
“Tears of Flulia,” Kai said, gritting his teeth. “Negates all fire users’ attacks for the duration of the storm while boosting all stats of water users.”
“But that means that Zam will also be weakened.”
“Won’t stop him from attacking us… and neither will it stop me!” Kai ran towards the pair, water running down his Blood Lance.
Var’s lance swung impossibly fast across Kai’s body, taking him by surprise. It crunched into his stomach, sending him flying through the air.
Critical Hit!
-203 Damage!
A limp
Kai soared through the air. Even when he was unconscious, he gripped onto his Blood Lance.
“Kai!” Cal ran towards him, water trickling down his tusks. He skidded in the water, flipped open his satchel and pulled a health potion out. He glanced back towards the middle of the ring; Var and Zam were walking towards them. “Come on!”
He angled Kai’s head up, some of the health potion sloshing out as he poured it down his throat. Kai’s eyes fluttered open and shut again, the deluge of rain falling onto his face.
“Change of plan,” Cal said. “We stay out of Var’s way and wait for his mana to run out–”
Kai pushed Cal in the chest, getting up into a squatting position. “He has a spare mana potion.”
“So we just wait until he uses up that one too.”
“Cal, no. Your original plan works. Let’s stick with that.” Kai stood up to the rapturous applause of the audience. The rain hadn’t dampened their spirit one bit. “It’s an even better plan while Var’s Skill is in action.” Var and Zam were less than 10 yards away, closing off Kai and Cal’s avenues of escape.
“OK, let’s do this.” They stood side by side, eyeing off the werejaguars walking towards them. “Wait for it…”
One moment, Var was still walking towards them. The next, the tip of his lance’s blade was screaming towards Cal’s chest. Cal raised his axe just in time. Var’s eyes widened in surprise as his blade deflected off to Cal’s left.
“Kai!”
Kai drove his Blood Lance into Var, piercing his side. He took one hand off his lance, grabbing onto Var’s. As expected, Var wouldn’t let go of his weapon. Seeing his partner in trouble, Zam started running towards them. Cal drew his axe and swung it Var, deliberately missing him. Var dodged and Kai swept at his legs, knocking him to the ground.
Zam jumped into the air, aiming a flying kick right at Kai. Cal leapt backwards away from the three of them, gripping the heft of his axe with both hands.
“Earthquake!”
He slammed the axe head into the drenched ground just as Kai released his grip on Var’s weapon. Zam’s attack missed as Kai jumped back. The earthquake shook the arena, paralysing the werejaguars from Gresshia.