Kings Game

Chapter 14 - The Iron Gauntlet (2)

Duran came at Roran, swinging his massive hammer. Roran didn't bother trying to block the blow. Ducking out of the way, he scrambled back, maintaining some space between them. Duran advanced again, swinging his hammer while Roran jumped away again, repeating their last conflict.

Roran had been thinking about his fight against the living boulder ever since the last Crucible match. He had also been thinking about Duran's fight with Kell. The man was a moving fortress, his heavy armor too thick for even Kell's powerful attacks to punch through. With every inch of him covered in steel, the only vulnerability was his face. Unfortunately, Duran knew this and was able to defend himself accordingly.

Roran dodged another swing of the mighty hammer and watched as Duran paused, lowering his hammer to the ground and gasping for air. Duran was strong, but his stamina was weak. He rarely took more than one swing to defeat an opponent. Roran needed to chip away at him until he was weak and tired, then strike him where he was vulnerable.

"Hold still little mouse!"

"Come on, hit me," said Roran, attempting to imitate Kell's taunts. "You wouldn't be so tired if you weren't wearing all that armor."

Duran roared and swung again, this time missing Roran completely. He paused to catch his breath, propping himself up with his hammer. Duran's years of experience in the Crucible had taught him how to handle his weaknesses. Roran would need to get clever.

Before Roran could do anything, someone ambushed Duran from behind. They screamed as they ran into him, bringing an ax down hard on Duran's back. Duran grunted and turned around, shrugging off the blow as if it were nothing more than a bug bite. He reached out and grabbed the man's head with a single hand. The man screamed, dropping his weapon and clawing at Duran's arm, trying to break free.

Duran shook him a couple times before tossing him to the ground like a rag doll. Then, hefting his hammer, Duran slammed it down on the man. The man went still and blood began pooling around his body. A few orbs could be seen glowing on the man's body. Duran bent down and retrieved them, stuffing them into his armor with his other prizes.

The collection of orbs were beginning to give Duran a halo, the bright lights contrasting with his dark armor. Roran wiped sweat from his brow and adjusted the grip on his sword. If he could kill Duran, he would not only claim the champion's bounty but a small fortune from the orbs as well. He couldn't give up.

While Duran collected his prizes, Roran examined his armor, looking for a weak spot. The plates were made out of dense steel, nearly impossible to penetrate. While the armor left gaps in the joints, chainmail covered them, protecting the fragile ligaments and bones. The only part of Duran that wasn't covered was his face.

Duran straightened and wavered slightly, using his hammer to catch his balance and push himself upright. Once he was stable again, Duran hefted the hammer and came at Roran again. He swung hard, the force of the blow ruffling Roran's clothing as it sailed by, narrowly missing him.

Grunting, Duran hefted the hammer again, then paused. He frowned at Roran.

"What? Aren't you going to crush me like a mouse?"

Duran wrinkled his nose and said, "You're no fun. I don't want to play with you anymore."

"I'm not here to play, I'm here to kill you."

"It's not fun anymore, go away little mouse."

The mountain of a man turned and started walking away, looking for new prey.

Frustrated, Roran yelled, "Hey, don't walk away from me coward."

Duran ignored him. Roran sighed, he wasn't good at taunting people, not like Kell. Getting desperate, Roran ran in front of Duran, blocking his path. Duran didn't even raise his hammer, he walked right up to Roran, who raised his sword in response, and then walked right by him.

Roran ran in front of him again, this time swinging his sword at him. Duran swatted Roran's strike away as if it were nothing more than an annoying fly. Swearing, Roran tried again but Duran just ignored him this time. When Roran swung at him, his sword bounced of Duran's armor, the reverberation jarring his hands.

"It looks like the little murderer from Millgrove is having a hard time cracking the living boulder," the announcer said, his voice ringing out through the arena. "Maybe he should try a hammer and chisel."

The crowd laughed and jeered, mocking Roran's miserable struggle. His anger flared and his cheeks began burning with embarrassment. Reigning in his emotions, Roran stared after the living boulder. A straightforward attack wouldn't crack his defense, and wearing him down wasn't working either.

Roran realized that the announcer was right. Not that Roran needed a hammer and chisel, but that he needed a different set of tools. When Roran was little, there had been a boulder near his home. His mother had wanted to move it so she could expand her garden. At first Roran had thought it would take all of the men in town to move the boulder, but his mother had shown him how to do it with just the two of them.

She'd gotten a smaller rock and a large pole. Then, using the smaller rock as a fulcrum, she had jammed the pole under the rock and heaved. It took both of them to do it, but they had been able to roll the boulder out of the way. With a long pole and some leverage, they had moved the boulder with ease.

Leaving Duran for the time being, Roran jogged out into the arena, examining the corpses on the ground. None of them had what he was looking for, so he started searching the rest of the combatants, looking for ones that weren't in a group. After a little bit, he spotted someone chasing an old man. The old man had a bright glow coming from his pocket, showing where he had hidden one of the orbs.

Sprinting over, Roran cut off the assailant, raising his sword and shield. The man spat and cursed.

"You with the old man?"

Roran shook his head. "No, I just need a favor from you."

The man cocked an eyebrow. "What, you want to team up?"

"No, I need you to give me your spear."