Gladiators of Warsong

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  The other Bravebears climbed into the arena and crowded around Sophia, who looked like she didn't know how to take the attention.

  "Thank you, Battleleader, for your instruction," said Sophia as everyone patted her back. "Without it, I never would have had the confidence to try anything in the middle of the battle."

  "Creativity is a skill," said Alex. "You have to practice it like anything else. And thanks to you, we only have one more fight to beat Fallen Phoenix."

  Sophia nodded over her shoulder. "I do not think there is any doubt who your next opponent will be."

  Alex turned to find Tormane the Tower glowering from the stands as they emptied of Phoenixes. His dead eyes gave her the shivers, but she turned away, not wanting to think about a rematch just yet.

  "Shall we celebrate?" asked Blaze.

  "Not yet," said Alex. "One more fight to go. One more."

  In her gut, Alex knew the last would be the hardest.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The days after the second fight with the Fallen Phoenix clan passed like a speeding train. Alex barely remembered sleeping. Whenever she tried to close her eyes, the battle circle bloomed in her head with Tormane the Tower chopping her down with an enormous runed battle-axe.

  Nayiri had gotten word that the Fallen Phoenix clan had saved their best for last, including a collection of artifacts that they only used for special occasions. While each sounded problematic, none of them worried her like the piece called The Impossible Armor. From what Nayiri could gather, the thick metal was nearly impervious to weapons or spells, and directed by the mind of the wearer, could shift to reinforce different sections, making them effectively invincible.

  Along with the weapons, the Fallen Phoenix clan had a bank of CPs saved that they'd cashed in to max Tormane and the other warriors that would join him in the battle circle.

  The only good thing about the match was that she knew exactly who she would be facing, but the knowledge didn't seem to help as they struggled to form a coherent plan, only settling on a mixed team of herself, Nayiri, a ranged, a mage, and a healer at the last second.

  While they worked on tactics in the longhouse, Alex felt like they were only starting to gel as a team when the day of the final match arrived.

  Alex was standing at the arena visualizing herself fighting Tormane when Sophia came up from behind. The stands were only starting to fill up, but the calls of vendors hawking their wares in the surrounding hillside carried over the seats. She could smell the grilled meats and spices that made up the battle-day fare.

  "How are you feeling, Battleleader?" asked Sophia.

  "Unprepared," said Alex, rubbing a blister in the palm of her hand with her thumb. She'd been trying new techniques with the whip, but none of them had panned out. The only thing she'd gotten from her trials was torn skin.

  "You've faced worse odds and won," said Sophia as she cupped her hand over her eyes to block the glaring sun.

  "But I usually have a solid plan that I think will leverage my abilities to victory," said Alex, shaking her head as she looked down at her sandaled feet. "But not this time."

  "Where's Nayiri?" asked Sophia. "I have yet to see her this morning."

  Alex nodded towards the other camp. "She went into the Phoenix area last night, hoping to score more information that might help us in the battle circle. I assume she must be finding something useful, or we would have seen her by now."

  "The match starts soon," said Sophia, glancing at the position of the sun. "She'd better hurry, or you're going to have to fight a person down. The stones are already in the bag."

  "I am aware," said Alex with a sigh. "She'll be here. She'd better."

  Alex squinted towards the Phoenix camp, her mouth set to a grim line as she watched the stands fill up with spectators. There was no sign of Nayiri.

  When the match was nearing the start, Alex and her team were standing in the circle, stretching and taking tentative swings with their weapons. Everyone looked pale with worry without their fifth member.

  Soon after the stones were called, Alex got to confirm that there were no surprises in Tormane's team. The Fallen Phoenixes looked like a group of ogres had been squeezed into armor and set loose in the battle circle. Alex felt like a pee-wee football team squaring up against professionals.

  Tormane strutted onto the dirt, his cobalt armor shifting idly around his limbs, adjusting as he moved, which made him appear as a high-tech android. He carried not the battle-axe of her nightmares, but a grotesquely large hammer that looked like it could smash a small car flat in one blow.

