With the initial announcements over, Olberic retreated back to the tunnels under the arena. The first two competitors remained onstage, though Olberic wasn't entirely sure about who they were. He had been too focused on returning to the other members of his team to pay too much attention to it. Besides, he was confident that he would hear the outcome of the fight soon enough.
"So, you're Olberic, are you?"
When Olberic arrived back in the tunnels, he turned at the sound of his name. Gustav stood nearby, everything about him put together and stern. He had come ready for a fight, and he was determined to win it as well.
Olberic nodded. "Yes. And if you know who I am, then you also know that-"
"You'd be looking for Sir Erhardt, aye?" Gustav finished for him.
"I see I don't need to explain," Olberic confirmed.
Gustav nodded. "Sir Erhardt spoke of you, but what you're seeking has a cost. Tell me, knight. You know what this place is, yes?"
"A place where a man's worth is measured?" Olberic replied.
Gustav was silent, and he took a small step toward Olberic. "Tell me, Sir Olberic... To what end do you swing that blade?" he asked, gesturing down to the sword that rested at Olberic's side.
Olberic's eyes went wide at the question. That was far from what he had expected Gustav to say. As for the answer, Olberic had once been a knight serving his liege and home. He wanted to defend those who had no one else by their side. He aimed to keep his people safe to the best of his ability. He had swung his sword for king and country, and that had been enough for him. But times had changed since then, and as things currently stood, Olberic had no conclusive answer to Gustav's question. Olberic's purpose had seemingly simmered away and died the instant the king's life left his body. Olberic had been satisfied with traveling alongside the rest of his party for the time being, but it was not the reason for being that he sought.
Gustav watched Olberic for a moment, and when he recognized that his conversation partner would not be responding, he took a step away, casting Olberic a glance over his shoulder. "I'll see you in the final," Gustav said simply. With that, Gustav walked away.
The implications of Gustav's words were not lost on Olberic. Gustav was already confident that they would be the ones to end the tournament when all was said and done. No other competitor could hold a torch to them as far as Gustav was concerned. It was quite the bold statement on Gustav's part, but Olberic would have been lying if he said he didn't suspect Gustav was correct about the outcome. Only time would be able to tell if Gustav's words were brazen confidence or true to reality.
The rest of the travelers were waiting for Olberic when he had finished his conversation with Gustav, and Alfyn let out a hefty sigh while shaking out one hand. "Whew. I don't think I'll ever get used to somethin' like this," he admitted. "I never thought I was one for combat, and even if things have changed since I've met up with all of you, it's still a bit nerve-wrackin'."
"We're going to do our best to win the fight though," Tressa assured him. "We've made it this far, and that means that we're deserving of our place in the tournament. All we need to do is follow that momentum forward a little bit longer."
Olberic nodded to himself, his conversation with Gustav still weighing heavily on his mind. He found a distraction in the form of H'aanit though, who had her arms crossed as she gazed at the nearby wall of the arena. Olberic drifted in her direction cautiously. "Is something troubling you?" he asked softly.
H'aanit looked at Olberic out of the corner of her eye, barely surprised to see him there but still only halfway focused on the matter at hand. "Thou couldst say that," she murmured.
"An unhappy memory?" Olberic probed carefully, his tone offering H'aanit all the space she needed to back out the instant she grew uncomfortable with the conversation.
"Master camen here many times over the years," H'aanit began. "He founden the arena to be a source of great joy. He tolden me that he would bringen me with him one day, but he never had the opportunity."
"And here you are now," Olberic began.
"When he cannot be at my side," H'aanit finished with a strained exhale through her nose. "I looken forward to our return to Stillsnow. The sooner we can speaken with the sage there, the sooner Master will returnen to me."
"I'm sorry," Olberic found himself saying before he could hold the words back. "You don't need to fight alongside the rest of us if you find it to be too much for you to stand. I have no doubt that we would be able to-"
"I will fight, Olberic," H'aanit assured him, her eyes narrowing in determination. "Regardless of the past, I am here because I haven a duty to taken care of. I will not allowen the past to hinderen my skills for this mission."
