56 Duel
A vast crowd gathered near the Riverman's Association as they heard a rumor about a Brettonian Lord challenging the Duke of L'Anguille to a duel. Being people of a medieval fantasy world they take seriously things like challenges especially one as interesting as this Challenge.
Most duels were in between two parties of the same noble rank of closer but to think a small Baron of a poor Dukedom challenged the Duke of one of the richest lands in Brettonia. Even as people of the Empire they were dissatisfied being ruled over by the Brettons but they were still people thus prone to finding entertainment.
They can see a luxurious carriage in the middle of the road where a group of well-armed soldiers stood stalwart ignoring the noisy crowd around them. Even if the Duke could refuse the challenge he surely could not do so for the sake of his reputation. Thus it took about an hour before a convoy consisting of knights wearing shining armor arrives alongside another carriage more luxurious in decorations. It bears a flag with the coat of arms of the Duchy of L'Anguille thus they knew who was the new arrival.
The crowd was whispering with themselves as they felt excited with the development of the situation. So they looked at the first carriage waiting for the reaction of the Challenger now that the Duke has now arrived to face the impudent countryman of his.
[Inside the Carriage]
"Well it seems the Duke has now arrived, I trust that you'll handle the rest Melissa." Mark said as he stared at the two women in front of him before going out to face the Duke. In the Hour he had waited he has able to converse with the Local spy of Neferata here.
At first they wanted to kill him when they met but before they could even move they felt a blue blur pass by and they were now inside the backyard of Mark. It was then greeted by a large 20 meter long snake armored with green scales that has metallic luster on it. This was the Datura Snake that Mark had summoned which he still has not used for a spirit ring.
After the mission is successful then he might be able to start entering the world of cultivation. They were also greeted by Mark who transformed into Waybig looking down on them from above. They had seen various gigantic beings from Dragon Ogres, Giants and even Stone horns but they had never seen such being of massive proportions.
As the women watch Mark walk out the carriage, the audience outside were making a hubbub seeing that the challenger was a young knight. This made them think that maybe this was just a noble seeking fame seeing that they were ignorant enough to challenge a Duke.
As belligerent some nobles of Brettonia are, there are also those that adhere and take seriously the teachings they learned as noble knights of Brettonia. Mark could feel as pure calming energy on three people inside the carriage meaning that they were the real deal. They might be Grail Knights that already drank from the goblet of Lady du lac.
They might know what they drank but Mark has read it before in the lore of Warhammer fantasy. Inside the Chalice is the divine essence or the Blood of the Lady of the Lake herself which imbues the one drinking with holy power and strength comparable to a super soldier. These knights could kill dragons and hunt griffins to show their worth, and that's before they drank from the grail.
Mark could end this easy with the omnitrix but he had other plans. He did not want to be called demon spawn as people here were like the ones in Medieval Earth, uneducated to tell the difference between the demons of Chaos and other weird looking beings. Mark chuckled as he stood there feeling that his initial plan to make a harmonious place between different species is a very hard task.
But he'll find ways for that later, as the carriage in front of him opened its doors. First a large armored man stepped out wearing a battle worn armor which made Mark look solemn, the fleur-de-lys on the shield he carried makes him sure that it is a Grail Knight. Next was a middle aged man dressed in semi-formal armor that looked more suited for ceremonial occasions. Lastly is a Lady that was exuding a mature vibe radiating holy power full of vitality.
Mark thought that she might be a Damsel seeing that there was no sign of intimacy in her eyes but only respect and resolute expression. Damsels women were found when they were young showing a chance of learning magic alongside other young children. It had been deduced that they were all trained in a dimension owned by the Lady of the Lake and the best of them becomes Prophetesses while the rest were Damsels.
The boys never get out thus the Rumor of Brettonias Lost Boys were circulated within that populace of the Kingdom. And feeling the Vitality means that she might be a Damsel studying the Lore of Life, Mark was not sure how to approach her in battle but he would just have to be alert on anything suspicious should the challenge go wrong.
"Baron Mark Johnson, Lord of Castle Rachard of Mousillon greets Duke L'Anguille." Mark did a formal Brettonian bow between nobles(A/N: Don't know how the f*ck they bow formally so just use your imagination).
"Hmph, it seems you still have some sense in you to know that I am a 'Duke'. Here I thought that maybe you were just an arrogant young man going for fame. Speak your purpose, tell me why you dared issue a challenge against me?" The middle aged man sounded like a proper noble seeing his posture and aura giving an authoritive feel.
"I have gone on a Quest of Valor thus I have decided to travel the land to challenge the most decorated Knights of our Kingdom. Thus I have chosen the Duke as the tales of your might has reach my ears, forgive my presumptuous actions but I must do this." Mark said in a serious loud voice. He wanted to appear as an over achieving Knight that wanted to prove himself.
"My my, what a feisty one we have here." The Duke said as he looked imperceptibly at the lady beside him and seeing her nod made him look at Mark with respect a bit." Well since you wanted to have a Duel against the most decorated then my friend here is much more qualified than I am." The Duke was about to signal the Grail knight to step forward but Mark said something before he could say anything.
"Then the Duke would not mind a wager then?" Mark said as he gave a small smile towards the Duke.
