The Three Tasks: The Tourney

Luna stood alone with the dwarf king and his company when her Lady and Ferdinand left. She had never met dwarves before and was cautious around them. They moved about in preparation for the tournament. If it was a sword fight, Luna was confident in her skills, but she didn’t know what to expect for the other tournament events.

“Follow us to the tourney grounds, Dame Luna.”

The tourney grounds were a large field located on the side of the mountain outside. It felt good to get some fresh air. The grounds had a large wooden structure for seating and several sheds with the equipment they were to need for their games.

“Do you know how to fire a bow?” Laurin asked.

“I have some familiarity, though I am by no means the most skilled.”

“Aye, and what about deer riding?”

“I’ve had some training, but it has been many seasons since I last attempted it.”

“The tourney will involve three competitions: archery, jousting, and sword fighting. We’ll let you warm up before we start each event. It will be the best of three. Your opponent will be my cousin, Walberan.”

Luna was given a bow by a dwarven attendant and she took a few practices shots to familiarize herself with it.

“The first event will be archery. You will shoot nine arrows each, split over three rounds, and whoever has the highest score will be declared the winner of the first event.”

Since she was the guest, Luna was allowed to shoot first. She squared herself and faced the target with her bow, drawing the arrow back as she took aim.

Thwip

The arrow was loosed and soared through the air. It landed high and left. A dwarf next to some scorecards marked down her score. Luna adjusted her stance and grip and prepared the next arrow. She breathed in slowly and held her breath. 

Centre and to the right. 

She missed dead centre by mere inches. The next shot had to be better. She repeated her movements and let the last arrow fly. 

Low and centre.

The dwarf Walberan went next, scoring a comparable amount to Luna, thus winning the first round by only one point. He had great control and his groupings were tight. With the round over, attendants rushed to the field and removed the arrows from the targets, returning them to the competitors. Walberan opened the next round with a decent score but less than the previous one. Luna had found her groove and scored well, beating Walberan by four points.

Only one round remained. Since Walberan had opened the second round, by the competition’s rules, Luna opened the third. Her first two arrows flew with incredible precision, landing close to the centre. It was now Luna's ninth arrow of the competition. She focused all her energy on this last shot. She loosed the arrow and it flew through air with deadly speed. But it landed high and right, in the white. No points. Walberan then took his turn and won the first event. Luna’s heart sank.

The attendants then prepared the next event, and while this was going on, Luna was instructed about deer riding and jousting. The goal was to score hits on the opponent over three rounds with a lance. Should either her or Walberan be knocked off then they would win the entire jousting event. With the instructions out of the way, Luna was then hoisted on top of a deer and a heavy set of armour was encased over her upper body and thighs. A quintain was prepared and the competitors took practice runs at it.

The armour was heavy and limiting. Luna could hear her breath echo in the helmet as she strained her eyes to see through the gaps in the visor. Her left arm was stiff and uncomfortable in the restricting armour; meanwhile, her right arm fought to keep the lance upright. Last minute checks were performed on the armour and that the barrier in the middle of the jousting lane was set in the correct position.

Through her visor, Luna saw Walberan and deer walk into view. A dwarf gave the signal and the two charged at each other, going from canter to gallop in half seconds. They lowered their lances at the last moment and struck each other in the left shoulder, shattering the lance into splinters as it made contact with the shield, but neither rider was struck down.

Luna dropped the lance and had a new one brought to her. She took a deep breath and oriented her deer to face down the lane. The signal was given and both charged. She took another deep breath as she braced for impact. Eyes wide and brain racing, Luna processed thousands of details in the narrowing window of time before their lances would find their mark. A violent powerful blow, far stronger than anything Luna had ever experienced before, struck her left shoulder. She had prepared for it but it was far more sudden than she anticipated. Her own lance exploded at the tip upon contact with Walberan, sending a vicious shockwave of fury and furor up her right arm.

When Luna had slowed her deer and turned to look back at Walberan for the next joust, he wasn’t there. She dropped the lance and lifted her visor. There, on the ground, lay Walberan knocked out. He was slow to get to his feet; but when he did, he gave the crowd a wave and Luna a bow, which she returned.

The jousting course was cleared and their armour was swapped in preparation for the final event: the sword fight. She had lost by a hair in the archery competition and took a surprise win in the joust, and now Luna was ready to win the finale and the competition as a whole.

The fight was to last until one side yielded or was incapacitated. Their blades were dull and blunt to prevent any serious injury. Walberan gave a few practice swings with his sword and then faced Luna. He wore an ornate set of armour that covered his entire body. Various intricate flowers and vines were engraved in it. His helmet was less detailed but covered his face. To Luna it looked like a black void that swallowed everything it touched.

No words were spoken, their voices lay in their swords. Walberan struck at Luna, hitting her breastplate above the stomach. She spun and struck him in turn, her sword deflecting off the rounded armour. Their swords clashed once, twice, thrice. Each strike rung across the fairground as metal belabored metal. Walberan closed the distance and swung at Luna. She moved to meet him and the two crashed. She struck his back with her pommel and the two disengaged. They eyed each other, circling the ring, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Luna lifted her sword and swung it down at Walberan’s head. He pivoted to the side and swept his arm back, striking her from behind. She stumbled forward, and then turned to face his next strike, which came in slow and weary, stepping aside as it landed on the ground.

The armour and the weight of the sword strained Luna’s body. She felt sluggish, slow. She was not as nimble as she was used to. A normal fight in the wilds necessitated that death be dealt swiftly, but the ring was another matter.

Walberan reoriented himself and used his size to slam against Luna, sending her tumbling backwards. He charged her again and struck her helmet with his fist. She bashed his side and then moved back, deflecting Walberan’s next swing. She lunged forward with the tip of her sword to strike his exposed joint, but he swung his deflected blade up and around, striking her own blade down and sending it crashing into his knee. The tip got stuck in the armour around the leather braces, just above the greaves. She pulled her sword and Walberan with it. She pulled once more and freed her sword.

Both fighters were exhausted from the exchange of blows. Their sword swings became unrefined and sloppy. They raised their swords above their heads and clashed, metal against metal, armour against armour. Walberan took one hand off his sword and grabbed Luna. He took a quarter step and swung her. Soon they were wrestling on the ground, punching and kicking. Luna was pushed and rolled away. She turned to stand, but a heavy foot came down on her sword arm and a blade pointed at her throat. She had lost.