As soon as the medicine kicked in, Roran's headache disappeared and the feeling in his hand came back. He still hurt, but the pain was manageable. The three departed the medical room and went straight to Carrick.
The old clerk gave Roran a once over before saying, "For a moment there, I thought you were going to die."
Roran shrugged. "So did I. I got lucky."
"Humility is a good thing, but don't sell yourself short. You beat Duran fair and square, and you've earned his bounty. I assume you would like to cash out?"
Roran nodded. "Duran's bounty plus these." He handed over the orbs.
Carrick briefly looked them over before plucking them out of Roran's hand and vanishing them into his robes, the light dying in an instant.
"Favors, I assume?"
"Yeah...unless, can you do both coin and favors?"
"I can."
"Can I get two of the orbs in coin and the rest in favors?"
"Done." Carrick produced a bag and counted out a pile of coins, a varied menagerie of gold, silver, and bronze. "I'll have the favors added to Millgrove's account, if that's alright with you."
"You can do that?"
"Unless you'd rather pack the favors down to the dungeons yourself. I'll warn you though, it's going to be a considerable amount of tokens."
"That's alright, as long as they receive word about it."
"The clerk handling rations will notify your people of their latest payout, in the meantime this should satisfy them." Carrick pulled out a slip of paper and scrawled a note on it, along with a large number.
"Thank you," said Roran.
"Just doing my job. I hope you survive the next round as well."
"You pulling for him to win?" asked Kell.
"No, I just bet good money that he would survive until the last round."
Kell glared at the old clerk.
"I'll do my best," said Roran, and he started pushing Kell towards the exit before she could escalate the conversation. In a last act of defiance, she peered over Roran's shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Carrick.
Dragging Kell back out onto the street, Roran was surprised to find that it was quiet.
"I thought there would be more people out here," he said.
"They're still inside watching the other fights," said Nul. "The Iron Gauntlet is the main event but they have other games going on."
"Yeah, but those are boring," said Kell, turning and walking down the street. "Just crap like spoiled nobles dueling for points, singing troupes, warden tourneys."
Roran and Nul followed after her.
"Warden tourneys?" asked Roran.
"The wardens compete in games against the city guard or against each other for fun. I believe today's big event is the dog show, they're having a warden show off the hounds."
"Oh, I know them."
"You do?"
While they walked, Roran filled them in on his encounters with Chase and spending time with the hounds. Even Kell seemed impressed that he spent a day being a chew toy for the vicious beasts.
"Hang on a sec," said Kell, pausing at a large, stone building on the mainroad. "I need to make a quick stop." She ducked inside and returned a few minutes later with a sack full of coins. She grinned at them. "Had to collect my winnings."
"How much did you bet on him getting an orb?" asked Nul.
"Oh, not much. The odds were good that Roran would get an orb and move on to the second round. No, what I bet on was him killing a champion." She shook the sack, the pile of coins jingling inside. "Some poor fools bet against me! Come on, dinner is my treat!"
Roran happily followed after Kell, letting her take the lead. He was too tired and mentally exhausted to make any more decisions. Which was for the best. Kell dragged him to a bathhouse to get cleaned up, then saw to it that he had a hearty meal. After that, she half convinced him to go back to her apartment for a good night's sleep, but Roran decided against it. He had an errand he needed to run before it got too late.
Bidding Nul and Kell a good night, Roran headed for the shopping district. He made his way into the armory plaza where Kell had bought him his sword and shield only a couple weeks ago. That evening felt like a lifetime ago.
Perusing the vendors, Roran tried out a handful of swords. They were all better than the beat up loaners he had been using, but none of them felt quite right. None of them fit his hand or flowed as nicely as the one that Kell had picked out for him. Likely because she actually knew what to look for in a sword. Roran found that he had similar struggles in finding a replacement shield.
It was just as well. Even if Roran replaced the sword and shield Murrin had taken from him, the townspeople would likely take those as well and then scold him for wasting their precious money. It wasn't like he could hide a sword or a shield under his clothes.
Giving up, Roran started wandering through the vendors at random. He found an armorer selling leather goods and decided that he was overdue for a good set of boots. Even if Murrin noticed, Roran doubted he would try to steal his boots. If he did, Roran would draw a line. Besides, the next event was an agility trial and Roran would need good footwear.
Feeling slightly emboldened in resisting Murrin's miserly ways, Roran looked over the rest of the armor. He found a chest guard that was a perfect fit. It wasn't much but it would cover his heart and could be hidden under his shirt.
Somewhat better defended, Roran wandered through the weapons again. This time he went looking through the knives and daggers. After playing with a handful, and getting a long lecture from an overly eager blacksmith, Roran found a blade. He wasn't sure if it was considered a dagger or a knife, but it felt good in his hand and could be hidden comfortably inside his boot.
By the time he finished his shopping the sun was setting and stars were beginning to dance along the sky. Deciding to call it a night, Roran tucked the rest of his coin into his boot and headed home. On a whim, he stopped by the bakery where he had run into Karyn several nights ago.
The street smelled of fresh baked bread and sweetmeats, but Karyn was nowhere to be seen. As Roran was about to head inside, he heard a whimper, as though someone was in pain. Stopping to listen, Roran heard the sound again, followed by the smack of flesh on flesh and a curse. The sounds were coming from the alley behind the bakery.
Leaving the street, Roran entered the dark alleyway, following the sounds. He heard another smack and another curse. The voice was Karyn's, Roran was sure of it.
He ran down the alleyway, passing a handful of offstreets. The sound came again, this time behind him. Cursing himself, Roran jogged back, trying to find the source of the sound. He didn't hear any more cursing or sounds of violence.
Turning to run back the other direction, Roran ran straight into Morena.