Byako Round Robin
Round 7

The brown haired woman sat back very unprofessional with both her feet resting on her desk. She was reading from an electronic notebook her assistant had given her. Just like she had expected the artificial ghost had been able to quickly create a program to translate the unknown language from the book and run the text through it. The only problem with such automatic translations was that they weren’t perfect. Every now and then she came past mistakes like an untranslated word, names that got translated and translations of the wrong meaning of a word. But all in all the different stories were good to read, because that is what it was, a storybook, but containing a large collection of myths, prophecies and legends from the old race.
     The first thing she had noticed when she looked at the contents were some highlighted chapters. When asking about it her assistant told her that she had found a bookmark at the start of those chapters in the original book. Curious the Clan Leader had started her reading with those chapters and quickly found out why the bookmark had been there. It marked the start of the story about the two generals she had been told about.
     It was a good read and as Brin had said the legend entailed much more then only just the weapons, but focused on the many things that happened in their lives. She found it odd though that the two friends were described as ‘he’ and ‘she’ until she noticed that both pronouns were used for both generals. By cross-referencing it with the original text, that was also on the notebook, and puzzling a bit with the sentences she found out that the same word was used in the foreign text. Satisfied the woman concluded that it wasn’t a translation error as much a difference between languages and that the An’Tesh must have a genderless version of the ‘he’ and ‘she’ pronoun.
     The rest of the bundle was very interesting and the old race had many fascinating stories and myths on their name, but none yielded much information she hadn’t already learned from Brin’s visit and the other books he had send her. Something about the last part of the story about the legend of the generals kept bugging her though, as if a memory tried to breach through but was just out of range and needed one extra push. She kept reading the strange line, but that last little push wouldn’t come. ‘With the silver beginning and golden ending in their hands the generals never lost another battle.’
     Tired she put the notebook down. At that same moment there was a knock at the door. Quickly sitting upright and making sure her scarf covered her face she allowed access to her office. It was her assistant with the morning coffee and the newspaper. After placing everything on the desk the artificial ghost left with a polite nod to her boss.
     Lutia was glad with the little interruption, at least now she had a good excuse for herself to take a little break and let her mind wander to other things then those regarding Byako’s safety and the Jarians’ next actions. Making sure the door was closed she placed her feet back on the desk and took a sip from her coffee before reaching for the newspaper. However what she saw on the front page made her bolt upright and spit her coffee to the other end of the room, quite the feat considering the room’s size.
     The face was blacked out, or maybe it was just a censor bar in front of the eyes, it was hard to see in his case, but she recognized the person on the photo immediately. The titles above it didn’t spell out good news either: ‘Demon goes on a rampage’, ‘Property destroyed’.
     She promptly reached for the intercom, the Jarians had let this danger run his course long enough. Byako Round Robin Final Eight contestant or not, there had to be something they could do.

It was very dark, but what would you suspect when you had your eyes closed. Before he was going to open his eyes he first needed to get all his rampant thoughts into order. He wasn’t in any real pain yet his muscles were sore and his magic wasn’t nearly at half his full power. What had he been doing before? Flashes of a gigantic tree, no, an explosion shaped like a tree sprang to mind. The show in the Dueling Arena to get into the Final Eight of the Byako Round Robin, was that why he was feeling like this? He remembered talking to Era and flying back and forth over Byako. They were collecting letters because he needed them to prove he had made it to the finals. Some joy spread through his body as he remembered he still was able to get to his goal, to be freed of the demon’s curse.
     More memories began falling into place. After getting the last letter he had gotten a message telling him to go to the Plush Palace for a special event celebrating reaching the sixth round and thank the others for having joined the Byako Round Robin. Everything was going well until some sort of spaceship crashed through the wall, causing a waitress he was trying to help to smack a tray full of sundaes into his face. He never had much patience with people who disturbed celebrative events so he had lost his temper and challenged the person who seemed to have piloted the spacecraft. It turned out the guy was no pushover and after goading him he was tricked into making a thousand layer cake topple onto himself.
     It had taken quite a while before he was unburied and by then the other guy, Trenton, had already left. He had been quite shocked to hear that not only Trenton had been his first opponent as a Final Eight fighter, but that he had lost because he was incapacitated underneath the humongous cake. Why the Plushy Palace had a plush replica of his Omega Mace was a mystery for him, as well as where it had suddenly come from, but in his bamboozled state he had left it underneath the hundredths layers of frosting and wend out to end up at the Alkemist Nightclub.
