Dirty bastards.

[Chaz]

Chaz rolled his eyes, for once looking a little irritated.

Well, with everyone else talking about everything, no reason to keep secrets.

[Grayell]

Gray looked over at Chaz, that was a little unexpected.

Oh? Take a load off mate, you'll feel better. Let's hear it.

[Alec]

"I've got to agree with our furry friend," Alec says, raising an eyebrow. "It shan't leave this room. Spring. Well, you know what I mean. There's hardly a reason to hide it."

[Sir Kerag]

Kerag looked over at Chaz, surprised as well.

"Alright there Charles?"

He nodded with Alec; motioning his hand at Simeon encouraging him to indulge the details.

[Chaz]

No, just...not used to talking with, uhh...buncha guys.

He cleared his throat and gestured to Simeon, giving him the proverbial floor.

I don't have anything to say. All yours, sir.

[Legault]

"Very well, I shall begin:

It started one day when I decided to hunt down a job to help provide a bit of an income for myself. I checked the bulletin board and saw a posting for a bodyguard position. I figured I'd be a worthy escort so I head off to meet the man in charge. Another man, Jonah Pureheart, joined through the posting as well. The two of us met with man who went by Frank. The man wore a hood and was slightly hunched--but neither of us saw that as an obvious fault. We were challenged to a test of intelligence in order to see if we could find the entrance to a secret sanctuary in a mountain wall. The riddle was easy and we entered the cave only to fall victim to a sleeping powder or gas of some kind.

When we awoke it was in a filthy cell that had hosted many men before us and had never been cleaned. The filth and stench was horrendous--as was the ogre who guarded us. We didn't have our weapons, but before they sent us into the arena, they returned our weapons to us. We were roughly escorted to the gate leading into the battle grounds and told that only ten men could leave alive. Two more men were with us at this entrance.

The gate opened and we were forced out before the door dropped shut behind us. There were seven other gates with four men--prisoners, just like us. The arena was unbelievably large for something supposedly carved out of stone--however, it was not so large that we could not get the attention of the other combatants. We talked briefly with the two men beside us and all agreed to attempt to end this fight before it began. We quickly split up and yelled toward the other groups--offering a truce and cooperation. If we were all destined to die we didn't have to die killing our brothers in bondage. Many of the men agreed with us. However, the former champions did not. They had already killed the two men who were placed with them. Jonah and I waited until the others were gathered then challenged the two men to a battle of honor. It was to be a battle to the death in which the losers would lose their honor and name.

One of the two men was at least seven feet tall and wielded a great, two-handed blade. The other man was an archer who had many odd arrows in his quiver and a short sword tie to his hip. Much to my surprise, Jonah had fought the men before. He insisted in fighting the swordsman in a dual--man-to-man. The giant of a man agreed and--against the archer's protest--fought alone. The two men clashed for an impressive amount of time. The crowds cheered and jaunted, enjoying the dual--even though it was a change from their normal program. Several times Jonah was scraped, but several more times the brigand received a wound. Finally, Jonah managed to dislodge the man;s blade from his grip and he plunged his darkwood sword into the chest of the brutish man. The fight was over.

The archer ran to the man and called him his brother. I had been impressed with the man's skill and strength, and I knew he would be able to improve our chances of escape. So I ripped the lad off of the man and proceeded to heal his more grievous wounds. I stood over him and declared his honor and name lost. He was not a brother to anyone but only a slave to the one who took his honor. He admitted his defeat and gratitude--but his spirit had been shattered. Apparently this was the second time Jonah Pureheart had humiliated this man. I healed Jonah's deeper wounds while the humiliated shell swore fealty to him. The thirty of us then yelled for freedom and stated our resolve to rebel.

For a long time the crowd boo'd and jeered--shouting for our deaths. Then, after we had begun to think they'd let us starve instead of deal with us, the gates opened again and four more men entered at each gate. The master of the games declared that only ten could survive and sent the remaining prisoners to fight us. Fortunately, we were able to convince these to join us as well. Many did not desire to but saw us as the new bigger threat. Outraged, the crowds screamed for the ogres to fight.

