A Web Novel about A Gladiator Who is Forced to Fight with Magic
Captured
THWUMP! A throwing knife struck the tree behind him and glimmered in the sunlight. The runner looked back for a moment and saw the Ciniceros soldiers behind him. They advanced menacingly with leather armor, square shields, spears, and helmets with ridiculous looking headdresses on them. He also saw the one who threw the knife, a fierce eyed captain with an even bigger headdress on his helmet. The runner wasn’t afraid of anyone.
But if he was, this fierce eyed one with dark hair and and big muscles was a prime candidate for fear, he kept thinking to himself.
Still, the runner, a red haired and strong, if smallish man wearing tattered rags resembling pants and a shirt, knew this forest better than anyone. He knew where every tree was, every ditch, and every boulder. As he dived into a ditch that was difficult to see, he knew he would lose them.
In fact, that same soldier who threw the knife went right past that ditch and in the wrong direction. He didn’t get far before he realized he had lost him. He looked around with frustration and then he threw a knife at a tree. THWUMP!
He glared at it as if it was the knife’s fault the runner had escaped.
“Vexed much?”
“Ah!” cried a startled captain, turning around fiercly. “Don’t do that!”
He turned and glared at a magician wearing a blood red robe. The magician was blonde and beady eyed, and grinned an almost unnaturally wide grin. From the sleeve of his robe hung two metal spheres suspended by rope.
“How do you do that?” said the captain. “My whole life no one has ever snuck up on me without me knowing, and yet you do it without breaking a sweat. How?!”
“Tut tut,” said the magician tauntingly. “Really Breg, you should stop asking. You know my answer.”
“Yes yes, a magician never reveals his secrets. Anyway, what are you doing here Onlin? I can handle this.”
“Emperor Urachan disagrees,” said Onlin.
Breg pointed his finger at Onlin. “This has nothing to do with…”
“URACHAN DISAGREES!” said Onlin. Breg took a step back, and Onlin continued. “I’ll handle this one. He’s been eluding you for weeks. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised given his heritage, but it’s time to bring him in. The masses will be very entertained with him I’m sure. Ready?!”
The captain turned and saw four other magicians, also wearing blood red robes and each carrying two metal spheres on ropes. Onlin lifted his spheres and looked at them. The metal was so fine that it reflected his face. He stared at it for a few moments, and then his reflection faded, only to be replaced by an image of the runner, still fleeing through the forest.
“I’ve got a lock on him,” said Onlin. “Ready?!”
He swung his metal spheres in a circle over his head. The other magicians followed suite. Once the spheres were up to speed he threw his, and so did the others. The weapons were actually two metal spheres attached by one long rope. They spun around and flew away, making a whipping noise against the air. They flew off, and then flew around the trees and doubled back over their heads, heading in the opposite direction.
Onlin watched with glee as the weapons sped off. “Well well,” he said. “He had you going in exactly the wrong direction. He is good.” he grinned at Breg, who just glared at him.
For a moment there the runner thought he was in the clear. He was strong, but being smallish he was fast, and that was what he really prided himself with. He figured he had gotten away, until he heard something whipping through the air.
As he ran through the trees he saw them, several weapons flying through the air. Two metal spheres connected by rope, spinning around at high speed and headed straight at him.
“Oh great,” he said as he picked up his running speed. “I hate magic.”
One weapon swooped down as the runner dodged near to a tree. Just the knife it hit the tree, the rope wrapped around the trunk before the balls struck the tree with force. The runner thought he didn’t want that to happen to him.
He tried it again as another weapon swooped down, but this time the weapon dodged around the tree. He had to duck, making the weapon fly over him, but it swooped around for another pass. He dodged another weapon near a tree and it wrapped around the trunk. That left three, all making a dive for him at once.
Two came at him, one above, one below, he steeled his determination and when the first came he jumped over it! It passed under him and he rolled when he hit the ground, going under the other. However, he lost some speed and the third weapon hit him, wrapping around his arm and pinning it to his chest.
The spheres struck, and it hurt, but he kept running. One arm and his legs were free, but that didn’t last long. The second weapon came at him from behind and wrapped around his other arm, pinning it to his chest like the last one.
The spheres hurt and he cried out in pain! The weight of the spheres was slowing him down considerably. He managed to doge the last weapon, but he was getting tired. He made a dash, and then remembered that in this area of the forest there was a drop! He would just have to roll when he reached it.
He saw the drop and dashed for it, the weapon almost at his heels! He made it and jumped! The drop wasn’t as big as he remembered, just a few feet above the ground, but then the weapon, as if from nowhere, hit his legs!
The next thing he knew the spheres had struck his leg and he was twisting every which way as he fell, so that he landed on his head, and remembered no more.
After a few minutes Onlin, Breg, and the rest came up. Onlin stood over him and inspected him. He sneered gleefully.
“He’s shorter than I expected,” he said.
“I’ll take it from here,” said Breg angrily.
“Of course you will,” said Onlin. “Even you can capture an unconscious man.” Then he laughed and walked off. Breg glared at him disdainfully, and turned back to the fallen runner.
“I don’t envy where’s your going,” he said. “Between fighting in the arena and fighting here, I’d choose here. Still, if you were fighting with swords you’d have more than a chance. Think you hate magic now? Just wait. It’s about to get a whole lot worse.”
Breg didn’t know why he was talking the runner this way, or perhaps he did. Maybe he was just trying to convince himself that he didn’t know. Whatever it was, he felt he wasn’t finished.
“You shouldn’t have stood up to Urachan. He’s too powerful! Foolish Corian. Foolish little brother.”
He turned to the soldiers and said, “Take him away.”
