Garret's aid had been invaluable, though Gidian would never thank him for it. Garret quickly took the attention of one of Gidian's assailants, easing the pressure they had been putting on Gidian.
Garret came in, feinting an overhead strike on the warrior on Gidian's right. The warrior immediately raised his shield to block the overhead blow. Gidian, sensing what was about to happen, feinted an attack on the warrior on his left's legs. The man stooped a little, lowering his shield to block the attack. But, at that moment, both Gidian and Garret changed directions and targets.
Garret moved around behind Gidian, bringing his sword down hard on the unsuspecting enemy's head. The forced of the blow bent the warrior's knees, as he had been suspecting an attack from below, and his head bent downwards. Garret kept pushing the man's head down, bringing his knee up to meet it. There was a crack as the knee broke important parts of the warrior's face.
Gidian turned his feint into a vicious upward blow, following through under the other warrior's exposed guard and breaking his jaw in the process. The blow jarred Gidian's arm a bit, and the warrior lifted to his tip toes before falling backwards like a ton of poorly stacked bricks.
Garret was soon occupied with another enemy, but Gidian trusted he could handle him. Another situation had developed. Belzebub was fending off two warriors, which wasn't the problem. Nathan had shot one of them in the eye, and though the arrow had been blunt, it still penetrated the soft tissue. That wasn't a problem either. The problem was that he'd charged forward like a madman, and fought as if it was the first day he'd ever seen real combat. He put too much force into his ineffectual attacks, and fell into a pattern. The warrior, not being stupid, quickly took advantage. Nathan was blocking the shots of his own archers, and Gidian and Garret weren't going to make it in time.
So instead, Belzebub finished his remaining opponent off, and then Nathan's within the space of about five seconds. It was abrupt and brutal, the orc using the flat top of his axe to parry the first opponent's slash, then bringing the handle around with enough force to knock him out. Then Belzebub slid his fingers down the handle of his axe as he pulled his body back for a swing. He tightened his grip on the handle as his hands fell into the right place, and, without missing a beat, swung the axe around full force into the last remaining warrior's helmeted head. The force of it shattered the already damaged handle of the axe, but it knocked the man out cold with a deafening crack and a slight clang.
And with that, the evaluations were over. The crowd, amused by the violence, cheered. They especially cheered for Belzebub, who had given them a spectacular finish. It was clear who would be the crowd favorite. They all mocked Nathan for needing saving.
"He shoulda' stuck with what e' was good at, hidin' behind the REAL warriors!" One called.
Gidian did not care much for the relatively small crowd. He cared about the evaluators. They were all glaring at Garret, who had blood on his weapons. Gidian looked to the dead man, a nord, unphased by the killing. Gidian was used to violence, and he would not have hesitated to kill had it become relevant.
The lead evaluator stood with a sarcastic applause, and the crowd got silent as they noticed. "Yes, a fine show." He gave Garret a meaningful look, then signaled the guards. Apparently having this planned beforehand, the guards immediately brandished their weapons and disarmed Gidian and the rest of the contestants. At the lead evaluator's request, they were rough with Garret. "That one will have to learn that to wait for the command." Gidian gave up his weapons without a fuss, then watched, amused, as they gave Belzebub sideways looks. One of them at to step up to Belzebub and pick up the axehead that was now on the ground, and he was obviously afraid. Probably a new guard. The rest got the crowd out of the room.
After all the weapons were taken, some of the guards herded Gidian and the rest each before one of the unconscious warriors whom they had fought earlier, excepting Garret, who had already killed one. All of the guards in the room trained ranged weapons and formed a formation around the group. Then an elite guard gave set a sword of execution down before each of them, once again excepting Garret. The weapons were a distance from them, so that if any of them suddenly rushed forward to grab one, the guards would have plenty of time to shoot them.
