“What are they doing?”

Duxton was sitting in the shade with everyone else. Chickadee had asked Zaniyah to sit down with him in the center of the field. Zaniyah was speaking with him enthusiastically while Chickadee nodded along. She then stood up and began to wrestle with an invisible enemy while Chickadee laughed.

“We’ve been a group since we were six years old,” explained Sybil. “The most they’ve gone without seeing each other before was three days.”

“Shouldn’t they save that for after the duel?” Asked Duxton.

Alton disagreed. “They were told that they were responsible for coming up with the dueling conditions. We can’t do anything about it if they want to catch up first.”

“How dull,” muttered Duxton. “Shaw, set up the picnic. It’s warm today. I don’t want to risk the wine heating up to much.”

Shaw fetched a set of baskets and began to lay out a feast. Flaky puffs stuffed with garlic spinach and sheep cheese. Cherry and walnut braised duck breast. A display of different cheeses and jams to go with loaves of bread. Stacks of colorful vegetable sandwiches. And finally, an herb salad with bacon, strawberries, and walnuts.

Once he had laid out the food, Shaw fetched the cold box that had bottles of tea, cider, and wine. He popped open a white wine and poured Duxton a glass. Duxton took it and waited for Shaw to serve him a plate of duck and salad.

Sybil sat down next to Duxton and grabbed a cucumber, radish, and butter sandwich. Alton frowned at her. “I was too nervous to eat this morning,” she muttered. He sighed and sat down between her and Duxton.

“Now what are they doing?” Duxton was feeling annoyed. The two had sat down again and were pounding their fists into an open palm, then forming their hands into strange symbols.

Veximarl squinted. “It appears to be some sort of game.”

“It’s rock, golem, drip,” replied Sybil. Her hand shifted between a rock, an upside-down spider, and a set of two fingers pointed downward for the drip. “Rock beats golem, golem beats water, water beats rock. We use it as a way to make quick decisions.”

Shaw sat down with a bottle of tea in his hand. “Are they using it to settle the conditions of their duel?”

“It matters not,” replied Iath. He had already chugged down half a bottle of wine by himself. “They will soon begin the battle, and Zaniyah will be victorious.” And if she wasn’t, at least he had a chance to drink wine.

Veximarl was uncertain about what was happening. “... I believe this is their duel.”

“Nonsense,” retorted Iath. “Such a serious matter can only be settled through the heat of combat!”

Tyrtain disagreed. “There is no rule that states that these matters must be handled by combat. It states that both champions must agree on the conditions of the duel.” It was difficult to tell if he was displeased or not, as he had only worn a scowl since he first showed up.

Zaniyah burst out laughing. She slapped Chickadee’s shoulder as they stood up. They climbed up the hill together, where they were pleasantly surprised by the amount of food that had been laid out. “Awesome! I thought I was going to starve to death!”

“Are you done with your duel?” Duxton asked.

“Yep!” Zaniyah replied as she stuffed an apple and fennel sandwich in her mouth. “Mmm! What sort of cheese is this?” She pointed at the bit of white that was sticking out.

“Goat,” replied Shaw.

“It’s great!” She exclaimed with her mouth still full.

“...” Duxton blinked several times. “... And?” Zaniyah tilted her head. “The duel?”

Zaniyah gestured for Sybil to hand over her some tea and took a big gulp. “Chi won.” She let out a loud laugh. “I really thought I was going to beat him, but he managed to get me in the end!”

Iath stared at her with a hint of disdain. He then stood up and lifted Zaniyah off the ground by her waist. “Zaniyah!” He twirled her about. “There is nothing stronger than friendship! I know that you tried your hardest to win for me, and that alone is enough!”

“Yep!” Zaniyah grinned widely. “You smell drunk!”

“Indeed! Let us commence dancing!”

Tyrtain wasn’t amused. He had remained standing the entire time. His body did not tire, nor did it need food or drink. Somehow, though… Somehow… Watching all of this had left him feeling drained.

“Sybil.” He beckoned her over with a wave of his hand. When she approached, he pulled out a round orb from his robes. “I wish to grant you this.”

She took it from his hands and began to examine it. The orb was a dull silver color and covered in tiny runes. Each letter was so delicate and small that she would need a magnifying glass in order to read them.

“Fascinating,” whispered Sybil.

“It’s my body,” said Tyrtain before Sybil could ask. “My true body. I had given Mart the task of attaching my essence to it, but he failed. I ask that you guard it.”

Sybil was taken aback by his request. “Wouldn’t it be safer with you?”

“I worry that it may become misplaced while I make my preparations. At any moment, a would-be may breach the war lines and come for my blood iron. I must find a way to defend it as well as reenter this world as a proper guard. You will do well as a guard until I am ready.”

“Oh,” replied Sybil. “... Thank you?”

Alton interrupted the pair. “Can you do something about the elementalists first? They’re too dangerous to be around until you fix it.”

Tyrtain shook his head. “I attempted to awaken the full potential of elementalists within my territory because I was in need of a champion. However, I was not fully in control of how much power they received. Mart and I worked towards lessening the intensity of their powers while Walter was under our care.

Our success was only minimal. Any young mage who enters this region will find that their strength is increasing. Soon that growth of power will spread to all of Lustro. It will not be as severe as it has been over the past month but I cannot nor will I choose to alter effect any further. It is simply a fact that comes with my existence.”

Duxton looked up from his plate. “That Grand Temple scientist will probably come up with the same conclusion. The mages are stronger and they are going to have to learn to manage their powers on their own. Everything’s fixed now and I would say that I have done an excellent job managing the situation.”

