Seth
“You can’t be serious!”
Seth shook his head, full of mirth towards Sam’s panicked expression. When he pulled her away from the others to tell her she would be fighting in the tournament with him and Clint, he had expected this reaction. But he couldn’t let this deter his decision. She hadn’t been much help to him in Lightning Ridge, so her abilities in a fight were still an unknown quality. I need to find out now if she has any talent.
“Calm down!” Seth snapped, a little testily. “I was competing in this tournament long before I joined the Academy! If you can’t make it through a few a rounds with me and Clint, you’re only wasting both of our time by following me.”
Sam gawked at the spellwarrior for a few moments, but a look of realization crept into her face. “Is this some sort of test?”
Seth nodded with a slight smile. Gods, she is quick on the uptake! “In our first year competing, we were able to make it to the third round. If your stamina can’t hold out for at least that long, the entry exam would crush you.”
“Fine,” she exclaimed with a stubborn glare. “If you want me to prove I belong in the Academy, that’s just what I’ll do! You won’t be getting rid of me so easily!”
Seth smirked and replied only with the words, “We’ll see.”
With that, Seth led Sam to the armory tent where Clint was waiting with mostly-complete forms. He held them out to him and said, “Just sign and we’re ready to go.”
Having seen this entry form several times before, Seth signed without hesitation, but Sam had taken a minute to read it.
She looked up from the front page with a frown. “What is this about mortal injury? I’ve never heard of anyone dying at these tournaments!”
Seth rolled his eyes. “It’s not supposed to happen with the weapons they provide, though it does happens once in a while. The tournament’s as safe as any event in which we arm ourselves and beat each other senseless can be, but accidents happen.”
Clint nodded in agreement. “It’s there because it’s better to know what you’re getting into. But that’s the sort of risk people are willing to accept for the Royal Boon. They are the most coveted prize in the kingdom and they only give out three a year.”
“Just sign the damn paper,” Seth said grunted. “If such a small chance of death scares you so much, you wouldn’t last a day as a peacekeeper.
Sam rolled her eyes and signed her name on the form. Upon taking it back, Clint smiled and said, “Don’t worry. We’re going to be pulling most of the weight, so you can just focus on defending yourself.”
***
An hour later found Seth, Clint, and Sam standing behind a curtain outside of a wide, circular pit of sand enclosed within a gigantic red tent. Stadium bleachers were positioned over the tunnel in which they waited, causing the walls around them to vibrate with the stomps of an excited crowd. Sam was a bundle of nerves in the final minutes leading to their first match, but Seth didn’t care. He was almost overwhelmed with joy to be standing where they were again.
“Hey Clint,” he said with a smile. “You remember the last time we were here?”
Clint shook his head and smirked. “Nope. Only that you ditched me last year!”
Seth rolled his eyes and replied sarcastically, “I tried to get them to postpone the exam that day, but you can’t just take a day off from camping on a desert island.”
Sam looked up at him questioningly, but she didn’t need to say anything for him to add, “Endurance final. We had to prove we’re able to survive a chase to the ends of the world by spending an entire summer on an island called Ravager, or the most dangerous land in the world.”
Sam sighed and said, “How does anyone do that? That’s insane!”
Seth watched with regret as she hung her head. I’ve been such an asshole!
He clapped her shoulder and said, “You get stronger. Don’t worry. That test is years into your future. Just focus on your apprenticeship for now.”
Sam nodded as a look of determination returned to her face, “I just have to make it through two full rounds and I can keep following you, right?”
Seth smiled and had begun to reply, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the booming voice of the male half of the tournament’s beloved announce team.
“Welcome, ladies and gents, to the opening match of this year’s Resta Grand Tournament! In honor of our summer festival and the War God himself, sixty-four teams will perform acts of strength! Agility! Magic! All for the entertainment of our fine celebrants and the most highly-coveted prize in all of Resta! I, your faithful servant Mark “The East Wind” Winstrom will be here to report the blood, sweat, tears, and amazing spectacles in our immediate future alongside my colleague, former RGT champion and award-winning fight columnist, Marla Harret!”
