by Dean Henegar
3. Domax: When his zone was first invaded by the Imperium, the stone giant Domax nearly decimated an entire Imperium legion before the local governor tried something new . . . talking. Once they established communication with Domax, he agreed to stop his attacks in return for the Imperium guaranteeing the safety of his small tribe. The governor agreed, leaving them to their own devices so long as they pay the taxes required for the large area the giants had claimed as their own. Domax took to the games in order to earn enough to pay the taxes on his lands. His power and size make him eligible to enter as an entire team of gladiators. Domax is the one to beat in this year’s games.
4. The Brotherhood of Blood: Nobody is sure where the Vampire Lord Negracht came from. The story is that their representative showed up at the door of a failing ludus, asking to join and fight for pay. The ludus paid for a powerful enchanter to grant the vampire lord resistance to the deadly sunlight for several hours each day, enabling him to battle regardless of the time of day. The brotherhood extracts its winnings in blood—the blood of their defeated foes. Led by the powerful vampire Negracht, the brotherhood is composed of the vampire and a band of his thralls. They have defeated and devoured all challengers so far and are listed just behind Domax as a favorite to win.
“Okay, after looking at that I’m open to suggestions. I think the first two teams we will face are not too far off from what we have faced before. The Testudo formation will protect us from the archers, and we’ll use our own archers and infiltrators to counter their caster. The gladiators will be more powerful one on one, so we will see how they fare against a wall of soldiers working together.
“I’ve never fought a giant, but I think the tactic we used against the giant scorpion would work well here. We’ll avoid it and hope the other teams wear it down. I have no idea what a vampire can do or what a thrall is. Anyone have an idea?” I asked. Everyone shook their heads.
“Should we charge in hard at the beginning to try and get the advantage, or hold back and let the first two fight it out?” Wrend asked.
“Septimus has used a disadvantage on us for our starting challenge so I don’t think we will be fast enough to be able to secure the advantage,” I replied. Wrend then held up the pile of six javelins that Ermey had left for us and that Septimus was trying to hide. I examined their information to see what they were.
Flame Strike Pilum: These javelins have been magically enhanced to hold a flame strike spell. Wherever they land, a flame strike spell will devastate a 5-foot radius from the point of impact, dealing heavy fire damage and causing a burn effect that deals damage over time.
“Ermey did us right with these. We’ll save them to use against particularly hard opponents. I’ll leave it to you who you want them issued to, Wrend,” I said with a grin, anticipating calling fire down on our foes.
“I’ll pass them out to our archers. They have the best chance of landing them right where we want them. What about weapons loadouts, sir?” Wrend asked.
“We’ll go with one platoon equipped as standard infantry. The two extra squads will be wielding the heavy spears, they should prove useful against any giant-sized creatures. Every man carries a double load of javelins and the spearmen will keep their swords ready and their shields strapped to their back in case they are needed on the line. Everyone carries a package of caltrops. Now, I suggest everyone gets a good night’s sleep. We have work to do in the morning,” I said as we moved to our tent to rest for the coming fight.
Chapter 27
The night passed quickly as I formulated plans for all the various scenarios I could imagine. Wrend had trouble sleeping and I bounced several ideas off him as well. The light of dawn roused the rest of the camp and soon the smell of food cooking wafted through the tent. Exiting the tent, a jubilant Septimus approached with his usual fake sincerity.
“My great champion, are you and your brave men ready to conquer the arena this day? I’m sure you will emerge victorious as always. Don’t worry, should the worst come to pass and you fail, I will keep you on and we’ll take another shot at it next year. I’ll even make sure you are treated as if you weren’t a prisoner should disaster befall you this day. Ahh, but what am I saying? The great Raytak will not be defeated by such as those you will face today. I will be watching from the owner’s boxes, cheering on my school’s team!” Septimus said before walking with several guards toward the arena.
