Runt moved through the crowd easily, it parted like a river flowing past a massive boulder. The wharf's salty smell hung in the air like an old blanket. It was easy to see the large corkboard over the heads of the masses. Races from all over the cosmos drifted past him - everything from the typical orc to the less common human. He even saw a creature that looked part machine, bits of tubing and wiring covering his back and arms. Peering at the corkboard there seemed to be some magic at work making it easier to read the languages. At least, that's what Runt suspected since the whole thing had a bit of a sparkle to it and he could read everything; despite only knowing giant and a bit of garbled common. Pieces of parchment, vellum, and paper were pinned or stapled all over the weathered wood. Some looked like relatively new advertisements:
New Archmage for the New Year!
Gren Blockman becomes Twilight Isle's newest Archmage after defeating Eden Parker in two out of three amazing duels! The Celestial Citadel must be the best spot to view fireworks!
The January Hunt has begun! The Hunters Guild are looking for strong bounty hunters and would be adventurers to travel deep beneath the underground or brave the winds and heat (coughdragonbreathcough) of the Cadentia Desert!
Tipys and Topsy are looking for a groundskeeper. Long claws and tusks are considered an asset. Leave a note at the public library.
The Governor's Gala!
COMING SOON!
Feb. 2, Baby, It's COLD!
But Don't You Worry About That
Because:
The Luxurious UpTown FIDDLERS DOME ARENA
Will Host the Hottest Party of the Season!
The THEME of this year's Gala:
KOKOMO
A Glamorous Tropical Setting Awaits!
Mark Your Calendars!
Seasoned sailors needed for a long journey. Ask for Raul in the Golden Perch Inn.
Other notes seemed seasoned by the salt, wind, and rain. Some extra bit of magic must be keeping it pinned on the old cork.
Come test your wits and skill in the dueling arenas! You can fight with your bare knuckles, a weapon, or magical arts. See schedule below:
Runts smile spread wide over his face. "U SLAAG!" He put a meaty hand on a passerby's shoulder, turning him around bodily to face the board. Runt pointed at the poster. "WHERE BE BATTLE?"
Fur stood on end at the loud voice, cat-like ears twitching. "et be dat way", he gestured with a paw-like hand down one of the streets. "der be map on other side of board. Look for ootback, annex or arena."
Runt nodded and clapped the man on the back. He first tore off the wanted poster of the Great Red Wyvern, shoving it into the pocket of his boars hide vest under the layers of wolf fur. Then he moved to the other side of the board, quickly marking out a route to these fighting pits. With large strides he moved in the direction the cat-man pointed out, eager for the thrill of a fight.
Last edited by Runt on Sat May 11, 2019 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Runt plodded the rest of the way up the hill, dropping the sack on the ground and sitting cross-legged at the top, looking into the sky. After looking up at the sky for a while he turned his head to Max. "I AM READY TO SHARE STORY".
Max reached for one of Alasdair's hands and started happily towards Runt. "Go right ahead," giving him an encouraging nod to begin when ready.
He took a deep breath and then started in a slow and - soft for him - voice. "DE SKY COLORS ‘OLD OUR STORIES. DIS IS ONE OF DEM."
"LONG AFTER DE TUSEN-YEAR-WAR DRYM, DE SON OF ANNAM, WALKED DE FJELLS. DER 'E FOUND A MIGHTY ISEJOTUN - STORVALD - BATTLING WID A WYRM. STORVALD TOOK DE 'EAD AND TAIL OF DE WYRM AND STRETCHED OUT ‘IS ARMS, TEARING IT IN TWO. DRYM WAS SO IMPRESSED DAT ‘E SHOWED STORVALD DE WAY TO SVARBORG, DE SEA OF MOVING ICE AND DE ANCIENT ‘OME OF DE ISEJOTUN. STORVALD RALLIED DE ISEJOTUNEN AND LED DEM ON A 'UND YEAR JOURNEY TO SVARBORG. ONCE DER, 'E CRAFTED WID 'IS MIGHTY 'ANDS A SLAGSKEPP NAMED KRIGVIND TO 'UNT DE MIGHTY 'VAL.
STORVALD AND TRE-’UND MEN TOOK TO DE SLAGSKEPP, ‘UNTING DE KVIT-’VAL. DE KVIT-’VAL WAS CUNNING, IT WOULD DIVE UNDER DE ICY WATERS AND RISE UP UNDERNEAT' DE SLAGSKEPP, TIPPING IT OVER AND CAUSING MANY ISEJOTUNEN TO DROWN IN DE FROZEN DEPT'S. DEY STAYED ON DE WATER FOR TRE-'UND DAYS SEARCHING AND ‘UNTING FOR DE KVIT-’VAL. BUT STORVALD ‘AD SLAIN ‘UNDS OF ALFS, TUSENS OF VAN, AND TIER-TUSENS OF DVERG. ‘E ‘AD ENSLAVED TWO KVIT-WYRMS. DIS ‘VAL WOULD NOT ESCAPE ‘IM.
DE VIND WAS STRONG BE'IND ‘IM AND ‘E CHASED DE KVIT-’VAL AROUND DE SEAS. DE MIGHTY KVIT-’VAL LIFTED UP FROM DE ICY WATER, CRASHING INTO DE KRIGVIND. BUT IT DID NOT BREAK! DE GREAT KVIT-’VAL DOVE UNDERNEAT’ AND KRACH’D INTO DE KRIGVIND BUT IT DID NOT BREAK! DE VIND BLEW IN A GREAT UVAR AS DE KVIT-’VAL ROSE UP AGAIN, BUT STORVALD WAS READY!
‘E TOOK ‘IS GREAT ‘VALSPYD AND T’REW IT WID SUCH STRENGT’ DAT IT PASSED RIGHT T’ROUGH DE KVIT-’VAL! IT TOOK ANOT’ER ‘UND DAYS FOR DE KRIGVIND TO BRING BACK DE KVIT-’VAL, SLAIN BY STORVALD. DE KJOTT OF DE KVIT-’VAL FED DE ISEJOTUNEN FOR TO-’UND DAYS. DRYM WAS SO PLEASED WID STORVALD DAT WHEN ‘E WAS TRE-’UND DAYS, INSTEAD OF DYING IN WAR, STORVALD WAS LIFTED UP INTO DE SKY ON ‘IS KOLOSSAL SLAGSKEPPKRIGVIND WHERE ‘E COULD ‘UNT 'VAL AND WYRM FOREVER. TO DIS DAY ALL ISEJOTUNEN CAN SEE STORVALD ON DE SLAGSKEPPKRIGVIND IN DE SKY."
