by J. Cee
“Who’s your master, demon? Who do you serve?” Aeri asked.
The demon stopped admiring the two rings that were now both adorning the same finger. Despite his eagerness to leave, Ceph was too confused to stay quiet.
“Does that even work? Two rings on one finger?” Ceph asked Aeri.
“No, it doesn’t. Demons can’t use Everborn equipment anyway,” Aeri said.
“Then, why—”
“They’re vain. They like jewelry. Quiet.”
The demon looked up at the sky. “My master? Hm. My master is dying to meet someone special. A girl born of a dragon. One who is Everborn, yet was not. They say she is accompanied by a handsome consort.” The demon squinted at Ceph. “I suppose handsome is subjective. You humans have far too small teeth, if you ask me.”
“The Word!” Ceph gasped.
Aeri stared at the demon. “Why would you let us leave?”
The demon flourished his new jewelry. “I have what I want. The master told me to find the Beastspawn and her consort. You two aren’t consorting, are you?”
“No. Maybe? What’s that mean?” Ceph asked.
Aeri gave Ceph a hard nudge. “Leave the demon to me.”
Ceph felt the tension in Aeri’s voice. He stayed silent.
“No, Ceph isn’t my consort. He’s a free traveler who happened to cross paths with me,” Aeri said to the demon.
The demon nodded. “As I thought. I’ve been unable to find the Beastspawn and her consort. I suppose I should keep searching. You know how this works.” A sharp laugh made Ceph wince.
The demon put the ringed index finger on its chin. “I did hear that there was going to be a tournament at the Gladiator Pits. It’s a shame that my kind aren’t allowed there.”
A red tongue snaked out of the demon’s mouth. “My master rewards me with Everborn flesh for a job well done. Never any trinkets, though.” The demon held up his finger. “I know! I can have both trinkets and Everborn flesh today!”
Ceph didn’t like the direction the conversation was going. “Let’s go, Aeri…” He pulled her away.
Aeri seemed to agree. “Farewell, demon.”
Without waiting for a reply, Ceph and Aeri walked away, then started sprinting as soon as they were out of sight. For the next five minutes, they checked for any signs of the demon’s pursuit, but there were none.
They slowed to a steady jog, changing directions as Aeri pointed north, back to the city. Ceph followed behind her.
“That demon serves the Word?” Ceph asked.
“Seems like it. Some high-ranked Everborn can summon and bind demons,” Aeri said.
“Why did it let us go?”
“Demons hate being enslaved. They’ve been known to betray their masters when the opportunity arises.”
“It must have known we’re against the Everborn? The enemy of my enemy?”
“Possibly.”
“So the Everborn are trying to kill us, some stranger is trying to test us, and demons are acting all weird around us?” Ceph threw up his hands. “I forgot, what about the spirit guardians? They were acting strange, too.”
“Yes. Yes, they were.”
Ceph saw Aeri’s face scrunch in thought. “What is it? No more secrets,” he reminded her.
“The demon, the spirit guardians, even the locust swarm. That’s not how they’re supposed to behave. Something’s changing. Something’s disturbed the natural order.”
“You?”
“That’s what I thought, too. But this doesn’t feel right. The Creator stirring up all of Creation? I think there’s something else.”
“The stranger you met?”
“We have to go to the tournament and find out who she is.”
“What about our rings? Can we do that challenge again?” Ceph hated losing a healing skill, right when they were about to walk into some kind of tournament.
Aeri shook her head. “No, we can’t run the same challenge twice. Besides, it’s too dangerous. I was already beginning to worry about the erratic spirit guardians. Now the Word’s hunting around challenge sites. We don’t have time to go further into the Wilds.”
“I can’t believe we lost the rings.” Ceph was relieved to escape the demon, but the loss still stung. All that effort to beat the challenge had been for nothing. “How can we get more equipment, then?”
“We’ll have to find another way. The Pits can help.”
“By fighting more Everborn?” Ceph’s earlier confidence fighting low-ranked Everborn had drained away after experiencing the power of the demon’s attack. “Is that safe at higher ranks?”
