Chapter 71 - A ‘Gentleman’s’ Challenge

The outer church went silent as all eyes stared at Randall. The young lord’s wand glimmered faintly with cold blue light, held with all the arrogance that Hump had come to expect from most nobles. The echoes of his challenge still rang through Hump’s head.

The silence broke when the rogue burst into laughter.

“What are you snickering about, Skander?” Randall sneered. “This is a gentleman’s challenge—it’s no wonder you don’t understand, thief.”

“Sure I don’t,” he said through his laughter. “You got us into one mess already. I’m looking forward to this.”

“If my father—”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get kicked from the party—don’t need to hear it again.”

“Quiet Skander,” the female knight snapped. The woman was almost as tall as Bud, with short blond hair and pale skin. She gave Randall a concerned look and whispered something that Hump couldn’t make out.

At the table beside him, the two other party members shared an awkward look, meanwhile Randall only seemed to get angrier. Hump got the feeling that the two weren’t used to the trio’s dynamic. New members, perhaps, he thought. Hard to imagine a party with this prick holding onto its people.

One of them wore heavy armour, the Imira’s crescent moon insignia marking his chestplate. It was hard to tell if he was Chosen or just one of her priests, but either way Hump took him to be some sort of cleric. A bow leant against the table, belonging to the woman beside him. She wore mail and cloth—a typical archer.

“She asked him if he’s sure about this,” Celaine whispered.

“You can hear them?” Hump asked.

“Evidently,” Celaine said. “Now try and de-escalate this.”

“He’s the one—”

“—The last thing we need is for you to get hurt or for some lord’s father to show up and cause trouble.”

“You never know, maybe he’ll show up with reinforcements and take care of the spirit problem.”

Celaine gave him a look.

Hump sighed. She was right. He swallowed his pride and called out. “Lord Ferrand, I’m sure we can sort this out some other way. I meant no offence and was merely trying to help solve your… herbal issues.”

“No offence? You are lucky we’re not back in the city. I’d have you and your entire party arrested for attempted assassination of a noble.”

“Assassination—now hold on a minute. Ursa root is a commonly used hallucinogen. The most dangerous thing you purchased was the limerick cocktail, I can hardly be blamed for that.”

“Don’t pretend to be innocent,” he sneered. “The good Priest Albry has already told us you’re conniving with that witch. Better we get this out in the open now rather than feign pleasantries with heretics.”

If only you knew… Hump wanted to laugh.

“Slow down for a second,” Bud said, making a calming gesture by extending his palms. “Now who’s making the hefty accusations, Randall? Heretics—that’s a step too far. Priest Albry and Wizard Vivienne have a history. I understand he has some concerns, but I assure you, Wizard Vivienne only has the town’s best interest at heart.”

“You’d take the words of a witch over a priest—no, not just a priest, a Chosen of Hestia!”

Bud frowned. “I’m not sure how much you’ve been told so far, but these spirits are dangerous, and they are growing in numbers with each passing month. Priest Albry himself was injured in the wave last week, just before Hestia allegedly spoke to him.”

“What do you mean by allegedly?” the female knight asked.

“Forgive me, I didn’t catch your name,” Bud said.

“Madeleine Orston of House Orston, Knight of Osidium.”

“Madeleine,” Bud said pleasantly. “Priest Albry has yet to reveal his Brilliance to anyone, nor has his claim been certified. His soul was damaged during the last attack, and we’re concerned this may be a symptom of that.”

“Oh, out with it, Robert,” Albry said. “They’re concerned I’m mad. Do I seem mad to you?”

Randall hardly seemed to hear him, but Hump noticed that both Skander and the knight glanced at the priest.

“Is this true, Albry?” Madeleine asked. “There should be no issue proving your Brilliance.”

“As Robert so aptly pointed out, my soul was damaged during the conflict. Try as I might, I am embarrassed to say I cannot withdraw my Brilliance. While I understand the need to certify my blessing, that does not change the fact that I am still a priest of the Pantheon and High Priest of Hestia’s temple. There should be no doubt about where I stand!”

“Enough of this, Blackthorne,” Randall snapped. “Don’t fall for this poppycock. It’s time for you to wake up. You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re a Knight of Kelisia, find your courage, man, and break free of this. For her sake if not your own. I want no quarrel with a brother, but I’ll do what I must if you don’t come to your senses.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but you must understand, Fishers Lake Town is in danger. Hundreds of lives are at risk if we don’t stop these attacks. We must work together. There is no trickery at work—Wizard Vivienne is on our side. She’s been helping us train even!”

Randall’s face darkened. “I see we are too late. The challenge is issued, I will not rescind it. First I shall take you down, wizard, then I will deal with the witch. I will not fall for your magics.”

“Randall, please,” Bud insisted. He turned to the knight. “Madeleine, you must see sense. This is insanity!”

“What’s insane is that you stand by practitioners of dark magic,” Albry said, rising from his chair. “Who are you to judge a champion of the light like Lord Randall here? You have fallen so far for their tricks you cannot even see them, Robert. I like you, however you have been blinded, and now you block our path.”