“Gather your men, Raytak. My guards will march you to the arena and once in your starting area we’ll give you your gear,” Galba advised. The men ate quickly, several only picking at their food due to their nerves. Wrend made sure every soldier had a small pack of dried fruit and meat for the day ahead; this could easily turn into a contest of endurance and the men would need their energy. Galba advised that there would be water barrels available for the team as they beat each stage of the melee, but I didn’t want to trust something that could be tampered with as a disadvantage and had the men each carry two water skins.
We were marched into a series of paved tunnels that led deep under the arena itself. Several attendants met with Galba and directed us to the tunnel we would use. As the men descended, I noticed another team walking by: the vampire and his thralls. I tried and failed to examine his information before they moved out of sight, heading toward their own starting location. The vampire noticed my gaze and bared his fangs, taunting me as he hungrily licked the remnants of blood that stained his fangs from his morning meal. With a shudder, I moved into the well-lit tunnel. We proceeded for several hundred yards before we ended up in a large staging room. Here, we could prepare for the match and equip our gear. An administrator with several attendants approached with Galba to explain the procedure.
“Welcome to the Grand Melee, worthy ones. The rules are likely similar to the ones in place for your preliminary matches. Mages and healers stand by to protect the crowds and protect any who surrender. I have reviewed your numbers and equipment and have consented to you being equipped as you requested save for your ranged ammunition. The soldiers will only be allowed one javelin each, archers only one quiver of twenty arrows, three of the magical javelins in total can be taken, and you may each keep your strange bag of metal spikes. We will begin shortly and the gates at the far side will open. You will have thirty seconds to exit, any who do not will not be allowed to participate, leaving you at a disadvantage. You will face an initial trial you will need to overcome in order to pass to the first battlefield. The first team to pass their trial will find an advantage,” the administrator droned on, I nodded my head to let him know I understood the process.
“Should you win the first arena and beat the second challenge, you will be allowed a small resupply from your stores. Healing items, ranged weapon reloads, and magical consumables may be resupplied, but the amount you receive is based on your performance as well as the speed at which you have progressed. Once resupplied, you will have thirty seconds to enter the main arena. Failure to do so will result in a penalty to your forces, or even complete disqualification.
“Once the last team has entered the main arena a countdown timer will start. At one-minute intervals the ground will magically glow red in a ten-yard field starting at the outer walls. Every minute, the red zone will close another ten yards toward the center of the arena, forcing the teams toward the center and toward the fight. Forces inside the red zone will be fired upon randomly by archers spaced about the perimeter. If you keep moving forward to attack another opponent and stay out of the red zone, the ranged fire will not harm you. Fight bravely and good luck,” the administrator said flatly as Galba and the guards issued our gear.
“Galba, why are they restricting our ranged weapons?” I asked, an attendant moved up to answer my question.
“Teams are judged based on their perceived power ranking. You are allowed consumable gear to bring you up to a level of power that is deemed average for the tournament,” the attendant advised. It was another attempt by the game to make things challenging but fair.
“The towers around the arena are staffed with soldiers who are well trained to hit their target. They are only issued regular arrows, but I suggest you don’t put their skill to the test,” the advisor told me. A plan for the main battle began to form, but we had to make it to the final arena first.
The entryway to our first challenge was wide enough for ten soldiers across to fight. I had three squads of regular soldiers in the lead with the two squads of spears behind. After that, the sagittarii and infiltrators were gathered, followed by the last two standard squads. I placed myself in the second rank, the soldier I displaced moved toward the middle of our formation and I made him the aquilifer, holding the battle standard of our disgraced unit. Cheers roared above us and dust fell on us from the ceiling at the vibration from the crowd.
“That would be our Emperor Trodaxius, may he ever reign, starting the games. Prepare yourselves,” the attendant advised. The timer began to countdown from thirty seconds, signaling the games were about to begin.
“Men, when those gates open it doesn’t matter what we find out there. No matter the foe, no matter the challenge, let nothing stand between you and our freedom this day. Every thrust of your blade, every opponent slain, is one step closer to freedom,” I told the men who murmured quietly with approval.
