Samantha had initially panicked seeing the approaching group and had summoned Silas in case there was an impending brawl. Her experience with life and death battles against other cultivators in combination with the last few weeks feeling especially vulnerable had understandably left her with some reactive behaviors. As her future opponent’s declaration wound down, however, she was starting to get past the knee-jerk reaction and calmed down.

Thinking through things a little more logically, this would be Samantha’s first sanctioned match as a cultivator. Despite the stress of being ambushed on her way out from doing errands, this would be the least stressful fight she’d have encountered to date. Of all her previous fights, none had the safety restrictions that a sanctioned duel did, though admittedly ‘safe’ was a bit of a misconception. It was still possible to be crippled, maimed, or die from improperly treated injuries, but nothing like the anything-goes fights she had more experience with.

An official duel had set rules and expectations of both fighters with an Adjudicator monitoring the match. As a mortal, she had seen enough of them to pick up the gist. In essence, the challenger would set the ‘win conditions’ for the duel while the challenged selected the time and place. It was looked down on for the challenged to set the date for more than a week out, though, since that showed a lack of either courage or ambition. In addition, certain types of attacks were frowned upon or could affect your face in the city, such as the use of deadly poisons. An audience would also be judging the decorum of both fighters, so underhanded tactics, losing or winning with dignity, and even retaliatory actions post-duel would be remembered by the general populace. The Adjudicator had the authority to step in and stop the match if they judged that one of the parties was unfit to continue, or the win condition had been met.

“We fight until surrender or incapacitation. Choose the setting.” The High Copper woman demanded.

Samantha didn’t even consider outright refusing the duel. If anything, she was almost glad that she could settle things with the trio this way–win or lose, this would likely be the end of their feud. Besides, if she chose not to defend this attack on her character, it would be assumed by everyone that this horribly inaccurate retelling of her conflict with the brothers would be the truth. She didn’t want to bring any lingering shame to her family–especially considering that there would likely already be talk of her ascension/disappearance from the floor soon.

She certainly didn’t want to fight now with her senses hampered and her spirit damaged, but would a week be enough to fix it? She had previously been working on loosening the detritus in her mind meridian and her right hand, so she could possibly open her mind meridian as early as tonight with the elixirs she purchased from the alchemist today. The problem was that it wasn't a guarantee for instant healing. A week could give her the extra time she needed if things weren’t immediately resolved. She had no doubts that this woman played a role similar to Felix in the Black Market–someone on retainer who was abnormally strong for their rank for situations exactly like these. She would need every advantage she could get.

Seeing a crowd gathering at the commotion, she decided to get her own truth out there. She reached back to her experience of ‘putting on a show’ in the Black Market arena to make her statements more impactful.

Samantha scoffed, “Is that the story they told you? That they were innocent victims of a higher ranked cultivator’s senseless violence? Let me disillusion you of that lie. It is true that I was Mid-Copper at the time and they three were Low Copper, but that is where the truth of their tale ends.”

“Liar! You–” Liam began.

“Silence, your betters are speaking.” Samantha commanded, focusing her nebulous killing intent into a sharp point directed at the brothers. Her spirit twinged in discomfort, but she endured until she was satisfied that they wouldn’t interrupt again. When she retracted her aura, the release of pressure caused the three men to stagger back a step, the weakened Anthony crumpling to his knees with gasping breaths.

The High Copper looked on impassively, not intervening in the exchange. Liam had breached standard protocol when he inserted himself into a higher ranked cultivator’s conversation without first being spoken to, so Samantha was within her rights to reprimand him.

“As I was saying, I had just completed my cultivation quest and was on the return trip home. These three caught my spirit bond in one of their traps, and even after I announced he was my companion I was forced to free him myself. Then, seeing that my bond was injured and I was a new cultivator alone and with no experience, they pounced on me like wild dogs after a scrap of meat.”

At Samantha’s assertion, a wave of murmuring washed through the bystanders. She could sense a shift in the opinions of the masses, and felt she was winning some of them over with her own version of events. She could see out of the corner of her eye that all three brothers were turning red with rage, but they held their tongues after her earlier display.

She continued, “ I fought the three off with my superior skill and planned to bring them back to the city for an inquiry about their dishonorable actions, but the cowards used that family artifact to flee justice. I confess I was naïve, thinking the injuries and shame of defeat would convince them to live more honorably…” Samantha turned toward the gathered onlookers and gestured to herself with a sincere expression on her face, “for isn’t it my duty as a higher ranked cultivator to instruct those at lower ranks in how to conduct themselves with propriety?” She saw a few people nod their heads in agreement with her words. Some started new whispered conversations among themselves.

“And yet here they are again, this time with another cultivator to finish the battle they unjustly began and spreading lies about my character.” Samantha looked at the other woman understandingly, “Perhaps now that you know the truth, you will reconsider your support of these men? I can tell from a glance that you possess more honor in one finger than all three of these cretins combined, and I do not wish for your reputation to be sullied by this affair.”

Throughout Samantha’s speech, the perpetually disinterested countenance she wore morphed into that of a small frown. The woman did not answer immediately, the crowd quieting down to hear her response. She looked over to the trio, who were fuming with what Samantha could only assume was a mix of anger and embarrassment, and then back to Samantha. Samantha wondered if she might’ve won this fight before it even started. Alas, Samantha wasn’t so lucky.

The woman visibly sighed, then firmed her resolve as she replied, “So you say… but it’s your word against theirs. Such disagreements can only be settled through trial by combat–the victor’s word is truth. Again, I insist you choose your setting.”

“One week from now. We will see you at noon in the Coliseum.” As Samantha finished speaking, Silas skidded to a halt beside her. He looked at the group of Braxand’s and snarled, his long ears pinning back behind his gleaming horns. Samantha noted that some of the horns had wood scraps stuck to the sharp points, but she didn’t mention it.

