Revival: Of Cethore ✔

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty: Into The Pit

The last thing Samari wanted to do was go from inn to inn looking for a suspicious guild, but she reminded herself that she was the one who wanted to help Zoran. After what happened at East Port, she was not exactly excited when he told her who was trying to beat them to the gem.

Even with so many of them, it still took a while to search the taverns and inns. They had split into pairs to cover more ground, which wasn't exactly a good idea. She had a suspicion that they kept crossing over each other's paths, plus they hadn't come up with how they should meet up if they found it.

That was probably why they all found each other waiting outside of one inn, looking out for the rest.

"Did you find them?" Brad said as he approached the others.

"Sort of," Cyrus replied. "They are staying here, but they left a while ago. The innkeeper says they probably went to get food and to gamble."

Brad sighed, his shoulders slouched. "Ugh, so more searching? We've been walking all day!"

Zoran walked over and, much to Sam's surprise, punched him. Immediately, he straightened up. Satisfied, Zoran stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Not really. There are only a few places in the city to gamble during the day, even during the festival. This shouldn't take long. And stop slouching so much!" he criticized like a parent.

The group wandered through the streets to find their target. Zoran lead them first to what looked like a fighting club.

The smell was just as bad as the noise. Even from the outer area, the stench of urine, blood, and sweat drifting by. Samari wanted to hold her breath, knowing that it would only get worse inside.

It seemed that the second part of the search was easier than the first. The bouncer they questioned answered them with, "The Phantom Flame? They own more of this joint than the ringmaster!"

Zoran and Cyrus smiled at each other, almost as though they had made a bet. "Yeah? We'd like an audience," Zoran stated.

The tall man chuckled. "The only audience you're gonna get is the one watching the fights."

His forehead creased as he frowned, yet the frustration disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. His eyes shifted to look inside at the crowd gathered about the ring.

The bouncer held out his hand, motioning for them to enter. Zoran took the lead inside.

It was so crowded that they could hardly see what was in front of them. They weaved through the mass, Samari's hand holding onto Zoran's shirt so she would not get separated from him. Similarly, Cyrus held her hand, his touch calming despite her irritating surroundings.

He stopped walking, and she looked around him to see that they were close enough to the ring to see into it.

It was a small ring the size of her room, a few feet into the ground. A railing ran along the outer edge, keeping the crowd from colliding into the fighters. Still, they were close enough that the fighters could easily hit them.

"Look, there they are," he pointed, having to shout over the noise.

Sam followed his gesture to see a group sitting on the only bench watching the fight below. Squinting, she could see a similar mage mark on some of them, flames of different colors and shapes.

If he was right, there were seven of them total, including the one currently fighting barebacked. They had a certain look about them, as if their blood was made of fire and iron.