Ame Damnee Fighting Pits

Isla

Active Member
A thick wooden door with chains and locks from the meeting hall leads you down spiral steps into raucous laughter and persistent waves of jeering and excitement towards the two components in the dirt ring. Money is thrown and bet from the colosseum like stadium, and people often go insane from the social stigma and dogmatic approach towards the underlings, or rats, a crude slang. Fighters are usually some form of rebel or outcast.
 
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Devon Ironsides - Entering the fighting pits

It was good to be home. After descending the spiral staircase with Cryker right behind him, the familiar scent of blood and piss began to fill his nostrils. He'd thought about letting someone clean up the floors around here, but then decided that the stains from peoples broken noses and vomit gave the whole place character. Passing his official office, situated above the pits so that he got a better view of all the action, he finally addressed the old man he'd known since the man was just a boy. "Quit showerin' me with praise boy! Thought a hundred feckin' years in that damn forest woulda made ya harder, not humble."

He approached his podium, set up where everyone on the lower levels could see him. All the street rats who decided to show up early cheered as he appeared, he loved the praise these kids would heap upon him, almost as much as he loved the money they would throw in his pockets. "All right, pipe down you shites! I'd like ta make an announcement. We have with us a returnin' member of the pits, Cryker Reywynn! This little piss ant has been fighting in my pits since before any a you blighters were even born, and today we're gonna see how much he's learned!" The crowed roared, excited to see what the newest edition could bring to the table. "With that said, which a you buggers actually want ta fight him eh?!"
 
Cryker Reywynn - The Fighting Pits

Cryker gazed over the crowds with as they cheered and roared, and removed his thick gloves and tucked them into his belt. "The forests teach quite a bit. I daresay I got an equal part of both." He remarked, and began to descend to the main floor of the pit. He passed through the portcullis gate, and into the large arena walled with black stone. His boots kicked up a thin trail of dust as he paced the floor of the arena, approaching the side nearest to Devon. He was aware of how conspicuously his blue and off white uniform stood out among the sea of black grey and brown that was so popular among the Underground. With his back to the crowd, he held up one hand clenched in a fist to ask for their quiet, but said nothing. They hushed soon enough.

"As I remember, the rules were fight 'till the other man's left groaning and bleeding on the ground. I hope nothings changed. But, more to the question, who am I fighting today, oh Master of the Pit? " He said, loud and crisp in the quiet chamber.
 
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Devon Ironsides - Fighting Pits

Devon was about to announce Cryker's opponent when he heard the doors to the pits open behind him. Turning to see who had entered he was startled to see that it was his boss, Minerva. The woman and him had a lot of history together, he'd been present since she first assumed control of the underground and the two of them had been quite a team ever since. Unfortunately, having known each other for so long also means you can tell what the other is thinking, and Devon knew from her stern expression that he was about to get an earful.

He turned back to his crew. "Alright, match is on hold everyone. Me 'n the boss gotta discuss business." He heard groans of disappointment from the crowd but they could sod off if they had a problem with it. Devon knew who to prioritize. "Ey there Minerva, come to see the show?" He said with a sheepish grin on his face.

@kalon
 
Minerva's blood pressure shot to her face, smoke billowing from her ears. The dark tendrils around her feet lashed out violently at Devon as she grabbed his ear and hauled him into the shadows near his office, out of sight from the general vicinity. She let go of his ear. "Who do you think you are?" she hissed. "I come down here, you know why I'm down here, and yet, you act like it's all a game? Where were you? Did you not hear what was going on? Undead, Devon!" She continued to rant, hands gesturing here and there, emphasizing the importance of helping her out whenever possible. "There was an attack and you have the nerve to come down here and entertain?! You may have a job in the pits, but that doesn't mean you neglect your other duties as well. You're a dwarf, for god's sake! Use your brain! Don't be an idiot!" She fumed through gritted teeth.

@jrusso20
 
Devon Ironsides - Fighting Pits

She knew he hated it when she made him look like a child, and that's exactly why she did things like pull his ear and drag him outta sight in front of all his underlings, it was one of the many ways she used to show that she was still in charge of all of them. Still when she chewed him out for not coming to fight the undead, an event he didn't even know was happening, he could feel his ears start to burn. This was going to be a fight.