"A wager?" The Duke was confused as he did not quite understand what Mark was aiming for. " I wouldn't mind it if the wager itself is reasonable. Go on lad, speak what you must."
"Then forgive me if I came to you with this very bluntly, I wager to the Duke that if you win then I will tell you a secret that would match the price of what I demand." Mark said with a smile giving a carefree aura like what he will say next is not something big.
"Information you say, well intrigue me young lad. What will your demand if you win?" The Duke was quite jolly today as yesterday he had a pleasant meeting with the future Prophetess of the Duchy of Couronne.
"Well if I win then my demand is for the Duke to retreat with his army and leave Marienberg." Mark then said this which made the audience that were watching as well as the guards and the Duke's party to get quite all of a sudden at the absurdity of the demand. But the first to recover was the guards as well as the Grail Knight besides the Duke, yet only the guards acted.
"You Dare!!?"
"This is blatant disrespect to our lord!!
"My lord let me fight this pompous fool!!"
"Just a Baron yet you have the gall to demand this of our lord!"
The ones that spoke were the Knights that were part of the personal guards of the Duke. They were also minor nobles so they have no qualms of speaking out against Mark who was a Baron. Some of them even were Barons but not landed ones, and like the guards the crowd also got into a fuss hearing what Mark demanded.
"He wants to have the Duke to leave Marienberg?"
"Is he helping us?"
"The Elector Count must have asked him for help."
"But he's Brettonian…"
"I support him, my business has taken a dive since the Duke restricted many ships to leave the Harbor."
"I agree, they only used the ships to export their own wares which were pricier than the last."
"If he wins then we will owe him."
"Good riddance, these Brettonian Soldiers think their better than men of the Empire."
"The Challenger is a Baron right? He's so handsome."
"Oi, you know where Luffy is?"
"Huh, who dafuq are you?
"I smell the sea, maybe the Merry is there."
"Hey you're going to a dead end alley!"
"Huh, where did that guy go? I swear he walked to this alley?"
"The Baron looks so young! Do you think he is betrothed yet?"
"Might be, but he is going on a quest. I hear the Brettonians leave their past life if they become successful in their quest. So he might be available."
"Who cares if he's single or not, I can he his mistress."
"With your sagging tits? Dream on girl."
"You are no better you Harlot!"
"I think the Elector Count has made a deal with the young Baron."
"The Baron seems serious though, it seems he has enough confidence to go through with this duel."
The crowd was so noisy that it was like a fish Market in front of the Riverman's Association. Well technically it is a fish market, but the crowd was so animated seeing a Baron demand such from a Duke.
But the Duke was not displeased or anything, rather he was more thoughtful as he saw the serious expression of Mark. He could see the confidence and sureness of the young noble in what he speaks. Being an Old noble means he has enough experience in reading people and from what he can tell there was something more from what Mark said.
"Sheathe your swords, Baron Johnson I accept you demand." His words made the clamoring Knights shocked as they could not believe their lord would accept such a preposterous demand from a Baron.
"B-but my lord!!" One of the Knights wanted to dissuade the Duke but the Duke himself raised his hand and said.
"I know what I am doing. Besides do you think we could lose?" This made the knights go quite while the crowd became more boisterous. The Grail knight besides the Duke stepped forward like a hulking mountain of metal but Mark did not lose out as he too stepped forward.
It was then the crowd saw how large the two contenders are, Mark himself was quite muscular now and tall standing at six feet five inches while the Grail Knight was about six feet seven inches dressed in heavy armor. But both of them made it look like they were wearing everyday clothes at how easy they walked towards each other.
Meanwhile the Damsel besides the Duke looked uncertain as she too felt that maybe the Duke was hasty in agreeing. She wanted to say something but she just kept quiet about it, but the Duke was sharp enough to pick up on what the lady was thinking.
"You think it was rash of me too didn't you?" The Duke gave an imperceptible look towards the lady as he turned his eyes toward the two men standing in the middle of the street.
"Yes my lord, I could not understand why you did so." The lady said.
"Tell me, did you find any false hoods in his words?" the Duke asked.
"None My lord, I can sense his heart was not telling any lies." Said the lady.
(A/N: I was not sure about giving the Damsels the magic of telling the truth but the game of the Warhammer fantasy did not specify much of how magic worked since it was mostly offensive magic being cast but since the branch of magic 'The Lore of life' is mostly related to healing and such then it should not be impossible for some small magic spells for telling if a person is lying or not.
It's a fantasy world filed with magic that existed for thousands of years, it is not out of place for lie detector spell to exist. Much less some miscellaneous magic to exist as well from other branch of magic, thus I will incorporate some of the clichés in fantasy worlds in Warhammer Fantasy. Thought I am not knowledgeable in things like DnD but I will do my best to research such stuff. If possible I too hope some would suggest on small details I could add in the story.
I already added the Adventurers troupe in the story but they did exist on the Warhammer Fantasy Universe. Even Mercenaries so there would be various races that might exist in some armies; it was not rare for some Ogres to be hired in some armies especially by the empire. Ogres and Halflings{Hobbitses} were quite known to be amiable to each other, one likes to eat and another likes to cook and eat.)