It had been a long journey to the North to this city, but she had made it. She was hungry though and still needed better clothing and some armour wouldn’t hurt either. But for now if she get clothing that fit her properly and made a set of gauntlets she’d happy, or at least happier.

Dropping down from the air the tall angel settled on her feet casually as she looked at the city around her. Aware that people were staring but uncaring about it, she wanted to take in what she could, make sure there were no immediate threats and then find somewhere she could make silver to buy what she needed. Uriel stood at just two inches shy of seven feet tall, not including the two large white feather wings on her back. Long blond hair hung loose around her shoulders, she had nothing to tie it back with even if she wanted to. Her piercing hazel eyes made some look away from her when they fell upon them. What she was wearing was probably not what would expect an angel to be wearing. A second-hand red tunic that she had cut slots in the back of to accommodate her wings and a pair of black slacks that just barely fit her.

While many seemed intimidated by the towering angel one little old lady seemed to see something else in her instead. The next thing Uriel knew was that she had a hunch old human woman looking up at her with a bright smile. “You lost, deary?” She quipped.

As hard as Uriel was she managed a small smile and bent down to be a better speaking level with the old woman. “You could say that, Grandmother.” Uriel replied with a small grin.

The old lady chuckled. “Come now, deary, what brings you here?”

“I’m new to these lands, I know not where I am and have nothing but these clothes to my name.” Uriel explained. “I’m looking to make some silver, I need better clothing at the least, provisions, some armour even.” She explained in short.

“Oh, I’m sorry my dear, that is quit the problem.” She replied but brightened. “You are in luck, my granddaughter is a seamstress, her shop it down that road a little ways, you’ll see the sign. Tell her her granny Myrtle sent you and she’ll help you out I’m sure.” She thought a moment. “As for making silver, you have nothing to trade, hm. There’s always the oldest profession in the world, but you don’t look like a lady who would do that to herself.” Uriel shook her head, nope. “Some of those boats along the waters are gambling houses, if you aren’t against that. Some of then house boxing rings, if you are a fighter, and you look it to these old eyes, you might make some silver there. Oh, what is your name, child?”

Uriel thought a moment and smiled. “Thank you, Grandmother Myrtle, I’ll go and see your granddaughter right away. And I am Uriel.” She reached out and gently took one of the lady’s hands in her own with a smile. Uriel was a bitch, that was much easy to say about her, not to her face though, but she wasn’t always disrespectful towards others, especially the elderly. “I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

“Good luck, Lady Uriel.” Myrtle smiled back and turned to hobble away.

Standing back upright again Uriel headed in the direction that Myrtle had indicated her granddaughter’s shop was.

In front of the seamstress's shop rested a large carriage, strung up to two well-cared for horses , with two people seated up front: one seemed to have been more of a common man whose hands were linked to the reigns of the horses while the other was certainly a bit more armed: most likely a body guard. Though, outside any other carriage, the numerous rolls of fabric that decorated the rooftop was certainly unordinary, and the inside of the carriage was barren of its transport, as he already stepped inside.

"Ah, Lissa, you seem to be in such good health today," Qadim greeted the seamstress as he entered the fabric shop, being greeting by the young lady behind the counter. Though she knew the orc was not exactly being serious in terms of the flirting, it still was enough to shake a small blush from her cheeks.

"Thanks. Been working out more and keeping an eye on my diet," she chuckled. "I am guessing you had no trouble getting what I asked for, Mr. Garakh?"

"But of course," the orc replied, digging into his fine suit to pull out a small book, offering it over to her hands. "You may even double check to see that everything is accounted for in the quantity you seek." Lissa here certainly was a talented seamstress, considering she was able to open up a shop on her own at a fairly young age. If he heard right, she was even able to get an apprentice ready to help aid in her work. Eyes always sharp. Fingers ready to deal with the minute of details to help aid the other races from meeting what they need. A strong spirit. An innocent face. Certainly the man she would marry would be in good fortune. That is, if they knew what rested under that innocent smile.

