The more Milo learned about Mako and the rules for his upcoming match, the more he saw the cage as a trap. He was playing by Scavenger Rules, and he hadn't read the rulebook. Was there even a rulebook? Probably, but written in four dialects of dwarvish with a different version in each clan.
No potions and no spells meant no healing during the match. But he still had his regeneration, and nothing had been said about casting spells before the match. Was that an oversight? Or was it something the dwarven Scavengers didn't think about since so few of them were spellcasters? He shelved the thought until later. Not enough information and he had other things to think about.
He knew he was faster than Mako and more agile. She moved as if she expected anything else in the world to move out of her way and he'd seen her fight with the group of players. She could take blows and hit hard. He didn't relish taking a thrust to his chest the way she'd finished off one of the players. Dodging and blocking were essential, and waiting for a chance to hit back when she couldn't hit him back. It was much like fighting Larry, or even Charlotte after her change. As scary as Charlotte had been to fight, he hadn't been in such an enclosed space, and he could use his spells.
As he was pondering this, Bleusnout and Brutus came to talk to him. Brutus wasted no time in giving him the bad news, "I've been talking with people. This person you were so silly to get into a fight with is a bad one. The only reason your Engineer buddies haven't grabbed you and gotten you out of here is that they think too highly of you and are sure you had this all planned out. She's known to be tough as hell and she fought for most of her early life as a gladiator. Don't give her a chance, cause she sure as hell won't give you one."
"I had some of it planned out, maybe. But not a duel in a cage. Who thinks up stuff like this?"
Brutus thought for a moment, "Hmmm, dwarves, goblins, orcs are all found of them. Ogres too, but they get to eat the loser. And humans will copy off everyone else. Do you have some clever plan to beat her?"
Milo shrugged, "How I always fight. Try not to get hit, run around a lot, and hit back when I can. It's easier in a war, more options.
Bleusnout handed him a small bag. "So we thought. Treat this like a war. Your opponent will have advantages you don't even know about, so accept this small bag of medicinal cheese. You look a little pale and I'm proscribing it to you. It isn't a potion. It's cheese."
Milo looks at the four pieces of Battle Cheese. They smelled delicious. But..."That's a lot of cheese, and I've had cheese recently while playing cards."
Bleusnout patted him on the shoulder, "You're cautious, that's good. But I think you'll need these. Take the aged Goulda at the start of the match to give you speed and dull pain. The other three will provide healing, kickstart your regeneration, and stop any bleeding. If you need to use them, don't hesitate. Fighting and injuries will force your body to use up its reserves of cheese and keep you in the safe zone."
Milo looked at the two of them. "Thanks, I appreciate it. I think I'd better get ready."
"Indeed. The crowd is restless. And we will be there with you. I've been told that you may have two associates 'In your corner.' Brutus and I have volunteered."
Ten minutes later, Professor Tallsqueak walked down the stairs, dressed for a fight. His heavy robe had been exchanged for a shorter hooded shirt with a face covering. Mako, on the other hand, had stripped down to comfortable pants, heavy boots, and a sleeveless leather shirt that showed off her collection of tattoos on her muscled arms. She raised her arms and cheered for the crowd. Tallsqueak walked to where Captain Cuda was waiting. Mako sneered and came over.
"Ready for your beating, Professor?"
"Certainly, Captain, but first, I have a rules clarification. You mentioned 'no beard pulling'. I have to ask, does it say anywhere in those rules that 'tail pulling' is allowed? It is an equally terrible offense."
Captain Cuda scratched her head, "No, I don't think the rules mention tails."
The Professor smiled, "Then, if nowhere in your extensive rulebook does it allow tail pulling, then we must conclude that both tails and beards are off limits."
Mako was trying to work through the statement, "Now, wait a minute...."
Captain Cuda held up a hand. "I agree with the Professor. Nothing says you can, and since he doesn't have a beard and you don't have a tail, that seems fair."
Mako pretended not to care, "Whatever, I was planning on cutting it off for a trophy, not pulling it. But that can wait until after I pound you into the ground."
Cuda looked at the two of them, "Ready to fight then?"
