Eve’s family moved through the crowd inside the Arena with uncanny ease. A simple form with the youngest in the center ensured that none of the children were at risk. James accompanied Eve in front, directing them through the maze of passageways until the sound of steel being beaten into submission rang out. Getting through the Arena’s entrance had been as simple as paying one gold fee for each person.

Considering the number of people moving in and out every day, they probably make in one day what I accumulated in a month. So Eve thought as James led her group into the large room resounding with the clank of hammers. This type of business is looking more and more lucrative. Lucrative is good for business, bad for scamming. I think I’ll shelve the idea of forging credit, debts, or land deeds. There’s no telling how something like that could go bad with so many vested interests focused on the honeypot here.

Eve didn’t worry. If gold wasn’t enough, she was willing to bet there were other options. After all, there was always more than one way to interpret a book. Her family would leave and head to the next layer of the Endless Forest if nothing panned out.

“Old Man Iron!” James shouted to be heard over the din. “I’ve brought drinks!” The sudden cessation of all noise, except for a few crackling pops from the forges, was sudden and immediate.

Every single dwarven eye in the repair area turned to stare at James with a burning gaze. Suddenly cries from the assorted crafters rang out from the group of repair workers.

“Drinks!”

“Iron, you bastard share, or we’ll string you up!”

“Kid, kid, I’ll work for half the Iron idiot’s price in a drink!”

“No me, a third!”

“Me, I’ll do it for only a fifth!”

Eve watched as a fistfight broke out between several different dwarfs over the right to assist James. Finally, an older dwarf exited from a doorway on the side of the room. His leather forge apron and clothing were a cut above the others, denoting superiority. The elderly dwarf took one look at the other dwarves fighting before rolling his eyes and moving over to James.

“Laddie, ya canna go saying such things! Look at mah workers. I’ll be getting nothin' out of them for hours now at best!” The older dwarf said as he approached with a wide smile.

“Iron, what the hell are you speaking like that for?” James asked with a confused expression.

Iron’s smile grew wider as the dwarf said, “Theatrics, laddie. Folks expect a dwarf to speak this way. It usually sets them at ease to gouge more for repairs. Dwarven crafting mystique and all that rot.”

“Ah!” James exclaimed, his eyes signifying enlightenment. “I wondered why the prices changed….”

“Hah! Iron can’t keep his prices straight the more drink he takes in!” one of the peanut gallery dwarves said with a rude gesture.

“The lot of you better get back to work, or it's half-rations of beer tonight!” Iron threw over his shoulder with a glare.

Eve watched the dwarven craftsmen get back to work with rapid haste. Then, rolling her eyes, she moved up behind James before nudging him with an elbow. James startled before saying, “Ah, Iron, this here is my current employer. She is big on fighting and wanted to talk to you about the Arena. If you can spare the time, I brought a few kegs from the Wood Table to help smooth things over.”

Iron’s eyes lit up at the mention of the Wood Table kegs before he said, “Follow me to my office. I can’t let these slackers get wind of the good stuff, or we won’t finish today’s orders.”

James nodded in understanding before gesturing for Eve to follow him. Eve sent a mental communication to Sara telling her to explore the market outside the Arena while busy. Nodding, Sara hauled the rest of the group with her as Eve followed Iron and James to the dwarf’s office.

Eve sat in one of the two available human-sized chairs while James took the other. Iron closed the office door discretely after checking that no one was paying attention before taking his own seat at a desk clearly created for dwarven proportions. Glancing at the paperwork stacked on one side of the desk, Eve gave a wave of her hand, pulling several casks of alcohol from her inventory.

Iron’s expression turned serious as he saw the casks, “Are you in deep, lad? I know some good mercenaries if you need help.” Eve watched as the dwarf glanced between James and herself.

“No! It’s not like that. Our bounty’s been cleared. Lady Eve is legitimate, honest!” James said, slightly panicked.

“Hmmm. That’s twenty gold of drink right there. A lot of money for normal people, but you are clearly not normal.” Iron said, turning his full attention to Eve. “I don’t know what exactly is going on, but James and his moronic brother Thomas have helped me out of a few tight spots in this business. I won’t take it well if they end up gutted in an alley somewhere because of you.”

“Noted. With that in mind, I have a few questions about the Arena.” Eve said, keeping her tone calm.

“Alright, ask away. There’s enough drink here for everything I know and a bit more.” Iron said, relaxing back into his chair.

“What keeps winners from being murdered outside of the Arena?” Eve said.

“System. Anyone who’s won within the last week is protected. I don’t know exactly how. I’ve just seen a few results from sore losers. It takes a solid few spells to clean up the mess.” Iron said with a grimace.

“Who controls the odds for betting?” Eve asked.

“System. All odds are randomly generated at the start and then become more precise over time. Attempts to set up betting outside the System never end well.” Iron said with a grin.

I have a bad feeling this is twenty gold down the drain. Eve thought.

“Is there any interference if a solid winner wants to leave the city?” Eve said.

“Nope. The System will transport the next layer, either forward or back, to a random safe location. I noticed you have a group. That won’t matter either. That’s actually been tested and proven multiple times. There are always a few idiots who want to rob a wealthy winner or kidnap the family members for ransom. I’ve never heard of a successful case, but I suppose anything is possible.” Iron said with his grin widening, “This is going to be the easiest drink I’ve ever gotten, James. You did well.”

“Can fighters bet on themselves?” Eve asked, keeping herself from tensing. Her entire plan depended on the answer.

“Yup.” Iron replied. “They can place anything from normal bets, side wagers, multiple tiers, and anything can be used as a wager as long as the person owns it. No credit, no debts, only things on hand, in a Bank, or part of a fighter’s status. Ah! Except for familiars, they can’t be placed as wagers for some System reason. Last I heard from a few friends who wiggle their fingers: a familiar was more of a separate entity, too far from being owned to count. No clue if that’s for real, though.”

