I am back again fellas. And I have brought with me chapter 5. I'm so happy with the reactions I have had from the reviews. Lots of views as well. I want to shout out to Tytonic, Coleman321, and Skiaholic for their great reviews that are actually quite helpful. Thanks to you fellas for the help and the reviews. Now back to the chapter at hand. Left you with a bit of cliffhanger at the end and this chapter takes it and continues it. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Chapter 5

Gregor was shocked into silence. He hadn't expected Eisen to want to fight anyone after he lost to Ripred. Let alone someone who beat the rat. And on top of that Gregor wasn't in the mood to fight him. They had only met this morning and already were forming a rivalry. A pointless rivalry at that.

"Well Overlander?" Eisen asked pointedly. He very much so wanted this fight. Gregor could tell from his voice and his face. Eisen's eyes shined as he glared at Gregor and his words had dripped with anticipation. The situation was growing more awkward by the second.

Gregor slowly walked towards Eisen. Maybe they could just discuss this beforehand? There was no need for a pointless fight that Gregor had no wish to fight. It would be jealousy filled and jealousy makes people do stupid things.

"Eisen, we don't need to fight. What is the point of it?" Gregor asked him. Eisen threw his head back and laughed. His laughter rang around the mostly silent arena and echoed at its peak.

"You are a coward, then? You do not wish to fight because you fear you will lose," Eisen said bluntly. He was really starting to get on Gregor's nerves now. Nobody called him a coward. That was Eisen's first mistake. His second was saying Gregor feared to lose. Gregor did not fear losing, but he feared hurting the man. Eisen was cocky and arrogant. He believed himself the best and better than Gregor, most likely because he was an overlander. Arrogance leads to mistakes and mistakes lead to injuries. Gregor did not want to hurt Eisen. But he was angry now.

"Fine. If you want to fight we'll fight. I don't see your sword though," Gregor said calmly as he looked at Eisen's side. There was no scabbard and no sword in his hand. It was as if he wanted to fight hand to hand.

"Oh, I'm not using a sword," Eisen said as he stepped aside,"I'll be using my best weapon against you. You are the warrior and the best fighter. There is no reason you couldn't fight against me with any weapon." Gregor's eyebrows had shot up at what stood behind the man. The spear was stuck point first in the ground and his heavy tower shield was laying next to it. This was not what Gregor had anticipated, but he couldn't turn back now. He had accepted and he had to honor his word.

Gregor's sword was still in his hand as Eisen grabbed up his long spear and placed his shield on his arm. This was a new fight for Gregor as he saw how big the spear was for the first time. It had a handle that was almost six and a half feet long and a blade over a foot. It was deadly looking weapon compared to the basic sword Gregor was holding. The shield was also a problem. A three and half foot tall metal shield that covered a majority of Eisen's body except for his lower legs and his head if he stood at full height. If he bent over and bent his knees he could keep all but the lower half of his shin and his feet safe from attack.

This was a new type of opponent to Gregor. He had fought massive rats and giant ants, but neither of them hid behind a shield. He could easily outmaneuver them and land a blow across their exposed body, but this shield prevented Gregor from attacking from the front. An with how quick Eisen could move, he doubted he could get behind him either.

The two men readied themselves and Gregor stared into Eisen's eyes. He could see eager anticipation there. Eisen had been planning this fight all day, Gregor could tell. If he had lost to Ripred, Eisen still would have challenged him. That much Gregor could see.

As they started to move, Gregor waited for his rager sense to kick in. They circled and he looked for an opening behind the shield. If he moved to his left he would run into the spear. If he tried to attack to the right there was the impenetrable shield. This was a tough choice if he was to move first.

Eisen took the choice away as he dashed forward, spear at the ready. Gregor jumped back barely dodging the blade of the spear. It was luck this time. His rager sense hadn't kicked in. Why had it not started? Gregor could usually control it once it started, but he didn't control when it started. It came on whenever Gregor was fighting or in danger. And yet it wasn't there. He thought about it to see if he could force to come on. Nothing happened. And Eisen was still pressing the fight.

