*Chapter 134 – Let the games begin!

Chapter 134 – Let the games begin!

Ezdeath smiled, cackling to herself amidst the screams of the man she was interrogating in her basement as she broke a finger off the lesser priest’s hand.  It was the third lesser priest of the temple she’d abducted thus far, and the seventeenth vampire she’d taken with a connection to the temple somehow.  Some of them were guards, others servants, and she’d had to resort to taking the priests even though it was a little bit risker… because the others simply didn’t have the answers she’d wanted.

The bodies of the other sixteen dead vampires were a clear indicator of where this was going, scattered and rotting across the basement floor as pieces of their entrails were plastered across the walls.

“Are you going to tell me or not?”

The succubus leaned over and licked a trickling droplet of blood off of the horrified vampire’s forehead, bearing her own fangs as her golden eyes glistened with a vicious killing intent.  “I can make this easy on you… just give me what I want and you’re free to head on into the afterlife…”

The vampire’s face scrunched up with anger, fear only dulling his response partially.  “Aktovan would destroy my soul if I were to tell the likes of you something that could endanger the high priest!”

The succubus raised an eyebrow.  “Oh… honey… if you don’t tell me now, you won’t even have to guess on that.  I’ll just consume your soul here and now…”

With a wide grin, and tiring of the lack of responses, Ezdeath’s face twisted into a snarl.  Her mouth grew to proportions far wider than any normal human could ever dream of, her teeth extended, and a predator’s demonic snarl replaced her usually exquisite and gorgeous features.  The last thing that vampire saw was the demoness’s claws ripping into his chest cavity, ripping his heart out, and then biting down into his neck as his world went black.

***

Osi, one of the other Okt household slaves assigned to Trey, seemed very invested in her morning duties to pleasure Trey as she sat on top of him and forced his head down to kiss him.  A couple moans of pleasure escaped Osi’s lips as Rusoe lay exhausted from her turn of physical activities on the bed next to them.  The three women had all seemingly become much more invested in their relationship with the man after being turned just yesterday by Trey himself and assigned to him by the coven as his personal property.  Their moods had drastically improved once they’d realized that they were no longer potential menu items, instead upgraded from slaves into the equivelant of indentured servants with far more rights in vampire society now that they weren’t mortal any longer, and they took every opportunity they could to spend time with him.

Nothel opened the door to their room and quietly closed it behind her, quickly smiling genuinely to the couple on the bed making love while she put her tray of tarts and chicken nearby.  Though they were now vampires of the Okt coven, Lord Okt made it explicitly clear to the three women that their membership rested solely upon Trey’s own membership and his favor of the three.  They had adjusted to their new carnivorous diet but had only eaten the food that their master ate, refraining to eat any of the cattle the other vampires did at the meal times.  They had also kept to cleaning, cooking and taking care of Trey - refusing to allow any of the human slaves to fill their spots.

“Having a good morning?” asked Nothel as she removed her clothes and slipped into bed to kiss Trey passionately as Osi orgasmed next to her.  “I brought us breakfast!”

Trey laughed as he groped Osi from behind and kissed Nothel again.  “Yeah.  I definitely am.  I’m glad to see you looking so happy!”

Osi got off of Trey panting and nudged Rusoe over to lay on the opposite side of Trey from Nothel.  Rusoe protested briefly but started laughing once Osi stuck out her tongue and used her butt to scoot Rusoe even further away.

“I definitely am happy,” replied Nothel, kissing Trey one more time.  “Are you ready for the start of the games today?  The other vampires of our coven are quite excited for it to begin.”

“Are the rest of your friends from Invictus going to be watching?  Maltetious can scry can’t she?” asked Rusoe curiously from next to Osi.

Trey sighed.  Invictus was the guild name that Ashe and the others had come up with, and he’d finally OK’d it over the ghostly realm between amulets right before telling his friends about the three new vampires - previous breeders here in the Okt household - that’d be joining.  It’d need to be set aside for an official opening with rules, goals, and the purpose of the guild being laid out for all the members - but for now, it was essentially a club.

