Chapter 24
The Monster of House Warforger
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Disclaimer: This story is not meant as 'erotica', but dark adventure-fantasy. It may contain material that sensitive readers might find uncomfortable. Please be advised.
"Finish up!" A guard, not too far off from where Trinka was practicing, shouted to the gathered gladiators in the training pitch. "Crusher is being transported up for his yard time."
She watched with amused wonder as the stable of hardened warriors all begin quickly wrapping up their activities and squaring away what equipment they were using, moving with a sense of urgency. She'd watched this little dance several times now and it still amazed her just how much fear the 'House Monster' evoked in people. Of course, she'd heard plenty of stories about the savage brute of House Warforger, an orling warrior that was more feral and dangerous than any of its full-blooded kin.
Supposedly, unlike other orlings, Crusher had been born within an actual oruhk tribe and managed to earn a place among them as a warrior. Considering that oruhks typically despised half-breeds, that meant that it had to be meaner and tougher than all its full-blooded kin, even from birth. As the rumors went, it had only managed to get captured as a slave because it had been asleep, but still ended up killing several of its captors before they managed to get it to any sort of auction. It was immediately deemed only viable for the Grand Arena, too violent and feral for any other place.
Trinka was pretty sure that was all it really was: rumor and manufactured legend. A half-breed born into a tribe would not have lasted long enough to earn much of anything. Most orlings were essentially farmed by the slave trade, using female oruhk slaves as breeding sows. The rest were products of unlucky encounters with oruhks or other orling slaves by women who managed to survive it.
However, it was not just rumor that the Grand Arena was where it belonged, as it quickly became a darling of the sands. It was documented fact that Crusher had never lost and never left an opponent alive. The arena kept a record of every gladiator, sometimes publically presenting stats for the participants of a particular fight to boost interest in attendance. Crusher's record was proudly displayed every day in the main foyer, hailing the monster as the current 'star of the pit'.
There were other gladiators who had perfect records and other gladiators who were known for killing opponents, but Crusher's record was made notable due to the sheer number of deaths and wins that had racked up in the years that it had been fighting. Over three hundred people had lost their lives to the orling, many killed in truly spectacular fashion, such as being split in half, long ways.
Within the city of Solace, almost everyone knew who the beast named 'Crusher' was, though few, still alive, had ever seen it up close. That included even the majority of the House's stable of gladiators, as most were quick to vacate the training pitch before Crusher could be brought out. Only a few ever stayed long enough to see the monster brought out, though they never remained longer than to get a glimpse before their courage failed.
Many of the stable had fought actual, full-blooded, oruhks in the arena, and even beaten them. However, this one half-blood made them flee like children. Trinka had lingered a few times to see the creature brought out, muzzled and heavily chained, a number of guards bristling about him, weapons ready to defend themselves. She'd been told by one of the other gladiators, a man named Luther, that none of it was out of concern for it attempting to escape. Crusher, it seemed, loved being a gladiator and had no desire to leave.
However, it had killed several guards and fellow gladiators over the years, just for fun. Apparently, there had never been official punishment for such transgressions, Solivier usually blaming the victims for their own deaths for being stupid enough to not keep their guards up. As far as he was concerned, Crusher was a killing machine and he expected nothing less from his 'House Monster'.
Despite all these rumors and towering reputation, Trinka had been a bit surprised by the monster when she'd first seen it. She'd expected some thrashing beast, growling and straining, but Crusher had practically strolled along, calm as a snowy day. Even covered with a grown man's weight in thick iron chains, the orling seemed completely unburdened and unbothered.
Even so, it was easy to see why it was considered so fearsome. Despite being a half-breed, Crusher looked larger than a full-blood, with a body so heavily toned that it seemed to be nothing but muscle. Yet, despite the bulk of the frame, its form was still sleek and agile, like the body of a massive hunting cat. It radiated an aura of menace, even with the serene manner it kept, seeming always on the verge of pouncing.
She had half-expected it to break free at any moment and begin raining down havoc. That it didn't even try only seemed to make Crusher more intimidating somehow. Made it seem all the more unpredictable.
