by Dean Henegar
Two prompts flashed as I waited to see what would happen.
Quest Updated: Retribution. You have defeated a force of Ssarn yearlings, 180 experience gained. Quest reward of 500 experience received. Bonus experience of 170 for 17 surviving soldiers awarded.
Quest Updated: Retribution. Survive the encounter with Rictuz. Reward, 1000 experience, supplies for the remainder of your journey.
The ground underneath the yearlings began to shift, as if something was pushing up from the sand. The vibrations were felt even through the twenty yards that now separated our forces. The yearlings began to panic, hissing and clawing at the walls, trying to climb out of the pit. The pit was over fifteen feet deep and serpent tails weren’t ideal for climbing out of pits.
“Soldiers, reform at our end of the pit, double-time it!” I ordered, wanting to put as much distance as possible between our forces and whatever Rictuz was. We made it back to our end as quickly as we could in the shifting sands of the pit. The men reformed into our original formation, the second rank short the five men who died. Several of the men had the presence of mind to collect any useable javelins from the battlefield on our way back, finding eight that were still serviceable. I handed them out to the front line and waited for whatever would happen next.
Chapter 18
The sand beneath the Ssarn yearlings heaved one final time as Rictuz made its appearance. A giant claw emerged from the sand, snagging one of the yearlings. The Ssarn struggled against the claw, but the yearling’s fangs were unable to penetrate the hard chitin shell. The claw clamped down hard, bisecting the Ssarn just as a second claw emerged and snagged another yearling. This yearling had held onto its spear which it tried to use to pry the claw open. Its struggles proved ineffective as the rest of Rictuz emerged from the sand, and the beast stood exposed before us: a fifteen-foot-long scorpion-like creature. The creature had two sets of claws; one pair—long and powerful—attacked the yearlings and a smaller pair—situated near its mouth—flitted about, seeking more prey. An aura of malevolence and hunger poured from the creature in waves, leading me to believe that while Sskrix had summoned the beast, nobody controlled it.
Rictuz the Sand Lord, Level 20 Elite. None are sure of the origins of Rictuz; the giant scorpion has always been a part of the desert. The beast emerges only occasionally to go on a feeding frenzy before burying itself back under the sands. Eventually, the Ssarn built their city over the point in the desert that Rictuz emerged from, sacrificing any person or creature they captured to the beast in order to appease its hunger. The Ssarn believe Rictuz will reward their people with power, should they continue to sacrifice to it.
There was no way we could handle that thing; a level 20 elite would take ten times the forces I had to bring down. I sorted through my options, trying to decide what to do. As soon as the giant scorpion finished with the yearlings it would be on us, and from the description it didn’t seem it would be full after devouring just a few Ssarn. Fighting it would be suicide . . . and then, I remembered.
My thoughts derailed as a memory reformed. I was in elementary school, visiting a new classmate who had a creepy emperor scorpion as a pet. The thing gave me chills whenever I saw it in his room. One day, I was there when my friend fed it some crickets. I remembered my friend telling me that scorpions had poor hearing and depended on sensing the vibrations of their prey to hunt, only using vision as they closed to striking distance.
Several other memories coalesced, times from my childhood and early school years. I remembered watching a movie in class, excited because I got to use the projector that day; we had an actual projector with movies on reels for school, not even a television in class back then. The movie was the cartoon version of The Hobbit, and I found myself pulled into Tolkien’s world, unlocking a lifelong love of fantasy.
I shook myself from my newly emerged memories and the happy nostalgia they brought, focusing on the problem at hand. Coming to a decision, I began to issue orders.
“Soldiers, take a knee, everyone be completely still and silent. That thing hunts by sensing movement and vibration,” I whispered. The men took a knee behind their shields, quiet and still just as ordered. As the men settled into position, Rictuz finished off the last of the yearlings, shoving the squealing creature into its mandibles. The screams of the yearling stopped abruptly as the sound of crunching bones echoed across the pit. Rictuz moved about, frantically searching for more prey in its immediate area. With no prey to be found nearby the giant arachnid became still, waiting for vibrations to betray the location of its next meal.