Olberic smiled gently. "I understand," he whispered. This was precisely what he had expected from H'aanit-always so down to earth even in the face of horrors unlike any other had ever known. "If you change your mind, all you need to do is say the word."
"I understanden," H'aanit said. She lapsed into silence for another few moments before continuing. "Perhaps we can bringen Master with us when a tourney next cometh to town. I doubten it will be the same as this competition, but..."
"I'm certain he would enjoy it, especially if he heard you competed while he was away," Olberic told her. "In the meantime, we can focus our attention on the battle at hand."
"I prayen he is proud of what we are doing here today," H'aanit murmured, her voice going fragile and vulnerable for a few breathless moments.
"I have no doubt he will be," Olberic told her, and H'aanit sent him a breakable smile out of the side of her mouth. At their feet, Linde curled her tail around their legs and purred. H'aanit reached one hand down to pet at her snow leopard's head, clearly relieved to have the brief distraction.
Cecily was more than happy to turn the brief diversion into something much longer. She walked up to the travelers and clapped her hands together grandly. "Alright, everyone! The first round is about to begin," she announced. "Your group will be going up against Joshua Frostblade's party."
"Our first real challenge of the tournament," Ophilia murmured. "And even a single loss will have us going home."
"Then we'll simply have to do everything in our power to avoid losing," Cyrus declared with a smile.
"That's the spirit!" Cecily proclaimed with a snap of her fingers. "The other three preliminary rounds are going first since we were a last minute entry, so we have a bit more time to get ready before we have to head out there. Is there anything else you need to do before we go inside?"
"You're the combat expert around here," Therion remarked. "Why don't you give us a few tips for how to take out this Joshua Frostblade character?"
Cecily mulled over his words for a moment before nodding. "Well, he's from the bitter cold of the Frostlands, so that means he's probably weak to fire magic. Most people up there aren't used to the heat, so they don't know how to defend against it," she began. "The thick cloud layer in the Frostlands makes it dark too, so I imagine that he wouldn't know how to push back against light magic either."
"From what I saw of him before, I believe he will be weak to axes as well," Cyrus went on. "He carries himself lightly so that he can evade most attacks, but if you can hit him with a heavy weapon such as an axe, then he will lose that advantage. Slowing him down should be our first priority."
"We'll have to see if that's the case when we fight against him then," Primrose murmured. "I'm looking forward to putting all of these assumptions into practice. As long as we're here, I'm going to give it my all so that we can win."
"We do not needen to win," H'aanit pointed out. "All that we must doen is given Olberic the chance to speaken with Gustav. If we can accomplishe that, then the rest is ultimately unimportant."
"Maybe so," Primrose agreed with a light hum. A moment later, her eyes shone with the confidence of competition. "But I want to try and win. After all this time spent fighting for our lives, I think we deserve to show off a little bit. The least we can do is give the audience something entertaining to watch... And something entertaining for ourselves to perform."
Olberic opened his mouth to try and ease Primrose's competitive streak, but he was cut off when Cecily clapped her hands together. "Okay, everyone. I think you're going out now," she announced. "That last fight wrapped up a lot faster than I thought it would. Gustav the Black Knight really is no joke."
Olberic frowned to himself, but he didn't have the chance to speak before Cecily ushered him forward. "Go out there and make us proud!" she instructed. Ned offered a small nod where he had been standing beside Cecily, and she gave the group a pair of thumbs-up before urging them forward.
"And now, for the fourth battle! From the west gate comes Olberic, the Unbending Blade!" cried the voice of the barker from the other side of the door leading into the arena.
"Good luck to ye, knight. Ye'll need it," Ned said with a nod.
"You'll be fine. Just do exactly what you did to the others!" Cecily smiled. "This is going to be a piece of cake. Now get out there and show them what you're made of!"