“Matches follow rules. Sometimes fighters bend the rules, but we’re less likely to come across surprises. The Gladiator Pits also attract better equipped Everborn, so we’re more likely to earn new skills. At least from the death matches. The tournament should have prizes for the winners, too.”
“Death matches… that doesn’t sound good. What if we lose? Don’t the Everborn have an advantage?”
“Not quite as large an advantage as you might think.”
“Oh?” Ceph looked up in surprise.
“The loser forfeits his equipment. For higher ranked Everborn, the loss of equipment isn’t trivial. Recovering lost equipment could take years, or in many cases, be impossible.”
Ceph flexed his bare right hand, rubbing his thumb over his naked index finger. “Like losing the rings just now. I guess that makes sense.”
“In the Gladiator Pits, everyone has something to lose.”
“That’s a cheery way to look at it. Will we be safe, though? Won’t we be surrounded by Everborn? What if someone is looking for us?”
“It’s not supposed to matter. Grudges, laws, everything else gets left outside the Pit. Still, we could take some basic precautions, like masking our faces.”
“Will that help? I look like a nobody, and you, well, you kind of stick out.” Ceph had seen skin spanning all the colors of the rainbow, but Aeri’s pale hue was one of the less common varieties.
Aeri shrugged. “Perhaps. We can also avoid two-on-two paired matches. They might be looking for a couple matching our description.”
Ceph didn’t like the thought of fighting on his own. He had been relying on Aeri for their most challenging fights. “I know! Why don’t you cut your hair short and disguise yourself as a young boy? I read a story about a girl in the North Line. She wrapped her chest—”
Ceph stopped mid-sentence. Aeri’s red eyes bore into him with a frightening intensity. “I am not cutting my hair. Or whatever else you propose.”
“Coil it up and put a hat on?” Ceph whispered.
“No.”
The fear of fighting in the tournament alone overcame any threat in Aeri’s voice. He had to keep trying. “But I’m not ready! I can’t fight by myself.”
“We’ll hunt a few Everborn for practice on our way to the Gladiator Pits. You can watch some of my matches first, too. I’m sure you’ll be ready. Ceph, you were making great progress.”
“I know, but… the demon.” Ceph shook his head at the memory. “I cast two shields, but it didn’t make a difference. I might as well have done nothing.”
“The matches are grouped by rank. They’ll be a lot fairer. Not that fights are ever truly fair.”
“What if someone has a skill I don’t know about, or some other trick, or has a higher rank than me?”
“Then you figure it out. That’s what I’ve been teaching you. Not a set of moves, but how to figure things out for yourself.”
That was easy for Aeri to say. The Creator had gifted her with knowledge. “Yeah, but you’re you. You know how to fight.”
“Look, I’m not dressing up as a boy, but how about you disguise yourself as a woman?”
Ceph caught something strange in Aeri’s tone.
“While we’ll be safe from the Word within the Gladiator Pits, we still need to sneak past the city guards manning the entrance,” Aeri continued with a growing enthusiasm. “I thin
k I have just the idea.”
Enthusiasm. That’s what it was. Aeri was never enthusiastic. Now Ceph was really worried.
Chapter 13
Thom swatted at a mosquito on the back of his neck while shifting from one foot to another. A pebble in his right boot had been bothering him all afternoon. The tight leather boots took forever to unlace, plus he knew he would struggle getting his sweaty foot out and back into the form-fitting footwear. He hated the boots, but the captain was big on appearances and insisted that his guards look their best. Thom glanced up to check the sun’s position and sighed. A few more hours until sunset, and then he’d be free for the night.
“Next! State your names and business,” Thom called out once more.
Two women approached. Thom blinked.
“Allie and Sophie, here to try our hand at combat.”
The one talking was a red-eyed pretty thing with silver hair. Her melodious voice tinkled with the air of amusement. Something danced at the edge of his memory, but Thom set the thought aside, licking his lips. The girl was dressed in a modest traveler’s tunic and pants, but Thom let himself imagine the lithe body underneath. It wasn’t as if he had much else to do while on guard duty.
