Chapter 126
Lamberton Dormitory Building, Cornell Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2036, Planet: Grimoire
Grifton thought about going to the sparring center after cleaning up, enjoying a meal at the Jade Palace, and a musical at the Orient Palazzo. However, he was exhausted from all the work and was not in the mood to spar anymore.
"You having second thoughts." Firenze was observing him carefully.
"Yes," Grifton admitted. "I'm actually exhausted." He didn't even know what the place looked like.
"Here's a blueprint of where we used to spar. It has been fixed up." Firenze produced some images. "Not only that but it's been turned into an arena where people can practice for a small fee."
Grifton looked at the improved arena. He glanced at Firenze. "What might that modest fee consist of?" He was a bit cautious because sometimes that could haunt people later.
Firenze smiled. "Either five silver coins per participant," He held up the currency, "and if that isn't feasible, something else was used as an option." "Goodness, times have changed." Grifton blinked because that wasn't something he remembered happening as a guard. "Hmm, I can see the latter being more optimal if another option exists." Such as covering for people who might not be able to participate, much less spectate. It was definitely an interesting way of handling the situation. Firenze nodded. "For a dozen copper coins, one can obtain a dozen loaves of soft bread purchased from the vendors."
"Interesting," Grifton murmured. "I like what I'm hearing." He had plenty of silver and copper coins available, but he was willing to listen to what they told him about the new participant standards.
Troy commented, "True, some participants set aside that amount for each person who knows they'll be participating." He shrugged. "That doesn't always work out easily."
Grifton nodded. "I can see where something might go wrong if not properly handled." He admitted.
"Plus, several more silver coins to exchange for copper coins in case there are more people than anticipated to spectate or participate," Firenze explained. "The loaf is purchased with a dozen pats of butter and honey to spread on it so the guards can split the loaf between them during the main event."
"Hmm, that sounds doable. So, what do you tend to do?" Grifton inquired curiously.
"We put together a pot for those who will participate," Firenze confirmed his guess.
"There is a separate pot for those who're spectators and want to toss in an amount that'll go to a couple of the guards we always visit," Kyle told Grifton. "We rotate who goes in as participants and spectators so that no one gets left out." He shrugged. "It is something we found works and doesn't exhaust all of us at once."
"So, I can put in silver for the participant pot." Grifton insisted.
The others grinned. "Okay, that means I can rest. yay." Gladys looked pleased. "I was hoping to only spectate tonight. What a show it'll be." Her eyes gleamed with pleasure.
The others groaned and laughed at her reaction.
~*~
That night, Grifton joined all the youngsters who'd gathered for the unofficial spar. There was a muffled roar when he appeared in the arena's central area.
Suddenly, excitement filled the air, making Grifton feel relaxed and stimulated. It was an odd feeling, but better than what he'd dealt with earlier.
Whispers and muffled squeals from the other participants made him turn his head to stare at a few of them. A couple of them were visibly shaking with fear and curiosity. The remainder merely glanced his way and shook their heads.
This time, Grifton wasn't hiding his appearance. Pointed ears, crystalline orbs for eyes, and spiky split horns curling around his head were in full view. He could feel the urge to do so while he hadn't gone full-on dragon yet.
However, there was a better time to do it. Instead, Grifton concentrated on all the sensations in the arena. He looked around curiously while enjoying the air and breezes ruffling his hair, which swung loosely down his back to his thighs.
The arena was immensely more relaxed, and breezes flowed in from all directions through cleverly placed vents and windows. This time, Grifton only had a couple of armlets, bracers, and gloves adorning his body. He wore a loose vest and leather breeches that were a size too big around his legs, and they flapped around his ankles. Even then, he just wore sandals.
Firenze watched from the spectators' bench. His hands clenched at his sides as he watched the tall figure standing in the center. "He towers above all of them."
Troy nodded. "I see the Charros brothers. They haven't entered yet. Nor are they aware of Grifton's arrival." He paused and chuckled when a roar signaled everyone's awareness of Grifton.
"Now they know he's there." Kyle snickered. "They look terrified." He was no longer laughing. "I hope they refrain from attempting to kill him." He sounded wary.
"Grifton wasn't kidding when he said they despised demonic entities." Gladys shook her head. "I heard that from one of the guards of his caravan." She explained when the boys looked at her in surprise.
"He did that on purpose." Molly shook her head. "I hope he knows what he's doing."
Lilac sighed. "I heard someone say that magic doesn't work on those people from Naxos Kingdom." She shrugged. "He just didn't bother wearing the artifacts for that reason."
Lendon frowned. He rarely joined the group's main core. He glanced at Kyle and Troy. "Are you serious when you said Grifton Tinroy is that tall dude down there?"
Another roar echoed, Grifton soared into the sky, and wings emerged from his back.
All kinds of objects whizzed after him, and he shifted into an immense silvery purple, green, and blue-scaled dragon. He rumbled a warning at the attackers.
Firenze frowned. "Did those Charros fools start firing at him before the signal began?" He couldn't believe the audacity.
"Nope, this is something else." Troy held up distant glasses to stare through them. "No idea who is doing the shooting."
"Probably some remnants from Crow's Heights membership. They've got a serious grudge on him." A new voice spoke.
Firenze glanced sharply around and smiled. "Jameson Brier, what brings you here?" His name was recognized as the leader of the Lifter gang. Firenze tapped knuckles with him.
"I came because I heard this weird little rumor about Grifton Tinroy making an appearance." Brier stared at the dragon with a soft whistle. "Wow, he wasn't that big when I saw him after teleporting from a tight mess almost five years ago, or maybe it was six?" He shook his head.
