Ashar'an Rising (Nexus Wars Saga) (59 page)

“
So, what now?” asked Javin as a barmaid brought them some water, offering them a smile before she left.

“
Well, I think you are right about me not getting inside this place, just in case. Tomorrow, you can see if you can gain entry and enter the competition. There is one in three days time, didn't you say?”

“
Yes, and from what we have heard, another one six days after, which is going to be bigger. All of the winners from the last year's performances will be entered. The prize is said to be something priceless.”

“
Kitara!”

“
Maybe, maybe not. We don’t know that for sure, Val. Don’t lose heart on me now.”

Val gave a grudging nod. “But what will happen when you enter? If what we have heard is true, only a select crowd will be asked to attend the big competition. All of the nobles have been invited, and most of the richer merchants and citizens. Some are selling their tickets, but I don't think we could afford one.”

Javin shook his head ruefully.

“
Then we will just have to see if we can get an invitation. I don't like it, but we might have to steal one if we can. We might be able to barter for one, a ticket for Firefox perhaps, but I don't want you to have to give him up like that. We might need him for a quick getaway from the city.”

Javin nodded. “I will see what else I can find out tonight.”

Valdieron nodded. He had a bad feeling about all this, but knew there was no easier way.

If
Javin felt in any way uncomfortable standing almost naked before the small group of male and female Dak'marians, he merely gripped the hilts of his sabers tighter and stood unmoving before them, not meeting any of the gazes and trying not to let their penetrating stares make him sweat: at least any more than he already was. The small circular chamber he was in was very cloistered, the sweat making his dark skin glisten, something that didn't seem to concern his watchers, especially those who were female. They formed a semi  circle outside the room, looking in through a long window.

It was with mixed feelings he realized that the man, Zhak Lomar, wasn't one of those watching. He wanted to know about this man who might be holding the Princess Kitara captive, find out if he was a typical overconfident royal who paid little heed to potential danger and not have any bodyguards. He wanted to look him in the eyes and see what sort of man he really was, if he was a coward who merely kidnapped others for the purpose of making a gain, or if he was a cold and calculating man, who had more ulterior motives.

His thoughts were interrupted by the opening and closing of a door behind him, and he turned to find an armed man standing before him, also nearly naked save for a thin loincloth, and he carried a longsword and a shortsword, the preferred weapon combination of these southerners. The man was not tall for a Dak'marian, a hand shorter than the lithe Darishi, but he was very muscular, his almost hairless body also gleaming from perspiration. Looking into his eyes, Javin saw the man was unblinking, and was regarding him with what he could only describe as hatred, as if Javin had done something to offend his honor.

Shaking his head at the strangeness of these southerners, he raised his weapons to the ready. He knew this was a trial, but had not really been told the rules of engagement, but the swords the man carried were as real and as sharp as his, and one look at the man's hate filled eyes was enough to know it wasn't going to be a friendly encounter.

But that was all right with Javin. He was a competent swordsman, probably one of the most skilled in the land, even though he had failed at the tournament in Thorhus, but he had lost to Valdieron, and there was no shame in that. He felt he was at a higher level now, with his almost daily sparring matches with Valdieron, who had taught him there was so much more to the often regimented and sequential moves of combat. He was more aware of what consequences each of his moves had as he performed them, making each move a step towards the goal of defeating his opponent, rather than just go out with blazing sabers and try to pummel him into submission, or dazzle him with less effective moves. That is how Valdieron had beaten him in Thorhus, for he had been playing to the crowd, expecting the young warrior he had never heard of to be too caught up in the tension of the combat before such a vocal and buzzing crowd. Too late he realized how he should never have underestimated his opponent.

So he wasn't about to do the same here, even though he knew these people were after somebody who could please a crowd as well as somebody who was a master swordsman. He would fight and win because he couldn't afford to lose, not that he thought the man would kill him, but winning meant getting closer to discovering the whereabouts of the Princess.

At least he didn't think the man was out to kill him, but when he exploded into motion and charged Javin with a spinning attack, swords came at him high and low, hard and fast. For a split second Javin was stunned by the speed of the man, but he was no slouch himself and his instincts honed over many years of rigorous training had him joining the melee with counters and then attacks of his own, nothing fancy but enough to take the momentum away from the Dak'marian and to test if his skills were not just limited to fancy attacks.

They weren't. For a time Javin thought the man was his better, for he came close to being injured several times, even taking a slap with the flat of the man's longsword and a kick that glanced across his leg, any harder and he would have been in trouble. But as he worked into the battle, he realized the man was not adapting his fighting to counter Javin's different style, while Javin was working out the man's methods of attack, trying to understand why he was attacking as he did, to see if there was any plan, or if it was just mindless offence.

Suppressing a smile, Javin began to set the man up as he worked out the Dak'marian didn't recover well after being worked low: he usually stepped away and came in again, using a kick or a feinted rising slash to give himself time and to make Javin hesitate. This time, after running him through a series of wide and low thrusts, Javin let the man draw back, but this time stepped forward and to the left. The expected feinted rising slash came, too late the man saw Javin's advance and managed a weak slash, but Javin swatted it aside with a saber and lunged low, sweeping his left saber around at the man's legs. With his longsword high and out of the focus, the man knew he was in trouble, because his shorter sword couldn't help either, not low and across his body as it was.

The blow Javin gave him wasn't with the edge of his saber, but with the flat of the blade, smacking against skin and buckling the man's leg forward. The Dak’marian’s foot slipped on the smooth floor and he almost fell, but regained his balance somehow, at least until Javin spun again and hooked his legs out with a sweeping kick. His swords were high, a precaution to guard against a stray attack the man might somehow make, but it didn't eventuate. With a heavy thud the man landed on his back, the air knocked from his lungs and his longsword falling from his hand. Flicking it aside with a saber, Javin rested the other against the man's throat.

