Chapter 302: 302. The Arena

The atmosphere was very different when Dallion went to visit the festival committee. The giant line of tournament applicants was gone, as were any people that weren’t supposed to be there. Instead, there were dozens of people running frantically about, seeing to final details. Among the standard bureaucrats—some of which Dallion had gotten to know by name—there was a large number of temps as well as, to Dallion’s surprise, a noble. She was little more than a child—a girl of twelve at most, wearing a dress of emerald threads. However, even at that age, she was fully awakened. Not only that, but she was a double digit.

That’s Constanza, Nil said. The niece of the lord Mayor.

Isn’t she a bit young to be responsible for all this?

Skill knows no age. And it’s up to the noble family to develop their children. Some take it slow, like Falkner, others rush things like there’s no tomorrow. My personal advice, keep your distance. She’s a bit testy. Children tend to be that way when under pressure.

Pressure… despite the girl’s calm voice and relaxed exterior, she was brewing with it. It was so loud that it almost blocked out the sound of any other emotion in the vicinity.

“Mister Darude?” someone asked. One of the bureaucrats had recognized him, and quickly rushed to check the situation. “It wasn’t necessary for you to come so soon. We have arranged for—"

“Oh, it’s alright.” Dallion smiled, adding some joy and eagerness to his words. “I just wanted to come and check out the arena. With luck, I’ll be standing there soon enough.”

“Yes.” The bureaucrat laughed politely. “That’s our great hope. Of everyone in the free tournament, you’re the only remaining seer. It would be heartbreaking if you don’t make it to the starting round.”

“The only remaining?” Dallion didn’t like the sound of that.

“Well, you see, since we weren’t certain of your condition… some of the final slots have been filled out. Naturally, we were informed of your situation, so an exception was made.”

“Wow, thanks!”

On the outside, Dallion remained cheerful, but deep inside, he was concerned and intrigued at the same time. There were only two groups of people that knew that he hadn’t been in any condition to fight. One group involved the people at the Gremlin’s Timepiece. In theory, it was possible that Hannah had some city connection Dallion wasn’t aware of, but that remained questionable. Rather, he suspected that the Icepicker guild had seen to it that he didn’t lose his tournament slot.

In itself, there was nothing strange about that. All the guilds had an interest in seeing more of their members at the arena, potentially even getting the top spot. What was unusual, though, was the effect the request had had on the committee. No common person was capable of exerting so much pressure on an entire institution that was reserved for nobles.

So, the guild’s backers are nobles, Dallion came to the realization. That had been pretty clear ever since the Stone Garden mission. Lady Marigold had especially been called to observe the group’s progress—namely Vend, Dallion, and the Luors. There had been quite a few nobles that had bet whether Dallion and the rest would succeed or end in failure. At the time, Dallion hadn’t given it too much thought. It was a well-established universal fact that most organizations had powerful sponsors. Even so, Dallion hadn’t expected them to be that powerful. The only people who could freely change the preliminary schedule were the members of the Lord Mayor’s direct family.

“Oh, you are very welcome,” the man quickly said, sweat covering his forehead. “Things are a bit chaotic right now. Nothing like final touches a few days before the big event.”

“You said it. Any chance I can see the arena grounds?”

A deep silence followed as the man froze in place, uncertain how to react to such a request. Dallion hadn’t guessed wrong that someone important had asked for the changes. The committee, of course, didn’t know to what degree Dallion was close to the noble in question. With the third gate passed, Dallion was starting to tread into noble territory, which meant that more people were starting to keep an eye on him—nobles and servants alike.

“No worries if you can’t let me,” Dallion said, adding more emotions in his favor. “I know I’m just a participant.”

“Oh, please.” The man was becoming more and more tense. “You are by no means such. I just have to—"

“I’ll take him,” Constanza said from across the hall.

An ordinary onlooker would have seen that as a calm, even charming exchange. However, they wouldn’t have been witness to the split skirmish that had taken place. The girl had split into four instances, each of which had addressed Dallion in a different fashion: shouting, sarcasm, intimidation, and cold agreement. In turn, Dallion had countered by creating an equal number of instances, making a point to let her know he could see the splitting in all but the one he preferred. What was more, he had also used music skills during each.

“Of course, my lady,” the bureaucrat stepped away, only too glad to have been given an out of the entire situation.

Knowing he had won the invisible fight, Dallion decided it was better to act defeated, less he antagonize the noble unnecessarily. With a slight bow, he approached the girl.

“Impressive skills,” he whispered. In this world, skill was what was most valued, and admitting that was treated as the best form of flattery. “I didn’t have any until a year ago.”

The childlike nature of the girl shone through for a moment, causing her to bite her lip. There was little doubt that her realm was filled with tutors and relatives commenting on every part of her life. However, if they were anything like Nil, more than a few of them would agree that using splitting needlessly wasn’t a good decision.

“You’re Dallion,” the girl said.

“I’m flattered that you know me.”

“My grandma said you have pure-blond friends.”

Dallion wanted to cry. He had achieved so many things, and still for the nobles he remained nothing but the “guy who has pure-blond friends.” Clearly, the world was telling him that he had to step up his game. Maybe doing well in the tournament was one way to achieve that.

“Yes, I do. Do you want me to ask them over?”

There was a moment of hesitation.

