The Tournament of Henpele - Chapter 3 - Annette's Tournament, Part 2

Chapter 3 - Annette's Tournament, Part 2

                The next morning Annette discovered a note that had been slid under her door. It read:

                Annette, you are the most incredible woman I have ever met. Your beauty has me caught in its thrall, but your strength and wit amaze me just as greatly. I shall be watching you today, and would be delighted if you would meet me in the evening for dinner and drink - hopefully in celebration.

                                                                                                                                                -Giselle.

                Annette sighed. She was not yet ready for romantic attachments - with men or women. And relationships with another knight rarely went well - Graeme's liaison with Penny had been one of the few that had not quickly turned sour due to differences on what it meant to be a knight, or where their aid was needed most, or risks taken to fulfill their duties. In normal circumstance, a knight might make friends or work with others that share their particular views; but love was not so straight forward.

                Often there were clashes between those who found each other desirable; and as knights - who, in the Duchies, often stood nigh alone against terrible odds and creatures - these clashes were often too much for tired, stressed or otherwise pressured knights to deal with. Beyond that, for squires, they were held to the whims of the knight who trained them; and could not stay at some court or other for the mere purpose of pursuing love.

                I hope I can find an excuse to avoid meeting her, thought Annette, I don't want to have to tell her I have no interest, and her ardor should fade if given a little time to cool. Sighing, she tucked the note into her pocket and headed down to breakfast.

                Her first fight was a couple of hours before noon. An hour beforehand, she gathered with her teammates to discuss the upcoming fights at an inn.

                "We've made it this far even with a handicap," said Michael.

                "Handicap?" asked Dominic.

                "He means you," said Annette, sighing.

                "Oh, yeah," replied Dominic, sheepishly.

                "Heh, y'know, I never thought I'd make one including a woman (let alone two), but my dream team for this tournament would be me, Annette, Don and Arielle," said Michael. Don was the champion duelist of the Duchy; Arielle the woman about which several rumours had emerged after she withstood many blows without falling.

                "It's good for you," replied Todd. "You'll know your 'dream team' for sure if we win our next match - we'll come up against Arielle in the following round, unless her team loses. I don't think they'll lose, though. Even against us!"

                "I want to see what she is capable of as well," said Annette. "I guess you're capable of acting on the evidence in front of you, despite your feelings about women fighting."

                "This tournament has been an eye opener," said Michael with a dirty grin. "Especially bedding Bree last night. The girl's stronger than I am! About as graceful as a blind cow, but damn!"

                "Even after what you said in our battle?" asked Todd, curious.

                "Yes, I told her - and Giselle - that I didn't really mean it. Why, there's a girl on my team! Heh heh heh heh. Speaking of Giselle, has she made a move on you yet Annette? Bree mentioned that she found you quite enthralling," said Michael, making a sly grin.

                "Ah. I found a note slid under my door this morning from her," replied Annette.

                "Whoa-hoa, both of them after members of our team? Haha," said Todd, grinning. "They're pretty-faced girls, despite their bulk. Are you going to go for her Annette?"

                "I don't know. I think - I don't want anything short term, and any kind of longer term, um, thing mightn't go well, it might be hard. I'm just going to try and avoid her if I can to be honest," said Annette, sheepishly.

                "You should just tell her that you're not interested," said Dominic. "It's the right thing to do."

                "Not all of us are knights to 'do the right thing' Dominic. Chivalry has its limits, and our purpose is to keep the lands safe; not to be the most upstanding of all. Little evils are okay," replied Michael.

                "I don't think this counts as a little evil, but now that you've said that I have to tell her," said Annette. "It's a pain, and it doesn't matter, but I can't really agree with what you just said Michael."

                "Perhaps we should move on to battle tactics before we start having one of, well, those discussions. If we want a shot at winning the tournament we should avoid hating each other, and, well, actually discuss tactics at some point," said Todd, pre-emptively acting as peacemaker.

                "Alright," said Annette halfheartedly.

                Michael snorted. "Sure, why not," he said.

                The discussion then turned to battle tactics; and the opponents they would be facing in the next round.