     Anger started flooding through him again as he started to remember what had taken place there. After a very in-depth interview he had shared a drink with a friendly demon. Or so he had thought. While the drinks were good he was poisoned or enchanted by the demon’s saliva that had gotten in his drink when he took the first sip and switched drinks. He shuddered and tried to remember more but after that everything became a blur. He could still remember the unexplained waves of rage and the sudden need for destruction. He had been running through the night to find an outlet for all his anger.
     It was time to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a pale ceiling. He was lying on a hard plank bed. He didn’t have to look at the little window to know it would have bars in it, this wasn’t his first time he had been thrown in a jail cell.
     With a sigh he pulled himself upright. Three concrete walls, one with a window, and a door with metal bars were all that contained him from leaving. Standing up he decided to give the outer wall a little nudge, just to check the quality. After only two thumps a man in a police uniform appeared on the other side of the door.
     “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, that is armed concrete you are punching.”
     Arvid snorted loudly while he turned his head around. “Like some reinforced concrete is going to stop me from breaking out if I really wanted too.”
     To show he could back up his words he gave the wall a good punch, leaving a deep dent and multiple cracks in the concrete. Much to his surprise something started to come out of the wall. At first it looked like a small pipe, but when more started to appear he noticed they were the barrels of guns, and all aimed for his chest. Before he could say anything he got shot with half a dozen rubber bullets, flinging him against the metal door where he slumped down.
     Rubbing the sore spot he got up again. “Armed concrete, I get it now. Ha ha, very funny.” He said sarcastically. But he cautiously watched the guns sink back into the concrete nonetheless.
     “Just sit tight and wait till your case gets progressed.” Laughing the police guard continued his round. “There’s nothing else you can do.”
     Arvid looked around. He could always try to blast his way out of the holding cells, but who knew what other traps they had in this place. He had also no idea what he had done exactly, maybe it wasn’t that bad and they would release him soon. Right after thinking that he knew that wasn’t true, but just waiting it out might prove to be the best strategy now.
     Long he didn’t have to wait before he heard something happening at the offices. A small black critter with red markings and big yellow eyes came rushing down the hall. It was closely followed by a plushy, only slightly taller, with a black face and equally yellow eyes. They both stopped in front of Arvid’s cell door.
     Surprised Arvid looked down on his two guests. “How did you find me here?”
     PlushyViking dragged his feet uncomfortable over the ground. “That wasn’t very hard. Not after reading the newspaper though.”
     Now Arvid noticed that his miniature double was holding something. “It made the newspaper? Was it that bad?”
     “You might want to read it yourself.” Said PlushyViking while he held up the newspaper he was holding in his hand. Arvid quickly took the newspaper and sat back on the plank bed.
     It already started with the titles. ‘Demon goes on rampage’, ‘Property destroyed’ and underneath that were photos of him being cuffed and put into a police car while fireman were busy putting out a fire in the background. A memory of an uneasy feeling that was strangely comforting sprang to mind. He read on while the charges kept piling up. If all this was true he was responsible for a few destroyed houses, demolished construction works and multiple wounded, both minor and serious ones, on top of some more random devastation.
     After reading the articles concerning him he put the paper down. He would need world’s best lawyer, friendliest judge and a lot of missing evidence to get out of this scot-free. The policeman from before showed up, his face had turned sour in the short time between though. Rattling the keys and working deliberately slow he opened up the cell door.
     “You can go.” He said gruffly. “Your bail has been paid for you.”
     Surprised Arvid stepped out the cell and followed the rest to the office. Who would want to pay his bail? He couldn’t think of anyone who’d already could know about what had happened and liked him enough to do this, the price couldn’t be low with everything he had done.
     Stepping into the office area two other officers walked past, one holding a large pumpkin with a ghastly face carved into it and the other was carrying a large basket with what appeared to be multicolored eggs.
     “I love this time of year.” Said the first. “We get to dress everything up with scary looking pumpkins and bats and that sort of stuff.”
     “Indeed.” Replied the second. “And those pumpkins are great hiding places for the chocolate eggs.”
     “Your beneficial benefactor is standing over there.” Said the sour looking agent. “I should be very thankful if I were you.” He gave a slight flick with his wrist before settling behind a desk.