Thom shifted his eyes to the second woman dressed in a light tan dress. He nearly choked. There was no way to mince words about it. She was ugly. Tangled long brown hair outlined course features. She had a large nose and wide mouth… was that hair above her lip? Disgusting. Thom had heard of strength potions with these kinds of side effects. To make it worse, a fly was buzzing around the matted hair of the hideous second woman.
“Go, go, go.” Thom waved impatiently at the gateway behind him. He needed to get that sight out of his head. A refreshing ale and a visit to the bawdy camp girls afterwards would freshen his mood.
Thom cursed under his breath as the two passed by him. He was accustomed to the smells of a traveling life, but the ugly one smelled especially putrid. He looked up at the sun again. A few more hours. A few more hours.
* * *
“So what’s it like being a lady?” Aeri whispered to Ceph as they passed through the wooden gates to the encampment.
“Can I take this off yet?” Ceph muttered, pushing the sticky clumps of hair out of his face.
“Not yet. There are people watching.”
“I can’t believe you convinced me to do this.”
“See, it worked, like I said it would.”
“Only because that guard was an idiot lecher. You can’t expect an Everborn to fall for this. Can we please get rid of this ridiculous scalp and dress now?” A bristle of matted hair kept tickling his cheek. Ceph brushed it away again.
“First, explain what lesson you learned.”
“That long hair is a pain?” Ceph scratched his sweaty neck.
“Nope. Feel free to keep wearing that outfit.”
“Okay, okay. That you’re a vengeful angel of death, and I should never cross you or your hair. Is that good enough?”
Ceph wasn’t quite exaggerating. They had killed several Everborn on the day-long trip to the gates of the Gladiator Pits. Aeri had coolly scalped a young woman’s Everborn corpse with a grim detachment that had unsettled Ceph.
“I suppose that will have to do,” Aeri said.
“What now?”
“We’ll watch some open matches. I might enter a few myself. You’ll see what it’s like, so you’re ready for your turn.”
Ceph shrugged. “Whatever.”
Aeri grabbed his hand and pulled him towards what looked like the bathhouses. “First, let’s get rid of this outfit and clean you up.”
* * *
After washing up, Ceph rejoined Aeri and they looked for the registration office. They wore simple cloth masks to hide the lower half of their faces. To Ceph’s surprise, they weren’t the only ones with such attire. Aeri explained that a place like the Gladiator Pits brought together all kinds of enemies, old and new. Discretion was prized here.
Ceph had also strapped a stuffed glove over his left wrist. The Everborn had perfect bodies. A missing hand would raise the kind of questions they wanted to avoid.
The Gladiator Pits was more of a large town than a collection of fighting pits. A massive stone wall marked its boundaries, where city law ended and Pit law began. Canvas tents and some more permanent wooden structures dotted a dirt clearing. Towards the center of the settlement, a number of arenas with steep walls had been dug into the earth, each spanning about thirty meters in diameter. The central pit was even larger, close to a hundred meters in diameter. Even now, a rowdy crowd surrounded one of the pits, shouting encouragements and insults at an ongoing match. Ceph made a face and turned away.
To the east were the campgrounds of the visiting fighters. Some fighters chose to sleep under the sky with their possessions close at hand. The more wealthy fighters set up large canopies and had servants tending to their needs. Ceph activated his Inspect skill and saw mostly red auras. A large black tent in the middle of the campground rose above all the others. A retinue of Everborn guards lined the perimeter of the tent of what must have been the most powerful individual in the Pits. That was the first time Ceph had seen Everborn guards anywhere. Most guards were regular people, useful for their eyes and ears rather than muscle.
Ceph tugged at Aeri’s sleeve. “Look. Some guy over there has Everborn guards. Wonder who that is?”
Aeri glanced in the direction that Ceph was pointing. “Probably the Pit Champion. Some Everborn spend all of their time here. Challengers, in turn, seek to test or to train with them. Those guards are probably the Pit champion’s disciples. Or biggest fans, depending on how you look at it.”
