Out to the Games|Darkthrone, New Morilanta

[Skittlebug]

The sun was shining, the day warm, and the stench of sweat and blood was already creeping up into the stands, a good day at the arena.

A few smaller, unofficial fights had already finished and an official fight was about to start. The arena had been filling slowly for some time, the spectators eager for more bloodshed. The field below was hastily being cleaned of a former combatant who had just been too slow.

Cary sits quietly beside her masters, trying to look small. She didn't like the arena very much but she'd been enough times by now that she wasn't bothered by it anymore.

[potassiumk]

Elric didn't particularly enjoy the games here, but he was here on the insistence of the field marshal and his tactician. He was supposed to learn about all the different strategies the slaves used here to keep themselves alive. His instructor had a firm belief that nothing in the heat of a fight was dishonorable. "Better to fight hard and live, then fight fair and die."
Elric sat beside Cary and was still wearing mostly winter clothes, drab black overcoat and cape, no variation in color, spring was just starting and conditions were freezing. Not that these clothes looked much different from what Elric wore anyway, drab black were the norm and contrasted well with his pale features and silver hair, now reaching past his shoulders.
Elric handed her a glass of a hot drink being served, "Drink up. And Happy Birthday."

[Skittlebug]

Cary blinks, surprised, she hadn't even remembered herself. She accepts the drink gingerly, with a small smile, "Thank you master." She was very lucky, she new it. Her masters treated her kindly, especially in comparison to other slaves. She was always careful to watch her place though, particularly in public. She wasn't sure what might happen if someone else called her masters out for odd behavior.

Sudden shouting from the lower seats announces the arrival of the main event on the field, and two men march in from opposite ends. These were two slaves who had been in the arena for some time, large and brawny, and both quite dangerous.

[potassiumk]

Elric nodded and turned towards the two angry looking warrior-slaves in the arena.
"My instructor, my teacher tells me I have to watch these to learn how people kill each other. So I know what tricks people will pull on me in the field years from now. I don't like the one to one battles though, and it's not the same here..."
Elric took another sip from the drink he had for himself (it was apple cider) and watched as the fight began. Despite himself, he watched rather closely... Mentally calculating who was going to win...
"This is a terrible party... Do they have any different games here? Can we explore the pens?"

[Skittlebug]

Cary resists a small giggle and takes a sip from her cup instead, "There's this, with one person against another. Or there's team fighting." She makes a face, "Or the monsters." She didn't really like those either. She looks over toward Elric's parents, thinking they may be able to get him into the pens.

[potassiumk]

Elric frowned slightly, he strongly disliked having to ask permission for most things. It wasn't about pride, or laws, or anything to do with a thrill. It just seemed... to be a unneeded step through the process of moving things along.
So when he hesitated, his father already picked up on the cue from his son, nodding slightly and making a small gesture. "Elric, why not go into the pens and see if there is a slave there that's kept themselves alive longer than most. Didn't your instructor tell you to study their actions? What better way than to take one home and practice yourself right?"
His father didn't know it, but this was exactly what Elric had essentially wanted to do from the start, the years of his abilities starting to rub into his family.
"Very well, father. I'll find one still alive... Let's go Cary, I don't want to watch the ones in the arena. Let's find a better one." Elric stood, dusting himself off, making sure everything was where it should be on his person before going ahead into the arena back areas. The Pitts...
(Good? Good?)

[Skittlebug]

Cary nods and follows along after Elric, looking around cautiously, this was a part of the arena she'd never been to.

After the small matter of a few coins to get the pair in, they are presented with the inglorious sight of the pens. The fighting slaves were kept here before fights and there are only a handful at the moment. A couple of slavers are moving slaves about, but most of the fighters are pacing idly or stretching in their pens while waiting.

One of the slaves stands out in particular, for his dark skin. Obviously one of the Firegem slaves brought back when the islands were conquered. He stands watching the other slaves around him, seeming to be calculating who his opponent might be.

[potassiumk]

Elric watches about, most of the slaves seemed pretty set in what they were doing. None seemed to think to much about it...
"Broken..." was the only thing to come from Elric's mouth at the thought of it. He shook his head and kept a eye out until he saw the darker-skinned slave before him. He tilted his head and began to examine the slave more closely. Slowly approaching him, though remaining a good full arm's length from him all the same.
"You, what's your name? and how long have you been here?" Elric's voice was strikingly authoritative, but coming from someone his age, came off more snotty or bratty then anything else. Elric paused, arms crossed, waiting for a answer from the penned gladiator.

[Skittlebug]

The slave turns with a curious frown, wondering just who this boy is. Once closer it's easy to see that he's closer to Elric's age than one might have thought, he's simply quite tall for his age. His sign, Ice, is right in the middle of his neck. He glances around quickly and, not seeing his owner, answers, "Rais, I've been here nearly a year."

[potassiumk]

Elric cocked a eyebrow at Rais, folding his arms over his chest and eying him even more.
"So you've survived here for a year? That's fairly good. What's your preferred weapon then?"

[Skittlebug]

Rais looks from Cary to Elric, wondering why all the questions, "I've got a machete and a shield I usually use. Shield's not all that good but I've learned to be quick." He notices something behind the pair and drops his head, shifting to stand in a more submissive posture.

[Kender Bard]

Strolling up behind them was a tall, somewhat fat man. His pale skin and nicer clothing suggested wealth but he was not a man who would be immediately recognizable by even his own class peers.

"Admiring my fine warrior?" the man inquired with a smile. "Rais is one of my finer possessions. He's been increasingly lucrative." He reached over and pat Rais on top of his head, like a dog. "My rising star. I got him for a deal, too!"

[potassiumk]

Elric quickly turned and looked over the man in front of him. His face betrayed nothing, but a small sliver of dislike immediately went through his mind.
"Oh, so he's yours then?" Elric's voice was rather calm, it hadn't changed tonally, but a subtle shift in inflection could be detected, it was a business voice.
"I was... curious, he looks young, and not very broken in at this time. Submissive to be sure, but compared to some of the others around here...." Elric tilts his head in the direction of another slave or two, sickened enough that disease might claim them before bloodshed, "He still has a spark to him. How much did you end up paying for him?"

[Kender Bard]

"Well that's a good thing, wouldn't you say?" Andrija remarked. "Arena warriors aren't house slaves; if you beat all semblance of spirit out of them then they're not going to win." He took his riding crop in hand and very gently tapped Rais on the shoulder, a pointed reminder. "I paid a silver for him. He's worth more though; a silver and thirty copper or more. Like I said, I got quite the deal. He'd already been partially trained and tamed but still had some of that newness to him."

[potassiumk]

Elric shrugged, "I'm not to disagree, merely point it out. From what I see is that most of the slaves in here certainly going to last over a year. On that note, however, I would almost be disappointed in the equipment he has then. In the case of a combatant slave such as this, wouldn't it be wiser to make sure his equipment is kept up? You wouldn't want a investment like this to come to a halt due to, say, a faulty shield or poorly balanced weapon...."
Elric paused, let his thoughts churn for a few moments before drawing looking back directly to Andrija, "A silver and thirty coins seems fair for purchase, to be sure, but I actually have a separate proposition for you. My arms instructor... Malahahi, has decided that I should learn something more... unorthodox. To the point, I want to see Rais fight, if he is good, and lives, then I will pay you 15 coins to have him out of the pens once to further review him, again if it a good showing, I'll make sure your purchase is returned in profit."
Elric paused again, as though he was forgetting something, "Lastly, agreed upon or not. My name is Grey, Elric."