ROUND ONE
When the chime sounding the dawn hour rang, Giovanni and the rest of Impotent Rage emerged from their quarters to find that most of the gladiators were gathered near the meal tables. A parchment had been posted on the wall there announcing the first round match-ups.
Dwilt’s team was slated to fight in the second slot. Their opponents were three other teams called Arcane Auriga, Badlands’ Revenge, and Sapphire Squad. Shortly, all the assembled teams separated once more and began scrutinizing their competition and muttering among themselves. Giovanni began looking through the crowd for their own challengers. Arcane Auriga was a team comprised of five elven women. Four of them were outfitted in studded leathers, while the fifth, slightly older woman, wore a breastplate. All carried well-made longbows and wore shortswords at their hips. Badlands’ Revenge consisted of a barbaric-looking human wearing rustic hide armor with a wooden shield slung over one shoulder. He gripped a spear in one hand, and a sling hung at his belt. He was barking orders in a strange tongue at three savage gnolls, all clad in studded leather and leaning on wickedly hooked halberds. Crouched at the man’s feet was a badger the size of a pony, with odd, bony knobs protruding through its fur. Sapphire squad was led by a rakish looking fellow in a gleaming chain shirt. He wore a turban atop his head, and his moustache and beard were well-oiled and pointed. A scimitar rested on his hip, and a composite longbow was slung over his shoulder. His companions were two men, similarly garbed, but wearing full chain mail and carrying heavy, steel shields. They too carried scimitars and composite bows. Three heavy warhorses were tethered near their dwelling.
It was the leader of Sapphire Squad that interested Giovanni the most. There was something strange about him…Then it struck the warlock. He wasn’t human after all. Giovanni’s years of research into his own mysterious lineage had given him a large storehouse of knowledge about outsiders…those from beyond his own plane of existence. This man was a janni…one of the least powerful members of elemental creatures known as djinn. This should prove very interesting. As he watched, the janni began swaggering towards the women of Arcane Auriga. As he reached them, he gave them a sweeping bow and a toothy smile. He spoke quietly to them for a moment, grinning all the time, until finally, the older of the women gave him a very deliberate, and equally obscene, hand gesture. The five of them then turned away. The janni looked momentarily abashed, but as his eyes fell upon Storm standing near the rest of her team mates, his smile magically appeared again.
“Good morning, fair lady,” he said, striding up and lifting Storm’s hand to his lips. “I assume you are the leader of this fine band of warriors. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Korush, major general of Sapphire Squad. I…”
“You ASS-ume much", Vladius interrupted, the crazed wizard dressed only in a loincloth this morning. "Why don’t you spare us all of your lip flapping and just tell us what in the Hells you want?”
“Ah…” Korush said, his smile never faltering, “I take it this is your advisor?” he still addressed Storm.
“I’ll tell you what you can take…!” Vladius began.
“Please,” Storm said, reclaiming her hand from Korush, and raising it to forestall Vladius, “What can we help you with?”
“Why, I only come to offer my well-wishes in the coming competition…and to offer a possible alliance between our two teams…at least until we are the only two left.”
At this point Dwilt spoke, “I am the leader of this team, Korush, and your regards are duly noted and returned. However, we have neither need nor want of an alliance. Let the best team win.”
For a moment anger flashed in Korush’ eyes, but it was quickly replaced by his charming smile. “Alas,” he said, “then when we next meet, I regret it shall be as enemies. Perhaps when all of this violence and bloodshed has past, my lady,” he turned to Storm once more, “you and I can become better acquainted.”
“Why don’t you go acquaint yourself with the horse your rode in on?” Vladius spat at Korush’ retreating back as he rejoined his own team.
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Two hours later, the victors of the first battle returned from the Field of Triumph. To no one’s real surprise, it was Auric’s Warband. As the reigning champion’s swaggered back into the coenoby, an arena warden called out, “Arcane Auriga! Badlands’ Revenge! Sapphire Squad! Impotent Rage!” The four teams quickly mustered around the warden, and began following him back upstairs towards the lift chamber. Giovanni noted with amusement the surprised looks on the faces of some of the other gladiators as they saw the radically different appearance of his own team this morning. Gone were the rags and cast-offs of the night before, replaced by gleaming mail and shining, deadly-looking weapons.
