74 Karl

Leo let out a sigh of relief, before He relaxed though, someone started protesting.

{hold on a damn minute!} a gruff looking dwarf stepped forward, and continued until he was in front of Agmundr and Leo.

{you're just gonna let them into our territory just like that? Just because you saw what he was capable of doesn't mean we're all assured they're an asset!} there were several dwarves mumbling in agreement at his words. Agmundr groaned, and gestured to the dwarf while explaining to Leo,

{this is Karl, he's the lead warrior of the Tirdaral dwarves. He's also one of the few Chiefs who's not a champion.} Leo was surprised at his words, but something else caught his attention.

{most of your Chiefs are champions?} Agmundr nodded and explained,

{we are mostly craftsmen, and due to the diversity of the types of drafts there are, there are several gods that rule over them. I'm a champion of Hephaestus, there's also Ptah, Gofannon, Brigid, Qaynan, and Tvastar to name a few. As a warrior Karl doesn't serve a God, due to the fact that they usually choose some other race for their warrior champions.} at that moment Karl, who had been standing silently spoke up.

{don't talk as if I need a god to help me crack some skulls, I can do well enough myself without their help! And I'm not sure I want some help from someone who needs them to be able to hold his own!} Agmundr tried talking down Karl while Leo was thoughtful for a second, then he said,

{what if we have a sparring match? I won't use any chi or mana, and you could see if I'm capable before the battles start?} everyone went silent at Leo's proposal, until unexpectedly Karl started laughing.

{Hahahahahahaha, you gave guts I'll admit! Let's go then no weapons, no magic, one on one!} everyone was stunned at first, then they quickly moved back and made room for the fight. Karl shrugged out of his armor and handed it to a younger looking dwarf, while Leo stripped off most of his clothes, so he stood bare chested facing Karl.

Leo shot forward at him, intending to test Karl's defense. What he didn't expect was that Karl not only didn't move, but only jabbed out a fist at Leo once he tried to make a hit. Leo threw an arm up to block it, but felt something crack before he jumped back suddenly. Leo felt a continuous pain in his forearm, and looked down to see it bending at an angle it wasn't supposed to be. Groaning in pain, Leo set the arm back to where it was supposed to go. He then stood there waiting for several minutes.

{hey boy, you don't just stand there in a fight you know, come at me!} Karl had a wicked grin on his face as he saw Leo didn't really react to having his arm broken. Surprising everyone, suddenly Leo started laughing. He had started to develop battle junkie tendencies and his fight with Karl was the first one in a while that he started feeling a thrill in.

{hey old man, since when do you break someone's arm in a friendly sparing match? Did you forget that there's going to be a battle here soon?} at Leo's words Karl looked a little uncomfortable. While he hadn't approved of Leo and Iris yet, it was a fact that they might be part of their fighting force in the near future, and here he was crippling one of them. Before he could say anything though, Leo lept forward swinging his arm that was supposedly broken and tried to hit Karl again.

Karl was stunned for a moment before he swiftly put a guard up, causing him to groan from the force of Leo's hit and be pushed back several feet. Leo's eyes glowed orange again as he looked at Karl and grinned widely before saying,

{aren't you the one standing there making yourself a target? Don't think I'm out yet just because of a small thing like an arm breaking!} Karl was stunned. He knew Leo wasn't faking his arm being broken, they all saw the way it was bending. That meant that either Leo managed to heal it without using chi or mana, or that he was still fighting while it was broken. The split second that this went through Karl's head resulted in him taking a kick to the back of the head. He felt as if he head butted a rock with how hard the hit was.

While his head was still ringing from the hit, Leo then grabbed his remaining clothes and used them for grip to throw Karl across the field. Karl tried to recover this mess of a fight as he tumbled, but the second he faced towards Leo all he saw a foot. Leo froze right before hitting Karl's face, and said with a wicked grin on his face,

{I think I win!} Leo was breathing hard after a fight for the first time ever since he left the village. He was actually excited to fight Karl again, and said to him,

{one to nothing, next time lets see if you could even the score.} Karl was stupefied at Leo's attitude. Suddenly shocking everyone present, he started laughing out loud and said to Leo,

{what do you mean even it? Enjoy your last victory over me boy, next time I won't go so easy and I'll know that your bones will heal so you won't catch me by surprise! Hey boy!} the same boy that he gave his armor to ran over and for the first time Leo noticed that he looked like Karl.

{this is my boy, Lemmik! Now boy, run back and tell your mother that we've got company, and that she needs to open the best ale we have!} Lemmik ran off immediately after and Karl gestured that Leo and Iris should follow him to his house, it seemed he was the type that bonded over fists instead of talking. Before leaving Leo said to Agmundr,

{I think we should meet up tomorrow to discuss some things, I hope you don't mind.} Agmundr shook his head, and replied to Leo,

{not at all, you climbed the worlds crown and fought Karl right after, I'm actually surprised you're still on your feet. We'll talk tomorrow, so for now just get drunk with Karl and enjoy yourself.} Karl laughed at Agmundr's words, until Leo gave a bitter smile and said,

{sad to say it, but I can't get drunk. I could probably out drink any dwarf here and it won't even effect me.} when they heard his words every dwarf gave an exaggerated gasp, and started talking amongst themselves. Leo heard small bits and pieces and it seemed that they took his words as personal challenge. Karl especially seemed affected, and declared,

{if you go to bed sober tonight, then I'll have failed as a host!}

Despite his boasts, Leo managed to out drink him and even was the one who helped his wife clean everything up, much to Karl's dismay the next morning.