Chapter Six

Gresh looked back. The Skrall were nearing them. He looked forward again - with Malum and his Vorox also approaching. Four Glatorian and two Agori with a cart full of Exsidian between two opposing groups didn’t have much chance of survival.

“This is not good,” he murmured.

“Let's abandon the caravan,” Strakk said suddenly. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but ... I don’t care about the Exsidian.”

“Think about it.” Ackar shook his head. “You deceived Malum, who you promised to get his treasure from Roxtus... just now; we deceived the Skrall to help us get the Exsidian from a river. It seems to me that you appreciate his talent in recognizing opponents, Strakk.”

“It's funny when you say it that way,” Kiina answered “But the Vorox are ahead of us and the Skrall are behind us. Maybe we should fight?”

“I have a better idea,” Ackar said. “Gresh, Strakk, who do the Vorox hate more than anyone?”

“The Skrall,” Gresh said.

“And who the Skrall considered as vermin to be eradicated?” Kiina seized.

“The Vorox,” Strakk smiled, guessing the intentions of Ackar. “Oh, no. This will end badly... I like it!”

Ackar ordered his Stalker to gallop faster, going directly to the Vorox group. When he was close enough to the Vorox, he stopped in front of them. Ackar quickly turned and headed toward the Skrall.

“Our Vorox friends arrived just in time!” Ackar shouted with all the force in his lungs. “At the Skrall!”

Hearing this, the elite Skrall screamed in anger. Stronius despised the Vorox with all his soul. The fact that these creatures allied with the Glatorian only make him angrier. These wretched creatures of the sand act boldly against us? Stronius thought. They will pay for it!

Malum also heard Ackar’s words. Immediately he understood what his old friend planned. He also knew he couldn’t escape from the trap that he had developed without a fight. Ackar had used the eternal hatred between the Skrall and the Vorox. Now, the Skrall only had enough time to shoot Thornax at the Vorox.

“Shoot them!” Stronius cried. “Destroy them! The Glatorian and the Vorox alike.”

His warriors fired toward the Vorox with their launchers. The Thornax made direct impact with the Vorox, seriously wounding three of them. The rest forgot Ackar quickly. They had been attacked by the Skrall - their instinct told them they should hit back. Infuriated, the Vorox rushed to the warriors of the Skrall. When the Vorox pack attacked their most hated enemy, it was an appropriate time to flee from the battlefield. The Glatorian, Agori and the cart left quickly. The sounds of exploding Thornax and moans of the wounded soon died out.

“You thought we would lose,” Kiina was delighted. “So you wanted them to fight among themselves.”

“No, I wanted this to end differently,” Ackar admitted. “We may not have good relations with the Vorox, but they did not deserve to die at the hands of the Skrall. But today our lives were at stake.”

“After all, the life of a Glatorian is more important, right?”

Ackar reined their Stalker and turned around. Behind them was Malum, mounted on a Stalker, and armed with the sword and shield of a Skrall. He was alone. Ackar immediately drew his sword.

“I see that now you gather with thieves,” Malum said.

“We are not looking to fight you,” Gresh cut in. “You found us, remember? You asked us to steal the sword in Roxtus. And we did, after you snatched in from Ackar.”

“How goes the battle?” Ackar asked.

“Both sides suffered heavy casualties,” Malum said. “But the struggle continues. My Vorox know when to quit. I know the Skrall don’t know how to pursue us. We are very numerous.”

“I did what I had to do,” Ackar said. “I am sorry that your warriors have died. But they, at your signal, would have killed us.'

“I have no grudge against you, Ackar. Escaping from ambushes is your specialty ... that talent both you and the Vorox have. But these two, Gresh and Strakk, entered in our territory without an invitation. One of these days will end our affairs.”

Gresh jumped from the caravan, with sword in hand, ready to fight.

“We can solve this here and now. Is that what you want, Malum?”

“We will in time,” Malum smiled coldly and shook his head. “The desert is unpredictable, Gresh. Once beautiful and pleasant, sometimes cruelly killed. One day brings water to quench your thirst. The next day, feeds you when you're starving. But the third day ... my sword snatches your life.”

The former Glatorian took the reins of his Stalker and ordered it to turn around and left. Then he disappeared in the distance.

“Is that all?” Spoke Strakk, surprised. “He let us go?”

“Do you want to fight him?” Kiina shrugged. “If I remember correctly, he doesn’t like you.”

The Ice Glatorian knew Kiina was right. Malum once almost took Strakk’s life during a match, which caused his expulsion from Vulcanus.

“Even if the four of us faced against him, we may not win. I know him,” Ackar sighed. “The important thing is that we must now carry the Exsidian to your destination. When the Skrall finish up with the Vorox they’ll probably return to haunt us.”

The team traveled to the south. Ever vigilant and careful, everyone slowly getting used to the idea that they might be able to reach Vulcanus. Kirbold promised himself to propose to Iconox’s elders that Ackar and Kiina receive the same pay as Gresh and Strakk. Without their help this mission could have ended in the Skrall River.

“We will probably have problems ahead of us,” Tarduk said. “I'm not sure when we finish this trip we can say that the route we took is better than the route through the Dunes of Treason. What do you think?”

