881 Watching the Tournament
‘Akeem certainly went all out with this place.’ Marcus thought, swiftly turning his head every which way and taking in the impressive sight that was the view box for the Eazim Clan’s grand elder.
Only moments after they entered Layla picked up a tray of hors d’oeuvres and personally brought it over to Marcus despite this work being well below her station.
“Now, I want your opinion on how these turned out. It is my first time serving these ingredients.” Layla said, a gleam in her eyes.
She had used several of the fruits that Marcus had given her that originated from the Chelmer resort and glazed them with a sweet sauce before putting them on skewers. There were also a few types of fish that had been smoked and added to some herb crackers along with a few other accompanying items.
Taking one of each Marcus was greeted with rich and complex flavors he very much enjoyed. While Mrazivý simply picked up several and began swiftly eating them without thinking too heavily about the ingredients involved.
“You really are an amazing chef, Layla. They are all really good. Would you mind showing me how you made each of these?” Marcus said, his interest piqued.
Yet, before Layla could drag him into eh kitchen, Akeem showed up wit a slightly strained smile on his face.
“So, it was you who was holding up my guests Layla. I understand that you have a shared passion for cooking with Marcus here, but the first match is about to start, and it would show poorly on us if our esteemed guests missed the match.”
pαпdα`noνɐ1`сoМ
“Now if you do not mind following me, I can assure you that we have the best view of the stage in the entire arena.” Akeem said, heading away from the kitchen and towards the large window that looked out at the floor of the stadium.
Not far from the window were ornate and plush chairs that had been set up for the higher-ranking members of the Eazim Clan as well as Marcus and Mrazivý.
Already sitting in one of them was Amira, who got up and greeted Marcus and Mrazivý.
However, while Marcus and Mrazivý were happy to be seeing Amira, there was someone else sitting nearby who they had not seen since their first day in the capital and was not particularly someone they wanted to interact with again.
Standing up from his seat, Jamal came over with the largest fake smile Marcus had ever seen.
“It is good to see both of you again. I must admit that I have been very busy, but I am glad that my work is finally completed, and I can once again help to attend to our clan’s esteemed guest. I have heard that both of you have already made quite the showing in the earlier events of the festival. Though it is unfortunate that you also attracted trouble from the Guhbaa Clan. Thankfully our Eazim Clan was able to help you sort out that trouble, that could have severely spiraled out of control.”
Resisting the urge to role his eyes, Marcus gave a proper greeting to Jamal and made sure to express his gratitude for the Eazim Clan’s assistance. Of course, he could tell that none of what Jamal had said was genuine and that he was still nursing a grudge against them for refusing to take him as their guide over Amira.
“That is enough for now Jamal. The first match is about to start. It is imperative that we all watch to understand the quality of the fighters in the other clans” Akeem said, breaking up the tension that was building between Marcus, Mrazivý, and Jamal.
Having finished their greeting, everyone sat down and looked down at the stage below. The first fighters were just coming out for the opening match in the tournament.
Every year the first battle was from a different tournament, and this year it was a group battle with each side fielding six combatants.
Both sides in this first match were from one of the six major clans and were boasting several powerful warriors.
‘So, the Mahir Clan versus the Siasa Clan for the first match.’ Marcus thought.
He had not interacted with any members from these clans, but he had read about them while studying about Aezam’s history and culture.
Turning his gaze towards each competitor, Marcus appraised them all, since even if they had a means of detecting him, it would be impossible to pinpoint who was doing it.
‘Impressive. No one under level fifty-five among either group with each one having someone in the mid-sixties as leaders. They certainly wanted the opening match to be a spectacle.” Marcus thought, noticing that each team was a close match to the other.
This fight was not going to be a one-sided beat down, but a close battle where both sides gave it their all to win.
When the match finally began Marcus was caught off guard by not what was happening in the ring, but the window within the viewing box.
They were quite high up and things were not clear to those without the enhanced vision skill, until the window zoomed in and began focusing on the combatants.
“You will find that this magic tool makes it easier to see what is going on. It even has a function to replay the events of the match and slow them down. I am sure that the two of you understand that sometimes high-level fighters simply move to fast for the average person to clearly see.” Akeem said, obviously proud of the magic tool by the way he held his head up high.
It was definitely a spectacular device that made it far easier to view the matches.
‘Now let’s see what these guys are capable of. We may not be fighting in the same tournament, but perhaps I can learn more about how the high-level warriors. in Aezam fight.’ Marcus thought, becoming completely engrossed in the match.