Brand headed for the first exit he saw, the one Rohaan had taken just moments before. He could hear the falling debris above crashing down with the weight of Mur above them. He ran, circling the hole that started this mess and dashed into the audience.

There were only a few steps to relative safety, and any more hesitation on his part meant certain death. It would be even worse if he survived being buried, slowly dying of thirst or succumbing to whatever injuries the falling roof would cause.

Racing through a part in the audience, Brand didn't bother to tell them of the coming doom, there was simply no time. He passed their confused faces thankful he didn't have to shove his way through. Then a giant stone landed amongst them, killing nearly a dozen to his left.

Screams erupted around the arena right as he made his way into the cave exit he'd been aiming for. Brand kept running not knowing if the destruction would somehow make its way into the tunnel. Suddenly, the faint glow of the magical lighting built into the walls sputtered out. Without light to guide him, he tripped on a loose tile before tumbling to the ground.

Surveying his situation, Brand realized the screaming and sound of falling stones behind him had stopped, replaced by an airy silence.

“Not getting out that way,” he thought. “I wonder if I'm the only one that made it out.”

The lights started working once more filling the hallway in soft white light, revealing that Brand was not alone. “You daft bastard! You've ruined me!”

Looking at the speaker, Brand was surprised to see Hoder with hands on his knees gasping for breath. Blood Beard, and four of the night's competitors like himself, were breathing heavily from running with all they had to find safety. They had run ahead of Brand, them being closer to the exit than him.

“How is any of this my fault?” Brand replied in an incredulous tone.

He hoped the question sounded real. Slowly, he started to inch his way to another hallway to once again run for his life the second negotiations failed because he was sure they certainly would.

This was definitely his fault at least from Hoder's point of view. It didn't matter that Rohaan was a fool that used powers he could not control seconds after things didn't go his way, but Brand knew his life would need taking for accepting the fight at all.

Hoder berated him, face turning red and arms flailing around, exhaustion forgotten under a blanket of anger. “You fucking savage, not listening to your betters! I told you not to fight! I would have paid you not to, but a dirty blooded mongrel like you can't help but be stupid as a dog! Your dead boy, you and that dirt-skinned bastard, and his fucking bitch sister! I'll kill you slow, make you both beg for death. That girl, I'll fuck until she's slack like an old whore then sell whatever is left!”

No one moved after Hoder finished his tirade. They just stared at each other with Brand still holding his hands up playing confused as he spoke. “I still don't see why you're blaming me for this. I get wanting the nobles’ dead, but by your own reasoning, you're also to blame.”

“What!” Hoder shouted.

“You see the thing is,” Brand continued putting his hands down and starting to pace like he was teaching a life lesson to children. “I accepted an offer, as you did by bringing those nobles here. And an offer of magic would sway the hearts of anyone of us. Back me up, guys.”

Brand gestured to the men at Hoder’s side. Seeing Blood Beard nod his head in agreement and the other three looked away, his point had been made.

“We,” he emphasized. “All made mistakes. So let's work together and salvage what ‘we’ can. We should work together to find those siblings that destroyed our fighting pit.”

Hoder’s face visibly calmed at hearing Brand reasoning for the hell that had befallen his business. He wiped a hand over his face and took a long breath, Brand's words somehow calming him.

Hoder chuckled to himself. “Blood Beard, kill this fucking idiot. I'll pay you nicely.”

****

“Gods damn you Brand! Just give up and we'll make it quick and easy!” Shouted one of the two men chasing Brand through the underground catacombs of the city wall.

“I'd, rather, make it slow and, very very hard!” Brand spat, wheezing out every word.

They'd been running for only a few minutes, but Blood Beard and his partner would occasionally cut Brand off making him run in circles. He couldn't outrun them, and he couldn't hide so he'd need to fight, but that didn't mean he'd fight fair.

Running past a corner, Brand unsheathed a hidden dagger and waited. As someone rounded the corner, he sank the dagger up to the hilt into the man's neck letting him fall to the floor. A wave of disgust came upon him at the sight of warm blood over his hands, clothes, and a bit entering his mouth.

He was spitting on the ground when the slower Blood Beard rounded the corner narrowly avoiding the delayed knife swing.

“What did you do to Markham?” Blood Beard yelled sliding to a stop.

“Same thing that I'll do to you if you don't walk away,” Brand answered and spat again.

“Why are you spitting?” Blood Beard asked in an angry tone.

Brand answered nonchalantly as if he’d simply stepped in something foul. “Got that dead guy's blood in my mouth.”

” You some of -!"

