Chapter 12- Tournament II

“So ya made ya journeys and yous seen the truth of the Star Court.” Nan said as she walked around the fire. Christa looked around at the stunned faces of her friends. The Star Court. Was that place really the Star Court? “Will ya fear death now that ya know what happens?” She asked as she circled. She came to a stop, took a pull from her pipe, and put her hand on Guy’s shoulder. “Will ya mourn the dead now that ya know they’re happy?” Old Trews walked up to Nan, took her by the hand and led her out of the firelight. It was getting late and Christa knew her mother would be keeping close watch on her during the tournament. She could tell her mother wasn’t comfortable with the Onaki. She bid her farewells and started walking back to the castle.

Guy appeared near her. “Did you see Ezra?” He asked.

“Yes…well I think it was him.” She looked at her brother’s sad face. Poor Guy always so sad now. “I still don’t know if it was real, but he looked happy.” Deep down Christa felt that it had to be real. Everything she saw was to vivid to be a dream.

“They showed me Jean.” Guy admitted. “He looked happy in that place. He was with…he was with another man.”

Christa looked at her brother and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. She heard people say twins shared a special connection, a way to sense things about each other. Maybe Ezra and Erda had that connection before it was severed by the fortunes of life. Guy placed his hand on top of hers. “I am happy for him sister. I am happy that he is not alone. Perhaps I lost my faith in the past few months. I feared he was rotting away in a cold lonely grave. Yet, he and Ezra are happy.”

Christa thought about Guy’s words as she went to her room. She changed her clothes and began brushing her hair but stopped. She got up and tiptoed across the hall and opened Erda’s door. Her sister’s room was a mess as usual. Erda looked up from her reading. “Something wrong?”

“Just that nest on your head,” she replied as she jumped on Erda’s bed and got behind her. She began brushing her sister’s hair. Most royals she knew had maids for these sorts of things and she remembered when her mother used to beg her father for the money to get one. One day she asked her father why he always denied her mother. Don’t you love momma? He looked at her with a serious expression. Yes, but why should I tax the people to pay for such a thing? They work hard every day at their trades. It’s only fair we dress, groom, and clean up after ourselves. She partially understood his explanation then but now she did. These were all things a normal family and person did. It brought them closer together and gave them a better understanding of themselves. Even now as she felt her sister’s silky hair slip through her fingers, she could see that her sister’s hair had tiny blonde strands among the red.

“So… are you and Cain DeRold serious?” Erda asked as she read.

“No, at least I don’t think we are.” Christa began to part her sister’s hair. Two fishbone braids would look nice on her.

“Well you better tell him that. He’s going around telling people he will marry you.” She laughed at her sister.

That was troubling but nothing that a little conversation couldn’t fix. She liked Cain but sometimes he could get ahead of himself. As Nan Bowerbird would say, you must bring a man to heel every now and again. “Will you come with us to watch the tournament tomorrow?” She had not seen Erda there today.

Erda barely looked up from her book. Since when did she become so studious? “I’ll tag along.” Christa finished braiding her sister’s hair and went back to her room.

Small steps, she would make small steps.

***

Jodoro walked with Derry to the stables to check on Brown and Cow. The trip to the Star Court still weighed heavily on his mind. Derry told him that he saw mother and father building a stone house in the middle of a vast lake. Jodoro did not remember his father’s face and it deeply shamed him. How could someone forget their ancestors? What did that say about you? Instead of seeing his parents Jodoro was taken to a crater within a mountain where he saw dozens of men and women talking and drinking. They had strange names like Boudica, Hannibal, Napoleon, and Shaka. His guide, a beardless man with a clean shaved, told Jodoro to listen. Days passed and Jodoro listened to the men and women talk. They spoke of strategy, tactics, technology and war-war-war. Then without preamble, one day he was sent back. It didn’t make sense. Derry said he was only there for minutes and Amethyst said she was rushed. When he asked Carl about his vision, he said he saw a man that looked like the Old Duke. None of it made sense and Nan wasn’t offering any help either.

