The Deviant Dominant Ch 22

Chapter 22 - Round Two

Lukas immediately recognized the resemblance to Frelich in the short, blonde-haired elf who approached them; it was the sneer plastered across his face, mostly.

Captain Bruiser grimaced, his gaze drifting toward the third-floor landing, as if silently wishing for a solution to present itself. Much to his surprise, his wish was granted. A tall figure bounded up the stairs. "Captain Bruiser!" Jaren called out, his voice booming. "Thank you for your assistance with my investigation."

Dreyfus narrowed his eyes as he looked behind him. "Investigation?"

"Indeed," Jaren affirmed. "When a young and relatively unknown team decisively defeats a prominent opponent like the Arkmere Mages, it raises concerns that necessitate a closer look for any signs of cheating."

"Cheating?!" Dreyfus exclaimed, his glower deepening. Lukas' mirrored the Anoran's sour expression at the insinuation.

"We're merely doing our due diligence," Jaren explained as he passed the three elves. "Your mages certainly received a thorough beating, didn't they?"

The elf's scowl intensified at the pointed reminder. "I don't know what game you're playing, Jaren, but I'm here to arrest a criminal. I carry a signed warrant from Justice Nocht."

"I assure you that you will get the opportunity to execute that warrant right after my investigation."

Steam almost puffed out of Dreyfus' ears. "Captain Bruiser! I order you to do your duty and arrest that murderer!" the elf demanded.

"I apologize, commissioner," the captain responded, "but the Director of the Tournament of Immortal Heroes has higher authority in this situation. Also, the warrant is for violating a banishment decree, not for anything related to murder."

Dreyfus clenched his fists and glanced at his two guards, as if contemplating throwing them into the fray. Deciding against it, he settled for a threat instead. "You will regret making an enemy of me, Jaren," he said while glaring at the director.

Jaren just shrugged and unlocked his office. "Please join me inside," he said to Lukas and his team. Lukas wasted no time following the director into the temporary sanctuary.

Fiona was not content leaving the confrontation in silence. She took a step towards the open door before turning back to Dreyfus. "Hey, Anoran: I heard it was attempted murder. Don't worry, though, we will make sure to fix that next time we meet." She flashed him a smile and then disappeared into the office.

Once the door was closed and locked, Jaren let out a heavy sigh.

"What's going on, Jaren?" Lukas asked.

Jaren glanced over to the young man. "Let's get started then. Lukas, have you or any of your teammates employed nefarious methods to gain an unfair advantage in the tournament, such as, but not limited to use of skills, from an outside party?"

"No," Lukas replied defensively.

"Great," Jaren said. "I formally declare you not guilty of cheating and officially conclude this investigation. Now, you are free to exit through that door, back into the hands of Dreyfus, or you can have a seat and we can have the next conversation."

Lukas was starting to recognize what was going on, but there were still vast swaths of unknowns that left him in a confused state. He took Jaren's invitation and sat down with his girls.

"In case you haven't noticed," Jaren said, "Dreyfus is coming after you -- well, specifically Lucy, at the moment, but I think his end goal is to dismantle your team. I looked into Lucy's banishment, as such a case is an anomaly. The details I could find were scant..."

"I shot a piece of fruit out of his hands to prove I was as good of an archer as an Anoran," Lucy summarized for the director's benefit.

"Ah," Jaren sighed with amusement. "That would do it. Anyway, that incident has provided Dreyfus the ammunition he needs to target your team. My sources tell me that he's been looking for you all morning."

"That's ironic," Lukas said. "We spent most of the morning in Anora's private viewing suite, likely while he was trying to hunt us down."

Jaren let out a short chuckle. "I'm glad he wasn't bold enough to interrupt your match to apprehend Lucy. You put up a good fight against Edricht."

"Why did he wait until now?" Lukas asked. "He had to have known that Lucy was coming to participate in the tournament."

"He thought you were a free pass for the Arkmere Mages. My guess is that as soon as you defeated his team, he ran to court to try and get the warrant. I didn't think he would be able to get it so quickly. He must have some sort of influence over Justice Nocht."

"How do we avoid losing Lucy?"

"You could flee the capital," Jaren said. "Arguably, you should. Will Dreyfus bother coming after you once you're gone? Perhaps, but not right away."

"But we would be forfeiting the rest of the tournament," Lukas complained, almost immediately rejecting the advice.

