34. Dual Duel

Noon.

The river was cold and fast, carrying down the spring's last melting snows from the lofty Cloudpeaks. It was somewhat slower in the spot they had chosen, a wide pool beneath the base of a low waterfall, but the muddy 'banks' were vertical walls of packed mud and naked tree roots, which the river had dug over the ages, several men high from the water to the grass and flowers. It was this root-revealing mud that had eroded out from underneath one ancient tree, and it now lay fallen, stretching across the pool from bank to bank, a natural log bridge some forty feet long and six wide, though as a curved cylinder. Two could not walk abreast.

Two stood, though, facing one another, he from the west bank, she from the east. Neither wore armor, only cloth. Onyx wore his flexible browncloth leggings, and no tunic on a hot day for his sister to grab and yank. Jade, for her part, wore the same conforming grayish-black tunic and shorts she had when they last dueled, in Candlekeep, seven days past that seemed so long ago. The thirteen fellow adventurers assembled on both banks, studying their physiques, could not have taken them for other than brother and sister.

Where the great tree lay on each bank, Viconia and Branwen were opposite, poised to heal their respective allies, if it came to that – though it wasn't supposed to. The others were scattered about, but unfailingly aligned with their existent parties. Jaheira stood between her husband and Viconia, watching, vigilant for any infraction or foul play from the girl who was meant to be her charge, but had not arrived at the Friendly Arm Inn six days ago. Imoen, the girl who had, sat cross-legged in clover, distracted at the moment by an intent search for one with four petals. Right next to her perched Garrick, a feather quill waving in a white cone as he scribbled, inking in rhyme his fall-in with this entourage five days ago.

Xan sat on the other bank, his robes folded primly over bony knees. "Observe how the twins expend their strength and skill merely to cancel one another out. So much waste, such symmetric futility. Why, oh, why even bother and toil, only to sum to nill again? Life is so hollow."

While Kagain simply muttered a curse in between pipe-puffs, Montaron paused in his smoking to grimace murderously for the hundredth time at the hopeless elf that had joined their outfit but four days ago. "If ye don't shut up, prissy-boy, it'll be yer skull that prove hollow."

"Now Monty," his tattooed associate crooned, "You will save the brains? It's my turn to cook tonight, after all."

On the bank to Onyx's sweating back, Minsc teetered on the edge like another great tree ready to fall, and held his companion Boo out for a closer view at the action, hoping his three days' trek with these noble companions would now fulfill its purpose, reuniting him with his witch to continue their dejemma, while the bad man went home with his red skirt tucked between his legs.

Edwin, sneering at the addled tracker from his side, twiddled his thumbs nervously as he appraised the warrioress he had 'hired' but two days ago. He turned his glare to Dynaheir, found again only yesterday, who stood by her bodyguard, her chocolate-silk features smug, calm, and confident.

The twins each held an oaken quarterstaff. The much-traveled weapons and walking staves of, appropriately enough, those whose fates they would now duel for. Their eyes were locked, and had been for some minutes. They must have sparred each other a hundred times, but none like this.

"Lil Alurl, sartglin. Lil dumoas del Shar piwafwi dos," Viconia whispered into Onyx's ear. The paladin bristled; he hadn't even heard her bare ebony feet step right up behind him.

"What?" Branwen demanded from the other end of the bridge. "What is this?"

Viconia sneered at her opposite number, and through lowered eyelids explained mockingly, "For your erudition, barbarian: 'The best, warrior. May the blessings of Shar cloak you.' "

"I care not for your foul speech!" Branwen hollered back. "It is not that you bless him, but that you Bless him! 'Tis a transgression in this duel, and Tempus smites none with more fury than those who dishonor oaths of combat!"

"Busted!" Xzar giggled. His companions rose to their full height, and bellowed salty dwarven and halfling curses of cheating and outrage.

Onyx searched himself warily for Shar's dark touch. "I cannot tell," he stated lamely, and turned to Jaheira.

"The drow cast, yes," answered the druid who had been standing near Viconia, who now turned to shoot the half-elf an indignified glance.

"Thank you for your expedient alert, Jaheira," Jade called with a snarl to the woman who had studied her accusingly for several minutes on end. "Your vigilance against cheating is commendable."

"Silence, wayward child!" Jaheira screamed, face flushing, Khalid trying in vain to calm her with a hand.

"Now, now," Xzar called from across the pool, hands cupped over a grinning mouth, "We needn't harp on this…"

""Aye, X," Montaron stage-spoke, "We know that lady be honest and forthright with her friends, right Onyxy-lad?"

Onyx exhaled, not looking at Jaheira or Viconia again. "It will pass."

"This grows tedious," Edwin growled. "(These robes are rather thick for such a sunny day, but I must maintain my fearsome, intimidating, and stylish appearance.)"

"The Lord of Battles shall level this duel one more," Branwen proclaimed, and none objected as she blessed Jade.

"Enough," the imbued fightress stared down her brother. "It begins!"

"Yet how did it begin?" Onyx lamented, but then his sister was upon him. She closed the distance of the log before anyone had realized she'd begun, winding her quarterstaff back to swing it across her brother's face, surely with enough force to leverage her tall brother off the log and end it then and there.