The masters not only obliged them, but sent at least ten armed soldiers from each gate with an ogre. This battle was declared to be a grand accumulation of all of the arena master's efforts. The people screamed for blood and the masters were risking all to provide it. The cheering of the crowds grew even louder than the angry yelling had been.

They charged us but we held our ground. Their eighty plus eight ogres against our thirty. Each man there fought bravely and brilliantly. We defended each other and held tight our circle. The archer and a few men with spears and javelins proved very valuable in blinding the ogres--causing them to crash through their own ranks. I am unsure how many I killed that day. I also don't know how many of us died. However, after an hour of fighting, each of the ogres and been slain and well over half of the soldiers. The remaining men attempted to run back to the gates but the gatekeepers refused to open them. Finally, one gatekeeper loosened the chains and the gate rose. The soldiers poured toward that gate--but so did we. The archer successfully killed a man who fell under the gate, holding it up. Then the brigand was able to lift the gate with a couple of other men. We charged through the half-raised gate and slew anyone who stood in our way. We had no other option but to act...

The rest of the day many--well, many of the few of us left--chose to hunt down anyone who was not numbered in our thirty or also a slave. Jonah and I, however, were ready to be rid of the place. As we finally found the exit, we saw the headmaster over the arena also attempting to leave. We gave chase and finally had the man cornered. We asked his name and he responded with the name that had been written on the original job posting.

Neither of us had the blood lust still in us. It was then that we beat and bound him before bringing him to the guard. You know the rest of the story, General."

[Chaz]

Chaz leaned forward more and more as the story continued, finally falling into the water at the end. He panicked a bit and flailed until he found it wasn't all that deep, and he stood up, looking down at his soaked shirt, tie, and slacks.

Oh good. Ruined your story and my clothes.

He climbed back up to his previous spot and took off his tie, wringing it out.

At least you caught the guy that planned the whole thing. Must've been pretty hard not to kill him after all that.

[Legault]

"Heh. Had we found him a bit earlier we would have killed him. But by that time we were so sick of blood there was nothing else we could do." Simeon's expression hardened, "Besides, death is too good an escape for someone like him."

[Chaz]

He sighed.

I can understand that.

He looked back up at Simeon.

Not a fan of violence myself. It's the blood. I get woozy.

[Legault]

Simeon smiled, "That's not a bad thing by any means. If we were all calloused the world would be a much crueler place. Then there would not be many noble reasons to fight left."

Simeon tousled the cathian's wet hair (on his head) and added, "I may be willing to carry out justice where it's due, but I would much rather retire my blades and never fight another man again. You're wise to protect that part of yourself."

[Alec]

"Aye," Alec says, a cynical edge to his voice, "and if everyone would just work together, we'd eventually achieve utopia, and never have to lift a finger again." Blowing a raspberry, he slips into the water until just his face is showing. "Sound boring to me."

[Legault]

"Simeon turned to Alec, "I think you misunderstood me. There could never be a Utopia. That would never work. Personality conflicts alone would guarantee that--among other things. I said I'd like to live in peace but I never said that peace would be universal, or even possible." He paused for a second then added, "That's part of the reason I left the monastery. One time a village near us was attacked by soldiers and our sensei's refused to allow us to help the villagers. If it had been bandits we might have aided but since it was soldiers that was political and we could not interfere--'lest we alter the course of history.'"

He shrugged, "There were other reasons I left, but that was a major factor. Peace was possible, but only in our minds and only if we ignored everything around us."

[Chaz]

Chaz shrugged, tapping his head to get water out of his ears.

Guess I fall somewhere in the middle.

[Grayell]

Grayell took a deep breath after the tale and relaxed some in the warm waters.

Ah, if only life were simple eh?

[Sir Kerag]

Kerag listened to the tale, silently finishing his tankard. After a long silence he burped.

"Is life ever simple my friends?"

Kerag shook his head.

"At least in my experience, it never is."

He put aside the tankard, leaving the warm water while he rummaged for more booze. The orc let out a delightful growl, plunging back into the hot springs with a splash, the new tankard pressed against his lips.

"Maybe we take it too seriously? It all ends sooner or later, perhaps we should learn to enjoy ourselves more often." Kerag waved his hands, smiling.

"Like now. Isn't this grand gentlemen?"