"Hurry it up, unless you're wanting to be out here when the House Monster arrives!" Came the cry of another guard, waving for the gladiators to start queuing up to be rebound and taken inside. Trinka finished stowing her practice gear and jogged over to get into the line, falling in behind a tall, dark-haired, gladiator named Dalgo.
"Gods, I could really go for a round with a nice warm cunt right now." Dalgo said, as though speaking to himself, but obviously loud enough for her to hear. He was a mostly charmless hound, thinking most of the time with his libido rather than his wits. Despite his crass personality, he had actually been a pretty good lay and Trinka wasn't against granting the rather gormless attempt at asking for a roll in the bunk together.
"What makes you think you have anything that a worthwhile cunt would want?" She asked him, purposely playing thorny, despite her intent to agree. Eventually, at least.
"Oh, I got plenty to share." He retorted with a chuckle. "Enough for a couple of them, at least."
"Really? And how is that? Do you plan to use Luther's manhood?" She volleyed back.
A ripple of laughter ran through the gladiators in line around them. Dalgo and Luther had a, not entirely friendly, rivalry with one another. Both were exceptional warriors, easily among the best of the House, possibly the arena as a whole. However, the two were almost like night and day in all other regards.
Dalgo's primary fighting style was large, heavy weapons. He typically used either an axe or a sword that required the use of both hands to wield effectively. His arms were more than powerful enough to drive such weapons clean through the shield or cuirass of an opponent. He could also make the swing and recover again with impressive speed.
He had a bombastic personality, especially while fighting, and plenty of arrogance in his own skills. Though not unattractive, he imagined himself as far more handsome than he really was, but his estimations of his prowess, both on the sand and in bed, which he toted loudly, were actually pretty accurate.
By contrast, Luther was a deeply reserved and quiet man, almost a full head shorter than Dalgo, but still exceptionally strong. Preferring a regularly sized blade and reliable shield, what he lacked in raw power was more than made up for by his intense focus and tactical acumen. He excelled at defense and counterattacks.
Against one another, they seemed almost too well matched, both able to foil the other back and forth. Trinka was pretty sure that Luther less saw Dalgo as a rival, than as a pain in the ass, but Dalgo definitely considered the blonde swordsman as his prime competition as House Champion. Of course, neither of them was likely to wrest that title away from the current holder, Crusher.
"I'd only use his if I was looking to make you laugh, sweetpea." Dalgo replied, trying to play the sleight off as nothing, though she could see the muscles of his jaw flinching from the effort to grin it away. "Naw, my cudgel is a natural two-hander. As you well know."
Tease as she might, she did, in fact, know that to be true. However, she wagered Luther might well be far more adept at swinging his, even if it was shorter. Not that Luther really seemed all that interested. Which was fine, as he'd also likely be much less easy to manipulate through playing bed-mate to; unlike the far less savvy Dalgo.
"Well, I'll give it a little thought." She conceded, suddenly feeling tired of the banter. "I was wanting to ask you a question on a different subject though." She said, hoping she could get him to shift subjects off of his considerable libido.
"What's that, sweetpea?" He asked, seeming a bit less interested in something that didn't involve him putting his 'cudgel' into a waiting woman.
"Who is it that Crusher spars with? Everyone always vacates the yard when they bring it out, but surely it doesn't just train alone." She wasn't sure if the answer would be worth anything or not, but she'd been actively searching for holes and weak points around the House that she could exploit to her advantage. Ultimately, she intended to stay here long enough to get the promised second chance to face the girl who'd gotten her stuck here, but she didn't put her full trust in anyone enough to really believe that Solivier would keep his promise to return her freedom afterwards.
Dalgo paused a moment before shrugging. "Not sure he spars with anybody. Not even sure he understands the idea of just 'sparring', where the idea isn't to kill the other person. He probably just uses the time to run around and stretch his legs, since he's kept in a cage all the time." He gave another shrug. "I've never really wanted to wait around to find out. I've seen what he's done to people who got too close."
Trinka frowned a little, glancing back towards the now empty pitch. "But they do let people stay and continue to practice, correct? We're not forced to leave?"
Dalgo eyed her dubiously. "You're not seriously considering it, are you? Crusher's dangerous. Not like how we're dangerous, but 'rabid, wounded, animal' kind of dangerous. Even Master Solivier can't really control him."
