Private Tales King's Champion

[Artemis]

Artemis blinked and ducked her head. The sun was more glaring than in Salitra. The Empire. It had been three months since she'd parted from the Captain. Two weeks after she'd left him, they'd caught up to her. Betrayed by her own Assassin's Guild. They sold her to one of the kingdom's in the East. Easy enough to take the fall for any murders, whether or not she'd committed them on previous jobs. She'd been sentenced to work the coal mines. Usually prisoners lasted a month, maybe a month and a half. She'd already beat that record.

Just over two months.

Since she'd seen the sun.

Since her mouth hadn't tasted like coal.

Since she'd had her hands free of irons.

Art's face remained blank even as she relished the warmth of that sun on her filthy skin and rags. A voice rumbled to her right. "Yah sure you want this one as your champion?"

"I do. I know who you are, assassin." A deep, woman's voice. Art's silvered brows twitched as her eyes focused on the female orc.

"There's a competition and if you win, you get your freedom. If you refuse, this'll be the last time you see the sun." The orc's face twisted into a wide-smile. "Interested?"

Art looked around. Five guards. They circled her tightly. It was true, then, that this female knew who she really was. Then again, five was a little low. Eyes tracked back to the orc and she gave the subtlest of nods.

 

[Tulio]

"I'm not a criminal! Of what crime am I being charged with? You can't just take me!"

Of course, they could. And they did. After all, he was in foreign lands and had the misfortune to be caught in the aftermath of an ambush. Luslec had traveled with a caravan of traders when bandits descended from the hills and surrounded them. The half-elf managed to get away relatively unscathed when mounted soldiers caught him.

Half a month later, there he was. Pale skin stained so heavily with soot; you couldn't tell the difference between the dust and his tattoos. His golden hair, which shone with radiant luster under the sun, was ragged and dirty. Gods, even the water he washed his hands in was dirty. Couldn't even clean the dirt from under his nails.

Since he had been unjustly imprisoned, Luslec learned all about his new environment. It wasn't hard to get people to talk about things. What else was there to do other than swing their picks?

He'd only caught a glimpse of hair like moonlight as it passed by him in the narrow tunnels.

"Who was that?" Luslec asked the man next to him.

"Some killer," he gruffly responded. He was a scarred human of middling age. Probably had more weight at some point, but the mines had stripped him of it. "Won' be seeing much of her. Off to the pit."

"Pit?"

"Where you can fight for freedom. It's a death sentence. Never heard of anyone actually winning."

Interesting.

Luslec shuffled his way up the mineshaft, dodging the foremen on his way up, hoping to catch up to the silver-haired woman.

 

[Artemis]

"The hell kinda security you running here?" It was a human man with crooked teeth who spoke. The same one that asked the female orc if she was sure about the assassin as his gleaming eyes fell upon the dirt-encrusted elf. One of the guards surrounding Artemis turned.

"Back to the shafts, knife ears or you'll get extra lashings tonight." He held a whip curled around his shoulder and arm and moved to step forward.

Art's eyes lingered on that whip for a moment. If she had it - any weapons at all, she could down them all in a matter of minutes. But then she'd have to get past the archers on the wall with their crossbows. And rumor had it, no one ever made it to the wall in this place.

No one.

That same human man with the teeth sneered, looking the elf up and down.

"Unless you wanna have a go in the pit too?"

 

[Tulio]

The half-elf flashed a knowing smile at the crooked-toothed man and pointed both of his forefingers at the man, the chains from his cufflinks dangling as he did so as if to say, "That's right!".

"This knife-ears would love a go in the pit," he quickly answered without knowing exactly what the pit was, aside from a little assumption drawing. He remembered what he saw as he was carted towards the mines. To put it candidly, it was a shithole. It was likely that the ominous pit was nothing more than that. Just a hole in the earth where starving miners beat each other to death. Or something.

Luslec's eyesight was keen. Sharper than a hawk's. He glanced at the ashen-haired woman—a quick once-over, from her head to her feet. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Suffering from a lack of food, like the rest of them, but from the way she stood, it was clear that her ragged clothes covered a body like steel. Though dirty as she was, he didn't miss the pattern of scars that ran down her arm. Eyes like the rising sun captured those of a raging storm. His features remained still, save for his eyes that squinted in wry amusement.

Some killer, indeed.

 

[Artemis]

Artemis looked the elf over. Assessing. Her own eyes narrowed on his golden ones even as the female orc who'd dragged her out of the mines chuckled.