Sskrix grew enraged at the “cowardly humans” just sitting there and not fighting Rictuz. The Ssarn war leader began to hiss out orders to his troops as onlookers crowded the rim of the pit to get a better view of the slaughter they expected to start any minute.
“Humansss, fight or I will have you all cut down and fed to my people!” shouted Sskrix. His personal guard of ten large Ssarn hissed in approval and flicked their tongues out in anticipation of killing the tasty humans. Other nearby Ssarn began to hiss for our blood as well. Septimus and Galba stood at the top of the pit right behind us and I could see the lanista’s fear.
“Keep quiet and still, Septimus. Wait a bit. These things hunt by vibrations. Keep our people quiet and still, then get us out of here as soon as the chaos breaks out,” I whispered as quietly as I could to Septimus. The terrified man nodded and whispered orders to his guards.
Looking back toward Rictuz, I saw it turn and focus on the noisy Sskrix. The giant scorpion shot toward the edge of the pit below Sskrix as its long tail lashed forward. The tail dripped poison as it thrust, ripping through the war leader’s body. The Ssarn was pulled from the edge of the pit screaming. Rictuz tore Sskrix from its tail with its smaller pincers, shoving chunks of the Ssarn into its mouth. The guards above hissed in frustration and hurled spears at the scorpion. All but one of the spears glanced from the armored exoskeleton of the scorpion, and the one that penetrated did hardly any damage.
Hearing its prey and visibly incensed by the pain the spear caused, it to leap into action. With surprising agility, the giant scorpion scuttled up the walls of the pit. The members of Sskrix’s guard hissed for help as armed Ssarn converged on the area, ready to fight what they had thought was their protector. The scorpion wasted no time, its claws shooting forward, catching and squeezing Ssarn warriors as fast as it could. The Ssarn were brave, not flinching in their defense of the tribe, but they were woefully overmatched by Rictuz.
“Septimus, get the ladders down here!” I shouted at Septimus, not worried about making noise now that the scorpion was occupied elsewhere. Galba had his guards lower the ladders and I ordered my men up, watching the battle unfold while I waited for my turn to climb. I climbed to the top and Galba gave me a hand over the final lip of the pit. With a glance, I saw only three of the guards were with Septimus.
“Where’s everyone else? We need to get out of here while we can,” I said. The confusion would only last until one of the forces was defeated and I didn’t want to be around to face the victor, be it arachnid or reptile.
“Come quickly, Raytak, the wagons should be ready. The other guards are liberating the supplies we were promised. After all, I think you can say your men overcame the challenge of Rictuz,” Septimus said with a smile. We hustled out of the area towards the outskirts of the canyon where our wagons had been left. We passed the series of caverns dug into the wall of the canyon. I hadn’t paid much attention to them the first time, as the nearby fighting pits had been my main concern, but I did now.
“Septimus! Septimus! Here, please help us!” A man shouted at us from behind the cave mouth. The cage had been built into the cliff face with stout wooden bars. Two Ssarn warriors stood guard over the prisoners, and one thrust his spear between the bars, stabbing the shouting man. The man wore high-quality, yet filthy robes. Behind, dozens of faces peered out from the dark, flinching back from the Ssarn’s spear.
Septimus stopped an
d waved us forward.
“Kill the guards and see if that man is still alive,” Septimus ordered. I nodded to Wrend who ran forward with several of the soldiers. The guards fled, seeing the odds were against them, and slithered toward the commotion caused by the giant scorpion. The wounded man pulled himself up, blood leaking from the spear wound; he had a bleed effect showing on his health bar and was dying quickly. Wrend started to hack apart he lock before Septimus held his hand, signaling him to stop.
“My dear friend Lucius, it looks like you’ve found yourself in a dangerous predicament. You might need one of these,” Septimus said, holding up a minor healing potion. The man nodded and reached his hand through, desperate to live. Septimus held back the potion, out of Lucius’ reach.
“I believe we should first resolve that small matter of the money I owe you, don’t you? I think this potion should cover my debt and then some, wouldn’t you agree?” Septimus asked, taunting the desperate man.
