The tip of my lance caught the smooger just under his chin. His hands grabbed my lance in a hopeless attempt to stop the shaft from driving into his throat. He screamed for just second, until his throat was gored. My lance slid easily through his neck. The taper of the wood made the sides of his neck bulge. The skin on the right side of his neck stretched and then split. A thick stream of greenish smooger blood shot into the air. I yanked my lance free and guided Sheesha past the other smooger. I brought her around for another charge. I rode toward a small smooger. He wore orange robes. He was about to attack a bald stilt who held nothing but a long wooden stick.

Reese ran toward the battle with both flails humming overhead. I winked at the stilt who faced the smooger I planned to kill. The stilt’s staff blurred as it spun in his hands. I kicked Sheesha. She burst into a sprint and I lowered my lance. I aimed my lance at the belly of the smooger and leaned forward.

“My name is Telle Smellme!” I said. I anticipated the slight give of his skin and then the smooth ride of the lance through the smooger’s guts. As I bore down, the stilt jumped into the air, swung his staff around and caught me right across the chest.

“Ooof!” My ribs cracked. The world blurred. I dropped my lance and flipped backwards off Sheesha. The stilt stepped on my chest and held the butt end of the staff over my face. I gasped for air. The blow had knocked the wind out of me.

“Get your hands off me.” Reese’s voice carried over the field. His flails had stopped humming. Sheesha spun away from the smooger and ran back to attack the stilt that had me pinned. The smooger I’d planned to lance like a boil grabbed Sheesha’s harness. She dragged him while she growled and snapped at the stilt.

“Stand down,” the smooger said. The sounds of grunting and smacking stopped. A few smoogers on the ground moaned.

“Why do you attack us?” The smooger asked. I raised my head off the ground and looked around. Freya and the others were approaching the scene with her hands up. Two stilts pointed their swords at Reese.

“You stupid beamducking stretchlegged tootall!” I said to the stilt who pinned me with his staff. “We're saving you from these smoogers,” I said. I tried to reach for my dagger. The stilt stepped on my wrist. The tall smooger walked up to me. Purple warts covered his face. He wore a black leather helmet.

“We don’t say beamducker or tootall around here,” he said. Half of his dark yellow teeth were broken into jagged stumps.

“And we don’t say smooger,” the stilt said. He pushed his pole into my chest.

“We release you now. If you attempt to struggle, you will be killed,” the smooger said.

The stilt raised his pole. I slowly got to my feet. The stilts near Reese lowered their swords.

“Try that again and you’re dead.” Reese said to the stilt behind him.

“Silence,” the smooger said.

"We surrender!" Freya shouted as she approached. "The Gnome made a mistake!"

“Take their weapons,” he said. The stilts and smooger collected my lance and Reese’s flails. There was a noise from near the road. We all turned to look. A gnome pushed Drexel toward us at knifepoint.

“Found this one sneaking away,” the gnome said.

“Race Traitor,” I said in the Gnome language. “How could you help these freaks?”

"Monks, we seek sanctuary!" Freya called out.

The stilt was livid. "This was an unprovoked attack!" he shouted.

"This was a misunderstanding!" She shot back.

He pointed at the smooger I had skewered. Green blood pooled around his neck, two monks desperately tried to stop the bleeding. "That is my friend!" He screamed, "You attacked us for no reason, you murderers!"

“At least we're not smooger-lovers!,” I said.

“Silence!” The smooger shouted simultaneously with Freya.

“I don’t take orders from smoogers anymore,” I said. The stilt next to me whirled his staff around. There was a sharp crack as the pole struck the back of my legs. I fell to my knees. The stilt pulled me up to my feet. I wobbled.

"Falstaag was telling the truth about you bastards" I growled.

“Gnabbit, you and Shamron gather the wounded. We will return to the monastery,” the smooger said.

“Yes, Sergeant Ledshek,” the gnome said. The stilt holding me pushed me forward. I stumbled. Everyone began to march. The smoogers led Sheesha by her harness.

“Grimston is dead!” The gnome, Gnabbit, called after us. Nobody looked back but me.

Gnabbit cradled the body of the smooger I’d gored through the neck. I smiled. The stilt tapped my head with his staff and I looked forward as we walked away from the battlefield. We marched down the gravel road. The moon hung low in the sky. The moonlight was unusually bright. Our group was about 30 beings, and at least half of them were smoogers. We cut a gruesome outline against the night sky.

