The Rabbit Great And Terrible

by Chereta, Nelson

  After about a minute of this they quieted down, perhaps their throats were starting to hurt.

  “Welcome my friends!” Ayden cried out in a booming voice that carried. “Welcome to the greatest fighting pit this side of the Wall!”

  Cheers erupted from them, along with wild applause. It came and went quickly.

  As Ayden spoke, his hands danced about. “Tonight, is a special night! A night filled with excitement! Action! Life and death thrills!”

  A voice from somewhere in the stands called out and could be heard clearly. “You say that every week!”

  Ayden cupped his hands over his mouth. “And I’m always right!”

  That brought a chorus of laughter from the crowd.

  “But tonight,” Ayden continued. “We really do have something special! Not the standard ten matches, but eleven! Why? Because ten wouldn’t be enough for all the thrilling, amazing, dazzling, astounding, ball dropping, heart pounding, eye melting, penis throbbing ACTION!”

  Cheers, shouts, and applause answered him.

  “Savage goblins we have, taken in raids! A fearsome and hungry brown bear! A murderous and wicked drow from the very bowels of the earth! And not one, but two great barbarian warriors! One from the icy north and one from the distant plains beyond the Inner Sea! All of them here for you! All of them here to fight for your entertainment! All of them to bleed and kill and die for you!”

  And the joyous cheers rained down.

  From beneath the table one of the serving girls pulled out an hourglass. It was large enough that she needed both hands to carry it. Without any signal she brought it over to Ayden. As she did so the man twirled about like a dancer, sending his cape flying over his shoulders. He spread both hands to the blackboard, where a message had been written:

  BOKO THE GOBLIN 1 – 5

  VS

  THREE MEN 5 – 1

  “Our first exciting match will be the savage Boko against three brave new gladiators! Boko is the favorite with the odds set at five to one! As always, we are ready to accept bets in any amount! Here is your first chance to win some coin! We honor all bets! So, hurry and lay your money down!” Ayden took the hourglass from the girl and carefully set it on the wooden railing of the balcony. White sands began to flow from the upper glass bulb to the lower. “We’ll begin the match in five minutes so hurry and place your bets!”

  Waldo hadn’t noticed before, but spread throughout the stands were a dozen enclosed stations surrounded by armed guards. Before Ayden even finished speaking people were lining up in front of them. That wasn’t what interested Waldo.

  “Goblins and drow?” Waldo demanded as Ayden sauntered back to his couch. “I thought non-humans were forbidden to fight in these matches.”

  Ayden gave a quick bow. “My apologies for any misunderstanding, Maser Rabbit. That’s so inside the Wall, but not out here. Only human gladiators are permitted the honor of fighting in the Arena and before our beloved queen. Outside the Wall, we’re a bit more open minded about things. We like to mix it up here in the pits, keeps things interesting for the crowds.”

  “But you said-”

  “Asger is human,” Ayden bowed again. “You have my word on it. He’s a Northman savage and human to the bone.”

  Waldo frowned, but nodded. That had been what he was going to ask about.

  “You take bets on these fights?” Alice crossed her arms. “You really want to make as much money as you can from people dying, don’t you?”

  “I wouldn’t mind, but alas,” Ayden glanced to where Leiznam was seated. “I make my coin from the gate and a tiny fee from the people working the booths. But I have nothing to do directly with any of the bets.”

  “A long time ago,” Leiznam explained. “My guild was given exclusive rights to all gambling in Torikai. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the Golden City or the Rats Nest; if you want to place a bet in Torikai you do it through the guild or you don’t do it at all.”

  “I always thought mages were above that sort of thing,” Alice said.

  “Not all of us can be as pure and altruistic as White Mages pretend to be.” He shifted his gaze from Alice to Waldo. “Before the guild was founded Torikai was nothing special, just another small, petty, little kingdom like all its neighbors. It was the original members of my guild who had the vision and drive to create the Golden City, the City of Wonders, the City of Fortune and Ruin. We made Torikai the greatest city in the world, and in compensation we were given certain rights.” He narrowed his eyes. “Torikai is ours, it belongs to my guild and no one is going to take it from us; not Avalon, not the drow, no one.”

  Waldo sighed. “I’ve already told you, I don’t care about your guild. All I want is information.”

  “Yes, you’re just a complete innocent with pure intentions.”

  “There’s no need to be insulting.”

  XXX

  When the five minutes were up, and the last bit of sand had fallen into the lower half of the hourglass, Ayden marched back onto the balcony. “All right! Let’s begin the first match!”

  The crowd roared.

  The pit was circular and covered in sand. It was separated from the stands by ten feet of red brick, close enough to reach down and touch one of the contestants, but high enough to keep them trapped. In the brick wall were eight arched doorways with iron bars. Upon Ayden’s command two sets of bars on doors opposite of each other slid out of the way.

