"Oops is right," said Nul, "Timara is pissed and has already asked that you take Barron's place in the duel."
"I mean, she has a pretty big bounty..."
"No!" Nul jabbed a finger in Kell's face. "You are not fighting Timara. You're beaten and bloody, and I didn't design your etchings for a one on one combat. You are not fighting her."
Kell flinched back. "Fine, I'll figure something out with her later."
"Figure something out with her never! She's insane. If you get involved with her she'll start attacking you in the streets."
"Only until I duel her, then we won't have to worry about it anymore."
"Because one of you will be dead."
"That's how this game works." Kell put her good hand on Nul's knee and smiled. "You know the risks of this lifestyle as well as I do. This is part of it."
Nul settled into silence. Roran twiddled his thumbs, trying not to stare at either of them. Instead, he watched the medic work.
The medic cleaned the open wounds and applied his salve to each one, sealing it shut. He then covered each wound with a bandage that adhered to Kell's skin. Once her facial wounds were done, the medic moved to her arm. He took a tube of the salve and injected it directly into Kell's stab wound, causing her to hiss in pain. Once more, he bandaged it up and moved on to the next injury, working with clinical coldness.
Taking Kell's injured hand, he said, "Several bones are broken. I'll splint it for now, but you'll need to see a healer for this."
Kell nodded.
"Is it hard to get a hold of a healer?" asked Roran, thinking of Toth.
"No, I keep one on retainer," said Kell. "This isn't the worst I've been through."
Nul glowered but kept their silence.
"Are they expensive?"
"The good ones are, but if you're desperate you can find some on the cheap."
"Do you think any would visit the dungeons?"
Kell shook her head. "No. I haven't heard of anyone being desperate enough to go into the dungeons, your friends will have to make do with what the Crucible has to offer."
Roran nodded and fell silent.
After bandaging Kell's hand, and binding it to a splint, the medic checked Kell for internal bleeding. Declaring her organs reasonably healthy, he departed.
"Finally! I need a bath, booze, and some broads."
Nul rolled their eyes. "Shouldn't you be more respectful towards women, given that you are one?"
"What do you mean? I'm disrespectful towards everyone."
Roran smiled. Kell's blasé attitude towards everything was relaxing. All of the world's problems could come and go and Kell would still have a grin and a carefree attitude.
Kell led the way out of the arena, ignoring the cheers and screams above them as the second round of the day started.
"Are we not going to watch the other rounds?" asked Roran.
"No," said Kell, "I don't have any more events and I want to get out of here before everyone else clogs up the streets and the taverns."
"But wouldn't it be better to stay and watch the other fighters, to see what techniques and weapons they use. Or to see the agility course?"
"They change up the agility course every time so getting a sneak peek only helps a little. For techniques and fighting strategies, well that's what I have you and Nul for. You guys do the research and come up with a plan, and I'll do the killing."
Back outside, Kell stretched her arms out wide and strolled down the center of the street, grinning like a cat. The street was almost completely empty, save a couple of merchants tidying up their stalls and the occasional city guard wandering around.
Kell took Roran and Nul to a large bath house made of brick and gold near the arena. She paid an exorbitant amount of coin to rent out a room to herself, along with ordering some food and wine.
The room Kell rented was similar to the first bath house she had rented out when first scouting Roran. It was big and open, with a large tub dominating the center of the room. This one, however, didn't have an exterior view and instead was surrounded by walls made of white brick, inlaid with gold. The tub was also larger, with plenty of space to walk around it. A table was nestled into a corner of the room, covered in bottles full of oil and liquids.
Kell was quick to strip out of her clothes and start going through the soaps. She sniffed a few then upended their contents into the tub where they bubbled and foamed. Finally, before jumping into the bath, Kell examined her spear.
The whole haft was still sticky with blood from having impaled Kameron all the way through. The blood had glued dirt and sand to the haft, making it grimy. Shrugging, Kell tossed the whole thing into the tub, then followed after it, falling in with a splash.
"Mind your injuries," Nul called after her.
The tub was big enough for Kell to swim around a little and she took full advantage of it, twisting around to stretch her sore muscles. When she'd had her fill of stretching and swimming, Kell gave herself a quick scrub and then settled down into the soapy water.
"Come on in," she said, "the water is nice and hot."
Nul made no motions to join, so Roran assumed she was talking to him. Given that he hadn't bathed since his last visit with Kell a week ago, Roran decided to accept the invitation. He quickly stripped off his clothes and slipped into the water so he wouldn't feel so naked. He was getting more comfortable being naked around Kell, but having a fully dressed Nul in the room made him a little uncomfortable.
Nul found a stool and settled into a corner, pouring through their notebook.
"Not going to join us?" asked Kell.
"Do I ever?"
"No, but I thought I would ask."
"You know I don't like being naked, ever."
"I know, I know. I didn't mean to push."
Nul waved away the comment and went back to their notebook.
Kell sighed. "Are you going to be mad at me all day? I didn't mean to kill Barron."
"I'm going to be mad until I sketch out a set of focus markings that you can use against Timara."
"You think she'll come after me soon?"
"I'm surprised she hasn't come after you already."
The arrival of several servants bringing jugs of wine and platters of food cut the conversation short. They placed the platters of food next to the tub so Kell and Roran could help themselves while they poured the drinks. Kell attacked the food while the servants poured her some wine. Roran took a modest plate of food and some water while Nul only snagged a few morsels for themself.
As the servants left, Kell settled back into the water, devouring her food. When she had cleaned one plate, she went back to the platters and loaded up a second. There was easily enough food for five or six people, but Kell was quickly working her way through multiple servings. Despite her gluttonous appetite, Kell was still a tidy eater, keeping herself clean while she ate, not spilling a drop.
"When will you see the healer?" asked Roran.
Covering her mouth to speak, Kell said, "Probably tomorrow. She'll be expecting me then."
"Will your hand be okay if you wait to see her?"
Kell nodded. "This lady can restore most body parts. She'll mold my bones like clay and get everything straightened out. This is the same lady that kept me from losing my leg and regrew skin after half of it was burned off."
Roran nodded, unsure of how to respond. He liked the idea of someone being able to restore broken body parts and regrow skin, but he greatly disliked the idea of having his limbs crushed or losing his skin in the first place.
"What did you think of the arena?" asked Kell.
"I've never seen magic performed on that level," said Roran.
"Impressive huh?"
From the corner, Nul snorted and shook their head.
"Don't mind Nul, they think everyone should be at their level. Jumping from roof to roof is so much fun."
"Isn't it scary?"
"It was at first," said Kell, "But you get used to it. Once you're comfortable dropping a few stories, it's really not so bad. Then you can relax and enjoy jumping around and having fun."
Kell's grin was infectious and Roran found himself grinning too. The arena was scary, but talking to Kell made it much less daunting. With her backing him, Roran felt like he could take on the Crucible no problem.