Completed [The Spinning Coin] Where Opportunities Arise

[Kaie]

57th of Summer, 513 AV
22nd Bell

Now this was what she liked! Kaie smirked at the muscular man on the other side of the floor. He tore off his shirt and tossed it into the corner of the cage, grinning at her murderously. The Myrian girl just watched him coolly, eyeing the massive designs running across his chest and back. Pectorals heaved as each deep, excited breath caused his chest to rise and fall. The cheer of the crowd gathering around them was thunderous. Drunkards, merchants, and travelers alike were lined around the cage, all shouting obscenities at the fighters. Kaie knew the odds. She'd been to the Spinning Coin before for a cage match and performed pretty well. That didn't matter though. Her track record was short and slim. This match was entirely new. New opponent. New rules.

The Drykas man began shouting something in his language, making gestures before finally raising his fist to the crowd. More people began to congregate over to the edge of their cage to join in the betting. Somewhere over the shouts, Kaie knew bets were being placed. Probably mostly against her. It was about the money. It's always about the money. But it was the thrill too that lead her here to the ring. This was where she could feel the Goddess Queen's embrace. No matter how far from home, when battle came so did Myri. The cost of such a rush, whether it be pain or blood on her end, was all worth it. Priceless for just a taste of that burning. The blaze of her gnosis that let her know her Mother was there.

"Alright, you two! Get to it!"

There was no shaking of hands and wishes of luck. The Coin was not a place of sport. It was a place of money and gain. A place of risk. And nothing more. So both stared at the other and settled into their stances. Eyes were dark and focused.

Kaie lifted her hands into a guard as she fell into her stance. Feet shoulder width apart with her left foot as the lead. Knees bent and she shifted her feet a bit to prepare. The Drykas bounced a bit on his toes and chanted something she could not understand to the crowd. Then he pointed a finger at her and began shouting again. There were few words she knew in Pavi. All she caught was one: blood.

Oh, so you want to rile the crowd? Then let's raise the stakes...

Suddenly Kaie crouched lower in a feral growl, lip curled and teeth bared ferociously. Hands came apart at her sides, fingers curling like claws. Then she let out a wicked roar. The sort her clan used within the depths of the jungle in battle. It was a battle cry among her people. The signal to begin bloodshed.

"Goddess Queen, hear your daughter from the depths of these barbarian lands. I come to bring your wrath upon this world. I come to bring you the fruits of victory,"She snarled in her native, guttural language. Words naturally harsh were brutalized by her aggression. They were savage and hailing from mysterious place called Falyndar. To add to her image and turned to a section of the audience behind her who had their faces right up to the bars. Fingers gripping the cage as they cheered. Without warning she brought the sides of her fists upon them. The bars shuttered mightily under her force, rattling it wildly. The spectators leaped back in panic. After a moment when she turned her back they laughed, blowing off her intimidation tactic. No harm done. Only pure entertainment for them.

"Come on you, petching animals! Fight to the death!"

And just like that it began. Enemies began to glare at one another, the Drykas still smirking stupidly. Kaie couldn't wait to wipe it right off his face. She instinctively went for her gladius at her side absently. Of course her fingers tapped nothing but air. They had been stripped of their weapons before entering the ring. To change the pace of the matches, the Coin called for them to kill with their bare hands. Neither combatant voiced opposition. She was comfortable in her own skin. Confident. Kaie did not let uncertainty in the skill of her opponent worry her. Sure, nerves were there. As soon as they began her gnosis would burn and Myri would return to her. And then all that worry, all those nerves, will disappear. She just needed to focus.

I'm going to bury you....

[Kaie]

Without further ado, the Drykas charged forth. With a cry he raised his fist with in intent of driving an easy blow into her skull.

Petching idiot...

Kaie swiftly lifted her foot and drive it right into his hips. Like clockwork he was forced to lean over to make way for her foot. Perfect for her to drive her elbow down upon his exposed shoulder blade, once, then twice. That is until he finally recovered and bear hugged around her arms. With a snarl, Kaie tried to drive her knee into him to get him to release. Her efforts proved futile and before long he had driven her down into the floor. Her back smashed against the stage with the massive force of the man's body. She cried out but he was moving before she could catch him. The Drykas straddled her and wrapped his large hands around her neck. An attempt to squeeze the life right out of her. A quick end to their fight.

