Rend Stripclaw's Arc

Chapter 7 of 7

Rend restored win after win. He beat Lorn again and took his armor. He beat Marcus twice more and hung the bear's jersey back on the rail. The board filled, hook by hook. Only one empty hook remained. To fill it, Rend needed the match he had never dared to call. He had to fight Patch. Patch was Rend's best friend. Patch never wore clothes. That was the whole problem. In a stripping match, you win by taking cloth. Patch had none to take. And Rend had none to lose worth counting either. But the crowd wanted the fight, and one hook stayed bare. "You can't win this," Patch said. He swept his trunk toward his own green body. "There's nothing to strip off me. And you know my grip. I've knocked you down a hundred times in practice." Rend circled him in the ring. Marcus watched from the ropes, arms crossed. Lorn leaned on a bench nearby. Both had studied Rend for weeks. Both wanted to see if the champion could solve this. "I don't have to strip cloth," Rend said. "I have to pin you. That's still a win." Patch grinned and rushed him. His trunk wrapped Rend's leg and yanked. Rend crashed into the dirt. The crowd gasped. Patch pressed a heavy foot on Rend's chest. Rend clawed at the ground, but Patch outweighed him by far. "Told you," Patch said. Rend twisted his hips and slipped sideways. He grabbed Patch's trunk with both paws. Patch tried to pull back. Rend held on and used the trunk like a rope, hauling himself up and behind. He locked his arms under Patch's front legs. Patch stumbled. Rend drove forward with all his weight. The two of them toppled. Rend landed on top and hooked Patch's shoulders to the dirt. He pushed down hard. "One," Marcus counted from the ropes. "Two. Three." Patch stopped fighting. He lay flat and laughed. "Alright. You got me. Pinned clean." Rend rolled off, chest heaving. The crowd roared his name. He stood and looked at the last empty hook. He had no shirt to hang. He unhooked a strip of red cloth from his own belt instead and tied it to the rail. "For the friend I couldn't strip," Rend said. "But could still beat." Patch got up and clapped Rend's back with his trunk. "Board's full now." But it wasn't. As the cheers faded, a shadow crossed the ring. Marcus stepped down from the ropes. Lorn rose from the bench. They did not clap. Their eyes were on the packed board, every hook filled. "Your record's whole again," Marcus said. "So there's nothing left to reclaim. Nothing left to prove you're still the best." He cracked his knuckles. "Which means it's open season. We want the top spot. All of us. Starting now."