I followed Jinx out of the recovery area, my arm still bandaged and braced. I got a few looks, but nothing I considered dangerous.

Jinx was her enthusiastic and flamboyant self that I had never seen before. It was too much for me. I watched the end of the current fight in the pit. A dwarf versus an orc in unarmed combat. This was a more traditional unarmed combat fight with fists and feet. It reminded me of my training spar in the Arctic. Neither combatant seemed phased by the size difference, so they had done this before.

The dwarf got a move in I had not seen before, and the orc landed hard on the stone ground. The dwarf finished him with a punch to the head that bounced off the stone, and it was a win by knockout. The dwarf was pretty beat up, but played it off to the crowd. The orc's second arrived, fed him a potion, and carried him out of the pit.

"That is the normal level of violence and blood," Jinx said beside me. "There is more blood when weapons are involved, but the sheer savagery of your fight was unusual. You certainly earned your name."

I used Identify to see how my Savage Wildfang was progressing. It was close. My footwork for Lunging Maul wasn't quite there, nor was Tooth of the Mountain. I was surprised that Fang Reversal scraped through. I needed some more practice, but this fight definitely progressed things.

"Come on," said Jinx, "I am up next."

"What are the details?" I asked as she collected a health potion from a dealer.

"Open Category, Unarmed, like last week. Hold these," she said as she handed me the two knives she had on her. I think the bully over there wants to save face for her gang." She nodded to the large Orc approaching. She was scarred and wearing studded armour that would injure a fist striking it. She also had the steel caps on her boots and larger studs on her knuckles.

I looked at Kiri/Jinx. Her boots looked like boots, but there was plating underneath that seemed to be bone. Her skin-tight leather was reinforced with hidden, thin strips of bone. I imagine they will be strengthened with her skills. She looked unarmoured in the tight leather, but looks were deceiving.

"This is the Jinx entering the Pit," the announcer shouted. "Last week she was a redhead and now she is a hot Pink! Last week, she crushed the Bone Crusher - jinxed him, you might say. This week, we have Ironfang here to show the upstart what it means to be a veteran of the Pits. Get your bets in fast, as this will be a fight not to miss."

The announcer babbled on and seemed to talk up both sides, I assume to encourage the betting.

"And Jinx has made the first move, going for a head punch, but Ironfang is not someone to be caught napping. She blocks and counters with a boot, which Jinx takes on the thigh and, wow, both combatants are fast. If you didn't see that exchange, Jinx got several body hits in but took a knee to the stomach, and they are now circling each other.

"There is no clear winner in that first exchange, and maybe Ironfang has met her match.

"Ironfang has moved, no, it was a faint, and Jinx didn't see the true punch. Jinx is quick and avoids most of it, but the first blood goes to Ironfang! Jinx has blood running from her scalp that interferes with her vision.

"But she is back, and even I didn't see that move. She got inside Ironfang's guard, and now they are both bleeding. A broken nose is painful, but we have all seen Ironfang with much greater injuries."

I wondered if the announcer kept up that commentary during my fight. I will have to assume he did, but I never heard any of it.

"Look, look," yelled the announcer, which seemed superfluous to me, as that was why everybody was here. "Ironfang has a hold of Jinx. Is this the end for Jinx? We all know Ironfang has powerful wrestling moves. Look, look at Jinx's arm being bent back. If she can't get out of this, it is the end for her."

I could see the arm, and on most people it would have broken by now; even so, the shoulder was in danger of coming out of its socket.

"Jinx is in troub… wait, did you see that! Ironfang was thrown off in a move I have not seen since Modrica the Merciless fought here! Yes, folks, I was here then, and that was a classic Merciless move. Ironfang hit the ground hard, but she is up and ready. Jinx is checking the movement in her arm. Surprisingly, it seems she has full movement. They will both be feeling the pain now."

It seemed to me that the move was a last-ditch save type of move. Jinx may have full use of her arm, but that didn't mean it was strong. I never did pin down how high her Renereation was.

"Ironfang has reengaged," said the announcer, stating the obvious. "She's probably not wanting to give Jinx the time to heal. That works both ways. Look at those punches. Jinx is dodging and only occasionally striking back. Jinx is favouring the arm. Ironfang has the advantage, and she is trying to capitalise on it, but Jinx is fast, faster than Ironfang."

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Jinx mostly avoided Ironfang and worked her way around the pit without getting cornered. They were both using a lot of stamina.

