by R. A. Mejia
Damage received: 5 (Glancing Blow)
I’m knocked back a few steps and am forced to use [Sidestep] to avoid the follow up attack from the manticore’s stinger. I realize that, against such a large beast, I’m at a disadvantage with just my gladius.
Vrax deals damage: 9
The manticore’s attention is grabbed by Vrax as he stabs it again, but I can tell my kobold brother is managing his stamina more conservatively since he’s not using [Thrust] now. I use the moment to risk getting my force shield back up. A quick mental calculation tells me that there’s not enough mana stored in the ruby powering the spell to activate it again, so I send my mana into the gem. I don’t want to drain all my mana, so I only send forty points’ worth. Combined with what’s still there, it should be enough to get the shield up and running for about half an hour or until it takes fifty more damage. I press the gem to activate the magical coding and another circular, blue shield appears off my left arm.
Now my only problem is positioning. I’m on the monster’s right side, which means that my sword arm is vulnerable whenever I attack. I yell out, “Vrax, I’ll take aggro, and you switch sides with me.”
Without waiting for a reply, I run up to the beast and use [Shield Bash]. The translucent shield on my left arm slams into the side of the monster but doesn’t do any damage or stun him. I can only guess that the damage element of the move is lost because the shield doesn’t have any weight. However, the monster did feel the hit, and he feels the follow up stab with my gladius even more.
Damage dealt: 15 (Piercing, Acid)
With a growl, the beast spins around and lashes out with claw and tail, but I’m prepared and have my shield up in front of my body, ready to take the strikes. I take another slash of the monster’s claw before I hear my kobold brother’s voice, “All switched.”
I let out a relieved breath as Vrax stabs the monster in its side, finally grabbing the creature’s attention.
Vrax deals damage: 10
Unfortunately, Vrax doesn’t have the stamina to use his abilities as much now and takes blows from the manticore’s claws and its tail. I see my friend’s health drop to the halfway mark, and I rush forward and stab the distracted beast.
Damage dealt: 13 (Piercing, Acid)
The manticore turns to attack me, but I’m safe behind my shield. I yell out, “Volley!” to tell my friend that it’s time to rapidly switch the monster’s attention. It’s a tactic the two of us devised while training where we quickly take the aggro from a monster back and forth between each other, hoping to distract it with an alternating series of attacks on each side.
Vrax deals damage: 9
Once I see the damage notification, I look through the shield positioned in front of me to see if the monster is turning. Instead, I see a giant scorpion tail slam into my shield. Vrax attacks again, and the combined damage from his two attacks is enough to grab the monster’s attention. The moment the creature turns, however, I shift my shield to the left and stab with my sword. Back and forth it goes, Vrax and I attacking the creature in deliberate turns so that it keeps having to turn to face whatever it considers the biggest threat. I lose my shield again to a series of quick attacks, but we drain the monster’s health to the halfway point with the tactic.
However, our plan to slowly drain the monster of its health is interrupted when Ashe, the Beast Catcher yells, “Stabby, retreat and dive bomb them!”
The Manticore flexes its wings, pushing both me and Vrax back. The creature backs away and uses the field to get a running start before taking of into the air. The crowd gasps and then cheers at the sight of such a powerful and deadly creature taking flight. I, however, am seriously concerned with the ramifications of the next command to dive bomb. While the monster circles above, I spot my fire spear on the ground and motion for Vrax to join me. Once we’re together, I explain the plan and slip him my acid gladius and take his spear. With a spear in each hand, I run across the field waving both weapons wildly and yelling, “Here, kitty, kitty!”
While the manticore is forced to obey its masters orders, it thankfully chooses to exercise what wiggle room it has and targets me. I’ll admit that it’s a very intimidating sight to see four-hundred pounds of teeth, claws, and stinger coming down on you from above. I only remember to raise the spears at the last moment and brace them just as the monster lands on me. It’s too late for the beast to alter its course, and it slams into both weapons. The bladed tips pierce its underbelly, bending almost double before snapping, and then I’m bowled over by the sheer weight of the monster.
Damage dealt: 23 (Piercing, Fire)
Damage dealt: 19 (Piercing)
Damage received: 21 (Dive Bomb)
The attack takes a significant chunk of my remaining health, and I’m pinned beneath the monster. I can only hope that Vrax can pull together his part of the plan before I’m knocked below the 10% health mark. With most of my body beneath the monster, I can only dodge my head to the left and right as the creature’s scorpion tail tries to stab me in the face.
Thankfully, the second part of our plan begins before I’m skewered. I hear a mighty kobold battle cry and feel the added weight as my friend appears on the monster’s back as he stabs downward with his gladius.
Vrax deals damage: 30 (Backstab, Sneak Attack, Acid)
The monster roars and leaps off of me, clearly trying to dislodge its rider, but Vrax holds on to the creature’s fur with one hand and stabs again and again with his sword.
