Fighting for a crowd... So Scandalous. (Chapter Fourteen)
Chapter Fourteen
Fighting for a crowd... So Scandalous.
Well now, this is just peachy isn't it?
You just sitting there with that nervous smile plastered on your face isn't helping the matter at hand you know.
Shut up, I'm shunning you.
What?
I'm shunning you, I blame you for jinxing it.
And how was I suppos-
SHUN!
And with that my treacherous brain decided to keep his big mouth shut for once. Now that he was dealt with for the moment, I only have to deal with three possibly hostile diamond dogs. The one who seemed to recognize me was almost completely covered in grown fur save for his snout, which was a light grey. He seemed to be thinking on something and as of yet has not said anything, his two compatriots however are another story.
"What it be?" The shortest of the three asked, his floppy ears, well, flopping to the side as he cocked his head inquisitively.
"Ask it stupid." The tallest of the three said to the smaller diamond Dog, adding in a bop to said Dog's head with it's brown furred paw for good measure.
"Ow! Why you do that? We not even know it can talk, it just sit there, must be stupid." The recently bopped Dog said derisively.
"Well, I can definitely talk, so there Fido." Once again, I find myself wanting to punch myself, as I have yet again allowed my big mouth to run the show.
"How it know my name?" The Dog, whose name is evidently Fido, asks.
"I'm a 'he' by the way." I inform Fido, hoping that I could break the apparent trend in calling me an "it".
In response to my completely justified complaint the Dog with the grey snout speaks up for the first time, "Yes Fido, we have been rude enough to him."
Finally, it's about damn time someone has decided to not call me an it, after all, I'm obviously a strapping young man.
Can I talk now?
No, now shut up.
"Rude? What that matter for Grey?" Fido asked the grey-snout ed dog. Evidently, they weren't all that inspired in the name making department.
"We are in the presence of royalty, it is only proper to be on our best manners."
What?
What?
"What?" The still unnamed Dog asks, voicing both my thoughts and the thoughts of the Shunned-One, "What you mean 'royalty?'"
"It means exactly what I said Rover, our new cellmate is a Half-Dragon, a ruler of the lost race of Kobolds." Grey stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Looking away from his two doggy brethren and towards me, going into a low bow, he continues, "I apologize on behalf of my fellow dogs your Majesty, they can be rather gruff at times."
In response to his deference toward my station I respond with all the intelligence and poise that I could muster, and sit there dumbstruck. This is most certainly not how I had expected this situation to end up, when Grey seemed to recognize me I thought I would be assaulted by three canines with the jaw strength to chew through gems, and while I can do the same my teeth aren't exactly developed for it the same way theirs are. To say that I had no idea how to react right now would be an enormous understatement.
After a few moments of sitting there staring incredulously Grey still hasn't come up from his bow, and I finally managed to get some of my wits back together as I stand. I now stand quite a bit higher than the tallest dog in the cell, and the ceiling barely manages to accommodate my standing height. Not that I am no longer sitting sprawled out on the floor confused, Fido and Rover seem to have lost quite a bit of the confidence they had just a moment ago, as I quite literally tower over them now.
Looking toward Grey, who still held his low bow, I say, "Thank you for your... deference Grey. Although I must say, the way you're acting is surprising."
"Yes, I understand your confusion your Majesty," He says as he stands up straight once again, "Most Dogs aren't as interested in the past as I am, so it's quite the coincidence that we should meet."
"Yes, that it is." I reply, trying to keep my voice sounding confident despite my current predicament, "I am curious, where did you hear of Half-Dragons? There have not been any out in the world for millenium."
"I learned of the Half-Dragon Starclaw long ago your Majesty, and I also found out about how the Half-Dragons led the Kobolds around the same time."
"Well... that's certainly convenient." I mumble to myself.
"Your Majesty?" Grey says in a questioning tone after a few moments.
Man, it feels good to have someone say "your Majesty" all the time.
"Yes, what is it?"
"If I might be so bold as to ask, what are you doing here at the Gryphos Colosseum? In a cell at that."
"Well... that's a long and mildly embarrassing story involving a lesson about hubris, care to hear it?" I ask, somewhat glad that I have someone to talk to, as it's taking my mind off of the impending life threatening fight in the Colosseum above. Well, at least it was.
