Ms Shay'an steps over to Kalan, grabbing his cheeks to analyze his ears in the same manner she analyzed D'aliah. Kalan peers over to D'aliah, who seems flustered with the left cheek of her face much redder than the other. He then looks back at Ms Shay'an to meet her grey eyes peering into his own.

"This one's in good condition too," Ms Shay'an notes, her alcohol breath wafts in across his nose before Kalan pulls his face out of her grasp. She gives him a grim look as if she's contemplating teaching him a lesson before she decides to walk back to her seat at the dinner table.

"What'll keep their loyalty?" She asks Kar'ver. "They seem too… Independent,"

"They had many opportunities to kill me, Madam," Kar'ver responds. "They are both trained by the Tutel Coprii and yet they didn't lay a finger on me,"

"And why is that?" She asks.

"The serum the girl speaks of. It's why they're here,"

Ms Shay'an grabs a chalice of alcohol, giggling to herself as she takes a sip of a deep, red liquid. "The two of you must be hungry?" She asks.

"The serum," Kalan announces boldly whilst looking straight at Ms Shay'an.

"Hmm?" She mumbles in response.

"That is the only reason we are cooperating. If you do not know of it, you would be wise to tell us now so we can make our leave,"

Ms Shay'an blurts out in bellowing laughter, gripping the nearest chair as her body arches over in humour. This lady is the embodiment of disrespect. After the aggression she showed D'aliah, Kalan has had the thought of killing Ms Shay'an float in his mind. He doesn't have his daggers, but there are a few other weapons in the room. The raggedy fighters standing behind him aren't such a bad starting point. Attacking Kar'ver if he steps any closer is an option too, but the idea that feels the most satisfying would be grabbing one of those dining knives on the table and carving Ms Shay'an's neck.

"I see a few ways that I could kill you before Kar'ver or any of these fools behind me could react," He says to her, bored of her attitude.

"I'm sure you do," She responds as she signals two of her fighters to step forwards. "If the both of you draw first blood against these two, I'll allow you to eat from this table until your heart's content. I will also tell you what I know of the serum you seek,"

Kalan glances over to D'aliah, who has a tense look on her face as her lip curls in anticipation. She's itching for a fight, and understandably so. A third fighter hands one of Kalan's blades back to him, and the other to D'aliah. The first fighter is a slender woman, with short ginger-haired parted at either side of her face. She has a metallic right arm from her elbow that moves with the same fluidity as Kar'vers fingers, despite the minimalistic engineering. She steps in front of Kalan, clicking the edges of her metallic wrist, which flips her hand up and into the steel forearm. From the bottom, flips a blade, about to the length of her forearm. She is slightly larger than D'aliah, so he presumes she will have a venomous strike, but lack in speed.

Ahead of D'aliah steps a burly man with a thick beard and moustache. His nose is missing and replaced with a steel plate that flattens the centre of his face. His mouth hangs open as his throat rasps with each intake of air.

"We'll begin with the Valantian boy," Ms Shay'an orders, as Kalan and his opponent step towards each other. Everyone else paces backwards, providing them with a large part of the hallway as their ring.

"This is a duel to first blood, between Kalan and Cass," Kar'ver announces. "The winner will be awarded a seat at Ms Shay'an's table for dinner,"

Kalan rotates his blade in his hand, reigniting his familiarity and posing in his stance. His opponent, Cass, does the same- raising her metallic arm tipped with a short sword across her face as she passes Kalan a focused look. But she doesn't look into his eyes, she gawks at his neck without changing her gaze.

"You may begin," Kar'ver calls out.

Without a send thought, Cass jolts forward, stabbing her blade at Kalan's neck. This is where she strikes for first blood? Kalan wonders as he shuffles backwards, keeping out of reach of her attack.

She viciously waves her hand back and forth, striking between Kalan's chest and neck. He was right about her pace, she's slower than D'aliah. But one of those strikes will do far more than merely draw blood. He deflects a few of her attacks with his Pearle-esque dagger, their weapons clang throughout the hall with each collision. He's on the defensive, and he wants to switch this as quickly as possible. But Cass continues applying pressure, stepping at Kalan for every strike, forcing him to parry backwards.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

He notices her strikes have repeated between his chest and neck, without any variation in between. He retaliates by halting his backwards strides, prompting her to overstep. He strikes at her blade when it approaches his neck, deflecting it towards her weaker side. She stumbles past him, now having lost her balance he slashes for her rib cage- but he parries backwards instead, as her blade whizzes past his face. She swung defensively as she fell over. Using the range of her blade to keep Kalan at a distance before quickly correcting her footing.

