"What happened to the other guy?", it seemed they had switched up the henchmen in charge of us.
"None of your business squirt", he spit on my shoes. "Just do your duties as a slave".
I seemed to have spoke too loud, considering he heard me. Though he didn't seem in a much better situation than I was, but at least he was a free man. I had nothing to say.
"The others are probably dead", Freya whispered to me. "People can be really bloodthirsty here, it's not uncommon for the henchmen to get targeted within the chaos".
"You're weapons are in the back of that carriage over there, we'll hand them over before the round begins. Get in the cage, the lot of you, it's you're first match", he grinned as though he were excited about watching a play. Only we... were the puppets.
It was about 20 minutes or so later before we made a sharp turn to the left. I recognised the little outpost where they asked for ID, it seemed we were currently at that junction. It wasn't much further until I laid eyes on a large gate that certainly made its presence known. Unable to take my eyes off the sheer grandeur of its size, only the sound of shrieking metal chains snapped me back to reality.
It was surprising how profitable slaves and tournaments could be.
Another dark abyss awaited us on the other side. This time however, there were no torches to light, only the blinding glare that came from the end of the tunnel. Light that seemed to illuminate everything but what was important.
A loud yet hushed chanting came from the same direction. The wind hissed and howled as if warning us not to come any closer, the darkness somehow feeling safer than the light. My stomach sunk in a sudden anxious disbelief. Everything felt so surreal, the fact that I had become a slave, the participating in a tournament to secure my freedom, the people who I had only met this week yet had to stake my life on.
It was only a second later that this surreal feeling reached even greater heights.
"Fight, Fight, Fight".
Another cavern, however this one was much larger and much more threatening. Seats in the thousands sat all along the walls. Flags, people, banners, they sung melodies as they became one with the atmosphere. It was as if this wasn't a tournament that questioned morality, but a competition of great chivalry and might.
The top of the cavern was open, a bright blue above us. No clouds to be seen. Streaks of yellow light cast themselves through the opening. Vines and all sorts of greenery looked as though they yearned for the sun, climbing to the very to for just a fraction of that yellow glimmer.
"Spectators WELCOME!—".
A great roar came from the stands in response.
"It seems, we're first".
Is he... flying?
Magic.
"Challengers, the Colloseum awaits you. Fame, Glory, Women, FREEDOM? Your wildest dreams can come true! But that comes at a cost... Victory. So kill, seduce, intimidate and don't hold back!"
His arms swung up as if to signal something
This guy is surprisingly good at his job, I started to feel kinda pumped.
"Here it comes", Agaroth looked in my direction, smirking as he did so.
The ground shook as though we angered the earth with our petty infighting. The open field that had once looked dry and barren, lit ablaze.
"Whaaa—?", I tried to step away from the flames, everything just felt so sudden I almost fell.
But that was not the end of it.
Rain fell from the sky even though the sky was clear only moments ago. I looked towards the others, surely I wasn't the only one thinking this was insane.
The-they're all completely stoic...? oh right, they've been here before.
I noticed Viktor gazing into the distance. I chose to follow his line of sight, curious. "Is that one mage, controlling all this?????", I think I almost fainted.
Agaroth grabbed hold of my head tilting it slightly. I saw another mage, and another, and another. There were probably about 500, all stood a short distance away from one another. Their arms moving in bold strokes as they chanted words that loomed in the background of the overwhelming cheering.
Trees sprouted from the ground. Cracks broken through the dirt, out of which rocks emerged like the sun across the horizon.
"I really didn't want this one", Viktor finally chimed in his thoughts.
Snow? It began to snow. Another 10 minutes, and the entire floor was covered in it. I think I could tell why he didn't like it, I could barely here any sound other than the y'know, cheering.
Large screens spawned atop which moving pictures played, covered the 4 corners of the arena, zooming in on us and the enemy team.
Magic is incredible.
But I couldn't stay in this state of bewilderment much longer. It was time for battle.
The five of us walked over to the carriage to grab our weapons. My sword? My gun. Oh how I've missed you. But, no book... it seems like they weren't gonna return it.
"Fork".
"Coming".
But strangely, it didn't feel that bad.
"3, 2, 1, let the games begin!".
Viktor immediately burst into the distance. "He's our scout, he prefers it that way, plus he's good at it".
"Come we have to follow him".
The weather within the forest is kinda chilly. I say this as snow is everywhere.
It wasn't long before Viktor showed up again. Though it seemed he had already fought with them.
"Huff huff, the monk is...".
"The monk is what?".
"Followihn-cough".
"Chatting behind one's back is a sin, do you not agree?", a bald man in tanned robes appeared from behind a tree.
Fuck.
Karaf threw a small blade at him. Though it didn't do much, rather it was caught in mid air.
"He fights with his fists, I'll take him", surprisingly it was Agaroth who came forward.
"But you also fight with your fists—".
"Exactly", it seemed as though Agaroth had already made up his mind.
"Oh, you're going to face me alone? How noble of you, I thought you would all team up".
Within seconds, Freya chanted a small incantation. A grey ripple, spread from her as the epicentre. Though it mostly spread evenly like water, there were some places, where the line swerved irregularly.
Immediately, karaf pulled out 4 more blades, throwing them in the directions of distortion.
The blades stopped in mid air.
"We're already surrounded".
"Oops my bad, I didn't know they were there either, I did not lie. Lying is a sin".
Freya chanted another line.
This time, it was us who were affected. Black silhouettes, appeared within my vision. One came with a slash downwards. I dodged out of the way, a hiss of wind coming from the position I was just in.
Our teammate is injured and they're invisible. This wasn't going to be easy.