Capítulo 37: Challenger's Corner
My aim was really bad, at least with a bow. Out of perhaps twenty shots, I managed to hit the target three times. Moreover, the target was rather close to me, not more than ten metres separated me from the target. 'Bow is really not for me. Or should I say, I have no time to learn about bows. I will stick with my sword', I thought before checking up on others. Tara struggled a lot, maybe even more than me. The lady owner helped her out, but Tara was even less talented than me. Though we didn't need to be. I had my sword, while Tara had her fists and spear. Tara also gave up when she saw me watching her. "I'm not that great with ranged stuff. I prefer old and simple close combat", she said.
Although we were no good, Dawn was something else. She released one arrow after the other, and all of them on target. Though most of them away from the center, she could at least hit the target. "You are doing great Dawn. Looks like you are learning archery really well. Keep it up", the lady owner said. 'Seems like Dawn and the lady owner know each other. Well, she changed to archery after all', I thought.
When Dawn ran out of arrows, we ended our little try-outs and thanked the lady owner for letting us use the bows. The next stop was a smithy. They also made weapons to order, but they also had loads of them already made and ready for sale. As soon as I grabbed a sword, Tara's face changed. "Relax, will you? I promised, didn't I?", I said. Tara didn't comment, but she looked tense anyway. I tested out a few swords, but wasn't sure what to look for exactly. I wasn't that knowledgeable about materials either. 'It would be cool to get a sword that looks exactly how I want. These look good, and some of them are much sharper than what I got, but they just don't feel right in my hand. No wonder they make swords to order too', I thought. Since we weren't buying anything, we left the smithy after I tested out a few swords. Tara's mood changed for the better when we did. 'She really worries too much…', I thought looking at her beaming face.
We visited a few other shops, but found nothing really interesting. "I have a place in mind we can visit next, but let's grab something to eat first", Dawn said. During our dinner, I asked her what sort of place she had in mind, but Dawn told us it was a secret. 'What exactly is she planning?', I asked myself. After our meal, Dawn led us off the main streets. We went from one side alley to another, but I wasn't sure where we were going. 'Hopefully it's nothing creepy', I thought. We followed her nonetheless, after all we trusted Dawn. A few more alleys later, we arrived at an open area surrounded by buildings. The only exit was the alley we came from. "What is this place?", Tara asked the exact question that was on my mind.
There were loads of youngsters or young adults there. Moreover, the atmosphere seemed exciting for some reason, but me and Tara had no idea what was going on. "This place is a bit special. A lot of youngsters and young adults come here to compare their skills, or compete in all sorts of games. You can bet money or all sorts of items on contestants, but it's not required, Anyone can challenge someone to a game, or even a fight. You can bet something on your win, or simply find out who is better. I learned about this place not that long ago, and it's called Challenger's Corner", Dawn replied. When Tara heard that, she almost immediately turned around and tried to leave. Dawn stopped her then reassured, "We don't have to bet anything, we can just watch. No one can force you to do anything".
The place seemed interesting. Not only loads of people our age hung around that area, there were games we could compete in. We joined one of the crowds gathered to watch whatever was going on there. Turned out that there were two people fighting each other. One of them was a Lizard, while the other was a Shade. Both of them used daggers as their weapons, and both of them seemed really skilled. 'That Shade is better, even I can tell. He's faster and evades all the attacks that Lizard throws at him. I think he will win this', I thought. A few bouts later, the Lizard gave up. He had a few small cuts here and there but nothing serious. '... Fighting like this can really spell disaster. What if someone accidentally stabs or slashes the wrong place?', I asked myself.
The audience didn't seem to mind that, neither did the contestants. I was even more surprised when the Lizard handed his daggers to the Shade. "Don't be so surprised. He must've bet those daggers. He would get something from that Shade if he won instead", Dawn explained. "What if there is an accident? What if something bad happens? I don't think this is a good method to entertain yourself", I said. Dawn shook her head, and explained further. There were certain rules when it came to fighting. Killing someone was of course not allowed. If someone actually did this, they would be responsible and apprehended. Dawn even mentioned that there were those who organised the whole thing, and they made sure rules were strictly obeyed.
Using weapons was of course allowed, because we witnessed that. Any small injuries were also inevitable sometimes, but severe injuries would be compensated by the person inflicting them. "Yea, I get it. That is why I said an accident. Something out of your control", I reasoned. She shook her head, "You just have to stop the attack. People are not trying to kill each other here, it's like a sparring session but injuries are more common. Usually we are talking about light injuries, nothing to worry about really. Stuff like bows for instance, are not allowed. Once you release an arrow, you can't control it. Formations are not allowed either. You can compete using Formations, but you can't fight with their use".