The gnosis of her Goddess burned passionately, and Kaie was quick to react. She moved her own bronzed hands to wrap her fingers around his prying wrists. Then like lightning, she tore them off her throat, plucking them successfully outward. With no way to balance his torso, the Drykas immediately dropped in toward her. Prepared for such a reaction, Kaie turned her head to avoid him. Then she wrapped one leg around his, gripped his shoulder, and bucked her hips up and over.

The Drykas flipped over her shoulder promptly with a surprised expression. He rolled out of it unscathed, but at least the Myrian had distance. She rocked her feet back toward her head before shooting them forward and over. Her body flipped up back onto her toes just in time to face her infuriated adversary. After taking a moment to regain her balance and wring the oncoming soreness from her arms, Kaie prepared to engage again.

The man raced forward yet was prepared for her instinctive kick. Her parried and moved to drive his fist into her throat. Kaie somehow ducked beneath it just in time, and twirled so her back was to him. Delivering a well timed elbow behind her before pivoting outside his body shakily. He yelped and bared his teeth. Coming forward with wild punches and surprisingly speed. All the while the crowd cheered, some demanding both ends pick up the intensity. Making the games more and more deadly...

[Kaie]

Their limbs were flying in some sort of sick choreography of violence. Punches and kicks were thrown all about, some landing and others missing. They were almost evenly matched, for she knew the Drykas was certainly a man more adapt with a bow than just his fists. Kaie on the other hand was right in her element. Hand-to-hand combat was her first introduction into a world of fierce battle. Weapon came only after she proved competent in unarmed warfare, and even then it was still a constant build.

Enraged with bloodthirsty vengeance, the horse clansman swung a wild haymaker with all his might right at her. The Myrian simply ducked under it and smashed her fist right into his diaphragm. He let out a choking noise and swung his same elbow back at her. The tip nicked her but his moment of weakness worked to her advantage. Instead she hopped toward his back, pummeling him and lighting him up from behind. Her punches were a little slower than she would've liked. Some thought was there and she worked to make them timed.

One, two, three

He twirled in to meet her fist to his face. Blood spurted from his mouth and he had a go of his own. He went for a low hook that stung her ribs. It practically stung her, and she could feel the bruise already forming there. A deep black and blue patch. It caused her to go on the defensive. Her guard pulled in and she tried to ward off his angry flurry of fists. Another one came and rocked off her forearm. Then he tried to open her up. His fist went for her skull in a straight punch, but Kaie blocked it with her perpendicular forearm. She then struck her palm heel right into his throat.

He fell back with a wheeze and stumbled before regaining himself. Kaie watched him, waiting for him to make the rash move she knew he would. And he did. After a moment of recollection, he came at her with a cry. A final attempt and crushing the Myrian. He was met with just as much brutality as before.

Kaie hurled her fist into his gut before he had reached her, side stepping under his strike to his back. He was blinded by his own anger and pain. He was reckless and more inexperienced than she. Above all he wasn't a close combat fighter. He was the type to sit back on a horse and fire arrows at a distant target. Did he think just because he was a man and she a woman this fight would be a cake walk?

She then sent a low strike into his lower back. His spine arched toward her reflexively just as she expected. Her arms reached up toward the man's neck. Right around around the throat and the left folding over her wrist. She stepped back furiously when she had him, bringing him down where he'd essentially hang himself in her arms. He struggled and once or twice she had to readjust herself and fight for her hold. Petch was he strong!

She sat back toward the ground moving with her momentum. As soon as she was down, she wrapped both her legs around his upper arms, holding them down so he can't use them to fight her. His legs kicked free a few times and he sputtered and choked under her grasp. After much flailing and wheezing of Pavi words she hardly understood, the Drykas man began to weaken. Finally, his struggles became pathetic and his body fell limp in her grasp.

The roar of the crowd mixed with angry cries of gamblers who picked the wrong side filled the Spinning Coin. She fed their applause, trying to win the purse she won for herself. They seemed to like the foreign savagery she played up before. The image drew them in. Her battle for survival was just entertainment for them. She'd play the character they all came to see and root for.

