In front the Castle keep, was a vast courtyard. It was where just yesterday, Nikola had saw the busy fort for the first time. From the gate, it had a storehouse on the left, keeping armor and weapons. Oppsite it was a guardhouse to check visitors. The entrance opened up into the courtyard about 50 metres in length and width, with a secondary gate at the side leading to the housing complex for the soldiers. The ringing of metal from the blacksmith next to the storehouse had uncharacteristically stopped. Instead, with the exception of men on watch duty straining their ears to listen to it, all of the free men were gathered aroung the center of the courtyard. 

Within the impromptu ring created by chalk drawn into a vague circle, stood Nikola and Captain Percius. Both wore gambesons and had the same outfit, but while Percius chose to wear a safety helmet, as required by the regulations, Nikola did not. Percius held up a wooden Kite shield and longsword, while Nikola wielded 2 one-handed slim wooden swords. 

A sharp looking man, with hawk like features stood in the middle of the two. The stripes on his shoulders indicated that he was a First Warrant Officer. He was presumably Officer Proden, and he was presiding over the events. The sound of off-duty men and women made a loud ruckus, and a betting pool was drawing large numbers.

"Thirty coppers on Percius." "1 Silver on Percius!" "40 coppers on Percius !" "1 gold on Nikola."

The rustling of coin and collection of coin was momentarily paused as Olivia put down a single gold coin into the broker's palm. She gave a wink, and whispered that next time such illegal gambling took place, he would spend a week in the dungeon. That did not dissuade the broker from collect the coins however, and the loud ruckus gave prove that more people favored Percius winning. Checking the sundial placed in the courtyard, Officer Proden cleared his throat and raised his voice.

"Alright, this is a duel of honor between Officer Elijah and Officer Olivia, Loser would be stripped of their status. Their second-in-command will fight in their place, in a honorable duel with only wooden weapons. Magic is not prohibited, and the fight will continue until one cannot fight anymore, yields or steps out of the circle."

Proden gestured towards the drawn chalk circle. The thunderous cheering when Percius name was called out was a clear reminder of his popularity.

"The duel would start at midday chime, any actions taken before that will qualify as an instant forfeit. May Raoth bless you."

Even with the midday sun bearing it's anger down at the gathered crowd, it did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm. Olivia and Elijah drew a contrasting picture as they stood next to Proden. With his height, Elijah towered over Olivia, and Proden reached shoulder height of Elijah. It seemed like *Do. Re . Mi* with them standing. Olivia slim figure, Officer outfit highlighting her well rounded thighs and hips, while Elijah's muscular body was bursting out of his outfit.

Beads of sweat rolled down his face, so Nikola tied a strip of cloth to keep the sweat of out his face, not breaking eye contact with Percius once. The long dark cloth gently brushed the ground as the wind played with it. He was calm, and knew his posture was affecting Percius's mental state. Percius had already fought with Nikola once, and would know of his prowess in melee. Unlike Nikola's calmness, Percius was undergoing a turmoil of emotions. 

"Argh, how do I defeat him, everyone needs me to win.He's so swift and his s are so rapid, the only way would be to ram him, yea that's it, ram him and then make him yield."

Whispering under his breath, an outline of a plan formed under the pressure of the crowd.

*Dong, Dong, Dong.*

The midday chime rang out.

"Begin!"

With that, the crowd roared as Nikola rushed forward, swords tucked close into him for a quick transition into a . Back stepping out of the wooden sword's reach, the crowd cheered as Percius maintained the distance between them. The two circled each other, Percius with his body guarded by the kite shield, Nikola constantly shifting his posture to keep Percius guessing. Feinting a dash to the right, he closed the distance in mere moments towards the left, and stretched his right to poke at the gap in Percius's defence. He reacted in time however, and shifted the shield in time to block the . Percius then swung the sword for a crushing blow from above, but Nikola had already sidestepped to the left, left foot pivoting as he swung his swords in a cleaving motion. Percius received the full force of the attack, and stumbled backwards, shield raised. 

His breathing ragged, he was mentally screaming. Where did he go! Percius cursed. His side was protected by the thick gambeson, but it still ached. Recovering his posture, he swung for another top blow, but when Nikola stepped in for a , he shoved him with the shield, knocking him off balance, and swung again at the fallen body of Nikola. Faster than Percius could react however, Nikola backflipped away from the heavy blow that threatened to crush the ground, and regained his footing, despite his mind being disorientated. Nikola had not expected him to shield shove him like that. Most soldiers regarded the kite shield as a defensive tool only, and it seemed Nikola underestimated Percius. 

Percius took advantage of Nikola being disorientated from the shield shove and backflip, and choose to rush Nikola like a rampaging bull, shield outstretched like a battering ram. When he reached into Nikola's fighting space, he gave a glancing blow to Nikola's ribs, before sliding the shield under him, and lifting Nikola upwards, before throwing him over his back. Nikola reacted barely, and turned into the blow to mitigate the damage, before rolling over the shield. 

It had only been a short while, enough for the sundial to show 4 minutes had passed, but to the fighters, their exhaustion made it seem like they were fighting for hours. The level of skill showcased made the crowd raise their bloodlust, and howled for blood to be spilled. 

"There's just something about this guy, I cant figure it out."

Percius couldn't figure it out. It was fequently told that more could be said in an exchange of blows than a conversation, but other than the fact that he was fast and skilled, Percius did not know more. Was his face, which did not change from the same calm expression from the start, was it the way he walked in battle? Most warriors fought with their foot anchored firmly to maintain their balance, but Nikola walked on the ball of his feet, as though his balance would be toppled anymoment.

Without his notice however, Nikola had almost instantly closed the distance between them again, and only Percius's battle hardened instincts gave him time to react at the moving wood that posed a threat to him. Threat, threat, thats it! Nikola, was not emanating the usual bloodlust of a fighter, rather, he seemed rather tranquil in his movements. 

Nikola moved like a mirage. Knowing that Percius was not an enemy to be taken lightly, he invoked a little dark magic. Called "Deception", it was the first spell Dark magic users learnt. To the untrained eye, it made the enemy look as if they were a mirage, leaving them unable to discern their location visually. Not full invisibility, but partial. The spell only ended if the user made sudden movements, or took actions meant to harm. This meant that for fighters that relied heavily on sight, they might as well be rendered blind. It was great for one-on-one duel, but would be less effective on skilled opponents who would use other senses such as hearing or magic to cancel its effect. It affected almost all of the crowd, save for the handful of skilled fighters( which included, Olivia, Elijah, Proden, Norah and Bastione) tracking the imprints left behind on the ground, or the sound of the footsteps.

By the time Percius heard the rustling of cloth behind him, a wooden blade was pressed into his throat. Croaking out a "I Yield", he dropped his weapons and shield as Nikola shimmered back into full sight. The crowded yelled in disbelief as Officer Proden gave the victory to Nikola, before escorting both towards the med bay.

The broker booth was in uproar, as the angry customers flooded the store demanding refunds. It was all he could do to hand out appropriate payments, before fleeing the scene.