Each and every beastman in the arena, and many of those in the cages underneath, paused as they caught the smell of the sweet, flowing blood of one that was not their own. As one, the remaining creatures rushed toward Karmal as she gained her feet. Even some of the seemingly dead beasts stirred. The crowd gasped. Karmal, her eyes wide, met the avalanche of beastmen head on.
"Bring it you mutt-faced bastards!" she yelled. Her cleaver swept through them like a whirlwind, killing several in one stroke. But they were not to be denied; mad with bloodlust, they overwhelmed her with sheer numbers, dragging her down, biting and clawing.
The other Gladiators ran to her aid as the tide of flesh washed over her. Gavin forgot his reluctance and threw himself into the pack. He ignored his own pain as they clawed and bit at him, intent on helping his fallen friend. He killed two with wild swings of his heavy spear-blade, knocking several aside as he followed up with a shield slam. Swift-footed Sadira used the space that her partner cleared, and leaping over him, she landed near Karmal, whirling blades carving a space around her. Karmal, covered from head to toe in bloody claw and bite marks, breathed in relief as her assailants thinned. Gavin pushed his way to them, shielding them as best he could. They fought back to back as the frenzied, creatures rolled over them, attacking with wild abandon.
Finally, the tide broke as Vintia, Ravius and Omodo waded in, methodically killing the beastmen from the flanks and rear. The crowd roared as the deadly dance reached its climax and then slowly wound down, ending as the last howling, blood-crazed creature fell to a leaping uppercut from Sadira's gore-dripping twin swords.
-----o
After the match, Sadira approached Gavin in the steam-room. Ravius and Omodo took their leave as she entered, naked and glistening. The Gladiatrix chuckled at Ravius's whistle as she walked past him. Gavin rolled his eyes. Her blood was still burning with battle-lust and she was full of desire; she often felt this way after a match. She walked forward slowly, strutting, letting Gavin's eyes drink in her beauty. After a long moment she reached him, putting her arms around him and pulling herself to him, kissing him hard.
"I guess you're serving ale tonight my love," she said mockingly, and then kissed him again, harder this time, before he could respond. When she pulled away her eyes sparkled, "but I saw what you did for me…"
Gavin's eyes widened, his heart caught in his throat; did she sense that he had fought half-heartedly most of the match?
"You put all of your effort into defending me," she said, "making sure that I would win my silly little wager with Karmal; I should be insulted that you thought I needed the help, but I love you for your selflessness."
She kissed him again and then whispered a lusty promise into his ear, drawing him toward the baths. Gavin was relieved that she was wrong, but he felt guilty at not correcting her and saying it was nausea. He was still unable to reconcile his thoughts and feelings about the match. He yielded quickly to Sadira's questing tongue, sensual whispers, and the press of her firm body and soft breasts through the hot water. The tide of blood driven nausea that was drowning his thoughts slowly ebbed, as his ardent lover kindled his desire, burning away the ugly afterglow of bloodlust and guilt that assaulted him. Finally he let go, losing himself in her passionate embrace. "It is what we do, after all" he thought.
Chapter Twelve: Bonedance
1142/01/24 AR, Camp Valorous
"They can animate corpses; do you need more obvious proof than this that magic is a tool of evil?" Anonymous
"Properly supervised, the undead can be employed for tasks that are dangerous for the living people of the Domains. They are a useful tool in the right hands, like any other construct. Their origins do tend to make people uncomfortable, I must admit." Pravix, Master Necromancer.
Gavin could not resist a smile as he watched Sadira leap forward and twirl in the air with a dancer's grace, one of her elegant obsidian blades carving a shining arc in the air as she touched the ground. The bleached skull of her skeletal foe rolled as it hit the white sand, while the rest of the body simply collapsed into a heap of bones. The Camp Valorous audience cheered as the elegant Gladiatrix tumbled back to join him. She was just in time to shelter behind him, taking cover from a volley of arrows fired by a handful of archers mixed in with the rest of the skeletons.