                Their opponents for the next round had been randomly grouped together, much as they had. One of their number had received a severe injury (an accidental deep cut from twisted armour that had required many stitches) and could no longer compete. Of the three, the only competitor Annette knew was Joe Mason. He was well known for surviving several encounters despite all odds, and further despite his lack of skill at arms. He had become the squire of a knight who hoped to take advantage of Joe's obscene luck.

                He brandished a club with an extended hilt; a 'long club'. One of his teammates, a tall woman whose ugly, pig-nosed countenance could be seen under her open-faced helm wielded a flail. His other teammate, a tall and somewhat rakish man (wearing a full-faced helm), wielded a weighted net and a short sword. I'm pretty sure that's against one of the rules, but in a three vs. four fight they don't have much hope anyway, thought Annette to herself.

                "I'll take Joe," said Michael. "Annette, you take the net-man and Todd the woman."

                "Okay," replied Todd.

                "Fine," replied Annette.

                "What about me?" asked Dominic. "I can help against Joe, he's just got luck on his side!"

                "Sure, just stay out of my way," said Michael belligerently. The horn rang out, covering up Annette's deep sigh.

                Annette size up her opponent as she rushed towards him. He held the net expertly, ready to throw it at the slightest provocation. Seeing Annette's charge, he hurled it at her. It spread out in the air as it hurtled towards her, perfectly cast.

                But Annette's right mace flew into it, causing it to wrap prematurely and tumble to the ground at Annette's feet. She picked it up and shook it, causing her mace to fall out of it, grinning at her opponent all the while. The man kept his distance, sword held ready to strike. Annette tossed the net aside, retrieved her mace, and move to engage him.

                Her opponent struck first, slicing towards Annette's midriff with his sword. Annette closed in on him, and slammed her mace into his centre as his slash ended up behind her. With her right arm, she locked his left - his free arm - and wrenched it in an attempt to pull him to the ground. A sickening pop came from the arm as Annette pulled it from its socket accidentally, and the man screamed in pain.

                Annette released the arm immediately and stepped back as the man dropped to the ground, screaming "Yield! I yield! Aaaah!"

                Oh, shit, that didn't go as planned, thought Annette to herself, guiltily. An opponent already defeated - and once again, very quickly - Annette checked out the rest of the battle.

                Joe Mason was proving his luck once again; effectively - and somehow skillessly - taking on Michael and Dominic at once. Dominic was only rarely attacking, and seemed to be mostly getting in Michael's way - despite making obviously sensible moves. Annette couldn't help chuckling when Dominic's attempt at catching Joe between two attacks backfired when Joe half-stumbled in a strange direction - causing Dominic to block Michael's attack against Joe.

                Despite the comical nature of the fight, it didn't seem as if Joe's luck would last forever. Todd's fight was going poorly, however - he seemed to have little understanding of how to fight against a flail wielding opponent. Probably hasn't covered that yet, thought Annette to herself, it is a rare weapon. Annette made her decision, and started to run over towards Todd.

                As she came up behind Todd's opponent, Annette attempted to figure out the best option for a surprise attack. As Todd made a swing with his hatchet - a feint preceding a dagger strike; a move Annette had observed him make quite a few times - Annette grabbed his opponent's flail arm with both hands, preventing her from slamming her flail into Todd again.

                Noticing Annette's presence, Todd switched tact immediately and instead grabbed his opponent, tackling her to the ground. Annette barely managed to retain her grip on the woman's arm as she fell; and a short bit of struggling later Todd had his dagger at her throat. "Yield," he said.

                "I yield," said the woman with a sigh. Annette took her sash, and turned to see whether Michael and Dominic had won yet.

                Annette's reflexes kicked in as Joe's mace swerved into her vision; and she barely managed to dodge it in time. "Fuck!" she yelled, backing up from Joe. Her heart thudded in her chest, adrenaline spreading through her body after the shock. In the distance behind him Annette caught a glimpse of Michael berating Dominic - Michael held his left arm as if it was broken, and Dominic was almost cowering. Both of their sashes were gone.

                "That's not a very lady like thing to say!" said Joe, slamming the mace into Todd's chest as he tried to stand and disentangle himself from their female opponent - who was doing her best to make it difficult without breaking the rules regarding defeated combatants.

