Crystal Throne (Book 1) (18 page)

CHAPTER XX

The battles of the arena continued and Thad found himself watching as many battles as he fought in. His second battle came and passed and Thad once again enjoyed the cries of the crowd. After the battle, Thad was met by Jarrod and, as they left the arena, they were assailed by a number of people wanting to talk with what they saw as a rising star in the arena.

Just as before the two friends bet upon Thad, though this time their winnings were much less as the odds were three to one in Thad’s favor. Even though he had won little, he still found his way to the Matron’s Root, where Jarrod had taken him after his first win.

The battles continued and Thad enjoyed the fighting and the glory of the arena. The days passed and Thad asked for a bout as soon as one was over but still time slipped by. Five fights Thad entered, and five fights Thad won without ever having to draw his blade. Many of the people who came to talk to his asked about the sword he wore to the battle grounds, but all Thad would say was that it was a god luck charm and nothing more.

After his fifth win, it was announced that his rank battle would happen two days later. It seemed that the other members in his rank were as eager to see him leave as he was to go. He had been a thorn in their side, as none of them wished to be his next target as they were sure to lose and risk having to start over in their climb to the top. Jessop, the man he had fought in his first fight, had been forced to do just that and Thad saw the man looking at him with hate filled eyes more than once since the battle.

Not everything was going well. With each battle, Thad drew more attention and while that might be good when he needed to gain the attention of the scion lord, it brought with it its own complications. No matter where he went, he found himself surrounded by people wishing to talk about his battles in the arena. Even at home, Thad found people watching him; meaning that the other people living there had to be careful and limit when and how they left the house. Thankfully, the house was at the edge of the city so only the most persistent of his fans followed him there and most of those had been women.

Thad had grown up in Farlan, a place where women stood above all others. He knew strong willed women, but that was not what he found in this land. The women reminded him of the tales he had read in the books at the palace. They flocked around him like birds singing to him sweetly. Thad knew that many men liked such women, but to him they were an annoyance. Even though he didn’t like the young girls who fluttered around him, there was little he could do about them without being rude.

Though his rank battle would only move him up one rank, Thad had started to spend time at the smithy. He knew it would take a long time to finish a proper sword and even if he started now he doubted it would be done before he reached a rank where he could keep it with him at all times.

Thad had thought that he would simply start working on the weapon, but it turned out that there was much more to it than that. The blacksmith was not sanctioned to make weapons, so first Thad had to petition for a new weapon and ask that the blacksmith of his choice could make it. He explained the unusual request by saying that the smith was a good friend and would be much cheaper than one of the sanctioned ones. In the end, the smithy was given a limited sanction to make one weapon.

When Thad returned to Seth’s smithy, he relayed the news to the large smith. Seth just grunted and stated that he didn’t care about making weapons; not for his own countrymen to kill each other with anyhow. Seth did joke that if it was for fighting the scions back he would have made them by the dozen for any who wished to brandish one.

With the annoying part of the process finished, the next was getting the best materials. The dwarves used the best metal and poured their magic into it while it was being processed. The best he could get was fine steel from Seth’s homeland. It was pure metal, but it still wasn’t the same.

After he got ahold of enough metal, Thad started on the sword. There wasn’t enough of the strongest metal to make a full sword, but the dwarves had showed him more than a few secrets. Though he wished he could spend most of his time hammering away at the metal the truth was his magical strength wasn’t enough to last more than a few hours.

At the same time Thad was working on the sword, Seth’s wife Lori worked with her husband to make leather armor to Thad’s specification. He had learned that in the higher ranks the fighters tended to wear armor and most of them chose to wear chainmail or plate armor. That might work for some, but those trained to fight in Farlan used leather armor with metal plates inside of it. They were light and might turn away a blade but little else, but they allowed one freedom of movement.

Thad was short for most men, and while his body held strength it was nothing compared to most the warriors, but what he did have was agility and speed and heavy armor would take that away.

Thad’s first rank battle quickly approached and to Thad’s surprise, the betting odds were still in his favor though only two to one. Thad had spent hours watching the fights and more time watching fighters train and with Jerrod’s help he had made a tidy sum with his bets. He didn’t always win, but he won far more than he lost. Thad used every last coin left to him, a full eight gold marks. He had much more a few days before he had to purchase the metal and leather, but that was life. If he won, then he would have twelve gold marks plus his new stipend to spend on what he needed.

Thad found Jerrod waiting for him on the stairs leading down to the arena waiting area.  “Ready?” Jerrod asked, walking beside him.

“As ready as I can be,” Thad replied. “Do you know anything about the guy I am going to fight?”

“Yea,” Jarrod replied. “He is barely better than the rank two fighters. The reason he was chosen to fight you was because his record was the worst at the moment. If he loses, he will be fined three months’ pay. He has a bad gambling habit, where his luck is just as bad, so he can’t afford to lose this fight.”

“That is too bad for him,” Thad said as a small amount of guilt crept into his voice. “I can’t afford to lose this fight either.”

“Don’t let it get to you,” Jarrod said. “He used to be much better, but once he got to the third rank he started drinking and things started to go bad for him. That was two years ago and he has continued to make things worse on himself. Just remember my advice, give the crowd a show.”

“I don’t know if a show is a good idea,” Thad said with a grimace. “If I have to deal with one more flock of tittering ladies, I might just fall on my own sword during a fight.”

“That is the price you must pay,” Jarrod said with one of his barking laughs. “Speaking of tittering ladies, mine has taking a liking to you. As I told you, she is fond of the fights and she dearly wishes to meet you. After the fight, if you don’t mind, would you join us and her father for a meal?”

