The Field of the Moon

Pleased with the valor of Golfo and Nardon, Beatriss postponed a second foray into the monastery and offered both warriors several weeks of training. Their activities attracted the attention of Al-Fitar, an unemployed caravan guard who requested to join Beatriss household and to be allowed the chance to pursue any honorable quest before him.

Full Moon, a photo by Brayo on Flickr.

Instead, he went with Beatriss, Tetsukichi, and their followers to witness a brawl on The Plain of the Moon. This was Su-Laing’s idea and she accompanied them, lured by the promise that anyone who gazed on the large white dome while illuminated by the light of the full moon who be cured of any curse, evil, or other unexplained affliction. For reasons half-forgotten, the Servants of the Moon have also declared that the white dome under a Full Moon is the perfect time and place for a man to demonstrate his strength and courage by throwing down his armor and weapons to fight a dozen or so of his fellow men, using only his fists and whatever weapons nature had given him. Beatriss agreed to pay Golfo’s entry fee while resisting a 100 tael offer from a member of the Dirty Flower Association for her to ender the ring herself.

(Like the background for the Centipede races, this is all more-or-less lifted from the Referee’s Guide to Lesserton.)

The fight was just getting started when three men rode up on horseback and started killing members of the Dirty Flower Association. The crowd panicked first, and then the pugilists. Neither Beatriss nor Tetsukichi stayed around to ask questions.