On our right, a wooden wall appeared in the distance. We turned off the road to a smaller dirt road and marched toward the wall. The smooger in charge, Ledshek, called out cadence. His voice was unemotional now. The smoogers and stilts marched in time to his song. They shouted a response to every line he called out. Most looked rigidly straight ahead.

“My old life is dead an gone,

Tang is right and I am wrong.”

“gruel for food and a wooden bunk,

live my life as a fighting monk”

“Breathe in!”

“Tang’s WILL”

“Breathe out!”

“Fight to KILL”

The stilts and smoogers bellowed the words. I noticed that they all had thick black eyebrows. Their voices carried over the grassland. I snuck a look back at Reese. He rolled his eyes. Freya was behind him. She seemed to be struggling not to march in time with the monks. She purposely marched out of step in an awkward stride. I had to run to keep up with their fast strides, one of the monks led Sheesha. Jenna panted as she ran to keep up. Tang’s monks stood straight and marched stiffly. Eventually we came to the front of the monastery. Two towers were on either side of a wide wooden door. Monks stood on platforms atop the towers.

Ledshek, shouted up to the towers and the doors slowly opened. A group of monks in robes stood in formation in front of us. They wore pressed and clean yellow robes. Some held polished wooden staffs. Even the smoogers in their ranks were clean. I had never seen a clean smooger stand at attention before. The rows of monks faced us with blank expressions. A stilt stood in front of the formation and faced Ledshek.

“Sergeant Gunther,” Ledshek said. “Get Tang!”

“He’s sleeping Sergeant. Tomorrow is the…” the stilt said.

“Get Tang!” Ledshek’s eyebrows twitched.

“Yes, Sergeant.” The stilt spun around and ran into a tall, red wooden building to the left of the courtyard.

“Half stance!” Ledshek said. His deep smooger voice was practically a growl. The monks moved their legs apart in unison and relaxed slightly. Ledshek made us do the same. They watched Ledshek with blank stares. We waited in silence. A stilt monk yawned. Ledshek walked toward him. He stood facing the monk. Ledshek’s hand shot forward. His palm struck the center of the stilt’s face. Blood gushed from the flattened nose. The stilt stood rigid as his eyes watered.

“I thought I saw a sleepy monk,” Ledshek said. He walked in front of the formation.

“Are you sleepy, monks?” He asked the group.

“No, sir!” They answered together.

“When can you sleep?” He asked.

“When we’re dead!” They shouted back. Freya frowned. Her face was a knot.

“This is perverse,” she said. The stilt next to her pointed the butt of his staff at her face. She scowled. We stood for at least an hour. My legs hurt. Reese tried to sit down, but the stilt smacked him with the staff.

The monastery gate opened again behind us. Gnabbit and Shamron entered. They pulled a wagon. Two dead smoogers lay in the wagon. A wounded smooger leaned on Shamron and limped into the courtyard. A murmur rose within the ranks of the formation.

“Silence,” Ledshek said. The noise stopped. Gnabbit had tears on his cheeks. He quietly led the wagon past the formation and into a low building on the right side of the courtyard. It was directly opposite the building that the other stilt had run into to fetch Tang.

“Full stance!” Ledshek said. The monks snapped to attention. I slouched. Five stilts in yellow robes with orange sashes marched out of the large building. They split off and stood at attention in two rows. They stood for several minutes. The courtyard was utterly silent. Drexel kept muttering things to Freya under his breath. They all spoke at once.

“Black Tang!” They said.

From the doorway came a black gnome. He walked gracefully and silently. His feet were bare. Two enormous, bushy black eyebrows protruded almost a foot from his head. They flared off on either side of his forehead. He walked through the corridor made up of monks.

“Make way for Tang!” The monks said together. The formation parted silently. The monks split into two lines. Tang approached us. He wore a black robe. His nose was bulbous and broad. His eyes were white, and his skin was a deep black. He must have been three hundred years old.

The monks in our group kneeled. A staff struck the back of my knees, forcing my legs to fold. I fell forward. We all lay face first in the dirt. Tang walked up to me.

“Explain your actions,” he said. His eyebrows quivered slightly. I looked at Freya to see if I should speak. She nodded slightly.

“It was a mistake,” I said. “We thought the smoogers were…” A pole slammed into the side of my head. My ears rang.

