Blood and Cupcakes

by Taj McCoy El

  “Noted. So, I suggest we go with a defensive line of three silver imps and Mags takes the quarterback slot. Anything you wanna say, Grax?”

  “Nope, you laid out a perfect strategy to start with. It’ll be good to use once we get back in the field. Seems like you’ve played to each of our strengths. Margaret rains undead terror on them from her bunker of bodies, you protect her and take care of anything in reach with grenades and such. I either hide with you for extra defense or go wild on offense.”

  “Ok, then last thing. Leathers. Don't equip these outside until we’re going into our first match.”

  She handed the leathers to them, which had gained a slight metallic sheen. It looked like someone had coated the black leather with a thin coat of dull, black mercury. It had stippled so it looked more like wet slimy rocks and moss on Margaret’s gear.

  “What did you do to them?” Margaret asked.

  “I enchanted them with iron weevil shells. Adds more durability and defense points.”

  “This is great.” Grax stuffed his leathers into his bag and equipped them. “These look awesome, and that’s a nice defense boost.”

  “Glad you like them,” she smiled.

  “Here you go, Margaret.” Mayah passed her the ranger’s leathers.

  “Thank you. These are beautiful.”

  “Get out of the mirror, pretty boy. Let Margaret take a look.” Mayan sniped.

  Margaret donned her leathers, looking like the perfect Dark Ranger.

  “Hey, Margaret, you haven’t picked your Class Skill yet, have you?”

  “No, I haven’t, but I was going with Necromancer.”

  Mayah thought for a second. “I still say Ranger for the plusses to mobility and aim.”

  “Okay, two stops on the way to the sign-up line. Maam’s and Ibn’s. What do you think Grax, Ranger or Necromancer?”

  “She could go Rogue like me?”

  Mayah blew him a raspberry. “No one can go rogue like you.”

  “Walked right into that one, didn’t I?” he said knowingly.

  They packed up all of the wonderful toys and walked out of the door in good spirits and with high hopes.

  …..

  As they walked, Mayah drew a runeagram on her palm to catch as many of Margaret's spells as possible. By the time they arrived at the square, they had collected fifteen orange spell crystals and handed them all to Margaret.

  “You’re in charge of setting up your arrows. The quiver of holding will put whatever arrow your thinking about in your hand.”

  “Yes dear, I figured that out already,” she responded snarkily.

  They turned towards Tissu where Mayah dropped off the last of the sewing supplies and got triple the gold that she expected. When Mayah asked what it was for Maam said, “The idea for a new fashion trend. And I am the only licensed vendor for CuddleFluff Couture.” She winked at her.

  Well okay then… She also got Maam to write her name in the message book. Maam wished them all the best of luck in the tournament as she waved at them from the front of her store.

  At Verbum Vitae, they spent fifteen minutes arguing over Margaret's Class Skill and new magic. In the end, Ranger won out over Necromancer as it was better fit for Margaret in the long run. She could also pick up Necromancer at level sixty if she still wanted it. She made her specialization Resurrection Doll and picked Life Drain as her third magic. When activated, she healed 1HP for every 10DP she or her dolls inflicted. It cost 50MP per minute In addition, she could share the gained HP with anyone in her party. Mayah let her know to level it as often as possible for a better result.

  They sidetracked and made a quick stop at the smithy so Mayah could apologize to John. He gave her a rune called Thaw (F) that she could use on the scabbards to keep the blades clear. They all got his name in their message books, then they left and went to the center of the square to find Jensen.

  “Hey gang, what are ye doing here? Ye better get to registration. There’s not much time left.”

  “We know, old man, but business before pleasure,” Grax said to the Grand Sergeant.

  “Don’t create debts ye can’t pay, cat!” Jensen grabbed Grax up into his arms with a bear hug before he could even respond.

  All Grax could manage to do was kick and squirm, all to no avail.

  Grax went limp. “Put me down!”

  Jensen slowly complied with a smile on his face.

