Book 3, chapter 20

20. Spellblade

We stood in opposite corners of the Arena, Voss and I.  Corinth stood with me, holding my Rapier formally before handing it to me, hilt first, so that I could draw it while he held the sheath.  I chose the option to return to my inventory the vessel which contained Shalasmir, which had been Father’s final gift to me before leaving my world behind, perhaps forever.  I checked my equipment, and my skills, and my status, and was satisfied that everything was in working order, even as the [Mage] cast the vast dispelling magic which would affect me, my opponent, and the entire arena, including the audience.

The mage followed up by casting a dome spell, so that only my opponent and I, and our seconds, were within.

“So, what do I do now?” Corinth asked.

“Technically, if Voss were to back out now, you would fight his secretary to the death,” I explained.  “Otherwise you just get a front row seat.  I don’t care if you record, just check with Tarisha before you share it anywhere, okay?”

“Oh hell yeah, you got it boss,” Corinth confirmed.  He pealed away from me, and I stepped over towards Voss, who likewise approached.

“This was very foolish of you,” Voss said.  “There’s a reason I’m an inquisitor, and not just a lawyer.  You’re far too confident in your martial abilities.  Or just an idiot propped up by your Traveler friends.  Either way, this will at least set you back a bit.  I look forward to claiming North Shire.  I hear it just spawned a new dungeon, and now it has a convenient Portal beacon to draw in Travelers from all over.  I can think of several ways to exploit that.”

I ignored the taunts, and began chanting the cantrip for slow.

To my utter shock, Voss imbued his sword with [Arcane Weapon], and dispersed the small magical projectile which homed in on him from my spell with a wave of his sword.  Then he began chanting a spell of his own.  [Fireball].

Voss was a spellblade.  Just like me.  I probably should have figured that out before the duel with a bit of investigation, but I’d been in too much of a hurry to get this out of the way and return to North Shire.

I imbued [Aqua Blade], as I knew from dueling mages that it was better for dispelling [Fireballs] than [Arcane Weapon], and I began chanting an [Empowered Fireball] of my own.  [Empowering] the spell would increase its area effect size, and therefore make it unblockable.  Which was the same thing that Voss was doing to me, I realized, as his spell continued to cast.

I had to interrupt my casting to dodge the incoming fireball, which scorched my side and dealt a few hundred points of damage.  I began [Swiftcasting] [Arcane Missile]s, which was an extremely short cast spell already.  Each missile would home in on the target from whichever angle I threw it, and only active interception would block the damage.

Unfortunately, [Arcane Weapon] was the perfect ability to counter that, and although I tossed out dozens of missiles with my rapid fire cantrips, the enemy spellblade caught most of them on his sword while continuing to chant the same spell as before.  Once again, I [Dodged] the incoming missile and assisted myself in moving out of range with [Dash], but I couldn’t avoid the AOE completely.

I decided to cast my flashbang combo, to see if it would help.  Unfortunately, [Arcane Weapon] seemed as capable of ripping through those abilities as it was all other magic.  Realizing that crowd control wouldn’t work, I settled in for an exchange of pure damage.

I began by [Swiftcasting] [Water Jet], hoping to apply [Wetness] and increase the damage of my lightning spells, which were my highest damage abilities at range.  He switched his sword to imbue fire and caught the jet in the air.  He took some damage from the steam, but kept himself dry.

Meanwhile, he kept casting [Fireballs] at me.  Fully empowered, they had an almost twelve foot radius, and it was hard to shield myself entirely from the AE damage except by dodging immediately after he cast.  Even sprinting, [Dodging], and [Dashing], it was hard to get out of the danger sphere in time.

I considered copying his strategy, but instead switched to casting [Lightning Bolt].  Lightning spells, unlike fire, had an extremely fast travel speed, and I was confident in my ability to hit him somewhere he couldn’t block with his sword even while dodging his fireballs.

The magical exchange lasted almost three minutes.  To my surprise, I ran out of mana first.  I began moving towards him, but he smirked and retreated, abandoning his strategy of catching me in explosions in favor of the [Swiftcast] [Arcane Missiles] that I had demonstrated earlier.  Doing so allowed him to retreat and fight at the same time, while I was forced to give chase while blocking with [Arcane Weapon] on my [Blade of Eclipse].

I was loosing.  I had managed to inflict some damage on him, but he was at eighty percent health, while I was at sixty.  And this was with both of us mostly negating the other’s spell casting!

I’m not certain if he ran out of mana, or if I simply got too close for him to feel comfortable with his retreating barrage, as he abruptly shifted tactics.  Imbuing his sword with fire, he [Dashed] forward and closed the distance with a [Piercing Lunge].  I [Dodged] and parried, but took a glancing blow from the skill.  We launched into each other, exchanging blows.  I finally managed to get him wet with [Aqua Blade] before switching to [Imbue Sword: Lightning].  The bonus damage from the status effect helped, as did the periodic paralysis debuffs I was able to apply because of it.  But it wasn’t enough.