“Don’t do this,” Bud said. “Priest Albry, you’re a good man. Please just think for a moment.”

“I have thought,” Albry said. “I’ve spent every waking hour thinking since Hestia spoke to me. Ever since I arrived here, the witch’s influence has been clear upon the town. They light her candles, drink her poisons, seek her sinful healing—now she hides in her lighthouse, calling twisted spirits to her cause. The truth is before your eyes, Robert. You only need to open them.”

Bud looked to the rest of Randall’s party. “Someone amongst you must see this is wrong.”

“I follow Randall’s command,” Madeleine said. “The duel is issued and must be answered. Whether Priest Albry is Chosen or not is of no consequence at the present. He is still an esteemed member of the Pantheon; that alone demands respect.”

“Sorry big guy,” Skander said to Bud. “I ain’t no backstabber, even if the lordling did get us into this mess. He’s the boss.”

“There you have it,” Randall said. “What do you say, wizard? Will you fight or cower?”

“I’ll go for the latter, thanks, if those are my options,” Hump said as calmly as he could. Celaine was right, they needed to de-escalate this and quickly. Another party would be very useful if only they could work together. “My apologies for offending you, but it’s best we both walk away from this and forget about it. There are lives at stake. We need to focus on mending bridges, not destroying them.”

“Is honour but a foreign concept to your kind?” Randall asked.

“I wouldn’t call it foreign, but it’s nothing worth fighting over,” Hump said. “If it makes you feel better, you can tell everyone you won.”

“You’re an adventurer, are you not?” Madeleine said.

Hump looked at her uncertainly. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Perhaps you are unaware that a word from Randall’s father, Lord Ferrand, would result in your membership being revoked. The guild has little desire for cowards and traitors.”

“Not likely,” Hump growled, feeling his anger surface. This woman was threatening his livelihood. “I have the personal writ of recommendation from Overseer Oswald. The guild exists outside of noble ruling to prevent abuses of power such as this.”

“Is that a risk you’re willing to take?” Randall snapped.

“This is going nowhere,” Hump muttered. He turned to his own party members. “I’m going back to the inn before this gets out of hand. Can you take care of things here?”

“Go,” Celaine said. “I’m not much good at perceiving auras yet, but Randall and Albry are getting particularly riled up.”

Bud clapped him on the shoulder. “Leave things to us. I’m sure we can diffuse the situation.”

Hump nodded, turning to walk away.

“You can’t just leave,” Randall snarled. “I’m speaking to you! The challenge must be answered.”

“Look, I’m sorry the drugs got you in trouble, but you’re the one that bought them,” Hump said, not stopping as he headed up the road toward the inn.

“Hump!” Celaine yelled.

Suddenly, he felt a chill behind him.

Hump whirled around as an orb of ice shot through the air toward him like a cannonball. He punched his staff toward it, bracing himself for the impact as he let loose a burst of essence. “Shield,” he snapped.

It was a rushed attempt at Parry Shield, but his instincts had guided the spell well. The air shimmered before his staff as he thumped into the ball and… it shattered. He felt no impact. Cold essence exploded from the orb in a wave of pale blue mist.

It splashed over him, and Hump gasped at the sudden cold. He flung his arm up to protect his face, his robes taking the worst of the cold, but not enough. He screamed, falling to his knee. His clothes crackled, ice crystallising over them. As the cold stung against his skin, he channelled essence to the affected areas, using its heat to warm himself and help prevent damage.

He glared at Randall and rose to his feet, supported by his staff. Ice broke off his robes in thin shards that shattered upon impacting the ground.

Randall stood there with a smirk, flourishing his wand with noble arrogance.

Celaine had an arrow already on the string. Bud’s sword rang out through the square as he drew it from his scabbard. Madeleine drew her own sword and shrugged off a shield from her back, while the rogue vanished in a puff of darkness. The cleric and archer rose to their ready positions.

“You think attacking someone from behind is honourable, do you?” Hump yelled. “You’re just a noble brat, spoiled rotten because the rest of your family built themselves a legacy.”

“Don’t run your mouth,” Randall said. “It’s five against three. You don’t stand a chance.”

“We’re all here for the same purpose,” Bud snarled. “How can you attack a man in the back and call yourself a Chosen?”

“Is a heretic a man?” Randall asked Madeleine. She said nothing, but even she appeared uncomfortable.

“Forget it, Bud,” Hump said, channelling his essence. He’d not yet recovered since the morning’s training, and wasn’t in the best state for a fight, but it was still better odds than trying to take on the entire party. His staff glowed red as he went straight for fire essence. “Just you and me then, lordling. You want a duel, you have one. Let’s go!”

“Stop!” The shout came from behind him. Hump turned to see Captain Winfrey and a couple of his guards walking toward him. “There are to be no duels in the town square.” He gestured to several spectators watching nervously from farther up the road. Someone must have fetched the guards. “You’re disturbing the peace. What on earth is going on?”

