Bloodlust: A Gladiator's Tale

by C. P. D. Harris

  Ravius nodded to her and turned to help the rest of the team. He assessed the situation with a quick glance, a plan forming in his mind. He measured the spider-creature's movements, timing them.

  Sadira danced among the smaller spiders. They were wary of her now, fearful of the sharp slicing blades that had left so many of their brethren split and maimed. When she turned in one direction those in front of her retreated, while those behind sought to attack her. She whirled, scattering them.

  Tension filled the watching crowd as the Gladiators were driven back by the arachnid abomination.

  After the beast slobbered its poison again, Ravius moved to stand near Vintia where the Gladiators could hear him. "Follow my lead!" he communicated to Gavin, and then turned to Omodo and Karmal. "Karmal, blind it when we move. Omodo hold your attack until we expose it." As he spoke the creature raised its legs, and slammed them downwards into the white sand. Anticipating its head lowering to spit poison, Ravius dodged between the grounded spear-legs and planted his trident in the ground. His movements were perfectly timed and precise. Gavin mirrored his actions, only steps behind, heart hammering in his chest. As they moved, Karmal shot bright lightning at the spider-creature's eyes, blinding it momentarily. Thus the creature did not see Gavin and Ravius as it brought its massive poison drooling head down; driving its lower jaw and neck into the braced and waiting points of their weapons.

  An ordinary spear and trident would certainly have snapped under the chitinous bulk, but their weapons were made of the finest materials and enchanted with potent magics. The Gladiators held them firmly, daring the looming mass of the beast. Thick armoured carapace was no match for its own bulk brought down against such immovable points. The spider-creature roared in pain, jerking back. With no poison spray to force him back, giant Omodo powered forward, holding his massive war-maul low to the ground, spiked end furrowing the sand behind him. Vintia and Karmal followed in his wake, weapons ready to strike. Gavin and Ravius stabbed at the creature's vulnerable underbelly. Omodo swung his maul upwards, spiked side first, bellowing as he put his full force behind the underhand attack.

  The massive spike caught the spider-beast just under the jaw, ripping the lower part of its mouth off, sending it sailing toward the crowd. The beast tried to backpedal, flailing its limbs. Vintia threw herself into the way of one of the deadly spear claws as it clove down, deflecting an attack meant for Omodo with her shield; the little defender was tossed aside like a child's doll by the force of the attack but hit the ground and rolled to her feet with practised ease. The other Gladiators drove their weapons into the creature's thorax as poison dripped down from its ruined jaw above them. They stabbed and hacked, shouting in frenzy. Sadira answered with a war-scream of her own as she held back the tide of smaller spiders frantically coming to the aid of their mother-queen. Green gore dripped from her blades as she took a heavy toll on those trying to pass her.

  Omodo ran forward, slamming his massive shoulder into the wounded creature. Gavin, Vintia, and Ravius pushed with him. The flailing monstrosity fell over onto its back. The fight blurred into chaos as the team pounced: a mad tableau of frantic limbs, bloody metal, and green gore. Karmal's heavy cleaver ripped a bloody fissure into the carapace; she then threw a fireball into the wound, which exploded deep within the beast. A horrible stench filled the air as chunks of charred flesh blasted out of the wound. Finally, the beast stopped moving. The watching crowd erupted into frantic cheers while the spider-creature's little brethren shrieked in dismay. Arena Master Druth cheered with them, his weathered face spilt by a proud grin; these Gladiators had learned their lessons well. The smaller spiders scattered as their giant queen fell; swift footed Sadira danced among them, shrieking her banshee cry, adding death to their dismay.

  -----o

  Omodo waited for several days after the match to tell his friends that he would not be following them to Scorpion's Oasis. He explained that he needed to get used to the audience on his own instead of using his friends as a crutch. After some discussion, they realized that it would be impossible to change his mind; even Ravius gave up in the end. It was a sad parting, but Cleothera would be able to relay messages between them when they could not communicate via link-crystal. Gavin was not the only one who felt sorrow at leaving the bustling, scenic mountain town behind, either. They would all remember their peaceful little house in Camp Valorous and their joyful life among the soldiers and townsfolk there fondly in the coming years.