She stood up with her arms still locked around his throat. One arm lifted to the crowd and she let out savage roar that could only come from the depths of the jungle. Her chest heaved with excitement and tiredness. Muscles worn and bruised from her fight. Then she took her hands around the man's chin and twisted it sharply. A sickening crack was heard as his neck snapped and a thunderous cheer filled the entire area. She dropped the body, letting the corpse hit the stage with a thud. The cage doors opened and Gene Duval was standing there grinning at her triumphantly. This was the second time she'd brought in a crowd for him, and she'd made him a richer man for it. And in turn herself. Paid in bruises, aches, and coin. The Myrian woman was not yet satisfied, though. She felt a bit cheated. With all the jeering and trash talk, the Drykas had proven mediocre. She hardly had to strain herself to beat him. Kaie was promised it was a competitive fight with a fighter of great record. Was this some sort of set up or was it that easy to score victories around here? In the long run it hardly mattered. At least she'd have her Mizas.

Gene led her out of the arena, keeping the crowd at bay whether they be angry or thrilled with her performance. He handed her a cool, wet cloth which she used to wash her sweat from her body. Suddenly he turned her and pointed at the booths near the bar.

"Third one from the wall. He's here to see you," Gene whispered loudly into her ear trying to combat the natural noise of the place. With a nod, Kaie followed his directions and headed that way. When she reached the booth, she slid into it coolly. Facing her was a human with messy brown hair but a business expression. He was calm and collected, eyeing Kaie as she sat there. Knowing she would come as if he had waited there for her for some time.

"Not bad, Kaie. I am again impressed with your efforts," The man said in a gruff tone, an eyebrow raised at her.

"Might I ask how you know my name?"

[Kaie]

"People talk. And then I saw you at the Fighters Pit. Several times there actually, and then I saw your cage match with the Dhani, Eypharian, and the Kelvic. You appear to be a creature of habit, Kaie. You really haven't been a very hard woman to find when you're within the walls," The man said judiciously with a shrug, leaning in toward her a bit now that she had joined him. He raised a brow at her and shrugged. Of course his answer had lit a fire to her curiosity rather than satiated it. It left her only with more questions. Questions she felt felt she deserved the answer to.

"You've been following me. What for?" She said as a fact rather than an accusation. She folded her arms across her chest waiting for some sort of explanation. What reason did he have for pulling her all this way to a little booth in the Coin anyway?

"Like I said. People talk. I've done a lot of studying and from what I've heard you're exactly who I'm looking for."

"Guess that depends on if you believe what people say."

"Well they say a pair of Myrians, a ghost, and a Kelvic ambushed a slaver caravan earlier this season. I've heard the employer's dog got clipped by your fellow savage too." His voice was hushed but his words were steady. Certain. Worse, they were true. At least she knew the first bit was. The second came as a surprise though she never let a glimmer of anything but neutrality cross her face. She hadn't a clue how the bastard found out about their little adventure in the woods. Probably one of the barbarians from Razkar's employer's personal team couldn't keep his petching mouth shut.

"I'm sure he deserved it," Kaie replied objectively, affirming her loyalty to Razkar and his decision if he did indeed kill Ekvan. The barbarian was a bastard and a traitor to begin with. Whatever reason he had for killing him was good enough for her.

"Kaie, I have a job for you. Only you," He said meaningfully, eyeing her carefully to gauge her reaction. He seemed to need her to understand how specific she was to whatever he had in mind.

"You said you've heard all about my team. I'm sure any one of them are just as reachable to be your little errand boy."

"Wrong. Your Myrian friend is more capable than you are...But he looks exactly like what he is. A savage. Other than your clothes you're not so obvious. No tattoos. No unusual piercings. I need you to go somewhere he won't be able to so easily."

"Alright. And where would that be?" Kaie asked slowly with a bit more interest. Of course she didn't like the idea of being perceived as a potentially lesser Myrian than her counterpart, she could see how he could see that advantage. It was an advantage that kept her where she was. She could go relatively unnoticed to those unfamiliar with her world. Without the clothing, she could potentially pass herself off as a barbarian to the unskilled eye. Suddenly, he had her interest.

"North. If you couldn't travel, you wouldn't be here. I know you leave the city at dusk when you're not in the tavern. I know you know how to survive in a cage just as well as you can in the forests. Now I'm going to get up and walk out of here. Count to ten and follow if you're interest," He said suddenly with a cool voice. And then the shady man was up and out of the booth. Within a few strides he was out and into the crowd head toward the door.

