Toney
*It was ironic to him. The sounds of combat being heard in the not so distant pits. All those bloodthristy swines and not one of them will step into the pit and take the dogs on. Ursa laughed at his thought as he ate his food, if you could call it that. When he was told his gruel would be upgraded due to his feats in the pits, he thought about chicken leg, or some other mind of poultry. Maybe even an opossum. At least his gruel was hot now, and he had a spoon to eat it with. He had found this 'fighters porridge' of his to be at least comforting. To him, it was one of the only parts of his day that was routine. Wake, train, fight, eat, fight sleep. Rinse and repeat.

He stood up, placing the bowl and spoon next to the bars and began walking to the other side of his cell to take a leak. He had earned a bucket as one was thrown into the pit after a recent victory. He was proud of his bucket. After he had relieved himself he sat on his cot and closed his eyes.

He knew soon enough he'd be called upon to put on another showing for those ugly thugs of people. He detested the Orcs in general. Almost as much as he detested the Head Slaver. There is only one he didn't despise as much, the one who trained him. He owed his life to that decrepid Orc they threw in to train the maggots. And he knew it, too.*

*Ursa decided to start his training. The sun had hit the middle of the cell, so he knew it was time to exercise again. He dropped down onto his hands and began to do his press-ups. The first time he did these, his shoulder gave out from the intense pain of the branding on his shoulder blade but now, he didn't feel a thing. He finished them off easily and began to do sit ups.

He winced a little, feeling the recent pain from an injury he sustained in the last fight shooting him in the gut. As long as he could hold his core for, he would do so until his own body gave out. He needed to get better. A loss here would be an execution, especially when there are now younger fighters than he. He hated fighting the young ones. He saw it as unfair. They were inexperienced, scarless, weak; he was none of those things.

On the rare occasion he had to, he made their deaths quick and painless as courtesy - much to the displeasment of the crowd. He didn't care though, even if he got whipped for a poor show and gave no food for the night, he would rather that than to torture someone like that. He sometimes wished someone did that to him at that age. Finally, his body gave way and dropped to his back, taking deep scooping breaths of air into his lungs. He looked up at the mossy stone ceiling with a blank, soulless stare. He closed his eyes and began to hum quietly. He hummed the only memory of his Mother: her song.*
Gary
She was back. Why was she back? She had sworn never to go back! Yet here she was, back in Dasvaz, lingering near the fighting pits. The little Kobold shuddered as she adjusted her cowl for what was probably the tenth time. She had forgotten how awful the pits smelled. Like blood and shit and fear and hate. Like Orcs.

She kept her long ears carefully hidden as she skirted stealthily through the crowds. No one really paid much attention to her. There were other Kobolds here, after all, most in servitude to the other races, though some were free. They tended to stick together in packs as they cheered and jeered at the fighters down below. 

Tail flicking, Ves paused near the entrance to the cells. It was where the fighters were kept while they waited for their turn. She knew that many were slaves and might need help. It was dangerous, but she swallowed back her fear. Waiting for the opportunity, the Kobold sneaked around behind a distracted guard and quickly made her way down into the underbelly of the pits.

Pausing to catch her breath, Ves looked around. Inside the nearest cage was a beaten and bloodied man. Was he alive or dead? She wasn't certain but a noise startled her and sent her scurrying further down the hall. Her clawed feet were completely silent as she hurried along. 

Ducking into some shadows to avoid a patrolling guard, Ves pressed her back up against the bars of a cell. She watched the guard pass by, then turned her attention to the occupant of the cage: a Goliath, or so she thought. She wasn't an expert on the races of the world. Her own experiences were very limited. Glancing around quickly, she whispered just loud enough for the Goliath to hear. "Hello..."

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Toney
*His memory of his mother became stronger. He saw her - what he thought was her - swaddling a babe and humming that song. Her face covered by her hair. He reached forward in his mind, trying to fight past the resistance of his fading memory. He wanted to see her, he needed to see her, his Mother. The innocence in his mind pleaded to see her. It was then he heard the whispered voice.

He was dragged back to the present day, dragged to his dirty cell, his scarred body. His partially naked body laying on muddy floors. His head slowly turned to look at the thing before him. It was small, hooded. It looked reptilian, he had killed those before. Their ears were sharp when he bit them off their heads.

He slowly rose to a crouched position, his yellow eye stared through her. He slowly bore his teeth, an universal sign of 'don't fuck with me'. He looked more beast than man. His body was crouched and covered, a loincloth covered his front and rear. He was clearly scarred, a survivor of the pits. In his eyes brewed a hatred. He looked at the creature before him and spoke, his voice low and grumbled, his throat dry from dehydration:* "Okak. Ka Kog Lizog."

||"You. Why in cells."
Gary
She immediately took a few steps back and out of even a Goliath's impressive reach. Her tail twitched back and forth anxiously. His stare was scary, but she recognized it as well. There was a defensiveness behind it that many slaves carried. His toothy grimace made her lift her hands in front of her, trying to signal that she meant no harm.

She couldn't understand his words, but heard the raspiness of his tone. Quickly she withdrew a waterskin from beneath her cloak and took a hesitant step forward. "Please don't attack me. I mean you no harm," She whispered as she quickly tossed the waterskin into the cell, stepping back again.

"Do you... Do you need help? I can help. My name is Ves." She didn't necessarily like giving out her name, but to earn trust one had to give trust. Besides, Ves wasn't an uncommon Kobold name. There were probably three other Veses out among the crowd. She only hoped the Goliath could understand her. 

