Introductions
(A/N: Not thrilled with this chapter, doesn't flow as well as it could and the battle's kind of sub-par, but next chapter will be much better.)
The boys of WA ate breakfast quietly, tired from the last couple of days and nights. "Hey, Worcestershire!" a voice called out. The group looked up. Gaheris was approaching them with the rest of IAK at his back, while the teachers with them watched from behind.
"Uh oh, trouble," Brunor said, getting ready to grab his sword.
"We're dropping out of this competition. The Servause thing is kind of more important right now. Good luck," Gaheris said.
"Good luck? You're wishing us good luck?" Ywain questioned incredulously.
"Hey cuz, if we can't win it, you'd better," Agravaine replied.
"Yeah. Good luck," Constantine said, smiling at them.
"Thank y' for everything, all o' you," Stephen said to the Worcestershire group with a smile. "They planned t' help y' all with this situation, but I told 'em you'd already helped me more than enough. I don't want t' be a burden on y'. I said I'd go at it alone, but Morhaus would hear none o' it."
"He's playing you," Tristan deadpanned, glaring at Morholt. "He probably intends to turn you over to him."
"I guess there's no hope for me, then," Servause answered. "Because I'm not puttin' y' all through this. I don't even want IAK t' be put through this, but again…"
"Morholt," Tristan finished for him, glaring stonily at the enforcer. IAK turned and headed off without making trouble, leaving Worcestershire to watch after them.
"Be careful," Yvain called out worriedly. They waved as they disappeared.
Galehaut watched after them then sighed, rising. "Where are you going?" Lancelot asked, sitting up a bit straighter with a wary look upon noticing the man rise.
"With them," Galehaut answered. "They'll be at most risk of running afoul of Caradoc and Turquine. If they do, they'll need my help."
"We'll need your help if we run across them," Hector protested, concerned.
"You won't cross them. They're tracking Servause. They'll have no use for you," Galehaut said. "I'm going. That's final. Meliot, Ector, and Pellinore will be more than enough to keep you all safe. I'll see you back at the docks, when the boats leave." With that he left, the others watching uncertainly and worriedly after him.
KAK
"So, the teachers with us now are King Bagdemagus the principal, Morhaus, and King Bors de Ganis the Elder?" Stephen asked, getting names straight in his head.
"Right," Balin replied.
"And Petipace o' Winchelsea, and the physician king, Caradoc Breifbas of Scotland. Who's this sixth man again?" The one who'd joined them from WA's group without a word for some reason. No one had questioned his appearance and most had even seemed relieved by it.
"That would be King Galehaut of Sorelais and the Distant Isles," Balin replied.
Stephen started, looking quickly over at Galehaut with eyes wide. "G-Galehaut?! The Haute prince? The overlord king who conquered the Distant Isles and Sorelais practically overnight?"
"I take it Anguish is another guy terrified of him?" Alisander, dryly asked.
"What king in their right mind wouldn't be?" Servause asked.
"Arthur," Alexander replied. "But then I'm not entirely sure he knows what Galehaut's capable of. Not really."
"Or maybe he does and that's why he's not afraid," Ermind remarked with certainty.
"You're kidding, right?" Brandelis asked flatly.
"No! Arthur's so cool," Ermind said. Most of the group burst into laughter. Geraint frowned, protectively pulling Ermind close as Dywel glared at the others indignantly.
"You don't make fun of my uncle!" Galeschin protested immediately.
"Arthur's a class 'A' loser, kiddos. Don't know where you've all been, but apparently not on earth," Galihoden said.
"Who's the best fighter out o' all the teachers?" Servause asked curiously.
"Hands down Galehaut," Morholt replied. "Followed by Pellinore, then by me. Though really, it's never as black and white as that. I had thought I'd taught you as much." Servause winced and nodded sheepishly. "There are generalizations, but they won't always hold true. Remember it, Stephen."
"That said, when things get difficult it's Galehaut, Morholt, or Pellinore you want on your side," Bors the Elder said.
