I ended up heading towards the Wandering Inn, as I didn’t want to make myself seem like a good target for any thieves.

Walking in, I went and spoke to the girl behind the food bar, who I noticed was human, not tigerkin, “Hello, I’m looking for a room, are you the innkeeper?”

“No, I’m Lyon, the barmaid, you need Erin,” she explained, pointing behind me towards another human girl that I hadn’t noticed before, who was sitting at a table chatting with the customers.

Going to the table, I asked, “Are you Erin, the innkeeper of this place?”

“That’s me,” she said, getting up and excusing herself from the conversation, “What can I do for you?”

“I would like to rent a room here.”

“No problem,” Erin said brightly, “We’re fairly empty right now.”

“Right this way,” she said, leading me upstairs to the second floor. My room was just a couple doors down from the stairs.

“Would you like to take your meals in your room, or in the common room downstairs?” Erin asked.

“In my room. How much will it cost to rent the room for just the night and to get food?”

“2 gold coins,” she said, “If you need something, I’m downstairs the entire night and Lyon is the first room on the right from the stairs.”

“Okay,” I said, paying her before going into my room and closing the door as she left.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and I opened it to see Lyon holding a tray of food, namely beef stew, and salad. Taking it from her, I closed the door again and took the tray over to the table in the corner of the room before quickly eating the food.

Picking up the tray, I brought it downstairs and gave it back to Lyon. After that was done, I went back to my room and went to sleep.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

* * * * . *

In the morning, I woke to the smell of bacon and sausage. My stomach rumbling at the smell, I went downstairs, yawning.

Stopping by the kitchen, I let Lyon and Erin know that I was awake and would take my breakfast in the common room before proceeding to sit at a table near the door.

A couple minutes later, I received a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and french toast from Erin.

Thanking her, I dug in, eager to get to the arena.

Leaving the inn, I headed towards the large arena which was visible throughout this half of the city.

There were market stalls set up near the entrance to the arena stands selling various concessions, from steak-on-a-stick to candy apples. There was even something that looked like popcorn.

Near the competitor's entrance, there were also vendors, but these were either healthier food items or the typical “strengthening” elixirs and oils. I ignored these people as I walked through the entrance and into the admissions area.

“How do I sign up for the arena matches?” I asked the clerk manning the desk.

“What do you wish to sign up for?” he asked in response, “We have armed and unarmed matches, team and individual.”

“Unarmed individual combat,” I responded.

“Are you comfortable with fighting women?”

“Sure,” I said, shrugging.

“What do you prefer, fighting until submission or unconsciousness?”

“Either,” I responded, “It will be good fighting either way.”

“Are you planning on fighting in the main tournament tomorrow?”

“Yes, what else would I be signing up for?”

Clearly taking my question as rhetorical, the clerk filled out a form before speaking to me again, “You’re signed up for it, you just need to fill in your name on the form,” he said, sliding the paper across the desk.

After filling out my name, I slid it back to him, “Anything else I need to know?”

“You’re expected to show up at the free-for-all at three this afternoon,” he told me, “They will evaluate your ability, figure out the odds for betting and rank you on the charts.”

“I’ll be there.”

Leaving, I decided to go out of the city to hunt for a few hours before it was time for me to compete in the arena. Along the way, I saw a weaponsmith and bought a bronze dagger and a skinning knife. I also got a quest from the leather worker and butcher I saw along the way. Apparently, horned rabbit meat and hides were quite popular, due to it being considered rude to other races to kill and eat bears and wolves.

After getting the quests, I left the city.