                A second strike slammed into Todd's helmet, knocking it up and over his face - a very lucky occurrence considering the almost random nature of the strike. "Shit!" yelled Todd, toppling over.

                As Todd struggled with his helmet, Joe turned his attention to Annette. He took several swings at her - but she parried or blocked each with her maces. But she had no opportunities to strike back, as Joe had swift feet and kept his distance from her; ensuring that he could use the reach of his weapon effectively.

                After several more traded blows, Todd called out, "Sorry Annette, I'm out - my helmet is stuck and I can't see at all; I'd be a liability if I continued fighting."

                Annette gritted her teeth. Lucky bastard, she thought to herself. I can't wait to hear how Michael got his bloody arm broken.

                Deciding to take advantage of Joe's lack of skill, Annette traded several more blows with him to get a better understanding of how he fought. Having done so, she discovered a reasonable weakness - he left his head open much of the time. Hopefully I don't wind up merely knocking off his helm, or something else dramatic and lucky, Annette thought.

                Taking the offensive, Annette made a couple of feints to confuse Joe, and snuck in close. Yet as her swing was beginning Joe took a step back and started a high attack almost completely at random - and it meant that he was able to place his weapon in the path of her attack at the last second. Her attack was foiled, but Annette had no choice but to continue her attack.

                Her mace struck Joe's weapon at the middle of its long wooden hilt. To her surprise - and to Joe's extreme surprise - Annette's mace broke the hilt in half easily, barely losing any momentum. With nothing to stop it, the mace slammed into Joe's helmet almost at full speed.

                Joe crumpled, and fell to the ground. Annette quickly undid his sash, managing to get it off before he came around a few seconds later. "I guess you're not that lucky," she said, before chuckling at him.

                "Muss be mean chapter or some fing," Joe replied, woozy. With a groan, he placed his head in his hands and said, "Shid dat hurts."

                Annette's team only had a tiny amount of time before their next fight - when they would be up against Arielle's team. Still, it was enough time for them to assess Michael's injury. His upper arm had broken which left him incapable of wielding his two handed sword; but worse, two of his ribs had been fractured.

                "You should sit the fight out, Michael," said Todd. "You're barely able to move, and a single blow to your ribs and you'll be down for the count, or worse."

                Michael gritted his teeth. "I'm not foolish enough to fight like this, despite whatever reasons you have to believe me stupid. You, however," Michael said, pointing at Dominic. "Tell your bloody knight that he should keep you out of fights until you have some idea what you are doing!"

                "I - I'm sorry. I don't even know how half of that fight happened! His luck is-" said Dominic.

                "His luck didn't hold out against Annette, did it?" interrupted Michael angrily.

                "But-" stammered Dominic.

                "How did you get beaten, anyway?" asked Annette. "I was too busy fighting to see what happened."

                "This... Idiot," said Michael, balling one of his hands into a fist, "managed to stumble into me when I was trying to dodge. He ended up pushing me right into the path of Joe's swing. Next thing I remember, I'm on the ground in horrible pain, watching him take a hit to the right leg. Then he fell on top of me, and while we're both down Joe grabs both of our sashes."

                "You tried to dodge into me!" said Dominic, insistently.

                Michael just stared at him. "I don't think so," he said, flatly.

                "I saw that man's luck first hand. You could both be right," said Annette.

                "Speaking of his luck, my helmet's broken. I'll be going into the next fight without it, because there's no time to repair it," said Todd.

                "Hopefully you don't receive any more blows to the head," replied Annette. "Time for us to go. Try to watch the fight instead of trying to get sympathy from Bree, Michael."

                As Dominic, Todd and Annette started heading off towards the battleground, Michael called out, "I don't think she'll be sympathetic at all! And good luck!"

                Arielle's teammates were poorly skilled fighters; but all four had signed up together. Rumour had it that Arielle had been hired - and temporarily squired - to ensure that the trio were part of the winning team in the tournament. Compared to them, Arielle was a monster - though her toughness was the source of the rumours, those who had fought her had nothing but praise for her skill at arms. She used a small claymore in conjunction with a shield - somehow wielding the two-handed blade with only one arm.