"What's one more? Bring him along. We've got some travel to get there. Hopefully will give us enough time to make them more..," the woman's eye dragged across Artemis and the elf. "Presentable." With a snap of her fingers, two more guards would line up next to Luslec. One read the tattered and nearly worn name badge on his slave uniform. The other would shove him roughly so he fell into the same cluster of guards that surrounded Artemis.

"Name's Luslec." The guard mispronounced it terribly.

It wasn't until after they started marching, with the crooked-teeth man and orc woman on horse-back well ahead of them, that Artemis finally grumbled one word to her fellow miner.

"Foolish."

Her eyes watched the high-wall as they approached the gates leading out of this place. This hell-hole. This prison.

 

[Tulio]

Well, that was a surprise. The ominous pit was somewhere else, then. That fared better than staying in the prison. The half-elf snidely raised a brow as one guard pinched his nametag with those fat, grimy fingers of his. He grunted and stumbled next to the silver-haired woman, quietly chuckling under his breath as he regained his composure.

They marched along for a while. Luslec's golden eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings. Inwardly remarking on the orc on horseback. Slaver, maybe? Someone of relative importance, anyway.

His thoughts were interrupted by his fellow captive.

"Oh heavens, you flatter me." Lusclec's chains lightly jingled as he raised a hand to coyly rub the back of his neck. Those sharp eyes of his flicked down at her chest, then back up to meet her gaze. "Artemis. Pleasure. I'd offer a handshake, but, well..." One corner of Luslec's mouth twisted up in a wry smirk.

 

[Artemis]

It was usually easy for Artemis to remain in control of her emotions. Calm. Collected. Observing. She'd been on so many jobs, been trained so thoroughly and yet.

YET.

This man was almost instantly worming his way beneath her coal-dusted skin.

Irksome.

Perhaps it was his tone or sharp eyes. The cockiness in his rattled-chained gate. A breath pushed out the tip of her nose. How long they were to walk she had no idea as they exited the walls that wrapped around the grounds outside the mines. Pine forested hills stretched into the horizon, rising upward toward snowcapped mountains in the distance.

She took a deep breath as if the air outside these walls smelled and tasted richer.

"I don't recall seeing you in the mines." At least in her section since she'd been there those few months. Eyes flickered across his chest and the markings there, then snaked back to that golden gaze of his. "I'm not sure how long you would've survived."

 

[Tulio]

There was a refreshing breeze that blew over Luslec’s skin like a fresh bath. Not that it did anything for his soot-covered skin. It was said that the forest was an elf’s ancestral home. They would feel empowered by the sun and being surrounded by nature. Luslec felt no such empowerment. As a matter of fact, being in the mines, below the earth, was far more of a comfort.

Luslec’s bravado dropped and he raised a brow at his fellow captive. Straight one, wasn’t she? Not one to mince her words and had a blunt manner of speaking. Eyeing her up, even if he were at his fittest he could immediately tell that she would best him in a competition of strength.

Well, he liked these types.

Luslec shrugged, ”I reckon not too long. My chances here are better than the alternative.” Even if the odds were against him still, the mines spelled certain death.

Taking a risk to cheat death; the half-elf was all too familiar with such a thing. Behind his carefree demeanor was a deep resolution to walk the path he’d set out on as a young man. He wouldn’t let himself perish in someplace like the mines and would desperately claw his way to survival.

”What do you know about these lands?”

 

[Artemis]

Artemis wondered what he’d done. A petty thief? A person from one of these kingdom’s conquered lands? What kind of male was he?

Perhaps a con artist.

She didn’t think it mattered much. There was a huge chance neither of them would survive the pit. Artemis just wanted a chance to die with honor and she figured fighting for her life was better than dying in the mines. Eyes tracked across the landscape.

“We’re close to the Spine,” she said quietly, eyeing the weapons the guards had. “Orc and dwarf territory in the mountains. A xenophobic anti-magic kingdom to our West called the Iron Fortress.”

She knew she’d lost weight since being sentenced. Betrayed. But stars. It felt like more than she thought. She felt...weaker. The cold air easily wove through the rags hanging off her frame. She didn’t usually notice the cold but now.

she frowned.
“Before the mines, where did you get picked up?”

 

[Tulio]

Anti-magic? Duly noted.

