"Your Kenpo is good but that is it." Walter told Isaac honestly. "There are plenty of wasted movements and your body follows your mind too much."

"I've won every fist fight so far." Isaac defended himself. Being called that he was only 'good' managed to easily get under his skin.

Walter nodded. "Oh I don't doubt it. But everyone you've fought so far has been weak. Come, try to win this one." Walter prodded and motioned for Isaac to do just that.

What followed was much like what had come before it. Isaac was forced to block and his arms got progressively more numb and bruised in equal measure. The turning point came when Walter threw a punch not at Isaac's face, like the dark mage had originally thought, but at his elbow. The impact sent a jolt of pain through Isaac's entire arm and his pinky finger locked in an extended position from whatever internal damage Walter had finished dealing to his arm. Isaac's right arm was officially out of commission and there was no way to bring it back without using his death flames.

Walter followed the crippling hit up with a kick to the inside of Isaac's knee that sent him tumbling to the ground. "It's over." Walter told him. "You are beat to shit and I'm tired. So let's call it before I do any real damage."

Isaac did not like being on the losing end of anything, especially a fist fight. He did not like it so much that he almost just used his death flames to heal and refresh himself anyway so he could push Walter to his limits and beyond. Isaac pushed himself back up onto his feet and rolled his shoulders. "I didn't hear no bell." He told the second place champion and raised his left arm back into a fighting position.

Walter looked over at Lenna and shook his head. He then looked back at Isaac. "I win. If this goes on, I'll stop playing nice." He told Isaac.

"Let's see who wears out fi-" Isaac began but was cut off.

"Isaac." Lenna snapped. "Take your loss with grace."

Isaac hitched at Lenna's sudden reprimand. He looked down at his muddy arm. He couldn't see the bruises though the long sleeve shirt but he knew that it was more bruised than not. His left arm ached as did almost every joint in his body from each of the times that he was forced to block one of Walter's attacks. There was no magic or weird lifeforce related shenanigans making each of Walter's attacks hit harder but that didn't mean that his perfect form hadn't caused each blow to land like a woodcutters ax.

Isaac sighed and relaxed. "Fine. You win." He told Walter and then bathed his insides in death flames. Isaac closed his eyes and let out a soft groan as all of the damage and exhaustion from their fight was washed away in a matter of seconds.

Walter stared at Isaac for a long moment before he finally just shook his head. "The Lord of Darkness, huh, not quite what I expected, if I'm being honest." The second place champion told the dark mage.

"We have a winner folks!" The announcer called out. His voice was shaky, probably from being near Isaac and his death flame bath, but loud enough to be heard over the crowd and combatants alike. "Walter Walker has done it again folks! One thousand, eight hundred, and seventy nine wins! Five losses! And four hundred and seventy one absences! Will he stick around to fight the champion for his title? Or will he make a run for it?! We'll find out in ten minutes!" Apparently it was time for a recess and Walter's shoulders sagged as he sighed in relief.

"What were you expecting?" Isaac wondered.

"I don't know. More bones probably." Walter casually replied. He nodded towards Lenna. "Let's leave the ring for now. You have something to ask me."

Walter didn't wait for Isaac to respond as he looked over his shoulder at the giant red fox. He let a quick whistle and then followed it up with another that was only a few notes higher. The fox opened her eyes and locked eyes with him. Walter's head nodded towards Lenna again. The fox stood up and looked like she was about to start walking towards them when Walter gave her a flat look. The fox turned and reached down to bite the middle strap of the saddlebags that Walter had left with her. She picked them up and turned to look back at Walter questioningly. Walter nodded and then turned back to see Isaac watching him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Walter asked.

Both fighters started walking towards Lenna as the fox started her graceful trot around the outside of the arena. "Your fox is very well trained." Isaac commented.

Walter nodded. "Yeah. Gypsy's been with me for a little while now. She's not always the most cooperative, but she's smart enough to learn new commands quickly." He explained.

"Where did you find such a majestic creature?" Isaac couldn't help but ask. He had never seen or even heard about a giant fox. Gypsy was also moving so perfectly that the mud looked like it didn't even want to cling to her paws, unlike Isaac who was half covered in it.

"It's a long story and one that is even more complicated and nuanced than it is long." Walter replied as both men reached the fence and easily crossed it as it was only waist high. "Lady of Hellfire." Walter greeted Lenna with a slight bow. "I have heard rumors of your strength and beauty in equal measure."

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Isaac's eyes narrowed on Walter. A light elf being not only polite but also flattering towards Lenna was just down right suspicious. 'Thank you." Lenna replied. "I am afraid that I do not know who you are."

"I am Walter Walker, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." He introduced himself only to crack a smile from barely suppressed laughter a moment later. Isaac's look of total incredulity combined with the radiating feeling of a flat look seeing through obvious lies coming off of Lenna was just too much for him. "My name is actually Walter Walker." He said with a chuckle. "But the rest couldn't be further from the truth. It's just something that I've always wanted to say."

"So… are you just a fist fighter and guide?" Isaac questioned him.

"What?" Walter asked. "Oh heavens no. I'm a wanderer, artificer, and adventurer who has just happened to have visited half of the places worth visiting. Is that why you were looking for me, you need a guide to somewhere?"

"Artificer?" Isaac questioned.

"Yes." Lenna agreed. "To Material de la Celestia."

