Seeking a means of distraction, Clovis dragged Kellam towards the massive arena not far from the market stalls. Clovis wished he had Shadowmere with him, but at least he had his trusty weapons ready. There was no way he wasn't going to try to participate in a battle if he could do so.

Clovis rushed over towards one of the guards by the entranceway to the arena, "Hey, how do I fight here?"

One of the two guards looked him over, "Another interesting one, eh? Happy to see more of you foreigners coming to support our Khans. See that blue door over that way? You enter that door and they'll get you signed up for Khan Basilio's team. Red door for Khan Flavia."

Clovis had no clue who either of those people were. They had to be the rulers of Ferox though going by their important sounding title.

"Why do I have to join a team?"

The other guard spoke up, "Normally our fighters have to put up a good amount of coin up front to participate. The Khans will cover that cost for you just by signing for them. If you're planning on fighting, it only makes sense to save yourself some money. You can still fight alone, just know that they'll drag you into the final battle to decide on who's going to be the ruling Khan of Ferox if you're any good."

Opportunity. Emmeryn had told him he could not represent Ylisse as Prince Clovis. There was nothing stopping him from influencing Ferox as Cyrille Dusk. If he could gather the favor of one or both of the Khans…

"What's Basilio like?" He wanted to avoid stepping on any toes if he could help it.

One of the guards spoke with fondness in his voice, "Khan Basilio is one of the greatest men I've ever known. He's like a second father to me. He saved me and my family once during a harsh winter. He and his warriors went around handing out firewood they cut themselves. My pa got the winter sickness and didn't have enough energy to gather much wood. I was just a scrawny kid."

The other guard elbowed him, "Shut up, we can't show bias. Although…"

The guard dramatically leaned forward, "Between you and me, Khan Flavia is single and has one hell of an arse. Can't go wrong impressing her, right?"

"Shut your fucking mouth you disrespectful son of a whore!" The guard who supported Basilio tackled the guard who supported Flavia.

The two were exchanging punches on the floor as they struggled amongst each other.

Clovis carefully passed by them in order to enter the arena.

He didn't really know the Khans well enough to toss his mask into the ring for either of them. Basilio sounded alright, but he really was just doing his duty as a leader. Clovis wasn't exactly sure why Flavia's ass mattered when it came to representing her in the arena either.

An employee was watching the fighting guards from behind a barred area a short walk into the arena entrance. There was a bunch of gold tucked away near the person at the barred desk. Clovis could only assume that the employee handled the monetary aspect of the arena.

Clovis reached for his belt, grabbing the mask Lissa had given him the night before. He placed it on his face before walking up to the employee behind the bars.

"I am the great Cyrille Dusk! I wish to know your registration fees to fight in this glorious arena!"

The employee glanced away from the fighting guards to look at him, "You sure? You can fight for free if you sign on with one of the Khans."

"Absolutely!"

The employee searched around the underside of the desk before pulling out parchment and quill, "Going to be 2000G up front to join us as an independent."

"Two thousand gold!" By Naga…

He only had 2500G left between what he sold and his allowance. Joining as an independent would leave him with just 500G to his name for the month if he failed.

Well, he would just need to win his fights. Kellam could bet the remaining 500G on Clovis's first match. One win should at least put him in a safer position.

Clovis handed over the gold, well aware that Lissa would probably brutally murder him if he lost all of his gold in a single day. Of course, such a fate would only come to pass if he actually failed.

Cyrille Dusk does not fail.

The employee happily took his hard earned gold, "Huh, good luck I guess. What name do you want to sign on with? Got a nickname you like or would you just like to go with your own? Our announcer has to know what to call you."

Clovis pressed his hand against his mask, striking a dramatic pose, "I.. am… Cyrille Dusk! Merchant extraordinaire! Avenger of the Dusk clan!"

The employee nodded, "Right, right. Cyrille Dusk, got it."

That was rude. Shouldn't he have included all of the titles? Clovis supposed he would just have to prove himself worthy of those titles.

"When can I participate in a glorious battle?"

The employee pulled out a sheet of parchment, "Hm, we can slot you in two fights from now if you want in immediately. You think you're ready to jump in today?"

"Ha… Ha… HAHAHA! I was born ready!"

"Well, at least you're in good spirits. Good luck out there. I'd send you to one of our waiting rooms, but both are for the Khan teams. You don't mind waiting around here, right?"

"Nope."

"Thanks for making my job easier. I'll wave you over when it's time."

Clovis walked away to go stand by Kellam's side.

"I'm now an official fighter of Arena Ferox!" Clovis proudly declared as he held his open palm up in the air.

Kellam high fived him, "Congrats. Princess Lissa is going to brutally flay us, heal us, and then present us before Exalt Emmeryn for our execution for doing this without her here."

Clovis didn't even want to think about Lissa at the moment.

"Have faith, Kellam! I shall win and earn plenty of coin."

Kellam sighed, "Should I sign on with one of the Khan's teams as a backup plan?"

Clovis shook his head, "I don't need you to fight for these Khans. Take the rest of my gold and bet it all on me for my first match. I'll win, there's no way I won't. My father would roll in his tomb if I lost."

Kellam took Clovis's coin purse, "I'll trust you."

The wait was agonizing with the battling guards being the only real entertainment until they stopped. Eventually, the employee did waive him over back to the barred window.

