Tale Twenty-Two, Strength of a Bear, Grace of a Hawk

"Step right up! We're taking bets over here! Six-to-one odds on Sir Olberic Eisenberg, the Unbending Blade of Hornburg as he faces against the Huntress from S'warkii, H'aanit, with two-to-one odds!"

Tressa hawked the duel-to-come in Stillsnow's town square, rousing many bettors from the warmth of the nearby inn and tavern. Villagers found their way towards the merchant's promises of entertainment as they came to see what could be causing all of the commotion. Even Alaic and Susanna had made their way through the snow from their house.

After all, Alaic had already lost a duel to H'aanit. He wanted to see her strength against a man with the reputation of Olberic Eisenberg.

Susanna laughed softly next to him as they approached Therion and Tressa.

Alaic turned his attention to her. "What?"

"You need not act like you're only here to see the fight, Alaic," she reassured. "You want to know more about this Sir Olberic fellow and if he can best H'aanit."

She had seen through him so quickly. His cheeks flushed red and he could only utter inarticulate flustered noises at Susanna's implications.

She only continued hooting with delightful laughter as they joined the merchant and thief.

"You there, girl," Susanna called to Tressa.

The merchant took notice of her and recognized her instantly.

"Hey, grannie! You and Alaic came down from your castle. Glad to see ya," she greeted.

Therion turned around with her. He had two hands full of leaves as he mentally counted and tallied the money given to him by a couple of bettors. Satisfied, he stored the leaves away in his poncho for safekeeping and nodded towards Tressa.

"One hundred on Olberic by the man with the green cap," he reported.

Tressa took a quill from her cap. She jotted down the description and amount of money the bettor had paid out.

Therion sighed. "We're going to have to update the odds at this rate."

"Nah, we'll be fine!" Tressa assured, stowing away her list.

Susanna stopped the merchant. "You may want to keep that out, my dear."

Tressa grinned. "Putting down a wager yourself, grannie?"

"But of course! Who do you think Z'aanta owes much of his gambling debt to? Alaic, if you would."

The bigger man sighed and reached for the leaf pouch on his belt. He handed it to Therion, who gladly took it and started counting up the money.

"Put it on H'aanit. I'll be betting with the odds, but I have a feeling it's the smarter choice to make."

"Can do, grannie!" She scribbled Alaic and Susanna's names on the parchment. "Got the amount, Therion?"

The merchant turned towards him after not receiving a quick response.

"Therion?"

The thief remained silent, his hair covering his eyes as he mentally tallied the money in the bag again. He shook his head, not happy with the amount, and proceeded to count out the money verbally but quietly. Once he had finished, his shoulders sagged.

"Shit," he muttered.

Susanna cackled lightly. "Is something the matter?"

"No."

"Then would you care if I and Alaic joined you in watching this duel?"

"Of course not," Therion grunted.

Alaic and Susanna took their spots next to Therion and Tressa, a perfect spot to watch over the fight. In Susanna's mind, it was also a perfect spot for everyone to see her receive her winnings.

Tressa became annoyed. "Therion! What's the holdup? I need the amount!"

She could hear her partner-in-crime verbally sigh. He mumbled something inaudibly before storing away the money in his poncho.

"I couldn't hear you, what did you say?" Tressa asked as she took a few steps closer to Therion

"One-thousand leaves... she's going to clean us out," Therion admitted.

At the amount of the bet, Tressa blanched before looking over Therion's shoulder at Susanna. The merchant just caught the older woman turning away from them with a knowing gleam in her eye.

"Uh-oh..." the merchant muttered.

"I told you we needed a betting limit, Feather," Therion whispered through gritted teeth.

"How was I supposed to know anyone would bet against Olberic for that much! I mean, Olberic's Olberic. Even if H'aanit looks strong as hell, I thought most people would take his odds over hers just because of his reputation alone!"

"We're flushed here, and it's on you. Just remember that when you're buying them drinks tonight."

The merchant audibly gulped as Therion turned towards the fight. She wrote down the number on the parchment, put it and her quill away, and joined her friend at his side, away from the conniving, merciless older woman. As H'aanit and Olberic continued warming up, Tressa visibly fidgeted as she did mental calculations of possible gains versus losses in her head.

Meanwhile, in the square, the two combatants had agreed on the ax as their weapon of choice. They had started warming up with their practice weapons, going through the combative stances and sets in preparation for the duel. Both of them had agreed on no magic and Linde couldn't join H'aanit in fighting, as she had for many other duels.

This would be a one-on-one duel using only weapons.

Neither of them would have it any other way.