I was losing.  I refuse to say that he was better with a sword than I was.  Rather, it was like fighting Corinth; we were both skilled, but in different ways.  Although we shared the same class, he employed his abilities differently than I did.  When I anticipated a [Thrust], I got a [Slash].  When I anticipated a [Slash], he attacked with an unskilled swing.

The only trick I had which he did not seemed to be the [Feint] cancel trick that Tarisha had begun teaching me, and when I began focusing on using that I began to slowly regain ground.  I was down to thirty percent health, and I was bringing him down to forty.

It wasn’t good enough.  I was going to lose.

There was only one trick I had left, one thing I had never tried in combat before.  I had gotten the skill at the same time I had gotten the curse which would reduce my level to 1 when I died.  I often thought of it as a boon/bane combo, but in addition to [Through the Valley] and [The Gray Man’s Touch], I had also gained a skill.  I had never used it or leveled it, but I knew how it worked.  So I reached out with my left hand, the one carrying the curse my great uncle Auroras, The Gray Man, had inflicted on me.  I grabbed Voss by the shoulder, and I activated Draining touch.

Three things happened.  I instantly regained twenty percent of my health.  Voss lost thirty percent of his.  And my [Ring of Holy Light] shattered.

Voss was startled by the sudden change in his outlook.  He [Dashed] backward, but I had anticipated this and [Swiftcast] [Befuddle] on him.  He tried to block the spell, but he’d imbued fire, not arcane, and it connected.  I began [Swiftcasting] [Lightning Bolt].  I activated my earrings, determined to end the duel in the next twenty seconds.  When the befuddle took effect, Voss realized that he couldn’t win at range and dashed in to finish the fight in melee.

He took a full powered lightning bolt straight to the chest, which brought him to zero health.  He was stunned as he realized he had lost.

“No,” he said, and that was his last words.  He collapsed onto the arena floor.

For a moment there was silence, and then the witnesses began shouting.  The dome cutting us off from outside interference dissipated, and the volume increased.

“You cheated,” Voss’s second accused.  “You used an item to heal!  That wasn’t in the rules.”

“That is not what happened,” the judge said. He had already moved and was inspecting the remains of the [Ring of Holy Light].  “That item was suppressing a curse.  When Hail used a unique ability – an ability which was not restricted by the rules – it was broken.  No healing items were used.”

“Well I will report to my master that this duel was unfair, and that--”

“Who exactly are you going to report to,” a wizened woman from the audience inquired, stepping forward.  The witnesses went silent, for nobody wanted to attract the ire of the head inquisitor.  “I witnessed the duel myself.  I recognize that ability.  I would have a word with Earl Jeoran about how he acquired it and what he plans to do with it, but the fact that he was wearing a [Ring of Holy Light] to suppress it answers that question well enough for me.  The inquisition will honor the wager of this duel, Earl Jeoran.  In fact, if you will have me, I will adjudicate any trials of those in your lands accused of banditry myself.  Unless I, too, am too biased for your tastes?”

I bowed to the head inquisitor, blushing.  “It would be my honor.  When I sent for an inquisitor, I was hoping for a small functionary to help me cut through the dross and get to the truth of the matter.  To have the esteemed Madame Trenac assisting me in enforcing the laws of Yuikon within my province would be the greatest boon I could ask of the inquisition.”

Inwardly, I was cursing, both in my native language and english, as things had once again gone further than I’d intended.  But I had no choice but to ride the flow, or offend one of the highest legal authorities in the nation.

“You’re a clever boy, with a sharp sword and a fast tongue,” she said.  “Both will get you in trouble one day.  Perhaps they already have.”

She turned and walked away.  I, too, turned and left for the exit of the arena, motioning for Corinth to join me, leaving the fallen body of Voss behind.

“What of his possessions?” the judge called suddenly.  “As the victor, you are entitled to oversee the disposition of his equipped items, anything in his inventory, and to oversee the rights of his return to Thedum’s embrace.”

I paused.  I hadn’t thought of that.  “I don’t care to profit from this duel further than I already have.  Let anything he owns of value go to charity.  Anything left over his family may claim for sentiments.  And let my uncle oversee his return to Thedum himself.”

When I had concluded those words, a portal appeared.  Auroras Teoran Stepped out, picked up the fallen body, and stepped back through the portal, all without saying a word.

I hadn’t meant that uncle.  I had meant Storm, since it was obvious to me that Voss was Storm’s lacky.  Auroras had not only been listening, but he had deliberately interpreted my words in a direction which I had not intended.  It did have one desired effect, however.  The audience was completely silent.

For where I had seen my great uncle doing a bit of magic to fill his own purpose, the other witnesses had just seen The Gray Man steal the body of a man who had died in a duel.  Nobody cast any ice magic, but the temperature in the arena dropped several degrees.

The boogeyman had just announced himself to the Natives of the world.