Nate walked down one of the many stone corridors of the Colosseum, eating a River Rat Skewer by tucking it under his mask as he walked. The flavor was gamey and smokey, but the flaky meat melted like a delicate fish. Of all the delicacies in the Eastern Kingdoms, he always found Falcon's Rise to have the most comforting, but he may be a little biased.
As he passed an opening that looked out onto the Arena floor, he could see the Heroes of Stone walking out as the Ring Master announced them. The heat from the sun was beating down on the spectators.
"The Heroes of Stone!" the Ring Master boomed loudly with thaumaturgy. "Facing the final challenge: the Voidborn Behemoth!"
The crowd roared with excitement and fear as their seats shook with each footstep of the monstrosity marching towards the gates. The rumbling caused dust to fall from the cracks between the large stone bricks, settling on the floor like snow. Nate was lost in thought for a second as he brushed the dust away with his boot, before looking back at the party.
"Damn, good luck with that..." Nate said as he chewed, continuing his walk before leaning against a wall in a service hallway.
He heard some muffled talking from a door slightly ajar in the hallway and peeked in, seeing a few of the new Dark Cloaked security guards.
"Alright, the Boss said to initiate the plan once the monster is out there," the red-skinned tiefling said to the halfling wearing a matching cloak. "Then he said to bar the Shadow Lord's exit."
"Why are we getting involved with that?" the halfling asked. "Isn't the Shadow Lord paying us?"
"Listen, I don't question the boss. But I heard from Jaquez that he needs the Shadow Lord as bait for someone named Veldred," the tiefling said back.
Nate chewed silently facing away from them as he listened.
"Well alright..." the halfling said, hesitantly. "Guess we should get into position."
Nate made himself small against the wall as they walked out and entered the main walkway of the Colosseum. Then Nate took off down the hallway silently, taking off his mask as he did, moving through the various hallways and ladders like he knew them by heart.
Suddenly, he heard three explosions erupt from the top layer, shaking the ground with such force that he lost his footing. As he was about to keep moving, a fourth explosion happened, destroying the hallway he was in as he fell with the rubble.
He groaned and clawed his way out from under some stone, the warmth of the sunlight now hitting his face as he looked down into the Arena, seeing the Boss step out and shoot Yirki.
The Boss removed his mask, and Nate squinted as he did, trying to get a good look at him.
"Is that...?" Nate said, getting to his feet and brushing off the dust as Azra removed his cloak, revealing the skeletal wings of his makeshift necrotic shroud. "Fuck. It is. It had to be now, didn't it..."
Just as he said that a Shadowkin ran into the opening to inspect the damage and looked at Nate, who stared back at him.
"What are you doing here?" the Shadowkin asked with a monotone voice. Its clothing remained stable, but the edges of its figure were ever-shifting in the shadow of its cloak. "You weren't instructed to leave. Aren't you supposed to... Wait, you're—"
Nate launched forward at the Shadowkin, unsheathing a dagger that glowed with sunlight and ramming it into the Shadowkin's neck as it sprayed black liquid over his face. He thought it was always odd that there was no smell to it. While blood from this plane had a very metallic smell, their blood was like their skin, practically non-existent.
Its red eyes shrunk for a second before going wide again. The Shadowkin gurgled, trying to speak.
"Mother... Nngnn... Will... Grngnn. Her plan..." it sputtered out before going limp.
Nate dropped him on the floor before looking down at the Arena. Glancing at the noble's platform, where The Shadow Lord was hiding behind the railing with the other aristocrats. Two Shadowkin were crouched at his side, with a hand on either shoulder.
"You poor bastard," Nate said sadly. "You should have listened to me when you had the chance."