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Under A Darksun Part II New Allies
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<blockquote data-quote="megamania" data-source="post: 1676304" data-attributes="member: 9255"><p>UNDER A DARKSUN</p><p>SEGMENT 133</p><p>“The Evil of Artesies”</p><p></p><p>The bright sun burned his eyes. He was dragged out of his cell by several guards and then tied to a platform with stone pillars designed for securing tied people to it. Mania knew where he was. He was on the slavery auction block. </p><p></p><p>Within ten minutes there was a sizable audience. Several women, rich merchant daughters possibly, eyed Mania and his body. They teased him just for a reaction. The bidding began. Mania was to be the last one. He was the prize selection of the day. Lucky him.</p><p></p><p>A dark skinned man dressed in white robes with a dark blue cloth on his shoulder seemed to be buying many of the warrior –types. He kept looking at Mania. He was measuring Mania. He was calculating his worth vs use.</p><p></p><p>The bidding began for him. The two merchant daughters opened the bid with excited giggles. A stone mason, looking for a strong back also started to bid but was out bid easily by the two young women. Just when everyone thought it was over, the dark-skinned man made a bid. The girls raised their bid. And this continued for a few rounds. Finally the man made a sharp movement with his hand. Two guards, hidden in the crowd, carefully walked over to the two girls as the bidding continued. The one man whispered in the girls ears. They looked angered then while turning, saw the dark skinned man’s face. The two girls whom were pale and looking to leave now laid no more bids.</p><p></p><p>Mania found himself, along with Jaedon and three others brought to a smelly courtyard. Within the courtyard were five holes in the ground. The center hole was large and had seating going down it. At the bottom was an arena about thirty feet across. The four other holes were used for holding pens. Mania was brought to the center area. The others were brought to a hole for “storage”. In the center arena were four other men. Each held a club.</p><p></p><p>The dark skinned man sat in the shade with no hint of emotion. He had a pitcher of wine he had poured for him by a beautiful woman wearing only enough clothes to hide details of her anatomy. Mania was disgusted and hated this man immediately.</p><p></p><p>One of the guards that had scared off the two young girls entered the arena. He walked directly to Mania and glared into his eyes. “You will fight to the death or die slave.”</p><p></p><p>“no” whispers Mania staring at the man, not the guard.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly Mania’s mind is filled with thoughts of terror and horror. Again he hears the guard’s statement. “Fight or die”</p><p></p><p>The man steps away leaving Mania surrounded by four armed men. Each knows the rules. There are none. Either this stranger dies or they each do.</p><p></p><p>The guard stands next to the dark skinned man. The man nods and the four men rush Mania at once.</p><p></p><p>Mania leaps and tumbles backward nearly causing the four would-be killers to strike each other.</p><p></p><p>The eyebrows rise sharply in surprise and amusement by the dark skinned man. Never taking his eyes off of Mania and the fighters, he sips his wine and watches.</p><p></p><p>One man rushes Mania on his own. Mania steps into his swing and punches the man solidly in the face. The squishy crack of a shattered nose is heard by all. The man stumbles and falls to a knee. Blood freely pours from his shattered nose.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t want to fight you” mania yells as he moves to the side to avoid being cornered. A man swings and misses. His club strikes the ground near Mania’s feet. Mania steps under the club then stomps onto the handle of the club. Like a powerful lever, the head of the club shoots up and strikes the attackers head. The man drops the club and staggers about on his hands and knees, completely dazed and helpless. Mania ignores him and moves further to his left trying to outdistance the other two.</p><p></p><p>Watching the two’s movements and attack methods, Mania waits until they charge then he leaps out and strikes each man with outreached arms. The strike only knocks the men down –hard. They are searching for their weapons even as Mania kicks them away.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t want to fight you. Stop. Together we can stop this. We can overwhelm the ….aaaaaarrrrgh!”