Olberic nodded and led the rest of his party out into the center of the arena. After being in the darkness of the tunnels for so long, the light of the outside world was a bit overwhelming, and Olberic winced slightly as his eyes adjusted. Across from him, he could make out Joshua Frostblade taking to the center of the arena, a small entourage of fighters trailing after him. All of them were ready for the battle at hand, and Olberic could feel the tingling excitement in the air as the seconds crawled by.
Overhead, the people in the crowd offered their opinions of the fighters at the center of the arena. Some cheered for Joshua while others expected Olberic to win the day. The environment of the tournament was intoxicating, and everyone in the stands exclaimed encouragement for someone even though they had never met either one of the men competing. They were all there for a good show, and they expected Joshua and Olberic to deliver.
Up close, Olberic could see more of Joshua than he had before. The man wore formal attire, far fancier than what Olberic would have expected from a tournament fighter. In fact, Olberic would have expected clothing like this to come from a noble, not a battler. Joshua's hat sat perfectly atop his head even though they all knew it would be the first thing to be thrown askew when the fight began in full.
"'Tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance, good sir," Joshua greeted with a small bow of his head. He removed his hat and pressed it to his chest before placing it back on his head. "The name is Joshua. Your name and renown reached even the distant corners of my snowbound home."
"Olberic Eisenberg," Olberic introduced. He bowed his head in return before rising back to his full height. "And the honor is mine. The climes in your land may be harsh, but its sons have warm manners."
"You honor me, sir, but know that there is no warmth in my sword-and it will deliver the victory I promised to my dearest Angela," Joshua told him as he sunk into a combat stance.
"So you fight for a woman," Olberic concluded softly. As long as he didn't know what he was fighting for, he could hear the reasons that others took to the battlefield. Perhaps it would help him to discover his own purpose in some way or another.
"I fight for love," Joshua corrected. "And today, you will know how powerful that is."
Olberic drew his own blade, and the rest of both his and Joshua's entourages reached for their weapons. The barker took a step forward and raised one hand above his head. "First round, fourth duel-let the battle begin!"
The barker dropped his hand before he turned around and ran in the opposite direction to keep from being caught in the crossfire of the battle. As soon as the barker was out of the way, Joshua and Olberic dashed toward one another, and the rest of their teams followed suit. The crowds cheered even louder than before, and their anticipation reached a fever pitch. The people cried out with the name of their chosen champion, and Olberic numbed the noise out in favor of the battle. The people would get their outcome soon enough, but until then, he had to fight.
Ophilia was the first one to attack, bringing down a column of light magic at the center of the battlefield. It was enough to send each of Joshua's men staggering for a flicker of a moment before they corrected their stances once again. Joshua swung his body off to the right to keep from being hit by the attack before he lunged toward Olberic. Joshua used a small, thin sword in battle that looked a bit more like an extension of a dagger than anything else. He had to be up close in order to deal damage with it because of its lack of size, and he moved toward Olberic to open up the fight with a stab.
Olberic blocked the first strike with his own blade, but Joshua swung faster than Olberic could keep up with. Olberic let out a thin hiss when Joshua's sword struck his arm, but Olberic refused to let his opponent press the advantage. Instead, Olberic moved forward, forcing Joshua to go on the defensive. Behind Olberic, Ophilia cast a healing spell to alleviate the pain in his arm, and even though he didn't have the time to nod in her direction, he knew she understood his gratitude.
Nearby, two of Joshua's other soldiers rushed toward Primrose and Cyrus. Primrose prepared her dagger while Cyrus summoned a rain of fire from overhead. The soldiers retreated by a few paces to avoid the brunt of the flames, but that couldn't protect them forever. Therion clenched his fingers tighter around his knife, and the fire began to chase its targets down before knocking them to the ground. Magical fire did not burn at things the way that regular fire did, and the flame fizzled out as soon as it had accomplished its goal.
