The following days were hectic in that the Doctor had to write up a massive list of items to be used for the opening days of the arena. It would be a spectacle of blood and gore, which meant he would have to have a lot of medicine, room, and magic to ensure that no one in critical condition died.
Thankfully everything was procured by the Mayor; as stated by the contract, the Doctor could ask for anything he needed to heal others in the arena. As a result, all the cupboards and display cases in the Doctor's work area have been packed full. The staff had placed any extras on standby in case he needed them in a separate room.
With everything prepared over the days elsewhere within the city, posters promoting the arena started to show up, stating that the first two days of the opening week would be free for anyone to view.
As for the fights, some fighters would fight against others who signed up with them; however, a few slave traders had set shop in the arena and wanted to have them fight for them.
The Mayor set the first three days to be mainly beast fighting, team brawls, and 1v1 fights which held no meaning. However, after that, the arena would have a commencement ceremony tournament where fighters would fight for a hefty sum of coins.
Rules for the fights had it, so anything goes as long as no one in the audience is harmed; the fighters could utilize any weapon, item, or magic to defeat their foe if they passed an inspection of what they wanted to use.
On the morning of opening day, the Doctor awoke on his cot inside the arena. Since fights generally only take place during the day, he would be provided lodging inside the hall, considering he was the only healer in the arena they had been able to employ thus far.
It was early in the morning before dawn, but that was normal considering any bit of daylight was precious, so people tended to get up early, but the Doctor was up even earlier than most people.
Getting off his cot, the Doctor stretched before taking off his blouse since he did not want to get it sweaty this early in the day.
Light workouts are necessary since the Doctor knows today he will probably be running around to provide aid to the fighters when they get injured. Considering what was happening today, it would be a hectic day, no matter what.
Just cause he was a healer did not mean he should neglect his health and bodily strength since the Doctor had had to drag plenty of people great distances before to get them to some place where either he or someone else could administer medical care to them.
Once done, the Doctor puts on his shirt, leaves his accommodations, and enters the arena pit for the speech that was supposed to be given at dawn by Sir Blackheart.
Entering the pits of the arena showed all the fighters and some slaves standing around a small elevated platform that only took a few minutes to set up and take down for this speech.
On top of the said platform stood Sir Blackheart himself in his full suit of armor that would undoubtedly blind someone if the sun were up.
Sir Blackhearts' visor was up, showing his face as he looked upon everyone in the arena.
As if you showing up were the cue to start, Blackheart begins his opening day speech to all those present.
"Alright, everyone, I'll make this quick, I got work to do, and you all got to warm up for the opening fights today. Now then, I am sure you are expecting to hear some sappy or motivational speech about how the citizens of this fine city will look for you for entertainment and whatnot. However, we all know that's a load of bullshit. The people are only coming here because it is free right now, and if we want them to come back, you got to make one hell of an impression on them. If you want something motivational from me, then here you go. If you, sorry lot, somehow manage to capture the attention of this city to the point that these stands can no longer hold people, I will pay you all double and have a celebratory feast at the end of this week!"
Everyone present cries out in approval and motivation as Blackheart walks down the platform and makes his way out of the pit.
Once that is done, everyone disperses to begin stretches and warm-ups for the day around the pit while the slaves get dragged off by their masters somewhere else.
The Doctor stays back to watch them get ready for a while as the sun rises over the land and warmth starts to creep throughout the morning ever so slightly.
Eventually, the Doctor returns to his workspace, a spacious area with around thirty cots to lay down patients. Two passageways connect to this room, one leading to his room and the other to the treatment room, where patients undergo medical treatment before being brought into the recovery area.
The treatment room had two tables where operations could be conducted, with another table available for another patient. There were various boxes, cupboards, and other storage containers neatly arranged in the room where the Doctor placed all sorts of medicines.
Ensuring everything was in place with fresh linen was put down on the cots, clean water was available, and he had staff members available on standby to help drag people out of the arena if necessary or if the Doctor wanted to conserve energy.
Once done, he grabs his medical bag and healing orb before heading out into the arena toward his particular seating area.
It was level with the arena, but it looked more like a prison cell with a door that locks inside with a bared viewing port that provided the healer a view into the arena pit.
The small room allowed him to view the arena easily so he could step in at the end of the match to provide treatment to the fighters if they needed it. Since sometimes every second may count, this space was so that he could run out into the pit at a moment's notice if necessary.
Getting settled in a chair, the Doctor watched with a bored expression as the sun began to rise and a few people began to arrive in the above seating area.
