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******* “My friends,” I roared as I spread my arms to include one and all of the enormous crowd that surrounded us in the arena. The spectators of the Hydra’s first bout in the Games cheered as I began my introduction. “You have come to be entertained. You have come to see...

We sat on one of the banquet’s benches and listened to Mortec tell the tale that I have just repeated for some ten minutes before the little Gnome was rudely interrupted. The same self-important lackey, silken robe now somewhat dishevelled and stained with the evening’s meal and also dirt...

My own recollections of what happened in the twenty minutes or so after I first lost consciousness are vague and blurred, so I will recount the tale that Mortec told me. The whole banquet was in chaos. Many of the feasters were lying just like me, unconscious and drifting off to death...

The banquet was an enormous affair! Guards, contrary to Moxadder’s information, surrounded the edge of the arena, although they were some distance from the gathered masses. A huge ‘U’ shaped table was setup in centre of field of battle where we would compete the next day. There must have been...

Chapter 10 – Fun and Games The shrill chirping of birds outside my shuttered window roused me from my sleep. Melinda lay beside me her breathing deep with slumber. A smile of affection crept across my face at the sight of her hidden under the bed sheets. I rose quietly and took my...

Argonne and the Martigan brothers volunteered to clear the room of the corpses, the river would be full in the morning, whilst Mortec, Stravarious and I checked with Petuvary on Ship’s Cat. Petuvary shook his head. ‘Nay. I’ll be here all night trying to free her from the forsaken place...

During that period we, the Hydra, found Ship’s Cat to be a wealth of knowledge. For a small fee she provided us with all sorts of information on the Games; who we may meet and what threat they posed, various attempted maimings and ‘accidents’ and even a list of the prices that various gamblers...

Back in my room at the inn I hurriedly broke the wax and unrolled the note from my sister. Written in her careful and considerate flowing hand was; “Dearest Gerard, Please accept my small gift. Wear it and speak to me of your thoughts brother. It will be as when we were young, when...

Thanks very much for the kind words. Much appreciated.

It was mid-morning three days later as we approached the sprawling city of Halfast when Zhontell noticed smoke coming from a large copse of trees a few miles off the road. Whilst no one else thought it important he was curious enough to decide to investigate and told us that he would meet us...

The next two days passed quickly for me. I spent my time between the dwarfs and Zhontell learning all I could of their respective languages whilst I had the opportunity. The countryside had gradually changed from open flat scrub land to the scattered woods we now travelled in, all evidence of...

Chapter 9 – My oh my, what a comfy bed The morning sun revealed the desolation that surrounded us. The rats had moved on but not before having eaten every living thing, including the farmers we had seen during our flight. Broken brush and dirt was all that remained. No one had been...

There were several empty rooms, and several that bore such an air of foreboding that we chose not to explore them. Best leave some things as they are. The only really interesting room was the one which had been Holton’s personal chambers. Figuring he would no longer need his possessions, we...

There was no joy in Holton’s demise, just a feeling of relief and exhaustion. I cannot recall how long it was before we managed to gather ourselves and move on, but it must have been close to an hour. Strav, as was becoming his hallmark, led the way into the unknown from whence Holton had...

We could not see down them very far, not so much due to their spiral but more so the strange fog that hung in the staircase. That did not deter Moxadder, he was quick to go down, despite several appeals from us to regroup and rethink. “That’s interesting.” pondered the lanky, hunched...

Chapter 8 – Deeper into the Dark Laughter was the first sound I heard, quickly followed my music. My eyelids flicked open to see a starless night. I could feel cool grass beneath me. I raised myself onto an elbow and looked around. Flickering torches in tall stands and several massive bonfires...

Dark and dank, it wound downwards. It was cruder than the other passage and at points it narrowed so that only one of us could squeeze through at a time. Eventually it lead to another Rat Troll lair, thankfully with none of the monsters lurking there. It did, however, have something even more...

Their screeches sounded in the darkness, louder and louder as the creatures came closer to us. Strav shouted a word and suddenly there was flare and three horrid beasts were illuminated, their terrible forms lit with bright green auras. They were no more than fifty feet away from us. One bounded...

The water exploded outwards! A massive shape shot up, splashing the yellow mucous-like water over the edge of the pool. I was glad I had moved away from it as I doubt I could ever have cleaned that substance from my boots. Several tentacles flailed about wildly, groping for something, anything...

Thankfully the night passed uneventfully, unless of course you include Moxadder’s raking coughs. Argonne gave me a cheery greeting when he saw me awaken. I just growled at him. How had I gone from my goose down pillows to stone cobbled floors? This is not at all what I had envisaged as life...