Torva waved to Itzal and Ruby as they wedged themselves through the row and made space for themselves on the benches near he and Hagumi. He still hadn't adjusted to Shade's new look, and although there was familiarity in the scent he was still a different person, not just in body, but in spirit. To imagine a day when he would see Shade... Itzal... sitting with his daughter enjoying the day's festivities would have been impossible even a few days ago. In any other town Shade would likely be skulking about the shadier parts of town, gathering information and brandishing his own personal form of justice against anyone that stood in his way. Perhaps, in that sense, his new name was quite fitting. “Out of the shadows and into the light...” Torva quietly mused to himself. It would be a loss for their intel gathering abilities, for sure, but in a way he was glad Shade was able to find closure. In their race to find a cure, with no end in sight, finish lines and little victories needed to be celebrated where they could be found.

“So your daughter won three years in a row, at her age? That's amazing. I would have loved to see the faces of some of the competitors below in past years at that sight” Torva proclaimed, laughing. 

Turning his attention back towards Hagumi, he quickly apologized for his comments, and changed the topic to the competition at hand. “I don't know,” he responded, “humans in my experience tend to have better metalwork and more complex designs, but there's just some things magic can do that steel can't, and Cadogan is no mage.” In truth, he was more concerned with the inventor's constitution than his place in the competition. Fifth place was impressive for a newcomer, let alone a human, but Cadogan continued to drink wine, dutifully delivered by Chii's tiny hands, as if celebrating his victory. He could almost smell the faint hints of wine from the stands, and looking down at the odd assortment of devices as they spewed fire and pierced through enchanted metal, Torva couldn't help but doubt Cagodan's skill. “I hope Chii knows what she's getting into.” he said, concern in his voice. 

It was almost their turn to approach the judges, but Torva figured he had just enough time to get Hagumi a drink before then. Closing his hand around the coins, he kissed Hagumi on the cheek before reaching the staircase in a single leap rather than fight his way through the stands. Along the outskirt of the arena stands, hundreds of vendors shouted and jostled for attention as they pitched their wares. Food, drink, souvenir carvings, even charms... it seemed like you could buy almost anything with enough coin. From his perspective all the stands looked the same, having neither the knowledge nor the experience to tell one vendor selling alcohol from another. Finally, his eyes settled on one with a wooden carving of a dragon along the top. 

Approaching the stand, Torva asked the vendor was sort of drinks he offered. “We sell all manner of wines,” the seraphim responded, waving his arm over a rack of bottles behind him, “but today only we're offering a special drink in honor of the competition. We call it the queen's bounty” he said, proudly revealing a bottle from behind the counter. The large bottle was filled with a deep purple liquid, the cork stained from exposure to it. What stood out, though, was the detailed illustration of a female dragon sitting on a throne, crown hanging from a foot, as she downed an entire bottle of wine. It looked nothing like Neon, and yet Torva recognized her immediately in the drawing. It seemed some eager young artist was attempting to guess her likeness based on stories alone, and it was the funniest thing he had seen in a long time. Big, fearsome looking claws and fangs... A barbed tail black as knight curled around the throne as manslaves tended to her needs. Even the throne was decorated with skulls as if the daeva monarchy had just crawled out of some cave.

Unfortunately the entire bottle cost quite a bit more than the coin he had on him, but striking up a deal with the seraphim, Torva was able to secure one of the labels from a bottle along with a goblet of the liquid and a goblet of mead for Hagumi. Returning triumphantly to the stands, Torva couldn't wait to show off his find to the group, and proudly held the label out like a banner to Hagumi, Itzal, and Ruby, barely holding back a laugh as he snickered “I present to you... my queen.”

Down in the arena, a seraphim approached Cadogan's table, visibly taken aback by how drunk the great inventor seemed to be. He couldn't imagine who would be crazy enough to volunteer under the risk of great personal injury to showcase any armor made by someone who was having trouble speaking clearly. Shrugging, he let the inventor know that it was his turn to test whatever armor he had prepared before the judges. Gesturing towards the row of tables at the far end of the Colosseum, the seraphim eyed up Chii warily and offered her a conciliatory “good luck” as he tried to wave the strong smell of alcohol out from in front of his nose.

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Below in the tunnels, the guard captain found himself continually astonished as his captor's brazen attitude, even under the threat of prosecution. In fact, it almost seemed as if he was confident in his ability to fight his way out if necessary. Looking around at the suite of guards and mages surrounding the bounty hunter, along with the fact that he was still actively bound by magic, he came to the conclusion that the man before him was either significantly more powerful than he was letting on... or completely out of his mind. 

Listening carefully to Lazarus' explanation, the captain never once let his hand drift from the handle of his weapon, and he continually eyed up his men to make sure none of them were letting their guards down. Ghostlike trails of seraphim drifted through the tunnel, one passing right through Lazarus as he spoke, as volunteers working the event entering and leaving the crafting floor went about their business, unaware of the pocket of space they passed through. His breathing grew heavier as the bounty hunter spoke and his face reddened, but it was not until Lazarus spoke of fear as the driving force for his actions that he could no longer keep his cool. “Fear? Fear is what led to the wholesale massacre of daeva before the races found peace. Fear is what drives men to create larger and larger weapons of war. You speak of fear like it's a deterrent, but fear only drives cornered animals to strike!”

Drawing his weapon closer, the captain allowed the tip of his blade to knick Lazarus' cheek ever so slightly, drawing the faintest bead of blood. Upon seeing the glistening orb he seemed to come to his senses, lowing his weapon and calling his men to stand down. He held out a hankerchief towards the swordman, looking away in disgust. “Take your money, clean yourself up, and conclude your business here so you can leave my city as quickly as possible.”