Archemis’ instructions were to meet the following evening. They’d specified an address that Aliana was passingly familiar with, though only in the sense that she knew her way around the pathways of the city enough to find that particular corner. The building that stood there was tall, made of brick, and no doubt abandoned judging by the way the windows were boarded up and completely dark inside. This entire neighborhood where she and her companions had been told to wait was oddly quiet, with few buildings showing any signs of activity. Even the few people that walked down the streets seemed to hurry on their way. Clearly this was not a popular region of the city.
“Hardly the most inviting of places to wait for this ‘Archemis’ of yours,” Veldin commented. He stood just outside the light of the nearest lamppost, looking off down the road in the darkness.
“Look, I’m not the one who picked it, don’t complain to me,” Aliana said.
‘Is there something amiss with this location, Aliana?’ Aliana was content to wear her armor for this night, but having Moonlight back at her waist was already becoming grating once more.
“Oh, shut up,” Aliana muttered, though she realized she must have still said it louder than intended when Veldin looked at her with one eyebrow raised.
“I was only making an observation, I hadn’t realized you were going to be so short-tempered at the moment.”
“I’m short-tempered? I wasn’t even talking to —” Aliana paused, noticing a flash of a questioning gaze from Liessa where she was leaned casually against the lamppost. “— I — fine, you know what, yes, shut up. I don’t want to hear it right now.”
Aliana was aware of Misha and Remerick looking at her after that exchange, and she hardly wanted to address either of them. When she heard footsteps approaching on the stone pathway and looked up to see someone coming towards the group, she was relieved to have a change of topic.
At a glance, Aliana would never have known who this person was. The glaive strapped to their back and something about the confidence in the way they walked were distinct enough for Aliana to find them familiar. “Archemis?”
The person before her and the others was lithe and graceful as they moved, and wore fine clothing including a blue coat and tall boots of leather over their trousers. Most notable was the mane of long white hair tied somewhat roughly on the back of their head, and the simple black mask they wore over their face. “A sizable group you’ve got in total. Emerson’s sure stepped up from having just me on this case.” The smooth, yet mildly irritated voice was definitely Archemis.
“You’re not wearing your armor?” Misha asked as she approached Archemis with Grey following close behind her.
“What, the well-known Azure Knight under one of the city’s highest-standing political figures should go clad in his highly-recognizable armor to waltz on in to an illegal underground arena full of criminals? Yes, that sounds like a great plan.”
“Oh. No, that makes sense…” Misha’s whiskers twitched. “So, you are a man, then?”
Archemis offered a nonchalant shrug. “I’m whatever’s easiest for you to remember, I have more important things to worry about.”
“And the mask…?” Aliana added.
“I like my privacy. Is there something wrong with that?” Archemis didn’t actually pause for an answer to that, but tilted his head towards Veldin and then Remerick as if looking at them beneath his mask. “Your other friends, then.”
“Right, Archemis, this is Veldin and Remerick —“ Even as Misha was saying that, Archemis had already nodded with acknowledgement and turned away from the group to begin walking.
“So much for introductions,” Aliana said.
The building that Archemis led the group to was a massive stone structure of ornate architecture. A wide portico-shielded entrance made it clear the place had been meant to welcome crowds of people, though the building was long stripped of any traits that would make its purpose readily apparent from the outside. It was Liessa who elaborated more on that topic, as she commented, “This building used to be a theater, didn’t it?”
“It was,” Archemis said. “Don’t ask me the specifics of why it closed.”
“This whole region of the city lost most of its business years ago because of a toxic disaster,” Remerick said. “I… I think it was something like that, at least. Fumes from an alchemical research facility forced everyone to leave. Even after it cleared out, I don’t think many people or business have been eager to come back.”
Liessa nodded. “That sounds about right, from what I know…”
“Right, well,” Archemis cut in, “history lesson’s appreciated, but we’ve got business of our own to get to. Or you all can stay here and let me handle this, I don’t care which. Honestly, I’d prefer the latter.”
Aliana crossed her arms and threw a glare at Archemis over their attitude. “Alright, fine. So, this place is the arena now?”
“It is. Repurposed. I mean it, I don’t want any of you getting in the way for this. Stay here if you’re not planning to help.” Then, as if saying that conversation was concluded, they made their way to the door to enter.