"That said, when things get difficult you want the likes of Meliot, Ector, and Petipace on your side more than us," Galehaut corrected seriously.
"Sir, why?" Servause asked.
"Because they're unassuming. Should something go wrong, all eyes will be on us. The Kings and the famed, like Morholt," Galehaut said.
"I, as Anguish's enforcer, am well known. I have a target on my back and have had it for years. When people see me, they take notice. Meliot, Ector, and Petipace, though, are not only skilled, but also practically invisible," Morholt explained. "Meliot is probably the farthest under the radar, beating out Petipace only because Petipace happened to fall on the wrong side of King Rience. Few, if any, know of Meliot's existence. He's swift, he's clever, and he has training in espionage and assassination so keeping to the shadows is second nature to him. He's an older version of Tristan and a mentor to Agravaine. Men like Tristan with skill sets like Agravaine are men you want on your side."
Servause nodded then turned to the others. "Could I get a refresher on your names?" he asked.
"I'm Griflet, the cousin of Bedivere and Lucan. I'm studious and very serious about my knight studies," Griflet said. He smirked. "Lucan's jealous of me. Thinks I might one day surpass him in intelligence, but my mental acuities aren't in the same fields as his are, so he really has nothing to worry about in that regard."
"I'm Tor, a son of King Pellinore. Solemn, serious, a little cautious. I keep promises I make and like to do inner reflection, mediation, things like that. I'm a strong fighter both physically and with weapons. I have… a crap ton of siblings." Aglovale chuckled dryly, smirking at his brother. Truer words had never been spoken. "There's Dornar, Aglovale, Percival, and Lamorak. There's a sister, Didrane. Threre was another brother once, Gurgi… He died in childhood…" Tor said. Aglovale's smile fell and he looked away at the memory.
"I'm sorry. About your brother," Stephen said, eyes softening sympathetically. Tor shrugged and stayed quiet.
"I'm Aglovale, the eldest of the siblings Tor just named. I'm the daredevil of the group. If there's a death-defying problem, I'll volunteer for it. Namely because I won't have my little brothers doing so. Not on my watch." The last time one had tried… It had been Gurgi, and Gurgi had died. Enough said. He wasn't losing another… "Besides, easier to do something yourself than to get others to do it, right?" he added, voice a little bit strained.
"My name is Dornar. When asked to describe myself I would say that I'm docile and level-headed… It takes a lot to rattle me and I like to put things in perspective and think them over rationally. I'm what you'd call the voice of reason, and I absolutely do not panic in situations that would usually drive others to. Panic kills more than the actual disasters do," Dornar said.
"And he likes t-to p-point out things in a way that m-makes the r-rest of us feel stupid," Hoel deadpanned. "I'm Hoel, a p-proud nerd. I tend t-to go on about stuff n-no one else has an interest in, ex-except Segwarides. P-probably why I g-get on with him s-so well."
"When it comes to split-second, life-changing decisions, he is your man. He is very genre savvy," Segwarides said, speaking up for his friend.
Hoel nodded a thank you. "I'm p-pretty genre savvy. I'm also Arthur's f-favorite…"
"And only, aside from Fiona who doesn't count," Agravaine cut in.
"C-cousin," Hoel finished, glaring at Agravaine.
"I am Segwarides. My brothers are Palamedes and Safir. I have a sister, Florine. Our father is King Esclabor of Babylon. I am a nerd, a geek, whatever it is you want to call it, but am a whiz with gadgets and gizmos. I am not skilled at building them, but I am very good at drawing plans up and getting more capable ones, such as Lucan, Griflet, or Bleoberis, to build them," Segwarides said. The latter of which usually only did it for a hefty price, so he tended to avoid commissioning him.
"Wait, Bleoberis? Really?" Servause incredulously asked. From what little he'd seen of Bleoberis, the guy hadn't given him the impression of being particularly helpful. Or smart.
