Chapter 12

Upon entering the Arena lobby, Errrkkkk and Riakon were overtaken with the commotion. People of all sorts were rushing about, some waving tickets and cheering, some distraught saps dragged themselves towards the exits, and then there was a third type of people dressed in armor moving through the crowd.

With a sigh, Roden dragged his two companions over to the combatant registration window. When they reached the front of the line they met with a middle aged human woman with half moon glasses attached to a chain around her neck and her light brown hair done up in a curly perm.

“Names.” her voice came out as cold as a winter’s day.

“Hello, ummm we are new and want to sign up for an afternoon slot.” Roden said with a smile.

Unflinching the woman pushed forward a baseball sized ball of clear glass.

“Place your hand on the ball one at a time. We need to log your power levels.”

After each man completed the scan, they gave the woman the rest of their information.

“Okay and what is your group name?”

The three men looked at each other for a moment before Errrkkkk piped up.

“We are 'The Sons of Era-rchy' cacaw”

“Is the cacaw part of your name?”

“No” Riakon and Roden said simultaneously as Errrkkkk raged silently.

“Okay I have a space for the Intermission bout. I can only schedule ya if you’re willing to take on a creature fight. Do you accept?”

“Yes, that is perfect thank you.”

“You have about an hour to get ready. Your power signatures have been added to the system. Place your hand on the door plate and it will let you into the preparation rooms. In there you will find potions which you can bring into the fight or save for after. Someone will come get you five minutes before the start. Any questions? No, good. Next.”

Over the next hour the men sat in their preparation room and discussed their plan for the upcoming fight. Which to say, there wasn’t much of a plan. The gist of it was Errrkkkk and Riakon would charge the creatures and beat the hell out of them until they won.

Roden was a little apprehensive of this plan considering he couldn’t take the same kind of damage they could. They figured his best bet was to hang back and cast from a distance, which was all well and good except everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth and in this case it was more likely he’d be bitten, slashed, or crushed.

He imagined the plan would all go to shit once that happened. However, as the time drew closer Roden had a thought. If he had to fight, these were the two friends he wanted with him. He wished he could remember what this fight was during their campaign, but nothing came to mind when he tried to recall it.

They all pocketed a potion with Roden taking two of the four available. When the time came a small man knocked on the inner door calling them to join him. Riakon sat down with Grok and tried to explain to him he needed to stay in this room until they came back.

It wasn’t clear if the creature understood, but after their talk he hopped up on a chair and curled up into a ball. They had to walk down a long hallway that led to the mouth of the tunnel that opened up into the arena.

“If you’re going to activate any pre-fight abilities now is the time.” the small man’s voice barely cut over the rumble of the crowd overhead.

With that Roden casted his Blessed Traveler spell with the incantation “speed be with you.”

“And also with you.” A hint of mocking to Riakon’s voice.

The irony of the comment nearly caused Roden to short circuit as the spell washed over all three of them leaving an ephemeral glow about their feet and Errrkkkk’s wings. Riakon as a character didn’t understand the reference yet here he was making it. The incongruity of the interaction had Roden spiraling.

Riakon had cast his Faith Shield spell granting him further protection, while Errrkkkk activated the magic on his staff causing it to glow a faint green. When the small man gave the signal the three walked out of the tunnel and into the afternoon light of the arena.

The arena was a flat slab of hard stone with no cover of any kind. This was going to be a straight up fight with no frills. As they walked to their marks designated by a large rectangle labeled “Red Corner” a booming voice rang through the arena.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Innnnnnnn the Red Corner, we have a brand new group ready for their first fight in the Coastall Adventure Arena. They are the strong, the powerful, the faithful, Sons. of. Era-rchy!!!!”

The crowd erupted with practiced enthusiasm, Roden knew they magically pumped in artificial crowd noise to make things more exciting, but he kept that bit to himself as the goofy grins on his companions’ faces were too good to tarnish with a truth so meaningless.

“Innnnnnnnn the Blue Corner, we have a pair of vicious creatures from lands far away. They terrorize their prey and are known to kill for the sport of it. I give you the nasty, the terrible, the scourge of fey forests, thhheeeeee Phantom Ferox!!!!”

With that introduction, two cages lifted out of the ground. Each cage held a dark brown panther-like creature with glowing yellow eyes and what looked like three tails, one short and two much longer each tipped with a forked claw. Roden knew what these were. They weren’t just simple beasts.

“Guys, watch out. Those things look like tails but are completely prehensile and they’ll use them to grab onto you. If I remember right, they use optical illusions too. They appear in one place when they are actually next to it. ”

Riakon looked at him with a blank expression.

“Prehensile means they can move it like a hand.”

Riakon nodded in understanding.

“Ready!!! Set!!!! Fight!!!!”

It was in that second, Roden realized he forgot to activate his Moment of Ignition. Which he did, causing a cloak of flames to erupt around him as the cages opened and the fight began.

Errrkkkk and Riakon took off their enhanced speed allowing them to cover the distance rapidly as the Ferox mirrored their charge. Just as they were about to collide in an epic clash, Errrkkkk and Riakon both sailed right through their targets having fallen for the illusions the Ferox projected.

At first, Roden assumed the creatures would whirl around and strike, instead they barreraled forward at increasing speed straight towards him. These damn things had correctly assumed that he was the squishiest of the three and would likely make for an easy kill.

As the Ferox drew closer Roden figured he had two choices; he could stand his ground, bring out his Flame Blade and meet them head on, or run like hell and hope to Era that the others would get to him before the Ferox did. Then he did neither of those things, gathered his resolve, waited as long as he dared, and activated his Pilgrim’s Rebuke.

