Day one ranking
"Well, how did you guys do?"
The old man, wearing blue and silver, looked with curiosity as Hex and Hestia entered the hut. Hex saw four more people, all looking old, in the hut.
Based on the different colored robes Hex concluded that each represented a different faction.
He didn't know any of the people, except the old man in the corner, who looked nervous.
He had seen him at the castle. He was the gardener.
His eyes twitched in annoyance. 'All the other factions sent at least a Squire level person. Only the baron would be so uncaring to send his gardener.'
"We did okay," Hex replied with a shrug, "Is it possible to see the rankings of others here?"
He felt curious about the points Clannad and the others managed to gather.
He was certain he would be in the top spot, but it was good to see where the others managed to come after the first day.
"Sure. As soon as you submit the treasures here," the old man in blue replied.
A part of the treasures and crystals could be kept by the team but after the first round had finished. This was to prevent people using the same items and crystals to claim more points at different checkpoints.
Hestia went first. She pulled out her pouch and dumped ten crystals and a long root-like herb on the table. At once the people gathered to look and note on their pads. Even the gardener.
"There are four Fiend level crystals, each worth a hundred points, and six Demon Crystals worth ten points. That makes it four hundred sixty points."
"The root is from a Fiend stage thistle, very rare, worth a hundred points. The total comes at five hundred sixty points."
The blue robed man turned towards a stone slab and wrote her points on it. Hex noticed the banner at the right, with silver borders, lit up.
Knight Ranking
1. Silver Serpents' Lady Dollaire 600 points
2. Silver Serpents' Lady Rublena 600 points
3. Baron's Lady Hestia 560 points
4. Northern Hawks' Ivran 550 points
5. Silver Serpents' Sir Pesor 500 points
6. Northern Hawks' Lady Briella 480 points
7. Baron's Sir Adgar 450 points
8. Baron's Sir Oron 450 points
9. Northern Hawks' Sir Orvyn 400 points
The rankings caused Hex's eyes to narrow.
The Merchant Union's ranking was really high on the list. This shocked him. He didn't know where they were but it was unlikely they killed so many beasts.
'I wonder what treasure trove they found. They should have found many rare herbs to have so many points in one day.'
Hex felt the pressure on him increase. He had expected the others to be prepared but they seemed to have done exceptionally well.
"Where are the rankings of the other two teams?" Hex inquired. The list only included nine out of fifteen Knights participating in the event.
"They haven't checked in yet," replied the blue robed man. "We expect them to do so at the end of the first round."
'Most likely they are confident at their chance to make it through. If the Merchant Union could find a treasure trove then the heir of the oldest family in Grindeston could certainly do better.'
With a heavy heart Hex went forth and dumped his kills on the table. He had only found crystals so far.
"Thirty one Demon crystals," the old man gasped at the sight. Even if the Demon crystals were only worth ten points, killing thirty was quite a feat for a young Squire. And all these men knew that Hex had been a Blessed less than a month.
"That's three hundred ten points," replied another man beside him. He wore the robes of the Northern Hawks.
They all turned towards the banner with a blue border. It was the ranking of the Squires. A whole set of names and numbers appeared.
Hex only tried to see where he stood. There were already over twenty names on it.
Squire Ranking
1. Silver Serpents' Sterling Poundersire 350 points
2. Baron's Hex Darkenmane 310 points
3. Northern Hawks' Althea Thunderhawk 300 points
Everyone else had less than hundred and fifty points to their name. Hex checked quickly to see that everyone from the baron's side was inside the top twenty. All, except one person.
They hadn't found him yet. According to Oron the Squire might have wandered off. They were after all here to compete.
Hex however suspected it to be something else. But he had kept his mouth shut. There was no reason to suspect someone without proof.
"There you go. You are doing nearly as well as our young master," the old man in blue said with a grin. There was no doubt he was proud of his faction's performance.
'There are still two days left. We will see how more luck your young master has.'
Hex knew the two days would be harder, but he knew that they hadn't really explored the vegetation yet. Their focus for now was to clean up the mountain.
He refused to believe that he would lose out to others in finding hidden treasures inside the cracks and chasms.
They mounted their goats and rode back. Only when they had put enough distance between them and the checkpoint did Hex take out the handkerchief.
The matter of Dawnbringer was something they couldn't postpone.
…
"Look! There is a change in the rankings!"
The shout made everyone at the entrance of the mountain range turn towards the giant banners on both sides of the path.
"Hah. What did I tell you? The Silver Serpents are the best at finding treasures."
"Bah. I am sure you guys are good at slithering in every hole. But our lady Althea will make snake skewers out of you."
"Hmh. That young lad isn't doing too bad. A shame he is just a newbie."
"You guys can celebrate now. Once young master Clannad checks his points, he will show why he is the youngest champion of Grindeston."
The crowd at the entrance broke into discussion as they analyzed the rankings. Each person believed in their chosen candidate. No one was willing to acknowledge the other.
Amidst the discussions the gambling house was grinning. They didn't work so hard to put up the banners to showcase the greatness of the participants. No, they wanted people to bet even more.
Seeing the fervor of the people, the council members laughed. They were happy to see the townsfolk enjoy the festivities. This way they were easier to control.
Only Conrad looked calm and stared at the rankings.
'I hope you can fulfill your task, Clannad!'