Meeting of Rebels

Talonia hid many secrets, some not for the light of heart. As a town of the lawless, the guildless and the free mercinaries and mages came for many reasons, it still had its rules and laws as any city would. However, one of the few pleasures this place had was one that Suijin choose to visit.

The roar of the crowd clearly said this place was home to many people who sought out entertainment and sport. Though it wasn't to be confused as some sort of gladiatorial slave contest... but a test of willing combatants in the ring. One would call it infamous as it wasn't like the magic games, but many came to compete. To fight for fame, glory, jewel and other fancies of the glory that came for it.

Nestled to the northern cliffs of Talonia's city limits, the arena was of a usual size today as people came to watch the fights, or even participate in them. Among them, a new comer had decided to pay a visit to the arena...

... one who came in toe with a certain green anthro crocodile with a pair of headphones on his head. The man was shirtless, wearing blue gee pants and a long head of equally blue hair, a sash only thing covering his torso. His muscles clearly showed to be one who trained frequently. He insisted to come in the interest to fight strong opponents.

However, one thing that stood out on him, as he approached the sign-in counter, was the golden claw-symbol on his chest over his heart, indicating him a member of a dark guild. Rakshasa.

The odd duo approached the glass separated booth where a man sat, reading a copy of a racy looking Sorcerer Weekly. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Hey there," Suijin said cooly, as if he wasn't bothered waiting for the man to look up at him. "I'd like to sign up for today's fights. I'm new so know where I can look up the rules for this thing?" he asked.

"Yeah?" The man said, sounding like not giving a damn and not bothering to look up. "50 jewel buy in to participate. The winner gets that back with percentage of the pot depending on your wins and points. You can talk to the coordinators inside..." he said as he finally glanced up.

The man's expression froze at the view of the man's face, and the guild mark he bore. Suijin had earned a bit of an infamous reputation since the guild was closest to Talonia. And the mark was known by the guy as he straightened up, almost falling out of his chair. "Er-- sorry! I mean, its 50 jewel please to enter. Best of luck to you!" he said eagerly, trying to seem somewhat apolegetic.

Dismissing the attitude and the rattled look, Suijin calmly handed him the fifty jewel from his pocket. He slipped it to the guy from the slot in the glass and proceeded forward.

As they walked, the crocodile snickered. "Dude, did you see his face?" he said as he elbowed Suijin lightly. "Betcha he wetted himself when he saw us. Hahaha..."

Suijin just rolled his eyes and proceeded to the room instructed for him to be a part of the fun...

Talonia was a town full of magic and, most importantly, people. Lance loved talking and meeting new people as he had a particular interest in testing the limits and playing games with them. Usually he would just go wherever the wind took him but today he was here for a reason. There was a competition happening where mages from all over came through to compete against one another.

Lance had entered town alone today; no companions or pets came with him. He wore a clean white and orange cape but the rest of his outfit was black. His hair was a bright blonde with orange-red highlights that made him almost look like he had flames coming off of him.

The spirit placed his finger on his chin and looked around confused “Hmm...” he hummed to himself, trying to figure out where the tournament would take place. He walked around aimlessly until he was finally pointed in the right direction, he would then head straight for the arena, wasting no time in between. As he walked towards the arena, patches of grass that he passed would sprout squashes and other harvest fruits, trees that once had green leaves would turn a mixture of orange, red, and yellow. This was the power of the Pumpkin King.

As he neared the sign-up area he would see a man with blue hair and a talking crocodile heading into what seemed to be a waiting room. Lance would cock his head, his eyes growing a bit wide at the sight of the anthropomorphic creature. “What an interesting creature!” He exclaimed to himself as he moved forward to the sign-up area.

“Excuse me sir, I would like to participate in today’s festivities!” he exclaimed with a big, toothy grin. After he went through the motions of paying and signing up he was escorting into the same room that the other man had entered.

The room was full of people waiting to participate in the fighting and the sight of them made Lance lick his lips and chuckle. There were so many strong people here and he couldn’t wait to mess with each and every one of them. He had a mischievous and almost chaotic aura to him that made the contestants steer away from him so he would sit himself in a seat and carefully watch the others, assessing and judging how he thought they would perform.

A number of people were already in the room as Suijin and Vector made their entrance. It was a division of locker slot cubbies, showers further in the back... and from that there led to a small gym for exercise. Likely there was another version for women combatants as well. While Suijin grinned at the idea, he tried to keep focus as he approached a somewhat larger fellow-- similar to his own height. Vector waddled along side him as they approached and Suijin raised a hand, grasping the man's attention.