  The others were equally menacing: an enormous woman with a rhino horn sticking out of her helmet, a slender fellow with light green skin and a serpent's tongue slithering from his lips casually carrying a longsword and twin daggers on his hips, a figure in heavy black plate with the mask of a wolf, and a woman in chain wielding two heavy axes with flames dripping from the razor edges.

  Tormane the Tower, Fallen Phoenix: Battleleader, Level 33

  Her heart sunk as she saw his level. The others were 30+, which gave them a significant advantage over her team, which was mostly in the upper 20s. Only Nayiri exceeded it at level 31, but that meant nothing since she wasn't in the circle.

  Alex looked around the arena, hoping to see the nimble rogue arrive in time for the fight. Her heart jumped when a figure dropped into the arena, but it was Blaze who ran over to her and whispered into her ear.

  The news staggered Alex, who had to put her hand on Blaze's shoulder for stability. After a moment of thought, she nodded to Blaze, who ran to the edge and climbed out of the circle, back to the rest of the Bravebears.

  Her clan, which only took up a quarter of the arena stands, set to chattering, their faces heavy with the expectation of the news.

  Alex turned to Tormane, who had approached the center area with a smirk so large plastered on his lips that he looked like he was ready to bust out with an epic belly laugh at any moment.

  Alex raised her fist, pointing a finger into the opposing battleleader's face.

  "You barking cheat. You've kidnapped the fifth member of my team! Are you that afraid of us that you have to stoop to cheating?" she asked, her voice cracking with anger.

  Tormane lifted one hand in the air, half-shrug, half-incredulousness.

  "I'm sorry if you lost your fifth member, but that's not my fault," he said. "Maybe if you kept better care of them, they wouldn't desert you in your time of need."

  Alex spun around, looking back to Sophia and the rest of the clan leadership. Sophia held her hands to her mouth, which told her everything she needed to know about what she was thinking.

  "I demand a delay to the match until my fifth member shows up," said Alex.

  Tormane peeled back his lips in a gruesome smile. "We start when we agreed to start. No earlier, and no later. The time is now. We fight or you forfeit. While I prefer the former, I'll take the latter if you're afraid of my hammer."

  Alex cracked her whip at his feet, forcing him to flinch.

  "I'll never be afraid of you," she said. "When the clan bleeds."

  "It bleeds as one."

  Alex stalked back to her teammates, who looked like they were going to throw up. She looked them directly in the eyes as her jaw pulsed with anger.

  "It doesn't matter that there's only four of us. If we stick to the plan, we can still win."

  They gave her nods of agreement, but their eyes were full of fear.

  "Begin!"

  The first moments of the match began with a full charge from the Phoenixes, led by Tormane the Tower. The ground shook from the impact.

  Her team wasn't made for head-to-head battle, so Alex yelled out, "Evade one!"

  Her healer was first to react, sending out a flash of golden light that blinded them. This was followed by her mage spreading his fingers and spraying an oily black mist into the dirt. By the time the charging warriors hit the greasy slick, their metal boots lost traction, arms pinwheeling as the
y tried to stay up.

  Before they could climb to their feet, Alex lit the greasy pool with a sputtering flame spell that only produced sparks, but it was enough. The five scrambling gladiators went up like a bonfire, their screams filling the air. While they rolled out of the fire, putting themselves out, Alex led her team to the opposite side of the circle.

  After they recovered, the wolf-headed gladiator raised their hands, filling their team with golden light that erased the damage from the greasy fire. This renewal wasn't unexpected, but their trick would put a pause in their step the next time they tried to charge.

  "Remember," said Alex, before the other team reached them, "we're more mobile than they are in their heavy plate. Hit quickly, hit hard, but pivot away and regen our faez. We need to wear them down."

  This time the Phoenixes spread out, forming an arc as they collapsed around the Bravebear position. Tormane was in the center, directing the others as he hefted his massive hammer in one fist.

  "Break three," said Alex, motioning towards the woman with twin flame axes on the right.

