Absorption 2.5.X.3

“-you know Jan,” one of the announcers’ voices buzzed through the Pit. “I hadn’t thought the Opals would be into that sort of thing-”

“-ha! Too right you are, Jen,” the second announcer, named Jan, said, laughing obnoxiously enough that the artificed relay picked itself up and led to an irritating screech before cutting off abruptly.

“-sorry about that folks,” the first speaker, Jen, said. “Seems we’re still working out some of the technical difficulties. How about we give a discount on the next round of drinks? Brought to you lovely dregs, courtesy of the one, the only, SKINGINEER!-”

The crowd roared in approval at the discounted drinks. They probably would have roared no matter what had been offered though. The Pit was the one ray of goodness in their lives and it would have been hard to ruin the event for them. So long as there was an event of some kind.

Pathetic.

Kate tried her best to tune them all out, especially the announcers, Jen and Jan both. The voices were less bothersome from where she and Jackie watched, as the booths were at least partially insulated from the relay of artificed noise-makers. However, the two announcers, especially Jan, spoke with a grating nasally tone that left Kate eager to punch something.

Much less odious was the crowd’s cheers washed over the balcony where Kate and Jackie observed, Kate with her arms crossed over the side, resting against the edge whilst holding her drink, while Jackie remained somewhat anxious.

The two girls stood side by side, mere inches apart. Kate felt the warmth radiating off of the other girl, and Kate felt a mix of warring emotions. She wished she was holding the other girl, and had fantasized about doing so, at least by this point in their date. However, rather than listening to the bolder thoughts, her attention had been split enough between both Jackie and the slaughter in the arena down below, that she was having difficulties in committing to even the simple action of placing her arm around the lesser girl.

“-oof, that’s a big oof, Jan-”

“-I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Jen. Weren’t we just talking about redecorating the place?-”

“-suppose that’s true, but I had thought of maybe something a bit less macabre?-”

“-Ha! Well. Maybe. Let’s ask our wonderful audience their thoughts on the new paint-job… and streamers? Banners? What’s the word for those little colorful flags that hang from string, Jen?-”

“-you know, I hadn’t ever wondered about that. I know what you’re talking about though, and I’m not entirely sure that this counts-”

“-puhlease! It might be a little crude, but I think it’s a bit endearing. Besides, what more could you expect from that little Meohr?-”

“...that’s true, I guess… What does the audience think? Three cheers for keeping the decorations till tomorrow?”

The crowd roared while Kate tried her best to tune everything else out.

Kate was trying to think here. She supposed that even if the embrace was put off, that they would still reach that point soon anyways. Why would it matter if Kate rushed the embrace now, versus after the entertainment ended?

Kate decided to focus on the fights below–if a fight it could even be called.

One of the more recent combatants had just suffered disembowelment, leaving a mess on the field and the surrounding walls. She was unsure if she would have ever considered the sloppily hanging strands of intestines to be decoration, but to each their own, she supposed. Kate could almost smell the gore from her vantage point, even above the overpowering aroma of the unwashed masses.

Another of the ‘fighters’ fell with a pained shriek.

Kate inhaled all of it, feeling her own veins heat. Messy. Chaotic. Fluid. She exhaled heavily in contentment before remembering to check on how her date was faring. A side glance revealed Jackie to be largely indifferent. Kate’s brow furrowed just slightly. Jackie’s lack of reaction was somewhat dampening for Kate, but it was hardly enough to completely overwhelm the prospect of bloodshed.

Movement from the pit below caused Kate to refocus in time to see a scarred and partially lamed Meohr roared once more, tossing its head and flinging a less able fighter off from its horns. Blood trailed in the man’s wake, causing a glory-filled rain to patter down across the Meohr’s face.

“-I think that’s the furthest we’ve seen one thrown yet!” Jan cheered loudly. “What do you think, at least twelve yards?”

“-oh, at least, Jen. If not more. And did you see that spray–?”

“-marvelous. That Meohr is really turning out to be the little artist. Think the Opals will consider lending it out to redo my apartment?-”

“-not sure your kids would like that-”

“-what kids?-”

“-hm? Did you say something? I couldn’t hear you over that girlish scream from that poor sod down there. At least die with some dignity. Am I right, or am I right-”

“-no, but seriously. You thought I had kids?-”

“-you kidder, you-” Jen trailed off with an awkward laugh.