“You're kidding, right?” Kirbold laughed. “We passed Bone Hunters, the Skrall, Malum with his Vorox, along with desert bats, snakes, a deadly cascade ... right now I might go for the Dunes of Treason.”

Kiina approached Ackar.

“What are you thinking?”

“I see no sign that we are being pursued. If we maintain this pace, it will be good for us. In the worst case scenario, we may find the Bone Hunters.”

“You mean them?” Intervened Gresh, pointing forward.

What they saw gave them chills. Before them, a short distance, the desert had been torn by a huge crater. Around it laid the bodies of several Bone Hunters, as if a tornado had passed through there. Among the dead were several survivors, but their condition did not prophesize a long life. Ackar sought unsuccessfully Thornax traces or remains of the Vorox’s spears. Something that looked like a monster would leave traces of this size.

“When you think it happened?” He asked Kiina, who had already fallen from her Stalker, to examine one of the hunters.

“Maybe an hour ago,” Kiina approached a hunter and asked. “What happened?”

The Bone Hunter barely raised his head and his lips moved noiselessly. When he could speak, Kiina leaned closer to him. He uttered a word before dying. Kiina looked up to her teammates, saying: “Skopio.”

“Let's get out of here,” Strakk didn’t need to know any other information then he had to.

“An hour ago? Maybe the Skopio is already gone now,” Tarduk asked, hopefully.

“Or maybe just be hidden in the sand beneath you and waiting to attack,” Strakk snorted.

Ackar thought. Skopio were the largest and most dangerous creature of Bara Magna. The giant scorpion-like creatures was not very fast, but thanks to its size as a step toward moving several meters. They didn’t know all its instincts, so it was difficult to predict whether the Skopio was in the same place that it had appeared or whether it had gone to seek new territory. If the Skopio who had made this disaster had left this supposedly they were safe.

“We'll go to the south,” Ackar said. “Assuming that the Skopio doesn’t follow us, we'll go that way. I hope we’ll get to the village.”

So they went directly to Vulcanus. A few minutes had passed, and the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.

“Oh, no...” Strakk moaned.

The first tremor was quite weak. The second was more intense - Ackar's Stalker went haywire, almost throwing its rider. Then there was an earthquake. Gresh fell face first in the sand and soil before it opened with a bang. The crater was starting to suck sand, and soon would do the same for Gresh. Kiina, just in time, grabbed his hand and threw him into the trailer. The desert exploded. A cloud of dust rose into the air and the Skopio appeared. He was ready for the next battle. And then everything became worse. When the sand and dust fell Ackar saw a figure with golden armor riding the beast. That meant that the beast they would fight was actually a machine. They stood in the way of Skopio XV-1 and its pilot...

“Telluris!” Ackar cried.

Strakk shot Kirbold a look of anger.

“When we get back to Iconox, I’m asking for a raise!”

“If we return to Iconox,” Kirbold corrected him.

The Skopio XV-1 was built to resemble a real Skopio. It was faster and more dangerous. The lunatic Telluris had improved it over the years, using parts from other vehicles. Due to the plague that ravaged his tribe 103,000 years ago, Telluris was obsessed with oppression and torturing others. The XV-1 was ideally suited for that. The team ran to escape. Vulcanus had many Glatorian in training. Their support maybe needed in battle against this giant machine. But Telluris had no intention of giving them that chance. Pressing a button on the control console, he changed the way his vehicle was traveling. Leveling all four legs of the vehicle, so that now the XV-1 could only move thanks to its treads. The vehicle did not look so impressive now, but could reach a much higher speed. With a mischievous smile on his face, Telluris hunted his new victims.

“Split up!” Shouted Gresh. “He can’t chase all of us.”

It was a good idea. Gresh and the Agori took the caravan, and the others were dispersed to the sides. Regardless of whom Telluris decided hunt, the others could go around and attack from behind. Watching the Glatorian fled like a startled scarabax swarm caused great pleasure for Telluris. Which would he destroy first? A carriage full of Exsidian did not interest him. If he had been interested in the Exsidian, he would have taken from it Iconox and nobody could have stopped him. But the red armor Glatorian apparently had a brain – he was shouting orders, and others weren’t listening. It would be useful to silence him. Telluris pointed his gun, mounted on the tail of the Skopio, at Ackar and fired. Ackar heard the Thornax whistle through the air. His stalker shook the reins, forcing him to turn quickly to the right. He escaped in time, but the force of the explosion caused the rider and the Stalker to fall into the sand.

“Ackar!” Kiina cried when she saw her wounded friend. “Gresh, help him! I will take care of Telluris.”

As she made sure that the Tesaran had reached a wounded Ackar, she began to attack. To escape the rain of Thornax, she rode directly towards to the Skopio. Telluris accelerated, trying to run her over with his vehicle, but Kiina, ingeniously, evaded it. The Glatorian jumped from her Stalker and landed on the armor of the Skopio.

“What is she doing?” Ackar stared in amazement.

“We can divert Telluris’ attention. What do you think?” Gresh said.