Runt took off his vest and revealed, over his left breast, a blue tattoo which outlined the constellation. He then gestured up the vast sky and pointed out a series of stars. "KRIGVIND"
Last edited by Runt on Sat May 11, 2019 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
-------------------------------- Later that Evening --------------------------------
Max looked over the small group gathered. "Let's see. A cautionary tale about interaction with the gods, a story about the mighty battle between beast and giant, or a romantic legend about star crossed lovers. Who should win tonight's prize?" Wondering aloud. "How about --- everyone!" Beaming brightly to them all. "Because I'm so excited you all came out tonight, I'm going to have to give you all two tickets to the planetarium! I hope you don't mind of course," she added on as she started heading over to the story tellers and passing them pairs of tickets.
Runt lifted his head up from the ground as he was given two pieces of paper. "WHAT BE DIS?"
"It means you can trade these into the Planetarium and look around. You and a friend, or mate."
He snorted back. "'AVE NO MATE. WHAT BE ... PLAN'T'ARUM?"
"It is a place where you can learn about other stars and their stories. Just like Krigvind." Max pointed towards his chest, where the tattoo was.
-------------------------------- A Few Nights Later --------------------------------
Runt was standing in the Outback after a training session with Matt Seemon. He held out the tickets to Matt, trying to explain in his own fashion what they were and why he had them. Runt finally found the words he was looking for. "I WAS TOLD TO GO WID VENN ... FRIEND. YOU IS ONLY VENN RUNT 'AVE."
Last edited by Runt on Sat May 11, 2019 8:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Runt didn’t often wander through the city, preferring to hunt in the wilds. It seemed like Rhy’din was always growing and changing. However, there was something which continued to bring him back to paved, cobbled and dirt roads. He liked Van and all the other beings that inhabited this place of worlds. They were confusing and unpredictable but it stirred a curiosity in him - the same curiosity which led him here in the first place.
On one particular street, there was a loud thumping noise coming from a bright neon green storefront with metallic looking walls. Pausing to examine it Runt watched a young half-machine come out with a plump, curvaceous half-van clinging to its side. Following behind them was a tall lanky creature with floppy ears and a technologically enhanced arm. It leaned against the building smoking something sweet as the door closed. The loud thumping was some sort of rhythmic beating coming from inside the building.
“Ho, blue one with the tats, looking for some music? Dre Ska can hook you up.”
The androgynous techno-arm being locked eyes with Runt and waved him inside. “Don't worry, you'll fit.”
Matt had spent a lot of time teaching Runt the difference between technology and magic. Sometimes it all looked the same to him, but the thumping rhythm filled Runt with energy and the desire to move. It was like a more subtle version of the ancestral spirits in his veins. He followed the floppy-ear-techno-arm inside.
Somehow the doors seemed to grow around Runt, and the inside was a large open space with lots of merchandise hanging behind glass panels on the walls. There were t-shirts, musical instruments, headphones and placards with faces or pictures. In the centre was a throng of people chatting, singing, swaying and moving their bodies to the music. He watched creatures from the cosmos move and flow to the rhythm in a chaotic but somehow predictable pattern. Some moved alone, others looked literally stuck together in twos or threes and sometimes they all clumped in a huge mass that looked like one many armed beast. It was all done in time to the thumping, pounding, sometimes grinding beat which was infrequently punctuated by a high pitched voice singing in staccato bursts.
Three hours later Runt walked out all sweaty with red, pink and black lip marks all over his chest. A curvy half-elf was plastered to one side and a small creature with furry pointed ears sat on his shoulder. Runt laughed and grinned heartily to something the furry one said as they all swayed together towards Kabuki Street.
In the middle of the afternoon the neon-green building was quiet but still buzzing with people. T-shirts from the recent Music of Beltane were on display along with signed artifacts. Runt stood in the large building and looked behind the glass wall to a large set of bright blue headphones. Ezket - the Adrinian Cyborg he met the other night, was trying to explain their purpose.
“They take the dep sounds you heard last night and bring them to yer ears. And these ones have a … little special somethin’ to them so they’ll fit yer head.”
“RUNT ‘AVE NO COIN.” It was true, Runt had used up the last of the nobles from the March Hunt.
“Sketter can strike a deal with you. I’m sure we can … make an arrangement.” The adrinian had an extra wide smile as he unlocked the cabinet and took out the headphones.
“NO MADGE-ICK?”
“Nah, nah, ‘course not. Just a little science.” He motioned for Runt to lower his head and slipped the wireless headphones over his ears. Runt didn’t see the glow as they stretched to fit his cranium. “You pair it with this.” He held up a small box. “Just keep the box on you and you can hear some music. I can even set you up with some sweet beats.” He quickly pressed a few buttons and Runt’s eyes lit up as he heard the sounds from last night.
“Nice right? Let’s you get you set up with a deal.”
The giant followed his new friend over to slender man in a white pullover sweater and dark pair of jeans. Sketter had pointed ears and an extra digit on his hands. “Yo Skets. Blue tats here doesn’t have coin, but I was thinkin’ we could make an arrangement for him so he could get his ears a set of Skellicks.”
Sketter looked at Runt who had started bobbing his head to the music flooding his ears then swiveled his head to look at Ezket. “Ye thinkin’ ‘bout Louie?”
“That’s right Skets.”
“‘ey big guy. Ye can have de Skellicks if’n ye de sum work fer me.”
Runt eyed them warily for a moment. “WHAT KIND O’ WORK?”
“Easy stuff big guy. Ye meet us ‘ere every Thursday an’ Friday night and ye do sum protectin’. We won’t always stay ‘ere, sometimes we go down to dockside. Ye work fer us fer six months and we call it splits.” Sketter gave him a smile and opened his hands in a generous gesture.
“RUNT PROTECT SKET FER DE MUSIC CIRCLES. IT FAIR DEAL.” Runt bobbed his head to the music while Ezket set up the small box with a playlist full of songs.
Thursday, May 23rd
“Heeeey big guy. You watchin’ the door tonight or can you come dance with me?” Strobe lights streaked along the blue and black walls as creatures and people from everywhere danced and moved to Dre Ska’s beats. Runt’s face stretched in a broad toothy grin for Lillthinia, who was still swaying to the music as she pressed up against his chest. He liked her pointed ears and black-painted lips. “RUNT AT DOOR TONIGHT.”