"Not necessarily," Jaren said mysteriously. "I hear Celestia is nice this time of year. It is not too far, either."

Lukas scrunched his face, trying to piece together the director's hidden suggestion. "Why are you helping us?" he questioned.

"As the Director of the Tournament of Immortal Heroes, I must be impartial to all teams and I cannot help you, even if you are the crowd favorite," he hinted. Jaren was clearly helping them, but not in an official capacity.

"I can't even help you escape Dreyfus," Jaren admitted with a sly smile, "but I would highly recommend not going back out the way you came in." He nodded subtly towards his office window.

Lukas groaned. "We are three floors up!"

The young Adventurer rose from his seat and shuffled towards the hinged frame and glass panes. "Does anyone have a rope?" he asked while opening the window. He peered down, and was surprised to see a pair of familiar faces looking back up at him. "Elvira? Monique?"

"Did someone order a covert extraction?" Elvira shouted up to him with a playful smile.

"Is that what this is?" Lukas replied.

"Just sit there and look pretty, Lukas dear," Elvira teased. "Elvira will save you."

"Something tells me Monique is going to be doing all the work," Lukas retorted, prompting Elvira to stick her tongue out.

"Can you all flirt later?" Jaren asked, having approached the window. "I'd rather not have Dreyfus discover this little social gathering."

"I'm going to start lowering people to the ground," Monique explained. "There's a minute cooldown on my ability, but I'll work as fast as I can."

"I can teleport," Fiona called out. "I'll wait until the rest of my team gets out and then pop down."

"Go ahead and step out, Lukas," Monique instructed. Lukas took a leap of faith -- though, more literally, a single step -- and began floating down. Monique's control over her skill was flawless. In mere moments, Lukas touched down safely on solid ground.

"Now we wait for the cooldown," Monique said, with just a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Thanks, Monique," Lukas said in a sincere tone.

"For what?" she responded with a smile. "You've really impressed me. You defeated the Arkmere Mages and secured a spot in the second round. You've turned your young team into the beloved underdog that everyone is cheering for, and... you were even kind enough to lose your match to my Phoenix Guild."

"That's my sister's fault," Elvira interjected. "She should have silenced the spell-stealer."

"She followed the strategy that I came up with for the team," Lukas countered. "If anyone lost that match, it was me."

"You're cute," Monique said, getting close to Lukas. He thought for a moment that they might kiss. "I also heard what you said during the press conference about rebuilding the Phoenix Guild. You are a hero, Lukas. Let me take care of you." The half-elf's lips slowly inched closer to Lukas'.

A voice rang out from above. "Uh, hello? Has it been a minute yet?"

Dammit Fiona.

Monique backed off and began lowering Gwyn from the window. Lukas glanced up to see not only her, but a tall, muscular figure emerging just above her.

"Gemma," Lukas asked, "what are you doing? Monique is working on Gwyn. Wait your turn."

The brunette ignored him. She lowered her lengthy body down a few feet while hanging onto the window sill. She briefly eyed the ground, then wiggled the fingers that held her weight.

"Gemma, wait --"

The impatient Brawler released her grip on the sill, plummeted to the ground, and collided with a bush, utterly demolishing it. A moment later, she arose from her crash site, wincing as she favored her left side.

Lukas grimaced when he saw her ankle. "If we didn't need to run at a moment's notice," he said, "I'd be tempted to let you hobble around on a broken ankle for a while." He nodded at the recently landed Gwyn, who cast her healing magic on the Brawler. "If somebody else needs to be healed before that ability's off cooldown, you're carrying them and serving as their personal meat shield."

Gemma shrugged. "It was better than sitting around twiddling my thumbs, and I potentially saved us a minute."

Laera and Lucy took Monique's magical ride next. Then Fiona finally joined them, using her skill to port out of Jaren's office. "Let's get you out of the city," Elvira said. "Any ideas where you might go?"

"I think Jaren recommended we go to Celestia," Lukas mentioned, to which Elvira raised her eyebrows.

"Why Celestia?" Monique asked. Lukas shrugged, but Elvira grinned.

"What does Celestia have that the capital does not?" the Anoran asked, almost arrogantly.

Monique's eyes widened. "The Mystic Forest."

"Do you think the next round of the tournament will be in the Mystic Forest?" Lukas asked excitedly.

