Chapter 3

  They got Allian to his tent and set him down on his bedroll, the healers then gave Allian a potion “to restore his strength and energy” they told Darrin, they then left, leaving Allian and Darrin in the tent

  “All spectators, the artificer duels are beginning, just a reminder for you to take your seats,” said a commentator from the stadium, His magically magnified voice reverberating around the tournament fields.

  Darrin was going to need to go to the artificer duels, or really the final, but first he wanted to tell Allian about his idea, the quest he was planning.

 “Ugh, remind me never to do that again” Allian groaned from the bedroll

 “Hey, feeling better?” Darrin asked

 “Not much”

Darrin grinned; Allian was back to his sarcastic self

  “Hey, you remember the myths of the ‘two power crystal’?” Darrin asked Allian

  “Yeah; crystal forged by god mages, given to high Arkmage, High Arkmage killed and crystal shattered, shattered halves forged as centre points to the two oracles, dark one hidden in Grand Dark Temple, light one hidden beneath Great Light Cathedral, right?” Allian answered, giving a summarized version of the myth

  “Yeah, that one. Well, I’ve found a way to get the Great Cathedral, I know how to get the white oracle, well, to get to it, I haven’t found out how to actually get it, but I can get us there”

  “Us?” Allian said, puzzled

  “yeah, you, me, the crossbow champion, the artificer champion and any other champions that wish to come” Darrin explained

  “so, you came here to recruit people on a quest for the white oracle, not just to compete?”

  “Yep”

  “well…OK, I’m in”

Allian shook Darrin’s hand, got up, and headed to the exit of his tent. Darrin followed, eager to begin recruiting, the artificer duels were the last of today's duels, indeed, the last of the tournament’s duels. The award ceremony would begin one sun-notch after the artificer duels final. Darrin was going to wander the stalls until the final, he could do with some new boots, and his sword belt was starting to get a bit worn. And of course he couldn’t say no to a nice meat pastie. The market that had been raised on the tournament fields was rather empty of both customers and vendors, probably watching the artificer duels, but the tanner’s stall was still open, as was the baker’s. Darrin got his leather goods from the tanner at three gold coins for the belt and fifteen, octagonal jiron coins for the boots, and his pastie, for two, pentagonal silver coins. By the time he had finished his pastie, dropped his leather goods at his tent and bartered a full, small, firkin of rich red wine from a drunken vintner for a measly thirty silver coins, the final was about to start. Darrin fought his way through the crowd to a free seat near the front, when he had sat down he had enough time to look at the wreckage, strewn about the battlefield. They were in the largest stadium, made especially for the artificer duels, so the artificers could afford to equip projectile weapons, though the projectiles had to be warded so the barrier worked to protect the crowd.

  The finalist artificers were now arriving on the battlefield, one riding a wooden, six wheeled contraption that had a giant crossbow mounted on a turntable on the top, the other sat astride a wooden contraption that looked kind of human; two legs, two arms, a torso, where the head should be stood the artificer in control of this contraption. On the ends of it’s ‘arms’ were weapons instead of hands, the left was an iron hammer, the right, a steel scimitar.

 For those who don’t know, Artificy is where you build a war machine and power it with magik, thus linking yourself to it, it is the most dangerous of all duels as people, mainly artificers, have been known to lose their lives during these duels.

 

  At the command of the commentator the two Magikally imbued war machines lumbered towards each other. The crossbow swivelled around and let off the bolt, it went wide and was destroyed by the barrier, another bolt was winched up into place and the cable drawn back. The crossbow turned round again and shot the bolt out towards the walker again, and this time the bolt hit, the head biting deeply into the soft wooden flesh of the walker. The walker sliced off the shaft of the gigantic bolt sticking out of its lower torso. Then it rounded on the wheeled crossbow, the giant  scorpion class artifice, and smashed in the front, right corner of the artifice, sending planks and splinters flying everywhere. The scorpion  loaded another bolt, only to have that bolt and the bowstring sliced in two by the walker’s scimitar, who then proceeded to pound the scorpion with the hammer, reducing the forward left corner into the toothpick sized splinters that littered the floor. Now two long spikes slid out of the front of the scorpion, taking a chunk of the walker’s leg with it in the process, backing up, the scorpion lined itself up with it’s target, and sped forwards, smashing into the walker’s legs, destroying them, but throwing the rest of the walker onto the top of the scorpion, the walker pounded the top of the scorpion with the hammer, then rolled off the top. The scorpion turned for another charge, but the walker was ready for it, the scorpion charged at the walker, who rolled to the left and cleaved a long gash in the side of the scorpion, who quickly turned and charged again, the walker rolled right this time and smashed in the side, wheels and all, with the iron hammer. The scorpion fell to one side and ploughed up the floor as it slid along

  “and Delwino in the legless walker wins” yelled the commentator

  Later that day all the champions stood on the podium to receive their prizes; for Darrin, a jiron two-handed broad sword inset with gems, for Allian, a bejewelled set of necromantic armour, for Jarenth, a rockwood crossbow with jiron bolts, for Delwino, a jiron rune plate, inset with gold and jewels, the jousting champion got a bejewelled jiron lance, the champion archer got a rockwood bow with jiron tipped, rockwood arrows, and the hose racing champion got a bejewelled saddle made by the Duke’s personal tanner.

  Darrin looked about and surveyed the other champions, the jouster and horse racer would be of no use to him, the archer maybe but probably not as he was planning on recruiting Jarenth. Some of the runner ups would be helpful, maybe fencer Garret would be helpful, he’d have to seek him out, but it looked like the quest could go on, the white oracle could be brought back, it could help all the people in the Dukedom. ‘I must find it’ Darrin thought ‘I must, not just for me, but for the whole Dukedom, no disease, contact with the white power, the light half of the great god, prophesies, ‘it must be found’ he thought ‘it must’.