It was a fine morning. Busy, too, given the hectic state of thae inn’s kitchen. Jagred paused at the doorway for a few moments, confusion scrunched up his face. As far as he was concerned, today wasn’t all that special. Just another day on the calendar, there was no reason to justify this sudden increase in patrons. Regardless, he moved fast, grabbing random food stuffs while heading for the backdoor, hoping to make a quick exit before his mother knew he had awaken. Unfortunately, she was already there when he pushed open the door, diligently sweeping the back alley. 

 “Zugos! You’re up.”-She eyed him suspiciously, taking note of the half-chewed slice of ham hanging from his mouth and the slightly burnt toast in his hand.-“Be a dear and help me take out the trash. Go on, some time spent away from that stink hole might even do you good.” 

 She never really approved of his fighting, then again, no sensible mother would. However, she respected his choice, even though he knew she would have preferred it much better if he had some cushy job in the police or military. Too restricting, he had reasoned, and he didn’t think being a police man is very ‘cushy’. In the end, he got his way, but his mother still used the occasions to order him around at the inn. Since he had no upcoming fight today, Zugos had no excuse to run off. Sighing softly, he rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and began to head toward the trash barrels. 

 Once he was done with the task, Zugos returned to the inn, this time through the front door, looking for a quick drink. Some patrons turned to look his way, a few even waved at him as he made his way toward the bar. He gave each one of them a slight nod, while quickly making his way behind the counter. Tait, the bartender, gave him an odd look, before pressing a cup of steaming liquid into his hand. Zugos took a sip, then looked at the older man incredulously.

 “Tea? Seriously Tait, I’m 19. Not a kid anymore.”

 “No alcohol for you in this establishment. Sorry kid, but your mother doesn’t want to see you drink.”

 He narrowed his eyes, a retort already on his tongue, but he decided against it. Mother could win any argument when she wanted to.

 Silence passed between them, but after a while, Tait spoke up

 “What are you still doing here? The first fight already started.”

 “I’m not fighting today.”- He shrugged, not bothering to ask how Tait knew that. Bartenders. They made it their business to know things.

 “A’right, you would know.”- The older man replied, another odd look on his face –“ Anyone over there told you ‘bout the Black Mage?”

 “The what?”-He raised an eyebrow, placing the now empty cup down on the table.

 “No? Then ask ‘round. Someone bound to know something”

 Zugos just stared at the older man for a few moments, then decided he couldn’t get anything more out of the man. Tait had already turned away to attend to another customer. Since his mother was nowhere to be found, Zugos also decided to leave as well, before she returned. 

 Minutes later and he was at the Coliseum. Man-handling his way through the crowd, the young man took a glance at the ring only to find that the first fight was over. He sighed heavily, running deft fingers through jet black hair slick with sweat. And he ran like hell to get here. Disappointed, he made his way toward the exit again, since there was nothing else to watch for the next hour. However, just as he was walking, Zugos accidently bumped into someone. He quickly turned to apology, only to find that it was Prox, one of his fellow fighters at the Coliseum. The man’s white hair was quite distinctive, not to mention his height. It was a wonder Zugos didn’t notice him sooner.

 “Prox!! You’ve seen the fight right? Did the red guy win?”-He grabbed Prox’s shoulder, trying to talk over the crowd-“ Please tell me the red guy didn’t win. Add that one and I will have to fight 3 red guys this month.”