A Day in Yuiria
Securing your hat, you begin your counterattack. Ruler of lightning, heed my summons.
Recognizing that you are about to make your move, Elmont quickly orders his wolves to go on the attack. “Oh, no you don’t! I won’t let you complete your spell, Sir Trider!” shouts the mage, his composure lost, caught up in the intensity of the fight. The blue wolves, streamers of electricity emanating from their tails and paws, surge towards you as if of one mind, charging forward swifter than any horse. It is a fine sentiment, not allowing the enemy the chance to get off their attack, but…
A large paw emerges in front of you, swiping at the approaching wolves. Howling, they scatter and regroup at a safer distance. All around you, a large beast takes shape in a piece-meal fashion as if being cobbled together out of thin air. All four paws land on the stone ground, cracking them with their weight. Further cracks widen and spread out from the points of contact, blue lightning crackling merrily deep within them. A swirl of wind whips up the beast’s glowing silver fur, causing faint sparks to float away into the air and dissipate with a pop and crackle. The air is thick with the smell of ozone. The gigantic cat is perhaps twice the size of a horse, and it stands over you protectively, glaring with its sapphire eyes at the wolves. It lets out a deep, guttural meow of greeting loud enough to break almost every wine-glass in the garden. There are shouts and cries of fear, and yet even more of dismay as some of the guests have rare and expensive liquor spilled all over their exorbitantly priced outfits.
“Why, thoust lack of trust in thine own fist might almost be forgiven,” comments Barbatos grudgingly. “Good taste. Very stylish animal. Well-suited for performing uppercuts, I must say.”
“Your barrier, Argius! What in blazes is your barrier for?” complains a man loudly; the Crown Prince, you think.
You do not hear Argius’s mumbled apology clearly. The barrier is still up: it was designed only to stop magical energy and little else. As the mood settles down slightly, and the crowd are able to fathom what they are seeing, the atmosphere changes. Dark muttering, hushed whispering, and the like: it looks like your spell is not something that sits well with them.
Meanwhile, Elmont’s face has frozen into an impassive mask. Moving jerkily, he backs away, gesturing at his wolves, his mouth a tight, drawn line that betrays little of what he is feeling underneath. His wolves pile together, merging in a flurry of fur and claw, until finally a large wolf almost – but not quite – equal to your tiger in size stands before you. That seems like a neat trick, you think. The crowd cheers half-heartedly, their previously merry attitude now subdued. Beads of sweat drip down Elmont’s cheek and off his chin. His fingers tremble. Tell-tale signs of fatigue: the spell must be costing him a lot of mana.
You scratch the tiger under its jaw, making it purr loud sounds of contentment. Now for its dinner. You grin. Elmont’s wolf shrinks back slightly, its ears flattened.
Argius slams his ornate, top-heavy staff on the ground, attracting everyone’s attention. Besides him stands Queen Natalia, her displeasure made quite clear by the glare in her eyes. “The duel is over. That is enough foolishness for one night!” You can hardly blame her, but perhaps she should direct more of the blame towards her own nobles.
Elmont glances over at her, and then nods. He dismisses his wolves before slumping backwards with a tired sigh. The man is caught by a gaggle of shouting women, panicked at his collapse.
“Sir Trider… I do believe you can call off your pet now,” says Argius, facing you down sternly. The corner of his brows twitch with a nervous tic. You look around: Archmage Julius has vanished. Where has he gone off to?
“I did tell you that Athos is not the most honourable of demons. Off plotting something, I would wager.” Barbatos’s tone is tinged with complaint.
“It is a rather anti-climactic end to the evening’s entertainment,” you call out, still petting your tiger. “So it is my victory, then?”
“It is a draw,” snarls Nostrus suddenly. “It was inconclusive!”
“I am perfectly willing to conclude it,” you drawl lazily, moving your hand away from the giant cat. It turns to growl at the Count, the lashing of its tail causing a small breeze to sweep the garden. He scurries back like a roach, drawing close to Argius and the Queen.
“It is your victory.” To your surprise, Wisteria concedes the match; though she certainly seems unhappy about it. “You have certainly proven yourself. I think we need no further evidence of your strength, Sir Trider. I will honour the bet.”
“Wist-“ begins Nostrus, but the female knight cuts him off with a glare.
“If the Knight-Captain says it is so, then so must it be,” says Queen Natalia. “Do you have any disagreements, Lord Elmont?”
The man shakes his head, somehow even more dashing than he was before despite the sweat plastering his well-groomed hair to his forehead and cheeks. “I am not confident enough to claim victory should the duel have continued. Considering that Sir Trider was at a disadvantage in facing two opponents, I can have no complaints about the result.”
