“What a fanciful carriage,” a woman mused. She was of dark skin, a lean frame, with grey eyes, adorned in lighter clothing, a cream shalwar, a grey scarf, and the sword at her side was long and thin.
“It is to be expected, for is it not the Amira who sent out the letters?” another woman mused, who was taller, rougher, adorned in cream, with a grey sash around her waist, and though she wore what was similar to the Aldish clothing, she was still within a shalwar, though the kameez was shorter cut, and the shalwar not quite as billowy. She wore no weapons, though her fists were wrapped in bandages.
“It is a shame the Amira did not believe our bouts to be worthy of her attention,” the third woman called, adorned in scale over her shalwar, wearing a sabre at her side, and she completely ignored the utterly bewilderment of her companions beside her.
Then the figures stepped out of the carriages.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The three women remained entirely silent, for why hadn’t the Amira warned them that Sully the Mountain was going to be there?
‘Is he the one the Amira asked us to pay special attention towards?’ the grey eyed woman thought, her fingers twitched to reach for her sword, for that would be impossible, in her estimations, for the Amira could not expect them to allow Sully the Mountain to…
“The man beside him is the Lion King,” the woman with the fist bandages stated, and as the rest eyed up the figure, tall, strongly built, not quite as lean as he was previous, they were fairly certain their companion was right, for the spear upon his back rested comfortably.
Though there were other warriors there, the three women were those who seemed to be the ones who commanded the most respect, for they stood ahead of all the others, and patiently waited to greet the newcomers, who they would soon draw their steel again, or beat with their bare fists.
As Sully eyed up the trio of women, his lips began to slowly form a wide smirk, and even Sal began to approach, calling out to them, but before he could, a voice pierced through the air.
“Uh oh,” the half fae fellow in the steel called, his breastplate covered in a rose, his shield similar, the axe at his side contrasting both, though it was a beautiful axe, well made, and upon the base of the handle, the etching of a rose completed the set.
Jurot’s eyes asked Adam the question.
“Well, you know…” Adam said, noting the three women who had stepped forward. A grey eyed woman, a woman with bandages on her fist, and the last, a woman who seemed to wear a stoic decency upon her face. “I was going to…”
Jurot considered the women with his eyes for a moment, though as he thought of his brother, he understood the predicament he was in, especially considering what he expected his brother to do.
“Good evening,” called the grey eyed woman. “I am Kal Adila, though one may know me as Three Cat Sword.”
“Good evening, I am Mo Adam, though some may know me as the Crazy Father,” Adam said, smiling politely towards the woman.
“I hope your travel was pleasant,” Adila said, with the understanding the half elf was the one who she needed to pay attention towards, though she wasn’t entirely sure why she had realised that. What was it about the half elf that made her think so? She vaguely recalled something about a half elf, she was certain of that, but what was it?
“May I ask who is the strongest among you all?” Adam asked innocently, smiling wide towards them all with a smile that suggested he was an arrogant youth.
“I would consider Womanly Fist and Iron Dancer to be my equals,” Adila replied.
“I am no Master, so I will consider myself third to my sisters,” the woman in scale said, planting her palms together as though in prayer.
“Are you by any chance Womanly Fist?” Adam said to the woman in scale, who wore a sabre at her side, while the woman with the bandages on her fist tilted her head in utter befuddlement. She turned to look towards her companions, but Adam let out a soft sigh. “It would have been really funny if you were, when the ka has bandages on her fist.”
“I am Womanly Fist Kal Kulthum,” the woman with the bandages said.
“Kal Mawzuna, though many know me as Iron Dancer.”
“I want to apologise for my rudeness, for I am about to offend you all, however, this works out perfect for me, for my ahm wishes to show me off to my other ahm, and I wish to show off to the pair of them, so would the three of you be willing to face me?”
“Mo, though you may be powerful, it is awkward for us to face you in a gauntlet, for, though you may hold the countenance of a half fae, I can see you are quite young,” Adila said, smiling politely, though she could feel the annoyance rise within her heart, for how could a Mo suggest such a thing? Besides, wasn’t he a Priest? No, if he was this confident, and considering his stature, he was probably an Oathsworn?
“No, no, I’m being far more rude than you suggest,” Adam replied, smiling awkwardly, chuckling in a way which suggested he was about to offend them even greater. “I was hoping that I could face all three of you at once. I’m certain if I face three Masters at once, that would be enough to impress my ahms.”
Kitool’s eyes met Jurot’s, and while Kitool was trying to get Jurot to speak to his fool of a brother, Jurot’s eyes returned a particular type of look.
Kitool let out a defeated sigh.
“Mo, isn’t it rude to underestimate us?” Kal Adila asked.
“It is not that I am underestimating you, it is that I don’t intend to hold back much when we fight, and recently my sister has been troubled by the fact that I have been defeating a great many of my opponents with such swiftness, that I must ask you to forgive me for being so rude,” Adam said, and then, with the understanding he was about to make three enemies for life, he held up a finger towards them. “If the three of you, together, are able to defeat me, I will grant you each a Greater Enhanced weapon of your choosing, although, for the Womanly Fist, perhaps ten thousand gold shall suit you better?”
The three women stared at the half elf, each of them understanding with their whole hearts it was this fool of a half elf who the Amira had requested them to take good care of.
“Mo…” Adila began, though she wasn’t entirely certain what she could say at this point, for the half elf was…
“Will you grant witness?” Womanly Fist Kulthum asked, pointing towards the young woman who stood nearby.
“I will grant witness,” Kitool said.
“Since an Iyrman is to act as witness, we cannot allow you to back away from your words,” Womanly Fist said, her heart lit with the need to beat this fool with her bare hands. How dare this young Mo dare to speak to them this way? Did he believe because the three were women he could treat them this way, especially in front of those two? She would not show even a moment of mercy towards him.
“I understand that what I have said is rude, but I do not speak lies, and I would not dare to do so in front of my brother, who is an Iyrman,” Adam said, motioning towards the handsome Iyrman who was as tall and firm as the walls in Jabal Adh Dahab.
“Your brother is an Iyrman?” Iron Dancer asked.
“Yes,” the pair replied.
Iron Dancer suddenly tensed in front of both of them, and Womanly Fist’s heart had calmed too, the pair of women now taking the half elf within their sights, while Adila remained frozen within her thoughts.
‘Am I dreaming?’ Adila thought, her eyes darting between them all.
“To face against three Masters at once…” It was him. The large mountain of a man they had all glared towards at first. “Are you confident?”
“No matter what I say, it’s better for you all to see it yourself, why my brother and my cousin didn’t even blink twice when I made such an offer,” Adam said, and as he spoke, he began to undo his axebelt, handing the axe to his brother. “I will not use my axe, and I will face all three of you at once. If even a single one of you can claim victory, I will consider it a loss to all three of you.”
“Mo, if you continue to treat us this way…”
“Ak, perhaps word has not travelled this far, but I shall inform you now, that Kal Kalim, Elder of Amber, is not even considered among the five greatest I have defeated,” Adam said, donning his helmet, then his shield, and once he had flexed his fist, he held their gaze a moment before dropping his visor. “So do not hold back, and please, come at me all at once.”