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“Of course, I would like to compete! Do you take me for some crazy woman who would say no to such an offer?”
“What I thought you’d say, but still I have to ask anyway,” Asher admits, “I mean, who knows what could happen if you said no to the DM’s plot thread and derailed the campaign.”
“What?”
“It’s a D&- and Earth joke, don’t mind it.”
“I see,” It never feels good to be left out, but you consider that Asher’s joke was likely lame and disregard it. “I do have a question. Do you have any knowledge of who might be competing?”
He shakes his head, “Not yet, but I imagine the list will grow considerably in the coming weeks.”
“You want to know if your bullies are going to be there, right?” Marie asks, to which you nod. With the academy being brought to the forefront of your mind, you can’t help but think of them, and Herrman. There’s been something that’s been nagging you about the Honor Duel for some time, something relating to Catherine's words and the fact that you're losing to the bookish Herrman in such a total manner is a reality that’s hard to accept. But you understand how dishonorable it is to make such an accusation and being proven wrong would be, and have yet to build the courage to not bite your tongue.
“I don’t think they’d have any reason not to if that’s what you're asking.” Asher replies, “A lot of the Mageknight Academies' facilities are going to be borrowed for the event since they have the most sophisticated dueling ground on this side of the world, but you’d know more about that than me. As a concession, Mageknight students will have a rather easy time getting into the tournament should they wish.”
You nod again, more to yourself than them, “I suppose I will just have to prepare myself to face them then.”
“Ehh, not necessarily,” Asher says.
“What do you mean?”
“The tournament is going to be broken up into three main events: mageknight duels, the team melee, and the joust. For the sake of fairness, a contestant may only compete in one event. There are a few more, such as archery and now rifling, but those will be nothing more than sideshows during the interim between main events.”
“I understand, and father plans to set this all up in merely a month's time?”
“He has called for a meeting of the Magnum Concilium to help him in this task,” Surprisingly, it is Alyssa who comments, “It will be difficult but possible and it is my understanding that the Curia Regis wishes for the tournament to coincide with the yearly opening of the academies gates so time is of the essance.”
“Thank you, Alyssa, that was very helpful.” You aptly praise, as this is how matters revolving excessively shy members of one retinue should be.