“When the gate opens, kill ‘em all!” Wrend shouted. The men responded to his cry.
“Kill ‘em all! Kill ‘em all! Kill ‘em all!” The chant was taken up, unstoppable. Wrend’s simple bloodthirsty words had far more effect than my own speech. I joined right in, chanting with the rest.
Bloodthirsty: Your forces can taste their freedom and relish the chance to fight their way through their enemies to get there. All attacks by your forces for the remainder of the Grand Melee will deal one extra point of damage.
The gates opened with a speed that could have only been achieved through magical means. Sunlight streamed in, affecting our vision slightly as we poured from our staging area into a long corridor of stone only slightly wider than the passage we stood in; the floor was covered in damp sand. In the middle of the corridor, the sand gave way to a shallow pool of water where two dozen strange looking frog like humanoid creatures were wandering about. Mottled green skin covered their bodies and both their hands and feet were webbed. The creatures wielded tridents made from coral in one hand and weighted nets in the other. Once we entered the corridor, they turned their bulbous eyes toward us and croaked out a warning, gathering together in the center of the pond.
Bullywug, Level 5 (24). These frog-like creatures are rumored to be the result of a failed experiment by the wizard Lukgax who sought to enhance himself with amphibian abilities. The creatures need a wet climate to survive in and prefer swamps, marshes, and lakes over saltwater areas. They are powerful and cunning, tangling foes in their nets before delivering death blows with their coral tridents.
“Prepare javelins, throw!” I ordered, hoping we could recover many of our missiles for later use since they would be landing in soft watery ground. The cramped corridor allowed only the first five ranks to throw, the line of sight for the rest of the formation was too obstructed. Our volley arced over and landed amongst the dumbfounded bullywugs. They tried ineffectively to bat the javelins aside with their tridents, ten of the creatures falling dead to our missiles. Many of the rest were wounded and began to back away from our advancing force. The men moved forward in formation, entering the pond and finding that, as I suspected, it only went up to our knees. But as the first rank neared striking distance, the water around us roiled and frothed as a dozen large tentacles emerged.
The tentacles flailed about, slamming into our line. Shields raised, the men deflected the blows but still took damage from the sheer force behind the strikes. The bullywugs suffered more than we did, the tentacles slamming down before grasping their targets and pulling them into the air. The bullywugs didn’t go down without a fight though, and they stabbed at the appendages grasping at their kin, dealing damage. This creature must have been the disadvantage that Septimus paid for, it wouldn’t be enough to do more than slow us down; in some ways, the tentacles may have even helped by thinning out our other foes.
Having failed with their slamming attacks, the few tentacles near my men shot through the water toward our feet, snatching men about their ankles and pulling them into the air, crushing their legs and causing damage. The rest of us hacked at the tentacles holding our men, eventually damaging one enough that it dropped its victim. The soldier was hurt from the crushing but he quickly gained his feet and joined in the attack. As we were getting the upper hand, the water at the center of pond bubbled and the creature that the tentacles were attached to showed itself. A giant lobster-looking creature emerged.
Squid Lob, Aberration, Level 10. Biomancers are often experimenting with the combining of different species. Sometimes the results are failures, and sometimes those failures bring large sums of coin from arenas looking for exotic beasts to challenge gladiators in unique matches.
The tentacles pulled two of their victims toward the squid lob’s claws, which promptly clacked down, cutting the bullywug and soldier they held in half. The now empty tentacles snaked out, once again seeking new victims. The squid lob began operating like a machine, grabbing, chopping, and feeding in an endless, looping cycle.
I ordered the men to surround the creature; standard formations would be of no help against its attacks. We stabbed and hacked at it, our swords only able to pierce the thick shell on every second or third strike. The tentacles were easy for us to attack since they were focused on grabbing the easier to catch bullywugs; unfortunately, the aberration was running out of bullywugs.
