Green Plague practically lept from his corner as soon as he heard the gong. The audience around the ring very much appreciated his eagerness. The young orc threw a heavy punch at Dimi that she evaded by sliding left as she threw two left hooks to Plague’s cheekbone before stepping three steps away to create some distance.
Dimi could already tell that she had an advantage when it came to speed... but that was not much help since she could practically feel a small wind when Plague’s hit missed her. This green bastard could probably make a stone wall say ouch by punching it.
Plague turned around and threw another haymaker at Dimi that she dodged as she tried a couple of shots aimed at his stomach. That was a mistake as Plague hit her on the side so hard that Dimi could feel the air shooting out of her lounges.
“Dang, I’m rusty...” Dimi mumbled for herself as she stepped backward and held her guards up.
At ringside, Veronica the Gorgon clapped. Her snake hair looked at the fight with fascination as she turned her head left and right to see the creatures who either stood up or sat on folded chairs while all roaring in approval. Everyone loved a human and orc confrontation, especially one as unique as the one unfolding before them.
A satyr with a broken left horn waved his betting ticket in the air. “Plaque is gonna snap every bone in that pink little snot’s body!”
Veronica grinned as she crossed her legs and adjusted her dress. “That’s the idea.”
Inside the ring, Dimi decided to let Plague chase her since she needed an opening to actually do anything. His skin was so thick that body-shots had a limited effect, she needed to get a shot at his head. The two fighters ran circles around the ring as Plague threw punches so hard that they made him groan and Dimi did her best not to get her head detached from her neck as she threw light jabs to test his defense. The referee who was an half-elf with her hair collected in a ponytail followed them around.
Plague lost balanced and collapsed on the ropes. Dimi took this chance to breath and refocus, waiting for him to turn around. As soon as he did with his parades lowered, she threw three hard and quick rights at his face, getting cheers from the spectators.
Plague got even more cheers as he did something Dimi had not expected.
She fell to her knee as blood came running down from her left eyebrow. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t a leather-covered fist but a sharp elbow Plague had hit her with. At first, stared at the canvas as she shook her head. She now realized that it was stained with blood to a disturbing degree. She then looked up at the referee who stood between her and the orc and had reach the count of five while Plague was moving his feet impatiently.
Dimi got up, but her left eye was squinting due to the blood running from her eyebrow and Plague was smart enough to use her challenged eyesight to his advantage as he kept attacking her left side.
Veronica watch Dimi being pushed toward the edge of the ring with her back against the ropes. The gorgon almost felt sorry for the human kid. Sure, she was quick on her feet, but she lacked the actual technique to use her speed properly against an opponent with more weight than her.
“Hope Plague just pummels her.” Veronica mumbled for herself as she struck a match and fired the end of her cigar and drew a deep puff while the spectators around the ring roared for blood. “I do need her alive after this.”
***
“... say it would be easier if you just turned big and flew us home.” Ivan carried a wooden crate while a tote bag was dangling as it’s handle was put around his not-broken horn. He had just arrived in Jadedale with Aura. They had managed to catch the last wagon home.
“Magic is not as convenient as you think, Ivan.” Aura carried a heavy sack over her shoulder. It felt uncomfortable as it was on top of her wing. “I stay monster for too long, I get dehydrated.” It was night, so Aura’s eyes turned large the way a cat’s eyes would, helping her see. Ivan had to rely on the dim light from the light poles as they found their way to Aura’s farm.
“Let’s just dump it here.” Ivan carefully placed the crate on the ground and clapped to activate the light crystals at the front door. “Dimi is probably asleep now.”
Aura dropped her sack and sniffed. “Wait, can you smell that?”
Ivan went to open the front door. “Smell what? Wait...” Ivan noticed the scent once the door had been opened. “Ugh, disgusting! What is that smell?”
Aura cursed her excellent scent of smell. “Some sort of tobacco. Dimi is not a smoker, is she?”
“If she is, then she is gonna have to answer to me.” Ivan’s tail swung in annoyance as he clapped once more to illuminate the ground floor of the house.
“Oh, please. She is not a baby, you can’t dictate her habits.”
