#anywhere

In a wild shot to catch Dirk by surprise, Gwen backhands him and it hits! HARD

"Bitchslap!" Someone says "She bitchslapped the Peacemaker"

Gwen grins "Ha. I got onee..' then her gloating stops as Dirk growls and kicks her in the midsection

"Right in the gutbucket!" She groans. "Puke on him if you gotta! It will make him prettier!"

She looks like she might... then someone says "Holy shit..20 seconds!"

"NO.. my money!" Another person says

DIrk looks surprised to hear they're close to that..Then grits his teeth "Fuck. I almost want to let you" But instead he flings himself on her with a flurry of blows!

And yet Gwen stands, bracing.. blocking with hands when she can, just trying to buy time

"Duck n cover!"

And she ducks and... then finally someone else "Ten minutes... and counting..She maede it"

"Or shit, run in a circle!" Still yelling. "Gouge his eyes out!"

And she tries.. to go for him and then.. the redcap Headbutts her, HARD!

"Fuck.. I bloodied my own nose" Dirk says reeeling

And Gwen? Gwen is out

but she made the 10 minutes

and then some

"Okay, Fight's over!" the others say

Dirk looks down at the beaten out cold troll, and bends down. is he gonna spit on her?

Or kick her while she's down?

Realizing that the battle is over, Briar scrambles into the ring. “Leave her be! You got your whole lodge of trolls- thish onesh MINE!”

Slurring a bit in her hurry.

Dirk looks at her,, then nods "All right.. all right. Just don't spit on me. Where do you want me to carry her?"

“We got a tent, it’s the one with the wolf-n-hoof on it.” Still on edge, unsure if this is a trick. “I gotta go find some healer. You mashed her guts up good.” A reluctant admiration.

"Yeah... I did.. you can be hard as steel but the force still gets through" He picks Gwen up and says "Hey, don't forget the money and dross or that cheat bookie will be gone in a blink. Clurichain you know?"

Her eyes widen. “That mother-“ ... and races out to demand their winnings!

The CLURICHAUN soon explains he just FORGOT.. so sorry, please put the sharp stabby thing away... but yes, their winnings are handed over

Soon, with ALL the winnings in hand (And SHIT it's a lot) Briar is leaeding Dirk (And Gwen) to the Camp "Geez your 'troll' weights a ton."

“That’s because she’s rock solid kickass. I mean, she’s just a fledge, but I’m teaching her up good so she won’t turn out too seelie.”

He nods "Good save. " The older caps "Every year, dozens of trolls is lost to Seelie hood preventing them from reaching full bad assery. You're doing the blood god's work"

“Blood for the blood god! Sorry she didn’t bleed more.” Honest apologetic. “But I bet she’s be leaking like a faucet if she wasn’t concrete-cured.”

And she frowns a bit. “It AIN’T a muzzle though. My jaw got fucked up so I couldn’t even chew. Healing wouldn’t fix it because it healed in wrong.” Insistent that he knows. But then warily age adds, “In another few months it’ll be off though. So I’ll be as tough as any other cap. Tougher! Actually. Cuz I learned to fight good even without teeth.”

"Shit. That would drive me nuts" He admits "If I don't bite something now and then I get stir crazy" A pause "Huh.. knife work eh? Good choice. Swords are bad ass sure, but knives SCARE people, small blades make them wonder what you're picking out to eat...like hanibel lecture and shit"

She warms a bit and shows him her glove. “I used bits of a broken bone saw, we get whole carcasses in to feed the dogs and I get to cut ‘em up. And wire to kinda weave it through the mesh- this pooka I got, She knits stupid things, but it gave me the idea... but Gwrn’s getting me a REAL murder-mitt.”

He looks at it "Good, but it'll break if you hit something too hard at the wrong angle" at mention of it "Wait, your troll is Buying you things? You got her that scared of you?" Impressed

She puffs up. “Yeah! I’m the only one who’s not OLD.” Her nose wrinkling. “So I teach her what’s what. Where d’you think I can strong arm a healer? Didn’t think we’d need one, unless Bluebell broke her leg dancing, and then we’d just shoot her behind the barn.”

"Oh damn.. thought you guys had healer. AT rivervale almost everyone's into healing, well, every other person. Shit. Hold on.. I got a cookie.." glare warning her not to laugh then he goes on "It's like a healing cookie. I was about to eat it. BUT...maybe if you give me some of your winnings?"

She looks pained. And glances at Gwen, eying her condition. Likely to just walk it off?

“We HAVE healers. Even one that just knows horses SPECIAL. But they stayed home. There were raiders a while back, and I ain’t there to guard.”

Hard to say, LOTS of bruises . And if someone is going to make a fuss

Her teeth grind with a scrape on metal, like nails on a chalkboard. “Deal.”

“But it’s come out of HER half.”

"HA!" He laughs "I'll take ten bucks. She's a tought fighter so..what the fuck. She gets my geniune 'youdon't suck' discount"

And he sets her down and pulls out a cookie

She grins! Knowing that’s a hell of a deal. “done! And I’ll even get you something else to eat since it was yours. You ever tasted Kerri’s thighs?”

"No I..." A blink "What did you just say??"

The cookie can be snatched out of his hand now. Probably best

She does grab it, and ponders shoving it down Gwen’s throat. That’s interesting train of thought. If you’re healing someone while choking ‘em, which part wins? The interrogator, She decides.

“Yeah, these big ol honkin’ dinosaur legs. Good sauce on them though. I had three.” She boasts.

"Yeah, Kerri's Thighs.. wheree? Was it being sold by a troll lady?"

“Naw. Some scruffy cur-ass pooka. Not yours, some older dude.” She clarifies. “Mutt boy and I did time together. He’s alright.”

"yeah, Connor's tolerable, which is good because otherwise he'd be snack sized"

Then he rises "You scusee me.. I gotta go kill a vendor...I think"