The Covid Games - 6

Catherine went into the sixth round of our gladiator campaign as the top lanista, so was obliged to put her best gladiator forward as the star turn. So, once gain, we would be seeing the hoplite Danaos fighting in the arena.

The rest of the draw saw the following matchups, in order - the whip-armed Rodan (me) vs the dimacherius Severus (Tertius), followed by the myrmillo Hero (Catherine) against the thraex Bremusa (Tertius) and finally the hoplite Danaos (Catherine) vs the thraex Flamma (me).

Neither of the opening gladiators had any skills; this was a straight fight between a couple of novices.

Rodan kept his distance for the first part of the fight, looking to use his whip to gain an opening. He did so, knocking one of Severus's swords away from him. He closed to follow up his advantage, but failed to injure the dimacherius.

Severus rushed to recover his sword, whilst Rodan held off and continued to use his whip.

All this maneuver was tiring both gladiators, affecting Rodan's ability to evade attacks. Severus steeled himself, and rushed in close, pressing Rodan hard for a couple of turns. The combination of light wounds and fatigue forced the whip-armed gladiator to submit. The crowd spared him; the fight had been short but technically interesting, and they felt entertained.

This saw Tertius gain some prestige and Severus a skill.

The crowd now settled down to a classic matchup, as the myrmillo Hero took on the thraex Bremusa in a classic big-shield/small-shield fight. Both gladiators has some experience (Hero's prior to the campaign, if you're wondering how you hadn't seen him before).

Hero rushed into an immediate attack, and pretty much set the tone for the bout, driving Bremusa back.

She couldn't get an opening, as he pushed her back to the wall of the arena. At one point he knocked her shield away from her, and she spent an anxious few moments dodging his attacks to recover it.

The referee moved in to ensure there was no foul play, as Hero attacked again and again and Bremusa failed to find her way past his guard.

Bremusa was wounded twice, but it was fatigue that saw her stumble and eventually submit. Once again the crowd were merciful. Catherine gained a point of Prestige for her win and, because Hero and Bremusa were equally matched on skills, gave Hero another skill.

And so on to the top fight on that day's programme; Danaos vs Flamma. Danaos was far more experienced; it was his name that had given the fight its prestige. Meanwhile Flamma was an unskilled and inexperienced challenger, but I was hoping to get lucky and achieve the double of eliminating Danaos and picking up a skill for him.

Flamma took a leaf out of Hero's book, and closed quickly, hoping to push Danaos against the wall of the arena where his spear would be negated.

He tried hard, but Danaos was able to keep the thraex back.

Flamma gained a major advantage, though, when he parried one of Danaos's attacks, and snapped his spear

But Danaos is a seasoned fighter, and was able to keep up the pressure on the novice thraex with just his shield. He smacked away Flamma's sword, and then downed his opponent.

This bout went the full distance, and more, with the referee reluctant to step in and call it a draw. After such an entertaining spectacle, Flamma could expect mercy from the crowd.

He was disappointed. They'd not had any blood yet today, so decided that the novice thraex's time was up.

This gave Catherine another point of Prestige.

So at the end of this rond the prestige totals are:

Catherine - 9 Prestige
Tertius - 6 Prestige
Me - 3 Prestige

Our current stables (with skills) are as follows:

Catherine

Danaos (Hoplite) - Agile, Signature Move - 5 Bouts, 5 Wins
Hero (Myrmillo) - Strength, Signature Move - 1 Bout, 1 Win
Sartornilos (Thraex) - No Skills - 1 Bout, 1 Loss
Margareites (Secutor) - Signature Move - 1 Bout, 1 Win
Xathus (Barbarian with Spear) - No Skills - No Bouts
Justina (Retiarius) - No Skills - No Bouts

Tertius

Helena (Hoplite) - Crowd-Pleaser, Parry - 2 Bouts, 2 Wins
Hermes (Provocator) - Signature Move - No Bouts
Severus (Dimacherius) - Agile - 1 Bout, 1 Win
Bremusa (Thraex) - Agile - 2 Bouts, 1 Win, 1 Loss
Silvana (Laquearius) - No Skills, No Bouts
Spiculus (Dimacherius) - Signature Move, Parry - 4 Bouts, 1 Win, 3 Losses

Me

Pugnax (Myrmillo) - Agile, Strength - 2 Bouts, 1 Win, 1 Loss
Victor (Crupellarius) - Agile, Crowd-Pleaser - 1 Bout, 1 Win
Crixus (Secutor) - No Skills - No Bouts
Alumnus (Secutor with Spear) - Signature Move - 1 Bout, 1 Win
Rodan (Paegniarius) - No Skills - 1 Bout, 1 Loss
Hippolytus (Retiarius) - No Skills - No Bouts