He whipped the spear head towards Gregor's left side. Gregor flicked his sword over and caught the haft of the spear on the blade. The clang it made was a shock to Gregor. He thought the haft was made of wood, yet it made a sound like metal striking metal or even stone. He pulled the blade back to see he hadn't even dented the shaft of the blade. He would have to inquire about what it was made of at another time, because Eisen was striking again.

Gregor was on the defensive. He blocked blow after a blow without ever swinging his blade in an offensive manner. He could hear half the crowd cheering for Eisen and the other half for him. As he caught the spear haft on his sword for what seemed like the 50th time, Gregor went on the offensive. He muscled the spear back and swung his now free sword towards Eisen's arm. The sword contacted the shield jarring Gregor's arm. The vibration and force of the blow knocked Eisen back. Both men reeled from the blow. Had the shield not caught the blow Eisen would have been without an arm and maybe a leg if the force of the blow had carried it that far down. Gregor was quick to recover, as was Eisen.

The spear came in again, but this time Gregor couldn't get his sword there in time. He could feel the metal bite into the flesh of his left thigh. The pain stung but it wasn't even close to the worst he had felt. Warm blood ran down Gregor's leg and he could feel his pants clinging to his skin. It was deeper than a scratch, but it wasn't deep enough that Gregor feared dying. He looked at the spear head and saw the red on it. He heard the crowd's intake at breath at the blood. It was an unwritten rule that in a spar, you were not supposed to draw blood. The way to win was to put the other person in a spot they would die if in a real fight, not to be the first to draw blood.

He didn't even feel it though. He wasn't himself anymore.

Gregor saw red as his rager side kicked in. But it wasn't his normal rager sense. He was angry and he could feel the anger flowing into his sword arm. Gregor swung the blade and it crashed against the spear. He swung again and it was caught against the face of the shield. Gregor kept up his onslaught landing blow after blow, pushing Eisen back. Forehand, backhand, side cut, overhand, underhand, from the right, from the left. The blows rained down.

Gregor didn't notice, but Eisen was getting scared. His expression had changed from excitement from injuring the warrior to fear at what was coming. The crowd could see it. Gregor's face was angry and they could see it as he kept the crushing blows coming. The heavy shield even started to bow from the constant rain of blows.

As Gregor kept slamming the sword into whatever Eisen could intercept it with, he could feel the blade starting to loosen from the handle. It was rattling around as he could see it slowly inching its way out of the grip. He grabbed the sword two handed and slammed it down against the shield with as much force as he could muster, trying to end the fight by forcing Eisen on his back. As the sword contacted the shield, the blade finally slid free from the handle and spun off to the side.

Gregor looked down at the handle and tried to bring himself under control. If he kept up at this pace on of them would be dead and it would probably be him. He was weaponless, but yet he had to win. His rage slowly subsiding, he threw the handle away and ran towards Eisen. He saw the spear slash towards him and he hurdled over it. He was right on top of Eisen, then. Before he knew what he was doing he punched Eisen as hard as he could in the chest and grabbed his right hand and wrist. He squeezed and wrenched back. CRACK!

The spear fell to the earth as Eisen howled in pain. His wrist hung limp and several of his fingers pointed at awkward angles. Gregor stood above him victorious. The rage left Gregor then and he stood there dumbstruck. He barely remembered what had happened. His hand moved to the sharp pain in his leg, as he tried to step away. His hand came back red with blood. The pant leg was stuck to his body due to the amount of blood saturating it.

Eisen was squirming in pain as he held his broken wrist. Gregor looked down at what he had did and he felt absolutely terrible. What had come over him? Why did he lose himself in a supposed friendly fight? Gregor slumped to the ground and grabbed his leg. He tried to apply pressure to his bleeding thigh, but the position of the wound made it very hard to keep consistent pressure on it.

The next thing Gregor knew, there were people surrounding them. He saw his sister and Hazard running to him, Howard and a team of men were helping Eisen onto a bat, and Luxa stood at his side talking to him in a calming voice. Gregor was then scooped up by someone and placed onto another flier. He didn't look at who it was as he was flown off to the hospital. He kept his eyes trained on Luxa as she gave Eisen a quick hug before his flier took off. Then he blacked out.

Gregor's eyes flickered open. The light above him was bright and he covered his eyes. He sat up and suddenly felt very weak. He slumped back over on to his bed. There was a commotion by the door and several seconds later Howard walked in.

