Alvin could not do anything to us now. That was 3 wins for me, Nuzri and Fimzi. The others had 2 under their belt. I heard that this was the time that people could come to buy you. As slaves in the pit, we were public slaves for the sole purpose of fighting for the entertainment of the citizens of the capital. The colosseum needed a steady supply of slaves on hand to put on a show. With the public slaves, there was no need for payouts for the winners. That meant pure profits for the colosseum. It was also why we could gain freedom after winning 10 fights. The money made by winning that much must have been deemed somewhere near the amount to buy a new gladiator slave for use. Nobles and rich merchants love having slaves and servants. Having a proven warrior and giving them the gear to reach new heights would give that noble more clout. Therefore, nobles would want to get a cheap warrior after you were named and proven to be able to win. The warrior would give up their ability to be free after their 10th victory, but could be famous and more likely to survive all your fights.
Joining the household of a noble was fine if that was how you wanted to play. You would be helping them out with their ambitions. In a storyline sense, it could be a pretty satisfying experience for the game. FOG was such a big game with so much crammed inside it, it might as well be a sandbox. There was no real way to play as the complex AI was constantly updating and generating missions and story hooks. Every NPC could give quests if you just interacted with them long enough. With so much choice and options to go with, it could be paralyzing for the average person to decide a path on their own. This could be one of those options. As a proven warrior, you might be made their personal bodyguard or enforcer. Obviously, you could also be made a professional gladiator for money and fame. I personally did not want to be a slave. They had no real rights and they had to serve all the whims of the master. I wanted to be the one to have money and fame from my effort. I could do all that on my own by winning my freedom and continuing to fight in the colosseum. That was just me.
Keeping in the pits was my best bet. Because we were public slaves, we were all considered wards of the duchy. Nobles therefore could not just take us into their service against our will. They actually needed our consent to buy us out. We were left in the pits for a couple of in-game weeks before our next couple of fights. The first one was a big one. Chonmo, Fimzi and I were against gladiators using chariots. I used my spears to get in the spinning spokes and destroy them as soon as I could. I only had 2, so the others had to help. Once they were on foot, they were already fucked up from the destruction of the chariot. One of them was even trampled to death by their horses. We killed the rest and went back. Anda and I had to take on a raging bull with only a cape and a pair of rapiers each. That was a challenge, and we did not have fun. However, the bull was killed. We got praises. That sent me to 5 wins. The others had fights without me as well. Chonmo and Fimzi both had 4. Fimzi barely survived a giant bee attack and Chonmo got a choice kill against some cool berserker dwarves.
Losing meant more scars and sour moods. Luckily, none of us had died. Death had to do with how popular a fighter was, how badly beaten they were and their general health going into a fight. Purring kept care of the general health. Being part of our group made us recognizable. Having that made sure that the crowd wanted us to stay alive. We were called the "Cat Pack". Anda and Nuzri were still at 3 wins. That was not good. They just were not as good combatants as the rest of us. Keeping them alive was our new priority. Nobles came to ask to buy us. We refused everyone that came by. We all wanted our freedom. The others had personal grudges against the humans that enslaved us. To keep morale up, I told them that if we gained our freedom, we could pool money together to get a big stretch of land. Anda and Nuzri were all for it. Chonmo wanted to return to the ancestral lands of the clan and start over. Fimzi was just pessimistic about ever getting out. Things took a turn for the worse when it was announced there was going to be a 10 on 10 match. It was going to be wild.
