There Can Be Only One
Posted: Fri May 31, 2024 5:37 pm
12 Ashan 724
It was only a matter of time until Edasha's son grew tired of the hoops he was jumping through because he'd made a drunken bet. One trial, he'd be fed up with it all. That was not this trial though.
The Bronze Boar was hosting a unique competition and Azrael caught wind of it while sizing up the bottles in the bar to try and find one for his collection. Collection was a loose term. He wanted to start filling the shelf space in his ship with fancy bottles. He'd keep the actual supply for drinking in the storage spaces and bring it out after people picked the fancy bottle. It was a strange thing. He had a tavern sitting on a boat and he could take it anywhere in the world... but it wasn't really a business for him. It was a hobby. It wasn't paying any bills or generating profit. It was self-sustaining... until Azrael decided to really get into the business- but if he did that he'd need to allocate a brawling area and figure out how to make tavern tokens.
Enough about the boat!
Azrael was in The Bronze Boar looking for a nicely made bottle of their white wines- specifically Ashan's Twilight and Saun's Heat. He thought it would be fun to style a shelf with drinks for each season. However after discovering that even if he purchased a bottle he'd be given a plain and entirely unremarkable one, Azrael was a little put out. It was very disappointing until he saw a small crowd shifting from the bar to the upstairs area.
Never one to miss out on a party, Azrael followed them up the old wooden steps.
He hadn't even wondered where the fighting ring was for The Bronze Boar until he saw it but in hindsight, he probably should have been looking. He only needed one more tavern token to get access to The Glass Quarter and then he'd be fighting in front of a whole different type of people. He was hoping they'd be softer due to their luxuries. Even better, he might be able to find fancy bottles. It was called the Glass Quarter after all.
When he reached the second floor he found the familiar atmosphere of all the other fighting rings. Drunk men and women were shouting bets back and forth at a bookie who seemed to be scrambling to keep everything in order. There were about five people stretching within the boundaries of the ring; a man with a goatee, a short woman with big hands, an ithecal with a tail, a hairy man, and a woman with no hair at all.
What is happening up here?
There was a small bar off to the side that Azrael leaned against to try and get a better look at what was happening. Only a trill or so after leaning against the bar, a voice chirped out at him. "Are you fighting? You're a little pretty for a fighter."
Azrael turned. It was the bookie. He must have seen Azrael coming upstairs. Azrael had to admit, he didn't mind being recognized but he wanted to scope it out first. "What's going on?"
"Owner's trying something new. Last brawler standing. Everyone fights at once. In or out?"
"Winner get a token?"
"Yeah, hurry up pretty boy, I need to take bets."
"Alright, I'll play."
"Good." The bookie turned and shouted "We have our sixth!" He turned grabbed Azrael's arm and hoisted it into the air, then gave the mortalborn a stiff push towards the fighting ring. Azrael stumbled forward towards the thin barrier between the crowd and the other five fighters. He hopped over it and landed on his feet. The other fighters didn't seem to regard him at all. They were all too focused on their warms ups to pay any mind to him- well everyone except the ithecal.
Azrael was pretty sure the ithecal winked at him.
The Bronze Boar was hosting a unique competition and Azrael caught wind of it while sizing up the bottles in the bar to try and find one for his collection. Collection was a loose term. He wanted to start filling the shelf space in his ship with fancy bottles. He'd keep the actual supply for drinking in the storage spaces and bring it out after people picked the fancy bottle. It was a strange thing. He had a tavern sitting on a boat and he could take it anywhere in the world... but it wasn't really a business for him. It was a hobby. It wasn't paying any bills or generating profit. It was self-sustaining... until Azrael decided to really get into the business- but if he did that he'd need to allocate a brawling area and figure out how to make tavern tokens.
Enough about the boat!
Azrael was in The Bronze Boar looking for a nicely made bottle of their white wines- specifically Ashan's Twilight and Saun's Heat. He thought it would be fun to style a shelf with drinks for each season. However after discovering that even if he purchased a bottle he'd be given a plain and entirely unremarkable one, Azrael was a little put out. It was very disappointing until he saw a small crowd shifting from the bar to the upstairs area.
Never one to miss out on a party, Azrael followed them up the old wooden steps.
He hadn't even wondered where the fighting ring was for The Bronze Boar until he saw it but in hindsight, he probably should have been looking. He only needed one more tavern token to get access to The Glass Quarter and then he'd be fighting in front of a whole different type of people. He was hoping they'd be softer due to their luxuries. Even better, he might be able to find fancy bottles. It was called the Glass Quarter after all.
When he reached the second floor he found the familiar atmosphere of all the other fighting rings. Drunk men and women were shouting bets back and forth at a bookie who seemed to be scrambling to keep everything in order. There were about five people stretching within the boundaries of the ring; a man with a goatee, a short woman with big hands, an ithecal with a tail, a hairy man, and a woman with no hair at all.
What is happening up here?
There was a small bar off to the side that Azrael leaned against to try and get a better look at what was happening. Only a trill or so after leaning against the bar, a voice chirped out at him. "Are you fighting? You're a little pretty for a fighter."
Azrael turned. It was the bookie. He must have seen Azrael coming upstairs. Azrael had to admit, he didn't mind being recognized but he wanted to scope it out first. "What's going on?"
"Owner's trying something new. Last brawler standing. Everyone fights at once. In or out?"
"Winner get a token?"
"Yeah, hurry up pretty boy, I need to take bets."
"Alright, I'll play."
"Good." The bookie turned and shouted "We have our sixth!" He turned grabbed Azrael's arm and hoisted it into the air, then gave the mortalborn a stiff push towards the fighting ring. Azrael stumbled forward towards the thin barrier between the crowd and the other five fighters. He hopped over it and landed on his feet. The other fighters didn't seem to regard him at all. They were all too focused on their warms ups to pay any mind to him- well everyone except the ithecal.
Azrael was pretty sure the ithecal winked at him.