As the procession reached the lift, the elven women stepped on first, and began slowly ascending towards the arena, where the roar of the crowd could already be heard. Giovanni saw each of the women quickly quaff potions, and then the older woman cast two spells in rapid succession. As she completed the last one, several duplicate images appeared around her. The warlock looked at his comrades, and they all nodded. Immediately the buffing process began, with defensive spells flying, and protective potions imbibed. When they were done, Giovanni and Shay had rendered themselves invisible, while Vladius had first transformed Dwilt into the likeness of a troll, and then himself into a small, bat-winged imp-like creature…a mephit.
The next team to be taken up was Badland’s Revenge. Their leader also began casting spells, and to Giovanni’s surprise, he was using druidic magic! Giovanni’s own team was called next, and as the lift carried them upwards, the tumult of the spectators swelled. Arcane Auriga and Badlands’ Revenge had already positioned themselves at opposite corners of the field. Talabir Welik, his voice magically amplified, called out as the new team arrived. “I present Impotent Rage, slayers of kobolds, and bane of zombies everywhere!” At this, the fans howled with laughter. Talabir instructed the party to choose one of the remaining two corners. Dwilt chose the one on the southwest side of the arena, with Arcane Auriga occupying the southeast, and Badlands’ Revenge on the northwest. Last to arrive was Sapphire Squad, “noted for their prowess in mounted combat!” announced Welik.
Once all of the teams were in position, Welik retreated to the judge’s stand and called out, “On my mark…fight!” Four of the elven archers were a blur of motion before the referee’s voice had even faded. In a flash, one of the gnoll halberdiers went down in a hail of arrows. “And first blood goes to Arcane Auriga!” called Talabir Welik. The crowd went into a frenzy. Suddenly, Badlands’ savage leader drew a scroll from his belt and quickly unfurled it. This was exactly what Giovanni had been waiting for. Still lurking invisibly near his team mates, he had been watching all of the opposing spell casters, expecting one of them to lead off with magic right away. Just as the druid began reading the scroll, the warlock focused his dark energy and unleashed a thunderous blast directly into the man's chest. The druid reeled, his scroll evaporating into cinders. As Giovanni reappeared, his invisibility negated by his attack, the leader of Arcane Auriga nodded approvingly at him, and then fired her own volley of arrows, piercing the druid through the shoulder.
“That was pretty good, newbie,” Vladius laughed, flitting around in his altered form, “but let me show you how the big boys play!” A small, pea-sized ball of flame appeared in the mephit’s palm. Rearing back, he hurled it right into the middle of the elves. With a mushroom shaped explosion, a ball of fire erupted. In an instant it was gone, but three of the woman lay in smoking heaps on the ground. “Yeeeehaaa!” Vladius shouted, but Giovanni could not help but feel remorse as he saw the stricken look on the elder elf’s face. Before she and her remaining team mate could recover, Dwilt was among them, the troll-paladin whirling a great spiked chain around him like a dervish. The fourth archer was cut down, leaving only the leader standing.
At that moment, Korush leapt into the air from the back of his horse, and then hovered there, flying. Simultaneously, his body began to grow to twice its normal size, and he began weaving his scimitar in a blurring, deadly dance. As he prepared to charge, Storm conjured a ball of sizzling electricity in her hand, and launched it at the janni. When it struck him, it formed a flashing web of energy around his armor, immobilizing him. “Ride fools!” Korush cried to his men. “Run them down!” The two mercenaries spurred their mounts into a full charge, heading straight towards Impotent Rage, but as they reached mid-field, the feral badger companion of the druid rushed out to meet them. Without pausing, both riders slashed at the beast as they passed, dropping to the opposite sides of their saddles to avoid its vicious teeth.
As the two members of Sapphire Squad wheeled their horses about, a black-fletched arrow suddenly sprouted from the back of one of them as if by magic. No one except Giovanni, with his fiend-given ability to see-the-unseen, saw the still invisible Shay dart to the side of the arena, knocking a second shaft. Grubber took advantage of the rider’s momentary confusion, and he rushed onto the field, swinging his massive hammer and connecting solidly with the mercenary's shield arm, nearly dislocating the man’s shoulder in the process.
Giovanni visibly shook himself to get his attention back on his primary target. Already the druid was recovering, rage in his eyes as he glared at the warlock. The foolish man literally broke into an all out run as he began charging across the field. No sooner had he taken his first steps though, than the warlock met him head on with a second blast, this one louder and more massive than the first. Without a sound, the druid fell dead. For a moment, the two remaining gnolls just stared at their dead leader, then with a shrug, they looked at each other, snarled in agreement, and rushed into the midst of the melee at mid-field.