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Toney
*She spoke common. She wasn't from the cells... She was from the crowds. He stared at her raising her hands and slowly, lingering for a moment longer, he lowered his lips around his teeth and his face began neutral. He saw her tail, it wasn't enough to be a weapon, and he had claws and horns too if needs be. He studied his options, eyeing the small Kobold up and down. She was anxious, he could tell since he's seen that look in his foes before the final blow. But she was clever... He could see in her eyes that she had to have been.

His eye didn't leave her's, not even for a second. He slowly grabbed the water skin and brought it to his nose, sniffing it deeply. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the slightest whiff of unnatural liquid. He was suprised to find none, but thankful. He drank greedily, softly moaning as he felt the water hit the back of his dried, aching throat. He filled his mouth to the point his cheeks puffed out, making his beard pulse like a frog showing its size from the cheeks.

He looked to her and slowly approached on his hands and knees. Grabbing the bars with white-knuckled yet dirty hands, he slowly rose to half his full height, looking slightly down at her. In his offhand, he hesitantly offered the waterskin back, having drunk his fill. Life behind bars made his stomach small, he didn't need much to fight - he needed less to speak.* "You. You speak. Ves..." *He pondered the name, possibly thinking if he recognised it.* "You're not a guard. Why are you here? This is not the place for small reptiles... This is hell."
Gary
Ves watched him move slowly closer and had to tilt her head back as he rose halfway. She was tiny in comparison, but that was true more often than not. He offered the waterskin back to her and slowly she stepped forward and took it. Trust. Perhaps too much, too quickly, but there was little time to waste.

"I'm here to help. If you want it," She whispered urgently. The crowd screamed above them, stomping and cheering at the fight they were watching. Ves flinched a little at the noise and looked anxiously over her shoulder. Her long ears twitched, listening for any more guards. After a moment she looked back up at the Goliath.

"I've helped people like you. Helped free them. I can get you out of this cell. But sneaking you out of here... That will be trickier," She explained quickly and quietly. "But it's your choice." She couldn't imagine being happy as a slave, but some were content with the life they had. She wouldn't take the decision away from him. She would not assume he even wanted freedom. Though she did hope he would not sound the alarm.

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Toney
*He didn't lash out or grab her. He didn't yell or roar. He remained quiet, his face a stoic stone. His eyes darted to the side for a moment before he darted his arm through the bars and dragged her towards him. He didn't hurt her, although his grip was tight and his hand was rough. 

There, tucked in the shadows that his cell bars granted, she was hidden.* "Quiet."

*Ten seconds later, the reason for this was made clear. Two Orcish guards walked past, to them in their drunken stupor, Ursa was just stood at the bars waiting his next fight. One of the Orcs spat on the floor as he walked past. Once he knew the coast was clear, he let go of her.*

"If you can break me from this place, I will be in your debt. I swear it. There is nothing I want more than to leave here, besides killing the one in charge." *His words were direct and blunt. In his one active eye, there lay a hint of desperation but also pessimism. He was not happy here. His cell stunk and all he had to show for his life were scars, blood, a spoon and a bucket.*
Gary
It took everything in the tiny Kobold not to cry out in surprise. She felt herself pulled towards the bars by hands that could easily crush her skull. For a moment she feared for the worst: this was it. This was how she died, at the hands of a Goliath beneath the stinking fighting pits. Well at least she would die free. There were worse things than death, after all. Slavery was one such fate she always hoped to avoid.

Yet the blow did not come. Instead she was tucked safely into the shadows as a pair of Orc guards came into view. The sight of them made Ves shiver in fear. She did not move, remaining motionless in the darkness, waiting for them to pass. Once they were gone, the Goliath let her go and she turned to look up at him.

Nodding her head, she moved towards the lock of the cell. Tucking her cowl back to reveal her large ears, the Kobold drew a lockpicking kit from a pouch at her side. "Please keep watch. This may take a minute," She said as she began to work. How many locks had challenged her before this one? Countless. And the Kobold certainly seemed to know what she was doing. She held her breath as she worked, fiddling this way and that with the lock.

With a satisfying *Click*, the lock gave way and the cell door squeaked open slightly. Ves hurried to put away her things as she glanced around worriedly. 

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Toney
*He nodded his head to her and his eyes left her and focuses on the world around him. He knew the guard rotations. Years and years of this shit show had given him that. Yet, only now was he worried about getting it wrong. "Oh Björn, don't doubt yourself you big lug." He heard her in his mind. It made him quietly choke back his emotions as he focused more on the stones.

He knew that ten steps away from that corner was a wobbly stone. It always clicked. A warning sign that trouble would come. He tried to focus on that. "Please, please don't let me hear that click." He begged in his mind to Lunam. He kept his breath quiet, shallow and gentle. However, even with the roars of the crowd, he heard no guards.

He heard the click of the cell and looked down to her. He stood to full height, his neck bending down to not hit his head. He looked at the door with hesitation. Last time he did this... No. He couldn't bear to think of his beloved. Not in that way.

 He bobbed down and took lone last look at the cell he called home. He spat on it and walked out his feet feeling the cold of the untouched stone at his feet.* "We must move quickly. Guards come soon. One yell and we are dead." *He looked to Ves once more and her small statue. Her large ears perplexed him, her red eyes and long snout. Her whispy, anxious tail. She was frial. The Orcs would crush her in a moments notice. He would have to protect her. He would do so willingly, he owes a debt after all but they're not out of the woods yet.* 

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