“When you speak of Goblins, then you will refer to them as such,” he said. He looked down at me. I still had the dagger tucked in my belt.

“We were trying to protect travelers,” I said.

“I protect the travelers,” Tang said.

“Then protect us,” Freya said. The stilt jerked his staff toward Freya. Tang’s hand shot out and caught it before it struck her cheek. Tang looked at her. His eyebrows rose.

“We are travelers who seek sanctuary from the Town Guard,” she said. Tang looked down at her. He opened his mouth. A gasping sound came from his throat. I realized he was laughing.

“Be careful what you ask for, strange monk,” he said. He leaned down and looked her in the eye. She stared back. The muscles in her neck bulged. The veins stood out. Her head trembled.

“Ach!” She said. She turned her face to break the gaze.

“You killed two of my monks and wounded another, yet you would have sanctuary from Falstaag." Tang said, "You will have Sanctuary. But you must earn your sanctuary from my monks.” His eyebrows arched. He turned to walk away.

“Were you at Pusstown?” I asked. Tang stopped. He stood perfectly still. Slowly, he turned back around and faced me. His eyebrows knit together to make a long black caterpillar across his head.

“My name is Telle Smellme,” I said. I struggled to my feet. The stilt brandished the pole. Tang raised his hand.

“Let the gnome speak,” Tang said. He stepped forward. He was slightly shorter than me. “I know of no one by that name,” he said. He looked more annoyed than curious.

“I am the only survivor of the Pusstown massacre,” I said. I looked down at him. His expression changed. His eyebrows shook. His back straightened.

“There was no one named Smellme at that place,” he said. He stared at me with such intensity. His gaze penetrated my mind. I turned my head reflexively. I looked at his feet. His gnarled black toes squeezed the ground.

“You will not mention that place again,” he said in a low and steady voice.

“Why? Why did the smoogers kill my people?” I asked. “What do you know about Pusstown?”

“I told you not to speak that name,” he said. His voice surrounded me. It got into my head. I wasn’t even be sure if he’d said those last words out loud. The monks around me took a step back. I felt Tang’s will enter my mind. “Kneel.” His voice swam in my head. I lowered myself to the ground at his feet.

“Telle,” I heard Jenna whisper. She was there, in my head. Tang didn’t seem to notice, but his grip on me was weaker. I knelt at his feet. My hand slid down to the handle of the dagger that was stuck in my belt.

“You will answer me,” I said. I lunged at Tang. His right hand was impossibly fast. He struck my wrist and turned my knife sideways. The tip of my blade drew a red line across his chest. He squeezed my wrist and my hand opened. My dagger fell to the ground. I jumped at him. I threw my weight into his chest. I should have knocked him backwards, but his toes clung firmly to the ground.

“Telle, behind you!” Freya said. I ducked and a staff whooshed in the air over my head. My left hand grabbed Tang’s eyebrows. I twisted and pulled the bushy, wiry hair. He screamed and staggered back. I tried to yank out a fistful of hair, but his right hand caught my throat and lifted me off my feet. I gasped for air. His fingers squeezed my neck. His will entered my mind again.

“RELEASE!” His voice sounded like my own thoughts. I relaxed my grip on his eyebrows. He threw me backward. I landed on my back.

A blur of yellow robes flew in front of my face as the monks dove for me. I kicked the first monk in the chest and then rolled to my right. He hit the ground gasping for breath. Another two jumped for me. I got my fingers into the eyes of the first. I dug my fingers into his eye sockets. My elbow caught the second monk in the throat. I tried to squirm away, but more monks flew at me. They hit my side and back. They climbed on top of me until I was pinned against the ground. I could barely breathe. Tang leaned over my face once again. His eyebrows shook with rage.

“Release him!” He said. The monks climbed off of me. I slowly got to my feet. They stood around me in a circle.

Tang faced me.

“I will forgive this indiscretion,” he said. The monks looked shocked. “But if you mention that name, or attack any of my monks again, you will die.” He looked at Ledshek. Ledshek nodded.

“How can you live with these…” I looked at the staff the stilt held inches from my head, “goblins.” I spat on the ground.

“They fight like us.” Tang waved his hand across the formation of monks behind him. “They bleed like us.” He rubbed his right hand across the slash on his chest. “And they die like us,” he said. He looked me in the eyes.

