Gladiators of Warsong

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  Alex sank 500 CPs into leveling Bravebear to Clan 3, which increased overall effectiveness from 10% to 15%. This increased damage, hit points, and powers. Next, Alex upgraded the tents to group houses, complete with cots and other amenities like washbasins. It felt like a waste to spend her CPs on living quarters, but the increase in morale was immediate, as they returned to Poor morale. This cost 300 CPs, which was a bargain for the 10% improvement in clan effectiveness.

  Finally, she upgraded the rickety longhouse to a sturdy longhouse. The description included a heavy-duty door rather than a hide covering, a higher roof, which vented the smoke from the fires better, and side rooms for council meetings. She had a secondary purpose for the bigger longhouse, and it wasn't just for morale.

  When the clans arrived, she'd need a bigger place for her teams to practice without giving away their tactics. And she thought the bigger building would be more impressive for the meeting of the clans.

  Finished with the assignment of the conquest points, Alex left the hut in search of Nayiri. The battleleader hut sat on the eastern crown of the hill, giving her a good view. The gold and crimson remnants of the sunset lingered on the horizon. Alex caught the hint of movement in the shadows beneath the hill, and went to investigate.

  A rocky spring surrounded by boulders and a thicket of bushes lay at the bottom of the valley. Alex jogged down the path to find an attractive man with pale skin, bone-white hair, and startling gray eyes throwing stones into the pool of water.

  He hadn't seen Alex coming, and he startled to panic, nearly falling over his feet as he rushed away from the pond to disappear around the dense grove. She hurried after him, but when she reached the spot he'd been standing she couldn't find a trace of him.

  Alex circled the spring, but he was nowhere to be found. After being repelled by the thick foliage, she returned to the camp.

  Nayiri was waiting for her in the hut, lying half-naked in the furs, leaning on her elbow.

  "Where have you been all day?" asked Alex, cringing at the accusation in her own voice.

  "Practicing my daggers," said Nayiri.

  Alex sat on the edge of the furs and put her hand on Nayiri's calf. She looked flushed, her skin blotchy red.

  "Is something wrong?" asked Nayiri.

  "I found someone lurking near the camp. A spy, perhaps, but I couldn't find them again," said Alex.

  Nayiri stared back blankly.

  When Alex hopped up to grab the daggers she'd made, Nayiri jumped slightly. "I almost forgot, I brought you a gift from the Warped Forest."

  She presented the twin daggers to Nayiri, who'd sat up. The silver and gold handles suggested the multi-headed beast that it'd come from: lions, goats, and serpents. Alex ran her thumb over the lion's head that graced the pommel before handing it over. The matching blade had a snake head.

  "They're beautiful," Nayiri said breathlessly.

  Item: Twin Daggers of the Chimera

  Dmg: 40-55 ׀ 115/115 Durability

  +4 Agility and +4 Cunning

  Special Effect: Unfortunate Morphing (Small chance to transform enemies when striking with both daggers)

  Results not guaranteed

  Alex pushed the hair away from Nayiri's eyes and ran her fingers along her cheek.

  "I hoped you'd like them. I knew they were for you as soon as I made them," said Alex.

  A strange confliction rested in Nayiri's eyes, which almost drew Alex to ask a question, but she didn't want to ruin the moment. The day had been long enough, and she only wanted to curl up with Nayiri to sleep.

  But Nayiri had other ideas, gently setting the daggers on the ground before pulling Alex into the furs with a hungry kiss that sent shivers out the back of her knees.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The longhouse was packed with battleleaders, who stayed in small knots chatting quietly. The tension in the room remained as a low-level buzz in the back of her hearing. Everyone was sizing up their fellow battleleaders, though few gazes rested upon her, which she hoped was overconfidence, or at least an underestimation of her.

  Not all the clans of the Western Plains had arrived, but every battleleader had hurried ahead with a small contingent for the Gathering. Before addressing them, she spent the time to analyze each one, checking for clan level.