"Now don' you go tryin' ta insult me Minnie. I was topside looking fer recruits when all of a sudden the sky turned black and feckin' fog started rollin' in. What do I do? I come runnin' back to the underground, fast as me legs can carry me and what do I find? Our guards shaking down a returning member and not a single feckin' thing outta place! So I take me boys down here to get something goin', and you tell me there's undead crawling around? Ya seem ta forget that these here walls are made a stone lass, and I may be a dwarf but I can't hear through stone. So if you've got a problem, take it out on the guards who didn't alert me to the threat. 'Cause you've known me long enough ta feckin' know I'd defend our underground to the death!"
 
"I don't care if you got some brute returning!" Minerva scowled, becoming equally as frustrated and embarrassed as he was. He dared to stoop so low as to insult her by giving her an absolutely horrific nickname. "Listen up, short stump, you better learn to be more aware of your surroundings, down here or not! I don't care how you do it- drink one of Dot's magic potions or pound the guards to death! It's your job to know when things pop up! Especially, if there's an attack of some sort! Luckily, some apprentices were able to help me clean up the mess so I didn't have to!"
 
Cryker Reywynn - The Fighting Pits

As Minerva and Devon spoke, Cryker made his way out of the fighting grounds and back up near Devon's booth, finding them quickly from the barely repressed shouting. He accentuated the tones of his footsteps ever so slightly to grab their attention. He had rarely seen Minerva in the past, let alone spoke to her, mostly out of fear, and partly out of the disparity between them. Now, though, he was tempered, and had a mind of his own. A mind that wasn't afraid to share its thoughts with a caustic edge.

"Apologies, Minerva, apologies." He said, deliberately forgetting the title. "Master Devon," he continued, stressing the title, "wished me to fight a bout or two in the pit. I obliged him. Things get very loud down here, as you may well know, and the sound of combat becomes part of the chorus." Cryker said, all the while with his eyes locked on Minerva's. "Besides, I'm sure someone would have roused the fighters here if there really were an issue that was of any real danger. Considering we were left alone, it is hard to call such an 'attack' anything more than a minor disturbance, no? And is it not the task of your second in command to run affairs such as the guard? Not the Master of the Pit's? The issue was resolved well and shortly, I don't see the fuss. Really, there are more important things than coming here. What of the surface? They must surely be in disarray, with so many civilians with the dead. Such chaos comes rarely, this is a prime opprotunity. The businesses that could be stolen from, the figures that must have their guards distracted. And with the wardens busy, why, you may have even managed to attack the armory!" Cryker exclaimed. "But, I digress, you must have known these things, and come down here for a more important reason. Apologies for the interruption. Please, continue, great Imperator." He said with a shallow bow.
 
Devon Ironsides - Fighting Pits

Devon was about to defend himself again when Cryker showed up and started defending him. He talked to Minerva as though he were a parent scolding a child, and this enraged Devon. He didn't ask for Cryker's help nor did he need it and Devon was about to tell him what for. "Oi!! Who the hell do you think you are, you piss drinkin' gob shite?!! You think that wanderin' Oblitus for a hundred years gives you the right to talk to the boss like that?! You wanna come back to the underground boy? Well you betta' learn your place before I sick the whole feckin' pit on yer dumbarse! Now scram like I told ya too!"
 
Cryker Reywynn - The Fighting Pits

"I would have thought," Cryker drew out, "that of all people, you, Devon, would have kept your keen edge. It would seem that the Underground has grown fat." He said, almost spitting out the last word. "When I was here, the Underground was still lean and hungry. Pickings were slim, the Wardens were wary, and the Underground fought for every scrap it could get, took near every reject and misfit it thought it could trust. I was one of those. You should know that. Back then, the guards would have killed me the moment I walked in alone, instead of holding a knife to me. I thought it was just a few guards, but now I see its a bit more."

"You see," Cryker said, venomous and cold, "I think it's that wandering Oblitus for a hundred years making me hungry that gives me the right to speak. I learned to make decisions that kept me alive. I trust my judgement. And my judgement said there was a missed opportunity. But, on the rare occasion, it's wrong. Like what I said earlier, about you not changing. You did. The old Devon Ironsides would have put a knife in my gut and stripped me down to my boots for any coins the moment I gave him tongue, rather than threaten with the entire pit. I honestly expected it. But, as I said, on the rare occasion..."