  Chapter Seventeen: Scorpion's Oasis

  1143/09/21 AR, Scorpion's Oasis, A luxurious resort town that caters to the wealthy elite

  "The Factions vie against each other for influence in everything. The Great Games, however, are their biggest battlefield; a good season can often shift the balance of power in the popular assemblies for the coming year. The incentives to cheat and exploit the rules are very high..." Deliberative Primer.

  "Scorpion's Oasis is all about image; people go there to see and be seen. The relaxing vacation is secondary to the proof of status that this brings. It is more like a mirage in some ways..." Amoura Vogue

  The Gladiators did not reach the town of Scorpion's Oasis until the following autumn. They had travelled rapidly down the Thousand Tongues river in a steam-powered warship, a marvel of the Artificer's arts. Gavin had never seen anything like the steel and brass boat before, and he spent his spare hours questioning the crew. They disembarked in the ribald urban expanse of Terlula's Pride, an amiable place full of music and romance, where the great rivers came together and poured into the western end of Serpent Gulf, where they skirted the crystal expanse of calm, open waters, leaving Gavin wondering why they did not take a ship. He heard the men on the ship speaking about pirates, but he knew they were forbidden to discuss such things with him. Passing quickly through some of the lush Grasslands of the Brighthoof Plains, they had the privilege of travelling with one of the great herds of Minotaur nomads, as well as wagon-people, and horse-nomads that roamed that wild domain.

  Their progress slowed to a crawl when they passed into the southern deserts. Many of these areas were not true deserts at all, but rather barren, tainted wastes created by the unchecked magics of the Reckoning. Reclaiming these lands was difficult, possible only through magic and hard physical labour. Gavin and Sadira took heart watching a crew of Gifted supervise this slow process, working the earth, planting trees, and slowly leeching the magical corruption out of the soil; it made such an impression that they later wondered if their Grey-Robed guides had detoured to show them this scene.

  It seemed as if they were delayed at every outpost or town along the winding roads through these harsh lands. Their escorts often had other business. Gavin was glad of this since it gave him time to adjust to the desert's relentless sun and dryness without having to endure it in the summer. Sadira and Karmal bristled with impatience whenever they stayed in a little town for more than a night, wanting to reach their destination without delay.

  They took up with a merchant caravan in the fortress city of Rivergate, a trading capital built on the western edge of the Sea of Sands. The city was well-ordered and expensive, with offices from many familiar business interests, and a large contingent of soldiers. The guards and merchants in their convoy were glad of the extra protection that a small band of Gladiators and their escort of Grey-Robes afforded. Apparently attacks in the Sea of Sands had increased in recent years, and they overheard some grumbling about the lack of action from the Chosen.

  The Sea of Sands was a fearsome place. During the day there was little cover from the bright, brutal sun. At night the temperature became unbearably cold, bothersome even to the Gladiators. They stopped in little fortified outposts; each nestled in the countless dunes. Gavin learned that all of them drew their water from wells made by powerful magic, tapping water far below the surface. Enchantments also kept the sands from swallowing up the roads, a mystical marvel that was easy to overlook. Each outpost had a cadre of well-armed soldiers, men and women with scars
and knowing eyes. Ravius eventually learned that two Caravans their size had disappeared in the last year, vanishing between outposts, but in the end, their convoy crossed out of the mighty dunes without so much as a skirmish. Both Sadira and Karmal murmured their disappointment.

  After this, they passed through several more civilized Domains, moving slowly again as their Grey-Robe escorts attended to their own business, before coming to their destination,. Gavin was pleased by this; it gave him a chance to see some of the magnificent ruins from before the Reckoning, well-preserved in the dry climate. He often wished he could travel more; there was so much to see, so many new experiences waiting to be had outside the arena. He longed to go to all of the fantastic places he had read about. The confines of a Gladiator's life seemed so restrictive at times like this. Sadly he was not free to decide where he went; his magic was viewed by most as far too dangerous.