As they walked to the stable, they saw the Duke and Duchess Bell walked through the streets under guard. Jodoro nudge a yammering Derry and both knelt.

The Duchess spoke to Derry. “I must admit that my husband and I are impressed with your efforts Derry Dog. Fine work, Fine work.”

As the Duchess floated down the street Jodoro frowned. Something was nagging in the back of his mind. There was something about her voice and the way she said husband. Most people pronounced the it huz-bənd but she articulated every syllable and pronounced the word hus-band. “Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.” Could it be the voice from the library?

“Hey,” Derry yelled. “What the hells has gotten into you?”

“Derry I think Lady Bell is steeping out on the Duke.”

“Stepping out?”

“I overheard two lovers in the library. One sounded like Lady Bell and the other was a voice that was not the Duke’s.”

“Probably a mistake but what did they say.”

“The usual adulterous stuff. How they loved each other but family and kids were in the way. I’m sure it was Lady Bell because of…husband.” Jodoro said the word the way Lady Bell pronounced it and Derry’s eyes widened.

“Oh shit! You heard that too. Can’t stand the way she says the word. What about the bloke? Any ideas?”

“No clue. They voice was familiar though.” They reached the stalls and checked on the horses. A stable boy asked if they wanted saddles made and they agreed. There was no point in having a horse if you weren’t going to ride the damn thing eventually.

“Its really none of our business though. We must mind our own dicks and all.” Derry pointed out.

“But don’t you think Christa and Guy would want to know?”

“I’m not sure. What would they be able to do about it if they found out?” The dogs were causing a ruckus in the stable and they left the building before the stable master could be called. “What if they already knew? What if you misheard? What if it was the Duke acting like another man? I heard some people are into that.”

“We’ll wait until we have more information and then decide what to do. Let’s just keep our eyes open. I gotta bounce. See you after the archery semifinals.” Jodoro walked out into the streets and bought a meat pie from one of the vendors. The southside of the city was the seedier part of town but it couldn’t compare to cities like Ardinum or Garloon. With the Duke’s resettlement plan, more people were moving into the city and even this part of town was becoming more prosperous. Unfortunately, many of the residents weren’t happy about these changes, rumors of protests and boycotts were circulating and Jodoro couldn’t blame them. Then there was talk that the Duke would keep the temporary sales tax from the tournament in effect for a few months. It cost money to rebuild an army but the citizens on the southside couldn’t afford it.

As Jodoro walked he saw more Onaki headbands in the crowd. These were the people who had taken up the Duke’s offer to work the frontier lands. Many were poor jobless Onaki who were just looking for a better life. They worked on the farms surrounding the city or doing cheap labor jobs like disposing waste and hauling lumber. Some nodded at him as he passed. They looked miserable.

“Come to look down on us, have you?” An Onaki girl shouted at him from across the street. His white shirt. No working Onaki would dream of wearing a white shirt. She looked like Sweet Ceta but with black curly hair. The two men with her stood with their arms crossed.

“No, I haven’t,” he said as he walked across the street. “My name is Jodoro Jaguar. What is yours?” He stuck out his hand and watched the girl refuse to grasp it and spit on the ground.

“Sorry don’t want to dirty ya,” She said in a strange accent. Many thousands of years ago the Onaki were more centralized but now they existed across the continent. Judging by the accent these ones were probably refugees from Farki persecution.

“That’s fine,” he said as he withdrew his hand. He turned but called over his should, “you lot looked like hard workers, but I guess I was wrong.”

The girl straightened up and puffed out her chest. “We be the hardest workers around ya fool, been handling a trowel since I was old enough to walk.” The men next to her shook their head in affirmation.

Jodoro laughed. “If you’re serious come see me after the tournament. Look for the yurts on the beach.”

As Jodoro walked an idea began to form in his head. He passed the guards to the castle with a nod and went to the steward’s office. Steward Olman was a fair man. Even after his conflict with Ronald the steward had always treated him with respect. The steward answered the door to his office and invited him in.

