by Tamryn Tamer
“Hold it,” Frost said. “How old is your sister? I’ve heard some things…”
“Oh?” Herald Law scoffed. “I wouldn’t think a man that beds insects would be so picky.”
“My sister is nineteen,” Sir Thomas answered. “She is twice widowed but without children. If you require a virgin…”
“That’s not my issue,” Frost groaned. “But why would I consider her equal to Brynn?”
“Through her previous marriages she’s inherited large estates,” Sir Thomas answered. “Since there were no heirs the estates passed on to her. Using the rel from those estates and her connections she’s managed to double her holdings in under two years. Although she does not have access to the wealth I control as the head of my branch, the rel gained from her marriages is her own. If you were to marry her, her holdings would become yours.”
“That is correct,” Brynn said. “Her wealth and the influence that wealth could purchase, as well as her connections with the prestigious Moray family, makes her my equal in terms of value.”
“Okay,” Frost chuckled. “Olivia Moray for Brynn Hilde Leaucault. I just want to get this over with.”
“Sir Thomas?” Herald Law looked down at the man. “Would you accept the terms of this wager?”
“I unfortunately cannot,” Sir Thomas said.
“Ha,” Frost laughed.
“Why the hell not?” Herald Law snapped. “Do you also think I’ll lose!”
“No,” Sir Thomas answered. “You forget my herald, I am from house Moray. I cannot agree to this without receiving something in return. Whether or not you succeed, I will be offering something of value. If you wish for my involvement, I will require something as well.”
“What?” Herald Law asked. “What could you possibly want?”
“A seat on the Grand Counsel,” Sir Thomas answered. “House Moray is currently unrepresented on the counsel and if I were to attain a seat then my status within the family would increase dramatically.”
“That’s it?” Herald Law scoffed. “Fine! Once this is over, you’ll be granted a position on the grand counsel!”
“I’m afraid I need it in writing before the battle,” Sir Thomas said while reaching into his satchel. He pulled out a glowing piece of parchment. “The position will be granted and the betrothal will be agreed to in writing.”
“Fine!” Herald Law said. “Write it up.”
“Very well,” Sir Thomas said.
“Now,” Herald Law turned his attention back to Frost. “The duel.”
“Where and when?” Frost asked.
“Over there and as soon as possible,” Herald Law said, gesturing at the field full of royal guards. “I’m eager to get this over with.”
“You expect me to fight in a field surrounded by your guards?” Frost laughed. “Really?”
“None of them will involve themselves,” Herald Law said. “Not that it would be necessary.”
“And what about grand magic?” Frost asked, pointing at the area. “And collateral damage.”
“I’ll make sure they keep their distance,” Herald Law said. “You’ll just need to give them time to move out of the way.”
“Fine,” Frost said as he waited for Sir Thomas to finish up the paperwork. Once it was signed, the knight returned the parchment to his pouch.
“If you defeat Herald Law in a duel my sister will marry you,” Sir Thomas said, bowing politely.
“Satisfied?” Herald Law asked.
“I will be when you’re bleeding out in the field,” Frost said, turning to head back toward Filan. “Send somebody when you’re ready.”
“Very well,” Herald law scoffed as he turned and walked back toward his soldiers
Queen Valencia patiently waited for Herald Frost on their side of the bridge.
“Herald Frost,” she said politely as he approached. “I hope you’re not too disappointed that Isabelle was taken off the table.”
“A little,” Frost sighed. “I’ve heard a lot about her and honestly I’m intrigued.”
“Well,” Queen Valencia tapped her cheek several times as if she were still contemplating something important. “I can potentially arrange a meeting with her in exchange for you arranging a meeting for me.”
“With who?” Frost asked.
“Your future wife,” she answered. “If I’m not mistaken, that was Sir Thomas Moray which means that Olivia Moray is currently in play.”
“You seem fairly certain of my victory,” Frost smirked proudly. “Betting everything on me.”
“Yes,” she said. “Herald Law has never lost a battle but as I was standing on that bridge something didn’t feel quite right. There are too many things that seem to have fallen so perfectly in place. Everything since before he even arrived has been too clean.”
“Clean?” Frost chuckled. “Nothing about this has been clean.”
“Then you’re not paying attention,” she said unamused. “Herald Law has been untouchable for over a decade but within a few short months he’s about to face off against an opponent hundreds of miles away from the capital over some courtesans. If I didn’t know any better, I would assume my husband was behind it.”
“King Leaucault?” Frost asked.
“Yes,” she answered. “If not my husband maybe King Asmund and if not him then maybe you. Or, maybe nobody. Maybe I’ve been around nobles so long that I can’t help but see plots where none exist. Either way, it doesn’t feel right. So, I made my wager and now it’s up to you not to disappoint.”
“Well you’re in luck there,” Frost smirked. “I’m not known for disappointing beautiful women.”
“You disgust me,” she replied coldly before turning to walk away. “When this is over be sure to arrange the meeting with the Moray family and I’ll arrange a meeting with my daughter.”
CHAPTER 25
Frost wondered what the hell he was doing as he approached the makeshift arena. He should have evacuated his villagers and simply hid behind Darius’ army. Hell, Darius would probably give him his own village to run in his territory if he wanted. Instead, he was walking into a deathmatch.
