by Wolfe Locke
The scorpion gulped, and Sharkhurz’s leg disappeared down its throat. It reached out to pull off another limb—and, for Tetraites, time slowed down. His anger and disgust fueled a massive surge of power building within him. He gathered it all to him, tried to direct it best he could, and unleashed it at the creature.
His control was poor, but it did the job. An overwhelming volley of ice appeared overhead and dropped onto the Arena. Shards slammed into the scorpion, piercing its armor in several places. It screamed and dropped Sharkhurz to the ground, trying to fend off Tetraites’ attack.
“Can you fix her?” he said to the centaur, arms shaking with the effort of controlling his magic. He was losing his grip on it—ice shards were starting to spin off in all directions. Deathbringer looked back at him blankly, panicking.
“Can you reconstruct the leg?” Tetraites hissed thinking of how his own arm had been reattached.
Deathbringer shook his head. “I-I’m not sure. I can try.”
“Do it. She’s bleeding out. She’s going to die!” Tetraites commanded.
The scorpion had dropped to the ground, dying. Black ichor drained from its wounds and blended in with the sand. Colubra moved in with her spear to finish it off. Sharkhurz lay prone on the ground, screaming.
Tetraites fought to get his magic back under control. Waves of black ice still pummelled the now-dead scorpion, and he could feel his power draining with every blow. Worse, the centaur couldn’t get a clear shot at Sharkhurz with all the ice shards flying around.
“Tetraites!” Colubra screamed. “Rein it in! Focus and finish this.!”
He gritted his teeth and dragged his power back toward him. Slowly, the barrage of ice subsided. Black sparks still crackled up and down his arms, but the worst of it was over.
Deathbringer moved immediately. A tendril of green fire swooped toward Sharkhurz and staunched her bleeding. Then he set about trying to reconstruct her limb. It was delicate work and the effort of maintaining his concentration showed on his face. The manticore had gone quiet. Tetraites wasn’t sure if that was a good sign.
“Skeleton!” Colubra shouted again. “Pay attention!”
While he’d been focused on Deathbringer’s healing process, he’d missed a major development. When he had lost control of his magic, he’d dropped the ice walls that held the last two scorpions back. Now they scuttled toward him, infuriated by the deaths of their comrades.
Gods be damned. The centaur was nowhere near done. If he wasn’t able to finish building Sharkhurz a new leg, she’d die.
Tetraites sprinted off across the Arena, trying to get as far away from the others as he could. Colubra hissed, scandalized. Tetraites rolled his eyes. She thought he was running away.
“Help me get them over here!” he shouted over his shoulder. He prayed he had enough power left to do what he needed to do.
The gorgon sent a volley of rocks at the scorpions, turning them away from Deathbringer and Sharkhurz. They fixed on the next visible target: Tetraites. Chittering to each other, they moved toward him, mandibles clicking.
Tetraites slowed down so they could get closer to him. Their deadly tails twitched eagerly as they circled him before moving in for the kill.
Red eyes blazing, Tetraites looked directly at Zekant’s viewing box. He raised his sword in a salute as the Dark Lord watched. Then he let his magic go.
This time he didn’t even try to maintain control. Fully unleashed, it spiralled into a massive ice funnel taller than the Arena itself. He cackled with sheer joy as he felt his power whipping around him faster and faster. He hadn’t realized he was this strong.
The scorpions, panicked, tried to flee, but they were caught up in the vortex. They flew high into the air, spinning wildly, legs grasping to stabilize themselves but finding nothing.
Tetraites laughed again, then poured more energy into the funnel. It grew taller, faster, and more deadly. The creatures screamed as they started to freeze solid in the air.
“You want a battle? You want a fight? You want to be amused?” Tetraites shouted, not sure who he was talking to. Zekant? The scorpions? “Here’s one!”
The funnel of power grew larger. Was there no limit to what he could do? He gave it everything he had, and the bodies of the scorpions shattered into shards of black ice. Tetraites could feel himself weakening, but he didn’t care anymore. If he had to die in the Arena, this was not a bad way to go. In that moment, he didn’t even fear the pit.
“Tetraites!” he heard someone screaming from far away. “They’re dead! It’s over! You can stop now!”
But it was too late. He couldn’t stop the whirlwind. He laughed one last time, eyes wild, as darkness closed in around him. The last thing he saw was the Dark Lord in his viewing box. Smiling in approval, Zekant gestured to one of his servants. After that there was nothing.
Tetraites was no longer conscious when Zekant stood up and materialized in a flash on the sand of the arena, standing over the fallen manticore and reached down to touch it’s face. “Shame. So much potential, but a failure nonetheless. It’s the abyss for you.”
Chapter 11: Aftermath
When Tetraites woke up, he was back in his cell. He still felt weak and woozy from his magical exertion in the Arena, but he was alive, at least as alive as an undead monster could be.
Crixa was at the door almost as soon as Tetraites opened his eyes. The monster was holding two massive bags of Sols and had the closest thing on its face to a smile as Tetraites thought possible.