“The hell I can, a fighter needs healthy lungs. And as long as she lives under my roof-”
“Actually, it’s my roof.” Aura opened a window.
“Right, sorry... But still.” Ivan opened a window as well and went to the kitchen where the stench came from... and his annoyance was replaced with confusion.
On the kitchen table was the stone bowl he had once gotten from Agate as a gift and never used. In it was the sad remains of a smoked cigar.
“Sheesh, that’s nasty.” Aura looked over Ivan’s shoulder and spotted the stogie. “I smoked a pipe or two when I was around her age, but those things are just-”
“She didn’t smoke it.” Ivan saw the folded paper next to the bowl and read it.
The wagon workshop outside town.
Ivan read the message and understood. His entire body felt cold as ice and sweaty as a fewer patient. “It’s Veronica.”
Aura tilted her head. “Veronica? Who is... Whoa, wait a minute. Veronica as in Bitch Veronica?!”
Ivan turned and looked at Aura with an expression that was a mix of fear and rage. The sphinx had not seen her husband like this before and it actually made her uncomfortable.
***
It was the third round, and Dimi felt sick to her stomach. She guarded her face that was wet with sweat and blood. Green Plague was getting tired from all the haymakers he had thrown around, but he kept pounding Dimi’s arms, not letting her get a chance to recover.
Dimi tried to get away and stall till the bell ended the round... but then Plague planted his heel on her toes. There was a mix of clapping and booing as he planted a right on Dimi’s open wound above her eye.
Dimi heard the thud of her own head hitting the canvas. Her vision was starting to blur and she considered if maybe getting up was a mistake. Ivan had been right, underground fights was nasty. What Plague lacked in actual technique he made up for in dirty moves that the referee did nothing to stop.
Despite her sight being less than clear, her hearing worked just fine as she cached comments from the spectators from ringside.
“- just getting good, and now she just lies there!“
“- humans bits the dust again-“
“- expected with their king being a little shit-“
The last comment made Dimi bit her lower lip with her mouth-piece as she stood on her staggering legs. The referee stepped aside as Plague was ready to finish the job.
But Dimi had finally gotten it into her head that practically everything goes in this sort of ring.
And Plague got her head into his nose. This time it was the orc who had to step away as his nose had become a bloody mess. Dimi used the opportunity to catch her breath.
She couldn’t help bit smile as Plague whimpered... even if smiling felt painful.
***
Nora yawned as she stood up from her bed. Someone was banging on her door despite it being the middle of the night. She drowsily reached for her glasses and scratched her pointy ears. The extremely short elf was dressed in her sleeping attire which was a long white shirt that went to her knees.
The banging continued and got more intense.
“I’m coming, keep your pants on!” Nora put on her chullo hat to cover her ears and went to the front door of her small cabin. She opened the door and looked as a very upset-looking Ivan. “Oh, it’s you.” Nora took off her hat. “What is-”
“Take your bow, as many arrows as possible and healing herbs.” Ivan snapped at Nora. “Dimi is in danger, we need to go now.”
Nora blinked. “Give me a minute.” She went and found a blouse and a pair of overalls she used for fishing, then filled a small bag with standard herbs for wounds, pain and swellings, then attached the bag to her overalls. She checked that her quiver was filled and slipped the quiver around her shoulder.
She came outside. Ivan sat on the back of Aura who had turned full sphinx-form and she was on all four. Nora crawled up and grabbed a hold on Ivan’s shirt while he had a grip on Aura’s mane.
And then, Aura ran.
“Why aren’t we flying?!” Ivan asked as he tightened his grip.
“Too much trouble getting airborn with two passengers!” Aura roared as she ran with the speed of a horse. “Would be a waste of time trying, and we don’t have much time, right?!”
“I don’t know, so probably not?!”
“What’s going on, where are we going?!” Nora felt sick to her stomach due to the speed.
“There is an abandoned wagon workshop a couple of miles away! Dimi has been kidnapped! I think!” Ivan answered as he practically stabbed his knees into the skin of Aura as he was scared of falling off.
“Shit, was that what happened?!”
“What?!” Aura’s ear flickered.
“I saw Dimi leave town in a fancy-looking carriage earlier!”
