Chapter 2 - Let the battle begin!

After a long and exhausting journey, William and Eldric finally arrived at the capital. The Grand Tourney spiced up the capital; the street is booming with traders, swordsmiths, and armourers are selling their items like hotcakes, and all inn are packed with tourists to witness the first round of the Tourney, duelling contest.

There is still time before the ceremony begins, giving the two to have their well-deserved rest. 

"A man can't fight with an empty stomach!" Eldric says as he takes William to a tavern so the two can have a hearty meal. The tavern is busy as ever, but now knights, squires, and even their spectators fill their halls. Commoners and royals gather here as they conduct their bets to see which knight will win on the first part of the Tourney, Dueling.

Knights brandish their swords and boast how sturdy their armour is, but William stays quiet. He can see that these knights were not cleaning their armour enough as rust formed on the edge of their armours – a weak spot. Nevertheless, William smiled in confidence that his cleaning ensured Eldric's armour would have no such faults.

William was about to resume eating when he suddenly felt a chill on his spine. He sensed something dangerous was going outside. He tilts his head and sees the tavern is loud as it was before. Eldric, too seems to be enjoying his meal. But William cannot shake off coming danger. And it is coming fast.  

William decided to act on his feeling and decided to take a look outside. As he swung the door open, the crowd on the street yells echoed thru the tavern's hall. William and Eldric run to the street and see a cart full of ration and food speeds down slopes the market without any hesitation. William jumps into the nearby barrels, scales the buildings' walls, and chases the cart on the roof. Eldric was too old to follow his apprentice, so he ran after the cart thru the streets.

With no obstacle to slow William, he runs past the cart, jumps off the roof, land on a pile of hay and gets back on the street. Eldric sees his squire just a few paces from the cart. He throws his shield to his squire. Without uttering a word, the two instinctively know what to do.

William catches Eldric's shield in the air and slams the cart, then pushes it back with all his might. Then, he puts the cart at a slower pace, allowing Eldric to catch up and pull the cart and finally stop it on its track.

Eldric smiled at his squire, impressed by William's Sense. It was not the first time William had done these kinds of things. Eldric first noticed it when he was personally training him last year. William was able to detect animal tracks more than a seasoned hunter. He can find the tiniest mushroom in the wild (thus why Eldric also let William cook when they're in the wilds) and recently when William managed to detect Ingrid inside the bushes. It seems minor, but Eldric can't figure out why William has this gift, but he is happy to see it used for something good.

The onlookers cheered from their feat! And from the crowd came two distinguished men. One is young, wearing armour with a rose insignia on its chest. The other is an older gentleman wearing expensive clothing, and this too has the same rose insignia on his chest. William can see the gentleman same as the age of Eldric if not older.

"Sir Eldric? My word! Not only did you stop our lose cart but also saved the bystanders from being hurt" the old man smiles wide as he gives Eldric his hand. "Showing off as a hero before the Tourney begins? Maybe it's time you should have a title as Cabbage Stopper?"

Eldric shook the hand of the gentleman and gave him a warm smile. "Lenato, Duke of Einherjar, was a while since we saw each other!"

The two exchange words with enthusiasm like two friends who didn't saw each other for a long time. Eldric introduces William to Duke Lenato, and likewise, the Duke introduces the knight as his son, Rolfe. Lenato and Eldric began talking about their past and how their last meeting ended 20 years ago.

"I lost to you at the Grand Tourney. But, by winning, you asked the King for the marriage of his daughter-" Lenato paused and snickered while Eldric stared with eyes burning of rage.

William can feel the tension in the air. He didn't know this past of Eldric, but this seemed to open old wounds. He can see Eldric's grip on his sword tightened. William can see Rolfe shifting his weight to a fighting pose. William was to grab his dagger but stopped when Rolfe's hands quietly grabbed two knives behind his armour in retaliation from William's action. Finally, William met with Rolfe's eyes, and for the first time in William's life, his pride as a squire overwhelms him. He is ready to lay his life for Eldric if it comes to it.

 "Well, that doesn't matter now. Since I didn't win back then, my son surely will." Lenato cuts the silence and gives a smug smile to Eldric.

But before they could continue their conversation, the cathedral's bell rang loudly across the capital. It is time; the Grand Tourney has begun! Lenato wishes Eldric the best and hopes Eldric doesn't cross his sword with his son's. After he brags that Rolfe won multiple fencing championships across the realm, they left and handed William a pocket of gold right from saving their cart.

William is curious to know more about Eldric past, but time is the essence. As they left, Eldric pats on William's back on stopping the cart and asks him if his Sense is at work. William nods and explains it's weird, but he manages to detect the cart before it arrives. "Then hone that skill, William. Use it, and you will be able to surpass me."

