“Looks like we found the fountain,” Xander comments with a nervous grin.

“I notice you use the wording we. So, Drakthar has come here with you now, hasn’t he?” Kali seems almost too overly excited to ask.

“Yeah… he should be here any second now,” Xander looks away finding this kind of awkward. Just as he says this the other four arrive at the archway.

Kali smiles for a second when Drakthar comes into view from behind a hunk of rubble, but her usual serious expression quickly returns, “So, you have come here to drink from the fountain”.

Kayde takes a deep breath getting ready to speak for a while without stopping, “Actually, we came to the marshlands for Drakthar to fight someone else, and we found this map but we have no idea where we are on the map, but there are two symbols on the map; so, Xander was like, ‘that symbol looks like water spouting up from the ground’ so Drakthar was like, ‘oh that must be the fountain of luck and now that we found it we can read the map’… also, I have a pet wolf now and his name is Fore”.

Fore barks in agreement with Kayde’s rambling.

“So you didn’t come to drink from the fountain?” Kali asks, her voice filled with disappointment.

“No I did not, but I still wish to fight you,” Drakthar declares his intentions.

“I will only fight those who attempt to drink from the fountain,” Kali explains the constraints of her responsibilities as guardian.

“I only wish to fight you, not drink from the fountain,” Drakthar clarifies his position, not willing to even make it seem like he would try and get to the fountain.

“Then we cannot fight,” Kali insists, not willing to stray from her duty.

“But I want to fight you,” Drakthar declares again, wanting to know which of the two of them are superior in battle.

“Then you must tell me you wish to drink from the fountain,” Kali reiterates, trying to convey to him that he should just say that he will, so they can fight whether he means it or not.

“No, I don’t care about that. I only wish to fight you,” Drakthar stubbornly insists.

“They know they are going in circles right?” Gwendolyn mutters to Xander and Kayde.

“I don’t think so,” Xander whispers back.

“Hey, Kali!” Kayde tries to get her attention.

She looks over to the mechanical man, “what?”

“Fore over here is looking really thirsty, he might just look to drink from that nice fountain of yours,” Kayde gestures towards the panting wolf.

Kali puts a hand on the emerald-encrusted hilt of her sword, “I would never let a mutt through here”.

“Oh Fore doesn’t want to fight you,” Kayde puts his hands up in a defensive position. Drakthar looks down as the wolf runs over to him, he continues to watch as suddenly a golden stream starts to come from Fore hitting his leg. Drakthar backs up disgusted, doing all he can to not behead the wolf on the spot.

“See, it looks like Fore has chosen Drakthar as his champion, will you fight him now?” Kayde uses Fore’s actions to manipulate the situation. Kali pauses for a while to think.

“Alright, I’ll fight you Drakthar. But only because the wolf wants to drink from the fountain,” Kali explains, not wanting them to think she is skipping out on her responsibilities.

“What? How did that even work?” Xander questions all forms of logic about what just happened.

“Isn’t it obvious? Deep down she really wants to fight him; but, she can’t because of her station as protector of the fountain. She just needed an excuse that would maintain her honor,” Gwendolyn notes, correctly able to read Kali’s feelings.

Kali and Drakthar now stand opposite each other in front of the archway, the decaying structure covered with vines serving as the backdrop to their encounter. They both smile, or in Drakthar’s case smirk a little, and draw their weapons, a swirl pattern present on Kali’s blade when she unsheathes it.

“I’ve looked forward to this,” Kali states, her smile erupting into a wicked grin. Drakthar grunts the affirmative in response.

Kali makes the first move, striking at an odd angle from below in hopes of catching Drakthar off guard. Unluckily for her, he notices the ploy and easily blocks her sword with the haft of his battle-axe.

Once their steel meets Drakthar slides his axe over the top of Kali’s sword, sparks flying from the grinding of metal on metal. Kali sees the axe headed straight for her chest and pulls back her sword ducking the swing just in time.

She looks up as the wind from Drakthar’s swing blows a tuft of her black hair. An errant spark from their collision lands upon Kali’s face, creating a sting that lasts a mere moment, the pain completely drowned out by the adrenaline of the fight.

Kali stands up, noticing Drakthar’s exposed back, his axe already moving past her. She swings her sword directly below his right shoulder. He doesn’t have time to react and her sword embeds itself slightly in the sand dragon hide Drakthar fashioned into armor.

Drakthar, feeling her sword on his armor, removes his right hand from his axe and elbows Kali’s shoulder, knocking her back, but not down. A smile reaches both of their faces, each appreciating the other in that intense exchange.

