Act 2: Upheaval III - The Master Weaver and the Arena

Mihai hands Konrad the gold.

"Excellent." Konrad sits much more comfortably in his seat after that win. After a slight turn towards Mihai, he pockets his winnings after they're dropped into his outstretched hand, with a small nod to the loser.

"Don't spend it all at once." - then reaches into his pocket again and puts another 1g on top. Then goes back to Amber and Fluffle.

Steve stops laughing and thinks about his response very carefully before saying in all seriousness, "I certainly won't invite any on purpose."

Leon and Saria return from their shopping spree with many plushies, but only one of them is in Nadzieja's image; the vendors were apparently sold out, Leon explains, and he had to buy one from a collector at double the price. Judging by Saria's smile, it was worth it.

The party members spend the next half hour watching the carbuncle races and making small talk until a middle-aged man steps into the ring of sand. Dressed in a fancy red suit that covers a white shirt and a pair of black trousers, this man approaches the group of fairy riders and gently asks them something. The fairies agree and disperse into the terraces with the carbuncles—although a few of the long-haired creatures disappear into thin air. The man then walks towards the center of the Arena with something in his hand; a microphone. When he brings it to his mouth, his voice resonates throughout the whole area.

"Welcome everyone!"

The audience is initially taken aback by this, but they quickly realize what is happening. People cheer at the announcer and wait for his next words. He speaks first in Wytrwaly and switches next in Imperial, alternating between the two whenever he finishes a sentence.

"Welcome to the Arena of Odwaz, where History will be made today!"

A roar rises from the crowd and muffles every other sounds.

Steve laughs in triumph and says to his friends, "It's working guys! It's working! They love it!"

"Not really what i thought of it for..."

Konrad adds his own cry to the roar of the crowd, both to the cheer for the event and the new technology carrying the announcement to the furthest seats.

"It seems to suit this purpose perfectly."

The announcer waits for the audience to quieten down a little before he continues.

"It has been twenty years since the last Tournament. Twenty years since our leaders have come down here in this ring to decide who shall become the First citizen of Myr. Today, four Szefowie will do the same. But which ones?" The man pauses and smiles at the crowd. "Let me present them to you, starting with: the Beast of Barbazyn, Szef Leopold Czelusniak!"

A section of the terraces on the opposite side of the Arena stand up to their feet—identifying themselves as Czelusniak's clansmen—and cheer very loudly for him.

"The Master of the Elements, Szef Zenon Duma of Dziki!"

Another group of people stands up, rooting and clapping for the green mage.

"The Red Sword of Atak, Szef Wanda Makara!"

The clansmen of Atak rise next and try to outdo the previous supporters by shouting and clapping even louder.

"And the last of our four candidates, the Szef of Zdetermiwa: Nadzieja Zerva, Slayer of the Werewolf!"

Steve stars hopping up and down and cheering his brains out trying to make as much noise as possible.

Konrad joins in standing, roaring with the rest of Szef Zerva's supporters.

Mihai stands - "Wow, your title is the only one that actually means something."

The clansmen from Zdetermiwa are so loud that Nadzieja doesn't even notice that Mihai is speaking to her. In fact, the people in the terraces are even louder than they've been for any other candidate.

While the thousands of people in the Arena cheer for the four Szefowie, four Defenders step out from one of two gates that lead into the ring of sand. They carry on a small cart some sort of lottery machine made of glass, and in it are four round balls made of wood. The Defenders stop the cart right next to the announcer and stand back.

"But before the Tournament begins, we must first find out the order of the battles that will determine the fate of this nation. This lottery machine here has been woven to resist any sort of tampering, magical or otherwise. Mages from all fourteen clans have inspected it and deemed it safe. Whichever order this machine selects, you can be assured that it was completely random."

The crowd quiets down and waits in anticipation for the announcer's next words.

"I shall now select the contestants of the first battle of the day."

He approaches the machine and puts his hand on the handle. The sphere of glass starts rolling on itself and one of the four balls rolls out of it. The Arena is now almost quiet. The announcer picks up the wooden ball and reads the name on it.

"The first Szef to fight for the title of First shall be the Szef of Zdetermiwa, Nadzieja Zerva!"

The audience erupt in cheers, thrilled to see the famous monk fight in front of them. As for Nadzieja herself, she's frozen in place, her eyes locked on the lottery machine. She's very pale.

The black mage cheers with the rest. Not having to wait to fight is all right with him. That's often the worst part in his experience.

Mihai shrugs, almost bored - "Good, i hate long waits."

Konrad cheers, and waits for the next name to be read.

"Any red mage with a sword could be called the Red Sword. It must have been a martial feat. We don't just pick a nickname because it sounds cool."

"We better watch out then!" Steve yells back at Konrad.

Konrad notices Nadzieja looks a little pale. He floats the bottle of the Myrzen Red from his things to his hand, and nudges her with it, quietly offering a drink.

"And her opponent is..."

He turns the handle again and another ball rolls out of the machine.

"Szef Zenon Duma!"

The audience cheers for this unusual matchup; the monk against the green mage.

"Which means that Szef Leopold Czelusniak and Szef Wanda Makara will fight in the second round!"

Mihai and Steve notice that Nadzieja's hands are slightly shaking, and so do the children; they smile and rub her back to give her some courage. When Konrad offers her a drink, she wraps her hands around the bottle and squeezes it as hard as she can to stop the trembling. She doesn't even drink from it.

Konrad lets go and slowly lifts the bottle with telekinesis toward her face.

Mihai starts getting a little antsy, wanting to get down to business already.

Nadzieja apparently doesn't react to the pulling of the bottle and instead attempts to assure her family that she's fine.