“If you were going to go all out betting on a newcomer’s first fight, and you were certain they would win, how would you maximize your earnings?” Eve said, leaning back into her chair.

Iron paused, thinking before he said, “I would gather everyone I knew and take out loans from them. Then I would take out loans from the Banks, all of them. Then, I would have said fighter fight a multiple vs. one fights to raise the odds, and multiple fights to boost the odds again since they don’t reset until after the fighter’s first time in the Arena.”

The dwarf pulled a battered silver cup from underneath his desk, moved to a cask, and popped it open with a conveniently close crowbar. Dipping his cup inside, he took a long drink before continuing, “If possible, I would arrange for the multiple groups to be ranked at the least, and if I really had the money, the Ranked Champion and past Champion teams.”

“How much would it take to make all that be set up?” Eve said calmly.

Iron dipped his cup in the open cask twice more, draining each one before replying, “You want to pull a Goldfinger on the Arena? You’ve got guts. I’ll give you that.”

“As long as the opponents are the same Tier, and I have time between each fight, I will win without question,” Eve said.

Iron looked at the casks for a long moment before replying, “I do this. First, I’ll need to leave town. Afore that, I’ll need to pay off all my debts, see who wants to join me, and a host of other things.”

Eve waited patiently for the dwarf to finish.

“I’ll need gold; at least ten thousand, twenty would be better. Of course, I’ll need a Contract too.” Iron said, raising his eyes to stare at Eve.

“Anything else?” Eve said, leaning forward.

Iron gulped before saying, “Status, I’ll need to see it. I won’t gamble on a lost cause.” The dwarf’s eyes went dark and distant like someone gazing into the past.

Eve turned her hand over and placed a scroll on Iron’s desk before saying, “Read and sign, and we have a deal.”

Iron moved back to his desk, nursing his newly filled cup before grabbing the scroll and unrolling it. There were several silent minutes as the old dwarf went through each paragraph and sentence with a cold business gleam in his eyes. Finally, reaching the end, he pricked his finger with a knife before pressing his thumb to one of the square spaces at the bottom. Flipping the Contract to Eve, she duplicated his action before a bloody red glimmer vaporized the parchment into nothingness.

“Show me.” Iron said, gesturing hastily. “I want to see who I’m working with.”

Eve pulled her Status up before shifting it to the dwarf.

Race: Witch

Class: Witch of the Library

Profession: Talismanic Librarian

Level: 500

Health: 9,000/9,000 (900 HPs regen)

Mana: 27,000/27,000 (27,000 MPs regen)

Stats: Str 900; Dex; 900; Con 900; Wis 2,700; Int 2,700; Charm 0

Free Stats: 412

S/S Slots: 0

Skills:

Bond Familiar

Phylactery (Familiar)

Aura of the Library I (0%)

Spells:

Transcendent Transfusion (0%)

Paper Plating (0%)

Domain of the Library I (0%)

Mental Traits:

Bibliotheca Mind (0%)

Physical Traits:

Bibliotheca Body (0%)

Iron gave an audible gulp before crossing himself and whispering, “Lord o’ the Forge, a witch….”

Eve watched as his eyes rolled down further, growing wider with every line. Of course, she hadn’t actually revealed her Status to anyone except Sara, and even then, it was in the rather distant past.

“What element?” Iron said, his tone curious.

“What makes you think I have an element at all? Can you not see the swords, daggers, and pouches?” Eve said, teasing.

Iron rolled his eyes before pointing a shaking finger at her, “If you don’t have an Element, I’ll eat my armor for dinner! Out with it, witch!”

Eve let Rot float over to Iron’s desk before dropping horizontal onto it. Then, with a lackadaisical wave, she said, “Take a look.”

Iron picked up the blade with the ease of someone well used to handling weapons. But, the moment his hand raised the weapon, his beard quivered in shock. “This isn’t steel. Too light. Alloy? No, it doesn’t react magnetically. It isn’t metal at all, wood?” Iron muttered before slamming Rot against his desk suddenly. Eve covered her eyes and said, “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Iron looked at the sword as a dark fungal stain slowly grew from where he had embedded it in his desk. Then, cursing, the dwarf grabbed the papers on the side of his desk, opened a drawer, and grabbed more papers and a heavy sack that clinked and backed away.

“What’s happening?” Iron said, dragging his chair over to put everything on it.

“The sword is called Rot. Three guesses what it does to organic materials.” Eve said, pulling the sword out of the desk with a mental twist before letting it be re-sheathed on her back.

“Bugger, that desk was expensive.” Iron grumbled.

Eve allowed the desk to disintegrate into powder before she created a duplicate made of paper for Iron, “This one won’t last long, but we aren’t sticking around either.”

“Paper?” The dwarf stared incredulously at the news desk. “Your element is paper?”

“Technically enchanted paper, but yes, in essence,” Eve said, smirking.

Iron looked annoyed before he started laughing, “I bet I can sell your element to lure others to fight you under a System binding contract. What do you think? I’ll give even odds we can get every Ranker, Champion, and idiot to the slaughter with it. No one will believe the element of Paper can be dangerous except the brilliant people. I'll even add a clause that states I have to be completely honest. That will throw everyone off.” Iron had a wide madcap grin on now.

Eve leaned back imperiously and waved a hand royally, “Make so. Slots in the first fights, Stats in the later ones, and push the betting pool to the limit.”

James gaped as Iron dipped his cup once more into the open cask before raising it in a toast, “To winning it all!”

Eve formed a paper cup to grab a drink and raised it, “To cleaning house!”