by R. A. Mejia
Considering what my friends have said, I steeple my hands and rest my chin there. “Even more than that, we have to figure out how we’re going to rescue the kobolds and what’s been keeping them there this long in the first place.”
“I’m afraid I have the answer to that,” Keans says. He sighs and continues, “I’ve been discreetly asking around about how the citizens of the country control their slaves. Most use magical collars that prevent slaves from leaving or rebelling, but the powerful and rich find such methods unsightly and instead use an expensive alternative: they use blood magic.”
I’d heard about blood magic before on our way into the Empire, but only now does it click where I’d heard it before, and my eyes widen. It was all the way back when we were attacked in Restrian.
“What is blood magic, and how do they use it here?” I ask with a hard edge to my tone that surprises even me.
Keans looks at me curiously but answers, “I don’t know much about it. No one outside of their practitioners do, but from what little I could gather, they use the blood of the slaves in some special ritual to magically compel them to obey their masters. Even worse, the magic makes the slaves want to obey and serve. There are rumors about all kinds of other crazy things that a blood mage can do, but half of it is likely just exaggerated rumor.”
Thinking back on how gruesomely that soldier died and the conversation with that strange apparition after, I say, “I wouldn’t underestimate the rumors.”
Keans looks between the four of us who saw what happened that day and asks, “What don’t I know?”
Mary recounts what the rest of us saw then. “We’d just foiled a surprise attack by Imperare soldiers and had the one surviving fighter tied up. We tried to question him, but he started to talk to someone that only he could see or hear. From the soldiers begging, it seemed like that someone wasn’t pleased that the group had failed.
Then a green glow appeared under the man’s clothing near his collarbone, and he started to scream in pain. The glow spread over his entire body, and as it did, his skin started to puff up and boil like he was being cooked from the inside out. Eventually the guy’s eyes rolled back, and foam leaked from the corner of his mouth as he convulsed. Then, with a sickening snapping sound, the green, magical energy twisted the man’s body like it was a wet dishcloth, breaking bones and rending flesh. The worst part was that the soldier didn’t die for another minute after.”
Keans wrinkles his nose at the graphic description of how the soldier died. “Well, it seems more of the rumors about blood magic are true than I thought. Long distance killing. Astral projection. Those are not low-level spells. Still, that doesn’t change what we have to do.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
Keans looks at me dead in the eyes. “We have to kill the governor.”
The room is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop or a mouse fart. I sniff, catching a whiff of a rancid odor. Actually, I think someone did fart. I look to my left and see Vrax smile up at me. “Sorry. Soup make me toot.”
The joke makes me laugh and breaks the tension. I just shake my head and ask Keans, “You mind explaining that last part?”
He nods as if expecting the question. “Blood magic compulsion can only be broken by either finding the mage that did the binding of the slave to the owner and having him undo it or by killing the owner. Either method breaks the compulsion to obey and serve.”
“How hard would it be to find the blood mage that bound the kobolds to the governor?” Sonya asks.
“Almost impossible. In most civilized nations, blood magic is banned entirely. While blood mages are fairly common now in Attilius, they still tend to practice in secret because of lingering stigma surrounding the art, and even if their practice is known, their identities are usual hidden, even from clients.”
I nod, half-expecting the answer. “So, the only sure way to free the kobolds is to kill the governor,” I say wearily. “This complicates things so much. I mean, how do we kill the most protected person in the city and then escape? That place is crawling with guards.”
“I never said it would be easy, just that we’d have to do it.”
The celebratory mood is killed by the scope of the gargantuan task ahead of us. We spend the rest of the night brainstorming possible plans. We also agree that we’ll need to withdraw lots of money from the ice business to fund this last fight to rescue the kobolds.
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I decide to take a bit of a break from fighting in the Colosseum to work out the details of our plans. First, I focus on the Gold-Level fight. After all, if I can’t beat a gladiator in that level, I’ll never get an invitation to the governor’s mansion. According to the Lanista, there are currently five Gold-Level gladiators. I do indeed have enough gladiator points to challenge any of them as issuing a challenge requires five hundred points, and I currently have seven hundred. However, the rules for the Gold-Level fights also change. For one, regular magic is allowed in addition to magical weapons, though no healing spells are allowed. If I win a fight at the Gold Level, I’ll be given a one-gold-a-month allowance, a personal slave, a large home to live in, and access to special vendors.
