“You’re sure there’s nothing she wants?” Thurfrit said, as he and Luke sat down. The Great Hall was not very full at the moment, but that would change soon. Devo was looking over the fighting space with Drugar the Leader and Hari the Defender, both of whom seemed satisfied with the set-up.

“I’m sure,” Luke said, with a laugh. “In fact, the third time I asked, she was annoyed enough that I stopped asking. You’re welcome to try….”

“No,” Thurfrit said, chuckling along. “I’m quite familiar with that mood.”

Luke looked over the scene. It was set up almost like a boxing ring, a square roped in on three sides, abutting a wall. Kumn’s side was nearest the wall, Quendra’s farthest.

“So…what does Quendra have to do? She didn’t want to talk it over with me…and I can’t say I blame her,” Luke said.

“Well, Kumn could have picked almost anything – she won her position, according to the chronicles, by bringing back more meat over a two-sunset period than Yarimon the Elder Hunter. But Kumn is not foolish; she knows she’d lose that kind of challenge.”

“So she picked a fight?”

“Not exactly,” Thurfrit said. “She will hang her mask, the mask of Ardamis, on the wall. If Quendra can take it and wear it, then she is the Elder Huntress.”

Luke sighed. “Smart. All Kumn has to do is to defend the mask. Quendra has to fight through her. Kumn has the upper hand.”

“Indeed,” Thurfrit said. “Challengers rarely win the Mask Challenge. If it was not Quendra who was challenging, I would think it hopeless.”

“So is there a time limit?”

“They fight ten turns – the time is kept by a 1/1000th of a day sand glass. They fight, and get a break, and fight. If a fighter gives in or can’t continue, they lose.”

A few more people filtered in. Luke rubbed his eyes.

“If I managed to goad Quendra into this, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“No, it was her choice,” Thurfrit said. “She has wanted to challenge Kumn for a long time, even knowing this is the challenge she would face. You defending Quendra…that helped her feel strong enough to do it, Luke.”

Luke shook his head ruefully. “I’m not sure that’s anything to be proud of.”

Thurfrit sighed. “It is,” he said, quietly. “Quendra needs to challenge Kumn, she…you heard from Drugar….”

“I did,” Luke said.

“She is a horrible woman,” Thurfrit said. “I should have stood up to her long ago. I am glad you did. Most of the Tribe is.”

Thurfrit looked into the ring, as if weighing what he was going to say next. Finally, with a nod, he added, “Luke…I like you a lot. You’re a good friend. So is Quendra. And I’m glad you and she…I really am. But…well, there are no guarantees, but I don’t…if you….”

“I promise, Thurfrit,” Luke said, solemnly. “I won’t do anything to hurt her.”

Thurfrit looked over at Luke with a slight smile. “Good,” he said. “Because I would have to hurt you. Or try, anyhow.”

Luke laughed, and nodded to his leg. “Mission accomplished. But…seriously…Thurfrit, I like Quendra a lot. I don’t know where this is going, and I’ve told her that. I will be honest with her all the way through.”

Thurfrit nodded, satisfied. “All right,” he said. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“I hope you will. I am surprised, though.”

“Why?”

“That you’re telling me this,” Luke said with a grin. “I feel quite certain that Quendra is tougher than I am. Why not warn her not to hurt me?”

Thurfrit laughed. “Luke, what makes you think I haven’t?”

It wasn’t long before the Great Hall was full to overflowing, with every man, woman, and child in The Tribe watching for the challenge. Only Saul the Gatekeeper, Lun the Defender, and the two combatants, and their seconds were out of the room. Quendra waited patiently, bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet.

“This won’t be easy, Quendra,” Drugar said, quietly.

“I know, Drugar,” she said, quietly. “But it’s the only way.”

“It is,” Drugar said. Then, quietly, he added, “Quendra, before we go in….I think Disa would have been very glad to see you courting again. I….”

Drugar wiped away a tear, and Quendra did something that people rarely did; she pulled the Leader of The Tribe into a warm embrace. “Thank you,” she said.

They broke the hug, and Drugar clapped her on the shoulder. “Whether you succeed or fail today, Quendra the Huntress, you have more honor that Kumn will ever have. Never forget that,” he said.

“Members of the Tribe,” Devo said, loud enough that Quendra could hear him from beyond the door, “I present the challenger to the title of Elder Huntress, Quendra the Huntress, Screams Like Kipp.”

Quendra nodded to Drugar, and walked into the hall. She felt like most of her fellow members were on her side, even as they doubted she could do this. She ducked under the top rope, and turned and scanned the room. She noted Luke and Thurfrit just a row back; she smiled to Luke, and added a nod to her friend. She then turned to the doorway.

“Now, the Elder Huntress, Kumn, Hammer Hand” Devo said, calmly.

Kumn stalked in, grinning to the crowd. She was dressed in simple hunting garb, as was Quendra – it would give little aid in bringing her down. Kumn was far from a physical specimen anymore, but she flexed, giving proof of her greatest asset – she was still formidably strong, and her reflexes, while no match for Quendra’s, were adequate for the task she faced. She looked confident. She had every reason to be.