Kate thought that even if the fighter that was bleeding out had had a chance to survive in the first place, that they would be dying from embarrassment anyways.

Though, from how the other fighters behaved, it was something besides embarrassment driving their actions. Not even shame. No, it was fear. They were faltering back from the Meohr, allowing the beast to claim the initiative and control the fight. A rookie mistake. Idiots.

Kate caught Jackie’s eye and rolled her own. “I’m almost getting second-hand shame just watching that debacle.”

Actually, since Kate was the one that had brought them here, the poor showing in the Pit below might have unintentionally reflected upon her. Kate was loath to have that happen. Fortunately, Jackie seemed to be pursuing a different trail of thought.

“Those fighters,” Jackie asked, her voice almost lost amongst the clamor of the crowds, “they are Opals, I believe.” Jackie seemed to be referring to the poor quality armbands each of the fighters wore to mark their allegiance–the opalescent bands had certainly seen better days, hardly describable as a dungy off-white at best. Jackie then continued her classic of a question. “I find it difficult to imagine a crew sending their own to perish in such a hopeless fashion.”

“Eh–” Kate said, waggling her hand in a so-so motion. “I get where you’re coming from, but yeah, I don’t feel like getting too philosophical, at least not right now,” Kate answered. As if to punctuate her point, at that moment the crowd roared once more. Kate quickly turned her attention back to the pit to find she had missed another goring, this time through the side of a man’s cheek. Gruesome. Kate wished she had seen that.

“Surely you could answer the question?” Jackie continued the discussion, despite the action happening down below.

Kate had half a mind to ignore the conversation altogether, but she reminded herself that Jackie was her date and it would probably be a bad showing for Kate to neglect the other girl. Kate groaned before answering, although she kept her eyes on the pit this time.

“I’m guessing those idiots are in debt, or something like that,” Kate finished with a shrug.

After a bit of a pause in the conversation, and a lull in the fight, Kate risked another side glance.

Jackie was frowning.

Why was she frowning?! Kate wondered. She doubted that it was a positive development, although maybe it was? Kate had always had a hard time understanding what other people were feeling.

Fortunately, Jackie soon spoke once again.

“I suppose that explains some of it,” Jackie said slowly. “Although, I do wonder how they found themselves in such desperate straits. Surely, these debtors must have known the potential to end… here.”

“Ha,” Kate said, scratching the back of her head where a lump had formed from a spar against Blackrest earlier that day. “Well…” she paused to buy time to think and remember what some of those words meant. Eventually, Kate shrugged and decided that whatever those troublesome words meant was unimportant. Otherwise, she would have recalled them much more quickly. During this time, she continued to bluster, repeating what she had heard her Aunt Janet say a couple of times. “...well it’s actually a bit of a complex issue,” Kate finished.

Kate felt proud of herself for delivering that expectation.

Another quick side-glance at Jackie.

Jackie was still frowning.

Kate swore, deciding to double down and keep talking, although at this point she was somewhat winging it.

“I know, yeah?” Kate said. “I was surprised when I learned it too. But most of those guys down there, assuming they weren’t just kidnapped off the street, were probably–” Kate shrugged, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with some of the attention the other viewers were giving, not that Kate was about to say anything that could get her in trouble, but it was a different sort of attention than she normally got.

“-well, let’s just say that most of them probably aren’t down there cuz of gambling or drugs…”

Finally, finally, Jackie gave a slow nod.

But by this point, Kate had grown invested in the explanation, and decided to try fumbling her way through an example, although with less fumbling, as obviously doing that was bad.

“Like, alright,” Kate said, thinking as she spoke. “Say that guy down there’s having trouble finding work, which sucks for him, since he’s got a wife and probably some kids with how they breed. So, he’s a bit desperate, and maybe he finds work through the local Crew. Only, they don’t just let anybody join, people gotta prove themselves first. So they give him a job. Maybe moving goods. Maybe something else. Except, you can see that he’s no good. So the Opals front him some Cee while he tries to learn the ropes. Maybe he’s supposed to sell something across the divide, but gets busted up and loses the product. Now, he owes them, and owes them again. Maybe they give the guy another chance. Who knows. But you see where it’s going, yeah?”

Jackie nodded again, and Kate resisted the impulse to pump her arm in victory.