“These guys look serious. And we’re supposed to fight them?”
“Not yet. Matches are grouped by ranks. We’ll need to advance quite far before we’re ready to challenge a Pit Champion.”
“Challenge them?” Ceph looked even more worried now.
“You know we want to change all of Xero. Our enemy is the Tetramorph herself. We’re going to have to do a lot more than hunt down beginner Everborn.”
Ceph still wasn’t convinced about the “we” part. “I know. It’s just so daunting. I’m what, rank sixty? You’re rank sixty-five? I can’t even imagine what a Pit Champion can do.”
“You don’t need to imagine. I heard that some new challengers arrived recently. Everyone’s talking about it. There’s bound to be a Champion match soon. We won’t want to miss it.”
Ceph frowned. “A Champion match? Great. I”ll feel even more puny.”
“One step at a time, Ceph, and our next step is finding the registration office.”
Ceph looked around the encampment. Next to the campgrounds, Ceph saw hawkers peddling food and drinks, along with various supplies. He was confused for a moment. Everborn neither ate nor drank. They rarely used money and simply took what they wanted, with the stronger power prevailing. Then, Ceph realized that none of the people by the vendors had any auras. They were ordinary people. He looked around and realized that there was an even mix of the Everborn and the auraless.
“The west side,” Aeri said. “That wooden building looks official. Let’s check it out.”
As they walked to the building, Ceph asked, “Why are there so many ordinary people? Even as a Onceborn, I’m terrified. I can’t imagine what any sane person would do in a place like this.”
“I agree, but greed is blind to reason. See? Over there.” Aeri pointed to another set of smaller wooden buildings.
A long line of men and women were waiting to enter a building. There was something disturbing about the sight. Many of them were older with graying heads and bent backs. An empty hunger lingered in their eyes. What was this? Why were people like that here? People were leaving the building with slips of papers in their hands. Then, he saw that those waiting in line all clutched bags and satchels in tight grips. It reminded him of that one time he had stood in line to buy a ticket for the city’s lottery.
�
�Oh,” Ceph said.
“Wagons ferry the desperate and elderly here from the First and Second Zones for free. People bring their family holdings or what little they can scrape together to bet on the matches. Many of them are in debt and addicted to gambling.”
Ceph stared at the people, his stomach roiling. “I hate the Everborn.”
“No one’s perfect. Vices always exist. But the Everborn seem to bring out the worst. They corrupt everything they touch.”
A memory of torture flashed in Ceph’s mind. For a moment there was rage, then fear. No matter how much the Everborn disgusted him, deep inside, he was still scared. Part of him wanted to run away and hide forever, even if that meant leaving others to their fate.
“I want to change all this, like you do. But I’m not a dreamer. I know exactly what the Everborn can do. What they’ve done to me.”
Ceph looked away from the line in front of the betting house. Aeri put a hand on his shoulder as they walked in silence. They arrived at what appeared to be the main official building.
Aeri motioned for him to stop. “I’ll go inside and see what’s happening. Wait here.”
Ceph grunted, conflicting emotions still swirling inside him. He leaned against the outer wall of the building, standing in its shade as people passed by.
Inspect. The path in front of Ceph transformed into a river of red auras mixed together with ordinary people. He spotted an occasional orange or yellow aura. He didn’t see a single green aura in the crowd.
Ceph clenched his fist. Even as a Onceborn, he was the weakest one here. He needed to get stronger. With more power, he wouldn’t have to be afraid. Only power mattered in the Everborn world.
As Ceph continued people watching, he did manage to spot two green auras eventually. Then, Aeri came out of the building and tapped his shoulder.
“Good news,” Aeri said.
Ceph gave her a curious look. “Hm?”
“The tournament’s been delayed. It’ll start in one week. The tournament is grouped by ranks. There’s an under one hundred tier, under two hundred tier, under three hundred tier, and unrestricted tier. Since we’ll compete in the first tier, that gives us an extra week to reach just under rank one hundred.”