Walter rolled his eyes. "Gods that name is so pretentious. Calling a city a piece of the heavens is asking for someone to smite it." He said more to himself than to Isaac or Lenna. It was then that Gypsy arrived with his saddlebags. "Thanks Gyps." Walter told her and grabbed the saddlebags out of her mouth and hung them on the fence next to them.

"Hey Walt!" A younger middle-aged human woman, with blonde hair in a corset, knee length skirt, boots, and a fur coat called out as she approached them. "I saw your fight." She told him flirtatiously. "Wanna come by and spend some of your prize money later?" She waved and blew him a kiss as she walked past them towards the exit.

Walter shook his head. "No, Krystal, why would I pay for something that I can get for free?" He asked her while he dug in his saddlebags for a rag to start wiping some of the mud off of his upper body.

"I can do that for you!" Krystal called out to him again.

"No, Krystal, go home." Walter replied flatly and then turned back to Isaac and Lenna as he started trying to scrub the mud off of himself enough to put his shirt back on. "Where were we, ah, yes, the pretentious city. Why do you need to go there?"

"Will you take us there?" Isaac asked in reply.

"It depends on the reason why you want to go." Walter told him honestly.

"Walter!" A man called out as he ran up to them.

Walter sighed and rolled his eyes. He turned to see an old man half hobbling half running towards them. "What, Mark? Can't you see I'm busy? What's with everyone interrupting me?"

Mark waved him off. "Whatever 'bout that." He shooed away Walter's complaint. "You stayin' or runnin'?"

Walter sighed. "Have Jet fight him. You just had me fight three people back to back." He countered. "Kylus hasn't even fought anyone today."

"So, after Jet warms 'im up, will ya?" Mark questioned.

Walter narrowed his eyes at the old human man. "Maybe." He told him. "For now, let me finish this damned conversation. The next person to butt in is going to go through that wall." He said with a firm pointing jab towards the front gate. If the front gate was destroyed, anyone and everyone could enter without paying the entry fee.

Mark raised his hands in surrender. "Fine I'll leave ya be. Ya bastard." He swore and started hobbling away.

Walter took a calming breath. He had finally gotten most of the mud off of himself and he pulled a tan blouse out of his saddlebags and put it on while he continued his conversation with Isaac and Lenna. "So, why do you need to go there?" He asked them again.

"The Fatebreaker." Lenna answered him. "We, I have a wish before he dies of old age."

Walter smirked. "You and everyone else." He told her. "What can you offer that no one else can or will? What does a man that has lived for a millennium want or need?"

Lenna shook her head. "I don't know. But I want to ask him anyway."

Walter frowned. "What's your wish?" He wondered.

"That's private." Lenna replied.

"I know that if it involves someone's emotions, wealth, bringing someone back from the dead despite their wishes, or rebuilding a destroyed soul, the old man will instantly turn you down." Walter explained. "So, as I've met him personally, what is your wish?"

"She wants to bind our strands of fate together." Isaac cut in before Lenna could try to deflect again. "Like in the story."

Walter furrowed his brows for a long moment. "I don't know what story you are talking about, but that can wait." He began. "Did he put you up to this?" Walter questioned Lenna.

"No." Lenna replied. "Quite the opposite. He protested, a bit."

Walter eyed her for a long moment. "I suppose if he actually is a demigod, then that would give you his eternal life." He thought aloud. "But if he is not then you would just age at nearly twice the rate until the day you both died of old age at the same time." He nodded to himself. "I can see the old man taking an interest in this." He then looked back and forth between the pair. "What can you offer him?"

"Money?" Isaac said very unconvincingly. "We can fight and we have a lot of money. I honestly don't know what else we have that would interest anyone else."

Walter frowned in thought. "The odds of him helping you aren't zero. How much are you willing to pay for a guide?" He asked them.

"We've never needed a guide before." Isaac told him. "But we were told that we needed an elvish guide to get through the forest. I guess it depends on how much 'guiding' you are going to be doing and how long the trip will take."

"Three weeks on foot or in a wagon but only two on horseback." Walter explained. "The path can only be traversed by someone who has been there. That is what keeps the capital safe."

"So it is the capital of the high elven kingdom." Isaac thought aloud.

Walter shook his head. "No. Only of that one, there are seven, that I know of."

"Double platinum bounty to get us there and back?" Isaac asked Lenna to see if she thought the price was fair.

Lenna nodded slowly. "Yes. I think that is more than fair." She agreed. "We can handle ourselves so it is not like we need protection."

Walter smirked. "There is no such thing when the grass tries to strangle your ankles to death, the tree roots try to suck your blood from your body, and the leaves fall just right so you breathe them in and choke." He told her. "Everyone needs protection, if they do not have a good enough guide. Fifty thousand gold is a nice sum but I don't know if it's worth one and a half to two months of my time. At least spring is coming and you were not dumb enough to try and start this journey at the beginning of winter."

"The boy at the Guild Hall said that if you didn't want to do it, you could point us towards someone who would." Isaac told him. "Is that true?"

"If you were just going down the mountain, sure, but actually into the heartland, you need either myself or a native. I do not know any natives in town at the moment, so I am your only option for the foreseeable future." Walter explained. "I'll take it under a condition."

"What's your condition?" Isaac asked.

"You pay me for the completion of the bounty when we get there, not when we get back." Walter replied. "Just in case your wish goes sideways and turns you both into one ring made out of your strands of fate or something."

"That can happen?" Isaac asked worriedly.

Walter shrugged. "Who knows. That is just what working with wishes is like."

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