Plan

Another quick adjustment was made to the court.

Four versus four.

Just eight individuals remained. 

And yet, when the Adjudicator left, Liam expected some sort of tension to be relieved. 

Instead, the air grew heavier.

Not literally, of course. It was just that the stakes were extremely high, and the opponents were anything but easy to play against. 

Getting closer to victory meant that the loss of bitterness stung a lot more. 

Liam's eyes narrowed.

And he had no intention of losing!

Just then, the Sage took a second to speak with Queen Thyress and the General.

After a few minutes of strange back and forth, their lips unreadable through a blurry Isolation Barrier, there seemed to be a Position switch.

This time, the Sage took the General's place as the 'striker'. 

How the Sage managed to convince the old man of the switch was beyond Liam.