“I don’t want to steal your lady from you,” Thad said with a smirk.

“You can have her if you can take her,” Jarrod replied, laughing so hard his eyes were watering. “You have to take the kids as well as her father though.”

“No thanks,” Thad said, drawing back. “If they are anything like their father, I would surely fall on my sword within a span of weeks.”

“That I do not doubt,” his friend said, patting him on the back. “It was worth a try at least. You’re still not getting out of the meal though. I am not sitting there with my father-in-law without someone else to distract the oaf.”

“Not a very pleasant man I take it,” Thad said with a weary look.

“He is one of the main moneylenders in the city. Rich, but the man hates with a passion. Blames me for taking his little angle away.”

Thad’s reply was delayed by the opening of the door to the arena. With a nod of his head, Thad stepped through the door and onto the field. The man on the other side was well built and wore a very poorly taken care of chainmail shirt. He also carried a spear instead of the sword. It would be Thad’s first time to go against an opponent not using a sword in the arena, but far from his first time in battle against one.

After the crowds had died down, the two men approached each other. Thad could have sworn that the other man moved with the stagger of drunkenness, though Thad had been fooled before and didn’t let it change how he had planned to fight. As soon as they were close enough to fight, the other man merely watched Thad with weary eyes. With no other choice, Thad made the first move, a sweeping attack with his staff to the man’s midsection which the man blocked with ease.

Thad stepped back and took the man in again. From the smell on the man’s breath he had more than a little to drink before the fight, but it didn’t seem to be affecting him much, if at all. Jerrod was right, the man was not much better than the other fighters, but he was better.

His opponent watched him closely, and just as Thad began to move in again, he quickly stepped back and struck at Thad with a short jab. Thad pivoted to the side and knocked away the point of the spear, but it was a close call. As much as he had told himself to be careful, he still almost let himself be taken by the spear point. The man was not a great fighter when it came to weapons, his body betrayed that, but there was more to a battle then how great one could wield a weapon. The man had knowledge and a keen mind. Thad was sure that his success early on in the area was due to that and had he been properly trained then he could have been a great fighter. Making a mental notation of this, Thad once again moved forward, this time though, a bit wearier of the point of the spear that was leveled at his heart.

Just as before, just as Thad started to move in for an attack, the point of the spear lunged for him, but this time he was ready for it and let his staff in position to guide the point away from him as he moved closer to his foe.

The spear was a good weapon and had its uses and was best used against men on horseback. It was also good to keep your enemy at bay, but once in close it was close to useless. A lot of soldiers would grip the spear and fight with its owner, but Thad knew the other man to be stronger, so he had other ideas. Just like the spear, the staff was little use as close as he was, but he had other weapons. Stepping to his side, Thad kicked out shattering the man’s kneecap.

As Thad moved back the man leaned heavily on his spear to keep himself upright and the crowd cheered. The fight thus far had been slow and few attacks made for a poor show. If it was to end this quickly, he would move up in rank, but no one would talk of his victory. All they would say would be that he beat a drunkard and didn’t deserve his rise in rank.

Knowing there was no other choice, Thad pressed the attack, forcing the other man to stumble backward as he parried Thad’s slowed attacks. The man’s eyes narrowed and he stumbled and pulled Thad in close. “End it, or are you enjoying making a fool of me boy.”

Thad let out a heavy sigh and pushed the man back. “Another enemy,” Thad whispered to himself and redoubled his effort, this time intent on putting the other man down. Though he was trying with his full effort the other man wouldn’t go down. His opponent was fighting hard, but with a lame leg there was little he could do against a superior fighter. Within moments, to the roar of the crowd, Thad struck a hard blow to the other fighters head, knocking him to the ground. The only hint that the man was still alive was a light groan coming from his lips.

Thad suppressed an urge to bend down to check on the man, afraid he had struck him harder than he had meant and left him permanently addled. The truth was Thad couldn’t show mercy to a defeated enemy; it was seen as the highest rudeness and so he turned and walked back toward the door as other men moved onto the field to check on the fallen man.

Just as with the other fights Thad found Jarrod waiting on him. “Good fight, though I think the crowd was wishing for a bit more.”

“I tried, but little I could do,” Thad replied. “He was far too deep in his cups to be much of a challenge.”

“Ah,” Jarrod said with a shake of his head. “Well that doesn’t change the outcome. You have moved up a rank and tonight you will dine with me and my family. It you feel robbed of a good beating, I am sure they can give it to you.”

“Lead on then,” Thad said with a slight chuckle.

“Oh no,” Jarrod said holding Thad up. “First you will need a bath and better clothes. My wife would have me sleeping in a pit if I brought you as you are.”

Jarrod led Thad to a small store where he bought a good set of clothes. With the clothes out of the way, they went to a public bath house where Thad was surprised to find that men and women shared the same bath. Thad would be the first to admit that he was more than a little put off by having women staring at him as he bathed, but he did his best to put it out of his mind.

After the bath, Thad followed his friend to the same place where he had been taken after his first fight. He had eaten here four time since then. The only fight he didn’t eat here afterward was the fifth one, mainly because he wasn’t sure how much of his coin would go toward making his sword. Things were expensive here since it all had to be brought over though the portal, and to Thad’s surprise it was only opened once a week. Thad wished he knew how it was opened and closed at will, but right now he didn’t move in the right circles to learn such knowledge.

“So this is the warrior that won me a large deal of coin today,” a plump man sitting next to a dazzling young woman said, as he reached out a greasy hand toward Thad.