Chương 115: Book 2 Chapter 67 - The Stand-in

Kiara barely slept the night before the duel, due to her anticipation of what was to come. Was Jaden right that she should be nervous about the baron possibly having some hidden artifact that would give him a leg up in the fight? She had yet to discover an artifact whose magic acted on her properly, but she was able to use a storage ring without any issues, and she didn't know what the difference was. There could hypothetically be some enchanted weapon out there that she should be nervous about.

Then she realized that she had experienced an artifact that affected her. The dueling collars at Handel's Sword Academy. They affected her much the same way that Kane's aura affected her, except even more so. When wearing one, it completely limited her ability to act beyond a certain capacity. Maybe Jaden had a right to be worried for her. Luckily, she didn't need much sleep anyways, and she did end up drifting off eventually. She awoke early and went through her sword forms in preparation for the duel.

After breakfast, she went through the forms again and again, practicing at low speed for a few hours. She practiced getting into the right headspace so that she could hopefully settle right into her focused flow state when the duel began. She made her way to the city arena half an hour before the appointed time. The only people that came with her were Ron, Jaden, and Estella, who had served as Kiara's bodyguard until Zoey was hired.

Captain Soren stayed back at the estate with most of the guards, and Gentry stayed as well, not wanting to watch the duel. Ron and Estella, who had both seen her fight Lord Grivalt, seemed excited about watching the fight, and clearly thought she was a shoe in to win. Jaden was still apprehensive, but acted as supportive as he could. The baron must have spread the word, because the arena stands were packed when Kiara arrived.

She could see that most of the nobles from all three houses were in attendance, apparently laying aside their differences long enough to see the duel. They were seated as far as possible from each other, though, in tight clusters with their allies. In between each faction, the stands were packed with commoners from the city. After the extended tension in the city, apparently they needed some kind of release, and a public duel promised to serve that purpose.

Especially one between the widely known House Yountal and the baron himself. Unlike Handel's arena, which sported terrains of all types, the city arena was a simple, large oval, with hard packed dirt. The walls of the arena were fifteen feet high, and were covered in wards. Kiara placed a hand on one of the walls to see what the enchantments were for. [Artifact Sage 3] informed her that the wards were there to protect the people in the stands from the fighting in the arena.

Enchantments of durability protected the walls themselves, and a large, protective dome extended up from the arena floor to protect those in the stands from any splash damage or stray spells or projectiles. She couldn't be certain, but she got the sense that the wards on the arena were quite strong, and could handle a duel far above what she and the baron would be putting out.

Although, in her case, she didn't really throw any spells around, so unless she attacked the wall directly, she wasn't likely to cause any damage to it. On either side of the arena, a door provided entrance to a small area behind the protective wards where each participant's entourage could watch the fight. The baron's door already had some guards posted outside it, so she knew he had already arrived. Just outside her own door, Lord Goren was waiting for her, accompanied by a mountain of a man.

Lord Goren smiled innocently as she approached.

"Good afternoon, Lady Yountal, I see you're doing well." She glared at him.

"What do you want, Lord Goren?" He raised his hands defensively.

"Take it easy, I just wanted to introduce you to my new friend before we take our place in the stands." He pointed to the large man beside him.

"This is Ugor, a tier 4 from Portish. I hired him for the week. It wasn't cheap, but it will be worth it in the end." He dropped his volume to a conspiratorial whisper.

"I had initially intended for him to teach you a lesson, but it appears the baron has decided to do that himself." He glanced at Jaden with pity, then back at Kiara.

"After you've lost your retainer here, you'll get a taste of what the rest of us are going through." He leaned back.

"I guess Ugor will have to use House Norse and House Heniton as punching bags instead. It's a pity, he was truly looking forward to visiting your estate." He laughed, and it grated on Kiara's nerves. What was his goal here? To distract her before the fight? To intimidate her? And what was that about losing a house retainer? She looked up at Ugor. Way up.

"Maybe after I kill the baron you'd like to be next?" The man smiled, clearly enjoying the barb. She turned next to Lord Goren.

"I told you that we would have words at some point, Lord Goren. Maybe today is that day." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Lord Goren looked at Ugor, and they both laughed loudly then walked off. Lord Goren called back over his shoulder, "enjoy the fight, Lady Yountal." Once inside their room, Jaden got her attention.

"He's right, you know." Kiara looked at him curiously.

"About what?"

"Usually a house head would not participate in a duel of this nature, but instead have one of their house retainers fill the role. I am willing, if you wish, my lady. I take my oath to protect House Yountal very seriously, and that includes you. I'm willing to die for House Yountal, if it came to that." Kiara studied him for a moment.