The cold fire that burned behind his eyes was gone, or hidden at the very least, for the time being. he resumed speaking amicably, as if nothing had occurred. With a slight smile, he continued. "I'm not the same as I was when I left. I intend to play the game now, instead of being a pawn. Whether I play with you or not," he said, glancing between Devon and Minerva, "that is your decision."

Cryker folded his hands behind his back, and gave a slight smile. He knew his gambit was dangerous, but nonetheless chose to play it. He adopted a relaxed and unintimidating posture. If things went south, he knew he would most likely be killed, this deep in the lions den. He trusted his reflexes to reach his sword in time to fight, and his armor to keep himself protected, but he was still anxious, though he showed no signs. At least, he thought to himself, he would die with his sword in his hand.
 
On top of Devon, Cryker had to come into the picture? Cryker should've known better than to step in and play with fire. She let out a small chuckle, a rather strange smile appearing on her face. "Why, Cryker," she began, her tone all but mocking his disillusioned authority. "I didn't realize you had the guts to come and challenge me. You really are just an old man with no sense of respect." Her eyes flashed dangerously, dark energy clouds beginning to spark and generate in thin air. "Devon, go get Raven," she told the dwarf, steely gray eyes still fixated on Cryker. She continued to talk to the human. "When was the last time you came running here between your legs? You decide you want back in, then you deliberately question me? I should've fed you to the dogs when I had the chance." She began to step forward.
 
Devon Ironsides - Fighting Pits

Devon had gotten that shiver down his spine that he always seemed to get when he was being watched. At Minerva's request he grinned. "Will do, boss." Quickly he stopped time around him to look around and find the source of the shiver. With his dwarven affinity to the dark he was able to see a woman hiding within the shadows with a familiar looking scythe attached to her back. Looks like he didn't need to go far to find Raven Rose. With time still stopped he strode over to the necromancer and leaned on the wall next to her and restarted time, taking a mental note that the entire process took about thirty seconds of his ability.

To the eyes of a person who sees time normally, it would appear as if Devon popped out of existence and then reappeared next to Raven within the blink of an eye. Minerva has seen it so many times over the centuries they've known each other that she must be used to it by now, but for Cryker and Raven, he imagined they might be slightly taken aback. As Raven noticed him Devon spoke. "Right then, come on lass. The boss would like a word with ya." And proceeded to guide Raven towards Minerva and Cryker.
 
When devon appeared infront of her raven instinctively reaches for her scythe then stops noticing its devon "you were just... umm right... ok" Raven follows him while looking very confused.
 
Cryker Reywynn - The Fighting Pits

Cryker felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and goosebumps form, even through his warm clothes and armor. He turned around, facing his back to Minerva, and closed his eyes, seeing through his tremorsense instead, and noticed Devon and another figure alongside some distance off. He would have to be wary of them, particularly Devon. He heaved a long, slow, sigh, the air now sharp and bitter in his lungs. To back down now, to show weakness, would be fatal. To aggravate more unnecessarily, would be fatal as well.

"I'm not that old, Minerva, in my thirties, forties in half-elven years. Time hasn't been kind to my appearance, though." He said with a shallow nod. "As for respect, you of all people should know that needs to be earned. It and fear are what the Underground is held together by, after all. But I speak out, and tell you you failure, tell you something that could bring great profit, and you simply repeat your failure. It's shameful.

"Let's suppose, that right now, you were to gather you best, your strongest, your fastest, your most stealthy, and they were to go to the warden armory. Suppose they were to open it, take the weapons and artifacts inside, and get out. Suppose, shortly after, that the wardens were to find out and realize some mysterious force has taken all their things. The Underground holds the best and most dangerous weapons in the world, and the fierce, strong wardens, with no weapons, have become nothing more than lions turned house cats without claws.