“They’re pretty even,” Kayde observes from the sidelines.

“It’s good he did not fight her in the desert. He just spent a lot of time training, so if he fought her then he probably wouldn’t have stood a chance,” Xander points out, noting Drakthar’s recent rapid development.

Drakthar and Kali continue their battle, Drakthar blocking and Kali dodging like it was choreographed for those watching. Their weapons fly around them, never letting either of the combatants get a break to catch their breath.

The sun descends, bringing darkness upon the clearing. Those watching realize that the mesmerizing dance that has so absorbed their attention has been going on for half a day.

Gwendolyn feels her stomach rumble; she realizes they haven’t eaten since the morning.

“Guys, I know they are still going, but we should probably make something for us to eat,” she suggests to the other two, who suddenly realize their hunger as well.

“Sure, I’ll whip something up…” Kayde agrees, beginning to make a fire. While the other two start thinking about what they are going to eat, Xander grabs four torches from his bag. He sticks them in the grass around Drakthar and Kali, making it so they will have light if their fight continues later into the night.

The others eat their food while continuing to watch Drakthar and Kali fight well into the night, the large shadows of the two warriors clashing projected upon the archway thanks to the torchlight.

“Neither of them are even showing signs of fatigue,” Gwendolyn points out while swallowing some rice.

“They’re monsters, I’ve never even heard of humans having stamina like that, at least not any humans I’ve encountered,” Kayde adds, not believing the display in front of them.

“Well, you’ve seen it now,” Xander notes, his eyes trained on the fight.

Surprisingly, those who are not fighting tire before the combatants. Kayde, Fore, Xander, and Gwendolyn retire to their tents, falling asleep amidst the sounds of grunting and colliding steel.

The sun comes up, rousing them from their fitful slumber. Once the initial dreariness fades, their ears pick up the same sounds they heard while drifting off to sleep. The three of them exit their tents almost to check if their ears are playing tricks on them.

Their ears did not deceive them; the sounds they hear are, in fact, coming from the still ongoing fight playing out before them. The sweat Drakthar and Kali are covered in continues to pour down their faces from their matted hair, and they have clearly exerted themselves beyond what anyone had thought possible.

“Holy shit!” Kayde is the first to break the silence, never one to stay quiet, no matter how awestruck. Neither fighter acknowledges the audience that has awakened; at that moment, the only other person that exists is the one right in front of them.

“Did either of you notice that they haven’t even talked to each other since the start?” Gwendolyn realizes while watching.

“No, but now that you point it out, I think you’re right,” Kayde tries to recall either of their voices amidst the fighting.

“They might not be talking, but I’d wager they know exactly what the other is thinking. Just look at their eyes, they’re locked at all times,” Xander observes. Gwendolyn and Kayde take a second look and notice that what Xander said is true.

Soon the fatigue of battle is too much for both Drakthar and Kali. They both begin slowing down, their attacks, telegraphed, and easy to avoid. Eventually, it gets to the point where neither can raise their weapon any longer.

Drakthar drops his axe, and Kali her sword; both continuing with fists as if it was their only option to extend this contest. Each punch thrown takes a toll of its own, slowly sapping the little energy they have left until they are no longer able to stand. They fall to their knees, exhausted eyes still trained on the other, the smell of sweat and the sound of panting filling the air.

Those watching stay motionless, waiting to see what will happen next. What they witness isn’t what any of them could have expected at the end of such an epic battle. They watch as Drakthar and Kali move within inches of each other, eye contact never broken. Then, as if all of their energy was suddenly restored, they begin to voraciously strip off the other’s armor, desperate to see what is hidden beneath.

“Uh… did I miss something here?” Xander asks as he watches Drakthar and Kali continue to remove their armor, acting as if the others were not there.

They strip down to nothing, staring at each other’s muscular forms. Kali tentatively reaches out to touch Drakthar’s rock hard abs. Before her hand can make it there, Drakthar grabs her wrist and pulls her down so she is on all fours.

“I didn’t think Drakthar cared about this sort of thing,” Gwendolyn notes as she watches Drakthar grab a hold of Kali’s waist position himself behind her.

Kayde holds both of his hands over Fore’s eyes, “Don’t look, buddy”. He doesn’t want Fore to have to see something like this at such a young age, even though he doesn’t really know how old Fore is.

“Hey Xander, how come we never do it like that?” Gwendolyn asks, after getting over the initial shock of watching this sort of thing play out in front of them.

“It seems kind of impersonal to me,” Xander responds honestly amongst Kali’s loud groans.

