7 MOON RIVER (1/2)

A fleet of gondolas snaked through crystalline waters that fed the lush forest. Guarded by a knight or two, each one carried crates draped in black.

Meanwhile, cloaked and masked figures on giant branches of cypresses stalked the group of small naval vessels.

”Igur. Now's the best time to strike!” a man in a bronze mask said.

Igur, who wore a golden mask, raised his hand that held a black dagger. It was the signal.

The hooded figures simultaneously pounced from their hiding places. They landed with a light foot, slitting the guards before they could make a noise.

In just a few seconds, the gondolas' owners changed.

”Release them, quick!” Igur said. The boats smelled of rotten meat.

They pulled on the draping and found orange-haired women and children crammed inside wooden cages like animals. Their pale skin was full of bruises and the blood in the slit of their wrists or necks already dried.

”Igur, we're too late,” the man in a bronze mask said.

”No...search for any signs of life!” Igur said. It was then that a cry echoed from the last gondola.

Something squirmed inside the leather sack that belonged to the knight guarding the boat. The hooded figure on the vessel ripped it open and found a baby whose hair was black with a tinge of orange like embers.

...

A twelve-foot circular platform stood at the center of the crowd, surrounded by a moat of burbling black substance.

Throughout Soden's coliseum, an army of knights guarded the seating tiers and the four towers that housed nobles, royalties, guests, and beasts.

”Have you heard any news about those missing three?” Imogen said. He had a clear view of the arena at the top-most level of the eastern tower.

A man in a crimson scale armor shook his head. ”No news nor clue, sir. But we have found a replacement for Igur.”

”Hm. Tighten the security and prepare the first match, then. I don't want any disturbance,” Imogen said.

”I understand,” the man said. ”Valfern asked for his sack. He said that if you want a good show, you must give it back to him.”

”Give it to him then if that will comfort him in his death. And the artifact?”

”The artifact is with the King in the northern tower.”

Imogen nodded his head. ”You may leave now.”

...

Valfern slumped on the cold floor of an underground room. Aside from the ten knights that dragged him out of his cell and guarded him close, mossy walls were his companion. To make things worse, the cheers and murmurs that came from above would not let him think in peace.

A heavy marching of metal caused the knights in Valfern's room to part ways. With a leather sack in his hand, the man in crimson scale armor finally returned. ”Here!” he said.

Like a long-lost friend, Valfern opened his arms and embraced the leather sack. He checked its contents. Everything was there except the artifact they said he stole.

”You're the only one who did not pick a lot. So prepare your guts as the first one is about to begin, and then you're next,” the man said.