“You’ve been unconscious for three days, we had though you would be cast back into the Well of Souls.” Crixa said. “But the Dark Lord was impressed with your show of power and believes you to have potential. He issued you a bonus on top of the reward for defeating the Scorpions. He commands you to spend your Sols and upgrade yourself. Spend it all. That is his command.”
“Spend--? What do you mean spend?” Tetraites said, still adjusting to having awoken. “Oh. At the Armory.” I didn’t know it was possible for a skeleton to lose consciousness, just how close to dying did I get?
Crixa looked at him oddly, almost reverently before continuing. “The master wants to ensure the next battle is equally spectacular. He intends for the other Lords of Pandemonium to see what you’ve accomplished. Can you stand?”
Tetraites wasn’t sure, but had no intention of telling that to Crixa. His keepers had already shown uncommon leniency, Tetraites would not test that. He lied. “Of course I can.”
“Good.” Crixa nodded and rubbed its appendages together. We’ll go to the Armory to see the minotaur first then. You’ll return to training tomorrow. You might not survive as you are if you went today, the others have already been to the Armory.”
As soon as they left the cell, information updated in Tetraites’ mind, showing how much stronger he was.
Spectral Arena
Name – Tetraites the Conqueror
Specialty – Frost Magic
Race - Skeleton
Current Unlocked Abilities
Frost Nova (On Touch) – Unleashes an explosion of ice.
Frost Nova (Targeted) – Unleashes an explosion of ice at the impact site that causes area of effect damage around it.
Ice Wall (Targeted) – Creates at target location a wall of ice that is resistant to damage. Ice wall cannot be passed through, it must be destroyed .
Shard Storm – Summons blades of ice to rain down in a area of effect. These shards are twice as sharp as the users weapon. Shard Storm continues casting until interrupted or the caster depletes their magic source. Caster will rendered incapacitated until their magic has completely recovered.
Current Passive Abilities
Vampiric Aspect II – Bloodlust – Cannot retreat when an opponent has been bloodied. Receives a boost to strength and durability.
Sustenance - Receive a minor healing buff when consuming blood.
Flesh Crafting - A lesser-known school of Necromancy, Flesh Crafting allows for the creation of f
lesh golems and other constructs.
Strength
13
Magic
9
Stamina
33
Speed
14
To Tetraites’ relief, he could walk, albeit slowly. Crixa didn’t try to rush him this time, just kept pace as he limped toward the Armory, the damage to his skeletal form more significant then Tetraites let on..
“I’ll have the centaur recharge your power later today,” Crixa said. “It will be good training for him and quite the unexpected use.”
“Did he manage to rebuild Sharkhurz’ leg?”
“No, Sharkhurz is no more.” Crixa said proudly. “The Dark Lord was pleased with the manticore’s performance, though he was pleased with yours. Overall, your cohort has done well.”
Tetraites was disturbed by the news, but not surprised. A similar fate had awaited him if he had displeased the Dark Lord “Why did you remove the revenant from the battle, he would have easily been able to handle some of those scorpions.?”
Crixa looked at him darkly. “Not your concern. Has it been so long since you were alive that you’ve forgotten what it means to leave well enough alone?”
Tetraites was too tired to be annoyed by that. Let it be a secret if Crixa wants. This isn’t worth drawing the monster’s or my master’s ire over He was sure he’d learn more soon enough.
The walked the reminder of the way in silence as Tetraites noticed the spider minions moving about, almost fearfully as they went to and from holes in the walls as they did their tasks. More than once, Tetraites thought the fear of the spider minions was a good reflection of what any good leader should expect.
Tetraites approached the Amory window and the minotaur grunted familiarly as they approached. “Didn’t think I’d see you again. Seems you’ve finally been able to have afford my wares and services.”
“Well,” Tetraites said. “You’re not wrong. But it’s a mistake to underestimate me. I’ve come with a great deal of money to spend, and I plan on spending it.”
He dropped both new bags of Sols on the table, plus the one he’d gotten from the battle with the goatmen. The minotaur snorted, unimpressed. “So much already, slave. What’ll it be? I’ll show you what we’ve got to make the choosing easier.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Tetraites responded. “Show me what you’ve got.”
Chapter 12: The Item Shop
Tetraites retrieved his sword, spear, shield and armor from within his spacial ring and dumped them on the minotaur’s counter. “I need better weapons,” he said. “And better armor.”
“Let’s go with the sword first,” the minotaur said. “How’s a scimitar sound to you?”
He gestured at the wall of swords. A golden scimitar gleamed on the rack. Tetraites shivered, remembering the bite of Pyke Wildwood’s blade as it cut into his neck, the feeling of his blood spilling out onto the ground.
“No,” he said. “I’d prefer a broadsword.”
“You’ll need both hands for that unless you’ve already managed to get strong enough, but suit yourself.” The minotaur took Tetraites’ Basic Sword away and came back with a larger one. “Basic Broadsword.”
It was still simple and unadorned but was much more impressive than the one he’d had behind. Its blade was cruel and held weight behind it..
“Let’s do the Spear next,” the minotaur said.
Tetraites looked at the wall before responding. “Give me a Double-Edged Glaive if you’ve got one. Sharp on both sides. Dangerous and deadly.”