"Jaren can't outright reveal anything," Elvira said, "but if he hinted at Celestia, that would be my guess. Let's head out. I don't want to be around here when Dreyfus finds out his prey has escaped."

The group of eight crossed the street, then rounded the corner to where a carriage was waiting for them. "Monique," Elvira asked, "could you get them out of the city? You are much less likely to get stopped than me. I'm going to head in the other direction and see if I can divert some attention." The Anoran Guildmaster turned to the team. "I'll take care of your stuff. Just get out of the city and find somewhere to stay in Celestia. You'll be safe there, but I still wouldn't use your real names."

"Let's go," responded Monique and boarded the carriage along with the young Adventurers. On the blonde's signal, the vehicle lurched forward, carrying them towards the outskirts of the capital. They rode for several minutes before reaching the city gate. The carriage slowed to a stop; Lukas kept his head down. Monique hopped out quickly to address the hindrance.

Lukas heard boisterous voices outside. "Oh! It's Monique! You're not thinking of skipping the tournament, are you? The Phoenix Guild is having quite the run so far, aren't they?"

Monique's voice brimmed with excitement. "Absolutely! Edricht's team just clinched victory in their match this morning. I'll be back before the afternoon session starts; I just need to run a quick errand for a friend."

"Alright, we'll let you be. Best of luck!"

The door to the carriage opened quickly and Monique returned. "I see you are very good under pressure," Lukas said.

"There wasn't much pressure," Monique responded. "I just have a very innocent-looking face, wouldn't you agree?" She gave Lukas a mischievous smile, one that looked very not-so-innocent.

Lukas blushed as the carriage jolted forward, leaving the city walls behind. After a few more minutes of travel, Monique gestured for the driver to halt. "This should be far enough out," she said, stepping out of the vehicle.

Lukas joined her on the dirt road. "Thanks, Monique."

"It was no trouble at all," she replied with a warm smile. "I look forward to seeing what you do next, which will likely be in Celestia."

With that, they continued their journey on foot. In less than two hours, they were entering the city that housed the Pegasus Guild. While there were people out and about, the streets were relatively quiet, with much of the populace enjoying the tournament activities in the neighboring city. The first challenge was finding a place to stay. Laera, who was the only one even vaguely familiar with the area, recommended that they try the Iron Feather Inn. The accommodations were modest but it was within their budget, so they headed there.

Lukas decided it was best to send Gwyn and Fiona inside to secure a couple of rooms while the rest of the group waited outside. About twenty minutes later, they returned, both sporting mischievous grins and two room keys in hand. "What's so funny?" Lukas asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," Gwyn said with a chuckle, "I figured Fiona, being the quick thinker she is, should come up with our pseudonyms. So, we ended up being introduced as Fire Crotch and Purple Tits."

Lukas groaned at the redhead's antics, though he also barely stifled a laugh. "Fiona, the idea is to not draw attention to ourselves."

"I'm just having fun," Fiona said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, no one cares what a dingy Anoran thinks about us out here."

"Alright," Lukas conceded, "let's head to our rooms and rest up before we look for some dinner. I completely forgot we skipped lunch -- I'm starving." The entire team was worn out, never having received a real chance to fully recover since getting their asses kicked by the Phoenix Guild.

"I wonder how my sister will manage to get our stuff to us," Laera wondered out loud.

"She'll have to ask around for 'Fire Crotch,'" Gemma said, rolling her eyes.

***

After a restful night, the team decided to make a trip to the caverns the following day. The idea was to keep their minds off the uncertainty of their eligibility to compete in the tournament. Lukas also really wanted to hit level fourteen. They traveled through the section of the Mystic Forest near Celestia. The paths to the mountains were foreign to them, so it took a bit longer, but they were able to find a cave entrance. They spent several hours in the underground labyrinth, channeling their frustrations from the previous day into their fighting. Upon returning to Celestia, they found Elvira waiting for them in front of the Iron Feather Inn, leaning up against a carriage and holding a newspaper in her hands.

"You found us!" Lukas exclaimed, happy to see the blonde elf.

"Yes," Elvira replied. "I figured Laera would suggest this place for you to stay. I'm the one who brought her here first." Laera wasn't paying attention. Instead, she was earnestly searching through the carriage for her luggage.

"Orientation for round two is tomorrow morning," Elvira said with a mischievous smile, "in the Pegasus Guild Hall, which is four blocks away. The other seven teams are traveling here as we speak."