Gavin blocked most of the arrows with his perfectly positioned shield, flicking two of them away with deft motions of his spear, lightning quick. The techniques taught to him by Master Ironwall of the Enduring Bulwark School were serving him well in this fight. He felt confident of his ability to defend them.
True to her word, as always, Sadira had consulted with Gavin when picking this fight. They were in the midst of a gruelling survival match against a horde of animated skeletons. The sheer number of skeletons was a great challenge to the skills of the two Gladiators. Even with Gavin concentrating on defending them with spear and shield, they had both suffered several cuts and wounds. Their Gladiator constitutions and Sadira's healing magic had, however, undone most of the damage that the skeletons had inflicted, although Gavin still had an arrow embedded in his leg. He had barely had enough time to snap it off so it did not impede his movement, let alone pull it out.
The skeletons with bows pulled jagged-edged arrows from their quivers with mechanical efficiency, while their sword-wielding cohorts pushed and hacked at the two Gladiators. It was a night fight and their undead foes looked especially eerie in the torch-lit fighting ground, carrying weapons and armour that were designed to look as brutal as possible. The glowing red eyes are a nice touch, thought Gavin, a classic that never goes out of style.
The Gladiator put his weight behind his lion-headed shield, gleaming silver as it caught the moonlight, and shouldered into the skeleton line. A sword skittered against his shoulder armour. His momentum knocked the nearest skeleton and the pair behind it off their feet with ease; the magic animating them made them strong, but did not increase their actual weight. Fleshless bones crunched and splintered under the impact and all three of his foes collapsed. Sadira vaulted over Gavin's shoulder, her armoured booted heel kicking out and crushing an old skull to powder while her serpentine sabres swept down mercilessly to splinter another foe.
In spite of the contemptuous ease with which they dispatched each individual Skeleton, the two Gladiators were being slowly overwhelmed. More of their enemies were being released into the arena, while many of those that they destroyed slowly reassembled as the magic bringing them to life gathered up lost limbs and slowly reshaped them.
Victory in this match meant surviving the onslaught until the time limit was met. Survival was one of Gavin's favourite match types; it gave him a chance to make the best use of his defensive skills. Lightly armoured Sadira was somewhat contained by the great number of enemies; it was hard to dodge and parry against so many foes pressing in at once. She did not mind the challenge, however, especially with stalwart Gavin watching her back and intercepting arrows, making it easier for her to concentrate on wreaking havoc.
Sadira tumbled forward into the midst of her foes, her elegant sabres hewing through animated bone with contemptuous ease. She danced out of reach as they swung their ugly blades at her, baiting them back toward Gavin who smashed into them again with his shield. As he moved Sadira turned and leapt up, stepping onto his shoulder and pushing herself into the air, leaping high to fall among her undead enemies like a sword-winged bird of prey. It was a move they practised often. Gavin pushed forward again as she landed, bringing his boots down hard on the skull of a skeleton reanimating on the ground in front of him.
The boisterous crowd cheered, enjoying the late night spectacle. Arena Master Druth watched admiringly from his customary seat on a long bench a few rows back, among the soldiers. The vivacious Camille Caesaria sat beside him, looking like a delicate flower among tough weeds in her rich red gown and golden jewelry. She was a true Red however, cheering, shouting, and trading bawdy comments with the neighbouring fans, setting them at ease. "Th
ese two make a great team," she whispered in Druth's ear, her honeyed voice sending an unexpected shiver down his spine. "Especially in this kind of match."
"Indeed they do; a good find, recruiter!" Druth kept his tone businesslike; the recruiters were always playing with people, and Camille was no exception. They joined the crowd in a loud cheer as Sadira rolled forward, her blades outstretched and whirling, like chariot-wheel scythes, sending two rows of skeletons crashing to the ground as she sheared off their legs. "They may actually make it all the way through this match."
"It is so rare to find a man who does not mind letting his woman take centre stage..." Camille smiled. It was clear the pair trusted each other without reservation; their teamwork was near perfect in this match. If life did not drive a wedge between them, they would win great glory for the Faction together. Sadira's future is bright even without her loyal defender, Camille thought, but Gavin has unrealized potential.
