Chapter 18: The Second Bout

“So what did you make of those two?” Gretel asked in barely concealed mocking tone.

“Yeah...” Lexi’s voice positively dripped with sarcasm, and was all that was needed for the two adventurers to collapse against one another in a small fit of giggles.

“The little fucking twink is definitely a no-go,” Lexi said after a moment. “He looks like he needs his mommy. The old guy was interesting, but something tells me that he’s a one-trick pony.”

Gretel gave the paladin a confused look.

“Err, you guys must not have that expression in your ... city,” Lexi scrambled to cover the Earth jargon. “What I mean is that I doubt that trick with the slow walk and apparently lazy sword handling would work anywhere but in a match like this, and only against an opponent like the twink who had no idea how to size up another fighter.”

“I see what you mean,” the mage said nodding. “And I agree entirely. The first few matches usually don’t showcase the guild’s best novices, but it’s kind of a gamble who might fight first — which is why I wanted to make sure we got here right at the start.”

“The other thing with the old guy,” Lexi continued, her face growing slightly red. “Is that he was super fucking ugly! If we’re going to be doing any ... ummm... sparring like you and I did yesterday, then there’s no goddamn way I want us linking up with anyone who isn’t good looking on top of being a capable fighter.”

Gretel giggled into her hands, bright blue eyes sparkling with glee.

“What can I say?” Lexi said with a shrugged grin. “I’m shallow like that.”

While the girls were chatting over the first bout’s combatants, another pair of fighters had climbed the steps onto their respective sides of the platform. On the left, they saw a pretty young woman with long chestnut colored hair and stern looking brown eyes that looked ready to spit venom at her counterpart on the platform.

She wore a simple short sleeved blue tunic that was belted at the waist on top of a pair of loose pants that were tucked into comfortable looking leather boots. She carried with her a long wooden staff, which she twirled around as expertly as any martial artist Lexi had seen, coming to rest with the staff planted on the platform in front of her imposingly.

Her opponent looked to be maybe ten years older than the girl — maybe around thirty, Lexi guessed — and positively oozed sleaziness. Everything from his manicured goatee, smarmy smile, and salacious expression just reminded the paladin of the legions of fraternity “bros” who had infested her university back on Earth. Lexi found herself unconsciously grinding her teeth and clenching her fists, heart pounding slightly as she sized the man up.

Skeevy or not, he too moved like an experience fighter, light on his feet, with a lean musculature clearly visible through his own loose fitting tunic and tight leather trousers. Matching the girl, he also bore a similarly sized wooden staff. And, although he did not enter the platform with any demonstrations of skill like the girl had, Lexi did not doubt that he knew how to use it.

He gave the girl a leering grin as he assumed his position opposite to her, while she silently continued to stare daggers into him. It was clear to Lexi that these two knew each other, and that there was undoubtedly some bad blood between them.

“Do you think this is, like, a grudge match or something?” the paladin asked. “She looks ready to murder him.”

“Definitely,” Gretel nodded. “It’s not at all uncommon for adventurers to use these matches as a way to legally settle disputes. If someone challenges you to a public match, it’s kind of a big deal if you don’t show up.”

“So this guy has obviously done something to piss her off,” Lexi chuckled. “I wonder if she’s up to the task?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t make any bets on this one yet,” the mage said. “They both look pretty decent so far.”

“Our next match,” the announcer’s magically enhance voice boomed, “is a challenge bout, between Annalise Mueller and Gerhard Schmidt.”

Mingled cheers and jeers erupted from the stands on all sides. Apparently, challenge matches were quite popular among the crowd.

“Do either of you have any words for your opponent before we begin?” Johann asked the two new competitors.

Gerhard merely snorted in derision at the notion he had anything to say to the girl, and continued leering at her, an act which was likely calculated on his part to further enrage her — a tactic which worked spectacularly. Annalise exploded, pointing an accusatory finger at the man.

“Bastard, you raped my sister!” she shouted, her voice trembling with more rage than could be contained by her petite frame.

“Rape?” he chuckled. “You’ve got it all wrong, girlie. We were sparring, and I was just showing her a new technique.”

A gale of distinctly male laughter erupted from the onlookers around Lexi and Gretel, which set Lexi’s own blood boiling to match that of Annalise.

There was, apparently, nothing more to be said on the topic. The girl resumed a facade of control over her tempest of emotions, and concluded the “discussion” by spitting derisively on the platform in Gerhard’s direction. Seeing that this was the case, the small announcer deftly hopped off the platform, clearing the way for the combat to ensue.

“Begin!”

With a fierce cry, Annalise twirled her staff above her head in a hurricane-like arc, and dashed towards Gerhard — seemingly intent on wiping the smug expression from his face as quickly as possible. At the last moment, Gerhard whipped his own staff up into a blocking position, intercepting the strike with a thunderous crack as the two staves connected.

Annalise’s intensity did not waver even for a moment. Following Gerhard’s initial parry, she launched into a furious combination of short thrusting and swiping strikes. Gerhard was able to dodge or parry all of the strikes, but was driven back in the process, a thin sheen of sweat now covering his brow. The carefree expression which had once graced his admittedly handsome face, however, had been replaced with a mask of cold anger — as if he was somehow personally offended that this girl would dare strike out at him in such a way.

“I hope he fucks her up!”

“What!? I want to see her beat HIS ass!”

“You’re both idiots. Let’s see ‘em FUCK!”

Lexi was more than a bit put off by the comments she heart flying around, especially the sexually charged tone of those leveled at the young woman. Still, she figured that this kind of talk was just that — talk — and was probably just part and parcel of this kind of charged atmosphere. Never having been to so much as a basketball or football game before, Lexi found that she had no standard from which to judge this. The entirety of the situation was completely novel.