"He's dumb as a sack of bricks, Uncle Uriens says, but there's no better blacksmith and craftsman in anywhere," little Galeschin piped up.
"And you will no longer parrot Uncle Uriens, Galeschin," Gaheris said, frowning at his nephew. Galeschin blushed sheepishly.
"Dinadan. Typical rich boy, not afraid to say it. Also have an eye for the ladies," Dinadan said, smirking lecherously.
"And some men," Agravaine cut in, rolling his eyes.
"I'm the brother to Breunor and Daniel," Dinadan continued, pointedly ignoring Agravaine's attitude.
"He goes on and on about all the women he's bedded to the point it's sickening," Daniel bit, frowning at his brother.
"Don't be hating me because I've got what you don't, Daniel," Dinadan replied, brushing his sibling off. He turned to Stephen again. "Look, just stay out of my way, peasant. Can't be bothered with slaves. They're for serving. Kind of the whole point of their lives. I don't care what Morholt or this 'nobleman' you two are talking about did to you or would have done. It was your job to do it," Dinadan said.
"Give it a rest, Din. As I recall, you were the one advocating most passionately, next to Balin and Morholt, for us to help Stephen out," Accolon said, frowning. Dinadan stiffened and glared at him warningly. Stephen started in surprise then smirked amusedly at Dinadan. Dinadan, feeling the eyes on him, grimaced and face-palmed, shaking his head.
"I'm Daniel. Dinadan and Brunor le Noir are my brothers, like Dinadan said. Well, Brunor is our half-brother, but that doesn't matter. He's still our brother. I'm the philosophical bookworm. Quiet, a loner… Half the time people forget I'm even here. Comes in handy, I guess, but sometimes it's a little depressing," Daniel said. Stephen nodded.
"I'm Balin the Ill-Fated, as you know. No one unluckier, sadly," Balin said with a grimace. "Balan is my twin brother and we're undyingly loyal to each other. Mess with one of us, you mess with both of us."
"Balan le Savage, Balin's twin and the lucky one. When I'm not hitting the Frankincense and Myrrh, I'm a bit reserved and something of an oddball. There's not a whole lot to say about me, really," Balan said.
"I'm Accolon of Gaul. I'm a romantic at heart and will fight tooth and nail to gain what my heart longs for," Accolon said.
"Even if what his heart longs for is his best friend's wife," little Constantine flatly said, rolling his eyes. Accolon gave the child a dirty look but didn't defend himself. Servause gave him a dubious and unimipressed glance before shrugging it off and looking to the next one on the list.
"Sagremore le Desirous. I'm a bit impetuous…" Sagremore began.
"A bit?" Brandelis asked with a scoff.
Sagremore shot him a glare but didn't grace him with an answer, instead continuing on his narrative. "As I was saying, I'm impetuous which serves as sort of a detriment to me. I'm kind of Dinadan's runner-up in the matters of the opposite sex, but not half as forward. I wait to be approached. Which happens more often than you'd think. I'm athletic and highly competitive, so I tend to butt heads with Erec, err Geraint, pretty often," Sagremore briefly summed up. "Could tell you more, but hey, don't want to make it too easy for you."
"I'm Gaheris, Mordred's half-brother, Loholt's adoptive brother, and full-blood brother to Gawain, Gareth, Agravaine, and our sister Soredamer. I'm usually level-headed, definitely one of the more mature ones here, and really have no issue with the Worcestershire group. Hence the reason I try to keep the peace between us," Gaheris said.
"Agravaine. Freely admit to being a snitch and backstabber, freely admit no one compares to me in matters of stealth and spying. I'm the best. There's no denying my prowess in espionage and remaining hidden. I'm a rat, willing to sell out anyone and everyone for a price. I get off on it. You'd already belong to that noble if my brother didn't have me on a short leash. Enough said," Agravaine said.
"Maybe I was better off with Worcestershire," Servause deadpanned.
