“Well, if everyone else is going, then I guess we’re going too, right Petal?” Flower says, enthusiastically.
The girl’s eyes turn blue again, as Illuna takes a deep sigh, but she doesn’t say anything.
“I’ll have to admit that I wasn’t expecting you all to offer your help so wholeheartedly,” Golmyck says.
He takes a few moments to clear his thoughts before he continues.
“Very well, then,” Golmyck says. “I will think about what you’ve said. We will continue this discussion further, once you return from the arena. After you manage to earn your freedom, you will need to stop by my castle again, in order to receive some documents which will prove that you’ve served your sentence for your crimes. While these documents will most likely not be needed in Thilias, they should help you deal with guards that might try to have you arrested in other cities, for the murder of the earl of Ollendor. Now, unless you have anything else to discuss with me, I will start writing on that letter of admission for the dwarf, and then you can be on your way.”
Once he’s done talking, Golmyck writes a few words on a piece of paper, stamps his seal on the letter, and then gives it to Hadrik, so he can show it to the guards at the arena. Just as we turn to leave, the gnome suddenly remembers that he forgot to tell us something.
“Oh, and one last thing,” Golmyck says. “I believe this should go without saying, but I will mention it, nonetheless. You should never talk about anything we’ve discussed in this room as long as you are inside the city. Not even amongst yourselves. You never know when someone might be listening. I called you into this secure room to chat privately because I felt I could trust you with this information. I hope that you will not betray my trust.”
“Of course not…” Daren says. “We will take care.”
“Very well, then,” Golmyck says. “In that case, I wish you luck in the arena, and may the gods be with you!”
“May they watch over us all,” Daren says.
After we finish our discussion with Golmyck, we say our goodbyes to the gnome, and we leave him to work on his devices, while we start to climb up the narrow stairs, one by one. When we reach the throne room, we see that the king’s servant was already waiting for us, at the top of the stairs.
“This way, if you please,” the servant says, as he starts walking towards the exit. “Make sure that you follow me closely, so you won’t get lost.”
“Don’t worry, Barry, we’re right behind you!” Hadrik says, and then he grins at me widely. “Isn’t that right, Barry?”
“Oh, shut up,” I tell him, as we all start to follow the servant out of the room, and towards our new prison.
Chapter 2
“Listen, Arraka,” Daren says, as we walk towards the arena. “Are you absolutely sure that the Eiden you’ve fought during the still winter is the same person as the one we’re dealing with now? I mean, it’s been six hundred years, right? No one would blame you if you were to make a confusion after all this time!”
“Damn it, this is the third time you’ve asked me this exact same question,” Arraka says. “Yes, it’s the same Eiden from six hundred years ago. Get it through your thick skull, already!”
“Daren, why are you finding this so hard to believe?” Kate says. “We already knew that he was six hundred years old and that he was an old acquaintance of Arraka and the golden fox. Given his power, it wasn’t that big of a stretch to assume that he was the one who defeated Arraka all that time ago.”
“It’s not the fact that he could beat Arraka that I find hard to believe,” Daren says. “It’s the fact that he is known as the founder of this continent’s civilization, when all we’ve seen him do so far is wreak havoc, for the sole purpose of his amusement!”
“People change over time,” Kate says. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Eiden tell you when you first met that the reason he is keeping his eyes closed is because he got tired of seeing the ugliness of humanity? You’ve seen the way he acted around the earl and the ambassador of Ollendor. It’s clear that he no longer holds anything other than disgust and disdain for the inhabitants of Varathia.”
“Leaving Eiden aside,” I say, “shouldn’t we rather be discussing our plans for the arena?”
“Don’t worry about the arena!” Hadrik says. “I alone should be more than enough to deal with whatever the ambassador can throw at us!”
“Oh, yeah?” I say. “And what if they separate us?”
“Barry makes a good point,” Daren says. “The first thing we need to make sure of is that we can still communicate with each other, even if they decide to throw us in different cells.”
Daren takes off his backpack, and then he takes three transceivers out of it.
“Kate, Hadrik, Flower, take these,” he says, as he gives each one of them a transceiver. “Barry, you already have a transceiver. I don’t think I’ve shown you this before, but you have a dial on the right side of your transceiver that you can use to change your calling frequency, in order to match the signature frequency of one of the other transceivers. Does everyone see the dial I’m talking about?”
“Yes,” we all answer.
“Good,” Daren says. “Each of the transceivers is assigned a number, which corresponds to its own unique signature frequency. Make sure you memorize everyone else’s number so you’ll know who to contact, when the need arises. The numbers are engraved on the back of the transceivers.”
I look at the back of my transceiver and see that I am assigned the number ‘two’. When we exchange our numbers, I learn that Kate was number three, Flower was four, and Hadrik was five.
“Alright,” Daren says. “Now you all know your numbers. As an aside, if you ever need to communicate with transceivers that weren’t enchanted by me, there’s a small button next to the dial which you can use to switch to normal frequencies. I’ll be using the transceiver with the number ‘six’.”