     Arvid looked in the direction the officer had signaled and was surprised to see a small girl in a pinkish dress with a purple corset over it and an orange hat, softly sobbing while she looked at her empty wallet.
     “Are you happy now?” The voice was familiar, but it couldn’t possible be from the little girl. She turned around, or rather, he turned around, because the little girl was none other than Jasae Plushie the official announcer and liaison for the Byako Round Robin.
     With only two steps Arvid crossed the distance, too happy to not have to spend the rest of the tournament locked up to make fun of Jasae’s appearance. “You paid for me? Why?”
     “I had to. Apparently I have to do what I can to make sure all the Final Eight are able to continue fighting.” Jasae was almost brought to tears. “Stupid fine print, I thought it was a blotch on the paper.”
     Arvid wanted to say something but he got cut off by a plopping sounds that seemed very out of place inside the police station. A nasty sound could be heard coming from the next room before a little winged girl flew in through an open door. Off course it was the red haired faery from the Byako Post Office, who had brought him his letters ever since the third round. However she had materialized in the wrong room for some reason.
     Hastily she put her cap back on the right way and started looking through her mailbag. After only a few seconds she had found what she had been looking for. The usual envelope with round details and the letter.
     Accepting it Arvid reached for his money satchel, but suddenly realized it was gone, among other stuff. A quick look with his inner eye told him he hadn’t stashed it away with his bigger items, ready to be summoned. Guilty he looked at the waiting girl. “Heh. Looks like I lost some of my stuff. I have nothing in my pockets.” He turned his pockets inside out to show he told the truth.
     “Off course your possessions have been confiscated.” Said the still sour looking police officer from behind his desk. “I’m surprised the at the time on-duty officers let you keep your shoelaces. But now that you’re a free man again you can get back everything from the evidence lockers.” He nodded in the direction of the room where the faery had come from.
     Quickly Arvid went for the room, followed by Odin, PlushyViking, Jasae and the red haired faery. She brushed down on Arvid’s shoulder, seeming a little tired. Maybe she had a long night or something he thought, or maybe she just wanted to make sure she got her tip.
     Stepping past the threshold Arvid saw a desk surrounded by a fence that separated the rest of the room from the rows of evidence that were stored there. An older man with spectacles looked up at the newcomers. Suddenly he jumped up and jabbed a finger at Arvid. “You! How dare you come in here after what you just did!”
     Surprised the tall guy looked at the older man. “Me? What have I done?”
     “No, not you. The little one on your shoulder. She appeared out of thin air and broke my fence!” He pointed at a corner where indeed a part seemed to have been torn loose like it was made off paper.
     From a corner of his eye the Warlock looked at the girl on his shoulder with renewed interest, she was a lot tougher than she looked at first glance, and that teleporting ability... Something sparked in his mind and he started wondering... but that was something for later, he now had to focus on getting his things back.
     “I’ll apologize in her name since she can’t speak, but anyway, I’d like to have my stuff back.” Said Arvid to the aged man while stepping in front of the desk.
     “Papers.” Replied the man brusque.
     “Papers?” Was the confused response. “What are you talking about?”
     “I have them.” Came a voice from the rear. Turning around they saw Jasae scuffling forward, waving some sheets above his head. “They came with the receipt from your bail.”
     The old man snatched the papers from Jasae’s hands and quickly skimmed through them while strolling back past the aisles. Within a few moments a small satchel with coins, a flame and lightning shaped sticker and a roughed up letter from the last round were placed on the desk. Seeing the sticker Arvid realized why the Post Office faery had teleported to the wrong room. Picking up his money he noticed the light weight, he needed some extra cash soon.
     “You still use a satchel for your money?” Asked Jasae amused.
     Plucking out a gold coin the tall fighter quickly pocketed said satchel. “I’m old fashioned and probably a lot older than you. I just like it OK.”
     Reluctantly Arvid gave the coin to the girl on his shoulder and watched her go with a faint plop, he really would’ve liked to be able to use her talents for his own. Deciding not to dwell to long on the subject the envelope was opened and the letter revealed.
     “Dear LordViking,
Sorry to hear about your lost fight against Trenton. Fights are everywhere so be on the lookout for opponents wherever you go. Furthermore we would like to tell you that damages caused by the fight between two opponents fall under the insurance, but any damages done outside official fights are not. Because the most damage seems to have been done to the already havocked Rustir area we are willing to look past this. But be warned that this action has caused negative responses and if we are informed of more such events we will be forced to take action.