Tallsqueak saw that Mako was more wary now. Her charges weren't all out, more of a dogged pursuit. He was spending a lot of time running from her, bouncing off the walls, and staying ahead of her. He managed to tag Mako twice more, a hit with Shadowblight to the knee that made her curse, and a slash on her arm that left red scratches and nothing more. Round and round they went, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Cuda pick up the hammer for the little bell next to the hourglass. With only a few seconds left he charged Mako from the front, surprising her and bringing down Shadowblight onto her shoulder in a two-handed swing. Mako cursed and grabbed him by the throat with one hand, gleefully bringing up her cutlass.
With a loud 'Ding' the round ended. Milo looked at the Scavenger Captain and grinned, "How fortuitous, I lived through the first round."
Captain Cuda yelled at Mako, "Drop him and get to your corner, both fighters have one minute. No spells, no potions, and nothing enters the ring other than refreshments."
Milo sat on the small stool Brutus put out, and caught his breath. "You're right, she's tough. I'm going to have to work hard to hurt her. I'm burning stamina running around. She's not even sweating."
Brutus grinned, "But she's not walking so good. You hurt her some and she's green around the gills."
"Oh, I poisoned her three times with Noble Spider Venom from my spikey stick."
Bleusnout was staring hard at Mako, "Her wounds are healing! What did they hand to her?" He yelled to Captain Cuda, "I protest, Mako is using a healing potion!"
Cuda snarled and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from Makko, who didn't seem concerned, then handed it back. "All legal, refreshments need to be at least 70% of what's on the label by volume. A little 'pick-me-up' is legal in the rules. It still counts as whiskey."
The Chef scowled, "I don't like these rules, but who am I to accuse anyone of cheating? Here, eat this cheese!"
Milo took the piece of aged Limburger and popped it into his mouth. It tasted like heaven and he saw his stamina going back up." The bell rang and the next round started with a bang. Literally.
Brutus and Bleusnout dove for cover and Milo leaped for the ceiling as Mak threw a grenade into his corner. His leap saved him, but he was bleeding in three places. He held on to the top of the cage but Mako had another bomb of some sort coming his way. He dropped into its path and swung his weapon at it, returning it to Mako. The bomb blew up in her face and Milo took more damage, closer than he had been to the first bomb.
And he was close to Mako. He swung hard for the knee he'd hit before, putting a spike into her. Shadowblight was out of poison for the day, but Sundering was limited only by his stamina, and with the Limburger coursing through his veins he felt like running a marathon. Mako screamed in pain and brought her cutlass around in a horizontal arc aiming for Milo's head. He blocked with his other arm, taking the blow on his armored forearm. The armor cracked, sending a lance of pain up his arm and he was knocked away into the side of the cage.
Mako nailed him in his unarmored stomach with a hard kick and brought her cutlass up, only to be smacked by a hard tail slap to the face that cracked like a whip. Her nose broke and she took a step back, Milo rolled and put some distance between them.
"Fething tails! Shouldn't be legal to have an extra limb."
Cuda disagreed, "Neither the Lizard tribes nor the Kobold clans would hold matches if we excluded tails. Ratkin should fall into the same category. Rules are Rules."
Mako was shocked that she had taken damage. Granted, the hit caught her right in the face and she hadn't dodged. She snuck a look at her stats and saw her blessing had faded and she was down to only 300 mitigation. The Professor was cheating somehow, or using a cursed weapon. She felt broken inside, especially her face and left knee. It was time to play dirty.
Brutus yelled out, "Hey, bombs are legal? I want a ruling."
Captain Cuda shrugged, "Bombs are legal as long as they don't use cataclysmite. And they have to be carried on a belt or in a storage ring. Can't expect a Captain to not have a few extra bombs lying around. It's all good clean fun."
The short respite ended for Milo as Makko pointed her sword at him and yelled, "Fire in the hole!" A jet of flames seared the air between them, and he only half dodged, taking hundreds of points of fire damage. Milo rolled across the floor, then did nothing but dodge as Mako aimed two more Bolts of Flame at him. As the sword sputtered and went out, the round ended. Milo crawled to the corner where Brutus dumped water on his smoldering fur and Bleusnout handed him another piece of cheese.
The referee anticipated Brutus as he stood up, "All legal. That's an enchanted weapon with a Pyromancer Rune. Not a spell, just a triggered rune with limited charges."
Brutus started to say more, but The Professor held up a hand. "That's fine, just good clean fun. Hit that bell."