Wanna bet on me ?
“Attention vessel tag 17-02, this is Serinissima air traffic control. Please keep your current bearing and begin lowering your speed,” Kian pushed forward on the throttle, slowing the ship. “17-02 to ground, can you please direct me to the Kjell workshop?” The radio went silent for a moment and came back on. “Tower to tag 17-02 lower over track 5210 landing area designated by a flag with a hammer and an anvil on it.” Kian turned the wheel to the left, moving the ship slowly. “17-02 to ground, thank you for the guidance, beginning landing now.” The voice cracked back on the radio, “Ground to 17-02, enjoy your stay in Sernissima.” Kian pushed down on the wheel, bringing the ship to rest in a warehouse with an open roof.
The ship came to rest gently on the floor. The four of them were standing by the stairs. Paulida stopped Senarre from going up, “Let me make the entrance. Kjell is an old friend of mine.” He walked up the stairs and opened the door. A scaffold frame was attached to the hull of the ship, and a small figure came wobbling towards them, a small, squat, yet sturdy man who came running, his right arm missing, replaced by one of white metal with small actuators built into the frame. “Is that who I think it is?” shouted a low voice like gravel. He shouted out again, “You bastard i thought they would've put you in the ground years ago.” Paulida smiled and held his arms out and said, “In the flesh, you know I'm too tough to kill.” The short man ran over and held out his arm. Paulida met him and pulled him in close, “What can I do for an old friend?” Paulida smiled and said, “I would like the best dwarven mechanic on the continent to help me out with friendship.” he pointed towards Rosario, the dwarf looked down at the ship and said, “A Wembley Mr4? A masterpiece of luxury engineering, your friend must have a pretty penny then Paulida.” Paulida grinned and said, “yea something like that.”
Kjell the dwarf reached down with his mechanical arms and opened one of the deck panels. “Lots of damage to the girl to fix, I can work some magic though, Paulida, can you go to the fridge on the other side of the scaffold and fetch the glass bottles on the top?” Paulida walked over the scaffold and onto a hard metal floor. A refrigerator sat next to a small fold-out table littered with contraptions and tools. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed two bottles. “Still brewing the homemade stuff, I see? He crossed the scaffold and placed the caps of both bottles on the edge of the deck railing and pressed down with his hand, causing the bottle caps to pop off. He walked over and handed the bottle to the dwarf, who was walking around the deck, analyzing the damage to the ship. The dwarf took the bottle in his organic hand and took a swig, as did Paulida, “stronger than before, huh?” Kjell looked up and said, “I added some chrome to certain parts of the brewing process, making it more efficient.” Paulida turned to Senarre and Rosario and cleared his throat. “Can you guys go and try to find a way to make some money here, firstly to afford an inn and secondly to pay Kjell here whenever he finishes fixing the ship?” he turned to Kian and said, “Can you go to find an inn somewhere, try to keep the pricing below around 13000, because that's all we have” Kian smiled and said “negotiation is my specialty my sister is notoriously frugal” with orders dispersed they all walked down the stairs to the front door of the warehouse.
Senarre said, “Damn, it's hot here, huh?” She was sweating with her jacket on. Rosario said back to her, “yea the climate of Serinissma is temperate to hot most of the year.” he had taken off his sweater and had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, “makes me wanna go to the beach.” Senarre laughed and said, "You don't know how to swim, but like the beach?” he walked off in front of her and said, “You don't have to swim to like the beach, whenever we clear my name ill take you to the Lorea vacation home, then you'll see.” She ran a short bit and caught up with him and said, “Is that a promise?” He moved his hand over his heart and said “on my honor” in a playful tone. She walked past him and said, “You ok? Your eyes look rough.” he said back to her, “nah im all good, just getting used to the airship beds.” They walked past a small, rundown sign in the window that said “Tournament cash prizes.” he continued walking until he felt her hand on his shoulder. He stopped and turned to see her face with a wicked smile on it. “How much money do we have?” He rolled his eyes and said, “Between the two of us, about 4700.” She looked at him with the wicked smile still on her face, “wanna bet on me?”
A wrapped fist crashed into the jaw of the opponent, laying them flat on the ring. She exhaled and walked to the corner of the ring. Rosario stood there with a large mug filled with water. She said, “How much are we up to?” She drank a large swig of the water and splashed the rest on her face. He said back, “75,000 the next fight should pay three to one, so if you win again, we’ll be up to 225k.” She pushed her knuckles on her chin, cracking her neck, “Let's do this then.” She stood up, hopping from side to side before walking back into the center of the ring. The referee walked back into the center, held her arm up in the air, and shouted into a microphone in their hand, “And another KO for Elven queen of the ring, a true threat, make sure to place your bets on the next match, folks cause this is gonna be a true battle for the ages, as of yet Undefeated Elven queen Vs tonights biggest contender Spine crusher will the elven queen of the ring be able to win or will her hot streak end at the hands of the monster of the ring” She walked back over to her side of the ring and cracked her fingers against each other. On the other side of the ring, a massive man walked in, dwarfing her Rosario concerned said “you sure you can win this that guys like double the size of Paulida” she turned to look at him “After i beat him you're buying me a drink” she winked and turned back to face her opponent.
