background: attempt at writing a part of a fantasy novel. protagonists: a pair of sword masters, you'll learn more about them later, perhaps. quest, blahblahblah, same old same old, trying to come up with something new. a twist.
will have narrative format of alternating narrators while advancing in time *won't see same event by different people...unless i decide otherwise later on* s
i realize that some bits are a bit awkward and i think my dialogue needs work. as well as the 'she said' 'he replied' type stuff. anyway. if anyone stumbles across this, constructive criticism would be greatly appreaciated.

Chapter 1
Sephor
“You bastard!” Kin snapped.
I shrugged. “That may be so, but I won, and I didn’t cheat this time,” I replied mildly. She threw down her cards down in disgust and stormed to the bar.
“Give me a beer,” she growled. Cob, the bartender, grinned as he set down on the worn counter a frothy mug with condensation beading down the sides.
“Thought you’d’a learned better’n to cross Seph at gamblin’, Kin,” he chuckled.
“I had you this time!” Kin turned to glare at me, a glare that had in the past turned men better than myself into nought but a quivering pile of jelly at her feet. But I had known Kinasse Lyndan for several years now, and that glare now drew only amusement from me.
“I’ll pick up your tab,” I offered, “as a gesture of goodwill.”
“You’ll excuse me, then, while I take advantage of your gracious offer and drink myself into a stupor,” she muttered darkly. I paused for a moment.
“Actually, Garth is expecting to meet us tonight, Kin. You’d best not remove us from his Highness’ good graces by vomiting on his royal self.” Kin brightened.
“Really? Garth has time to see us, what with the Elgiani dignitaries visiting? I thought he was in negotiations all night and parties and balls at night.”
“He is. Apparently something came up.”
The look of happy anticipation of seeing our friend was replaced by a worried one, but “Oh,” was all she said.
“I’m sure it’s nothing serious,” I said hastily. “Maybe he’s just tired of diplomacy.”
“You,” she said scathingly, “are full of shit.”
“And proud of it. Listen, let’s go, Kin. We have time to practice and then wash up and have supper before we meet Garth. What do you say?”
“He’s not feeding us? What’s the point of having the king as a friend if he keeps all of that exquisite food to himself?” I turned from the bar, where I’d been paying Cob for the drinks we’d had, and threw my arm around her shoulders as we left the tavern.
“He’s doing you a favour. If you shoved your face with all of that food rather than the bland stuff we have down at the college, you’d be to fat to lift your sword.” The breath left my lungs in a rush as her fist connected with my gut.
“Huh. You manage to get fat stuffing even the college’s food down your gullet,” she retorted, storming off towards the palace, leaving me standing in the street, clutching my belly.