The doors opened into a lobby that was carpeted in faded red and may have been rather pleasant once long ago. But now, as Aliana stepped foot in the building, she saw the metal lamps on the walls were unlit, casting most of this space in darkness save for the lampposts outside and the shadows they cast. Cracks were visible here and there on the walls, and dust had settled on the floor, though it was disturbed by countless footprints that led back and forth from the entrance to doors further back at the end of the lobby. A pair of women — one alrachni and one harpy — were seated on crates by the doors and were using a larger crate as a table to play a game of cards.
The harpy woman was dressed in lighter clothing than the alrachni, with loose fabrics that looked far too free for the near-winter chill, but matched the popular style among other harpies. Perhaps the feathers over her winged arms and her legs helped with the temperature. She looked up at Aliana and the others as they entered, her large yellow eyes flicking over each of them in turn. The alrachni, with her spider-like extra limbs tucked close to her body below the heavy coat that covered down to her waist and trousers, did not lift her eyes from the cards in her hands.
“You’re all certainly a colorful group, aren’t you?” The harpy’s attention landed on Grey. “Big hound you’ve got. Beast for the fights?”
Grey replied with a low grumble. Misha stood beside him to pet alongside his leg. “He’s…”
“Possibly,” Archemis cut in. Misha looked at him with ears up and whiskers twitching. Archemis continued, “Depends on the looks of things, could be a competitor worth some money.”
The harpy smirked. “I’ll look forward to hearing about it. Looks like it could do some damage if it tried.” She hiked a thumb over her shoulder to the door behind herself. “Get on in there, you’re interrupting our game.”
Aliana tried to be nonchalant as she walked by the two of them. Beyond the doors lay the theater proper, a spacious room of towering height and a skylight set in the center of the ceiling. The seats of the theater had long since been removed, however, leaving an empty floor behind. A crowd of people of all species were gathered, roaring with raucous cheers directed at the stage, where a circular wall of chain-link fencing had been erected as a makeshift combat arena.
A warrior in armor, mostly hide coated in spikes — whether for practical purpose or intimidation, Aliana had no idea — wielded a large axe as a weapon. Their opponent was a deftly nimble young man with an elegant saber, who sidestepped heavy axe swings with ease.
Aliana looked around. The room was dim, lit by lanterns spread sparsely around the walls. Balcony seats on the walls were occupied by people dressed in extravagant robes and suits and wore masquerade masks, obscuring their faces as they sipped from wine glasses. Aliana only realized she’d been staring rather obviously up at those balconies when Liessa said, “The pastimes that the nobility enjoy behind closed doors. I wonder just how much they’re betting on these matches.”
Aliana narrowed her eyes at the masked onlookers. “Are these fights to the death?”
“I wouldn’t expect people in a place like this to exercise mercy,” Archemis said. At the very least, their masked choice of attire hardly stood out as much as Aliana expected. Figures in dark cloaks could be seen, or people with strange clothing that showed off great scars or tattoos.
Veldin, who had been quietly observing the details of the room up until that point, spoke up. “Much as I understand your concerns over the topic, I believe the ethics of wagering money on the lives of others is a debate for another time. Do we have a plan of action established?”
Archemis nodded. "First, we find the beast tamer."
"Beast tamer?" Misha asked. "They'd be the one in charge of the... the 'monsters' then, right?"
"Exactly. Chances are, they're not just out and about here. One of those doors, probably." Archemis tilted their head towards a pair of doors near the stage, each guarded by large and imposing-looking men, one a human and one a drakkin. "Think we can use that 'competitor' lie to buy us a bit of a backroom meeting with the staff?" They looked at Grey now, who answered with a disapproving grumble.
"You want to enter Grey as a fighter?"
"He doesn't actually have to fight. We just need to get back there to find out where the beasts are coming from. One or two of us will take the wolf and have a chat with whoever’s in charge. With how small you are, you can probably slip in around the room and have a look around without anyone noticing, check for anything they might be hiding."
Misha was silent for a moment, thinking. She nodded. "Alright. We'll try it."
"I can go with Grey," Aliana offered, earning a look from both Misha and Liessa.
"Of course you will," Archemis said. "Come with me and let's see what you've got."
Aliana moved to follow Archemis along with Grey, Misha climbing to the floor next to Liessa's feet and following the pair.
As Aliana walked, she allowed a hand to brush against Moonlight's hilt.
'If you have need of me, Aliana, I am here.'
Of course it was. But, despite that, with everything going on, Moonlight's comment made Aliana feel just the slightest bit safer.