“Save your strength. If you survive the sparring, you will have your sanctuary. You will learn to live with other kinds. Strange that you have not, considering your companions.” He looked at Reese.

He turned and walked away. I started after him, but the stilt lowered his staff across my chest. I watched Tang walk back into the tallest building in the courtyard; a red, tapered temple-like tower. The monks around us snapped to attention.

“I suggest you rest as soon as you’re in your rooms,” Ledshek said. They marched us into the smaller building on the right. We marched past rows of beds, in a barracks. The bodies of the smoogers we’d killed were laid out on two of the beds. Gnabbit looked up from the corpse of the smooger I’d lanced.

“You don't deserve sanctuary, you deserve to be in Hell." He said. He pointed at me. I coughed up a wad of phlegm. I turned my head and spat. The glob sailed through the air and landed on the upturned face of the dead smooger. Gnabbit jumped for me. Shamron held him back. I stuck my tongue out as we walked away.

“Full stance!” Ledshek said. Gnabbit and Shamron stood stiffly. Their eyes followed me as Ledshek took us up a plain wooden staircase. He guided us into a small room with a small window.

“You will be fed later. I suggest you rest until tomorrow.” He shut and locked the door behind us. Drexel tried to open it. The door would not budge.

“Looks like we’re staying,” he said. He immediately tried to squeeze himself out the window.

“I could be at Barry’s right now,” Reese said. He looked at me.

"Reese, we could have been guests here, but two bloodthirsty zealots had to introduce our good intentions with battle cries. So thank you very much for making me a prisoner again." Jenna said.

"You wouldnt be a prisoner if we had all just beat those monks to death when we first met em! Looks like we're gonna be doing that when Falstaag gets here so we coulda picked em off early!"

"Reese keep your voice down" Freya said.

"Freya, quit busting my balls!" Reese shouted. Freya looked taken aback.

“So, tomorrow we get to earn our keep for sanctuary? Isn't that what black turd said? I'm gonna take his advice and get some rest,” Grundy said.

"Im still not convinced that they are behind the goblin attacks on the west road." Freya said. "Their ways are somewhat disturbing, but they seem very unlike the bandits that we fought."

"Would you listen to yourself Freya?" I said, "We're in an unholy temple filled with smoogers and you're still in denial." I shook my head. "Jenna, could you talk some sense into her?"

"All stenchflies have stench, Telle, but not all flys are stenchflies" Jenna said, "It is your logic that is confused." She sat down in the corner. She pulled a leather book from her back sack.

ÅgI have some reading to do,” she said. She stared at the pages. I started to speak, but Freya put her finger over her mouth. She cupped her hand against my ear.

“Get some sleep,” she said. I lay with Sheesha in the opposite corner. Not much was said. Freya handed out some scraps of food. She didn’t have much left. I nibbled on some bread. Eventually we all fell asleep. Drexel slept in the corner near the window.

I tossed and turned. A sense that the world was all wrong washed over me. A sharp stench burned my nose. I sat up. My back ached from lying on the hard floor. It was very dark in the room. Drexel stood by the window, holding his nose. He glanced at me, then stared across the courtyard at Tang’s building. I nearly gagged on the smell. I heard Reese moan. The others slept fitfully. Freya muttered in her sleep. The smell seemed recede. I looked at Sheesha. She kicked her legs in her sleep. I imagined that in her dreams she was charging smoogers and ripping them apart. I rubbed her neck. I got up and looked out the window. Across the courtyard, a thin stream of steam rose from the top of Tang’s tallest building. The steam rose and then vanished in the night air. After a while, the steam stopped. The smell disappeared after a little while and the others slept more calmly. I lay back down next to Sheesha and closed my eyes.

“Boom, boom, boom…” I awoke to the sound of drum beats. A slow, steady thud pounded like a heartbeat through the monastery. Drexel stood in the same spot by the window. It looked like he hadn’t moved all night. I walked to the window. It was low enough for me to look out. At least Sixty monks in a formation stood in the courtyard beneath us. In the center, Tang sat on a palanquin. Groups of monks wore different colored robes and sashes. The furthest from Tang wore orange robes. The monks who held him, in the inner circle, wore yellow robes with white sashes.

