Dravidan awoke early the next morning to the sound of the encampment bells,
tolling the notes that tell the Geltor that they must sacrifice their
dignity for another day, to work for their human slavers. The gladiator
was among the first to reach the small quarry that the palisades were built
around, working himself beyond any expectations, to lighten the load of
those others forced to do such menial labor. Despite his good intentions,
though, he was in a rotten mood due to the events that took place the night
before. As he saw one older Geltor struggle with a large stone block, he
pushed him aside, picked up the block, and continued to work, "Don't show
any weakness you fool! The guards swarm on such behavior!"
The old half-giant shrugged, rubbing his now bruised arm, "I wish they would swarm on me, end this miserable existence. You can go ahead and act like you're helping me, but I'm done." He said, grabbing a small block and carrying it with him, as slow as he could.
Moments later, one of the taskmasters saw the Geltor struggling with his load, "Hurry up you bag of bones! We've got to finish getting the stones for the west wall today!" The taskmaster continued talking until he ended his little speech with the crack of his whip on the worker's back. The old half-giant grinned, taking the stone he had, he threw it into the air, where it promptly landed in the taskmaster's skull.
A nearby guard watched the display, with eyes widening in utter horror. It didn't last but a couple moments, though. As his training kicked in, he tightened his grip on his mace, and began charging towards the taskmaster's killer. Before he had taken more than a couple steps, Dravidan's massive hand hoisted him from the ground by his clothing, and crushed the windpipes of the man with his other hand. After the deed was done, Dravidan glared at the Geltor who had started the conflict. "Old man, do you not know what you have just done? Killing a human can result in your death, and my crime is like yours as well, look at the limp form in my hands! It is thanks to you, that he had to die, we could have resolved this differently!"
Before he could finish, a tranquilizer dart met the neck of the old Geltor, and moments later, the same happened to him, and everything became dark.
The half-giant awoke in a dark, familiar room. Suddenly, a memorable light flickered, and his captor became apparent. "Manset!" He growled, "What are you doing with me?" The mage nonchalantly looked around the room before replying, "Oh, the younger generations are so unthankful, I had Brevin spare your life, despite you killing the guard." Dravidan opened his eyes wide in surprise, "What of the old one? What happened to him?"
Regula Manset rolled his eyes. "The other one had what was coming to him, he has been granted the freedom of death's cold touch. If I'm right, you can still probably see him from here," he replied, opening the window to show the courtyard.
The Geltor suspiciously came to his feet, and looked out the window. What he found, was a large form hanging from the gallows, and full of enough arrows, that a pin cushion would be jealous. Dravidan closed his eyes to the brutal scene, "Why have you taken him? Why was not I killed along with the old one?"
The Gem Knight laughed, "I thought you would have gotten it by now! I'm a prime influence for any of the important leaders in this entire nation. What I say, goes, for the most part. What I said, was that you were a fine scientific specimen, so basically, if you perform well, and do what I tell you, I won't just use you to dissect."
The gladiator shuddered at the thought of being killed just for the use of some experiment for the mad wizard. So after moments of hard deliberation, he hesitantly agreed to do what the man said, else be turned into 'fried geltor,' as the mage had tried to put humorously.
"First order of business," Manset said suddenly. "One of the terms that I could keep you alive was, that you would have to fight one last time in the arena against a foe of Lord Brevin's choosing.. The match is scheduled for tonight, so I don't want you to overexert yourself. So I'll let you get back resting after you clean this room, and fix the door that you had broken last time you had stormed out this room."
The Geltor growled, not being able to stop from thinking about how many ways he could torture this man, if he was given the chance.
The old half-giant shrugged, rubbing his now bruised arm, "I wish they would swarm on me, end this miserable existence. You can go ahead and act like you're helping me, but I'm done." He said, grabbing a small block and carrying it with him, as slow as he could.
Moments later, one of the taskmasters saw the Geltor struggling with his load, "Hurry up you bag of bones! We've got to finish getting the stones for the west wall today!" The taskmaster continued talking until he ended his little speech with the crack of his whip on the worker's back. The old half-giant grinned, taking the stone he had, he threw it into the air, where it promptly landed in the taskmaster's skull.
A nearby guard watched the display, with eyes widening in utter horror. It didn't last but a couple moments, though. As his training kicked in, he tightened his grip on his mace, and began charging towards the taskmaster's killer. Before he had taken more than a couple steps, Dravidan's massive hand hoisted him from the ground by his clothing, and crushed the windpipes of the man with his other hand. After the deed was done, Dravidan glared at the Geltor who had started the conflict. "Old man, do you not know what you have just done? Killing a human can result in your death, and my crime is like yours as well, look at the limp form in my hands! It is thanks to you, that he had to die, we could have resolved this differently!"
Before he could finish, a tranquilizer dart met the neck of the old Geltor, and moments later, the same happened to him, and everything became dark.
The half-giant awoke in a dark, familiar room. Suddenly, a memorable light flickered, and his captor became apparent. "Manset!" He growled, "What are you doing with me?" The mage nonchalantly looked around the room before replying, "Oh, the younger generations are so unthankful, I had Brevin spare your life, despite you killing the guard." Dravidan opened his eyes wide in surprise, "What of the old one? What happened to him?"
Regula Manset rolled his eyes. "The other one had what was coming to him, he has been granted the freedom of death's cold touch. If I'm right, you can still probably see him from here," he replied, opening the window to show the courtyard.
The Geltor suspiciously came to his feet, and looked out the window. What he found, was a large form hanging from the gallows, and full of enough arrows, that a pin cushion would be jealous. Dravidan closed his eyes to the brutal scene, "Why have you taken him? Why was not I killed along with the old one?"
The Gem Knight laughed, "I thought you would have gotten it by now! I'm a prime influence for any of the important leaders in this entire nation. What I say, goes, for the most part. What I said, was that you were a fine scientific specimen, so basically, if you perform well, and do what I tell you, I won't just use you to dissect."
The gladiator shuddered at the thought of being killed just for the use of some experiment for the mad wizard. So after moments of hard deliberation, he hesitantly agreed to do what the man said, else be turned into 'fried geltor,' as the mage had tried to put humorously.
"First order of business," Manset said suddenly. "One of the terms that I could keep you alive was, that you would have to fight one last time in the arena against a foe of Lord Brevin's choosing.. The match is scheduled for tonight, so I don't want you to overexert yourself. So I'll let you get back resting after you clean this room, and fix the door that you had broken last time you had stormed out this room."
The Geltor growled, not being able to stop from thinking about how many ways he could torture this man, if he was given the chance.