Kingdom Fall: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Woodsman was happy. He was happier than he had been in years. He did not realize how much he had come to like the dwarves. In many ways, Prince Jok Main was like his brother and King Rolland and Queen Nerla always treated him like he was family. The last four days had been a welcome time for the Woodsman. He had managed to forget all his troubles and the pain and sorrow he felt daily. He had been staying with the prince and his family. His two kids were so much bigger than the last time he had seen them. At first, they were nervous about the human but that quickly passed and now they enjoyed playing with their 'ugly uncle,' as they liked to call him.

He did not know how the king would respond when he forced his hand about the Queen. He knew the king's policy on humans in Hathorn, but he also knew that the king would never kill a queen of a foreign land. Valtoric would never allow that. He also knew that it would put the king in an untenable situation. Dwarves were afraid to interact with humans. He felt bad forcing the king's hand like that but he had no choice if he wanted revenge. He knew that the destruction of the Citadel would not bring her back, but he hoped that it would help him as he could, at least, strike back at something.

Seeing Queen Bellfourth and the midnight squad, however, brought back all his memories. Although he had not thought of him in years, he now thought about his real brother. He wondered how he and his family were doing. He had a niece and a nephew (that he knew of) back in Emos. The thought of his brother and sister-in-law made him remember his wife. As always, when he thought of his wife, the pain, and sorrow of her loss came rushing into him. Standing there, surrounded by cheering dwarves, all congratulating him on his victory, we was overwhelmed by the feelings he has been trying to get over for the past ten years. He wondered if he would ever get over her loss and the loss of his child. A child he never got to know.

The Woodsman swallowed deep, pushing down the feelings that almost overtook him, and forced a smile on his face. He thanked the dwarves around him, told the prince that he would see him later and then proceed to where his fellow humans were seated. He found the secret to not letting those feelings consume him was to get his mind busy with other things. The Queen should be a good distraction.

The squad was sitting in the bleachers next to the king and queen. The king and queen did not always attend the fights, but since their son was fighting, they came to see the fight. Queen Bellfourth was talking the Queen Nerla, but when the Woodsman approached, they both stopped talking and turned their attention to him.

"What a great match Raymond." Queen Nerla said in common. "I see you have learned from your last match."

"Thank you, your majesty. As always Jok Main fought a great fight, and I fear it was more luck that I beat him."

"Whatever the case, you still fought well. You would make a good dwarf."

The Woodsman smiled and said, "Why thank you."

"Yes, it was a very impressive duel between you two. I understand he beat you last time?" Sara said.

"Yes, he surprised me with that leap attack, knocked the wind out of me. He almost got me again with it this time, and I was waiting for it," he replied.

"Yes, that was some very impressive moves by both of you." Major Keller said. Major Keller was one of the best hand to hand experts in the Carriland army. He was so excited by what he said that he completely forgot that he was interrupting the queen's conversation. "However did you notice that when a dwarf is going to make that leap attack that they plant their feet together, directly under them, about shoulder width apart? I saw it in the Prince and the duel before. It is a tell."

The Woodsman had not spoken more than a few words to the major but was now impressed. "No, I had not noticed but will have to watch for it. Thank you," he said.

"You are welcome. And I loved your opening move. It was a well-disguised feint. You knew he would try to slash at your knees. That was smart. It must be a challenge to fight someone so short? Fighting someone of the same height is one thing, but it must present new challenges to fight a dwarf?"

The Woodsman smiled. "It is a bit different. The short swords they use also add to the challenge." He could see that the major was excited by the idea, so he added, "Why do you not give it a try yourself. It is just for fun, and I know the dwarves feel the same way, the excitement of a new challenge." He then looked at Sara. "It is just for fun, and they use wooden swords so you cannot get hurt."

Before Sara could respond, Keller said, "Maybe, but I want to watch the some more first."

Both the Woodsman and Sara shared a smile as Keller's focus turned to the battle on the field. The Woodsman looked at Queen Nerla but saw her involved in a conversation with her husband and another dwarf. He turned back to Sara and said, "I am sorry about the miss understanding. It never occurred to me that you would think you were prisoners. I guess I just lived among the dwarves and got used to how they think. I meant to visit, but I got caught up with some old friends."

Sara gave a mischievous smile and said, "Like the prince, your brother?"

He gave a chuckle and said, "Yes like the prince and his family. I am glad that it is cleared up. I hope you are not too upset."

"No, not now that I understand. But I will say we were coming up with a great escape plan."

"I bet you were." The Woodsman sat down in front of Sara and said, "So, what do you think of the dwarf capital city? Does it compare to your capital?"

"From what I have seen of it, I like it. The dwarves are very friendly, and we have found the food to be very good."

"Yes, they know how to cook. However, you might want to be careful. There is a danger in the dwarf food."

Sara leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone, "Oh, what is it?"

"Well, it is so good that your soldiers might eat too much and get fat and happy."

Sara smiled and shook her head. She had expected some deep secret. Finally, she said, "You know you are covered in red, right?"

He looked down at himself. He had forgotten about the marks of his victory. "Well, that happens when you enter the arena."

"So do they do this all the time?" she said.

"Every week. You picked a good day to come out. I find the grievance matches to be more exciting than the soldier battles. What they lack in training, they make up in drive and will."

"Yes, Iccore was telling us that the dwarves can come here to settle disputes. Do they ever end in blood or bad feelings?"

