Chapter 46 - Outcome of the Preliminaries

“A life's journey, my young friend, does not begin until you have had a good drink and a good piss,” the man said, his appearance suggesting that his more than thirty years of life were catching up, despite his toned, muscled body. He continued after a loud belch. “My journey led me to a life of blood, battles, wars, and a good dose of whoring and drinking.”

The black-haired warrior played with his tankard in one large meaty hand, staring at the swishing beer before looking back up at me. “The amount of whoring I have done would have put the common man into debts. Hah! He would have had to cut off his balls to have paid the gold I have spent on the whores. Or rather, his balls would be long blue from the efforts involved.”

The warrior gave a short bark of laughter before turning his pale blue eyes at me, the twin orbs seemingly distant, as if contemplating the past. “You know something, my young friend? I used to participate in tourneys like this, albeit with prizes lower than a thousand gold coins. It was, you could say, a responsibility as the second oldest son of a noble family. The eldest son, after all, was too precious to lose.”

The warrior closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. “If you are still here the next night at this inn, young man, let us give each other our names. For now, I shall go have fun with a random wench.” The warrior then stood up from the chair in front of me and walked out of the Silver Beauty inn in a slow, exaggerated swagger.

I briefly stared at the half emptied tankard the strange warrior had left on the wooden table I was sitting at. I thought to myself with levity.

Well, that was interesting. I wonder why he suddenly confessed his life story to me. I knew with doubtless certainty that I did not look like a priest, rare as that profession was in most human kingdoms. Perhaps, in his “drunkenness,” the man had singled out my white hair. But that was unlikely, since he was calling me his “young friend.”

The warrior was intriguing, I decided. It would not hurt to spend some time getting to know more about him.

Then the main tournament would start the next day, the preliminaries having finished. Yes, I nodded to myself, that would be my plan.

---------

The next two days were uneventful. I spent them gathering more information about the main tournament and my opponents. I also refrained from returning to the western quadrant, as the grandmaster had advised me not to.

That said, I will now highlight the key moments from those two days.

----------------

[Two Days Before the Main Tournament Begins]:

The cities and larger towns of Shail Kingdom were well known for their public baths, typically separated by gender. Some of the more unusual towns had mixed public baths, which usually attracted headstrong individuals with little sense of modesty or shame.

There were also those with a penchant for voyeurism, as I had discovered during my human life in the Shail Kingdom. I had, out of curiosity, even asked a few of them about their opinions and preferences on the subject, and thus, I knew a little about the "art" of voyeurism.

Asolance was no different from other cities in the kingdom in this regard (though, to clarify, I’m not referring to the voyeurism). The main difference was that Asolance's public baths were much larger and grander than those of its peers. In fact, three entire sections of the city had been dedicated to this endeavor. It made sense, given that Asolance's population numbered in the tens of thousands.

The public baths were located in the western, northern, and eastern quadrants. I was currently in the western quadrant. It was early afternoon, and many had paid a silver coin for entry. In case you’re wondering, I was in the male section; there were no mixed-gender baths here.

Disappointed? Not at all—I didn’t care much for flesh. Though I’ll admit, the sight of naked female bodies is easier on the eyes than that of naked males.

The bath I had chosen was enormous, large enough to hold more than a hundred people. There were other similar-sized baths, but this one was the least crowded, which is why I had selected it.

It was less crowded due to the tense atmosphere and the glares coming from the four fighters I had beaten during the melee test. Most of the commoners, sensing the tension, chose to avoid this bath.

Good for me, bad for them.

Calmly scrubbing myself with lavender soap, I ignored the resentful looks from the four men. Glares were all they could muster in the presence of so many witnesses. Either that, or they simply lacked the courage to confront me, fully aware that my retaliation would be swift and brutal.

There were other fighters in the bath too, but they chose to ignore the smoldering tension, though it was mostly coming from the four.

By the time I finished my bath, nothing of consequence had occurred, to my mild disappointment. I had been hoping for at least a bit of amusement.

I suppose the men were too fearful of the repercussions. Though I should grant them some leniency—it’s hardly comfortable fighting naked in a bathhouse.

------

The next highlight of this day occurred at night. I continued my conversation with the strange warrior, or rather, he had initiated it.

“The name is Ulric Blackwater. Rebel, mercenary, disowned son of a noble, and all-around lover. Of females, mind you, not males,” the warrior quipped, a grin plainly evident on his age-hardened handsome face.

“I am Verath, a wanderer.” I did not even hesitate before saying that last word, knowing that Ulric was a sharp man. Had I paused for a few seconds, I had no doubt that he would have registered my hesitation in his pale, blue eyes. It also made sense to say that I was a wanderer due to my strange appearance.

Blackwater. Now that was a familiar name.

My father, Falin Mead, had often used to trade with this noble family. They were a rich family whose estates were mainly located at the western region of Shail Kingdom, where the ocean met the border. Known as the Guardian of the West, the Blackwaters were a family of cunning merchants descended from pirates.

“I hear you are going to participate in the tournament preliminaries, Verath,” Ulric said, his pale blue eyes searching for an answer on my indifferent face.

From my wooden chair in the commons room, I swiveled my emerald eyes toward Alice Silver at the counter, meeting her soft brown eyes. I shot her a small questioning look.

Noticing my piercing green eyes boring into her, Alice had enough modesty to blush. She mouthed an apology at me, her small lips pouting at me instantly afterward, her brown eyes gaining a pitiable quality.

Her guilty look confirmed my suspicion that she had most likely told Ulric that I was going to be participating in the tournament. I suppose she had excitedly spread the news.

Given her fervent attitude toward me, I should have known this would happen. But in the end, it did not mattered much. By the time the tournament was over, I had no doubts as to what my reputation would become.

I turned back to Ulric Blackwater, meeting his eyes before confirming his statement. “Indeed, I am going to participate in the main tournament, since I need not undergo the preliminaries.”

Ulric hid his surprise well. He gave no indications that he was surprised to learn that I could skip ahead to the main tournament.

“You must be quite skilled then,” Ulric said, his eyes inspecting my body and the new longsword I had obtained from the grandmaster. “Let me make you an offer, Verath. I am looking for some more fighters to join my mercenary company and you would make an excellent addition. Come find me here again after the tournament is over.”

I gave Ulric a short, simple nod as my response.

“Very well. I hope I shall see you here again after the tournament since I have pressing matters elsewhere. You shall not see me at this inn again until the tournament is over.”

The mercenary warrior stood up from the chair and gave me a small nod as a farewell before leaving the inn at a brisk pace.

True to his words, I did not see Ulric again at the inn the next night. His offer had been interesting, but I knew that I would not be able to join his company. I had a vengeance to carry out.