Vrax deals damage: 9 (Piercing, Acid)
Vrax deals damage: 10 (Piercing, Acid)
He takes damage from the monsters stinger, but it’s not enough to dissuade my friend from his task. With one last stab, the manticore sways and falls to the ground in a loud crash. I’m afraid to move for fear of losing the three hit points that would end the match, but Vrax stands up, raises his sword into the air, and the crowd just goes wild. The entire stadium cheers and stomps their feet at the sudden turn of events.
After the cheering dies down a bit, the announcer says, “Ladies and gentlemen, the match is not over yet. Even though Ashe is out of monsters he’s allowed to summon, he’s not yet dropped to the 10% mark.”
Those words are correct. We still have to knock out that shield and take out the Beast Catcher himself. With the Orb of Xovuso in his lap, Ashe looks at us with wide eyes as Vrax and I walk up to the blue dome shield and begin to attack it. Even though the shield can absorb five-hundred points of damage, Vrax and I don’t have anything to fear as we whittle away at it. Our intel on Ashe tells us that he focused his talents and training on beast capture and summoning. Sure enough, as soon as cracks start to appear in the shield, Ashe starts to sweat. He offers us gold and even one of his tamed beasts if we’ll give up. But Vrax and I continue to attack. As soon as the dome breaks, Vrax has his sword at the man’s throat and Ashe yells, “I surrender.”
The crowd boos at the cowardly move, but I don’t blame him. After all, why gets sliced up by a sword or beat by someone’s fists if you don’t have to?
The announcer reports, “And the winner of our main event for the evening is Armon the Artificer! Please welcome the newest member of our Gold-Level gladiators!”
You’ve won a gladiator match at the Gold Level. You’re awarded 100 XP, a gold purse, and 1200 gladiator points for this fight. See Colosseum administrators for further benefits.
Looking around the Colosseum, everyone is standing, clapping, and cheering. Even the governor nods and claps for our victory before turning to speak to one of his guards. The crowd begins to chant, “Armon! Armon! Armon!” I suddenly feel healthier. Woah, I never thought about what it would be like to have this many people cheering for me. I wonder if everyone feels this good? No wonder everyone wants to be a rockstar. Then I realize I feel so good because of the healing spells being applied to get me back to full health.
I look down and see that Vrax is surrounded by a green glow as he’s healed too. As the two of us make our way back
down to the gladiator locker room, we’re met by an official who hands me a gold coin and explains about the other benefits of being a Gold-Level gladiator. I’ll be given one personal slave that may be used for pleasure or practical purposes. Additionally, I’ll get a large multi-room home to live in and access to special gear vendors. He ends his speech by telling me that my one-gold-a-month allowance will be available to me at the beginning of the next month. He congratulates me on my win and then walks away before we reach the locker room.
Because the big Gold-Level match was the last of the day’s fights, no one else is in the locker room except Mary. The moment we walk through the doors, she’s flying through the air yelling with great speed and enthusiasm, “We won! Oh my god, I can’t believe that we won! I know we had to win, but we actually won! Did you see all those magic missiles I threw? It’s too bad I got knocked out from the fight, but you two did such an amazing job beating the rest of those monsters!”
Mary takes a deep breath, undoubtedly intending to continue her rapid-fire commentary on the match, but I interrupt, “Yes, Mary. We won. All three of us got it done. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
The compliment halts the fairy’s words, and she blushes slightly, then states as if it’s common knowledge, “Why, thank you. As soon as you signed me up for the team, I knew we’d come away victorious. After all, how could you lose with such a potent mage on your team?”
The statement makes Vrax and I laugh, even though it is true that Mary’s magical sniping let us take down two of the three early opponents quickly enough that Ashe couldn’t summon all three at once. If he had, we might not be celebrating our victory. Before I can say anything else, a voice behind me catches my attention.
“Congratulations, Team Mary.” I turn to see Keans and Sonya standing in the doorway. Keans walks into the room and gives me a strong pat on the shoulder, and Sonya gives me a congratulatory kiss.
When I come up for air, I ask our friends, “How did you two get down here? I thought only gladiators were allowed.”
Keans waves the question away. “Oh, we just told the guard that we were part of your entourage, and he let us right through.”
Mary cuts in, saying, “It doesn’t hurt that I told the guard to expect the two of you if we won.”
Keans just smiles roguishly and says, “Well, it doesn’t matter how we got here. We’re here to celebrate with you. How about we all go out to dinner? Since Armon is flush with gold, he can pay.”
My friends laugh and all agree. I don’t mind. I could really go for a good steak anyways. However, as we step outside the locker room, we’re greeted by the sight of a hallway full guards. The sight of so many armed men immediately sets off alarms in my head. Have we been found out?
The man in the lead has better armor with more decoration. He nods slightly at us then taps his chest once with his fist. “Greetings, gladiators. I am the head guard of Governor Raslinton, who sends his greeting and congratulations on Armon the Artificer’s victory in the Colosseum today. My master wishes to extend an invitation to you all for dinner tonight. If you will all follow me, my men and I will escort you to the governor’s mansion so that you will not be late.”
“I take it this is less a request and more a demand?” Keans asks as his eyes glance at the group of soldiers.