                The rest of her team all wielded single handed swords and shields. Two had been injured in previous rounds, but were still able to compete (one had a limp from bruising of his leg, another had swapped to a lighter shield after her arm had become strained). Their injuries, combined with their poor level of skill, meant that Arielle was the only difficulty Annette's team faced. But Annette had no idea how they would beat her, even if her and Todd managed to take Arielle on.

                The plan was simple: Dominic would take on the limping fighter and Todd would hold off Arielle while Annette tried to beat the other two (something she suspected she could manage, if barely). The key to their plan was Todd holding off Arielle long enough for Annette to reach him and assist - something that Annette suspected wouldn't happen.

                Standing in the battleground, Annette stared at Arielle. Arielle was entirely encased in dull gray painted; although it seemed to have been painted several different colours in the past. Annette couldn't see the lowest coat even through the chips; and it looked like dull gray paint had been applied recently. That's very strange, thought Annette to herself. Perhaps her armour is enchanted and she's trying to hide it? I hope she's not cheating.

                Also strange was Arielle's helmet - it had no mouth hole for breathing; only a pair of eye slits. It also didn't quite fit with the rest of her armour, somehow - although it was a good match for her blade, as both were made of dark gray yet shining steel. Several words seemed to be carved into the blade, although Annette could not make them out from across the battleground.

                She's definitely over two metres tall, thought Annette. I'm tall - especially for a woman - and I'm only one hundred and ninety centimetres. Arielle was, as far as Annette could tell, a larger version of Bree or Giselle - muscle-bound and not particularly feminine (Annette herself had more shapely curves, despite her strength - the result of her heritage). I doubt she needs enchanted armour to be a monster in combat.

                The horn sounded, and Annette charged her first target. She spotted Todd moving to engage Arielle, and Dominic moving towards the limping fighter. Annette saw her second target - the female squire who had swapped to a smaller shield - heading towards Todd. As he first target - the uninjured squire - was heading towards her, she changed her charge so that she would intercept the injured squire instead.

                The woman - in truth a girl, likely sixteen years old - saw her coming, and turned to fight her. "You sure you want to take two of us?" asked the girl, her voice somewhat surly "We're the best!"

                "Arielle's the best," replied Annette. "The rest of you are useless."

                "You'll regret saying that, even if it's because I get Arielle to hurt you," the girl replied, slicing her sword through the air fancily. She grinned as she did so.

                "Petty, probably raised nobility with a chip on her shoulder. Great," said Annette as she entered a combat stance.

                Incensed, the girl swung at Annette, who easily parried the attack. Annette stepped back and glanced around quickly; after confirming that the uninjured squire was still heading towards her she launched an attack with both maces - one high from the left, and one low from the right.

                Both were blocked by the girl, but she winced as her buckler was hit. She's not completely terrible, thought Annette, but that's probably exactly what convinced her to be arrogant. Following up with a simple feint, she easily avoided the girl's sword and hammered a mace into her chest.

                The Annette made a half turn and stuck out her other mace - just in time to block an attack from the other squire. "Damnation!" he said, dropping into a proper combat stance.

                He couldn't have been much older than the girl - maybe seventeen if he was lucky - and he had very similar features to her. Their names - Mana and Joel of Smallfield and Deepswamp's Edge respectively - indicated they were from roughly the same region of the marshland petty baronies in the east of Norduchy (known as the Pennant Marshes); in all likelihood they were cousins (and possibly several times over).

                Keeping both of them in front of her, Annette sized Joel up. Mana wasn't much of a threat - even if she managed to hit Annette the blow would not be terribly strong. The girl's left arm was giving her too much pain to focus, especially after being moved around a bit. Joel seemed to have less arrogance, but probably only the same amount of skill; still, he would be a threat if Annette allowed herself to become too distracted by Mana.

                Utilising advanced footwork it was likely neither squire knew, Annette manoeuvred herself - dodging a couple of attacks on the way - behind Mana, and then tripped her over. As Mana tumbled, Annette stepped around her and started hammer away at Joel - blow, after blow, after blow slammed into Joel's shield or his hammer as he used it to parry. He quickly became tired, even gasping out "Aren't you tired yet?" to Annette.