Kumn walked to the wall, carrying her hunting mask; she bowed reverently, then hung it behind her. She stomped into the center of the ring, where she met Quendra and Devo.

“All right,” Devo said, “You know the rules.”

“I do,” Quendra said, quietly, but loud enough for Kumn to hear it. “Craven Kumn, too afraid to fight on equal footing. The Mask Challenge? Everyone knows why you picked it, you know.”

“Whine some more, Quendra the Slut; I hear you’re opening those thighs wide again for our boy from Earth. You have enough energy after fucking him?”

Quendra laughed. “Oh, Kumn, you only wish you could get someone as attractive as Luke to bed you. Rather than have to take matters into your own hands. I imagine your baton gets far more use in your apartment than it does on the hunt.”

Kumn growled. “Whore, you’d best take that back.”

“Okay, ladies, come on,” Devo said. “We need….”

“Take back what? That I’ve had two men fall in love with me and you’ve had zero? None? None whatsoever?” Quendra said with a smirk.

Kumn reared back and smacked her with all she had.

“We haven’t started yet!” Devo shouted, as the crowd jeered.

Quendra popped back up; Kumn had opened a cut on Quendra’s cheek, but you wouldn’t have known it. Instead, Quendra simply said, “Cowardly all the way.” She moved back toward her side as Kumn got into position to defend.

“All right,” Devo said. “Begin.”

Quendra took a couple steps forward as the crowd began to shout. But she didn’t attack. She got near Kumn, though just out of her range, standing on guard, and she smiled.

“You know, Kumn, even if you defend ten rounds against me, nobody’s going to give you credit,” she said. She leaned in close enough that Kumn ventured a swipe, one Quendra dodged.

“They’re going to say that you were an old has-been, tried to hang on to her mask by bending the rules. They’ll be right, too.”

Kumn swiped at her again.

“That’s the thing, Kumn the Withered; everyone knows that there’s only one way you come out of this looking like a winner, and that’s for you to beat me.”

“I can defend just fine, slut!”

“Are you Kumn the Elder Defender?” Quendra said, bouncing in and out of Kumn’s range, daring her to attack. “Are you Kumn the Gatekeeper? Are you ready to challenge Saul?”

“Whore! I’d watch my tongue if I were you!” Kumn said.

“Is that all you can do?” Quendra said, moving closer; she simply shoved Kumn, not even trying to hurt her. “Call me a slut? Kumn the Aged? Kumn the Weak? Kumn, Leather Hands?”

Kumn pushed Quendra away angrily. “Oh! Are you actually going to fight me? Try to prove you’re not done yet? You know it’s the only way to prove to them that you’re better than me, Kumn. But I know you don’t have the guts. You never have,” Quendra said, dancing back into range of Kumn.

Kumn threw a vicious right jab, then shoved Quendra backward. As Quendra stumbled, Kumn swept her legs, but elected not to try to fall on her opponent; instead, she aimed a few kicks at Quendra, causing the challenger to gasp in pain before she was able to pull herself up.

Kumn forced Quendra back against the ropes, and swung away with abandon, trying to beat Quendra into submission. And Quendra took the beating, took Kumn’s body blows and slaps to the head, absorbed them all while laying with her back on the ropes, until Devo shouted, “Time! Time! Break, Kumn! To your sides!”

Kumn backed off, breathing heavily, and stared daggers at Quendra. Quendra wiped blood away from her cheek and laughed. “That’s all you’ve got, old woman? That’s the best you can do? Pathetic,” she said, finding the chair on her side.

Thurfrit could hardly bear to watch as Drugar carefully applied glowberry jelly to Quendra’s cuts, trying to get them to close; Luke, however, was transfixed. He had felt every blow Kumn had landed on Quendra; he could feel them from a few rows back. But Quendra had absorbed them. He wondered….

“Next round!” Devo called. Kumn started in a defensive position again, and again Quendra danced, taunting and teasing her larger foe, until again, Kumn began to swing away wildly. Quendra once again ended up on the ropes, absorbing Kumn’s punishment, and the round ended much as the last had, with Quendra laughing and Kumn furious.

Two more rounds of this, and Thurfrit looked green. “I don’t know if I can watch this. She hasn’t even made a move toward the mask yet.”

“No,” Luke said. “She hasn’t.”

“How can you be smiling?” Thurfrit asked. “She’s getting killed!”

“Maybe,” Luke said. “Just watch.”

The fifth round began with Kumn on the offensive. She swung wildly at Quendra, hitting her with her right palm, then her left fist. She was no longer trying to defend her mask; she was trying to beat Quendra into submission, trying to hurt her badly enough that she would fall and not be able to get back up, hurt her badly enough that everyone would acknowledge that she was the finest hunter in The Tribe.

She swung at Quendra again, and hit her square. Quendra absorbed the blow, and laughed. She laughed! How could she laugh that off?

“Is that the best you can do?” Quendra said, again.

Yes, Kumn thought. It is.

She reached back and swung wildly with her right hand, missing Quendra completely; swung wildly with a backhand, missing again. She started to raise her left hand…..

