Hrig grabbed a water pitcher and sat down on a bench in the center of the room, drinking from it directly. She was glistening with sweat and panting heavily, but her eyes had that same fire in them they always did when she’d just been in a fight.

“You alright?” she asked, wiping water from her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Fine, just a bit worried about Kyren and Stone.” I’d considered following them with one of my gauntlets, but the fact that people in the stands would be able to watch me at all angles meant that my missing hand would’ve definitely been noticed.

“Me too.” she sighed. “Stone and Kyren are better at that kind of stuff than we are though. We’ll just have to trust them.”

I nodded and took a seat next to her on the couch. “How’re you? Some of those cuts look pretty deep.”

She looked at her arms and legs, most of the cuts she’d received from the short gladiator were superficial, but some were bleeding. “I’ll be fine. I didn’t even notice them to be honest.” she smiled, “I forgot how much I missed the ring. It’s easy to lose yourself to it.”

I got up and grabbed a small bottle of some type of alcohol someone had left and a scrap of cloth from the table.

“Good idea. I could use a drink.”

“It’s not to drink Hrig.” I kneeled in front of her, dabbing the cloth in the alcohol. I started moving my hand toward one of the cuts on her leg.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know you don’t need me to do it, but humor me.” Sevald had some experience with tending wounds he’d learned from when he was a squire. I started to clean her cuts, carefully moving up her legs, to her arms. When I reached her face I realized she was blushing. It looked pleasant on her and with that thought I felt suddenly and uncomfortably warm. She swallowed hard and took the alcohol bottle from my hand. She took a swig of it and I took that as my cue to give her space.

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes focusing on the corner of the room. This was not the brash Hrig I was used to, but it had been a stressful few days.

“So… why’d you leave the Buryn?” I asked her, “You seemed to really enjoy the arena back there.”

She took another swig from the bottle. “I didn’t leave Buryn because of the coliseum, I left because it carried too many bad memories for me.”

“Is it...something you want to talk about?”

She looked at me and gave me a small smile. “Yes, but not today.”

There were two knocks on the door followed by a man letting himself in. “Breaks over, brackets are up.”

I was grateful for the break in tension. I hadn’t been alone in a room with Hrig and between the heat of battle and the intimacy of our conversation I was wrestling with more new feelings at once than I’d had when I first slayed my master. “Shall we?” I held out my hand to Hrig, who took it and hauled herself off the bench.

“Let’s do it.”

…

We returned to our little section on the edge of the sandpit and looked up at the bracket. It wasn’t very helpful, as I only knew my name, Hrig’s and Donyin’s. Hrig and Donyin were on the opposite side of the bracket as me, but wouldn't fight unless they both made it to the second round. I would be fighting someone named Dorsia, in the first fight of the first round.

“I wonder if we’ll wind up having to fight in the last round?” I asked.

“Well that would certainly be interesting,” she grinned, “unfortunate for you though.”

“Yes, I’m sure I’d be no match for the ‘Duchess of Death’.”

Talen took his place at the dais and motioned for silence. The crowd in the stands shuffled to their seats and turned their attention to the pit.

“For the first fight we have Sevald, the armored man with the golden throwing arm, versus Dorsia, the backstabbing beauty. Gladiators, enter the ring!”

I walked into the pit. Opposite me was the woman who had stabbed my zweihander wielding opponent in the melee. She was still wielding her buckler and rapier and wearing a sly smile. A long and lean woman, she wore her short black hair in a topknot. She moved with an easy grace that reminded me of a cat Pebble had when he was a child. Her movements were so smooth It wouldn’t surprise me to see her walk on water.

Once we were in position, I drew my sword and adopted a defensive stance. Dorsia did the same, dropping into a kind of crouch with her rapier pointed downward and her buckler positioned near her chest.

“Fight!” yelled Talen, and we obliged. Dorsia stepped forward and began stabbing at me fiercely. I deflected the blows with my shield and sword, prioritizing defense and not giving an inch of space. The speed of her blows was a challenge to deal with. In an unwatched fight I could simply let her slide the rapier into the gaps of my armor, eat part of it and then strike at her while she was unarmed, but being watched by a crowd meant I’d have to win in a more ‘traditional’ way.

She continued her attacks. Sparks flew from her rapier as I moved my sword to block it. Suddenly she ducked down under my defence and slammed her buckler into my chestplate. For a moment, I lost my footing and she drove the point of her rapier up toward where my neck would be. I let the momentum of my lost footing carry me backwards and fell out of the way of her strike, rolling to create some space between us.

When I brought my head up I realized she wasn’t where I’d left her. I raised my shield above my head just in time as her boot landed where my shoulders had just been and her rapier skidded off my shield where my head was. If I'd been limited by human eyes, she’d have killed me.