“I believe I see the point of your illustration,” Jackie said, if slowly and without the confidence that Kate would have hoped for. “The impetus driving events is complex.”

“You sure you get it?” Kate asked, chewing on her lip.

“Yes,” Jackie said. “I believe I understand.”

Before Kate could make sure that was actually the case, the crowd erupted in a mix of jeers and cheers, drawing Kate’s attention back down towards the pit.

“-oh you poor poor fool of a man, that was never going to work!-” Jen’s voice cut in over Kate and Jackie’s discussion, leaving Kate with another restless urge to inflict immediate violence upon the announcers playing up the crowd.

“-maybe you’re being a bit harsh, Jen?” Jan asked in a teasing tone. “I mean, cut the man some slack. It’s not like he had anything better to hide-behind-”

“-shouldn’t have been hiding anyways! We’re here for a show, not–whatever that was-”

“-I suppose that’s true. I would have thought that the Opals would have raised ‘em better, y’know? Can’t really fault the kids for their parents doing a shit-job of it, yeah-”

“-language! There might be children watching-”

A brief pause, followed by a boisterous combination of their laughs. Many of the spectators joined in. After the laugh stretched onwards for way too long, they trailed off.

“-well, they were probably scraping the bottom of the barrel when they dug that sap out–” Jan said, much to Jen’s agreement.

Kate growled under her breath, not that it would make a difference. She could barely hear herself think with all of the inane prattle. If it had not been for the somewhat hilarious circumstances down in the Pit, she might have just gone over to introduce her sword point first to the announcers.

But… it had been pretty funny, seeing it all play out.

The Meohr had been charging a couple of the last remaining fighters, and one fighter tried using the other as a human shield. The look on the second fighter’s face as he was betrayed by his brother of arm was seconded only by the look of shock as the Meohr ran through the shield without stopping, trampling and goring both men in a single sweep.

Alright, Kate might have chuckled a little bit. She checked Jackie to see if Kate could catch the other girl reacting as well. The answer was no, or at least no-ish.

“These announcers are quite odious,” Jackie complained.

Kate smoothed any trace of joviality from her face and agreed with Jackie. Because that was true. The announcers did suck.

“But, a question remains,” Jackie said, continuing their previous discussion. “What of the Meohr?”

Jackie was hardly making any sense. Yes, there was a Meohr down in the Pits. And yes, it belonged to the Opals. Kate needed a little bit more to respond in a hopefully intelligent fashion.

“What about it?” Kate asked, not really following whatever point she was making.

“For what reason has that Meohr found themself down there, in such a desperate position?”

“Themself?” Kate repeated again in a question, before realizing that Jackie had been referring to the single Meohr fighting below. An odd way to describe it–them–whatever.

“How do you mean?” Kate asked, only half paying attention.

The Meohr in question had just trampled one of the fallen men, its hooves piercing through a man’s chest before becoming stuck. The Meohr stumbled before kicking the soon-to-be dead-man off.

“-ugh, don’t you just hate when that happens?-” Jan asked in faux irritation.

“-that thing’ll be wondering what it stepped on the whole rest of the night!-”

The crowd laughed and Kate might have smirked. Despite how irritating the announcers normally were, occasionally they said something worthwhile. However, it seemed that Jackie remained indifferent to the comedy playing out.

In fact, Jackie’s face was placid and smooth, giving nothing away. So, she might have actually been reacting on the inside, and just not showing it, as strange as that seemed to Kate.

Unknowing of Kate’s thoughts, Jackie continued.

“What I mean is this,” Jackie said. “Meohr are valued highly. Any trip to the Mercantile District will confirm this, especially at the flesh-markets. How, no why, why would the Opals waste such a valuable commodity in such a risk-laden endeavor?”

Realization dawned across Kate’s face. “Oh!” Kate said. “You mean, you think the Opals are wasting Cee, right?”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Jackie might have winced, but it might have also been from the sudden keening wails from below. Regardless, Jackie nodded in confirmation all the same.

“Well,” Kate elaborated. “It does belong to the Opals, but it probably won’t get too injured in the fight, at least not till later tonight, that is if they keep it out for Turnover, which I doubt they will. That Meohr’s got a few good nights left to it before it runs its course.”

“They are currently in active combat,” Jackie said slowly. “The risk is high that their valued property–” Jackie seemed to emphasize that particular word for some reason “-will be damaged irrevocably. This seems foolish.”