Speechless, Firenze considered what he just heard and shook his head. "So that news article about him being hurt while teleporting was real?"
"Yes," Jameson confirmed. "I saw the Crow's Heights crew attacking him on orders from an Alpha that wanted his ass dead for rejecting him."
Firenze grimaced. "I think I know who the damn bastard was." Fortunately, not him, but he had suspicions.
"I'm pretty sure we all know who it was. One of that infamous Aryx clan." Jameson grunted. "Same damn pattern as what we're seeing right now." He shook his head in annoyance. "Dumbass bastards don't know when to quit." Brier tapped his jaw and sighed. "Well, this is awkward." He frowned slightly when seeing where the arrows were shot from.
Firenze growled. "Is no one going to stop those creeps?" The last thing he wanted was for the spar to be called off because of some killjoys trying to murder someone in plain sight.
Brier smirked. "Heh, yeah, I'm going to." He spoke into a small object in his hands. "Turrets: 12, 19, and 2. That's where the snipers are located." There was an irritable snap. "Just do it," Jameson snarled. "Unless you want Tinroy coming after your ass in dragon form?"
There were startled yelps and curses emanating from the device, and then it went silent. "That ought to light a fire under their butts." Jameson caught Firenze's wary stare. "I was kidding about Tinroy doing it."
Firenze sighed. "You might have, but he won't be in the mood for games after this." He shook his head. "this was supposed to be a peaceful gathering." What a disaster.
~*~
Since when did those damned bastards manage to sneak into the facility? Now, were they going to ruin the entire night? Grifton didn't think so. He shifted from humanoid to dragon in a heartbeat. He'd had it with those assholes.
Annoyance didn't cover his feelings when he noticed a familiar hostility rising from parts of the upper buildings. Grifton circled the upper heights, searching the turrets for the snipers. When he discovered them, he swerved and dove to lower levels to throw off their aims.
Grifton assumed that another group was there to maintain peace, so he didn't go for any of the snipers—that was until they fell out of the turrets. Once he reached the correct elevation, he used his tail to send the falling assassins out of the arena and into a specific lake that was already foaming with anticipation.
Yep, the sharks and piranhas knew what was arriving in their domain. Those assassins could kiss their lives goodbye. Grifton just consigned them to a very nasty ending. They deserved it for trying to take his life and ruin that rare night of revelry.
Once he was sure all the assassins were disposed of, he shifted into humanoid form and carefully descended. His wings vanished, and Grifton used telekinesis to descend the rest of the way. He wasn't of mind to cause a dust storm with his wings.
"Are you all, right?" The referees watched from a safe distance.
Grifton did a quick scan. Not a single arrow or weapon hit him. "I'm good," he nodded to the referees. "Can we get started? Or did I just be the exhibition for the night and should just spectate?" Grifton was amused by the quandary he posed for the referees and guards.
"You can still join the games if you're not wiped out from flying around." A referee decided.
Whoops of glee and cheers told them that was the right decision.
"Great, I'll rejoin the crowd of people waiting to participate," Grifton said, pausing when the referee shook his head.
The referee explained. "Stay here. You've already got a challenge."
Was that so? Grifton looked around, and then his eyes narrowed.
Jacks Charro stood opposite of him. His eyes were narrow with consternation and mingled with rage and admiration. "Well, aren't you the shocking surprise of the night? So, is this what you concealed all that time ago?"
Grifton shrugged. "So?" He stared at Jacks with a calm gaze. "Still think you should brag about destroying people on the West Coast?"
Jacks flinched when he heard that and sputtered in rage. "So that is still being spread around." He sighed. "Damned loudmouth cousins." He threw his hands into the air. "No, that is no longer going to be an issue." Jacks told him wearily. "However, you may believe what you want."
Grifton sighed. "Do you know where my siblings and their children might be?" He might get that question out of the way.
Jacks' eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Grifton shook his head. "They went missing again." His eyes turned icy. "Right about when those nasty warnings began spreading under the Charros name."
Jacks was speechless. "All right, I'll start searching for them." He reassured Grifton. "Now, can we spar or what?"
The referee snorted. "I was just waiting for the exchange of formal greetings to end so we could begin."
Grifton rolled his eyes. He went through the formalities and then stood quietly.
The referee dropped the flag.
Grifton and Jacks circled each other, and then Jacks attacked first. After that, there was an exchange of blows and then flurries of various magical spells thrown at each other. At last, Grifton won when he used a thick boulder to pin Jacks to the ground, ensuring that neither his arms nor his legs could push him off.
"Grifton Tinroy, student of Cornell Academy wins." The referee announced. "Could you remove the rock from him?"
"Huh? Oh, right." Grifton did so and then, extending a hand, hauled Jacks to his feet. "Are you okay?" He wasn't sure if he'd misjudged the weight of the rock after all.
"I'm fine." Jacks looked a bit dizzy but wasn't too bad off. "You just threw me off balance with that thing." The rock had been intentionally made to look heavy but light enough not to crush him. "I wasn't able to move, but I was able to communicate with my brothers and sisters. Soon, I should hear about your siblings and their children's whereabouts."
Grifton nodded. "You can find me at the Lamberton's student's dormitory building." He walked away from Jacks Charros and returned to where the others were seated and waiting for their turns.
Once seated, Grifton glanced at the referee who shrugged. "You can take a break while the next matches conclude."
Grifton nodded and watched the rest of the matches with interest. After Charros, he was challenged twenty-four times and won all of his duels.
That was a fun night, and he slept peacefully for the first time in a while.