Not that he minded too much, but he thought it a little silly.  “I’m ready for it.  But I don’t know if the others will watch.  They probably won’t, everyone is really busy right now.”

He was referencing the ongoing wars outside Zekul.  Agnude had put his forces into action, sending numerous armies to conquer various cities and smaller countries while Alkir worked on acquiring passage into the mortal realms to send a couple of armies their way.  It wouldn’t be many, but there were a few she could spare that were in close proximity to Nagochus given certain wormholes she could exploit.  They’d also agreed that, after conquering some of the surrounding lands around Zekul… they’d make Zekul itself a primary target.

Eleknar wanted Zekul for himself.  Things across the planet were in full throttle, and that wasn’t even considering that Alkir had warned them the coming of the spree was near.  They needed to consolidate their forces and set up wards to transport their conquered areas into the Labyrinth before everything went down, and she wanted to set Trey up as the headpiece for this sect of her forces.

“I can’t believe Agnude intends to send his armies HERE of all places…” muttered Osi.  Rusoe pinched her hard and gave her a stern look.

“You can’t talk about that so loudly!” whispered Rusoe with a scowl.  “Shut your big mouth for once and keep quiet!”  Osi pinched Rusoe back playfully and Nothel rolled her eyes to wrap her legs and arms around Trey in a tight embrace.

“It would definitely be bad if the vampires here found out…” stated Trey thoughtfully.  “Personally I think they have karma coming to knock at their door.”

“Definitely.  They could eat animals just like you do, but they don’t.  They choose to kill and eat humans for their taste and social status.”  Nothel became visibly angry but cooled down just as fast as her anger had come.  “We’re so lucky you’re here.”

Trey blushed as Osi and Rusoe quickly agreed, but he set his gaze on Nothel.  “I’d like to think I’m the lucky one!”

Nothel laughed and hugged him tighter.  “Well.  I am very much looking forward to meeting your friends when they come to get us!  I haven’t been outside in many years!  And we have a wedding to plan for all of us too!”

He rolled his eyes.  “Don’t get ahead of yourself.  I like you, but marriage is out of the question right now.”

“Your friends are scary,” stated Rusoe bluntly, her pale skin furrowing as she brushed her brown hair back to reveal her breasts.  “Are you sure you’re really the Vatosis Inferna?  You don’t seem like it.  Even though I saw the transformation for myself and you showed us your status page, it doesn’t feel real.”

Trey chuckled, but didn’t bother replying.

Osi thought a moment, and just like the two other pale brunettes - she was very keen on the idea of leaving Zekul once this was all over.  “I was taken at the age of five.  I don’t even know how old I am now, but it’s probably been two decades since I have seen the sun.”

“I’ve never been outside.  As I have told you in the past, I was born here.”  Rusoe shrugged.  “I really do want to see the outside though!  I’ve heard stories!  But Zekul has been all that I know.  It is a foreign concept to me to think of going outside.”

“That’s so weird,” replied Trey thoughtfully.  “I’ll be sure to take the three of you all over so you get a good view of the world!  It’s going to be fun!”

“I’m sure it will be!” replied Osi with a giggle as she kissed Trey’s cheek.  “We’re so excited!  We talk about it all the time!”

“We do!” stated Nothel with a grin.

Rusoe was smiling widely at the thought and she playfully kicked at the covers of the bed they shared while placing her hands behind her head and staring at the cieling.  It was the first time that Trey had ever seen them so excited, and if he had it his way - it certainly wouldn’t be the last.  Especially concerning Nothel.

“Alright, well I’d better get dressed and meet up with Kagdor.  I’m assuming Lord and Lady Okt have already gone to the great games to watch the beginning fights.  I’m the second fighter for House Okt today so I’d better put on a good show!”  Trey slapped each of their bare asses playfully as he got up and stretched.  It was going to be a long day.

***

“We’ll be cheering you on from the stands!” exclaimed Nothel as she jumped up and down to wave cheerfully at Trey and Kagdor.  The three extremely happy women made their way together up into the stands in their brand new outfits that Trey had bought for them yesterday, and they laughed and joked merrily with one another as they went.  Trey smiled softly to himself as he watched them leave, and Kagdor gave him a pat on the back.

