by Jamie Davis
Health damage: Health -10
The blow succeeded in knocking Hal away from the orc momentarily and gave them both a chance to regroup.
The orc chieftain choked up on the war hammer’s handle to make it easier to manage one-handed.
Hal knew this would make it a faster weapon though it would probably take longer to recover between strikes due to its weight. He still had the speed advantage with his longsword.
The two circled on the sand, off to the side of their dead or unconscious comrades. The crowd’s roaring cheers and shouts for them to finish it washed over them.
Hal ignored the feral glee the crowd showed for their death spectacle. If he took any time to think about it, he knew it would make him ill. This was a side of humanity he’d never witnessed in his own modern world, at least not in person.
The next few exchanges were tentative on the part of both combatants. Hal knew and he suspected the orc chieftain did, too, that their next major attack was likely to be the final confrontation between them.
One or both of them would be dead at the end of it.
The chieftain must have lost patience first.
Charging forward with the hammer raised one-handed over his head, the orc drove in at Hal hard.
Hal waited until the last possible moment before raising his sword up to deflect the hammer to one side. Then, using the inertia imparted in the deflection of the larger weapon, Hal swung the sword in an arc to the orc’s opposite side burying the sword’s’ edge in the chieftain’s side.
The sharp steel parted the leather armor and slashed deep into the large foe’s torso, bringing a fresh torrent of blood gushing from the wound.
Staggering now, the orc chieftain tried to disengage but Hal pressed the attack. He might not get another chance like this.
Thrusting forward with all his might, Hal lunged at the retreating orc and plunged his sword into its chest.
The killing blow caused the backpedaling orc to slow then crumple to its knees before toppling to one side.
1,000 experience points awarded.
Quest completed - survive orc battle
2,000 experience points awarded.
Hal dropped his bloody sword to the sand and rushed over to check on Kay and the others.
They were all alive and he called out over the roaring crowd to the slaves hurrying in with litters for the dead and wounded. There might be time to save them all if they got to the healers in time.
He followed the litter bearers back into the tunnel on the human side of the arena, glaring at the guard captain who’d thought he’d sent them out to a sure death. Hal noticed the slot machine in his head was still rattling away, louder than ever now.
Strange, he thought it would have stopped when he won the battle against the chieftain.
The captain reached out and grabbed Hal’s arm, stopping him from following his injured friends.
“You think you’ve stopped me from having you killed, but I’ve only just begun to send death against you.”
Hal yanked his arm out of the man’s grasp.
“Perhaps you should pit me and all the humans against all those inhuman monsters in the next battle, maybe for the Emperor’s birthday? They outnumber us in size, power, and numbers. Maybe then you’ll be successful.”
Bing!
The slots stopped as the chime sounded in his head.
“Get out of my sight, gladiator. You don’t tell me what to do.”
Quest accepted - escape the coliseum.
Hal smiled and shuffled after his injured companions down the dark corridor. Behind him, the cheers of the crowd erupted once more.
The next bloody event in the arena had started.
21
Hal closed his eyes. He lay on the treatment bench while the healing mages worked their magic on his wounds. At least the guard captain’s vendetta didn’t extend to the healing routine for surviving gladiators this time.
He’d waited until all the others had been healed first, taking an offered potion instead to get the process started and stop his bleeding. All four of his companions had been revived, thank God.
Otto struggled to wakefulness briefly. He waved at Hal as the slaves carried his litter off to move him to his bunk to rest while the healing magic worked its way through his system. The others had remained unconscious, though Hal was assured that was normal.
When it was his turn, Hal closed his eyes as the healer worked his magic. A sensation of warmth spread through his body, with areas of hot spots where his various wounds were located. It was as if he could feel the skin and muscle knitting back together again. Much different from his experience with healing in the past, which had been mostly with low powered potions and the work of Brother Anson’s magic in Ghent’s caravan on the journey here to Hyroth.
The murmured chanting of the healing mage stopped and Hal opened his eyes.
“You can go, Gladiator. The remainder of your wounds will continue to heal overnight. You should be yourself by morning.”
“Thank you,” Hal said to the mage.
The man had already turned to leave the room and waived a hand dismissively over his shoulder as he passed through the doorway.
Hal swung his legs over the side of the bench as he sat up. He pulled up his stats and checked his health and Level Up status.
Name: Hal Dix
Class: Warrior
Level: 7
Attributes:
Brawn: 22 — +7
Wisdom: 10 — +1
Luck: 26 — +9
Speed: 14 — +3
Looks: 8
Health: 92/100
Skills: Shield Bash - 2, One-Handed Combat - 2, Combat Misdirection -1, Prescience -1, Chakra Regeneration - 2 (12hp during combat; 1/day)
Weapon proficiencies: Long Sword - 3, Crossbow - 1
Warrior Experience: 13,000/19,200
Rogue Experience: 146,100/250,000
Attribute points: 2
Skill points: 1
He had points to spend in his attribute and skill scores. He checked them over and decided to drop two more points into his luck. They were going to need it if the plan for the Emperor’s birthday celebration was going to work.