</p><p></p><p>The man flicks two fingers while watching and the guard once more reaches into Mania’s mind. He is not gentle about it. The two men take advantage of the distraction and tackle him. Mania is forced onto the ground. Even as the other two stagger over to help kill him, Mania rolls over and throws a man …into the stone wall. He doesn’t get up. The other man resorts to biting Mania. </p><p></p><p>Mania thumbs the man’s eyes to get free. Blinking and cursing wildly, the fighter backs off. The two previous combatants are back …and armed.</p><p></p><p>Mania avoids the first swing but not the second one. The air escapes his lungs and refuses to return. Mania staggers and stumbles trying to keep out of range of the armed men, now totaling three.</p><p></p><p>Mania spits in the general direction of the two men outside of the ring. He lets his mind wander at the thought of beating the guard senseless then giving him to the men in the arena. The guard smiles. He obviously is still reading Mania’s mind.</p><p></p><p>The three men surround Mania and cut off his escape routes. He is forced to fight. He takes another strike to the shoulder causing his arm to go numb but only after doing a finger strike to the man’s throat. The man goes down clutching his crushed throat. Two men he was forced to kill.</p><p></p><p>He is struck again making him go down to a knee. From here he flattens a man with a powerful uppercut that shatters his jaw and teeth. Alive, but bloody, the man slumps into a heap before the dark skinned man.</p><p>The last man knows better than to back off. He pushes on the ill-positioned Mania. Mania blocks the clubs arch by striking the man’s arm. A faint crack can be heard. The man steps back. His arm is either dislocated or broken. He doesn’t care. He merely switches the club to the other arm. </p><p></p><p>He rushes Mania whom strikes him and snaps his neck. Mania returns to a kneeling position to catch his breath. After a few labored breaths, he stands up on shaky legs and defies the dark skinned man. “I ..will ..NOT ..kill for …your humor.” </p><p></p><p>The dark skinned man looks directly at the strange and able man before him and continues to smile. He wriggles his two fingers again and then makes a downward motion with them.</p><p></p><p>The only living man left, the one with a shattered jaw, suddenly arches his back and claws at his chest then simply dies.</p><p></p><p>Mania screams as he relives the last moments of his encounters within Bodach. Only, it is him that is killed ..not Logan.</p><p></p><p>The dark skinned man smiles a tight smile and watches and stares at the unconscience man before him. “He will make an excellent candidate for the games. He will represent me. He will represent Artesies.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="megamania, post: 1676304, member: 9255"] UNDER A DARKSUN SEGMENT 133 “The Evil of Artesies” The bright sun burned his eyes. He was dragged out of his cell by several guards and then tied to a platform with stone pillars designed for securing tied people to it. Mania knew where he was. He was on the slavery auction block. Within ten minutes there was a sizable audience. Several women, rich merchant daughters possibly, eyed Mania and his body. They teased him just for a reaction. The bidding began. Mania was to be the last one. He was the prize selection of the day. Lucky him. A dark skinned man dressed in white robes with a dark blue cloth on his shoulder seemed to be buying many of the warrior –types. He kept looking at Mania. He was measuring Mania. He was calculating his worth vs use. The bidding began for him. The two merchant daughters opened the bid with excited giggles. A stone mason, looking for a strong back also started to bid but was out bid easily by the two young women. Just when everyone thought it was over, the dark-skinned man made a bid. The girls raised their bid. And this continued for a few rounds. Finally the man made a sharp movement with his hand. Two guards, hidden in the crowd, carefully walked over to the two girls as the bidding continued. The one man whispered in the girls ears. They looked angered then while turning, saw the dark skinned man’s face. The two girls whom were pale and looking to leave now laid no more bids. Mania found himself, along with Jaedon and three others brought to a smelly courtyard. Within the courtyard were five holes in the ground. The center hole was large and had seating going down it. At the bottom was an arena about thirty feet across. The four other holes were used for holding pens. Mania was brought to the center area. The others were brought to a hole for “storage”. In the center arena were four other men. Each held a club. The dark skinned man sat in the shade with no hint of emotion. He had a pitcher of wine he had poured for him by a