Chapter 11
Urich decided to stick with Bachman for the time being, and Bachman didn’t mind Urich at all.
‘He may be a barbarian, but he has guts and the skills to back it up.’
Bachman enjoyed having Urich by his side, especially because of how much he hated Donovan.
The next day, Urich and Bachman headed to the forge.
Clank! Clank!
The two men could already hear the sound of strong hammering from quite a distance away. When they arrived at the forge, Urich looked at the apprentice blacksmith and lightly nodded to greet him.
“Look who it is! I enjoyed your match the other day. You were amazing!” The master blacksmith greeted Urich. He quickly washed his face and hands with the water from a bucket.
“Do you have the axes I ordered?”
The master blacksmith took Urich to the inner forge yard. The inner yard was a place for testing out the newly made weapons. There were several scarecrows scattered throughout the grounds to be used as targets and wooden board shooting targets on the walls.
“Ah-ah, the rest of the payment, first. I don’t want you asking for a refund or anything.”
Urich grabbed a handful of coins and handed it to the blacksmith, who counted them carefully and grinned with satisfaction.
Cling.
The blacksmith brought out a pair of battle axes. The blades shined beautifully in the sunlight, and the woodgrains of the sturdy shafts had a glowing brown tint.
“The shafts are made with ash. The blades have been well-oiled, so you shouldn’t have to do any work on them yourself. They’re no imperial steel, but I used the best material I could find. The profits aren’t great for me on this one,” the blacksmith said with such profound pride and satisfaction that even Urich could sense it from his tone.
Urich accepted the axes. The axes he used to have forged back in his tribe were no match for the pair that was in his hands in terms of build quality and craftsmanship. He could see the detailed work in the smallest spots. The blade and the shaft were bound together tightly with leather straps to prevent them from separating.
‘The weight distribution is the important part.’
Urich wanted a pair of axes he could throw. He got into his throwing stance and aimed his new axes at the wooden targets on the wall.
Creak—
He extended his arm behind, waking up his resting muscles.
Swish.
Even a small throw looked grandiose because of his sheer size. The axe ripped forward as it spun in the air.
Crunch!
The blade buried itself in the target, cracking it in half. Urich chucked the other axe and repeated it until he was smiling with satisfaction.
“Good, I like them.”
There was no issue whatsoever with the weight distribution, but Urich felt an unfamiliar sensation due to the axes being freshly forged.
“It would be my honor if a great gladiator like you fought with my weapon. Here, take this as a gift.”
The blacksmith tossed a scabbard for the axes to Urich. The leather scabbard was meant to be attached to the carrier’s thighs.
“Hey, this is amazing! It’s so comfortable,” Urich said in awe as he bounced around with his new axes housed next to his thighs. The securely fastened scabbard stayed well attached to the thighs even with his aggressive movements. It was built with a clasp, so it was easy to pull out with just a quick wrist movement.
“You’re quite the blacksmith. I’m due for a new spear shaft myself. The wood is starting to split even when I grease it up,” Bachman said with curiosity as he stroked his chin.
“Bring it to me, I’ll give you a nice deal,” the master blacksmith said with pride.
To gladiators, their weapons equated to their lives. The performance of a weapon was a matter of life or death, so, many of them invested several months’ worth of their earnings into better weapons.
“Hey, how’s this; You do my spear shaft for free, and I’ll introduce your forge to the other gladiators. I have quite a few friends here,” Bachman bargained with the blacksmith. Meanwhile, Urich was busy testing out his new axes in the yard, swinging them, and sheathing and unsheathing them.
“Hmm, if at least three gladiators come to my forge and tell me they were referred by you, I’ll do your spear shaft at no cost.”
“Three? That’s nothing for me, why don’t we say five?” Bachman said confidently and shook hands with the master blacksmith in agreement.
Bachman was a sailor before he became one of Horus’ gladiators. His seafaring background made him well-liked among the rugged gladiators. He wasn’t a leader by any means, but he had the ability to befriend many people with ease. As he promised the blacksmith, six other gladiators visited the forge with his referral, and Bachman was able to get his free spear shaft. Urich paid close attention to Bachman’s ways.
‘He’s clever.’
Bachman knew how to make the best of his environment. He had his street-smartness and was quick at thinking on his feet.