Aura snarled. “You saw Dimi leave town with a rich stranger and that didn’t raise any red flags?! AT ALL?!”
“Well, I just thought maybe she had gotten a fight gig or something! And she is sixteen now, she can-”
Ivan groaned. “God, you suck!”
Nora blinked. “So that’s what it feels like...” she mumbled for herself. And then she threw up.
***
Green Plague made a loud expression of pain as his corner guy reattached his broken nose.
A peacock harpy spread his feathers as he paraded around the middle of the ring with holding a sign with the number four above his head.
Dimi sat on her stool while leaning forward so Sticky the Dwarf could reach her and once more washed her face for blood and smeared vaseline on Dimi’s wound above her eye to stop the bleeding.
“Good, good! He is in pain now!” Sticky filled Dimi’s mouth with water from a messy wooden cup. “His nose can only be patched temporarily, so make it spurt like a Titan damned fountain!”
Dimi spat and glared at Sticky as her head were aching. “You suck at being corner guy, you know that?”
“Look, that big green lump is an orc. Bet those guys screwed your family over or something, am I right?”
Dimi didn’t answer the question, but Sticky figured her angry glare meant he was right.
“Right. Then remember that when the bell goes, that should motivate ya.”
“THAT’S the best you got?” Dimi stood up as Sticky took the stool and made his way out of the ring. “Tell me to get pissed?”
“No.” Sticky grinned, showing a set of less than perfect teeth. “I’m telling you to hate.”
“Moron...” Dimi mumbled for herself as the gong rang and she stepped toward the center of the ring.
Plague had probably been told he had to finish it before his nose became a mess again. He came lunging at her and landed a devastating right on her left cheek bone. Dimi felt as if her head was gonna get detached from her neck as she fell backward against the ropes and then landed on her knees. The referee pushed Plague toward his corner as he started counting. Dimi was about to get up as Plague came charging and knocked her down before she had a chance to stand up. The ref pushed Plague to his corner once more while everyone in the former warehouse roared of approval.
Dimi’s vision was starting to get blurry and blood ran down her face. But Plague had made a mistake by showing how desperate he was to end it.
The referee had reached the count of six as Plague charged toward her and tried to beat her down before she could get up.
But Dimi didn’t try to get up as she instead hammered her gloved fist into the orc’s groin. That resulted in Plague howling in pain as his eyes grew wide. He leaned forward as he instinctively reached for his sore groin. Dimi jumped up as she rammed her fist into Plague’s chin. The orc stepped backward as Dimi grind her teeth and kept punching the orc who was to baffled to defend himself.
Several roars of approval could be heard around the ring.
“HELL YEAH!”
“DROP HIM!
“SNUFF HIS LIGHTS OUT!”
Plague’s nose was shooting out blood again and the creatures around the ring yelled and clapped as Dimi mercilessly pounded Plague’s face and forced him into a corner. He was about to fall on his knees, but the angry Dimi placed an open hand on his chest and pushed him against the corner, not letting him go down that easy. She clenched her free fist, ready to turn his ugly mug into minced meat and break both of his tusks. The spectators were thrilled and cheered on.
“SNUFF HIS LIGHTS OUT!”
“FINISH THAT BASTARD!”
“YEAH! KILL HIM!”
Dimi blinked. “Wait... what?” Dimi blinked again and looked at Green Plague’s face. His nose was a mess, his face filled with blood and he was glassy-eyed.
Dimi gasped after air as she stepped aside and let the orc fall to the canvas with a thump. His arms were spread out on either side of him.
Dimi was completely dizzy as the adrenaline died down a little and she realized that her entire body felt like an open wound. She leaned against the ropes as she tried to catch her breath as well as dry her face for blood with the backside of her glove. She looked at the creatures clap and roar of approval of the display of violence and she spotted the gorgon who had gotten her here to begin with.
Veronica stood up and clapped while her snake hair blew raspberries. “Holy shit, you are a little monster, kid!”
Dimi turned and saw two broad-shouldered creatures, one with blue skin, the other with red. They grabbed Plague by his arms and pulled him out of the ring as the orc groaned weakly. They dragged him away while some of the spectators threw curled up paper after him.