The weakness in the soldiers' defenses was perfect for Primrose and Tressa to take advantage of, and the two dove toward the pair of fighters with frightening speed. Primrose stabbed at one with her knife while Tressa slashed at the other with her lance. Before the soldiers could turn and face them, the two had traded places and delivered attacks to the other foe, dizzying both of their stunned opponents effortlessly.
Before the disoriented soldiers had the chance to recover and retaliate, H'aanit nocked an arrow on her bow and sent it flying. One of the soldiers was forced to the ground from the hit and pinned there by a pounce from Linde. The other was struck by an axe slash from Alfyn, and just like that, the two of them were out of the fight, holding up their hands in surrender as they pulled away from the rest of the battle. In the stands of the arena, the crowd either cheered or booed at the result.
Olberic and Joshua continued to clash blades, though Joshua's speed was starting to get the better of his opponent. Joshua jumped backward and sent out a blast of ice magic at Olberic, but Cyrus was there to stop the attack with a flash of flames to fend off the blow. Magic exploded outward in a percussive clap, stunning Therion along with two of Joshua's other allies. Primrose struck at one while H'aanit attacked the other, and with a bit of extra help from Ophilia's light magic, the fighters were pushed off the battlefield as well.
Joshua noticed that Therion was stumbling from the magical explosion and sent out a quick shot of ice at the thief. Therion threw up his knife at the last moment to block the strike, creating a barricade of fire that ate away at the blast and destroyed it in a matter of seconds. While Joshua was distracted with attacking Therion, Olberic charged at him. He raised his blade high before slashing down.
The ground of the arena began to distort as it followed after Joshua, eventually pinning his legs in place. That was one way to get rid of his speedy advantage, and it certainly seemed to work. His expression immediately twisted to stress, and he thrashed wildly to try and pull himself free. No matter what he attempted though, he couldn't seem to escape the grip of the rocks.
Olberic hit Joshua's once with his sword, and the air seemed to go stiff. Joshua dropped his own blade, and it slid across the ground before ending up in Tressa's hands. She leaned over to pick it up, examining the small sword with a hum. While she was crouched near the ground, H'aanit sent a searing blast of thunder magic over her head to strike one of Joshua's other allies. The soldier fell into his final remaining companion, and they wound up in a heap of limbs that was forced to surrender in a matter of seconds.
Olberic changed his blade's positioning so he was pointing at Joshua's chest a few moments later, and Joshua let out a sigh. "I... I surrender," he murmured. It was his only option, and everyone knew it. "Angela, forgive me..."
"You fought bravely and well. You did no dishonor to your lady love," Olberic assured Joshua. He let his blade fall back to his side, and a frown appeared on his features. To fight for love... That was certainly one reason to wield a blade, but Olberic doubted it would ever be his reason. The only person Olberic had ever truly loved in a romantic sense was Erhardt, but that was all over now. It had ended the instant Erhardt decided to raise his sword against their king. Olberic hadn't felt love of that sort since the day Hornburg fell, and he doubted he ever would again. How could he after all he had been through?
Overhead, the crowd either cried out in excitement or groaned in dissatisfaction with the result of the battle. The barker clapped his hands together as he stepped forward. "That was quite a fight!" he declared. "Our victor in this battle is Olberic Eisenberg! The second round of battles will begin shortly! The semifinals are upon us!"
Joshua and Olberic were both escorted off the arena's stage alongside the rest of their teams. Joshua's party moved in the opposite direction from Olberic, no doubt off to get healed by the professionals helping to keep the tournament running. Olberic looked over his shoulder one last time at Joshua and prayed his opponent took his words to heart. Joshua had done nothing to dishonor his love, and he had to understand that... Or so Olberic was hoping.
After the group had returned to the tunnel, Olberic let out a sigh. He hadn't anticipated the battle to be so draining, though he supposed that was just the beginning. The fight hadn't necessarily been hard, at least not by his standards, but it was still a lot after he had already engaged in two other major battles earlier in the day. Until his next round began, he was going to have to try and rest. It was the least he could offer to himself.
