Curselock

Chapter 73: The Competition

The competitors were led out of the town and towards the cliff face and ocean. They traveled as a single unit, as Ms. Lavender wouldn’t allow anyone to find their own route onto the island. So, they traversed a descending ramp, one that carved through the cliff and down toward the shore. It was then Ms. Lavender explained some background about the island.

“It's said that there is a dungeon hidden in the foliage. There used to be a Summoning Stone, but our town’s founders destroyed it when it became apparent that our Guardian Spirit Beast wanted it to remain hidden.”

“You’re trying to make me believe that there's a prime dungeon out there, just ready to be conquered, and no one has tried to find it?” a middle aged woman carrying a thick long bow asked.

Ms. Lavender's smile waned for a moment but her stride never hesitated. “People have looked, but those usually involve poachers or Royal Surveyors – two types of people who wouldn’t tell others of their finding.”

Leland wondered about that. If a surveyor found the dungeon, surely it would be documented publicly somewhere, right? Otherwise why were citizens paying taxes? If they couldn’t use such resources, wouldn’t the position of surveyor be redundant? … But then again, he didn’t pay taxes so… then he thought about that more.

Should I be paying taxes? Leland made a mental note to ask Glenny later.

“You get a lot of poachers?” an older man asked, his right hand on the hilt of a thin sword.

“A few groups a year, yes. But getting to the island is more formidable than most assume, so we deal more often with their dead bodies once they wash up,” Ms. Lavender remained ignorant of the grim faces of those following her.

From there she continued her spiel about the island’s history, however Leland and the other boys tuned her out. Quietly, and with the subtlety of a prowling cat, the boys glanced at each other then to a different competitor. Together they sized everyone up with a simple nod or shake of a head. They didn’t expect to get into a fight, but knowing who they thought they could win against now would be ever valuable.

The team the trio agreed to be their primary competition was actually a duo. While teams up to four were allowed entry, having three was not as uncommon as it seemed. Though, two was pushing it in Leland’s eyes. The team of two only meant one thing to him, they were strong.

The duo came in the form of a man and a woman. The woman was more eye-catching as her heavy armor was as shiny as a silver coin. She held a mace upon her hip but it was obvious her main weapon was the spiked shield she carried on her back. From the amount of dried blood, it was obvious the woman was very experienced in battle.

The man, however, was no less intimidating. The man was a mage, his hand tattoo of three runic circles all but confirmed that. He wore similar robes to Leland, yet the man’s were more worn and tired. There was an old saying about mages, and that was to count the patches on their clothes. If they had more than one or two, it meant the mage could fight in a melee and survive.

The man was a survivor, his weapon proved to Leland as much. A sword, enchanted and inscribed with different magical archetypes and affinities, and a bauble lined his belt. The bauble was unique, in that Leland didn’t recognize its use. He gathered it had something to do with the lightning affinity, simply due to it sparking with blue arcs of electricity, otherwise he was clueless.

A spellsword, Leland thought, remembering the path to power quite well from the magical books he read as a child. A spellsword’s gimmick, if you could call it that, was that they fought in the scuffle rather than in the backlines like a normal mage. Instead of shooting fireballs, they would imbue their weapons or their bodies with fire.

Either way, Leland kept an eye on the man.

The large group neared the waterline at this point, and the first unobstructed view of the island was front and center. The island itself was two or three times larger than its patron town, yet there were no houses or infrastructure. It was simply an island, untouched by man.

Pine needle trees created a thick curtain, blocking all view into the brush from their current distance. A gentle early morning mist wafted from the base of the trees and suddenly the boys each shivered. They all hated mist at this point, the memory of Shoutwell still fresh on their minds.

“Hopefully that clears up,” Jude muttered to his two friends.

Ms. Lavender heard his words and turned with a great smile. She pointed to the sky, misunderstanding his comment. “We want the sky to be dark and gray like it is! This is the First Snow Festival, after all!”