“Well, you be sure to come and find me when you’re done.” The half-elf gestured for him to lower his head and she planted a kiss on his cheek.
Early in the night Runt had to throw out two rowdy dwarves and a cyborg who kept dropping his pants to show off his new modifications. Just before his shift ended a fight broke out between a half-ogre woman and three green-skinned rodians. Runt ended up shoving them apart and holding back the half-ogre forcibly as she cussed out the trio. He kicked the rodians out the front-door and escorted the half-ogre out the back.
Two burly orcs came and relieved him of duty around one in the morning. Still feeling the vibe of Dre Ska’s music Runt started looking for Lillthinia. She was sitting on Ezkets lap playing with his newest set of artificial hair. “Biiiig guyyy!” She crooned, reaching out a hand to grab at one of his fingers. “Let’s go dance.”
“He can dance in a minute babe. We need to talk some business.”
A flattering pout graced Lillthinia’s lips but she gave them both a kiss and wandered off to find the furry imp with a docked tail. Runts eyes followed Lillthinia in her calf-high white furry boots and matching tank-top. Ezket coughed and the giant-man turned to look at him. “WHAT EZ WANT?”
“Skets was thinkin’ we might have another way for yeh to pay for those Skellicks” he nodded towards the headphones hanging around Runts neck. “We heard you like fightin’ in those rings, but I got the feelin’ you want somethin’ a bit more … real.”
======
Friday, May 24th
The warehouse was empty of furnishings, shelves, forklifts or anything else you might expect to see - except people. It was packed with creatures, beasts, cyborgs, humans and a host of others around a temporary cage set up in the centre. Thick chains hung from the roof and were bolted into the ground forming a twenty-foot diameter circle. Two of the bolts could be easily removed from the outside allowing someone to lift the chains providing entry into ring.
A blue-scaled androgynous lizard-looking creature with solid black eyes stood on a small crate and calmed the crowd. “Ladiezzzzzzz, Enbieezzzzzzz, Genteeelzzzzzz. Todaaaaaaay we have a ssssssssspeciaaaaaaal match. He jusssssst won an Opaaaaaal, now he fightzzzzzzzzzz for keeeeepzzzzzzz, faaaacing the champion: ILLLGAAAARRDD!”
A burly dwarf with scars on his face and a black belt with a gold centerpiece around his waist stood up on another crate and raised his fists into the air as the crowd cheered. Runt grinned at him toothily.
“Theeeeyyy fiiiight to the deeaaaaaatthh in tonightzzzzzz Riiiiiiing ooooof Chaaaaaaiiiinzzzzz!”
Two andrinian cyborgs unbolted the entrance, allowing Runt to enter first, followed by Ilgard. “Wheeen the beelllll rinnngsss gentzzzzzzz. Theennn…. until onneee of youzzzzz is dead.” The blue lizard raised a small gong and with a boing the crowd went wild as Ilgard pulled out a knife and dove straight for Runts chest.
The din of the crowd was overpowering as they clamoured at the lizard-man who tried to ease them with his hands and silky voice. Bouncers swooped out of the forest around the make-shift cage outside Rhy’din city limits to keep the announcer from being swept up in a frenzy of enraged patrons. Ezket had known better than to show up without Runt a second time, but his informant told him that the fall-out was brutal. Grackle, the half-lizard half-ogre he was supposed to fight had gone on a rampage and tore out nearly half the trees along the clearing. Instead, he sat in a smoky office with Sketter, half-wishing he was running away from Grackle instead of facing his boss.
“Ov’a three ‘undred thousand nobles.” The quiet in Sketter’s voice caused chills to run up and down his circuits and spine all at once. “Twice that because of de money we didn’t make.”
“Imma gonna fix it Boss.”
“Ye better. Or it’s yeh in that ring.”
Monday, June 10th Near Battlefield Park
A tall lanky figure with floppy ears, artificial green locks and a technologically enhanced arm leaned against a street pole near the Battlefield Park manor. A cigarette dangled from his pale lips as he watched the ladies from Kabuki street run their patrol. Rumour had it the giant hadn’t been seen around in the rings for almost half a week, so if he was anywhere he would be here. A collection of butts littered the ground around him before he saw the young giant lumber out and down the street. The Adrinian Cyborg waited until Runt was about fifteen feet away before stepping out.
“Yo blue tats. Where ya been?”
Runt shifted uncomfortably for a moment before continuing his long strides past Ezket. “RUNT GO ‘UNT. ‘UNT NOT GO WELL.”
“Yeah, ‘bout that, some other things didn’t go so well either. ‘member that fight yeh were supposed to have couple ‘o days ago? Well ya missed it. So we set it up for the next day. Thing is, ya didn’t show up ta work.”
The giant shrugged. “RUNT BE DER FOR EZ DIS WEEK.”
“Ya better bud. Because we got some fights lined up and ya gotta show up.”
“RUNT NOT FIGHT FOR EZ, RUNT NEED… REST.” The giant had received enough of Mallory’s lectures to know if he showed up with one more set of obscure non-hunting wounds that she’d start asking questions. He also needed to be strong enough for that hunting.
The Adrininan didn’t seem to pleased and raced to stop in front of Runt. “Don’t work like tha’ bud. Ya signed a contract. We made a deal. It would be best for everyone if ya kept yer honor. Ya gotta fight. And if its rest ya need, I can help with that too. It’ll cut into your profits, but I think it’ll work out in the long run.”
“RUNT NOT CARE ABOUT PAPER CONTRACT.”
“Oh, but ya should, blue-tats. It’s kinda like that magic ya don’t like. Ya break a contract, ya break yer honor. And ya don’t want that. And if it’s rest ya need, we can help ya. I got somethin’ that’ll make ya stronger, help ya recover faster.”
Blue eyes stared at the half-machine half-adrinian for more than a few moments. Finally, the giant nodded. “WHEN BE NEXT SLASS?”
“We gotch’a set up fer one this Friday and another one on the 19th. And since we’re walkin’, why don’t we stop by my friends place and I’ll get ya a little brown-ochre to help ya. It will make ya stronger, better than any rest."
Lillthinia had just finished her shift at Sketters more exclusive club. She had made good tips tonight. Tits for Tips. That’s what her mama said. Probably why she didn’t know her daddy, but Lillthinia had gotten over that a long time ago. She was counting her nobles when she saw Ezket and Sketter slip into a back office. She adored Ezket but trusted Sketter about as far as she could through Runt, and tips paid more than tits if you could get the right information.
