[Ridge]
"What's all that commotion, Zip?" The Viscount pauses to ask the pointy looking individual who opened the door for me. A faint chatter penetrates the thick door. This room is obviously much better built than the other ones. I thought the red one was about to fall apart.
ZIP crosses the room quickly from their small table tucked in the corner and opens the door. As soon as it's cracked a wave of cheers floods the office. I look at the Viscount quizzically. This is an arena, isn't it usually loud? He notices my confusion and stands, his chair screeching against the polished floor.
"This room has been fortified with almost a month's budget. Meaning- no outside sound should pierce that door. So don't ask me how my assistant knows when to answer it, I'm disturbed by that myself." He glances at Zip, who has gone back to work silently at their table. He grabs his cane and I follow him to the door, "So much noise, either someone's getting fired or promoted tonight."
We enter the main area to find an enormous crowd of people practically climbing on stage to cheer, and to my astonishment -and dread-, there stands Kadeeth in the center of it all.
He's wrapping his hands and eliciting more commotion from the audience by taking practice swings at the air and flashing that blinding smile of his. A bald man stands in the middle of the stage, wearing a Morin's Midnight uniform, and separating Kadeeth from his opponent, Caroley. Instead of rushing to stop the fight Viscount Morin turns to me, jutting a thumb behind him at my idiot best friend.
"I didn't realize your business deal went that badly, but understand this, Sir Ridge," He taps his cane, "if my top fighter is injured tonight, the damages are coming out of your sponsorship fund." With that he pats me on the shoulder and heads back inside.
"Mr. Morin! Aren't you going to stop this?" I call out, cautiously gesturing towards Kadeeth.
He smiles, my stomach churns, "This is good entertainment. I should charge double to watch a Noble fight like this. Keep an eye on the fight for me, will you? I'll write up our next draft, come see me when it's over." Then he vanishes behind the blue door again.
I'm gonna kill this idiot. First things first though, I scan the room for Tellur. I know he didn't just abandon a drunk 'friend' in an underground bar. I will literally strangle him.
I find Tellur leaning against an almost collapsed Raforn, who's yelling at Kadeeth to get off the stage. I rush over to them, pushing my way through the horde of people waiting to see Kadeeth get his ass kicked. I mean, he could probably take her with a sword, but this is hand to hand combat. Blades are Kadeeth's specialty. That tends to happen when you're friends with a Knight for this long. That may end tonight though, after I murder him.
If Caroley doesn't do the job for me.