The High Copper saw Silas and smirked, shifting to a wider stance to give her more stability.

A distant screech sounded from above, and Samantha looked up to see a large shadow descending towards the group. An enormous eagle pulled up from a steep dive and perched on the woman with one leg on each shoulder. Its wingspan looked to be around 10 feet–nearly twice as wide as Samantha was tall, and she suspected that it would come up to chest height if it stood next to her. The distinctive red and gold coloring of its feathers combined with the shining gold of its sharp beak and talons made it clear to Samantha that this was a Sungleam Eagle. These birds of prey were apex predators to other Spirit Beasts on this floor, and could grow to be much larger than a human given enough time and resources.

Silas stepped closer to and slightly behind Samantha as the eagle glared down at him, his instincts screaming at him that he was about to be hunted. She could feel his terror so clearly that it sent shivers through her own spirit, and she wondered what caused such a visceral reaction. Even against the Iron Boar he had not felt nearly so afraid. The trio noticed his reaction and looked smug, and Samantha was sure that they had chosen their future combatant with purpose.

“When I win, you will be liable to pay the Braxand family 50 gold–the cost of the lost artifact in addition to medical expenses.”

Samantha raised her eyebrows at that amount. It would be enough to bankrupt any normal person. With their knowledge of Samantha’s family shop and her recent entry into the realm of cultivators, she suspected that they knew she wouldn’t be able to afford it. On the flip side, even if they lost, the amount would be meager to a family from the Big Three. There was a bigger issue, though. The wagered gold would need to be provided to the Adjudicator by both parties before the match began. If Samantha didn’t have the appropriate amount, the Braxands could demand something as collateral instead. She suspected that ‘thing’ would be Silas himself, if the greedy looks on the brothers’ faces was any indication.

The only bright spot of this arrangement was that if–no–when she won, the additional 50 gold would go a long way to funding her remaining time here. There was no way she was going to let them steal Silas away after everything, so she’d need to get creative and find a way to come up with that much money in a mere seven days. It seemed like her contract to handle the cultivator wreaking havoc in the southern business district, along with her subsequent shopping spree, would need to be put on hold until this was resolved.

She ground her teeth in frustration at the ever growing list of things she needed to handle before she left the floor. Healing her spirit, opening more meridians, learning more cultivation patterns and arts, training up her base attributes, getting justice for Aiden… how in the world was she going to manage everything in the 23 days she had left to ascend? Lost in her sudden worry, she didn’t respond quickly enough to rebut the woman’s barbed comment before she spoke again.

“See you soon, Samantha Cray. When you book the space in the Coliseum, you may list me as Eileen Braxand.” Eileen stated, not looking back as the group turned and left the same way they came.

The crowd dispersed soon after now that the drama had played itself out.

Samantha felt Silas’s lingering exhaustion and terror from his mad dash to aid her and his encounter with the Sungleam eagle. He laid on the ground and shed his horns as he lightly panted, and Samantha kneeled down to his level to comfort him. She picked up a fallen antler as she stroked his back, turning the sturdy material over in her hand and curiously inspecting the embedded wood scraps on some of the tips.

“What happened here?” she sent, nodding her head towards the horn.

“I tried to tell them!” he replied somewhat defensively.

She noted that the antler was rapidly deteriorating in her hand, the bone dissolving into dim motes of lights as she watched with fascination. It seemed that it truly was more qi than material in construction.

“That doesn’t really answer my question.” she said, scooping up the tired Jackalope and jogging back towards the southern business district.

“You called and I tried to leave nicely, first. Your mom wouldn’t let me out though. I had to go through the door.” he admitted sullenly.

Samantha rolled her eyes, “Maybe I should’ve been more clear with them that you are not a pet. Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it when I see them.”

Soon enough, she came up to her parent’s 'newly renovated' shop front. It hadn’t been too long since Silas had run out in a hurry, but they had already made good progress on cleaning things up. From what she could tell, they had taken down whatever remained of the door, leaving the entrance completely open. Her father was also still sweeping up the odd piece of glass or wood that was blasted out into the walkway while her mother ran the shop. As she approached, he looked up at her with exasperation.

She decided to get the first word in to try and lead this conversation, “Silas told me already what happened. I’ll take responsibility for the damage since it was because of me he broke the door down, just let me know later what I owe you. I was afraid I was going to be attacked by some cultivators I had trouble with in the past, so I called him to me.”

Her father’s eyes widened at this and he seemed like he wanted to say something, but she pressed on, getting more and more stressed as her explanation continued, “I know you and mom will probably have a lot of questions, but I don’t have the time to get into everything right now. I have a duel scheduled in a week, and I need to come up with 50 gold before then or else I’m afraid Silas and I will be in trouble. If I want any chance of winning I need to prepare now, so I’ll be in my room meditating. Please, please just trust me to handle this and I’ll explain more after the dust has settled, okay? Oh, and please tell mom for me. I have to go.”

She ran up to her room before her dad could delay her with questions she didn’t feel like answering right now, and she set Silas down on her bed. He snuggled himself up in a bundle of blankets and got comfortable as she pulled out two of the mid-grade cultivation elixirs she had purchased from the alchemist.

The first elixir was similar to ones she had purchased at the black market, allowing her dantian to draw in more qi to compensate for the low qi density within the city. The second elixir was a lesser version of the Grand Prize for winning the lattice, a meridian cleansing elixir. She downed them both in quick succession and entered the lotus position to begin the process of opening her mind meridian. She would not rest until she had broken through the detritus clogging the channel, and when she was finished, she would visit Thomas’s house to look over the Mid-Copper version of the Granvich’s cultivation technique again. This time, she would finally have the two open meridians required to learn it.