“What can I do for you young man. Shouldn’t you be enjoying the tournament?” The steward asked.

“I came to buy some land. How much can I get for 100 gold?” Jodoro had about 300 gold to his name but that was it. He had no income at all. It was time to change that.

“I’m afraid there’s not going to be much available for that. Ever since the tourney started people have been snatching up plots but let me look.” The steward pulled out a massive ledger and began flipping through the pages and writing stuff down on a piece of paper. Just when Jodoro was getting nervous about, the time the steward slid the paper over to him. It was a list of five properties with acreage, location and prices. Jodoro studied the list for a moment. Then found several that looked promising. One was a 200-acre plot in the eastern hills that abutted the Nowell River. It was priced at 105 gold and had an annual tax rate of 30 gold. The second property was to the south near Nan property. It was 40 acres at 100 gold. The third property was in the eastern hills and had 300 acres for 100 gold but it was 30 miles away from Bellgaurd.

“What would you recommend Milord?” Jodoro asked.

The steward looked at the list again. The eastern hills is most suited for animal husbandry and has the best value. Now I anticipate that access to the Nowell will be at a premium. I would take the 200-acre plot.” This analysis fit with Jodoro’s plans but it would be tough to get enough capital to create what he wanted.

“I’ll take that one. Here’s the gold.” Jodoro signed the deed and took a copy. He ran out of the castle. It was close to starting time for the archery semifinals.

Jodoro arrived at the archery field with five minutes to spare. He stood next to Old Trews as Amelius Graston strode onto the field and stared at the twenty semifinalists. The crowd was larger than yesterdays and Jodoro could see the Duke and Lady Bell sitting in luxury box in the crowd. Heliodor, Dundar and a woman Jodoro did not know were also there.

Graston paced in front of them then stopped in front of Jodoro and Old Trews. “It has been brought to my attention that two of our competitors have an unfair advantage.” He grabbed Jodoro’s bow and held it up in the air. “A majority of judges have agreed that only longbows will be used in competitions in Ardinum. The good Duke Bell has voiced a protest against disqualifying these contestants. They may compete but with only longbows.” Jodoro was shocked. Graston thrust the bow back at Jodoro and he snatched it out of his hands to the gasps of the crowd. There was nothing in the rules stating which type of bow someone had to use. Jodoro and Old Trews did not have longbows.

Lady Jane walked up with two bows and passed them to him. “Bullshit if you ask me but there’s no sense in lodging a complaint. Those academy fucks run everything and will side together. We can cancel our bet if you like.”

“No, I’ll keep my word. Thanks.” Jodoro tossed a bow to Old Trews who snatched it out of the air. He tested the bow and found its draw manageable. He hadn’t shot a longbow in a few years, but he remembered Hamsa used to prefer it to the recurve.

“This round will test speed. Each archer will have a minute to fire as many arrows unto the target as the can. All arrows that hit the target will be counted equally. We will start with…” Graston looked around and pointed to Old Trews. “this Onaki will go first and then the younger Onaki.” Graston was clearly being vicious. Jodoro and Old Trews had barely got time to adjust or test their bows.

Old Trews nodded solemnly and step up to his position before the target. He looked at Graston and waited for his word. When Graston gave his word Old Trews hands shot to his quiver drawing three arrows in his knuckles. He fired them off rapidly then dug into his quiver again. His hands moved with speed that belied his age. When Graston called time Old Trews had fired fourteen arrows into the target. It was an incredible performance and many in the crowd cheered including a section of Onaki.

Jodoro took his place next and waited for the signal. When he got it he dug into his new quiver and pulled three arrows quickly. He, like Old Trews, shot from the right side of the bow which saved time but came at the cost of accuracy. He missed his first shot and grew nervous. His second arrow soared over the target but his third hit and now he had the feel. When time was called, he had sixteen arrows lodged in the target. It was an incredible amount considering he missed the first two and was using a different bow. He gave Graston a mocking salute because the bastard had the nerve to frown at him and walked to the end of the line to watch the rest of the archers shoot. Lady Jane managed to shoot fourteen and the three of them advanced.