"West of here, north of the Reach. Ran guard for a trade caravan out of Alliria." He had no way of guessing their exact whereabouts since his capture, though he did keep a keen eye on the sun and stars. "Never seen the Spine before. Air's thin out here."

He'd noticed it at the mines. They weren't even in the mountains, yet the elevation was already noticeable.

"You? How'd a warrior type like you get captured?"

 

[Artemis]

Her face was a mask until a spark of anger cracked through at his question. Grey-eyes traveled down her own rags and dirtied clothing and skin. Funny that anyone still saw a warrior when she could barely see anything left.

"I was betrayed by my order," she ground out. Fingers clenching into fists beneath her shackled wrists. A part of her still wondered if they'd given up on the Captain as well or if he'd met a similar fate.

The female orc leading them made a sharp whistle and Artemis turned, looking up a pathway. If she blinked, she might've missed it but there seemed to be a rocky-manor built into the side of one of the mountains they were approaching. Was this where the pit was or was this just a detour along the way?

Looked like they wouldn't be camping in the open today.

"Are you going to try and escape tonight?" The question was blunt, sharp, and quiet.

 

[Tulio]

Luslec made note of subtle shifts in her body language. Not so subtle was her tone, however. Touchy subject. Don’t pry further.

The half-elf snapped to attention when the orc whistled. His gaze followed Artemis’ to the rocky structure.

”Not human-made. Not quite a fortress... odd.” Luslec sniffed and fell silent for a moment, contemplating an answer. He shrugged and shook his head. ”No. That would be reckless. Don’t tell me you were?”

 

[Artemis]

The silence stretched between them.

"If the opportunity presents itself," she finally breathed, barely a whisper. She doubted it would. But if it did...

Chains rattled as she walked but her shoulders remained straight. Alert. She may have a layer of soot on her skin but it was clear the mines hadn't beaten her down. Not completely. Perhaps that's why the orc woman had greedily sought her out, thinking she could make coin on the ex-assassin in those pits. Even if she only lasted minutes longer than the rest.

They were ushered inside a large set of double doors that swung outward on stone, smooth carved hinges.

Definitely not human made.

Luslec had a sharp eye even if he had a death wish. Artemis kept track of the number of turns they made and doorways, building a mental map in her head. Along with the number of guards she saw. They finally stopped at another set of smaller doors, where they found a bath-house with clean clothing set out.

"Wash up, Get dressed," ordered one of the guards as he eyed each of them. "There's no way out of here so don't even think about it. The princess wants you presentable for the pits." He smirked as if he thought it was the biggest joke.

 

[Tulio]

An opportunity. The silver-haired amazon's optimism was a welcome surprise. Lusclec had expected nothing but gruffness and bitterness from her. Though, it didn't change that she seemed a hard nut to crack. There was life in those eyes, anyway. Not the look of a surrendered woman. Yes, if the opportunity to escape would ever present itself, it would be wise to stick by her.

"Definitely not human-made," the half-elf sagely nodded as he echoed her thoughts.

As the smaller pair of doors were opened, they were met with gentle fragrances and a waft of humid air. Luslec raised a brow. A bath! Gods be damned, a real bath!

"Escape?" Luslec swaggered past the guards towards the bathhouse, "Worry not, I will wash thoroughly."

Princess, eh? As the rogue left all the others behind him, he smirked at the walls. He wasted no time in tossing aside his grimy clothes, not at all ashamed of what was under. His body was a weathered one, a handful of scars proof of his journey. More notable on the half-elf were numerous tattoos, all of which were slightly faded but nonetheless visible.

Luslec didn't wait to be told a second time and stepped into the largest bath in the room's center.

 

[Artemis]

Artemeis stared at the guards even as they smirked and laughed. She remained unflinching even as their smiles eventually turned wary upon the ashen-haired ex-assassin. When she was good and ready, she finally turned from them. Her wrists felt bare and considerable weightless as did her ankles as the chains were unlocked.

They were fools. All of them. She could kill them so easily.

Maybe after the bath.

Pale eyes caught the swaggering backside of the elf as he slipped into the water. Her eyes traveled mildly curious at the markings across his body.

She had plenty of her own.

Fingers shed the mere rags from her skin. She was filthy. Coal dust and dirt a thick layer across her coloring. There were layers and layers of the stuff beneath her nails. If she felt strange for undressing in front of Luslec or the guards, she certainly didn't show it.

