Chapter 136: After the Fight

The hunt had made the little group famous aboard the ship. Everywhere they went, people kept thanking them. Even strangers who had looked fierce and unfriendly at first came over to express their gratitude.

The woman was resting in her cabin with her injuries. The ponytailed man had been hurt far more badly, but he'd stayed conscious. When Jess and Gred visited him, he kept his eyes open and fixed on them, as though determined to prove he was still full of energy.

Three members of the earlier hunting party had died. To everyone's surprise, though, some had survived. The panther hadn't bothered chasing down those who fled and hid. First Mate Gazik, though wounded, had managed to stay alive too.

The hunt had been terribly risky, but Jess couldn't deny it was the most money he'd ever made on a single job. He'd actually received a gold coin, half of which was his, not to mention the silver that went with it.

He'd been wondering whether to sell the beaded bracelet on his wrist. Now, even without selling it, he had more than enough money to cover his remaining expenses in Lordaeron.

He could keep the bracelet as a souvenir.

In the passenger cabin, the bare-chested hunter was drinking rum and boasting to people he knew.

"That panther! No wonder it's a star of the Gurubashi Arena! Every swipe of its claws looked like it would tear the walls apart. Go down there and look. Claw marks everywhere! I was afraid it'd rip a hole clean through the ship. That's why I looked so rough in the fight. But we won in the end! Ha!"

"Of course, the brothers and sisters fighting alongside me were all tough as nails. Without them I'd probably have been torn to pieces. Especially that dwarf!"

He raised his glass toward them. Jess and Gred lifted theirs in friendly reply.

They listened to his exaggerated account but had no desire to join in.

That was normal for Jess. He'd never liked showing off, and now that he knew dark magic, he was even more careful to keep a low profile.

But Gred normally loved being the center of attention. Seeing him so quiet made Jess curious.

"What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

"I thought you'd use Fear," Gred said softly. "Instead, you cast a different spell, didn't you? Was that shadow magic too? I'm not sure this time, Jess, but... I think I saw your staff light up."

His gaze moved to the long staff lying on the table. Jess instinctively put a hand over it.

"When the panther charged you, I heard your incantation. I guessed it was some kind of weakness or stunning spell. It made the beast lose its bearings and forget how to attack properly. I could see that much. Without you, we might not have gotten any money. We'd have been injured for nothing. I was already planning to kill the thing." Gred pulled out his dagger and waved it.

For the record, NovelPhoenix contains the author's chapter, but this reproduction was made without approval.

"That's about right," Jess said. "But I was worried one of the other three might recognize shadow magic. That made me hesitate."

"Don't think too much about it. I asked around on deck earlier. The ponytailed fellow and the one boasting over there are hunters from Booty Bay. Neither has dealt with orcs or fought trolls face-to-face. The woman is a veteran, though. She's the only one who might recognize your spell, since she fought in the Orc Wars and met orc warlocks. But she could barely stand by the time you cast it. She probably didn't notice anything."

That reassured Jess considerably.

"So you really think you could have killed that panther?" he asked.

"Don't forget, I had a shield," Gred replied. "I'm not bragging this time. That orc in Redridge? I couldn't beat him, and I know it. Without his magic, we might have had a fight, but that wouldn't mean much. This panther was much stronger than an ordinary one, sure. But I think some of its reputation came from the arena owners and the audience talking it up. I could take it one-on-one—provided I had at least a knife or something. Barehanded, I'd be finished. I've only just trimmed my nails."

He leaned closer.

"What do you think about putting together a team and entering the Gurubashi Arena someday? Find another reliable partner and we might make a fortune!"

"There has to be a limit to how hard you try to get yourself killed, Gred." Jess rolled his eyes. "Enough already. Go alone if you want. I'm not going to die in some arena just so you can complain that I'm holding you back."

Jess had no desire to run into a three-person party led by a human barbarian, supported by a night elf druid, with a blood elf rogue sneaking around for ambushes.

Especially if the human barbarian spotted him and said, "Hey, aren't you that fellow? We met at Stonewatch Keep. Remember?"

Of course, it would be more than a decade before Varian Wrynn's savage split personality became a gladiator. If Jess and Gred became arena fighters now, they were unlikely to live another ten years and get the chance to meet that group at all.

"I'm joking," Gred laughed. "But seriously, if all the beasts in that arena are weaker than this one, there's good money to be made."

Gred's idea of easy money wasn't a useful guide to anything. This was a dwarf who had beaten Danath Trollbane's cousin into the air with his bare hands and sent him crashing face-first into the ground.

Jess had no doubt Gred could make plenty of money in an arena.

But it was quite literally work where you traded your life for gold. People usually didn't enter simply to earn a living. They were either captured slaves or fanatics who loved fighting more than their own lives. Most ordinary people wouldn't choose it if they had another way to get by.

"Whatever that panther's level, it nearly put a few holes in me," Jess said. "If I'd been hurt like the man with the ponytail, how much time and money would I waste just recovering?"

Then he thought back to the battle.

"Still, I managed to stay calm and cast a spell with that monster coming at me. I'd say I'm getting pretty good."

Gred laughed. "I've always told you, Jess. You're more of a man than you look."

"What?" Jess's smile vanished. "I don't look like a man?"

Gred laughed harder. He grabbed Jess's cheek and gave it a tug.

"With that pretty little smooth face, if they threw you into Shadowforge City, your backside wouldn't last three hours."

"Get lost!" Jess knocked his hand away. "Don't touch me, you pervert."

"If only I were into men," Gred sighed. "Damn, these days at sea have been driving me crazy. The women aboard look so fragile I feel like they'd break a bone if I touched them. And the one who could fight is injured."

"Only a few days left," Jess said. "Once we reach Southshore, go find the warrior woman of your dreams."

Gred laughed a few times, but the smile gradually faded.

"I do want to come back to the arena idea, Jess. Not because I want you to fight there. It's what you said about holding me back..."

He shook his head.

"I've got a feeling I might not be able to beat you anymore."