  The Phoenixes shifted in response, bunching up slightly. Alex had to hide her amusement as her ranged gladiator fired a glowing red arrow at Rhinohelm, which stunned her in place. The misdirection caught the Phoenixes off guard. Her team ran past the woman, slicing her with their weapons as they went past, escaping the net that Tormane had wanted to ensnare them in. The reversal infuriated Tormane, who stomped his boot into the ground so hard it formed an indentation.

  When they approached the third time, Tormane directed Wolf-Mask with a hand gesture. They raised their fist, slamming it down midair, forming a concussive wave that hit the Bravebears like a herd of stampeding bison.

  Alex was thrown off her feet, landing hard on her back. The four of them had taken around 10% of their health. Before they could recover, the Phoenixes charged. Alex managed to mez the woman with flame axes with Whip Tricks, but the others converged on her mage. In a matter of seconds, he went down, leaving them short two members.

  The green-skinned warrior tried to close the distance and attack Alex with a longsword, but she redirected the blow into Rhinohelm. The two of them kept Alex pinned down and unable to remez Flame Axes, but she managed to do nearly three-quarters of Rhinohelm's health worth of damage through Misdirection.

  On the other side of the circle, Tormane was chasing the Bravebear healer around, while her ranged tried to fire arrows at him, but his armor kept adjusting to block it.

  "On me!" Alex yelled at the ranged gladiator as she hit Rhinohelm with a Cloud Taunt for the continuing damage.

  As Wolf-Mask lifted their arms to heal, Alex hit them with a Whip Tricks, which allowed the woman with flaming axes to come out of hers. This lapse in healing allowed them to burn down Rhinohelm, defeating her in short order.

  The two sides regrouped on opposite ends of the circle. They were both down a member.

  "We're doing good, team. Keep it up," she told them.

  You have gained a unique skill point: +1 Leadership

  When the Phoenixes approached, Alex mezzed Wolf-Mask with Whip Tricks again, while her ranged fired at the woman with flaming axes. This lasted until Tormane stepped in front, his armor shifting wide to block the missiles.

  Alex made a strafing run past Tormane, forcing him to follow her while the green-skinned warrior went after her healer. She tried casting Cloud Taunt on Tormane, but his armor blocked the spell. It didn't matter since his animosity towards her acted as the same.

  She thought she would have been able to stay ahead of him due to her lighter armor, but Tormane kept on her heels, slamming his massive hammer inches behind her. Alex had to use Fighting Spirit to buff her strength and speed to stay ahead of him, but almost as soon as she did, he found another gear, clipping her with his weapon for 20% of her health.

  In a fit of desperation, Alex used her Overcharge ability on Fighting Spirit, finding that she could focus the spell on a single aspect of the buff. Alex pumped faez into her speed, which allowed her to avoid the former battleleader.

  While she dodged him, her healer and ranged were no match for the two against them. The green-skinned warrior kept them hemmed in, while the woman with the flame axes was taking large chunks of their health. If Alex couldn't figure out a way to take one down, then they were going to lose.

  Alex managed to mez the healer again as she stayed ahead of Tormane, who was red-faced with rage as he chased her around the battle circle. Her faez was rapidly running out. It was down below 30%.

  Right as her ranged gladiator fired a critical hit, the woman with double flaming axes slammed her weapons into his chest, defeating him before another heal could save him.

  Seeing that the axe-wielding warrior was pure melee with no faez pool, Alex misdirected the Fighting Spirit buff from herself onto her. Without faez to maintain the spell, the buff ended, resulting in a 55% swing in health, defeating the gladiator.

  But losing the buff meant that Tormane could catch her. His massive hammer caught her cleanly in the shoulder, spinning her into the wall. It felt like her arm had been run over by a semi. She struggled to get up as Tormane glowered over her.

  On her knees, Alex snapped her whip out, trying to catch him around the neck, but his armor reached out with a metallic pseudopod and knocked it away. She attacked a few more times, but his armor shifted and reformed, alive in its defense of the former Bravebear.

  When a heal returned her health to half, Tormane laughed in her face.