After all, this was Jayou, the city where lust and greed formed its roots. Though on the cover she was just any other seamstress, in the back she held another face. The appealing outfits that servers wore in the gambler ships, the luxurious lingerie to appeal to their other, whether they be significant or another paycheck, and outfits that toys with the imagination and fetishes of her guests all sat quietly in the back of her shop, and only those who knew the right way to ask for it would be granted access. Well, not only. It was always fun to think about those who would ask the wrong questions to find themselves deep into those dirty waters.

"Yup, everything seems right," she stated, a brief pause for a bit before chuckling to herself at the accidental pun."Shall we get loaded up?" The orc nodded before heading out of the shop, and together, began unloading the fabrics that rested on the carriage and into the seamstress's shop.

Uriel walked slow down the street, taking in the city and the people, taller than most of them and with the way she looked she stuck out pretty easily. Ahead of her she noticed a carriage with two horses at its front, she hadn’t seen the orc go inside, but could see the driver still there. As the archangel drew closer she saw that the carriage was parked outside of the place she was actually looking for. And looking at the cart further revealed that it was probably meant for the seamstress with the rolls of fine fabric that was attached to it.

Deciding that this was the right place Uriel turned to head inside but stopped short when a shadow passed the door from the other side, someone was coming out. Not wanting to run into them Uriel stepped out of the way in time for the tall orc to walk out along with the young human lady. Uriel stood there openly staring at the orc, she hadn’t seen one yet, but she knew of what they were like, so seeing one in a suit was the last thing she expected to see.

She said nothing until finally Lissa broke the silence by looking up at the nearly seven foot tall archangel. “Can I help you? Kind of rude to stare.”

Uriel looked down to the human woman and blinked before she seemed to collect herself. “Uh, yes, yes, it is.” She finally spoke. “Are you the seamstress here?” Lissa nodded. “My name is Uriel, your granny Myrtle sent me here, she said that you could help me.” Uriel explained. “I’m new to these lands, and as you can see I am wearing clothing that doesn’t exactly fit well. I was hoping you could tailor me some clothing if at all possible?” She asked.

Lizza glanced to Qadim and then looked back to Lissa. “I am capable of that, however, do you have anything to pay with? Because Granny sent you I’ll give you a discount, but my work isn’t free.”

Uriel pushed her anger down, what was so hard about helping someone down on their luck. “No, all I own is what I am wearing. However, my intent is to find one of the boxing rings your Granny spoke of and enter myself to fight and win some silver. At least that is my hope. Anything I win I’ll bring back to your as payment, an archangel you have my promise.”

Lissa thought about it for a moment. “Well, I’d rather not newly tailored clothing get ruined in a fight. Of course, I could alter some of what I have in stock to fit you, Uriel. You pay for that and after that I’ll make you more clothing to your own needs, still discounted, but you pay me up front.” She looked to Qadim. “You’re the business orc, how does that sound to you? Anything to add?”

An angel standing in the midst of a city like this: who would have ever guessed it. Though, the detail of her in what could only be descried as "rags" when compared what many wore in their depictions did make it a tab bit amusing. Not enough to publicly laugh at her, but enough for an internal smirk. Seemed the poor woman was yet another soul that got themselves lost within these forsaken lands and is working on trying to tailor herself to a "typical" status, and what better place to start such tailoring than at a seamstress?

"Alas, a business is a business, not a simple charity. Our dear Lissa here cannot afford the rent of her shop if she crafts such fine garments for such an exotic entity such as yourself," Qadim commented, knowing he was simply hammering down the nail of the payment side. "However, I think we can come to a negotiation, yes? After all, you would not only need money to afford the clothes, but to enter the arenas as well. After all, they are still gambling halls. There is an exception to that rule, but I doubt you would like what that would entail." Fighter slaves where the master would get all.

"However, should I sponsor you and perform well, I am sure we can get things paid off quite easily. I will take care of the costs for your arena clothing, your everyday wear, and what other extras you wish for along with the entry fee, and all you have to do is win. Now, as your sponsor, I will be taking a cut of your winnings, but once you have reached the amount to pay off everything 100%, all your earnings will be in your hands."