"Mordred isn't much better than me," Agravaine defended, shrugging.
"But when the chips are down, there's no one you want on your side more than Agravaine. He will be loyal if you work to gain his loyalty," Gaheris murmured quietly to Servause. Stephen nodded.
"I'm Galihoden, the Count of Honolan. Nephew of King Galehaut. I'm a straight-A student in politics and am quite accomplished in those circles if I do say so myself. At least when it suits me to be. I've got that whole game in the bag and know how to get what needs to be done, well, done. A closer, if you will," Galihoden said.
"He's also a cocky, arrogant bastard, if ever there was one," Alexander spoke up witih a scoff. He turned to Servause. "My name is Alexander, or Alisander, whichever you prefer. I'm the young and assertive Byzantine Emperor, husband to King Lot's daughter Soredamer. I don't get along with the Emperor of Rome. Or of Persia. Yeah, there's a lot going on over there. It's nice to take a break from my problems and help others with theirs."
"My name is Bran de Lis," Brandelis said. "I prefer meshing it all together into Brandelis for… reasons. I'm not all that big on mercy and decency, so this whole helping you thing? I'm lukewarm to it at best."
"At least you're honest about it," Stephen dryly said. Brandelis shrugged it off.
"I'm Constantine! I'm Arthur's favorite nephew of all. Except maybe Gawain, but probably favorite over him too because my daddy is Uncle Arthur's half-brother and they're really, really close. I'm brave and a natural born leader! At least that's what cousin Gareth says. I'm not afraid to take charge if I have to, you'll see!" Stephen chuckled, smirking at him. Cute kid. Well, all the little ones were pretty cute, but yeah.
"You don't get to claim you're the favorite! Maybe I am!" Galeschin protested.
"No!" Contantine immediately argued.
"Enough guys," Gaheris quickly cut in. Let the others introduce themselves before you have at it. They pouted at him but relented.
Galeschin looked up at Stephen. "I'm Arthur's nephew because I'm his sister Elaine's baby. King Nentres is my daddy. I'm very loyal to my cousins and I like following them on their adventures because they're so cool!"
"Aww, thanks kiddo," Agravaine said, visibly flattered as he grinned at his cousin. "Kind of insulting, but thanks."
"Why is it insulting?" Galeschin asked, eyes wide.
"Because I don't wanna be cool?" Agravaine replied like it was obvious.
"Oh… The others are cool but Agravaine's lame!" Galeschin corrected.
"I don't want that either!" Agravaine quickly said.
"Too late, no taking it back," Gaheris quickly said, laughing. Agravaine shot him an ugly scowl. Gaheris continued to laugh at his brother.
Galeschin looked at Stephen again. "I'm determined and brave. And stubborn Gawain says, but I'm not! I like to be the savior when I play games with my friends and cousins. Saving people is fun. I like doing rescues."
"My name is Percival," Percival spoke up a bit timidly. "I'm always ready to back you up, even if you're my worst enemy. I'm a bit shy and naïve, but I try to be better, I do. I try to do things right! I just… can't seem to be able to as much as I'd like to…"
"He's being kind of modest. Kid strikes with the speed of a snake and stings like a wasp with his little knives. He's good at brewing up poisons to coat those knives with. Non-lethal," Aglovale said. As far as any of them knew.
"Geraint, aka Erec. I'm a sports nut and love all kinds of sports. Ball, war, toss the dwarf, taunt the talking trees, kill the ogre, you name it I'm totally there. One of my goals is to become renowned for my prowess in tournaments and sports activities. As Sagremore's said, it puts the two of us in a lot of conflict. He's all about competition and wants to be the best at everything he does even when he can't. Dywel and Ermind are my little brothers, and I love them to bits."
"Erec," Ermind whined, blushing in embarrassment. He turned to Servause. "I'm Ermind. Bullies like to pick on me because I'm reserved and shy and curious, Erec says, so he tries to protect me but he can't always."
