As the first spear approached Adrian from the air, he did his best to step to the side, but the spearhead barely grazed his shoulder. Amber dodged another spear, a little better than Adrian had done, then turned her attention to the approaching foxes.
'A tool! Anything!' Adrian thought to himself as he racked his brain for a solution. A fox approached, yet Adrian sidestepped it before he slammed his fist into its head. The fox wasn't even phased by Adrian's attack, but it did manage to push it back enough for him to retreat further, 'If I don't find something, we're dead!'
Adrian watched as another spear traveled through the air. This one missed Adrian completely, instead slamming into the space he had just been. The spear embedded itself three feet into the ground. Adrian felt chills as he saw how deep it had gone through the dirt. Had it struck, Adrian would've been dead in an instant.
Suddenly, Adrian had an idea. Spellcasting. He knew it was an ability from his rune, yet he had no idea how to use it. He needed time to practice, he knew, yet the current situation didn't allow that luxury. He needed a way to create time. Somehow, he needed a way to make the Vikings stop attacking.
But how? Adrian looked away from the battle, toward the figure standing still in the distance. An idea formed in his mind. A dangerous, stupid idea- but one that might work.
"I challenge your chief to a duel!" Adrian screamed. Suddenly, the spears stopped coming and the animals stopped charging. As the Vikings stared at Adrian, dumbfounded, silence reigned supreme.
Then, they all began to laugh at him. A dozen men as tall as monsters and as thick as trees began to treat him as a circus. Some of them pointed and chuckled while others fell to the ground in a fit. One Viking, however, was not laughing. He walked forward, crossing the distance of half a football field in only a few seconds.
"You wish to challenge me? What are the stakes?" Chief Brandic asked. His voice was firm, but Adrian detected a hint of annoyance. Amber, who watched from the side, stood next to Adrian as she stared at him with widened eyes.
"What are you doing?" Amber asked him. Adrian opened his hand and quickly found hers. He grasped it tight but didn't say a word.
"If I win, you let me and my sister pass into the forest unharmed. You will not follow us or make any attempts to harm us. If you win, I tell you everything you need to know about the Artists," Adrian told the Chief. The big man looked at Adrian curiously.
"What good does knowledge give me?" the Chief asked.
"How can you judge knowledge you don't even have?" Adrian replied. His voice was strong, but Adrian's body was shaking in fear. He felt the sweat dripping from his brow like a waterfall, but he tried not to show his nervousness to the man before him, "For all you know, my knowledge is deep enough to unlock the greatest secrets of Aoera. There is a reason my sister and I wear such clothing, that of which you have never seen."
"Hmm. I will entertain you, little man. As the challenger, you have the right to decide the contest. How will we do this? First blood? First to knock the other unconscious? I'm used to playing by death, but I suppose a change or two is acceptable," the Chief asked. Adrian scoffed.
Adrian felt his heart squeeze in fear. An image of his head being crushed between the Chief's massive palms flashed through his mind. He smiled, mostly out of nervousness, then looked back into the Chief's eyes.
"No, we will not fight in that way. Our duel will be that of the mind. If you want to prove yourself capable of leading a village, your strength cannot be only found in your muscles," Adrian muttered, "Our fight will be called the battle of Tic Tac Toe."
As Adrian sat the Chief down and explained the rules of his very basic board game, the Chief grumbled in reluctance. The rules of the warrior were apparently very stringent. Therefore, even though Adrian was very clearly avoiding bloodshed by playing a children's game, the Chief had no other choice but to follow along. Luckily enough for Adrian, the Chief had never played Tic Tac Toe before.
They sat in the open road with a crowd of Vikings surrounding them. Amber, who was tied still by a very flimsy rope, watched on with trepidation. Adrian looked at the Chief, then he drew the grid for the game with his finger upon the dirt between them.
"Tic Tac Toe is a mental exercise to train soldiers in the art of flanking. The goal is to create a blockade of three armies in a row, to prevent flanking," Adrian said as his mouth spat out pure bullshit. He wasn't sure where the game originated, but it certainly wasn't used by the military, "Therefore, we will both start in opposite corners. Like a real battle, we will only play once. Because I am the challenger, I will go first."
Adrian carefully drew an X on one of the corners, then turned to look at the chief. He looked to the other corner, opposite where Adrian drew his X. Then, he put his finger on the ground and drew a circle.
Adrian tried to hide his smile. The game continued as Adrian drew his second X into another of the corners. This created an opportunity for Adrian to draw a third X to finish the game. The Chief, as barbaric as his brain was, managed to find this opportunity. He smiled, then drew a circle between the two X symbols already placed on the ground.
"You'll have to do better than that," the Chief smiled. Adrian nodded.
"You're good, Chief Brandic," Adrian smiled. He looked back at the grid, then glanced at Amber. She no longer looked at him with fear or nervousness. Instead, there was a small grin on her face. Adrian looked back at the grid. He put his third X into the last available corner. This created two opportunities for victory. One of which the Chief couldn't block.
"What?" the Chief muttered, confused. He looked at the grid in surprise, then turned to look at Adrian. His face contorted into anger as he quickly stood up, "You tricked me!"
"It is the duty of the general to claim responsibility for his actions. Will you not finish the game, General Brandic?" Adrian asked. This seemed to set off a hidden switch into the Cheif's brain. He sat back down, then reluctantly put his final circle between one of Adrian's opportunities. As he left the final one open, sealing the match, Adrian put his final X onto the dirt, then created a massive line to connect each X with the one next to it.
Adrian stood, then looked the Chief in the eye. He was surprised to find that the Chief showed no anger over the result of the match. Then, the Chief put out his hand and calmly waited. Adrian eyed the Chief carefully but eventually met the Chief's hand with his own.
"In Orbaria, this is the way two warriors greet each other after the war has concluded," the Chief said, his voice brimming with pride.
'This is a basic handshake, but okay,' Adrian thought to himself. Then, as the Chief let his hand fall back to his hips, Adrian looked back to Amber. Then, with a cheeky grin, he gave her a thumbs up.
"The Chief..." Adrian heard a Viking say from a few feet to his left, "He... lost?"
"Hey!" The Chief shouted. He turned to the one who spoke and folded his arms, "It's not the Chief, anymore. From now on, I am a General! I am General Brandic! Young Adrian!"
Adrian turned toward the Chief- General- his eyes wide with surprise. The General's voice had been louder than he had expected.
"You have won this duel. As you have requested, you and your sister will be allowed safe passage through the village. We will not follow you, nor will we do you harm. On this, I swear the warrior's oath," The General spoke, "However, as you did not request aid, we will not provide it. Leave."
"Uh, Yeah," Adrian nodded. He turned back to Amber and watched as one of the Vikings took a spear to the ropes containing her. The robes easily fell to the ground- as if they were on their last few strands anyway- allowing Amber to move her arms freely. Adrian quickly walked up to her- then took her arm. Without looking another way, he and Amber quickly retreated from the village. They didn't lose anything- other than an hour of their time- which Adrian considered a major boon.