  A heavyset woman named Judith the Crusher with powerful thighs and fists that looked like they were made for breaking stone led the Falling Phoenix clan, which was at level 8, the highest amongst them. She had a touch of gray in her hair and wrinkles around her eyes. Alex had a sense that despite her powerful build, it wasn't her skill in the battle circle that she would have to watch out for.

  The Silent Lion clan was the next closest, at level 7. They were led by Bluehand Diredane, a lanky fellow with a face-swallowing beard.

  Alex saw familiar faces in the crowd. Rinvet Oldhome and Bythelia the Breaker, who led the Angry Owls and Rivertwins respectively.

  She was about to call the meeting to order when the door burst wide open. All heads rotated towards the massive figure that blotted out the light.

  Tormane the Tower strolled into the longhouse. Alex couldn't help but gasp when she analyzed him, finding him at the head of Mystical Hawks, a level 6 clan. The former Bravebear marched straight over to Bythelia, clasping hands with her before smirking in Alex's direction.

  "I should have guessed that piece of dung would eventually turn up," said Alex to Sophia, who was standing by her side. "Any ideas how he got his own clan so quickly?"

  Sophia's hunched forehead told the tale. "I...I don't know."

  "Friends in high places, I guess," said Alex, thinking about the implications. This was going to be harder than she thought.

  Before she climbed onto her throne, she whispered to Sophia, "Showtime."

  Standing above them drew the gazes of every person in the longhouse, but unlike the moments when she had her own clan's attention, the assembled stared back flatly, clearly trying to take the measure of her. She hoped to disappoint their expectations.

  "Greetings, fellow Battleleaders," said Alex. "Thank you for making the arduous journey. It is with great joy that we gather to battle in the circle for who will be the greatest among us and represent the Western Plains in the Arena of the Gods."

  In the silence afterwards, Alex almost expected someone to yell, "Get on with it, newb!"

  Alex held her sigh behind clenched teeth. "Since it seems you all wish to get back to your clans to prepare them for the coming battles, we should get straight to the point. I hereby challenge the clans before me in a Grand Tournament."

  Quest Offered: Win the Grand Tournament of the Western Plains (500,000 XP / 50,000 CP) [Y/N]

  The size of the reward made her smile. She'd been worried that she would have to store up CPs rather than spend them on her clan to qualify for the Champions Competition, but the reward for winning the tournament was equal to the qualifying amount.

  The experience boost was a bonus as well, considering that she was only level 22 and many of her competitors were of a much higher level. She could only imagine that would be worse in the Arena of the Gods.

  After she swiped yes on the quest, Bythelia the Breaker stepped forward, raising her hand to get everyone's attention. A stone formed in Alex's gut, and though she didn't know why, she assumed she would find out soon enough.

  "I propose that this year's tournament is winner take all. Any clan may challenge another, but you can only win as many gladiators as you have in your clan," said Bythelia.

  As Alex reeled with the implications, Sophia whispered upward, "This is bad, the higher-level clans can challenge you right away. We won't have time to be ready before then."

  There were other problems with this situation. Clearly the other clans had planned it out ahead of time, because everyone responded with an "Aye" immediately.

  Alex crouched down. "How do you challenge another clan?"

  Quest Updated: Win the Grand Tournament of the Western Plains (500,000 XP / 50
,000 CP)

  Quest Chain I: Challenge another clan to battle and win the match (10,000 XP / 1,000 CP)

  As she waited for Sophia's answer, she spied Judith the Crusher of the Falling Phoenix clan striding towards her, a terrible grin hidden behind a calm façade.

  "You only have to say the words, I challenge you," said Sophia as if it were common knowledge.

  With no regard for grace, Alex leapt off the throne, racing towards the nearest clan leader. The dwarven-looking battleleader with a rusty beard looked up from his conversation, surprise rounding his eyes.

  "I...uhm," sputtered Graven the Gray, leader of the Harmonious Rats.

