But, nobody cheered. My eyes locked on to Douglas. He jumped from side to side as the man began to walk closer to him. Douglas sprinted to his left, and then to his right. Over and over he continued to do this. The crowd began to let out a few “boo” sounds. What was the troll doing? Was this some sort of strange survival technique that he had come up with? Perhaps a trick to throw off his opponent? I didn't know, but the man was getting closer and closer as Douglas continued sprinting side to side. Suddenly, Douglas changed the direction of his sprint. He ran towards the man at full speed and leaped on top of him. There was a struggle and I couldn't see what was happening. My hands went into the air. “Get him! Come on Douglas,” I yelled.
The two fell to the ground. Douglas jumped on top of the man and began hitting him over and over. “Kick his ass,” I yelled with excitement.
The crowd screamed over and over. “Kill him, Kill him.”
Douglas threw both of his hands into the air and looked at the crowd. I was happy for him as a smile came to my face. He was really doing it. He was about to win just like he said he would. Suddenly, the man's hand went around Douglas's neck. Douglas tried to loosen his grip, but couldn't. The man slung Douglas to the ground before pulling them both back to their feet. Douglas's feet left the ground as the man lifted him into the air. With one arm, the man held Douglas. Players around us screamed and cheered. The man let go of Douglas, but Douglas was too weak to stand. He fell to his knees and struggled to breathe.
The man grabbed the back of his head and slammed his knee into his jaw. Douglas fell to his side and struggled to get up while the man enjoyed the crowd cheering for him. Both of his hands were in the air as the crowd cheered louder and louder. Douglas stumbled to his knees before he finally got back to his feet. I had to admit, the troll didn't look too healthy. I felt bad for him as I didn't want to see what was going to happen next.
The man walked with confidence as if he didn't view Douglas as a threat at all. Douglas held both hands in front of his chest. He swung, but the man caught it. Douglas swung with his other hand, but the man caught it too. With a yank, he pulled him closer and delivered a crushing headbutt. Douglas fell, but the man didn't let go of his hands. Again, he headbutted him. Douglas's green colored face had become red. Crap, this little troll was seriously injured. His body was limp but the man wouldn't stop. He pushed Douglas back and began to pummel him with blow after blow. Again and again the man pounded his face. My head went back and forth. I had to face the facts. Douglas was getting his ass kicked. The man continued beating him as I wondered how long the little troll could endure such punishment. Blood splashed into the air as the beating continued.
Damn. This troll was suffering. The people cheered louder and louder as the beating got worse and worse. I had never seen a beating drag on for so long. Was someone going to stop this? Or were they planning to bury the troll? If so, I wondered if I would be invited to the funeral. I didn't know. Suddenly, the man climbed off Douglas's lifeless body. He was covered in blood while he jumped up and down. The crowd went crazy for him as white flowers poured out of the sky. What the hell? They threw way more white flowers for this guy than they had done for me. It just didn't seem fair.
I continued looking at Douglas and hoped that I would see him get up. But, he didn't. In the corner of the arena, two men pushed a wooden wheel barrel towards his body. The wheel barrel stopped. They grabbed both of his arms and tossed him into it. Douglas didn't move. Within minutes they were gone. I squinted my eyes. So they just toss people into a crappy wheel barrel and dump them somewhere? I looked over at the prisoner next to me. He seemed to be very busy taking some notes. “Where did they take the troll?” I asked.
“It depends,” he replied without looking up at me.
“On what?”
“If he's dead or alive.”
“Do you think he's dead?”
“Hard to say,” he replied.
Was Douglas dead? Had I really witnessed my cellmates death? It was sad to think about considering that I was just beginning to like him. “What happens if he is still alive?”
“He will probably survive if that's the case,” the prisoner replied.
“Where do they take him though?”
“Where do you think? Back to his cell.”
“Do they heal him first? Maybe take him to a clinic or something?”
The prisoner laughed. “You get one mercy lose. After that, nobody cares about you. Especially if you are a low level fighter. He better hope he has plenty of healing potions. Otherwise, he will just die a slow painful death. It has happened to many before, and will happen to many more.”
In the distance, I could see several guards headed in our direction. The crowd continued to cheer as the man tried his best to win them over. He did many different gestures as he seemed to be enjoying his victory over the troll. Within moments, one of the guards had arrived. “Come with me,” he demanded while grabbing my arm.
More guards arrived and began to take the other prisoners as well. We left the coliseum and headed down the long narrow hallway that led back to our cells. Nobody said anything as we just continued walking. It wasn't long before I arrived at my cell. We stood outside of the door while the guard fumbled around trying to find his keys. Then, he inserted the key, opened the door and pushed me into my cell. “Your cellmate is coming soon,” he said before turning to leave.
“He's alive?” I asked.
“Barely,” the guard replied with a chuckle.