The five currently-ranking Gold-Level fighters are: Lassylegs, a ranged archer that uses magically enhanced arrows; Grub Thomas, a gladiator that uses two tower shields; Thawnge, a speedster that uses knives; Killunow, a mage that uses some unusual weapon on a string, and a beast fighter named Ashe Capere. Well, Lanista Lucanus describes the last gladiator as a Bestiarius, but I just say beast fighter. These are the opponents that I have to choose from. I know right off the bat that I’d rather not face another gladiator that uses ranged attacks. Though, I guess I could create a field with lots of obstructions to lesson the benefit of that bow and arrow. The gladiator with the two shields is too much of a defensive powerhouse for me too. From what I hear, he’s a giant of a man that wields those twin shields like they’re extensions of his arms. I’ve been using tricks to disable my opponents and then beat them from a distance. I don’t know that I could disable that guy and get through his defenses before the mana in my weapons runs out. I could probably handle a speedster if I could disable his ability to run, but if I can’t, I’m toast. I just don’t have the health to really tank against a damage dealer. The mage sounds like it would be a fun fight to watch, but not actually fight in. I just don’t know enough about the magic or the unique weapons that guy uses. Well, it looks like I’m fighting the beast fighter. At least I know what he does. The gladiator uses tamed monsters or animals to fight for him. I hear he has a huge menagerie that he keeps, and it’s unknown which monsters he’ll use in the fight, but according to the rules, he can use up to three. Oddly, I feel more comfortable fighting monsters than I do people.
My opponent decided, I have to work on a plan to defeat him, get some better equipment, and figure out a plan to kill the governor, which isn’t something I’d ever thought I’d have to think about. I mean, sure, if I was more of a Walking Dead fan, I probably would have thought about that, but the show lost me after season four.
I decide to take Sonya on another shopping trip. Everyone agrees that I need better equipment, and Sonya is the weapons and armor nut of the group. Besides, even though she’s a hardcore badass, Sonya still enjoys a good shopping trip like any girl.
Sonya and I go back to the armor and weapons section of the city shopping district. All along the street are shops displaying wares while craftsmen work in the back. I can hear the smiths bang away on their anvils and see the sparks of magic as enchanters and engravers work. Part of me yearns to forget this whole gladiator thing and spend the rest of my life learning about all the different aspects of crafting from these men. I want to delve into the intricacies of each craft and master them. But the more responsible side of me knows that’s not possible right now. Vrax would never forgive me for abandoning his clan-mates, and if I’m honest, I’d never forgive myself either.
So, I shake my head, pull my gaze from the crafting
side of things, and focus on what we came here to do. Before, we were here for casual window shopping. Now, we look with purpose. The entire plan to rescue the kobolds depends on me winning this next fight. Part of that success will be determined by my gear. For most of my time on Terra, I’ve not really paid attention to getting good gear. I usually just worked with what I could loot or make. Sure, I loved looking at Dyblex’s amazing contraptions, but it was never a priority to get a solid set of armor and weapons. Though, in hindsight, maybe it should have been. After all, how many attacks have I taken that could have been deflected or negated with better armor?
Looking through the selection of items in each shop, I’m left dizzy by the choices. My natural inclination is to go for the swords and armor that glow with magical energy. I mean, who doesn’t want a massive two-handed sword of frost touch that glows light blue? Or black full plate armor that has glowing red runes? There’s so much shiny equipment that I want to buy now that Mary has loosened the purse strings, but Sonya quickly brings me back to reality by pointing out the hard practicalities of what works for me. For one, I don’t have the skills or the strength to use either the two-handed sword or the plate mail. Sure, technically, I could wear the heavy armor, but I’d run out of stamina in a few minutes because I don’t have the training or special skill set to use it effectively. Nevertheless, it won’t advance our plan if I pass out in the first minutes of my next fight.
Instead of me pretending like I know much about armor and weapons quality, I rely on Sonya. As she tests out various weapons and armor, she points out the difference between them. She has fought me many times as we have trained together to be gladiators, and she makes many suggestions based on how I’ve been fighting.
“Lately, you’ve been relying on dodge and control techniques to help compensate for your lower health and stamina. You dodge attacks when you can and create traps for your opponents so that you can dispatch them.”
From the way she describes my fighting style, it seems a bit gutless. I don’t want my girlfriend to think of me as a coward. “Sonya, what do you think of my strategy? I know you like to fight your opponents head on. Do you think the way I fight is cowardly?”
She puts the helmet she’s looking at down and looks at me sharply. “You are no craven. I’ve seen you fight and win against opponents many levels higher than you--some whom I was sure would kill you--yet you found a way to win. My father told me long ago, ‘On the battlefield, when a man is trying to kill you, do not concern yourself with notions of honor. It’s only the man left standing that gets to go back to see their family.’” She cups my face with both of her strong hands and kisses me, then she whispers, “Do whatever you need to, but always come back to me.”
The intimate moment warms my heart, and while I want it to last forever, it’s broken when a skinny man coughs politely so that he can scoot past us to get to a piece of armor. Sonya and I spend the rest of the morning going from shop to shop. She speaks with blacksmiths, enchanters, leather workers, and armorers who specialize in gear for gladiators. There’s a lot of good quality armor that we can either get custom enchantments for, or we can purchase ready-made pieces.
Stopping at the enchanter’s shop, we can see the selection of enchantments is limited. It includes ones for elemental damage and boosts to speed, health, stealth, and defense. As much as I’d love to get everything, the guy behind the counter tells me each piece can only take one enchantment. I decide to go with health, since that’s the area in which I’m most lacking. Thankfully, the enchantments stack, so I benefit from multiple health boosts. There’s a larger cost for custom work, but ultimately we settle on a couple of pieces.
