Kings Game

Chapter 9 - The living storm (2)

"A war game?"

"It's a team death match. You'll see."

They worked their way along the main street until it merged with an even larger road. The cobblestone turned to a smooth brick path. Large storefronts and taverns towered over the road, each of them covered in gorgeous tile facades. The closer they got to the center of the city, the more glamorous everything became. Roran noticed that there were fairy stones hanging from every doorway and dangling from large posts lining the street.

"This is West Road," said Nul. "It divides Tasos and Vassilis. It will be crowded near the arena so stay close."

The further they went, the taller the buildings became and, as Nul had warned, the more crowded the streets were. Soon, they were wading through people, unable to avoid physical contact. Roran was grateful Kell wasn't there, she would have snapped at being this close to so many people.

After walking shoulder to shoulder with the other denizens of Kings City, Roran realized they were heading down a slope. The road was declining, taking them into the deepest part of the valley. When he spotted the King's Arena, he realized why.

The arena stood at the lowest part of the city, while still standing taller than any other building. Shimmering bronze and gold in the sunlight, the Arena dwarfed every other building around it. Large archways circled the base, serving as entrances for people to funnel into.

And funnel they did. Like ants returning to their colony, people poured into the arena in an endless stream, disappearing into the behemoth building and vanishing from sight.

The longer Roran stared at the structure, the more he began to feel a sense of vertigo. He and Nul kept walking but the building never seemed to get closer, it only got bigger and bigger. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the building stopped growing and began looming over them instead.

The stream of people pulled them towards an archway that stood twice as tall as any building from Roran's hometown. He wanted to stop and admire the structure, but the flow of people dragged him along, pulling him across the threshold and into darkness.

Once his eyes adjusted, Roran saw that the inside was well lit with fairy lights hanging from the ceiling and the walls. They illuminated a myriad of tunnels and staircases shooting off from the main passageway. Grabbing Roran's arm, Nul pulled him out of the stream and up to a staircase.

"We'll be watching from one of the lower balconies," said Nul.

Roran followed them up the staircase to another hallway and from there to another staircase that led them to another hallway. The building really was like an anthill, each passageway leading to more passageways.

"This place is like a maze," said Roran.

"It's meant to be," said Nul. "Occasionally hunting games are played inside the arena and they rearrange all of the hallways and staircases."

"They rearrange the entire building?"

Nul nodded. "And when they change it back it's always a little different. I swear their earthwork teams are nothing but amateurs."

Roran blinked at them.

"They have a dedicated team of earth movers and builders," said Nul. "You'll see more of their work in the bout."

They traversed another handful of staircases and hallways before coming to a doorway blocked by the city guard. Nul pulled out their marker medallion and handed it over.

"This is my guest," Nul said, gesturing to Roran. "He's a gladiator."

The guard returned Nul's medallion and held out a hand to Roran. He forked over his own identification and waited. Satisfied, the guard handed back the medallion and said, "Enjoy the match."

They passed through the door and out into the open sunlight. Roran found himself on a steeped balcony, with rows of padded benches along each tier. A handful of servants bustled about the balcony, hustling up and down the steps with trays of fruit and pitchers of wine and ice water.

"Where are we?" asked Roran. He'd never been anywhere so lavish or nice.

Gesturing for him to follow, Nul led Roran to a bench near the front of the balcony, giving them an unfettered view of the arena below them.

"This is the champion's balcony. All titled gladiators are allowed to come watch matches here."

"Wait, you're a champion."

Nul nodded.

"What's your title?"

Scowling, Nul said, "I'm Nul, the world breaker."