  "I challenge you," Alex said to Graven the Gray as Judith stopped right next to her, words poised on her lips.

  Graven's gaze flitted to Judith, a wordless apology contained within a flinch before his reply.

  "As custom demands, I accept your challenge," said Graven, who had an appropriately gravelly voice.

  He met her handshake reluctantly, closing his eyes momentarily as Judith growled and stormed away.

  "You should give up now," said Graven. "Save yourself a lot of heartache. There's no way you can win this tournament. It's stacked against you."

  She wanted to spit out a pithy reply like "don't tell me the odds" or "I never back down from a challenge," but the weight of the situation kept her lips closed. If this were only a game, one in which she could fail without consequence, her reply would have seared off Graven's beard. But for the first time in a long time, the reality of her situation set in. If she failed to win the Grand Tournament, she wouldn't reach level 40, and she'd get kicked out of the Hundred Halls and lose her health insurance, which would mean no more treatments for the cancer that would eventually take her life.

  When she didn't reply, Graven grunted and along with the other battleleaders, left the longhouse. Sophia came up to Alex and touched her on the arm.

  "Are you okay?" she asked.

  The concern in Sophia's eyes reminded Alex of herself, when her mother had had a long day at the diner and looked soul thin, and she would ask the same question.

  Alex had never felt pity for herself—she'd been graced with an intellect that could slice through diamond—but the circumstances around her upbringing had never lacked difficulties. For once, she would have liked a challenge that didn't require her to do pirouettes across a razor wire above a pit of sharks. It would have been nice to have things handed to her on a silver platter, take a vacation from her own life.

  Echoing her own mother's words in those situations, Alex said with a wistful smile, "I'll be fine...just having a moment of weakness."

  Sophia squeezed her arm in an empathetic way that Alex thought no NPC could.

  "It's okay if you fail," said Sophia. "The Champions Tournament isn't everything."

  Alex watched her fellow battleleaders file from the longhouse, the occasional glance in her direction containing no fraternity, only animosity.

  "I wish that was true."

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The clan battle against Harmonious Rats took place the next day, a fact that Alex had relished because she'd thrown herself into planning, which had allowed her to forget about the moment of weakness she'd had in the longhouse. Part of her wondered if she could keep up the pace for long, but she decided it didn't matter. She'd keep going, keep pushing for as long as she could, until she couldn't. That's all she could do, no more.

  For the Grand Tournament, a new battle circle had been constructed at the crown of a nearby hill. The fighting area had been expanded and ringed with a low stone wall, three feet high. Surrounding the makeshift arena were bleachers that were only partially built by the time it was time for their match, which was the first of the tournament.

  The sun was warm and the gnats were out, forcing Alex to keep slapping the back of her neck. She gathered her clan in the field behind the battle circle.

  "Does everyone remember their instructions? We only get three fights, so we want to make sure they count," said Alex.

  "I do," said Blaze, "but I still don't understand why we're all not using our new magical weapons and armor."

  "This tournament is going to be long and arduous, and we're going to have to beat clans that are more powerful than us. We can't use up all our secrets on the first pass," she said.

  Nayiri slipped one of her daggers from its sheath and twirled it across her palm before holding it still. "Then why are you letting me use these?"

  "There's really no secret to them. They deal damage, maybe do some other crazy effects," said Alex.

  Nayiri lifted one shoulder in a shrug, but Alex saw through the faux lack of care. That morning she'd found Nayiri sitting outside the hut with both daggers lying in the dirt, staring at them as if they might bite her.

  Her girlfriend was clearly hiding something, and Alex had no time to figure it out with the Grand Tournament on the cusp.

  "Let's battle," said Alex, nodding to everyone as they strode to the circle.

  After the ceremonial beginning, Alex sent herself, Blaze, and three shield warriors in for the first match. They were opposed by a gnarly group of mixed fighters that looked like they'd crawled out of a cutthroat pirate's den.