Meanwhile, Hawk had joined Grubber as the second mercenary spurred his horse into another charge. The civilar quickly side-stepped and plunged his sword into the animal’s flank. Instantly, a surge of energy flowed through the blade, and the horse went rigid. As the rider struggled to stay mounted, Hawk withdrew his sword and slashed at the mercenary. At that moment, both the gnolls and Grimm arrived, and a massive free-for-all ensued. The mercenary that Grubber had engaged spun his horse in circles, striking at any enemy in range. He managed to open a vicious wound in the shoulder of one of the gnolls, but in doing so, he exposed his back to Grimm. The mineralized dwarf, crouching behind his tower shield, landed two mighty blows with his sword, just as another of Shay’s black arrows pierced the man through the throat. His horse reared, and he fell lifeless to the ground. The remaining mercenary, still struggling to urge his mount into motion, fell easily to Grubber’s maul.
Korush’ electrical prison finally faded from his armor, and in an instant, the janni rendered himself invisible. Rage now overwhelmed any sense of honor that remained in him. His team had been decimated, and he was determined to get pay back. He soared silently across the stadium towards the unguarded Havok and Storm, confident that they would not detect his approach until it was far too late. Giovanni watched him every instant, waiting until the last possible moment to unleash hell once more. The eldritch blast blew through the janni’s chest, erupting from his back, and he crashed into the ground, returning to visibility as his life left him. The crowd was deathly silent, awe-stricken at what they were witnessing.
The leader of Arcane Auriga raised her bow defiantly towards Dwilt, but in two swift moves, the civilar-troll had ripped through one of her illusory images, and then snatched the bow from her grasp with his chain. “Dear lady,” the troll rumbled, “I do not wish to kill you. I beg your surrender.” For a moment she stood her ground, but then her gaze fell once more upon her fallen cousins and daughter, and tears filled her eyes. Raising her hands above her head, she kneeled before the paladin.
Hawk spun as the gnoll rushed in behind him. The creature’s halberd passed harmlessly to the right of the civilar, parried off of his shield. Hawk drove his blade into the halberdier’s gut twice, each time triggering a blast of electricity, cooking the monster from the inside out as it collapsed at his feet. Without missing a beat, he spun again, this time driving his sword through the spine of the badger and flash-frying it as well. Just then a shadow appeared above him as the last gnoll raised its halberd high above its head, preparing to bring it down on Hawk’s neck. Suddenly, the gnoll’s feet were ripped out from under it as Dwilt’s chain wrapped around its legs. As it rolled to its back, its halberd was torn from its hands by the other end of the civilar’s whirling links. “Surrender, or die,” Dwilt said simply. With a nervous, toothy grin, the gnoll raised its hands.
“The winners! Impotent Rage!” Talabir Welik’s voice boomed. The assembled crowd’s response was chaos. Never had they seen such a display of teamwork. As Ekaym stepped up to Brokengulf’s box to accept the trophy and payment on behalf of the team, Vladius did several loops around the arena, shouting to the crowd, “Are you not entertained!?”
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Later that night, the coenoby was noticeably quieter than the previous evening. Four other teams remained besides Auric’s Warband and Impotent Rage: Drunken Devilry, comprised of a pixie, a satyr, and a centaur; Varmint Patrol, a band of eight gnome warriors; Pitchblade, three dour-looking dwarven fighters; and the Crazy Eight, an unlikely team of eight kobold monks. Even the warden’s had departed at sunset, once more warning the gladiators not to leave the coenoby or face disqualification.
“I want to say again, well done,” Dwilt praised his team mates as they settled down in their quarters. “We’ve made it through the first round, and our plan is going smoothly. Now that the watch has been loosened on us, I say we use tonight to begin our exploration.”
Giovanni looked confused. What was he talking about? “Exploration?” he said aloud. “Of what? You heard the wardens. We’ll be kicked out if we leave without permission.”
Dwilt looked askance at the warlock, and then at the rest of the team. One by one they nodded to the civilar, and he in turn nodded to Grubber. The goliath sighed, “Perhaps we should have been straight with you from the beginning, my friend,” he began, “but we needed to test your mettle first, and let me say that you have proven yourself without doubt. You deserve to know everything. Sit back and take your ease…it is a long tale…”
That's an interesting concept, btw. What do you usually call each other at the table? How does one determine what the Marvel equivalent is? Do you work up the character and try to find a Marvel character to base it off of or pick a Marvel character and approximate it as closely as possible? Is there an intentional plan to avoid the really big names like Wolverine and Spiderman?