beautiful woman wearing only enough clothes to hide details of her anatomy. Mania was disgusted and hated this man immediately. One of the guards that had scared off the two young girls entered the arena. He walked directly to Mania and glared into his eyes. “You will fight to the death or die slave.” “no” whispers Mania staring at the man, not the guard. Suddenly Mania’s mind is filled with thoughts of terror and horror. Again he hears the guard’s statement. “Fight or die” The man steps away leaving Mania surrounded by four armed men. Each knows the rules. There are none. Either this stranger dies or they each do. The guard stands next to the dark skinned man. The man nods and the four men rush Mania at once. Mania leaps and tumbles backward nearly causing the four would-be killers to strike each other. The eyebrows rise sharply in surprise and amusement by the dark skinned man. Never taking his eyes off of Mania and the fighters, he sips his wine and watches. One man rushes Mania on his own. Mania steps into his swing and punches the man solidly in the face. The squishy crack of a shattered nose is heard by all. The man stumbles and falls to a knee. Blood freely pours from his shattered nose. “I don’t want to fight you” mania yells as he moves to the side to avoid being cornered. A man swings and misses. His club strikes the ground near Mania’s feet. Mania steps under the club then stomps onto the handle of the club. Like a powerful lever, the head of the club shoots up and strikes the attackers head. The man drops the club and staggers about on his hands and knees, completely dazed and helpless. Mania ignores him and moves further to his left trying to outdistance the other two. Watching the two’s movements and attack methods, Mania waits until they charge then he leaps out and strikes each man with outreached arms. The strike only knocks the men down –hard. They are searching for their weapons even as Mania kicks them away. “I don’t want to fight you. Stop. Together we can stop this. We can overwhelm the ….aaaaaarrrrgh!” The man flicks two fingers while watching and the guard once more reaches into Mania’s mind. He is not gentle about it. The two men take advantage of the distraction and tackle him. Mania is forced onto the ground. Even as the other two stagger over to help kill him, Mania rolls over and throws a man …into the stone wall. He doesn’t get up. The other man resorts to biting Mania. Mania thumbs the man’s eyes to get free. Blinking and cursing wildly, the fighter backs off. The two previous combatants are back …and armed. Mania avoids the first swing but not the second one. The air escapes his lungs and refuses to return. Mania staggers and stumbles trying to keep out of range of the armed men, now totaling three. Mania spits in the general direction of the two men outside of the ring. He lets his mind wander at the thought of beating the guard senseless then giving him to the men in the arena. The guard smiles. He obviously is still reading Mania’s mind. The three men surround Mania and cut off his escape routes. He is forced to fight. He takes another strike to the shoulder causing his arm to go numb but only after doing a finger strike to the man’s throat. The man goes down clutching his crushed throat. Two men he was forced to kill. He is struck again making him go down to a knee. From here he flattens a man with a powerful uppercut that shatters his jaw and teeth. Alive, but bloody, the man slumps into a heap before the dark skinned man. The last man knows better than to back off. He pushes on the ill-positioned Mania. Mania blocks the clubs arch by striking the man’s arm. A faint crack can be heard. The man steps back. His arm is either dislocated or broken. He doesn’t care. He merely switches the club to the other arm. He rushes Mania whom strikes him and snaps his neck. Mania returns to a kneeling position to catch his breath. After a few labored breaths, he stands up on shaky legs and defies the dark skinned man. “I ..will ..NOT ..kill for …your humor.” The dark skinned man looks directly at the strange and able man before him and continues to smile. He wriggles his two fingers again and then makes a downward motion with them. The only living man left, the one with a shattered jaw, suddenly arches his back and claws at his chest then simply dies. Mania screams as he relives the last moments of his encounters within Bodach. Only, it is him that is killed ..not Logan. The dark skinned man smiles a tight smile and watches and stares at the unconscience man before him. “He will make an excellent candidate for the games. He will represent me. He will represent Artesies. [/QUOTE]
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