[Gwathagor]

A few moments later, practically the whole of Scarburg was gathered the large circle that had been used for the quarterstaff matches, eagerly anticipating the exciting conclusion to the day's games: the sword fights. Nearly all the men were involved: the Gondorians, that dark wanderer fellow, and even their own eorl. It was also rumored that young Ginna had been admitted to the contest - which was the subject of much gossip and tittering. There were not a few matrons who found the whole thing grossly inappropriate, but, curiously, it was the eldest members of the community, those who had lived through the most war, who were least surprised.

"Will the contestants present themselves in the ring!" cried Lithor, standing in the center of the circle. One by one, Garstan, Stigend, Degas, Eodwine, Crabannan, Erbrand, Balvir, Matrim, Dan, Aethelstan, and Ginna all stepped forth from the crowd. "Take for yourselves of these blunted weapons," he said, "And a shield also."

The swords were those traditionally used by Rohirric knights: about three feet long, broad-bladed and straight, with large pommels and short, sturdy hilts. These were swords for cutting, designed with the mounted soldier in mind - but they would serve well-enough for a contest on foot. The shields were all identical: round and wooden, but bossed in steel. This done, Lithor outlined the rules and order of the matches.

"The rules," said Lithor, "Are similar to the quarterstaff matches. To eliminate your opponent, you must score three hits against them. Do not strike your opponent upon the head! If you do, you will be eliminated. You will also be eliminated if you step outside this ring. Is this clear?"

The contestants nodded their assent.

"Then, dear observers, please step back from the edge of our ring! Let the contest of steel commence!"

The first round went by quickly, as the ranks were thinned and Dan, Crabannan, Degas, Eodwine, and Matrim proceeded to the second round. Lithor had decided, due to the odd number of contestants, to start Ginna in the second round rather than the first, and so the second round began with Ginna fighting Degas.

Degas seemed somewhat bewildered at having to fight a woman. It clearly went against his chivalrous grain, and rightly so, but he abandoned his reticence when Ginna swung beneath his high guard and struck him hard on the hip, scoring the first point. Degas' pride was bruised and thereafter he showed no remorse in delivering his very best feints and cuts upon Ginna, unless it was in some slight softening of his blows - a favor which Ginna did not return. Though Ginna matched him blow for blow, Degas scored two hits against her in rapid succession and was moving in for the third when Ginna rattled him from head to toe with a cut that glanced off the rim of his shield and struck him on the head. The crowd gasped and Ginna threw down her arms and rushed to over to the stunned Degas to make sure he was unhurt. Apart from a headache, he was, but Ginna was eliminated all the same. If she cared, she did not show it - and neither did Harreld, grinning from ear to ear as he caught her up into his arms as she exited the ring. Side by side, they watched the rest of the contest, though to tell the truth they paid more attention to one another.

Crabannan fought Dan next. Both were natural warriors, crafty and hardened, but Dan was at a distinct disadvantage here. He had beaten Erbrand in the first round, for Dan was not easily tired and Erbrand was both exhausted and a stranger to the use of swords. Crabannan was another story, for the two were equals in terms of constitution and craft; there was no trick that one could pull that the other would not anticipate. They even matched each other in quickness, but unfortunately for Dan, Crabannan had the advantages of size and reach and this ultimately gave him the victory.

The following match was a source of much excitement (and not a little country pride) among the Scarburgers, for their eorl was fighting the Gondorian, Matrim. To their delight, Eodwine managed to beat his opponent. Both were veteran soldiers and the match was long and hard, but Eodwine's steady, careful style served him well as he played it safe and waited for Matrim to make mistakes. Nonetheless, the count eventually came to 2 and 2, and Eodwine won with a sudden burst of strength and speed at the end. For a moment, the contestants were a whirl of dust and flashing steel until Eodwine's dulled blade struck home on Matrim's left calf. Matrim knew he was beat and held up his hands in defeat. The audience erupted into spirited applause, with shouts of "Scarburg! Scarburg! Our eorl!"

Because there were now three contestants remaining, it was determined that the third and final round would consist of all three fighting each other at once.

"But first a brief respite!" proclaimed Lithor, and bid Degas, Crabannan, and Edowine catch their breath for a few moments.