"You have all, excepting that idiot," the lead evaluator pointed out Garret, "Done extremely well." He looked at Maere. "You have waited for our command to kill. Something most... candidates don't take the time for when we bring them in here. This," he pointed again at Garret, "is just a taste of what will happen to those who fail to comply with this one small detail." The elite guard, distinguished by his armour, approached Garret. Two other guards came up behind Garret, and restrained him by his arms. All of the guards in the room were alert and ready to kill anyone who stepped out of line. This was a test.
The elite guard then shocked Garret with an excruciating amount of electricity, and it revealed the fact that most if not all of the elite guards were probably capable of magic. Garret stifled any cry of pain, his training as a thief keeping him from uttering a involuntary noises. Gidian heard some of the others cry out in alarm, or protest, but the lead evaluator only smiled. Gidian's fists tightened. This went on for a several long moments, which seemed to drag on for eternity, before the lead evaluator finally signaled enough.
The elite guard's expression was unreadable behind his helmet, and his armour covered every inch of his body. Gidian would not be able to distinguish any part of him to note him for later. So instead, Gidian memorized every detail of the lead evaluator he could. He was possibly in his early forties, clearly old. His belly was round, meaning he ate well. His clothes were fine, so he was probably rich too. He had gray and brown hair, and cruel green eyes. His nose was narrow and pointed, and his cheeks fat. His eyes were set a little deep in his head, so his brow protruded slightly. His chin was not prominent, though it was rounded and pointed slightly forward. There was nothing really special or handsome about him that Gidian could perceive. He was simply a cruel man who was comfortable being controlled by someone who sat in a seat above him.
"Now. Take a blade, and kill the men in front of you... on command of course." The evaluator said with a cruel and patronizing smile.
Gidian picked up his blade and glared at the lead evaluator, giving him a look that made the smile disappear from his face, and that could've made a sabre cat run for cover. He had every intention of giving the man he was to execute a swift and clean death, but before the evaluator ordered it. Any notion of resistance other than that would mean certain death of him an his family if and when Skadi perished. It was the only way he could think to spite them, and it was evident the punishment would not be death. Or at least if this wasn't a direct insult to the evaluator. He did not think it through to a rational extent, and Skadi, sensing what he was about to do, grabbed his arm and stopped him, shaking her head. She looked down at her own sword as if it were a poisonous thing about to bite her, not quite having the will to even reach for it.
The lead evaluator, sensing that he once again had control, and Gidian would be no threat, gave Skadi an amused look, then waited for the others to prepare themselves in their various fashions, and to make their decision. If they refused, they would of course fail the evaluations, which would not be good for their health. The punishment was rather unique, though they would have no way of knowing what it was. As some of the group began to look as if they were going to refuse, he smiled again with a knowing look. He was quite smug.
Gidian silently willed Skadi to pick up the sword. He could not afford her to refuse, as the consequences would extend beyond her. Eventually, to his relief, she did. She moved slowly, and looked quite pale, though the expression on her face remained determined, trying to be braver than she felt. It was a poor imitation, as she looked more like she was going to very sick, and also as if she were remembering something very unpleasant.
After the others had prepared themselves in their various fashions, and took up their weapons and waited for the order, the evaluator once again smiled smugly. He was in no hurry as he raised his hand, withholding the signal to finish it as he did so. He let the moment drag on for several long minutes, trying to make the moment more dramatic for an imaginary crowd only he could see. The evaluator examined the looks of the group, seeing if his letting the moment drag on was having some sort of impact on them, seeing if he was going to get a rise out of any of them. Seeing that he was not, and instead would get only glares of outrage and determination, he discarded his hand signal and waved his hand disdainfully. "Be done with it already."
Gidian put a quick and clean end to the man that lay at his feet, trying not to think of whether the man might've had a life outside of the arena. He then looked to Skadi, wondering if she even knew a way to kill a person quickly and cleanly. To his surprise, she did. She mimicked Gidian's execution almost perfectly, mirroring him, and then threw the sword away. Gidian looked to his weapon, weighing whether it would do him any good to keep it, before coming to the conclusion it would do no good and tossing his own sword as well.