I grabbed the metal bars in front of me. Across from me, there was only a brown wall with a torch mounted on it. The flames flickered as they spit out a few random pops. Down the hallway, I could hear other prisoners talking. But, they were not close enough for me to make out any clear words. My forehead went against the bars. When would they let me visit the city again? The schedule didn't seem consistent. Or perhaps I just didn't understand it fully yet? My eyes began to close. But then, they flickered open. Crap, I was getting sleepy. I didn't want to sleep though. But, my body demanded it as blackness overtook me.
Chapter Twenty Five
My cell door creaked open. At first, I thought I was still dreaming. But, I wasn't. There was a thud after they dumped his body on to the ground. Douglas let out a cough that was followed by a twitch. The wheels on the wheel barrel squealed as they pushed the cart out of our cell and left us. He was flat on his back and didn't move. His green face wasn't as green as usual, and dried blood was around his mouth, nose and eyes. He looked like he was dead, but he was still breathing. I stood up over his body. “Douglas? Can you hear me?”
His eyes opened, but they looked odd. Only a blank look covered his face. “Do you need some water or something?” I asked.
His tongue slid out of his mouth and hung to the side. Damn. This troll didn't look healthy. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
There was nothing that came from the troll. Was he going to die? I began to pace back and forth in the cell. Thoughts flooded my head. Suddenly, I heard flapping wings above me. “Oh wow,” a squeaky voice yelled with excitement. “Did he finally die?”
I looked up and saw the pigeon that Douglas hated so much. He looked really happy. “He's not dead,” I replied.
“I watched his fight. I was there and saw the beating,” the pigeon laughed. “He did what he does best. He lost.”
“What should I do? Should I get some health potions or something?”
The pigeon looked confused. His little head went from side to side. “Don't heal him. Just let him die. That's what I would do.”
Damn. This pigeon really was a little asshole. How could he be so heartless? “I won't let him die,” I yelled.
“Why not? I've been waiting a long time to see his final day,” the pigeon replied with eager eyes. “One less loser in the world is how I see it.”
I jumped up into the air and tried to make the pigeon leave. “I will save Douglas,” I replied.
“He's a natural born loser. You can
't keep saving him forever.”
“Why do you hate him so much? What did he ever do to you?”
His beady little eyes became even smaller. “There's just something about him. The first time I ever saw him, I knew I hated him. Kinda like love at first sight, except the opposite.”
That was his reason? What a little psychopath. The pigeon hovered in front of me with a hateful look on his face. “He's not so bad once you get to know him,” I replied.
The pigeon laughed before flying out of the window. Within an instant, the hateful little creature was gone. I looked back down at Douglas. I took in a deep breath. Crap, I couldn't just watch him die. I had to do something. But what? I had to get some more gold before I could save him. I wondered what his health was, but there was no way I could see it. I walked back and forth. Then, it hit me. All I could do was go on another quest or win another coliseum fight.
As I continued thinking, footsteps approached from outside of our cell. “Feeding time,” a guard yelled before sliding a rusty bowl into my cell. After that, there was a clap as the guard slammed down a small cup of water. “Enjoy your meal,” he said.
“What about Douglas? Where is his meal?”
“His meal?” the guard asked with surprise. “He's as good as dead. Not a worthwhile investment.”
The guard walked away. I reached into the bowl and grabbed some stale rice. I stuffed some rice in my mouth and began to crunch it up. It was weird because rice shouldn't be crunchy, but I kinda liked it. In fact, I began to enjoy the crunchy rice as I stuffed more and more into my mouth. Then, my eyes rolled over towards Douglas. Should I give him some? My head went from side to side as I remembered something. The troll had actually stolen my food the first day I had arrived. Did I really want to share my food with someone that had done that to me? I ate another handful of rice and continued looking at his lifeless body.
Crap. Guilt was starting to sink in. Yes, it was true the troll had stolen my first meal. But, that was before he knew me. I was willing to forgive him because I knew he had a good heart. He was the type of person that took a while to get to know. Overall though, I was starting to like him. I crawled closer to his body with the bowl of rice in my hands. Damn. Was I going to hand feed this troll? It seemed odd, but I knew I needed to do it. My hand touched his dry crusty little lips. I quickly realized that this troll was in desperate need of some quality lip balm. I made a mental note of his lip situation just so I could remind him to get some lip balm. Slowly, I forced his mouth open. I grabbed some rice and tossed it down his throat. Then, I manually opened and closed his mouth in a chewing motion. Wow, I was good at this. For someone who had never done something like this, I was impressed. The troll didn't move. But, I knew he had some nutrition now. I had given him the crunchy rice that his scrawny little body needed.
I grabbed some water and poured it on his face. I looked at the few yellow hair strands that were on top of his head. It almost felt like I was watering some dead weeds. The troll began to cough. I stopped watering him and leaned away from him. “Douglas?”
There was no response. I quickly poured some water down his throat. Then, I drank the last remaining bit that was left. I didn't know if Douglas was going to be okay, but at least I knew I had fed him. I crawled to the back of the cell and leaned my back against the wall. Moments passed as nothing happened. I slouched until my stomach and my chest met each other. Minutes turned into hours while I just stared at the troll. Was this my new life? I felt depressed as I waited for my brief moment of freedom. My ears became sensitive as I listened for any sounds of incoming footsteps. I continued listening until a guard eventually arrived. I jumped to my feet. “Have you come to let me out?” I asked with excitement.
