Once False saw Grian go down the secret entrance into somewhere, she turned towards Taurtis and stalked over to him. She could hear the others whispering about where Grian went, and where Mumbo's mustache was, but she ignored it all. False pinned Taurtis against the pillar he was standing near. "Tell me why you are here," She demanded, her sword in her hand.

"Listen, all questions will be answered later when Grian is done with the rustic house," Taurtis replied nervously, looking for a way out.

"No, I want answers now. I don't trust you. You just randomly appeared here, there is no way I am trusting you just because you know Grian."

"Okay, how about this: We go up one layer in Grian's base, as it looks empty, and we duel. If you win, I'll tell you whatever you want to know. If I win, I don't have to tell you anything." Taurtis offered.

False accepted, having a good feeling she would win, being one of the better PvPers on the server. "Hey! Hermits! Taurtis and I are dueling a level up, Xisuma, you ref." False announced, making a few hermits jump. Surprisingly, few of the hermits even noticed the interaction between False and Taurtis.

Several of the hermits, mainly Iskall, Wels, and Doc, were interested and went up to the level they would duel on. Most of the hermits opted to stay on the Mumbo Mustache Remover floor. "Okay! Traditional duel rules! No diamond gear allowed, only leather/wood, stone, iron, gold, and chainmail. Spectators, please refrain from interacting with the duelers, and stay where you will not be injured." Xisuma announced. "Duelers, you will be stood on opposite sides of the center circle, no elytra allowed. You have five minutes to prepare yourself!"

False decided to wear basic leather armor, as anything heavier would weigh her down and restrict movement. She also opted for her iron sword, it being the best allowed. Looking over to Taurtis, she saw that he had chosen the same strategy as her. Blue dyed leather armor and an iron sword. False stood on one side of the center circle, Taurtis on the other. Xisuma was hovering in the middle in front of them, his large wings keeping him aloft.

"Ready." Xisuma started, "Set. Go!" Xisuma flew up higher, allowing the two opponents to be in view of each other. As soon as Xisuma had given the signal, False sprung at Taurtis, hoping to catch him off guard. However, it seemed that Taurtis was expecting it, as he vaulted over False, effectively avoiding her attack. False, not expecting this, stumbled forward, before recovering her balance and facing Taurtis. False paused, analyzing her opponent's stance, but ready to defend herself if he attacked. Taurtis's stance was of someone who has been taught how to wield a blade and would wield it well, if not for lack of experience. Based on his rigid posture, and tight grip on his sword, False could tell that Taurtis had only learned through drills, and was rarely able to do a real duel.

Taurtis sprung forward, slashing at False. False blocked it easily before returning a counterattack, which Taurtis leaned back just enough to avoid it. And so the match was on, both duelers being somewhat evenly matched until Taurtis started to tire, and False started to win.

Word Count: 559

Total Word Count: 10868

I definitely feel that this book is going to turn out to be longer than all the ones on my second account, which is about 13,000 words. 

I am also pretty sure that there are some silent readers here, so, if you are a silent reader, meaning you haven't commented, either because you don't want to, or you don't know what to say, comment something on this line. It doesn't have to be very elaborate, just a simple 'hi' or emoji or something will work. I just want to be able to interact with as many readers as possible.

And if you have been commenting and you want to comment on that line, go right ahead.

Thanks for reading!

~Niza