"This would be the perfect time. Undead on the streets, wardens busy fighting them, or recovering and rebuilding, healing and helping, or searching for the source. They're weary, tired, lazy. They're injured, strained, and spread thin. Few men at their castle. Fewer guarding something no one has ever tried to attack. They would be assaulted by an unknown force, of unknown strength, of unknown origin. Directly after that same thing just happened to them.

"But perhaps the wardens are too big, and you still cower in their wake. Why not a bank? Why not a business? There are any number of things you could have done, and deliberately chose not to do. So yes, Minerva, I question you. I question not your strength, not your leadership, not any of those things. I question your judgement, and if anyone has the spine to say anything about it." He said, having grown more fired over the course of the speech. He spat in disgust, and readied himself for whatever might happen next.
 
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Minerva allowed Cryker to speak out. While some imperators might've been hellbent on gutting him the moment he began to question their leadership, hearing him blather constantly about how terrible she was made her ego inflate three times worse. It encouraged her to make due haste in getting rid of the sack of meat. "You don't get to tell me how to run my show!" Minerva seethed, stepping forward and trying to knee him in the gut, hopefully sending him to the ground on his knees. Minerva smiled down at Cryker. "I was hoping you wouldn't be so mouthy," she spoke, allowing her dark magic to slowly wrap around the man. It formed into large chains, the weight beginning to sink in. "Stand up," she commanded him. "You've done a great deal of damage. Raven, Devon, we're going to the meeting hall. I've got a story to tell and Raven, you have a special job to do."
 
Cryker Reywynn - The Fighting Pits

Cryker felt the knee coming, and anticipated it, moving just enough out of the way to avoid the attack. He didn't see coming, however, the chains ensnaring him as he moved, catching him and locking him in place. They coiled tightly around him, restricting the majority of his movement, although leaving him, for now at least, unharmed.

"If you call telling you what you need to know mouthy, I shudder to think what will happen when you meet someone who truly talks on and on, Imperator." He said, the last word dripping with sarcasm. Cryker, internally, was still calm. He would wait and see what was still to come, perhaps there was still a chance to live left yet.
 
Devon Ironsides -Entering his office

Devon brought Minerva to his office and motioned for her to take her usual seat. The two of them had a very long history together so he spruced up his office to accentuate that fact. It was rather large with a table in the middle where Devon would conduct interviews and business meetings, and what looked like a poker table with four chairs set up around it. Two of those chairs normally went unused. The other two were reserved for Minerva and him.

He took out the brandy bottle and two glasses passing one two Minerva and filling it up before taking his seat and filling it up as well. "I tell ya Minnie, life ain't like the old days anymore. Firs' we got idiot's comin' back an' questioning your leadership, then we got masters choosin' hopeless apprentices with no prayer of survivin'" He took a long swig of brandy before speaking again. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry for not backin' ya up when the undead came. Had I known I woulda been there in seconds. You know that."

He took out his favorite pair of cards and began shuffling them up while keeping his eye on her. "Much as I hate ta admit it though, that dead shite had some interestin' ideas. Nothin' like assaultin' the Wardens' armory thas just plain suicide, but with the damage topside... maybe we could start expanding operations a bit. Start slowly expandin' yer empire."

@kalon
 
Calm walked into the fighting pits and saw the blood stained floors and walls. This was clearly an arena, either for entertainment or for training, she knew not, but it probably enjoyed by the entire underground. She didn't have time to see the sights however. Walking around she sees a wooden door and hears some voices coming from the other side. She wasn't able to make out what they said, but it was a good chance that it was the place she was looking for. She knocks on the door and waited for a response.
 
Minerva rubbed her face, letting out a small sigh as Devon passed her a glass of Brandy. It was true that things weren't like they used to be. Despite years of success, things did feel like they were beginning to stagnate a bit. It was more of a gut feeling, rather than experience, but Minerva tried not to linger on her thoughts too much. She took a swig of Brandy as well. "I know," she responded quietly. "I have no doubt of your loyalty. You've always been there for me..." She trailed off, eyes distant as Cryker's words floated through her mind again when Devon brought up the idea of expanding her empire. 'You hide and hide and hide...' Her hands tightened around the grip of the glass, almost on the verge of breaking it when suddenly, a knock came at the door and broke her train of thought. Minerva shook her head and groaned in irritation, "Come in."
 
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