The street was almost void of light as the man walked in silence. His hood was up and drawn tight to his face, blocking the cold, and the world. He walked quickly and carefully, but with enough assurance to be left alone. There appeared to only be two street lights on the long road. That was expected in the south side of Holten. The funding for the city was mostly spent in the North and east side, where the richer families and better schools were located.
Holten itself was a rather large city. Located by the beautiful Falke river Holten had the largest Casino in the whole Heftig county. With a population of nearly one hundred thousand people, Holten was well known. The north side of the city was inhabitated by the very rich and council members. The east side had the rich to middle class and the west side had the poor. The south side also left room for some poor, but mostly the homeless. The south side was also the prison district.
The man continued walking down the long road. Past trash can fires and small shacks, full of sleeping vagabonds. He veered off the road abruptly and made his way down a narrow space between two run down buildings. The space opened up into a small clearing littered with trash and empty beer bottles. On the far side of the clearing was a shack with a large metal door fastened into its facade. He approached the door attentively and stood before it. He gave the door two quick raps with his fist and the small window on the door slid open. Two beady green eyes peered at him through the slot. "Password." The voice stated with a flat tone. The man pulled his hood down, revealing the black mask he wore. It has a red skull over where his face should have been and a small gold cross on his forehead. The eyes widened and the air thickened with fear and tension "I'm sorry, come in!" The once bored voice exclaimed in anxious respect.
The man walked through the doorway and into the small dim shack. He took a brief moment to glance at the small old lady hunched over by the small table adjacent from the door. She was old and withered, but her eyes held wisdom and such emotion, even the terriyfying man could not defy, "Evening Alma" The man whispered with reverance. Alma offered a smile and sat down, tension leaving her frame "Well look who finally learned some respect! You been comin' here for well over a year and barely said two words to me." The man turned towards her, but with no face to be seen, she couldn't quite hold his hidden gaze. "Nevermind that dear. Welcome home, you head on down to the pit Shadow, I heard my son was looking for you." With another caring smile she dismissed him and turned back to the book that had been in her lap.
The stairs were on the otherside of the shack, and led downwards into the darkness. As he made his way down the stairs, he could hear voices yelling and jeering. He walked through the doorway into the large room. In the center was a fighting cage, almost like the ones MMA fighters fought in, but more beaten and neglected with age. Two men were locked in a bloody battle. The bar on the right side of the room was packed with fighters, fans, bystanders, and anyone else who could afford a cheap beer or two. The left half of the room held tables and seating, along with two bathrooms. The man made his way through the crowd, who parted out of his way without hesitation. As he walked towards the bar he caught sight of the man he was looking for. Henry was about six feet tall, and muscular for a man of his age. He was the owner and proprietor of the club. His copper hair stood out among the crowd and earned him his nick name "Copper Top Drop" for his uncanny ability to take down any man.
Henry seemed to have noticed the atmosphere of the bar change as Shadow entered, hatred and tension filling the air. He turned and set his gaze upon the man approaching him. The only hidden face in the whole club. Henry never understood why he wore a mask, or what the symbols stood for, but he didn't care. When it came down to it the guy could be blue with six limbs, as long as he kept bringing in impressive amounts of cash, he was welcomed. As the man reached him Henry smiled. "Hey Shadow, you're a little late today. Plenty of guys are already lined up to take you down." Shadow was not a man of much emotion. But this forced a chuckle from his lips. Henry cocked a brow at the odd display of emotion. "Funny." Shadow stated in his gruff voice "They think after just one short year, I'll be any easier to defeat." Henry laughed at this and shook his head "One day that cockiness will be the end of you boy. And you'll be bloodier than a stuck pig." Henry slapped the mans back as he walked by "Good luck in the ring boy-" He turned to look back at Shadow before the masked man could reply "Not that you need it, eh?" With a wry smile Henry made his way for the small room behind the bar, leaving Shadow to stare down the line of angry men, waiting to take a swing.
