6

Right as the scribe finishes writing down your event, the tournament bell rings.

Fizza takes a deep breath and turns toward you. "Well, Kelton's combat event is about to start. What task do you want?"

Okay, don't drop anything," Fizza says.

You bring the equipment to Fizza as she fits the armor to Sir Kelton. Soon, he's ready for the first event.

The bell rings again, and Sir Kelton stands up. "This is it. Wish me luck."

Your knight enters the dusty ring to face Sir Willet, a tall knight from the North in a boxy cylinder of a helmet. The stands ringing the combat area are packed, and you can see the Queen sitting in her box with three other people—the Contessa and two younger people, a man and a woman who hold themselves in the same way as the Queen. The young woman has darker skin, and the young man is pale, holding an umbrella against the sun, but they have the same pointed chin as Queen Wu. They must be related somehow.

"Begin!" the herald cries. You tear your eyes away from the royal family to see Sir Kelton approaching the other knight.

As soon as he's close enough, Sir Willet swings with a roar, but Kelton deflects the blow. He tries to counter with a jab, but Willet steps out of the way and swings his sword into Kelton's arm. The grinding sound of metal on metal is almost worse than the herald yelling, "Ten points!"

"Kelton can still win," Fizza says. "It's twenty points for a blow to the body. Thirty for a strike to the head or a knockdown."