“Keep your shield up!” William yelled as he swung a dull sword at Rodrick.

Rodrick squinted in the light. His head still reeling from the many blows he took during the prelims. He could barely keep balance, and william’s sword constantly bashing against his shield didn’t help.

“Come-on squire! Don’t let me get past your defenses!”

William stepped in and out, testing his range. Trying to poke Rodrick with the sword. Rodrick was barely able to keep him back.

“You can’t block forever. Pick your shot and attack!” William yelled, slamming his sword against the shield.

Rodrick was barely able to keep himself from falling backwards, but he feared William more than he feared getting hit. He waited for the sword to smack into his shield one more time, and then he swung wildly at William, who sidestepped while shaking his head in disappointment. He swung his sword, pummeling Rodrick in the back and making him fall forward.

“Urgh!” Rodrick groaned as he struggled to get back up.

“I swear Rodrick, you’re going to get yourself killed, and we’re gonna look bad in the arena.”

“William, be reasonable.” Rodrick pleaded. “You’re asking too much of me.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I should have killed you, the orc and I don’t need this liability around.”

Those words stung Rodrick worse than the blow to his back, and the massive headache.

William growled in frustration and then stormed off.

“You alright boy?” Gjörn asked as he helped Rodrick up.

“I just don’t understand how he expects me to beat trained fighters in an arena. It’s absurd!” Rodrick turned around, he didn’t want Gjörn to see the tears forming in his eyes. He was scared of dying in the arena, or getting his throat slashed in his sleep.

“Listen boy.” Gjörn started. “He doesn’t expect you to win.”

Rodrick looked up in confusion. “What?”

“He just expects you to not die. Can you do that for him?”

Rodrick stared at him blankly. Blinking twice in confusion. “What?” He asked again.

“If you can survive long enough for us to finish our opponents, we’ll come to your aid. William wants us to look like an unbeatable team, so we can’t afford to let any of us die.”

Rodrick thought about what Gjörn just said. He hadn’t thought about it that way.

“But what if I can’t survive long enough, what if our opponents are a lot tougher than what we’ve faced be-“

“Would you stop doubting yourself?” Gjörn yelled, interrupting Rodrick’s babbling. “You’ve made it this far without dying yet, have a little more faith in yourself, and have a little more faith in us.”

Gjörn walked away, leaving Rodrick to process what was just told to him.

___________________________

The next morning came fast, too fast for Rodrick. The impending battle kept him up at night, and the little sleep he did manage to get, was over soon after it started.

William and Gjörn had woken up much earlier. They came into the inn they were staying in, bearing gifts. William was dressed in some clean leather armor that was a shiny black.

Gjörn was wearing fur breeches so new, it looked as if the animal that was skinned for it was still alive. He also had a new axe. Double sided with a spike on the top. Runes adorned its sides in a mesmerizing pattern, only to be interrupted by the edges, which looked sharp enough to split a hair. The axe was big too, taller than William.

“Did you get a new weapon William?” Rodrick asked?

“Don’t need one.” William said as he threw his dagger at Rodrick’s direction. The blade burying into the wall only a few inches away from Rodrick’s face. ”Man I need to work on my aim.” William joked.

Rodrick collected himself from his near death experience, and yanked the dagger off the wall. The same dagger that was once pressed against his neck. It was a curved blade, dark in color. It had a small hilt that was adorned with blood amber on the sides of it, and one big one on the bottom. Just under the blade was a skull design. With a ruby in each eye.

“Wasn’t this Qualm’s blade?” Rodrick asked.

“He doesn’t need it anymore.” William snickered. “The orc made sure of that.”

Remembering that day made Gjörn smirk.

“Did You get me anything?” Rodrick asked shyly.

“As a matter of fact, I did.” William answered. “And you’ll get it if, and only if, you survive. I don’t want to waste gear on dead weight.”

Rodrick looked down and then at Gjörn, who was staring at his axe, quietly.

“Alright. Get ready. We’re on in an hour.” William ordered as him and Gjörn left the room.

