Chapter 6: Condemned
The four looked on at the stubby little man who stood before him as the guards lowered their rifles reluctantly. He was disturbingly reminiscent of a pig with fat rolls visible underneath his immaculate clothing. His nose was short and turned up, and his cheeks were so fat that when he smiled his eyes squinted and his face contorted into a creepy mask. He had wide hips, but his fat was so amassed that it was hard to tell where his gut ended and his hips began. His legs and arms were short and stout and everyone who looked upon them wondered how he was being kept up. Speer resisted the temptation to check behind the Mayor under his coattails for a curly little tail.
"So am I right? Have you four come to compete in my famous Arena? I have so been waiting for some sort of 'professional' competition instead of the citizens I've 'encouraged' to participate. You lot seem to have that air of experience about you, just looking at you I can tell that you've faced great dangers! But none so dangerous as my legendary Arena I dare!" Mayor Wilson boasted proudly, trying to egg on the Heroes into competing. Michael's eyes told the story of his emotions and Willow stepped in front of him to prevent an outburst in such a volatile situation.
"Yes Mayor, we do intend on competing in the Arena. However we have no idea what this challenge entails. Would you care to explain the details?" Willow asked kindly to the Mayor, hopefully maintaining the trust they were holding onto for the moment.
"Of course my dear girl of course! Come with me and I will explain everything to you personally! Stand down gentlemen, there will be no need for those guns! These people are guests!" Mayor Wilson decreed and the guards begrudgingly lowered their weapons. The Captain rose to his feet and held his head, reluctantly walking away and ordering his men back to their posts as the Heroes walked by him behind the Mayor.
The Heroes and the Mayor walked towards the colossal Arena. From the walls hung a great collection of flags from seemingly all around the globe, and what appeared to be pieces of armor used as ornaments. The Mayor seemed exceptionally proud of them.
"You see that? That is a sort of…trophy collection I have been compiling. Anyone who fails to complete my Arena 'donates' something of their person to my collection. I've won enough I could make dozens upon dozens suits of armor! Enough flags to sail an armada of ships!" the Mayor boasted.
"That is quite impressive, but what does a challenger receive should they win?" Shunt chimed in as no one has ever won in so long, the prize had become forgotten. The Mayor seemed offended by the question.
"The prize? The prize is whatever the victor wishes. I've become incredibly rich because of my Arena! I can afford any prize someone could wish for, but no one has won for over 100 years." The Mayor said confidently.
"I'm sorry, 100 years? There's no way you could be that old," Speer said suspiciously.
"Oh no no, of course not! The Arena was left to me by my father, whose father owned it before him. My grandfather was the owner when the Hero of Bowerstone was victorious. The last winner of the Arena of course was a Hero and therefor had an unfair advantage, so I've banned them from competing. Damned witches…they've never been anything but trouble for this world! Especially my fair city of Westcliff! Nothing but evil witches bent on using their powers to destroy our world!" Mayor Wilson declared vehemently. Michael was so enraged he put his hand on his sword to end this right now, but once again Willow stopped him, placing her hand on his to calm him.
"Excuse me Mayor, but the rest of the world seems to hold Heroes in fairly high regard. The idea of them being 'witches' is sort of outdated since the Hero of Bowerstone became King," Willow argued politely.
"That is EXACTLY my point! Never more has Albion suffered than when our King was a Hero! Our Kingdom suffered tragic attacks trying to destroy our King, and I can't help but notice we never had to deal with such monsters when Lucian was in charge! Heroes are nothing but trouble, and I take pride in personally chasing Heroes out of my fair city over the years!" The Mayor said proudly. It was clearly no use arguing with the Mayor and so the Heroes chose to keep their objections to themselves.
The Heroes were led into the Arena via a massive doorway. The doors opened to reveal a rather large inner sanctum filled with weaponry and various medicines. It was a veritable armory combined with a hospital, with every weapon or medical supply one could ever need for any kind of quest or battle.
"This is the Base Room! Challengers can choose anything from this place to take into the Arena, or choose to bare it with what they come with. You may elect to take everything in this room, but of course that is quite the load to bare. The trick is to take everything you need without burdening yourself with excess, because once you enter you may not come back until the Arena is over." Mayor Wilson explained, "please, take your time. We are spreading the word of your challenge all throughout the city, so it will take time to amass an audience suitable to watch your attempt." The Mayor began to walk away so he might leave the Heroes to strategize, but Willow noticed he left something out.
"Wait! You forgot to tell us how we would be competing!" She shouted out and the Mayor paused, turning around with a disgusting smile.
"It's quite simple, you go into the Arena and fend off the challenges until you defeat the final challenge." Mayor Wilson said plainly.
"And what is the 'final challenge'?" Willow probed further, to which the Mayor snorted.
"You'll know when you see it." And with that the Mayor walked back through the front door and the Heroes were trapped inside to develop their plan of attack.
"I'm going to kill him…why didn't you let me kill him when I had the chance?" Michael asked angrily.
"Because if we did we'd have to face the entire army of Westcliff in a very small area. When we beat the Arena and he presents us with our prize there will be much less protection and we can fight our way out if need be." Willow explained.
"He's a monster! You saw him! He doesn't deserve the decency!" Michael argued.
"I know he is Michael…I know…since when have you become so obsessed with killing someone? I don't like it…" Willow asked with a concerned tone.
"You should understand what I'm going through Willow! You of anyone should understand! He's a monstrous, evil, destructive and greedy little man and I am going to make sure his life is extinguished by my hand and my hand alone. I won't rest until I see him dead." Michael moved on to check around the armory for a weapon he could use instead of his father's sword so not to give away his identity. The rest of them looked on, confused as to where the sweet and peaceful Michael had gone.
The other Heroes also began checking the supplies available to them. Shunt grabbed a health vial from the wall and decided it might be useful should things become overwhelming in there. Shunt opened the vial and was going to take a sip, but Speer waving some weapons around caused him to stumble into Shunt and knock it out of his hands. The vial fell to the floor and to their astonishment, it exploded. The four investigated the remaining fluid on the floor.
"He replaced health potions with explosive liquids…" Shunt explained.
"Just another way he plans on screwing us, a challenger is weak and drinks the potion, then his insides explode and it looks like he suffered internal injuries from the Arena." Speer said, almost admirably. "an assassin could learn a thing or two from this guy."
"Challengers! Ready yourselves!" The Mayor's voice boomed over a loud speaker, "Your audience awaits you! Please approach the gate!"
The Heroes were out of time. They approached the starting position and the doors swung open. The Heroes stepped into the Arena, greeted by an ovation unlike any they've heard before. It seemed the citizens had as much invested in their victory as the Heroes themselves.
"Challengers! You understand the risks of your attempt of the Arena!" The Mayor said through his loud speaker once again, "the odds are…you will not survive. However, your reward is valuable beyond comprehension! Please challengers, name your prize now!"
The Heroes looked amongst themselves to try and decide what their reward could be. This entire time they were focused on their quest that they hadn't even thought of what is should be. Finally, Michael spoke up.
"If we win…you donate your fortune to the citizens of your city…and you step down as Mayor forever." Michael decreed. The crowd gasped collectively and all looked towards the Mayor, who was flabbergasted by the request. His surprise turned to anger, and a serious and deadly look crept across his grotesque face.
"So be it…Good luck to you all…LET THE ARENA BEGIN!"