She was hit in the face, a small cut under her left eye, and droplets of crimson came out. She fell backwards and walked back to her corner, and the ref came back onto the ring, “another round to the spine crusher, one more, and he wins the fight, can out Elven queen of the ring turn the tide.” Rosario laid a hand on her shoulder, “You're ok, you're getting your ass beat out there.” She turned back and smiled; her busted lip had blood on it. “I'm gonna knock him out in a single blow.” She got up and walked back to the center to meet the Spine Crusher. He said in a low voice, “You lose today, pup.” She smiled wickedly, her eyes focused like a hunter sighting prey. “Nah, i cant afford to lose this one, my pa will kill me if I lose all the money.” The Spine crusher punched forward. She ducked under the blow and countered with a punch to the side, the opening allowed her to score an uppercut to the man's jaw, dropping him in his tracks. The referee walked back onto the ring and shouted, “There you have it, the newcomer takes all the end of the Spine crushers' reign of terror.” He grabbed her hand and held her arm in the air. “I hereby welcome the new Queen of the ring, The Elven assassin Senarre, the Goddess of Sleep.” She walked over to the edge of the ring and hopped over, placing her hand on Rosario’s shoulder. “You owe me a drink.”
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They sat at the bar, the bartender brought out two bricks of paper money wrapped in rubber bands, and placed them in front of Rosario. He began to count the money. Senarre waved at the bartender and said, “Two glasses of brandy, please.” The 5
The bartender came back and placed two highball glasses on the counter in front of them. She grabbed the glass and gestured to Rosario, “Cheers,” they said, clinking the glasses together. “Where did you learn to fight like that?” Rosario asked her. She smiled, “Having Paulida as a father growing up taught me some things, one is take shit from nobody, two is if you're gonna get hit, get back up and hit harder.” Rosario drank from the amber liquid in his glass, the alcohol stinging his throat. He finished counting the bills, “225 thousand wanna head back to the garage and see if Kian has found an inn?” She took a swig from her drink, “Or we can keep going to other places to see if there are more employment opportunities.” Rosario looked at her and smiled, “Judging by the way you said that, it wasn't a choice.” She raised her hand, and the bartender came back and said, “What can I get you?” Senarre smiled wickedly and said, “I'm looking for something with some more kick.” The bartender placed two small glasses on the counter and said, “This will mess you up.” She grabbed her glass and said down the hatch, the burning sensation in her throat. She said, “alright lets do this.”
The night flowed by fast flashes of memory: a bar, Rosario placing a hand of cards on a table, and pulling chips to him. A back alley, both of them throwing up behind a dumpster. A room with men in suits with their weapons drawn, A shot of liquor. A gunfight in a backroom. Senarre placing a large pile of chips on a black square and yelling, “All in on black.” A dealer handing over a larger pile of chips.
Rosario awoke in a bush; his feet hurt, and his head pounded. Senarre's head was resting on his back. She had a large backpack on the front of her body. She moved, and she fell backwards, stirring awake, “Where are we? What is this?” She opened the bag and looked inside. Her eyes went wide, she whispered, “Lorea… Lorea, look at this.” He sat up, groaning with his hands over his eyes, “too bright.” He looked over to her; the bag on her chest was full to the brim, near overflowing. He said only one word, “Holy shit.” The bag was full to the point of exploding with assorted bills, mostly 1000s. “We gotta get this back to the warehouse and count it,” she said as she stood up. She extended a hand to Rosario and pulled him up. He placed his hand in front of his face, and a pale light illuminated it. “Need a detox?” she shook her head and said, “Nah im good i feel great.” She hugged the money tighter. They stood up and began walking around. He said to her, “You remember how to get back to the warehouse?” She said back to him flatly, “Not a clue, wanna ask someone?” They walked past a woman in heels with sunglasses and an umbrella, and heels a red, form-fitting dress adorned her body, emphasizing her sizable chest. Rosario said calmly, “Excuse me, Ms., can you please point me in the direction of the workshop district?” The woman in glasses calmly said, “Out for a late night, weren't you? The workshop district is back that way, oh, and if you find yourself in need of any medical treatment, don't hesitate to stop by Cerise Family Medicine.” She reached into the center of her dress and pulled out a card that had the address on it. Rosario reached out to get the card from her hand. He grabbed it, but the corner slid against his thumb, causing a small droplet of blood to bead out.
The woman froze her eyes, not visible through the glasses, but her body froze; every hair on her body stood on end, the mana in the air felt like piercing needles on the skin, oppressive and heavy. “You ok, lady ?” Senarre said to her. The woman stood still for a moment and said calmly, “Oh yes, I'm fine, I just remembered that I needed to do something.” They continued walking past the lady. Rosario waved and said, “Thanks for the directions.” The strange woman turned and said nervously, “Don't forget to get some shoes, young man, you'll hurt your feet if you walk around the city without shoes on.” They walked past her, not hearing her last statement. Senarre turned to Rosario, “Strange woman, huh?” He turned to her, “Probably not that much stranger than one person with no shoes and the other with a big ass bag.”
“Four million three hundred and ninety thousand and forty-six.” Senarre was smiling when he said the amount of money Kian and Paulida were standing alongside her. Paulida turned to her and said, “Where did you get the money to rob a bank or something?” She grinned and said, “We played a couple of games, and like you know, nothing too intense.” Kian said, “Can I have some money? I want to buy something.” Senarre said sure and gestured to Rosario. He handed over 3 1000-mark bills. Kian said “thank you” and ran off. Paulida cleared his throat. “Kjell said it will be bout a 1.2 million for all the repairs and the like. I also propose we should keep a stash of money around to afford food and stuff, so I think we should put away 2 million for rainy days, meaning we have 1.187 million to use however we see fit” Rosario said" Fine by me any objections ?” Senarre said “none whatsoever but i do want to go get lunch wanna come with?” Rosario said “sure im down” she turned to Paulida he shook his head side to side “nah im gonna stay here and help Kjell with the repairs you know he's old I wouldn't want him to hurt himself for our sakes” The dwarf supposedly sleeping on a couch in the workshop spoke out “You dont know nothing bout dwarves then”