Hal also looked over his options for new skills. He sorely needed a more effective counterattack option than he had been using to this point. Scanning the list, he decided upon Riposte. It allowed him to immediately transition from a parry of an opponent’s blow to a lunging thrust into their center.
Based on what the healing mage had told him, he could expect the remaining health points to heal overnight with rest as the residual magic continued to work.
Dismissing his character menu, Hal stood up and went in search of some food before he turned in. They should be serving dinner by now.
A chorus of cheers greeted him when he entered the gladiators’ dining hall. Other gladiators he hardly knew clapped him on the back, even though he winced at the pain from the friendly blows. A few of his fellows cleared a space for him at the central table so he could sit and eat.
Hal sat down and hunched over, feeling a little self-conscious.
“What’s all this for?” Hal asked a gladiator he sort of knew named Brady.
“The guard captain was fuming that you and your friends survived the orcs, Hal,” Brady said. “He’s been storming around yelling at anyone that didn’t get out of his way ever since you all returned from the arena.”
Hal smiled.
“Good. That means it had the desired effect.”
“What does that mean?” Brady asked.
“It just means that with the guard captain so angry, he won’t be thinking logically about what he does next and that plays right into our hands,” Hal replied. “Be ready, Brady. Change is coming. Soon we’ll rule this place.”
“If you say so,” Brady said. The man’s expression was doubtful.
“Don’t worry about it. What happens, happens. Just be ready for a unique opportunity. It’s coming sooner
than you think. Now, pass me that platter of roast beef. I’m famished and I need to eat before I go and sleep off these remaining wounds.”
Brady passed the platter and a basket of bread to Hal then turned started whispering to the gladiator sitting next to him. Hal started eating, listening to the voices around him as the other gladiators talked to each other. He overheard the word “escape” on more than one occasion.
Word was spreading and that was good. Some of the rumblings would spread up to the guard captain and that would infuriate him even more. He would seek to crush the human gladiators who’d defied him and that would mean he’d request the event coordinator put together the grand battle Hal suggested to him.
By the time he set the pieces in motion to create the giant spectacle for the Emperor’s birthday, the captain would probably think it was his own plan from the get go. The mind was funny that way.
Hal was fine with it. He didn’t need credit. He needed escape. Someone else could take the credit as long as he got out of here with Kay and as many of the others as he could bring with him.
He finished two heaping platefuls of beef and the assorted vegetables severed alongside it. Pushing back from the table and standing up, Hal felt full and satisfied. He left the dining hall to another chorus of cheers.
It might not have been as loud as it was when he arrived but, judging by the way so many of them were talking together in small groups and pointing his way, the word of what he’d told Brady had spread throughout the room.
It had started.
The days passed quickly as the Emperor’s birthday approached. While there were other fights in the arena, Hal’s core group of companions were left off of the selection process.
Hal took it as a clear sign the event coordinator and the guard captain had decided to move forward with their plan for him and the others. It wouldn’t do to have one of them die early in an inconsequential event for the common rabble.
That gave them more time to plan and train together. They used the time to its full advantage.
Rune continued his training and Hal was able to level up his Chakra regeneration skill. That would be useful in the coming battle to escape the coliseum.
The group worked out how they would divide up the human groups of gladiators and use their abilities and weapons to affect their escape.
Junica took charge of the few archers in the overall group. They were never given many arrows to use in the arena, probably for fear they would be used against the spectators or guards at some point. The guards were about to learn the error of letting them have any arrows at all.
Rune managed to teach a few others some useful hand-to-hand combat skills and most gained some use of the chakra regeneration skill, too, during the monk’s lessons. If the gladiators could heal during the battle, even a little, it would keep many more alive who would otherwise perish.
Otto decided it was best for him to lead the gladiators called the bashers by their comrades. These there biggest and strongest among them. They were the armored, more muscled juggernauts in the arena and they could all take a lot of punishment. The bashers would be the head of their spear when it came time to escape.
Kay stayed with Hal and helped him keep on top of what was going on, acting as his second in command. She passed him advice on how to deal with a few personality conflicts that cropped up. She had been here longer than he had and knew how best to manage these situations between the gladiators.
In the end, Hal estimated they’d reached the point where almost all the parts were in place just in time for the Emperor’s birthday. He’d been unable to send more than a few messages via one of the kitchen slaves to the non-human side. The only reply he got in return was the word “ready.”
The last piece was in place.
It was time to deliver the Emperor his birthday present.
22
The day arrived faster than Hal would have liked. They could have all used more time to train and plan for the escape but there was no help for that.
