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The appreciation the crowd had shown his last fight was not replicated by the other gladiators when Vergilius returned from the arena, maybe it was because most of them were fresh slaves and too worried about their first fight, or maybe it was because the match was clearly stacked in his favour from the start, either way he didn't care at this point truthfully he just hoped that the boy would survive his injuries so the feeling of guilt wouldn't get any worse.
"Don't get yourself too comfortable, you did well, you'll be out there again today." The trainer muttered to him again as he past by. Vergilius sighed to himself as he carried on, he just hoped his next opponent would be more of a fair fight to at least save him from going through that emotional strain again. Realising that he was about to risk his life again he decided to stop dwelling on the feeling and got himself something to eat in an attempt to recover his energy in preparation for his next fight.
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This next opponent isn't going to be as easy as the last, I rolled up his stats and he came out with only one fewer attribute points than Vergilius which defiantly makes him a threat but means beating him will yield much greater rewards. I also realised when I rolled the last opponent it for got to give him a signature which can either be a good or bad thing for a gladiator depending on what they are given, I was not happy with what I rolled for this opponent when I saw he had been given 'Strong' meaning he gets 3 extra bonus dice that he would normally have...That could be very bad as now he has more dice than me and I run the risk of becoming spent if I try and keep up with him.
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Once again Vergilius found himself in the arena, the crowds roars bellowed once more as the trumpet was sounded to begin the fight. Vergilius had been warned about this man by a few of the other slaves before the match, according to them his name was Tullius and he had incredible stamina and had already won a fight today with ease. As the two gladiators approached each other it was obvious that they'd both shed blood already, their adrenaline was still pumping and both were clearly focused on the fight.
Tullius reached the centre of the arena first and stood still eyeing up his opponent, Vergilius was wary of running head on like he did with his last fight, this opponent seemed to carry himself like one that would not be a pushover. The two men stared at each other as they slowed crept side to side trying to find an opening, the crowd fell silent as the tension built. What in reality was only about 20 seconds felt like a lifetime as the stand off continued, until finally Vergilius made the first move. He rushed forwards swinging his sword and the two combatants locked blades, both the men were completely oblivious to the crowd every ounce of their concentration was on their opponent.
The test of strength remained neutral for a few moments and in an attempt to gain more leverage Tullius started to reposition his feet. Seeing his opponent off balance Vergilius pushed upwards forcing his opponents defences away from his body, he then followed up with a high slash which ricochet off his thick helmet. Tullius stumbled backwards but just about remained upright as he shook his head to try and clear his vision, the fight had began.
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As per usual the first turn was taken up by the gladiators moving one space towards each other, Tullius rolled higher on the first and second speed checks and made it to the centre first, I tried to force my way into the zone by using 2 bonus dice on the maneuver, he decided to use 3 of his 12 and ended up with one more success than me, as such both gladiators remained where they were and caught their breath (Re-gaining one used bonus dice).
Next turn I rolled highest on speed and used this to try and force my way in again before he had the chance to attack me, I decided to use only one of my bonus dice this time and was pleased to see that he wasn't going to use any, in the end it didn't matter though as once again both gladiators just caught their breath. Now it was Tullius's turn so I rolled to see what he would do expecting the worse...nope, he was content enough just to stare at me and catch his breath again for now (how much breath does that man need!)
Finally after 3 instances of looking at each other something happens, I rolled highest on speed and again advanced, we both chose to use 2 of our dice and I ended up with the option to attack head on (which I took with glee). I threw one bonus dice in with my rolls and scored 4 successes, Tullius also scored 4 thanks to his 2 bonus dice...*Sigh*...we both catch our breath, at least we're in the same zone now. Tullius's turn now and he tries to out maneuver me but doesn't use any bonuses, I use one to be safe and score two more successes giving me the chance to attack, I don't know why I decided not to use any dice here but I got lucky and managed to get an attack in despite him using one. I pushed him back and inflicted a minor wound to his head, he was lucky it was protected by the highest rated armour in the game.
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| Oops...I still have Vergilius selected...ignore that. |
Next turn I rolled highest on speed and used this to try and force my way in again before he had the chance to attack me, I decided to use only one of my bonus dice this time and was pleased to see that he wasn't going to use any, in the end it didn't matter though as once again both gladiators just caught their breath. Now it was Tullius's turn so I rolled to see what he would do expecting the worse...nope, he was content enough just to stare at me and catch his breath again for now (how much breath does that man need!)
Finally after 3 instances of looking at each other something happens, I rolled highest on speed and again advanced, we both chose to use 2 of our dice and I ended up with the option to attack head on (which I took with glee). I threw one bonus dice in with my rolls and scored 4 successes, Tullius also scored 4 thanks to his 2 bonus dice...*Sigh*...we both catch our breath, at least we're in the same zone now. Tullius's turn now and he tries to out maneuver me but doesn't use any bonuses, I use one to be safe and score two more successes giving me the chance to attack, I don't know why I decided not to use any dice here but I got lucky and managed to get an attack in despite him using one. I pushed him back and inflicted a minor wound to his head, he was lucky it was protected by the highest rated armour in the game.
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| Wish I could shrug off a sword to the head like that. |
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It didn't take Tullius long to recover from the blow and attempt to retake lost ground, he pushed on back towards the centre as Vergilius followed suit and attacked head on. It was Tullius that read the situation the fastest as he parried his opponents strike and sidestepped out of the way sending Vergilius flying past and crashing face first into the sand.
Managing to clamber to his feet before his opponent can take advantage Vergilius grits his teeth and charges forwards once again completely undeterred by the failure of his last attack. The brutal charge seemed to have caught Tullius off guard as he is forced to defend himself from a wild onslaught, his efforts were not good enough though and an opening emerges which is instantly taken. A huge gash emerges across his chest as Vergilius's sword flashes by sending him to the ground flat on his back.
The fight was over and Vergilius had escaped without injury yet again, he seemed to be showing great promise as a gladiator and would end up fighting the maximum of three fights today, such an excursion would be no easy task and to escape unscathed again would be a miracle, all Vergilius could do as he saluted the crowd and left the arena was hope he would not end up like the man he'd left behind.
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Undeterred after receiving a head shot Tullius managed to win the speed test and regained his footing before I could capitalise, I rolled to see how he'd react and saw I'd be on the end of another charge, I managed to out maneuver him by a single success despite him using 2 dice which allowed me to attack head on. It was time to finish this so I added a bonus dice to my already massive attack and ended up scoring a fairly average 4, much to my horror my opponent decided to use a whopping 4 bonus dice and beat me but three successes, I was heading down as a flew past him to the ground only just escaping injury thanks to my shield.
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| One way trip to the sand courtesy of my own recklessness. |
Luckily I wouldn't stay on the ground for long as it was now my turn, seen as we were in the same zone I could go straight to the maneuver phase or retreat backwards...yeah I went for the maneuver, I managed to score one more success than my opponent and then threw 3 bonus dice into my attack, he responded by using up his last dice (either bravely or stupidly...probably the latter) the result was one of the most decisive I've had playing this game, I beat him by an enormous 6 successes inflicting a serious chest wound thanks to a plus one modifier...ouch. That's all she wrote, Tullius has used the last of his bonus dice and is laying spent on the floor, we claim a tasty 9 fame points taking our total up to 10 and we will be fighting a third and final fight in this day of events.
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| Vergilius the comeback king! |
Hope you enjoyed this report, check back soon for more stabby goodness.
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