Solutions aren't so simple

Maiyori is the first to wake up. She’s been to the bathroom, cleaned her outfit, and taken a bath. Once she comes out fully dressed and ready except for her shoes, she sees a very tired looking male marching his way out of his bedroom in pajamas, slippers that jingle, hunched over like a zombie. He pours a brown drink she’s only ever heard about from the farmers of the land called coffee. He turns to the fruit bowl and takes a banana. Sipping his coffee, he chokes a little seeing her. And she sees his mask but not his jester headwear he normally has on nor face paint.

“I forgot we were in the middle of a challenge.” Hisoki says, very embarrassed. His blush is highly visible around his mask.

“Indeed, should I wait outside?” she asks.

“No! No need for that. Just give me thirty minutes or so to get ready. I can’t believe I completely forgot. I must have been really tired from yesterday…” he admits, finishing the coffee and eating the banana quickly. He steps by Maiyori to get to the bathroom, and snaps his fingers twice as he does. The kobold comes out quickly and heads into Hisoki’s bedroom, a few moments later he comes out with fresh jester attire that Hisoki would normally wear, including the paint that goes on his face then enters the bathroom. Maiyori is a little stunned by how little these two have in terms of barriers. After twenty minutes, the kobold comes out and walks to his bedroom calmly. Two minutes later, he returns to Maiyori with her shoes. She sits, expecting to put them on herself, but he does instead. The shoes don’t feel much different, but they look a lot better, and the sand feeling is gone. She can’t even thank him before he heads back to his own bedroom.

Hisoki comes out, placing his sword on his hip, his bag of holding already on the other side while he closes the bathroom door. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Maiyori stands, looking over the jester. “Before we depart, tell me. Your kobold mentioned that you killed a dragon?”

“H-he did? He must be exaggerating. I never killed one.” he says, looking up and to the corner of the room with his gloved hand resting on his face.

“You need not lie to me. I do not judge the actions. That is purely for my lord to do so.”

“Well, alright. I’ll show you.” Hisoki heads to the bedroom and comes back with a small gold dragon statue and hands it to her to inspect. “This is what I did.”

“You turned a dragon to gold then shrank him?”

“Her actually. Not even that little guy in his bedroom knew he was serving a female dragon. There were quite a few magic items she collected in her hoard and I wanted them. I told her that and she wouldn’t part with anything no matter what I had to trade.”

“You attempted trading with a dragon? Why didn’t she just burn or crush you?”

“See, I kinda performed for her? It was really humiliating… I had to do a whole dance number, and even fell on my face a few times for comedic effect. She wasn’t really buying what I was selling though. So I challenged her to combat in front of her kobolds. I turned her into the gold she loved so much! Pretty good punchline if you ask me. As a better addition to it, I shrunk her down too. Just one issue; she’s kinda sort of still alive in there? Dragons don’t die to magic in normal circumstances. If I used that on a human? They would be dead.”

“I see… And the kobold? I assume he was one of her followers?”

“I guess he did tell you a lot. Yes, all of the other kobolds scattered but him. He kept following me and even trying to bring the gold to me. I didn’t know why, so I tried my best to ask him where the other magic items were in the pile of gold. I could see their glow, but their exact location was a little hard to see. So I gave him the ability to understand and speak the language we do. He found the three magic items I was hunting for after that. Asked me to be his ‘dragon’ to serve until I am ‘slain’ or beaten in front of his eyes. I figured it couldn’t hurt, so I’ve had him for at least two years since.”

“Interesting,” she says giving back the gold dragon statue. “It seems I might have misjudged you.”

“How’s that?” Hisoki checks his pocket watch, taking back the dragon statue. He sees the time. “Actually, hold that thought.” He puts the statue and his pocket watch in his bag of holding. “It’s afternoon already. We should get moving.”

“Right, of course. We’ll continue this another time.” Maiyori agrees as they finally head out for the day.

Over in the middle of all of the biomes — the sixth biome, where all other biomes converge together, Sadi is sitting under a tree. She stands ready to move out when a spider bigger than her descends upon her. The beast was waiting for her to move. She looks up at it, eyes locked with it. It lunges at her and burns to ash on contact. “So wasteful, could’ve been more interesting if you were a desert spider…” she leaves the burnt corpse, finding her way to some plains. “Now, where could you possibly be?”

