Bab 27: An old rival
A group assembled on the castle ground. It was just after sunset and the place was lit with soft glowing moonstones.
Everyone had gathered to witness the commencement of the town's annual festivities. The group consisted of Knights, Squires and Regulars.
"Hey champ, how are you holding up?" Vitor, joined with a few other Squires, came up to Hex and asked.
Hex noticed they were dressed in clean luxurious clothes made from flax with thin fur coats.
"Well, I think I'm doing good so far," Hex shrugged a bit nonchalantly. Vitor's team seemed genuinely concerned and he could appreciate it, but he preferred to avoid talking about his feelings.
The Squires stood there a bit awkwardly after that. None of the young men knew what to talk about for a while.
"So," Vitor tried again, "I heard you will be joining the Squire Tournament." Seeing Hex nod, Vitor smiled warmly. His gorilla-like features seemed less daunting when he wasn't growling at people.
"I think we will have a blast. I heard even Squires from the Commander's camp, the Merchant Union and the Viscount's garrison will join in. In this part of the kingdom they are believed to be the best. Just imagine, if we break them in pieces, we will become the famous heroes of the north."
Vitor seemed to be already thinking about his yet-to-be-earned fame. The longer he talked, the more animated he got.
"We can have all the girls in the cities of the south," Aran, Vitor's friend, chimed in.
"You guys sure can dream," Hex couldn't help but grin hearing their vivid imagination.
The men chuckled in response. The discussion veered to which cities had the feistiest and shyest women.
Despite his worries, Hex was drawn into the discussion. He loved learning about the world he hadn't seen yet and the girls.
The thin walls of the slums did little to hide the moans and screams. He had been curious to try, but the available girls on the street asked for coins in exchange. Hex needed every coin to survive, so his curiosity remained unfulfilled.
Clap.Clap.
Hestia habitually clapped to draw everyone's attention. She stood in the middle of the ground with three others beside her.
Hex recognized the blonde haired Healer Knight, Lira.
The other two were men he had seen around, but not spoken to so far. All seemed familiar yet strange to Hex.
He was at the castle for over two weeks now. The time spent in the slums and the cloisters seemed ages ago. The past two weeks of his life had been more eventful than the first eighteen years.
"I think everyone is already here. Wallen agreed to let us use horses and goats as mounts. Remember though. We all are responsible for our own mount. If something happens be prepared to pay double or even triple the penalty."
The crowd murmured in agreement. They knew how the puppet-like butler was and knew that getting a fine would be the least of their worries.
The herders brought the mounts to the ground, where everyone took one. Hex took a black horse. He didn't enjoy riding a goat, so he wanted to try riding a horse.
"Who are those two?" Once they were on their way, he turned towards Vitor and asked. The men rode near him on their horses.
"The one at the right is Oron. He is Knight and his techniques are based on the large ax on his shoulders," Vitor explained, pointing at a bald, red-bearded guy. Oron was large, maybe over two meters, with a belly matching his height.
"The other is Adgar. He is also a Knight. He uses a spear. I heard he is the winner of one of the previous Knight tournaments." Hex looked surprised at the average looking man at the left. He was tall and lean, but otherwise really unassuming.
The group rode for some time before Hex started to notice the changes. The road lamps were shining brightly and he could hear loud music coming from the plaza.
The plaza itself was demarcated by fences and mounts were forbidden into it. They had to leave the beasts outside. Hestia knew the owner of the field and had discussed the safety of the beasts.
Hex followed the group on foot. He never had a chance to join the festivities. It was not like the people from the slums were denied entrance, but he saw it as a good chance to hunt.
The other hunters were too occupied with drinking and dancing. It was usually the best time to hunt without competition.
Usually there was a fee to enter the plaza, but Hex heard Vitor say that the fee was waived this time.
'They want people to enjoy and forget about the dangers of the mountains. The loss of so many Blessed would cause panic, but this way, their attention is diverted.'
In the past Hex had paid little attention to politics and governance, but living in the castle brushed off on him. In the castle everyone paid attention to politics, the state of the nobles and the laws made or broken.
'Wow.'
