The next morning felt different, a little sharper, and heavier with possibility. Sunlight cut through the Serpent's Coil windows in clean gold bars, catching on the new wyvern leather draped over the chair backs and the faint crimson glow still pulsing lazily in Alex's Flamefist Gauntlet. The air smelled faintly of smoke, sweat, and the lingering musk of last night's celebration.
Kaelith woke first, stretching like a great cat across the bed, claws flexing against the sheets she had already shredded in places. Her tail curled lazily around Mara's ankle while her amber eyes fixed on Alex.
"Master," she rumbled, voice still gravel-rough. "We have coin now, real coin. It's time for us to stop sleeping in rented beds like common adventurers."
Mara stirred, manic smile blooming the instant her eyes opened. She rolled over Kaelith's back, kissed the beastkin's shoulder, then crawled up to nuzzle Alex's neck.
"She's right, hero," Mara whispered, fingers tracing the fresh red lines Kaelith's claws had left on his chest the night before. "A house, our house. Somewhere we can lock the door, chain the windows, and fuck until the walls shake without innkeepers listening."
Alex chuckled low, hand sliding down to grip Kaelith's hip possessively. "A house," he agreed. "Something defensible and peaceful. Big enough for… more, later, and also close enough to the labyrinth gates so we don't waste time traveling."
Kaelith's tail thumped once against the mattress. "And soundproofed. I want to scream without the whole floor knowing."
Mara giggled, already scrambling off the bed to pull on her chain shirt. "Then let's go look. I want to see our pretty bitch chained to a bedpost in her own room."
They dressed quickly, armor left light today, weapons sheathed but close. Breakfast was bread, cheese, and smoked meat gulped standing while they planned.
By mid-morning they were walking the quieter residential streets of Eldoria's mid-tier districts—stone houses with iron-bound doors, small courtyards, roofs of red tile or slate. Not the noble manors of the upper wards, not the crumbling tenements of the docks, but solid, respectable places where adventurers, merchants, and minor guild members lived.
A wiry human woman in a practical gray cloak met them outside a row of three-story townhouses. She carried a heavy ledger and a ring of keys that clinked like coins.
"Name's Lira," she said, sizing them up with a merchant's eye. "Ahh, You're the ones who've been clearing floors fast, word travels fast you know. Looking for something permanent now?"
"Something ours," Alex replied. "Defensible and peaceful with room for three. Maybe more later. And most importantly close to the eastern gate."
Lira nodded, already walking. "Follow me. I've got three that might suit."
The first was narrow, two stories, cramped courtyard barely big enough for a training dummy. Kaelith wrinkled her nose. "It's too small. I'd break the walls just by stretching."
The second had a good-sized yard and thick stone walls, but the roof leaked and the stairs creaked ominously. Mara poked at a damp spot on the ceiling. "No. I want to be able to scream without the neighbours thinking we're being murdered."
The third house stopped them cold.
Three stories of dark gray stone, iron-barred windows on the lower floors, a small walled courtyard with room for a sparring ring and a fire pit. Heavy oak door reinforced with steel bands. A second-floor balcony overlooked the street, perfect for watching the gate traffic. Inside: open main room with a massive hearth, three good-sized bedrooms upstairs, a cellar that could double as an armory or… other things. The roof was slate, solid, and with no leaks. The walls were thick enough to muffle even Kaelith's howls.
Mara ran her fingers along the hearth mantle, manic smile wide. "This one. This is ours."
Kaelith prowled the courtyard, tail swishing, claws tapping stone. "I can chain someone to that post and no one would hear them scream."
Alex looked at Lira. "Price?"
Lira consulted her ledger. "It will cost you just One hundred gold. Since Owner's leaving the city and he needs coin fast, but he is not desperate enough, so no haggling below that."
Alex's jaw tightened. One hundred gold.
They had just under forty gold in coin after yesterday's sales and today's minor expenses. Even selling every scrap of spare loot they carried wouldn't bridge the gap.
Kaelith growled low. "We're short."
Mara's smile flickered, only for a second, then steadied. "We'll get it."
Lira closed the ledger with a snap. "Thought you might be. There's a way."
She leaned against the doorframe, casually. "You know about the fighting pits in the Iron Ward. There is a big tournament that's gonna start tomorrow night. It's open bracket so anyone can enter. And the prize purse for the winner is: one hundred and fifty gold, plus a title that gets you free entry to the labyrinth's premium floors for a year. Second place still clears eighty gold. You three look like you can handle yourselves. Enter, win and buy the house, simple", she explained with a cunning smile
Alex met Kaelith's eyes. The beastkin's grin was slow, sharp, canines flashing.
