Reign of Madness (Revised Edition) (61 page)

The young man turned and eyed his questioner. Seeing a group
of finely dressed nobles, he must have decided Malcius’s question was worthy of
an answer. “Of course. In here, he is little better than a brawler. He wins
however he can, and maybe it requires some strategy, but it is also a good
amount of trickery and luck. He has that amazing black sword, and he has barely
even used the thing. Can he even wield it properly?”

“He disarmed Sir LuDou, the Captain of the Royal Guard for
King Desbian of Torrel in his pre-trial! The man was a tournament champion!”
Malcius exclaimed.

The young noble shrugged and said, “So you say. I did not
see it and have heard only rumors. If he is so good, then he should do well in
the Fifth.” The man turned back to watch the Melee without another concern.

Tam leaned in and said, “Well, Dark Tidings certainly got
everyone’s attention. They’re all talking about him.”

By the end of the round, Malcius was so anxious, he could
not keep his seat. A two-hour break stood between the morning and afternoon
sessions, and both the First and Second Tier finals were to be held that
afternoon. The First Tier would go first, so Malcius had several more hours
before he had to compete. Only four competitors were left in his tier, so he
would already win a prize. Each of the competitors would fight three matches,
one against each of the other opponents. The two with the lowest scores would
go on to fight the final duel, and the winner of the tournament would be
whoever won that duel, regardless of the number of points he previously accrued.

Palis and Brandt excused themselves from the group without
offering an excuse, much to Malcius’s dismay, and Drascon and one of the Jebai
guards were forced to accompany the two young men in whatever excursion they
planned. Wesson opted to take lunch with the baron and Waylen, and Reaylin was
nowhere to be seen. The remaining party enjoyed a refreshing midday meal of
seafood bisque and fresh tropical fruit. Malcius was so anxious he could barely
hold his lunch.

When it finally came to his competition, Malcius was
grateful to have Rezkin’s help dealing with his anxiety. The young warrior led
the Jebai through several breathing techniques used for focusing the mind.
Rezkin did not truly comprehend Malcius’s reticence toward the competition, but
he remembered some of his own anxiety experienced before battles when he was
younger. The masters had cured him of the affliction quickly. The warrior did
not think the same methods of treatment would be appropriate in this situation.

Before Malcius’s first bout began, the companions had all
regained seats in the stands when Palis and Brandt showed up with an unexpected
guest.

“What have we here?” Tieran asked in surprise.

Palis’s grin could have lit the arena in the darkest hour of
the night. “This is Mistress Yserria Rey, the Fifth Tier competitor I was
telling you about.” The young woman blushed and smiled shyly. In this moment,
she exuded none of the extreme confidence she had expressed when Rezkin met her
as Dark Tidings during registration. She was reserved and anxious.

The younger Jebai then proceeded to introduce his companions
in order of proximity, rather than status – for the most part. He was
sure to introduce Tieran first. “Yserria, these are my friends: Lord Tieran
Nirius, Heir of Wellinven; Lord Rezkin; my cousin, Lady Frisha, Heir of Marcum;
and her friend Master Tamarin. There is Lord Drom Nasque, Baron of Fendendril
and his son Waylen. Next to him is Journeyman Wesson, Rezkin’s battle mage.”

Yserria’s eyes widened at that revelation, and the others grinned
knowingly. Wesson rolled his eyes as Waylen snickered. With decidedly less
enthusiasm, Palis introduced the next. “The young woman over there is my
sister, Shiela.” With pride he said, “As you know, my older brother, Malcius,
is down on the field about to compete. Let me not forget the good Captain
Jimson who is in charge of our military escort. The other men there are Jebai,
Nirius, and Nasque House Guards, so do not be alarmed if they pay us close
attention.”

“So this was the mysterious business to which you had to
attend,” Tieran jested.

Palis flushed and said, “Yes, well, I may have convinced
Mistress Yserria to join me for lunch. Brandt insisted on joining us in case
Lieutenant Drascon and Guent were not guard enough,” he said with chagrin.

“Was their intent to guard you from the lovely Swordmaster?”
Tieran prodded. He was quite enjoying himself at Palis’s expense.

