Loopshard

Adam landed on the hard glassy floor of the challenge arena. Crimson glass spread out below him and up the stands, where many of his patron’s adherents watched in anticipation. Since his target also worshipped the Flayed Lady, the theme went all the way across the arena, though there was still a seam down the middle, denoting which side belonged to which player.

He was about to fire off all five fingers of his right gauntlet when Iona lifted her arms in surrender.

I don’t think either of us gets to leave before the other is dead, and there’s no way I’ll spare her.

Still, Adam stayed his hand.

“The Lady told me you would come,” Iona said, her voice reaching him despite the distance. She was keeping her hands in the air where Adam could see them, and he quickly noted her relics. The prominent ones were the blood mage choker, ghoul’s hand, and raiment of bone, two of which would reactively defend her. They hadn’t been visible in the tavern, meaning she’d found a way to hide them from others.

I need to find a way to do that too.

The fact that she hid them likely means she wanted to seem more unassuming than she is.

Adam was confident in his own defences, but he didn’t move any closer. Blood mages, especially those who served the Flayed Lady, were not to be trusted.

“Only one of us can leave alive,” he replied, his voice echoing across the arena.