“Sure,” Kate agreed. “But look at that thing. It’s not like it’s got many more years to go, yeah? Plus, it looks like it might be a bit sick? Has a few bald spots and discoloration.”

“Perhaps,” Jackie said, both agreeing and also sounding doubtful, somehow.

The night continued to pass as the dregs were tossed to the pit in twos and threes, armed with crooked spears or dull blades, never anything notable or that would give much of a chance against the creatures they fought.

And creatures there were. Many, many, creatures. Kate felt somewhat envious of the fighters down below, or she would have if she was unable to blow off some steam basically whenever she wanted. But as for the creatures, the Meohr had been retired for the evening to be preserved for another night. It had been replaced by plenty of under-things.

Kate could have identified the creatures further, at least so far as archetypes went. However, doing so was useless, unless she was fighting them herself, and even then, they would die all the same and all too fast to make the exercise worth the bother. And this was not merely her own impression, but a shared one among the Knights, and probably anyone else too, not that Kate would bother with them.

It was because under-things were almost never uniform. Take one of the giant rats. Some came the size of a crate, while others had venomous spiked tails. Some had extra-legs to the front, and others to the back. It was fairly common to see them with multiple heads, although that one seemed more a liability than a beneficial adaptation. For all of these different rats, it was likely possible to further identify them, similar to plants and stuff like that. But… who cared enough to bother with that. Hence, all of them were under-things, alongside the freakish spiders and some sort of hundeor descendent.

The common trait shared amongst all these creatures was where they originated from: the caverns and tunnels and forgotten ruins that stretched for miles and miles below Southbridge.

Usually, the lower one went, the more exotic and powerful the denizens grew, until one reached the very bottom, towards where the Firmament invaded and receded on a chaotic schedule. Of course, none of the creatures sourced to fight today were from that low. All of the stuff Kate had seen so far tonight was from no deeper than two or three layers down. Common pests, easily sourced, bred, and humiliating to struggle against.

Kate watched another fighter fall as a gigantic grasshopper-thing jumped upon his back. The thing’s legs had more in common with knives than anything else. The guy would be bleeding out shortly.

She clicked her tongue. Embarrassing, she thought, it was probably close to the hundredth time she had thought that so far that night.

“-and that’s why, and I cannot stress this enough, that you always look up, folks!” Jan reminded the fighters, as if doing so would make a difference at this stage in the game.

“-right you are, Jan! If you ever find yourself in the Pits, or even more unfortunately, falling through into a full and hungry warren of the beasties-”

“-always-”

“-look-”

“-UP!-”

Both announcers cackled to themselves, joined in by plenty of the audience. Humorously, one of the fighters was distracted by the advice and glanced upwards for a second too long, leaving himself exposed to one of the more agile rats. It scurried up the man’s legs, and before he could fling it off, it had reached his jugular.

Of course, the audience roared in jeers and laughs, joined by the ever-obnoxious voices.

“-don’t-” Jen started to wheeze through the laughs “-and don’t forget-”

“-situation awareness-” Jan spoke at the same time.

“-down either!-”

Kate tuned the speakers out as she eyed her now empty tumbler as her tongue felt slightly more sluggish than usual.

Kate knew that there had been nothing poisonous spiking her drink, besides the alcohol, anyways, but she had drank several of them, trying to match Jackie’s own consumption. In the end, Kate had been unable to keep up with the other girl. Kate glanced at the empty glasses besides Jackie in admiration.

Jackie must have had some Mark or other enhancement to mitigate the alcohol, because even Kate was feeling some of the buzz.

Kate decided that she should probably avoid drinking any further, although this hardly prevented her from considering her own mostly empty tumbler with longing.

Well, she probably should stop drinking. But she struggled to imagine a scenario where it would matter if she had just one more. She waved back to the bartender and indicated that she was ready for another.

While that happened, she turned her attention to watch the last of the remaining under-things from the last batch. This one was an interesting one, in that these were more aggressive and plentiful. Ordinarily the fighters fielded thus far would have been unable to put up even a modicum of a fight. But mixed in with the dregs were a few borderline incompetent fighters, as opposed to outright incompetent ones. This increased quality enabled the fighters to coordinate and somewhat corral the under-things against one of the gates to the Pit.