She followed Archemis to one of the doors with Grey at their side, and Archemis strode right up to one of the men, the drakkin one. "We have a potential battler for the night," Archemis said, patting Grey on the head. Grey pulled their head away, not with obvious aggression but a general disdain or distrust of Archemis.
The drakkin man leered at Aliana and Archemis, then eyed Grey. "Hell of a beast. Might get torn to shreds with tonight's competitors though."
"We'll see about that," Archemis said with a shrug. The guard did much of the same and stepped aside from the door, opening it and calling in, "Oi, Omera! We got another one for y'ta take a look at!"
Grey kept his head low, ears flat and posture stiff as he and the others entered the room. Aliana stayed close by his side, ready to draw Moonlight if it was needed. She didn't want this to turn into a fight, though. It wouldn't need to.
Inside, more creatures were held in cages. Aliana looked around, seeing two drakes in some of the cages, as well as monstrously-large cat beasts with stripes that she had never seen before. Creatures that looked like rats but were the size of large hounds, with spikes protruding from their backs, hissed and growled beyond cage bars. A spindly man in elaborately colorful clothing looked in at a few of the creatures, and several other people threw food in to one of the drakes’ cages. At the back of the room, Aliana spotted what may have been another cage, but it was covered by a large tarp that blocked its contents from view.
The man noticed the group enter, save for Misha who scampered behind some of the cages with her small size.
"Well, what have we here?" The man said as he approached. He wore an ascot with his coat, white gloves on his hands — his four hands, as he had an extra set of arms. Aliana noticed patches of feathers in the man's hair as well. Harpy heritage? Odd place for feathers from that, and it did not explain the extra arms, but the man certainly did not seem to be a fey. "Could it be we have an entrant for tonight's tournament?"
"Tournament?" Aliana asked, not thinking before she said that.
"Possibly," Archemis followed up, keeping their response simple.
"Ah, and would you be entering yourselves as well?" the seeming beast-wrangler said, obviously indicating the pairs' weapons. "You seem like quite fit fighters yourselves."
"Depends. What's in it for a reward?"
"Money, of course. A hefty sum. And our benefactor will be granting a special request to the winner as well."
"A... special request?" Aliana wondered what that meant. "What sort of special request?"
"Any that is monetarily obtainable, of course. He's a wealthy man. Now, let’s take a look at this fine specimen. Does he bite?"
Grey answered with a growl.
"Probably not," Archemis said.
The beast wrangler raised a hand to one of the workers, gesturing for him to come inspect Grey. Aliana grimaced, hoping this wouldn't cause any problems, and moved closer to pet Grey's muzzle. "Just hang in there for a couple minutes," she said to him softly.
Aliana looked to the back of the room, where she could see Misha approaching the large covered cage. The mousefolk kept to the shadows of the back, out of view of the people here who still did not know to look for her.
"Mighty strong," the inspecting worker said after a few minutes of noting Grey's muscles, fangs, his build.
"Worthy for a fight or two, you think?" The wrangler said.
"I'd say so. Hells, I'd bet some caldr on this one myself. Though, maybe not against one of them drakes or..."
The wrangler shot the man a look and he promptly changed subject to, "Well, Omera sir, I'd best be getting back to the feed."
Omera nodded. "Many thanks, you get to that."
Just as Aliana was wondering what that exchange had meant, there was a sudden screeching, warbling cry that echoed out through the room. Startled by the nouse, Aliana quickly scanned the room for the source of it as Grey's growls returned in full force.
"'Ey, shut that thing up!" Omera screeched angrily at the workers who made their way to the covered cage at the back, though were clearly wary in how they approached. Aliana watched wide-eyed as one of the workers grabbed a long metal pole at the back of the room. She suddenly felt a pull on the back of her leg and looked down to see Misha standing behind her.
"It saw me, let's go," Misha said quietly.
"Well then," Archemis announced, "We'll let you all get back to that. We'll take our pet here for the time being."
After leaving the beast room, Archemis took the lead in finding a less populated corner of the theater.
“What did you see?” Aliana asked Misha as soon as they’d regrouped with Liessa, Veldin, and Remerick.
Misha’s tone was grave. “It’s one of them. I'm... Not sure what sort of creature it was before," Misha explained. "I could make out a lot of limbs... Wings, I think? But I couldn’t see the colors well enough to know it."
Aliana let her hand grip Moonlight's hilt.
“Could it have been another drake?” Remerick asked.