  The Harmonious Rats positioned themselves at the halfway point in the circle, looking ready to rush across to engage them as soon as the match started. They were a mix of levels between 24 and 26, which would be problematic for their low damage.

  Alex positioned her three shield warriors a short distance away from the line with Blaze standing behind them. She stood behind the fire mage with her whip in hand.

  The way the Rats motioned towards the shield warriors and spoke in low voices about Blaze suggested they knew what to expect from him. Clearly they'd heard about how she'd been using Blaze in the battle circle.

  When the match began, the Rats rushed forward, expecting a skirmish with the shield warriors, but not positioning themselves in a way they could be trapped by the shield warriors and turned into gladiator-kabobs. They probably thought that they could overwhelm them in short order and then move to cut down the mage.

  Her shield warriors were down to half hit points within the first ten seconds of battle. Alex let them completely engage before signaling to Blaze.

  Standing a good ten feet back from the skirmish line, Blaze ignited his conflagration ability, turning into a living bonfire. The Rats, flinching momentarily, followed that up with laughing smiles, suggesting they thought the mage had misfired.

  Alex put more than their expectations to the flame when she cast Wind Gust, turning the stationary bonfire into a raging wildfire that rolled across the dusty circle torching friend and foe alike. By the time it was finished, her shield warriors were down and the Rats were at 10 to 25% health.

  Blaze, clad in nothing but chainmail underwear, and Alex, using her ranged spells, quickly defeated the remaining Rats in short order.

  Clan Bravebear has won the match!

  Quest Progress: Win the clan battle with Harmonious Rats – 1 win

  You have gained conquest points: 38 CP

  You have gained a skill point: +1 Wind Gust

  When the battle was over, she caught the searing look from Judith towards Graven. He looked ready to scuttle into a hole.

  Alex had a good idea who was going into the next battle, so she placed the appropriate stones into the bag. Sophia had been disappointed that she wasn't going to get to fight against the Rats, but Alex had other more important duties for her.

  The next battle pitted Nayiri, Mancalf, two ranged, and a healer against Graven the Gray, three warriors with shields and long spears, and a healer. Graven carried a huge warhammer that looked like it could break concrete.

  The three opposing shield and spear warriors positioned themselves to attack Mancalf while protecting the healer from the ranged. Mancalf stood exactly fifteen feet back from the center line, while Nayiri and the two ranged stayed near the back of the circle.

  When
the match began, the Rats advanced, stepping forward with their shields high and spears ready to thrust, but they stumbled as they hit Mancalf's double gravity field. Graven himself had skirted wide around Mancalf to attack the ranged, which meant he'd unintentionally avoided the difficult terrain.

  As the shield Rats tried to reckon with this new pull on their limbs, Nayiri and the ranged sent their arrows and daggers at a weird angle that normally would have meant a clear miss. But they'd been practicing in the longhouse with Mancalf, learning how to use his gravity like a lens to fire their missiles around targets.

  The healer, readying a spell to protect the shield Rats, took a face full of hits. Before he could think to move out of the way, another volley came streaking towards him. The vulnerability of their healer broke their line, as one of them tried to rush back to help, but it was too late, the healer was down before he could get his shield in the way to help.

  As the Rats' side broke down, Graven rushed the ranged, but Nayiri met him halfway, dancing around his brutal, overhand blows that fortunately rained upon the dirt rather than the nimble Bravebear.

  Alex's gaze flitted between Mancalf's battle with the shield Rats and Nayiri's duel against Graven. There was so much to watch on the battlefield, she almost missed the moment when Nayiri, having been hit by a glancing blow from the warhammer, shimmered like a mirage.

  One moment, her hair was jet black, the next it was bone white. Alex blinked and Nayiri was back to her normal look, which made Alex wonder if she'd really seen it.

  A quick glance into the crowd showed that a few others had witnessed the change, but their deep frowns suggested they didn't understand what it meant.

  Alex, on the other hand, had a partial idea of what was going on, which meant she needed to have a talk with Nayiri after the match.