Tang sat perfectly still on the palanquin. Stilts and smoogers were lined up together. My stomach turned. That little traitor Gnabbit stood in the midst of them. Five monks ran to the gate of the compound, just beyond my view. I heard them opening the large wooden doors, and Tang was slowly carried out. The monks marched in time to the drumbeats. I heard the procession march onto the gravel road. The sounds of drumming and marching faded, and I heard the monastery doors close.

The door to our room opened behind me. I spud around. Drexel was already crouched behind the open door. Ledshek, in a green robe with black sash, stood with a tray and Six dishes.

“Eat,” he said. He lay the tray on the floor.

“There is one bowl for each of you and one spoon for each of you. This will be your spoon and your bowl for the rest of your life at the monastery. Do not lose them,” he said.

“Rest of my life?” Reese asked. Ledshek didn't answer. He closed the door and left.

“What do you mean ‘rest of my life?’” Reese shouted. The door remained shut. Reese jumped and kicked at the door. His hoof made a small dent in the wood.

“Ouch!” He hopped on his other hoof.

“I hate this!” He said.

“Shut up and eat,” Grundy said. I picked up a spoon and tried the meal. The food was a pasty pale gruel. As hungry as I was, I had to force each bite down. It had absolutely no flavor except for a slight aftertaste. Freya took two bites and put her spoon down.

“There is an ingredient in this that I do not recognize,” she said.

“I’m surprised there’s more than one ingredient in this,” Drexel said. He let his spoon drop in the mush and sighed. Jenna sat and studied. Her bowl grew cold beside her.

“It’s fine with me,” Grundy said. “You gonna eat that?” He asked Jenna. She didn’t answer. He slid her bowl away and spooned the gruel into his mouth.

“Wasting food is unacceptable,” she said. She forced down her meal in slow and steady mouthfuls.

“Now that we’ve eaten, it’s time to consider out exit,” Drexel said. He looked out the window again, and spoke softly, so as not to be heard by the monks, “If we could get out this window, we would still be trapped. That big spiked wooden wall circles the whole Monastery. I think it's about 25 feet tall. Its got one gate, that we can't quite see from here. The only gate of the wall is guarded all day and all night, so it's not a viable exit for us. We're gonna have to get over that wall. How you ask? The red temple-building where Tang lives is across the courtyard. Take a look, it's about 50 feet tall, and it's right next to the rear end of the big wall. If we could sneak into Tang's temple there we could rob him blind, and jump out a third story window over the wall.”

“Great! Then we can run away on broken legs,” Reese said. He threw his empty bowl at the door.

“Or lower a rope,” Freya said. “The problem would be getting all the way there without being seen,”

“Jenna and Telle are small enough to fit out this window,” Drexel said. “They could come back around and let the rest of us out.

“Fantastic,” Reese said. “They could sneak around, through the barracks of the monks, and then we’ll all just walk out!” He said. Freya didn’t even look at him. We sat and stared at the window. The pop of a cork got everyone’s attention. Reese tipped a jug back and drank.

“Where did that come from?” Freya asked. She looked sick.

“We’re utterly trapped,” Chastity said. “We still don’t know what they’re going to do with us,” she said. Reese passed her the jug. She took a sip and passed it back. Reese swallowed several big gulps and then belched.

“Stop it!” Freya said.

“Stop it!” Reese said back. He drank some more. He laughed and danced. His hooves clacked against the wooden floor.

“Let’s dance our way out!” He said. He tossed the jug to Chastity. She drank some more. Reese hopped and jerked back and forth. He thrust his hips forward and clicked his hooves together.

“Watch this!” He spun on one hoof. It was the hoof that kicked the door earlier. He winced in pain and fell sideways. His right arm knocked the jug from Chastity’s hands and it smashed against the floor. Whiskey splashed over us all.

“My whishkey…” Reese burst into drunken tears. He sat in the pool of whiskey and sobbed. He bent his face to the floor and lapped up the spilled drink.

“You jackass!” Chastity said. Her speech was slightly slurred.

“I can’t believe you people!” Jenna’s voice boomed through the room. Everyone stopped and looked at her.

“I was making real progress!” She said, over her book. Her ears stood straight up.

“Sure you were,” Reese said. He flapped his hands by his ears in an imitation of Jenna’s ears. She glared at her book.

“I hate this place!” Reese looked up and shouted at the ceiling. He rubbed his hoof. Freya looked at me.