"Thanks, Jaden, that means a lot. I really appreciate your loyalty, but I fully intend to fight Baron Norshod myself. What is that about a house retainer standing in, though? Will Baron Norshod have a stand-in?" Jaden shrugged.

"He might. It's likely, in fact. You… appear to be a mortal to my magic senses, so I believe that everyone assumes you brought me with you to be your stand-in. As such, Baron Norshod is likely to have one of his tier 3 city guards stand in his place, to avoid risking his own life fighting me." Ron was confused, and asked a question.

"I didn't realize you could have someone stand in your place in a duel?"

"Me either," Estella chimed in. Jaden nodded.

"It's only allowed in this specific type of duel. It is a duel between houses, rather than a personal duel between two people. A somewhat rare occurrence, but that is the form that the baron filled out and had you sign." Kiara hadn't read the form that the clerk had filled out for them very thoroughly, to be honest. She had seen that it was a form to declare a duel between her and Baron Norshod, and had signed it. Now she was regretting not reading it more closely.

This entire time she had been envisioning fighting Baron Norshod, a man she despised, who had only ever been rude to her. A man who had hired the Silver Serpent Clan to terrorize all of Easton in order to humble everyone in the city. She had way less interest in fighting some random city guard, much less killing one.

"How does a duel end?" she asked, suddenly very nervous for her opponent, whoever it turned out to be.

"By death or by surrender," Estella chimed in helpfully.

"Normally that is true," Jaden corrected her, "but in this case, only by death." Estella's jaw dropped, and Kiara looked at him in confusion.

"Another rule of a house duel?" He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Did you even read the form before you signed it, Shian?" She looked away guiltily.

"Uh…"

"The addendum at the end," he clarified for her.

"To settle the blood debt, the baron had the clerk add in a clause that this duel will only end with the death of one participant."

"Right…," she said, nodding in agreement although she didn't remember seeing anything about that. She really should have read that form.

"I'm still willing to stand in your place," Jaden offered helpfully. She squared her shoulders and shook her head.

"No. I'm the one that challenged him to a duel, and I'm not going to make you risk your life to clean up my mess. I'll get myself out of it." Jaden nodded.

"Well, if you change your mind, I'm here."

"Thanks Jaden," she said, clapping him lightly on the shoulder.

"For your willingness, I mean, but also thanks for guiding me through this whole thing and being by my side. Normally Dustin would help me through this kind of thing." Jaden smiled, grateful for the praise, and bowed.

"I'm happy to help." The noise of the crowd could be heard through the roof of the small room they were in, and the walls of the room shook from the vibrations. It was distracting, but Kiara settled onto the small bench all the same to meditate. She envisioned the fight, working through her sword forms mentally one more time to center herself. The time for the duel quickly arrived, and Kiara made her way to the center of the dueling arena, where Baron Norshod was standing.

The officials governing the duel had told her beforehand that only she was allowed in the center of the ring for this part, and her retinue would have to stay behind, even if one of them was standing in for her. The official moderator for the duel met them both in the center of the arena, where he then addressed the crowd. His voice was magically amplified, echoing throughout the entire arena simultaneously.

"House Yountal has challenged House Norshod to a duel. The challenge was issued by Shian Yountal, to Baron James Norshod, who accepted. The duel will be open rule, meaning anything goes. There are no restrictions or limitations on your actions or choice of weapons. This duel will only end when one of the duelists is dead, as agreed to by both parties." The crowd erupted with noise, their fervor building to a fever pitch. The moderator turned to Kiara.

"Is your stand-in present here today?" She shook her head.

"I have no stand-in. I'll be fighting in the duel myself." She was surprised to hear her voice also being echoed throughout the arena, allowing the crowd to hear what she said. It must be one of the arena's many wards, amplifying their voices for the crowd to hear. The moderator gave her a look of unrepentant shock.

"Are you sure, Lady Yountal? This is a fight to the death; would you not rather have one of your house retainers stand in for you? It is not too late to change your mind."

"I'm sure." The moderator blinked a few times, trying to process the news, while Baron Norshod giggled and clapped his hands with glee at the unexpected news. The moderator exhaled, then announced her decision, making it official.

"Shian Yountal will fight on behalf of House Yountal." He turned to Baron Norshod.

"Baron Norshod, is your stand-in present here today?" The Baron nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes. He is in my team's room." Kiara felt a pit growing in her stomach. She suddenly had a bad feeling about who it might be. The moderator nodded and made the announcement.

"House Norshod will have a stand-in fight on their behalf. Baron, you may return to your booth. Contestant, please make your way to the center of the arena." Baron Norshod made his way back to the door to his team's small room underneath the arena wall. Once he stepped inside, his stand-in stepped out, confirming her fear. The moderator made the official announcement for the crowd to hear.

"The stand-in fighting for House Norshod will be Kane Vondeer."