Now, of course, it was early in the morning, and people who could come here either worked later in the day or could spend a few hours watching entertainment.
More and more people enter before. Out of nowhere, fully armed and dressed soldiers begin marching out through the various entrances into the pit. The sound of marching rings out as the soldiers in their armor gleam in the early morning sunlight and get into formation in the middle of the pit.
Once they get into formation, eight other people enter the arena and stand in front of the soldiers three males, two females, and the remaining three children.
The Doctor immediately recognizes Sir Blackheart in his armor with his visor down, this time as he stands there with the other people.
Suddenly the ground begins to rumble as the arena floor upon which the eight individuals stood begins to rise to a decent height, placing them above the soldiers and the immediate attention of everyone present.
A man steps out of the eight individuals and clears his throat. The Doctor recognizes the man as Mayor Westwood as he had seen him a few times when he came here.
"Good morning, my citizens of Irondale. I thank you for taking the time out of your day to come here to partake in some gladiatorial combat. Today, we will bring spectacular fights between man and beast within these walls. I hope you will enjoy it as much as my family will. Now without further ado, let us begin!" The Mayor says as the arena floor changes and the soldiers split into two groups, one heading back into the arena and the remaining group taking posts within the pit along the edge.
With that all taken care of and the Mayor having left after everything, the audience cries out as two fighters enter the arena opposite each other but fully armed and ready for combat.
"The rules of this match are simple. Either one of you dies or yields!" An announcer states with an unnaturally loud voice that drowns out everyone
The first fighter nods before putting on his helmet and drawing his blade, which he lets hang on the side.
Across from him, the second fighter lets out a sort of war cry; however, it is not intimidating as it just sounds like a baby crocodile crying out, which causes people to laugh at it.
"Begin!" The announcer shouts out, signaling the first match within the new arena
With that signal, the two run at each other, with the audience laughing as they can see the difference in height between the two fighters. The elven fighter stands about 6'0 in size while the lizard is only 4'0 causing many inexperienced people to believe that the elf would win this match.
How the Doctor knew that the elf would have a disadvantage in this fight, as he would have to strike low to have some hope of winning the match, is problematic.
If he over-extended and hit the dirt, that would allow the lizard-looking fighter to quickly get in a stab from behind due to the opening. Plus, the little guy looked more inclined to hit and run than fight straight head to head as he wore little armor.
With that said, the two fighters face off against each other with what the Doctor predicts would come to pass as the elf does an overheard swing against the lizard to adeptly dodges to the side and proceeds to jab at the elf's armor.
The armor, of course, was not penetrated. If it were, it would not be armor, and the lizard jumps back for a second to figure out how to deal with the armored elf.
The opposing party gives no reprieve as the elf runs after the lizard and continues to try and land a blow on the lizard, who either blocks it with his shield or dodge it out of the way and jab at the elf.
The crowd, of course, was taking bets on who would win, but in all honesty, not many were invested in the fight as they should have since this is just a simple game of cat and mouse now that has led to a stalemate which, although breathtaking it will become boring after a minute.
That was until the arena changed with two massive pits opening in from the floor, which the two fighters did not see due to their position and the fact that their attention was on each other and not really on their surroundings.
'Oh? What do they have in store for us now?' The Doctor thinks as one of the pits has opened up in front of him, with him being able to see that it is a ramp going below the arena
*Growl*
The Doctor hears low growling from the depths of the ramp and erupts a giant wolf with one more leaping out from the other ramp.
"Hahaha! So this is how they mean to entertain people," The Doctor cries out as he immediately recognizes such creatures.
The wolves were monsters, and considering their size at the height of 5'0 and a body length of 8'0, they earned the name of alpha wolves due to their nature of leading large packs of wolves that can take over a whole forest given time.
These looked slightly malnourished, which is expected since that is how you get any animal to act ferociously, and something else that the Doctor saw was a black collar underneath the neck fur of the Alpha wolf in front of him.
"Also control collars, huh? They must be expecting a huge amount of money from this arena even to consider buying those," The Doctor mutters as he looks to the fighters to see their reaction.
It was priceless as they both were facing a respective wolf. Instead of each other with their backs pressed together, they both looked on in fear at these massive wolves.
"Now, fighters, you have but one minute until these massive beasts are let go of you. Your time starts now!"
...
Gonna add pictures for a few of the people int the comments since the previous platform I posted this on was able to have pictures and such just be posted up, so this is a lazy work around for me.