The cheers die in the upper gym ring as the stairwell door swings open again. The shadowed figure from before steps onto the canvas, and the victory noise drains out of the room.
The Shadowed Watcher
Those contracts are not yours to keep, Regina King. You fought for the right to be seen, not to walk off with the paper.
Malik stiffens at ringside, the fee page still in his hand. Leo turns toward the stairs, jaw tight, while the Referee half-steps in, reading the room before it breaks.
Regina King
The shadow on the stairs was the real holdback.
The Shadowed Watcher
The terms were always simple. Public bracket, clean fights, and the house keeps what it owns. The true cost was never hidden from those who know where to look.
He plants one foot on the canvas and extends a hand toward the folder in Regina's grasp. The crowd watches in uneasy silence, waiting to see whether the champion keeps the contract or loses the path she just carved open.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the contracts secured
“I challenge the waycher to a fight, and if i win everything is settled for good”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Regina King
Then fight me for them. If I win, the contracts stay with me.
The Watcher stops on the edge of the canvas, hand still out, as the ring goes silent around the challenge.
The Shadowed Watcher
A clean fight, then. Winner keeps the paper.
The Referee steps in, reaches for the folder, and holds Regina’s side while Malik keeps the fee page lifted at ringside.
The Referee
No tricks. One exchange, clean terms, and the contract settles it.
Regina drives the folder back to her chest and squares her stance, not backing off an inch.
The Watcher finally takes his hand away, and the pressure in the room shifts toward the coming fight as the stairwell thump echoes once more.
“Wasn't the watcher making the thump in the stairwell?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 70)
The rhythmic thumping from the stairwell continues, steady and heavy, while The Shadowed Watcher remains perfectly still in the ring. It is clear the sound originates from somewhere deeper in the building, entirely independent of the man standing before Regina.
“Is the thumping sound coming from an approaching fighter hidden deep in the building, perhaps someone so massive and powerful that their footsteps are shaking the building?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 60)
The heavy thumping persists, but it does not herald a challenger. It is merely the rhythmic vibration of a faulty ventilation unit deep within the building walls, echoing through the stairwell.
“So the thumping has nothing to do with the story and yiu can stop talking about it?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 66)
Regina King
The vibration is just a dying machine, not a threat. It is time to end this standoff.
The Shadowed Watcher
You seem distracted by the walls, Regina. Are you ready to hand over what does not belong to you?
“I offer him a handshake to agree to a clean match, and when he grabs my hand i pull him close and headbutt him, knocking him unconscious and winning the fight”
SUCCESS (Legendary Hand-to-Hand Combat, rolled +2)
Regina extends the contracts instead of flinching, offering the handshake like a final courtesy. The Shadowed Watcher takes it, still smiling, and the ring goes oddly still around their joined hands.
The instant his grip closes, Regina pulls him in hard. Their foreheads collide with a sharp crack, and his smug expression breaks as his body folds forward.
He stumbles, then drops flat on the canvas, unconscious. The Referee steps in fast, one hand raised to stop the room, while Malik keeps the printed fee page visible at ringside.
Leo exhales and moves closer to the apron, eyes on the folder in Regina's hands. The thump from the stairwell remains distant now, just background noise behind the clean bracket line.
The Shadowed Watcher lies out cold at Regina's feet, no longer reaching for anything. The contracts stay sealed in her grasp as the match ends on the spot.
The Referee
Clean finish. Regina keeps the papers.
Quest Complete
Keep the contracts secured
New Gift: Contract Negotiator