Roran's legs started to tremble as he descended the stairs back into the dungeons. The physical and emotional exhaustion were starting to affect him. At least he had a day to rest before the final event. They probably scheduled it that way so all the fighters would be in peak condition to put on a good show. Roran didn't care, he was just grateful for the reprieve. A whole day to rest and recover.
As soon as the warden let Roran into the dungeon Murrin rushed him, already yelling.
"What in the abyss do you think you were doing out there boy?"
Roran blinked at him, unsure of what he was talking about. "Winning?" he said.
"More like childish foolery!"
Tired and frustrated, Roran was already on the verge of snapping. "I passed the round and moved on to the finals. I even won a bag of favors for you."
He tossed the bag of coins at Murrin. Murrin caught the bag and shook it.
"And you could have had three times this amount if you took this seriously instead of playing games."
"What are you talking about? I would have had to go back into the maze and risk my life, again."
"No, you could have done it all in one trip, but your sentimentality got the better of you. You gave two medallions away instead of claiming them for our village. One to some backstabbing wench and one to a simpering child."
"I had to bargain that medallion away to avoid fighting three people, and I didn't give anything to Perth, I just helped him navigate the maze."
"If you're half the swordsman you claim to be, you could have killed that girl easily. And that boy carried the third medallion to our basin. Taking it from him would have been trivially easy. It would have been a mercy really."
Roran stared at Murrin, horrified as his meaning became clear. "You wanted me to murder a defensless child?"
Murrin shrugged. "He entered the tourney, he knew what he was getting himself into."
"I would never do that. You're insane for even thinking it!"
Murrin slapped Roran, stunning him. "Don't talk back to me. I'm your father dammit, you will treat me with respect."
"You are not his father!" Kamil stomped over and shoved Murrin, her face flushed with anger. "He's Urick's bastard and I for one am grateful he wouldn't kill a child. Toth doesn't need that kind of influence."
Roran wasn't sure which was more shocking, Murrin's slap or Kamil's declaration of relation to him.
"He ain't Urick's bastard, you git, he's mine." Dorval hobbled over, his knuckles white as he gripped his crutch. "No son of mine will be murdering children. I do think he should have fought the girl for the medallion," he said, casting a disapproving glance in Roran's direction, "but I appreciate why he did what he did."
"He doesn't belong to either of you." Murrin drew himself up to his full height, his lips pulled back in a sneer. "He belongs to me and he will do what needs to be done to support this village. He has obligations."
"Yes, obligations to his half-brother!"
"He's a soldier, he needs to live by a code."
"You two are completely full of it."
"You're the one that's full of it. You're so full of it that it's leaking out of your mouth."
"Roran is my child and will do as I say. I have to put him on the right path to make up for his lack of parenting."
"No, I'm Roran's father and he will do as I say!"
"Enough!" Roran's voice echoed through the dungeon, loud and clear. "I'm not related to any of you."
All three stopped and stared at Roran, stunned by his outburst.
Taking advantage of the silence, Roran went on. "I was raised by my mother. She is the only parent I have ever had."
Murrin recovered first. Clearing his throat, he said, "Maybe not until now, but I'm trying to make up for that. We share blood after all."
"No, we don't. My existence is not some accident of my mother's work. She found a man she wanted to be my father, and conceived me as a result. I may not know his name, but I know that it wasn't anybody from Millgrove."
"There's no way she could be sure of that," said Dorval. "The timing, I mean, we, she and I...you have to be mine."
Roran shook his head. "She was always careful with her contraception. The only time it didn't work was the time she didn't want to. She met a man, fell in love with him, and he gave her a child, me."
"And where did she meet this man?" asked Murrin, his arrogance coming back.
"On one of her adventures, before she settled down."
"Oh, please, don't tell me you still believe those childish stories." A look of impatience had settled onto Kamil's face. "She was a whore. The only adventures she went on were to brothels where she could make more money before coming back to Millgrove to pretend she was a real person. It's embarrassing that you actually believe the lies she told."
"They weren't lies."
"Enough child," said Murrin. "Let the adults sort this out. Just go sit in your corner and contemplate your failure today."
Utterly lost for words, Roran gave up. These people couldn't be reasoned with. He left the argument to the three lunatics claiming ownership of him and went to his spot against the wall.
Settling down, he noticed that Sephyr and Toth were watching him. They too had seen him fight in the Troll's Gambit. He wondered what they thought. Not that it mattered. Kamil and Celine would keep either of them from talking to him. Exhausted and miserable, Roran fell into a sleep plagued with dreams of the Crucible.
After what felt like hours, he was jerked out of the fitful sleep by screaming. He bolted upright, his hand going for the dagger in his boot. Kamil was standing by the door, screaming.
"Stop, you'll kill him! Please, stop!"
Roran was on his feet in seconds, the dagger flashing in his hand. He ran to the door, which was open, and out into the hallway. He found Murrin curled up on the ground clutching his stomach with a warden standing over him. The warden reared back and kicked Murrin, causing him to cry out in pain.
Moving on instinct, Roran ran, slamming his body until the warden and forcing him back. He took up a position between Murrin and the warden, one hand up and palm out, the other gripping the dagger.
"Stop, that's enough."
Recovering from the surprise attack, the warden drew his sword and turned on Roran, blade at the ready. Realizing who it was he was facing, the warden hesitated, his eyes darting to Roran's dagger.
"Please," said Roran, "we can sort this out. Please stop."
The warden continued to stare at Roran, frowning. Roran lowered his dagger.
"Please, I don't know what happened, but we can sort this out. Nobody needs to die."
The warden licked his lips and said, "Relax, I'm not about to fight you, especially not you. We can end this here."
Roran nodded. "Thank you."
"Do you know what he did?"
Roran looked back at Murrin, curled up on the ground and gasping in pain. Roran shook his head.
"He committed an offense that normally comes with execution. And you committed an offense that normally comes with heavy fines. I know you're not dumb enough to play along with a stupid plan like this, but you need to be more careful. These are not easily replaced."
The warden reached into his pocket and pulled out an oversized favor. He flipped it over and showed the face to Roran. His own face stared back. Roran's blood went cold as the warden handed his marker medallion back to him.
"Trying to pass off a stolen marker medallion is a crime punishable by death. Don't let this idiot forget that."
The warden sheathed his sword and gestured towards the door. Murrin started crawling back towards the dungeon. Kamil came out and helped him, dragging him back inside.
Roran stood there stunned, staring at his marker medallion. How had Murrin gotten it? When had it left his possession? He never took it out of his pocket unless he was using it, and then it went right back in. How?
"Don't let it happen again."
"Yes, thank you," said Roran, feeling numb. "I'm sorry for the trouble he caused."
"Just win the next round and we'll call it even. I've got money riding on you Roran."
Dazed and confused, Roran went back into the dungeon and the door slammed shut behind him.