Nearly two thousand azure-clad guards circled the area, leaving a few feet of space between each other. Herald Law stood near the center of the massive field, waiting patiently.
“Idiot,” Frost muttered to himself as he scanned Herald Law. Every item the man wore was higher quality than anything he owned. Even Lishri’s finest garments couldn’t compare to the herald’s rune-etched golden armor. On top of the high quality, every piece boasted multiple enchantments, many of which he’d never heard of. “I could have just walked away.”
He should have just walked away. He could have evacuated everybody in his territory to Rilia or come to some other agreement. He didn’t even bother offering to trade Brynn away.
“Brynn,” he growled under his breath while staring past Herald Law at the petite princess in the distance, sitting on her white horse as if to get a better view. He wondered what the hell he was going to do with her when everything was said and done.
He glanced back at the villagers watching from the opposite side of the river. He was somewhat surprised by how cavalier they were being about everything. The knights in the village quickly set up various tables and seating which quickly filled.
“Take your time,” Herald Law shouted as Frost continued walking to meet him.
Frost realized that he was guilty of the same mistake that Herald Law made, he’d become arrogant. The man was higher level with decades of experience in Nivara while Frost only had a few months of experience. Herald Law had equipment crafted from the finest materials by the finest artisans on the continent and enchanted with the most powerful enchantments. Frost’s equipment was crafted from monster parts by the Arachne and Orcs from his village and the enchantments were whatever anybody was capable of.
The odds weren’t in his favor and he still accepted the challenge as if he were immortal. He was arrogant, but at least he realized
it before it was too late.
He’d activated Aura of the Divine, Breath of the Goddess, and Fate’s Guidance before he stepped out of the village and began analyzing everything.
Herald law was right that he was taking his time. He was watching the Crusader, waiting in the middle of the field with a pair of rune-covered golden axes. One carried an enchantment called Holy Fire and the other Decay. Most of his rune-etched armor carried various protection spells ranging from Fire Immunity to Divine Protection along with a few odd ones he’d never heard of like Valor. His large kite shield was harnessed to his back and carried an enchantment called Divine Light.
Frost was able to guess what most of the armor pieces did as he continued his scans to find various jewelry items enchanted with Poison Immunity as well as various enhancements to Divine Magic. The man’s armor was probably worth more than Frost’s entire territory.
The crusader class was also a mystery to him. A paladin was typically defense and healing oriented in games while crusaders varied by the game. Sometimes they were more offense oriented than paladins while other times they were simply paladins by a different name. The dual wielding had Frost leaning toward the former than the latter but the shield on his back gave him pause. It was possible the class could swap between offense and defense.
“I know I said to take your time but…”
“What’s the rush?” Frost asked as he faced off against Herald Law, standing about thirty yards away. “Does waiting make you nervous? Does it make you second guess your choices?”
“No,” Herald Law scoffed. “I’m just looking forward to finally claiming my little songbird.”
“Finally?” Frost shook his head, realizing that the herald had probably had his eyes on Brynn ever since she was a little girl. “How long have you been waiting?”
“Too long,” Herald Law said.
“Probably bothers you that I’ve ridden her every which way, huh?” Frost said, trying to get under his skin. “I mean, mouth, cunt, ass. Ass to mouth. Cunt to ass to mouth. Mouth to ass to mouth…”
“Shut your disgusting mouth you piece of trash,” Herald Law growled. “You’re nothing but a rancid pervert and the world will be better off when I take your head.”
“Right,” Frost said, taking a deep breath as he honed all of his senses in on his target. “So, when does this begin?”
Herald Law held one of his axes in the air and the royal guards simultaneously began counting down from ten, stomping their boots with each count.
“Nine!” they shouted.
“I’m looking forward to taking your head,” Herald Law grinned.
“Eight!”
“I’d wish you luck but…” Frost shrugged.
“Seven!”
Frost could feel power begin to surge from Herald Law as the air around him began to crackle with energy. The gold-clad knight picked his great helmet up off the ground and put it on.
“Six!”
“Five!”
He was heavily armored but Frost decided to treat him as if he were wearing cloth. Frost would use his maximum speed from the start just in case Herald Law was faster than he should be. Given the number of enchantments it was possible that some of them boosted speed.
“Four!”
“One thing I should tell you about your future wife Herald Law,” Frost smirked as the man focused on him, his eyes gleaming through the slits of his helm. “I’m not the only person that’s fucked her.”
“Three!”
“She’s fucked several elves,” Frost said, maintaining his focus as he spoke. “And a demon and an Arachne thrust her tongue deep into her cunt and she loved every second of it.”
“Two!”
“Liar!” Herald Law’s growl reverberated from his helmet.
“One!”
“Honest truth,” Frost said as he waited for the final stomp. “Your little songbird is a filthy demi-fucking whore.”
“Begin!”
Herald Law came flying at him faster than what should have been possible. Had he not decided to treat him like a cloth wearer the fight would have already been over as he narrowly evaded the first blow of the axe. Herald Law immediately twisted his body intending to strike him with the second axe.