“-what’s this? Could it be?-” Jan started to comment on the Opals actions.

“-I think it is, Jan-”

“-wonder why thought?-” Jan kept going.

“-maybe explain for the audience?-” Jen suggested.

“-well, it seems the Opals are pulling a classic blockade this Turnover,” Jan explained. “I’m just wondering why they would though-”

“-eh… maybe they don’t like their chances tonight?-”

“-they were never going to actually succeed tonight though, and we all know that. Gods, even the audience knows that-”

“-hey! We protest that very much, thank you-”

“-you know I love you guys-”

“-and girls-”

“-yes, and girls-”

“-but their chances?-”

“-not great, like I was saying-”

“-maybe they wanna make the Garnets work for it?-”

“-eh… maybe?” Jan pondered.

“-or maybe they think they can actually win? I mean, I like their confidence, but… that’s not gonna happen. At least, I’m not thinking so…”

“-pffft,” Jan snorted, making a gross and wet farting sound that everyone heard. “As if. They only have four fighters left registered. The Garnets’ll beat them hands down. This is more of a–what do you call it?” Jan snapped their fingers.” That’s it! Collusion! Who’s turn is it after the Garnets next week anyways? ...”

Funnily enough, a lot of booing was coming from the crowd. In fact, the only corner of the crowd that was making any other sound besides loud and derisive boos was the section of the Pits associated with the Opals.

The blockade was a fairly common strategy, if embarrassing for the Opals. The under-things had been pressed against the side of the Pits where the Garnets would be emerging from, meaning they would have to fight and possibly be softened up by the creatures before fighting for the actual Turnover.

The leader of the Garnets was standing and brooding with their arms crossed. Their face was an unhealthy red, not helped by their pockmarks and greasy complexion.

“-you know, that might be what’s happening?-” Jan suggested a scenario. “-they plan to cost the Garnets a bit more up front, you know, soften them up a bit for whoever’s coming next. Do we have any rules against that in the book?-”

“-what book?-” Jen replied.

They paused for a moment before laughing even harder.

“-hey! Hey, look at the crewboss of the Garnets! He’s so mad!-”

“-rawr, angry-”

The Garnet bossman’s face turned crimson and he stomped back into the Garnet’s booth.

The laughter and commentary continued for a few more minutes until a quiet hush fell over the crowd, anticipatory silence that seemed to be spreading by some sixth or seventh sense belonging to the crowd. Kate herself was grinning in anticipation for the upcoming spectacle, and more importantly, for the scrap she had planned after.

It was at that point that the Opal’s gate opened once more, but this time rather than dregs, four veterans stepped through. These wore a mix-mash of armor, giving them a leg-up on the rags that the previous ‘fighters’ had worn.

“-and here we have the Opals!” Jan narrated the new entrants. “As we mentioned earlier, only four of the originally submitted five remain. The bookies gave them four to one odds that they would go down swinging tonight, despite the blockade. I don’t know if that changed their chances any-”

“-officially? I checked with the bookies a bit ago and they said nothing has changed. Also, I’m supposed to remind everyone that they can still make their last minute bets!-”

“-ha! Careful with the betting guys. Would hate to see ya end up fighting down there if ya bet more than ya can lose-”

“-shh! We aren’t supposed to say that!-”

“-please. Our audience knows what they’re about. Besides, even if they did end up down there, someones got to. And if they’re smart about it, at least not too dumb, I’m sure they’d turn out fine-”

“-you know, you’re probably right-”

“-course I am! And there’s a big ol pot of Cee for anyone that makes it three Turnovers…”

“-what’s that pot up to, anyway?-”

“-I think a few thou? Enough to buy their way outta the slums, that’s for sure-”

“-for sure-”

“-so, where are the bookies taking these last minute bets at?-”

The actual fighters, the ones that belonged to the Opals, actual crewmembers, with actual fighting experience, were carrying themselves as fighters were wont to do. They bore their pearlescent armbands with pride, a marked difference from the rest of the gaggle that had been fighting previously, and that were now holding the under-things in an uneasy grouping against the Garnet’s gate.

Jacke started to ask a question, but Kate shushed her.

“It’s about to get good,” Kate explained. “Just watch, yeah?”

“This leaves me unsatisfied,” Jackie said, her eyes narrowing a tad. “Are you unwilling, then, to explain what happens from here?” The fact that Jackie remained uncowed by Kate was admirable, but only in moderation. Currently, the trait was irksome.