The ladies dressing room was adjacent to the office, and long ago Lillthinia had discovered the vents in the ceiling were no better than the thin walls in her studio apartment. A screen was conveniently placed in front of that corner so the ladies could smoke some of Skets products without stinking up the room. With a chair here and quick lift there she could lift the grate and lean in to listen.
It started off with the basics, how the brown-ochre was selling, when the next shipment was due, who was on protection detail, and investments in their newest operation: pink-lady. Then Ezket brought up the floating fight-ring.
“Our blue guy did well last night. I got ‘im set up fer another one on the 21st. We makin’ good money from our cut.”
“What are de odds?”
“Well I got ‘im set up against dis half-orc half-troll. Wasn’t easy to find. He’s underdog dis time. Plus two hundred.”
Lillthinia smiled, Runt would still win. He was fierce. He’d been the favourite the past four fights, so it was wise to get him a tougher opponent. Apparently Sketter was thinking the same thing.
“Owes us ov’a three ‘undred nobles still. As de odds move in ‘is favor we get less bang for de buck. Tis time to load de dice.”
There was a pause; Lillthina strained to hear Ezkets reply. “You got it boss. We set up de next few fights where he win big. I get ‘im an easy mark and we pull the plug.”
The conversation shifted back to pink lady distributers and Lilllthinia closed the vent and pulled out a reefer. She held some of the smoke, and then let it out slowly letting it calm her edge. What do you do when you get a tip like that? If she’d learned anything in this business, at some point it pays to stop flirting and share both tits and tips.
The seedy restaurant half-way between Cadentia and RhyDin wasn't in any official jurisdiction. The perfect place for an illegal cage match. Lillthinia watched a cyborg and a half-orc anchor the cage. Would this be the fight where they tanked Runt? She slipped through a series of doors just in time to hear the bookies talking about some half-crazed fool who bet one and a half thousand nobles against Runt. Her heart skipped a beat. That half-crazed fool was probably some go-between for Skets. Lillthinia licked her lips a bit before slipping out in time to catch Runt lumbering over with Ezket slinking beside him.
"Runt, baby!" She sauntered over to him. "Do you mind if I give you a little good luck charm before you go in?"
Ezket kept walking towards the Goblin’s Breath. Runt, for his part, grinned and half-picked her up in a hug. As he lifted her up, Lillthinia whispered, "Runt, don't fight this one baby."
The giant laughed at her. "RUNT FIGHT AND WIN! RUNT WILL CRUSH DIS' ALF-MACHINE TROLL!"
"Look, Runt, baby, just trust me - okay?"
"LILLY WORRY. WHY?"
"Big guy, you just gotta trust me, 'k?"
At that moment, Ezket stepped out and gave Runt a hard stare. "Runt, it 's-a time ta getcha prepped. C'mon."
The giant gave her a reassuring pat before taking his good luck charm. Lillthinia watched, helplessly, as Runt walked to the large restaurant. The lovable giant had to duck under those double doors. Still, she knew they picked this place specifically for the ability to set up a cage his size. She tried to hide the worry on her face as she ran after him. Her anxiety built as she watched Ezket give Runt something to drink - the colour was off. It wasn't the usual mix. The officials turned a blind eye. Nothing about this looked right. On the far side of the converted arena Lillthinia watched the half cyborg-half troll run his tongue along the serrated edge of a wicked-looking sword. People started to pile in around her while the bookies started to call out odds. Normally the spirit of competition thrilled her, but the din of noise only served to spike her anxiety. Lillthinia ran out the door, whipping out her phone.
How does one reach a… witch?
Last edited by Runt on Sat Oct 19, 2019 11:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lillthina was in the middle of texting Runt's witch when someone ripped the phone out of her hand. "NO PHONES!" The green-skinned bouncer held the phone up above his head.
"Look, buddy, I need that!" She stood up, her brown hair falling in her eyes as she tried to reach for it.
"NO PHONES!" He slugged her across the face, sending her into the coarse gravel. She sniffed, wiping the blood away from her mouth. At that moment, a chorus of boos and groans came from the restaurant.
Lillthinia's eyes widened. "No," she quietly panicked. Scrambling to her feet, she ran towards the restaurant. "Shit, shit, shit…"
She burst through the door just in time to see a bloodied Runt take another hit from a wild-looking serrated sword. His movements were sluggish, his breathing laboured, and his eyes glazed over. The fans would think it was the pain or his wounds - but she knew better. Whatever shoddy shit they gave him was slowing his reflexes and dulling his senses.
"RUNT!" She cried helplessly. Ezket had drifted up to the second-floor balcony, loitering with the other sponsors, a soft, pleased smile on his face.
The cyborg-troll used his off-hand to punch Runt in the throat, causing the giant to gasp and wheeze. Runt fell to his knees, a gurgling grunt escaped his lips.
"Not so tall now, you ETTIN!" The troll hurled the insult as he gripped Runt's head and smashed it into his knee.
Outside the restaurant, a fast-growing, swirling mass of purplish-black energy quickly clicked into view. It offered a glimpse of shaded trees and gnarled brambles. That, and four figures, three of them humanoid, sprinting for the exit. Bailey waved Ebon, Mallory, and her hellhound through the portal, keeping an eye on his side of the Veil for any unwanted visitors. The last thing they needed was some hobgoblin crashing their party.
A three-headed hellhound with vipers for tails and blood and steam pouring from his jaws went bounding towards the green-skinned bouncer. The witch, following in his wake, pointed at the apparent target: "Foot off the phone! Where the fuck is Runt?!"
The half-orc narrowed his black eyes at the hedge portal. "What the f-" he fell to the ground as the hellhound bounded towards him. "Look, lady," he growled, "if you want to see the fight, you just have to show the mark." The half-orc started to stand, slowly, eyeing the dog and the trio. From behind him, sounds of cheering, booing, and straight-up yelling could be heard from the restaurant.
Ebon's dark eyes narrowed, scanning left and right, seeking out any sign of the isejotun. One eyebrow arched as he turned towards the bodyguard. "The mark?"
"Are you going to get in my way?" Mallory asked him as she dug into her shirt, pulling out the Key of Earth from her necklace. Bailey, sporting some marble armor with rather nasty spikes, calmly slid beside Mallory.
The bouncer narrowed his eyes. "If you don't know, then you don't have ..." his voice trailed off as Bailey revealed a black star sapphire key, showing his claim to the Celestial Tower.