"That was incredible!" Cecily beamed when Olberic was back in the west wing of the arena. She clapped her hands together excitedly. "I knew you would be able to do it! The rumors about Joshua Frostblade fell short in the end. He was nothing when placed before your raw strength."
"He was a powerful fighter in his own respect," Olberic corrected her. "I was simply the one to come out on top today."
"And you've more than earned it," Cecily grinned. "I meant it before when I said that I thought you could win it all, and I can see now that my faith was not misplaced. You fight incredibly, Olberic, but when you fight with the rest of your team, it only gets better. I was right to pick you out of the crowd."
"We really did amazing back there," Ophilia smiled. She pressed her hands together over her chest and cast a small healing spell to recover most of their smaller injuries. Olberic felt better immediately afterward, and he looked down to see the small cuts on his arms closing and fading away. Joshua had only been able to get in a few hits against Olberic, and all of them were on the smaller side. Not even Joshua's speed, his greatest asset, had been able to bring him to victory. It had all meant nothing when he was faced against the Unbending Blade of Hornburg.
"And you've got two more rounds left," Cecily said. Before anyone could correct her about how they had no idea if they were going to make it to the finals, she waved them off. "I think we all know that this is going to end with you in the last battle. If I had to guess, I would say that Gustav man is going to be the other combatant. He's got a special talent when it comes to fighting."
"We'll have to see if he holds up against us when we fight him then," Tressa concluded. She clapped her hands against her cheeks a few times before looking to the rest of the group. "Alright. Do we have any idea who we're going to be fighting against this time? We should try to figure out how to fight them ahead of time. We don't get this benefit often, and I think we deserve to take advantage of it while we have the chance."
"Next round, you're going to be up against Archibold the Crusher," Cecily told the group. "He's the reigning champion of the tournament, and he won't be going down easily. As far as I know, he has a weakness against ice and dark attacks. He's not one for magic, but those two types of spells tend to catch him off guard especially well."
"When I saw him before, I noticed that his armor had a few small holes in it here and there," Therion said. "If I had to guess, I would say that his armor is going to block most of the attacks we send toward him, but I bet that daggers and bows would be the exception if we can get into those tiny cracks."
"That sounds like a plan to me," Primrose smirked as she twirled her dagger over one hand. "If that's what it's going to take to win, then consider it done."
"Gustav is fighting his own match right now," Ophilia murmured. "I wonder if he's going to come out on top. The man he's fighting is the one who everyone else claimed might be able to defeat Archibold the Crusher... The one who's come second a myriad of times in the past."
"He's not going to get the chance to have that fight though," Therion snorted. "We all know that it's not going to end his way. Gustav is good. I can tell just by the way he carries himself. He won't be going down easily, and he's going to be the one in the finals."
"Then we'll just have to rise up to meet him," Alfyn grinned. "If he wants to fight against us, then we'll find a way to make sure that it happens, even if that means fighting against the reigning champion of the arena."
"Archibold won't know what we're truly capable of until it's too late," Cyrus smiled. The spirit of combat and competition was spreading through the travelers earnestly now, and Olberic couldn't help a small smile at the thought. He never would have thought everyone else in his party could be so openly competitive, but he would have been lying if he said that he didn't enjoy it. If anything, it was nice to be able to see them relax for the first time in what felt like ages.
"Master tolden me about him years ago," H'aanit frowned. "He said that Archibold fighteth impressively, though he is still not immortal. We can still graspen victory if we can pressen him back before he findeth the chance to claimen the upper hand."
"He's as strong and skilled as any, that's for sure," Ned began with a frown. He had been, as per usual, standing near Cecily in silence, just watching the events of the tournament unfold around him until his input was necessary. "But it's his iron will that wins him battles more than anythin'. I'd tell ye to look out for this or that, but the gods only know... With 'im, ye got to look out for everything."
