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- The benches around the pit were starting to fill up with men and
- women eager to watch as two fighters battled it out to the
- death. Trask, the pit master, took the list of fighters for the
- evening from his assistant and looked it over. It contained
- five names, not even enough for three bouts.
-
- Trask shook his head sadly. It was getting increasingly
- difficult to find fighters for the pit. The masters of slaves
- who made up the bulk of the pit fighters were becoming less
- willing to send their valuable property into the pit, knowing
- that they stood a good chance of losing their investment. It
- was nearly unheard of for a Freeman to fight in the pits, since
- the fights were always to the death.
-
- He was considering a free-for-all, which meant a very short
- program, when a tall figure wearing a red cloak walked up to
- him. Trask saw that it was a woman, and hoped that she was the
- mistress of a slave who would fill out a three bout card. "Can
- I help you?" he asked.
-
- "Yes, if you are the person who runs this fighting pit. I want
- to enter one of the bouts tonight. Do you have an opening?"
-
- "Yes, there is room for another fighter," replied Trask. "Where
- is the fighter you wish to enter?"
-
- "You don't understand," said the woman. "I am the one who will
- fight."
-
- "Impossible. There are no other women on the program I could
- match you against."
-
- "That is just as well," she said with a smile. "I never fight
- women unless it is two or three against me." She withdrew a
- purse from under the cloak and tossed it to him. "There is
- sufficient cash there for my entry fee, with enough left over
- for a wager. I'll trust you to get the best odds you can for
- me."
-
- "Very well, if you insist on fighting. I hate to take your
- money, though." Trask picked up his pen and asked, "What is
- your name?"
-
- "Tanya," she replied. "When do I fight?"
-
- "That depends. What is your weapon of choice? I'll try to
- match you to someone favoring a similar weapon."
-
- "I prefer no weapon," said Tanya.
-
- "Then you will fight Auric, last on the card. He is the only
- other fighter who wishes to use no weapon."
-
- Tanya nodded and walked to the preparation area. Trask weighed
- the purse and shook his head. "Pity to wager this and lose," he
- thought. "Why should I bet this when Auric's certain to beat
- her?" Trask had seen Auric fight before. He was a huge man
- with many scars all over his body. Trask thought of the woman
- and didn't give her a chance. "I'll just keep the money. She'll
- never know the difference, since she'll be dead." Trask slipped
- the purse into a pocket in his cloak.
-
- The first two matches didn't generate much enthusiasm from the
- crowd, nor much wagering. The first one featured a huge
- northern barbarian named Olav. Olav had long yellow hair
- hanging in a braid down his back. His opponent was a slim,
- swarthy man named Paz. They fought with knives. Olav's size
- was a disadvantage in a knife fight against a skilled opponent.
- Paz used his speed and artistry with a knife to continuously get
- under Olav's guard and deliver damaging cuts to the big man's
- body, weakening him. Paz received a few slight slashes to his
- arms, but they were not enough to slow him down. Paz slipped
- behind Olav and slashed his throat after just ten minutes or so.
-
- In the second, a Teuton named Bjorn, armed with a mace and
- shield, faced an Arab named Achmed, armed with ax and shield.
- The two were equally matched, and each delivered and received
- numerous blows. Finally Bjorn's mace shattered Achmed's shield,
- and the Arab was helpless as the mace descended and crushed his
- skull. Bjorn had to be carried from the pit as well, though,
- and Trask doubted whether he would live through the night.
-
- Fresh sand was spread to absorb the blood. Trask descended to
- the pit to announce the next match. "The final fight of the
- night will be fought without weapons," he called. There was a
- scattering of boos from the patrons. Weaponless fights were
- often long and boring. "Entering the pit first, standing six
- feet four inches tall and weighing two hundred and fifty pounds,
- Auric!"
-
- The huge red-haired man slowly entered the ring. He was a well
- known fighter, and some of the people who had been leaving sat
- back down.