“Come on lover boy.  Let’s get going.”  Kagdor motioned for Trey followed, and the earthborn heaved his big mace up over his shoulder and wrapped his arms about the weapon behind his neck to follow the vampire quickly into the the giant stadium in front of them.

The stadium was the largest in the city and could fit hundreds of thousands of people.  Today - it was completely filled.  The crowds bustling about them were thick and Trey had a hard time pushing through as they got closer to the gladiator’s entrance, even becoming quite irritated as he pushed through the plethora of people.

“State your name.” said one of the soldiers stationed at the gladiator’s entrance without looking up from the thick wooden table he sat at.  Papers were sprawled out across the long redwood board.  The light of the glowing moss along the ceiling far above mixed in with candle light and magma from far below illuminated the surroundings of the busy city and Trey took another moment to appreciate the scenery before replying.

“Trey Noren.”

The soldier scanned through the documents and eventually found Trey’s name to check it off.  “You’re representing house Okt, correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“And who’s this man here?” asked the soldier pointing to Kagdor and finally looking up from his papers.  “Are you here to fight too?”

“My name is Kagdor Gorp.  I’m with Trey, I’ll be fighting for House Okt as well.”

“I see.  Very well.  Walk through these doors, take a  right and then a left and you’ll come to a set of cages on your right.  Pass the cages into the next room and that’s where you’ll wait until your name is called.  They have windows for you to watch the games if you wish to do so before your own fight, and the windows have barriers supplied by the temple mages shielding you from any potential harm.  Do I need to explain to you the rules?”

Trey shrugged nonchalantly with a bored expression.  “Sure.”

The soldier cleared his throat, speaking over the loud crowd around them to the best of his ability without having to yell as a fistfight broke out not far off.  “The great games are designed on a point system.  For each game you win, you’ll receive a point.  Individuals will gain these points and the covens you represent will also gain points for their member wins.  Prizes will be distributed both on an individual basis as well as a coven basis at the end of the games. You may be paired with other vampires assigned at random to temporarily team up with or be paired against.  The fights range from 1 versus 1 to 20 versus 20 and you may be paired with vampires that do not have a coven or are members of another coven.  You are expected to cooperate with your assigned allies per game, but no punishments are administered if you do not.  If you die during a game, but your team wins, you only get half of a point.  Games may have independent variables thrown in at random and without warning, these could include unique rules, beasts, slave fighters, or other surprises.  The games will continue until Aktovan announces the last day, to which none of us yet know the date.  It could be a week, it could be a month.  At the end of these games there will be a series of fights to announce the next champion, these participants will be picked based on the amount of points they have earned over the course of their games.  You’ll be expected to show up to every game you’re assigned or you forfeit a point for both yourself and the house your represent if you have a coven.  Schedules for the next day will be assigned the night prior.  Games last the entire day with a break only during night hours, though obviously you won’t be scheduled for all day every day as we have many participants to fill up these time slots.  Any healing you need done will be supplied by the temple mages, clerics and healers.  Are there any questions?”

“Nope.  Sounds great!”  Trey replied cheerfully.

The guard smiled pleasantly back.  “Good to hear.  You two make your way inside, I wish you luck.”

***

Drums were heard signifying the end of the game as Trey waited sitting next to Kagdor for his turn in the arena.  Trey was up next, and he had no idea how many other vampires would be in there with him.  There were many rumors about particular schedules but nothing was solidified as the individual schedules were handed to each participant - so Trey only knew when other Okt vampires were fighting.  Unfortunately, there were no other Okt participants in his upcoming game.

“You feel good?  You don’t look too good.  You better get ready for your turn, you’ll be called in any second now.” commented Kagdor as he chomped into a piece of freshly cut and raw leg.  The sight of vampires feeding on humans still made Trey feel a bit odd sometimes because of how normal they made it seem, even though he’d eaten people himself, and he did his best not to focus on the disgusting mess his vampire friend was making next to him.