Grey nods in response, and I find a moderately comfortable rock to sit on as I start story time. Grey sits down in front of me, and after a few moments and exchanged glances Fido and Rover do as well. I go into the story starting from my decision to leave the Kobolds and see the world, up until I was captured by the Griffins. Fido and Rover get a looks of surprise, bewilderment, and even awe at certain points throughout my story while Grey simply sits there quietly, taking all of it in While it's hard to tell what time of day it is underground, judging from how parched my throat is starting to feel I must have been talking for a while.
Around the time I finish I begin to hear the increasingly familiar sound of an armored creature walking, the repetitive and incessant clinking made me wonder how in the world anyone could ever put up with wearing metal armor for most of their day. My considerations on the practicality of wearing armor for any situation other than a life and death fight, are uninterrupted by a pair of Griffins wearing said armor in question as they precede to cause even more metallic noises with the jingling of keys.
After a few moments of irritating noise making, the cell's door swings open on rusty hinges and one of the Griffins addresses me in a gruff authoritative voice, "You there, the one with the wings, you have been selected to fight in the next match. Come with us."
"Well, sorry my dawgs," I say as I get up and stretch my legs, "But how could I say no to an invitation like that?" I give one last nod to the three of them before I look to the Griffin and say, "Well, lets get going then shall we?"
---
I can hear the raised voices of the amassed Griffins outside. Not even the thick oak door that separates us can completely drown out the noise they're causing. When the Griffins guarding me had left and closed the door behind me, I took the opportunity to reform my wings, and I was grateful that they were healed when they came back it was bad enough that I wouldn't know who, or what, I'd be up against. I take a small amount of comfort from the cold metal of my halberd, it's familiar weight gives me some confidence, but not all that much.
Thinking about it, this will be the first time I've actually used it in a fight. Lets hope I have an ample dose of beginner's luck.
Hey, can I talk again now, or are you still doing the whole shunning me thing?
Eh, go ahead, I'd hate to risk my life without your pleasant voice screaming in my mind's ear.
Haha, very funny. I'd just like to point out that there's a way you can get out of this scott-free.
Wait what?
Yeah, there's a way that you can survive this little adventure if you play your cards right. Remember how Grey treated you like royalty? If you can convince the Griffin Emperor that you're royalty, you might be able to get out of the, surprisingly literal, dog house.
How in the hell didn't I think of that?
Technically, you did. You're just crazy.
And with that supportive remark, I begin to hear the steady crank of the large doors before me being pulled open by their hidden mechanisms. The Sun is low in the sky, I'd give it another hour or so before it's hidden by the mountains, under the assumption that Celly isn't on her period of course.
The sound of the crowd, no longer muffled and increased by the sight of the fight beginning, hits me like a solid force as I look out on the massive stands. It looks like it's a full house or so, and the small vain part of me takes an equally small amount of probably misplaced pride in that. If I'm going to risk my life for entertainment, these Roman imitating chickens better frigging enjoy it.
I set across the threshold and enter the Spacious Arena floor. Looking toward the other side of the arena as I move towards the center, I see that my opponent hasn't moved through the opening door yet. Stuck up bastard is probably pausing for dramatic effect.
We'll see how much dramatic buildup helps him when I put my boot on his throat.
Or the opposite could happen and the dramatic buildup would be very justified.
Shut up brain.
Seeing as I'm waiting for the other prick to get over his own ego before we start, I take the opportunity to scan the stands for anywhere that the Emperor could be watching from. After only a few moments of looking I easily find a very regal looking viewing box, and I could also easily see that it was very empty.
"Griffonesses and Gentletalons," I hear an amplified voice boom out across the Colosseum, "It is my sincerest regret to inform you all that his Eminence, Emperor Sanguinem, will not be joining us this fine evening, as he is busy attending to the affairs of state."
Well shit.
The announcer ruining my only real hope of getting out of here, is interrupted by booming roar coming from the door at the other end of the floor. Turning towards the sound in surprise I see that the door has fully opened to reveal... an enormous Reptilian creature,at first glance it would appear to most to be a dragon, but there are two dead give-aways that it is not. The first being the lack of wings, this creature is definitely land bound, and two were the eyes. Whereas Cobalt's eyes, while fierce and intimidating, possessed a sentience behind them. This creature's savage eyes lacked that, and there was only a bestial furry behind the stilted orbs I found myself transfixed by.
Well double shit.
"To make up for his absence however, we here at the Colosseum have arranged for a fight we're sure you'll enjoy. Our forces on the borders of our glorious realm captured an oddity. We here at the Colosseum felt our crowd favorite could could use a bit of an exotic meal. You all know him, that monstrous beast of a Land Wyrm, Os Conterat!"