Frost dashed backward, attempting to create distance as he watched every one of Herald Law’s movements. The man was attacking so aggressively it bordered on reckless. He was like a berserker, completely fearless as he rushed Frost, swinging his axes wildly.
“Law! Law! Law!” the royal guards chanted as they stomped in unison.
“Guh,” Frost groaned as he evaded another flurry of attacks. The stomping was throwing off his rhythm as he tried to keep his focus as he looked for a clean opening. He was being chased around the field like a helpless white rabbit being hunted by a wolf as he waited for a chance to counterattack. “Hya!”
Frost lunged forward while sidestepping the downward strike of the axe. He twisted his body, turning his head first to keep his eyes on his opponent, his body following as he gripped his longsword with both hands, charging it nearly to its limit as it crashed against Herald Law’s chest plate.
“Fuck,” Frost snapped as the sword bounced off the armor, sending a reverberation through his body as if he’d just smacked an iron beam with a crow bar at full strength. He barely managed to evade the second axe strike as he jumped backward.
“It’s like I said,” Herald Law growled. “You never had a chance!”
The force of his blow should have been enough to cleave several armored soldiers in half. Hell, he was able to cave armor in with a single blow of his fist so smashing into a chest plate with a sword should have done something. But there wasn’t even a scratch on it.
“Shit,” Frost panted as he continued dashing backward, holding his sword in front of him, preparing to parry any strikes in the off chance he failed to dodge. The enchantments on his armor were mostly Divine Barrier and he figured they were likely similar to his own barriers. He just didn’t expect them to be so powerful. Even his own barrier would crack from a hit like the one he just delivered. But barriers wore down so he just needed to keep at it.
“You think I’m going to let you keep running?” Herald Law said as he threw one of the axes at Frost. Frost only glanced at the axe for a moment but it was a moment too many as a barrier appeared behind him, causing him to crash. By the time he was looking back at Herald Law, the thrown axe was blocking him on the right and Herald Law was coming right down the center toward him. If he wanted to evade, he’d need to go left but Herald Law likely knew that.
Frost quickly rolled to the right, narrowly dodging beneath the thrown weapon as Herald Law attempted to trap him with a second barrier.
“That’ll only work once,” Frost said as he smashed the barrier with his blade, leaving him free to evade again as Herald Law picked up his axe. Although the barrier on his armor was insanely powerful, his standard barriers were about as powerful as Frost’s.
He hadn’t thought about it before but he suddenly noticed that Herald Law lacked the spells that he learned from Cassia.
Aura of the Divine was allowing him to sense where Herald Law was, even if he dashed out of his line of sight. Breath of the Goddess would allow Frost to outlast him magically. And Fate’s Guidance was telling him that Herald Law was depleting his strength rapidly with his relentless onslaught.
“Slowing down already?” Frost mocked as he realized that even if Herald Law could maintain his speed while wearing heavy armor it would drain him physically. When they began the fight, Frost was slightly weaker both physically and magically due to levels but if Fate’s Guidance was right, their positions were flipped. “Is the thought of Brynn being violated by an Arachne tongue distracting you?”
“Liar!” Herald Law roared as he brought his axe down. Frost quickly summoned a barrier but sensed Herald Law supply an enormous amount of strength to the weapon and dodged backward. “Die!”
A burning light erupted from the ax
e, sending a massive white crescent cleaving through his barrier as well as the field. The royal guards standing far behind him screamed as they were forced to move out of the way to avoid the slash.
“Die!” Herald Law roared as his second axe came down, causing a black wind to blast through the field like a tunnel of soot, leaving everything it touched dead. “Brynn would never allow herself to be defiled by animals!”
“She not only allowed it, she enjoyed it,” Frost said, evading the various slashes and wind bursts as Herald Law released a flurry of attacks. He was definitely weakening but Frost still didn’t have anything that could break through his armor.
“I’m done playing,” Herald law growled under his breath while throwing his axes onto the ground. “You think I’m going to let you keep slandering my songbird. You’re mistaken.”
“Songbird,” Frost mocked. “Rabbit’s more fitting with how much she enjoys being fucked.”
“Make your jokes,” Herald Law said calmly as he grabbed the kite shield off his back. “I’ll be crushing your windpipe soon enough.”
Frost sent a slew of translucent barrier blades toward Herald Law, only to watch them glance off his armor as if they were leaves blowing against a mountain. He followed up by summoning stone spikes from the ground. They shattered against the herald’s unbreakable defenses.
“I told you that this is futile,” Herald Law said as he held his hand toward the sky. “Divine Blade!”
A massive sword of burning light appeared in his hand. It was at least the length of a person and several times wider than a normal greatsword. Herald Law held it in one hand as if it was light as a feather while holding his kite shield with the other. The man looked like some storybook hero.
“Law! Law! Law!” the soldiers cheered as Herald Law’s shield began to glow.
Before Frost realized what was happening, he found himself blinded by what felt like a hundred flashbangs going off simultaneously. Thanks to his aura he sensed Herald Law coming and moved to dodge but the slash came sooner than expected. His arm suddenly felt like acid was being poured in an open wound.