Reese burst into drunken sobs. Sheesha lapped at the spilled whiskey. I half-heartedly pulled her away and prayed to Kraken that we get out of here soon. Jenna hunched over her book. She sighed loudly whenever anyone said a word. Reese moaned in the corner and held his hoof in his hands. Chastity didn’t look much better. We sat in silence for most of the day.

Shamron returned with more bowls of gruel. Each bowl was as bland as the last. Strangely, I felt my strength return, despite the meager victuals.

“Why are you keeping us?” I asked as he spooned the gray paste into our bowls.

“We are preparing you for a test,” he said. He set the tray on the floor. “You will be given a chance to earn sanctuary, and join the Tang monastery. That’s more than you deserve.”

“What if we don’t want to join?” Freya asked.

“A true monk surrenders all want,” he said. He left. Freya picked up a bowl of gruel and cocked back her arm. She grimaced and slowly lowered the bowl.

“It would be wrong to waste even this…food,” she said. She spooned some into her mouth. “I have never encountered food so devoid of Chau. And yet somehow it sustains us,” she said. She shoved her bowl across the floor to Grundy.

Grundy finished whatever anyone else didn’t eat. He loved it. Drexel and Freya worked out a plan of escape. The next morning Ledshek opened the door. It was very early. We blinked in the lamplight.

“It is time for your trial,” he said. He motioned for us to leave the room. We left the room and several monks in white robes held our weapons.

“Where to, yellowtoes?” I asked. A pole came from behind and smacked the back of my head.

“I am Ledshek, to you my name is "Sir",” he said. His broad face was covered with lumpy purple warts. Black hairs sprouted from the warts. His eyebrows were bushy and black. His teeth were dark yellow. “You will address me as Sergeant.” He turned and walked down the hall.

“Ledshek!” I said. He stopped and turned around. “Where are you taking us?” I asked.

“You fought with us on arrival, so today you will be given a chance to fight again. If you survive the competition, you will be welcome here,” he said. He turned and continued down the hall. A monk shoved me in the back with a pole. I walked down the hall with the others.

“That seems appropriate,” Freya said.

“There are those who think Tang should not be so lenient,” he said.

When we got outside, many monks stood in formation. A group in green robes practiced kicking wooden poles. A monk in an orange robe struck them when their timing was off. We walked to a circle of monks in orange robes. Across from me was Gnabbit. I spat on the sandy ground. The only other monk in a yellow robe besides Ledshek was a stilt. His eyebrows were as black and bushy as Ledshek’s. His long, stilt legs were thick and muscular. He approached Ledshek.

“Sir, the sparring should wait until Tang’s return,” he said.

“Sergeant Gunther, look around you,” Ledshek said. “The men are ready for a fight.” He smacked his fist into he palm of his hand.

“Tang would not approve,” Gunther said.

“Perhaps it is you who are not ready for a fight,” Ledshek said. The stilt turned red.

“You propose that I test them for absolution?” Gunther said.

“Pick your best student, Gunther. He will represent you in the circle,” Ledshek said.

“Thank you for the opportunity to prove my technique Sergeant Ledshek,” he said. Ledshek smiled. Gunther spun on his heel and kneeled in the circle. Ledshek faced the circle.

“These bloodthirsty strangers who have attacked the monks of Black Tang, now stand before us as acolytes. Despite their murderous acts, these acolytes of Tang will gain an opportunty to earn their lives and begin training as greenrobes. This is the way of Tang. We value the lives of our own, but more than that, we value power,” Ledshek said. He walked around the circle. The monks faced straight ahead.

"There were two murders committed. There will be two opportunities for absolution"

“This is not a fight to the death,” he said. He looked at us.

“However, should one acolyte lose a match, then all the acolytes will be executed,” he said. “Should a monk lose, he will be stripped of his sash and begin training as a greenrobe.” Ledshek looked at Gunther. Gunther stared straight ahead.

“And his teacher will lose standing,” Ledshek said. Gunther’s thick eyebrow’s twitched slightly. “The matches will take place one at a time. If no acolytes lose, then they will all become members of the monastery. If one acolyte loses, they will all die. That is the way of Tang,” he said.

“That is the way of Tang.” All the monks replied at once.

"Which of you will fight for your absolution, step forward" Ledshek said.

Freya and I stepped forward. Chastity and Drexel pulled me backward.