The plaza was transformed beyond anything he had ever seen. Everything looked bright and vibrant. The place was so crowded they had to squeeze between people to walk around.
There were rows of food stalls, each selling something different. The aroma was mouthwatering. Hex resolved to try as many as he could. He had lived mostly on rats, apes, and snakes.
Only in the castle, he had eaten things like lamb chops, goat cheese, cow cheese, yogurt, and something called rice. On its own, it was nothing special, but combined with meat and vegetables, it was heavenly - especially when it was hot.
The chefs told Hex that rice was something brought from the far south. When Hex inquired about the price, he nearly flipped the table. One pack containing a handful of rice cost five hundred coins. The same price as a demon crystal!
"Are we going to register first?" Hex asked the others. They nodded. It was the last night the registration was open.
The tournament would be held in the arena outside the plaza. But the place to register was at the betting shop.
The roaming gamblers provided this service for free to the city council. After all, the tournament would help them earn even more.
Just as they approached the gambler's den, Hex noticed two other people. They noticed him at the same time he saw them.
"You are that lad from the temple, right?" The older guy with dark brown hair and beard asked with a wide grin. "How is life with the baron?"
"I am. And life at the castle is good. Better than the slums. You are Sir Ronan, right?" Hex replied politely.
He remembered the middle-aged guy because he had nearly become an apprentice to this man. If the baron hadn't spoken then, he would have joined Roran's team of wide-robed and hooded figures, probably like his old acquaintance who stood beside Roran.
"Hey Clannad," he said, turning towards the boy with platinum-colored hair. He had been his biggest rival during his time at the cloister.
After Hex was thrown out, Clannad became Grindeston's youth champion.
The boy was of similar height and build as Hex. The haughtiness on his face had diminished but Hex was too familiar with him to not notice it.
"Hex," he greeted with a nod. "I see you are joining the tournament too."
"Yes," Hex nodded.
Clannad nodded and walked close to Hex. "Shame you lost so many years if training. We might have enjoyed ourselves like old time."
"I think it's better that I lost some of those years," Hex said with a warm smile. "At least you won't shit your pants... immediately."
Hex walked inside the tent, followed by a sniggering group of young men.
Clannad's expression darkened. He clutched his sword.
"Relax. Don't waste your time on them."
Clannad turned towards his master.
"Sorry Lord, I will heed your words. There is indeed no point in losing my temper against people destined to die."
Don't buy privilege!
Working on edits. Please don't waste your money.
Bab 28: The union market
The registration went smoothly. After paying a hundred coins as entrance fee, they received a small badge with a number etched on it.
Hex looked at the number 33 etched on his badge. The person helping him disclosed that they expected to end with forty participants in the Squire tournament. They were also told that the final list of participants would be announced the next night.
"Hey Hex, we know of a few massage tents. I guarantee complete satisfaction," Vitor asked in a hushed voice, after leaving the gambling den. The others grinned knowingly.
It certainly sounded good, but Hex wouldn't be able to join them. He promised Hestia to visit the Union market with her. It would conclude her lessons on resources needed by Squires.
They parted ways. The tents of relaxations were at the back, whilst the Union market was at the center of the plaza.
He met Hestia at the agreed place and entered the market. The Union market was inside a wooden multistoried building. The Merchant Union had set up the building for business purposes and would break it after the festivities were concluded.
Inside the building Hex noticed rows and rows of stands, selling different things. The Union was not a single entity. It was the alliance of hundreds of merchants.
"The first level is where you can find things at the Squire level. The second is for Knights and so on." Hestia walked Hex through the set up of the market.
"We will first check the weapons and armors. At the end we will check the potions and pills. Okay?" Hex didn't have a particular preference. He would need all three.
They went to the counter on the left. A man clad in shining armor received them. On top of his armor he wore a blue silk robe with silver linings. On the right side of his chest a symbol of a golden canary was sown into the robe. "How can I help you guys?"
"Give me the swords of Squire rank. All three grades. And do you have an unembedded sword of the Knight rank?" Hex listened with interest as Hestia listed the types of weapon they needed.
When the man went to retrieve the weapons from inside Hestia turned towards Hex and explained. "Weapons have different ranks and grades. To keep things easy people just named them after the rank a person was required to be to wield the respective weapon."