Lukas let out a sigh of relief. They were still in the tournament after all. "What's in your hands?" he asked, referring to the newspaper she'd brought.

"I'll show you at dinner," Elvira promised. "Let's unpack your stuff and find somewhere to eat. I'm hungry. Taking care of refugees is hard work."

They made short work of the baggage and were soon canvassing the area for a good restaurant. As they walked, the tantalizing smell of spices wafted through the air, drawing them closer to a cozy little eatery.

"This looks perfect," Elvira said, stepping forward and opening the door.

Inside, the ambiance was warm and intimate, with an assortment of wooden tables lit by flickering candles. An inviting aroma of roasted vegetables and fresh-baked bread enveloped them, making their stomachs rumble in unison.

The seven Adventurers sat down and ordered off the menu. As they waited for their food, Elvira plopped the newspaper down in front of the team. Immediately, six heads leaned forward to read the front-page article.

The Hatchlings Strike First

By Olivia Holden

There have been a number of fascinating fights in the first round of the tournament, but there is one team that everyone is talking about: the Wyvern Hatchlings. This underdog team, comprised of young Adventurers and led by the ambitious Lukas, has taken the arena by storm, securing victories against more seasoned opponents and showcasing a skill set that has both surprised and thrilled spectators.Their opening match against the renowned Arkmere Mages will go down as one of the most shocking upsets in tournament history.

In a dazzling display of teamwork and strategy, the Wyvern Hatchlings swiftly dismantled their magic-wielding foes, utilizing a combination of cunning abilities and surprise tactics. Lukas led the charge, baiting the Mages into a barrage of magical attacks before demonstrating his impressive resilience.

Following that sensational victory, the Hatchlings secured their second against the Chimera Guild, thanks to a phenomenal performance by the team's Assassin, Fiona Larksmith. Their third battle proved to be the fiercest yet. The challenge was tough, and despite their impressive showing in earlier matches, the Hatchlings encountered unexpected obstacles, including a mimic with the ability to steal their skills. Unable to adapt, the Wyvern team crumbled under the immense pressure. Ultimately, the match ended with Lukas conceding defeat to a cunning Edricht and his team, but the fight was rated as an audience favorite.

The Wyvern Hatchings mysteriously disappeared after the third session, but our trusted sources have provided us valuable leads. In a move that many consider to be poor taste, Anoran Commissioner Dreyfus has sought to put Lucy Corzo, the team's Ranger, in chains for returning to the capital. By only seeking such recourse after the Arkmere Mages lost, his timing calls into question both his integrity and his sportsmanship. Several prominent voices have already called for tangible opposition against Dreyfus' actions. It is widely believed that Lukas' young team has fled the capital, and many are raising their voices in support, hoping for them to return for round two.

The night before his sudden disappearance, Lukas was spotted dining with the Silverbreeze family following the team's impressive second victory, which bodes well for Laera's romantic interests. The members of the Wyvern Hatchlings, however, continue to remain tight-lipped about any potential internal relationships blossoming within their ranks. The air of mystery surrounding their dynamics only adds to the intrigue of this young and vibrant team.

Of course, the most provocative member of the Hatchlings has certainly been uncloaked, quite literally. Lucy Corzo, quickly becoming known as The Topless Archer, has not only drawn the attention of prestigious Anoran politicians, but has captured the eyes of many admirers with her tantalizing display of flesh. Lucy's unexpected rise to fame has sparked widespread debate across the capital. Critics, though few in number, argue that her unusual choice of attire -- or lack thereof! -- detracts from the spirit of the competition, while numerous supporters laud her boldness and confident embrace of individuality. Wherever one stands on the issue, it is undeniable that her audacious persona has drawn attention disproportionate to her impressive displays of more traditional archery skills.

The ambitious Wyvern Guildmaster, Elvira Silverbreeze, seems downright ecstatic to ride the team's wave of fame; she made sure to issue a public statement reminding everyone that it was her decision to nominate the Hatchlings for their spot in the tournament. She has been particularly busy lately, undoubtedly scheming to help her team claw their way back to the capital.

As the tournament progresses, fans are left wondering: will the Wyvern Hatchlings continue to rise through the ranks and challenge the established contenders? Their performance thus far suggests they are a serious threat, and with their unyielding spirit, they have already garnered a passionate following.