I was about to force the potion from Septimus’ hand and give it to the dying man when Lucius nodded, holding out his hand. The game enforced the deal between the two and Septimus happily handed over the potion. The potion would restore twenty health over the next thirty seconds—enough to keep him alive, but on the brink of death. Still holding up his hand to Wrend, stopping his attempt to unlock the cage, Septimus continued. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Galba, sword drawn, ready to take me on if I tried to interfere with Septimus. I grinned when I noticed our infiltrator was perfectly positioned behind Galba, poisoned blades looted from the Ssarn at the ready if the guard captain tried anything.
“Lucius, who are all these poor souls in there with you?” Septimus asked.
“They . . . they are prisoners I have under contract and some of my guards. The cursed snakes ambushed us on the road toward Shraza. Most of the good prisoners have been killed in the pits. This chaff was being set aside for . . . food,” Lucius added.
“Well then, it looks like we have need of another deal. How about this, Lucius: I’ll set you all free and provide you with supplies to get you where you want to go, and you sign over the prisoner contracts, your wagons, and any of your gear we find to me. Do we have a deal?” Septimus asked. I watched the man Lucius break almost immediately, nodding to Septimus and agreeing to the deal.
I had to bite my tongue and stay my hand from my blade at the display of extortion Septimus just pulled. A glance from Wrend shaking his head “no” made me wait, though. Septimus could not be trusted; that was clearer than ever. Still, who held the contracts for the prisoners made little difference, and going with us could keep more of them alive in the long run. The system accepted their deal and Wrend was finally allowed to hack off the lock, opening the small door in the bars to let the captives out.
“Form up around the captives, keep them safe,” I ordered, my men fanning out to provide a defensive screen as we made our way once again toward our wagons. The bulk of Septimus’ guards had been busy; there were many more wagons waiting for us than we originally had. The guards had found Lucius’ wagons and were hitching horses and mukok up to them while other guards loaded boxes of foodstuffs and barrels of water onto each wagon. Galba ran up to the guards, directing their efforts. I had my men form a skirmish line to hold back any adventurous Ssarn that might try to get at the escaping humans. Thankfully, our wagons had been stored nearly at the end of the canyon and there were few Ssarn around this area. Most of the serpent-like people were either hiding in their caverns or had taken up arms to defend against Rictuz. Septimus and Lucius entered his opulently decorated wagon, Septimus the image of hospitality now that he had gotten his way.
Despite the chaos, all the wagons were soon loaded. I kept my men on foot, marching next to and guarding the wagons as they made their way up and out of the canyon. We didn’t have any guides, but the tracks from our trip to the canyon yesterday were still visible. Progress was slow as the horses, but not the mighty mukok, had trouble pulling the overloaded wagons. Once up the rise, I had my men jump into the last three wagons, closing the cage but making sure we were all armed and the cages left unlocked.
Galba nodded to me in approval as he climbed up next to the wagon driver. Still, he looked back at the soldiers in the last three wagons nervously before asking a question.
“Raytak, do your men intend to return your weapons?” Galba asked. He had done the math; we now outnumbered the guards, were equipped nearly as well, and we had the advantage of fighting as a unit. If we decided to make a break for it, Galba and his guards couldn’t stop us. I was tempted to take my freedom right here and now at the point of my sword. Nevertheless, I had made a deal and planned to keep my word and earn my freedom the correct way.
“As soon as we’re sure there is no pursuit, we’ll do as you ask . . . though I wouldn’t recommend trying to lock the wagons. We’ll follow through with our side of the deal, just make sure that Septimus does the same,” I told the guard captain. As if to prove my point, our wagon, the last in the caravan, passed the body of Lucius lying on the side of the road. The man’s throat was cut; Septimus had eliminated a rival and prevented the man from seeking revenge.
Galba looked at the body, then to me, and shrugged.
“Septimus does what he wishes, though he will keep a promise to the letter if not the spirit of what he agrees to. This fool,” Galba said, gesturing toward the body slowly being left behind in our dust. “He didn’t word his agreement well. Septimus agreed to free him and give him supplies . . . he didn’t agree to not kill him once freed. He should have negotiated for safe passage and a time of truce,” Galba finished.