                "No," said Annette, slamming her maces into him once again. Only three attacks later, Annette managed to get one past his guard, then another and another. Joel staggered backwards, attempting to gain some time to recover; but Annette simply charged at him and slammed her right fist into his face (mace still in hand).

                Joel stumbled around, and Annette pushed him to the ground. A quick check showed that Mana had only just managed to get to her feet (a difficult task due to her injured arm), and that gave Annette plenty of time to untie and remove Joel's sash as he groaned. Annette used the moment she had before Mana reached her to check the battle - Todd was still holding off Arielle, although he appeared to be on his last legs; and Dominic seemed to have the upper hand (amazingly) on the limping squire - as Annette watched, the limping squire was tripped up by Dominic and fell to the ground.

                Mana's initiating slash cut through the air as Annette dodged backwards. Annette followed her dodge up with a graceful step around Mana, who turned and noticed that Annette was right up against her - too close for either to attack. Then Mana screamed - Annette had grabbed the girl's injured arm and squeezed it. The girl's sword clattered to the ground as she yelled out, "I yield! I yield!"

                Annette removed her sash and turned to check the rest of the battle. Dominic was advancing on Arielle, having defeated his opponent, while Todd continued to hold her off. That's not a good idea, thought Annette worriedly. Especially considering his earlier performance.

                Annette noticed Arielle spot Dominic closing in behind her. She immediately parried a blow from Todd in such a manner as to make him stumble backwards. Turning, she then stepped towards Dominic and slammed both her hands - and the hilt of her sword - into his face. Dominic collapsed like a sack of bricks, instantly unconscious. Turning around incredibly fast, she swung her sword around - right at Todd, who had rushed in behind her. As he entered the sword's range, unable to stop, it came hurtling right towards his neck.

                Only to stop just as it touched his skin. "Yield," came Arielle's voice, muffled by her helmet. Still, it sent a chill down Annette's spine - it was confident, and very, very powerful.

                Todd's face had gone stark white, and he seemed scared witless. "Sure," he said, before fainting to the ground.

                I hope I can do this alone, thought Annette, slowing her pace to a cautious walk as she too approached Arielle.

                As Annette approached Arielle, she noticed that Todd had - in a couple of places - chipped Arielle's armour down to the metal. It was a strange, highly reflective white colour; unlike any metal Annette had seen before. Stop getting distracted, Annette thought to herself, reproachfully. I have a chance, even though it's a small one, and I don't want to blow it.

                Arielle trod towards Annette gracelessly. She was a brute, through and through. Despite this, she was skilled - she advanced with her sword held perfectly in position, adjusting to every minute change in Annette's stance as she moved. Annette got the impression that Arielle had decades of fighting experience - probably even more than Graeme. She knew then that she had almost no chance - but she still resolved to do her best.

                Annette ducked under Arielle's first swing easily, having watched her prepare the attack even as they closed. The return strike, however, nearly hammered into her - she barely managed to step backwards as Arielle's blade tore past her. Annette's maces clanged lightly off of Arielle's armour in retaliation, which didn't slow Arielle in the slightest.

                Trying to take advantage of her relative gracefulness, Annette slipped behind Arielle and slammed both of her maces into the woman's back. It was a solid hit, but it barely seemed to hurt Arielle - she simply grunted, and swung around; blade slashing out once again. Annette dodged the blind strike easily, and pulled back.

                She felt completely outmatched - Arielle was a little slower than her, but other than that Annette could not compare. Time to do something clever, like smash up her armour until she can't move anymore, Annette thought. Immediately deciding that that was a good idea, she made a feint with one mace, the other mace swinging towards her actual target - Arielle's right shoulder.

                Easily deflecting the feint, Arielle stepped backwards from Annette to dodge the actual attack; causing the mace to slam into her chest plate. Upon being hit, something cracked and snapped off of the armour - some kind of second layer. Annette only got the briefest of glimpses before Arielle's left fist slammed into her head, sending her tumbling to the ground.

                Woozily coming to on the ground a few seconds later, Annette could see Arielle's sword held to her throat. "Yield," came Arielle's voice; just as chilling as before.