Instead, Trey just confidently replied.  “I was born ready motherfucker.”

Kagdor chuckled, wiping his bloodied hand on his leg.  “Motherfucker?  I haven’t ever heard that insult before.  I like it, I think I'll start using it.”

The hall of gladiators was circular and made its way around the entire arena.  It was situated slightly higher up than the floor of the arena itself, but was positioned below the stands with the cheering fans above their heads.  As the soldier had stated, rectangular windows were at regular intervals along the wall looking into the colosseum and Trey had watched a small part of the game prior to his own before he got cold feet.  It wasn’t that he had doubts about his ability to do well here, but he was nervous now that he was the one solely responsible for the wellbeing and care of Osi, Nothel and Rusoe.  In many ways they were depending on him to do well, and even aside from that he needed to get an in to talk to the high priest of Aktovan before Agnude’s armies headed this way.  If what Alkir said was correct, this place would be a war zone within the next month or two - a target for acquisition.  He had moved way too slowly, and he wanted to get the amulet by means of subterfuge before he was forced to do it in the midst of a battle encompassing many thousands where anything could go wrong.

A vampire wearing the silver robes and symbol of House Ithisel - House Okt’s long time enemy - walked up to where the two Okt vampires sat.  Trey was unsurprised as the vampire spit onto the piece of meat Kagdor was holding in his hands between bites.  Kagdor scowled and looked menacingly up at the other vampire before the newcomer laughed and walked away, but he didn’t make a move to attack.

“Ithisel bastards…” spat Kagdor.  He shook his head, wiped off the spit and continued eating.

From down the large circular hall a courier was yelling out the names of the ones to be summoned into the arena.  He was followed by another courier who listed of another set of names, and together they would take turns stopping at intervals down the large hall.  When they got close enough, Trey listened for his name to be called and was promptly brought to his feet once ‘Trey Noren’ was named off.

“Time for me to go.  Catch you later man.”  Trey shook hands with his friend and gave him a nod.

“I’ll be up with the others of our house in the stands.  I’m sure your future wives will be there too.  Tenke said to look to the left of the cleric’s pulpit where Aktovan sits if you want a glimpse of your comrades from down below.”

Ugh.  What was with the ‘wives’ thing?  Even Nothel wasn’t quite there yet, and he really didn’t like thinking about having such a commitment just yet… even if he was quickly falling head over heels for the girl.

“Aktovan herself is present?” inquired Trey with a look of surprise.  “I didn’t really expect her to be here in person.”

Kagdor laughed and shook his head.  “Newbloods.”

The vampire turned and waved before disappearing, and Trey quickly made his way over to the stairway leading down into the waiting area.

After reaching the waiting area, he was quickly escorted by another courier and led to a large metal gate where many other vampires stood patiently by.  Many were marked with red stripes across their backs and fronts, while others had blue stripes.  Trey was also marked with a blue stripe of paint along his front and back, then pushed into the group of others.  Clerics and mages were going from one participant to the next as they set spells in place to prevent true death, or at least to keep the soul intact and in the area if true death was certain.  Eventually they got to him too.  The bald cleric that wound up enchanting Trey told him that even if he were to die in the arena, these enchantments would make it so that his body would reform easily and his soul wouldn’t leave Nagochus - therefore a resurrection wouldn’t be needed in most cases.

“What’s this?” asked Trey curiously pointing to the stripe on his chest.

“You’ll be part of the blue team,” replied the courier.  “This game will be 15 versus 15.  Your comrades in arms will be introduced to Aktovan by name and house affiliation once you enter the arena in a moment.  Be sure to line up on the blue colored line along with the rest of your team.  Please keep in mind that there is to be no fighting prior to introductions and the start of the game, signaled by the drums.”