Like a specter, her bare feet padded silently across the bath floor as she waded into some deliciously warm waters of a large bath, leaving a wake of murky dirt behind her. She had to keep from verbally sighing as her stiff, sore, and weaker muscles felt that joy of warmth. Hells, she hadn't been warm in so long. She frowned as she glanced down, noticing the poke of some ribs through her skin.

Food had been scarce.

Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back in the water, letting it soak through her dirty hair.

As if she could feel Luslec's eyes on her or even flicker toward her, she rumbled, "Don't say a word."

 

[Tulio]

While the assassin remained stoic, the half-elf leaned back until his chin touched the water. She contained a content sigh, but Luslec didn't. He'd cast a glance her way out of curiosity, but only a small glance. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

"Or what," he couldn't help but verbally prod at her, "you'll drown me?"

Luslec, given his bloodline, had never been large. Never did he look particularly weak, though. Even though he hadn't even spent a month in the mines, he was just that. Weak-looking. Only as his body warmed in his bath did he remember how hungry he was.

"Haven't the energy to talk when I'm this hungry."

The half-elf sat upright and began to scrub his arms. Between the two of them, the bath would be dirtied in no time, causing their little reprieve's allure to slowly fade away.

"Don't think they'll feed us, do you? Can't fight worth a damn on an empty stomach." Luslec grumbled as he lifted an arm up, scrubbing his underarm, then switched sides.

 

[Artemis]

A narrowing of eyes that were like mists and moonlight.

"Perhaps I would." Drown him that was. She'd be able to do it. A twisting hold, his neck between her thighs and beneath this warm, sooty-filling water. She wondered if the guards would even get to him in time. A slow, leonine smile at the thought.

Her fingers rath through her hair, slowly working out the dirt and knots. There was lavender scented soap along the edges and she snatched one up, scrubbing at her skin vigorously.

"This is you not talking a lot?" Her voice rumbled with a lilt of amusement. She imagined they would be fed. She'd have to pace herself though. Stomach suddenly introduced to rich foods after being nearly starved did not often end well. They'd want a good show.

"You can fight?" A predatory gaze assessed him up and down. "What's your specialty?"

 

[Tulio]

Luslec's slender frame shook with mirth at her response. He didn't doubt her capability for a moment. Still, despite that predatory gaze and wicked smile, he didn't appear the least bit threatened (the veneer of confidence betrayed how he actually felt).

The water sloshed as the half-elf raised his hands to shrug in response to her. He liked talking. He was good at it. In his experience, he found that the more he ran his mouth, the less he was taken seriously. It proved to be a boon more often than a burden. Underestimate, and overdeliver! Or something along those lines.

"I can wrestle," he said, gazing at her neck and shoulders, his lips thinning and curling up in a wolfish smirk. His aureate gaze rose to meet hers, one that was steely and cold like a stormy sky touching the vast ocean along the horizon. Quickly clearing his throat, he corrected himself. "Consider me a jack-of-all-trades. Don't you worry, I'm far from dead weight."

Luslec warmly smiled at Artemis. Oh, but he actually could wrestle. Subverting expectations with her proved to be a tad more entertaining than being outright.

 

[Artemis]

Her quiet assessment spoke what she didn't need to say aloud.

We'll see.

She sunk into the water until the tip of her nose and above were the only things not submerged. Head tilted to the door before it opened a second later. "Alright, time to get ye lot out and into new clothes. Fed and plump before the matches so ye might have a chance of making some coin for the princess. Come on, this ain't a dwarven spa."

Two guards stepped forward to provide more incentive.

Artemis was the first out, rising from the water like the goddess of the hunt she was named after. Water slicked off her cleaned skin, curving around the plains and curves of her form. Even with the stares of the guards, including two women she walked forward, snatching free a towel they offered and slowly wrapped it around her form before dropping it just as swiftly and taking the clothes they offered. Long legs stepped delicately into the new wardrobe, glancing back at the elf only once.

 

[Tulio]

Lusclec watched her, only ever taking his eyes off of her to tend to himself. The half-elf was no stranger to a woman's body- if he was at all excited about the sight of her, he refrained from showing it. He dried and dressed quickly, not being keen on remaining naked in front of men for longer than necessary. Every motion he made was fluid and graceful, as one of his kind was expected to be. As he finished up, he took his place next to Artemis.

"I reckon the number of men who have seen you bare and lived to remember the sight are few," he whispered next to her.