                "I yield," coughed out Annette. But she wasn't looking at Arielle's face, where the voice had come from. She was staring at Arielle's armour. Some kind of over-plate had popped off when Annette hit it; and underneath the armour was of the purest white. It was carved with intricate images and symbols; and though the symbols did not glow, Annette recognised the armour instantly.

                It was the armour of the Lifesworn; an order that defended one of the twelve free nations that had sprung up in the centre of the Deadlands that lay far to the north seven centuries ago after a great rebellion. Knights from the Duchies, the warriors of the Sand Given Empire, the great armies of the Star-led Empire, several Psionis kingdoms from across the sea, and even the Lady's own undead armies had headed there, supporting the rebellion razing the great kingdom of the dead.

                At the very centre of the region, twelve kingdoms had appeared, each claiming a slice of land. There were other nations - that sprang up along the coastal regions that had also been freed - but the core nations had been built upon the riches the great kingdom had amassed.

                For six centuries, the kingdoms had prospered; but beginning one century ago nation after nation had begun toppling, each conquered by a different kind of undead from the old kingdom - including some long thought extinct. The land the Lifesworn had protected - the greatest and truest of the nations - had been the only one to fall through war, rather than treachery.

                A great army of necromantic undead (vastly different from the Lady's) had swept down from the mountain, and risen from caverns dug beneath for hundreds of years. Alone, the Lifesworn had stood no chance; and the Lifesworn had been wiped out thirty years ago. The legendary defenders - and knights by the Duchies laws through unanimous decree - were all dead, or worse. But if that was so, what was Arielle?

                Arielle noticed that Annette was staring at her armour shortly after receiving confirmation of the yield. Something muffled - Annette suspected it was a curse - came from Arielle's helmet as she stepped back and covered her armour with her arms (sword tossed aside) and looked for the armour piece that had hidden the Lifesworn armour from view.

                As Arielle hurriedly tried to cover up her armour, Annette lay back and thought, Even if she isn't some kind of traitor, her armour's enchanted - which is definitely cheating.

                A short time later - having recovered from getting clobbered by Arielle - Annette stood with her team and a group of officials. Arielle's team had already headed off to their final fight - which would determine the victor of the tournament.

                "So, you believe that her armour is enchanted?" asked one of the officials; a bureaucrat who worked for the count.

                "At least," replied Annette. "If it's Lifesworn armour, it has to belong to her and have been given to her by the heads of their order; which means she's either had it further enchanted so she can steal it, or she's a traitor to the order. And if she's a traitor, she's probably not human anymore."

                "Hey, if she's cheating, we can win the tournament, right?" said Dominic.

                "If a lot of other fights are redone, yes," said Todd.

                "We can't do that," said one of the other officials. "We don't have the supplies to run the tournament for another day. We'll look into the cheating tonight, and perhaps bump every team up a place, but that's it. You should all head to your final fight."

                "Don't worry, if they're cheating we'll figure it all out tonight. Annette, we'd like you to come along, as well as Sir Graeme, since you both seem to know a bit about the Lifesworn. Apologies if you wanted to attend the feast," said the first official.

                "Okay," said Annette, nodding.

                As the team walked away, heading to their last fight, Michael said, "This is bullcrap."

                "We can still take second," said Todd. "That's not bad."

                "And I don't have to deal with Giselle!" said Annette happily, to Todd's sighing.

                Their final fight was very short - the opposing team only fielded two people; both of whom were injured. Michael had been convinced by Bree (for her own amusement) to fight despite his arm and ribs, and with him acting as an additional distraction with Dominic Annette and Todd were able to easily defeat both. They were awarded the third place prize by the count on the field and afterwards Michael, Bree, Dominic, Todd and a letdown Giselle headed off to the finishing feast.

                Annette made her way to an out of the way location with several officials and local constables, meeting up with Sparrow and Graeme along the way. It seemed that there were quite a few cheaters - and that both Sparrow and Graeme had run into them during their events. The accused, the accusers and a large number of officials (as well as some helpful knights) were to meet away from the tournament, hopefully to resolve things that night.

                Annette hoped that it would go well.