Seven Districts: Dragon's Gate

[DUEL Rory Laurent]

Rory consulted the directions that Deluthan had left for her. Only a couple more blocks and she should be there. One would have thought that given the influence of the duels and its mother ship, the Red Dragon Inn, acquiring property in the Dragon’s Gate district would prove a cinch. However, Dragon’s Gate had proved to be quite tricky. It seemed that everybody she had approached about selling their property rebuffed her advances claiming that the property had been in their family for generations and they simply could not part with it. Therefore, the note Del left tacked to her door about a possible lead on property within Dragon’s Gate came as an enormous relief.

She heard the location before she could see it. A number of children, both male and female, in pale blue loose-fitting uniforms were gathered outside the two-story brick building. The older ones had dull wooden swords while the younger ones had weapons made of foam.

“Duel well, you crazy pirate,” she head Del’s voice call out over the crowd in an overly dramatic tone. He was standing on the sidewalk surrounded by at least a dozen children all of whom snickered madly at his declaration.

Del wagged his sword at his opponent who was one of the youngest gathered. The serious-looking five year old boy slashed a salute in return with his foam saber. The crowd cheered on their own as he immediately lashed in with a thrust. Del jumped back just out of the boy’s short reach. With a grunt the child swung his weapon around into a low attack but Del’s sword was there to meet it.

“You will never get me!” Del exclaimed, scooping up his opponent under one arm. The young boy broke out into snickers and dropped his weapon as an outraged cry went up amongst the crowd.

In the blink of an eye, Del had a new older challenger who picked up his comrade’s sword with a snarl. “I will avenge my fallen friend!” he called out playfully as he lunged forward at Del. Del had a more difficult time matching blows with this opponent as he was more experienced than the previous and because he was still holding his snickering, squirming previous opponent under an arm.

“Grown-up!” came a hushed warning from someone in the crowd as Rory was finally spotted. The game came to a screeching halt. The children, well-trained to be on their best behavior whenever adults were present, fell silent. A couple of the shy ones even slipped back into the school, trying to go unnoticed.

Del quickly set down the child in his arms as his gaze swept around for the intruder. His free hand reached up and rubbed his beard as his hazel eyes spotted Rory. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, appearing embarrassed that she had caught him enthraled in a child’s game. A smile broke through Rory’s lips. “Don’t worry Del. I won’t tell anybody that you were having fun. Nobody would believe me anyway.”

Del frowned at Rory’s teasing, his forehead crinkling as he handed his foam sword back to its owner. As usual, he chose to ignore his friend’s teasing. “You found the place easy enough?”

“Yes. It wasn’t too difficult,” Rory’s gaze wandered past Del and the crowd of children to the building behind them. An aged wooden sign hung above the door declaring this building to be the home of the “Dragon’s Gate Dueling Sword”. A long glass window allowed a view into the school where several of the older children were practicing forms. One in particular was studying each move he made carefully in the mirrors lining the side wall to ensure that each placement of his feet was exactly right, that each swipe of the blade was perfectly timed, that his balance was never precarious. When done right even the most basic form became an extraordinary dance.

Del held the door to the school open, motioning her inward. “Come meet the owner,” he said, slipping right back into his mask of seriousness.

Rory avoided the children as she maneuvered her way into the building. The halls suddenly became busy as one of the students struck a gong. Students flowed in from the dorm upstairs, from the cafeteria on the main floor, and from outside. The all rushed into place in the central mirrored room as one of the elder students began to lead the warmup exercises.

A gruff voice announced himself after the last of the children had scurried to their class. “So this is the young Ms. Laurent.”

Del offered a polite nod to the man. He had a full head of graying hair which was neatly groomed. He carried himself with confidence and, despite his age which had to be around sixty, his loose-fitting blue uniform did little to hide his muscular build. “It is. Rory, this is Instructor Lamoine.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, young lady. I must admit that I have been rather baffled by some of the decisions that have come out of you and that Graziano fellow as of late but I find this project to be surprisingly ingenious,” the instructor said briefly.

Rory felt suddenly railroaded. She was not sure if she had just been insulted or praised. “It’s nice to meet you, Instructor,” she replied with a polite smile. “I do hope that the plan works and I believe your property would be an excellent addition.”

“Indeed it would. The current crop of barons had done little to foster the sport among the youth of RhyDin yet these children are their biggest fans,” Instructor Lamoine said with contempt.

There was no denying this man was serious about his career path. Now she could only hope he was willing to trust his well-oiled machine to the Duel of Swords’ barons. “So Del says you might be interested in selling...” she trailed off, poking gently for his answer.

“Yes. I am an old man with old bones. These children need someone who can keep up with them,” Instructor Lamoine said sadly. “I wish Deluthan would take over for me but he is under the false notion that he is not a very good teacher.” Del gave a sheepish shrug in response.

Rory pursed her lips tightly. It was now or never. “Would you be willing to sell it to the Duel of Swords?”

Instructor Lamoine and Deluthan exchanged a solemn look. This was a question that they had discussed at great length. The instructor had obviously already made up his mind but such a big decision needed one more moment of silent contemplation. The instructor’s steely gaze turned back on Rory and he offered her a formal nod. “I am indeed willing to sell the school to the Duel of Swords.”

A bright smile broke out on Rory’s face. “We are honored to have it as our sixth property.”