Chapter 3
With his parents out of Neverwinter, Shinscale continued to train at the Academy during the day while having dinner at home with Thalas joining him. On the third day, Jacen invited them to watch the boxing matches in the evening at the Neverwinter Arena. The two met Mercer and Ashe, who had saved them seats in the front row near the ring.
Shinscale watched as a burly orc stood in the ring, wearing a jerkin over his breeches. "That's Brazen Doomfist," he overheard Ashe saying.
A chorus of cheers rained from the crowd, which surprised Shinscale. There were orcs in Neverwinter, many of them living in the Trade District, which had recovered after the occupation of warriors from the Many Arrows kingdom. He was also surprised at how calm and poised the orc was as fans started chanting his name.
"He's pretty good on his feet," Thalas said as more cheers echoed through the crowd, signaling the coming of Doomfist's opponent. All four turned to see a slender robed figure walking through the crowd. His sky blue robes flowed behind him as he emerged from the crowd and entered the ring.
The fighter removed his robe, revealing his slender figure and elvish features. Like the orc, he wore pants and gloves.
"Basalorn Oronar," Mercer said with a sigh in his voice. "He's Bas for short."
Shinscale stared at the ring as a halfling referee in gold robes stood in the center and introduced both fighters, resulting in boos for Doomfist and cheers for Bas. She then cautioned both competitors to keep it fair as they touched their gloves and went back to the corner.
As soon as a bell sounded, Shinscale watched as Bas moved forward and started swarming him with punches. Doomfist managed to land two shots to Bas' cheek, but the elf moved to the left and caught the orc with a combination to the body.
Bas threw another flurry at Doomfist before the bell rang to end the first round. Shinscale noticed how one portion of the crowd chanted for Bas while others were cheering for Doomfist.
"I expected this Doomfist to be more of the aggressor and Bas to be more of the defensive type fighter," Shinscale said to his friends. He had not seen this type of fighting style when he sparred with his friends.
"Bas is known for swarming his opponents," Thalas said. "It's a good strategy if you don't mind getting hit a few times. Fans love watching Bas because he just unleashes barrages on his opponents and can take a hit and keep on standing. Doomfist is only a few fights into his career, but he's not bad. Both of them have trained at the Academy before, though they run their own camps in different cities."
The four friends watched the fight in silence while the rest of the crowd cheered as Bas continued to control the fight in the next two rounds. In the fourth round, Bas delivered a fast left hook that sent Doomfist to the floor. The halfing referee checked on the orc as he rose to his feet. To Shinscale's surprise, Doomfist shook his head and waved his arms, signaling he was done with the match.
A few voices from the audience booed while someone called the orc a coward. Shinscale watched his friends grow irritated at those words. "They don't realize that just because he said no, doesn't mean he's a coward," Ashe said.
"Bas outmatched him throughout the fight, it would have been foolish for him to continue," Mercer said. "The referee would have stopped it anyways.
"This is only Doomfist's fourth fight," Ashe snapped.
The crowd started to clap as Bas embraced Doomfist and raised his arm. The two fighters bowed before they left the ring together.
"An elf and an orc leaving the ring together, who would think?" asked a fan close to the group.
Thalas chuckled and turned to Shinscale. "Bas has fought opponents of all races and shows them the most respect, even orcs. War only in the ring."
The four friends waited for the next fight as several screams and flashes of light came from the back of the crowd, followed by roars. Shinscale watched as several robed figures went through the crowd and attacked the audience. "Cultists?" Thalas asked, his elvish eyes spotting, the dragon sigil on the robes of some of the men.
The robed figures shot lightning bolts, hitting several crowd members. A man in robed approached the four as Mercer cast a spell, hitting the man with missiles of light.
Ashe took her and swung it across the cultist's face, knocking him to the floor. Another cultist stood behind him until Shinscale delivered three punches to his body while Thalas followed it with a right hook across the jaw. He and Shinscale grabbed swords off the cultists unconscious bodies.
Thalas was about to offer Ashe his sword when she swung her chair at another cultist, knocking him off his feet.
Shinscale led them out of the fray when they found Doomfist and Bas with a pile of robed bodies around them. The orc moved with lighting speed, landing three of four punches and one kick across his opponent's jaw. He groaned as one last cultists stood before him, only for Bas to knock him back with a mace.
The four trainees approached the fighters and Shinscale watched as Bas chanted a prayer and light washed over Doomfist. The orc smiled as he shook Bas' hands. "Your punches were harder than theirs," he laughed.
"I'd be disappointed otherwise," Bas said before he noticed the orc looking back. He turned and smiled at Thalas. "Good evening Thalas, Ashe and Mercer. I'm glad you made it out of the audience." His gaze stopped at the tiefling.
"This is Shinscale, he started training with us not too long ago," Thalas introduced. Shinscale shook both Bas' and Doomfist's hands.
"When his first fight?" asked Doomfist, before he greeted Mercer and Ashe.
"Hopefully soon," Shinscale answered. "Jacen said he would speak to the commission."
A ringing of cries filled the air as Bas held his mace. "You four should get back to the Academy. I will meet you there."