The confidence in the air started to melt away a little bit with Ned's words, but Cecily was quick to cover up the dreariness in the atmosphere with a smile. "Ned can be overly dramatic, but he speaks the truth. Archibold's a more formidable foe by far than any you've faced till now," she explained.
"Formidably noted," Olberic murmured to himself with a nod. He refused to let the first sign of a real challenge be the reason he backed down though. Gustav was confident that they would see one another in the finals, and Olberic was determined to give the tourney all he could to reach that point. There was no guarantee of success, but he still had to try.
Ned and Cecily shared a wild look at Olberic's comment, and Ned held back a small scoff. "Gods' teeth, ye've got more spine than sense, crackin' japes at a time like this," he commented.
"This won't be the first time I've fought a man whose skills matched or surpassed my own," Olberic replied simply. His mind went back to Olberic and the final duel they had shared the day Hornburg fell. It had ended in a draw, but the clash of blades from that day still rang in Olberic's mind each time he closed his eyes at night. He would see Erhardt again soon, he was sure. Meeting with Gustav was the first step to their next encounter. "And I daresay it won't be the last."
"And now for the second match of the second round!" the barker cried out from the other side of the doors to the arena. "From the west gate, Olberic Eisenberg!"
Cecily placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever happens, just give it everything you've got!" she instructed of him. "We'll find out soon enough if that'll suffice." She sent him an encouraging smile, and Olberic returned it, though his grin was stiff and nervous at the idea of fighting against the reigning champion of the tournament. He wasn't doing a good job of keeping his spirits high, but he would just have to work around that. He had come this far.
Olberic nodded before walking out to the arena grounds. The rest of his group followed him, and when Olberic's vision adjusted to the sudden onslaught of afternoon sunshine, he could see that Archibold and his company were doing the same from the other side of the arena. The barker stood at the center of it all, his smile only growing greater as the battles neared their apex.
"The Unbending Blade in the flesh, eh?" Archibold remarked once he had arrived at the center of the arena. "A step up from the usual riffraff they send my way." He paused and took a small step toward Olberic. "My father was one match away from winnin' his fifth tourney in a row when his challenger's sword found his breast. Now, it's my turn to do what he could not."
"And that is why you fight? To honor your father's memory?" Olberic asked. Perhaps he could pull from something like this to fin a purpose to swing his blade. Olberic's family had been gone for many years-ever since the fall of Hornburg, as a matter of fact-but he still had a torch to carry on for the sake of the entire fallen nation. They had little hope, and Olberic wanted to give the survivors something to look to. Maybe that was his reason for being.
Archibold was not in the mood for deliberation though, and he reached for his weapon sternly. "Aye. Now, let's get on with it." He trained his weapon at Olberic, and the rest of his allies followed suit.
Olberic nodded "So be it." He pulled out the sword he had received from Brand, his mind racing through all the weaknesses Cecily and Therion had pointed out earlier. The rest of the travelers readied themselves for the battle ahead as well. This was the moment of fate. If they could win this battle, then they would fight against Gustav in the finals. They couldn't afford to fail now.
The barker raised his arm high above his head before swinging his hand down. "Second round, second battle. Let the battle begin!"
More tournament times! Woohoo!
I'm getting through the tournament a lot faster than I expected. What did I expect in terms of timeframe? Well, I'm not entirely sure, but it's been a long time since I've played this part of the game specifically, and I thought there were more cutscenes in between rounds. That's my mistake, I suppose. I'm happy to be able to move at this fast pace though. It definitely keeps things interesting.
I don't have all that much else to add about this chapter honestly. We just finished one fight, and we're gearing up for another. I've really liked the natural injection of conversation from the rest of the group though, and it's tons of fun to put them in this setting that they're normally not in. The entire party is getting hyped up on the competition right now, and I absolutely adore it. This really is a fun way to close out the second chapters.
Next week, we're going to kick off the battle against Archibold the Crusher. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital