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Of course, I accepted.

“I choose Flavian sword and shield.”

“Shields are not recognized by the Code Duello.” The Cloud Maiden told me.

“Flavian swords, then.”

“Coward. I dare you to choose polearms.” Farlaine said.

I spread my arms. “Do I look like a pikeman? Be glad I didn’t choose skinning knives.”

“ALSO not recognized by the Code Duello. Do we have two Flavian blades present?”

“I have one.” I pulled it out of inventory.

.....

She looked at me as though I’d just farted in public. “Do we have two blades of similar quality and make?”

There was, in fact, only a silvered blade, obviously enruned to keep the edge sharp. Turns out Itinar swords aren’t the preferred choice of Neonen aristocrats.

“I believe I get to choose the specific blade?” Farlaine asked.

She nodded.

“Before we begin, there is a matter of seconds.”

“What is that?” Farlaine asked.

I cleared my throat. “Unless the duel is to the death...”

“It is!” he insisted.

“Well, with that decided...” she began.

He attacked in that instant, a low, sweeping blow that was easily avoided.

“The duel is not yet begun!” she hollered. Yes, hollered, as any man might have done in her position.

I stepped back, assumed a defensive stance. When he moved forward again, she was behind him, her left leg moving impossibly fast.

“There will be NO FURTHER VIOLENCE until the duel begins.”

“Mistress of the Duel?” our hostess called, wearing the costume of Luna the Moon, “Would it be possible to conduct the duel upon the green, rather than upon the dance floor?”

She bowed to our hostess, gestured to us with hand motions usually reserved for small children. We moved to the green, a field usually reserved for athletic games.

“What is the cause for this duel?”

“This brigand continues to sully the name of the Tidelands by calling himself an ambassador from the Red Tide Empire, all the while using it merely for his own amusement. He deserves to be put to death.”

She turned to me. “Is this true?”

“I was appointed to the position by Rakkal, our leader. He by Sholwyr, diplomat to Furdia. To back down could be seen as a claim that Sholwyr is the greater authority.” I shook my head. “I cannot yield the title as he requests.”

[Claimed to represent your superior, two Vanity points gained. After sin armor, one point of Vanity has been received.]

I’ve been ignoring the sin messages for a while, as most of them just bounce off the sin armor anyway. This one I feel is relevant; legally, Sholwyr COULD replace me, except that Rakkal had explicitly told me otherwise ... in a personal letter. It’s probably the only reason I didn’t get more Vanity points.

“Is there any way to resolve this other than a duel?” she asked.

“No.” said Farlaine.

“We could send missives home in spring, and wait the four or so months for the issue to be formally resolved.” I said. I was actually in favor of that, as it would give me time to meet with the Daurian admiral.

“Is this delay acceptable?” she asked him.

“It is not. Monsters should be slain on sight, not granted legal rights like people.”

“I shall remind the challenger that the accused is legally a person, and that such inflammatory comments are forbidden before the duel starts.”

“As if it... I understand, and shall comply.” Farlaine said.

“There is the matter of equity. Challenger, do you have unwarded clothing?”

He raised a hand, pointed at me. “HE HAS SCALES! Armored scales!”

I waved a hand in dismissal. “I submit to testing by dagger. My opponent is entitled to equal protection.”

She came forward, lifted one of my scales, and pierced it with a dagger. She then walked to Farlaine, selected an area near the cuff of his sleeve and did the same.

“The protection is equivalent.” She said. She returned to her position.

“Challenger, do you need time to prepare?”

“No.” he said.

“Accused, do you need time to prepare?”

“I don’t suppose I could change from this formal clothing into working linens?”

She nodded. “That is acceptable. Duel shall be delayed until...”

“That is NOT acceptable.” Farlaine declared. “Fight me now, coward, or be foresworn.”

“I am the Mistress of the Code Duello, and MY word is final.”

“I have a solution.” Madonna called from the side. “I have my husband’s working linens with me, in case he should have a cup of wine upended on him, or fall into the pool or such. Right here in my purse.”

“Let me see them.” She replied. “I pronounce these garments free of enchantment. Duel shall be delayed enough for the accused to change.”

And that was it. A lot of words, a lot of rules, and a little of Farlaine making an ass of himself.

The Mistress of the duel counted off five paces between us. “If either contestant is not ready, say so now.”

She paused for a time. “Combat is until one or the other is unable to fight. The loser is to be decapitated. Are these terms accepted by both the challenger and the accused?”

“I accept those terms.” Fairlaine said.

“I accept the terms.” I said.

“Then this officially sanctioned duel begins. FIGHT!”

Farlaine needed no more prompting; he came right for me, barely adjusting as I circled to his left.

Most people can’t make a cross-body thrust; Farlaine had more training than I had expected. Oh, I parried it. His strength wasn’t that much greater than mine, which meant his Might probably wasn’t either.

I feinted a hack at his exposed ankle, and parried his attack when he thought I’d left myself open. Our speeds seemed evenly matched.

He stepped back to use his greater reach, but went too far; I didn’t even need to parry his next two swings, made forehand and back in quick succession.

I’d need to watch for that maneuver; getting hit once would be bad enough.

I darted in under his next thrust, but the wards on his clothing deflected most of my strike. I left a scratch, but little more, as I had to parry a swing he took while spinning to face me.

He switched to a two handed grip, trying to bash past my guard. I had to switch to strengthen it.

The fool went for an overhead bind, so I let him. When our hands were close enough, I scratched him with my claws. As we sprang apart, he smiled triumphantly.

“Mistress of the Duel! Behold, my opponent cheats! Claws are not the approved weapons of this duel.”

“You knew I had those, didn’t you bring a dagger?” I asked.

“Unarmed attacks are approved for combats to the death.” She said, as though lecturing a child about looking both ways before crossing a street.

“But if you truly have no dagger...” She reached under her belt, inside the folds of her costume. She withdrew an ornate ivory-handled and sheathed dagger, and threw it at Farlaine, who fumbled and did not catch it.

I backed off to let him retrieve it; it would have been stupid to forfeit the duel by not adhering to the rules, as Farlaine had just pointed out.

He drew the dagger, and examined it. “Thank you, Mistress of the Duel, for your support.”

“I support neither of you; I merely act so that neither shall have an undue advantage.”

He took the aggressive knife grip, with the cross-hilt on the thumb side and the blade facing me. I didn’t fear the knife; it would need a critical hit to pierce my scales.

But yes, it was a battle of critical hits, and either of us could score one if our enemy was careless. But there was no time to worry about that, as he was upon me again.

He scored a cut on my forearm; I a nick just below his knee. Whenever the plays turned against his favor, he could leap back and start over.

He was sweating, though. If his fatigue meter was lower than mine, perhaps his health was, also? Did I have the edge on health points?

I ducked, but his sword struck my ears, cleaving the one off, and yanking on my head before cleaving through the other.

I was a fool! I’d built the mask with a heavy leather strap, and could not readily remove it. Not in combat.

The tangle had thrown off his form, but a stop thrust prevented me from taking advantage of that.

He tried for another bind, which I sidestepped. My swing caught on the hilt of his dagger.

His SHINY dagger.

.....

“Ah, you saw that.” Farlaine taunted.

Indeed, I had. His dagger, given to him by the Mistress of the Duel herself, had been poisoned.

It turns out there is an Ability called Instant Trip. I hadn’t paid attention to it because it has a considerable fatigue requirement to activate.

Author’s note: It is my understanding that the Code Duello actually permits you to yield, even in duels to the death; this is a difference between ours and the Code as practiced in Athal.