Dalt on weapons

A

Before bed Dalt tells everyone the next day to come to breakfast ready for an expedition. All the weapons, explosives, magics they would need for a challenging assault.

The next day they find their way to the mess area and find a table for each of them. On the table is a plate with a burrito like thing 18" long. and a thick burrito.

With dalt is a striking woman. She wears black denim an a thick padded shirt under a Front Warrior Harness. She watches carefully.

Dalt says " the burrito before you will be standard rations two meals a day for 6 days a week for awhile. 1 day a week we will eat in a local restaurant and you just never know. While you will learn to fight here our main job is to gauge the locals for whatever catches our attention. That's what Benedict is paying me for and the school is a good cover.

This is a common dish. It is mainly pear and beef in strips 18" long. marinated in an onion and pepper stuff. Rolled into the Unsat leaves. Unsat leaves do not burn. The logs are put in a hot part of the pit, turned occasionally, after a couple hours, served up. I quite like them. Sit and eat. But first unload onto the table every weapon you brought, from machine guns to paring knives. Armor too. strip it all down then eat. Kareeena here will be bringing out a breakfast beer. Mostly beer and OJ.”

He watches them peel weaponry of every description. Knives, swords, runs, riffles, grenades, and other things into piles on their table. On top the put body armor for all over the body.

“Go ahead and eat. Regard your weaponry.” Karineeena and Dalt talk a table and eat as well.

B

In time Dalt rises and sits on his table. “What you put on the table made you formidable warriors. Add to them your magics. But they don't make you good fighters. Dependence on weaponry leaves one vulnerable if stripped of it. Notice how most of you ranked as Warriors. To activate your fighting status you need to have 32 fights recorded by a Fight Referee. I have a friend who will be coming to over see your fights. He will be here in 3 days. You will fight each other.

“Warrior fights use blunt wood weapons made of various woods. Many Grade Warriors fights use them too. In many of the Warrior fight clubs they limit to wood weapons too. “ He pulls out basically SCA weapons.

“Above Grade Warrior you'll use blunted steel weapons. They are balance to edged weapons which you wont use till upper gladiator fights.” He passes around blunted swords.

Maces and cudgels and staffs and other weapons are legal but in this school we will be using broad and long swords. Shields are allowed. We will be using 24” round steel rimmed shields with the Ludus Daltus symbol. Before you fight in public clubs you will develop a Fight Bag.”

“Three more things and I'll let you get back to eating. You will wear a metal codpiece under your trousers. Believe me you want them. Secondly. Helms. There is a long store about helms but that is for another time. And helm policy differs from place to place. But here, for all ranks and all field modes, the helms are utilitarian. Some venues will want you to wear their helms. But you'll have a couple in your bag. Ages ago they found allowing helms to be a personal item lead to them be ostentatious and decorated and issues arose over expensive helms being targeted and it goes on and on. So from Gesheka, to Gusduideam, to the Dramaturge to here, most helms are a general, undercoated munitions grade helm.”

“Lastly. Until you rank as gladiators, for the most part in public arenas and clubs, you will fight under the Honor Rule. Fights are refereed but the choice to accept a killing blow is yours. Get a reputation for hitting hard and taking light and your reputation will prosper. I have a small staff, and you'll meet them, who will over see getting you into clubs to fight as often as you want. 3 billings a day is good but ambitious. “

“To advance in rank you Lodge a Request for Observation. You will then fight someone in the grade you want to advance to. Sometimes several of them. You must win 10 out of 15 fights to advance. Its a trade off. There is a lot of money and a lot of reputation in fighting a long time in one rank. Becoming one of the best in that rank. But eventually others will call for you to advance and if you decline too long, the reputation goes away.”

“I don't expect you to be here long enough for you to rise more then a few ranks. That will be up to each of you. All I ask is fight the 32 to activate your card then pitch in and fight around here. Mine is a strange school. I won't run tight discipline but I won't accept rudeness. Ask anything but take no as and answer. Now, finish your meal. We will do construction in the morning and drill just before midday rest. After that we fight.”

He turns and sits, Picks up a chunk with a unsat leaf and continues to eat. He and Kareeena speak softly.

c

After breakfast Dalt takes the group to the front wall. It is a crumbled mess.

“This wall consists of several parts. Theses big rectangular block are outer and inner bricks. Stack them continuing the pattern already there. Ever few feet put in the gravel. And pour in water with that green fluid in it. It causes a vine to grow in the gaps till it fills ever tiny space. When the bricks get to 12' tall its done A construction mage will lock the bricks together. Then you seal it with stucco. The vine comes and makes the green topping you see everywhere. I am using a berry vine. It will top it with thick raspberry crops. Eat them any time. You won't finish for a few days. Just keep at it. I have a Pluming mage coming into day to make sure the baths work. After fighting, and dinner the evening is yours. But I suggest cleaning the attics so your sleeping chambers are ready for real bedding. At some time we will build gables and patios for air flow.”