  -----o

  Scorpion's Oasis was founded in 917 AR by the Chosen Giselle, whose arena name was the Silken Scorpion. The legends of the healing springs of the Oasis had circulated long before she carved out her Domain. The ambitious, cunning Giselle quickly consolidated her hold on them after her conquests ended. The small town was a half-day's leisurely travel from Brightsand Halls, the largest and most important city in the southern Domains and the centre of Chosen Giselle's web of holdings.

  Under Giselle's patient supervision Scorpion's Oasis had been built into a resort town of unsurpassed beauty and impressive luxury. The extravagant splendour of the place was known throughout the Domains, attracting an elite clientele, including many of the Chosen. The tall walls of the town were tiled with pinkish-white marble imported from quarries half an empire away, while the streets were paved with beautiful tesserae of bright coloured glass, formed into cunning geometric patterns. These glass cobbled roads seemed cool to the touch, even in the harshest sun. The Gladiators learned that each street had its own intricate identifying motif; simple signs being considered far too common for such a decadent place. Most animals were not allowed to enter the city, for their waste and clacking hooves might offend, and they had to be stabled some distance away from the main town.

  Regal palm trees and shapely flowering bushes, planted in rich soil, lined every street surrounding the sprawling waters of the Oasis. Gardens and parks, so rare in the desert heat, abounded here. A dozen palatial bath-houses, magnificently decorated with gold and marble, and a score of opulent inns gathered around the pure, perfect crystal waters. Peacocks wandered freely in front of glorious fountains adorned with beautiful statues of Ezuis, Giselle, and a few allied Chosen. The town was spacious, clean, and beautiful; full of smiling young men and women who were eager to assist in any fashion. Servants lived in small, cunningly hidden compounds on the grounds of the places where they worked. A handful of independent taverns, brothels, and restaurants competed with those that could be found on the expansive grounds of the baths and inns. A hundred or so residences of modest size but great sumptuousness belonged to those who could afford the absurd expense of buying property within the town. Tall lantern posts lit up the city at night and also sprayed a fine mist into the air that kept pedestrians cool during the hottest hours of the day.

  The arena in Scorpion's Oasis was a small scale duplicate of the storied Grand Arena of Krass; ornate columns of white marble supported row after row of decorative arches, which in turn supported the columns above them. The only obvious difference, aside from scale, was the marvellous gilded dome which kept the harsh sun off the spectators, and could be retracted or rotated if desirable. Underneath its traditional appearance the arena was a wonder of clockwork convenience. The luxurious gallery could only seat five thousand spectators, a quarter of the capacity of the simpler arena in Camp Valorous, despite being much larger. This arena, like the town around it, catered to a very exclusive audience with even the humblest seats being more luxurious than the private enclosures in other arenas.

  The Gladiators' Quarter contained an expansive series of manicured practice grounds, but only two buildings of any note. A proud white marble palace hung with blue pennants and a smaller, slightly less imposing building draped with rich red tapestries faced each other across the grounds. Watchful Grey-Robes were numerous on the grounds between the two Faction houses, a sure sign of the tension that existed between the occupants of each.

  -----o

  Although noticeably less magnificent than the building belonging to the Blues, the Red faction residence was still far more impressive than any building in which Gavin and Sadira had lived. It contained a sepulchral feast hall with a cornucopic buffet of delicious foods from every corner of the Domains, private baths and sweat-lodges, and a colourfully tiled pool filled with crystal clear water for exercise and swimming. Their apartments were spacious and richly decorated with tapestries, marble flooring, and wondrous conveniences to which the young Gladiators were unaccustomed. Gavin and Sadira had been assigned an apartment together. The few furnishings they had shipped from Camp Valorous were already in place, and the apartments had been decorated according to their inclinations long before they appeared.