They finished their sets and faced each other in the square, doing a few last-minute stretches and staring their opponent down. The atmosphere was electric and filled with fire as they matched eyes. All the while, they both wore a smile, happy that they finally had a chance to challenge each other. Admittedly, they could do without the betting being handled by Therion and Tressa, but they would also admit that it made the duel feel more like the tourney they had participated in all those months ago, giving it a more competitive edge.

"I believen we art ready. Yea, Sir Olberic?" H'aanit asked.

Placing the hilt of his ax in the ground and holding the weapon in front of him, Olberic smirked. "Of course, H'aanit. It is about time we faced each other, I look forward to testing your strength."

An unfamiliar glint sparkled in her eye. "As do I."

At that moment, Therion and Tressa decided to join their friends in the makeshift dueling grounds.

"Alright, you two ready to rumble?" the merchant asked playfully, almost forcefully so.

Therion didn't speak and instead reach into his poncho, pulling out a wooden flask. He handed it to Olberic, silently urging him to take a drink.

He did just that. The liquid that hit his tongue burned and he coughed some of it out. He wasn't expecting that to be in the flask.

It took him a moment longer to collect himself, then he spat out, "Vodka?"

Choosing to stay quiet, Therion simply nodded, took the flask from Olberic, and handed it to H'aanit.

"It's to keep you guys warm and loose," Tressa answered matter-of-factly.

At her reasoning, H'aanit shrugged, resigning to drinking the clear alcohol. She took a swig with ease and gave the container back to Therion.

None of them expected anything less from the huntress.

"She always could hold her liquor better than you, Mountain," Therion finally spoke as he returned his flask to under his poncho.

Despite himself, Olberic only sighed. "You are correct, Therion."

The group noticed the grumbling coming from the crowd after the display. Unsurprisingly, many of the bettors now started second-guessing themselves after they saw the great Unbending Blade of Hornburg felled by a swig of vodka.

"Sounds like they're getting a bit on edge," Tressa whispered. Then, much louder, she announced, "Then it's time to begin!

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" she continued and stood in between H'aanit and Olberic. "Today we have a match for the ages! A fateful duel that will once and for all determine the strongest member of the Octopath Travelers!"

She pointed at Olberic. "In one corner, we have the recent competitor and winner of the Victor Hollows Tourney. He is a warrior beyond compare with a little magic flare who can best any opponent with any weapon that they dare!" (The other three Octopath Travelers groaned at the merchant's elongated introduction.) "A Knight from the Lost Kingdom of Hornburg, here he is, the Unbending Blade, himself, Sir Olberic Eisenberg!"

The crowd cheered for the warrior after having become rejuvenated and reinvigorated by Tressa's introduction.

The merchant smiled and directed the crowd's attention towards H'aanit.

"And now, hailing from the mysterious hunting village of S'warkii, hidden deep in the Whisperwood, a pupil of the famed hunter Z'aanta who has no equal in bow, ax, hunting, or beast mastery! She has recently returned from defeating the legendary Dragon of the Whitewood and has, to match, beauty and grace that cannot be misunderstood! Sir Eisenberg's challenger, the fiercest woman you'll ever lay your eyes, the powerful, the agile, H'aanit, the Huntress of S'warkii!"

Much of the crowd gasped in amazement, while some called out to her asking about Z'aanta's debts and owing them money. However, a shift in the air could be felt after Tressa's introductions: while many of the spectators originally thought Olberic could easily win against H'aanit, they now thought otherwise after learning the woman's identity.

Even so, the atmosphere only became tenser as the audience became invigorated by Tressa's introduction and the revelation of H'aanit's identity.

The merchant smiled glibly. "Our work here's done, give them hell guys!"

Then, she took off to her spot in the crowd, followed by a sluggish, seemingly depressed, Therion. They took up their positions next to Alaic and Susanna.

"Do you think something is wrong with Therion?" Olberic asked.

H'aanit shrugged. "Couldst be many things. Let us not wasten any more time, shallst we?"

The warrior readied his ax. "We shall."

H'aanit followed suit.

They held their stances as they awaited Tressa's signal to start their duel.

The merchant rose her arm in the air. Everyone in the crowd held their breaths. The electric atmosphere came to a stalled climax as everyone shifted their glances from Tressa to the duelists and back again, impatiently waiting for the duel to commence. Capitalizing on the attendees' attention, the younger woman smirked and eyed both H'aanit and Olberic, assuring they were ready.

Satisfied, Tressa swiftly brought down her hand. "And begin!"

The duelists charged at each other, locking the hafts of their axes together.

As the crowd cheered them on, they quickly broke apart and retreated to opposite sides of the makeshift dueling ring. Now that they had established their duel with their opening moves, they watched each other and patiently gauged their opponent as any proper duelist would.