The young woman suddenly became serious and shook her head
vigorously. “Oh, no, I never claimed to be a Swordmaster.”

Rezkin interjected, “Perhaps not, but you made it into the
Fifth Tier competition, in which a number of Swordmasters are competing. If you
defeat even one of them, you will have the right to claim the title.”

Yserria bowed her head in acknowledgement of the comment and
looked around curiously. “Are all of you competing, as well?”

Palis answered for the group. “Lord Tieran is competing in
the rapier division. His next round is on the morrow. Captain Jimson made it to
the second round of the Third Tier. Lord Waylen competed in the third round of
First Tier. Another is traveling with us – a young woman by the name of
Reaylin. I had thought to introduce the two of you. She made it into round two
of the First Tier. She was quite eager to meet an accomplished swordswoman.”

The young woman’s face flushed red, again, which was quite
becoming on her pale skin against her green eyes and fiery hair. She eyed
Rezkin’s swords and ventured to ask, “Are you not competing as well, Lord
Rezkin?”

Brandt snorted. “He is too good to compete. He would wipe
the arena with…well, with
everyone
.”

Rezkin raised a questioning brow at the young Gerrand.

“What? I only speak
truth
,” Brandt stated
defensively. Yserria looked at Brandt questioningly. “Rezkin is a Duel-Blade
Swordmaster,” the young man answered to her unspoken question.

“Wow, that is impressive,” Yserria said in fascination. “You
are here, and he says you could win. Why do you not compete? Ah…if you do not
mind me asking, my lord.”

Rezkin simply shook his head and said, “I have other
concerns. And, please, just call me Rezkin.”

Tieran shifted uncomfortably. When first he met Rezkin and
was told not use his title, Tieran had thought the man a progressive or simply
over-confident. Now he knew that Rezkin was not, in fact, a lord. He was the
king
,
and in Ashai, people did not refer to the
king
by the lesser title of
lord
.

“Perhaps you would care to spar with me sometime?” the eager
young woman questioned. It was obvious she carried all of her confidence in her
swordsmanship. When it came to swords, she tended to forget herself completely.
“I have never sparred against a dual-swordsman of any skill, much less a
master. In truth, I have not had the opportunity to spar with any masters
– aside from my father, of course, and that has been some time,” she
finished sadly.

“How is it that your father was so skilled with the sword?”
Tieran asked.

“Oh, my father was once in the Queen’s Royal Guard in Lon
Lerésh.”

Tieran whistled in surprise. “That is not a position I would
envy. I hear they do not last long.”

Yserria frowned and said seriously, “No, that is true. In
Lon Lerésh, whoever can claim the throne can hold it by rights, no matter how
she gains it – so long as she’s a woman.” The young swordswoman said this
last with a grin before becoming serious again. “Unfortunately, that means the
Royal Guard are quite busy trying to keep their queen alive. My father saved
Queen Deseria’s life on several occasions. When her own brother killed her so
his wife could be queen, my father and a few of his comrades escaped and fled
the kingdom. Usually, the new monarch will have all of the former guard
executed, so the guards truly have a vested interest in keeping their queen
alive.”

“That
is
harsh,” Brandt remarked.

The group chatted amicably for a while as they enjoyed
watching the finalists compete. When Malcius finally had his turn, he appeared
with cool grace, despite his rampaging nerves. Malcius’s performance was excellent
for his skill level. He received the lowest score in his first two matches, but
in the end, he was simply out matched and acquired too many points to make it
into the final round. Placing third in the Second Tier competition was still a
commendable accomplishment, and he had plenty of well-wishers and admirers. In
fact, afterward, no fewer than four fathers approached him inquiring as to
whether or not he was open to marriage contract negotiations.

The rapier division and Third Tier competitions were held
the next morning in the second arena, while the opening matches of the Fourth
Tier were held throughout the day in the first. Out of the original thirty-six
contestants, Tieran finished in eighth place. Palis made it to round four of
Tier Three, ultimately earning fifth place. Yserria had joined the group to
watch the young man’s performance. She was impressed with several of his forms
that she had never seen before, for which Malcius was quick to credit Rezkin’s
tutelage. Rezkin waved off the compliment saying that it was Palis’s dedication
and diligence that enabled him to perform the complex forms so well.