-
- "His opponent, now entering the pit, stands six feet three
- inches tall and weighs two hundred and five pounds." Trask
- checked the paper again, surprised at Tanya's size. She hadn't
- seemed that large, but his assistant assured him that the
- measurements were accurate. "Tanya!"
-
- Tanya entered the pit, her red cloak still covering her from
- head to toe. The bookmakers in the benches groaned as everyone
- descended on them to wager on Auric. Matches between men and
- women were almost unheard of, and never without weapons. No one
- believed Auric would be defeated by a woman without any weapons,
- and they hurried to put their money down. Cries of "Twenty to
- one odds on the woman" were heard, but the long odds didn't faze
- the bettors.
-
- The fighters waited patiently for the hubbub to die down. While
- waiting, Tanya watched her opponent. Thick muscles covered
- Auric's arms and legs. He wore only a breechcloth, which sagged
- under his large belly. He appeared slow and somewhat
- dull-witted. Tanya smiled secretly to herself. She decided
- that her main problem would be preventing Auric from falling on
- her.
-
- Finally the spectators sat down on the benches again. Tanya
- removed her cloak and a collective gasp went up from the
- benches when they saw her body.
-
- Tanya's long auburn hair was braided and gathered tightly on top
- of her head. Long hair could be a liability in the pit, as an
- opponent could use it as a weapon. Tanya stood proudly, showing
- off her broad shoulders and deep chest. Her arms were heavily
- muscled from shoulder to wrist, and her hands were enormous.
- Her thick shoulders and chest tapered to a narrow waist. Hard
- sinew showed clearly at her midsection, which then flared
- quickly into hips and thick legs. Tanya gave the appearance of
- standing on two muscular tree trunks.
-
- Trask gave the signal for the fight to begin. Auric lumbered
- across the pit toward Tanya. His battle plan had always been to
- quickly crush his opponents, ignoring any damage done to him.
- Tanya quickly sidestepped to her left and kicked him with the
- full power of her right leg as he went past. Her foot landed
- just under his ribs. Auric grunted as the kick smashed into his
- side. He stumbled to a halt and turned to face Tanya, holding
- his side. Tanya knew that she had done some damage to Auric,
- perhaps breaking a rib, but it was difficult to tell through the
- meat covering his bones. Auric growled and charged again.
-
- This time Tanya jumped high into the air, the muscles in her
- powerful legs enabling her to vault over Auric's head. She
- tucked into a ball and somersaulted, landing on her feet behind
- the confused man. Auric skidded to a halt and turned to see
- where Tanya had gone. Tanya was ready for him, and punched
- Auric in the belly with enough power to drive him back several
- feet. Auric looked extremely puzzled as he rubbed his stomach
- in pain. The spectators laughed at the expression on his face
- as he regarded the burly woman before him.
-
- Auric decided that he'd better be more careful, since this woman
- had hit him hard twice without suffering a blow in return. He
- moved toward her slowly, waiting for the right time to attack
- again.
-
- Tanya decided not to wait for her slow moving adversary to
- attack. With astonishing speed for such a big woman she leaped
- in and hit him hard in the belly again. Before Auric could
- respond to her attack she spun around him and drove an elbow
- backwards into his kidneys. Auric roared in pain and confusion,
- turning around and grabbing at Tanya, but she was no longer
- within his reach. Auric stood there scratching his head in
- bewilderment.
-
- "What's wrong, you big clumsy ox?" taunted Tanya. "Scared of a
- girl?" Auric bellowed in anger and rushed at her again.
-
- Tanya dropped down and swept her powerful leg across Auric's
- legs, tripping him. The big man dropped to the sand and tumbled
- across the ground until he crashed into the wall of the pit.