She was so taken back by the suddenness of his departure, she almost forgot to count. Yet when the time came, Kaie did delay herself those ten seconds. And then she was after him. Casual and careless, she stopped by Gene to collect her earnings, thanked him, and then eased through the crowd. When she finally exited the place it was dark. Pitch black and largely empty. Out across the walk she could see the silhouette of the man moving toward the docks. A place where it seemed clear. Without further debate, she headed toward him.

Finally he stopped and when she reached him she found a man with skin as dark as chocolate holding the reigns of a beastly horse. A monster of black from head to toe. It was almost difficult to make out in the night. It snorted deeply and nodded its head impatiently, causing the caretaker to struggle with his hold on the reins. A stunning Nightwalker. A rare mount found in Syliras that was almost impossible to come by. It wouldn't be hard to distinguish one who rode this beast. Kaie's eyes went wide with both surprise and admiration for the creature. It was a fine mount and one she had never set eyes on before. It was finely toned with bulky muscles but yet it was intense with intelligent eyes. The Myrian woman turned to the man with raised eyebrows, hoping that though he couldn't see much in the dark, he'd know he had captured her intentions now.

"The mount of my employer's most hated enemy. He'd been hunted before but it took some time to track the rider and kill him. You know what they say. Third time's a charm. Anyways, my employer lives in Ravok and demands the horse as proof of a job well done. I have further business here in Syliras. I want you to take this horse to the outskirts of Ravok to be delivered," He said firmly, watching the horse himself and folding his arms across his chest. The job seemed too easy. Far too easy. They had to have been more to it than that, right? Besides how was it even going to benefit her?

"What's in it for me?"
"My employer is a rich man, Kaie. This bounty is priceless to him and as such he'll reward you handsomely in gold.

"Sounds too easy for me. What's the catch? Why aren't you giving him the petching thing yourself?" She said tersely, distrusting him immediately. No man, especially a mercenary, would deny such an easy deal. What was this man's reason?

"I knew you'd ask. My employer collects people like he collects heads and gold. He has some investments outside Ravok that need people. People of skill he can trust. In addition to slaying his nemesis, he's also taxed me with the job of finding mercenaries to...Check up on his stakes. A simple job for you. True to my word, I must stay here another season and recruit what I can though I dare say it's been slow. Your character and your skills seem promising enough. I suppose for the good of your pockets you'll just have to trust me. Do you accept?" He said slyly with a grin she could hardly see in the darkness. Though she wasn't so sure it was the kind of smile she could trust. His voice was serious, genuine, and grave. It wasn't enough to curb her apprehension though. That he seemed to pick up on too, for right when he asked her the more pressing question, he held on his hand for a shake. In the other he cradled a small pile of Mizas in offering to her. A prepay for her services.

"Bring the horse to Ravok and mercenary for your boss? Fine. I accept. But if you double cross me I promise you I'll find the means in this life or the next to tear your petching head off your shoulders," She answered seriously though she couldn't help but smile at her new prospects. Her hand reached out to clasp his, giving him a firm shake. He patted her shoulder satisfied and dropped the coins into her open hand.

"Now that's the spirit! So you'll leave tomorrow night for Ravok. Ronzdo here will have the horse ready for you at the stables when you go. You have until the end of Fall to get there. No later. Understand?"

"Perfectly," She affirmed before they released hands and stepped away from one another.

"Good. Now you'll find a map of the terrain and a black dot outside Nyka. It's a village on the outskirts there where you'll be received by a friend of mine. He'll know you're coming. You'll find a letter from my employer with more detailed instructions for when you reach Ravok. It's been a pleasure, Kaie," He said evenly as he departed from her. Leaving the Myrian woman alone and a bit bewildered with the long journey ahead of her. One she would hardly have the time to prepare for. Yet finally she could get outside the walls for good. No more anchoring her down in the City of Peace with their rules and laws. For a time she'd live only by the few restrictions Caiyha had set in place. Maybe she'd even find an opportunity to find a ship on her way back, one she could afford. A wooden horse to take her worlds away back where she belonged. Maybe this was her last step before the chance to finally go home.

[Radiant]

Kaie :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+1 XP
Unarmed Combat	+3 XP
Wrestling	+1 XP
Endurance	+2 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Spinning Coin: Cage Fight

Horse: Nightwalker

An Employer In Ravok

Loots

+50 GM (Cage fight winning)

+10 GM (Prepay)

Notes :

Oh, intriguing. I would like to see where this goes.

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.