The shockwave caught the two Ferox sending them tumbling across the stone, their illusionary selves flickering before fading away. The creatures rolled to their feet in a picture of feline grace when they were hit with the secondary effect of his ability. In their minds, Roden had become a much more terrifying figure, his magic crafting a vivid hallucination.

As the Feroxes backed away, the one to Roden’s left was battered by a barrage of golden energy blasts courtesy of Errrkkkk from his wing given vantage point. While the Ferox to Roden’s right was introduced to the business end of Riakon’s two handed hammer.

Both Ferox suffered greatly from their mistake and lashed out at their attackers. Errrkkkk was too high for his Ferox to reach even when it leapt into the air and whipped out its tentacle-like tails. Riakon was able to fend off one of his opponents strikes, but took a hit to his unprotected forearm. The forked claw dug into his scales before pulling back leaving two shallow, but wide scratches behind.

Not wanting to waste his chance, Roden shouted “Ignite!” the bead of red hot magic careened toward the Ferox focused on Errrkkkk. The spell caught the creature off guard and it was engulfed in cinders that quickly stuck to the creature’s short fur. Roden’s “Blaze” ability came next, turning the cinders into a full fire.

Errrkkkk followed up with a swooping combination of a staff strike to the creature’s head and a flipping kick to its spine only capable by someone with powerful wings to generate the kind of force necessary for it to be practical.

Riakon was not having the same kind of luck as his companions. His follow up hammer strike had missed and buried the head of his hammer into the stone, leaving him wide open for the Ferox’s attack. He managed to duck the first, but the second tail got him again, this time narrowly missing his neck and instead dragging across his collarbone and down his left shoulder.

Riakon gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the Ferox as it began to flicker again, its illusion coming back into effect. On the other side, the flaming Ferox managed to strike out and catch Errrkkkk with both of its tails drawing a squawk from the birdfolk more in surprise than pain.

However, instead of simply slashing at him, they latched onto his leg and dragged him to the ground. Roden found himself faced with a difficult decision and no time to make it. Knowing that Riakon could heal himself made the decision to help Errrkkkk a bit easier, but he was a little worried for his friend.

They needed to finish the Ferox on Errrkkkk and make this a three on one. Roden drew on more magic than was necessary and pumped it into his Ignition Bolt. The equation was simple; more magic equals more power equals more damage, it was essentially the Associative property of magic.

“Ignite '' the incantation spoken, the spell was launched and just as it was about to hit its target, the creature hopped back causing Roden’s spell to sail beyond the Ferox and burst against the far wall of the arena.

In the commotion Errrkkkk chose to go on the offense instead of dealing with the beast’s grip on his leg. He spun his staff up over his head and slammed it down in a mighty blow to the side of the Ferox’s face. His follow up claw missed its mark, but the Ferox was looking worse for wear.

Riakon had to admit, things were not going his way. He watched as the Ferox circled around him, its tails flicked back and forth preparing to strike. With its illusion back in place Riakon wasn’t sure how to handle this creature, then an idea came over him. He closed his eyes and gripped the shaft of his hammer.

The weapon began to glow with a bright yellow light. His ability Sanctify granted his weapon divine guidance. He didn’t need to see the creature, he just had to have faith.

In one powerful motion, he ripped his hammer from the ground and swung it in a wide arc toward where he thought the Ferox would be. The maneuver nearly worked as the Ferox narrowly avoided the attack. Unfortunately for Riakon, it left him wide open for a counter attack.

Both of the Ferox’s tails dug into his shoulders and raked down his back tearing his cloak. It was Riakon’s guttural roar of frustration and rage that drew Roden’s attention.

Roden took stock of the magic he had left, his magic was at about half of what he started with. He couldn’t manage much more than one more at initiate level and maybe a couple at trainee level after that. He hoped he was making the right decision.

He started running, mid run he threw his hand out and cast his last initiate tier spell for the day, his Flame Blade erupted into his hand as he slid into place, putting himself at Riakon’s back. He readied himself, figuring a counter attack was his best bet.

With his back covered Riakon grinned devilishly and attacked the Ferox with reckless abandon. The move paid off instantly as Riakon was able to connect with his sweeping hammer. It ripped through the illusion and caught the Ferox in the shoulder. The creature responded by lashing out wildly with its tails, both of which pierced Riakon’s forearm as he shielded his face from the creature’s strike.

In that moment of distraction Roden countered, his Flame Blade spell guided him into a thrust that pierced the Ferox’s side, the flames burning and sputtering against its flesh. The Ferox cried out in a feral growl and hiss. It leapt back from its two opponents.

Roden immediately shifted back, putting Riakon between himself and the beast. From there, he saw Errrkkkk deliver another powerful strike with his staff that had the Ferox reeling before he clasped his hands together at his hip before and drove them forward unleashing a torrent of chi energy,

“Caaaaaaaaa, Caaaaaaawwwwwww!!!!!!”

When the blast dissipated the Ferox was left in a smoldering heap unable to continue. The crowd around them erupted in utter amazement. Hearing that, Riakon found a renewed sense of vigor.

This time when he swung the Ferox didn’t have its illusion to protect it from his Sanctified weapon, as Riakon connected he dumped as much of his divine magic as he could into a massive smiting blow. The attack was exactly what Riakon was waiting for.

His magic infused strike exploded against the Ferox and despite it having not taken much damage prior to the attack, the front portion of its body was nearly torn asunder as it flopped and bounced across the stone of the arena floor.