Chapter Five

It was utter chaos within the stronghold of the Bone Hunters.

Tools and weapons were thrown in every direction as the savages bickered over what belonged to whom. Every Bone Hunter in the desert was present, and overlooking it all were Fero and Tiibur, the two mightiest hunters of them all.

The road here had been long and difficult. Of all Bara Magna’s tribes, the Bone Hunters were the most loosely-organized—if they could even be considered a tribe. Having been bred long ago to be a fiercely independent cavalry, it was no surprise that around the time of the Shattering they broke away from the larger rock tribe. While the Skrall force occupying Bara Magna in the Core War headed north just prior to the Shattering, the Bone Hunters chose to remain present in the desert, a land they increasingly considered home. As masters of the feared Rock Steeds, they were a powerful enough force that they could hold their own against the Vorox in their own land.

Still, this did not mean that they were especially unified in their organization. Although they operated out of the same stronghold, the riders tended to come and go as they pleased, rarely coordinated in their operations or raids. So long as they regularly brought back bounty, it didn’t matter where they roamed.

For many millennia, the Bone Hunters were little more than a passing threat to the Agori, overshadowed by the various Vorox tribes, regional predators, or even the desert itself. A caravan may go missing here or there, but so long as most of it remained intact, all was fine.

Then, not long after Tuma led the Skrall into Bara Magna, and quite soon even after the exile named Malum began working to unite the Vorox tribes, major information began leaking to the Bone Hunters—confidential details about caravans traveling between villages bearing the fruits of major arena victories. Most of the Bone Hunters were skeptical about this information and doubted its authenticity.

But then, on a whim Tiibur took a band of loyal Bone Hunters and scouted out a region where one such rumor alleged a caravan would be passing. Sure enough, the caravan was exactly as described. The Bone Hunters attacked at once, and the victory had been sweet.

Seeing his success, the Bone Hunters began warming to this information, and actively began seeking it out. Sometimes they would target wandering Agori and interrogate them for information. Other times, Tuma would sell information to them via messengers. Still other times, an individual from among the Agori ranks would come to them with treacherous details on the next major caravan. Slowly the Bone Hunters became more surgical in their attacks… and what was once a loose band of bandits was a ruthless mercenary group.

“Oh, Tajun,” Fero smiled, examining some Glatorian’s chain mace. “You give such wonderful donations to our cause.”

“Why Tajun, though?” Tiibur mused. “So much of our information concerns the infrastructure of Tajun. Why?”

“What does it matter?” Fero shrugged. “Bounty is bounty. And we are the hunters.”

“He is right. It does matter.”

The Bone Hunters whirled, startled. Standing in the door of their inner stronghold was an Agori from outside their tribe.

“What are you doing here?” snarled Fero. “And how did you get past the guards?”

“You underestimate how easily bought you all are,” the traitor responded. “And how many treasures I have to offer. I have collected much over my years in this desert.”

“So what is this?” Tiibur asked. “What do you get out of our attacks on your people?”

“I get the pleasure of seeing a good match.”

Tiibur strode forward.

“The villages aren’t stupid. The Bone Hunters have risen to become the very thing every village fears the most. Once they figure out what’s going on, they’ll—”

“They’ll—what? Declare war? War is the very thing they’ve feared since the Shattering itself. No, they won’t stomp you out.”

The traitor smiled reflexively.

“They’ll be a little preoccupied with what’s still to come.”

✴        ✴        ✴

In Tajun, acting village elder, Vapius surveyed the remnants of the attack in utter devastation. The reconnaissance team had only managed to recover two jugs' worth of clean water, a basket of fruit that had been thrown into the sand in the chaos, and some shattered pieces of Exsidian.

And what was missing—everything Tajun had won from Iconox in the last season’s winning streak.

After merciless Bone Hunter attacks at every opportunity, the village was on the brink of oblivion. The settlement had once been the wealthiest in Bara Magna, owing to its finesse in trade and the skill of its Glatorian. But even as the Bone Hunters had organized themselves into a legitimate threat to civilization, their attacks seemed directed almost exclusively against Tajun. None could tell why, although there were hushed rumors floating around of a traitor among the Agori ranks.