In the afternoon, several of the comrades headed to the main
arena to watch the Fourth Tier competition. Rhesh Carinen, the fire mage and
second son of Lord Carinen who had stayed at the nobles’ inn in Port Manai, was
competing at that time. Although he would probably not notice them, the group
wanted to lend him their support, if for no other reason than to spite his
father and sadistic brother.

Rezkin had other plans. Strange events were happening in the
city, and his instincts were telling him that something big was about to occur.
The influx of army soldiers had only increased, and even Duke Ytrevius appeared
unnerved. Fewer of the duke’s forces were patrolling the streets, as they
seemed to be gathering at the estate. Rezkin never got the opportunity to
further investigate Hespion, since the man left the island the day before in an
unexpected departure from his plans.

Rezkin noted during his last couple of visits to Ytrevius’s
slave prison that it appeared no one had been in the cave, except for the
warrior and his companions, since they first discovered the place. Rezkin and
Kai snuck in several times during the day and night to tend to those who could
use their help. Unfortunately, several more of the slaves had died in that
short amount of time. The young warrior set Kai to the task of securing a
vessel and provided him with funds and a number of forged documents to smooth
the way.

In the meantime, Rezkin set out to secure much needed
information, both through his own efforts and those of his thieves. What he
found was not positive. Although he did not know what was set to occur,
everything he found pointed to the tournament finale as being of particular
import. That night, he called a meeting with his travel companions informing
them that they were to have all of their belongings packed by the morning of
the final day of the tournament. In addition, they were not to let on that they
were concerned or preparing to leave in a hurry. Rezkin also insisted that
Tieran continue to stay at the inn, rather than returning to the duke’s estate.
With a few loosely contrived excuses, the young noble sent for his belongings
and retainers.

The following day was the beginning of the Fifth Tier
tournament. Upon his arrival at the tournament grounds, Rezkin noticed that
five strikers were now keeping a lookout for Dark Tidings. They were quite
perturbed when he appeared, once again, amongst the crowd in the middle of the
square without them noticing.

The Fifth Tier held only twenty-four competitors. Rezkin
would have to fight three opponents in the morning and then another three in
the afternoon after the conclusion of the Third Tier and the second round of
the Fourth. Dark Tiding’s first opponent was a sophisticated nobleman from the
Kingdom of Gendishen. The man was quick and agile but held his poise as though
not to be ruffled by the slightest breeze. Dark Tidings scored three points
against him in a matter of moments.

The man bowed and said, “I have not been beaten so swiftly
in years. I had thought it not much further for I to reach perfection. I can
see, now, that I was wrong. Good show.”

The wraith’s second opponent was Darius Vaughnright, the
commoner saddler he had sponsored for the competition. Darius was quite good,
if not yet a master. He had already acquired two points in his first match, and
quickly gained another three facing Dark Tidings. Neither opponent had been
easy
.
With the restrictions of the duel, it had taken quite a bit of effort to draw
blood on each of them three times without acquiring any injuries himself.
Rezkin’s plan required him to complete the competition unscathed with zero
points. It was not that he thought himself infallible or believed he could not
be killed or injured. It was that he was fashioning an indomitable persona. He
was creating an undefeatable
king
in whose strength and presence people
could place their hopes and faith. When their world began to collapse around
them, the people could rally behind his banner.

Dark Tiding’s third opponent of the morning was the
treacherous Dynen Carinen. Dynen had surprised his opponents with his skill and
cunning and had come out the better for it with only two points accrued in his
first two matches. The pompous braggart paraded his wins and insulted the other
contestants, but there was no denying his skill with a blade.

Green lightning flickered through the sleek, black blade as
the weapons clashed. Dark Tidings swept the noble’s blade aside and brought his
own back around for a slash to the man’s bicep. Dynen scowled and spit at the
dark warrior as he danced away. “Only a coward hides behind a mask,” he
taunted. The man’s voice boomed throughout the arena as the mages amplified any
words the combatants spoke.