“It’s Turnover,” Kate said with a groan. It really was self-explanatory. Or it should have been. Kate considered that a person unfamiliar with the Pits might not know all of what that entailed.

The entire night, Jackie and Kate had shared the booth with other viewers, those that had the Chargers to burn, the affluent of the slums, if they existed, or more likely, bored merchants looking for excitement. Regardless, by this point in the evening, most of them were drunk. The man that interrupted Jackie and Kate’s discussion proved no exception.

“The Garnets will attempt taking the floor,” a drunk to Jackie’s left, butting into a conversation of which he had no business joining. Some spittle flew from his mouth, flecks landing on the balcony before Jackie. She slowly withdrew herself from where the spittle had landed.

Kate’s own nostrils flared and she found her hand clenching about the hilt of her sword.

Jackie reached out and placed a gentle hand against Kate’s flexed arm.

Kate might have enjoyed that, if not for the unwelcome conversational participant.

“Perhaps I may gain some insight from you, then,” Jackie said, speaking now to the intrusive drunk. “Those men below appear to be more valuable to the gang than the previous fighters. What incentive do they have in joining combat? Especially as they likely understand their deaths to be imminent?”

“Same as always, ain’t it?-” From the cut of his clothes, he definitely was not merchant stock. Probably some relatively well-to-do criminal from within the slums, then. The man belched, interrupting himself, before continuing. “-claim, ‘course.”

“I see,” Jackie said. “May I presume that whichever Crew supplies combatants also receives a cut of the Pits’ revenues?”

Kate shrugged but nodded all the same while glaring at the man and daring him to speak again.

One of the man’s friends on his other side did a double take when seeing the menace that Kate was sending. The man’s friend quickly grabbed the drunk and pulled him away, putting the more sober friend between Jackie and the drunk. The drunk protested, but the words were drowned out be the sudden cheers.

“-And here we are, folks!” Jan shouted.

“-it looks like it’s time for the GARNETS to enter the floor! Lets see just what treat they’ve planned for us tonight!-”

The gates to the far side of the Opals were opening.

As that was the same side in which the under-things had been cajoled, the moment the grates lifted more than a few feet, the creatures were rushing under the metal bars to either escape or attack whoever they found in the tunnels.

It would hardly work, of course. The tactic was fairly common, and the Garnets would have come prepared for it.

Sure enough, less than two minutes later the five Garnets emerged, sporting similar mismatched armor, but this time dressed in yellow to show their allegiance.

An announcer was narrating most of the upcoming fight, but Kate was ignoring that. Finally, there was actual combat happening, not just mindless slaughter.

Of course, the Opals were bound to lose. The last Turnover, when the Opals claimed the floor, they had started with five competent fighters. One either died or backed out since then, however, as the Opals were now down to four. There was actually quite a bit of strategy and interplay happening outside of the actual fights, but that was always the case when something as dumb as Cee entered the picture and polluted the fight.

At least now there was a fight happening.

Kate was watching on with anticipation, sure to memorize each of the Garnets’ patterns and techniques, although doing so was second nature.

Never, during this time, did she allow her attention on her surroundings wane, and so when Jackie tensed with the entrance of the Garnets, Kate noticed. It made sense, considering the blood between her and them. If the Peacekeepers had been doing their jobs right then this whole thing between Jackie and the Garnets could have been avoided altogether. Not that it mattered much, at least not after tonight.

Soon, the battle was waged.

“-the Garnets are pushing through the center-”

The dregs went down first as the Opals attempted to push through during the distraction.

But the dregs were not so willing to die, and after the first few practically threw themselves onto the Garnets’ blades, that became abundantly clear ast to be the only result of their charge. About half of the dregs remained at this point, and they were hesitating.

“-certainly don’t recruit like they used to-”

The Opals’ shouted commands at the remainder.

But the remainder was cowed.

The Garnets seized the initiative, with four facing the Opals while the last kept the dregs off. The Opals put on a good show. Two fell quickly, but not without maiming one Garnet and dropping another.