“You.” He pointed to Freya. “The monk first,” he said. Two monks guided Freya into the circle. Gunther pointed to a stilt monk in an orange robe across the circle. The stilt stood and entered the circle across from Freya. A monk in a yellow robe struck a metal gong. The chime resonated across the courtyard.

“Begin!” Ledshek said. Freya lowered her profile and walked slowly toward the stilt.

“I don’t wish to fight you,” she said. She held her hands in front of her. Her fingers stuck straight out like the tines of a fork. The stilt shouted in an unearthly voice. His words echoed like the gong. Ripples of muscle began to pulse and expand under his robe. Freya jumped backward.

“Magic!” Jenna warned. Freya stepped carefully around the stilt. His muscles bulged and grew. His robe became tight on his body.

“It is dishonorable to use magic in a contest of skill,” Freya said. She looked frightened. The stilt squatted on his thick haunches and then shot forward. Freya jumped backward, but not in time. The stilt’s fist hit her directly in the nose. Blood sprayed out of either side of his fist as if he were smashing a grape.

Freya flipped back and landed on her feet. She shook her head, spraying the seated monks with drops of blood. The stilt made another charge.

“Rack of lamb!” She brought her elbow down on the back of the stilt’s neck. He dropped to his knees.

“Butchered pig, strangled bird!” Freya smacked the bulging neck of the stilt with the edge of her hand. He spun around, just in time for her fingers to find his eyes. He screamed in pain and his left leg swung around. He caught Freya on the side of her knees and she fell to the ground. The blinded stilt raised up and pounded the ground around Freya with his meaty fists. She rolled to the left and the right, dodging his blows. Showers of sand shot into the air as his fists struck the ground.

Freya crawled backwards. The stilt faced the sky. He listened. He slowly turned and faced Freya. He muttered more magic and his arms swelled up further. He walked toward her and swung blindly in front of him. He was slow and clumsy, but he looked strong enough to break stones with his fists. Freya backed into a handstand. Her face was a mess of blood and sand. She walked upside down on her hands across the circle, silently moving out of his way. The blinded stilt stopped and listened for her. She stayed in a handstand. She slowly bent her arms so that her face nearly touched the ground. Shaking with the strain, she pushed off with incredible speed. In a blur she arced through the air. She came down with her thighs around the neck of her opponent. She twisted sideways in an instant. There was a snap like a stick wrapped in a wet towel. The stilt went limp and fell sideways. They struck the ground together. Freya lay with her thighs closed around the stilt’s neck. His legs flapped against the ground. His arms twitched, but not for long. Freya rolled free of the lifeless monk and got unsteadily to her feet. She wiped the blood from her face and looked at the circle of monks who faced her.

For a second there was silence. Freya took two steps and then collapsed. A monk broke rank and ran into the ring. Then another. Then a mob monks ran to the fallen body of their comrade.

“Kilton is dead!” A monk said. The courtyard erupted in the shouts of angry monks. Freya crawled toward our side of the circle. Gnabbit spotted her.

“Kill the acolytes!” He said. He pointed at us. “For Grimston! For Kilton!” He sprinted toward Freya.

“Full stance!” Ledshek said. Some of the monks stopped running toward us.

Ledshek walked into the circle. “Full stance!” He said.

ÅgKill the acolytes!” Monks shouted from all sides as they rushed into the circle.

“Do not enter the circle unless you intend to fight!” Ledshek said. Freya crawled toward us.

“Are you ready to fight?” Gunther said. He walked into the circle and faced Ledshek. The shouting of the monks stopped. They all stood and watched Ledshek and Gunther.

“Full stance Sergeant Gunther,” Ledshek said. Gunther stared at him. They were so close that their eyebrows nearly touched. Gunther stiffened into a full stance.

“Enjoy your power,” he said in a low voice. “When Tang returns, you will wear a green robe,” Gunther said.

Ledshek pointed to Gnabbit. "Take care of the body.” He addressed the monks. “There will be no more sparring until Tang returns. Resume your training,” he said. The monks slowly left the courtyard. Gnabbit and Shamron carried Kilton’s body away.

“I will take you to your quarters and post a guard outside.” Ledshek said to us. “No harm will come to you as long as you win your matches,” he said.

“And as long as you’re in charge.” Drexel muttered. Freya leaned on Drexel as Ledshek guided us back to our room. He locked the door behind us.