The crowd lets out a huge cheer and Conterat lets out another roar before his powerful limbs launch him into the air and into the Arena. The ground beneath my feet shakes when he reunites with it, and I flare my wings out to help keep my balance. The look in the Land Wyrm's eye as he stares me down leaves absolutely no doubt that he won't be content until I'm a bloody pulp in his maw.
Well triple shit.
I barely have the time to get the thought out of my head before Conterat is bounding his way towards me, my wings push me out of the way quickly enough to avoid being crushed by his initial attack. Unfortunately however, I did not foresee his tail sweeping around. It gets a solid hit on my side, sending me on a short lived trip through the air.
Winded, I prop myself up on my halberd, trying to shake off the daze that the blow put me in. I've never had a broken rib before, but from the pain in my side I don't think I can claim that any more. I know that I can't spend any more time on the ground, or else Conterat will take advantage of it and pounce on me.
Forcing the air beneath my wings down, I take to the sky. Despite the pain in my side, my wings still feel strong, and easily launch me into the air above Conterat. He bares his teeth at me after seeing his prey trying to escape into the sky, and a moment later he opens his mouth, with a green substance rising from the back of his throat.
I barely have enough time to recognize the danger posed by the action before my instincts take over, and the green projectile just misses me as I evade. Sparing a moment to look over my shoulder at it, I see that it hit one of the walls surrounding the combat floor, and it's sizzling and bubbling away at the stone.
Acid spit, just freaking perfect. He can smash me into a bloody pulp if I get close, and he can spit acid at me if I stay at a distance. But surprise surprise asshole, two can play at that game.
This time around, it's my turn to open my, admittedly smaller, maw and watch as his eyes widen in surprise. Contera is surprisingly nimble considering his size, but my fire-breath hits him dead on despite that, and I can hear a collective gasp come from the stands surrounding me.
The smell of Contera's seared hide fills the air, and he lets out a howl of pain and rage. I take his distraction as an opportunity and fly in closer to him, letting out another blast of fire as I go, it hits him square on again and it causes him to stagger a bit this time around. When I get close to him, he takes a swing at me with a claw before trying to chomp down on me with his razor sharp teeth.
The claw manages to nick my wing, and the force of it even a grazing blow causes me to fall to the ground, and I'm forced to roll out of the way to avoid the gnashing maw intent on devouring me. Coming out of the roll I find myself looking at Contera's exposed underbelly, taking advantage of the opportunity I grasp my halberd in both hands and take a swing with the axe-head.
I feel a rewarding resistance as the sharpened blade cuts his underside deeply, and I actually make the beast stumble back a step. Contera is far from down and out however, and he reminds me of this with another powerful tail whip, this time however I'm prepared for it, and I go into another roll under it to avoid being hit. But it seems Contera learns his opponent's tactics the same way I have, because when I come up from the roll, I find that Contera has already spun around to face me, and his maw is opened wide as I saw the green glow from the back of his throat once again. This close, there's no way I'll be able to dodge to the side, and my wing is still off from when he clipped me.
Staring death in the face I did the only thing I could think of, besides scream a very manly scream of course, and brought up my hands to try and provide some kind of defense, even if it was a futile gesture.
Is it just me, or does this situation seem familiar?
I hear Contera shoot his deadly missile, well, normally deadly missile. After a moment of having my flesh not being eaten away by a deadly acid, I crack open my eyes and see the glowing green substance being drawn into my claw. at the sight of it, I'm reminded of my first night on this world, when a unicorn tried to kill me with a magical attack, and somehow I absorbed it, and it gave me my wings.
Well, looks like it wasn't just a fluke.
Yeah, apparently.
I feel a maniacal grin coming forcing it's way onto my face, a combination of the relief of not being, well dead, and the rush of power I felt from the green energy swirling around my forearm. Looking up at Contera, I can see his eyes wide in surprise.
"Sorry pal, you almost had me, but I'm a King, what the hell did you expect!?"
Woah, where in the hell is this coming from?
I feel the burning flames welling up in my chest, more intense and powerful than they ever have been before, I open my mouth and take a step forward to release them. The sight is beautiful, the flames explode outward in an arc big enough to completely encompass Contera, and I hear him give off one last roar as he succumbs to the flames. It takes a moment before I finally come back to my normal state of mind, and I find myself standing with one foot on the charred head of the once great Land Wyrm Contera.
I... I did it. I freaking did it! Holy shit, I can't believe I pulled that one off!
