Today's crowd in the stands is a raucous one; the champion Beast, who
has amassed some impressive victories with his no nonsense attitude to
combat is one of todays competitors. Based on his record, he's the favorite
today, and if anyone had any doubts they had only to listen to the buzz
among the fans. The dwarves in the audience seemed particularly dour today;
one of their own was to face Beast, and it was hard to ignore the many fans
who were placing small wagers as to how far the dwarf would sail when Beast
hit him with his oversized mallet, or as to how many pieces the dwarf would
be in when the combat ended. Normally a fiery people, the dwarves in the
audience today were a small minority amongst the many fans of the Beast.
A drum roll began, bringing the crowd to silence for the moment. People
watched the stone doors at the ends of the Arena, waiting to hear the
announcer present their favorites.
As the huge double doors simultaneously parted at the opposite ends of
the battleground, the magically amplified voice of the announcer rang out
through the audience.
"At the north end of the arena is the challenger, a Mountain Dwarf of
renown who is triply blessed by the gods of dwarvendom, I present for your
pleasure the Priest-warrior Rockim Stonehammer!" Out steps a husky
red-headed dwarf with a beard to make any dwarf proud, braided with precious
gemstones. He wore the fine black plate mail the dwarves were so skilled at
forging, and carried a mighty battle axe cross his shoulders, the blade of
which glowed as brightly as the full moon. The voices of dwarves in the
audience rose in support of their champion, but were quickly drowned out by
the many fans of the Beast.
"And across from him at the south end, an Athasian giant you all know
well, the indomitable gladiator known only as the Beast!" Wild cheers erupt
from the audience, but the cheers die into stunned silence as the fighter
known as the Beast bends over at the waist to step out of the double doors.
This isn't the Beast people were used to seeing; his ruddy red skin, glowing
grey plate mail and the tremendous maul he brought into the ring were much
the same as usual. At the same time, they were wholly different. The
Beast, usually a towering figure of a half-giant at more than ten feet tall,
today stood more than twice that. The stone double doors that normally
seemed massive were dwarfed by the gargantuan fighter, who stood more than a
head higher than the twin doors.
"Let the Games commence" called out the announcer.
With those words, the dwarf Rockim completed the casting of a protective
magic, favoring all those who were true followers of the gods of the dwarves
and a bane to all who were not. But just as Rockim spake his word, so to
did the Beast speak a word of activation, and simply disappeared from where
he stood. To appear the blink of an eye later barely ten feet from the
dwarf, who looked like a toddler so near the huge gargatuan. He was barely
knee high to the towering man.
Small though he was, the dwarf seemed to have the advantage of quickness
on his side. A flash of silver like the lightning of the gods flashed
through the air, but when it met with the giant's armor there was another
flash in answer. The axe balde glanced off the armor without so much as
scratching it. The dwarf had seen this trick before and knew it couldn't
last forever; he shifted his feet and swung his deadly blade towards the
half-giant's other flank. At the last moment the giant twisted his hip.
Instead of cleaving through the plate armor, the blade became wedged between
two seams in the giant's armor. Grinning, the Beast changed his stance,
causing the seams holding the dwarves' blade to squeeze ever tighter,
trapping the weapon.
Before the dwarf even had time to consider his options, the half-giant's
blackened maul swung forward with monstrous force; only the god's favor
spared Rockim a crushing blow. But before he had even released the haft of
his axe, the huge maul, its head twice the size of a smith's anvil, came
swinging back. This time Beast had corrected for his aim, and the monstrous
mallet slammed into the dwarf like an avalanche, throwing his backwards
against the very double doors he had just emerged from seconds earlier. With
uncanny speed the half-giant's maul swung twice more; each blow striking
true. The last enormous blow lifted the dwarven champion from his feet and
hurled him like a pile of rags some thirty feet.
The audience cheered wildly for their champion, Beast, who was no longer
even bleeding. He turns to regard his opponent, then chuckles as the broken
dwarf lay lifeless, bones jutting through the skin and limbs bent in ways
unnatural.
Priests hurry to the fallen dwarf as a cheer went up from the stands:
"BEAST, BEAST, BEAST!". The mammoth gladiator holds his instrument of death
high to the delight of the cheering fans. (
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