“-is that two casualties for the Garnets?! My-oh-my! So far the Opals are making the Garnets bleed for it–”

“-wonder who paid the Opals off to risk their better fighters this way?-”

“-that’s right Jen, the Opals coulda just retreated after making a show of it-”

“-well, not after pulling that blockade-”

“-well, true. Bet they weren’t paid enough-”

“-oh I don’t know about that. The Opal boss seems pretty savvy normally-”

At this point several of the dregs ceased a perceived distraction and found their courage, charging the back of the Garnets ranks. Their spirit was in the right place, but they were too feeble, too slow, and too dumb. They actually shouted as they ran, giving away any degree of surprise they might have had, although them having any element of surprise was a long shot to begin with.

“-oooh, that was a good attempt, but too little too late, my friend–”

“-you were friends with that one?-”

“-of course, all the fighters are my friends-”

“-I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not-”

Less than two minutes later, the Opals had fallen, and only three Garnets remained standing. One had died during combat, and another was maimed and bleeding heavily, likely to follow soon after.

With the Garnets having claimed the floor, Kate gripped Jackie’s arm and gave it a friendly squeeze.

Jackie frowned. She might have been concerned.

Or perhaps, that was a quiver of excitement. Probably from the excitement, Kate decided.

“-and just like that, the GARNETS have seized the floor!-”

“-right you are, but I heard from the top that there’s a special surprise coming for them and all of us tonight. A sure treat, you can bet!-”

“-oh? Jan? Have you been holding out on us?-”

“-maybe I have, maybe I haven’t…”

The announcer was speaking again. Just words, again. Besides, Kate had a pretty good idea already just what surprise they were talking about.

“You’ve got your ribbon ready, yeah?” Kate asked to Kate, giving the other girl a quick lookover to make sure everything was ready.

Jackie frowned at the question.

“Yes, but may I ask–” Jackie started to question, but Kate cut the other girl up with actions, not words.

Kate smoothly scooped the smaller girl into a bridal carry, causing Jackie to make an unflattering noise of surprise.

“-No!” Jen said in mock-surprise. “They volunteered to challenge their claim?-”

“-That’s right! Checked with the big boss and everything! I guess the Garnets got on somebody’s badside tonight-”

“-that, or the volunteers are looking for a fight-”

“-could be. Let me see who it was that’s volunteering-”

“-or maybe they’re after the winners’ pot? Doubt the Garnets would just let that go though… think it’s another crew?-”

“-oh! Oh…” Jan said, laughter in his voice. “Oh, this is good. And no Jen, I don’t think this one’s about the pot. Take a look at this name-”

“-is that?-”

“-it is!”

With Jackie in her arms, Kate took an easy jump to balance on the balcony, before leaping off and landing yards below on the stairs. Her knees creaked just slightly, and her quads felt a tingle, but with how light Jackie was, and Kate’s own enhancements, the drop had been nothing worrisome.

She began running down the remainder of the stairs, carrying Jackie all the while.

“Put me down!” Jackie insisted, slapping at Kate’s arms as the crowds of the pits flew by, Kate mixing running and falling as she descended the uneven stairs and jumped ledges separating tiers of the crude benches. “I said, put me down!”

“Always a joker,” Kate said laughing.

They landed another level lower. Only a single drop remained to the Pit floor.

“I do not consent!” Jackie shouted, playing coy. “I do not! I will never forgive you if you do not cease this instant!”

Kate, of course, knew that Jackie was only playing coy. Likely, the surprise was too much, and Jackie was unsure of how to react. But that was fine. Kate would carry the extra weight until Jackie got her figurative, and literal, feet under her in the fight to come.

“-well, for those of you who don’t recognize that giantess with bluish blonde hair racing towards the floor-” Jen said, drawing all of the crowds attention to the pair.

“-let us present to you-”

“-Sir Kathrine Gaurdson!-”

“-also known as Sir Kate-”

“-more importantly, also known as… drum-roll please–”

Jen started rapping on the side of the mic, creating a poor imitation of a herald’s cry.

“-the daughter of our city’s esteemed Captain of the High Knights! Let’s give it up for her, and her… friend?-”

“-yeah, I’m not sure who that purple haired girl is. Think she’s good for a fight?-”

“-if she’s friends with Sir Kate, she must be-”

Kate took another leap, landing on the gore strewn gravel of the Pit.

The crowd roared in both surprise and eagerness for the additional bloodshed.

Jackie groaned in disappointment when Kate finally set Jackie down.

“This is not alright,” Jackie complained.