Message #83468

[The Host]

Chapter Two: The Iconox Arena

Vaho found two seats relatively close to where the main action would take place at sat down, Crostesius beside him. Rascks was already out in the arena, stretching himself and sparring against Strakk, another Glatorian currently working for Iconox. Strakk had a hunched appearence in the arena, and Vaho had recently found out that "it helped with maneuverability in the arena," according to the Glatorian himself.
 Strakk's somewhat too large axe was wielded very well by the Glatorian, and it always surprised Vaho that Strakk could wield the weapon so deftly and smoothly, given his nature in and out of the arena. Rascks dropped his scythe to the ground and walked over to Strakk.
 "It's time."
 Strakk nodded and walked back with Rascks, taking their respective places for the fight to begin. From the western entrance to the Arena a tall green Glatorian walked in, carrying a long staff with a Thornax Launcher attached to one end and a scythe much like Rascks on the other. Behind him, a shorter Glatorian entered, holding a sword in one hand and a Thornax Launcher in the other. Metus walked out into the middle of the Arena and spoke to the four Glatorian quietly, then took a step back. Metus raised his short sword into the air, then brought it down into the sand, striking a line in the grains.
 "The fight's begun. This should be interesting. It's been a while since I've seen a two on two match," said Vaho, watching intently. Crostesius nodded, commenting on the fighting style of the tall green Glatorian.
 "That's Vastus, a really strong opponent. He came close to winning last years tournement, but he lost to Certavus, as did everyone else in the tournement."
 "How come Certavus isn't fighting for you now then?"
 "He's out in Tajun challenging them for something. He's fighting Tarix. I would've been there except I was sent to Vulcanus."
 Crostesius didn't reply. Instead, the two agori focused on the match. Rascks had drawn back, leaving Strakk head on against Vastus and the other Tesarian Glatorian. Strakk moved back and forth on his feet, swinging his axe gently as he prepared to land a blow on Vastus. Rascks twirled the chain holding his scythe quickly, readying himself to provide backup for Strakk at any given time. The time came sooner than he had expected.
 Vastus backflipped in the air, launching the explosive Thornax fruit at Strakk's feet. Strakk jumped back, narrowly avoiding the explosion. The Tesarian Glatorian surged forwards underneath Vastus, stabbing his sword forwards. Rascks acted quickly.
 "Duck!" he shouted at Strakk, who fell to the ground before the word had finished leaving Rascks mouth. The scythe followed by the chain it was fastened to swept over Strakk's head, colliding with the unnamed Glatorian. Vastus cursed as he saw what was happening, but he was too late to do anything. Strakk got up, pointing the Thornax Launcher at Vastus, while Rascks did the same towards the Tesarian Glatorian.
 Metus rushed in, then pointed at Rascks and Strakk, who lowered their weapons. Turning, Metus said something to Vastus, who helped his teammate up from the ground. Cheers erupted from Vaho and his fellow Iconox villagers as Strakk held his weapon high in the air. Iconox had won the rights to the nearby spring of water.
 Vastus left the Arena quickly, leaving his partner behind. The plan had not gone the way he had hoped for. On his way out he was joined by an agori by the name or Tarduk. "Get Jirga, tell him we're leaving now!" he yelled at Tarduk. Tarduk rushed away on all fours back into the Arena. The Tesarians would not be pleased to know that Jirga was the one to fall in the match.

"Why'd the match end? Vastus was still standing," asked Crostesius, obviously newer to the ways of the Arena.
 "In a two on two match the winner is decided after the first Glatorian is unable to fight. Since Vastus' partner couldn't go on, Metus called the match."
 "Oh. Where do we go now?"
 "I'm going to head back to my place. You can join me if you want. Tomorrow we head out for Tajun."
 "We?"
 "You don't get it? I'm coming to!"
 "Why, no one asked you to go. You're welcome to join me, but why would you want to  come?"
 "Eh, for the fun of it, and to see how Certavus did. Plus, if a Seed attacks you you're gonna need help staying alive."
 Crostesius laughed, then followed Vaho back to his hut. "You're never gonna let that one go, are you?"