“What about number ‘one’?” I ask.
Daren pauses for a few seconds.
“That’s the number of the transceiver I was using originally,” Daren says, in a low voice. “The one I gave to Rose.”
“Oh,” I say, and then we all stay silent for a few moments.
“So, uh, do we know for sure that they’re going to allow us to keep our transceivers after we get sent to our cells?” Hadrik asks.
“You will be allowed to keep any items you wish,” the king’s servant says, having overheard our discussion. “You will each have your own personal cells in which you can store your belongings, but you will be allowed to carry items with you as well.”
“What about weapons?” Daren asks. “Are we allowed to use our own weapons and armor during the fights in the arena?”
“Yes, as long as your weapons don’t cast any spells, you are allowed to use any weapons you have at your disposal,” the servant says.
“What do you understand by ‘casting spells’?” I ask. “Would an item that enhances your physical abilities be considered ‘spell casting’?”
“It depends on the nature of the item,” the servant says. “Without knowing what item in particular you are referring to, I cannot give you a definitive answer to your question.”
I pull the stat device out of my pocket and show it to him.
“I’m talking about this item,” I say. “Do you know of it?”
The servant smiles.
“Yes, I am familiar with it,” he says. “Do not worry. The stat booster’s effect does not count as spell casting. The magic detectors in the arenas will most definitely ignore it.”
“Hey, Barry,” Daren says, as both the king’s servant and I turn our heads towards him.
“How long can we delay our trip to the arena?” Daren says, looking at the king’s servant. “Can it wait half an hour? I was thinking that I could cast some basic sharpness and durability enchantments on my friends’ daggers, if I find a shop that sells elven steel along the way.”
“There is enough time,” the ki
ng’s servant says. “If you’re looking for a shop that sells enchanting materials, there should be one in the marketplace we’ll be reaching shortly.”
“Why do you need elven steel, specifically?” I ask Daren.
“Elven steel is the best quality steel that money can buy,” Daren says, “and basic enchantments like sharpness and durability are highly dependent on the quality of the materials used for enchantment.”
“Is there any chance you could enchant my crossbow as well?” I ask.
“You are not allowed to use ranged weapons within the arenas of Varathia,” the king’s servant says.
“I’ll be honest with you, Barry,” Daren tells me, “even if ranged weapons were allowed, I would still not recommend getting your crossbow enchanted. It would be much better to buy a new one. Basic enchantment just isn’t enough to compensate for poor craftsmanship. With daggers, it’s different, because the quality of the metal is much more important than the way the blade was made.”
“Why do you keep talking about basic enchantments?” Hadrik says. “Aren’t you supposed to be one of the most skilled enchanters in the world? Why don’t you just cast some of those crazy enchantments that you have on your sword on Barry and Kate’s daggers?”
Daren frowns at him.
“The more advanced the enchantment, the more time and resources it requires,” he says. “It would take me weeks to cast the enchantments I used on my sword, and it would cost a small fortune to acquire the needed materials. I doubt that I’ll be doing anything other than basic enchantments for the duration of this tournament. Barry, Kate, give me your daggers. I will enchant them both as soon as we reach that shop.”
Once he finds the shop, Daren goes in, and he doesn’t come out until exactly half an hour later. After Daren gets out of the shop, he first gives Kate her dagger, and then he stops in front of me, with his hand held out, looking as if he were expecting some sort of payment.
“That will be ten gold coins,” Daren says. “You can pay me with money from the Western Continent, if you want.”
“You’re charging me money?” I ask him, a little surprised.
“Well, what did you expect?” Daren says. “It’s not like I was given all that elven steel for free, you know.”
“But you didn’t ask Kate for any money!” I say.
“That’s because I didn’t happen to see her pocketing a few dozen expensive gems in a certain ogre fortress a few days ago,” Daren says. “You, on the other hand, should have money to spare.”
“So, that’s how it is,” I say, with a grin.
“Cough it up,” Daren says, with his hand still held out.
“Fine, fine,” I say, as I place ten gold coins into Daren’s palm, and then take back my dagger.
It took us about two more hours to get from the marketplace to the arenas. Once we reached our destination, we waved goodbye to the king’s servant, and then we went inside a small building near the arena which we were told was the ‘main office’. The room we entered looked more like the inside of a prison, than an office, but there was a man sitting at a desk in front of us, who seemed to be arranging some papers when we came in. The man paid us no mind until he finished what he was doing, and then he got up and greeted us with a curt nod.
“I was told that you’d be coming here tonight,” he says, in a disinterested tone. “Only three of you will be participating, am I correct?”
“Four,” Hadrik says, with a wide grin, as he hands his admission letter from the king to the desk worker.
“I see,” the desk worker says, after he reads the letter. “Very well, then. Given that I am the only one who is still working at this late hour, I will have to ask you to wait patiently in this lobby, while I lead each one of you to your individual cells.”
“Can’t we just all go at once?” Hadrik asks.