Druth's answer was drowned out by the crowd's reaction as another wave of skeletons was released into the arena; wading through their midst was an immense construct, a gestalt of the bones of giants and trolls and many other lesser beings. It had three heads, mostly for show, each one toothed and horrible. Each of its four arms carried a massive spiked club. Druth smiled at the crowd's reaction to the creature; it had taken his expert necromancers only two days to assemble it, but it was impressive and frightening, moving on the Gladiators with a sense of relentless menace. It felt good to see that the audience appreciated the showmanship.
Gavin watched as the bone golem strode forward, scattering lesser skeletons out of its way; it was his job to keep the smaller undead off his partner while she tested her blades against this impressive new foe. He would have preferred it the other way around, but Sadira signalled that she wanted to take her chances with the gigantic construct. It was a gamble to try to fight the creature at all, instead of trying to avoid it until the last moment, but it was exactly the type of bold move to which Sadira was attracted. If she could fell it, they would win even greater praise from the crowd and perhaps extra victory coins; she would also be gleefully happy, which was Gavin's main concern.
Sadira cut her way through the skeletons, picking up speed as Gavin shouldered them aside for her. She sheathed her twin swords as she broke into a full on sprint, drawing her heavier greatsword from her back as she charged the massive bone golem. She let all of her momentum flow into the first swing, a whirling slash that sent her sword blade slamming into the creature's knee. A slice of bone fell from the joint, but the creature did not even stagger. The Gladiatrix was forced to roll through the giant construct's legs to avoid getting squashed by a heavy club as thick as her thigh. Sadira smirked, guessing that the bones making up the creature’s body were laminated and more durable than they appeared.
Behind her Gavin pushed into the skeletons, bunching them up, grinding them against each other until they splintered. He pushed forward, revelling in the effort. Swords and arrows bounced off his shield and armour and more than one found its mark, wounding him. Still, he relished the pure physicality of the struggle as he held the skeleton line to a standstill, ignoring their battering blades and the blood from small wounds. The crowd rewarded his effort with cheers, and he drew new strength from this.
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" he shouted, almost laughing in spite of the effort, remembering the classic lines from a favoured childhood tale. A ripple of laughter ran through the audience, accompanied by some groans.
Sadira's elegant greatsword cut the air in deadly arcs sending chips flying from the monstrous bone golem's thick legs. It did little, however, to slow the creature down, and its four crushing clubs came close to clipping her several times. Her sword was proving to be less effective than she had hoped. She wished she had a heavier weapon, like the massive sledge Omodo used, or a spell that could hit as hard as Karmal's fire. She spent a moment to send a burst of healing magic into Gavin, spurring his body's regeneration, before she resumed harrying the giant.
Restored by his partner's spell, Gavin continued pushing against the skeletons, using his spear to fend off any who appeared on his flank. It was a tactic that would not work against more intelligent foes, but he could hold them it seemed. The archers were mostly firing at Sadira, who used the legs of her giant opponent as cover against the incoming missiles.
With a sense of growing frustration Sadira realized that she might not be able to put the big bone golem down before Gavin was overwhelmed. She could not help him clear his foes without leading the giant to him. Her heavy, elegant greatsword slammed into one of the golem's wrists as she sidestepped a smashing club, sending bone chips flying. How can I hurt this thing, she asked herself.
"Bring it over here! The bigger they are..." Gavin yelled to her, gesturing at the mob around him. She smiled as she guessed his plan. They could use their giant foe against its smaller allies. She let loose a war-shriek and danced backwards, leading her opponent toward Gavin and the surging pack of skeletons around him. The massive four armed bone giant followed, its eager clubs swinging, striking the sand as she tumbled away. It started to trot as Sadira picked up speed, nearing Gavin.