  Out of one stumbled three men. Each holding a sword in both hands. They had no shields or armor, all they wore were sandals and cloth wrapped about their nether regions, leaving almost all their skin exposed. The men took only a few steps past the door they’d come out of and huddled together. As soon as they were out, the iron bars slid back into place.

  From the opposite side charged out a grey form with a turnip shaped head and thick, muscular arms. Like the three men, the goblin had no shield or armor, dressed in nothing but a scrap of cloth. Clutched above his head was a machete. “Kill! Kill! Kill!” It screeched loud enough to be heard by all.

  The crowd drew in its breath and Waldo instinctively moved to the edge of the couch. Even Alice leaned forward to get a better view.

  The three men just stood there in confusion as the goblin ran to them. They looked at one another, spoke, backed up a couple steps, and held their swords out in basic defensive stances. Boko did not hesitate and never broke stride. He ran in and attacked the one on the right. The goblin swung down his machete and easily knocked away the blocking sword. The goblin’s blade came down on the man’s shoulder. And in a single vicious stroke hacked off the man’s right arm. Blood gushed out and the poor bastard stumbled back screaming as he clutched at the mangled wound with his remaining hand. His sword still clutched by the arm lying at his feet. The crowd gasped and gave an ‘ooh!’

  Boko ignored the man he’d just maimed and instead rounded on the other two. One of the fighters backed away looking as if he were sick. The other charged forward with a shout, swinging his sword wildly. Boko sidestepped, and the sword passed harmlessly in front of him. The goblin then stepped forward as his opponent was trying to get his sword back into position. Even to Waldo it was obvious the man was panicked and acting without any sort of plan. While he was waving his sword around Boko stabbed the end of his machete into the side of his ribs and straight out the back. The man cried out and dropped his sword. Boke wrenched his blade out sending blood and small bits of bits of flesh spilling out. The man fell to his knees, grabbing his side and coughing up blood, still alive but soon to be dead.

  The goblin didn’t even bother with a finishing blow, instead he moved in on the last man who was standing. The man faced up with the sword held out in front with both hands. Boko slowed now, no longer in a rush he began to slowly circle his opponent, like a wolf stalking a deer. The bloodied machete was at the ready. The man turned about to keep the goblin right in front of him.

  Boko gave a lazy swing. The man brought his sword down hard and blocked it cle
anly with a loud ‘clang.’ The goblin swung again, and again was blocked. A feral smile split the monster’s face. It reminded Waldo of a look he’d seen on Enver many, many times. He’s just playing with him, Waldo thought.

  And sure enough, the goblin again made a halfhearted swing. But this time when the man tried to block, the goblin suddenly pulled back and reswung with real might. The man’s sword hit the ground as the goblin’s blade chopped through his wrists, severing his hands and making blood fountain from his arms. The man brought the stumps of his arms up to his face as he screamed. Boko stood there a moment and laughed. After that he chopped off both of the man’s legs above the knee and then began hacking him onto pieces.

  Ayden allowed this to continue for a few minutes until the crowd began to get bored with it and a few boos began to rain down. He then removed his feathered beret. That apparently was a signal. One of the iron doors opened and a dozen guards armed with spears marched out in a line. As soon as Boko spotted them the goblin understood his fun was over. He threw down his weapon, grabbed a hunk of leg and made his way back towards the open doorway. The guards then gathered up the bodies and pieces.

  The one who had been speared through the chest was not moving as he was picked up. The man who’d lost an arm was still clutching at it and talking as the guards approached. One of the guards knelt over him and took out a dagger. The fighter’s head was yanked back, and his throat cut open like a lamb’s. Then he was tossed over the guard’s shoulder and carried off. A different guard grabbed the severed arm and sword.

  Ayden turned to his guests looking triumphant. The two men at the blackboard had already erased what they’d written and were busy putting up the information for the next match.

  “Well, what did you think?”

  “That was terrible! Just awful!” Alice said.

  “And yet,” Ayden said with a chuckle. “You never looked away.”

  Alice placed a hand over her mouth and was silent.

  “I agree with Alice,” Waldo said. “That was terrible. That wasn’t much of a fight. The goblin obviously knew what he was doing, but those three were worthless. Were they even trained?”

  Ayden gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “They got about a week’s worth. They were all guilty of unpaid debts, there’s no shortage of their kind.”

  A week was about all the time Belle had had. “It was barely a fight.”

  Ayden motioned towards he people in the surrounding stands. “Do they look disappointed to you, Master Rabbit?”

  No one was booing or leaving. The crowd seemed as eager and excited as before.

  “Not everyone who appears in the pit is here to fight,” Ayden said. “Some of them are just here to bleed. Luckily, that doesn’t require much training.”

  “If it’s too much for you,” Leiznam said. “Feel free to leave.”