Dimi felt as if she was gonna be sick.
The referee lifted her arm up and Dimi was too weak to pull her hand free. She was surprised by the fact that she could stand at all. Then, Sticky pushed her toward the edge of the ring and helped her get through the ropes. Dimi got a standing ovation as the dwarf led her away from the ring.
But not toward the changing room. Dimi was so baffled and in pain that she didn’t realize something was wrong. Only when Sticky pushed her into an empty room in the back of the building and locked the door did Dimi wake up from her daze. She looked at the door that got shot and tried to open it without success. She then attempted to hammer on it to call for help, but stopped as her hands were sore.
***
Dimi had managed to get her bloody boxing gloves off and looked at her hands. They looked terrible. Suiting, since everything in her body felt that way. Especially around her eye where she now pressed her hand to stop the bleeding.
Dimi looked around her and came to the conclusion that this room was some sort of office. Or that it had been at some point. The windows were covered with wooden boards, meaning she couldn’t leave through those. There were two bookshelves that had been tilted over and there was a desk filled with scratches. Next to the table was a chair that had been split in half.
Dimi sat on the table, then lied on her back. Her arms were dangling lifelessly.
She then hear the door get opened. She tried to leap up, but she did not have the energy for that and instead slowly got up and off the table. She looked at the door and saw that Veronica had entered. Behind her was the blue and red creatures that resembled orcs, just bigger. The were both dressed in what sort of looked like dressing gowns and had swords attached to their belts.
“Bravo, kiddo! Bravo!” Veronica smiled like a cat that had just gotten it’s paws on a bird. “You surprised me, you really did. I actually expected Greeny to beat you half to death, but you actually nailed the bastard. But even though you are conscious, it doesn’t hurt the plan much.”
Dimi was dumbfounded. “Plan? What plan?”
Veronica shrugged. “Oh, the plan that involves you being to busted up to leave by yourself. Now you make a nice little hostage so I can get you bull dad over here tomorrow and I can turn him into roast beef.” Veronica laughed. “I even made you come here freely and I made money on you getting pummeled instead of having someone paid to do it.”
Dimi slowly started to understand that she had been played. And then, with what little energy she had left, she took a step closer toward Veronica.
And then she spat.
Veronica’s snakes hissed aggressively as they tried to reach the human. Veronica removed the mix of spit and blood from her forehead with the back of her hand. Veronica looked at the gasping human who glared at her. Veronica smiled. “That’s cute, honey. That’s very cute. Boys, tie her up, the human here is full of surprises.”
The two onis did as their boss had told them to. Dimi was unable to put up a fight as her hands and feet were tied with ropes.
***
Aura had arrived a few miles away from the former workshop. It could be seen in the dark due to the torches placed around it. Ivan and Nora got off her back so she could turn back to normal shape. “Thirsty...” Aura mumbled. Nora gave her a leather flask that she drank from as if she had been without water for a month.
“So... what’s the plan?” Nora tied the strings that dangled from her chullo under her chin.
Ivan grunted. “No plan, we just go in, hear what she wants.” He turned and looked at Nora and Aura. “You don’t do anything unless I tell you to, okay?”
The sphinx and the short elf shared a look, then nodded.
Ivan practically stomped toward the front door of the building, looking like he was about to explode of anger as the two female creatures followed him. They reached the door where a tall creature with pointy ears and a bushy tail tail with black fur that matched the hair on his head. He had red eyes that looked like they could ignite a small forest. These eyes were aimed at Ivan as the creature had his arms crossed. “We are closed for tonight.” He said, revealing a set of sharp teeth.
“I think your boss would like to see me.” Ivan glared back.
“I ain’t heard about no appointment.”
“Look, we get it.” Aura rolled her eyes. “You are a tough guy, saying very tough guy like things. But you really don’t wanna mess with us.”
“I’m just doing my job.” He took a step closer to Ivan and poked him on the chest. “So beat it before I feel like having a slice of beef or-”
The black-haired creature dropped and rolled on the ground.
Nora blinked. “Did you just sucker-punch him?! I barely saw that!”
Ivan cracked the fist he had just used. “God, I forgot how great that feels...”