"Oh no? Watch me," Geraint said, expression hardening a bit protectively as he shot a warning glare at the repeat-aggressors in the group. They sneered at him but didn't retaliate.
"Dywel fab Erbin. Love fashion, love styling, love hair dressing. Yes, I freely admit it. No, I don't like other boys. No, I don't like girls. No, I don't like boys and girls both. I'm only five. I don't like anyone! I don't even see what the big deal about it is. I look out for me and me alone," Dywel said with a proud huff. "I'm only interested in them if what they're wearing catches my eye."
"He says that, but when it gets down to it he'll be right there to help you out of a jam," Geraint said, smiling affectionately at his sibling.
"You'd like to think so, wouldn't you Erec?" Dywel defied, frowning furiously at his brother and sticking out his tongue at him.
"Tongue in the mouth," Geraint warned.
"It's a lot o' names t' remember, but I'm hopin' t' get it down eventually," Stephen said, smiling. The human memory was capable of a lot more than people gave it credit for. If anyone was asked to tally up the names of all the people they knew or were close to, family and friends and acquaintances and fellow members of a social group, there'd be a whole lot more names than just this number to recall. He was glad to have names to faces now, and to know a bit more about the people he was travelling with.
KAK
Some time passed before the IAK boys finally sat down to eat. "So, you seem t' get along better than the others did," Servause remarked after a moment.
"Everyone gets along better than WA does," Alisander answered, rolling his eyes.
"These boys aren't far behind them, make no mistake," Bagdemagus said, glaring at Alexander before turning back to Stephen. "It just so happens they're being surprisingly well behaved at present."
"So, what's our plan, Morholt?" Bors the Elder questioned. Morholt was the one who'd brought this whole situation down on them all, so he could take charge of the planning.
"Get Stephen back to the safety of Worcestershire Academy as soon as possible," Morholt answered. "Unless something stands in our way, we should be fine. My associate and his brother were banished from my palace, but that's no guarantee they won't try and go back. To return would be their deaths and I don't believe they would risk it, but better safe than sorry. Stephen can be hidden away safely in Worcestershire. Even if they learned of his location, it's unlikely they would dare encroach on it. Not with its fortifications and security and connections. It's too high-profile for them to chance. At least a dozen kings would come down on their heads with all their armies if they dared menace the children there, especially since so many royals have sons and daughers that attend."
"What was the name of this noble anyway?" Brandelis questioned.
"His name was Turquine," Servause solemnly answered. Brandelis stiffened up, almost seeming to start to enter into a strange sort of state before snapping himself out of it.
"He has a brother as bad as, if not worse than, him, named Caradoc," Bors the Elder added.
"That man gives me a bad name," Caradoc Breifbas dryly said. "Before I went on… hiatus from the Academy, the pages and young damsels had taken to crying out, 'Here comes Caradoc!' whenever family visits happened, or foreign dignitaries came. The way everyone scattered was humiliating. When they figured out I wasn't the Caradoc they feared, it lead to awkwardness. A lot of awkwardness…"
"Now it's an inside joke to, whenever Carados' name is announced, say 'Caradoc not of the Dolorous Tower' or 'Caradoc, not the evil one'," Bors teased with a chuckle, playfully nudging the younger staff member. Carados shot him an annoyed look and rolled his eyes hopelessly.
"Sir Cardoc is a giant of a man, and he has joined in the pursuit of Stephen. Should we run across either him or Turquine, you boys get Servause far away. Galehaut… Actually no, not Galehaut. Petipace, you will go with them. Bagdemagus, Bors, Caradoc, Galehaut, and I will hold him off to the best of our ability," Morholt stated.
"I don't think…" Galihoden began, uneasy about his uncle remaining behind. A glare from said uncle made him bite his tongue and glance awkwardly away, which Galehaut immediately regretted.
"I'll be alright, Galihoden," the king murmured to his nephew by way of assurance.
"And if we should run into him when we're alone or in small groups?" Griflet asked.