“That’s right, Mark,” the female commentator said in a sharp voice. “The Royal Boon is the sweetest treasure in the world. Imagine, if you will, vast riches out of the queen’s own coffers! Your own governorship! A fleet commissioned in your name! Gods, the possibilities that await every fighter out there brave enough to survive just six rounds of three versus three combat!”
“And the first of those six fights start now for our first teams!” Mark said in a booming voice. “Introducing, in the red hemisphere, welcome back Team Salamander!”
Seth prodded Sam in between her shoulder blades. “That’s us! Let’s go!”
The three of them stepped through the curtain and towards the center of the pit as Mark continued, “Team Salamander is a longtime crowd favorite, rejoining us after an absence from last year’s tournament!”
“The RGT was abuzz with speculation last year that they sat out the tournament after their crushing defeat by Team Hornet in the championship match,” Marla added. “This is not just their first tournament in two years, this is the first appearance of captain Seth Midas and Clint Blackstone in the festival since that bitter defeat. But looking down at them now, I see no shortage of their usual confidence!”
“You can knock them down, but they always come back stronger!” Mark exclaimed excitedly. “But after two years, will they be returning with newfound polish or an encumbering layer of rust! As always, they are joined a new teammate, name o’ Samantha Desmond! This will be her first appearance in the RGT!”
“Well, the audience seems glad to have them back! They have always been popular for their flashy antics and steady yearly rise in the rankings,” Marla reported. “It will be interesting to see if the extra time away gave them time to build a championship-caliber duo.”
“Introducing next, from the black hemisphere, the hard-hitting, hammer dropping trio, Team Swampback!”
Seth chortled as three familiar meatheads stormed into the sand-pit, waving their wooden hammers with unnatural ease. While Sam went white at the sight of them, he nudged Clint in the ribs and chortled.
“This will be an interesting first-round match up! For those of you who remember the last time these five people have stood in this pit together, Team Salamander set a tournament record by scoring a swift victory in one minute and thirty-seven seconds! Team Swampback had a comfortable run to the semi-finals in the following year, but now that Team Salamander has returned, could this be their chance for revenge?”
Seth knelt down to whisper into Sam’s ear. “I’ve never seen a Hem Academy student who couldn’t run circles around guys like these. You can take them all.”
Sam looked up at Seth with a look of skepticism. “How? They’re humongous! I bet my attacks wouldn’t hurt them at all!”
Seth looked to Clint. “Gel shots.”
Clint smirked as he loaded a purple bullet into his rifle. “Not going for another record, I take it?”
Seth shook his head and smirked. “I’m going to focus on being a mentor for now, if you don’t mind.”
Clint nodded to Seth, then to Sam. “Good luck, out there!”
“Let the first round… BEGIN!”
Seth immediately sheathed his practice sword and smirked. “Go on, then!”
Sam looked unsure, but he only waved her off. “Just stay on your feet and don’t stand still! If they rear their hammers, they’re getting ready to swing. Focus on getting as many hits as you can and stay out of the way of their attacks. Don’t worry about power, just try to keep them off balance.”
The Swampbacks glared at Seth in shock as Mark shouted, “For some reason, Midas doesn’t appear to be taking this fight seriously! Could Team Salamander be checked out already, or have they already declared their victory before the first attack was launched?”
Seth rolled his eyes and shooed Sam away. With a gulp, she began to run toward the three burly men, who in turn charged toward Seth and Clint with rage in their eyes. However, the crowd’s attention was set on Sam, whose sprint allowed her to close the distance between herself and the opponents in just seconds. She opened her offensive by jabbing one of the men in the knee with her quarterstaff without stopping her sprint. The man sprawled facedown into the sand and the crowd roared with delight.
“Incredible! Desmond takes down David Hawke in one blindingly fast motion! Could Team Salamander have finally found the final piece to their unfinished puzzle?” Mark exclaimed excitedly.