***

Derry watched from the stands as Jodoro, Old Trews and Lady Jane advanced. He was in a good placed to win a lot of coin from his bets provided Lady Jane didn’t mess things up. He almost lost it over the bow issue. That damn Graston was a bastard but fortunately things turned out well. As he moved through the stands, he gaged the crowd. People were eating and that was good. Erleda’s projections indicated that this would be the most profitable tournament in generations. It was all about the vendors and the sales tax. Collectors went to every vendor at the end of the day and took their cut. Those who were thought to have lied about their profits yesterday would be watched closely today.

He joined Jodoro for a meal. His brother looked deep in thought. Probably pissed at Graston. “Just have to win tomorrow. That’ll show the fucker.”

“Nevermind him, I just bought some land on the Nowell River in the eastern hills.” His brother said casually.

“What the hell are you going to do with the land?”

“We are going to build a mill first. With the influx of people moving here the city mill will never keep up. We’ll build one that’s larger and able to be service both Delonica and Bellgaurd via the Nowell.” We can make a tidy profit. I’ll need your help though.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. Actually, it was a pretty good one. “Workers?”

“Got it handled.”

“Starting costs?”

“300 gold should cover salaries and materials for a year. I have 140 left to my name. I need you to come up with rest.”

“I can swing that. We share fifty-fifty?”

“Sixty-forty. Unless you want to pay me half of what I paid for the land?”

“Sixty-forty will do. What’s my role?”

“Inventory, sales.” Jodoro said as he drank some ale.

“That’s bloody everything!”

“I’ll be helping too and handling personnel. Not to mention you’ll be wining a small fortune gambling off my back.” When he said it like that he had a point. It was not polite to gamble off a man’s back that you knew personally, especially without telling them first.

“It’s a deal but I want an equal say in future investments and a gods damn veto.”

“Done.” They banged mugs which set the dogs to barking and everyone to looking at him like he was a three-legged ewe. “Look!” Jodoro whispered and nodded. “Look how she looks at Heliodor.”

It was Lady Bell. She was walking with her husband and Heliodor. “You’re out of your fucking mind. Drop this shit.”

“Watch!”

Derry watched for a few moments and nearly lost his seat when he saw Lady Bell sneaking looks at Heliodor. It was subtly done but too frequent. Then while Duke Bell was greeting the Duke of Hernit, Heliodor whispered something in her ear, and she smiled. “I don’t know Jo. There might be something there.”

“I am afraid to tell Guy and Christa. Should we?”

“We? What’s all this we shit today. This is your problem.”

“It could be all of Bellgaurd’s problem if they are caught. How do you think the Duke will react when he finds out the king’s son has cuckolded him? What if Christa and Guy found out we knew?”

“Still not our problem.” Derry said through a bite of food. Jodoro was like a dog with a bone with this shit. “He’s a grown man. We never have to tell anyone else.”

“We shouldn’t keep secrets from our friends.” Jodoro said with that fucking look in his eye. And there it was. Classic Jo. Always about honor and truth and the like.

“They will never forgive you for this. They won’t believe it. It’ll ruin a good thing we all got going and most importantly we have no proof.”

“You are right. I’ll leave it be. I have to go find Carl.” He tossed a bag of coins at Derry. “Put this on Carl and I today. I’ve got a good feeling.” Without that he marched out of the food tent like he owned the damn place. Derry opened the bag to find 10 gold coins.

Cheap bastard.

***

“Congratulations on making it to the finals Lady Jane.” Christa said. “Your skill with the bow is the envy of many.” Lady Jane was seated next to her peeling an orange. Her group of followers surrounded her, and Christa could not help but feel as if she was just another sycophant in her presence.

“Tell me more about the Jungle Cat,” Lady Jane commanded. “How does he shoot so fast?”