"I would strongly advise listening to her," Bailey stated. Beside him, Ebon displayed his baronial ring so as not to be outdone.
"That way." The bouncer pointed to the building. "Job's not worth that much, I can see when I'm outnumbered." He spat on the ground and walked the opposite direction.
Mallory scooped up the remains of the phone. "Keep watch, Kirby. If he tries anything, eat him." She looked aside at Ebon and Bailey, noting the presence of the Celestial Key, then stalked through the double doors the half-elf had darted through earlier, hurrying inside.
((Adapted from live-play with Bailey, Ebon, Mallory and Runt.))
The abandoned restaurant was crowded to bursting. People of all types and sizes were pressed around a large, circular, chained cage hooked up to the roof of the restaurant. The second level had been converted into a balcony overlooking the crowd and the fight. Those in finery watched lazily from the higher viewpoint, drinking champagne or beer as bookies stood by their side. Ebon paused, assessing the scene. "It's a fight club".
Inside the chained arena, the cyborg troll loomed over a bloody, sluggish, glazed-eye Runt. The troll lifted his large, serrated sword and struck Runt through the heart. A chorus of groans and whooping cheers filled the wooden structure. Mallory had only a second to decide. She slashed her bleeding hand through the air, vanished in a crimson flash—
—and reappeared in the cage with the dangerous troll, bracing her bloody hand on Runt as she hissed, "Μερίδιο." In another crimson burst, blood ejected from Runt's mortal wound as the rent flesh sealed itself. At the same moment, a massive bloodstain blossomed on her shirt, and she violently coughed a stream of blood across the cage. Runt blinked his eyes furiously, the fuzzy image of his opponent collided with a smaller, horned woman. "MAAL-REE..." he labored. "NO."
Ebon's bracers shifted, but instead of his usual staff, they reshaped themselves into a pair of keen-edged katars. He rose into the air towards the cage, ready to back up Mallory. Bailey walked into the crowded restaurant just in time to see Mallory teleport herself into the ring with Runt and use her blood-based powers to heal the frost giant. "Oh, shit." Bailey glanced over to Ebon, then looked at the crowd, and drew his sword. "I think we might be in trouble..." If he had to guess, Mallory's intervention wasn't going to please these people, let alone the cyber-troll still wielding a sword in there.
The crowd began an uproarious protest. "HEY!" Someone cried. "Who the hell is that?!" another exclaimed. A blue-scaled androgynous lizard, who stood on a box nearby, called out. "Eaaaazzzyyyyy ladiezzzzz, gentttzzzzz, and neutralzzzzzz." Then it turned to the cage. "GEEEEET OUUUUUUUT!!!"
Bailey looked down at his sword, looked at the crowd forming to block his progress further inside the restaurant, and he swore in Sylvan. Then he clapped his hands together, turned into water, and became a puddle oozing towards the ring. It was going to take him some time to get in there. Someone slipped on the puddle, and there was a little kerfuffle. A small dwarf was yelling obscenities at Mallory. "HEY HORN-HEAD! Get out of the RING!"
The cyber-troll glared at Mallory, then laughed. "HAH! Two for one!" He lifted the serrated sword and swung it expertly, just as the onlookers from the second floor began placing bets with their bookies. When Ebon saw the cyber-troll swing, his mind reached out to stop the blade's descent -- but a tall, oozy creature with tentacles for a beard intercepted Ebon's mind defense with a counterspell as it spoke something unintelligible up at Ebon. Sensing the interference from the illithid, Ebon focused his attentions on the cage itself, a barrier of heavy chains.
The force of taking on Runt's wound onto herself had forced Mallory to her knees, in no position to avoid the blow. The cyborg-troll's blade seemed to slow, but for a moment... then fell to her shoulder, nearly severing her right arm. She threw her head back to scream, but it was muffled by the blood in her throat. She started to fall, braced herself with her left arm... as her right arm began to dig into the floor and convulse. She was taking ragged, bloody breaths as she looked over her shoulder at Runt. "I am your jarl... this... is what I do..."
Puddle-Bailey clipped through the chain-link barrier and formed himself into solid flesh. Still, it took him a while to recover his strength from the use of magic and travel, and he could only watch as Mallory's arm convulsed, attached to her body by only a few tendons and veins.
Seeing Mallory writhing on the cage floor, Ebon concentrated and focused all of his psionic talents on the links of those chains. In his mind's eye, he envisioned water seeping into stone... water freezing to ice... ice swelling until it could no longer be constrained.
"Ggrraaarrrrrrgh," Runt growled weakly, trying to stand. His toothy opponent merely grinned and slashed the serrated sword towards Runt's back. A voice whispered in his head, just as the blade was descending: You were never worthy to hold me.
The exposed tendons and veins wrapped around Mallory’s right arm, forming into a bloody, pulsating limb that terminated in serrated black claws, each several inches long. It pulled up out of the floor and caught the blade, stopping its descent towards Runt. Her eyes rolled back and turned blood red. With the little bit of energy he had left, Bailey tried to fire off a bubble of water at Runt's opponent to drive him back temporarily. Mallory laughed as Bailey blasted him back, letting go of the blade, and then lashed out at him again with that limb, going for his neck.
Dark orange blood mixed with oil seeped out of the wide gash across the cyborg troll's neck. The troll gurgled, stumbling once towards Mallory, the sword raised.
The chains around the cage clattered to the crowd, causing people to tumble back over each other. "This place has gone to shit!" a young Andorian shouted. Some of the spectators started to leave through the doors, while others took more bets. Ebon surged forward but pulled up short when he saw what the witch was becoming. He wasn't sure getting between her and her prey was wise. Instead, his mind reached out to lift up pieces of shattered chains, launching them at the cyber-troll's head like a machine-gun.
Mallory tensed her ugly, transformed right hand, driving the claws in deeper. The limb shuddered as it held the cyborg-troll up, but as the pieces of the chains went piercing through his skull, she let him go... and she turned to begin bending and shearing her way through the bars. Her voice was a loud, unearthly hiss: "TELL ME WHO DID THIS TO MY FRIEND... TELL ME WHO POISONED HIM, WHO DRUGGED HIM... OR YOU ARE ALL GOING TO DIE...!"
The crowd went silent.
((Adapted from live play with Runt, Bailey, and Ebon!))
Upstairs, the folks in finery were quickly and quietly ushered out. A few of the spectators -- dwarves, half-elves, adrinian cyborgs, and zabraks -- ran out the back and front doors.
"I'd listen to her if I were you, people." Ebon was nothing if not helpful.