The man was rather of a muscular build much like Suijin but with tanned skin and shorter black hair-- with a sharp beard on his face. "Excuse me, I'm here to be part of the fights. Perhaps you can explain to me the rules. " Suijin said plainly, but still held his head high with an air of confidence.

The man turned and regarded Suijin-- and the rather odd Crocodile near his knees. "Heh, aren't you an odd pair. And what is this?"

"Hey!" Vector barked, snapping his jaws a bit-- a brief glance of the Rakshasa tattoo on his tongue. "I'll have you know I'm a lean, mean, green fighting machine! Ya wanna wrestle this crocodile?" he said, readying his fists.

Suijin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Please ignore him..." he said.

As the crocodile gave Suijin a glare, the man cleared his throat and addressed Suijin. "We hold tournaments every day. The rules are simple, a competitor meets the enemy in one on one combat, either through the use of martial arts or magic. Winner is determined by either a timer to get up, or surrender. No fatalities, understood?" he asked. Suijin merely nodded, not planning to kill anyone anyway. He found humiliating defeats more rewarding than deaths over simple fights. That just was his preference. "There are eight matches leading to the finals, and the top winner gets the jackpot. Semifinals and so on get lesser prizes. Certain enchantments will be in place while others will not be allowed. Do you understand?"

Suijin nodded. "Sounds reasonable. " he replied simply.

It was then the man gave Suijin a piece of paper, with a number on it. Number 5. "Report to the arena floor when your number is displayed on the magi-screen up there. Oh and one minor rule, " the man said as his eyes rested on Vector. "No pets can help you in the fight. Okay?"

The crocodile frowned a bit but waved a hand. "Fine, fine, I can take a hint. i was going to watch anyway. Sui-- you do good out there! I'll be in the stands making bets when your out there. Tear the arena a new one!" he said encouragingly.

Suijin just chuckled at his companion's words. Though it was his first time here, he planned to enjoy himself and leave his mark as a popular combatant.

When it was time to give numbers Lance had gotten number one. He sighed a little and shook his head "and here's hoping I would be able to watch the competition for a while." he chuckled before shrugging "Ah well... Lets get this done!" he exclaimed to himself, clapping his hands together cheerfully. As he was walking out onto the arena stage he would pass by the crocodile and his blue haired partner, glancing at them briefly and smirking as he walked by.

The arena was like a wrestling ring with big see-through walls surrounding it, probably to prevent any of the audience getting caught up in the action of the fight. In the corners of the room, cameras were showcasing the fights into the waiting areas. The lights centered on the stage, leaving the seating areas very dim. "It's like you people get pleasure from watching your own allies fight like animals... survival of the fittest I suppose." he muttered to himself and shrugged, sighing before lifting his head to see who he was facing.

The man before him was a muscular man, one definitely stronger than him physically. He stood about a foot or two taller than Lance and looked down at him. "They got me fighting a shorty today huh!" He exclaimed and threw his head back in a uproar of laughter. "I don't want to hurt you man, you should go home before anything happens to you." he suddenly became more serious. Lance would look up at the man with a clueless, neutral expression "But I came here to fight." he said, cocking his head to the side and taking a few steps back, the other man shrugging and doing the same.

As soon as the fight begun his opponent place both fists at his side and started to charge up an attack. The magic went into the mans hand and made it glow orange. With a growling yell the man ran at Lance who simply stood there mockingly. when the man got close enough, Lance would smile suddenly "Watch where you step. You might get tangled." he laughed as pumpkin vines would sprout from his feet and tie around the man, trapping him in their embrace. The opponent would writhe and scream as the thorny vines where pressed into his skin.

The sounds of suffering only made Lance more excited as his smile would turn into a toothy grin. He got up in his opponents screaming face and whispered "Fear the Pumpkin King." he would then jump back, a small pumpkin appearing in his hand. "Pumpkin Bomber" he laughed wickedly as he tossed the pumpkin into the air. It would then arch down onto the trapped man, exploding as it hit.

The previously strong man would fly backwards and immediately scramble up and out of the arena. The crowd cheered the Pumpkin Kings name as he stood there watching the man go off. He would place his hands at his sides and sigh with disappointment.

The next few matches would be similar to each other, always ending with the opponent completely humiliated. Lance on the other hand never broke a sweat and even found enjoyment as the humiliation that he was placing on these people, almost as if he was just playing with them like toys.