Christa thought back to her lessons on the beach and Jodoro’s demonstrations. They had spent weeks on what Jodoro called The Draw. At first it confused her because she always believed that the draw referred to the drawing of the bow and even Carl verified this. But Jodoro approached things differently. “Jodoro believes that the draw of the bow begins before the bowstring is even pulled. He-”

“Before the pulling of the string?”

“Yes, he believes that aiming must be instinctive and that a target must be felt and identified as soon as the hand touches the arrows in the quiver. This he argues saves time so that when the arrow touches the bow not a second of aiming is required.”

“Interesting but not truly remarkable there must be another difference.” Lady Jane said disappointedly. Jane turned to one of her bannermen. “What’s your call on the melee Sir Bud?”

“Lord Cain DeRold and Julip of Hearthold are the favorites.” The man replied. He was dressed in the most offensive color of bright green that Christa had ever seen. “But not much to be gained betting on them.”

Christa remembered one time when Jodoro corrected Carl’s technique. Carl was a bit indignant about being corrected but after a week of practice had improved his speed. “There are two techniques that he uses that are quite unique.”

Lady Jane cut her conversation with Sir Bud and turned to her. “Tell me.”

“Well he always pulls no less than three arrows from the quiver at a time. You may have noticed this, and it is not unheard of, but he designed his quiver to make it easier. You’ll have to ask him to see it. The other thing is that he shoots from the right side of the bow when firing quickly. He said this saves time by eliminating the motion of going between string and bowstave.”

Lady Jane looked to be pondering this for a moment. “That would save time, but it’d also require greater skill to shoot that way. Truly remarkable.” She looked at Christa and pulled out a bag of gold. “Forty gold says Carl ridge and the Jungle Cat defeat Cain DeRold and Julip.”

Christa had never gambled before and remembered her mother saying she knew no quicker way to the poor house than gambling. She was pretty sure that Cain and Julip could win. The northlands were a rough place and it was said the bred the best warriors. Last year Julip and another Heartholder won the two-on-two melee at Hernit. Though Jodoro and Carl could fight well they were likely outclassed here. “Deal but my coin is not on me right now.”

“Your word is good.” Lady jane replied as she tossed the pouch to one of her ladies. “The more I think of this harbor plan, the more I believe that it will change South Ardinum for the better.”

“It is true that the South has lagged behind, but I hope that the harbor will also allow our industries to flourish. It is not enough to just trade goods. We must look to the future and manufacture. It puzzles me that Hernit despite having iron mines must ship their ore to the capitol to be refined and manufactured.”

“Valid point but let us watch these fights.” Christa watched the fights but more than anything she watched the people watching the fights. When the two-on-two melee began the crowd buzzed with anticipation. Normally this was not a popular event but the way the semifinals played out made it extremely factional. Whoever seeded the competition knew what they were doing. Two teams from the South and two from the North had made it. Everyone had someone to cheer for and pride was on the line for many. The first fight was between the duo from Ardinum City a stout man and woman from Hernit. As the fight began Christa was surprised to see the Hernit team take the initiative. The couple fought viscously with longswords and shields. They moved well as a team and Christa could tell that they had fought together for a long time. But they were quickly overwhelmed by the prowess and expertise of their opponents. The fight ended and the Northern contingent in the crowd cheered wildly.

When Cain and Julip marched into the arena Christa’s heartbeat sped up. She was nervous for them. Cain was dressed in light armor and stood proudly next to the massive Julip. Cain’s weapon was the bastard sword and square shield while Julip carried a massive hammer wrapped in layers of padding. He knocked a man unconscious yesterday and the crowd loved him for it.

“This Cain will be a good match for you.” Lady Jane commented nonchalantly. Word had traveled it seemed.