Trey nodded without another word as he gazed around the stone interior of the gateway.  Two of the vampires were conversing and joking with one another loudly while everyone else there seemed stern and eager to get into the arena.  He noticed that two vampires, one on the red team and one on the blue team, were wearing the symbol of what he knew to be the great vampire House of Mottez.  Apparently they had been unlucky and had to fight one another here.  Trey also noticed that his blue team seemed to be primarily made up of either rogues or mages, while the other red team was for the most part heavily armored.  He wondered if any of the warriors on the red team were battle mages and had to assume that there were more than a few.  From what he knew of the great games, the vampire houses didn’t want to embarrass themselves by sending unqualified combatants into the arena.  So most of the ones who couldn’t use magic would likely be vampires without house affiliations.

To his front the large metal gate suddenly began to roll upwards.  Together, the 30 combatants strode out into the arena.  The applause was deafening.  Trey’s condition of cold feet got much, much worse when he saw how truly packed the arena was and how many people were watching the show.  It made him feel very small.

“Move,” muttered one of the red team members as he shoved past Trey and headed over to the opposite side of the arena.  Trey snapped out of his trance and looked for the blue line, which turned out not to be very far away.  Others of the blue team had already assembled on the line to stand single file and await the announcer.  Blood was staining the sands he stood on and Trey was certain they had somewhat cleaned it up earlier.  If they had not, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to find the blue line at all.  Or maybe they had redrawn the blue line inbetween games.  Who knew.

The applause died down as a single man stepped forth onto a protruding balcony where the cleric’s pulpit was positioned between the red and blue lines.  Trey’s eyes were only temporarily drawn to him as he was stricken with bewilderment at Aktovan.  The vampiric numen sat upon a throne of gold plated bones.  Two golden skulls were being used as hand rests and extravagant pillows were positioned behind and under the woman.  Clergy were waiting on either side of her to perform her wishes at her beck and call.  She was beautiful, right up there with Maltetious, Ezdeath or Rivia.  She had long raven hair and sat with a long black dress.  She was shoeless, pale, and had piercing burgundy eyes that stared down at the arena in a look of excitement and amusement.

“Children of the supreme one!” cried the man loudly with a voice that must have been emphasized with magic somehow.  It was as if he was speaking out of a giant megaphone.  “That last fight was truly something to behold, wouldn’t you agree!?”

The crowd’s applause again escalated as the cheers of the vampires came together as one before dying down again with a motion from the man.  “Well it’s time for our next game!  For this game, we will having a variety of different houses contending.  It will be one of the larger fights of today with 15 versus 15 competitors.  Contenders, please step forward and bow before our lady Aktovan as your name is called.”

The man cleared his throat.

“Normil Tuk of House Yulkazor!”  A heavily armored man wielding a mace and shield stepped forward and bowed low to the goddess before stepping back into line.

“Errich Volman, Houseless!” Another man from the red team stepped forward.  He too was heavily armored and wielded two broadswords.

“Petrif Guli of House Ithisel!”  The vampire that had spat on Kagdor’s food earlier stepped forward and made a bow.  He was one of the few vampires on the red team that was not adorned in heavy armor, rather he had changed out of his Ithisel robes and into a leather outfit with a very large crossbow and a longsword at his side.

“Kelekek Uto, Houseless!”  This time a rogue-like man stepped forward from the blue side.  He bowed to the point he nearly seemed to fall over and Trey couldn’t help but snicker.

As the announcer went through the list of names Trey was scanning the area to the left of the cleric’s pulpit.  It didn’t take long to realize Kagdor had meant Trey’s left, not the left of the people looking into the arena.  He laughed at himself for the stupid mistake and gave a small wave to Nothel as she stood flapping her arms around to get his attention.  When he finally made the gesture, Osi and Rusoe also began to wave.  Lord and Lady Okt were at the forefront of the group of Okt vampires and nodded to him from the stands encouragingly.  Tenke, Kagdor, Furdom, and well over a hundred other Okt vampires were waiting excitedly by for his turn in the games.

“Trey Noren of House Okt!” yelled the announcer.  Trey quickly stepped forward and bowed low just as the others had done.  The announcer then went on to the next contender as Trey stepped back into line, but he couldn’t help but notice Aktovan’s gaze piercing into him as he stood by.  Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he felt uneasy and as if he was being scrutinized under a microscope.

“BEGIN!”