“So,” Brand continued, not reacting to the anger visible on Blood Beard's face at his last comment. “Let's just end this here and walk away. It's not like I'm the reason this happened.”

Blood Beard's face turned an even brighter pink as he pulled a knife out of his own. “Do you think saying that again and again will convince everyone it's true! Stop being such a child and fight me like a man.”

“I am a child,” Brand replied. “Do you really think Hoder calls me boy for no reason?”

Disbelief filled Blood Beard’s expression. “Bull shit. I mean, you look young-ish but you're at least 19-.”

“16,” Brand corrected, interrupting Blood Beard’s estimation. “I guess Jabari children grow a little bigger than most. So, can you live with killing a kid?”

Blood Beard took a moment to think and looked over to Markam’s fresh corpse, then got into a fighting stance. “You're old enough to kill, you're old enough to be killed.”

Brand huffed taking a stance of his own. “Can't say I didn't try to save you.”

“Save me?” Blood Beard said incredulously. “In what way were you saving me?”

“It's simple,” Brand said happily with what looked like a manic smile of a crazed killer he unctuously before crossing blades. “There’s no way you're surviving this. I’m better in a fight, with or without knives, so convincing you not to try me would have saved you.” Brand pointed at the confused man. “From me.” he pointed back to himself.

Doubt cracked Blood Beard's stern look as he was fooled by the false words. Brand wasn't sure he could win. In fact, he thought he’d lose this encounter. Blood Beard had several scars telling a story of several such knife fights in his past, along with a much bigger knife. He also seemed to be a decent runner, having already caught his breath after the long chase. Brand, on the other hand, rarely had one on one fights of short blades like this. Knives were for quick surprise attacks. Something with reach was better in his opinion and his breath was ragged slowing him he needed every ounce of speed to survive.

Confidence left Blood Beard's hands as he thought back to how his fight with this apparent boy would have gone if he was not promised the victory. The very first move Brand made would have killed him if not for Hoder's influence.

With the cut on his ear suddenly burning, Blood Beard started edging his knife down shakily as he imagined his death at Brand’s hands. Then a realization dawned on him, prompting him to act. The knife came down as his other hand came up pointing it at Brand's chest. A red glow appeared on his palm followed by a soft hum.

“The bastard has a weaponized focus,” Brand thought in a panic and was about to move out of the way when he had a realization of his own.

Flipping the knife to hold it by the blade, he brought his hand back, throwing the weapon with all he had. With a ‘thunk,’ the blade embedded itself within Blood Beard's neck so snuggly not a sprinkle of blood touched the night air from the wound.

The light permeating his hand went out, replaced by wet gurgles. He grabbed the dagger, holding it with wide eyes as Brand's laughter filled the room.

“Hahaha! What's the point of a focus that’s slower than a knife throw!” Brand laughed, celebrating his victory.

Blood Beard yanked the knife out, finally unable to stand the feeling of having the foreign object within. Blood gushed out spraying the walls, the roof, but most across Brand's face, much of it entering his mouth, eyes, hair, and nose.

The laughter in the room turned to a girlish scream, like a maiden that had suddenly seen a mouse. Blood Beard's body hit the floor twitching, his life painting it red and filling the air with the smell of copper. Gurgles continued to spill from the dying man's mouth, his last attempt to curse his killer.

“Gods damn it, you red-bearded shit! Couldn't you have bled somewhere else!” Brand yelled frantically wiping his face. “Aaaaa, it's in my eyes. I almost wish I could kill you again for fucking up my hair! Washing it ain't gods, damned, easy!”

Blood Beard was good and dead by the time Brand calmed down enough to think of his next move. “First things first. I need some water for my face, then I'm going home. This night has been a complete shit show.” Brand stopped wiping himself realizing that going home was a very bad idea. “If Hoder knows I'm alive, he'll just keep trying to kill me. But if he does go after the noble siblings, he'll die for sure.”

All thoughts of leaving left Brand as the most likely possibility appeared in his mind. If Hoder wanted to kill some nobles, he'd have a way. He would have to be very foolish to invite monsters like Rohaan if he did not have a magic item capable of stopping them. In that case, he'd kill the nobles and be after him that very day. The only hope Brand had of living past the week was to kill the rat bastard himself, tonight before he hired more men to find him.

“And maybe get hired by Rohaan as a cultivator,” Brand Thought with a smile.

Searching Blood Beard's body Brand found his knife, a few copper coins, and three silver. Pocketing his plunder, he then searched his first victim sadly not finding anything useful. Taking one last look at what he'd done Brand contemplated his actions.

“I feel gross. Need a bath like a priest needs a god.” He turned away heading for Hoder determined not to get any more blood on himself.