I stood up and pushed her off my shield with all my strength to launch her away. She performed a smooth flip backward, but I took advantage of her inability to change direction in the air and closed the gap between us. This time, I took the offensive, swinging my sword with such force that she could only deflect it with her buckler and so quickly that she couldn’t counterattack. Eventually her defense slipped and I struck at her with the side of my shield. She lifted her rapier to try and block it, but it snapped from the force of the strike and she fell backward. She started to stand, but I placed the point of my sword to her chest.

“Do you yield?” I asked.

“I’d be kind of stupid not to.” She smirked as she spoke. I looked up at Talen.

“The first fight is over. Sevald is the winner!” The crowd yelled. I felt for a moment as if my armor was tingling all over. Exhilaration, the thrill of the crowd and the combat. I could see why Hrig enjoyed this.

I reached down and offered Dorsia my hand. She gave a wry smile and took it, standing herself up. We walked toward my exit.

“I knew I wasn’t gonna win that one,” she said as we walked.

“How?” I asked.

“I could just tell in my gut. I’ve always been able to tell when an opponent would be too much for me. My mother tells me it’s a blessing from Krish.”

“Why’d you fight me then?”

“The challenge, and I knew you wouldn’t kill me.”

“How did you know that?”

“During the melee you took down four opponents nonlethally. If you wanted to kill them, they’d have been a splatter on your shield.”

I thought about that for a moment. It wasn’t intentional, but she was absolutely right. I’d gone out of my way to avoid killing since I’d entered the arena. Was it because I didn’t consider anyone a threat, or was it just another of the changes I’d had since I killed my master?

“Do you mind if I sit in your section?” she asked.

“No, I suppose not.”

We slipped into my viewing section where Hrig was standing looking over the sand arena.

“Well fought,” she looked to Dorsia, “Both of you.” Dorsia gave an acknowledging nod.

“Thank you, it was close,” I said.

“No reason to lie on my account, it was obvious you were holding back,” said Dorsia.

“Good to meet another gladiator that’s honest with herself,” said Hrig.

“Good to meet one who could kick most men into the sun,” replied Dorsia, extending her hand. Hrig returned the gesture and they locked hands for a moment. “Hope you don’t mind me standing in your section. Mine was a bit lonely and a bit too close to Talen after a defeat by forfeit.”

“He’s not a fan of those?” I asked.

“He’ll sometimes forgive it if there’s been a good show, but when Donyin is with him he tends to prefer a little blood spilled. They bring out the worst in each other.”

“Bastard,” Hrig looked back up at the brackets, “do you know anything about my next opponent, Vyfell?”

“He’s fast and those gauntlets of his can catch an axe without him getting cut. He tends to work his opponent's body until they drop their guard low, then he goes for their heads. He’s a regular, same as me. Used to fight in legit arenas a while back, but got kicked out for some reason.”

“Good to know,” her expression turned thoughtful, “ I haven’t met many elves who focus on hand to hand.” We returned our attention to the arena. Talen was back at the dais.

“For our next match, we have a fight between our reigning champion Donyin, the blind bruiser, and the tattooed wildcat whose claws really leave a mark, the dwarven duelist Jade!” The crowd erupted into applause as Donyin and Jade took their positions in the center of the pit. Jade adopted a low crouch and made several quick marks into the sand at her feet. Donyin simply stood passively, not changing his stance at all.

“Fight!”

The runes in the sand and on Jade’s skin glowed silver and for a moment she actually seemed to vanish, reappearing behind Donyin. Listening, I realized that I couldn’t actually hear her movements. She seemed to be taking advantage of Donyin’s apparent blindness in order to land a strike. She moved quickly, leaping with her claws outstretched, completely silent and aimed with deadly precision for the base of his neck.

Donyin made a half step, caught Jade by her head in midair, and slammed her over his head and into the sand. I heard a sickening crunch and she ceased moving. He then lifted and threw her, sending her tumbling across the sand toward where we were observing from the edge of the pit. Donyin moved toward her, clearly intending to strike her again while she was on the ground.

Hrig and I were moving before I even realized it. I hit him low and she hit him high. He rolled with the hit and stood up while throwing us off of him. He raised a hand to strike at me, but a whistle rang out from the dais.

“Stop!” said Talen, still wearing his smile, though his tone had a hard edge to it. “Jade is down, and I don’t want to throw everyone’s bets out of order by letting you three fight. Return to your corners.”

Donyin lowered his fists scowling. “You can have that,” he gestured at Jade. His blindness was clearly not an issue for him.

Hrig walked over to her and gently lifted her off the ground. She carried her back to our area and laid her gingerly on the bench.

“Dammit Jade,” said Dorsia as I began examining the damage. Her back was black with bruising and her face was so swollen it was hard to even tell where to begin.

“Do you know her?” asked Hrig as she watered a cloth and began wiping blood gently away from Jade’s face.

“She’s a regular, like me. We talked before about what to do if we encountered Donyin. She was so confident she had it figured out, but I told her it was better to be blacklisted and hunted by Talen than to fight him willingly,” said Dorsia.