Helmet with Plume
Def. 5
Engraving: +5 health
Cost: 30 silver
Bracers
Def. 1
Cost: 10 silver
Cloth Skirt and Belt
Def. 1
Cost: 10 silver
Custom Shin Guards
Def. 5
Engraving: +5 health
Cost: 30 silver
Right Arm Guard
Def. 5
Engraving: +5 health
Cost: 20 silver
Cape
Mostly just for looks, but also a tiny bit more protection.
Def. 1
Cost: 10 silver
Gladius of Acid
Damage: 6-9 damage + 2 acid
Cost: 40 silver
Flaming Spear
Damage: 7-9 damage + 3 fire
Cost: 40 silver
Looking over the final cost of one gold and ninety silver, I wonder if it would be cheaper to just do the work myself. When I inquire if it would be possible to purchase the knowledge to add my own enchantments, the proprietor laughs and tells me he will teach me for ten gold an enchantment to learn the secrets. Ouch. That’s too rich for me.
The enchantment work is custom made and will take two weeks to finish. In the meantime, I use what little money Mary has allotted me to put the down payment on the work. Now, I just have to figure out a way to beat someone that’s been able to defend his place as a Gold-Level fighter.
Chapter 37
Now that I have chosen to fight the beast fighter and have arranged for better equipment. I have just about two weeks to learn about my opponent and to work on a strategy to beat him. The first step is to learn as much as I can about the Bestiarius gladiator. I enlist my group’s help and even ask Lanista Lucanus, but no one can seem to get much info about him besides his name, Ashe Capere, but he’s more commonly referred to as the ‘Beast Catcher.’ I know he captures monsters and uses them in battle, but what monsters he has currently seems to be unknown. So, I turn to the only other source of information I have. It takes me a little while to find that shop with the Smuggler’s Guild’s secret insignia carefully carved near the purchase counter, but flashing Pauline’s ring again gets me access to the guild’s resources. The number of ‘special items’ that are available to me is staggering. There are lock-picking kits, explosives, poisons, rare magical components, drugs to get you high, drugs powerful enough to bring down an elephant, and even some rare tomes about necromancy. However interesting those items may be, especially that necromancy one, I only use their information services.
“So . . . uh . . . sir . . . what can you tell me about the Bestiarius gladiator, Ashe Capere?” I ask.
“Well, my name’s George. But I can tell you that information on gladiators is hard to come by. They’re a private lot that understand that keeping their secrets means a greater chance at victory in the ring. However, for the right price, I might know a guy who knows a guy that can get you what you want.”
“Sorry. I’m not good with names. Still, how much for a list of all his abilities and the monsters he uses in the arena?”
The skinny man behind the counter considers the question for a moment before replying, “Considering the risks to my informants and the difficulty of procuring the information, it will cost you one gold.”
A whole gold? Yeesh. Still, I don’t have any other way to get the information I need. I take one of the few extra gold pieces Mary gave me out of my inventory and slide it over the counter to him. He quickly snatches it up and tells me, “Your information will take a couple of days to get. Return then for the report. Will there be anything else?”
I almost answer no, but then I remember a story George told me about a couple of thieves who tried to break into the governor’s office once and take out another gold piece. “Tell me everything you know about those thieves that tried to steal the kobolds from the governor.”
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It’s exactly two days until the report is ready, and I’m eager to start my training for the fight. George’s report goes into great detail about the Beast Catcher.
Ashe Capere, The Beast Catcher
Age: 29
Weight: 200 lb.
Class: Tamer
Known Weapons: Whip
Abilities:
Call of the Wild, Nature’s Lullaby, Snap Attack
Spells: Tame, Healing Spirit, Strength of the Beast
Tamed Monsters: Lightning Rat, Salamander, Aqua Turtle, Lapis Lizard, Vine Snake, Floppy Fish
The report goes on to include information about what each ability does and what kind of abilities each monster has. With the exception of Snap Attack, all the abilities are focused on helping him tame a monster, either by putting it to sleep or tiring it out. Snap Attack is Ashe’s only weapon-based ability. His spells also directly relate to the act of taming or to helping his pets, healing or buffing them.
The monsters themselves mostly have elemental abilities that aren’t too hard to figure out from the monsters’ names. The Lightning Rat uses electric attacks, the Salamander uses fire, and the Vine Snake uses vines. The Lapis Lizard is apparently a large elemental lizard made entirely of stone. The only true mystery is the Floppy Fish. From the report, it’s a useless monster whose only attack is to flop around. Even fishermen throw it back into the water since it doesn’t even taste good when cooked, but apparently, the Beast Catcher claims it’ll one day transform into a fearsome monster if he keeps giving it fighting experience.
With the information I need to train, I work with Lanista Lucanus to develop strategies to counter each type of monster. According to the Lanista, a Bestiarius is allowed to bring up to three monsters into the arena, so my training not only focuses on countering each type of monster but also on endurance training to last through three fights. My own elemental spells are the basis for much of my strategy to beat each monster, but my biggest drawback is that I might end up facing three monsters at once. When the Lanista tests this, I pretty much lose every single time. No matter how clever I get, or what traps I setup, when I’m facing three opponents alone, I lose.