Thalas nodded and urged his friends to follow him. Shinscale took one last look at the fighters before he left with his companions.
The four arrived at the Academy to find several guards surrounding the building. A woman who Shinscale noticed had charcoal-colored skin and elvish features ran over and hugged Thalas, saying she is glad he was safe. Shinscale was surprised when Thalas called her mother and asked what was wrong.
Thalas' mother explained the Academy was attacked after she and his father left for the evening and pointed to the guards who were investigating the scene. Shinscale and Ashe noticed several runes along the walls while Mercer shook his head. "The cultists attacked here, it must have been when we were at the Arena."
"The outside was burned, but the guards tell me the inside was ransacked," Thalas' mother continued. She noticed Shinscale and forced a smile. "So you're the Shinscale my son and husband have been talking about. My name is Raina Deacrhon."
"It's great to meet you," Shinscale said. "What did you mean to say it was ransacked?" he asked.
Raina shook her head. "The guards said some of the equipment was ruined, but we can fix that. Also some of the medals were stolen from the wall."
One of the guards stepped forward and presented a note. Raina read it, then handed it to Thalas. "It seems you have an invitation to the Blacklake District."
Thalas stared at the note addressed to him and Shinscale. He showed the tiefling, who assumed it was from the group of squires. The note invited them to come to the Blacklake District for one last fight to retrieve their prize as well as a chance at retribution.
He was about to speak when his mother said. "I know what you're thinking, but the answer is no Thalas. Medals can be replaced, sons and daughters cannot be replaced."
"Yes mother," Thalas answered as she walked away.
"How long before we leave for the Blacklake District?" asked Mercer as soon as Raina was out of earshot.
"Soon," Thalas whispered to his friends. Shinscale cocked an eyebrow, surprised his friend would defy his parents.
"You'll understand when we get to the Blacklake District," Thalas added, as if reading his friend's mind.
The four friends made their way through the Blacklake District. Thalas and Ashe met with a beggar who led them to a small house at the end of the street. Unlike most of the houses in the District, this structure appeared to be in good condition. Mercer pointed to the Cult of the Dragon symbol on the wall before Thalas and Shinscale burst through the door. They found a small dining area where four adolescents turned to them.
"It looks like you made it," Clyd said as he emerged from the shadows, arrogantly showing off three medals around his neck.
Thalas stepped forward and drew his sword. "Cute, you have thirty seconds to give us back our medals."
"Why don't you make us," Clyd said as his companions rose to their feet. Before they could move, Mercer blinded them with a spell. Ashe, Shinscale and Thalas all moved forward and dropped them with knees to the chest. Clyd started to run upstairs as Shinscale chased him.
The squire drew a dagger and swiped it, only for Shinscale to dodge and draw his greatsword. He arced the blade, making a cut across the squire's shoulder. Clyd moved back, only to stumble. Shinscale caught the squire with the hilt of his blade and caught him on the jaw.
When Shinscale brought him downstairs, Thalas took the medals from around his neck. After pausing for a moment, he punched the squire twice before Shinscale dropped him. "You deserve worse for what you did at the Academy" Thalas said.
Clyd shook his head as Shinscale grabbed him once more and removed a small brooch from his pocket. "Give that back!" the squire shouted as the tiefling handed it to Thalas.
"You stole from us first," Ashe remarked as he stared at the item. "So you've been working with the Cult of the Dragon this whole time."
Shinscale shook his head. "They must have been in on the attack with the Cult at the arena. They saw us there and must have decided to sack the Academy while we were away."
"I told you we would make you pay for hurting us," Clyd said as Shinscale threw him to the ground as several members of the Neverwinter Guard entered the building.
Thalas showed the guards the medals as the squire continued to curse at him and the tiefling. "It was them, they took the medals and damaged the Academy," Thalas said.
The guards grabbed the squire and his henchmen as Thalas handed medals to Ashe and Mercer. As they left, Thalas handed his medal to Shinscale. The tiefling stared at it for a moment, noting the date and location of Waterdeep and event etched on the front of medal.
"Rumble in Waterdavia." He read the words before turning to Thalas and adding. "You won from one of your bouts?"
"Not just any bout, but my first one," Thalas said quietly. "I try not to put such things on a pedestal, but my mother and father watched me win this. It has a lot of good memories."
Shinscale nodded. "I take it those medals you gave Ashe and Mercer held the same significance."
Thalas nodded as well. "Yes, and it seems you will have a chance to win one as well. I was going to wait to tell you this, but my father said he was able to get a fight for you at the next event in Neverwinter."
Shinscale's eyes lit up as he smiled. "I don't know what to say. How long until the event?"
"It will be in two weeks time," Thalas said. "We will start developing a specific training routine for you in the morning, but you need your rest. I will ask my mother if I can stay at your house since your parents are still in Waterdeep."
"You already eat enough of our food," Shinscale added with jest. Thalas smiled back and walked out of the building.
Shinscale was all smiles as he followed his friends back to the Academy. A rush of adrenaline ran through his veins. He was going to compete in his first fight. Although he trusted Thalas to develop a training routine and provide him with advice leading up to his first fight, he did not want to wait until morning to start the prepreration for the fight.
He wanted to start training right now.