Rodrick looked over at his plain squire armor. Red worn leather with studs that used to be gold. He took his time putting it on, trying to savor his potential last moments. He then turned to his weapons. The sword was still sharp, as he hadn’t really used it in combat since the day he met William. His shield was what really worried him. It was wood covered in steel plating. Something he knew wasn’t going to last long in a prolonged fight. With no other options, he reluctantly opened his door and followed his companions to the arena.

The coliseum was filled before the trio even arrived. News of an orc fighting spread like wildfire. There were even people outside trying to peek in threw holes. As they neared, they could hear the audience roar as they watched the current battle. Rodrick caught a glimpse of the fight before his. A man with a war hammer rushed at a woman who was armed with a claw gauntlet. The man swung wildly, but was evaded by the woman, who then stuck the claw in his face, prompting a loud “ooooh” from the crowd.

The carnage unfolding before his eyes made Rodrick much more uneasy. He then kept his eyes forward. William and Gjörn seemed to be amused.

“That must’ve been that mans first time swinging a hammer.” Gjörn laughed.

“And that woman, she must’ve had practice killing before the arena.” William joked. “What do you think squire?” He asked as he looked over at Rodrick who had diverted his eyes and was silent.

The three made it into the waiting area where they watched a lot of other tough looking men readying there weapons. After a little while, they heard their names called by Haytham.

“You guys are on.” Haytham said, still worried about how the crowd will respond when they see a boy in the arena. “please stand over there.”

Haytham pointed to a platform that was connected to a pulley system. It would elevate them to the stairs that led to the arena.

As they slowly rode upwards. Rodrick’s nerves started to work on him, and his legs began shaking uncontrollably.

“Remember boy.” Gjörn said quietly. “Stay alive for a little while, we’ll come and help.

Hearing Gjörn say this was almost calming. Maybe it was because of his size, or that Rodrick has seen him in battle, or even his reputation. Whatever it was, Rodrick felt more at ease, and the shaking stopped.

_________________________________________

In the audience, on the closest seat to the action, was the host of the fights. The man who’s birthday was being celebrated today. King Bravos of Ramo. He had heard about the Orc and was especially excited to see him in action. With his many wives surrounding him, he prepared himself for an entertaining fight. However those preconceived notions were about to be squashed, as he heard one of his wives scream out in horror and disbelief. She was pointing towards the arena. When the king looked, he saw the muscular Orc with his battle axe in hand.

“Don’t worry darling.” He said in a soothing voice. “It’s only an Orc. You don’t believe those lies that Hera spreads about them, do you?”

“It’s not the Orc I’m worried about” she answered. “There’s a child in the arena.”

King Bravos looked again, and sure enough, there was a young boy standing next to the Orc. The sight enraged him. He wasn’t the only one as the entire crowd began yelling for someone to save the boy.

“Bring Haytham to me now!” He ordered one of his guards.

The guard hurried and rushed to fulfill his orders, after a few minutes he had brought Haytham over.

“My Lord!” Haytham greeted, worriedly. “How is your excellency enjoying his birthday?”

King Bravos grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him to eye level. “I did not come here to ruin my birthday by seeing a child’s blood be spilled.” He said angrily.

“B-but my lord. You see, the Orc refused to fight unless the boy was with him.”

“So you’d let the child die?” Bravos asked, even angrier.

“Oh of course not.” Haytham laughed nervously. “I wouldn’t have let him in if he couldn’t take care of himself.” You see, he even beat Jorgan in a fist fight.”

“The Jorgan?” Bravos questioned, loosening the grip a little.

“That’s right. The Orc will protect him.”

King Bravos looked over at the opponents. One man who was taller than even the Orc, had a studded club over his shoulder. Another was a knight, in full armor. And finally there was a slender man with a spear, who spun it around in the traditional Ramo style.

King Bravo tightened his grip again and pulled Haytham even closer. “Fine. But if he dies, you die.”

“Y-yes my lord.” Haytham said in a strained voice before the King let him go and he fell backwards.

He then stood up and waved his arm up, silencing the angry crowd. “Let the Battle… Begin!”

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

@mikesterman: You need to edit for wrong word usage. Things like "threw" instead of "through," and "to" instead of "two." On to part 10.