“Then we have our conclusion. Sir Trider is the winner of tonight’s duel,” announces the Queen. You give her a bow, and with a sweep of your hand, the tiger fades away into mist without having done much except pose threateningly. After seeing it vanish, Argius seems to heave a sigh of relief. With another tap of his staff he dismisses the barrier surrounding the duel grounds, which by now is cracked and scorched by the brief scuffle.
“Now, though you have your victory, Sir Trider, I must say that your presence has been slightly disruptive to the banquet,” continues Queen Natalia, gazing directly at you. “It might be better if you retired early for the night. You, and Count Algonquin both.”
“M-Me?” Nostrus is bewildered. “I-I didn’t do anything, Your Majesty! This is… this is ridiculous!”
The Queen sighs.
Out of nowhere, Prince Fennick appears on Nostrus’s left, draping his arm over the Count’s shoulder. “Come on, Nostrils. Let’s ditch this boring place and go have a drink in private!” he says jovially, drunkenly.
“Nos... Your Highness, please-“
“Count Nostrils, the prince would very much like your company,” says Marquis Ondore, who has manifested himself on Nostrus’s right, taking his arm. “Come now.”
“Yes, you have to tell us all about that running naked business. It sounds like a laugh,” says Knight-Commander Belbro, looming behind the Count, though he does not sound amused one bit.
A protesting Count is dragged off by the three. You note that Duke Hargreave is staring bitterly at them – he seems about to speak up, but upon sharing a glance with the Crown Prince, decides against it.
“Now that Count Algonquin has retired for the night, should you not do the same?” reminds the Queen, a tone of impatience creeping into her voice. You glance around the garden. There does not seem to be much welcome left here for you. Farland, in particular, has a horrified grin on his face. When he catches your eye, he shrugs and shakes his head.
“Better for you to make a retreat here, Trider,” murmurs Guildmaster Alexander, coming up next to you. “These nobles have a short memory. They’ll forget about it in a week or so.”
You nod. “Very well, Your Majesty. Just give me a few minutes.”
She arches an eyebrow.
You spend the next few minutes grabbing whatever food you can carry. Etiquette classes? What are those?
***
Upon your return to the tavern, you quickly mollify the displeased demon princess with an offering of food. Aria was rather upset that she didn’t get to go and participate in the duel, and in particular blamed Arlin for making a fool out of you with his defeat. You offered to cast the same spell on her, just to be fair. Aria agreed. Unfortunately for her, she did not take well to it either, and spent the rest of the night convalescing.
It is later on that you receive a message from a servant: a letter from Wisteria, designating the time and place that you are to meet up.
***
You find Wisteria waiting for you at the entrance of the tavern the next morning. She is wearing a light, white dress with frills; a pleasant surprise, considering that you had expected her to be in some sort of knight’s uniform. The red-haired knight seems uncomfortable in the dress, shifting around in a posture more appropriate for a suit of armour.
Besides her is Elmont, in fresh new robes and a sparkling grin, wearing his stylish clothes in an expression of confidence that is the exact opposite of Wisteria.
“What is he doing here?” You jab a thumb at the man. Wisteria looks at Elmont and nods.
“The wager was to have a day out with you, was it not?” answers Elmont. “So here I am!”
“No. I don’t need you, just Wist.”
Elmont seems rather dismayed. “But-“
“Shoo, shoo. Go away. I don’t like men,” you say brusquely, waving your hand at him.
A dejected Elmont slinks away as you escort Wisteria out of the tavern. “He was quite looking forward to this, you know,” she says.
“Does he… is he interested in men?”
“I think he already has a fiancée. It was more the prospect of discussing magic with you that excited him… probably.”
“He can file in a request for that when I drop by the Mage’s Guild. Today is a day for you, Wist.” You try another dazzling smile, but the effect is lost as Wisteria makes a point of not looking at you.
“Y-yes. I shall do my best to carry out my duty as your guide to the city,” she says haltingly. As the two of you walk down the street, drawing attention with every step, you catch someone trailing you. Elmont? No… the presence is much more familiar. It’s Rin and Aria. You wonder what they are up to. But it would probably be best to ignore them for now.
Today is a date. How did things go again? You rack your mind to recall what it is that you were supposed to do… ah, yes. Making small talk about the girl, drawing her into conversation to put her more at ease. Turning to Wisteria, you ask the nervous Knight-Captain a question.
***
A. “What are your hobbies?”
B. “What do you do for work?”
C. “What is your family like?”
D. “What do you think of the political situation of this kingdom?”
E. “What sort of men do you like?”
F. “How important is sexual compatibility to you in a partnership?”
G. “Is Nostrus really your fiancé? How did the two of you end up together?”
H. “What is one thing you would like to know about me?”
Unless it were the demons that brought the knowledge of the spell with them.