"Sweet Lath-!" his knees bent not a moment too soon, and the staff whizzed over his hair, with a deep, raking hum of air being cut. Without really thinking, still surprised, he just pushed his quarterstaff forward in both hands, to push his sister back. The center of the staff smacked her waist, but she was already stepping back, and her right foot planted solidly behind her. Onyx applied more strength, knowing he could beat his sister in a pure push-o-war, and as she started to get pushed back past her own center of gravity, her staff shot down to stamp the top of his left foot. The pain was sharp and he stopped his assault to maintain his own balance. She regained initiative, and cracked the other end of her staff against his forehead, pushing his weapon back off her waist with the middle of hers.

Jade pressed her advantage while Onyx's left foot went back to plant solidly behind his right, like his sister's stance a moment ago. He felt his staff firm and hers cracked against it, at that moment he pushed again, bending forward to lower his center of gravity, and straighten and anchor his back leg. She simply took two nimble strides back, out of range of his press, and lifted the lower end of her weapon to lance forward for his knee.

Onyx couldn't move his leg fast enough to dodge, so he kept it there so as to keep his balance when it hit, moving his staff sideways to try to sweep away the blow. But it did hit, and hurt, sharply against the kneecap. Only then did he hit her staff with his and sweep it aside, and kept going, to put her off balance. While she retracted her staff, he slid his up along hers, and hit her left hand, numbing her pinky, and then he jerked back and right and cracked the end of his staff perfectly against her elbow, on the funny bone.

Jade's left forearm erupted in a mad tingle, the fingers freezing, and her left hand left the staff. She gripped her right tighter, striding back some more with the clear disadvantage, cursing her loss of ground she had gained with her first initiative. While her brother chased her, plunging for her center of mass with one end of her weapon, she curled hers into her right armpit like a lance, tight even in one arm, and dropped to a kneel, to hit his knee. For once, her brother wasn't stronger and taller – he was stronger but taller, and she was going to whack him below that higher center of gravity until he went out from under himself.

Onyx stopped, lunging his upper body and straightening his arms, trying to gain greater reach and hit her chest before she could hit his knee. They both made contact. He earned another sharp pain, balance faltering but not direly. She was hit much harder, a rib buckled and almost broke, and she rolled onto her back on the log, legs instinctively dropping over both sides for balance and grip. He pressed his advantage, batting his staff's lower end from her right to sweep her off the log, and she swung her staff right to crack it against his, but still slid an inch to the left with the disparity of momentums. He cracked again, but with less windup and force, and she drove the 'lower' end of her staff into his calf. It went clear out from under him, and he dropped to one knee, scraping down the curve of the log, nearly catapulting face-first into the pool below. But, pure reflex, he jerked his upper body back to counterweight.

Jade had the moment she needed to rise, squeezing her legs around the log to sit-up into a straddle, bend her legs in, lift into a crouch, then stand. Her brother rose at the same time, and the rammed their shafts across each other's once in simultaneous attempts to get first initiative while the other was still getting up. Onyx pushed his sister back, but not off balance, in fact so on balance she lifted a foot briefly to kick his shin before planting again. His sister's coordination and reflexes had always been better, but probably more importantly her mind was quick enough to take advantage of these opportunities, whether it was conscious or not. He pressed still, his staff against hers, just trying to bowl her back far enough to lose her balance. Lifting a foot again would cost her that; she couldn't take a step back.

She tried another gambit off her lower, nimber balance – as she was pushed back, she deliberately tilted to her left, forcing him to go to his right. He'd lose his balance right before she lost hers left, but she was still losing her balance backwards. Onyx let his right hand go from his staff, and lunged back toward the middle of the log, sweeping his right arm out to try to bat her at the same angle she'd been daring to go, and send her into the pool. But she dropped and his arm sailed over, she now nearly slipping off the side of the log before jerking her upper body back. She punched the top end of her quarterstaff upward once she dropped, into his exposed armpit like a pikewoman spearing a charging warhorse, then jerked right to push him off-balance off the other side of the log. He dropped too, reclaiming the staff in both hands and hiding his armpit again, and pushed the wood forward at her face. She crossed her weapon and pushed back, and for the first time during the battle, their eyes met.

Onyx let go of his staff, one hand at a time, clamping onto Jade's. She shook hers, unable to snatch it back out of his grip, while Dynaheir's quarterstaff slid through their arms and plunged end-first into the cold water. The twins jerked at Edwin's staff, Jade using directional surprise to make up for her brother's strength, and each repeatedly lost one hand of grip only to replace it before their other could be shaken off. They both slumped down from kneels into lopsided straddles, then Jade started trying just to pull it to her left, leaning them both off the side of the log they were already precariously close to. Onyx let his left hand go, and now swept it inward to grab Jade's right arm and bat her off balance. He succeeded, but then her left arm released the staff, and snaked around her brother's neck, clamping it inside her elbow. She was falling, but he was coming with her.

The twins' straddling legs scraped down the side of the log, and to their own perception they seemed to hang ludicrously for a moment, their torsos sideways, before their sweaty legs left the bark. Edwin's staff was let go and they both flailed a moment, the same memories of diving off sandy low cliffs into the Sea of Swords snapping before their eyes, then they hit the pool's surface with two spectacular splashes.

They sank several feet under, in cold-shock, Jade's long scarlet hair flowing with beautifully slow fluidity. The mountain water was cold and clear, their eyes bulging and meeting. Bubbles escaping their lips, they smiled, breaking into conspiratorial smirks before embracing underwater.