Hal walked into the dining hall. The mood was quiet, tense.
“We have to be careful,” Hal said to Kay and Junica, walking next to him. “If there isn’t the normal banter between the gladiators this morning, the guards might suspect something.”
“Everyone knows what hinges on today’s plan, Hal,” Kay said. “Everyone is deep in their own thoughts.”
“We need to pull them out of it, somehow.” Hal looked around the room, trying to decide what to do.
The guard captain stood on the opposite side of the hall with a pack of guards around him. He glared at Hal.
Hal smiled at the man and winked.
He received the desired reaction when the captain sneered back at Hal and spun around, leaving the room while his pack of guards stayed behind to watch over the gladiators.
“It looks like our host has a sour stomach, friends,” Hal announced to the room. He pointed to the retreating guard captain. “Perhaps he knows he’s about to lose a wager today.”
Hal raised his voice even louder, shouting after the retreating guard captain.
“I’m harder to kill than people think, Captain.”
There was laughter from several places around the room and the hum of voices picked up to something approaching the normal level.
“Well, that worked nicely,” Hal said to Kay and Junica.
“If by worked you mean pissing off the captain,” Junica said, “then by all means, yes, it worked.”
“I think he means he lightened the mood in the room by humiliating the guard captain,” Kay replied. “Hal always thinks his comments are so witty.”
“Hey,” Hal complained. “They are witty. Did you see the look on his face? Besides, if you look around, you’ll see the mood has lightened considerably. Everyone just needed a break in the tension.”
“Just because it worked doesn’t mean I have to encourage your behavior, Hal,” Kay said. “Let’s get something to eat. Lord knows when we’ll get another regular meal after this morning.”
“Are you doubting my plan?” Hal asked.
“No, on the contrary, I’m assuming your hair-brained idea will actually work. Have you given any thought to what happens after we break out of here and get through the city gates?”
“I have some ideas,” Hal lied.
Kay gave a dismissive grunt and waved her hand in the air. Hal knew Kay well enough to know she wasn’t fooled by his bravado. She knew he was making a lot of what happened today up as he went along.
Otto and Rune were already seated at their table when the three of them arrived and sat down. Otto had a pile of fried eggs and sausage in front of him. It looked like he was preparing to eat his last meal.
“Got enough food, Otto?” Hal asked.
“Gonna need fuel for the fight today. Who knows when we’ll eat next?”
“Is everyone here doubting my plan all of the sudden?” Hal asked, helping himself to a ham steak from the platter in front of him.
“We don’t doubt your plan, Hal,” Rune replied. “We doubt your attention to the details after we get out. You’ll have an army at your back. Armies run on logistics not weapons. If we don’t make plans for food and shelter after we get away from the city, this little rebellion you have planned will fail before it gets started.”
“The monk has a point,” Otto said around a mouthful of eggs. “Which is why I’m filling up on good food now.”
Junica laughed.
“It’s not a bad plan.” She heaped more food on her plate, too, as did Kay.
“No, I guess not.” Hal ate his food and pondered the extended version of his scheme to escape. He hadn’t planned for what happened after they left the city gates.
Hal had an idea of some sort of grand rebellion. He thought the people, or at least the slaves of the city, would rise up and free the city from the Emperor’s cronies but he had no idea how he could make it happen. He knew from his experience in Tandon it took a long time and a lot of work to bri
ng enough people around to thinking they could make a rebellion work.
Kay put a hand on Hal’s shoulder, startling him out of his contemplations.
“Don’t let them get you down, Hal. Your plans will work. They always do.”
“What?” Hal asked. “You finally believe in my ability to plan this escape?”
“No, but you’re the luckiest bastard I’ve ever met. You have a way of finding a path through certain death that boggles my mind. I don’t know how you do it, but I know if there’s a way to make it through this day alive, it’ll be staying with you and following your lead.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Hal replied with a half-smile.
“Someday, though, you’re going to tell me how you do it.”
“You’d never believe me if I told you, Kay,” Hal said.
Otto got up, followed by Rune and Junica.
“We’re going to check our gear for the main event this afternoon,” the big black man said. “A lot is going to depend on how long we can keep going. I think our armor’s going to be dented and our blades nicked quite a bit before the day is out.”
“Sounds like something we should all do,” Hal said.
His glance around the room said the other gladiators in the room had the same idea as they all started to rise and file out to their equipment and training rooms.
The guard captain had returned and stood by watching with his normal retinue of guards. His eyes met Hal’s and blazed with fury and revenge when he passed.
Hal almost made a sarcastic quip when he walked by but resisted the urge. He didn’t want to do anything to mess up the plan. The guard captain and his ability to throw a wrench in the works was a variable Hal couldn’t control. It was best to let things be where that was concerned.
The time for the battle event was almost here.
23