"Another good match," Brick congratulated Vallum.
"Thank you. The information you give me on my opponent before the matches is invaluable." Vallum said graciously.
It had been a full month now since Vallum met up with Kenra. He had spent several weeks in slavery and building up rapport as a goliath with the strength of an elephant. With his ability to single-handedly launch himself at any creature without hesitation and best them with raw strength, there was little that his opponents could do against him. Raef would occupy the humans while Vallum took care of their companions. Everyone here had beaten Bruce, but none of them did it quick or easily. Now, Raef was listening to commands far better than he had in the beginning, which gave him a new level of danger. Of the opponents they faced, some of them had amazing bonds with their animals, but the strategy didn't matter when Vallum would charge full speed at the creature and bring it to the ground. Today was Vallum's twenty-third win in a row, and it marked him beating every other competing gladiator. Instead of bringing him back to his room, Brick and Pony were guiding him to a banquet hall. There was going to be a big feast and high rollers that watch the fights will be there to see the best gladiator that the arena had had in years. From the dozens of matches he had fought against wild animals, Vallum started to feel that he was becoming even stronger, and that his instincts were becoming sharper. He naturally became better at working the crowd and played his fights out until the meals stopped getting any bigger. And this all is what brought him to the present moment. The moment where his body was frozen, staring ahead with clenched fists.
'Raef, are you ready?' Vallum prepared to make a rash decision.
'Moo.' The bull was in his own stall outside the banquet hall, but he had started to trust Vallum enough so that he was prepared to go. He was especially interested in following orders when they seemed fun and might entail him charging someone. 'Never mind, Raef. We aren't doing anything just yet. I have an idea.'
Vallum took a place at his seat of honor and then called out to a slave girl, "Bring me alcohol!"
The young girl scampered off and returned with a mug. She handed it to Vallum without saying a word and started to retreat. Vallum started to drink from the mug but spat it out and threw the mug across the room.
"Come back here! What do you think that was?! Did you think you would poison me with such cheap booze?"
The girl's eyes widened in fear, and she slowly approached him.
"Hurry it up!"
The girl jolted into action and threw herself on the ground in front of Vallum.
"I'm sorry sir. I'll go and get yo-"
Vallum grabbed her collar and jerked her up. The whole room was looking when he had thrown his cup across the room, but looked away when he started putting his hands on the girl. 'Gladiators are entertaining to watch fight, but they are brutes and savages,' the people thought as they ignored the spectacle.
"What do you think you are doing here?" Vallum whispered harshly in the slave girls ear.
"When did you get so good at acting, big bro?" Sari asked, ignoring his question. When she spoke she was no longer the slave that he yelled at; she was her normal self. She wasn't a slave, she was Sari. Her ability to completely switch between personalities was alarming.
"It was all to get more food," he said ruefully.
"Of course, it was." Sari stopped herself from giggling so that no one would become suspicious.
"So, quick, tell me what happened." Vallum urged her.
"Me and Vynn were traveling back to the city when we were ambushed and thrown in cages. We never even made it back to the city." She said with tears in her eyes.
"Do you know where Vynn is?" Vallum held his breath.
Sari answered to the negative and he released the strangled breath.
"How about you? Do you usually stay around this hall, or where?"
There secret conversation was going on long enough to start drawing looks so Vallum shoved Sari backwards to the ground and wagged his finger. Her face paled as she looked up at him and scrambled backwards.
"Bring more trash and it won't just be threats that I leave you with." Those words sent Sari scampering off after more alcohol. She returned a few moments later with a new mug, skittishly walking up to Vallum and placing the mug in front of him.
"I work in the stables most of the time," she said underneath her breath. After she spoke, Vallum shot his iron hand out and grabbed her wrist. This led surrounding people to think that she had cursed him.
Vallum stood up in a huff and put his head on a swivel until he found his target: Jerem. The man wearing his ever-present suit was conversing with another group of finely dressed men. Vallum dragged the slave, Sari, up to the man and interrupted his conversation.
"This slave of yours brought me spoiled drink and then mouthed off to me! I want her punished." Vallum said angrily.
The group of men, including Jerem, regarded the small girl and saw the fear in her eyes.
"Don't forget your own place, slave." Jerem said harshly. "Unleash my property at once and return to your seat."
Changing his tactic, Vallum turned to face the other guests that were all watching him. He raised Sari in the air by her arm, "Don't tell me that the best fighter in this whole freakin' zoo is served spoiled booze and mouthed off to by a slave girl." Vallum swung her around, showing her to everybody. "If this is what I get in return for fighting, then I am done. Being killed would be better than getting poisoned by old booze."
"Just punish her!" One of the guests called out.
"Cut out her tongue!" Another called.
"She is just a slave who doesn't do anything. She can't be the reason that the Minotaur stops fighting." More and more people added in.
'The minotaur?' Vallum wondered, 'I'll have to ask Brick about that one.'
With the commotion, Jerem could no longer dismiss the issue. He motioned to a guard who moved toward the girl, "Take her away."
"No!" Vallum yelled, yanking the dangling girl away from the guard, "I want her to personally clean the stall of my gheji bull every single day."
"Yeah!"
"That'll teach her to mouth off."
"Only useless slaves talk back! Crappy slaves should clean up crap." The other guests added in. Some of them were laughing, drunk on the power of deciding the girl's fate.
Jerem looked at the group that was yelling out and sighed, "Very well. Take her to the gladiator's quarters, make sure she comes out each night."
Sari whimpered when she heard the verdict and struggled against Vallum's grip. The guard took her away and Vallum went back to his seat.
The rest of the banquet passed quietly. There were announcements about the arena, as well as commendations for Vallum's achievement, but none of it mattered to him. When he made it back to his room with Raef, Sari was long gone. He said goodnight to Raef and went straight to sleep.