"I can't believe this Griffonesses and Gentletalons! Contera has fallen to the creature from the sout!1 I've never seen an upset like this and-" In the middle of his sentence, the announcer is cut off by another roar, and it sounded like it was coming from behind me.
Quadruple shi-
As I turn around my jaw drops in the middle of my thought, because riding in on the setting rays of the sun are a few familiar faces. on the back of an orange Lady Dragon is a fiery maned filly and a pair of familiar Kobolds.
---
Almost the entire population of the city had been drawn to the Colosseum that evening, eager to see the fight of the Land Wyrm. They were a rare breed, and Contera's live capture as an egg had been an unbelievable stroke of luck, and he had been the centerpiece of the arena for many years. Perhaps not because he was the most dangerous creature that Gryphos could offer for it's people, but it was the creature's rarity, and brutal grace in a fight that awed the masses so.
Now however, a strange creature that was captured by the rejects of the Legion, a creature all in attendance felt was going to put up an interesting show before dying, had killed Contera. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.
And now a filly and two strange lizards, riding on an adolescent dragon are in the city. Today has been interesting for Gryphos, that's for sure.
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2550499
When is the next chapter going to be up?
Why, right now of course.
2554041
Good to see that you're back in action.
Good chapter, but it took way too long. Hope the next one is up soon!
LIKE A BOSS!
ALSO this fic is on my top 5 list ... out of, like, 150
duuuuuuuuuuuuuuudddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeee thet was fucking epic
[youtube=https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/2293_1018928834714_6352_n.jpg]
The next chapter had better be out rather quickly. If it takes a few months to get out a 5k word chapter I am stumped. There had better be a backlog of completed chapters to accompany this.
Interesesting day for Gryphos. Understatement if there ever was one. Are those the same three Diamond Dog's that captured Rarity?
2554134
It's good to be back.
2554706
... There is now
In all honesty though most days saw no progress whatsoever, and there were a handful where most of the work was done. With Senior year winding down there's been a lot of things that have been at the center of my attention, and because of that fan-fiction writing has been lower on the priority list when compared to research papers and Exams.
2554713
They are not the same, however Fido and Rover were made with them loosely in mind, and I couldn't help but picture them when I was writing. Grey however is something I made on my own for story progression purposes.
epicness
It lives!!!!! Thank you for not letting this fic die.
2559024
This man, this man right here? He knows his shit, I applaud you good sir.
From my experience, Kobolds are either played off as mook enemies equivalent to lizardy goblins, or things from your worst damn nightmare if you go underground.
More please D:
You have me hooked...MOAR!!
2686594 why thank chap
Cliffie why?
when will you release another chapter i have been waiting forever.This story is to good man
2874597 I will let you know that my avatar kicks ass on a subatomic scale! This grim reaper kicks de serious booty mon!
Oh god, this is amazingly funny!
you better be writing the next chapter!
damn this is good
and things get even more random
I'll be waiting.
I request more
I can see the comment he made about being a king, the way the Kobolds treat him, and probably mistaking his relationship with Cobalt as being a married couple (since they act like a married couple), all being confused enough for the Griffons to wind up thinking he is the King of Dragons or something.
This is such an awesome fic and so much more accurate as to how a human would act.
Great chapter. I would have gone with "Are you not entertained?!" but still awsome.
2554041 What's wrong with you?! You write an awesome story and then go kick the bucket!
So... are you ever gonna update?
Hail to the king baby.
A lot more interesting story then I originally thought!
Can't wait for the next chapter!
A brilliant story my good coal, your pace is fluid and coal's personality (personalities?) is hilarious
! personally I'd love to see him and celly have another banter match, but whatever you write im sure will be great
.
Now take my like and fave damnit!
STORY IZ DED
Loving the Skyrim reference in the title.
Update
Poke... Poke... You think its dead?
Sometimes, when authors are gone for a long time, I feel that ponies are slowly taking them back to equestria" Any of us could be next!
4459321 i need to become a good author then.....
4414974 omg another draconequus!
MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You could have saved the Land Wyrm, you know, pull off a Russell Crowe and gained another ally in the process, especially since you probably brought a species closer to extinction by depriving the gene pool of a good specimen.... plus, killing a tough creature, not really a good way to earn respect, fear, yes, but not respect, unless it's a pest or something, but he wasn't, so....
:I go and look at my last chapters comment.
4790666 He's a gladiator. It's his job.
4790666 eh, I'd have to go with the wyrm being maddened and completely feral, but you never really know.