"It is good to see you awake, Gregor," Howard said before answering Gregor's unasked question," You blacked out due to blood loss. When you kept fighting you forced blood to keep flowing to the wound. It was only a minor wound, but yet it could have killed you do to your actions." Gregor looked at Howard, examining the doctor's face. His hand reached down to his leg. The bandages were wrapped tightly around his leg and he could feel the stitching used to close the wound. He was sure he wouldn't be doing any kind of physical activity for several days, so as to let the wound heal properly.

"How's Eisen doing?" Gregor asked Howard. Howard's eyebrows raised as he looked at Gregor. A smile creased his face.

"He is doing fine, considering you severally broke his wrist and hand. He had several bones that we had to place and set and we are not sure how his wrist will be once it heals. Other than that though he is the picture of perfect health. He did request for you to see him when you awoke. He is in his chambers, right now. However, I am not letting you leave yet. You need to regain your strength. Or at least some of it." Howard signaled and a nurse carried in a tray of food. "Eat. When the plate is clean I'll check to see if you are fit to leave." As Howard turned to leave he remembered one last thing. "Your sister is here to see you, as well."

Howard walked out of the curtain covered door and Margaret walked in. She ran to her brother and gave him a big hug. Gregor hugged her back, as he scooted himself into a sitting position. Margaret placed the tray on Gregor's lap for him and sat in the chair next to his bed. Gregor looked at the food before him. It was average at best. Some fish and vegetables, along with some mushrooms and pudding. It seemed almost like hospital food in the overland. Gregor chuckled, which caused Margaret to jump.

"You seem kinda happy," she said to him as he looked at her. She looked very nervously at him. Her eyes were puffy and red as if she had been crying.

"Hey, Margaret, have you been crying?" Gregor asked between bites of food. She shot a look at him.

"Of course I have!" she yelled at him. "You passed out from blood loss. How was I supposed to know if you were okay? So of course I cried. I can't lose you. You're all I have left." Gregor opened his arms and Margaret ducked into her brothers embrace. Gregor realized he needed to be more careful and needed to make better choices. If not for himself then for Margaret.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. But at least I'm okay and there's nothing to keep me from getting better as fast as possible. Hell, I'm already feeling better." Margaret looked at her brothers face and saw his big, dorky smile. Gregor kept smiling as he let his sister go sit back down. He wolfed down the rest of the food Howard had left him. The hospital was such a lonely, desolate place and Gregor wanted out as soon as possible. Howard came back in a few minutes later to check on Gregor.

"You are already looking better. As you are, I would recommend drinking a lot of fluids and taking it easy. Things can wait, so do not rush." Gregor nodded and slid out of the bed. His left leg was stiff and he couldn't put much weight on it. He hobbled towards the door, before he turned back.

"Where is Eisen staying?" Gregor asked kinda silly. He had no idea what part of the palace Eisen was staying and he couldn't wander around for hours. Howard walked over to him and pulled the curtain open. He gestured out into the hall.

"I'll show you the way,"Howard said as he and Gregor fell into step. Gregor limped along, moving much slower than he would have liked, but he didn't want to pop the stitch or whatever would happen if he over exerted himself. He deliberately put his leg down trying to not bend it too much to prevent the muscle from flexing. Howard looked at him as he walked. Gregor caught the glance that Howard passed him.

"What?" Gregor asked, stopping.

"It is nothing. Let us hurry as I have much work to do," Howard said as he started walking again. Gregor, however, didn't so much as pick up his foot.

"I know you have something to tell me, so just say it. Get it off your chest."

Howard stopped and turned toward Gregor, who was leaning against the wall now. "Oh fine. I am concerned about you and Luxa. I know you both care about the other most deeply, and I see no problem in that. I have no say as to who Luxa cares for. But I can say I worry about how the two of you will fare. You are a warrior by nature and she needs to be a queen. She must work on diplomacy and not war, for the good of our people. Don't influence her wrong, I beg you."

Gregor nodded along with everything Howard said. He had matured a lot since Gregor had left. And he cared about both his cousin and his people. It was very clear that Howard was looking out for the best for everyone. And Gregor would try to oblige with him.