“That remains to be seen, Mark,” Marla replied. “Her teammates don’t appear to have moved since the clock started and the rookie is now surrounded! If Team Salamander doesn’t wake up, they could be down a member soon!”
Seth shrugged and said, “Give her a covering shot.”
Just as Hawke pushed himself to his feet, Clint splashed his face with a well-aimed gel capsule fired from the muzzle of his gun. The force of the shot knocked him sprawling onto his back this time. Seth looked at Clint with a look of irritation, but Clint only shook his head. “I can’t help it! Weaker bullets, same gun.”
“Blackstone takes a shot at Hawke and puts him down for good as Desmond continues to avoid Temple and Dario!” Mark called out.
“And still, Midas hasn’t made a move! What IS Team Salamander’s strategy here?”
Win without accidentally killing anyone. Seth shook his head as he began to notice the murmurs in the crowd. Moments later, their attention was taken by Sam, who had managed to knock another of the Swambacks with a lucky jab, which caught him in the chest midstep.
“The girl’s got more than speed!” Mark shouted. “With a powerful shot, Desmond sends Dario flying!”
Clint glanced at Seth, who shook his head. “Wait.”
Dario recovered quickly and regrouped with his teammate. The two of them advanced on Sam, their imposing figures forming a wall in front of her. Clint nudged Seth and gestured toward the other team with a more insistent look, but still he shook his head. Sam began to backpedal, looking for some further help.
Marla’s voice boomed through the tent just then. “The time now is at 1 minute and forty seconds, which already makes this round longer than the previous clash between these teams! But did Team Salamander fail to break its previous record because their opponents have improved or because their hearts aren’t in this fight?”
Seth watched as the other team began to chase Sam, unable to keep up with her speed. Finally, he decide that Sam had gained enough experience. “This way!”
At Seth’s Sam began to flee for the refuge of her teammates. When she ran past Clint, Seth nodded and murmured. “Oil spray.”
“Desmond has regrouped with her teammates and Blackstone seems to be loading up his next shot!” Mark reported as Clint indeed loaded a black bullet into his rifle. With a nod from Seth, Clint fired a shot which struck Temple in the chest and exploded into a cloud of dark oil that seemed to envelop both members of the team. They stopped in their tracks, confused by this unusual attack. But Seth’s grin seemed to turn this confusion into panic rather quickly. Too late!
“Amul dala oki!”
Seth’s incantation caused an arc of black flames to cut through the air. The attack cut through the oily mist and caused a small explosion. The crowd gasped as the two men were swallowed by a quick blast of dark fire. When the fire and smoke cleared from the spot, both men were sprawled to the ground, covered in burns. A loud bass drum beat signaled the end of the fight, which mingled with a roar of approval for the crowd.
“Incredible! Just when you think they’re checked out, Midas and Blackstone score another easy victory over Team Swampback with an amazing new combination attack!” Mark chattered excitedly. “Now, had they done this from the beginning, who knows what the new tournament record could be! By the Gods, get some healers out here! These men are cooked!”
“In the aftermath of this confusing battle, only now is it clear what was going on down there,” Marla said in a tone of begrudging respect. “Team Swampback may have held the total advantage in physical strength, but they just couldn’t measure up to the Twin Salamanders in any other way. With Blackstone’s awareness and Midas’ magic, the only thing to test here for Team Salamander was the speed of their new teammate!”
“And what an impressive first showing she has made!” Mark exclaimed. “Team Salamander scores an easy first victory, but there are sixty-two other teams between them and the Royal Boon! They seem to have finally found a competent third, so this RGT could very well be the year of the Salamander!”
While Clint worked the crowd, Seth turned to Sam and whispered. “You did well! If we had the time to drag this out, you could have absolutely won this one without us.”
Sam nodded a little deliriously. “I didn’t even know what I was doing until you called back to me!”
Seth grinned and clapped her shoulders. “Then you may just have the instincts of a spellwarrior after all. Let’s go get a drink. You deserve it.”
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