As she’s saying that, she could swear she heard grass moving rapidly. Not from wind either. She hears “I’ve got you!” before massive arms and claws attempt to wrap around her. She disappears as the arms grab nothing.

“Augustus, is it?” she says from the shadows. He’s looking around for her to appear again. The moment the grass moves, he strikes with a grab. He’s right on target. She did appear exactly where he’s attacking. As sure as he is attacking her, she draws a line with her finger, cleanly chopping off his whole arm! She catches it as he buckles to his knees in pain.

“You crazy bitch! Are you trying to kill me!?” he yells.

“I’ve never known someone to die so fast from losing their arm so cleanly. Especially not a werewolf that can regenerate.” she places her heel on the knee of Augustus. “Now, I could claim your number right now. Or you can help me with something.”

“H-help you!?” he yells while wincing in pain.

“Yes, and I’ll help you find your sister.”

The offer to find his sister is too good to pass up. “Fine… What do you need?”

“Good boy, now. I need to find a funny little boy in a purple cap.” she gives back Augustus’s arm, which she places back over the wound, instantly healing it back to working order.

“So you want the clown Vic was with? I think I can do that… I have a pretty good nose.” He sniffs the air a bit. “Kinda hard to do that here. He’s not been through this area, I’ve only smelled him in passing. I’d need something with his scent on it.”

“Hmm…” she looks at her hand she remembered holding the jester’s chin with, there’s a little white face paint still left behind as residue. “Well, it just so happens I might have something.” she offers the white mark on her dark skin.

Augy takes a sniff. “It’s faint, but it’s enough. Is that makeup? Smells like makeup. It’s more toward the Desert. No… Forest. Can’t tell which direction exactly. The wind isn’t helping.”

“But I was just in the forest, sweetie.”

“No, no. Not that one. There’s another forest outside of this one. We are in the middle section of the biomes. This biome converges all of the others. We’d have to travel west to find them. If we do… You’ll help me find my sister.”

“Of course, hun. Just be a good dog and find that boy for me.” Sadi says. “Oh, and no funny business, okay? I will know.”

Augy nods. They move out together.

In the Tundra. The cold has been getting to Vic. In the hours that have passed, Vic has killed a massive polar bear for its pelt. He has set up his own shelter in a cave and uses the pelt as clothing to insulate his arms, legs, shoulders, and head. It was a lot of work, but it’s done. He’s made a fire and even caught a couple snow rabbits using them. As it stands, there’s a snow storm that is preventing Vic from leaving or sleeping. If he sleeps, his body temp will lower even with the bear pelt. The fire will help, but the wind might make it into the cave, which could blow it out. Vic has to stay awake. “Clown, where the hell are you?” he asks himself. Drifting in and out of sleep.

He jolts awake. His fire is out. He quickly strikes his flint to relight it when he sees a cloaked figure sitting across from his fire. “Shit!” he grabs his weapon when they put their hands up.

“Vic, it’s me.” she pulls her hood back. It’s Melleni. “I needed somewhere to hide. Gabb has been on my tail for hours. She’s not built to handle the cold, so I came here.”

“You didn’t grab my number?” he relaxes a bit. “Why?”

“I considered it, but after seeing you in the ring? I figured it would be better if we both became a knight.” she says, pulling out an arrow from her quiver, inspecting it.

“Jeez… I guess there are enough people for me, Hisoki, and you to claim as their target.” Vic says offering her some cooked rabbit meat on a stick.

She takes it. “You’re planning on teaming up with him again.”

“Of course. I’m not going to abandon him if I have anything to say about it.”

“Interesting.”

“What is?” he asks sitting back against the cave wall.

“How far you’re going for this random person. Like you feel guilty.”

“Yeah… Guess you could say that.”

“I know about your sister, Vic. I know you abandoned her in the challenge.”

“I didn’t!” he yells. “That never happened. Not once. She abandoned me. She went with another team, and when she was hanging off the edge of a cliff, I couldn’t help her. Not chose not to, I couldn’t. She pulled out a win from that anyway cause she’s actually strong, and I lost shortly after. That’s it. The sight spheres keep playing it like I had the choice to help her or myself. We were over one hundred meters apart.”

“I didn’t know that. It seemed like you were next to her in the moment.”

“That’s the story those damn things keep spinning.” The storm finally lets up outside. The sun is actually breaking through the biome. “You said that you were being chased by Gabb, where was she chasing you from?”

