As Kenji and Violet mingled with the elite of Oldeth above, Arwen drew her shining saber and entered the arena below.
"Bets! Get your bets in quick, who'll win, the newcomer or the ogre?" Said a dark skinned man with a brilliant smile and chalk-white tattoos down his arms. At first, Kenji was frightened he was related to the One, but once the refugee tribe of the Xeno Empire had been explained to him Kenji got stuck in with gusto.
"Fifty gold on the newcomer," Kenji announced, putting down his entire purse.
"Fifty?" Violet hissed. "and what are we to eat if you lose? Pickpocketed bread and thrown out vegetables?
"I know what I'm doing," Kenji said as he passed along all his gold before Violet could stop him, the eager bookmaker who provided Kenji with a little scrawled receipt.
"That's one-to-one odds," muttered a noble with fabulous black curled hair to Kenji's left, his sides drenched in a deep blue while his shoulders were bound in crab-shell red armour. "I'll bet on the newcomer too, eighty gold. After all, mithril gear is damn rare, and those who can keep it from getting stolen rarer."
"Kenji, nice to meet you," Kenji grinned and offered a hand.
The noble sniffed as he looked at Kenji's hand as if he had just used it to wipe his arse, then his eyes slid to admire Violet.
"My lady, I am High Lord Exaltier Oldeth, and who do I have the pleasure of speaking too?"
Adorned in silk and gold of the highest quality that could be mustered, Violet truly did look like a queen. Ironically the real Sun Elf Queen, and Violet's mother, was pretending to be her attendant, while two Sun Elf butlers are already made quite the stir with the military-grade enchantments that made their butler suits as strong as thumb thick steel.
The wealthy flocked to the exotic airs of Violet, who was promptly walled off by a line of butlers that could smile and mutter pleasantries all day as to why the rabble mightn't see her grace today. Everywhere Kenji looked sun elf servants were appearing, replacing the work of slaves, chefs, doorman. No one tried to stop them, too enraptured by their excellent service, and perhaps thinking this some kind of surprise entertainment.
"I am Princess Catelyn of the Kingdom of the Sun. This Hedgeknight, Sir Aztec, has been showing me the delights of this kingdom. Pray tell, High Lord Exaltier Oldeth, are there delights somewhat more refined than this butchery?" Violet sniffed and waved her hand as to disregard this whole affair, the High Lord readily agreeing while his eyes sank down south.
"Oh agreed, dear ambassador, perhaps the Gambling halls then? If I was alerted to your coming I would have arranged a banquet at my manner, but I need a few days at least to prepare something wory of such company. Never to fear though, we have the great Casino in Oldeth, a collection of the most wonderful entertainments in all the world gathered by a defeated Sidkhani tribe that has now grown to represent the very spirit of Oldeth. What do you say?"
A cheer rose through from the crowd below, Violet smirking as she said, "Hedge knight, it seems you have won some coin."
Arwen stood victorious before the defeated Ogre, while Kenji stood victorious before the small chest holding his winnings.
"Better odds, if you bet without knowing the next opponent, 2 to 1," the bookmaker smiled.
"So if I bet this 100 gold and win...i get...?"
"300 gold, Sir."
Kenji patted the bookmaker in the shoulder and sighed.
"Make it so then my good man, let's keep this winning streak going!"
Violet barely hid her scowl, which only deepened as the Ogre was pulled away and an armoured troll was brought out. Huge steel mace in hand, thick steel armour like a second hide, and immediately activating [Troll - Regeneration - Boost] it seemed this creature had rather a lot going for it. Oh- and it was taller than Kenji's Trog but at least two feet.
"Your man likes to bet I see," Exaltier murmured as he stirred his wine. "If you share the same tastes, my near Princess, then perhaps the Casino really would be the place to be. A grand party is taking place there tonight, you and your people would be most welcome."