Bars bent and broke, and Mallory's arm lashed out, fast as a viper, snatching the announcer off his box. "YOU FIRST..."
The androgynous, blue lizard wheezed. "I dooooon't, rightly knoooooww. Ezzzzzzzketttzzzzz hisssssss hanndleeeeeerrrrr."
"EZKET. A NAME IS ENOUGH," she hissed and hurled the creature roughly towards several retreating spectators.
The announcer picked himself up and scampered off with the rest of the spectators. The room was emptying faster than a barrel of beer at Orktoberfest.
Another clap to his chest and Bailey's skin became stone, with those spikes from earlier returning. He rushed over to where Runt had been downed, kneeling beside him and trying to pull him away from the carnage. With the giant's height and weight, this likely was more of a drag, for as long as Runt could stand it.
A small, curvy half-elf quickly ran towards Runt. "Runt, oh no, no, no." The giant swiftly faded in and out of consciousness as Bailey tried to drag him out of the ring.
Ebon landed in front of the half-elf. "Do you know who did this to him?"
Bailey looked to the half-elf, to Ebon, and back to her as he struggled to drag the giant out. "We need a healer, Ebon. I do not have the skills to help him."
Lillthinia gently held Runt's hand, looking worried. "I don't know what they gave him. C'mon, big guy... don't fade out on me."
Blood continued to flow liberally down Mallory's twisted and malformed right arm. There was a strange thudding in the air, a sourceless and unearthly drumbeat, as she looked to Runt, taking in his condition with bloody eyes. Runt's breathing was slow and laboured. A quick assessment showed that he was concussed, with at least two serrated wounds from the sword - one across his chest and the other across his side. Blood seeped through his thick, hide clothing.
"I can close his wounds, but if he was poisoned..." Ebon's voice trailed off as he closed his eyes and focused on the giant's injuries. "Runt, if you can hear me, I swear this is not devil magic." Unseen force closed the jagged wounds and held them shut. The psion opened a pouch at his belt to reveal a surgical needle and catgut. "This is going to hurt. I'm sorry."
"A healer, or - oh." Bailey looked to see that the crowd had fled. He bit his lip, though, when he realized something... "There is something wrong here. I am having a hard time tapping into the Hedge to teleport us back."
"They take precautions..." Lillthinia said absently. "They ward this place against magical travel." She was still holding Runt's large hand in both of hers.
"To keep people from interfering with these matches," Bailey said to Lillthinia, nodding.
"I'm going to try and do some field sutures on his wounds," Ebon interjected. "Bailey, keep pressure on that one while I tend to this one here. If we can stop the bleeding, we can get him outside, and then you can teleport him to a real doctor. Or healer. Or whatever."
" I am here, Runt. Lily is here. You'll be okay," Mallory said, her voice booming less as time went on. Her right arm shrank back to something closer to average size, though still long-clawed, bloody, and appalling to look at. She looked over her shoulder at the sound of an approaching truck engine — outside, there was some shouting in Japanese, and a warning burst from what sounded like a heavy machine gun.
A small, smug voice spoke in Bailey's mind, as Runt's blood slicked his hands from where he pressed down on the jötunn's wound. "See, you can protect me better than this oaf can. We would be good for each other."
((Adapted from live-play with Bailey, Ebon, Mallory and Runt.))
Mallory appeared unconcerned by the noises outside as she asked Lily," Do you know his blood type?"
Lillthinia nodded, "Giant blood, it's almost always C-neutral. I've had to patch him up... more than once." Her hands trembled slightly. "Can I come with you? Please? I can't go back now. They'll kill me."
"You can stay in the Tower for a few days, at least until I step down. It is safe there." Bailey looked to Ebon and Mallory, though, for any better ideas for a safehouse.
It was rough stitching, but Ebon was more concerned with efficiency and speed than neatness. "If you have any blood for him, get it. He's lost a lot, and I don't know how much a giant can stand to lose." He didn't look up from his work, but his quiet words were clearly directed at Lilithinia. "Aside from that, just stay close. He may need a kind hand more than anything else right now."
"Kabuki Street." Mallory looked to Bailey, then back to Lily. "You'll be helping Runt recover... and telling me everything you know about Ezket."
The brown-haired half-elf nodded and ran to a back room. Lillthina came back shortly, carrying two large, blood transfusion bags. "Don't ask me where we get them."
Mallory stifled a grunt, gritting her teeth tightly as bones shifted and cracked — and her left arm returned to normal. Blood-stained, but otherwise healthy, the tattoos remarkably intact. Couldn't say the same for her jacket and shirt, though, the right sleeve of both entirely gone.
Lillthinia's eyes widened as she watched Mallory heal. "Holy shit."
Ebon looked over at Mallory with a chuckle. "Yes, she's very skilled, our Mallory."
"If they -- " Bailey gestured toward the sound of the incoming delinquents. " -- are going to take Runt to Kabuki Street, as I suspect they are, it might be best for you to follow them there." A nod for a Lillthinia, and then a question. "What is your name?"
"Lillthinia. Runt calls me Lilly, I think the name is too hard for him." She was babbling a bit, as she watched the delinquents pour in. "How are they going to carry him? He's... super heavy."
"Can you get that started while I close up the other gash?" Ebon peered at Runt's head. "I can't tell if he's concussed at all. We need to transport him as soon as possible." Back to the suturing, he went.
Mallory gave Lillthinia a slow blink as her eyes returned to normal. "What's he weigh in at now? It's been a couple months since I last had a chance to take his measurements..." The delinquents were looking at Runt's prone form dubiously as they conferred with one another.
Lilly nodded and was up and getting the supplies she would need to set-up a blood transfusion. Now that she was put to work by Ebon, Lilly worked like an efficient army paramedic. "Eight hundred or more..."
"Eight hundred, fuck." In spite of everything, there was a short, incredulous laugh from the witch.
Bailey shifted his attention to help Ebon with the other set of sutures. "You did a good thing today, Lillthinia. Thank you." Still, his attention seemed to drift some, away from the injuries and towards the jotun's belt pouch...
Ebon finished the stitching. "We need to get him onto something to keep him stable."
"There are good doctors on Kabuki Street," Mallory offered. Discreet, too, but that didn't need to be said. "If you can teleport us there once we get him outside, we can get him the help he needs..."
"So we carry him outside until we are clear of the teleportation block, open a portal, and then carry him through the Hedge?" Bailey glanced up at the ceiling, pursing his lips. "It might be a tight squeeze, but I will figure out a way to make it work."