“It's time to visit FlatFall,” the guard replied.
I put both of my hands together with joy. “Excellent,” I replied.
The guard took my arm and led me out of the cell. While we walked through the many halls to get out of the dungeon, I began to think about what I was going to do. How was I going to heal Douglas? I knew I had to either fight in the coliseum or find a quest. When we arrived at the entrance of FlatFall, I felt a sense of freedom. The guard let go of my arm and I quickly headed towards the heart of the city. I looked all around. Where could I find a quest? I knew there had to be a place where I could find many different quest. Players ran all around me as if they were too busy to speak. “Excuse me,” I yelled to a large man wearing blue armor.
He came to a sudden halt. “Yes?”
“Where can I find a quest? I need to make a lot of gold.”
“Just go to the tavern,” the player yelled back. “The NPCS who provide quest are usually standing against the back wall. You'll see them.”
“Thank you,” I yelled back as he ran off into the distance.
I began to walk faster while my eyes looked for the tavern. Crap. Where was it? The city was so big, and I had already forgotten the location of the tavern. My footsteps became quicker as I continued looking for the tavern. Then, I saw the green door that I recognized. I looked up at the tavern sign. Yes, this was it. I pushed the door open and saw the red layout. Yep, it was the same exact tavern. But, something was different. There were cheers coming from the bar area. I walked closer to the cheers and noticed a large crowd around someone. I got closer to the crowd and stood on my tippy toes to see what all the fuss was about.
Chugging a beer, was a man with white hair pulled back in a ponytail. Next to him, was the beautiful woman I had seen get out of the carriage. A strange feeling came over me as I realized it was the Grand Champion and his girlfriend. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Yet, she was next to him and not me. It was frustrating. I wanted to tell her that the Grand Champion was cheating on her, but knew she wouldn't believe me. The truth was, I had no proof. I felt a range of mixed emotions while I watched the people cheer for them. I felt like a fool for even paying the girl such attention.
I had mentally put her on a pedestal and knew it wasn't healthy. How could I be so foolish to think I even had a chance with her? Those were the thoughts that dominated my mind. But, there were other thoughts too. Thoughts about me and her being together. There was a connection that I felt, and I knew she must have felt it too. Or perhaps I was just delusional? I didn't know. But as I continued to watch them, I couldn't help but feel like she could be my girlfriend. If I worked hard enough, I could have her in my life. The people continued to cheer as the bartender poured the Grand Champion another drink. “These are free until you can't drink anymore,” the bartender said with a laugh.
Like a machine, the Grand Champion funneled the beer down his throat. “Another,” he replied.
The bartender quickly prepared another beer for him. Damn. I realized this Grand Champion was quite the alcoholic. Not only that, but he seemed to take pride in being a raging drunk. Again, he chugged the beer. “Another,” he said.
The bartender popped open another beer and the Grand Champion sucked it down. Next to him, the girl gently sipped on her nearly full beer. “That's enough,” she mumbled with a nervous smile.
“I don't need you to tell me when I've had enough,” the Grand Champion replied.
I squeezed in between a few people who were standing between me and her. “Move it,” I mumbled as I made my way closer to the girl. A few people moved out of my way. I looked up and realized I was only feet away from her. Her face glowed with a red tint from the red lighting around us. I wanted to say something to her, but what? She hadn't seen me yet as I stood slightly behind her. Yet, if she looked to her side, she would see me.
My hands nervously went to my hair as I brushed it out of my eyes. The Grand Champion continued to pound beer after beer and didn't pay her any attention. I licked my lips just to make sure they looked nice and moist. I didn't want to look like I had dry lips like the troll. I had seen what they looked like, and it wasn't a pretty sight. My mouth began to open. What was I doing? Was I really about to say something to her righ
t in front of the Grand Champion? Maybe it was foolish, but I didn't care. My finger trembled as I stuck it out in front of me. What the hell was I doing? Was I about to tap her on the shoulder? My finger went towards her as my head went up and down. Yes, that's what I was going to do. Then, I felt it. I felt my finger touch her shoulder. “Excuse me,” I said with a stutter.
But, she didn't pay me any attention. In fact, she acted like she hadn't even felt my finger touch her shoulder. But, how was this possible? There was no way she didn't feel that. Maybe she was playing hard to get? Again, I tapped her shoulder. But, she didn't respond. A few people around me gave me an odd look. Almost like a “what the hell are you doing” type of look. But, I didn't let their negative energy effect me. Instead, I just tapped her shoulder again. “Excuse me,” I yelled.
She quickly turned around. Suddenly, everyone stopped cheering. The Grand Champion turned towards me with a look of shock on his face. The girl stared at me. But, she didn't have a pleasant look. What the hell? Was she not happy to see such a cute guy like me? “Hi,” I mumbled. “Sorry to bother you.”
BladeDust Online: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 1) Page 21