  “So, what this business ye have for me?” he asked Mayah.

  “I brought you my change purse, this time with money in it. 189 gold for you to manage while we fight.”

  “Dear lassie, I’ll be betting on ye the whole way. And a few other fights that look promising.”

  “That’s all I ask. I have more, so don’t be afraid to risk it.”

  “Scared money makes none, my pa always said.”

  “In that case here’s 104 gold from me.” Margaret handed Jensen a bag of coins.

  “And me too.” Grax handed over his purse. “I only have 77 gold at the moment, so don’t lose it. That’s all I have.”

  “Don’t worry, Grax,” Mayah consoled him, “We’ll share with you—plus we’ve still got that platinum imp.”

  “Still,” he said, staring at Jensen, “don’t lose it.”

  “I get yer point, cat. But if anyone loses it, it’ll be ta ye in the finals. Don’t go jinxing this master at work. Now hurry off and get registered! I’ll be closing down early to watch the tournament, so I’ll find ye there.”

  “Let’s go, gang,” Mayah said.

  They trooped over to the magic range where it’s new walls rose from the earth. It now resembled a miniature football coliseum. The line for registration wasn’t extremely long, but they would have to wait for a while before it was their turn. She turned her attention to the coliseum. It had been expanded drastically overnight somehow. As she peered through the gates, she got a feel for the changes in the architecture. There were forty-foot tall stone bleachers most of the way around the white stone platform which she guessed had been tripled in size. There was an aisle of stairs that ran from the top of the bleachers all the way down to a stone balustrade that kept the front row from falling the final 10 feet to the original stone of the training ground. The stands were already starting to fill.

  I don’t want to work on this in the stands if it can be avoided. She turned her attention back to the business at hand.

  "Let’s see if we can get some more spell crystals real quick, then Grax’s swords, and then grenades.”

  “Okay, I’m ready when you are.”

  Mayah held out her palm casting Open (Lf) and Hold (E) repeatedly while Margaret cast Resurrection Doll. 15 minutes later they were done and had moved almost half of the line.

  “Grax, pass me your swords.”

  He passed them to her and she saw a surprised paladin looking at the cat handing off the swords. Mayah quickly studied the paladin in case they had to battle him. A light bulb seemed to pop on as he realized that Grax was a paladin.

  “Here ya go,” Grax said.

  “Thanks—aieeee….!!! That’s cold!”

  “Sorry, should’a told you to hold them by the hilt,” he sniggered.

  “Yeah, you should've.”

  She looked around the line, “I’ve gotta sit down for this. Call me when we’re close.”

  “Margaret, keep wrapping arrows, Grax, stay in cat form for now. You’re our secret slayer.”

  “Don’t I know it,” the cat snarked.

  She sat on the grass and banged the swords together. After the ice fell away, she tried to remove the sword from its scabbard. With time growing short, she gave up. She analyzed the sword and scabbard, importing it into her drafting table. She input the Thaw (F) rune John had given her into components, and added it to the scabbard. Then she ran it through the simulator. It came back 50%.

  Well, that’s better than nothing.

  She pulled the overlay of the design over the sword and etched the runes as best she could w
ithout her vice. When they met her satisfaction, she began her enchantment. She felt like she had more control over the energy as she armed the runes. She shaped it back into the scabbard when it tried to penetrate the blade, and the enchantment clicked. A small hiss and a puff of steam escaped from between the guard and the scabbard. She pulled the blade free and checked the motion of the draw a few times to make sure the blade was clear. She then repeated the process.

  Margaret and Grax were third in line when she returned.

  “Good we were just about to come and get you, dear.”

  “How’d it go?” Grax asked expectantly.

  “Everything is sorted. Open the top of your bag and I’ll drop them in.” He pretended he was curling around her feet and collected the swords in his bag.

  “It’s our turn, children,” Margaret clapped her hands at them.

  “Coming, mother.” Grax rolled his eyes as he said it. He had heard that tone too many times before.