Lillthinia finished setting up the transfusion. "Whatever we do, we need to keep him steady and stable."
"If we can get him stable enough, the delinquents brought a truck from the filling station. We can take him back in that instead," Mallory spoke as the delinquents in question approached.
"I can keep him stable while we're moving him, or you can," Ebon gestured to Lilithinia, who seemed quite capable of tending to the isejotun as well as anyone.
Tucking a piece of brown hair behind her ears, Lillthinia commented, "He doesn't like magic, but... maybe some sort of levitation wouldn't hurt right now?"
Bailey snapped his fingers, "And he is not going to be happy if he finds out we took him back through the Veil to save his life. I think the truck will be better. As big as he is, and as narrow as the Hedge can be..."
"Good call. If you can," Mallory nodded to Ebon, "try to levitate him into the truck, nice and easy." One of the delinquents called out through the door, and the driver backed the truck closer to the entrance.
"My gift is psionic rather than magic, so hopefully that will mollify him somewhat. It'd be better if he never learned the details, though." Ebon made a sour grimace. "Eight hundred is pushing my limits, so I'll need help lifting him." Ebon closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. Pinpoints of light like twin stars seemed to shine in their depths as he marshaled his strength to lift the giant. "Bailey, keep his head and neck supported."
"Got it." Bailey moved away from Runt's midsection, eyes lingering for just a beat on that belt pouch, and then provided support with his strengthened marble hands and arms.
Mallory spoke in Japanese to four of the six delinquents who'd come along, and they lined up on either side of Runt. She removed her useless jacket, rolled up her remaining sleeve, and got ready to assist the best she could. Lillthinia kept the line taped and steady while holding onto the blood bag. She looked across the giant's massive body to Mallory. "Thank you. Thank you for coming."
Mallory nodded at Lillthinia, then emphasized: "This isn't over yet." Then she helped the delinquents and Ebon lift with a grunt.
"Gently now... let's get him into the truck."
Runt blinked his eyes a few times as they carried him to the vehicle. They rolled from Mallory to Lilly. He grinned, toothily, at his brown-haired companion. "RUNT. WIN."
As they slowly but steadily carried Runt out of the cantina, Ebon glanced around the place, as if committing it to memory. Hearing Runt, he smiled. "Yes, you won." The giant promptly tried to roll and vomit, giving Bailey a nice chestful of whatever had been in his stomach. "Shit!" Ebon exclaimed. "Careful, Runt! Don't move too much, you'll tear your stitches!"
Mallory chuckled, "Reminds me of the last time I went to Faerie..." As they carried him out to the truck.
With Runt in the truck, Ebon turned to get a look at Bailey, and winced. Bailey stepped back, covered in vomit, bile, chunks of partially digested raw meat and veggies, and a curious dark purple-brown mixture. He sighed as he looked at Ebon, Mallory, Runt, Lillthinia, and the gathered delinquents. "I will... just teleport back to Kabuki Street on my own."
"Good thinking, Bailey!" Ebon agreed.
Mallory looked like she was going to kiss Bailey on the cheek... and thought better of it. "...Thanks for coming out, backing me up."
"Do not think you are getting out of getting some of this near you, Mallory. I know you will want to know what poison they used on him precisely, and I am guessing the answer is somewhere in here." He picked out a mostly digested potato chunk, and flicked it somewhere well over Mallory's head. Then he stripped out of his shirt and balled it up carefully, securing all the lovely puke that Runt had bestowed upon him. "I will see you in a few minutes."
Mallory laughed. "Yeah, I'll be seeing you soon, Bailey."
Lillthinia got into the truck with with everyone else, amazed that they found a vehicle large enough to hold Runt. She whispered quietly to him, cradling the transfusion bag. "Don't worry Runt, we're taking you home."
((Adapted from live-play with Bailey, Ebon, Mallory and Runt.))
The basement of the old department store on Kabuki Street was normally cluttered with old boxes, broken appliances, and cleaning supplies, but effort had been made to clear out most of the space to allow light to come in through the small windows and help it feel less claustrophobic for the wounded Isejotunen.
There were garage doors, loading bays around the back of the store, where a couple of delinquents could be heard chattering often as they stood guard, making sure no one got in who wasn't supposed to.
And from the creaking of aging floors above their heads, it sounded like there were a couple of delinquents on patrol on the upper stories, too.
The space didn't have much in the way of creature comforts, but there was a bucket sink, and an employee washroom that someone had fitted with a shower head and a drain. Bedding had been laid out on the floor, in the common Japanese style (though it had been difficult to arrange for bedding big enough for Runt), and one of the delinquents came in often to ask after supplies and bring them back: food, water, and whatever else was required.
Lillthinia was kneeling beside Runt, working with Mallory to change Runt's dressing as per the doctors orders. They had spoken a little during the doctors visits, mostly about Runt's injuries and the logistics of getting him treated. Lillthinia knew the giant healed quickly, and as he stabilized her thoughts turned to other concerns. Where would she go? How would she and Runt stay safe? Would Ezket and Sketter go to ground? What would the witch do to her...
Runt was sleeping now... which seemed like the best opportunity to address Lillthinia. Mallory studied the half-elf for a long moment, trying to scrutinize her without giving too much away herself, before deciding a peace offering was in order. "Do you smoke?" she asked, and slid a small golden tin of cigarettes out of her back pocket.
Lillthinia gave a practiced, easy smile. "Sure do darling." It was her default, a carefully cultivated personality from the exclusive clubs she worked at. Her slender fingers plucked out a cigarette, lit it, and she took a long, slow drag.
Mallory glanced at the spellwork and nodded slightly, acknowledgment of the magic at hand. "He call it devil's arts to you, too?" she asked conversationally as she led them closer to one of the little windows across the room, so the smoke would flow out better.
Lillthinia laughed, it sounded both like bells and the crunching of leaves underfoot. "He's never seen me do it. Or he doesn't say."
"Probably for the best. He's never liked seeing what I can do." She lit up, too, in a similar way -- she extended her finger, the fingertip spontaneously bled as if pricked, then it disappeared with a little puff of flame. The cigarette wasn't the strongest, but it was high quality, and it would do wonders to relax some of the worry and tension that had been plaguing Mallory over the past month.
"How long have you known him?"
Lillthinia tilted her head back to think, but also to allow the cigarette blend to ease her mind. "Five months."
"Tell me about it." The tone was light, even conversational, though there was no denying Mallory was coming at this from a position of power.