"Run. Do not engage. Run," Morholt seriously said.
"With all due respect, sir, we won't leave you four to face these guys alone if they're as bad as you say," Tor replied.
"And we won't run if he's a threat to any of us," Accolon agreed, frowning.
"Yes you will," Morholt warned.
"I hear something!" Aglovale exclaimed, swiftly rising and drawing his sword.
"We're still within the boundaries of the competition," Petipace replied, rising in a calmer manner. The other boys rose as well, drawing their own blades. "It may be another boarding house. If so, try not to disgrace our houses too horribly, boys."
"Your faith in us is so flattering," Dornar deadpanned.
"When you win, you win well. When you fail, you fail horribly," Bagdemagus replied to Dornar, frowning. All at once there were battle cries and one of the other boarding houses leapt out at IAK!
KAK
It was, surprisingly, the house who had the fewest members participating. Red Knight Accomodations with a grand total of seven. More surprising still? Gary and Xavier were both among the ranks! It was likely that they'd thought they were taking on a smaller boarding house, probably Green Knight Accomodations. They knew they were screwed the momet they saw it was IAK. IAK smirked like predators and prepared to leap in. "Go easy," Bagdemagus warned them all quickly. They frowned at him but obeyed, lunging into the battle. The teachers took on the teachers, the students took on each other in turns. "Eww, I'm touching a peasant," Dinadan, basically just playing with a huffing and puffing Gures aka Gary, said, grimacing in disgust.
"Get over yourself, Dinadan," Gary bit sharply, offended.
"Hey Din, why don't you try seducing him like you do every other thing that has two legs and genitalia?" Agravaine bit, tagging him out to take on Gary in his stead. Gary all but yelped when he realized who was coming at him now.
"Don't patronize me, you little sleeze," Dinadan nipped snidely at Agravaine, stepping aside to let him take over.
"Oh my friend, you definitely need a total makeover," Dywel remarked to the boy he was fighting, an Earl named Lambaile. "It wouldn't be too hard. You have the hair for it. And the nails and shape."
"You creepy bast…" Lambaile began.
"Lambaile, buddy!" Dinadan chimed in, waving.
"You stay out of this!" Lambaile shot, pointing his sword at Dinadan before blocking another attack by Dywel who he was basically just toying with. "Heard you've been using my name and rank as some fictional title around school to impress the girls. The 'Earl of Lambaile' if I'm not mistaken?"
"Oh right, I was going to talk to you about that," Dinadan replied, shrugging.
"Bite me!" Lambaile snapped.
"You think he won't?" Constantine asked, fighting alongside Galeschin and Gaheris to take on one of the rival boys. Which would have been a curbstomp battle, basically, if they weren't holding way, way back.
"Constantine!" Gaheris shot sharply.
"What?" Constantine defended.
"Another crack like that and I'm telling your father about your behavior! Where the hell did you even get that from?" Gaheris demanded. "Actually, you know what? I don't wanna know."
Servause examined the situation and started when he saw one of the rival boys hurrying towards Agravaine—who was about to lay Gary flat with a smile—getting ready to take him out. "Agravaine, look out!" Stephen exclaimed, leaping into action and blocking the other boy's sword as it was about to connect with Agravaine from behind! The would-be-savior gave an alarmed cry, stumbling quickly and fearfully away as Stephen swiftly drove him back, confused as to who he was.
Agravaine took Gures out and turned quickly in surprise, blinking blankly. Xavier Ironside had been about to take him out? Wow that would have been humiliating. He'd have like, literally no remnant of a reputation left after that, his name besmirched for probably eternity. "Uh, thanks," he said to Servause, slightly surprised by the guy's rescue. It wasn't like he had much for friends in either IAK or Worcestershire. He was utterly despised and liked it that way. It made it so much easier to be a sneaky snitch and backstabber. No loyalties to hamper him. Of course, it also made it kind of lonely… Ugh, no, he didn't need friends. He shoved that thought away quickly enough. He had enough brothers and cousins to fill the void. Ugh, no, it wasn't a void, it was an inconvenience!