They circled each other, seemingly waiting for their opponent to make a move.

H'aanit broke the stalemate, charging towards Olberic with her ax held high over her head.

The warrior readied his ax to strike her horizontally, but the huntress was moving too quickly for him to strike his opponent cleanly. He had to forgo his attack and instead bring the haft of his ax over his head to protect himself from H'aanit.

The blade of the huntress's ax met with the haft of Olberic's ax. He swore he could hear a crack in the wood from the force of the strike alone. While he may be stronger than H'aanit, her speed made up for it. If he wanted to win this duel, then he would have to end this quickly before she wore him down.

Again, they broke apart, with Olberic managing to swing his ax horizontally at H'aanit. She jumped out of the way before the blow could hit.

Without waiting, she prepared to jump at Olberic, ax once more raised above her head. As she leaped into the air, the warrior recovered from their previous exchange. Without thinking, he again rose his ax horizontally above his head, ready to defend himself from the blow. However, anticipating the aggressive move, he also managed to shift his weight onto his heels as he kept his balance.

When the blade of H'aanit's ax met Olberic's, the warrior fell onto his back, carrying the momentum and weight of the huntress's blow with him. With how aggressive H'aanit's attack was, she couldn't stop herself from being carried forward by the weight of her weapon.

As Olberic's back hit the ground, he placed one knee into H'aanit's midsection and pushed her off of him and onto her back. She landed with a painful thud, knocking the wind out of her and propelling her ax out of reach.

Before the huntress could even collect herself, Olberic had returned to his feet and aimed the blade of his ax at H'aanit's head.

For a moment, everything went silent, including the crowd who awaited the next move with anxious anticipation.

Realizing what had happened, H'aanit smiled softly and said, "I concede."

Then, the crowd erupted with a cheer, realizing that most of them had won their bets.

Therion and Tressa, for their part, let themselves breathe with ease.

"I'm never letting you talk me into making a betting pool, again," moaned Therion.

"I think I grew a few grey hairs after that…" mourned Tressa.

Susanna cackled next to them, earning their attention.

"Quite the match," she congratulated. "Funny enough, I usually can predict who'll win, especially if it's Z'aanta or H'aanit. But it would seem I was outmatched this time - or more accurately, H'aanit was outmatched. Right, Alaic?"

The older woman nudged the bigger man with her elbow, only earning a disgruntled noise as he had decided to stay silent and turn his face away from Susanna.

She laughed again. "Ah, don't pout so, you're a man, act like it! Now come along, it's almost time for supper. If the rest of you would like to join us, then bring H'aanit and her man. We'll save all of you a plate."

"That'd be great, we might just…" It took a moment, but Tressa caught what Susanna had said. She called after her as the old woman and Alaic started their ascent up the hill to their home. "Wait, what do you mean by 'her man?!'"

Therion shook his head in disbelief and turned his attention towards H'aanit and Olberic. By the time he did, he noticed that the warrior had helped the huntress to her feet and they were exchanging small pleasantries after the duel.

"Quite the battle, H'aanit," Olberic acknowledged.

"Indeed, 'twas an interesting display of skill and strength. Thou hath bested me in those regards," H'aanit congratulated.

"Perhaps, but if I had continued fighting for longer than that minute, then you would have bested me with your speed. After all, I may have size, but my agility leaves much to be desired."

H'aanit smiled. "Perhaps so, but alas, thy size proved thy victory."

"This time, but next time may not be the case. I expect we will duel again, yes?"

For a moment, H'aanit didn't respond, not having thought of a future duel with this man that she respected so much. But she felt happy that he had suggested it and would gladly pit her ax against his whenever they could.

"Of course, Olberic."

It was his turn to smile. "Then let us get a drink to celebrate."

With that, they departed from the makeshift dueling ring. The whole while, they talked about their past successes and failures in battle, enjoying each other's company and the strength that they brought into each other's lives. In the back of their minds, something tugged at their emotions, seemingly hinting at something more than traveling companions and friends.

Even more still, H'aanit's thoughts drifted back to a frivolous conversation she had had with Primrose not too long ago:

"H'aanit, you first. What's your type?"

"Perhaps… someone stronger than me…"

Perhaps, she had found that someone stronger than her in more ways than one, and in many ways as strong as her. Perhaps, but only time would tell.

As I had mentioned many times:

Strength comes in many forms, whether that be physical, emotional, intellectual, or any other measurement of individual power.

For someone to encapture themselves in another's mind through their strength, it must be showcased.

And, whether they know it or not, H'aanit and Olberic have managed to prove their strength to each other time and time again, subconsciously becoming closer to each other.

However, it may take time, and some meddling from others, for the pair to recognize these feelings and thoughts...