An understatement of the century, Violet's War Maids and Battle Butlers were such walking visions that they had entertained half a dozen offers to come to the same party on the arm of one noble or another. All had declined thus far; if with impeccable grace and manners a common butler could only dream of.
"Would I be able to bring all of my servants? I have a minimum amount of ability in servants that I don't quite trust others to match," a drink was in Violet's hands without asking, and a fur coat provided long before a cold gust of wind made it to their viewing box.
"Well...while impressive I do believe it is invitation only. While the servants of the Casino could surely not match this level of excellence-"
"Say no more. Servants, get an invitation," Violet turned back to chatting with the Lord as her servants split aside to attend to Lords and Ladies with gorgeous smiles, light touches of the arm, brilliant feats of skill and witty jokes to soften the sourest heart. In not ten minutes each and every one of Violet's sun elves had invitations to choose from between several nobles, and Kenji watched the battle below with a level of stress he did not quite expect.
Arwen won, slicing off the Troll's arm twice before it stopped regenerating, and managed to dodge the creature's relatively fast strikes with ease. Thankfully she had pierced his armour with similar ease, the steel while strong could be shredded with strange skills that made her blade shine move with impressive speed.
The beast was eventually defeated, the crowd roared, and a slightly worried bookmaker arrived with a chest much larger than the last.
"Your winnings sir, 300 gold. Could I tempt you to gamble again?"
"I think not, I know when to walk away," Kenji said, although the excitement of the crowd, the rush of victory and the sight of all those golden coins neatly stacked upon one another was amazingly exciting in itself. He savoured the adrenaline pumping through his veins and was finding it just as hard as the old says to hold the inner beast at bay.
"Sir," the bookmaker said and peered behind him to where a senior Sidkhani stood with a deep green suit and a terminator smile of pearly white teeth that felt like they would remain smiling even while he strangled his own grandmother. "Perhaps one last bet? 2 to 1 odds again against a blind opponent, how does that suit you?"
"I don't think I can-"
"2 to 1, and a token of our fair Lady of Greed?" in the Bookmaker's hand appeared a silver medallion with a spider in its web etched upon it. Kenji had grabbed the coin without thinking, "I get that dead troll's corpse and we have a deal!"
"As you wish sir, it will be provided to you should your bet win. The Token of Greed as well."
"Kenji, they'll send something powerful. Don't fall for it, we should tell Arwen to back out now, she's done enough," Violet hissed, and summoned one of the organisers - Kenji grasped her hand, and waved the man away. Ignoring the ice-cold looks he received from Violet's servants, who now stared at him no matter where they stood and were shoving people out of the way while approaching him with naked blades in their hands.
Kenji turned to the Bookmaker.
"What's your name Bookmaker?" Kenji said and let Violet go to clasp the man's shoulder.
"Regish, Sir."
"Then Regish, you're about to watch someone win it all today. But one more condition, if I win I want the defeated creature's corpse too."
"I can offer you the chance to buy it, but I cannot give it to you," Relish said carefully.
"Done! Now let's see what we're facing off against - what the fuck is that?"
Entering the arena was a Sidkhani that looked like a bodybuilder on meth. Its eyes were wide open, its limbs twitched, muscles swelled and was plated with thick black steel. An aura of power burst of the creature in wafts, a dark dread filling the stadium that made the audience go silent and a single drop of sweat beat along with Arwen's nose.
And the sword, the fricken sword was as tall as the creature with a huge metallic spider imbedded in the pommel that spun magick up and down the blade like a strange enchantment. Vile purple poison magic and searing grass green acid magic slid up and down the blade to blister and pop.
"Welcome to the arena, the one and only, the greatest of his kind, the Spiderknight Champion!"
Loweing it's visor, only crimson eyes could be seen in the dark of the Spiderknight's helm, a great bellowing voice deep as thunder roaring, "THE TIME FOR WORDS HAS ENDED. PREPARE YOUR ENTRAILS TO BE SPILLED, AND YOUR LIFE TO END IN DELICIOUS AGONY."