Page 13 of Gladiator Moon

There is a hesitation before Timrick answers: No.

In my world, Hell is thought to be where the damned end up after dying.

Perhaps that is why some call this place Hell. But this is not the realm of the dead, Samantha Moon. This is a place built to punish the living.

And those people are still alive?

Some are, though I am sure many of them wish they were not.

I shake my head. A true hellscape lies just beneath my feet. Or at least that’s what Timrick believes. His knowledge of what exists below is limited, built more on rumor and hearsay than firsthand experience.

I will eventually need a safe place to summon the teleportation flame, I tell him.

I don’t know anything about that, but, you know, we have many moons that orbit our planet. Perhaps you could fly there, far away from Baltazar’s influence.

It’s a thought. Thank you.

You’re welcome.

Does your king rule all?

Yes.

Is there a way to reach him or threaten him?

None that I know of.

Well, it’s an extremely barbaric way to treat living beings. We abandoned such games on my world thousands of years ago. Perhaps it is time for Grandar to do the same.

Timrick is quiet for a moment.

The Games are not merely a pastime, Samantha Moon. They are woven into the fabric of our society. Entire families have worked around them for generations. Merchants sell food, armor, clothing, and weapons. Craftsmen build the arenas. Thousands earn their living because of them.

People profited from many terrible things throughout history on my planet. Grandar seems much the same.

True, but remove the Games, and what happens to those people? What happens to a kingdom when something that’s existed longer than anyone remembers suddenly disappears?

I consider his very valid question.

Are you planning on assassinating my liege, Samantha Moon?

I shake my head.

I don’t go around killing people. But I would like to show him the error of his ways.

But it is not simply his way. It is the way of the kingdom. The people expect the Games. Many have never imagined a world without them. They believe the Games are necessary.

Or they have been taught to believe that.

Perhaps.

How would your people react if your leader was removed and someone else took his place? Would they accept that? Or would they resist?

His elder sons are just as cruel. Perhaps worse. There is hope for the young one.

Is there another official? Someone outside the royal family who is capable of governing?

Timrick hesitates.