The Barge II
We were led by an escort of praetorians, clad in ornate dark armor and purple cloth robes. Their presence was customary, we had no intention of fleeing. A new entrance had been established, one in which none of us were familiar with. A large sweeping hallway lit only by the torches carried by our escort opened to a secluded foyer where a canal had been dug and filled with water. As our escort spread along the stone catwalk to either side, we saw the small boat placed within the canal. A hastily made wooden craft adorned with the eagle of Rome on it’s bow, our vessel of death awaited.
We stepped onto the wooden floor, the vessel slowly rocking with each entrant adding their weight. Within lay a small chest, ten dark green bands we were to adorn ourselves with to identify our allies amidst the coming chaos. I wrapped the cloth around my head, better to aid in keeping the sweat from my eyes. Polex turned once all were aboard and markings applied, “Whatever gods you need to make peace with, see it done now”.
Some prayed quietly to themselves, some stood in silence, statues of death awaiting the signal to burst into life. At some unseen signal the heavy wooden door before us lurched into life. Groans of wood and steel gave way to the rush of water filling the now empty void below the surface as the craft slowly began to move forward, driven by an invisible force. As the boat breached the opening, darkness gave way to blinding sunlight.
Dark, cool water had filled the place formerly occupied by white hot sand. Seats normally towering over those willing to sacrifice their lives now sat at eye level. Spectators cheered the entrance of the combatants. From our craft we could see everything, the other three ships being expelled from their chambers, and anchored in the middle of the arena, a massive barge housing what looked to be a hundred slaves.
“Kill the slaves, then we fight the other champions”, Polex said flatly, his voice sounding hard as stone, “Stay together, let them tire amongst the horde. We will achieve glory and victory as one”. The message was simple and effective, our purpose now fully clear. I held my gladius aloft, eyes peering down the sharpened blade. A fine piece of craftsmanship for this day.
The boats picked up speed, each one aiming to be flush with a flat side of the barge. We could see the other combatants clearly now, House Titus adorned in bright yellow, House Pullo in light blue, and House Verinus clad in red. These were our real targets, the slaves in between to act as fodder and entertainment to the crowd.
The barge grew ever closer, I could begin to make out details of the slaves amongst the masses. I would’ve thought they would band together at the least, knowing their fate in some crude attempt to protect themselves at the sign of their death encroaching. Instead they seemed to be unphased and more importantly, unarmed. A cruel fate set forth for these souls by the emperor, perhaps they had simply accepted there was no escape their minds broken at the unimaginable thought. Some were still in chains, shambling about on the large wooden raft, others seemed to be adorned in blood stained clothes with previous injuries still present about their bodies.
In almost perfect unison, the boats reached their intended destinations and came to an abrupt halt. Polex smiled through his helm, eyes shining with the fire of battle swelling in all our breasts, “Over the side, to our destiny!”. We leapt from our vessel to the dock below, the first to land, the last to remain standing. We watched the other houses follow suit, and laughed as two from House Pullo misjudged the distance landing in the water between the craft and the barge, sinking under the weight of their heavy armor.
“Steady, lest we meet the same fate”, Polex grumbled and advanced forwards, “On me brothers and sisters”. Stepping forward as one with Polex at the lead the moving cohort of slaves between us and the other champions had yet to even acknowledge our presence. Polex stopped and we followed, judging the situation before us, something wasn’t right. From across the barge we heard House Pullo signal a battle cry and leap into the masses in front of them. Finally, the slaves began to move as a large inhuman groan let loose from the damned souls and raised every hair on my body. Were my brothers and sisters having the same reaction? I didn’t have time to guess as one of the slaves, tattered rags drenched in dried blood, turned in our direction and shambled forward at an awkward pace.
Polex didn’t hesitate, he trust forward with his spear, his accuracy perfectly placing the point in the man’s heart. We stood in shock as the man, no this creature, continued clamoring forward, impaling itself deeper and pulling itself along his spear towards him until the point broke the skin on it’s back.