“No,” the girl replied. Whatever discussion had gone between her and her echoes, it was over and a course of action was determined. “I’ll get to meet them when the countess arrives.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Nice to know I’m not the only one arguing with my echoes, Dallion thought.

Very funny, Nil grumbled. On the other hand, if you’re saying that you’re surpassed the mental capacities of a child, then I suppose you are correct.

The young noble went along the hall without warning, expecting Dallion to follow, which he did. People rushed about, placing decorations on the wall. For the most part, the issue was with the banners. Everyone from massive imperial nobles, to individual organizations had to be present and in the correct order. Back on Earth this would have passed as sponsors, here things weren’t so clear cut. Thankfully, that wasn’t a matter that Dallion had to deal with.

After walking through a few halls and massive corridors, Dallion arrived to the main viewing balcony of the arena.

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So, this is what it looks like from the inside? Dallion thought.

A cross between a stadium and an opera building, the arena was impressive, though not as large as Dallion imagined. There were still a lot of people working on the field itself, sectioning it off into segments.

“They’re constructing the battle grid,” Constanza said. “Each day of the preliminaries, walls between sections will be destroyed until the entire field is empty.”

The way the girl behaved gave Dallion the impression that this was a major improvement. He'd thought it to be obvious, but apparently sports and festivities were something only the “rich and cultured” enjoyed. Theatre and operas seemed far more common. Dallion’s village had neither, although once Veil and Gloria returned, it was possible that they built something similar, given Dherma’s increase in status.

“Interesting,” Dallion said. “What is the arena used for the rest of the time?”

The girl stared at him, as if he hadn’t wiped his nose.

“The arena is only used for the festival,” she said after a while. “The rest of the time it’s kept clean and in good condition.”

“Ah, I see.”

Congratulations, dear boy, Nil said. You’re earned the title of country bumpkin.

I am a country kid, Nil.

Of course, if any of them knew that Dallion had lived in cities, that would make anything this world offered seem like clusters of villages.

“The fireworks will be held there,” the girl pointed. Unsurprisingly, the people in the VIP section would get the best view. “Is there anything you wish to know?”

“Where will the countess be?” Dallion couldn’t help himself.

“Above us. Only she and the lord Mayor are allowed to enter there.”

And everyone they invite, Nil corrected.

For someone who hates the festival, you sure know a lot, Dallion said.

Precisely! That’s why I hate it. I know more than one should, so I couldn’t even imagine having fun at it. It’s bad enough that the guild master has threatened to add me to the guild section of the event.

I guess you’ll need to take one for the team.

“And you?” Dallion turned to the girl.

Constanza hesitated. This was a question she hadn’t expected. Even so, only after a few moments, a collected certainty filled her, resonating loudly.

“I’m not allowed at the arena before I pass the third gate. It is the wish of my father that the first time I set foot in the arena is as part of the tournament. Until then I’m only to help with preparations.”

Memories of Dherma flashed in Dallion’s mind. The former village chief had also planned out the entire life of his entire family in similar fashion. Not only that, he had pretty much planned out the life of the village itself: no one was to venture to the cities, Gloria was to be married off to the son of a neighboring chief, all awakened were either going to be part of the Luor family or have their powers sealed. At the time Dallion had thought this to be due to Aspion’s character. However, what if he had learned it from somewhere? Unlike the village, the nobles here were all smiles, but they hadn’t lost their powers.

“So that means you won’t be watching me fight.” Dallion changed the topic to add a bit of joy in the conversation. He was careful, however, not to make use of his music skills.

“I watch the fighting styles,” the girl said, her voice ringing with pride. “My instructors make echoes that copy the fight. That way I learn everything I need and I practice fighting them.”

Is that possible, Nil?

It’s rather useless, though it is possible. More often, people just pay to have the winner create an echo of himself. It’s much more practical.

Maybe people don’t want to give echoes about?

Alas, such people still exist. If you reach the quarter-finals, you’ll get requests as well.

“Can I take a better look?” Dallion took out his kaleidervisto. It was unlikely the girl knew what the artifact was, but no doubt the echoes in her realm did.

“Yes,” she said with a ring of curiosity. “As long as you don’t look at me.”

“Fair enough.” Dallion put the device to his eye. “Do you want me to let you have a look as well?” he asked as he inspected the arena.

For the most part, he was interested in finding whether there were scattered echoes throughout the field. As he could see, the organizers were quite meticulous. None of the workers were awakened, and they didn’t have any objects with echoes on them either.

“I want to,” Constanza replied.

Dallion was just about to hand her the artifact, when he caught a glimpse of something—a black silhouette among the workers. Instinctively, Dallion removed the kaleidervisto, expecting an attack. There was nothing of the sort. The people were getting along with their work, working about nothing but deadlines. A second later, Dallion looked back through the artifact at the area he had seen the silhouette. Everything seemed in order.

“Can I see?” the girl asked.

“Sure,” Dallion replied, handing her the kaleidervisto.

With childlike amazement, the young noble looked about, as if she were an explorer on an adventure. Dallion could feel the joy emanating from her. Unfortunately, his had completely vanished, replaced by concern. Unless he was very much mistaken, he had managed to find another chainling in human form. Two within a city this size in such a short amount of time was alarming. To have one snoop about the arena that was going to house the county’s ruler and a member of the imperial family was more than a bit alarming.

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