Kalan maintains his advantage by attacking her blade, constantly trying to shift her arm out of position so that he can close the distance. But her blade is rigid, the support of her entire arm has Kalan striking an unshaken stance. Cass realizes the strength of her defence, stepping forward to stab at Kalan's chest again- But Kalan steps forward, exposing his chest to bring a hefty kick at the joint of her arm. This works and pushes her blade far enough for Kalan to drop his raised leg and place himself within reach. He sees the panic erupt in her eyes as she raises her regular hand to defend herself from a strike that may be too severe. He raises his blade and quickly slashes for the bicep ahead of her metallic arm, quickly slicing a small incision on the inside of her arm.

"First blood," Kar'ver announces. "The winner is the Valantian boy,"

Cass glances at the small wound on her upper arm with a confused slant in her eyebrows before she looks at Kalan.

"The next duel is between D'aliah and Amon," Kar'ver calls out as Kalan steps away from the centre of the makeshift ring.

D'aliah steps in front of the big man, who draws a blade similar to the thin curved blades of the bandits that captured them. He's much taller than her- and Kalan for that matter. D'aliahs only option here is speed, surely she's aware of that?

"I'd rather kill the filth, Madam," Amon grunts as he scans D'aliahs face.

"You will not!" Ms Shay'an yells at the top of her voice.

The man scoffs as if he was only informing her, the resolve in his glare is unchanged. Kalan feels a worry emerge as he looks at D'aliah, who returns a rage-filled look as her heated breaths expand her body- This is what has him worried. Her anger. She won't be thinking very clear-headed this way.

"The same goes for you, girl," Ms Shay'an adds, as D'aliah's fangs extend and her eyes gloss over into oceanic marbles.

D'aliah wails a bitonal hiss as her mouth flashes her fangs. A deep growl accompanied by a screech pierces the room. Amon shuffles in place, regripping his blade as he tries to maintain eye contact- But he's struggling. When a Valantian's eye gloss over, one can no longer read their intentions, their eye movements, or any emotion beyond the rage exuding on their face.

Ms Shay'an claps in excitement, as a grin plasters across her face. She takes another swig of her alcohol before waving her hand in the air.

"You may begin," Kar'ver announces.

D'aliah sprints at the bulking fighter, who holds his blade horizontally in preparation for her attack. D'aliah swings her blade vertically to meet Amon's. She relentlessly repeats the downward strike at his blade, hacking away at his stance. Amon holds his defence- but D'aliahs strikes rattle his grip much more than the Kalan would have expected.

In response, Amon drops his defence, giving D'aliah the space to step forward and thrust the dagger at his chest. But before she can reach, the wide palm of the man crashes into D'aliahs shoulder, throwing her across the floor as she grunts on impact.

"The Valantian girl's much more fun than the boy!" Ms Shay'an exclaims, chuckling with drunken excitement.

D'aliah swiftly gets back up on her feet, picking up the dagger as Amon lugs his way over to her. A large grin is pasted on her face when the blue of her eyes fades away and her fangs start retracting.

"That's first blood," Announces Kar'ver.

Kalan is confused, thinking the hit must have opened a wound where D'aliah had fallen, but the eery smile on her face is that of a victor.

"The girl is victor," Kar'ver adds.

Amon looks at the inside of his arm to see a deep gash at his bicep, he drops his arm in rage as he steps at D'aliah with his blade raised.

"Enough," Kar'ver's voice rings through the hall. Amon stops mid-swing, staring at D'aliah before dropping his shoulder and lowering his weapon.

"We gon' have another go sometime, Valantian," Amon scoffs as he turns his head.

"And to think they are two of my most popular fighters," Ms Shay'an laughs. "Ya'll made quick work of 'em too,"

"I'm growing sick of your voice," D'aliah grits her teeth. "Tell us what you know,"

Ms Shay'an raises her hands in the air sarcastically, "Relax, soldier," She jests. "I said I would tell ya over dinner,"

"So?" D'aliah pushes back, growing increasingly frustrated.

"So, get washed up and dressed in somethin' that don't have you lookin' like a peasant," Ms Shay'an chuckles. "I can't have you dirtyin' my chairs, D'aliah Morcos."

"Neillum Morello is a child of magic who aided the Adire family in freeing the enslaved savages now known as Valantians."

- The A'shic Records