The last episode that featured these characters was Part 16:
Last time on Raiders of the Middle Seas Part 16
The old slave lord nodded. “Then I have a suggestion. The Sand Pits are not a worthy end to this company. We make the most of it before any of them die. We put your slave fighters together with Rulaf here as a group and take them to the Marble Coliseum!”
Rulaf smiled broadly and winked at the others. “Rulaf happy. Marble-palace is the best place for sport. Less dust, more ladies and good monies!”
“You’ve been there?” Shadi asked the man.
“Aye! Is how I got this.” The giant indicated to the chop of missing cartilage that slanted across the bridge of his nose. “They have the best fighters in that place! Very fun!”
“Oh Lord preserve me.”
Raiders of the Middle Sea 17
The day dawned to a splitting headache.
Kayden staggered out into the hot sunlight, his eyes barely able to open. The light pierced his eye-balls like spears. The sun was not far off the horizon, though he couldn’t bear to look right at it.
He was already drenched in sweat.
“Ah! Nice fresh air huh! Rulaf loves this air! My master has a nice garden!” Rulaf smacked Kayden and Shadi on their backs. “Let’s go for a walk!” Shadi promptly threw up into a flower bush. “Aww! Shadi shares his grog with the flowers. Are you a gardener?”
Kayden laughed and held his head at the same time. His laughter was causing him pain but at the same time it also made him laugh more.
It was the third day of training since the two slave masters had decided that their band would compete in the Marble Coliseum.
There were no more pit battles. Only mock fighting and exercise. And horrendous amounts of drinking. Shi’Cappa… Kayden couldn’t quite remember the whole name right that moment. Rulaf called him Shi’Cappa so that’s all he could think of at the moment. Shi’Cappa had decreed that it was their theme – the Drunken Gladiators.
“It’s not funny!” Shadi shot Kayden an angry glance. But he couldn’t help himself. “Why are you laughing?” The dark man demanded.
“I had thought that I would die half-starved and tortured in a dusty pit, nobody even knowing my name. Now, I am going to die in a carved marble coliseum, fed delicacies and besotted with generous amounts of alcohol!” He broke down in more laughter.
“Is good way to die yes?” The giant man thumped his chest. “But Rulaf don’t die. Rulaf feasts and fights and feasts again. The drunken fight is not for dying. Is for being loose and for breaking skulls and for not giving a shit!” The big man took off at a sprint. “You follow Rulaf for drunk-run!”
“The man has a point.” Shadi said.
“But even if he doesn’t die and I do.” Kayden added. “Then I am doing it terribly drunk.”
Another figure staggered into view near them. “You Humans are crazy. Mad, like foamy… dogs… Can’t even eat a foamy dog.” The figure slumped down onto the grass at their feet.
“What is Torassh talking about?” Shadi pointed at the downed Jhakarti gladiator.
“Not a clue.” Kayden answered. “Hey Torassh. We are going to run after Rulaf OK? Run!”
The Jhakarti waved a hand above his head. “You run Human-dog. Torassh sick now. I sleep a bit.”
“Right. Just wake up before Rulaf throws you in the pond… again.” Kayden looked up and began running.
Just standing up had been a terrible experience. Moving slowly and trying to get orientated was torture.
He had expected far worse with the running but the experience was an oddly pleasant experience. It was surreal. His vision swam and jarred all over the place as he pumped his legs. He knew where his legs should go and he just made his body do that. Keeping perfectly upright was impossible. What it resulted in was a swift but directionless shamble. It was a wonder he did not fall on his face.
He heard panting behind him and knew that Shadi was catching up. The dark man was a fast and tireless runner. Soon enough the hairy backside of Rulaf came into view. The giant was covered in scars, his back, sides, stomach, chest, arms and legs – everything. It was the big man’s source of pride. It professed his sheer quantity of victories.
The giant had stopped near a wooden table in the expansive garden. On the table was four large mugs. Rulaf lifted the one mug and raised it to his lips. Casting his head back Rulaf drained the contents. When he lowered it again there was foam in his beard. The giant grinned at them with his crooked teeth. “Come friends! Time for breakfast!”
Shadi groaned and Kayden merely shrugged and picked up one of the mugs.
He drank deep, the world spinning around him. It was a clear and dark ale, sweet and fiery. When he lowered the empty vessel there was a short wooden pole handed to him by a pretty slave girl he had not seen on his arrival.
He looked briefly at the wood in his hand and then he zoned back on the girl. She was dressed in a robe that covered from her neck down to her feet but her arms were bare and her curves were quite well outlined.
He was drunk. He did not care for being civil or a gentleman. Besides, he was only looking.
“Whoho! Kayden has indeed become a formidable drinker!” Rulaf called.
Formidable? Kayden wondered how the big dolt knew such a word.