"And Ironfang has finally caught Jinx, and you know damage is being done from the sound of fist striking flesh. Oh! Look at that sneaky Jinx. Ironfang neglected to watch the damaged arm. Maybe it had never been damaged. Jinx has Ironfang in a lock and is using her like a punching bag. Is this the end, folks? Ironfang can take a lot of punishment and still pull out a win. Can she do it this time?

"Wait! Wait! How did that happen?" The announcer said in wonder. "I have watched all of Ironfang's fights for the last two years, and I have never seen her do that. Jinx is in trouble now that the tables have been turned on her. Smash! Smash! Smash!" The announcer was working up a chant with the audience as Ironfang's fists repeatedly smashed against Jinx.

Jinx was not just taking it; she was hitting back, but she was clearly at a disadvantage. I didn't see what Jinx did, but suddenly the positions were reversed. Before Jinx could get more than a couple of punches in, Ironfang twisted again, but Jinx blocked and they both rolled apart, scrambling to get to their feet.

Ironfang rushed at Jinx, and I saw Jinx's leg launch into a kick that landed on Ironfang's knee, bending it the wrong way.

"Ironfang is limping now," said the announcer unnecessarily. "Both women look exhausted. Who has the strength to finish? Who can endure the pain?"

It was like the audience responded to the announcer, and the chant started, "Ironfang! Ironfang! Ironfang!" She was the known one. She had the hometown advantage.

I winced as they clashed again, feet and fists flying. They were both limping when they separated. Jinx has a split lip. My Hearing Aid picked up the low growl, which only Orcs can do, coming from Ironfang.

Then they clashed again, then again, and again, each time they both came away more injured.

"This has been a marathon fight, folks. You don't see this often. Jinx might be the newcomer, but few can go toe-to-toe with Ironfang. Orcs earn their name; we have all seen Ironfang's iron will and sheer grit. Is this the final round? Who will be the last one standing?"

Jinx was looking shaky on her feet, and I knew it was not fake. Ironfang was shaking her head to clear it.

Jinx moved in to take advantage of the distraction, but Ironfang was not that distracted. She blocked her punch and follow-through kick, and there was a flurry of blows.

Then Jinx's body jerked back, and she didn't respond in time to Ironfang's fist, which struck her fully on the jaw. She flew to the stone floor and lay still.

"And there you have it. The Winner is Ironfang!" The crowd roared their approval, and Ironfang raised her hand in an exhausted acknowledgement.

I jogged out there with a potion ready to go. Ironfang's second followed me.

Jinx was already starting to stir when I got to her, so I rolled her over and fed her the potion slowly. I didn't expect her to lose, but the pit was somewhere that would develop strong fighters.

Jinx opened her eyes and gave me a bloody smile. Now that I was up close, I could see that one of her eyes was swelling badly. Her first words were, "I wonder if she would teach me that skill?"

I rolled my eyes, "Jinx, remember!" as she had not spoken with her accent. "Come on, let's get you out of here!" I helped her to her feet.

I sensed Ironfang approaching and was wary. Jinx took her weight off me and stood to face her.

"Good Fight," Ironfang said and held out her hand.

Jinx shook her hand. "Can you teach me that punch?"

Ironfang grinned and bloody grin, "You teach me that throw?"

"Deal," Jinx said.

We moved to the medic area, and I cleaned and closed her wounds. I used Blood Clot on her worst bruised areas, but I didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Bruising was burst blood vessels under the skin, but did that help or hinder the repair?

Jinx's Regeneration and the healing potion will do most of the work.

Jinx wanted to show her face around, so we went to the public bar for a drink. It was a wooden building with a cutout side. It was probably a repurposed building from the quarry days. Stones had been moved to the area in front of the bar where people sat and talked. There were a few tables around. I still didn't like the taste of alcohol.

Several people came and congratulated me on my fight, and I was invited to meet two different gangs in bars at my convenience.

Jinx was in a group of humans and orcs drinking and laughing. I stayed on the outskirts of the group and watched and listened to various conversations. Hearing Aid went up a level. Interesting.

Jinx was in her element and acted loud and flamboyant. I just wanted out of there and to get some quiet. This is not Kiri's nature either, yet she seems so natural. She did say she had practised the two alternate personalities a lot. I couldn't do that. I know my physical features prevent it anyway, but I still couldn't.

Sitting and listening to people included listening to a lot of gossip. Different fighters, including Jinx and me, were evaluated on their strengths. There was gossip from the local mercenary guild, and apparently, Makara was creating waves. There was gossip about the local nobility as well.

Eventually, I signalled to Jinx that I was leaving. "Wait up, Beast man," she called in her weird accent, "I am coming with you. You owe me some coin!"

She caught up with me and we left the place heading back to the city.

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