With everything set on the table, Qadim looked up to the angel before him before holding his hand out."If you can agree to that, we can work out the fine numbers after you get your measurements taken. From there, I Qadim Garukh, founder of the Garukh Trade Organization, would be willing to welcome you to these lands and help aid you with your fist steps."

Uriel listened as the greenskin spoke, agreeing that she would need to pay, but calling her exotic only got him narrowed eyes in reply. Uriel didn’t like that talk, it was usually used by those with shady motives to get on the good side of someone. But he continued speaking, proposing the idea of him sponsoring her in the arena to fight, clothing to fight in and anything else she would need to fight. In turn he’d take a cut of her winnings until she had paid him off in full, after that she could build up her own silver to buy better clothing on her own from Lissa.

Uriel eyed the orc for a moment and then glanced to Lissa who stood with one hell of a poker face. Uriel shrugged and took the orc’s hand in a firm shake. “You have a deal, Qadim.” ~If he betrays me, I get to find out if his blood his green as well.~ Uriel thought to herself inwardly.

Lissa smiled. “Excellent. Please come inside, Uriel, I shall take your measurements.” The archangel nodded and followed the young lady inside. Away from prying eyes Lissa had Uriel strip again so that she could get proper measurements from the archangel, making sure to account for her large wings as well, she had an idea for that already. Once she had what she wanted Lissa had Uriel get dressed again. “Ok, I’ll get to work, won’t take long I have something close to your size from a customer that never came back to pick up what they ordered. You can wait in here or outside, I’ll come find you, so stay close.” The human disappeared into the back.

Uriel glanced around the place before heading back outside to Qadim and his carriage again. “Thank you, Qadim, for your help in this. However, may I ask, how does one such as yourself come to create a trading organization? I mean no disrespect of course, I am impressed, I am simply curious is all.”

One Uriel was accepted and taken inside for measurement, Qadim went ahead and aided in the unloading of the fabrics into the shop, taking the moment to ensure none of the fabrics were damaged upon delivery. After all, he would hate for her to have to work around sudden tears and waste such fine fabrics and leather. Luckily, everything was in order with no damage to fear of, which meant moving the product went easy and no re-negotiations on price.

As they moved, their footsteps were able to break the silence of the vacant shop. Footsteps echoed passed the room where Lissa and Uriel resided as she bared herself for the measuring tape. However, only twice did the steps echo louder towards the door. Once as one of the worker's curiosity got the best of him and the other was Qadim to grab him by the head, slam him to the ground, and berate the worker. The orcs steps were the first to leave while the other took a moment to get going, most likely to recover from the trauma.

Once everything was finished moving, Qadim headed back to his cart and the ledger stored in it, double checking everything over before the angel made her return as well, questions in tow. "No offense taken, my dear," he replied, turning his attention away from the book and adjusting the mirrored monocle he wore. "After all, when most people think of our kind, we are often barred as savages. Ruthless entities who desire war. Though, I will not deny that it has been in our nature to conquer. A sensation that the folks of Mo'mey try to hide away or disguise.

"However, I am not what you would call 'one of the elite.' Yes, compared to a human, I am easily quite powerful, but to others of my kin, I am weak. My talent of war is poor and I hardly see value in the act of raiding a village. However, I have my own share of talents that separate me from the others along with the study I have done to counteract my lesser strength." As he spoke, he dug his hand into his pocket before pulling out a silver disc, bringing it up to the light of the sun.

"That is when I learned of the strength of the coin. Alone, it is meaningless, and yet its something people strive for every day. It brings armaments. Places food on the table. Gain information or other leisurely items or activities. It is an item that has immense potential all due to the value we have placed upon it. That, my dear, is where I aimed my sights on to conquer.

"After all, should I simply be a unit of ravishing and war, I would be a simple Pawn, but in this foundation I have built up, I am the King. While it places a bigger target in my head,  it means I am no sacrificial fodder. I do hope that you can prove yourself not to be a simple Pawn yourself. After all, I look at you, and I see the potential of a Knight or a Bishop. If you dare to prove me wrong, then show you are at least a Rook."