The last of the bullywugs was snatched up by a tentacle. The amphibians had managed to destroy two tentacles and my men had hacked apart six of their own. The remaining four tentacles hung high in the air, keeping them safely away from our blades. The creature then began to move, attacking directly with its claws. Its movements were sluggish as the aberration’s huge, malformed body had difficulty moving anything other than its tentacles with any speed.
The creature’s sluggishness helped us keep out of danger for the most part, but some of the men were not paying attention, too concentrated on hurting the squid lob. Slow moving claws snatched two of them, slicing the soldiers easily in half despite our upgraded armor. A last, inattentive soldier was snagged but survived the ordeal, our blows finally dealing enough damage to cripple the limb holding him.
The squid lob went into a panic as its health began to wane, lashing out with tentacles and its remaining claw. Its shell was cracked in numerous places and a pink tinged fluid leaked from the myriad of wounds it had suffered. We took a final casualty as the aberration at last succumbed to our attacks; the remaining claw dropped down directly on a soldier, crushing him under its weight.
Individual challenge passed. You have 2 minutes to enter the arena or be disqualified. Approach the arena door when you are ready, and it will open automatically.
“We have limited time people, move with a purpose. Police up any javelins or arrows we can reuse, get bandages on the wounded. Don’t forget to take the caltrops and unused javelins from our fallen. They won’t need them, but we will,” I advised, and the men rushed to finish their tasks and form up before the timer counted down. I hoped that Septimus had wasted a lot of coin on the squid lob; it wasn’t too tough a foe, but it had cost us early casualties that we could ill afford to lose at this stage of the battle.
We formed up again, far enough behind the arena entrance to not trigger the door until we were ready. The lead squad had taken all the casualties, so I placed them in the rear and replaced them with a full-strength squad. We found fourteen javelins we could reuse, and the archers hadn’t fired a shot yet. I had all the useable javelins passed to the five squads in front, which brought them up to total
of forty-four. I didn’t mind giving up my javelin since I was notoriously bad at hitting anything with them.
“When the gate opens, we shake out into a formation two squads wide. Keep shields ready in case the kobolds unload ranged attacks on us. The two other teams are likely engaged with each other at this point so be ready for orders once I get a chance to read the battlefield. Forward at a quick step, march,” I ordered, and we approached the door which once again opened with a magical quickness. We quickly moved inside and I had a chance to surveil the battlefield.
The kobolds had completed their challenge first and won the advantage. The advantage turned out to be a small fortified hill in the middle of the arena that gave a height advantage over the rest of the battlefield, perfect for archers. Several rows of wooden spikes provided a defensive obstacle that would slow any attackers. The kobold sorcerer was at the top of the hill hurling spells at the attacking gladiators. A section of nine slingers stood in a block, raining stones upon the gladiators’ heads while two other sections of nine archers with crossbows did substantial damage. The bottom of the hill held twenty kobolds armed with shields and spears that were ineffectively trying to hold back the swarm of better equipped and better skilled gladiators.
Thirty of the gladiators were assaulting the kobold shield wall, quickly killing the melee kobolds. Looking back, I could see the corpses of another fifteen or so gladiators strewn about the path leading to the hill; the kobold archers and the sorcerer had taken a grisly toll on their attackers as they had approached. The gladiators were armed with a variety of weapons, from sword and shield to one wielding a two-handed, giant hammer.
After exiting our starting corridor, I found our forces were just to the right of the attacking gladiators. Spotting us, the kobold sorcerer’s eyes grew big as he frantically chirped orders to his followers. A second set of ten kobold spearmen appeared from the backside of the hill where they were hidden, the sorcerer ordering them into the fight. Half of the new spearmen moved to face us while the other half were thrown into the meatgrinder fight against the gladiators. One of the sections of crossbow wielding kobolds turned their fire on my forces, our shields proving a strong defense against their fire.