"Rarely but it is not unheard of. Most dwarves try to let it go as if a dispute comes to blood then the king gets involved, and that usually does not end well for both parties."

"Well, that does not sound very fair for the party that was wronged."

"True but it sure encourages people to solve their own problems."

Sara did have to concede that point, but she was not sure she liked the idea completely.

The two sat there for a while watching the matches, the Woodsman answering the occasional question from the squad. It was after the third professional duel that Keller turned and faced Topher. "Sir, permission to try my hand in the arena?"

Topher looked at him with a bit of surprised and then turned to look at Sara. She too was surprised as the level of fighting was very high and intense. She thought for a minute, but since it was practice and they were using wooden swords, she could not see a reason not to let him. She nodded, and the smile Keller's face grew.

"How wonderful," Iccore said. He too had a big smile. "I know many of the soldiers would love to duel with a human. Come with me and I will take care of the arrangements and find you a proper opponent." There was excitement in his voice.

"Oh how wonderful, I was hoping to see another human duel today." King Rolland said.

Keller got up and followed Iccore out of the stands toward the armory.

After he had left, the Woodsman said, "Well I wish him luck. Dwarves soldiers are some of the best hand to hand fighters I have ever seen."

"Well Keller is one of our best at hand to hand, so it should be a good match," Topher said.

The Woodsman’s interest in the duel peaked. After a minute, the Woodsman said, "Oh I just remembered. After this tournament, the prince is putting on a little food and get together at the beach. He wanted me to invite you all. So after this is over, and I get cleaned up, I will come by and take you there. It is a lot of fun and lots of good food."

Sara said, "That sounds nice, but Queen Nerla asked me to have dinner with her tonight."

"Will the rest of the squad be able to attend? The prince was looking forward to meeting the squad," he said.

"I do not see why not."

"Wonderful, I think they will enjoy it. There is music, dancing, and great food. Plus the sunset over the ocean from the beach is something everyone should see."

Sara smiled her approval. Before she could reply a loud cry went up from the crowd.

Queen Nerla said, "Oh, good, they found someone to fight your champion and that match is next."

Everyone turned their attention to the arena. Sara and Topher were both interested to see how Keller would do against the dwarf. The Woodsman knew that fighting dwarves was a lot different than fighting humans.

The announcer once again began working up the crowd for the unexpected duel, although it did not take much effort. Sara could not tell any difference in the crowd's respond to the dwarf being announced and Keller. It seemed the crowd was just excited to see the bout.

When the dwarf was introduced, Queen Nerla said, "Oh this should be a good match. Cal Toc is a great warrior. He has won almost all his duels. In fact, there are few that can beat him."

Although there was excitement in Queen Nerla's voice, Sara had a little concern. She had been watching the dwarves and knew they were very good fighters and that any human would have a time trying to best one in a battle. She was unaware of Keller's fighting skills, but she hoped that he would, at least, put on a good accounting for himself and the Carriland army.

Once the announcer was done and off the field, the horn blew, and the battle began. The two circled each other, trying to size each other up. Finally, Keller made the first move. He feinted the same move the Woodsman had used only his opponent was prepared for it and countered, scoring the first blow to Keller's hips. Again they circled, Keller impressed at how this dwarf too had been paying attention. This time, the dwarf attacked, and the battle fully underway. At first, Keller was more on the defensive, with the dwarf scoring more hits. But as the battle went on, that began to change with Keller countering the attacks and scoring hits. 

The dwarf, realizing that the momentum of the battle had changed, began to attack with more intensity. It frustrated him that Keller was able to counter him, keeping him from scoring too many hits. Finally, the dwarf decided to launch the leap attack. This attack was always effective as even dwarves had trouble countering it. After an intense interaction, the dwarf took a step back and then using the great leaping ability of the dwarves, launched himself at the human's head. He had his sword out aimed at Keller's chest. This would be a solid blow for sure. Only Keller did something unexpected. Instead of standing there or even trying to dodge, Keller fell backward onto the ground. Only he did not just fall. Instead, he rolled, bringing his legs up into the air, catching the dwarf in the midsection. Then, when the dwarf was just over him, Keller kicked hard, pushing the dwarf further up in the air and added more momentum that sent him flying into the crowd.

Keller quickly got up and prepared for the dwarf to come back into the ring. It was then that he noticed the silence that had permeated the arena. Although the silence only lasted a few seconds, to Keller it seemed like minutes. Then a loud roar arose from the dwarves. People were cheering and yelling, and some were even laughing. Finally, Keller's opponent emerged from the crowd and walked up to him. Keller was not sure what to expect. It had never occurred to him that such a move might be illegal and was not a little scared.

The dwarf walked right up to him, stared him in the face, said something in Dwarvish and then handed his sword to Keller, butt first. The crowd went crazy, and the dwarf shook his hand. The announcer came back out and began talking. Keller and his opponent then walked off the arena together.

Queen Nerla said, "Well I have never seen such a move. Even we dwarves had trouble defending against the leap attack. I did not think a human could fully defend against it, but I see I was wrong. You have a very impressive champion, Queen Bellfourth."

"Thank you. Your warriors are impressive too," she replied.

"That was very impressive match by both opponents." The Woodsman said.

Sara agreed, it was very impressive.

The squad spent the next hour watching the rest of the duels. Finally, the tournament was over, and the squad headed back to their quarters.