  "I could get used to this…" pronounced Sadira, revelling in the space and luxury of their apartment. It was bigger and more private than the lovely cottage the six of them had shared at Camp Valorous.

  "Careful," said Gavin. "You don’t want all of this easy living making us soft, Sadira…"

  "As if!" she responded, rolling her eyes. "I’m still here to win; don’t worry about me."

  Vintia, Karmal, and Ravius were placed in an apartment together, an arrangement that pleased Ravius greatly, at least initially. Although by the time their first week in the residence passed, he was already complaining vociferously that the two women were allied against him...

  Most of the other Gladiators in the residence were friendly, but distant. The sense of competition among peers was very strong and only the charming Ravius was able to make any contacts early on. Sadira noted to Gavin, a few days after they arrived, that it seemed like the Reds here were not interested in each other at all. They cared only for themselves, and had little sense of unity; she could see that they were demoralized.

  -----o

  A week before their first match in Scorpion's Oasis the five Gladiators were called to a meeting with the Chief Promoter of the Reds.

  Sulius ul-Cyrus was a human male, with a hint of Elven blood in him. His delicately pointed ears looked out of place above his broad flushed face and double chin. Despite being Gifted, and thus virtually ageless, Sulius looked more like a well-to-do merchant, fat and content, enjoying an expensive holiday at the local resorts, than a figure of importance in the Red Faction. Camille, the woman who had recruited them for the Reds in Dreadwood Junction, had already warned Sadira about the man's tendency to be dramatic.

  "Welcome. Please sit down. All of you." Sulius heaved himself up, smiling and greeting them each by name, before flopping back down on his chair. Comfortable couches and heaping plates of delectable foods beckoned to them. Gavin immediately swept up a small pastry filled with seafood and cream cheese from a heaping tray. It was shockingly good. Their host did not waste time getting to the point.

  "I'll be honest with you. If I had my way, only Sadira would be here. The rest of you are unproven assets," Sulius said in a matter of fact tone, his ruddy face serious, hands gesticulating nimbly in emphasis. The Gladiators bristled; Gavin felt a warning tingle in his spine as Karmal's face went suddenly red. "I do not wish to be unpleasant, but we need the best talent we can get our hands on here in the Oasis. We have been humiliated in our last few seasons and badly need a win. Faction games are serious business, and the Blues have an almost unbeatable advantage in Scorpion's Oasis. I need to be honest with you, my friends: if you don't impress me in your next couple of matches, I will have to ship you back to training camp before the next season starts and try my luck on replacements."

  The Gladiators stared at him in shocked silence. Gavin had half a mind to g
et up and leave; the man's words had hit his rebellious streak. He could see the others were thinking similar thoughts.

  "With that unpleasantness is out of the way, I hope you are all enjoying your arrangements?" Sulius smiled at them, his manner becoming more cordial. "We may not be as wealthy as the Blues across the way, but we do try to treat our people right here. I dare say you'll remember your stay fondly when you get to the Red Campus in Brightsand Halls, or wherever you go when you are done at the Oasis." The Gladiators continued to stare, still affronted by the man's initial comments. "Have you tried the buffet? Best meal in the town, personally organized by myself." Sulius continued smoothly, hoping he had not offended them too much. He was not a confrontational man by nature, but his situation was dire.

  He talked on for some time, the Gladiators answering his questions about training and tactics with as few words as possible. Ravius did most of the talking for the Gladiators, leading Sulius toward more constructive topics until the recruiter dismissed them, Sadira remained behind as the others stepped out. She nodded to Gavin, signalling him in the silent language of those who fight at each other's side that she would join him shortly.

  "You are the real prize of the bunch." Sulius looked up from the plate of sweetmeats he was devouring. He smiled. "You should not saddle yourself with..." Sure the others were out of earshot, Sadira rounded on him, eyes blazing with cold fury.

  "Chief Promoter Sulius, with all due respect, I do not like the way you treat my friends," she intoned. "We are a team; without them, I would not have gotten this far. I will not abide any threats against them. If you send them away, I will go with them."