The lead guard shakes his head. “No, my men are only here to escort you through the mob of fans outside the Colosseum waiting for you. If you choose to decline this most honored opportunity, the governor will not force you to dine with him. But I would not expect another invitation to ever be extended.”
“We’d be greatly honored to accept the generous invitation from the governor,” I quickly say. The group turns to me, and I continue, “After all, this may be our only chance to meet with his esteemed personage. We wouldn’t want to waste the rare opportunity.”
Mary, knowing that we’re not really ready to pull off our ‘rescue the kobolds’ plan, says, “But Armon, none of us are ready . . . for dinner.”
I know Mary is right. We’d never thought that the invitation to visit the governor would come this soon. We thought we’d have days, if not weeks, to finalize a plan to kill the slave owner and get out of the country. My mind is racing trying to salvage the situation and figure out what to do next. Would it be better to wait and plan an alternative way into the mansion or do we go now, half ready? I just need time to think. So, I decide to stall and say, “My slave is correct. Would it be possible to wait a moment while I change out of this sweaty and bloody armor? I have a spare set of clothes in the locker room.”
“Of course, Artificer Armon,” replies the guard. I turn around and walk back towards the locker room but hear the guard speaking to the rest of my group. “And while he changes, we can take this time to examine everyone’s inventory and collect everyone’s weapons. I know it’s an inconvenience, but there are strict security measures in place to protect the governor.”
As I enter the locker room and move out of sight, I can’t help but think the added caveat of not having weapons is going to make this rescue even more difficult.
Chapter 40
It takes me less than ten minutes to calm down and get into normal clothes. I’ve come up with a crazy hair-brained plan that probably has a slim chance of succeeding, but it’s all that I can think of. I hear the lead guard calling to me, “Gladiator, is everything alright in there?”
I silently lament not having more time to plan better or tell my group, but I walk out of the locker room with a smile on my face. “Yes, sir, everything is just fine. I heard you tell my friends about the need to turn over their items and weapons, so I was just securing everything in the locker room.” I quickly change the permissions on who can see my inventory and open it up for the head guard. “Here, you can see that my inventory is completely empty.”
The lead guard walks over and examines my open inventory screen. He then looks me over and sees that I’m only wearing my normal sleeveless long tunic with a belt at my waist. He pats me down quickly, and seeing that I have no hidden weapons, he says, “Well, that was very considerate of you. We’ve already collected the rest of your group’s weapons. If you’ll follow us, we’ll escort you to the governor’s mansion.”
“Of course, but before we go, could you tell me the time?”
The guard smiles and pulls out a small device from his waist coat and answers, “I was gifted this marvelous device by my generous lord. I can tell you that it’s exactly five o’ clock.”
I thank the guard, and we get on our way.
With looks of concern passing between us, our group of five follows the guards outside. What we find there is beyond anything we could have imagined. Right outside the Colosseum is a sea of people, and when they spot our group, they start to scream and press forward. The guards quickly form a perimeter around our group, stopping the onslaught of fans from reaching us.
As we slowly make our way through the mass of cheering people, I hear women calling my name, asking if I have a girlfriend. Sonya yells back that I do have a girlfriend, and she even slaps away a few hands that try to grope me as I pass by. It’s hard for me to process everything, and I feel so tired and weak, so I try to endure the situation till we can move past the throng of people. Eventually, our guard makes enough headway to the residential area, where the narrow streets work against the crowd, and we’re finally able to pick up our speed. We lose most of the throng as we get closer to the governor's mansion, and even the most hardcore gladiator fans are gone by the time we get to the front gate.
Our escort meets with the rest of the compound guards, and as we walk through the gate, most of them break off to patrol the area. Only six guards stay with us, including the lead guard.
Even though we’ve scouted out the governor’s compound from afar, the wealth on display here is still impressive. In just our short walk to the front door, I’ve seen multiple gardens with ponds, fountains, and a variety of marble statues, but the mansion itself is
the most impressive. It’s three stories tall with large windows and ornate pillars out front, and everything seems to be made from expensive solid stone or marble.
Walking through the double doors at the front of the mansion, I’m greeted by servants wearing diamond-studded slave collars and exquisitely-tailored, fashionable clothes. The servants take us to a large room covered in art and fine furnishings where they offer us hors d'oeuvres and drinks while we wait. One of the servants even sits down at a harp in the corner of the room and begins to play music. As I sit waiting, and trying to reflect on the number of seconds it took us to walk here, our host finally enters the room.
He’s not wearing the usual tunic that most people do, but rather a long-sleeved shirt and trousers made from some shimmering and expensive-looking material. The governor is tall and thin. He has this sharp nose that sticks slightly up in the air and gives him the most pretentious look I’ve ever seen.
“Welcome, honored guests. Thank you for accepting my invitation. I’ve had my staff working to prepare us a delectable meal we can all enjoy.” He motions to a full-figured servant woman wearing a beautiful silk gown. “If you’ll just follow her, she’ll lead you to the formal dining area.”