'Oh, maybe it's not that bad then', I thought. Since the fight was over, we left to watch something else. This time it wasn't a fight, but a game. Moreover, a throwing game. A Vanaut was competing against a Shade. They were throwing some sort of coloured balls at the target. Moreover, the balls left the same colour imprint on the target. "Can you tell me more about this game?", I asked Dawn. "Sure, there are three colours that work as multipliers. The white balls don't multiply the points, or rather they just multiply them by one. The green balls multiply the score by two, while the blue by three. There are weight and size differences of each ball of course, but the game is simple. Gather more points than your opponent with the balls provided".
The game sounded interesting. "Hey Tara, wanna go against me?", I asked. Tara shook her head, "I refuse. I'm bad at everything concerned with range. Dawn can take that challenge, I will just sit and watch". "Alright, I can take that challenge. After all, you want to challenge an archer in our group. How could I say no?", Dawn said before making her way to the person responsible for that game. "Everything's ready, we are next in the queue. I didn't bet anything, so it's just a friendly competition. Others can bet on us, but we will get nothing from that", she explained after setting the match up. Since our turn was next, we decided to watch the current match until the end. The Vanaut was really close, but he lost to the Shade. Only by a few points though.
"We already have new contestants. Can Anna and Dawn come forth?", the owner of that game announced. Me and Dawn stepped forward, and took our positions. "Do both of you know the rules, or should I refresh them?", the owner asked. "We know the rules", Dawn replied. He nodded and told us we could begin. We each got thirty balls, ten for each colour. Everything was up to our skills, the one who scored the most, won. The target was around ten metres away, which wasn't little considering the size of the balls provided. The white balls were the biggest, they fit on my palm really well. Though the white balls were not the heaviest. Green balls were the heaviest and medium in size. While blue balls were the smallest and very light. 'This will make aiming really painful', I thought.
Since they were all different, I decided to throw one colour first, instead of mixing them around. When I checked Dawn, she had the same idea. 'Although this is not archery, focus should be important', I thought and grabbed the white ball. The size and weight was decent, this meant the balls should fly rather well. I focused on the target then threw the ball with a moderate amount of strength. "Splat", the ball left a mark on the five points area before falling to the ground. 'Not bad, but can be better', I thought while picking up another ball. The more ballas I threw, the better I got at it. My average was around seven points, though I managed to hit the ten point mark once.
The white balls ran out, which meant I had a choice of either green or blue. I grabbed the green balls, leaving the blue balls for the end. My first throw was a miss, not a huge miss but a miss nonetheless. I was used to the white balls and didn't adjust my strength and technique well. 'Not so easy after all… Since it's heavy…', I thought and threw it a bit harder next time. "Splat", the ball hit the target, but only for three points. Though this number would be multiplied by two, it was still little.
I threw one green ball after the other, until those ran out as well. This time, I wasn't able to hit the ten point mark. The highest points I got was seven. Not too bad, but not that great either. With only the blue balls left, I looked at Dawn's target. 'Yea, she already started with those blue balls. Moreover, her green points look much better than mine', I thought. The blue balls were the smallest and the lightest of them all. 'Since these are so light and small, I should probably use more strength', I thought before throwing the ball. That was a miss, more precisely, I overshot the target. 'Okay, that was too much strength…', I thought while grabbing another ball. With my strength adjusted, I threw again. "Splat", the ball landed at the upper two points section, but it wasn't a miss. 'Even less strength?', I asked myself confused. I gave the balls a more thorough look, and noticed something off. 'These balls have a weird balance to them… No wonder they act like that', I thought.
I tried throwing the ball hard, but aimed below the target. "Splat!", the ball landed in the six points area. 'Heh, what an interesting ball design. Let's continue', I thought and threw one ball after the other. I hit eight points once, but most of them were within the six points range. Dawn finished before me, but looking at our targets side by side, she was the winner. Though plain to see, the owner calculated everything properly then announced the scores. Of course Dawn won. She had a lead of forty-three points, which was quite a lot. "Well, I'd be surprised if you actually won with me. Now that I practice archery, my aim is not that bad. You did well for your first try", Dawn said afterwards. "It was alright I guess. A few more tries, and I'd probably be much closer to you, hehe", I replied. Tara didn't want to compete, therefore we moved on towards the next game.
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