Giving her a confused stare, Jude took a moment to respond. “I was talking about the mist. Mist, uh, sucks.”

There were several grunts in agreement.

“Oh.” Ms. Lavender replied. “More than likely, I’d say.”

Jude then said something only he would say, keeping the attention drawn to himself. Glenny, not listening to the back and forth, nudged Leland and nodded to a team of four.

At first Leland wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be looking at. The team was very unremarkable. They wore common winter clothes, not too dirty, not too clean. They carried heavy packs spilling with useful wilderness items, as well as a range of weapons. Two carried a bow or crossbow, while the others a sword or mace. None were magical, at least to Leland’s eye, so he was truly stumped.

“What is it?” he whispered to Glenny.

“That’s just it,” the rogue replied. “I’m getting no feeling from them. No special strengths, no special abilities. They are just… a team of four. Does that make sense?”

Pondering the question, Leland took another look at the team. While he agreed they looked like nothing special, he just wasn’t seeing what Glenny was. They looked like the quintessential adventuring team, the team that every survival guide written in the past century suggested. There was no flare, no style, no personality. They blended into the crowd, almost perfectly…

“I think I see what you mean,” Leland finally whispered back. “Let’s keep an eye on them and the duo.”

Glenny agreed and refocused on Ms. Lavender and Jude’s conversation. They talked all the way to the small dock, much to the annoyance of those around them.

“Alright gang!” Ms. Lavender said, turning to everyone. “This is as far as I go. I would like to say good luck to everyone one last time. So, good luck!”

“Thanks!” Jude replied, receiving a roll of the eyes from pretty much everyone nearby.

Ms. Lavender took a single step onto the dock and activated a hidden runic circle among the woodgrain. She blinked a few times at her feet, then bent over and touched a few points in a fast motion. By the time she stood up, the dock was glowing a bright blue. She stepped back onto the dirt, a smile on her face.

“This is a teleportation key. It's an open secret that the town of Frostford uses one for the island, but please don’t go spreading what you just saw to any and everyone,” Ms. Lavender said. “If the island is picked clean before the festival, then there won’t be a competition for that year. And we might have to involve the Inquisitors, that would be trespassing after all.”

Various nods went around the group.

“I’m glad we have an understanding! The docks will be active for two days, so come back whenever you need or want. Now then, teams will go over one by one in the order they signed up.” She scanned down her clipboard. “Up first, we have Lydia and Fillan!”

The Spellsword and spike shield holder stepped forward. After a brief instruction by Ms. Lavender, the pair stepped onto the dock. Fifteen seconds ticked by, then they were suddenly gone. Ms Lavender squinted across the water to the island’s identical glowing dock. Two familiar outlines suddenly appeared.

“Ah! They made it! I’m always afraid something will go wrong and they will be in bits and pieces or something!”

Everyone looked at the woman like she had grown a second mouth.

“Next we have…”

The boys were sixth to last to gain entry to the island. They stepped onto the dock and moments later appeared across the water. Jude and Glenny wobbled from the disorienting effect, their breakfasts threatening to come up. Leland grinned at them feeling perfectly fine. The other two glared at him.

“Blame my dad,” Leland said. “He used to teleport me to the bathroom as a child whenever I was about to have an accident.”

Instantly the teleportation sickness cleared up in Jude and Glenny as they laughed and proceeded to mock Leland. Together, they soon ventured out onto the island and headed past the curtain of pine trees. They had a singular goal, to win.

Back on the mainland, Ms. Lavender rounded out the last few teams. A team of three stood on the dock, then disappeared and reappeared on the island’s dock. She turned to the last team.

“Seems like you four are last,” she said. “Just wanted to give you all extra luck. So, good extra luck!”

The team did not look impressed. In fact, they looked as indifferent as possible. Unremarkably so. They silently stepped onto the dock, and subtly gained a bit of mirth. Soon they were on the island like everyone else, honestly surprised that they had such an easy time infiltrating.

The boss shall be pleased.