For the next round you are required to meet up with miss Cossi for a costume change. Failing to do this before the fight with your next opponent will be seen as a loss on your account no matter the outcome of said fight. You will find information on your opponent in the other envelope.
Good luck and we hope to hear from you again soon.
Signed, BRR staff clerk nr. 42.”
     Folding the letter Arvid looked at Jasae. Now he understood the dress could be non other than one of Cossi’s designs and to be honest, he didn’t liked the prospect of having to wear something like that.
     “Looks like our roads part here.” He said to the announcer. “Unless you need to go to miss Cossi as well.”
     The small guy quickly shook his head. “No thank you.” He said hastily. “You go to her. We see each other again at the start of your match.” And with that he quickly took off.

They were flying high above Byako on one of LordVikings magically conjured hands. It might have felt a little overused by now, but it was still the easiest way to get from point A to point B. Their cash flow problem was solved too since PlushyViking was still holding the wallet from the orange eyed demon and apparently it contained enough money to last for a good while longer.
     “We should nearly be there.” Said PlushyViking while peering over the edge of the flying hand. “Miss Cossi’s shop isn’t far from the Police Station.”
     Odin started twitching with his ears, as if to chase of a nasty fly. The two Arvids had barely noticed this strange behavior before becoming aware of the reason why. A faint buzzing, first picked up by Odin’s more sensitive ears, was growing louder and louder. Looking around Arvid Plushy was the first to notice the growing red dot.
     “It comes from over there.” He said, pointing forward. “It seems to be some kind of huge red plane coming straight for us. And fast.”
     Indeed something was coming their way in a hurry. The tall magic user was already glad he didn’t have to steer through a sudden storm again and adjusted the course so they wouldn’t collide. Much to his surprise the airplane did the same, but with the opposite effect. Thinking it had to be mistake somehow he plotted another course change. It again got matched by the unknown carrier to create a collision course. This wasn’t accidental anymore and Arvid halted the hand in mid-air.
     They could now clearly see the enormous triplane heading for them. Something seemed to be lowered from the belly of the red beast that looked a lot like a megaphone, actually it was a megaphone and it started to speak.
     “This is the Red Baron Pizzeria, we bring you a pizzeria in 30 minutes or less otherwise the pizzas are free. The sky is our domain and you are flying in restricted airspace. Land now or we will open fire!”
     Arvid wasn’t impressed. Though the triplane seemed much faster he was smaller and could probably outmaneuver it long enough to get to miss Cossi’s clothe shop. The magic users inaction however was more than enough reason for the flying pizzeria to open fire.
     Strange disc like objects zoomed past their heads while Arvid turned the hand around and tried to get away from the madman piloting the red airplane. Like he had already thought he could outmaneuver the sluggish pursuer, but he wasn’t fast enough to get rid of him.
     “Why don’t you just throw a thunderbolt, take out his engines?” Asked PlushyViking while clinging on to the magic hand for dear life, silently wishing he was in a heavy storm again.
     Arvid had already raised his hand, but caught himself before using any magic. “I can’t.” He replied. “If that thing crashes the damage it could do can’t be overseen and the Byako Round Robin staff will surely kick me out.”
     In a desperate attempt LordViking made a one hundred and eighty degree turn. The flying pizzeria shot past underneath them, almost gracing the underside of the hand. Looking down a skylight gave insight into the pizzeria. The tables were all neatly arranged and some customers were eating a pizza, totally unaware of the dogfight their pizzeria was in. The interior seemed to be mainly pinkish, with red heart decorations. This all shot by in a second and Arvid decided to take the time it would take for the big airplane to turn around to get as close to Cossi’s shop as possible.
     Shooting like a bullet from a gun they resumed their previous course in a race against the red machine. Suddenly PlushyViking pointed to the ground a little ahead. “There. I can see miss Cossi’s clothe shop. We’ve made it safely.”
     But they hadn’t. The Red Baron Pizzeria had turned around and caught up enough for them to be within firing range. One of the strange discs hit Arvid on the back or the head with a sploodge like sound effect. He started to topple over, but quickly regained posture.
     Putting in the descent he gave a hasty look at the disc now laying next to his feet. A pizza, off course, what else. He hoped the pizzeria would see their landing as a sign of defeat and stop chasing them, after all, that’s what they asked him to do in the first place.