“Possibly, he is and honorable man.” Christa replied. She twirled the ring on her finger as she watched Jodoro and Carl emerge. Jodoro was in his black leather armor. He wore an orange shirt beneath it, and it showed on his sides where his cuirass buckled. His Onaki headband was on prominent display. Carl wore armor with the Bellgaurd coat-of-arms displayed prominently. The home crowd cheered as they entered with raised spears. Words were exchanged between the adversaries and Christa nearly froze when she saw Julip point his hammer at Jodoro.

It was clear from the onset that neither of these teams was truly a team. Carl and Cain went after it while Julip went straight for Jodoro. Julip smashed at Jodoro with his hammer and Jodoro blocked but almost fell to his knees. He jabbed with his spear, but Julip switched his two-handed grip to a single one and batted the spear away with his gauntlet. Jodoro began to struggle under the powerful blows of the hammer and the crowd hummed with anticipation. Carl and Cain’s exchanges were a showcase of skill. Carl probed Cain’s defenses while the Heartholder skillfully deflected and counter. Soon the crowd was on their feet in rapt attention as the combatants exchanged blows. Lady Jane was standing on her seat and shouting something while Christa could only look on with bated breath. Jodoro was knocked to the floor and barely rolled away in time to avoid Julip’s devastating hammer blow. He lost his spear in the process and pulled a blunted hatchet from his waist. Carl was suffering under Cain’s relentless swordsmanship.

Julip stood with one foot on Jodoro’s spear and shouted at the crowd. “Is this what Bellgaurd sends? An Onaki?” He laughed into the air and began to twirl his hammer. He charged at Jodoro. Carl took a nasty hit to his thigh. Jodoro spun away from Julip and bashed his shield into the man’s back. Julip recovered and pointed his hammer again. “Dead Man,” he shouted as he charged again. Cain lost his shield and was fighting with sword alone now. The crowd was reaching a fevered pitch. Christa could hear Amethyst shouting a couple rows away as Jodoro took a hammer blow that sent him to his knees. The hammer was raised again. Carl and Cain were both down and ruled out by a judge. The hammer came down. Jodoro deflected it and did the strangest thing Christa had ever seen. He let go of his shield grabbed Julip’s hammer arm with both hands and locked his legs around the man’s head. The two tumbled to the ground with Jodoro on the bottom. Julip began to rain blows down on Jodoro with his free arm. A judge was next to them waiting to intervene. Jodoro tightened his hold on Julip and straightened and pulled at the man’s arm. Julip’s blows began to slow. Jodoro held on. Julip gave up punching Jodoro and instead hefted the man up and began repeatedly bashing him into the ground. Jodoro’s hold broke and both men took a moment to catch their breath while. Carl and Cain were now on the side of the arena receiving medical aid. Neither had weapons at this point. Julip bullrushed Jodoro and he pivoted on his foot and struck Julip with a blow to the head. The Bull of the North charged again and Jodoro continued to dance around him striking.

“The Way.” Christa spoke without realizing it. As Julip swung at Jodoro, Jodoro ducked under his arm and used his body to toss the bigger man. The Bellgaurdian cheer was cut short as Julip quickly got to his feet.

“Dirty Onaki! I will wipe my ass with your headband.” The man charged again, and Christa heard Derry piping voice bark something at Jodoro. Jodoro dove at the man’s legs tripping him up. He grabbed the man’s leg and began twisting it.

“Yield!” Jodoro commanded and Julip refused. Jodoro increased the pressure and Julip bellowed with rage. “I’ll break it ya fucking ox!” Jodoro increased the pressure more and Julip finally tapped the ground. The arena erupted in a deafening roar. Beer sloshed from tankards. Bellgaurdians rang their hand bells and began to chant. The chant made its way around the arena.

“Jungle Cat, Jungle Cat, Jungle Cat!!!”

Lady Jane sat back in her seat and looked around the arena. “The Jungle Cat is loved in Bellgaurd,” she observed. “I’ll expect that coin from you tomorrow.” Then she gestured for two glasses of wine. She gave one to Christa. “You must never bet against your own house.”

Christa was speechless, “but you?”

Lady Jane smirked and raised her glass and repeated, “Never bet against your own house.”