Chapter 31 – Bossman Of The Colosseum

They made it to the colosseum around midday. The event was popular enough to close several inner-city streets. As it turned out, this fight was the first one in about three weeks. They had arrived at the right time by a stroke of luck. This explained why the girl was still there. There hadn’t been an auction since she was brought here.

Crowds filled the colosseum grounds, pouring in from every direction like ants. The place was unrecognizable compared to what they saw at night. If possible, it was even busier than the port. Sellers were peddling all kinds of things, from colorful snacks to intricate souvenirs and flags representing the fighters.

The tickets were surprisingly cheap for the apparent popularity of the venue. It only costs two silver per seat. The low ticket price was because of betting. It had been made official at the ticket booths.

Attendees had the chance to place their bets by purchasing red or blue stamps that went on tickets. Ticketmaster used a mechanical device that punched the stamps. Each stamp was priced at the minimum bet of fifty silver. The upper limit for betting was the number of dots that could fit on a ticket. It could easily be hundreds or thousands of gold if stamped on both sides.

Roden insisted that buying tickets was a waste of silver. He knew of a way to sneak in through the sewers and watch the fights for free. Neither Darya nor Seris had any plans to crawl through a sewer with their dresses.

The first fights had already started by the time they got into the colosseum.

“Trigger versus Korm! Last round!” the announcer yelled enthusiastically as they sat down in their upper-middle seats.

The fighters walked into the arena from either side. Darya didn’t know which name belonged to whom. One of them was a taller human with a limp. The other one was a half-breed, a beastkin mix of some sort. He had fur on the back of his shoulders and thighs. He smiled with a sharp set of teeth, dragging a severed chain behind his leg.

“Korm’s kicking it today as usual,” Roden said, crossing his arms.

“Which one is Korm?” Darya asked.

He scoffed as if she had asked a ridiculous question. “The hyena, of course. Korm the hyena. Everyone knows him.”

Ah, so that’s supposed to be a half hyena.

Korm charged at the other man with his arms outstretched. The clash shook the colosseum with fevered screams from the audience. Blood splattered on the soil as both fighters ripped into each other as they brawled on the ground. Everything was allowed. Darya had to look away when teeth were involved. She almost felt phantom pain when Korm ripped a chunk out of the other man’s thigh near the crotch.

“I don’t like these fights,” Seris remarked with a wince.

“The chained one, is he a slave fighter?” Darya asked curiously.

“All fighters are bought by the rich. Slaves or not,” Roden said, his eyes on the fight.

“Hm. I guess that makes sense,” Darya said with a nod. This was like the UFC without human rights. Buying a fighter would’ve meant sponsoring before slavery was brought back. Now it had to be much more literal. “Where can I get to the auction?” she asked.

“You need to talk to bossman Drakva. He’s down there,” Roden pointed at a small, decorated building at the edge of the arena, closely overseeing everything. “He’s not going to let just anyone in, though. Maybe you should tell him you’re a big-name pirate captain.”

“I have to show him I have money?” Darya looked at Seris. “I think he’ll let me in.”

“How?” Roden asked as Seris stared at her with a puzzled look. “I don’t see suitcases full of money on you.”

“I don’t need that. I have a pretty nice ring,” Darya said, rubbing her middle finger over the glove.

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The fights continued in blocks of roughly twenty minutes with three rounds each. Two of the fights ended badly with fatal injuries. Darya was sure the opponent who fought Korm would end up retiring. His right leg was twisted the opposite way at the knee. That was harmless compared to the second fight, where one of the fighters used some kind of skill to punch a two-finger hole into their opponent’s skull like a gunshot, killing them on the spot.

Darya wanted to catch this colosseum boss at the right moment. It came when the announcement rang out for a half-hour break before the arena was ready for the much-anticipated last fight. They descended the staircase during the break, leaving Roden and his daughter in their seats.

“Whatever I do, you play along,” Darya said to Seris. She nodded back eagerly.

Two armored guards stood at the entrance with dual swords. They seemed to be from some sort of tribe. People stayed well away from the rope fence around the small building. They drew quite a few eyes as they hopped over the red rope at the end of the staircase.

The guards walked up to them urgently with their hands on their swords.

“I want to talk with your boss,” Darya said before they could do anything.

“Everyone does,” one guard said lazily. “He’s done seeing people for the day. Stay on the other side of the rope, lady. Final warning.”

“Tell him the princess of Karossa wants to be invited to his auction after the game.”