For no discernible reason Senex and Asiaticus found the order of their fights reversed for these games. Asiaticus and Hanno came on in the morning after the usual executions, acrobats etc; while Senex and Felix did not make an appearance until nearly the day's end.
Both of our fighters went into the arena with their private thoughts. Asiaticus, now a thorough devotee of Mithras, seemed calm and confident. Senex seemed a bit distracted, Flaviana and her "sisters" were on his mind. Also he could not help wondering what would happen if Hannibal the pit fighter ever entered the arena. Senex had described what he had seen to the other fighters in the ludus, but it was generally held that he was exaggerating and that any trained gladiator would easily beat any mere street brawler.
Anyway, here is how it went down. One thing becoming apparent is that, regardless of Quadratus's training methods, he is getting results in terms of well prepared fighters who have better Strength generally than their opponents.
ASIATICUS v HANNO
Asiaticus has the Stamina and Dodge skills, and came on with a Strength of 10. Hanno has the Stamina, Reflexes, and Dodge skills, a dangerous opponent who could move like greased lightning, and a Strength of 8.
Hanno used his speed to close quickly with Asiaticus, although he was unable to get onto a flank despite trying. However, his first cast of the net succeeded in entangling Asiaticus, who was initially unable to break free. Hanno followed up with an unsuccessful trident attack, following which Asiaticus broke free of the net.
Hanno again used his speed, accepting the fatigue that came with the exertion, and attempted a trident attack on Asiaticus's shielded side. The unmodified result was a "defender knocked down, lose shield" double 5 special event, but Asiaticus felt the hand of Mithras turn the blow aside, as his D6 roll changed from "5" to "1" and he then dodged successfully.
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| The Hand of God: Mithras guides Hanno's trident away from Asiaticus, saving him from a seemingly-certain five wounds. Hanno's abandoned net lies in front of Asiaticus. |
Asiaticus countered with a double attack, driving Hanno back two hexes (push backs for unsuccessful sword and shield bash attacks). Some indecisive exchanges followed, potentially worse for Hanno who was building up fatigue more quickly due to early exertions (using >6 AP). Both began to suffer a few wounds also.
Asiaticus was able to stay in touch with Hanno due to a run of good AP, and he knocked Hanno down in a special event result. Hanno was able to get back up again, but Asiaticus inflicted more wounds, taking Hanno almost to the point of exhaustion. Asiaticus then knocked him down again, in a "double 2" special event, and forced Hanno to submit by standing over him.
Hanno's modified appeal score was 11 and he was granted Missio. Asiaticus left the arena a fervent believer in the power of Mithras.
Asiaticus: lost 2/10, Vincit
Hanno: lost 3/8, Missio
SENEX v FELIX
Senex has the Attack and Stamina skills, and entered the arena with a Strength of 12. Felix has the Attack and Dodge skills and started with a Strength of 10. The experts in the crowd, and the hard men from the various Schools looking on, could quickly see this would be a fight between two gladiators in top form.
Felix came out quite slowly, due to a run of poor AP, and Senex crossed most of the arena to reach him. He moved more cautiously on approach in case the slow movement was a ruse of some kind. Ruse or not it did not seem to work and Senex pounced on Felix's left side, causing 1 wound. Felix then showed his true capabilities. With a high AP score he turned the tables and attacked Senex's shielded flank, causing 7 wounds and taking Senex immediately to "wounded" status.
Senex counterattacked inflicting another wound on Felix, but many in the crowd wondered if maybe the damage had already been done. Felix continued a flurry of double attacks, taking Senex to only 3 Strength, but events showed that although he was "down" he was certainly not "out". He knocked Felix down with a "double 5" special event, and when Felix got up, did exactly the same thing again! Felix got up a second time, but this time Senex skipped around to his rear and caused 4 wounds, taking Felix to "wounded" status also. The crowd were enthralled by this display of courage and expertise by both fighters.
Felix may have been concussed by his two falls. He scored low AP and was not able to turn to face Senex, who pressed a side attack to cause 2 more wounds, then dodged Felix's belated fight back. Both fighters now had only 3 Strength left, and Felix had 1 fatigue.
At this point Senex scored a third "double 5" knockdown of Felix, once again Felix staggered to his feet, while Senex inflicted another wound. Felix's attack was parried and he acquired a 2nd fatigue, he was now on the brink of exhaustion.
Senex changed tactics at this point. He stepped away from Felix and began to try and work to a flank. At first this seemed to be a terrible error, as Felix came to life with a high AP roll and attacked Senex's shielded side. But Senex parried and the resulting extra fatigue tipped Felix into exhaustion. This got worse as Felix desperately tried to keep in touch with Senex in the hope of a single good strike (all it would take to win).
As the more discerning spectators had predicted, in a fight between two fighters so closely matched, it was a small thing that brought on the final result. Senex made an unforced error in movement and Felix, exerting every remaining ounce of Strength, was just barely able to launch one more attack. It was a "double 2" so Senex was floored and forced to submit.
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Felix
corners Senex in a last-gasp effort and wins the fight, against the odds, after
a heroic performance by both fighters.
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Felix corners Senex in a last-gasp effort and wins the fight, against the odds, after a heroic performance by both fighters.
Senex's modified appeal roll was 9, so he was granted Missio but by a surprisingly small margin considering the quality of the fight. Perhaps the voting was influenced by the many who had lost money on the result.
Senex: lost 9/12, Missio
Felix: lost 8/10, Vincit
Interesting that both fights ended with "double 2" special events [defender floored, must submit if the attacker can end his move adjacent]. Maybe this is a special move Quadratus is training his gladiators to use?
Admin stuff: Asiaticus wins 13 gold, and gains an extra skill. His total gold is 50. Senex wins 9 gold, with total gold of 25.
Asiaticus has come a long way from his low point. Religion has been good for him both in and away from the arena. Now that he is no longer alone, and part of the Mithras “brotherhood” within the ludus, the bullying from Quadratus and Bion has dissipated, apart from an occasional menacing stare from Bion. Senex on the other hand, seems to be distracted by other things. Androcles doesn’t know what to make of both gladiators at this stage, at times they show brilliance, and at other times only disappointment.
Senex was quit heavily wounded from his bout, and therefore spent most of his time in recovery. As punishment for his loss, he did not get the privilege of going into the city.
While Senex was recovering, a training session was just completing. Asiaticus was called away by his fellow Mithras brothers to attend a prayer session in a room in the ludus that was an impromptu shrine (a “Mithraeum”). Asiaticus started to follow, but he noticed that Bion and Quadratus were having an animated discussion of some sort away from the other gladiators. Does Asiaticus (1) go to the prayer meeting, or (2), attempt to sneak up to Bion and Quadratus and listen in, while hiding behind a wall?
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