Eldric arrived at the arena donning his shiny armour. William is there standing beside Eldric as all the squires do during the ceremony, but he feels anxious as Eldric's armour gives off a silver glint catching the attention of the knights and the bystanders. He was about to ask Eldric if he was okay with the attention, but he was distracted.

William ear fell deaf to the King's speech and concentrated on where Eldric was looking. To William's surprise, Eldric is looking arena's highest seat, the Princess. No amount of words from the King or whisper of the others distracts their long stare of kinship. If Lenato is to be believed, then the two did have a relationship long ago.

The bell rang, the knights hurrahed, and the squire raised their flags! The tournament has begun!  

The announcer blows his horn. Then, one by one, the knights are called to the arena to fight their matches. Some yielded. Some are stubborn and left with a missing limb. And worst, some came out on a cart. William is seated on the balcony, and beside him is an old man carrying a keg of ale and selling drinks to the spectators.

"Sir Eldric Tarwood and Sir George Frosthold!" the announcer says. Shortly, the two knights arrived from each end of the arena. The two knelt before their King before arriving at the middle. William can see that the Princess locked her gaze only to Eldric, and thru his Sense, William feels she is excited and scared as he is.

The horn blows, and the fight commenced! George, being a young knight, charges first with his warhammer. However, his flurry of attack was parry by Eldric's shield. Eldric counters, but his sword doesn't do any damage against the enemy's armour and slips away as it makes contact.

William saw this too and was baffled. He knows that Eldric sword is strong enough to pierce any armour but not even a dent can be seen. The old man beside William gave him a mug. "Drinks on me, kid. It looks like you're a squire of Sir Eldric, eh? The worry on your face shows it all. Like many other squires here when their mentor is on the field."

William accepts the ale and drinks to calm his nerves. A soothing sensation fills him fills his throat. He never had one this kind of ale before. He thanks the old man and compliments his drink. The old man puts down the empty keg and observes the match with him.

Eldric slammed his shield against his enemy's armour and tried to swipe the warhammer against his sword. He intended to push George to the ground, but he underestimated his opponent's strength. George slips against the shield found himself behind Eldric's back. He swings his warhammer, and it throws Eldric to the ground.

The Princess stood up in horror while the old man cheered with the crowd.

William subconsciously activated his Sense. His eye widened, and William scanned the armour as if he were standing beside George. Nothing is out of the ordinary as it seems at first, but William can see a blurry substance lather on the top of the armour. There! He sees a dent in George's armour at the chest when Eldric slams his shield.

Eldric rolled up and grabbed his sword. He goes on the offensive, but like last time his attacks slip away from George's armour.

"Alchemic substance filled George armour. It makes any slash useless against it, but it's possible to scarp the substance away from impact attacks." William says it aloud, and this caught the old man's attention. The old man was curious about how he knew it and managed to see it from afar. William dodges the question and instead replies that Eldric can still win the match.

"My lad, you can shout all you want, but Sir Eldric won't hear you from here." He tries to intimidate William, but the boy is confident. The old man followed up with a question. "If you were there, how will you defeat George then?" the old man asked.

"I will hold the sword inverted with both hands gripping the blade. The pommel and crossguard will act as an impact point. Mordhau." William says with confidence.

The old man is impressed by William's answer and replies with a wager on who will win. William took on the offer and bet for Eldric. He gave the gold pouch he got from Lenato, and the old man bet with the earning he got from selling his ale.

Eldric stands and drops his sword. He held his shield and moved cautiously. George sees this as a sign of exhaustion from Eldric and attacks in with all of his might. Eldric seizes his chance! He counters by shifting his weight and dodges the attack; he turns to George's side, charges with his shield like a ram, and pushes George off balance.

As George fell to the ground, Eldric sat on George's chest and pinned him. George tried to move, but the heavy armour he wore and Eldric's made him impossible to move.

Eldric slammed his shield on George's wrist until he let go of his weapon. Then Eldric repeatedly hits his shield on George's helmet until it comes off.

"I yield!" George screams as he covers his face. The crowd goes wild from the spectacle.

William jumped for joy and looked at the old man about their bet. The old man grumbles and gives his gold. He thanked the old man and hurried off to tend to Eldric.

As William exit the spectator's field, he sees Lenato speaking with the announcer. William hides and assumes Lenato is plotting against Eldric. But, though he cannot understand the things they say about politics and war, he heard these words clearly as Lenato handed the announcer a pocketful of gold. "Eldric will fight my son!"