- Before he could rise, Tanya was on top of him, wrapping her
- brawny arms around his chest, his head towards her. In an
- incredible demonstration of her raw power, Tanya heaved Auric
- atop her broad shoulders, facing the ceiling, his legs to her
- left and his head to her right. Tanya took some pains to secure
- her hold, setting her right arm behind his head and grasping his
- chin with her hand. Her left arm was between Auric's legs, and
- his right leg was secured by her left hand. Auric waved his
- arms helplessly as Tanya bent him backwards across her
- shoulders. To the excited spectators, it looked like she was
- going to break him in half. To Auric, it felt that way, too.
-
- Seemingly without effort, Tanya walked around the arena holding
- him like a prize across her shoulders. With each step he
- bounced slightly, causing even more stress on his sore back. A
- moan of pain escaped his lips as she pulled down with even more
- force.
-
- "What's wrong, does it hurt?" asked Tanya with mock sympathy in
- her voice. "Well, I'll just put you down, then." Her arms
- swelled to unbelievable proportions as she hefted his bulk even
- higher over her head and then threw him down to the sand.
-
- Auric lay there groaning while Tanya strutted around him. "Come
- on, big man, you're not going to let a little girl beat you, are
- you?"
-
- Auric roared in frustration and lurched to his feet, then
- lumbered toward Tanya again. Tanya met him head on, ducking
- inside his arms and driving her shoulder into his chest. Before
- he could close his arms around her, she smashed him in the belly
- with several hard, fast punches. Auric doubled over and
- stumbled back as Tanya's rock hard fists ripped through the fat
- covering his midsection. Tanya followed him step for step,
- until she had backed him against one wall of the pit. She
- changed her tactics slightly, now driving her big fists into his
- face, opening cuts over both eyes and smashing his nose flat.
- Auric's eyes glazed over and he would have fallen but for the
- wall at his back. Tanya's relentless punches kept smashing into
- his face as he stood there helplessly. Finally she stepped back
- and let him fall face first to the ground.
-
- Tanya nudged him with her foot. "Come on, big man," she
- taunted, "I'm not through with you yet." Auric growled and
- slowly got to his hands and knees in front of her. He looked up
- at Tanya's magnificent body in fear, seeing the way her muscles
- were enhanced by the sweat glistening on them. Tanya decided to
- let him all the way to his feet again, and stepped back a good
- distance.
-
- Auric was barely able to reach his feet. His face was a mess,
- with blood dripping into his eyes and from his broken nose down
- his chin and onto his chest. Tanya beckoned him, and he slowly
- charged at her again.
-
- Tanya spun to her right this time and drove her left foot into
- the side of Auric's left knee as he staggered past. Her foot
- landed with the force of a cannonball, and the sound of Auric's
- knee disintegrating could be heard all through the arena. Auric
- howled in pain as his knee bent in a direction it wasn't meant
- to bend. Tanya knew she had literally blown Auric's knee apart.
- The ligaments and sinews meant to hold it together had
- completely separated. Auric crashed to the floor of the pit as
- his left knee could no longer support his considerable weight.
-
- Tanya circled Auric warily. She knew he could still do some
- damage, and she wanted to be absolutely sure before moving in
- for the kill. Besides, she wasn't satisfied yet with the
- punishment he had suffered. Auric tried to stand, but his left
- knee collapsed again and he fell face down in the sand. As he
- pushed himself back to a sitting position, Tanya attacked like
- lightning. She delivered a piston like kick to his jaw with her
- right foot. Auric dropped to the floor again with the taste of
- blood in his mouth. Tanya reached down with one hand and caught
- Auric by the hair, forcing him to his feet. She then grabbed
- him with one arm over his shoulders and the other between his
- legs and hoisted back him into the air. The muscles in Tanya's
- enormous arms swelled as she brought him up over her head and
- then threw him halfway across the pit.
-
- Auric hit the floor hard. All the breath left his body. He
- moaned in pain as Tanya came over and kicked him lightly in the
- left knee. Tanya drove her foot repeatedly into his side,
- punishing him with powerful kicks and bruising him badly. She
- then settled herself on her knees, legs bestriding his body.