“We’ve got everything, I’ll find it,” the minotaur said, looking offended that Tetraites had implied the Armorer was missing a weapon in his shop. The minotaur slapped away some buzzing gnats and flies from around its face and walked over to the wall and retrieved a glaive as described and placed it on the counter. “Now, Shield?”
Tetraites looked at his shield. “I like this size. Maybe a little larger. And stronger. Do you have anything with a blade around the edge, something I can use as to cut if I can’t use my sword?”
“The slave knows what he likes. It’ll be good to watch you put them to use. Maybe you’ll survive after all.” The minotaur stated with a begrudging smile.
The massive Armorer took his Basic Shield away and came back with one like Tetraites had described. It was gold and bronze with a steel perimeter honed to razor sharpness.
“Interesting choice with the bladed edge,” the Armorer said approvingly. “Watch your back, though, and maybe get some armor for it.”
Tetraites looked at his Basic Helm and Breastplate and contemplated his next step. He liked their lightness—he valued agility and speed in the Arena, and didn’t want to weigh himself down.
“I need something light, my stamina is high, but I’d rather abuse that to go on the attack, not to be on the defensive and have to absorb attacks,” he said. “It needs to be tougher than these ones, but still needs to let me run in it.”
The minotaur nodded, pondering in thought for a moment before turning around to look through his wares. . “Ah, there they are. Try these,” he said, pulling a breastplate and gauntlets down from a rack. They were gold and bronze to match his shield, and burnished to a sheen. Tetraites held them in one hand, feeling the balance. These ones will do until I can get better. He nodded.
The Armorer set a new helmet on the counter. It, too, was bronze, and had a face shield that covered the nose and forehead. A jaunty red plumed crest stood up from the top of the helm a throwback to far more ancient gladiators himself.
“No,” Tetraites said flatly and uninterested. “I would look ridiculous. What use does a monster have for something like that?”
“It’s a good helmet,” the minotaur said. “Put it on. This belonged to an actual Champion once. A slave should be grateful.”
Tetraites did so. Like the armor, the weight was good and didn’t obscure his vision. I’ve no real reason to turn it down.
The Armorer snorted, pleased with his work. “You look intimidating, slave. Like a real gladiator. Maybe one day you’ll be more than the king of the maggots.”
Tetraites pondered feeling as if an extra power was moving through him. He liked the feel of the helm and the extra protection of the face shield. And, while the plumes were a bit over the top, there was value in looking the part of the fearsome warrior.
Notification: Set Bonuses Gained – The Champion’s Practice Gear
Details: A long-forgotten Champion once wore all three pieces of armor. The gauntlets, cuirass, and helmet. While wearing this armor, you gain the ability “Bull-Pen Ace.”
Ability: Blocks any incoming attack that would be a death blow while outside of the actual arena.
“All right,” he said, finally having taken in all the information. I can’t let the minotaur know that I want it or he’ll raise the prices on me. “I’ll take it.” He gathered his new weapons and sent them into storage. To his surprise, he still had a big bag of Sols left.
“What about any spells? I’ve more than a few to offer,” the Armorer said, trying to entice the skeleton. “Upgrades to your magic and abilities? Maybe something a little more form fitting for an undead slave?”
“I want more power,” Tetraites said, remembering the feeling of the glacial whirlwind spinning around him. Remembering how easily the revenant had overtaken him and almost overtaken him. “More power in every possible area.”
“This is easily done.” The minotaur replied with a serious expression on his face. “Maybe you won’t be another disappointment.”
The minotaur reached under the counter and set out an array of colored vials. The liquid inside glowed with internal light, casting eerie shadows on the wall behind him.
“Take these back to your cell and drink them,” he said. “They’ll improve your strength, stamina, agility and magical power. When you take them, lock yourself in tightly. You’ll be down awhile, and even a skeleton can be destroyed.”
Tetraites nodded
in understanding, hearing the warning for what it was. “What about control? I unleashed that storm but was unable to direct it like I wanted.” He said. “I don’t just want power, I also need precision.”
The Armorer reached back under the counter and set out one more glowing vial—this one an deep aquatic blue. “Done.”
There was still half a bag of Sols left. “What about Spells?” Tetraites said wondering how much he could acquire with the Sols he had remaining. “Attack and defense. As many as I can afford.”
“I can give you a spell for attacking and one for defending.” The minotaur said, moving to the rack of scrolls that held his spellwork on bound leather parchment. The minotaur grabbed the first, far more carefully than the giant Armorer seemed capable of.
“This one is for attacking. It’s called ‘Storm of Swords’. It’ll allow you to send a volley of sharpened icicles at an opponent. For defense, here’s a variant of that one called ‘Ice Blades’. Similar to Storm of Swords, but you’ll turn the icicles into an impenetrable wall around you or an ally. Good if someone’s rushing you. You won’t see it on any prompt, but you can also target it so that it appears directly under an enemy’s feet and use it as a disrupt.”
Tetraites nodded and opened the scrolls. Images flashed through his mind as the new spells downloaded into his brain—deadly-sharp icicles impaling enemies, walls of glacial magic trapping his foes, and as always, screaming opponents.