Eowyn sat quietly at her desk, pen in hand. She carefully logged the events that had unfolded over the past week, making sure not to leave out any detail. The road was arduous but she managed to claim victory. Pausing to relieve her hand for a moment, she pulled out a small gold coin from her pocket… a memento from her last battle. She fingered it lightly, the cold metal sending a chill through her hand.

Suddenly, the door to her room burst open with a clang. Eowyn, startled, dropped the coin to the ground. The medallion slowly rolled across the bare oak floor, eventually colliding with the blackened boot of a large figure. She darted a glance at him, trying to act like she did not notice his disturbance. The figure bent over and picked up the coin off the floor.

“Hmph. Yet another souvenir I see..” The exceptionally well-dressed man walked over to the desk, eying the scattered papers strewn across the surface. “Why do you waste so much time logging all that nonsense? You should be getting ready for your next fight.”

Eowyn turned towards the man and said, “If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it”.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you…And you owe me..” The man stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The sound of his boots hitting the wooden floor echoed throughout the halls of the small inn. The man was the owner of the inn, hoping to get the money she owed him. He really did not expect her to actually give him anything, but he had the vain hope that this time… she would. Eowyn was a regular, stopping in every few days for a break from the local tournament. She had lodgings at the arena, but had no desire to stay there. Between the damp, musty odors and the constant scurrying of rats in the corners, it was quite uninviting. One would think that the tournament leaders could accommodate its warriors a little better than it did.

Eowyn glanced at the clock on the west wall of her room. Half past eight in the morning. She was late for her last battle and had no intentions of doing so again. This time… this time she’d be prepared. She hurriedly opened her satchel and removed her mythril armor. It still shined brightly in the morning light, even though she had used it quite frequently the past week. Without delay, she took the armor and went into the powder room. Within a minute she was ready to go. She thought for a moment how amusing it was… women. They spend countless hours every morning trying to look ‘perfect’, as if men wouldn’t notice them anyways. Eowyn had quite a different outlook on the situation. She could care less if a man liked the way her hair looked. In fact, she enjoyed the solitude. Who ever heard of a Master Thief having a boyfriend? It was preposterous!

Not wanting to spend another moment dwelling on nonsense, Eowyn grabbed the rest of her essential equipment and headed for the door. Down the hallway and out the front of the inn she jogged. The other guests quickly moved out of the way, not wanting to be plowed down by the obviously hurried girl.

“Hey! What about my…” The innkeeper couldn’t even finish his sentence before she bursted out of his inn. It only took her five minutes to make it to the arena. When she arrived, she was not greeted with the sounds of cheering fans. In fact, the air was stagnant with the lack of noise. As Eowyn entered the arena, she encountered not a soul. It was as if a bomb had dropped in the middle of the field and the entire crowed had been wiped out. Ironically, this did not bother her one bit. She was quite pleased with the silence. Most warriors are enthralled from the sound of a screaming frenzy of humans, but she… she could care less if there wasn’t a person in the whole town, as long as her battle took place. Eowyn set her satchel on a bench near the inner set of doors. She once again opened the bag and removed her belongings. Her trusty daggers were the first to come out. The blades were caked lightly with the blood of her last opponent. His fate was still unsure to her, but she did not dwell on her victims much. It was the past. All that mattered was the present, not the future, not the past.

There was a small pool of water nearby. Eowyn placed her daggers in the pool and gently cleansed them. Soon, they were both back to their original glory. The silver-metallic finish reflected the light from the windows of the hallway. She watched, as the reflections slowly moved across the room, like fiery lasers blasting a trench through the walls. Eowyn pulled out her sharpening stone and began to bring her blades to their full sharpness. In the past, her allies were often amazed at her ability to make a weapon excessively sharp. She once took a sword that had broken in half and sharpened it into a brilliant dagger. Of course, the hilt was a little large, but its owner was thrilled none-the-less. She spent quite some time with her daggers, making them increasingly sharp by them minute. Eowyn looked up at the clock on the far wall. A quarter past nine. Where was her opponent? She had no desire to stand around all day waiting. Placing the daggers in their cases on her side, Eowyn walked back to her bag on the ground. Digging around aimlessly in the bag, she found what she was looking for. A small pouch of Throwing Stars. She never left home without them. She tied the pouch tightly to her belt, making sure it would not come loose during battle. The small throwing stars clanged lightly together as she tightened the knot. “Now to check out the Arena..”

Eowyn walked towards the inner arena, opening the large double-doors. Just as she left it. The conditions were exactly as she remembered them… almost. The trees she dismembered in her last battle had been dug out of the ground and laid in a corner on the east wall. In their place was a large wooden crate. “The hell?” She quickly darted across the field to look at the strange box. “Why did they put a BOX in an arena?!?” She peered between the cracks between the wooden planks, hoping to catch a glimpse of the contents. Inside the crate was a small house cat, purring lightly. “Erm… a cat?” Eowyn walked back towards the entrance, pondering the latest mystery to be layed out in front of her. She waited on the southern wall for her opponent to arrive.