She blinked. “Can I even wear these?”
I nodded. “The shield sigils are weak enough that two probably won’t interfere with each other, but wear them on opposite sides of your tunic just in case. If you had five, they probably wouldn’t work. As for the gauntlet...the glove will be big on you, so it might be uncomfortable, but it should function.”
Derek furrowed his brow. “What does that glove do? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.”
Sera slipped her normal glove off, and I helped her put the gauntlet on in its place. “It’s basically a dueling cane in glove form. Stronger than a typical practice cane, weaker than a full war-cane.”
“Hrm. Interesting. Magical items are legal down there — I have several myself — but I can’t say I’ve seen a glove with an offensive design. Should be quite interesting. Hopefully the crowd will like it.”
I wasn’t sure why that was relevant, but I realized Derek probably was here for more than coin. “Do more popular combatants get paid better or some such?”
Derek smiled. “Ah, an excellent question. Better fighters win both glory and more rewards. Each Survival Match is a self-contained event, with specific prizes for the winner and much smaller prizes for everyone else. Winning matches consistently, and in entertaining ways, has the potential to earn sponsors for additional sources of income. Finally, excellent fighters can earn their way into championship matches.”
Sera nodded along with his explanation. “And I take it you’re looking for sponsorship?”
“Oh, no, I don’t need that. I’m much more interested in an invitation to this year’s championships. They often have crowds of thousands, and the summoned monsters are often spectacular.”
In it for the glory, then. I sincerely hoped that attitude wouldn’t put Sera at risk. It would make him look bad if Sera was hurt down there, wouldn’t it?
I certainly hoped so.
My left hand settled on the hilt of the saber at my side.
Even if Sera was carrying most of my equipment, I wouldn’t hesitate to intervene if it looked like she was in serious danger.
I hoped it wouldn’t have to come to that.
“It’s time.” A well-dressed man appeared behind the box, bowing toward Derek.
“Ah, thank you Thomas. Miss Cadence, we’ll need to head below to prepare. Shall we?”
He offered Sera his arm. Sera flashed him another grin and accepted.
“Don’t get killed down there.”
Sera snickered. “Don’t get killed up here, either.”
“I will endeavor not to, but no promises.”
My grip tightened around the hilt of my sword as the pair disappeared.
***
Given what I’d seen of Derek’s attitude thus far, I was barely even surprised when he and Sera appeared on stage as the first contestants of the evening.
I’d been given a program booklet by one of the attendants, and he scheduled to be going toward the middle of the night. He was listed along with a partner named Elora Theas.
Had the organizers decided to move him and Sera up to an earlier part of the show, or had he deliberately manipulated this turn of events for some reason? I couldn’t be sure, but I was leaning toward the latter.
Perhaps even more interesting was his partner’s name. Elora Theas. Was she the Councilor Theas that had been working with my mother? That woman had been roughly Derek’s age.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” The voice seemed to emit from all around me. No announcer was visible. “Tonight, we present three-time champion, Derek Hartigan, alongside a new partner. Sera, of the legendary House Cadence!”
Polite, but subdued clapping from the crowd. The only cheering came from the bleachers sections, which seemed to be mostly populated by other students. The well-dressed nobles in the boxes were much more restrained with their applause.
A light emanated from a rune-etched tile above the theater, marking a line that divided off a small section of the stage. “Contestants, proceed to your starting area for the raising of the walls!”
Sera looked vastly less nervous than I felt. If anything, she just looked intense, her eyes focused straight ahead and her jaw clenched tight.
Derek looked joyous. He twirled on his heels, raising his hand to wave, and occasionally blowing a few kisses into the crowd.
When they reached the marked-off section of the stage, a voice boomed again.
“Contestants, ready yourselves! The summoning is about to begin!”
Sera glanced back and forth, showing a hint of nervousness for the first time.
Derek just stood with his back straight, his head held high.
“Walls...ascend!”
As the announcer spoke, four walls of solid mana appeared at equal intervals across the stage. I couldn’t see the casters, but I could recognize Shaper work. Walls of that size and thickness were fairly impressive. No student my age could manage anything on that scale. It would have been trivial for my father, but most magic tended to be.
The important part was that the walls were opaque, meaning Sera and Derek wouldn’t be able to see anything behind them. From my vantage point above, though, I could see each individual section in advance.
It was hard to tell from a distance, but I estimated each section to be about fifteen feet across, meaning a fast monster could close the distance between sections within a couple seconds.
The effect?
Tension, for both the people inside the arena and the watchers.
I drew in a sharp breath as the monsters began to appear and the musicians began to play.
“Contestants...Begin!”
The first wall lifted — and a dozen clawed monstrosities rushed the defending pair.
The creatures were humanoid, roughly four feet tall, with reddish brown hide. I’d never seen anything like them.