Both Glatorian galloped towards the Skopio. Ackar shot at it, although he knew that Thornax were unable to damage the shield of the machine. All he wanted was Telluris to focus on them rather than Kiina.

“Look out!” Ackar cried. As Telluris fired at them, Ackar’s Stalker managed to dodge all the Thornax rounds from the Skopio.

“I have an idea,” said Gresh. “Head to the caravan.”

The Glatorian rushed into the caravan. Without stopping, Gresh leaned over on his saddle and took two Exsidian bars. When he was near the Skopio, the Glatorian jumped to the ground, stepped aside and immediately put the two bars between the treads of the vehicle. On the other side Ackar did the same. The Exsidian was prized for its exceptional hardness and durability. It did not corrode or deform as other metals. Stated another way, the Skopio's metal chassis of could not compare with it. The screaming and the collapse of parts from Skopio's treads announced the duel between the XV- 1's chassis and Exsidian, the Exsidian being the winner. Meanwhile Kiina climbed into the Skopio's cab. Once she slipped and almost fell. Kiina grabbed the stinger and climbed back up, and when she was high enough, she jumped directly to the XV-1's cockpit, landing just behind Telluris. Without hesitation, he tried to escape but was caught by the ankle and was hanging upside down.

“I'm too tired to climb, you know?” Kiina said while keeping Telluris’s head down. “I guess you can’t hold on for long. As long as you fight us; my launcher is aimed at the console of your toy.”

“You know what will happen if you shoot?” Telluris laughed. “There will be a big boom and we’ll all die. You, me and your friends down below. You will die, you know that right?”

Kiina raised him up and could see his cold stare.

“Do you think I care?”

Telluris showed no fear. Either he was immensely brave, crazy or possessed. He spoke calmly, as if talking about the weather. “What will you do?”

“I'll let you choose,” Kiina said. “I kill you and keep your vehicle, or my teammates destroy it and leave you wandering alone in this wasteland, or...”

“Or what?”

“Not far from here there are many Skrall warriors,” continued Kiina. “You turn back, you trash them, and return from where you came, and take our deal settled.”

Telluris hesitated. He had not had to deal with these visitors in the far north. He knew that the Skrall were tough opponents.

“Well, what do you choose? Are you afraid of those silly Skrall?”

“Not at all,” Telluris said. “I'll deal with them. But when I find you in my territory again, you will not escape so easily.”

Kiina smiled and waved Telluris to the edge of the vehicle.

“What are you doing? You said that I would be let loose!” Telluris protested.

“I never said I would not do that,” Kiina said. “You had a choice between leaving your vehicle and using it for my benefit. Deciding whether to release you or not, was not part of the deal.”

Saying this, she let go of his leg. Telluris cried for a while until his body fell into the sand. Ackar immediately approached him to see if he was alive.

“He's alive,” he said with relief.

“Sure he's alive. He excelled in the arena,” Kiina said, who jumped down from the Skopio. “At least he'll not trouble us.”

“I don't understand,” Gresh said. “I heard what he said. However, he pledged to meet the Skrall.”

“Oh, rookie,” Kiina shook his head. “When will you learn? He said: 'I'll deal with them,' but thought 'as soon as I take care of them, Glatorian, I’ll come after you.' If you want to negotiate with a Glatorian, you need to learn the language of the scam.”

A few hours later the characteristic shape of a large building in the center of Vulcanus appeared on the horizon. Soon after, the team approached the first building, where they received cheers from the guards. Although Strakk never liked the fire village, he was never as excited in all his life. Raanu, Vulcanus' leader, was the happiest Agori in town that day. Ackar knew that his reaction was associated mostly with the Exsidian that had finally reached its destination. But it was also something else: Iconox had paid its debt to Vulcanus. The Glatorian's victory for the Fire Tribe was only the beginning. No war with the Ice Tribe. The Glatorian system had worked perfectly and nothing had changed. Metus went over to congratulate Strakk, Gresh, Kirbold, and Tarduk. After a moment of celebration, Metus pulled Strakk from the group, and speaking softly, said:

“It’s all set up. Immediately after the Great Tournament you'll fight with Ackar. Raanu insisted that the fight take place here, so...”

“He saved my life... saved all our lives,” Strakk interrupted. “But I feel the satisfaction of a victory and a good pay. Deal.”

At the edge of the village, Kiina and Gresh watched the sunset over the desert.

“We’ve seen that the northern route is too dangerous,” Kiina said. “So, mission partly failed. Was it worth going through all this?”

“Yes. I think so,” the Tesaran said. “It's true that I had to flee from the Skrall, fight the Vorox, and endure Strakk... but I find that I have friends. You and Ackar.”

“You're right. You have much to learn, but you're really talented. If one of these days you’re in Tajun, we could practice together.”

“And you’ll teach me the move you used to get onto the Skopio?” Gresh smiled.

“You'll get a lot of lessons,” Kiina laughed when they returned to the village. “We’ll talk about how to survive the first round of battles during the Great Tournament.”

“Agreed. But you know what?” Gresh caught an Exsidian block thrown by an Agori. “Surviving a fight is what matters.”

THE END