“No,” the desk worker says. “The ambassador of Ollendor insisted that none of you are to know the locations of each other’s cells. He also made sure that you are each placed into separate divisions, so that you cannot work together during the arena events.”
“Divisions?” Daren asks, confused.
“We’ll start with the lessathi,” the desk worker says, ignoring Daren.
He walks to a door behind him, and he turns to me.
“This way,” he says.
I take one last look at everyone else, and then I go to follow the desk worker.
“Good luck, Barry!” Flower shouts, as I head through the door. “Petal and I will be cheering for you from the audience! And I’m sure Arraka will too!”
Once the door closes behind me, I start to walk slowly behind the desk worker, as we both begin to make our way down a very long flight of stairs. We don’t exchange any words while we traverse the dark corridors beneath the arenas. With all of the twists and turns we’re taking, it’s hard to tell if I could still find my way back by myself. The torches inside the underground tunnels are dimly lit, and all of the doors look the same. After a long period of silence, the desk worker finally chooses to speak.
“There are currently two empty cells left in your division,” he says. “Cell number three and cell number five. They are located on opposite sides of the recreational area. I haven’t been ordered to place you in any specific cell of the two. Which one would you prefer?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “What’s the difference between the two of them?”
“There is no difference,” the desk worker says, bluntly.
“No difference at all?” I ask.
“None whatsoever.”
“So, why are you asking me, then?”
“I’m asking you so you can make a decision. Now choose. Which will it be? Cell number three or cell number five?”
“I guess I’ll go with cell number five, then,” I say.
“Very well,” the desk worker says. “Cell number five is located on the right side of the recreational area. Its number is written on the door.”
He stops in front of a door, and he pulls a key out of his pocket.
“This is the key to your cell,” he says, as he hands me the key. “You are advised to leave your belongings inside your cell and to lock the door when you are away. You can choose to spend most of your time locked inside your individual cell if you wish, but you will be required to spend at least two hours a day in the recreational area during the recreational period, in order to learn to get along with your new teammates.”
The desk worker then pulls another key out of his pocket, and he uses it to open the door in front of him.
“This door will lead you to the recreational area of your division,” he says. “I recommend that you go directly to sleep, because your next recreational period is scheduled for tomorrow morning.”
I nod to him and then go through the open door.
“Farewell,” the desk worker says, as he closes the door behind me.
The room I am now finding myself in is only being lit by a few candles. The recreational area appears to be empty, except for one particularly bulky man, wearing leather armor, who is now steadily approaching me.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” the man says, in a menacing tone. “I heard that they’d be bringing you in tonight.”
“Do I know you?” I ask him, confused.
“No, I don’t see why you would,” the bulky man says, as he stops a few feet in front of me. “I don’t know who you are either.”
“Then why were you waiting for me?” I say.
“Because I’ve heard the guards talking,” the man says. “They were talking about a group of mages who killed the earl of Ollendor, and I heard them say that a member of that group would be sent to our division tonight. I’ll have to admit that I wasn’t expecting a stillwater.”
I remain silent. There would be no point in correcting him. I’d much rather have everyone think I’m an all-powerful stillwater than give away the fact that I’m not a mage at all.
“It doesn’t matter, though,” the bulky
man continues. “You may as well be one of the four sages, for all the good it will do you. Magic is not allowed in here. I could very well crush your puny head with my bare hands and you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”
“Now, why would you want to do that?” I ask him. “Aren’t we supposed to be part of the same team?”
The man’s face contorts into a snarl at the sound of my words.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done, you little bastard?” the man shouts.
“Nope,” I say. “No idea whatsoever. Why don’t you explain it to me?”
“Oh, I’ll explain it to you,” the man says, grinding his teeth. “Your little stunt with that noble has sealed all of our fates. I heard the guards saying that the next arena event will be the greatest in all the history of Varathia. They’re not expecting any of us to make it out alive. They are sending us all to our deaths, just to make sure that they also kill you in the process.”
The man is now clenching his fist so hard that blood is starting to drip out of it. While the two of us were talking, the doors leading to the individual cells were opening one by one, and people who had been woken up by the sound of the bulky man’s voice were now stepping out of their rooms, to watch the show.
“The only reason why I came to Thilias,” the bulky man says, “was because I heard the gnome king would rarely let the arena events in his city endanger the lives of the gladiators. I came here because I thought there was some easy money to be made. But now?… Now I’m just sitting here, waiting for my execution. Cursing my fate. Cursing you!”
“Why don’t you just leave, then?” I say.
“You think I didn’t try?!” the man shouts, even louder than before. “The owner of the arena isn’t letting any of us go. It’s the first time in years when he’s being allowed to make the show as deadly as he wants. Do you know that he’s been collecting rare beasts and keeping them in the underground tunnels for the past ten years, waiting for a chance to parade them in front of an audience? Well, now that he’s finally been given permission, the man is planning to make us fight every single one of them! He wants to make this the crowning moment of his career. He doesn’t care about what the king of Thilias will do to him if he goes overboard. As long as this one show is successful, he may as well die, for all he cares, and so can we.”
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