"I like it," she rumbled. "Blood money for our den."
Mara's manic smile returned full force, eyes shining. "We fight, we bleed and we win. Then we come back here, chain the doors, and celebrate until the sun rises again."
Alex looked at the house solid, quiet, and waiting then back at Lira.
"Tell the owner to hold it," he said. "We'll be back with the gold."
Lira nodded once, satisfied. "I can take you to get registered right now."
XXXX
Lira led them through Eldoria's twisting back streets toward the Iron Ward, the district where the city's bloodiest entertainment thrived. The air grew thicker here, smoke from forges, the tang of sweat and old blood, the distant roar of crowds. Lanterns hung low, casting red and orange light across scarred stone walls and iron-barred windows. The deeper they went, the louder the pulse of the city became: hammers on steel, drunken cheers, the sharp crack of whips.
The fighting pits sat at the ward's heart, a sunken amphitheater of black stone and rusted iron, half-buried like a wound in the earth. Massive braziers burned at each corner, spitting sparks into the night sky. Iron cages lined the outer walls, some empty, some holding chained fighters, humans, orcs, beastkin, even a scarred troll gnawing on a bone. Banners of crimson and black snapped overhead, emblazoned with the sigil of the Iron Ring: a clenched fist wrapped in barbed chain.
Lira stopped at the main gate, guarded by two armored bruisers in spiked plate. She flashed a bronze token and nodded toward the trio.
"New entrants," she said. "They want to compete in the open bracket."
One guard eyed Kaelith's greataxe and Alex's Flamefist Gauntlet, then grunted. "Registration's inside. Rules are simple: no poison, no magic that kills spectators, and no outside weapons unless approved. Winner takes the purse. Loser takes the pain. Entry fee's ten silver per fighter. Solo bracket only, no teams."
Alex paid without hesitation, twenty silver gone for himself and Kaelith. The guard waved them through.
Inside, the air was hotter, heavier, reeking of oil, sweat, and roasted meat from vendor stalls. A wide tunnel led to the arena floor, but Lira turned them toward a side chamber: the registration hall. Rough wooden tables lined the walls, clerks scribbling names in heavy ledgers. Fighters waited in line, scarred men and women, beastkin with filed claws, even a pair of elves with matching curved blades.
A grizzled half-orc with a missing ear sat behind the main desk. He looked up as they approached, tusks glinting.
"Names and style," he grunted.
"Alex. Longsword and fire gauntlet."
"Kaelith. Greataxe and claws."
The half-orc raised a brow at Kaelith and said in a monotone. "Solo bracket. No support. No healer. You fight alone. No hiding behind a staff-witch."
Mara's manic smile flickered for a heartbeat, but she stepped back gracefully. "I'll watch from the stands. Cheer loud enough to make the walls shake."
The half-orc scribbled their names. "Open bracket starts tomorrow dusk. Single elimination. Thirty-two fighters. Winner gets one hundred and fifty gold purse, plus a year's free pass to premium labyrinth floors. Second place takes eighty gold. Third gets thirty. Crowd favorites get extra tips from the stands."
Alex leaned forward. "How many fights to win it all?"
"Seven if you reach the finals. Most drop before the semis. Rules: no killing unless the other yields or the crowd demands it. Yield by tapping out or going limp. Referees stop it if someone's unconscious. Prizes paid in gold coin at the end of the night."
Kaelith's tail lashed once. "Crowd demands death?"
"Sometimes," the half-orc said with a shrug. "If the loser's a coward or cheats. But most just want blood, not bodies."
Mara giggled softly, pressing close to Alex's side. "We'll give them blood."
The half-orc slid two bronze tokens across the table, each stamped with a fist and chain. "These get you into the fighters' tunnel tomorrow. Show up early. Warm-up cages are open from noon. First match at dusk. Don't be late."
They took the tokens and stepped back into the tunnel.
Kaelith cracked her knuckles, claws clicking. "Easy fights and easy coins."
Mara leaned in, voice low and teasing. "You and hero fight tomorrow night, claw-slut. And when you two win… we buy the house. Then we chain you to the bedpost to celebrate."
Alex gripped Kaelith's braid, yanked her close enough to kiss her snarling mouth.
"Tomorrow, we bleed," he said, voice low. "Tonight, we practice. Hard. Until you can't walk straight."
Kaelith's grin flashed, sharp canines glinting.
Mara giggled, already tugging them toward the exit. "Let's go home, hero. You two have a tournament to win."
The Iron Pit roared behind them, crowd cheering some unseen match, blood already spilling on sand.
Tomorrow the tournament began.
And one hundred and fifty gold waited for the one who bled the most and stood last.
XXXX
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