Robin is Armed and Ready!

“So I can take whatever I need? Are there any limits?” Robin bounced between various weapon and armor racks, searching for anything close to her usual equipment. She wasn’t expecting to find anything as specialized as her rapier, but she could barely find a steel blade.

“No limits, just don’t weigh yourself down too much.” Fan'zwit'zal laughed.

Robin nodded. It was good advice. “Why are there no steel weapons?”

Fan'zwit'zal gave her a grin. “Same reason you are looking for one, Robin. They are popular.”

Robin bit her lip. If they had found the arena earlier, she might have found better equipment. Now she didn’t have anything that was even slightly conductive. She closed her eyes and pulled at her magic. It was much harder than it used to be, but she could still access it. If other fighters had taken the steel weapons, then she might be able to disarm them. Robin opened her mismatched eyes to meet the yellow, serpentine eyes of Fan'zwit'zal.

The painted lizardman gave her a toothy grin. “I like that look. Figured out what you are going to do?”

Robin nodded, grabbing a mid-length obsidian blade and short spear, one of the only steel weapons remaining. “Yes!”

The master of ceremonies clapped his hands. “Excellent. Get dressed and go right out that gate when it opens. I’ll get the crowd ready for you.”

Robin reached for the armor racks. “I will. Thank you for your hell, Sir!”

“If you want to thank me, put on a good show!” The lizardman’s laughter followed him up the stairs.

Robin picked up a simple breastplate made of a thin tube of leather, straps to go over the shoulders, and what looked like sturdy reeds to act as the actual armor. To cover her waist, Robin took a similar armored skirt that had a slit up both legs to allow her to move her legs easily. It wasn’t much in the way of armor, most of her limbs and stomach were exposed, but it was the best she could do.

Robin could feel her nerves growing as she waited in front of the gate. The longer she waited, the more nervous she became. She had jumped ahead without talking to the others. Was she really the best one to jump in? Should she have let Fuu fight instead? Would things be even worse for the Bravos if she failed? And what about Becky? She was all on her own out in the jungle. Robin believed that the sneaky alchemist could have escaped the lizardmen, but there were a lot of dangers in the jungle.

Before she could spiral too hard, the gate opened. Her nerves were pushed away by her excitement as she moved up the tunnel and into the arena. She could hear the cheers as she moved, blunted by the thick stone to be nothing but a base humming in her ears. The hum brought a grin to her face as she saw the bright, torch lit entrance to the arena. As Fan'zwit'zal’s voice pieced through the background noise, Robin rushed to enter the arena at the right time.

“For our final fight of the night, let me introduce you all to our newessssst fighter. The lovely, energetic Robin Haverfield!”

Robin burst into the arena to a wave of hissing, cheers, and clapping. She turned in place, taking in all the people in the arena. There were so many people in the stands, much more than she could see when she was among them. Robin turned to Fan'zwit'zal’s seat and her friends seated nearby, lifting her obsidian sword into the sky. “Thank you for the opportunity Mr. Fan'zwit'zal!” Robin really hoped she didn’t butcher his name too much. “I will show you and everyone here what the Bravos Feminine can do!”

The crowd cheered again as the painted lizardman clapped and then gestured out at Robin. “I hope you give us a good show! Now. To introduce her opponent!”

Robin turned as another gate opened. She held her blade in a semi-ready stance, unsure if the match would start immediately or if there would be more hyping up beforehand. The young hero licked her lips, keeping her eyes locked on the dark tunnel as her opponent came into view.