“You didn’t do anything. Don’t act like you were involved,” spat back Alton.

“I knew better than to interfere. That is work enough.” Duxton then gestured to the feast in front of him. “I also provided catering.”

Alton scoffed.

“Siren,” said Tyrtain. “A word in private.”

Alton put his hand on Sybil’s shoulder before she could protest. “Humor him. I’ll tell you exactly what he said afterward.”

He and Tyrtain walked some distance away. No matter how far they walked, they could hear Iath and Zaniyah celebrating their loss. Tyrtain took a moment to stare out at the world. He appeared less tense now that he was a distance away.

“I had hoped to see Lydia before I left,” said Tyrtain. He kept his eyes out on the landscape.

“Unfortunately, I can’t make her appear anytime I want,” replied Alton. Nor had he seen Lydia since she disappeared after their last meeting. “Lydia had a lot on her mind. She probably needs some time to sort it all out.”

“A shame,” muttered Tyrtain. “She reminded me of someone I knew from long ago... It would have been nice to speak to her about it.” He shook his head and began to walk away.

“Where are you going?”

Tyrtain paused. “I’m free now. I can go wherever the sunlight touches and beyond.”

“But you’re not going to gloat to Iath or say bye to Chi?” Alton was suspicious of how quickly everything had been settled.

“My time of conflict has come to an end,” replied Tyrtain. “There is no need for me to linger. Either of them will know where to find me if the need should arise.”

Alton watched him walk off. Tyrtain was oddly calm for what was supposed to be a rampaging evil dragon. He then shook his head. There was no point in regretting anything he had done. Nothing could be changed. Lustro was forever changed today. How it would continue to develop, he couldn’t say.

He returned to see that Sybil and Chickadee were gushing over the orb that Tyrtain had given her. Veximarl was attempting to come up with a plan for Chickadee’s return to the encampment, but the mage couldn’t be bothered as long as there was something new to study. While he insisted that they try to melt it down, Sybil argued that it should be preserved.

On the other side of the group, Duxton and Shaw were watching Iath and Zaniyah dance. “They’ve done it,” muttered Duxton. Shaw replied with a look of death. Duxton gestured to how close the two were. “My observation is an obvious reality.”

Shaw took a deep breath to cool his head. “I prescribe to the theory that Alder had her best interests in mind. He would not let his master follow through with a violation between mentor and student.”

Just as Shaw stated that, the alcohol that Iath had chugged was starting to get the better of him. He stumbled for a moment as he relinquished control of Beat’s body. Zaniyah had been twirling about and was startled when he began to wobble. She attempted to steady Beat so he wouldn’t fall over, only to be surprised with how heavily he leaned against her.

Both of them tumbled down the hill together, clinging to one another in an attempt to keep the other from being harmed. They slowly rolled to a stop in the field, with Beat on top of Zaniyah. She burst out laughing while Beat struggled to stop his senses from spinning.

“By the core, Iath is such an idiot!” Zaniyah grinned up at Beat.

Beat noticed that Zaniyah’s cheek was bleeding. He rubbed his thumb against it so that it might heal. “He is,” he muttered. “... I appear to be drunk.”

“Which is weird, because he couldn’t have been in charge for longer than fifteen minutes,” replied Zaniyah.

“... Is that so?” Beat whispered.

He examined her for a moment more before he hesitantly lifted her chin to kiss her. Zaniyah was surprised, but didn’t reject the sudden act of intimacy. It wasn’t long before the two were making a display of making out with each other.

“Now that is a surprise,” muttered Duxton. “It appears as though it was the apprentice who was sticking it to her the entire time.”

“I am going to murder him!” Shaw roared as he charged down the hill.

Beat rolled off of Zaniyah just in time to block Shaw’s sword with his shield. Shaw went in for a kick and Beat was barely able to dodge. Casting aside his sword, Shaw proceeded to go after him with his fists.

Zaniyah stood up and began to yell at the pair. “Stop it!” She waved her arms around as Shaw lunged after Beat again. “I was only trying to take advantage of a drunk man! You’re the worst brother ever!”

Shaw was momentarily stunned by her words, which gave Beat the opening he needed to punch him in the jaw. “The two of you are being unreasonable!” Growled out Shaw as he stumbled back.

“Says the idiot who attacked first,” growled Beat.

Sybil cupped her hands around her mouth. “Zani, you shouldn’t take advantage of drunk people! That’s illegal!”

“Seriously?!” Zaniyah frowned as Shaw slammed into Beat with his shield. “Seriously! Stop attacking each other!”

Alton frowned at the display. “You provoked him because you wanted to see a fight,” he muttered at Duxton.

“Someone needed to entertain me today,” muttered Duxton. Beat knocked Shaw unconscious by cupping his hand over his ear. “Damn… He was the one driving the carriage.” He tsked his tongue. “I suppose I have no choice but to stay here until he wakes up.” The prince took a moment to swirl about his wine. “What a shame.”

Veximarl was still attempting to urge Chickadee to be reasonable. “I would prefer to come up with a strategy of reintroducing Chi to the mage encampment. We don’t know what sort of punishment he will receive for abandoning his post.”

Chickadee smiled at him. None of that mattered. He had won the duel without hurting Zaniyah’s pride, and everyone seemed happy about the outcome. Whatever comes next… Well, he doubted anyone would be all that mad at him. No one ever stayed mad at him.

“Worry not. Everything will be okay.”