The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 653: Final Day Format

Dominic’s hopes of sneaking away with his wife were dashed by the enthusiasm of the guests to get some sparring done.

There were more than enough Knights and Royal Guard members here to make it interesting, but that also meant that it was not a small private exercise, and courtesy demanded that the hosts attend.

So, it was late into the evening when they did finally get back to their room, and well past first light when the maids opened the curtains to let sunlight flood the bed, their nonviolent way to convince the sleeping dragon to let go of his treasure so they could get her ready for breakfast.

The final day of the tournament started a bit later than the others, as there were not as many matches as in the previous days.

Also, the format was simple.

There were twelve Knights left. The six winners would face each other to leave three, and then the two finalists with the most points combined during the event would face off for the top spot.

Some tournaments would introduce an elite guest at the end to create a second match, so the finals could be between the two victors.

But Dominic had opted not to do that.

Mostly because everyone who was qualified to enter had already done so, and partially because it would just cheapen the event in his eyes. Sure, many higher Nobles loved to joust but wouldn’t risk the injuries of a prolonged tournament. But that sort of favouritism just took all the fun out of things if the airdropped contestant won.

So, everyone would be scrambling to get as many points as possible in their final matches, aiming to break every lance and not hold back.

They were all very close in points, and after this final joust, it would be even closer.

Whoever was in third was likely to only be separated by a few points.

But that was what the consolation prizes were for. They might not be as much as the gold and jewels of the top prize, but most of these Knights had already gotten what they wanted out of the event.

A meeting with the Royal Family, and a chance to impress them with their knowledge and gallantry.

With a bit of luck, that might help them attain a Baronetcy in the future.

That was a common dream for Knights, land and a title that passed down to their children. Generational Nobility that didn’t rely on them raising a son who could excel in the military or impress the King in some other way to get the title of Knight of the Realm.

There was a tournament in most of the capitals, once every five years in Cygnia, where the winner would get a Title bestowed upon them for their victory.

Most of the Knights knew that it was likely to be rigged every time that it was held, as there were reserved spots in the semi finals. However, letting the favoured sons bypass the majority of the tournament still meant that they had to win twice to get the prize.

And that meant there was a chance.

Breakfast was a tense matter, with all of the Knights fully focused on the upcoming contests, while sitting across from their rivals.

The staff had arranged everyone so that there was a local between them, both to help lower the tension level and to help prevent any attempts at sabotage by the Knights themselves.

While they might play dirty with each other, none of them had any incentive to poison or play tricks on someone like Pops, or Rill, who had both joined them for the morning meal, as they had business with Dominic before the day got started.

Though, Dominic wasn’t certain that Pops arrival was actually deemed as business, as he had mostly come for the food, and Mead had already dropped off the invoice for the repairs that they had done during the event.

The Duchy was covering most of the cost, the Knights only had to pay for labour. A small benefit that would put them in the good graces of their guests, while also helping to hide the fact that they didn’t have to import their rare magical materials, as they could make most of them.

That little detail was one that could collapse many small town economies.

If your entire existence relied upon the revenues of a mine that produced magical ore, hearing that there were people who had found a way to make it with magitech and common dirt or clay was enough to drive many to desperation.

So, while every craftsman in town knew that it was a thing, it was not something that they spread openly to the world.

Dominic took a seat next to Pops, and waited for the man to be through his first pint of Ale before speaking.

"So, what emergency chased you away from the heat of the forge so early in the morning? Other than a desire for more of Chef Beth’s cooking that is."

Pops chuckled as he popped an entire scone into his mouth and chewed slowly, giving him time to phrase his answer for the public.

"It’s about the new technologies. We’ve found a few issues with the students that the Academies sent by for orientation yesterday.

They want them all to be familiar with the trades that they will be working with in the future, but with so many of the kids being either from established single trade families, or not in the trades at all before they arrived in Wistover, there is more orientation than expected to be done.

The teachers of the Duskblade Academy wanted to run more orientation trips to the trades around town, but we can’t just have brats underfoot when we’re trying to work.

So, I was thinking that it might be better for you to find some tradesmen to go work at the Academy. Ones who can teach them the basics of what they’ll be working with, and give basic apprentice training to the ones who are going to be going directly into a magical trade themselves, other than the ones the mages specialize in."

"So, you want them to get a smithy professor and keep the kids out of your forge?

I can understand that."

The Knights seated nearby all nodded in agreement, while Prince Damien laughed.

"You know, our old Forge Master at the Palace used to have an increased pricing rate if you brought him things you had tried to fix yourself, or if you wanted to assist him.

Fifty percent more cost, because it was fifty percent more work when he had to fix what you were doing. It worked wonderfully to keep people out of his forge when he was working on projects for them, even if it did delay timelines a bit with him needing to get input at the end of a day when it didn’t take all day to make the alterations."

Pops nodded. "In the Cygnia Royal Forge we have the Apprentices do that.

They run out to get input on changes and customization, then bring the details back to the master doing the work. That way, it’s only people who belong in the forge who enter the forge.

If you want, you can even call it a security measure, keeping strangers away from the secrets of the Royal Weapons makers."