     Landing softly barely half a block away from the shop the small group watched the red triplane take off, probably celebrating their latest victory.

In front of the shop were seven other people waiting. Impatiently looking through the doors inside and down the street. Apparently Cossi had run off again, maybe to put some other poor Final Eight fighter in a dress, or whatever the theme was. Suddenly he felt a tab on his shoulder.
     “Hey there Arvid. Haven’t seen you in a while.”
     The tall fighter spun round, coming face to face with a blond girl with two small fluttering tails in her hair. She was wearing a yellow shirt and an orange skirt and next to her orange and yellow socks and boots stood a small plushy in a yellow duck costume.
     Squinting his eyes he looked careful at the girl before opening them in delight. “Darn it girl. I’ve met shapeshifters who were worse in disguising themselves.”
     She smiled. “I will take that as a compliment. But I think you are here for a costume?”
     “Yes I am. And those guys also seem very eager to get in.” He gestured over his shoulder to the waiting men.
     Cossi looked past Arvid. “They must be the mascoteers. I’ll better let them in right away.”
     She quickly moved past the tall fighter and a few moments later every one was standing inside. She said something about an arrived package and hurried of to the backroom, leaving the rest to wait.
     Looking around Arvid noticed the store had been decorated in green, red and silver and in the middle of the store Cossi had placed a big green tree filled with small red and silver decorations and a lot of candles. Gifts were placed under the tree, but something told Arvid they were all sweaters. They didn’t have to wait very long before miss Cossi returned with a big box.
     “Alright,” she said, “I have eight costumes for you all so knock yourself out. Now for Arvid I’ll have too...” She stopped mid-sentence, catching on to something. “Hé. Shouldn’t there be eight of you to represent each branch?”
     “Yes. There should be,” said one of the seven men, “but unfortunately one of our friends is sick and can’t make it. Such a shame that the mascoteers will have to do it without a Dueling Daisies Branch mascot.”
     “That really is a shame. It would even be more of a shame to let a good costume like that go to waste.” A smile crept across her face as she peered towards Arvid’s general position. He didn’t like the way she was looking at him
     With a single move miss Cossi had taken the lit of the box and started looking around the contends. She soon emerged with something that looked like a large flower’s head and some other green clothes. Leaving no opening for discussion she ushered him to the nearest fitting-room, pushing him in with the outrages set of clothes.
     Arvid looked at the big suit, no way that he was going to put that on willingly. But he suddenly remembered that once in the short time he had been working for miss Cossi he had seen her wrestle an unwilling troll into a pink tutu without ripping the fabric or breaking a sweat. If she wanted him to wear it, she would make sure he was going to wear it.
     Reluctantly he stepped into the green suit. Noticing the zipper was on the back and not the front he concentrated on the mirror while creating a normal sized hand. He had to be careful though. He couldn’t ‘feel’ with his conjured hand so he had to do this on sight only and hope he wouldn’t rip the zipper off. Sadly for him he didn’t and the shoes seemed to be a perfect fit too.
     Grunting he put on the head last and looked into the mirror. He was wearing a yellow smiling face with purple petals sprouting from it. The suit was mostly green, but with what looked like black underwear over it and a goldish yellow belt. Big red boxing gloves were slid over his hands and his feet were incased in red shoes with a big yellow curl at their nose. Whomever would see him would surely laugh at him for a good while.
     With a sour face, though hidden behind the yellow smile, Arvid stepped out off the fitting-room. Cossi was already there waiting for him. She wasn’t laughing, but that didn’t stop PlushyViking when he saw the costume and even Odin seemed to have some sort of laughing fit.
     “And? What do you think of it?” Asked the shop owner.
     “Vrk’N’tak.” Was the response coming from inside the flower’s head.
     “What did you say? The sound is muffled a bit. Did you say you liked it?”
     “Yes... I like it...” That was far from the truth. In fact he had said a curse word in the old An’Tesh language that was used to indicate a severe loathing to a person or, as in this case, situation. It wasn’t really a word that was brought up in a civilized conversation.
     Miss Cossi now noticed the other two who didn’t seem able to stop laughing anytime soon. She smiled at them, like how a predator would smile at its prey before attacking. “You know,” she began, “if you like the costume so much I can make something fitting for you as well.”
     “No really. You shouldn’t have to go to the trouble of doing that.” Answered PlushyViking while trying to control his giggles.