Regardless, no matter the cause, Tajun had lost nearly all of its collected wealth. Many of its villagers were even on the cusp of starvation. To hear that Iconox was planning to ship all of its concessions in one fell swoop was a joyous announcement.

…until the Bone Hunters struck.

“Let me ride out there, Vapius,” the Glatorian, Kiina, insisted. “Let me lead the village's Glatorian out there and weed out the Bone Hunters. We will pull them out at the roots.”

“Don’t be absurd,” Vapius hissed through his teeth. “Leaving the village vulnerable? That is exactly what the Bone Hunters want.”

“Then what?!” Kiina snapped. “What would you have us do?”

“We do not have the strength now to do this ourselves. We will have to rely on the other villages.”

“We—what? You mean unite with them?”

“No, no, no,” Vapius shook his head. “Don’t be silly. At present we do not have the strength to take them on ourselves… so we must hire mercenaries. After the Great Tournament is over, we will challenge the other villages for their warriors. Once we have gleaned a sufficient force of mercenaries, we will send them out to root out the bandits themselves.”

There was no response. Surprised, Vapius turned to look at Kiina.

The Glatorian was shaking her head.

“That’s completely absurd,” she uttered. “Are you insane?”

“Kiina—”

“No.” Kiina exploded, storming off. “Maybe it’s too much to ask the Agori to humble themselves and work together. But by Solis Magna, the Glatorian take care of their own.”

As Vapius watched Kiina go, his worries about the loss of the caravan were momentarily forgotten as he marveled at her threat. Once upon a time, Glatorian organized themselves into armies and slaughtered each other on behalf of the Agori of their tribe. Now the same Glatorian neared a crossroads that might test that very loyalty.

✴        ✴        ✴

In the dugout of the Iconox arena, Gresh and Strakk looked on as Tarix and Gelu battered away at each other. Tarix seemed to be in particularly bad shape, and Gelu was especially unenthusiastic about his task.

“I have never seen Tarix fight with such aggression,” Gresh remarked softly. “He is always so measured, so well-paced. But this…”

“He has had to come to terms with the grief of his village. Fighting is how he copes,” Strakk explained. “But he must do so while so much hinges on this very fight. If he cannot secure a portion of Iconox’s water supply for Tajun…”

“I know,” Gresh said softly.

“Still,” Strakk shrugged. “He’s always been adaptable. He’ll recover, as will Tajun hopefully. He just needs time.”

“I don’t suppose Iconox would just be willing to grant Tajun the water out of compassion?”

Strakk snorted, chuckling softly.

“They considered it… and rejected it. But that isn’t the half of it.”

“Oh?”

“The caravan was bound for Tajun, right? Well, Gelu, he knew Bone Hunters have been circling Tajun like Dust Vultures. Just waiting for the kill. And Gelu offered to escort the caravan south. Don’t tell anyone this, but he’s been thinking about hanging up his Ice Slicer for a while now, and he’s just been getting fed up. So he offered Jagrii to personally escort the caravan south, and for half the going rate of a bodyguard. But Jagrii turned him down.”

“What?! Why?”

Strakk smiled thinly.

“Too expensive. You can’t expect a village to cough up concessions as well as the price of an escort, regardless of how cheap he’s offering. But there’s rumblings that that may be changing. Iconox now owes Vulcanus a shipment of Exsidian, and they’re thinking about hoodwinking some Iconox Glatorian to walk it along this new path of theirs through the Black Spikes. Supposed to be safer, but everyone knows it’s not.”

Gresh rubbed his face with his hand. “This whole situation is unbelievable.”

Strakk exhaled.

“Nothing to be done.”

“Wait a minute,” Gresh said, suddenly turning. “Maybe there is. We can at least try.”

“Try what?”

“Right before the final match of the Great Tournament, on the last day of fighting—get all the Glatorian together and force the villages to work together.”

Strakk snorted.

“You’re not the first to have that idea. But it’s a pipe dream at best.”

Gresh shook his head.

“I’m going to do it. With the Bone Hunters and the Vorox, we can’t afford to wait any longer.”