Daciana walked out of the tunnel, the first fight of the day. Gufta yelled her name out and rose to his feet. She looked back at him, waving with an embarrassed smile. Her eyes drifted to the side and she suddenly drew herself upright, giving the clan a nod. Turning back to face the arena proper, she walked toward the adjudicator, who was wearing a cyan-colored robe with a clenched fist emblem on the back.
“Why do they even bother?” the man from before asked behind Gregory. “It’s not like any of the breeds ever win enough fights to make it worthwhile.”
“Missed last year’s fights?” Hao asked, turning to look at the portly man.
“I was away on business, though I heard that someone almost repeated for the novices.”
“Very close. They lost in the finals,” Hao nodded. “I overheard you say you don’t believe the novice on the sands can win?”
“Against her opponent, I doubt she can,” the man laughed.
Hao looked back to see the other novice leave the far tunnel. The young man that came out was nearly as large as the magus adjudicating the match. “Hmm… Yes, he will probably make it difficult, but I’d still be willing to back the first novice.”
The man gave Hao a look that said he clearly doubted his sanity.
“If the odds are good, I’d be willing to place a thousand vela on her,” Hao said.
A smile appeared on the portly man’s face. “I’ll give you five-to-one, then.”
“Not as sure about the other novice after all?” Hao asked with a snort.
“Eight-to-one,” the portly man said, giving Hao a smirk, “unless you’re going to retract your bold statement?”
“Agreed. Eight-to-one,” Hao smiled. “Armsmaster, did you hear the bet?”
Gin looked back and nodded. “I did, Warlin.”
“An armsmaster? Here?” the man asked in shock.
Gin turned around so he could look at the man. “I’m the physical instructor for Aether’s Guard.”
“Aether’s Guard? Didn’t they disband?”
“No. In fact, the winners of the last two tournaments are in the clan,” Gin said, “as well as a magi who placed second and third, respectively.” He motioned to the three of them sitting behind him.
“Hmm… I doubt they will be able to resurrect that clan by themselves. Just three of them might have a problem against some of the more robust clans.”
Hao grinned wider. “Would you care to wager on that?”
The portly man’s lips twisted. “And how would I find you to collect?”
“The same way I would,” Hao said. “The armsmaster will back and collect the wager. Surely you wouldn’t doubt him?”
“Fine, but it’ll be an even bet, since you want it so badly.”
“Even odds when they’ll have to win every fight?” Hao laughed, and others around them snickered. “Pardon me if I fail to see that as generous.”
“Fine. What odds would you call fair?”
“Ten-to-one, and I’ll go so far as to bet up to twenty thousand vela that they will win the apprentice tournament.”
“Done at twenty thousand,” the portly man laughed. “Ten-to-one odds are fair, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Your name, sir?” Gin asked.
“Dustin Carlisle, purveyor of fine meats. You might have heard of my company, ‘Carlisle Cuisine’?”
“I have,” Hao nodded. “I’m Hao Warlin of Warlin Mercantile.”
Carlisle’s lips pursed. “Warlin? Yes, I’ve heard of you.”
“And my daughter, Yukiko, is part of the group that you just bet against.”
“Ah, that explains your foolish bet,” Carlisle laughed.
“The fight is about to begin,” the woman next to Carlisle said primly.
That brought everyone’s attention back to the arena. The novices were bowing, and a murmur of excitement filled the air as the spectators waited to see the first fight of the tournament.
Gregory realized that he’d missed the normal announcement of the tournament, having been caught up in the drama with Carlisle. He exhaled and focused on Daciana. Come on, Daciana… show them all that you’re better than them.
The magus backed away after the novices bowed to each other, his hand going up. The few seconds it took the adjudicator to back up felt like an age to Gregory. When he finally stopped moving, his hand came down sharply and Daciana charged the other novice.
The bigger novice started to backpedal immediately, clearly afraid of Daciana, shocking the crowd that had been expecting the bigger novice to be the one charging. Daciana caught him quickly, and the man lashed out with a punch, but Daciana dodged. She grabbed the offered arm, latching onto it.
She pivoted into him, sweeping her leg behind him and catching his knee. When his balance broke, she jerked back the other way, tossing him over her hip. She never let go of him— instead, she twisted his arm and locked her legs around it. Daciana fell to the ground, pulling at the locked joint.
The man slapped the ground repeatedly and the adjudicator stepped forward, clearly speaking. Daciana let go of his arm and rolled to her feet, wearing a large grin on her face as she looked at the silent crowd.
Gufta was the first one to make significant noise, jumping to his feet and shouting, “That’s my girl!”
“Winner, Novice Lyall!” the adjudicator announced.
Cheers went up for Daciana while others laughed at Gufta’s proud father moment. Carlisle was glaring down at Daciana in disgust, and Hao turned to face the portly man.
“Yes, yes, I’ll pay you,” Carlisle said before Hao could speak.
“Actually,” Hao smiled, “I was going to give you a chance to win that back.”
Carlisle hesitated. “Go on…”
“She has two more fights, both in this arena, I believe. I’d be willing to go triple or nothing on each of the next fights.”
“Without knowing who her opponents will be?” Carlisle asked incredulously.