     “Oh, but I insist. It will only take a minute or two.”
     The two were powerless against the clothe designer and indeed in barely more than two minutes later she had finished up putting them into a costume.
     PlushyViking was wearing the same as his large counterpart, but without the big yellow smiling face, the belt and the yellow curls on the shoe tips. Odin had more luck as his costume was simply a collar around the neck with purple petals like the ones the two Arvids had around their faces, he didn’t seem to like it nonetheless.
     “Looks like you’re all set to go.” Said miss Cossi smiling and leading the group out the door. “Now, I don’t think I have to tell you, but try not to damage the suit. Who knows, maybe if you bring it back in once piece I’ll give you something extra.”
     She gave one last wink and with a quack from the mini Cossi the glass doors closed between them.

The festively dressed bunch was walking down the streets, but their faces, at least the visible ones, weren’t looking that happy. They were searching for a while now and although they left a trail of laughing and smiling people in their wake they didn’t get any closer to finding Arvid’s next opponent, Setrina.
     There seemed to be some kind of disturbance further ahead. When they got closer they could hear shouts from what sounded like an angry mob. They were calling someone names, calling him a vandal. The perpetrator managed to get out of the uproar and started heading their way.
     As if struck by lightning the three stopped in their tracks next to a deserted alley. The vandal, the cause of the uproar was none other than... LordViking.
     PlushyViking rubbed his eyes in disbelieve, staring from the yellow and purple flower to the LordViking that was coming their way.
     “In the alley. Quick.” Growled the big flower. PlushyViking and Odin complied, if only to see what was going to happen.
     Arvid followed suit, watching the other LordViking getting closer and starting a run. He would’ve passed them unnoticed if it hadn’t been for Arvid who stretched his arm out at the last possible moment causing the other LordViking to run against it. It was like running against a brick wall and the other LordViking bounced back falling on his back. With a swift motion Arvid tossed the other one into the alley and placed a foot on his chest to prevent him from getting up.
     “Who are you?” Snapped the looming flower while trying to get a good look at the other.
     “I am LordViking. One of the Final Eight in the Byako Round Robin.” Was the answer.
     Arvid added more weight on the doppelganger’s chest. “Wrong answer. I am the real LordViking, so I’ll ask one more time. Who are you and what are you doing?”
     The imposter LordViking smiled, even though he couldn’t go anywhere. “And so we meet. That is unexpected. Who I am is not important. What is important is who they think I am.” His smile widened. “And right now they think I am one of the Final Eight who is causing trouble left and right.”
     “Why are you doing this.” Growled Arvid.
     “Can’t you figure this one out yourself? You are on probation. A mishap, like the one I’m creating right now should be enough to make the Byako Round Robin staff take action. You see, there are clans that rather see you go than win another round.”
     Arvid couldn’t believe his ears. The only clan he has had any trouble with were the Jarians. Where they behind this imposter’s attack? If he was thrown out of the tournament he could be quickly taken care off without anyone noticing.
     “The Jarians. Are the Jarians behind this? Tell me!?”
     But the imposter started laughing without end. The sound bounced off the walls till it filled the whole alley. He began to fade and within moments Arvid’s foot sank through a layer of thick black smoke that quickly dispersed, leaving only an echoing laughter in the alley.
     The tall Warlock sank back against the wall, not knowing what to do next. Now he did not only had to find Setrina, but also watch out for the Jarians who were now hindering him more actively than before. And for what. Because he had a powerful magic weapon and one outburst of rage they had taken away one of his most prized possessions. Did they really think he was this dangerous that he had to be removed from Byako altogether through trickery?
     But he wasn’t going to give up now. He had come this far and he was planning to see it through to the end, Jarian interference or not. He stood up again, straightening his back he felt more like himself again, more confident that with his abilities he could win the tournament.
     “Come on.” He said to Odin and PlushyViking. “Lets go find Setrina.” And with that he stepped out of the alleyway.
     One of the side effects of overconfidence was a certain lack of paying attention to the surroundings. As it was Arvid stepped into the street without looking if there might have been something, or someone coming.
     Someone bumped into the big fighter at an accelerated pace, but because of his bulk got bounced back. He himself hadn’t expected an impact this time and fell over as well. Hastily jumping back on his feet he extended one of his gloved hands to the person who had bumped into him.
     “I’m sorry miss. I should have watched where I was going.”