"NOW!" She yelled, dropping to the ground. Gavin pushed his foes back a step with a powerful surge, turned, ignoring their hungry blades, and lunged toward the skeletal giant's lower leg as Sadira did the same. They moved in unison, a pulse of Sadira's magic lending Gavin greater strength. They tackled the giant's feet and shins, hauling its legs backwards while the rest of its body kept moving forward through sheer momentum. An arrow slammed into Gavin’s side but he did not let go. They pushed hard, his shout mingling with her ear-splitting war-scream, every muscle straining with effort.
Like some massive old tree felled by an unnatural wind, the giant skeleton toppled with a groaning creak, landing with a splintering crash amidst its smaller brethren. The calamitous sound of a thousand bones crunching and snapping all at once filled the arena. The spectators surged to their feet as one, shouting and laughing, astounded and pleased. A cloud of dust obscured the two Gladiators and the struggling mass of bones for a moment.
The skeletal archers kept firing; having no eyes to see with, their aim was not encumbered by dust. Another arrow sank into Gavin's side and one hit Sadira just above her knee. The two fighters stood back to back as the remaining skeletons surged around the struggling bone golem and moved toward them. Arrows flew. Swords flashed and whirled. Bright shields blocked fell blades. The giant struggled to regain its feet. The crowd roared encouragement to the two desperate, fearless warriors, who were bleeding and exhausted, but fought on and did not give ground as their relentless foes closed in.
And then it was done. The end of the match stayed their seemingly inevitable doom. The trumpet's sound had rarely seemed so sweet to Gavin and Sadira, bloody, bleeding, panting, yet exultant. The magic animating their foes was withdrawn and in a heartbeat the skeletons and the giant bone golem began to collapse. Leaning against each other to remain standing, they raised their weapons as the arena roared in approval. Sadira laughed, pure and joyful, as the audience showered them with praise.
-----o
"You were amazing Gavin, holding back all of those Skeletons!" Karmal's green eyes glinted as she smiled at him. Something in her tone made him uneasy; the flame haired Gladiatrix was not one to give compliments so easily. They were all gathered around a table at the Laughing Giant, a restaurant in the Gladiator's quarter.
"Get your own man, Karmal," Sadira warned, half-serious. "I intend to keep this one."
"Too bad; Vintia does not seem to want to throw herself in front of swords meant for me," sighed Karmal. "It’s so hard to find a good defender these days..."
"I'll tell you what Karmal," Vintia rolled her eyes. " if you start actually being nice to me, I'll be more inclined to bleed for you on the fighting grounds. You don't see Sadira disparaging Gavin for every little cut she gets..."
Karmal looked embarrassed for a moment, before making a rude
gesture at Vintia, as the rest of them laughed.
"Speaking of my excellent shield-work," said Gavin, after the laughter died down, "did you want me to write up a recommendation for you to Master Ironwall Vintia? He is one of the best trainers in the Iron Bulwark school. Krass may be far away, but it should be easy to find a Grey-Robe willing to take you to the capital."
"Yes, I'd appreciate it greatly Gavin." She looked at him seriously, pinching her lower lip between her thumb and finger. "I was thinking about other training options, but seeing you in action these last few matches made up my mind. I really think it is worthwhile to invest my time in learning the Iron Bulwark techniques; they will really help us out in team situations."
"Yeah, I'm glad I picked it up early on," Gavin smiled. "It's really given me an edge, especially defending against arrows and large attackers. Master Ironwall is considered one of the best teachers. You'll love him, I'm sure."
"My trainer in the Linebreaker school recommended him as well, actually," continued Vintia.
"Linebreaker, such a strange name for a training path..." interrupted Sadira, smirking.
"Well, after the Deliberative reformed the schools that’s the name it was given." Vintia shrugged. "The old names were all very pretty and poetic, like the Sun and Moon school, but too many of them were tied to the Factions and the Chosen who founded them. Outside ideology should play as little role in training schools as possible. I doubt Omodo would want to study the techniques of the path of the Juggernaut if it still bore the name Moltar's Iron Warriors..."
Bloodlust: A Gladiator's Tale (Domains of the Chosen Book One) Page 19