  A pretty, blue haired Majestan sat at the registration table. “Will you be competing in team or singles battle?” she asked.

  “Team for us please,” Mayah spoke up.

  They each gave the woman their names and registration fees.

  “And do any of the members have Class Skills?” she asked.

  “All three of us,” Mayah responded.

  “Well then, you’ll be in the Classed Division,” she told them

  “Classed Division?” Margaret inquired.

  “There were so many teams that it was decided to give the unclassed paladins their own division and set of prizes. We wanted to give them a chance,” the registrar explained.

  “Seems fair, but it’s gonna make our job a little harder.” Mayah scratched her nose.

  “Sure is,” Grax agreed.

  “But fewer fights for us.”

  The registrar interrupted their impromptu evaluation session, “Team name?”

  Team name? I think I forgot to tie my shoes again.

  “I got this, Fluff.” Grax whispered something to the woman and she wrote it down.

  She whispered something to him and he slipped her a few silver coins. Then he and hopped off the table and made his way to the bleachers.

  The pretty lady at the desk yelled, “Next!”

  Mayah bent over and asked the woman, “What name did he give us, miss?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said with a syrupy sweet smile, “I’m helping the next registrant. You should go and ask your friend.”

  She leaned to side and waved the next registrant forward.

  Mayah’s hands balled into fists and she felt a vein pulse in her forehead. “GRAAAAAAAX…..!!!!!!” she roared. The cat had disappeared.

  …..

  7.2 Fuel the Fire

  Mayah and Margaret sat in the bleachers. The training field had definitely been expanded. There were runescripts delineating the area into six separate sections. The two central rectangles looked about 150 feet wide by 80 feet tall each, and were separated by a ten-foot aisle. At the ends of the central two fields, two smaller rectangles were turned ninety degrees and were placed end to end. It looked like they were going to hold multiple matches to speed through the tournament.

  Mayah took in the details while continuously scanning the entire crowd. Grax was nowhere to be found. “When I get my hands on him…”

  “Now, now, dear, stay calm. We’ve got to keep our heads cool to win this.”

  “I’m sure we can win this without him—because I’m gonna turn his spine into a choker necklace.”

  “Oh, Fluff…” She tried to soothe her with a hand or her back.

  “Sorry, Mags, I hate when boys do stuff like this. It really gets me angry.”

  “I understand, but boys, will be boys.” She placed another reassuring hand on Mayah’s shoulder. “They stay that way forever, anyway. You’ll learn to pick your battles. Besides, he’s gonna miss the first match if he’s not careful.”

  “Hey, Fluff,” Jensen called from the lower railing. They waved at him and he made his way up the bleachers towards them.

  “So, have ye seen the brackets yet?”

  “No, and Grax didn’t even tell us our team name so we don’t know when we’re up.”

  “No worries lassie, he told me, so I’ll be yer handler.”

  “He told you Jensen? Thank god—what is it?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  She threw her hands up in the air. “Not this mess again, Jensen.”

  “Sorry, lassie, he made me swear an oath not to tell ye. I needed it to place bets and he was holding the name hostage. So, I did what I had to. We’re gonna be rich, by the way.”

  “Ooooh…. When I get my hands on him!”

  “At this point, ye couldn’t even get into the staging area because ye don’t know yer own team name.” Jensen watched as Mayah stewed in her seat even more. “He has a plan though, a pretty good one.”

  “A plan, Jensen?” She cocked her head “Really now???” sarcasm dripped from her voice as her head hung to the side.

  “Aye, ye might be surprised.”

  She hung her head in defeat. “Okay, I’ll bite. Go ahead, tell me this plan.”

  “He’s doing recon in the staging area. Listening in on the paladins, trying to figure out weaknesses and any plans they may have. Meanwhile, ye fine ladies are safe from scrutiny, all the while observing the competition. By the way, the name is a good one. I think yer going to like it. And even if you don’t, if you win the tournament you’ll be stuck with it, so ye better just embrace it.”