"All the swords you have trained with so far have been Squire ranked. Those are good to improve your control over your strength. But, sometimes you need to go all out. I don't think at that point a Squire rank sword would suffice."
"But wouldn't that cost too much?" Hex agreed with having more weapons but he worried about coins. If there was one resource that always seemed necessary then that would be coins. They were always needed.
"It will cost five hundred or so," Hestia said with a shrug. The shop assistant had returned with a few weapons.
"All the Squire rank swords are comparable to each other. So just pick one of each grade."
She then signaled the assistant to explain the three other swords he had placed on the counter. Hex knew at a glance that those three were Knight rank. They exerted a subtle pressure on their surroundings.
"These three are Knight grade but without an elemental stone embedded in them," the assistant said. "They are all made by master smiths. They can hold an elemental stone, but will break if too much elemental energy is inserted. But in the hands of a Squire it will rarely get damaged."
Hex understood the gist of the explanation but he heard some terms he wasn't familiar with. Luckily Hestia understood his confused stare and compounded on the explanation.
"Hex, look at my sword," she said, drawing out her sword. She pointed at a green gem placed at the bottom of the hilt. "See this? This is an emerald crystal, containing wood elements. That is my innate element."
"A knight's weapon is enhanced by connecting the innate element with their weapon's element. That way their attack can be imbued with those elements."
"A Squire is unable to tap into their innate elemental affinity. So they use weapons without the element crystals. Usually the Squire rank weapons suffice. But now and then we get freaks like you who just are too strong. So, the smiths use their failed products to make weapons which still have some use."
There was much to process but Hex understood the main points of the explanation. He also learned to judge by the weapon of the user whether they were Knights or not.
In the end he paid two thousand coins for the four swords. He chose the heaviest weapon of the Knight rank, which was also the most expensive one out of the three.
Hex consoled himself with the thought that he would quickly earn that money back.
After choosing the swords, they looked at the armors and boots. Hex chose Knight rank armors but Squire rank boots.
He didn't foresee needing a strong pair of boots without getting an additional boost of speed.
This brought his coins to four thousand coins.
Underway to the alchemy department, they stopped to look at the techniques on display. Although Hex didn't buy anything - they were too expensive - he still learned a lot from browsing through them.
There were techniques that strengthened or accelerated the user. Other techniques let the user tame beasts and even control humans. The prices however ranged from fifty thousand to a couple of hundred thousand coins.
'I need to find a way to get some more techniques through Wallen. In the worst case I will just owe some coins to rent them.'
The alchemy department was their final stop. Hex noticed rows and rows of vials and boxes behind the counter. Despite the fact that everything was closed the air at this counter had a medicinal aroma.
At Hestia's request a cute girl took various boxes and vials from the shelves. She lined them side by side on the counter.
"This one is a strengthening pill. It increases the user's strength for a limited time."
"This one is an agility pill. It increases the agility of the user for a limited time."
"This one…."
The girl droned on and on about the pills and the vials. Apparently they had all been Squire rank pills and potions.
"From Knight rank onwards the pills and potions have permanent effects on the user. It may not be too great, but it still strengthens them."
Hex's interest peaked. These were the resources he required. "How much are these?"
"It depends on the quality you wish to purchase," the cute girl behind the counter replied. "We have three grades of Knight rank strengthening pills available here. They are E, D and C."
"C costs five thousand coins, D costs two thousand coins and E costs five hundred coins."
Hestia knew Hex didn't have a lot of coins left. She was unwilling to let Hex choose the lower grades.
"Hex, although you can get more E quality, you shouldn't buy them. Lower quality means they have a lot of chaotic energy."
'Wait. Isn't that what I actually need? More chaotic energy?' Hex wanted to jump in the air. He started to notice the advantages of the world stone.
Chaotic energy was volatile and could harm a human. But Hex could use them without too much worry.
"Hestia, I think I need to consider them more before deciding. For now the weapon and gear will suffice."
Hex didn't want to expose his advantage to anyone. He would have to return to the market without being seen.
'I need to prepare a disguise.'
Don't buy privilege!
Working on edits. Please don't waste your money.
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