If you'll allow me," the guard says with a deep bow, "I'll lead you to the festivities."

They are completely dressed in armour, spear on their back with thin plates of metal covering their fins.

I grab my rifle and wake up Kara, walking to the door and waiting for her to get ready.

"You'll have to leave your weapons here."

Looking at the guard, I cross my arms over my chest. I'll play along with their pleasantries but I won't walk around unarmed. That'd be stupid.

Kara climbs out of the bed and rights her clothes before grabbing her daggers and striding through the door, ignoring the guard while adjusting a few of the belts.

We should really get her new clothes.

The guard raises a fin to protest before lowering it again and walking in front of us, leading us through multiple hallways into a huge chamber.

A chandelier made out of a myriad of magical gems hangs above a dining table filled with food and drinks. Four chairs surround it, two on each long side of the table. Paintings and other lavish decorations fill the walls. It simply reeks of greed, filled with useless decor.

Including the guard that led us here, nine armoured fishmen are here, all except one with a spear in their fin.

One of them is sitting next to the high priestess at the table, wearing a silver ornamental armour with tendrils of gold on it. They really like Siros look.

"Esteemed guest," he bellows, voice a deep timbre, "have a seat. I am the general of our humble country, Uh'gon. Please tell us of your travels, our contact to the outside world is sadly very limited due to our circumstances. "

I approach the opposite seat from him, reaching over and shaking his fin before sitting down. "I am afraid we do not have much time for pleasantries, time is of the essence for our mission."

It's a lie but I don't want to deal with them for too long.

"Please," the High Priestess says as Kara sits on the free chair, "if you could spare the time to tell us how you've found your faith, we would be most honoured as we were under the impression that we were the last bastion of Siros faith."

The first course gets served as I lie through my teeth "I've been raised by the faith but please let me get to my reason for coming here."

The High priestess takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully before thankfully cutting the chit chat. "What is this artefact you seek?"

I wait for a short, hopefully respectful while, before answering "An amulet that allows its wearer to harness the reaper's power."

"Oh," the High Priestess says, "that might complicate things. The amulet belongs to the High Priest of Siro and can only be won in a duel of the rites."

Oh, so I just have to kill her? Why is she even openly admitting that I can easily kill her and take the amulet? That's probably why the guards are here.

Another course gets served as I think about how to approach this before deciding to cut this short. "When can we do the duel of the rites?"

Kara elbows me in the side, probably knowing more about this than me, somehow. Wait, how does she know this much when she's been a slave for years?

The general slams his fin down onto the table, clearly distraught, but the high priestess silences him with a gesture, speaking first "We can have the duel of the rites at sunhigh, when the plaza is alight with the Gods grace. A duel to Death, using the god-given gift of the system."

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"High Priestess, no!" The general yells, standing up and causing all the guards to go rigid, ready to jump in if a fight breaks out. "You can not risk your life because of this outsider!"

"If you have any faith in me, you'll allow me to do this," she says, continuing to eat her dinner.

"But- please think about it."

She curls her fin around his. "If Siro wills it, I will survive and if I lose, I will join our excellence in Oblivion."

Oh, she'll go into Oblivion but I don't think it's the one she envisioned.

"Excuse me," Kara asks, "but why is this amulet so important to you, was it a gift from your god?"

"Prophet," the general says, voice a dangerous tone, "have you not taught your slave manners?"

"Watch out who you're calling a slave!" Kara shouts, gripping the knife tightly.

Both ignore her, waiting for my answer. I can see the Guards coiled like a spring from Karas outburst.

I sigh, figuring that I'll have to explain this multiple times, "The circumstances were complicated but essentially, the Slave Contract goes unused. She is my companion, first and foremost."

"If you say so," the General says, going back to his food, aggressively stabbing the meat with his fork.

The High priestess motions for the servers to bring the next course. "The Amulet was gifted to my ancestors to unite our tribes in a time of crisis, appointing the first High Priest," she simply explains.

It doesn't take long for the feast to finish. I expected four courses at the very least but I am glad that I can get this done quickly. The tension is palpable as the General continues to stare daggers at me.

We get ushered into the same chamber as before while they prepare for the duel.

----------------------------------------

The general and four guards escort us to the plaza. The general now wields a warhammer as he explains the rules of the duel to me. Nothing too major, a battle with spears and skills but I don't plan on keeping the tradition.

The plaza has a lot less lights spread around, barely illuminating the crowd that gathered.

And what a crowd it is, every fishman in this city must be gathered here, except maybe a crook or two that are exploiting the distraction. I know I would.

Am'Hugda is standing in the middle of the plaza with two spears, robe replaced by light armour.

I turn to Kara, handing her my rifle and one of my revolvers. "Be right back," I say, trying to keep my nervousness out of my voice.

"Don't die."

With that encouraging comment, I make my way over to Am'Hugda. I assume Kara is speaking out of pure pragmatism, not wanting to end up a slave here.

She hands me one of the spears, bowing her head in prayer and closing her eyes.

She closed her eyes!

Come on, she can't be serious. Has she never fought in her life?

Not even Goblins would be this dumb.

[Deaths Mark], [Quick draw], [Rapid shot], [Reap Shot]

My revolver flies to my hand, as I drop the spear, shooting six times at the priestess in prayer in front of me.

Wow, that sounds bad if I think of it like that.

One of the shots misses, three get deflected by the tendrils and the last two hit her in the stomach.

I have to jump back as she lashes out with the spear, clipping my side. Tendrils of void follow after the strike, uselessly trying to wrap around me even after I left the range.

"You dare intrude upon this holy duel?" She screams as light starts bathing the plaza.

I kick the spear to the side, reloading with [Rapid Reload]. "You were the one that closed her eyes!" I yell back, infusing my bullet with Fire and Earth, "Siro would scold you for this, or make fun of you!"

She slams the butt of the spear into the ground and raises a fin in my direction. A blazing sigil appears in front of it as she simply replies "[Lightning Bolt]."

A crack of thunder somehow heralds the attack, a bolt of lightning hitting my chest and propelling me backwards.

Cutting my Infusion short, I activate [Steady aim] and squeeze the trigger, crouched down.

The bullet tears through her leg, causing her to crumble to the ground.

Standing up, I cock back the hammer of my revolver and stagger over, aiming at her head.

"Donald!" Idanu yells out, voice booming throughout the City.

Fuck.