"Watch your back, Agravaine!" Accolon shouted at Agravaine, attacking a rival who had tried to get Agravaine from the side. Agravaine winced. Time to focus again. He was supposed to be the one attacking from behind, not the one getting attacked from behind.
"Servause, move!" Ermind suddenly called. Stephen looked back then dodged to the side as the boy leapt from a branch of a tree, landing on a rival who'd tried to go at Stephen, quickly taking him out.
"Nice," Stephen said, impressed. Ermind grinned.
"Move your tail, kiddo," Galihoden said, swooping in and pulling Ermind out of the way of an attack. He quickly dealt with said attacker.
"I've got your backs!" Galeschin said, rolling out of the way of an assault and quickly recovering.
"Who's got yours?" Brandelis demanded, leaping onto the scene and batting away an attacker that could have easily—albeit figuratively—taken off Galeschin's head.
"Th-this fight isn't even f-fair," Hoel said, a bit underwhelmed. Yeah they were taking turns, but it was still basically seven guys - ten counting teachers - against like twenty. Twenty-six if you again counted the teachers.
"Good. For once the 'Nerd Squad' is not looking like a pack of losers," Segwarides said, now fighting back-to-back with Hoel, Balan, and Constantine.
"I'm not a nerd! Am I?" Constantine said.
"No, but y-you're st-stuck near us right n-now," Hoel said, smirking. "W-we'll c-covering who-whoever n-needs it, geek or not."
"Because that's so reassuring," Balan said wryly from near at hand, fending off an attacker.
"Whoa, bro, lighten up, man. You've been taking lessons from Gareth, haven't you?" Balin asked his sibling as the two fought back to back. "Gotta get the edge off, dude. Frankincence and myrrh?"
"Bro, we're like totally headin' out to face giants. Why you think hittin' the herbs is gonna be a good idea?" Balan replied.
"Sue me," Balin replied with a smirk.
Sagremore, Dornar, Gaheris, Griflet, Accolon, and Tor were in a circle, watching each other carefully. "Wow. For seven guys they're ridiculously persistent," Dornar said. Which probably shouldn't be overly surprising. They'd picked the seven best out of RKA. Well, Xavier and Gary were kind of dubious choices, they'd probably just been fillers, but that was beside the point!
"Don't worry. We've got this," Tor assured.
"Easy for you to say," Griflet said, weathering a blow to his arm and wincing. That arm was unusable now. Damn, it had been his good one too.
"Watch it!" Sagremore shot, lunging and taking out an opponent before said opponent could get to Griflet.
"Watch yourself in turn," Gaheris said, striking down another who'd gone for Sagremore. They just kept getting up and coming at them dammit! They technically shouldn't be allowed to, but he guessed the teachers were letting it fly because there were so many against so few.
Bors the Elder, Petipace, and Carados danced in battle against the three teachers from RKA, as Galehaut, Bagdemagus, and Morholt watched from the sidelines. It was quite a beautiful dance of swords, really. "Ulfius, you're making this is too easy," Bors taunted his opponent. "This whole match is laughable." Ulfius didn't grace him with a reply.
"This was doomed to failure from the start," Caradoc backed, smirking victoriously at Brastias, who was his opponent. "We're more skilled than most, and you all know it."
"Skill can't always carry you," Brastias replied.
"He's right," Petipace said, jaw set as he faced off against the third rival teacher, Permones, who was certainly no easy match and seemed to be testing him more than actually genuinely fighting him. "There must be strategy involved also, and many other things. Strength, speed, weather conditions, opponent weaknesses, etc."
"We're doing well with all of that so far," Bors said.
Sure enough, soon the rival boarding house was beaten and limping away, defeated and humiliated. "Excellent work, boys," Bagdemagus praised. "Now, let's get a move on before something worse comes along."