"What do you mean this broth costs three coppers alone?! Have you even seen what it looks like - just water. Ugh, don't even ask me how it tasted. It was shit. Literally shit!"
The angry ramblings of a middle aged man with angry eyes and an almost red face, permeated the tranquility of the inn. Customers turned towards the reception table to look at the commotion, where the receptionist looked like he was already having a bad morning.
"Sir, it has meat in it, so obviously it shall be costly." The young man behind the desk tried reasoning with the fuming man.
David sat at a nearby table, watching the altercation.
'Honestly, the breakfast isn't half bad for a run down place.' Shaking his head, he went back to his meal.
The group of competitors he had encountered last night had left the inn early morning.
'They even had a carriage for the journey.'
Finishing his meal, they too set out on their path. On their way, they encountered other contestants as well. And just as he been expecting, each of them were armed as well.
"What is your choice of weapon?" David asked suddenly.
To which she replied, "Stick sword."
David raised an eyebrow, hearing the weird names for the first time. He tried thinking intensely as he understood what she meant.
"Do you mean a thin sword?"
The nameless girl nodded vigorously as David confirmed that she probably meant a jian, which also happened to be thin in its breadth.
'I don't think we can find a weapon of that texture anywhere here.' David concluded as his eyes took in the different types of weapons the other contestants were carrying. Not too surprisingly to him, most of them were armed with swords.
'I am no expert in these things but the swords they are carrying shall only be a hindrance to their stances. Everyone has a suitable fit of weapon for themselves. And one thing I can say for certain is that most of them are actually struggling to carry their overweighing swords.'
A grin split his face as he realised he could defeat most of them if it came to that. But soon enough, his face turned grim. 'Ehh...even I can't carry those swords...I generally prefer the lighter builds. And these are not my types...I be damned!'
Just as the Sihapi guarding the gate to the Southern Capital had adviced him, he had been intending to steal a weapon in the early stages to advance in the contest.
But it would seem everything wouldn't go that smoothly.
By the next morning, they had reached the edge of a river that overlooked the massive castle on the other side.
A bridge connected the two sides and opened into the castle on the other side,which was heavily secured by several soldiers. High walls surrounded the structure making it seems impenetrable.
David gazed at it as he passed by the large market that has sprawled on this side of the bridge.
He felt the curious glances directed at them mixed with a portion of cautiousness and unwanted hostility.
David sighed as he prayed to whatever gods liged out there. 'Ugh, I really wish none of them interrupts our way. It shall only delay is from reaching the venue on time.'
He was already speeding up his pace to quickly cover as much distance as possible. 'The contest should begin from tomorrow and I don't want to reach the venue at the last minute, all exhausted. The bare minimum would be a good rest at night.'
By afternoon, their situation turned dire. David couldn't see a single contestant in their range of vision. He had seen most of them boarding carriages or carts - anything that could help them travel faster.
"My feet hurt." The nameless girl too appeared tired and exhausted and looked like she had just run a very long marathon.
From the side pockets, he took out the left over coins. The coppers tinkled, the dull surfaces staring at him.
'Five coppers only...' He grimaced internally, regretting over not bargaining a little more at the inns.
'We can comfortably have a night's meal and rest tonight at some inn with this amount.' He stared ahead of him, at the sun that was now tilting towards the west.
'But at this rate, we won't reach the periphery of the venue by nightfall.'
Having no other option, he approached a horse cart that was standing idle at a corner of the street.
"Where to?" The driver asked aloud.
"The arena where the contest is being held."
"That would be four coppers."
'Of course it is!' His lips pressed into thin lines as he practically felt biting on the sensitive muscles. His hands clenched into fists, the edge of the coins leaving marks on his palm.
Taking a deep breath, he handed over four coppers to the driver. "Fine. Let's go."
He motioned for her to get up as he followed her into the cart. He could have called her Z2 as well for better communication. But he was hesitant on calling her by such a name as he felt it would be the same as degrading her.
And he sure didn't want to do that.
The rest of the journey slipped away in hours as the sun started dipping below the horizon.
"Take care, kids." The driver cautioned as he rode off after David and the girl come down from the cart.
They walked a little, towards the fenced area they could see. On the other side was a circular field and on the middle of it, eight large circles had been drawn with chalk powder. Surrounding the fields, small pavilions had been created, although most of the area was empty right now.
'So this is where we fight.'
David looked at the girl beside him, who almost looked on the verge of dozing off to sleep.
'Omly one copper is left... it's impossible to get an inn here. Even the cheapest ones would be unavailable to us.'
At the end, having no other option, David and the girl slept in a narrow alley, their back rested against the cold, broken walls of a small house.
"Good night..."