For the next hour, Ashlynn and Heila made their way slowly around the perimeter of the masquerade. Food, drink and conversation all flowed freely though some of the topics seemed surprisingly ill-informed to Ashlynn as she wandered by.
"Do you think that the Blood Princess is back looking for fighters to join her war against the humans?" One person asked, his voice as light and airy as it might be if he'd been asking 'Do you think it will rain tomorrow.'
"I hope so," an elaborately dressed man in a mask shaped like the face of an angry bull said. "My luck at the arena has been poor lately. I've already lost close to a thousand gold tails on unfortunate wagers this month alone. I could use a sure bet like the Blood Princess to make back a bit of those losses."
"You must be joking," another man said. "No one bets on whether the Blood Princess wins or not. They only bet on whether or not the person she defeats accepts their loss and submits or refuses and dies on the sands."