"Don't worry, Howard. I won't do anything to influence her in anyway. Plus I'm more a diplomat than a warrior. I didn't want to fight Eisen today, but he insisted that we did. I went along with it because I was angry."

"And that is what I mean. You can not let your emotions for or against someone or something let you change how Luxa judges. You see how your emotional decision harmed you and Eisen today. If it were a larger scale terrible things may happen. Just please keep it in mind."

Gregor would. He would try to keep his emotions from making his decisions for him. He would try to hold back his jealousy or his rage or his sadness. Whatever it took to keep the people of regalia safe. The two men started to walk again both deep in thought after their meaningful conversation. It wasn't long before Howard stopped in front of a room.

"This is Eisen's temporary apartment. Once he is appointed he will be given new living accommodations," Howard said before leaving Gregor as he hurried back to the hospital wing to check on his other patients. Gregor looked back at him before he stuck his head into the room.

"Hello? Eisen, are you here?"

"Indeed I am overlander. Please come in," Eisen beckoned. Gregor brought his whole body in and saw the reason Howard had called it an apartment. There were separate rooms for sleeping and sitting. Eisen was seated in a large chair at a table with a steaming cup of what Gregor assumed was tea. Gregor noticed the chair opposite Eisen's and went and sat. There was a cup for him as well. Eisen got up without saying a word and grabbed a hot kettle from a shelf. He poured the steaming liquid into Gregor's cup before resuming his seat.

Eisen's hand and wrist were wrapped and in a sling. Yet he was able to get around quite well with his left hand. Gregor looked at the liquid and took a sniff. It smelled quite good. He tasted some and it was one of the best things he had ever tasted. He picked the cup up and tenderly drank some. It was hot and it burned Gregor's tongue, yet he couldn't help but drink more. It tasted of cinnamon and nutmeg. Like a christmas cookie almost.

"I see you like my herbal tea. My own recipe. I made some incase you came by. It is very good at helping recuperate from an injury." Eisen explained with a laugh. Gregor looked at the man with a new respect. He could fight, sing, lead, and make amazing tea. The only thing he was short of was being a rager. If he was one then he'd be the best man in the underland.

"Howard told me you had wanted to see me. Why?" Gregor asked just a little suspicious of his motives. Eisen noticed and chuckled.

"I wanted to see how you were doing and apologize for cutting you. That was uncalled for on my end and I deeply apologize." Gregor was shocked. He had thought the man opposite him to be a stuck up, inconsiderate jerk, and yet he was apologizing.

"I'm sorry for, you know, snapping your wrist," Gregor replied sheepishly.

"What this? This is nothing really. We've both seen worse. I've heard of your injuries from all of your adventures. They are some stories people that are hard to believe, but yet are one hundred percent true. You are one remarkable person. I have something else to apologize for. I am-" Eisen tried to say before Gregor jumped across him.

"I'm sorry I acted like a jealous, pompous jerk in the arena today. I shouldn't have let my feelings get the better of me," Gregor blurted out quickly. Eisen was shocked at Gregor's response.

"I was going to say the same, maybe not in the same words, but the same meaning. I started it and I took it to far. You have been friends with our Queen since you were younger. I should have expected to see you two together. You two went through much at the same age that I was still learning the ins and outs of my spear."

"That's something I wanted to ask you about actually. What is the haft of that spear made of? I had just wanted to take the spear head off, but my sword didn't even bite into it." Gregor said inquisitively. Eisen leaned over the table and looked at Gregor.

"The haft of my spear is made of lightweight metal. I believe you call it copper in the overland. I had it dulled and roughened for easier gripping. It looks much like wood from a distance, but it is much more durable. Especially with wood being scarce here." Gregor nodded along with it. It had sounded like metal contacting metal as they fought. And it was ingenious as well. Copper was heavy, but not super heavy. Especially if it was hollow on the inside. It also made for a much sturdier weapon.

"You had me scared out there, when we were fighting. You were like a maniac," Eisen said a few moments later. It wasn't criticism but admiration. He was intrigued by Gregor's for of rage and anger. His onslaught of blows.