  "It doesn't matter. Heal her all you want. You can't touch me in my armor, and I can kill you whenever I want," said Tormane, gloating above her.

  Alex lashed out at him with everything she had, firing Cloud Taunts and Wind Gusts in succession, but the armor blocked every attack as if it were made of the souls of a thousand Grand Masters.

  To her left, the green-skinned warrior and Wolf-Mask had pinned her healer against the wall. Her health was rapidly trending to zero. Only her constant self-heals were keeping her up.

  Alex rage screamed at Tormane, snapping her whip at his face, trying to get through his cobalt blue armor. With no enemies behind him, every section of the exquisite plate shifted forward, forming an impenetrable wall. His backside was completely naked but it didn't matter since she couldn't get past the armor.

  Even as her fatigue rose towards maximum, she kept at her attacks, blindly swinging as his laughter fell down around her like ashes.

  When at last he'd tired of her feeble attacks, Tormane the Tower lifted his hammer into the air, raising it above his head in preparation to smash her into pulp.

  Alex abandoned her whip and slammed her fists against the wall of steel.

  There was nothing she could do to get through his armor.

  Nothing.

  She'd exhausted every bit of faez and fatigue attacking him and the Impossible Armor had repelled everything without fail.

  It was the perfect defense, a magical artifact without peer.

  Tormane's hammer rested at the apex, a breath before it would smash into her.

  There was no way she would be able to avoid the blow...exactly as she'd planned it.

  Alex almost gave it away when she glanced to her left, right as Wolf-Mask smashed into her healer's chest with their spiked mace, defeating them.

  As Tormane grunted, flexing his body to bring the hammer down with such force it would explode her into nothingness, he froze.

  It wasn't a spell that caused his immobility.

  After all, no magic could penetrate his armor as long as he was aware of the threat.

  Nor had he changed his mind.

  Tormane's hatred of Alexandria Duke had led him to make dangerous promises to Judith the Crusher in exchange for the chance to kill her.

  It was utter and complete shock.

  Alex smiled back at him as he collapsed to his knees, twin daggers in his back up to the hilt.

  Nayiri Shadowmarch has Assassinated Tormane the Tower!

  Torma
ne the Tower has been affected by Unfortunate Morphing!

  The green-skinned warrior behind him changed back into the pale Bravebear, throwing Alex a mischievous wink as she slipped the Twin Daggers of the Chimera back into their sheaths with a flourish.

  As the Unfortunate Morphing took hold of the battleleader, he went through contortions. His arms bent at angles that should have snapped them, and his jaw shifted back towards his neck while his forehead elongated.

  The battle paused while they watched the Fallen Phoenix battleleader transform.

  At first, Alex didn't know what he was changing into, especially when his cobalt armor sloughed off his body and clattered to the ground, until she saw the tusks forming in his mouth and the large horn on his forehead.

  When the transformation was complete, a Rhinoboar stood in the battle circle. Alex thought she was going to have to defeat it too, but the warped animal charged towards the wall and leapt into the stands, forcing the clans to scatter. But the creature made no attempt to attack anyone and raced towards the exit in a mad dash to escape.

  In the stunned quiet of the battle circle, Alex and Nayiri advanced on an outnumbered Wolf-Mask. The final Fallen Phoenix made a brief and unsuccessful effort at defense, but was ultimately defeated.

  You have defeated the Fallen Phoenix clan's final team!

  You have defeated the Fallen Phoenix clan!

  You have gained the Fallen Phoenix clan!

  Quest Progress: Beat Fallen Phoenix in three battles to win the clan tournament – 3 wins

  Quest Complete: You have won the Grand Tournament of the Western Plains

  You have gained experience: 573,000 XP

  You have gained conquest points: 57,020 CP

  You have gained a unique skill point: +1 Cunning Strategist

  You have learned a new spell: Tactical Phantasm

  You have gained a skill point: +1 Whip Tricks

  You have gained a skill point: +1 Cloud Taunt

  You have gained a skill point: +1 Misdirection

  +3,000 Renown for Bravebear Clan