  “I’ll embrace his neck…”

  “Fluff… behave yourself!” Margaret’s chastising tone was a bit of a shock. “You always want to do all of the work. I, for one am glad to see Grax taking the initiative and picking up some of the slack.”

  “See, even Margaret’s on board,” Jensen added.

  “Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. I really want to hit something, though.”

  “It’s not like you need any more fuel to get into the swinging of yer hammer, but Grax knew you’d fight better if you were angry.”

  Her eyes rolled. “It figures. What big brother doesn’t know how to pick a fight with his little sister?”

  “Just sit tight for a bit longer, and then ye can go to the staging area.” Mayah’s hands, unconsciously clenched and unclenched on her knees. Jensen put his hand over one of hers and squeezed just enough to keep her hand from moving. She looked back to him with a question on her lips that fell away when she saw his stare.

  “Ye’ll be all right. I promise. Just relax before ye hurt the wrong person and get yerself disqualified or something.”

  The words bounced into her ear and around through multiple processes finally winding up in her translation center. He was asking her to trust the team, the team that she had built. She hadn’t truly realized that she had done it. It had all just come about so organically. As the understanding took hold, she nodded her head at the man and visibly relaxed.

  She trusted Grax even if he made her mad sometimes. Not only was he a member of the team, he was a trusted and valuable member. Even when she thought he had run, he had only gone for help. He was smart and he was good at what he did.

  She smiled, and then the corner of her lip curled in a sneer that changed Jensen's demeanor to one of fear.

  “What is it, Fluff? You just need to stay calm.”

  “Calm? I’m cool as a cucumber. Thank you for all of that information,” she said coolly.

  “Ah good. For a second there I thought ye were planning to damage the cat.”

  “Oh, but I am.” She brushed off the front of her dress. “But, I’m cool as an iceberg.”

  Jensen slid a few inches away from the tiny iceberg that sent a shiver down his spine.

  “Ooh, look, they put up the brackets,” Margaret clapped.

  Mayah turned to look at the giant screens popping up in the middle of each field. Displaying the brackets to appear in those fields,
Mayah found the team divisions above the larger, central fields. The classed division teams would be in the front most center area. She looked the names over.

  Maple Bam Bams…??? Dragon’s Leaf Brigade, sounds nice. Let’s see, Grind Guild, 3WitchesB, Punkinyousoftly, Royal Death Claws, Lion’s Roar Sect, and ...Children of Earth???

  “Did he really name us the Children of Earth?” she asked Jensen, with a groan.

  “I can’t rightly say with this oath and all.”

  “Darn cat!!!” she growled and started to fume icily again as she went over the brackets. “If we’re the Children of Earth then our first match is with the Royal Death Claws. We should be in the staging area sizing up the competition.”

  “Ye’ll get all the information ye need, don’t forget.”

  Mayah opened her mouth to retort when the blare of trumpets like the gladiator games in ancient Rome, cut her off.

  The screens split into fours that separated from the original and floated upwards into a central position above each ring. They formed box shapes and hung there for everyone to see, like a Jumbotron at sporting events. Except there were four of them and they were attached to nothing. It was a very impressive use of magic.

  I wonder if they are engineered that way or some type of illusion or light construct?

  As Mayah pondered that, a man walked onto the field, his face popping up on all of the screens. He stopped and turned around. Whichever way he looked, his face stayed in the same angle, dead on like a news anchor. He raised his hands to stop the murmurs that ran through the crowd.

  “I am Admos Bisharro, Mayor of the training village.” He spread his arms wide and joyously proclaimed, “I hereby welcome all of our strong and wonderful paladins to the first ever Tournament of Paladins!”

  The trumpets blasted their fanfare. He smiled and clapped along with the crowd urging them to get even more pumped up.

  When they finally quieted enough he said, “This is a fine day for a tournament, and we expect to see good things from all of our challengers as they fight their way to victory. Who will be the strongest? Who will be most cunning? Who will be the CHAMPIONS???”