Chapter 13: bits and pieces
AKA: inexperienced writer (me) googling "how to write dialogue between way too many characters"
AN: dear god i hated trying to finish this chapter and make sure it wasn't just a bunch of bullet points. It's still just a bunch of dialogue even after months of trying to fix that issue.
"Hello dear sister, what brings you to Thel Olihm?"
"I'm assuming you've heard the gossip about the shadows."
"Cutting straight to the chase aren't we?"
"We both know you like it better that way."
"True, true. But yes I have heard of the shadows that have supposedly helping to protect our cities."
"And what do you make of them?"
"They haven't caused me any troubles yet, if anything they've helped protect many of my merchants and traders. But, what worries me is the fact that they've been hiding their identities. Choosing to only take action when they know they can escape quickly."
"My thoughts exactly. So, what should we do about them? Have our champions seek them out?"
"No, judging by their skill, I will sadly admit that neither Spark nor Mot have the ability to find them."
Both champions looked at each other, neither one believing what the red skinned god had just said. Before either champion could interject with any comments Ianite cut in.
"What do you mean?"
"I watched the shadow of Urulu fight a few bandits, that boy is definitely not self taught. His prowess could possibly easily match our champions'."
"Then how about we lure them out?"
"That might work, but..."
"A tournament." Spark suggested, his sudden comment prompting everyone present to give him a questioning glance.
"What?"
"A tournament might draw them out."
"And how do you propose we draw them out with a tournament?" Ianite asked, giving her husband a questioning look.
"Simple, the prize is an audience with the two of you, where you grant them something, or in our case a chance for us to interrogate them." Mot replied, catching on to his fellow champion's plan.
"But between the two towns?"
"We could stage it as a tournament to improve relations between Dagrun and Urulu."
"It shouldn't be too hard to spot the two contenders, especially with how flashy their swords were as well as their flair for the dramatics while fighting."
"Their swords?" Dianite asked curious about the new information.
"From what I've seen and heard, the shadow of Dagrun uses a blue rapier while the shadow of Urulu uses a red long sword."
"This is our chance Crisis. If we win this damn thing we just might be free from Mianite forever."
Reading the poster for the fifth time Crisis looked up at his sister. "This looks like a trap."
"No shit." Chrys replied, glaring daggers.
Handing the poster back, Crisis pulled the hood of his cloak back up. "You sure this'll work?"
"It should, as long as one of us wins."
"In a twist of events, rather than having our fighters fight each other it seems our champions would like to fight our finalists in a tag-team match!"
Behind their masks the siblings eyes widened in horror at the announcement. Walking over to her brother she held her hand out in a mock greeting. Grasping her hand, Crisis suppressed a yelp as she pulled him in quickly to clap him on the back before whispering something and letting go while taking up her position next to him.
"You two ready?" Spark asked, drawing his rapier.
Silently Chrys nodded to her younger brother before drawing her rapier and performing a small flourish while sliding into her stance with Crisis following her example and sliding into his own stance as well.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"Fighters at the ready? Set, GO!"
Smirking, Chrys was practically a blur the moment the announcer said go. Dashing as fast as she could she practically crashed into Mot, their weapons clanging as Mot barely drew his dagger in time to block Chrys's blow.
Shit they're fast.
Pushing harder against his opponent, Mot's efforts were rewarded as his opponent backed off.
Taking a cue from his sister after watching her dive straight into a clash with Mot, Crisis ran straight towards his opponent as well, meeting Spark's blade in clash of sparks.
We underestimated these two.
The fight continued as the siblings relentlessly rained their attacks down on their opponents. Their blades were blurs of blue and red and their cloaks fluttered behind them as they continued their attack. Something was off though, the odd bouts of grace and technique that the champions had seen earlier was gone as if it were just a figment of their imagination.