“Yes. If she loses either, you owe me nothing, but if she wins, it is triple the profit for each.”
Carlisle thought about it, then glanced back toward the arena where Daciana was grinning their way, and his nostrils flared. He had no idea that Daciana was grinning at her friends— all he saw was a cocky eurtik-blooded novice acting like she was the best.
“Done!” Carlisle hissed.
“Armsmaster?” Hao asked.
“I heard the bet,” Gin said simply.
“Excellent,” Hao smiled as he turned back to the front. “Today is turning out to be a wonderful day.”
“Do you know him?” Gregory asked softly.
“Him personally? No. His business? Yes. He can easily afford the loss. I’d try to get him to bet against Nessa, as well, but I’m not sure he’ll bite.”
“He might after her first fight,” Yukiko said.
Daciana came into the stands and gave them a grin before turning to her friends and exchanging congratulations. As she went to sit, Nessa stood up, giving her mother a smile before heading down.
“Figures they’d know each other,” Carlisle snorted. “Animals know they have to band together to survive.”
“You know, Carlisle,” Hao said with false cheer, “it dawns on me that my bet against you might net me nothing at all today.”
“It will net you nothing,” Carlisle laughed. “I don’t believe for an instant that the pup will win twice more.”
“That’s why a man of the world knows when to back the right horse,” Hao said, hiding how much he hated playing into the other man’s prejudice.
Carlisle laughed, “I see. You believe her equine friend can do the same?”
“If they don’t fight each other, I’d be willing to bet she can,” Hao said, hedging against the one thing that would kill both bets easily.
“A sweep?” Carlisle asked as he watched two novices enter the arena.
“Yes.”
“Odds?”
“Same as before?” Hao offered.
“Done and done,” Carlisle laughed. “Did you see that, dear?” he asked, turning to the woman beside him. She was easily twenty years his junior. “Easy money. This is why I love the tournaments.”
“Yes, I remember,” the woman said. “I just like to watch them beat each other. The last one wasn’t nearly bloody enough.” The sadistic smile on her face spoke volumes about her.
“You heard that one, as well?” Hao asked Gin.
“Indeed. You now have three active bets against each other.”
When the next fight started, Yukiko asked her father what he intended to do with the money when he won.
“Half will go to them. They’ll have earned it,” Hao told her. “Or did you have something else in mind?”
“If you took the winnings, which, at this point, will be substantial, and went to Hemet’s, you could get them items that would be better than what they have… but it’d be better if you gave the things to their parents to give to them. It separates the gifts a little more.”
“More layers of deniability are good. I’m glad you remember,” Hao smiled fondly. “We can do that tonight. I’ll have their carriage go straight back, and we can make a detour to Hemet’s. It’ll mean skipping the auction house tonight, but that’s a small price considering the good stuff doesn’t really show up until the last few nights.”
“Thank you, Father,” Yukiko said.
~*~*~
Nessa’s fight was after the second match, and she walked onto the arena floor without a single look back. She was focused on the other girl standing near the adjudicator. Gregory could tell there was a story by the way the other novice sneered at Nessa, but he didn’t know what it was. The girl waiting for Nessa said something, and the adjudicator clearly rebuked her for it. Nessa’s head had lifted at whatever had been said, but she just walked calmly to the center. The two women bowed as directed— to the boxes, to the crowd, and finally, to each other.
The moment the fight began, the other novice had a burning ball of fire in her hand and she threw it at Nessa. Nessa did her best to avoid it, but she hadn’t been prepared for the flames. Even then, she nearly made it with a dodge and what looked like a brief gust of wind. Everything but her left arm cleared the flame.
Nessa let out a ragged scream of pain as she hit the ground and rolled onto her burnt arm. The woman was clearly saying something, but no one could hear over the roar from those who had enjoyed the sight, including Carlisle behind the group.
Nessa’s jaw was clenched in pain as she pushed herself to her feet, her left arm dangling beside her. Taking a defensive stance, she beckoned her opponent with her right hand. The other novice laughed at Nessa, sneering as she rushed her.
Nessa waited until they were about to collide before sand whipped up hard from the arena floor. The other novice had expected some sand, but not the hard, gusting wall that hit her. She kept her head averted and her eyes closed, trying to stop short, but Nessa wasn’t going to allow that.
With a beautifully executed front kick, she drove her heel into the other woman’s gut. When the novice sagged, clearly reeling from the first kick, Nessa spun on her heel and performed a roundhouse kick. With the way the other novice’s head snapped to the side when her foot connected, it was clear that it was a devastating blow.
Nessa wasn’t about to relent, not with her left arm out of the fight. As her opponent went tumbling to the ground, Nessa followed her, kicking again and again. It took the adjudicator a few seconds before he called Nessa off.
Stepping back, Nessa bowed to him as he raised the glowing metal disk to announce her the winner. While he made the announcement, the healers rushed out to see to her and the other novice. Before they could reach her, Nessa bowed to the boxes and her downed opponent.
“Hmm… well, it seems she is sturdier than I anticipated,” Carlisle huffed, “but the healers won’t spend enough aether to fully heal her. It will make the next fight even tougher for her.”
“That is indeed possible,” Hao agreed. “Only time will tell.”