"Head on through the tunnel down that way. Good luck on your first match. You'll get 500G should you win it."

500G? So it would take four full fights just to win back the fee he paid to join as an independent? That's ridiculous! It's a good thing Kellam was betting gold on his fights for him.

Clovis unstrapped his spear and warp staff from his back. He was going to win, no matter what.

A gate blocked Clovis from entering the battleground of the arena. He was able to hear the loud voice of the arena announcer from his position behind the gate. The announcer must have been using some type of enchanted item for his voice to carry so far. An Anna must have made plenty of gold at some point.

"Welcome to Arena Ferox! I know, I know, we're all here to see the best of the best duke it out! But, we've got to let some of our new blood feel what it's like to bleed! Come on out!"

The gate opened, allowing Clovis to walk forward into the large arena. The arena itself was circular, made of a dreary looking stone. The ground of the arena was composed of stone with some traces of dried blood on the surface. The circular arena was illuminated by braziers burning from large stone pillars.

A giant crowd of people sat on benches up in the stands. It was incredibly loud, a cacophony of boos and cheers filled the arena. Clovis rubbed at his temples. He shouldn't have had the entire bottle of whiskey. The sound of the crowd was painful. It irritated him.

Clovis readied his spear and staff. He looked forward, studying his opponent. Going by her armor, she was a fellow Ylissean. In fact, she looked awfully familiar. It took Clovis only a moment to remember where he had seen her.

His opponent was one of Phila's Pegasus Knights.

Why was a Pegasus Knight here? More importantly, why wasn't she riding her pegasus?

The arena announcer's voice boomed, "Ivanna the Promised Spear is here to teach our newcomer what it takes to succeed in our hallowed grounds! Can we get a round of applause for her?"

The crowd cheered for her. The name sounded somewhat familiar, but he never did bother to fully memorize all of Phila's riders.

The announcer continued, "Now, let's give a hand for our new blood! Cyrille Dusk!"

The crowd booed.

Clovis rose his spear high over his head, "I am Cyrille Dusk! Merchant extraordinaire! Avenger of the Dusk clan! Victor of this coming battle!"

That earned him more boos. It seemed he simply had to prove himself.

The announcer spoke one last time, "Let the fight… begin!"

The Pegasus Knight beckoned Clovis forward, clearly underestimating him.

She was a spear fighter, meaning she was expecting to keep him at range. Unfortunately, she was a fool. One who didn't know what Cyrille Dusk was capable of. A fool who should have brought her steed.

Clovis tossed his spear aside. He wasn't going to need it to take her down.

The audience fell silent in anticipation.

It was a shame. Clovis was going to have to be cruel to a fellow countryman, alas it was necessary.

Clovis warped.

He appeared behind her, brutally pulling her long flowing white hair. He tugged her downwards towards the ground with all of his strength.

She was a fool who spent far too much time in the skies.

Her spear slipped from her hands as she tumbled onto her back screaming.

Clovis couldn't show mercy, not on the battlefield.

With her on the floor, Clovis warped just a little ways up in the air before brutally stomping down on her exposed throat. He could only hope she was strong enough not to die. The healers would need to be quick.

She was choking on the floor, her hands wildly reaching for her damaged throat.

Clovis was about to drive her fallen spear into her shoulder to end the match…

A bell rung as the announcer shouted, "STOP! Cyrille Dusk is the victor of his first match!"

Clovis tossed the Pegasus Knight's spear aside. She would need to learn from this loss. She would not survive Plegia otherwise.

The audience remained quiet, perhaps shocked by his brutal introduction.

Clovis walked over to his own discarded spear, gathering it. Healers rushed into the arena, heading towards his fallen countryman.

Clovis rose his spear into the air, "One of many victories to come!"

He hoped he made a decent amount of coin through Kellam's bets.

Upon returning to the lobby, the employee at the desk gave him his 500G winnings.

"Didn't see the match. Surprised it's over already, you must be pretty good," the employee spoke.

Clovis nodded, "I was always going to be the victor."

He shrugged, "Eh, whatever you say. You done for now or would you like to go again?"

As if that was even a question. He was going to go right back in, after he collected his winnings from Kellam of course.

"I will fight again. Get me into another match."

The guy smirked, "Back to back, eh? Well I can do that. I can toss you in right now. Crowd is begging for your blood from what I've been told."

Works for him.

"Put me in."

"Alright, wait a few minutes here and you'll go right back. Other fighter has to get ready, you know?"

Clovis went back to waiting in the lobby. Kellam came running to him, a grin on his face.

"Cyrille! I bet on you with your funds and my own. You earned me a ton of coin, enough that I'd feel bad if I didn't give you some back."

Kellam handed him a coin purse.

"Wait, how much are you giving me?"

"Your 500G turned into 2500G. I'm tossing you 500G after you won me 5000G."

What.

Kellam bet 1000G on him? That must have been all of his coin… he really did trust him.

Clovis had 3500G with those combined winnings. He felt bad about accepting the 500G from Kellam, but he'd just win him more to make up for it.

Clovis tossed him the coin purse back, "Put 1,750G on my next match for me, no matter the opponent. I'm heading right back in."

"Good luck!" Kellam cheered.

Clovis had to win. For Kellam.