Chapter 3: Glastheimspiel
"What do you mean tournament!?" shouted Ramus.
"Welcome to Glastheimspiel, the legendary tournament of Glastheim castle!"
boasted the merchant as he faced the gargantuan doors of the castle of long
lost time.
Ramus turned away from the old man, the kafra, and the giant and said in a
downed voice, "I don't want to be a part of this nonsense. I have to go back
for the remains of my friends. I didn't even have time to grieve for their
passing,"
The old merchant smirked and put on an equally aged pipe. "I wouldn't try that
if I were you. The master of this castle wouldn't let anyone leave this place
alive."
"Hah! I am a thief! I can escape anything!" said the challenged Ramus.
He hastily climbed the nearby mound and surveyed the gates of the castle. His
jaws dropped in disbelief as he swept the horizon with his eagle eyes.
Thousands and thousands of Abysmal Knights surrounded the walls and gates of
Glastheim, each one brandishing a sword that could erase a man and his pecopeco
with one swift blow. Indeed, there was no escaping the place.
Sampaguita, who did nothing but play around with her sheathed katana since they
came to the palace grounds, finally broke her silence. "The old timer is right.
Even my warps no longer work here. Evil Druids are sealing off the dimensional
gates."
The unbelieving thief jumped back to the ground. "Why me?"
"I, Maphistus, death-merchant extraordinaire, have been sent forth by the
master of this castle to fetch you. And whomever the master invites, I make
sure he comes. From what I have seen, the master only invites the best bounty
hunters, warriors, criminals and soldiers in Rune Midgard. He has seen
something in you and you should be honored to be here."
Ramus shook his head in puzzlement.
"So what's in it for me?" asked Ramus.
Sampaguita answered, "The winner of the tournament will be given three wishes.
All of them shall be granted regardless of their nature. Reasons for joining,
however, are as varied as the people who join the contest."
Ramus scratched his head. "Any wish you say?"
Maphistus looked at Ramus with mischievous eyes. "Anything. From eternal life,
to lordship over Rune Midgard, to the resurrection of your loved ones."
"And what about those who do not win?" asked Ramus.
The cloaked gargantuan threw a polished skull to the grassy grounds in front of
Ramus.
"Death." said the large man in a deep, unfaltering voice.
The death merchant puffed his pipe and said, "Rules are simple actually. Each
contestant will be given a pendant with a number. First person who gathers
ninety-nine pendants wins. Of course you will have to take the pendant from a
dead corpse. Otherwise, the pendant will not be counted."
Maphistus pointed at the cloaked giant. "Koroko will ensure that the rule of
fighting to the death will be followed."
"Ninteynine pendants eh?", replied Ramus. "So how many contestants are there?"
The kafra drew out her katana to polish it and said in passing "One hundred.
Your pendant shall be the hundredth."
Maphistus threw a shiny object at Ramus, which he caught with ease. It had a
number seventeen etched on one side and the words "Ramus Al' Asama" at the
back.
"Your invitation."
He was an expected guest afterall.
A timepiece sounded off inside the vest of Maphistus. He tucked one hand in to
turn it off and turned away from the kafra and the thief. "Well, Koroko and I
should get going. You shall all automatically be warped inside the castle after
dawn. Inside, you can go kill anything that moves. But until then, enjoy your
stay and try to get some rest."
As the two started walking off, the merchant stopped and said "Oh, and I almost
forgot. You still don't have weapons right? Koroko, give him what the master
has provided for his armaments."
Koroko half-opened his cloak and threw out a huge black case to the ground.
The two then continued walking away and disappeared into the shadows of
Glastheimian masonry.
The comodo kafra looked at the casing as she slowly polished her long katana
while sitting on one of the steps of the Glastheimian entrance. "I think that's
for you."
Ramus nodded and quickly ran towards the heavy-looking case. He opened it and
found an Osafune-made dagger (probably the same one that he had stolen that
night), a quiver of silver arrows and most peculiar carved bow. It was the
great heirloom warbow of House Parris, last used by Tamarah before she
disappeared five years ago.