The hatred hadn't left the man's eyes, and he almost surprised Javin again when his shortsword feinted up for an attack. Javin reflexively moved to intercept it with his saber, allowing the man to roll away, but not fast enough to get away from the Darishi. Javin was there again as the man tried to rise, this time his saber didn't rest on the man's throat, he punched forward and caught the man in the side of the head with the flat pommel. The man's hate filled eyes clouded and rolled up as he toppled to the floor. As a precaution, Javin took the shortsword and threw it to the far side of the room, then turned back towards the gallery.

Not knowing what to expect, he was surprised to find some of the group had left, though several still remained. The official who had met Javin earlier, a balding Dak'marian of middle age, stood amongst them and was turning from one to another as they spoke to him. It didn't take long for Javin to realize they were bidding to be his sponsor in the coming Gladius. He knew whoever sponsored the winner was afforded a great amount of acclaim in the city; therefore many lesser nobles and powerful merchants were keen to bid. He wasn't too surprised to find that all of the females who had viewed were still there, and seemed to be bidding most fervently. After a short time, the highest bidder was declared and the others left, probably to see another combat and bid for another warrior. Javin was motioned to exit the room, where he was brought before his sponsor.

She was a little under middle age, not strikingly beautiful, but she was pretty and when she smiled her brown eyes flashed. She carried herself with the air of somebody who was used to command, probably the wife of a nobleman, and the way she eyed Javin was the way a local horse dealer might look over a newly purchased stallion. He was unfamiliar with the attention of women, even noble women, though he was as a Prince himself in Darishi, but he knew this woman was more dangerous than a pit full of vipers.

“
Javin of the Darishi, this is your Sponsor, the Lady Tamara.” The official was obviously used to dealing with these people, for his tongue seemed as polished as a new sword. Javin, having already sheathed his sabers, bowed low to the Lady.

“
If only my hand was not sweating, I would consider it an honor to touch your hand, my Lady.” His own tongue could be polished too, he mused, as he stayed bowed before the lady.

Her laugh was obviously not forced, but it carried with it a threat not to try and butter her up with flattery. “It seemed to me you hardly worked up a sweat, Javin of the Darishi.”

“
Nothing in battle is assured, my lady.”

“
Well, rest assured that if you are successful in the combat in two days, you will have my sponsorship for the Champion’s Gladius in eight days time. And I have my own reward in store for you if you prove successful.” She gave a soft chuckle, her lewd gaze openly explaining her words, and Javin was glad his head was still bowed. He felt her hand touch his head then, caressing his hair and then trace around to his face. She used her hand to force him to rise, her eyes running over his body as he stood before her.

“
I will fight with greater determination to bring you victory, my Lady.”

“
Yes. Yes you will.” With another laugh she turned away, leaving Javin bemused, wondering at her words.

“
You will be here before sunset tomorrow to prepare for the combat.” The official was back at his side, obviously not offering any help to the dazed Darishi. “It would be wise of you to be prompt.” The threat was as open as Javin had heard, but the man was looking away, his eyes following the Lady Tamara as she departed, now flanked by her own guards.

“
This is from the lady. She said you should spend it wisely.” The official pressed a purse into Javin's hand before turning away. Wondering if this wasn't such a bad idea after all, Javin quickly dressed under the watchful eye of the several Darishi who lined the long viewing area, before leaving. It was midday outside and very hot, but he felt more comfortable now than he had a moment before.

“
Well, that should give you good enough incentive to win,” laughed Valdieron, as Javin told him about the morning's trial.

“
I'm not so sure,” retorted Javin, taking a long drink, this one of ale. The purse the Lady had left for him had contained ten gold pieces, which Valdieron was thankful for, as it allowed them to continue staying at the Inn.

“
And you said the public are welcome to watch this Gladius in two days time?”

Javin nodded as he drank. “Yes. They have a limited number of seats, and it costs five gold to watch, which we have now.”

It was good news, but still Valdieron was skeptical. “What if you don't win? All right, don't get mad,” he smiled as the Darishi darkened. “You are good, we know that, but we haven't even seen any of the other contestants. I don't want you hurt doing this for me. We can always try a different plan.”

Javin nodded. “I know, but this is the best plan we have. It gets us both inside, and two sets of eyes. I can take care of myself, Val, and I know the dangers. You are a friend and a fellow warrior, and we are fighting for a greater ideal here, so how could I refuse. We will find your Princess.”

“
She isn't my Princess, Javin.”

“
Now who's getting mad?” asked Javin over his ale, and Valdieron kicked him under the table, making the Darishi cry out, spilling some of his ale. “What was that for?”

“
Just don't get yourself killed, all right, I couldn't live with that on my head, and who else am I going to get to kick their butt every day as we spar.”

“
Hah, you wish. You're just lucky I'm so kind to you.” It was friendly banter that the two frequently broke into, for there was a bond they shared that went beyond friendship, the bond of Warrior brothers. Neither took insult at what each said, knowing it was not meant as insult.

“
Kind! Since when?” asked Val, feeling at his ribs, still bruised from one of the Darishi's kicks from several days before.

“
You have to be cruel to be kind, sometimes. That's what my mother used to say.”

“
Well, if I ever meet your mother, tell her not to be too kind.”

Both laughed and drank for some time, enjoying the company and the chance to talk without the weight of their quest hanging over them. They felt close now, close to the end of their search for the Princess, and they carried with them a new vigor, a new hope.