Uriel didn’t interrupt Qadim while he spoke, only listened, but once he finished she considered his words for a few moments before replying. “Money, it can raise people up or destroy their lives, more often the latter in my experience. Coin was and is never something I have ever strived for, but I suppose now that that may have changed with my current fate.” She observed. “I will say I am impressed at what you have accomplished, Qadim, to rise above your more savage kin.” She thought a moment. “As for your analogy, I am a crusader, so I suppose a Knight is the most fitting, still, perhaps a bit of Bishop mixed in as well.”

As she finished speaking the door to the shop opened and Lissa popped her head out. “Come back in, I’m done.” Uriel headed inside with the human.

After a few minutes Uriel stepped out with some rugged clothing, still basic but would last her a while unless she didn’t care of it. Flexing her muscles everything fit perfectly to her form, nothing was too tight or too loose. Uriel had to admit, she was impressed with the young human’s work. “I am impressed, Lissa, very impressed, your reputation is well and truly earned.” Uriel commented in a rare moment of actually commenting someone without sounding like her default bitchy tone of voice.


With all that taken care of the archangel looked to Qadim. “You know what ship has what we’re looking for, lead the way.” ~And if you fuck me over I’ll break you’re neck.~ She thought again.
__

When Uriel had walked into the boxing arena on one of the larger boats that Qadim had led her to the nearly seven-foot-tall angel had turned some heads. That curiosity grew more when she and Qadim went to sign her up for some rounds. The clerk looked up Uriel looking unsure. “You sure?”

Uriel’s eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. What are the rules?”

The clerk then shrugged. “No magic, no weapons, no below the belt, don’t kill your opponent. If you get hurt we have two healers that can heal you up for a small fee.”

Uriel glared daggers at him for a moment longer. “Works for me.”

A cheer went up from the crowd, seemed the lately match had just ended and the clerk looked to Uriel. “You seem eager enough, why don’t you jump into the next bout?”

Uriel nodded and looked to Qadim again. “I could do with a good fight, be nice to take some aggression out.” Trusting, though no completely, Qadim to take care of the financial side of things Uriel made her way through the crowd towards the ring.

"An impressive piece, as always, Lissa," Qadim complimented, taking the moment to eye it over. Sure, it was easy to tell this was more of a recycle job from the time frame alone, but the angel's build certainly asked for care and consideration. "You even made the wing slots sturdy and easy to manage."

"Thanks," she replied, a toothy grin in tact as she scratched the back of her head, "though it was more practice for the later works. I promise when she comes back, everything will be easy to get in and out of as if they weren't even there!" Though before they could take off, Lissa handed off a notice to Qadim, stating the estimated price of what Uriel would be fitted with.

A quick nod replied to her as Uriel turned her sights to their next goal: the arena. She had no layout of the land, and even then, you had to know which specific ship on the rivers held them. After all, they were below deck, away from public eye. With that, Qadim offered Uriel a seat in the cart to take them to one of the river ports to wait for one particular ship: the S.S Savanna. From there, the orc and angel pair boarded. Some guests took a moment to glance over at the odd combination, yet the regulars and workers heeded it no mind. Drinks and cards were placed on offer to them, but Qadim knew the ship, speaking in code where their aim truly was. It was not until they reached a pub-like restaurant, being very particular about the order itself. The grin on their server's face was obvious as he led them to their "seats," which translated to a secret passage underdeck where the smell of sweat and testosterone filled the air along with the sounds of grunts, punches, and cheering.

The moment Uriel went to walk off, a puppet golem stumbled forth, glass eyes staring at the angel before moving its arm to the side. "RIGHT THIS WAY," it spoke in monotone before shambling along to guide the angel to where the competitors gathered versus the audience whose hands were filled with tickets.

"I see you have gotten more work into perfecting your puppets," Qadim commented as he looked over the paperwork, filling in some of the spots he had to.

"Maybe, but the hardest part is to actually giving them a personality. Now then, I take it she will not be at the bottom of the barrel?"

"And waste the time of the audience?" Qadim chuckled, his hand holding over the ink the stated her rank before lifting it off the page, reshaping it to new characters before paying it in once more. "I want to give a good show and this woman is prideful of her strength. Start her at a high D rank instead of low E. If her boasts are true, she should be able to give a good show in the C ranks." All that remained was setting the extra coin on the table to pay for the higher match ups, which would also offer bigger returns.