“The plains, that’s where. I shot an arrow here into the tundra and teleported here close to your cave. The girl is fast. I just needed an hour to rest from running.”

“Why not just shoot an arrow every time she chases you?”

“I could, but I have to wait for it to land. She could hit me with her paralysis poison by then. Like I said, she’s fast.”

“Right, right. Well, the storm is gone. Let’s get going. I need to find the clown.” Vic stands, stomping out the fire.

Melleni puts away her arrow. “Do you have any more food?”

“Lets make it to another biome before we worry about more food. I can rustle up some more if we do.”

With that, they leave the cave, trying to make it to another section of this place.

Back with Hisoki and Maiyori. They’ve made a lot of ground out of the forest but Maiyori begins feeling something. “We should hide. Someone is coming, I can sense a spellcaster…” she says. Hisoki nods in agreement. They take refuge behind a bush. Two challengers begin walking by. The meek boy Khenen and the water spellcaster Tenzent.

“I’m sure we’ll find another challenger soon. Hang on… Did you hear that?” Tenzent says, looking around, then up to the trees. Hisoki and Maiyori hold their breath. Before long, Gabb herself drops from the trees, right in front of the two.

“Relax. Have you two seen the archer woman come through here? Melleni I believe is her name.” the assassin says, inspecting her knife while not even looking at the two.

Khenen speaks for the first time. “No, miss. We’ve just been looking for a couple contestants to claim our titles as knights.”

She sighs and puts away her knife. “Normally I’d at least try and take one of you instead. Though I’m not very good against a spellcaster, nor whatever that little ability you have, Khenen. I can’t identify a weakness with it yet, so I’ll be taking my leave.”

“No, you won’t!” Tenzent casts a water lasso toward her, which she evades, and dips back into the trees. “Damn it! Why didn’t you stop her!?”

“My ability hinges on the sound I can make. I don’t have a sound I can make to stop someone from moving.” Khenen admits, holding his arm, looking away from Tenzent’s gaze. Catching eye contact with Maiyori. He even lets out a little gasp.

“What? Is it?” Tenzent asks him. “See something?”

Instead of ratting them out he looks back at Tenzent. “No… I just realized we could’ve asked her if she saw any other people.”

“H-how does that help us now, idiot!” Tenzent seemed like an honorable guy in the ring. But to this boy, he’s more like a bully. They walk away with Khenen glancing back at Maiyori’s eyes every few moments as if to say ’leave now’.

They make a beeline for an opposite section of the forest, finding they have exited the entire forest for the plains. Not only that, they see two people in the distance. Maiyori instantly makes out one of them. “Brother!” But Hisoki stops her.

“Hang on! Look who he’s with!” as they both see Sadi walking alongside him.

“W-why would they team up? I do not understand…” Maiyori pulls out her rosary and begins rubbing it in her hands. Very nervous right now, even buckling a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Hisoki worries and leans down to meet her gaze.

“I… I don’t do well with abandonment, Hisoki. My family is all I have…”

“Maiyori, he didn’t abandon you! Plus, you have your lord, right? He’s likely struck a deal with Sadi temporarily. Or maybe she’s threatening him. I’d believe either.”

“I do have my savior… Are you certain? How can you be certain?”

“I dunno, I just… Feel like I understand what Sadi wants.” Hisoki claps his hands. “Alright, Maiyori. You want your brother back? I’ll get him back. Follow me.” Hisoki and Maiyori very casually begin walking up behind the two.

Augy sniffs the air. “The scent, it’s close. It’s… Right behind us?”

“Hey! Augy! I brought your sister!” Hisoki does a little flare, casting little tiny fireworks.

Augy runs to her instantly, Sadi doesn’t even try to stop him. Augy hugs her and she does the same. “Why would you do that? You don’t know her. You don’t know me.”

“She helped me, I felt like it was only fair I helped her. Maiyori? Does this mean our truce has ended?” the jester asks her.

She shakes her head no. “Hisoki, I don’t think I can end our partnership like this. You just risked your spot as a knight for me.”

“Don’t mention it! Speaking of.” Hisoki turns his attention to Sadi who’s biting her nail on her thumb in anticipation.