“We’d need a healer to save her at this point. I don’t know how to do much more than set a bone or treat an arrow wound.” I said, examining her more closely. At the base of her neck on the right side, one of the runes read ‘sustain’ in dwarvish. “I have an idea, but I’ll need some help. Dorsia, can I have your hand?”

“I’m flattered, but I don’t think this is the time.” She gave a wan smile.

“For jokes? I’d agree. This rune on her neck means ‘sustain’. It’s just a guess, but I’d bet if you invoke it you could buy her some time at the cost of your own strength. Hrig or I would do it, but we have more fights and I’d prefer we’re both in the best shape possible.” It would also almost certainly lead to a strange reaction if I tried to do it, and I’d prefer not to risk it though I would if there was no other choice.

Dorsia put her hand on the rune.

“Now say, ‘duvn’,” I said.

“Duvn,” the rune lit up in silver and stayed lit. Jade’s breathing immediately improved and I heard her heartbeat strengthen, Dorsia grew pale and sat down.

“We have a friend who is a healer. She just has a few things to do in town, then she’s planning on joining us here. You’ll only have to hold out until then.”

She took a deep breath, “I can do that. Jade owes me a bit of money and a drink, I’d really like to collect.”

Hrig gave her a firm pat on the shoulder.

I returned my attention to the arena. While we’d been distracted the next bout had begun. Rock, the dwarf in full plate, was facing Burias, the man who wielded two morningstars. The sound of the morningstars crashing against Rock’s shield was almost like that of rain hitting a metal roof. His speed was incredible, but even from a distance I could tell his strikes were weakening rapidly. Within moments they’d gone from a rain of blows to more of a drizzle, producing only the faintest tinking noise with each hit on the shield. Burias was dripping with sweat and his legs actually appeared to be shaking. Rock gave him a firm shove with his shield and he collapsed, seemingly unable to catch his breath. Rock raised his shield and mace as if embracing the crowd who responded with a healthy amount of applause and hollering. He was to be my opponent in the next round, and clearly he had some tricks up his sleeves.

Hrig stood up, “Keep an eye on them,” she said, grabbing her axe and making her way to the arena. I nodded and watched her enter the pit with a smile at the crowd and a few athletic twirls of her axe.

Her opponent Vyfell was as somber with his entrance as she was bombastic, approaching the center of the ring with no fanfare or attempts to woo the crowd. He was tall and wiry with dark hair tied back in a ponytail. The gauntlets on his hands were caked with blood despite the rest of him seeming immaculately clean.

As they approached each other Talen projected his voice across the stadium, “Ladies and gentlemen, next up is a battle of bruisers. We have on one side our very own Vyfell, the disgraced professional turned battling brawler, and on the other we have the Duchess of Death, the beast from Buryn, Hrig!" The crowd cheered and the combatants took their positions. Talen waited for a few moments, letting the tension build before yelling, “Fight!”.

Vyfell closed the gap quickly, attempting to remove Hrig’s advantage of her weapons' longer reach. She was forced on defence as Vyfell began a series of blows aimed at her stomach which she managed to deflect with her axe shaft. She attempted a kick at his chest in order to buy space, but he twirled around it and got back inside her defence. He managed a single solid strike to her gut, briefly causing Hrig to lose her footing, but she recovered and managed a half swing of her axe which bought her some much needed space.

I recognized his techniques, they reminded me of my third meal, Syvin’s training as a monk. He was a traditional boxer, an exceptional one. His footwork and strikes were classic in every way.

Hrig, now that she had some space, took her axe and drove it into the ground next to her before putting her arms up in a boxing stance similar to Vyfell’s and rolling her head to stretch her neck. He looked concerned for a moment, before he removed his gauntlets as well and placed them on the ground. I’m fairly certain I’ve seen Hrig use her hands as much as her axe in fights, but going against a trained boxer with them was a bold move.

They approached each other, circling and making probing strikes. Vyfell’s hands were a blur outside of the gauntlets and for a moment I wondered if Hrig knew what she was doing. They got closer to one another and their fight began more in earnest. Vyfell was on the offensive, landing blow after blow at Hrig’s stomach, but she didn’t even flinch, instead attempting her own strikes, though none landed. After several back and forths Hrig spat, landing a globule of blood in Vyfell’s eyes. While he was blinded she grabbed him by the ponytail and brought his face to her fist. She repeated the motion a few more times until his body went limp and she gently placed him onto the ground.

“That was clever of her,” said Dorsia, she’d dragged herself next to me to watch the match, though she was leaning heavily against the wall.

“How so?”

“She could tell he was a trained fighter, so she pretended to act the same so he’d think of it as a fair fight. Problem is, this is an illegal fighting arena and she never intended to play fair. Poor guy didn’t stand a chance.” I nodded. Vyfell was a trained fighter, but Hrig was trained and experienced. There was just too wide a distance between them.

“What a stunning bout everyone! With the Duchess’s victory we now know the lineup for round two. After a short break we’ll return with a battle between the men of Iron, Sevald versus Rock. That’ll be followed by a true test of might between our reigning champion Donyin and the champion of Buryn, Hrig!”