“I decided not to make you folks do some of the construction work we need done. We have 3 merchants and their buildings and backyards need more work then I anticipated. By the way, buy from them. This back yard is filled with trees and we have access to it. Shade is good on the weird planet. The potter is Jaslika Dara Tra. She does good custom work but bed pans and kitchenware is her stock in trade. I am having two great kilns built for her. She is willing to teach you all potter.”

“Want a shack? Budi Daka is a vegetable merchant. He has a few farms out in the districts. We may escort his wagons if there is more trouble with brigands. All part of the adventure. “

“Last is Lokatani. He is a leather worker. Makes belts and pouches and packs. He will probably tan animals occasional but usually he buys his leather. But some exotics he want to be sure of quality.”

“ We may build two merchant stalls on the wall size. Small ones. They are good revenue and not having merchant space in a compound like this would be suspicious. If any of you have a trade lets take about using the space.”

He walks to a table with pitchers of blue liquid. “This is ice water with a potion called Dasa. It deadens the muscles and gives you every. Tastes like mint. If it starts tasting like wet goat stop drinking it. Chug a glass and get to work. “

He goes off as several construction people show up and they go over plans. He lays out bags of gold and they count it. Satisfied they get to work on the baths.

The work is hard but not backbreaking. The Dasa is tasty and does seem to dull the muscles but not the mind. After several hours it is approaching noon and the wall, with the framed out new gate is about 4' tall.

Across the street the evicted punks are mocking the ludus members. They are drinking, and smoking and laughing. Little do they know what danger they are in.

d

Lunch is a collection of nuts coated in a light candy topping. Some maple, some spicy. Some hella spicy. With the bananas, and pear like chunks probably from the same pear in the burrito. Ice water is available.

Moving to the fighting area Karineeena pairs everyone off except curious. He is in his human form. Dalt comes and faces off against him.

Karineeena leads the group in drill. Katas, with the wooden weapons. She speeds it up from time to time. She teaches 5 main katas and tells everyone to memorize them.

“Training pells are being installed but the wall needs to be done first and the mess of tiles needs to be replaced. Tile work you will do. Dalt and I will install the 4 pells.

The day progresses and the goat taste comes.

Dalt comes over. “Use cleaning spells today. By tomorrow the bath house will be done. It has a hot pool, kept at about 105 or so. A cold plunge kept at 40 degrees, and a lounging pool. Its cramped but its that it is. There are three attendants on duty all the time. No molesting them. There is oil and sand and they can scrape you clean. You will probably spend a lot of time there. Oh right. There is a steam room. The fires are in a alcove next to it. The fires are shared with the kitchen that cooks everything including assembling the burritos. They make lots of breads that we sell through the vegetable merchant. But if you are hungry, talk to our cook, Sanna. She can help with that within reason.

Karineeena takes you all to the locker room. It has places for helms and weapon storage. There are stacks of locked knocked over and abused.

“Clean this place u. Set the lockers up. Stack the equipment. Get your gear for fighting here each day. This should take more then 15 minutes. Use clean spells. Then come out to dinner.

e

Dinner is another burrito. There are more dipping sauces as kitchen staff have been getting their act together all this first day.

Despite the Dasa, exhaustion is setting in. Rafe will have to decide if a couple more house of labor working on the attic sleep space is worth it. At least its just clearing junk furniture out. Dalt says toss the junk into the back parking lot or use any of it you want. It was probably a century of previous tenants tossing stuff up there.

f

That evening a man comes wearing a Scale gladiators harness. Dalt hmmms and says to Rafe and a couple he is sitting with, “That a LGA official. You can tell by the cloth harness. No respectable active gladiator would wear cloth except to a funeral.” Dalt stands and walks over. They speak for a few minutes and he looks pissed.

The man leaves and dalt speaks to Karineeena for a couple minutes. Dalt calls everyone together.

“Plans change for tomorrow morning. The Warrior Core has suspended my rank. I was here almost a thousand years ago and by all laws of the core my Rank was still valid. But back in the day I won a dozen championships and refused to screen for gladiator. The money was better fighting as a Rank Warrior. None of them could really touch me. But now that reputation has crawled out to bite me. The Warrior Core has suspended my card. The Lord Gladiator's Association has invited me to an open screening. That means I can screen for what ever rank I deem suitable.”

“So tomorrow morning in the main arena, during training hours, I can fight for a Gladiator's rank or my School's writ will be suspended. Dirty fucks. I looked. There are 8 Lords of the Games I beat as Rank Warriors. Now they are among the high and mighty. Lovely to have old enemies around. Keep your war toys handy. If they attack the Ludus its not an arena fight. “

He walks away angrily. Rafe can follow him if he wishes