The bear was furious now and used this reprieve to charge. I watched as he used Mauling Frenzy, increasing his speed and power, then triggered Crown of the Mountain King. Thick spears of black diamond thrust from the top of his head and the sides of his face. Samael tried to dodge the attack, but Tejón was too fast. He pushed the hellhound before him, his crown piercing the beast, then plowed him all the way to the edge of the ring. Tejón slammed into the arena wall, sending cracks sprawling through the stone and skewering the canine completely. The stone bear thrashed about, hoping to increase the damage done, but the hellhound was already dead.
Kazen looked at me, anger in his eyes, and I smirked. Still fifteen seconds left on my Palisade of Flame. I would have no trouble finishing the fight.
The Warlock did a great job of block my first few attacks, but this time I reversed the order of my melee skills. I dropped Whirlwind first, causing the warlock to use everything he had to block and evade the moves. Despite his skill, the last attack clipped him in the ribs. The man hunched over in pain and tried to scramble away. I used Sunder, allowing my axe to pass through his block and split his skull in half.
I stood panting before the ecstatic crowd and watched distantly as our defeated foes were carted away from the pit. The announcer came up to me, a grin on his charismatic face, and spoke to me quietly. “You can recover in a bit. Great fight, Madi. You two are quite the team.”
I mumbled out a thanks, then looked over at Tejón, who was sitting down on his haunches and breathing heavily.
“Alright!” the man shouted. “The tournament is over, and we have a few awards to hand out. Can we have the other winners join us?” A column of competitors filed out to surround Tejón and I.
“Winner of the Solo Cup, and no surprise, Teegan Shadespar!” the announcer said.
Teegan stepped forward and received a pouch of gold and a long, sheathed dagger with a black hilt. He bowed and found his place again.
The announcer continued the impromptu awards ceremony. “Next, we have the winner of the Team Trial. Let’s all give a shout for the Champions of Banderbury!”
Oliver gave me a quick wink as he stepped up beside his teammates. The Ranger, I observed as I finally had the strength to stand up properly and shrug off the pain of my wounds, had a seriously tidy rear end. She was a cat kin. She held her helm tucked beneath her arm, her cute little feline ears not diminishing her looks in the slightest. She was a bonified morrita.
Each of the team members walked forward and took a pouch of gold, and this time, they were each handed something a bit rarer for this realm: a small vial of healing potion. I’d need to ask Oliver what kind it was when I spoke with him later.
“Last, we have a champion who won two of our events, and though she did show us exactly what her lunch looks like, she didn’t break much of a sweat out here. Let’s hear it for our Battle Royale champion and winner of the Companion’s Cup, Madi Mendoza and her friend Tejón!” The crowd hollered and clapped, and I saw a few roses tumble to the sandy floor.
I stepped forward to receive my prizes, Tejón beside me. I was handed two fat pouches of gold, heavy enough to respect by their weight, a healing potion, and two small scrolls. I could always check them out later, so I just held them in my hand as I raised the other, accepting the praise that was thrown down on me. Tejón roared, lifting up on his hind legs. For a second, the applause hushed, but then it renewed with more force than ever before. This bear was turning into quite the attention hog.
I was high as a kite as I made my way back towards the Rooster’s Head. Teegan tagged along, busy giving Tejón far too many compliments. I didn’t stop him, though. The big boy deserved it. I still couldn’t believe the devastation he’d unleashed in the final match. Our win was largely due to his unbridled strength.
When we arrived, a round of applause passed through the many patrons who had walked directly from the arena before us. I responded by lifting up one of the prize purses, and screamed, “Free drinks on me until this gold runs out!” Rodrick gave me a grin, no doubt in part because I threw him at least 100 gold dragons.
“And what may I do for you, champion?” he added the last with a flick of his eyebrow.
“I’ll take an ale please, and two more of those meat pies!” I called back and pulled up a stool. Teegan sat next to me and we chatted for a while, waiting for our food.
The common room filled to bursting, allowing in many more people than was properly safe. No way this would fly in the real world, where things like fire codes existed. But I enjoyed the thrum of the place. With the relative space that a stool at the bar afforded me, I watched the antics of the drunk and those well on their way.
“Well done and well met, Madi,” Wardahl said from behind me. I turned to see him grinning and he shook my hand. “I’ll not pull your incredibly long leg this time. I didn’t think you had it in you. Then again, you had my armor, so that explains everything.”
I shrugged and admitted, “If not for the armor, I’d be a lot balder than I am right now. I’ll take whatever advantage I can get!”
“Just do me a favor,” the dwarf pressed. “When you see Wardeen again, tell him three