…and suddenly, Quendra pounced, pounding away on Kumn with everything she had been holding in reserve. She caught Kumn with four straight uppercuts and a right cross that staggered the Elder Huntress. Then, she leaped high, catching Kumn square in the jaw with her right foot.

Kumn fell backward and hit the ground, and Quendra didn’t hesitate. She landed, and with three quick bounds, crossed the ring and grabbed the mask. Kumn clambered to her feet, and turned, just in time to see Quendra secure her mask onto her head.

Kumn let out a guttural roar, and charged Quendra with all she had, but Quendra simply sidestepped the attack, letting the former Elder Huntress crash into the wall of the Great Hall on her own steam. Kumn dropped, dazed and disoriented, onto the ground, as Quendra approached Devo, who had entered the ring.

“I have taken the mask of Ardamis,” Quendra said. “I claim the title.”

Devo nodded. “Members of the Tribe! Quendra has taken the mask from Kumn, and with it, her title. Henceforth, let her be known as Quendra, the Elder Huntress.”

Most of the crowd roared in approval; a few of the older members and friends of Kumn grumbled, but none questioned the result; Quendra had won it, fair and square.

Luke and Thurfrit entered the ring, where Wolan was looking over Kumn. Drugar had smeared enough glowberry jelly onto Quendra’s face that it had begun to glow; her right eye was swollen shut and her face had a series of cuts and bruises upon it. Luke smiled at her, though. “That,” he said, with a smile, “was the best use of rope-a-dope in history. Makes Muhammad Ali look like an amateur.”

“I’m sorry?” Quendra and Thurfrit both said.

“You drew her out. Made her attack you. Wear herself out,” Luke said. “There was a very famous fight on Earth where Muhammad Ali – maybe the best boxer ever – used that strategy against a bigger, stronger fighter. Even he’d tip his cap; that was brilliant.”

“Well, it doesn’t feel that brilliant,” Quendra said, though she was smiling. “Say what you will, Kumn can hit.”

Luke looked over at Kumn, who had gotten to her feet; Wolan was heading toward Quendra, and Luke saw Kumn staggering in the same direction.

Drugar started to move toward the erstwhile Elder, but Kumn waved him down. “I don’t have the energy to fight,” Kumn said. She looked at Quendra a long moment, before sighing. “Elder Huntress,” she said, “I will leave the hunters if it is your will.”

“It is not,” Quendra said. “You are an experienced huntress, and you served as Elder for a long time with great success. I ask only that you respect my position; should you wish to challenge me, I will meet you next summer. Until then….”

Kumn nodded. “Until then, Elder Huntress, I will venerate you and your title. And I will…what you said, in the fight…I will accept it if you say that to me, as you accepted my taunting until you challenged me.”

Quendra smiled. “Kumn the Huntress, what I said in the ring was for the ring. I will not belittle you in front of anyone. Perhaps, should you manage to successfully challenge me someday, you may learn from that example. Until then, rest well.”

Kumn looked at her feet. “Thank you…Elder Huntress.”

“Thank you, Kumn.”

Drugar smiled as Kumn left the fighting ground, and turned back to Quendra. “Are you sure you’re feeling well, Elder Huntress? You appear to be approaching Kumn with respect and kindness.”

Quendra closed her one open eye. “Well, I wouldn’t want to become tiresome,” she said.

“I doubt you could,” Drugar said. “Now, with Wolan watching over you, I have to speak to the cooks; we have a new Elder tonight! By tradition, we shall feast.”

Luke took Drugar’s place at Quendra’s side, as Wolan deftly worked to close her cuts. “I’m gonna have a few scars,” Quendra said. “Sorry about that.”

Luke squeezed her hand. “Sorry for what?” he said. “That was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Quendra squeezed Luke’s hand back. “Well, then I’m sorry, but…I’m gonna be a bit sore from the fight.”

Luke grinned. “I figured. That’s okay. It will give me a chance to demonstrate what little I know about the Earth art of massage.”

Quendra smiled. “I don’t know what that is, Luke,” she said. “But I’m looking forward to finding out.”

—

“I don’t get it,” Gae said. “Honestly, I’d think that I’d get some response back by now, even if it was a ‘We’re looking it over,’” she said.

“Gae, I can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but have patience,” Yamma said. “You can’t expect Titans to turn this around in less than 48 hours. It’s not your way.”

“Maybe not, but – oh!”

Gae got up from the couch and walked over to the desk, and picked up her chirruping pad. “Well, Lesis got back to me finally, though…huh.”

“What is it?” Yamma said.

“Not sure,” Gae said. “All he said was, ‘Looks promising, but tied up with the Rutger situation, will get back to you when I can.’ What ‘Rutger situation?’”

“I have no idea,” Yamma said. “I was reading Berosus Bass’s History of the Core last night. Didn’t look at the newsvids.”

Gae flipped through her pad and tapped on it a few times, searching for incidents involving humans in Rutger. The system put up dozens of stories; Gae picked one at random and began to read, with growing, dawning horror.

“Oh, dear Emperor,” she said, dropping her pad.