“Hisoki, darling. I think it’s time we had our dance. Here and now. Regardless of who gets in the way! Don’t you think? You’ve been holding back so much… Don’t you want to let loose? Free those inhibitions? I do it whenever someone is strong enough to match me! And you… You are the one I want now. Maiyori, dear? I’ll be coming for you next. I hate to tell you like this, but you too are a strong girl like yours truly that I want to see in some form of pain. And I want you to see the same out of me. Give as much as you get. Hurt as much as you get hurt! That’s how you truly live life!” she casts a massive fireball at Hisoki, which could also eclipse Augy and Maiyori.

“Counterspell!” Hisoki yells, negating the fireball. Sadi has disappeared. He reaches his hand out in front of him. “Flash!” A blinding light is cast, forcing a shadow behind him. He pulls out his sword, running his hand along it and whispering, “Dispel…” then stabbing the shadow cast behind him, piercing cleanly through it like a physical object. This makes Sadi appear where the shadow is, his sword pierced through her stomach so cleanly that she’s even surprised.

But the look on her face isn’t one of terror, it’s one of absolute ecstasy. “Yes!” she grabs the jester’s shoulders, yanking him down and knees him in the face, causing him to recoil back. “That’s what I like to… See!” she erupts in flames. Hisoki, without much of a plan, throws out smoke balls. They pop, allowing him to barely dodge her when she finally attacks, nearly grabbing him but grabbing the ground instead, lighting up a sixteen-meter-diameter blaze that makes even Augy and Maiyori move. The blaze erupts into a pillar that hits the clouds, splitting them. She steps out of the fire pillar as it falls back down. She gathers fire in her hands and compresses it down so much it turns white. “You have to hit me with everything you’ve got, boy!” she unleashes it, a massive white wave of intense heat right at Hisoki. This isn’t a normal spell, this isn’t something he can just negate. He only has the one option. He casts a spell which strikes Sadi with a massive lightning bolt square on the head. Causing her aim with the massive beam of energy to go everywhere. Singeing Hisoki’s arm and leg good but missing his vitals.

She falls on her back. Hisoki barely stands. “Please stay down…” he begs.

She begins laughing. “I knew it had to be you.” She slowly rises up. “You killed King Patran didn’t you? Hisoki, keeping such powerful spells to yourself… Tsk tsk tsk. Now I have to teach you a nice lesson.” She warps flames in her hands, shaping a nice, long fire whip.

Hisoki is drinking a healing potion to help with the burns he received. “That’s okay, I’ve learned plenty today.”

“Where are your illusions, little jester? Surely you could have used them on me by now. I’m not hiding my senses from you.” She creeps closer, step by step.

“I could… But, then I wouldn’t be strong enough for this.” He holds his hand up as white energy begins pooling.

Sadi smiles at the mere notion of this. “If you cast that, you’ll be killing Maiyori and Augy. You sure you can live with that? They can’t outrun it! And that means you’ll be disqualified.”

“You said yourself not to let anything else interfere right? I’m just giving you what you want!”

“Yes! Lets see it!” She holds her hand up, releasing the fire whip, readying her own of the same spell. “This will be a test of who can beat the other in an all-or-nothing gamble! It’s do-or-die, Hisoki!”

Hisoki then points his hand directly at her. “Megikav!” A beam of the same energy shoots out toward Sadi instead of the massive explosion that would come from the same spell she used before.

“What!?” She stops mid-cast and casts a different quick explosive spell directly at Hisoki.

The explosion hits Hisoki and the beam hits Sadi, causing a second localized explosion on top of her only. Augy and Maiyori are watching, stunned in complete shock while having to cover their faces when the explosions come out. The smoke clears. In two small craters lie Hisoki and Sadi. Hisoki, practically unable to move, uses one arm to crawl out of the small crater as best he can. Sadi, on the other hand, stands slowly. Her outfit and his are torn and burned. She’s visibly just as damaged as he is, but she’s walking fine as she makes her way over to the jester. Her hair covering her eyes from being so mangled by that energy. She stands over him. “Damn it, not even that was enough to keep you down? I’m really done now, aren’t I?”

She chuckles a bit, spitting blood to the side. “I just came over to thank you for a good dance I missed out on in the ring. I’m stronger than you, but not by much…” she drops to her knees, passed out. Hisoki is not far behind. He can feel he’s losing consciousness when he sees someone come from his left. It’s Vic, and he’s calling over someone. Hisoki passes out anyway shortly after seeing them.