"I lost control of myself and couldn't get myself back under control. That is not something to admire, Eisen. It's worse that all I remember is swinging away. I don't remember anything else really at all." Eisen was surprised. He had thought Gregor was in control the whole time and was just using his rager ability to utterly destroy him. The two sat quiet, drinking from their cups. It was addicting stuff, Gregor had to admit. As he drained his cup, Gregor's mind drifted to Luxa. She hadn't come to him on the field, but to Eisen. Perhaps, she came to to see him in the hospital after it went down.

"Hey, Eisen, did luxa come to see you in the hospital?" Gregor inquired of the man. He looked up from his cup and into Gregor's eyes.

"Yes, she did. She went to your room before she came to me. Queen Luxa said you were still asleep, but that you were okay. Why do you ask?"

"I had been wondering if she had check on us is all," Gregor replied. He felt much better knowing Luxa had at least stopped to see if he was okay. "Thanks for the tea, man. I feel much better, from both the tea and the talk. It's good to know there are no hard feelings between us. Hopefully this is the start of long friendship. Maybe we'll fight together someday."

Gregor had climbed out of his seat and was moving to the door when Eisen stood up himself. He offered Gregor his left hand which Gregor took. They shook. "Maybe one day we shall fight side by side. It would be an honor for me." They let go and Gregor hobbled into the hall. He needed to find Luxa and just talk to her. Something seemed to be bugging her to him. She hadn't waited for him to wake up or anything, and she hadn't even gone to him on the field.

Gregor found his way to the high hall. That was the best place to look for her. Or at least start to look. She could be anywhere right now. He looked over at the balcony. Empty. The dining room. Empty. He couldn't go barging into the royal chambers or wherever they held meetings. He wasn't allowed in either of those areas, yet. He hoped to be included in them sometime.

All Gregor could do now was sit and hope Luxa walked through, sometime. He sat on a couch and waited. Waiting was not easy, but Gregor had to do it if he wanted a chance to speak to Luxa in private. Minutes passed into hours as he sat. There wasn't much happening and only a few people passed. York walked by and boomed a greeting to Gregor. Gregor greeted him back and kept waiting, not even thinking about asking about Luxa's location.

It had been a few hours when Gregor heard a distinct footstep. One he recognized. He looked up and saw Luxa walking towards him. She was in a dress and her hair was down her back. She had her gold circlet on her head and had all the look of royalty. Gregor stood up to greet her, but before he could say a word he saw the look on her face. She was angry.

"Gregor!" Luxa yelled at him."What is your problem? You are the dumbest person I have ever met!"

"Calm down, Lux-"

"Don't tell me to calm down! You are so dumb! You have to get jealous as soon as one man shows up! And especially a nice one! You broke his wrist you know!" Luxa was on a tiriad. Gregor didn't even have a chance to say anything. She was yelling at him so much that he instinctively back up, so she wouldn't inadvertently slap him.

"LUXA!" Gregor yelled. Luxa instantly closed her mouth mid sentence."Let me explain myself. I know I was dumb and I was stupid and ignorant. And yes I was jealous. Eisen is a nice guy. Probably the perfect guy. He's not arrogant, not mean, not cocky. He's nice and funny and has a good sense of humor. If i didn't get jealous of that wouldn't there have been a problem?"

Luxa looked at him as if contemplating if she should yell at him more. She was chewing her cheek thinking about what to say.

"You are still dumb Gregor. He is nice, but that does not mean I like him. He came to court me and thus is going to be around me. You are going to have to get used to it for now. And just be nice to him."

Gregor started to say that they had just talked when Luxa turned towards the balcony. She stared out over the city at something. Gregor followed her look realizing that there was a flier zooming towards the palace. It was flying so fast that there was no way it could stop before reaching the hall.

Gregor and Luxa jumped out of the way as the bat landed and skidded across the floor. The rider was beaten and bloody and barely able to stand. He slid off the bat and saluted Luxa.

"Queen Luxa, there has been a terrible attack." The man which Gregor realized was a guard said with some effort. But he was wearing different armor.

"Where?" Luxa demanded a strange look in her eyes.

"The fount. It's been destroyed," he said before he passed out.

So I cliffed it again. And I made the story ending up just this morning while I was laying in bed. I needed to think of the best way to introduce the main problem and bring back some characters and the best way was to take out the Fount. So leave a review for me and tell me what you think of this crazy little adventure I'm concocting. See ya guys next time!