I got the distinct impression he was trying to help us and let us know how to handle Septimus. Wrend shot me a “I told you so” look as we slowly moved away from the canyon and toward the main road to Shraza. My last glimpse of the Ssarn encampment was of Rictuz, limping on only three legs and one claw dragging behind. The beast had an entire mound of dead Ssarn around him, and who knew how many in his gullet.
Another memory returned as I watched Rictuz battle the Ssarn. I could see myself falling back from a failed and bloody assault on a terrorist stronghold. The dozen or so terrorists our “intelligence” assured us were there turned out to be over 100 and my men were nearly overwhelmed. The trek back to our extraction point was long and the remaining foes could have easily overrun us, but they stayed in their stronghold. The enemy had been bloodied worse than we had, the losses causing them to be overly cautious.
After remembering the fight from the real world, I believed the casualties suffered by the Ssarn would prevent them from mounting an effective pursuit.
Quest update: Retribution. You have “dealt” with the creature Rictuz, 1000 experience gained. For causing your enemies to eliminate each other and minimizing your own losses, a bonus of 250 experience is gained.
Congratulations! You have reached Level 4. Open your character sheet to review changes.
Congratulations! You have reached Level 5. Open your character sheet to review changes.
Quest updated: Retribution. Make it to Shraza and compete in your first match. Reward: 250 experience.
The levels gained were welcome, though I was still a couple of levels below where I had been before my imprisonment. I opened the character sheet to review the changes as the wagons plodded along.
Raytak: Disgraced Commander Level 5, Gladiator Captain Path
Experience: 3157/5000
Health: 450/450
Defense: 6
Attack: 6
Abilities/Feats:
Incite: You can rally your allies and discourage your foes once per day for 40 seconds. Incite adds +1 to attack for all friendly forces within a 25-foot radius of the disgraced commander. Foes will have a -1 penalty to attack while within the same radius.
Manaless: 5% spell resistance and 2% for forces under your command.
Goon Squad: Summon forth some of the despicable rabble that Septimus recruits in his school. Good Squad wi
ll randomly summon between 2-8 angry prisoner goons 1/day to fight on your side for the next 40 seconds.
Level 5 Gladiator Captain Path upgrade available: Choose from the following.
Bloody Brutes: Your men become particularly vicious in combat. Once every 30 seconds, your soldiers will inflict a bleeding wound if their next attack hits. The victim will bleed for 5 damage per second for 5 seconds. This ability scales with your level.
Got Your Back: Your men instinctively know how to work together to protect each other. When in combat, if a soldier is near at least one other comrade, they cannot be the victim of bonus backstab damage. All soldiers in your command receive a +1 bonus to defense. This ability scales with your level.
Level 5 Disgraced Commander Class upgrade available: Choose from the following.
Strength In Numbers: Increase the number of soldiers under your command by 2 per level for standard soldiers and 1 additional advanced class soldier every five levels.
Unconventional Tactics: You and your men are proficient in all weapon types found in the arena, including the strange and exotic. You can change the loadout of your soldiers’ weapons and create new formations to fit those tactics. Depending on your weapon/gear loadout, additional abilities in combat may be unlocked. Soldiers in the arena fighting with mixed-weapon loadouts will all have a +1 bonus to attack.
Current soldier capacity.
Standard Soldiers: 15/50
Advanced Soldiers: 1/5
Elite Soldiers: 1/1
On reaching Level 5, all your soldiers health has been upgraded. The upgrades are retroactive. The new health per level is as follows.
Standard Soldiers: From 10 per level to 15 per level.
Advanced Soldiers: From 15 per level to 25 per level.
Elite Soldiers: From 25 per level to 50 per level.
The new abilities were going to be fun, not to mention all my men just got a huge boost in power. With normal attack/defense bonus from hitting level 5, as well as the increased health, we should be able to hold the line better in a fight. Thinking on the options for the gladiator captain path, I initially leaned toward Got Your Back, but that was too much like the commander build so I selected Bloody Brutes. The arena was made for quick and bloody fights, not hours-long battles against other armies. Prioritizing dps would be the smart move.