Misha shook her head. “Maybe, but… I’m sorry, it was too dark under the tarp to make out more details than that.”
“So, what do you think of that tournament prize?” Aliana said.
The comment seemed to catch Veldin’s attention. “A tournament?”
"There's some tournament happening tonight. Whoever wins gets a special request from the person who set up all of this. If they have anything to do with where the monsters are coming from, maybe we can get them to tell us what they know."
“I see… Well, I highly doubt they would simply hand the shard over because we asked, even if it’s through an agreement such as that.”
Aliana was about to retort to Veldin dashing her suggestion, but he continued before she got the chance.
“However, I do believe you have a point. At the very least, requesting a meeting with this ‘benefactor’ may lead us somewhere, if nothing else.”
“Oh… Right, sure.”
“Hold on,” Remerick cut in, “You’re not suggesting we enter this tournament, are you?”
“Not all of us, of course,” Veldin said. “Not all of our skill sets are ideal for such one on one combat. Some of us should enter, while the rest of us learn what we can from the spectators here in the meantime.”
Archemis crossed their arms, listening to the conversation. “You can leave the fighting to me. The rest of you do whatever you plan to around here.”
“Hm. A confident one, aren’t you?” Liessa said, a slight smirk crossing her lips as she looked at Archemis.
“You did see me fight. I know how to handle myself.”
“True. But wouldn’t it be better if more than one of us enter? It would increase our chance of winning.”
“It would also increase our chances of being pit against one another and getting in each other’s way.”
“I only see that as a problem if we’re fighting to kill. I take it someone of your standing wouldn’t do so, right?”
“I won’t, but I won’t hold back in a match, either. I get that you all know what you’re talking about when it comes to these shards, but this is my job, in case you’ve forgotten. I only brought you into this so you could tell the big man what you knew, not to have you join me.”
“Well, it’s a bit late for what you’d do, we’re already involved. So,” Liessa said, putting her hands on her hips, “I’ll think I’ll be joining in.”
Aliana looked at Liessa, scarcely believing what she was hearing. “Wait, you — you will? But, Liessa…”
“I can hardly say I’ve been Seraphim’s partner for all these years if I can’t help find out what happened to another of Opal’s scales.”
“But, should you really be fighting like this?”
Liessa smiled back at Aliana, a smile brimming with confidence that was so familiar from her. “Because I told you I’ll be retiring? I never said I was there quite yet, Aliana.”
“If you’re sure…”
Misha looked at Grey. She seemed uncomfortable. "You don't want to put Grey in there, do you? He's good at fighting those things, but... I don't want him going in there alone."
'We should enter this 'tournament', Aliana.'
Aliana's grip on Moonlight's hilt tightened. Why did it insist on talking?
'I am powerful. You know this. Recall our battles with the fey.'
Much to Aliana’s surprise, Remerick, despite the pensive look he’d worn over the whole conversation, suddenly said, “I’ll join.”
Veldin raised an eyebrow. “You will?”
“So long as you all can stay out of trouble while I’m fighting.”
“You phrase that to mean all of us, but I feel as if that’s not what you mean.”
“Well…” Remerick’s attention shifted to some of the people around the room, all of them imposing in their own rights. “You can be a bit abrasive at times…”
‘Abrasive’ was certainly an understatement in Aliana’s perspective, but Veldin only answered, “Not to worry, I have no intention of picking a fight with anyone here.”
Remerick nodded. “Alright. Then, the more people we have fighting, the better, right? Besides, I do better with a sword than with something discreet like this.”
'Aliana. Why do you hesitate? Do you not wish to live a life of glory? I certainly do. Let us fight. Together. It will be exhilarating, and I will not allow you to die.'
Archemis sighed. “Alright. Great. I literally just said I wasn’t going to be pulling any punches and two of your are happy to fight me if it comes to it. Anyone else?”
"I'll..." Aliana began. "I'll do it." When the others looked at her, she said, "I'll join the tournament as well.”
“Oh, for the love of…” Archemis muttered something unintelligible and clearly aggravated under their breath.
Liessa nodded in an approving manner. “I think that settles that, then. Misha, Veldin, we can trust you to find out what you can?”
Misha nodded, and Veldin said, “Naturally. Don’t do anything too reckless while we do so, we’ll need you all at your best should we find the scale shard.”
Aliana looked down at Moonlight on her belt.
'Let us fight, Aliana. Show them our strength. It will be delightful, I assure you.'
Aliana doubted that, but she ignored it.