"Very well."

Uriel looked around the place some more as she walked up to the ring, this place was a den of a filth and sin, and in her mind it should be purged from the world. However at the moment she wasn’t in a position to make that happen, her magic was weakened at the moment and she had no armour to help protect her. Another time, she knew where this place was now, she could purge it later on once she had the ability to do so.

Climbing the stairs to get into the elevated ring, Uriel ignored the looks she was getting from the audience, both male and female and some she wasn’t sure about. Across from her a mountain of a man stepped into the ring, he was shorter than Uriel but was built like a brick shit house, he’d be stronger than she was that was for sure. But did that matter to Uriel? Not in the slightest, if he was her starting fight then he was likely only this far based on his brute strength and no brain to take him further.

The big man eyed up the taller angel. “Aye, you’re a tall one, lassy.”

Uriel snorted. “And you’re rather short on brains, aren’t you?”

That made him angry. “I was going to go easy on ya, lassy, but now I’ll just beat you like everyone else. Then maybe ya can get back to the kitchen and make me a sandwich.”

And that pissed Uriel off. Cracking her knuckles once the bell rang Uriel set herself up in a ready stance, hands up to protect her face and she pulled her wings in as close as she could, for now. As the two combatants came together the big guy threw out a wild haymaker from his left hand, which Uriel blocked with her right forearm and popped him in the face with her left fist. He took that strike well and pressed forward through the hit.

This went back and forth for a bit, Uriel allowing him to throw whatever punches he wanted to, but she read them all and block accordingly. He was a lower rank after all and Sirona had centuries of practice on him most likely, if he was as human as he looked. Uriel had a slight grin on her face, seemed she was enjoying this, but that shouldn’t have been much of a shock.

Deciding that it was time to end this little bout, the archangel blocked one last blow and shifted her stance while deflecting another blow. She pressed forward, immediately putting him on the defensives, much to his surprise, as Uriel started to hammer blows at him. She was fast and accurate with her strikes, putting a few into his gut before he was able to properly react to the change in pace of the fight. He threw a wild punch and Uriel caught his wrist and twisted while pulling his arm, that made him cry out, while she used her free right hand to clock him across the chin.

The big man staggered back and Uriel pressed forward hitting him twice more before the man went down on his butt. He wasn’t out but she had struck with more force than one might think given her build, but she had placed her strikes well.

Before Uriel could start to hit him again, whoever the man’s partner was called for the bell, which was rung and Uriel stopped her forward movement and stepped back as the man’s mates stepped in to help him.

Looked like she had won her first fight.

The crowd cheered in mass, trying to call out whatever side they were on while their firsts were clenched tight with tickets. Staff walked around as the match went on, offering drinks and helping those place their wages on who they believe would be on the winning side. However, Qadim was not with them. He would his seating higher up, watching from above with a couple judges, other sponsors, and, most importantly, the owners of the ship and this underground arena. His hand held a fine bottle of wine as he sipped, staring down as the site was getting cleaned up for the next round.

"She certainly has the power," Qadim commented, "but so do most brutes in this rank. When she starts heading into C rank, she will start finding trickier opponents with techniques they have been mastering more than a simple right hook. I wonder how our little angel here handle some of the dirtier combatants?" After all, they did not have that many rules outside of the lives of the other fighters.

—

Down in the ring, the same puppet walked up to Uriel's side. "CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST VICTORY," she stated, expression as flat as can be as she held a ticket in her hand. "YOU MAY TAKE CLAIM OF YOUR WINNINGS NOW, OR YOU MAY START YOUR NEXT FIGHT RIGHT AWAY: DOUBLE OR NOTHING. YOU CAN KEEP THIS GOING FOR AS LONG AS YOU WISH, OR UNTIL YOU FALL. PLEASE KEEP YOUR STAMINA IN MIND FOR YOUR DECISION." This also meant that those betting would be placing higher odds upon the exhausted fighter, but the payout being better if she could push through. "THE CHOICE IS YOURS."