‘A guy like this wouldn’t just befriend me for nothing.’
Urich continued to observe Bachman’s behavior.
“Hey, Urich! Come over here and roll some dice with us.”
In the corner of the tavern, dice gambling was in full swing. Bachman called Urich to help him get better acquainted with the other gladiators.
Click, clack.
A pair of dice spun in the cup. It was a simple wager of guessing the number that was in the cup.
“7.”
“9.”
“5.”
Click.
Bachman opened the cup.
“Ah, shit.”
The faces of the dice drew a mixed reaction from the gladiators. Urich joined in, wagering small pocket changes to get himself in the group.
“Hey, those are some nice axes! Maybe I should treat myself to some new weapons too.”
“Dumbass, how are you thinking of buying anything with all that debt you have? Just take better care of the ones you already have.”
Urich laid his brand-new axes on the table, which had not tasted the sweet battle blood yet. The other gladiators could only express their envy toward his shiny new purchase.
“Urich,”
After the small gambling session, Bachman called Urich out of the tavern, away from the others.
In the barn next to the tavern, the slave gladiators were snoring away. The guards who were watching over them glanced at the two men standing outside the tavern.
“What do you want? You want to go get laid or something?” Urich asked Bachman, who shook his head.
“I can’t afford to think about women, I lost money today. Anyway, are you getting the gist of how things are among the gladiators, Urich?”
“What, Donovan’s ass-kissers and the others?”
Bachman’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘He has a good eye. So fighting wasn’t the only thing he was good at.’
Bachman nodded in approval.
“That’s right. Donovan’s people make up the biggest group in the entire Horus Gladiators squad. Ten out of the twenty-one. So, basically half of our entire squad is practically in Donovan’s hands.”
“So what?”
“Have you seen him fight, yet?”
“Nope, and I’m not interested.”
Bachman scratched his cheeks.
“Donovan came out of the military. Apparently, he was a part of the unit of a Swordmaster called Ferzen—that’s what he says, anyway. Whether that’s really true or not, Donovan is undoubtedly the most popular gladiator out of all of us. He’s skilled and flamboyant when he’s battling, so it’s no surprise when someone watches him once they continue to buy tickets to see him again without hesitation.”
“I already know that he’s the face of our squad,” Urich said as he crossed his arms. The sun was going down, and the air was getting colder. He shivered slightly, as he had a weakness for the cold.
“Donovan making his own little fan club is not an issue. The real problem is that he has his hands on how the gladiators are being run, most importantly, the matchups. The easy fights that are practically free money go to him and his followers, while the tough opponents are all assigned to the rest.”
“Who cares? We can reject the tough fights, anyway. Isn’t that what’s so great about being a free gladiator?” Urich scoffed at Bachman.
“How are you going to make any money when you’re turning down fights left and right? It’s true that Donovan’s an annoying prick, but there aren’t many places that treat you as well as the Horus Gladiators. Some even treat free men like us as slaves.”
“So, what are you trying to tell me, Bachman?”
“When I saw you fight, I thought ‘Ah, this guy might be able to push Donovan out and become the new face of our squad.’ If you somehow manage to attract even more crowd than Donovan and make them go crazy over you, Horus would have to listen to what you have to say. If you become more influential than Donovan, he won’t be able to play around with the matchups anymore.”
“If you hate him so much, why don’t you do it yourself?”
Bachman shrugged his shoulders. “I would love to, but I don’t have the skills that it takes to be the star gladiator.”
“Hmm, I hate people who accomplish things by begging others to help them do what they can’t by themselves,” Urich said to Bachman as he narrowed his eyes to show his distaste. This made Bachman feel a chill run down his spine. He nearly drew the dagger that was hanging by his belt.
‘So, this is what being intimidated feels like.’
Bachman became tense like a prey that was facing its predator. He suppressed his instinct to draw his weapon and retaliate.
“But the fox taking down a wolf with the help of a lion is also a part of life,” Urich said to Bachman as he patted the latter’s shoulder.
“And I like you, Bachman. You were the first person to approach me and show me kindness ever since I came over to the civilized world. What goes around comes around; regardless of where you are in the world.”
“Don’t even mention it,” Bachman slurred his sentence from the embarrassment.
“Alright then, let’s hear this grand plan of yours.”
Urich bared his teeth and grinned.
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