- Auric chortled in triumph as he quickly grabbed her by the
- throat and squeezed.
-
- Tanya realized that Auric could tolerate more pain than she had
- thought. She had been ready to finish him off, but his choke
- hold had surprised her. Tanya expanded her neck muscles in an
- effort to keep her throat open so she could breathe. She then
- reached up and caught Auric's wrists. The sinews in her huge
- forearms expanded as she used all the strength in her hands to
- crush Auric's wrists.
-
- Auric couldn't believe what was happening. Not only was the
- woman not collapsing, she was forcing his hands to open. Tanya
- forced Auric's hands slowly away from her throat and down to the
- floor. She stretched his arms up over his head. Auric tried to
- force her off his chest, but couldn't dislodge her. His frantic
- bridging allowed Tanya to slip her sinewy legs under his body
- and lock her ankles together. Using her legs, Tanya began to
- crush the life from Auric's body.
-
- Auric felt Tanya's legs tighten like a vise around his chest,
- and felt one of his ribs crack. He was unable to draw air into
- his lungs. Incredibly, Tanya increased the pressure and he felt
- another rib crack. Blood appeared on his lips as the rib
- pierced his lung. Tanya increased the pressure of her Herculean
- thighs. Auric's face turned blue and he began to lose
- consciousness. Auric's arms lay limply on the sand, and Tanya
- released her hold on his wrists so she could lean back slightly
- and concentrate all her power in her thighs. Auric's eyes
- rolled back in his head and he lay there senseless.
-
- Tanya released his arms and then unlocked her ankles. She knew
- that the fight wasn't over until Auric was dead. She sat beside
- him and rolled him over so that she was positioned behind him
- with her legs encircling his torso. Tanya wrapped one beefy
- arm around his head, positioned so that her right elbow was just
- under his chin. Slowly she pulled up and back with that arm
- while she twisted his head in the other direction with her left
- arm. Tanya's legs constricted again and she straightened her
- back, stretching Auric's spine. When she felt that Auric's neck
- would stretch no further, she quickly twisted his head back and
- up. Auric's neck snapped with a crack that everyone could hear.
- Tanya released her death grip and pushed Auric's limp body
- away. She got to her feet in one quick motion and stood over
- Auric. Sweat clung to her body, gleaming in the light of the
- torches and highlighting her swelling muscles. Tanya raised
- both arms over head and roared her triumph to the heavens.
-
- Quickly Tanya walked to where her cloak hung and put it on, then
- crossed the floor to Trask. "Where's my money?" she asked.
-
- Trask swallowed hard. "Um, well, here's the winner's purse."
-
- Tanya's eyes narrowed. "Fine, but where are the winnings for
- the wagers you placed for me? I heard that the bookmakers were
- giving odds of twenty to one. I should have quite a bit of
- money coming." She stepped closer and doubled her big fist
- under Trask's nose. "Where the hell is it?"
-
- "Um, er, I never wagered the money." Trask took a step back as
- Tanya's eyes turned even colder. "I figured you didn't stand a
- chance, so why throw the money away?"
-
- Before Trask could get away Tanya had caught him by the shirt
- and lifted him off the floor. Her face was only inches from
- his, and he saw his death in her eyes. "You owe me twenty times
- what was in my purse, little man," she growled. "I'd like to
- collect. If I don't get the money I'll take it out of your
- hide, you miserable worm."
-
- "I don't have that kind of money," Trask squeaked.
-
- "Then what do you have that has any value?"
-
- "I'll give you every cent I own."
-
- "That's not good enough, scum. I want what I have coming."
-
- "All I own is this pit," he mumbled.
-
- Tanya scowled and lifted him a bit higher. "Very well, I want
- half interest in this pit. We'll be partners." Her expression
- turned even colder. "And I expect to make money. I'll even
- fight once in a while. If I ever lose, you'll get to keep it
- all. The novelty of a woman fighting men should draw in the
- customers pretty well."
-
- continued ............
-
- --