“Oh perfect,” Randall said. “Captain Winfrey, you can oversee the duel. A neutral authority is required to ensure things are kept legit. Otherwise, this would be nothing but a common street brawl.” He scoffed the last words as he returned his wand to his belt, as if Hump had been the one to attack him.

Winfrey frowned but nodded. “As you wish, Master Ferrand. I’d be happy to assist, so long as we can move this away from the town. Though I must ask, what is to come of the spirit attacks?”

“We’ll get this out of the way first,” Hump said through gritted teeth. “Once this is settled, we can focus on more important things. Name a time and a place.”

“As the challenged you have the right to choose,” Madeleine said.

“Fine, tomorrow at—”

“A week from now,” Bud interrupted. “The duel will take place next Tuesday at noon.”

“A week?” Hump snapped. “Why?”

“So that perhaps a little sense returns to the world,” Bud said, glaring at Albry. “You must see this is wrong, Priest Albry.”

Albry lifted his chin. “That is for the gods to decide.”

Hump took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as he recalled Randall’s attack. It looked like a ball of ice from a distance, but it seemed to be some form of condensed cold energy. Perhaps the icy shell had just been water vapour from the air, frozen around it. Either way, it was clear Randall was no push over. Even if they were equal in ability, wizards could rarely match a Chosen in a fair fight without preparation.

“Is that your answer then?” Madeleine asked Hump.

“Yes. I accept the challenge. The duel will take place next week at noon.”

Randall snorted. “Very well, enjoy the days, but understand a week won’t save you. In the meantime, do not get in our way.”

***

Hump was still fuming when training began the next day, but four hours of running and spell casting had drained all the energy he had.Vivienne had been far from impressed by their report of the encounter, though her distaste seemed to be mostly directed at Albry.

While Bud and Dylan started sparring for the day, Hump and Celaine went to the living room where he once again tried to bond with his egg. Nothing had come of their sessions with Vivienne so far, but he could feel the focus of his intent improving. Still he held the feeling of plummeting through the sky with the other dragons in his mind, only now it was sharper as he channelled his essence and thoughts toward the egg.

“Are you feeling anxious?” Vivienne asked. He’d been focusing for what felt like fifteen minutes without progress.

“How’d you guess?” Hump said sarcastically, smirking to Celaine who watched with indifference.

“Don’t get snippy with me, boy. I’m trying to help. A simple yes or no would have sufficed.”

“Sorry. Yes, I’m a bit anxious. Why do you ask?”

“Your aura just seems a little off today—erratic almost. I’ve never noticed it before but perhaps this is a heightened version of your typical self. It would explain why you’re having difficulty forming an empathic bond.”

“Is it something we can fix?” Hump asked, acutely aware that a dragon’s imprint on his soul was very likely the cause.

She nodded and took a seat on the chair opposite him. “Let me try something.” A moment later, Hump’s skin tingled as Vivienne manifested her soul, her aura expanding until it stirred the essence in the room. “During our soul training sessions, you were always so sturdy, which indicated that while you might lack some control over your essence, you had very good control over your soul. What I didn’t consider is that it may have been the very activity that was solidifying it.”

“What do you mean? Surely it would be the other way around.”

“Imagine you’ve got the shivers and you can’t steady your arm. Without any sort of support, it’s difficult to control, but if you press your arm against something it stops.”

“I see. My act of pushing back against your aura may have been helping me to control it.”

“Exactly. What I’m going to do is suppress you like I usually do, only this time I will weaken the attack. Focus on forming the bond with the egg again and let’s see if it makes a difference.”

“Got it,” Hump said. He felt the uncomfortable feeling of Vivienne’s aura pressing down on him, an invisible weight that seemed to clamp around the insides of his chest. It took him a few seconds to adjust to the sensation and convince his body that it wasn’t under threat. Once he relaxed, he brought back the memory, picturing every moment of it as if it were today. The sensation of the air, smell of the forest, heat of the sun—he relived it.

It seemed only right that their bond would be formed through the memory granted to him by its mother. Once he felt ready, he cast his mind toward the egg. It was a comfortable weight in his lap, the sharp scales smooth to touch, and radiating with warmth that spread up through Hump’s palms. He channelled his essence through them, pressing it into the egg with his touch, flooding it with his thoughts. For a few minutes, nothing happened, and then he felt it.

A spark of life burst through him. Joy washed over him. All the frustrations of the world were gone, replaced by a feeling of warmth. He felt its excitement and curiosity as if it were his own. An instant affection soared through mind, heart, and soul. This was his dragon, and he was its human.

The bond shattered with his excitement, but Hump didn’t mind. He opened his eyes and beamed at Vivienne. “It worked! I felt it. It’s really there, and it’s alive. Gods above, Celaine, I felt it.” His smile slipped as he noticed Vivienne’s intense stare on him, her face dark. “What’s wrong?”

Her aura rescinded. “You’ve not been entirely honest with me, have you Humphrey? The bond to the egg was not the only change to your soul that day. What happened to you?”