  “It’s fine,” Waldo said. “I was just expecting the matches to be more entertaining.”

  “Ah! But the best is yet to come, Master Rabbit! This is only the first morsel! I will give you a feast for the eyes, I guarantee it!”

  Ayden swept back out onto the balcony to announce the next match.

  Chapter 28

  Tobi The Bear

  Back home, when his mother would have some of the slaves fight each other for the family’s entertainment, they were always very skilled. She always demanded that performers be of the best quality. The singers had beautiful voices, the actors who put on plays were experts in the theater, the sex slaves who performed were young, attractive, and very limber. It was no different with the fighters, all of them were trained for at least a year or more, and the matches, usually, paired off combatants of similar skill levels. (Sometimes mother would be in a whimsical mood and would have blind people or kitchen slaves armed with nothing, but loaves of bread fight one another. But even then, everyone was on the same level.)

  Here it was different. Most of the matches were one sided, with the odds reflecting that. For instance, the third match featured a gladiator named Phyrox against a pair of unnamed goblins. He was listed as a five to one favorite and made short, bloody work of his opponents. When he was done butchering the goblins he walked off to wild cheers and the crowd chanting his name.

  “Not everyone who fights in the pits is a criminal,” Ayden explained. “We always get some adventurers who come here seeking fame and fortune. Most of them volunteer for the Arena, dreaming of winning a tournament and claiming a huge prize in gold. A few are more realistic though. Any free man who wins his match earns a silver mark.”

  “What about the losers?” Alice asked.

  “Oh, they win a complimentary place in a common grave.”

  “What about the people who are forced to fight?”

  “Well it depends. The ones who come here because of debt get one silver mark credited toward that debt, win or lose. If they survive long enough to pay off the entire amount plus the interest, they and their families are freed.”

  “Their families get arrested too?!”

  Ayden nodded. “The merchant houses usually won’t lend to someone unless they have a wife and at least two or three healthy children. Most loans are for five silver marks at fifty percent interest, with the full sum due in six months. Failure to pay means arrest for the entire family and forced servitude until the full sum is recovered.”

  Alice gasped. “Why would anyone borrow money with terms like that?”

  Ayden gave an indifferent shrug. “There are a lot of desperate people in the Rats Nest. And indentured servants at least get fed.”

  Alice looked miserable and Waldo could feel melancholy coming from her.

  “Do any of them ever last long enough to actually win their freedom?” Waldo asked.

  “It happens, but it’s rare. Every once in a while, someone just takes to the training and turns out to be a natural.”

  “What about the criminals who aren’t here because of debts?”

  “They’re sentenced to a set number of matches. For instance; minor theft earns you one, assault four, common theft five, rape seven, and so on. If they complete their sentence they’re freed, but like I said, it’s rare.”

  “I thought thieves got their hands cut off.”

  “That’s only if the crime occurs inside the Gold Wall,” Leiznam said. “The laws are different depending which side of the wall you are on.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair,” Alice said.

  “What do you mean?” Leiznam asked. “It’s only sensible to have alternate laws depending on who the victim is.”

  “You mean whether it’s someone rich.”

  “That’s how things are. The residents in the Gold City and many of our guests are some of the wealthiest and most important people in the world. It only makes sense we protect them and keep them safe.”

  “And what about everyone else?”

  “We do what we can,” Leiznam said. “But we have to have our priorities.”

  Waldo nodded in silence. In Alteroth there was one set of rules for the members of the Seven Great Houses, and one for everyone else. In almost every country lords could do almost anything to their peasants without consequence. In this world you were either a wolf or a sheep.

  “How many matches does a murderer get?” Waldo asked out of curiosity.

  “One,” Ayden said.

  Waldo raised an eyebrow. “Just one? You treat murder the same way you do a minor theft?”

  “Be patient, Master Rabbit. You’ll understand in a bit.”

  XXX

  For the fifth match the blackboard read:

  TOBI THE BEAR

  VS

  MURDERER

  There were no odds listed and when Ayden announced it he didn’t bother with a five minute wait. That made sense as it was less of a match and more of an execution. The unnamed killer was pushed out his door with the same clothing as everyone else, but without a weapon. Out the opposite door came a huge, shaggy brown bear. The creature was only a little smaller than Gr
onk. The animal let loose a roar and immediately stampeded towards the man.

  “We don’t feed Tobi for three days before an appearance,” Ayden said.

  “I can see why,” Waldo said.

  The man naturally tried to run, but the bear chased him down immediately. The bear knocked him over and pinned him with one paw as he tore off an arm. The man was still alive and kept struggling as the animal began its meal. The crowd watched and applauded as the bear ate everything but the head and a few scraps. The guards trying to force the animal back through its archway took longer than the event itself. The audience became a bit bored and there were a few boos and catcalls.