Now clean, she could see that the half-elf's features were sharp and roguish. A scar ran from his left cheek to the cartilage of his ear. There was small, scattered lettering similar to, but unlike any elvish commonly known tattooed on his face and a pattern of tattoos that spanned from his neck all the way down his torso.

Now, what was that about food?

The two followed the guards out of the bathhouse and to a spacious hall with rows of wooden tables.

 

[Artemis]

And it was crowded.

Lines of guards stood at the walls, keeping a keen eye on the other prisoners, slaves, vagabonds, and riff-raff that had been dragged from their pits of hell to fight in the arena. All were washed and clean like Artemis and Luslec. And all were gorging themselves on the plates of meats, stews, vegetables, and tankards that went up and down the massive tables.

And all were sizing up the competition.

There were a few other women scattered about. Orcs. Elves. Mostly male.

And several of them leered at her as she entered. Cold, granite eyes quietly stared them down or ignored them as she spotted some open chairs at the end of one of the tables.

She never responded to the elf's whispered comment but the look she'd given him would confirm his statement.

 

[Tulio]

Luslec had chuckled and shrugged off the glare. If he were to spend much more time with the former assassin, it would be something he'd have to grow used to. Plus, there was something oddly appealing about the way she glared at him. It wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"Oh dear," he said with a quiet snort as he sat across from Artemis. He had almost entirely ignored all the eyes on them as they had entered and continued on with his trademark confidence. "They eat as if it's their first meal."

As plates and bowls of hot food were placed in front of them, Luslec was in no hurry to eat his fill. He had no intentions of frantically stuffing his face only to have it come right back up. He savored the taste of actual food and washed it down with an actual drink.

"Nothing worse than fighting a desperate opponent. An arena full of desperate opponents?" The half-elf raised his brows and puffed out his cheeks, "Not ideal."

With this many people, he would have preferred a massive free-for-all over a sequence of small group battles, or worse yet single combat.

"Say," he whispered, "what say when the fighting begins, we fight together? No doubt, others will have the same idea. Best case, by some miracle, we may both survive."

For the first time, Luslec's charm dropped. Golden eyes remained glued to her in anticipation of her answer.

 

[Artemis]

She, like Luslec, picked her food carefully. Lean meats. Nothing too fatty or rich. Bread no butter. Few vegetables. She forced herself to take small bites even as her stomach yearned to be filled quickly.

Chewing quietly, a thoughtful glance was cast toward his scar-marked face. He was smart. She had to wonder if he’d nearly starved before. To know not to be like the majority of the others here. Stuffing their maws.

Granite met twin suns of gold, unwavering. She swallowed the piece of meat she’d been rolling around in her mouth.

“An alliance,” she murmured. Thinking. It was strategic. She’d be a fool to think she didn’t need one.

A subtle tip of her chin in agreement. If that alliance failed? If he became too much of a burden to support? She wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice him. Artemis wasn’t expecting to get out of this alive. At least she’d find death honorably in fighting than dying in the dark with a pickaxe.

“Tomorrow morning we’ll face everyone.” It was a free for all. “They’ll whittle it down to the last five and then...,” voice trailed off. She didn’t know then. Would they only allow one champion? Would they even get to the five?

She took a bite of bread, finally breaking his gaze to look around the room. “Second table from the left. Looks like trained guards,” she looked at her food as she spoke, sharing her observations. “The otc though big isnt trained. The elf with him, though. Should probably keep our distance.”

 

[Tulio]

"An alliance," he confirmed. Luslec poked at his food with his fork, keeping his relief hidden behind a stoic demeanor. She didn't need to finish the thought. If they both somehow made it to that last five, there wouldn't be much of a point for the fragile alliance.

"Noticed them when we came in." He nodded and stabbed at a slice of beef. It was tender and dripped as he lifted it from his plate. "We haven't a choice in the matter; you will have to trust me with your back and I will have to trust you with mine."

He swallowed the slice and tapped the fork against the edge of his place. "We have to fight to both win and entertain. Gotta..." he took another bite, "Market yourself to the host."

 

[Artemis]

Her face soured. Marketing? She was an assassin. She was used to her services being marketed for her. Her work and reputation in high demand. All before she’d been betrayed by her own brothers and sisters in the clan.

A violent prick of the chicken on her plate.

“Killing should be enough sport,” she grumbled. “If you focus too much on the fluff you’ll get a dagger to the kidney. I’m not going to prance about just for them.” It was clear she knew nothing about marketing or playing to a crowd. And her opinion of it was even worse.

Another violent jab of chicken.