Lillthinia turned her dark, brown eyes to Mallory, mulling things over. She had no loyalties to the Sketters anymore. Her somewhat foolish actions earlier today had proven that. "I met him at a club, in Dockside. The guy likes music." She took another slow drag, then leaned forward. "I don't know a lot about you, Mallory. I've heard rumors, of course. Who hasn't. I've also heard rumors about the company you keep, and I know why Kabuki street is safe to your folk but not many others. So before we go down this path, I need to know how likely you are to kill the people I care about. Because Runt's not the only person I protect."
"Did the people you care about do anything to Runt?" the witch asked bluntly. "Like try to get him killed."
"No. But I don't want any... collateral damage." Lillthinia let some of the cultivated personality drop a bit, she always preferred to be direct. Even if most of her customers didn't like it. "I can give you the head. Cut it off if you like."
"I can cut a wide and bloody swath... or I can be surgical. The more you tell me, the less people I have to kill to protect my friend." Directness was met in kind. She was looking her in the eye now, letting the cigarette smoulder between her fingers. "How did Runt get involved, who did this to him, and why."
Lillthinia glanced down towards Runt, her face softening a bit as she watched him sleep. Then she looked back up at Mallory. "I don't know how he got involved. I think it was a... pair of headphones or something. He didn't have coin on hand, so they struck a deal. It was mostly warehouse work at first, but then someone - maybe Sketter himself - came up with the idea of putting him in the cage fights. He no-showed a few, which cut into their pockets. So they made a plan to win big."
"Those headphones weren't that fucking expensive. He bought me a pair, too, and they made him--" Mallory's expression darkened, and it was clear that her desire for revenge had only deepened. She forced herself to settle, and took another drag. "Sketter. Nickname for Ezket, or different man?"
"Different man." Lillthinia's look soured as she though of his white pull over sweater and beguiling smile. "Ezket's just a handler." The lie came easily enough, no need to talk about how deep Ezket was in all of this.
Lillthinia could see where that line of thought was going, so she tried to steer it back another direction. "He does what Sketter tells him to, sometimes blindly." Which brought another horrifying thought to her head. What would Sketter do to Ezket when he found out what happened?
"You care about Ezket." The witch lowered her cigarette after another drag, and gave her a slow, lazy blink. "You saved Runt's life... I'll consider sparing Ezket's as a favor to you. Even protecting him. But you have to tell me everything, about him, Sketter, anyone who you think might have set him up, anything you know about these fights."
There was another lazy blink as Mallory rolled what was left of the cigarette out between the fingers of her left hand. "You said you don't know much about me... I worked for Samuel Adder when he forced me to, but he hurt people I loved, so I killed him. A mountain monastery tried to keep my wife coming back from the dead... so I led the party that burned it down, and killed the monks to a man as they fought for their lives. I've killed dozens of people for my family..." Her eerily bright green eyes slid over to Runt on his bedroll, and in spite of the wickedness to her words, there was a hint of a fond smile in her expression. "...he's family. So be completely honest, and help me be surgical, and merciful... or I will cut a wide and bloody path until I am sure that he is safe."
Lillthinia stared, wordlessly, up at Mallory from under her red, orange, and gold smoked eyes. She finished off the cigarette, enjoying its musk and herbal undertones. "Damn, you're one crazy bitch," despite the gravitas of the situation, Lillthinia smiled. "I'm glad you're his family. It fits."
She tucked her curly brown hair behind both pointed ears and began a pointed, but thorough, explanation. Ezket and Runt often worked together. Ezket taught him the ropes at the docks and the warehouse. Ezket was the face, but Sketter was the heart and mind of the operation. The crime boss had been here for a few years. He always maintained a low enough profile to stay unnoticed by any law enforcement group or vigilante do-gooders. He had a few businesses. The rave and two exclusive exotic dancer clubs served two purposes. They brought in money, and they served as distribution hubs for drugs purchased across the multiverse. For the past six months, it was brown-ochre plus the standard array, and they recently picked up something new they called pink lady. Once in awhile, Sketter sponsored a fighter in the cage matches. Usually, it was a short-term thing since contestants retire quickly one way or another.
"I think they asked Runt to fight so they could get more money out of him. They had learned, quickly, that he didn't really care about money. Ezket had seen him in The Hold, and knew Runt craved a real fight - a place where endurance and power mattered just as much as skill. Something without a time or round limit. For a while, everyone was happy. Runt fought tougher, and tougher opponents, and the Sket's raked in the cash." She pursed her lips, trying to piece together the last few bits.
Mallory was quiet for most of it, though she interrupted at one point: "The money... did they cheat him? Where do they say he stands on that?"
Lillthinia shrugged, "I wish I could tell you. I wouldn't be surprised if Sketter cheated him, in principle. Even if they signed a contract, Runt wouldn't have read it. I always saw Ezket give Runt a small pouch of coin. He almost always spent it on liquor or food. Ezket took him out for dinner and stuff too. They covered all his medical and supplied him with brown-ochre because of how it accelerates healing and recovery." There was, that one time, Runt bought her something. She didn't see it as any of Mallory's business.
"I'm having the brown-ochre analyzed -- thanks to my vomited-on friend," she added with a faint headshake. Poor Bailey.
"Are Sketter's people loyal... or opportunistic, you think, in the event of his death?"
"They are opportunistic. Sketter attracts people who are loyal, but not vengeful. If you are as surgical, as you suggest you can be, there will be some in-fighting to see who takes Sketter's place - not a quest to hunt down whoever took him out."
Lillthinia leaned back against the old wooden chair she was in. "One more thing. Runt missed a few fights in June. He only told me a hunt of his went south. That's the reason they set him up to lose tonight. They lost a lot of money when he no-showed twice. Sketter was worried that as Runt kept getting more favorable odds, he'd never make it up, so he set him up to lose and bet against him. I think Sketter saw Runt as unpredictable, so he cut his loses and got what he could out of it.
"June. That adds up." Mallory folded her arms as she leaned against the wall near the other woman. "You've told me how to find Sketter. Now it's time for the other end of the bargain. What do you need for you, and Ezket?"
Lillthinia sighed through her nose. "I'd like to see Ezket in one piece, if Sketter doesn't kill him first. As for me?" She smiled, somewhat flirtatiously, up at Mallory. "Know a place hiring a special kind of exotic dancer? Ideally, with a medical plan?"
Mallory lifted her chin... and gave Lillthinia a lazy grin. "Let me make a few phone calls."