“Now Kayden play!” Rulaf roared.
Ah that was more like it.
Kayden staggered a bit, trying to track his vision over to where Rulaf and Shadi stood. The two men were sitting on a wooden bench. Where had the bench come from?
The giant pointed at something to Kayden’s left. There seemed to be some urgency to the way the big man had thrust his finger. Kayden whipped his head around to look in that direction. Too fast for him to keep his balance, but just in time to see an object coming towards him.
His loss of balance however threw him onward to the left and he felt himself falling, thus the object sailed harmlessly over his head. Kayden hit the grass and kept rolling away from the direction of danger. He tried to rise into a standing position but managed an awkward crouch instead.
There was a bald, white robed man standing on the grass before his swimming vision. The man was armed with a whip… no… a staff. His swimming vision settled and the staff stopped fluttering around above the dancing man… he was standing still.
“This man will play with Kayden! You drunk fighter, do the drunk fight!” Rulaf clapped his hands.
The bald man advanced and the staff came overhead at Kayden. He didn’t have a good position to fight from so he rolled out of the way at the last second, the staff struck the grass where he had been.
He raised into a crouch again, the bald man was advancing towards him again.
Kayden looked at the short piece of wood in his hand. What am I supposed to do with this? Cant even scratch my back with it. He stood up and focused.
The man jabbed the end of his staff at Kayden like a spear but Kayden turned his body, the staff’s tip grazed past his bare ribs but he ignored that. He was too drunk to care.
His right hand shot out as he threw the piece of wood at the bald man’s head and with his left hand he grabbed the staff. The wood smacked the bald man over the head and Kayden felt the grip slacken for an instant.
With sudden force Kayden ripped the staff from the man’s hands. He staggered with the backwards momentum this caused. He decided not to stop it, that was futile. Instead he kept going, coming full circle and got the staff in the correct position in his hands. When his vision came around to where the bald man was, he found the man had moved closer as if to grapple.
The end of the staff smacked the bald man on the head. The robed man fell to the grass. There was the sound of clapping and he cast about left and right to find its source. Eventually he staggered in a half circle.
Rulaf and Shadi had been joined by Torassh who was busy draining the last remaining mug on the little wooden table. The Jhakarti swayed noticeably. A serving girl – Kayden couldn’t make out if it was the same one from earlier or not – arriving with a tray with another round of drinks.
Rulaf had stood, clapping his hands he came over to Kayden. “Good! Good drunk fight! In the marble palace Kayden would be hero now. Staff is like spear, short wood is knife or sword. Kayden would have small bleed here.” The giant poked Kayden in the side where the staff had grazed him. “The crowd cheers for you, you bleed. Then you throw knife, steal spear and kill. Pah!” The big man chopped his hand out and grinned. “Best fighter. You must drunk fight at Marble palace ok?”
Kayden nodded absently.
His vision was locked on the retreating form of the servant girl’s posterior. It looked like two lumps taking turns to jump up and down beneath the robe. It was mesmerizing. Kayden staggered as Rulaf slapped him on the back. The giant roared in laughter. “Have another drink friend! Go Shadi. You must drunkfight now!”
Kayden fell into the open seat on the bench and looked blearily at the earless Jhakarti next to him. The creature smiled its inhuman smile and revealed rows of sharp teeth like they were meant to tear the flesh from his body. Kayden was beyond the point of revulsion. He merely stared at the man before him that was not human, noting how the texture of the skin was not smooth but bumpy in places.
Torassh thrust a mug into his hands and he accepted the drink from the Jhakarti with a grin. The two of them drank deep. When Kayden lowered the mug he saw that Shadi now stood on the grass facing another bald man with a staff.
Kayden squinted. Was that the same man or a different one? He tried looking from side to side but his vision swam. He laid his head back against the bench’s backrest and stared at the clear blue sky above him. It was empty and without landmarks. Because of this, his vision couldn’t swim. He took a deep breath of clean, clear air.
It’s a nice day.
Next time on Raiders of the Middle Sea
“Today you shall be going for your debut in the Marble Coliseum. The Shi there have decided that they would like to qualify our little band before taking part in a major event.” The little Shi mopped his sweating brow under the boiling sun. “The stands will be open to mid-week passers but you could expect much less of the normal noise.”
“Fine. My head is pounding.” Kayden muttered.
Rulaf cuffed him behind the head. “Its OK friend Kayden. Strong drink will fix headache!” The giant grinned at him.
He nodded.
New to Raiders of the Middle Sea? Begin Reading previous Episodes!
Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 1 / Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 2
Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 3 / Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 4
Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 5 / Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 6
Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 7 / Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 8
Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 9 / Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 10
Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 11 / Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 12
Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 13 / Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 14
Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 15 / Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 16
World of Kedra