“Can you two stop? I can’t cover Fore’s eyes and my ears at the same time,” Kayde begs, really not wanting to listen to their personal conversation right now.

“We could at least try and spice things up a bit every now and then,” Gwendolyn continues, completely ignoring Kayde.

“If you want to we can try it. You know, in the future, you just have to let me know about these sorts of things; don’t be afraid to talk to me about it,” Xander tries to feel more comfortable about bringing it up.

“Damn… okay, not hearing this definitely takes priority,” Kayde removes his hands from Fore’s eyes and plugs his ears with his pinkies. As soon as Kayde’s hands leave his face Fore runs off.

“I know they chose to do it out here, but we should probably give them some privacy,” Xander suggests, starting to feel more and more awkward about staring the further along it gets.

“Yeah,” Gwendolyn agrees, and the two of them head into their tent.

Kayde sees the two of them leave and he unplugs his ears, “Thank you, they’re finally gone”.

He looks back at Drakthar and Kali, “ … Yeah, I’m out of here”.

He looks from side to side to see if anyone is around. He looks back down at them to see if they are even slightly paying attention to him and notes that they are not. He sneaks away, intending to follow Fore.

Drakthar and Kali continue until both of them pass out from exhaustion. The grass caresses their bodies as they are finally able to rest for the first time in two days.

Later that night, Xander and Gwendolyn exit their tent to see the two of them on the ground.

“Well that’s over now,” Gwendolyn states, starting to make dinner.

“Yeah,” Xander agrees, helping her out.

The next morning Drakthar and Kali awake from their slumber. Kali, suddenly remembering what happened, frantically puts her clothes back on. Drakthar is more nonchalant about it, putting his back on at a leisurely pace.

“That was the fiercest battle I have ever fought,” Kali tells Drakthar, intending to compliment his skills.

“Certainly the fiercest battle, but there is still one that I need to defeat more than you,” Drakthar’s immediate attention still focused on Sharn despite recent developments.

“Oh…I… didn’t know,” Kali is surprisingly disappointed. She looks down at the dirt thinking about their fight.

Her head finally shoots up a determined expression on her face, “That settles it. I’ve decided I will train and become so strong that you will have to acknowledge me as your greatest opponent”.

At this point, Xander and Gwendolyn hear them talking outside so they exit their tent.

“You know Kali, you should come along with us, that way you can train against him every day,” Gwendolyn mentions, liking the idea of having another woman in the group.

“I still have to guard the fountain, I cannot so easily abandon my post!” Kali seems outraged Gwendolyn would even suggest she leave.

Just as Kali finishes her refusal they all hear whistling from behind them. They see Kayde brush a vine out of the way as he walks out of the archway to the fountain of luck.

“Yeah about that,” he almost jokes in response to Kali’s declaration.

Kali draws her sword with such incredible speed they barely see her move, a feat all the more impressive considering the last two days.

She holds it up to Kayde’s neck, “What have you done cyborg?”

“First off, I’m not a cyborg. Secondly, I didn’t do anything, but I think there is something you probably need to see for yourself,” Kayde stays completely calm despite the sword at his throat.

Kali sprints inside the archway and the others follow. They all make it inside, seeing what Kayde meant, a golden fountain that used to have water flowing from a sculpture of a man holding a pitcher, laying at the bottom of it a single wolf, bloated from the water he has drunk over the past two days.

Kali is distraught, she falls to her knees in shock, her face hidden in her hands, “The wolf drunk the entire fountain”.

“I did say he was really thirsty,” Kayde points out as she mopes on the ground.

“YOU!” Kali draws her sword fully intending to lob off Kayde’s head.

Her sword is blocked by Drakthar’s axe, “I will not let you harm my friends”.

Kali is not sure what to do, not only at this moment but also for the rest of her life. She drops her sword, losing the will to try and kill Kayde, feelings of grief, regret and fear all combining at the same time. The others look at the huddled mess on the floor and decide it’s best if they leave her alone.

“Sorry,” Kayde tells Kali quietly as they walk out of the room with Fore.

Just as they get outside the archway they hear Kali yell, “Wait!”

They turn to see her following them, “I will come with you guys. Now that I’ve lost my purpose I must find a new one”.

“Cool, another friend, welcome aboard,” Kayde gives her an enthusiastic thumbs up and outstretches his hand to shake hers.

Instead of taking his hand Kali walks by him bumping him to the ground as she passes.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there, and also, you are not my friend,” she comments coldly as she turns to see Kayde on the ground.